who died under the fatigue of carrying baggage, relates also all the above mentioned circumstances. If the author therefore is to be credited in the laft, he is alfo to be credited in the first. But a philofopher who vaunts the phyfical and moral qualities of Europeans over thofe of the Americans, would have done better, we think, to have fuppreffed facts fo opprobrious to the Europeans themselves.

Nothing in fact demonstrates so clearly the robustnefs of the Americans as thofe various and lafting fatigues in which they are continually engaged. M. de Paw fays, that when the New World was discovered, nothing was to be seen but thick woods; that at prefent there are fome lands cultivated, not by the Americans, however, but by the Africans and Europeans; and that the foil in cultivation is to the foil which is uncultivated as 2000 to 2,000,000. These three affertions the Abbe demonftrates to be precisely as many errors. Since the conqueft, the Americans alone have been the people who have fupported all the fatigues of agriculture in all the vaft countries of the continent of South America, and in the greater part of thofe of South America fubject to the crown of Spain. No European is ever to be feen employed in the labours of the field. The Moors who, in comparison of the Americans, are very few in number in the kingdom of New Spain, are charged with the culture of the fugar cane and tobacco, and the making of fugar; but the foil deftined for the cultivation of those plants is not with respect to all the cultivated land of that country in the proportion of one to two thoufand. The Americans are the people who labour on the foil. They are the tillers, the fowers, the weeders, and the reapers of the wheat, of the maize, of the rice, of the beans, and other kinds of grain and pulfe, of the cacao, of the vanilla, of the cotton, of the indigo, and all other plants useful to the fuftenance, the clothing, and commerce of those provinces; and without them fo little can be done, that in the year 1762, the harvest of wheat was abandoned in many places on account of a fickness which prevailed and prevented the Indians from reaping it. But this is not all; the Americans are they who cut and transport all the neceffary timber from the woods; who cut, tranfport, and work the ftones; who make lime, plafter, and tiles; who conftruct all the buildings of that kingdom, except a few places where none of them inhabit; who open and repair all the roads, who make the canals and fluices, and clean the cities. They work in many mines of gold, of filver, of copper, &c. they are the fhepherds, herdfmen, weavers, potters, basketmakers, bakers, couriers, day-labourers, &c.; in a word, they are the perfons who bear all the burden of public labours. These, fays our juftly indignant author, are the employments of the weak, daftardly,

and

and useless Americans; while the vigorous M. de Paw, and other indefatigable Europeans, are occupied in writing invectives against them. Thefe labours, in which the Indians are continually employed, certainly atteft their healthiness and strength; for if they are able to undergo fuch fatigues, they cannot be difeafed, nor have an exhaufted ftream of blood in their veins, as M. de Paw infinuates. In order to make it believed that their conftitutions are vitiated, he copies whatever he finds written by hiftorians of America, whether true or falfe, refpecting the difeafes which reign in fome particular countries of that great continent. It is not to be denied, that in fome countries in the wide compafs of America, men are expofed more than elsewhere to the diftempers which are occafioned by the intemperature of the air, or the pernicious quality of the aliments; but it is certain, according to the affertion of many refpectable authors acquainted with the New World, that the American countries are, for the moft part, healthy; and if the Americans were difpofed to retaliate on M. de Paw, and other European authors who write as he does, they would have abundant subject of materials to throw difcredit on the clime of the Old Continent, and the conftitution of its inhabitants in the endemic diftempers which prevail

there.

Lastly, The fuppofed feeblenefs and unfound bodily habit of the Americans do not correspond with the length of their lives. Among thofe Americans whofe great fatigues and exceffive toils do not anticipate their death, there are not a few who reach the age of 80, 90, and 100 or more years, as formerly mentioned; and what is more, without there being obferved in them that decay which time commonly produces in the hair, in the teeth, in the skin, and in the muscles of the human body. This phenomenon, fo much admired by the Spaniards who refide in Mexico, cannot be ascribed to any other cause than the vigour of their conftitutions, the temperance of their diet, and the falubrity of their clime. Historians, and other perfons who have fojourned there for many years, report the fame thing of other countries of the New World.

As to the mental qualities of the Americans, M. de Paw has not been able to discover any other characters than a memory fo feeble, that to day they do not remember what they did yesterday; a capacity fo blunt, that they are incapable of thinking, or putting their ideas in order; a difpofition fo cold, that they feel no excitement of love; a daltardly fpirit, and a genius that is torpid and indolent. Many other Europeans, indeed, and what is still more wonderful, many of thofe children or defcendants of Europeans who are born in America, think as M. de Paw does; fome from ignorance, fome from want of resection, and others from here

men.

ditary prejudice and prepoffeffion. But all this and more would not be fufficient to invalidate the teftimonies of other Europeans, whofe authority have a great deal more weight, both because they were men of great judgment, learning, and knowledge of thefe countries, and because they gave their teftimony in favour of ftrangers against their own countryIn particular, Acofta, whofe natural and moral history even de Paw commends as an excellent work, employs the whole fixth book in demonftrating the good fenfe of the Americans by an explanation of their ancient government, their laws, their hiftories in paintings and knots, calendars, &c. M. de Paw thinks the Americans are beftial; Acosta, on the other hand, reputes thofe perfons weak and prefumptucus who think them fo. M. de Paw fays, that the most acute Americans were inferior in induftry and fagacity to the rudeft nations of the Old Continent; Acofta extols the civil government of the Mexicans above many republics of Europe. M. de Paw finds, in the moral and political conduct of the Americans, nothing but barbarity, extravagance, and brutality; and Acosta finds there, laws that are admirable and worthy of being preferved for ever.

M. de Paw denies them courage, and alleges the conqueft of Mexico as a proof of their cowardice. "Cortes (he fays), conquered the empire of Mexico with 450 vagabonds and 15 horfes, badly armed; his miferable artillery confifted of fix falconets, which would not at the prefent day be capable of exciting the fears of a fortrefs defended by invalids. During his abfence the capital was held in awe by the half of his troops. What men what events!-It is confirmed by the depofitions of all hiftorians, that the Spaniards entered the first time into Mexico without making one fingle discharge of their artillery. If the title of hero is applicable to him who has the difgrace to occafion the death of a great number of rational animals, Ferdinand Cortes might pretend to it; otherwife I do not fee what true glory he has acquired by the overthrow of a tottering monarchy, which might have been deftroyed in the fame manner by any other affaffin of our continent." Thefe paffages indicate either M. de Paw's ignorance of the hiftory of the conqueft of Mexico,. or a wilful fuppreffion of what would openly contradict his fyftem; fince all who have read that hiftory know well, that the conqueft of Mexico was not made with 450 men, but with more than 200,000. Cortes himself, to whom it was of more importance than to M. de Paw to make his bravery confpicuous, and his conqueft appear glorious, confeffes the exceffive number of the allies who were under his command at the fiege of the capital, and combated with more fury against the Mexieans than the Spaniards themfelves. According to the account which

Cortes

Cortes gave to the emperor Charles V. the fiege of Mexico began with 87 horfes, 848 Spanish infantry, armed with guns, crofs-bows, fwords, and lances, and upwards of 75,000 allies, of Tlafcala, Huexotzinco, Cholula, and Chalco, equipped with various forts of arms; with three large pieces of cannon of iron, 15 fmall of copper, and 13 brigantines. In the courfe of the fiege were affembled the numerous nations of the Otomies, the Cohuixcas, and Matlazincas, and the troops of the populous cities of the lakes; fo that the army of the befiegers not only exceeded 200,000, but amounted to 4,000,000, according to the letter from Cortes; and befides thefe, 3000 boats and canoes came to their affiftance. Did it betray cowardice to have fuftained, for full 74 days, the fiege of an open city, engaging daily with an army fo large, and in part provided with arms fo fuperior, and at the same time having to withstand the ravages of famine? Can they merit the charge of cowardice, who, after having loft seven of the eight parts of their city, and about 50,000 citizens, part cut off by the sword, part by famine and fickness, continued to defend themselves until they were furiously affaulted in the laft hold which was left them?

According to M. de Paw, " the Americans at first were not believed to be men, but rather fatyrs, or large apes, which might be murdered without remorfe or reproach. At laft, in order to add infult to the oppreffion of thofe times, a pope made an original bull, in which he declared, that being defirous of founding bishoprics in the richeft countries of America, it pleafed him and the Holy Spirit, to acknowledge the Americans to be true men: in fo far, that without this decifion of an Italian, the inhabitants of the New World would have appeared, even at this day, to the eyes of the faithful, a race of equivocal men. There is no example of fuch a decifion fince this globe has been inhabited by men and apes." Upon this paffage the Abbé animadverts, as being a fingular inftance of calumny and mifrepresentation; and gives the following history of the decifion alluded to.

"Some of the first Europeans who established themselves in America, not lefs powerful than avaricious, defirous of enriching themselves to the detriment of the Americans, kept them continually employed, and made ufe of them as flaves; and in order to avoid the reproaches which were made them by the bishops and miffionaries who inculcated humanity, and the giving liberty to thofe people to get themselves inftructed in religion, that they might do their duties towards the church and their families, alleged, that the Indians were by nature flaves and incapable of being inftructed; and many other falfehoods of which the Chronicler Herrera makes mention against them. Thofe zealous ecclefiaftics being

unable,

unable, either by their authority or preaching to free thofe unhappy converts from the tyranny of fuch mifers, had recourse to the Catholic kings, and at last obtained from their juftice and clemency, thofe laws as favourable to the Americans as honourable to the court of Spain, that compofe the Indian code, which were chiefly due to the indefatigable zeal of the bishop de las Cafas. On another fide, Garces bishop of Tlafcala, knowing that thofe Spaniards bore, notwithstanding their perverfity, a great refpect to the decifions of the vicar of Jefus Chrift, made application in the year 1586 to pope Paul III. by that famous letter of which we have made mention; reprefenting to him the evils which the Indians fuffered from the wicked Chriftians, and praying him to interpofe his authority in their behalf. The pope, moved by fuch heavy remonftrances, difpatched the next year the original bull, which was not made, as is manifeft, to declare the Americans true men; for such a piece of weakness was very diftant from that or any other pope: but folely to fupport the natural rights of the Americans against the attempts of their oppreffors, and to condemn the injustice and inhumanity of those, who, under the pretence of fuppofing thofe people idolatrous, or incapable of being inftructed, took from them their property and their liberty, and treated them as flaves and beasts.

If at firft the Americans were efteemed fatyrs, nobody can better prove it than Chriftopher Columbus their discoverer. Let us hear, therefore, how that celebrated admiral speaks, in his account to the Catholic kings Ferdinand and I fabella, of the first fatyrs he faw in the island of Haiti, or Hifpaniola. "I fwear," he fays, " to your majesties, that there is not a better people in the world than thefe, more affectionate, affable, or mild. They love their neighbours as themfelves: their language is the fweeteft, the fofteft, and the moft cheerful; for they always fpeak fmiling and although they go naked, let your majefties believe me, their customs are very becoming; and their king, who is ferved with great majefty, has fuch engaging manners, that it gives great pleasure to fee him, and alfo to confider the great retentive faculty of that people, and their defire of knowledge, which incites them to afk the causes and the effects of things."

:

"We have had intimate commerce with the Americans (continues the Abbe); have lived for fome years ir a feminary deftined for their instruction; faw the erection and progrefs of the royal college of Gaudaloupe, founded in Mexico, by a Mexican Jefuit, for the education of Indian children; had afterwards fome Indians amongst our pupils; had particular knowledge of many American rectors, many nobles, and nuNo. III,

R

merous