Spanish Quito. 57 



in 1534, Quito was created an imperial city by Charles Y. 

 seven years later. It formed part of Peru till 1710 ; then 

 of Santa Fe till 1722 ; and again of Peru till its independ- 

 ence. The power of Spain in South America was destroy- 

 ed at the battle of Ayacucho, Dec. 9, 1824. In 1830 Yen- 

 ezuela separated from Colombia, and Ecuador followed the 

 same year. The first Congress was held in Piobamba ; but 

 Quito has ever since been the political focus. The first pres- 

 ident was General Flores. 



Under the diadem of the Incas, Quito assumed a mag- 

 nificence wliicli it never saw before and has not displayed 

 since. It was the worthy metropolis of a vast empire 

 stretching from the equator to the desert of Atacama, and 

 walled in by the grandest group of mountains in the world. 

 On this lofty site, which amid the Alps would be buried in 

 an avalanche of snow, but within the tropics enjoys an eter- 

 nal spring, palaces more beautiful than the Alhambra were 

 erected, glittering with the gold and emerald of the Andes. 

 But all this splendor passed away with the sceptre of Ata- 

 huallpa. Wliere the pavilion of the Inca stood is now a 

 gloomy convent, and a wheat-field takes the place of the 

 Temple of the Sun. 



The colonial history of this favored spot is as lifeless as 

 the history of Sahara. 'Not a single event occurred of 

 which even Spain can be proud ; not a monument was 

 raised which reflects any credit upon the mother country. 

 Every thing was prescribed by law, and all law emanated 

 from a tribunal five thousand miles distant. There was no 

 relation of private life Avith which the government did not 

 interfere : what the colonist should plant and what trade 

 he should follow ; where he should buy and where he 

 should sell ; how much he should import and export ; and 

 where and when he should marry, were regulated by the 

 " Council of the Indies" and the Inquisition. In tlie words 



