The Port Of Arica, Formerly So Famous For The Great Quantities Of
Silver Shipped From Thence, Is Now Much Diminished In Its Riches, And
Appears Mostly A Heap Of Ruins, Except The Church Of St Mark, And Two Or
Three More, Which Still Look Tolerably Well.
What helps to give it a
very desolate appearance is, that the houses near the sea are only
covered with mats.
Being situated on the sea-shore, in an open
roadstead, it has no fortifications of any kind to defend or command the
anchorage, the Spaniards thinking it sufficiently secured by the heavy
surf, and the rocky bottom near the shore, which threaten inevitable
destruction to any European boats, or other embarkation, except what is
expressly contrived for the purpose, being the balsas already
mentioned. To obstruct the landing of an enemy, the Spaniards had
formerly a fort and entrenchments, flanking the storecreeks; but being
built of unburnt bricks, it is now fallen to ruins. In 1680, when
Dampier was here, being repulsed before the town, the English landed at
the creek of Chacota, to the south of the head-land, whence they
marched over the mountain (Gordo) to plunder Arica. Earthquakes also,
which are frequent here, have at last ruined the town, and Arica is now
no more than a little village of about 150 families, most of them
negroes, mulattoes, and Indians, with very few whites. On the 26th
November, 1605,[266] the sea, violently agitated by an earthquake,
suddenly overflowed, and broke down the greatest part of the town, and
the ruins of its streets are to be seen at this day.
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