unknown odds, the Spanish missionary fathers worked unceasingly, founding hamlets and towns, thus planting in the wilderness the seeds of many a large city today, building their temples of worship, going from place to place struggling with disease and hunger, teaching the Indians the Spanish language and with it their religious faith, and laying the foundation of what is known today as Latin America.

The second stage of Latin-American civilization began when the crown of Spain finally took an active interest in its new possessions and men of a better class than the soldiery which landed with the discoverers and conquerors began to come to the New World, bringing their wives and daughters, and surrounding themselves with whatever comforts could be had in their new home. They were in many cases scions of noble families, who came either as viceroys, governors, or in some other administrative capacity, or as "oidores," judges and men of letters in general. There also came learned monks, and among these, philosophers, poets, musicians, painters, etc. Hence some of the oldest descriptions and chronicles of Latin America are in verse or in choice prose, either in Spanish or in Latin, and we find in some of the oldest cities in Spanish America wonderful examples of wood carving, either in churches or in old houses, beautiful specimens of the gold and silversmiths' art in ware of the precious metals, some fine paintings, and unexcelled samples of the art of illuminating books, particularly missals.

The scholars, either members of the religious orders or laymen, began to gather books imported from Europe, and so our libraries were started, mainly in the convents. With this feature of civilization the necessity of educating the children of the Spaniards and the Indians became more pressing, and private schools and seminaries were established, as a first step to the foundation of universities. I think it is due to the Spaniards to state right here that both in Mexico and in Peru schools were founded for the education of the Indians, to teach them not only reading and writing, but the manual arts as well.

We Latin Americans record with natural pride the fact that the first university founded in the New World was that

of Santo Tomás de Aquino at Santo Domingo, in 1538. This University is no longer in existence, but we still have that of San Marcos at Lima, Peru, founded in 1551; the University of Mexico, established in 1553 and refounded in 1910; the University of Cordoba, in Argentina, dating from 1613; that of Sucre in Bolivia, founded in 1623, or thirteen years before Harvard, which dates from 1636, and that of Cuzco, in Peru, established in 1692, or eight years earlier than Yale, which was founded in 1701. The University of Caracas, in Venezuela, dates from 1721, and that of Habana, Cuba, from 1728, the other universities founded before the nineteenth century being that of Santiago, Chile, in 1743, and the University of Quito, Ecuador, in 1787.

The great agent of civilization and progress, the printing press, has been known in Latin America since 1536, when the first printing outfit was introduced into Mexico and the first book printed in the New World, a plea of Father Las Casas for a better life. Cartagena, Colombia, is said to have been the second city of America to have a printing press, in 1560 or 1562, but Peru seems to hold the record for the first book printed in South America, about 1584, and La Paz, Bolivia, had a printing establishment about 1610. There were also a press and other printing paraphernalia at the Jesuit missions of Paraguay about the first decade of the seventeenth century. The first work in Bogotá was printed about 1739; Ecuador printed its first book in 1760, and Venezuela in 1764, while the earliest production of the Chilean press bears the date of 1776, and there was a printing outfit in Cordoba, Argentina, in 1767. With the foundation of universities and schools and more frequent communication with Spain and other European countries of Latin origin, and the printing of books and newspapers in the New World, the desire for learning was developed and a new field was open to intellectual culture.

Dissatisfaction of the colonies with the exactions and abuses of the viceroys, captains-general and other officials representing the crown of Spain, jealousies between the creoles, or children of Spanish parents born in America, and the "peninsulars," or native Spaniards, commercial prefer

ence and social distinctions, and other petty annoyances born of the arrogance of the Spaniards, on the one hand, and the proud nature of the creoles on the other, were the smouldering embers that, fanned by the success of the American Revolution and the storm of the French Revolution, set on fire the Spanish colonies at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century. The majority of the Spanish-American countries attained their independence between 1804 and 1825, and their struggles for freedom, while encouraged by the example of the United States, were inspired in French ideals. The heroes of the bloody but romantic French Revolution, their fiery speeches and undaunted bravery, their proclamation of the republic and the rights of man; the echoes of the Boston Tea-party, the exploits of the spirit of '76, the commanding and serene figure of Washington, the birth of the American Constitution, the utterances of the grave thinkers and inspired orators of the revolutionary period-all these dazzling examples of patriotism appealed to the Spanish-American colonists, and one by one the colonies began their fight for independence. The executions and ignominy heaped upon the first patriots who forfeited their lives for the cause of independence, instead of discouraging the leaders, made them more aggressive, and they resolved to gain the day at all hazards.

We come now to the most brilliant pages of the history of Latin America, and upon these pages are written the names of Miranda of Venezuela, the precursor of South American independence; Bolivar, who has been called the Washington of South America, a brilliant soldier and born leader, the liberator and father of Venezuela, his native country, and of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia; Sucre, also a Venezuelan, more like Washington than Bolivar, the very soul of honor, a gallant knight and an accomplished diplomat; San Martin, the brave and heroic liberator of the southern half of South America; Artigas, a man of sterling qualities; O'Higgins, the great Chilean hero; Tiradentes, the forerunner of Brazilian independence; Morelos and Hidalgo in Mexico, both Catholic priests, and both martyrs to the cause of inde

pendence; and hundreds of others from each country whose names would be meaningless except to those well acquainted with the history of South America.

But, once free from colonial bondage, the new republics, whose political constitutions in the main are based on that of the United States, had to deal with fresh problems arising from changed conditions. The new political entities commenced their independent life heavily handicapped, on the one hand by their economic condition after a period of protracted wars, and on the other hand by a scarcity of population, and though paradoxical, nevertheless true—the fertility of the soil and extremely favorable climatic conditions. The unbounded productiveness of Latin America, coupled with the modest wants of the masses, has been the main cause of the slow development of most of these countries as manufacturing centers, their chief means of support being agricultural and allied industries, and mining. The evolution out of all this chaos has been more rapid in some countries than in others, due to special conditions, among which the the principal ones are in general terms geographic and topographic position, and predominance of the white man.

The leading classes, owners of black slaves and landlords to the Indian tenantry, lived for the most part in relative ease after the war of independence. Those who did not seek in the army a field for their activities or inclinations, devoted themselves to intellectual and scientific pursuits, either in civil life or in the service of the church. Some went abroad, to France or Spain preferably, to acquire a general education or to perfect that received at home and to see the world, on their return bringing new ideas which were eventually adopted and more or less modified as necessity demanded. With the progress of the nineteenth century Latin America also advanced.

Intellectually, the Latin-Americans are anything but the inferiors of the Anglo-Americans. The literature of Latin America is as rich and valuable as that of any country, yet it is hardly known-not to say entirely unknown—in the United States except by a handful of men who have devoted their time to the study of the Spanish language. It is only

now, during the last few years, that a desire to know Spanish has made itself felt in the United States, and it is astonishing to note the number of persons now able to read and understand the language. On the other hand, the study of modern languages is compulsory in all of the universities and colleges of Latin America, and absolutely necessary to obtain certain academic degrees. French was for a long time the language chosen by the majority of the students, hence the influence of French literature and French thought in Latin America. German was taken up by many, more as a commercial tongue than otherwise, but even so German literature, particularly the works of Goethe, Schiller and Heine, and most of the writers of today, are well known in Latin America. English was preferred by others, rather as an accomplishment than as a language of immediate practical use, until now it has taken, in many cases, the place of German. These two languages have followed the trend of trade, but English is becoming more useful every day in view of the increased relations of Latin America with the United States, in all spheres of human activity.

The problem of education has always commanded the earnest attention of all the Latin-American governments, to the extent of having made primary education, in most of these countries, not only free but compulsory. So far as higher education is concerned that is, all grades above primary-there are institutions, either public or private, or both, for secondary and superior education, normal schools, schools of mines, agricultural and manual training, technological institutes, colleges, universities, conservatories of music, academies of painting and sculpture, national or public libraries, museums, etc.-in short, all kinds of institutions devoted to the moral and intellectual uplift of the people.

In all the Latin-American countries there is a system of scholarships which serves as a practical means of promoting interest in education. This system provides for supporting abroad for a certain length of time such of the students and graduates as have won honors, who are sent to Europe and in some cases to the United States, to perfect their edu