Читать книгу The History of Spanish America - Sir Richard Henry Bonnycastle - Страница 16

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Mexico, the capital of the Spanish vice-royalty of New Spain, is situated in 19° 25ʹ 45ʺ north latitude, and 99° 5ʹ 5ʺ west longitude, in a beautiful valley near the banks of the lake Tezcuco. The houses are mostly founded on piles, on account of the marshy nature of the ground, and the town is intersected by numerous canals. The scite of the city is the same as that of the ancient Mexico, which is said to have been so denominated from the god of war of the Mexicans, whose appellation was Mexitli, as he had a temple erected there to his worship. A palace was erected by Cortez, opposite to the scite of the palace of Montezuma. This city is a very fine one, and it is asserted that, with the exception of some parts of Westminster, Petersburgh, Berlin and Philadelphia, there is no city of the same magnitude which bears any comparison with Mexico for its great regularity, the extent of the public buildings and places, the level, and the general architecture. The railings and gates of the houses are of iron, ornamented with bronze, and the roofs of the houses are flat, and formed into terraces. The great breadth and length of its streets is an object of admiration to strangers, but it is said they are nevertheless dirty. The streets are paved and lighted by large reflecting lamps, and generally run in straight lines, from west to east, and from north to south; the footpaths are guarded by little stone-pillars, and a covered sewer runs along the middle of the streets, as in France.

The chief building is the vice-regal palace, built by Fernando Cortez, near the ruins of that of Montezuma; it stands in the central square, near the cathedral, and is a massive stone edifice. The cathedral is a magnificent building, and cost the labour of upwards of ninety years. In it are two images of the Virgin, one of solid gold, weighing fourteen pounds, six ounces, eighteen pennyweights. There are upwards of 100 other churches, which are decorated in the usual glittering style of Catholic countries; the monasteries and convents amount to twenty. Behind the palace of the viceroy stands the mint, where 100 workmen are employed; the bullion being here exchanged for coin, by the proprietors of mines. The cathedral is so rich in plate, and gold, &c. that there is a solid, silver rail round the high altar, and an enormous silver lamp, enriched with gold embossed work, into which lamp, it is said, three persons might enter, and the images of the saints, are mostly solid silver, enriched with jewels and gold. The inhabitants of the better sort are habited generally in silks, their hats having diamond ornaments and gold lace; even the very slaves wear bracelets of gold, silver, and gems.

The shops of Mexico make a profuse display of the most valuable articles, and every thing wears the appearance of great riches, and consequently of great luxury. There are thirteen hospitals, and many charitable buildings; the population is estimated at 137,000 souls, of which 2,500 are Europeans, 65,000 white creoles, 33,000 copper-coloured natives, 26,500 mestizoes, and 10,000 mulattoes.

This great mass of people are abundantly supplied with provisions from the neighbourhood of the city, which is very fertile.

Mexico is not fortified, having merely a ditch round it, without ramparts or walls; there are however six gates for the great communications from the country, together with other smaller ones, for the immediate environs. The extent of this city is four miles from north to south, and three from east to west. There is a great market place, and a sort of bazaar, after the eastern fashion, being a square of shops.

Mexico is plentifully supplied with good water, by means of two aqueducts; the police of the city have guarded against fires by water pipes, and they have lately built ten fountains with cocks, after the manner of the towns in France, &c. They have a regular watch, who take care of the lamps, and guard the streets; besides which, the guard of the city, a species of troops, who are under the orders of a judge, (who has, besides those who act immediately in the city, about ten thousand spread through the kingdom,) patrol the streets constantly, and punish excesses in the most exemplary manner. The municipal body consists of a corrigidor or mayor, twelve regidors or aldermen, and other inferior officers; the alcades, or justices of the peace, sit for the judgment of civil and criminal cases; their judgments, as well as that of the chief judge of the police, are reversible by the Audienza Real, which again refers to the viceroy, whose judgment is final, except in particular cases, which he deems necessary to refer to the king of Spain.

The courts, are the above-named Audienza Real, or royal audience, the chancery, tribunal of accompts, the strangersʼ court, the court of administrations for persons dying intestate, the tribunal of registers, the tribunal of the inquisition, the royal tribunal of mines, the tribunal of the descendants of Fernando Cortez, the tribunal of the city, &c. Amongst the public offices are the royal mint, chancery, the royal coffers, the house of the Californian missions, the mount of piety, and the chapter and government of the city, which is stiled Illustrious. The city arms are a castle with three towers, an eagle on a tree, with a serpent in its beak, and the Lake Tezcuco at the foot of the tree; supporters, two lions; and crest, an imperial crown. These arms were granted by the Emperor Charles V. whence the city has sometimes the title of Imperial and Illustrious. In 1728, Philip V. granted it all the privileges, &c. of a grandee of Spain, and in 1773 Charles III. granted to the chapter of magistrates of the city, the distinction of pre-eminence over all other tribunals, excepting the royal audience and tribunal of accompts; and the use of uniforms laced with gold. There are thirteen hospitals, and various charitable establishments under their jurisdiction.

The viceroy of New Spain, a grandee of Spain, and of course always a nobleman of high connections and rank, is commander in chief, and president of the government, or in fact, king; and as Mexico is the seat of his government, it will not be improper to give an account of his command, &c. in a description of the city. He is regarded as the chief viceroy of Spanish America, his territory being equal to an European kingdom of large size. The governors of the provinces of his vice-royalty are not however all named by him, this power resting with the court of Spain. His patronage over all the churches makes no inconsiderable part of his power.

The court of the viceroy is formed in the most splendid style; he has body-guards both horse and foot, an immense train of attendants, &c. His salary is not great, but the patronage over lucrative places, monopolies, and the presents he receives, are supposed to render it enormous; as he however is obliged to support the style of a king, the greater part is spent in the payment of his household, equipages, &c.; he is commander in chief, and has under his orders in the kingdom of New Spain, about 10,000 regular troops, and 20,000 militia, making a total of 30,000 men; these are however so dispersed, and ineffective, that he can send no very large force into the field.

Mexico is an archbishopric, and metropolitan see; it is very valuable, as the income is inferior to none but that of the bishopric of Puebla de los Angelos; the archbishopʼs annual income being 100,000 dollars.

The clergy of Mexico are numerous and wealthy, the chapter of the cathedral containing twenty-six ecclesiastics. The income of the dean is 10,000 dollars, the canons from 7,000 to 9,000, and the sub-canons, from 2,000 to 4,000, and the parish curacies very valuable in general.

The ecclesiastic courts of Mexico are comparatively as numerous as the clergy, the principal one being the Holy Tribunal of the Faith, or as it is better known by the title of “the Inquisition.”

The university of Mexico was founded in 1551, and is called the Royal and Pontifical university of Mexico; it is composed of two hundred and fifty doctors in all the faculties. It is under the government of a rector, who is annually chosen by the preceding rector, and eight of the council chosen by ballot from amongst the doctors and bachelors. It has a chancellor, who is the chief schoolmaster of the city, and who presides at the conferring of degrees. The professors are nominated by a council, consisting of the archbishops, the chief-judge of the royal audience, the chief-inquisitor, the dean of the cathedral, the rector of university, the chancellor, the senior professor of theology and the dean of faculty.

The library of the university is in a bad condition, having been only lately endowed, and is filled chiefly with theological works; it is open to the public.

The college of Santa Maria de Todos los Santos, is the principal college of Spanish America; it was founded in 1682, by the archbishop of Mexico, and has a public library and thirteen professors; it received additional buildings in 1750, and has 400 students.

The college of St. John is the oldest in New Spain; it was endowed for children of Spanish and Indian parents.

The Jesuits had formerly five colleges in Mexico; there are now two only remaining under the direction of the viceroy. Like the colleges of this order in all parts of the world, these buildings are strong, massive and magnificent; the great hall and chapel of one being the most beautiful pieces of architecture in the viceroyalty.

The public schools are numerous, being chiefly conducted by the priests of the several religious orders.

The royal academy of Arts and Sciences has a good establishment of professors of architecture, sculpture, painting, engraving, and mathematics. There has also been lately erected a college of mines, in which young men are instructed in various branches of science, and in every thing that relates to mining.

The botanical garden is another useful institution, lately much enriched.

The patron saint of Mexico is St. Mary of Guadaloupe, who is also the patroness of Spanish America.

The character of the people of Mexico, as given by late travelers, is that of a courteous and charitable people. The polite arts are their chief study, and they boast of their painters. They are great smokers, using cigars even at the theatre, and the ladies all smoke; a part of their ornaments being a gold or silver cigar box suspended by a chain or ribbon, in which they keep their paper cigars; on the chain they wear little pincers to hold the cigar, which, is nearly finished, whilst they light the new one. The manufactory of cigars, a magnificent building, employs near 5000 persons; such is the demand for this article. They are fond of theatrical exhibitions and have a handsome theatre. As in all Catholic countries, religious processions and shows occupy a great part of their attention; amongst the most splendid of these, is the procession of the Corpus Christi, the festival of the anniversary of the conquest of Mexico, and the publication of the bulls of indulgence; which are hailed with eagerness, and looked for with earnestness. The great civil show, is the entrance of a new viceroy, on which occasion, the city is all splendour and joy. The lower people are immoderately fond of a liquor named pulque, and the number of houses for the sale of it have of late become so numerous that the Police allow them only to remain open from ten till four in the day-time, on account of the riots and violence that happens in them; this liquor is allowed to enter the city only by one gate, that of Guadaloupe; and such is the consumption of it by the inhabitants, that the tax on it yields a revenue annually of a million of dollars. The shopkeepers of Mexico issue tokens of copper, iron and wood; and even grains of cacao pass as current in the neighborhood; which arises from there being no bullion currency. The price of bread is regulated three times in the year by the price of grain. There are numbers of sugar mills in this capital, and from there numerous distilleries of rum are kept at work.

Mexico is at present a place of immense commerce, and will become of more importance in a commercial point of view, when the great roads from Vera Cruz, &c. are completed; as the transport of goods will then be easier and less expensive; and the wheat, &c. of the fine plains of Mexico, will find a ready market all over the world.

This city, though on a marshy soil, is in general healthy, and the black vomit or yellow fever is here hardly known; but consumptions, apoplexy, agues, fever, and pleurisy, are not uncommon. The worst disorder to which the inhabitants of Mexico are subject appears to be what they denominate “flato” or “flatus;” the unhappy patients appearing in a state of madness, and have hot and shivering fits as in the ague; convulsions, and hysteric affections also accompany this strange disorder; which has been supposed to arise from the great quantity of spice they use in their food, and from the excessive use of tobacco.

This extraordinary city attracts the notice of Europeans from its curious situation, as well as from the remembrances attached to its name. It is placed on a plain, the height of which above the level of the sea is 6900 feet, near the banks of the lakes Tezcuco and Chalco, which are about ninety miles in circumference; the waters of the latter are salt, of the former fresh; they communicate with each other, and contain only two sorts of fish, one of which is of very peculiar organization. The city at a distance, appears to rise from the waters of the former lake; the banks of which are beautified with the most enchanting village scenery; on the opposite side of the lake, a luxuriant and highly cultivated valley is contrasted with the towering summits of the enormous mountains, emitting flame and smoke, in regions where eternal snow and winter reigns. This extensive plain is covered with flax, hemp, cotton, tobacco, sugar, indigo, &c.; and furnishes the markets of the city with abundance of vegetables, meat, fruits, and poultry, and reaches to the mountains, whose bases repose on its bosom. These mountains are diversified into every form that imagination can present, and are clothed with cedars, shrubs, and plants, and contain in their bowels precious jewels and minerals. The plain extends on all sides of the city and of the Lakes Tezcuco and Chalco; but on the eastern-side of the latter it is not so prolific, owing to the saline exhalations from the waters. On the lower parts of the mountains, farms, country-seats and romantically situated cottages are seen; and the whole plain appears well watered by numerous canals and rivulets. To the north of the town, near the suburbs, is the promenade, or Alameda; it is surrounded by a rivulet, and is in the shape of a large square, with a basin of water and fountain in the middle. From this bason eight walks strike out, each bordered by two rows of trees: there are also several other public walks, but the ground, in the immediate neighbourhood of Mexico, is full of rivulets and canals, and rather swampy.

The cold at Mexico is not great in the winter, as the Lake Tezcuco seldom freezes thicker than a sheet of paper; in the summer it is very hot, but as there are regular showers, which fall in the evening, the air during the summer is much tempered. The rainy season occupies four months, from the middle of May, to the middle of September.

The houses of pilgrimage in the neighbourhood of Mexico are singular; the chief one is the sanctuary of Neustra Senora de los Remedios, on the spot where Cortez retired when he was repulsed.

The sanctuary of Guadalupe has a college, church, &c.

Just without the city is the sanctuary of Neustra Senora de los Angelos, formerly the retreat of an anchorite. The desert of the Carmelites is five leagues from the city, and here, in an inclosure of three miles, the most austere of these monks live in solitary cells.

About half a league from the city is the rock of the warm-baths.

The village of Traspana is also a place of great resort, the air being thought very wholesome and pure. On a hill in the environs, where there was formerly a palace of Montezuma, is the great aqueduct of Chapultepec, which conveys water to the city; it is above 9000 feet in length. The water of this, is however, not so pure as that of the aqueduct of Sante Fé, which is 30,600 feet in length, and which runs along the Alameda, but is not so beautiful a structure as the former, as the water is not conveyed the whole way over arches.

The surrounding scenery of the metropolis is in all respects highly beautiful and singular; from it are seen the summits of some of the loftiest mountains of North America, and the varied foliage of the cypress, the avenues of elms and poplars, which branch to the city from all quarters, the gardens of oranges and European fruits, the deep verdure of the plain, the golden tint of the ripening corn, and the different shades of the various Mexican plants, conveys, through the medium of a pure and cerulean atmosphere, the utmost delight to the eye of the beholders. The valley in which the city and its neighbourhood rests, is filled with villages and towns, and surrounded with enormous masses reposing on the great plain; two of which, Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl, are the most remarkable of the group; the first is continually vomiting fire and smoke, though covered with snow. The Pico de Orisaba is also visible, and forms a grand feature of the scene. On the west of the city, the chain is very high and continuous.

The remains of the former city are inconsiderable; some traces of the great dikes yet subsist, as well as of the aqueducts. The temples have been destroyed, but the foundations of the ancient Mexican habitations are numerous in the environs of the city, and prove that it was much larger than it is at present.

The lake has retired a league from the city, so that it is now situated in a marshy soil to the left of the southern extremity of Lake Tezcuco, and between it and Lakes Xochimilco and Chalco. To the north it has two small lakes, one called Lake San Christoval, and the other Lake Zumpango.

The palace of Montezuma stood opposite to where the viceroyʼs palace now stands, and a palace was erected on the site of Montezumaʼs, by the descendants of Cortez, as they were obliged to resign the original building of the conqueror to the government; this house still belongs to a descendant of Cortez, who is Marquis del Valle de Oaxaca, and is also Duke de Monte Leone in Naples.

The building in which Cortez was stationed when he first entered the city, still shows some of its remains behind the convent of Santa Teresa.

Of the great temples nothing is to be seen; that dedicated to the god of war was destroyed to make room for the cathedral.

A fine modern equestrian statue in bronze, of one of the Spanish kings, ornaments the great square, which was cast and erected by a Spanish artist residing in the city.

In this city, there are a set of people who resemble, in their general habits, the Italian Lazaroni. They pass the night under the arcades and porches, and work one or two days of the week, to gain enough to enable them to buy sufficient liquor and food. They amount to 30,000, and are designated by the names of Saragates, and Guachinangos; they differ only from the Lazaroni, in not being ferocious, and in never asking alms.

After having given this extended description of the metropolis of New Spain, we shall return to the subject of its division into provinces, &c. These have been before enumerated; we shall therefore commence at the northern boundaries of the viceroyalty, and proceed regularly to the southern limits of North America, on the isthmus of Panama or Darien.