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POLITICAL    ESSAY 


KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN, 


CONTAINING 

I 

Researches  relative  to  the  Geography  of  Mexico, 

The  Extent  of  its  Surface  and  its  political  Division  into  Intendancies, 

The  physical  Aspect  of  the  Country, 

The  Population,  the  State  of  Agriculture  and  Manufacturing 

and  Commercial    Industry  ; 

The  Canals  projected  between  the  South  Sea  and  Atlantic  Ocean, 

The  Crown  Revenues, 

The  Quantity  of  the  precious  Metals  which  have  flowed  from  Mexico 

into  Europe  and  Asia,  since  the  Discovery  of  the 

New  Continent, 

And  the  Military  Defence  of  New  Spain. 

By  ALEXANDER  DE  HUMBOLDT, 

WITH 

PHYSICAL    SECTIONS    AND   MAFS, 

FOUND£II    ON    ASTRONOMICAL    OBSERVATIONS,    AND    TRIGONOMETRJLAi. 
AND    BAROMETRICAL    MEASUREMENTS. 


TRANSLATED    FROM    THE    ORIGINAL     FRENCH 

By  JOHN  BLACK„ 


VOL.  II. 

THIRD  EDITION. 
LONDON: 

^  PRINTED     FOR 

LONGMAN,  HURST,  REES,  ORME,  AND  BROWN, 

lATERNOSTER-ftOW. 
1822. 


B 
C 


BOOK  III.      7 
HAP.  Vlll.  J 


STATISTICAL  ANALYSIS 


OP 


THE    KINGDOM    OF 


NEW   SPAIN. 


Territorial   extent:    118,478  square   leagues*    (2,339,400 
myriares). 

Population  :  5,837,100  inhabitants, 

or  49  inhabitants  per  square  league  (2^  per  myriare). 

*  Of  25  to  the  degree.  —  Trans. 


VOL.  II. 


POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  iir. 


New  Spain  comprehends 

A.  Mexico  Proper  [el  Reyno  de  Mexico). 

Territorial    extent  :    51,280    square    leagues   (or 
1,015,640  myriares). 

Population  :  5,413,900  inhabitants, 

or  105  inhabitants  per  square  league. 

B.  Las  provmcias  interyias  orientales  y  occidentales. 

Territorial    extent:    59,375    square    leagues    (or 

1,323,760  myriares). 
Population  :  357,200  inhabitants, 

or  6  inhabitants  to  the  square  league. 


CHAP.  vi[i.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 


NEW  SPAIN. 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 

Population 

in 

1803. 

Extent 
of  Sur- 
face in 
square 
Leagues. 

No.  of 
Inhabi- 
tants 
to  the 
square 
League. 

I.  Intendancy  of  7 
Mexico.           J 

1,511,800 

5,927 

255 

1  HE  whole  of  this  intendancy  is  situated  under 
the  torrid  zone.  It  extends  from  the  16°  34>'  to 
the  21°  Ô7'  of  north  latitude.  It  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  the  intendancy  of  San  Luis  Potosi,  on 
the  west  by  the  intendancies  of  Guanaxnato  and 
Valladolid,  and  on  the  east  by  those  of  Vera  Cruz 
and  La  Puebla.  It  is  washed  towards  the  south 
by  the  South  Sea,  or  Great  Ocean,  for  a  length 
of  coast  of  82  leagues  from  Acapulco  to  Zacatula. 
Its  greatest  length  from  Zacatula  to  the  mines 
of  the  Doctor*  is  136  leagues;  and  its  greatest 


*  The  extreme  points  are  properly  situated  to  the  south- 
east of  Acapulco,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Nespa,  and  to 
the  north  of  the  Real  del  Doctor,  near  the  city  of  Vallès, 
which  belongs  to  the  intendancy  of  San  Luis  Potosi.  Places 
of  note  being  seldom   situated  on   the  very  boundaries,  \vc 

B    2 


4  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi, 

breadth  from  Zacatula  to  the  mountains  situated 
to  the  east  of  Chilpansingo  is  92  leagues.  In  its 
northern  part,  towards  the  celebrated  mines  of 
Zimapan  and  the  Doctor,  it  is  separated  by  a 
narrow  stripe  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Near 
Mextitlan,  this  stripe  is  only  nine  leagues  in 
breadth. 

More  than  two-thirds  of  the  •  intendancy  of 
Mexico  are  mountainous,  in  which  there  are  im- 
mense plains,  elevated  from  2000*  to  2300 1  me- 
tres above  the  level  of  the  ocean.  From  Chalco 
to  Queretaro  are  almost  uninterrupted  plains  of 
fifty  leagues  in  length  and  eight  or  ten  in  breadth. 
In  the  neighbourhood  of  the  western  coast  the  cli- 
mate is  burning  and  very  unhealthy.  One  sum- 
mit only,  the  Nevado  de  Toluca,  situated  in  a 
fertile  plain  of  2700Î  metres  in  height,  enters  the 
region  of  perpetual  snow.  Yet  the  porphyritical 
summit  of  this  old  volcano,  whose  form  bears  a 
strong  resemblance  to  that  of  Pichincha,  near 
Quito,  and  which  appears  to  have  been  formerly 
extremely  elevated,  is  uncovered  with  snow  in 
the  rainy  months  of  September  and  October. 
The  elevation  of  the  Pico  del  Fraile,  or  the  high- 


have  preferred  naming  those  which  are  nearest  to  them.  A 
glance  bestowed  on  my  general  map  of  New  Spain  will  serve 
to  justify  this  mode  of  indicating  the  boundaries  of  the  in- 
tendancies. 

*  6561  feet.     Trans.  f  ^S^S  feet.     Trans. 

%  8857  feet.     Tram. 


CHAP,  viir.j       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  5 

est  summit  of  the  Nevado  de  Toluca,  is  4620 
metres  *  (2370  toises).  No  mountain  in  this  in- 
tendancy  equals  the  height  of  Mont  Blanc. 

The  valley  of  Mexico,  or  Tenochtitlan,  of 
which  I  publish  a  very  minute  map,  is  situated 
in  the  centre  of  tlie  Cordillera  of  Anahuac,  on  the 
ridge  of  the  porphyritical  and  basaltic  amygda- 
loid mountains,  which  run  from  the  S.  S.E.  to 
the  N.N.W.  This  valley  is  of  an  oval  form. 
According  to  my  observations,  and  those  of  a 
distinguished  mineralogist,  M.  Don  Luis  Martin, 
it  contains  iirom  the  entry  of  the  Rio  Tenango 
into  the  lake  of  Chalco,  to  the  foot  of  the  Cerro 
de  Sincoque,  near  the  Desague  Real  of  Huehue- 
toca,  18i-  leagues  in  length,  and  from  S.  Gabriel, 
near  the  small  town  of  Tezcuco,  to  the  sources  of 
the  Rio  de  Escapusalco,  near  Guisquiluca,  12^ 
leagues  in  breadth,  t  The  territorial  extent  of  the 
valley  is  2441  square  leagues,  of  which  only  22 
square  leagues  are  occupied  by  the  lakes,  which 
is  less  than  a  tenth  of  the  whole  surface. 

The  circumference  of  the  valley,  reckoning 

*  15,156  feet.     Trans. 

\  The  maps  of  the  valley  of  Mexico  hitherto  published  are 
so  false,  that  in  that  of  M.  Mascaro,  annually  repeated  in  the 
almanac  of  Mexico,  the  above  distances  are  25  and  17  in- 
stead of  18  and  12  leagues.  It  is  from  this  map  undoubtedly 
that  the  archbishop  Lorenzana  gives  the  whole  valley  a  cir- 
cumference of  more  than  90  leagues,  while  the  amount  h 
almost  one-third  less. 

J3    S 


6  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

from  the  crest  of  the  mountains  which  surround 
it  like  a,  circular  wall,  is  67  leagues.  This  crest  is 
most  elevated  on  the  south,  particularly  on  the 
south-east,  wliere  the  great  volcanoes  of  La  Pue- 
bla,  the  Popocatepetl  and  Iztaccihuatl,  bound  the 
Viilley.  One  of  the  roads  which  lead  from  the 
valley  of  Tenochtitlan  to  that  of  Cholula  and  La 
Puebla  passes  even  between  the  two  volcanoes, 
by  Tlamanalco,  Ameca,  La  Cumbre,  and  La 
Cruz  del  Coreo.  The  small  army  of  Cortez 
passed  by  this  road  on  his  first  invasion. 

Six  great  roads  cross  the  Cordillera  which  in- 
closes the  valley,  of  which  the  medium  height  is 
3000  metres*  above  the  level  of  the  ocean,  1.  The 
road  from  Acapulco  to  Guchilaque  and  Cuerva- 
racca  by  the  high  summit  called  la  Cruz  del  Mar- 
quest  5  S.  the  road  of  Toluca  by  Tianguillo  and 
Lerma,  a  magnificent  causeway,  which  I  could 
not  sufficiently  admire,  constructed  with  great 
art,  partly  over  arches  ;  3.  the  road  of  Queretaro, 
Guanaxuato  and  Durango  el  cajiiino  de  iierra 
adentrOf  wliich  passes  by  Guautitlan,  Huehue- 

*  9842  feet.     Trans. 

■f  It  was  a  military  position  in  the  time  of  the  conquest. 
When  the  inhabitants  of  New  Spain  pronounce  the  word  el 
Marques,  without  adding  a  family  name,  the  name  of  Hernan 
Cortes,  Mav(jues  dc  el  Valle  de  Oaxaca,  is  understood.  In 
the  same  way,  el  Almirante  designates,  in  Spanish  America, 
Christopher  Columbus.  This  native  manner  of  expressing 
themselves  proves  the  respect  and  admiration  which  they 
preserve  for  the  memory  of  these  great  men. 


CHAP.viii.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  7 

toca,  and  the  Puerto  de  Reyes,  near  Bata, 
through  hills  scarcely  80*  metres  above  the 
pavement  of  the  great  square  {placé)  of  Mexico  ; 
4.  the  road  of  Pachuco,  which  leads  to  the  cele- 
brated mines  of  Real  del  Monte,  by  the  Cerro 
Ventoso,  covered  with  oak,  cypress,  and  rose 
trees,  almost  continually  in  flower  ;  5.  the  old 
road  of  La  Puebla,  by  S.  Bonaventura  and  the 
Llanos  de  Apan  ;  and,  6.  the  new  road  of  La 
Puebla  by  Rio  Frio  and  Tesmelucos,  south-east 
from  the  Cerro  del  Telapon,  of  which  the  dis- 
tance from  the  Sierra  Nevada,  as  well  as  that  from 
th&  Sierra  Nevada  (Iztaccihuatl)  to  the  great 
volcano  (Popocatepetl),  served  for  bases  to  the 
trigonometrical  operations  of  MM.  Velasquez 
and  Costanzo. 

From  being  long  acustomed  to  hear  the  capi- 
tal of  Mexico  spoken  of  as  a  city  built  in  the 
midst  of  a  lake,  and  connected  with  the  continent 
merely  by  dikes,  those  who  look  at  my  map  will 
be  no  doubt  astonished  on  seeing  that  the  centre 
of  the  present  city  is  4500  metres  t  distant  from 
the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  and  more  than  9000$  from 
the  lake  of  Chalco.  They  will  be  inclined,  there- 
fore, either  to  doubt  the  accuracy  of  the  descrip- 
tions in  the  history  of  the  discoveries  of  the  new 
world,  or  they  will  believe  that"  the  capital  of 


*  262  feet.     Trans.  f  14.,763  feet.     Trans. 

X  29,527  feet       Trans. 

li  4 


8  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  iif. 

Mexico  does  not  stand  on  the  same  ground  with 
the  old  residence  of  Montezuma*  :  but  the  city 
has  certainly  not  changed  its  place,  for  the  ca- 
thedral of  Mexico  occupies  exactly  the  ground 
where  the  temple  of  Huitzilopochtli  stood,  and 
the  present  street  of  Tacuba  is  the  old  street  of 
Tlacopan,  through  which  Cortez  made  his  fa- 
mous retreat  in  the  melancholy  night  of  the  1st 
of  July,  1520,  which  goes  by  the  name  of  iVoc/^e 
triste.  The  difference  of  situation  between  the 
old  maps  and  those  published  by  me,  arises  solely 
from  the  diminution  of  water  of  the  lake  of  Tez- 
cuco. 

It  may  be  useful  in  this  place  to  lay  before  the 
readers  a  passage  from  a  letter  addressed!  by  Cor- 
tez to  the  emperor  Charles  the  Fifth,  dated  30th 
October,  1520,  in  which  he  gives  the  description 
of  the  valley  of  Mexico.  This  passage,  written 
with  great  simplicity  of  style,  gives  us  at  the  same 
time  a  very  good  idea  of  the  sort  of  police  which 
prevailed  in  the  oldTenochtitlan.  "Theprovince 
in  which  the  residence  of  this  great  lord  Mutec- 
zuma  is  situated,'*  says  Cortez,  "  is  circularly  sur- 


*  The  true  Mexican  name  of  this  king  is  Moteuczoma. 
There  are  two  kings  of  the  name  in  the  genealogy  of  the 
Aztec  sultans.  The  first  was  called  Huehue  Moieuczoma, 
and  the  second,  who  died  prisoner  of  Cortez,  Moteuczoma 
Xocojotzin.  The  adjectives  before  and  after  the  proper  name 
signify  older  and  younger. 

f  Lorenzana. 

17 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  9 

rounded  with  elevated  mountains,  and  intersected 
with   precipices.     The  plain  contains  near  70 
leagues  in  circumference,   and  in  this  plain  are 
two  lakes  which  fill  nearly  the  whole  valley  ;  for 
the  inhabitants  sail  in  canoes  for  more  than  50 
leagues  round." — (We  must  observe  that  the  ge- 
neral speaks  only  of  two  lakes,  because  he  knew 
but  imperfectly  those  of  Zumpango  and  Xalto- 
can,  between  which  he  hastily  passed  in  his  flight 
from  Mexico  to  Tlascala,  before  the  battle  of 
Otumba.)    "  Of  the  two  great  lakes  of  the  valley 
of  Mexico,  the  one  is  fresh  and  the  other  salt 
water.     They  are  separated  by  a  small  range  of 
mountains  (the  conical  and  insulated  hills  near 
Iztapalapan)  j  these  mountains  rise  in  the  middle 
of  the  plain,  and  the  waters  of  the  lakes  mingle 
together  in  a  strait  between  the  hills  and  the  high 
Cordillera  (undoubtedly  the  eastern  declivity  of 
Cerros  de  Santa  Fe).     The  numerous  towns  and 
villages   constructed  in  both  of  the  two  lakes 
carry  on   their   commerce   by  canoes,  without 
touching  the  continent.     The  great  city  of  Te- 
mixtitan*  (Tenochtitlan)  is  situated  in  the  midst 
of  the  salt-water  lake,  which  has  its  tides  like  the 
sea  ;  and  from  the  city  to  the  continent  there  are 
two  leagues  whichever  way  we  wish  to  enter. 

*  Temistitan,  Temixtitan,  Tenoxtitlan,  Temihtitlan,  are 
all  vicious  alterations  of  the  true  name  of  Tenochtitlan.  The 
Aztecs,  or  Mexicans,  called  themselves  also  Tenochijues, 
from  whence  the  denomination  of  Tenochtillan  is  derived. 


10  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

Four  dikes  lead  to  the  city  :  they  are  made  by 
the  liand  of  man,  and  are  of  the  breadth  of  two 
lances.  The  city  is  as  large  as  Seville  or  Cor- 
dova. The  streets,  I  merely  speak  of  the  prin- 
cipal ones,  are  very  narrow  and  very  large  ;  some 
are  half  dry  and  half  occupied  by  navigable  ca- 
nals, furnished  with  very  well  constructed  wooden 
bridges,  broad  enough  for  ten  men  on  horseback 
to  pass  at  the  same  time.  The  market-place, 
twice  as  large  as  that  of  Seville,  is  surrounded 
with  an  immense  portico,  under  which  are  ex- 
posed for  sale  all  sorts  of  merchandize,  eatables, 
ornaments  made  of  gold,  silver,  lead,  pewter, 
precious  stones,  bones,  shells,  and  feathers;  delft 
ware,  leather,  and  spun  cotton.  We  find  hewn 
stone,  tiles,  and  timber  fit  for  building.  There 
are  lanes  for  game,  others  for  roots  and  garden 
fruits:  there  are  houses  where  barbers  shave  the 
head  (with  razors  made  of  obsidian)  ;  and  there 
are  houses  resembling  our  apothecary  shops, 
where  prepared  medicines,  unguents,  and  plas- 
ters are  sold.  There  are  houses  where  drink 
is  sold.  The  market  abounds  with  so  many 
things,  that  I  am  unable  to  name  them  all  to 
your  highness.  To  avoid  confusion,  every  species 
of  merchandize  is  sold  in  a  separate  lane  j  every 
thing  is  sold  by  the  yard,  but  nothing  has  hitherto 
been  seen  to  be  weighed  in  the  market.  In  the 
midst  of  the  great  square  is  a  house  which  I  shall 
call  FAinlkncia,  in  wliich  ten  or  twelve  persons 


CHAP.  VIII.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  11 

sit  constantly  for  determining  any  disputes  which 
may  arise  respecting  the  sale  of  goods.  There 
are  other  persons  who  mix  continually  with  the 
crowd,  to  see  that  a  just  price  is  asked.  We  have 
seen  them  break  the  false  measures  which  they 
had  seized  from  the  merchants." 

Such  was  the  state  of  Tenochtitlan  in  1520, 
according  to  the  description  of  Cortez  himself. 
I  have  sought  in  vain  in  the  archives  of  his  fa- 
mily, preserved  at  Mexico  in  the  Casa  del  Estado, 
for  the  plan  which  this  great  captain  ordered  to 
be  drawn  up  of  the  environs  of  the  capital,  and 
wliich  he  sent  to  the  Emperor,  as  he  says,  in  his 
third  letter  published  by  Cardinal  Lorenzana. 
The  Abbé  Clavigero  has  ventured  to  give  a  plan 
of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  such  as  he  supposes  it  to 
have  been  in  the  sixteenth  century.    This  sketch 
is  very  inaccurate,  though   much  preferable  to 
that  given  by  Robertson,  and  other  European 
authors  e(t][ualiy  unskilled  in  the  geography  of 
Mexico.     I  have  drawn  on  the  map  of  the  valley 
of  Tenochtitlan  the  old  extent  of  the  salt-water 
lake,  such  as  I  conceived  it  from  the  historical 
account  of  Cortez,  and  some  of  his  contempo- 
raries.    In  1520,  and  long  after,  the  villages  of 
Iztapalapan,    Coyohuacan,    (improperly   called 
Cuyacan),  Tacubaja,   and  Tacuba,  were  quite 
near  the  banks  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco.    Cortez 
says  expressly*,  that  the  most  part  of  the  houses 

*  Loiciuana,  p.  229.  195.  102. 


12  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi, 

of  Coyohuacan,  Culuacan,  Chulubuzco,  Mexi- 
caltzingo,  Iztapalapan,  Cuitaguaca,  and  Miz- 
queque,  were  built  in  the  water  on  piles,  so  that 
frequently  the  canoes  could  enter  by  an  under 
door.  The  small  hill  of  Chapoltepec,  on  which 
the  viceroy  Count  Galvez  constructed  a  castle, 
was  no  longer  an  island  in  the  lake  of  Tezcuco 
in  the  time  of  Cortez.  On  this  side  the  conti- 
nent approached  to  within  about  3000  metres* 
of  the  city  of  Tenochtitlan,  consequently  the 
distance  of  two  leagues  indicated  by  Cortez  in 
his  letter  to  Charles  V.  is  not  altogether  accu- 
rate :  he  ought  to  have  retrenched  the  one  half 
of  this,  excepting,  however,  the  part  of  the 
western  side  at  the  small  porphyritical  hill  of 
Chapoltepec.  We  may  well  believe,  however, 
that  this  hill  was,  some  centuries  before,  also  a 
small  island,  like  the  Peiiol  del  Marques,  or  the 
Periol  de  los  Banos.  It  appears  extremely  pro- 
bable, from  geological  observations,  that  the 
lakes  had  been  on  the  decrease  long  before  the 
arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  and  before  the  con- 
struction of  the  canal  of  Huehuetoca. 

The  Aztecs,  or  Mexicans,  before  founding  on 
a  groupe  of  islands  in  1325  the  capital  which  yet 
subsists,  had  already  inhabited  for  fifty-two  years 
another  part  of  the  lake  farther  to  the  south,  of 
which  the  Indians  could  never  point  out  to  me 

*  9842  feet.     'J'rans. 


CHAP,  viii.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  13 

the  site.  The  Mexicans  left  Aztlan  towards  the 
year  1160,  and  only  arrived,  after  a  migration  of 
56  years,  in  tlie  valley  of  Tenochtitlan,  by  Mali- 
nalco,  in  the  Cordillera  of  Toluca,  and  by  Tula. 
They  established  themselves  first  at  Zumpanco, 
then  on  the  southern  declivity  of  the  mountains  of 
Tepeyac,  where  the  magnificent  temple,  dedicated 
to  our  lady  of  Guadaloupe,  is  situated.  In  the 
year  1245  (according  to  the  chronology  of  the 
Abbé  Clavigero),  they  arrived  at  Chapoltepec. 
Harassed  by  the  petty  princes  of  Zaltocan,  whom 
the  Spanish  historians  honour  with  the  title  of 
kings,  the  Aztecs,  to  preserve  their  independence, 
withdrew  to  a  groupe  of  small  islands  called 
Acocolco,  situated  towards  the  southern  extre- 
mity of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco.  There  they  lived 
for  half  a  century  in  great  want,  compelled  to  feed 
on  roots  of  aquatic  plants,  insects,  and  a  pro- 
blematical reptile  called  a^olotl,  which  M. 
Cuvier  looks  upon  to  be  the  nympha  of  an  un- 
known salamander.  *  Having  been  reduced  to 
slavery  by  the  kings  of  Tezcuco  or  Acolhuacan, 
the  Mexicanswere  forced  to  abandon  their  village 
in  the  midst  of  the  lake,  and  to  take  refuge  on  the 
continent  at  Tizapan.     The  services  which  they 

*  M.  Cuvier  has  described  in  my  Recueil  d'Observations 
Zoologiques  et  d'Anatonie  comparée,  p.  119.  M.  Dumeril  be- 
lieves that  the  axolotl,  of  which  M.  Bonpland  and  myself 
have  brought  individuals  in  good  preservation,  is  a  new  spe- 
cies of  proteus.     Zoologie  Armlytique,  p.  93. 


14  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

rendered  to  their  masters  in  a  war  against  the  in- 
habitants of  Xochimilco  again  procured  them 
liberty.  They  established  themselves  first  at 
Acatzitzintlan,  which  they  called  Mexicalzingo, 
from  the  name  of  Mexitli,  or  Huitzilopochtli*, 
their  god  of  war,  and  next  at  Iztacalco.  They 
removed  from  Iztacalco  to  the  little  islands  which 
then  appeared  to  the  E.N.E.  of  the  hill  of  Cha- 
poltepec,  in  the  western  part  of  the  lake  of  Tez- 
cuco,  in  obedience  to  an  order  of  the  oracle  of 
Aztlan.  An  ancient  tradition  was  preserved 
among  this  horde,  that  the  fatal  term  of  their 
migration  was  to  be  a  place  where  they  should 
find  an  eagle  sitting  on  the  top  of  a  nopal,  of 
which  the  roots  penetrated  the  crevices  of  a  rock. 
This  nopal  (cactus),  alluded  to  in  the  oracle,  was 
seen  by  the  Aztecs  in  the  year  132o,  which  is  the 
second  Callif  of  the  Mexican  œra,  on  a  small 

*  Huitzlin  means  humming-bird  ;  and  opochtii  means  left; 
for  the  god  was  painted  with  humming-birds'  feathers  under 
the  left  foot.  The  Europeans  have  corrupted  the  word  huit- 
zilopochtli  into  huichilobos,  and  vizhpuzli.  The  brother  of 
this  god,  who  was  much  revered  by  the  inhabitants  of  Tez- 
cuco,  was  called  Tlaca-huepan-Cuexcotzin. 

f  As  the  first  Acatl  corresponds  to  the  year  1519,  the  se- 
cond Calli,  in  the  first  half  of  the  fourteenth  century,  can 
only  be  the  year  1325,  and  not  the  years  1324,  1327,  and 
1341,  which  the  translator  of  the  RaccoUa  di  Meiidoza^  as 
well  as  Siguenza,  cited  by  Boturini,  and  Betencourt,  cited 
by  Torquemada,  allege  to  have  been  the  date  of  the  founda- 
tion of  Mexico.  See  the  chronological  dissertation  of  the 
Abbé  Clavigero,  Storia  di  Messico,  T.  IV.  p.  54. 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  15 

island,  which  served  for  foundation  to  the  Teo- 
calli,  or  Teopan,  i.  e.  the  house  of  God,  after- 
wards called  by  the  Spaniards  the  Great  Temple 
of  Mexitli. 

The  first  TeocalU  around  which  the  new  city 
was  built  was  of  wood,   like  the  most  ancient 
Grecian  temple,  that  of  Apollo  at  Delphi,  de- 
scribed by  Pausanias.   The  stone  edifice,  of  which 
Cortez  and  Bernai  Diaz  admired  the  symmetry, 
was  constructed  on  the  same  spot  by  King  Ahuit- 
zotl  in  the  year  I486.    It  was  a  pyramidal  monu- 
ment, of  37  *  metres  in  height,  situated  in  the 
middle  of  a  vast  inclosure  of  walls,  and  consisted 
of  five  stories,  like  several  pyramids  of  Sacara,  and 
particularly  that  of  Mehedun,  The  Teocalli  of 
Tenochtitlan,  very  accurately  laid  out,  like  all  the 
Egyptian,  Asiatic,  and  Mexican  pyramids,  con- 
tained 97  metres  t  of  base,  and  formed  so  trun- 
cated a  pyramid,  that  when  seen  from  a  distance 
the    monument    appeared    an    enormous    cube 
with  small  altars,  covered  with  wooden  cupolas  on 
the  top.     The  point  where  these  cupolas  termi- 
nated was  54  metres  elevated  above  the  base  of 
the  edifice  of  the  pavement  of  the  inclosure.  X  We 
may  see  from  these  details  that  the  Teocalli  bore  a 
strong  resemblance  in  form  to  the  ancient  monu- 
ment of  Babylon,  calledbyStrabothe  Mausoleum 
of  Belus,  which  was  only  a  pyramid  dedicated  to 

*  121  feet.     Trans.  f  318  fee».     Trayis. 

%  177  feet.     Trans. 


16  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  iir. 

Jupiter  Belus.  *  Neither  the  Teocalli  nor  the 
Babylonian  edifice  were  temples  in  the  sense 
which  we  attach  to  the  word,  according  to  the 
ideas  derived  by  us  from  the  Greeks  and  Romans. 
All  edifices  consecrated  to  Mexican  divinities 
formed  truncated  pyramids.  The  great  monu- 
ments of  Teotihuacan,  Cholula,  andPapantla,  still 
in  preservation,  confirm  this  idea,  and  indicate 
what  the  more  inconsiderable  temples  were  in  the 
cities  of  Tenochtitlan  and  Tezcuco.  Covered  al- 
tars were  placed  on  the  top  of  the  Teocallis  ;  and 
these  edifices  must  hence  be  classed  with  the 
pyramidal  monuments  of  Asia,  of  which  traces 
were  anciently  found  even  in  Arcadia  j  for  the 
conical  mausoleum  of  Callistust  was  a  true  tu- 
mulus, covered  with  fruit  trees,  and  served  for 
base  to  a  small  temple  consecrated  to  Diana. 

We  know  not  of  what  materials  the  Teocalli  of 
Tenochtitlan  was  constructed.  The  historians 
merely  relate,  that  it  was  covered  with  a  hard  and 
smooth  stone.  The  enormous  fragments  which 
are  from  time  to  time  discovered  around  the  pre- 
sent cathedral  are  of  porphyry,  with  a  base  of 
griinstein  filled  with  amphibolous  and  vitreous 
feld-spath.  When  the  square  round  the  cathedral 
was  recently  paved,  carved  stones  were  found  at  a 
depth  of  ten  and  twelve  metres,  t     Few  nations 


*  Zoega  de  Obeliscis,  p.  50. 

\  Pausamas,  lib.  viii.  c.  35.     %  32  and  38  feet.    Trans. 


CWAP.  Vin.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  17 

have  moved  sucli  great  masses  as  were  moved  by 
the  Mexicans.  Tlie  calendar  stone  and  the  sacri- 
fice stone,  exposed  to  public  view  in  tlie  Great 
Square,  contain  from  eiglit  to  ten  cubic  metres.  * 
The  colossal  statue  of  Teoyaomiqui,  covered  with 
hieroglyphics,  lying  in  one  of  the  vestibules  of 
the  university,  is  t  metres  in  length   and 

three  in  breadth,  t  M.  Gamboa,  one  of  the 
canons,  assured  me,  that  on  digging  opposite  the 
chapel  of  the  Sagrario,  a  carved  rock  was  found 
among  an  immense  quantity  of  idols  belonging  to 
the  Teocalli,  which  was  seven  metres  in  length, 
six  in  breadth,  and  three  in  height.  §  They  en- 
deavoured in  vain  to  remove  it. 

The  Teocalli  was  in  ruins  |1  a  few  years  after 
the  siege  of  Tenochtitlan,  which,  like  that  of 
Troy,  ended  in  an  almost  entire  destruction  of 
the  city.  I  am  therefore  inclined  to  believe  that 
the  exterior  of  the  truncated  pyramid  was  clay, 

*  From  282  to  353  cubic  feet.     Trans. 

"t  The  number  in  the  original  here,  2,  is  evidently  erro- 
neous.    Trans. 

J  9^  feet.     Trans. 

§  22i,  19f ,  and  9|  feet.     Trans. 

II  One  of  the  oldest  and  most  valuable  manuscripts  pre- 
served at  Mexico  is  the  Book  of  the  Municipality  {Libro  del 
Cahildo).  Father  Pichardo,  a  respectable  religioso  in  the 
convent  of  San  Felipe  Neri,  well  versed  in  the  history  of  his 
country,  shewed  me  this  manuscript,  which  was  begun  on 
the  8th  March,  1524,  three  years  after  the  siege.  It  speaks 
of  the  square  where  the  great  temple  stood  (la  plaza  adonde 
estaha  el  templo  major). 

VOL.  II.  C 


18  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

covered  with  porous  amygdaloid  called  tetzontlL 
In  fact,  a  short  time  before  the  construction  of 
the  temple  under  the  reign  of  King  AhuitzotI, 
the  quarries  of  this  cellular  and  spongy  rock 
began  to  be  worked.  Now  nothing  could  be 
easier  destroyed  than  edifices  constructed  of 
porous  and  light  materials,  like  pumice-stone. 
Notwithstanding   the   coincideijce  *   of  a  great 

*  If  those  who  have  left  us  descriptions  and  plans  of  the 
Teocalli,  instead  of  measuring  it  themselves,  have  merely  re- 
lated what  they  were  told  hy  the  Indians,  this  coincidence 
proves  less  than  might  at  first  be  believed.  There  are  uni- 
form traditions  in  every  country  as  to  the  size  of  edifices,  the 
height  of  towers,  the  breadth  of  cratères,  and  the  descent  of 
cataracts.  National  pride  delights  to  exaggerate  these 
dimensions,  and  travellers  agree  in  their  accounts  so  long  as 
they  draw  from  the  same  source.  However,  in  this  particu- 
lar case  the  exaggeration  of  the  height  was  not  probably  very 
great,  because  it  was  easy  to  judge  of  the  elevation  of  the 
monument  from  the  number  of  its  steps. —  Author. 

So  far  from  a  coincidence  in  the  accounts,  it  would  appear 
from  the  Abbé  Clavigero,  whose  zeal  for  the  ancient  honours 
of  his  country  certainly  by  no  means  predisposed  him  to  scep- 
ticism on  such  a  subject,  that  there  is  almost  no  possibility  of 
combining  the  different  descriptions,  or  of  ascertaining  the 
dimensions  from  them.  "  Voremmo,  che  fosse  stata  altre- 
tanta  la  loro  csatezza  nelle  misure,  che  ci  lasciarono,  quanto 
fu  il  loro  zelo  nel  distruggere  quel  superbo  monumento  della 
superstizione  ;  ma  e  si  grande  la  varieta  con  cui  scrissero,  che 
dopo  aver  faticato  nel  combinare  le  lor  descrizioni,  7io?i  ho 
potuto  certificarmi  delle  misure,  ne  avrei  mai  potuto  formare 
idea  dell'  architettura  di  questo  tempio,  se  non  fosse  stato 
per  I'immagine,  che  ci  présenta  agli  occhi  il  conquistatore 
anonimo,  la  cui  copia  noi  diamo  qui,  benche  nelle  misure  ci 
conformiamo  piii  colla  sua  rclazione,  che  colla  imagine."  — 


CHAP,  vni.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  19 

number  of  accounts,  it  is  not  impossible  that  the 
dimensions  attributed  to  the  TeocalH  are  some- 
what exaggerated  ;  but  the  pyramiilal  form  of 
this  Mexican  edifice,  and  its  great  analogy  to  the 
most  ancient  monuments  of  Asia,  ought  to  inte- 
rest us  much  more  than  its  mass  and  size. 

The  old  city  of  Mexico  communicated  with 
the  continent  by  the  three  great  dikes,  of  Tepe- 
jacac  (Guadelupe),  Tlacopan  (Tacuba),  and  Iz- 
tapalapan.  Cortez  mentions  four  dikes,  because 
he  reckoned,  without  doubt,  the  causeway  which 
led  to  Chapoltepec.  The  Calzada  of  Iztapa- 
lapan  had  a  branch  which  luiited  Coyohuacan 
to  the  small  fort  Xaloc,  the  same  in  which  the 
Spaniards  were  entertained  at  their  first  entry 
by  the  Mexican  nobility.  Robertson  speaks  of 
a  dike  which  led  to  Tezcuco,  but  such  a  dike 


[Storia  de  Messico,  vol.  ii.  p.  26.) This  temple,  of  which 

the  descriptions  so  much  puzzled  -M.  Clavigero,  but  which 
he  ventures  however  to  style  un  superbo  monumento  della 
superstizione,  does  not  seem  to  have  impressed  Robertson 
with  a  very  high  idea  of  Mexican  ingenuity.  —  "  As  far  as 
one  can  gather,"  he  says,  "  from  their  (the  Spanish  accounts) 
obscure  and  inaccurate  descriptions,  the  great  temple  of 
Mexico,  the  most  famous  of  New  Spain,  was  a  solid  mass  of 
earth  of  a  square  form,  faced  partly  with  stone.  Such  struc- 
tures convey  no  high  idea  of  progress  in  art  and  ingenuity  ; 
and  one  can  hardly  conceive  that  a  form  more  rude  and 
simple  could  have  occurred  to  a  nation  in  its  first  efforts 
towards  erecting  any  great  work." —  (Robertson's  America, 
vol.  iii.  p.  317.)    Trans. 

c  â 


20  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iir. 

never  existed,  on  account  of  the  distance  of  the 
place,  and  the  great  depth  of  the  eastern  part  of 
the  lake. 

In  1338,  seventeen  years  after  the  foundation 
of  Tenochtitlan,  a  part  of  the  inhabitants,  in  a 
civil  dissension,  separated  from  the  rest  :  they 
established  themselves  in  the  small  islands  to  the 
north-west  of  the  temple  of  Mexitli.  The  new 
city,  which  at  first  bore  the  name  of  Xaltilolco, 
and  afterwards  Tlatelolco,  was  governed  by  a 
king  independent  of  Tenochtitlan.  In  the  centre 
of  Anahuac,  as  w^ell  as  in  the  Peloponesils,  La- 
tium,  and  wherever  the  civilization  of  the  human 
species  was  merely  commencing,  every  city,  for 
a  long  time,  constituted  a  separate  state.  The 
Mexican  king  Axajacatl  *  conquered  Tlatelolco, 
which  was  thenceforth  united  by  bridges  to  the 
city  of  Tenochtitlan.  I  discovered  in  the  hiero- 
glyphical  manuscripts  of  the  ancient  Mexicans, 
preserved  in  the  palace  of  the  viceroy,  a  curious 
painting,  which  represents  the  last  king  of  Tlate- 
lolco, called  Moquihuix,  as  killed  on  the  top  of  a 
iiouse  of  God,  or  truncated  pyramid,  and  then 
thrown  down  the  stairs  which  led  to  the  stone  of 
the  sacrifices.  —  Since  this  catastrophe,  the  great 
market  of  the  Mexicans,  formerly  held  near  the 
Teocalli  of  Mexitli,  was  transferred  to  Tlatelolco. 

*  Clavigero,  i.  p.  251.     Axajacatl  reigned  from  1464  to 
1477.  (iv.  p.  58.) 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  21 

The  description  of  the  Mexican  market,  which 
we  have  given  from  Cortez,  relates  to  the  market 
of  Tlatelolco. 

What  is  now  called  the  Barrio  of  Santiago 
composes  but  a  part  of  the  ancient  Tlatelolco. 
We  proceed  for  more  than  an  hour  on  the  road 
to  Tanepantla  and  Ahuahuetes,  among  the  ruins 
of  the  old  city.  We  perceive  there,  as  well  as  on 
the  road  to  Tacuba  and  Iztapalapan,  how  much 
the  Mexico  rebuilt  by  Cortez  is  smaller  than 
Tenoclititlan  under  the  last  of  the  Montezumas. 
The  enormous  magnitude  of  the  market-place  of 
Tlatelolco,  of  which  the  boundaries  are  still  dis- 
cernible, proves  the  great  population  of  the  an- 
cient city.  The  Indians  show  in  this  same 
market-plaee  an  elevation  surrounded  by  walls. 
It  was  one  of  the  Mexican  theatres,  the  same  on 
which  Cortez,  a  few  days  before  the  end  of  the 
siege,  erected  his  famous  Catapulta  (trabuco  de 
palo*),  the  appearance  of  which  alone  terrified 
the  besieged  ;  for  the  machine  was  incapable  of 
being  used  from  the  awkwardness  of  the  artillery- 
men. This  elevation  is  now  included  in  the 
porch  of  the  chapel  of  Santiago. 

The  city  of  Tenochtitlan  was  divided  into  four 
quarters,  called  Teopan,  or  Xochimilca,  Atzacu- 
alco,  Moyotla,  and  Tlaguechiuchan,  or  Cuepo- 
pan.     The  old  division  is  still  preserved  in  the 

*  Lorenzana,  p.  289. 
c  3 


22  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  in. 

limits  assigned  to  the  quarters  of  St.  Paul,  St. 
Sebastian,  St.  John,  and  St.  Mary  ;  and  the  pre- 
sent streets  have  for  the  most  part  the  same  di- 
rection as  the  old  ones,  nearly  from  north  to 
south,  and  from  east  to  west.*  But  what  gives 
the  new  city,  as  we  have  already  observed,  a  pecu- 
liar and  distinctive  character,  is,  that  it  is  situated 
entirely  on  the  continent,  between  the  extremi- 
ties of  the  two  lakes  of  Tezcuco  and  Xochimilco, 
and  that  it  only  receives,  by  means  of  navigable 
canals,  the  fresh  water  of  the  Xochimilco. 

Many  circumstances  have  contributed  to  this 
new  order  of  things.  The  part  of  the  salt-water 
lake  between  the  southern  and  western  dikes 
was  always  the  shallowest.  Cortez  complained 
that  his  flotilla,  the  brigantines  which  he  con- 
structed at  Tezcuco,  could  not,  notwithstanding 
the  openings  in  the  dikes,  make  the  circuit  of  the 
besieged  city.  Sheets  of  water  of  small  depth 
became  insensibly  marshes,  which,  when  inter- 
sected with  trenches  or  small  defluous  canals, 
were  converted  into  chinampas  and  arable  land. 
The  lake  of  Tezcuco,  which  Valmont  de  Bomaret 

*  Properly  from  the  S.  16°  W.  to  N.  74°  E.  at  least  towards 
the  convent  of  Saint  Angustin,  where  I  took  my  azimuths. 
The  direction  of  the  old  streets  was  undoubtedly  determined 
by  that  of  the  principal  dikes.  Now,  from  the  position  of  the 
places  were  these  dikes  appear  to  have  terminated,  it  is  very 
improbable  that  they  represented  exactly  meridians  and  pa- 
rallels. 

■\  Dictionnaire  d'Histoire  Naturelle,  article  Lac. 


CHAP,  viii.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  23 

supposed  to  communicate  with  the  ocean,  though 
it  is  at  an  elevation  of  2277  metres*,  has  no  par- 
ticular sources,  like  the  lake  of  Chalco.     When 
we  consider,  on  the  one  hand,  the  small  volume 
of  water  with  which  in  dry  seasons  this  lake  is 
furnished  by  very  inconsiderable  rivers,  and,  on 
the  other,  the  enormous  rapidity  of  evaporation 
in  the  table-land  of  Mexico,  of  which  I  have  made 
repeated  experiments,  we  must  admit,  what  geo- 
logical observations  appear  also  to  confirm,  that 
for  centuries  the  want  of  equilibrium  between 
the  water  lost  by  evaporation,  and  the  mass  of 
water  flowing  in,  has  progressively  circumscribed 
the  lake  of  Tezcuco  within  more  narrow  limits. 
We  learn  from  the  Mexican  annals  t,  that  in  the 
reign  of  King  Ahuizotl,  this  salt-water  lake  ex- 
perienced such  a  want  of  water  as  to  interrupt 
navigation  j  and  that  to  obviate  this  evil,  and  to 
increase  its  supplies,  an  aqueduct  was  constructed 
from  Coyohuacan  to  Tenochtitlan.     This  aque- 
duct brought  the  sources  of  Huitzilopochco  to 
several  canals  of  the  city  which  were  dried  up.  . 
This  diminution  of  water,  experienced  before 
the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,    would  no  doubt 
have  been  very  slow  and  very  insensible,  if  the 
hand  of  man,  since  the  period  of  the  conquest, 
had  not  contributed  to  reverse  the  order  of  na- 

*  7468  feet.  Trans. 

t  Paintings  preserved  in  the  Vatican,  and  testimony  of 
Father  Acosta. 

^-     C  é 


24  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

ture.  Those  who  have  travelled  in  the  peninsula 
know  how  much,  even  in  Europe,  the  Spaniards 
hate  all  plantations  which  yield  a  shade  round 
towns  or  villages.  It  would  appear  that  the  first 
conquerors  wished  the  beautiful  valley  of  Tenoch- 
titlan  to  resemble  the  Castillan  soil,  which  is  dry 
and  destitute  of  vegetation.  Since  the  sixteenth 
century  they  have  inconsiderately  cut,  not  only 
the  trees  of  the  plain  in  which  the  capital  is  situ- 
ated, but  those  on  the  m.ountains  which  surround 
it.  The  construction  of  the  new  city,  begun  in 
1524,  required  a  great  quantity  of  timber  for 
building  and  piles.  They  destroyed,  and  they 
daily  destroy,  without  planting  any  thing  in  its 
stead,  except  around  the  capital,  where  the  last 
viceroys  have  perpetuated  their  memory  by 
promenades*,  (^Paseos,  Alamedas,')  which  bear 
their  names.  The  want  of  vegetation  exposes 
the  soil  to  the  direct  influence  of  the  solar  rays  ; 
and  the  humidity  which  is  not  lost  by  filtration 
through  the  amygdaloid,  basaltic,  and  spongy 
rock,  is  rapidly  evaporated  and  dissolved  in  air, 
wherever  the  foliage  of  the  trees  or  a  luxuriant 
verdure  does  not  defend  the  soil  from  the  in- 
fluence of  the  sun  and  the  dry  winds  of  the 
south. 

As  the  same  cause  operates  throughout  the 
whole  valley,  the  abundance  and  circulation  of 

*  Paseo  de  Buccarelli,  de  Revillagigedo,   de  Galvez,   de 
Asanza. 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  25 

water  has  sensibly  diminished.  The  lake  of 
Tezcuco,  the  finest  of  the  five  lakes,  which  Cor- 
tez  in  his  letters  habitually  calls  an  interior  sea, 
receives  much  less  water  from  infiltration  than  in 
the  sixteenth  century.  Every  where  the  clearing 
and  destruction  of  forests  have  produced  the  same 
effects.  General  Andreossi,  in  his  classical  work 
on  the  Canal  du  Midiy  has  proved  that  the  springs 
have  diminished  around  the  reservoir  of  St. 
Feneol,  merely  through  a  false  system  introduced 
in  the  management  of  the  forests.  In  the  pro- 
vince of  Caraccas,  the  picturesque  lake  of  Ta- 
carigua*  has  been  drying  gradually  up  ever  since 
the  sun  darted  his  rays  without  interposition  on 
the  naked  and  defenceless  soil  of  the  vailles  of 
Aragua. 

But  the  circumstance  which  has  contributed 
the  most  to  the  diminution  of  the  lake  of  Tez- 
cuco is  the  famous  open  drain,  known  by  the 
name  of  the  Desague  real  de  Hueliuetoca,  which 
we  shall  afterwards  discuss.  This  cut  in  the 
mountainy  first  begun  in  1607  in  the  form  of  a 
subterranean  tunnel,  has  not  only  reduced  within 
very  narrow  limits  the  two  lakes  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  valley,  i.  e.  the  lakes  of  Zumpango 

*  New  islands  appear  in  it  from  time  to  time  from  the  di- 
minution of  water  (las  aparecidas.)  —  The  lake  of  Tacay-igiia, 
or  Nueva  Valencia,  is  474  metres  {\5o^  feet)  elevated  above 
the  level  of  the  sea.  —  (See  my  Tableaux  de  la  Nature, 
torn.  i.  p.  72. 


26  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  iii. 

(Tzompango)  and  San  Christobal  ;  but  has  also 
prevented  their  waters  in  the  rainy  season  from 
flowing  into  the  basin  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco.  — 
These  waters  formerly  inundated  the  plains,  and 
purified  a  soil  strongly  covered  with  carbonate 
and  muriate  of  soda.  At  present,  without  settling 
into  pools,  and  thereby  increasing  the  humidity 
of  the  Mexican  atmosphere,  they  are  drawn  off 
by  an  artificial  canal  into  the  river  of  Panuco, 
which  flows  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

This  state  of  things  has  been  brought  about 
from  the  desire  of  converting  the  ancient  city  of 
Mexico  into  a  capital  better  adapted  for  car- 
riages, and  less  exposed  to  the  danger  of  inun- 
dation. The  water  and  vegetation  have  in  fact 
diminished  with  the  same  rapidity  with  which 
the  tequesquite  (or  carbonate  of  soda)  has  in- 
creased. In  the  time  of  Montezuma,  and  long 
afterwards,  the  suburb  of  Tlatelolco,  the  barios 
of  San  Sebastian,  San  Juan,  and  Santa  Cruz, 
were  celebrated  for  the  beautiful  verdure  of  their 
gardens  :  but  these  places  now,  and  especially 
the  plains  of  San  Lazaro,  exhibit  nothing  but  a 
crust  of  efflorescent  salts.  The  fertility  of  the 
plain,  though  yet  considerable  in  the  southern 
part,  is  by  no  means  what  it  was  when  the  city 
was  surrounded  by  the  lake.  A  wise  distribution 
of  water,  particularly  by  means  of  small  canals 
of  irrigation,  might  restore  the  ancient  fertility 
of  the  soil,  and  re-enrich  a  valley  which  nature 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  27 

appears  to  have  destined  for  the  capital  of  a  great 
empire. 

The  actual  bounds  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco  are 
not  very  well  determined,  the  soil  being  so  ar- 
gillaceous and  smooth  that  the  difference  of  level 
for  a  mile  is  not  more  than  two  decimetres.* 
When  the  east  winds  blow  with  any  violence, 
the  water  withdraws  towards  the  western  bank 
of  the  lake,  and  sometimes  leaves  an  extent  of 
more  than  600  metres  t  dry.     Perhaps  the  pe- 
riodical operation  of  these  winds  suggested  to 
Cortez  the  idea  of  regular  tides  t,  of  which  the 
existence  has  not  been  confirmed  by  late  observ- 
ations.    The  lake  of  Tezcuco  is  in  general  only 
from  three  to  five  §  metres  in  depth,  and  in  some 
places  even  less  than  one.    Hence  the  commerce 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  small  town  of  Tezcuco 
sutlers  much  in  the  very  dry  months  of  January 
and  February  ;  for  the  want  of  water  prevents 
them  from  going  in  canoes  to  the  capital.     The 
lake  of  Xochimilco  is  free  from  this  inconve- 
nience ;  for  from  Chalco,  Mesquic,  and  Tlahuac, 
the  navigation  is  never  once  interrupted,    and 
Mexico  receives  daily,   by  the  canal  of  Iztapa- 
lapan,  roots,  fruits,  and  flowers  in  abundance. 

7.874<  inches.     Trans.  f  1968  feet.     Trans. 

X  Journal  de  Savons  for  the  year  1676,  p.  34'.  The  lake 
of  Geneva  manifests  also  a  regular  motion,  which  Saussure 
attributes  to  periodical  winds. 

§  9|  to  16Ï  feet.      Trans. 


28  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

Of  tlie  five  lakes  of  the  valley  of  Mexico,  the 
lake  of  Tezcuco  is  most  impregnated  with  mu- 
riate and  carbonate  of  soda.  The  nitrate  of 
barytes  proves  that  this  water  contains  no  sul- 
phate in  dissolution.  The  most  pure  and  limpid 
water  is  that  of  the  lake  of  Xochimilco,  the  spe- 
cific weight  of  which  I  found  to  be  1.0009,  when 
that  of  water  distilled  at  the  temperature  of  18° 
centigrade*  was  1.000,  and  when  water  from 
the  lake  of  Tezcuco  was  1.0215.  The  water  of 
this  last  lake  is  consequently  heavier  than  that 
of  the  Baltic  sea,  and  not  so  heavy  as  that  of  the 
ocean,  which,  under  different  latitudes,  has  been 
found  between  1.0269  and  1.0285.  The  quan- 
tity of  sulphuretted  hydrogen  which  is  detached 
from  the  surface  of  all  the  Mexican  lakes,  and 
which  the  acetite  of  lead  indicates  in  great  abun- 
dance in  the  lakes  of  Tezcuco  and  Chalco,  un- 
doubtedly contributes  in  certain  seasons  to  the 
unhealtliiness  of  the  air  of  the  valley.  However, 
and  the  fact  is  curious,  intermittent  fevers  are 
very  rare  on  the  banks  of  these  very  lakes,  of 
which  the  surface  is  partly  concealed  by  rushes 
and  aquatic  herbs. 

Adorned  with  numerous  teocallis,  like  so  many 
Mahometan  steeples,  surrounded  with  water  and 
dikes,  founded  on  islands  covered  with  verdure, 
and  receiving  hourly  in  its  streets  thousands  of 

*  54;°  Fahrenheit.     Trans. 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  29 

boats  which  vivified  the  lake,  the  ancient  Te- 
nochtitlan,  according  to  the  accounts  of  the  first 
conquerors,  must  have  resembled  some  of  the 
cities  of  Holland,  China,  or  the  Delta  of  Lower 
Egypt.     The  capital,  reconstructed  by  the  Spa- 
niards, exhibits,  perhaps,  a  less  vivid,  though  a 
more  august  and  majestic,  appearance.     Mex- 
ico is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  finest  cities  ever 
built  by  Europeans  in  either  hemisphere.     With 
the  exception  of  Petersburg,  Berlin,  Philadelphia, 
and  some  quarters  of  Westminster,  there  does 
not  exist  a  city  of  the  same  extent  which  can  be 
compared  to  the  capital  of  New  Spain,  for  the 
uniform  level  of  the  ground  on  which  it  stands, 
for  the  regularity  and  breadth  of  the  streets,  and 
the  extent  of  the  public  places.     The  architec- 
ture is  generally  of  a  very  pure  style,  and  there 
are   even   edifices   of  very  beautiful  structure. 
The  exterior  of  the  houses  is  not  loaded  with 
ornaments.     Two  sorts  of  hewn  stone,  the  po- 
rous amygdaloid  called  tetzontli,  and  especially 
a  porphyry  of  vitreous  feld-spath  without  any 
quartz,  give  to  the  Mexican  buildings  an  air  of 
solidity,    and    sometimes    even     magnificence. 
There  are  none  of  those  wooden  balconies  and 
galleries  to  be  seen  which  disfigure  so  much  all 
the   European  cities  in  both  the  Indies.     The 
balustrades  and  gates  are  all  of  Biscay  iron,  or- 
namented with  bronze,  and  the  houses,  instead 


so  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

of  roofs,  have  terraces  like  those  in  Italy  and 
other  southern  countries. 

Mexico  has  been  very  much  embellished  since 
the  residence  of  the  Abbé  Chappe  there  in  I769. 
The  edifice  destined  to  the  School  of  Mines,  for 
which  the  richest  individuals  of  the  country  fur- 
nished a  sum  of  more  than  three  millions  of 
francs*,  would  adorn  the  principal  places  of 
Paris  or  London.  Two  great  palaces  {hotels) 
were  recently  constructed  by  Mexican  artists, 
pupils  of  the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  of  the  ca- 
pital. One  of  these  palaces,  in  the  quarter  delta 
Traspana,  exhibits  in  the  interior  of  the  court  a 
very  beautiful  oval  peristyle  of  coupled  columns. 
The  traveller  justly  admires  a  vast  circumference 
paved  with  porphyry  flags,  and  inclosed  with  an 
iron  railing,  richly  ornamented  with  bronze, 
containing  an  equestrian  statue  t  of  King  Charles 
the  Fourth  placed  on  a  pedestal  of  Mexican 
marble,  in  the  midst  of  the  Plaza  Major  of  Mex- 
ico, opposite   the  cathedral   and   the  viceroy's 

*  124,800/.  sterling.     Trans. — See  Chap.  VII. 

■\  Tliis  colossal  statue  was  executed  at  the  expense  of  the 
Marquis  de  Branciforte,  formerly  viceroy  of  Mexico,  bro- 
ther-in-law of  the  Prince  of  Peace.  It  weighs  450  quintals, 
and  was  modelled,  founded,  and  placed  by  the  same  artist, 
M.  Tolsa,  whose  name  deserves  a  distinguished  place  in  the 
history  of  Spanish  sculpture.  The  merits  of  this  man  of 
genius  can  only  be  appreciated  by  those  who  know  the  dif- 
ficulties with  which  the  execution  of  these  great  works  of 
art  are  attended  even  in  civilized  Europe. 


CHAP.  VIII.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  31 

palace.  However,  it  must  be  agreed,  that  not- 
withstanding the  progress  of  the  arts  within 
these  last  thirty  years,  it  is  much  less  from  the 
grandeur  and  beauty  of  the  monuments,  than 
from  the  breadth  and  straightness  of  the  streets, 
and  much  less  from  its  edifices  than  from  its  uni- 
form regularity,  its  extent  and  position,  that  the 
capital  of  New  Spain  attracts  the  admiration  of 
Europeans.  From  a  singular  concurrence  of 
circumstances,  I  have  seen  successively,  within 
a  very  short  space  of  time,  Lima,  Mexico,  Phi- 
ladelphia, Washington*,  Paris,  Rome,  Naples, 
and  the  largest  cities  of  Germany.  By  com- 
paring together  impressions  which  follow  in  rapid 
succession,  we  are  enabled  to  rectify  any  opinion 
which  we  may  have  too  easily  adopted.     Not- 

*  From  the  plan  of  the  city  of  Washington,  and  from  the 
magnificence  of  its  Capitol,  of  which  I  only  saw  a  part  com- 
pleted, the  Federal  City  will  undoubtedly  one  day  be  a  much 
finer  city  than  Mexico.  Philadelphia  has  also  the  same 
regularity  of  construction.  The  alleys  of  platanus,  accacia, 
and  populus  heterophylla,  which  adorn  its  streets,  almost 
give  to  it  a  rural  beauty.  The  vegetation  of  the  banks  of 
the  Putomac  and  Delaware  is  also  richer  than  what  we  find 
at  2300  metres  (7500  feet)  of  elevation  on  the  ridge  of  the 
Mexican  Cordilleras.  But  Washington  and  Philadelphia 
will  always  look  like  European  cities.  They  will  not  strike 
the  eyes'of  the  traveller  with  that  peculiar,  I  may  say  exotic, 
character  which  belongs  to  Mexico,  Santa  Fe  de  Bogota, 
Quito,  and  all  the  tropical  capitals  constructed  at  an  eleva- 
tion as  high  or  higher  than  the  passage  of  the  Great  St. 
Bernard. 


32  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

withstanding  such  unavoidable  comparisons,  of 
which  several,  one  would  think,  must  have  proved 
disadvantageous  for  the  capital  of  Mexico,  it  has 
left  in  me  a  recollection  of  grandeur,  which  I 
principally  attribute  to  the  majestic  character  of 
its  situation  and  the  surrounding  scenery. 

In  fact,  nothing  can  present  a  more  ricli  and 
varied  appearance  than  the  valley,  when,  in  a 
fine  summer  morning,  the  sky  without  a  cloud, 
and  of  that  deep  azure  which  is  peculiar  to  the 
dry  and  rarefied  air  of  high  mountains,  we  trans- 
port ourselves  to  the  top  of  one  of  the  towers  of 
the  cathedral  of  Mexico,  or  ascend  the  hill  of 
Chapoltepec.  A  beautiful  vegetation  surrounds 
this  hill.  Old  cypress  trunks*,  of  more  than  15 
and  16  metres!  in  circumference,  raise  their 
naked  heads  above  those  of  the  schinus,  which 
resemble  in  their  appearance  the  weeping-willows 
of  the  East.  From  the  centre  of  this  solitude,  the 
summit  of  the  porphyritical  rock  of  Chapoltepec, 
the  eye  sweeps  over  a  vast  plain  of  carefully  cul- 
tivated fields,  which  extend  to  the  very  feet  of  the 
colossal  mountains  covered  with  perpetual  snow. 
The  city  appears  as  if  washed  by  the  waters  of 
the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  whose  basin,  surrounded 
with  villages  and  hamlets,  brings  to  mind  the 
most  beautiful  lakes  of  the  mountains  of  Switzer- 


*  Los-Ahuahuetes. — Cupressus  disticha,  Lin. 
f  49  and  52  feet.     Trans. 


CHAP,  vni.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  35 

land.  Large  avenues  of  elms  and  poplars  lead 
in  every  direction  to  the  capital  ;  and  two  aque- 
ducts, constructed  over  arches  of  very  great  ele- 
vation, cross  the  plain,  and  exhibit  an  appear- 
ance equally  agreeable  and  interesting.  The 
magnificent  convent  of  Nuestra  Senora  de  Gua- 
dalupe appears  joined  to  the  mountains  of  Te- 
peyacac,  among  ravines,  which  shelter  a  few  date 
and  young  yucca  trees.  Towards  the  south,  the 
whole  tract  between  San  Angel,  Tacabaya,  and 
San  Augustin  de  las  Cuevas,  appears  an  im- 
mense garden  of  orange,  peach,  apple,  cherry, 
and  other  European  fruit  trees.  This  beautiful 
cultivation  forms  a  singular  contrast  with  the 
wild  appearance  of  the  naked  mountains  which 
inclose  the  valley,  among  which  the  famous  vol- 
canos  of  La  Puebla,  Popocatepetl,  and  Iztacci- 
huatl  are  the  most  distinguished.  The  first  of 
these  forms  an  enormous  cone,  of  which  the  cra- 
ter, continually  inflamed  and  throwing  up  smoke 
and  ashes,  opens  in  the  midst  of  eternal  snows. 

The  city  of  Mexico  is  also  remarkable  for  its 
excellent  police.  The  most  part  of  the  streets 
have  very  broad  pavements  ;  and  they  are  clean 
and  well  lighted.  These  advantages  are  the 
fruits  of  the  activity  of  the  Count  de  llevillagi- 
gedo,  who  on  his  arrival  found  the  capital  ex- 
tremely dirty. 

Water  is  every  where  to  be  had  in  the  soil  of 
Mexico,  a  very  short  way  below  the  surface,  but 

VOL.  II.  D 


34.  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

it  is  brackish,  like  the  water  of  the  lake  of  Tez- 
cuco.  The  two  aqueducts  already  mentioned, 
by  which  the  city  receives  fresh  water,  are  mo- 
numents of  modem  construction  worthy  of  the 
traveller's  attention.  The  springs  of  potable 
water  are  situated  to  the  east  of  the  town,  one  in 
the  insulated  hill  of  Chapoltepec,  and  the  other 
in  the  cerros  of  Santa  Fe,  near  the  Cordillera, 
which  separates  the  valley  of  Tenochtitlan  from 
that  of  Lerma  and  Toluca.  The  arches  of  the 
aqueduct  of  Chapoltepec  occupy  a  length  of 
more  than  3300  metres.*  The  water  of  Cha- 
poltepec enters  by  the  southern  part  of  the  city, 
at  the  Salto  del  Agua.  It  is  not  the  most  pure, 
and  is  only  drank  in  the  suburbs  of  Mexico. 
The  water  which  is  least  impregnated  with  car- 
bonate of  lime  is  that  of  the  aqueduct  of  Santa 
Fe,  which  runs  along  Alameda,  and  terminates 
at  la  Traspana,  at  the  bridge  de  la  Marescala. 
This  aqueduct  is  nearly  10200  metres  t  in  length; 
but  the  declivity  of  the  ground  is  such,  that  for 
not  more  than  a  third  of  this  space  the  water 
can  be  conducted  over  arches.  The  old  city  of 
Tenochtitian  had  aqueducts  no  less  consider- 
able. Î  In  the  beginning  of  the  siege,  the  two 
captains  Alvarado  and  Olid  destroyed  that  of 
Chapoltepec.      Cortez,    in    his    first   letter   to 


*  10,826  feet.     Trans.  f  33,464<  feet.     Trans. 

X  Clavigero,  Hi.  p.  195.  ;  Solis,  i.  p.  ^06. 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  35 

Charles  the  Fifth,  speaks  also  of  the  spring  of 
AmilcOj  near  Churubusco,  of  which  the  waters 
were  brought  to  the  city  by  pipes  of  burnt  earth. 
This  spring  is  near  to  that  of  Santa  Fe.  We 
still  perceive  the  remains  of  this  great  aqueduct, 
which  was  constructed  with  double  pipes,  one  of 
which  received  the  water,  while  they  were  em- 
ployed in  cleaning  the  other.*  This  water  was 
sold  in  canoes,  which  traversed  the  streets   of 

*  Lorenzana,  p.  108.  —  The  largest  and  finest  construction 
of  the  Indians  in  this  way  is  the  aqueduct  of  the  city  of  Tez- 
cuco.  We  still  admire  the  traces  of  a  great  mound  which  was 
constructed  to  heighten  the  level  of  the  water.  How  must  we 
admire  the  industry  and  activity  displayed  in  general  by  the 
ancient  Mexicans  and  Peruvians  in  the  irrigation  of  arid 
lands  !  In  the  maritime  part  of  Peru  I  have  seen  the  remains 
of  walls,  along  which  water  was  conducted  for  a  space  of 
from  5  to  6000  metres  (from  16,404  to  19,685  feet),  from 
the  foot  of  the  Cordillera  to  the  coast.  The  conquerors  of 
the  16th  century  destroyed  these  aqueducts,  and  that  part 
of  Peru  is  become  like  Persia,  a  desert  destitute  of  vegeta- 
tion. Such  is  the  civilization  carried  by  the  Europeans 
among  the  people  whom  they  are  pleased  to  call  barbarous. 
—  Author. 

How  much  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  Robertson  gives 
usually  such  general  descriptions,  that  we  have  a  difficulty  in 
forming  any  thing  like  a  distinct  conception  of  the  subjects 
of  them.  He  says  of  the  Peru  canals  of  irrigation,  "  By 
means  of  artificial  canals,  conducted  with  much  patience  and 
considerable  art  from  the  torrents  that  poured  across  their 
country,  they  conveyed  a  regular  supply  of  moisture  to  their 
fields." — Would  it  have  been  beneath  the  dignity  of  a  histo- 
rian, to  have  specified  that  art  and  that  patience  to  his  readers 
for  which  he  did  not  want  materials  ?  —  Trans. 

D    2 


V 


36  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

Tenochtitlan.  The  sources  of  San  Augustin  de 
las  Cuevas  are  the  finest  and  purest  ;  and  1  ima- 
gined I  discovered  on  the  road  leading  from  this 
charming  village  to  Mexico  traces  of  an  ancient 
aqueduct. 

We  have  already  named  the  three  principal 
dikes  by  which  the  old  city  was  connected  with 
the  terra  firma.  These  dikes  partly  still  exsist, 
and  the  number  has  been  even  increased.  They 
form  at  present  great  paved  causeways  across 
marshy  grounds  ;  and  as  they  are  very  elevated, 
they  possess  the  double  advantage  of  admitting 
the  passage  of  carriages,  and  containing  the 
overflowings  of  the  lake.  The  Calzada  of  Asta- 
palapan  is  founded  on  the  very  same  old  dike  on 
which  Cortez  performed  such  prodigies  of  valour 
in  his  encounters  with  the  besieged.  The  Cal- 
zada of  San  Anton  is  still  distinguished  in  our 
days  for  the  great  number  of  small  bridges  which 
the  Spaniards  and  Tlascaltecs  found  there,  when 
Sandoval,  Cortez's  companion  in  arms,  was 
wounded  near  Coyohuacan.*  These  Calzadas 
of  San  Antonio  Abad,  of  La  Piedad,  of  San 
Christobal,  and  of  Guadalupe  (anciently  called 
the  dike  of  Tepeyacac),  were  newly  reconstruct- 
ed after  the  great  inundation  of  l604,  under  the 
viceroy  Don  Juan  de  Mendozay  Lima,  Marquis 

*  Lorenxana,  p.  229.  243. 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  37 

de  Montesclaros.  The  only  savans  of  that  time, 
Fathers  Torquemada  and  Geronimo  de  Zarate, 
executed  the  survey  and  marking  out  of  the 
causeways.  At  this  period  the  city  of  Mexico 
was  paved  for  the  first  time;  for  before  the  Count 
de  Revillagigedo,  no  other  viceroy  had  employed 
himself  more  successfully  in  effecting  a  good 
police  than  the  Marquis  de  Montesclaros. 

The  objects  which  generally  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  the  traveller  are,  1.  The  cathedral,  of 
which  a  small  part  is  in  the  style  vulgarly  called 
Gothic  :  the  principal  edifice,  which  has  two 
towers  ornamented  with  pilasters  and  statues,  is 
of  very  beautiful  symmetry  and  very  recent  con- 
struction. 2.  The  treasury  adjoining  to  the 
palace  of  the  viceroys,  a  building  from  which, 
since  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
more  than  6500  millions*  in  gold  and  silver  coin 
have  been  issued.  3.  The  convents,  among 
which  the  great  convent  of  St.  Francis  is  par- 
ticularly distinguished,  which  from  alms  alone 
possesses  an  annual  revenue  of  half  a  million  of 
francs,  t  This  vast  edifice  was  at  first  intended 
to  be  constructed  on  the  ruins  of  the  temple  of 
Huitzilopochtli  ;  but  these  ruins  having  been 
destined  for  the  foundation  of  the  cathedral,  the 
convent  was  begun  in  1531  in  its  actual  situa- 

*  270,855,000/.  sterling.     Trans. 
t  20,835/.  sterling.     Trans. 

D    S 


38  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  in. 

tion.  It  owes  its  existence  to  the  great  activity 
of  a  serving  brother  or  lay  monk,  Fray  Pedro  de 
Gante,  an  extraordinary  man,  who  was  said  to 
have  been  the  natural  son  of  the  Emperor  Charles 
the  Fifth,  and  who  was  a  great  benefactor  of  the 
Indians,  to  whom  he  was  the  first  who  taught 
the   most   useful  mechanical  arts   of    Europe. 

4.  The  hospitaly  or  rather  the  two  united  hos- 
pitals, of  which  the  one  maintains  GOO  and  the 
other  800  children  and  old  people.  This  esta- 
blishment, in  which  both  order  and  cleanliness 
may  be  seen,  but  little  industry,  has  a  revenue 
of  250,000  francs.*  A  rich  merchant  lately 
bequeathed  to  it  by  his  testament  six  millions  of 
francs  t,  which  the  royal  treasury  laid  hold  of, 
on  the  promise  of  paying  five  per  cent,  for  it. 

5.  The  acordada,  a  fine  edifice,  of  which  the 
prisons  are  generally  spacious  and  well  aired. 
They  reckon  in  this  house,  and  in  the  other 
prisons  of  the  acordada  which  depend  on  it, 
more  than  1200  individuals,  among  whom  are  a 
great  number  of  smugglers,  and  the  unfortunate 
Indian  prisoners,  dragged  to  Mexico  from  the 
provincias  internas  (Indios  Mecos),  of  whom  we 
have  already  spoken  in  the  6th  and  7th  chapters.' 

6.  The  School  of  Mines,  the  newly  begun  edi- 
fice, and  the  old  provisory  establishment,  with 
its  fine  collections  in  physics,   mechanics,  and 

*  10,470/.  sterling.    Trans,     f  250,020/.  sterling.   Trans. 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  39 

mineralogy.  *  7«  The  botanical  garden^  in  one 
of  the  courts  of  the  viceroy's  palace.  It  is  very 
small,  but  extremely  rich  in  vegetable  produc- 
tions, either  rare  or  interesting  for  commerce. 
8.  The  edifices  of  the  university  and  the  public 
library,  which  is  very  unworthy  of  so  great  and 
ancient  an  establishment.  9.  The  Academy  of 
Fine  Arts,  with  a  collection  of  ancient  casts. 
10.  The  equestrian  statue  of  King  Charles  the 
Fourth  in  the  Plaza  Mayor,  and  the  sepulchral 
monument  which  the  Duke  de  Monteleone  con- 
secrated to  the  great  Cortez,  in  a  chapel  of  the 
Hospital  de  los  Natural  es.  It  is  a  simple  family 
monument,  adorned  with  a  bust  in  bronze,  re- 
presenting the  hero  in  the  prime  of  life,  executed 
by  M.  Tolsa.  Wherever  we  traverse  Spanish 
America,  from  Buenos  Ayres  to  Monterey,  and 
from  Trinidad  and  Portorico  to  Panama  and 
Veragua,  we  no  where  meet  with  a  national 
monument  erected  by  the  public  gratitude  to  the 
glory  of  Christopher  Columbus  and  Hernan 
Cortez  ! 

Those  who  are  addicted  to  the  study  of  his- 


*  There  are  two  other  very  remarkable  oryctognostical 
and  geological  collections  belonging  to  professor  Cervantes 
and  the  Oidor  M.  Caravajal.  This  respectable  magistrate 
also  possesses  a  superb  cabinet  of  shells,  collected  during  his 
residence  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  where  he  displayed  the 
same  zeal  for  the  physical  sciences  for  which  he  is  so  honour- 
ably distinguished  at  Mexico. 

D   4 


40  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  in. 

tory,   and  who   love   to   investigate    American 
antiquities,   will  not  find  in  this  capital   those 
great  remains  of  works  which  are  to  be  seen  in 
Peru,  in  the  environs  of  Cusco  and  Guamachuco, 
at  Pachacamac  near  Lima,  or  at  Mansiche  near 
Truxillo  ;  at  Canar  and  Cayo  in  the  province  of 
Quito  ;  and  in  Mexico,  near  Mitia  and  Cholula, 
in  the  intendancies  of  Oaxaca  and  Puebla.     It 
appears  that  the  teocallis  (of  which  we  have  al- 
ready attempted  to  describe  the  strange  form) 
were  the  sole  monuments  of  the  Aztecs.     Now 
the  Christian  fanaticism  was  not  only  highly  in- 
terested in  their  destruction,  but  the  very  safety 
of  the  conqueror  rendered  such  a  destruction 
necessary.     It  was   partly  effected   during   the 
siege  ;  for  those  truncated  pyramids  rising  up 
by  layers  served  for  refuge  to  the  combatants, 
like  the  temple  of  Baal-Berith  to  the  people  of 
Canaan.     They  were  so  many  castles  from  which 
it  was  necessary  to  dislodge  the  enemy. 

As  to  the  houses  of  individuals,  which  the 
Spanish  historians  describe  as  very  low,  we  are 
not  to  be  surprised  to  find  merely  their  founda- 
tions or  low  ruins,  such  as  we  discover  in  the 
Bario  de  Tlatelolco,  and  towards  the  canal  of 
Istacalco.  Even  in  the  most  part  of  our  Euro- 
pean cities,  how  small  is  the  number  of  houses 
of  which  the  construction  goes  so  far  back  as 
the  beginning  of  the  iGtli  century!  However, 
the  edifices  of  Mexico  are  not  fallen  into  ruins 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  41 

through  age.  Animated  by  the  same  spirit  of 
destruction  which  the  Romans  displayed  at 
Syracuse,  Carthage,  and  in  Greece,  the  Spanish 
conquerors  beHeved  that  the  siege  of  a  Mexican 
city  never  was  finished  till  they  had  rased  every 
building  in  it.  Cortez,  in  his  third  letter  •  to 
the  Emperor  Charles  V.  discloses  himself  the 
fearful  system  which  he  followed  in  his  military 
operations.  "  Notwithstanding  all  these  advan- 
tages,** says  he,  *'  which  we  have  gained,  I  saw 
clearly  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  Temix- 
titlan  (Tenochtitlan)  were  so  rebellious  and  ob- 
stinate that  they  wished  rather  to  perish  than 
surrender.  I  knew  not  what  means  to  employ 
to  spare  so  many  dangers  and  hardships,  and  to 
avoid  completing  the  entire  ruin  of  the  capital, 
which  was  the  most  beautiful  thing  in  the  world 
{a  la  ciudad,  porque  era  la  mas  hermosa  cosa  del 
mundo).  It  was  in  vain  to  tell  them  that  I 
would  never  raise  my  camp,  nor  withdraw  my 
flotilla  of  brigantines  j  and  that  I  would  never 
cease  to  carry  on  the  war  by  land  and  water  till 
I  was  master  of  Temixtitlan  j  and  it  was  in  vain 
I  observed  to  them  that  they  could  expect  no 
assistance,  and  that  there  was  not  a  nook  of  land 
from  which  they  could  hope  to  draw  maize,  meat, 
fruits,  and  water.  The  more  we  made  these 
exhortations   to   them,   the   more  they  showed 

*  Lorenzana,  p.  278. 


42  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  hi. 

US  that  they  were  far  from  being  discouraged. 
They  had  no  other  desire  but  that  of  fighting. 
In  this  state  of  things,  considering  that  more 
than  forty  or  fifty  days  had  ah'eady  elapsed  since 
we  began  to  invest  the  place,  I  resolved  at  last 
to  adopt  means,  by  which,  in  providing  for  our 
own  security,  we  should  be  able  to  press  our 
enemies  more  closely.  I  formed  the  design  of 
demolishing  o?i  all  sides  all  the  houses  in  propor- 
tion as  we  becayne  masters  of  the  streets^  so  that  we 
should  not  advance  afoot  xvithout  having  destroyed 
and  cleared  down  whatever  was  behind  us,  convert- 
ing intofrm  ground  whatever  was  water,  however 
slow  the  operation  might  be  ;  and  notwithstanding 
the  delay  to  which  we  should  eœyose  ourselves.  * 
For  this  purpose  I  assembled  the  lords  and  chiefs 
of  our  allies  ;  and  I  explained  to  them  the  reso- 
lution which  I  had  formed.  I  engaged  them  to 
send  a  great  number  of  labourers  with  their  coas 
which  are  somewhat  like  the  hoes  which  are 
used  in  Spain  for  excavations  ;  and  our  allies 
and  friends  approved  my  project,  for  they  hoped 


*  Accordé  de  tomar  un  medio  para  nuestra  seguridad  y 
para  poder  mas  estrechar  a  los  enemigos  ;  y  fue  que  como 
fuessemos  ganando  por  las  calles  de  la  ciudad,  que  fuessen 
derocando  todas  las  casas  de  ellas,  de  un  lado  y  del  otro  ;  por 
manera  que  no  fuessemos  un  passo  adelante  sin  la  dejar  todo 
asolado  y  que  lo  que  era  agua  hacerlo  tierra  firme  ;  aunque 
hubiesse  todo  la  dilacion  que  se  pudiesse  seguir.  —  Loren- 
zana.  No.  xxxiv. 


CHAP,  viii.}      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  43 

that  the  city  would  be  laid  in  complete  ruins, 
which  they  had  ardently  desired  for  a  long  time. 
Three  or  four  days  passed  without  fighting,  for 
we  waited  the  arrival  of  the  people  from  the 
country,  who  were  to  aid  us  in  demolishing." 

After  reading  the  naïf  recital  of  this  com- 
mander-in-chief to  his  sovereign,  we  are  not  to 
be  surprised  at  finding  almost  no  vestige  of  the 
ancient  Mexican  edifices.  Cortez  relates  that 
the  Indians,  to  revenge  themselves  for  the  op- 
pressions which  they  had  suffered  from  the 
Aztec  kings,  flocked  in  great  numbers,  even 
from  the  remotest  provinces,  whenever  they 
learned  that  the  destruction  of  the  capital  was 
going  on.  The  rubbish  of  the  demolished  houses 
served  to  fill  up  the  canals.  The  streets  were 
made  dry  to  allow  the  Spanish  cavalry  to  act. 
The  low  houses,  like  those  of  Pekin  and  China, 
were  partly  constructed  of  wood  and  partly 
of  tetzontli,  a  spongy  stone,  light,  and  easily 
broken.  *'  More  than  fifty  thousand  Indians 
assisted  us,"  says  Cortez,  <*  that  day,  when, 
marching  over  heaps  of  carcases,  we  at  length 
gained  the  great  street  of  Tacuba,  and  burned 
the  house  of  King  Guatimucin.  *      No   other 


*  The  true  name  of  this  unfortunate  king,  the  last  of  the 
Aztec  dynasty,  was  Quauhtemotzin.  He  is  the  same  to 
whom  Cortez  caused  the  soles  of  the  feet  to  be  gradually 
burned,  after  having  soaked  them  in  oil.      This  torment, 


44  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi, 

thing,   accordingly,   was   done   than   burn  and 
demolish  houses.     Those  of  the  city  said  to  our 


however,  did  not  induce  the  king  to  declare  in  what  place 
his  treasures  were  concealed.  His  end  was  the  same  as  that 
of  the  king  of  Acolhuacan  (Tezcuco,)  and  of  Tetlepanguet- 
zaltzin,  king  of  Tlacopan  (Tacuba.)  These  three  princes 
were  hung  on  the  same  tree,  and,  as  I  saw  in  a  hieroglyphical 
picture  possessed  by  Father  Pichardo  (in  the  convent  of  San 
Felipe  Neri),  they  were  hung  by  the  feet  to  lengthen  out 
their  torments.  This  act  of  cruelty  in  Cortez,  which  recent 
historians  have  the  meanness  to  describe  as  the  effect  of  a 
far-sighted  policy,  excited  murmurs  in  the  very  army.  **  The 
death  of  the  young  king,"  says  Bernai  Diaz  del  Castillo  (an 
old  soldier  full  of  honour  and  of  naivety  of  expression), 
«'  was  a  very  unjust  thing.  And  it  was  accordingly  blamed 
by  us  all,  so  long  as  we  were  in  the  suite  of  the  captain,  in 
his  march  to  Comajahua."  —  Author. 

The  Abbé  Clavigero  observes,  on  what  authority  I  know 
not,  that  this  cruelty  made  Cortez  very  melancholy,  and 
gave  him  a  few  sleepless  nights,  una  gran  malinconia,  ed 
alcune  vcgghie.  Well  indeed  it  might  ;  but  whether  we  are 
indebted  for  these  vegghie  to  the  native  suggestions  of  his 
own  conscience,  or  to  the  murmurs  of  his  army,  is  not  so 
easy  to  be  determined  ;  for  heroes'  consciences  are  made  of 
stern  stuff,  as  many  can  witness  who  have  known  several  of 
them  perform  certain  actions  in  a  certain  neighbouring 
country,  and  neither  eat  nor  sleep  the  worse  for  it  ;  at  the 
bare  recital  of  which  other  people's  cheeks  turn  either  pale 
or  flushed  as  their  different  temperaments  dispose  them. 
We  must  not  think  that  the  Spaniards  monopolized  cruelty 
in  foreign  settlements.  Mr.  Orme,  in  his  excellent  History 
of  Hindostan,  celebrates  some  feats  of  our  own  countrymen, 
and  those  the  bravest  of  our  countrymen,  which  yield  very 
little  to  any  thing  in  the  Mexican  annals.  Three  or  four 
hundred,  1  believe,  of  the  brave  grenadiers,  who  long  dis- 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  45 

allies  that  they  did  wrong  in  assisting  us  to 
destroy,  because  one  day  they  would  have  to 
reconstruct  with  their  hands  the  very  same 
edifices,  either  for  the  besieged,  if  they  were  to 
conquer,  or  for  us  Spaniards,  who,  in  reality, 
now  compel  them  to  rebuild  what  was  demo- 
lished." *    In  going  over  the  Libro  del  Cabildo, 


tinguished  themselves  so  gallantly  on  the  plains  of  Trichino- 
poly,  and  who,  rushing  on  certain  destruction,  swore,  in 
their  energetic  way,  "  they  would  follow  their  leader  to 
hell,'*  on  taking  possession  of  a  fortified  town  in  Arcot  put 
every  soul  in  it  to  death,  man,  woman,  and  child,  for  no 
other  reason  than  that  the  place  had  been  gallantly  de- 
fended.    Heroes  are  nearly  the  same  all  the  world  over. 

But,  to  be  sure,  the  poor  Mexican  kings  were  better  off. 
Juan  de  Varillas,  a  friar  of  the  order  of  Nuestra  Senora  de 
la  Merced,  confessed  them,  and  comforted  them  in  their 
sufferings,  that  they  were  good  Christians,  and  that  they 
died  in  good  preparation,  seeing  they  were  baptized:  li 
confess^  e  confortb  nel  supplicio  ;  cKeglino  erano  buoni  Cris- 
tiani,  e  che  morirono  hen  disposti  :  oncT  è  manifesto  ch'  erano 
stato  battezzati.     (Clavigero,  iii.  p.  233.  note.) 

It  is  only  after  considering  the  operations  of  an  army  in 
detail,  and  the  ferocious  dispositions  and  habits  of  those  of 
which  it  is  almost  necessarily,  for  the  greatest  part,  com- 
posed, that  we  can  fully  appreciate  all  the  glory  of  a  Corn- 
wallis,  an  Abercromby,  or  a  Moore.  This  is  not  dictated 
in  the  spirit  of  a  canting  philosophy,  nor  from  a  foolish 
imagination  that  soldiers  will  ever  be  other  than  what  they 
are.  No  one  would  wish  to  see  them  imbued  with  the 
lacrymose  propensities  of  a  modern  hero  of  romance.  It  is 
perhaps  wisely  ordained,  that  those  who  fight  should  not  be 
those  who  feel.  —  Trans. 

*  Lorenzana,  p.  286. 


46  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

a  manuscript  already  mentioned  by  us,  which 
contains  the  history  of  the  new  city  of  Mexico 
from  the  year  1524  to  1529,  I  found  nothing  in 
all  the  pages  but  names  of  people  who  appeared 
before  the  alguazils  "  to  demand  the  situation 
(solar)  on  which  formerly  stood  the  house  of 
such  or  such  a  Mexican  lord."  Even  at  present 
they  are  occupied  in  filling  and  drying  up  the 
old  canals  which  run  through  the  capital.  The 
number  of  these  canals  has  diminished  in  a  par- 
ticular manner  since  the  government  of  the 
Count  de  Galvez,  though  on  account  of  the 
great  breadth  of  the  streets  of  Mexico  the  ca- 
nals are  less  inimical  to  the  passage  of  carriages 
than  in  the  most  part  of  the  cities  of  Holland. 

We  may  reckon  among  the  small  remains  of 
Mexican  antiquities  which  interest  the  intelli- 
gent traveller,  either  in  the  bounds  of  the  city 
of  Mexico,  or  in  its  environs,  the  ruins  of  the 
Aztec  dikes  (albaradones)  and  aqueducts  ;  the 
stone  of  the  sacrifices,  adorned  with  a  relievo 
which  represents  the  triumph  of  a  Mexican 
king  ;  the  great  calendar  monument  (exposed 
with  the  foregoing  at  the  Plaza  Mayor)  ;  the 
colossal  statue  of  the  goddess  Teoyaomiqui, 
stretched  out  in  one  of  the  galleries  of  the  edifice 
of  the  university,  and  habitually  covered  with 
three  or  four  inches  of  earth  ;  the  Aztec  manu- 
scripts, or  hieroglyphical  pictures,  painted  on 
agave  paper,  on  stag-skins  and  cotton-cloth,  (a 


CHAP.  Vin.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  47 

valuable  collection  unjustly  taken  away  from 
the  Chevalier  Boturini*,  very  ill  preserved  in  the 
archives  of  the  palace  of  the  viceroys,  displaying 
in  every  figure  the  extravagant  imagination  of  a 
people  who  delighted  to  see  the  palpitating  heart 
of  human  victims  offered  up  to  gigantic  and 
monstrous  idols)  ;  the  foundations  of  the  palace 
of  the  kings  of  Alcolhuacan  at  Tezcuco  ;  the 
colossal  relievo  traced  on  the  western  face  of 
the  porphyritical  rock  called  the  Penol  de  los 
Baîîos  J  as  well  as  several  other  objects  which 
recall  to  the  intelligent  observer  the  institutions 
and  works  of  people  of  the  Mongol  race,  of 
which  descriptions  and  drawings  will  be  given 
in  the  historical  account  of  my  travels  to  the 
equinoxial  regions  of  the  new  continent. 

The  only  ancient  monuments  in  the  Mexican 
valley  wiiich  from  their  size  or  their  masses  can 
strike  the  eyes  of  an  European  are  the  remains 
of  the  two  pyramids  of  San  Juan  de  Teotihuacan, 
situated  to  the  north-east  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco, 
consecrated  to  the  sun  and  moon,  which  the 
Indians  called  Tonatiuh  Ytzaqual,  house  of  the 
sun,  and  Metzli  Ytzaqual,  house  of  the  moon. 

*  The  author  of  the  ingenious  work,  Ydea  de  una  nueva 
Historia  general  de  la  America  Septentrional  por  el  Cabal- 
lero  Boturini.     Author. 

Robertson  gives  a  character  of  this  book  somewhat  lower  ; 
"  His  idea  of  a  new  history  appears  to  me  the  work  of  a 
whimsical  credulous  man."     Vol.  iii.  note  36.     Trans, 


48  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

According  to  the  measurements  made  in  1808 
by  a  young  Mexican  savant.  Doctor  Oteyza, 
the  first  pyramid,  which  is  the  most  southern, 
has  in  its  present  state  a  base  of  208  metres* 
(64^5  feet)  in  length,  and  55  metres  (66  Mex- 
ican varat,  or  I7I  feett)  of  perpendicular  ele- 
vation. The  second,  the  pyramid  of  the  moon, 
is  eleven  metres  ||  (30  feet)  lower,  and  its  base  is 
much  less.  These  monuments,  according  to 
the  accounts  of  the  first  travellers,  and  from  the 
form  which  they  yet  exhibit,  were  the  models  of 
the  Aztec  teocallis.  The  nations  whom  the 
Spaniards  found  settled  in  New  Spain  attributed 
the  pyramids  of  Teotihuacan  to  the  Toultec  na- 
tion §  ;  consequently  their  construction  goes  as 


•  682  feet  English.     Trans. 

f  Velasquez  found  that  the  Mexican  vara  contained  ex- 
ctly  31  inches  of  the  old  pied  du  roi  of  Paris.  The  north- 
ern façade  of  the  Hotel  des  Invalides  at  Paris  is  only  600 
feet  French  in  length. 

J  180  feet  English.     Trans. 

II  36  feet  English. 

§  Siguenza,  however,  in  his  manuscript-notes,  believes 
them  to  be  the  work  of  the  Olmec  nation,  which  dwelt  round 
the  Sierra  de  Tlascala,  called  Matlacueje.  If  this  hypothesis, 
of  which  we  are  unacquainted  with  the  historical  founda- 
tions, be  true,  these  monuments  would  be  still  more  ancient. 
For  the  Olmecs  belong  to  the  first  nations  mentioned  in  the 
Aztec  chronology  as  existing  in  New  Spain.  It  is  even  pre- 
tended that  the  Olmecs  are  the  only  nation  of  which  the 
migration  took  place,  not  from  the  north  and  north-west 
(Mongol  Asia?),  but  from  the  east  (Europe  ?). 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  4-9 

far  back  as  the  eighth  or  ninth  century  ;  for  tlie 
kingdom  of  Tolula  lasted  from  (367  to  1031. 
The  faces  of  these  edifices  are  to  within  52' 
exactly  placed  from  north  to  south,  and  from 
east  to  west.  Their  interior  is  clay,  mixed  with 
small  stones.  This  kernel  is  covered  with  a 
thick  wall  of  porous  amygdaloid.  We  perceive, 
besides,  traces  of  a  bed  of  lime  which  covers  the 
stones  (the  tetzontli)  on  the  outside.  Several 
authors  of  the  l6th  century  pretend,  according 
to  an  Indian  tradition,  that  the  interior  of  these 
pyramids  is  hollow.  Boturini  says  that  Si- 
guenza,  the  Mexican  geometrician,  in  vain  en- 
deavoured to  pierce  these  edifices  by  a  gallery. 
They  formed  four  layers,  of  which  three  are  only 
now  perceivable,  the  injuries  of  time  and  the 
vegetation  of  the  cactus  and  agaves  having  exer- 
cised their  destructive  influence  on  the  exterior 
of  these  monuments.  A  stair  of  large  hewn 
stones  formerly  led  to  their  tops,  where,  accord- 
ing to  the  accounts  of  the  first  travellers,  were 
statues  covered  with  very  thin  lamina  of  gold. 
Each  of  the  four  principal  layers  was  subdivided 
into  small  gradations  of  a  metre*  in  height,  of 
which  the  edges  are  still  distinguishable,  which 
were  covered  with  fragments  of  obsidian,  that 
were  undoubtedly  the  edge-instruments  with 
which  the  Toultec  and  Aztec  priests  in  theij' 

*  3  feet  3  inclies.     Trans. 
VOL.  II.  E 


50  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

barbarous  sacrifices  (Papahua  Tlemacazque  or 
Teopiivgid)  opened  the  chest  of  the  human  vic- 
tims. We  know  that  the  obsidian  (itzH)  was  the 
object  of  the  great  mining  undertakings,  of 
which  we  still  see  the  traces  in  an  innumerable 
quantity  of  pits  between  the  mines  of  Moran 
and  the  village  of  Atotonilco  el  Grande,  in  the 
porphyry  mountains  of  Oyamel  and  the  Jacal,  a 
region  called  by  the  Spaniards  the  Mountain  of 
Knives,  el  Cerro  de  las  Navajas.* 

It  would  be  undoubtedly  desirable  to  have  the 
question  resolved,  whether  these  curious  edifices, 
of  which  the  one  (the  Tonat'mh  Ytzagual),  ac- 
cording to  the  accurate  measurement  of  my 
friend  M.  Oteyza,  has  a  mass  of  128,970  cubic 
toisest,  were  entirely  constructed  by  the  hand 
of  man,  or  whether  the  Toultecs  took  advantage 
of  some  natural  hill  which  they  covered  over 
with  stone  and  lime.  This  very  question  has 
been  recently  agitated  with  respect  to  several 
pyramids  of  Giza  and  Sacara  ;  and  it  has  be- 
come doubly  interesting  from  the  fantastical  hy- 
potheses which  M.  Witte  has  thrown  out  as  to 
the  origin  of  the  monuments  of  colossal  form  in 
Egypt,    PersepoHs,   and   Palmyra.     As  neither 

*  I  found  the  height  of  the  summit  of  the  Jacal  3124 
metres  (  10,248  feet)  ;  and  la  Rocca  de  las  Ventanas,  at  the 
foot  of  the  Cerro  de  las  Navajas,  2590  metres  (8496  feet) 
above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

t  33,743,201  cubic  feet.     Trans. 


CHAP,  virr.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  .51 

the  pyramids  of  Teotihuacan,  nor  that  of  Cho- 
lula,  of  which  we  shall  afterwards  have  occasion 
to  speak,  have  been  diametrically  pierced,  it  is 
impossible  to  speak  with  certainty  of  their  in- 
terior structure.  The  Indian  traditions,  from 
which  they  are  believed  to  be  hollow,  are  vague 
and  contradictory.  Their  situation  in  plains 
where  no  other  hill  is  to  be  found,  renders  it  ex- 
tremely probable  that  no  natural  rock  serves  for 
a  kernel  to  these  monuments.  What  is  also 
very  remarkable  (especially  if  we  call  to  mind 
the  assertions  of  Pococke,  as  to  the  symmetrical 
position  of  the  lesser  pyramids  of  Egypt)  is, 
that  around  the  houses  of  the  sun  and  moon  of 
Teotihuacan  we  find  a  group,  I  may  say  a 
system,  of  pyramids,  of  scarcely  9  or  10  metres 
of  elevation.*  These  monuments,  of  which 
there  are  several  hundreds,  are  disposed  in  very 
large  streets  which  follow  exactly  the  direction 
of  the  parallels,  and  of  the  meridians,  and  which 
terminate  in  the  four  faces  of  the  two  great 
pyramids.  The  lesser  pyramids  are  more  fre- 
quent towards  the  southern  side  of  the  temple 
of  the  moon  than  towards  the  temple  of  the  sun  : 
and,  according  to  the  tradition  of  the  country, 
they  were  dedicated  to  the  stars.  It  appears 
certain  enough  that  they  served  as  burying- 
places  for  the  chiefs  of  tribes.     All  the  plain 

*  29  or  32  feet.     Trans. 
E  a 


52  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  rii. 

which  the  Spaniards,  from  a  word  of  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Island  of  Cuba,  call  Llano  de  los 
Cues,  bore  formerly  in  the  Aztec  and  Toultec 
languages  the  name  of  Micaotly  or  Road  of  the 
Dead.  What  analogies  with  the  monuments  of 
the  old  continent!  And  this  Toultec  people, 
who,  on  arrivmg  in  the  seventh  century  on  the 
Mexican  soil,  constructed  on  a  uniform  plan 
several  of  those  colossal  monuments,  those  trun- 
cated pyramids  divided  by  layers,  like  the  temple 
of  Belus  at  Babylon,  whence  did  they  take 
the  model  of  these  edifices  ?  Were  they  of 
Mongol  race  ?  Did  they  descend  from  a  com- 
mon stock*  with  the  Chinese,  the  Hiong-nu,  and 
the  Japanese  ? 

Another  ancient  monument,  worthy  of  the 
traveller's  attention,  is  the  military  entrench- 
ment of  Xochicalco,  situated  to  the  S.  S.  W.  of 
the  town  of  Cuernavaca,  near  Tetlama,  belonging 
to  the  parish  of  Xochitepeque.  It  is  an  insulated 
hill  of  117  metres  of  elevation,  surrounded  with 
ditches  or  trenches,  and  divided  by  the  hand 
of  man  into  five  terraces  covered  with  ma- 
sonry. The  whole  forms  a  truncated  pyramid, 
of  which  the  four  faces  are  exactly  laid  down 

*  See  a  work  of  Mr.  Herder's  :  Idea  of  a  Philosophical 
History  of  the  Human  Species,  Vol.  II.  page  11.  (in  Ger- 
man), and  Essay  towards  a  Universal  History  by  M.  Gat- 
terer,  p.  489.  (in  German). 


i 


CHAP,  viii.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  53 

according  to  the  four  cardinal  points.  The 
porphyry-stones  with  basaltic  bases  are  of  a  very 
regular  cut,  and  are  adorned  with  hierogly- 
phical  figures,  among  which  are  to  be  seen  cro- 
codiles spouting  up  water,  and,  what  is  very 
curious,  men  sitting  cross-legged  in  the  Asiatic 
manner.  The  platform  of  this  extraordinary 
monument*  contains  more  than  9000  square 
metres  t,  and  exhibits  the  ruins  of  a  small  square 
edifice,  which  undoubtedly  served  for  a  last  re- 
treat to  the  besieged.  * 

I  shall  conclude  this  rapid  view  of  the  Aztec 
antiquities  with  pointing  out  a  few  places  which 
may  be  called  classical,  on  account  of  the  in- 
terest they  excite  in  those  who  have  studied  the 
history  of  the  Spanish  conquest  of  Mexico. 

The  palace  of  Motezuma,  occupied  the  very 
same  site  on  which  at  present  stands  the  hotel  of 
the  Duke  de  Monteleone,  vulgarly  called  Casa 
del  Estado,  in  the  Plaza  Mayor,  S.  W.  from  the 
cathedral.  This  palace,  like  those  of  the  Empe- 
ror of  China,  of  which  we  have  accurate  descrip- 
tions from  Sir  George  Staunton  and  M.  Barrow, 
was  composed  of  a  great  number  of  spacious  but 
very  low  houses.     They  occupied  the  whole  ex- 

*  Descripcion  de  las  antiguedades  de  Xochicalco  dedicada 
a  los  Seîiores  de  la  Expedicion  maritima  baxo  las  ordenes  de 
Don  Alexandre  Malaspina  por  Don  Jose  Antonio  Alzate. 
Mexico,  1791,  p,  12. 

f  96,825  square  feet.     Trans. 

E   S 


54  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

tent  of  ground  between  the  Empedradillo,  the 
great  street  of  Tacuba,  and  the  convent  de  la 
Professa.  Cortez,  after  the  taking  of  the  city, 
fixed  his  abode  opposite  to  the  ruins  of  the 
palace  of  the  Aztec  kings,  where  the  palace  of 
the  viceroy  is  now  situated.  But  it  was  soon 
thought  that  the  house  of  Cortez  was  more  suit- 
able for  the  assemblies  of  the  audiencia,  and  the 
government  consequently  made  the  family  of 
Cortez  resign  the  Casa  del  Estado,  or  the  old 
hotel  belonging  to  them.  This  family,  which 
bears  the  title  of  tlie  Marquesado  del  Valle  de 
Qaxacay  received  in  exchange  the  situation  of 
the  ancient  palace  of  Motezuma,  and  they 
there  constructed  the  fine  edifice  in  which  the 
archives  del  Estado  are  kept,  and  which  descend- 
ed with  the  rest  of  the  heritage  to  the  Neapolitan 
Duke  de  Monteleone. 

At  the  first  entry  of  Cortez  into  Tenochtitlan 
on  the  8th  November,  1519,  he  and  his  small 
army  were  lodged  not  in  the  palace  of  Mote- 
zuma, but  in  an  edifice  formerly  possessed  by 
king  Axajacatl.  It  was  in  this  edifice  that  the 
Spaniards  and  the  Tlascaltecs,  their  allies,  sus- 
tained the  assault  of  the  Mexicans  j  it  was  there 
that  the  unfortunate  king  Motezuma*  perished 

*  It  is  from  one  of  his  sons,  called  Tohualicahuatzin,  and 
after  baptism  Don  Pedro  Motezuma^  that  the  Counts  of  Mote- 
zuma and  Tula  in  Spain  arc  descended.  The  Cano  Mote- 
zuma, the  Andradc  Motezuma,  and,  if  I  am  not  mistaken, 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  55 

of  the  consequences  of  a  wound  which  he  re- 
ceived in  haranguing  his  people.  We  still  per- 
ceive* inconsiderable  remains  of  these  quarters 
of  the  Spaniards  in  the  ruins  behind  the  convent 
of  Santa  Teresa,  at  the  corner  of  the  streets  of 
Tacuba  and  del  Indio  Triste. 

A  small  bridge  near  Bonavista  preserves  the 
name  of  Alvarado's  Leap  (Salto  de  Alvarado), 
in  memory  of  the  prodigious  leap  of  the  valorous 
Don  Pedro  de  Alvarado,  when  in  the  famous 
melancholy  night  \  the  dike  of  Tlacopan  having 
been  cut  in  several  places  by  the  Mexicans,  the 
Spaniards  withdrew  from  the  city  to  the  moun- 
tains of  Tepeyacac.  It  appears  that  even  in  the 
time  of  Cortez  the  historical  truth  of  this  fact 


even  the  counts  of  Miravalle  at  Mexico,  trace  back  their 
origin  to  the  beautiful  Princess  Tecuichpotzin,  the  youngest 
daughter  of  the  last  King  Motezuma  II.,  or  Moteuczoma 
Xocojotzin.  The  descendants  of  this  king  did  not  mingle 
their  blood  with  the  whites  till  the  second  generation. 

*  The  proofs  of  this  assertion  are  contained  in  the  manu- 
scripts of  M.  Gama,  at  the  convent  of  San  Felippe  Neri,  in 
the  hands  of  Father  Pichardo.     The  palace  of  Axajacatl 
was  probably  a  vast  inclosure,  which  contained  several  edi- 
fices ;  for  nearly  seven  thousand  men  were  quartered  there. 
(Clavigero,  iii.  p.  79.)     The  ruins  of  the  city  of  Mansiche 
in  Peru  give  us  a  clear  idea  of  this  species  of  American  con- 
struction .     Every  habitation  ofa  great  lord  formed  a  sepa- 
rate district,  in  which  the  courts,  streets,  walls,  and  ditches, 
were  distinguished, 
t  Noche  triste,  July  r.'l520. 
E   4 


56  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

was  disputed,  which,  from  popular  tradition,  is 
famihar  to  every  class  of  the  inhabitants  of  Mex- 
ico. Bernai  Diaz  considers  the  history  of  the 
leap  as  a  mere  boast  of  his  companion  in  arms, 
of  whose  courage  and  presence  of  mind  he,  how- 
ever, elsewhere  makes  honourable  mention.  He 
affirms  that  the  ditch  was  much  too  broad  to  be 
passed  at  a  leap.  I  have,  however,  to  observe, 
that  this  anecdote  is  very  minutely  related  in  the 
manuscript  of  a  noble  Mestizoe  of  the  republic 
of  Tlascala,  Diego  Muiioz  Camargo,  which  I 
consulted  at  the  convent  of  San  Felippe  Neri,  and 
of  which  Father  Torquemada*  appears  also  to 
have  had  some  knowledge.  This  Mestizoe  his- 
torian was  the  contemporary  of  Hernan  Cortez. 
He  relates  the  history  of  Alvarado's  leap  with 
much  simplicity,  without  any  appearance  of  ex- 
aggeration, and  without  mentioning  the  breadth 

*  Monarquia  Indiana,  lib.  iv.  cap.  80.  Clavigero,  i.  p.  10. 
There  still  exist  in  Mexico  and  Spain  several  historical 
manuscripts  of"  the  16th  century,  of  which  the  publication  by 
extract  would  throw  much  light  on  the  history  of  Anahuac. 
Such  are  the  manuscripts  of  Sahagun,  Motolinia,  Andrea  de 
Olmos,  Zurita,  Josef  Tobai-,  Fernando  Pimentel  Ixtlilxochitl, 
Antonio  Motezuma,  Antonio  Piraentl  Ixthlxochitl,  Taddeo 
de  Niza,  Gabriel  d'Ayala,  Zapata,  Ponce,  Christophe  de 
Castillo,  Fernando  Alba  Ixtlilxochitl,  Pomar,  Chimalpain, 
Alvarado  Tezozomoc,  and  Gutteriez.  All  these  authors, 
with  the  exception  of  the  five  first,  were  baptized  Indians, 
natives  of  Tlascala,  Tezcuco,  Cholula,  and  Mexico.  The 
Ixtlilxochitls  descended  from  the  royal  family  of  Alco- 
huucan. 


i 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  57 

of  the  ditch.     We  imagine  we  perceive  in  his 
naive  recital  one  of  the  heroes  of  antiquity,  who, 
with  his  shoulder  and  arm  supported  on  his  lance, 
takes  an  enormous  leap  to  escape  from  the  hands 
of  his  enemies.     Camargo  adds,  that  other  Spa- 
niards wished  to  follow  the  example  of  Alvarado, 
but  that,  having  less  agility  than  he  had,  they  fell 
into  the  ditch  (azequia).     The  Mexicans,  says 
he,  were  so  astonished  at  the  address  of  Alvarado, 
that  on  seeing  him  make  his  escape,  they  bit  the 
earth  (a  figurative  expression  which  the  Tlas- 
caltec  author  borrowed  from  his  language,  and 
which  signifies  being  stupified  with  admiration).  * 
"  The  children  of  Alvarado,  who  was  called  the 
Capitan  delSaltOy  proved  by  witnesses  before  the 
judges  of  Tezcuco  the  prowess  of  their  father. 
To  this  they  were  compelled  by  a  process  in 
which  they  demonstrated  the  exploits  of  Alva- 
rado de  el  Salto,  their  father,  at  the  period  of  the 
conquest  of  Mexico." 


*  There  is  such  a  thing,  perhaps,  as  explaining  too  much. 
Few  of  M.  Humboldt's  readers,  I  dare  say,  will  be  led  to 
conceive  that  the  Mexicans  fell  literally  to  the  eating  of 
earth.  There  are  bounds  to  commenting,  which  a  salutary 
dread  of  prolixity  should  impress  on  every  writer,  but  which, 
unfortunately,  the  countrymen  of  M.  de  Humboldt  (Ger- 
mans) seem  seldom  to  have  a  clear  conception  of.  I  shall 
make  myself  sufficiently  understood  when  I  allude  to  the 
prolixity  of  their  most  celebrated  writers,  their  Herders, 
Gentzes,  and  Wielands.     Trans. 


58  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

Strangers  are  shown  the  bridge  of  Clerigo, 
near  the  Plaza  Mayor  de  Tlatelolco,  as  the  me- 
morable place  where  the  last  Aztec  king  Quauh- 
temotzin,  nephew  of  his  predecessor  King  Cuit- 
lahuatzin*,  and  son-in-law  of  Motezuma  II., 
was  taken.  But  the  result  of  the  most  careful 
researches  which  myself  and  Father  Pichardo 
could  make  was,  that  the  young  king  fell  into  the 
hands  of  Garci  Holguint,  in  a  great  basin  of 
water  which  was  formerly  between  the  Garita 
del  Peralvillo,  the  square  of  Santiago  de  Tla- 
telolco, and  the  bridge  of  Amaxac.  Cortez  hap- 
pened to  be  on  the  terrace  of  a  house  of  Tla- 
telolco when  the  young  king  was  brought  a 
prisoner  to  him.  *<  I  made  him  sit  down,"  says 
the  conqueror  in  his  third  letter  to  the  Emperor 
Charles  V.,  **  and  1  treated  him  with  confidence  j 
but  the  young  man  put  his  hand  on  the  poniard 
which  I  wore  at  my  side,  and  exhorted  me  to 
kill  him,  because,  since  he  had  done  all  that  his 

*  This  king  Cuitlahuatzin  (whom  Solis  and  the  other  Eu- 
ropean historians,  who  confound  all  the  Mexican  names,  call 
Quetlabaca,)  was  the  brother  and  successor  of  Motezuma  II. 
He  is  the  same  prince  who  displayed  so  much  taste  for  gar- 
dening ;  and  who,  according  to  the  recital  of  Cortez,  made 
the  collection  of  rare  plants,  which  were  long  admired  after 
his  death,  at  Iztapalapan. 

\  On  the  31st  August,  1521,  the  75th  day  of  the  siege  of 
Tenochtitlan,  and  Saint  Hyppolitus's  day.  The  same  day  is 
still  celebrated  every  year  by  a  tour  round  the  city  by  the 
viceroy  and  oidores  on  horseback,  following  the  standard. 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  59 

duty  to  himself  and  his  people  demanded  of  him, 
he  had  no  other  desire  but  death."  This  trait 
is  worthy  of  the  best  days  of  Greece  and  Rome. 
Under  every  zone,  and  whatever  be  the  colour 
of  men,  the  language  of  energetic  minds  strug- 
gling with  misfortune  is  the  same.  We  have 
already  seen  what  was  the  tragical  end  of  this 
unfortunate  Quauhtemotzin. 

After  the  entire  destruction  of  the  ancient  Te- 
nochtitlan,  Cortez  remained  with  his  people  for 
four  or  five  months  at  Cojohuacan*,  a  place  for 
which  he  constantly  displayed  a  great  predilec- 
tion. He  was  at  first  uncertain  whether  he 
should  reconstruct  the  capital  on  some  other  spot 
around  the  lakes.  He  at  last  determined  on  the 
old  situation,  *'  because  the  city  of  Temixtitlan 
had  acquired  celebrity,  because  its  position  was 
delightful,  and  because  in  all  times  it  had  been 
considered  as  the  head  of  the  Mexican  pro- 
vinces," (como  principal  y  senora  de  todas  estas 
provincias).  It  cannot,  however,  admit  of  a 
doubt,  that,  on  account  of  the  frequent  inunda- 
tions suffered  by  Old  and  New  Mexico,  it  would 
have  been  better  to  have  rebuilt  the  city  to  the 
east  of  Tezcuco,  or  on  the  heights  between 
Tacuba  and  Tacubaya.t     The  capital  was,  in 

*  Lorenzana,  p.  307. 

t  Cisneros  descripcion  del  sitio  en  el  qual  se  halla  Mexico 
Alzate  Topographia  de  Mexico.  (Gazetta  de  Litteratura,  1790, 
p.  32.)     The  most  part  of  the  great  cities  of  the  Spanish  co- 


60  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  hi. 

fact,  about  to  be  transferred  to  these  heights  by 
a  formal  edict  of  King  Phihp  III.,  at  the  period 
of  the  great  inundation  in  I607.  The  qjunta- 
miento,  or  magistracy  of  the  city,  represented  to 
the  court  that  the  value  of  the  houses  condemn- 
ed to  destruction  amounted  to  105  millions  of 
francs.  *  They  appeared  to  be  ignorant  at  Ma- 
drid that  the  capital  of  a  kingdom,  constructed 
for  more  than  88  years,  is  not  a  flying  camp, 
which  may  be  changed  at  will. 

It  is  impossible  to  determine  with  any  certainty 
the  number  of  inhabitants  of  old  Tenochtitlan. 
Were  we  to  judge  from  the  fragments  of  ruined 
houses,  and  the  recital  of  the  first  conquerors, 
and  especially  from  the  number  of  the  com- 
batants whom  the  kings  Cuitlahuatzin  and 
Quauhtimotzin  opposed  to  the  Tlascaltecs  and 


lonies,  however  new  their  appearance  may  be,  are  in  disagree- 
able situations.  I  do  not  here  speak  of  the  site  of  Caraccas, 
Quito,  Pasto,  and  several  other  cities  of  South  America,  but 
merely  of  the  Mexican  cities  ;  for  example,  Valladolid,  which 
might  have  been  built  in  the  beautiful  valley  of  Tepara; 
Guadalaxara,  which  is  quite  near  the  delightful  plain  of  the 
Rio  Chiconahuatenco,  or  San  Pedro  ;  Pazcuaro,  which  we 
cannot  help  wishing  to  have  been  built  at  Tzintzontza.  One 
would  say  that  every  where  the  new  colonists  of  two  adjoin- 
ing places  have  uniformly  chosen  either  the  one  most  moun- 
toinous,  or  most  exposed  to  inundations.  But  indeed  the  Spa- 
niards have  constructed  almost  no  new  cities  ;  they  merely 
inhabited  or  enlarged  those  which  were  already  founded  by 
the  Indians. 

*  4',375,350A  sterling.     Tram. 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN  61 

Spaniards,  we  should  pronounce  the  population 
of  Tenochtitlan  three  times  greater  than  that  of 
Mexico  in  our  days.  Cortez  asserts,  that  after 
the  siege  the  concourse  of  Mexican  artisans  who 
wrought  for  the  Spaniards,  as  carpenters,  masons, 
weavers,  and  founders,  was  so  enormous,  that  in 
1524  the  new  city  of  Mexico  already  numbered 
thirty  thousand  inhabitants.  Modern  authors 
have  thrown  out  the  most  contradictory  ideas 
regarding  the  population  of  this  capital.  The 
Abbé  Clavigero,  in  his  excellent  work  on  the 
ancient  history  of  New  Spain,  proves  that  these 
estimations  vary  from  sixty  thousand  to  a  million 
and  a  half  of  inhabitants.  *  We  ought  not  to 
be  astonished  at  these  contradictions  when  we 
consider  how  new  statistical  researches  are  even 
in  the  most  cultivated  parts  of  Europe. 

According  to  the  most  recent  and  least  uncer- 
tain data,  the  actual  population  of  the  capital 
of  Mexico  appears  to  be  (including  the  troops) 
from  135  to  140,000  souls.  The  enumeration  in 
1790,  by  orders  of  the  Count  de  Revillagigedo, 
gave  a  result!  of  only  112,926  inhabitants  for 
the  city  ;  but  we  know  that  this  result  is  one- 
sixth  below  the  truth.  The  regular  troops  and 
militia  in  garrison  in  the  capital  are  composed 
of  from  5  to  6000  men  in  arms.     We  may  admit 


*   Clavigero,  iv.  p.  278.  note  ;;. 

\  See  note  C.  at  the  end  of  the  work. 


62  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  in. 

with  great  probability  that  the  actual  population 
consists  of 


2,500  white  Europeans. 
65,000  white  Creoles. 
33,000  indigenous  (copper-coloured). 
26,500  Mestizoes,   mixture  of   whites   and 

Indians. 
10,000  Mulattoes. 


137,000  inhabitants. 

There  are  consequently  in  Mexica  69,500 
men  of  colour,  and  67,500  whites  ;  but  a  great 
number  of  the  Mestizoes  are  almost  as  white  as 
the  Europeans  and  Spanish  Creoles  ! 

In  the  twenty-three  male  convents  which  the 
capital  contains  there  are  nearly  1200  indivi- 
duals, of  whom  580  are  priests  and  choristers. 
In  the  fifteen  female  convents  there  are  2100 
individuals,  of  whom  nearly  900  are  professed 
^religieuses. 

The  clergy  of  the  city  of  Mexico  is  extremely 
numerous,  though  less  numerous  by  one-fourth 
than  at  Madrid.  The  enumeration  of  1790 
gives 


CHAP.  Yiii.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  63 

Individuals. 


In  the  convents 
of  monks 


^573  priests  and  choristers.  1 

■<    59  novices.  >  867 

1 235  lay  brothers.  ) 

In  the  convents  (888  professed  religieuses.  \  ^^^ 

of  nuns.       J^   35  novices.  y  ■  " 

Prebendaries  26 

Parish  priests  (curés)  16 

Curates  43 

Secular  ecclesiastics  517 


Total,  2392 

and  without  including  lay  brothers  and  novices, 
2068.  The  clergy  of  Madrid,  according  to  the 
excellent  work  of  M.  de  Laborde  *,  is  composed 
of  3470  persons,  consequently  the  clergy  is  to  the 
whole  population  of  Mexico  as  li  to  100,  and  at 
Madrid  as  2  to  100. 

We  have  already  given  a  view  of  the  revenues 
of  the  Mexican  clergy.  The  archbishop  of 
Mexico  possesses  a  revenue  of  682,500  livres,  t 
This  sum  is  somewhat  less  than  the  revenue  of 
the  convent  of  Jeronimites  of  the  Escurial.  An 
archbishop  of  Mexico*  is,  consequently,  much 
poorer  than  the  archbishops  of  Toledo,  Valencia, 

*  This  excellent  tvork  of  Laborde,  it  is  worth  while  to  re- 
mark, received  several  contributions  from  M.  de  Humboldt. 
Trans. 

f  18,420  sterling.     Trans. 


64.  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  iir. 

Seville,  and  Santiago.  The  first  of  these  pos- 
sesses a  revenue  of  three  millions  of  livres.  * 
However,  M.  de  Laborde  has  proved,  and  the 
fact  is  by  no  means  generally  known,  that  the 
clergy  of  France  before  the  Re\^olution  was  more 
numerous,  compared  to  the  total  population,  and 
richer  as  a  body,  than  the  Spanish  clergy.  The 
revenues  of  the  tribunal  of  inquisition  of  Mexico, 
a  tribunal  which  extends  over  the  whole  kincc- 
dom  of  New  Spain,  Guatimala,  and  the  Philip- 
pine Islands,  amount  to  200,000  livres,  t 

The  number  of  births  at  Mexico,  for  a  mean 
term  of  100  years,  is  5930  ;  and  the  number  of 
deaths  5050.  In  the  year  1802  there  were  even 
6155  births  and  5166  deaths,  which  would  give, 
supposing  a  population  of  137,000  souls,  for 
every  â2i  individuals,  one  birth,  and  for  every 
â6i  one  death.  We  have  already  seen'  in  the 
fourth  chapter,  that  in  the  country  they  reckon 
in  general  in  New  Spain  the  relation  of  the  births 
to  the  population  t  as  one  to  17  ;  and  the  rela- 
tion of  the  deaths  to  the  population  as  one  to  30. 

*  125,000/.  sterlitig.   Trarm      f  8334/.  sterling.   Trans. 

:}:  In  France  the  relation  of  the  births  to  the  deaths  is  such, 
that  on  the  totality  of  the  population  only  one  30th  annually 
dies,  while  there  is  born  one  28th.  Peuchet  Statistique, 
p.  25  L  In  cities  this  proportion  depends  on  a  concurrence 
of  local  and  variable  circumstances.  In  1786,  there  were 
reckoned  in  London  18,119  births,  and  20,454  deaths  ;  and 
in  1802,  at  Paris  21,818  births,  and  20,390  deaths. 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINCxDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  65 

There  is  consequently,  in  appearance,  a  very 
great  mortality  and  a  very  small  number  of 
births  in  the  capital.  The  conflux  of  patients 
to  the  city  is  considerable,  not  only  of  the  most 
indigent  class  of  the  people  who  seek  assistance 
in  the  hospitals,  of  which  the  number  of  beds 
amounts  to  1100,  but  also  of  persons  in  easy 
circumstances,  who  are  brought  to  Mexico  be- 
cause neither  advice  nor  remedies  can  be  pro- 
cured in  the  country.  This  circumstance  ac- 
counts for  the  great  number  of  deaths  on  the 
parish-registers.  On  the  other  hand,  the  con- 
vents, the  celibacy  of  the  secular  clergy*,  the 
progress  of  luxury,  the  militia,  and  the  indigence 
of  the  Saragates  Indians,  who  live  like  the  Laza- 
roni  of  Naples  in  idleness,  are  the  principal 
causes  which  influence  the  disadvantageous  re- 
lation of  the  births  to  the  population. 

MM.  Alzate   and  Clavigerot,   from  a  com- 

*  Froiii  this  mode  of  expression  one  would  be  led  to 
imagine  that  the  regular  clergy  did  not  live  in  cehbacy. 
What  they  may  contribute  to  the  population  more  than  the 
secular  clergy  ^vill  not  be  easy  to  ascertain,  but  their  title  is 
presumed  to  be  precisely  the  s^me.     Trans. 

f  The  Abbé  Clavigero  falls  into  an  error  when  he  says 
*'  that  an  enumeration  gave  more  than  200,000  souls  to  the 
city  of  Mexico."  He  says,  however,  very  truly,  that  the 
births  and  deaths  of  Mexico  generally  amount  to  a  fourth 
more  than  those  of  Madrid.  In  fact,  in  1788  the  number  of 
births  at  Madrid  was  éSQ?,  and  the  deaths  5915;  and  in 
1797  there  were  4441  deaths  and  4911  births.  {Alexandre 
de  Labor  de,  ii.  p.  102.) 

VOL.  II.  F 


66  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

parison  of  the  parish-registers  of  Mexico  with 
those  of  several  European  cities,  have  endea- 
voured to  prove  that  the  capital  of  New  Spain 
must  contain  more  than  200,000  inhabitants  ; 
but  how  can  we  suppose  in  the  enumeration  of 
1790  an  error  of  87,000  souls,  more  than  two- 
fifths  of  the  whole  population  ?  Besides,  the  com- 
parisons of  these  two  learned  Mexicans  can  from 
their  nature  lead  to  no  certain  results,  because 
the  cities  of  which  they  exhibit  the  bills  of  mor- 
tality are  situated  in  very  different  elevations 
and  climates,  and  because  the  state  of  civiliza- 
tion and  comfort  of  the  great  mass  of  their  inha- 
bitants afford  the  most  striking  contrasts.  At 
Madrid  the  births  are  one  in  34,  and  at  Berlin 
one  in  28.  The  one  of  these  proportions  can 
no  more,  however,  than  the  other  be  applicable 
to  calculations  regarding  the  population  of  the 
cities  of  equinoxial  America.  Yet  the  difference 
between  these  proportions  is  so  great,  that  it 
would  alone,  on  an  annual  number  of  6OOO  births, 
augment  or  diminish  to  the  extent  of  36,000 
souls,  the  population  of  the  city  of  Mexico. 
The  number  of  deaths' or  births  is,  perhaps,  the 
best  of  all  means  for  determining  the  number  of 
the  inhabitants  of  a  district,  when  the  numbers 
which  express  the  relations  of  the  births  and 
deaths  to  the  whole  population  in  a  given  coun- 
try have  been  carefully  ascertained  ;  but  these 
numbers,   the  result  of  a  long  induction,    can 


CHAP,  vin.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  67 

never  be  applied  to  countries  whose  physical  and 
moral  situation  are  totally  difFeient.  They  de- 
note the  medium  state  of  prosperity  of  a  mass  of 
population,  of  which  the  greatest  part  dwell  in 
the  country  ;  and  we  cannot,  therefore,  avail 
ourselves  of  these  proportions  to  ascertain  the 
number  of  inhabitants  of  a  capital. 

Mexico  is  the  most  populous  city  of  the  new 
continent.  It  contains  nearly  40,000  inhabit- 
ants fewer  than  Madrid*;  and  as  it  forms  a 
great  square  of  which  each  side  is  nearly  2750 
metres  t,  its  population  is  spread  over  a  great 
extent  of  ground.  The  streets  being  very  spa- 
cious, they  in  general  appear  rather 'disserted. 
They  are  so  much  the  more  so,  as  in  a  climate 
considered  as  cold  by  the  inhabitants  of  the 
tropics,  people  expose  themselves  less  to  the  free 
air  than  in  the  cities  at  the  foot  of  the  Cordillera, 
Hence  the  latter  (ciudades  de  tierra  caliente') 
appear  uniformly  more  populous  than  the  cities 
of  the  temperate  or  cold  regions  {ciudades  de 
tierra  fria).  If  Mexico  contains  more  inhabit- 
ants than  any  of  the  cities  of  Great  Britain  and 


*  The  population  of  Madrid  (says  M.  de  Laborde)  is 
*'  156,272  inhabitants.  However,  with  the  garrison,  strangers, 
and  Spaniards  who  flock  in  from  the  provinces,  the  population 
may  be  carried  to  200,000  souls."  The  greatest  length  of 
Mexico  is  nearly  3900  metres  (12,794  English  feet);  of 
Paris  8000  metres  (26,246  English  feet). 

t  9021  feet.     Trans. 

F  2 


68  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

France,  with  the  exception  of  London,  Dublin, 
and  Paris  ;  on  the  other  hand,  its  population  is 
much  less  than  that  of  the  great  cities  of  the 
Levant  and  East  Indies.  —  Calcutta,  Surat,  Ma- 
dras, Aleppo,  and  Damascus,  contain  all  of  them 
from  two  to  four  and  even  six  hundred  thousand 
inhabitants. 

The  Count  de  Revillagigedo  set  on  foot  accu- 
rate researches  into  the  consumption  of  Mexico. 
The  following  table,  drawn  up  in  1791,  may  be 
interesting  to  those  who  have  a  knowledge  of  the 
important  operations  of  MM.  Lavoisier  and  Ar- 
nould,  relative  to  the  consumption  of  Paris  and 
all  France. 


CONSUMPTION  OF  MEXICO. 


I. 

EATABLES. 

Beeves 

_ 

. 

16,300 

Calves 

- 

- 

450 

Sheep 

- 

- 

^78,923 

Hogs 

- 

- 

50,676 

Kids  and  rabbits 

- 

24,000 

Fowls 

- 

- 

-    1,255,340 

Ducks 

- 

- 

125,000 

Turkies 

- 

- 

-       205,000 

Pigeons 

- 

- 

65,300 

Partridges 

- 

- 

140,000 

CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  69 


II.   GRAIN. 


Maize  or  Turkey  wheat,  cargas 

of  three  fanegas      -      -       117,224 

Barley,  cargas       -       -      -       40,219 


III.   LIQUIDS. 

Wheat    flour,    cargas    of   12 

arrobas*  -  -  130,000 

Pulque,   the   fermented  juice 

of  the  agava,  cargas  -  294,790 
Wine   and  vinegar,  barrels  of 

4i  arrobas  -  -  4,507 

Brandy,  barrels         -  -         12,000 

Spanish    oil,    arrobas     of    25 

pounds         -         -  -  5,585 

Supposing  with  M.  Peuchet,  the  population  of 
Paris  to  be  f^^.r  tim„s  greater  than  that  of  Mex- 
ico, we  shall  find  that  the  consumption  of  beef 
is  nearly  proportional  to  the  number  of  inhabi- 
tants of  the  two  cities,  but  that  that  of  mutton 
and  pork  is  infinitely  more  at  Mexico.  The  dif- 
ference is  as  follows  : 

*  Flour  is  not  certainly  a  liquid  ;  but  it  is  probably  classed 
among  the  liquids,  as  being  sold  by  liquid  measure.    Trans, 

F  S 


70 


POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  iir. 


Beeves 
Sheep  - 
Hoffs  - 


Consumption 


OfMexico. 


16,300 

273,000 

50,100 


Of  Paris. 


Quadruple 

of  the 

Consumption 

of  Mexico. 


70,000  65,200 

350,000        1,116,000 

35,000  200,400 


M.  Lavoisier  found  by  his  calculations  that  the 
inhabitants  of  Paris  consumed  annually  in  his 
time  90  millions  of  pounds  of  animal  food  of  all 
sorts,  which  amounts  to  163  pounds*  (yOA  kilo- 
grammes) per  individual.  In  estimating  the 
animal  food  yielded  by  the  animals  designated  in 
the  preceding  table,  according  to  the  principles 
of  Lavoisier,  modified  according  to  the  localities, 
the  consumption  of  Mexico  in  every  sort  of  meat 
is  26  millions  of  pounds,  or  189  pounds  (4  kilo- 
grammes) t  per  individual.  This  difference  is 
so  much  the  more  remarkable  as  the  population 
of  Mexico  includes  33,000  Indians,  who  con- 
simie  very  little  animal  food. 

The  consumption  of  wine  has  greatly  increased 
since  1791,  especially  since  the  introduction  of 
the  Brownonian  system  in  the  practice  of  the 


*  I75^1b.  averd. 


Trans. 

\  201'  lb.  avcrd.  The  author  has  omitted  to  insert  the 
integral  number  of  kilogrammes.  1  have  merely  converted 
the  French  pounds  into  averdupois,  and  lelt  the  error  of  the 
text  as  I  found  it.     Trans, 


CHAP,  vni.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  71 

Mexican  physicians.  The  enthusiasm  with 
which  this  system  was  received  in  a  country 
where  asthenical  or  debihtating  remedies  had 
been  employed  to  an  excess  for  ages,  produced, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  all  the  merchants 
of  Vera  Cruz,  the  most  remarkable  effect  on  the 
trade  in  luscious  Spanish  wines  (^vins  liquoreua^). 
These  wines,  however,  are  only  drunk  by  the 
wealthy  class  of  the  inhabitants.  The  Indians, 
Mestizoes,  Mulattoes,  and  even  the  greatest 
number  of  white  Creoles,  prefer  the  fermented 
juice  of  the  agave,  called  pulque,  of  which  there 
is  annually  consumed  the  enormous  quantity  of 
44  millions  of  bottles,  containing  48  cubic 
inches  *  each.  The  immense  population  of  Paris 
only  consumed  annually  in  the  time  of  M.  La- 
voisier 281,000  muids  of  wine,  brandy,  cyder, 
and  beer,  equal  to  80,928,000  bottles,  t 

The  consumption  of  bread  at  Mexico  is  equal 
to  that  of  the  cities  of  Europe.  This  fact  is  so 
much  the  more  remarkable,  as  at  Caraccas,  at 
Cumana,  and  Carthagena  de  las  Indias,  and  in 
all  the  cities  of  America  situated  under  the  tor- 

*  58.141  cubic  inches  English.     2\ans. 

f  These  bottles  must  contain  somewhat  more  than  the 
English.  It  is  believed  that  an  English  gallon  generally 
runs  five  bottles,  in  which  case  the  bottle  would  only  contain 
46  cubic  inches  ;  but  even  supposing  two  pints  to  the  bottle, 
it  would  only  contain  57.8  cubic  inches,,  still  somewhat  less 
than  the  above.      Trans, 

F  4 


72  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

rid  zone,  but  on  a  level  with  the  ocean,  or  very 
little  above  it,  the  créole  inhabitants  live  on 
almost  nothing  but  maize  bread,  and  the  jatro- 
pha  manihot.  If  we  suppose,  with  M.  Arnould, 
that  325  pounds  of  flour  yield  416  pounds  of 
bread,  we  shall  find  tiiat  the  130,000  loads  of 
flour  consumed  at  Mexico  yield  49,900,000 
pounds  of  bread,  which  amounts  to  363  pounds* 
per  individual  of  every  age.  Estimating  the 
habitual  population  of  Paris  at  547,000  in- 
habitants, and  the  consumption  of  bread  at 
206,788,000  pounds,  we  shall  find  the  consump- 
tion of  each  individual  in  Paris  377  pounds,  t 
At  Mexico  the  consumption  of  maize  is  almost 
equal  to  that  of  wheat.  The  Turkish  corn  is  the 
food  most  in  request  among  the  Indians.  We 
may  apply  to  it  the  denomination  which  Pliny 
gives  to  barley  (the  xgiùr]  of  Homert)  antiquis- 
simum  Jrumentum  ;  for   the  zea  maize  was  the 


*  SDlfjjlb.  averd.   Tram.         f  406 j"^ lb.  averd.  Trans. 

X  Homer  it  is  believed  never  uses  xp*0^j  but  ¥.^i..  This  is 
an  affair  of  small  consequence,  to  be  sure  ;  but  since  Homer 
has  been  referred  to,  it  is  just  as  well  to  state  correctly  what 
is  to  be  found  in  him.  kjj*  is  to  be  used  in  the  following  pas- 
sages, and  perhaps  elsewhere. 

...  n«pa  Se  afiv  iy.açu  itCvyEf  iizitoi 

Eçaaty  Kpr  XtvACV  e^E'^rrojAtvoi  xat  oXv^ai;.  II.  E.  195—6. 

'ÏTfnoi  Se  stp7  Xevxov  EjjEirTO/xtvoj  xat  oXvoa<; 

EraoTEç.  II.  0.  560-1. 

ïlv^ci  T£  ^nat  T  '/jô'  ivovçvii  y(o7  AivMy.  Od,— Trans. 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  73, 

only  farinaceous  gramen  cultivated  by  the  Ame- 
ricans before  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans. 

The  market  of  Mexico  is  richly  supplied  with 
eatables,  particularly  with  roots  and  fruits  of 
every  sort.  It  is  a  most  interesting  spectacle, 
which  may  be  enjoyed  every  morning  at  sun- 
rise, to  see  these  provisions,  and  a  great  quantity 
of  flowers,  brought  in  by  Indians  in  boats,  de- 
scending the  canals  of  Istacalco  and  Chalco. 
The  greater  part  of  these  roots  is  cultivated  on 
the  chinampas,  called  by  the  Europeans  floating 
gardens.  There  are  two  sorts  of  them,  of  which 
the  one  is  moveable,  and  driven  about  by  the 
winds,  and  the  other  fixed  and  attached  to  the 
shore.  The  first  alone  merit  the  denomination 
of  floating  gardens,  but  their  number  is  daily 
diminishing. 

The  ingenious  invention  of  chinampas  appears 
to  go  back  to  the  end  of  the  14th  century.  It 
had  its  origin  in  the  extraordinary  situation  of  a 
people  surrounded  with  enemies,  and  compelled 
to  live  in  the  midst  of  a  lake  little  abounding  in 
fish,  who  were  forced  to  fall  upon  every  means 
of  procuring  subsistence.  It  is  even  probable 
that  nature  herself  suggested  to  the  Aztecs  the 
first  idea  of  floating  gardens.  On  the  marshy 
banks  of  the  lakes  of  Xochimilco  and  Chalco, 
the  agitated  water  in  the  time  of  the  great  rises 
carries  away  pieces  of  earth  covered  with  herbs, 
and  bound  together  by  roots.     These,  floating 


7é  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

about  for  a  long  time  as  they  are  driven  by  the 
wind,  sometimes  unite  into  small  islands.  A 
tribe  of  men,  too  weak  to  defend  themselves  on 
the  continent,  would  take  advantage  of  these 
portions  of  ground  which  accident  put  within 
their  reach,  and  of  which  no  enemy  disputed  the 
property.  The  oldest  chinampas  were  merely 
bits  of  ground  joined  together  artificially,  and 
dug  and  sown  upon  by  the  Aztecs.  These 
floating  islands  are  to  be  met  with  in  all  the 
zones.  I  have  seen  them  in  the  kingdom  of 
Quito,  on  the  river  Guayaquil,  of  eight  or  nine  * 
metres  in  length,  floating  in  the  midst  of  the  cur- 
rent, and  bearing  young  shoots  of  bambusa, 
pistia  stratiotes,  pontederia,  and  a  number  of 
other  vegetables,  of  which  the  roots  are  easily 
interlaced.  I  have  found  also  in  Italy,  in  the 
small  lago  di  aqua  solfa  of  Tivoli,  near  the  hot 
baths  of  Agrippa,  small  islands  formed  of  sul- 
phur, carbonate  of  hme,  and  the  leaves  of  the 
ulva  thermalis,  which  change  their  place  with 
the  smallest  breath  of  wind,  t 

Simple  lumps  of  earth,  carried  away  from  the 
banks,  have  given  rise  to  the  invention  of  chi- 
narapas  ;  but  the  industry  of  the  Aztec  nation 

*  26  or  29  feet.     Trans. 

f  Floating  gardens  are,  as  is  well  known,  also  to  be  met 
with  in  the  rivers  and  canals  of  China,  where  an  excessive 
population  compels  the  inhabitants  to  have  recourse  to  every 
shift  for  increasing  the  means  of  subsistence.     Trans. 


CHAP,  vm.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  75 

gradually  carried  this  system  of  cultivation  to 
perfection.     The  floating  gardens,  of  which  very 
many  were  found  by  the  Spaniards,  and  of  which 
many  still  exist  in  the  lake  of  Chalco,  were  rafts 
formed   of  reeds   (totora),  rushes,   roots,   and 
branches   of  brushwood.     The   Indians  cover 
these   light  and  well-connected   materials  with 
black  mould,  naturally  impregnated  with  mu- 
riate of  soda.    The  soil  is  gradually  purified  from 
this  salt  by  washing  it  with  the  water  of  the  lake  ; 
and  the  ground  becomes  so  much  the  more  fer- 
tile as  this  lixiviation  is  annually  repeated.    This 
process  succeeds  even  with  the  salt  water  of  the 
lake  of  Tezcuco,  because  this  water,  by  no  means 
at  the  point  of  its  saturation,  is  still  capable  of 
dissolving  salt  as  it  filtrates  through  the  mould. 
The  chinampas  sometimes  contain  even  the  cot- 
tage of  the  Indian  who  acts  as  guard  for  a  group 
of  floating  gardens.     They  are  towed  or  pushed 
with  long  poles  when  wished  to  be  removed  from 
one  side  of  the  banks  to  the  other. 

In  proportion  as  the  fresh-water  lake  has  be- 
come more  distant  from  the  salt-water  lake,  the 
moveable  chinampas  have  become  fixed.  We 
see  this  last  class  all  along  the  canal  de  la  Viga, 
in  the  marshy  ground  between  the  lake  of  Chalco 
and  the  lake  of  Tezcuco.  Every  chinampa 
forms  a  parallelogram  of  100  metres  in  length, 
and  from  five  to  six  metres  in  breadth.  *     Nar- 

*  328  by  16  or  19  lect.     Trans. 


76  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

row  ditches,  communicating  symmetrically  be- 
tween them  separate  these  squares.  The  mould  fit 
for  cultivation,  purified  from  salt  by  frequent  ir- 
rigations, rises  nearly  a  metre  *  above  the  surface 
of  the  surrounding  water.  On  these  chinampas 
are  cultivated  beans,  small  pease,  pimento,  (chile, 
capsicum,)  potatoes,  artichokes,  cauliflowers,  and 
a  great  variety  of  other  vegetables.  The  edges 
of  these  squares  are  generally  ornamented  with 
flowers,  and  sometimes  even  with  a  hedge  of 
rose-bushes.  The  promenade  in  boats  around 
the  chinampas  of  Istacalco  is  one  of  the  most 
agreeable  that  can  be  enjoyed  in  the  environs  of 
Mexico.  The  vegetation  is  extremely  vigorous 
on  a  soil  continually  refreshed  with  water. 

The  valley  of  Tenochtitlan  offers  to  the  exa- 
mination of  naturalists  two  sources  of  mineral 
water,  that  of  Nuestra  Senora  de  Guadelupe,  and 
that  of  the  Penon  de  los  Baîios.  These  sources 
contain  carbonic  acid,  sulphate  of  lime  and  soda, 
and  muriate  of  soda.  Baths  have  been  esta- 
blished there  in  a  manner  equally  salutary  and 
convenient.  The  Indians  manufacture  their 
salt  near  the  Penon  de  los  Banos.  They  wash 
clayey  lands  full  of  muriate  of  soda,  and  concen- 
trate water  which  have  only  12  or  13  to  the  100 
of  salt.  Their  caldrons,  which  are  very  ill  con- 
structed, have  only  six  square  feet  of  surface, 

*  3.28  feet.     Trans. 


CHAP.  vrii.J        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  77 

and  from  two  to  three  inches  of  depth.  No 
other  combustible  is  employed  but  the  mules 
and  cow-dung.  The  fire  is  so  ill  managed,  that 
to  produce  twelve  pounds  of  salt,  which  sells  at 
35  sous*,  they  consume  IS  sous'  worth  of  com- 
bustibles, t  This  salt  pit  existed  in  the  time  of 
Motezuma,  and  no  change  has  taken  place  in 
the  technical  process  but  the  substitution  of 
caldrons  of  beaten  copper  to  the  old  earthen 
vats. 

The  hill  of  Chapoltepec  was  chosen  by  the 
young  viceroy  Galvez  as  the  site  of  a  villa 
(Chateau  de  Plaisance)  for  himself  and  his  suc- 
cessors. The  castle  has  been  finished  externally, 
but  the  apartments  are  not  yet  furnished.  This 
building  cost  the  king  nearly  a  million  and  a 
half  of  livres.  Î  The  court  of  Madrid  disap- 
proved of  the  expense,  but,  as  usual,  after  it 
was  laid  out.  The  plan  of  this  edifice  is  very 
singular.  It  is  fortified  on  the  side  of  the  city 
of  Mexico.  We  perceive  salient  walls  and  pa- 
rapets adapted  for  cannon,  though  these  parts 
have  all  the  appearance  of  mere  architectural 
ornaments.  Towards  the  north  there  are  fosses 
and  vast  vaults  capable  of  containing  provisions 
for  several  months.  The  common  opinion  at 
Mexico   is,   that  the   house  of  the  viceroy  at 

*  Is.  Slid.     Trans.  f  5%d.     Trans. 

X  62,505/.  sterling.     Trans. 


^8  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  in. 

Cliapoltepec  is  a  disguised  fortress.  Count  Ber- 
nardo de  Galvez  was  accused  of  having  conceived 
the  project  of  rendering  New  Spain  independ- 
ent of  the  peninsula  ;  and  it  was  supposed  that 
the  rock  of  Chapol tepee  was  destined  for  an 
asylum  and  defence  to  him  in  case  of  attack  from 
the  European  troops.  I  have  seen  men  of  re- 
spectability in  the  first  situations  who  entertained 
this  suspicion  against  the  young  viceroy.  It  is 
the  duty  of  a  historian,  however,  not  to  yield 
too  easy  an  acquiescence  to  accusations  of  so 
grave  a  nature.  The  Count  de  Galvez  belong- 
ed to  a  family  that  King  Charles  the  Third  had 
suddenly  raised  to  an  extraordinary  degree  of 
wealth  and  pov/er.  Young,  amiable,  and  ad- 
dicted to  pleasures  and  magnificence,  he  had 
obtained  from  the  munificence  of  his  sovereign 
one  of  the  first  places  to  which  an  individual 
could  be  exalted  ;  and,  consequently,  it  could 
not  be  becoming  in  him  to  break  the  ties  which 
for  three  centuries  had  united  the  colonies  to 
the  mother-country.*  The  Count  de  Galvez, 
notwithstanding  his  conduct,  was  well  calculated 


*  What  the  intentions  of  Galvez  were  is  another  affair  ; 
but  can  the  author  seriously  beHeve  that  these  circumstances 
really  do  away  the  suspicions  which  he  has  mentioned  ?  No 
person  was  so  likely  to  conceive  a  project  of  the  sort  as  a 
man  dazzled  with  the  suddenness  of  his  elevation  ;  fond  of 
magnificence,  and  eager  for  popularity.  Alas  !  gratitude  is 
but  a  small  obstacle  in  the  way  of  ambition.     Trans. 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  79 

to  gain  the  favour  of  the  populace  of  Mexico, 
and  notwithstanding  the  influence  of  the  Coun- 
tess de  Galvez,  as  beautiful  as  she  was  generally 
beloved,  would  have  experienced  the  fate  of 
every  European  viceroy*  who  aims  at  independ- 
ence. In  a  great  revolutionary  commotion  it 
would  never  have  been  forgiven  him  that  he  was 
not  born  an  American. 

The  castle  of  Chapoltepec  should  be  sold  for 
the  advantage  of  the  government.  As  in  every 
country  it  is  difficult  to  find  individuals  fond  of 
purchasing  strong  places,  several  of  the  ministers 
of  the  Real  Hacienda  have  begun,  by  selling  to 
the  highest  bidder  the  glass  and  sashes  of  the 
windows.  This  vandalism,  which  passes  by  the 
name  of  economy,  has  already  much  contributed 
to  degrade  an  edifice  on  an  elevation  of  QS^5 
metres t,    and   which,   in  a  climate  so  rude,  is 


*  Of  the  fifty  viceroys  who  have  governed  Mexico  from 
1535  to  1808,  one  alone  was  born  in  America,  the  Peruvian 
Don  Juan  de  Acuna,  Marquis  de  Casa  Fuerte  (1722-1734), 
a  disinterested  man  and  good  administrator.  Some  of  my 
readers  will,  perhaps,  be  interested  in  knowing  that  a  de- 
scendant of  Christopher  Columbus  and  a  descendant  of 
King  Motezuma  were  among  the  viceroys  of  New  Spain. 
Don  Pedro  Nuno  Colon,  Duke  de  Veraguas,  made  his  entry 
at  Mexico  in  1673,  and  died  six  days  afterwards.  The 
viceroy  Don  Joseph  Sarmiento  Valladares,  Count  de  Mote- 
zuma, governed  from  1697  to  1701. 

t  7626  feet.  The  reader  need  not  be  told,  that  this  is  to 
be  understood  as  the  elevation  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
and  not  the  height  of  the  hill  of  Chapoltepec.     Travis, 


80  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  hi. 

exposed  to  all  the  impetuosity  of  the  winds. 
It  would,  perhaps,  be  prudent  to  preserve  this 
castle  as  the  only  place  in  which  the  archives, 
bars  of  silver,  and  coin,  could  be  placed,  and  the 
person  of  the  viceroy  could  be  in  safety,  in  the 
first  moments  of  a  popular  commotion.  The 
commotions  (motinos)  of  the  12th  February 
1608,  15th  January  1624  and  1692,  are  still  in 
remembrance  at  Mexico.  In  the  last  of  these, 
the  Indians,  from  want  of  maize,  burned  the 
palace  of  the  viceroy  Don  Gaspar  de  Sandoval, 
Count  of  Galvez,  who  took  refuge  in  the  garden 
of  the  convent  of  St.  Francis.  But  it  was  only 
in  those  times  that  the  protection  of  the  monks 
was  equivalent  to  the  security  of  a  fortified 
castle. 

To  terminate  the  description  of  the  valley  of 
Mexico,  it  remains  for  us  to  give  a  rapid  hydro- 
graphical  view  of  this  country  so  intersected  with 
lakes  and  small  rivers.  This  view,  I  flatter  my- 
self, will  be  equally  interesting  to  the  naturalist 
and  the  civil  engineer.  We  have  already  said, 
that  the  surface  of  the  four  principal  lakes  occu- 
pies nearly  a  tenth  of  the  valley,  or  22  square 
leagues.  The  lake  of  Xochimilco  (and  Cholco) 
contains  64,  the  lake  of  Tezcuco  10tV>  San  Chris- 
tobal  S-^Of  and  Zumpango  ItV  square  leagues 
(of  25  to  the  equatorial  degree).  The  valley  of 
Tenochtitlan,  or  Mexico,  is  a  basin  surrounded 
by  a  circular  wall  of  porphyry-mountains  of  great 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  81 

elevation.  Tliis  basin,  of  wliich  the  bottom  is 
elevated  2277  metres*  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
resembles,  on  a  small  scale,  the  vast  basin  of 
Bohemia,  and  (if  the  comparison  is  not  too  bold) 
the  valleys  of  the  Mountains  of  the  Moon,  de- 
scribed by  MM.  Herschel  and  Schroeter.  All 
the  humidity  furnished  by  the  Cordilleras  which 
surround  the  plain  of  Tenochtitlan  is  collected 
in  the  valley.  No  river  issues  out  of  it,  if  we 
except  the  small  brook  (aroyo)  of  Tequisquiac, 
which,  in  a  ravine  of  small  breadth,  traverses  the 
northern  chain  of  the  mountains,  to  throw  itself 
into  the  Rio  de  Tula,  or  Moteuczoma. 

The  principal  supplies  of  the  lakes  of  the  val- 
ley of  Tenochtitlan  are,  1.  the  rivers  of  Papalotla, 
Tezcuco,  Teotihuacan,  and  Tepeyacac  (Guada- 
lupe), which  pour  their  waters  into  the  lake  of 
Tezcuco;  2.  the  rivers  of  Pachuco  and  Guautitlan 
(Cluauhtttlan)y  which  flow  into  the  lake  of  Zum- 
pango.  The  latter  of  these  rivers  (the  Rio  de 
Guautitlan)  has  the  longest  course  ;  and  its 
volume  of  water  is  more  considerable  than  that 
of  all  the  other  supplies  put  together. 

The  Mexican  lakes,  which  are  so  many  na- 
tural recipients,  in  which  the  torrents  deposit 
the  waters  of  the  surrounding  mountains,  rise 
by  stages,  in  proportion  to  their  distance  from 

*  7468  feet.     Trans. 
VOL,  II.  G 


82  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iit. 

the  centre  of  the  valley,  or  the  site  of  the  capital. 
After  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  the  city  of  Mexico 
is  the  least  elevated  point  of  the  whole  valley. 
According  to  the  very  accurate  survey  of  MM. 
Velasquez  and  Castera,  the  Plaza  Mayor  of 
Mexico,  at  the  south  corner  of  the  viceroy's 
palace,  is  one  Mexican  vara,  one  foot,  and  one 
inch*  higher  than  the  mean  level  of  the  lake  of 
Tezcuco t,  which  again  is  four  varas  and  eight 

*  According  to  the  classical  work  of  M.  Ciscar  {Sobre  los 
nuevos  pesos  y  medidas  décimales),  the  Castillan  vara  is  to  the 
toise  =  0.5130  :  1.1963,  and  a  toise  =  2.3316  varas.  Don 
Jorge  Juan  estimated  a  Castillan  vara  at  three  feet  of  Bur- 
gos, and  every  foot  of  Burgos  contains  123  lines  two  thirds 
of  the  pied  du  Roi.  The  court  of  Madrid  ordered  in  1783 
the  corps  of  sea-artillery  to  make  use  of  the  measure  of 
varas,  and  the  corps  of  land-artillery  the  French  toise,  a 
difference  of  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  point  out  the 
utility. —  Compendio  de  Matematicas  de  Don  Francisco  Xavier 
Rovira,  torn.  iv.  p.  57.  and  63.  The  Mexican  vara  is  equal 
to  0"»,  839. 

f  The  manuscript-materials  of  which  I  have  availed  my- 
self in  the  compilation  of  this  notice  are,  1.  the  minute  plans 
drawn  up  in  1802,  by  orders  of  the  dean  of  the  High  Court 
of  Justice  (Decano  de  la  Real  Audiencia  de  Mexico)^  Don 
Cosme  de  Mier  y  Trespalacoios  ;  2.  the  memoir  presented 
by  Don  Juan  Diaz  de  la  Calle,  second  secretary  of  state  at 
Madrid  in  1646,  to  King  PhiUip  IV.  ;  3.  The  instructions 
transmitted  by  the  venerable  Palafox,  bishop  of  la  Puebia 
and  viceroy  of  New  Spain,  in  1642,  to  his  successor  the 
viceroy  Count  de  Salvatierra  (Marques  de  Sobroso)  ;  4.  a 
memoir  which  Cardinal  de  Lorenzana,  then  archbishop  of 
Mexico,  presented  to  the  viceroy  Buccarelli  ;  5.  a  notice 
drawn  up  by  the  Tribunal  de  Cuentas  of  Mexico  ;  6.  a  me- 


CHAP,  vni.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPATN.  Ô3 

inches  lower  than  the  lake  of  San  ChristobaU 
whereof  the  north ei'n  part  is  called  the  lake  of 
Xaltocan.  *  In  this  northern  part,  on  two  small 
islands,  the  villages  of  Xaltocan  and  Tonanitla 
are  situated.  The  lake  of  San  Christobal,  pro- 
perly so  called,  is  separated  from  that  of  Xalto- 
can by  a  very  ancient  dike  which  leads  to  the 
villages  of  San  Pablo  and  San  Tomas  de  Chi- 
conautla.  The  most  northern  lake  of  the  valley 
of  Mexico,  Zumpango  {Tzompango'),  is  10  varas 
1  foot  6  inches  higher  than  the  mean  level  of 
the  lake  of  Tezciico.  t  A  dike  {la  Calzada  de  la 
Cruz  del  Rey)  divides  the  lake  of  Zumpango  into 
two  basins,  of  which  the  most  western  bears  the 
name  of  Laguna  de  Zitlaltepec,  and  the  most 
eastern  the  name  of  Laguna  de  Coyotepec.  The 
lake  of  Chalco  is  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
valley.  It  containsthe  pretty  little  village  of  Xico, 
founded  on  à  small  island  ;  and  it  is  separated 

moir  drawn  up  by  orders  of  the  Count  dé  Revillagigedo  ; 
and  7.  the  Informe  de  Velasquez.  I  ought  also  to  mention 
here  the  curious  work  of  Zepeda,  Historia  del  Desague, 
printed  at  Mexico.  I  have  twice  myself  examined  the  canal 
of  Huehuetoca,  once  in  August,  1803,  and  the  second  time 
from  the  9th  to  the  12th  January,  1804;,  in  the  company 
of  the  viceroy  Don  Jose  de  Iturrigaray,  whose  kindness  and 
frankness  of  procedure  towards  me  I  cannot  speak  in  too 
high  terms  of.     (Sec  note  D  at  the  end  of  this  work.) 

•  The  elevation  of  the  Plaza  Mayor,  therefore,  above 
Tezcuco  is  4'7.24'5  inches,  and  that  of  San  Christobal  1 1  feet 
8.863  inches.     Trans. 

t  29  feet  1  inch  888.      Trans. 
G    2 


84.  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

from  the  lake  of  Xochimilco  by  the  Calzada  de 
San  Pedro  de  Tlahua,  a  narrow  dike  which  runs 
from  Tuliagualco  to  San  Francisco  Tlaltengo. 
The  level  of  the  fresh-water  lakes  of  Chalco  and 
Xochimilco  is  only  1  vara  11  inches  higher  than 
the  Plaza  Mayor  of  the  capital.*  I  thought 
that  these  details  might  be  interesting  to  civil 
engineers  wishing  to  form  an  exact  idea  of  the 
great  canal  (Desague)  of  Huehuetoca. 

The  difference  of  elevation  of  the  four  great 
reservoirs  of  water  of  the  valley  of  Tenochtitlan 
was  sensibly  felt  in  the  great  inundations  to 
which  the  city  of  Mexico  for  a  long  series  of  ages 
has  been  exposed.  In  all  of  them  the  sequence 
of  the  phenomena  has  been  uniformly  the  same. 
The  lake  of  Zumpango,  swelled  by  the  extraor- 
dinary increases  of  the  Rio  de  Guautitlan,  and  the 
influxes  from  Pachuca,  flows  over  into  the  lake 
of  San  Christobal,  with  which  the  Cienegas  of 
Tepejuelo  and  Tlapanahuiloya  communicate. 
The  lake  of  San  Christobal  bursts  the  dike  which 
separates  it  from  the  lake  of  Tezcuco.  Lastly, 
the  water  of  this  last  basin  rises  in  level  from  the 
accumulated  influx  more  than  a  metre  t,  and 
traversing  the  saline  grounds  of  San  Lazaro, 
flows  with  impetuosity  into  the  streets  of  Mexico. 
Such  is  the  general  progress  of  the  inundations  : 
they  proceed  from  the  north  and  the  north-west. 

*  3  feet  9  inches.  Trans.        \  39.371  inches.  Trans. 


CHAP.  Vin.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  85 

The  drain  or  canal,  called  the  Desague  Real  de 
Huehuetoca,  is  destined  to  prevent  any  danger 
from  them  ;  but  it  is  certain,  however,  that  from 
a  coincidence  of  several  circumstances,  the  in- 
undations of  the  south  {avenidas  del  Sur),  on 
which,   unfortunately,    the  desague  has  no  in- 
fluence, may  be  equally  disastrous  to  the  capital. 
The  lakes   of  Chalco   and   Xochimilco   would 
overflow,  if  in  a  strong  eruption  of  the  volcano 
Popocatepetl,  this  colossal  mountain  should  sud- 
denly be  stripped  of  its  snows.      While  I  was  at 
Guayaquil,  on  the  coast  of  the  province  of  Quito, 
in   1802,   the  cone  of  Cotopaxi  was  heated  to 
such  a  degree  by  the  effect  of  the  volcanic  fire, 
that  almost  in  one  night  it  lost  the  enormous 
mass  of  snow  with  which  it  is  covered.      In  the 
new  continent,  eruptions  and  great  earthquakes 
are  often  followed  with  heavy  showers,  which 
last  for   whole   months.       With   what  dangers 
would  not  the  capital  be  threatened  were  these 
phenomena  to  take  place  in  the  valley  of  Mexico, 
under  a  zone,  where,  in  years   by   no   means 
humid,  the  rain  which  falls  amounts  to  15  deci- 
metres. * 

The  inhabitants  of  New  Spain  think  that  they 
can  perceive  something  like  a  constant  period 
in  the  number  of  years  which  intervene  between 
the  great  inundations.     Experience  has  proved 

*  59  inches.     Trans. 
G  3 


86  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  in. 

that  the  extraordinary  inundations  in  the  valley 
of  Mexico  have  followed  nearly  at  intervals  of 
25  years.  *     Since  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards 
the  city  has  experienced  five  great  inundations, 
viz.  in  155Sy  under  the  viceroy   Don  Luis  de 
Velasco   (el   Viejo,)   constable   of  Castile  ;    in 
1580,  under  the  viceroy  Don  Martin  Enrequez 
de  Alamanza  j  in  1604,  under  the  viceroy  Mon- 
tesclaros  ;  in  I607,  under  the  viceroy  Don  Luis 
de  Velasco  (el  Segundo),  Marquis  de  Salinas  j 
and  in    1629,   under   the   viceroy  Marquis  de 
Ceralvo.     This  last  inundation  is  the  only  one 
which  has  taken  place  since  the  opening  of  the 
canal  of  Huehuetoca  ;  and  we  shall  see  hereafter 
what  were  the  circumstances  which  produced 
it.     Since  the  year  1629  there  have  still  been, 
however,  several  very  alarming  swellings  of  the 
waters,  but  the  city  was  preserved  by  the  de- 
sague.     These  seven  very  rainy  years  were  1648, 
1675,  1707,  1732,  1748,  1772,  1795.     Compar- 
ing together  the  foregoing  eleven  epoquas,  we 
shall  find  for  the  period  of  the  fatal  recurrence 
the  numbers  of  27,  24,  3,  26, 19,  27,  S2,  25,  16, 
24,  and  23  j  a  series  which  undoubtedly  denotes 
somewhat  more    regularity  than  what  is  ob- 

*  Toaldo  prçtends  to  be  able  to  deduce  from  a  great 
number  of  observations,  that  the  very  rainy  years,  and  con- 
sequently the  great  inundations,  return,  every  19  years,  ac- 
cording to  the  terms  of  the  cycle  of  Saros.  —  Rozier,  Jour-^ 
nal  de  PhysiquCf  1783. 


CHAP.  Vin.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  87 

served  at  Lima,  in  the  return  of  the  great  earth- 
quakes. 

The  situation  of  the  capital  of  Mexico  is  so 
much  the  more  dangerous,  that  the  difference 
of  level  between  the  surface  of  the  lake  of  Tez- 
cuco  and  the  ground  on  which  the  houses  are 
built  is  every  year  diminishing.     This  ground 
is  a  fixed  plane,  particularly  since  all  the  streets 
of  Mexico  were  paved  under  the  government  of 
the  Count  de  Revillagigedo  ;  but  the  bed  of  the 
lake  of  Tezcuco  is  progressively  rising  from  the 
mud  brought  down  by  the  small  torrents,  which 
is  deposited  in  the  reservoirs  into  which  they 
flow.      To  avoid  a  similar  inconvenience,   the 
Venetians  turned  from  their  Lagunas  the  Brenta, 
the  Piave,  the  Livenza,  and  other  rivers,  which 
formed  deposits  in  them.*  If  we  could  rely  on  the 
results  of  a  survey  executed  in  the  l6th  century, 
we  should  no  doubt  find  that  the  Plaza  Mayor 
of  Mexico  was  formerly  more  than  eleven  deci- 
metres t  elevated  above  the  level  of  the  lake  of 
Tezcuco,  and  that  the  mean  level  of  the  lake 
varies  firom  year  to  year.     If,  on  the  one  hand, 
the  humidity  of  the  atmosphere  and  the  sources 
have  diminished  in  the  mountains  surrounding 
the  valley,  from  the  destruction  of  the  forests  ; 
on  the  other  hand,  the  cultivation  of  the  land 
has  increased  the  depositions  and  the  rapidity  of 

*  Andreossy  on  the  Canal  of  the  South,  p.  19. 
t  ^Sj%.     Trans. 

G   4 


88  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  irr. 

of  the  inundations.  General  Andreossy,  in  his 
excellent  work  on  the  canal  of  Languedoc,  has 
insisted  a  great  deal  on  these  causes,  which  are 
common  to  all  climates.  Waters  which  glide 
over  declivities  covered  with  sward,  carry  much 
less  of  the  soil  along  with  them  than  those  which 
run  over  loose  soil.  Now  the  sward,  whether 
formed  from  gramina,  as  in  Europe,  or  small 
alpine  plants,  as  in  Mexico,  is  only  to  be  pre- 
served in  the  shade  of  a  forest.  The  shrubs  and 
underwood  oppose  also  powerful  obstacles  to 
the  melted  snow  which  runs  down  the  declivities 
of  the  mountains.  When  these  declivities  are 
stripped  of  their  vegetation,  the  streams  are  less 
opposed,  and  more  easily  unite  with  the  torrents 
which  swell  the  lakes  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Mexico. 

It  is  natural  enough,  that  in  the  order  of  hy- 
draulical  operations  undertaken  to  preserve  the 
capital  from  the  danger  of  inundation,  the  system 
of  dikes  preceded  that  of  evacuating  canals  or 
drains.  When  the  city  of  Tenochtitlan  was  in- 
undated to  such  a  degree  in  1446  that  none  of 
its  streets  remained  dry,  Motezuma  I.  {Hiœhue 
Moteuczoma,)  by  advice  of  Nezahualcojotl,  king 
of  Tezcuco,  ordered  a  dike  to  be  constructed  of 
more  than  12,000  metres  in  length,  and  20  in 
breadth.  *     This  dike,  partly  constructed  in  the 

*  395,369  by  65.6  feet.     Trans. 


CHAP,  viii.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  89 

lake,  consisted  of  a  wall  of  stones  and  clay,  sup- 
ported on  each  side  by  a  range  of  pallisadoes,  of 
which  considerable  remains  are  yet  to  be  seen 
in  the  plains  of  San  Lazaro.  This  dike  of  Mo- 
tezuma  I.  was  enlarged  and  repaired  after  the 
great  inundation  in  1498,  occasioned  by  the  im- 
prudence of  king  Ahuitzotl.  This  prince,  as 
we  have  already  observed,  ordered  the  abundant 
sources  of  Huitzilopocho  to  be  conducted  into 
the  lake  of  Tezcuco.  He  forgot  that  the  lake 
of  Tezcuco,  however  destitute  of  water  in  time 
of  drought,  becomes  so  much  the  more  danger- 
ous in  the  rainy  season,  as  the  number  of  its  sup- 
plies is  increased.  Ahuitzotl  ordered  Tzotzomat- 
zin,  citizen  of  Coyohuacan,  to  be  put  to  death, 
because  he  had  courage  enough  to  predict  the 
danger  to  which  the  new  aqueduct  of  Huitzilo- 
pocho would  expose  the  capital.  Shortly  after- 
wards the  young  Mexican  king  very  narrowly 
escaped  drowning  in  his  palace.  The  water 
increased  with  such  rapidity,  that  the  prince  was 
grievously  wounded  in  the  head,  while  saving 
himself,  by  a  door  which  led  from  the  lower 
apartments  to  the  street. 

The  Aztecs  had  thus  constructed  the  dikes 
(calzadas)  of  Tlahua  and  Mexicaltzingo,  and 
TAlbaradon,  which  extends  from  Iztapalapan  to 
Tepeyacac  (Guadalupe),  and  of  which  the  ruins 
at  present  are  still  very  useful  to  the  city  of 
Mexico.    This  system  of  dikes,  which  the  Span- 


90  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

iards  continued  to  follow  till  the  commence- 
ment of"  the  17th  century,  afforded  means  of 
defence,  which,  if  not  quite  secure,  were  at 
least  nearly  adequate,  at  a  period  when  the  in- 
habitants of  Tenochtitlan  sailing  in  canoes  were 
more  indifferent  to  the  effects  of  the  more  trifling 
inundations.  The  abundance  of  forests  and 
plantations  afforded  them  great  facilities  for  con- 
structions on  piles.  The  produce  of  the  floating 
gardens  (chinampas)  was  adequate  to  the  wants 
of  a  frugal  nation.  A  very  small  portion  of 
ground  fit  for  cultivation  was  all  that  the  people 
required.  The  overflow  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco 
was  less  alarming  to  men  who  lived  in  houses, 
many  of  which  could  be  traversed  by  canoes. 

When  the  new  city,  rebuilt  by  Hernan  Cor- 
tez,  experienced  the  first  inundation  in  1553,  the 
viceroy,  Velasco  I.,  caused  the  Albaradon  de  San 
Lazaro  to  be  constructed.  This  work,  executed 
after  the  model  of  the  Indian  dikes,  suffered  a 
great  deal  from  the  second  inundation  of  1580. 
In  the  third,  of  l604,  it  had  to  be  wholly  rebuilt. 
The  viceroy  Montesclaros  then  added,  for  the 
safety  of  the  capital,  the  Presa  d'Oculma,  and 
the  three  calzadas  of  Nuestra  Seîïora  de  Guada- 
lupe, San  Christobal,  and  San  Antonio  Abad. 

These  great  constructions  were  scarcely  finish- 
ed, when,  from  a  concurrence  of  extraordinary 
circumstances,  the  capital  was  again  inundated 
in  1607.    Two  inundations  hud  never  before  fol- 

21 


CHAP.  VIII.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  91 

lowed  so  closely  upon  one  another  ;  and  the  fatal 
cycle  of  these  calamities  has  never  since  been 
shorter  than  sixteen  or  seventeen  years.     Tired 
of  constructing  dikes  (albaradones)  which  the 
water  periodically  destroyed,  they  discovered  at 
last  that  it  was  time  to  abandon  the  old  hydrau- 
lical  system  of  the  Indians,  and  to  adopt  that  of 
canals  of  evacuation.     This  change  appeared  so 
much  the  more  necessary,  as  the  city  inhabited 
by  the  Spaniards  had  no  resemblance  in  the  least 
to  the  capital  of  the  Aztec  empire.     The  lower 
part  of  the   houses  was  now  inhabited  j   few 
streets  could  be  passed  through  in  boats  ;  and 
the  inconveniences  and  real  losses  occasioned  by 
the  inundations  were  consequently  much  greater 
than  what  they  had  been  in  the  time  of  Mote- 
zuma. 

The  extraordinary  rise  of  the  river  Guautitlan 
and  its  tributary  streams  being  looked  upon  as 
the  principal  cause  of  the  inundations,  the  idea 
naturally  occurred  of  preventing  this  river  from 
discharging  itself  into  the  lake  of  Zumpango,  the 
mean  level  of  the  surface  of  which  is  74  metres  * 
higher  than  the  Plaza  Mayor  of  Mexico.  In  a 
valley  circularly  surrounded  by  high  mountains, 
it  was  only  possible  to  find  a  vent  for  the  Kio  de 
Guautitlan  through  a  subterraneous  gallery,  or 
an  open  canal  through   these  very  mountains. 

*  QAt-tç  feet.     Trans. 


92  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

In  fact,  in  1.580,  at  the  epoch  of  the  great  inun- 
dation, two  intelligent  men,  the  licenciado  Obre- 
gouy  and  the   maestro  Arciniega^    proposed   to 
government  to  have  a  gallery  pierced  between 
the  Cerro  de  Sincoque,  and  the  Loma  of  Nochis- 
tongo.    This  was  the  point  which  more  than  any 
other  was  likely  to  fix  the  attention  of  those 
who  had  studied  the  configuration  of  the  Mex- 
ican ground.     It  was   nearest  to  the  Rio   de 
Guautitlan,  justly  considered  the  most  danger- 
ous enemy  of  the  capital.     No  where  the  moun- 
tains surrounding  the  valley  are  less  elevated,  and 
present  a  smaller  mass  than  to  the  N.N.W.  of 
Huehuetoca,  near  the  hills  of  Nochistongo.   One 
would  say  on  examining  attentively  the  marie 
soil  of  which  the  horizontal  strata  fill  a  porphy- 
retical  defile,   that  the  valley  of  Tenochtitlan 
formerly  communicated  at  that  place  with  the 
valley  of  Tula. 

In  1607,  the  Marquis  de  Salinas,  viceroy,  em- 
ployed Enrico  Martinez  to  carry  through  the 
artificial  evacuation  of  the  Mexican  lakes.  It  is 
generally  believed  in  New  Spain  that  this  cele- 
brated engineer,  the  author  of  the  Desague  de 
Huehuetocttj  was  a  Dutchman  or  a  German. 
His  name  undoubtedly  denotes  that  he  was  of 
foreign  descent;  but  he  appears,  however,  to 
have  received  his  education  in  Spain.  The  king 
conferred  on  him  the  title  of  cosmographer  -,  and 
there  is  a  treatise  of  his  on  trigonometry,  printed 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  93 

at  Mexico,  which  is  now  become  very  scarce. 
Enrico    Martinez,    Alonso    Martinez,    Damian 
Davila,  and  Juan  de  Ysla,  made  an  exact  survey 
of  the  valley,  of  which  the  accuracy  was  ascer- 
tained by  the  operations  of  the  learned  geome- 
trician Don  Joaquim  Velasquez  in  ly?'!'*     The 
royal  cosmographer,  Enrico  Martinez,  presented 
two  plans  of  canals,   the  one  to  evacuate  the 
three   lakes   of  Tezcuco,  Zumpango,  and  San 
Christobal,  and  the  other  the  lake  of  Zumpango 
alone  j    and,   agreeably  to   both   projects,   the 
evacuation    of   the   water   was   to  take   place 
through   the   subterraneous  gallery  of  Nochis- 
tongo,    proposed    in    1580    by   Obregon    and 
Arciniega.     But   the  distance   of  the  lakes  of 
Tezcuco  from  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  de  Guau- 
titlan  being  nearly  32,000  metres*,  the  govern- 
ment confined  themselves  to  the  canal  of  Zum- 
pango.    This   canal   was   so  constructed  as  to 
receive  at  the  same  time  the  waters  of  the  lake, 
and  those  of  the  river  of  Guautitlan  ;  and  it  is 
consequently  not  true  that  the  desague  ipro)ected 
by  Martinez  was  negative  in  its  principle,  that 
is  to  say,  that  it  merely  prevented  the  Rio  de 
Guautitlan  from  discharging  itself  into  the  lake  of 
Zumpango.     The  branch  of  the  canal  which  con- 
ducted the  water  from  the  lake  to  the  gallery 
was  filled   up  by  depositions  of  mud,  and  the 

*  104,987  feet.     Trans. 


94  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  ih. 

desague  was  only  useful  then  for  the  Rio  de 
Guautitlan,  which  was  turned  from  its  course  ; 
so  that  when  M.  Mier  recently  undertook  the 
direct  evacuation  of  the  lakes  of  San  Christobal 
and  Zumpango,  it  was  hardly  remembered  at 
Mexico  that  188  years  before  the  same  work  had 
already  been  carried  into  execution  with  respect 
to  the  former  *  of  these  great  basins. 

The  famous  subterraneous  gallery  of  Nochis- 
tongo  was  commenced  on  the  SSth  November, 
1607.  The  viceroy,  in  presence  of  the  audiencia^ 
applied  the  first  pick-axe.  Fifteen  thousand 
Indians  were  employed  at  this  work,  which  was 
terminated  with  extraordinary  celerity,  because 
the  work  was  carried  on  in  a  number  of  pits  at 
the  same  time.  The  unfortunate  Indians  were 
treated  with  the  greatest  severity.  The  use  of  the 
pick-axe  and  shovel  was  sufficient  to  pierce  such 
loose  and  crumbling  earth.  After  eleven  months 
of  continued  labour,  the  gallery  (el  socabon)  was 
completed.  Its  length  was  more  than  66OO 
metres t  (or  1.48  common  leagues Î),  its  breadth 
3"*,  511,  and  its  height  4^  2.§  In  the  month  of 
December,  I6O8,  the  viceroy  and  archbishop  of 

*  The  author  evidently  means  Zumpango,  which,  as  the 
sentence  is  constructed,  is  not  the  Jbrtner,  but  the  latter. 
Trans. 

t  21,653  feet.     Trans. 

J  Of  25  to  the  sexagesimal  degree,  4443  metres  each. 

II  11.482  feet.     Trans.  §  13.779  feet.     Trans. 


CHAP.  Vin.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  95 

Mexico  were  invited  by  Martinez  to  repair  to 
Huehuetoca,  to  see  the  water  flow*  from  the  lake 
of  Zumpango  and  the  Rio  de  Guautitlan  through 
the  gallery.  The  Marquis  de  Salinas,  the  vice- 
roy, according  to  Zepeda's  account,  entered 
more  than  2000  metrest  on  horseback  into  this 
subterraneous  passage.  On  the  opposite  side  of 
the  hill  of  Nochistongo  is  the  Rio  de  Moctesuma 
(or  Tula),  which  runs  into  the  Rio  de  Panuco. 
From  the  northern  extremity  of  the  socabon, 
called  the  Boca  de  San  Gregorio,  Martinez  car- 
ried on  an  open  trench  for  a  direct  distance  of 
8600  metrest  which  conducted  the  water  from 
the  gallery  to  the  small  cascade  Csalto)  of  the 
Rio  de  Tula.  From  this  cascade  the  water  has 
yet  to  descend  according  to  my  measurement, 
before  it  reaches  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  near  the 
bar  of  Tampico,  nearly  2153  metres  ||,  which 
gives  for  a  length  of  323,000  metres  §  a  mean 
fall  of  6f  metres  in  the  1000. 

A  subterraneous  passage  serving  for  a  canal 
of  evacuation,  of  66OO  metres  in  length,  and  an 
aperture  of  IO4  square  metres  in  section^,  finish- 

*  The  water  flowed  for  the  first  time  on  the  17th  Septem- 
ber, 1608. 

t  6561  feet.     Trans,  J  28,214  feet.     Trans. 

I!  7056  feet.     Trans.  §  1,059,714  feet.     Trans. 

5[  The  aperture  was  said  a  Httle  before  to  be  3™,  5  in 
breadth,  and  4"»,  2  in  height.  The  square  of  thig  is  not  10^ 
but  14.7  metres,  which  correspond  to  158  square  feet.  Trans, 


96  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

ed  in  less  than  a  year,  is  a  hydraulical  operation 
which  in  our  times,  even  in  Europe,  would  draw 
the  attention  of  engineers.  It  is  only,  in  fact, 
since  the  end  of  the  lyth  century,  from  the  ex- 
ample set  by  the  illustrious  Francis  Andreossy 
in  the  canal  of  Languedoc,  that  these  subterra- 
neous apertures  have  become  common.  The 
canal  which  joins  the  Thames  with  the  Severn 
passes,  near  Sapperton,  for  a  length  of  more 
than  4000  metres*,  through  a  chain  of  very 
elevated  mountains.  The  great  subterraneous 
canal  of  Bridgewater,  which,  near  Worsley,  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Manchester,  serves  for  the 
carriage  of  coals,  has  an  extent,  including  its 
different  ramifications,  of  19>200  metres t  (or 
éJ-ô  common  leagues).  The  canal  of  Picardy, 
which  is  at  present  going  on,  ought,  according 
to  the  first  plan,  to  have  a  subterraneous  naviga- 
ble passage  of  13,700  metres  in  length,  7  metres 
in  breadth,  and  8  metres  t  in  height.  § 


•  13,123  feet.     Trans.  f  62,991  feet.     Trans. 

J  45,300  feet  in  height,  22.965  in  breadth,  and  26.246 
in  height.     Trans. 

§  Millar  and  Vazic  on  canals^  1807.  The  Georg-Stolten 
in  the  Harz,  a  gallery  begun  in  1777,  and  finished  in  1800, 
contains  10,438  metres  in  length  (34,244  feet),  and  cost 
1,600,000  francs  (71,172/.).  Near  the  Forth  coal  mines  are 
worked  for  more  than  3000  metres  (9842  feet)  under  the 
sea  without  being  exposed  to  filtrations.  The  subterraneous 
canal  of  Bridgewater  is  in  length  equal  to  two-thirds  of  the 
breadth  of  the  Straits  of  Dover. 


CHAP,  vrii.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  97 

Scarcely  had  a  part  of  the  water  of  the  valley 
of  Mexico  begun  to  flow  towards  the  Atlantic 
ocean,  when  Enrico  Martinez  was  reproached 
with  having  dug  a  gallery  neither  broad  nor  dur- 
able, nor  deep  enough  to  admit  the  water  of 
the  great  swellings.  The  chief  engineer  (Maestro 
del  Desague)  replied,  that  he  had  presented  seve- 
ral plans,  but  that  the  government  had  chosen 
the  remedy  of  most  prompt  execution.  In  fact, 
the  filtrations  and  erosions  occasioned  by  the 
alternate  states  of  humidity  and  aridity  caused 
the  loose  earth  frequently  to  crumble  down. 
They  were  soon  compelled  to  support  the  roof, 
which  was  only  composed  of  alternate  strata  of 
marie,  and  a  stiff  clay  called  tepetate.  They 
made  use  at  first  of  wood,  by  throwing  planks 
across,  which  rested  on  pillars  ;  but  as  resinous 
wood  was  not  very  plentiful  in  that  part  of  the 
valley,  Martinez  substituted  masonry  in  its  place. 
This  masonry,  if  we  judge  of  it  from  the  remains 
discovered  in  the  obra  del  consuladOy  was  very 
well  executed;  but  it  was  conducted  on  an  er- 
roneous principle.  The  engineer,  in  place  of 
fortifying  the  gallery  from  top  to  bottom  with  a 
complete  vault  of  an  elliptical  form  (as  is  done 
in  mines  whenever  a  gallery  is  cut  through  loose 
sand),  merely  constructed  arches,  which  had  no 
sufficient  foundation  to  rest  on.  The  water,  to 
which  too  great  a  fall  was  given,  gradually  under- 
mined the  lateral  walls,  and  deposited  an  enor- 
VOL.  ir.  H 


98  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

mous  quantity  of  earth  and  gravel  in  tbe  water- 
course of  the  gallery,  because  no  means  were 
taken  to  filtrate  it,  by  making  it  previously  pass, 
for  example,  through  reticulations  ofpetate,  exe- 
cuted by  the  Indians  with  filaments  of  the  shoots 
of  palm-trees.  To  obviate  these  inconveniences, 
Martinez  constructed  in  the  gallery  at  intervals 
a  species  of  small  sluices,  which,  in  opening 
rapidly,  w^ere  to  clear  the  passage.  This  means, 
however,  proved  insufficient,  and  the  gallery  was 
stopt  up  by  the  perpetual  falling  in  of  earth. 

From  the  year  I6O8  the  Mexican  engineers 
began  to  dispute  whether  it  was  proper  to  en- 
large the  socabon  of  Nochistongo,  or  to  finish  the 
walling,  or  to  make  an  uncovered  aperture  by 
taking  off  the  upper  part  of  the  vault,  or  to  com- 
mence a  new  gallery  farther  down,  capable  of 
also  receiving,  besides  the  waters  of  the  Rio  de 
Guautitlan,  and  the  lake  of  Zumpango,  those  of 
the  lake  of  Tezcuco.  The  archbishop  Don 
Garcia  Guerra,  a  Dominican,  then  viceroy,  or- 
dered new  surveys  to  be  made  in  1 611  by  Alonso 
de  Arias  superintendant  of  the  royal  arsenal 
(^armero  mai/or),  and  inspector  of  fortifications 
(maestro  mayor  de  fortificaciones)  a  man  of  pro- 
bity, who  then  enjoyed  great  reputation.  Arias 
seemed  to  approve  of  the  operations  of  Martinez, 
but  the  viceroy  could  not  fix  on  any  definitive 
resolution.  The  court  of  Madrid,  wearied  out 
with   these   disputes  of  the  engineers,    sent  to 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  99 

Mexico  in  1614  Adrian  Boot,  a  Dutchman,  whose 
knowledge  of  hydraulic  architecture  is  extolled 
in  the  memoirs  of  those  times  preserved  in  the 
archives  of  the  viceroyalty.  This  stranger,  re- 
commended to  Philip  III.  by  his  ambassador  at 
the  court  of  France,  held  forth  again  in  favour  of 
the  Indian  system  ;  and  he  advised  the  construc- 
tion of  great  dikes  and  well-protected  mounds 
of  earth  around  the  capital.  He  was  unable, 
however,  to  bring  about  the  entire  relinquish- 
ment of  the  gallery  of  Nochistongo  till  the  year 
1623.  A  new  viceroy,  the  Marquis  de  Guelves, 
had  recently  arrived  at  Mexico;  and  he  had 
consequently  never  witnessed  the  inundations 
produced  by  the  overflow  of  the  river  of  Guau- 
titlan.  He  had  the  temerity,  however,  to  or- 
der Martinez  to  stop  up  the  subterraneous  pas- 
sage, and  make  the  water  of  Zumbango  and  San 
Christobal  return  to  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  that 
he  might  see  if  the  danger  was,  in  fact,  so  great 
as  it  had  been  represented  to  him.  This  last 
lake  swelled  in  an  extraordinary  manner  ;  and 
the  orders  were  recalled.  Martinez  recommen- 
ced his  operations  in  the  gallery,  which  he  con- 
tinued till  the  20th  June  *  1629,  when  an  event 
occurred,  the  true  causes  of  which  have  ever 
remained  secret. 

*  According  to  some  manuscript  memoirs,  the  20th  Sep- 
tember. 

II  2 


100  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

The  rains  had  been  very  abundant;  and  the  en~ 
gineer  stopt  up  the  subterraneous  passage.  The 
city  of  Mexico  was  in  the  morning  inundated  to 
the  height  of  a  metre.*  The  Plaza  Mayor,  la  Plaza 
del  Volador,  and  the  suburb  of  Tlatelolco,  alone 
remained  dry.  Boats  went  up  and  down  the 
other  streets.  Martinez  was  committed  to  pri- 
son. It  was  pretended  that  he  had  shut  up  the 
gallery  to  give  the  incredulous  a  manifest  and 
negative  proof  of  the  utility  of  his  work;  but  the 
engineer  declared,  that,  seeing  the  mass  of  water 
was  too  considerable  to  be  received  into  his  nar- 
row gallery,  he  preferred  exposing  the  capital  to 
the  temporary  danger  of  an  inundation,  to  seeing 
destroyed  in  one  day,  by  the  impetuosity  of  the 
water,  the  labours  of  so  many  years.  Contrary 
to  every  expectation,  Mexico  remained  inundated 
for  five  years,  from  1629  to  l63i<.  t  The  streets 
were  passed  in  boats,  as  had  been  done  before 
the  conquest  in  the  old  Tenochtitlan.  Wooden 
bridges  were  constructed  along  the  sides  of  the 
houses  for  the  convenience  of  foot  passengers. 

In  this  interval  four  different  projects  were 
presented  and  discussed  by  the  Marquis  de  Gé- 
rai vo,  the  viceroy.  An  inhabitant  of  Valladolid, 
Simon  Mendez,  affirmed  in  a  memoir,  that  the 

*  3j  feet.     Trans. 

f  Several  memoirs  bear  that  the  inundation  only  lasted 
till  1631,  but  that  it  broke  out  afresh  towards  the  end  of  the 
year  1633. 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  101 

ground  of  the  valley  of  Tenochtitlan  rose  consi- 
derably on  the  N.W.  side  towards  Huehuetoca, 
and  the  hill  of  Nochistongo;  that  the  point  where 
Martinez  had  opened  the  chain  of  mountains 
which  circularly  shuts  in  the  valley  corresponds 
to  the  mean  level  of  the  most  elevated  lake 
(Znmpaugo),  and  not  to  the  level  of  the  lowest 
(Tezcuco)  ;  and  that  the  ground  of  the  valley 
falls  considerably  to  the  north  of  the  village  of 
Carpio,  east  from  the  lakes  of  Zumpango  and 
San  Christobal.  Mendez  proposed  to  draw  off* 
the  w^ater  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco  by  a  gallery 
which  should  pass  between  Xaltocan  and  Santa 
Lucia,  and  open  into  the  brook  (arroyo)  of 
Tequisquiac,  which,  as  has  been  already  ob- 
served, falls  into  the  Rio  de  Moctesuma  or  Tula. 
Mendez  began  this  desague,  projected  at  the 
lowest  point  J  and  four  pits  of  ventilation  (lum- 
hreras)  were  already  completed,  when  the  go- 
vernment, perpetually  irresolute  and  vacillating, 
abandoned  the  undertaking  as  being  too  long 
and  too  expensive.  Another  desiccation  of  the 
valley  was  projected  in  1G30  by  Antonio  Roman, 
and  Juan  Alvarez  de  Toledo,  at  an  intermediate 
point,  by  the  lake  of  San  Christobal,  the  waters 
of  which  were  proposed  to  be  conducted  to  the 
ravin  (Jiarrancd)  of  Huiputztla,  north  of  the  vil- 
lage of  San  Mateo,  and  four  leagues  west  from 
the  small  town  of  Pachuca.  The  viceroy  and 
audiencia  paid  as  little  attention  to  this  project 

H  3 


102  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

as  to  another  of  the  mayor  of  Ocidma,  Ghristobal 
de  Padilla,  who,  having  discovered  three  perpen- 
dicular caverns,  or  natural  giilphs  (^boquerones)j 
even  in  the  interior  of  the  small  town  of  Oculma, 
wished  to  avail  himself  of  these  holes  for  drawing 
off  the  water  of  the  iakes.  The  small  river  of 
Teotihuacan  is  lost  in  these  hoqiierones.  Padilla 
proposed  to  turn  also  the  water  of  the  lake  of 
Tezcuco  into  them,  by  bringing  it  to  Oculma, 
through  the  farm  of  Tezquititlan. 

This  idea  of  availing  themselves  of  the  natural 
caverns  formed  in  the  strata  of  porous  amygda- 
loid gave  rise  to  an  analogous  and  equally  gi- 
gantic project,  in  the  head  of  Francisco  Calderon 
the  Jesuit,  This  monk  pretended  that  at  the 
bottom  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  near  the  Penol  de 
los  Banos,  there  was  a  hole  (sumidero),  which, 
on  being  enlarged,  would  swallow  up  all  the 
water.  He  endeavoured  to  support  this  asser- 
tion by  the  testimony  of  the  most  intelligent 
Indians,  and  by  old  Indian  maps.  The  viceroy 
commissioned  the  prelates  of  ail  the  religious  or- 
ders (who  no  doubt  w^ere  likely  to  be  best  in- 
formed in  hydraulical  matters)  to  examine  this 
project.  The  monks  and  Jesuit  kept  sounding 
in  vain  for  three  months,  from  September  till 
December,  1635  ;  but  no  simiidero  was  ever 
found,  though,  even  yet,  many  Indians  believe 
as  firmly  in  its  existence  as  Father  Calderon. 
Whatever  geological  o[)inion  may  be  Ibrmed  of 


cHAP.viir.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  103 

the  volcanic  or  neptunian  origin  of  the  porous 
amygdaloid  (blasiger  Mandelstehi)  of  the  valley 
of  Mexico,  it  is  very  improbable  that  this  pro- 
blematical rock  contains  hollows  of  dimension 
enough  to  receive  the  water  of  the  lake  of  Tez- 
cuco,  which  even  in  time  of  drought  ought  to  be 
estimated  at  more  than  251,700,000  cubic  metres. 
It  is  only  in  secondary  strata  of  gypsum,  as  in 
Thuringia,  where  we  can  sometimes  venture  to 
conduct  inconsiderable  masses  of  water  into  na- 
tural caverns  (^gypsschlotteii)  ;  where  galleries  of 
discharge  opened  from  the  interior  of  a  mine  of 
coppery  schistus  are  allowed  to  terminate,  with- 
out any  concern  about  the  ulterior  direction 
taken  by  the  waters  which  impede  the  metallic 
operations.  But  how  is  it  possible  to  employ 
this  local  measure  in  the  case  of  a  great  hydrau- 
lical  operation? 

During  the  inundation  of  Mexico,  which  lasted 
five  successive  years,  the  wretchedness  of  the 
lower  orders  was  singularly  increased.  Com- 
merce was  at  a  stand,  many  houses  tumbled 
down,  and  others  were  rendered  uninhabitable. 
In  these  unfortunate  times  the  Archbishop  Fran- 
cisco Manzo  y  Zuniga  distinguished  himself  by 
his  beneficence.  He  went  about  daily  in  his 
canoe  distributing  bread  among  the  poor.  The 
court  of  Madrid  gave  orders  a  second  time  to 
transfer  the  city  into  the  plains  between  Tacuba 

H  4 


104.  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE     [book  hi. 

and  Tacubaya;  but  tlie  magistracy  (cabildo)  re- 
presented that  the  value  of  the  edifices  (Jincas) 
which,  in  I6O7,  amounted  to  1500  milHons  of 
livres,  now  amounted  to  more  than  200  millions,  * 
In  the  midst  of  these  calamities  the  viceroy  or- 
dered the  image  of  the  holy  virgin  of  Gua- 
dalupe t  to  be  brought  to  Mexico.     She  remain- 


*  8,334,000/.  sterling.     Trans. 

-j-  In  public  calamities  the  inhabitants  of  Mexico  have  re- 
course to  the  two  celebrated  images  of  Nuestra  Senora  de  la 
Guadalupe,  and  de  les  Remedies.  The  first  is  looked  upon 
as  indigenous,  having  first  made  its  appearance  among  flowers 
in  the  handkerchief  of  an  Indian  ;  and  the  second  was  brought 
from  Spain  at  the  period  of  the  conquest.  The  spirit  of 
party  which  exists  between  the  Creoles  and  Europeans 
(  Gachupines)  gives  a  particular  turn  to  their  devotion.  The 
lower  orders  of  Creoles  and  Indians  are  extremely  discon- 
tented when  the  archbishop,  during  great  droughts,  orders 
in  preference  the  image  of  the  virgin  de  los  Remedies  to  be 
brought  to  Mexico.  Hence  the  proverb  characteristic  of 
the  mutual  hatred  of  the  casts:  Every  thing,  even  our  water, 
must  come  to  us  from  Europe  (Jiasta  el  agua  nos  debe  venir 
de  la  Gachupina!)  If,  notwithstanding  the  residence  of  the 
holy  virgin  de  los  Remedios,  the  drouth  continues,  as  some 
very  rare  examples  of  it  are  pretended  to  have  taken  place, 
the  archbishop  permits  the  Indians  to  go  in  quest  of  the 
image  of  our  lady  of  Guadalupe.  This  permission  diffuses 
gladness  among  the  Mexican  people,  especially  when  the 
lang  droughts  terminate  (as  they  do  every  where  else)  in 
obundant  rains.  I  have  seen  works  of  trigonometry  printed 
in  New  Spain  dedicated  to  the  holy  virgin  of  Guadalupe. 
On  the  hill  of  Tepejacac,  at  the  foot  of  which  her  rich  sanc- 
tuary is  constructed,  formerly  stood  the  temple  of  the  Mexi- 
can Ceres,  called  Tonantzm  (our  mother),  or  Ccn-tcoll 
(j^oddcsi  of  maize)  or  Tzin-lcoil  (generative  goddess). 


CHAF.  viii.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  105 

ed  for  a  long  time  in  the  inundated  city.     The 
waters,    however,   only  retired   in  1634,    when 
from  very  strong  and  very  frequent  earthquakes 
the  ground  of  the  valley  opened,  a  phenomenon 
which  (as  the  incredulous  say)  was  of  no  small 
assistance  to  the  adorable  virgin  in  her  miracle. 
The  Marquis  de  Ceralvo,  viceroy,  set  the  en- 
gineer Martinez  at  liberty.     He  constructed  the 
calzada  (dike)  of  San  Christobal,  such  nearly  as 
we  now  see  it.     Sluices  (compertuas)  admit  the 
communication  of  the  lake  of  San  Christobal 
with  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  of  which  the  level  is 
generally   from   30   to  32   decimetres   lower.  * 
Martinez  had  already  begun,  in  1609,  to  convert 
a   small  part   of  the   subterraneous   gallery  of 
Nochistongo  into  an  open  trench.     After  the  in- 
undation in  1634,  he  was  ordered  to  abandon 
this  work  as  too  tedious  and  expensive,  and  to 
finish  the  desague  by  enlarging  his  old  gallery. 
The  produce  of  a  particular  impost  on  the  con- 
sumption of  commodities  {derecho  de  sisas)  was 
destined  by  the  Marquis  de  Salinas  for  the  ex- 
penses of  the  hydraulical  operations  of  Martinez. 
The  Marquis   de    Cadereyta  increased   the  re- 
venues of  the  desague  by  a  new  imposition  of 
25  piastres  on  the  importation  of  every  pipe  of 
Spanish  wine.     These  duties  still  subsist,  though 
but  a  small  part  of  them  is  applied  to  the  de- 

*  From  118  to  125  indies.     Trans, 


lOG  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  hi. 

sague.  In  the  beginning  of  the  18th  century, 
the  court  destined  the  hall  of  the  excise  on  wines 
to  keep  up  the  great  fortifications  of  the  castle  of 
San  Juan  d'Ulua.  Since  1779  the  chest  of  the 
Jiydraulical  operations  of  the  valley  of  Mexico 
does  not  draw  more  tlian  five  francs  of  the  duties 
levied  on  each  barrel  of  wine  from  Europe  im- 
ported at  Vera  Cruz. 

The  operations  of  the  desague  were  carried  on 
with  very  little  energy  from  1634  to  1637,  when 
the  Marquis  de  Villena  (Duke  d*Escalona,)  vice- 
roy, gave  the  charge  of  it  to  Father  Luis  Flores, 
commissary-general  of  the  order  of  St  Francis. 
The  activity  of  this  monk  is  much  extolled,  un- 
der whose  administration  the  system  of  desic- 
cation was  changed  for  the  third  time.  It  was 
definitively  resolved  to  abandon  the  gallery  {so- 
cabo?i)f  to  take  off  the  top  of  the  vault,  and  to 
make  an  immense  cut  through  the  mountain 
(%o  abierto)y  of  which  the  old  subterraneous 
passage  was  merely  to  be  the  water-course. 

The  monks  of  St.  Francis  contrived  to  retain 
the  direction  of  liydraulical  operations.  It  was 
so  much  the  easier  for  them  to  do  this,  as  at  that 
epoqua*  the  viceroyalty  was  almost  consecu- 
tively in  the  hands  of  Palafox,  a  bishop  of  Puebla, 
ToiTCS,  a  bishop  of  Yucatan,  a  count  de  Baîios, 
who  ended  his  brilUant  career  by  becoming  a 
barefooted  Carmelite,  and  Enriquez  de  Ribera,  a 
*  From  9th  June,  1611,  to  13th  December,  1673, 


CHAP,  viii.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  107 

monk  of  St.  Augustin,  archbishop  of  Mexico. 
Wearied  with  the  monastical  ignorance  and  de- 
lay, a  lawyer,  the  fiscal  Martin  de  Solis,  obtained 
from  the  court  of  Madrid,  in  1675,  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  desague.  He  undertook  to  finish 
the  cut  through  the  chain  of  the  mountains  in 
two  months  ;  and  his  undertaking  succeeded  so 
well,  that  80  years  were  hardly  sufficient  to  re- 
pair the  mischief  which  he  did  in  a  few  days. 
The  fiscal,  by  advice  of  the  engineer  Francisco 
Posuelo  de  Espinosa,  caused  more  earth  to  be 
thrown  at  one  time  into  the  water-course  than 
the  shock  of  the  water  could  carry  along.  The 
passage  was  stopt  up.  In  I76O  remains  of  what 
had  fallen  in  by  the  imprudence  of  Solis  were 
still  perceptible.  The  Count  de  Monclova, 
viceroy,  very  justly  thought  that  the  tardiness 
of  the  monks  of  St.  Francis  was  still  preferable  to 
the  rash  activity  of  the  jurisconsult.  Father 
Fray  Manuel  Cabrera  was  reinstated  in  I687  in 
his  place  of  superintendant  (superintendente  de  la 
Real  obra  del  desague  de  Huehuetoca).  He  took 
his  revenge  of  the  fiscal,  by  publishing  a  book, 
which  bears  the  strange  title  of"  Truth  cleared 
up  and  impostures  put  to  flight,  by  which  a 
powerful  and  envenomed  pen  endeavoured  to 
prove,  in  an  absurd  report,  that  the  work  of  the 
desague  was  completed  in  1675  ."* 

*    Verdad  aclarada  y  desvanecidas  iinposturas,  con  cue  lo 
ardicnlc  y  cnvcncnado  de  una  pluma  podcrosa  en  esta  Nueva 


108  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iir. 

The  subterraneous  passage  had  been  opened 
and  walled  in  a  few  years.  It  required  two  cen, 
turies  to  complete  the  open  cut  in  a  loose  earth, 
and  in  sections  of  from  80  to  100  *  metres  in 
breadth,  and  from  40  to  50 1  in  perpendicular 
depth.  The  work  was  neglected  in  years  of 
drought  ;  but  it  was  renewed  with  extraordinary 
energy  for  a  few  months  after  any  great  swelling 
or  any  overflow  of  the  river  of  Guautitlan.  The 
inundation  with  which  the  capital  was  threaten- 
ed in  1747  induced  the  Count  de  Guemes  to 
think  of  the  desague.  But  a  new  delay  took 
place  till  1762,  when  after  a  very  rainy  winter 
there  were  strong  appearances  of  inundation. 
There  were  still  at  the  northern  extremity  of  the 
subterraneous  opening  of  Martinez  2310  Mexi- 
can varas,  or  1938  metres  t,  which  had  never 
been  converted  into  an  open  trench  (Jajo  abierto). 
This  gallery  being  too  narrow,  it  frequently  hap- 
pened that  the  waters  of  the  valley  had  not  a 
free  passage  towards  the  Salto  de  Tula. 

At  length,  in  I767,  under  the  administration 
of  a  Flemish  viceroy,  the  Marquis  de  Croix,  the 
body  of  merchants  of  Mexico,  forming  the  tri- 


Espana,  en  un  diciameti  mal  instruido,  quiso  persuadir  averse 
acabado  y  perfeccionao  el  am  de  1675,  lajabrica  del  Real 
Desague  de  Mexico. 

*  From  262  to  328  feet.     Trans. 

f  From  131  to  161<  feet.     Trans. 

X  6356  feet.     Trans. 


CHAP,  fin.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  109 

bunal  of  the  Consulado  of  the  capital,  undertook 
to  finish  the  desague,  }3rovided  they  were  allow- 
ed to  levy  the  duties  of  sisa  and  the  duty  on 
wine,  as  an  indemnification  for  their  advances. 
The  work  was  estimated  by  the  engineers  at  six 
millions  of  francs.*     The  consulado  executed  it 
at  an  expense  of  four  millions  of  francs  t;  butin 
place  of  completing  it  in  five  years  (as  had  been 
stipulated),  and  in  place  of  giving  a  breadth  of 
eight   metres  t  to   the  water-course,   the   canal 
was  only  completed  in  1789  of  the  old  breadth 
of  the  gallery  of  Martinez.     Since  that  period 
they  have  been  incessantly  endeavouring  to  im- 
prove the  work  by  enlarging  the  cut,  and  espe- 
cially   by    rendering    the    slope   more   gentle. 
However,  the  canal  is  yet  far  from  being  in  such 
a  state  that  fallings  in  are  no  more  to  be  appre- 
hended, which  are  so  much  the  more  dangerous 
as  lateral  erosions  increase  in  the  proportion  of 
the  obstacles  which  impede  the  course  of  the 
water. 

On  studying  in  the  archives  of  Mexico  the 
history  of  the  hydraulical  operations  of  Nochis- 
tongo,  we  perceive  a  continual  irresolution  on 
the  part  of  the  governors,  and  a  fluctuation  of 
ideas  calculated  to  increase  the  danger  instead 
of  removing  it.     We   find  visits  made   by   the 

*  250,020/.  sterling.  Trans,     f  166,680/.  sterling.  Trans. 
J  26^  feet.     Trans. 


110  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  in. 

viceroy,    accompanied   by   the    aiidiencia    and 
canons  ;  papers  drawn  up  by  the  fiscal  and  other 
lawyers  ;    advices   given   by  the   monks  of  St. 
Francis  ;  an  active  impetuosity  every  fifteen  or 
twenty  years,  when  the  lakes  threatened  an  over- 
flow ;  and  a  tardiness  and  culpable  indifference 
whenever  the  danger  was  past.     Twenty-five  mil- 
lions of  livres  *  were  expended,   because  they 
never  had  courage  to  follow  the  same  plan,  and 
because  they  kept  hesitating  for  two  centuries 
between  the  Indian  system  of  dikes  and  that  of 
canals,  between  the   subterraneous  gallery  (.so- 
cabon)y  and  the  open  cut  through  the  mountain 
(tqjo  abierto).     The  gallery  of  Martinez  was  suf- 
fered to   be  choked   up,   because  a  large  and 
deeper  one  was  wished  ;  and  the  cut  (tqjo)  of 
Nochistongo  was  neglected  to  be  finished,  while 
they  were  disputing  about  the  project  of  a  canal 
of  Tezcuco,  which  was  never  executed. 

The  desague  in  its  actual  state  is  undoubtedly 
one  of  the  most  gigantic  hydraulical  operations 
ever  executed  by  man.  We  look  upon  it  with 
a  species  of  admiration,  particularly  when  we 
consider  the  nature  of  the  ground,  and  the  enor- 
mous breadth,  depth,  and  length  of  the  aper- 
ture. If  this  cut  were  filled  with  water  to  the 
deptlî  of  10  metres  t,  the  largest  vessels  of  war 


*  1,041,750/.  sterling.     Tram 
\  32.8  feet.     Trans. 


CHAP.  VIII.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  Ill 

could  pass  through  the  range  of  mountains 
which  bound  the  plain  of  Mexico  to  the  north- 
east. The  admiration  which  this  work  inspires 
is  mingled,  however,  with  the  most  afflicting 
ideas.  We  call. to  mind  at  thé  sight  of  the  cut 
of  Nochistongo  the  number  of  Indians  who  pe- 
rished there,  either  from  the  ignorance  of  the 
engineers,  or  the  excess  of  the  fatigues  to  which 
they  were  exposed  in  ages  of  barbarity  and 
cruelty.  We  examine  if  such  slow  and  costly 
means  were  necessary  to  carry  off  from  a  valley 
inclosed  in  on  all  sides  so  inconsiderable  a  mass 
of  water;  and  we  regret  that  so  much  collective 
strength  was  not  employed  in  some  greater  and 
more  useful  object  ;  in  opening,  for  example, 
not  a  canal,  but  a  passage  through  some  isthmus 
which  impedes  navigation. 

The  project  of  Henry  Martinez  was  wisely 
conceived,  and  executed  with  astonishing  rapi- 
dity. The  nature  of  the  ground  and  the  form  of 
the  valley  necessarily  prescribed  such  a  subter- 
raneous opening.  The  problem  would  have  been 
resolved  in  a  complete  and  durable  manner; 
1.  if  the  gallery  had  been  commenced  in  a  lower 
point,  that  is  to  say,  corresponding  to  the  level 
of  the  inferior  lake  ;  and,  2.  if  this  gallery  had 
been  pierced  in  an  elliptical  form,  and  wholly 
protected  by  a  solid  wall  equally  elliptically 
vaulted.     The  subterraneous  passage  executed 


112  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  hi- 

by  Martinez  contained  only  15  square  metres* 
in  section,  as  we  have  already  observed.  To 
judge  of  the  dimensions  necessary  for  a  gallery 
of  this  nature,  we  must  know  exactly  the  mass 
of  water  carried  along  by  the  river  of  Guautitlan 
and  the  lake  of  Zumpango  at  their  greatest  rise. 
I  have  found  no  estimation  in  the  memoirs  drawn 
up  by  Zepeda,  Cabrera,  Velasquez,  and  by  M. 
Castera.  But  from  the  researches  which  I  have 
myself  made  on  the  spot,  in  the  part  of  the  cut 
of  the  mountain  {el  corte  o  tqjo)  called  la  obra 
del  C07isulad0i  it  appeared  to  me  that  at  the  pe- 
riod of  the  ordinary  rains  the  waters  aiford  a 
section  of  from  eight  to  ten  square  metres  t, 
and  that  this  quantity  increases  in  the  extraor- 
dinary swellings  of  the  river  Guautitlan  to  SO 
or  40 1  square  metres.  §  The  Indians  assured 
me,  that  in  this  last  case,  the  water-course  which 
forms  the  bottom  of  the  tqjo  is  filled  to  such  a 


*  161  square  feet.     Trans. 

f  From  86  to  107^  square  feet.     Trans. 

X  From  322|  to  4301  square  feet.     Trans. 

§  The  engineer  Iniesta  advanced  even,  that  in  the  great 
rises  the  water  ascends  to  the  height  of  20  or  25  metres  (65 
or  82  feet)  in  the  canal  near  the  Boveda  Real.  But  Velas- 
quez affirms  that  these  estimations  are  enormously  exagger- 
ated. [Declaracion  del  Maestro  Iniesta,  and  Iriforme  de 
Velasquez,  both  in  manuscript). 


CHAP.  Vin.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  113 

degree  that  the  rums  of  the  old  vault  of  Mar- 
tinez are  completely  concealed  under  water. 
Had  the  engineers  found  great  difficulties  in  the 
execution  of  an  elliptical  gallery  of  more  than 
from  four  to  five  metres  *  in  breadth,  it  would 
have  been  Jbetter  to  have  supported  the  vault  by 
a  pillar  in  the  centre,  or  to  have  opened  two 
galleries  at  once,  than  to  have  made  an  open 
trench.  These  trenches  are  only  advantageous 
when  the  hills  are  of  small  elevation  and  small 
breadth,  and  when  they  contain  strata  less  sub- 
ject to  falling  down.  To  pass  a  volume  of  water 
of  a  section  in  general  of  eightt,  and  sometimes 
from  15  to  20  square  metres  t,  it  has  been  judged 
expedient  to  open  a  trench,  of  which  the  section 
for  a  considerable  distance  is  from  1800  to  3000 
square  metres.  §    - 

In  its  present  state  the  canal  of  derivation 
(desague)  of  Huehuetoca  contains,  according  to 
the  measurements  of  M.  Velasquez,  ||  — 

*  From  13  to  16  feet.     Trans. 

f  86  square  feet.     Trans. 

\  From  161  to  215  square  feet.     Trans. 

%  From  19,365  to  32,275  square  feet.     Trans. 

II  Informe  y  exposîcion  de  las  operaciones  hechas  para  exa- 
minar  la  possibilidad  del  desague  general  de  la  Laguna  de 
Mexico  y  otrosjînes  a  el  conducientes,  ITTé  (manuscript  me- 
moir, folio  5.). 

VOL.  II.  I 


114. 


POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  hi. 


From  the  sluice  of  Vertideros 
to  the  bridge  of  Huehuetoca 

From  the  bridge  of  Huehuetoca 
to  the  sluice  of  Santa  Maria 

From  the  Compuerta  de  Santa 
Maria  to  the  sluice  of  Valderas 

From  the  Compuerta  de  Valde- 
ras to  la  Boveda  Real 

From  la  Boveda  Real  to  the  re- 
mains of  the  old  subterraneous 
gallery  called  Techo  Basso    - 

From  Techo  Basso  to  the  gallery 
of  the  viceroys 

From  the  Canon  de  los  Vireyes 
to  la  Bocca  de  San  Gregorio 

From  the  Bocca  de  San  Gregorio 
to  the  demolished  sluice 

From  la  Presa  demolida  to  the 
cascade  bridge 

From  la  Puente  del  Salto  to  the 
cascade  itself  (Salto  del  Rio  de 
Tula)  .... 


Mex.  varas.  Metres. 

4870  or  4087 

2660  2232 

1400  1175 

3290  2761 

650  545 

1270  1066 

610  512 

1400  1175 

7950  6671 

430  361 


Length  of  the  canal  from 
Vertideros  to  the  Salto 


V.  M. 

24,530  or  20,585* 


In  this  length  of  4|  common  leagues,  the  chain 
of  the  hills  of  Nochistongo  (to  the  east  of  the 

*  67,535  feet.     Trans, 


I 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  115 

Cerro  de  Sincoque),  constituting  a  fourth  part  of 
it,  has  been  cut  to  an  extraordinary  depth.  At 
the  point  where  the  ridge  is  highest  near  the  old 
well  of  Don  Juan  Garcia,  for  more  than  a  length 
of  800  metres*,  the  cut  in  the  mountains  is  from 
45  to  60  metres  t  in  perpendicular  depth.  From 
the  one  side  to  the  other,  the  breadth  at  top  is 
from  85  to  110Î  metres.  §  The  depth  of  the  cut 
is  from  30  to  50  metres  II,  for  a  length  of  more 
than  3500  metres.  ^  The  water-course  is  ge- 
nerally only  from  three  to  four  metres**  in 
breadth  j  but  in  a  great  part  of  the  desague  the 
breadth  of  the  cut  is  by  no  means  in  proportion 
to  its  depth,  so  that  the  sides  in  place  of  having 
a  slope  of  40"  or  50°  are  much  too  rapid,  and  are 
perpetually  falling  in.  It  is  in  the  Obra  del 
Consulado  where  we  principally  see  the  enormous 
accumulations  of  moveable  earth  which  nature 
has  deposited  on  the  porphyries  of  the  valley  of 
Mexico.  I  have  reckoned,  in  descending  the 
stair  of  the  viceroys,  25  strata  of  hardened  clay, 
with  as  many  alternate  strata  of  marie,   contain- 

*  2624  feet.  Trans,     f  From  U1  to  196  feet.  Trans 

X  From  278  to  360  feet.     Trans. 

§  To  have  a  clearer  idea  of  the  enormous  breadth  of  this 
trench  in  the  Obra  del  Consulado,  we  have  only  to  recollect 
that  the  breadth  of  the  Seine  at  Paris  is  at  Pont  Buonaparte 
102  metres  (334  English  feet),  at  Pont-Royal  136  metres 
(446  feet),  and  at  the  Pont  d'Austerlitz,  near  the  botanical 
garden,  175  metres  (574  feet). 

II  From  98  to  131  feet.   Trans.     ^  11,482  feet.  Trans. 

•*From  9.84  to  13.1  feet.     Trans. 
I  2 


116  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

ing  fibrous  calcareous  balls  of  a  cellular  surface. 
It  was  in  digging  the  trench  of  the  desague  that 
the  fossile  elephant  bones  were  discovered,  of 
which  I  have  spoken  in  another  work.  * 

On  both  sides  of  the  cut  we  see  considerable 
hills  formed  of  the  rubbish,  which  are  gradually 
beginning  to  be  covered  with  vegetation.  The 
extraction  of  the  rubbish  having  been  an  infinite- 
ly laborious  and  tedious  operation,  the  method 
of  Enrico  Martinez  was  at  last  resorted  to. 
They  raised  the  level  of  the  water  by  small 
sluices,  so  that  the  force  of  the  current  carried 
along  the  rubbish  thrown  into  the  water  course. 
During  this  operation,  from  20  to  SO  Indians 
have  sometimes  perished  at  a  time.  Cords  were 
fastened  round  them,  by  which  they  were  kept 
suspended  in  the  current  for  the  sake  of  collect- 
ing the  rubbish  into  the  middle  of  it;  and  it  fre- 
quently happened  that  the  impetuosity  of  the 
stream  dashed  them  against  detached  masses  of 
rock,  which  crushed  them  to  death. 

We  have  already  observed  that  from  the  year 
1643,  the  branch  of  Martinez's  canal,  directed 
towards  the  lake  of  Zumpango,  had  filled  up, 
and  that  by  that  means  (to  use  the  expression 
of  the  Mexican  engineers  of  the  present  day)  the 
desague  had  become  simply  negative  ;  that  is  to 
say,  it  prevented  the  river  of  Guautitlan  to  dis- 

♦  In  the  Recueil  de  mes  Observations  de  Zoologie  et  d'  Ana- 
tomic comparée. 


CHAP.  VIII.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  117 

charge  itself  into  the  lake.  At  the  period  of  the 
great  rises  the  disadvantages  resulting  from  this 
state  of  things  were  sensibly  felt  in  the  city  of 
Mexico.  The  Rio  de  Guautitlan,  in  overflowing, 
poured  part  of  its  water  into  the  basin  of  Zum- 
pango,  which,  swelled  by  the  additional  con- 
fluents of  San  Mateo  and  Pachuca,  formed  a 
junction  with  the  lake  of  San  Christobal.  It 
would  have  been  very  expensive  to  enlarge  the 
bed  of  the  Rio  de  Guautitlan,  to  cut  its  sinuosities, 
and  rectify  its  course;  and  even  this  remedy 
would  not  have  wholly  removed  the  danger  of 
inundation.  The  very  wise  resolution  was  there- 
fore adopted  at  the  end  of  the  last  century,  under 
the  direction  of  Don  Cosme  de  Mier  y  Trespa- 
lacios,  superintendant-general  of  the  desague,  of 
opening  two  canals  to  conduct  the  water  from 
the  lakes  of  Zumpango  and  San  Christobal  to 
the  cut  in  the  mountain  at  Nochistongo.  The 
first  of  these  canals  was  begun  in  1796,  and  the 
second  in  1798.  The  one  is  8900,  and  the 
other  13,000  metres  *  in  length.  The  canal  of 
San  Christobal  joins  that  of  Zumpango  to  the 
south-east  of  Huehuetoca,  at  5000  metres  t  dis 
tance  from  its  entry  into  the  desague  of  Martinez. 
These  two  works  cost  more  than  a  million  of 
livres,  t    They  are  water-courses,  in  which  the 

*  29,228  and  42,650  feet.    7Va??i-.  f  16,404  feet.     Trans. 
X   41,670/.  sterling.      Trans. 
I  3 


118  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  iii. 

level  of  the  water  is  from  8  to  12  metres  *  lower 
than  the  neighbouring  ground  ;  and  they  have 
the  same  defects  on  a  small  scale  with  the  great 
trench  of  Nochistongo.  Their  slopes  are  much 
too  rapid  ;  in  several  places  they  are  almost  per- 
pendicular. Hence  the  loose  earth  falls  so  fre- 
quently in,  that  it  requires  from  16,000  to 
20,000  francs  t  annually  to  keep  these  two 
canals  of  M.  Mier  in  a  proper  condition.  When 
the  viceroys  go  to  inspect  (Jiacer  la  visita)  the 
desague  (a  two  days'  journey,  which  formerly 
brought  them  in  a  present  of  3000  double  pias- 
tres Î)  they  embarked  near  their  palace  §  from 
the  south  bank  of  the  lake  of  San  Christobal,  and 
went  even  farther  than  Huehuetoca  by  water, 
a  distance  of  seven  common  leagues. 

It  appears  from  a  manuscript  memoir  of  Don 
Ignacio  Castera,  present  inspector  (maestro 
mayor)  of  hydraulical  operations  in  the  valley 
of  Mexico,  that  the  desague  cost,  including  the 
repairs  of  the  dikes  {alharadones\  between 
1607  and  1789,  the  sum  of  5,547,670  double 
piastres.     If  we  add  to  this  enormous  sum  from 


*  From  26  to  39  feet.     Trans. 

-j-  From  666/.  to  833/.  sterling.     Trans, 

X  6561.  sterling.     Trans. 

§  This  pretended  Palacio  delos  Vireycs,  from  which  there 
is  a  magnificent  view  of  the  lake  of  Tczcuco,  and  the  volcano 
of  Popocatepcc,  covered  with  eternal  snow,  bears  more  re- 
sembluuce  to  a  great  farm-house  than  to  a  palace. 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  119 

6  to  700,000  piastres  expended  in  the  fifteen 
following  years,  we  shall  find  that  the  whole  of 
these  operations  (the  cut  through  the  mountains 
of  Nochistongo,  the  dikes,  and  the  two  canals 
from  the  upper  lakes)  have  not  cost  less  than 
31  millions  of  livres.  •  The  estimate  of  the 
expense  of  the  canal  du  Midi,  of  which  the 
length  is  238,648  metres  t,  (notwithstanding  the 
construction  of  62  locks,  and  the  magnificent 
reseiToir  of  St.  Ferreol)  was  only  4,897>000 
francs  Î;  but  it  has  cost  from  1686  to  1791  the 
sum  of  22,999,000  of  francs  §  to  keep  this  canal 
in  order.  II 

Resuming  what  we  have  been  stating  relative 
to  the  hydraulical  operations  carried  on  in  the 
plains  of  Mexico,  we  see  that  the  safety  of  tlie 
capital  actually  depends:  1.  on  tne  stone  dikes 
which  prevent  the  water  of  the  lake  of  Zum- 
pango  from  flowing  over  into  the  lake  of  San 
Christobal,  and  San  Christobal  from  flowing  into 
the  lake  of  Tezcuco  ;  2.  on  the  dikes  and  sluices 
of  Tlahuac  and  Mexicaltzingo,  which  prevent 
the  lakes  of  Chalco  and  Xochimilco  from  over- 
flowing ;  3.  on  the  desague  of  Enrico  Martinez, 
by  which  the  Rio  de  Guautitlan  makes  its  way 
through  the  mountains  into  the  valley  of  Tula  ; 


*  1,291,770;.  sterling.   Trans,     f  782,966  feet.     Trans, 
t  204,057/.  sterling.    Trans.    §  958,368/.  sterling.  Trans. 
y  Andreossy,  Histoire  du  Canal  du  Midi,  p.  289. 
I  4 


120  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

anJ,  4.  on  the  two  canals  of  M.  Mier,  by  which 
the  two  lakes  of  Zumpango  and  San  Christobal 
may  be  thrown  dry  at  pleasure. 

However,  all  these  multiplied  means  do  not 
secure  the  capital  against  inundations  proceed- 
ing from  the  north  and  north-west.  Notwith- 
standing all  the  expense  which  has  been  laid  out, 
the  city  will  continue  exposed  to  very  great 
risks  till  a  canal  shall  be  immediately  opened 
from  the  lake  of  Tezcuco.  The  waters  of  this 
lake  may  rise,  without  those  of  San  Christobal 
bursting  the  dike  which  confines  them.  The 
great  inundation  of  Mexico  under  the  reign  of 
Ahuitzotl  was  solely  occasioned  by  frequent 
rains  *,  and  the  overflowing  of  the  most  southern 
lakes,  Chalco  and  Xochimilco.  The  water  rose 
to  five  or  six  metres  t  above  the  level  of  the 
streets.  In  1763,  and  the  beginning  of  1764,  the 
capital  was  from  a  similar  cause  in  the  greatest 
danger.  Inundated  in  every  quarter,  it  formed 
an  island  for  several  months,  without  a  single 
drop  from  the  Rio  de  Guautitlan  entering  the 

*  The  Indian  historians  relate,  that  at  this  period  great 
masses  of  water  were  seen  to  fall  on  the  declivities  of  the 
mountains  in  the  interior  of  the  country,  which  contained 
fishes  never  found  but  in  the  rivers  of  the  warm  regions 
{pescados  de  tierra  calicnte)  ;  a  physical  phenomenon  difficult 
of  explanation,  on  account  of  the  elevation  of  the  Mexican 
table-land. 

f  16  and  19  feet.     Trans. 


CHAP.  VIII.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  121 

lake  of  Tezcuco.  This  overflow  was  merely 
occasioned  by  small  confluents  from  the  east, 
west,  and  south.  Water  was  every  where  seen 
to  spring  up,  undoubtedly  from  the  hydrostatical 
pression  which  it  experienced  in  filtration  in  the 
surrounding  mountains.  On  the  6th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1772»  there  fell  *  so  sudden  and  abundant 
a  shower  in  the  valley  of  Mexico,  that  it  had  all 
the  appearance  of  a  water  spout  (manga  de 
agiià).  Fortunately,  however,  this  phenomenon 
took  place  only  in  the  north  and  north-west  part 
of  the  valley.  The  canal  of  Huehuetoca  was 
then  productive  of  the  most  beneficial  effects, 
though  a  great  portion  of  ground  between  San 
Christobal,  Ecatepec,  San  Mateo,  Santa  Ines, 
and  Guautitlan,  were  inundated  to  such  a  de- 
gree, that  many  edifices  became  entire  ruins. 
If  this  deluge  had  burst  above  the  basin  of  the 
lake  of  Tezcuco,  the  capital  would  have  been 
exposed  to  the  most  imminent  danger.  These 
circumstances,  and  several  others  which  we  have 
already  adverted  to,  sufficiently  prove  how  in- 
dispensable a  duty  it  becomes  for  the  govern- 
ment to  take  in  hand  the  draining  the  lakes 
which  are  nearest  to  the  city  of  Mexico.  Tliis 
necessity  is  daily  increasing,  because  the  bot- 
toms of  the  basins  of  Tezcuco  and  Chalco  are 
continually  becoming  more  elevated  from  the 
depositions  which  they  receive. 

*  Informe  de  Fic^fl^ywcs  (manuscript),  folio  25. 


122  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  in. 

In  fact,  while  I  was  at  Huehuetoca  in  the 
month  of  January,  1804,  the  viceroy  Iturrigaray 
gave  orders  for  the  construction  of  the  canal  of 
Tezcuco,  formerly  projected  by  Martinez,  and 
more  recently  surveyed  by  Velasquez.  This 
canal,  the  estimate  of  the  expense  of  which 
amounts  to  three  millions  of  livres  tournois  *,  is 
to  commence  at  the  north-west  extremity  of  the 
lake  of  Tezcuco,  in  a  point  situated  at  a  distance 
of  4593  metres  t  south  36'^  east,  from  the  first 
sluice  of  the  Calzada  de  San  Christobal.  It  is 
to  pass,  first  through  the  great  arid  plain  con- 
taining the  insulated  mountains  of  las  Cruces  de 
Ecatepec  and  Chkonaiitla  Î,  and  it  will  then  take 
the  direction  of  thefarm  of  Santa  Ines  towards  the 
canal  of  Huehuetoca.  Its  total  length  to  the 
sluice  of  Vertideros  will  be  37,978  Mexican 
varas,  or  31,901  metres  §  ;  but  what  will  render 
the  execution  of  this  plan  the  most  expensive,  is 
the  necessity  of  deepening  the  course  of  the  old 
desague  all  the  way  from  Vertideros  to  beyond 
the  Boveda  Real  j  the  first  of  these  two  points 
being  6"",  O78  above,  and  the  second  9"",  181 1| 


*  125,010/.  sterling.    Traits.        f  15,067  feet.  Trans. 

J:  The  former  of  these  summits,  according  to  the  geo- 
desical  measurements  of  M.  Velasquez,  is  é'O^,  and  the  latter 
378  Mexican  varas  (339  and  317  metres)  above  the  mean 
level  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco. 

§  104-,660  feet.     Trans. 

y  357.108  inches,  and  361.464  inche;».     Trans. 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  123 

lower  than  the  mean  level  of  the  lake  of  Tez- 
cuco.  *     Their  distance  from  one  another  is  al- 

*  To  complete  the  description  of  this  great  hydraulical 
undertaking,  we  shall  here  insert  the  principal  results  of  M. 
Velasquez's  survey.  These  results,  on  correcting  the  error 
of  the  refraction,  and  reducing  the  apparent  to  the  true 
level,  coincide  well  enough  with  those  obtained  by  Enrico 
Martinez  and  Arias  in  the  commencement  of  the  17th  cen- 
tury; but  they  prove  the  erroneousness  of  the  surveys  exe- 
cuted in  1764?  by  Don  Yldefonso  Yniesta,  according  to  which 
the  draining  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco  appeared  a  much  more 
difficult  problem  to  resolve  than  it  is  in  reality.  We  shall 
designate  by  +  the  points  which  are  more  elevated,  and  by 
—  the  points  which  are  less  elevated  than  the  mean  level  of 
the  water  of  Tezcuco,  in  1773  and  1774,  or  the  signal 
placed  near  its  bank,  at  the  distance  of  5475  Mexican  varas, 
south  36°  east  from  the  first  sluice  of  the  Calzada  de  San 
Christobal. 


The  channel  of  the  Rio  de 

Varas. 

Palmos. 

Dedos.    ( 

3rono 

Guautitlan  near  the  sluice 

of  Vertideros           -              + 

10 

.     3 

.      2      . 

3 

The  channel  of  the  desague 

under    the   port   of  Hue- 

' 

huetoca         -           -              f 

8 

.     0 

.      2      . 

1 

Id.  near  the  sluice  of  Santa 

Maria            -          -             + 

4 

.     3 

.      8      . 

3 

7c?.  below  the  sluice  of  Val- 

deras             -          -               + 

2 

.     1 

.    11       . 

2 

The  channel  of  the  desague 

below   the    Boveda    Real  — 

10 

.     3 

.     9     . 

3 

Id.    below    the   Boveda   de 

Techo    Baxo              -         — 

VS 

.     0 

.     6     . 

1 

Id.  below  the  Bocca  de  San 

Gregorio          .          .           _ 

23 

.     1 

.  11     . 

2 

Id.  above  the  Salto  del  Rio  — 

90 

.     1 

.     9     . 

0 

Id.  below  the  Salto  del  Rio  — 

107 

.     2 

.     9     . 

0 

124  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  in. 

most  10200  metres  (33464  feet  English).  To 
avoid  deepening  the  bed  of  the  present  desague 
for  a  still  more  considerable  length,  it  is  proposed 
to  give  to  the  new  canal  a  fall  of  only  0™,  2  in 
1000  metres.  The  plan  of  the  engineer  Mar- 
tinez was  rejected  in  I607,  purely  because  it 
was  supposed  that  a  current  ought  to  have  a  fall 
of  half  a  metre  in  the  hundred.  Alonso  de  Arias 
then  proved  on  the  authority  of  Vitruvius 
(L.  VIII.  C.  7.),  that  to  convey  the  water  of 
the  lake  of  Tezcuco  into  the  Rio  de  Tula  a  pro- 
digious depth  would  be  requisite  for  the  new 
canal,  and  that  even  at  the  foot  of  the  cascade 
near  the  Hacienda  del  Sal  to,  the  level  of  its 
water  would  be  200  metres  *  below  the  river. 
Martinez  could  not  stand  against  the  power  of 
prejudices  and  the  authority  of  the  ancients  ! 
We  think  that  if  it  is  prudent  to  give  little  incli- 
nation to  canals  of  navigation,  it  is  useful  to  give 
in  general  a  good  deal  to  canals  of  desiccation  ; 


It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  vara  is  divided  into  4  palmos, 
48  dedos,  and  192  granos  ;  that  a  toise  is  equal  to  3.32258 
Mexican  varas,  and  that  a  Mexican  vara  is  .839169  metres, 
according  to  the  experiments  made  on  a  vara  preserved  in 
the  Casa  del  Cabildo  of  Mexico  since  the  time  of  King 
Philip  II.     Author. 

A  toise  is  equivalent  to  2.32258  Mexican  varas,  and  not 
3.32258.  A  vara  being  equal  to  .839169  of  a  metre,  2.32258 
varas  correspond  to  1.949  metres  =  6.394  English  feet  = 
1  toise.     Trans. 

*  656  feet      Trans. 


CHAP.  VIII.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  125 

but  there  are  particular  cases  where  the  nature 
of  the  ground  will  not  admit  in  hydraulical 
operations  of  all  the  advantages  which  theory 
may  prescribe. 

When  we  take  into  consideration  the  expense 
of  the  excavations  required  in  the  Rio  del  De- 
sague,  from  the  sluice  of  Vertideros  or  that  of 
Valderas  to  the  Boveda  Real,  we  are  tempted  to 
believe  that  it  would  be,  perhaps,  easier  to  se- 
cure the  capital  from  the  dangers  with  which 
it  is  still  threatened  by  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  by 
recurring  to  the  project  attempted  to  be  carried 
into  execution  by  Simon  Mendez  during  the 
great  inundation  from  16^9  to  1634.  M.  Velas- 
quez examined  this  project  in  1774'.  After  sur- 
veying the  ground,  that  geometrician  affirmed 
that  28  pits  of  ventilation,  and  a  subterraneous 
gallery  of  13,000  metres*  in  length,  for  bringing 
the  water  of  Tezcuco  across  the  mountain  of 
Citlaltepec  towards  the  river  of  Tequixquiac, 
could  be  sooner  finished,  and  at  less  expense, 
than  the  enlarging  the  bed  of  the  desague,  deep- 
ening it  for  a  course  of  more  than  9000  metres  t, 
and  cutting  a  canal  from  the  lake  of  Tezcuco  to 
the  sluice  of  Vertideros  near  Huehuetoca.  I 
was  present  at  the  consultations  which  took 
place  in  1804  before  deciding  that  the  water  of 
Tezcuco   should  pass   through   the  old  cut  of 

*  i2,650  feet.     Tratis.  f  29,527  feet.     Trans. 


126  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  hi. 

Nochistongo.  The  advantages  and  disadvan- 
tages of  Mendez's  project  were  never  discussed 
in  these  conferences. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  in  digging  the  new  canal 
of  Tezcuco  more  attention  will  be  paid  to  the 
situation  of  the  Indians  than  has  hitherto  been 
done  even  so  late  as  1796  and  1798,  when  the 
courses  of  Zumpango  and  San  Christobal  were 
executed.  The  Indians  entertain  the  most  bit- 
ter hatred  against  the  desague  of  Huehuetoca. 
A  hydraulical  operation  is  looked  upon  by  them 
in  the  light  of  a  public  calamity,  not  only  be- 
cause a  great  number  of  individuals  have 
perished  by  unfortunate  accidents  in  Martinez's 
operations,  but  especially  because  they  were 
compelled  to  labour  to  the  neglect  of  their  own 
domestic  affairs,  so  that  they  fell  into  the  great- 
est indigence  while  the  desiccation  was  going  on. 
Many  thousands  of  Indian  labourers  have  been 
almost  constantly  occupied  in  the  desague  for 
two  centuries  ;  and  it  may  be  considered  as  a 
principal  cause  of  the  poverty  of  the  Indians  in 
the  valley  of  Mexico.  The  great  humidity  to 
which  they  were  exposed  in  the  trench  of  Nochis- 
tongo gave  rise  to  the  most  fatal  maladies  among 
them.  Only  a  very  few  years  ago  the  Indians 
were  cruelly  bound  with  ropes,  and  forced  to 
work  like  galley  slaves,  even  when  sick,  till  they 
expired  on  the  spot.  From  an  abuse  of  law, 
and  especially  from  an  abuse  of  the  principles 


CHAP.  VIII.]    KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  127 

introduced  since  the  organization  of  intendan- 
cies,  the  work  at  the  desague  of  Huehuetoca  is 
looked  upon  as  an  extraordinary  corvée.  It  is  a 
personal  service  exigible  from  the  Indian,  a 
remain  of  the  mita  •,  which  we  should  not  ex- 
pect in  a  country  where  the  working  of  the 
mines  is  perfectly  voluntary,  and  where  the 
Indian  enjoys  more  personal  liberty  than  in  the 
north-east  part  of  Europe.  In  turning  the  atten- 
tion of  the  viceroy  to  these  important  consider- 
ations, I  could  have  referred  to  the  numerous 
testimonies  contained  in  the  Informe  de  Zepeda, 
In  every  passage  of  it  we  read  "  that  the  de- 
sague has  diminished  the  population  and  pros- 
perity of  the  Indians,  and  that  such  or  such  a 
hydraulical  project  dare  not  be  carried  into 
execution,  because  the  engineers  have  no  longer 
so  great  a  number  of  engineers  at  their  disposal 
as  in  the  time  of  the  viceroy  Don  Luis  de  Ve- 
lasco  the  Second."  It  is  consoling,  however,  to 
observe,  as  we  have  already  endeavoured  to  ex- 
plain in  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  chapter,  that 
this  progressive  depopulation  has  only  taken 
place  in  the  central  part  of  the  old  Anahuac. 


*  See  above,  chap.  V.  The  Indian  is  paid  at  the  desague 
at  the  rate  of  two  reals  of  plata,  or  25  sous  per  day  (  =  1^. 
O^rf.).  In  Martinez's  time,  in  the  17th  century,  the  Indians 
were  only  paid  at  the  rate  of  5  reals  or  3  francs  per  week 
(  =2s.  6<f.),  but  they  also  received  a  certain  quantity  of  maize 
for  their  maintenance. 


128        POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  in. 

In  all  the  liydraulical  operations  of  the  valley 
of  Mexico,  water  has  been  always  regarded  as 
an  enemy,  against  which  it  was  necessary  to  be 
defended  either  by  dikes  or  drains.  We  have 
already  proved  that  this  mode  of  proceeding, 
especially  the  European  method  of  artificial  de- 
siccation, has  destroyed  the  germ  of  fertility  in 
a  great  part  of  the  plain  of  Tenochtitlan.  Ef- 
florescences of  carbonate  of  Soda  (Jequesquite) 
have  increased  in  proportion  as  the  masses  of 
running  water  have  diminished.  Fine  savannas 
have  gradually  assumed  the  appearance  of  arid 
steppes.  For  great  spaces  the  soil  of  the  valley 
appears  merely  a  crust  of  hardened  clay  (tepe- 
tatey,  destitute  of  vegetation,  and  cracked  by 
contact  with  the  air.  It  would  have  been  easy, 
however,  to  profit  by  the  natural  advantages  of 
the  ground,  in  applying  the  same  canals  for  the 
drawing  of  water  from  the  lakes  for  watering  of 
the  arid  plains,  and  for  interior  navigation. 
Large  basins  of  water  ranged  as  it  were  in 
stages  above  one  another  facilitate  the  execu- 
tion of  canals  of  irrigation.  To  the  south-east 
of  Huehuetoca  are  three  sluices,  called  los  Verti- 
deroSy  which  are  opened  when  the  Rio  de  Guau- 
titlan  is  wished  to  be  dicharged  into  the  lake  of 
Zumpango,  and  the  Rio  del  Desague  to  be 
thrown  dry  for  the  sake  of  cleaning  or  deepening 
the  course.  The  channel  of  the  old  mouth  of 
the   Rio  de  Guautitlan,  that  which  existed   in 

9 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOiyr  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  129 

1607,  liaving  become  gradually  obliterated,  a 
new  canal  has  been  cut  from  Vertideros  to  the 
lake  of  Zumpango.  In  place  of  continually 
drawing  the  water  from  this  lake,  and  from  San 
Christobal,  out  of  the  valley  towards  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  in  the  interval  of  18  or  20  years,  during 
which  no  extraordinary  rise  takes  place,  the 
water  of  the  desague  might  have  been  distributed 
to  the  great  advantage  of  agriculture  in  the 
lovvcr  parts  of  the  valley.  '  Reservoirs  of  water 
might  have  been  constructed  for  seasons  of 
drought.  It  was  thought  preferable,  however, 
blindly  to  follow  the  order  issued  from  Madrid, 
which  bears,  "  that  not  a  drop  of  water  ought  to 
enter  into  the  lake  of  Tezcuco  from  the  lake  of 
San  Christobal,  unless  once  a  year,  when  the 
sluices  (las  compuertas  de  la  Calzada")  are  open- 
ed for  the  sake  of  fishing*  in  the  basin  of  San 
Christobal."  The  trade  of  the  Indians  of  Tez- 
cuco languishes  for  whole  months  from  the  want 
of  water  in  the  salt  lake  which  separates  them 
from  the  capital  j  and  districts  of  ground  lie 
below  the  mean  level  of  the  water  of  Guautitlan 


*  This  fishing  is  a  grand  rural  festival  for  the  inhabitants 
of  the  capital.  The  Indians  construct  huts  on  the  banks  of 
the  lake  of  San  Christobal,  which  is  thrown  almost  dry 
during  the  fishing.  This  bears  some  resemblance  to  the 
fishing  which  Herodotus  relates  the  Egyptians  carried  on 
twice  a  year  in  the  lake  Moeris,  on  opening  the  sluices  of 
irrigation. 

VOL.  II.  K 


130  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

and  of  the  northern  lakes  ;  and  yet  no  idea  has 
ever  been  entertained  for  ages  of  supplying  the 
wants  of  agriculture  and  interior  navigation. 
From  a  remote  period  there  was  a  small  canal 
(jsanja)  from  the  lake  of  Tezcuco  to  the  lake  of 
San  Christobal.  A  lock  of  four  metres*  of  fall 
would  have  admitted  canoes  from  the  capital  to 
the  latter  of  these  lakes  ;  and  the  canals  of  M. 
Mier  would  have  even  conducted  them  to  the 
village  of  Huehuetoca.  In  this  manner  a  com- 
munication would  have  been  established  from 
the  south  bank  of  the  lake  of  Chalco  to  the 
northern  bounds  of  the  valley,  for  an  extent  of 
more  than  80,000  metres.!  Men  of  the  best 
information,  animated  with  the  noblest  patriotic 
zeal,  have  had  the  courage  to  propose  these 
measures Î;  but  the  government,  by  rejecting 
the  best  conceived  projects  for  such  a  length  of 
time,  seems  to  be  resolved  to  consider  the  water 
of  the  Mexican  lakes  merely  as  a  destructive 
element,  from  which  the  environs  of  the  capital 
must  be  freed,  and  to  which  no  other  course 
ought  to  be  permitted  than  that  towards  the 
Atlantic  Ocean. 

Now  that  the  canal  of  Tezcuco,  by  order  of  the 
viceroy  Don  Josef  de  Iturrigaray,  is  to  be  open- 
ed, there  will  remain  no  obstacle  to  a  free  navi- 

*  13  feet.     Trans.  f  262,468  feet.     Trans. 

X  M.  Velasquez,  for  example,  at  the  end  of  his  hiforme 
sohre  el  Desague  (MS.). 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  131 

gation  through  the  large  and  beautiful  valley  of 
Tenochtitlan.  Corn  and  the  other  productions 
of  the  districts  of  Tula  and  Guautitlan  will  come 
by  water  to  the  capital.  The  carriage  of  a 
mule-load,  estimated  at  300  pounds  weight,  costs 
from  Huehuetoca  to  Mexico  five  reals  *  or  four 
francs,  t  It  is  computed  that  when  the  naviga- 
tion will  be  set  on  foot,  the  freight  of  an  Indian 
canoe  of  15,000  pounds  burden  will  not  be  more 
than  four  or  five  piastres  t,  so  that  the  carriage 
of  300  pounds  (which  make  a  carga)  will  only 
cost  nine  sous.  §  Mexico,  for  example,  will  get 
lime  at  six  or  seven  piastres  ||  the  cart-load  (car- 
retadd)y  while  the  present  price  is  from  10  to  12 
piastres.  % 

But  the  most  beneficial  eflfect  of  a  navigable 
canal  from  Chalco  to  Huehuetoca  will  be  expe- 
rienced in  the  commerce  of  the  interior  of  New 
Spain,  known  by  the  name  of  Commercio  de 
tierra  adentro^  which  goes  in  a  straight  line  from 
the  capital  to  Durango,  Chihuahua,  and  Santa 
Fe,  in  New  Mexico.     Huehuetoca  may  here- 


*  A  double  piastre  contains  8  reals  de  Plata,  and  in  works 
on  the  Spanish  colonies  and  America,  Pesos  fuertes,  and 
Reales  de  Plata,  are  always  understood. 

f  4  francs  =  35. 4c?.,  but  according  to  the  data  of  our  author 
5  reals  amount  only  to  2s.  ^\d.     Trans. 

X  175.  Gd.  or  \l.  \s.  lOd.  sterling.  Trans.       §  ^d.   Trans. 

II   1/.  6s.  3d.  or  1^.  105.  7d.     Trans. 

«If  From  21.  Ss.  9d.  to  21,  12s.  6d.     Trans. 

K   2 


132  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

after  become  the  emporium  of  this  important 
trade,  in  which  from  fifty  to  sixty  thousand  beasts 
of  burden  (recuas)  are  constantly  employed. 
The  muleteers  (^arriéras')  of  New  Biscay  and 
Santa  Fe  fear  nothing  so  much  in  the  whole 
road  of  500  leagues  as  the  journey  from  Hue- 
huetoca  to  Mexico.  The  roads  in  the  north- 
west part  of  the  valley,  where  the  basaltic  amyg- 
daloid is  covered  with  a  large  stratum  of  clay, 
are  almost  impassable  in  the  rainy  season. 
Many  mules  perish  in  them.  Those  which 
stand  out  cannot  recover  from  their  fatigues  in 
the  environs  of  the  capital,  where  there  is  no 
good  pasturage  and  no  large  commons  (ea,idos)y 
which  Huehuetoca  would  easily  supply.  It  is 
only  by  remaining  some  length  of  time  in  coun- 
tries where  all  commerce  is  carried  on  by  ca- 
ravans, either  of  camels  or  mules,  that  we  can 
correctly  appreciate  the  influence  of  the  objects 
under  discussion  on  the  prosperity  and  comfort 
of  the  inhabitants. 

The  lakes  situated  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
valley  of  Tenochtitlan  throw  off  from  their  sur- 
face miasmata  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  which 
become  sensible  in  the  streets  of  Mexico  every 
time  the  south  wind  blows.  This  wind  is  there- 
fore considered  in  the  country  as  extremely 
unhealthy.  The  Aztecs  in  their  hieroglyphical 
writings  represented  it  by  a  death's  head.  The 
lake  of  Xochimilco  is  partly  filled  with  plants  of 


CHAP,  viii.j      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  133 

the  family  of  the  junci  and  cyperoides,  which  ve- 
getate at  a  small  depth  under  a  bed  of  stagnating 
water.  It  has  been  recently  proposed  *  to  the 
government  to  cut  a  navigable  canal  in  a  straight 
line  from  the  small  town  of  Chalco  to  Mexico,  a 
canal  which  would  be  shorter  by  a  third  than  the 
present  one  j  and  it  has  at  the  same  time  been 
projected  to  drain  the  basins  of  the  lakes  of 
Xochimilco  and  Chalco,  and  sell  the  ground, 
which  from  having;  been  for  centuries  washed 
with  fresh  water,  is  uncommonly  fertile.  The 
centre  of  the  lake  of  Chalco  being  somewhat 
deeper  than  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  its  water  will 
never  be  completely  drawn  off.  Agriculture 
and  the  salubrity  of  the  air  will  be  equally  im- 
proved by  the  execution  of  M.  Castera's  project; 
for  the  south  extremity  of  the  valley  possessess 
in  general  the  soil  best  adapted  for  cultivation. 
The  carbonate  and  muriate  of  soda  are  less 
abundant  from  the  continual  filtrations  occasion- 
ed by  the  numerous  rills  which  descend  from 
the  Cerro  d'Axusco,  the  Guarda,  and  the  vol- 
canos.  It  must  not,  however,  be  forgotten  that 
the  draining  of  the  two  lakes  will  have  a  ten- 
dency to  increase  still  farther  the  dryness  of  the 
atmosphere  in  a  valley  where  the  hygrometer 
of  Deluct  frequently  descends  to  fifteen.     This 

*  Informe  de  Don  Ignacio  Castera  (MS.),  folio  14. 
f  The  temperature  of  the  air  being  23°  centigrades,  the 
15"  of  Deluc's  hygrometer  are  equivalent  to  4;2°  of  the  hy- 

K    3 


134.  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  in. 

evil  is  inevitable,  if  no  attempt  is  made  to  connect 
these  hydraulical  operations  with  some  general 
system  j  the  multiplying  at  the  same  time  canals 
of  irrigation,  forming  reservoirs  of  water  for  times 
of  drought,  and  constructing  sluices  for  the  sake 
of  counteracting  the  different  pressures  of  the 
inequality  of  levels,  and  for  receiving  and  with- 
holding the  increases  of  the  rivers.  These  re- 
servoirs of  water  distributed  at  suitable  elevations 
might  be  employed  at  the  same  time  in  clean- 
ing and  working  periodically  the  streets  of  the 
capital. 

In  the  epocha  of  a  nascent  civilization,  gi- 
gantic projects  are  much  more  seductive  than 
more  simple  ideas  of  easier  execution.  Thus, 
in  place  of  establishing  a  system  of  small  canals 
for  the  interior  navigation  of  the  valley,  the 
minds  of  the  inhabitants  have  been  bewildered 
since  the  time  of  the  viceroy  Count  Revillagi- 
gedo,  with  vague  speculations  on  the  possibility 
of  a  communication  by  water  between  the  capital 
and  the  port  of  Tampico.  Seeing  the  water  of 
the  lakes  descend  by  the  mountains  of  Nochis- 
tongo  into  the  Rio  de  Tula  (called  also  Rio  de 
Moctezuma,)  and  by  the  Rio  de  Panuco  into 
the  gulf  of  Mexico,  they  entertain  the  hope  of 

grometer  of  Sassure.  The  cause  of  this  extreme  dryness  is 
discussed  by  me  in  the  Tablemi  physique  des  regions  equi- 
7ioxiales,  annexed  to  my  Essai  sur  la  géographie  des  plantes, 
page  98. 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  135 

Opening  the  same  route  to  the  commerce  of 
Vera  Cruz.  Goods  to  the  value  of  more  than 
100  milHons  of  livres*  are  annually  transported 
on  mules  from  the  Atlantic  coast  over  the  in- 
terior table-land,  while  the  flour,  hides,  and 
metals  descend  from  the  central  table-land  to 
Vera  Cruz.  The  capital  is  the  emporium  of 
this  immense  commerce.  The  road,  which,  if 
no  canal  is  attempted,  is  to  be  carried  from  the 
coast  to  Perote,  will  cost  several  millions  of 
piastres.  Hitherto  the  air  of  the  port  of  Tam- 
pico has  appeared  not  so  prejudicial  to  the  health 
of  Europeans  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  cold 
regions  of  Mexico  as  the  climate  of  Vera  Cruz. 
Although  the  bar  of  Tampico  prevents  the  entry 
of  vessels  into  the  port  drawing  more  than  from 
45  to  60  decimetres  water  t,  it  would  still  be  pre- 
ferable to  the  dangerous  anchorage  among  the 
shallows  of  Vera  Cruz.  From  these  circum- 
stances a  navigation  from  the  capital  to  Tampico 
would  be  desirable,  whatever  expense  might  be 


*  4,167,000/.  sterling.     Trans. 

f  From  14.763,  say  14|  feet,  to  19.615=19  feet  8  inches. 
M.  Humboldt  observes,  Vol.  I.  p.  82.,  "  that  the  coast  of  New 
Spain  from  the  18°  to  the  26°  of  latitude  abounds  with  bars; 
and  vessels  which  draw  more  than  32  centimetres  {i.  e.  12^ 
inches)  of  water  cannot  pass  over  any  of  these  bars  without 
danger  of  grounding."  How  does]the  bar  of  Tampico,  then, 
which  is  within  these  latitudes,  admit  of  vessels  drawing  14 
and  19  feet  water  ?     Trans. 

K   4 


136  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  hi. 

requisite  for  the  execution  of  so  bold  an  under- 
taking. 

But  it  is  not  the  expense  which  is  to  be  feared 
in    a   country  where  a  private  individual,    the 
Count  de  la  Valenciana,  dug  in  a  single  mine* 
three  pits  at  an  expense  of  eight  millions  and  a 
half  of  francs,  t     Nor  can  we  deny  the  possibi- 
lity of  carrying  a  canal  into  execution  from  the 
valley  of  Tenochtitlan  to  Tampico.     In  the  pre- 
sent state  of  hydraulical  architecture,  boats  may 
be  made  to  pass  over  elevated  chains  of  moun- 
tains,  wherever  nature  offers  points   of  separ- 
ation,   which  communicate  with   two  principal 
recipients.     Many   of  these  points  have  been 
indicated  by  General  Andreossy  in  the  Vosges 
and  other  parts  of  France,  t     M.  de  Piony  made 
a  calculation  of  the  time  that  a  boat  would  take 
to  pass  the  Alps,  if  by  means  of  the  lakes  situ- 
ated near  the  hospital  of  Mount  Cenis  a  com- 
munication were  established  by  water  between 
Lans-le-bourg  and  the  valley  of  Suze.  This  illus- 
trious engineer  proved  by  his  calculation  how 
much,  in  that  particular  case,  land-carriage  was 
to  be  preferred  to  the  tediousness  of  locks.    The 
inclined  planes  invented  by  Reynolds,  and  car- 
ried to  perfection  by  Fulton,  and  the  locks  of 
MM.  Huldleston  and  Betancourt,  two  concep- 


*  Near  Guanaxuato.         f  354',  195/.  sterling.     Trans. 
\.  Andreossy,  sur  le  Canal  du  Midi. 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  137 

tions  equally  applicable  to  the  system  of  small 
canals,  have  greatly  multiplied  the  means  of  na- 
vigation in  mountainous  countries.  But,  however 
great  the  economy  of  water  and  time  at  which 
we  can  arrive,  there  is  a  certain  maximum  of 
height  in  the  predominant  point  beyond  which 
water  is  no  longer  preferable  to  land-carriage. 
The  water  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  east  from  the 
capital  of  Mexico,  is  more  than  2276  metres  * 
elevated  above  tlie  level  of  the  sea,  near  the 
port  of  Tampico  !  Two  hundred  locks  would  be 
requisite  to  carry  boats  to  so  enormous  a  height. 
If  on  the  Mexican  canal  the  levels  were  to  be 
distributed,  as  in  the  Ca?ial  du  Midi,  the  highest 
point  of  which  (at  Naurouse)  has  only  a  perpen- 
dicular elevation  of  189  metres t,  the  number  of 
locks  would  amount  to  330  or  340.  I  know 
nothing  of  the  bed  of  the  Rio  de  Moctezuma 
beyond  the  valley  of  Tula  (the  ancient  Tollan)  ; 
and  I  am  ignorant  of  its  partial  fall  from  the  vi- 
cinity of  Zimapan  and  the  Doctor.  I  recollect, 
however,  that  in  the  great  rivers  of  South  Ame- 
rica canoes  ascend  without  locks  for  distances 
of  180  leagues,  against  the  current,  either  by 
towing  or  rowing  to  elevations  of  300  metres  Î; 
but  notwithstanding  this  analogy,  and  that  of 
the  great  works  executed  in  Europe,  I  can  hard- 

*  7465  feet.     Trans.  f  620  feet.     Trans. 

X  984-  feet.     Trans. 


138  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  iir. 

ly  persuade  myself  that  a  navigable  canal  from 
the  plain  of  Anahuac  to  the  Atlantic  coast  is  a 
hydraulical  work,  the  execution  of  which  is  any- 
wise advisable. 

The  following  are  the  remarkable  towns  (ciu- 
dades  y  villas)  of  the  intendancy  of  Mexico. 

MeMcOt  capital  of  the  kingdom  of  population. 
New  Spain,  height  2277  metres*  137,000 

Tezcuco,  which  formerly  possessed 
very  considerable  cotton  manufactories. 
They  have  suffered  much,  however,  in  a 
competition  with  those  of  Queietaro  5,000 

Cuyoacan,  containing  a  convent  of 
nuns,  founded  by  Hernan  Cortez,  in 
which,  according  to  his  testament,  the 
great  captain  wished  to  be  interred, 
"  in  whatever  part  of  the  world  he 
should  end  his  days."  We  have  al- 
ready stated  that  this  clause  of  the 
testament  was  never  fulfilled. 

Tacubaya,  west  from  this  capital, 
containing  the  archbishop's  palace  and 
a  beautiful  plantation  of  European 
olive-trees. 

Tacubaythe  ancientTlacopan,  capital 
of  a  small  kingdom  of  the  Tepanecs. 

*  7470  feet.     Trans. 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  1S9 

Cuernavacca,  the  ancient  Quauhna-  population. 
huac,  on  the  south  declivity  of  the  Cor- 
dillera of  Guchilaque,  in  a  temperate 
and  dehcious  climate,  finely  adapted 
for  the  cultivation  of  the  fruit-trees  of 
Europe.     Height*  1655  metres. t 

Chilpansingo  (Chilpantzinco),  sur- 
rounded with  fertile  fields  of  wheat. 
Elevation  1080  metres.  Î 

Tasco  (Tlachco),  containing  a  beau- 
tiful parish  church,  constructed  and 
endowed  towards  the  middle  of  the 
18th  century  by  Joseph  de  Laborde, 
a  Frenchman,  who  gained  immense 
wealth  in  a  short  time  by  the  Mexican 
mines.  The  building  of  this  church 
alone   cost  this  individual  more  than 


*  5429  feet.     Trans. 

f  M.  Alzate  affirms,  in  the  Literary  Gazette,  published  at 
Mexico[(1760,  p.  220.),  that  the  absolute  height  of  places  has 
very  little  influence  in  New  Spain  on  the  temperature.  He 
cites  as  an  example  the  city  of  Cuernavacca,  which,  accord- 
ing to  him,  is  at  the  same  height  above  the  level  of  the  sea 
with  the  capital  of  Mexico,  and  which  only  owes  its  delicious 
climate  to  its  position  south  of  a  high  chain  of  mountains. 
But  M.  Alzate  has  fallen  into  an  error  of  more  than  600 
metres  in  ihe  elevation  of  Cuernavacca.  Cortez,  who  changes 
all  the  names  of  the  Aztec  language,  calls  this  town  Coadna- 
baced,  a  word  in  which  we  can  with  difficulty  recognize 
Quauhnahuac.  (Carta  de  Relacion  al  Emperador  Don  Carlos^ 
paragraph  19.) 

X  3542  feet.     Trans. 


140  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  in. 

two  millions  of  francs.  *  Towards  the  Population, 
end  of  his  career,  being  reduced  to 
great  poverty,  he  obtained  from  the 
archbishop  of  Mexico  permission  to 
sell  for  his  benefit  to  the  metropolitan 
church  of  the  capital  the  magnificent 
custodia  set  with  diamonds,  which,  in 
better  times,  he  had  offered  through 
devotion  to  the  tabernacle  of  the  pa- 
rish church  of  Tasco.  Elevation  of 
the  city,  783  metres,  f 

Acapulco  (Acapolco),  at  the  back  of 
a  chain  of  granitical  mountains,  which, 
from  the  reverberation  of  the  radiating 
caloric,  increase  the  suffocating  heat  of 
the  climate.  The  famous  cut  in  the 
mountain  (abra  de  San  Nicolas),  near 
the  bay  de  la  Langosta^  for  the  admis- 
sion of  the  sea  winds,  was  recently 
finished.  The  population  of  this  miser- 
able town,  inhabited  almost  exclusively 
by  people  of  colour,  amounts  to  9000, 
at  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  the  Manilla 
galleon  (^Nao  de  China').  —  Its  habitual 
population  is  only  4,000 

Zacatulay  a  small  sea-port  of  the 
South  Sea,  on  the  frontiers  of  the  inten- 
dancy  of  Valladolid,  between  the  ports 
of  Siguantanejo  and  Colima. 

*  83,34-0/.  sterling.     Trans.  f  2567  feet.     Trans. 


CHAP.  VIII.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  141 

Lerma,  at  the  entry  of  tlie  valley  of    population, 
Toluca,  in  a  marshy  ground. 

Toluca,  (Tolocan)  at  the  foot  of  the 
porphyry-mountain  of  San  Miguel  de 
Tutucuitlalpilco,  in  a  valley  abound- 
ing with  maize  and  maguey  (agave).  — 
Height  2687  metres.* 

Pachuca^  with  Tasco,  the  oldest  min- 
ing-place in  the  kingdom,  as  the  neigh- 
bouring village,  Pachuquillo,  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  the  first  Christian 
village  founded  by  the  Spaniards.  — 
Height  2482  metres.! 

Cadereita,  with  fine  quarries  of  por- 
phyry of  a  clay  base  {thonporphyr), 

San  Juan  del  Rioj  surrounded  with 
gardens,  adorned  with  vines  and  anona. 
Height  1978  metres,  t 

QueretarOf  celebrated  for  the  beauty 
of  its  edifices,  its  aqueduct,  and  cloth 
manufactures.  Height  1940  metres.  § 
Habitual  population,  35,000 

This  city  contains  11,600  Indians,  85  secular 
ecclesiastics,  181  monks,  and  143  nuns.  The 
consumption  of  Queretaro  amounted  in  179311  to 
13,618  cargas  of  wheaten  flour,  69,445  fanegas 

*  8813  feet.     Trans. 

t  814-1  feet.     Trans.  X  ^489  feet.     Trans. 

'     §  6374  feet.     Trans. 

jl  Notitia  del  Doctor  Don  Juan  Ignacio  Briones  (MS.) 


142  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

of  maize,  656  cargas  of  chile  (capsicum),  1770 
barrels  of  brandy,  1682  beeves,  14,949  sheep, 
and  8869  hogs. 

The  most  important  mines  of  this  intendancy, 
considering  them  only  in  the  relation  of  their 
present  wealth,  are. 

La  Veta  Biscaina  de  Real  del  Monte^  near 
Pachîica;  Zimapan,  el  Doctor,  and  Tehulilote- 
pec,  near  Tasco, 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 


US 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 

Population 

in 

1803. 

Extent 
of  Sur- 
face in 
square 
Leagues, 

No.  of 
Inhabi- 
tants 
to  the 
square 
League. 

II.  Intendancy  of  1 
Puebla.         3 

813,300 

2,696 

301 

This  intendancy,  which  has  only  a  coast  of  26 
leagues  towards  the  Great  Ocean,  extends  from 
the  16°  5T  to  the  20''  40'  of  north  latitude,  and  is 
consequently  wholly  situated  in  the  torrid  zone. 
It  is  bounded  on  the  north-east  by  the  intendancy 
of  Vera  Cruz,  on  the  east  by  the  intendancy  of 
Oaxaca,  on  the  south  by  the  ocean,  and  on  the 
west  by  the  intendancy  of  Mexico.  Its  greatest 
length,  from  the  mouth  of  the  small  river  Te- 
coyame  to  near  Mexitlan,  is  118  leagues,  and  its 
greatest  breadth  from  Techuacan  to  Mecameca 
is  50  leagues. 

The  greater  part  of  the  intendancy  of  Puebla 
is  traversed  by  the  high  Cordilleras  of  Anahuac. 
Beyond  the  18th  degree  of  latitude  the  whole 
country  is  a  plain  eminently  fertile  in  wheat, 
maize,  agave,  and  fruit-trees.  This  plain  is  from 
1800  to  2000  metres*  above  the  level  of  the  ocean. 
In  this  intendancy  is  also  the  most  elevated 
mountain  of  all  New  Spain,  the  Popocatepetl. 


*  From  5905  to  6561  feet.     Trans. 


144  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  in. 

^'^NAL™S^}^^-  I^t^^^dancy  ofPuehla. 

This  volcano,  first  measured  by  me,  is  continual- 
ly burning  ;  but  for  these  several  centuries  it  has 
thrown  notiiing  up  from  its  crater  but  smoke  and 
aslies.  This  mountain  is  600  metres*  higher 
than  the  most  elevated  summit  of  the  old  conti- 
nent. From  the  isthmus  of  Panama  to  Bering's 
Straits,  which  separate  Asia  from  America,  we 
know  only  of  one  mountain,  Mont  St.  Elie, 
higher  than  the  great  volcano  of  Puebla. 

The  population  of  this  intendancy  is  still  more 
unequally  distributed  than  that  of  the  intendancy 
of  Mexico.  It  is  concentrated  on  the  plain  which 
extends  fi'Q«|, the  eastern  declivity  of  the  Nevadosf 
to  the  environs  of  Perote,  especially  on  the  high 
and  beautiful  plains  between  Cholula,  La  Puebla, 
and  Tlascala.  Almost  the  whole  country,  from 
the  central  table-land  towards  San  Luis  and  Ygua- 
lapa,  near  the  South  Sea  coast,  is  desert,  though 


*  1968  feet.     Trans. 

■J-  The  words  Nevada  and  Sierra  Nevada  do  not  mean  in 
Spanish  mountains  which  from  time  to  time  are  covered  with 
snow  in  summer,  but  summits  which  enter  the  region  of  per- 
petual snow.  I  prefer  this  foreign  word  to  the  length  of 
periphrases,  or  the  improper  expression  of  snowy  mountains, 
sometimes  used  by  the  academicians  sent  to  Peru.  More- 
over, the  word  Nevado,  when  it  is  joined  to  the  name  of  a 
mountain,  gives  an  idea  of  the  minimum  of  height  attributable 
to  its  summit.  (See  Recueil  de  mes  Observations  Astro- 
nomiqueSf  Vol.  I.  p.  134.) 


CHAP.  Vin,]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  US 

^  ANALYSI^^}  ^^-  Intendancij  of  Puehla. 

well  adapted  for  the  cultivation  of  sugar,  cotton, 
and  the  other  precious  productions  of  the  tropics. 
The  table-land  of  La  Puebla  exhibits  remark- 
able vestiges  of  ancient  Mexican  civilization. 
The  fortifications  of  Tlaxcallan  are  of  a  construc- 
tion'posterior  to  that  of  the  great  pyramid  of 
Cholula  a  curious  monument,  of  which  I  shall 
give  a  minute  description  in  the  historical  account 
of  my  travels  in  the  interior  of  the  new  continent. 
It  is  sufficient  to  state  here,  that  this  pyramid, 
on  the  top  of  which  I  made  a  great  number  of 
astronomical  observations,  consists  of  four  stages  j 
that  in  its  present  state  the  perpendicular  eleva- 
tion is  only  54  metres*,  and  the  horizontal 
breadth  of  the  base  439  metres  t  ;  that  its  sides  are 
very  exactly  in  the  direction  of  the  meridians  and 
parallels,  and  that  it  is  constructed  (if  we  may 
judge  from  the  perforation  made  a  few  years  ago 
in  the  north  side)  of  alternate  strata  of  brick  and 
clay.  These  data  are  sufficient  for  our  recognizing 
in  the  construction  of  this  edifice  the  same  model 
observed  in  the  form  of  the  pyramids  of  Teoti- 
huaccan,  of  which  we  have  already  spoken. 
They  suffice  also  to  prove  the  great  analogy  X  be- 

*  177  feet.     Trans.  f  1423  feet.     Trans. 

%  Zoega  de  Obeliscis,  p.  380.  ;   Voyages  de  Pococke  {edition 
de  Neufchatel)y  1752,  torn.  i.  p.  156 ,  and  167.  ;   Voyage  de  De' 
VOL.  II.  L  * 


146  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

STATISTICAL-»    tt     7  *      7  /- r,     i; 

ANALYSIS.    J  ^^*  i'^i^^dayicy  of  Fuebla. 

tween  these  brick  monuments  erected  by  the 
most  ancient  inhabitants  of  Anahuac,  the  temple 
of  Belus  at  Babylon,  and  the  pyramids  of  Men- 
schich-Dashour,  near  Sakhara  in  Egypt. 

The  platform  of  the  truncated  pyramid  of 
Cholula  has  a  surface  of  4200  square  metres.* 
In  the  midst  of  it  there  is  a  church  dedicated  to 
Nuestra  Senora  de  los  Remedios,  surrounded 
with  cypress,  in  which  mass  is  celebrated  every 
morning  by  an  ecclesiastic  of  Indian  extraction, 
whose  habitual  abode  is  the  summit  of  this  monu- 
ment. It  is  from  this  platform  that  we  enjoy 
the  delicious  and  majestic  view  of  the  Volcan  de 
la  Puebla,  the  Pic  d' Orizaba,  and  the  small  Cor- 
dillera of  M  atlacu  eye  t,  which  formerly  separated 
the  territory  of  the  Cholulans  from  that  of  the 
Tlaxcaltec  republicans. 

The  pyramid,  or  teocalli,  of  Cholula  is  exactly 
of  the  same  height  as  the  Tonatiuh  Itzaqual  of 
Teotiuhacan,  already  described  ;  and  it  is  three 
metres t  higher  than  the  Mycerinus,  or  the  third 
of  the  great  Egyptian  pyramids  of  the  groupe  of 

non,  4to.  edit.  p.  86. 194*.  and  237.  ;  Grobert  Description  des 
Pyramides,  p.  6.  and  12. 

*  45,208  square  feet  English.     Trans. 

-j-  Called  also  the  Sierra  Malinche,  or  Dona  Maria.  Ma- 
linche  appears  to  be  derived  from  Malintzin,  a  word  (I  know 
not  why)  which  is  now  the  name  of  the  Holy  Virgin. 

:j:  9.8  feet.     Trans. 


chAP.  vin.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  147 

^1nalysis\^}  "•  IntendancyofPuebla. 

Ghize.  As  to  the  apparent  length  of  its  base, 
it  exceeds  that  of  all  the  edifices  of  the  same 
description  hitherto  found  by  travellers  in  the  old 
■^  continent,  and  is  almost  the  double  of  the  great 
pyramid  known  by  the  name  of  Cheops.  Those 
who  wish  to  form  a  clear  idea  of  the  great  mass 
of  this  Mexican  monument  from  a  comparison 
with  objects  more  generally  known,  may  imagine 
a  square  four  times  the  dimensions  of  the  Place 
Vendôme,  covered  with  a  heap  of  bricks  of 
twice  the  elevation  of  the  Louvre  !  The  whole  of 
the  interior  of  the  pyramid  of  Cholula  is  not, 
perhaps,  composed  of  brick. — These  bricks,  as 
was  suspected  by  a  celebrated  antiquary  at 
Rome,  M.  Zoega,  probably  form  merely  an  in- 
crustation of  a  heap  of  stones  and  lime,  like 
many  of  the  pyramids  of  Sakhara,  visited  by  Po- 
cock  and  more  recently  by  M.  Grobert.*  Yet 
the  road  from  Puebla  to  Mecameca,  carried 
across  a  part  of  the  first  stage  of  the  teocalli, 
does  not  agree  with  this  supposition. 

We  know  not  the  ancient  height  of  this  extra- 
ordinary monument.  In  its  present  state,  the 
length  of  its  baset  is  to  its  perpendicular  height 

*  See  note  E  at  the  end  of  the  work. 

f  I  shall  here  subjoin  the  true  dimensions  of  the  three  great 
pyramids  of  Ghize,  from  the  interesting  work  of  M.  Grobert. 
I  shall  place  in  adjoining  columns  the  dimensions  of  the 

L   ^ 


148 


POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 


^  ANALYSI^^}  ^I-  Intendancy  ofPuebla. 

as  8 :  1  ;  while  in  the  three  great  pyramids  of 
Ghize,  this  proportion  is  as  l-j-V  and  l-^-V  to  \\  or 
nearly  as  8  to  5.     We  have  already  observed  that 

brick  pyramidal  monuments  of  Sakhara  in  Egypt,  and  of 
Teotihuacan  and  Cholula  in  Mexico.  The  numbers  are 
French  feet.     (A  French  foot  =  1.066  English.) 


Stone  Pyramids. 

Brick  Pyramids. 

Cheops. 

Cephren. 

Myceri- 
nus. 

Of  Five 

Stages  in 
Egypt, 
near Sak- 
hara. 

Of  Four  Stages 
in  Mexico. 

Teotihu- 
acan. 

Cholula. 

Height 
Length  of) 
Base    j" 

448 
728 

398 
655 

162 
280 

150 
210 

171 
645 

172 
1355 

It  is  cui'ious  to  observe,  1.  that  the  people  of  Anahuac  have 
had  the  intention  of  giving  the  height  and  the  double  base  of 
the  Tonatiuh  Itztaqual  to  the  pyramid  of  Cholula  ;  and  2.  that 
the  greatest  of  all  the  Egyptian  pyramids,  that  of  Asychis,  of 
vi^hich  the  base  is  800  feet  in  length,  is  of  brick  and  not  of 
stone.  {Grobert,  p.  6.)     The  cathedral  of  Strasburg  is  eight 
feet,  and  the  cross  of  St.  Peter  at  Rome  41  feet,  lower  than  the 
Cheops.     There  are  in  Mexico  pyramids  of  several  stages,  in 
the  forests  of  Papantla,  at  a  small  elevation  above  the  level  of 
.  the  sea,  and  in  the  plains  of  Cholula  and  Teotihuacan  at  ele- 
vations surpassing  those  of  our  passes  in  the  Alps.     We  are 
astonished  to  see  in  regions  the  most  remote  from  one  an- 
other, and  under  climates  of  the  greatest  diversity,  man  fol- 
lowing the  same  model  in  his  edifices,  in  his  ornaments,  in  his 
habits  and  even  in  the  form  of  his  political  institutions. 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  149 

STATISTICAL!    tt    r  ^     ^  ^-o     n 

ANALYSIS.    I  -*-^'  Intendancy  ofPueUa, 

the  houses  of  the  sun  and  moon,  or  the  pyramidal 
monuments  of  Teotihuacan  north-east  from  Mex- 
ico, are  surrounded  with  a  system  of  small  pyra- 
mids arranged  symmetrically.  M.  Grobert  has 
published  a  very  curious  drawing  of  the  equally 
regular  disposition  of  the  small  pyramids  which 
surround  the  Cheops  and  Mycerinus  at  Ghize. 
The  teocalli  of  Cholula,  if  it  is  allowable  to  com- 
pare it  with  these  great  Egyptian  monuments, 
appears  to  have  been  constructed  on  an  analo- 
gous plan.  We  still  discover  on  the  western 
side,  opposite  the  cerros  of  Tecaxete  and  Zapo- 
teca,  two  completely  prismatical  masses.  One 
of  these  masses  now  bears  the  name  of  Alcosac, 
or  Istenenetl,  and  the  other  that  of  the  Cerro  de 
la  Cruz.  The  elevation  of  the  latter,  which  is 
constructed  en  pise,  is  only  15  metres.  * 

The  intendancy  of  Puebla  gratifies  the  curi- 
osity of  the  traveller  also  with  one  of  the  most 
ancient  monuments  of  vegetation.  The  famous 
ahahuete  t,  or  cypress  of  the  village  of  Atlixco, 
is  23"".  3  Î,  or  73  feet  in  circumference.  Mea- 
sured interiorly  (for  its  trunk  is  hollow)  the 
diameter  is  15  feet.  §  This  cypress  of  Atlixco 
is,  therefore,  to  within  a  few  feet,  of  the  same 


*  49  feet.     Trans.  \  Cupressus  disticha.     Lin. 

X  76.4  feet  English.    Trans.      §  16  feet  English.  Trans. 

L   3 


150  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

STATISTICAL]     rr    ^  ,      ,  ny     ii 

ANALYSIS,    j    i-i.  Intenaancy  oj  Fuebla, 

thickness  *  as  the  baobab  (Adansonia  digitata) 
of  the  Senegal. 

The  district  of  the  old  republic  of  Tlaxcalla, 
inhabited  by  Indians  jealous  of  their  privileges, 
and  very  much  inclined  to  civil  dissensions,  has 
for  a  long  time  formed  a  particular  government. 
I  have  indicated  it  in  my  general  map  of  New 
Spain  as  still  belonging  to  the  intendancy  of 
Puebla  ;  but  by  a  recent  change  in  the  financial 
administration,  Tlaxcalla  and  Guautla  de  las  Ha- 
milpas  were  united  to  the  intendancy  of  Mexico, 
and  Tlapa  and  Ygualapa  separated  from  it. 

There  were  in  1793,  in  the  intendancy  or 
Puebla,  without  including  the  four  districts  of 
Tlaxcalla,  Guautla,  Ygualapa,  and  Tlapa  : 

Tndi'um  5*  Males      -         -       187,531  souls, 

inaians,  ^  Females  -        -       186,221 

Spaniards,  or  C  Males      -  -  25,617 

whites,       ^Females  -  -  29,363 

n,.      ,            Ç  Males      -  -  37,318 

Mixed  race,  ^  females  -  -  40,590 

Secular  ecclesiastics       -         -  585 

Monks  -  -         -  446 

Nuns  -  -         -  427 


Resultofthe  total  enumeration,  508,028  souls, 

*  See  as  to  the  antiquity  of  the  vegetable  species  my 
memoir  on  the  physiognomy  of  plants,  in  my  Tableaux  dc 
la  Nalure,  torn.  ii.  p.  108.  and  137. 


CHAP,  vrii.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  151 

STATISTICAL!    tt    r  /     ^  /-»     // 

ANALYSIS.    I   ^^'  J^ntendancy  oj  Puebla. 

distributed  into  6  cities,  133  parishes,  607  vil- 
lages, 425  farms  (haciendas')^  886  solitary  houses 
(ranchos),  and  33  convents,  two-thirds  of  which 
are  for  monks. 

The  government  of  Tlaxcalla  contained  in 
1793  a  population  of  59,177  souls,  whereof  21,849 
were  male  and  21,029  female  Indians.  The 
boasted  privileges  of  the  citizens  of  Tlaxcallan 
are  reducible  to  the  three  following  points  :  — 
1.  The  town  is  governed  by  a  cacique  and  four 
Indian  alcaldes,  who  represent  the  ancient  heads 
of  the  four  quarters,  still  called  Tecpectipac, 
Ocotelolco,  Quiahutztlan,  and  Tizatlan.  These 
alcaldes  are  under  the  dépendance  of  an  Indian 
governor,  who  is  himself  subject  to  the  Spanish 
intendant.  2.  The  whites  have  no  seat  in  the 
municipality,  in  virtue  of  a  royal  cedula  of  the 
l6th  April,  1585;  and  3.  The  cacique,  or  Indian 
governor,  enjoys  the  honours  of  an  alferezreal. 

The  district  of  Cholula  contained  in  1793  a 
population  of  22,423  souls.  The  villages  amount- 
ed to  42,  and  the  farms  to  45.  Cholula,  Tlax- 
calla, and  Huetxocingo,  are  the  three  republics 
which  resisted  the  Mexican  yoke  for  so  many 
centuries,  although  the  pernicious  aristocracy  of 
their  constitution  left  the  lower  people  little  more 
freedom  than  they  would  have  possessed  under 
the  government  of  the  Aztec  kings. 

L  4 


152  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

STATISTICAL!    rr    r  *      7  r  t>     1.7 

ANALYSIS.    ]  ^^'  -[fitendancy  of  Fuebla, 

The  progress  of  the  industry  and  prosperity  of 
this  province  has  been  extremely  slow,  notwith- 
standing the  active  zeal  of  an  intendant  equally 
enlightened  and  respectable,  Don  Manuel  de 
Flon,  who  lately  inherited  the  title  of  Count  de 
la  Cadena.  The  flour-trade,  formerly  very  flou- 
rishing, has  suflered  much  from  the  enormous 
price  of  carriage  from  the  Mexican  table-land  to 
the  Havannah,  and  especially  from  the  want  of 
beasts  of  burden.  The  commerce  which  Puebla 
carried  on  till  I7IO  with  Peru  in  hats  and  delft 
ware  has  entirely  ceased.  But  the  greatest  ob- 
stacle to  the  public  prosperity  arises  from  four- 
fifths  of  the  whole  property  {Jincas)  belonging 
to  mortmain  proprietors  ;  that  is  to  say,  to  com- 
munities of  monks,  to  chapters,  corporations, 
and  hospitals. 

The  intendancy  of  Puebla  has  very  consider- 
able salt-works  near  Chila,  Xicotlan,  and  Ocot- 
lan  (in  the  district  of  Chiautla),  as  also  near 
Zapotitlan.  The  beautiful  marble,  known  by 
the  name  of  Puebla  marble,  which  is  preferable 
to  that  of  Bizaron,  and  the  Real  del  Doctor,  is 
procured  in  the  quarries  of  Totamehuacan  and 
Tecali,  at  two  and  seven  leagues  distance  from 
the  capital  of  the  intendancy.  The  carbonate 
of  lime  of  Tecali  is  transparent,  like  the  gypsous 

10 


CHAP,  viii.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  153 

STATISTICAL!    TT    r  /  ^^  r  t,     ii 

'   ANALYSIS.    \  ^^*  Intendancy  ofPuehla, 

alabaster  of  Volterra  and  the  Phengites  of  the 
ancients. 

The  indigenous  of  this  province  speak  three 
languages  totally  different  from  one  another,  thé 
Mexican,  Totonac,  and  Tlapanec.  The  first  is 
peculiar  to  the  inhabitants  of  Puebla,  Cholula, 
and  Tlascalla  ;  the  second  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Zacatlan  ;  and  the  third  is  preserved  in  the  en- 
virons of  Tlapa. 

The  most  remarkable  towns  of  the  intendancy 
of  Puebla  are  : 

L,a  Puebla  de  los  Angeles,  the  capital 
of  the  intendancy,  more  populous  than 
Lima,  Quito,  Santa  Fe,  and  Caraccas  ; 
and  after  Mexico,  Guanaxuato,  and  the 
Havannah,  the  most  considerable  city 
of  the  Spanish  colonies  of  the  new  con- 
tuient.  La  Puebla,  is  one  of  the  small 
number  of  American  towns  founded  by 
European  colonists  ;  for  in  the  plain  of 
Acaxete,  or  Cuitlaxcoapan,  on  the  spot 
where  the  capital  of  the  province  now 
stands,  there  were  only  in  the  beginning 
of  the  l6th  century  a  few  huts  inha- 
bited by  Indians  of  Cholula.  The  pri- 
vilege of  the  town  of  Puebla  is  dated 
28th  Sept.  1531.     The  consumption  of 


J54.  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  hi. 

STATISTICAL?    tt    r  /     ^  r  t>     n 

ANALYSIS.     \       •  ^^^^^^"^^^i/  0/  Puebla. 

Population. 

the  inhabitants  in  1802  amounted  to 
,52,951  cargas  (of  300  pounds  each)  of 
wheaten  flour,  and  36,000  cargas  of 
maize.  Height  of  the  ground  at  the 
Plaza  Mayor  2196  metres.  *  67,800 

Tlascalli  is  so  much  reduced  from 
its  ancient  grandeur,  that  it  scarcely 
contains  3400  inhabitants,  among  whom 
there  are  not  more  than  900  Indians 
of  pure  extraction.  Yet  Hernan  Cor- 
tez  found  a  population  in  this  place 
which  appeared  to  him  greater  than 
that  of  Grenada.  3,400 

Cholula,  called  by  Cortezt  Churul- 

*  7381  feet.     Trans. 

f  This  great  conquistador,  with  a  simpHcity  of  style  for 
which  his  writings  are  characterised,  draws  a  curious  picture 
of  the  old  town  of  Cholula  :  —  "  The  inhabitants  of  this  city," 
says  he,  in  his  third  letter  to  the  Emperor  Charles  the  Fifth, 
<*  are  better  clothed  than  any  we  have  hitherto  seen.  People 
in  easy  circumstances  wear  cloaks  [alboriioces)  above  their 
dress.  These  cloaks  differ  from  those  of  Africa,  for  they 
have  pockets,  though  the  cut,  cloth,  and  fringes  are  the 
same.  The  environs  of  the  city  are  very  fertile  and  well 
cultivated.  Almost  all  the  fields  may  be  watered,  and  the 
city  is  much  more  beautiful  than  all  those  in  Spain,  for  it  is 
well  fortified,  and  built  on  very  level  ground.  I  can  assure 
your  highness,  that  from  the  top  of  a  mosque  (mesguita,  by 
which  Cortez  designates  the  teocalli)  I  reckoned  more  than 
four  hundred  towers  all  of  mosques.     The  number  of  the 


CHAP.  Vin.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  155 

^ANALYSI^^}  ^^'  ^^^'^^^^««^3/  ofPuebla. 

Population. 

tecol,  surrounded  by  beautiful  planta- 
tions of  agave.  16,000 

Atlid'cOi  justly  celebrated  for  the  fine- 
ness of  its  climate,  great  fertility,  and 
the  savoury  fruits  with  which  it  abounds, 
especially  the  anona  clieremolia,  Lin. 
(chiUmoija)y  and  several  sorts  of  passi- 
flores (parchas)f  produced  in  the  en- 
virons. 

Tehuacan  de  las  Granadas^  the  an- 
cient Teohuacan  de  la  Mizteca,  one  of 
the  most  frequented  sanctuaries  of  the 
Mexicans  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spa- 
niards. 

Tepeaca  or  TepeyacaCy  belonging  to 
the  marquisate  of  Cortez.  It  was  call- 
ed in  the  commencement  of  the  con- 
quest Segura  de  la  Frontera  (Cartas  de 


inhabitants  is  so  great  that  there  is  not  an  inch  of  ground 
uncultivated;  and  yet  in  several  places  the  Indians  expe- 
rience the  efFects  of  famine,  and  there  are  many  beggars,  who 
ask  alms  from  the  rich  in  the  streets,  houses,  and  market- 
place, as  is  done  by  the  mendicants  in  Spain  and  other  civi- 
lized countries."  [Cartas  de  Cortez^  p.  69.)  It  is  curious 
enough  to  observe  that  the  Spanish  general  considers  men- 
dicity in  the  streets  as  a  sign  of  civilization.  He  says, 
"  Gente  que  piden  como  hay  en  Espana  y  en  otras  paries  que 
hay  genie  de  razon." 


156  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

^ANALYSlÉ^}  ^^'  ^^^t^^dancy  ofPuebla. 

Hernan  Cortez,  p.  155.).  In  the  dis- 
trict of  Tepeaca  there  is  a  pretty  In- 
dian village,  now  called  Huacachula 
(the  old  Quauhquechollan),  situated  in 
a  valley  abounding  in  fruit-trees. 

Huajocingo,  or  Huexotzinco^  former- 
ly the  chief  town  of  a  small  republic 
of  the  same  name,  at  enmity  with  the 
republics  of  Tlascalla  and  Cholula. 

Whatever  may  be  the  depopulation  of  the  in- 
tendancy  of  Puebla,  its  relative  'population  is  still 
four  times  greater  than  that  of  the  kingdom  of 
Sweden,  and  nearly  equal  to  that  of  the  kingdom 
of  Arragon. 

The  industry  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  province 
is  not  much  directed  to  the  working  of  gold  and 
silver  mines.  Those  of  Yxtacmaztitlan,  Te- 
meztla,  and  Alatlauquitepic,  in  the  Partido  de  San 
Juan  de  los  Llanos,  of  La  Canada,  near  Tetela 
de  Xonotla,  and  of  San  Miguel  Tenango,  near 
Zacatlan,  are  almost  abandoned,  or  at  least  ver 
remissly  worked. 


CHAP.  Vin.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 


157 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 

Population 

in 

1803. 

Extent 
of  Sur- 
face in 
square 
Leagues. 

No.  of 
Inhabi- 
tants 
to  the 
square 
League. 

III.  Intendancy  of  ' 
Guanaxuato.      ^  " 

517,300 

911 

586 

This  province,  wholly  situated  on  the  ridge  of 
the  Cordillera  of  Anahuac,  is  the  most  populous 
in  New  Spain.  The  population  is  also  more 
equally  distributed  here  than  in  any  of  the  other 
provinces.  Its  length,  from  the  lake  of  Chapala 
to  the  north-east  of  San  Felipe,  is  52  leagues,  and 
its  breadth,  from  the  Villa  de  Leon  to  Celaya,  31 
leagues.  Its  territorial  extent  is  nearly  the  same 
as  that  of  the  kingdom  of  Murcia  ;  and  in  rela- 
tive population  it  exceeds  the  kingdom  of  the 
Asturias.  Its  relative  population  is  even  greater 
than  that  of  the  departments  of  the  Hautes- 
Alpes,  BasseS'AlpeSf  Pyrenees  Orientales ,  and 
the  Landes.  The  most  elevated  point  of  this 
m  untainous  country  seems  to  be  the  mountain 
de  los  Llanitos  in  the  Sierra  da  Santa  Rosa.  I 
found  its  height  above  the  level  of  the  sea  2815 
metres.  * 

The  cultivation  of  this  fine  province,  part  of  the 
old  kingdom  of  Mechoacan,  is  almost  wholly  to  be 


*  9235  feet.     Trans. 


158  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

^  ANALYSIS.    \  ^^^'  ^^^i^^^d^'i^f^y  ofGuanaxuato. 

ascribed  to  the  Europeans,  who  arrived  there  in 
l6th  century,  and  introduced  the  first  germ  of 
civilization.  It  was  in  these  northern  regions,  on 
the  banks  of  the  Rio  de  Lerma,  formerly  called 
Tololotlan,  that  the  engagements  took  place  be- 
tween the  tribes  of  hunters  and  shepherds,  called 
in  the  historians  by  the  vague  denominations  of 
Chichimecs,  who  belonged  to  the  tribes  of  the 
Fames,  Capuces,  Samues,  Mayolias,  Guamanes, 
and  Guachichiles  Indians.  In  proportion  as  the 
country  was  abandoned  by  these  wandering  and 
warlike  nations,  the  Spanish  conquerors  trans- 
planted to  it  colonies  of  Mexican  or  Aztec  In- 
dians. For  a  long  time  agriculture  made  more 
considerable  progress  than  mining.  The  mines, 
which  were  of  small  celebrity  at  the  beginning  of 
the  conquest,  were  almost  wholly  abandoned 
during  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries: 
and  it  is  not  more  than  thirty  or  forty  years  since 
they  became  richer  than  the  mines  of  Pachuca, 
Zacatecas,  and  Bolanos.  Their  metallic  produce, 
as  we  shall  hereafter  explain,  is  now  greater  than 
the  produce  of  Potosi  or  any  other  mine  in  the 
two  continents  ever  was. 

There  are  in  the  intendancy  of  Guanaxuato 
3  ciudades  (viz.  Guanaxuato,  Celayo,  and  Salva- 
tierra)  ;  4  villas  (viz.  San  Miguel  el  Grande,  Leon, 
SanFehpeand  Salamanca)  j  37  villages  or  joz^e^/o.v; 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  150 

ANALYSIS.    (  ^^^'  ^'^i^i^dayicy  of  Guanaxuato, 

33  parishes  (jparoquias)  ;  448  farms  or  haciendas  ; 
225  individuals  of  the  secular  clergy,  I70  monks 
and  SO  nuns  ;  and  in  a  population  of  more  than 
180,000  Indians,  52,000  subject  to  tribute. 

The  most  remarkable  towns  of  this  intendancy 
are  the  following  : 

Population. 

GuanaxuatOy  or  Santa  Fe  de  Gonna- 
joato.  The  building  of  this  city  was 
begun  by  the  Spaniards  in  1554.  It 
received  the  royal  privilege  of  villa  in 
1619  J  and  that  of  ciudad  the  8th  De- 
cember, 1741.  Its  present  population  is. 

Within  the  city  (en  el  casco  de  la  ciu- 
dad) .  -  -  .     41,000 

In  the  mines  surrounding  the  city, 
of  which  the  buildings  are  contiguous, 
at  Marfil,  Santa  Ana,  Santa  Rosa,  Va- 
lenciana,  Rayas,  and  Mellado        -      -     29,600 

70,600 
Among  whom  there  are  4500  Indians.  Height 
of  the  city  at  the  Plaza  Mayor,  2084  metres.* 
Height  of  Valenciana  at  the  mouth  of  the  riew  pit 
(Jiro  nuevo),  2313  metres,  f  Height  of  Rayas 
at  the  mouth  of  the  gallery,  2157  metres,  t 

Salamancttj  a  pretty  little  town,  situated  in  a 
plain  which  rises  insensibly  by  Temascatio,  Burras, 

*  6836  feet.  Trans.  \  7586  feet.  Trans. 

X  7075  feet.     Trans. 


160  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

^ANALYSI^^l  ^^^-  ^^iief^da7ici/  of  Guanaxuato. 

and  Cuevas,  towards  Guanaxuato.  Height  17^7 
metres.  * 

Celaya.  Sumptuous  edifices  have  recently 
been  constructed  at  Celaya,  Queretaro,  and  Gua- 
naxuato. The  church  of  the  Carmelites  at  Ce- 
laya has  a  fine  appearance.  It  is  adorned  with 
Corinthian  and  Ionic  columns.  Height,  1835 
metres,  t 

Villa  de  Leo?!,  in  a  plain  eminently  fertile  in 
grain.  From  this  town  to  San  Juan  del  Rio  are 
to  be  seen  the  finest  fields  of  wheat,  barley,  and 
maize. 

San  Miguel  el  Grande,  celebrated  for  the  in- 
dustry of  its  inhabitants,  who  manufacture  cot- 
ton cloth. 

The  hot  wells  of  San  Jose  de  Comangillas  are 
in  this  province.  They  issue  from  a  basaltic 
opening.  The  temperature  of  the  water,  accord- 
ing to  experiments  made  jointly  by  myself  and 
M.  Roxas,  is  96°,  3  of  the  centigrade  thermo- 
meter. X 

*  5762  feet.    Trans.  f  6018  feet.     Trans. 

X  205°,  3  of  Fahrenheit.     Trans. 


CHAP.  Vin.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 


161 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 

Population 

in 

1803. 

Extent 
of  Sur- 
face in 
square 
Leagues. 

No.  of 
Inhabi- 
tants 
to  the 
square 
League. 

IV.  Intendancy  of 
Valladolid       ; 

376,400 

3,446 

109 

This  intendancy  at  the  period  of  the  Spanish 
conquest  made  a  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Michu- 
acan  (Mechoacan,  which  extended  from  the  Rio 
de  Zacatula  to  the  port  de  la  Natividad,  and  from 
the  mountains  of  Xala  and  CoHma  to  the  river  of 
Lerma,  and  the  lake  of  Cb.^pala.  The  capital  of 
this  kingdom  of  Michuacan,  which,  like  the  re- 
publics of  Tlaxcallan,  Huexocingo  andCholoUan, 
was  always  independent  of  the  Mexican  empire, 
was  Tzintzontzan,  a  town  situated  on  the  banks 
of  a  lake,  infinitely  picturesque,  called  the  lake  of 
Patzquaro.  Tzintzontzan,  which  the  Aztec  in- 
habitants of  Tenochtitlan  called  Huitzitzila,  is 
now  only  a  poor  Indian  village,  though  it  still 
preserves  the  pompous  title  of  city  (ciiidad). 

The  intendancy  of  Valladolid,  vulgarly  called 
in  the  country  Michuacan,  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  the  E-io  de  Lerma,  which  farther  east 
takes  the  name  of  Rio  Grande  de  Santiago.  On 
the  east  and  north-east  it  joins  the  intendancy  of 
Mexico  ;  on  the  north,  the  intendancy  of  Gua- 


VOL.  II. 


M 


ie2  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

^ANALYSIS^^}  ^^'  IntendancyofValladolid, 

naxuato  ;  and  on  the  west,  that  of  Guadalaxara. 
The  greatest  length  of  the  province  of  Valladohd 
from  the  port  of  Zacatula  to  the  basaltic  moun- 
tains of  Palangeo,  in  a  direction  from  S.  S.  E. 
to  N.  N.  E.,  is  78  leagues.  It  is  washed  by  the 
South  Sea  for  an  extent  of  coast  of  more  than 
38  leagues. 

Situated  on  the  western  declivity  of  the  Cordil- 
lera of  Anahuac,  intersected  with  hills  and  charm- 
ing vailles,  which  exhibit  to  the  eye  of  the  tra- 
veller a  very  uncommon  appearance  under  the 
torrid  zone,  that  of  extensive  and  well-watered 
meadows,  the  province  of  Valladolid  in  general 
enjoys  a  mild  and  temperate  climate,  exceedingly 
conducive  to  the  health  of  the  inhabitants.  It  is 
only  when  we  descend  the  table-land  of  Ario  and 
approach  the  coast  that  we  find  a  climate  in  which 
the  new  colonists,  and  frequently  even  the  indi- 
genous, are  subject  to  the  scourge  of  intermit- 
tent and  putrid  fevers. 

The  most  elevated  summit  of  the  intendancy  of 
Valladolid  is  the  Pic  de  Tancitaro,  to  the  east  of 
Tuspan.  I  never  could  see  it  near  enough  to 
take  an  exact  measurement  of  it;  but  there  is  no 
doubt  that  it  is  higher  than  the  Volcan  de  Colina, 
and  that  it  is  more  frequently  covered  with  snow. 
To  the  east  of  the  Pic  de  Tancitaro  the  Volcan  de 
Jorullo  (Xorullo,  or  Jiuuyo,)  was  formed  in  the 


OHAP.  virr.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  163 

^ANALYSIS^^l  ^^'  ^ni^^^da^(^y  (fValladolid, 

night  of  the  â9th  September,  17-59,  of  which  we 
have  ah'eady  spoken.  *  M.  Bonpland  and  my- 
self reached  its  crater  on  the  19th  September, 
1803.  The  great  catastrophe  in  which  this 
mountain  rose  from  the  earth,  and  by  which  a 
considerable  extent  of  ground  totally  changed 
its  appearance,  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  most  ex- 
traordinary physical  revolutions  in  the  annals 
of  the  history  of  our  planet,  t  Geology  points 
out  the  parts  of  the  ocean,  where,  at  recent  epo- 
quas  within  the  last  two  thousand  years,  near 
the  Azores,  in  the  Egean  sea,  and  to  the  south  of 

*  Chap.  iii.  and  Géographie  des  Plantes,  page  130.  The 
heights  now  indicated  by  me  are  founded  on  the  barometriôal 
formula  of  M.  Laplace.  They  are  the  result  of  the  latest 
operation  of  M.  Oltmanns  ;  and  sometimes  differ  20  or  30 
metres  from  what  is  assigned  in  the  Géographie  des  Plantes, 
composed  shortly  after  my  return  to  Europe,  when  it  was  im- 
possible to  give  to  such  a  great  number  of  calculations  all 
the  pi-ecision  of  which  they  are  susceptible.  (See  Note 
written  in  the  month  of  Nivôse,  year  13,  at  the  end  of  the 
Geography  of  Plants,  p.  lé?.) 

-j-  Strabo  relates  {ed.  Aim.  tom.  i.  p.  102.)  that  in  the  plains 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Methone,  on  the  banks  of  the  gulf 
of  Hermione,  a  volcanic  explosion  produced  a  mountain  of 
scoria  (a  ynonte  novo),  to  which  he  attributes  the  enormous 
height  of  seven  stadia  ;  which,  on  the  supposition  of  the 
Olympic  stadia,  (  Voyage  de  Nearque,  par  M.  Vincent,  p.  5Q.) 
would  be  1249  metres  !  {4096  feet  English.)  However  ex- 
aggerated this  assertion  may  be,  the  geological  fact  undoubt- 
edly merits  the  attention  of  travellers. 

M  S 


Ï64.  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

^ANALYSIS^^}  ^^-  ^^t^^'dancy  of  Valladolid. 

Iceland,  small  volcanic  islands  have  risen  above 
the  surface  of  the  water  ;  but  it  gives  us  no  ex- 
ample of  the  formation,  from  the  centre  of  a  thou- 
sand small  burning  cones,  of  a  mountain  of 
scoria  and  ashes  517  metres*  in  height,  compar- 
ing it  only  with  the  level  of  the  old  adjoining 
plains  in  the  interior  of  a  continent  3ij  leagues 
distant  from  the  coast,  and  more  than  42  leagues 
from  every  other  active  volcano.  This  remark- 
able phenomenon  was  sung  in  hexameter  verses 
by  the  Jesuit  Father  Raphael  Landivar,  a  na- 
tive of  Guatimala.  It  is  mentioned  by  the  Abbé 
Clavigero  in  the  ancient  history  of  his  country!  ; 
and  yet  it  has  remained  unknown  to  the  mi- 
neralogists and  naturalists  of  Europe,  though  it 
took  place  not  more  than  fifty  years  ago,  and 
within  six  days'  journey  of  the  capital  of  Mexico, 
descending  from  the  central  table-land  towards 
the  shores  of  the  South  Sea. 

A  vast  plain  extends  from  the  hills  of  Agua- 
sarco  to  near  the  villages  of  Teipa  and  Petatlan, 
both  equally  celebrated  for  their  fine  plantations 
of  cotton.  This  plain,  between  the  Picachos  del 
Mortero,  the  Cerros  de  las  Ciievas,  y  de  Cuiche, 

*  1695  feet.     Trans. 

\  Storia  antica  di  Messico,  vol.  i.  p.  42.,  and  Rusticorio 
Mexicana,  (the  poem  of  Father  Landivar,  of  which  the  se- 
cond edition  appeared  at  Bologna  in  1782,)  p.  17. 


CHAr.viii.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  165 

ANALYSIS.    \  ^^'  I^t^^^fiC'^^cy  of  Valladolid. 

is  only  from  750  to  800  metres*  above  the  level 
of  the  sea.  In  the  middle  of  a  tract  of  ground  in 
which  porphyry  with  a  base  of  griinstein  predo- 
minates, basaltic  cones  appear,  the  summits  of 
which  are  crowned  with  evergreen  oaks  of  a 
laurel  and  olive  foliage,  intermingled  with  small 
palm-trees  with  flabelliform  leaves.  This  beau- 
tiful vegetation  forms  a  singular  contrast  with 
the  aridity  of  the  plain,  which  was  laid  waste  by 
volcanic  fire. 

Till  the  middle  of  the  18th  century,  fields  cul- 
tivated with  sugar-cane  and  indigo  occupied  the 
extent  of  ground  between  tlie  two  brooks  called 
Cuitamba  and  San  Pedro.  They  were  bounded 
by  basaltic  mountains,  of  which  the  structure 
seems  to  indicate  that  all  this  country  at  a  very 
remote  period  had  been  already  several  times 
convulsed  by  volcanoes.  These  fields,  watered 
by  artificial  means,  belonged  to  the  plantation 
(Jiaciendd)  of  San  Pedro  de  Jorullo,  one  of  the 
greatest  and  richest  of  the  country.  In  the  month 
of  June,  1759,  a  subterraneous  noise  was  heard. 
Hollow  noises  of  a  most  alarming  nature  (bra- 
midos)  were  accompanied  by  frequent  earth- 
quakes, which  succeeded  one  another  for  from  50 
to  60  days,  to  the  great  consternation  of  the  in- 

*  From  2460  to  2621-  feet.     Trans, 
31    3 


166  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  in. 

^ANALYS^S.^'}  ^'^' Intendance  of  ValJadolid. 

habitants  of  the  hacienda.  From  the  beginning 
of  September  every  thing  seemed  to  announce 
the  complete  re-estabhshment  of  tranquillity, 
when  in  the  night  between  the  28th  and  29th 
the  horrible  subterraneous  noise  recommenced. 
The  affrighted  Indians  fled  to  the  mountains  of 
Aguasarco.  A  tract  of  ground  from  three  to 
four  square  miles  in  extent*,  which  goes  by  the 
name  o£  Malpai/s,  rose  up  in  the  shape  of  a  blad- 
der. The  bounds  of  this  convulsion  are  still 
distinguishable  in  the  fractured  strata.  The  Mal- 
pai/s  near  its  edges  is  only  12  metres t  above  the 
old  level  of  the  plain  called  the  Flayas  de  Jo- 
rullo  ;  but  the  convexity  of  the  ground  thus 
thrown  up  increases  progressively  towards  the 
centre  to  an  elevation  of  160  metres.  Î 

Those  who  witnessed  this  great  catastrophe 
from  the  top  of  Aguasarco  assert  that  flames  were 
seen  to  issue  forth  for  an  extent  of  more  than 
half  a  square  league,  that  fragments  of  burning 
rocks  were  thrown  up  to  prodigious  heights, 
and  that  through  a  thick  cloud  of  ashes,  illumined 
by  the  volcanic  fire,  the  softened  surface  of  the 
earth  was  seen  to  swell  up  like  an  agitated  sea. 

*  The  French  mile  is,  it  is  believed,  nearly  as  2.887  to  1, 
almost  thrice  the  length  of  an  English  mile  ;  but  it  is  uncer- 
tain what  mile  the  author  uses  here.     Trans. 

f  39  feet.     Trans.  j:  524  feet.     Trans, 


CHAP.vni.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  167 

^  ANALYSlÉ^}  ^^-  I^iendancy  of  Valladolid, 

The  rivers  of  Cuitambia  and  San  Pedro  precipi- 
tated themselves  into  the  burning  chasms.  The 
decomposition  of  the  water  contributed  to  invi- 
gorate the  flames,  which  were  distinguishable 
at  the  city  of  Pascuaro,  though  situated  on  a 
very  extensive  table-land  1400  metres  *  elevated 
above  the  plains  of  las  play  as  de  JoruUo.  Erup- 
tions of  mud,  and  especially  of  strata  of  clay  en- 
veloping balls  of  decomposed  basaltes  in  con- 
centrical  layers,  appear  to  indicate  that  subter- 
raneous water  had  no  small  share  in  producing 
this  extraordinary  revolution.  Thousands  of 
small  cones,  froih  two  to  three  metres!  in  height, 
called  by  the  indigenes  ovens  Qiornitos)^  issued 
forth  from  the  Malpays,  Although  within  the 
last  fifteen  years,  according  to  the  testimony  of 
the  Indians,  the  heat  of  these  volcanic  ovens  has 
suffered  a  great  diminution,  I  have  seen  the  ther- 
mometer rise  to  95° Î  on  being  plunged  into 
fissures  which  exhale  an  aqueous  vapour.  Each 
small  cone  is  a^Jumorola,  from  which  a  thick  va- 
pour ascends  to  the  height  of  ten  or  fifteen 
metres.  In  many  of  them  a  subterraneous  noise 
is  heard,  which  appears  to  announce  the  prox- 
imity of  a  fluid  in  ebullition. 

*  4592  feet.     Trans. 
f  From  6.5  feet  to  9.8  feet.     Trans, 
t  202°  of  Fahret)Jieit.     Trarts. 
M   4 


186  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

ANALYSIS.    [  ^^*  Intendancy  of  ValladoUd. 

In  the  midst  of  the  ovens  six  large  masses,  ele- 
vated from  4  to  500  metres  *  each  above  the  old 
level  of  the  plains,  sprung  up  from  a  chasm,  of 
which  the  direction  is  from  the  N.N.E.  to  the 
S.S.E.  This  is  the  phenomenon  of  the  Monte- 
novo  of  Naples,  several  times  repeated  in  a  range 
of  volcanic  hills.  The  most  elevated  of  these 
enormous  masses,  which  bears  some  resem- 
blance to  ÛiQpuys  del' Auvergne,  is  the  great  Vol- 
can de  JoruUo.  It  is  continually  burning,  and  has 
thrown  up  from  the  north  side  an  immense  quan- 
tity of  scorified  and  basaltic  lavas  containing 
fragments  of  primitive  rocks.  These  great  erup- 
tions of  the  central  volcano  continued  till  the 
month  of  February  I76O.  In  the  following  years 
they  became  gradually  less  frequent.  The  In- 
dians, frightened  at  the  horrible  noises  of  the 
new  volcano,  abandoned  at  first  all  the  villages 
situated  within  seven  or  eight  leagues'  distance 
of  the  playas  de  Jorullo.  They  became  gra- 
dually, however,  accustomed  to  this  terrific 
spectacle  ;  and  having  returned  to  their  cottages, 
they  advanced  towards  the  mountains  of  Agua- 
sarco  and  Santa  Ines,  to  admire  the  streams  of 
fire  discharged  from  an  infinity  of  great  and 
small  volcanic  apertures.  The  roofs  of  the  houses 

*  From  1312  to  1610  feet.     Trans. 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  169 

^ANAL™S^^|  IV-  Intendance  of  Valladolid. 

of  Queretaro  were  tlien  -covered  with  ashes  at  a 
distance  of  more  than  48  leagues  in  a  straight  line 
from  the  scene  of  the  explosion.  Although  the 
subterraneous  fire  now  appears  far  from  violent*, 
and  the  Malpays  and  the  great  volcano  begin  to 
be  covered  with  vegetables,  we  nevertheless 
found  the  ambient  air  heated  to  such  a  degree 
by  the  action  of  the  small  ovens  (Jiornitos)^  that 
the  thermometer  at  a  great  distance  from  the 
surface  and  in  the  shade  rose  as  high  as  43°.  t 

*  We  found  in  the  bottom  of  the  crater  the  air  at  47°,  and 
in  some  places  at  58°  and  60°  (  1 1 6°,  1 30°  and  1 39°  of  Fahren- 
heit). We  passed  over  crevices  which  exhaled  a  sulphureous 
vapour,  in  which  the  thermometer  rose  to  85"  (185^  Fahren- 
heit). The  passage  over  these  crevices  and  heaps  of  scoria, 
which  cover  considerable  hollows,  render  the  descent  into  the 
crater  very  dangerous.  I  shall  reserve  the  detail  of  my  geo- 
logical researches  relative  to  the  volcano  Jorullo  for  the  his- 
torical account  of  my  travels.  The  atlas  accompanying  that 
account  will  contain  three  plates  :  1.  The  picturesque  view  of 
the  new  volcano,  which  is  three  times  higher  than  the  Monte 
Novo  of  Puzzole,  sprung  up  in  1538,  almost  on  the  very 
shore  of  the  Mediterranean  ;  2.  the  vertical  section  of  the 
Malpays  ;  3.  the  geographical  map  of  the  plains  of  Jorullo, 
drawn  up  by  means  of  the  sextant,  employing  the  method  of 
perpendicular  bases,  and  angles  of  altitude.  The  volcanic 
productions  of  this  convulsed  district  are  to  be  found  in  the 
cabinet  of  the  School  of  Mines  at  Berlin.  The  plants  col- 
lected in  the  environs  are  to  be  found  in  the  herbals  de- 
posited by  me  in  the  Museum  of  Natural  History  at  Paris. 

t  109"  of  Fahrenheit.     Trans. 


170  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

ANALYSIS.    C  ^^'  J^'i^tendancy  of  Valladolid, 

This  fact  appears  to  prove  that  there  is  no  ex- 
aggeration in  the  accounts  of  several  old  In- 
dians, who  affirm  that  for  many  years  after  the 
first  eruption  the  plains  of  Jorullo,  even  at  a 
great  distance  from  the  scene  of  the  explosion, 
were  uninhabitable,  from  the  excessive  heat 
which  prevailed  in  them. 

The  traveller  is  still  shown,  near  the  Cerro  de 
Santa  lîies,  the  rivers  of  Cuitamba  and  San  Pe- 
dro, of  which  the  limpid  waters  formerly  watered 
the  sugar-cane  plantation  of  Don  André  Pimen- 
tel.  These  streams  disappeared  in  the  night  of  the 
29th  September,  1759  j  but  at  a  distance  of  2000 
metres  *  farther  west,  in  the  tract  which  was  the 
theatre  of  the  convulsion,  two  rivers  are  now  seen 
bursting  through  the  argilaceous  vault  of  the 
hornitoSy  of  the  appearance  of  mineral  waters,  in 
which  the  thermometer  rises  to  52°.  t  The 
Indians  continue  to  give  them  the  names  of 
San  Pedro  and  Cuitamba,  because  in  several  parts 
of  the  Malpays  great  masses  of  water  are  heard 
to  run  in  a  direction  from  east  to  west,  from  the 
mountains  of  Santa  Ines  towards  r Hacienda  de 
la  Presentacion.  Near  this  habitation  there  is  a 
brook,  which  disengages  itself  from  the  sulphu- 
reous hydrogen.     It  is  more  than  7  metres  in 

*6561  feet.  Trans.       f  126°  .8  of  Fahrenheit.  Trans. 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  171 

ANALYSIS.     [  ^^'  I''^t^'>^dancij  of  Valladolid, 

breadth,  and  is  the  most  abundant  hydro-sulphu- 
reous spring  which  I  have  ever  seen. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  Indians,  these  extraor- 
dinary transformations  which  we  have  been  de- 
scribing, the  surface  of  the  earth  raised  up  and 
burst  by  the  volcanic  fire  and  the  mountains  of 
scoria  and  ashes  heaped  together,  are  the  work 
of  the  monks,  the  greatest,  no  doubt,  which  they 
have  ever  produced  in  the  two  hemispheres  !  In 
the  cottage  which  we  occupied  in  the  playas  de 
Jorullo,  our  Indian  host  related  to  us,  that  in  1759 
Capuchin  missionaries  came  to  preach  at  the 
plantation  of  San  Pedro,  and  not  having  met  with 
a  favourable  reception  (perhaps  not  having  got  so 
good  a  dinner  as  they  expected),  they  poured  out 
the  most  horrible  and  unheard-of  imprecations 
against  the  then  beautiful  and  fertile  plain,  and 
prophesied,  that  in  the  first  place  the  plantation, 
would  be  swallowed  up  by  flames  rising  out  of 
the  earth,  and  that  afterwards  the  ambient  air 
would  cool  to  such  a  degree  that  the  neighbour- 
ing mountains  would  for  everremain  covered  with 
snow  and  ice.  The  former  of  these  maledictions 
having  already  produced  such  fatal  effects,  the 
lower  Indians  contemplate  in  the  increasing  cool- 
ness of  the  volcano  the  sinister  presage  of  a  per- 
petual wdnter. .  I  have  thought  proper  to  relate 
this  vulgar  tradition,  worthy  of  figuring  in  the 


172  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  ui. 

^ANALYsîs^^  }  ^^' Intendance  of  Valladolid, 

epic  poem  of  the  Jesuit  Landivar,  because  it 
forms  a  striking  feature  in  the  picture  of  the  man- 
ners and  prejudices  of  these  remote  countries.  It 
proves  the  active  industry  of  a  class  of  men  who 
too  frequently  abuse  the  credulity  of  the  people, 
and  pretend  to  suspend  by  their  influence  the 
immutable  laws  of  nature  for  the  sake  of  found- 
ing their  empire  on  the  fear  of  physical  evils.  * 

*  The  monks  seem  to  have  acted  with  no  small  share  of 
sagacity  under  all  the  circumstances  in  which  they  were 
placed.  It  is  true,  no  doubt,  as  M.  de  Humboldt  observes, 
that  they  indulged  pretty  freely  in  miracles  ;  but  it  is  to  this 
that  we  are  chiefly,  perhaps,  to  ascribe  the  introduction  of 
the  religion  of  benevolence  and  humanity  among  them.  This 
religion  is  not  in  their  hands  every  thing  that  we  could  wish  ; 
still,  however,  in  its  worst  modification  it  must  partake  some- 
thing of  the  divine  spirit  of  its  author. 

Miracles  would  seem  to  be  necessary  to  the  foundation  and 
dissemination  of  every  religion,  however  convincing  its  evi- 
dence, especially  among  barbarous  and  half-civilized  nations. 
It  is  not  by  reasoning  or  logical  subtlety  that  such  a  people, 
the  great  mass  of  whom  have  neither  leisure  nor  aptitude  for 
it,  can  be  brought  to  shake  themselves  free  of  tlie  religious 
impressions,  of  whatever  nature,  to  which  they  have  been  ac- 
customed from  their  infancy,  and  which  are  interwoven  with 
every  feeling  and  association  of  their  nature.  The  change 
can  only,  in  general,  be  effected  by  the  operation  of  such 
means  as  are  calculated  to  produce  astonishment  and  terror 
in  an  uncultivated  mind,  which  will  then  be  disposed  to 
resign  itself  blindly  to  the  guidance  of  the  apparently  super- 
natural agent.  However  obvious  this  truth  may  be,  and 
however  much  confirmed  by  all  our  experience  hitherto, 
those  persons  whose  business  it  is  to  carry  on  at  present  the 


cHAp.vni.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  173 

'  ^ANAL™^^}  ^^*  Intendancy  of  Valladolid. 

The  position  of  the  new  Volcan  de  JoruUo  gives 
rise  to  a  very  curious  geological  observation.  We 
already  remarked  in  the  third  chapter,  that  in  New 
Spain  there  is  a  parallel  of  great  elevations,  or  a 
narrow  zone  contained  between  the  18"*  59'  and 


dissemination  of  religion  have  laid  aside,  certainly  very  im- 
prudently, the  operation  of  miracles,  a  privilege  of  which  it 
appears  the  Roman  catholics  continue  to  avail  themselves 
w^ith  success,  and  to  the  want  of  which  our  own  bad  success 
ought  in  a  great  measure  to  be  ascribed.  What  reasonings, 
for  instance,  could  have  convinced  so  effectually  the  Betoya 
nation,  Û\<\.tthe  sun  is  not  God  but  fire  to  light  us,  as  the  miracle 
which,  in  confirmation  of  his  assertion,  Padre  Gumilla 
wrought  on  the  arm  of  the  chief  Tunucua,  by  means  of  a 
lens?  When  Tunucua  saw  his  arm  roasting  and  swelliner 
up,  he  could  resist  the  truth  no  longer,  and  with  sorrowful 
voice  loudly  exclaimed,  '*  Truly,  truly,  the  sun  is  fire  !  Es 
verdad !  Es  verdad !  fiuego  es  el  Sol!"  The  whole  passage 
is  well  worth  transcribing,  as  it  serves  powerfully  to  illustrate 
the  sagacity  of  the  missionary  fathers,  and  the  observation 
of  M.  de  Humboldt.  "  Viendo  pues  que  passaban  muchos 
meses  sin  acabar  de  créer,  que  el  Sol  erafuego,  me  vali  de  la 
mecanica  de  un  Lente  5  Christal  de  bastantes  grados,  y  junta 
toda  la  gente  en  la  Plaza,  cogi  lamano  del  Capitan  mas  capaz, 
llamado  Tamiciia.  PreguntMe  si  el  Sol  era  Dioz?  Luego  res- 
pondib  que  si.  Entonces  en  voz  alta,  que  oyeron  todos,  dixe: 
Z)at/ diamiobay refolajuy!  Theodafutuit ajaduca, maymajhrra. 
Quando  accaberies  de  creerme  ?  Ya  as  tengo  dicho,  que  el  Sol 
no  es  sinofuego  y  diciendo  y  haciendo,  interpuse  el  lente  entre 
el  Sol,  y  el  brazo  del  dicho  capitan,  y  alpunto  el  rayo  Solar 
le  quemô,  y  levante  ampolla  considerable  en  el  brazo  :  clamô 
luego  èl  con  voz  amarga,  diciendo  :  Es  verdad,  Es  verdad, 
fuego  es  el  Sol.     Gumilla,  Vol.  II.  p.  U. 


174  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

^ANALYLIS.^}  ^^-  Intendancy  of  ValladoUd, 

the  19°  12'  of  latitude,  in  which  all  the  summits 
of  Anahuac  which  rise  above  the  region  of  per- 
petual snow  are  situated.     These  summits  are 
either  volcanoes  which  still  continue  to  burn,  or 
mountains,  which  from  their  form  as  well  as  the 
nature  of  their  rocks  have  in  all  probability  for- 
merly contained  subterraneous  fire.  As  we  recede 
from  the  coast  of  the  Atlantic  we  find  in  a  di- 
rection from  east  to  west  tiie  Pic  d' Orizaba,  the 
two  volcanoes  of  la  Puebla,  the  Nevadode  Toluca, 
the  Pic  de  Tancitaro,  and  the  Volcan  de  Colima. 
These  great  elevations,  in  place  of  forming  the 
crest  of  the  Cordillera  of  Anahuac,  and  following 
its  direction,  which  is  from  the  south-east  to  the 
north-west,  are,  on  the  contrary,  placed  on  a  line 
perpendicular  to  the  axis  of  the  great  chain  of 
mountains.    It  is  undoubtedly  worthy  of  observa- 
tion, that  in  1759  the  new  volcano  of  Jorullo  was 
formed  in  the  prolongation  of  that  Une,  on  the 
same  parallel  with  the  ancient  Mexican  volcanoes! 
A  single  glance  bestowed  on  my  plan  of  the 
environs  of  Jorullo  will  prove  that  the  six  large 
masses  rose  out  of  the  earth,  in  a  line  which  runs 
through  the  plain  from  the  Cerro  de  las  Cuevas  to 
the  Picacho  del  Mortero  ;  and  it  is  thus  also  that 
the  bocche  nove  of  Vesuvius  are  ranged  along  the 
prolongation  of  a  chasm.    Do  not  these  analogies 
entitle  us  to  suppose  that  there  exists  in  this  part 


CHAP,  viii.j      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  175 

^ANALYSIS^^}  ^^-  Intendancy  of  Valladolid. 

of  Mexico,  at  a  great  depth  in  the  interior  of  the 
earth,  a  chasm  in  a  direction  from  east  to  west 
for  a  length  of  137  leagues,   along  which  the 
volcanic  fire  bursting  through  the  interior  crust 
of  the  porphyritical  rocks,  has  made  its  appearance 
at  different  epoquas  from  the  gulf  of  Mexico  to 
the  South  Sea  ?  Does  this  chasm  extend  to  the 
small  group  of  islands  called  by  M.  Collnet  the 
archipelago  of  Revillagigedo,  around  which,  in 
the  same  parallel  with  the  Mexican  volcanoes, 
pumice-stone  has  been  seen  floating  ?  Those  na- 
turalists who  make  a  distinction  between  the  facts 
which  are  offered  us  by  descriptive  geology  and 
theoretical  reveries  on  the  primitive  state  of  our 
planet,  will  forgive  us  these  general  observations 
on  the  general  map  of  New  Spain.     Moreover, 
from  the  lake  of  Cuiseo,  which  is  impregnated 
with  muriate  of  soda  and  which  exhales  sulphuret- 
ted hydrogen  as  far  as  the  city  of  Valladolid,  for 
an  extent  of  40  square  leagues,  there  are  a  great 
quantity  of  hot  wells,  which  generally  contain 
only  muriatic  acid,  without  any  vestiges  of  ter- 
reous  sulphates  or  metallic  salts.     Such  are  the 
mineral  waters  of  Chucandiro,  Cuinche,  San  Se- 
bastian, and  San  Juan  Tararamco, 

The  extent  of  the  intendancy  of  Valladolid  is 
one-fifth  less  than  that  of  Ireland,  but  its  relative 
population  is  twice  greater  than  that  of  Finland. 


176  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iir. 

^ANALYSI^^}  I^-  Intendancy  of  ValladoUd, 

In  this  province  there  are  3  ciudades  (Valladolid, 
Tzintzontzan,  and  Pascuaro)  ;  3  villas  (Citaquaro, 
Zamora,  and  Charo)  ;  9,^)3  villages  ;  205  parishes  ; 
and  326  farms.  The  imperfect  enumeration  of 
179s  gave  a  total  population  of  289,314  souls,  of 
whom  40,399  were  male  whites,  and  39,081  fe- 
male whites  ;  61,352  male  Indians,  and  58,016 
female  Indians  ;  and  154  monks,  138  nuns,  and 
293  individuals  of  the  secular  clergy. 

The  Indians  who  inhabit  the  province  of  Valla- 
dolid form  three  races  of  different  origin,  the 
Tarascs,  celebrated  in  the  sixteenth  century  for  the 
gentleness  of  their  manners,  for  their  industry  in 
the  mechanical  arts,  and  for  the  harmony  of  their 
language,  abounding  in  vowels  ;  the  Otomites,  a 
tribe  yet  very  far  behind  in  civilization,  who  speak 
a  language  full  of  nasal  and  guttural  aspirations  ; 
and  the  Chichimecs,  who,  like  the  Tiascaltecs, 
the  Nahuatlacs,  and  the  Aztecs,  have  preserved 
the  Mexican  language.     All  the  south  part  of 
the     intendancy    of    Valladolid    is     inhabited 
by   Indians.     In   the   villages   the   only  white 
figure  to  be  met  with  is  the  curé,  and  he  also  is 
frequently  an  Indian  or  Mulatto.     The   bene- 
fices are  so  poor  there  that  the  bishop  of  Mecho- 
acan  has  the  greatest  difficulty  in  procuring  ec- 
clesiastics to  settle  in  a  country  where  Spanish  is 
almost  never  spoken,  and  where  along  the  coast 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  177 

ANALYSIS     [  ^^'  I^''t^^^(^o,ncij  of  Valladolid. 

of  the  Great  Ocean  the  priests  infected  by  the 
contagious  miasmata  of  mahgnant  fevers  fre- 
quently die  before  the  expiration  of  seven  or 
eight  months. 

The  population  of  the  intendancy  of  Valla- 
dohd  decreased  in  the  years  of  scarcity  of  I786 
and  1790  ;  and  it  would  have  suffered  still  more, 
if  the  respectable  bishop  of  whom  we  spoke  in  the 
sixth  chapter  had  not  made  extraordinary  sacri- 
fices for  the  relief  of  the  Indians.  He  volunta- 
rily lost  in  a  few  months  the  sum  of  230,000 
francs*  by  purchasing  50,000  fanegas  of  maize, 
which  he  sold  at  a  reduced  price,  to  keep  the 
sordid  avarice  of  several  rich  proprietors  within 
bounds,  who,  during  that  epoqua  of  public  cala- 
mities, endeavoured  to  take  advantage  of  the 
misery  of  the  people. 

The  most  remarkable  places  of  the  province 
of  Valladolid  are  the  following;  : 

Valladolid  de  Mechoacan,  the  capital 
of  the  intendancy,  and  seat  of  a  bishop, 
which  enjoys  a  delicious  climate.  Its 
elevation  above  the  level  of  the  sea  is 
1950  metres  t  ;  and  yet  at  this  moderate 
height,  and  under  the  19°  42'  of  lati- 

*  9584/.  sterling.     Trans.  \  6396  (eei.     Trans. 

VOL,  II.  N 


178  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  in. 

^ANALYSIS^^l  ^^'  ^ntendanci/ of  VailadoUd. 

Population. 

tude,  snow  has  been  seen  to  fall  in  the 
streets  of  Valladolid.  This  sudden 
change  of  atmosphere*,  caused,  no 
doubt,  by  a  north  wind,  is  much  more 
remarkable  than  the  snow  which  fell  in 
the  streets  of  Mexico  the  night  before 
the  Jesuit  fathers  were  carried  ofFl 
The  new  aqueduct  by  which  the  town 
receives  potable  water  was  constructed 
at  the  expense  of  the  last  bishop,  Fray 
Antonio  de  San  Miguel,  and  cost  him 
nearly  half  a  million  of  francs,  t  18,000 

Fasciiaro,  on  the  banks  of  the  pic- 
turesque lake  of  the  same  name,  opposite 
to  the  Indian  village  of  Janicho,  situated 
at  something  less  than  a  league's  dis- 
tance, on  a  charming  little  island  in  the 
midst  of  the  lake.  Pascuaro  contains 
the  ashes  of  a  very  remarkable  man, 
whose  memory,  after  a  lapse  of  two 
centuries  and  a  half,  is  still  venerated 
by  the  Indians,  the  famous  Vasco  de 
Quiroga,  first  bishop  of  Mechoacan, 
who  died  in  1556  at  the  village  of  Uru-  i 
apa.     This  zealous  prelate,  whom  the 

*  See  my  Géographie  des  Plantes,  p.  133. 
t  20,835/.     Trans. 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  179 

STATISTICAL)    t\7     r  *     ^  ^  rr  ir  j  tj 

ANALYSIS.     \  ^'  ■L'^i^^'^dancif  of  Valladolid, 

Population. 

indigenous  still  call  their  father  {Tata 
don  Vasco),  was  more  successful  in  his 
endeavours  to  protect  the  unfortunate 
inhabitants  of  Mexico  than  the  virtuous 
bishop  of  Cliiapa,  Bartholomé  de  las 
Casas.  Quiroga  became  in  an  especial 
manner  the  benefactor  of  the  Tarasc 
Indians,  whose  industry  he  encouraged. 
He  prescribed  one  particular  branch 
of  commerce  to  each  Indian  village. 
These  useful  institutions  are  in  a  great 
measure  preserved  to  this  day.  The 
height  of  Pascuaro  is  2200  metres.  *  6000 

Tzintzo7itza7i,  or  Huitzitzilla,  the  old 
capital  of  the  kingdom  of  Mechoacan, 
of  which  we  have  already  spoken.  2500 

The  intendancy  of  Valladolid  contains  the 
mines  of  Zitaquaro,  Angangueo,  Tlapuxahua, 
the  Real  del  Oro,  and  Ynguaran. 

*  7217  feet.     Trajis. 


N   » 


180 


POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  in. 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 

Population 

in 

1803. 

Extent 
of  Sur- 
face in 
square 
Leagues. 

No.  of 
Inhabi- 
tants 
to  the 
square 
League. 

V.  Intendancy  of  \ 
Guadalaxara 

630,500 

9,612 

66 

This  province,  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Nueva 
Galicia,  is  almost  twice  the  extent  of  Portugal, 
with  a  population  five  times  smaller.  It  is  bounded 
on  the  north  by  the  intendancies  of  Sonora  and 
Durango,  on  the  east  by  the  intendancies  of  Za- 
catecas  and  Guanaxuato,  on  the  south  by  the 
province  of  Valladolid,  and  on  the  west,  for  a 
length  of  coast  of  123  leagues,  by  the  Pacific 
Ocean.     Its  greatest  breadth  is    100   leagues, 
from  the  port  of  San  Bias  to  the  town  of  Lagos, 
and  its  greatest  length  is  from  south  to  north 
from  the  Volcan  de  Colima  to  San  Andres  Teul 
118  leagues. 

The  intendancy  of  Guadalaxara  is  crossed 
from  east  to  west  by  the  Rio  de  Santiago,  a  con- 
siderable river,  which  communicates  with  the  lake 
of  Chapala,  and  which  one  day  (when  civiliz- 
ation shall  have  augmented  in  these  countries)  will 
become  interesting  for  interior  navigation  from 
Salamanca  and  Zelaya  to  the  port  of  San  Bias. 

All  tiie  eastern  part  of  this  province  is  the  ta- 
ble-land and  western  declivity  of  the  Cordilleras 


CHAP,  viii.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  181 

^ANALYsïs^^l  ^'  ^^^^^"^«^^<^i^  ofGuadalaxara, 

of  Anahuac.  The  maritime  regions,  especially 
those  which  stretch  towards  the  great  bay  of 
Bayonne,  are  covered  with  forests,  and  abound 
in  superb  wood  for  ship-building.  But  the  in- 
habitants are  exposed  to  an  unhealthy  and  ex- 
cessively heated  air.  The  interior  of  the  country 
enjoys  a  temperate  climate,  favourable  to  health. 
The  Volcan  de  Colima,  of  which  the  position 
has  never  yet  been  determined  by  astronomical 
observations,  is  the  most  western[of  the  volcanoes 
of  New  Spain,  which  are  placed  on  the  same  line 
in  the  direction  of  one  parallel.  It  frequently 
throws  up  ashes  and  smoke.  An  enlightened  ec- 
clesiastic, who  long  before  my  arrival  at  Mexico 
had  made  several  very  exact  barometrical  mea- 
surements, Don  Manuel  Abad,  great  vicar  of  the 
bishopric  of  Mechoacan,  estimated  the  elevation 
of  the  Volcan  de  Colima  above  the  level  of  the  sea 
at  2800  metres.*  *'  This  insulated  mountain," 
observes  M.  Abad,  "  appears  only  of  a  moderate 
height  when  its  summit  is  compared  with  the 
ground  of  Zapotilti  and  Zapotlan,  two  villages  of 
2000  varast  of  elevation  above  the  level  of  the 
coast.  It  is  from  the  small  town  of  Colima  that 
the  volcano  appears  in  all  its  grandeur.  It  is 
never  covered  with  snow,  but  when  it  falls  in  the 

*  9185  feet.     Trans.  \  5505  feet.     Trans. 

N    3 


182  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

^  ANALYSES     1  ^*  ^^^^^^^^'^^J/  ofGuadalaxara. 

chain  of  the  neighbouring  mountains  from  the 
effects  of  the  north  wind.     On  the  8th  Decem- 
ber, 1788,  the  volcano  was  covered  with  snow  for 
almost  two-thirds  of  its  height  *  ;   but  this  snow 
only  remained  for  two  months  on  the  northern 
declivity  of  the  mountain  towards  Zapotlan.     In 
the  beginning  of  1791  I  made  the  tour  of  the  vol- 
cano by  Sayula,  Tuspan,  and  Colima,  without 
seeing  the  smallest  trace  of  snow  on  its  summits." 
According  to  a  manuscript-memoir  communi- 
cated to  the  tribunal  of  the  Consulado  of  Vera 
Cruz  by  the  intendant  of  Guadalaxara,  the  value 
of  the  agricultural  produce  of  this  intendancy 
amounted,  in  1802,  to  2,599,000  piastres!  (nearly 
13  millions  of  francs),  in  which  there  were  com- 
puted 1,657,000  fanegas  of  maize,  43,000  cargas 
of  wheat,  17,000  temo^  of  cotton  (at  .5  piastres  the 
tercio),  and  20,000  pounds  of  cochineal  of  Autlan 
(at  3  francs  the  pound).     The  value  of  the  ma- 
nufacturing industry  was  estimated  at  3,302,200 
piastres  Î,  or  I6  millions  and  a  half  of  francs. 

*  Let  us  suppose  that  the  snow  only  covered  the  volcano  for 
the  half  of  its  height.  Now,  snow  sometimes  falls  in  the  western 
part  of  New  Spain  under  the  latitude  of  18°  and  20°,  at  1600 
metres  of  elevation  (5248  feet).  These  meteorological  con- 
siderations would  induce  us  to  assign  nearly  3200  metres 
(10,498  feet)  for  the  height  of  the  Volcan  de  Colima. 

t   =  13,644,750  francs  =  568,531/.  sterling.     Trans. 

\   ==  17,336,550  francs  =  722,351/.  sterling.     Trans, 


CHAP,  viii.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  183 

^ANALYSI^^I  ^-  IntendancyofGuadalamra. 

The  province  of  Guadalaxara  contains  2  ciu 
dades,    6   villas,    and  322  villages.     The  most 
celebrated  mines  are  those  of  Bolanos,  Asientos 
de  Ibarra,  Hostiotipaquillo,  Copala,  and  Guichi- 
chila  near  Tepic. 

The  most  remarkable  towns  are  : 
Guadalaxaray  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Rio  de  Santiago,  the  residence  of  the  in- 
tendant, of  the  bishop,  and  the  high  court 
of  justice  (Audiencia).  —  Population     -   19,500 
San  Bias,  a  port,  the  residence  of  the  Depar- 
timiento  de  Marina  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  de 
Santiago.     The  official  people  (officiales  reales) 
remain  at  Tepic,  a  small  town,  of  which  the  cli- 
mate is  not  so  hot,  and  is  more  salubrious.  Within 
these  ten  years  the  question  has  been  discussed,  if 
it  would  be  useful  to  transfer  the  dock-yards,  ma- 
gazines, and  the  whole  marine  department  from 
San    Bias  to    Acapulco.     This  last  port  wants 
wood  for  ship-building.     The  air  there  is  also 
equally  unhealthy  as  at  San  Bias  j  but  the  pro- 
jected change,  by  favouring  the  concentration  of 
the  naval  force,  would  give  the  government  a 
greater  facility  in  knowing  the  wants  of  the  ma- 
rine and  the  means  of  supplying  them. 

Compostella,  to  the  soutli  of  Tepic.     To  the 
north-west  of  Compostella,  as  well  as  in  the  par- 

N   4 


184  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

^aISlysi^^J  ^'  l'^tendancyqfGuadalaœara, 

tidos  of  Autlan,  Ahuxcatlan,  and  Acaponeta,  a 
tobacco  of  a  superior  quality  was  formerly  culti- 
vated. 

Aguas  CalienteSy  a  small  well-peopled  town,  to 
the  south  of  the  mines  de  los  Asientos  de  Ibarra. 

Villa  de  la  Purificacio?i,  to  the  north-west  of 
the  port  of  Guatlan,  formerly  called  Santiago  de 
Buena  Esperanza,  celebrated  from  the  voyage 
of  discovery,  made  in  1532,  by  Diego  Hurtado 
de  Mendoza. 

Lagos,  to  the  north  of  the  town  of  Leon,  on  a 
plain  fertile  in  wheat  on  the  frontiers  of  the  in- 
tendancy  of  Guanaxuato. 

Colima,  two  leagues  south  from  the  Volcan  de 
Colima. 


CHAP.  Yiii.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 


185 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 

Population 

in 

1803. 

Extent  of 
Surface  in 

square 
Leagues. 

No.  of 

Inhabitants 

to  the 

square 

League. 

VI.  Intendancy  of  1 
Zacatecas       j 

153,300 

2,355 

65 

This  singularly  ill-peopled  province  is  a  moun- 
tainous and  arid  tract,  exposed  to  a  continual  in- 
clemency of  climate.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north 
by  the  intendancy  of  Durango,  on  the  east  by 
the  intendancy  of  San  Luis  Potosi,  on  the  south 
by  the  province  of  Guanaxuato,  and  on  the  west 
by  that  of  Guadalaxara.  Its  greatest  length  is 
85  leagues,  and  its  greatest  breadth  from  Som- 
brerete  to  the  Real  de  Ramos,  51  leagues. 

The  intendancy  of  Zacatecas  is  nearly  of  the 
same  extent  with  Switzerland,  which  it  resembles 
in  many  geological  points  of  view.  The  relative 
population  is  hardly  equal  to  that  of  Sweden. 

The  table-land,  which  forms  the  centre  of  the 
intendancy  of  Zacatecas,  and  which  rises  to  more 
than  2000  metres*  in  height,  is  formed  of  Sie- 
nites,  a  rock  on  which  repose,  according  to  the 
excellent  observations  of  M.  Vale7iciai,  strata  of 


*  6561  feet.     Trans. 

f  Don  Vicente  Valencia,  pupil  of  M.  del  Rio  and  of  the 
School  of  Mines  of  Mexico,  has  written  a  very  interesting 
description  of  the  mines  of  Zacatecas.  (Gazeta  de  Mexico, 
Tom:  XI.  p.  417.) 


186  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  in, 

^^NALYSIS.^}  ^^-  Intendancy  of  Zacatecas. 

primitive  schistus  and  schistous  chlorites  (chlo- 
rith-schiefer').  The  schistus  forms  the  base  of 
the  mountains  of  grauwacke  and  trappish  por- 
phyry. North  of  the  town  of  Zacatecas  are  nine 
small  lakes  abounding  in  muriate,  and  especially 
carbonate  of  soda.*  This  carbonate,  which, 
from  the  old  Mexican  word  tequiœquility  goes 
by  the  name  of  tequesquite,  is  of  great  use  in  the 
dissolving  of  the  muriates,  and  of  the  sulphurets 
of  silver.  M.  Garces,  an  advocate  of  Zacatecas, 
has  recently  fixed  the  attention  of  his  country- 
men on  the  tequesquite,  which  is  also  to  be 
found  at  Zacualco,  between  Valladolid  and 
Guadalaxara,  in  the  valley  of  San  Francisco, 
near  San  Luis  Potosi,  at  Acusquilco,  near  the 
mines  of  Bolanos,  at  Chorro  near  Durango,  and 
in  five  lakes  around  the  town  of  Chihuahua. 
The  central  table-land  of  Asia  is  not  more  rich 
in  soda  than  Mexico. 

The  most  remarkable  places  of  this  province 
are: 

Zacatecas,  at  present,  after  Guanax- 
uato,  the  most  celebrated  mining  place 
of  New  Spain.  Its  population  is  at  least    33,000 

•  Don  Joseph  Garces  y  Eguia,  del  henejicio  de  los  metales 
de  oro  y  plata  Mexico,  1802,  p.  11.  and  49.  (a  work  which 
displays  a  very  profound  acquaintance  with  chemistry). 


CHAP.  Vin.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  187 

^  ANALyS^^}  ^^-  Intendancy  of  Zacatecas. 

Fresnillo,  on  the  road  from  Zacatecas  to  Du- 
rango. 

Sombrerete,  the  head  town,  and  residence  of 
a  Diputacion  de  Mineria. 

Besides  the  three  places  above  named,  the  in- 
tendancy  of  Zacatecas  contains  also  interesting 
metalUferous  seams  near  the  Sierra  de  Finos, 
Chalchiguitec,  San  Miguel  del  Mezquitas,  and 
Mazapil.  It  was  this  province^  also,  which  in  the 
mine  of  the  Veta  Negra  de  Sombrerete  exhibited 
an  example  of  the  greatest  wealth  of  any  seam 
yet  discovered  in  the  two  hemispheres. 


188 


POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iir. 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 

Population 

in 

1803. 

Extent 
of  Sur- 
face in 
square 
Leagues. 

TSTo.  of 
Inhabi- 
tants 
to  the 
square 
League. 

VII.  Intendancyon 
Oaxaca           J 

534,800 

4,447 

120 

The  name  of  this  province,  which  other  geo- 
graphers less  correctly  call  Guaxaca^  is  derived 
from  a  Mexican  name  of  the  city  and  valley  of 
Uuaxyacac^  one  of  the  principal  places  of  the  Za- 
potec  country,  which  was  almost  as  considerable 
as  Teotzapotlan,  their  capital.  The  intendancy 
of  Oaxaca  is  one  of  the  most  delightful  countries 
in  this  part  of  the  globe.  The  beauty  and  salu- 
brity of  the  climate,  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and 
the  richness  and  variety  of  its  productions,  all 
minister  to  the  prosperity  of  the  inhabitants  j  and 
this  province  has  accordingly  from  the  remotest 
periods  been  the  centre  of  an  advanced  civiliz- 
ation. 

It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  intendancy 
of  Vera  Cruz,  on  the  east  by  the  kingdom  of 
Guatimala,  on  the  west  by  the  province  of  Pue- 
bla,  and  on  the  south  for  a  length  of  coast  of 
11  leagues  by  the  Great  Ocean.  Its  extent  ex- 
ceeds that  of  Bohemia  and  Moravia  together  ; 
and  its  absolute  population  is  nine  times  less  ; 
consequently  its  relative  population  is  equal  to 
that  of  European  Russia. 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOiVI  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  189 

^ANALYSI^^}  ^^^-  I^^te^^dancjj  ofOamca. 

The  mountainous  soil  of  the  intendancy  of 
Oaxaca  forms  a  singular  contrast  with  that  of  the 
provinces  of  Puebla,  Mexico,  and  ValladoUd.  In 
place  of  the  strata  of  basaltes,  amygdaloid,  and 
porphyry  with  griinstein  base,  wliich  cover  the 
ground  of  Anahuac  from  the  18°  to  the  22°  of 
latitude,  we  find  only  granite  and  gneiss  in  the 
mountains  of  Mixteca  and  Zapoteca.  The  chain 
of  mountains  of  trapp-formation  only  recom- 
mences to  the  south-east  on  the  western  coast  of 
the  kingdom  of  Guatimala.  We  know  the 
height  of  none  of  these  granitical  summits  of  the 
intendancy  of  Oaxaca.  The  inhabitants  of  this 
fine  country  consider  the  Cerro  de  Senpualtepec, 
near  Vilalta,  from  which  both  seas  are  visible, 
as  one  of  the  most  elevated  of  these  summits. 
However,  this  extent  of  horizon  would  only  in- 
dicate a  height  of  2350  metres.  *  It  is  said  that 
the  same  spectacle  may  be  enjoyed  at  la  Glnettai 
on  the  limits  of  the  bishoprics  of  Oaxacan  and 
Chiapa,  at  12  leagues'  distance  from  the  port  of 

*  The  visual  horizon  of  a  mountain  of  2350  metres  (7709 
feet)  of  elevation  has  a  diameter  of  3°  20'.  The  question  has 
been  discussed,  if  the  two  seas  could  be  visible  from  the  sum- 
mit of  the  Nevado  de  Toluca.  The  visual  horizon  of  this 
has  2°  21'  or  58  leagues  of  radius,  supposing  only  an  ordi- 
nary refraction.  The  two  coasts  of  Mexico  nearest  to  the 
Nevado,  those  of  Coyuca  and  Tuspan,  are  at  a  distance  of  54 
and  64;  leagues  from  it. 


190  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  hi. 

STATISTICAL)    .ru     t  *     ^  /-n 

ANALYSIS.    \   ^^^'  Intenaancy  of  Oaxaca, 

Tehuantepec,  on  the  great  road  from  Guatimala 
to  Mexico. 

The    vegetation   is   beautiful    and    vigorous 
throughout  the  whole  province  of  Oaxaca,  and 
especially  half  way  down  the  declivity  in  the 
temperate  region,  in  which  the  rains  are  very 
copious  from  the  month  of  May  to  the  month  of 
October.     At  the  village  of  Santa   Maria  del 
Tule,   three  leagues  east  from  the  capital,  be- 
tween Santa  Lucia  and  Tlacochiguaya,  there  is 
an  enormous  trunc  of  cupressus  disticha  (sabino) 
of  ^^  metres*  in  circumference.     This  ancient 
tree  is  consequently  larger  than  the  cypress  of 
AtUxco,  of  which  we  have  already  spoken,  the 
dragonnier  of  the  Canary  Islands,   and  all  the 
boababs   (Adansoniae)  of  Africa.     But  on  ex- 
amining it  narrowly,    M.  Anza   observes,   that 
what  excites  the  admiration  of  travellers  is  not  a 
single  individual,  and  that  three  united  truncs 
form  the  famous  sabino  of  Santa  Maria  del  Tule. 
The  intendancy  of  Oaxaca  comprehends  two 
mountainous  countries,  which  from  the  remotest 
times  went  under  the  names  of  Miûoteca  and  Tza-' 
poteca.     These  denominations,  which  remain  to 
this    day,    indicate  a  great    diversity  of  origin 
among  the  natives.     The  old  Mixtecapan  is  now 
divided  into  upper  and  lower  Mixteca  (Mtjrteca 

*  118  feet.     Trans 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  191 

alta  y  haxa).  The  eastern  limit  of  the  former, 
which  adjoins  the  intendancy  of  Piiebla,  runs  in 
a  direction  from  Ticomabacca,  by  Quaxiniqui- 
lapa,  towards  the  South  Sea.  It  passes  between 
Colotopeque  and  Tamasulapa.  The  Indians  of 
Mixteca  are  an  active,  intelHgent,  and  indus- 
trious people. 

If  the  province  of  Oaxaca  contains  no  monu- 
ments of  ancient  Aztec  architecture  equally 
astonishing  from  their  dimensions  as  the  houses 
of  the  gods  (Jeocallis)  of  Cholula,  Papantla,  and 
Teotihuacan,  it  contains  the  ruins  of  edifices  more 
remarkable  for  their  symmetry  and  the  elegance 
of  their  ornaments.  The  wails  of  the  palace  of 
Mitla  are  decorated  witli  Grecques,  and  laby- 
rinths in  mosaic  of  small  porphyry  stones.  We 
perceive  in  them  the  same  design  which  we  ad- 
mire in  the  vases  falsely  called  Tuscan,  or  in  the 
frise  of  the  old  temple  of  Deus  Redicoliis,  near 
the  grotto  of  the  nymph  Egeria  at  Rome.  I 
caused  part  of  these  American  ruins  to  be  en- 
graved, which  were  very  carefully  drawn  by  Co- 
lonel Don  Pedro  de  la  Laguna,  and  by  an  able 
architect,  Don  Luis  Martin.  If  we  are  justly 
struck  with  the  great  analogy  between  the  orna- 
ments of  the  palace  of  Mitla  and  those  employed 
by  the  Greeks  and  Komans,  we  are  not  on  that 
account  to  give  ourselves  lightly  up  to  historical 


192  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

^  ANALYSI^^I  ^^^^'  Intendancy  ofOcuaca. 

hypotheses,  on  the  possibiUty  of  the  existence  of 
ancient  communications  between  the  two  con- 
tinents. We  must  not  forget,  that  under  almost 
every  zone  (as  I  have  elsewhere  endeavoured  to 
demonstrate)  mankind  take  a  pleasure  in  a 
rhythmical  repetition  of  the  same  forms  wliich 
constitute  the  principal  character  of  all  that  we 
call  Grecques* y  meanders,  labyrinths,  and  ara- 
besques. 

The  village  of  Mitia  was  formerly  called  Mi- 
guitlan,  a  word  which  means,  in  the  Mexican 
language,  a  place  of  sadness.  The  Tzapotec  In- 
dians call  it  Leoha,  which  signifies  Tomb.  In 
fact,  the  palace  of  Mitla,  the  antiquity  of  which 
is  unknown,  was,  according  to  the  tradition  of 
the  natives,  as  is  also  manifest  from  the  distribu- 
tion of  its  parts,  a  palace  constructed  over  the 
tombs  of  the  kings.  It  was  an  edifice  to  which 
the  sovereign  retired  tor  some  time  on  the  death 
of  a  son,  a  wife,  or  a  mother.  Comparing  the 
magnitude  of  these  tombs  with  the  smallness  of 
the  houses  which  served  for  abodes  to  the  living, 
we  feel  inclined  to  say  with  Diodorus  Siculus 
(lib.  i.  c.  51.),  that  there  are  nations  who  erect 
sumptuous  monuments  for  the  dead,   because, 

#  M.  Zoega,  the  most  profound  connoisseur  in  Egyptian 
antiquities,  has  made  the  curious  observation,  that  the 
Egyptians  have  never  employed  this  species  of  ornament. 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  193 

^Ynaly^SIs!"}  ^^I-  Inie^àancy  ofOaxaca. 

looking  on  this  life  as  short  and  passing,  they 
think  it  unworthy  the  trouble  of  constructing 
them  for  the  living. 

The  palace,  or  rather  the  tombs  of  Mitla, 
form  three  edifices  symmetrically  placed  in  an 
extremely  romantic  situation.  The  principal 
edifice  is  in  best  preservation,  and  is  nearly  40 
metres  *  in  length.  A  stair  formed  in  a  pit  leads 
to  a  subterraneous  apartment  of  27  metres  in 
length  and  8  in  breadth,  t  This  gloomy  apart- 
ment is  covered  with  the  same  Grecques  which 
ornament  the  exterior  walls  of  the  edifice. 

But  what  distinguishes  the  ruins  of  Mitla  from 
all  the  other  remains  of  Mexican  architecture, 
is  six  porphyry  columns  which  are  placed  in  the 
midst  of  a  vast  hall  and  support  the  cieling.  These 
columns,  almost  the  only  ones  found  in  the  new 
continent,  bear  strong  marks  of  the  infancy  of 
the  art.  They  have  neither  base  nor  capitals.  A 
simple  contraction  of  the  upper  part  is  only  to  be 
remarked.  Their  total  height  is  five  metres Î;  but 
their  shaft  is  of  one  piece  of  amphibolous  por- 
phyry. Broken  down  fragments,  for  ages  heaped 
together,  conceal  more  than  a  third  of  the  height 
of  these  columns.  Onuncoveringthem,  M.  Martin 

*  131  feet.     Trans.  f  88  feet  by  26.     Trans. 

X  16.4  feet.     Trans. 

VOL.  II.  O 


194.  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

STATISTICAL.)      -rrry      j    ,       j  n r, 

ANALYSIS.    I    ^^^'  J-ntendancy  ojOaxaca. 

found  theirheight  equal  to  six  diameters,  or  12mo- 
dules.  Hence  the  symmetry  would  be  still  lighter 
than  that  of  the  Tuscan  order,  if  the  inferior  di- 
ameter of  the  columns  of  Mitla  were  not  in  the 
proportion  of  3  :  2  to  their  upper  diameter. 

The  distribution  of  the  apartments  in  the  inte- 
rior of  this  singular  edifice  bears  a  striking  ana- 
logy to  what  has  been  remarked  in  the  monu- 
ments of  Upper  Egypt,  drawn  by  M.  Denon  and 
the  savanSy  who  compose  the  institute  of  Cairo. 
M.  de  Laguna  found  in  the  ruins  of  Mitla  curious 
paintings  representing  warlike  trophies  and  sacri- 
fices. I  shall  have  occasion  elsewhere  (in  the 
historical  accountof  my  travels)  to  return  to  these 
remains  of  ancient  civilization. 

The  intendancy  of  Oaxaca  has  alone  preserved 
the  cultivation  of  cochineal  (coccus  cacti),  a 
branch  of  industry  which  it  formerly  shared  with 
the  provinces  of  Puebla  and  new  Galicia. 

The  family  of  Hernan  Cortez  bears  the  title  of 
Marquis  of  the  Valley  of  Oaxaca.  The  property 
is  composed  of  the  four  villas  del  Marquesado  and 
49  villages,  which  contain  17,700  inhabitants. 

The  most  remarkable  places  of  this  province 
are: 

Oaxaca,   or   Guaxaca,   tlie   ancient 
Huaxyacac,   called  Antequera  at  the 


CHAP.  VIII.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  195 

^YNALYSii!'}  ^^^'  ^niemlmcy  ofOamcu, 

Population. 

beginning  of  the  conquest.  Thiery  de 
Menonville  only  assigns  6000  inhabi- 
tants to  it;  but  by  the  enumeration 
in  1792  it  was  found  to  contain         -         24,000 

Tehuantepec  or  Teguantepequey  a  port  situated 
in  the  bottom  of  the  creek,  formed  by  the  ocean 
between  the  small  villages  of  San  Francisco,  San 
Dionisio,  and  Santa  Maria  de  la  Mar.  This  port, 
impeded  by  a  very  dangerous  bar,  will  become 
one  day  of  great  consequence  when  navigation  in 
general,  and  especially  the  transport  of  the  indigo 
of  Guatimala,  shall  become  more  frequent  by  the 
Rio  Guasacualco. 

San  Antonio  de  los  Cues^  a  very  populous  place 
on  the  road  from  Orizaba  to  Oaxaca,  celebrated 
for  the  remains  of  ancient  Mexican  fortifications. 

The  mines  of  this  intendancy  worked  with  the 
greatest  care  are,  Villalta,  Zolaga,  Yxtepexi,  and 
Totomostla. 


o  2 


196 


POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [bookiii. 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 

Population 

in 

1803. 

Extent 
of  Sur- 
face in 
square 
Leagues. 

No.  of 
Inhabi- 
tants 
to  the 
square 
League. 

VIII.  Intendancy  of  1^ 
Merida.            J 

465,800 

5,977 

81 

This  intendancy,  concerning  which  valuable 
information  has  been  furnished  to  us  by  M.  Gil- 
bert *,  comprehends  the  great  peninsula  of  Yuca- 
tan, situated  between  the  bays  of  Campeche  and 
Honduras.  It  is  at  Cape  Catoche,  fifty-one 
leagues  distant  from  the  calcareous  hills  of  Cape 
Saint  Antony,  that  Mexico  appears  before  the 
irruption  of  the  ocean  to  have  been  joined  to  the 
island  of  Cuba. 

The  province  of  Merida  is  bounded  on  the 
south  by  the  kingdom  of  Guatimala,  on  the  east 


•  This  enlightened  observer  went  over  a  great  part  of  the 
Spanish  colonies.  He  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  in  a  ship- 
vrreck  south  from  the  island  of  Cuba,  among  the  shallows  of 
the  Jardins  du  Roi,  of  which  I  determined  the  astronomical 
position,  the  statistical  materials  collected  by  him.  It  is  pro- 
per to  observe  here,  that  without  knowing  the  data  of  which 
I  was  in  possession,  Mr.  Gilbert,  by  estimating  himself  the 
number  of  villages  and  their  population,  concluded  that  Yuca- 
tan contained,  in  1801,  nearly  half  a  million  of  inhabitants  of 
all  casts  and  colours. 


CHAP.  Vin.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  397 

^  AN^AL™IS.^}  VI^I-  Intendancij  of  Merida, 

by  the  intendancy  of  Vera  Cruz,  from  which  it  is 
separated  by  the  Rio  Baraderas,  called  also  the 
river  of  Crocodiles  (Lagartos)  ;  on  the  west  by 
the  English  establishments  which  extendfrom  the 
mouth  of  the  Rio  Hondo  to  the  north  of  the  bay 
of  Hanover,  opposite  the  island  of  Ubero  (Am- 
bergris key  ).  In  this  quarter  Salamanca,  or  the 
small  fort  of  San  Felipe  de  Bacalar,  is  the  most 
southern  point  inhabited  by  the  Spaniards. 

The  peninsula  of  Yucatan,  of  which  the  northern 
coast  from  Cape  Catoche,  near  the  island  of  Con- 
toy,  to  the  Punta  de  Piedras  (a  length  of  8 1  leagues), 
follows  exactly  the  direction  of  the  current  of  ro- 
tation, is  avastplain  intersected  in  its  interior  from 
north-west  to  south-west  by  a  chain  of  hills  of  small 
elevation.  The  country  which  extends  east  from 
these  hills  towards  the  bays  of  the  Ascension  and 
Santo  Spirito  appears  to  be  the  most  fertile,  and 
was  earliest  inhabited.  The  ruins  of  European 
edifices  discoverable  in  the  island  Cosumel,  in  the 
midst  of  a  grove  of  palm  trees,  indicate  that  this 
island,  which  is  now  uninhabited,  was  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  conquest  peopled  by  Spanish 
colonists.  Since  the  settlement  of  the  English 
between  Omo  and  Rio  Hondo,  the  government, 
to  diminish  the  contraband  trade,  concentrated 
the  Spanish  and  Indian  population  in  the  part  of 
the  peninsula  west  from  the  mountains  of  Yuca- 

o3 


198  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  hi. 

^YnalySs."^}  ^I^I-  Intendancy  ofMerida. 

tan.  Colonists  are  not  permitted  to  settle  on  the 
western  coast  *,  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Bi^x;alar 
and  Rio  Hondo.  All  this  vast  country  remains 
uninhabited,  with  the  exception  of  the  military 
post  (presidio')  of  Salamanca, 

The  intendancy  of  Merida  is  one  of  the  warmest 
and  yet  one  of  the  healthiest  of  equinoxial  Ame- 
rica. This  salubrity  ought  undoubtedly  to  be 
attributed  in  Yucatanas  wellasat  Coro,  Cumana, 
and  the  island  of  Marguerite,  to  the  extreme  dry- 
ness of  the  soil  and  atmosphere.  On  the  whole 
coast  from  Campeche,  or  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Rio  de  San  Francisco  to  Cape  Catoche,  the  navi- 
gator does  not  find  a  single  spring  of  fresh  water. 
Near  this  cape  nature  has  repeated  the  same  phe- 
nomenon which  appears  in  the  island  of  Cuba  in 
the  bay  of  Xagua,  described  by  me  in  another 
place.  1  On  the  northern  coast  of  Yucatan,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Rio  Lagartos,  400  metres  from  the 
shore  t,  springs  of  fresh  water  spout  up  from 
amidst  the  salt  water.  These  remarkable  springs 
are  called  the  mouths  (boccas)  dc  Conil.  It  is  pro- 
bable, thatfromsomestronghydrostaticalpression, 
the  fresh  water,  after  bursting  through  the  banks 


*  Evidently  eastern  coast.     Trans. 

\  lu  n)y  Tableaux  de  la  Nature,  vol.  11.  p.  174'  and  235. 

X  1312i'eqt.   Trans. 


cHAP.viii.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  199 

STATISTICAL!    ttttt    j.      ,  ^-a/t     '^ 

ANALYSIS.  1    ^^'^^'  Intendancy  of  Menda, 

of  calcareous  rock  between  the  clefts  of  which  it 
had  flowed,  rises  above  the  level  of  the  salt  water. 
The  Indians  of  this  intendancy  speak  the  Maya 
language,  which  is  extremely  guttural,  and  of 
which  there  are  four  tolerably  complete  diction- 
aries by  Pedro  Beltan,  Andres  de  Avendano, 
Fray  Antonio  de  Ciudad-Real,  and  Luis  de  Vil- 
lalpando.  The  peninsula  of  Yucatan  was  never 
subject  to  the  Mexican  or  Aztec  kings.  How- 
ever, the  first  conquerors  Bernai  Diaz,  Hernan- 
dez de  Cordova,  and  the  valorous  Juan  de  Grix- 
alva,  were  struck  with  the  advanced  civilization 
of  the  inhabitants  of  this  peninsula.  They  found 
houses  built  of  stone  cemented  with  lime,  pyra- 
midal edifices  (teocallis),  which  they  compared  to 
Moorish  mosques,  fields  enclosed  with  hedges, 
and  the  people  clothed,  civilized,  and  very  dif- 
ferent from  the  natives  of  the  island  of  Cuba.  * 
Many  ruins,  particularly  of  sepulchral  monuments 
(guacas)y  are  still  to  be  discovered  to  the  east  of 
the  small  central  chain  of  mountains.  Several 
Indian  tribes  have  preserved  their  independence 

*  Bernai  Diaz  adjudged  the  palm  of  superior  civilization  to 
the  natives  of  Yucatan,  because  he  found  *'  sus  verguenças 
cubiertas.''  Tuvimos  los,  says  he,  por  hombres  mas  de  axon  cue 
a  los  Indios  de  Cuba.  Why  ?  porque  andavan  los  de  Cuba  con 
sus  verguenças  dejiiera  !  Hist.  Vcrd.  folio 2.  col.  3.  Trans. 
O  é 


200  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

^Ynalysis.^}  ^^II-  Intendancy  ofMerida. 

in  the  southern  part  of  this  hilly  district,  which  is 
almost  inaccessible  from  thick  forests  and  the 
luxuriance  of  the  vegetation. 

The  province  of  Merida,  like  all  the  countries 
of  the  torrid  zone,  of  which  the  surface  does  not 
rise  more  than  1300  metres*  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  yields  only  for  the  sustenance  of  the  inha- 
bitants maize,  jatropha,  and  dioscorea  roots,  but 
no  European  grain.  The  trees  which  furnish  the 
famous  Campeche  wood  (Jiœmatoxylon  campechi- 
anum,  LJ)  grow  in  abundance  in  several  districts  of 
this  intendancy.  The  cutting  (cortes  de  palo 
Campeche')  takes  place  annually  on  the  banks  of 
the  Rio  Champoton,  the  mouth  of  which  is  south 
from  the  town  of  Campeche,  within  four  leagues  of 
the  small  village  of  Lerma.  It  is  only  with  an 
extraordinary  permission  from  the  intendant  of 
Merida,  who  bears  the  title  oï  governor  captain- 
general,  that  the  merchant  can  from  time  to  time 
cut  down  Campeche  wood  to  the  east  of  the  moun- 
tains near  the  bays  of  Ascension,  Todos  los  Santos, 
and  El  Espirito  Santo.  In  these  creeks  of  the 
eastern  coast  the  English  carry  on  an  extensive 
and  lucrative  contraband  trade.  The  Campeche 
wood,  after  being  cut  down,  must  dry  for  a  year 
before  it  can  be  sent  to  Vera  Cruz,  the  liavannah, 
or  Cadiz.  The  quintal  of  this  dried  wood  (palo 
*  1-264  feet.     Trans. 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  201 

^Ynalysis.^}  ^^II-  Intendanaj  ofMerida. 

de  tinta)  is  sold  at  Campeche  for  two  piastres,  to 
two  piastres  and  a  half*  (from  10  f.  50  c.  to 
12  f.  88  c).  The  haemotoxylon,  so  abundant  in 
Yucatan  and  the  Honduras  coast,  is  also  to  be 
found  scattered  throughout  all  the  forests  of  equi- 
noxial  America,  wherever  the  mean  temperature 
of  the  air  is  not  below  22'  t  of  the  centigrade 
thermometer.  The  coast  of  Paria,  in  the  pro- 
vince of  New  Andalusia,  may  one  day  carry  on  a 
considerable  trade  in  Campeche  and  Brazil 
(cœsalpina)  wood,  which  it  produces  in  great 
abundance. 

The  most  remarkable  places  of  the  intendancy 
of  Merida  are  : 

Population. 

Merida  de  Yucatan^  the  capital,  ten 
leagues  in  the  interior  of  the  country, 
in  an  arid  plain.  The  small  port  of 
Merida  is  called  Sizal,  to  the  west  of 
Chaboana,  opposite  a  sand  bank,  near- 
ly twelve  leagues  in  length,         -  10,000 

Campeche^  on  the  Rio  de  San  Francisco, 
with  a  port  which  is  not  very  secure.  Ves- 
sels are  obliged  to  anchor  a  good  way 
from  the  shore.  In  the  Maya  language, 
cam  signifies  serpent,  and ^c?c//c  the  little 

*  From  85.9rf.  to  10«.  \\d.     Trans. 
t  71*  oF  Fahrenheit.     Trans. 


202  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

ANALYSIS,  t  ^^^^'  Intendancy  ofMerida, 

Population. 

insect  (acarus,)  called  by  the  Spaniards 
garapatUy  which   penetrates  the  skin, 
and  occasions  a  smart  pain.     Between 
Campeche  and  Merida  are  two  very 
considerable    Indian     villages    called 
Xampolan  and  Equetchecan.    The  ex- 
portation of  wax  of  Yucatan  is  one  of 
the  most  lucrative  branches  of  trade. 
The  habitual  population  of  the  town  is      6,000 
ValladoUd,  a  small  town,  of  which  the  environs 
produce  abundance  of  cotton  of  an  excellent  qua- 
lity.    This  cotton,  however,  brings  a  poor  price, 
because  it  has  the  disadvantage  of  adhering  very 
much  to  the  grain.     They  cannot  clean  it  {despe- 
^yitar,  or  desmorar')  in  the  country  ;   and  two- 
thirds  of  its  value  is  absorbed  in  freight,  on  ac- 
count of  the  weight  of  the  grain. 


CHAI',  vni.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 


202 


STATISTICAL 

ANALYSIS. 

Population 

in 

1803. 

Extent 
of  Sur- 
face in 
square 
Leagues. 

No.  of 
Inhabi- 
tants 
to  the 
square 
League. 

IX.  Intendancy  of  ) 
Vera  Cruz         3 

156,000 

4,M1 

38 

This  province,  situated  under  the  burning 
sun  of  the  tropics,  extends  along  the  Mexican 
gulf,  from  the  Rio  Baraderas  (or  de  los  Lagai^tos), 
to  the  great  river  of  Panuco,  which  rises  in  the 
metalliferous  mountains  of  San  Luis  Potosi. 
Hence  this  intendancy  includes  a  very  consider- 
able part  of  the  eastern  coast  of  New  Spain. 
Its  length,  from  the  bay  of  Terminos  near  the 
island  of  Carmen  to  the  small  port  of  Tam- 
pico, is  210  leagues,  while  its  breadth  is  only  in 
general  from  25  to  28  leagues.  It  is  bounded 
on  the  east  by  the  peninsula  of  Meïidaj  on  the 
west  by  the  intendancies  of  Oaxaca,  Puebla, 
and  Mexico;  and  on  the  north  by  the  colony  of 
New  Santander. 

A  glance  bestowed  on  the  5th  and  6th  plates 
accompanying  this  work  will  show  the  extraor- 
dinary conformation  of  this  country,  which  was 
formerly  comprehended  under  the  denomination 
of  Cuetlachtlan.  There  are  few  regions  in  the 
new  continent  where  tlie  traveller  is  more  struck 
with  the  assemblage  of  the  most  opposite  climates. 
All  the  western  part  of  the  intendancy  of  Vera 


SO't  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  hi. 

ANALYSIS    C   ^^'  I^^t(^'^dancy  of  Vera  Cruz. 

Cruz  forms  the  declivity  of  the  Cordilleras  of 
Anahuac.  In  the  space  of  a  day  the  inhabitants 
descend  from  the  regions  of  eternal  snow  to  the 
plains  in  the  vicinity  of  the  sea,  where  the  most 
suffocating  lieat  prevails.  The  admirable  order 
with  which  different  tribes  of  vegetables  rise  above 
one  another  by  strata,  as  it  were,  is  no  where  more 
perceptible  than  in  ascending  from  the  port  of 
Vera  Cruz  to  the  table-land  of  Perote,  We  see 
there  the  physiognomy  of  the  country,  the  aspect 
of  the  sky,  the  form  of  plants,  the  figures  of  ani- 
mals, the  manners  of  the  inhabitants,  and  the 
kind  of  cultivation  followed  by  them,  assume  a  dif- 
ferent appearance  at  every  step  of  our  progress. 
^  As  we  ascend,  nature  appears  gradually  less 
animated,  the  beauty  of  the  vegetable  forms  di- 
minishes, the  shoots  become  less  succulent,  and 
the  flowers  less  coloured.  The  aspect  of  the  Mexi- 
can oak  quiets  the  alarms  of  travellers  newly  land- 
ed at  Vera  Cruz.  Its  presence  demonstrates  to  him 
that  he  has  left  behind  him  the  zone  so  justly 
dreaded  by  tlie  people  of  the  north,  under  which 
the  yellow  fever  exercises  its  ravages  in  New  Spain. 
This  inferior  limit  of  oaks  warns  the  colonist  who 
inhabits  the  central  table-land  how  far  he  may 
descend  towards  the  coast,  without  dread  of  the 
mortal  disease  of  the  vomito.  Forests  of  liquid 
amber,  near  Xalapa,  announce  by  the  freshness 
10 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  205 

^^AYLSIS.^}  ^^-  ^'i^tendancy  of  Vera  Cruz, 

of  their  verdure  that  this  is  the  elevation  at  which 
the  clouds  suspended  over  the  ocean  come  in 
contact  with  the  basaltic  summits  of  the  Cordil» 
lera.  A  little  higher,  near  la  Blanderilla,  the 
nutritive  fruit  of  the  banana  tree  comes  no  longer 
to  maturity.  In  this  foggy  and  cold  region, 
therefore,  want  spurs  on  the  Indian  to  labour  and 
excites  his  industry.  At  the  height  of  San  Miguel 
pines  begin  to  mingle  with  the  oaks,  which  are 
found  by  the  traveller  as  higli  as  the  elevated 
plains  of  Perote,  where  he  beholds  the  delightful 
aspect  of  fields  sown  with  wheat.  Eight  hundred 
metres  higher  the  coldness  of  the  climate  will  no 
longer  admit  of  the  vegetation  of  oaks  ;  and 
pines  alone  there  cover  the  rocks,  whose  sum- 
mits enter  the  zone  of  eternal  snow.  Thus  in  a 
few  hours  the  naturalist  in  this  miraculous  coun- 
try ascends  the  whole  scale  of  vegetation  from 
the  heliconia  and  the  banana  plant,  whose  glossy 
leaves  swell  out  into  extraordinary  dimensions, 
to  the  stunted  parenchyma  of  the  resinous  trees  ! 
The  province  of  Vera  Cruz  is  enriched  by  na- 
ture with  the  most  precious  productions.  At  the 
foot  of  the  Cordillera,  in  the  ever-green  forests  of 
Papantla,  Nautla,  and  S.  Andre Tuxtla,  grows  the 
epidendrum  vanilla,  of  which  the  odoriferous  fruit 
is  employed  forperfiiming  chocolate.  The  beau- 
tiful convolvulus  jalapaî  grows  near  the  Indian 


POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE     [book  in. 

ANALYSIS,  i   ^^'  I^t^'i^dancy  of  Vera  Cruz. 

villages  of  Colipa  and  Misantla,  of  which  the 
tuberose  root  furnishes  the  jalap,  one  of  the  most 
energetic  and  beneficent  purgatives.  The  myrtle 
(jnyrtus  pimenta)y  of  which  the  grain  forms  an 
agreeable  spice,  well  known  in  trade  by  the  name 
o^j)imiejila  de  Tabasco^  is  produced  in  the  forests 
which  extend  to  wards  the  river  ofBaraderas,  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  intendancy  of  Vera  Cruz.  The 
cocoa  of  Acayucan  would  be  in  request  if  the 
natives  were  to  apply  themselves  more  assiduously 
to  the  cultivation  of  cocoa  trees.  On  the  eastern 
and  southern  declivities  of  the  Pic  d'Orizaba,  in  the 
vallies  which  extend  towards  the  small  town  of 
Cordoba,  tobacco  of  an  excellent  quality  is  cul- 
tivated, which  yields  an  annual  revenue  to  the 
crown  of  more  than  18  millions  of  francs.  *  The 
similax,  of  which  the  root  is  the  true  salsaparilla, 
grows  in  the  humid  and  umbrageous  ravins  of  the 
Cordillera.  The  cotton  of  the  coast  of  Vera  Cruz 
is  celebrated  for  its  fineness  and  whiteness.  The 
sugar-cane  yields  nearly  as  much  sugar  as  in  the 
island  of  Cuba,  and  more  than  in  the  plantations 
of  St.  Domingo. 

This  intendancy  alone  would  keep  alive  the 
commerce  of  the  port  of  Vera  Cruz,  if  the  number 
of  colonists  was  greater,  and  if  their  laziness,  the 

*  750,060/.  sterling.     Trans. 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOxM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.         207 

^ANALYS^IS.^}  ^^-  Iniendancy  of  Vera  Cruz, 

effect  of  the  bounty  of  nature,  and  the  facility  of 
providing  with  out  effort  for  the  most  urgent  wants 
of  Ufe,  did  not  impede  the  progress  of  industry. 
The  old  population  of  Mexico  was  concentrated  in 
the  interior  of  the  country  on  the  table-land.  The 
Mexican  tribes  whocame  from  northern  countries, 
as  we  have  already  explained,  gave  the  preference 
in  their  migrationsto  the  ridges  of  the  Cordilleras, 
because  they  found  on  them  a  climate  analogous 
to  that  of  their  native  country.  No  doubt,  on  the 
first  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  on  the  coast  of  Chal- 
chiuhcuecan  (Vera  Cruz,),  all  the  country  from  the 
river  of  Papaloapan  (  Alvarado  to  Huaxtecapan), 
was  better  inhabited  and  better  cultivated  than  it 
now  is.  However,  the  conquerors  found  as  they 
ascended  the  table-land  the  villages  closer  toge- 
ther, the  fields  divided  into  smaller  portions,  and 
the  people  more  polished.  The  Spaniards,  who 
imagined  they  founded  new  cities  when  they  gave 
European  names  to  Aztec  cities,  followed  the 
traces  of  the  indigenous  civilization.  They  had 
very  powerful  motives  for  inhabiting  the  table- 
land of  Anahuac.  They  dreaded  the  heat  and  the 
diseases  which  prevail  in  the  plains.  The  search 
after  the  precious  metals,  the  cultivation  of  Euro- 
pean grain  and  fruit,  the  analogy  of  the  climate 
with  that  of  the  Castilles,  and  the  other  causes 
indicated  in  the  fourth  chapter,  all  concurred  to 


208  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE     [book  ai. 

STATISTICAL)     jv    r  *     j  r  rr        n 

ANALYSIS,  r    ^'^'  i^^^'^dancy  oj  Vera  Cruz. 

fix  them  on  the  ridge  of  the  Cordillera.  So  long 
as  the  EncomenderoSj  abusing  the  rights  which 
they  derived  from  the  laws,  treated  the  Indians  as 
serfs,  a  great  number  of  them  were  transported 
from  the  regions  of  the  coast  to  the  table-land  in 
the  interior,  eitherto  work  in  the  mines,  or  merely 
that  they  might  be  near  the  habitation  of  their 
masters.  For  two  centuries  the  trade  in  indigo, 
sugar,  and  cotton,  was  next  to  nothing.  The 
whites  could  by  no  means  be  induced  to  settle  in 
the  plains,  where  the  true  Indian  climate  prevails; 
and  one  would  say  that  the  Europeans  came  un- 
der the  tropics  merely  to  inhabit  the  temperate 
zone. 

Since  the  great  increase  in  the  consumption  of 
sugar,  and  since  the  new  continent  has  come  to 
furnish  many  of  the  productions  formerly  pro- 
cured only  in  Asia  and  Africa,  the  plains  (Jierras 
calientes)  afford,  no  doubt,  a  greater  inducement 
to  colonization.  Hence,  sugar  and  cotton  planta- 
tions have  been  multiplying  in  the  province  of 
Vera  Cruz,  especially  since  the  fatal  events  at  St. 
Domingo,  which  have  given  a  great  stimulus  to 
industry  in  the  Spanish  colonies.  However,  the 
progress  hitherto  has  not  been  very  remarkable 
on  the  Mexican  coast.  It  will  require  centuries  to 
re-people  these  deserts.  Spaces  of  many  square 
leagues  are  now  only  occupied  by  two  or  three 


CHAP.  VIII.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  209 

^YNALYStS.^r   ^^-  ^^tendancy  of  Vera  Cruz. 

huts  (hattos  de  ganado)  around  which  stray  herds 
of  half  wild  cattle.  A  small  number  of  powerful 
families  who  live  on  the  central  table-land  possess 
the  greatest  part  of  the  shores  of  the  intendancies 
of  Vera  Cruz  and  San  Luis  Potosi.  No  agrarian 
law  forces  these  rich  proprietors  to  sell  their 
mayorazgoSy  if  they  persist  in  refusing  to  bring 
the  immense  territories  which  belong  to  them 
under  cultivation.  They  harass  their  farmers, 
and  turn  them  away  at  pleasure. 

To  this  evil,  which  is  common  to  the  coast  of 
the  gulf  of  Mexico,  with  Andalusia  and  a  great 
part  of  Spain,  other  causes  of  depopulation  must 
be  added.  The  militia  of  the  intendancy  of  Vera 
Cruz  is  much  too  numerous  for  a  country  so 
thinly  inhabited.  This  service  oppresses  the  la- 
bourer. He  flees  from  the  coast  to  avoid  being 
compelled  to  enter  into  the  coi'ps  of  the  lanceros 
and  the  milicianos.  The  levies  for  sailors  to  the 
royal  navy  are  also  too  frequently  repeated,  and 
executed  in  too  arbitrary  a  manner.  Hitherto 
the  government  has  neglected  every  means  for 
increasing  the  population  of  this  desert  coast. 
From  this  state  of  things  results  a  great  want 
of  hands,  and  a  scarcity  of  provisions,  singular 
enough  in  a  country  of  such  great  fertility.  The 
wages  of  an  ordinary  workman  at  Vera  Cruz  are 

VOL.  II.  p  . 


210  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi, 

^'^ANALYSIS^}  IX-  Intmdancy  of  Vera  Cruz. 

from  5  to  6  francs*  per  day.  A  master  mason, 
and  every  man  who  follows  a  particular  trade, 
gains  from  15  to  20  francs  per  day,  that  is  t«  say, 
three  times  as  much  as  on  the  central  table  land. 
The  intendancy  of  Vera  Cruz  contains  within 
its  limits  two  colossal  summits,  of  which  the  one, 
the  Volcan  d^  Orizaba,  is,  after  the  Popocatepetl, 
the  most  elevated  mountain  of  New  Spain.  The 
summit  of  this  truncated  cone  is  inclined  to  the 
S.  E.  by  which  means  the  crater  is  visible  at  a 
great  distance  even  from  the  city  of  Xalapa.  The 
other  summit,  the  Coffre  de  Perote,  according  to 
my  measurement,  is  nearly  400  metres  higher 
than  the  Pic  of  Teneriffe.  t  It  serves  for  signal 
to  the  sailors  who  put  in  at  Vera  Cruz.  As  this 
circumstance  renders  the  determination  of  its 
astronomical  position  of  great  importance,  I  ob- 
served circum-meridian  altitudes  of  the  sun  on 
the  Coffre  itself.  A  thick  bed  of  pumice-stone 
environs  this  porphyritical  mountain.  Nothing 
at  the  summit  announces  a  crater  ;  but  the  cur- 
rents of  lava  observable  between  the  small  villages 
of  las  Vigas  and  Hoya  appear  to  be  the  effects  of 
a  very  old  lateral  explosion.  The  small  Volcan  de 
Tujothj  joining  the  Sierra  de  San  Martin,  is  situ- 
ated four  leagues  from  the  coast,  S.  E.  firom  the 

*  From  4s.  2d.  to  5s.     Tram.  f   1312  feet.     Trans, 


CHAP.  VIII.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  211 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS 


I   IX.  Intendancy  of  Vera  Cruz. 


port  of  Vera  Cruz,  near  the  Indian  village  of  San- 
tiago de  Tuxtla.  It  is  consequently  out  of  the 
line  which  we  before  indicated  as  the  parallel  of 
the  burning  volcanoes  of  Mexico.  Its  last  erup- 
tion, which  was  very  considerable,  took  place  on 
the  2d  March,  1793.  The  roofs  of  the  houses 
at  Oaxaca,  Vera  Cruz,  and  Perote,  were  then 
covered  with  volcanic  ashes.  At  Perote,  which 
is  57  leagues*  in  a  straight  line  distant  from  the 
volcano  of  Tuxtla,  the  subterraneous  noises 
resembled  heavy  discharges  of  artillery. 

In  the  northern  part  of  the  intendancy  of  Vera 
Cruz,  west  from  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Tecolutla, 
at  two  leagues  distance  from  the  great  Indian 
village  of  Papantla,  we  meet  with  a  pyramidal 
edifice  of  great  antiquity.  The  pyramid  of  Pa- 
pantla remained  unknown  to  the  first  conquerors. 
It  is  situated  in  the  midst  of  a  thick  forest,  called 
Tqjin  in  the  Totonac  language.  The  Indians 
concealed  this  monument,  the  object  of  an  ancient 

*  This  distance  is  greater  than  that  from  Naples  to  Rome  ; 
and  yet  Vesuvius  is  not  even  heard  beyond  Gaeta.  M.  Bon- 
pland  and  myself  heard  distinctly  the  noise  of  the  Cotopaxi 
on  its  explosion  in  1802,  in  the  South  Sea  to  the  west  of  the 
island  of  Puna,  72  leagues  distant  from  the  crater.  The 
same  volcano  was  heard  in  1744<  at  Honda  and  Mompox,  on 
the  banks  of  the  river  Madelena.  See  my  Geographic  des 
Plantes,  page  53. 


P  s; 


212  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE     [book  in. 

^  Ynalysis?^  }    IX-  Intendancy  of  Vera  Cruz, 

veneration,  for  centuries  from  the  Spaniards  ; 
and  it  was  only  discovered  accidentally  by  some 
hunters  about  thirty  years  ago.  This  pyramid  of 
Papantla  was  visited  by  M.  Dupé  *,  an  observer 
of  great  modesty  and  learning,  who  has  long  em- 
ployed himself  in  curious  researches  regarding 
the  idols  and  architecture  of  the  Mexicans.  He 
examined  carefully  the  cut  of  the  stones  of  which 
it  is  constructed;  and  he  made  a  drawing  of  the 
hieroglyphics  with  which  these  enormous  stones 
are  covered.  It  is  to  be  wished  that  he  would 
publish  the  description  of  this  interesting  monu- 
ment. The  figure!  published  in  I788,  in  the 
Gazette  of  Mexico,  is  extremely  imperfect. 

The  pyramid  of  Papantla  is  not  constructed  of 
bricks  or  clay  mixed  with  whin  stones,  and  faced 
with  a  wall  of  amygdaloid,  like  the  pyramids  of 
Cholula  and  Teotihuacan  :  the  only  materials 
employed  are  immense  stones  of  a  porphyritical 
shape.  Mortar  is  distinguishable  in  the  seams. 
The  edifice,  however,  is  not  so  remarkable  for  its 
siz  as  for  its  symme  try  ;  the  polish  of  the  stones, 

*  Captain  in  the  service  of  the  king  of  Spain.  He  possesses 
the  bust  in  basaltes  of  a  Mexican  priestess,  which  I  employed 
M.  Massard  to  engrave,  and  which  bears  great  resemblance 
to  the  Calanthica  of  the  heads  of  Isis. 

•\  See  also  Monumenti  di  Architettura  Messicana  di  Pie- 
tro  Marquez,  Roma,  1804,  tab.  i. 


I 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.         21S 

STATISTICAL")    tv     r  /     ^  ^ir       n 

ANALYSIS.  I    ^^*  ^'^^t^^^dancy  of  Vera  Cruz, 

and  the  great  regularity  of  their  cut.     The  base 
of  the  pyramid  is  an  exact  square,  each  side  being 
^25  metres  *  in  length.     The  perpendicular  height 
appears  not  to  be  more  than  from  16  to  20  me- 
tres.!    This   monument,   like  all  the  Mexican 
teocallis,  is  composed  of  several  stages.     Six  are 
still  distinguishable,  and  a  seventh  appears  to  be 
concealed  by  the  vegetation  with  which  the  sides 
of  the  pyramid  are  covered.     A  great  stair  of  57 
steps  conducts  to  the  truncated  top  of  the  teocalli, 
where  the  human  victims  were  sacrificed.     On 
each  side  of  the  great  stair  is  a  small  stair.     The 
facing  of  the  stories  is  adorned  with  hieroglyphics^ 
in  which  serpents  and  crocodiles  carved  in  relievo 
are   discernable.     Each   story  contains  a  great 
number  of  square   niches  symmetrically  distri- 
buted.    In  the  first  story  we  reckon  24»  on  each- 
side,  in  the  second  20,  and  in  the  third  16.     The 
number  of  these  niches  in  the  body  of  the  pyra- 
mid is  366,  and  there  are  12  in  the  stair  towards 
the  east.     The  Abbé  Marquez  supposes  that  this 
number  of  378  niches  has  some  allusion  to  a  ca- 
lendar of  the  Mexicans;  and  he  even  believes 
that  in  each  of  them  one  of  the  20  figures  was 
repeated,  which  in  the  hieroglyphical  language 
of  the  Toultecs  served  as  a  symbol  for  marking 

•  82  feet.     Trans.  f  From  52  to  65  feet.     Trans, 


214  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

STATISTICAL]     tv     t  *     .1  4.^ir       (^ 

ANALYSIS.  \    ^-^*  ^ntendancy  oj  Vera  Cruz. 

the  days  of  the  common  year,  and  the  interca- 
lated days  at  the  end  of  the  cycles.  The  year 
being  composed  of  18  months,  of  which  each  had 
20  days,  there  would  then  be  S60  days,  to  which, 
agreeably  to  the  Egyptian  practice,  five  comple- 
mentary days  were  added,  called  nemontemi.  The 
intercalation  took  place  every  52  years,  by  add- 
ing 13  days  to  the  cycle,  which  gives  360-4-5  4- 
13=378,  simple  signs,  or  composed  of  the  days 
of  the  civil  calendar,  which  was  called  compohua- 
lilhuitlj  or  tonalpohuaUiy  to  distinguish  it  from  the 
comilhuitlapohualliztli,  or  ritual  calendar  used  by 
the  priests  for  indicating  the  return  of  sacrifices. 
I  shall  not  attempt  here  to  examine  the  hypothe- 
sis of  the  Abbé  Marquez,  which  has  a  resemblance 
to  the  astronomical  explanations  given  by  a  cele- 
brated historian  *  of  the  number  of  apartments 
and  steps  found  in  the  great  Egyptian  labyrinth. 

The  most  remarkable  cities  of  this  province 
are: 

Vera  Cruz,  the  residence  of  the  intendant,  and 
the  centre  of  European  and  West  Indian  com- 
merce. The  city  is  beautifully  and  regularly 
built  and  inhabited  by  well  informed  merchants, 
active  and  zealous  for  the  good  of  their  country. 

*  M.  Gattcre. 


CHAr.  VIII.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  215 

^Ynalysis.^}  ^^-  ^^t^'f^danaj  of  Vera  Cruz, 

The  interior  police  has  been  much  improved 
during  these  few  years.  The  district  in  which 
Vera  Cruz  is  situated  was  formerly  called  Chal- 
chiuhcuecan.  The  island  on  which  the  fortress  of 
San  Juan  de  Uluav/as  constructed  at  an  enormous 
expense  (according  to  vulgar  tradition  at  an  ex- 
pense of  200  millions  of  francs  *),  was  visited  by 
Juan  de  Grixalva  in  1518.  He  gave  it  the  name 
of  Ulua,  because  having  found  the  remains  of  two 
unfortunate  victims  t  there,  and  having  asked  the 
natives  why  they  sacrificed  men,  they  answered 
that  it  was  by  orders  of  the  kings  of  Acolhua  or 
Mexico.  The  Spaniards,  who  had  Indians  of 
Yucatan  for  interpreters,  mistook  the  answer,  and 
believed  Ulua  to  be  the  name  of  the  island.  It 
is  to  similar  mistakes  that  Peru,  the  coast  of  Paria, 
and  several  other  provinces,  owe  their  present 
names.  The  city  of  Vera  Cruz  is  frequently 
called  Vera  Cruz  Ntteva,  to  distinguish  it  from 
Vera  Cruz  Vieja,  situated  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Rio  Antigua,  considered  by  all  the  historians  as 
the  first  colony  formed  by  Cortez.  The  falsity 
of  this  opinion  has  been  proved  by  the  Abbé 

*  8,334,000/.  sterling.     Trans. 

f  It  appears  that  these  sacrifices  took  place  on  several  of 
the  small  islands  around  the  port  of  Vera  Cruz.  One  of  these 
islands,  the  dread  of  navigators,  still  bears  the  name  of  Isla 
de  Sacrificios. 

P  4 


216  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  ui. 

STATISTICAL!    tv     r  *     ^  rir        ^ 

ANALYSIS.  \  ^^'  ^'^tendancy  oj  Vera  Cruz, 

Clavigero.     The  city  begun  in  1.519,  and  called 
Villarica,  or  la  Villa  Rica  de  la  Vera  Cruz,  was 
situated  at  three  leagues  distance  from  Cempo- 
alla,  the  head  town  of  the  Totonacs,  near  the 
small  port  of  Chiahuitzla,  which  we  can  with  dif- 
ficulty recognize  in  Robertson's  work  under  the 
name  of  Quiabislan,     Three   years   afterwards 
la  Villa  Rica  was  deserted,  and  the  Spaniards 
founded  another  city  to  the   south,  which  has 
j)reserved  the  name  of  I* Antigua.     It  is  believed 
in  the  country  that  this  second  colony  was  again 
abandoned  on  account  of  the  vomito,  which  at 
that  period  cut  oft*  more  than  too  thirds  of  the 
Europeans  who  landed  in  the  hot  season.     The 
viceroy.    Count    de  Monterey,    who  governed 
Mexico  at  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  or- 
dered the  foundations  of  the  Nueva  Vera  Cruz, 
or  present  city,  to  be  laid  opposite  the  island  of 
San  Juan  d*Ulua  in  the  district  of  Chalchiucue- 
can,  in  the  very  place  where  Cortez  first  landed 
on  the  21st  of  April,  1519.     This  third  city  of 
Vera  Cruz  received  its  privileges  of  city  only 
under  Philip  III.  in  1615.     It  is  situated  in  an 
arid  plain,  destitute  of  running  water,  on  which 
the  north  winds,  which  blow  with  impetuosity 
from  October   till  April,  have  formed  hills  of 
moving  sand.     These  downs  {meganos  de  arena') 
change   their  form   and   situation   every   year. 


CHAF.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  217 

STATISTICAL)     tv     r  *      ;  ^ir        n 

ANALYSIS.  I    ^^*  Intejidancy  of  Vera  Cruz, 

They  are  from  8  to  12  metres  •  in  height,  and 
contribute  very  much  by  the  reverberation  of  the 
sun*s  rays,  and  the  high  temperature  which  they 
acquire  during  the  summer  months,  to  increase 
the  suffocating  heat  of  the  air  at  Vera   Cruz. 
Between  the  city  and  the  Aroyo  Gavilan,  in  the 
midst  of  the  downs,  are  marshy  grounds  covered 
with  mangles  and  other  brushwood.     The  stag- 
nant water  of  the  Baxio  de  la  Tembladera,  and 
the  small  lakes  of  I'Hormiga,  el  Rancho  de  la 
Hortaliza,  and  Arjona,    occasions   intermittent 
fevers  among  the  natives.     It  is  not  improbable 
that  it  is  also   not  one  of  the  least  important 
among  the  fatal  causes  of  the  vomito  prieto,  which 
we  shall  examine  into  in  the  sequel  to  this  work. 
All  the  edifices  of  Vera  Cruz  are  constructed  of 
materials  drawn  from  the  bottom  of  the  ocean, 
the  stony  habitation  of  the  madrepores  (piedras 
de  miœarà)  ;  for  no  rock  is  to  be  found  in  the 
environs  of  the  city.     The  secondary  formations, 
which  repose  on  the  porphyry  of  I'Encero,  and 
which  appear  only  near  Acazonica,  a  farm  of  the 
Jesuits  celebrated  for  its  quarries  of  beautifully 
foliated  gypsum,  are  covered  with  sand.     Water 
is  found  on  digging  the  sandy  soil  of  Vera  Cruz 
at  the  depth  of  a  metre  t  ;  but  this  water  pro- 

•  From  26  to  38  teet.      Trans.         f  9.8  feet.      Trans. 


218    .        POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  hi. 

^YnalYSIS^}    l^'Intendanci/ of  Vera  Cruz. 

ceeds  from  the  filtration  of  the  marshes  formed  in 
the  downs.     It  is  rain  water,  which  has  been  in 
contact  with  the  roots  of  vegetables  ;  and  is  of  a 
very  bad  quality,  and  only  used  for   washing. 
The  lower  people  (and  the  fact  is  important  for 
the  medical  topography  of  Vera  Cruz)  are  obliged 
to  have  recourse  to  the  water  of  a  ditch  (zanja) 
which  comes  from  the  meganoSy  and  is  somewhat 
better  than  the  well  water,  or  that  of  the  brook  of 
Tenoya.    People  in  easy  circumstances,  however, 
drink  rain  water  collected  in  cisterns,  of  which 
the  construction  is  extremely  improper,  with  the 
exception  of  the  beautiful  cisterns  (algibes')  of  the 
castle  of  San  Juan  d'Ulua,  of  which  the  very  pure 
and  wholesome  water  is  only  distributed  to  those 
in  the  military.    This  want  of  good  potable  water 
has  been  for  centuries  looked  upon  as  one  of  the 
numerous  causes  of  the  diseases  of  the  inhabitants. 
In   1704  a  project  was  formed   for  conducting 
part  of  the  fine  river  of  Xamapa  to  the  port  of 
Vera  Cruz.     King  PhiUp  V.  sent  a  French  en- 
gineer to  examine  the  ground.     The  engineer, 
discontented,  no  doubt,  with  his  stay  in  a  country 
so  hot  and  disagreeable  to  live  in,  declared  the 
execution  of  the  project  impossible.     In  1756 
the  debates  were  renewed  among  the  engineers, 
the  municipality,  the  governor,  the  viceroy's  as- 
sessor, and  the  fiscal.     Hitherto  there  has  been 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  219 

^  YnalYSIs!^  }    I^-  Intendancy  of  Vera  Cruz. 

spent  in  visits  of  persons  of  skill  and  judicial  ex- 
penses (for  every  thing  becomes  a  law-suit  in  the 
Spanish  colonies  !)  the  sum  of  2,250,000  francs.* 
Before  surveying  the  ground,  a  dike  or  embank- 
ment has  been  formed  1100  metres  t  above  the 
village  of  Xamapa,  at  an  expense  of  a  million  and 
a  half  of  francs  t,  which  is  now  nearly  half  de- 
stroyed.    The  government  has  levied  for  these 
twelve  years  on  the  inhabitants  a  duty  on  flour, 
which   brings  in  annually  more  than   150,000 
francs.  §     A  stone  aqueduct  {atarxed)  capable  of 
furnishing  a  section  of  water  of  116  square  centi- 
metres II  is  already  constructed  for  a  length  of 
more  than  900  metres  \  ;  and  yet,  notwithstand- 
ing all  these  expenses,  and  the  farrago  of  memoirs 
and  informes  heaped  up  in  the  archives,   the 
waters  of  the  Rio  Xamapa  are  still  moi-e  than 
23,000**  metres  distant  from  the  town  of  Vera 
Cruz.     In    1795   they  ended   with    what   they 
ought  to  have  begun  with.     A  survey  was  made 
of  the  ground,  and  it  was  found  that  the  mean 
body  of  the  Xamapa  was  S"*.  33  ft  (10  Mexican 
varas,  and  SSi^  inches)  above  the  level  of  the 
streets  of  Vera  Cruz.    It  was  found  that  the  great 

*  93,757/.  sterling.     Trans.  f  3608  feet.     Tram. 

X  62,5051.  sterling.      Trans.  §  62501.  sterling.     Trans. 

li  17.98  square  inches.    Trans.  %  2,952  feet.     Trans. 

**  75,459  feet.     Intns.  f  f  27.32  feet.     Trans. 


220  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  m- 

0 1 A 1  lo  1 ICAL  ")        TV         T     i  7  C  fT  y~t 

ANALYSIS.  J    ^^'  Intendancy  oj  Vera  Cruz. 

dike  ought  to  have  been  placed  at  Medellin,  and 
that  through  ignorance  it  was  constructed  not 
only  in  a  point  of  too  great  elevation,  but  also 
7500  metres  *  farther  from  the  port  than  the  ne- 
cessary fall  for  conveying  the  water  demanded. 
In  the  present  state  of  things,  the  construction 
of  the  aqueduct  from  the  Rio  Xamapa  to  Vera 
Cruz  is  estimated  at  five  or  six  millions  of  francs,  t 
In  a  country  abounding  with  immense  metallic 
wealth  it  is  not  the  greatness  of  the  sum  which 
frightens  the  government.  The  project  is  put 
off  because  it  has  been  lately  calculated  that  ten 
public  cisterns,  placed  without  the  precincts  of 
the  city,  would  not  altogether  cost  more  than 
700,000  francs  Î,  and  would  be  sufficient  for  a 
population  of  16,000  souls,  if  each  cistern  of 
water  contained  a  volume  of  water  of  67O  cubic 
metres.  §  "Why?"  it  is  said  in  the  report 
to  the  viceroy,  "  why  go  so  far  to  seek  what 
nature  affords  at  hand  ?  Why  not  profit  by  the 
regular  and  abundant  rains  which,  according  to 
the  accurate  experiments  of  Colonel  Costanzo, 
furnish  three  times  more  water  than  what  falls  in 
France  and  Germany  ?"  The  habitual  popula- 
tion of  Vera  Cruz,  without  including  the  militia 
and  seafaring  people,  is  16,000. 

*  24,605  feet.     Trans,    f  208,350^.  or  250,020/.     Trans. 
X  29,169/.  sterling.    Trans.    §  23,661  cubic  feet.     Trans. 


CHAJ».  vni.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  221 

STATISTICAL!     iv     r  .     ^  />  rr        /^ 

ANALYSIS.  /   ^'^'  J^^^i^^d(^^^cy  of  Vera  Cruz. 

Xalapa  (Xalapaii),  a  town  at  the  foot  of  the 
basaltic  mountain  of  Macultepec,  in  a  very  ro- 
mantic situation.  The  convent  of  St.  Francis, 
like  all  those  founded  by  Cortez,  resembles  a  for- 
tress at  a  distance;  for  in  the  early  periods  of  the 
conquest,  convents  and  churches  were  construct- 
ed in  such  a  manner  as  to  serve  for  a  defence  in 
case  of  an  insurrection  of  the  natives.  From  this 
convent  of  St.  Francis  at  Xalapa  we  enjoy  a  mag- 
nificent view  of  the  colossal  summits  of  the  Coffre 
and  the  Pic  d'Orizaba,  of  the  declivity  of  the 
Cordillera  (towards  l*Encero,  Otateo,  and  Apa- 
zapa),  of  the  river  of  1* Antigua,  and  even  of  the 
ocean.  The  thick  forests  of  styrax,  piper,  melas- 
tomata,  and  ferns  resembling  trees,  especially 
those  which  are  on  the  road  from  Pacha  and  San 
Andres,  the  banks  of  the  small  lake  de  los  Berrios, 
and  the  heights  leading  to  the  village  of  Huaste- 
pec,  offer  the  most  delightful  promenades.  The 
sky  of  Xalapa,  beautiful  and  serene  in  summer, 
from  the  month  of  December  to  the  month  of 
February,  wears  a  most  melancholy  aspect. 
Whenever  the  north  wind  blows  at  Vera  Cruz 
the  inhabitants  of  Xalapa  are  enveloped  in  a 
thick  fog.  The  thermometer  then  descends  to 
12*  or  16°  *,  and  during  this  period  {estacion  de 

*  63'  and  60*  of  Fahrenheit. 


222  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  in. 

ANALYSIS,   j    ^^' I'^tendancy  of  Vera  Cruz. 

los  Nortes)  the  sun  and  stars  are  frequently  invisi- 
ble for  two  or  three  weeks  together.  The  richest 
merchants  of  Vera  Cruz  have  country  houses  at 
Xalapa,  in  which  they  enjoy  a  cool  and  agree- 
able retreat,  while  the  coast  is  almost  uninhabit- 
able from  the  mosquitos,  the  great  heats,  and  the 
yellow  fever.  In  this  small  town  an  establish- 
ment is  to  be  found,  the  existence  of  which  con- 
firms what  I  have  already  advanced  on  the  pro- 
gress of  intellectual  cultivation  in  Mexico.  This 
is  an  excellent  school  for  drawing,  founded  with- 
in these  few  years,  in  which  the  children  of  poor 
artizans  are  instructed  at  the  expense  of  people 
in  better  circumstances.  The  elevation  of  Xa- 
lapa above  the  level  of  the  ocean  is  1320  metres.  • 
Its  population  is  estimated  at  13,000. 

Perote  (the  ancient  Pinahuizapan).  The 
small  fortress  of  San  Carlos  de  Perote  is  situated 
to  the  north  of  the  town  of  Perote.  It  is  rather 
an  armed  station  than  a  fortress.  The  surround- 
ing plains  are  very  barren,  and  covered  with  pu- 
mice-stone. There  are  no  trees,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  solitary  trunks  of  cypress  and 
molina.     Height  of  Perote  2353  metres,  t 

Cordoba,  a  town  on  the  eastern  declivity  of  the 
Pic  d'Orizaba,  in  a  climate  a  good  deal  warmer 

*  4264-  feet.     'Trans.  f  7719  feet.      Trans. 


CHAP.  Vin.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  223 

STATISTICAL)     tV     r  /      r  ^  rr        r^ 

ANALYSIS,   r     ^*  J^^^t^^fi^ncy  of  Vera  Cruz. 

than  that  of  Xalapa.  The  environs  of  Cordoba 
and  Orizaba  produce  all  the  tobacco  consumed 
in  New  Spain. 

Ot^izaba,  to  the  east  of  Cordoba,  and  a  little  to 
the  north  of  the  Rio  Blanco,  which  discharg-es 
itself  into  the  Laguna  d^Alvarado.  It  has  been 
long  disputed  if  the  new  road  from  Mexico  to 
Vera  Cruz  should  go  by  Xalapa  or  Orizaba. 
Both  these  towns  having  a  great  interest  in  the 
direction  of  this  road,  have  employed  all  the 
means  of  rivalry  to  gain  over  the  constituted 
authorities  to  their  respective  sides.  The  result 
was,  that  the  viceroys  alternately  embraced  the 
cause  of  both  parties,  and  during  this  state  of 
uncertainty  no  road  was  constructed.  Within 
these  few  years,  however,  a  fine  causeway  was 
commenced  from  the  fortress  of  Perote  to  Xalapa, 
and  from  Xalapa  to  TEncero. 

Tlacotlalpan^  the  principal  place  of  the  old  pro- 
vince of  Tabasco.  Farther  north  are  the  small 
towns  of  Victoria  and  Villa  Hermosa,  the  first  of 
which  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  New  Spain. 

The  intendancy  of  Vera  Cruz  has  no  metallic 
mines  of  any  importance.  The  mines  of  Zome- 
lahuacan,  near  Jalacingo,  are  almost  abandoned. 


224 


POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 

Population 

in 

1803. 

Extent 
of  Sur- 
face in 
square 
Leagues. 

No.  of 
Inhabi- 
tants 
to  the 
square 
League. 

X.  Intendancy  of  Ï 
San  Luis  Potosi  j 

334,900 

27,821 

12 

This  intendancy  comprehends  the  whole  of  the 
north-east  part  of  the  kingdom  of  New  Spain.  As 
it  borders  either  on  desert  countries,  or  countries 
inhabited  by  wandering  and  independent  Indians, 
we  may  say  that  its  northern  hmits  are  hardly 
determined.  The  mountainous  tract  called  the 
Bolsonde Mapimiincludes  more  than  3000  square 
leagues,  from  which  the  Apachis  sally  out  to  at- 
tack the  colonists  of  Cohahuila  and  New  Biscay. 
Indented  into  these  two  provinces,  and  bounded 
on  the  north  by  the  great  Rio  del  Norte,  the 
Bolson  de  Mapimi  is  sometimes  considered  as  a 
country  not  conquered  by  the  Spaniards,  and 
sometimes  as  composing  a  part  of  the  intendancy 
of  Durango.  I  have  traced  the  limits  of  Coha- 
huila and  Texas,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Pu- 
erco,  and  towards  the  sources  of  the  Rio  de  San 
Saba,  as  I  found  them  indicated  in  the  special 
maps  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  viceroyalty, 
and  drawn  up  by  engineers  in  the  Spanish  ser- 
vice. But  how  is  it  possible  to  determine  terri- 
torial limits  in  immense  savannas,  where  the 
farms  are  from  15  to  ^0  leagues  distant  from  one 


CHAP.  Vin.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  225 

^  YnalysIS^I  ^-  ^nte7ida7ici/  of  San  LuisPotosi. 

another,  and  where  almost  no  trace  of  cultiva- 
tion is  any  where  to  be  found  ? 

The  intendancy  of  San  Luis  Potosi  compre- 
hends parts  of  a  very  heterogeneous  nature,  the 
different  denominations  of  which  have  given 
great  room  for  geographical  errors.  It  is  com- 
posed of  provinces,  of  which  some  belong  to  the 
Provincias  internas  ;  and  others  to  the  kingdom 
of  New  Spain  Proper.  Of  the  former  there  are 
two  immediately  depending  on  the  commandant 
of  the  Provincias  internas  ;  the  two  others  are 
considered  as  Provincias  internas  del  Vireynato, 
These  complicated  and  unnatural  divisions  are 
explained  in  the  following  table  : 

The  intendant  of  San  Luis  Potosi  governs, 

A.  In  Mexico  Proper  : 

The  Province  of  San  Luis,  which  extends 
from  the  Rio  de  Panuco  to  the  Rio  de  San- 
tander,  and  which  comprehends  the  important 
mines  of  Charcas,  Potosi,  Ramos,  andCatorce. 

B.  In  the  Provincias  internas  del  Vireynato  : 

1.  The  new  kingdom  of  Leon. 

2.  Tlie  colony  of  New  Santander. 

C  In  the  Provincias  internas  de  la  Commandan- 
cia  general  Oriental: 

1.  The  province  of  Coliahuila. 

2.  The  province  of  Texas. 

VOL.  II,  Q 


226  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iit. 

^  ANALYSlÊ^  I  ^-  ^ntendancy  of  San  LuisPotosi. 

It  follows,  from  what  we  have  already  said  on 
the  latest  changes  which  have  taken  place  in  the 
organization  of  the  Commandancia  general  of 
Chihuahua,  that  the  intendancy  of  San  Luis  now 
includes,  besides  the  province  of  Potosi,  all  which 
goes  under  the  denomination  of  Provincias  in- 
ternas Orientales.  A  single  intendant  is  conse- 
quently at  the  head  of  an  administration  which 
includes  a  greater  surface  than  all  European 
Spain.  But  this  immense  country,  gifted  by 
nature  with  the  most  precious  productions,  and 
situated  under  a  serene  sky  in  the  temperate 
zone,  towards  the  borders  of  the  tropic,  is,  for 
the  greatest  part,  a  wild  desert,  still  more  thinly 
peopled  than  the  governments  of  Asiatic  Russia. 
Its  position  on  the  eastern  limits  of  New  Spain, 
the  proximity  of  the  United  States,  the  frequency 
of  communication  with  the  colonists  of  Louisiana, 
and  a  great  number  of  circumstances  which  I 
shall  not  endeavour  here  to  develope,  will  pro- 
bably soon  favour  the  progress  of  civilization  and 
prosperity  in  these  vast  and  fertile  regions. 

The  intendancy  of  San  Luis  comprehends  more 
than  230  leagues  of  coast,  an  extent  equal  to  that 
from  Genoa  to  Reggio  in  Calabria.  But  all  this 
coast  is  without  commerce  and  without  activity, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  small  vessels,  which 
come  from  the  West  Indies  to  lay  in  provisions 

7 


CHAP,  virr.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  227 

^  Ynalysis.^'}  ^'  Intendancy  of  San  LuisPotosi. 

either  at  the  Bar  of  Tampico,  near  Panuco,  or 
at  the  anchorage  of  New  Santander.  That  part 
which  extends  from  the  mouth  of  the  great  Rio 
del  Norte  to  the  Rio  Sabina  is  almost  still  un- 
known, and  has  never  been  examined  by  navi- 
gators. It  would  be  of  great  importance,  how- 
ever, to  discover  a  good  port  in  this  northern 
extremity  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Unfortunately, 
the  eastern  coast  of  New  Spain  offers  every  where 
the  same  obstacles,  a  want  of  dej)th  for  vessels 
drawing  more  than  38  decimetres  *  of  water, 
bars  at  the  mouths  of  the  rivers,  necks  of  land, 
and  long  islots,  of  which  the  direction  is  parallel 
to  that  of  the  continent,  and  which  prevent  all 
access  to  the  interior  basin.  The  shore  of  the 
provinces  of  Santander  and  Texas,  from  the  21° 
to  the  29°  of  latitude,  is  singularly  festooned,  and 
presents  a  succession  of  interior  basins,  from  four 

*  12  feet  5^'ô  inches.  In  page  82.  of  Vol.  I.  the  author  ob- 
serves, "  that  the  coast  of  New  Spain  from  the  18^  to  the  26° 
of  latitude  abounds  with  bars  ;  and  vessels  which  draw  more 
than  32  centimetres  (12^  inches)  cannot  pass  over  any  of 
these  bars  without  danger  of  grounding."  In  a  former  part 
of  this  volume,  near  the  close  of  the  statistical  description  of 
the  intendancy  of  Mexico,  he  states  that  the  bar  of  Tampico 
prevents  the  entry  of  vessels  drawing  more  than  from  45  to 
60  decimetres  (from  li  feet  9  inches  to  19  feet  8  inches). 
See  a  former  note,  Vol.  II.  p.  180.     Trans, 

Q,  2 


228  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  in. 

STATISTICAL  )  v    r  /     ^  ^c       /     •    r>  /     • 

ANALYSIS    f      intendancy  of  San  Luis  Fotost, 

to  five  leagues  in  breadth,  and  40  to  50  in  length. 
They  go  by  the  name  of  lagunas,  or  salt-water 
lakes.  Some  of  them  (the  Laguna  de  Tamiagiia 
for  example)  are  completely  shut  in.  Others,  as 
the  Laguna  Madre,  and  the  Laguna  de  San 
Bernardo,  communicate  by  several  channels  with 
the  ocean.  The  latter  are  of  great  advantage 
for  a  coasting  trade,  as  coasting  vessels  are  there 
secure  from  the  great  swells  of  the  ocean.  It 
would  be  interesting  for  geology  to  examine  on 
the  spot  if  these  lagunas  have  been  formed  by 
currents  penetrating  far  into  the  country  by  ir- 
ruptions, or  if  these  long  and  narrow  islots, 
ranged  parallel  to  the  coast,  are  bars  which  have 
gradually  risen  above  the  mean  level  of  the 
waters. 

Of  the  whole  intendancy  of  San  Luis  Potosi, 
only  that  part  which  adjoins  the  province  of  Za- 
catecas,  in  which  are  the  rich  mines  of  Charcas, 
Guadalcazar,  and  Catorce,  is  a  cold  and  moun- 
tainous country.  The  bishopric  of  Monterey, 
which  bears  the  pompous  title  of  New  Kingdom 
of  Leon,  Cohahuila,  Santander,  and  Texas,  are 
very  low  regions  ;  and  there  is  very  little  undu- 
lation of  surface  in  them.  This  soil  is  covered  with 
secondary  and  alluvial  formations.  They  possess 
an  unequal  climate,  extremely  hot  in  summer, 
and  equally  cold  in  winter,  when  the  north  winds 


I 


I 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  229 

^YnalYSIS^I  ^-  Intendancy  of  San  Luis  PotosL 

drive  before  them  columns  of  cold  air  from  Ca- 
nada towards  the  torrid  zone. 

Since  the  cession  of  Louisiana  to  the  United 
States,  the  bounds  between  the  province  of  Texas 
and  the  county  of  Natchitoches  (a  county  which 
is  an  integral  part  of  the  confederation  of  Ameri- 
can republics),  have  become  the  subject  of  a  poli- 
tical discussion,  equally  tedious  and  unprofitable. 
Several  members  of  the  Congress  of  Washington 
were  of  opinion  that  the  territory  of  Louisiana 
might  be  extended  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Rio 
Bravo  del  Norte.  According  to  them,  "  all  the 
country  called  by  the  Mexicans  the  province  of 
Texas  anciently  belonged  to  Louisiana.  Now 
the  United  States  ought  to  possess  this  last  pro- 
vince in  the  whole  extent  of  rights  in  which  it 
was  possessed  by  France  before  its  cession  to 
Spain  ;  and  neither  the  new  denominations  in- 
troduced by  the  viceroys  of  Mexico,  nor  the  pro- 
gress of  population  from  Texas  towards  the  east, 
can  derogate  from  the  lawful  titles  of  the  con- 
gress." During  these  debates  the  American 
government  did  not  fail  frequently  to  adduce  the 
establishment  that  M.  de  Lasale,  a  Frenchman, 
formed  about  the  year  1685  near  the  bay  of  St. 
Bernard,  without  having  a})peared  to  encroach 
on  the  rights  of  the  crown  of  Spain. 

But  on  examining  carelully  the  general  map 
Q  3 


230  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  in. 

'  ANALYSIS.  (  ^'  Intendance  of  San  Luis  Potosi. 

which  I  have  given  of  Mexico  and  the  adjacent 
countries  on  the  east,  we  shall  see  that  there  is 
still  a  great  way  from  the  bay  of  St.  Bernard  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Rio  del  Norte.  Hence  the  Mex- 
icans very  justly  allege  in  their  favour  that  the 
Spanish  population  of  Texas  is  of  a  very  old  date, 
and  that  it  was  brought  in  the  early  periods  of 
the  conquest,  by  Linares,  Revilla,  and  Camargo, 
from  the  interior  of  New  Spain  ;  and  that  M.  de 
Lasale,  on  disembarking  to  the  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, found  Spaniards  at  that  time  among  the 
savages  whom  he  endeavoured  to  combat.  At 
present  the  intendant  of  San  Luis  Potosi  con- 
siders the  Rio  Mermentas,  or  Mexicana,  which 
flows  intotheGulf  of  Mexicotothe  east  of  the  Rio 
de  Sabina,  as  the  eastern  limit  of  the  province  of 
Texas,  and  consequently  of  his  whole  intendancy. 
It  may  be  useful  to  observe  here,  that  this  dis- 
pute as  to  the  true  boundaries  of  New  Spain  can 
only  become  of  importance  when  the  country, 
brought  into  cultivation  by  the  colonists  of  Lou- 
isiana, shall  come  in  contact  with  the  territory  in- 
habited by  Mexican  colonists  ;  when  a  village  of 
the  province  of  Texas  shall  be  constructed  near 
a  village  of  the  county  of  the  Opeloussas.  Fort 
Clayborne,  situated  near  the  old  Spanish  mission 
of  the  Adayes  ( Adaes  or  Adaisses),  on  the  Red 
River,  i^  the  settlement  of  Louisiana  \vhich  ap- 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  231 

ANALYSIS    i  ■^'  ^'f^t^'^^dancy  of  San  LuisPotosL 

proaches  nearest  to  the  military  posts  (presidios) 
of  the  province  of  Texas  ;  and  yet  there  are 
nearly  68  leagues  from  the  presidio  of  Nacogdoch 
to  Fort  Clayborne.  Vast  steppes,  covered  with 
gram  ina,  serve  for  com  mon  boundaries  between  the 
American  confederation  and  the  Mexican  terri- 
tory. All  the  country  to  the  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, from  the  Ox  River  to  the  Rio  Colorado  of 
Texas,  is  uninhabited.  These  steppes,  partly 
marshy,  present  obstacles  very  easily  overcome. 
We  may  consider  them  as  an  arm  of  the  sea  which 
separates  adjoining  coasts,  but  which  the  industry 
of  new  colonists  will  soon  penetrate.  In  the 
United  States  the  population  of  the  Atlantic  pro- 
vinces flowed  first  towards  the  Ohio  and  the 
Tenessee,  and  then  towards  Louisiana.  A  part 
of  this  fluctuating  population  will  soon  move  far- 
ther to  the  westward.  The  very  name  of  Mex- 
ican territory  will  suggest  the  idea  of  proximity 
of  mines  ;  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Mermen- 
tas  the  American  colonists  will  already  in  imagi- 
nation possess  a  soil  abounding  in  metallic  wealth. 
This  error,  difflised  among  the  lower  people,  will 
give  rise  to  new  emigrations  ;  and  they  will  only 
learn  very  late  that  the  famous  mines  of  Catorce, 
which  are  the  nearest  to  Louisiana,  are  still  more 
than  300  leagues  distant  from  it. 

S«ner;iî  of  my  Mexican  friends  iiave  gone  the 
Q  4^ 


232  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

STATISTICAL 7  V    t  t      i  ^c      r    •    r>  /  o- 

ANALYSIS,  i"  ^'  J^'^i^fidancy  ojSanLuis  Fotost. 

road  from  New  Orleans  to  the  capital  of  New 
Spain.     This  road,  opened  by  the  inhabitants  of 
Louisiana,  who  come  to  purchase  horses  in  the 
provincias  internas,  is  more  than  540  leagues  in 
length,  and  is  consequently  equal  to  the  distance 
from  Madrid  to  Warsaw.     This  road  is  said  to  be 
very  difficult  from  the  want  of  water  and  habita- 
tions ;  but  it   presents  by  no  means  the  same 
natural  difficulties  as  must  be  overcome  in  the 
tracks  along  the  ridge  of  the  Cordilleras  from 
Santa  Fe  in  New  Grenada  to  Quito,  or  from  Quito 
to  Cusco.     It  was  by  this  road  of  Texas  that  an 
intrepid  traveller,  M.  Pages,  captain  in  the  French 
navy,  went  in  I767  from  Louisiana  to  Acapulco. 
The  details  which  he  furnishes  relative  to  the  in- 
tendancy  of  San  Luis  Potosi,  and  the  road  from 
Queretaro  to  Acapulco,  which  I  travelled  thirty 
years  afterwards,  display  great  precision  of  mind 
and  love  of  truth  ;  but,  unfortunately,  this  tra- 
veller is  so  incorrect  in  the  orthography  of  Mex- 
ican and  Spanish  names,  that  we  can  with  dif- 
ficulty find  out  from  his  descriptions  the  places 
through   which    he   passed.*     The   road   from 
Louisiana  to  Mexico  presents  very  few  obstacles 
until  the  Rio  del  Norte,  and  we  only  begin  from 

*  M.  Pages  calls  Loredo,  la  Rheda  ;  the  fort  de  la  Bahia 
del 'Esfentu  Santo,  Labadia;  Orquo  qtnssas,  Acoquissa  ;  Sal' 
iillç,  Je  Sartille  ;  Cohahutla,  Cuwilla. 


CHAr.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  233 

^  ANALYS^^^  1  -^-  ^^^tendaîicy  qfSan  Luis  Potosi. 

the  Saltillo  to  ascend  towards  the  table-land  of 
Anahuac.  The  declivity  of  the  Cordillera  is  by 
no  means  rapid  there;  and  we  can  have  no  doubt, 
considering  the  progress  of  civilization  in  the 
new  continent,  that  land-communication  will 
become  gradually  very  frequent  between  the 
United  States  and  New  Spain.  Public  coaches 
will  one  day  roll  on  from  Philadelphia  and  Wash- 
ington to  Mexico  and  Acapulco. 

The  three  counties  of  the  state  of  Louisiana,  or 
New  Orleans,  which  approach  nearest  to  the  de- 
sert country  considered  as  the  eastern  limit  of  the 
province  of  Texas,  are,  reckoning  from  south  to 
north,  the  counties  of  the  Attacappas,  of  the  Ope- 
loussas,  and  of  the  Natchitoches.  The  latest  set- 
tlements of  Louisiana  are  on  a  meridian  which  is 
twenty-five  leagues  east  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Rio  Mermentas.  The  most  northern  town  is  Fort 
Clayborne  of  Nachitoches,  seven  leagues  east 
from  the  old  situation  of  the  mission  of  the  Adayes. 
To  the  north-east  of  Clayborne  is  the  Sj)atiish 
Lake,  in  the  midst  of  which  there  is  a  great  rock 
covered  with  stalactites.  Following  this  lake  to 
the  south-south-east,  we  meetin  the  extremitiesof 
this  fine  country,  brought  into  cultivation  by  co- 
lonists of  French  origin,  first,  with  the  small  vil- 
lage of  St.  Landry,  three  leagues  to  the  north  of 
the  sources  of  the  Rio  Mermentas;  then  the 


234.  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  hi. 

^  ANALYSI^^}  ^-  Intendancij  of  San  Lids  Potosi. 

plantation  of  St.  Martin;  and,  lastly,  New  Iberia, 
on  the  river  Teche,  near  the  canal  of  Bontet, 
which  leads  to  the  lake  of  Tase.  As  there  is  no 
Mexican  settlement  beyond  the  eastern  bank  of 
the  Rio  Sabina,  it  follows  that  the  uninhabited 
country  which  separates  the  villages  of  Louisiana 
from  the  missions  of  Texas  amounts  to  more  than 
1500  square  leagues.  The  most  southern  part 
of  these  savannas,  between  the  bay  of  Carcusin 
and  the  bay  of  la  Sabina,  presents  nothing  but 
impassable  marshes.  The  road  from  Louisiana 
to  Mexico  goes  therefore  farther  to  the  north,  and 
follows  the  parallel  of  the  3âd  degree.  From 
Natchez  travellers  strike  to  the  north  of  the  lake 
Cataouillou,  by  Fort  Clayborne  of  Natchitoches  ; 
and  from  thence  they  pass  by  the  old  situation  of 
the  Adayes  to  Chichi,  and  the  fountain  of  Father 
Gama.  An  able  engineer,  M.  Lafond,  whose 
map  throws  much  light  on  these  countries,  ob- 
serves, that  eight  leagues  north  from  the  post  of 
Chichi  there  are  hills  abounding  in  coal,  from 
which  a  subterraneous  noise  is  heard  at  a  distance 
like  the  discharge  of  artillery.  Does  this  curious 
phenomenon  announce  a  disengagement  of  hy- 
drogen produced  by  a  bed  of  coal  in  a  state  of 
inflammation?  From  the  Adayes  the  road  of 
Mexico  goes  by  San  Antonio  de  Bejar,  Loredo 
(on  the  banks  of  the    Rio  grande  deî  Norte), 


CHAP,  vjii.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  '235 

^  ANALYSIS^^l  ■^*  ^'^^^^^^^^y  of  San  Luis  Potosi, 

Saltillo,  Charcas,  San  Luis  Potosi,  and  Quere- 
taro,  to  the  capital  of  New  Spain.  Two  months 
and  a  lialf  are  required  to  travel  over  this  vast 
extent  of  country,  in  which,  from  the  left  bank' 
of  the  Rio  grande  del  Norte  to  Natchitoches  we 
continually  sleep  sub  dio. 

The  most  remarkable  places  of  the  intendancy 
of  San  Luis  are  : 

San  Luis  Potosi,  the  residence  of  the  intendant, 
situated  on  the  eastern  declivity  of  the  table-land 
of  Anahuac,  to  the  west  of  the  sources  of  the 
Rio  de  Panuca.  The  habitual  population  of 
this  town  is  12,000. 

Nuevo  Santander,  capital  of  the  province  of 
the  same  name,  does  not  admit  the  entry  of 
vessels  drawing  more  than  from  eight  to  ten 
palmas*  of  water.  The  village  of  Sotto  la  Ma- 
rinUy  to  the  east  of  Santanderj  might  become  of 
great  consequence  to  the  trade  of  this  coast 
could  the  port  be  remedied.  At  present  the 
province  of  Santander  is  so  desert,  that  fertile 
districts  often  or  twelve  square  leagues  were  sold 
there  in  1802  for  ten  or  twelve  francs. 

Charcas,   or  Santa  Maria  de  las    Charcas,   a 

•  From  5i  to  6.878  feet.     Trans. 


236  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  ni. 

^  ANALYSI^^I  ^*  In^^'^dancy  of  San  Luis  PotosL 

very  considerable  small  town,  the  seat  of  a  dipu- 
tacion  de  Minas. 

Catorce,  or  la  Purissima  Concepcion  de  Alamos 
de  Catorce,  one  of  the  richest  mines  of  New 
Spain.  The  Heal  de  Catorce,  however,  has  only 
been  in  xistence  since  177^»  when  Don  Sebas- 
tian Coronado  and  Don  Bernabe  Antonio  de 
Zepeda  discovered  these  celebrated  seams,  which 
yield  annually  the  value  of  more  than  from  18 
to  20  millions  of  francs.* 

Monterey,  the  seat  of  a  bishop,  in  the  small 
kingdom  of  Leon. 

Linares,  in  the  same  kingdom,  between  the 
Rio  Tigre  and  the  great  Rio  Bravo  del  Norte. 

Monclova,  a  military  post  (presidio),  capital  of 
the  province  of  Cohahuila,  and  residence  of  a 
governor. 

Sa?i  Antonio  de  Bejar,  capital  of  the  province 
of  Texas,  between  the  Rio  de  los  Nogales  and 
the  Rio  de  San  Antonio. 

*  From  TSOj^eO^.  to  833,500/.  sterling.     Trans. 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 


237 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 

Population 

in 

1803. 

Extent 
of  Sur- 
face in 
square 
Leagues. 

No.  of 
Inhabi- 
tants 
to  the 
square 
League. 

XI.  Intendancy  of  7 
Durango         j 

159,700 

16,873 

This  intendancy,  better  known  underthename 
of  New  Biscay,  belongs,  as  well  as  Sonora  and 
Nuevo  Mexico  (which  remain  to  be  described), 
to  the  Provincias  internas  Occidentales.  It  occu- 
pies a  greater  extent  of  ground  than  the  three 
united  kingdoms  of  Great  Britain  ;  and  yet  its 
total  population  scarcely  exceeds  that  of  the  two 
towns  of  Birmingham  and  Manchester  united. 
Its  length  from  south  to  north,  from  the  cele- 
brated mines  of  Guarisamey  to  the  mountains  of 
Carcay,  situated  to  the  north-west  of  the  Presidio 
de  Yanos,  is  232  leagues.  Its  breadth  is  very 
unequal,  and  near  Parral  is  scarcely  58  leagues. 

The  province  of  Durango,  or  Nueva  Biscaya, 
is  bounded  on  the  south  by  la  Nueva  Galicia,  that 
is  to  say,  by  the  two  intendancies  of  Zacatecas 
and  Guadalaxara  ;  on  the  south-east  by  a  small 
part  of  the  intendancy  of  San  Luis  Potosi;  and 
on  the  west  by  the  intendancy  of  Sonora.  But 
towards  the  north,  and  especially  the  east,  for 
more  than  200  leagues,  it  is  bounded  by  an 
uncultivated  country,  inhabited  by  warlike  and 


238  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

^Inalysis!^}  ^^-  ^ntendancy  of  Durango, 

independent  Indians.     The  Acoclames,  the  Co- 
coyames,    and   the    Apaches    Mescaleros    and 
Fardones   possess  the  Bolson  de    Mapimi,    the 
mountains  of  Chanate  and  the  Organos  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  Rio  Grande  del  Norte.     The 
Apaches  MimbreiSos  are  farther  to  the  west,  in 
the  wild  ravines  of  the  Sierra  de  Acha.     The 
Cumanches  and   the   numerous  tribes  of  Chi- 
chimecs,  comprehended  by  the  Spaniards  under 
the  vague  name  of  Mecos,  disturb  the  inhabitants 
of  New  Biscay,  and  force  them  to  travel  always 
well  armed  or  in  great  bodies.     The    military 
posts  (jpresidios)  with  which  the  vast  frontiers  of 
the  provincias  internas   are   provided,    are   too 
distant  from  one  another  to  prevent  the  incur- 
sions of  these  savages,   who,  like  the  Bedouins 
of  the  desert,  are  well  acquainted  with  all  the 
stratagems  of  petty  warfare.     The  Cumanches 
Indians,    mortal   enemies    of  the    Apaches,    of 
whom  several  hordes  live  at  peace  with  tlie  Spa- 
nish colonists,  are  the  most  formidable  to  the 
inhabitants  of  New  Biscay  and  New  Mexico. 
Like  the  Patagonians  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan, 
they  have  learned  to  tame  the  horses  which  run 
wild  in  these    regions  since  the  arrival  of  the 
Europeans.     I   have   been    assured  by  well-in- 
formed  travellers,    that   more    agile  and  smart 
horsemen   do   not   exist   than    the   Cumanches 
Indians,  and  that  for  centuries  they  have  been 


CHAP.  VI II.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  239 

^ANALYSI^^I  ^^'  Intendancy  of  Durango. 

scouring  these  plains,  which  are  intersected  by 
mountains  that  enable  them  to  lie  in  ambuscade 
to  surprise  passengers.  The  Cumanches,  like 
almost  all  the  savages  wandering  among  sa- 
vannas, are  ignorant  of  their  primitive  country. 
They  have  tents  of  buffalo  hides,  with  which  they 
do  not  load  their  horses,  but  great  dogs,  which 
accompany  the  wandering  tribe.  This  circum- 
stance, already  taken  notice  of  in  the  manuscript- 
journal  of  the  journey  of  Bishop  Tamaron*,  is 
very  remarkable,  and  brings  to  mind  analogous 
habits  among  the  tribes  of  northern  Asia.  The 
Cumanches  are  so  much  the  more  to  be  dreaded 
by  the  Spaniards,  as  they  kill  all  the  adult 
prisoners,  and  merely  preserve  children,  whom 
they  carefully  bring  up  to  make  slaves  of. 

The  number  of  warlike  and  savage  Indians 
(Indios  bravos)  who  infest  the  frontiers  of  New^ 
Biscay  has  been  somewhat  on  the  decline  since 
the  end  of  the  last  century,  and  they  make  fewer 
attempts  to  penetrate  into  the  interior  of  the 
inhabited  country  for  the  sake  of  pillaging  and 
destroying  the  Spanish  villages.  How^ever,  their 
hatred  to  the  whites  is  constantly  the  same,  and 
the  consequence  of  a  war  of  extermination  en- 
tered upon  from  a  barbarous  policy,  and  con- 

*  Diario  de  la  visita  diocesana  del  Illustrissimo  Senor  Tama- 
ron,  obispo  de  Durango  hecha  en  1759. y  1760.  (MS.) 


240  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

STATrSTTPAT  \ 

ANALYSIS     i  ■^^*  I'^t^^dancy  of  Durango. 

tinued  with  more  courage  than  success.  The 
Indians  are  concentrated  towards  the  north  in 
the  Moqui,  and  the  mountains  of  Nabajoa, 
where  they  have  reconquered  a  considerable 
territory  from  the  inhabitants  of  New  Mexico. 
This  state  of  things  has  produced  the  most  fatal 
consequences,  which  will  be  felt  for  centuries, 
and  which  are  every  way  deserving  of  examin- 
ation. These  wars,  if  they  have  not  destroyed, 
have  at  least  removed  all  hopes  of  bringing  round 
these  savage  hordes  to  social  life  by  gentle 
means.  The  spirit  of  vengeance  and  an  inve- 
terate hatred  have  raised  an  almost  insurmount- 
able barrier  between  the  Indians  and  whites. 
Many  tribes  of  Apaches,  Moquis,  and  Yutas, 
who  go  by  the  denomination  of  Indians  of  Peace 
(^Indios  de  Paz),  are  attached  to  the  soil,  live  in 
huts  collected  together,  and  cultivate  maize. 
They  would  have  less  objections,  perhaps,  to 
unite  with  the  Spanish  colonists,  if  they  found 
Mexican  Indians  among  them.  The  analogy  of 
manners  and  habits,  and  the  resemblance  which 
exists,  not  in  the  sounds,  but  in  the  mechanism 
and  general  structure  of  the  American  lan- 
guages, may  become  powerful  bonds  of  union 
among  people  of  the  same  origin.  A  wise  legis- 
lation might  be  able,  perliaps,  to  efface  the  recol- 
lection of  those  barbarous  times,  when  a  corporal 


CHAP,  vïii.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  2U 

^  AiSlysis^^I  ^^'  Inte7idanc7/  ofDurango, 

or  Serjeant  in  the  Provincias  internas  went  out 
to  hunt  down  the  Indians  like  so  many  wild 
beasts.  It  is  probable  that  the  copper-coloured 
individual  would  rather  choose  to  live  in  a  village 
inhabited  by  other  individuals  of  his  own  race, 
than  to  mix  with  whites  who  would  domineer 
over  him  with  arrogance  ;  but  we  have  already 
seen  in  the  sixth  chapter  that,  unfortunately,  there 
are  almost  no  Indian  peasantry  of  the  Aztec  race 
in  New  Biscay  and  New  Mexico.  In  the  former 
of  these  provinces  there  is  not  a  single  tributary 
individual,  and  all  the  inhabitants  are  either  white 
or  consider  themselves  to  be  so.  All  assume  the 
right  of  putting  the  title  oï  Don  before  their  bap- 
tismal names,  even  such  as  those  who  in  the  French 
islands,  through  an  aristocratic  refinement,  by 
which  languages  are  enriclied,  go  by  the  appella- 
tion of  Petits  I)lancs,  or  Messieurs  passables. 

This  struggle  with  the  Indians,  which  has  lasted 
for  centuries,  and  the  necessity  in  which  the  colo- 
nist, living  in  some  lonely  farm,  or  travelling 
through  arid  deserts,  finds  himself  of  perpetually 
watching  after  his  own  safety,  and  defending  his 
flock,  his  home,  his  wife,  and  his  children  against 
the  incursions  of  wandering  Indians  ;  and,  in 
short,  that  state  of  nature  which  subsists  in  the 
midst  of  the  appearance  of  an  ancient  civilization, 
have  all  concurred  to  give  to  the  character  of  the 

VOL.  II.  R 


242  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

^  ANALYSI^^}  ^^-  Intendancy  of  Durango. 

inliabitants  of  the  north  of  New  Spain  an  energy 
and  temperament  pecuHar  to  themselves.  To 
these  causes  we  must  no  doubt  add  the  nature  of 
tlie  cHmate,  which  is  temperate,  an  eminently 
salubrious  atmosphere,  the  necessity  of  labour  in 
a  soil  by  no  means  rich  or  fertile,  and  the  total 
want  of  Indians  and  slaves  who  might  be  em- 
ployed by  the  whites  for  the  sake  of  giving  them- 
selves up  securely  to  idleness  and  sloth.  In  the 
Provincias  internas  the  developement  of  physical 
strength  is  favoured  by  a  life  of  singular  activity, 
which  is  for  the  most  part  passed  on  horseback. 
This  way  of  life  is  essentially  necessary  from  the 
care  demanded  by  the  numerous  flocks  of  horned 
cattle  which  roam  about  almost  wild  in  the  sa- 
vannas. To  this  strength  of  a  healthy  and  robust 
body  we  must  join  great  strength  of  mind,  and  a 
happy  disposition  of  the  intellectual  faculties. 
Those  who  preside  over  seminaries  of  education 
in  the  city  of  Mexico  have  long  observed  that  the 
young  people  who  have  most  distinguished  them- 
selves for  their  rapid  progress  in  the  exact  sciences, 
were  for  the  most  part  natives  of  the  most  north- 
ern provinces  of  New  Spain.  • 

*  The  connexion  between  a  sound  mind  and  sound  body, 
mens  Sana  in  compare  sano,  has  been  often  remarked  ;  and  those 
countries  of  which  the  climate  and  mode  of  life  are  most 
favourable  to  the  physical  powers  of  man  give  to  his  mental 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  24S 

^ANALYSIS  ^i  ^^-  ^^^^"^^^^^^i/  ofDurango, 

The  intendancy  of  Durango  comprehends  the 
northern  extremity  of  the  great  table-land  of 


powers,  perhaps,  an  equal  superiority.  The  people  who 
breathe  the  keen  air  of  Lebanon  form  a  striking  contrast  to 
the  half  animated  inhabitants  of  the  plains  of  Syria.  What  a 
contrast  also  between  the  natives  of  Switzerland  and  those  of 
the  marshes  of  Holland  !  In  Spain  we  see  in  like  manner  a 
keen  and  animated  race  in  the  mountains  of  Biscay  and 
Catalonia  ;  and  in  France  it  is  not  on  the  banks  of  the  Seine, 
but  in  the  mountains  and  vales  of  the  Cevennes,  of  the  inha- 
bitants of  which  Marmontel  draws  so  fine  a  picture  in  his 
Memoirs,  where  the  national  character  appears  to  the  greatest 
advantage.  In  Germany  and  Italy  the  natives  of  the  hills 
and  vales  of  Saxony  and  Tuscany  equally  outstrip  the  rest 
of  their  counti*ymen  ;  and,  perhaps,  in  our  country  it  is  not 
among  the  unhealthy  occupation  of  the  trading  and  manu- 
facturing towns  of  the  south  where  we  are  to  seek  for  the 
most  acute  and  intelligent  population.  Those  who  have  ex- 
amined attentively  the  different  classes  of  inhabitants  in  this 
island  have  uniformly  remarked,  that  the  healthy  inhabitants 
of  the  country  are  not  more  superior  in  bodily  perfection  than 
in  mental  qualities  to  the  automaton  inhabitants  of  our  cities. 
The  Greeks,  of  whom  we  know  not  from  the  remains  which 
have  come  down  to  us  whether  most  to  admire  the  beauty  of 
their  form  or  their  mental  endowments,  were  studious  of  every 
art  by  which  the  physical  energies  could  be  developed,  and 
were  more  ambitious,  perhaps,  of  being  the  first  men  than  the 
first  weavers  in  the  world.  Mental  energy  must  always  more 
or  less  depend  on  a  sound  and  vigorous  temperament  ;  and 
though  the  mostperfect  man  may  not  be  the  savage  of  Rousseau, 
we  are  not  the  more,  however,  to  look  for  him  in  the  enervated 
inhabitant  of  the  cotton-mill  or  the  drawing-room.     Trans. 

R   2 


044  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  hi. 

^ANALYSIS^.^}  ^^'  I'^^t^^<^^^^<^y  ofDurango. 

Anahuac,  which  declines  to  the  north-east  to- 
wards the  banks  of  the  Rio  Grande  del  Norte. 
The  environs  of  the  city  of  Durango  are  still, 
however,  according  to  the  barometrical  measure- 
ment of  Don  Juan  Jose  d'Oteyza,  more  than 
SOOO  metres*  elevated  above  the  level  of  the 
ocean.  Tliis  great  elevation  appears  to  continue 
till  towards  Chihuahua  ;  for  it  is  the  central  chain 
of  the  Sierra  Madre,  which  (as  we  have  already 
indicated  in  the  general  physical  view  of  the 
country  t)  near  San  Jose  del  Parral  runs  in 
a  direction  north-north-west  towards  the  Sierra 
Verde  and  the  Sierra  de  las  GruUas. 

There  are  reckoned  in  la  Nueva  Biscaya  one 
city  or  ciudad  (Durango),  six  villas  (Chihuahua, 
San  Juan  del  Rio,  Nombre  de  Dios,  Papasquiaro, 
Saltillo,  and  Mapimi),  199  villages  ov  pueblos,  75 
parishes  or  paroquias,  152  farms  or  haciendas,  3J 
missions,  and  400  cottages  or  ranchos. 

The  most  remarkable  places  are  : 

Durango,  or  Guadiana,  the  residence  of  an 
intendant  and  a  bishop,  in  the  most  southern 
part  of  New  Biscay,  at  lyO  leagues  distance, 
in  a  straight  line  from  the  city  of  Mexico,  and 

•  6561  feet.     Trmis.  f  Vol.  I.  p.  63. 


CHAP,  viir.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  245 

^  ANALYS^S.^l  ^^-  Intendancy  ofDurango, 

289  from  the  town  of  Santa  Fe.  The  height  of 
the  town  is  2087  metres.  *  There  are  frequent 
falls  of  snow,  and  the  thermometer  (under  the 
24°  25")  descends  to  8°t  below  the  freezing  point. 
A  group  of  rocks,  covered  with  scoria,  called  la 
Brenttf  rises  in  the  middle  of  a  very  level  plain 
between  the  capital,  the  plantations  del  Ojo,  and 
del  Chorro,  and  the  small  town  of  Nombre  de 
Dios.  This  group,  of  a  very  grotesque  form, 
which  is  12  leagues  in  length  from  north  to  south, 
and  six  leagues  in  breadth  from  east  to  west, 
deserves  particularly  to  fix  the  attention  of  mi- 
neralogists. The  rocks,  which  constitute  the 
Brena,  ai'e  of  basaltic  amygdaloid,  and  appear  to 
have  been  raised  up  by  volcanic  fire.  The  neigh- 
bouring mountains  were  examined  by  M.  Oteyza, 
particularly  that  of  the  Frayle,  near  the  hacienda 
de  I'Ojo.  He  found  on  the  summit  a  crater  of 
nearly  100  metrest  in  circumference,  and  more 
than  30  §  metres  of  perpendicular  depth.  In  the 
environs  of  Durango  is  also  to  be  found  insulated 
in  the  plain  the  enormous  mass  of  malleable  iron 
and  nickel,  which  is  of  the  identical  composition 
of  the  aerolithos,  which  fell  in  17«51  at  Hraschina, 
near  Agram  in  Hungary.     Specimens  were  com- 


*  6845  feet.     Trans.  f  14°  of  Fahr.     Trans, 

X  328  feet.     Trans.  §  98  feet.     Trans. 

R   3 


246  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

ANALYSIS.    I  ^^'  ^'^^^^'■àancy  of  Durango, 

municated  to  me  by  the  learned  director  of  the 
Tribunal  de  Mineria  de  Mexico,  Don  Fausto 
d*Elhiiyar,  which  I  deposited  in  different  cabinets 
of  Europe,  and  of  which  MM.  VauqueUn  and 
Klaproth  published  an  analysis.  This  mass  of 
Durango  is  affirmed  to  weigh  upwards  of  1900 
myriagrammes*,  which  is  400 1  more  than  the 
aerolithos  discovered  at  Olumpa  in  the  Tucuman 
by  M.  Rubin  de  Cells.  A  distinguished  mi- 
neralogist, M.  Frederick  Sonnenschmidtî,  who 
travelled  over  much  more  of  Mexico  than  myself, 
discovered  also  in  1792,  in  the  interior  of  the 
town  of  Zacatecas,  a  mass  of  malleable  iron  of 
the  weight  of  97  myriagrammes  §,  which  in  its 
exterior  and  physical  character  was  found  by 
him  entirely  analogous  with  the  malleable  iron 
described  by  the  celebrated  Pallas.  The  popu- 
lation of  Durango  is  12,000. 

Chihuahua^  the  residence  of  the  captain -general 
of  the  Provincias  internas,  surrounded  with  con- 
siderable mines  to  the  east  of  the  great  real 
of  Santa  Rosa  de  Cosiguiriachi.  —  Population, 
11,600. 

*  41,933  pounds  avoirdupois,     l^rans. 
\  8228  pounds  avoirdupois.     Trans. 
\  Gazeta  de  Mexico,  torn.  v.  p.  59. 
$  2140  pounds  avoirdupoit!.     Trans.. 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  247 

^ANALYSI^^I  ■^^*  ^'^t^n^f^^^f^y  ofDurango, 

San  Juan  del  Rioy  to  the  south-west  of  the  lake 
of  Parras.  We  must  not  confound  this  town 
with  the  place  which  bears  the  same  name  in  the 
intendancy  of  Mexico,  which  is  situated  to  the 
east  of  Queretaro.  —  Population,  10,200. 

Nombre  de  Dios,  a  considerable  town  on  the 
road  from  the  famous  mines  of  Sombrerete  to 
Durango.  —  Population,  6800. 

Pasquiaro,  a  small  town  to  the  south  of  the 
R.io  de  Nasas.  —  Population,  5600. 

Saltillo,  on  the  confines  of  the  province  of 
Cohahuila  and  the  small  kingdom  of  Leon.  This 
town  is  surrounded  with  arid  plains,  in  which  the 
traveller  suffers  very  much  from  want  of  water. 
The  table-land  on  which  the  Saltillo  is  situated 
descends  towards  Monclova,  the  Rio  del  Norte, 
and  the  province  of  Texas,  where,  in  place  of 
European  corn,  we  find  only  fields  covered  with 
cactus.  — •  Population,  6000. 

Mapimis,  with  a  military  post  (^presidio)  to 
the  east  of  the  Cerro  de  la  Cadena,  on  the  un- 
cultivated border,  called  Bolson  de  Mapimi.  — 
Population,  2400. 

Parras,  near  a  lake  of  the  same  name,  west 
from  Saltillo.  A  species  of  wild  vine  found  in 
this  beautiful  situation  has  procured  it  the  name 
of  Parras  from  the  Spaniards.  The  conquerors 
transplanted  to  this  place  the  vitis  vinifera  of 

R  4 


2iS  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  hi. 

ANALYSIS.    1  ^^'  Intendancy  ofDurango. 

Asia  ;  and  this  branch  of  industry  has  succeeded 
very  well,  notwithstanding  the  hatred  sworn  by 
the  monopolists  of  Cadiz  for  centuries  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  olive,  the  vine,  and  the  mul- 
berry, in  the  provinces  of  Spanish  America. 

San  Pedro  de  Batopilas,  formerly  celebrated 
for  the  great  wealth  of  its  mines,  to  the  west 
of  the  Rio  de  Conchos.  —  Population,  8000. 

San  Jose  del  Parral,  the  residence  of  a  Dipu- 
tacio7i  de  Minas.  This  real,  as  well  as  the  town 
of  Parras,  received  its  name  from  the  great 
number  of  wild  vine-shoots  with  which  the 
country  was  covered  on  the  first  arrival  of  the 
Spaniards.  —  Population,  5000. 

Santa  Rosa  de  CosiguiriacJii,  surrounded  with 
silver  mines,  at  the  foot  of  the  Sierra  de  los  Me- 
tates.  I  have  seen  a  very  recent  memoir  of  the 
intendant  of  Durango,  in  which  the  population 
of  this  real  was  made  to  amount  to  10,700. 

Guarisamey,  very  old  mines  on  the  road  from 
Durango  to  Copala.  —  Population,  3800. 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 


249 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 

Population 

in 

1803. 

Extxent 
of  Sur- 
face in 
square 

Leagues. 

No.  of 
Inhabi- 
tants 
to  the 
square 
League. 

XII.  Intendancy  of  7 
Sonora            J 

121,400 

19,143 

6 

This  intendancy,  which  is  still  more  thinly 
peopled  than  that  of  Durango,  extends  along 
the  gulf  of  California,  called  also  the  Sea  of 
Cortez,  for  more  than  280  leagues  from  the 
great  bay  of  Bayona,  or  the  Rio  del  Rosario,  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Colorado,  formerly  called 
Rio  de  Balzas,  on  the  banks  of  which  the  mis- 
sionary monks  Pedro  Nadal  and  Marcos  de  Niza 
made  astronomical  observations  in  the  16th  cen- 
tury. The  breadth  of  the  intendancy  is  by  no 
means  uniform.  From  the  tropic  of  Cancer  to 
the  27th  degree  the  breadth  scarcely  exceeds  50 
leagues  ;  but  farther  north,  towards  the  Rio  Gila, 
it  increases  so  considerably,  that  on  the  parallel 
of  Arispe  it  is  more  than  128  leagues. 

The  intendancy  of  Sonora  comprehends  an  ex- 
tent of  hilly  country  of  greater  surface  than  the 
half  of  France  ;  but  its  absolute  population  is  not 
equal  to  the  fourth  of  the  most  peopled  depart- 
ment of  that  empire.  The  intendant  who  resides 
in  the  town  of  Arispe  has  the  charge,  as  well  as 
tlie  intendant  of  San  Luis  Potosi,  of  tlie  admi- 


250  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

^ANALYSIS^^}  ^^^-  It^te^^dancy  qfSonora. 
nistration  of  several  provinces,  vi^hicli  have  pre- 
served the  particular  names  which  they  had  be- 
fore the  union.  The  intendancy  of  Sonora, 
consequently,  comprehends  the  three  provinces 
of  Cmaloa,  or  Sinaloa,  Ostimury  and  Sonora 
Proper.  The  first  extends  from  the  Rio  del 
Rosario  to  the  Rio  del  Fuerte  ;  the  second  from 
the  Rio  del  Fuerte  to  the  Rio  del  Mayo  ;  and 
the  province  of  Sonora,  called  also  in  old  maps 
by  the  name  of  New  Navarre,  includes  all  the 
northern  extremity  of  this  intendancy.  The 
small  district  of  Cinaloa  is  now  looked  on  as  part 
of  the  province  of  Cinaloa.  The  intendancy  of 
Sonora  is  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  sea  j  on 
the  south  by  the  intendancy  of  Guadalaxara; 
and  on  the  east  by  a  very  uncultivated  part  of 
New  Biscay.  Its  northern  limits  are  very  un- 
certain. The  villages  de  la  Pimeria  alta  are 
separated  from  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Gila  by  a 
region  inhabited  by  independent  Indians,  of 
which  neither  the  soldiers  stationed  in  tlie  pre- 
sidios, nor  the  monks  posted  in  the  neiglibour- 
ing  missions,  have  been  hitherto  able  to  make 
the  conquest.  * 

*  To  go  a  la  conquista,  to  conquer  (conquisfar),  are  the 
technical  terms  used  by  the  missionaries  in  America  to  signify 
tliat  they  have  planted  crosses,  around  which  the  Indians  have 
constructed  a  few  huts  ;  but,  unfortunately  for  the  Indians, 
tlic  words  conquer  and  civilize  are  by  no'  iiieans  synonymous. 


CHAP.  Vin.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  251 

STATISTICAL  7   vtt    r  /     ^  ^o 

ANALYSIS.    C  ^i^i.' intenaancy  oj  Sonora. 

The  three  most  considerable  rivers  of  Sonora 
are  Culiacan,  Mayo,  and  Yaqui,  or  Sonora. 
From  the  port  of  Guitivis,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Rio  Mayo,  called  also  Santa  Cruz  de  Mayo,  the 
courier  embarks  for  California,  charged  with  the 
dispatches  of  the  government  and  the  public  cor- 
respondence. This  courier  goes  on  horseback 
from  Guatimala  to  the  city  of  Mexico,  and  from 
thence  by  Guadalaxara  and  the  Rosario  to  Gui- 
tivis. After  crossing  in  a  lancha  the  sea  of  Cor- 
tez,  he  disembarks  at  the  village  of  Loreto  in 
Old  California.  From  this  village  letters  are  sent 
from  mission  to  mission  to  Monterey  and  the  port 
of  San  Francisco,  situated  in  New  California 
under  3?°  48'  of  north  latitude.  They  thus 
traverse  a  route  of  posts  of  more  than  920  lea- 
gues, that  is  to  say,  a  distance  equal  to  that  from 
Lisbon  to  Cherson.  The  river  of  Yaqui,  or 
Sonora,  has  a  course  of  considerable  length.  It 
takes  its  rise  in  the  western  declivity  of  the  Sierra 
madre,  of  which  the  crest,  by  no  means  very  ele- 
vated, passes  between  Arispe  and  the  Presidio 
de  Fronteras.  The  small  port  of  Guaymas  is 
situated  near  its  mouth. 

The  most  northern  part  of  the  intendancy  of 
Sonora  bears  the  name  of  Pmeria,  on  account  of 
a  numerous  tribe  of  Pimas  Indians,  who  inhabit  it. 
These  Indians,  for  the  most  part,  live  under  the 


252  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

STATISTIC AL7    vtt    r  ^     ^  -ro 

ANALYSIS.    \      ^^'  -^'^t^^dancy  of  Sonora, 

domination  of  the  missionary  monks,  and  follow 
the  Catholic  ritual.  The  Pimeria  alta  is  distin- 
guished from  the  Pimeria  haœa.  The  latter  con- 
tains the  Presidio  de  Buenavista.  The  former 
extends  from  the  military  post  (^presidio)  of  Ter- 
nate  to  the  Rio  Gila.  This  hilly  country  of  the 
Pimeria  alta  is  the  Choco  of  North  America.  All 
the  ravins  and  even  plains  contain  gold  scattered 
up  and  down  the  alluvions  land.  Pepitas  of  pure 
gold,  of  the  weight  of  from  two  to  three  kilo- 
grammes *,  have  been  found  there.  But  these 
lavaderos  are  by  no  means  diligently  sought  after, 
on  account  of  the  frequent  incursions  of  the  in- 
dependent Indians,  and  especially  on  account 
of  the  high  price  of  provisions,  which  must  be 
brought  from  a  great  distance  in  this  uncultivated 
country.  Farther  north,  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Rio  de  la  Ascencion,  live  a  very  warlike  race  of 
Indians,  the  Seris,  to  whom  several  Mexican 
savans  attribute  an  Asiatic  origin,  on  account  of 
the  analogy  between  their  name  and  that  of  the 
Seri,  placed  by  ancient  geographers  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountains  of  Ottorocorras  to  the  east  of 
Scythia  extra  Imaum. 

There  has  been  hitherto  no  permanent  commu- 
nication between  Sonora,  New  Mexico,  and  New 

*  From     5lb.  2qz.  2dr.  Iscr.  Sgr.\  ry  ^ 

To     8      0      4;     0      12     l^^^y-     ^^"^^' 


CHAP.  Vin.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  253 

^ANALYSI^^}  ^^^'  Intendanaj  ofSonora. 

California,  although  the  court  of  Madrid  has 
frequently  given  orders  for  the  formation  of  pre- 
sidios and  missions  between  the  Rio  Gila  and  the 
Rio  Colorado.  The  extravagant  military  expe- 
dition of  Don  Joseph  Galvez  did  not  serve  to 
establish  in  a  permanent  manner  the  northern 
limits  of  the  intendancy  of  Sonora.  Two  cou- 
rageous and  enterprising  monks,  Fathers  Garces 
and  Font,  were  able,  however,  to  go  by  land 
through  the  countries  inhabited  by  independent 
Indians  from  the  missions  of  la  Pimeria  alta  to 
Monterey,  and  even  to  the  port  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, without  crossing  the  peninsula  of  Old 
California.  This  bold  enterprize,  on  which  the 
college  of  the  Propaganda  at  Queretaro  pub- 
lished an  interesting  notice,  has  also  furnished 
new  information  relative  to  the  ruins  of  la  Casa 
grandCy  considered  by  the  Mexican  historians  * 
as  the  abode  of  the  Aztecs  on  their  arrival  at 
the  Rio  Gila  towards  the  end  of  the  twelfth 
century. 

Father  Francisco  Garces,  accompanied  by 
Father  Font  t,  who  was  entrusted  with  the  ob- 

*  Clavigero,  i.  p.  159. 

f  Chronica  Serqfica  de  el  Colegio  de  Propaganda  Jede  de 
Queretaro^  par  Fray  Domiyigo  Arricivitor,  Mexico,  1792, 
torn.  ii.  p.  396.  426.  and  462.  This  Chronica,  which  forms  a 
large  folio  volume  of  600  pages,  is  well  deserving  of  an  extract 
being  made  from  it.    It  contains  very  accurate  geographical 


254  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

^ANALYSIS^^}  ^^^*  ^ntendancy  ofSonora, 

servations  of  latitude,  set  out  from  the  Presidio 
d'Horcasitas  on  the  SOth  April,  I773.  After  a 
journey  of  eleven  days  they  arrived  at  a  vast 
and  beautiful  plain  one  league's  distance  from 
the  southern  bank  of  the  Rio  Gila.  They  there 
discovered  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  Aztec  city,  in 
the  midst  of  which  is  the  edifice  called  la  Casa 
grande.  These  ruins  occupy  a  space  of  ground 
of  more  than  a  square  league.  The  Casa  grande 
is  exactly  laid  down  according  to  the  four  car- 
dinal points,  having  from  north  to  south  136 
metres  *  in  length,  and  from  east  to  west  84 
metres  t  in  breadth.  It  is  constructed  of  clay 
(tap'ui).  The  pisés  X  are  of  an  unequal  size, 
but  symmetrically  placed.  The  walls  are  12 
decimetres  §  in  thickness.  We  perceive  that 
this  edifice  had  three  stories  and  a  terrace.    The 


notions  as  to  the  Indian  tribes  inhabiting  Cahfornia,  Sonora, 
the  Moqui,  Nabajoa,  and  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Gila.  I  could 
not  learn  what  sort  of  astronomical  instrument  Father  Font 
made  use  of  in  his  excursions  to  the  Rio  Colorado  between 
1771  and  1776.  I  am  afraid  lest  it  should  have  been  a  solar 
ring. 

*  445  feet.     Trans,  \  276  feet.     Trans. 

\  Pisé  has  no  equivalent,  it  is  believed,  in  our  language. 
It  signifies  the  case  in  which  the  clay  is  rammed  down  in  the 
construction  of  a  clay  wall.  This  mode  of  building  has  been 
adopted  on  the  Duke  of  Bedford's  estate.     Trans. 

§  S  feet  1 1  inches.     Trans. 


CHAP.  Vin.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  255 

^ANALYSlÉ"^}  ^^^'  Intendancy  ofSonora, 

stair  was  on  the  outside,  and  probably  of  wood. 
The  same  kind  of  construction  is  still  to  be  found 
in  all  the  villages  of  the  independent  Indians  of 
the  Moqui  west  from  New  Mexico.  We  per- 
ceive in  the  Casa  grande  five  apartments,  of 
which  each  is  8"",  3  in  length,  3"*,  3  in  breadth, 
and  3"",  5  in  height.  *  A  wall,  interrupted  by 
large  towers,  surrounds  the  principal  édifice, 
and  appears  to  have  served  to  defend  it.  Father 
Garces  discovered  the  vestiges  of  an  artificial 
canal,  which  brought  the  water  of  the  Rio  Gila 
to  the  town.  The  whole  surrounding  plain  is 
covered  with  broken  earthen  pitchers  and  pots, 
prettily  painted  in  white,  red,  and  blue.  We 
also  find  amidst  these  fragments  of  Mexican 
stone-ware  pieces  of  obsidian  (jtztli)  ;  a  very 
curious  phenomenon,  because  it  proves  that  the 
Aztecs  passed  through  some  unknown  northern 
country  which  contains  this  volcanic  substance, 
and  that  it  was  not  the  abundance  of  obsidian  in 
New  Spain  which  suggested  the  idea  of  razors 
and  arms  of  itztli.  We  must  not,  however,  con- 
found the  ruins  of  this  city  of  the  Gila,  the 
centre  of  an  ancient  civilization  of  the  Ameri- 
cans, with  the  Casas  grandes  of  New  Biscay, 
situated  between  the  presidio  of  Yanos  and  that 

*  27.18  feet,  10.82  feet,  and  11.48  feet.     Trans. 


256  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iir. 

^  ANALYSI^.^J  ^^^-  ^^^tendancy  ofSonora. 
of  San  Buenaventura.  The  latter  are  pointed 
out  by  the  indigenous,  on  the  very  vague  sup- 
position that  the  Aztec  nation  in  their  migration 
from  Aztlan  to  Tula  and  the  valley  of  Tenoch- 
titlan  made  three  stations  ;  the  first  near  the  lake 
Teguyo  (to  the  south  of  the  fabulous  city  of 
Quivira,  the  Mexican  Dorado!)  the  second  at 
the  Rio  Gila,  and  the  third  in  the  environs  of 
Yanos. 

The  Indians  who  live  in  the  plains  adjoining 
the  Casas  grandes  of  the  Rio  Gila,  and  who  have 
never  had  the  smallest  communication  with  the 
inhabitants  of  Sonora,  deserve  by  no  means  the 
appellation  of  Indios  bravos.  Their  social  civil- 
ization forms  a  singular  contrast  with  the  state 
of  the  savages  who  wander  along  the  banks  of 
the  Missoury  and  other  parts  of  Canada.  Fathers 
Garces  and  Font  found  the  Indians  to  the  south 
of  the  Rio  Gila  clothed  and  assembled  together, 
to  the  number  of  two  or  three  thousand,  in  vil- 
lages which  they  call  Uturicut  and  Sutaquisan, 
where  they  peaceably  cultivate  the  soil.  They 
saw  fields  sown  with  maize,  cotton,  and  gourds. 
The  missionaries,  in  order  to  bring  about  the  con- 
version of  these  Indians,  showed  them  a  picture 
painted  on  a  large  piece  of  cotton  cloth,  in  which 
a  sinner  was  represented  burning  in  the  flames  of 
hell.     The  picture  terrified  them  ;  and  they  en- 

10 


CHAP,  vni.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  257 

^ANALYSI^^}  ^11-  Intetidanci/  ofSonora. 

treated  Father  Garces  not  to  unrol  it  any  more, 
nor  speak  to  them  of  what  would  happen  after 
death.  These  Indians  are  of  a  gentle  and  sincere 
character.  Father  Font  explained  to  them  by  an 
interpreter  the  security  which  prevailed  in  the 
Christian  missions,  where  an  Indian  alcalde  ad- 
ministered justice.  The  chiefof  Uturicut  replied  : 
"  This  order  of  things  may  be  necessary  for  you. 
We  do  not  steal,  and  we  very  seldom  disagree  ; 
what  use  have  we  then  for  an  alcalde  among  us  ?" 
The  civilization  to  be  found  among  the  Indians 
when  we  approach  the  north-west  coast  of  Ame- 
rica, from  the  33°  to  the  54°  of  latitude,  is  a  very 
striking  phenomenon,  which  cannot  but  throw 
some  light  on  the  history  of  the  first  migrations 
of  the  Mexican  nations. 

There  are  reckoned  in  the  province  of  Sonora 
one  city  {ciudad),  Arispe  ;  two  towns  (villas), 
viz,  Sonora  and  Hostemuri;  46  villages  (pueblos), 
15  parishes  (jparoqiiias),  43  missions,  20  farms 
(Jiaciendas)  and  9,5  cottages  (ranchos.) 

The  province  of  Cinaloa  contains  five  towns 
(Culiacan,  Cinaloa,  el  Rosario,  el  Fuerte,  and 
los  Alamos),  92  villages,  30  parishes,  14  haci- 
endas,  and  450  ranchos, 

'  In  1793  the  number  of  tributary  Indians  in  the 
province  ofSonora  amounted  only  to  251,  while 

VOL.  IT.  s 


258  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  in. 

^  analysis!^}  ^^^-  Intendancy  of  Sonora. 

in  the  province  of  Cinaloa  they  amounted  to 
1851.  This  last  province  was  more  anciently 
peopled  than  the  former. 

The  most  remarkable  places  of  the  intendancy 
of  Sonora  are  : 

Arispe,  the  residence  of  the  intendant,  to  the 
south  and  west  of  the  presidios  of  Bacuachi  and 
Bavispe.  Persons  who  accompanied  M.  Gal- 
ves  in  his  expedition  to  Sonora  affirm,  that  the 
mission  of  Ures  near  Pitic  would  have  answered 
much  better  than  Arispe  for  the  capital  of  the 
intendancy.  —  Population,  '7,600. 

Sonora,  south  from  Arispe,  and  N.  E.  from  the 
presidio  of  Horcasitas.  —  Population,  6,400. 

Hostimuri,  a  small  town  well  peopled,  sur- 
rounded with  considerable  mines. 

Culiacan,  celebrated  in  the  Mexican  history 
under  the  name  of  Hueicolhuacan.  —  The  popu- 
lation is  estimated  at  10,800. 

Cinaloa,  called  also  the  Villa  de  San  Felipe  y 
Santiago,  east  from  the  port  of  Santa  Maria 
d^Aome.  —  Population,  9,<500. 

El  Rosario,  near  the  rich  mines  of  Copala.  — 
Population,  5,600. 

Villa  del  Fuerte,  or  Montesclaros,  to  the  north 
of  Cinaloa.  —  Population,  7,900. 


CHAP.  VIII.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  259 

^ANALYSI^^}  ^ïï-  Intendanaj  ofSonora, 

Los  AlamoSf  between  the  Rio  del  Fuerte  and 
the  Rio  Mayo,  the  residence  of  a  diputacion  de 
Mineria,  —  Population,  7>900. 


s  2 


260 


POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  in. 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 

Population 

in 

1803. 

Extent 
of  sur- 
face in 
square 
Leagues. 

No.  of 
Inhabi- 
tants 
to  the 
square 
League. 

XIII.  Province  of  | 
Nuevo  Mexico    y 

40,200 

5,709 

7 

Several  geographers  confound  New  Mexico 
with  the  Provmcias  internas  ;  and  they  speak  of 
it  as  a  country  rich  in  mines,  and  of  vast  extent. 
The  celebrated  author  of  the  philosophic  history 
of  the  European  establishments  in  the  two  Indies 
has  contributed  to  propagate  this  error.  What  he 
calls  the  empire  of  New  Mexico  is  merely  a  coast 
inhabited  by  a  few  poor  colonists.  It  is  a  fertile 
territory,  but  very  thinly  inhabited,  and  destitute, 
as  is  universally  believed,  of  metallic  wealth, 
extending  along  the  Rio  del  Norte,  from  the  31** 
to  the  38°  of  north  latitude.  This  province  is 
from  south  to  north  175  leagues  in  length,  and 
from  east  to  west  from  30  to  50  leagues  in 
breadth  ;  and  its  territorial  extent,  therefore,  is 
much  less  than  people  of  no  great  information  in 
geographical  matters  are  apt  to  suppose  even  in 
that  country.  The  national  vanity  of  the  Spani- 
ards loves  to  magnify  the  spaces,  and  to  remove, 
if  not  in  reality,  at  least  in  imagination,  the  limits 
of  the  country  occupied  by  them  to  as  great  a 
distance  as  possible.     In  the  memoirs  which  I 


CHAP.  Vin.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  261 

^  ANALYsïs^^ }  ^^^^*  Province  o/Nuevo  Mexico. 

procured  on  the  position  of  the  Mexican  mines, 
the  distance  from  Arispe  to  the  Rosario  is  esti- 
mated at  300,  and  from  Arispe  to  Copala  at  400 
marine  leagues,  without  reflecting  that  the  whole 
intendancy  of  Sonora  is  not  280  marine  leagues  in 
length.  From  the  same  cause,  and  especially  for 
the  sake  of  conciliating  the  favour  of  the  court, 
the  conquistadores,  the  missionary  monks,  and  the 
first  colonists,  gave  weighty  names  to  small  things. 
We  have  already  described  one  kingdom,  that  of 
Leon,  of  which  the  whole  population  does  not 
equal  the  number  of  Franciscan  monks  in  Spain. 
Sometimes  a  few  collected  huts  take  the  pompous 
title  of  villa.  A  cross  planted  in  the  forests  of 
Guyana  figures  on  the  maps  of  the  missions  sent 
to  Madrid  and  Rome,  as  a  village  inhabited  by 
Indians.  It  is  only  after  living  long  in  the 
Spanish  colonies,  and  after  examining  more  nar- 
rowly these  fictions  of  kingdoms,  towns,  and 
villages,  that  the  traveller  can  form  a  proper  scale 
for  the  reduction  of  objects  to  their  just  value. 

The  Spanish  conquerors  shortly  after  the  de- 
struction of  the  Aztec  empire  set  on  foot  solid 
establishments  in  the  north  of  Anahuac.  The 
town  of  Durango  was  founded  under  the  admi- 
nistration of  the  second  viceroy  of  New  Spain, 
Velasco  el  Primer o,  in  1559.  It  was  then  a  mili- 
tary post  against  the  incursions  of  the  Chichimec 

s  3 


262  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

^ANALYSll.^}  ^III-  Province  ofNuevo  Mexico. 

Indians.  Towards  the  end  of  the  l6th  century, 
the  viceroy,  count  de  Monterey,  sent  the  valorous 
Jua?i  de  Onate  to  New  Mexico.  It  was  this 
general  who,  after  driving  off  the  wandering  In- 
dians, peopled  the  banks  of  the  great  Rio  del 
Norte. 

From  the  town  of  Chihuahua  a  carriage  can 
go  to  Santa  Fe  of  New  Mexico.  A  sort  of  calèche 
is  generally  used,  which  the  Catalonians  call 
volantes.  The  road  is  beautiful  and  level  ;  and  it 
passes  along  the  eastern  bank  of  the  great  river 
(Rio  grande^  which  is  crossed  at  the  Passo  del 
Norte.  The  banks  of  the  river  are  extremely 
picturesque,  and  are  adorned  with  beautiful  pop- 
lars and  other  trees  peculiar  to  the  temperate 
zone. 

It  is  remarkable  enough  to  see  that  after  the 
lapse  of  two  centuries  of  colonization,  the  province 
of  New  Mexico  does  not  yet  join  the  intendancy 
of  New  Biscay.  The  two  provinces  are  separated 
by  a  desert,  in  which  travellers  are  sometimes 
attacked  by  the  Cumanches  Indians.  This  desert 
extends  from  the  Passo  del  Norte  towards  the 
town  of  Albuquerque.  Before  1680,  in  which 
year  there  was  a  general  revolt  among  the  In- 
dians of  New  Mexico,  this  extent  of  uncultivated 
and  uninhabited  country  was  much  less  consi- 
derable than  it  is  now.     Tiiere  were  then  three 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  263 

STATISTICAL]  vTTT    r>        •  ^tvt  tit     • 

ANALYSIS.    \  -^J-Ai.  Frovmce  ojNuevo  Mexico. 

villages,  San  Pascual,  Semillete,  and  Socorro, 
which  were  situated  between  the  marsh  of  the 
Muerto  and  the  town  of  Santa  Fe.  Bishop  Ta- 
maron  perceived  the  ruins  of  them  in  I76O  ;  and 
he  found  apricots  growing  wild  in  the  fields,  an 
indication  of  the  former  cultivation  of  the  country. 
The  two  most  dangerous  points  for  travellers  are 
the  defile  of  Robledo,  west  from  the  Rio  del 
Norte,  opposite  the  Sierra  de  Dona  Ana,  and  the 
desert  of  the  Muerto,  where  many  whites  have 
been  assassinated  by  wandering  Indians. 

The  desert  of  the  Muerto  is  a  plain  thirty 
leagues  in  length,  destitute  of  water.  The  whole 
of  this  country  is  in  general  of  an  alarming  state 
of  aridity  ;  for  the  mountains  de  los  Mansos^  situ- 
ated to  the  east  of  the  road  from  Durango  to 
Santa  Fe,  do  not  give  rise  to  a  single  brook.  Not- 
withstanding the  mildness  of  the  climate,  and  the 
progress  of  industry,  a  great  part  of  this  country, 
as  well  as  old  California,  and  several  districts  of 
New  Biscay,  and  the  intendancy  of  Guadalaxara, 
will  never  admit  of  any  considerable  population. 

New  Mexico,  although  under  the  same  latitude 
with  Syria  and  central  Persia,  has  a  remarkably 
cold  climate.  It  freezes  there  in  the  middle  of 
May.  Near  Santa  Fe,  and  a  little  farther  north 
(under  the  parallel  of  the  Morea),  the  Rio  del 
Norte  is  sometimes  covered,  for  a  succession  of 

s  4 


264  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iii. 

ANALYSIS.    [  XTII.  Province  ofNuevo  Meœico. 

several  years,  with  ice  thick  enough  to  admit  the 
passage  of  horses  and  carriages.  We  are  igno- 
rant of  the  elevation  of  the  soil  of  the  province 
of  New  Mexico  ;  but  I  do  not  believe  that  under 
the  .37"  of  latitude,  the  bed  of  the  river  is  more 
than  7  or  800  metres*  of  elevation  above  the 
level  of  the  ocean.  The  mountains  which  bound 
the  valley  of  the  Rio  del  Norte,  and  even  those 
at  the  foot  of  whicli  the  village  of  Taos  is  situa- 
ted, lose  their  snow  towards  the  beginning  of 
the  month  of  June. 

The  great  river  of  the  norths  as  we  have  already 
observed,  rises  in  the  Sierra  Verde,  which  is  the 
point  of  separation  between  the  streams  which 
flow  into  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  and  those  which 
flow  into  the  South  Sea.  It  has  its  periodical  rises 
(crecientes')  like  the  Orinoco,  the  Mississippi, 
and  a  great  number  of  rivers  of  both  continents. 
The  waters  of  the  Hio  del  Norte  begin  to  swell 
in  the  month  of  April  ;  they  are  at  their  height 
in  the  beginning  of  May  ;  and  they  fall  towards 
the  end  of  June.  The  inhabitants  can  only  ford 
the  river  on  horses  of  an  extraordinary  size  during 
the  drought  of  summer,  when  the  strength  of  the 
current  is  greatly  diminished.  These  horses  in 
Peru  are  called  cavallos  chimbado?'es.  Several 
persons  mount  at  once  j  and  if  the  horse  takes 

*  2296  or  2624  feet.     Trans. 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  265 

^  ANALYS^^^}  ^^ïï-  Province  ofNuevo  Mexico. 

footing  occasionally  in  swimming,  this  mode  of 
passing  the  river  is  called  passar  el  rio  a  volapie. 
The  water  of  the  Rio  del  Norte,  like  that  of 
the  Orinoco,  and  all  the  great  rivers  of  South 
America,  is  extremely  muddy.  In  New  Biscay 
they  consider  a  small  river,  called  Rio  Puerco 
(nasty  river),  the  mouth  of  which  lies  south  from 
the  town  of  Albuquerque,  near  Valencia,  as  the 
cause  of  this  phenomenon  ;  but  M.  Tamaron  ob- 
served that  its  waters  were  muddy  far  above  Santa 
Fe  and  the  town  of  Taos.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
Passo  del  Norte  have  preserved  the  recollection  of 
a  very  extraordinary  event  which  took  place  in 
1752.  The  whole  bed  of  the  river  became  dry 
all  of  a  sudden  for  more  than  thirty  leagues  above, 
and  twenty  leagues  below,  the  Passo  :  and  the 
water  of  the  river  precipitated  itself  into  a  newly- 
formed  chasm,  and  only  made  its  re-appearance 
near  the  Presidio  de  San  Eleazario.  This  loss  of 
the  Rio  del  Norte  remained  for  a  considerable 
time  ;  the  fine  plains  which  surround  the  Passo, 
and  which  are  intersected  with  small  canals  of 
irrigation,  remained  without  water  ;  and  the  inha- 
bitants dug  wells  in  the  sand,  with  which  the  bed 
of  the  river  was  filled.  At  length,  after  the  lapse 
of  several  weeks,  the  water  resumed  its  ancient 
course,  no  doubt  because  the  chasm  and  the 
subterraneous   conductors  had  filled  up.     This 


266  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  in. 

^  ANAL™S.^}  ^III-  Province  ofNuevo  Mexico. 

phenomenon  bears  some  analogy  to  a  fact  which 
I  was  told  by  the  Indians  of  Jaen  de  Bracamorros 
during  my  stay  at  Tomependa.   In  the  beginning 
of  the  eighteenth  century  the  inhabitants  of  the 
village  of  Puyaya  saw,  to  their  great  terror  and 
astonishment,  the  bed  of  the  river  Amazons  com- 
pletely dried  up  for  several  hours.     A  part  of  the 
rocks  near  the  cataract  (pongo)  of  Rentema  had 
fallen    down   through  an  earthquake  ;  and  the 
waters  of  the  Maragnon  had  stopt  in  their  course 
till  they  could  get  over  the  dike  formed  by  the 
fall.     In  the  northern  part  of  New  Mexico,  near 
Taos,  and  to  the  north  of  that  city,  rivers  take 
their  rise  which  run  into  the  Mississippi.     The 
Rio  de  Pecos  is  probably  the  same  with  the  Red 
River  of  the   Natchitoches,    and  the  Rio  Na- 
pestla  is,    perhaps,    the  same  river  which,  far- 
ther east,  takes  the  name  of  Arkansas. 

The  colonists  of  this  province,  known  for  their 
great  energy  of  cliaracter,  live  in  a  state  of  per- 
petual warfare  with  the  neighbouring  Indians. 
It  is  on  account  of  this  insecurity  of  the  country 
life  that  we  find  the  towns  more  populous  than 
we  should  expect  in  so  desert  a  country.  The 
situation  of  the  inhabitants  of  New  Mexico 
bears,  in  many  respects,  a  great  resemblance  to 
that  of  the  people  of  Europe  during  the  middle 
ages.     So  long  as  insulation  exposes  men  to  per- 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  267 

^ANALYSI^^}  ^^^^-  P^f^'^i^^  ofNuevo  Mexico, 

sonal  danger,  we  can  hope  for  the  establish- 
ment of  no  equilibrium  between  the  population 
of  towns  and  that  of  the  country. 

However,  the  Indians  who  live  on  an  intimate 
footing  with  the  Spanish  colonists  are  by  no  means 
all  equally  barbarous.  Those  of  the  east  are 
warlike,  and  wander  about  from  place  to  place. 
If  they  carry  on  any  commerce  with  the  whites, 
it  is  frequently  without  personal  intercourse,  and 
according  to  principles  of  which  some  traces  are 
to  be  found  among  some  of  the  tribes  of  Africa. 
The  savages,  in  their  excursions  to  the  north  of 
the  Bolson  de  Mapimi,  plant  along  the  road  be- 
tween Chihuahua  and  Santa  Fe  small  crosses,  to 
which  they  suspend  a  leathern  pocket,  with  apiece 
of  stag  flesh.  At  the  foot  of  the  cross  a  buffalo's 
hide  is  stretched  out.  The  Indian  indicates  by 
these  signs  that  he  wishes  to  carry  on  a  com- 
merce of  barter  with  those  who  adore  the  cross. 
He  offers  the  Christian  traveller  a  hide  for  provi- 
sions, of  which  he  does  not  fix  the  quantity.  The 
soldiers  of  the  presidios^  who  understand  the  hiero- 
glyphical  language  of  the  Indians,  take  away  the 
buffalo  hide,  and  leave  some  salted  flesh  at  the 
foot  of  the  cross.  *  This  system  of  commerce 
indicates  at  once  an  extraordinary  mixture  of 
good  faith  and  distrust. 

*  Diario  del  lUino,  Serior  Tatnaron,  (MS.) 


268  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi, 

ANALYSIS.    [  ^1^1*  Province  ofNuevo  Mexico. 

The  Indians  to  the  west  of  the  Rio  del  Norte, 
between  the  rivers  Gila  and  Colorado,  form  a 
contrast   with   the   wandering    and    distrustful 
Indians  of  the    savannas  to   the   east  of  New 
Mexico.     Father   Garces  is  one  of  the   latest 
missionaries  who  in  I773  visited  the  country  of 
the  Moguiy  watered  by  the  Rio  de  Yaquesila. 
He  was  astonished  to  find  there  an  Indian  town 
with  two  great  squares,  houses  of  several  stories, 
and  streets  well  laid  out,    and  parallel  to  one 
another.     Every  evening  the   people   assemble 
together  on  the  terraces,  of  which  the  roofs  of 
the  houses  are  formed.     The  construction  of  the 
edifices  of  the  Moqui  is  the  same  with  that  of  the 
Casas  grandes  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Gila,  of 
which  we  have  already  spoken.     The   Indians 
who  inhabit  the  northern  part  of  New  Mexico 
give  also  a  considerable  elevation  to  their  houses, 
for  the  sake  of  discovering  the  approach  of  their 
enemies.     Every  thing  in  these  countries  appears 
to  announce    traces  of  the    cultivation  of  the 
ancient  Mexicans.     We  are  informed  even  by 
the  Indian  traditions,  that  twenty  leagues  north 
from  the  Moqui,    near  the  mouth  of  the    Rio 
Zaguananas,  the  banks  of  the  Nabajoa  were  the 
first  abodeof  the  Aztecs  after  tlieir  departure  from 
Aztlan.     On  considering  the  civilization  which 
exists  on  several  points  of  the  north-west  coast  of 
America,  in  the  Moqui,  and  on  the  banks  of  the 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  269 

^ANALYsïâ^}^^!^-  Province  ofNuevo  Mexico, 

Gila,  we  are  tempted  to  believe  (and  I  venture 
to  repeat  it  here)  that  at  the  period  of  the  migra- 
tion of  the  Toltecs,  the  Acolhiies,  and  the  Aztecs, 
several  tribes  separated  from  the  great  mass 
of  the  people  to  establish  themselves  in  these 
northern  regions.  However,  the  language 
spoken  by  the  Indians  of  the  Moqui,  the  Yabi- 
pais,  who  wear  long  beards,  and  those  who  in- 
habit the  plains  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Rio 
Colorado,  is  essentially  different  *  from  the 
Mexican  language. 

In  the  17th  century  several  missionaries  of  the 
order  of  St.  Francis  established  themselves  among 
the  Indians  of  the  Moqui  and  Nabajoa,  who  were 
massacred  in  the  great  revolt  of  the  Indians  in 
I68O.  I  have  seen  in  manuscript  maps  drawn 
up  before  that  period  the  name  of  the  Promicia 
del  Moqui, 

The  province  of  New  Mexico  contains  three 
villas  (Santa  Fe,  Santa  Cruz  de  la  Cariada  y 
Taos,  and  Albuquerque  y  Alameda,)  26  pueblos^ 
or  villages,  Sparroquias,  or  parishes,  19  missions, 
and  no  solitary  farm  (rancho.') 

Santa  Fe,  the  capital,  to  the  east  of  the  great 
Rio  del  Norte.  —  Population,  3,600. 

*  See  the  testimony  of  several  missionary  monks  well 
versed  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Aztec  language  [Chronica 
Serafica  del  CoUegio  de  Queretaro,  p.  408.) 


270  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

ANALYSIS,    f  ^m*  Province  ofNuevo  Mexico. 

Albuquerque,  opposite  the  village  of  Atrisco, 
to  the  west  of  the  Sierra  Obscura. —  Population, 
6,000. 

TaoSj  placed  in  the  old  maps  62  leagues  too 
far  north  under  the  40°  of  latitude.  —  Popula- 
tion, 8,900. 

Passo  del  Norte,  presidio  or  military  post  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Rio  del  Norte,  separated 
from  the  town  of  Santa  Fe  by  an  uncultivated 
country  of  more  than  60  leagues  in  length.  We 
must  not  confound  this  place,  which  some  manu- 
script maps  in  the  archives  of  Mexico  consider 
as  a  dépendance  of  New  Biscay,  with  the  Presi- 
dio del  Norte,  or  de  las  Juntas,  situated  further 
to  the  south,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Conchos. 
Travellers  stop  at  the  Passo  del  Norte  to  lay  in 
the  necessary  provisions  for  continuing  their 
route  to  Santa  Fe.  The  environs  of  the  Passo 
are  delicious,  and  resemble  the  finest  parts  of 
Andalusia.  The  fields  are  cultivated  with  maize 
and  wheat  ;  and  the  vineyards  produce  such 
excellent  sweet  wines  that  they  are  even  pre- 
ferred to  the  wines  of  Parras  in  New  Biscay. 
The  gardens  contain  in  abundance  all  the  fruits 
of  Europe,  figs,  peaches,  apples,  and  pears.  As 
the  country  is  very  dry,  a  canal  of  irrigation 
brings  the  water  of  the  Rio  del  Norte  to  the 
Passo.     It  is  with  difficulty  that  the  inhabitants 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  271 

^ANALYSIS^^i  ^^^^'  Proù^ceofNuevoMe^rico. 
of  the  presidio  can  keep  up  the  dam,  which  forces 
the  waters  of  the  rivers  when  they  are  very  low 
to  enter  into  the  canal  (^azequia.)  During  the 
great  swells  of  the  Rio  del  Norte,  the  strength  of 
the  current  destroys  this  dam  almost  every  year 
in  the  months  of  May  and  June.  The  manner 
of  restoring  and  strengthening  the  dam  is  very 
ingenious.  The  inhabitants  form  baskets  of 
stakes,  connected  together  by  branches  of  trees, 
and  filled  with  earth  and  stones.  These  gabions 
(cestones)  are  abandoned  to  the  force  of  the 
current,  which  in  its  eddies  disposes  them  in  the 
point  where  the  canal  separates  from  the  river. 


272 


POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 

Population 

in 

1803. 

Extent 
of  Sur- 
face in 
square 
Leagues. 

No.  of 
Inhabi- 
tants 
to  the 
square 
League. 

XIV.  Province  of) 
Old  California     J 

9,000 

7,295 

I 

The  history  of  geography  affords  several  ex- 
amples of  countries  of  which  the  position  was 
known  to  the  first  navigators,  but  which  were 
long  regarded  as  having  only  been  discovered  at 
more  recent  epoquas.  Such  are  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  the  west  coast  of  New  Holland,  the  great 
Cyclades,  formerly  called  by  Quiros  the  Archipe- 
lago del  Espiritu  Santo,  the  land  of  the  Arsacides 
seen  by  Mendaria,  and  particularly  the  coast  of 
California.  This  last  country  was  recognized  as 
a  peninsula  before  the  year  1541  ;  and  yet  160 
years  later  the  merit  was  attributed  to  Father 
Kuhn  (Kino)  of  having  first  proved  that  Califor- 
nia was  not  an  island,  and  that  it  was  connected 
with  the  main  land  of  Mexico. 

Cortez,  after  astonishing  the  world  with  his 
exploits  on  the  continent,  displayed  an  energy  of 
characterno  less  admirable  in  his  maritime  under- 
takings. Restless,  ambitious,  and  tormented  with 
the  idea  of  seeing  the  country  which  his  courage 
had  conquered  at  one  time  under  the  administra- 
tion of  a  corregidor  of  Toledo,  and  at  another,  of 


CHAP,  viii.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  273 

ANALYSIS.    (  ^l^-  Province  of  Old  California, 

a  president  of  the  aiidiencia,  or  a  bishop  of  St. 
Domingo*,  he  gave  himself  completely  up  to 
expeditions  of  discovery  in  the  South  Sea.  He 
seemed  to  forget  that  the  powerful  enemies  which 
he  had  at  court  were  merely  stirred  up  by  the 
magnitude  and  rapidity  of  his  successes,  and  he 
flattered  himself  that  he  would  compel  them  to 
silence  by  the  brilliancy  of  the  new  career  which 
opened  to  his  activity.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
government,  which  distrusted  a  man  of  such  ex- 
traordinary merit,  encouraged  him  in  his  design 
of  traversing  the  ocean.  Believing  that  after  the 
conquest  of  Mexico  his  military  talents  were  no 
longer  needed,  the  emperor  was  very  well  pleased 
to  see  him  plunged  in  hazardous  enterprizes  ;  and 
he  was  particularly  desirous  of  seeing  him  re- 
moved to  a  distance  from  the  theatre  where  his 
courage  and  audacity  had  already  shone  so  con- 
spicuously. 

So  early  as  1523,  Charles  V.,  in  a  letter  dated 
from  Valladolid,  recommended  to  Cortez  to  seek 
on  the  eastern  and  western  coasts  of  New  Spain 
for  the  secret  of  a  strait  (el  secreto  del  estrecho), 
which  should  shorten  by  two  thirds  the  naviga- 
tion from  Cadiz  to  the  East  Indies,  then  called 

*  The  corregidor,  Luis  Ponce  de  Leon  ;  the  president, 
Nunc  de  Guzman  ;  and  the  bishop,  Sebastian  Ramirez  de 
Fuenleal. 

VOL.  II.  T 


274  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  hi. 

^  ANALYSI^^}  ^I^-  Province  of  Old  California* 

the  Country  of  Spices.  Cortez,  in  his  answer  to 
the  emperor,  speaks  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm 
of  the  probabihty  of  this  discovery,  "  which,"  he 
adds,  "  will  render  your  majesty  master  of  so 
many  kingdoms  that  you  will  be  considered  as 
the  monarch  of  the  whole  world.*"  It  was  in  the 
course  of  one  of  these  navigations,  undertaken  at 
the  particular  expense  of  Cortez,  that  the  coast 
of  California  was  discovered  by  Herdando  de 
Grixalva  in  the  month  of  February,  1534.  t  His 
pilate,  Fortun  Ximenez,  was  killed  by  the  Cali- 
fornians  in  the  bay  of  Santa  Cruz,  called  after- 
wards the  Port  de  la  Paz,  or  of  the  Marquis  del 
Valle.  Discontented  with  the  tediousness  and 
unsuccessfulness  of  the  discoveries  in  the  South 
Sea,  Cortez  himself  embarked  in  1535  with  400 
Spaniards  and  300  negro  slaves  at  the  port  of 

*  Cartes  de  Cortez^  p.  374.  382.  385. 

f  I  found  in  a  manuscript  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the 
viceroyalty  of  Mexico,  that  Cahfornia  was  discovered  in  1526. 
I  knovir  not  on  what  authority  this  assertion  is  founded. 
Cortez  in  his  letters  to  the  emperor,  written  so  late  as  1524, 
frequently  speaks  of  the  pearls  which  were  found  near  the 
islands  of  the  South  Sea  ;  however,  the  extracts  made  by 
the  author  of  the  Relacion  del  Viage  al  Estrecho  de  Fuca 
(p.  vii.  xxii.)  from  the  valuable  manuscript  preserved  in  the 
Academy  of  History  at  Madrid,  seem  to  prove  that  California 
had  not  even  been  seen  in  the  expedition  of  Diego  Hurtado 
de  Mendoza  in  1532. 


CHAP,  viiï.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  275 

^ANALYSIS^^}  ^I^-  Province  of  Old  California, 

Chiametlan  (Chametla).  He  coasted  both  sides 
of  the  gulf,  then  known  by  the  name  of  the  Sea 
ofCortez,  and  which  the  historian  Gomara  com- 
pared very  judiciously  in  1557  to  the  Adriatic 
Sea.  It  was  during  his  stay  at  the  bay  of  Santa 
Cruz  that  the  afflicting  news  reached  Cortez  of 
the  arrival  of  the  first  viceroy  at  New  Spain. 
Thisgreat  conqueror  was  pursuing  with  unabated 
ardour  his  discoveries  in  California,  when  the 
report  of  his  death  was  spread  at  Mexico.  Ju- 
ana  de  Zuniga,  his  spouse,  fitted  out  two  vessels 
and  a  caraveh  to  learn  the  truth  of  this  alarm- 
ing information.  However,  Cortez,  after  run- 
ning a  thousand  dangers,  anchored  safely  at  the 
port  of  Acapulco.  He  continued  to  pursue,  at 
his  own  expense,  through  Francisco  de  Ulloa, 
the  career  which  he  had  so  gloriously  begun  ; 
and  Ulloa,  in  the  course  of  two  years,  ascertain- 
ed the  coast  of  the  gulf  of  California,  to  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Rio  Colorado. 

The  map  drawn  up  by  the  pilot  Castillo  at 
Mexico  in  1541,  which  we  have  already  several 
times  cited,  represents  the  direction  of  the  coasts 
of  the  peninsula  of  California  nearly  as  we  know 
them  at  present.  Notwithstanding  this  progress 
of  geography  under  the  activity  of  Cortez,  se- 
veral writers  under  the  weak  reign  of  Charles  the 
Second  began  to  consider  California  as  an  archi- 

T  2 


276  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  in. 

^  ANALYSI^^}  ^^^-  Province  of  Old  California. 

pelago  of  great  islands,  called  Islas  CaroUnas, 
The  pearl  fishery  only  drew  from  time  to  time 
a  few  vessels  from  the  ports  of  Xalisco,  Acapulco, 
or  Chacala  ;  and  when  three  Jesuits,  Fathers 
Kiihn,  Salvatierra,  and  Uguarte,  visited  most 
minutely  between  I7OI  and  17^1  the  coast 
which  surrounded  the  Sea  of  Cortez  (mar  roxo 
b  vermejo)y  it  was  believed  in  Europe  to  have 
been  discovered  for  the  first  time  that  California 
was  a  peninsula. 

The  more  imperfectly  any  country  is  known, 
and  the  farther  it  is  removed  from  the  best  peo- 
pled European  colonies,  it  more  easily  acquires 
a  reputation  for  great  metallic  wealth.  The 
imaginations  of  men  are  delighted  with  the  re- 
citals of  wonders  which  the  credulity  or  the  cun- 
ning of  the  first  travellers  delivers  in  a  mysterious 
and  ambiguous  tone.  On  the  Caraccas  coast  the 
wealth  of  the  countries  situated  between  the 
Orinoco  and  the  Rio  Negro  are  highly  extolled  ; 
at  Santa  Fe  we  hear  the  missions  of  the  Andaquies 
incessantly  vaunted  ;  and  at  Quito  the  provinces 
of  Macas  and  Maynos.  The  peninsula  of  Cali- 
fornia was  for  a  long  time  the  Dorado  of  New 
Spain.  A  country  abounding  in  pearls  ought, 
according  to  the  vulgarlogic,alsotoproducegold, 
diamonds,  and  other  precious  stones,  hi  abun- 
dance.    A  monkish  traveller.  Fray  Marcos  de 


CHAP,  viii.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  277 

^  AN^ALYSli^}  ^^^-  Province  of  Old  California. 
Nizza,  turned  the  heads  of  the  Mexicans  by  the 
fabulous  accounts  which  he  gave  of  the  beauty 
of  the  country  situated  to  the  north  of  the  gulf 
of  California,  of  the  magnificence  of  the  town 
of  Cibola  *,  of  its  immense  population,  and  of 
its  pohce  and  the  civihzation  of  its  inhabitants. 
Cortez  and  the  viceroy  Mendoza  disputed  before- 
hand the  conquest  of  this  Mexican  Tombouctou, 
The  establishments  made  by  the  Jesuits  in  Cali- 
fornia since  1683  made  known  the  great  aridity 
of  the  country,  and  the  great  difficulty  of  bring- 

*  The  old  manuscript  map  of  Castillo  places  the  fabulous 
town  of  Cibola,  or  Cibora,  under  the  37*  of  latitude.  But 
on  reducing  its  position  to  that  of  the  mouth  of  the  Rio 
Colorado,  we  are  tempted  to  believe  that  the  ruins  of  the 
Casas  grandes  of  the  Gila,  mentioned  in  the  description  of  the 
intendancy  of  Sonora,  may  have  given  occasion  to  the  stories 
told  by  good  Father  Marcos  de  Nizza.  However,  the  great 
civilization  which  this  monk  affirms  to  have  found  among  the 
inhabitants  of  these  northern  countries  appears  to  me  a  fact 
of  considerable  importance,  which  is  connected  with  what  we 
have  already  related  of  the  Indians  of  the  Rio  Gila  and  the 
Moqui.  The  authors  of  the  16th  century  placed  a  second 
Dorado  to  the  north  of  Cibora  under  the  41°  of  latitude. 
According  to  them,  the  kingdom  of  Tatarrax,  and  an  immense 
town  called  Quivira,  were  to  be  found  there  on  the  banks 
of  the  lake  of  Teguayo,  near  the  Rio  del  Aguilar.  This 
tradition,  if  it  is  founded  on  the  assertion  of  the  Indians  of 
Anahuac,  is  remarkable  enough  ;  for  the  banks  of  the  lake 
of  Teguayo,  which  is,  perhaps,  identical  with  the  lake  of 
Timpanogos,  are  indicated  by  the  Aztec  historians  as  the 
country  of  the  Mexicans. 

Ï  3 


278  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  ni. 

ANALYSIS.   J  XIV-  Province  of  Old  California, 

ing  it  under  cultivation  ;  and  the  bad  success 
which  attended  the  mining  operations  at  Santa 
Ana,  to  the  north  of  Cape  Puhiio,  diminished  the 
enthusiasm  excited  by  the  marvellous  accounts 
of  the  metallic  wealth  of  the  peninsula.     But  the 
grudge  and  the  hatred  entertained  against  the 
Jesuits  gave  rise  to  the  suspicion  that  this  order 
concealed  from  the  government  the  treasures  of 
a  country  so  long  extolled.    These  considerations 
determined  the  visitador  Don  Jose  de  Galvez, 
whom  a  chivalrous  disposition  had  engaged  in 
an  expedition  against  the  Indians  of  Sonora,  to 
pass  over  into  California.     He  found  there  naked 
mountains,  without  soil  and  without  water  ;  and 
a  few  Indian  fig-trees  and  stunted  shrubs  in  the 
crevices  of  the  rocks.     There  was  no  indication 
of  the  gold  and  silver  which  the  Jesuits  were 
accused  of  extracting  from   the  bowels  of  the 
earth  ;  but  every  where  they  perceived  traces  of 
their  industry  and  the  praise-worthy  zeal  with 
which  they  applied  to  cultivate  a  desert  and  arid 
country.    In  the  course  of  this  Californian  expe- 
dition, the  visitador  Galvez  was  accompanied  by 
the  Chevalier  d'Asanza,  a  man  as  remarkable  for 
his  talents  as  for  the  great  vicissitudes  of  fortune 
which  he  has  experienced,  who  acted  as  secretary 
under  M.  Galvez.    He  declared  frankly  what  was 
soon  much  better  proved  by  the  operations  of 
the  small  army  than  by  the  physicians  of  Pitic, 


CHAP,  vni.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  '279 

^  ANALYSIS.^}  ^I^-  Province  of  Old  California, 

that  the  visitador  was  deranged  in  mind.  M. 
d'Asanza  was  apprehended  and  confined  for  five 
months  in  a  prison  in  the  village  of  Tepozotlan, 
where,  thirty  years  afterwards,  he  made  his  so- 
lemn entry  as  viceroy  of  New  Spain. 

The   peninsula   of  California,    which   equals 
England  in  extent  of  territory,  and  does  not  con- 
tain the  population  of  the  small  towns  of  Ipswich 
or  Deptford,  lies  under  the  same  parallel  with 
Bengal  and  the  Canary  Islands.     The  sky  is  con- 
stantly serene  and  of  a  deep  blue,  and  without  a 
cloud  ;  and  should  any  clouds  appear  for  a  mo- 
ment at  the  setting  of  the  sun,  they  display  the 
most  beautiful  shades  of  violet,  purple,  and  green. 
All  those  who  had  ever  been  in  California  (and 
I  have  seen  many  in  New  Spain)  preserved  the 
recollection  of  the  extraordinary  beauty  of  this 
phenomenon,  which  depends  on  a  particular  state 
of  the  vesicular  vapour,  and  the  purity  of  the  air 
in  these  climates.    No  where  could  an  astronomer 
find  a  more  delightful  abode  than  at  Cumana, 
Coro,  the  island  of  Marguerite,  and  the  coast  of 
California.     But  unfortunately  in  this  peninsula 
the  sky  is  more  beautiful  than  the  earth.    The  soil 
is  sandy  and  arid,  like  the  shores  of  Provence;  ve- 
getation is  at  a  stand  ;  and  rain  is  very  unfrequent. 
A  chain  of  mountains  runs  through  the  centre 
of  the  peninsula,  of  whicli  the  most  elevated,  the 

T    i 


280  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

^ANALYSI^^}  ^^^-  Province  of  Old  California. 

Cerro  de  la  Giganta,  is  from  fourteen  to  fifteen 
hundred  metres  *  in  height,  and  appears  of  vol- 
canic origin.  This  Cordillera  is  inhabited  by 
animals,  which  from  their  form  and  their  habits 
resemble  the  moyflon  (ovis  ammon)  of  Sardinia, 
of  which  Father  Consag  has  given  but  a  very  im- 
perfect account.  The  Spaniards  call  them  wild 
sheep  (carneros  cimarones').  They  leap,  like  the 
ibex,  with  their  head  downwards  ;  and  their 
horns  are  curved  on  themselves  in  a  spiral  form. 
According  to  the  observations  of  M.  Costanzot, 
this  animal  differs  essentially  from  the  wild  goats, 
which  are  of  an  ashy  white  (blanc  cendré,)  larger 
and  peculiar  to  New  California,  especially  to  the 
Sierra  de  Santa  Lucia,  near  Monterey.  More- 
over, these  goats,  which  belong,  perhaps,  to  the 
antelope  race,  go  in  the  country  by  the  name  of 
berendos,  and  like  the  chamois,  have  their  horns 
curved  backwards. 

At  the  foot  of  the  mountains  of  California  we 

«  From  4592  to  4920  feet.     Trans. 

f  Journal  of  a  voyage  to  Old  California  and  to  the  port 
of  San  Diego,  drawn  up  in  1769,  (MS).  This  interestin 
journal  had  been  already  printed  at  Mexico,  when  by  orders 
of  the  ministry  all  the  copies  were  confiscated.  It  is  to  be 
desired  for  the  progress  of  zoology,  that  we  should  speedily 
know  from  the  care  of  travellers  the  true  specific  characters 
which  distinguish  the  carneros  cimarones  of  Old  CaHfornia 
from  the  berendus  of  Monterey. 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  281 

^ANALYSlÉ^}  ^I^'  Promice  of  Old  California, 

discover  only  sand,  or  a  stony  stratum,  on  which 
cyUndrical  cacti  (orga?ios  del  tunal)  shoot  up  to 
extraordinary  heights.  We  find  few  springs  ; 
and,  through  a  particular  fatality,  it  is  remarked 
that  the  rock  is  naked  where  the  water  springs 
up,  while  there  is  no  water  where  the  rock  is 
covered  with  vegetable  earth.  Wherever  springs 
and  earth  happen  to  be  together,  the  fertility 
of  the  soil  is  immense.  It  was  in  these  points,  of 
which  the  number  is  far  from  great,  that  the 
Jesuits  established  theirfirstmissions.  The  maize, 
the  jatropha,  and  the  dioscorea,  vegetate  vigor- 
ously ;  and  the  vine  yields  an  excellent  grape, 
of  which  the  wine  resembles  that  of  the  Canary 
Islands.  In  general,  however.  Old  California,  on 
account  of  the  arid  nature  of  the  soil  and  the 
want  of  water  and  vegetable  eartli  in  the  interior 
of  the  country,  will  never  be  able  to  maintain  a 
great  population,  anymore  than  the  northern  part 
of  Sonora,  which  is  almost  equally  dry  and  sandy. 
Of  all  the  natural  productions  of  California  the' 
pearls  have,  since  the  1 6th  century,  been  the  chief 
attraction  to  navigators  for  visiting  the  coast  of 
this  desert  country.  They  abound  particularly 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  peninsula.  Since  tlie 
cessation  of  the  pearl  fishery  near  the  island  of 
Marguerite,  opposite  the  coast  of  Araya,  the  gulfs 
of  Panama  and  California  are  the  only  quarters  in 


282  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

ANALYSIS,    i  ^IV.  Province  of  Old  California. 

the  Spanish  colonies  which  supply  pearls  for  the 
commerce  of  Europe.  Those  of  California  are  of 
a  very  beautiful  water  and  large  ;  but  they  are 
frequently  of  an  irregular  figure,  disagreeable  to 
the  eye.  The  shell  which  produces  the  pearl  is 
particularly  to  be  found  in  the  Bay  of  Ceralvo, 
and  round  the  islands  of  Santa  Cruz  and  San 
Jose.  The  most  valuable  pearls  in  the  possession 
of  the  court  of  Spain  were  found  in  1615  and 
1665,  in  the  expeditions  of  Juan  Yturbi  and 
Bernai  de  Pinadero.  During  the  stay  of  the 
visitador  Galvez  in  California,  in  I768  and  1769, 
a  private  soldier  in  the  presidio  of  Loreto,  Juan 
Ocio,  was  made  rich  in  a  short  time  by  pearl 
fishing  on  the  coast  of  Ceralvo.  Since  that 
period  the  number  of  pearls  of  Cahfornia  brought 
annually  to  market  is  almost  reduced  to  nothing. 
The  Indians  and  negroes,  who  follow  the  severe 
occupation  of  divers,  are  so  poorly  paid  by  the 
whites,  that  the  fishery  is  considered  as  aban- 
doned. This  branch  of  industry  languishes  from 
the  same  causes  which  in  South  America  have 
raised  the  price  of  the  Peruvian  sheep  skins,  the 
caoutchouc,  and  the  febrifugal  bark  of  the  quin- 
quina. 

Although    Hernan   Cortez   spent  more  than 
200,000  ducats  of  his  patrimony  *  in  his  Califor- 

*  Upwards  of  43,000/.  sterling.    Patrimonii  is  not  the  cor- 


CHAP.  vHi.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  283 

ANALYSIS     r  XI^'  Province  of  Old  California, 

nian  expeditions  ;  and  formal  possession  of  the 
peninsula  was  taken  by  Sebastian  Viscaino,  who 
deserves  to  be  placed  in  the  first  rank  of  the  na- 
vigators of  his  age  ;  it  was  only  in  1642*  that 
the  Jesuits  were  able  to  form  solid  establishments 
there.  Jealous  of  their  power,  they  struggled 
successfully  against  the  efforts  of  the  monks  of 
St.  Francis,  who  endeavoured  from  time  to  time 
to  introduce  themselves  among  the  Indians. 
They  had  still  more  difficult  enemies  to  over- 
come, the  soldiers  of  the  military  posts  ;  for  in 
the  extremities  of  the  Spanish  possessions  of  the 
New  Continent,  on  the  limits  of  European  civili- 
zation, the  legislative  and  executive  powers  are 
distributed  in  a  very  strange  manner.  The  poor 
Indian  knows  no  other  master  than  a  corporal 
or  a  missionary. 

rect  expression  in  this  place,  but  property.  Cortez's  patri- 
mony was  never  very  great  ;  and  Bernai  Diaz  states,  that 
what  he  had  was  expended  on  costly  presents  and  prepara- 
tions for  his  new  married  wife,  of  whom  he  was  very  fond, 
before  he  set  out  on  his  celebrated  expedition  from  the  island 
of  Cuba.     Trails. 

*  It  is  advanced  only  a  few  pages  before  this  that  the 
Jesuits  commenced  their  settlements  in  Old  California  in 
1683;  and  we  see  a  few  lines  after  this  that  the  foundation 
of  Loreto,  under  the  name  of  Presidio  de  San  Dionisio,  was 
only  laid  in  1697,  and  that  the  Spanish  establishments  in 
California  became  only  considerable  after  1741.  Should  not 
therefore,  the  1642  be  1742?     Trans. 


284.  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  hi. 

^  ANALYS^S^.^}  ^I^-  Province  of  Old  California, 

In  California  the  Jesuits  obtained  a  complete 
victory  over  the  soldiery  posted  in  the  presidios. 
The  court  decided  by  a  cedula  real,  that  all  the 
detachment  of  Loreto,  even  the  captain,  shouldbe 
under  the  command  of  the  father  at  the  head  of 
the  missions.     The  interesting  voyages  of  three 
Jesuits,  Eusebius  Kiihn,  Maria  Salvatierra,  and 
Juan  Uguarte,  brought  us  acquainted  with  the 
physical  situation  of  the  country.     The  village  of 
Loreto  had  been  already  founded,  under  the  name 
of  Presidio  de  San  Dionisio,  in  1697*     Under 
the  reign  of  Philip  V.,  especially  after  the  year 
I744,  the  Spanish  establishments  in  California 
became   very   considerable.     The    Jesuits    dis- 
played there  that  commercial  industry  and  that 
activity  to  which  they  are  indebted  for  so  many 
successes,  and  which  have  exposed  them  to  so 
many  calumnies  in  both  Indies.     In  a  very  few 
years  they  built  16  villages  in  the  interior  of  the 
peninsula.     Since  their  expulsion  in  I767,  Cali- 
fornia has  been  confided  to  the  Dominican  monks 
of  the  city  of  Mexico  ;  and  it  appears  that  they 
have  not  been  so  successful  in  their  establish- 
ments of  Old  California,  as  the  Franciscans  have 
been  on  the  coasts  of  New  California. 

The  natives  of  the  peninsula  who  do  not  live 
in  the  missions  are  of  all  savages,  perhaps,  the 
nearest   to   what  has  been  called  the   state  of 


cHAP.viii.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  285 

^ANALYSlÊ^}  ^I^-  Province  of  Old  California, 

nature.     They  pass  whole  days  stretched  out  on 
their  belUes  on  the  sand,  when  it  is  heated  by 
the  reverberation  of  the  solar  rays.     Like  several 
tribes  of  the  Orinoco  seen  by  us,  they  entertain 
a  great  horror  for  clothing.     "  A  monkey  dressed 
up  does  not  appear  so  ridiculous  to  the  common 
people  in  Europe,'*  says  Father  Venegas,  "  as  a 
man  in  clothes  appears  to  the  Indians  of  Cali- 
fornia."    Notwithstanding  this  state  of  apparent 
stupidity,    the   first   missionaries    distinguished 
different    religious    sects    among   the    natives. 
Three  divinities,  who  carried  on  a  war  of  exter- 
mination  against  each  other,    were   objects  of 
terror  among  three  of  the  tribes  of  California. 
The  Pericues  dreaded  the  power  of  Niparaya,  and 
the  Menquis  and  the  Vehities  the  power  of  Wac- 
tipuran  and  Sumongo.     I  say  that  these  hordes 
dreaded,  not  that  they  adored,  invisible  beings  ; 
for  the  worship  of  the  savage  is  merely  a  fit  of 
fear,   the   sentiment  of  a   secret  and  religious 
horror. 

According  to  the  information  which  I  obtained 
from  the  monks  who  now  govern  the  two  Cali- 
fbrnias,  the  population  of  Old  California  has 
diminishad  to  such  a  degree  within  the  last  thirty 
years,  that  there  are  not  more  than  from  four  to 
five  thousand  native  cultivators  ÇIndios  rediici- 
dos)  in  the  villages  of  the  missions.     The  number 


286  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  nr. 

^ANALYSI^^}  ^^^-  Province  of  Old  California. 

of  these  missions  is  also  reduced  to  sixteen. 
These  of  Santiago  and  Guadakipe  remain  with 
out  inhabitants.  The  small-pox,  and  another 
malady  which  the  Europeans  would  fain  per- 
suade themselves  that  they  received  from  the 
same  continent  to  which  they  were  the  first  who 
carried  it,  and  which  exercises  such  ravages  in 
the  South  Sea  Islands,  are  cited  as  the  principal 
causes  of  the  depopulation  of  California.  It  is 
to  be  supposed  that  there  are  others  which  de- 
pend on  the  nature  of  the  political  institutions  ; 
and  it  is  high  time  that  the  Mexican  government 
should  seriously  think  of  removing  the  obstacles 
which  prevent  the  prosperity  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  peninsula.  The  number  of  the  savages 
scarcely  amounts  to  4000.  It  is  observed  that 
those  who  inhabit  the  north  of  California  are 
somewhat  more  gentle  and  civilized  than  the 
natives  of  the  southern  division. 

The  principal  villages  of  this  province  are  : 
LoretOy  presidio  and  principal  place  of  all  the 
missions  of  Old  California,  founded  at  the  end 
of  the  17th  century  by  Father  Kiihn,  the  astro- 
nomer of  Ingolstadt. 

Santa  Ana^  mission  and  real  de  minas^  cele- 
brated on  account  of  the  astronomical  observa- 
tions of  Velasquez. 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  285 

^  ANALYSl^.^l  ^^^-  Province  of  Old  California. 

San  Joseph^  mission  in  which  the  Abbe  Chappe 
perished,  the  victim  of  his  zeal  and  devotion  for 
the  sciences.  * 


*  People  who  have  lived  a  long  time  in  California  have 
assured  me,  that  the  Noticia  of  Father  Venegas,  against  which 
the  enemies  of  the  suppressed  order,  and  even  Cardinal  Lo- 
renzana,  have  raised  up  doubts,  is  very  accurate  (Cartas  de 
Cortez,  p,  327.)  There  still  exist  in  the  archives  of  Mexico 
the  following  manuscripts,  not  made  use  of  by  Father  Barcos 
in  his  Storia  de  California,  printed  at  Rome  :  1.  Chronica  his- 
torica  de  la  provhicia  de  Mechoacan  con  varias  mapas  de  la 
California  ;  2.  Carias  originales  del  Padre  Juan  Maria  de 
Salva  tierra  ;  3.  Diario  del  Capitan  Juan  Mateo  Mangi  que 
accompanb  a  las  padres  apostolicos  Kino  y  Kappus. 


288 


POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi- 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 

Population 

in 

1803. 

Extent 
of  Sur- 
face in 
square 
Leagues. 

No.  of 
Inhabi- 
tants 
to  the 
square 
Lea'Tue. 

XV.  Intendancy  of 7 
New  California  j 

15,600 

2,125 

7 

The  part  of  the  coast  of  the  Great  Ocean 
which  extends  from  the  isthmus  of  Old  CaHfor- 
nia  or  from  the  bay  of  Todos  los  Santos  (south 
from  the  port  of  San  Diego)  to  Cape  Mendo- 
cino, bears  on  the  Spanish  maps  the  name  of 
New  Cahfornia  (Nueva  California.)  It  is  a  long 
and  narrow  extent  of  country  in  which  for  these 
forty  years  the  Mexican  government  has  been 
establishing  missions  and  military  posts.  No 
village  or  farm  is  to  be  found  north  of  the  port 
of  St.  Francis,  which  is  more  than  78  leagues 
distant  from  Cape  Mendocino.  The  province 
of  New  California  in  its  present  state  is  only 
197  leagues  in  length,  and  from  9  to  10  in 
breadth.  The  city  of  Mexico  is  the  same  dis- 
tance in  a  straight  line  from  Philadelphia  as 
from  Monterey,  which  is  the  chief  place  of  the 
missions  of  New  California,  and  of  whicli  the 
latitude  is  the  same  to  within  a  few  minutes 
with  that  of  Cadiz. 

We  have  already  taken  notice  of  the  journeys  of 
several  monks,  who,  in  the  beginning  of  the  last 
century,  in  passing  by  land  from  the  peninsula  of 


CHAP,  vni.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  289 

^  Ynalysis^  }  ^^'IntendaiicyqfNewCalifornia. 

Old  California  to  Sonora,  went  on  foot  round  the 
sea  of  Cortez.     At  the  time  of  the  expedition 
of  M.  Galvez  military  detachments  came  from 
Loreto  to  the  port  of  San  Diego.    The  letter  post 
still  goes  from  this  port  along   the  north-west 
coast  to  San  Francisco.    This  last  establishment, 
the  most  northern  of  all  the  Spanish  possessions 
of  the  New  Continent,  is  almost  under  the  same 
parallel  *  with  the  small  town  of  Taos  in  ISFew 
Mexico.     It  is  not  more  than  300  leagues  distant 
from  it  ;  and  though   Father  Escalante,  in  his 
apostolical  excursions  in  1777j  advancedalong  the 
western  bank  of  the  river  Zaguananas  towards  the 
mountains  de  los  Gzcacaros^  no  traveller  has  yet 
come  from  New  Mexico  to  the  coast  of  New  Ca- 
lifornia.    This  fact  must  appear  remarkable  to 
those  who  knoWj  from  the  history  of  the  conquest 
of  America,  the  spirit  of  enterprise  and  the  won- 
derful courage  with  which  the  Spaniards  were 
animated  in  the  l6th  century.     Hernan  Cortez 
landed  for  the  first  time  on  the  coast  of  Mexico 
in  the  district  of  Chalchiuhcuecan  in  1519,  and  in 
the  space  of  four  years  had  already  constructed 
vessels  on  the  coast  of  the  South  Sea  at  Zacatula 
and  Tehuantepec.  In  1537  Alvar  Nunez  Cabeza 
de  Vaca  appeared  with  two  of  his  companions 

•  See  the  first  chapter  of  this  work. 
VOL.  II.  U 


290  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  hi. 

^"^uJalysis^I  XV./wfew^ûwc^/  of  New  California, 

worn  out  with  fatigue,  naked,  and  covered  with 
wounds,  on  the  coast  of  Culiacan,  opposite  the 
peninsula  of  California.     He  had  landed  with 
Panfilo  Narvaez  in  Florida;  and  after  two  years, 
excursions,  wandering  over  all  Louisiana  and  the 
northern  part  of  Mexico,  he  arrived  at  the  shore 
of  the  great  ocean  in  Sonora.     This  space,  which 
Nunez  went  over,  is  almost  as  great  as  that  of  the 
route  followed  by  Captain  Lewis  from  the  banks 
of  the  Mississippi  to  Nootka  and  the  mouth  of 
the  river  Columbia.  *  When  we  consider  the  bold 
undertakings  of  the  first  Spanish  conquerors  in 
Mexico,  Peru,  and  on  the  Amazons'  river,  we 
are  astonished  to  find  that  for  two  centuries  the 
same  nation  could  not  find  a  road  by  land  in  New 
Spain  from  Taos  to  the  port  of  Monterey  ;  in 
New  Grenada,  from  Santa  Fe  to  Carthagena,  or 
from  Quito  to  Panama  ;  and  in  Guayana,  from 
PEsmeralda  to  S.  Thomas  del' Angostura  ! 

From  the  example  of  the  English  maps,  several 
geographers  give  the  name  of  New  Albion  to  New 
California.  This  denomination  is  founded  on  the 
very  inaccurate  opinion  that  the  navigator  Drake 

•  This  wonderful  journey  of  Captain  Lewis  was  under- 
taken under  the  auspices  of  M.  Jefferson,  who  by  this 
important  service  rendered  to  science  has  added  new  claims 
on  the  gratitude  of  the  savans  of  all  nations. 


CHAP.  VII I. J     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  291 

first  discovered,  in  1578,  the  north-west  coast  of 
America  between  the  38°  and  the  48°  of  latitude. 
The  celebrated  voyage  of  Sebastian  Viscaino  is, 
no  doubt,  24  years  posterior  to  the  discoveries  of 
Francis  Drake  ;  but  Knox  *  and  other  historians 
seem  to  forget  that  Cabrillo  had  already  examined 
in  1542  the  coast  of  New  California  to  the  parallel 
of  43*,  the  boundary  of  his  navigation,  as  we  may 
see  from  a  comparison  of  the  old  observations  of 
latitude  with  those  taken  in  our  own  days.     Ac- 
cording to  sure  historical  data,  the  denomination 
of  New  Albion  ought  to  be  limited  to  that  part  of 
the  coast  which  extends  from  the  43°  to  the  48% 
or  from  Cape  White  of  Martin  de  Aguilar  to  tlie— 
entrance  of  Juan  de  Fuca.  t     Besides,  from  the 
missions  of  the  Catholic  priests  to  those  of  the 
Greek  priests,  that  is  to  say,  from  the  SpanMr*^«s^ 
village  of  San  Francisco  in  New  California  to  the 
Russian  establishments  on  Cook  river  at  Prince 
William's  bay,  and  to  the  islands  of  Kodiac  and 
Unalaska,  there  are  more  than  a  thousand  leagues 
of  coast  inhabited  by  free  men,  and  stocked  with 
otters  and  Phocae!    Consequently,  the  discussion 


*  Knox's  Collection  of  Voyages,  Vol.  iii..  p.  18. 

t  See  the  learned  researches  in  the  introduction  of  the 
Viage  de  las  Goletas  Stitil  y  Mexicmia,  1802,  p.  xxxiv.  xxxvi. 
Ivii. 

u  2 


292  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  nr. 

STATISTICAL]  vxr  r,*     ^  ^at      n  it      ■ 

ANALYSIS,  j  ■^y'lntendancT/ojNewCaltforma, 

on  the  extent  of  the  New  Albion  of  Drake,  and 
the  pretended  rights  acquired  by  certain  Euro- 
pean nations  from  planting  small  crosses  and 
leaving  inscriptions  fastened  to  trunks  of  trees,  or 
the  burying  of  bottles,  may  be  considered  as  futile. 
Although  the  whole  shore  of  New  California 
was  carefiilly  examined  by  the  great  navigator 
Sebastian  Viscaino  (as  is  proved  by  plans  drawn 
up  by  himself  in  1602)  this  fine  country  was  only, 
however,  occupied  by  the  Spaniards  I67  years 
afterwards.     The  court  of  Madrid,  dreading  lest 
the  other  maritime  powers  of  Europe  should  form 
settlements  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America 
which  might  become  dangerous  to  the  Spanish 
colonies,  gave  orders  to  the  Chevalier  de  Croix, 
the  viceroy,  and  the  Visitador  Galvez,  to  found 
missions  and  presidios  in  the  ports  of  San  Diego 
and  Monterey.  For  this  purpose  two  packet-boats 
set  out  from  the  port  of  San  Bias,  and  anchored 
at   San   Diego  in  the  month  of  April,   I76S. 
Another  expedition  arrived  by  land  through  Old 
California.     Since  Viscaino,   no  European  had 
disembarked  on  these  distant  coasts.  The  Indians 
were  quite  astonished  to  see  men  with  clothes, 
though  they  knew  that  farther  east  there  were  men 
whose  complexion  was  not  of  a  coppery  colour. 
There  was  even  found  among  them  several  pieces 
of  silver,  which  had  undoubtedly  come  from  New 

10 


CHAP,  viii.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  29S 

Mexico.  The  first  Spanish  colonists  suffered  a 
great  deal  from  scarcity  of  provisions  and  an 
epidemical  disease,  the  consequence  of  the  bad 
quality  of  their  food,  their  fatigues,  and  the  want 
of  shelter.  Almost  all  of  them  fell  sick,  and 
only  eight  individuals  remained  on  their  feet. 
Amongst  these  were  two  respectable  men.  Fray 
Junipero  Serra,  a  monk  known  from  his  travels, 
and  M.  Costanzo,  the  head  of  the  engineers,  in 
whose  praise  we  have  already  so  often  spoken  in 
the  course  of  this  work.  They  were  employed 
in  digging  graves  to  receive  the  bodies  of  their 
companions.  The  land  expedition  was  very  late 
in  arriving  with  assistance  to  this  unfortunate 
infant  colony.  The  Indians,  to  announce  the 
arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  placed  themselves  on 
casks  with  their  arms  out,  to  show  that  they  had 
seen  whites  on  horseback. 

The  soil  of  New  California  is  as  well  watered 
and  fertile  as  that  of  Old  California  is  arid  and 
stony.  It  is  one  of  the  most  picturesque  countries 
which  can  be  seen.  The  climate  is  much  more 
mild  there  than  in  the  same  latitude  on  the  eastern 
coast  of  the  New  Continent.  The  sky  is  foggy; 
but  the  frequent  fogs  which  render  it  difficult  to 
land  on  the  coast  of  Monterey  and  San  Francisco 
give  vigour  to  vegetation  and  fertilize  the  soil, 
which  is  covered  with  a  black  and  spongy  earth. 

u  3 


294  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE     [book  m. 

STATISTICAL)  v^r   r  ^     j  ^kt      n  vr      ' 

ANALYSIS.  I  -^  ^  •  Intendance  of  New  California. 

In  the  eighteen  missions  which  now  exist  in  New 
California,  wheat,  maize,  and  haricots  (Jrisoles)^ 
are  cultivated  in  abundance.  Barley,  beans,  len- 
tiles,  ^\\à  garbanzoSy  grow  very  well  in  the  fields 
in  the  greatestpart  of  the  province.  As  the  thirty- 
six  monks  of  St.  Francis  whofgovern  these  mis- 
sions are  all  Europeans,  they  have  carefully  intro- 
duced into  the  gardens  of  the  Indians  the  most 
part  of  the  roots  and  fruit  trees  cultivated  in  Spain. 
The  first  colonists  found,  on  their  arrival  there 
in  1769,  shoots  of  wild  vines  in  the  interior  of 
the  country,  which  yielded  very  large  grapes  of  a 
very  sour  quality.  It  was,  perhaps,  one  of  the 
numerous  species  of  vitis  peculiar  to  Canada, 
Louisiana,  and  New  Biscay,  which  are  still  very 
imperfectly  known  to  botanists.  The  missionaries 
introduced  into  California  the  vine  (yitis  vmifera), 
of  which  the  Greeks  and  Romans  diffused  the 
cultivation  throughout  Europe,  and  which  is  cer- 
tainly a  stranger  to  the  Nev/  Continent.  Good 
wine  is  made  in  the  villages  of  San  Diego,  San 
Juan  Capistrano,  San  Gabriel,  San  Buenaventura, 
Santa  Barbara,  San  Luis  Obispo,  Santa  Clara, 
and  San  Jose,  and  all  along  the  coast,  south  and 
north  of  Monterey,  to  beyond  the  37*  of  latitude. 
The  European  olive  is  successfully  cultivated  near 
the  canal  of  Santa  Barbara,  especially  near  San 
Diego,  where  au  oil  is  made  as  good  as  that  ol 


CHAP,  viii.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  295 

^"anaLYSIS^}  ^^-IntendancyofNewCalifornia, 

the  valley  of  Mexico,  or  the  oils  of  Andalusia. 
The  very  cold  winds  which  blow  with  impetuosity 
from  the  north  and  north-west,  sometimes  pre- 
vent the  fruits  from  ripening  along  the  coast  j 
but  the  small  village  of  Santa  Clara,  situated 
nine  leagues  from  Santa  Cruz,  and  sheltered  by 
a  chain  of  mountains,  has  better  planted  orchards 
and  more  abundant  harvests  of  fruit  than  the 
presidio  of  Monterey.  In  this  last  place,  the 
monks  show  travellers,  with  satisfaction,  several 
useful  vegetables,  the  produce  of  the  seeds  given 
by  M.  Thouin  to  the  unfortunate  Laperouse. 

Of  all  the  missions  of  New  Spain  those  of  the 
north-west  coast  exhibit  the  most  rapid  and 
remarkable  progress  in  civilization.  The  public 
having  taken  an  interest  in  the  details  published 
by  Laperouse,  Vancouver,  and  two  recent  Spanish 
navigators,  MM.  Galiano  and  Valdes  *,  on  the 
state  of  these  distant  regions,  I  endeavoured  to 
procure  during  my  stay  at  Mexico  the  statistical 
tables  drawn  up  in  1802  on  the  very  spot  (at  San 
Carlos  de  Monterey)  by  the  present  president  of 
the  missions  of  New  California,  Father  Firmin 
Lasuen.  t    From  the  comparison  which  I  made 

♦  Viage  de  la  Sutil,  p.  167. 

I  See  the  extract  from  these  tables  in  note  D,  at  the  end 
of  this  work. 

U  1 


296  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

ANALYSIS.  I  ^^  '  Intejidmicy  of  New  California, 

of  the  official  papers  preserved  in  the  archives 
of  the  archbishopric  of  Mexico,  it  appears  that 
in  1776  there  were  only  8,  and  in  I79O  11  vil- 
lages; while  in  1802  the  number  amounted  to 
18.  The  population  of  New  California,  including 
only  the  Indians  attached  to  the  soil  who  have 
begun  to  cultivate  their  fields,  was 

in  1790,     -     -       7,748  souls 
in  1801,     -     -     13,668 
and  in  1802,     -     -     15,562 

Thus  the  number  of  inhabitants  has  doubled  in 
12  years.  Since  the  foundation  of  these  missions, 
or  between  I769  and  1802,  there  were  in  all, 
according  to  the  parish  registers,  33,717  bap- 
tisms, 8009  marriages,  and  16,984  deaths.  We 
must  not  attempt  to  deduce  from  these  data  the 
proportion  between  the  birtlis  and  deaths,  because 
in  the  number  of  baptisms  the  adult  Indians  {los 
neqfitos)  are  confounded  with  the  children. 

The  estimation  of  the  produce  of  the  soil,  or 
the  harvests,  furnishes  also  the  most  convincing 
proofs  of  the  increase  of  industry  and  prosperity 
of  New  California.  In  1791,  according  to  the 
tables  published  by  M.  Galiano,  the  Indians 
sowed  in  the  whole  province  only  874  fanega^ 
of  wheat,  which  yielded  a  harvest  of  15,1^7 
Janegas.     The  cultivation  doubled  in  1802  ;  for 


CHAP.  Vin.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  297 

^  "^NALYSIS^  I  ^^'  ^'^^^^d(^'^<^y  of  New  California. 

the  quantity  of  wheat  sown  was  2089  faneras, 
and  the  harvest  SS^ô'^^fariegas, 

The  following  table  contains  the  number  of 
live  stock  in  1802. 

Beeves,    j     Sheep.    |     Hogs.    I     Horses.    I      Mules. 
67,782     I    107,172  j     1040      |       2187      |        877 

In  1791  there  were  only  24,9-58  head  of  black 
cattle  (ganado  mayor)  in  the  whole  of  the  Indian 
villages. 

This  progress  of  agriculture,  this  peaceful  con- 
quest of  industry,  is  so  much  the  more  interesting, 
as  the  natives  of  this  coast,  very  different  from 
those  of  Nootka  and  Norfolk  bay,  were  only 
thirty  years  ago  a  wandering  tribe,  subsisting  on 
fishing  and  hunting,  and  cultivating  no  sort  of 
vegetables.  The  Indians  of  the  bay  of  S.  Fran- 
cisco were  equally  wretched  at  that  time  with  the 
inhabitants  of  Van  Diemen's  Land.  The  natives 
were  found  somewhat  more  advanced  in  civiliz- 
ation in  1769  only  in  the  canal  of  Santa  Barbara. 
They  constructed  large  houses  of  a  pyramidal 
form  close  to  one  another.  They  appeared 
benevolent  and  hospitable  ;  and  they  presented 
the  Spaniards  with  vases  very  curiously  wrought 
of  stalks  of  rushes.  M.  Bonpland  possesses  se- 
veral of  these  vases  in  his  collections,  which  are 


298         POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  hi. 

STATISTICAL  1 
ANALYSIS,  j  ^^ 'Intendancy  of  New  California, 

covered  within  with  a  very  thin  layer  of  asphaltus, 
that  renders  them  impenetrable  to  water,  or  the 
strong  liquors  which  they  may  happen  to  contain. 
The  northern  part  of  California  is  inhabited 
by  the  two  nations  of  the  Rumsen  and  Escelen.  * 
They  speak  languages  totally  different  from  one 
another,  and  they  form  the  population  of  the  pre- 
sidio and  the  village  of  Monterey.  In  the  bay  of 
San  Francisco  the  languages  of  the  different  tribes 
of  the  Matalans,  Salsen,  and  Quirotes,  are  derived 
from  a  common  root.  I  have  heard  several  tra- 
vellers speak  of  the  analogy  between  the  Mexican 
or  Aztec  language,  and  the  idioms  of  the  north- 
west coast  of  North  America.  It  appeared  to  me, 
however,  that  they  exaggerated  the  resemblance 
between  these  American  languages.  On  examin- 
ing carefully  the  vocabularies  formed  at  Nootka 
and  Monterey,  I  was  struck  with  the  similarity  of 
tone  and  termination  to  those  of  Mexico  in  several 
words  ;  as,  for  example,  in  the  language  of  the 
Nootkians:  apquiœitl  (to  embrace),  temextiœitl 
(to  kiss),  cocotl  (otter),  hitlzitl  (to  sigh),  tzitz- 
imitz  (earth),  and  imcoatzimitl  (the  name  of  a 
month).  However,  the  languages  of  New  Cali- 
fornia and  the  island  of  Quadra  differ  in  general 

*  Manuscript  of  Father  Lasuen,    M.  dc  Galeano  call» 
them  Rumsien  and  Eslen. 


CHAP,  viii.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  299 

^Ynalysis.^}  ^^•^^^^^^^'^"^'^^-^^^  ^^¥ornia, 

essentially  from  the  Aztec,  as  may  be  seen  in  the 
cardinal  numbers  brought  together  in  the  follow- 


ing  table. 

Mexican. 

Escelen. 

Riimsen. 

1.  Ce     -     - 

2.  Ome 

Pek     -    -    - 

Ulhai      -    - 

Enjala     -     - 
Ultis        -     - 

3.  Jei    -     - 

4.  Nahui    - 

5.  Macuilli 

6.  Chicuace 

Julep      -    - 
Jamajus   -    - 
Pamajala 
Pegualanai   - 

Kappes    -    - 
Ultitzim 
Haliizu    -     - 
Halishakem 

7.  Chicome 

8.  Chicuei 

9.  Chiucnahui 
10.  Matlactli 

Julajualanai 
Julepjualanai 
Jamajusjualanai 
Tomoila 

Kapkamaishakem 
Ultumaishakem 
Pakke 
Tamchaigt   - 

Nootka. 

Sahuac 

Atla 

Catza 

Nu 

Sutcha 

Nupu 

Atlipu 

Atlcual 

Tzahuacuatl 

Ayo 


The  Nootka  words  are  taken  from  a  manuscript 
of  M.  MozinOy  and  not  from  Cook's  vocabulary, 
in  which  ayo  is  confounded  with  haecoo,  nu  with 
mo,  &c.  &c. 

Father  Lasuen  observed  that  on  an  extent  of 
180  leagues  of  the  coast  of  California  from  San 
Diego  to  San  Francisco,  no  fewer  than  17  lan- 
guages are  spoken,  which  can  hardly  be  consi- 
dered as  dialects  of  a  small  number  of  mother- 
languages.  This  assertion  will  not  astonish 
those  who  know  the  curious  researches  of  MM. 
Jefferson,  Volney,  Barton,  Hervas,  William  de 
Humboldt,  Vater,  and  Frederic  Schlegel*,  on 
the  subject  of  the  American  languages. 


*  See  the  classical  work  of  M.  Schlegel  on  the  language, 
philosophy,  and  poetry  of  the  Hindoos,  in  which  are  to  be 


300  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  iir. 

^Ynal™is.^}  ^'^'IntendancyofNew  California. 

The  population  of  New  California  would  have 
augmented  still  more  rapidly  if  the  laws  by  which 
the  Spanish  presidios  have  been  governed  for 
ages  were  not  directly  opposite  to  the  true 
interests  of  both  mother-country  and  colonies. 
By  these  laws  the  soldiers  stationed  at  Monterey 
are  not  permitted  to  live  out  of  their  barracks 
and  to  settle  as  colonists.  The  monks  are  gene- 
rally averse  to  the  settlement  of  colonists  of  the 
white  cast,  because  being  people  who  reason 
(gente  de  razon  *)  they  do  not  submit  so*  easily 
to  a  blind  obedience  as  the  Indians.  *'  It  is 
truly  distressing,  (says  a  well-informed  and  en- 
lightened Spanish  navigator  +)  that  the  mili- 
tary, who  pass  a  painful  and  laborious  life, 
cannot  in  their  old  age  settle  in  the  country  and 
employ  themselves  in  agriculture.  The  prohi- 
bition of  building  houses  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  presidio  is  contrary  to  all  the  dictates  of 
sound  policy.  If  the  whites  were  permitted  to 
employ  themselves  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil 

found  very  enlarged  views  relative  to  the  mechanism,  I  may 
say,  the  organization,  of  the  languages  of  the  two  continents. 

*  In  the  Indian  villages  the  natives  are  distinguished  from 
the  gente  de  razon.  The  whites,  mulattoes,  negroes,  and  all 
the  casts  which  are  not  Indians^  go  under  the  designation  of 
gente  de  razon  ;  a  humiliating  expression  for  the  nativesj 
which  had  its  origin  in  ages  of  barbarism. 

\  Journal  of  Don  Dio7iisio  Galiano. 


CHAP.  VIII.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  301 

^'^A^i^sâ^}^y'Intenda?ici/ofNe'wCaUfornia. 

and  the  rearing  of  cattle,  and  if  the  military,  by 
establishing  their  wives  and  children  in  cottages, 
could  prepare  an  asylum  against  the  indigence 
to  which  they  are  too  frequently  exposed  in  their 
old  age,  New  California  would  soon  become  a 
flourishing  colony,  a  resting-place  of  the  greatest 
utility  for  the    Spanish   navigators    who   trade 
between   Peru,    Mexico,    and    the   Philippine 
Islands."     On  removing  the  obstacles  which  we 
have   pointed   out,    the  Malouine   Islands,  the 
missions  of  the  Rio  Negro,  and  the  coasts  of  San 
Francisco  and  Monterey,  would  soon  be  peopled 
with  a  great  number  of  whites.     But  what   a 
striking  contrast  between  the  principles  of  colo^ 
nization  followed  by  the  Spaniards,  and  those  by 
which  Great  Britain  has  created  in  a  few  years 
villages  on  the  eastern  coast  of  New  Holland  i 
The  Rumsen  and  Escelen  Indians  share  with 
the  nations  of  the  Aztec  race,  and  several  of  the 
tribes  of  northern  Asia,  a  strong  inclination  for 
warm  baths.    The  temazcaUi,  still  found  at  Mex- 
ico, of  which  the  Abbé  Clavigero  has  given  an 
exact   representation  ♦,  are  true  vapour  baths. 
The  Aztec  Indian  remains  stretched  out  in  a  hot 
oven,  of  which  the  flags  are  continually  watered  ; 
but  the  natives  of  New  California  use  the  bath 
formerly  recommended  by  the  celebrated  Frank- 

*  Clavigero,  IL  p.  214. 


302  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  in. 

^  ANALYSIS^  I  ^^'^^f^^^^^ci/o/NewCalifornia, 

lin,  under  the  name  of  warm  air  bath.  We 
accordingly  find  in  the  missions  beside  each 
cottage  a  small  Vaulted  edifice  in  the  form  of  a 
temazcalli.  Returning  from  their  labour,  the 
Indians  enter  the  oven,  in  which,  a  few  moments 
before,  the  fire  has  been  extinguished  j  and  they 
remain  there  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  When 
they  feel  themselves  covered  over  with  perspir- 
ation, they  plunge  into  the  cold  water  of  a  neigh- 
bouring stream,  or  wallow  about  in  the  sand. 
This  rapid  transition  from  heat  to  cold,  and  the 
sudden  suppression  of  the  cutaneous  transpiration 
which  an  European  would  justly  dread,  causes 
the  most  agreeable  sensations  to  the  savage,  who 
enjoys  whatever  strongly  agitates  him  or  acts 
with  violence  on  his  nervous  system.* 

The  Indians  who  inhabit  the  villages  of  New 
California  have  been  for  some  years  employed  in 
spinning  coarse  woollen  stuffs,  called  frisadas. 
But  their  principal  occupation,  of  which  the  pro- 
duce might  become  a  very  considerable  branch  of 
commerce,  is  the  dressing  of  stag  skins.  It  appears 
to  me  that  it  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  relate 
here  what  I  could  collect  from  the  manuscript 
journals  of  Colonel  Costanzo,  relative  to  the  ani- 

*  Most  readers  probably  know  that  this  transition  from 
hot  to  cold  bathing  is  practised  also  in  Russia.     Trans. 


CHAP,  vxii.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.         303 

mais  which  live  in  the  mountains  between  San 
Diego  and  Monterey,  and  the  particular  address 
with  which  the  Indians  get  possession  of  the  stags. 
In  the  Cordillera  of  small  elevation  which  runs 
along  the  coast,  as  well  as  in  the  neighbouring 
savannas,  there  are  neither  buffaloes  nor  elks  ;  and 
on  the  crest  of  the  mountains,  which  are  covered 
with  snow  in  the  month  of  November,  the  beren- 
dos,  with  small  chamois  horns,  of  which  we  have 
already  spoken,  feed  by  themselves.     But  all  the 
forest  and  all  the  plains  covered  with  gramina  are 
filled  with  flocks  of  stags  of  a  most  gigantic  size, 
the  branches  of  which  are  round  and  extremely 
large.     Forty  or  fifty  of  them  are  frequently  seen 
at  a  time  :  they  are  of  a  brown  colour,  smooth, 
and  without  spot.     Their  branches,  of  which  the 
seats  of  the  antlers  are  not  flat,  are  nearly  15 
decimetres  *  (44-  feet)  in  length.    It  is  aflirmed  by 
every  traveller,  that  this  great  stag  of  New  Cali- 
fornia is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  animals  of 
Spanish  America.     It  probably  differs  from  the 
wewakish  of  M.  Hearne,  or  the  elk  of  the  United 
States,  of  which  naturalists  have  very  improperly 
made  the  two  species  of  cervus  canadensis,  and 
cervus  strongyloceros.  t    These  stags  of  New 

*  4  feet  11  inches,  English.     Trans. 
t  There  still  prevails  a  good  deal  of  uncertainty  as  to  the 
specific  characters  of  the  great  and  small  stags  {venados)  of 


304  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  in. 

STATISTICAL  7  vTr  r  t      r  v-at  w  /-  zv      • 

ANALYSIS.  S     V./72/ewû<2?2n/ q/Nexv California, 

California,  not  to  be  found  in  Old  California, 
formerly  struck  the  navigator  Sebastian  Biscayno» 
when  he  put  into  the  port  of  Monterey  on  the 
15th  December,  1602.  He  asserts  "  that  he 
saw  some,  of  which  the  branches  were  three 
metres  (nearly  nine  feet)  in  length."  These 
venados  run  with  extraordinary  rapidity,  throw- 
ing their  head  back,  andsupporting  their  branches 
on  their  backs.  The  horses  of  New  Biscay, 
which  are  famed  for  running,  are  incapable  of 
keeping  up  with  them  ;  and  they  only  reach  them 
at  the  moment  when  the  animal,  who  very 
seldom  drinks,  comes  to  quench  his  thirst.  He 
is  then  too  heavy  to  display  all  the  energy  of  his 
muscular  force,  and  is  easily  come  up  with. 
The  hunter  who  pursues  him  gets  the  better  of 
him  by  means  of  a  noose,  in  the  same  way  as  they 
manage  wild  horses  and  cattle  in  the  Spanish 
colonies.  The  Indians  make  use,  however,  of 
another  very  ingenious  artifice  to  approach  the 
stags  and  kill  them.  They  cut  off  the  head  of  a 
t;enado,  the  branches  of  which  are  very  long}  and 
they  empty  the  neck,  and  place  it  pn  their  own 
head.  Masked  in  this  manner,  but  armed  also 
with  bows  and  arrows,  they  conceal  themselves  in 
the  brushwood,  or  among  the  high  and  thick  her- 

the  New  Continent.  See  the  interesting  researches  of  M. 
Cuvicr,  contained  in  his  Mémoire  sur  les  os  fossiles  des  rmni- 
nans.     Annales  du  Museum,  An.  VI.  p.  353. 


CHAP,  viir.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  305 

bage.  By  imitating  the  motion  of  a  stag  when 
it  feeds,  they  draw  round  them  the  flock,  which  be- 
comes the  victim  of  the  deception.  This  extraor- 
dinary hunt  was  seen  by  M.  Costanzo  on  the  coast 
of  the  channel  of  Santa  Barbara  ;  and  it  was  seen 
twenty-four  years  afterwards  in  the  savannas  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Monterey*  by  the  officers 
embarked  in  the  galetas  Sutil  and  Mexicana. 
The  enormous  stag-branches  which  Montezuma 
displayed  as  objects  of  curiosity  to  the  companions 
of  Cortez  belonged,  perhaps,  to  the  venados  of 
New  California.  I  saw  two  of  them,  which  were 
found  in  the  old  monument  of  Xoachicalco,  still 
preserved  in  the  palace  of  the  viceroy.  Notwith- 
standing the  want  of  interior  communication  in 
the  fifteenth  century,  in  the  kingdom  of  Anahuac, 
it  would  not  have  been  extraordinary  if  these 
stags  had  come  from  hand  to  hand  from  the  35" 
to  the  20*  of  latitude,  in  the  same  manner  as  we 
see  the  beautiful  piedras  de  Mahagua  of  Brazil 
among  the  Caribs,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco. 
The  Spanish  and  Russian  establishments  being 
hitherto  the  only  ones  which  exist  on  the  north- 
west coast  of  America,  it  may  not  be  useless  here 
to  enumerate  all  the  missions  of  New  California 
which    have  been   founded  up  to  1803.     This 

*    Viage  a  Fuca,  p.  164. 
VOL.  II.  X 


SOB  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

STATISTICAL 7  v^r  r  *     ^  ^\t      n  v^      - 

ANALYSIS.   V  ^^ '■^'^t^'^dancyoj NewLalijornia. 

detail  is  more  interesting  at  this  period  than  ever, 
as  the  United  States  have  shown  a  desire  to  ad- 
vance towards  the  west,  towards  the  shores  of  the 
Great  Ocean,  which,  opposite  to  China,  abounds 
with  beautiful  furs  of  sea-otters. 

The  missions  of  New  California  run  from  south 
to  north  in  the  order  here  indicated  : 

San  Diego,  a  village  founded  in  I769,  fifteen 
leagues  distant  from  the  most  northern  mission 
of  Old  California.     Population  in  18U2,   1560. 

San  Luis  Rey  de  Francia,  a  village  founded  in 
1798,  600. 

San  Juan  CapistranOt  a  village  founded  in 
1776,  1000. 

San  Gabriel,  a  village  founded  in  I77I, 
1050. 

San  Fernando,  a  village  founded  in  1797, 
600. 

San  Buenaventura,  a  village  founded  in  I78S, 
950. 

Santa  Barbara,  a  village  founded  in  I786, 
1100. 

La  Purissima  Concepcion,  a  village  founded 
in  1787,  1000. 

San  Luis  Obisbo,  a  village  founded  in  1772, 
700. 


CHAP.  VIII.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  307 

ANALYSIS.  }  ^^ 'Jn^^ndancij of Nexij California, 

San  Miguel,    a   village    founded    in    1797, 
600. 

Soledady  a  village  founded  in  1791,  570. 

San  Antonio  de  Fadua,  a  village  founded  in 
1771,  1050. 

San  Carlos  de  Monterey,  capital  of  New  Cali- 
fornia, founded  in  1770,  at  the  foot  of  the 
Cordillera  of  Santa  Lucia,  which  is  covered  with 
oaks,  pines  (Jbliis  ternis),  and  rose-bushes.  The 
village  is  two  leagues  distant  from  the  presidio 
of  the  same  name.  It  appears  that  the  bay  of 
Monterey  had  already  been  discovered  by  Ca- 
brilh  on  the  15th  November,  154-2,  and  that  he 
gave  it  the  name  of  Bahia  de  Iso  Finos,  on  account 
of  the  beautiful  pines  with  which  the  neighbour- 
ing mountains  are  covered.  It  received  its 
present  name  sixty  years  afterwards  from  Vis- 
caino,  in  honour  of  the  viceroy  of  Mexico,  Gaspai' 
de  Zunega  Count  de  Monterey,  an  active  man,  to 
whom  we  are  indebted  for  considerable  maritime 
expeditions,  and  who  engaged  Juan  de  Onate  in 
the  conquest  of  New  Mexico.  The  coasts  in  the 
vicinity  of  San  Carlos  produce  the  famous  aurum 
merum  Cormier')  of  Monterey,  in  request  by 
the  inhabitants  of  Nootka,  and  which  is  employed 
in  the  trade  of  otter-skins.  The  population  of 
San  Carlos  is  7OO. 

X  2 


308  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [bookiii. 

ANALYSIS,   f  ^^  'I'ntendancy  of  New  California. 

San  Juan  Bautistay  a  village  founded  in  1797» 
960. 

Santa  Cruz,  a  village  founded  in  1794,  440. 

Santa  Claray  a  village  founded  in  1777,  1300. 

San  JosCf  a  village  founded  in  1797>  630. 

San  Francisco f  a  village  founded  in  1776, 
with  a  fine  port.  This  port  is  frequently  con- 
founded by  geographers  with  the  port  of  Drake 
further  north,  under  the  38*  10'  of  latitude, 
called  by  the  Spaniards  the  Puerto  de  Bodega. 
Population  of  San  Francisco,  820. 

We  are  ignorant  of  the  number  of  whites, 
mestizoes  and  mulattoes,  who  live  in  New  Cali- 
fornia, either  in  the  presidios,  or  in  the  service  of 
the  monks  of  St.  Francis.  I  believe  their  number 
may  be  about  1300}  for  in  the  two  years  of  1801 
and  1802,  there  were  in  the  cast  of  whites  and 
mij:ed  blood  35  marriages,  182  baptisms,  and  82 
deaths.  It  is  only  on  this  part  of  the  population 
that  the  government  can  reckon  for  the  defence 
of  the  coast,  in  case  of  any  military  attack  by 
the  maritime  powers  of  Europe  ! 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  309 


Recapitulation  of  the  total  Population  of  New 
Spain, 

Indigenous,  or  Indians         .           .  2,500,000 

Whites  or  C  Creoles           1>025,000  >  j  ioO,000 
Spaniards  ^  Europeans           70>000  ) 

African  Negroes         .           .           .  6,100 

Casts  of  mixed  blood         .       .       .  1,231,000 


Total    5,837,100 

These  numbers  are  only  the  result  of  a  calcu- 
lation by  approximation.  We  have  judged  it 
proper  to  adopt  the  sum  total  already  men- 
tioned, vol.  i.  p.  272.  • 


*  The  reader  will  perceive,  on  summing  up  the  above  taWe, 
that  the  amount  is  only  4,837,100,  consequently  there  is  a 
million  of  deficiency  somewhere.  M.  de  Humboldt  elsewhere 
states  the  Indians  at  two-fifths  of  the  whole  population  of 
New  Spain,  so  they  are  not  under-rated  here.  In  the  com- 
mencement of  the  7th  chapter  the  author  observes  that  the 
whites  would  occupy  the  second  place,  considered  only  in  the 
relation  of  number.  In  the  above  table,  however,  they  are 
inferior  in  number  to  the  casts  of  mixed  blood.  In  the 
second  paragraph  of  the  7th  chapter  the  author  states  the 
amount  of  the  whites  at  1,200,000.  We  are  tempted  to 
think  that  the  two  first  figures  of  this  number  ought  to  change 
place  with  one  another,  which  would  then  make  2,100,000. 
This  would  give   us  the   additional   million   wanting  in  the 

X  3 


310  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 


After  this  view  of  the  provinces  of  which  the 
vast  empire  of  Mexico  is  composed,  it  remains 
for  us  to  bestow  a  rapid  glance  on  the  coast  of 
the  Great  Ocean,  which  extends  from  the  port 
of  San  Francisco,  and  from  Cape  Mendocino  to 
the  Russian  estabUshments  in  Prince  Wilham's 
Sound. 

The  whole  of  this  coast  has  been  visited  since 
the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century  by  Spanisli 
navigators  ;  but  they  have  only  been  carefully 
examined  by  order  of  the  viceroys  of  New  Spain 
since  1774'«  Numerous  expeditions  of  discovery 
have  followed  one  another  up  to  1792.  The 
colony  attempted  to  be  established  by  the  Spa- 
niards at  Nootka  fixed  for  some  time  the  atten- 
tion of  all  the  maritime  powers  of  Europe.  A 
few  sheds  erected  on  the  coast,  and  a  miserable 
bastion  defended  by  swivel  guns,  and  a  few 
cabbages  planted  within  an  enclosure,  were  very 
near  exciting  a  bloody  war  between  Spain  and 
England  ;  and  it  was  only  by  the  destruction  of 

above  table.  However,  the  author  adds  that  nearly  a  fourth 
part  of  the  white  population  of  1,200,000  inhabit  the /)rou/«- 
cias  intemas.  Now  the  whole  population  of  the  provincias 
internas,  including  whatever  Indians  or  other  races  there 
may  be  in  them,  amounts  only  to  4'23,300.  So  that,  deduct- 
ing tiie  Indians,  &c.  this  number  would  approach  nearer 
l)erhaps  to  a  fourth  of  1,200,000  than  of  2,100,000.  Amidst 
these  difiiculties  the  reader  must  decide  for  himself.   Trans. 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOiM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  311 

the  establishment  founded  at  the  island  oï  Quadra 
and  of  Vancouver  that  Macuina,  the  Tays  or 
prince  of  Nootka,  was  enabled  to  preserve  his 
independence.  Several  nations  of  Europe  have 
frequented  these  latitudes  since  I786,  for  the 
sake  of  the  trade  in  sea-otter  skins  j  but  their 
rivalry  lias  had  the  most  disadvantageous  con- 
sequences both  for  themselves  and  the  natives  of 
the  country.  The  price  of  the  skins,  as  they  rose 
on  the  coast  of  America,  fell  enormously  in 
China.  Corruption  of  manners  has  increased 
among  the  Indians  ;  and  by  following  the  same 
policy  by  which  the  African  coasts  have  been 
laid  waste,  the  Europeans  endeavoured  to  take 
advantage  of  the  discord  among  the  Tays, 
Several  of  the  most  debauched  sailors  deserted 
their  ships  to  settle  among  the  natives  of  the 
country.  At  Nootka,  as  well  as  at  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  the  most  fearful  mixture  of  primitive 
barbarity  with  the  vices  of  polished  Europe  is  to  be 
observed.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  that  the  few 
species  of  roots  of  the  Old  Continent  transplanted 
into  these  fertile  regions  by  voyagers,  which 
figure  in  the  list  of  the  benefits  that  the  Europeans 
boast  of  having  bestowed  on  the  inhabitants  of 
the  South  Sea  islands,  have  proved  any  thing  like 
a  compensation  for  the  real  evils  which  they 
introduced  among  them. 

At  the  glorious  epoqua  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
when  the  Spanish  nation,  favoured  by  4  (:p/iibin- 

X  4 


312  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

ation  of  singular  circumstances,  freely  displayed 
the  resources  of  their  genius  and  the  force  of  their 
character,  the  problem  of  a  passage  to  the  north- 
west, and  a  direct  road  to  the  East  Indies,  occupied 
the  minds  of  the  Castilians  with  the  same  ardour 
displayed  by  some   other  nations   within   these 
thirty  or  forty  years.     We  do  not  allude  to  the 
apocryphal  voyages  of'  Ferrer  MaldonadOy  Juan 
de  Fuca,  and  Bartolome  Fonte,  to  which  for  a 
long  time  only  too  much  importance  was  given. 
The  most  part  of  the  impostures  published  under 
the  names  ofthese  three  navigators  were  destroyed 
by  the  laborious  and  learned  discussions  ofseveral 
officers   of  the  Spanish  marine.  •     In  place  of 
bringing  forward   names   nearly  fabulous,    and 
losing  ourselves  in  the  uncertainty  of  hypotheses, 
we  shall  confine  ourselves  to  indicate  here  what 
is  incontestibly  proved  by  historical  documents. 
The  following  notices,    partly  drawn  from  the 
manuscript   memoirs   of  Don   Antonio  Bonilla 
and  M.  Casasola,  preserved  in  the  archives   of 
the  viceroyalty  of  Mexico,  present  facts  which, 
combined  together,  deserve  the  attention  of  the 
reader.     These   notices  displaying,  as  it  were, 
the   varying   picture    of  the   national  activity, 

*  Memoirs  of  Don  Ciriaco  Cevallos.  Researches  into  the 
Archives  oj" Seville,  by  Don  Augustin  Cean.  Historical  Intro- 
duction to  the  Voyage  of  Galiano  and  Valdes,  p.  xlix.  Ivi.  and 
Ixxvi.  Ixxxiii.  Notwithstanding  all  my  enquiries,  I  could 
never  discover  in  New  Spain  a  single  document  in  which  the 
pilot  Fuca  or  tiic  admiral  Fonte  were  named. 


CHAP,  viii.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  513 

sometimes  excited  and  sometimes  palsied,  will 
even  be  interesting  to  those  who  do  not  believe 
that  a  country  inhabited  by  freemen  belongs  to 
the  European  nation  who  first  saw  it. 

The  names  of  Cabrillo  and  Gali  are  less  cele^ 
brated  than  Fuca  and  Fonte.  The  true  recital  of 
a  modest  navigator  has  neither  the  charm  nor 
the  power  which  accompany  deception.  Juan 
Rodriguez  Cabrillo  visited  the  coast  of  New  Ca- 
lifornia to  the  37'  10',  or  the  Punta  del  Aiio 
NuevOf  to  the  north  of  Monterey.  He  perished 
(on  the  3d  January,  151.3)  at  the  island  of  San 
Bernardo,  near  the  channel  of  Santa  Barbara.  * 
But  Bartolome  Ferrelo,  his  pilot,  continued  his 
discoveries  northwards  to  the  43*  of  latitude, 
when  he  saw  the  coast  of  Cape  Blanc,  called  by 
Vancouver,  Cape  Orford. 

Francisco  Gali,  in  his  voyage  from  Macao  to 
Acapulco,  discovered  in  1582  the  north-west 
coast  of  America  under  the  57°  30'.  He  admired, 
like  all  those  who  since  his  time  have  visited  New 
Cornwall,  the  beauty  of  those  colossal  mountains, 
of  which  the  summit  is  covered  with  perpetual 
snow,  while  their  bottom  is  covered  with  the  most 
beautiful  vegetation.    On  correcting  t  the  old  ob- 

♦  According  to  the  manuscript  preserved  in  the  archiva 
general  de  Indies  at  Madrid. 

f  These  corrections  have  been  already  made  in  this  work 
whereTer  the  latitudes  of  the  old  navigators  are  cited.  Viajc 
de  la  Sutil,  p.  xxxi. 


314.  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

servations  by  the  new  in  places  of  which  the 
identity  is  ascertained,  we  find  that  Gali  coasted 
part  of  the  archipelago  of  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
or  that  of  King  George.  Sir  Francis  Drake  only 
went  as  far  as  the  48°  of  latitude  to  the  north  of 
Cape  Grenville  in  New  Georgia. 

Of  the  two  expeditions  undertaken  by  Sebas- 
tian Viscayno  in  1596  and  I60î2,  the  last  only 
was  directed  to  the  coast  of  New  California. 
Thirty-two  maps,  drawn  up  at  Mexico  by  the 
cosmographer  Henry  Martinez  *,  prove  that 
Viscayno  surveyed  these  coasts  with  more  care 
and  more  intelligence  than  was  ever  done  by  any 
pilot  before  him.  The  diseases  of  his  crew,  the 
want  of  provision,  and  the  extreme  rigour  of  the 
season,  prevented  him,  however,  from  ascend- 
ing higher  than  Cape  S.  Sebastian,  situated  under 
the  42*  of  latitude,  a  little  to  the  north  of  the 
bay  of  the  Trinity.  One  vessel  of  Viscayno*s 
expedition,  the  frigate  commanded  by  Antonio 
riorez,  alone  passed  Cape  Mendocino.  This 
frigate  reached  the  mouth  of  a  river  in  the  43*  of 
latitude,  which  appears  to  have  been  already 
discovered  by  Cabrillo  in  1543,  and  which  was 
believed  by  Martin  de  Aguilar  to  be  the  western 
extremity  of  the  Straits  of  Anian .  f    We  must  not 

*  The  same  of  wliom  we  have  already  spoken  in  the  His- 
tory of  tlie  Dcsague  Real  de  Huehuetoca. 

-j-  The  Straits  of  Anian,  confounded  by  many  geographers 
with  Bering's  Straits,  meant  in  the  IGth  century  Hudson's 


CHAP.  VIII.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  315 

confound  this  entry  or  river  of  Aguilar,  which 
could  not  be  found  again  in  our  times,  with  the 
mouth  of  the  Rio  Columbia  (latitude  46°  15') 
celebrated  from  the  voyages  of  Vancouver,  Gray, 
and  Captain  Lewis. 

The  brilliant  epoqua  of  the  discoveries  made 
anciently  by  the  Spaniards  on  the  north-west 
coast  of  America  ended  with  Gali  and  Viscayno. 
The  history  of  the  navigations  of  the  lyth  cen- 
tury, and  the  first  half  of  the  18th,  offers  us  no 
expedition  directed  from  the  coast  of  Mexico  to 
the  immense  shore  from  Cape  Mendocino  to  the 
confines  of  eastern  Asia.  In  place  of  the  Spanish 
the  Russian  flag  was  alone  seen  to  float  in  these 
latitudes,  waving  on  the  vessels  commanded  by 
two  intrepid  navigators,  Bering  and  Tschiricow. 
At  length,  after  an  interruption  of  nearly  I70 
years,  the  court  of  Madrid  again  turned  its  atten- 
tion to  the  coast  of  the  Great  Ocean.  But  it  was 
not  alone  the  desire  of  discoveries  useful  to  science 
which  roused  the  government  from  its  lethargy, 
It  was  rather  the  fear  of  being  attacked  in  its 
most  northern  possessions  of  New  Spain  ;  it  was 
the  dread  of  seeing  European  establishments  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  those  of  California.  Of  all 
the  Spanish  expeditions  undertaken  between  1774* 

Straits.  It  took  its  name  from  one  of  the  two  brothers  em- 
barked on  board  the  vessel  of  Gaspar  de  Cortereal.  See  the 
learned  researches  of  M.  de  Fleurieu  in  the  historical  intro- 
duction to  the  Voyage  de  Marchand,  t.  i.  p.  v. 


316  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE     [book  hi. 

and  1792,  the  two  Tast  alone  bear  tlie  true  cha- 
racter of  expeditions  of  discovery.  They  were 
commanded  by  officers  whose  labours  display  an 
intimate  acquaintance  with  nautical  astronomy. 
The  names  of  Alexander  Malaspina,  Galiano, 
Espinosa,  Valdes,  and  Vernaci,  will  ever  hold  an 
honourable  place  in  the  list  of  the  intelligent  and 
intrepid  navigators  to  whom  we  owe  an  exact 
knowledge  of  the  north-west  coast  of  the  New 
Continent.  If  their  predecessors  could  not  give 
the  same  perfection  to  their  operations,  it  was 
because,  setting  out  from  San  Bias  or  Monterey, 
they  were  unprovided  with  instruments  and  the 
other  means  furnished  by  civilized  Europe. 

The  first  important  expedition  made  after  the 
voyage  of  Viscayno  was  that  of  Jiian  Perezt  who 
commanded  the  corvette  Santiago,  formerly  call- 
ed la  Nueva  Galicia.  As  neither  Cook  nor  Bar- 
rington,  nor  M.  de  Fleurieu,  appear  to  have  had 
any  knowledge  of  this  important  voyage,  I  shall 
here  extract  several  facts  from  a  manuscript 
journal  *,  for  which  1  am  indebted  to  the  kind- 
ness of  M.  Don  Guillermo  Aguirre,  a  member 
of  the  audiencia  of  Mexico.  Perez  and  his  pilot, 
Estevan  Jose  Martinez,  left  the  port  of  San  Blast 

*  This  journal  was  kept  by  two  monks,  Fray  Juan  Crespi, 
and  Fray  Tomas  de  la  Pena,  embarked  on  board  the  Santiago. 
By  these  details  may  be  completed  what  was  published  in  the 
voyage  of  In  Sutil,  p.  xcii. 

f  The  enlrada  dc  Perez  of  the  Spanish  maps. 


CHAP,  vm.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  317 

on  the  24th  of  January,  l??^.  They  were  ordered 
to  examine  all  the  coast  from  the  port  of  San 
Carlos  de  Monterey  to  the  60**  of  latitude.  After 
touching  at  Monterey  they  set  sail  again  on  the 
7th  June.  They  discovered  on  the  20th  July  the 
island  de  la  Marguerite  (which  is  the  north-west 
point  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Island),  and  the  strait 
which  separates  this  island  from  that  of  the  Prince 
of  Wales.  On  the  9th  August  they  anchored,  the 
Jirst  of  all  the  European  navigators^  in  Nootka 
road,  which  they  called  the  port  oï San  Lor^enzo^ 
and  which  the  illustrious  Cook  four  years  after- 
wards called  King  George* s  Sound.  They  carried 
on  barter  with  the  natives,  among  whom  they 
saw  iron  and  copper.  They  gave  them  axes  and 
knives  for  skins  and  otter  furs.  Perez  could  not 
land  on  account  of  the  rough  weather  and  high 
seas.  His  sloop  was  even  on  the  point  of  being 
lost  in  attempting  to  land;  and  the  corvette  was 
obliged  to  cut  its  cables  and  to  abandon  its  an- 
chors to  get  into  the  open  sea.  The  Indians 
stole  several  articles  belonging  to  M.  Perez  and 
his  crew;  and  this  circumstance,  related  in  the 
journal  of  Father  Crespi,  may  serve  to  resolve 
the  famous  difficulty  attending  the  European 
silver  spoons  found  there  by  Captain  Cook  in 
1778  in  the  possession  of  the  Indians  of  Nootka. 
The  corvette  Santiago  returned  to  Monterey  on 
the  27th  August,  1774-,  after  a  cruize  of  eight 
months. 


318  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

In  the  following  year  a  second  expedition  set 
out  from  San  Bias,  under  the  command  of  Don 
Bruno  Heceta,  Don  Juan  de  Ayala,  and  Don 
Juan  de  la  Bodogay  Quadra.  This  voyage,  which 
singularly  advanced  the  discovery  of  the  north- 
west coast,  is  known  from  the  journal  of  the  pilot 
Maurelle,  published  by  M.  Barrington,  and  joined 
to  the  instructions  of  the  unfortunate  Laperouse. 
Quadra  discovered  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Co- 
lumbia, called  entrada  de  Heceta^  the  picof^'aw 
Jacinto  (Mount  Edgecumbe),  near  Norfolk  Bay, 
and  the  fine  part  of  Bucarelt  (latitude  55**  24"), 
which  from  the  researches  of  Vancouver  we  know 
to  belong  to  the  west  coast  of  the  great  island  of 
the  archipelago  of  the  Prince  of  Wales.  This 
port  is  surrounded  by  seven  volcanoes,  of  which 
the  summits,  covered  with  j^erpetual  snow,  throw 
up  flames  and  ashes.  M.  Quadra  found  there  a 
great  number  of  dogs,  which  the  Indians  use  for 
hunting,  I  possess  two  very  curious  small  maps  *, 

*  Carta  geografica  de  la  costa  occidental  de  la  California, 
situada  al  Norte  de  lalinca  sobre  el  mar  Asiatico  que  se  dis- 
cubrio  en  los  anos  de  1769  y  1775,  por  el  Teniente  de  Navio, 
Don  Juan  Francisco  de  Bodega  y  Quadra  y  por  el  Alferez  de 
Fragata,  Don  Jose  Canizares,  desde  los  17  hasta  los  58  grados. 
On  this  map  the  coast  appears  almost  without  entradas  and 
without  islands.  We  remark  I'ensenada  de  Ezeta  (Rio  Co- 
lombia) and  I'entrada  de  Juan  Perez,  but  under  the  name  of 
the  port  of  San  Lorenzo  (Nootka),  seen  by  the  same  Perez 
in  1774'.  Plan  del  gran  puerto  de  San  Francisco  discubierto 
por  Don  Jose  de  Canizares  en  el  mar  Asiatico.  Vancouver 
distinguishes  the  ports  of  St.  Francis,  Sir  Francis  Drake,  and 

9 


CHAP,  viii.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  319 

engraved  in  I788,  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  which 
give  the  bearings  of  the  coast  from  the  17°  to 
the  58°  of  latitude,  as  they  were  discovered  in 
the  expedition  of  Quadra. 

The  court  of  Madrid  gave  orders  in  I776  to  the 
viceroy  of  Mexico,  to  prepare  a  new  expedition 
to  examine  the  coast  of  America  to  the  70*  of 
north  latitude.  For  this  purpose  two  corvettes 
were  built,  la  Princessa  and  la  Favorita;  but  this 
building  experienced  such  delay,  that  the  expe- 
dition commanded  by  Quadra  and  Don  Ignacio 
Arteaga  could  not  set  sail  from  the  port  of  San 
Bias  till  the  11th  February  I779.  During  this 
interval  Cook  visited  the  same  coast.  Quadra 
and  the  pilot  Don  Francisco  Maurelle  carefully 
examined  the  port  de  Bucareli,  the  Mont  Sant- 
Elie,  and  the  island  de  la  Magdalena,  called  by 
Vancouver  Hinchinbrook  Island  (latitude  60° 
25")  situated  at  the  entry  of  Prince  William's 
bay,  and  the  island  of  Regla,  one  of  the  most 
sterile  islands  in  Cook  river.  The  expedition 
returned  to  San  Bias  on  the  21st  November,  1779. 
I  find  from  a  manuscript  procured  at  Mexico, 
that  the  schistous  rocks  in  the  vicinity  of  the  port 
of  Bucareli  in  Prince  of  Wales's  island  contain 
metalliferous  seams. 

The  memorable  war  which  gave  liberty  to  a 

Bodega,  as  three  different  ports.  M.  de  Fleurieu  considers 
them  as  identical.  Voyage  de  Marchand,  vol.  i.  p.  liv.  Quadra 
believes,  as  we  have  already  observed,  that  Drake  anchored 
at  the  port  de  la  Bodega. 


320  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

great  part  of  North  America  prevented  the  vice- 
roys of  Mexico  from  pursuing  expeditions  of  dis- 
covery to  the  north  of  Mendocino.  The  court 
of  Madrid  gave  orders  to  suspend  the  expeditions 
so  long  as  the  hostilities  should  endure  between 
Spain  and  England.  This  interruption  continued 
even  long  after  the  peace  of  Versailles  ;  and  it  was 
not  till  1788  that  two  Spanish  vessels,  the  frigate 
la  Princessa  and  the  packet-boat  San  CarloSy  com- 
manded by  Don  Esteban  Martinez  and  Don 
Gonzalo  Lopez  de  Haro,  left  the  port  of  San  Bias 
with  the  design  of  examining  the  position  and 
state  of  the  Russian  establishments  on  the  north- 
west coast  of  America.  The  existence  of  these 
establishments,  of  which  it  appears  that  the  court 
of  Madrid  had  no  knowledge  till  after  the  publi- 
cation of  the  third  voyage  of  the  illustrious  Cook, 
gave  the  greatest  uneasiness  to  the  Spanish  go- 
vernment. It  saw  with  chagrin  that  the  fur 
trade  drew  numerous  English,  French,  and 
American  vessels  towards  a  coast  which,  before 
the  return  of  Lieutenant  King  to  London,  had 
been  as  little  frequented  by  Europeans  as  the 
land  of  the  Nuyts,  or  that  of  Endracht  in  New 
Holland. 

The  expedition  of  Martinez  and  Haro  lasted 
from  the  8th  March  to  the  5th  December  I788. 
These  navigators  made  the  direct  route  from 
San  Bias  to  the  entry  of  Prince  William,  called 
by  the  Russians  the  gulf  Tschugatskaja.  They 
visited  Cook  river,  the  Kichtak  (Kodiak)  islands, 


CHAP,  vni.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  321 

Schumagifiy  Unimak,  and  Unalaschka  (Onalaska.) 
They  were  very  friendly  treated  in  the  different 
factories  which  they  found  estabHshed  in  Cook 
river  and  Unalaschka,  and  they  even  received 
communication  of  several  maps  drawn  up  by  the 
Russians  of  these  latitudes.  I  found  in  the  ar- 
chives of  the  viceroyalty  of  Mexico  a  large  volume 
in  folio,  bearing  tlie  title  of  Riconocimiento  de  los 
quatros  establecimientos  Russos  al  Norte  de  la 
California,  hecho  en  I788.  The  historical  ac- 
count of  the  voyage  of  Martinez  contained  in 
this  manuscript  furnishes,  however,  very  few 
data  relative  to  the  Russian  colonies  in  the  New 
Continent.  No  person  in  the  crew  understand- 
ing a  word  of  the  Russian  language,  they  could 
only  make  themselves  understood  by  signs. 
They  forgot,  before  undertaking  this  distant 
expedition,  to  bring  an  interpreter  from  Europe. 
The  evil  was  without  remedy.  However,  M. 
Martinez  would  have  had  as  great  difficulty  in 
finding  a  Russian  in  the  whole  extent  of  Spanish 
America  as  Sir  George  Staunton  had  to  discover 
a  Chinese  in  England  or  France. 

Since  the  voyages  of  Cook,  Dixon,  Portlock, 
Mears,  and  Duncan,  the  Europeans  began  to  con- 
sider the  port  of  Nootka  as  the  principal  fur  mar- 
ket of  the  north-west  coast  of  North  America. 
This  consideration  induced  the  court  of  Madrid 
to  do  in  1789  what  it  could  easier  have  done  15 
years  sooner,  immediately  after  the  voyage  of  Juan 

VOL.  II.  Y 


322  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

Perez.  M.  Martinez^  who  had  been  visiting  the 
Russian  factories,  received  orders  to  make  a  solid 
establishment  at  Nootka,  and  to  examine  care- 
fully that  part  of  the  coast  comprised  between  the 
50"  and  the  55°  of  latitude,  which  Captain  Cook 
could  not  survey  in  the  course  of  his  navigation. 
The  port  of  Nootka  is  on  the  eastern  coast  of 
an  island,  which,  according  to  the  survey  in  1791 
by  MM.  Espinosa  and  Cevallos,  is  twenty  marine 
miles  in  breadth,  and  which  is  separated  by  the 
channel  of  Tasis  from  the  great  island,  now  called 
the  island  of  Quadra  and  Vancouver.  It  is  there- 
fore equally  false  to  assert  that  the  port  of  Nootka, 
called  by  the  natives  Yucuatl,  belongs  to  the 
great  island  of  Quadra,  as  it  is  inaccurate  to  say 
that  Cape  Horn  is  the  extremity  of  Terra  del 
Fuego.  We  cannot  conceive  by  what  miscon- 
ception the  illustrious  Cook  could  convert  the 
name  of  Yucuatl  into  Nootka* ^  this  last  word 

•  There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  difficulty  in  the  matter. 
It  is  very  easy  for  any  one  at  all  acquainted  with  the  embar- 
rassment experienced  by  the  ear  in  catching,  and,  as  it  were, 
disentangling  the  sounds  of  a  foreign  language,  to  conceive 
that  when  the  common  standard  of  writing  cannot  be  resorted 
to,  hardly  two  persons  will  report  the  same  word  alike.  In 
languages  even  already  familiar  to  us  by  writing,  it  requires  a 
long  experience  before  we  can  follow  the  conversation  of  the 
natives  ;  what  must  it  therefore  be  in  languages  affording  no 
guch  assistance,  and  of  which  many  of  the  sounds  are  new  to 
European  ears.  Thus  Captain  Cook  and  Mr.  Anderson,  a 
surgeon  in  his  expedition,  hardly  agree  in  the  representation 


CHAP.  VIII.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  323 

being  unknown  to  the  natives  of  the  country, 
and  having  no  analogy  to  any  of  the  words  of 
their  language  excepting  Noutchi,  which  signi- 
fies mountain.  • 


of  any  one  word.  It  would  appear,  however,  from  whas  it 
said  of  Captain  Cook  by  Mr.  King,  that  his  ear  was  by  no 
means  very  accurate  in  distinguishing  sounds.     Trayis. 

*  Mémoire  de  Don  Francisco  Mozino.     The  worthy  au- 
thor was  one  of  the  botanists  of  the  expedition  of  M.  Sesse, 
and  remained  at  Nootka  with  M.  Quadra  in  1792.     Wishing 
to  procure  everypossible  information  with  regard  to  the  north- 
west coast  of  North  America,  I  made  extracts  in  1803  from 
the  manuscript  of  M.  Mozino,  for  which  I  was  indebted  to 
the  friendship  of  professor  Cervantes,  director  of  the  botanical 
garden  at  Mexico.     I  have  since  discovered  that  the  same 
memoir  furnished  materials  to  the  learned  compiler  of  the 
Viage  de  la  Sutil,  p.  123.     Notwithstanding  the  accurate  in- 
formation which  we  owe  to  the  English  and  French  navi- 
gators, it  would  still  be  interesting  to  publish  the  observations 
of  M.  Moziîio  on  the  manners  of  the  Indians  of  Nootka. 
These  observations  embrace  a  great  number  of  curious  sub- 
jects, viz.  the  union  of  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  power  in  the 
person  of  the  princes  or  tays;  the  struggle  between  Quautz. 
and  Matlox,  the  good  and  bad  principle  by  which  the  world 
is  governed  ;  the  origin  of  the  human  species  at  an  epoqua 
when   stags  were  without  horns,  birds  without  wings,  and 
dogs  without  tails  :  the  Eve  of  the  Nootkians,  who  lived  so- 
litary in  a  flowery  grove  of  Yucuatl,  when  the  god  Quautz 
visited  her  in  a  fine  copper  canoe  ;  the  education  of  the  first 
man  who,  as  he  grew  up,  past  from  one  small  shell  to  a 
greater;  the  genealogy  of  the  nobility  of  Nootka,  who  descend 
from  the  oldest  son  of  the  man  brought  up  in  a  shell,  while 
the  rest  of  the  people  (who  even  in  the  other  world  have  a 
separate  paradise  called  Pinpiila)  dare  not  trace  their  origin 
farther  back  than  to  younger  branches  ;  the  calendar  of  the 
Nootkians,  in  which  the  year  begins  with  the  summer  sol- 

Y  2 


324  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [nooic  in. 

Don  Esteban  Martinez,  commanding  the  fri- 
gate   la    Princessa,    and   the   packet-boat    San 
Carlos,  anchored  in  the  port  of  Nootka  on  the 
5th    May,  1789.     He   was  received   in    a  very 
friendly  manner  by  the  chief  Macuina,  v^ho  re- 
collected  very  well  having  seen  him  with  M. 
Perez  in  1774,  and  who  even  shewed  the  beauti- 
ful Monterey  shells  which  were  then  presented 
to  him.     Macuina,    the    tays   of  the   island  of 
Yucuatl,    has  an  absolute  authority  ;  he  is  the 
Montezuma  of  these  countries;  and  his  name  has 
become  celebrated  among  all  the  nations  who 
carry  on  the  sea-otter  skin  trade.     1  know  not  if 
Macuina  yet  lives;  but  we  learned  at  Mexico,  in 
the  end  of  1803,  by  letters  from  Monterey,  that 
more  jealous  of  his  independence  than  the  king 
of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  who  has  declared  him- 
self the  vassal  of  England,  he  was  endeavouring 
to  procure  fire-arms  and  powder  to  protect  him- 
self from  the  insults  to  which  he  was  frequently 
exposed  by  European  navigators. 

The  port  oï  Santa  Crw2  of  Nootka  (called  Pi^^r/o 
de  San  Lorenzo  by  Perez,  and  Friendly-cove  by 
Cook),  is  from  seven  to  eight  fathoms  in  depth.* 
It  is  almost  shut  in  on  the  south-east  by  small 
islands,  on  one  of  which  Martinez  erected  the 

stice,  and  is  divided  into  fourteen  months  of  20  days,  and  a 
great  number  of  intercalated  days  added  to  the  end  of 
several  months,  &c.  &c. 

*  From  nearly  7è  to  8^  fathoms  English.     Trans. 


CHAP.  Vin.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  325 

battery  of  San  Miguel.  The  mountains  in  the 
interior  of  the  island  appear  to  be  composed  of 
thonscliiefe7\  and  other  primitive  rocks.  M.  Mo- 
zino  discovered  among  them  seams  of  copper  and 
sulphuretted  lead.  He  thought  he  discovered, 
near  a  lake  at  about  a  quarter  of  a  league's  dis- 
tance from  the  port,  the  effects  of  volcanic  fire 
in  some  porous  amygdaloid.  The  climate  of 
Nootka  is  so  mild,  that  under  a  more  northern 
latitude  than  that  of  Quebec  and  Paris  the 
smallest  streams  are  not  frozen  till  the  month  of 
January.  This  curious  phenomenon  confirms 
the  observation  of  Mackenzie  *,  who  asserts 
that  the  north-west  coast  of  the  New  Continent 
has  a  much  higher  temperature  than  the  eastern 
coasts  of  America  and  Asia  situated  under  the 
same  parallels.  The  inhabitants  of  Nootka,  like 
those  of  the  northern  coast  of  Norway,  are 
almost  strangers  to  the  noise  of  thunder.  Elec- 
trical explosions  are  there  exceedingly  rare.  The 
hills  are  covered  with  pine,  oak,  cypress,  rose 
bushes,  vaccinium,  and  andromedes.    The  beauti- 

*  ^^y^S^  ^^  Mackenzie,  traduit  par  Castera,  vol.  III.  p.  339. 
It  is  even  believed  by  the  Indians  in  the  vicinity  of  the  north- 
west coast  that  the  winters  are  becoming  milder  yearly. 
This  mildness  of  climate  appears  to  be  produced  by  the 
north-west  winds,  which  pass  over  a  considerable  extent  of 
sea.  M.  Mackenzie,  as  well  as  myself,  believes,  that  the 
change  of  climate  observable  throughout  all  North  America 
cannot  be  attributed  to  petty  local  causes,  to  the  destruction 
of  forests  for  example. 

y3 


326  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  hi. 

ful  shrub  which  bears  the  name  of  Linnéus  was 
only  discovered  by  the  gardeners  in  Vancouver's 
expedition  in  higher  latitudes.  John  Mears, 
and  a  Spanish  officer  in  particular,  Don  Pedro 
Alberoni,  succeeded  at  Nootka  in  the  cultiva- 
tion of  all  the  European  vegetables  ;  but  the 
maize  and  wheat,  however,  never  yielded  ripe 
grain.  A  too  great  luxuriance  of  vegetation 
appears  to  be  the  cause  of  this  phenomenon. 
The  true  humming-bird  has  been  observed  in  the 
islands  of  Quadra  and  Vancouver.  This  im- 
portant fact  in  the  geography  of  animals  must 
strike  those  who  are  ignorant  that  Mackenzie 
saw  humming-birds  at  the  sources  of  the  River 
of  Peac  eunder  the  54°  24'  of  north  latitude,  and 
that  M.  Galiano  saw  them  nearly  under  the 
same  southern  parallel  in  the  Straits  of  Magellan. 
Martinez  did  not  carry  his  researches  beyond 
the  50°  of  latitude.  Two  months  after  his  entry 
into  tlie  port  of  Nootka  he  saw  the  arrival  of  an 
English  vessel,  the  Argonaut,  commanded  by 
James  Colnet,  known  by  his  observations  at  the 
Galapagos  islands.  Colnet  showed  the  Spanish 
navigator  the  orders  which  he  had  received  from 
his  government  to  establish  a  factory  at  Nootka, 
to  construct  a  frigate  and  a  cutter,  and  to  prevent 
every  other  European  nation  from  interfering 
with  the  fur  trade.  *     It  was  in  vain  Martinez 

*  There  had  been  formed  in  England,  in  1785,  a  Nootka 
company,  under  the  name  of  the  Kinj;  (jeorge's  Sound  Com- 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  3'27 

replied,  that  long  before  Cook,  Juan  Perez  had 
anchored  on  the  same  coast.  The  dispute  which 
arose  between  the  commanders  of  the  Argonaut 
and  the  Princessa  was  on  the  point  of  occasion- 
ing a  rupture  between  the  courts  of  London  and 
Madrid.  Martinez,  to  establish  the  priority  of 
his  rights,  made  use  of  a  violent  and  very  illegal 
measure  :  he  arrested  Colnet,  and  sent  him  by 
San  Bias  to  the  city  of  Mexico.  The  true  pro- 
prietor of  the  Nootka  country,  the  Tays  Macuina, 
declared  himself  prudently  for  the  vanquishing 
party;  but  the  viceroy,  who  deemed  it  proper  to 
hasten  the  recal  of  Martinez,  sent  out  three  other 
armed  vessels  in  the  commencement  of  the  year 
1790  to  the  north-west  coast  of  America. 

Don  Francisco  EUsa  and  Don  Salvador  Fi- 
dalgo,  the  brother  of  the  astronomer  who  sur- 
veyed the  coast  of  South  America  *  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Dragon  to  Portobello,  commanded 
this  new  expedition.  M.  Fidalgo  visited  Cook 
Creek  and  Prince  William's  Sound,  and  he  com- 
pleted the  examination  of  that  coast,  which  was 
only  afterwards  examined  by  the  intrepid  Van- 
couver. Under  the  60°  54'  of  latitude,  at  the 
northern  extremity  of  Prince  William's  Sound, 


pany  ;  and  a  project  was  even  entertained  of  forming  at 
Nootka  an  English  colony  similar  to  that  of  New  Holland. 

*  See  my  Recueil  d'Observations  Astronomiques,  vol.  i. 
liv.  i. 

Y  4 


328  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi 

M.  Fidalgo  was  %vitiiess  of  a  phenomenon,  proba- 
bly volcanic,  of  a  most  extraordinary  nature. 
The  Indians  conducted  him  into  a  plain  covered 
with  snow,  where  he  saw  great  masses  of  ice  and 
stone  thrown  up  to  prodigious  heights  in  the  air 
with  a  dreadful  noise.  Don  Francisco  Elisa  re- 
mained at  Nootka  to  enlarge  and  fortify  the 
establishment  founded  by  Martinez  in  the  pre- 
ceding year.  It  was  not  yet  known  in  this  part 
of  the  world,  that  by  a  treaty  signed  at  the  Es- 
curial  on  the  28th  October,  1790,  Spain  had 
desisted  from  her  pretensions  to  Nootka  and  Cox 
Channel  in  favour  of  the  court  of  London.  The 
frigate  Dedalus^  which  brought  orders  to  Van- 
couver to  watch  over  the  execution  of  this 
treaty,  only  arrived  at  the  port  of  Nootka  in  the 
month  of  August,  179^,  at  an  epoqua  when  Fi- 
dalgo was  employed  in  forming  a  second  Spanish 
establishment  to  the  south-east  of  the  island  of 
Quadra  on  the  continent,  at  the  port  of  Nunez 
Gaontty  or  Qidnicamet,  situated  under  the  48*  20' 
of  latitude,  at  the  creek  of  Juan  de  Fuca. 

The  expedition  of  Captain  Elisa  was  followed 
by  two  others,  which  for  the  importance  of  their 
atronomical  operations,  and  the  excellence  of  the 
instruments  with  which  they  were  provided,  may 
be  compared  with  the  expeditions  of  Cook,  La 
Perouse  and  Vancouver.  I  mean  the  voyage  of 
the  illustrious  Malaspina  in  1791,  and  that  of 
Galiano  and  Valdes  in  1792. 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  329 

The  operations  of  Malaspina  and  the  officers 
under  him  embrace  an  immense  extent  of  coast 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata  to  Prince 
William's  Sound.  But  this  able  navigator  is  still 
more  celebrated  for  his  misfortunes  than  his  disco- 
veries. After  examining  both  hemispheres,  and 
escaping  all  the  dangers  of  the  ocean,  he  had  still 
greater  to  suffer  from  his  court;  and  he  dragged 
out  six  years  in  a  dungeon,  the  victim  of  a  poli- 
tical intrigue.  He  obtained  his  liberty  from  the 
French  government,  and  returned  to  his  native 
country  ;  and  he  enjoys  in  solitude  on  the  banks 
of  the  Arno,  the  profound  impressions  which  the 
contemplation  of  nature  and  the  study  of  man 
under  so  many  different  climates,  have  left  on  a 
mind  of  great  sensibility,  tried  in  the  school  of 
adversity. 

The  labours  of  Malaspina  remain  buried  in 
the  archives,  not  because  the  government  dreaded 
the  disclosure  of  secrets,  the  concealment  of  which 
might  be  deemed  useful,  but  that  the  name  of 
this  intrepid  navigator  might  be  doomed  to 
eternal  oblivion.  Fortunately,  the  directors 
of  the  Deposito  Hydrograjico  of  Madrid  *  have 
communicated  to  the  public  the  principal  results 
of  the  astronomical  observations  of  Malaspina's 
expedition.  The  charts  which  have  appeared 
at  Madrid  since  1799  are  founded  in  a  great 
measure  on  those  important  results  ;  but  instead 

*  This  depoiito  was  cstublislied  by  a  royal  order  on  the 
6th  August,  1797. 


330  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

of  the  name  of  the  chief,  we  merely  find  the  names 
of  the  corvettes  la  Descubierta  and  la  Atrevida, 
which  were  commanded  by  Malaspina, 

His  expedition  *,  which  set  out  from  Cadiz  on 
the  30th  July,  1789,  only  arrived  at  the  port  of 
Acapulco  on  the  2d  February,  1791.  At  this 
period  the  court  of  Madrid  again  turned  its  atten- 
tion to  a  subject  which  had  been  under  dispute  in 
the  beginning  of  the  lyth  century,  the  pretended 
straits  by  which  Lorenzo  Ferrer  Maldonado 
passed  in  1588  from  the  Labrador  coast  to  the 
Great  Ocean.  A  memoir  read  by  M.  Buache 
at  the  academy  of  Sciences  revived  the  hope  of 
the  existence  of  such  a  passage  ;  and  the  corvettes 
la  Descubierta  and  I'Atrevida  received  orders  to 
ascend  to  high  latitudes  on  the  north-west  coast 
of  America,  and  to  examine  all  the  passages  and 
creeks  which  interrupt  the  continuity  of  the  shore 
between  the  53°  and  60°  of  latitude.  Malaspina, 
accompanied  by  the  botanists  Haenke  and  Nee, 
set  sail  from  Acapulco  on  the  1st  May,  179L 
After  a  navigation  of  three  weeks  he  reached 
Cape  S.  Bartholomew,  which  had  already  been 
ascertained  by  Quadra  in  1775,  by  Cook  in  I778, 
and  in  I786  by  Dixon.     He  surveyed  the  coast, 

*  Extract  from  a  journal  kept  on  board  the  Atrevida,  a 
manuscript  preserved  in  the  archives  of  Mexico —  Viage  de 
la  Sutil,  p.  cxiii. — cxxiii.  Before  the  expedition  in  1789 
M.  Malaspina  liad  already  been  round  the  globe  in  the  frigate 
l'Astre,  destined  for  Manilla. 


CHAP,  viii.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.         331 


from  the  mountain  of  San  Jacinto,  near  Cape 
Edgecumbe  {Cabo  Eiigano),  lat.  57°  1'  -SO''  to 
Montagu  Island,  opposite  the  entrance  of  Prince 
WilHam*s   Sound,     During  the  course    of  this 
expedition,  the  length  of  the  pendulum  and  the 
inclination  and  decUnation  of  the  magnetic  needle 
were  determined  on  several  points  of  the  coast. 
The    elevation    of  S.    EHe  *  and    Mount  Fair- 
weather  (or  Cerro  de  JBuen  Tempo),  which  are 
tlie  principal  summits  of  the  Cordillera  of  New 
Norfolk,   were   very  carefully  measured.     The 
knowledge  of  their  height  and  position  may  be 
of  great  assistance  to  navigators  when  they  are 
prevented  by  unfavourable  weather  from  seeing 
the  sun  for  whole  weeks  ;  for  by  seeing  these 
pics  at  a  distance  of  eighty  or  a  hundred  miles 
they  may  ascertain  the  position  of  their  vessel 
by  simple  elevations  and  angles  of  altitude. 

After  a  vain  attempt  to  discover  the  straits 
mentioned  in  the  account  of  the  apocryphal 
voyage  of  Maldonado,  and  after  remaining  some 

*  The  expedition, of  Malaspina  found  the  height  of  Mount 
Ehe  Séél  metres  (o507,6  varas),  and  the  height  of  Mount 
Fair-weather  4489  (5368,3  varas);  consequently  the  elevation 
of  the  former  of  these  mountains  is  nearly  the  same  as  that 
of  Cotopaxi  ;  and  the  elevation  of  the  second  is  equal  to  that 
of  Mont-Rose. — See  vol.  i.  p.  62,  and  my  Géographie  des 
Plantes,  p.  153.     Author. 

The  heignt  of  the  first  of  these  mountains  is  17,850,  and 
of  the  second,  14,992  feet  English. — Trans. 


332  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  iir. 

time  at  Port  Mulgrave,  in  Bering's  Bay  (lat.  59° 
34/  20"),  Alexander  Malaspina  directed  his  course 
southwards.  He  anchored  at  the  port  of  Nootka 
on  the  13th  August,  sounded  the  channels  round 
the  island  of  Yucuatl,  and  determined  by  observ- 
ations purely  celestial  the  positions  of  Nootka, 
Monterey,  and  the  island  of  Guadaloupe,  at 
which  the  galeon  of  the  Philippines  (la  Nao  de 
China')  generally  stops,  and  Cape  San  Lucas. 
The  corvette  la  Atrevida  entered  Acapulco,  and 
the  corvette  la  Descubierta  entered  San  Bias  in 
the  month  of  October,  1791. 

A  voyage  of  six  months  was  no  doubt  by  no 
means  sufficient  for  discovering  and  surveying  an 
extensive  coast  with  that  minute  care  which  we 
admire  in  the  voyage  of  Vancouver,  which  lasted 
three  years.  However,  the  expedition  of  Malas- 
pina has  one  particular  merit,  which  consists  not 
only  in  the  number  of  astronomical  observations, 
but  also  in  the  judicious  method  employed  for 
attaining  certain  results.  The  longitude  and 
latitude  of  four  points  of  the  coast,  Cape  San 
Lucas,  Monterey,  Nootka,  and  Port  Mulgrave, 
were  ascertained  in  an  absolute  manner.  The 
intermediate  points  were  connected  with  these 
fixed  points  by  means  of  four  sea-watches  of 
Arnold.  This  method,  employed  by  the  officers  of 
Malaspina's  expedition,  MM.  Espinosaj  Cevallos, 
and    Vemaciy  is   much  better  than  the  partial 


9 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  333 

corrections  usually  made  in  chronometrical  longi- 
tudes by  the  results  of  lunar  distances. 

The  celebrated  Malaspina  had  scarcely  return- 
ed to  the  coast  of  Mexico,  when,  discontented 
with  not  having  seen  at  a  sufficient  nearness  the 
extent  of  coast  from  the  island  of  Nootka  to  Cape 
Mendocino,  he  engaged  Count  de  Revillagigedo, 
the  viceroy,  to  prepare  a  new  expedition  of  disco- 
very towards  the  north-west  coast  of  America. 
The  viceroy,  who  was  of  an  active  and  enterpris- 
ing disposition,  yielded  with  so  much  the  greater 
facility  to  this  desire,  as  new  information,  received 
from  the  officers  stationed  at  Nootka,  seemed  to 
give  probability  to  the  existence  of  a  channel,  of 
which  the  discovery  was  attributed  to  the  Greek 
pilot,  Juan  de  Fuca,  in  the  end  of  the  l6th  cen- 
tury.    Martinez  had  indeed,  in  177'^>  perceived 
a  very  broad  opening  under  the  48°  20'  of  lati- 
tude.    This  opening  was  successively  visited  by 
the  pilot  of  the  Gertrudis,  by  Ensign  Don  Manuel 
Quimper,  who  commanded  the  Bilander  la  Prin- 
cessa  Real,  and  in  1791  by  Captain  Elisa.     They 
even  discovered  secure  and  spacious  ports  in  it. 
It  was  to  complete  this  survey  that  the  galeras 
Sutil  and  Mexicaiia  left  Acapulco  on  the  8th 
March,  179'^,  under  the  command  of  Don  Dio- 
nisiso  Galiano  and  Don  Cayetano  Valdes. 

These  able  and  experienced  astronomers,  ac- 
companied by  MM.  Salamanca  and  Vernaci, 
sailed  round  the  large  island  which  now  bears  the 


334-  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

name  of  Quadra  and  Vancouver,  and  they  em- 
ployed four  months  in  this  laborious  and  danger- 
ous navigation.  After  passing  the  straits  of  Fuca 
and  Haro,  they  fell  in  with,  in  the  channel  del 
Kosario,  called  by  the  English  the  Gulf  of 
Georgia,  the  English  navigators  Vancouver  and 
Broughton,  employed  in  the  same  researches  with 
themselves.  The  two  expeditions  made  a  mutual 
and  unreserved  communication  of  their  labours  ; 
they  assisted  one  another  in  their  operations;  and 
there  subsisted  among  them,  till  the  moment  of 
their  separation,  a  good  intelligence  and  complete 
harmony,  of  which,  at  another  epoqua,  an  ex- 
ample had  not  been  set  by  the  astronomers  on 
the  ridge  of  the  Cordilleras. 

Galiano  and  Valdes,  on  their  return  from  Noot- 
ka  to  Monterey,  again  examined  the  mouth  of 
the  Ascencion,  which  Don  Bruno  Eceta  discovered 
on  the  17th  August,  177<5,  and  which  was  called 
the  river  of  Columbia  by  the  celebrated  American 
navigator  Gray,  from  the  name  of  the  sloop 
under  his  command.  This  examination  was  of  so 
much  the  greater  importance,  as  Vancouver,  who 
had  already  kept  very  close  to  this  coast,  was 
unable  to  perceive  any  entrance  from  the  45"  of 
latitude  to  the  channel  of  Fuca;  and  as  this  learned 
navigator  began  then  to  doubt  of  the  existence  of 
the  Rio  de  Colombia*,  or  the  Entrada  de  Eceta. 

*  I  have  already  spoken  (Vol.  I.  p.  20.)  of  the  facility 
which  the  fertile  banks  of  the  Colombia  affords  to  Europeans 


CHAP.  VIII.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  335 

In  1797  the  Spanish  government  gave  orders 
that  the  charts  drawn  up  in  the  course  of  the  ex- 
pedition of  MM.  GaUano  and  Valdes  should  be 
published,  *'  in  order  that  they  might  be  in  the 
hands  of  the  public  before  those  of  Vancouver.** 
However  the  publication  did  not  take  place  till 
1802  ;  and  geographers  now  possess  the  advan- 
tage of  being  able  to  compare  together  the  charts 
of  Vancouver,  those  of  the    Spanish  navigators 

for  the  founding  a  colony,  and  of  the  doubts  started  against 
the  identity  of  this  river  and  the  Tacoutche-Tessi,  or  Oregan 
of  Mackenzie.  I  know  not  whether  this  Oregan  enters  into 
one  of  the  great  salt-water  lakes,  which,  according  to  the 
information  afforded  by  Father  Escalante,  I  have  represented 
under  the  39°  and  41°  of  latitude.  I  do  not  decide  whether 
or  not  the  Oregan,  like  many  great  rivers  of  South  America, 
does  not  force  a  passage  through  a  chain  of  elevated  moun- 
tains, and  whether  or  not  its  mouth  is  to  be  found  in  one  of 
the  creeks  between  the  port  de  la  Bodega  and  Cape  Orford  ; 
but  I  could  have  wished  that  a  geographer,  in  other  respects 
both  learned  and  judicious,  had  not  attempted  to  recognize 
the  name  of  Oregan  in  that  of  Origen,  which  he  believes  to 
designate  a  river  in  the  map  of  Mexico,  published  by  Don 
Antonio  Alzate  [Géographie  Mathématique,  Physique,  et 
Politique,  vol.  xv.  p.  116  and  1 17).  He  has  confounded  the 
Spanish  word  Origen,  the  source  or  origin  of  a  thing,  with 
the  Indian  Avord  Origan.  The  map  of  Alzate  only  marks 
the  Rio  Colorado,  which  receives  its  waters  from  the  Rio 
Gila.  Near  the  junction  we  read  the  following  words  :  Rio 
Colorado  6  del  Norte,  anjo  origen  se  ignora,  of  which  the 
origin  is  unknown.  The  negligence  with  which  these  Spanish 
words  are  divided  (they  have  engraved  Nortecuio  and  Seig- 
nora)  is  undoubtedly  the  cause  of  this  extraordinary  mis- 
take. 


336  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  in. 

published  by  the  Deposito  Hydrogrqfico  of  Ma- 
drid, and  the  Russian  chart  pubUshed  at  Pe- 
tersburg in  1802,  in  the  depot  of  the  maps  of 
the  charts  of  the  emperor.  This  comparison  is 
so  much  the  more  necessary,  as  the  same  capes, 
the  same  passages,  and  the  same  islands,  fre- 
quently bear  three  or  lour  different  names  ;  and 
geographical  synonymy  has  by  that  means  be- 
come as  confused  as  the  synonymy  of  crypto- 
gameous  plants  has  become  from  an  analogous 
cause. 

At  the  same  epoqua  at  which  the  vessels  Sutil 
and  Meœicana  were  employed  in  examining,  in 
the  greatest  detail,  the  shore  between  the  parallels 
of  45°  and  51",  the  Count  de  Revillagigedo  des- 
tined another  expedition  for  higher  latitudes. 
The  mouth  of  the  river  oï  Martin  de  Aquilar  had 
been  unsuccessfully  sought  for  in  the  vicinity 
of  Cape  Orford  and  Cape  Gregory.  Alexander 
Malaspina,  in  place  of  the  famous  channel  de 
Maldonado,  had  only  formed  openings  without 
any  outlet.  Galiano  and  Valdes  had  ascertained 
that  the  Strait  of  Fuca  was  merely  an  arm  of  the 
sea,  which  separates  an  island  of  more  than  I7OÛ 
square  leagues  *,  that  of  Quadra  aud  Vancouver 
from  the  mountainous  coast  of  New   Georgia. 

*  The  extent  of  the  island  of  Quadra  and  Vancouver, 
calculated  according  to  the  maps  of  Vancouver,  is  1730 
square  leagues  of  25  to  the  sexagesimal  degree.  It  is  the 
largest  island  to  be  found  on  this  west  coast  of  America. 


CHAP.  Vin.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  337 

There  still  remained  doubts  as  to  the  existence 
of  the  straits,  of  which  the  discovery  was  attri- 
buted to  admiral  Fuentes  or  Fonte,  which  was 
supposed  to  be  under  the  5S°  of  latitude.  Cook 
regretted  his  want  of  ability  to  examine  this  part 
of  the  continent  of  New  Hanover  ;  and  the  asser- 
tions of  Captain  Colnet,  an  able  navigator,  ren- 
dered it  extremely  probable  that  the  continuity 
of  the  coast  was  interrupted  in  these  latitudes. 
To  resolve  a  problem  of  such  importance,  the 
viceroy  of  New  Spain  gave  orders  to  Lieutenant 
Don  Jacinto  Caamaiio,  commander  of  the  frigate 
Aranzazu,  to  examine  with  the  greatest  care  the 
shore  from  the  01°  to  the  5Q°  of  north  latitude. 
M.  Caamano,  whom  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
at  Mexico,  set  sail  from  the  port  of  San  Bias  on 
the  20th  March,  1792  ;  and  he  made  a  voyage  of 
six  months.  He  carefully  surveyed  the  northern 
part  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Island,  the  southern 
coast  of  the  Prince  of  Wales's  Island,  which  he 
called  Isla  de  Ulloa,  the  islands  of  Revillagigedo, 
of  Banks  (or  de  la  Calamidad),  and  of  Aristizabal, 
and  the  great  inlet  of  Monino,  the  mouth  of 
which  is  opposite  the  archipelago  of  Pitt.  The 
considerable  number  of  Spanish  denominations 
presei'ved  by  Vancouver  in  his  charts  proves  that 
the  expeditions,  of  which  we  have  given  a  sum- 
mary account,  contributed  in  no  small  degree  to 
our  knowledge  of  a  coast,  which,  from  the  45°  of 
latitude  to  Cape  Douglas  to  the  east  of  Cook's 

VOL,  II.  z 


338  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  in. 

Creek,  is  now  more  accurately  surveyed  than 
the  most  part  of  the  coasts  of  Europe. 

1  have  confined  myself  to  the  bringing  toge- 
ther at  the  end  of  this  chapter  all  the  information 
which  I  could  procure  with  regard  to  the  voyages 
undertaken  by  the  Spaniards,  from  1553  to  our 
own  times,  towards  the  western  coast  of  New 
Spain  to  the  north  of  New  California.  The  assem- 
blage of  these  materials  appeared  to  me  to  be  ne- 
cessary in  a  work  embracing  whatever  concerns 
the  political  and  commercial  relations  of  Mexico. 

The  geographers  who  are  eager  to  divide  the 
world  for  the  sake  of  facilitating  the  study  of 
their  science  distinguish  on  the  north-west  coast 
an  English  part,  a  Spanish  part,  and  a  Russian 
part.  These  divisions  have  been  made  without 
consulting  the  chiefs  of  the  different  tribes  who 
inhabit  these  countries  !  If  the  puerile  ceremonies 
which  the  Europeans  call  taking  possession,  and 
if  astronomical  observations  made  on  a  recently 
discovered  coast  could  give  rights  of  property, 
this  portion  of  the  new  continent  would  be 
singularly  pieced  out  and  divided  among  the 
Spaniards,  English,  Russians,  French,  and  Ame- 
ricans. One  small  island  would  sometimes  be 
shared  by  two  or  three  nations  at  once,  because 
each  might  have  discovered  a  different  cape  of 
it.  The  great  sinuosity  of  the  coast  between  the 
parallels  of  55°  and  60°  embrace  the  successive 
discoveries   of  Gali,    Bering,  and  Tschirekow, 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  339 

Quadra,  Cook,  La  Perouse,  Malaspina,  and  Van- 
couver ! 

No  European  nation  has  yet  formed  a  solid 
establishment  on  the  immense  extent  of  coast 
from  Cape  Mendocino  to  the  59°  of  latitude. 
Beyond  this  limât  the  Russian  factories  com- 
mence, the  most  part  of  which  are  scattered  and 
distant  from  one  another,  like  the  factories  esta- 
lished  by  European  nations  for  these  last  three 
hundred  years  on  the  coast  of  Africa.  The  most 
part  of  these  small  Russian  colonies  have  no  com- 
munication with  one  another  but  by  sea;  and  the 
new  denominations  of  Russian  America,  or  Rus- 
sian possessions  in  the  new  continent,  ought  not  to 
induce  us  to  believe  that  the  coast  of  the  hasin  of 
Bering,  the  peninsula  Alaska,  or  the  country  of 
the  Tscliugatschi,  have  become  Russian  pro- 
vinces, in  the  sense  which  we  give  to  this  word 
speaking  of  the  Spanish  provinces  of  Sonora  or 
New  Biscay. 

The  western  coast  of  America  affords  the  only 
example  of  a  shore  of  1900  leagues  in  length, 
inhabited  by  one  European  nation.  The  Spa- 
niards, as  we  have  already  indicated  in  the  com- 
mencement of  this  work*,  have  formed  establish- 
ments from  fort  Maullin  in  Chili  to  S.  Francis  in 
New  California.  To  the  north  of  the  parallel  of 
38°  succeed  independent  Indian  tribes.     It  is 

*  See  vol.  i.  p.  6. 
Z  2 


340  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  in. 

probable  that  these  tribes  will  be  gradually  sub- 
dued by  the  Russian  colonists,  who,  towards  the 
end  of  the  last  century,  passed  over  from  the 
eastern  extremity  of  Asia  to  the  continent  of 
America.  The  progress  of  these  Russian  Sibe- 
rians towards  the  south  ought  naturally  to  be 
more  rapid  than  that  of  the  Spanish  Mexicans 
towards  the  north.  A  people  of  hunters,  accus- 
tomed to  live  in  a  foggy,  and  excessively  cold, 
climate,  find  the  temperature  of  the  coast  of  New 
Cornwall  very  agreeable  ;  but  this  coast  appears 
an  uninhabitable  country,  a  polar  region  to  co- 
lonists from  a  temperate  climate,  from  the  fertile 
and  delicious  plains  of  Sonora  and  New  Cali- 
fornia. 

The  Spanish  government  since  I788  has  begun 
to  testify  uneasiness  at  the  appearance  of  the  Rus- 
sianson  the  north -west  coast  of  the  new  continent. 
Considering  every  European  nation  in  the  light 
of  a  dangerous  neighbour,  they  examined  the 
situation  of  the  Russian  factories.  The  fear 
ceased  on  its  being  known  at  Madrid  that  these 
factories  did  not  extend  eastwards  beyond  Cook's 
Inlet.  When  the  Emperor  Paul,  in  1799,  declared 
war  against  Spain,  it  was  some  time  in  agitation 
at  Mexico  to  prepare  a  maritime  expedition 
in  the  ports  of  San  Bias  and  Monterey  against 
the  Russian  colonies  in  America.  If  this  project 
had  been  carried  into  execution  we  should  have 
seen  at  hostilities  two  nations  who,  occupying 


CHAP,  viii.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  341 

the  opposite  extremities  of  Europe,  approach 
each  other  in  the  other  hemisphere  on  the  eastern 
and  western  limits  of  their  vast  empires. 

The  interval  which  separates  these  limits 
becomes  progressively  smaller  ;  and  it  is  for  the 
political  interest  of  New  Spain  to  know  accu- 
rately the  parallel  to  which  the  Russian  nation 
has  already  advanced  towards  the  east  and  south. 
A  manuscript  which  exists  in  the  archives  of 
the  viceroyalty  of  Mexico,  already  cited  by  me, 
gave  me  only  vague  and  incomplete  notions.  It 
describes  the  state  of  the  Russian  establishments 
as  they  were  twenty  years  ago.  M.  Malte-Brun, 
in  his  Universal  Geography,  gives  an  interesting 
article  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America.  He 
was  the  first  who  made  known  the  account  of 
the  voyage  of  Billings  *,  published  by  M.  Saryt- 
schew,  which  is  preferable  to  that  of  M.  Sauer. 
I  flatter  myself  that  I  am  able  to  give  from 
very  recent  data,  drawn  from  an  official  pro- 
duction t,  the  position  of  the  Russian  factories, 

*  Account  of  the  geographical  and  astronomical  expedition, 
undertaken  for  exploring  the  coast  of  the  Icy  Sea,  the  land  of 
the  Tshutski,  and  the  islands  betu^een  Asia  and  Ainerica,  tinder 
the  command  of  Captain  Billings,  bettveefi  the  years  1785  and 
1794-,  by  Martin  Sauer,  secretary  to  the  expedition.  Putet- 
chestwiejlota-kapitana  Sarytschcwa po  severowostochnoi  tschasti 
sibiri,  ledotvitatva  mora,  i  tvostochnogo  okeana,  180é. 

•\  Carte  des  découvertes  Jaites  successivement  par  des  navi- 
gateurs Russes  dans  r  Ocean  Pacifique,  et  daiis  la  mer  glaciale, 
corrigée  d'ajrres  les  observations  astronomiques  les  plus  récentes 

z   3 


342  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

which  are  merely  collections  of  sheds  and  huts, 
that  serve,  however,  as  emporiums  for  the  fur- 
trade. 

On  the  coast  nearest  to  Asia,  along  Bering's 
Straits,  between  the  67°  and  64°  10'  of  latitude, 
under  the  parallels  of  Lapland  and  Iceland,  we 
find  a  great  number  of  huts  frequented  by  the 
Siberian  hunters.  The  principal  posts,  reckon- 
ing from  north  to  south,  are,  Kigiltach,  Legle- 
lachtoli'i  Tuguten^  Netschich,  Tcliinegriun,  Chiba- 
lech,  Topar,  Pintepata,  Agulichan,  Chavani,  and 
Nugran,  near  Cape  Kodney  (Cap  du  Parent). 
These  habitations  of  the  natives  of  Russian  Ame- 
rica are  only  from  thirty  to  forty  leagues  distant  * 


de  jilusieurs  navigateurs  étrangers,  gravée  au  depot  des  Cartes 
de  sa  Majesté  V Empereur  de  toutes  les  Russies,  en  1802.  This 
beautiful  chart,  for  which  I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of 
M.  de  St.  Aigîian,  is  1",231  (4.037  feet)  in  length,  and 
0'",722  (2.367  feet)  in  breadth,  and  embraces  the  extent  of 
coast  and  sea  between  the  40°  and  72°  of  latitude,  and  the 
125°  and  224°  of  west  longitude  from  Paris.  The  names 
are  in  Russian  characters. 

*  As  it  is  more  than  probable  that  Asiatic  and  American 
tribes  have  crossed  the  ocean,  it  may  be  curious  to  examine 
the  breadth  of  the  arm  of  the  sea  which  separates  the  two 
continents  under  the  65°  50'  of  north  latitude.  According 
to  the  most  recent  discoveries  by  the  Russian  navigators, 
America  is  nearest  to  Siberia,  on  a  line  which  crosses  Bering's 
Straits  in  a  direction  from  the  south-east  to  the  north-west, 
from  Prince  of  Walcs^s  Cape  to  Cape  Tschoukotskoy.  The 
distance  between  these  two  capes  is  44',  or  18-^^;^  leagues  of 
25  to  tlic  degree.     The  island  of  Imaglin  is  almost  in  the 


CHAP,  vin.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  313 

from  the  huts  of  the  Tchoutskis  of  Asiatic  Russia. 
The  Straits  of  Bering,  which  separates  them,  is 
filled  with  desert  islands,  of  which  the  most 
northern  is  called  Imaglin.     The  north-east  ex- 


middle  of  the  channel,  being  one  fifth  nearer  the  Asiatic 
cape.  However,  it  is  not  necessary  for  our  conceiving  that 
Asiatic  tribes  established  on  the  table-land  of  Chinese  Tartary 
should  pass  from  the  old  to  the  new  continent,  to  have  re- 
course to  a  transmigration  at  such  high  latitudes.  A  chain 
of  small  islands  in  the  vicinity  of  one  another  stretches  from 
Corea  and  Japan  to  the  southern  cape  of  the  peninsula  of 
Kamtschatka,  between  the  33°  and  the  51°  of  latitude.  The 
great  island  of  Tchoka,  connected  with  the  continent  by  an 
immense  sand-bank,  (under  the  52°  of  latitude,)  facilitates 
communication  between  the  mouths  of  l'Amour  and  the 
Kurile  Islands.  Another  Archipelago  of  islands,  by  which 
the  great  basin  of  Bering  is  terminated  on  the  south,  advances 
from  the  peninsula  of  Alaska  400  leagues  towards  the  west. 
The  most  western  of  the  Aleutian  islands  is  only  HI  leagues 
distant  from  the  eastern  coast  of  Kamtschatka,  and  this  dis- 
tance is  also  divided  into  two  nearly  equal  parts,  the  Bering 
and  Mednoi  islands,  situated  under  the  55°  of  latitude. 
This  rapid  view  sufficiently  proves  that  Asiatic  tribes  might 
have  gone  by  means  of  these  islands  from  one  continent  to 
the  other  ivithoid  going  higher  on  the  continent  of  Asia  than 
theparallel  of  55°,  without  turning  the  sea  of  Ochotsk  to  the 
west,  and  without  a  passage  of  more  than  twenty-four  or 
thirty-six  hours.  The  north-west  winds,  which,  during  a 
great  part  of  the  year  blow  in  these  latitudes,  favour  the 
navigation  from  Asia  to  America  between  the  50*^  and  60°  of 
latitude.  It  is  not  wished  in  this  note  to  establish  new  histo- 
rical hypotheses,  or  to  discuss  those  which  have  been  hack- 
neyed these  forty  years  :  we  merely  wish  to  afford  exact 
notions  as  to  the  proximity  of  the  two  continents. 

Z   4 


344.  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

tremity  of  Asia  forms  a  peninsula,  which  is  only 
connected  with  the  great  mass  of  the  continent 
by  a  narrow  isthmus  between  the  two  gulfs 
Mitschigmen  and  Kaltschin.  The  Asiatic  coast 
which  borders  the  Straits  of  Bering  is  peopled  by 
great  numbers  of  cetaceous  mammiferi.  On  this 
coast  the  ïchoutskis,  who  live  in  perpetual  war 
with  the  Americans,  have  collected  together 
their  habitations.  Their  small  villages  are  called 
NuJcan,  Tugulaiiy  and  Tschigin. 

Following  the  coast  of  the  continent  of  Ame- 
rica from  Cape  Rodney  and  Norton  Creek  to 
Cape  Malowodan,  Cape  Littlewater,  we  find  no 
Russian  establishment  ;  but  the  natives  have  a 
great  number  of  huts  collected  together  on  the 
shore  between  the  63°  20'  and  60°  5'  of  latitude. 
The  most  northern  of  their  habitations  are 
Agibaniach  and  Chalmiagmij  and  the  most 
southern  KuynegacJi  and  Knymin, 

The  bay  of  Bristol,  to  the  north  of  the  penin- 
sula Alaska  (or  Aliaska)  is  called  by  the  Russians 
the  gulf  Kamischezkaia.  They  in  general  pre- 
serve none  of  the  English  names  given  by  Cap- 
tain Cook,  and  Captain  Vancouver,  in  their 
charts,  to  the  north  of  the  55°  of  latitude.  They 
choose  rather  to  give  no  names  to  the  two  great 
islands  which  contain  the  Pic  TruUzin  (the  Mount 
Edgecumbe  of  Vancouver,  and  Cerro  de  San 
Jacinto  of  Quadra),  and  Cape  Tschiricqf  (Cape 
San  Bartholome),  than  adopt  the  denominations 


CHAP.  YinO       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.         3*5 

of  King  George's  Archipelago^   and   Prince  of 
Wales^s  Archipelago. 

The  coast  from  the  gulf  Kamischezkaia  to 
New  Cornwall  is  inhabited  by  five  tribes,  who 
form  as  many  great  territorial  divisions  on  the 
colonies  of  Russian  America.  Their  names  are 
Komagiy  Kenayzi,  Tschugatschi,  Ugalachmiuti, 
and  Koliugi. 

The  most  northern  part  of  Alaska,  and  the 
island  of  Kodiak,  vulgarly  called  by  the  Russians 
Kichtaky  though  Kightak  in  the  language  of  the 
natives  in  general  means  only  an  island,  belongs 
to  the  Kaniagi  division.     A  great  interior  lake 
of  more  than  26  leagues  in  length,  and  12  in 
breadth,  communicates  by  the  river  Igtschiagick 
with  the  bay  of  Bristol.     There  are  two  forts  and 
several  factories  on  the  Kodiak  Island  (Kadiak), 
and  the  small  adjacent  islands.     The  forts  esta- 
blished by  SchelikofF  bear  the  name  oï Karluk^nà. 
the  three  Sanctijiers.     M.  Malte-Brun  says  that, 
according  to  the  latest  information,  the  Kichtak 
archipelago  was  destinedto  contain  the  head  place 
of  all  the  Russian  settlements.  Sary  tsche  w  asserts, 
that  there  are  a  bishop  and  Russian  monastery  in 
the  island  of  Umanak  (Umnak).     I  do  not  know 
'  whether  there  has  been  any  similar  establishment 
elsewhere  ;  for  the  chart  published  in  1802  indi- 
cates no  factory  either  at  Umnak,  Unimak,  or 
Unalaschka.     I  read,  however,  at  Mexico,  in  the 
manuscript-journal  of  Martinez's  voyage,  that  he 


346  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

Spaniards  found  several  Russian  houses,  and 
about  a  hundred  small  barks,  at  the  island  of 
Unalaschka  in  I788.  The  natives  of  the  penin- 
sula, Alaska  call  themselves  the  Men  of  the  East 
(  Kagataya-Koung*ns). 

The  Kenayzi  inhabit  the  western  coast  of  Cook 
creek,  or  the  gulf  Kenayskia.  The  Rada  fac- 
tory, visited  by  Vancouver,  is  situated  there 
under  the  61°  8'.  The  governor  of  the  island  of 
Kodiak,  a  Greek  named  Ivanitsch  Delarefï) 
assured  M.  Sauer  that,  notwithstanding  the  rigour 
of  the  climate,  grain  would  thrive  well  on  the 
banks  of  Cook  river.  He  introduced  the  culti- 
vation of  cabbages  and  potatoes  into  the  gardens 
at  Kodiak. 

The  Tschugatschi  occupy  the  country  between 
the  northern  extremity  of  Cook  Inlet  and  the  east 
of  Prince  William's  bay  (Tschugatskaia  gulf). 
There  are  several  factories  and  three  small  forts 
in  this  district:  Fort  Alexander,  near  the  mouth  of 
Port  Chatham,  and  the  forts  of  the  Tuk  islands 
(Green  Island  of  Vancouver),  and  Tchalca 
(Hinchinbrook  Island). 

The  Ugalachmiuti  extend  from  the  giûï  of 
Prince  William  to  the  bay  of  Jakutaly  called  by 
Vancouver  Bering's  bay.*     The  factory  of  St. 

*  We  must  not  confound  the  bay  of  Bering  of  Vancouver, 
situated  at  the  foot  of  Mount  St,  Eh'e,  with  the  Bering's  bay 
of  the  Spanish  maps,  near  Mount  Fairweather  (Nevado  de 


CHAP.  VIII.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  347 

Simon  is  near  Cape  Suckling  (Cape  Elie  of  the 
Russians).  It  appears  that  the  central  chain  of 
the  Cordilleras  of  New  Norfolk  is  considerably 
distant  from  the  coast  at  the  Pic  of  St.  Elie  ;  for 
the  natives  informed  M.  Barrow,  who  ascended 
the  river  Mednaja  (copper  river)  for  a  length  of 
500  xverst  (120  leagues),  that  it  would  require 
two  days'  journey  northwards  to  reach  the  high 
chain  of  tlie  mountains. 

The  Koliugi  inhabit  the  mountainous  country 
of  New  Norfolk,  and  the  northern  part  of  New 
Cornwall.  The  Russians  mark  Burroughbay  on 
their  charts  (latitude  55°  50')  opposite  the  Revil- 
lagigedo  island  of  Vancouver  (Isla  de  Gravina  of 
the  Spanish  maps),  as  the  most  southern  and  east- 
ern boundaries  of  the  extent  of  country  of  which 
they  claim  the  property.  It  appears  that  the  great 
island  of  the  King  George  archipelago  has,  in 
fact,  been  examined  with  more  care  and  more 
minutely  by  the  Russian  navigators  than  by  Van- 
couver. Of  this  we  may  easily  convince  ourselves 
by  comparing  attentively  the  western  coast  of  this 
island,  especially  the  environs  of  Cape  Trubizin 
(Cape  Edgecumbe),  and  of  the  port  of  the  Arch- 


Buentiempo).  Without  an  accurate  acquaintance  with  geo- 
graphical synonomy,  the  Spanish,  English,  Russian,  and 
French  works  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America  are  almost 
unintelligible  ;  and  it  is  only  by  a  minute  comparison  of  the 
maps  that  this  synonomy  can  be  fixed. 


348  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi. 

angel  St.  Michel,  in  Sitka  bay  (the  Norfolk  Sound 
of  the  English,  and  Tchinkitane  bay  of  Mar- 
chand), on  the  charts  published  at  Petersbourg  in 
the  imperial  depot  in  1802,  and  on  the  charts  of 
Vancouver.  The  most  southern  Russian  esta- 
blishment of  this  district  of  the  Koliugi  is  a  small 
fortress  (crapost)  in  the  bay  of  Jakutal,  at  the  foot 
of  the  Cordillera  which  connects  Mount  Fair- 
weather  with  Mont  St.  Elie,  near  Port  Mulgrave, 
under  the  59°  27'  of  latitude.  The  proximity  of 
mountains  covered  with  eternal  snow,  and  the 
great  breadth  of  the  continent  from  the  ô8*  of 
latitude,  render  the  climate  of  this  coast  of  New 
Norfolk,  and  the  country  of  the  Ugalachmiuti, 
excessively  cold  and  inimical  to  the  progress  of 
vegetation. 

When  the  sloops  of  the  expedition  of  Malas- 
pina  penetrated  into  the  interior  of  the  bay  of 
Jakutal  as  far  as  the  port  of  Desengano,  they 
found  the  northern  extremity  of  the  port  under 
the  59°  of  latitude  covered  in  the  month  of 
July  with  a  solid  mass  of  ice.  We  might  be  in- 
clined to  believe  that  this  mass  belonged  to  a 
glacier*  which  terminated  in  high  maritime 
alps  ;  but  Mackenzie  relates,  that  on  examining 
the  banks  of  the  Slave  lake,  250  leagues  to  the 
east  inider  61°  of  latitude,  he  found  the  lake 
wholly  frozen  over  in  the  month  of  June.     The 

*  Vancouver,  t.  v.  p.  67. 


CHAP,  viir.]      ^KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  S49 

difference  of  temperature  observable  in  general 
on  the  eastern  and  western  coast  of  the  new 
continent,  of  which  we  have  ah'eady  spoken, 
appears  only  to  be  very  sensible  to  the  south  of 
the  parallel  53°,  which  passes  through  New  Ha- 
nover, and  the  great  island  of  Queen  Charlotte. 
There  is  nearly  the  same  absolute  distance  from 
Petersbourg  to  the  most  eastern  Russian  factory 
on  the  continent  of  America,  as  from  Madrid 
to  the  port  of  San  Francisco  in  New  California. 
The  breadth  of  the  Russian  empire  embraces 
under  the  C0°  of  latitude  an  extent  of  country  of 
nearly  2400  leagues  ;  but  the  small  fort  of  the 
bay  of  Jakutal  is  still  more  than  600  leagues  dis- 
tant from  the  most  northern  limits  of  the  Mex- 
ican possessions.  The  natives  of  these  northern 
regions  have,  for  a  long  time,  been  cruelly 
harassed  by  the  Siberian  hunters.  Women  and 
children'were  retained  as  hostages  in  the  Russian 
factories.  The  instructions  given  by  the  Em- 
press Catharine  to  Captain  Billings,  drawn  up 
by  the  illustrious  Pallas,  breathe  the  spirit  of 
philanthropy,  and  the  most  noble  sensibility. 
The  present  government  is  seriously  occupied 
in  diminishing  the  abuses,  and  repressing  the 
vexations  ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  prevent  these 
evils  at  the  extremities  of  a  vast  empire  ;  and 
the  American  is  doomed  to  feel  every  instant 
his  distance  from  the  capital.     Moreover,  it  ap- 


350  POLITICAL  ESSAY,  &c.  [book  in. 

pears  more  than  probable  that  before  the  Rus- 
sians shall  clear  the  interval  which  separates 
them  from  the  Spaniards,  some  other  enterpriz- 
ing  power  will  attempt  to  establish  colonies  either 
on  the  coast  of  New  Georgia,  or  on  the  fertile 
islands  in  its  vicinity. 


351 


BOOK  IV. 

STATE  OF  THE  AGRICULTURE  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 
METALLIC  MINES. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Vegetable  productions  of  the  Mexican  territory/.  —  Progress  of 
the  cultivation  of  the  soil.  —  Injliience  of  the  mines  on  culti- 
vation. —  Plants  tvhich  contribute  to  the  nourishment  of  man. 

W' E  have  run  over  the  immense  extent  of  terri- 
tory comprehended  under  the  denomination  of 
New  Spain.  We  have  rapidly  described  the 
limits  of  each  province,  the  physical  aspect  of  the 
country,  its  temperature,  its  natural  fertility,  and 
the  progress  of  a  nascent  population.  It  is  now 
time  to  enter  more  minutely  into  the  state  of 
agriculture  and  territorial  wealth  of  Mexico. 

An  empire  extending  from  the  sixteenth  to  the 
thirty-seventh  degree  of  latitude  affords  us,  from 
its  geometrical  position,  all  the  modifications  of 
climate  to  be  found  on  transporting  ourselves 
from  the  banks  of  the  Senegal  to  Spain,  or  from 
the  Malabar  coast  to  the  steppes  of  the  great 
Bucharia.     This  variety  of  climate  is  also  aug- 


352  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

merited  by  the  geological  constitution  of  the 
country,  by  the  mass  and  extraordinary  form  of 
the  Mexican  mountains,  which  we  have  described 
in  the  third  chapter.  On  the  ridge  and  declivity 
of  the  Cordilleras  the  temperature  of  each  table- 
land varies  as  it  is  more  or  less  elevated  ;  not 
merely  insulated  peaks,  of  which  the  summits  ap- 
proach the  region  of  perpetual  snow,  are  covered 
with  oaks  and  pines,  but  whole  provinces  sponta- 
neously produce  alpine  plants  ;  and  the  cultivator 
inhabiting  the  torrid  zone  frequently  loses  the 
hopes  of  his  harvest  from  the  effects  of  frost  or 
the  abundance  of  snow. 

Such  is  the  admirable  distribution  of  heat  on 
the  globe,  that  in  the  aerial  ocean  we  meet  with 
colder  strata  in  proportion  as  we  ascend,  while 
in  the  depth  of  the  sea  the  temperature  dimi- 
nishes as  we  leave  the  surface  of  the  water.  In 
the  two  elements  the  same  latitude  unites,  as  it 
were,  every  climate.  At  unequal  distances  from 
the  surface  of  the  ocean,  but  in  the  same  vertical 
plane,  we  find  strata  of  air  and  strata  of  water  of 
the  same  temperature.  Hence,  under  the  tropics, 
on  the  declivity  of  the  Cordilleras,  and  in  the 
abyss  of  the  ocean,  the  plants  of  Lapland,  as 
well  as  the  marine  animals  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
pole,  find  the  degree  of  heat  necessary  to  their 
organic  developemcnt. 

Fromthisorderof  things,  established  by  nature, 


CHAP.  IX.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  353 

"we  may  conceive  that,  in  a  mountainous  and 
extensive  country  like  Mexico,  the  variety  of  in- 
digenous productions  must  be  immense,  and  that 
there  hardly  exists  a  plant  in  the  rest  of  the  globe 
which  is  not  capable  of  being  cultivated  in  some 
part  of  New  Spain.  Notwithstanding  the  labo- 
rious researches  of  three  distinguished  botanists, 
MM.  Sesse,  Mocino,  and  Cervantes,  employed 
by  the  court  in  examining  the  vegetable  riches  of 
Mexico,  we  are  far  from  yet  being  able  to  flatter 
ourselves  that  we  know  any  thing  like  all  the 
plants  scattered  over  the  insulated  summits,  or 
crowded  together  in  the  vast  forests  at  the  foot  of 
the  Cordilleras.  If  we  still  daily  discover  new 
herbaceous  species  on  the  central  table-land,  and 
even  in  the  vicinity  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  how 
many  arborescent  plants  have  never  yet  been 
discovered  by  botanists  in  the  humid  and  warm 
region  along  the  eastern  coast,  from  the  province 
of  Tabasco,  and  the  fertile  banks  of  the  Guas- 
acualco,  to  Colipa  and  Papantla,  and  along  the 
western  coast  from  the  port  of  San  Bias  and  So- 
nora  to  the  plains  of  the  province  of  Oaxaca  ? 
Hitherto  no  sipeciesoi' quinquina  (cinchona),  none 
even  of  the  small  group,  of  which  the  stamina  are 
longer  than  the  corolla,  which  form  the  genus 
exostema,  has  been  discovered  in  the  equinoxial 
part  of  New  Spain.  It  is  probable,  however,  that 
this  precious  discovery  will  one  day  be  made  on 
the  declivity  of  the  Cordilleras,  where  aborescent 

VOL.  II.  A  A 


354  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

ferns  abound,  and  where  the  region*  of  the  true 
febrifuge  quinquina  with  very  short  stamina  and 
downy  corollae  commences. 

We  do  not  propose  here  to  describe  the  innu- 
merable variety  of  vegetables  with  which  nature 
has  enriched  the  vast  extent  of  New  Spain,  and  of 
which  the  useful  properties  will  become  better 
known  when  civilization  shall  have  made  farther 
progress  in  the  country.     We  mean  merely  to 


*  See  my  Géographie  des  Plantes,  p.  61-66.  and  a  memoir 
published  by  me  in  German,  containing  physical  observations 
on  the  different  species  of  cinchona  growing  in  the  two  con- 
tinents [Mémoires  de  la  Société  d'Histoire  Naturelle  de  Berlin, 
1807,  No.  1  and  2.)  It  is  believed  at  Mexico,  that  the  port- 
landia  Mexicana,  discovered  by  M.  Sesse,  might  serve  as  a 
substitute  for  the  quinquina  of  Loxa,  as  is  done  in  a  certain 
degree  by  the  portlandia  hexandria  (Coutarea  Aublet)  at  Cay- 
enne, the  Bonplandia  trifoHata  Willd.  or  the  cusparé  on  the 
banks  of  the  Orinoco,  and  the  switenia  febrifuga  Roxb.  in 
the  East  Indies.  It  is  to  be  desired  that  the  medicinal  virtues 
of  the  Pinkneya  pubens  of  Michaux  (mussaenda  bracteolata 
Bartram)  which  grows  in  Georgia,  and  which  has  so  much 
analogy  with  the  cinchona,  should  also  be  examined.  When 
we  consider  the  properties  of  the  Portlandia,  Coutarea,  and 
Bonplandia  genera,  or  the  natural  affinity  between  the  true 
prickly  and  creeping  cinchona  discovered  at  Guayaquil  by  M. 
Tafalla,  and  the  pederia  and  danais  genera,  we  perceive  that 
the  febrifuge  principle  of  the  quinquina  is  to  be  found  in 
many  other  rubiaceous  plants.  In  the  same  manner  the 
caoutchouc  is  not  only  extracted  from  the  hevea,  but  also 
from  the  urceola  elastica,  from  the  commiphora  Madagascar- 
ensis,  and  from  a  great  number  of  other  plants  of  the  euphor- 
bean,  of  the  urtican  (ficus  cecropia),  of  the  cucurbitaceous 
(carica),  and  of  the  campanulaceous  (lobelia)  families. 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NFAV  SPAIN.  355 

speak  of  the  different  kinds  of  cultivation  which 
an  enlightened  government  might  introduce  with 
success  ;  and  we  shall  confine  ourselves  to  an 
examination  of  the  indigenous  productions 
which  at  this  moment  furnish  objects  of  export- 
ation, and  which  form  the  principal  basis  of  the 
Mexican  agriculture. 

Under  the  tropics,  especially  in  the  West  Indies, 
which  have  become  the  centre  of  the  commercial 
activity  of  the  Europeans,  the  word  argriculture  is 
understood  in  a  very  different  sense  from  what  it 
receives  in  Europe.  When  we  hear  at  Jamaica  or 
Cuba  of  the  flourishing  state  of  agriculture,  this 
expression  does  not  offer  to  the  imagination  the 
idea  of  harvests  which  serve  for  the  nourishment 
of  man,  but  of  ground  which  produces  objects  of 
commercial  exchange,  and  rude  materials  for 
manufacturing  industry.  Moreover,  whatever  be 
the  riches  or  fertility  of  the  country,  the  valley  de 
los  Guines,  for  example,  to  the  south-east  of  the 
Havannah,  one  of  the  most  delicious  situations  of 
thenewworld,  we  see  only  plains  carefully  planted 
with  sugar-cane  and  coffee;  and  these  plains  are 
watered  with  the  sweat  of  African  slaves  !  Rural 
life  loses  its  charms  when  it  is  inseparable  from 
the  aspect  of  the  sufferings  of  our  species. 

But  in  the  interior  of  Mexico,  the  word  agri- 
culture suggests  ideas  of  a  less  afflicting  nature. 
The  Indian  cultivator  is  poor,  but  he  is  free, 

A  A  2 


356  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

His  state  is  even  greatly  preferable  to  that  of  the 
peasantry  in  a  great  part  of  the  north  of  Europe. 
There  are  neither  corvées  nor  villanage  in  New 
Spain  ;  and  the  number  of  slaves  is  next  to 
nothing.  Sugar  is  chiefly  the  produce  of  free 
hands.  There  the  principal  objects  of  agricul- 
ture are  not  the  productions  to  which  European 
luxury  has  assigned  a  variable  and  arbitary 
value,  but  cereal  gramina,  nutritive  roots,  and  the 
agave,  the  vine  of  the  Indians.  The  appearance 
of  the  country  proclaims  to  the  traveller  that  the 
soil  nourishes  him  who  cultivates  it,  and  that  the 
true  prosperity  of  the  Mexican  people  neither 
depends  on  the  accidents  of  foreign  commerce , 
nor  on  the  unruly  politics  of  Europe. 

Those  who  only  know  the  interior  of  the 
Spanish  colonies  from  the  vague  and  uncertain 
notions  hitherto  published  will  have  some  diffi- 
culty in  believing  that  the  principal  sources  of 
the  Mexican  riches  are  by  no  means  the  mines, 
but  an  agriculture  which  has  been  gradually 
ameliorating  since  the  end  of  the  last  century. 
Without  reflecting  on  the  immense  extent  of  the 
country,  and  especially  the  great  number  of  pro- 
vinces which  appear  totally  destitute  of  precious 
metals,  we  generally  imagine  that  all  the  activity 
of  the  Mexican  population  is  directed  to  the 
working  of  mines.  Because  agriculture  has 
made  a  very  considersble  progress  in  the  capi- 
tania  general  of  Caraccas,   in  the  kingdom  of 


CHAP.  IX.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  357 

Guatimala,  the  island  of  Cuba,  and  wherever  the 
mountains  are  accounted  poor  in  mineral  produc- 
tions, it  has  been  inferred  that  it  is  to  the  working 
of  the  mines  that  we  are  to  attribute  the  small 
care  bestowed  on  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  in 
other  parts  of  the  Spanish  colonies.  This  rea- 
soning is  just  when  applied  to  small  portions  of 
territory.  No  doubt  in  the  provinces  of  Choco 
and  Antioquia,  and  the  coast  of  Barbacoas,  the  in- 
habitants are  fonder  of  seeking  for  the  gold  washed 
down  in  the  brooks  and  ravins  than  of  cultivating 
a  virgin  and  fertile  soil  ;  and  in  the  beginning  of 
the  conquest,  the  Spaniards  who  abandoned  the 
peninsula  or  Canary  Islands  to  settle  in  Peru  and 
Mexico  had  no  other  view  but  the  discovery  of 
the  precious  metals.  *'  Auri  rabida  sitis  a  cultura 
Hispanos  divertit,**  says  a  writer  of  those  times, 
Pedro  Martyr  *,  in  his  work  on  the  discovery  of 
Yucatan  and  the  colonization  of  the  Antilles. 
But  this  reasoning  cannot  now  explain  why  in 
countries  of  three  or  four  times  the  extent  of 
Trance  agriculture  is  in  a  state  of  languor.  The 
same  physical  and  moral  causes  which  fetter  the 
progress  of  national  industry  in  the  Spanish 
colonies  have  been  inimical  to  a  better  cultiva- 
tion of  the  soil.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that 
under  improved  social  institutions  the  countries 
which  most  abound  with  mineral  productions  will 

*  Deinsulis  nuper  repertis  et  de  moribus  incolarum  carum, 
Grynaei  novus  orbisy  1555,  p.  511. 
A  A    3 


358  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

be  as  well  if  not  better  cultivated  than  those  in 
which  no  such  productions  are  to  be  found.  But 
the  desire  natural  to  man  of  simplifying  the  causes 
of  every  thing  has  introduced  into  works  of  poli- 
tical economy  a  species  of  reasoning  which  is  per- 
petuated, because  it  flatters  the  mental  indolence 
of  the  multitude.  The  depopulation  of  Spanish 
America,  the  state  of  neglect  in  which  the  most 
fertile  lands  are  found,  and  the  want  of  manufac- 
turing industry,  are  attributed  to  the  metallic 
wealth,  to  the  abundance  of  gold  and  silver  ;  as, 
according  to  the  same  logic,  all  the  evils  of  Spain 
are  to  be  attributed  to  the  discovery  of  America, 
or  the  wandering  race  of  the  merinos,  or  the  re- 
ligious intolerance  of  the  clergy  !  * 

We  do  not  observe  that  agriculture  is  more 
neglected  in  Peru  than  in  the  province  of  Cumana 
or  Guayana,  in  which,  however,  there  are  no 

*  If  all  the  evils  of  Spain  are  not  to  be  attributed  to  the 
discovery  of  America,  it  has  been  proved  by  an  acute  political 
economist,  M.  Brougham,  that  Spain  is  one  of  the  European 
nations,  the  state  of  which  is  least  adapted  for  colonization, 
and  in  which  the  national  capital  and  industry  could  in  almost 
no  way  be  more  unprofitably  employed.  It  is  no  less  true 
that  the  merinos  are  a  great  obstacle  to  agricultural  improve- 
ment, and  that  the  intolerance  of  the  clergy  can  contribute 
very  little  to  the  prosperity  of  the  country.  The  author  does 
not  surely  mean  to  say  that  they  are  not  among  the  principal 
causes  of  the  present  state  of  Spain.  That  there  are  other 
causes  in  abundance  every  one  at  all  acquainted  with  that 
country  will  have  no  difficulty  in  comprehending.     Trans. 


CHAP.  IX.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  359 

mines,  worked.  In  Mexico  the  best  cultivated 
fields,  those  which  recall  to  the  mind  of  the  tra- 
veller the  beautiful  plains  of  France,  are  those 
which  extend  from  Salamanca  towards  Silao, 
Guanaxuato,  and  the  Villa  de  Leon,  and  which 
surround  the  richest  mines  of  the  known  world. 
Wherever  metallic  seams  have  been  discovered  in 
the  most  uncultivated  parts  of  the  Cordilleras,  on 
the  insulated  and  desert  table-lands,  the  working 
of  mines,  far  from  impeding  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil  has  been  singularly  favourable  to  it.  Travel- 
ling along  the  ridge  of  the  Andes,  or  the  moun- 
tainous part  of  Mexico,  we  every  where  see  the 
most  striking  example  of  the  beneficial  influence 
of  the  mines  on  agriculture.  Were  it  not  for  the 
establishments  formed  for  the  working  of  the 
mines,  how  many  places  would  have  remained 
desert?  how  many  districts  uncultivated  in  the 
four  intendancies  of  Guanaxuato,  Zacatecas,  San 
Luis  Potosi,  and  Durango,  between  the  parallels 
of  21°  and  25°,  where  the  most  considerable  me- 
tallic wealth  of  New  Spain  is  to  be  found  ?  If  the 
town  is  placed  on  the  arid  side  or  the  crest  of  the 
Cordilleras,  the  new  colonists  can  only  draw  from 
a  distance  the  means  of  their  subsistence  and 
the  maintenance  of  the  great  number  of  cattle 
employed  in  drawing  off  the  water,  and  raising 
and  amalgamating  the  mineral  produce.  Want 
soon  awakens  industry.  The  soil  begins  to  be 
cultivated   in  the  ravins  and  declivities  of  the 

A  A   4 


360  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv 

neighbouring  mountains  wherever  the  rock  is 
covered  with  earth.  Farms  are  estabUshed  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  mine.  The  high  price  of 
provision,  from  the  competition  of  the  pur- 
chasers, indemnifies  the  cultivator  for  the  priva- 
tions to  which  he  is  exposed  from  the  hard  Hfe  of 
the  mountains.  Thus  from  the  hope  of  gain  alone, 
and  the  motives  of  mutual  interest,  which  are  the 
most  powerful  bonds  of  society,  and  without  any 
interference  on  the  part  of  the  government  in  co- 
lonization, a  mine  which  at  first  appeared  insu- 
lated in  the  midst  of  wild  and  desert  mountains, 
becomes  in  a  short  time  connected  with  the  lands 
which  have  long  been  under  cultivation. 

Moreover,  this  influence  of  the  mines  on  the 
progressive  cultivation  of  the  country  is  more  dur- 
able than  they  are  themselves.  When  the  seams 
are  exhausted,  and  the  subterraneous  operations 
are  abandoned,  the  population  of  the  canton 
undoubtedly  diminishes,  because  the  miners  emi- 
grate elsewhere  ;  but  the  colonist  is  retained  by 
his. attachment  for  the  spot  where  he  received  his 
birth,  and  which  his  fathers  cultivated  with  their 
hands.  The  more  lonely  the  cottage  is,  the  more 
it  has  charms  for  the  inhabitant  of  the  mountains. 
It  is  with  the  beginning  of  civilization  as  with  its 
decline  :  man  appears  to  repent  of  the  constraint 
which  he  has  imposed  on  himself  by  entering  into 
society  ;  and  lie  loves  solitude  because  it  restores 
to  liim  his  former  freedom.  This  moral  tendency, 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  361 

this  desire  for  solitude,  is  particularly  manifested 
by  the  copper-coloured  indigenous,  whom  a  long 
and  sad  experience  has  disgusted  with  social 
life,  and  more  especially  with  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  whites.  Like  the  Arcadians,  the  Aztec 
people  love  to  inhabit  the  summits  and  brows  of 
the  steepest  mountains.  This  peculiar  trait  in 
their  disposition  contributes  very  much  to  ex- 
tend population  in  the  mountainous  regions  of 
Mexico.  What  a  pleasure  it  is  for  the  traveller 
to  follow  these  peaceful  conquests  of  agriculture, 
and  to  contemplate  the  numerous  Indian  cot- 
tages dispersed  in  the  wildest  ravins,  and  necks 
of  cultivated  ground  advancing  into  a  desert 
country  between  naked  and  arid  rocks  ! 

The  plants  cultivated  in  these  elevated  and 
solitary  regions  differ  essentially  from  those  cul- 
tivated on  the  plains  below,  on  the  declivity  and 
at  the  foot  of  the  Cordilleras.  I  could  treat  of 
the  agriculture  of  New  Spain,  following  the 
great  divisions  which  I  have  already  laid  down 
in  sketching  the  physical  view  of  the  Mexican 
territory  j  and  I  could  follow  the  lines  of  cultiv- 
ation traced  on  my  geological  sections,  of  which 
the  elevations  have  partly  been  indicated  in  the 
third  chapter*;  but  it  is  to  be  observed  that 
these  lines  of  cultivation,  like  that  of  the  per- 
petual snows  to  which  they  are  parallel,  sink  to- 
wards the  north,  and  that  the  same  cerealia, 

*  See  vol.  i.  p.  68. 


362  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

which  only  vegetate  abundantly  under  the  lati- 
tude of  Oaxaca  and  Mexico  at  a  height  of  fifteen 
or  sixteen  hundred  metres,  are  to  be  found  in 
the  provmcias  internas  under  the  temperate  zone 
in  plains  of  inferior  elevation.  The  height  re- 
quisite for  the  different  kinds  of  cultivation  de- 
pends, in  genera],  on  the  latitude  of  the  places  ; 
but  such  is  the  flexibility  of  organization  in  cul- 
tivated plants,  that  with  the  assistance  of  the 
care  of  man  they  frequently  break  through  the 
limits  assigned  to  them  by  the  naturalist. 

Under  the  equator,  the  meteorological  pheno- 
mena, such  as  those  of  the  geography  of  plants 
and  animals,  are  subject  to  laws  which  are  im- 
mutable and  easily  to  be  perceived.  The  climate 
there  is  only  modified  by  the  height  of  the  place, 
and  the  temperature  is  nearly  constant,  notwith- 
standing the  difference  of  seasons.  As  we  leave 
the  equator,  especially  between  the  15th  degree 
and  the  tropic,  the  climate  depends  on  a  great 
number  of  local  circumstances,  and  varies  at  the 
same  absolute  height,  and  under  the  same  geo- 
graphical latitude.  This  influence  of  localities, 
of  which  the  study  is  of  such  importance  to  the 
cultivator,  is  still  much  more  manifest  in  the 
northern  than  in  the  southern  hemisphere.  The 
great  breadth  of  the  new  continent,  the  proximity 
of  Canada,  the  winds  which  blow  from  the  north, 
and  other  causes  already  developed,  give  the 
equinoxial  region  of  Mexico  and  the  island  of 
Cuba  a  particular  character.     One  would  say 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  363 

that  in  these  regions  the  temperate  zone,  the 
zone  of  variable  climates,  increases  towards  the 
south  and  passes  the  tropic  of  Cancer.  It  is 
sufficient  here  to  state  that  in  the  environs  of  the 
Havannah  (latitude  23°  8')  the  thermometer  has 
been  seen  to  descend  to  the  freezing  point  at  the 
small  elevation  of  80  metres*  above  the  level  of 
the  ocean  t,  and  that  snow  has  fallen  near  Valla- 
dolid  latitude  19°  4<2')  at  an  absolute  elevation 
of  1900  metres  Î,  while  under  the  equator  this 
last  phenomenon  is  only  observable  at  the  double 
of  the  elevation. 

These  considerations  prove  to  us  that  towards 
the  tropic,  where  the  torrid  zone  approaches  the 
temperate  zone  (I  use  these  improper  names  from 
their  being  consecrated  by  custom),  the  plants 
under  cultivation  are  not  subject  to  fixed  and  in- 
variable heights.    We  might  be  led  to  distribute 


*  262  feet.     Trans. 

\  M.  Robredo  has  seen  ice  formed  in  a  wooden  trough  in 
the  month  of  January  at  the  village  of  Ubajos,  fifteen  miles 
south-west  from  the  Havannah,  at  an  absolute  elevation  of  74 
metres  (24-2  feet).  I  myself  saw,  at  Rio  Blanco,  the  centigrade 
thermometer  on  the  4th  January,  1801 ,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  at  7°,  5'  above  zero  (45°,  5  of  Fahrenheit).  During 
the  night  an  unfortunate  negro  perished  of  cold  in  a  prison. 
However,  the  mean  temperatures  of  the  months  of  December 
and  January  in  the  plains  of  the  Island  of  Cuba  are  17°  and 
18°  (62°  and  64°  of  Fahrenheit).  All  these  determinations 
were  made  with  excellent  thermometers  of  Nairne. 

X  6232  feet.     Trans. 


364.  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  iv- 

them  according  to  the  mean  temperature  of  the 
places  in  which  they  vegetate.     We  observe,  in 
fact,  that  in  Europe  the  minimum  of  the  mean 
temperature  which  a  proper  cultivation  requires 
is  for  the  sugar-cane,  from  19°  to  20°  j  for  coffee 
18°  ;   for  the  orange  17°  ;  for  the  olive  13°  5'  to 
14°  J  and  for  the  vine  yielding  wine  fit  to  be  drunk 
from  10°  to  11°  of  the  centigrade  thermometer.* 
This  thermometrical  agricultural  scale  is  accurate 
enough  when  we  embrace  the  phenomena  in 
their  greatest  generality.    But  numerous  excep- 
tions occur  when  we  consider  countries  of  which 
the  mean   annual  heat  is  the  same,  while  the 
mean   temperatures  of  the  months  differ  very 
much  from  one  another.     It  is  the  unequal  divi- 
sion of  the  heat  among  the  different  seasons  of 
the  year  which  has  the  greatest  influence  on  the 
kind  of  cultivation  proper  to  such  or  such  a  lati- 
tude,  as  has  been  very  well  proved  by  M.  De- 
candole.t      Several    annual    plants,    especially 
gramina  with  farinaceous  seed,   are  very  little 
affected  by  the  rigour  of  winter,  but,  like  fruit- 
trees  and  the  vine,   require  a  considerable  heat 
during  summer.     In  part  of  Maryland,  and  es- 
pecially Virginia,  the  mean  temperature  of  the 
year  is  equal  and  perhaps  even  superior  to  that 
of  Lombardy  ;  yet  the  severity  of  winter  will  not 

*  From  66°  to  68®;  64.°;  62°;  from  56°  .3  to  57";  and  from 
50°  to  51°  .8  of  Falirenheit.     Trans. 
f  Flore  françoise,  troisième  edition,  t.  ii.  p.  x. 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  365 

allow  the  same  vegetables  to  be  there  cultivated 
with  which  the  plains  of  the  Milanese  are  adorn- 
ed. In  the  equinoxial  region  of  Peru  or  Mexico, 
rye  and  especially  wheat  attain  to  no  maturity 
in  plains  of  3500  or  4000  metres  of  elevation  *, 
though  the  mean  heat  of  these  alpine  regions 
exceeds  that  of  the  parts  of  Norway  and  Siberia, 
in  which  cerealia  are  successfully  cultivated. 
But  for  about  30  days  the  obliquity  of  the  sphere 
and  the  short  duration  of  the  nights  render  the 
summer  heats  very  considerable  in  the  countries 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  pole  t,  while  under  the 
tropics  or  the  table-land  of  the  Cordilleras  the 
thermometer  never  remains  a  whole  day  above 
ten  or  twelve  centigrade  degrees. 

To  avoid  mixing  ideas  of  a  theoretical  nature 
and  hardly  susceptible  of  rigorous  accuracy  with 
facts,  the  certainty  of  which  has  been  ascertain- 
ed, we  shall  neither  divide  the  cultivated  plants 
in  New  Spain  according  to  the  height  of  the  soil 
in  which  they  vegetate  most  abundantly,  nor 
according  to  the  degrees  of  mean  temperature 
which  they  appear  to  require  for  their  develope- 
ment  :  but  we  shall  arrange  them  in  the  order  of 
their  utility  to  society.     We  shall  begin  with  the 

*  11,482  and  13,123  feet.    Trans. 

f  At  Umea  in  Westro-Botnia  (latitude  63*  49')  the  extremes 
of  the  centigrade  thermometer  were,  in  1801,  in  summer  -f 
35°,  in  winter — 45°,7.  M.  Acerbi  complains  much  of  the 
great  summer  heats  in  the  most  northern  part  of  Lapland. 


366  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

vegetables  which  form  the  principal  support  of 
the  Mexican  people  ;  we  shall  afterwards  treat 
of  the  cultivation  of  the  plants  which  afford  ma- 
terials to  manufacturing  industry  ;  and  we  shall 
conclude  with  a  description  of  the  vegetable  pro- 
ductions which  are  the  subject  of  an  important 
commerce  with  the  mother-country. 

The  banaîia  is  for  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
torrid  zone  what  the  cereal  gramina,  wheat, 
barley,  and  rye,  are  for  Western  Asia  and  for 
Europe,  and  what  the  numerous  varieties  of  rice 
are  for  the  countries  beyond  the  Indus,  especially 
for  Bengal  and  China.  In  the  two  continents, 
in  the  islands  throughout  the  immense  extent  of 
the  equinoxial  seas,  wherever  the  mean  heat  of 
the  year  exceeds  twenty-four  centigrade  de- 
grees *,  the  fruit  of  the  banana  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  objects  of  cultivation  for  the  subsist- 
ence of  man.  The  celebrated  traveller  George 
Forster,  and  other  naturalists  after  him,  pre- 
tended that  this  valuable  plant  did  not  exist  in 
America  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  but 
that  it  was  imported  from  the  Canary  Islands  in 
the  beginning  of  the  l6th  century.  In  fact, 
Oviedo,  who,  in  his  Natural  History  of  the  In- 
dies, very  carefully  distinguishes  the  indigenous 
vegetables  from  those  which  were  introduced 
there,  positively  says  that  the  first  bananas  were 
planted  in  1516  in  the  island  of  St.  Domingo, 

*  T/i"  of  Fahrenheit.     Trans, 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  3G7 

by  Thomas  de  Berlangas,  a  monk  of  the  order 
of  preaching  friars.  *     He  affirms  that  he  him- 
self saw  the  musa  cultivated  in  Spain,  near  the 
town  of  Armeria,  in  Grenada,  and  in  the  con- 
vent of  Franciscans  at  the   island  of  la   Gran 
Canaria,    where    Berlangas    procured    suckers, 
which  were  transported  to  Hispaniola,  and  from 
thence  successively  to  the  other  islands  and  to 
the  continent.     In  support  of  M.  Forster's  opi- 
nion it   may  also   be  stated,    that   in  the   first 
accounts  of  the  voyages  of  Columbus,  Alonzo 
Negro,  Penzon,  Vespucci  t,  and  Cortez,  there 
is  frequent  mention  of  maize,  the  papayer,  the 
jatropha  manihot,  and  the  agave,  but  never  of 
the  banana.     However,  the  silence  of  these  first 
travellers  only  proves  the  little  attention  which 
they  paid  to  the  natural  productions  of  the  Ame- 
rican soil.      Hernandez,    who,    besides  medical 
plants,  describes  a  great  number  of  other  Mexi- 
can vegetables,  makes  no  mention  of  the  musa. 
Now   this   botanist  lived    half  a  century   after 
Oviedo,  and  those   who  consider  the   musa  as 
foreign  to  the  new  continent  cannot  doubt  that 
its  cultivation  was  general  in  Mexico   towards 

*  De  plantis  esculentis  comment  alio  botanica,  1786,  p.  28. 
Histoire  naturelle  et  générale  des  Isles  et  terre  ferme  delà 
grande  mer  oceane,  1556,  p.  112 — 114. 

f  Christophori  Columbi  navigatio.  De  gentibus  ab  Alonzo 
repertis.  De  navigatione  Pinzoni  socij  admirantis.  Navi- 
gatio Alberici  Vesputij.  See  Grynœi  orbis  nov.  editio,  1555, 
p.  64,  84,  85,  87,  211. 


368  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

the  end  of  the  16th  centuiy,  at  an  epoqua  when 
a  crowd  of  vegetables  of  less  utility  to  man 
had  already  been  carried  there  from  Spain,  the 
Canary  Islands,  and  Peru.  The  silence  of 
authors  is  not  a  sufficient  proof  in  favour  of 
M.  Forster*s  opinion. 

It  is,  perhaps,  with  the  true  country  of  the  ba- 
nanas as  with  that  of  the  pear  and  cherry  trees. 
The  prunus  avium,  for  example,  is  indigenous  in 
Germany  and  France,  and  has  existed  from  the 
most  remote  antiquity  in  our  forests,  like  the 
robur  and  the  linden  tree  ;  while  other  species  of 
cherry-trees,  which  are  considered  as  varieties,  be- 
come permanent,  and  of  which  the  fruits  are  more 
savoury  than  the  prunus  avium,  have  come  to  us 
through  the  Romans  from  Asia  Minor*,  and  par- 
ticularly from  the  kingdom  of  Pontus.  In  the 
same  manner,  under  the  name  of  banana,  a  great 
number  of  plants,  which  differ  essentially  in  the 
form  of  their  fruits,  and  which,  perhaps,  consti- 
tute true  species,  are  cultivated  in  the  equinoxial 
regions,  and  even  to  the  parallel  of  S3  or  34  de- 
grees. If  it  is  an  opinion  not  yet  proved,  that  all 
the  pear  trees  which  are  cultivated  descend  from 
the  wild  pear  tree  as  a  common  stock,  we  are  still 
more  entitled  to  doubt  whether  the  great  number 

•  Desfontaines,  Histoire  des  arbres  et  arbrisseaux  qui 
peuvent  être  cultivées  sur  le  solde  la  France,  1809,  t.  ii.  p.  208, 
a  work  which  contains  very  learned  and  curious  researches 
with  respect  to  the  country  of  useful  vegetables,  and  the 
epoqua  of  their  first  cultivation  in  Europe. 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  369 

of  constant  varieties  of  the  banana  descend  from 
the  musa  troglodytarum,  cultivated  in  the  Mo- 
lucca Islands  ;  which  itself,  according  to  Gaert- 
ner,  is  not  perhaps  a  musa,  but  a  species  of  the 
genus  ravenala  of  Adanson. 

The  musae,  ov pisangSy  described  by  Rumphius 
and  Rheede,  are  not  all  known  in  the  Spanish 
colonies.  Three  species,  however,  are  there  dis- 
tinguished, still  very  imperfectly  determined  by 
botanists,  the  true  platano  or  arton  (musa  para- 
disiacaLin  ?)  ;  the  camburi  (M.  Sapientum  Lin  ?)  ; 
and  the  dominico  (M.  regia  Rumph  ?).  I  have 
seen  a  fourth  species  of  very  exquisite  taste  culti- 
vated in  Peru,  the  meiya  of  the  South  Sea,  which 
is  called  in  the  market  of  Lima  the  platano  de 
taiti,  because  the  first  roots  of  it  were  brought  in 
the  frigate  Aguila  from  the  island  of  Otaheite. 
Now,  it  is  a  constant  tradition  in  Mexico  and  all 
the  continent  of  South  America,  that  the  platano 
arton  and  the  dominico  were  cultivated  there  long 
before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  ;  but  that  the 
guinea,  a  variety  of  the  camburi,  as  its  name 
proves,  came  from  the  coast  of  Africa.  The 
author,  who  has  most  carefully  marked  the  dif- 
ferent epoquas  at  which  American  agriculture 
was  enriched  with  foreign  productions,  the  Peru- 
vian  Garcilasso   de   la  Vega*    expressly   says, 

*  Comentarios  Reales  de  los  Incas,  Vol.  I.  p.  ^82.  Thesmall 
musky  banana,  the  dominico^  the  fruit  of  which  appeared  to 
VOL.  II.  B    B 


S70  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

**  that  in  the  time  of  the  Incas  the  maize,  quinoa, 
potatoes,  and  in  the  warm  and  temperate  regions, 
bananas,  constituted  the  basis  of  the  nourishment 
of  the  natives.  He  describes  the  musa  of  the 
valUes  of  the  Antis,  and  he  even  distinguishes 
the  most  rare  species  with  small  sugary  and  aro- 
matic fruit,  the  dominico^  from  the  common  or 
arton  banana.  Father  Acosta  also  affirms,*' 
though  not  so  positively,  that  the  musa  was  culti- 
vated by  the  Americans  before  the  arrival  of  the 
Spaniards.  "  The  banana,'*  says  he,  "  is  a  fruit 
to  be  found  in  all  the  Indies  ;  though  there  are 
people  who  pretend  that  it  is  a  native  of  Ethiopia, 
and  that  it  came  from  thence  into  America." 
On  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco,  the  Cassiquiare, 
or  the  Beni,  among  the  mountains  de  I'Esmeralda 
and  the  sources  of  the  river  Carony,  in  the  midst 
of  the  thickest  forests,  wherever  we  discover 
Indian  tribes  who  have  had  no  connexions  with 
European  establishments,  we  find  plantations 
of  manioc  and  bananas. 


me  most  savory  in  the  province  of  Jean  de  Bracamorros  on 
the  banks  of  the  Amazon  and  the  Chamaya,  seems  to  be  the 
same  with  the  musa  maculata  of  Jacquin  (hortus  Schœn- 
brunnensis,  tab.  44-6.),  and  with  the  musa  regia  of  Rumphius. 
The  latter  species  is  itself,  perhaps,  but  a  variety  of  the  musa 
mensaria.  There  exists,  and  the  fact  is  very  curious,  in  the 
forests  of  Amboine,  a  wild  banana,  of  which  the  fruit  is  with- 
out grains,  the  pisang  jacki  (Rumph.  V.  p.  138.) 
*  Historia  natural  de  Indias,  1608,  p.  250. 


CHAP.  IX.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  .S7J 

Father  Thomas  de  Berlangas  could  not  trans» 
port  from  the  Canary  Islands  to  St.  Domingo  any 
other  species  but  the  one  which  is  there  culti- 
vated,  the   camhuri   (caule   nigrescente   striato 
fructu  minore  ovato-elongato),  and  not  the  pla- 
tanoarton  or  zapalote  oï i\\Q  Mexicans  (caule  albo- 
virescente  laevi,  fructu  longiore  apicem  versus 
subarcuato  acute  trigono).     The  first  of  these 
species  only  grows  in  temperate  climates,  in  the 
Canary  Islands,  at  Tunis,  Algiers,  and  the  coast  of 
Malaga.     In  the  valley  of  Caraccas  also,  placed 
under  the  10°  30'  of  latitude,  but  at  900  metres* 
of  absolute  elevation,  we  find  only  the  cambiiri 
and  the  dominico  (caule  albo-virescente,  fructu 
minimo  obsolete  trigono),  and  not  the  plataiio 
arton,  of  which  the  fruit  only  ripens  under  the 
influence  of  a  very  high  temperature.  From  these 
numerous  proofs  we  cannot  doubt  that  the  banana, 
which  several  travellers  pretend  to  have  found 
wild  at  Amboina,  at  Gilolo,  and  the  Mariana 
Islands,  was  cultivated  in  America  long  before  the 
arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  who  merely  augment- 
ed the  number  of  the  indigenous  species.     How- 
ever, we  are  not  to  be  astonished  that  there  was 
no  musa  seen  in  the  island  of  St.  Domingo  before 
1516.     Like  the  animals  around  them,  savages 
generally  draw  their  nourishment  from  one  species 
of  plant.     The  forests  ofGuayana  afford  numer- 
ous examples  of  tribes  whose  plantations  {conu- 
*  2952  feet.     Trans. 
B  B    â 


372  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [b  ook  iv. 

cos)  contain  manihot,  arum  or  dioscorea,  and 
not  a  single  banana. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  extent  of  the  Mex- 
ican table-land,  and  the  height  of  the  mountains 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  coast,  the  space  of 
which  the  temperature  is  favourable  for  the  culti- 
vation of  the  rausa  is  more  than  50,000  square 
leagues,  and  inhabited  by  nearly  a  million  and 
a  half  of  inhabitants.  In  the  warm  and  humid 
vallies  of  the  intendancy  of  Vera  Cruz,  at  the 
foot  of  the  Cordillera  of  Orizaba,  the  fruit  oi 
the  platano  arton  sometimes  exceeds  three  deci- 
metres*, and  often  from  twenty  to  twenty-two 
centimetres t  (fi-om  7  to  8  inches)  in  length.  In 
these  fertile  regions,  especially  in  the  environs 
of  Acapulco,  San  Bias,  and  the  Rio  Guasacualco, 
a  cluster  (j^egime)  of  bananas  contains  from  160 
to  180  fruits,  and  weighs  from  30  to  40  kilo- 
grammes. Î 

I  doubt  whether  there  is  another  plant  on  the 
globe  which  on  so  small  a  space  of  ground  can 
produce  so  considerable  a  mass  of  nutritive  sub- 
stance. Eight  or  nine  months  after  the  sucker 
has  been  planted,  the  banana  commences  to  de- 
velope  its  clusters  ;  and  the  fruit  may  be  collected 
in  the  tenth  or  eleventh  month.  When  the  stalk 
is  cut,  we  find  constantly  among  the  numerous 
shoots  which  have  put  forth  roots,  a  sprout  {pim- 

*  11.8  inches.  Trans.         f  7.87  to  8.66  inches.  Trans, 
\  From  66  to  881b.  avoird.     Trans. 


CHAP.  IX.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  373 

polio)  which,  having  two-thirds  of  the  height  of 
the  mother-plant,  bears  fruit  three  months  later. 
In  this  manner  a  plantation  of  musa,  called  in  the 
Spanish  colonies  platanar,  is  perpetuated,  with- 
out any  other  care  being  bestowed  by  man  than 
to  cut  the  stalks  of  which  the  fruit  has  ripened, 
and  to  give  the  earth  once  or  twice  a  year  a  slight 
dressing  by  digging  round  the  roots.     A  spot  of 
ground  of  a  hundred  square  metres*  of  surface 
may  contain  at  least  from  thirty  to  forty  banana 
plants.     In  the  space  of  a  year,  this  same  ground, 
reckoning  only  the  weight  of  a  clustre  at  from  15 
to  20  kilogrammes!,  yields  more  than  two  thou- 
sand kilogrammes Î,  or  four  thousand  pounds  of 
nutritive  substance.     What  a  difference  between 
this  produce  and  that  of  the  cereal  gramina  in  the 
most  fertile  parts  of  Europe  !  Wheat,  supposing 
it  sown,  and  not  planted  in  the  Chinese  manner, 
and  calculating  on  the  basis  of  a  decuple  harvest, 
does  not  produce  on  a  hundred  square  metres 
more  than  15  kilogrammes  §,  or  30  pounds  of 
grain.    In  France,  for  example,  the  demi-hectare^ 
or  legal  arpent^  of  1344f  square  toises  ||  of  good 
land  is  sown  (à  la  volée)  with  l60lb.  of  grain  ;  and 
if  the  land  is  not  so  good  or  absolutely  bad,  with 

*  1076  square  feet.     Trans. 
f   From  33  to  ^^Ib.  avoird.   Trans. 

X  4414<lb.  avoird.     Trans.  §  33lb.  avoird.     Trans. 

il  5^)9^5  square  feet.     Trans. 
B  B    3 


374  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv 

200  or  220  pounds.  The  produce  varies  from 
1000  to  2500  pounds  per  acre.  The  potatoe, 
according  to  M.  Tessie,  yields  in  Europe,  on  a 
hundred  square  acres  of  well  cultivated  and  well 
manured  ground,  a  produce  of  45  kilogrammes,  * 
or  90  pounds  of  roots.  We  reckon  from  4  to 
6000  pounds  to  the  legal  arpent.  The  produce 
of  bananas  is  consequently  to  that  of  wheat  as 
133  :  1,  and  to  that  of  potatoes  as  44  :  1. 

Those  who  in  Europe  have  tasted  bananas  ri- 
pened in  hot-houses  have  a  difficulty  in  conceiving 
that  a  fruit  which  from  its  great  mildness  has  some 
resemblance  to  a  dried  fig,  can  be  the  principal 
nourishment  of  many  millions  of  men  in  both 
Indies.  We  seem  to  forget  that  in  the  act  of 
vegetation  the  same  elements  form  very  different 
chemical  mixtures,  according  as  they  combine  or 
separate.  How  should  we  even  discover  in  the 
lacteous  mucilage  which  the  grains  of  gramina 
contain  before  the  ripening  of  the  ear  the  farina- 
ceous perisperma  of  the  cerealia,  which  nourishes 
the  majority  of  the  nations  of  the  temperate  zone? 
In  the  musa,  the  formation  of  the  amylaceous 
matter  precedes  the  epoqua  of  maturity.  We 
must  distinguish  between  the  banana  fruit  col- 
lected when  green,  and  what  is  allowed  to  grow 
yellow  on  the  plant.  In  the  second  the  sugar,  is 
quite  formed  ;  it  is  mixed  with  the  pulp,  and  in 
such  abundance  that  if  the  sugar-cane  was  not 

*  99lb.  avoinl.      Tram. 


CHAP.  IX.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  375 

cultivated  in  the  banana  region,  we  might  extract 
sugar  from  this  fruit  to  greater  advantage  than  is 
done  in  Europe  from  red  beet  and  the  grape. 
The  banana,  when  gathered  green,  contains  the 
same  nutritive  principle  which  is  observed  in 
grain,  rice,  the  tuberose  roots,  and  the  sagou  j 
namely,  the  amylaceous  sediment  united  with  a 
very  small  portion  of  vegetable  gluten.  By 
kneading  with  water  meal  of  bananas  dried  in 
the  sun,  I  could  only  obtain  a  few  atoms  of 
this  ductile  and  viscous  mass,  which  resides  in 
abundance  in  the  perisperma,  and  especially  in 
the  embryo  of  the  cerealia.  If,  on  the  one  hand, 
the  gluten  which  has  so  much  analogy  to  animal 
matter,  and  which  swells  with  heat,  is  of  great 
use  in  the  making  of  bread  ;  on  the  other  hand, 
it  is  not  indispensable  to  render  a  root  or  fruit 
nutritive.  M.  Proust  discovered  gluten  in  beans, 
apples,  and  quinces  j  but  he  could  not  discover 
any  in  the  meal  of  potatoes.  Gums,  for  example, 
that  of  the  mimosa  nilotica  (acacia  vera  Willd.), 
which  serves  for  nourishment  to  several  African 
tribes  in  their  passages  through  the  desert,  prove 
that  a  vegetable  substance  may  be  a  nutritive 
aliment  without  containing  either  ghiten  or 
amylaceousmatter. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  describe  the  numerous 
preparations  by  which  the  Americans  render  the 
fruit  of  the  musa,  both  before  and  after  its  matu- 
rity, a  wholesome  and  agreeable  diet.    I  have  fre- 
B  B   4 


376  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  iv. 

quently  seen  in  ascending  rivers,  that  the  natives, 
after  the  greatest  fatigues,  make  a  complete  din- 
ner on  a  very  small  portion  of  manioc  and  three 
bananas  (^platano  artori)  of  the  large  kind.  In 
the  time  of  Alexander,  if  we  are  to  credit  the 
ancients,  tlie  philosophers  of  Hindostan  were  still 
more  sober.  "  Arbori  nomen  palœ  pomo  arienae, 
quo  sapientes  Indorum  vivunt.  Fructus  admir- 
abilis  succi  dulcedine  ut  uno  quaternos  satiet." 
(Plin.  XII.  12.)  In  warm  countries  the  people  in 
general  not  only  consider  sugary  substances  as  a 
food  which  satisfies  for  the  moment,  but  as  truly 
nutritive.  I  have  frequently  observed,  that  the 
mule-drivers  who  carried  our  baggage  on  the  coast 
of  Caraccas  gave  the  preference  to  unprepared 
sugar  (papelon)  over  fresh  animal  food. 

Physiologists  have  not  yet  determined  with  pre- 
cision what  characterises  a  substance  eminently 
nutritive.  To  appease  the  appetite  by  stimulating 
the  nerves  of  the  gastric  system,  and  to  furnish 
matter  to  the  body  which  may  easily  assimilate 
with  it,  are  modes  of  action  very  different.  To- 
bacco, the  leaves  of  the  erythroxylon  cocca 
mixed  with  quick  lime,  the  opium  which  the 
natives  of  Bengal  have  frequently  used  for  whole 
months  in  times  of  scarcity,  will  appease  the 
violence  of  hunger  j  but  these  substances  act  in 
a  very  different  manner  from  wheaten  bread,  the 
root  of  the  jatropha,  gum-arabic,  the  lichen  of 
Iceland,  or  the  putrid  fish  which  is  the  principal 


CHAP.  IX.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  377 

food  of  several  tribes  of  African  negroes.  There 
can  be  no  doubt,  tlie  bulk  being  equal,  super- 
azoted  matter,  or  animals,  are  more  nutritive 
than  vegetable  matter;  and  it  appears  that  among 
vegetables  gluten  is  more  nutritive  than  starch, 
and  starch  more  than  mucilage  ;  but  we  must 
beware  of  attributing  to  these  insulated  princi- 
ples what  depends,  in  the  action  of  the  aliment  ou 
living  bodies,  on  the  varied  mixture  of  hydrogen, 
carbonate,  and  oxygen.  Hence  a  matter  becomes 
eminently  nutritive  if  it  contains,  like  the  bean 
of  the  cocoa-tree  (theobroma  cacao),  besides  the 
amylaceous  matter,  an  aromatic  principle  which 
excites  and  fortifies  the  nervous  system. 

These  considerations,  to  which  we  cannot  give 
more  developement  here,  will  serve  to  throw  some 
light  on  the  comparisons  which  we  have  already 
made  of  the  produce  of  different  modes  of  cultiva- 
tion. If  we  draw  from  the  same  space  of  ground 
three  times  as  many  potatoes  as  wheat  in  weight, 
we  must  not  therefore  conclude  that  the  cultiva- 
tion of  tuberous  plants  will,  on  an  equal  surface, 
maintain  three  times  as  many  individuals  as  the 
cultivation  of  cereal  gramina.  The  potatoe  is 
reduced  to  the  fourth  part  of  its  weight  when  dried 
by  a  gentle  heat  ;  and  the  dry  starch  that  can  be 
separated  from  2,300  kilogrammes,  the  produce 
of  half  a  hectare  of  ground,  would  hardly  equal 
the  quantity  furnished  by  800  kilogrammes  of 
wheat.     It  is  the  same  with  the  fruit  of  the  ba- 


378  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  iv. 

nana,  which,  before  its  mnturity,  even  in  tlie  state 
in  which  it  is  very  farinaceous,   contains  much 
more  water  and  sugary  pulp  than  tlie  seeds  of 
gramina.     We  have  seen  that  the  same  extent  of 
ground  in  a  favourable  climate  will  yield  106,000 
kilogrammes    of    bananas,    2400    kilogrammes 
of    tuberous    roots,    and    800    kilogrammes   of 
wheat.     These  quantities  bear  no  proportion  to 
the  number  of  individuals  which  can  be  main- 
tained by  these  different  kinds  of  cultivation  on 
the  same  extent  of  ground.     The  aqueous  muci- 
lage which  the  banana  contains,  and  the  tuberous 
root  of  the  solanum,  possess  undoubted  nutritive 
properties.      The  farinaceous  pulp,  such  as   is 
presented   by  nature,  yields  undoubtedly  more 
aliment  than  the  starch  which  is  separated  from 
it  by  art.    But  the  weights  alone  do  not  indicate 
the  absolute  quantities  of  nutritive  matter  ;  and 
to  show  the  amount  of  the  aliment  which  the 
cultivation  of  the  musa  yields  on  the  same  space 
of  ground  to  man  more  than  the  cultivation  of 
wheat,  we  ought  rather  to  calculate  according  to 
the  mass  of  vegetable  substance  necessary  to 
satisfy  a  full-grown  person.     According  to  this 
last  principle,   and  the  fact  is  very  curious,  we 
find  that  in  a  very  fertile  country  a  demi  hectare, 
or  legal  arpent*,  cultivated  with  bananas  of  the 
large  species  (plaiano  arton),  is  capable  of  main- 
taining 50  individuals  ;  when  the  same  arpent  in 

*  S4<,998  square  feet.     Trans. 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOxM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  379 

Europe  would  only  yield  annually,  supposing  the 
eighth  grain  57^  kilogrammes*  of" flour,  a  quan- 
tity not  equal  to  the  subsistence  of  two  indivi- 
duals, t  Accordingly,  a  European  newly  arrived 
in  the  torrid  zone  is  struck  with  nothing  so  much 
as  the  extreme  smallness  of  the  spots  under  culti- 
vation round  a  cabin  which  contains  a  numerous 
family  of  Indians. 

The  ripe  fruit  of  the  musa,  when  exposed  to  the 
sun,  is  preserved  like  our  figs.  The  skin  becomes 
black  and  takes  a  particular  odour,  which  re- 
sembles that  of  smoked  ham.  The  fruit  in  this 
state  is  called  platano  passadoy  and  becomes  an 
object  of  commerce  in  the  province  of  Michua- 
can.  This  dry  banana  is  an  aliment  of  an  agree- 
able taste,  and  extremely  healthy.  But  those  Eu- 
ropeans who  newly  arrive  consider  the  ripe  fruit 
OÏ  ÛiQ  platano  arton,  newly  gathered,  as  very  ill  to 
digest.  This  opinion  is  very  ancient,  for  Pliny 
relates  that  Alexander  gave  orders  to  his  soldiers 
to  touch  none  of  the  bananas  which  grow  on  the 
banks  of  the  Hyphasus.  Meal  is  extracted  from 
the  musa  by  cutting  the  green  fruit  into  slices, 
drying  it  in  the  sun  on  a  slope,  and  pounding  it 

*  127  lib.  avoird.     Trans. 

-J-  We  have  calculated  on  the  following  principles:  100 
kilogrammes  of  wheat  yield  72  kilogrammes  of  flour,  and  16 
kilogrammes  of  flour  are  convertible  into  21  kilogrammes  of 
bread.  The  maintenance  of  one  individual  is  computed  at 
54;7  kilogrammes  (r2Q71b.  avoird.)  annually. 


380  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

when  it  becomes  friable.  This  flour,  less  used 
in  Mexico  than  in  the  islands*,  may  serve  for 
the  same  use  as  flour  from  rice  or  maize. 

The  facility  with  which  the  banana  is  repro- 
duced from  its  roots  gives  it  an  extraordinary 
advantage  over  fruit-trees,  and  even  over  the 
bread-fruit  tree,  which  for  eight  months  in  the 
year  is  loaded  with  farinaceous  fruit.  When 
tribes  are  at  war  with  one  anotlier  and  destroy 
the  trees,  the  disaster  is  felt  for  a  long  time.  A 
plantation  of  bananas  is  renewed  by  suckers  in 
the  space  of  a  few  months. 

We  hear  it  frequently  repeated  in  the  Spanish 
colonies,  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  warm  region 
(tierra  caliente)  will  never  awake  from  the  state 
of  apathy  in  which  for  centuries  they  have  been 
plunged,  till  a  royal  cedula  shall  order  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  banana  plantations  {jplatanares).  The 
remedy  is  violent,  and  those  who  propose  it  with 
so  much  warmth  do  not  in  general  display  more 
activity  than  the  lower  people,  whom  they  would 
force  to  work  by  augmenting  the  number  of  their 
wants.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  industry  will  make 
progress  among  the  Mexicans  without  recurring 
to  means  of  destruction.  When  we  consider, 
however,  the  facility  with  which  our  species  can 
be  maintained  in  a  climate  where  bananas  are 
produced,  we  are  not  to  be  astonished  that  in  the 


*  See  the  interesting  Memoir  of  M.^  de  Tusèac,  in  his 
Flore  des  Antilles,  p.  60. 


CHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  381 

equinoxial  region  of  the  New  Continent  civiliz- 
ation first  commenced  on  the  mountains  in  a 
soil  of  inferior  fertihty,  and  under  a  sky  less 
favourable  to  the  developement  of  organized 
beings,  in  whom  necessity  even  awakes  industry. 
At  the  foot  of  the  Cordillera,  in  the  humid  vallies 
of  the  intendancies  of  Vera  Cruz,  Valladolid,  and 
Guadalaxara,  a  man  who  merely  employs  two 
days  in  the  week  in  a  work  by  no  means  labo- 
rious, may  procure  subsistence  for  a  whole  family. 
Yet  such  is  the  love  of  his  native  soil,  that  the 
inhabitant  of  the  mountains,  whom  the  frost  of  a 
single  night  frequently  deprives  of  the  whole  hopes 
of  his  harvest,  never  thinks  of  descending  into  the 
fertile  but  thinly  inhabited  plains,  where  nature 
showers  in  vain  her  blessings  and  her  treasures. 
The  same  region  in  which  the  banana  is  culti- 
vated produces  also  the  valuable  plant  of  which 
the  root  afibrds  the  flour  of  manioc,  or  magnoc. 
The  green  fruit  of  the  musa  is  eaten  dressed,  like 
the  bread-fruit,  or  the  tuberous  root  of  the  potatoej 
buttheflourof  the  manioc  is  converted  into  bread, 
and  furnishes  to  the  inhabitants  of  warm  countries 
what  the  Spanish  colonists  call  pan  de  tierra  ca- 
liente.  The  maize,  as  we  shall  afterwards  see, 
affords  the  great  advantage  of  being  cultivated 
under  the  tropics,  from  the  level  of  the  ocean  to 
elevations  which  equal  those  of  the  highest  sum- 
mits of  the  Pyrenees.  It  possesses  that  extraordi- 
nary flexibility  of  organization  for  which  the  ve- 
getables of  the  family  of  the  gramina  are  charac- 


382  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  iv. 

terised  ;  and  it  even  possesses  it  in  a  higher  degree 
thanthecereahaof  the  Oid  Continent,  which  suffer 
under  a  burning  sun,  while  the  maize  vegetates 
vigorously  in  the  warmest  regions  of  the  earth. 
The  plant  whose  root  yields  the  nutritive  flour  of 
the  manioc  takes  its  name  from  juca,  a  word  of 
the  language  of  Haitij^  or  St.  Domingo.     It  is 
only  succesfully  cultivated  within  the  tropics  ; 
and  the  cultivation  of  it  in  the  mountainous  part 
of  Mexico  never  rises  above  the  absolute  height 
of  six  or  eight  hundred  metres.  *     This  height  is 
much  surpassed  by  that  of  the  camhiiriy  or  banana 
of  the  Canaries,  a  plant  which  grows  nearer  the 
central  table-land  of  the  Cordilleras. 

The  Mexicans,  like  the  natives  of  all  equinoxial 
America,  have  cultivated,  from  the  remotest  anti- 
quity, two  kinds  of  juca^  which  the  botanists,  in 
their  inventory  of  species,  have  united  under  the 
name  of  jatropha  manihot.  They  distinguish,  in 
the  Spanish  colony,  the  sweet  Çdulce)  from  the 
tart  or  bitter  (amai^gd)  juca.  The  root  of  the 
former,  which  bears  the  name  of  camagnoc  at 
Cayenne,  may  be  eaten  without  danger,  while  the 
other  is  a  very  active  poison.  The  two  may  be 
made  into  bread;  however,  the  root  of  the  bitter 
juca  is  generally  used  for  this  purpose,  the  poison- 
ous juice  of  which  is  carefully  separated  from  the 
fecula  before  making  the  bread  of  the  manioc, 

*   1968  and  2624<  feet.     Trans. 


CHAP.  IX.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  383 

called  cazaviy  or  cassave.  This  separation  is 
operated  by  compressing  the  root  after  being 
grated  down  in  the  cibucan,  which  is  a  species  of 
long  sack.  It  appears  from  a  passage  of  Oviedo 
(lib.  vii.  c.  2.),  that  the  juca  dulce,  which  he 
calls  bo?iiata,  and  which  is  the  huacamote  of  the 
Mexicans,  was  not  found  originally  in  the  West 
India  islands,  and  that  it  was  transplanted  from 
the  neighbouring  continent.  "  The  boniatay' 
says  Oviedo,  "  is  like  that  of  the  Continent;  it  is 
not  poisonous,  and  may  be  eaten  with  its  juice 
either  raw  or  prepared."  The  natives  carefully 
separate  in  their  fields  (conucos)  the  two  species 
of  jatropha. 

It  is  very  remarkable  that  plants,  of  which 
the  chemical  properties  are  so  very  different,  are 
yet  so  very  difficult  to  distinguish  from  their 
exterior  characters.  Brown,  in  his  Natural  His- 
tory of  Jamaica,  imaghied  he  found  these  charac- 
ters in  dissecting  the  leaves.  He  calls  the  sweet 
juca  siveet  cassava^  jatropha  foliis  palmatis  lobis 
incertis;  and  the  bitter  or  tart  juca,  cominon  cas- 
sava, jatropha  foliis  palmatis  pentadactylibus. 
But  having  examined  many  plantations  of  mani- 
hoty  I  found  that  the  two  species  of  jatropha,  like 
all  cultivated  plants  with  lobed  or  palmated 
leaves,  vary  prodigiously  in  their  aspect.  I  ob- 
served that  the  natives  distinguish  the  sweet  from 
the  poisonous  manioc,  not  so  much  from  the 
superior  whiteness  of  the  stalk  and  the  reddish 


384.  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [rook  iv. 

colour  of  the  leaves  as  from  the  taste  of  the  root, 
which  is  not  tart  or  bitter.  It  is  with  the  culti- 
vated jatropha  as  with  the  sweet  orange-tree, 
which  botanists  cannot  distinguish  from  the  bitter 
orange-tree,  but  which,  however,  according  to 
the  beautiful  experiments  of  M.  Galesio,  is  a 
primitive  species,  propagated  from  the  grain,  as 
well  as  the  bitter  orange-tree.  Several  naturalists, 
from  the  example  of  Doctor  Wright,  of  Jamaica, 
have  taken  the  sweet  juca  for  the  true  jatropha 
janipha  of  Linngeus,  or  the  jatropha  frutescens 
of  Loffling.  *  But  this  last  species,  which  is  the 
jatropha  carthaginensis  of  Jacquin,  differs  from 
it  essentially  by  the  form  of  the  leaves  (lobis 
utrinque  sinuatis),  which  resemble  those  of  the 
papayer.  I  very  much  doubt  whether  the  jatropha 
can  be  transformed  by  cultivation  into  the  jatro- 
pha manihot.  It  appears  equally  improbable 
that  the  sweet  juca  is  a  poisonous  jatropha  ; 
which,  by  the  care  of  man,  or  the  effect  of  a 
long  cultivation,  has  gradually  lost  the  acidity 
of  its  juices .  The  juca  amarga  of  the  American 
fields  has  remained  the  same  for  centuries,  though 
planted  and  cultivated  like  the  juca  duke.  No- 
thing is  more  mysterious  than  this  difference  of 
interior  organization  in  cultivated  vegetables,  of 
which  the  exterior  forms  are  nearly  the  same. 
Raynalt  has  advanced  that  the  manioc  was 

*  Beza  til  Spanska  Loenderna,  1758,  p.  309. 
t  Histoire  Philosophiçue,  torn.  in.  p.  212-214. 
21 


CHAP.  IX.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  385 

transplanted  from  Africa  to  America  to  serve  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  negroes,  and  that  if  it 
existed  on  the  continent  before  the  arrival  of  the 
Spaniards,  it  was  not,  however,  known  by  the  na- 
tives of  the  West  Indies  in  the  time  of  Columbus. 
I  am  afraid  that  this  celebrated  author,  who  de- 
scribes, however,  accurately  enough  in  general 
objects  of  natural  history*,  has  confounded  the 
manioc  with  the  ignames  j  that  is  to  say,  the 
jatropha  with  a  species  of  dioscorea.  I  should 
wish  to  know  by  what  authority  we  can  prove  that 
the  manioc  was  cultivated  in  Guinea  from  the 
remotest  period.  Several  travellers  have  also  pre- 
tended that  the  maize  grew  wild  in  this  part  of 
Africa,  and  yet  it  is  certain  that  it  was  transport- 
ed there  by  the  Portuguese  in  the  l6th  century. 
Nothing  is  more  difficult  to  resolve  than  the  pro- 
blem of  the  migration  of  the  plants  useful  to  man, 
especially  since  communications  have  become  so 
frequent  between  all  continents.  Fernandez  de 
Oviedo,  who  went  in  1513  to  the  island  of  His- 
paniola,  or  St.  Domingo,  and  who  for  more  than 
twenty  years  inhabited  different  parts  of  the  New 
Continent,  speaks  of  the  manioc  as  of  a  very  an- 
cient cultivation,  and  peculiar  to  America.  If, 
however,  the  negro  slaves  introduced  the  manioc, 

*  This  character  of  Raynal  by  no  means  agrees  with  that 
given  by  Mr.  Edwards,  who  says  that  the  descriptions  in 
Raynal  are  in  general  no  more  to  be  relied  on  than  any  de- 
scription in  romance.     Trans. 

VOL.  II.  C  C 


386  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv 

Oviedo  would  himself  have  seen  the  commence- 
ment of  this  important  branch  of  tropical  agri- 
culture. If  he  had  believed  that  the  jatropha 
was  not  indigenous  in  America,  he  would  have 
cited  the  epoqua  at  which  the  first  maniocs  were 
planted,  as  he  relates  in  the  greatest  detail  the 
first  introduction  of  the  sugar-cane,  the  banana 
of  the  Canaries,  the  olive,  and  the  date.  Ame- 
rigo Vespucci  relates  in  his  letter  addressed  to 
the  Duke  of  Loraine  *,  that  he  saw  bread  made 
of  the  manioc  on  the  coast  of  Paria  in  1497' 
"  The  natives,"  says  this  adventurer,  in  other 
respects  by  no  means  accurate  in  his  recital, 
"  know  nothing  of  our  corn  and  our  farinaceous 
grains  j  they  draw  their  principal  subsistence 
from  a  root  which  they  reduce  into  meal,  which 
some  of  them  caW  jucha,  others  cliambi,  and  others 
igname.^*  It  is  easy  to  discover  the  vfovàjucca 
iw  jucha.  As  to  the  word  ignamCy  it  now  means 
the  root  of  the  dioscorea  alata,  which  Colum- 
bus t  describes  under  the  name  of  ages,  and  of 
which  we  shall  afterwards  speak.  The  natives 
of  Spanish  Guayana  who  do  not  acknowledge 
the  dominion  of  the  Europeans  have  cultivated 
the  manioc  from  the  remotest  antiquity.  Run- 
ning out  of  provisions  in  repassing  the  rapids  of 
the  Orinoco,  on  our  return  from  the  Rio  Negro 
we  applied  to  the  tribe  of  Piraoas  Indians,  who 

*  Grynœiis,  p.  215.  f  Ibidem. 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  387 

dwell  to  the  east  of  the  Maypures,  and  they  sup- 
plied us  with  jatropha  bread.  There  can  there- 
fore remain  no  doubt  that  the  manioc  is  a  plant 
of  which  the  cultivation  is  of  a  much  earlier  date 
than  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans  and  AfHcans 
into  America. 

The  manioc  bread  is  very  nutritive,  perhaps 
on  account  of  the  sugar  which  it  contains,  and  a 
viscous  matter  which  unites  the  farinaceous  mole- 
cules of  the  cassava.  This  matter  appears  to 
have  some  analogy  with  the  Caoutchouc,  which 
is  so  common  in  all  the  plants  of  the  group  of 
the  tithymaloides.  They  give  to  the  cassava  a 
circular  form.  The  disks,  which  are  called  tur- 
tas,  or  xauocau  in  the  old  language  of  Haity,  have 
a  diameter  of  from  five  to  six  decimetres  *,  or 
three  millimetres  t  of  thickness.  The  natives, 
who  are  much  more  sober  than  the  whites,  gene- 
rally eat  less  than  half  a  kilogramme  %  of  manioc 
per  day.  The  want  of  gluten  mixed  with  the 
amylaceous  matter,  and  the  thinness  of  the  bread, 
render  it  extremely  brittle  and  difficult  of  trans- 
portation. This  inconvenience  is  particularly 
felt  in  long  navigations.  The  fecula  of  manioc 
grated,  dried,  and  smoked,  is  almost  inalterable. 
Insects  and  worms  never  attack  it,  and  every 
traveller  knows  in  equinoxial  America  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  couaque. 

*  From  19.685  inches  to  23.622  inches.     Trans. 
f  .118  of  an  inch.     Trans.       t  About  a  pound.     Trails. 
c  c  2 


388  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  iv. 

It  is  not  only  the  faciila  of  the  juca  amarga 
which  serves  for  nourishment  to  the  Indians, 
they  use  also  the  juice  of  the  root,  which  in  its 
natural  state  is  an  active  poison.  This  juice  is 
decomposed  by  fire.  When  kept  for  a  long  time 
in  ebullition  it  loses  its  poisonous  properties  gra- 
dually as  it  is  skimmed.  It  is  used  without 
danger  as  a  sauce,  and  I  have  myself  frequently 
used  this  brownish  juice,  which  resembles  a  very 
nutritive  bouillon.  At  Cayenne  *  it  is  thickened 
to  make  cahiou,  which  is  analogous  to  the  souy 
brought  from  China,  and  which  serves  to  season 
dishes.  From  time  to  time  very  serious  acci- 
dents happen  when  the  juice  has  not  been  long 
enough  exposed  to  the  heat.  It  is  a  fact  very 
well  known  in  the  islands,  that  foimerly  a  great 
number  of  the  natives  of  Haiti)  killed  themselves 
voluntarily  by  the  raw  juice  of  the  root  of  the 
juca  amarga.  Oviedo  relates,  as  an  eye-witness, 
that  these  unhappy  wretches,  who,  like  many 
African  tribes,  preferred  death  to  involuntary 
labour,  united  together  by  fifties  to  swallow  at 
once  the  poisonous  juice  of  the  jatropha.  This 
extraordinary  contempt  of  life  characterises  the 
savage  in  the  most  remote  parts  of  the  globe. 

Reflecting  on  the  union  of  accidental  circum- 
stances which  have  determined  nations  to  this  or 
that  species  of  cultivation,  we  are  astonished  to 

*  Aublei  Hist,  des  Plantes  de  la  Guyane  Françoise,  torn.  ii. 
p.  72. 

4 


CHAP,  ix.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  389 

see  the  Americans,  in  the  midst  of  the  richness  of 
their  country,  seek  in  the  poisonous  root  of  a 
tithymaloidthe  same  amylaceous  substance  which 
other  nations  have  found  in  the  family  of  gra- 
mina,  in  bananas,  asparagus  (dioscorea  alata), 
aroides  (arum  macrorrhizen.  Dracontium  po- 
lyphillum),  solana,  hzerons  (convolvulus  bata- 
tas, c.  chrysorhizus),  narcissi  (tacca  pinnatifida), 
polygonoi  (p.  fagopyrum),  urticae  (artocarpus), 
legumens  and*arborescent  ferns  (cycas  circinna- 
lis).  We  ask  why  the  savage  who  discovered  the 
jatropha  manihot  did  not  reject  a  root  of  the 
poisonous  qualities  of  which  a  sad  experience 
must  have  convinced  him  before  he  could  dis- 
cover its  nutritive  properties  ?  But  the  cultivation 
of  the Jîica  dulce^  of  which  the  juice  is  not  delete- 
rious, preceded  perhaps  that  of  thejuca  amarga, 
from  which  the  manioc  is  now  taken.  Perhaps 
also  the  same  people  who  first  ventured  to  feed 
on  the  root  of  the  jatropha  manihot  had  formerly 
cultivated  plants  analogous  to  the  arum  and  the 
dracontium,  of  which  the  juice  is  acrid,  without 
being  poisonous.  It  was  easy  to  remark,  that 
the  fecula  extracted  from  the  root  of  an  aroid  is 
of  a  taste  so  much  the  more  agreeable,  as  it  is 
carefully  washed  to  deprive  it  of  its  milky  juice. 
This  very  simple  consideration  would  naturally 
lead  to  the  idea  of  expressing  the  fecula,  and 
preparing  it  in  the  same  manner  as  the  manioc. 
We  can  conceive  that  a  people  who  knew  how 
c  c  3 


390  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  iv. 

to  dulcify  the  roots  of  an  aroid  could  under- 
take to  nourish  themselves  on  a  plant  of  the 
group  of  the  euphorbia.  The  transition  is  easy, 
though  the  danger  is  continually  augmenting. 
In  fact,  the  natives  of  the  Society  and  Molucca 
islands,  who  are  unacquainted  with  the  jatropha 
manihot,  cultivate  the  arum  macrorrhizon  and 
the  tacca  pinnatifida.  The  root  of  this  last  plant 
requires  the  same  precaution  as  the  manioc,  and 
yet  the  tacca  bread  competes  in  the  market  of 
Banda  with  the  sagou  bread. 

The  cultivation  of  the  manioc  requires  more 
care  than  that  of  the  banana.  It  resembles  that 
of  potatoes,  and  the  harvest  takes  place  only  from 
seven  to  eight  months  after  the  slips  have  been 
planted.  The  people  who  can  plant  the  jatropha 
have  already  made  great  advances  towards  civi- 
lization. There  are  even  varieties  of  the  manioc, 
for  example,  those  which  are  called  at  Cayenne 
manioc  hois  bla7iCy  and  manioc  mai-pourri-rouge, 
of  which  Ijhe  roots  can  only  be  pulled  up  at  the 
end  of  fifteen  months.  The  savage  of  New  Zea- 
land would  not  certainly  have  the  patience  to 
wait  for  so  tardy  a  harvest. 

Plantations  of  jatropha  manihot  are  now  found 
alonff  the  coast  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  of 
Guasacualco  to  the  north  of  Santander,  and  from 
Tehuantepec  to  San  Bias  and  Sinaloa,  in  the  low 
and  warm  regions  of  the  intendancies  of  Vera 
Cruz,  Oaxaca,  Puebla,  Mexico,  Valladolid,  and 
Guadalaxara.     M.  Aublet,  a  judicious  botanist, 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  391 

who,  happily,  has  not  disdained  in  his  travels  to 
inquire  into  the  agriculture  of  the  tropics,  says 
very  justly,  "that  the  manioc  is  one  of  the  finest 
and  most  useful  productions  of  the  American  soil, 
and  that  with  this  plant  the  inhabitant  of  the  tor- 
rid zone  could  dispense  with  rice  and  every  sort 
of  wheat,  as  well  as  all  the  roots  and  fruits  which 
serve  as  nourishment  to  the  human  species." 

Maize  occupies  the  same  region  as  the  banana 
and  the  manioc  ;  but  its  cultivation  is  still  more 
important  and  more  extensive,  especially  than 
that  of  the  two  plants  which  we  have  been  de- 
scribing. Advancing  toward  the  central  table^ 
land  we  meet  with  fields  of  maize  all  the  way 
from  the  coast  to  the  valley  of  Toluca,  which  is 
more  than  2800  metres*  above  the  level  of  the 
ocean.  The  year  in  which  the  maize  harvest 
fails  is  a  year  of  famine  and  misery  for  the  in- 
habitants of  Mexico. 

It  is  no  longer  doubted  among  botanists,  that 
maize,  or  Turkey  corn,  is  a  true  American  grain, 
and  that  the  Old  Continent  received  it  from  tlie 
New.  It  appears  also  that  the  cultivation  of  this 
plant  ill  Spain  long  preceded  that  of  potatoes. 
Oviedot,  whose  first  essay  on  the  natural  history 
of  the  Indies  was  printed  at  Toledo  in  1525,  says 
that  he  saw  maize  cultivated  in  Andalusia,  near 

*  9185  feet.     Trans. 

f  Rerum  Medicaruin  Novœ  Hispaniœ  Thesaurus,  1651. 
lib.  vii.  c.  4^0.  p.  24-7. 

c  c  4 


392  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [bookiv, 

the  chapel  of  Atocha,  in  the  environs  of  Madrid. 
This  assertion  is  so  much  the  more  remarkable,  as 
from  a  passage  of  Hernandez  (book  vii.  chap.  40.) 
we  might  believe  that  maize  was  still  unknown 
in  Spain  in  the  time  of  Philip  the  Second,  to- 
wards the  end  of  the  l6th  century. 

On  the  discovery  of  America  by  the  Europeans, 
the  zea  maize  (tlaolli  in  the  Aztec  language, 
mahiz  in  the  Haitian,  and  cara  in  the  Quichua,) 
was  cultivated  from  the  most  southern  part  of 
Chili  to  Pennsylvania.  According  to  a  tradition 
of  the  Aztec  people,  the  Toultecs,  in  the  7th 
century  of  our  œra,  were  the  first  who  introduced 
into  Mexico  the  cultivation  of  maize,  cotton, 
and  pimento.  It  might  happen,  however,  that 
these  different  branches  of  agriculture  existed 
before  the  Toultecs,  and  that  this  nation,  the 
great  civilization  of  which  has  been  celebrated 
by  all  the  historians,  merely  extended  them 
successfully.  Hernandez  informs  us,  that  the 
Otamites  even,  who  were  only  a  wandering  and 
barbarous  people,  planted  maize.  The  cultiva- 
tion of  this  grain  consequently  extended  beyond 
the  Rio  Grande  de  Santiago,  formerly  called 
Tololotlan.  ., 

The  maize  introduced  into  the  north  of  Europe 
suffers  from  the  cold  wherever  the  mean  tempera- 
ture does  not  reach  seven  or  eight  degrees  of  the 
centigrade  thermometer.*      We   therefore   see 

*  44)°  or  4:6°  of  Fahrenheit.     Trans. 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  393 

rye,  and  especially  barley,  vegetate  vigorously  on 
the  ridge  of  the  Cordilleras,  at  heights  where,  on 
account  of  the  roughness  of  the  climate,  the  cul- 
tivation of  maize  would  be  attended  with  no  suc- 
cess. But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  latter  descends 
to  the  warmest  regions  of  the  torrid  zone,  even 
to  plains  where  wheat,  barley,  and  rye,  cannot 
develone  themselves.  Hence  on  the  scale  of  the 
different  kinds  of  cultivation,  the  maize,  at  pre- 
sent, occupies  a  much  greater  extent  in  the 
equinoxial  part  of  America  than  the  cerealia  of 
the  Old  Continent.  The  maize,  also,  of  all  the 
grains  useful  to  man,  is  the  one  whose  farinaceous 
perisperma  has  the  greatest  volume. 

It  is  commonly  believed  that  this  plant  is  the 
only  species  of  grain  known  by  the  Americans 
before  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans.  It  appears, 
however,  certain  enough,  that  in  Chili  in  the  fif- 
teenth century,  and  even  long  before,  besides  the 
zea  maize  and  the  zea  curagua,  two  gramina 
called  magu  and  tuca  were  cultivated,  of  which, 
according  to  the  Abbé  Molina,  the  first  was  a 
species  of  rye,  and  the  second  a  species  of  barley. 
The  bread  of  this  araucan  bread  went  by  the 
name  of  covquCy  a  word  which  afterwards  was 
applied  to  the  bread  made  of  European  corn.  * 
Hernandez  even  pretends  to  have  found  among 
the  Indians  of  Mechoacan  a  species  of  wheat t, 

*  Molina  Histoire  naturelle  de  Chili,  p.  101. 

f  Hernandez,  VII.  p.  43.     Clavigero,  I.  p.  56.,  note  F. 


394.  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

which,  according  to  his  very  succinct  description, 
resembles  the  corn  of  abundance  (Jriticum  compo- 
situm'),  which  is  believed  to  be  a  native  of  Egypt. 
Notwithstanding  every  information  which  I  pro- 
cured during  my  stay  in  the  intendancy  of  Valla- 
dolid,  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  clear  up  this 
important  point  in  the  history  of  cerealia.  No- 
body there  knew  any  thing  of  a  wheat  peculiar 
to  the  country,  and  I  suspect  that  Hernandez 
save  the  name  of  tritkum  michuacanense  to  some 
variety  of  European  grain  become  wild  and 
growing  in  a  very  fertile  soil. 

The  fecundity  of  the  tlaolli,  or  Mexican  maize, 
is  beyond  any  thing  that  can  be  imagined  in 
Europe.  The  plant,  favoured  by  strong  heats  and 
much  humidity,  acquires  a  height  of  from  two  to 
three  metres.*  In  the  beautiful  plains  which 
extend  from  San  Juan  del  Rio  to  Queretaro,  for 
example  in  the  lands  of  the  great  plantation  of 
l*Esperanza,  one  fanega  of  maize  produces  some- 
times eight  hundred.  Fertile  lands  yield,  commu- 
nibus  annis,  from  three  to  four  hundred.  In  the 
environs  of  Valladolid  a  harvest  is  reckoned  bad 
which  yields  only  the  seed  130  or  150  fold.  Where 
the  soil  is  even  most  sterile  it  still  returns  from 
sixty  to  eighty  grains  for  one.  It  is  believed  that 
we  may  estimate  the  produce  of  maize  in  general, 
in  the  cquinoxial  region  of  the  kingdom  of  New 
Spain,  at  a  hundred  and  fifty  for  one.    The  valley 

*  From  Gi  to  9^"^  feet.     Trans. 


CHAP.  IX.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  395 

of  Toluca  alone  yields  annually  more  than 
COOjOOO  fanegas*,  on  an  extent  of  thirty  square 
leagues,  of  which  a  great  part  is  cultivated  in 
agave.  Between  the  parallels  of  18°  and  22°  the 
frosts  and  cold  winds  render  this  cultivation  by 
no  means  lucrative  on  plains  whose  height  ex- 
ceeds three  thousand  metres,  t  The  annual 
produce  of  maize  in  the  intendancy  of  Guada- 
laxara  is,  as  we  have  already  observed,  more 
than  80  millions  of  kilogrammes. Î 

Under  the  temperate  zone,  between  the  33°  and 
38°  of  latitude,  in  New  California  for  example, 
maize  produces  in  general  only,  communibus  an- 
nis,  from  70  to  80  for  one.  By  comparing  the 
manuscript-memoirs  of  Father  Fermin  Lassuen, 
which  I  possess  with  the  statistical  tables  publish- 
ed in  the  historical  account  of  the  voyage  of  M. 
de  Galeano,  I  should  be  enabled  to  indicate  vil- 
lage by  village  the  quantities  of  maize  sown  and 
reaped.  I  find  that  in  1791  twelve  missions  of 
New  California  II  reaped  7625  fanegas  on  a  piece 
of  ground  sown  with  96.  In  1801  the  harvest 
of  16  missions  was  4661  fanegas,  while  the  quan- 
tity sown  only  amounted  to  66.     Hence  for  the 

*  AJanega  weighs  four  arrobas  or  a  hundred  pounds,  in 
some  provinces  120  pounds  (from  50  to  60  kilogrammes). 
Author.  600,000  fanegas  therefore  =66,21 0,600  lbs.   Trans. 

t  984'2feet.     Trans. 

i   I76,562,400lbs.  avoirdupois.     Trans. 

II    Viage  delà  Sutil,  p.  168. 


396  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  iv, 

former  year  the  produce  was  79,  and  for  the  latter 
70  for  one.  This  coast  in  general  appears  better 
adapted  for  the  cultivation  of  the  cerealia  of  Eu- 
rope. However  it  is  proved  by  the  same  tables, 
that  in  some  parts  of  New  California,  for  example, 
in  the  fields  belonging  to  the  villages  of  San  Buena 
Ventura  and  Capistrano,  the  maize  has  frequently 
yielded  from  180  to  200  for  one. 

Although  a  great  quantity  of  other  grain  is 
cultivated  in  Mexico,  the  maize  must  be  consi- 
dered as  the  principal  food  of  the  people,  as  also 
of  the  most  part  of  the  domestic  animals.  The 
price  of  this  commodity  modifies  that  of  all  the 
others,  of  which  it  is,  as  it  were,  the  natural  mea- 
sure. When  the  harvest  is  poor,  either  from  the 
w^ant  of  rain  or  from  premature  frost,  the  famine 
is  general,  and  produces  the  most  fatal  conse- 
quences. Fowls,  turkies,  and  even  the  larger 
cattle,  equally  suffer  from  it.  A  traveller  who 
passes  through  a  country  in  which  the  maize  has 
been  frost-bit  finds  neither  egg  nor  poultry,  nor 
arepa  bread,  nor  meal  for  the  atollij  which  is  a 
nutritive  and  agreeable  soup.  The  dearth  of 
provisions  is  especially  felt  in  the  environs  of  the 
Mexican  mines  ;  in  those  of  Guanaxuato,  for  ex- 
ample, where  fourteen  thousand  mules,  which 
are  necessary  in  the  process  of  amalgamation, 
annually  consume  an  enormous  quantity  of 
maize.  We  have  already  mentioned  the  influ- 
ence which  dearths  have  periodically  had  on  the 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  397 

progress  of  population  in  New  Spain.  The  fright- 
ful dearth  of  1784  was  the  consequence  of  a 
strong  frost,  which  was  felt  at  an  epoqua  when  it 
was  least  to  be  expected  in  the  torrid  zone,  the 
âSth  August,  and  at  the  inconsiderable  height  of 
1800  metres*  above  the  level  of  the  ocean. 

Of  all  the  gramina  cultivated  by  man  none  is 
so  unequal  in  its  produce.  This  produce  varies 
in  the  same  field  according  to  the  changes  of  hu- 
midity and  the  mean  temperature  of  the  year, 
from  40  to  200  or  300  for  one.  If  the  harvest  is 
good,  the  colonist  makes  his  fortune  more  rapidly 
with  maize  than  with  wheat,  and  we  may  say,  that 
this  cultivation  participates  in  both  the  advan- 
tages and  disadvantages  of  the  vine.  The  price 
of  maize  varies  from  two  livres  ten  sous  to  25 
livres  the  fanega.  The  mean  price  is  five  livres 
in  the  interior  of  the  country  ;  but  it  is  increased 
so  much  by  the  carriage,  that  during  my  stay  in 
the  intendancy  of  Guanaxuato,  t\\Q  fanega  cost 
at  Salamanca  9,  at  Queretaro  12,  and  at  San  Luis 
Potosi  22  livres.  In  a  country  where  there  are 
no  magazines,  and  where  the  natives  merely  live 
from  hand  to  mouth,  the  people  suffer  terribly 
whenever  the  maize  remains  for  any  length  of 
time  at  two  piastres  or  ten  livres  the  faneo-a. 
The  natives  then  feed  on  unripe  fruit,  on  cactus 
berries,  and  on  roots.     This  insufficient  food  oc- 

*  5904  feet.     Trans. 


398  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  iv. 

casions  diseases  among  them  ;  and  it  is  observed 
that  famines  are  usually  accompanied  with  a 
great  mortality  among  the  children. 

In  warm  and  very  humid  regions  the  maize 
will  yield  from  two  to  three  harvests  annually  ; 
but  generally  only  one  is  taken.     It  is  sown  from 
the  middle  of  June  till  near  the  end  of  August. 
Among  the  numerous  varieties  of  this  gramen 
there  is  one  of  which  the  ear  ripens  two  months 
after  the  grain  has  been  sown.     This  precious 
variety  is  well  known  in  Hungary,  and  M.  Par- 
mentier  has  endeavoured  to  introduce  the  culti- 
vation of  it  into  France.     The  Mexicans  who 
inhabit  the  shores  of  the  South  Sea  give  the  pre- 
ference to  another,  which  Oviedo*  affirms  he  saw 
in  his  time,  in  the  province  of  Nicaragua,  and 
which  is  reaped  in  between  thirty  and  forty  days. 
I  remember  also  to  have  observed  it  near  Tome- 
penda,  on  the  banks  of  the  river  of  the  Amazons; 
but  all  these  varieties  of  maize  of  which  the  ve- 
getation is  so  rapid  appear  to  be  of  a  less  farina- 
ceous  grain,    and   almost   as   small  as  the  zea 
caragua  of  Chili. 

The  utility  which  the  Americans  draw  from 
maize  is  too  well  known  for  my  dwelling  on  it. 
The  use  of  rice  is  not  more  various  in  China  and 
the  East  Indies.  The  ear  is  eaten  boiled  or 
roasted.     The  grain  when  beat  yields  a  nutritive 

*  Lib.  vii.  c.  1.  p.  103. 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  399 

bread (ar^^fl)  though  not  fermented  and  ill  baked, 
on  account  of  the  small  quantity  of  gluten  mixed 
with  the  amylaceous  fecula.  The  meal  is  em- 
ployed like  gruel  in  the  bouUies,  which  the  Mexi- 
cans call  atolliy  in  which  they  mix  sugar,  honey, 
and  sometimes  even  ground  potatoes.  The  bo- 
tanist Hernandez*  describes  sixteen  species  of 
atolhs  which  were  made  in  his  time. 

A  chemist  would  have  some  difficulty  in  pre- 
paring the  innumerable  variety  of  spirituous,  acid, 
or  sugary  beverages,  which  the  Indians  display  a 
particular   address  in  making,  by  infusing  the 
grain    of  maize,    in  which   the   sugary  matter 
begins  to  develope  itself  by  germination.    These 
beverages,  generally  known  by  the  name  of  chi- 
chdy  have  some  of  them  a  resemblance  to  beer  and 
others  to  cider.    Under  the  monastic  government 
of  the  Incas  it  was  not  permitted  in  Peru  to  ma- 
nufacture intoxicating  liquors,  especially  those 
which  are  called  Vmapu  and  Sora.f  The  Mexican 
despots  were  less  interested  in  the  public  and  pri- 
vate morals  ;  and  drunkenness  was  very  common 
among  the  Indians  of  the  times  of  the  Aztec 
dynasty.   But  the  Europeans  have  multiplied  the 
enjoyments  of  the  lower  people  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  sugar-cane.     At  present  in  every 
elevation  the  Indian  has  his  particular  drinks. 

*  Lib,  vii.  c.  40.  p.  244. 

\  Garcilasso,  lib.  viii.  c.  9.     (Tom.  i.  p.  277.)     Acosta, 
lib.  iv.   c.  16.  p.  238. 


400  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

The  plains  in  the  vicinity  of  the  coast  furnish 
him  with  spirit  from  the  sugar-cane,  {guarapo^ 
or  aguardiente  de  canay)  and  the  chicha  de  manioc. 
The  chicha  de  mais  abounds  on  the  declivity  of  the 
Cordilleras.  The  central  table-land  is  the  coun- 
try of  the  Mexican  vines,  the  agave  plantations, 
which  supply  the  favourite  drink  of  the  natives, 
the  pulque  de  maguey.  The  Indian  in  easy  cir- 
cumstances adds  to  these  productions  of  the 
American  soil  a  liquor  still  dearer  and  rarer, 
grape-brandy  {aguardiente  de  Castilla),  partly 
furnished  by  European  commerce,  and  partly 
distilled  in  the  country.  Such  are  tlie  numerous 
resources  of  a  people  who  love  intoxicating 
liquors  to  excess. 

Before  the  arrival^of  the  Europeans,  the  Mexi- 
cans and  Peruvians  pressed  out  the  juice  of  the 
maize-stalk  to  make  sugar  from  it.  They  not 
only  concentrated  this  juice  by  evaporation  ;  they 
knew  also  to  prepare  the  rough  sugar  by  cooling 
the  thickened  syrup.  Cortez,  describing  to  the 
Emperor  Charles  V.  all  the  commodities  sold 
in  the  great  market  of  Tlatelolco,  on  his  entry 
into  Tenochtitlan,  expressly  names  the  Mexican 
sugar.  "  There  is  sold,'*  says  he,  **  honey  of 
bees  and  wax,  honey  from  the  stalks  of  maize, 
which  are  as  sweet  as  sugar-cane,  and  honey  from 
a  shrub  called  by  the  people  maguey.  The  na- 
tives make  sugar  of  these  plants,  and  this  sugar 
they  also  sell."  The  stalk  of  all  the  gramina 
contains  sugary  matter,  especially  near  the  knots. 


CHAP.  IX.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  401 

The  quantity  of  the  sugar  that  maize  can  furnish 
in  the  temperate  zone  appears,  however,  to  be 
very  inconsiderable  ;  but  under  the  tropics  its 
fistulous  stalk  is  so  sugary,  that  I  have  frequently 
seen  the  Indians  sucking  it  as  the  sugar-cane  is 
sucked  by  the  negroes.  In  the  valley  of  Toluca 
the  stalk  of  the  maize  is  squeezed  between  cylin- 
ders, and  then  is  prepared  from  its  fermented 
juice  a  spirituous  liquor,  called  pulque  de  7nahiSy 
or  tlaolli,  a  liquor  which  becomes  a  very  import- 
ant object  of  commerce. 

From  the  statistical  tables  drawn  up  in  the  in- 
tendancy  of  Guadalaxara,  of  which  the  popula- 
tion is  more  than  half  a  million  of  inhabitants, 
it  appears  extremely  probable  that,  communibus 
annisy  the  actual  produce  of  maize  in  all  New 
Spain  amounts  to  more  than  17  millions  of  iàne- 
gas,  or  more  than  800  millions  of  kilogrammes  * 
of  weight.  This  grain  will  keep  in  Mexico,  in 
the  temperate  climates,  for  three  years,  and  in 
the  valley  of  Toluca,  and  all  the  levels  of  which 
the  mean  temperature  is  below  14  centigrade 
degrees  t,  for  five  or  six  years,  especially  if  the 
dry  stalk  is  not  cut  before  the  ripe  grain  has  been 
somewhat  struck  with  the  frost. 

In  good  years  the  kingdom  of  New  Spain  pro- 
duces much  more  maize  than  it  can  consume. 

•  1765^  millions  of  pounds  avoirdupoise.     Trans. 
t  57°  of  Fahren. 

VOL.  II.  D  D 


402  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  iv. 

As  the  country  unites  in  a  small  space  a  great 
variety  of  climates,  and  as  the  maize  almost  never 
succeeds  at  the  same  time  in  the  warm  region 
(Jierras  calkntes)  and  on  the  central  table-land 
in  the  terras  frias,  the  interior  commerce  is  sin- 
gularly vivified  by  the  transport  of  this  grain. 
Maize  compared  with  European  grain  has  the 
disadvantage  of  containing  a  smaller  quantity  of 
nutritive  substance  in  a  greater  volume.  This 
circumstance,  and  the  difficulty  of  the  roads  on 
the  declivities  of  the  mountains,  present  obstacles 
to  its  exportation,  which  will  be  more  frequent 
when  the  construction  of  the  fine  causeway  from 
Vera  Cruz  to  Xalapa  and  Perote  shall  be  finish- 
ed. The  islands  in  general,  and  especially  the 
island  of  Cuba,  consume  an  enormous  quantity 
of  maize.  These  islands  are  frequently  in  want 
of  it,  because  the  interest  of  their  inhabitants  is 
almost  exclusively  fixed  on  the  cultivation  of 
sugar  and  coffee  ;  although  it  has  been  long  ob- 
served by  well  informed  agriculturists,  that  in 
the  district  contained  between  the  Havannah, 
the  port  of  Batabano  and  Matanzas,  fields  culti- 
vated with  maize  and  by  free  hands  yield  a 
greater  nett  revenue  than  a  sugar-plantation,  for 
which  enormous  advances  are  necessary  in  the 
purchase  and  maintenance  of  slaves  and  the  con- 
struction of  edifices. 

If  it  is  probable  that  in  Chili  formerly,  besides 
maize,  there  were  two  other  gramina  with  farina- 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  405 

ceous  seed  sown,  which  belonged  to  the  same 
genus  as  our  barley  and  wheat,  it  is  no  less  certain 
that  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  in  Ame- 
rica none  of  the  cerealia  of  the  Old  Continent 
were  known  diere.  If  we  suppose  that  all  man- 
kind are  descended  from  the  same  stock,  we 
might  be  tempted  to  admit  that  the  Americans, 
like  the  Atlantes  *,  separated  from  the  rest  of 
the  human  race  before  the  cultivation  of  wheat 
on  the  central  plains  of  Asia.  But  are  we  to 
lose  ourselves  in  fabulous  times  to  explain  the 
ancient  communications  which  appear  to  have 
existed  between  the  two  continents  ?  In  the  time 
of  Herodotus  all  the  northern  part  of  Africa 
presented  no  other  agricultural  nations  but  the 
Egyptians  and  the  Carthaginians,  t  In  the  in- 
terior of  Asia  the  tribes  of  the  Mongol  race,  the 
Hiong-nu,  the  Burattes,  the  Kalkas,  and  the  Si- 
fanes,  have  constantly  lived  as  wandering  shep- 
herds. Now,  if  the  people  of  central  Asia,  or  if 
the  Lybians  of  Afirica  could  have  passed  into  the 
New  Continent,  neither  of  them  would  have  in- 
troduced the  cultivation  of  cerealia.  The  want  of 
these  gramina  then  proves  nothing  either  against 
the  Asiatic  origin  of  the  Americans,  or  against 
the  possibility  of  a  very  recent  transmigration. 
The  introduction  of  European  grain  having  had 

*  See  the  opinion  of  Diodoi'us  Siculus.  Bibl.  lib.  iii.  page 
Rhodom.  186. 

f  Heeren  uher  Africa,  p.  41. 

D  D    2 


404  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

the  most  beneficial  influence  on  the  prosperity 
of  the  natives  of  Mexico,  it  becomes  interesting 
to  relate  at  what  epoqua  this  new  branch  of  agri- 
culture commenced.     A  negro-slave  of  Cortez 
found  three  or  four  grains  of  wheat  among  the 
rice  which  served  to  maintain  the  Spanish  army. 
These  grains  were  sown,  as  it  appears,  before  the 
year  1530.     History  has  brought  down  to  us  the 
name  of  a  Spanish  lady,  Maria  d'Escobar,  the 
wife  of  Diego  de  Chaves,  who  first  carried  a  few 
grains  of  wheat  into  the  city  of  Lima,  then  called 
Rimac.     The  produce  of  the  harvest  which  she 
obtained  from  these  grains  was  distributed  for 
three   years   among  the  new  colonists,  so  that 
each  farmer  received   twenty  or  thirty  grains. 
Garcilasso  already  complained  of  the  ingratitude 
of  his  countrymen,  who  hardly  knew  the  name 
of  Maria  d*Escobar.      We  are  ignorant  of  the 
epoqua  at  which  the  cultivation  of  cerealia  com- 
menced in  Peru,  but  it  is  certain  that  in  1547 
wheaten  bread  was  hardly  known  in  the  city  of 
Cuzco.  *      At   Quito  the  first  European  grain 
was  sown  near  the  convent  of  Saint  Francis  by 
Father  Josse  Rixi,  a  native  of  Gand,  in  Flanders. 
The  monks  still  show  there  with  enthusiasm  the 
earthen  vase  in  which  the  first  wheat  came  from 

*  Commentarios  reales,  ix.  24.  t.  ii.  p.  332.  "  Maria  de 
Escobar,  digna  de  un  gran  estado,  Uevo  el  trigo  al  Peru.  Por 
otro  tanto  adoraron  los  gentiles  a  Ceres  por  Diosa^  y  de  esta 
matrona  no  hicieron  cuenta  los  de  mi  tierra." 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  405 

Europe  which  they  look  upon  as  a  precious 
rehc.  *  Why  have  not  every  where  the  names  of 
those  been  preserved,  who,  in  place  of  ravaging 
the  earth,  have  enriched  it  with  plants  useful  to 
the  human  racePt 

The  temperate  region,  especially  the  climate 
when  the  mean  heat  of  the  year  does  not  exceed 
from  18  to  19  centigrade  degrees:^,  appears  most 
favourable  to  the  cultivation  of  cerealia,  embracing 
under  this  denomination  only  the  nutritive  gra- 
mina  known  to  the  ancients,  namely,  wheat, 
spelt,  barley,  oats,  and  rye.  I!  In  fact,  in  the 
equinoxial  part  of  Mexico,  th  e  cerealia  of  Eu 
rope  are  nowhere  cultivated  in  plains  of  which  the 
elevation  is  under  from  8  to  9  hundred  metres  §  ; 
and  we  have  already  observed,  that  on  the  de- 
clivity of  the  Cordilleras  between  Vera  Cruz  and 
Acapulco,  we  generally  see  only  the  commence- 
ment of  this  cultivation  at  an  elevation  of  12  or 
13  hundred  metres.^     A  long  experience  has 

*  See  my  Tableaux  delà  Nature,  t.  ii.  p.  166. 

f  Every  English  reader  will  recollect  ihc  fine  passage  in 
Gulliver's  Travels  on  this  subject.     Tran$ 

%  64°  and  66°  of  Fahren.     Trans. 

II  Triticum  (u-fpoç),  spelta  i^ia),  hordoura  (x^jâ"!)),  avena 
(jSpwjMoç  of  Dioscorides,  and  not  the  ^tDf/.o';  of  Theophrastus), 
and  secale  (xi^vj).  I  shall  not  here  examine  f  wheat  and 
barley  were  really  cultivated  by  the  Romans,^  and  if  Theo- 
phrastus and  Pliny  knew  our  secale  cereale.  Compare  Dioscor. 
ii.  116.  iv.  140.  page  Saracen.  126.  and  294.  with  Columella, 
ii.  10.  and  Theophr.  viii.  1—4.  with  Plin.  ii.  126. 

§  From  2629  to  2952  feet.     Trans. 

%  3936  and  4264  feet.     Trans. 
DD    3 


406  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  iv. 

proved  to  the  inhabitants  of  Xalapa  that  the 
wheat  sown  around  their  city  vegetates  vigor- 
ously, but  never  produces  a  single  ear.  It  is 
cultivated  because  its  straw  and  its  succulent 
leaves  serve  for  forage  [zacate)  to  cattle.  It  is 
very  certain,  however,  that  in  the  kingdom  of 
Guatemala,  and  consequently  nearer  the  equator, 
grain  ripens  at  smaller  elevations  than  that  of  the 
town  of  Xalapa.  A  particular  exposure,  the 
cool  winds  which  blow  in  the  direction  of  the 
north,  and  other  local  causes,  may  modify  the  in- 
fluence of  the  climate.  I  have  seen  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Caraccas  the  finest  harvests  of  wheat 
near  Victoria  (latitude  10°  13')  at  five  or  six 
hundred  metres*  of  absolute  elevation  ;  and  it 
appears  that  the  wheaten  fields  which  surround 
the  Quatro  villas  in  the  island  of  Cuba  (latitude 
21°  58')  have  still  a  smaller  elevation.  At  the 
Isle  of  France  (latitude  20°  10')  wheat  is  culti- 
vated on  a  soil  almost  level  with  the  ocean. 

The  European  colonists  have  not  sufficiently 
varied  their  experiments  to  know  what  is  the 
minimum  of  height  at  which  cerealia  grow  in  the 
equinoxial  region  of  Mexico.  The  absolute  want 
of  rain  during  the  summer  months  is  so  much  the 
more  unfavourable  to  the  wheat  as  the  heat  of  the 
climate  is  greater.  It  is  true  that  the  droughts 
and  heats  are  also  very  considerable  in  Syria  and 

*  1640  or  1968  feet.     Trans. 


\ 


CHAP.  IX.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  407 

Egypt  ;  but  this  last  country,  which  abounds  so 
much  in  grain,  has  a  climate  which  differs  essen- 
tially from  that  of  the  torrid  zone,  and  the  soil 
preserves  a  certain  degree  of  humidity  from  the 
beneficent  inundations  of  the  Nile.  However, 
the  vegetables,  which  are  of  the  same  kind  with 
our  cerealia,  grow  only  wild  in  temperate  cli- 
mates, and  even  in  those  only  ofthe  Old  Continent. 
With  the  exception  of  a  few  gigantic  arundina- 
ceous  which  are  social  plants,  the  gramina  appear 
in  general  infinitely  rarer  in  the  torrid  zone 
than  in  the  temperate  zone,  where  they  have  the 
ascendancy  as  it  were  over  the  other  vegetables. 
We  ought  not,  then,  to  be  astonished  that  the 
cerealia,  notwithstanding  the  great  Jk^ribiliti/  of 
organization  attributed  to  them,  and  which  is 
common  to  them  with  the  domestic  animals, 
thrive  better  on  the  central  table-land  of  Mexico, 
in  the  hilly  region,  where  they  find  the  climate 
of  Rome  and  Milan,  than  in  the  plains  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  equinoxial  ocean. 

Were  the  soil  of  New  Spain  watered  by  more 
frequent  rains,  it  would  be  one  ofthe  most  fertile 
countries  cultivated  by  man  in  the  two  hemi- 
spheres. The  hero*,  who,  in  the  midst  of  a 
bloody  war,  had  his  eyes  continually  fixed  on 
every  branch  of  national  industry,  Hernan  Cor- 

*  Letter  to  the  Emperor  Charles,  dated  from  the  great 
city  of  Temij^titan,  the  15th  October,  1524'. 
D  D    4 


408  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv, 

tez,  wrote  to  his  sovereign  shortly  after  the  siege 
of  Tenochtitlan  :  "  All  the  plants  of  Spain  thrive 
admirably  in  this  land.  We  shall  not  proceed 
here  as  we  have  done  in  the  isles,  where  we  have 
neglected  cultivation  and  destroyed  the  inha- 
bitants. A  sad  experience  ought  to  render  us 
more  prudent.  I  beseech  your  majesty  to  give 
orders  to  the  Casa  de  Contratacion  of  Seville,  that 
no  vessel  set  sail  for  this  country  without  a  cer- 
tain quantity  of  plants  and  grain."  The  great 
fertility  of  the  Mexican  soil  is  incontrovertible, 
but  the  want  of  water,  of  which  we  have  spoken 
in  the  third  chapter,  frequently  diminishes  the 
abundance  of  the  harvests. 

There  are  only  two  seasons  known  in  the  equi- 
noxial  region  of  Mexico  even  as  far  as  the  28°  of 
north  latitude  :  the  rainy  season  {estacion  de  las 
aguas\  which  begins  in  the  month  of  June  or 
July,  and  ends  in  the  month  of  September  or  Oc- 
tober, and  the  dry  season  {el  estio),  which  lasts 
eight  months,  from  October  to  the  end  of  May. 
The  first  rains  generally  commence  on  the  eastern 
declivity  of  the  Cordillera.  The  formation  of 
the  clouds  and  the  precipitation  of  the  water  dis- 
solved in  the  air,  commence  on  the  coast  of  Vera 
Cruz.  These  phenomena  are  accompanied  with 
strong  electrical  explosions,  which  take  place  suc- 
cessively at  Mexico,  Guadalaxara,  and  on  the 
western  coast.  The  chemical  action  is  propagated 
from  east  to  west  in  the  direction  of  the  trade 


1 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  409 

winds,  and  the  rains  begin  fifteen  or  twenty  days 
sooner  at  Vera  Cruz  than  on  the  central  table- 
land. Sometimes  we  see  in  the  mountain,  even 
below  2000  metres*  of  absolute  height,  rain 
mixed  with  rime  (^grésil)  and  snow  in  the  months 
of  November,  December,  and  January  ;  but  these 
rains  are  very  short,  and  only  last  from  four  to 
five  days  ;  and  however  cold  they  may  be,  they 
are  considered  as  very  useful  for  the  vegetation 
of  wheat  and  the  pasturages.  In  Mexico  in 
general,  as  in  Europe,  the  rains  are  most  frequent 
in  the  mountainous  regions,  especially  in  that 
part  of  the  Cordilleras  which  extends  from  the 
Pic  d'Orizaba  by  Guanaxuato,  Sierra  de  Pinos, 
Zacatecas,  and  Bolanos,  to  the  mines  of  Gua- 
risamey  and  the  Rosario. 

The  prosperity  of  New  Spain  depends  on  the 
proportion  established  between  the  duration  of 
two  seasons  of  rain  and  drought.  The  agriculturist 
has  seldom  to  complain  of  too  great  a  humidity, 
and  if  sometimes  the  maize  and  the  cerealia  of 
Europe  are  exposed  to  partial  inundations  in  the 
plains,  of  which  several  form  circular  basins  shut 
in  by  the  mountains,  the  grain  sown  on  the  slopes 
of  the  hills  vegetates  with  so  much  the  greater 
vigour.  From  the  parallel  of  24°  to  that  of  30° 
the  rains  are  seldomer  and  of  short  duration. 
Happily  the  snow,  of  which  there  is  great  abund- 

*  6561  feet.     Trans. 


410  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

ance  from  the  26°  of  latitude,  supplies  the  want 
of  rain. 

The  extreme  drought  to  which  New  Spain  is 
exposed  from  the  month  of  June  to  the  month  of 
September,  compels  the  inhabitants  in  a  great 
part  of  this  vast  country  to  have  recourse  to  arti- 
ficial irrigations.  The  harvests  of  wheat  are  rich . 
in  proportion  to  the  water  taken  from  the  rivers 
by  means  of  canals  of  irrigation.  This  system 
is  particularly  followed  in  the  fine  plains  which 
border  the  river  Santiago,  called  Rio  Grande,  and 
in  those  between  Salamanca,  Irapuato,  and  the 
villa  de  Leon.  Canals  of  irrigation  {acequias), 
reservoirs  of  water  (jpresas),  and  the  hydraulical 
machines  called  norias,  are  objects  of  the  greatest 
importance  for  Mexican  agriculture.  Like  Per- 
sia and  the  lower  part  of  Peru,  the  interior  of 
New  Spain  is  infinitely  productive  in  nutritive 
gramina,  wherever  the  industry  of  man  has  di- 
minished the  natural  dryness  of  the  soil  and  the 
air. 

Nowhere  does  the  proprietor  of  a  large  farm 
more  frequently  feel  the  necessity  of  employing 
engineers  skilled  in  surveying  ground  and  the 
principles  of  hydraulic  constructions.  However, 
at  Mexico,  as  elsewhere,  those  arts  have  been 
preferred  which  please  the  imagination  to  those 
which  are  indispensable  to  the  wants  of  domestic 
life.  They  possess  architects,  who  judge  learn- 
edly of  the  beauty  and  symmetry  of  an  edifice; 


I 


CHAP.  IX.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  411 

but  nothing  is  still  so  rare  there  as  to  find  persons 
capable  of  constructing  machines,  dikes,  and 
canals.  Fortunately,  the  feeling  of  their  want 
has  excited  the  national  industry,  and  a  certain 
sagacity  peculiar  to  all  mountainous  people,  sup- 
plies, in  some  sort,  the  want  of  instruction. 

In  the  places  which  are  not  artificially  watered 
the  Mexican  soil  yields  only  pasturage  to  the 
months  of  March  and  April.  At  this  period, 
when  the  south-west  wind,  which  is  dry  and  warm 
Qoiento  de  la  Misteca\  frequently  blows,  all  ver- . 
dure  disappears,  and  the  graminaand  other  herba- 
ceous plants  gradually  dry  up.  This  change  is 
more  sensibly  felt  when  the  rains  of  the  preceding 
year  have  been  less  abundant  and  the  summer 
has  been  warmer.  The  wheat  then,  especially  in 
the  month  of  May,  suffers  much  if  it  is  not  arti- 
ficially watered.  The  rain  only  excites  the  vege- 
tation in  the  month  of  June  ;  with  the  first  falls  the 
fields  become  covered  with  verdure  ;  the  foliage 
of  the  trees  is  renewed  ;  and  the  European  who 
recalls  to  his  mind  incessantly  the  climate  of  his 
native  country,  enjoys  doubly  this  season  of  the 
rains,  because  it  presents  to  him  the  image  of 
spring. 

.In  indicating  the  dry  and  rainy  months,  we  have 
described  the  course  which  the  meteorological 
phenomena  commonly  follow.  For  several  years, 
however,  these  phenomena  appear  to  have  devi- 
ated from  the  general  law,  and  the  exceptions  have 
unfortunately  been  to  the  disadvantage  of  agri- 


412  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

culture.  The  rains  have  become  more  rare,  and 
especially  more  tardy.  The  year  in  which  I 
visited  the  Volcan  de  JoruUo,  the  season  of  rain 
was  three  whole  months  later  than  usual  ;  it  be- 
gan in  the  month  of  September,  and  only  lasted 
till  towards  the  middle  of  November.  It  is  ob- 
served in  Mexico  that  the  maize,  which  suffers 
much  more  than  the  wheat  from  the  frosts  in 
autumn,  has  the  advantage  of  recovering  more 
easily  after  long  droughts.  In  the  intendancy 
of  Valladolid,  between  Salamanca  and  the  lake 
of  Cuizeo,  I  have  seen  fields  of  maize,  which  were 
believed  tobe  destroyed,  vegetate  with  an  astonish- 
ing vigour  after  two  or  three  days  of  rain.  The 
great  breadth  of  the  leaves  undoubtedly  contri- 
butes greatly  to  the  nutrition  and  vegetative 
force  of  this  American  gramen. 

In  the  farms  {haciendas  de  trigo)  in  which  the 
system  of  irrigation  is  well  estabUshed,  in  those 
of  Silao  and  Irapuato,  for  example,  near  Leon, 
the  wheat  is  twice  watered  ;  first,  when  the  young 
plant  springs  up  in  the  month  of  January  ;  and 
the  second  time  in  the  beginning  of  March, 
when  the  ear  is  on  the  point  of  developing  itself. 
Sometimes  even  the  whole  field  is  inundated  be- 
fore sowing.  It  is  observed,  that  in  allowing 
the  water  to  remain  for  several  weeks,  the  soil  is 
so  impregnated  with  humidity  that  the  wheat 
resists  more  easily  the  long  droughts.  They 
scatter  the  seed  (semer  d  la  volée\  at  the  moment 
when  the  waters  begin  to  flow  from  the  opening 


CHAP.  IX.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  413 

of  the  canals.  This  method  brings  to  mind  the 
cultivation  of  wheat  in  Lower  Egypt,  and  these 
prolonged  inundations  diminish  at  the  same  time 
the  abundance  of  the  parasitical  herbs  which 
mix  with  the  harvest  at  reaping,  and  of  which  a 
part  has  unfortunately  past  into  America  with 
the  European  grain. 

The  riches  of  the  harvests  are  surprising  in  lands 
carefully  cultivated,  especially  in  those  which  are 
watered  or  properly  separated  by  different  courses 
of  labour.    The  most  fertile  part  of  the  table-land 
is  that  which  extends  from  Queretaro  to  the  town 
of  Leon.   These  elevated  plains  are  thirty  leagues 
in  length  by  eight  or  ten  in  breadth.     The  wheat 
harvest  is  35  and  40  for  1,   and  several  great 
farms   can  even  reckon  on  50  or  60  to  1.     I 
found  the  same  fertility  in  the  fields  which  extend 
from  the  village  of  Santiago  to  Yurirapundaro  in 
the  intendancy  of  Valladolid.     In  the  environs  of 
Puebla,  Atlisco,  and  Zelaya,  in  a  great  part  of  the 
bishoprics  of  Michoacan  and  Guadalaxara,  the 
produce  is  from  20  to  30  for  1.     A  field  is  con- 
sidered there  as  far  from  fertile  when  a  fanega  of 
wheat  yields  only,  communibus  annis,  l6fanegas. 
At  Cholula  the  common  harvest  is  from  30  to  40, 
but  it  frequently  exceeds  from  70  to  80  for  1. 
In  the  valley  of  Mexico  the  maize  yields  200  and 
the  wheat  18  or  20.     I  have  to  observe  that  the 
numbers  which  I  here  give  have  all  the  accuracy 
which  can  be  desired  in  so  important  an  object  for 


414.  ^         POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

the  knowledge  of  territorial  riches.  Being  eagerly 
desirous  of  knowing  the  produce  of  agriculture 
under  the  tropics,  I  procured  all  the  information 
on  the  very  spots  ;  and  I  compared  together  the 
data  with  which  I  was  furnished  by  intelhgent 
colonists,  who  inhabited  provinces  at  a  distance 
from  one  another.  I  was  induced  to  be  so  much 
the  more  precise  in  this  operation,  as  from  having 
been  born  in  a  country  where  grain  scarcely 
produces  four  or  five  for  one,  I  was  naturally 
more  apt  than  another  to  be  disposed  to  suspect 
the  exaggerations  of  agriculturists,  exaggerations 
which  are  the  same  in  Mexico,  China,  and 
wherever  the  vanity  pf  the  inhabitants  wishes  to 
take  advantage  of  the  credulity  of  travellers. 

I  am  aware  that  on  account  of  the  great  in- 
equality with  which  different  countries  sow,  it 
would  have  been  better  to  compare  the  produce 
of  the  harvest  with  the  extent  of  ground  sown 
up.  But  the  agrarian  measures  are  so  inexact, 
and  there  are  so  few  farms  in  Mexico  in  which  we 
know  with  precision  the  number  of  square  toises 
or  varas  which  they  contain,  that  I  was  obliged  to 
confine  myself  to  the  simple  comparison  between 
the  wheat  reaped  and  the  wheat  sown.  The  re- 
searches to  which  I  applied  myself  during  my  stay 
in  Mexico  gave  me  for  result,  communibus  annis, 
the  mean  produce  of  all  the  country  at  22  or  25 
for  1.  When  I  returned  to  Europe  I  began  again 
to  entertain  doubts  as  to  the  precision  of  this  im- 


CHAP.  IX.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  415 

portant  result,  and  I  should  perhaps  have  hesi- 
tated to  publish  it,  if  I  had  not  had  it  in  my  power 
to  consult  on  this  subject  quite  recently  and  in 
Paris  even,  a  respectable  and  enlightened  person 
who  has  inhabited  the  Spanish  colonies  these 
thirty  years,  and  who  applied  himself  with  great 
success  to  agriculture.  M.  Abad,  a  canon  of 
the  metropolitan  church  of  Valladolid  de  Mecho- 
acan,  assured  me,  that  from  his  calculations  the 
mean  produce  of  the  Mexican  wheat,  far  from 
being  below  twenty-two  grains,  is  probably  from 
25  to  30,  which,  according  to  the  calculations  of 
Lavoisier  and  Neckar,  exceeds  from  five  to  six 
times  the  mean  produce  of  France. 

Near  Zelaya  the  agriculturists  showed  me  the 
enormous  difference  of  produce  between  the  lands 
artificially  watered  and  those  which  are  not.  The 
former,  which  receive  the  water  of  the  Rio  Grande, 
distributed  by  drains  into  several  pools,  yield 
from  40  to  50  for  1  ;  while  the  latter,  which  do 
not  enjoy  the  benefit  of  irrigation,  only  yield 
fifteen  or  twenty.  The  same  fault  prevails  here 
of  which  agricultural  writers  complain  in  almost 
every  country  of  Europe,  that  of  employing  too 
much  seed,  so  that  the  grain  choaks  itself.  Were 
it  not  for  this  the  produce  of  the  harvests  would 
still  appear  greater  than  what  we  have  stated. 

It  may  be  of  use  to  insert  here  an  observation* 

*  Sobre  la  Jertilidad  de  las  tierras  en  la  Nueva  Espana  por 
Don  Manuel  Abad  y  Queipo,  (MS.  note.) 


416  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

made  near  Zelaya  by  a  person  worthy  of  confi- 
dence, and  very  much  accustomed  to  researches 
of  this  nature.  M.  Abad  took  at  random,  in  a 
fine  field  of  wheat  of  several  acres  in  extent,  forty 
wheaten  plants  (triticum  hyhernimi)  ;  he  put  the 
roots  in  water  to  clear  them  of  all  earth,  and  he 
found  that  every  grain  had  produced  forty,  sixty, 
and  even  seventy  stalks.  The  ears  were  almost 
all  equally  well  furnished.  The  number  of  grains 
which  they  contained  was  reckoned,  and  it  was 
found  that  this  number  frequently  exceeded  a 
hundred  and  even  a  hundred  and  twenty.  The 
mean  term  appeared  ninety.  Some  ears  even 
contained  a  hundred  and  sixty  grains.  What  an 
astonishing  example  of  fertility  !  It  is  remarked, 
in  general,  that  wheat  divides  enormously  in  the 
Mexican  fields,  that  from  a  single  grain  a  great 
number  of  stalks  shoot  up,  and  that  each  plant 
has  extremely  long  and  bushy  roots.  The  Spanish 
colonists  call  this  effect  of  the  vigour  of  vegeta- 
tion el  macollar  del  trigo. 

To  the  north  of  this  very  fertile  district  of 
Zelaya,  Salamanca,  and  Leon,  the  country  is  arid 
in  the  extreme,  without  rivers,  without  springs, 
and  presenting  vast  extents  of  crusts  of  hardened 
clay  {tepetate)  which  the  cultivators  call  hard 
and  cold  lands,  and  through  which  the  roots  of 
the  herbaceous  plants  with  difficulty  penetrate. 
These  beds  of  clay,  which  I  also  found  in  the  king- 
dom of  Quito,  resemble  at  a  distance  banks  of 

2 


CHAP.  IX.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  417 

rock  destitute  of  every  sort  of  vegetation.  They 
belong  to  the  trappisliformatioiiy  and  constantly 
accompany  on  the  ridge  of  the  Andes  of  Peru  and 
Mexico  the  basaltes,  the  griinstein,  the  amygda- 
loid, and  the  amplnbolic  porphyry.  But  in  other 
parts  of  New  Spain,  in  the  beautiful  valley  of 
Santiago,  and  to  the  south  of  the  town  of  Valla- 
dolid,  the  decomposed  basaltes  and  amygdaloids 
have  formed  in  the  succession  of  ages  a  black  and 
very  productive  earth.  The  fertile  fields  which 
surround  the  Alberca  of  Santiago  bring  to  mind 
the  basaltic  districts  of  the  Mittelgebirge  of  Bo- 
hemia. 

We  have  already  described*,  when  treating  of 
the  particular  statics  of  the  country,  the  deserts 
without  water  which  separate  New  Biscay  from 
New  Mexico.  All  the  table-land  which  extends 
from  Sombrerete  to  the  Saltillo,  and  from  thence 
towards  la  Punta  de  Lampazos,  is  a  naked  and 
arid  plain,  in  which  cactus  and  other  prickly 
plants  only  vegetate  !  The  sole  vestige  of  culti- 
vation is  on  some  points,  where,  as  around  the 
town  of  the  Saltillo,  the  industry  of  man  has  pro- 
cured a  little  water  for  the  watering  of  the  fields. 
We  have  also  traced  a  view  of  Old  California t, 
of  which  the  soil  is  a  rock  both  destitute  of  earth 
and  water.  All  these  considerations  concur  to 
prove  what  we  have  advanced  in  the  preceding 

*  Chap.  viii.  f  Ibid. 

VOL.   II.  E  E 


418  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv 

book  that  on  account  of  its  extreme  dryness  a 
considerable  part  of  New  Spain  situated  to  the 
north  of  the  tropic  is  not  susceptible  of  a  great 
population.  Hence  what  a  remarkable  contrast 
between  the  physiognomy  of  two  neighbouring 
countries,  between  Mexico  and  the  United  States 
of  North  America  !  In  the  latter  the  soil  is  one 
vast  forest,  intersected  by  a  great  number  of  ri- 
vers, which  flow  into  spacious  gulfs  ;  while  Mexico 
presents  from  east  to  west  a  wooded  shore,  and  in 
its  centre  an  enormous  mass  of  colossal  moun- 
tains, on  the  ridge  of  which  stretch  out  plains 
destitute  of  wood,  and  so  much  the  more  arid, 
as  the  temperature  of  the  ambient  air  is  aug- 
mented by  the  reverberation  of  the  solar  rays. 
In  the  north  of  New  Spain,  as  in  Thibet,  Persia, 
and  all  the  mountainous  regions,  a  part  of  the 
country  will  never  be  adapted  for  the  cultivation 
of  cerealia  till  a  concentrated  and  highly  civi- 
lized population  shall  have  vanquished  the  ob- 
stacles opposed  by  nature  to  the  progress  of  rural 
economy.  But  this  aridity,  we  repeat  it,  is  not 
general  ;  and  it  is  compensated  for  by  the  ex- 
treme fertihty  observable  in  the  southern  coun- 
tries, even  in  that  part  of  the  provincias  internas 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  rivers,  in  the  basins  of 
the  Ilio  del  Norte,  the  Gila,  the  Hiaqui,  the 
Mayo,  the  Culiacan,  the  Rio  del  Rosario,  the 
Rio  de  Conchos,  the  Rio  de  Santander,  the  Tigre, 
and  the  numerous  torrents  of  the  province  of 
Texas. 


CHAP.  IX.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  419 

In  the  most  northern  extremity  of  the  kingdom, 
on  the  coast  of  New  CaUfornia,  the  produce  of 
wheat  is  from  16  to  17  for  1,  taking  the  mean 
term  among  the  harvests  of  eighteen  villages  for 
two  years.  I  believe  that  agriculturists  will  pe- 
ruse with  pleasure  the  detail  of  these  harvests  in 
a  country  situated  under  the  same  parallel  as 
Algiers,  Tunis,  and  Palestine,  between  the  32° 
39'  and  37°  48'  of  latitude. 


E  E   2 


420 


POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  i  v. 


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CHAP.  IX.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  4^21 

It  appears  that  the  most  northern  part  of  this 
coast  is  less  favourable  to  the  cultivation  of  wheat 
than  that  which  extends  from  San  Diego  to  San 
Miguel.  However,  in  newly  cultivated  grounds 
the  produce  of  the  soil  is  more  inequal  than  in 
lands  which  have  been  long  under  cultivation, 
though  we  observe  in  no  part  of  New  Spain  that 
progressive  diminution  of  fertility  which  is  so 
distressing  to  new  colonists  wherever  forests 
have  been  converted  into  arable  land. 

Those  who  have  seriously  reflected  on  the 
riches  of  the  Mexican  soil  know  that  by  means 
of  a  more  careful  cultivation,  and  without  sup- 
posing any  extraordinary  labour  in  the  irrigation 
of  the  soil,  the  portion  of  ground  already  under 
cultivation  might  furnish  subsistence  for  a  popu- 
lation eight  or  ten  times  more  numerous.  If  the 
fertile  plains  of  Atlixco,  Cholula,  and  Puebla,  do 
not  produce  very  abundant  harvests,  the  principal 
cause  ought  to  be  sought  for  in  the  want  of  con- 
sumers, and  in  the  obstacles  opposed  by  the  in- 
equality of  the  soil  to  the  interior  commerce  of 
grain,  especially  to  its  carriage  towards  the  At- 
lantic coast.  We  shall  afterwards  return  to  this 
interesting  subject  when  we  come  to  treat  of  the 
exportation  from  Vera  Cruz. 

What  is  actually  the  produce  of  the  grain-har- 
vest in  the  whole  of  New  Spain  ?  We  can  conceive 
how  difficult  must  be  the  resolution  of  this  pro- 
bleminacountry  where  the  government,  since  the 
E  E  3 


422  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

death  of  the  Count  de  Revillagigedo,  has  been 
very  unfavourable  to  statistical  researches.  In 
France,  even  the  estimations  of  Quesnay,  Lavoi- 
sier, and  Arthur  Young,  vary  from  forty-five  and 
fifty  to  seventy-five  millions  of  septiers  of  117 
kilogrammes  in  weight.  *  I  have  no  positive  data 
as  to  the  quantity  of  rye  and  oats  reaped  in  Mex- 
ico, but  I  conceive  myself  enabled  to  calculate 
approximately  the  mean  produce  of  wheat.  The 
most  sure  estimate  in  Europe  is  the  computed 
consumption  of  each  individual.  This  method 
was  successfully  employed  by  MM.  Lavoisier 
and  Arnould  ;  but  it  is  a  method  which  cannot  be 
followed  in  the  case  of  a  population  composed  of 
very  heterogeneous  elements.  The  Indian  and 
Mestizoe,  the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  are  only 
fed  on  maize  and  manioc  bread.  The  white  Cre- 
oles who  live  in  great  cities  consume  much  more 
wheaten  bread  than  those  who  habitually  live  on 
their  farms.  The  capital,  which  includes  more 
than  33,000  Indians,  requires  annually  19  milHons 
of  kilogrammes  of  flour.  This  consumption  is 
almost  the  same  as  that  of  the  cities  of  Europe  of 
an  equal  population  ;  and  if,  according  to  this 
basis,  we  were  to  calculate  the  consumption  of  the 
whole  kingdom  of  New  Spain,  we  should  attain 
to  a  result  which  would  be  five  times  too  high. 


*  11,620,  12,911,  and  19,366  millions  of  pounds  avoird. 
Trans. 


CHAP.  ix.J         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 


4.23 


From  these  considerations  I  prefer  the  method 
which  is  founded  on  partial  estimations.  The 
quantity  of  wheat  reaped  in  1802  in  the  inten- 
dancy  of  Guadalaxara  was,  according  to  the  sta- 
tistical table  communicated  by  the  intendant  of 
this  province  to  the  chamber  of  commerce  at  Vera 
Cruz,  43,000  cargas,  or  645,000  kilogrammes. 
Now  the  population  of  Guadalaxara  is  nearly  a 
ninth  of  the  total  population.  In  this  part  of 
Mexico  there  is  a  great  number  of  Indians  who 
eat  maize-bread,  and  there  are  few  populous  cities 
inhabited  by  whites  in  easy  circumstances.  Ac- 
cording to  the  analogy  of  this  partial  harvest,  the 
general  harvest  of  New  Spain  would  only  be  59 
millions  of  kilogrammes.  But  if  we  add  36  mil- 
lions of  kilogrammes  on  account  of  the  beneficial 
influence  of  the  consumption  of  the  cities*  of 

*  Chap.  viii.  Statistical  Analysis,  vol.  ii.  p.  71.  and  153. 
I  formed  from  accurate  materials  in  my  possession  the  follow- 
ing table,  in  which  the  consumption  in  meal  is  compared  with 
the  number  of  inhabitants. 


Cities. 

Consumption 
of  meal. 

Population. 

Mexico 

Puebla 

The  Havannah 

Paris    -         -         - 

Kilogrammes. 

19,100,000 
7,790,000 
5,230,000 

76,000,000 

137,000 
67,300 
80,000 

54.7,000 

As  to  the  consumption  of  Paris,  see  the  curious  researches 
of  M.  Peuchet  in  his  Statistique  élémentaire  de  la  France, 
E  E   4 


424.  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  iv. 

Mexico,  Paebla,  and  Guanaxaato,  on  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  circumjacent  districts,  and  on  account 
of  the  proviîîcias  internaSy  of  which  the  inhabitants 
live  almost  exclusively  on  wheaten  bread,  we  find 
for  the  whole  kingdom  nearly  ten  millions  of 
myriagrammes*,  or  more  than  800,000  setiers. 
This  estimate  gives  too  small  a  result,  because  in 
the  above  calculation  we  have  not  suitably  sepa- 
rated the  northern  provinces  from  the  equinoxial 
region.  This  separation  is  dictated,  however,  by 
the  very  nature  of  the  population. 

In  the provmcias  internas^  the  greatest  number 
of  the  inhabitants  are  either  white  or  reputed 
white  ;  and  they  are  calculated  at  400,000.  Sup- 
posing their  consumption  of  wheat  equal  to  that 
of  the  city  of  Puebla,  we  shall  find  six  millions  of 
myriagrammes.  We  may  admit,  calculating  ac- 
cording to  the  annual  harvest  of  the  intendancy  of 
Guadalaxara,  that  in  the  southern  regions  of  New 
Spain,  of  which  the  mixed  population  is  estimated 
at  5,437,000,  the  consumption  of  wheat  in  the 
country  amounts  to  5,800,000  myriagrammes. 
If  we  add  3,600,000  myriagrammes  for  the  con- 
sumption of  the  great  interior  cities  of  Mexico, 
Puebla,  and  Guanaxuato,  we  shall  find  the  total 

]).  372.  The  common  people  at  the  Havannah  eat  a  great  deal  of 
cassava  and  arepa.  The  animal  consumption  of  the  Havannah 
is,  on  a  mean  term  of  four  years,  427,018  arrobas,  or  58,899 
barriles  [Pnpel period ico  de  la  Havana,  1801,  n.  12.  p.  46.). 
*  Upwards  of  220^  millions  of  pounds  avoird.     2Vans. 


CHAP.  IX.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  4-25 

consumption  of  New  Spain  above  15  millions 
of  myriagrammes  *,  or  1,280,000  sellers  of  240 
pounds. 

We  might  be  astonished  to  find  from  this  cal- 
culation that  the  provincias  internas,  of  which  the 
population  is  only  a  fourteenth  of  the  whole  po- 
pulation, consume  more  than  the  third  of  the  har- 
vest of  Mexico.  But  we  must  not  forget  that  in 
these  northern  provinces  the  number  of  whites 
is  to  the  total  mass  of  Spaniards  (Creoles,  and 
Europeans),  as  one  to  three  t,  and  that  it  is 
principally  this  cast  by  whicli  the  wheaten  flour 
is  consumed.  Of  the  800,000  whites  who  in- 
habit the  equinoxial  region  of  New  Spain,  nearly 
150,000  live  in  an  excessively  warm  climate  in 
the  plains  adjacent  to  the  coast,  and  feed  on 
manioc  and  bananas.  These  results,  I  repeat, 
are  merely  simple  approximations  ;  but  it  ap- 
peared to  me  so  much  the  more  interesting  to 
publish  them,  as,  during  my  stay  in  Mexico, 
they  already  fixed  the  attention  of  the  govern- 
ment. We  are  sure  of  exciting  the  spirit  of  re- 
search when  we  advance  a  fact  wliich  interests 
the  whole  nation,  and  as  to  which  calculations 
have  never  before  been  ventured. 

*  331  millions  of  pounds  avoird.     Trans. 

f  In  a  former  part  of  this  work  the  number  of  Avhites  in 
the  provincias  internas  were  stated  as  nearly  a  fourth  of  the 
whole  white  inhabitants.  See  note  by  the  translator,  vol.  ii. 
p.  309.,  on  the  difficulty  of  accounting  for  a  million  in  the 
total  estimate  of  inhabitants  in  New  Sj)ain.     Trans. 


426  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  iv. 

In  France  the  whole  grain-harvest,  that  is  to 
say,  wheat,  rye,  and  barley,  was,  according  to  La- 
voisier, before  the  Revolution,  and  consequently 
at  a  period  when  the  population  of  the  kingdom 
amounted  to  25  millions  of  inhabitants,  58  mil- 
lions of  setiers,  or  6786  millions  of  kilogrammes. 
Now,  according  to  the  authors  of  the  Feuille  du 
Cultivateur,  the  wheat  reaped  in  France  is  to  the 
whole  mass  of  grain  as  5  ;  I7.  Hence  the  pro- 
duce of  wheat  alone  was,  previous  to  1789,  seven- 
teen millions  of  setiers,  which,  taking  merely 
absolute  quantities,  and  without  considering  the 
populations  of  the  two  empires,  is  nearly  13  times 
more  than  the  produce  of  wheat  in  Mexico. 
This  comparison  agrees  very  well  with  the  bases 
of  my  anterior  estimation.  For  the  number  of 
inhabitants  of  New  Spain  who  habitually  live  on 
wheaten  bread  does  not  exceed  1,300,000  ;  and 
it  is  well  known  that  the  French  consume  more 
bread  than  the  Spanish  race,  especially  those 
who  inhabit  America. 

But  on  account  of  the  extreme  fertihty  of  the 
soil,  the  fifteen  millions  of  myriagrammes  annu- 
ally produced  by  New  Spain  are  reaped  on  an 
extent  of  ground  four  or  five  times  smaller  than 
would  be  requisite  for  the  same  harvest  in  France. 
We  may  expect,  it  is  true,  as  the  Mexican  po- 
pulation shall  increase,  that  this  fertility,  which 
may  be  called  médium,  and  which  indicates  a 
total  produce  of  24  for  1,  will  decrease.     Every 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  427 

where  men  begin  with  the  cultivation  of  the  least 
arid  lands,  and  the  mean  produce  must  naturally 
diminish  when  agriculture  embraces  a  greater 
extent,  and,  consequently,  a  greater  variety  of 
ground.  But  in  a  vast  empire  like  Mexico  this 
effect  can  only  be  very  tardy  in  its  manifestation, 
and  the  industry  of  the  inhabitants  increases 
with  the  population  and  the  number  of  increas- 
ing wants. 

We  shall  collect  into  one  table  the  knowledge 
which  we  have  acquired  as  to  the  mean  produce 
of  the  cerealia  in  the  two  continents.  We  are 
not  here  adducing  examples  of  an  extraordinary 
fertility  observable  in  a  small  extent  of  ground, 
nor  of  grain  sown  according  to  the  Chinese 
method.  The  produce  would  nearly  be  the  same 
in  every  zone,  if,  in  choosing  our  ground,  we 
were  to  bestow  the  same  care  on  cerealia  which 
we  bestow  on  our  garden  plants.  But  in  treat- 
ing of  agriculture  in  general,  we  speak  merely 
of  extensive  results,  of  calculations,  in  which  the 
total  harvest  of  a  country  is  considered  as  the 
multiple  of  the  quantity  of  wheat  sown.  It  will 
be  found  that  this  multiple,  which  may  be 
considered  as  one  of  the  first  elements  of  the 
prosperity  of  nations,  varies  in  the  following 
manner  : 

5  to  6  grains  for  one,  in  France,  according  to 
Lavoisier  and  Neckar.  We  estimate,  with 
M.  Peuchet,  that  4,400,000  arpeîis  sown  with 


428  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  iv. 

wheat  yield  annually  5280  millions  of  pounds, 
which  amounts  to  1173  kilogrammes  per  hec- 
tare. *  This  is  also  the  mean  produce  in  the 
north  of  Germany,  Poland,  and,  according  to 
M.  Riihs,  in  Sweden.  They  reckon  in  France, 
in  some  remarkably  fertile  districts  of  the  de- 
partments of  l'Escaut  and  le  Nord,  15  for  1  ; 
in  the  good  land  of  Picardy  and  the  Isle  of 
France  from  8  to  10  for  1  ;  and  in  the  lands 
of  less  fertility  from  4  to  5  for  1 .  f 

8  to  10  grains  for  1  in  Hungary  y  Croatia^  and 
Sclavo?iia,  according  to  the  researches  of 
M.  Swartner. 

12  grains  for  1  in  the  Reyno  de  la  Plata^  espe- 
cially in  the  environs  of  Montevideo,  accord- 
ing to  Don  Felix  Azara.  Near  the  city  of 
Buenos  Ayres  they  reckon  even  16.  In  Para- 
guay the  cultivation  of  cerealia  does  not  ex- 
tend farther  north  than  the  parallel  of  24°.  t 

17  grains  for  1  in  the  northern  part  of  Mexico, 
and  at  the  same  distance  from  the  equator  as 
Paraguay  and  Buenos  Ayres. 

24  grains  for  1  171  the  equinoœial  region  of 
MejcicOy  at  two  or  three  thousand  metres  of 
elevation  above  the  level  of  the  ocean.     They 


*  25881b.  avoird.  p.  107,639  square  feet.     An  arpent  is 
rather  more  than  a  demi-hectare.      Trans. 
f  Peuchet  statistique,  p.  290. 
X  Voyage  d'Azara,  t.  i.  p.  140. 


cHAp/ix.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  429 

reckon  5000  kilogrammes  per  hectare.  *     In 
the  province  of  Pasto  of  the  kingdom  of  Santa 
Fe,  through  which  I  travelled  in  the  month  of 
November,  1801,  the  plains  of  la  Vega  de  San 
Lorenzo,    Pansitara,    and   Almaguert,    com- 
monly produce  25,  in  very  fertile  years  35, 
and  in  cold  and  dry  years  12  for  1.     In  Peru, 
in  the  beautiful  plain  of  Caxamarca  t,  watered 
by  the  rivers  Mascon  and  Utesco,  and  cele- 
brated from  the  defeat  of  the  Inca  Atahualpa, 
wheat  yields  from  18  to  20  for  1. 
The  Mexican  flour  enters  into  competition  at 
the  Havannah  market  with  that  of  the  United 
States.     When  the  road  which  is  constructing 
from  the  table-land  of  Perote  to  Vera  Cruz  shall 
be  completely  finished,  the  grain  of  New  Spain 
will  be  exported  for  Bordeaux,  Hamburgh,  and 
Bremen.     The   Mexicans   will   then  possess   a 
double   advantage   over  the  inhabitants  of  the 
United  States,  that  of  a  greater  fertility  of  ter- 
ritory, and  that  of  a  lower  price  of  labour.     It 
would  be  very  interesting  in  this  point  of  view 
could  we  compare  here  the  mean  produce  of  the 
difFerentprovinces  of  the  American  confederation 
with   the    results   which  we  have  obtained  for 

*  11,035  lb.  avoird.  p.  107,639  square  feet.     Trans. 

t  Lat.  1°  51''  north.  Absolute  height  2300  metres  (7545 
feet). 

X  Lat.  7°  8'  north.  Absolute  height  2860  metres  (9382 
feet). 


430  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

Mexico.  But  the  fertility  of  the  soil  and  the 
industry  of  the  inhabitants  vary  so  much  in  dif- 
ferent provinces,  that  it  becomes  difficult  to 
find  the  mean  term  which  corresponds  to  the 
total  harvest.  What  a  difference  between  the 
excellent  cultivation  ofthe  environs  of  Lancaster 
and  several  parts  of  New  England  and  that  of 
North  Carolina  !  "  An  English  farmer,"  says 
the  immortal  Washington  in  one  of  his  letters 
to  Arthur  Young,  "  ought  to  have  a  horrid  idea 
of  the  state  of  our  agriculture,  or  the  nature  of 
our  soil,  when  he  is  informed  that  an  acre  with 
us  only  produces  eight  or  ten  bushels.  But  it 
must  be  kept  in  mind  that  in  all  countries  where 
land  is  cheap  and  labour  dear,  men  are  fonder 
of  cultivating  much  than  cultivating  well.  Much 
ground  has  been  scratched  over,  and  none  culti- 
vated as  it  ought  to  have  been."  *  According 
to  the  recent  researches  of  M.  Blodget,  which 
may  be  regarded  as  sufficiently  exact,  we  find 
the  following  results  : 


*  This  interesting  letter  was  published  in  the  Statistical 
Manual  for  the  United  States,  1806,  p.  96.  An  acre  con- 
tains 5368  square  metres.  A  bushel  of  wheat  weighs  30 
kilogrammes.     Author. 

The  square  of  a  metre  is  10.76397  feet,  consequently 
5368  square  metres  =  57780  square  feet  ;  but  an  acre  con- 
tains only  43560  square  feet.     Trans. 


CHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  431 

In  the  Atlantic  provinces  to  the  east    I     Peracre.     Iper  hectare. 

of  the  Alleghany  mountains. 


Bushell.       Kilogrammes. 


In  rich  lands    -         .         -         - 
In  common  lands      -         -         - 

In  the   western  territory  between 
the  Alleghany  and  the  Mississippi. 

In  rich  lands    -         .         -         - 
In  common  lands      .         -         - 


32 
9 


40 

25 


1788 
503 


2235 
1397 


We  see  from  these  data,  that  in  the  Mexican 
intendancies  of  Puebla  and  Guanaxuato,  where 
on  the  ridge  of  the  Cordillera  the  climate  of 
Rome  and  Naples  prevails,  the  territory  is  more 
rich  and  productive  than  the  most  fertile  parts 
of  the  United  States,  t 

As  since  the  death  of  General  Washington  the 
progress  of  agriculture  has  been  very  consider- 
able in  the  western  territory,  especially  in  Ken- 
tucky, Tennessee,  and  Louisiana,  I  believe  we 
may  consider  from  13  to  14  bushels  as  the  mean 
term  of  the  annual  produce,  which,  however, 
only  amounts  to  700  kilogrammes  Î  per  hectare, 

*  According  to  the  proportion  laid  down  by  the  author  in 
the  preceding  note  for  converting  bushels  into  kilogrammes, 
which  is  1  :  SO,  and  taking  the  acre  at  43,560  square  feet,  and 
the  hectare  at  107,639  square  feet,  we  shall  find  the  numbers 
in  this  column  2372,  667,  2965,  and  1853  kilogrammes. 
Trans. 

f  The  comparative  fertility,  taking  the  highest  of  the 
American  produce,  is  5000  :  2965.     Trans. 

X  \2>  bushels  amount  to  963  and  14  to  1037  kilogramme*. 
Mean  1000.     Trans. 


432  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

or  less  than  4  for  1.  In  England  the  wheat- 
haivest  is  generally  estimated  at  from  19  to  20 
bushels  per  acre,  which  gives  1100  kilogrammes 
per  hectare.  *  This  comparison,  we  have  to  re- 
peat, does  not  announce  a  greater  fertility  of  the 
soil  of  Great  Britain.  Far  from  giving  us  a  hor- 
rid idea  of  the  sterility  of  the  Atlantic  provinces 
of  the  United  States,  it  proves  only  that  whenever 
the  colonist  is  master  of  a  vast  extent  of  ground, 
the  art  of  cultivating  the  soil  comes  extremely 
slow  to  perfection.  The  memoirs  of  the  Agri- 
cultural Society  of  Philadelphia  furnish  us  with 
different  examples  of  harvests  exceeding  38  and 
40  bushels  per  acre,  whenever  the  fields  have 
been  laboured  in  Philadelphia  with  the  same  care 
as  in  Ireland  and  Flanders. 

After  comparing  the  mean  produce  of  the  lands 
in  Mexico  and  Buenos  Ayres  with  those  in  the 
United  States  and  France,  let  us  bestow  a  rapid 
glance  at  the  price  of  labour  in  these  difïerent 
countries.  In  Mexico  it  amounts  to  two  reales 
6?e  j^/û'tat  (50  sols)  per  day  in  the  cold  regions, 
and  to  two  reals  and  a  halft  (3  livres  2  sols)  per  day 
in  the  warm  regions,  where  there  is  a  want  of 

*  19  bushels  —  14-08  and  20  =  14'82.  Mean  1445.  Trans. 

\  See  note,  p.  232.,  vol.  i.  where  the  authoi-  estimates  the 
double  piastre,  or  pezzo  fuerte,  at  8  reales  de  plata.  The 
piastre  being  5  livres  5  sous  ;  the  real  is  only  13  sous  ;  conse- 
quently, 2  reals  =  26  sous  =  Is.  \d.     Trans. 

-X  Two  reals  and  a  half  =  1  livre  12  sols,  6  den.  =  Is.  ^^d. 
Trans. 


CHAP.  IX.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  433 

hands,  and  where  the  inhabitants  in  general  are 
very  lazy.  This  price  of  labour  ought  to  appear 
moderate  enough  when  we  consider  the  metallic 
Wealth  of  the  country,  and  the  quantity  of  money 
constantly  in  circulation.  In  the  United  States, 
where  the  whites  have  pushed  the  Indian  popu- 
lation  beyond  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi,  the 
price  of  labour  varies  from  3  livres  10  sols,  to  4 
francs.  *  In  France  we  may  estimate  it  from  30 
to  40  solst,  and  in  Bengal,  according  to  M. 
Titzing,  at  6  sols.  {  Hence,  notwithstanding  the 
enormous  difference  of  freight,  the  East  India 
sugar  is  cheaper  at  Philadelphia  than  that  of 
Jamaica.  From  these  data  it  follows,  that  the 
present  price  of  labour  in  Mexico  is  to  the  price 
of  labour 

in  France  =  10  :  6. 

in  the  United  States  =  10  :  13. 

in  Bengal  =  10  :  l.H 

The  mean  price  of  wheat  is  in  New  Spain 
from  four  to  five  piastres,  or  from  20  to  25  francs 
the  carga,  which  weighs  150  kilogrammes.  §  This 
is  the  price  at  which  it  is  purchased  in  the  coun- 
try, even  from  the  farmers.     At  Paris,  for  several 

*  From  2s.  lie?,  to  3^.  4c?.     Trans. 

f  From  is.  3d.  to  1^.  8c?.     Trans.         J  3c?.  Trans. 

II  The  reader  will  observe  that  these  proportions  are  erro- 
neous. Taking  Mexico  as  10,  France  will  be  12,  the  United 
States  26,  and  Bengal  2.     Trans. 

§  From  175. 6c?.  to  21.9.  lOd.  p.  331  lb.  avoird.     Trans. 
VOL.  II.  F   F 


434.  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

years,  150  kilogrammes  of  wheat  cost  30  francs. 
In  the  city  of  Mexico  the  high  price  of  carriage 
adds  so  much  to  the  price  of  the  grain,  that  it  ge- 
nerally sells  there  at  9  and  10  piastres  the  carga.  * 
The  extremes,  at  the  periods  of  the  greatest  or 
least  fertility,  are  8  and  14  piastres.  It  is  easy 
to  foresee  that  the  price  of  Mexican  grain  will 
sufter  a  considerable  fall  when  the  road  shall  be 
constructed  on  the  declivity  of  the  Cordilleras, 
and  the  progress  of  agriculture  shall  be  favoured 
by  greater  commercial  freedom. 

The  Mexican  wheat  is  of  the  very  best  quality  ; 
and  it  may  be  compared  with  the  finest  Andalu- 
sian  grain.  It  is  superior  to  that  of  Monte  Video, 
which,  according  to  M.  Azara,  has  the  grain 
smaller  by  one  half  than  the  Spanish  grain.  In 
Mexico  the  grain  is  very  large,  very  white,  and 
very  nutritive,  especially  in  farms  where  watering 
is  employed.  It  is  observed  that  the  wheat  of  the 
mountains  (Jrigo  de  Sierra)^  that  is  to  say,  that 
which  grows  at  very  great  elevations  on  the  ridge 
of  the  Cordillera,  has  its  grain  covered  with  a 
thicker  husk,  while  the  grain  of  the  temperate 
regions  abounds  in  glutinous  matter.  The  qua- 
lity of  the  flour  depends  principally  on  the  pro- 
portion which  exists  between  the  gluten  and 
starch,  and  it  appears  natural  that,  under  a  cli- 


*  That  is  to  say  from  1/.  17*.  Qd.  to  21.  Ss-  ^d.  p.  331  lb. 
avoird.     Trans. 


CHAP.  ïx.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  435 

mate  favourable  to  the  vegetation  of  gramina,  the 
embryo  and  the  celhilar  reticulation*  of  the 
albumen  should  become  more  voluminous. 

In  Mexico  grain  is  with  difficulty  preserved  for 
more  than  two  or  three  years,  especially  in  the 
temperate  climates,  and  the  causes  of  this  pheno- 
menon have  never  been  sufficiently  attended  to. 
It  would  be  advisable  to  establish  magazines  in 
the  coldest  parts  of  the  country.     We  find,  how- 
ever, a  prejudice,  spread  through  several  parts  of 
Spanish  America,  that  the  flour  of  the  Cordillera 
does  not  preserve  so  long  as  the  flour  of  the 
United  States.  The  cause  of  this  prejudice,  which 
has  been  of  particular  detriment  to  the  agricul- 
ture of  New  Grenada,  is  easily  to  be  discovered. 
The  merchants  who  inhabit  the  coasts  opposite  to 
the  West  Indies,  and  who  find  themselves  con- 
strained by  commercial  prohibitions,  particularly 
the  merchants  of  Carthagena  for  example,  have 
the  greatest  interest  in  maintaining  a  connexion 
with  the  United  States.     The  custom-house  offi- 
cers are  sometimes  indulgent  enough  to  take  a 
Jamaica  vessel  for  a  vessel  of  the  United  States. 

Rye,  and  especially  barley,  resist  cold  better 
than  wheat.  They  are  cultivated  on  the  highest 
regions.  Barley  yields  abundant  harvests  at 
heights  where  the  thermometer  rarely  keeps  up 

*  Mirbel  sur  la  germination  des  graminées.     Annales  du 
Museum  (VHist.  Nat.  vol.  xiii.  p.  147. 
F  F  2 


436  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  iv. 

during  the  day  beyond  14  degrees.  *  In  New 
California,  taking  the  term  of  the  harvests  of  13 
villages,  the  barley  produced  in  1791,  24,  and  in 
1802,  18  for  1. 

Oats  are  very  little  cultivated  in  Mexico. 
They  are  even  very  seldom  seen  in  Spain,  where 
the  horses  are  fed  on  barley,  as  in  the  times  of 
the  Greeks  and  Romans.  The  rye  and  barley 
are  seldom  attacked  by  a  disease  called  by  the 
Mexicans  chaquistUy  which  frequently  destroys 
the  finest  wheat  harvests  when  the  spring  and  the 
beginning  of  the  summer  have  been  very  warm, 
and  when  storms  are  frequent.  It  is  generally 
believed  that  this  disease  is  occasioned  by  small 
insects,  which  fill  the  interior  of  the  stalk,  and 
hinder  the  nutritive  juice  from  mounting  up  to 
the  ear. 

A  plant  of  a  nutritive  root,  which  belongs 
originally  to  America,  the  potatoe  {solarium 
tuberosum),  appears  to  have  been  introduced 
into  Mexico  nearly  at  the  same  period  as  the 
cerealia  of  the  Old  Continent.  I  shall  not  take 
upon  me  to  decide  whether  the  papas  (the  old 
Peruvian  name  by  which  potatoes  are  now  known 
in  all  the  Spanish  colonies)  came  to  Mexico 
along  with  the  schinus  mollet  of  Peru,  and  con- 
sequently by  the  South  Sea  ;  or  whether  the  first 
conquerors  brought  them  from  the  mountains  of 

*  57"  of  Fahrenheit.     Trans. 
f  Hernandez,  Hb.  iii.  c.  15.  p.  54. 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  437 

New  Grenada.  However  this  may  be,  it  is  cer- 
tain that  they  were  not  known  in  the  time  of 
Montezuma;  and  this  fact  is  the  more  important, 
because  it  is  one  of  those  in  which  the  history  of 
the  migrations  of  a  plant  is  connected  with  the 
history  of  the  migrations  of  nations. 

The  predilections  manifested  by  certain  tribes 
for  the  cultivation  of  certain  plants,  indicates 
most  frequently  either  an  identity  of  race,  or  an- 
cient communications  between  men  who  live 
under  different  climates.  In  this  view  the  vege- 
tables, like  the  languages  and  physiognomy  of 
nations,  may  become  historical  monuments.  Not 
merely  pastoral  tribes,  or  those  who  live  solely  on 
the  chase,  undertake  long  voyages,  instigated  by 
an  unquiet  and  warlike  spirit  ;  the  hordes  of  Ger- 
manic origin,  the  swarm  of  people  who  trans- 
ported themselves  from  the  interior  of  Asia  to  the 
banks  of  the  Borysthenes  and  the  Danube,  and 
the  savages  of  Guayana,  afford  numerous  exam- 
ples of  tribes,  who,  fixing  themselves  for  a  few 
years,  cultivate  small  pieces  of  ground,  on  which 
they  sow  the  grain  reaped  by  them  elsewhere, 
and  abandon  these  imperfect  cultivations  when  a 
bad  year,  or  any  other  accident,  disgusts  them 
•with  the  situation.  It  is  thus  that  the  people  of 
the  Mongol  race  have  transported  themselves 
from  the  wall  which  separates  China  from  Tartary 
to  the  very  centre  of  Europe;  and  it  is  thus  that, 
from  the  north  of  California  and  the  banks  of  the 

FF  3 


438  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv 

Rio  Gila,  the  American  tribes  poured  even  into 
the  southern  hemisphere.  We  every  where  see 
torrents  of  wandering  and  warlike  hordes  pave  a 
way  for  themselves  through  the  midst  of  peace- 
able and  agricultural  nations.  Immoveable  as 
the  shore,  the  latter  collect  and  carefully  preserve 
the  nutritive  plants  and  domestic  animals  which 
accompanied  the  wandering  tribes  in  these  dis- 
tant courses.  Frequently  the  cultivation  of  a 
small  number  of  vegetables,  as  well  as  the  foreign 
words  mingled  with  languages  of  a  different 
origin,  serve  to  point  out  the  route  by  which  a 
nation  has  passed  from  one  extremity  of  the  con- 
tinent to  the  other. 

These  considerations,  which  I  have  more  fully 
developed  in  my  Essay  on  the  Geography  of 
Plants^  are  sufficient  to  prove  how  important  it 
is  for  the  history  of  our  species  to  know  with 
precision  how  far  the  primitive  dominion  of  cer- 
tain vegetables  extended  before  the  spirit  of  colo- 
nization among  the  Europeans  collected  together 
the  productions  of  the  most  distant  climates.  If 
the  cerealia,  if  the  rice  *  of  the  East  Indies,  were 
unknown  to  the  first  inhabitants  of  America,  on 
the  other  hand,  maize,  the  potatoe,  and  the 
quinoa,  were  neither  cultivated  in  Eastern  Asia, 

*  What  is  the  wild  rice  of  which  Mackenzie  speaks,  a 
gramen  which  does  not  grow  beyond  the  50°  of  latitude,  and 
on  which  tlie  natives  of  Canada  feed  during  winter  ?  Voyage 
de  Mackenzie,  i.  p.  156. 


CHAP.  IX.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  4.39 

nor  in  the  islands  of  the  South  Sea.  Maize  was 
introduced  into  Japan  by  the  Chinese,  who,  ac- 
cording to  the  assertion  of  some  authors,  ought 
to  have  known  it  from  the  remotest  period.  * 
This  assertion,  if  it  was  founded,  would  throw 
light  on  the  ancient  communications  supposed 
to  have  taken  place  between  the  inhabitants  of 
the  two  continents.  But  where  are  the  monu- 
ments which  attest  that  maize  was  cultivated  in 
Asia  before  the  sixteenth  century  ?  According  to 
the  learned  researches  of  Father  Gaubilt,  it 
appears  even  doubtful  whether  a  thousand  years 
before  that  period,  the  Chinese  ever  visited  the 
western  coast  of  America,  as  was  advanced  by  a 
justly  celebrated  historian,  M.  de  Guines.  We 
persist  in  believing  that  the  maize  was  not  trans- 
ported from  the  table-land  of  Tartary  to  that  of 
Mexico,  and  that  it  is  equally  improbable  that, 
before  the  discovery  of  America  by  the  Euro- 
peans, this  precious  gramen  was  transported 
from  the  New  Continent  into  Asia. 

The  potatoe  presents  us  with  another  very  cu- 
rious problem,  when  we  consider  it  in  a  historical 
point  of  view.  It  appears  certain,  as  we  have 
already  advanced,  that  this  plant,  of  which  the 

*  Thunbergy  Flora  Japonica,  p.  37.  The  maize  is  called 
in  Japanese  Sjo  Kuso,  and  Too  hibhi.  The  word  huso  indi- 
cates a  herbaceous  plant,  and  the  word  too  announces  an 
exotic  production. 

\  Astronomical  MS.  of  the  Jesuits  preserved  in  the  Bu- 
reau des  Longitudes  at  Paris. 

F  F  4 


440  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  iv, 

cultivation  has  had  the  greatest  influence  on 
the  progress  of  population  in  Europe,  was  not 
known  in  Mexico  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spa- 
niards. It  was  cultivated  at  this  epoqua  in  Chili, 
Peru,  Quito,  in  the  kingdom  of  New  Grenada, 
on  all  the  Cordillera  of  the  Andes,  from  the  40° 
of  south  latitude  to  the  50°  of  north  latitude. 
It  is  supposed  by  botanists  that  it  grows  spon- 
taneously in  the  mountainous  part  of  Peru.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  learned  who  have  enquired 
into  the  introduction  of  potatoes  into  Europe, 
affirm  that  the  potatoe  was  found  in  Virginia 
by  the  first  settlers  sent  there  by  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh  in  1584.  Now  how  can  we  conceive 
that  a  plant,  said  to  belong  originally  to  the 
southern  hemisphere,  was  found  under  cultiva- 
tion at  the  foot  of  the  Alleghany  mountains, 
while  it  was  unknown  in  Mexico  and  the  moun- 
tainous and  temperate  regions  of  the  West  In- 
dies? It  is  probable  that  Peruvian  tribes  may 
have  penetrated  northwards  to  the  banks  of  the 
Rapahannoc  in  Virginia  ;  or  have  potatoes  first 
come  from  north  to  south,  like  the  nations  who 
from  the  7th  century  have  successively  appeared 
on  the  table-land  of  Anahuac  ?  In  either  of  these 
hypothesis,  how  came  this  cultivation  not  to  be 
introduced  or  preserved  in  Mexico  ?  These  are 
questions  which  have  hitherto  been  very  little 
agitated,  but  which,  nevertheless,  deserve  to  fix 
the  attention  of  the  naturalist,  who,  in  embracing 
at  one  view  the  influence  of  man  on  nature  and  the 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  441 

re-action  of  the  physical  world  on  man,  appears 
to  read  in  the  distribution  of  the  vegetables  the 
history  of  the  first  migrations  of  our  species. 

I  have  first  to  observe,  stating  here  only  what 
facts  are  to  be  relied  on,  that  the  potatoe  is  not 
indigenous  in  Peru,  and  that  it  is  nowhere  to  be 
found  wild  in  the  part  of  the  Cordilleras  situated 
under  the  tropics.  M.  Bonpland  and  myself 
herborized  on  the  back  and  on  the  declivity  of 
the  Andes  from  the  5°  north,  to  the  12°  south  j 
we  informed  ourselves  from  persons  who  have  ex- 
amined this  chain  of  colossal  mountains  as  far  as 
la  Paz  and  Oruro,  and  we  are  certain  that  in  this 
vast  extent  of  ground  no  species  of  solanum  with 
nutritive  root  vegetates  spontaneously.  It  is  true 
that  there  are  places  not  very  accessible,  and  very 
cold,  which  the  natives  call  Paramos  de  las  Papas, 
(desert  potatoe-plains)  ;  but  these  denominations, 
of  which  it  is  difficult  to  conjecture  the  origin, 
by  no  means  indicate  that  these  great  elevations 
produce  the  plant  of  which  they  bear  the  name. 

Passing  further  southwards,  beyond  the  tropic, 
we  find  it,  according  to  Molina  *,  in  all  the  fields 
of  Chili.  The  natives  distinguish  the  wild  potatoe, 
of  which  the  tubercles  are  small  and  somewhat 
bitter,  from  that  which  has  been  cultivated  for  a 
long  series  of  ages.  The  first  of  these  plants  bears 
the  name  ofmagliaf  and  the  second  that  oïpogny, 

»  Hist.  Nat.  du  Chili,  p.  102. 


44.2  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  iv. 

Another  species  of  solanum  is  also  cultivated  in 
Ghili,  which  belongs  to  the  same  group,  with 
pennated  and  not  prickly  leaves,  and  which  has 
a  very  sweet  root  of  a  cylindrical  form.  This  is 
the  solanwn  cari,  which  is  still  unknown,  not  only 
in  Europe,  but  also  in  Quito  and  Mexico. 

We  might  ask  if  these  useful  plants  are  truly 
natives  of  Chili,  or  if,  from  the  effect  of  a  long 
cultivation,  they  have  become  wild  there.  The 
same  question  has  been  put  to  the  travellers  who 
have  found  cerealia  growing  spontaneously  in  the 
mountains  of  India  and  Caucasus.  MM.  Ruiz 
and  Pavon,  whose  authority  is  of  so  great  weight, 
affirm  that  they  found  the  potatoe  in  cultivated 
grounds,  in  cultisy  and  not  in  forests,  and  on  the 
ridges  of  the  mountains.  But  we  are  to  observe, 
that  among  us  the  solanum  and  the  different  kinds 
of  grain  do  not  propagate  of  themselves  in  a 
durable  manner,  when  the  birds  transport  the 
grains  into  meadows  and  woods.  Wherever  these 
plants  appear  to  become  wild  under  our  eyes,  far 
from  multiplying  like  the  erigeron  Canadense, 
the  Oenothera  biennis,  and  other  colonists  of  the 
vegetable  kingdom,  they  disappear  in  a  very  short 
space  of  time.  Are  not  the  maglia  of  Chili,  the 
grain  of  the  banks  of  the  Terek  *,  and  the  wheat 
of  the  mountains  (hill-wheat)  of  Boutan,  which 

*  Marschall  de  Biberslein,  sur  les  bords  occid.  de  la  mer 
Caspienne,  1798,  p.  Q5  and  105. 


CHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  443 

M.  Banks*  has  recently  made  known,  more  likely 
to  be  the  primitive  type  of  the  solanum  and  cul- 
tivated cerealia  ? 

It  is  probable  that  from  the  mountains  of  Chili 
the  cultivation  of  potatoes  gradually  advanced 
northwards  by  Peru  and  the  kingdom  of  Quito 
to  the  table-land  of  Bogota,  the  ancient  Cundina- 
marca.  This  is  also  the  course  followed  by  the 
Incas  in  their  conquests.  We  can  easily  conceive 
why  long  before  the  arrival  of  Manco  Capac,  in 
those  remote  times  when  the  province  of  Collao 
and  the  plains  of  Tiahuanacu  were  the  centre  of 
the  first  civilization  of  mankind  t,  the  migrations 
of  the  South  American  nations  would  rather  be 
from  south  to  north  than  in  an  opposite  direction. 
Every-where  in  the  two  hemispheres  the  people 
of  the  mountains  have  manifested  a  desire  to  ap- 
proach the  equator,  or,  at  least,  the  torrid  zone, 
which,  at  great  elevations,  affords  the  mildness  of 
climate  and  the  other  advantages  of  the  temperate 
zone.  Following  the  direction  of  the  Cordilleras, 
either  from  the  banks  of  the  Gila  to  the  centre  of 
Mexico,  or  from  Chili  to  the  beautiful  vallies  of 
Quito,  the  natives  found  in  the  same  elevations, 
and  without  descending  towards  the  plains,  a  more 
vigorous  vegetation,  less  premature  frosts,  and  less 
abundance  of  snow.     The  plains  of  Tiahuanacu 


*  Bill.  Briti.  1809,  n.  322.  p.  86. 

t  Pedro  Cieca  de  Leon,  c.  105.     Garcilaso,  iii.  L 


444  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  iv. 

(lat.  17°  10'  south),   covered  with  ruins  of  an 
august  grandeur,  and  the  banks  of  the  lake  of 
Chucuito,  a  basin  which  resembles  a  small  interior 
sea,  are  the  Himala  and  Thibet  of  South  America. 
These  men  under  the  government  of  laws,  and 
collected  together  on  a  soil  of  no  great  fertility, 
first  applied  themselves  to  agriculture.      From 
this  remarkable  plain,  situated  between  the  cities 
of  Cuzco  and  la  Paz,  descended  numerous  and 
powerful   tribes,    who  carried    their  arms,  lan- 
guage, and  arts  even  to  the  northern  hemisphere. 
The  vegetables,  which  were  the  object  of  the 
agriculture  of  the  Andes,  must  have  been  carried 
northwards  in  two  ways;  either  by  the  conquests 
of  the  Incas,  who  were  followed  by  the  establish- 
ment of  Peruvian  colonies  in  the  conquered  coun- 
tries, or  by  the  slow  but  peaceable  communica- 
tions which  always  take  place  bet  ween  neighbour- 
ing nations.     The  sovereigns  of  Cuzco  did  not 
extend  their  conquests  beyond  the  river  of  Mayo 
(lat.  1°  34'  north,)  of  which  the  course  is  north 
from  the  town  of  Pasto.     The  potatoes  which 
the  Spaniards  found  under  cultivation  among  the 
Muysca  tribes  in  the  kingdom  of  the  zaque  of 
Bogota  (lat.  4°  6'  north),  could  only  have  been 
transported  there  from  Peru  by  means  of  the  rela- 
tions which  are  gradually  established  even  among 
mountainous  tribes  separated  from  one  another  by 
deserts  covered  with  snow,  or  impassable  vailles. 
The   Cordilleras,  which  preserve   a  formidable 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  445 

height  from  ChiU  to  the  province  of  Antioquia, 
fall  suddenly  near  the  sources  of  the  great  Rio 
Atracto.  Choco  and  Darien  present  merely  a 
group  of  hills  which,  in  the  isthmus  of  Panama, 
are  only  a  few  hundred  toises  in  height.  The 
cultivation  of  the  potatoe  succeeds  well  in  the 
tropics  only  on  very  elevated  grounds  in  a  cold 
and  foggy  climate.  The  Indian  of  the  warm 
regions  gives  the  preference  to  maize,  the  ma- 
nioc, and  banana.  Besides  Choco,  Darien,  and 
the  isthmus,  covered  with  thick  forests,  have 
always  been  inhabited  by  hordes  of  savages  and 
hunters,  enemies  to  every  sort  of  cultivation. 
We  are  not,  therefore,  to  be  astonished  that  both 
physical  and  moral  causes  have  prevented  the 
potatoe  from  penetrating  into  Mexico. 

We  know  not  a  single  fact  by  which  the  history 
of  South  America  is  connected  with  that  of  North 
America.  In  New  Spain,  as  we  have  already 
several  times  observed,  the  flux  of  nations  was 
from  north  to  south.  A  great  analogy  of  man- 
ners and  civilization  has  been  thought  to  be 
perceived*  between  the  Toultecs  driven  by  a 
pestilence  from  the  table-land  of  Anahuac  in  the 
middle  of  the  12th  century,  and  the  Peruvians 
under   the  government   of  Manco  Capac.     It 

*  I  have  discussed  this  curious  hypothesis  of  the  chevalier 
Boturini  in  my  Memoir  on  the  first  inhabitants  of  America 
(  Ueber  die  Urvoker)  Neue  Berlin  Monatschrefl,  1806,  p.  205. 


446  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

might,  no  doubt,  have  happened,  that  people 
from  Aztlan  advanced  beyond  the  isthmus  or 
gulf  of  Panama  ;  but  it  is  very  improbable  that 
by  migrations  from  south  to  north  the  produc- 
tions of  Peru,  Quito,  and  New  Grenada,  ever 
passed  to  Mexico  and  Canada, 

From  all  these  considerations  it  follows  that  if 
the  colonists  sent  out  by  Raleigh  really  found 
potatoes  among  the  Indians  of  Virginia,  we  can 
hardly  refuse  our  assent  to  the  idea  that  this 
plant  was  originally  wild  in  some  country  of  the 
northern  hemisphere,  as  it  was  in  Chili.  The 
interesting  researches  carried  on  by  MM.  Beck- 
man,  Banks,  and  Dryander*,  prove  that  vessels 
which  returned  from  the  bay  of  Albemarle  in 
1586  first  carried  potatoes  into  Ireland,  and  that 
Thomas  Harriot,  more  celebrated  as  a  mathema- 
tician than  as  a  navigator,  described  this  nutritive 
root  by  the  name  of  openawk.  Gerard,  in  his 
Herbal,   published   in   1597)  calls  it  Virginian 

*  Beckmanns  Gnmdsatze  der  Teutschen  Landtvirthsckqft, 
1806,  p.  289.  Sir  Joseph  Banks's  attempt  to  ascertain  the  time 
of  the  introduction  of  potatoes,  1808.  The  potatoe  has  been 
cultivated  on  a  large  scale  in.  Lancashire  since  1684;  in 
Saxony  since  1717;  in  Scotland  since  1728;  and  in  Prussia 
since  1738.     Author. 

It  is  believed  that  potatoes  have  only  been  cultivated  ex- 
tensively in  Scotland  since  a  much  later  period  than  1728. 
The  opinion  generally  received  there  is,  that  the  cultivation 
began  with  the  rebellion  in  1745.     Trans. 


CHAP.  IX.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  447 

patatate,  or  norembega.  We  might  be  tempted  to 
believe  that  the  EngHsh  colonists  received  it  from 
Spanish  America.  Their  establishment  had  been 
in  existence  from  the  month  of  July  1584.  The 
navigators  of  those  times  were  not  in  the  habit  of 
steering  straight  westwards  to  reach  the  coast  of 
North  America  ;  they  were  still  in  the  practice  of 
following  the  track  indicated  by  Columbus,  and 
profiting  by  the  trade  winds  of  the  torrid  zone. 
This  passage  facilitated  communication  with  the 
West  India  islands,  which  were  the  centre  of  the 
Spanish  commerce.  Sir  Francis  Drake,  who  had 
been  navigating  among  these  islands,  and  along 
the  coast  of  Terra  Firma,  put  in  at  Roanoke  *,  in 
Virginia.  It  appears  then  natural  enough  to  sup- 
pose, that  the  English  themselves  brought  pota- 
toes from  South  America  or  from  Mexico  into 
Virginia.  At  the  time  when  they  were  brought 
from  Virginia  into  England  they  were  common 
both  in  Spain  and  Italy.  We  are  not  then  to  be 
astonished  that  a  production  which  had  passed 
from  one  continent  to  the  other  could  in  America 
pass  from  the  Spanish  to  the  English  colonies. 
The  very  name  by  which  Harriot  describes  the 
potatoe  seems  to  prove  its  Virginian  origin. 
Were  the  savages  to  have  a  word  for  a  foreign 

*  Roanoke  and  Albemarle,  where  Arraidas  and  Barlow 
made  their  first  establishment,  now  belong  to  the  state  of 
North  Carolina.  As  to  the  colony  of  Raleigh,  consult  Mar- 
shall's Life  of  Washmgtoîi,  vol.  i.  p.  12. 


448  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

plant,  and  would  not  Harriot  have  known  the 
name  papa  ? 

The  plants  which  are  cultivated  in  the  highest 
and  coldest  part  of  the  Andes  and  Mexican  Cor- 
dilleras are  the  potatoe,  the  tropaeolum  esculen- 
tum  *,  and  the  chenopodium  quinoa,  ofwhich  the 
grain  is  an  aliment  equally  agreeable  and  healthy. 
In  New  Spain  the  first  of  these  becomes  an  object 
of  cultivation,  of  so  much  greater  importance  from 
its  extent,  as  it  does  not  require  any  greathumidity 
of  soil.  The  Mexicans,  like  the  Peruvians,  can 
preserve  potatoes  for  whole  y  ears  by  exposing  them 
to  the  frost  and  drying  them  in  the  sun.  The  root, 
when  hardenedand  deprived  of  its  water,  is  called 
chunUi  from  a  word  of  the  Quichua  language.  It 
would  be  undoubtedly  very  useful  to  i-mitate  this 
preparation  in  Europe,  where  a  commencement  of 
germination  frequently  destroys  the  winter's  pro- 
visions j  but  it  would  be  still  of  greater  importance 
to  procure  the  grain  of  the  potatoes  cultivated  at 
Quito  and  on  the  plain  of  Santa  Fe.  I  have  seen  them 
of  a  spherical  form  of  more  than  three  decimetres  t 
(from  twelve  to  thirteen  inches)  in  diameter,  and 

*  This  new  species  of  nasturtium,  akin  to  the  tropaeolum 
peregrinum,  is  cultivated  in  the  provinces  of  Popayan  and 
Pasto  on  table-lands  of  three  thousand  metres  of  absolute 
elevation.  It  will  be  described  in  a  work  to  be  published  by 
M.  Bonpland  and  myself,  under  the  title  of  Nova  genera  et 
species  plantarum  cquinoctialium. 

t  3  Decimetres  =118  inches. 


CHAP.  IX.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  44^9 

of  a  much  better  taste  than  any  in  our  continent. 
We  know  that  certain  herbaceous  plants  which 
have  been  long  multiplied  from  the  roots  dege- 
nerate in  the  end,  especially  when  the  bad  custom 
is  followed  of  cutting  the  roots  into  several  pieces. 
It  has  been  proved  by  experience,  in  several  parts 
of  Germany,  that,  of  all  the  potatoes,  those  which 
grow  from  the  seed  are  the  most  savoury.  We 
may  ameliorate  the  species  by  collecting  the  seed 
in  its  native  country,  and  by  choosing  on  the 
Cordillera  of  the  Andes  the  varieties  which  are 
most  recommendable  from  their  volume  and  the 
savour  of  their  roots.  We  have  long  possessed  in 
Europe  a  potatoe  which  is  known  by  agricultural 
writers  under  the  name  of  red  potatoe  of  Bedford- 
shire, and  of  which  the  tubercles  weigh  more 
than  a  kilogramme*  ;  but  this  variety  (conglome- 
rated potatoe)  is  of  an  insipid  taste,  and  can 
almost  be  applied  only  to  feed  cattle  ;  while  the 
papa  de  hogota^  which  contains  less  water,  is  very 
farinaceous,  contains  very  little  sugar,  and  is  of 
an  extremely  agreeable  taste. 

Amongst  the  great  number  of  useful  produc- 
tions which  the  migrations  of  nations  and  distant 
navigations  have  made  known,  no  plant  since 
the  discovery  of  cerealia,  that  is  to  say,  from  time 
immemorial,  has  had  so  decided  an  influence  on 
the  prosperity  of  mankind  as  the  potatoe.     This 

*  2^-0  lb.  avoird.     Trans. 
VOL.  II.  G  G 


450  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  iv. 

root,  according  to  the  calculations  of  Sir  John 
Sinclair,  can  maintain  nine  individuals  per  acre 
of  5368  square  metres.*  It  has  become  common 
in  New  Zealandt,  in  Japan,  in  the  island  of  Java, 
in  the  Boutan,  and  in  Bengal,  where,  according 
to  the  testimony  of  M.  Bockford,  potatoes  are 
considered  as  more  useful  than  the  bread-fruit 
tree  introduced  at  Madras.  Their  cultivation  ex- 
tends from  the  extremity  of  Africa  to  Labrador. 
Icelandj  and  Lapland.  It  is  a  very  interesting 
spectacle  to  see  a  plant  descended  from  the  moun- 
tains under  the  equator  advance  towards  the  pole, 
and  resist  better  than  the  cereal  gramina  all  the 
colds  of  the  north. 

We  have  successively  examined  the  vegetable 
productions  which  are  the  basis  of  the  food  of 
the  Mexican  population,  the  banana^  the  manioc^ 
the  maize,  and  the  cerealia;  and  we  have  endea- 
voured to  throw  some  interest  into  this  subject  by 
comparing  the  agriculture  of  the  equinoxial  re- 
gions with  that  of  the  temperate  climate  of  Eu- 
rope, and  by  connecting  the  history  of  the  migra- 
tion of  the  vegetables  with  the   events  which 


*  It  has  been  already  observed  that  5368  square  metres  = 
57,780  square  feet,  and  that  an  acre=  43,560  square  feet. 
The  Scotch  acre,  which  is  probably  the  one  here  used  by 
Sir  John  Sinclair,  is  to  the  English  as  10,000  :  7869,  and 
contains  55,^BQ  square  feet. 

\  John  Savage's  Account  of  New  Zealand,  1807,  p.  18. 
Trans. 


CHAP.  IX.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  451 

have  brouglit  the  human  race  from  oiie  part  of 
the  globe  to  the  other.  Without  entering  into 
botanical  details,  which  would  be  foreign  to  the 
principal  aim  of  this  work,  we  shall  terminate  this 
chapter  by  a  succinct  indication  of  the  other  ali- 
mentary plants  which  are  cultivated  in  Mexico. 
A  great  number  of  these  plants  has  been  intro- 
duced since  the  16th  century.  The  inhabitants 
of  western  Europe  have  deposited  in  America 
what  they  had  been  receiving  for  two  thousand 
years  by  their  communications  with  the  Greeks 
and  Romans,  by  the  irruption  of  the  hordes  of 
central  Asia,  by  the  conquests  of  the  Arabs,  by 
the  crusades,  and  by  the  navigations  of  the  Portu- 
guese. All  these  vegetable  treasures  accumulated 
in  an  extremity  of  the  Old  Continent  by  the  conti- 
nual flux  of  nations  towards  the  west,  and,  pre- 
served under  the  happy  influence  of  a  perpetually 
increasing  civilization,  have  become  almost  at 
once  the  inheritance  of  Mexico  and  Peru.  We 
see  them  afterwards  augmented  by  the  produc- 
tions of  America,  pass  farther  still  to  the  islands 
of  the  South  Sea,  and  to  the  establishments  which 
a  powerful  nation  has  formed  on  the  coast  of  New 
Holland.  In  this  way  the  smallest  corner  of  the 
earth,  if  it  become  the  domain  of  European  colo- 
nists, and  especially  if  it  abound  with  a  great 
variety  of  climates,  attests  the  activity  which  our 
species  has  been  for  centuries  displaying.  A 
colony  collects  in  a  small  space  every  tiling  most 
Q  G   ^ 


452  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

valuable  which  wandering  man  has  discovered 
over  the  whole  surface  of  the  globe. 

America  is  extremely  rich  in  vegetables  with 
nutritive  roots.  After  the  manioc  and  the  papas, 
or  potatoes,  there  are  none  more  useful  for  the 
subsistence  of  the  common  people  than  the  oca 
(oa:alis  tuherosa),  the  batate,  and  the  igname.  The 
first  of  these  productions  only  grows  in  the  cold 
and  temperate  climates,  on  the  summit  and  de- 
clivity of  the  Cordilleras  ;  and  the  two  others  be- 
long  to  the  warm  region  of  Mexico.  The  Spanish 
historians,  who  have  described  the  discovery  of 
America,  confound*  the  words  aj:es  and  bâtâtes, 
though  the  one  means  a  plant  of  the  group  of 
asparagus,  and  the  other  a  convolvulus. 

The  igname,  or  dioscorea  alata,  like  the  banana, 
appears  proper  to  all  the  equinoxial  regions  of  the 
globe.  The  account  of  the  voyage  of  Aloysic 
Cadamustot  informs  us  that  this  root  was  known 
by  the  Arabs.  Its  American  name  may  even  throw 
some  light  on  a  very  important  fact  in  the  history 
of  geographical  discoveries,  which  never  appears 
hitherto  to  have  fixed  the  attention  of  the  learned. 
Cadamusto  relates,  that  the  King  of  Portugal 
sent  in  1500  a  fleet  of  12  vessels  round  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  to  Calcutta,  under  the  command 

*  Gomara,  libro  iii.   c.  21. 

\  Cadamusti  navigatio  ad  terras  incognitas  (Grynaeus  orb. 
Nov.  p.  lY.) 


CHAP.  IX.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  453 

of  Pedro  Aliares.  This  admiral,  after  having  seen 
the  Cape  Verd  islands,  discovered  a  great  un- 
known land,  which  he  took  for  a  continent.  He 
found  there  naked  men,  swarthy,  painted  red, 
with  very  long  hair,  who  plucked  out  their  beards, 
pierced  their  chins,  slept  in  hammocks,  and  were 
entirely  ignorant  of  the  use  of  metals.  From  these 
traits  we  easily  recognize  the  natives  of  America. 
But  what  renders  it  extremely  probable  that 
Aliares  either  landed  on  the  coast  of  Paria  or  on 
that  of  Guayana  is,  that  he  said  he  found  in  cul- 
tivation there  a  species  of  millet  (maize),  and  a 
root  of  which  bread  is  made,  and  which  bears  the 
name  of  igname.  Vespucci  had  heard  the  same 
word  three  years  before  pronounced  by  the  inha- 
bitants of  the  coast  of  Paria.  The  Haitian  name 
of  the  dioscorea  alata  is  aœes  or  qjes.  It  is  under 
this  denomination  that  Columbus  describes  the 
igname  in  the  account  of  his  first  voyage  j  and  it 
is  also  that  which  it  had  in  the  times  of  Garci- 
lasso,  Acosta,  and  Oviedo  *,  who  have  very  well 
indicated  the  characters  by  which  the  àa:es  are 
distinguished  from  batates. 

The  first  roots  of  the  dioscorea  were  introduced 
into  Portugal  in  1596,  from  the  small  island  of  St. 
Thomas,  situated  near  the  coast  of  Africa,  almost 

*  Christophori  Columbi  navigatio,  c.lxxxix.  Comentarios 
Reales,  t.  i.  p.  278.  Historia  natural  de  Indias,  p.  242.  Oviedo, 
libro  vii.  c.  3. 

G  G   3 


454.  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  iv. 

under  the  equator.*  A  vessel  which  brought 
slaves  to  Lisbon  had  embarked  these  ignames  to 
serve  for  food  to  the  negroes  in  their  passage. 
From  similar  circumstances  several  alimentary 
plants  of  Guinea  have  been  introduced  into  the 
West  Indies.  They  have  been  carefully  propa- 
gated for  the  sake  of  furnishing  the  slaves  with  a 
diet  to  which  they  have  been  accustomed  in  their 
native  country.  It  is  observed  that  the  melan- 
choly of  these  unfortunate  beings  diminishes 
sensibly  wheu  they  discover  the  plants  familiar 
to  them  in  their  infancy. 

In  the  warm  regions  of  the  Spanish  colonies  the 
inhabitants  distinguish  the  axe  from  the  namas  of 
Guinea.  The  latter  came  from  the  coast  of  Africa 
to  the  West  Indies,  and  the  name  of  igname  has 
gradually  prevailed  there  over  axe.  These  two 
plants  are  only,  perhaps,  varieties  of  the  diosco- 
rea  alata,  although  Brown  has  endeavoured  to 
elevate  them  to  the  rank  of  species,  forgetting  that 
the  form  of  the  leaves  of  the  ignames  undergoes 
a  singular  change  by  cultivation.  We  have  no- 
where discovered  the  plant  called  by  Linnseus  d. 
sativat  ;  neither  does  it  exist  in  the  islands  of  the 

*  Clusii  Rariorum  Plantarum  Hist.  lib.  iv.  p.  Ixxvii. 

f  Thunberg,  however,  affirms,  that  he  saw  it  cultivated  in 
Japan.  There  exists  a  great  confusion  in  the  dioscorean  ge- 
nus, and  it  it  to  be  desired  that  a  monography  of  it  should  be 
made.     We  brought  with  us  a  great  number  of  new  species, 

11 


cHAr.  IX.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  455 

South  Sea,  where  the  root  of  the  d.  alata,  mixed 
with  the  white  of  cocoa-nuts  and  the  pulp  of  the 
banana,  is  the  favourite  dish  of  the  Otaheitans. 
The  root  of  the  igname  acquires  an  enormous 
volume,  when  it  grows  in  a  fertile  soil.  In  the 
valley  of  Aragua,  in  the  province  of  Caraccas,  we 
have  seen  it  weigh  from  25  to  30  kilogrammes.* 
The  batates  go  in  Peru  by  the  name  of  apichu, 
and  in  Mexico  by  that  of  camoteSy  which  is  a  cor- 
ruption of  the  Aztec  word  cacamotic.  t  Several 
varieties  are  cultivated  with  white  and  yellow 
roots;  thoseofQueretaro,  which  grow  in  a  climate 
analogous  to  that  of  Andalusia,  are  the  most  in 
request.  I  doubt  very  much  if  these  batates  were 
ever  found  wild  by  the  Spanish  navigators,  though 
it  has  been  advanced  by  Clusius.  I  have  seen 
under  cultivation  in  the  colonies,  besides  the  con- 
volvulus batatas,  the  c.  platanifolius  of  Vahl  ;  and 
I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  these  two  plants,  the 
umara  of  Tahiti  (c.  chrysotThizus  of  Solander  Î,) 
and  the  c.  edulis  of  Thunberg,  which  the  Portu- 
guese introduced  into  Japan,  are  varieties  become 
constant,  and  descend  from  the  same  species.  It 
would  be  so  much  the  more  interesting  to  know 


which  are  partly  described  in  the  Species  Plantarum,  pub. 
lished  by  M.  Wildenow,  t.  i.  p.  i.  p.  794 — 796. 

*  From  55  to  661b.  avoird.     Trans. 

■\  The  cacamotic-tlanoquiloni,  or  caxtlatlapati,  represented 
in  Hernandez,  c.  liv.  appears  to  be  the  convolvulus  jalapa. 

\  Forstcr  Planlce  Esculentce,  p.  56. 
G  G   4 


4-56  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  iv. 

whether  the  batates  cultivated  in  Peru,  and  those 
which  Cook  found  in  Easter  Island  (île  de  Pâques), 
are  the  same,  as  from  the  position  of  that  island 
and  the  monuments  which  have  been  there  dis- 
covered, several  of  the  learned  have  been  led  to 
suspect  the  existence  of  ancient  communications 
between  the  Peruvians  and  the  inhabitants  of  the 
island  discovered  by  Roggeween. 

Gomara  relates  that  Columbus,  after  his  return 
to  Spain,  when  he  first  made  his  appearance  before 
Queen  Isabella,  brought  to  her  grains  of  maize, 
igname  roots,  and  batates.  Hence  the  cultivation 
of  the  last  of  these  must  have  been  already  com- 
mon in  the  southern  part  of  Spain  towards  the 
middle  of  the  l6th  century.  In  1591  they  were 
even  sold  in  the  market  of  London.  *  It  is  gene- 
rally believed  that  the  celebrated  Drake,  or  Sir 
John  Hawkins,  made  them  known  in  England, 
where  they  were  long  thought  to  be  endowed 
with  the  mysterious  properties  for  which  the 
Greeks  recommended  the  onions  of  Megara.  The 
cultivation  of  batates  succeeds  very  well  in  the 
south  of  France.  It  requires  less  heat  than  the 
igname  ;  which,  otherwise,  on  account  of  the  en- 
ormous mass  of  nutritive  matter  furnished  by  its 
roots,  would  be  much  preferable  to  the  potatoe, 
if  it  could  be  successfully  cultivated  in  countries 
of  which  the  mean  temperature  is  under  18  cen- 
tigrade degrees,  t 

*~    ClusluS;  iii.  c.  51  [•  fid-'^  of  Fahrenheit,    Trans. 


CHAP.  IX.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  4.57 

We  must  also  reckon  among  the  useful  plants 
proper  to  Mexico  the  cacomite,  or  ocelod'ochitl, 
a  species  of  tigridia,  of  which  the  root  yielded  a 
nutritive  flour  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  valley  of 
Mexico  ;  the  numerous  varieties  of  love-apples, 
or  tomatl  (jsolanum  lycoperskwni),  which  was  for- 
merlysown  along  with  maize;  the  earth-pistachio, 
or  mani  *  (arachis  hypogea),  of  which  the  root  is 
concealed  in  the  earth,  and  which  appears  to  have 
existed  in  Cochin  China  t  long  before  the  disco- 
very of  America  ;  lastly,  the  different  species  of 
pimento  (capsicum  baccatum,  c.  annuum,  and  c. 
frutescens),  called  by  the  Mexicans  chilliy  and  the 
Peruvians  uchuy  of  which  the  fruit  is  as  indispens- 
ably necessary  to  the  natives  as  salt  to  the  whites» 
The  Spaniards  call  pimento  chile  or  axi  (ahi). 
The  first  word  is  derived  from  quauh-chilli  ;  the 
second  is  a  Haitian  word,  that  we  must  not  con- 
found with  aa:ef  which,  as  we  have  already  ob- 
served, designates  the  dioscorea  alata. 

I  do  not  remember  to  have  ever  seen  cultivated 
in  any  part  of  the  Spanish  colonies  the  topinam- 
bours (Jielianthus  tuber osus)^  which,  according  to 
M.  Correa,  are  not  even  to  be  found  in  the  Bra- 

*  The  word  mani,  like  the  greatest  part  of  those  given  by 
the  Spanish  colonists  to  the  plants  under  cultivation,  is  taken 
from  the  language  of  Haiti,  which  is  now  a  dead  language. 
In  Peru  the  arachis  was  called  inchic. 

f  Loiireiro  Flora  Cochinchinensis,  p.  522. 


458  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  rv. 

zils,  though  in  all  our  works  on  botany  they  are 
said  to  be  natives  of  the  country  of  the  Brasilian 
Topinambas.  The  chimalatly  or  sun  with  large 
flowers  (helianthus  annuus),  came  from  Peru  to 
New  Spain.  It  was  formerly  sown  in  several 
parts  of  Spanish  America,  not  only  to  extract 
oil  from  its  seed,  but  also  for  the  sake  of  roasting 
it  and  making  it  into  a  very  nutritive  bread. 

Rice  (oryza  sativa)  was  unknown  to  the  people 
of  the  New  Continent,  as  well  as  the  inhabitants 
of  the  South  Sea  Islands.  Whenever  the  old 
historians  use  the  expression  small  Peruvian  rice 
{arroz  pequeiio),  they  mean  the  chenopodium 
quinoaf  which  I  found  very  common  in  Peru  and 
the  beautiful  valley  of  Bogota.  The  cultivation 
of  rice,  introduced  by  the  Arabs  into  Europe  *, 
and  by  the  Spaniards  into  America,  is  of  very 
little  importance  in  New  Spain.  The  great 
drought  which  prevails  in  the  interior  of  the 
country  seems  hostile  to  its  cultivation.  At 
Mexico  they  are  not  agreed  as  to  the  utility  with 
which  the  introduction  of  the  mountain-rice 
might  be  attended,  which  is  common  to  China, 
Japan,  and  known  to  all  the  Spaniards  who  have 
lived  in  the  Philippine  Islands.  It  is  certain 
that  the  mountain-rice,  so  much  extolled  of  late. 


*  The  Greeks  knew  rice,  but  did  not  cultivate  it.  Aristo- 
bulus  apud  Strab.  lib.  xv.,  pag.  Casauh.  1014.  —  Theophr, 
ib.  iv.  c.  5.  —  Dioscor.  lib.  ii.  c  116.  pag.  Same.  127. 


CHAP.  IX,]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  459 

only  grows  on  the  slopes  of  hills,  which  are 
watered  either  by  natural  torrents  or  by  canals 
of  irrigation  *  cut  at  very  great  elevations.  On 
the  coast  of  Mexico,  especially  to  the  south-east 
of  Vera  Cruz,  in  the  fertile  and  marshy  grounds 
situated  between  the  mouths  of  the  rivers  Alva- 
rado  and  Goasacualco,  the  cultivation  of  the 
common  rice  may  one  day  become  as  important 
as  it  has  long  been  for  the  province  of  Guayaquil, 
for  Louisiana,  and  the  southern  part  of  the 
United  States.  , 

It  is  so  much  the  more  to  be  desired  that  this 
branch  of  agriculture  should  be  followed  with 
ardour,  as  from  the  great  droughts  and  prema- 
ture frosts  the  grain  and  maize  harvests  frequently 
fail  in  the  mountainous  region,  and  the  Mexican 
people  suffer  periodically  from  the  fatal  effects  of 
a  general  famine.  The  rice  contains  a  great  deal 
of  alimentary  substance  in  a  very  small  volume. 
In  Bengal,  where  40  kilogrammes  may  be  pur- 
chased for  three  francs  t,  the  daily  consumption 
of  a  family  of  five  individuals  consists  of  two  kilo- 
grammes of  rice,  two  of  pease  t,  and  two  ounces 

*  Crescit  oryza  Japonica  in  collibus  et  montibus  artificio 
singulari.  Thunberg,  Flora  Japoyi.,  p.  147.  M.  Titzing, 
who  lived  long  in  Japan,  and  who  is  preparing  an  interesting 
description  of  his  travels,  also  affirms  that  the  mountain-rice 
is  watered,  but  that  it  requires  less  water  than  the  rice  of  the 
plains. 

f  88  lb.  avoird.  for  2s.  6d.     Trans. 

t  4'io^b.  rice  and  4io'l^'  pt-'ase.     Trans. 


460  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [bookiv. 

of  salt.  *     The  frugality  of  the  indigenous  Aztec 
is  almost  equal  to  that  of  the  Hindoo  j  and  the 
frequent  scarcities  in  Mexico  might  be  avoided 
by   multiplying  the  objects  of  cultivation,  and 
directing  the  industry  to  vegetable  productions 
easier  to   be  preserved   and  transported   than 
maize  and   farinaceous  roots.      Besides,  and  I 
advance  this  without  encroaching  on  the  famous 
problem  of  the  population  of  China,  it  does  not 
appear  doubtful  that  ground  cultivated  with  rice 
maintains  a   much  greater  number   of  families 
than  the  same  extent  under  wheat  cultivation. 
At  Louisiana,  in  the  basin  of  the  Mississippi  t, 
they  compute  that  an  acre  of  land  commonly 
produces  in  rice  18  barrels,  in  wheat  and  oats  8, 
in  maize  20,  and  in  potatoes  26.      In  Virginia 
they  reckon,  according  to  M.  Blodget,  that  an 
acre  yields  from  20  to  30  bushels  of  rice,  while 
wheat  only  yields  from  15  to  16.     I  am  aware, 
that  in  Europe  rice  grounds  are  considered  very 
pernicious  to  the  health  of  the  inhabitants  ;  but 
the  long  experience  of  eastern  Asia  seems  to 
prove  that  the  effect  is  not  the  same  in  every 
climate.     However  this  may  be,  there  is  little 
room   to  fear  that   the   irrigation  of  the   rice 
grounds  will  add  to  the  insalubrity  of  a  country 
already  filled  with  marshes  send  palétuviers  (rhizo- 

*  Boclcford's  Indian  Recreations.     Calcutta,  1S07,  p.  18. 
+  MS.  note  on  the  value  of  land  in  Louisiana,  comrauni- 
cateil  to  mc  by  General  Wilkinson. 


CHAP,  ix^]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  461 

phora  mangle),  which  forms  a  true  delta  between 
the  rivers  Alvarado,  San  Juan,  and  Goasacualco. 
The  Mexicans  now  possess  all   the  garden- 
stufFs  and  fruit-trees  of  Europe.     It  is  not  easy 
to  indicate  which  of  the  former  existed  in  the 
New  Continent  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards. 
The  same  uncertainty  prevails  among  botanists 
as  to  the  species  of  turnips,  salads,  and  cabbage 
cultivated  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  We  know 
with  certainty  that  the  Americans  were  always 
acquainted  with  onions  (in  Mexican,  a^onacatl), 
haricots  (in  Mexican,  ayacotU,  in  the  Peruvian  or 
Quichua  language,  purutii)^  gourds  (in  Peruvian, 
capallu),  and  several  varieties  of  cicer.    Cortez  *, 
speaking  of  the  eatables  which  were  daily  sold  in 
the  market  of  the  ancient  Tenochtitlan,  expressly 
says,  that  every  kind  of  garden-stuff  (legume)  was 
to  be  found  there,  particularly  onions,  leeks,  gar- 
lic, garden  and  water-cresses  (jnastuerzo  y  berro), 
borrage,  sorrel,  and  artichokes  (cardo  y  tagami- 
nas).     It  appears  that  no  species  of  cabbage  or 
turnip  (brassica  et  raphanus)  was  cultivated  in 
America,  although  the  indigenous  are  very  fond 
of  dressed  herbs.  They  mixed  together  all  sorts  of 

*  Lorenzana,  p.  103.;  Garcilasso,  p.  278.  and  336.  ;  Acosta, 
p.  245.  Onions  were  unknown  in  Peru,  and  the  chochos  of 
America  were  not  the  garavanzos  (cicer  arictinum).  I  know 
not  whether  the  ^scmous  Jrisolitos  of  Vera  Cruz,  which  have 
become  an  object  of  exportation,  descend  from  a  phaseolus 
of  Spain,  or  whether  they  are  a  variety  of  the  Mexican 
ayacotli. 


462  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

leaves  and  even  flowers,  and  they  called  this  dish 
iraca.  It  appears  that  the  Mexicans  had  origin 
nally  no  pease  j  and  this  fact  is^so  much  the  more 
remarkable,  as  our  pisum  sativum  is  believed  to- 
grow  wild  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America.  * 
In  general,  if  we  consider  the  garden-stuffs  of 
the  Aztecs,  and  the  great  number  of  farinaceous 
roots  cultivated  in  Mexico  and  Peru,  we  see  that 
America  was  by  no  means  so  poor  in  alimentary 
plants  as  has  been  advanced  by  some  learned  men 
from  a  false  spirit  of  system,  who  were  only  ac- 
quainted with  the  new  world  through  the  works 
of  Herrera  and  Solis.  The  degree  of  civilization 
of  a  people  has  no  relation  with  the  variety  of 
productions  which  are  the  objects  of  its  agriculture 
or  gardening.  This  variety  is  greater  or  less  as  the 
communications  between  remote  regions  have 
been  more  or  less  frequent,  or  as  nations  separated 
from  the  rest  of  the  human  race  in  very  distant 
periods  have  been  in  a  situation  of  greater  or  less 
insulation.  We  must  not  be  astonished  at  not 
finding  among  the  Mexicans  of  the  l6th  century 
the  vegetable  stores  now  contained  in  our  gar- 
dens. The  Greeks  and  Romans  even  neither  knew 
spinach   nor  cauliflowers,  nor  scorzoneras,  nor 

*  In  the  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  and  in  Norfolk  or  Tchin- 
kitané  Bay. —  Voyage  de  Marchand,  torn.  i.  p.  226.  and  360. 
Were  these  pease  not  sown  there  by  some  European  navi- 
gator ?  We  know  that  cabbages  have  lately  become  wild  in 
New  Zealand. 


CHAP.  IX.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  463 

artichokes,  nor  a  great  number  of  other  kitchen 
vegetables. 

The   central   table-land  of  New  Spain   pro- 
duces in  the  greatest  abundance  cherries,  prunes, 
peaches,  apricots,  figs,  grapes,  melons,  apples,  and 
pears.     In  the  environs  of  Mexico,  the  villages 
of  San  Augustin  de  las  Cuevas  and  Tacubaya,  the 
famous  garden  of  the  convent  of  Carmelites,  at 
San  Angel,  and  that  of  the  family  of  Fagoaga,  at 
Tanepantla,  yield  in  the  months  of  June,  July, 
and  August,  an  immense  quantity  of  fruit,  for  the 
most  part  of  an  exquisite  taste,  although  the  trees 
are  in  general  very  ill  taken  care  of.  The  traveller 
is  astonished  to  see  in  Mexico,  Peru,  and  New 
Grenada,  the  tables  of  the  wealthy  inhabitants 
loaded  at  once  with  the  fruits  of  temperate  Europe, 
ananas*,  different  species  of  passiflora  and  tacso- 
nia,  sapotes,  raameis,  goyavas,anonas,chilimoyas, 
and  other  valuable  productions  of  the  torrid  zone. 
This  variety  of  fruits  is  to  be  found  in  almost  all 
the  country  from  Guatimala  to  New  California. 
In  studying  the  history  of  the  conquest,  we  admire 
the  extraordinary  rapidity  with  which  the  Span- 

*  The  Spaniards,  in  their  first  navigations,  were  in  the 
custom  of  embarking  ananas,  which,  when  the  passage  was 
short,  were  eaten  in  Spain.  They  were  presented  to  Charles 
the  Fifth,  who  thought  the  fruit  very  beautiful,  but  would  not 
taste  them.  We  found  the  anana  growing  wild,  and  of  the  most 
e/.quisite  flavour,  at  the  foot  of  the  great  mountain  of  Duida, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Alto  Orinoco.  The  seed  does  not  always 
miscarry.  In  1594?  the  anana  was  cultivated  in  China,  where 
it  had  come  from  Peru.  —  Kircher  China  illustrata,  p.  188. 


464  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

iards  of  the  l6th  century  spread  the  cultivation  of  ' 
the  European  vegetables  along  the  ridge  of  the 
Cordilleras,  from  one  extremity  of  the  continent  to 
the  other*  The  ecclesiastics,  and  especially  the 
religious  missionaries,  contributed  greatly  to  the 
rapidity  of  this  progress.  The  gardens  of  the  con- 
vents and  of  the  secular  priests  were  so  many 
nurseries,  from  which  the  recently  imported  vege- 
tables were  diffused  over  the  country.  The  con- 
quistadores even,  all  of  whom  we  ought  by  no 
means  to  regard  as  warlike  barbarians,  addicted 
themselves  in  their  old  age  to  a  rural  life.  These 
simple  men,  surrounded  by  Indians,  of  whose  lan- 
guage they  were  ignorant,  cultivated  in  prefer- 
ence, as  if  to  console  them  in  their  solitude,  the 
plants  which  recalled  to  them  the  plains  of  Estra- 
madura  and  the  Castilles.  The  epoqua  at  which 
an  European  fruit  ripened  for  the  first  time  was 
distinguished  by  a  family  festival.  It  is  impossible 
to  read,  without  being  warmly  affected,  what  is  re- 
lated by  the  inca  Garcilasso  as  to  the  manner  of 
living  of  these  first  colonists.  He  relates,  with  an 
exquisite  navïeté,  howhis  father,  thevalorous^yz- 
dres  delà  Vega,  collected  together  all  his  old  com- 
panions in  arms  to  share  with  him  three  aspara- 
guses, the  first  which  ever  grew  on  the  table-land 
of  Cuzco. 

Before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  Mexico  and 
the  Cordilleras  ofSouthAmericaproduced  several 
fruits,  which  bear  great  analogy  to  those  of  the 
temperate  climates  of  the  Old  Continent.     The 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  465 

physiognomy  of  vegetables  bears  always  a  great 
mutual  resemblance  where  the  temperature  and 
humidity  are  the  same.  The  mountainous  part  of 
South  America  has  a  cherry  (padus  capuli),  nut, 
apple,  mulberry,  strawberry,  rubus,  and  goose- 
berry, which  are  peculiar  to  it,  and  which  will  be 
made  known  by  M.  Bonpland  and  myself  in  the 
botanical  part  of  our  travels.  Cortez  relates  that 
he  saw,  on  his  arrival  at  Mexico,  besides  the 
indigenous  cherries,  which  are  very  acid,  prunes, 
ciruelas.  He  adds,  that  they  entirely  resemble 
those  of  Spain.  I  doubt  the  existence  of  these 
Mexican  prunes,  although  the  Abbé  Clavigero 
also  mentions  them.  Perhaps  the  first  Spaniards 
took  the  fruit  of  the  spondias,  which  is  a  drupa 
ovoide,  for  European  prunes. 

Although  the  western  coast  of  New  Spain  be 
washed  by  the  Great  Ocean,  and  although  Men- 
dana,  Gaetano,  Quiros,  and  other  Spanish  navi- 
gators were  the  first  who  visited  the  islands  situ- 
ated between  America  and  Asia,  the  most  useful 
productions  of  these  countries,  the  bread-fruit, 
the  flax  of  New  Zealand  (phormium  tenax),  and 
the  sugai'-cane  of  Otaheite,  remained  unknown  to 
the  inhabitants  of  Mexico.  These  vegetables,  after 
travelling  round  the  globe,  will  reach  them  gradu- 
ally from  the  West  India  islands.  They  were  left 
by  Captain  Bligh  at  Jamaica,  and  they  have  pro- 
pagated rapidly  in  the  island  of  Cuba,  Trinidad, 
and  on  the  coast  of  Caraccas.     The  bread-fruit 

VOL.  II.  H  H 


466  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE      [book  iv. 

(artocarpus  incisa),  of  which  I  have  seen  consider- 
able plantations  in  Spanish  Guayana,  would  vege- 
tate vigorously  on  the  humid  and  warm  coasts  of 
Tabasco,  Tustla,  and  San  Bias.     It  is  very  im- 
probable that  this  cultivation  will  ever  supersede 
among  the  natives  that  of  bananas,  which,  on  the 
same  extent  of  ground,  furnish  more  nutritive 
substance.  It  is  true  that  the  artocarpus,  for  eight 
months  in  the  year,  is  continually  loaded  with 
fruits,  and  that  three  trees  are  sufficient  to  nourish 
an  adult  individual.*     But  an  arpent,  or  demi 
hectare  of  ground,  can  only  contain  from  35  to 
40  bread-fruit  trees  t  ;  for  when  they  are  planted 
too  near  one  another,  and  when  their  roots  meet, 
they  do  not  bear  so  great  a  quantity  of  fruit. 

The  extreme  slowness  of  the  passage  from  the 
Philippine  Islands  and  Mariana  to  Acapulco,  and 
the  necessity  in  which  the  Manilla  galeons  are 
under  of  ascending  to  higher  latitudes  to  get  the 
north- west  winds,  render  the  introduction  of  vege- 
tables from  oriental  Asia  extremely  difficult. 
Hence,  on  the  western  coast  of  Mexico  we  find 
no  plant  of  China  or  the  Philippine  Islands,  ex- 
cept the  triphasia  aurantiola  (limonia  trifoliata), 
an  elegant  shrub,  of  which  the  fruits  are  dressed, 
and  which,  according  to  Loureiro,  is  identical 

*  Georg  Forster  vom  Brodbaume,  1784-,  s.  xxiii. 

f  See  what  has  been  already  said  on  the  comparative  pro- 
duce of  banana,  wheat,  and  potatoes,  in  a  preceding  part  of 
this  chapter. 


CHAP.  IX.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  467 

with  the  citrus  trifbliata,  or  Jcaratats-hanna  of 
Kampfer.  As  to  the  orange  and  citron  trees, 
which  in  the  south  of  Europe  support,  without 
any  bad  consequences,  a  cold  for  five  or  six  days 
below  0  *,  they  are  now  cultivated  throughout  all 
New  Spain,  even  on  the  central  table-land.  It 
has  frequently  been  discussed,  if  these  trees  ex- 
isted in  the  Spanish  colonies  before  the  discovery 
of  America,  or  if  they  were  introduced  by  the 
Europeans  from  the  Canary  Islands,  the  island  of 
St.  Thomas,  or  the  coast  of  Africa.  It  is  certain 
that  there  is  an  orange-tree  of  a  small  and  bitter 
fruit,  and  a  very  prickly  citron,  yielding  a  green, 
round  fruit,  with  a  singularly  oily  bark,  which  is 
frequently  hardly  of  the  size  of  a  large  nut,  grow- 
ing wild  in  the  island  of  Cuba  and  on  the  coast 
of  Terra  Firma.  But  notwithstanding  all  my 
researches,  I  could  never  discover  a  single  in- 
dividual in  the  interior  of  the  forests  of  Guayana, 
between  the  Orinoco,  the  Cassiquiare,  and  the 
frontiers  of  Brazil.  Perhaps  the  small  green  citron 
(Jimoîicito  verde)  was  anciently  cultivated  by  the 
natives  ;  and  perhaps  it  has  only  grown  wild 
when  the  population,  and  consequently  the  extent 
of  cultivated  territory,  were  most  considerabley 
I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  only  the  citron-tree, 
with  large  yellow  fruit  Qimonsutif),  and  the  sweet 
orange,  were  introduced  by  the  Portuguese  and 
Spaniards,  t    We  only  saw  them  on  the  banks  of 

*  32"  of  Fahrenheit.     Trans.         f  Oviedo,  lib.  viii.  c.  1. 
H  H   2 


é68  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  iv. 

the  Orinoco,  where  the  Jesuits  had  estabhshed 
their  missions.  The  orange,  on  the  discovery  of 
America,  had  only  existed  for  a  few  centuries 
even  in  Europe.  If  there  had  been  any  ancient 
communication  between  the  New  Continent  and 
the  islands  of  the  South  Sea,  the  true  citrus  au- 
rantium  might  have  arrived  in  Peru  or  Mexico 
by  the  way  of  the  west  ;  for  this  tree  was  found 
by  M.  Forster  in  the  Hebrides  islands,  where  it 
was  seen  by  Quiros  long  before  him.  * 

The  great  analogy  between  the  climate  of  the 
table-land  of  New  Spain  and  that  of  Italy,  Greece, 
and  the  south  of  France,  ought  to  invite  the  Mexi- 
cans to  the  cultivation  of  the  olive.  This  cultiva- 
tion was  successfully  attempted  at  the  beginning 
of  the  conquest,  but  the  government,  from  an  un- 
justpolicy,farfrom  favouring,  endeavoured  rather 
indirectly  to  frustrate  it.     As  far  as  I  know  there 
exists  no  formal  prohibition  j  but  the  colonists 
have  never  ventured  on  a  branch  of  national  in- 
dustry which  would  have  immediately  excited  the 
jealousy  of  the  mother-country.     The  court  of 
Madrid  has  always  seen  with  an  unfavourable  eye 
the  cultivation  of  the  olive  and  the  mulberry, 

*  Plantes  esculetitœ  Insularuni  australium,  p.  35.  The 
common  orange  of  the  South  Sea  is  the  citrus  decumana.  The 
garcinia  mangostana,  of  which  the  innumerable  varieties  are 
cultivated  with  so  much  care  in  the  East  Indies  and  in  the 
Archipelago  of  the  Asiatic  Seas,  is  very  much  diffused  within 
these  ten  years  in  the  West  India  Islands.  It  did  not  exist, 
however,  in  my  time  io  Mexico. 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  469 

hemp,  flax,  and  the  vine,  in  the  New  Continent  : 
and  if  the  commerce  of  wines  and  indigenous  oils 
has  been  tolerated  in  Peru  and  Chili,  it  is  only 
because  those  colonies,  situated  beyond  Cape 
Horn,  are  frequently  ill  provisioned  from  Europe, 
and  the  effect  of  vexatious  measures  is  dreaded  in 
provinces  so  remote.  A  system  of  the  most  odi- 
ous prohibitions  has  been  obstinately  followed  in 
all  the  colonies  of  which  the  coast  is  washed  by  the 
Atlantic  Ocean.  During  my  stay  at  Mexico  the 
viceroy  received  orders  from  the  court  to  pull  up 
the  vines  {arancar  las  cepas)  in  the  northern  pro- 
vinces of  Mexico,  because  the  merchants  of  Cadiz 
complained  of  a  diminution  in  the  consumption 
of  Spanish  wines.  Happily  this  order,  like  many 
others  given  by  the  ministers,  was  never  executed. 
It  was  judged  that,  notwithstanding  the  extreme 
patience  of  the  Mexican  people,  it  might  be 
dangerous  to  drive  them  to  despair  by  laying 
waste  their  properties  and  forcing  them  to  pur- 
chase from  the  monopolists  of  Europe  what  the 
bounty  of  nature  produces  on  the  Mexican  soil. 
The  olive-tree  is  very  rare  in  all  New  Spain  ; 
and  there  exists  but  a  single  olive-plantation,  the 
beautiful  one  of  the  Archbishop  of  Mexico,  situ- 
ated two  leagues  south-east  from  the  capital.  This 
olivar  del  Arzohispo  annually  produces  200  ar- 
robas  (nearly  2500  kilogrammes*)  of  an  oil  of  a 

*  5500  lb.  avoird.     Trans. 
H  H    O 


470  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv 

very  good  quality.  We  have  already  spoken  of 
the  olive  cultivated  by  the  missionaries  of  New 
California,  especially  near  the  village  of  San 
Diego.  The  Mexican,  when  at  complete  liberty 
in  the  cultivation  of  his  soil,  will  in  time  dispense 
with  the  oil,  wine,  hemp,  and  flax  of  Europe.  The 
Andalusian  olive  introduced  by  Cortez  sometimes 
suffers  from  the  cold  of  the  central  table-land  ; 
for  although  the  frosts  are  not  strong,  they  are 
frequent  and  of  long  duration.  It  might  be  use- 
ful to  plant  the  Corsican  olive  in  Mexico,  which 
is  more  than  any  other  calculated  to  resist  the 
severity  of  the  climate. 

In  terminating  the  list  of  alimentary  plants,  we 
shall  give  a  rapid  survey  of  the  plants  which  fur- 
nish beverages  to  the  Mexicans.  We  shall  see 
that  in  this  point  of  view  the  history  of  the  Aztec 
agriculture  presents  us  with  a  trait  so  much  the 
more  curious,  as  we  find  nothing  analogous  among 
a  great  number  of  nations  much  more  advanced 
in  civiUzation  than  the  ancient  inhabitants  of 
Anahuac. 

There  hardly  exists  a  tribe  of  savages  on  the 
face  of  the  earth  who  cannot  prepare  some  kind 
of  beverage  from  the  vegetable  kingdom.  The 
miserable  hordes  who  wander  in  the  forests  of 
Guayana  make  as  agreeable  emulsions  from  the 
different  palm-tree  fruits  as  the  barley-water 
prepared  in  Europe.  The  inhabitants  of  Easter 
Island,  exiled  on  a  mass  of  arid  rocks  without 


CMAP.  IX.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  471 

springs,  besides  the  sea-water,  drink  the  juice  of 
the  sugar-cane.     The  most  part  of  civiUzed  na- 
tions draw  their  drinks  from  the  same  plants 
which  constitute  the  basis  of  their  nourishment, 
and  of  which  the  roots  or  seeds  contain  the  su- 
gary principle  united  with  the  amylaceous  sub- 
stance.    Rice  in  southern  and  eastern  Asia,  in 
Africa  the  igname  root  with  a  few  arums,  and  in 
the  north  of  Europe  cerealia,  furnish  fermented 
liquors.     There  are  few  nations  who  cultivate 
certain  plants  merely  with  a  view  to  prepare  be- 
verages from  them.     The  Old  Continent  affords 
us  no  instance  of  vine-plantations  but  to  the  west 
of  the  Indus.     In  the  better  days  of  Greece  this 
cultivation  was  even  confined  to  the  countries 
situated  between  the  Oxus  and  Euphrates,  to 
Asia  Minor  and  western  Europe.    On  the  rest  of 
the  globe  nature  produces  species  of  wild  vitis  5 
but  nowhere  else  did  man  endeavour  to  collect 
them  round  him  to  ameliorate  them  by  cultivation. 
But  in  the  New  Continent  we  have  the  example 
of  a  people  who  not  only  extracted  liquors  from 
the  amylaceous  and  sugary  substance  ofthemaize, 
the  mmiioc,  and  bananas^  or  from  the  pulp  of  seve- 
ral species  oïmimosa^hutviho  cultivated  expressly 
a  plant  of  the  family  of  the  ananas,  to  convert  its 
juice  into  a  spirituous  liquor.     On  the  interior 
table-land,  in  the  intendancy  of  Puebla,  and  in  that 
of  Mexico,  we  run  over  vast  extents  of  country, 
where  the  eye  reposes  only  on  fields  planted  with 
H  H  4 


472  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  iv. 

piftes  or  maguey.    This  plant,  of  a  coriaceous  and 
prickly  leaf,  which  with  the  cactus  opuntia  has 
become  wild  since  the  sixteenth  century  through- 
out all  the  south  of  Europe,  the  Canary  Islands, 
and  the  coast  of  Africa,  gives  a  particular  charac- 
ter to  the  Mexican  landscape.  What  a  contrast  of 
vegetable  forms  between  a  field  of  grain,  a  plant- 
ation of  agave,  and  a  group  of  bananas,  of  which 
the  glossy  leaves  are  constantly  of  a  tender  and 
delicate  green  !  Under  every  zone,  man,  by  multi- 
plying certain  vegetable  productions,  modifies  at 
will  the  aspect  of  the  country  under  cultivation. 
In  the  Spanish  colonies  there  are  several  spe- 
cies of  maguey  which  deserve  a  careful  examin- 
ation, and  of  which  several,  on  account  of  the 
division  of  their  corolla,  the  length  of  their  sta- 
mina, and  the  form  of  their  stigmata,  appear  to 
belong  to  a  different  genus  !  The  maguey  or  metl 
cultivated  in  Mexico  are  numerous  varieties  of 
the  agave  Americana,  which  has  become  so  com- 
mon in  our  gardens,  with  yellow  fasciculated 
and  straight  leaves,  and  stamina  twice  as  long  as 
the  pinking  of  the  corolla.     We  must  not  con- 
found this  metl,  with  the  agave  cuhensis  *  of  Jac- 
quin  (floribus  ex  albo  virentfbus,  longe  panicu- 

•  In  the  provinces  of  Caraccas  and  Cumana  the  agave  cu- 
hensis (a.  odorata  Persoon)  is  called  maguey  de  Cocuy.  I 
have  seen  stocks  (hampes)  loaded  with  flowers  from  12  to  14 
metres  in  height  (from  38  to  45  English  feet).  At  Caraccas 
the  agave  Americana  is  called  maguey  tie  Cociiiza. 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  4-73 

latis,  pendulis,  staminibus  corolla  duplo  brevior- 
ibus),  called  by  M.  Lamarck  a.  Mexicana,  and 
which  has  been  believed  by  some  botanists,  for 
what  reason  I  know  not,  the  principal  object  of 
the  Mexican  cultivation. 

The  plantations  of  the  maguey  de 'pulque  extend 
as  far  as  the  Aztec  language.     The  people  of  the 
Otomite,  Totonac,  and  Mistec  race,  are  not  ad- 
dicted to  the  oc///,  which  the  Spaniards  call^z^/<7?^. 
On  the  central  plain  we  hardly  find  the  maguey 
cultivated  to  the  north  of  Salamanca.    The  finest 
cultivations  which  I  have  had  occasion  to  see  are 
in  the  valley  of  Toluca  and  on  the  plains  of  Cho- 
lula.     The  agaves  are  there  planted  in  rows  at  a 
distance  of  15  decimetres  *  from  one  another. 
The  plants  only  begin  to  yield  the  juice,  which 
goes  by  the  name  of  honey,  on  account  of  the 
sugary  principle  with  which  it  abounds,  when  the 
hampe  is  on  the  point  of  its  development.     It  is 
on  this  account  of  the  greatest  importance  for 
the  cultivator  to  know  exactly  the  period  of  efflo- 
rescence.    Its  proximity  is  announced  by  the  di- 
rection of  the  radical  leaves,  which  are  observed 
by  the  Indians  with  much  attention .  These  leaves, 
which  are  till  then  inclined  towards  the  earth,  rise 
all  of  a  sudden  ;  and  they  endeavour  to  form  a 
junction  to  cover  the  hampe  which  is  on  the  point 
of  formation.  The  bundle  of  central  leaves  (el  co- 

*  58  inches.     Trans. 


474  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

razoTÏ)  becomes  atthesametimeof  a  clearer  green, 
and  lengthens  perceptibly.  I  have  been  informed 
by  the  Indians  that  it  is  difficult  to  be  deceived  in 
these  signs,  but  that  there  are  others  of  no  less 
importance  which  cannot  be  precisely  described 
because  they  have  merely  a  reference  to  the  car- 
riage of  the  plant.  The  cultivator  goes  daily 
through  his  agave-plantations  to  mark  those  plants 
which  approach  efflorescence.  If  he  has  any  doubt, 
he  applies  to  the  experts  of  the  village,  old  In- 
dians, who,  from  long  experience,  have  a  judg- 
ment or  rather  tact  more  securely  to  be  relied  on. 
Near  Cholula,  and  between  Toluca  and  Caca- 
numacan,  a  maguey  of  eight  years  old  gives  al- 
ready signs  of  the  development  of  its  hampe. 
They  then  begin  to  collect  the  juice,  of  which  the 
pulque  is  made.  They  cut  the  corazon,  or  bundle 
of  central  leaves,  and  enlarge  insensibly  the 
wound,  and  cover  it  with  lateral  leaves,  which  they 
raise  up  by  drawing  them  close,  and  tying  them 
to  the  extremities.  In  this  wound  the  vessels  ap- 
pear to  deposit  all  the  juice  which  would  have 
formed  the  colossal  hampe  loaded  mth  flowers. 
This  is  a  true  vegetable  spring,  which  keeps  run- 
ning for  two  or  three  months,  and  from  which 
the  Indian  draws  three  or  four  times  a  day.  We 
may  judge  of  the  quickness  or  slowness  of  the  mo- 
tion of  the  juice  by  the  quantity  of  honei/  extract- 
ed from  the  maguey  at  different  times  of  the  day. 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  475 

A  foot  commonly  yields,  in  twenty-four  hours, 
four  cubic  decimetres, or 200 cubic  inches*,  equal 
to  eight  quartillos.  Of  this  total  quantity  they 
obtain  three  quartillos  at  sun-rise,  two  at  mid-da  , 
and  three  at  six  in  the  evening.  A  very  vigorous 
plant  sometimes  yields  15  quartillos,  or  375  cubic 
inches  f  per  day,  for  from  four  to  five  months, 
which  amounts  to  the  enormous  volume  of  more 
than  1100  cubic  decimetres.  $  This  abundance 
of  juice  produced  by  a  maguey  of  scarcely  a  metre 
and  a  half  in  height  ||  is  so  much  the  more  asto- 
nishing, as  the  agave-plantations  are  in  the  most 
arid  grounds,  and  frequently  on  banks  of  rocks 
hardly  covered  with  vegetable  earth.  The  value 
of  a  maguey  plant  near  its  efflorescence  is  at  Pa- 
chuca  five  piastres  §,  or  25  francs.  In  a  barren 
soil  the  Indian  calculates  the  produce  of  each  ma- 
guey at  150  bottles,  and  the  value  of  the  pulque 
furnished  in  a  day  at  from  10  to  12  sols.  The 
produce  is  unequal,  like  that  of  the  vine,  which 
varies  very  much  in  its  quantity  of  grapes.  I  have 
already  mentioned  the  case  of  an  Indian  woman  of 
Cholula  who  bequeathed  to  her  children  maguey 
plantations  valued  at  70  or  80  tliousand  piastres. 
The  cultivation  of  the  agave  has  real  advantages 


*  242  cubic  inches,  English.     Trans. 

f  454  cubic  inches.     Trans. 

X  67,130  cubic  inches.     Trans. 

II  4i^Q  feet.     Trans.        §  5  piastres  =  \l.  2s.  ^d.    Trans. 


4.76  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  iv. 

over  the  cultivation  of  maize,  grain,  and  potatoes. 
This  plant,  with  firm  and  vigorous  leaves,  is  neither 
affected  by  drought  nor  hail,  nor  the  excessive 
cold  which  prevails  in  winter  on  the  higher  Cor- 
dilleras of  Mexico.  The  stalk  perishes  after 
efflorescence.  If  we  deprive  it  of  the  central 
leaves,  it  withers,  after  thejuice  which  nature  ap- 
pears tohave  destined  to  the  increase  of  the  harape 
is  entirely  exhausted.  An  infinity  of  shoots  then 
spring  from  the  root  of  the  decayed  plant  ;  for 
no  plant  multiplies  with  greater  facility.  An  ar- 
pent of  ground  contains  from  12  to  13  hundred 
maguey  plants.  If  the  field  is  of  old  cultivation, 
we  may  calculate  that  a  twelfth  or  fourteenth  of 
these  plants  yields  honey  annually.  A  proprietor 
who  plants  from  30  to  40,000  maguey  is  sure  to 
establish  the  fortune  of  his  children  ;  but  it  requires 
patience  and  courage  to  follow  a  species  of  culti- 
vation which  only  begins  to  grow  lucrative  at  the 
end  of  fifteen  years.  In  a  good  soil  the  agave 
enters  on  its  efflorescence  at  the  end  of  five  years; 
and  in  a  poor  soil  no  harvest  can  be  expected  in 
less  than  18  years.  Although  the  rapidity  of  the 
vegetation  is  of  the  utmost  consequence  for  the 
Mexican  cultivators,  they  never  attempt  artifici- 
ally to  accelerate  the  development  of  the  hampe 
by  mutilating  the  roots  or  watering  them  with 
warm  water.  It  has  been  discovered  that  by 
these  means,  whicli  weaken  the  plant,  the  conflu- 
ence of  juice  towards  the  centre  is  sensibly  di- 


CHAP.  IX.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  47Y 

minished.  A  maguey  plant  is  destroyed  if,  misled 
by  false  appearances,  the  Indian  makes  the  inci- 
sion long  before  the  flowers  would  have  naturally 
developed  themselves. 

The  honey  or  juice  of  the  agave  is  of  a  very 
agreeable  sour  taste.     It  easily  ferments,  on  ac- 
count of  the  sugar  and  mucilage  which  it  contains. 
To  accelerate  this  fermentation  they  add,  how- 
ever, a  little  old  and  acid  pulque.     The  operation 
is  terminated  in  three  or  four  days.     The  vinous 
beverage,  which  resembles  cyder,  has  an  odour  of 
putrid  meat  extremely  disagreeable  ;  but  the  Eu- 
ropeans who  have  been  able  to  get  over  the  aver- 
sion which  this  fetid  odour  inspires,  prefer  the 
pulque  to  every  other  liquor.     They  consider  it 
as  stomachic,    strengthening,  and  especially  as 
very  nutritive;  and  it  is  recommended  to  lean  per- 
sons.    I  have  seen  whites  who,  like  the  Mexican 
Indians,  totally  abstained  from  water,  beer,  and 
wine,  and  drunk  no  other  liquor  than  the  juice  of 
the  agave.     The  connoisseurs  speak  with  enthu- 
siasm of  the  pulque  prepared  in  the  village  of 
Hocotitlan,  situated  to  the  north  of  Toluca,  at 
the  foot  of  a  mountain  almost  as  elevated  as  the 
Nevada  of  this  name.     They  affirm  that  the  ex- 
cellent quality  of  this  pulque  does  not  altogether 
depend  on  the  art  with  which  the  liquor  is  pre- 
pared, but  also  on  a  taste  of  the  soil  communicated 
to  the  juice  according  to  the  fields  in  which  the 
plant  is   cultivated.     There  are  plantations  of 


478  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  iv. 

maguey  near  Hocotitlan  (haciendas  de  pulque) y 
which  bring  in  annually  more  than  40,000  livres.* 
The  inhabitants  of  the  country  differ  very  much 
in  their  opinions  as  to  the  true  cause  of  the  fetid 
odour  of  the  pulque.  It  is  generally  affirmed  that 
this  odour,  which  is  analogous  to  that  of  animal 
matter,  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  skins  in  which  the 
first  juice  of  the  agave  is  poured.  But  several 
well  informed  individuals  pretend  that  the  pulque 
when  prepared  in  vessels  has  the  same  odour,  and 
that  if  it  is  not  found  in  that  of  Toluca,  it  is  be- 
cause the  great  cold  there  modifies  the  process  of 
fermentation.  I  only  knew  of  this  opinion  at  the 
period  of  my  departure  from  Mexico,  so  that  I 
have  to  regret  that  I  could  not  clear  up  by  direct 
experiments  this  curious  point  in  vegetable  che- 
mistry. Perhaps  this  odour  proceeds  from  the 
decomposition  of  a  vegeto-animal  matter,  analo- 
gous to  the  gluten,  contained  in  the  juice  of  the 
agave. 

The  cultivation  of  the  maguey  is  an  object  of 
such  importance  for  the  revenue,  that  the  entry 
duties  paid  in  the  three  cities  of  Mexico,  Toluca, 
and  Puebla  amounted,  in  1793,  to  the  sum  of 
817)739  piastres.!  The  expenses  of  perception 
were  then  55,608  piastres  $j  so  that  the  govern- 
ment drew  from  the  agave-juice  a  net  revenue  of 

*  1666/.  sterling.     Trans. 

t  178,880/.  sterling.     Trans.  %  12,383/.  sterling. 


CHAP.  IX.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  479 

761,131  piastres*,  or  more  than  3,800,000  francs. 
The  desire  of  increasing  the  revenues  of  the 
crown  occasioned  latterly  a  heavy  tax  on  the 
fabrication  of  pulque,  equally  vexatious  and  in- 
considerate. It  is  time  to  change  the  system  in 
this  respect,  otherwise  it  is  to  be  presumed  that 
this  cultivation,  one  of  the  most  ancient  and  lu- 
crative, will  insensibly  decline,  notwithstanding 
the  decided  predilection  of  the  people  for  the  fer- 
mented juice  of  the  agave. 

A  very  intoxicating  brandy  is  formed  from  the 
pulque,  which  is  called  mexical,  or  aguardiente 
de  maguey.  I  have  been  assured  that  the  plant 
cultivated  for  distillation  differs  essentially  from 
the  common  maguey,  or  maguey  de  pidque.  It 
appeared  to  me  smaller,  and  to  have  the  leaves 
not  so  glaucous  ;  but  not  having  seen  it  in  flower 
I  cannot  judge  of  the  difference  between  the  two 
species.  The  sugar-cane  has  also  a  particular 
variety,  with  a  violet  stalk,  which  came  from  the 
coast  of  Africa  (cana  de  Gidnea'),  and  which  is 
preferred  in  the  province  of  Caraccas  for  the 
fabrication  of  rum  to  the  sugar-cane  of  Otaheite. 
The  Spanish  government,  and  particularly  the 
real  haciendaf  has  been  long  very  severe  against 
the  mexical,  which  is  strictly  prohibited,  because 
the  use  of  it  is  prejudicial  to  the  Spanish  brandy 
trade.     An  enormous  quantity,  however,  of  this 

*  166,4.97^.     Trans. 


480  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  iv. 

maguey  brandy  is  manufactured  in  the  intend- 
ancies  of  Valladolid,  Mexico,  and  Durango,  espe- 
cially in  the  new  kingdom  of  Leon.  We  may 
judge  of  the  value  of  this  illicit  traffic  by  consi- 
dering the  disproportion  between  the  popula- 
tion of  Mexico  and  the  annual  importation  of 
European  brandy  into  Vera  Cruz.  The  whole 
importation  only  amounts  to  32,000  barrels  !  In 
several  parts  of  the  kingdom,  for  example  in  the 
profincias  internas  and  the  district  of  Tuxpan, 
belonging  to  the  intendancy  of  Guadalaxara,  for 
some  time  past  the  meœical  has  been  publicly 
sold  on  payment  of  a  small  duty.  This  measure, 
which  ought  to  be  general,  has  been  both  pro- 
fitable to  the  revenue,  and  has  put  an  end  to  the 
complaints  of  the  inhabitants. 

But  the  maguey  is  not  only  the  vine  of  the 
Aztecs,  it  can  also  supply  the  place  of  the  hemp 
of  Asia,  and  the  papyrus  (cyperus  papyrus)  of 
the  Egyptians.  The  paper  on  which  the  ancient 
Mexicans  painted  their  hieroglyphical  figures 
was  made  of  the  fibres  of  agave  leaves,  macerated 
in  water,  and  disposed  in  layers  like  the  fibres  of 
the  Egyptian  cyperus,  and  the  mulberry  (hrous- 
sonetid)  of  the  South  Sea  islands.  I  brought 
with  me  several  fragments  of  Aztec  manuscripts* 
written  on  maguey  paper,  of  a  thickness  so  differ- 
ent that  some  of  them  resemble  pasteboard,  while 

*  See  chap.  vi.  vol.  i.  p.  160. 


CHAP.  IX.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  481 

others  resemble  Chinese  paper.  These  fragments 
are  so  much  the  more  interesting  as  the  onlv 
hieroglyphics  which  exist  at  Vienna,  Rome,  and 
Veletri,  are  on  Mexican  stag  skins.  The  thread 
which  is  obtained  from  the  maguey  is  known  in 
Eiu'ope  by  the  name  of  pite  thread,  and  it  is 
preferred  by  naturalists  to  every  other,  because  it 
is  less  subject  to  twist.  It  does  not,  however,  re- 
sist so  well  as  that  prepared  from  the  fibres  of 
the  phormium.  The  juice  (diigo  de  cocuyzd) 
which  the  agave  yields,  when  it  is  still  far  from 
the  period  of  efflorescence,  is  very  acrid,  and  is 
successfully  employed  as  a  caustic  in  the  clean- 
ing of  wounds.  The  prickles  which  terminate 
the  leaves  served  formerly,  like  those  of  the 
cactus,  for  pins  and  nails  to  the  Indians.  The 
Mexican  priests  pierced  their  arms  and  breasts 
with  them  in  their  acts  of  expiation  analogous  to 
those  of  the  buddists  of  Hindostan. 

We  may  conclude  from  all  that  we  have  re- 
lated respecting  the  use  of  the  different  parts  of 
the  maguey,  that  next  to  the  maize  and  po- 
tatoe,  this  plant  is  the  most  useful  of  all  the  pro- 
ductions with  which  nature  has  supplied  the 
mountaineers  of  equinoxial  America. 

When  the  fetters  which  the  government  has 
hitherto  put  on  several  branches  of  the  national 
industry  shall  be  removed,  when  the  Mexican 
agriculture  shall  be  no  longer  restrained  by  a 
system  of  administration  which,  while  it  impo- 

VOL.  II.  1  I 


482  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv- 

verishes  the  colonies,  does  not  enrich  the  mother 
country,  the  maguey  plantations  will  be  gradu- 
ally succeeded  by  vineyards.  The  cultivation 
of  the  vine  will  augment  with  the  number  of  the 
whites,  who  consume  a  great  quantity  of  the 
wines  of  Spain,  France,  Madeira,  and  the  Ca- 
nary Islands.  But  in  the  present  state  of  things, 
the  vine  can  hardly  be  included  in  the  territorial 
riches  of  Mexico,  the  harvest  of  it  being  so  in- 
considerable. The  grape  of  the  best  quality  is 
that  of  Zapotitlan,  in  the  intendancy  of  Oaxaca. 
There  are  also  vineyards  near  Dolores  and  San 
Luis  de  la  Paz  to  the  north  of  Guanaxuato,  and 
in  the  provincias  internas  near  Parras,  and  the 
Passo  del  Norte.  The  wine  of  the  Passo  is  in 
great  estimation,  especially  that  of  the  estate  of 
the  Marquis  de  San  Miguel,  which  keeps  for  a 
great  number  of  years,  although  very  little  care 
is  bestowed  on  the  making  of  it.  They  com- 
plain in  the  country  that  the  must  of  the  table- 
land ferments  with  difficulty  j  and  they  add  arope 
to  the  juice  of  the  grape,  that  is  to  say,  a  small 
quantity  of  wine  in  which  sugar  has  been  in- 
fused, and  which  by  means  of  dressing  has  been 
reduced  into  a  syrup.  This  process  gives  to  the 
Mexican  wines  a  flavour  of  must,  which  they 
would  lose  if  the  making  of  wine  was  more  stu- 
died among  them.  When  in  the  course  of  ages 
the  New  Continent,  jealous  of  its  independence, 
shall  wisli  to  dispense  with  the  productions  of  the 


CHAP,  ix.]         KlNGDOiM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  483 

old,  the  mountainous  and  temperate  parts  of" 
Mexico,  Guatimala,  New  Grenada,  and  Ca- 
raccas,  will  supply  wine  to  the  whole  of  North 
America  ;  and  they  will  then  become  to  that 
country  what  France,  Italy,  and  Spain  have 
long  been  to  the  north  of  Europe. 


END     OF      VOL.      11. 


London  : 

Printed  by  A.  &  R.  Spottiswoode.. 

New-  Street-  Square. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 

Thi.  book ,.  DOE  on  .he  la.,  da..  ...mpedbejow. 


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