THE 



EBITOm'S FMEFACE. 



RELATIVE to the progressive advances of civilization 

 and society, in the Spanish colonies of South America, little 

 has been hitherto known ; and this imperfe6l knowledge has 

 been, for the greater part, derived from polluted sources. The 

 Spaniards by whom these colonies have been visited, and who 

 have, on their return to the parent kingdom, drawn up the 

 result of their observations, have been led by various motives, 

 either personal, or founded in policy and the terrors of the 

 inquisition, to have recourse to reticences and misrepresenta- 

 tions, in whatever has regarded the social condition of the 

 inhabitants, and their philosophical and scientific attainments. 

 On another hand, the native writers have had uncommon im- 

 pediments to encounter, in the illustrations at which they have 

 aimed : but a few years have elapsed since they have had 

 the advantage of a press, by which to disseminate their ideas ; 

 and this facility they enjoy at certain intervals only, under the 



most 



