224 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 



practice. At no former period 

 was there greater peculation in 

 the American colonies of Spain, 

 or greater despotism or insolence 

 in all the political departments 

 from the highest to the lowest — 

 none in which men were in less 

 danger of being called to account 

 for acts of rapacity and oppres- 

 sion. Crowds of needy adven- 

 turers were sent to America, to 

 repair their fortunes, ruined by 

 the convulsions in the mother 

 country. They filled all the pub- 

 lic places, which the natives con- 

 sidered as their natural heritage. 

 Nor had the injustice and outrages 

 which they had suft'ered them- 

 selves, taught them moderation 

 and equity in their own conduct 

 towards others. 



Such was the actual govern- 

 ment, and such the condition of 

 the people, when intelligence was 

 received of the irruption of the 

 French into Andalusia, and the 

 dispersion of the Central Junta, 

 loaded with the execrations and 

 tiie contempt of the i)eople. On 

 the declaration of war by France 

 against the mother country, the 

 colonists manifested the greatest 

 ardour in the common cause of 

 the Spaniards, by their ready obe- 

 dience to the provisory govern- 

 ments in Old Spain, and by the 

 liberality of their contributions. 

 But, when every ship that arrived 

 from Europe was fraught with 

 news of fresh defeats and disasters, 

 and accusations of treason, they 

 became more sparing of their con- 

 tributions, ami less and less dis- 

 posed to place their confidence in 

 the temporary authorities. They 

 recollected that, in the greater 

 part of the Spanish provinces in 

 America, and in those of Europe, 



without exception, it was not the 

 nobility and prime gentry that 

 first took the alarm, and set them- 

 selves to oppose and confound 

 the designs of France, but the 

 people. A general persuasion 

 prevailed, that the persons in pos- 

 session of the various departments 

 of government, almost all of them 

 natives of Spain, were more anx- 

 ious to keep up their connections 

 with the mother country, into 

 whatsoever hands the supreme 

 authority might pass, than to re- 

 pel foreign aggression and usurp- 

 ation. There seemed, however, 

 to be at first a tacit agreement 

 or understanding among all the 

 Spanish provinces of America, 

 that, for the sake of avoiding the 

 horrors of anarchy, it would be 

 prudent to recognize the authority 

 of the metropolis, so long as there 

 should be any appearance of a 

 central government to rule the 

 monarchy in the name of Ferdi- 

 nand VII. 



The authority of the Central 

 Junta, and the Regency appointed 

 at Cadiz, was first disowned in 

 Terra Firma. On the news of 

 the reduction of Seville, and the 

 dispersion of the Junta, the minds 

 of all classes were greatly agi- 

 tated. The general alarm of the 

 detested and dreaded domination 

 of France was aggravated. But 

 they who were distressed by the 

 restrictions imposed by the mother j 

 country on trade, were not dis- 

 pleased at a conjuncture that 

 might enable them to take the re- 

 dress of their grievances into their 

 own hands. The unpopular ma- 

 gistracy of Caraccas was deserted 

 by the military, who fell in witli 

 the general voice of the people, 

 and a provisory Junta was formed 



