Outline of the revolution in Spanish America; or, An account of the origin, progress, and actual state of the war carried on between Spain and Spanish America; containing the principal facts which have marked the struggle

Preface

THE object of the present publication is to give an outline of the origin, progress, ^nd actual state of the Revolution in Spanish America. The author has confined himself, as much as possible, to the simple relation of facts, leaving it to his readers to draw their conclusions from them. All that is contained in the book is to be found in official and other authentic documents. Of many of the facts related, the author himself has been witness, and of many others he possesses detailed accounts from men of credit and information. He has not neglected any publication on the subject from which 1* useful matter was to be obtained ; viz. the newspapers printed in every part of America ; the bulletins of the military commanders ; La Historia de la Revolucion de Mexico, by El Doctor Don Jose Guerra ; the Expose to the Prince Regent of England, by Mr. W. Walton ; the articles inserted in El Espanoi, by D. J. M. Blanco White; and the work De Colonies et de I'Amerique, by M. de Pradt. It may, perhaps, be objected to the narrative, that it is incomplete in omitting the relation of some of those revolting cruelties which stain the history of every such contest, and have not been want^ ing here. The author believes, however, that quite enough of them is detailed to give a just idea of the spirit which has been ac=- tuating the parties in the war, and that was the object..

This Work will labour under one disadvantage in seeking the approbation of th^

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reader accustomed to a correct English style; Spanish idioms will be found in it, and, perhaps, other imperfections springing from the same source. These may not affect the sense of the Work, but the effect being^ unpleasant to correct taste, it would haye^ been well had they been avoided.

Chapter I

Territorial Divisions of Spanish America. — Manner in which it was governed before the war. — Attempts at revolution in the last century. — Grievances of which the Americans complained.

The continental part of Spanish America, as politically divided by the Spanish government, comprehends the viceroyalties of New Spain or Mexico, Santa Fe de Bogota or New Grenada, Peru, Buenos Ayres or the provinces of Rio de la Plata, and the captain-generalships of Goatemala, Venezuela, and Chili. These territories were, before 1810, governed by chiefs named by the king of Spain, who acted independently of each other. The viceroyalties and captain-generalships were subdivided into intendencias and provinces, over which presided intendentes^ gober?iadores, or corregidores, likewise earned by the king, but dependent on the viceroys or captains-general The provinces were again divided into departments, in which resided the delegates of the chiefs of the provinces, and the judges called alcaldes, named by the municipalities cabildos, there to maintain the civil power. The viceroys and captains-general united in themselves the civil and military powers ; and though generally these united powers were likewise vested in, the governorsj. sometimes there were chiefs, named mnmandantes, who separately held in the provinces the military command. The municipalities had the care of provisioning the towns, and of the minor police, whicb has for its object the health and comfort of the inhabitants.

The administration of justice was intrusted to magistrates, called oidores, who, when united, formed the judicial courts, named audiencias. Of these the presidents were the chiefs residing in the towns in which the audiencia had place, viz. Mexico, Guadalaxara, Goatemala, Caraccas, Santa Fe de Bogota, Q,uito, Lima, Cusco, Chuquisaca, Chili, and Buenos Ayres. The generality of causes were first tried by the governors, corregidores, their delegates, or the alcaldes, who acted by the advice of a lawyer, asesor, unless they were themselves law-professors ; their sentence had to be confirmed by the audicwcm, and in case of dissatisfaction the cause was tried a second time by that courts Many privileged cases, /os easos de corte, were solely tried by the audiencias.

According to the solemn and special contract entered into between the kings of Spain, and the discoverers, conquerors, and settlers in Spanish America, these last were to remain lords of the country, on the basis of feudal vassalage, under the names of encemenderos. Such, however, was the inhuman conduct of the first of these towards the natives, that Charles the fifth and his successors were under the necessity of gradually abolishing many ©f their privileges ; and the encomiendas fell at length, in most of the provinces, to the crown : certain lesser privileges were then granted to the settlers, in lieu of those originally possessed, with the titles of marquis, count, &c.

Spanish America was from that time considered as a kingdom, independent in itself, yet united to Spain, as being both under the government of one king. It was m consequence enacted, that from the laws of the Indies, all title, name, qy notion of conq^uest should be erased,, and.

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the Indians declared subjects of the king, in all respects the same as the Castilians. The incorporation of Spanish America to the crown of Castile was decreed by Charles the fifth, in Barcelona, the 14th of September, 1519, and confirmed by Donna Juana, Philippe the second, and Charles the second. And " considering," concludes the emperor Charles the fifth, *' the fidelity of our vassals, and the fatigues which the discoverers and settlers experienced in making their discoveries and settlements, and •in order that they may possess with more certainty and confidence the right of always remaining united to our royal crown, we promise, and pledge our faith and royal word, in behalf of ourselves, and the kings our successors, for ever and ever, that their cities and settlements on no account or reason, or in favour of any person whatever, shall be alienated, or separated, wholly or in part; and that if we, or any of our successors should make any gift or alienation thereof, contrary to our express declaration, the same shall be held as null and void." Ley 1. tit. K lib. 3. Ley 7. tit. 1. lib. 4. de la Recopilacion de Indias.

In the opening of the royal decree, published in the year 1324, for the nomination of a supreme council for the Indies, the term kingdom is expressly used ; and its use is accompanied with the admission, that the inhabitants had a natural right to hold the appointments of profit and honour in the country. Baron Humboldt, in his Essai Politique on New Spain, chap. 12. lib. 6. observes, that the kings of Spain, by taking the title of king of the Indies, have considered these distant possessions rather as integral parts of the Spanish monarchy, or as provinces dependent on the crown of Castile, than as colonies, in the senses attached to that word, since the sixteenth century, by the commercial nations of Europe.

The energetic remonstrances of Montesino, Cordovay Las Casas, and others, to the court of Spain, against the

-arbitrary measures of the conquerors and settlers, gaV* i:ise to the establishment of the council of the Indies. This council is empowered by titulo 2^ lib. 2*^ de la Kecopilacion de Indias, to make laws, pragmaiicas, ordenanzas^ &c. &c. for the Indies, as being invested with the supreme authority over them, and was at the same time commanded to watch over the execution of the laWs enacted to favour the new subjects. These, with many regulations scarcely deserving the name of laws, because so perfectly frivolous, form the basis of the code named Recopilacion de Indias.

The legislative power of the kingdom of the Indies Tested then in the council of the Indies and the king ; and the executive power in the viceroys and captains-general. The viceroys were invested besides with royal power ; that is to say, they were authorized by a special commission to act with plenitude of power in extraordinary and delicate emergencies.

The royal pleasure was expressed by cedulas reales, he. (principum placita et rescripta,) which, though never united into a body of laws, and very frequently revoked, formed the first legislative code of Spanish America, After this ranked la Recopilacion de Indias, that of Castilla, and the common law, or las siete partidas. Titulo 1. libro 2. de la Recopilacion. Where all these proved defective, which was often the case, reference was made 4o the opinion of law-practitioners.

The system of finance was founded on the following principles : 1st, That the king was proprietor of the land, lib. 4. tit. 12. de la Recopilacion, 2dly, The Indians paid a contribution by a poll-tax or capitation, lib. 6. tit. 12. and lib. 6. tit. 15. ; and by the Mita in Peru, every Indian was obliged to work in the mines for eighteen months, not at one continued period, but at different times, making in the whole eighteen months, between the ages of eighteen and fifty. 3dly, A tenth part of the produce of the cultivated land was paid under the denomination of tithes, which were levied for the protection the king granted to churches, according to an agreement made with different popes ; see titulo de diezmos in the Reeopilacion. 4th, The indirect taxes were the custom-house duties ; the alcabala, or duty paid on selling almost every article of commerce or provisions, and the fifth, quinto, of all gold and silver extracted from the mines not jjelonging to the king ; see the titulos de la alcabala, en," 'sayo del oro &c. in the Recopilacion. There were articles, the sale of which was confined to the king's officers, as tobacco, and salt, and cards ; and the revenue arising from the postage of letters went likewise into the king^s treasury, and, in many provinces, a duty was paid for the right of keeping boats to cross the rivers, for keeping game-cocks, and for selling the beverages called pulche^ guarapoj &c. see titulo de los Estancos in the Recopilacion; instructions for the Intendentes, &c. The collection of these taxes was intrusted to different officers in the different departments of the administration, and the product of them was deposited in the general treasury ; from whence it was sent to Spain, or disposed of otherwise, according to the orders of the juntas superiores de Hacienda, which were assembled in the capitals, and were composed of the Intendente, who was the president, the regente of the Audiencia, two contadores majores, the fiscal, called de lo civil, the official realy senior in office, and one escribano real.

From the most exact calculations, it is supposed that the continental partof Spanish America contains thirteen millions of inhabitants ; Indians, Spaniards, Negroes, and their descendants, without including the nations oj Indians still exiMtiiig independent of the Spanish govein ::ent, on the banks of the Meta, the costa of the GuagiroSj on the 2 banks of the Oronoco, Rio Negro, Pampas de Buenos' Ajres, &c. Part of the population of Spanish America is employed in agriculture, especially in Venezuela, Goateraala, Guayaqudil, Chili, Carthagena, &;c. ; many in the care of cattle, particularly in the provinces of Rio de la Plata, and part of Venezuela ; while the inhabitants of several provinces of Mexico, Peru, and New Grenada, are almost wholly employed in working the mines.

The Indians and Negroes have retained in a great measure their primitive customs ; the Creoles have received theirs from the Spaniards. The Catholic religion being that of Spanish America, the church government and ecclesiastical dignities are the same as in the mother country ; archbishops, bishops, &c. who were nominated by the king, in conformity with the privilege granted lo him by Julius the Second, in the year 1508, which is caMed real patronato. See tit. 6. lib. 1. de la Recopilacion. The inquisition was also established in the new continent.

Considerable ignorance, even of the most necessary arts of life, reigned throughout these immense territories, with the exception of the capitals ; and in Mexico, Lima, and Santa Fe de Bogota, the studies of medicine and some branches of natural history are pursued with much success. The Creoles applied themselves with much earnestness to theology and law, for in those pursuits alone was honour to be obtained. They actually took the degree of doctor from the universities, of which there were nine in Spanish America.

All access to the Spanish settlements was not merely closed to foreigners, but even tiTe inhabitants of the different provinces were prohibited from intercourse wiili one another ; ley 8. tit. 18. lib. 4. Cedida of 1609 ; ley W, and 68« tit, 45. lib, 9. Recopilacion d^ Indias. Com-

Efierce was exclusively carried on with Spain, and was almost entirely in the hands of the Spaniards. Ley 7. tit. 87. libro 9. de la Recopilacion^ prohibits the inhabitants of Spanish America^ under penalty of death, to trade with foreigners on any pretext whatever. About the end of the last century, there were some few instances of special licenses having been obtained from the viceroys ^nd captains-general to trade with the Antillas, in cases of very difficult communication with the mother country. In 1797 the court of Madrid was under the necessity of allowing some of the ports of Terra Firma to be opened for the advantage of commerce ; for, in consequence of the war, Spain found herself unable to supply her distant colonies with those European articles they had long been accustomed to, and which had consequently become to them necessaries. Urged by similar motives, Cisneros, the viceroy of the provinces of Rio de la Plata, in 1809, opened the ports of Buenos Ayres, that a free trade might be carried on with the nations in alliance with Spain.

The court of Madrid very long maintained its power in the new continent, though supported by but a small number of Spanish troops, the Creoles being cordially attached to the mother country, and the Indians unable to free themselves : but about the middle of the last century there was, in Caraccas, a plan of conspiracy formed by a Canarian named Leon, who, trusting to the support of his partisans, whom he considered numerous, intended to destroy the company of Guipuscoa, to which the privilege had been granted of exclusively trading with Venezuela. His design was however discovered, he was condemned to death, bis house razed to the ground, and a column placed on the spot to perpetuate horror of his plan.

An act of injustice, to which Dojd J. Gr. Tupac-Amaru fead been exposed by the Audiencia of Lima, and the iiftsults he had received from a corregidor, added to a feeling of the abject state to which the Indian nations were reduced by the oppressions of the Repartiniientos, and by the new taxes imposed upon them, gave rise to the insurrection which took place in Peru in 1780. By the system of the Repartimientos, the Indians were obliged to receive their necessary supplies of goods, hardware, and mules from the corregidores at the prices they fixed, and ©n the credit they thought proper to give.

The exertions of several individuals who came forward in the general cause, at the instigation of Tupac Amaru, soon spread a spirit of resistance for three hundred leagues through the interior of the country, where the most bloody scenes soon were exhibited. It was at first little more than a slight revolt of the native Indians against the oppression of the corregidores and other agents of government. The contest lasted three years with varied success, and Tupac- Amaru had been hailed Ynca of Peru. The conduct of Tupac-Amaru, however, did not conciliate the minds of the people, and the efiforts of the Indians became feeble, partly on account of the difficulty they found in being supplied with arms and ammunition. The combined attacks of the troops of Buenos Ayres and Lima, then gave confidence to the Spaniards, in whose favour the greatest part of the people declared, notwithstanding their earnest desire for a change in the administration. Tupac-Amaru, and many of the principal leaders of the faction, were put to death in a shocking manner.

In 1781, in consequence of some reforms, and additional taxes imposed in New Grenada, by the Regente Pineres, the province of Socorro, one of the most populous of that viceroyalty, openly declared against the late changes ; and having assembled near seventeen thousand men, they marched against Santa Fe de Bogota, crying,

'« Long live the king, but death to our bad governors.*'^ The capital was in a defenceless state, and they proceeded in triumph till they reached the plain called Mortino, about twelve leagues from Santa Fe, where they met the archbishop Gongora, dressed in his pontifical robes, holding the host in his hands. At such an unexpected meeting the Socorrenos halted, impressed with awe and astonishment ; and the archbishop, availing himself of this happy moment, proposed to their leader, Don Salvador Plata, to hold a conference. The result was, that they came to terms of accommodation, and the assembled multitude dispersed. The Socorrenos afterwards complained that the articles of capitulation were never complied with.

Some few Creoles and Spaniards, well acquainted with the principles laid down by the French politicians in the early period of the French Revolution, and even with those of the writers who had immediately preceded that period^ formed a plan for revolution in Caraccas in 1797. They treated with contempt the Spanish government, their navy having received many severe blows ; and above all trusting to the protection of the English, in consequence of Mr. Pitt's well-known plan of giving independence to Terra Firma. The conspiracy was discovered when on the eve of breaking out, and the ostensible leaders, Don M. Gual and Don J. M. Espana, made their escape to the neighbouring island. Don Espana returned two years after to La Guayra, but being discovered, he was hanged. The following is Sir Thomas Picton's proclamation, which was circulated through the contiguous islands at that time : — ^^ By virtue of an official paper, which I, the governor of this island of Trinidad, have received from the right honourable Henry Dundas-, minister, of his Britannic Majesty for foreign affairs, dated, 7tb April, 1797, which I here publish in obedience to orders, and for the use which your Excellencies may draw from' its publication, in order that you may communicate its tenor, which is literally as follows :— ' The object which at present I desire most particularly to recommend to your attention, is the means which might be best adapted to liberate the people of the continent near to the island of Trinidad, from the oppressive and tyrannic system which supports, with so much rigour, the monopoly of commerce, under the title of exclusive registers, which their government licenses demand ; also to draw the greatest advantages possible, and which the local situation of the island presents, by opening a direct and free communication with the other parts of the world, without prejudice to the commerce of the British nation. In order to fulfil this intention with greater facility, it will be prudent for your Excellency to animate the inhabitants of Trinidad in keeping up the communication which they had with those of Terra Firma, previous to the reduction of that island ; under the assurance, that they will find there an entrepot, or general magazine of every sort of goods whatever. To this end, his Britannic Majesty has determined in council to grant freedom to the ports of Trinidad, with a direct trade to Great Britain.'

'' With regard to the hopes you entertain of raising the spirits of those persons, with whom you are in correspondence, towards encouraging the inhabitants to resist th& oppressive authority of their government , I have little mor^ to say, than that they may be certain that, whenever they are in that disposition^, they may receive at your hands all the succours to be expectedfrom his Britannic Majesty, be it with forces, or with arms and ammunition to any extent ; with the assurance, that the views of his Britannic Majesty go no further than to secure to them their independence^ mhout pretending to any sovereignty over their country, nof even to inierfere in the privileges of the people^ nor in their political, civil, or religious rights.'''

''setjtiefnW.' \ THOMAS PICTON, &c. &c.

To assist the revolutionary party in Spanish Americaj the English cabinet paid the expedition of Miranda to Venezuela in 1806, and sent that of Whitelocke to Bue^ nos Ayres in 1807, both of which however failed.

The different attacks made by the English and French on the coasts of Spanish America obliged the Spaniards to form a plan for raising an additional military force to assist the army already' stationed in the ports, in case of any renewed attack. The civil commotions above alluded to gave rise likevyise to a desirable military system, for placing the capitals in a situation which might enable the chiefs both to give and receive support in case of any insurrection. But although the troops were chiefly concentrated in the capitals, some were still kept in the provinces to enforce allegiance in case of necessity.

When we observe the attachment of the Spaniards to their country, the respect the Creoles entertained for Spain, the feeble minds of the Indians, and the state of political insignificance in which the other races were kept, it is not wonderful that for three centuries they should have submitted to be governed by laws established in a country more than two thousand leagues distant, without making any effort for independence. Aad when some enterprising characters endeavoured to excite revolt, the difficulties which attended their undertaking, and the facility with which the Spanish government stifled their plans for independence, may easily be accounted for, by the vigilance of the chiefs, as well as of the inquisition, and the apathy of the Creoles, the natural consequence €>{ their education,

I do not pretend, however, to assert that the inhabitants of Spanish America were satisfied with the court of Madrid ; on the contrary, I affirm that they were highly discontented. The following were grievances of which they complained; 1st, The arbitrary power exercised by ihe viceroys and captains-general, who very often eluded the laws, and even the orders they received from the king ; see ley 173. til. 15. lib. 2. de la Recopilacion, in which it "complains that the officers sent by the king to Spanish America, were frequently impeached and deposed^ which was never the case with those nominated by the vice-- roys. 2d, That the audiencias were composed of Europeans, who in trials were sole judges, and who had the power of interpreting the laws in their very application. 3d, That it was under the authority of the audiencias that clandestine decisions were often made, nocturnal arrests, banishment without previous trial, and numerous other hardships. 4th, That they were treated with distriist by the government, notwithstanding the loyalty which they manifested in the war for succession to the crown of Spain, in their resistance to the suggestions of the French and English to induce them to revolt, and, above all, in the loyal behaviour and uncommon courage which they displayed when Carthagena and Buenos Ayres were attacked by the English. 5th, That they were obliged to bear insults from the meanest of the Spaniards, who, merely because of their European birth, considered themselves superior, and, as it were, masters of the Spanish Americans.

Among many other examples of this, the report may be quoted, which was made to the king by his fiscal, on the petition of the city of Merida de Maracaybo, in Venezuela, to found a university ;• the opinion of the fiscal was, that " the petition was to be refused," " because it was unsuitable to promote learning in Spanish America, where the inhabitants appeared destined by nature to work in the mines,^* After a pretended solemn deliberation of the consulado or -board of trade in Mexico, the me-nbers informed the cortes, that *' the Indians 'syere a race of monkeys, filled with vice and ignorance^ automatmis^ unworthy of representing or being represented.^"" 6th, That, notwithstanding the original compact made between the king, and the first settlers in Spanish America, ley 13. titulo 2. libro 3. de la Recopilacion, which stipulated, " that in all cases of government^ justice, administration of finances, commissions, &c. the first discoverers, then the pacificadors\ and, lastly, the settlers, and those born in the said provinces, were to be preferred in all appointments and public employments ;'* the Creoles w^ere gradually shut out from all participation in local commands and dignities : for, from the period of the first settlements, until the year 1810, out of one hundred and sixty-six vir.eroys, and five hundred and eightyeight captains-general, governors, and presidents appointed in Spanish America, only eighteen have been Creoles, and these few only in consequence of their having been educated in Spain ; when, at the same time, the Creoles were prohibited from visiting the mother country, without an express permission from the king, which could only be obtained with much difficulty. 7th, That the prosperity of Spanish America was viewed with such a jealous eye by the Spanish government, that no manufactories were permitted, though Spain could not furnish merchandise sufficient for the consumption of her settlements ; and that even the plantations of the colonial produce were restricted. As an example of such restriction, although Spain paid considerable sums annually to Portugal, for tobacco supplied from the Brazils, yet only a certain number of tobacco plants was allowed to be cultivated in South America, and that number was fixed by the king's officers ; and were a single plant found more than the number allowed to each cultivator, the whole.

plantation was in danger of being rooted up. Anothefr example of this kind was, the prohibition of extracting oils, or of making wine or brandy, or of planting vines or almQhd trees in any province of Spanish America, excepting Peru or Chili ; and that exception was in consequence of the length of the voyage from Spain for articles of so heavy a nature ; and even the wine, almonds, kc. produced in Chili and Peru, were not permitted to be sent to Mexico, New Grenada, or Terra Firma ; titulo 18. libro 14. de la Recopilacion : and to counterbalance these privileges enjoyed in Chili and Peru, to cultivate tobacco or the sugar-cane was forbidden in Chili. 8th, And in order to check the progress of population, and to keep distinct the different classes, there were many laws tending to put obstacles to marriage. Vide cedulas sobre el disenso, y varius leyes del Recopilacion sohre. Ins matrimonios.

Notwithstanding these complaints, Spanish America might have existed in its dependent state many generations, I might say centuries. The court of Madrid knew perfectly well how to answer the petitions of its American subjects without redressing their grievances ; how to keep them distant from public affairs ; how to grant or to refuse their demands, without impairing the general system of exclusion with regard to them adopted by Spain. But Napoleon Bonaparte, who was, in fact, already master of the peninsula, and possessor of the wealth of America, by the influence he had in the court of Madrid, having invaded the kingdom, and seized the royal family of Spain, loosened those bonds which united the new to the old world, and gave rise to a revolution which, from the wide extent of the country in which it is seated, its character, and consequences, i§ unparalleled in the, annals of feistory^.

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Chapter II

The confusion in the state of Spain produced by Bonaparte'' s •seizure of the King, and invasion^ leaves the Spanish Americans at a loss how to act. — Their loyal behaviour.*^-" The first attempts to establish juntas in America.

IN the deserted state in which Spain eonsideted herself in consequence of the supposed arrangements made at Bayonne in lb08, those provinces which were still unoccupied by the French, established for themselves assemblies under the denomination oi juntas, each assuming in its respective district the supreme authority. That of Seville, taking the appellation oi junta suprema gubernativa de Espana e Indias, sent deputies into every part of America, who, the better to succeed in their mission, falsely represented that the junta of Seville was acknowledged and obeyed throughout Spain, and required in America a similar acknowledgment of its authority. At the same time the regency established by king Ferdinand at Madrid, before his departure to meet Napoleon Bonaparte, endeavoured likewise to obtain the acknowledgment of its own superior power in America. Even the junta of Asturias asserted superiority, and required the acknowledgment of this superiority, denying that of the junta of Seville.

The moment for freedom seemed at length to present itself to America, wearied and exhausted by three centuries ot continued suffering. Spain invaded by a colossal power— its fortresses in the hands of its enemies — all unity in the government broken— what a favourable era for the emancipation of the new world ! But the Americans were so sincerely attached to the mother country — the news /rora the old continent was given to them with such false colouring— the struggle of the Spanish nation appeared s© dignified, the situation of the royal family so lamentable and interesting, that, paralyzed by the surprise, and moved by compassion, they lost the happy moment for action. Had Spanish America at that period separated herself from the mother country, from whence would Spain have derived power to support such a long-continued war, which has in part contributed to the overthrow of Napoleon Bonaparte ?

The behaviour of the Spanish governors of America, under these circumstances, forms a powerful contrast with that of the Amej ican subjects. With the exception of the viceroy of Mexico, all seemed willing to acknowledge that allegiance which was to be transferred to Bonaparte, according to the order contained in the decree signed by the council of the Indies. This commanded the acknowledgment of the cessions made at Bayonne, &c. and confirmed the Spanish chiefs in their, employments. The American subjects alone opposed the change ; they publicly burned the proclamations sent out by Bonaparte, and expelled his agents. The following letter accurately describes the feelings of the Americans in Venezuela on this occasion, and the manner in which those feelings were expressed.