LatAm Digital Edition and Gazetteer

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CHAQUIMINAS, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Asangaro in Peru ; annexed to the curacy of Sandia in the province of Carabaya.

CHARABAYE, a settlement of the province and government of Venezuela ; situate on the shore of a river in the district of the city of Caracas, and to the e. of the town of Victoria.

CHARACATO, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Arequipa in Peru. In its church is a miraculous image of Nuestra Senora de la Purificacion or Candelaria, to which singular devotion is paid.

CHARAI, a settlement of the province and alcaldia mayor of Cinaloa ; situate on the shore of a river of the fort which lies between the settlements of Ziribijoa and Mochicauchi.

(CHARAIBES, See Caribe.)

CHARALA, a settlement of the jurisdiction of the town of San Gil, in the Nuevo Reyno de Granada, is, at it were, a suburb to the settlement of Mongui, and it is (being very poor and reduced) annexed to the curacy of the same. Its temperature is mild, and abounds in pure good water, and in the productions of a hot climate.

CHARANDO, a settlement of the head settlement of Guimeo, and alcaldia mayor of Cirandaro, in Nueva Espafia ; annexed to the curacy of Turicato.

CHARAPA, a settlement of the head settlement and alcaldia mayor of Periban in Nueva España ; situate in the loftiest part of the sierra, from whence its temperature is so cold that it is seldom any crops can be gathered from the seeds that are sown. It contains 209 families of Indians, 80 in the wards of its district, and a convent of the religious order of St. Francis : lies e. of its head settlement.

CHARAPE, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Jaen de Bracamoros in the kingdom of Quito.

CHARAPOTO, a settlement of the district of Puerto Viejo, and government of Guayaquil, in the kingdom of Quito, at a small distance from the sea-coast and bay of its name ; this title being also applied to the point which forms the same bay.

CHARAZANI, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Larecaja in Peru.

CHARBON, Rio del, a river of N. Carolina, which runs n. and enters the Conhaway. The whole of it abounds in cataracts, and its waters throw up immense quantities of coal, which was the cause of its being thus named.

CHARCA, a settlement of the province and

corregimiento of Chayanta in Peru ; annexed to the curacy of Sacaca.

CHARCANA, a settlement of the province and corregimiento of Parinacochas in Peru.

CHARCAS, an extensive province of the kingdom of Peru, composed of various others. Its jurisdiction comprehends the district of this royal audience, which begins at Vilcanota, of the corregimiento of Lampa and bishopric of Cuzco, and extends as far as Buenos Ayres to the s. It is bounded on the e. by Brazil, the meridian serving as a limit ; and reaching w. as far as the corregimiento of Atacama, which is of its district, and forms the most n. part of this province in that direction, and being closed in on its other sides by the kingdom of Chile : is 300 leagues in length, including the degrees of latitude from 20° to 28° s . : is in many parts very thinly peopled, and covered with large desert tracts, and rugged and impenetrable mountains, and again by the elevated cordilleras of the Andes, and the spacious llanuras or pampas, which serve to mark its size and the relative distances of its territories. Its temperature throughout is extremely cold, although there are not wanting parts which enjoy a moderate warmth. At the time that this province was in the possession of the Indians, and previous to the entrance of the Spaniards, many well-inhabited provinces went jointly under the name of Charcas ; and the conquest of these was first undertaken by Capac Yupanqui, fifth Emperor ; but he was not able to pass the territory of the Tutiras Indians and of Chaqui. Here it was that his conquests terminated : nor did the subjection of these parts extend farther than Collaysuyo until after his death, when he was succeeded by his son the Inca Roca, sixth Emperor, who carried on still farther the victories which had been already gained, conquering all the nations as far on as that of Chuquisaca, where he afterwards founded the city of this name, called also La Plata. After that the Spaniards had reduced that part of Peru, extending from Tumbez to Cuzco, and that the civil wars and dissensions which existed between these were at an end, they endeavoured to follow up their enterprise by making a conquest of the most distant nations. To this end, in 1538, Gonzalo Pizarro sallied forth with a great force, and attacking the Charcas and the Carangues, found in them such a spirited opposition, that after several battles he was brought to think this object was nearly impracticable : this idea was strengthened by the reception he had met with from the Chuquisacas, who in many conflicts had given him convincing proofs of their valour and warlike spirit ; indeed it is thought, that had he not just

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20. Don Ignacio de Flores, native of Quito, who had served as captain of cavalry in the regiment of the volunteers of Aragon, and who was governor of the province of Moxos, being of the rank of colonel ; he was nominated as president by way of reward for his services, in having been instrumental to the pacification of the Indians of Peru, and to the succouring of the city of La Paz, which was besieged by rebels : he governed until 1786, when he was removed from the presidency.

Charcas, a ferocious and barbarous nation of Indians of Peru, to the s.w. of the lakes of Aullaga and of Paria ; conquered by Mayta Capac, fourth monarch of the Incas. At present they are reduced to the Christian faith in the government of Chuquisaca or La Plata.

Santa Maria Charcas, a settlement, with the dedicatory title of Santa Maria, being the real of the mines of the kingdom of Nueva Galicia, in which are marked the boundaries of its jurisdiction, and those of Nueva Espana, the last district of the bishopric of Mechoacan. It contains a convent of the religious order of St. Francis, and 50 families of Spaniards, ilfwstees, and Mulattoes, as also many of Indians dispersed in the rancherias and the estates of its district: is 130 leagues to the n. J to the n. w. of Mexico, 75 from Guadalaxera, and 18 to the n. e. of the sierra of Pinos. Lat. 22° 55'. Long. 100° 40'.

Charcas, another settlement and real of the mines of the province of Copala, and kingdom of Nueva Vizcaya ; situate two leagues from the capital. In its vicinity are the estates of Panuco, in which they work with quicksilver the metals of the mines. To its curacy, which is adminstered by one of the Catholic clergy, are annexed two small settlements of Serranos Indians, amongst whom are found some few of the Tepeguana nation.

CHARIMIZA, a river of the province and government of Mainas in the kingdom of Quito. It rises in the cordillera towards the s. and enters the Maranon.

(CHARLEMONT, a township in Hampshire county, Massachusets, 16 miles w. of Deerfield, having 665 inhabitants.)

(Charles, a cape on the s.w. part of the strait entering into Hudson’s bay. Lat. 62° 40' n. Long. 75° 15' w.)

Charles, a small lake of New France, to the n. of the city of Quebec, which empties itself into the river St. Lawrence.

Charles, another cape or point of the coast of the country of Labrador ; one of those which form the w. entrance or mouth of the strait of Belleisle.

(Charles River, in Massachusetts, called anciently Quinobequin, is a considerable stream, the principal branch of which rises from a pond bordering on Hopkinton. It passes through Holliston and Bellingham, and divides Medway from Med field, Wrentham, and Franklin, and thence into Dedham, where, by a curious bend, it forms a peninsula of 900 acres of land. A stream called lother brook runs out of this river in this town, and falls into Neponsit river, forming a natural canal, uniting the two rivers, and affording a number of excellent mill-seats. From Dedham the course of the river is n. dividing Newton from Needham, Weston, and Waltham, passing over romantic falls ; it then bends to the n. e. and e. through Watertown and Cambridge, and passing into Boston harbour, mingles with the waters of Mystic river, at the point of the peninsula of Charlestown. It is navigable for boats to Watertown, seven miles. The most remarkable bridges on this river are those which connect Boston with Charlestown and Cambridge. SeeBosxoN. Thereare seven paper mills on this river, besides other mills.] [Charles County, on the w. shore of Maryland, lies between Potowmack and Patuxent rivers. Its chief town is port Tobacco, on the river of that name. Its extreme length is 28 miles, its breadth 24, and it contains 20,613 inhabitants, including 10,085 slaves. The country has few hills, is generally low and sandy, and produces tobacco, Indian corn, sweet potatoes, &c.)

(Charles City County, in Virginia, lies between Chickahominy and James rivers. It contained formerly part of what now forms Prince George’s county. It has 5588 inhabitants, including 3141 slaves.)

(Charles, a cape of Virginia, in about lat. 37° 15' n. It is on the n. side of the mouth of Chesapeak bay, having cape Henry opposite to it.]

Charles, a promontory in N. America, mentioned by the English captain Thomas James, in his voyage published 1663, which was made for the sake of discovering a pass to S. America.

CHARLES. See Carlos, San.

CHARLESTON, a capital city of S. Carolina, is one of the best of N. America, excelling in beauty, grandeur, and commerce. It is situate upon a long strip of land between two navigable rivers, which are Ashley and Cowper, and the greater part of it upon the latter. This forms in the city two small bays, the one to the n. and the other to the s. The town is of a regular construction, and well fortified both by nature and art, having six bastions and a line of entrenchment ; on the side of the river Cowper it has the bastions of

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[tion for privateers, and in the war of 1780 the cruisers from Cura^oa greatly annoyed the English W. India trade ; so that tliere was a balance accounted for by the treasury of 190,000 francs, (about 17,275/.), arising from the duties on the prize-cargoes. This had been invested on mortgage for the benefit of the company. The governor should be a milhary man ; the mixed nature of the inhabitants renders a strict and more arbitrary form of government necessary here than in the otlier colonies. Excepting a tew merchants, there are scarcely any white inhabitants at the chief town, Williamstad, or on the opposite side of the harbour; such as have any lands live upon them, and the public officers and servants of the company reside in or near the fort. The town’s people are a mixture of Jews, Spaniards, sailors, free Mulattoes, free Negroes, Musquito and other Indians. I'he licentiousness of the Negro slaves is very great here, and attributable to various causes ; they are nevertheless worse off than in other colonies, as, in case of a scarcity of provisions, the distress falls chiefly on them. The manumission of slaves, as practised here, is very preposterous ; for it is generally when they are too old to work, that their proprietors pay a small fine to government to emancipate them, and then they must either acquire a precarious subsistence by begging, or are exposed to perish by want, as there is no provission for such objects. There are still at Bonaire a few remaining of the original inhabitants, and three or four aged people at Cura50 a ; with these exceptious the natives have becomeextinct. There are hardly half a dozen families of whites who have not intermarried with Indians or Negroes on the intermediate coasts. At Williamstad there is a Dutch reformed church, a Lutheran church, a Roman Catholic chapel, and ^ Jewish synagogue ; houses are built so near the walls of the fort, that a ladder from the upper stories would be sufficient to get within the] walls. A remarkable blunder of the engineer is noticed, who, in building a stone battery, turned the embrasures inwards instead of outwards. In the front of that battery of the fort which is intended to command the entrance of the harbour, a range of warehouses has been built, which are not only themselves exposed to the fire of an enemy, but impede the use of the guns of the fort, which would first have to level those warehouses to a certain height before their shot could reach a hostile force. The powder magazine was placed at a distance from the fort, and in such a situation as to expose the road or access to it, to the fire of any ship coming round on that side. The

town, harbour, and fort, are however capable of being made impregnable by any force attacking them from the sea-side ; yet they would be greatly exposed on the land-side, and there are several places on the shores of the island where an enterprising enemy might find means to effect a landing with small craft ; these spots ought, therefore, likewise to be fortified, and a garrison ought to be maintained, numerous enough to dispute the ground foot by foot, which, in such a rocky island, abounding with difficult passages and defiles through the broken rocks, could easily be done; and an enemy, however strong at their landing, if they should effect it, would be exhausted by a well contested retreat, before they could reach the chief settlement. Cura 9 oa is in lat. 12 ° 6 '. Long. 69° 2'.]

CURAÇOA. This beautiful city is well situated ; its buildings are large, convenient, and magnificent ; is full of store-houses and shops well provided with every species of merchandise, and of all kinds of manufactories ; so that you may see at one glance a vessel building, the sails and rigging, and all its other necessary equipments preparing, and even the articles being macufactured with which it is to be laden. It has a good port, in which vessels from all parts are continually lying ; its entrance is defended by a castle, but dangerous and difficult to be made, and to effect it, it is necessary to make fast a cable to the same castle, although a vessel, when once in, will lie very safe. It has a synagogue for the convenience of the many Jews who inhabit the city, and who are the principal merchants. The French, commanded by M. Caissar, bombarded it in 1714: ; but the commanding ship of his squadron was wrecked upon the coast.

CURAGUATE, a river of the island and government of Trinidad. It runs to the w. extremity, and enters the sea in the n. coast, near the capital, San Joseph de Oruna.

CURAGUATA, a point of the n. coast of the same island (Trinidad), close to the port Maracas.

CURAGUE, a small river of the island of La Laxa in the kingdom of Chile. It runs n. n. w. and enters the Huaque, opposite the mouth of the Raninco. On its shores the Spaniards have built ^ fort, called De los Angeles, to restrain the incursions of the Araucanos Indians.

CURAHUARA de Carangas, a settlement of this province and corregimiento (Chile), and of the archbishopric of Charcas in Peru.

CURAHUARA DE Carangas, another settlement, with the additional title of Pacajes, to distinguish it from the former; belonging to the above province and corregimiento (Chile).