PORTUGUESE SETTLEMENTS IN SOUTH-AMERICA. THIS BRASIL. HIS territory is fituated between the equator and 35° fouth latitude, and 60° weft longitude; it is about one thousand five hundred and fixty miles in length, and one thousand in breadth; but, meafuring along the coaft, it is two thoufand miles long, and is bordered with mountains that open from time to time, and form good harbours where veffels may lie in safety. It is bounded by the mouth of the river Amazon and the Atlantic. ocean on the north; and by the fame ocean on the eaft; on the fouth by the river Plata; on the weft by moraffes, lakes, torrents, rivers, and mountains, which feparate it from Amazonia and the Spanish poffeffions. On the coaft are three fmall islands, where ships touch for provifions on their voyage to the South feas, viz. Fernando, St. Barbaro and St. Catherine's. It was accidentally difcovered by the Portuguese in 1500. Emanuel, king of Portugal, had equipped a fquadron of thirteen fail, carrying twelve hundred foldiers and failors destined for the Eaft-Indies, under the conduct of Peter Alvarez Cabral. This admiral, quitting Lisbon on the 9th of March, 1500, ftruck out to fea to avoid the coaft of Guinea, and fteered his courfe fouthward, that he might the more eafily turn the cape of Good Hope. On the 24th of April he got fight of the continent of South-America, which he judged to be a large island at fome diftance from the coaft of Africa. Coasting along for fome time, he ventured to fend a boat on fhore, and was aftonifhed to obferve the inhabitants entirely different from the Africans, Africans in features, hair and complexion. It was found, however, impracticable to feize upon any of the Indians, who retired with great celerity to the mountains on the approach of the Portuguese; yet, as the failors had discovered a good harbour, the admiral thought proper to come to an anchor, and called the bay Puerto Seguro. Next day he fent another boat on fhore, and had the good fortune to lay hold on two of the natives, whom he clothed and treated kindly, and then difmiffed, to make a proper report to their countrymen. The ftratagem had the defired effect. The Indians, having heard the relation of the prifoners, immediately crowded to the fhore, finging, dancing, and founding horns of different kinds; which induced Cabral to land, and take folemn poffeffion in the name of his Portuguese majefty. As foon as the court of Lisbon had ordered a furvey to be taken of the harbours, bays, rivers and coafts, of Brafil, and was convinced that the country afforded neither gold nor filver, they held it in fuch contempt, that they fent thither none but condemned criminals and abandoned women. Two ships were fent every year from Portugal, to carry the refufe of the kingdom to this new world, and to bring home parrots, and woods for the dyers and cabinet-makers. Ginger was afterwards added, but foon after prohibited, left it should interfere with the fale of the fame article from India. In 1548, the Jews, many of whom had taken refuge in Portugal, beginning to be perfecuted by the inquifition, were ftripped of their poffeffions, and banifled to Brafil. Here, however, they were not entirely forfaken: many of them found kind relations and faithful friends; others, who were known to be men of probity and understanding, obtained money in advance from merchants of different nations, with whom they had formerly had tranfactions. By the affistance of fome enterprifing men they were enabled to cultivate sugar-canes, which they first procured from the island of Madeira. Sugar, which till then had been ufed only in medicine, became an article of luxury; princes and great men were all eager to procure themselves this new fpecies of indulgence. This circumftance proved favourable to Brafil, and enabled it to extend its fugar plantations. The court of Lisbon, notwithstanding its prejudices, began to be fenfible, that a colony might be beneficial to the mother country, without producing gold or filver; and this fettlement, which had been wholly left to the capricious management of the colonists, was now thought to deferve fome kind of attention; and accordingly Thomas Thomas de Souza was fent thither, in 1549, to regulate and superintend it. This able governor began by reducing these men, who had always lived in a state of anarchy, into proper fubordination, and bringing their scattered plantations closer together; after which he applied himself to acquire fome information refpecting the natives, with whom he knew he must be neceffarily engaged either in traffic or war. This it was no easy matter to accomplish. Brafil was full of fmall nations, fome of which inhabited the forests, and others lived in the plains and along the rivers: fome had fettled habitations, but the greater number of them led a roving life, and moft of them had no intercourfe with each other. It is not to be fuppofed, that fuch a people would be at all difpofed to fubmit to the yoke which the Portuguese wanted to put upon them. At first they only declined all intercourse with these strangers; but finding themselves pursued in order to be made flaves, and to be employed in the labours of the field, they took the refolution to murder and devour all the Europeans they could feize upon. The friends and relations of the favages that were taken prisoners alfo ventured to make frequent attempts to rescue them, and were fometimes fuccefsful; fo that the Portuguese were forced to attend to the double employments of la bour and war, Souza, by building San Salvador, gave a center to the colony; but the honour of fettling, extending, and making it really useful to the mother country, was referved for the Jefuits who attended him. These men, who for their arts of infinuation and addrefs have been equalled by none, difperfed themselves among the Indians. When any of the miffionaries were murdered, they were immediately replaced by others; and feeming to be inspired only with fentiments of peace and charity, the Indians, in procefs of time, grew not only familiar but paffionately fond of them. As the miffionaries were too few in number to tranfact all the bufinefs themfelves, they frequently deputed fome of the most intelligent Indians in their stead. These men, having distributed hatchets, knives and looking-glaffes, among the favages they met with, reprefented the Portuguese as a harmless, humane, and good fort of people. The profperity of the colony of Brafil, which was visible to all Europe, excited the envy of the French, Spaniards and Dutch fucceffively: the latter, indeed, bid faireft for the conqueft of the whole; their admiral Henry Lonk arrived, in the beginning of the year 1630, with forty-fix men of war, on the coast of Fernambucca, one of the largest and beft fortified captainfhips of thefe parts. He reduced it after several obftinate engagements, in which he was always victorious. The troops he left behind fubdued the captainships of Temaraca, Pareiba, and Rio Grande, in the years 1633, 1634, and 1635. Thefe, as well as Fernambucca, furnished annually a large quantity of fugar, a great deal of wood for dying, and other commodities. The Hollanders were fo elated with the acquifition of this wealth, which flowed to Amfterdam inftead of Lisbon, that they determined to conquer all the Brafils, and entrusted Maurice of Nassau with the conduct of this enterprife. That general reached the place of his deftination in the beginning of the year 1637; he found the foldiers fo well difciplined, the commanders fuch experienced men, and fo much readiness in all to engage, that he directly took the field. He was fucceffively oppofed by Albuquerque, Banjola, Lewis Rocca de Borgia, and the Brafilian Cameron, the idol of his people, paflionately fond of the Portuguefe, brave, active, cunning, and who wanted no qualification neceffary for a general, but to have learned the art of war under able commanders. These several chiefs exerted their utmost efforts to defend the poffeffions that were under their protection; but their endeavours proved ineffectual. The Dutch feized upon the captainfhips of Siara, Seregippe, and the greater part of that of Bahia. Seven of the fifteen provinces which compofed the colony had already submitted to them, and they flattered themselves that one or two campaigns would make them masters of the reft of their enemies poffeffions in that part of America, when they were fuddenly checked by the revolution happening on the banifhment of Philip IV. and placing the duke of Braganza on the throne. After this, the Portuguese recovering their spirits, foon drove the Dutch out of Brafil, and have continued masters of it ever fince. The country of Brafil is divided into the following provinces, or captainfhips, as they are called, viz. Paria, Maragnano, Siara, Rio Grande, Pareiba, Tamarica, Fernambucca, Seregippe, Bahia, Porto Seguro, Efperito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, Angra, St. Vincent, and Del Rey. the port The harbours of Brafil are Panambuco, All Saints, Rio Janeiro, of St. Vincent, the harbour of Gabriel, and the port of St. Salvador; and with respect to rivers, there are a great number of noble streams, which unite with the rivers Amazon and Plata, besides others which fall into the Atlantic ocean. The The climate of Brafil has been described by two eminent naturaa lifts, Pifo and Margrave, who obferved it with a philofophical accuracy, to be temperate and mild, when compared with that of Africa; they afcribe this chiefly to the refreshing wind which blows continu ally from the fea. The air is not only cool, but chilly through the night, so that the natives kindle a fire every evening in their huts. As the rivers in this country annually overflow their banks, and leave a fort of flime upon the lands, the foil here must be in many places amazingly rich; and this corresponds with the best information upon the fubject. The vegetable productions are Indian corn, fugar canes, tobacco, indigo, hides, ipecacuana, balfam, Brafil wood, which is of a red colour, hard and dry, and is chiefly used in dying, but not the red of the best kind. Here is alfo the yellow fustic, of use in dying yellow, and a beautiful piece of fpeckled wood, made ufe of in cabinet work. Here are five different forts of palm trees, fome curious ebony, and a great variety of cotton trees. This country abounds in horned cattle, which are hunted for their hides only, twenty thousand being fent annually into Europe. There is alfo a plenty of deers, hares, and other game. Amongst the wild beasts found here, are tigers, porcupines, janouveras, and a fierce animal, fomewhat like a greyhound; monkeys, floths, and the topiraffou, a creature between a bull and an ass, but without horns, and entirely harmless, the flesh is very good, and has the flavour of beef. There is a numberless variety of fowl, wild and tame, in this country; among thefe are turkeys, fine white hens and ducks. The remarkable birds are the humming bird; the lankima, fometimes called the unicorn bird, from its having a horn, two or three inches long, growing out of its forehead; the guira, famous for often changing its colour, being firft black, then afh-coloured, next white, afterwards fcarlet, and laft of all crimson; which colours grow richer and deeper the longer the bird lives. Among the abundance of fith with which the feas, lakes, and rivers of this country are ftored, is the globe fish, fo called from its form, which is fo befet with fpines like a hedgehog, that it bids defiance to all fifh of prey. But the most remarkable creature is the fea bladder, fo called because it greatly resembles one, and fwims on the furface of the waves; the infide is filled with air, except a finall quantity of water, that ferves to poife it. The skin is very thin and transparent, and like a bubble raised in the water, reflects all the colours of the sky. Brafil breeds a great variety of ferpents and venomous creatures, among which are the Indian falaman der |