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29 chapters
PREFACE
PREFACE
The history of a continent such as South America, confined to the limits of a single volume of moderate size, must of necessity contain some elements of mere survey. Nevertheless, since in no other but a condensed form could the respective strides achieved by the various nations of this continent be satisfactorily judged and compared, the author is encouraged to hope that this small work may fill in one of the most obvious of the many gaps in the English versions of South American history. He ha
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THE CONTINENT IN PRE-SPANISH DAYS
THE CONTINENT IN PRE-SPANISH DAYS
The discovery of South America stands as one of the most dramatic events in history. From the time of its occurrence until the present so deeply has this event impressed itself on men's minds that the previous state of the Continent has been a somewhat neglected topic. The Incas and their civilization, it is true, have attracted no small share of attention to themselves, and the subject has become more or less familiar to the average English reader through the medium of the work of Prescott, who
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COLUMBUS
COLUMBUS
Columbus was admittedly a visionary. It was to the benefit of his fellow Europeans and to the detriment of the South American tribes that to his dreams he joined the practical side of his nature. Certainly the value of imagination in a human being has never been more strikingly proved than by the triumph of Columbus. The enthusiasm of the great Genoese was of the kind which has tided men over obstacles and difficulties and troubles throughout the ages. He was undoubtedly of the nervous and highl
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THE SPANISH CONQUISTADORES
THE SPANISH CONQUISTADORES
The pioneer conquistadores of South America afford an interesting study. Such men as those who took their lives in their hands and sailed out into the unknown were actuated by two motives—the love of adventure and the desire of gain. There is no doubt that the second consideration by far outweighed the first. A man of the period left Spain or Portugal for the New World for one cogent reason only, to seek his fortune. If he won fame in the achievement of this, so much the better. Indeed, as a mat
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THE DISCOVERY AND EARLY HISTORY OF BRAZIL
THE DISCOVERY AND EARLY HISTORY OF BRAZIL
It still remains a point of dispute between the Spanish and Portuguese nations as to who was the discoverer of Brazil. There is, moreover, Amerigo Vespucci. Amerigo Vespucci may be said to have been more successful in his accounts of his voyages than in the feats which he actually accomplished. To have succeeded on such slender foundation in causing an entire Continent to be christened by his name was in itself no mean performance, and this was probably his greatest claim to distinction. Some hi
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THE CONQUEST OF PERU
THE CONQUEST OF PERU
The story of Pizarro and the Incas has been told many hundreds of times, yet owing to the sheer audacity of which its elements are composed it would seem to retain its interest almost unimpaired. That a mere handful of men should have banded themselves together to conquer a nation which counted its subjects by the hundred thousand, and which could claim a civilization that included great armies, remains almost beyond belief. The Incas themselves, moreover, were a conquering race, and their troop
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SPANIARD AND NATIVE
SPANIARD AND NATIVE
The collisions with the various peoples of the Continent had now afforded the conquistadores an opportunity of testing the power of each. The force of the impact had, it is true, swept into the background the first peoples with whom they had come into contact; but, as the scanty numbers of the pioneers filtered across the new territories, they found that the task of annexation was by no means so easy in every case. So far as a warlike spirit was concerned, the difference between the aboriginal t
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THE COLONIZATION OF THE SOUTH
THE COLONIZATION OF THE SOUTH
It was natural that after the first occupation of the New World the tendency of the explorers should have been to turn their attention to the south and to the still undiscovered lands. At the first glimpse the aspect of the Atlantic coast to the south of Brazil gave little promise of the wealth—that is to say, of the gold—sought by the pioneers, since its shores were low, marshy, and alluvial. In 1515 Juan de Solis sailed to the mouth of the River Plate, and landed on the coast of Uruguay. His p
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THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN COLONIES
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN COLONIES
Having now definitely obtained possession of the enormous territories of South America, it was equally the policy of both Spain and Portugal to retain the enjoyment of the new lands and of their produce for themselves alone. In order to effect this, stringent laws were laid down from the very inception of the colonization of the Continent. In a nutshell, they amounted to this: none but Spaniards might trade with the Spanish possessions of South America, and none but Portuguese with the Colony of
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FOREIGN RAIDS ON THE SPANISH COLONIES
FOREIGN RAIDS ON THE SPANISH COLONIES
Had the laws of the Indies been differently framed, there is no doubt that the hardy sailors and reckless buccaneers who plundered these coasts would have had no existence, and that South America would have remained unprovided with much of its grim romance. As it was, Spain, by her imperious policy of "hands off," had flung a challenge to every adventurer of the other nations throughout Europe. During the earliest periods of its colonization the reports from the New World were naturally somewhat
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FOREIGN RAIDS ON PORTUGUESE COLONIES
FOREIGN RAIDS ON PORTUGUESE COLONIES
The rivalry which had existed between the Portuguese and the French in the early days of Brazilian colonization has already been referred to. With this exception, the first era of the Colony of Brazil was comparatively peaceful—that is to say, the Portuguese, proving themselves of a more liberal temperament than the Spaniards, did not suffer from the fierce aggressions of the English and the Dutch to the same extent as did their Castilian neighbours. In 1580, however, the situation altered itsel
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THE COLONY OF PERU
THE COLONY OF PERU
With South America now definitely settled, we may glance at the various provinces which constituted the Spanish American Continent. For a long while after the first establishment of the Spanish dominion the divisions between the various districts remained far fewer in number than was later the case. South America may be said to have been partitioned off in the early days into four main divisions. The northernmost of these was commonly known as Terra Firma, and comprised New Granada and the neigh
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THE COLONY OF CHILE
THE COLONY OF CHILE
In Chile, as has been said, the conquest of the land was effected under far more strenuous circumstances than those which applied to any other part of South America, with the exception, perhaps, of the coasts in the neighbourhood of the estuary of the River Plate. In the early days of Chile it is literally true that the colonists were obliged to go about their labours with a handful of seed in one hand and a weapon of defence in the other. It was owing to this constant warlike preoccupation that
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THE COLONIES OF PARAGUAY AND THE RIVER PLATE
THE COLONIES OF PARAGUAY AND THE RIVER PLATE
We have seen how the Spaniards, having in the first instance attempted without success to establish themselves in Buenos Aires, had made their way up the great river system to Asuncion, and, having become firmly settled there, had in the end extended their dominions to the south again, and had founded the town of Buenos Aires for the second time. In the early days of these particular settlements, notwithstanding this extension to the south-east, Asuncion remained the capital of the province, whi
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THE NORTHERN COLONIES
THE NORTHERN COLONIES
It is, to a certain extent, difficult for one familiar with the South America of to-day to realize the New Granada of the Spanish colonial period. From Guiana westward along the northern coast was an extensive and, for the most part, unexploited stretch of territory, devoid of such arbitrary boundaries as characterize it to-day, and limited only on the north and west by the sea, and on the south by the Portuguese colony of Brazil and the great Spanish territory of Peru. Venezuela, Colombia, and
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THE LAST DAYS OF EMPIRE
THE LAST DAYS OF EMPIRE
We have now arrived at the most critical of all the periods which Spanish South America has undergone in the course of its history, the decade or so which preceded the actual outbreak of the revolutionary wars. In order to arrive at a just appreciation of the situation it is necessary to realize that, although the policy of Spain had consistently demonstrated itself as discouraging towards learning and progress in every direction, to such an extent had the population of the colonies grown that t
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THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE—I
THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE—I
The analogy between the first invasions of South America by the conquistadores and the campaign of liberation undertaken by the South Americans of a later age is curious to remark. The conquistadores undertook three separate invasions: the first in the north; the second in Peru, and subsequently Chile; the third in the Provinces of the River Plate. In the struggle of the South Americans against the Spanish forces, the field of war was divided into precisely the same categories. Bolivar, Sucre, M
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THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE—II
THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE—II
It was at Mendoza that the famous Argentine General, San Martin, recruited the army destined for the campaign of Chile. In 1817 everything was prepared, and with an army of 4,000 men San Martin set out on one of the most extraordinary military marches that history has known. Indeed, his passage of the Andes is considered as unique by numerous military experts. The advance of San Martin was not altogether unexpected by the Royalist forces, whose spies kept the Spanish commander informed of this l
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BRAZIL: FROM COLONY TO EMPIRE
BRAZIL: FROM COLONY TO EMPIRE
Until the period of Napoleonic chaos which overwhelmed the two westernmost countries of Europe, the South American colonies of Spain and Portugal had continued their existence on similar lines. Both had been entirely subservient to the Mother Country. The laws which governed Brazil and the Spanish colonies were framed on the same model, and the disadvantages under which the colonists of either nation had laboured from the start had been practically identical. With the upheaval which occurred at
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THE EMPIRE OF BRAZIL
THE EMPIRE OF BRAZIL
Portuguese acquiescence in Dom Pedro's sovereignty was brought about largely by the instrumentality of Lord Cochrane, who, after harrying the deported garrison of Bahia when on its voyage to Europe, brought about the capitulation of Maranhão and Pará, acting in concert with Grenfell, another ocean free-lance, second only to Cochrane in daring and versatility. In Montevideo the General commanding the Portuguese garrison declared for independence, and left the soldiers to make their own choice; wh
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FROM EMPIRE TO REPUBLIC
FROM EMPIRE TO REPUBLIC
Dom Pedro II. was but five years old when his father abdicated in his favour on April 7, 1831, and, during his minority, the government of the country was entrusted to Regents. In 1840, when he was fifteen years old, it was officially announced that he had attained his majority, and he was crowned in 1841. In 1843 he married Theresa Christine, sister of Ferdinand II. of the Two Sicilies. His sons died in their childhood, and his daughter Isabella became heiress to the crown. Pedro II. came to th
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MODERN BRAZIL
MODERN BRAZIL
After the deportation of their third Monarch, the Brazilians settled down to enjoy the advantages of an ideal and much-exalted Republican Government; but it was not long before they encountered some sharp disillusions. Their first President, General Don Manuel Deodoro de Fonseca, who had been mainly responsible for the expulsion of the Emperor, was installed immediately after Pedro's departure as head of the Brazilian Government. He began by proving that a Republic in the midst of unsettled poli
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THE INDEPENDENCE OF SPANISH AMERICA
THE INDEPENDENCE OF SPANISH AMERICA
Having followed the course of the Brazilian fortunes from the elevation of the province to a kingdom, from its promotion to an Empire, and from its Imperial status to its modern Republican condition, it is necessary to revert again to the Spanish-speaking territories of the Continent. It must be admitted that the epoch that immediately followed the war of liberation was one of strife and bitter disillusion. A certain number of the leaders had foreseen the chaotic phase which had necessarily to b
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THE REPUBLIC OF PERU
THE REPUBLIC OF PERU
With the end of the Spanish power the centres of importance—hitherto quite arbitrarily and artificially chosen—tended to drift to their natural situations. From time to time it is true that the balance continued to be disturbed by political considerations, but in the main the true order of progress was permitted to proceed unchecked. Thus the importance of Peru fell to its intrinsic and industrial level, and the States of the north, artificially buoyed up for generations as these had been by the
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THE REPUBLIC OF PARAGUAY
THE REPUBLIC OF PARAGUAY
We have seen how Paraguay, having in the early days of the war of liberation compelled the retirement of the Argentine army commanded by General Belgrano, was left to its own resources. It is said by some that Belgrano, during the intercourse he maintained with the Paraguayans subsequent to the defeat of his force and previous to his definite retreat, contrived to inculcate some ideas of independence into the heads of the officials of the inland province. These seeds of liberty may or may not ha
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THE PARAGUAYAN WAR
THE PARAGUAYAN WAR
Although four States were involved in the struggle, South American historians are unanimous in giving the strife which broke out in 1864 the name of the Paraguayan War. This is appropriate enough, for a number of reasons, one of them being that, after the first invading expedition on the part of the Paraguayan armies, the war was fought out on Paraguayan soil. The capture by the Paraguayans of the Brazilian steamer Marques de Olinda demonstrated to South America that the moment of contest had ar
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THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE
THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE
It has already been said how, at the conclusion of the War of Liberation in Chile, Bernardo O'Higgins found himself at the head of the State. The first President was in every respect admirably fitted for his office. The post, moreover, was nothing beyond his deserts, since he, more than the majority of the other patriots, had suffered for the cause. The youth of Bernardo O'Higgins was far more chequered than that which falls to the lot of most young men. Owing to the peculiar circumstances of hi
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THE REPUBLICS OF THE RIVER PLATE
THE REPUBLICS OF THE RIVER PLATE
The history of no other Republic immediately following on the period of the Wars of Liberation is quite so complicated as that of Argentina. The circumstances in the River Plate Provinces differed somewhat from those of any other part of Spanish South America. From the outset Argentina loomed more largely in the eye of Europe than did any other of the sister States. No sooner were the ports thrown open by the newly constituted Republics than the foreigners flocked to Argentine soil in numbers wh
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THE NORTHERN REPUBLICS
THE NORTHERN REPUBLICS
Such history as can be claimed by the remaining Republics of South America has been achieved, from the political point of view, on a far smaller and less conspicuous scale than that of the great southern and central states. In many respects the happenings have been more strictly local, although, of course, there have been a certain number of incidents, such as that of President Castro in Venezuela, whose irresponsible conduct roused half the European Powers to take action against his country, an
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