South America Part 13

The advance of San Martin was not altogether unexpected by the Royalist forces, whose spies kept the Spanish commander informed of this latest move on the part of the patriot army. General San Martin, becoming aware of this, repaid these spies in their own coin. Taking them, as it seemed, into his confidence, he informed them of the route he was about to take, and when the time came chose another and a parallel pa.s.s.

Hastening down the tremendous rocky walls of the western side of the Andes, San Martin engaged the Spanish forces and won an important victory at Chacabuco. The Royalists, under General Osorio, rallied and made a last desperate stand; but their forces were decisively and finally defeated on April 5, 1818, at Maipu, and this action resulted in the definite liberation of Chile.

San Martin was now the hero of Chile, and was begged to accept the protectors.h.i.+p of the new Republic. His deeds on land were rivalled by those of Admiral Cochrane on sea. The gallant Irish sailor was at the time busily occupied in sweeping the Pacific Ocean clear of the Spanish vessels, and in performing those extraordinary feats of valour for which his memory is famed. Unfortunately, misunderstandings between the pair eventually resulted in open enmity between Cochrane and San Martin. This became accentuated when the campaign was undertaken in Peru, when San Martin, not content with his victories in Chile, led his armies for the liberation of the north into Peru itself, and into the head-quarters of the remaining Spanish power.

It was in Peru, then, that the dispute between Cochrane and San Martin broke out in a public fas.h.i.+on. Its origin in this instance was a difference of opinion concerning the measures to be taken for the capturing of Callao Castle. The impetuous Irishman was for storming the place at once. The prudent San Martin, on the other hand, was desirous of bringing about the surrender without bloodshed. The latter had his way, but was subjected to some criticism, since a number of Royalist soldiers who escaped were enabled to carry on the campaign in the interior.

The second and more violent dispute broke out on San Martin's refusal to pay the fleet out of the funds in Lima. On this Lord Cochrane took forcible possession of a large sum of money at the Port of Ancon, thus widening still further the already grave breach between the two. Once or twice, indeed, it was a mere chance which prevented an outbreak of active hostilities between the sea and land forces. Fortunately for all concerned, matters were not destined to reach such a pa.s.s. This, however, is somewhat in advance of the period with which we are dealing, and it will be necessary to return for a short while to Peru in its colonial state.

In Peru, during the last few years of the Spanish regime, the Royalist authorities, bending to the urgent necessity of a concession to public opinion which might enable them to retain their power for a little longer, published some periodical papers, which, although of course strongly biased in their intelligence in favour of the Royalist cause, nevertheless gave a more or less accurate account of many of the events which had pa.s.sed into hard and fast history. Thus the inhabitants of Lima were enabled to learn of the establishment of the Republics in Colombia, Buenos Aires, and Chile.

In 1812, moreover, the Inquisition had been abolished. Of this, Lima had been the head-quarters in South America from the day of its first inst.i.tution. Here a similar stern and merciless procedure to that in other parts of the world was carried on. Indeed, the capital of the senior Viceroy was in every way the most reactionary spot in South America. In 1812, when it became known that the Cortes of Spain had abolished the Inquisition, a number of Peruvians entered the premises of the Holy office in order to inspect them. According to one who took part in it, the visit was unexpectedly exciting, for, on ransacking the doc.u.ments, many of those present found their own names marked down as those of future victims. The sight of the torture-room inspired very different feelings in the b.r.e.a.s.t.s of the Limanians, and the sight of the iniquitous instruments enraged them to the point of destroying much within the building. Many trophies and relics were carried away as momentoes of the occasion. The following morning, however, the Archbishop proceeded in state to the cathedral, and declared all those excommunicated who had taken, and were retaining, any object belonging to the Inquisition. By this means a certain proportion of the objects were recovered.

Nevertheless, during its latter days--doubtless from a presentiment of the nearness of its end--the methods of the Inquisition had become comparatively softened. Thus, when at the beginning of the nineteenth century an old fortune-teller, accused of witchcraft, was made to stand penitent in the chapel of the tribunal, and one of the secretaries read out a list of the wretch's misdeeds, the result was very unusual for anything connected with so justly dreaded an organization. For the old fortune-teller, doubtless tickled by a recital of his feats, burst into loud laughter, in which he was joined by the majority of the spectators.

It is said that the Viceroy Castelfuerte, when summoned before the Inquisition, obeyed the mandate; but he brought with him his bodyguard, and stationed two pieces of artillery outside the building of the tribunal. After this he entered, and, placing his watch on the table, told the Inquisitor that, unless they finished their business with him in an hour, the place would be battered to pieces. In the face of this information the interview terminated almost immediately.

It has been frequently brought against the inhabitants of Lima that, while in almost every other part of the Continent the Americans had already freed themselves, or were fighting with that object, they had remained in a more or less pa.s.sive state. Yet this condition of affairs was practically inevitable when it is considered that Lima was the great stronghold of Spain, filled to overflowing with Spanish officials and military officers. It is certain enough that, had Lima been captured in the first place by the insurgents, the Royalist resistance in all the other colonies would inevitably have collapsed immediately; but it did not in the least follow that because Buenos Aires, Santiago, and other towns had become the seats of Republican Governments, that the movement should influence the mainspring of Spanish authority at Lima.

The Spaniards of Lima were reputed, for that reason, the haughtiest of any in the Continent, and their manner towards the Criollos continued as overbearing as ever during the first stages of the revolution. It is said that when the reinforcements came from Spain--as, for instance, when in 1813 the regiment of Talavera arrived--the behaviour of these Spaniards became more arrogant than ever. This att.i.tude proved in the end to be possessed of a disconcertingly slender foundation. As a matter of fact, the troops which arrived from Spain during this period were for the most part composed of very indifferent material, both officers and men bearing the worst of characters, since every efficient soldier was urgently required in the Mother Country at that time.

Numbers of the Spanish troops themselves at this stage gave many signs of insubordination, more especially when, as occasionally occurred, their pay was delayed; and on two occasions a widespread mutiny was only staved off by the intervention of the Viceroy. Nevertheless, the exultation of the Spanish civilians reached its most fevered height in April, 1818, when the news of Spanish victories over the Chileans were succeeding each other at short intervals. According to contemporaneous historians, the Spaniards formed themselves into groups in the streets, and mocked and insulted every Criollo who had to pa.s.s them by. So arrogant was their conduct that no Criollo who valued his self-respect dared to enter a coffee-house in which a group of these Spaniards was a.s.sembled. The total news of the defeat of the Spanish General Osorio at Maipu came as a thunderbolt, and the shocked and humbled Spanish had to make the most of an altogether unexpected and painful situation.

W.B. Stevenson has an interesting account of the contrast which obtained at this period between the state of affairs in Lima and in Santiago:

"The contrast between the society which I had just quitted in the capital of Peru and that which I here found in the capital of Chile was of the most striking kind. The former, oppressed by proud mandatories, imperious chiefs, and insolent soldiers, had been long labouring under all the distressing effects of espionage--greatest enemy to the charm of every society--the overbearing haughty Spaniards, either with taunts or sneers, harrowing the very souls of the Americans, who suspected their very oldest friends and often their nearest relations. In this way they were forced to drain the cup of bitterness to the last dregs, without daring by partic.i.p.ation or condolence to render it less unpalatable, except, indeed, they could find an Englishman, and to him they would unbosom their inmost thoughts, believing that every Briton feels as much interest in forwarding the liberty of his neighbour as he does in preserving his own. In Lima the tertulias, or chit-chat parties, and even the gaiety of the public promenade, had almost disappeared, and _quando se acabara esto?_--'When will this end?'--was constantly e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed.

"In Santiago every scene was reversed. Mirth and gaiety presided at _paseos_, confidence and frankness at the daily tertulias.

Englishmen here had evinced their love of universal liberty, and were highly esteemed. Friends.h.i.+p and conviviality seemed to reign triumphant, and the security of the country, being the fruit of the labour of its children, was considered by each separate individual as appertaining to himself; his sentiments on its past efforts, present change and future prosperity, were delivered with uncontrolled freedom; while the supreme magistrate, the military chief, the soldier and the peasant, hailed each other as countrymen, and only acknowledged a master in their duty or the law."

As has already been explained, it was inevitable that the struggle which was taking place in Peru, the Viceroyalty, where was now centred all the remaining Spanish power of the Continent, should have been more prolonged than that in Chile, and far more so than had proved the contest in the provinces of the River Plate. So far as Lima was concerned, the result was not so long in doubt. Finding his hold on the capital no longer tenable in the face of the advance from the south of the victorious army, the Viceroy evacuated the town on July 26, 1821, and the patriot forces, entering the city, proclaimed from that place the freedom of Peru.

General Bolivar, in the meanwhile, having now cleared the northern countries of the Spanish troops, was marching down into Peru, and thus the stream of liberators from the south came into contact with those of the north. An historical interview was held at Guayaquil on July 26, 1822, between the two greatest men of the Continent of that time, San Martin and Bolivar. The details of this interview have never been made public, but what occurred may be surmised more or less accurately from the knowledge of the characters of the two men.

In one sense Bolivar's horizon was wider than that of San Martin. For practical purposes, indeed, there is no doubt that this horizon of the northern liberator had extended itself to a somewhat dangerous and impracticable degree. His dream was a federated South America--a single nation, in fact, which, save for the great Portuguese possession of Brazil, should extend from Panama to Cape Horn.

Bolivar's enthusiasm on this point refused to be curbed at any cost--at all events, at this period. It must be admitted that he did not take into full consideration the differences which climatic influences and the varying degrees of racial intermarriage had worked in the populations of the several provinces. Thus the ethics of the northern and equatorial countries had become widely different from those in the southern and temperate zones. Nevertheless, such was Bolivar's faith in the destiny of South America as a whole that he would have flung the entire ma.s.s together, and left it to work out its complicated will.

San Martin, as the representative of what might be termed, in one sense, the European States of the River Plate and Chile, was keenly alive to the defects of this plan. It is certain that the two theories were discussed in the course of the momentous interview between San Martin and Bolivar, and it is equally certain that San Martin realized that, holding such divergent views from those of his colleague as he did, friction between the leaders would in the circ.u.mstances become inevitable. He determined, therefore, on a piece of self-sacrifice which has few rivals in history. At the moment when he had achieved his triumph, and when the inhabitants of three powerful new countries were waiting to salute him with a thunder of acclamation, he laid down his office, unbuckled his sword, travelled quietly to Chile, and from there he crossed the Andes to Mendoza in a very different fas.h.i.+on to the one in which he had come on the occasion when he had commanded the army of liberation. From Mendoza he crossed the plains of Buenos Aires, and from there he took s.h.i.+p to Europe.

It is generally supposed that he never again returned to his native country. This, however, was not the case, since he once again sailed back from France with the idea of watching the progress of the land he loved so dearly. Perceiving, to his sorrow, that the country was temporarily lost in complete anarchy, he sailed to France again without having descended from the deck of the s.h.i.+p which had borne him out.

The remaining embers of the war had now become localized, and it was obvious that Spain was at her last gasp. Bolivar came down with his armies from Quito to Peru to complete the task of the destruction of the Spanish garrisons. In 1824 the Battle of Junin was fought, which resulted in a striking victory for the South Americans. The patriot forces on this occasion made a particularly gallant fight, and the brilliant cavalry charge made by Suarez is said to have been largely responsible for the victory.

Bolivar then gave over the command of the army to General Sucre, who on December 9, 1824, fought the Battle of Ayacucho, completely defeating the Royalist forces. This proved to be the final action of the war; the last shred of Spanish authority had been torn from the Continent, the last of the Spanish garrisons were now ploughing their sombre course back to Europe, and it was left to Spanish America to shape its own destiny.

CHAPTER XVIII

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 the beginning of the nineteenth century, a new order came into being, so far as the Spaniards and Portuguese were concerned. The parting of the ways was now marked. It is, indeed, curious to notice that, while Spanish South America was strenuously engaged in transforming itself from the status of a royal colony to that of a group of independent republics, an operation was being carried out in Brazil, the effect of which was precisely the reverse.

Brazil, in fact, in place of the neglect of centuries from which she had suffered, now underwent a sudden, dazzling, and altogether unexpected shower of honours and distinctions. That this did not come about spontaneously affected the colony but little; the fact remained that she was destined in a remarkably short s.p.a.ce of time to rise from a colony to a kingdom, and from a kingdom to an empire. The circ.u.mstances which led to this transformation were sufficiently dramatic in themselves.

In order to preserve the thread of these rather complicated events, it is necessary to transfer the scene for a short while to Western Europe, where at the moment the armies of Napoleon were sweeping all before them.

In 1807, when the French troops under Junot were on the eve of entering Lisbon, the Portuguese Royal Family embarked on a Portuguese man-of-war, and, escorted by a Portuguese fleet, sought the protection of the British Fleet under Sir Sidney Smith.

The move was effected only just in time, and the Prince Regent's confidential servant, who embarked just after the rest, left his departure so late that he was obliged to forsake some of his papers, his money, and even his hat, on the beach. Sir Sidney Smith convoyed the fleet as far as lat.i.tude 37 47' north, after which he left them under the protection of the _Marlborough_, the _London_, the _Monarch_, and the _Bedford_. Almost at the same time Sir Samuel Hood and General Beresford took possession of the Island of Madeira, holding it in trust for Portugal.

The royal party landed at Bahia on January 21, 1808. So enthusiastic was their reception that they remained in the town for a month. While at Bahia the Regent gave promise of his future good-will and liberality by promulgating a _carta regia_, dated January 28, by which he opened the ports of Brazil to general commerce, levying on imports only a moderate duty, and permitting exports of all articles under any flag, with the exception of one or two articles which still remained royal monopolies.

The departure of the Royal Family from Bahia was rendered necessary by strategic considerations, for, owing to its peculiar situation, the town could easily have been cut off from the rest of the mainland by hostile forces. The royal party therefore sailed south, and arrived in Rio de Janeiro on March 7.

The joy in the port at the arrival of the Regent and his party manifested itself in an excitement approaching delirium on the part of the officials and populace. The mountains and the waters of the bay were illuminated night after night with Bengal fires, rockets, and similar fireworks, and every possible demonstration of joy known to the colonists was continued unbroken for nine days. In the meanwhile the inhabitants were preparing the beautiful site of the town for its promotion as a capital city of a kingdom and the residence of a King.

Indeed, in material advantages Brazil benefited almost immediately from the arrival of the Portuguese Royal Family. In the first place, as has already been explained, on January 28, 1808, the Prince Regent abolished the old exclusive system, and opened the ports of Brazil. A local writer, referring with enthusiasm to this, said the edict "ought to be written in letters of gold."

New desires, new habits, and new objects, were now introduced, and came crowding one after the other in haste into the wonderful tropical regions of the Bay of Rio de Janeiro. Printing was legalized with the arrival of the Prince Regent, who brought over with him his library, and this, in 1814, was thrown open to the public. The progress of science went hand in hand with that of the rest, and in 1811 vaccination was introduced. The pleasant arts were not left out in the cold, since, in 1813, the first regular theatre was opened. In 1814 the French were invited to come over as residents, and they accepted in numbers.

The old Criollo families now mustered about the royal representatives of Portugal, and rubbed shoulders with the n.o.bility, who had come out in attendance, taking no little pride in the contact, and desirous only of exhibiting to the utmost possible extent the depth of their loyalty.

The character of the Regent was such as to warrant the fervent loyalty displayed by his American subjects. Although set free by the mental disease of Queen Francisca Isabel, his mother, to the exercise of almost despotic authority from his earliest years, he had developed very few of the vices usually resulting from such lack of control and training. He is described as having been "mild and just" in temper, and of comparatively pure moral character. He was, however, called to the exercise of authority in troubled times, and had not the balance which makes the perfect statesman. To Joo VI. the nearest trouble was always the greatest, and the courtier at hand, able to gain the royal ear, had far more chance of success with him than the one who proffered his request by letter. Joo found it difficult to refuse, disagreeable to inquire, and laborious to discuss. He was, in fact, an amiable man, but not a strong one.

Joo used the best measures at his command for the prosperity of his adopted kingdom, and he carried out reforms as far as he could or dared.

Free trade was completely established; foreign settlers were invited, and artisans and mechanics encouraged in every way. English mechanics and s.h.i.+pwrights, Swedish ironfounders, German engineers, and French artists and manufacturers, crowded to this new field of action, so suddenly opened up. In the meanwhile schools and hospitals were founded throughout the country, and the new commerce, consequent on unrestricted trading, was watched and regulated. Inspectors of ports and customs were appointed to prevent fraud; Rio was made a bishopric, and the ecclesiastical establishments of the country were carefully regulated, while many new tribunals were established.

The vast increase of population and trade caused a corresponding increase in the buildings of the central and southern cities, more especially in those of the capital. New streets and squares and magnificent country houses rose up on all sides, while the presence of a brilliant Court necessarily altered many of the habits of the people.

The fas.h.i.+ons of Europe were introduced, and the Empire gained a breadth of outlook that no mere colony of the period could ever possess. The introduction of the Court brought to Brazil a new life and activity, new luxuries, increased and increasing trade, a vigorous and growing population, fresh public and private undertakings, and all the vigour of a rising community.

Rio de Janeiro was now the head-quarters, not only of Brazil, but of the whole Portuguese Empire. The Papal Nuncio had taken up his residence at the spot; Lord Strangford, the British Amba.s.sador, and other diplomatic representatives of the various European countries, had arrived; while Sir Sidney Smith hovered about as a naval guardian angel. Rio, in fact, opened its astonished eyes to a world of fas.h.i.+on and to functions such as it had never known.

As could scarcely fail to prove the case in the circ.u.mstances, it was not long before jealousies arose between the Portuguese and the colonists; but it was some time before these appeared on the surface, and in the first place the atmosphere of feasting and rejoicing dissipated all other considerations.

One of the effects of the advent of the royal party in Brazil may easily be conceived. The Court had always been somewhat prodigal of its Orders and Decorations. The appet.i.te in the Peninsula for these insignia had always been sufficiently keen; among the cruder Brazilians the greed for any distinction of the sort became quite overwhelming. The most popular Portuguese Order has always been--and remained so even until the recent ending of the Monarchy--that of Christo, and the effective state dress of this Order, the long white robe with the great cross, has always had a wide appeal. In Rio de Janeiro during this period this was only one of the Orders which were scattered broadcast, and which, after a short while, could be obtained at an increasingly cheap rate.

Eventually every tradesman in Rio was wont to appear at the official gatherings, and, indeed, at the others as well, with his breast covered with a blaze of Orders, all of which had been paid for, if not in actual cash, in goods delivered.

The tremendous enthusiasm of the colonists bade fair to add an element of pure farce to the situation. At this period, moreover, various negro battalions were raised, and it is noted by travellers that the black faces of the negro officers were wont to mingle with those of the courtiers at royal functions--a very strange and new situation for those, many of whose relatives were undoubtedly slaves in the same country.

But in return for these advantages a bill--and a heavy bill at that--mounted up steadily. As a colony Brazil had been governed simply and inexpensively. After awhile the colonists found that a Queen, a Regent, and a Court, were expensive luxuries. In addition to the Royal Family there came over from Portugal more than 20,000 n.o.bles, knights, and gentry, each expecting to be supported out of the revenues of the colony in the same state and circ.u.mstance as had been his own in Europe.

In order to provide for these hosts of dependents, offices and places were created, and endowed with the most liberal salaries.

On the arrival of the Court there were already four Ministers, four offices, and four staffs of officials in existence. These were continued, and to them were added a Supreme Court of Law and Equity; a Board for the simultaneous management of the affairs and property of the Church and of the military Orders, with the power of suspending laws; a secondary Court of Appeal, but still a superior Court to those of Brazil; a general Board of Police; a Court of Exchequer and the Treasury; a mint, with a large staff of officials; a bank; a royal printing-office; large mills and factories for the manufacture of arms and ammunition; and a supreme military court.