Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/353

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

PERU 339 lus. The condor is here represented in four species ; the turkey buzzard is the most effi- cient scavenger in every town and village ; and the varieties of hawks are numerous. Eu- ropean barn-yard fowls of every species, as well as partridges, snipe, pigeons, turtle doves, pheasants, and other edible wild birds, are plen- tiful ; and there are numerous varieties of par- rots, toucans, humming birds, &c. The shores of Peru are frequented by myriads of sea birds (lula variegata), which in the time of the incas were protected by law during incu- bation, and to which and to numberless seals haunting the coasts and adjacent islands is due the famous manure called guano. The popula- tion is made up of whites, mostly descendants of the early Spanish settlers, various tribes of Indians, negroes, and Chinese, and an endless variety of hybrids from the intermingling of all of them, including cholos, zambos, mulat- toes, and mestizoes. Pure-blooded Africans have gradually diminished in number since the importation of negro slaves ceased in 1793, and the few now remaining are to be found only in the vicinity of the coasts. Slavery was finally abolished in Peru in 1855. The most important of the aboriginal races are the Qui- chuas or Incas and the Aymaras, both of whom shortly after the conquest by the Spaniards embraced Christianity. (See AYMAKAS, and QUIOHUAS.) The river banks in the eastern plains are inhabited by independent tribes, some of whom, through the unremitting energy of the missionaries established in the Pampas del Sacramento between the Huallaga and the Ucayali, have become Christians. These cul- tivate maize, rice, and coca, with a few esculent leguminous plants, cotton from which the wo- men weave coarse cloths, and annotto, used by some of them to paint their faces. Some oth- er tribes still wander in their primitive state of savagism, and a very few practise cannibalism. The Spanish branch of the population is frank, mild, loyal, generous, and very hospitable ; the men are brave, intelligent, and patriotic. Education has always been common among the better classes, and is now rapidly extending to all grades of society. The Indians are mild and pacific, but indolent and apathetic, and somewhat given to melancholy. The cholos and mestizoes, here as in Bolivia, Colombia, and Mexico, are whimsical and turbulent, and the chief f omenters of the political strifes hith- erto so prevalent in the republic. Owing to the insufficiency of hands for the public and other works in the republic, particularly felt after the abolition of slavery, the introduction of Chinese was resorted to, and was extensive- ly carried on for a time, until prohibited by law in 1856. But the next year that law was repealed, and the cooly traffic was briskly resumed, the laborers being brought from the Portuguese colony of Macao, under a treaty with the Portuguese government dated March 26, 1853. In the 11 years 1860-'70 the number of coolies embarked at Macao was 43,301, of whom only 38,648 arrived at Callao; and by 1873 more than 80,500 laborers had landed in Peru. To prevent the continuance of abuses, a Peruvian envoy was despatched to Peking in 1872, and a treaty of friendship, commerce, and navigation was signed June 26, 1874. By a special agreement a Chinese commission was to be sent to Peru to inquire into the condition of the Chinese laborers resident in the repub- lic, the Peruvian government to redress all grievances, and the immigration in future to be under the immediate supervision of Chinese commissioners. (See COOLY.) In 1874 an ap- propriation of $100,000 annually was initiated for the promotion of immigration from Europe. In the first six months after the passage of the law 1,000 Italians settled in the republic. Un- der the new law immigrants can have their passage paid by the government, and acquire national lands on very favorable terms. The industries hitherto most successfully carried on in Peru are the pastoral, agricultural, and mining ; but manufactures are still in a back- ward state. Nitrate of soda is manufactured on the coast in Tarapaca; sugar, rum, and wines are extensively made ; coarse cotton and woollen stuffs, as also straw hats, mats, coarse earthenware, and other articles for domestic use, are made by the Indians ; in the vicinity of Callao and Lima there are brick and lime kilns', glass works, and a paper factory, the paper being made from the yuca plant ; and dye- ing, tanning, soap making, and the preparation of glue are carried on. In Lima there are steam saw mills and flour mills, cotton factories, brew- eries, and extensive gas works. At Monsefu there is a copper foundery, where are manu- factured nearly all the sugar pans used on the Peruvian plantations. The two great staples of export are guano and nitrate of soda ; both are almost exclusively sent to Great Britain. Other exports are Peruvian bark, sugar, cotton, and wines, especially those of Pisco, which somewhat resemble Madeira wines. The cot- ton shipped in 1870 was 106,000 bales. Sugar is likewise becoming a prominent article of export to Liverpool. Except for the port of Callao, it is impossible to obtain accurate m- formation relating to the value of the foreign trade of Peru, which is estimated at $55,000,- 000 annually, of which $25,000,000 is for im- ports. Great Britain supplies the woollen, lin- en, and cotton fabrics, railway material, and coal; France the silks, fancy goods, and wines; while machinery of all kinds, agricultural im- plements, American manufactures in general, provisions, lumber, and petroleum are fur- nished by the United States, the last named commodity being sent from California aed Oregon. The total value of the exports to Great Britain for a series of years has been as follows: 1868, $17,000,130; 1869, $19,962,- 360; 1870, $24,405,375; 1871, $19,859,840; 1872, $21,058,615; 1873, $26,597,860. The total value of the imports from the same coun- try in the same period was as follows: 1868,