Robert Grant Watson

“ Thus fell the conqueror of Chili, a man endowed, unquestionably, with a great mind and with superior powers of organization and of governing, as well as with excellent military talents. The modern Chilians may look back with satisfaction upon the founder of their State as on one whose name is unstained by the horrible cruelties towards the natives which attach to the memories of the conquerors of Peru. Even at the time of the outbreak after the settlement at St. Iago, it is to Valdivia’s credit that he merely cast the ringleaders into prison. Pizarro would have ruthlessly burned them. ”

“ At all times to be the bearer of ill news is a duty most repugnant to the feelings of a Persian, but on this occasion the news to be conveyed were of so peculiarly mournful a nature, that it was feared the Shah in the first outburst of his grief would order the bearer of the evil tidings to be put to death. During two whole days no one could be persuaded to undertake the task, and at the end of that time the king's two youngest sons were together sent to lisp to their aged father the tale of the demise of the heir to his throne. ”

“ But yet, seeking to make every allowance that can be urged in excuse or palliation, there is but one verdict that can possibly be given as to the general conduct of the Spaniards towards the natives of America, namely, that it surpassed in remorseless, and often stupid and short-sighted, cruelty the conduct of any one conquering or so-called “superior” race towards another conquered or “inferior” race of which history contains any record. In this respect we cannot but think that the Spaniards as a race have been too leniently judged by modern writers—not Spanish, but foreign. ”

“ The Portuguese race has unquestionably filled a most distinguished part in the world. At the period of which we write it had gloriously recovered its national independence, and was renowned alike for its splendid literature, its famous geographical discoveries,—more especially those of Bartholomew Diaz, Vasco de Gama, Cabral, and Magalhaens,—and its magnificent colonial possessions in the east as well as in the west; and that the race has not lost all its energy is proved by such exploits of the present day as those of Serpa Pinto and others. ”

“ Quand les seigneurs sont eux-mêmes en differend, la force en decide: celui qui est le plus fort gagne la cause. Voici comment ils s'y prennent: ils fondent à main armée sur les bestiaux de leur ennemi, sur ses vassaux, sur ses maisons, sur ses terres, pillant, brûlant, abattant tout; et enfin, lorsqu'ils ne savent plus à quoi s'en prendre, ils arrachent les vignes, les mûriers et les arbres aussi utiles; que si les parties viennent à se rencontrer durant ces actes d'hostilités, ils se combattent d'une maniére sanglante. ”

“ To Prince Henry is to be traced the origin of the enslavement of African negroes; to Columbus that of the system of encomiendas or partitions of Indians amongst Spanish settlers. Either system was productive of untold misery to large classes of the human race, and in one case the evil is not even yet extinct, as witness Brazil and Cuba. And yet the motives of Prince Henry in originating and sanctioning African slavery, were, without doubt, not only wholly unselfish, but were dictated solely by a desire for the spiritual enlightenment and civilization of the heathen. ”

“ Happily for the natives of Brazil, the discovery of the precious metals had been deferred until an age somewhat more humane than that which had witnessed the occupation of Hayti and the conquest of Peru. The preaching of humanitarians, from Las Casas down to Vieyra, had not been in vain; and when at length the day came when Minas Geraes was first to yield its treasures, the effect, as regarded the condition of the Brazilian Indians, was, contrary to expectation, rather beneficial than otherwise. The lust for gold superseded the lust for slaves. ”

“ A Persian is perhaps prepared to do as little for his country as any man on earth, but while he holds his country's interests as of no moment whatsoever in comparison with his own, he yet thinks in his heart that there is no land in the world at all comparable to the land of Iran, I believe most Persians who should be sentenced to perpetual exile, and warned that they would be liable to be condemned to death if again found upon their native soil, would, like Shimei, be unable to resist the temptation of viewing once more what is as dear to them as Jerusalem was to the descendant of Judah. ”

“ Almagro’s march, undertaken with the object of taking possession of his future government of Chili, was of the most arduous that could be conceived. The cold which he and his men encountered in the passes of the Andes was intense, whilst the straits to which both Spaniards and their attendant Indians were reduced by hunger were so great that the former were glad of the carcases of the horses which fell victims to the climate, whilst the latter were forced to feed on the bodies of their comrades who fell. ”

“ The Dutch fleet, perceiving the intentions of the Portuguese, stood out to sea whilst they were able to do so. Their disappearance set at liberty the merchant ships along the coast, which were employed under the orders of Barreto. A line was drawn across the harbour of Recife, and strict precautions were taken that no relief should reach the city by sea or by land. The besieging force consisted of three thousand five hundred men. The indefatigable Fernandes led the first assault; and he was good enough to promise a separate mass for the soul of each of his men who should fall. ”

“ Falsehood they look upon in all cases where it facilitates their ends, not only justifiable, but highly commendable, and good faith, generosity, and gratitude are alike unknown to them. * * * * In short, to close this outline of the Persian diameter," I shall add, without the fear of confutation, that from my own observation, I feel inclined to look upon Persia at the present day to be the very fountainhead of every species of tyranny, cruelty, meanness, injustice, extortion, and infamy, that can disgrace or pollute human nature, or have ever been found in any age or nation." ”

“ Figure to yourself, Father, the miseries which an Indian woman has to undergo amongst Indians. They accompany us to the fields with their bows and arrows: we go there bearing one infant which we carry in a basket and another at the breast. They go to hunt or to fish, whilst we dig the earth; and, after having undergone all the fatigue of culture, we have to undertake that of the harvest. They return in the evening unburdened: we bring, back roots for their food and maize for their drink. Once at home, they make themselves happy with their friends ”

“ Still imagining the coast of Paria to be an island, the admiral left this lovely spot and again set sail, coasting to the westward in search for an outlet to the north. He found the water, however, growing shallower and fresher, so that he could not venture to proceed any further with his own ship. He therefore came to anchor, and sent forward a caravel to ascertain whether there was an outlet to the ocean. On the following day he learned, on its return, that there was an inner gulf beyond, which contained the mouths of four great rivers, the waters of which sweetened the neighbouring sea. ”

“ No truth is more plainly written on the page of universal history than that a foreign race loses its distinguishing qualities unless continually reinforced by recruits from its native land. The last complete invasion of Persia occurred sufficiently long ago to admit of time having softened down the enthusiasm and the energy of the conquerors. The races who at present inhabit Persia have become habituated to the climate, and are as much the growth of the soil as are the castor-oil plant and the pomegranate. ”

“ Nothing could be less suitable for establishments so situated as were the Spanish colonies in South America than the introduction of the monastic system; yet that system was soon to be found there to a most flourishing extent. In a new settlement, where there is room to spread, the main object should be to encourage population; but the Spaniards, with their usual blindness, began from the first to erect convents, where persons of either sex were shut up in large numbers under a vow of celibacy. ”

“ The history of the early Portuguese in Brazil is in some respects far more satisfactory, if it be less exciting, than that of the Spaniards in Peru. They were there for the legitimate purpose of colonizing and cultivating a portion of a vast region where there was ample room at the same time for them and for the tribes in their neighbourhood; and if the colonists, on the one hand, were ever ready to enslave the natives, the Churchmen who followed in their wake were, on the other hand, as ready to denounce the practice, and to sow the seeds of real Christianity amongst the savages. ”

“ In Persia, it is considered to be a point of honour to avenge the blood of a relative; and it may be well imagined that this reproach from his mother stung the young prince to the quick. Sending at once for the man he had pardoned, he demanded of him what punishment a person should receive who had behaved badly to his sovereign and benefactor. The unhappy man is said to have replied that such an one deserved to be burnt alive; and Lutf'ali Khan, forgetful of his princely word, had the barbarity to order that this sentence should be forthwith executed on him who had pronounced it. ”

“ The bridge itself was to be one of those structures common in the Northern Andes, formed of cables of osier, thrown from side to side of the bank, and across which planks are laid. As such a bridge is swayed to and fro or upwards and downwards by the tramp of men, by burdens being borne across it, or by the wind, it is apt to inspire a feeling of insecurity both on the part of the traveller and on that of the onlooker from the shore, but it is in reality quite as safe a means of transit as is many a more solid structure. ”

“ For some time after the disastrous failure of the attempt of Las Casas to found a colony on the Pearl Coast of Cumaná, the northern portion of Spanish South America, from the Orinoco westwards, is almost lost to history. The powers working for good had signally failed, and the powers of evil seemed to have it almost all their own way. The regions discovered by the Spaniards were so vast, in proportion to the numbers of the discoverers, that many of them were long lost to view, and probably to memory. ”

“ The dome of the mosque itself, before which, as it glitters in the Eastern sun, thousands of pilgrims from the utmost parts of Asia bow their heads in silent awe, the dome itself was stripped of its golden splendours to supply the demands of the lawless soldiery. ”

“ One of the first victims of this expedition was Comagre himself, the same youthful cacique who had given to Vasco Nuñez the earliest information of the existence of the sea beyond the mountains, and who had told him that a thousand men would be needed for its discovery. Little did he imagine that he himself would be one of the victims of the thousand men who had now been brought by his advice! The chiefs with whom Vasco Nuñez had cemented a friendship came forth in turn to lay their gold before Ayora. The valiant Tubanamá, being of a less submissive turn of mind, took to arms, but to no avail. ”

“ The large number of ports in Pernambuco gave that province the inestimable advantage of a ready means of export for the produce of the interior. Its richest and most influential inhabitants, whether agricultural or commercial, were those most interested in the preservation of order. They were the great promoters of civilization, exercising a liberal hospitality. The long-continued Dutch war had left the Pernambucans proud memories. ”

“ The Persian army had at one time been on the point of driving the enemy from the field, and the temporary success was to be attributed to the disciplined courage of two regiments from Karadagh, and to the fire of the prince's artillery. These battalions, as well as the artillerymen, had been trained by competent and zealous foreign instructors, and had the whole army been equally well drilled, there can be no doubt that the fate which befell the Persians would that day have befallen their enemies. ”