LatAm Digital Edition and Gazetteer

alcaldía mayor of Chiapa, in the kingdom of Guatemala. Lat. 16° 53' N Long. 93° 52' W. It is situate on the Tobasco river, near the city of Chiapa, and not far from a bay in the S. sea, called Teguantipac.

ACAPAZINGO, San Diego DE, the head settlement of the district and alcaldía mayor of Cuernavaca.

ACAPETLAHUAIA, a settlement of the head settlement of the district of Escateopan, and alcaldía mayor of Zaqualpa. It contains 180 Indian families.

ACAPONETA, the alcaldía mayor of the kingdom of Galicia, and bishopric of Guadalaxara, in Nueva España. Its jurisdiction is reduced. It enjoys various hot and cold temperatures, and has therefore the crops peculiar to both climates; and the same are sown in its district, and produce abundantly. The capital is the town of the same name, situate between the two rivers St. Pedro and de Cartas ; the latter dividing Nueva España from the provinces of Rosario and Cinaloa, as also the bishoprics of Durango and Gaudalaxara, from whence it is distant 83 leagues, W. N. W. It has a convent of the order of St. Francisco. Long. 105° 40' 30". Lat. 22° 43' 30".

ACAPULCO, the capital city of the government of Nueva España, situate on the coast of the S. sea. Its inhabitants amount to nearly 400 families of Chinese, Mulattoes, and Negroes. It has a parish church, with two vicars, and two convents, one of the order of St. Francis, and the other of St. Hyppolite de la Casidad, which is a royal hospital ; an office of public accounts, with an accountant and treasurer for the managing and keeping the accounts of the duties produced by the goods brought in the China ships. The city is small, and the churches and houses are moderately ornamented. The greater part of the city is on the seashore. The air is of an extremely hot and moist temperature ; for, independent of its being in the torrid zone, it is entirely shut oxit from the N. winds, being surrounded by lofty serranias. These circumstances render it very unhealthy, especially in the wet season, on account of the damps and seawinds blowing from the S. E. to the great detriment of the inhabitants and merchants who come to trade here ; this being the principal cause why there are scarcely more than eight Spanish families who reside here. It is equally in want of every sort of provision, owing to the reduced and barren state of the land, and is forced to seek its necessary supplies from the Indian settlements within its jurisdiction. The only commerce which it can be said to have, is afair which is held on the arrival of the ships from China ; and when these depart, there are no other means for the people of maintaining a trade, and if the above resource should happen to fail for three or four years, the place must inevitably be abandoned. At the distance of a musketshot, and on a promontory running far into the sea, is situate the castle and royal fort of San Diego, mounted with 31 pieces of artillery, the greater part of them 24 pounders, for the defence of the entrance of the port, which is safe, and so spacious, that 500 ships can lay at anchor in it with ease. It is surrounded by lofty rising grounds. Its principal mouth is on the S. side, formed by an Island of an oblong figure, and somewhat inclining to the S. W. The same Island forms also Acatlan mouth, which they call chica, or little. The canals on either side of the Island are 25 fathoms deep. The governor of the castle has the rank of castellano, with the title of lieutenant general of the coasts of the S. sea ; and for the defence of these coasts, there are three companies of militia, composed of the the whole of the inhabitants, namely, one company of Chinese, Acatlan another of Mulattoes, and the third of Negroes, who run to arms whenever they hear the cannon fired three times at short intervals. In the settlements of its neighbourhood they grow cotton, maize, and other seeds, vegetables and fruits. They have cattle of the large and small kind, and some tobacco, all of which productions are sufficient for the use of the castle and the city, which is 80 leagues distant from Mexico. — [The famous cut in the mountain, (Abra de San Nicholas), near the bay de la Langosta, for the admission of the sea winds, was recently finished. The population of this miserable town, inhabited almost exclusively by people of colour, amounts to 9000 at the time of the arrival of the Manilla galleon (nao de China). Its habitual population is only 4000. The chief trade of Acapulco continues still to be its commerce with Manilla. The Manilla ship arrives once a year at Acapulco, with a cargo of Indian goods, valued at 12 or 1300,000 dollars, and carries back silver in exchange, with a very small quantity of American produce, and some European goods. Lat. according to Humboldt, 16° 50' 29". Long, by ditto, 99° 46'. Lat. according to the Spaniards, 16° 50' 30". Long, by ditto, 160°. Both longitudes being measured from the meridian of Greenwich.] ACARAGA, a river of the province and government of Paraguay. It rises in the province of the Parana, and running n. enters the Uruguay where is the city of Asuncion. It is navigable by canoes throughout, and abounds in fish.

ACARAI, a settlement of the province and government of Paraguay, founded near the river Paraná, and rather towards the W by the missionary Jesuits, in 1624, where they also built a fort to protect it against the incursions of the infidel Indians.

ACARAI, a river of the province and government of Paraguay. It runs S S E and enters the Paraná opposite the settlement of La Poblacion Nueva.

ACARAPU, a small river of the province and colony of Surinam, in the part of Guayana belonging to the Dutch. It is one of those which enter the Cuyuni.

ACARI, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Camaná, in Perú, situate in a beautiful and extensive valley, in which there is a very lofty mountain, which they call Sahuacario, composed of misshapen stones and sand, in which, at certain times of the year, especially in the months of December and January, is heard a loud and continued murmuring, which excites universal astonishment, and which, no doubt, is to be attributed to the air in some of its cavities. On its skirts are two fortresses, which were built in the time of the gentilism of the Indians. There is a port halfway between the town of St. Juan and the city of Arequipa, which is 8 leagues distant from the latter, and 11 from the former. It is very convenient, and has an excellent bottom, but is frequented only by small vessels. It is in lat. 15° 15'. S Long. 75° 8' 30" W

ACARI, a point or cape of the coast of the S. sea, of the same province, and of the corregimiento of Camaná.

ACARI, a river of the above province, which runs to the S E.

another river, of the province and capitainship of Pará in the kingdom of Brasil. It is small, runs N afterwards inclines to the N N W and enters the river of Las Amazonas, just where this empties itself into the sea.

ACARIGUA, a settlement of the province and government of Venezuela, situate on the shore of the river of its name, and close upon the E side of the town of Ararul.

ACARIGUA, a river of the above province and government, which rises near the town of Araure, and runs S to enter the river of La Portuguesa.

ACARRETO, a port of the coast of Tierra Firme, in the province and government of Darien, near cape Tiburon. [Lat. 8° 39' N Long. 77° 24' SO" W.]

ACARUACA, a small river of the province and country of the Amazonas, in the part belonging to the Portuguese. It runs from N to S forming a bow, and enters the Matari.

[ACASABASTIAN, a river in the province of Vera Paz in Mexico. It runs into the Golfo Dulce, and has a town situated on its banks of the same name. The source of this river is not far from the S. sea.]

ACASABASTLAN, a settlement of the kingdom of Guatemala, in the province and alcaldía mayor of Chiapa.

[ACASATHULA, a sea-port, situated on a point of land, in the province of Guatemala Proper, in Mexico, on a bay of the S. sea, about four leagues from Trinidad. It receives the greatest part of the treasures from Perú and Mexico. In its neighbourhood are three volcanoes.]

ACASSA, a river of the province and government of Guayana, in the part possessed by the French. It enters the sea between the Ayapoco and Cape Orange.

ACATEPEC, a settlement of the head settlement and alcaldía mayor of Thehuacan, where there is a convent or vicarage of the order of St. Francis. It contains 860 Indian families (including those of the wards of its district) in a spacious valley, which begins at the end of the settlement and extends itself above a league. In this valley are 12 cultivated estates, on which live 40 Indian families. It is four leagues S S W of its capital.

another settlement in the head settlement and district of Chinantla, of the alcaldía mayor of Cozamaloapan. It is situate in a very pleasant plain, and surrounded by three lofty mountains. The number of its inhabitants is reduced. A very rapid and broad river passes near this settlement; and as this is the direct way to the city of Oaxaca and other jurisdictions, and as the travellers, who come here in great numbers, must necessarily cross the river in barks or canoes, the Indians, who are very expert in this sort of navigation, contrive by these means to procure themselves a decent livelihood. 10 leagues W of its head settlement.

another settlement of the alcaldía mayor of the same kingdom, situate between two high ridges. It contains 100 Indian families, and is annexed to the curacy of

Tlacolula, from whence it is distant a league ant a half to the N.

another, settlement of the head settlement and alcaldía mayor of Xicayan, of the same kingdom. It contains 12 Indian families, and is 10 leagues distant from its head settlement.

ACATEPEQUE, S. Franciso de, a settlement of the head settlement of St. Andres de Cholula, and alcaldía mayor of this name. It contains 140 Indian families, and is half a league to the S of its capital.

another settlement of the head settlement and alcaldía mayor of Igualapa, situate at a league's distance to the E of the same.

ACATIC, a settlement of the head settlement and alcaldía mayor of Tecpatitlan, in the kingdom and bishopric of Nueva Galicia. It is four leagues to the S of its capital.

ACATICO, a settlement of the head settlement and alcaldía mayor of Cuquio, in Nueva España.

ACATLAN, a settlement and capital of the alcaldía mayor of this name. It is of a mild temperature, and its situation is at the entrance of the Misteca Baxa. It contains 850 families of Indians, and 20 of Spaniards and Mustees. In its vicinity are some excellent saltgrounds, in which its commerce chiefly consists. The jurisdiction of this alcaldía, which contains four other head settlements of the district, is fertile and pleasant, abounding in flowers, fruits, all kinds of pulse and seeds, and is well watered. They have here large breeds of goats, which they slaughter chiefly for the skin and the fat, salting down the flesh, and sending it to La Puebla and other parts to be sold. In its district are many cultivated lands. It is 55 leagues leagues to the E S E of Mexico. Long. 275° 10' W Lat. 19° 4' N.

another settlement of the same name, with the dedicatory title of S. Andres, in the head settlement and alcaldía mayor of Xalapa, in the same kingdom, situate on a clayey spot of ground, of a cold moist temperature, rendered fertile by an abundance of streams, which in a very regular manner water the lands; although,it being void of mountains and exposed to the N winds, the fruits within its neighourhood do not come to maturity. It contains 180 Indian families, including those of the new settlement, which was established at a league's distance to the S of its head settlement, and which is called San Miguel de las Aguastelas. Acatlan is a league and a half distant from its head settlement.

another settlement, having the dedicatory title of San Pedro, belonging to the head settlement of Malacatepec and alcaldía mayor of Nexapa, in the same kingdom. It contains 80 Indian families, who trade in wool and in the fish called bobo, quantities of which are found in a large river which runs close by the settlement, and which are a great source of emolument to them. It is four leagues N of its capital.

another settlement of he bead settlement of Zitlala, of the same alcaldía and kingdom. It contains 198 Indian families, and its situation is a league and an half N of its head settlement.

another settlement of the head settlement and alcaldía mayor of Sentipac, of the same kingdom. It is of a cold temperature, contains 42 Indian families, and is 15 leagues N E of its capital.

another settlement of the head settlement of Atotonilco, and alcaldía mayor of Tulanzingo in the same kingdom. It contains 115 Indian families, and a convent of the religious order of St. Augustin. — Two leagues N of its head settlement.

ACATLAZINGO, Santa Maria de, a settlement of the head settlement of Xicula, and alcaldía mayor of Nexapa, situate in a plain that is surrounded on all sides by mountains. It contains 67 Indian families, who employ themselves in the culture of the cochineal plant.

ACATULA, a settlement of the province and government of Venezuela, situate on the shore of the river Guasqui, to the E of the city of Coro.

ACAXEE, a nation of Indians of the province of Topia. It is well peopled, and was converted to the Catholic faith by the father Hernando de Santaren, and others of the abolished society of the Jesuits, in 1602. They are docile, of good dispositions and abilities. In the time of their idolatry, they used to bend the heads of their dead with their bodies and knees together, and in this posture inter them in a cave, or under a rock, giving them provisions for the journey which they fancied them about to make ; also laying by them a bow and arrows for their defence. Should an Indian woman happen to have died in childbed, the infant was put to death ; for they used to say, it was the cause of her death. These Indians were once induced by a sorcerer to make an insurrection, but it was quelled by the governor of the province, Don Francisco de Ordinola, in the year 1612.

ACAXETE, Santa María de, the head, settlement of the district of the alcaldía mayor of Tepcaca, situate on the slope of the noted sierra of Tlascala. It is of a cold and dry temperature, contains seven Spanish families, 10 of Mustees and Mulattoes, and 176 of Mexican Indians. In its vicinity is a reservoir, formed of hewn stone, which serves at once to catch the waters as they come down from the sierra, and to conduct them to Tepcaca, three leagues N N W of its capital.

In its vicinity is a reservoir, formed of hewn stone, which serves at once to catch the waters as they come down from the sierra, and to conduct them to Tepcaca, three leagues N N W of its capital.

ACAXUCHITLAN the head settlement of the alcaldía mayor of Tulazingo, to the N E. It contains 406 Indian families, and is a curacy of the bishopric of La Puebla de los Angeles. Distant four leagues to the E of its capital.

ACAYUCA, the alcaldía mayor of Nueva España, and of the province of Goazacoalco. Its jurisdiction is very extended, and consists, for the most part, of places of a hot and moist temperature, but so fertile is it that it gives annually four crops of maize; and as there is no demand for this production in the other provinces, it follows, of course, that the Indians here are little given to industry. Indeed the ground never requires the plough, and the whole of their labours during the seedtime consist merely in smoothing the surface of the mountains, and in scratching up the ground with a pointed stick. It is at times infested by locusts, which destroy the plants and crops ; and having never been able to find a remedy against this evil, the inhabitants had recourse to the protection of the virgin of La Conception, which is revered in the head settlement of the district of the Chichimecas ; and it is said that, owing to her mediatory influence, the plague has been thought to diminish. This province is watered by the abundant river of the Goazacoalco. The settlements of this alcaldía are, Xocoteapa, Macayapa, Menzapa, Molocan, Theimanquillo, Tinantitlan, Chinameca, Zoconusco, Olutla, Otcapa, Pochutla, Ostitan, Cozolcaque, Ixhuatla, Macatepeque.

another, the capital of the above, situate on the coast of the N. sea. Its inhabitants are composed of 30 families of Spaniards, 296 of Indians, and 70 of Mustees and Mulattoes. It lies a little more than 100 leagues S E of Mexico. Lat. 17° 53' N Long. 94° 46' 30" W.

another, settlement in the alcaldía mayor of Pachuca, in the kingdom of Nueva España, annexed to the curacy of Tezayuca, and containing 100 Indian families.

Acacingo, the head settlement of the district of the alcaldía mayor of Tepcaca, situate in a plain of a mild temperature, and watered by two streams which run close to all the houses of the settlement, to the great comfort of the inhabitants. In the middle of the above plain there is a beautiful fountain, a convent of the religious order of St. Francis, a very ancient building, and some other buildings, which have been erected since the conquest of the country. The parish church is a piece of the most ancient architecture. The inhabitants are composed of 150 families of Spaniards, 104 of Mustees, 31 of Mulattoes, and 700 of Indians; 3 1/4 leagues E to the NE of its capital.

ACAZUTLA, a port of the S sea, on the coast of the province of the alcaldía mayor of Zuchitepec, in the kingdom of Guatemala, between the point of Los Remedios, and the settlement of Guapaca. [Lat. 14° 42' N Long. 90° 3'.]

ACCHA, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Chilques and Masques in Peru, situate on the skirt of a mountain, which has a prominence, seeming as though it were about to fall upon the settlement. This mountain is constantly dwindling away without any assignable cause. Lat. 13° 19 s. Long. 71° 13' W

ACCHA-AMANSAIA, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Chilques and Masques in Peru.

ACCHA-URINZABA, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Chilques and Masque in Peru.

Aceites, a river of the province and government of Caraccas, in the kingdom of Tierra Firme. It rises in the mountains, and enters the Orituco.

[ACCOCESAWS. The ancient town and principal place of residence of these Indians is on the W side of Colorado of Rio Rouge, about 200 miles S W of Nacogdoches, but they often change their place of residence for a season : being near the bay, they make great use of fish, oysters &c.; kill a great many deer, which are the largest and fattest in the province ; and their country is universally said to be inferior to no part of the province in soil, growth of timber, goodness of water, and beauty of surface; they have a language peculiar to themselves, but have a mode of communication by dumb signs, which they all understand: number about 80 men. Thirty or forty years ago, the Spaniards had a mission here, but broke it up, or moved it to Nacogdoches. They talk of resettling it, and speak in the highest terms,of the country.]

[ACCOMACK County, in Virginia, is situated on a peninsula, bounded N by Maryland, E by the ocean, and on the W by Chesapeak bay, and contains 13.959 inhabitants, including 4.262 slaves.]

ACHA, Mountains of, in the province and government of Guayana; they run from N to S on the shore of the river Caroni.

ACHACACHE, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Omasuyos, the capital of this province, in Peru. It contains, besides the parish chapel, another, in which is an image of Christ, with the dedicatory title of La Misericordia. [Lat. 16° 33' 30" S. Long. 79° 23' 20" W.]

ACHAGUA, a nation of Indians of the nuevo Reyno de Granada, who dwell among the plains of Gazanare and Meta, and in the woods which skirt the river Ele. They are bold in their engagements with wild beasts, but with human beings they have recourse rather to poison and stratagem; they are dexterous in the use of the dart and spear, and never miss their aim; are particularly fond of horses, of which they take the utmost care, anointing and rubbing them with oil ; and it is a great thing among them to have one of these animals of peculiar size and beauty. They go naked, but, for the sake of decency, wear a small apron made of the thread of aloes, the rest of their bodies being painted of different colours. They are accustomed, at the birth of their children, to smear them with a bituminous ointment, which hinders the hair from growing, even upon the eyebrows. The women's brows are also entirely deprived of hair, and the juice of jagua being immediately rubbed into the little holes formed by the depilatory operation, they remain bald for ever after. They are of a gentle disposisition, but much given to intoxication. The Jesuits reduced many to the catholic faith, forming them into settlements, in 1661 .

ACHALA, Mountains of, in the province and government of Tucuman, bounded by the mountains of Cuyo or Mendoza, of the kingdom of Chile; they run from N N W to S S E at the sources of the river Quarto.

Achamqui. See CHANQUI.

ACHAS, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Guamanga in Peru, situate on the confines which divide the above province from Huanta.

ACHEPE, Bay of, a small port of the N. sea, on the E, coast of the Isla Real, or Cape Breton. It is close to N. cape.

[ACHIACHICA, a town in Mexico. See Angelos.]

ACHIANTLAS, Miguel de, the head settlement of the district of the alcaldía mayor of Tepozcolula. It contains a convent of monks of Santo Domingo, and 260 families of Indians, who occupy themselves in cultivating and improving the land. It is eight leagues to the W with an inclination to the S of its capital.

ACHIBAMBA, a river of the province and government of Mainas in the kingdom of Quito; it rises in the mountains, and enters the Marañon.

ACHINUTLAN, a very lofty mountain of the province and government of Guayana, or Nueva Andalucia. It is on the shore of the river Orinoco, and to the E of the Ciudad Real, (royal city), the river Tacuragua running between them.

ACHIRA. See Cata-Magu.

ACHITE, a small river of the province and government of Guayana. It runs from S to N and enters the Cuyuni.

ACHOCALLA, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Pacages in Peru, annexed to the curacy of Viacha.

ACHOGOA, a settlement of the province and government of Cinaloa, founded by the missionaries of the Jesuits, between the rivers Tuerte, Mayo, and Ribas.

ACHOMA, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Collahuas in Peru. In its vicinity is a volcano, called Amboto and Sahuarcuca, which vomits smoke and flames; the latter of which are seen clearly at night.

ACHONGA, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Angaraes in Peru, annexed to the curacy of Lircay.

ACHOUPEKAHIGAN, a river of Canada. It runs E afterwards turns to the S and enters the lake of St. Thomas.

[ACKLIN'S Island. See Crooked Island.]

ACLA, a small city of the kingdom of Tierra Firme, in the province of Darien, founded by Gabriel de Roxas, in 1514, on the coast of the S. sea, at the mouth of the gulph of Uraba, in front of the island of Pinos, with a good fort, then much frequented and very convenient, from having a good bottom, but somewhat incommoded by currents. Pedro Arias Davila built here a fort for its defence in 1516; but the settlement, nevertheless, did not keep long together, the Spaniards having abandoned it, on account of its unhealthiness, in 1532. [Lat. 8° 56' N. Long. 77° 40' W.]

ACOBAMBA, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Angaraes in Peru. It was the capital, but at present the town of Guancavelica bears that title, on account of its being the residence of the governor and other people of consequence. It is of a good temperature, and so abundant in grain, that its crops of wheat amount to 25,000 bushels yearly. In an estate near it, are some pyramidical stones, and in other parts