a6o A VOYAGE TO Book Vill. 



commerce, and other neceíTary particulars, I fliall 



mention in the following account of the kingdom of 



Chih. 



CHAP. VIII. 



Account of that part of Chili within the juriJdi5iion of 

 the audience of Santiago. 



'TpHE kingdom of Chili extends from the frontiers 

 "*" of Peru to the il.-eights of Magellan, the diftance 

 being five hundred and thirty leagues. Thei'e two 

 kingdoms, as I have mentioned in another place, are 

 feparated by the defart of Atacamo, which extends 

 eighty leagues between the province of the fame name, 

 being the laft of F'eru, and the vailey of Copoyapu, 

 now corruptly called Copiapo, the firft in Chili, and in 

 every particular refeuibles the defart of Seélura. Eaft- 

 ward, fome parts of this kingdom terminates on che 

 frontiers of Paraguay, thojgh fome uninhabited defarts 

 intervene; and others border on the government of 

 Buenos Ayres. Though between the^e are the Pampas 

 or cxtenfive and level plriins. its weftern boundary is 

 the fouth-fea, extending from 27 degrees nearly, the 

 latitude of Copiapo, to 53° 30'. But to confine our- 

 felves to the true extent of this kingdom, as inhabited 

 by the Spaniards, it begins at Copiapo, and terminates 

 at the large ifland of Chiloe, the fouthern extremity of 

 which is in 3^° of S. latitude; and its extent from 

 W. to E. is the diftance between the Cordillera, which 

 is here of a ftupendous height, and the coaft of the 

 fouth-feaj that is, about thirty leagues. 



Part of the country which at prefent compofes 

 the kingdom of Chili, was fubjefled to the empire of 

 the Yncas by Yupanqui, the tenth emperor; who, 

 incited by the inchanting account given of thefc 



provinces^ 



