PERU.

Peru is the name of one of the republics of South America, but it likewise designates a large empire long since dismembered, yet still renowned for its wealth and ancient civilization. The limits of the present state do not comprehend much more than one third of the country over which the incas held dominion, from its having been repeatedly partitioned by the Spaniards, and always unwisely even for themselves. Ancient Peru extended from about 2. 0. of north to the twenty-sixth parallel of south latitude, thus including what is now called the Republic of the Equator, or Quito; and from 57. 0. to 81. 0. of west longitude, thus comprehending the whole of Bolivia or Upper Peru. Previously, however, to defining the boundaries of the republic, and describing its present condition, we shall briefly glance at the early annals of the country, and then take a rapid historical survey of the political revolutions which it has undergone, from the period when the Spaniards first drew their swords upon the “Children of the Sun.”

The native annals of Peru ascend no higher than the era of the first inca, who flourished in the twelfth century. The individual who first established monarchical authority in the country was called Manco Capac, supposed by the natives to have been commissioned by divine Providence to deliver the world from an evil genius, to whose diabolical sway it had been abandoned. From this superstition, and also from tradition, it appears that previously to the period in question, the inhabitants of Peru ranked amongst the most barbarous of the American savages, roaming the primeval forests with which their country was then covered, more like wild beasts than men, strangers to agriculture and to all the useful arts, and having no fixed place of abode. Manco Capac, however, along with the beautiful Mama Oello or Ocollo, at once his wife and sister, reclaimed the Peruvians from this degraded condition. He showed them how to till and irrigate the soil, to construct residences, and to fix the division of lands. He overthrew their altars which were stained with blood, and taught them the more harmless idolatry of worshipping the sun. Assisted by Oello, he instructed the people in the moralities of life and the obligations of nature; he enjoined every man to bestow a portion of his time and industry for the benefit of his neighbour, and inculcated brotherly love not only amongst members of the same, but of different families. He framed laws for the happiness of the community, and commanded obedience to them more by humanity than by force. At the same time he compelled his subjects to submit implicitly to the will of the incas, and retarded the [7:17:293]progress of the human mind by making it unlawful for a son to follow any profession except that of his father. The empire which this remarkable person founded comprised only a small territory around the city of Cuzco; and the Peruvian traditions assign no earlier date than that of his reign to the dawn of civilization. It is the opinion of Humboldt, however, that the architectural monuments which are found on the elevated table-land of Tiahuanaco, had an origin prior to the twelfth century, and that they served as models for the edifices which the incas erected at Cuzco; thus proving, that remarkable advancement had been made in the useful arts before the time of Manco. Who the architects of these original structures really were, it is nearly impossible to conjecture, far less to assert with confidence. The Spaniards, on their arrival in the country, were informed by the natives that they were constructed by “a race of white and bearded men,” who inhabited the ridge of the Cordilleras long before the foundation of the empire of the incas.

But to whatever race they may have belonged, it seems perfectly certain that they had found their way to Peru along the ridges of the Cordilleras, and that the civilization of South America, as well as that of Mexico emanated from the north. The following observations of Humboldt, in reference to the appearance of Manco Capac, are characterized by his usual sagacity. “Though no traditions point out any direct connection between the nations of North and South America, their history is not the less fraught with analogies in the political and religious revolutions from which dates the civilization of the Aztecs, the Muyseas, and the Peruvians. Men with beards, and of fairer complexions than the natives of Anahuac, Cundinamara, and the elevated plain of Cuzco, make their appearance without any indication of the place of their birth, bearing the titles of high priests, legislators, the friends of peace and the arts, and operate a sudden change in the policy of the nations, who hail their arrival with veneration. Quetzalcoatl, Bochica, and Manco Capac, are the sacred names of these mysterious beings.” Still this only refers to a second migration. Those to whom the natives attributed the construction of the more ancient works had arrived in the country long before the first inca came amongst them, no one knew from whence. But over the erection of these earliest architectural monuments there hangs a veil of impenetrable mystery.^[1. See the Foreign Quarterly Review, No. 35; the article Mexico in this work; and Humboldt’s Researches, vols. i. and ii. ]

Under the sway of Manco and his successors the improvement of the barbarians of Peru advanced with amazing celerity; but it soon reached as high a point as the state of knowledge and the political circumstances of the country would admit. In Peru agriculture was carried on with greater skill than in any other part of America; and the monarchs themselves set an example of industry, by cultivating a field near Cuzco with their own hands; an honour which is still conferred upon agriculture in the “celestial empire.” They showed much ingenuity in the building and navigation of their floats; but it was in the erection and ornamenting of their temples and palaces that the Peruvians displayed the utmost extent of their constructive skill. The ruins of these magnificent edifices, which are found in every province, attest at once the great power possessed by the early monarchs, and the high degree of knowledge in theartsto which the people had attained; whilst they also show that during two centuries at least the nation must have subsisted in a state of considerable improvement. The great temple of the sun at Pachacamac, with the palace of the inca, and the fortress, were so connected together as to form one great building half a league in circuit. But perhaps the noblest works of the incas were the two great roads from Cuzco to Quito, a distance of not less than 1500 miles.

One of these was carried through the mountainous country, and the other wound along’the maritime plains. At proper intervals storehouses were erected for the accommodation of the inca and his attendants in his progress through his dominions; and flying bridges of ropes were stretched across the torrents which intersected the road in their course from the Andes to the western ocean. Although these roads were only fifteen feet in breadth, and not fit for carriages, yet they must be considered very wonderful works, from the natural obstacles which had been overcome in constructing them. Mounds of earth and other works rendered the ascent of hills comparatively easy. Granaries were built at certain distances; and charitable houses, ever open to the wanderer, were founded by the incas. Canals, fortresses, and other buildings of a public nature, varied and improved the aspect of the country.

In many of the provinces, the sides of lofty hills, or rather mountains, are cased round with terraces or hanging gardens, which rise one above another to a surprising elevation. Each terrace is faced with stone, and although of inconsiderable width, they cover the sides of such high and extensive mountains, that they alone must have produced subsistence for a large population. These terraced strips of land were by the Peruvians called Andenes, which probably induced the conquerors to give the name of Andes to the whole of the gigantic mountain chain which stretches from the Straits of Magelhaens to the Isthmus of Panama. The Andenes are often to be seen in districts where rain never falls, and how they could have been irrigated is now unknown.^[2. Memoirs of General Millar, vol. ii. p. 188-9. ] Amongst the remarkable works of the ancient Peruvians were the azequias or aqueducts, by which large tracts of country now condemned to perpetual sterility were made fertile by water conveyed from an immense distance. The subterraneous azequias of Nasea were of great extent; and although many of them are choked up, a sufficient number remain to give amazing fertility to the valley of Nasco. It is not known how far they penetrated, but it is supposed that the Peruvians drove an adit horizontally until they met with a perennial spring.

The skill of the ancient Peruvians in mining, metallurgy, and the working of the precious metals, was considerable, and beyond that of the other American nations. Not only were the sacred temples and the royal residences profusely adorned with ornaments of gold and silver, but even trees and shrubs fantastically formed of these metals were placed in the imperial gardens at Cuzco. The most ordinary domestic utensils were made of them; and several of their vessels and trinkets are said to have exhibited considerable skill in the workmanship. Mirrors of highly polished stone have been discovered in their sepulchral mounds; but that which gave the Peruvians a decided superiority, in various arts, over the other tribes of the west, was such a knowledge of metallurgy as enabled them to mix copper and tin in such proportions as to form a compound metal hard enough to supply the place of iron. But notwithstanding this advantage, they were lamentably deficient in all the jmplements necessary for the mechanical arts, and none of their attainments are entitled to be considered as greater than those of a people in the first stage of incipient civilization. The painting, statuary, and carving which adorned their temples and palaces appear to have been very indifferent. Humboldt remarks, that the Peruvians were not unacquainted with symbolical paintings, but that they had nothing at all equivalent to the picture-writing and hieroglyphics of the Mexicans. They made use of knots and threads of various colours, which they called qmppos ; and these strings were used to record events, as well as for purposes of calculation. Their knowledge[7:17:294] of astronomy, although exceedingly imperfect, was yet far from being contemptible. The incas, who had discovered the annual revolution of the sun, marked out the summer and winter solstices by high towers, which they erected on the east and west of the city of Cuzco. By the position in which the sun rose and set on the east and west of these, the summer and winter solstices were determined. They also observed the equinoxes, and celebrated the event of the vertical position of the luminary in heaven, by holding a great festival in the temple which they had dedicated to it on earth. They distinguished the months by the moon, and their weeks were called quarters of the moon. Like other ignorant races of men, they were alarmed by eclipses of the sun or moon; but they do not appear to have predicted events by the aspect of the stars, though dreams, and the entrails of beasts, which they offered in sacrifice, were considered as instructive objects of divination.

The government of the incas was a species of theocracy, the sovereign uniting in his own person the functions of priest and king, with both temporal and spiritual domination. The sun was the object of supreme adoration, and the incas were considered as his children, descended from him through Manco Capac, who was believed to be the offspring of their god. They also adored a twofold being named Con Pachacamac, who they believed was the creator of the Peruvians. But although the Peruvian form of government was the most absolute despotism, it was much more mild in its nature, and less oppressive in its operation, than that of the Mexicans. The people were taught, and they yielded, the most slavish submission to their sovereigns; for, after their deity the sun, the incas were regarded with the greatest veneration. Almost every crime was punishable with death; and the incas seldom forgave an injury. It was customary for them to mutilate the faces and limbs of all the individuals taken in a revolted district. As an illustration of the nature of their government, one law may be sufficient. If it were discovered that a priestess of the sun had violated her oath of chastity, she was buried alive, whilst her seducer was tortured to death in the most cruel manner. Even the families of the offending parties were consigned to the flames; and a line being drawn around the birthplace of the two lovers, like the doomed cities of Scripture, it was marked out as a desert for ever. The number of offenders against any of the laws is said to have been extremely few. Their religion, however, was unpolluted by the bloody rites of that of Mexico The “terrible god,” the Moloch of the west, held no sway in Peru. Lambs and other animals were offered in sacrifices, but human victims never bled on the altars of the sun. The national character of the Peruvians harmonized with the genius of their religion, being more gentle and pacific than that of any other people in America. Even their wars are said to have been prosecuted with singular humanity. But the funeral rites of their monarchs accorded ill with this mildness in religion and general manners. At the death of the incas and of other eminent persons, a number of their vassals were buried in the tumuli, along with the dead bodies. The number was sometimes very great. On the death of Huana Capac, the greatest of their incas, above a thousand victims were doomed to accompany him to the tomb. In another particular the manners of the Peruvians were singularly barbarous. Although very well acquainted with the uses of fire in culinary operations, they astonished the Spaniards by devouring both flesh and fish perfectly raw.

Gold and silver were used for ornamental purposes alone, and were never employed as a circulating medium. The produce of the earth was enjoyed in common. The whole being divided by proper officers into four portions, the first was destined for the indigent; the second was set apart for the maintenance of the priests and virgins of the sun, and for other religious purposes; the third was appropriated to the community; and the fourth and last to the inca and his family. The incas spoke a language which was not permitted to be taught even to the nobles, far less to the people; and messages were transmitted to members of his family, from one end of the kingdom to the other, without the bearers of them, who were stationed at regular intervals, understanding the import of the communication which they conveyed. This language was lost a generation or two after the conquest.

That Cuzco was the only city which ancient Peru possessed, as asserted by Dr Robertson, is completely at variance with the accounts of recent travellers, who have found extensive remains in various parts of the country. It was, however, the capital of the empire, and the centre of its wealth and civilization. Throughout the rest of Peru the people appear to have lived chiefly in detached habitations or small villages, with the exception, it may be hazarded, of a few large towns, situated widely apart and in particular positions; for it appears that the Peruvians never built a town or suffered a single house to occupy a spot that was susceptible of cultivation. Little intercourse was maintained amongst the different provinces, for there were no stated markets, as in Mexico and the inland trade was insignificant. Distinction of ranks was recognised, for not a small proportion of the inhabitants were scarcely above the condition of slaves; but there was no separation of crafts, every Peruvian practising all the arts indiscriminately. That this people could have advanced far in improvement under such a system was impossible; and we are only surprised that they should have attained to such a degree of refinement as they actually reached. The natural character of the Peruvians was also such as to preclude anything like a rapid progress of manners and refinement of life. They were tame and abject; their mildness degenerated into sloth, and their submission into a slavish fear of danger. When all these circumstances are taken into consideration; the vast extent of country over which the inhabitants were scattered, chiefly in hamlets and huts, and having little intercourse with the imperial city; the physical weakness of the Indian race in general, and the natural timidity of the Peruvian character in particular, increased as it must have been by the system of government under which they lived; and the political debility which necessarily attached to a social structure so slenderly constituted as that of Peru; when these things are duly weighed, we shall experience less surprise that the conquest of the country should have been effected, almost without a struggle, by a handful of daring and desperate adventurers.

The first intelligence of the great Southern Ocean, and the country washed by its waters, was obtained by Nuñez de Balboa, Spanish governor of Darien, in 1512, and purely by accident. In one of their numerous inroads into the country adjacent to that in which they gained a permanent footing, a violent dispute arose amongst the Spaniards about the division of some gold. A young cacique or petty prince, who was present, astonished at their contention about a thing which was to him of little value, acquainted them with the existence of a country six suns to the south, where even the utensils in common use were made of the same metal as that about which they seemed ready to shed each other’s blood. The eager cupidity of the Spaniards was roused by this welcome information, and no time was lost in preparing for the invasion of this land of gold. Balboa, accompanied by a hundred and ninety of his countrymen, and about a thousand Indians, commenced his journey across the isthmus, which, although only sixty miles in breadth, was so encumbered with natural obstacles, that five and twenty day§ were spent before he obtained a sight of the Southern Ocean, which he did from a mountain near Panama. The view of this vast expanse repaid the adventurers for their past toils and sufferings. They advanced to the shore with the utmost alacrity; and their leader, rushing up to the middle in the waves, with his sword and buckler, took possession[7:17:295] of it in the name of the king his master. The part which he discovered is still designated the Gulf of St Michael, the name which he bestowed upon it. Balboa, however, did not reap the reward which he merited for this important discovery. By an ungrateful government he was superseded in his command; and although afterwards restored to high authority, he fell a victim to the jealousy of the individual with whom he was associated in the government.

For a short time after the death of Balboa, the thoughts of conquering Peru were laid aside; but a new expedition was at length set on foot, at the head of which appeared the famous, or rather infamous, Francisco Pizarro, a soldier of fortune, and formerly in the service of Balboa. Associated with him were Diego de Almagro, a man of as humble extraction as himself, and likewise a soldier of fortune, and Hernando de Luque, who combined the functions of priest and schoolmaster at Panama. Towards the close of 1524, Pizarro sailed from the port of Panama in a small vessel, with only a hundred and twelve followers, to undertake the subjugation of half the western world. We may smile at the disparity between the extent of the enterprise and the j paucity of the means by which it was to be achieved, and t feel astonished that it should ever have been attempted un- < der such circumstances. But the Spaniards, naturally brave, courted danger, and were enamoured with the excitement of conquest. Exposure to peril had rendered them fearless, and a succession of triumphs had made them arrogant. The season at which Pizarro embarked was the most improper that could have been chosen; for the periodical winds which then began to blow were directly adverse to the course which he wished to steer. But after a series of disasters and disappointments, which he bore with a patience and fortitude worthy of any undertaking, and in defiance of a recall from the governor of Panama, he succeeded, in 152υ, in reaching the coast of Peru. After touching at several villages, he landed at Tumbez, a place of some note, about three degrees south of the line, and remarkable for its stately temple and a palace of the incas. Here the golden dreams of the Spaniards were, if possible, more than realized. But for the present they could only feast their eyes on the vision of riches before them; for the force of Pizarro was far too limited to attempt the conquest of the opulent empire thus discovered; and towards the close of the third year from his departure this adventurer regained the port whence he had sailed.

Pizarro immediately repaired to the court of Spain, for the purpose of turning his discovery to advantage. The powers which he solicited were granted him. He was invested with supreme civil and military authority over the country to be conquered, his jurisdiction being declared to extend prospectively two hundred leagues to the southward of the river St Jago. The means of executing this commission he was left to provide entirely from his own resources, which were slender; but they proved sufficient. He returned to his confederates at Panama, and after exerting his utmost efforts, the whole armament which he was able to fit out amounted only to three small vessels, carrying a hundred and eighty soldiers, of whom thirty-six were mounted. His first descent was on the shores of St Matthew’s Bay, whence he pursued his march southward along the coast, meeting with little or no resistance, and suffering no calamities except such as were inflicted by the insalubrity of the climate and the sterility of the soil. From first to last, the New World was conquered as much by the terror which the aspect and manners of the invaders inspired in the breasts of uncivilized men, as by force of arms; and the general impression made on the timid Peruvians proved irresistible and paralysing. But another cause contributed to the rapid success of Pizarro. At this very time the country was embroiled in a civil war. When the Spaniards first visited the coast of Peru, Huana Capac, the twelfth monarch from the founder of the state, was seated on the throne of the incas. By his victorious arms he had subjugated the kingdom of Quito; a conquest of such extent and importance as almost to double the power of the Peruvian empire. This prince is represented as alike conspicuous for his pacific virtues and for his abilities in war. He was, at all events, a bold innovator; for, in defiance of the fundamental law against polluting the blood of the children of the sun with any foreign alliance, he espoused the daughter of the conquered monarch; and by this princess he had a son named Atahualpa, commonly written Atabalipa, to whom he left the kingdom of Quito at his death, in the year 1529. To Huascar, his eldest son by a mother of the royal line, was bequeathed the rest of his dominions. This arrangement was productive of a civil war, in which the sovereign of Quito proved victorious; and, to place himself more firmly on the throne, he put to death all the descendants of Manco Capac whom he could seize either by force or stratagem. Huascar himself was a prisoner in his hands, i but from political motives his life was spared. This unhappy " contest completely diverted the attention of the Peruvians from the circumstance of a foreign invader having violated their soil. It was some time, however, before Pizarro gained information of the events which so opportunely conspired to forward his enterprise; indeed the first intelligence he received was the appearance in his camp of messengers from the rival sovereigns, each soliciting the fatal aid of their common enemy.

Pizarro, as sagacious as he was daring and unprincipled, perceived at once the importance of the intelligence, and the fortunate position in which the affairs of the country were placed for him and his cause. At the head of an ill-accoutred train of a hundred and two foot soldiers, of whom twenty-two were armed with cross-bows, and only three with muskets, and sixty-two mounted followers, he pushed forward from St Michael’s, where, in May 1532, he had established the first Spanish colony in Peru. He directed his course towards Caxamarca, a town of the interior, distant twelve days’ march, where Atabalipa was eneamped with a considerable body of troops. Appearing in the guise of an ambassador, or rather pacificator, his professions were received with inconsiderate credulity; and the inca became the victim of the perfidy of the Spaniard. Relying with unsuspicious simplicity on the honour of the man whom he considered as his guest, Atabalipa consented to give him an audience in that part of the city where he and his followers had established themselves. In the mean time Pizarro had made every preparation for receiving the inca in a manner which he little expected. He arranged his troops in as advantageous a situation as possible, within a square wholly surrounded by a strong rampart or wall of earth; and there he awaited the emperor, who slowly approached with all the pomp of barbaric splendour. The latter was borne on the shoulders of his principal attendants, seated on a throne or couch, resplendent with plates of gold and silver, enriched with precious stones, and adorned with waving plumes of the most gorgeous hues. Behind him came the chief officers of his court, and bands of singers and dancers attended the cavalcade, whilst the Peruvian army, to the number of 30,000 men, swarmed all over the surrounding plain. With matchless perfidy Pizarro instructed a priest to inform Atabalipa, that the vicegerent on earth of the God whom they worshipped had made a donation of all the nations of the New World to the king of Castille, their master, and that he must accordingly surrender Peru. At the same time he was required to renounce the service of the sun, and become a convert to the religion of the Spaniards. Astonished at this extraordinary proposal, he asked the priest for a sight of his credentials; and a breviary being handed to him, he lifted it to his ear.
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“This,” said he, “is silent; it tells me nothing;” and he dashed it to the ground with disdain. The wily monk, who appears to have been exactly the tool which Pizarro wanted, ran towards his countrymen, calling out that the word of God had been insulted, and that they ought to take immediate vengeance on the impious dogs who were guilty of such a profanation. At once the signal for assault was given, and an indiscriminate massacre of the unresisting Peruvians took place. In vain did the wretched fugitives seek shelter from the avenging steel of the Spaniards. They were pursued even within the sanctuaries of their religion, and cut down around their altars with unrelenting barbarity. Atabalipa himself was taken prisoner, and put into close confinement. A proposal of the inca to ransom himself by paying an. enormous quantity of gold was instantly caught at by Pizarro; and the devoted subjects of the captive king, with eager alacrity, obeyed his call to bring him their treasures in order to procure his liberty. Meanwhile, Almagro arrived with a reinforcement of Spaniards equal to that already in the country. The rapacious bravoes who composed it, being as yet unglutted with the spoil of the richest country in the world, urged Pizarro to put the inca to death, and thus clear the way for a thorough plunder of the whole empire. The chief of this banditti had himself previously determined on taking this step, and probably only waited for the proposal coming from the troops in order to carry it into execution. After performing a ceremony preparatory to execution (it would be an abuse of language to call it a triaD, the Spaniards condemned the inca of Peru to be burned alive, which merciless sentence was, as a great favour, mitigated to strangling, and the unhappy victim suffered accordingly. Amongst a list of imaginary crimes which were laid to his charge, there was one of which he had really been guilty, namely, putting to death his brother Huascar. This cruel and unnecessary deed of blood he was induced to commit from fear lest, in his own helpless situation, his rival to the throne might join the invaders against him. But Spaniards were not competent to try him for such an act; he was only amenable to his own country; and the allegation was as iιτelevant as the other parts of the charge in this solemn mockery of justice.

The murder of Atabalipa was soon followed by a revolution in the affairs of the Spaniards, whose barbarous inhumanity now rendered them Odious to the Peruvians. Even amongst themselves were found a few persons not altogether divested of pity and a sense of justice; and the dread of impending danger from the Indians now uniting against Pizarro, alone restrained these soldiers within the bounds of discipline. At Cuzco, the partisans of Huascar elevated his brother Manco Capac to the throne of the incas, whilst Pizarro set up Taparpa, the son of Atabalipa, as emperor. But this prince was relieved by death from the degradation of being innocently accessary to the humiliation of his country. No other person having been invested by the Spaniards with the insignia of mock royalty, the title of Manco Capac was universally acknowledged. The attempts of the Indians, however, to arrest the progress of the invaders proved unavailing; but the latter quarrelled amongst themselves about the division of the spoil. Ferdinand Pizarro, the brother of the general, had been sent to the court of Spain to report the progress of spoliation, and to deposit a part of the booty. Honours were conferred upon him, and his brother obtained an additional grant of land, whilst he himself was invested with the jurisdiction of a very large tract of country lying still further to the southward. No sooner did Almagro hear this than he attempted to seize Cuzco, alleging that it lay within the limits of his government; and a civil war between his partisans and the Pizarro faction was only prevented by an accommodation, on the singular footing that Almagro should indemnify himself by attempting the conquest of Chili. This reconciliation left the general at liberty to settle the internal policy of his province. He divided the country into districts, over which magistrates were appointed to preside; and he removed the seat of government from Cuzco to Lima, which he named Ciudad des los Reyes. He likewise despatched some of his most distinguished officers to inspect those provinces of the empire hitherto unvisited by the Spaniards; but this imprudent feeling of security nearly proved fatal to him. The Peruvians, with Manco Capac at their head, seeing the Spaniards weakening themselves by dividing their force, seized the opportunity of making a desperate effort to avenge their wrongs and to rid themselves for ever of their oppressors. This insurrection took place in the year 1535-1536. The Spanish historians, probably to exalt the prowess of their countrymen, assert that an army of more than two hundred thousand men was collected, part of which invested Lima, where the governor was closely shut up, whilst a still larger body of men laid siege to Cuzco. Half of the city had already fallen into the hands of the Peruvians, and the besieged were reduced to the most desperate condition, when Almagro suddenly made his appearance in the neighbourhood. Upon his arrival, his assistance was solicited by both parties; but the inca, despairing of success in his negotiations with Spaniards, attacked Almagro during the night. Spanish valour and dis-^ cipline, however, prevailed over the greatly superior numbers of the Indians, who were repulsed with terrible slaughter, and the governor of Chili advanced unopposed to the gates of Cuzco. Over the capital of the incas his authority was now fully recognised, though not without an affray, in which several Spaniards were killed. But very soon afterwards matters began to assume a serious aspect; in short, it now came to the issue of arms, whether Pizarro or Almagro should remain master of Peru. The latter was at first completely successful against the brothers of the general; but in an engagement with Pizarro himself he was defeated and taken prisoner. The conquerors behaved with a cruelty which struck horror into the minds of the barbarians, who had assembled out of curiosity to see the battle. Almagro, after languishing some months in prison, was at length formally tried and condemned to death; which sentence he underwent by being first strangled in private, and afterwards beheaded in public.

In the meanwhile intelligence having reached the court of Spain of the dissension which had taken place in Peru, the king appointed a new governor, who, on his arrival, was to assume the supreme command, provided Pizarro had fallen, which proved to be the case. Almagro left a son by an Indian woman, and this youth he appointed his successor, by virtue of a pow er granted him by the emperor. The partial division of the spoil which had been made by Pizarro and his brothers tended to alienate many of the Spaniards from their cause. Great numbers of the disaffected repaired to Lima, where the house of young Almagro was always open to receive them; and here a conspiracy was formed against the life of Pizarro, at the head of which was Juan de Herrada, an officer of distinguished abilities, and who had had the superintendence of Almagro’s education. The natural intrepidity and fearless disposition of the general proved his ruin; for, utterly disregarding the warnings which were given him of approaching evil, he took no measures either to discover the plot or to protect his own person from violence. In this state of fancied security access to his palace was easily gained by the conspirators. On the 26th of June 1540, Herrara, with eighteen of the most determined of his followers, sallied from the house of Almagro, and advancing through the streets, shouted “Long live the king, but let the tyrant die.” He entered the palace of Pizarro without opposition, and gained the apartment where his victim was conversing with some of his friends, having just [7:17:297]risen from table. His resolute mind no form of danger could appal: he hastily snatched a sword and buckler, with which he maintained the unequal contest, in a manner worthy of his past exploits. But friend after friend was cut down at his side; and, no longer able to turn aside the numerous weapons so furiously aimed at his life, he received a deadly thrust in his throat, sunk to the ground, and expired. Thus perished by the swords of assassins Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of Peru, a man who in mere valour was probably never surpassed; but whose injustice, rapacity, and cruelty rendered him unworthy of a better fate.

After the death of Pizarro, young Almagro was placed at the head of the government; but his career was short and troubled. The new viceroy having arrived from Spain, he refused to relinquish his pretensions, and a struggle ensued, which proved fatal to himself and all his followers. Another insurrection, however, broke out under Gonzales Pizarro, who had just returned from a most disastrous expedition into the country to the east of the Andes, and was thus prevented from taking any part in the revolutions which had so rapidly succeeded each other in Peru. To oppose this new aspirant to viceregal power, Nuñez Vela, governor of Lima, assembled a motley army of Indians and Spaniards; and, after various successes on both sides, a decisive battle was fought under the walls of Quito, in which Nuñez perished, along with the greater number of his followers. But another viceroy arrived from Europe in the person of the licentiate Pedro de la Gasea, and against him it was necessary for Gonzales to take the field. But many deserted his standard to rally round that of a person who was invested with a lawful authority to govern them; and those whom the tyranny of the usurper had driven to forests and caverns now quitted their hiding-places and joined the royalists. On the 9th of June 1548, an engagement took place near Cuzco, in which the last of the Pizarros, deserted by his followers, was taken prisoner, and afterwards beheaded. Such is the last event of any importance connected with a history, every line of which is written in blood. During these ferocious contentions, in which the rancour of enmity was rendered more intense by avarice, honour, the proverbial virtue of the Spaniard, was utterly disregarded. There was hardly one of them who did not abandon the party which he had originally espoused, and betray or desert his former associates. This is not to be wondered at when we reflect that most of the followers of Pizarro were needy adventurers, soldiers of fortune, exactly similar to those who had for centuries swarmed in various countries of Europe, and who sold their services to the best paymaster. The same mercenary principle appears to have been acted upon by the Spaniards in Peru; they attached themselves most tenaciously to the leader who held out the richest bribe. Petty insurrections continued to disturb the country for several years; and most of the first invaders, as well as a large proportion of the licentious soldiery whom the fame of their success had drawn thither, perished in their contests one with another. Ultimately the devoted land was thus cleared of those turbulent and desperate spirits which had been let loose upon it, and the royal authority was finally as completely established in Peru as in the other Spanish provinces.

The whole of the dominions of Spain in the New World were at first divided into two immense governments; one subject to the viceroy of Mexico and the other to the viceroy of Peru. But the latter was, at two subsequent periods, reduced in order to give such extension to other provinces as should entitle them to the rank of viceroyalties. In the year 1718, the province, or, as it was sometimes called, the kingdom, of Quito, was detached from Peru, and added to the government of New Grenada. In the year 1778 the provinces of the Rio de la Plata, Potosi, Charcas, Chiquitos, and some others, were detached from the jurisdiction of the Peruvian viceroy, and erected into a separate government, of which Buenos Ayres was made the capital. To these four governments alone was attached the dignity of a viceroyalty. Guatemala, the provinces of Venezuela, Caraccas, Cumana, and Chili, were severally formed into distinct jurisdictions under a captain-general. Having already given a view of the colonial system of administration under which the Spanish territories in the New World groaned for nearly three centuries (see the article Mexico, we shall only here advert to two distinct features of the tyranny which was exercised over the aborigines of Peru. These were the mita and the repartimiento. The former was a civil conscription, by which the population of every district was compelled to furnish annually a certain number of labourers for the service of the proprietors of the lands or mines. It is true that under the incas a great body of the natives were held in a state of degrading vassalage, so that a change of masters did not involve a change of condition in as far as mere labour was concerned; but the effects of being condemned to work in the mines for a fixed period proved most fatal to them. By the regulation, every Indian from the age o'f eighteen to fifty was pressed into the mining service for six months once in every three years and a half. On these occasions they were under the necessity of quitting their homes and families, relinquishing their professions, and repairing, it might be, many hundred miles to some inhospitable spot, where, it is said, scarcely one Indian in five survived the first year of his labours. More than twelve thousand Indians were annually subject to the mita conscription of the single province of Potosi; and it is computed that upwards of eight millions of human beings perished in the mines of Peru alone.^[3. Memoirs of General Miller, vol. i. p. 5. There is probably great exaggeration in this estimate; for, besides the difficulty of accounting for such, a mortality in mines which subsequently have not proved at all so mortal, we learn from Ulloa that a considerable proportion of the workmen served voluntarily. Certain it is, however, that wherever mines were wrought in a compulsory manner, an alarming decrease took place in the Indian population. In a memorial presented to Philip III. in 1609, Captain Juan Gonzales de Azevedo asserts, that in every district of Peru in which Indians were compelled to labour in the mines, their numbers had been reduced to one third, and in some places to one half, of the population in 1581. Amongst other causes of this decrease may be mentioned, the civil wars; the expeditions of the Spaniards, in which vast numbers of the Indians perished; the small-pox, peculiarly fatal to Indians; and the immoderate use of spirituous liquors. ] The Indians were also pressed into the employment of the governors of provinces and others; a species of servitude which was perfect liberty compared with that of the mines.

The repartimientο was a privilege originally granted to the corregidors or governors of districts, empowering them to furnish to the Indians, at a fair price, articles of necessary consumption. In course of time this privilege degenerated into a compulsory and oppressive exaction. Not only were the most worthless commodities forced upon the Indians, who were compelled to pay for them doubly or even triply, but also articles for which they had no earthly usc; for instance, razors for men who had no beards, spectacles for those who had “the eye of the hawk” even in old age, and silk stockings for Indians who go barefoot. Even luxuries, the very use of which was unknown to them, formed part of the supplies which they were compelled to purchase. The collection of the royal tribute afforded the corregidor another pretence for exactions; whilst the priests to whose spiritual guidance the Indians were assigned plundered them without mercy, of all that escaped the rapacity of the governors. “The atrocities committed by these wolves in sheep’s clothing,” says Miller, “would almost surpass belief [7:17:298]were they not given on the authority of such men as the Ulloas, and had we not before us recent facts which confirm their statement.” But the bow, however elastic, may be bent until it recoils. An insurrection broke out in the year 1780, and threatened the most disastrous consequences to the Spaniards; but it ultimately proved fataI to Tapac •Amaru and the other Peruvians engaged in it.

In the celebrated warof independence, which was fomented in the year 1808, and broke out over all the Spanish pos- -sessions in South America two years afterwards, Peru was the last to join; and it was there that the royalists made their final stand in behalf of the mother country.^[4. The events connected with the early part of the revolutionary struggle will all be found recorded under the heads of Bolivia, Co-iombia, Chili, and Bolivar. ] They were powerful enough to restrain the spirit of revolt until the year 1821, and probably would have done so for a much longer period, had a foreign force not come to the aid of the patriots. It soon became evident to those who had established the independence of Chili, that the conquest of Peru was necessary to its security; and the project for achieving it attracted to their cause many military adventurers from Europe, now restored to profound peace by the fall of Napoleon. Amongst others, Lord Cochrane, and several English officers who had distinguished themselves in the naval service, found employment in the fleet, which was speedily equipped, and which, in discipline, though not in force, soon attained so decided a superiority over the navy of Spain as to give it the command of the navigation of the South Sea. Being to windward of the Spanish ports, it was easy at any time to choose the point of attack. Under San Martin was formed an army of 5600, which, with the fleet, consisting of one ship of sixty-four guns, one of fifty, one of thirty-six, and one of thirty-two, besides some corvettes and transports, sailed from Valparaiso, in the latter end of 1820, and reached Lima in February the following year. The troops were landed to the northward of Callao, and continued, without making any great exertion, till May, when the garrison of Lima being much straitened, an armistice was concluded.

Pezuela, then the viceroy of Lima, was opposed by the audienda and the municipality, who censured him for not adopting measures sufficiently energetic to repel the invaders. The same disposition prevailed amongst the officers of the army, who at length resolved to depose Pezuela∙ He made no resistance; but having quitted the government and country, the command was placed in the hands of Don José de la Serna on the 29th of January 1821. The troops of La Serna were not much superior in number to the invaders; but some of them having gone over to San Martin, turned the scale in favour of the latter. Lima continued to be straitened by the general, and Callao to be blockaded by Lord Cochrane, who performed one of those acts of desperate valour which struck astonishment into the Spaniards. With the boats of his little squadron he entered the port of Callao, and, under the guns of its tremendous batteries, boarded, captured, and carried off one of their largest ships of war, with more men on board than were in all the boats that attacked her.

After some months had elapsed, a convention was agreed on, when La Serna with his army marched out of Lima, and San Martin with his forces entered it several days afterwards. A garrison was, however, left by the royalists in Callao. The protracted operations had given time to remove the most valuable property, which, with the females of the best families, and the non-combatants, reached the mountainous districts. San Martin, in the possession of Lima, was in the same condition as La Serna had been for some months before, with many mouths besides those, of his army to fill, and his intercourse with the country that furnished provisions intercepted; but he had the advantage of naval superiority, and could draw supplies from the coast, though, till Callao was taken, the difficulty of landing rendered the arrival of such supplies very precarious.

As a measure of the last importance, San Martin sought to implant the feeling of independence, by some act which should bind the inhabitants of the capital to that cause. On the 28th of July 1821, therefore, the ceremony of declaring and swearing to maintain the independence of Peru took place. The troops were drawn up in the great square, in the centre of which was erected a lofty stage, where the independent flag of Peru was for the first time unfurled; General San Martin, who displayed it, exclaiming, “From this moment Peru is free and independent, by the general wish of the people, and by the justice of her cause, which God defend.” Oaths of fidelity to the new government were afterwards taken, and, on the 3d of August, San Martin declared himself protector of Peru, and assumed the supreme civil and military command. He at the same time stipulated, that as soon as the country should be free from a foreign enemy, he would resign the command to the individual whom the people should be pleased to place at the head of the government. The offices of government were filled up by him, and General de las Hcras was appointed commander-in-chief of the army. Amongst the first legislative acts of the protectorate was a decree declaring that the children of slaves born in Peru subsequently to the 28th of July preceding should be free. This was followed by another abolishing the tribute, and forbidding the name of Indians to be applied to the aborigines, who were thenceforth to be denominated Peruvians, like the Creoles. Others of less importance were added to the list of benefits conferred by the new government; but in the mean time a disgraceful scene was exhibiting at Callao, where Lord Cochrane, having come to an open quarrel with the protector, was endeavouring to gain possession of the fortress by negotiation, intending, should he be successful, to hoist the Chileno flag, in opposition to the views and policy of San Martin. The true cause of the misunderstanding it is not very easy to ascertain, nor is it of much importance. On the 2lst of September the fortress of Callao surrendered to the protector; and on the 26th of the same month, he, in the capacity of commander-in-chief of the liberating army, ordered Lord Cochrane to quit the coast of Peru. General Canterac, who had meditated an attack on the patriots, for the purpose of relieving the castle of Callao, retreated to the Cordillera; so that, with no one near to create any alarm, San Martin was at liberty to take steps for the consolidation of his government and the termination of hostilities.

Unfortunately, however, recent events would appear to have thrown the inhabitants into a fever of excitement, productive of cabals which cast fatal embarrassments in the way of any energetic measures being taken. The protector, in endeavouring, with the very best intentions, to promote those who had declared for the patriot cause, gave great umbrage to certain persons by his appointments, and they unfortunately led to a disastrous prolongation of the contest. General Tristan, who had received the command of a body of troops at lea, allowed himself to be surprised and his retreat cut off by Cantcrac, who took one thousand prisoners, besides some pieces of artillery, and other spoil. This reverse threw a damp over the minds of the people, who had previously lent their cheerful aid to the cause; but any seriously bad effects were prevented by the victory which the patriots gained over the royalists at Pinchincha on the 24th of May 1822. Passing over a short visit which the protector of Peru paid to the liberator of Colombia at Guayaquil, [7:17:299]and the result of which was not So satisfactory as had been anticipated, we find the protector resuming the supreme command on the 21st of August. Secure of the support of the army, he would have experienced little opposition in quelling the spirit of insubordination manifested both by the civil authorities and the people, had he resorted to compulsory measures; but this would have been in opposition to his usual policy, and might have justified the clamours of his enemies. One alternative alone seemed left to him. Agreeably to a decree issued by the council of state, deputies had already been summoned; and on the 20th of September the congress was installed in due form. The protector repaired in state to the hall of the deputies, where, divesting himself of the insignia of supreme power, he resigned his authority into the hands of the representatives of the people. He then withdrew, and immediately set out for his country-seat near Callao, leaving behind him a proclamation as his farewell address. This document embodied his reasons for retiring, and contained some wholesome advice to the new republic. Congress lost no time in appointing a new executive, under the title of the Junta Gubernativa; and Xavier de Luna Pizarro was chosen president of the congress. One of the first acts of that assembly was to decree that San Martin should bear the title of Founder of the Liberty of Peru, and enjoy a considerable pension; whilst the thanks of the Peruvian nation were likewise awarded to Lord Cochrane for his achievements in the cause of Peruvian independence.

The proceedings of the new government were marked by feebleness and discord. An unsuccessful effort to reduce the royalists increased popular clamour against the government junta, which was at last expelled from power, and Colonel Don José de la Riva Aguero was made president of the republic. Santa Cruz, a Peruvian, who in the sequel greatly distinguished himself, assumed the chief command of the army; and it was determined in a council of war to make another effort in the Puertos Intermedios. Whilst they were employed in this enterprise, General Sucre arrived at Lima with 3000 Colombian troops; but this force, with 2000 Peruvians, partly militia and partly the wreck of a former army, was found insufficient for the protection of the capital, against which Canterac advanced at the head of 9000 well-disciplined men. Lima was accordingly abandoned by the patriots, and immediately taken possession of by the royalists, who, however, soon afterwards evacuated it, after having exacted heavy contributions from the remaining inhabitants, and destroyed the mint. Both Generals Santa Cruz and Sucre, who with a united army might have accomplished something of moment, proved unsuccessful; and the former allowed himself to be out-generalled by Canterac. The cause of independence in Pern seemed hanging by a thread, which it required little exertion to break, when the celebrated Bolivar made his appearance in Lima on the 1st of September 1823. He was received with the greatest enthusiasm, and was immediately invested with supreme authority, military and political. Great activity was now infused into the measures of government; and, acting in the capacity of dictator, Bolivar dissolved congress, and levied an army, with which he sallied from the capital on the second week of November. Riva Aguero, who refused to join him, was imprisoned by his own troops, who immediately submitted to the dictator. But a fresh misfortune awaited the patriots in the mutiny of the soldiers at Callao. The consequence was, that this town, along with the city of Lima, once more fell into the hands of the royalists. The cause of independence in Peru now seemed desperate; but the conduct of Bolivar at this critical moment is deserving of the highest praise. By his firmness, activity, and seasonable severities, he checked farther defections, and obtained the respect and entire confidence of every true patriot. Nor did he disappoint public confidence.; for in less than a year from that time Sôuth American independence was finally established.

In the month of July 1824 the liberating army commenced its march towards Pasco in three divisions, two of which were Colombians, headed by Generals Lara and Cordova; and one was Peruvian, under Lamar. General Sucre was chief of the staff of the whole army. In his preparatory measures for facilitating the passage of the troops to Pasco, a distance of two hundred leagues, through the most mountainous region in the world, this officer displayed great skill; and the army, 9000 strong, reached its destination in safety, and unmolested by the royalists. Various manoeuvres now took place; and in an action of cavalry the patriots inflicted a severe blow on their adversaries. A series of marches and countermarches occupied the months of August, September, October, and November; and on the 6th of December the patriots reached the village of Quinua; whilst the royalists, by entering Guamangilla, cut off their retreat, and placed them in an extremely critical situation. On the 8th the viceroy, La Serna, moved from this position, and occupied with his whole force the heights of Condorkanki, within gun-shot of the encampment of the patriots. Between the opposing armies lay the plain of Ayacucho; and as a battle cm the following day had become inevitable, on this plain were to be decided the destinies of South America. It is in shape nearly square, about a league in circumference, and flanked right and left by deep and rugged ravines. The eastern boundary is formed by the abrupt and savage ridge of Condorkanki, whilst its western extremity is the Indian village Quinua, a little distance in front of which lay the patriot army, not 6000 strong, that of the royalists being fully one third more numerous. Next morning, the 9th of December 1824, the expected conflict took place, and continued for about an hour, when the royalists were defeated with great loss. Indeed their army may be said to have been almost annihilated; for 3200 rank and file, amongst whom was the viceroy, were made prisoners of war, the remainder dispersing in a state of total disorganization in all directions. The battle of Ayacneho is pronounced by Mr Miller “the most brilliant ever fought in South America ;” and it may be considered as the last regular engagement, although not the last struggle, in which Spain was engaged for the recovery of her revolted colonies. Rodil still held out at Callao for the mother country, with the most desperate tenacity. It was a gallant, but at the same time an unnecessary and hopeless defence, when nearly the whole of the vast continent had declared for the cause of independence. Many families of the highest rank, who had shut themselves up with this determined individual, were exterminated by disease or famine. For thirteen months he sustained, unaided, bombardments both by sea and land, rendered still more terrible by the accumulated miseries of pestilènce and nearly utter want of food. He capitulated upon honourable terms on the 19th of January 1826, and thus the last link of the chain which had bound seventeen millions of Americans to the tottering monarchy of Spain was finally broken.

But although thus happily relieved of the presence of a foreign enemy, these infant republics could not agree amongst themselves; and, from the period of their establishment down to the present time ( 1838), their history is disfigured by a series of altercations, intrigues, plots, and counterplots, which have materially retarded their proper consolidation, and the advancement of the arts of peace. Bolivar was exceedingly desirous that the constitution which he had framed for Upper Pern, now named after him Bolivia, should be adopted by Peru proper; but public opinion was strongly opposed to his wishes. The Peruvians, also, apparently the most fickle of the fickle, began to feel their Colombian allies a burden to them. In short, whilst the national manners and habits of the Colombian troops were the opposite [7:17:300]of congenial to them, the dislike with which the latter were regarded, from this dissimilarity of tastes, increased the hatred of the Peruvians for the Bolivian code. This spirit soon led to the formation of a strong party, which in its turn gave birth to a conspiracy, having, it was said, for its object the assassination of Bolivar himself, and the expulsion of the Colombians. It was fortunately discovered and crushed before any evil was effected; but it served to throw the affairs of Peru into greater disorder than ever, and this was increased by the announcement of Bolivar’s determination to quit the country. The public mind became fearfully excited by this intelligence, and every argument and remonstrance was employed to induce him to remain amongst them, lest his departure should reduce their government to a state of perfect anarchy. On the 17th of August the electoral college of the province, and that of the city of Lima, resolved that the Bolivian constitution should be adopted in Peru, and that Bolivar should be named Présidente Vitalicio. Their example was followed by the other provincial colleges, with the exception of that of Tarapaca. Matters of importance, however, soon peremptorily required the presence of the liberator in Colombia, and Santa Cruz was left at the head of the government.

No sooner was Bolivar gone, than the popular spirit of resistance to the Bolivian code manifested itself, and the Peruvians began to devise measures for getting rid of that system and of the Colombians together. This dissatisfac- ' tion naturally terminated in a revolt, at the head of which was Colonel Bustamente, a young Colombian. The chief officers of the Colombian army were arrested and sent home, and not long afterwards they were followed by their troops. The people now unanimously denied the right of electoral colleges to decide upon the adoption of a form of government; and when the new congress assembled at Lima on the 4th of June 1827, the Bolivian constitution was disdainfully thrown aside, the Peruvian constitution of 1823 being declared to be in force. General Lamar was chosen president of the republic, a nomination which at first gave universal satisfaction; but he soon increased the number of the troops to such an extent as to embarrass the revenues, which, it may well be believed, were sufficiently limited. The reason of this augmentation of the army soon became apparent in a furious and ill-judged proclamation of war against Colombia. The menaces of this state might furnish a plausible plea for taking a step which might be pronounced as rash, considering the wavering condition of all these infant republics; but Peru appears to have been the original aggressor. There were various motives for this declaration of war on the part of Peru, one of which was the desire of taking possession of Guayaquil, and of rendering it a Peruvian port; and on the part of Colombia the principal motive was the non-payment of the debt due by Peru, and amounting to about 3,595,000 dollars. But the foundations of the dispute were deeply laid in personal animosities and national jealousy. War being therefore determined on, Lamar entered the Colombian territory at the head of a considerable army; and at Tarqui, near Jiron, in Quito, a sanguinary conflict took place on the 27th of February 1829. The battle was obstinately contested, but terminated at last in favour of the Colombians. On the following day, preliminaries of peace were agreed to, the mild terms of which were highly creditable to the moderation and equity of the conquerors. The chief stipulations were, that neither republic should interfere in the affairs of the other, and that Peru should discliarge the debt which it owed to the Colombian army. The imbecility which Lamar manifested on this occasion gave rise to a conspiracy against him, and he was formally deposed on the 29th of June by General La Fuente, who became vice-president. A plot was, however, formed against La Fuente, and he was expelled from the vice-presidency. General Gamarra was subsequently appointed president, but soon afterwards relinquished the office in favour of Orbegoso. During the early part of the year 1834 the ex-president Gamarra, along with Generals Bermudez, Frias, and Vargas, took arms against the president, and seized Junin, Cuzco, Puno, Ayacucho, and several other districts, avowing their intention of erecting the southern provinces into a separate state, of which Cuzco was to be the capital. At first the revolt was crowned with some success; but in the month of April, Bermudez’s army, consisting of about 1200 men, suddenly deserted him, and went over to the president; and shortly afterwards Gamarra was totally defeated by General Miller. On the 24th of February 1835, General Salavery, who commanded the garrison at Callao, instigated the troops to declare against the government at Lima, and on the following day took possession of the city, declaring himself supreme chief of the republic. The president Orbegoso, with about 200 troops, retired to Pasco. Salavery having swelled his force by the troops which had in the previous year revolted under Gamarra, extended his authority over nearly the whole of Peru. Orbegoso, unable of himself to recover his lost power, retired within the limits of Bolivia, and applied for assistance to Santa Cruz, the president of that republic. Santa Cruz joined them at Arequipa with a Bolivian army, and the united forces entered Peru, advancing as far as Cuzco. Here the army of Salavery was stationed under the command of Gamarra, for the usurper himself found it necessary to remain at Lima, to maintain his authority against the odium excited by his arbitrary exactions. The two armies delivered battle at Yaua-cocha on the 13th of August, when Gamarra was totally defeated, the greater part of his troops having gone over in a body to the enemy. Salavery lost no time in making preparations to defend himself to the last extremity within the walls of the capital. He called out a levy en masse of the province, including all freemen of colour between the ages of fifteen and forty-five, without exception, and declared, that if his orders were not obeyed, and a stout defence cordially prepared for, he would set fire to Lima as soon as Orbegoso and Santa Cruz should appear before it. He changed his intention, however; and having collected a body of about 2500 men, took the field, and posted himself on the heights of Challapampo, to the north of Arequipa. Towards the end of January 1836, the united forces of Orbegoso and Santa Cruz, amounting to double the number of those of Salavery, advanced to attack him. But he had fortified himself in such a manner that it became necessary to construct works, which, however, were soon completed. In order to cut off his retreat, and also intercept his communication with some vessels which had been prepared to be sent against Bolivia, General Miller was despatched with a sufficient force, and on entering Isla he made prisoners a general and some other officers destined for the Bolivian expedition. In the mean time, Santa Cruz, finding it impossible to attack Salavery in his fortified position, adopted a stratagem which proved completely successful. Having ordered his army to make such a retrograde movement as made it appear that he was in full retreat, the rebel army, believing this to be the case, began to débouché from the pass of Tingo on the morning of the 7th of February. Santa Cruz, seizing the favourable moment for attacking the enemy, fell upon them with great promptitude and vigour. The combat was obstinate, but the issue was not at any period doubtful. Salavery was completely defeated; and so well concerted had been the plans of Santa Cruz, that very few escaped, excepting such as dispersed themselves singly over the country. Amongst the prisoners were 220 officers, including Salavery himself, who, along with seven other officers, two of whom were generals, were tried by a court-martial, condemned to death, and shot on the 18th of February 1836. The port of Callao, Lima, the squadron destined for [7:17:301]Bolivia, and all the provinces of Peru, immediately submitted to the restored government.

It now appeared doubtful, [however, whether the president of Bolivia had been altogether the disinterested ally which he had at first appeared, and whether Orbegoso had not purchased his assistance by secret engagements. At all events, it was now discovered that Peru was of too great extent to be governed as one state. An assembly of deputies from the southern departments was held at Sicuani on the 17th of March, under the protection and guarantee of Bolivia, when the independence of these departments was solemnly declared, and a new state formed, called South Peru, composed of the departments of Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cuzco, and Puno. The chief power was intrusted to General Santa Cruz, as supreme protector of South Peru. In the month of July of the same year, a similar assembly of deputies from the northern departments of Junin, Lima, Libertad, and Amazonas, convoked by Orbegoso, followed the example of the southern provinces, and formed themselves into an independent state, under the name of North Peru, Orbegoso being appointed president.

During the year 1837, these republics continued in an unsettled state, and the old differences with Chili led to a declaration of war on the 17th of May, the united provinces of Rio de la Plata having joined Chili against the Peruvio-Bolivian confederation. Fortunately,however, after menacing each other for a few months, a treaty of peace was concluded between Chili and Peru, on the 17th of November 1837;

The constitution established by a congress of the three confederated states of North and South Peru, and Bolivia, is modelled upon that of the United States of North America. The government consists of three powers, namely, the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary. Each of the three republics has its own distinct congress; and, collectively, they may be said to form a federal republic, united to one another for mutual support and protection. Every second year a general congress is assembled, and is composed of a senate and chamber of representatives. The members of the senate are elected for life, thirty candidates being sent from the different departments of the confederation, from which number the president chooses fifteen. To become eligible for a senator or representative, the candidate must possess landed property, or an income arising from some branch of industry, of 2000 dollars for a senator, and of 1000 dollars for a representative. The head of the confederation is chosen by the general congress, out of six candidates proposed by the three republics. This head of the government is elected for ten years. He may be accused and condemned by the general congress for the crime of high treason, or if he attempt to hold the reins of government beyond the lawful period fixed by the constitution. The ministers of state, consuls, diplomatic agents, magistrates, and so forth, are responsible to the general congress, but can only be accused by the chamber of representatives. The congress by which the form of government was agreed to, appointed General Don Andre Santa Cruz protector of the Peruvio-Bolivian confederation for the first period of ten years. Santa Cruz is thus virtually at the head of three independent states. Although, nominally, Orbegoso has been president of North Peru since the 30th of December 1833, he cannot be viewed in any other light than in that of a vice-president, who governs the internal affairs of one of the states of a federal union, the supreme head of which is the fortunate soldier above named. With regard to the constitution of the individual states, little else has yet been agreed to, excepting that the government of the countries shall be intrusted to a senate and house of representatives.

By the division of Peru which took place, the departments of Lima, Libertad or Truxillo, Junin, and the Pampas, form one republic, under the name of North Peru; and the departments of Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cuzco, and Puno, another republic, under the name of South Peru. But as the limits of each are yet imperfectly defined, and as they are still to a certain extent united, we shall now proceed to give a general description of them as forming one country.

The territory of Peru is separated from the republic of the Equator on the north by the river Tumbez, in latitude 3. 34. south, but for about three geographical degrees this part of Peru is a comparatively narrow peninsula, projecting from the main body of the country. In about latitude 6. 30. south, an imaginary and very irregular line separates it on the north, first from the republic already mentioned, and afterwards from Brazil. On the east and south-east it is separated from the latter country partly by the river ItCnez, pai'tly by the river Madera, the great tributary of the Amazons, and partly by a line drawn through barbarous regions, which may be said to belong to either country or to neither. Throughout its whole extent on the west and south-west it is washed by the Pacific Ocean; and on the south it is bounded by Bolivia, the limits of which are not yet settled; but the most southerly land of Peru does not extend beyond the twenty-second parallel of south latitude. From this point, as far towards the equator as fifteen degrees south nearly, the country is only a long and narrow strip of land, forming the province of Arequipa, but beyond this meridian it enlarges prodigiously. In longitude it extends from about 62. to 82. west from Greenwich.

The entire length of Peru from north to south, including the long and narrow peninsula of Arequipa, is estimated at fifteen hundred miles; but its coast-line, which is winding, and has an oblique general bearing from north-west to southeast, cannot be less than 2100 miles. The breadth of Peru is also very great towards its northern boundary, but 700 miles may be taken as its average extension from west to east. According to the careful estimate made by Humboldt, Peru comprises an area of 41,500 square leagues.

The surface of this immense territory is of the boldest and most varied description. By far the most striking physical feature of all the countries of South America bordering on the Pacific is the colossal mountain-ridge of the Andes, which traverses them from south-east to north-west, in a line nearly parallel with the coast, the bendings and windings of which it follows with remarkable fidelity. Humboldt, who has carefully traced the course of these mountains, describes them as separating in the vicinity of the celebrated city of Potosi, in 19. 35. of south latitude, into two parallel chains. These, however, reunite at the northern extremity of the great basin of Lake Titicaca, between latitude 14. and 15., and so form again an undivided ridge, which runs parallel with the coast line to the northern extremity of Peru, and beyond it. There are, however, other chains, apparently branches of the grand ridge, which have a general bearing from south to north, and in some parts enclose elevated tracts of table-land. In the western or Pacific ridge', immense summits are seen from the cities on the coast, towering in lofty succession above the region of perpetual snow; but the mightiest part of the range is situated in Bolivia. Between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean extends the plain or western part of Peru, and few countries of the globepresent a more singular physical character. It is a belt Or zone of sand nearly two thousand miles in length, and the average breadth of which is not more than thirty miles. In some parts it is as little as seven, and in others it exceeds fifty miles in width; and in this enormous stretch of country, the general character of which is aridity, there are intervals of many leagues between the different towns and cities, in which neither inhabitants nor any traces of vegetation are visible. No rain falls throughout the whole of this desolate Sahara of the west, and thunder and lightning are unknown. In explanation of these singular circumstances, it has been conjectured, that the chain of the Andes, which [7:17:302]runs along its eastern boundary like an immense rampart, to repel the encroachments of the deep, intercepts the clouds which come laden with moisture from the Atlantic, and that the constant winds from the south drive the vapours that collect in the antarctic circle beyond the limits of Peru before they discharge their humidity. But, as a compensation for the want of rain, there is uniformly a very heavy fall of dew during the night; and the country is also intersected by rivers, streams, and torrents, by which, at intervals, strips of the long and dreary waste are redeemed from natural sterility. The insulated valleys thus formed constitute the whole habitable parts of Western or Lower Peru, as it is sometimes called; but they are situated from twenty to ninety miles apart. The banks of the water-courses are the parts which, by being laboriously irrigated, are rendered fruitful, and peopled in proportion to the supply of water. During the season when the snows of the Andes melt, the rivers swell to a prodigious extent, and can only be crossed by means of a balsa, which is a raft or frame-work fastened upon four bulls’ hides sewed up, made air-tight, and filled with wind. A few of the large rivers reach the sea, but the smaller ones are exhausted in irrigating the cultivated patches, or are absorbed by the encompassing desert. “No stranger can travel from valley to valley,” says Miller, “as the inhabited strips are inappropriately called, without a guide; for the only indication that the desert has been trodden before, is an occasional cluster of bones, the remains of beasts of burden that have perished. The sand is frequently raised into immense clouds by the wind, to the great annoyance of the traveller, who generally rides with his face muffled up.” The habitable parts of Western Peru, therefore, are merely a series of oases in a great desert of sand, similar to those of Africa. It presents great inequalities of surface, and some of the sand-hills attain the elevation of mountains. But size is a relative term; and in the presence of the stupendous back-ground of the Andes, which lessens all neighbouring objects, they shrink into mere hills of diminutive size. The constant evaporation which is continually going on, as is evinced by the great nocturnal fall of dew, produces a haziness in the atmosphere, and the sun seldom appears with that brilliancy which it displays in the higher levels. Indeed, for six months of the year, a fog, which is considered as very beneficial, hangs over the country; and although, at the most, it attaches itself as a fine mist to woollen clothing, the Limanese call it aquaceros, a torrent. The heat is seldom so intense as to prevent the labourers from working in the open air, and the thermometer rarely rises to above seventy-five degrees. The medium height throughout the year, in which there is little variation, is about sixty-four degrees. In this district are produced most of the tropical plants. The plantain, banana, pine-apple, sugar-cane, vine, cocoa, olive, coffee, and cotton, as well as the most delicious fruits, some peculiar to the country, arrive at great perfection.

As we advance from the coast towards the Andes, vegetation becomes more luxuriant, for as the growth of plants depends upon the supply of water, that supply is greatest the nearer we approach to the sources of the streams. The range of the Andes nearest to the Pacific Ocean commences generally with hills of moderate elevation, but in some parts with bold, projecting, and abrupt precipices. The sides of these hills are covered with forests, rendered almost impenetrable by the numerous parasitical plants which twine around the lofty trees, and, whilst by their verdure they give beauty to the scenery, prevent the access of visitants until a path be cut out by severe labour. These forests, hundreds of leagues in extent, afford acacias, mangle trees, arborescent brooms, and ferns; aloes and other succulent plants; cedars, cotton or Cuba trees of gigantic magnitude, many kinds of ebony, and other useful woods, many species of palms, and the maria, a tree of enormous size, used in ship-building. The valleys between the hills afford most of the trees which are natives of the tropics; but few of them are well fitted for the purposes of building.

The district called Higher Peru, commencing at the termination of the sands on the shore, continues increasing gradually in height towards the east, until the ridge of the Andes or the Cordilleras is attained. The line of perpetual snow is about 14,000 feet above the level of the sea, and from that line upwards vegetation necessarily ceases; below it, the plants, by regular gradations, display the nature of the climate, and its adaptation to the various families of vegetables; and, in different parts, exhibit every species of production which can be found, from the dwarf plants of Lapland, to the odoriferous spices of Sumatra.

This portion of Peru contains the sources of those vast rivers which traverse the whole continent of South America, and are the greatest on the face of the earth. Here the Maranon commences its unrivalled course; and here rise its magnificent tributaries, the Ucayalc, Huallaga, and others, which themselves are swelled by an innumerable multitude of streams, descending from the eastern ridges of the Andes, all being finally absorbed by the monarch of the waters. This mountainous region of Peru possesses large tracts of soil of great fertility, and a climate admirably adapted for raising food for man. The air is much purer and more salubrious here than on the coast, where its heat and humidity generate fevers. There is a great variety of climate in the Andes, as may easily be inferred from the character of the country, rising as it does from nearly the level of the sea to a height far above the line of perpetual refrigeration, and thus presenting on one and the same parallel of latitude the different climates of all the regions of the globe. The valleys and plateaus embosomed in these mountains, in spite of their vicinity to the region of eternal snow, enjoy a moderate climate, and are very fertile. These are eagerly sought as an abode, especially by the Indians; and by the productions here cultivated the inhabitants of the coast are almost entirely supported. The number of articles of culture might be still further increased, for many useful plants hitherto unknown might be naturalized, if care were taken to ascertain the locality, and the relative proportions of atmospheric heat which they require, previously to their being transplanted. In this mountainous district are situated the famous gold and silver mines of Peru, the source of its unrivalled wealth, and the cause of all the misery which it endured for three centuries of slavery and degradation. They are seated deep in the recesses of the Andes, and at great elevations, so that the climate is very cold, and alike unfavourable to vegetation and to the health of man. The celebrated mines of Pasco and Huancavelica are between 13,000 and 14,000 feet above the level of the sea.

But by far the largest, most beautiful, and most valuable part of the Peruvian territory lies to the east of the Andes, commencing on the eastern declivity of the second chain, and stretching to the confines of Brazil. In this vast region a thousand sources of wealth still lie buried, for the greater part of it may be said to be yet unknown, and the riches which it contains are immense. “Here are plains traversed by lower hills,” says Dr Poeppig, “covered with an ocean of foliage, vying in beauty with the climate of Chili, and far surpassing it in the abundance and luxuriance of its productions. To these join, within the extensive frontiers, those boundless plains, where gigantic rivers, which roll their broad waves through solitary forests, are the only means of communication between the widely-scattered dwellings of a very scanty population.”^[5. Poeppig’s Travels in Chili, Peru, and on the river Amazons, in the years 1827-32; a valuable German work on South America. ] In a word, as far as we are acquainted with this region, it appears to rival the finest parts [7:17:303]of Brazil in fertility, luxuriance, and variety of vegetation; and the world does not present ns with any higher standard of comparison. The vast plains in which the declivities of the Andes terminate are called sometimes Pampas del Sa-, cramento, or more usually Collona, or the Land of the Missions. This name they owe to the Jesuits, whose zeal for the conversion of the natives induced them to penetrate these trackless solitudes, and to gladden them’ with the tidings of great joy. They planted a number of settlements throughout this vast unviolated wilderness, and, by collecting in villages the rude inhabitants, attempted to civilize them, not only by instilling into their minds the doctrines of religion, but by teaching them such arts as their limited natural talents enabled them to acquire. Many of these missions still exist, and, by the good which they have done and are still doing, they in some degree atone for the injuries inflicted on Peru by its subjugators. The Indian tribes who inhabit the Pampas are too numerous to be specified individually. They are small and scattered, with as many various languages as there are tribes or divisions, and differing much from each other in the degree of civilization to which they have attained. Some of them are docile and cheerful; others are savage and warlike, and continually in a state of hostility with one another. The banks of the Huallaga, the Ucayalc, and other great rivers, are the parts most thickly peopled by the Indian tribes. The Pampas are represented as being covered with trees and verdure, and yielding balsams, oils, gums, resins, and many valuable drugs, spices, and other rare productions. The trees are lofty, and form impenetrable forests, in which wander all the animals peculiar to the torrid climate of America.

The following excellent account of a very interesting portion of this vast territory is by a recent explorer of these regions. “The Pampa del Sacramento was so called from its having been discovered by some of the newly converted Indians in 1726, on the day of the festival of Corpo de Dios. It comprises the greatest part of the land lying between the Huallaga, the Ucayale, the Maranon, and the Pachitea (an upper tributary of the Ucayale, which rises near Pasco); and it is remarked with apparent justice in the Viagero Universal, that the two continents of America do not contain another country so favourably situated or so fertile. It is about three hundred miles long from north to south, and from forty to about a hundred in breadth. Two of its boundary rivers, the Maranon and Ucayale, are at all times navigable for vessels of large burden, and the other two for boats and small craft. There arc a great many streams which rise in the centre of the district, some of which fall into the Ucayale, and others into the Huallaga, most of which are navigable for canoes and flat-bottomed boats at all seasons; those which fall into the former of these rivers are the most considerable, viz. the Pachitea, the Aguaytia, the Cuxhiabatay, and the Santa Catalina. The northern part is much intersected by channels from the Huallaga to the Maranon, which afford great facilities for communication. This part of the Pampa appeared to be quite flat and thickly covered with trees, some of which were large, and the soil a red clay. The level extends as far south as Sarayacu, in the neighbourhood of which, and across the Huallaga, it rises into gentle hills. Farther southward we had no opportunity of seeing the country, except upon the banks of the Huallaga, which were generally level, but occasionally intersected by hills, which, indeed, near the Pongo, and from the Caracol, where we embarked on the river, to Juana del Rio, are entitled to the designation of mountains. The hills which are marked in Mr Arrowsmith’s map of Peru and Bolivia, published in 1834, as the east branch of the Andes, are not deserving of the name of mountains. The productions of the Pampa, as we learned from Padre Plaza (the present missionary priest) are all indigenous, and in general spontaneously produced. The earth supplies vegetables sufficient for the consumption of the inhabitants; and the rivers furnish an inexhaustible store of delicious fish of various kinds. The beasts in the forest are the same as are to be found in all parts from the Huallaga to Para. By the Padre’s account, however, they are not numerous, from the great destruction of them by the Indians, which is sometimes wanton. There is an almost endless variety of beautiful birds, many of which are excellent food. The vegetable kingdom, which has hitherto been unexplored by botanists, rivals in beauty and fragrance that of any other part of the world. The climate seems very much like that of the island of Madeira. During our stay at Sarayacu, we registered the thermometer three times a day, and its minimum and maximum were 75° and 85° of Fahrenheit, and the sun at this time passed over our zenith. Padre Plaza told us, that in the dry season, that is, in June, July, and August, the temperature is extremely even, and the heat by no means oppressive, as it is allayed by refreshing breezes, which generally blow in the contrary direction to the current of the river. In December, January, and February, fevers and agues sometimes make their appearance, but are rarely attended with fatal consequences, when the parties affected take proper care, which these people, however, are not apt to do.”^[6. Journey from Lima to Para across the Andes, by Lieutenant Smyth and Mr F. Lowe, p. 200 et seq. 1836. ] This fine and fertile garden of nature is inhabited by ten distinct tribes of Indians, differing considerably from one another in their manners and habits.

The Spaniards, and even the Peruvians before them, made little progress to the east of the stupendous barrier of the Andes, which indeed must for ever prove a great natural disadvantage to the eastern provinces, in shutting them out, as it were, from communication with the western portion of Peru. And when to these obstacles we add the precipitous height of the eastern declivity of the mountain chain, the impracticable forests, the dangers to be apprehended from the barbarians which people them, the almost insufferable heats, the annoyance of the innumerable venomous insects and reptiles, and the many deep and impassable rivers; when these circumstances are considered, we may cease to wonder that the conquerors of Peru should have made small advances beyond the range of the Cordillera. The Gran-Chaco, or Great Desert; the countries between Paraguay and Chiquitos; those reaching from Moxos and Apolobamba to the rivers Amazons and Huallaga, and from the Apurus to the Ucayale, are regions almost wholly unknown to us. Wherever the interior has been penetrated, it has been by means of some of those mighty rivers which, descending from the Cordilleras, have forced, as it were, a natural outlet through the otherwise impassable and almost boundless forests below. It was not, however, from the coasts of Peru, and by proceeding in an easterly direction, that the Spaniards reached them. They were originally made known by adventurers from the south, who discovered them, after toiling up the long and arduous passage of the river Paraguay. The difficulties with which the nations to the eastward of the Andes have to contend in the transport of their productions across the Cordillera, of course add very greatly to the expense of these articles. Those of Chiquitos and Moxos are transported more than two hundred leagues to Lima, over a double range of the Andes; and if they are taken to Buenos Ayres the distance is tripled. Nothing but gold, silver, and precious stones can repay the enormous expense of transport on beasts of burden over such extensive tracts of country, beset with all but insurmount [7:17:304] able natural obstacles. It is not surprising, therefore, that with such impediments before them, the natives should relinquish the idea of cultivating the soil for the purpose of exportation, and remain content with raising what is barely sufficient for the supply of their own daily wants. But an entirely new road to Peruvian commerce might be opened by means of the vast rivers which traverse the country.

Amidst the various circumstances which distinguish Peru, there are some of the most calamitous and terrific description. The whole country is subject to the most violent convulsions of nature. Earthquakes are frequently felt in almost every part, and are sometimes accompanied with most extensive and fatal effects. The lofty chain of the Andes is a collection of volcanoes, some in constant activity, others occasionally ejecting inflammable substances; whilst there are many whose fires in the lapse of ages seem to have burned out. Electrical phenomena are frequent in the Andes of Peru, some of which are regarded with superstitious veneration by the Peruvian of the lower class. when he sees a silvery lustre glistening through the clouds at midnight from the summit of a lofty mountain, or a phosphorescent light shining in the wooded clefts of the lower Andes, he is immediately persuaded that there are either rich veins of gold or silver running along the surface, or that the buried treasures of the incas invite the bold adventurer to search for them, which he frequently does. Appalling visitations of thunder and lightning are not uncommon in all parts of Peru excepting the western coast.

In enumerating the productions of this country, we shall commence with those of the Pampas, where by far the most valuable of them are to be found. We pass over the flora, which is unusually rich and extensive, and also plants of a humbler character; for, although interesting to the man of science, they would form but a dry catalogue of botanical names to the general reader. The vegetables which at present form articles of use or commerce are, coffee, sugar, rice, maize, capaiva, sarsaparilla, Peruvian .bark, cotton, resin, cocoa, and gums, including copal and laurel wax, bees’ wax, and a variety of oils. Of dye-stuffs there are, anatto, amarillo, cani, mahogany-bark, indigo, shambo, morado, ensena which resembles logwood, and others. In describing the qualities of some of these, and the quantities in which they are produced, Thadeus Haenke observes, “The cocoa of Apolobamba, of Moxos, of Yu-racarees, and of all the woods which extend from thence to the shores of the Maranon, is infinitely superior to that of Guayaquil. The finest quality of carscarilla is only found on the eastern side of the Andes. Of the indigo there is no end; I can say the same of the cotton and the rice. The precious balsam of capaiva, the sarsaparilla, the gum-elastic, and the most fragrant species of vanilla, are all produced in extraordinary abundance in these regions. The mighty forests which line the shores of the rivers abound in the finest timber for all uses, especially for shipbuilding, and in trees distilling the most aromatic and medicinal gums. Amongst others there is a species of cinnamon, called by the natives the canela de clova, which only differs in the greater thickness of the bark and its darker colour, according to its age, from that found in the East Indies, and which is as fragrant as the spice from which it takes its name.”^[7. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. v. p. 97-8, 1835. ] Lieutenant Smyth describes the woods as consisting of mahogany, cedar, asarquiro, nogal, almen-dra, huito, arabisa, chonta, spindo, and others. The fruits are the pine-apple, which attains an incredible size, the orange, chirimolla, lucuman, ciruellas, patillos, guayabas, figs, limes, citrons, papayas, melons, water-melons, lemons, granadas, granadillas, apples, avocater pears, olives, pomegranates, cherries, peaches, quinces, grapes in abundance, bananas, pepinos, plantains, guavas, peras, duraznos, strawberries, mulberries, and a number of others. There are a great variety of vegetables, including yucas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, mountain-cabbage, beans, and so forth. The grains usually cultivated are wheat, barley, and maize. In some parts excellent tobacco is raised; and in others large quantities of sweetmeats, both dry and in syrup, are made from peaches, quinces, and grapes, the latter being much esteemed. Gourds attain an enormous size in some districts, and are converted into all kinds of household utensils required by the Indians, even into wash-tubs, from which circumstance some idea of the magnitude of the vegetable may be formed. Huanuco, a place situated at 6300 feet above the level of the sea, in a beautiful valley upon the eastern side of the Andes, and seventy-four miles from Lima, is celebrated for the productiveness of its soil. Here grow all sorts of vegetables, and grains and fruits, the latter being produced in greater perfection than in any other part of Peru. There is a fruit called chonta, from which the Indians prepare an intoxicating liquor; but the staple article made use of for producing the effects of wine, spirits, or opium, is coca; and as this remarkable plant is very extensively cultivated, and has now become an indispensable necessary of life amongst the Indians of the Andes, it merits some attention.

The coca (Erythroxylon coca, Lam.) is a bush from six to eight feet in height, somewhat resembling a black thorn in its numerous small white blossoms and the lively bright green of its leaves. The latter, which are gathered and carefully dried, form an article of brisk trade, and the use of them seems as old as the first knowledge of the history of Peru. It is a stimulant, which acts upon the nervous system in the same manner as opium, and unhappily the use or abuse of it has degenerated into a vice, or rather a disease, which appears to be incurable. “The Indians of America,” says an able writer on this subject,^[8. Foreign Quarterly Review for April 1836. ] “especially those of the Peruvian Andes, notwithstanding the civilization which surrounds them, have a vague sense of their own incurable deficiency, and hence they are eager to relieve themselves, by violent excitements, from such melancholy feelings. This accounts not only for the use of coca, but also for the boundless love of spirituous liquors, which possesses scarcely any other people in the world in an equal degree. To the Peruvian the coca is the source of the highest gratification; for under its influence his usual melancholy leaves him, and his dull imagination presents him with images which he never enjoys in his usual state.” Dr Poeppig draws a melancholy picture of the dreadful effects of this insinuating drug, which gives rise to many diseases apparently in some degree peculiar to those who use it. A person abandoned to the use of coca is under the dominion of a spell so malignant that no earthly power can dissolve it, and so fascinating that no prospect of danger will deter him from gratifying his propensity. As soon as the longing for this intoxication becomes irresistible, the coquero sculks for concealment into solitary darkness, or flies from the face of man into the depths of the wilderness, where he makes choice of a tree, beneath the shade of which he flings himself down to enjoy his coca. Unheeded he observes night closing upon him, doubly awful in the gloomy forest; and tempests of wind and rain, the fury of the hurricane which uproots the oldest trees, the terrible roll of the thunder, augmented a thousandfold by the multiplied reverberations of the Andes, or the presence of the ounce, abroad for his nightly prey, and grow ling at his feet, all are insufficient to appal the debauchee, or rouse him from his lethargy. In two days he generally returns, pale, trembling, his eyes sunk, the most fearful picture of unnatural[7:17:305] indulgence which humanity ever presented. He who has once been seized with this passion, and is placed in a situation that favours its development, is considered as a lost man. Dr Poeppig informs us that there are many instances of young men of good families amongst the whites and Creoles, who, having obtained a relish for coca, were from that moment lost to the civilized world. Shunning society, they retreated into the most unfrequented parts of the wilderness, and there, degraded, and sunk into half savages, they fell victims to premature death, through the immoderate use of this intoxicating herb.

The grapes are so abundant in some parts that large quantities of wine might be made for exportation; but no more is produced than is needed, and a little is even imported. Strong liquors, such as brandy and rum, are distilled; and oil is made from the olive. The various kinds of capsicums are cultivated with more attention and skill than almost any other plants, and, when dressed in various ways with garlic, form a most important article of food to the greater portion of the inhabitants. The celebrated Paraguay tea is likewise a very common beverage. Another liquor in universal use is chica, which, from having been found in the tombs of the aborigines, is proved to have been used by them prior to the conquest. The chica of the present day is of the consistence of milk, of a yellowish colour, and, when poured from one vessel into another, froths like beer. Its taste is generally acid, but when very good the acidity is scarcely perceptible. It is made by steeping Indian corn in water till it swells, after which it is dried and ground. The flour and bran are boiled in water, strained, and left to ferment four and twenty hours, when it is fit for use. Sugar is occasionally added; and with eggs it is sometimes made into flip.

The zoology of Peru has not received that attention which has been bestowed upon the vegetable kingdom by the distinguished travellers Humboldt and Bonpland. The three most celebrated animals of the Peruvian Andes are the lama, the vicugna, and the condor, an account of which is given in the article Bolivia. The demand for animal food is but small, and hence little attention has been paid to the breeding, and none to the fattening, of cattle. Neither cows nor sheep are numerous; those found in the country are the progeny of the breed brought originally from Europe. In the mountainous districts, between Huamanga and Cuzco, both butter and cheese are made; but in the lower country, oil is the universal substitute for the former. Pigs are bred in great numbers in the more elevated districts. The whole coast is well stored with fish of every kind. The natives of the Indian villages on the shore are very dexterous in catching them; and, with the addition of capsicum and garlic, they form the chief part of their subsistence.

Peru is proverbial for its richness in mines of gold and silver, especially the latter, although the former is proportionally plentiful. “Gold,” says Thadeus Haenke, “and it is the finest in the world, is found there in such abundance, that I have no hesitation in saying there is scarcely a pass in the mountains where it is not to be discovered, although in some parts it may be of easier access than in others, and better known.” The quantity of gold produced in Peru arises partly from some mines in the province of Tarma, and partly from washings established on the rapid mountain torrents. The latter, however, have in many instances been abandoned. The principal silver mines are situated in the Cerro de Pasco (see the article Pasco). There are also mines of quicksilver, which, however, are now exhausted, or nearly so.^[9. For a particular account of the mines of Peru, the quantities which they have produced, and their actual condition, see the article Mines. ] Cobalt, antimony, and especially rock-salt, abound in Peru; but as these are, excepting the latter, found chiefly in the mountainous districts, the distance, and the want of roads, render their conveyance too expensive to enable them to be advantageously carried to any market of consumption. There are a few mines of copper and of lead, which, from the same causes, are worked on a very contracted scale. In the northern territory there are said to be mines of sulphur which remain unworked, and bituminous pitch is found in the same quarter. Dr Meyen^[10. Meyen, Voyage round the World, Berlin, 1835. ] mentions that Tarapaca, in the department of Arequipa, has received from nature a peculiar present in its woodmines, which the inhabitants use as fuel in their saltpetre works, although probably there is not a single tree in all the surrounding country. This substance is not coal, but is stated to be dry timber, easily cleft, immense forests of which are buried under the sand of that plain. The trees all lie prostrate, with their tops towards the coast, and the timber is found exceedingly useful, burning with a flame as bright as that of common wood.

Amongst the antiquities of Peru may be numbered Cuzco itself, and the ruins of other cities or towns, which have been much more recently discovered, and to which we have already alluded. There are also extensive remains of fortifications; and a great number of tumuli or sepulchral mounds are found widely scattered over the country. In these, relics of various kinds have been discovered, such as gold and silver ornaments, warlike weapons, and household utensils, comprising jars of earthenware, with figures upon them, which proves that the Indians were acquainted with pottery. Dr Poeppig informs us, that the mania of digging for treasures annually destroys in Peru many ancient and remarkable remains. Wherever the Peruvian beholds tumuli evidently raised by the hand of man, or an ancient building indicates the former abode of an exterminated people, he immediately suspects the existence of the guacas or caverns, which were filled by the incas at the time of the conquest with gold and precious stones, and forgotten at the premature death of these chieftains, who had buried their treasures from a sense of duty, and not chosen any persons as the depositaries of their secret. The work of demolition immediately commences; the abodes of the dead are rudely violated, and in their eagerness to find what alone to them is valuable, the Peruvians, and the Spaniards likewise, pay little attention to the preservation of the other interesting relics, but carelessly break them to pieces, and scatter them about. There will soon not be a tumulus left in the country. The most absurd fables have been invented and set afloat in connection with the favourite hypothesis of vast treasures remaining yet undiscovered. According to a tradition coeval with the conquest of the city of Cuzco, there is in a mountain lake in its vicinity a gold chain which went twice round the market-place, and of such large proportions that an Indian could with difficulty carry a single link of it.

The manufactures of Peru are inconsiderable, and consist chiefly of those homely articles which are required by the poorer classes of the community. On the high land, where warm clothing is necessary, the want is chiefly supplied by a species of long-woolled baize, made from the fleeces of the aboriginal sheep, and in some instances from the wool of sheep of the European breed. In the valleys, and on the coast, where the heat forbids the use of woollens, cotton cloths are made, but of a very inferior texture. The Indians manufacture a variety of cotton fabrics, which are consumed in the country, such as counterpanes with raised figures. Straw-hats of a variety of colours, perates or mats, and segarreros, also form part of their manufactures[7:17:306]; and they likewise execute a very fine filligree work of gold and silver. Goat-skins are made into good cordovan. Tanning, soap-making, distilling, saltpetre, and other manufactures, are also amongst the items of productive industry; but Peru looks to Europe for a great part of the necessaries as well as the Iuxuries of life. In dyeing the cloths, whether of woollen or cotton, the natives make use of plants which are scarcely known in Europe, or at least have not been applied to the same purpose. The dress of the Peruvians is very simple, consisting of a square cloth, with a hole in the centre, through which the head is thrust, and which falls before and behind so as to defend the whole body. The head is generally covered with a hat made of the straw of the maize, which is as large as, and serves the purpose of, an umbrella.

The foreign trade of Peru is principally carried on with the united kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, into which the following articles were imported during the year ending January 1836.^[11. Extracted from the parliamentary papers for the year 1836. The quantities are given in round numbers. ] Goods exported from Peru to Great Britain. — Pot and pearl ashes, 9 cwts.; Peruvian bark, 160,152 lbs.; untanned hides, 3526 cwts.; saltpetre and cubic nitre, 41,354 cwts.; undressed seal-skins, 2222; unrefined sugar, 5782 cwts.; cotton-wool, 105,661 lbs.; sheeps’wool, 908,626 lbs.; about four cwts. of molasses; and some other articles, including a considerable quantity of gold and silver specie.

Goods imported into Peru from Great Britain. — Cotton manufactures entered at value, L.403; wheat, meal, and flour, 833 cwts.; plain linens and diaper, 1282 pieces; quicksilver, 12,025 lbs.; foreign thrown silk, 1370 lbs.; silk manufactures of Europe, 4098 lbs., and of India, 415 pieces; spirits, viz. rum, gin, and brandy, in nearly equal quantities, 11,794 proof gallons; wines of all sorts, 16,529 gallons; ale and beer, nine tuns; tea, 134 lbs.; apparel, slops, and haberdashery, L.3312 of declared value; arms and ammunition, L.332 do.; brass and copper manufactures, L.806 do.; cotton manufactures, 9,886,075 yards, the declared value of which was L.283,007; hosiery, lace, and small wares, L.9873; cotton twist and yarn, L.380; earthenware of all sorts, L.4193; glass, L.5317; hardwares and cutlery, L.I5,039,∙ beaver and felt hats, L.475; iron and steel, wrought and unwrought, L.4174; leather, wrought and unwrought, 2481; saddlery and harness, L.145; linen manufactures, 685,250 yards, declared value, L.29,736; machinery and mill-work, L.808; painters’ colours, L.569; plate, jewellery, &c. L.215; salt, 2000 bushels; silk manufactures, L.8758; soap and candles, 40,224 lbs.; stationery of all sorts, L.755; tin and pewter wares and tin plate, L.1946; woollen manufactures, L.63,559; woollen hosiery and small wares, L.1117; cinnamon, 918 lbs.; gum-arabic, 13 cwts.; and there were, besides, small quantities of cocoa-nuts, nutmegs, pepper, refined sugar, rhubarb, coffee, tin, butter and cheese, coals, culm and cinders, cordage, and so on. The total declared value of British and Irish produce and manufactures imported into Peru during the year 1835 was L.441,324. By comparison with former years this shows a decided increase of our trade with Peru. In 1827 it was L.228,466; in 1830, L.368,469; in 1832, L.275,610; in 1833, L.387,524; and in 1834, L.299,235. This shows remarkable fluctuations; but these must for the most part be attributed to the political agitations of the country.

The trade of the United States with Peru is next in importance to that of Great Britain, and it displays the same fluctuations, and likewise the same increase on a number of years. The exports from Peru into the United States during the year 1835 amounted to 1,118,278 dollars. During the previous year the amount was only 618,412 dollars. A considerable quantity of gold and silver specie is imported into the United States from Peru. The imports into Peru from the United States consist of flour in very considerable quantities, raw cotton, beef and pork, butter and lard, candles, soap, chairs, cider, gunpowder, turpentine, linseed oil, tobacco, wax, quicksilver, German linen, Russian sheetings, and steel. It will be seen that these articles are for the most part different from those imported into the country by Great Britain.

The trade of Peru with France is likewise considerable. The gold and silver specie, the bark, tin, skins, hides, and other productions of the former, being exchanged for the silks, brandy, wine, and other commodities of the former. With Spain likewise a trade of much the same nature is carried on. Quantities of specie and a few other articles are sent to Genoa, Canton, and other ports. From Paraguay large quantities of the Paraguay tea are introduced. It must be observed with regard to the trade of Peru, that a considerable quantity of the produce of the country is imported into Great Britain and other places at second-hand from Buenos Ayres and Valparaiso. Indeed, much of the foreign trade of Peru is carried on through the medium of Buenos Ayres.

Peru carries on some trade with Chili, and also with the states to the north of its own territory. Timber for the construction of ships and houses is brought from Guayaquil, and indigo from Mexico Large quantities of wheat are imported from Chili; for although Peru might easily raise a sufficiency of all kinds of cerealia to supply its own consumption, it has never been able to do so. A few years ago a heavy duty was imposed on the wheat imported from Chili, with the view of encouraging its cultivation at home. But the Chilians became indignant, and reciprocated by imposing a duty of twelve dollars per quintal on the importation of Peruvian sugars. The Peruvian congress then proposed to admit into their ports all foreign vessels at reduced duties, on condition of not touching previously at any Chilian port. The two states thus view each other with a jealous eye in their commercial affairs, and also in other respects. The moneys, weights, and measures are the same as those of Spain.

The following is an abstract of the commercial treaty lately concluded between Great Britain and the Peruvio-Bolivian Confederation.^[12. Treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation between his Majesty William IV. and the Peruvio-Bolivian Confederation, signed at Lima, õth June 1837. Parliamentary Papers for 1838. ] It is agreed that there shall be perpetual amity and freedom of commerce between Great Britain and these countries, complete protection and security to person and property being afforded; but that the coasting trade shall be confined to national vessels. That Peruvio-Bolivian vessels, in trading with Great Britain, shall enjoy the same privileges as the traders of the most favoured nation, duties and other charges being the same; and this stipulation is reciprocal. After the expiration of fifteen years, it is agreed that there shall be no distinction between Peruvio-Bolivian and British vessels in entering each other’s ports. To avoid future misunderstanding, it is also agreed that, for fifteen years, any ship, the property of a citizen of the Peruvio-Bolivian Confederation, and of which the master and three fourths of the crew are such, shall be placed on the same footing as a national vessel, that is, a vessel built in the country; but after the period specified expires, the sovereign of Great Britain is to possess the right of restricting the privileges enjoyed by a ship of either country to such as are actually built in that country, taken in war, or condemned for trading in slaves. That the citizens and subjects of the contracting parties, in the territories of each [7:17:307] other, shall be placed upon the same footing as the natives, with the privilege of exemption from all compulsory military services, exactions, or requisitions, and from forced loans. That liberty of conscience and freedom of religious exercises be enjoyed; and that the Peruvio-Bolivian Confederation shall co-operate with Great Britain for the total extinction of the slave-trade. There are some other stipulations in the treaty, but these, being of minor importance, do not require particular mention.

Peru labours under disadvantages exceedingly unfavourable to its commerce. On the whole Pacific coast, for about two thousand miles, there are only three or four ports capable of admitting vessels of any size, viz. Callao, the port of Lima; Arica, a port of Arequipa, and a miserable place, although resorted to by trading vessels, for want of a better, it is presumed; and Islay, the new port or harbour of the city of Arequipa. It is supposed that the commerce will increase when the port of Arica is closed, which has been contemplated by government. Farther north is the port of Pisco, a small place, but enjoying some share of maritime commerce, although not a port of entry. From Callao to the confines of Colombia there does not appear to be one port worthy of the name, if we except Pacasmayo, the port of Truxillo, which is a wretched place, and Paita, the port of Piura. Add to this disadvantage that of the barrier of the Andes, which cuts off all communication, except at a great expense, between the richest part of the country and the coast where its native wealth might be readily exported. These are heavy drawbacks on all commercial industry; and, as the latter is an insurmountable difficulty, the Peruvian government must look to another quarter for an outlet for the produce of the country. This is to be found in the numerous large and navigable rivers which traverse the regions situated between the Andes and the Amazons, the great natural drain of all these territories. The advantages which Peru would derive from commercial intercourse with civilized nations are too great and too obvious to be overlooked by the government, if tranquillity were only permanently restored. But as long as these republics continue to tear each other to pieces, and exhaust their resources in fruitless warfare, little improvement in commerce or amelioration of their social condition is to be anticipated. In reference to the navigation of the Amazons and its affluents, it has been well observed by an able writer—“The time appears to be now arrived, when the solution of the question touching the course of the great rivers that empty themselves into the Amazons between the Huallaga and the Madeira may be expected. And we anticipate with confidence, that a question of so great importance in a commercial point of view, will not escape the notice of the patriotic government of Bolivia, and of its highly gifted president Santa Cruz; and that, ere long, the productions of the rich provinces of Apolobamba, Moxos, and of the other countries situated on the eastern declivity of the Andes, will find their way to European markets by the less circuitous route of the Amazon and its confluents.”^[13. Journal of the Geographical Society, vol. vi. p. 186, 1836. ]

It is nearly impossible to obtain precise information as to the amount of the present revenues of Peru. Under the colonial government of Spain, the revenues of the crown amounted, communibus annis, to about 6,000,000 of dollars, and the expenditure to about 3,200,000; the balance being annually remitted to the parent state. The present revenue has been estimated at L.1,250,000, the expenditure at a little less than that sum, and the national debt at about L.6,000,000. In the year 1832, it was agreed to between the states of Peru and Bolivia, that for the future the former should be obliged to maintain a military force of 3000, and the latter of 2000 men, and that neither power should be at liberty to augment its army without the consent of the other. The naval force is very small, consisting of one frigate, two corvettes, and two galliots; but this must be considered as the peace establishment. When the country is at war, it will be necessary to increase the military force considerably.

According to the constitution of 1828, the religion of the republic is the Roman Catholic and apostolic. “The nation permits it by all the means that conform to the spirit of the evangelist, and will not permit the exercise of any other.” It may be mentioned, that a similar article is found in the Chilian constitution of May 1833. The question of religious toleration gave rise to very animated discussions in both countries, and called forth all the powers of the author of Cartas Peruanas, in support of the exclusive exercise of the Catholic religion, and the supremacy of the pope. The -work here mentioned was an examination of the evidences of Christianity, and was published to neutralize the bad effects of the infidel and irreligious books which some interested persons had disseminated throughout the country during the revolutionary agitations. Education is said to be at a low ebb. There is a university at Lima, which in 1831 had fifty-five students. This institution is the most ancient and the most celebrated in all South America. There are a number of colleges, and a national library, which is one of the richest in the New World. Ten or twelve journals are published in Lima; indeed, if this city were to be taken as a fair criterion by which to judge of the state of literature and learning in Peru, we might be led to form a very high estimate of it, for it concentrates nearly the whole in itself. But, since the revolution, extensive arrangements have been made for the general diffusion of knowledge amongst the people.

South Peru is divided into the departments and provinces specified in the following table.
[table]

North Peru is divided in the same manner. The new department called the Pampas has been formed out of the territories of Junin and Truxillo; but as its extent and divisions have not yet been described in any work on Peru, we are under the necessity of giving the local geography of this republic as it stood in 1835-1836.
[7:17:308]
[table]

The total population, as stated above, is 1,249,723; but it is now (1838) estimated at 1,700,000. The inhabitants of Peru consist of three original castes; Spaniards, Indians, and negroes. The secondary species arising from these three are, the mulatto, from the Spaniard and negro; the quarteroon, from the mulatto and Spaniard; and the mestizo, from the Spaniard and Indian. The other subdivisions are as numerous as the possible combinations of the primitive castes. The Indians or native Peruvians are still the most numerous class throughout the country. They present nothing of the fierce and untamed character of the Caribbs or Canadian Indians, but are timid, reserved, and of a melancholy temperament. Much of their apathy and insensibility is unquestionably natural to them, but it has been deepened and rendered more inveterate and habitual by ages of oppression. They are sunk in gross ignorance; but that they are incapable of being roused from their lethargy, and taught the arts of peace and civilization, is a gratuitous absurdity, which several of them have triumphantly refuted by making a distinguished appearance in the pulpit and at the bar. The manufacture of beautiful fabrics is quite common amongst them, and many of the tribes are indus trious agriculturists. They have been converted to Christianity; and they have wiped off the reproach of cowardice by their achievements during the war of independence, in which they generally took the part of the royalists. Yet they cherish a deep and mournful impression of the days of the incas; and in all the remote districts of the country the death of the last of the race is annually celebrated by a sort of rude tragedy, accompanied by plaintive and melting strains of music. The mixed races are more numerous than the pure Spaniards, although less so than the native Peruvians. According to Mr Stevenson, the mestizo is strong and swarthy, with very little beard, laborious, and well disposed; the mulatto is less robust, but acute, talkative, imaginative, and fond of dress and parade. In a public disputation at the university, a mulatto in the gallery will often help the embarrassed student out with his syllogism. The zambo, or mulatto and negro, is violent, morose, and stubborn, prone to many vices, and guilty of more robberies and murders than any of the other classes, excepting only the Chinos or negro-Indians, who are said to be the very worst mixed breed in existence; they are ugly, lazy, stupid, and cruel. (R. R. R.)