of everything that would bring profit to the crown, and to enforce a monopoly of commerce with the mother country. All industries that would compete with Spanish' interests were prohibited; no goods could be imported from, and no products exported to any other country. The natives were enslaved, and citizens of Spanish birth were compelled to pay heavy tribute to the crown and to the church. But the growth of population made this form of government unwieldy, and the exclusive policy bred discontent. In 1740 therefore, a division of the southern continent was made, and a third viceroy was established at Bogota, in charge of the Northern Provinces of Ecuador, Columbia, and Venezuela. In 1776 a fourth was stationed at Buenos Aires to govern the Southern Provinces.

There were frequent, spasmodic attempts at resistance to Spanish tyranny during all these centuries, but they were directed only at unpopular governors or oppressive edicts. It was not until after the successful revolution in North America, and the establishment of the republic of the United States, that the thoughts of leading minds, and the efforts of patriotic statesmen were directed to actual independence.

Francisco Miranda, who was the leader of South American independence, was a native of Caracas, Venezuela. His family were of Spanish origin, and prominent among the colonial nobility. They had large estates and great wealth and, like other young men of his class, he was sent to Europe to complete his education. In Paris he met the Marquis de Lafay- [ ette, who had already been engaged in the war of the Revolution, and had returned to France for funds and reinforcements. Miranda, then about twenty-four years of age, was one of the first to enlist, and, reaching Boston, was given a position upon the staff of Washington. He fought through the war, and upon the organization of the government of the United States, having become inspired with the example of Washington, de

cided to attempt the liberation of his own country. Collecti a small company of adventurers from among his comrades the continental army, he sailed from New York, and land upon the coast of Venezuela, where he raised the standa of liberty and issued a proclamation calling upon his fell countrymen to assert their independence. But public opini had not been educated to a point favorable to such radio measures. Miranda was easily overcome by the forces of t Spanish governor. Some of his companions were shot, son were imprisoned, and his life was spared only through th intercession of his family and friends. Being banished, 1 returned to Europe, and remained for a time in France, whe he endeavored to raise money and men to renew the attack Then, attracted by the splendors of the court of Catherine th Great, he went to St. Petersburg, and spent several years a the favorite and acknowledged lover of that remarkable em press.

Miranda was a man of great accomplishments-a poet, wit, and a musician; and behind the gay manners of a court ier he concealed the motive of his life. But he failed to enlis the sympathy of Catherine in his plan to liberate Venezuela and when the French Revolution broke out, he returned to Paris, and was made a General of Division. Being defeated in battle he was deprived of his command, and went to London where he lived a miserable existence, in garrets and in gutters, writing songs and pamphlets, until he was rescued by Simon Bolivar.

The latter, thirty years younger than Miranda, was also a native of Caracas, a man of similar family and large estates. He also had gone to Europe to finish his education. Before leaving Venezuela, Bolivar had become infected with the revolutionary fever, and during a tour through the United States had visited the tomb of Washington, where, in a

dramatic manner, he dedicated his life to the cause of Venezuelan independence.

The invasion of the Spanish peninsula by Napoleon in 1808, and the establishment of his brother upon the throne at Madrid, were the direct cause of the revolution in South America, for at Carácas the governor as well as the people declined to recognize the authority of Joseph Bonaparte. But a propaganda had been actively engaged since the ineffectual attempt of Miranda, and the people were now ready to throw off the yoke. (Bolivar had been very active, with a number of other young men of aristocratic lineage, and in 1811, when he returned to Venezuela with Miranda, an organization was easily effected. On the 5th of July, 1811, a mass meeting of citizens was called in the Council chamber at Carácas, a declaration of independence was prepared and signed, and the republic of Venezuela was proclaimed with Miranda as military and political chief. The document, faded with age, still hangs in the room where it was written and signed, and beside it a massive painting representing the scene.

The Spanish governor at once abdicated, but Spain sent ten thousand men to Venezuela to recover authority. Miranda prepared to meet them, organized an army, and was about to take the field, when an awful earthquake occurred, which destroyed the greater part of Caracas, and buried several thousand of his soldiers in the ruins. The priests, always loyal to the crown, proclaimed the catastrophe as a righteous judgment of God upon the revolutionists, and the Spanish army took possession of the city before the moans of the dying had ceased. Miranda was captured and sent to Spain, where he died in prison. Bolivar escaped to the interior, and finally made his way to Jamaica, where he awaited developments.

The next revolution was in Chile, and was equally unfortunate; but in Buenos Aires the attempt was more successful,

and in 1813 an independent government was establish General San Martin, the leader of the movement the raised an army, which he led across the Andes to the a of the Chilian revolutionists, and succeeded in driving out t Spaniards. But it was not until 1818 that the republic Chile was organized. Before this time the epidemic of rev lution had spread throughout all South America. Peru was th next point of attack, and the successful revolutionary party i Chile sent a fleet and an army there. In the meantime Boliva had accomplished the independence of Venezuela, and ha driven the Spanish army from Colombia. The republic o New Granada was formed by the two provinces with Boliva as President. Ecuador was soon after added. Then Bolivar at the head of his army, marched to the aid of the patriots in Peru, where he attacked the Spaniards from the north while San Martin and O'Higgins of Chile were following the con quest from the southward. In September, 1823, the two revolutionary forces met at Lima, where Bolivar was proclaimed Dictator, and the Spaniards withdrew. He then assembled the united armies for an attack upon Bolivia, the last of the provinces that remained under Spanish authority. On the 7th of December, 1824, on the little plain of Ayacucho, 11,600 feet above the sea, the last battle of the war for the possession of the continent occurred. The Spaniards were overcome, the independence of Upper Peru was declared, and a new republic formed, christened Bolivia in honor of the great Liberator. General Sucre was elected President, and Bolivar made a triumphant return to Lima. He soon afterwards resigned the presidency of Peru and returned to Bogota, where, after a turbulent administration of four years, he retired to the little city of Santa Marta, on the coast of Colombia and died impoverished in 1830.

The Republic of New Granada soon dissolved. Geographi

6

cal conditions forbade its existence, and three independent states, Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, were founded with the original colonial boundaries as their limits. Uruguay and Paraguay were separated from the Argentine Republic about 1828, and became independent nations.

When Napoleon took possession of Portugal in 1808, the king fled to Brazil and remained there until 1821. Then, upon his return to Lisbon, the independence of the colony was declared and Dom Pedro I., the eldest son of King Joam VI. of Portugal, was made emperor. In 1831 he was succeeded by his son, the late Dom Pedro II., who ruled until the republic was established in 1889.

Mexico had obtained her independence after a long and bloody struggle; in Central America the Spanish standard fell without a blow; but the far-reaching vision of Bolivar, who was the ablest man the southern continent has produced, saw the necessity of close political and commercial relations between the newborn republics in order that they might maintain their integrity and independence, for he said, "the will of God has not separated them without purpose, by the immensity of two oceans, from the rest of the world." advise the consolidation of America under a single governHe did not ment or the establishment of a confederation, but his genius realized that a strong bond of union and sympathy between the recently created republics was necessary to preserve their peace, to promote their prosperity, and to protect them from the powers of Europe, who regarded their independence with the greatest apprehensions.

In 1815, Bolivar, then only about thirty years of age, was an exile in Jamaica. The cause of independence had suffered reverses throughout the entire continent. The revolutionary armies had been dispersed. The Spaniards had recovered control of most of their provinces, and seemed likely to resume