Q U I 



297 



Q U I 



Quito. vince, is caK-ulated at between seventy and eighty 

 "V"* ' thousand dollars of the money of the country. < moils 

 in.inuf.ictured by the public, or woven by private Indi- 

 ans arc Kent, together with some kind.-* of provisions, 

 to tlit- jurisdiction of Mai-bacons. These provisions are 

 i x chant; t (I Cur the gold found in the country, which 

 i.oM-d of iii Lima at a greater price. The stuffs 

 I Quito liml a market in the governments of Popay- 

 MI and Santa Ft-. Indigo in very great quantities is 

 brought into the province from the coast of New 

 Spain, and by way of Guayaquil iron and steel are im- 

 ported both from Europe and the coast of Guatimala. 

 In our articles on the ANUKS, Vol. II. p. 47 and 



I'llYMC.AI, (JK.omiAIMIV, Vol. XVI. p. 4-86, 491, &C. 



&r. will be found much curious information respecting 

 this province. See Ulloa's Viyngt, vol. iv. ; Alcedo'a 

 OtCttOHory ; and Humboldt's I'tr.ional Narrative. 



QUITO, the capital of the province of Quito in 

 South America, is built on the acclivity of the volcanic 

 mountain of 1'inchincha, and also among the ravines 

 formed by the eminences of this mountain ; so that 

 the streets are extremely uneven and irregular ; and 

 many of the houses founded on arches. In point of 

 magnitude', Quito is ranked among the cities of the 

 second order in Europe. 



The principal regular streets of Quito are four in 

 number, which terminate at the. angles of the principal 

 square. They are straight, broad, and handsome, and 

 axe paved. At the distance of three or four hundred 

 yards the irregular streets commence, and they are so 

 steep that the inhabitants are deprived of the use of 

 coaches or wheel carriages. Some of the streets are 

 intersected by ravines or breaches, and the houses are 

 built on the sides of their rugged projections. The 

 principal square is very spacious, and has an elegant 

 fountain in its centre. On one side of the square stands 

 the cathedral, on the opposite side is the episcopal pa- 

 lace. The town house occupies the third side, and 

 the palace of the audience the fourth. Besides this 

 square, there are two others of spacious dimensions, 

 and several of a smaller size. Most of the convents are 

 situated in these squares, and some of them, particu- 

 larly that of the Franciscans, are elegant and ornamen- 

 tal structures. The principal houses are large, spacious, 

 and welj laid out. They are only one story high, with 

 low and narrow doors and windows. They are built 

 of adubts, or unburnt bricks and clay, cemented by 

 sanguaga, an uncommonly hard kind of mortar, em- 

 ployed by the ancient Indians. 



The city of Quito, which was erected into a bishop- 

 ric in 1545, contains seven parish churches, a univer- 

 sity, a cathedral, an hospital, with numerous convents, 

 nunneries, &c. The cathedral, endowed in 1545, has 

 an extensive jurisdiction, and the bishop's revenue is 

 24,000 piastres. It is richly adorned with tapestry 

 hangings, and very expensive monuments; but the 



pariah churches are building* of mean appearance. Quit*. 

 The college of the Jesuits, and the convents of the Au- "- ^^~ 

 glinting, Dominicans, and Fathers of Mercy, are large, 

 well-built, and highly ornamented building)!. In the 

 church 1.1 the Jesuits there It a slab of alabaster, on 

 which is commemorated in Latin the labours of the 

 French and Sp.-mi h mathematicians from 1736 to 

 1742, and containing many particulars respecting the 

 measurement of a degree of the meridian which was 

 then taken on the plain of Quito. The hospital is 

 fine building, with separate wards for men and wo- 

 men, under the patronage of the order of our Lady of 

 Bethlehem. 



The principal courts are that of the royal audience, 

 the exchequer or chamber of finances, and a treasury 

 for receiving the effects of persons deceased. The cor- 

 poration consists of a corregidor, two ordinary alcaides, 

 elected annually, and regidores. 



The population of Quito, including all ranks, is esti- 

 mated at 70,000, though Alcedo makes it only 58,000. 

 The higher ranks are either the descendants of the ori- 

 ginal conquerors, or of those who afterwards came 

 over from Spain invested with some lucrative office. 

 The lower classes consist of Spaniards or whites, Mes- 

 tizos, Indians or natives, and negroes. The Spaniards, 

 according to Ulloa, amount to one sixth part of the 

 population. The Mestizo?, the progeny of Spaniards 

 and Indians, form nearly one third, and the Indians 

 form another third. The others, who amount to about 

 one third, form the casts. The Spaniards are too proud 

 to be industrious, and are therefore generally poor. 

 The Mestizos are occupied in different trades, but 

 chiefly in the higher arts, such as painting and sculp- 

 ture, in which they excel. Tne Indians are generally 

 occupied with the lower professions, such as that of 

 shoemakers, bricklayers, weavers, &c. The women are 

 more numerous than the men, and old age begins in 

 the men at about thirty. 



Quito is situated at the height of 9538 feet above the 

 level of the sea, and there rises behind it the conical 

 summit of the Javirac, immediately below that of Fin- 

 ehincha. Several streams from the sides of the moun- 

 tains supply the city with water by means of conduits, 

 and several of those streams, which unite at one point, 

 form the river Mangora, over which there is a stone 

 bridge. The mean temperature of Quito is 57. 92 of 

 Fahrenheit. The maximum temperature is 71. 6, and 

 the minimum 42.8". The temperature of the day va- 

 ries from 60.08 to 66.74 ; and that of the night from 

 48. 2 to 51. 8. An account of the earthquake which 

 desolated Quito in 1797, and of the climate, will be 

 found in our article ANDES, Vol. II. p. 50. col. 2. p. 

 51. col. 1. p. 54. col. 2. 



See Ulloa's Voyage, vol. i. book v. chap. iv. &c. ; 

 Humboldt's Pertonal Narrative, and his Memoir on Iso- 

 thermal Lines, in theMemoiret d'Arcueil, tome iii. p. 40'2. 



R A A 



Raab. IvAAB, a town of Hungary, and capital of thecoun- 

 'Y ' ty of llaab or Gyori Varmegye. It is situated in an 

 agreeable level country, at the conflux of the Danube, 

 the Uaab, and the Uabnitz, by which it is nearly sur- 

 rounded. Several of the streets are regular, straight, 

 and spacious. Most of the houses are built of stone, 

 and some of them are very handsome. The great square 



VOL. XVII. PART I. 



R A A 



is ornamented with fine buildings, among which the ci- 

 devant college of the Jesuits is particularly admired. 

 The principal establishments here are the academy, 

 erected in 1750, where lectures in philosophy, theology, 

 and law are delivered ; and the college of the Luther- 

 ans. The cathedral is a superb building, and its 

 choir cost 70,000 florins. The castle and the furtifica- 



2 P 



KaaK 



