146 } CITY OF CARACCAS. 
40,000, of which one-fifth were mulattoes. Hum- 
boldt estimates the creoles, or Hispano-Americans, at 
210,000 in a population of 900,000, and the Euro- 
peans, not including troops, at 12,000 or 15,000. 
Caraccas was then the seat of an audiencia, or 
high court of justice, and one of the eight arch- 
bishoprics into which Spanish America was divid- 
ed. Its population in 1800 was about 40,000. In 
1766 great devastation was made by the small-pox, 
from 6000 to 8000 individuals having perished ; but. 
since that period inoculation has become general. 
In 1812 the inhabitants amounted to 50,000, of 
which 12,000 were destroyed by the earthquakes ; 
while the political events which succeeded that ca- 
tastrophe reduced their number to less than twenty 
thousand. sat one | 
The town is situated at the entrance of the val- 
ley of Chacao, which is ten miles in length, eight 
and a half miles in breadth, and about 2650 feet 
above the level of the sea. The ground occupied 
by it is a steep uneven slope. It was founded by 
Diego de Losada in 1567. Three small rivers de- 
scending from the mountains traverse the line of its 
direction ; it contained eight churches, five convents, 
and a theatre capable of holding 1500 or 1800 per- 
sons. The streets were wide, and crossed each other 
at right angles ; the houses spacious and lofty. 
The small extent of the valley, and the proximity 
of the mountains of Avila and the Silla, give a stern 
and gloomy character to the scenery, particularly in 
November and December, when the vapours accu- 
mulate towards evening along the high grounds ; 
in June and July, however, the atmosphere is clear 
and the air pure and delicious. The two rounded 
