the hispanic nations of the new world-第9章

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ependent　state。　The　〃cry　of　Ypiranga〃　was　echoed　with　tremendous　enthusiasm　throughout　the　country。　When　Pedro　appeared　in　the　theater　at　Rio　de　Janeiro；　a　few　days　later；　wearing　on　his　arm　a　ribbon　on　which　were　inscribed　the　words　〃Independence　or　Death；〃　he　was　given　a　tumultuous　ovation。　On　the　first　day　of　December　the　youthful　monarch　assumed　the　title　of　Emperor；　and　Brazil　thereupon　took　its　place　among　the　nations　of　America。



CHAPTER　IV。　PLOUGHING　THE　SEA

When　the　La　Plata　Congress　at　Tucuman　took　the　decisive　action　that　severed　the　bond　with　Spain；　it　uttered　a　prophecy　for　all　Spanish　America。　To　quote　its　language：　〃Vast　and　fertile　regions；　climates　benign　and　varied；　abundant　means　of　subsistence；　treasures　of　gold　and　silver　。　。　。　and　fine　productions　of　every　sort　will　attract　to　our　continent　innumerable　thousands　of　immigrants；　to　whom　we　shall　open　a　safe　place　of　refuge　and　extend　a　beneficent　protection。〃　More　hopeful　still　were　the　words　of　a　spokesman　for　another　independent　country：　〃United；　neither　the　empire　of　the　Assyrians；　the　Medes　or　the　Persians；　the　Macedonian　or　the　Roman　Empire；　can　ever　be　compared　with　this　colossal　republic。〃

Very　different　was　the　vision　of　Bolivar。　While　a　refugee　in　Jamaica　he　wrote：　〃We　are　a　little　human　species；　we　possess　a　world　apart　。　。　。　new　in　almost　all　the　arts　and　sciences；　and　yet　old；　after　a　fashion；　in　the　uses　of　civil　society。　。　。　。　Neither　Indians　nor　Europeans；　we　are　a　species　that　lies　midway　。　。　。　。　Is　it　conceivable　that　a　people　recently　freed　of　its　chains　can　launch　itself　into　the　sphere　of　liberty　without　shattering　its　wings；　like　Icarus；　and　plunging　into　the　abyss？　Such　a　prodigy　is　inconceivable；　never　beheld。〃　Toward　the　close　of　his　career　he　declared：　〃The　majority　are　mestizos；　mulattoes；　Indians；　and　negroes。　An　ignorant　people　is　a　blunt　instrument　for　its　own　destruction。　To　it　liberty　means　license；　patriotism　means　disloyalty；　and　justice　means　vengeance。〃　〃Independence；〃　he　exclaimed；　〃is　the　only　good　we　have　achieved；　at　the　cost　of　everything　else。〃

Whether　the　abounding　confidence　of　the　prophecy　or　the　anxious　doubt　of　the　vision　would　come　true；　only　the　future　could　tell。　In　1822；　at　all　events；　optimism　was　the　watchword　and　the　total　exclusion　of　Spain　from　South　America　the　goal　of　Bolivar　and　his　lieutenants；　as　they　started　southward　to　complete　the　work　of　emancipation　which　had　been　begun　by　San　Martin。

The　patriots　of　Peru；　indeed；　had　fallen　into　straits　so　desperate　that　an　appeal　to　the　Liberator　offered　the　only　hope　of　salvation。　While　the　royalists　under　their　able　and　vigilant　leader；　Jose　Canterac；　continued　to　strengthen　their　grasp　upon　the　interior　of　the　country　and　to　uphold　the　power　of　the　viceroy；　the　President　chosen　by　the　Congress　had　been　driven　by　the　enemy　from　Lima。　A　number　of　the　legislators　in　wrath　thereupon　declared　the　President　deposed。　Not　to　be　outdone；　that　functionary　on　his　part　declared　the　Congress　dissolved。　The　malcontents　immediately　proceeded　to　elect　a　new　chief　magistrate；　thus　bringing　two　Presidents　into　the　field　and　inaugurating　a　spectacle　destined　to　become　all　too　common　in　the　subsequent　annals　of　Spanish　America。

When　Bolivar　arrived　at　Callao；　the　seaport　of　Lima；　in　September；　1823；　he　acted　with　prompt　vigor。　He　expelled　one　President；　converted　the　other　into　a　passive　instrument　of　his　will；　declined　to　promulgate　a　constitution　that　the　Congress　had　prepared；　and；　after　obtaining　from　that　body　an　appointment　to　supreme　command；　dissolved　the　Congress　without　further　ado。　Unfortunately　none　of　these　radical　measures　had　any　perceptible　effect　upon　the　military　situation。　Though　Bolivar　gathered　together　an　army　made　up　of　Colombians；　Peruvians；　and　remnants　of　San　Martin's　force；　many　months　elapsed　before　he　could　venture　upon　a　serious　campaign。　Then　events　in　Spain　played　into　his　hands。　The　reaction　that　had　followed　the　restoration　of　Ferdinand　VII　to　absolute　power　crossed　the　ocean　and　split　the　royalists　into　opposing　factions。　Quick　to　seize　the　chance　thus　afforded；　Bolivar　marched　over　the　Andes　to　the　plain　of　Junin。　There；　on　August　6；　1824；　he　repelled　an　onslaught　by　Canterac　and　drove　that　leader　back　in　headlong　flight。　Believing；　however；　that　the　position　he　held　was　too　perilous　to　risk　an　offensive；　he　entrusted　the　military　command　to　Sucre　and　returned　to　headquarters。

The　royalists　had　now　come　to　realize　that　only　a　supreme　effort　could　save　them。　They　must　overwhelm　Sucre　before　reinforcements　could　reach　him；　and　to　this　end　an　army　of　upwards　of　ten　thousand　was　assembled。　On　the　9th　of　December　it　encountered　Sucre　and　his　six　thousand　soldiers　in　the　valley　of　Ayacucho；　or　〃Corner　of　Death；〃　where　the　patriot　general　had　entrenched　his　army　with　admirable　skill。　The　result　was　a　total　defeat　for　the　royaliststhe　Waterloo　of　Spain　in　South　America。　The　battle　thus　won　by　ragged　and　hungry　soldierswhose　countersign　the　night　before　had　been　〃bread　and　cheese〃threw　off　the　yoke　of　the　mother　country　forever。　The　viceroy　fell　wounded　into　their　hands　and　Canterac　surrendered。　On　receipt　of　the　glorious　news；　the　people　of　Lima　greeted　Bolivar　with　wild　enthusiasm。　A　Congress　prolonged　his　dictatorship　amid　adulations　that　bordered　on　the　grotesque。

Eastward　of　Peru　in　the　vast　mountainous　region　of　Charcas；　on　the　very　heights　of　South　America；　the　royalists　still　found　a　refuge。　In　January；　1825；　a　patriot　general　at　the　town　of　La　Paz　undertook　on　his　own　responsibility　to　declare　the　entire　province　independent；　alike　of　Spain；　Peru；　and　the　United　Provinces　of　La　Plata。　This　action　was　too　precipitous；　not　to　say　presumptuous；　to　suit　Bolivar　and　Sucre。　The　better　to　control　the　situation；　the　former　went　up　to　La　Paz　and　the　latter　to　Chuquisaca；　the　capital；　where　a　Congress　was　to　assemble　for　the　purpose　of　imparting　a　more　orderly　turn　to　affairs。　Under　the　direction　of　the　〃Marshal　of　Ayacucho；〃　as　Sucre　was　now　called；　the　Congress　issued　on　the　6th　of　August　a　formal　declaration　of　independence。　In　honor　of　the　Liberator　it　christened　the　new　republic　〃Bolivar〃later　Latinized　into　〃Bolivia〃and　conferred　upon　him　the　presidency　so　long　as　he　might　choose　to　remain。　In　November；　1896；　a　new　Congress　which　had　been　summoned　to　draft　a　constitution　accepted；　with　slight　modifications；　an　instrument　that　the　Liberator　himself　had　prepared。　That　body　also　renamed　the　capital　〃Sucre〃　and　chose　the　hero　of　Ayacucho　as　President　of　the　republic。

Now；　the　Liberator　thought；　was　the　opportune　moment　to　impose　upon　his　territorial　namesake　a　constitution　embodying　his　ideas　of　a　stable　government　which　would　give　Spanish　Americans　eventually　the　political　experience　they　needed。　Providing　for　an　autocracy　represented　by　a　life　President；　it　ran　the　gamut　of　aristocracy　and　democracy；　all　the　way　from　〃censors〃　for　life；　who　were　to　watch　over　the　due　enforcement　of　the　laws；　down　to　senators　and　〃tribunes〃　chosen　by　electors；　who　in　turn　were　to　be　named　by　a　select　citizenry。　Whenever　actually　present　in　the　territory　of　the　republic；　the　Liberator　was　to　enjoy　supreme　command；　in　case　he　wished　to　exercise　it。

In　1826　Simon　Bolivar　stood　at　the　zenith　of　his　glory　and　power。　No　adherents　of　the　Spanish　regime　were　left　in　South　America　to　menace　the　freedom　of　its　independent　states。　In　January　a　resistance　kept　up　for　nine　years　by　a　handful　of　royalists　lodged　on　the　remote　island　of　Chiloe；　off　the　southern　coast　of　Chile；　had　been　broken；　and　the　garrison　at　the　fortress　of　Callao　had　laid　down　its　arms　after　a　valiant　struggle。　Among　Spanish　Americans　no　one　was　comparable　to　the　marvelous　man　who　had　founded　three　great　republics　stretching　from　the　Caribbean　Sea　to　the　Tropic　of　Capricorn。　Hailed　as　the　〃Liberator〃　and　the　〃Terror　of　Despots；〃　he　was　also　acclaimed　by　the　people　as　the　〃Redeemer；　the　First…Born　Son　of　the　New　World！〃　National　destinies　were　committed　to　his　charge；　and　equestrian　statues　were　erected　in　his　honor。　In　the　popular　imagination　he　was　ranked　with　Napoleon　as　a　peerless　conqueror；　and　with　Washington　as　the　father　of　his　country。　That　megalomania　should　have　seized