CONCLUSION. 
pies, efpecially thofe of the Sun, of the Splendour 
“ of their Court, their Triumphs after Vidories, their 
“ Huntings and Feafts, their military Exercifes and 
“ Honours. But as Teflimonies of their Grandeur, 
“ mention only two of their Highways, whereof one 
“ was 500 Leagues, plain and levelled through Moun- 
“ tains. Rocks and Vallies ; fo that a Carriage might 
“ drive through the whole Length without Difficulty. 
“ Another very long and large, paved all with cut or 
“ fquared Stone, fenced with low Walls on each Side, 
“ and fet with Trees, whofe Branches gave Shade, and 
“ the Fruits Food to all that paffed. 
“ I ffiall end this Survey of their Government with 
“ one Remark upon their Religion, which is, that tho* 
“ the Vulgar worlhipp’d only the Sun, yet the Amantal^^ 
“ who were their Sages or Philofophers, taught, that 
“ the Sun was only the Minifter of Pachacamac, 
“ whom they adored in the firft Place, and to whom a 
“ great and fumptuous Temple was dedicated. This 
“ Word is interpreted by the Spaniards, Animador del 
“ Mundo, or, He that animates or enlivens the World, 
and feems to be yet a more refined Notion of 
“ the Deity than that of the Chinejes, who adored 
“ the Spirit and Soul of the World. By this Principle 
“ of their Religion, as all the others of their Govern- 
“ ment and Policy, it mull, I think, be allowed, that 
“ human Nature is the fame in thefe remote, as well 
“ as the other more known and celebrated Parts of the 
“ World. 
“ That the different Governments of it are framed 
and cultivated by as great Reaches and Strength of 
“ Reafon and Wifdom as any of ours, and fome of 
“ their Frames lefs fubjeft to be ffiaken by the Paffions, 
“ Fadlions, and other Corruptions, to which thofe in 
‘‘ the middle Scene of Europe and A^a have been fo 
“ often and fo much expos’d. Thar the fame Caufes 
“ produce, every where the fame Effedls ; and that the 
“ fame Honours and Obedience are in all Places but 
Confequences or Tributes paid to the fame heroick 
“ Virtue or tranfeendent Genius, in what Parts foever, 
“ or under what Climates of che'World it fortunes to 
“ appear.” 
This may fatisfy the mofl critical Reader, that the old 
Inhabitants of Peru were far enough from being Barba- 
rians ; though at the fame time it muff be confefs’d, 
that they were very much degenerated before they were 
delivered up by Providence to that fevere Correction 
they have received from the haughty Spaniards, under 
which they ftill groan, and fuffer their Slavery with in- 
finite Grief and Fain of Mind j neither have they for- 
got the Splendor of their ancient Empire, but in cer- 
tain Songs fet to melancholy Tunes, deplore its Down- 
fall and Ruin. After deferibing the capital Settlements 
of the Spaniards, we proceed to examine how they fpread 
themfelves into the remoteft Parts both of the Northern 
and Southern Continents, fet forth the Regulation and 
Dependency of their feveral Governments, compare 
the Value of their ancient and modern Revenues ex- 
trafled from America *, lay down the Manner of rheir 
working their Mines, give a true Account of the 
Commerce carried on amongft their Settlements, as well 
as of that to Europe, and the contraband Trade. 
We have likewife omitted nothing that might give 
the Reader intire Satisfadion as to the prefent State of 
Things in that Part of the World, and of the true 
Sources of that Feeblenefs and Decay which is incon- 
teftably vifible in all the Spanijh Settlements, and which 
is gradually increafing •, fo that if a Stop is not quickly 
put to this Declenfion by an abfolute and thorough 
Change of Meafures, which however is hardly to be 
looked for, the whole of their JPower muff crumble by 
Degrees, at leaft in the Extremities and in the Hands, 
and leave thofe Countries in other Hands better difpos’d 
to make a right Ufe of them. 
XL In the Execution of the remaining Part of our 
Plan, we give the Rife, Progrefs, and prefent State of 
the Settlements of all the other Powers that are now 
fixed in that Part of the World, viz. the Portuguefe, 
Englijh, French, Dutch, and Danes, With relpe< 5 l to 
the ffrff, we have drawn together out, of an infinite 
Number of Books in which they are fcattered, the Ma- 
terials that are requifite to form a fnccincff Hiffory of 
the great Country of Brazil \ and this obliges us to en- 
ter into the Detail of the Conqueft of that Country, 
once made by the Dutch, a Thing of very great Impor- 
tance, and yet never thoroughly treated m our Lan- 
guage ; we have alfo ffiewn, how the Recovery and Im- 
provement of this Country became the principal Caufe 
of the Declenfion of the Portuguefe Power in the 
Ea(t-Indies that Nation finding it too hard for 
them to combat fo great a maritime Power as the 
Republick of Holland was become j in both Indies 
at once. We have alfo endeavoured to fet in a clear 
Light the prefent State of that Country, which is of fo 
great Importance, not only to its prefent Mailers, but 
to all the trading Nations in Europe ; and though in 
the Courfe of the whole Work there was nothing that 
gave greater Trouble, yet it is hoped that it now ap- 
pears in a tolerable Light ; and that with refpeeff to the 
Gold and Diamond Mines efpecially, much more has 
been faid than will be eafily met with elfewhere, for 
which we are greatly indebted to the Communications 
received from feveral Perfons to whom we are not per- 
mitted to make any more particular Acknowledge- 
ments. 
As to the Britijh Plantations, both on the Continent 
and in the Hands of America, we have been almofl as 
copious as the Subjeft required, and have laboured 
with indefatigable Diligence to let the prodigious Ad- 
vantages derived from them, and their very high Im- 
portance to this Crown and Nation in a true Light. 
To fpeak freely, there is no Part of this Colledion that 
we had fo much at Heart, or in the compiling of which 
we proceeded with greater Induflry, Care, and Free- 
dom of Spirit, without having the leaft Regard to any 
private Intereft, or the Senfe of this or that Body of 
Men, who might be oblig’d or offended by our Manner 
of treating certain Subjeds one Way or other. We 
were fenfible that the Interefts of the Publick ought to be 
dearer to us than any other Confideration whatfoever ; 
and we dare confidently affirm, that to the utmoft Ex- 
tent of our Knowledge, and to the beft of our Skill and 
Judgment, thefe Subjeds have been treated with the 
utmoft Zeal and Impartiality ; and as they have had the 
Honour to be commended and approved by thofe who 
were beft acquainted v^ith our Plantations abroad, and 
thofe who have mofl at Heart the promoting their 
Welfare here at Home ; fo we look upon this as the 
higheft Reward, as indeed it was the only one fought 
by this Performance, which if at prefent or hdeafter it 
lliall any Way contribute to the Eafe, Security, or Be- 
nefit of thofe diftant Parts of Great Britain, for fo they 
ought ever to be efteemed, will afford us infinite Sa- 
tisfadion. 
^ The French Power in the Well-Indies has been of late 
Tears the Subjed of much Difeourfe ; one would wifli 
to fay that it had been likewife the Objed of much 
Care and Attention, which it moft certainly deferved 
as it is more likely to claffi with our commercial Inte- 
refts than any other. It is for this Reafon that we 
have reprefented it as fully and as truly as it was pof- 
fible i that we have ffiewn its Advantages and Difad- 
vantages, the Probability there is that the former may 
be promoted, and the latter removed ; the Methods ne- 
ceffary to be employed in both Cafes, and the Remedies 
that may be applied to prevent the Confequences of 
thofe Improvements from becoming prejudicial to our 
felves. In doing this, we have likewife taken Occafion 
to mention the Precautions that may be ufed to fecure 
our Settlements from running any Risk from the Vi- 
cinity of thefe ambitious, enterprizing, and dangerous 
Neighbours; neither have we omitted to fet in a juft 
Light our prefent Seperiority, that it may appear we 
are not in fo much Danger, either from the Power or 
the Capacity of our Rivals, as for Want of Circum- 
fpedion. Unanimity and Prudence in our own Condud ; 
and that confequently, if we do fuffer, there will be no 
bpdy fo much to blame as ourfelves. 
Neither ■ 
