332 A V O Y A G E T O Book VI. 



Having thus . defcribed thofe nine jiirirdidtions 

 which form the moii wealthy part of the province of 

 Quito, I fhall, in the foiiowing chapters, treat of the 

 governments. 



C H A P. III. 



Account of the Governmerds of Vo'^^y^.n^ and Ata- 

 cames, belonging to the Province of Quito. 



E have already given a juR account of every 

 thing worthy notice in the jurifdidtions within 

 the audience of (^ito. To render the narrative com- 

 pletej it is necelTary that we now proceed to the go- 

 vernments widiin the limits of that audience ; as they 

 jointly form the vail country of the province of Qui- 

 to. And .though they generally give the name of 

 province to every government, and even to the de- 

 partments into which both are fubdivided, we (hall not 

 here follow this vulgar acceptation, it being in reality 

 founded only on the dilTerence of the notions of In- 

 dians who formerly inhabited this country, every one 

 being governed by its curaca, or defpotic fovereign. 

 Thefe nations the Yncas fabdued, and obliged them 

 to receive the laws of their empire: but the curacas 

 were confirmed in all thofe hereditary rights of fove- 

 reignty, compatible with the fupreme prerogative. 

 Were we indeed to ufe the name of province in this 

 fenfe, every village muft be called fo for it may be 

 eafily Hievvn, that, in the time of heathenifm, every 

 village had its particular curaca : and fometimes, as 

 in Valies, in this juriidi(5tion of Popayan, in Maynas, 

 and the Moragnon, there was not only a curaca in each 

 village, with all the appendages of government, but 

 the inhabitants fpoke a different language, had dif- 

 ferent laws and cufcoms, and lived totally independent 

 of each other. But thefe villages and ancient pro- 

 vinces 



