Though the cities are in general built in the most fertile districts of the kingdom, many of them might have been more conveniently situated for trade upon the banks of the navigable rivers; as is more particularly the case with those of recent erection.  The streets in all the cities are laid out in straight lines, intersecting each other at right angles, and are generally about forty feet wide.  The houses are mostly of one storey, yet are very commodious, are all whitewashed on the outside, and handsomely painted within, each being accommodated with a pleasant garden, irrigated by means of an aqueduct or canal, which likewise furnishes water for the use of the family.  Those houses which belong to the wealthier classes, particularly the nobility, are splendidly and tastefully furnished.  Noticing that old buildings of two stories had resisted the most violent earthquakes, many of the inhabitants have of late years ventured to construct their houses in the European manner, and to reside in upper rooms; employing bricks and stone in the construction of their new buildings, instead of clay hardened in the sun which was formerly supposed less liable to injury.  By this change the cities have a much handsomer appearance than formerly.  Cellars, sewers, and wells, were of old much more common than now; and the want of these may have contributed to render the buildings more secure from the effects of earthquakes.

The churches in Chili are in general more remarkable for their wealth than their architecture; but the cathedral and the church of the Dominicans in St Jago are both built of stone and in a handsome style.  The cathedral was recently constructed at the royal expence, under the direction of the bishop Don Manuel Alday.  The plan was drawn by two English architects, who superintended the work.  It is built in a masterly style, and extends 384 French feet in length.  When about half finished, the architects refused to proceed unless their wages were augmented; but two Indians who had worked under the Englishmen had privately made themselves acquainted with every branch of the art, and offered to complete the fabric, which they did with as much skill as their masters.  The following edifices in the capital are also deserving of notice.  The barracks for the dragoons; the mint, lately built by a Roman architect; and the hospital for orphans, founded by the Marquis of Monte-pio, and endowed by the crown.

In consequence of the free trade lately granted to Chili, it is increasing in population with a rapidity proportional to the salubrity of its climate and the fertility of its soil.  The Europeans mostly consist of emigrants from the southern provinces of Spain, with a few French, English, and Italians.  The Creoles, or descendents of European settlers are still more numerous.  The character of that race, with some slight differences owing to climate and government, is similar to that of other American Creoles descended