In 1512, John Ponce, who had subdued Porto Rico, fitted out three ships, and, sailing northward, fell in with land in the 30th degree of latitude, which he took possession of and called Florida. In the following year, one Balboa ascended the mountains of Darien, the narrow isthmus which connects North with South America, and espied the great South Sea, now called the Pacific Ocean. Delighted with this discovery, he proceeded to the water's edge, and wading in, till the water reached his waist, armed with his buckler and sword, he took possession of the ocean in the name of his king.

In 1517, Cordova sailed from Cuba, discovered the great Peninsula of Yucatan, and the Bay of Campeachy. But landing at the mouth of a river to procure fresh water, a considerable part of his men were killed, and he was forced to return to Cuba, where he soon died. The next year, a more considerable force, under Grijalva, visited the same bay, and encountering the natives, defeated them, not without difficulty. To this country Grijalva gave the name of New-Spain, which name it still bears; as well as that of Mexico, the name of the country among the natives. This expedition returned to St. Jago without attempting a settlement. In the same year, one Garay coasted along the northern shore of the Gulf of Mexico, to the river Panuco.

In 1519, Valasquez, governor of Cuba, fitted out an armament of eleven small vessels, and six hundred and seventeen men, under the command of Fernando Cortez, for the invasion of Mexico. As fire-arms were not generally in use, only thirteen men had muskets; the rest being armed with cross-bows, swords and spears. Cortez had, however, ten small field pieces, and sixteen horses-the first of these animals ever seen in that country. With this small force, Cortez landed in Mexico, to encounter one of the most powerful empires. After many negociations, alliances, marches and counter-marches; many battles and extreme hardships, Cortez subdued the Mexican Empire, then under the government of the brave, the hospitable, but unfortunate Montezu

1

ma, and entered the city of Mexico in triumph, on the 13th of August, 1521.

It is a most instructive lesson which the fall of Mexico is calculated to teach. Cortez could not have made any impression on that great empire, containing many millions of people, had he not availed himself of the factions among the different provinces of the empire. But no sooner had he arrived, than one of the nations which paid tribute to Montezu ma, and was impatient to shake off the yoke, offered to join him. These were the Totonacas, who first assisted the Spaniards to conquer Mexico, and then were subdued in turn. Thus nations are often ruined by their own divisions-foolishly imagining to lessen the burthens of government, they revolt against their own king or state, join the invaders of their country, who first conquer their foes, and then rivet shackles on their allies.

While Cortez was conquering Mexico, Magellan, a distinguished navigator, who had served under the famous Portuguese adventurer, Alberquerk, fitted out five small ships and sailed from Spain in August 1519, in search of a passage to India by the west. Proceeding southward along the American coast, he entered the strait which now bears his name, doubled the southern point of this continent, launched into the vast ocean, which he called the Pacific, touched at the Ladrones, and after enduring extreme distress from bad provisions and sickness, arrived at the Phillippines, where a contest with the natives arose, in which he lost his life. But his officers proceeded on their voyage, passed the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived in Spain in Sept. 1522. This was the first time that any mortal had sailed round the globe.

After Balboa had discovered the South Sea, a settlement was made on the western side of Darien, called Panama. From this town several attempts had been made to explore the southern continent, but without any remarkable occurrence. In 1524, three persons, Pizarro, Almagro and de Luque, associated for the purpose of extending their adven

tures and discoveries. Their first expedition was attended with il success. Pizarro, however, in a second attempt, sailed as far as Peru, and discovered that rich and flourishing country. Pleased with the discovery, he returned to Panama, and was sent by the governor to Spain for a commission, and a military force to support an expedition and insure suc

cess.

Pizarro obtained a commission and a small force, and returned to Panama; from whence he sailed in February 1531, to attempt the conquest of one of the finest kingdoms in America, with no more than one hundred and eighty men. With these and a small reinforcement, he marched to the residence of the king, and having invited him to a friendly interview, in which he attempted to persuade him to adopt the christian religion, he, with matchless perfidy, seized the monarch a prisoner, and ordering his soldiers to slay his unsuspecting, and astonished attendants, four thousand were slain without resistance.

The Peruvian monarch, Atahualpa, was no sooner a prísoner, than he devised the means of procuring his release. Finding the Spaniards excessively eager after gold, he offered to fill the apartment in which he was confined, which was twenty-two feet by sixteen, with vessels of gold and silver, as high as he could reach. This offer was accepted, and gold was collected from distant parts of the empire, until the treasure amounted to more than the value of two millions of dollars, which was divided among the conquerors. But the perfidious Pizarro would not then release the Inca; he still kept him a prisoner, and Almagro having joined him with a reinforcement, they brought the Inca to trial before a court erected for the occasion-charged him with being an usurper and idolator, condemned and executed him. The Peruvian government being destroyed, all parts of the empire were successively subdued.

The Spaniards found the Peruvians farther advanced towards civilization, than any American nation except the Mexi

cans; and in some respects farther than that nation. About three hundred years before the invasion of the Spaniards, a man and woman of superior genius arrived in that country, who, pretending to be descended from the sun, commanded an uncommon degree of veneration. The man, whose name was Manco Capac, collected the wandering tribes into a social union, instructed them in useful arts, curbed their passions, enacted salutary laws, made a judicious distribution of lands, and directed them to be tilled; in short, he laid the foundation of a great and prosperous empire. Mama Oello, the woman, taught the arts of spinning and weaving. Manco Capac was called Inca, or Lord, and his descendants governed this happy nation for twelve generations. By the laws of this empire, human sacrifices were forbid, and the general policy of its institutions was mild.

Just before the Spaniards landed in Peru, that kingdom had been torn with factions and civil war. Huana Capac, the twelfth in descent from Manco, had two sons; one by a wife of the royal blood of the Incas, called Huascar; another, named Atahualpa, by a woman of foreign blood. He appointed the latter his successor in the government of Quito, which disgusted the lawful heir Huascar. This produced a war, in which Atahualpa triumphed: Huascar was defeated and taken prisoner. In this situation was the kingdom of Peru when the Spaniards arrived. Thus weakened by internal divisions, it fell an easy prey to the invaders. Such are the deplorable effects of factions and dissensions, which usually begin in the lawless ambition of bold, daring men, and end in public misery!

In the year 1540, Gonzalo, a brother of Pizarro, and governor of Quito, crossed the Andes with a body of troops, and a great number of Indians to carry their provisions, with a view to make discoveries. After a long march amidst precipices, rocks, thick woods and morasses, they arrived at a large river, called Napo, which is one of the head branches of the

Maranon.* Here they built a small vessel, on board of which were transported the provisions and baggage, under the command of Orellana, with fifty men, while the rest marched along the bank. But Orellana betrayed his trust, and being wafted along the stream with rapidity, he left Gonzalo and his attendants; entered the vast river Maranon, and pursuing his course to the mouth, a distance of three thousand miles, he had the good fortune to reach the Spanish settlement at Cubaqua in safety. This was the first time that any European had explored the largest river on earth, and this was one of the boldest enterprises recorded in history. Gonzalo, confounded at the treachery of Orellana, was obliged to return to Quito, distant twelve hundred miles, in which journey four thousand Indians and two hundred and ten Spaniards perished with hunger and fatigue.

Mankind are seldom contented even with the splendor of power and riches. The conquerors of Peru soon began to be jealous of each other, and to contend for dominion. Each having the government of a certain district of country, but the limits not well known, a civil war commenced, in which Almagro was defeated and taken prisoner; tried, condemned and executed. His son Almagro, though young, resolved to avenge his father's wrongs, and collecting a body of firm adherents, he privately marched to the house of Pizarro, attacked him at midday, and slew him and his attendants. Such was the fate of these bold but inhuman conquerors and such the reward of their cruelty, avarice and perfidy!

Improperly called Amazon.