Kitabı oku: «The History of the Revolutions of Portugal», sayfa 11
Carvalho, now made count d’Oeyras, had not, however, waited the execution of Malagrida, to banish the Jesuits from Portugal.46 That a religious order, which causes disturbances in the state, and enters into conspiracies, deserves banishment, and even capital punishment, no one will pretend to deny; but, on the other hand, may it not be alledged that the religious order which had rendered the most essential services to the state, and indeed to Christian countries in general, by instructing youth, and civilizing colonies, might better have been reformed, than entirely destroyed.
A conspiracy, which had been preceded by a revolution in America, attended by circumstances capable of overturning the mother country, and which was followed by the expulsion of the Jesuits, ended at last in a state of tranquillity, which it had cost too many sacrifices to obtain, not to employ every possible means to ensure its duration: but notwithstanding all the endeavours of the king and his minister, the Spaniards and French were determined to disturb it.
A Spanish army, composed of forty thousand men, entered Portugal in 1762; their progress, however, through that country was but very short; and by the assistance of the English, and the count de la Lippe, to whom the former had given the command of the Portugueze troops,47 an honourable peace was signed on the 10th of February in the following year: after which their quiet was only disturbed by some hostilities in America, which terminated very much in the same manner as the former ones, without the powers of Europe being engaged in the quarrel. The count d’Oeyras, afterwards created marquis de Pombal, never lost sight, even in the midst of all his difficulties, of his original plan of reforms and ameliorations. The greatest obstacles he had to encounter proceeded from Brazil, and the town of Oporto, from the inhabitants of which he had but little reason to expect opposition, since the measure to which they so strongly objected was shortly followed by an increase of their wine trade, which became twice as considerable as before.
Portugal being much more fruitful in vines than in corn, the king published an edict in 1765, commanding all the vines in the environs of the Tagus, Mondego and Vecha, to be rooted up, and the land sown with wheat.
The vineyards in the neighbourhood of Lisbon, Oeyras, and some other places, were, however, suffered to remain. By a former edict, of the month of October, 1761, twenty-two thousand writers or clerks employed in the different tribunals were reduced to only thirty-two persons. The minister, by a salutary law, which took place on the 25th of May, 1773, for ever abolished the odious distinction formerly existing in Portugal, between the old and new christians. The latter, composed of converted Jews and Moors, were always suspected of insincerity, and regarded in the kingdom as marked with infamy, and for ever separated from the other Christians, and incapable of acting in any capacity, either ecclesiastical or civil. The progress of learning also was a principal object in the marquis de Pombal’s system of improvement: he reformed the university of Coimbra; he converted on the 19th of May, 1766, the college occupied by the novices of the order of Jesus, and which was esteemed one of the finest buildings in Lisbon, into a school for the nobility: he likewise established other schools for children of all descriptions; and published a plan of public education, which, if properly followed, could not fail of restoring science and good morals throughout the whole of Portugal. He left no means untried to wrest from the hands of the English the different branches of commerce, of which they were become exclusive possessors. He set just bounds to the despotic authority of the holy office, which, by an edict of the 20th of May, 1769, became merely a royal tribunal, invested with no other power than what was transmitted to it by the sovereign, thus depriving it of all its odious privileges and pretensions; such as the form of its proceedings, and the absurd idea of uniting the authority of the pope and bishops to that of the king; whilst at the same time, it acknowledged no supreme chief but the pope alone. He patronised the arts, and caused a statue of Joseph the Ist to be erected to him. It was on the very day of its exhibition to the public eye, the day he justly esteemed the happiest of his life, that he discovered it had been marked for his destruction. The last melancholy satisfaction, in attending his master’s dying moments, together with the sixty millions of cruzadoes found in the royal treasury after his decease, formed a sufficient proof of the uprightness of his administration.
The reigning queen of Portugal, who was married in 1760, to her uncle, don Pedro,48 signalized her accession to the throne, by throwing open the prison gates, and causing the proceedings against the criminals concerned in the conspiracy of the 3d of September, 1758, to be revised; after which the greater part were restored to their former rights; though the examination which had taken place, rather confirmed their guilt, than proved their innocence. Far different was the action commenced against the marquis de Pombal, by the enemies of that able minister; for the proceedings which declared him criminal, and deserving of condign punishment, so evidently proved his innocence, and the injustice of such a sentence, that he was suffered to die quietly in his bed, at his country seat, whither he had some time retired, on the 5th of May, 1782.49
The health of the queen, on the demise of her husband, in 1786, was so much deranged, that the prince of Brazil took into his own hands the reins of government. This enlightened and prudent prince has neglected nothing to promote the national industry; he has encouraged literature, made commerce flourish, and even sometimes caused the Brazil gold to circulate again from England to Portugal. He has established so strict a police in Lisbon, that it is impossible for an assassin or conspirator, should such still exist, to escape the punishment due to his crimes. He has augmented the land forces, and invited the most experienced foreign officers to command them; and he has attended particularly to the navy, for which he has been justly rewarded. Pacific, and faithful to his allies, he has followed as exactly as possible the system of neutrality traced by his mother, who has ever been at peace with her neighbours, and never engaged in any of their wars, till she joined them in that declared against France at the commencement of the revolution: since which, the fate of Portugal has so entirely depended on that of Spain, that the fall of the one must necessarily be succeeded by the destruction of the other. How noble an instance of generosity then does the conduct of England afford, thus to fly to the relief of a country, which, though an ally, had so lately declared war against her?
At a moment when the royal family had been forced to quit Lisbon, when the French entered that capital, and indeed every other town and fortress in the kingdom; whilst the provinces of Portugal were dismembered by the same usurping hand which had disposed not only of the country, but of the crown of Spain, and whilst every thing seemed to announce to the Portugueze that they must no longer look up to the same masters, submit to the same laws, or form a separate state; at such a moment, I say, the victorious British arms came to their aid, changed their destiny, and opened a new field of glory to the descendants of Viriatus, and the fellow-soldiers of Sertorious; and who can doubt that success must attend their arms, if constantly faithful to their generous allies, they never cease to remember, that it was in the plains of Lusitania, where the first standard of a free people was displayed against the masters of the universe; that they, in their turn, and in the same country, planted the last colours of their expiring liberty, and that one and both fell a sacrifice to perfidy,50 but never were conquered by the force of arms!
DESCRIPTION OF BRAZIL
Nos patriæ fines et dulcia linquimus arva,
Nos patriam fugimus…
Virg. I. Eclog.
BRAZIL, which from a variety of circumstances, has ever been regarded an interesting country, is now become doubly so, from being the present residence of the court of Portugal; and as such, we are induced to give a description of it, which, from the nature and size of this work, must necessarily be a short one.
Cabral, in the year 1500, first landed on the coast of Brazil, and immediately gave notice to the court of Lisbon of the discovery he had made. The Portugueze, however, were for a length of time very indifferent to the acquisition of so fine a country. This negligence may in a great degree be attributed to the want of civilized inhabitants, and opulent towns, which the Portugueze had been accustomed to meet with in Africa and Asia; whilst the natives of Brazil consisted of different colonies of savages, dwelling in miserable huts, situated either in forests, on the banks of rivers, or on the sea-coast; and subsisting entirely on the produce of the chace, or on fish caught by themselves. The heat of the climate made cloathing not only unnecessary, but absolutely superfluous. The men and women equally painted their bodies, ornamented their necks and arms with necklaces and bracelets of white bones, and adorned their heads with feathers. The Brazilians are nearly of the same stature as the Europeans, but in general not so robust. Their principal arms consisted of clubs and arrows; their wars were not frequent, but cruel; and dreadful was the fate of those prisoners who fell into their hands without being wounded, since they constantly served as a repast to their merciless conquerors.
The French, Dutch, and Portugueze successively formed settlements on the coast; but, in the end, the latter became masters not only of the coast, but of the interior of the country. Let us now take a cursory view of the manner in which the inhabitants have been treated, and the laws by which they have been governed.
The Brazilians have not always experienced the same fate; and several years elapsed, and many contests took place before the rigour of their situation was in the smallest degree softened. King Sebastian was the first who bestowed a thought on mitigating the sufferings of so interesting a part of his subjects. He prohibited their being publicly sold in the markets, and sent as slaves to the plantations. Prisoners of war were indeed excepted, but not unless the war in which they were taken was proved to be a just one.
Philip the IId published different ordinances in the years 1595, 1605, and 1606, by which he declared Indians of every description perfectly free; but this sovereign being informed that his statutes had been of no avail, confirmed and strengthened them by a new one in 1611, whereby he decreed that the severest punishments should be inflicted on whosoever should presume to infringe them. This edict, unhappily, was equally ineffectual with the former ones; as was also another, given by the court of Lisbon in 1647, at the repeated and pressing solicitations of the Jesuit missionaries at Brazil, by which the prohibition of enslaving the Brazilians was again formally renewed; but that people never were really emancipated till the year 1755, when the Portugueze government publicly declared them citizens, invested with the same rights and privileges as their conquerors, capable of aspiring to the same distinctions, allowed to be educated at the same schools, and even to the university of Coimbra.
This event, however, was far from inspiring those sentiments of joy and gratitude, which might naturally have been expected from a people thus raised from the degrading state of servitude, to all the advantages of freedom: this may probably be, in a great measure, attributed to their expectations having been so frequently raised and disappointed, that they could not yet place any confidence in the declarations of the Portugueze. It was therefore necessary, to complete so great a revolutionary operation, that the captainships, and the extensive domains in possession of different individuals, who were in fact so many petty sovereigns, should be taken out of their hands, and placed in those of government. This being effected, a new partition took place. A particular governor was appointed for every captainship or government; and the whole of the Brazils was under the command of a lord lieutenant, or viceroy. Though these different governors are obliged to submit to the general laws enacted by the viceroy; there are some amongst them, particularly those whose governments are situated near the gold and diamond mines, who receive their orders immediately from Lisbon. These appointments are only for three years, but they are seldom changed in less than six; and during that time, they are not allowed to marry in the country, to enter into any branch of commerce, or to accept presents on any pretence whatsoever; their salary being from twelve to twenty thousand crusadoes, which are thought sufficient to answer every possible expense. On quitting their employments, commissaries appointed by the mother country examine into their administration; and colonists, with citizens of every description, are allowed to carry in their complaints, and bring forward their accusations against them. If it so happens, that they die during their office, their governments are committed to the joint care of the bishop, the officer who holds the highest rank in the army, and the first magistrate. It may indeed be said, with the greatest truth, that such is the vigilance with which the administration of men in power in Brazil is observed at present, that few, if any, succeed in making great fortunes.
The jurisprudence of this country is precisely the same as in Portugal. Each district has its separate judge; from whose sentence appeals may be made to the tribunals of Bahia, Rio Janeiro, or even to that of Lisbon. The provinces of Para and Maragnhon are the only ones not subject to the jurisdictions of Bahia and Rio Janeiro; their causes being submitted on appeal to the tribunal of Lisbon: in criminal cases, indeed, the process is rather different.
Trifling offences are punished, without appeal, by the judges of each captainship; but crimes of a deeper dye come under the cognizance of the governor, who is assisted by assessors nominated by legal authority. A particular tribunal is appointed to receive and take charge of the property of all deceased persons, whose heirs may be beyond seas at the time of their death; for which they receive five per cent. of the said property. This establishment, though an excellent one, is subject to a great inconvenience; since creditors in Brazil can only be paid in Europe, which not only occasions delay, but is frequently very prejudicial to the affairs of the parties concerned.
Every town, and indeed every large village, has a municipality, which attends to the small concerns entrusted to its care, and regulates (under the inspection of the governor, indeed) the trifling taxes necessary to be laid on. This municipality has the very essential privilege of complaining to the king himself against the conduct of the chief of the colony, the governor, and the four magistrates appointed to manage the finances in each government. The accounts are given in every year to the royal treasury at Lisbon, where they undergo a very strict examination.
The army is on the same footing in Brazil as in Portugal. The mulattoes and negroes are distinguished by particular standards; but the native Indians serve in battle with the whites. In the year 1780, the forces consisted of 15,899 regular troops, and 21,850 militia. On the late arrival of the queen, she found the regulars augmented to 20,000, and the militia might very easily be raised to 40,000.
The colonists have, equally with the Portugueze, preserved the privilege of having slaves on their estates; but the masters are enjoined by the law to find them in provisions; this, however, is attended by very little expense; a small portion of land being consigned to them, which they cultivate themselves, and which not only supplies them with necessaries, but very frequently with conveniences. The laws in favour of slaves have been carried still farther; since those possessed of a certain sum of money are allowed to purchase their liberty; and in this case they can oblige their masters to accept the proffered sum; but they are seldom forced to proceed to such lengths, since nothing can be more rare than a master’s refusing to comply with the terms prescribed by the law. There cannot be a stronger proof of the present mild treatment of slaves in Brazil, treatment so different from what they experience in the other European colonies, than the very few who think of escaping from that immense country. The blacks, when once freed from slavery, are allowed the rights of citizens, in the same manner as the mulattoes; neither the one nor the other can enter the order of priesthood, or municipality: if they become soldiers, they cannot rise to the rank of officers, unless in their own particular batallions. They have, however, the privilege of intermarrying with white women.
It is impossible to take a view of the situation of Brazil, its extent, climate and production, without perceiving that no colony ever merited more particularly the attention and protection of the mother country.
Brazil, thus happily situated, is 875 leagues in length, from north to south, and 425 broad, from east to west. The Portugueze settlements are scattered on the coast, and extend in a circuit of nearly 1500 leagues; they seldom penetrate more than 50 or 66 leagues into the interior of the country; except, indeed, down some rivers, on the banks of which they sometimes advance more than 400 leagues from the sea shore.
The limits of this Work will not permit us to enter into a minute description of the various productions of so extensive a country, and so fertile a soil; nor, indeed, of the different settlements successively formed by the Portugueze, we must therefore refer the curious reader to the adjoining account, which we flatter ourselves will not be thought uninteresting, and as such meet with the approbation of an indulgent public.
NAMES
OF THE DIFFERENT
GOVERNMENTS IN BRAZIL,
WITH THEIR
Boundaries, Population, and Commerce
I. PARA
The most northern government in Brazil, comprising that part of Guiana which belongs to Portugal, together with that course of the river of the Amazons from confluence of the two rivers Madera and Mamora; it also contains to the east the whole of the country which extends to the river Tocantin. This province is the most barren and the most unwholesome of any in that part of the world.
Population
4,108 Whites; – 9,919 Blacks and Mulattoes: – 34,844 Indians.
Principal Towns
Belem, on the banks of the Amazon, is twenty leagues from the main ocean. The port is called Para, and is of difficult access. The vessels, on entering the harbour, anchor in a muddy bottom, where the water is four, five, or six fathoms deep. This town is situated thirteen feet above the level of the sea; and was founded by Caldeira in 1615: it is defended by a strong fort, named Notre Dame de las Merces, erected at the mouth of the Muja river. The town contains near ten thousand inhabitants, besides the garrison, consisting of about eight hundred men. On descending the river of the Amazones, at forty leagues from Para, there is a large neck of land, which advances into the water and forms several islands, the most considerable of which is Joannes; it is defended by a small fort, and is very populous. The town of St. Georges dos Alamos is situated in the same government, and has a regular fortress.
Commerce
In 1755, thirteen or fourteen vessels arrived in this government from Lisbon, but since that time their number has been diminished to four or five. The usual exportation from Para does not consist of articles amounting to more than six hundred thousand French livres (25,000l. sterling), such as wild cocoa, vinilla, tortoise and crab-shells, sarsaparilla, different kinds of balsams, cotton, &c. The district of Para, properly so called, produces but a very small quantity of cotton, and some sugar canes, but so few in number that they are converted into brandy. The inhabitants cultivate rice, cocoa, and coffee, for exportation.
The cattle bred in the island of Marajo used formerly to be exported; but at present the quantity of these animals is scarcely sufficient for home consumption.
II. MARANHAO
This government is separated from Para towards the north by the river Tocantin; from Gojas towards the south by the cordillera called Guacucaguia; and from Fernambuca towards the east by the Ypiapaba mountains.
Population
8,993 Whites; – 17,843 Blacks and Mulattoes, freedmen and slaves; – 38,937 Indians, either dispersed about the country or inhabiting the ten different hamlets.
Principal Towns
St. Louis is the principal town in Maranhao; all commercial business is transacted in this place, which is situated in an island of the same name, and was built by the French in 1612. It is defended by a citadel and several forts, and has an excellent port.
The island of St. Louis is very fertile, and is twenty-six leagues in circumference.
The captainship of Siara is annexed to the government of Maranhao; the principal town bears the same name as the captainship, and contains about ten thousand inhabitants. It is defended by a small fort, and the port, which is likewise small, will only admit very little vessels.
Commerce
The exportation of this government is not answerable to the number of its inhabitants, amounting only on an average to six or seven hundred thousand French livres (25,000 or 29,166l. 13s. 4d.) The finest Brazil amotto grows in Maranhao, which also produces the best cotton in America. Rice succeeds very well in this soil; but all endeavours have been fruitless to naturalize silk-worms.
There is a great breed of horses and horned cattle in Pauchy, a country annexed to this government, in which, however, the sheep degenerate as well as in the rest of Brazil, except, indeed, in the Coritibe. Mines of sulphur, alum, copperas, iron, lead, and antimony are very common in the mountains; but though they are not deep, they have never yet been opened. There are likewise silvermines, which, in 1752 the court had given permission to be worked; this permission was, however, soon after retracted, but for what reason was never yet known.
III. FERNAMBUCA,
Is at this present bounded by the river St. Francesco, and different chains of cordilleras. The coast of this government towards the sea extends sixty-five leagues.
Population
19,665 Whites; – 39,132 Negroes and Mulattoes; – 83,728 Indians.
The island of Fernando de Norronha is in the dependance of the above-mentioned government.
Principal Towns
Olinda, the capital of Fernambuca is built upon an eminence on the sea-shore; it contains several fine fountains, and is situated in a beautiful country. The inhabitants are computed at twelve thousand. There is a manufactory of sword blades in this town, which, equally with St. Antoine de Receif, has a good port, and is defended by several fortresses. The island of Fernando de Norronha has two good open harbours, in which ships of the greatest burthen may ride in safety, unless the wind blows from the north or west.
Commerce
The coast of Fernambuca, in an extent of sixty-five leagues, produces a small quantity of cotton. The plains are filled with plantations of fine sugar canes, and the mountains are covered with broods of horned cattle, the hides of which are very productive. The principal branch of commerce in this government is that fine sort of Brazil wood employed in dyeing red. This wood is of so superior a quality that it is not necessary to employ half the quantity which would be required of campeche wood for the same purpose. The annual consumption of this excellent wood in Europe, amounted during a long time to from twenty to thirty thousand quintals. In 1783, two English merchants contracted with the Portugueze government for the exclusive sale of this wood, on condition that the said government was at the expence of felling it. These merchants purchased the wood for eight hundred thousand French livres (33,333l. 6s. 8d.), sold it at Lisbon for a million (41,666l. 13s. 4d.); their expenses amounted to a hundred and twenty-eight thousand livres (5,333l. 6s. 8d.); consequently they made a profit of seventy-two thousand French livres (3,000l.).
IV. BAHIA, or TODOS SANTOS,
Is bounded on the north by the river St. Francesco, on the south by the river Dolce, and on the east by the river Preto, one of the branches of the river Verde.
Population
39,784 Whites; – 49,693 Indians; – 68,024 Negroes.
Principal Town
The capital of Bahia is St. Salvador; the entrance to which is through the bay of Todos Santos: this bay is two leagues and a half wide. There is a fort on each side of the entrance, intended rather to prevent landing on the coast, than to impede the passage through the bay, which is thirteen or fourteen leagues in length, and full of little islands, containing cotton-trees. The bay is narrow towards the town, which overlooks it, and is built on the side of a steep hill; it is, however, a very good port, safe, and capable of containing a great fleet. St. Salvador contains more than two thousand houses, the greatest part of which are magnificent buildings.
Commerce
Sugar and cotton make but a small part of the Bahia trade. Tobacco and the whale-fishery are the principal. The annual product of the latter amounted, twenty years since, to 3,530 pipes of oil; which, at the price of a hundred and seventy-five French livres each (7l. 5s. 6d.), amounted to six hundred and seventeen thousand seven hundred and fifty French livres (25,739l. 11s. 8d.); and two thousand and ninety quintals of whalebone, which, at a hundred and fifty livres (6l. 5s.) a quintal, make three hundred and thirteen thousand five hundred livres (13,062l. 10s.). Total of the two sums, nine hundred and thirty-one thousand two hundred and fifty French livres (38,802l. 1s. 8d.), of which the persons employed in this commerce paid three hundred thousand livres (12,500l.) to the government; the expenses did not exceed two hundred and sixty-eight thousand seven hundred and fifty livres (11,197l. 18s. 4d.), consequently they had a profit of three hundred and sixty-two thousand five hundred livres (15,104l. 3s. 4d.). Tobacco, though cultivated throughout the whole of Brazil, makes but a very unimportant object of commerce any where but in Bahia. It succeeds extremely well in a spot of ground extending 90 leagues, and is particularly fine in the district of Cachoeira. Ten thousand quintals of an inferior kind of tobacco are sent every year from Brazil to the coasts of Africa, which being sold for eighteen French livres the hundred weight, amount to a hundred and eighty thousand livres (7,500l.); fifty-eight thousand five hundred quintals are also sent annually to Portugal, and sold, on entering that country, at forty livres (1l. 13s. 4d.) the hundred weight, which amount to two millions three hundred and forty thousand French livres (97,500l.). Total of the two sums, two millions five hundred and twenty thousand livres (105,000l.). The finest tobacco is exported to Genoa, that of the second quality to Spain and Portugal, and a still inferior sort to France and Hamburgh. The consumption of this Article at Madeira and the Azores does not exceed 740,000 cwt. for smoaking; and 528,000 cwt. when made into snuff. The sale of these different kinds of tobacco does not bring in more than five millions four hundred and eighty-one thousand two hundred and fifty livres (228,383l. 18s. 4d.) to government. The profit arising from the sale of snuff in the East Indies and in Africa, belongs to the queen of Portugal. The quantity usually sent to the abovementioned countries amounts to about a hundred and fifty quintals, bringing in four hundred and fifty thousand livres (18,750l.). The golden mines of Jacobina and Rio-das-Contas have been worked, and are situated in Bahia.
V. RIO JANEIRO
This government extends nearly the whole length of the coast from the river Dolce to the river Rio Grande de San Pietro. The inland country is bounded by the enormous chain of mountains which extend from Una to Minas Geraes.
Population
46,290 Whites; – 54,091 Negroes; – 32,126 Indians.
Principal Towns
Rio Janeiro is the capital of Brazil, and the residence of the viceroy. The plan of this city is well engraved in the quarto edition of Gai Trouin’s Memoirs. It is well known that this author captured Rio Janeiro in 1711. Though the fortifications have been since greatly augmented, the city is not more difficult to take, because the approach to it on the other side is easy of access, and a landing soon effected. The greater part of the houses consist of two stories, and are either of free-stone or brick; the roofs are of fine tiles, and each house is ornamented by a balcony, surrounded by a lattice. The streets are wide and straight, and terminated by chapels. The mint, and the great aqueduct which furnishes the city with water, are the only two public edifices worthy of notice. The haven is one of the finest in the world; it is narrow at the mouth, but becomes wider by degrees. Vessels of all sizes enter this safe and spacious harbour without difficulty, from ten or twelve o’clock at noon till the evening, by means of a regular and moderate sea-breeze: they anchor in an excellent muddy bottom five or six fathoms deep.
Cabo-Frio is a rich town, owing to its salt-trade. St. Catherine is an island which is important from its situation: it enjoys a continual spring, and the climate is very pure everywhere but in the port, which being surrounded by hills, the circulation of air is not so free; consequently it is damp and unwholesome.
