1812: COCHABAMBA TO GUATEMALA. GUAYAQUIL TRANSIT LETTER

Dr. James Mazepa

Scheduled packet service between Guayaquil, Audiencia of Quito, and Iztapa, Province of Guatemala, began on March 10, 1810.  Two 80 ton frigates were purchased to carry cargo and mail on this line. Mail for Guatemala was probably carried in a closed mail bag.  However, it has been suggested that most of the mail was off loaded at Realejo, Nicaragua, and sent overland to Guatemala. Further documentation is needed here.

The analysis of the letter is as follows:  The letter originated in Cochabamba, Intendencia of Charcas (now Bolivia) to Guatemala City, c. 1812.  The letter was sent via Oruro and La Paz to Lima.  From there it traveled north on the coastal highway to Guayaquil in the Audiencia of Quito, Ecuador, and placed on the packet.  The letter was rated 4½ reales, then rerated 5 reales, probably in La Paz, the correct rate for a double letter to Guatemala. 

A beautiful Ecuador transit letter and the only recorded letter from Bolivia to Guatemala in the Colonial period.