PRESENT STATE
OF
PERU.
PART I.
THE PERUVIAN TERRITORY.
GENERAL IDEA OF PERU.
THE productions of the foreign writers who have attempted to describe Peru, abound for the greater part in fictions and absurdities. Among the Spanish authors who have treated of that country, the earlier ones either compiled the relations of their own adventures, or introduced into their histories and annals what tradition had handed down to them. Of this class are Garcilaso, Herrera, Zarate, Gil Gonzales, &c. as are also all those by whom they have been followed, with the exception of Don Ulloa, who, in the history of his voyage to South America, has treated of the customs, manners, and diversions of the inhabitants. This illustrious author is the first among the Spanish writers, who, in describing these countries, has soared to the contemplation of man in his moral and physical relations.
From such loose materials as the above, and from the slight information which a few travellers have picked up in a cursory way, all the histories, reflections, charts, geographical tracts, and compendiums, which have been published respecting Peru on the banks of the Seine and of the Thames, have been compiled. The spirit of system, national prejudices, ignorance, and caprice, have by turns so much influenced the greater part of these productions, that the Peru which they describe to us, appears to be a country altogether different from the one with which we are practically acquainted.
The consequence which we deduce from this exposition is, that we may, without presumption, set out by giving a general sketch of Peru, without fearing to incur the imputation of plagiarism; and with the certainty of furnishing more precise, and, at the same time, more novel information, than any that has been hitherto given.
This great empire, the foundation of which by the Incas remains enveloped in the obscurity of a series of fables, and of an uncertain tradition, has lost much of its local grandeur since the time when it was stripped, on the north side, of the provinces which form the kingdom of Quito[1], and afterwards of those which, towards the east, constitute the viceroyalty of Buenos-Ayres[2]. Its present extent[3] in length runs, north and south, over a space of from four hundred and twenty to four hundred and fifty leagues, from two degrees to nearly twenty-three degrees of south latitude; and its greatest breadth is from one hundred to one hundred and twenty leagues, east and west, from two hundred and ninety-seven to three hundred and ten degrees of west longitude, the first meridian being taken at the Peak of Teneriffe. The river of Guayaquil divides it from the new kingdom of Granada on the north side. The depopulated territory of Atacama separates it from the kingdom of Chile towards the south. Another horrible desart, of more than five hundred leagues extent, separates it towards the east from the provinces of Paraguay and Buenos-Ayres; and lastly, the Pacific Sea washes its western shores.
A chain of barren and rugged mountains; several sandy plains, which in a manner reach from one extremity of the coast to the other; and several lakes of many leagues in extent, some of which are situated on the summits of the above chain of mountains, occupy a great part of the Peruvian territory. Throughout, the breaks, and the vallies, which enjoy the benefit of irrigation, present to the view an extensive range of delightful plains, replete with cities and towns, and the climate of which is highly salubrious. That of the elevated spots of La Sierra is extremely cold. In the pampas, or plains, of Bombon[4], Fahrenheit's thermometer is constantly at from thirty-four to forty degrees above zero.
The population of Peru, so far as relates to the original casts, is composed of Spaniards, Indians, and negroes. The secondary specieses best known, and proceeding from a mixture of these three, are the mulatto, the offspring of the Spaniard and negro woman; the Quarteron, of the mulatto woman and Spaniard; and the Mestizo, of the Spaniard and Indian woman. The final subdivisions which are formed by the successive mixtures, are as many as the different possible combinations of these primitive races.
The rural operations of sowing and planting, as well as domestic employments, have constantly fallen to the lot of the negroes. It is true, indeed, that within these four years past several white people have engaged in these different tasks. Prior to this, any one, neither a negro nor a mulatto, who should have hired himself as a valet or a labourer, would have been in a manner reputed infamous: to such a length was prejudice, or it may perhaps be said, pride, carried on this head. There are many enlightened politicians, who think it would be very unfortunate for the kingdom, and more especially for the capital, Lima, if this prejudice were to be entirely done away.
The commerce of Peru has been considerably augmented, since it has, by the arrival of the merchant vessels of Spain by Cape Horn, and by the grant of an unrestrained commerce, freed itself from the oppression under which it groaned in the time of the Galeons, and of the fairs of Porto-Bello and Panama. Prior to that epoch, the bulky and overgrown capitals circulated through, and were in a manner lost in, a few hands; and while the little trader tyrannized over the people, by regulating, at his own will, the prices of the various productions and commodities, he himself received the law from the monopolizing wholesale dealer. The negotiations of the capital with the interior were then, in a great measure, dependent on the intelligence and the decisions of the magistrates; and the commerce with Spain owed its best security to the circulation of the silver entered in the bills of lading. Commerce, on the other hand, being at this time subdivided into so many smaller branches, maintains a greater number of merchants; at the same time that the fortunes which accrue from it are not so numerous. It is necessary that a commercial man should combine his plans skilfully, and extend his speculations, to be enabled to acquire a handsome property.
The manufactures of this country consist almost entirely of a few friezes, the use of which is in a manner confined to the Indians and negroes. There are besides an inconsiderable number of manufactures of hats, cotton cloths, drinking glasses, &c. which do not, however, occupy much space in the scale of the riches of Peru. Sugar, Vicuna wool, cotton, Peruvian bark, copper, and cocoa (it is to be observed, however, that the two latter articles, as well as a considerable part of the Peruvian bark, are sent hither from Guayaquil, &c.), are the only commodities, the produce of our mines excepted, which we export.
The mines are the principal, it may indeed be said, the only source of the riches of Peru. Notwithstanding the little industry which is employed in working them, and the small help which commerce affords to the miners, 534,000 marks of silver, and 6,380 of gold, were smelted and refined last year (1790) in the royal mint of Lima; and 5,206,906 piastres[5], in both materials, were coined there[6].
From the mines of Gualgayoc[7], and from that of Pasco[8], about the one half of the silver which is annually smelted, coined, and wrought, is extracted. The mine of Guantajaya[9] is abundant in ores and rich metallic veins, but does not yield in proportion, in consequence of the dearness of every necessary, as well for working as for convenience and subsistence. On account also of its distance from the capital, the benefits which would otherwise arise from it are lost: the ores of thirty marks the caxon[10], do not pay themselves; and the same may be said of the products of the smaller and more superficial veins, which occasionally present themselves, and in which the silver is chiselled out. It is greatly to be hoped that the plan of transporting the produce of this mine to Calloa may be adopted, since such an expedient would not only cause the mine to flourish, but would be beneficial to all the adjacent provinces.
That of Guarochiri[11], the effects of the abundance of which are more immediately felt in the capital, does not flourish in a degree which should apparently correspond with the richness of its ores, and the abundance of its metallic spots and veins. The adoption of the newly introduced method of amalgamation; the employment of a sufficient number of Indian labourers, who may be engaged without difficulty; and a few reforms in the practical part of the laborious operations; these are the only principles on which this mine, as well as all the others in the kingdom, can be brought into a truly flourishing condition.
The navigation of Peru is limited. Our commerce in corn carries us to the ports of Chile; with Guayaquil we carry on a traffic in timber, &c.; and, lastly, we make a few voyages to Chiloe, Juan-Fernandes, Valdivia, and Panama. We navigate with economy and with ease; but are deficient in the scientific part, deriving no aid whatever from astronomy. Those who have the charge of our trading vessels have no skill beyond imitation. The hydrographical charts which are consulted, are, on many accounts, defective; and the situation of the coasts is more parallel than it is represented on them. On another hand, the fogs which almost constantly hover over the land, and hide it from the navigator's view, oblige him to make a circuitous course, by which his voyage is considerably protracted. Until about the year 1780, it was a source of vast riches to a commercial house to keep a vessel of its own employed in the coasting trade; but in proportion as mercantile speculations have been since multiplied, the price of freightage has been lowered, and the profits divided among a greater number of adventurers.
The fishery is a branch of industry exclusively belonging to the Indians situated on the coast; but they are destitute of skill, and, being at the same time unprovided with proper boats and fit instruments, keep constantly within sight of the coast, venturing but a very small distance to sea. Hence arise the scarcity and dearness of fish, so often experienced at Lima, and in all the places along the coast. A few years ago several boats of a particular construction were built, for the purpose of fishing throughout the whole extent of these seas; but this scheme was shortly afterwards abandoned. The lakes of Peru afford but few fishes. Were the Indian to resort to them, he would not estimate the fruit of his labours: content with his maize and his dried pease, he considers the multiplicity of foods as a voluntary surrender of health and life.
Agriculture might, generally speaking, be made to supply our wants, insomuch that our subsistence ought not to be so precarious as it is, nor so dependent on foreign aid. In the vallies adjacent to the capital, wheat may be cultivated with the greatest success. The bad, uneven roads, together with the delays and expence of carriage, almost entirely obstruct the internal circulation of this kingdom, and are so many obstacles in the way of agriculture. The valley of Jauja[12], affords many proofs in support of this proposition: the facility with which it sends its maize and other products to the mine of Pasco, keeps it in a most flourishing condition.
The natural history of Peru is fertile in prodigies. All the systems which have been formed in Europe on this subject, are capable of a thousand amplifications, whenever their theories shall be applied to our natural productions. The mountains of Chanchamayo, Huanuco, Lamas[13], &c. are so many privileged spots of Nature, relatively to the surprizing gaudiness and beauty of their productions. The intervention of several humid and hot climes, and the dread of the hostile Indians who inhabit them, have contributed to with-hold from us much information on this head: there is, however, a great scope for investigation and description; and accordingly the natural history of Peru will occupy no small space in our work.
Knowledge is general throughout Peru, as well on account of the natural quickness and penetration of its native inhabitants, as through their fondness for study. In whatever does not require a meditated combination of ideas, the fair sex has commonly the advantage over ours. The Royal University of St. Mark of Lima, and, proportionally, the other universities of this kingdom, form a centre of literature, which diffuses an abundant light to the whole of the circumference. Under their auspices, the moral and philosophical sciences have, latterly, made an incredible progress, having found their way into all the schools, and thence diffused themselves rapidly into every order of the state. It is our earnest wish that this philosophical light may, by its permanence and efficacy, influence and ameliorate the common system of education. It is on that score alone, in the acceptation which embraces the whole extent of the kingdom, that Peru is in some measure defective. A good taste, urbanity, and a social disposition, are the hereditary qualities of every Peruvian.
We have thus fulfilled our promise, by giving an idea of Peru in general terms, not subject to a determinate point, either of history or of literature. It is a prefatory introduction; or, if we may be permitted to adopt the phrase, a leisure composition, which will give us a greater facility in treating of the different subjects that regard the kingdom of Peru, as they may occasionally present themselves to our notice.
- ↑ In 1718.
- ↑ In 1778.
- ↑ The geographical map of Santa Cruz, and the hydrographical chart of Don Ulloa, inserted in the third volume of his voyage to South America, have been useful to us in fixing the longitudes and latitudes, respeding which Busching, Lacroix, and various other geographers, differ most essentially.
- ↑ These are plains of fifteen leagues in length, and five or six in breadth, which form a part of the sub-delegation of Tarma, and of the intendency of the same name: they are distant from Lima, in an eastern direction, forty leagues. The lake of Chincha-y-cocha intersects them in their length; and they constitute the most lofty and most level part of La Sierra.
- ↑ Dollars.
- ↑ In the former year, 1789, 3,570,000 piastres in silver, and 766,768 in gold, were coined.
- ↑ These mines are in the intendency of Truxillo, one hundred and seventy-eight leagues distant from Lima, and from Truxillo sixty-eight.
- ↑ Otherwise called the metallic mountain of Lauricocha. It is situated at the northern extremity of the plains of Bombon, and is distant from Lima forty-five leagues, and from Tarma twenty-two.
- ↑ This mine, which, in opposition to the laws Nature generally observes, is situated in a very hot and sandy soil, is comprehended in the province of Tarapaca, in the intendency of Arequipa. It is distant from that intendency eighty leagues, from Lima three hundred, and from the port of Iquique nearly two leagues.
- ↑ The caxon contains 6,250 pounds.
- ↑ This mine extends, in a manner, over the whole of the province bearing its name, the capital of which is the town of Guarochiri, distant from Lima seventeen leagues, and from Tarma twenty-eight. It belongs to the intendency of Lima.
- ↑ This valley, the circumference of which is not more than seventeen leagues, is extremely populous Atunjauja is the capital of the province of that name, dependent on the intendency of Tarma, from which it is distant ten leagues, and from Lima thirty-eight.
- ↑ The mountains of Chanchamayo are distant from Tarma twenty-five leagues. Those of Huanuco are distant from Lima about eighty leagues. The mountains of Lamas extend from Tefé, the boundary of the Portuguese possessions, to the confines of the intendency of Truxillo.