Acapulco, on the coast of the Pacific ocean, is the port through which the commerce of New Spain is carried on with Asia and the islands of the South Sea, particularly with the Philippine islands. Its port is one of the finest in the world, being an immense basin cut out of the granitic rocks, and capable of containing any number of vessels in perfect safety. The shore is so steep, that a vessel of the line may almost touch it without running the smallest danger, there being every where, close to the rocks, from 10 to 12 fathoms water. But notwithstanding its excellent port and extensive trade, Acapulco is a miserable town, with only 4000 inhabitants, mostly people of color, who are increased to 9,000 by the resort of strangers to the annual fair, held at the time of the arrival of the Manilla galleon. The position of the town is extremely unhealthy, being surrounded by a chain of mountains, which by reverberating the sun's rays and excluding the air, add greatly to the suffocating heat of the climate. To give admission to the sea breeze a passage has actually been cut through the mountains, but though this affords partial relief, the place is still far from being healthy.

Santa Fe, in New Mexico, is remarkable as the most northern town of any note in the country. It is in lat. 36° 30', on the E. bank of the Rio bravo del Norte, and contains 4.500 inhabitants.

Population] In 1793 the population according to the official returns was 4, 483, 529 Humboldt s pposes this number too small by about one sixth, and allowing for the increase in ten years, estimates the population in 1803 at 5,840,000 and in 1808 at 6,500,000. In 1822 it may be estimated at 8,500,000.

This population is composed of the following classes. 1. European Spaniards. 2 Creoles, or whites of European extraction born in America. 3. Negroes. 4. Indians 5. Mestizos, or descendants of whites and Indians. 6. Mulattos, or descendants of whites and negroes. 7. Zambos, or descendants of negroes and Indians. The number of European Spaniards is only about 80,000, and that of the negroes only 6 or 8,000. The Creoles form about one fifth of the whole population, the Indians two fifths, and the mestizos, mulattoes and zambos nearly two fifths.

Indians. The Indians and the races of mixed blood were formerly slaves and treated with great cruelty, but within the last century their condition has been much improved. They are no longer compelled to work in the mines, nor are they dragged from their homes to carry without sufficient nourishment or repose, through mountainous woods, burdens which exceed their strength; but they are still in a state of extreme humiliation. All the wealth of the kingdom is in the hands of the whites, and the Indians are virtually incapable of acquiring property. They are kept in a state of extreme ignorance, and are employed by the Spaniards to cultivate the soil They live in villages by themselves, and are governed by magistrates of their own color.

Diseases.] The small pox was unknown till it was introduced by the Spaniards in 1520. Since that time several millions of Indians have perished by this disease, which usually ravages the

country once in seventeen or eighteen years; but the introduction of inoculation has rendered it much less destructive. The matlazuhuatl, a disease peculiar to the Indian race, seldom appears more than once in a century. It raged in 1545, 1576 and 1736, and is called a plague by the Spanish authors. It bears some resemblance to the yellow fever, but it never attacks white people. The yellow fever on the other hand seldom attacks Indians. The principal seat of the yellow fever is the hot and moist coun try on the coast, but the matlazahuatl carries terror and destruction into the very interior of the country, to the central table land, and the coldest and most arid regions of the kingdom. It has been estimated, without sufficient data however, that in the epidemics of 1545, and 1576, 800,000 Indians died in the former, and 2,000,000 in the latter. Famine sometimes commits awful ravages in this country. It is estimated that in 1784, 300,000 persons perished by famine and the diseases to which it gave birth.

Religion.] The religion is the Roman Catholic. The Mexican church is placed under the care of an archbishop and 8 bishops, several of whom possess revenues of more than 100,000 dollars. The number of clergy is about 10,000.

Education. Very little attention is paid to classical literature, but the mathematics, chemistry, natural history and the fine arts are very diligently studied. According to Humboldt no city in America, not even excepting those of the United States, can display such great and solid establishments for the promotion of science as the city of Mexico. Of these, the most remarkable are the school of mines, the botanic garden, and the academy of painting and sculpture.

Political condition. Mexico is a colony of Old Spain and is governed by a viceroy. All the principal places under the goverment have always been bestowed exclusively on European Spanjards, and for some years past the Creoles have not been appointed even to the most trifling employments in the administration of the customs and tobacco revenue. The result has been a jealousy and perpetual hatred hetween the Europeans and the Creoles. A mutual and bitter hatred has also always existed between the whites and the Indians; so that the seeds of discord seem to be deeply planted in this heterogeneous population. In the insurrection which broke out in 1810, the mutual hatred of the Europeans and creoles was awfully exemplified in their cruel treatment of each other. The insurrection commenced in the province of Guanaguato, in the centre of the mining country, and spread with inconceivable velocity in every direction, and was finally suppressed only by the extraordinary activity and firmness of the viceroy.

Roads.] Owing to the extraordinary configuration of this country, there is no difficulty in travelling from north to south, the level of the table land being almost uninterrupted from Mexico to Santa Fe; but the declivities of the Cordillera present great obstacles to the commerce between Mexico and the cities on the

coast. The road from Mexico to Acapulco is furrowed by four very deep and remarkable longitudinal vallies, so that the traveller is continually ascending and descending,exchanging alternately a cold climate for one excessively hot. On the contrary in trayelling from Mexico to Vera Cruz, a distance of 180 miles, there is on the whole no descent till you approach within 80 miles of the coast; it then becomes rapid and continued, being 6,800 feet in the space of 45 miles, and 1000 mere in a further distance of 24 miles. It is the difficulty of this descent, which makes the transportation of flour from the table land to Vera Cruz so expensive, that it cannot be sent to Europe in competition with that of the United States. A superb causeway, however, was commenced several years since, along this eastern declivity of the Cordillera, by the merchants of Vera Cruz, and when it is completed will have the most happy influence on the prosperity of the whole kingdom of New Spain.

Mines.] More than nine tenths of all the silver in the known world is derived from the mines of Spanish America, which produce according to the estimate of Humboldt, 43,500,000 dollars annually; and of this sum New Spain yields about two thirds. Yet notwithstanding this immense produce, the theory of mining is very imperfectly understood, and all the operations are conducted in the most unskilful and extravagant manner. The richest mines are those of Guanaxuato, in the intendancy of the same name; Catorce, in the intendancy of San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas, in the intendancy of the same name; Real del Monte, in the intendancy of Mexico; and Bolanos, in the intendancy of Guadalaxara. The silver mines are a source of immense wealth to their proprietors. In one instance, a single seam yielded to its owner in six months a nett profit of more than 3,000,000 dollars. But money thus rapidly gained is as rapidly spent. The working of mines becomes a game which is pursued with unbounded passion. The rich proprietors lavish immense sums on quacks, who engage them in new undertakings, and the money sunk in a rash project, frequently absorbs in a few years all that was gained in working the richest seams. The quantity of gold annually delivered into the mint of Mexico is about 5,000 pounds. There are also mines of copper, lead, iron, tin, antimony. arsenic &c; but they are not diligently worked, the great pursuit being after gold and silver.

Commerce.] The commerce of New Spain with the mother country is carried on almost entirely through the port of Vera Cruz. In time of peace, Humboldt estimates the annual value of the exports from that place, at 21 millions of dollars, and the imports at 15 millions. The principal exports are gold and silver in coin, bullion and plate, to the value of 17 million dollars; cochineal, 2,400,000; sugar 1,300,000, &c. The imports are bale goods, including woo'lens, cottons, linens and silks, to the value of 39,200,000; paper, 4,000,000; cacao, 1,000,000; quicksilver. $50,000.

GUATIMALA.

by

Boundaries and Extent.] Guatimala is bounded on the N. New Spain and the Bay of Honduras; E. by the Caribbean sea; S. E. by the isthmus of Panama or Darien, through which it is connected with South America; and S. W. by the Pacific Ocean. It extends on the coast of the Pacific from Punta Gorda in about lat. 9° to the Barra de Tomala in lat. 16° 12′ N. a distance of 770 miles; and on the Gulf of Mexico from 10° to 18° N. lat. It contains about 300,000 square miles.

Divisions. provinces:

This country is divided into the six following

Chiapa,
Vera Paz,

Guatimala,

Honduras,

Nicaragua,
Costa Rica.

Face of the Country.] A ridge of mountains is supposed to pass through the whole extent of this country from S. E. to N. W. connecting the Andes of South America with the Cordilleras of Mexico. The continuity of the range, however, has never been accurately ascertained. No spot on the globe is so full of volcanoes as this part of America. There are at least twenty known to be constantly in action, and the eruptions of some of them are Occasionally terrible.

Bays. The bay of Honduras is a very large body of water lying between the province of Honduras on the south, and the peninsula of Yucatan on the west. The gulf of Amatique is at the bottom of the bay of Honduras. The gulf of Dulce is still farther inland, and communicates with the gulf of Amatique through a narrow strait. The gulf of Papagayos is on the west coast of the province of Nicaragua. The gulf of Tehuantepec is farther north, in the narrowest part of the isthmus which separates the gulf of Mexico from the Pacific Ocean.

Sea Coast. The coast of Nicaragua bordering on the Pacific Ocean is almost inaccessible in the months of August, September and October, on account of the terrible storms and rains; and in January and February, on account of the furious northeast winds called Papagayos. The gulf of Tehuantepec is also visited with hurricanes from the northwest, which are exceedingly inconvenient for navigators. The approach to the extensive coast of the bay of Honduras is attended with imminent danger, on account of the reefs and keys which are abundantly dispersed along it, and occasion numerous shipwrecks.

Lakes and Rivers.] Nicaragua lake is 140 miles long and corers an area of nearly 10,000 square miles. It discharges its waters at its S. E. extremity through the river San Juan into the Caribbean sea. It is of immense depth and navigable for the largest vessels. The lake of Leon lies N. W. of Nicaragua lake. and communicates with it through a short river.

The most important rivers are the Rio Hondo which falls into the bay of Honduras under 18° 30′ N. lat.; the Balize or Main, which joins the same bay about 60 miles farther south, and is navigable for 200 miles; the Bluefields which falls into the Caribbean sea near the parallel of 12° N. lat.; and the Rio San Juan which forms the outlet of Lake Nicaragua. The Rio San Juan is about 100 miles long, and with little expense might be made navigable through its whole extent. If this were done, a canal of only 10 or 12 miles across the isthmus which separates lake Nicaragua from the Gulf of Papagayos would open a water communication between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

British Territory.] The British claim the country called the Mosquito shore lying along the northern and eastern coast of the province of Honduras. The number of white settlers, however, is very small; the territory is occupied almost exclusively by the Mosquito Indians, a warlike tribe of about 5,000 souls, who are strongly attached to the British, and bitterly opposed to the Spaniards. The principal British settlement, and indeed almost the only regular establishment they have in this country, is the town of Balize, on the peninsula of Yucatan, near the mouth of the river of the same name. It consists of about 200 white inhabitants, 500 people of color and free blacks, and about 3,000 negro slaves. The sole occupation of these settlers is the cutting of mahogany and log-wood, with which the forests abound.

Soil and Productions. The soil in general is extremely fertile, producing the sugar cane, cotton, indigo, cacao, maize, &c. in abundance. The British territory on the bay of Honduras has a fine soil, capable of producing all the richest products of tropical climates, but it has hitherto been celebrated only for its mahogany, and log wood, no attempts having been made at cultivation.

Chief Towns. Guatimala, the capital, is on a small river near the coast of the Pacific Ocean, in lat. 14° N. The city was originally built in a beautiful valley on the declivity of a mountain at whose summit was a volcano. In this situation, in the year 1751, it was overwhelmed by an earthquake. Notwithstanding this awful calamity', the surviving inhabitants rebuilt their favorite abode; but another and more tremendous convulsion again destroyed the devoted place in 1775, the greater part of the inhabitants being at the same time buried in the ruins. The city has since been rebuilt on the spot where it now stands, which is 25 miles to the south of the old town. It is a magnificent place, adorned with churches, monasteries and a university. Popula tion about 40.000.

Chiapa de los Indios is the largest Indian town in Guatimala. It is in the N. W. extremity of the country, on the isthmus of Tehuantepec, about half way between the gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. It has about 20,000 Indian inhabitants, who are rich and enjoy many privileges. The celebrated Las Casas, the apostle of the Indians, was the first bishop of this place, and his memory is still dear to the inhabitants.