About the year 1450 Chile was invaded by the prince afterwards the Inca Sinchiroca, who, more by persuasion than by force, possessed himself of this valley; it was called at that time, Promocaces, the place of dancing, or merriment. The Peruvian government was not established here on the first arrival of the Spaniards, owing perhaps to the opposition made by the Promaucians, who resided between the rivers Rapel and Maule, and whom they never subdued; thus, although Garcilaso de la Vega Inca places the boundary of the territory governed by the Incas on the river Maule, it is more probable that it was on the Rapel, for near the union of the Cachapoal with the Tinguiririca, taking the name of Rapel, there are some ruins of a Peruvian fortress, built in the same manner as those of Callo and Asuay, in the province of Quito; these apparently mark the frontier, and especially as none are found more to the southward.
Santiago is divided into squares or quadras, containing in the whole, if we include the suburbs, about a hundred and fifty, which are marked out by the streets; but many are incomplete, wanting houses to finish the boundaries. The principal public buildings are the mint, the palace of the supreme director, and the cathedral, which, like that of Conception, is in an unfinished state. The mint is a very handsome edifice, vieing in elegance with any other in South America, and equal to many of considerable note in Europe. It was built by Don Francisco Huidobro, at the expense of nearly a million of dollars: he presented it to the king, and in return received the title of Marquis of Casa Real; but this and all other titles are declared extinct by the independent government. The palace of the supreme director is incomplete; the right wing, which should correspond with the left, is entirely wanting. In it are the different offices belonging to the government, and also the public gaol. The unfinished state of the cathedral is likely to continue; for large funds are wanting to finish so extensive a building.
The bridge across the Mapocho is a handsome structure of brick and stone. The tajamar, breakwater, serves to preserve the city from being inundated by the river when the waters increase, either by heavy rains in the Cordillera, or the melting of the snows in the summer, at which time this stream, though at other times insignificant, becomes a rapid torrent. Here is a public promenade, like the Alamedas at Lima, having a double row of Lombard poplars on each side, forming a shady walk for foot passengers, while the middle one serves for carriages and horses. The tajamar is formed of two walls of brick-work, and the interior is filled with earth; a very agreeable promenade is made on the top, having several flights of steps to ascend it; some seats are also placed in the parapet which fronts the river; the whole being two miles long. The snow-covered Andes are about twenty leagues from the city, yet they seem to overhang it, and the view of them from the tajamar is very majestic.
Santiago is divided into four parishes; San Pablo, Santa Ana, San Isidro, and San Francisco de Borja. It has three Franciscan convents, two of the Dominicans, one of San Augustin, and two of La Merced: those belonging to the Jesuits were five. Here are seven nunneries, two of Santa Clara, two of Carmelites, one of Capuchins, one of Dominicans, and one of Augustinians; a house for recluse women called el Beaterio, and a foundling hospital.
Santiago was made a city by the king of Spain in 1552, with the title of very noble and very loyal; its arms are a shield in a white ground, in the centre a lion rampant holding a sword in his paw, and orle eight scallops, Or. It was erected into a bishopric by Paul IV. in 1561. It was the residence of the President, and Captain-General of the kingdom of Chile, and counts fifty governors from Pedro de Valdivia, the first, to Don Casimiro Marcó del Pont, the last; also twenty-three bishops, from Don Rodrigo Gonsales Marmolijo to the present Don Manuel Rodriguez. Here was also a tribunal of royal audience, one of accompts, a consulate, or board of trade, treasury, and commissariate of bulls. The whole of the territory extends from the desert of Atacama to the confines of Arauco, and was subject to the above-mentioned authorities from the foundation of the government in 1541 to the beginning of the fortunate revolution in 1810.
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 mandataries, imperious chiefs, and insolent soldiers, had been long labouring under all the distressing effects of espionage, the greatest enemy to the charms of every society: the overbearing haughty Spaniards, either with taunts or sneers, harrowing the very souls of the Americans, who suspected their oldest friends and even their nearest relations. In this manner they were forced to drain the cup of bitterness to the last dregs, without daring by participation 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 gaity of the public promenades, had almost disappeared, and quando se acabará esto? when will this end? was the constantly repeated ejaculation. In Santiago every scene was reversed; mirth and gaity presided at the paseos, confidence and frankness at the daily tertulias; Englishmen here had evinced their love of universal liberty, and were highly esteemed; friendship and conviviality seemed to reign triumphant, and the security of the country, being the fruits of the labour of its children, was considered by each separate individual as appertaining to himself; his sentiments on its past efforts, present safety, 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.
Another prominent feature in Chile is the state of her commerce, entirely formed since the revolution; it has rendered her not only independent of Spain, but of Peru also. Formerly the fruits and produce of this fertile region of the new world were entirely indebted to Peru for a market; but with the spirit of freedom that of speculation arose, and markets and returns were found in countries, of whose existence ten years ago (1819) even the speculators themselves were ignorant. Several of these provinces were conceived to be so situated, that no one attempted to visit them, judging that such a journey would be attended with almost insurmountable difficulties; dangers as great as the majority of the inhabitants of Europe supposed were to be encountered by a visit to the coasts of Peru.
The manners and customs of the inhabitants of Santiago are now very different from those of Conception in 1803, which was at that time nearly as affluent as the capital; the estrado is almost exploded; the ladies are accustomed to sit on chairs; the low tables are superseded by those of a regular height, those on which the family, who at that period crossed their legs like turks or tailors, sat on a piece of carpet, are now abolished; formerly all ate out of the same dish, but now they sit at table in the same manner as the English, and their meals are served up with regularity and neatness. The discordant jarring of the old half strung guitar has given place to the piano, and the tasteless dance of the country to the tasteful country-dance. In many respects, indeed, the Chileans here appear half converted into English, as well in their dress as in their diversions and manners.
The following brief statement of the revolution in Chile, extracted from official documents, and faithful reports, will I flatter myself be found interesting to all classes—its details, however, must necessarily be confined within short limits.
One of the peculiar features in all the South American revolutions was the accomplishment of the principal object, which consisted in deposing the constituted authorities without bloodshed. This was the case at Caracas, Santa Fé de Bogotá, Quito, Buenos Ayres and Chile; and at a later period at Guayaquil, Truxillo, Tarma, and even at Lima; for the Spanish forces quitted the city, and the Chilean entered without the occurrence of a skirmish either in the capital or its vicinity.