In general we may say that the soil is extremely fertile and that the country contains wonderfully rich deposits of minerals of almost every kind. The immense store of precious metals found on this continent, some assert the greatest in any portion of the globe, was an important factor in its settlement; yet for true national prosperity the humbler coal and iron are of more value. Water power is also of material service. In these three important elements of wealth South America is not deficient, though her resources in these lines are but slightly developed. Although many settlements were made in South America more than half a century earlier than our first at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, the population is much smaller than that of North America, the approximate number of inhabitants being 60,000,000 for South America and 150,000,000 for North; manifestly the development of her countries has been less rapid. For this there are obvious reasons. The tropical climate of the north coast and of much of Brazil might seem less attractive to residents of temperate Europe and less conducive to strenuous labor on the part of those who came; the cooler regions of the south were more remote than the lands of North America. Moreover, the Spanish colony promising the greatest wealth, Peru, which at the same time was the seat of government, was indeed difficult of access, presenting besides, stupendous obstacles to interior travel. In view of these facts it seems wonderful that so many settlements were made on the west coast and that so great a degree of culture was there maintained. Growth was further hampered by heavy taxes, merciless restrictions on trade, and other regulations by the home governments, almost until the countries achieved their independence. During the century of their freedom most of the Republics have suffered from revolutions and other troubles, but in recent years several have enjoyed a rapid development with considerable immigration. All now present opportunities of various kinds for investment by capitalists, for general trade, and for other forms of business. Such opportunities, as well as the conditions of living, vary greatly in different countries and in localities of the same country.