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Religion and Politics in Europe the Middle East and
North Africa Routledge ECPR Studies in European
Political Science 1st Edition Jeffrey Haynes Digital
Instant Download
Author(s): Jeffrey Haynes
ISBN(s): 9780415477130, 0415477131
Edition: 1
File Details: PDF, 2.08 MB
Year: 2009
Language: english
Religion and Politics in Europe, the
Middle East and North Africa

In the early twenty-­first century, it is now clear that religion is increasingly influ-
ential in the political realm in ways which call into question the principles and
practices of secularism. The Iranian revolution of 1978–9 marked the decisive
‘reappearance’ of political religion in global politics, highlighting a major devel-
opment which is the subject of this edited volume.
Addressing a highly salient and timely topic, this book examines the con-
sequences of political interactions involving the state and religious actors in
Christian, Muslim and Judaist contexts. Building on research, the basic premise
of this text is that religious actors – including Islamist groups, the Roman Cath­
olic and the Orthodox churches – pose various challenges for citizenship, demo-
cracy and secularisation in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
The key questions on which the book focuses are: Why, how, and when do reli-
gious actors seek to influence political outcomes in these regions?
Providing a survey of what is happening in relation to the interaction of reli-
gion and politics, both domestically and internationally, this book will be of
interest to students and scholars of politics, religion, European and Middle East
studies.

Jeffrey Haynes is Associate Head of Department (Research and Postgraduate

Studies) and Professor of Politics at London Metropolitan University, UK.
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Religion and Politics in
Europe, the Middle East
and North Africa

Edited by Jeffrey Haynes

First published 2010
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2009.
To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.

© 2010 Selection and editorial matter, Jeffrey Haynes; individual chapters,

the contributors

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or

utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Religion and politics in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa / edited
by Jeffrey Haynes.
p. cm. – (Routledge/ECPR studies in European political science)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Religion and politics–Europe. 2. Religion and politics–Middle East.
3. Religion and politics–Africa, North. 4. Europe–Politics and
government. 5. Middle East–Politics and government. 6. Africa,
North–Politics and government. I. Haynes, Jeffrey.
BL65.P7R4279 2009
201'.72--dc22
2009017202
ISBN 0-203-86948-6 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN10: 0-415-47713-1 (hbk)

ISBN10: 0-203-86948-6 (ebk)
ISBN13: 978-0-415-47713-0 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-203-86948-2 (ebk)
Contents

List of illustrations xi
List of contributors xiii
Series editor’s preface xiv

1 Religion and politics in Europe, the Middle East and

North Africa 1
JEFFREY HAYNES

part i
Citizenship 21

2 Church, state and the politics of citizenship: a comparative

study of 19 Western democracies 23
MICHAEL MINKENBERG

3 The Orthodox Church and Greek–Turkish relations: religion

as source of rivalry or conciliation? 51
IOANNIS N. GRIGORIADIS

Part II
Secularisation 71

4 Religion and secularism in Israel: between politics and

sub-­politics 73
G U Y B E N - ­P O R A T

5 Between mediation and commitment: the Catholic Church

and the Basque conflict 91
XABIER ITÇAINA
x   Contents
6 E unum pluribus: the role of religion in the project of
European integration 114
JOHN T. S. MADELEY

Part III
Democracy 137

7 Political Islam and Islamic capital: the case of Turkey 139

IŞIK ÖZEL

8 The Jamiat al-­Adl wal-­Ihsan: religion, political opposition

and stalled democratisation in Morocco 162
FRANCESCO CAVATORTA

9 The church in opposition: religious actors, lobbying and

Catholic voters in Italy 177
LUIGI CECCARINI

10 Morality politics in a Catholic democracy: a hard road towards

liberalisation of gay rights in Poland 202
ANJA HENNIG

Conclusion 227
J effrey H aynes

Index 239
Illustrations

Figures
9.1 How much trust do you have in the following organisations,
associations, social groups and institutions? 183
9.2 How important do you consider giving your children a Catholic
education? 184
9.3 The centre-­left government has recently proposed a law on
DICO, that is regarding de facto couples who live together
stably outside of marriage 192
9.4 Now I will read you a series of behaviours. According to your
moral point of view, are they acceptable or wrong? 194
9.5 Without considering what the law says, what does being a
family mean for you? 194
9.6 The church, Catholic parliamentarians and politics according
to practising centre-­right and centre-­left voters 197

Tables
2.1 Trends in religious pluralism in nineteen Western democracies,
c.1980–c.2000 26–7
2.2 A scale of nationality codes: access to citizenship in nineteen
Western democracies (before 2000) 29
2.3 A typology of immigration and citizenship policies (before 2000) 30
2.4 Religious legacy: confessions, religiosity and nationality codes 32
2.5 Church–state relations and nationality codes 34
2.6 Religious partisan impact and nationality codes 37
6.1 Extant Protestant political parties of Europe identified by
Freston and their stances on European integration c.2000 122
9.1 The political unity of Catholics is often discussed. What
solution do you think is right today? 179
9.2 Citizens who define themselves as Catholics and the main
reason they define themselves as such 182
9.3 In your opinion, the church today is closer . . . (percentage values) 188
xii   Illustrations
9.4 The orientation of those in favour of the DICO law among
the different segments of voters 193
9.5 What position does religion occupy in your life? 195
9.6 How do you consider the teaching of the church in respect
to people’s morality and life? 195
10.1 The elements of the analytical concept 205
10.2 Attitudes towards homosexuality in Poland 213
10.3 Attitudes towards the implementation of registered partnerships
and (marriage) in Poland 213
10.4 The regulation of church–state relations in Poland 214
Contributors

Guy Ben-­Porat Department of Public Policy and Administration, School of

Management, Ben-­Gurion University.
Francesco Cavatorta School of Law and Government, Dublin City University.
Luigi Ceccarini LaPolis – Laboratory of Social and Political Studies, University
of Urbino ‘Carlo Bo’.
Ioannis N. Grigoriadis Department of Political Science, Bilkent University.
Jeffrey Haynes Associate Head of Department (Research and Postgraduate
Studies) and Professor of Politics, Department of Law, Governance and Inter-
national Relations, London Metropolitan U ­ niversity.
Anja Hennig PhD candidate in the field of religion and comparative public
policy at the Department of Comparative Politics, Faculty of Cultural Stud-
ies, European University Viadrina, Frankfurt/Oder.
Xabier Itçaina Chargé de recherche au CNRS, SPIRIT, Sciences politique, rela-
tions internationales, territoire, Sciences Po Bordeaux, Domaine universitaire.
John T. S. Madeley Department of Government, London School of Economics
and Political Science.
Michael Minkenberg Max Weber Chair for German and European Studies,
Center for European and Mediterranean S
­ tudies, New York University.
Işık Özel Sabancı Universitesi, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
Series editor’s preface

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, there was a debate in European political
science about the political significance of religion or, more precisely, religious
orientations. While some scholars argued that it continued to be an important
factor in explaining the way people think politically and vote, others maintained
that class had become the dominant force. In the wake of the New Left move-
ments, this seemed to be almost self-­evident.
However, Europe has changed in many ways since then. First, migration has
substantially altered the religious composition of Western European societies, and
a significant portion of those who migrated into the affluent Western European
states are less secularised than the majority of the citizens of the host countries.
Second, with the end of the Cold War, religion reasserted its role as an important
factor in some countries of the East–Central Europe, most notably in Poland. And
third, religion did not just dwindle away to nothing in the secularised societies of
Western Europe. The Christian churches and their collateral organisations
remained influential political actors, not least due to the simple fact that their links
with the political systems are highly institutionalised in many countries. While
the Lutheran Church is virtually a part of the state apparatus in some Scandin-
avian countries, significant portions of the welfare spending is administered
through church-­related organisations elsewhere. This institutional anchorage pro-
vided the Christian churches with sufficient resilience, and religiously inspired
debates and conflicts have remained on the agenda of many European nations.
Furthermore, the debate mentioned above focused exclusively on Western
Europe, and the example of migration highlights the fact that the relationship of
religion and politics can no longer be fully understood by focusing on one region
alone. After all, significant shifts in religious thinking in one region can have
far-­reaching repercussions elsewhere via its potential impact on groups of
migrants.
The current volume is one of the few books that takes a broadly comparative
view. By looking at very diverse countries including, among others, Turkey,
Morocco, Israel and Spain, attention is drawn to commonalities and differences
between very different religious actors and the way they interact with the polit-
ical system. The book concentrates on three central and interrelated themes,
namely citizenship, secularisation and democracy.
 Series editor’s preface   xv
While generalisations are very difficult on the basis of such diverse cases, one
lesson is obvious: The often bemoaned strong involvement of religious actors in
issues of citizenship, secularisation and democracy in the countries of the Middle
East and Northern Africa does not constitute a fundamental distinction to Euro-
pean countries. To be sure, the democratic credentials of European religious
actors may be less doubtful in most cases than is often true for the Middle East
and Northern Africa. Yet the fundamental issue of the boundary between reli-
gion and the secular state is by no means fully resolved in European countries.
In some countries, there is considerable institutional linkage which guarantees
the continued influence of religious actors in state affairs. What is more, such
privileges may be extended to the religious organisations of immigrants, as the
example of Germany shows, where the state actively promotes the formation of
Islamic overarching organisations.
Hence, religious actors have considerable influence in some of the secular
European societies and, arguably, the likelihood of conflicts between them and
secular states increases with increasing secularisation. As the progress of medical
technology is marching on, it gives rise to a range of ethically charged debates
where secular states tend to take pragmatic positions which are likely be met
with resistance by religious communities. To be sure, issues of the so-­called bio-
politics, including the regulation of reproductive medicine, stem cell research,
euthanasia and cloning, will provide a battleground for ongoing struggles over
the boundaries of the secular European state.

Thomas Poguntke, Series Editor

Bochum, May 2009
1 Religion and politics in Europe,
the Middle East and North Africa
Jeffrey Haynes

The main premise of this book is that religion has left its assigned place in the
private sphere in both Europe and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA),
becoming politically active in various ways and with assorted outcomes. The
starting point is to note that from the 1980s, ‘what was new and became “news”
. . . was the widespread and simultaneous refusal of religions to be restricted to
the private sphere’ (Casanova 1994: 6). This involves a remodelling and re-­
assumption of public roles by religious actors – which theories of secularisation
had long condemned to social and political marginalisation. This is what the
chapters of this book collectively seek to accomplish.
While differing in terms of specific issues that encourage them to act politi-
cally, religious entities commonly reject the secular ideals that have long domi-
nated theories of political development in both developed and developing
countries, appearing instead as champions of alternative, confessional outlooks,
programmes and policies. Seeking to keep faith with what they interpret as divine
decree, religious entities1 typically refuse to render to secular power holders
automatic material or moral support. They are concerned with various social,
moral and ethical issues, which are nearly always political. They may challenge
or undermine both the legitimacy and autonomy of the state’s main secular
spheres, including government and more widely political society. In addition,
many churches and other comparable religious entities no longer restrict them-
selves to the pastoral care of individual souls. Now, they raise questions about,
inter alia, interconnections of private and public morality, claims of states and
markets to be exempt from extrinsic normative considerations, and modes and
concerns of government. What they also have in common is a shared concern
for retaining and increasing their social importance. To this end, many religious
entities now seek to bypass or elude what they regard as the cumbersome con-
straints of temporal authority and, as a result, threaten to undermine the latter’s
constituted political functions. In short, refusing to be condemned to the realm
of privatised belief, religion has widely reappeared in the public sphere, thrusting
itself into issues of social, moral and ethical – in short, political – contestation.
The aim of this book is to examine the current relationship between selected
religious actors and the state in Europe and the MENA. Its title, Religion and
Politics in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, seeks to capture what its
2   J. Haynes
authors believe are the key analytical issues in this context. Overall, the book is
concerned with the outcomes of political interactions involving the state and
selected religious entities in various countries in both regions. In Europe, the
main religious actors on which we focus are Christian churches, including
the Roman Catholic Church, while in the MENA Islamic and Judaist entities are
the centre of attention.
The key point, however, is not from which religious tradition individual reli-
gious actors come. In both Europe and the MENA, all of the religious entities on
which we focus share a desire: to change their societies in directions where what
they regard as religiously acceptable standards of behaviour are central to public
life. Pursuing such objectives, they use a variety of tactics and methods. For
example, the Roman Catholic Church in both Italy and Poland and the Jamiat
al-­Adl wal-­Ihsan in Morocco operate at the level of civil society, although their
concerns also spill over into the realm of formal politics – that is, political
society.
Our examples from Israel and Turkey highlight a different context and form
of politics. They focus on what Ben-­Porat, following Beck (1994, 1997),
describes in his chapter in this collection as ‘sub-­politics’. This is where strug-
gles over the role of religion in public life are absent from or marginal to the
formal political arena – that is, political society. Instead of focusing exclusively
on formal politics, Beck suggests, scholars need also to pay attention to ‘sub-­
politics’. This is regarded as the ‘new’ politics, often played out not in the formal
political arena but instead promulgated at the level of civil society. Ben-­Porat
argues that sub-­politics rises in prominence when significant numbers of citizens
lose all or most of their faith in formal political institutions – including political
parties and the state.
In sum, these are the main conclusions of the book:

• In both Europe and the MENA, there is a formal, tripartite division of poli-
ties into state, political society and civil society.
• According to (Western) conventional social science wisdom, this arrange-
ment ‘should’ inevitably lead to religion’s permanent privatisation, with a
corresponding clear and significant political decline.
• However, in the sphere of religion and politics in both regions, there is
widespread ‘deprivatisation’ of previously privatised religious entities.
• In European and the MENA, religion’s deprivatisation is expressed politi-
cally in a focus on: citizenship, secularisation and democracy.

Defining religion and politics

Before turning to these issues in detail, it is useful to start by seeking to define
two of the key terms used in this book: religion and politics. Defining politics is
relatively simple: it is about the pursuit of power, and the struggles involved in
trying to wield it authoritatively. Defining religion satisfactorily is notoriously
difficult. Sociologists use two main approaches. Religion is either: (1) a system
 Religion and politics   3
of beliefs and practices related to an ultimate being or beings, or to the supernat-
ural; or (2) that which is sacred in a society, including ultimate inviolate beliefs
and practices (Aquaviva 1979). For purposes of wider social science analysis,
religion can usefully be approached (1) from the perspective of a body of ideas
and outlooks – that is, theology and ethical code; (2) as a type of formal organi-
sation – that is, ecclesiastical ‘church’ or comparable entity; or (3) as social
group – that is, a religious organisation, movement or party. Religion can affect
the temporal world in one of two ways: by what it says and/or does. The former
relates to religion’s doctrine or theology, the latter to its importance as a social
phenomenon and mark of identity, which can function through various modes of
institutionalisation, including civil society, political society and religion–state
relations.
It is necessary to distinguish between religion expressed at the individual and
group levels: only in the latter is it normally of importance for understanding
related political outcomes. From an individualist perspective, we are contemplat-
ing religion’s private, spiritual side, ‘a set of symbolic forms and acts which
relates man [sic] to the ultimate conditions of his existence’ (Bellah 1964: 359).
But to move into the realm of politics, as we do in this book, is necessarily to be
concerned with group religiosity, whose claims and pretensions are always to
some degree political. That is, there is no such thing as a religion without con-
sequences for value systems, including those affecting politics and political out-
comes. Group religiosity, like politics, is a matter of collective solidarities and,
frequently, of inter-­group tension, competition and conflict, with a focus on
either shared or disputed images of the sacred, or on cultural and/or class – in
short, political – issues. To complicate matters, however, such influences may
well operate differently and with ‘different temporalities for the same theologi-
cally defined religion in different parts of the world’ (Moyser 1991: 11).
To try to bring together political and religious spheres in all their varied
aspects and then to discern significant patterns and trends is not a simple task.
But in attempting it three points are worth emphasising. First, there is something
of a distinction to be drawn between looking at the relationship in terms of
the impact of religion on politics, and that of politics on religion. At the
same time, they are interactive: the effect of one stimulates and is stimulated
by the other. In other words, because we are concerned with the ways in
which power is exercised in society, and the ways in which religion is involved,
the relationship between religion and politics is both dialectical and interactive:
each shapes and influences the other. Both causal directions need to be held in
view.
Second, religions are creative and constantly changing; consequently their
relationships with politics also vary over time. In this book, we are concerned
with interactions of religious entities and government over the last few decades.
Finally, as political actors religious entities can only usefully be discussed in
terms of specific contexts; in the chapters that comprise this book, it is the rela-
tionship with government which forms a common focal point. Yet the model of
responses, while derived from and influenced by specific aspects of particular
Other documents randomly have
different content
The Project Gutenberg eBook of South America
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Title: South America

Author: Gardiner G. Hubbard

Release date: August 22, 2020 [eBook #63012]

Most recently updated: October 18, 2024

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOUTH AMERICA

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VOL. III, PP 1–30, PL 1 MARCH 28, 1891.

THE
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE.

SOUTH AMERICA.
ANNUAL ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT,

GARDINER G. HUBBARD.

(Presented to the Society December 19, 1890.)

Two years ago I selected for my annual address Africa, or the Dark
Continent; last year Asia, the Land of Mountains and Deserts; this year
I have chosen South America, the Land of Rivers and Pampas.

NAT GEOG. MAG. VOL. III, 1891,

PL. 1.
 From the International Cylopedia, by permission of Dodd, Mead & Company.

The recent meeting of the Pan-American Congress has called attention

to South America, a part of our continent under republican forms of
government and rich in products which we lack, while it relies mainly
on other foreign countries for goods which we manufacture. North
America and South America should be more closely united, for the one
is the complement of the other.

The prominent features of South America are its long ranges of

mountains—next to the Himalayas the highest in the world,—its great
valley, and its immense plateau extending from the Straits of Magellan
to the Caribbean sea.

THE MOUNTAINS.

The Andes rise in the extreme south at Cape Horn, run in a northerly
course through Patagonia and southern Chili; thence continuing in
three nearly parallel ranges, the western chain called the Andes, the
others known as the Cordilleras, through Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador to
Colombia. The Cordilleras and the Andes are connected in several
places by knots or cross-chains of mountains. In Colombia the Andes
turn to the northwest, reaching their lowest elevation at the Panama
canal, and continue thence, through Central America and North
America as the Rocky Mountains, to the Arctic ocean. Near the source
of the Magdalena and Cauca rivers in Colombia, the eastern range is
deflected to the east along the northern coast of South America. The
central range disappears between the Magdalena and Cauca rivers.

The Andes form the water-shed of the continent. The waters on the
western slope flow into the Pacific ocean. The rivers that rise on the
eastern slope, in northern Peru and Ecuador, force their way through
the Cordilleras and at their foot drain the montaña of Bolivia, Peru and
Brazil. In the southern part of Peru and upper Chili there is a broad
sierra or plateau, at an elevation of from twelve to fourteen thousand
feet. The streams that rise in this sierra either empty into salt or
alkaline lakes or sink into the ground.

Unlike all other long ranges of mountains, the continental or eastern

side of the Cordilleras is nearly as precipitous as that extending to the
Pacific. Craters of extinct volcanoes and volcanoes now in eruption are
found in all parts of the chain. In Ecuador there are fifty-two
volcanoes, and twenty of these, covered with perpetual snow and
presided over by Chimborazo and Cotopaxi, rise out of a group of
mountains encircling the valley of Quito, and are all visible from a
single point. Three are active and five others have been in eruption at
one or more times since the conquest. One of these, Sangai, is the
most active volcano on the globe: it sends forth a constant stream of
fire, water, mud and ashes, and some assert that it has done so
without intermission for 300 years; 267 explosions have been counted
in one hour. This is also the land of earthquakes: in 1868, 50,000 lives,
we are told, were lost in one day; the tremor was felt over four
countries and from the Andes to the Sandwich Islands. The tidal wave
washed a gunboat of the United States on shore at Arica in lower Peru,
1000 miles to the south, and sixteen hours later the wave was felt
across the Pacific at New Zealand.

A range of mountains separates Eastern Venezuela and Guiana from

the valley of the Amazon. Other ranges south of the Amazon run
southwestwardly, following the Atlantic coast line from Cape St. Roque
to the Rio de la Plata.

RIVER SYSTEMS.

A great oceanic current flows along the western coast of Africa to the
equator, where it is deflected across the Atlantic ocean and becomes
the equatorial current. On reaching the coast of South America near
Cape St. Roque, it is again deflected north and south. Trade winds
blowing over the equatorial current reach the coast at Brazil
surcharged with vapor; as they follow up the valley of the Amazon the
vapors are partially condensed and frequent showers refresh the land;
but when the clouds at the foot-hills of the Andes meet the colder
winds from the south and strike the snow summits of the Cordilleras,
all the moisture is condensed, and the rain falls in tropical showers for
half the year and waters the largest and richest valley in the world.
In this valley, among the Cordilleras, three great rivers—the Orinoco,
the Amazon and La Plata—rise. The mountain ranges north and south
of the Amazon divide this great valley into three lesser valleys, down
which the Orinoco, the Amazon and La Plata flow, watering three-
fourths of South America.

The Orinoco.

The headwaters of the Orinoco rise in two ranges of mountains; the

Cordilleras in the west, and the mountains of Venezuela many hundred
miles to the east. Four hundred tributaries, abounding in beautiful falls
and cataracts, unite to form this great river.

The whole valley for 1600 miles is filled with dense and tangled forests.
Noble trees of unrivalled beauty blossom in endless prodigality. Birds of
gorgeous plumage nestle in their lofty recesses. Tall ferns, vines,
creeping plants and parasites form a dense tangle of undergrowth,
swarming with life. Myriads of insects in great variety, reptiles of
strange and singular form, lizards and venemous serpents find their
homes and sustenance in the wild, dense mass of vegetation.

The Amazon.

The valley of the Amazon collects its waters from a region 1800 miles
wide from north to south and 2500 miles long from the Andes to the
Atlantic ocean. Even at the foot of the Andes the Amazon is a mighty
river. The valley rapidly narrows to a width of 600 or 700 miles, and
then more gradually to the ocean, where it is only 150 miles wide. Its
total fall from the foot-hills of the Andes to the Atlantic is very slight,
not over three or four hundred feet, and probably considerably less.

The rims of the valley are formed of diorite and sandstone, and are
raised only a little above the flood-plain, which is formed of mud and
silt, the detritus brought down by the Amazon and its tributaries. The
flood-plain is from fifty to one hundred miles wide, gradually narrowing
as it approaches the ocean. Through this valley the Amazon cuts its
way, separating often into channels which sometimes run parallel to
each other for several hundred miles, frequently forming large islands,
or expanding into lakes. Similar flood-plains are found on all its larger
tributaries.

Up from the ocean into this valley an immense tidal wave rolls, with a
bore, twice a day, forcing back the current of the Amazon 500 miles
and inundating a portion of the flood-plain.

In the early autumn the equatorial rise commences in the headwaters

of its tributaries, far south of the equator. The rains and melting snow
raise the streams, and these the waters of the Amazon. As the sun
crosses the equator and moves to the north the rain follows its course,
and the branches that have their source in the east and northeast add
their flood to the waters of the southerly branches. The flood in the
Amazon is thus continued for nearly six months, raising its waters from
30 to 50 feet. The channels are filled, and the flood-plains are
overflowed. The whole valley becomes a net-work of navigable waters,
with islands and channels and lakes innumerable, forming a great
inland sea, which the Brazilians call the Mediterranean of America. The
upland, though only a little above the flood-plain, is rarely overflowed.

The plants and animals of the flood-plain were formerly considered as

distinct from those of the upland as are the plants and animals of
Europe from those of America; but later investigations show that there
is but little difference between the species.

The sea breeze blows up the valley about a thousand miles. Then for
1500 miles the atmosphere is stagnant and sultry; the climate is that
of a permanent vapor bath. The dense foliage forms dark, lofty vaults
which the sunlight never penetrates, and over all hangs a perpetual
mist. The abundance and beauty of vegetation increases, and the trees
which at the mouth of the river blossom only once a year, here bloom
and bear fruit all the year round.

Many great rivers run into the Amazon from the north and the south,
most of them navigable, for many hundred miles. The Madeira, its
greatest tributary, after running 2000 miles, empties into the king of
rivers, without making any perceptible difference in its width or depth.

This mighty current, rushing into the ocean, meets the equatorial
current and for over one hundred miles keeps on nearly a straight
course, when the stronger and mightier oceanic current deflects it to
the north. At from 200 to 300 miles from land, the sea is strongly
tinged, and in April and May has nearly the clay-yellow hue of the
Amazon. And even further north, about 400 miles from its mouth, the
naturalist on the Amazon tells us, "we passed numerous patches of
floating grass mingled with tree trunks and withered foliage; among
these I espied many fruits of the Amazonian palm. And this was the
last I saw of the Amazon."

The Rio de la Plata.

The La Plata, the outlet of the waters of central South America, is

formed by the union of the Uruguay and Parana, about 150 miles from
the ocean; a little lower down, at Montevideo, it is 62 miles wide and
widens rapidly to the Atlantic, where it discharges more water than all
the rivers of Europe. The tributaries of the Parana are fan-shaped. Its
most eastern branches rise in the mountains of Brazil, within seventy
miles of the Atlantic ocean; and 1500 miles away, on the other side of
the continent, its most western tributaries rise only 125 miles from the
Pacific.

Steamers ascend the Parana, Paraguay and Cuyaba, 2100 miles to

Cuyaba, and the river with its branches is navigable for 5000 miles.

The San Francisco.

The San Francisco, about 1800 miles long, rises near Rio de Janeiro
and flows north about 1200 miles between parallel ranges of
mountains, then turns east and forces its way through the coast range
to the Atlantic ocean. It runs through the gold and diamond regions of
Brazil, and has a considerable population along its banks. It has many
falls and rapids, and considerable slack-water navigation.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION.

In Asia, the different countries have natural boundaries; the people,

soil and climate of one country are unlike those of others. In Europe
there are few natural boundaries, though different races inhabit the
several states.

In South America only one dominant race is found, and though natural
boundaries exist, yet they do not serve as boundaries to the different
states, other than Venezuela and Guiana. Venezuela and Guiana are
watered by the Orinoco and by several rivers that flow from the
Amazonian mountains to the ocean. The whole coast is low and fertile,
but hot and unhealthy. The principal product is sugar, raised by
negroes and coolies. The interior is sultry and thickly wooded; it is
inhabited by Indian tribes, the principal of which are the cannibal
Caribs, and by negroes as uncivilized as any of the tribes in Africa.
Guiana is controlled by the English, French, and Dutch. Cayenne, the
prison for French convicts, is the capital of French Guiana.

Colombia and Ecuador occupy the northwestern part of South America.

They are situated on both sides of the Andes, and have every variety
of climate. The country is well watered; fertile but unhealthy on the
coast, fertile and healthy on the elevated plains, cold and barren on
the mountains.

In Brazil, besides the Amazon, La Plata and San Francisco, there are
several large rivers with fertile valleys; but occasional droughts,
sometimes lasting for two years, will prevent portions of Brazil from
becoming densely inhabited.

On the Pacific coast south of Ecuador, the rainfall becomes less and
less. For three thousand miles along the coast of Peru and Chili there is
no natural harbor; a plain from ten to fifty miles in width extends from
the Pacific to the foot-hills of the Andes. The Antarctic current runs
along this coast; the southeasterly winds blow over it on to the land
and cool the air; but as the winds are of low temperature their scanty
vapor is dissipated by the heat radiated from the land, and not a drop
of rain refreshes the thirsty soil. Many mountain torrents run from the
snow-clad summits of the Andes, and the beauty of their narrow
valleys forms a grateful contrast to the dry and barren sands of the
plain.

In the southern part of Chili and in that part formerly called Patagonia,
rain is abundant and the country is fertile.

The longest stretch of low and comparatively level land to be found in

the world extends through the center of South America. A boat starting
from the Caribbean sea could sail up the Orinoco over a thousand
miles, then down the Casquiare, which runs from the Orinoco into the
Rio Negro, down that river to the Amazon, up the Amazon to the
Madeira, then up that river and one of its branches through Brazil and
Bolivia, and with a short portage of six and a half miles to one of the
branches of the Paraguay, down the Paraguay and La Plata to the
ocean.

The level land crosses the La Plata and continues southward through
the Argentine Republic and Patagonia to the Straits of Magellan. Within
this plain lie all the interior of Venezuela and Brazil, a part of Bolivia, all
Paraguay, Uruguay, and the Argentine Republic. The pampas resemble
our prairies, but run from north to south, while the prairies run from
east to west.

The streams in the plain south of the valley of the La Plata rise in the
Andes and flow southeastward to the Atlantic.

THE ABORIGINES.

The aborigines of America, except the Esquimaux, are unlike the

natives of other countries; the most marked difference is in their
language. They are divided into a number of tribes differing from each
other in some respects, yet with manners, customs and religious
beliefs generally similar.

In South America there are more than one hundred distinct languages,
and two thousand dialects. About five or six million Indians have as
many dialects as are found among the 800,000,000 inhabitants of
Europe and Asia. Their languages are polysynthetic, being of a higher
type than the agglutinative languages. In the polysynthetic tongue the
substantive, adjective and verb are joined or combined, and oftentimes
a whole sentence will be comprised in a single word.

The natives in the valleys of the Orinoco and Amazon are forced to
cultivate a little ground on the flood-plains, as the forests are thick and
impenetrable. They live principally on the fruit of the palm (of which
there are five hundred varieties), cocoa and bananas, fish and turtles.
There are no roads or paths through the forests except the numerous
channels of the rivers, called igarapes or furos. The tribes on the
pampas live principally on game and wild cattle.

Humboldt tells us that the navigator on the Orinoco sees with surprise
at night the palm trees illuminated by large fires. From the trunks of
these trees are suspended the habitations of a tribe of Indians, who
make their fires on mats hung in the air and filled with moist clay. The
same palm tree furnishes also food and wine and clothing, and thus
supplies every want and even the luxuries of life.

The Indian race as a whole is believed to be superior to both the negro

and the Malay, as neither of those races has ever attained to the
civilization of the Incas of Peru or of the Indians of Mexico and the
Aztecs of Central America. Many of their myths and folk tales are
common, not only to the Indians of one part of the country, but also to
other tribes in distant parts of the continent, and even to the negroes
of Africa, and the Arabs of upper Egypt. All the tribes on the continent
have substantially the same habits of life, the same methods of
warfare, the same general characteristics, and a language built
substantially on the same plan.
From these observations it might seem that the Indian tribes of South
America were allied to those of Africa or to the Malays, but on further
consideration the similarity seems due rather to a like stage of
civilization than to identity of race.

THE INCAS OF PERU.

In crossing from Arequipa in Peru to La Paz in Bolivia, the road ascends

the Andes, makes a slight descent into the barren, desolate valley
between the Andes and Cordilleras, crosses Lake Titicaca, and then
descends to La Paz. Lake Titicaca, the largest lake of South America, is
on a plateau between twelve and thirteen thousand feet in height, the
most elevated table land on the globe, excepting Thibet. This lake is
surrounded by lofty, snow-clad mountains, the highest of which is
Illampa, 22,300 feet in height.

On this lake are the remains of the most ancient civilization of South
America. Cyclopean ruins of temples and fortresses stand as perpetual
monuments of a vanished culture; when and by whom they were
erected, we know not; their builders left no other record of their
existence. The wandering Indians told the first Spaniards that they
existed before the sun shone in the heavens. From one of the rocky
islands of Lake Titicaca, about the year 1000 or 1100, the Sun, parent
of mankind and giver of every good gift, taking compassion on the
degraded condition of the Indians, sent two of his children, Manco
Capac and Mama Oello Huaco, to gather the wandering tribes into
communities, to teach them the arts of civilized life and to inculcate
the worship of the Sun. From Lake Titicaca, this brother and sister,
husband and wife, went down the valley to Cuzco, where they were
bidden to found an empire. Manco Capac was thus the first Inca. There
were ten or twelve Incas before the conquest of Peru. Their conquests
extended through the entire valley of the Cordilleras, until over four
hundred tribes, with a population of many millions, became subject to
their dominion.
The territory of the Incas extended from the southern part of Chili
northward into Colombia, beyond Quito, a distance of two thousand
miles, and west to the Pacific Ocean. On the eastern slope of the
Cordilleras, toward the great plain of the Amazon, the Incas met a
stronger and more savage people, with whom they were in constant
warfare. In the several passes of the Cordilleras they constructed
fortifications to protect their borders and prevent invasion.

The capital of the territory, Cuzco, was situated in a beautiful valley ten
thousand feet above the sea. Amidst the Alps, such a valley would be
buried in eternal snow, but within the tropics it enjoys a perpetual
spring. Here the Incas loved to dwell, and remains of immense
fortresses, palaces and temples, testify to their power and culture, and
to the number of their subjects. Tens of thousands of laborers must
have been required to construct such edifices. When we reflect that
these people had no beasts of burden except the llama, which could
only carry light loads, and no mechanical means for transporting the
vast blocks of stone used in constructing these buildings, we are
astonished at what they accomplished. The pyramids of Egypt are not
more wonderful.

Great highways were built, running north, south and west, connecting
different parts of the Empire. One followed the valley between the
Cordilleras and Andes to Quito, another crossed the Andes and
followed the sea-coast north and south to the extreme limits of their
country. All traveling was on foot. Large and comfortable tambos, or
inns, were erected every few miles, and larger ones at the end of a
day's journey. Couriers were stationed at regular intervals, each of
whom had his allotted station, between which and the next it was his
duty to run at a certain pace bearing his message, and on his approach
to the next station he signalled to the next chasquir, as the couriers
were called, to be ready to carry forward the message. In this way, it is
said, about 150 miles a day were made.

These couriers traveled more quickly than the mail-carriers of Europe,

and the means of communication were then, Squier tells us, far better
than they are to-day. Many of these old tambos are still maintained.
One in which Squier spent the night was 180 feet in length, with rooms
forming three sides of a court.

The country of the Incas had every variety of climate, and the products
were those of every part of the new world. On the coast, perpetual
summer reigns, with all the variety and beauty of tropical vegetation.
At a higher elevation, the trees are always green, and while one kind
sheds its blossoms and ripens its fruit another is budding and unfolding
its bloom. Meantime, on the top of the mountains is eternal winter. In
some places, as at Potosi, the changes of temperature are frequent
and extremes of heat and cold are experienced in a single day. The
weather in the early morning is frosty; in the forenoon, mild and
balmy; in the afternoon, scorching, and in the evening, cool and
delicious.

On the Pacific slope of the Andes, reservoirs were constructed, from

which irrigating canals watered the whole plain now lying desolate and
barren.

The conquered tribes were incorporated into the nation and became
the people of the Incas. If the conquered tribe was strong and warlike,
some of its members were removed to distant parts of the country and
were replaced by the inhabitants of those regions, to whom privileges
and immunities were given as compensation for the change of home.
The conquered tribes quickly realized the benefits of the rule of the
Incas and became faithful and loyal subjects.

The government of the Incas was a paternal despotism controlling the

most minute affairs of daily life. Knowledge, the Incas taught, "was not
intended for the people, but for those of generous ability, for it would
render persons of low degree vain and arrogant."

The Incas established a communal system similar to that of Russia.

One-third of the land belonged to the Inca, one-third to the priests of
the Sun, and the remainder to the people, who were required to
cultivate the land of the Inca and of the priests, as well as their own.
The land was divided among the families yearly, according to their
number. Every newly married couple received a stated portion which
was increased as the family increased.

Their only means of writing was by a cord, called quippus, about two
feet long, composed of threads of different colors twisted together,
from which a quantity of smaller threads hung like a knotted fringe.
The colors denoted sensible objects or sometimes abstract ideas,
though the principal use of the quippus was for arithmetical purposes.

The civilization of the Incas appears to have been of a higher order

than that of the Mexicans. It is not probable that hieroglyphics were in
use among any of the South American Indians, though it is said that
traces of a pictorial alphabet have been found. The people were
contented and happy, although they were deprived of personal liberty,
although their daily life was supervised by their rulers, and although
they held only communal rights of property. They had neither ambition
nor strong love of country.

When Pizarro landed in Peru there were two Incas, one at Cuzco and
the other at Quito, and the bitter conflict which was raging between
them made the conquest of both easy. Pizarro had only 180 followers,
but they were Spanish cavaliers, carrying fire-arms; and with this small
force he overturned the Incas and enslaved the people. The
descendants of the Quichuas, or the people of the Incas, still inhabit
the land—a mild, apathetic, servile and dejected race. It is said that
after the conquest the women put on a black mantle, which they have
worn ever since, as perpetual mourning for the last of the Incas.

There are a few descendants of Spaniards in Peru, but the population

consists chiefly of the descendants of the Quichuas and mixed
Spaniards and Quichuas. The Peruvians of to-day are less civilized than
those who lived 400 years ago; they have less liberty and are poorer.

DISCOVERY OF THE AMAZON.

Great rivers have usually been discovered and explored by ascending

them from the ocean to their sources; the Congo and the Amazon
were explored downward from their sources to the ocean.

Three hundred and fifty years ago, Gonzalo Pizarro, then governor of
Upper Peru, heard of a land of silver and gold, spices and precious
stones; a land where spring reigned and all tropical fruits abounded.
He determined to follow the little stream which, rising in the Andes,
near Quito, flowed eastward; to explore the country, and find the
happy land. He set out with 350 Cavaliers, mounted on Spanish horses
and attended by 4000 Indian slaves.

The first part of the route was easy; the little stream soon became a
river, then broadened into the Napo; but the farther they went, the
slower and more difficult was their progress as they passed from the
open forest and the cool and invigorating breezes of the Andes into the
sultry valley of the Napo. Their way now led through forests more
dense, darker and more impenetrable than those described by Stanley,
for the valley of the Amazon is richer than the valley of the Congo.
Natives armed with poisoned arrows opposed their progress; food
became scarce, treachery was on every side, and their number
gradually diminished by death and by desertion of the slaves.

The natives told them of a greater river than the Napo which they
would find a few days' voyage farther down. This river, they said,
flowed through a more populous and richer country, where food was
abundant and gold was found in every stream. Pizarro determined to
build a bark and to send Orellano as commander to find and return
with food and succor. For this vessel, the forests furnished the timber;
the shoes of the horses were converted into nails, distilled gum was
used for pitch, and the garments of the soldiers were a substitute for
oakum. In two months, a brigantine was launched, the first European
vessel that ever floated on the waters of the Amazon. The Napo grew
broader and deeper as the little company rapidly floated down, until it
became a mile wide. Three days after they left Pizarro, they saw before
them a river, many times larger than the Napo, which the Indians
called Parana-tinega, King of Waters; but we call it the Amazon. There
was no cultivation, little food could be obtained, and the Indians were
hostile instead of friendly. What was to be done? Behind them was the
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