South America Part 9

It was not only with the aborigines of their new country that the Spanish settlers in Chile had to contend. Nature had in store for them a species of catastrophe which was admirably adapted to test their fort.i.tude to an even greater degree. Thus in 1570 the newly-founded city of Concepcion was brought to the ground by an earthquake, and some eighty years later the larger centre of Santiago became a heap of smoking ruins from the same cause. Indeed, throughout the history of both the colonial and independent eras Chile has been from time to time visited by such terrible calamities as these. In every instance, however, the disaster has left the inhabitants undismayed, and new and larger towns have risen upon the sites of the old.

Chile, probably owing to the comparatively limited area of its soil, was never raised to the rank of a Viceroyalty; nevertheless the Governors.h.i.+p of the province was, of course, one of the most important on the Continent. After the death of Valdivia on the field of battle, Francisco Villagran was elected as chief of the new colony. At the period when he a.s.sumed command there had come about one of the most severe of the many crises through which the young colony was destined to pa.s.s. The Araucanians, emboldened by their victories, now pressed on to the attack from all sides with an impetuosity and confidence which proved irresistible. The south was for the time being abandoned, and the Spanish women and children were hurriedly sent by sea to Valparaiso, while the hara.s.sed army retired towards the north.

Presently Lautaro, the famous Araucanian chief, at the head of his undefeated army, marched in the track of the retreating Spaniards, and threatened Santiago itself. But for an access of over-confidence on the part of the natives, it is likely enough that the Spanish power would have been completely swept from Chile. Villagran, returning to the capital with reinforcements, found the investing Araucanian army in a totally unprepared condition. Some were carousing, many slept, and in any case the majority were drunk, a state to which, as a matter of fact, these southern Indians were only too p.r.o.ne at all times. Villagran, perceiving his opportunity, fell upon the demoralized native army, and defeated them utterly with great slaughter. Lautaro himself, the flower of the Araucanian warriors, perished in the ensuing struggle.

Villagran had thoroughly deserved this success, which had crowned one of the most exhausting periods of the terrific struggle. He possessed, in the first place, many fine qualities as a leader, and was one of the toughest, bravest, and most honest of the _conquistadores_.

Unfortunately for himself, these qualities did not appear to suffice in the eyes of the highest Spanish official in South America. Shortly after his victory Villagran was superseded by Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza, son of the Viceroy of Peru. Mendoza possessed many good points; at the same time, he had to a full degree many of the faults which characterized so great a number of the Spanish n.o.blemen of the period. Thus, he was unduly arrogant and autocratic towards his comrades of inferior rank, flinging Villagran into prison on his first arrival in the country as the result of little beyond a whim. On the other hand, it must be admitted that Mendoza spared no endeavours to conciliate and treat with kindness the Araucanian Indians.

Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza had some reason for his arrogance. At twenty years of age, when sent by his father to Chile at the head of his force, he had already distinguished himself by his bravery, and, according to one biographer, had already fought in Corsica, Tuscany, Flanders, and in France. Even in that age there were not many who could boast of having effected all this when still in their teens. It was little wonder that he was high-spirited, wilful, and impetuous. Ercilla represents him as very ardent in battle, sometimes fighting himself, sometimes urging on his soldiers, always in movement. At the time of the Araucanian invasion he addressed his troops in the most humane terms. One of his sayings was to the effect that--"An enemy who surrenders is a friend whom we ought to protect; it is a greater thing to give life than to destroy it."

Sentiments of this kind were doubly commendable when, judging from their rarity, they could scarcely have been popular.

Notwithstanding his good intentions towards the Araucanians, Mendoza soon found himself involved in a struggle to the death with the now hereditary foes of his race, for the southern Indians--maintaining their reputation--proved themselves implacable, and would hear nothing of compromise. After many fierce battles, in the course of which fortune ebbed either way, Mendoza succeeded in capturing Caupolican, who was tortured to death, an episode which caused a short lull in the fevered activities of the Spanish forces.

In 1560 Mendoza was abruptly ordered by King Philip II. of Spain to surrender his post as Governor to Francisco Villagran. That fine old _conquistador_ was now worn out in body and a wreck of his former self.

The furious combats with the Araucanians broke out afresh, and continued unabated. A series of disasters shattered the spirit of Villagran, and sent him to his grave. Following this came the usual succession of Governors, and the unbroken continuance of the Indian wars, victory and disaster alternately succeeding each other to an extent which would prove monotonous if an attempt at description were made.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ACAPULCO, ON THE PACIFIC COAST.

One of the chief points of sailing of the great East Indian trading galleons of Spain.

_From a seventeenth-century engraving._]

There is only one instance, I believe, of a white man having gained the complete confidence of the Araucanians, and this did not occur until a century after the two races had first come into contact with each other.

It is said that in 1642--thirty-nine years after the town of Valdivia had been captured from the Spaniards and destroyed--Colonel Alonzo de Villanueva, who had been sent to the south with the object of regaining possession of the city, effected this without bloodshed by the employment of an extraordinary amount of tact and patience. He landed at a point a little to the south of Valdivia, and boldly made his appearance quite alone among the astonished warriors. He remained with them for two years, when, having won their respect and confidence, he proposed that they should appoint him their Governor at Valdivia, explaining that by this move they would effect a reconciliation with the Spaniards, and, in consequence, obtain many material benefits. The Araucanians readily fell in with the idea, and in 1645 Valdivia was rebuilt, and was again populated. Undoubtedly in the middle of the seventeenth century time was of very little value in Chile, and in any case it would seem that to effect so brilliant a result at so little cost was worth the two years' wait!

In 1577 Sir Francis Drake made his appearance in the Pacific, and was the pioneer of the adventurers who were to follow in the wake of his keel. Thus new anxieties were added to the minds of the Chilean officials, although it must be said that the colonists, when they once became accustomed to the visits of these foreigners, gave them an increasingly friendly reception, notwithstanding the hostility evinced towards them by the Spaniards. It was not long before this new and grim type of visitor increased in numbers and grew cosmopolitan.

The Dutch, always on the look out for a weapon with which to flog their enemies the Spaniards, had managed to glean intelligence of the successful warfare which the Araucanians in Southern Chile were waging against the Spanish troops. When the news of the separation of Portugal from Spain reached Holland, the position of that country's forces in Brazil became automatically somewhat unsettled--at all events in theory, and finally in practice. It was then that the idea occurred to them to establish settlements in equally fertile and less tropical climates.

A squadron was fitted out by the Dutch navigator, Brouwer, and in 1642 it sailed into the Pacific Ocean, and the troops effected a landing on the Island of Chiloe. Here they succeeded in inflicting a defeat upon the Spanish forces. It was now the policy of the invader to establish friendly relations with the Araucanians. Before long they persuaded a number of the chiefs to enter into an alliance with them; this brought about, they prepared to establish themselves permanently in the south of Chile.

First of all they erected a fort at Valdivia without encountering any opposition on the part of the natives. After this they began to trade; but they permitted their l.u.s.t of gain to outweigh their discretion. So eager did they show themselves to obtain gold in exchange for weapons and other objects coveted by the dusky races, that the Araucanians became suspicious, and in the end awoke to the fact that the presence of the Dutch in their country was due to precisely the same causes as had attracted the Spanish. Disillusioned, they withdrew their hastily extended friends.h.i.+p, and retired to their own haunts, lending a pa.s.sive rather than an active resistance to those strangers with whom they still remained on outward terms of friends.h.i.+p. The relations, however, became more strained when, on the rare occasions when the two races came into contact, the Indians refused to supply the Dutch with provisions. This policy of the Araucanians won them their object, for in the end the Dutch, unable to subsist without the supplies for which they depended on the Indians, were forced to relinquish their settlements and to abandon the country.

An English expedition, with more peaceful intent, under the command of Sir John Narborough, set sail from England towards the end of 1669, and arrived in Valdivia in 1670. On this occasion the hands of the Commander were strictly tied, since he had received implicit injunctions not to fall foul of the Spaniards; thus, when he endeavoured to trade with the Indians, the Spaniards took prisoner his lieutenant and three of his men, whom they detained.

Sir John, it is said, contemplated rescuing his men by force, but the fate of the unfortunate Sir Walter Raleigh, according to some ancient historians, stayed his hand, and he reluctantly sailed from the coast, leaving these four members of his crew prisoners of the Spaniards.

Rolt, who published a "History of South America" in 1766, has a rather curious account of the methods by which the inhabitants of the town of Concepcion in Chile carried on their business with the Indians.

"There is a beneficial trade carried on by the inhabitants of the city of Conception, with the Indians behind them, who trade with the Spaniards in a very peculiar manner, though they have never negociated a peace with Spain. These Indians are called Aucaes, and inhabit the mountains, where they retain the primitive customs and manners of their ancestors. When a Spaniard comes to trade with them, he addresses himself to the Cacique, or Chief, who, on perceiving a stranger, cries out, _What, are you come?_ The Spaniard answers, _Yes, I am come._ Then the Cacique says, _Well?

What have you brought me?_ The merchant answers, _A present._ And the prince replies, _Then you are welcome._ He then provides a lodging for the merchant near his own, where all the family go to visit the stranger, in expectation of some present; and, in the meantime, a horn is sounded to give notice to the Indians who are abroad that a merchant has arrived. This soon a.s.sembles them together about the merchant, who exhibits his treasure, consisting of knives, scissors, pins, needles, ribbands, small looking-gla.s.ses, and other toys, which the Indians carry away, after settling the price, without getting anything in exchange; but, after a certain time has elapsed, the horn is sounded again, by the direction of the Cacique; when the Indians immediately return, and punctually perform their respective engagements, the goods they deal in being cattle, skins of wild beasts, and some gold; but they bring very small quant.i.ties of the latter, as they are sensible how dear the possession of that metal cost their ancestors and their neighbours."

In the various treaties which were engineered from time to time between the Spaniards and the Araucanians, one of the most important clauses which the Spaniards invariably endeavoured to insert was to the effect that the Indians were to oppose to the utmost of their power by force of arms the founding of any foreign colony in the territories occupied by them. Thus the att.i.tude of the Araucanians towards foreigners was apt to depend to some extent on whether they happened to be at peace or at war with their Spanish neighbours. It was owing to this, moreover, that the European adventurers found themselves attacked when they had very little reason to fear an onslaught. One of these instances occurred in 1638, when the natives murdered the survivors of a s.h.i.+pwrecked Dutch crew.

There were times, on the other hand, when the enmity between the Indians and the Spaniards induced the former to render every a.s.sistance to the rovers who came, whether by accident or design, to their coasts. It is certain that the accounts of these foreigners retailed by the Spaniards to the natives were not of a nature to render the intruders popular in the eyes of the dusky southern dwellers.

During the chief part of the colonial era the town of Valdivia, in Southern Chile, was employed as a sort of convict station for the white criminals of Peru and Chile, and incidentally for a number of persons whose sole crimes were of a political order. These prisoners were employed in the erection of the fortifications of the spot, and the ruins which still exist attest the solidarity and the extent of the buildings. A large annual sum was wont to be allotted for the maintenance of these fortifications, and for other objects connected with the sustenance of both the prisoners and the garrison. It seems to have been necessary to expend only a very small proportion of this sum on the objects for which the allowance was originally intended, and from its enormous financial opportunities the post of Governor of Valdivia was one of the most sought after of any on the west coast of South America.

The later colonial era of Chile, like that of Peru, is very little concerned with dramatic episode, with the exception, of course, of the raids on the part of foreigners which took place from time to time along the coast. Yet it is curious to remark that in Chile, at the same time as these buccaneers were burning, plundering, and fighting, other vessels, more especially those of the French, were carrying on a trade in peace with the various ports of the state. This commerce, moreover, continued growing steadily, and the influence of the foreigners upon the Chileans in time became marked, and was largely responsible for the broad-minded views which prevailed among the colonials.

CHAPTER XIII

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, which was known as that of Paraguay. The two currents of civilization, the one advancing from the south-east, and the other proceeding from the north-west, at length met in the territory which is now occupied by the north-western Territories of Argentina.

It may be said that Argentina of to-day was colonized from three directions--the first by means of the River Plate and its tributaries, the second by the pa.s.sage of the Andes from the west, and the third by an advance from the direction of Bolivia. Thus the north-western section of present-day Argentina had become, as it were, the centre towards which all the Castilian forces were converging.

As time went on, the balance of importance tended to a.s.sert itself in the direction of Buenos Aires. Little by little the city of Asuncion, although remaining notable from the administrative point of view, became of less and less standing as a commercial centre. That which undoubtedly helped to r.e.t.a.r.d the progress of Asuncion was the almost continual strife which prevailed in that town between the Jesuits and the members, not only of the laity, but of the rival clergy as well. The Jesuits, moreover, were the reverse of popular with the Spanish landowners of Paraguay, for the reason that the missionaries had collected together the Indians in self-supporting communities and towns, thus depriving the colonists of the enforced labour which they now looked upon as one of their rights.

These Jesuit settlements in Paraguay have been too fully dealt with to need anything in the way of an elaborate description here. Let it suffice to say that the famous communities were in many respects socialistic. The land, for instance, throughout the mission areas was held for the common good, and its produce was wont to be divided into three parts--one of which was devoted to the Church, the second to the State, and the third to the private use of the Indian agriculturalists.

It is now generally conceded that, in consideration of the gross, sensual, and totally unintelligent human clay with which the Missionary Fathers had to deal, their efforts were astonis.h.i.+ngly successful. At the same time, the labours of these Jesuits were carried on largely in the dark--that is to say, fearing the influence of the white man upon their converts, they refused admission to their land to any Spaniards. This method, as has since been proved, was fully justified by the colonizing circ.u.mstances which prevailed at the time; nevertheless, it was only natural that it should have provoked a deep anger on the part of the Spanish settlers, in whose eyes these missions of the Jesuits had as their chief end the enriching of the pockets of the Order at the expense of those of the colonists.

Towards the middle of the seventeenth century matters reached a crisis in Asuncion. The newly-appointed Bishop, Don Bernardino de Cardenas, showed himself most actively opposed to the works of the Jesuits in Paraguay. An open hostility soon manifested itself between the two powers, and the strife grew more and more bitter until, not only the entire body of the clergy, but the Governor, the officials, and the laymen were involved as well. Whatever were the faults which the Jesuits may have committed in Paraguay--and to what extent these have been exaggerated is now patent--it is quite certain that Cardenas was a being totally unfitted to be invested with the dignity and responsibility of a Bishop's office.

It is true that his eloquence in preaching was superb; this, however, undoubtedly arose rather from an acutely developed artistic sense than from any profound religious convictions. Cardenas, in fact, showed himself upon occasions hysterical and wayward to a point which was absolutely childish. This peculiarity in a person holding so important a position as his naturally produced utter confusion in Paraguay.

According to Mr. R.B. Cunninghame Graham, these were some of the methods by which the Bishop in the end utterly scandalized the more sober of his congregation:

"The Bishop, not being secure of his position, had recourse to every art to catch the public eye: fasting and scourging, prayers before the altar, two Ma.s.ses every day, barefooted processions--himself the central figure carrying a cross--each had their turn. Along the deep red roads between the orange gardens which lead from Asuncion towards the Recoleta on Campo Grande, he used to take his way accompanied by Indians crowned with flowers, giving his benediction as he pa.s.sed, to turn away (according to himself) the plague, and to insure a fertile harvest. Not being content with the opportunities which life afforded, he inst.i.tuted an evening service in church in order to prepare for death."

These, however, were only some of the milder uses to which the Bishop put his histrionic talents in order to prove his claim to sainthood.

The fortunes of Cardenas varied considerably, but on the whole his extraordinary versatility kept him afloat in the public estimation. He at one time, however, very nearly incurred the popular resentment owing to his having taken up the body of a suicide, and caused it to be interred in holy ground from the force of a mere whim. The uproar consequent on this he managed to overrule, and having got the better of Don Gregorio, the Civil Governor, the Bishop actually elected himself Governor in his place, and now became supreme in Asuncion, from which place the Jesuits were forced to flee in haste to their establishments in the country.

Each side now brought endless charges against the other, and in the middle of the wordy warfare the validity of Cardenas's appointment to the Bishopric was questioned. Nevertheless, Cardenas succeeded in retaining his office, and after a while issued a declaration excommunicating the entire Order of the Jesuits, after which, having sworn to the people that he possessed a Decree from the King of Spain, he issued an order commanding the expulsion of the Jesuits from Paraguay. This was carried into effect at Asuncion, and the College of the Order was sacked and gutted by fire. Outside the boundaries of the capital, however, this command had no effect whatever, and the great settlements of the Jesuits far away in the forests were totally unaffected by any mandate given at Asuncion.

The Bishop had now gone too far in his policy of aggression. The High Court at Charcas summoned him to appear before its tribunal at once, and to give his reasons for the expulsion of the Jesuits and his appointment of himself as Governor of Paraguay. At the same time a new Governor, Don Sebastian de Leon, was appointed to Paraguay. Cardenas determined to resist. He raised an army, and, claiming Divine inspiration, promised his followers an undoubted victory, and ordered them to supply themselves with cords in order to bind the prisoners which should fall to their share. The rival forces met just outside Asuncion. The unfortunate troops of Cardenas found no use for their cords, since, totally defeated, they fled in haste. Judging mercy to be most seasonable at this juncture, the new Governor commanded his men to march to the capital, but to desist from pursuing the defeated forces.

In the meanwhile Cardenas had lost no time. Realizing his complete defeat, he had fled secretly to Asuncion. Arriving there ahead of Don Sebastian de Leon's forces, he had dressed himself in his finest robes and seated himself on the throne of the cathedral. It was there that Don Sebastian de Leon found him when he entered.

The new Governor acted with supreme courtesy; he kissed the Bishop's hand, and ceremoniously requested him to spare him the baton of the civil power. In silence Cardenas complied with his request, and then retired, accompanied by his retinue. After this Asuncion knew him no more. Naturally the days of his supreme power were over, but he was still provided with an ecclesiastical office. He was made Bishop of La Paz, a benefice he continued to hold until his death.

Owing largely to their situation, these provinces in the south-east of the Continent continued from time to time to elude some of the stricter regulations and restrictions which were supposed to be applied to the whole Continent. Thus at the end of the sixteenth century the Governors.h.i.+p of the River Plate was entrusted to Hernando Arias de Saavedra, who is more familiarly known as Hernandarias. He was the first colonial-born subject of Spain to be gratified by such an honour. The appointment, as a matter of fact, was somewhat remarkable, as without a doubt it was strictly against the spirit of the Laws of the Indies, which utterly forbade any appointment of the kind to be entrusted to a colonial-born person.

Hernandarias, it must be said, makes one of the most remarkable figures of all the high officials of the River Plate. He proved himself a strenuous warrior, and, anxious to extend his frontiers, he carried on a tremendous warfare with the fierce Indians of the Pampa. The Governor, moreover, was gifted with no little foresight and practical common sense. Finding it impossible to establish a footing among the implacable natives of Uruguay, he caused a number of cattle, horses, and sheep to be sent across the great river, and to be let loose among the rich pastures of that country. He knew, he said (and it was not long before the future proved him right), that this land would one day be the property of the Spaniards, and thus these cattle which he sent over would, when the time came, be found to have multiplied themselves to an infinite extent, which, of course, fell out as he had antic.i.p.ated.

Hernandarias, moreover, led an expedition to the south, and endeavoured to take possession of Patagonia. Here, after various disasters, he inflicted a severe defeat on the Indians; but few definite steps towards the practical colonization of the far south appear to have been taken at this period.

Hernandarias, enthusiastic soldier though he proved himself, by no means confined his energies to the arts of war; in statesmans.h.i.+p his ideas were progressive. Having once subdued the wilder Indians, he led the way to peaceful co-operation. According to Senor J.M. Estrada--

"Hernandarias devoted his whole soul to the development of a species of colonization which he terms the spiritual conquest--that is to say, he inculcated into the country the Christian spirit of discipline, civilization, and concord. He awoke the soul of the savage, and turned his instincts in search of better things than he had known. He closed the barracks of the soldiers and opened the Colleges of the Missionaries."

In some respects Hernandarias's tenure of office resembled that of Irala, for, although unanimously elected by the colonists, in whose eyes he was estimated at his true value, the official ratification of Spain of his appointment was many years in forthcoming, the princ.i.p.al reason for the delay being, of course, due to the fact of his colonial birth.

On several occasions his government was interrupted owing to this, and, indeed, Hernandarias may be said to have ruled for various distinct periods. It was only on November 7, 1614, that he received the definite appointment as Governor from the Court of Spain.