In 1715, after the treaty of Utrecht, the English, as has been said, obtained the asiento or contract for supplying Spanish colonies in America with African slaves, in virtue of which they had permission to form an establishment at Buenos Ayres, and to send thither annually four ships with twelve hundred negroes, the value of which they might export in produce of the country. They were strictly forbidden to introduce other goods than those necessary for their own establishments; but under the temptation of gain on the one side and of demand on the other, the asiento ships naturally became the means of transacting a considerable contraband trade. One vessel is mentioned by Dean Funes, the historian, as being well known to have carried away from the Plata for London two millions of dollars in specie and seventy thousand dollars’ worth of hides in return for European goods clandestinely introduced. This trade was carried on till 1739, when Spain attempted to stop it by means of guardships. As the English resented this measure, the two powers became involved in hostilities, with the result that the asiento ceased.

The English were not the only smugglers in the river Plate. By the treaty of Utrecht the Portuguese had obtained the important settlement of Colonia directly facing Buenos Ayres. It is to be remembered, however, that the majestic stream has here a breadth of about thirty miles, or more than that which separates England from France. By the same treaty the Crown of Portugal solemnly engaged to prohibit smuggling; but, notwithstanding this clause, the provinces of Buenos Ayres, Paraguay, and Tucuman were thenceforward abundantly supplied through this channel with European goods. Thus by the imbecile commercial policy of Spain, that country was not only superseded by foreign traders in the markets of her own colonies, but further lost the duties upon their produce. The yearly freight of the galleons, which a century before had been estimated at fifteen thousand tons, fell to two thousand. The Viceroy of Peru had even to write to the governor of Buenos Ayres, requiring him to punish his officers for their negligence or connivance, since it appeared that the Peruvians no longer repaired to Lima as a market for European goods, their wants being amply supplied from the Plata.

To this remonstrance Zavala was constrained to reply that he found all measures vain to repress smuggling whilst such facilities existed for carrying it on and such gains were its result. He was sufficiently advanced to perceive, and sufficiently bold and honest to express his opinion, that a trade so demoralizing to the colonists was only to be stopped in one of two ways; either by throwing open the markets to legitimate trade, whereby the Government would secure the duties, or by driving the Portuguese out of the Banda Oriental, or Uruguay. Of the two alternatives, the latter best suited the views of the Spanish Government. The Portuguese indeed, not contented with the possession of Colonia, had commenced a more important settlement near Monte Video. From this place, however, they were dislodged by Zavala, who, by order of his Government, proceeded to establish settlements at that place and at Maldonado.

Under the above-detailed circumstances of contention between the Crowns of Spain and Portugal, represented by their respective establishments at Buenos Ayres and in Brazil, and which were so typical of its future history, was founded the healthy and agreeable city of Monte Video. Some families were transported thither from the Canaries, whilst others removed to there from Buenos Ayres. Large sums of money from the mines of Potosí were sent by the Viceroy to carry on the works; whilst the Guaranís were despatched in numbers from Paraguay to lend their labour to the fortifications. The Portuguese, however, were not dismayed, and laboured, on the other hand, to increase their own establishments, fixing themselves permanently on the Rio Grande, from which they carried on the contraband trade with more impunity than ever. The value of this trade is estimated by Dean Funes at two millions of dollars yearly to the Portuguese, being so much loss to Spain.

The inevitable consequence of this state of things was fresh antagonism between the two countries, which it was sought to put an end to by a treaty between the two nations concluded in 1750. One of the articles stipulated that Portugal should cede to Spain all of her establishments on the eastern bank of the Plata; in return for which she was to receive the seven missionary towns on the Uruguay. But, as is told in another chapter of this work, the inhabitants of the Misiones naturally rebelled against the idea of being handed over to a people known to them only by their slave-dealing atrocities; and they made a gallant resistance against the united forces of the two powers, which appeared to enforce the conditions of the treaty. The result was that when two thousand natives had been slaughtered and their settlements reduced to ruins, the Portuguese repudiated the compact, as they could no longer receive their equivalent, and they still therefore retained Colonia.

When hostilities were renewed in 1762, the governor of Buenos Ayres succeeded in possessing himself of Colonia; but in the following year it was restored to the Portuguese, who continued in possession until 1777, when it was definitively ceded to Spain. The continual encroachments to the Portuguese in the Rio de La Plata, and the impunity with which the contraband trade was carried on, together with the questions to which it constantly gave rise with foreign governments, had long shown the necessity for a change in the government of that colony; for it was still under the superintendence of the Viceroy of Peru, residing at Lima, three thousand miles distant. The Spanish authorities accordingly resolved to give fresh force to their representatives in the Rio de La Plata; and in 1776 they took the important resolution to sever the connection between the provinces of La Plata and the Viceroyalty of Peru. The former were now erected into a new Viceroyalty, the capital of which was Buenos Ayres. It comprised the province of its own name, together with those of Paraguay, Cordova, Salta, Potosí, La Plata, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, or Cochabamba, La Paz, and Puno, besides the subordinate governments of Monte Video, Moxos, and Chiquitos, and the Missions on the Rivers Uruguay and Paraná.

To this Viceroyalty was appointed Don Pedro Cevallos, a former governor of Buenos Ayres. A formidable armament was placed under his command; twelve men-of-war escorting a numerous fleet of transports, sailed from Spain, with ten thousand men. The first act of Cevallos was to take possession of the island of St. Katherine, the most important Portuguese possession on the coast of Brazil. Proceeding thence to the Plate, he razed the fortifications of Colonia to the ground, and drove the Portuguese from the neighbourhood. In October of the following year, 1777, a treaty of peace was signed at St. Ildefonso, between Queen Maria of Portugal and Charles III. of Spain, by virtue of which St. Katherine’s was restored to the latter country, whilst Portugal withdrew from the Banda Oriental or Uruguay, and relinquished all pretensions to the right of navigating the Rio de La Plata and its affluents beyond its own frontier line.

About the same time some important changes took place in the commercial regulations affecting the Spanish colonies. Various relaxations had from time to time been made of the old system by which the entire trade of Spain was left almost as a monopoly to the merchants of Seville and of Cadiz. Periodical packets had been established between Coruña and the principal colonial ports, with permission to export and to import Spanish and colonial goods. Direct intercourse was also permitted between Cuba and the other West Indian Islands; and, in 1774, the several colonies were allowed to open up a trade with each other. The above measures originated with the enlightened minister for the department of the Indies, De Galvez, who had himself passed many years in America, and who had personally witnessed to how great an extent Spain was a loser by her former system. They were followed in 1778 by the promulgation of an entirely new commercial code. The trade was still exclusively to belong to Spain and to Spanish shipping, and the tariff was based upon the principle of protection to native industry and of furthering the sale of Spanish productions. Nine ports of Spain and twenty-four in the colonies were declared ports of entry.

By these regulations it was likewise provided that for ten years Spanish manufactures of wool, cotton, linen, steel, glass, &c., should be shipped, duty free, for the colonies, which might export in return their principal articles of raw produce, such as cotton, coffee, sugar, cochineal, indigo, bark, and copper. The duty on the import of gold was reduced from 5 to 2 per cent.; that on the import of silver from 10 to 5½ per cent.; whilst vessels laden solely with natural produce were exempted from one-third of the duties. The shipment of certain articles of foreign production, such as cottons, stuffs, oil, wines, and brandies, which might interfere with those of Spain, were totally prohibited. These regulations contained, however, certain clauses framed in the old restrictive spirit. Some obsolete edicts were renewed restricting the cultivation of certain colonial productions—such as the vine and olive, hemp and flax—lest they should compete with the growth of the same articles in the mother country. The South Americans were not allowed to make their own cloth, and were debarred from the use of the wool of the vicuña, which was to be collected for the King’s account.

Under the administration of the above-named minister the Creoles had to complain of the great partiality shown to Spaniards over themselves in the distribution of appointments, both civil and military, in the colonies—a mistake on the part of the Spanish Government all the greater on account of the period at which it took place, namely, whilst a struggle arising in the question of colonial rights was pending between Great Britain and her North-American possessions. It is certainly singular—indeed, it seems inexplicable—that Spain, of all countries, should have determined at this time to join with France in espousing the cause of the North Americans against England, whilst she herself was pursuing in her own colonies the very policy complained of. It was not long before the Spanish Crown was reminded by the South Americans that it had itself sanctioned the principle of the subject’s right to resistance against his sovereign on the plea of wrongs unredressed.

The new commercial regulations, however, as a whole, were extremely advantageous to the colonies as well as to the mother country. Buenos Ayres, in particular, from being a nest of smugglers, soon rose to be one of the most important commercial cities of the New World. To take one example. Before the new regulations of 1778, the export of hides to Spain averaged about 150,000 yearly. It soon rose to between 700,000 and 800,000, whilst in one year [1783], on the conclusion of peace with England, the export attained to 1,400,000. Instead of the former two or three ships, there now sailed annually from seventy to eighty from the river Plate to Spain. The population of the province of Buenos Ayres, under these altered circumstances, was doubled in twenty years, rising from 38,000 in 1778 to 72,000 in 1800.

Until the latter part of the eighteenth century the inhabitants of the province of Buenos Ayres, possessing ample lands safe from incursions of the Indians, had no particular object in extending their possessions further south than the river Salado. The further region was left to the Indians, and was a terra incognita until the publication in England, in the year 1774, of an account of Patagonia by Father Falkner.

Falkner was an English Jesuit who had been devoted to travelling as a missionary amongst the Indians, in which duty he had passed forty years. He pointed out how vulnerable by any naval power were the Spanish possessions in that region; and, on the publication of his book, the Spanish Government lost no time in instructing the Viceroy of Buenos Ayres to have the coast of Patagonia surveyed, with a view to the formation of fresh settlements. The command of the surveying expedition was given to an officer named Piedra, who sailed from Monte Video at the close of 1778, and passed three months in examining the shores of the gulf of St. Antonio, where he left an officer and some men to build a fort, conveniently situated for exploring the rivers Negro and Colorado, and for securing the entrance of those streams against invasion. A further inducement for making a settlement here was the number of whales and seals in the neighbourhood, which likewise contained extensive salt deposits.

In April 1779 a settlement was formed on the river Negro, and in the following year the whole of the southern part of the coast of Patagonia was surveyed. The only spot which seemed to afford a promising site for a settlement was St. Julians, which had the advantage of a constant supply of water some three or four miles inland. The Indians in the neighbourhood were friendly and ready to offer assistance, which was of great consequence to the first Spanish settlers in the cold months of June, July, and August. This colony, however, was destined to be short-lived, as the Spanish Government, in 1783, resolved to break up the Patagonian settlements, which were the occasion of great expense to Buenos Ayres, and the preservation of which seemed of doubtful utility. The settlement upon the Rio Negro was alone preserved.

The missionary Falkner had supposed that a hostile naval power might, by ascending the Rio Negro, surprise the Spanish territories in the interior and even in Chili. In order to determine this important point, and to survey the river and its affluents, an expedition was despatched from the Rio Negro. Starting from the settlement of Carmen in 1782, it was absent for eight months. It proved the possibility of ascending the river to the foot of the Andes. One surprising fact was brought to light, namely, that the Indians of the Pampas had not to drive their stolen cattle for more than three days’ journey over the Cordillera, from the lake of the boundary mentioned by Falkner, before reaching the fort of Valdivia, where they found a ready market. The party of Indians from whom the explorers learned this circumstance consisted of about three hundred people, who had left their country more than a year before for the purpose of collecting cattle for the Valdivians. They were now on their way homewards with about eight hundred head, each one of which bore the Buenos Ayres mark. Their return voyage down the stream was accomplished in three weeks.

In a work of this description I find considerable difficulty in giving due regard to the unities of time, &c. My object is to place before the reader, as well as I can, the general condition of South America at any one period; but the progress of events on that continent during the colonial administration was so irregular that it is scarcely possible to avoid appearing to give undue prominence to one particular region at a time, overlooking others which in these days may seem of equal or even greater importance. Thus whilst the province of Buenos Ayres was still a vast plain overrun by savages, Peru, subsequent to the Spanish invasion, had a long and interesting history. In deferring to so late a date in this volume any account of Buenos Ayres, which is to-day a place of the first importance in South America, I may seem to be wanting in a sense of comparative fitness. But on reflection the reader will perceive that for the first two hundred years of its existence Buenos Ayres possessed no history beyond that of its foundation. Its records during those years, in so far as the world in general is interested, may be comprised in a single sentence. It was on the collapse of the narrow, repressive policy of Spain, and the erection of Buenos Ayres into a Viceroyalty, that the history of that city and province may be said to commence. Notwithstanding its natural resources and its geographical importance, it was until that date, like Tucuman, merely the seat of a local government, one amongst several, dependent on the Viceroyalty of Peru. In the last quarter of a century, however, of its colonial existence it made colossal strides. The new prospects of commercial wealth absorbed the interests and thoughts of all; and whilst Europe was waving with the commotion caused by the French Revolution, this far-distant province of Spain, so favoured by nature and position, was steadily laying the foundations of its future importance and prosperity.

The Viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres was subdivided into the provinces of—

(1.) Buenos Ayres, the capital of which was the city of that name, and which comprised the Spanish possessions that now form the Republic of Uruguay, as well as the Argentine Provinces of Buenos Ayres, Santa Fè, Entre Rios, and Corrientes;

(2.) Paraguay, the capital of which was Asunsion, and which comprised what is now the Republic of Paraguay;

(3.) Tucuman, the capital of which was St. Iago del Estero, and which included what are to-day the Argentine provinces of Cordova, Tucuman, St. Iago, Salta, Catamarca, Rioja, and Jujuy;

(4). Las Charcas or Potosí, the capital of which was La Plata, and which now forms the Republic of Bolivia; and

(5.) Chiquito or Cuyo, the capital of which was Mendoza, and in which were comprehended the present Argentine provinces of St. Luiz, Mendoza, and St. Juan.

CHAPTER XIV.

BRAZIL; THE WAR OF THE SEVEN REDUCTIONS.

1750-1761.

All pretensions on either side founded upon the Bull of Alexander having been formally annulled, the demarcation between the two territories began on the south, at the mouth of a small stream which rises at the foot of the Monte de Castilhaos Grande, whence it proceeded in a straight line to the mountains, following their summits to the sources of the Rio Negro and continued to those of the Ybicuy; it then followed the course of that river to its junction with the Uruguay, skirting the Uruguay upwards until it reached the Pepiri, and then the latter river to its chief source; there it left the rivers and took the line of highest ground until it came to the head of the first stream which flows into the Yguazu; the boundary then first followed this stream, and then the Yguazu to its junction with the Paraná; it went up the Paraná to the Igurey, and then up the Igurey to its source; there it once more took the highest ground as far as to the first stream that runs into the Paraguay; the water then became the line to the mouth of the Jauru, whence the line was to be drawn straight to the south bank of the Guapore, opposite to the mouth of the Sarare. Wherever the line reached the Guapore it was to follow that stream to the Mamore, and then the Mamore to the Madeira, and the Madeira to a point half-way between its mouth and the mouth of the Mamore; it then struck east and west until it touched the Yavari, when it followed that river to the Amazons, and went down this great stream to the western mouth of the Japura. It ascended this river until it reached the summits of the Cordillera, between the Amazons and the Orinoco, when it was to go eastward along those summits, as far as the territories of the contracting parties extended.

The commissioners were to be careful to trace the demarcation from the westerly mouth of the Japura, so as not to touch the Portuguese settlements on that river and on the Rio Negro. The Spaniards were to avoid this part, whilst the Portuguese, on their side, were to abstain from ascending the Orinoco, and from spreading towards the Spanish territory. The line was to be drawn, without regard to extent of territory, with the object of tracing a distinct boundary. As the limits of the vast territories which were here for the first time separated were imperfectly known to the negotiators on either side, considerable latitude was given to the commissioners at several points. They were to design a map as they traced the limits, and jointly to name all unnamed rivers and mountains; these maps were, respectively, to be signed in duplicate by both commissioners, and were to serve as authorities in case of disputes.

By this treaty Portugal expressly ceded Colonia to Spain, together with all the territory on the northern shore of the Plata as far as the point where it was now determined the line of demarcation should begin. Portugal likewise renounced all right to the navigation of the Plata, which thenceforward was to belong exclusively to Spain. The Spanish king, in turn, made certain concessions to Portugal on the eastern side of the Uruguay. It was provided that the inhabitants of Colonia might remain there or remove at their option; but the missionaries were to migrate from the settlements ceded by Spain, and the “Reductions” were to be delivered up to the Crown of Portugal. All trade between the two nations was forbidden; nor might the subjects of one power enter the territories of the other without previous permission from the governor of the district to which he was proceeding, unless he were going on public business and provided with passports. In case of any future war between the two contracting powers, the sovereigns desired that their respective subjects in America might continue in peace, without committing acts of hostility. Neither power should permit the use of its ports to the enemy of the other; nor should such enemy be permitted a passage through the dominions of either. Several minor stipulations followed.

This memorable treaty bears witness to the sincerity and good sense of the parties by whom it was contracted; but it is not surprising that in undertaking to decide so vast a line of demarcation, some considerations should have been overlooked on either side which were nevertheless of vast importance. In view of the distance at which the treaty was drawn up from the districts and territories to which it referred and the imperfect information possessed concerning them, it was perhaps not possible that it should have been otherwise. As it was, the treaty contained one fatal clause which not only frustrated the good intentions of the sovereigns and led to immediate war, but was productive of consequences the baneful effects of which a century has not effaced.

The territory to the east of the Uruguay, which had been ceded by the boundary treaty to the Portuguese, contained seven “Reductions,” inhabited by about thirty thousand Guaranís, who had been bred up to servitude and domestic life. According to the terms of the treaty, these people, with all belonging to them, were to migrate into the Spanish territory. The Spanish King and his ministers had inserted this clause, or had agreed to it, in ignorance of the circumstances in which these Indians were placed. They were actuated, moreover, by feelings of regard to the Indians who were thereby affected. These had suffered much from the ravages of the Paulistas, and they had good reason to detest the Portuguese. To have left them, therefore, as subjects of the Crown of Portugal would have been ungenerous and offensive. It would likewise cut them off from the people of their own race. The negotiators were thus reduced to a choice of evils; but it had been decided that the exodus of these Indians was to take place within a year.

The commissioner sent on the part of Spain to see the treaty carried into effect was the Marquis of Valdelirios; the Portuguese commissioner was Gomes Freyre, the governor of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Geraes, who had himself experienced the inconvenience of an undefined boundary-line, and who is credited with having been the projector of the Treaty of Limits. The stipulation regarding the evacuation of the Misiones within a year was necessarily unaccomplished, owing to the fact that the Spanish commissioners did not reach the Plata until two years after the treaty had been signed. In the meantime, the Jesuits of Paraguay had addressed a remonstrance on the subject to the Royal Audience of Charcas, and had obtained from that tribunal a statement in their favour. They next applied to the Audience of Lima, and the Viceroy forwarded one copy of their memorial to the court of Spain and another to the governor of Buenos Ayres. The governor was requested to deliver it to the commissioners on their arrival.

The Jesuits, although relying on the effects of these memorials, were prepared to act in obedience to the terms of the treaty. The Provincial assembled the senior missionaries, who declared, almost unanimously, that it would not be possible to carry out the stipulations of the decree. He, nevertheless, instructed the Jesuits in the seven “Reductions” to endeavour to persuade the people to obedience; whilst at the same time he wrote to the King, pointing out the extreme difficulty of carrying the order into effect. The Superior went through the missions, making known the King’s pleasure. All appeared to acquiesce, with the exception of one cacique, who replied, that they had inherited from their forefathers the land of which they were now to be dispossessed. In transmitting to the Provincial the promise of the Guaranís to obey, the Superior added, that he feared that the temper of the people would render the removal impossible.

The intention of the Government was that the dispossessed Guaranís should occupy the territory which had been ceded to Spain south of the Ybicuy. It was desirable to people the ceded territory; but the Jesuits were not anxious to be too near neighbours to the Spanish regular settlements, whose vicinity would render more difficult the task of restraining their disciples. Reconnoitering parties were sent out to search for situations suitable for the settlement of large numbers of people with their flocks and herds; but such were not readily found. It was finally agreed that the missionaries should take refuge with their brethren in the land of the “Reductions” between the Uruguay and the Paraná, and this project was accordingly carried into execution.

When affairs were in this state, the Marquis of Valdelirios arrived in the Plata. He was met by Father Luiz, Altamirano having full powers from the General of the Jesuits over his brethren in South America. The commissioner was at once confronted by a whole load of arguments against the project of migration; and even the Jesuits in whose college he lodged urged the necessity of employing an armed force to clear the country on the Rio Negro from the Charruas before the emigrants should remove; they likewise represented that time should be given to erect places of shelter for the people when they should arrive in their new quarters; they also begged for a delay of three years in order that crops might meanwhile be raised at the new settlements to support the emigrants on their arrival. Their demands, though so far reasonable, were excessive; and all they could extort from Valdelirios was a delay of three months.

The Marquis, however, could perceive that the execution of the treaty was not altogether an easy matter; and he repaired to Castilhos Grande, in order to confer with Gomes Freyre, sending, at the same time, Altamirano to the “Reductions,” in order that his authority might be more readily available. When that Father had reached the “Reduction” of Yapayu, he found that the spirit of resistance had already displayed itself. There was, it appeared, a point at which even these Guaranís, brought up as they had been from generation to generation in implicit obedience, could turn; and when a community is in a state of smothered discontent there is never wanting a person to urge them on to deeds. Such a person now appeared in this “Reduction” in the person of a traveller recently arrived from Brazil, and who pointed out to the Guaranís that they were being sacrificed not by the Portuguese but by the Spaniards. The discontent now assumed a more solid form, the magistrates being deposed, and persons elected in their stead who were pledged to defend the people’s rights.

As might be supposed, this news occasioned alarm at S. Miguel, where preparations had been made for the emigration, and whence the first division of four hundred families had actually set out. The first emigrants were unfortunately met by a succession of heavy rains; and the people, declaring that if they went farther they should all perish, refused to proceed; in which resolution they were strengthened by the arrival of a messenger stating that their fellow-settlers now declined to quit their birthplace. Thereupon they returned immediately; when their insurrection assumed a more aggressive form, two of their office-bearers narrowly escaping with their lives, whilst the Indian servant of one was slain.

The inhabitants of another “Reduction” had reached their appointed place and begun to build; but, at the end of six months, wearied with labour and with the task of repelling the Indians, they returned to their former abode. With other settlements similar experiences took place. The Jesuits had in all cases shown their willingness on all occasions to obey the loyal orders; time had likewise proved the wisdom of the measures of precaution suggested to the Marquis of Valdelirios upon his arrival in the Plata. To that commissioner, therefore, must be ascribed the chief of the evils which arose from the precipitancy which he showed in carrying the emigration into effect. In his hasty measures, however, he was supported both by Altamirano and by the bishop of Buenos Ayres. The result was that the seven “Reductions” which were to be removed were now in a state of declared resistance to the treaty; whilst the other twenty-four showed that they not only sympathized with them, but were even inclined to support them. The Jesuits became the scapegoats; for whilst it was on them that the authorities depended for the measure being effected, the Guaranís of the “Reductions,” on the other hand, publicly declared that the Jesuits had sold their towns and possessions to the Portuguese; and the magistrates forbade all persons, on pain of death, either to obey or listen to them upon any other than religious matters. A resolution was even arrived at to assassinate Altamirano; but he was enabled by a timely warning to effect his escape to Buenos Ayres.

Fifty Portuguese and fifty Spanish troops, with a number of surveyors and other officers attached to the commission, and with a convoy of waggons and animals conveying stores, had by this time arrived at the territory of the missions, for the purpose of marking out the line of demarcation. They were to commence at Castilhos, on the coast, and to survey to the mouth of the Ybicuy. They reached an estancia belonging to the “Reduction” of S. Miguel. The men of that place, who had been in pursuit of Altamirano, turned aside on hearing of the new arrival, and the leader of the detachment informed the officer of the Spaniards that the Portuguese troops could not be permitted to enter the country. The officer, having proceeded to Buenos Ayres, added his testimony to that already in the possession of the authorities, to the effect that the Guaranís would not yield their territory excepting to force. Valdelirios had by this time returned from his conference with Gomes Freyre; and the commissioners, without referring the matter to their respective Governments, now declared war upon the people of the seven “Reductions.”

When the above important decision was arrived at, Altamirano addressed an instruction to the Jesuits, requiring them to destroy all gunpowder within the disturbed districts, and to prevent the manufacture of implements of war; after which, in case they should not be able to persuade the Guaranís to yield obedience to the treaty, they were to quit their charges and repair to Buenos Ayres. The Provincial of the Jesuits now addressed, in the name of the Company, a resignation of their charges, not in the proclaimed districts alone, but in all the Guaraní “Reductions.” But the governor and the bishop, to whom the resignation was addressed, declined to accept it; whilst Valdelirios insisted that the Jesuits should not be ordered to withdraw.

The first hostilities occurred upon the river Pardo, between a detachment of Portuguese and the Guaranís of S. Luiz. Of the latter, fifty were made prisoners, and they caused much prejudice against the Jesuits by stating, in reply to questions, that there were Jesuits amongst them, and that the latter had incited them to cut off the heads of the Portuguese who fell into their hands,—statements which were probably invented as being agreeable to their questioners. More serious operations soon followed. It had been arranged between the commissioners that whilst the Spaniards should advance against the Guaranís from Buenos Ayres, the Portuguese should attack them from Rio Grande. The Spaniards set forth in May, proceeding upon the left bank of the Uruguay; but they had advanced no further than the river Igarapuy when want of stores and pasture compelled them to retire. They had not retreated, however, without a collision with the people of one of the “Reductions” outside of the ceded territory, and several skirmishes took place, in one of which a number of Jesuits were slain.

In the meanwhile, Gomes Freyre had advanced from the coast towards Ybicuy, where he determined to watch the Guaranís until he should receive some information respecting the proceedings of the Spaniards. He was short of provisions, and when the rainy season commenced his men were exposed to excessive hardships, being compelled to betake themselves to the trees, and the communication being carried on by means of canoes. It is said that they were quartered in this singular fashion for two months, but that they were prevented from deserting owing to the vigilance of the Guaraní archers. At the end of this time, Gomes Freyre thought it expedient to treat with the Guaranís, who permitted him to retire without molestation. They then returned to their “Reductions,” thinking, like children, that the affair was at an end, and that all danger was over.

The Jesuits took advantage of the interval between hostilities to endeavour to procure a revocation of the clause in the Treaty respecting the cession of the “Reductions.” But their hopes for a favourable change in the Spanish councils were doomed to disappointment. Their enemies were now numerous and powerful; and amongst the calumnies revived or invented against them was one to the effect that they desired to set up a Guaraní kingdom, under a king of their own, named Nicolas, such being the name of a Guaraní chief. Valdelirios was advised that his Government had ascertained that the Jesuits were the sole cause of the Guaraní rebellion; and that if the Fathers should not deliver up the “Reductions” without further resistance, they should be held guilty of high treason. Seeing that the Jesuits’ Superior had resigned on their behalf their charge in the “Reductions,” and that the resignation had not been accepted by Valdelirios, the treatment of the Fathers was more high-handed than logical.

The Spanish and Portuguese commissioners now prepared for a second campaign, and decided that they should form a junction at S. Antonio ó Velho, and enter the Guaraní country at Sta. Thecla. Accordingly Gomes Freyre set out from Rio Grande with fifteen hundred men, with artillery and baggage train; but before they arrived at the place of rendezvous with the Spaniards, the whole force had narrowly escaped being consumed by an accidental fire. The junction, however, was effected in the month of January, the Spaniards bringing with them a proportionate force.

S. Antonio, where the two expeditions met, was in the territory of S. Miguel, and about ninety leagues from the “Reductions.” The forward march was under the most difficult circumstances, and occupied more than four months; as it was, they had to thank the remissness of their enemies for having accomplished it in that time. From the fact that no skill was shown by the Guaranís, it may safely be inferred that their defence was not directed by the Jesuits. The Indians appear to have relied entirely upon their numbers, and they were unfortunate enough to lose, at an early stage in the campaign, their only competent leader, Sepé. His death was followed by a great slaughter of his countrymen, who, however, were not thereby induced to submission. Indeed, this war, like most wars in South America, was of a protracted character, arising chiefly from the nature of the country.

So long as the Guaranís should keep the field, it was inevitable that the communications of the invaders should be exposed to much risk. It was therefore determined to fortify a position upon the Jacuy, by which stores might be received from the river Pardo. When the allied forces had continued their march to the plain of the Vacacay, they found themselves in face of a considerable number of Indians, who, however, continued to retreat so soon as the invaders prepared to attack.

The troops had now to attempt the passage of Monte Grande, a range of hills which forms the watershed in this direction. It was now the month of March (corresponding to October in the northern hemisphere), and the troops began to suffer from the cold, being badly provided with clothing; they also found the labour of surmounting the pass excessive. At this juncture their commander received the welcome news from the Rector of S. Luiz that he had at length succeeded in persuading the people of his “Reduction” to obey; they lamented their error, and besought pardon for their offence, entreating that their countrymen who had been taken prisoners might be released. The Spanish officer replied that the Father and the magistrates of the settlement should set the example of absolute submission.

At length, after three weeks of exertion, the troops succeeded in effecting the passage of Monte Grande; but they were still about two hundred miles’ distance from the “Reductions.” On the 3rd of May a considerable Guaraní force made its appearance; but a few cannon-shots put them to flight. On reaching the river Chiriaby they found the Guaranís skilfully entrenched, whilst they had taken measures to obstruct the passage of the stream. But the Guaranís, who were in an excellent position for defence, found their courage fail them at the last moment, and ran away, abandoning everything.

Two days later the army came in sight of S. Miguel, which place contained seven thousand inhabitants, and which struck them much by the regularity and neatness of its buildings, and the imposing appearance of its church. A considerable number of Guaranís appeared in front and on the flanks; but, as usual, they kept at a respectful distance. In attempting to overtake them, the general left his baggage behind him; which the enemy perceiving, they detached a large body of horsemen to cut it off. A guard, however, had been left, and they were easily beaten off. The troops then halted for two days, when they learned from a prisoner that the Jesuits, with the women and children, and many of the men, had forsaken the town, leaving orders to set it on fire.

On the following day the troops reached the plantations of S. Miguel, and two days later they took possession of the place. With the exception of the church, however, the place was now a ruin, every man, on sending away his family, having set fire to his own house. They had also burned the public stores and buildings, and the Jesuits’ houses. Notwithstanding the heavy rains which had fallen, the place had been burning for several days. Had the dilatory Spanish general pushed forward a few horsemen on learning that it was intended to fire S. Miguel, he might have easily saved that settlement.

Warned by his error, Andoanegui, on the same day, despatched the governor of Monte Video to take possession of S. Lorenzo, distant two leagues. The inhabitants were surprised, and three Jesuits were arrested. On the ensuing day a letter was received from the Rector of S. Juan stating that he had succeeded in persuading his people to submit. The other “Reductions” followed their example; but the greater part of the inhabitants took refuge in the woods. As so many of the people had provided for themselves, there was little difficulty in organizing the emigration of the remainder, who were admitted into the “Reductions” on the Paraná.

Both the Portuguese and Spanish commanders were strongly prepossessed against the Jesuits; but when they had become acquainted with the Fathers personally, and had listened to their statements of facts, the feeling against them seemed at once to disappear. Gomes Freyre, in particular, the Portuguese Commissioner, on seeing the state of things, declined to take possession of the evacuated territory, which could not be said to have been handed over to him in peace, for the former inhabitants still thronged the neighbouring woods. He likewise, meanwhile, deferred the cession of Colonia. Nor was the Spanish general more desirous of completing a transfer of which he disapproved. Both armies, therefore, remained in the “Reductions,” whilst the Jesuits endeavoured to reclaim their scattered flocks. Both generals, at this late hour, endeavoured to procure an alteration of the treaty.

The Spanish Government, alarmed at the failure of the first campaign, had sent out some reinforcements under Don Pedro Zeballos, who, on arriving at Buenos Ayres, proceeded at once to the missions, accompanied by Valdelirios. Zeballos was requested by the Superior of the Jesuits to institute a judicial inquiry into the accusation against himself and his brethren. The result of this inquiry was to dispel all charges against these Fathers, which for the rest were utterly improbable. The Jesuits of Paraguay were, like those of other provinces, supplied and recruited from Europe. It is not credible that their general should have encouraged or connived at a scheme on the part of a portion of his subordinates, the success of which would have separated them from his control; nor is it any more likely that they should have engaged in such an undertaking without his sanction.

Four years had now elapsed since Valdelirios had come upon his mission, but its business was yet far from having been brought to a conclusion; and so many difficulties had attended every stage of its progress that there was now no great disposition shown on either side to obviate minor obstructions. The presence of Gomes Freyre was required in Brazil; and thus the commission separated without having effected anything but a very large outlay of money and an immense amount of misery to the Guaranís, which race had been settled for one hundred and twenty-four years in the “Reductions.”