BUENOS AY U I 



Piattrtf. 



Brought forward, 2,'Jh7,000 



e whole 



ce of ad- 



minittra- 

 tion. 



:cc of the bulls ot Cnr/.*do, - '<)()() 



fruits and ecclesiastical aiuiatet, 

 A mi. ths of the tithes, - - ,<KX) 



I'li-'i-t/i !>/ (inch. 



Profits on the trade ui qoicktilrer, tobacco, 

 gunpowder, and paper, 850,000 



on the assiento of negroes, 200,000 



on the trade in the herb of Para- 

 guay, formerly monopolized by the Je- 

 suits, 500,000 

 Other revenues formerly belonging to that 



order, . 400,000 



Total amount in piastres, 4,399,000 

 Or, in sterling money, L. 989,775 : : 0. 



Of this revenue, however, no part goes to the pa- 

 revemie ;ib- rent state, the whole being absorbed by the expenses 

 sorbed liy of the interior administration of the viceroyalty ; and 

 the cxpen- Sllc }, are the sums necessary for supporting this splen- 

 did establishment, that very little is spared for the 

 purposes of amelioration or of defence. " En effet," 

 says M. Azara, " il est impossible, et au ministre, 

 et a qui que cc soit, dc savoir, sicette vice-royautc pro- 

 duitou non qnelque chose au tresor public, parceque, 

 dans toute son etendue, a peine y a-t-il une caisse ou 

 une administration que n' ait fait banqueroute. Un 

 tres grand nombre n* a pas encore rendu sea comp- 

 tes, et on n'a pas verifie ceux de plusieurs qui les 

 avaient presentes." 



Population- According to Estalla, the population of this vast 

 viceroyalty may be computed at 1 ,000,000 Spaniards 

 and Creoles besides Indians : and Mr Humboldt es- 

 timates the whole at 1,100,000, but at the same 

 time informs us, that this estimation is not altogether 

 accurate, as he has not been able to procure any sa- 

 tisfactory information on the subject. According to 

 Azara, the province of Paraguay contains 97>500 

 souls, and the province of Buenos Ay res 170,900. 

 See Azara Voyages dans, I' Ameriquc Me'idionale, 

 depnis \ f i^>\,ivsqu t en 1801. Wilcocke's History of 

 the Pieeroyaay of Ritenos Ayres. Humboldt's Po- 

 litical l-'.s*ay on the Ki .gdom of New Spain. Coleti 

 Dizionario Storico Gtf>gtafico dell' America Meri- 

 dionalc. Helm's Travdsfrom Buenos Ayres by Po- 

 tosi to Lima. (;;) 



BUENOS AYRES, the capital of the viceroyalty 

 of Buenos Ayres, extends along the south side of the 



:ivrr La Plata; and derives in name from the 



]/ .rticular salubrity of its climate. It was originally 



.rd hy !; n Pedro de Mendo/a in 15ii.5, and 



Buenos Ayrex ; but the co. 



loiiibts \v ced by famine, and harassed by 



the contif.ual hostilities of the neighbouring Indiai.s, 

 that in about four years after, the situation was aban- 

 doned as untenable. In the year 1580, however, the 

 colony was re established under the name of Santa 

 Trinidada de Buenos Aures\ and in 1620 was erect- 

 ed into a bishopric, and constituted the capital of a 

 province of the same name. But it was not until il 

 became the seat of the viceregal government, that it 

 could vie in opulence and population with the prin- 

 cipal cities of the southern continent. This city is 

 built with great regularity and neatness, and is wa- 

 tered by several small streams which discharge them- 

 selves into the La Plata. The principal streets di- 

 play hoth tuite and opulence. They are broad and 

 straight, with foot-paths on each side; but from the 

 great scarcity of stone, unpavcd in the middle, which 

 renders walking very inconvenient during drought, 

 from the quantity of dust which is collected and con- 

 tinually flying about. The houses are generally built 

 of bricks or chalk, with flat roofs, but seldom exceed 

 one story. Many of them have parapet walla on the 

 top, from three to four feet high ; and those of the 

 more wealthy inhabitants have a vestibule, and a 

 court surrounded by the apartments. The interior 

 of these houses, however, correspond very ill with 

 their external appearance. During summer, the rooms 

 arc covered with India netting, and in winter with 

 European carpets ; but from the indolence of the in- 

 habitants, they are seldom kept clean ; and that part 

 of the town which is principally inhabited by mes- 

 tizos and negroes, is nothing but a receptacle or filth. 

 Almost every house is surrounded with a garden ; 

 and many have balconies, with lattice-work for con- 

 taining shrubs and flowers. The principal square, 

 or parade, which is very spacious, faces the La Plata, 

 and is surrounded with superb buildings. On one 

 side, fronting the river, is the castle or fort, which, 

 considered as a post of military importance, is very 

 insignificant; forty cannon of various calibres, and 700 

 men, are its only defence. It contains the palace of 

 the viceroy, and a royal chapel. On the opposite 

 side is the town-hall, and on the west side stands the 

 cathedral, which is a new and spacious structure, 

 with a cupola and portico of very elegant workman- 

 ship ; but the interior of the building is rather too 

 profusely decorated with carved and gilt work. The 

 churches of St Francis and of the convent of Mercy, 



* These bulls are published every two years, and contain, an absolution from past offences, and n permission to cat several 

 kind? of prohibited food during Lent, and on meagre days. Monks are employed to disperse them, .-;nd to extol their virtues; 

 and they are greedily bought up by the credulous and ignorant vulgar, who look upon them .is i -t !i-.;ul to their saJvation. 

 The priee varies according to the rank of the purchaser. At a late Predicacio* for Peru, inch 

 toued 



Pesos. Reals. 

 at 16 4^ each, 

 3 3 



including Paraguay, there were 



Bulls. 

 3 



14,202 



78,822 



410,325 



668,601 



Pesos. Reals. 



49 64 



47,931 6 



133,012 1 



205,162 4 



250,725 3 



il . T. . 



Ayro. 



1,1 7), 953 Pesos 63 ,,887 



Or, L. 143,298, 6s. 5Jd. sterling. 



