SECTION XII.
State of Chili towards the end of the Eighteenth Century[102].
[Footnote 102: The information of Molina appears to have closed about 1787; but in some notes by the translator, interwoven here into the text, a few short notices to the year 1792 occur.--E.]
From the short deduction of the occurrences in Chili since its discovery, which has been attempted in the foregoing pages, it will be seen that the acquisition and maintenance of that interesting and important colony has cost more expenditure of blood and treasure to Spain than all the rest of her American possessions. The Araucanians, though only occupying a small extent of territory, and with far inferior arms, have not only been able to resist the military power of Spain, till then reckoned invincible, but have endangered the loss of her best established possessions. Though most of the Spanish officers employed in the early period of the Araucanian war had been bred in the low countries, that excellent school of military knowledge, and her soldiers were armed with those destructive weapons before which the most extensive empires of America had so early fallen, and were considered as the best disciplined and bravest troops in the world; yet has this brave people been able to resist their utmost efforts, and still maintain their independence unimpaired. This will appear wonderful, especially when we consider the decided superiority which European military discipline and skill have given to its troops in all parts of the world. The rapidity of the Spanish conquests in America excited universal astonishment; and a small number of Portuguese gained with almost incredible facility an extensive territory in the east, even although the natives were extremely numerous and accustomed to the use of fire-arms. Yet, in spite of every effort of force and skill, the Araucanians have valiantly defended their country, evincing that a free people, however inconsiderable in point of numbers, can perform wonders.
Since losing their possessions in Arancania, the Spaniards have prudently confined their views to the preservation and improvement of that part of Chili which lies between the southern confines of Peru and the river Biobio, extending between the latitudes of 24° and 36° 30' S. As formerly mentioned this kingdom is divided into thirteen provinces. Of late years two other provinces have been formed by the disjunction of Maule, and the provinces of Cauquenes and Cunco are nominally added to the former number, but without any addition of territory. Besides these, they possess the fortress and port of Valdivia in the country of the Cunches, the archipelago of Chiloe, and the island of Juan Fernandez. This colony or kingdom of Chili is governed by an officer, who combines the titles and functions of civil governor, president of the court of audience, and captain-general, and usually holds the rank of lieutenant-general in the Spanish army. He resides in the city of St Jago, and is solely dependent upon the king, except that in time of war he is subject in some points to receive orders from the viceroy of Peru. In quality of captain-general, he is commander-in-chief of the army, having under his immediate orders the three principal military officers of the kingdom, the quarter-master-general, the serjeant-major, and the commissary-general, besides the four commandants of Chiloe, Valdivia, Valparaiso, and Juan Fernandez. As president and governor, he has the supreme administration of justice, and presides in the superior tribunals established in the capital, whose jurisdiction extends over all the provinces and dependencies of Chili. The chief of these is the royal audience, whose decisions are final in all causes both civil and criminal, and which is divided into two chambers, one for civil and the other for criminal causes. Both are composed of several respectable oydors or judges, a regent, fiscal, royal procurator, and protector of the Indians, all of which officers have high salaries from the crown. In civil causes where the sum at issue exceeds the value of 10,000 dollars, an appeal lies from their sentence to the supreme council of the Indies. The other supreme courts are those of Finance, of the Cruzada, of Vacant lands, and the Consulate or tribunal of commerce.
The provinces of Chili are governed by officers who were formerly called corregidors, but are now known by the title of sub-delegates, which ought to be nominated by the crown, but are generally appointed by the governor, owing to the distance from Spain. These, as lieutenants of the governor, have jurisdiction both in civil and military affairs, and as their emoluments are entirely derived from fees, their amount is by no means regular. In each capital of a province, there is or ought to be a municipal magistracy denominated the Cabildo, composed of several regidors appointed for life, of a standard-bearer, a procurator, a forensic judge called the provincial alcalde, a high sheriff called, alguazil-mayor, and two alcaldes. These latter officers are nominated annually by the cabildo from the most respectable inhabitants, and have jurisdiction both in civil and criminal causes in the first instance.
All the inhabitants able to carry arms are divided into regiments, which are bound to march to the sea-coast or the frontiers in case of war. In 1792, the militia amounted to 15,856 men, in the two bishoprics of St Jago and Conception; 10,218 in the former, and 5,638 in the latter. This force which was established in 1777, during the government of Don Augustino Jaregui, is only called out on great occasions, and is seldom obliged to perform the duty of centinels and patroles; but is obliged to hold itself always in readiness for war, and frequently to exercise in the use of arms. Besides this regular militia, there are a great number of city corps, who are commanded by officers named commissaries instead of Colonels. These are divided into several companies, according to the extent and population of their respective districts; and the companies have no fixed numbers, sometimes exceeding a hundred men, and at other times falling short of that number. This city militia supplies guards for the prisons and for the escort of prisoners, and performs the duties required by the police, without being exempted from military service when occasion requires; and from these companies recruits are drawn to supply vacancies in the regular militia. Every one capable of bearing arms is thus enrolled either in these companies or in the regular militia, except such as are indispensably necessary for cultivating the land and taking care of the cattle. Besides this militia, the crown maintains a regular force of veteran troops part at St Jago and part at Conception for the protection of the Araucanian frontier. In 1792, all the veteran troops in Chili amounted to 1976 men, divided into two companies of artillery, nine troops of horse, including a regiment of dragoons at St Jago, and the rest infantry. The cavalry is commanded by a brigadier-general, who is quarter-master-general of the kingdom, and intendant of Conception. The infantry and artillery are under the command of two lieutenant-colonels. Besides these royal troops, the city of St Jago keeps several troops of dragoons in constant pay for its particular protection.
In regard to ecclesiastical polity, Chili is divided into two extensive bishoprics, those of St Jago and of Conception, the bishops of these dioceses being suffragans to the archbishop of Lima. The bishopric of St Jago extends from the confines of Peru to the river Maule, and includes the province of Cujo on the east side of the Andes. The bishopric of Conception comprises all the rest of Chili and the islands; but the greater part of this extent is inhabited by pagans, being the confederacy of Araucania and its auxiliaries. The two cathedrals have a competent number of canons or prebendaries, whose revenues as well as those of the bishops depend upon the tythes. The holy tribunal of the inquisition at Lima, has a commissary and several subaltern officers or familiars resident at St Jago. Upon his first coming into Chili, Valdivia brought with him several monks of the order of Mercy. About the year 1553, the Dominicans and Franciscans were established in the country, the Augustins in 1593, and the Hospitallers of St John of God in 1615. These orders all have a number of convents, and the three first form distinct jurisdictions under their respective provincials. The brothers of St John have the charge of the hospitals, under the direction of a commissary, dependent on the provincial of their order in Peru. The Jesuits came likewise into Chili in 1593, along with Don Martin Loyola, nephew to their founder, and formed a separate province, but were afterwards suppressed along with the rest of their order in all parts of christendom. Other orders have several times attempted to form establishments in Chili, but have always been resisted by the inhabitants. There are several convents of nuns in the cities of St Jago and Conception, but none are contained in the other cities of the kingdom.
Though the cities are in general built in the most fertile districts of the kingdom, many of them might have been more conveniently situated for trade upon the banks of the navigable rivers; as is more particularly the case with those of recent erection. The streets in all the cities are laid out in straight lines, intersecting each other at right angles, and are generally about forty feet wide. The houses are mostly of one storey, yet are very commodious, are all whitewashed on the outside, and handsomely painted within, each being accommodated with a pleasant garden, irrigated by means of an aqueduct or canal, which likewise furnishes water for the use of the family. Those houses which belong to the wealthier classes, particularly the nobility, are splendidly and tastefully furnished. Noticing that old buildings of two stories had resisted the most violent earthquakes, many of the inhabitants have of late years ventured to construct their houses in the European manner, and to reside in upper rooms; employing bricks and stone in the construction of their new buildings, instead of clay hardened in the sun which was formerly supposed less liable to injury. By this change the cities have a much handsomer appearance than formerly. Cellars, sewers, and wells, were of old much more common than now; and the want of these may have contributed to render the buildings more secure from the effects of earthquakes.
The churches in Chili are in general more remarkable for their wealth than their architecture; but the cathedral and the church of the Dominicans in St Jago are both built of stone and in a handsome style. The cathedral was recently constructed at the royal expence, under the direction of the bishop Don Manuel Alday. The plan was drawn by two English architects, who superintended the work. It is built in a masterly style, and extends 384 French feet in length. When about half finished, the architects refused to proceed unless their wages were augmented; but two Indians who had worked under the Englishmen had privately made themselves acquainted with every branch of the art, and offered to complete the fabric, which they did with as much skill as their masters. The following edifices in the capital are also deserving of notice. The barracks for the dragoons; the mint, lately built by a Roman architect; and the hospital for orphans, founded by the Marquis of Monte-pio, and endowed by the crown.