THE AMERICAS: The Curse of Philip V

American statesmen last week had good reason to curse the Kings of Spain for their cavalier treatment of their dependencies. It was not until 1740 that Philip V determined the boundary between his viceroyalties of Santa Fe and of Lima. This is the line which Ecuador now claims as her southern boundary. Peru, claiming a boundary far to the north and west, bases her case on the fact that when her constitution was proclaimed in 1821 three of the four disputed provinces adhered to it.

Inasmuch as innumerable Peruvians and Ecuadorians never got anywhere near settling this dispute, American statesmen...

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