In 1504 Bastidas resumed his discoveries, and proceeded to the Gulf of Darien to procure gold and slaves; he here found grains of gold in the sands, which was the first time the metal had been sent in that state to Spain.

In 1515 the western coast of Panama, Veragua, and Darien, was explored under the orders of Avila, as far north as Cape Blanco; and the town of Panama was founded. From this city issued the conquerors of Peru, Francisco Pizarro and Diego Almagro. The discovery, the conquest, and the colonization of most of the internal provinces of Cundinamarca, was achieved under their orders, by Sebastian de Benalcazar, one of the officers of the army who accompanied Pizarro and Almagro in their expedition.

In 1536 Benalcazar attacked the southern provinces, from Quito, whilst Gonzalo Ximenes de Quesada, who had been sent by Lugo, the admiral of the Canaries, overrun the northern districts from Santa Maria. They met with considerable opposition from the natives, but finally succeeded in reducing the country, and the whole was formed into a kingdom, and governed by a captain-general, in the year 1547; to check whose power the Royal Audience was established, of which he was made president.

In the year 1718 a viceroy was appointed. This office was suppressed in 1724; again fin

ally established in 1740; and suppressed for ever by the Revolution.

SECTION XI.

POLITICAL DIVISIONS.

THE Caracas are subdivided into seven provinces; viz. New Andalusia or Cumana; Barcelona; Venezuela, or Caracas Proper, containing Venezuela and Coro; Maracaibo; Varinas; and Guiana; with the detached government of the Island of Margarita.

Cundinamarca and Quito are also divided into numerous provinces. Those provinces are named Jaen de Bracamoros, Quixos, Maynas, Tacamos, Popayan, Antioquia, Santa Fé, San Juan de los Llanos, Merida, Santa Marta, Carthagena, Choco, Darien, Panama, Veragua, &c.

CHAPTER II.

PARTICULAR DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY.

SECTION I.

PROVINCES OF VENEZUELA AND CORO.

THE government of Venezuela comprehends Venezuela, or Caracas Proper, and Coro.

It is BOUNDED, on the north, by the Caribbean Sea; on the east, by Barcelona; on the west, by Maracaibo and Varinas; and on the south, by the great plains of Varinas, and the Orinoco.

This extensive government was named Venezuela, from the towns inhabited by Indians which were seen by the Spaniards on the Lake Maracaibo having a resemblance to Venice.

The MOUNTAINS of Venezuela, which form a part of the great branch extending from the west to the Gulf of Paria, divide the lands of the coast from the plains of the valley of the Orinoco. It is on these mountains that the climate is so singularly altered, that a traveller may observe the fruits of the tropics luxuriating at a short distance from those of Europe. Their

surface is rent in every direction by the force of subterraneous convulsions. To the south of this chain, the llanos, or plains, which stretch to the Orinoco, are inhabited solely by herds of cattle tended by Mulattoes.

The CLIMATE of Venezuela is modified according to the situation of its districts-on the coast, in the mountains, or on the plains. On the coast and in the plains a scorching heat prevails, accompanied in the latter with deluges of rain. In the mountain valleys the air is in general pure and mild, and in some elevated parts even cold.

The SOIL of Venezuela is fertile, and yields in abundance all the products of the West Indies, besides many others which those islands do not possess. Its most noted commercial article is cacao, which is inferior to none in the Americas. The other richer objects of cultivation are vanilla, maize, indigo, cotton, sugar, tobacco, and coffee. Here also, wild cochineal, dyewoods, medicinal drugs, gums, resins, balsams, sarsaparilla, sassafras, liquorice, squills, storax, cassia and aloes, find that climate which is most favourable to their growth. The immense plains in the interior feed multitudes of cattle, horses and mules; and in the valleys and mountains sheep and deer are numerous. All kinds of game are found in this country; the rivers of which also abound with fish.

Besides these articles, the forests of Venezuela produce every species of timber fit for the purposes of the joiner, the cabinet-maker, the carpenter, or the shipwright. Cedar is used for their door posts, window frames, tables, &c. Black, red, and yellow ebony are common. Mahogany, brasiletto, and all sorts of ornamental woods, are so abundant, that the workman would be puzzled in his choice of the finest. The immense forests which overspread the chain of mountains remain unexplored.

For about a century after this country was subdued by the Spaniards, all their thoughts were turned towards its mineral productions, and the pearl fishery on its coasts. But being disappointed in their expectations of finding immense riches from these sources, they at last turned their attention to the cultivation of the soil. They first planted cacao trees; and so abundant were the profits which this labour yielded, that cacao alone occupied their fields till a very late period. About the year 1774 indigo plantations appeared, and immense plains, hitherto desert, were soon covered with this plant, which was speedily followed by cotton, sugar, tobacco, coffee, &c. But notwithstanding the aptitude of the soil, and the genial nature of the climate, agriculture still languishes in these fine regions, partly from want of enterprise and active industry, and