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DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE OF COMPARATIVE ALTITUDES OF THE MOUNTAINS INSPANISH NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA

The accompanying plate represents the elevations which some of the most noted summits attain in Mexico or New Spain, contrasted with the altitudes of the higher peaks of the Southern Andes in Quito, Merida, Santa Marta and Caraccas; by which it will be readily seen, that the northern range of the Cordillera of the Andes, is not very inferior in height to that part of the chain which has been considered, till very lately, to reach an elevation unequalled by any other mountains in the world.

Recent enquiries, and the researches of zealous travellers and geographers, have not only disclosed the fact, that the Asiatic summits rival and surpass those of Peru, but have also made it questionable whether the continuation of the Andean chain, south of Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, &c. is not far superior in altitude to those celebrated peaks.

It is true, that the Cordillera sinks very much after it has passed the confines of Peru, and that it continues to lower its lofty crest in running through the vast deserts of Atacama, in the kingdom of La Plata, and the upper districts of Chili; but no sooner has it passed these provinces, than it again assumes the same majestic form, and continues it in three parallel ridges, as far as the forty-fifth degree of south latitude, beyond which scarcely any thing is known of this enormous chain, excepting that its height is very great till it loses itself in the ocean of the south, opposite to Cape Pilares, the western entrance of the Straits of Magalhaens.

From its quitting Copiapo, the most northerly province of Chili, till it arrives opposite to the great island of Chiloe and the archipelago of Guaytecas, is the space in which the Cordillera is conjectured to attain an elevation superior to that of the equatorial ridges of Popayan and Quito; as in this space are the lofty peaks of the Descabezado, the Tupungato, Blanquillo, Manflos, Longavi, Chillan, and the Corcobado or Gibbous mountain; all of which rise so far superior to the lower limits of perpetual congelation, that not only Molina, but other travellers have imagined they must be higher than the equinoctial range, though unfortunately all those who have had the opportunity of seeing them, have either been ignorant of the methods of determining their altitudes, or have been engaged in such active employments as to have precluded them from making any other than slight and general observations.

One of the most curious circumstances attendant on the scenery of the Cordillera of the Andes, and which is, from local causes, in a great measure peculiar to those mountains, is the extreme regularity with which the inferior term of congelation or lower limit of perpetual snow, is described on their heads; this feature has therefore been introduced into the drawing, and that in such a manner as to show by the scales placed on its sides, the various heights at which the phenomenon takes place, in the different latitudes the mountains are situated in.

Some of the principal cities, towns and volcanoes, and a few of the most extraordinary scenes in the Andes, have also been introduced, and a scale of miles has been adapted to the right hand, as well as a scale of feet to the left, in order to afford every facility to the reader of the work, in forming just notions of the singular situations of those objects, which may be better done in a graphic manner, than by any description; but as the immediate object of this plate is to exhibit comparative magnitude, on a determinate scale, it is with this view only that it has been constructed, no regard having been paid to the effect as a drawing.

In the centre is introduced the Mountain island of Socorro, one of the Revillagegido group, off the western coast of New Spain, which attains a great elevation for so small a spot, and is remarkable as being nearly on the same parallel as the volcanic summits of Popocatepetl or the Smoky Mountain, Citaltepetl, or Pico de Orizaba, or the Starry Mountain; Iztaccihuatl, or the White Woman; Nauhcampatepetl, or Cofre de Perote, or the Square Mountain; the Volcan de Xorullo and the Volcan de Colima, on the continent, and as being itself evidently the produce of an ancient eruption.

The ensuing list will be found to contain an enumeration of most of the works which may be referred to as the best authorities for the early and modern history, &c. of the Spanish colonies in the western world.

LIST OF WORKS ON, OR RELATING TO SPANISH AMERICA, QUOTED IN THIS PUBLICATION, OR WHICH CONTAIN THE MOST VALUABLE INFORMATIONCONCERNING THOSE COLONIES

Account of the Expedition to the Mississippi, and to the interior of New Spain, by Zebulon Montgomery Pike, 1810.

Acosta, Historia Natural y moral de las Indias, 1591 and 1603.

A Journey through Peru, from Buenos Ayres on the great Rio de la Plata, by Potosi, to Lima, 8vo. in German, by Helms, Dresden, 1798.

Alcedo's Dictionary (Geographical and Historical) of America and the West Indies, edited by Thompson, 5 vols. 4to. 1810. London.

Alzate, Don J. A. Descripcion de las Antiguedadas de Xochicalco. Mexico. 1791.

Anquetil, Precis de l'Histoire Universelle, 12 vols, Paris, 1801.

Anson's Voyage round the world.

Astronomical, Barometrical and Trigonometrical Observations in the Equinoctial Regions of America, from 12° of south latitude to the 41° of north latitude, by M. de Humboldt, in French, 2 vols. Paris.

Aublet, Histoire des Plantes de la Guyane Francoise.

Aurora ó Correo Politico-economico de la Havanah.

Azara, Voyage dans l'Amerique Meridionale de Juin, 1781 jusqu'a 1801. 4 vols Translation, 1809, 8vo.

Azara, Don Felix de, Essais sur l'Histoire Naturelle des Quadrupedes du Paraguay, 2 vols. Paris, 1801.

Bancroft's Natural History of Guiana.

Beauchamp, Histoire de la Conquete et des Revolutions du Perou, 2 vols. Paris, 1801.

Bernal Diaz, Historia de la Conquista del Mexico.

Berenger, Collection Abregée des Voyages autour du Monde, 9 vols. Paris, 1789-90.

Biggs' History of Miranda's attempt to Revolutionize South America, 8vo. 1 vol.

Borda, Voyage de la Flore.

Boturini's Bernaducci, Historical Essay on New Spain.

Bougainville, Voyage autour du monde.

Bouguer, Figure de la Terre, 1 vol. 4to. Paris, 1749.

Buffon, Histoire Naturelle, 54 vols. Aux Deux Ponts, 1785-90.

Carli, J. R. Comte de, Lettres Americaines, 2 vols. Boston, 1788.

Cateri, 1697.

Cardenas, Historia de la Florida.

Chappe d'Auteroche, Voyage en Californie.

Cronica del Peru, por Piedro de Cieca de Leon, 1554.

Charlevoix, Histoire du Paraguay.

Churruca, Apendice a la Relacion del Viage al Magellanes, 1790.

Clavigero, Storia Antica di Messico.

Colnett's Voyage to the South Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, 4to. 1 vol.

Condamine, Voyage a l'Equateur. Paris, 1745.

Comentarias Reales de los Incas, por Garcilasso de la Vega.

Cook's Voyages round the World. 7 vols.

Correspondence du Ferd. Cortez avec Charles V. sur la Conquete du Mexique. Francfort, 1775.

Cosme Bueno, Descripcion del Peru.

Cronica Serafica de Queretaro, 1792. Mexico.

Dampier's Voyages, 4 vols. 8vo. London, 1729.

Depons, F., Voyage a la Terre Firme dans l'Amerique Meridionale, 1801-4, 3 vols. Paris, 1806.

Des Marchais, les Voyages de, par Labat, 4 vols.

Dobrizhoffer, de Abiponibus. Vienna, 1784.

Due Antichi Monumenti di Architettura Messicana Illustrati, da Pietro Marques. Rome, 1804.

Du Pratz, Voyages dans la Louisiane, 3 vols. Paris, 1758.

El Viajero Universal, por Estalla. Madrid, 1796.

Equiara, Bibliotheca Mexicana.

Equinoctial Plants of America, 2 vols. folio, (French) by Humboldt.

Essai sur la Geographie des Plantes, &c. par Humboldt.

Falkner's Patagonia.

Fernandez or Hernandez, Nova Hispania.

Feyjoo, Relacion de la Ciudad de Truxillo, 1763.

Fleurieu, Voyage de l'Isis, dans 1768 et 1769.

Forbes' Oriental Memoirs, containing Observations on parts of South America, 4 vols.

Frezier, Voyages de, 2 vols. 12mo. 1717.

Gap's Voyage of Lewis and Clarke to the Pacific, 8vo.

Gage, on Spanish North America, 1655, folio.

Galleano Viage al Estrecho de Magellanes.

Gazetta de Literatura de Mexico, a periodical publication. Mexico.

Gemelli Carreri, Giro del Mondo. Naples, 1699. 6 vols.

Gilij, Saggio di Storia Americana, or Storia di Terra Firma, 4 vols. 1780. Rome.

Gomara, Conquista de Mexico, 1553, folio. Medina del Campo.

–, Cronica General de las Indias, 1553, folio.

Grynæi, Novus Orbus, 1555.

Gumilla, Orinoco Illustrada.

Henderson's account of the British Settlements of Honduras.

Herrera Descripcion de las Indias Occidentales. Madrid, 1730.

History of Chili, by Molina, English translation, 2 vols.

Historia de la Nueva Espana escrita por Don Hernando Cortez y aumentado por Lorenzana.

History of the Settlements of the Europeans in the East and West Indies, by Raynal, 8 vols.

Historia del Nuevo Mundo, Girolamo Benzoni.

Horn de Originibus Americanus, 1699.

Humboldt's Political Essay on New Spain, 4 vols. 8vo. London.

Humboldt's Personal Narrative of Travels in America, 3 vols. 8vo. London.

– Tableau de la Nature, 2 vols. Paris.

– Monographie de la Melastomas, rhexia, &c. 2 vols. folio, Paris.

– Observations sur la Zoologie, &c., 2 vols. 4to. Paris.

– Vues des Cordilleres, &c., 1 vol. folio, Paris.

– Researches, 2 vols. 8vo. London.

Jeffreys on the Spanish West India Islands, 1762, 4to. London.

Journal of Andrew Ellicott, Commissioner for determining the Boundaries of Ohio and Mississippi, &c.; 1803.

Kerr's Collection of Voyages and Discoveries.

Knox's Collection of Voyages.

Koster's Travels in Brazil.

La Florida del Inca, Madrid, 1723.

La Guia de Forasteros (Annual Almanac of Mexico); Mexico.

Labat's Voyages to the West Indies, 6 vols. 8vo.

Laet, Orbis Novus, 1633.

Lavaysse (Dauxion), Voyage aux Isles de Trinidad, de Tabago, de la Marguerite, et dans diverses Parties de Venezuela, 2 vols. Paris, 1813.

Leblond (J. P.), Voyage aux Antilles et à l'Amerique Meridionale, 1797 et 1802, 2 vols. 8vo. Paris. 1813.

Ledru, Voyage aux Isles de Teneriffe, Porto Rico, &c.; 1796-1798; 2 vols. Paris, 1810.

Lettre de Monsieur Godin.

Lockman's Travels of the Jesuits.

Malte Brun, Precis de la Geographie Universelle; 3 vols. and 2 vols. of maps, Paris, 1810.

Mawe's Travels in the Interior of Brazil, and Account of the Revolution in Buenos Ayres; 4to.

Marchand, Voyage autour du Monde, 1790-2; 5 vols. 4to. Paris, 1798-1800.

Marieta, Historia eccleslastica, 1596.

Memoirs of the Jesuits concerning California, 3 vols, 4to. Madrid, 1757.

Mercurio Peruiano (a literary periodical work), Lima.

Michaux, Voyage a l'ouest des Monts Alleghany, 1804.

Munorz, Historia del Nuevo Mundo.

Notes on the Viceroyalty of La Plata; London.

Noticia de la California del Padre Fray Miguel Venegas, 1757.

Oexemelia's (Oliver) History of the Bucaniers, 1686.

Origen de los Indios del Nuevo Mundo por P. Garcia, Valencia, 1610.

Observaciones sobre el Clima de Lima, por el Doctor Don Hipolito Unanue, Lima, 1806.

Oviedo, Historia natural de Indias.

Pauw, Recherches Philosophiques sur les Americains, 1769.

Perouse (La), Voyage autour du Monde, 1785-1788, redige par M. L. A. Millet-Mureau, 4 vols. Paris, 1798.

Perez de Roxas, Historia de Cinaloa.

Pinckard's Notes on the West Indies, 2 vols.

Pinkerton's Modern Geography, 2 vols. 8vo.

Piedrahita (Lucas Fernandez, el Obispo), Historia General de las Conquistas del Nuevo Reyno de Granada.

Poterat (Marquis de), Journal d'un Voyage au Cap de Horn, au Chili, au Perou, &c., 1795-1800, Paris, 1815.

Purchas' Pilgrim; a collection of curious voyages, in 5 vols.

Raynal, Histoire Politique et Philosophique des Etablissemens et du Commerce des Européens dans les deux Indes, 10 vols. et Atlas, Geneva, 1780.

Relations des diverses Voyages curieux, par M. M. Thevenot.

Robertson's History of America.

Robin, Voyage dans l'interieure de la Floride occidentale, &c., 1802-1806, 3 vols.

Ruiz (Hyp.) y Jose Pavon, Flora Peruviana, 3 vols. Madrid, 1798 – 1802.

Semple's Sketch of the present State of the Caraccas.

Sir Francis Drake's Voyages, London, 1653, 4to.

Skinner on Peru.

Solis, Historia de la Conquista de Mexico y de Nueva Espana, por Josse, 3 vols.

Solorzano Pereira, de Indiarum jure.

Southey's History of Brazil, 4to.

Stedman's History of Surinam.

Thou (I. A. de), Universal History, 1543-1610; 16 vols. London, 1734.

Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana, 3 vols. folio. 1615.

Touron, Histoire Generale de l'Ameriquedepuis sa decouverte, 14 vols. Paris, 1768-1770.

Tuckey's Maritime Geography.

Ulloa and Juan's Voyage to South America, 2 vols. 8vo. (English translation.)

Unanue, Guia Politica del Peru (periodical).

Vater, Inquiries into the Population of the New Continent (German).

Vancouver's Voyage round the World.

Vida del Padre Fray J. Serro, Mexico, 1787.

Vida del Almirante Colon por Fernando Colon.

Vidaurre, Compendio del Chili, 8vo. Bologna, 1776.

Volney, Tableau du Climat et du Sol des Etats Unis.

Voyage a la Recherche de La Perouse, par M. D'Entrecasteaux.

Voyage au Perou, 1791-1794, par les P. P. Manuel Sobreviella, et Narcisso y Barcel, 2 vols. with an Atlas, in 4to. Paris, 1809.

Vue de la Colonie Espagnole de Mississippi, en 1802, Paris, 1803.

Wafer's Description of the Isthmus of Darien, 1699.

Walton's Present State of the Spanish Colonies, 2 vols. London.

Wilcocke's History of the Viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres, 1806.

Ydea de una Nueva Historia General de la America Septentrional, por Boturini.

Zarate, Histoire de la Conquete du Perou; Paris, 1742.

Zoega, de Origine et usu Obeliscorum.

TABLE OF THE LATITUDES AND LONGITUDES OFSOME OF THE PRINCIPAL PLACESIN SPANISH AMERICA, CORRECTED FROM THE LATEST INFORMATION,WITH THE NUMBER OF INHABITANTS IN THE CHIEF TOWNS

To this table it will not be uninteresting to add a summary of the population, &c., of the governments of Spanish America.

To which may be added 50,000 more for Cuba, as according to the latest enquiries that island possesses a population of 600,000 souls; thus there will be a total known population of 14,336,000, and allowing for the inhabitants of the Floridas, and the unnumbered Indians of the kingdom of La Plata, the actual number of persons existing under the government of Spain in the Americas, will not fall short of fifteen millions, while the Portuguese subjects in Brazil amount only to 3,300,000, of whom one million and a half are negroes, one million are Indians and the rest whites.

Of the above total of 14,336,000 souls, there are 3,000,000 whites born in the country, 200,000 Europeans, and the remaining 11,136,000 are Indians, negroes and mixed races, or castes, of which the Indians bear by far the greater proportion, the negroes in Caraccas amounting to 54,000, in Cuba to 212,000; the other states having comparatively very few slaves.

The spaces which this mass of people occupy, in the different governments, have been thus calculated:

Making an extent of country equal to 468,730 square leagues; whilst Great Britain, which has a population of 12,596,800 souls, occupies a space equal only to 87,502 square miles.

The Mines of the empire of Spanish America furnish annually in gold and silver in —

Making a total of 8,149,800l. sterling; to which may be added more than another million for the contraband trade.

The Commerce of these countries annually averages in —

And the annual Revenue is equal to nearly eight millions of pounds sterling.