EMPEROR OK BRAZIL Boro. Dec. 2^1825. After Piiotog.1853. BRAZIL THE BRAZILIANS PORTRAYED IN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE SKETCHES. REV. JAMES C. FLETCHER AND REV. D. P. KIDDER, D. D. ILLUSTRATED BV ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY ENGRAVINGS. EIGHTH EDITION. REVISED AND ENLARGED. BOSTON: LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. LONDON : SAMPSON, LOW, SON, & CO. 1868. f^^v l3 ■'I- Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866. by J. C. FLETCHER ^^D D. P. KIDDER, lu ttic Clerk's Office of the District uourt of the District of Massachusetts University Press : Welch, Bigelow, & Co., Cambridge. PREFACE TO THE EIGHTH EDITION Within the last fifteen months two new editions (the sixth and seventh) of " Brazil and the Brazilians " have been exhausted. While translations of portions have been made in various languages, and while an author in England has almost wholly " made up " a general book on Brazil from this work, nothing has shown a more flattering appreciation of it than the offer of Professor Laboulaye — the firm friend of America — to write an introduction for a French translation of " Brazil and THE Brazilians," Since the publication of the Sixth Edition (to the Preface of which the reader is referred) several very important events have occurred in Brazil, which the authors have thought best to men- tion in this place, although they have noted them in the proper chapters. The Opening of the Amazon, which occurred on the 7th of Septem- ber, 1867, and by which the Great River is free to the flags of all nations from the Atlantic to Peru, and the Abrogation of the Monopoly of THE Coast Trade from the Amazon to the Rio Grande do Sul (see page 589), whereby four thousand miles of Brazilian sea-coast are open to the vessels of every country, cannot fail not only to develop the resources of Brazil, but these measures will prove a great benefit to the bordering Hispano- American Republics and to the maritime nations of the earth. The open- ing of the Amazon is the most significant indication that the leaven of old narrow, monopolistic Portuguese conservatism has at last worked out. Por- tugal would not allow Humboldt to enter the Amazon valley in Brazil. The result of the new policy is beyond the most sanguine expectation. The exports and imports of Para for October and November, 186 7, were double those of 1866. This is but the beginning. Soon it will be found that it is cheaper for all Bolivia, Peru, Equador, and New Grenada east of the Andes to receive iv ^ Preface to the Eighth Edition. their goods from, and to export their India-rubber, cinchona, &c., &c., to the United States and Europe via the great water highway which dis- charges into the Atlantic, than by the long, circuitous route of Cape Horn, or the Trans-Isthmian route of Panama. The Purus and the Madeira are here- after to be navigated by steamers. The valley of the Amazon in Brazil is as large as the area of the United States east of Colorado, while the whole valley of the Amazon, in and out of Brazil, is equal to all the United States east of California, Oregon, and Washington Territory; and yet the population is not equal to the single city of Rio de Janeiro, or the combined inhabitants of Boston and Chicago. It is estimated that a larger population can be sustained in the valley of the Amazon than elsewhere on the globe ; but it will never be peopled until there is as complete freedom for emigrants, and as entire absence of red-tapeism in Brazil as exist in the United States. The System of Emigration is improving. In 1866 there were mis- takes on the part of the agents for Brazil at New York. They were not careful enough. They accepted any one and every one that applied for passage under the liberal offers (which still hold good) of the Brazilian gov- ernment, and there were mistakes on the part of many well-meaning, almost penniless adventurers from our cities and from our own South, who sup- posed that there was a royal road to pi-osperity in the tropics without labor, and that slavery was a permanent institution in Brazil. But, notwithstand- ing the croakers who have returned, many Southerners have succeeded and are succeeding in Brazil. Slavery has decreased with great rapidity during 1866-67, and the best estimates make the present number of slaves 1,400,000, — a reduction by the mild process of law and custom of 1,600,000 since 1853. The Emperor took the initiative at the last session of Parliament, and invoked legislation upon this most important subject. Dr. A. M. Perdigao Malheiro, an eminent advocate at Rio, has published a most important and convincing pamphlet on this question, entitled A escravidao no Brazil (Slavery in Brazil). Direct taxation for the first time in Brazil has been brought about by the exigencies of the Paraguayan war, — a conflict which has done more to give Brazil a national feeling than any event since 1822. The Paraguayan War. — The history and the aims of this contest, now waging, have been more persistently misrepresented than those of any other war of modern times, with the single exception of the misrepresentation in England of the late internal struggle in the United States. From November, 1864 (the beginning of the war), to November, 1865, the various battles and victories were impartially described in the English journals, from which source other countries, not South American, have derived their information. Bat in the autumn of 18G5 the Brazilian government applied in London for a loan of £4,000,000. Such was the competition for this loan, and such the confidence of English financiers in Brazil, that £ 30,000,000 were subscribed. The loan, of course, immediately went above par. From that time to this " opera- tors" at Buenos Ayres and Montevideo, one thousand miles from the seat of war, had a motive in sending rumors and partial statements detrimental to the allies by the English steamer to Lisbon, whence their correspond- Preface to the Eighth Edition. v encc would be telcj^raplied to London ; and the result would be the depres- sion of the Brazilian loan for a few days, then when the " rise " took place the " operators " and their friends could profit by their former trans- action. In regard to the contest, Brazil had no other alternative tiian war with Lopez, who is as truly a despotic dictator as Francia was. The origin of the war is impartially set forth on page 353. The present position of the allies is very much that of the armies of the United States at the end of lSfi4, when Sherman made his famous "march to the sea" and Grant was before Richmond. Brazil in 18G7 sent an army to the north of Paraguay and retook all the fortified ports seized by Paraguay in 1864; and the allied land and naval forces at the beginning of 1868, after varied experience, were closing upon Humaita, the last stronghold of the Paraguayans, — a fortress far more inapproachable than Sebastopol. 1868 will doubtless see a complete resolution of a struggle whose end is the liberation of Brazilian citizens and the reopening (which Paraguay had guaranteed by solemn treaty obligations) of the great natural highway to the sea for the four nations of Eastern South America. Br.\ziliax Coffee. — Brazil has also had her peaceful triumphs. In the great Exposition held at Paris in 186 7 Brazil attracted much attention by the display of her material resources. She succeeded in obtaining a num- ber of prizes. To the uninitiated it may seem strange that from all the countries — Arabia, Java, Ceylon, Venezuela, the AVest Indies, and Central America — contesting for the production of the best coffee, Brazil bore away the palm. But it has long been known to dealers that coffee does not de- pend upon where it grows, but upon the length of time it remains upon the tree and upon the manner of Its curing. The Southern and the South- western States became acquainted with coffee Imported from Rio de Ja- neiro fifty years ago, at a time when Brazilians did not know how to cure coffee ; but the taste of the South and West has alone kept up the demand for the green, poorly cured coffee known in commerce as " Rio." The Bra- zilians themselves never use " Rio," and although three fourths of all the coffee imported Into the United States come from Brazil, yet much of it Is sold as Mocha and Java, or under any other name than " Rio." The English, Americans, and Germans make the poorest drink from coffee in the world, while the Latin nations, who never hoil their coffee, make the best beverage. For the history and culture of coffee see pages 449, 451. CoTTOX can be grown In any portion of the Empire of Brazil. In qual- ity it ranks far above our " uplands," and In the Liverpool market the best Brazilian cottons stand next — though at a distance — to the " Sea-Island." Pcrnambuco Is the chief port for exportation. There are no great cotton plantations, but the most of its culture Is carried on by small farmers and by free negroes and half-breeds. An article in the New York Ecening Po.s-/, entitled "Small Farms for Cotton Culture "in our own country, called forth a communication from Mr. Hitch, of the house of Henry, Forster, & Co. of Pernambuco, In which he describes the Brazilian plan of little farms cul- tivated by from one to six persons. This has an Important bearing on cot- ton culture in the United States. Mr. Hitch shows how the demand caused by the " cotton famine " brought forth the supply to such an extent that vi Preface to the Eighth Edition. Pernambuco in five years increased her cotton exportation tenfold. See page 525. GoARAxA. — At the French Exposition of 1867 a brown chocolate-colored Bubstance figured under the head of the medicines from Brazil. This brown material might at first sight have been taken for chocolate cast In the form of serpents, diminutive turtles, tapirs, &c. It was, however, a remedy which has been used for centuries in Brazil and Bolivia, and which has lately be- come one of the most fashionable antifebrile remedies in Paris. Guarana is the indigenous name of this new contribution to civilized Pharmacy. The junior author has often partaken of it on the Amazon; and as many have recently inquired concerning the Guarand, a short notice of it may be inter- esting. Dr. Cotting of Roxbury, Mass., gives a brief account of it in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal for February 7, 1867, pages 20, 21. On the west bank of the river Tapajos (excepting the ' Madeira, the longest southern affluent of the Amazon) lives a tribe of Indians called the Mauhes or Maues, who prepare from the seeds of a small climbing plant (the Paul- linia sorhilis') the Guarana. The plant bears berries somewhat larger than coffee-berries, and two in a capsule, not unlike the coffee. These are roasted, ground, mixed with a little water, made into various shapes, and dried to hardness in an oven. Grated and dissolved in water or lemonade, it is highly esteemed as a refreshing and stimulating drink. It Is much used by the Inhabitants of Matto Grosso and other interior provinces, and sometimes. It is said, to such an excess as to produce great tremulousness. It is also much used as a remedy In diarrhoea and intermittent fever. Dr. James C. White of Boston, who has analyzed the Guarana, has given the public his analysis In a very Interesting paper. The authors cannot close this Preface without recording an event which may seem personal to them, but which Is also one of sadness to all those who love Brazil In the things that are far beyond her material development. Amongst the devoted men who have gone from the United States to " the land of the Southern Cross," none have been more zealous, wise, and suc- cessful In "winning souls" than Rev. A. G. SImonton of Rio de Janeiro. He founded the Presbyterian mission at Rio de Janeiro In 1859. He estab- lished the Imprensa Evangelica, a religious journal of the most excellent character, and thus, in addition to his constant labors In the pulpit, he did much to furnish Brazil with an Evangelical literature. A few days before his death, when in apparent health, he wrote to the junior author a most cheering letter, stating that during 1867 the fruits of the missions (the Ameri- can Presbyterian) with which he was connected were no less than 112 con- versions, 82 of whom made their profession " before men," and the remainder were soon to follow their example. He died in San Paulo on the 9th of December, 1867. The individual dies, but the Church lives, and his labors will still bring forth fruit to be gathered by the earnest harvesters, his coad- jutors, now laboring In the same field. Newburyport, Mass., March, 1868. PREFACE TO THE SIXTH EDITION. The favorable reception which five editions of this work have had in the United States, England, and Brazil, indicates a growing interest in the largest and most stable country of South America. It may be that the illustrations accompanying the Preface to the first edition are not so appropriate to-day as they were ten years ago, but there is still too much ignorance of Brazil in Europe and North America. The present edition will give some idea of the material and moral progress of Brazil during the last decade. While several new volumes on some particular portion of the country have been written since 1857, no other work in our lan- guage has given a general view of Brazil and the Brazilians. As much of the political and social life of the Empire centres at Rio de Janeiro, the history and descriptions of the state of affairs at the capital are, to a great extent, those of the whole country. It is for this reason that the reader is detained longer in the city where the Monarch resides and the Parliament holds its sessions. Since 1857, one of the authors (J. C. F.) has visited Brazil in four different years, passing much time at Rio de Janeiro; sojourn- ing on plantations, and observing the phases of Brazilian slavery ; making extensive journeys along the sea-coast, and penetrating the interior. In 1862 he ascended the Amazon to the verge of Peru, — more than two thousand miles up the most marvellous river in the world. viii Preface to the Sixth Edition. It was the intention of the authors to pubhsh a new edition in 1864 ; but unexpected duties, both in that and the following years, called the junior colleague to Brazil, and prevented the de- sired end. The advantages of later information will, it is hoped, more than compensate for the delay. The experience of the authors in Brazil extends over a long period, and they have endeavored conscientiously and impartially to give their views of the country and its people. They have had no motives to do otherwise. While they have not spared what they deemed faults, whether in religion, slavery, or other matters (see concluding chapter), they have not withheld praise when due, and it has not been from intention if they have failed to bring out the good points of the Brazilians. To foreign merchants in Brazil, unsuccessful in business, or to travellers hastening through the country, ignorant of the Portuguese and French languages, and never associating with the inhabitants, the descriptions of those who have resided long in the Empire, or have travelled extensively through it, seem overwrought. One must always bear in mind the origin of the Brazilians, their newness among the nations of the earth, and the fact that the only true mode of comparing Brazil is not to measure her progress with the United States, England, or France, but with the countries of America whose inhabitants are of the Latin race. To have detailed with only an ordinary degree of minuteness the changes and progress of Brazil for the last ten years, would require a large volume. As it is, there have been, by emendations and additions, and by notes and appendices, nearly one hundred pages of new matter printed in this edition, while the ordinary text has in many cases been changed and increased. Everything, so far as possible, is brought up to date (1866), by notes at the end of the appropriate chapter. In some cases letters and Itinerary are retained, irrespective of date, because they illustrate manners and Preface to the Sixth Edition. ix customs tliat remain in statu quo. When greater space was need- ed, the subject is more iuUy set forth in the Aj)pendix. Thus, in regard to the jjresent Paraguayan War (ahout whose merits there has been as much ignorance * in both the United States and EngUxnd as there was in Europe concerning the late Rebelhon in North Amei'ica), the reader will find a brief history of its origin and progress on page 352. Brazilian Slavery is treated in Chap. VIII., and the most recent information concerning it is given on page 139. Emigration to Brazil has of late attracted much attention, especially in the South of the United States, since 1865. Infor- mation under this head can be found on page 333, and in the con- cluding chapter, in the Speech of Paula Souza, page 592. Intimately connected with this subject is that of the Religious Disabilities of Protestants ; and no portion of this work is so indicative of great moral progress as the Speech of Sr. Furquim d'Almeida (page 595), and the article in Appendix I. For important Meteorological Tables, see Appendix K. The Mineral Riches of Brazil are known to be considerable. Diamond and gold mines have been the chief sources of mineral wealth, but hitherto there has been a deficiency of useful minerals. The desideratum has at length been supplied. Coal discoveries have been made in various sea-coast provinces, but the most im- portant in this respect was made by Mr. Nathaniel Plant (from the British Museum) in Rio Grande do Sul. For a full account of this rich coal mine see Appendix H. In the same Appendix it will be seen that the new gold mines of Sr. Tasso, in Northern * In four different issues of the journals of New York and Boston, in August, 1866, it was stated that the Allies were at " the last extremity," and that the Para- guayans were just about to annihilate them. Up to this time (October, 1866), the Paraguayans, in the four great battles, counting from that of Riachuelo, 1865, have not won a single victory. The par of gold at Rio is 26c?. to the rail reis ; the average in 1865 - 66 was 23|t/., which does not look like an " extremity." X Preface to the Sixth Edition. Brazil, demonstrate that the precious metal is by no means con- fined to the region of S. Joao del Rei. The leading Brazilian Journals at the capital are noticed on pages 252, 253. Brazilian Literature and literary Brazilians (pages 586, 589) will interest many Anglo-Saxon readers. While frequent mention is made of the ability and accomplish- ments of the Emperor Dom Pedro II., Chapter XIII. is espe- cially devoted to that monarch. On pages 183-185, some account is given of Statesmen and Political Parties. In 1865, Professor Agassiz, the well-known savant, accom- panied by an American scientific corps, visited Brazil at the invi- tation of the Emperor. The Professor made extensive and most interesting explorations, an account of which is soon to be given to the world. His investigations in the Amazon region have excited a great interest amongst men of science. Major Coutinho, a Bra- zilian officer of engineers, at the command of the Emperor, ac- companied Professor Agassiz in his explorations of the Amazon, and afterward pubHshed at Rio, both in Portuguese and English, some account of the wonderful fauna discovered by Professor Agassiz in Northern Brazil. The English version of a portion of these letters will be found in Appendix J. For Population, Commercial Tables, Weights and Meas- ures, and other statistics, see Appendices E, F, and G. Within a few years several works on the Brazilian Empire have appeared in England, France, Germany, and Brazil. Amongst these may be mentioned Bates's " Naturalist on the Amazons," a charm- ing book, and the best yet published on that wonderful region. The Deux Annees au Bresil of Biard is, aside from its fine illustrations, the most worthless book ever published on any country. The author seems not to have had one serious reflection. Halfeld's " Survey of the River San Francisco " is a magnificent elephant folio, pub- Pkeface to the Sixth Edition. xi lislied at Rio de Janeiro, of which Sir Roderick Murchison said (before the Royal Geograpliical Society), " Any country might be proud of sucii a work." It cannot be purchased, but a number of copies have been sent by the Brazihan government to the libraries of the United States and Europe. The articles of M. Elis^ Reclus, published in the Mevue des Deux 3Iondes, in 1862, show their author to be an earnest friend of liberty, and, also, that they were written after a very brief visit to Brazil. The conclusions are somewhat hasty, especially when based on M. Biard's book, and Dr. Av6 Lallemant's interesting but partial Reise durch sud Brasilien, Leipsic, 1859. Quite a number of German works have appeared concerning the " colonization " of Germans in Brazil (which was in many cases a shameless piece of jobbery), and the writers are not disposed to look upon anything in Brazil with the least degree of allowance. Mr. Thomas Woodbine IlinchlifF's " South American Sketches " (Longmans, London, 1803) is a very pleasing and accurate book. Sr. Pereira da Silva is now writing a complete history of Brazil, in the Portuguese language. Sr. Aguiar (of San Paulo), in a pamphlet entitled Brazil e os Brazileiros^ has given some very caustic sketches of his country- men. Sr. Soares, of Rio Grande do Sul, has furnished us with an important statistical work on the resources of Brazil. Sr. M. M. Lisboa has, in his Romances Sistoricos, opened a literary mine, in which it would be well if more Brazilian writers would delve. Sr. A. C. Tavares Bastos, in his Cartas do SoUtario (Letters of the Hermit), has given the Brazilian public a most important volume on the various political, economical, and moral questions that so deeply concern the well-being of the Empire. A very excel- lent book on the resources of Brazil was published, in 1863, by the Baron of Penedo (Brazilian Minister to England), apropos to the contribution of Brazil to the Great Exposition of London, in 1802. xii Preface to the Sixth Edition. The thanks of the authors are due, for corrections and contribu- tions in preparing this edition, to Mr. Robert WiUiam Garrett of Rio de Janeiro ; to Mr. Brambier of Para ; to His Excellency Sr. d'Azambuja, Brazilian Minister to the United States ; to the Chevalier d'Aguiar, Brazilian Consul-General at New York ; and to Professors Gumere and Cope, of Haverford College, near Phila- delphia. To the late John S. Gillmer of Bahia the authors were under many obligations. October, 186fi. niEEACE. The popular notion of Brazil is, to a certain extent, delineated in the accompanying side-illustrations. Mighty rivers and virgin forests, palm-trees and jaguars, anacondas and alligators, howling monkeys and screaming parrots, diamond-mining, revolutions, and earthquakes, are the com- ponent parts of the picture formed in the mind's eye. It is probably hazarding no- il thing to say that a very large majority of general readers are better acquaint- ed with China and India than with Brazil. How few seem to be aware that in the distant Southern Hemisphere is a stable constitutional mon- archy, and a growing na- tion, occupying a territory of greater area than that of the United States, and that the descendants of the s Preface. Portuguese hold the same relative position iu South America as the descendants of the English in the northern half of the ^ew AVorld! How few Protestants are cognizant of the fact that in .the territory of Brazil the Reformed religion was first proclaimed on the Western Continent! The following work, by two whose experience in the Bra- zilian Empire embraces a period of twenty years, endeavors faithfully to portray the history of the country, and, by a nar- rative of incidents connected with travel and residence in the land of the Southern Cross, to make known the manners, customs, and advancement of the most progressive people south of the Equator. "While "Itineraries" relating to journej-s of a few months in various portions of the Empire have been recently published, no general work on Brazil has been issued in Europe or America since the "Sketches" of the senior author, (D.P. K.,) which was most favorably received in England and the United States, but has long been out of print. Although the present volume is the result of a joint efibrt, the desire for greater uniformity caused the senior author to place his contributions in the hands of his junior colleague, (J. C.E.,) with the permission to use the name of the former in the third ■person singular. The amount of mfJter from each pen is, however, more nearly equal than at first sight would appear. The authors have consult- ed every important work in French, German, English, and Portuguese, that could throw light on the history of Brazil, Preface. 6 and likewise various published memoirs and discourses read before the flourishing "Geographical and Historical Society" at Rio de Janeiro. For statistics they have either personally examined the Imperial and provincial archives, or have quoted directly from Brazilian state papers. For important services, the authors are happy to acknow- ledsce their indebtedness to Couselheiro J. F. de Cavalcanti de Albuquerque, His Brazilian Majesty's Minister-Plenipotentiary at Washington, and M. le Chevalier d'Aguiar, Brazilian Con- sul-General at New York; to lion. Ex-Governor Kent, of Maine, and Ferdinand Coxe, Esq., of Philadelphia, both of whom held high diplomatic positions at Rio de Janeiro; to Hon. Judge J. U. Petit, formerly Consul in one of the most im- portant N'orthern provinces of Brazil ; to Mrs. L. A. Cuddehy, late of Rio de Janeiro; and to Rev. H. A. Boardman, D.D., of Philadelphia. They also express their obligations to Mr. D. Bates, Dr. Thos. Rainey, and to A. R. Egbert, M..D., for valuable contributions to the Appendix. The numerous illustrations are, with few exceptions, either from sketches, or daguerreotype views taken on the spot. All have been faithfully as well as skil- fully executed by Messrs. Van Ingen & Snyder, of Philadelphia. The accompanying map, prepared by Messrs. J. H. Colton & Co., is one of the most perfect ever pub- lished of an Empire which has never been surveyed. In 1855 the junior author travelled more than three thousand miles in Brazil, making corrections of this map as he journeyed; and his sincere thanks are heartily given to Senhor John Lisboa, of Bahia, who has devoted himself to the geography of his native land. In 1866, J. H. Colton & Co. have published a gigantic map of Brazil, which was a work of years by Mr. Rensberg, one of the leading lithographers of Rio de Janeiro. Messrs. Fleuss, Brothers, publishers of the Semana Ilhistrada, have jilso issued several important maps from their establishment — the Imperial Imti- tuto Artistico at Rio. NOTES FOR THOSE GOING TO BRAZIL. The Portuguese langufiRe is universally spoken in Brazil. It is not a dialect of the Spanish, but is a distinct tongue : as Vieyra says, it is the eldest daughter of tlie Latin. Portuguese and French are the Court languages. One-sixth of the population of large citie.s and towns speak French. Those acquainted with tlie French, Italian, or Spanish easily acquire the Portuguese. Engli.sh is taught in all the higher schools; and it is gratifying to the American that at the capital, and in some other important places, the "Class Readers " of George S. Hillard, Esq., (author of "Six Months in Italy,") are the text-hooks. While Messrs. Triibner &. Co., in London, and the Messrs. Appleton, in New York, have published manuals for learning the Portuguese, it may be of advantage to state that if an Eng- lishman or Anglo-American can give to the vowels the Continental sound, learn the contractions, accents, ic, and the peculiarities of two or three consonants, he will find the Portuguese the easiest of all foreign tongues. The termination iio is pronounced almost like oun in the English word noun. Words ending in Oes are pronounced as if an n were inserted between the e and the s. Thus, Caraoes, English Camoens. Terminations «n and im are very nearly pronounced like eng and ing in English : t.g. Jerusalem is pronounced Jerusalen^r. JC has the force of Sli : thus, one of the great affluents of the Amazon, Xingfi, is pronounced Shingu. The word Dom, ((/onu'nMS,) which always precedes the name of the Emperor, is not used indiscrimi- nately like the Don of the Spanish, but is a title applied by the Portuguese and their descendants only to monarchs, princes, and bishops. One milrcis. (a thousand reis,) about fifty-six cents, or two shillings and sixpence English. The Brazilian unit-coin is always represented by the dollar sign after the mil : thus, 54500 are five mil and five hundred reis, — about three dollars. A conto of reis is little more than £112. Clothes, of course, should be of a character adapted to the tropics; but always take some woollen garments, for in the interior, and south of Bahia, the thermometer often indicates 60° Fahrenheit. It hardly need be added that a dress-coat is indispensable for those going to the palace. All personal effects, like wearing-apparel, are admitted dutyfree; but the traveller would do well to remember that he should not be overstocked with cigars. There are many drawbacks at the oustom-house in favor of goods belonging to emigrants, as agricultural implements, macliinery, &c. &c. (vide page 333 and the concluding chapter of this work.) As to the Patent Laws, mode of obtaining certain privileges for inventions, Ac, William V. Lid- gerwood, Esq., (United States Charge d'Afl'aires in 1865-66,) can give more information than any other person in Brazil. He resides at Rio de Janeiro. Messrs. Triibner & Co. (CO Paternoster Row, London) have facilities for furnishing Brazilian and Portuguese books to ajiy parts of Europe or North America. We are glad that this house is to pub- lish a new and complete Portuguese and English Dictionary, — a very great desideratum, as all such lexicons now extant are exceedingly antiquated. English and American publications of standard works and light literature are to be obtained of n. M. Lane & Co., 15 Rua Direita, Rio de Janeiro; and of Guelph de Lailhacar k Co., Rua do Crespo, Pernambuco, and in the city of San Paulo. Carrington &. Co."3 United States & Brazili.an Express is a very great convenience which has fol- lowed the establishment of the United States and Brazil Mail Steamship Company. Messi-s. Carring- ton t Co. t.30 Broadway, New York) charge tliemselves to deliver parcels and money, or to fill orders in Para. Pernambuco. Bahia. and Rio de J.aneiro, and vice versd,. Fales and Dunciin, Commission Mer- chants, 57 Rua Direita, are the agents at Rio de Janeiro. Hotels in Brazil are not equal to those in Europe or the States. At Rio all h.ave high prices, ranging, according to room, from ten shillings English to £1. The Exchange Hotel and Hotel doa Estrangeiros are the best English hotels in the capital. Hotel d'Europa is the best Frencli hotel. Bennett's, an hour from llio, is the most comfortable place in Brazil. Bahia, Hotel Furtin is a good restaurant, and convenient to those arriving from sea. At Pernambuco, the Hotel Universel has the same recommendations. The hotels of Bahia and Pernambuco are small, compared with those of Rio. The prices of 1855 (pages 295 and 296) are from one-third to one-half higher in 1866, — except at Petropolis, at which place are several good hotels. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAQ8 The Bay of Rio de Janeiro — Historic Reminiscences — First Sight of the Tropics — Entrance to the Harbor — Night-Scenes — Impressions of Beauty and Grandeur — Gardner and Stewart — The Capital of Brazil — Distinction of Rio de Janeiro 13 CHAPTER II. Landing — Hotel Pharoux — Novel Sights and Sounds — The Palace Square — Rua Direita — Exchange — The " Team" — Musical Coffee-Carriers — Custom-House — Lessons in Portuguese, and Governor Kent's Opinion of Brazil — Post-OfiBce — Dis- like of Change — Senhor Jus6 Maxwell — Rua do Ouvidor — Shops and Feather- Flowers — The Brazilian Omnibus can be full — Narrow Streets and Police-Regu- lations — A Suggestion to relieve Broadway, New York — Passeio Publico — Bra- zilian Politeness — The " Gondola" — The Brazilian imperturbable — Lack of Hotels — First Night in Rio de Janeiro 24 CHAPTER III. Discovery of South America — Pinzon's Visit to Brazil — Cabral — Coelho — Americus Vespueius — The Name " Brazil" — Bay of Rio de Janeiro — Martin Affonso de Souza — Past Glory of Portugal — Coligny's Huguenot Colony — The Protestant Banner first unfurled in the New World — Treachery of Villegagnon — Contest between -- the Portuguese and the French — Defeat of the Latter — San Sebastian founded — Cruel Li tolerance — Reflections 4ft CHAPTER IV. Early State of Rio — Attacks of the French — Improvements under the Viceroys- Arrival of the Royal Family of Portugal — Rapid Political Changes — Departure of Dom John VI. — The Viceroyalty in the Hands of Dom Pedro — Brazilians dis- satisfied with the Mother-Country — Declaration of Independence — Acclamation of Dom Pedro as Emperor 61 CHAPTER y. The Andradas — Instructions of the Emperor to the Constituent Assembly — Dom Pedro I. dissolves the Assembly by Force — Constitution framed by a Special Com- mission — Considerations of this Document — The Rule of Dom Pedro I. — Causes of Dissatisfaction — The Emperor abdicates in favor of Dom Pedro II 73 7 COXTENTS. CnAPTER VI. PAGE The Praia dc FUitinngo — The Three-Man Beetle — Splendid Views — The Man who cut down " Film-Tree — Moonlight — Rio " Tigers" — The Bathers — Gloria Hill^ Evening S'-ene — The Church — Marriage of Christianity and Heathenism — A Ser- mon in Honor of Our Lady — Festa da Gloria — The Larangeiras — Ascent of the Cercovado — 'i?Le Sugar-Loaf 86 CHAPTER VII. Brotherhoods- Foip'tal of San Francisco de Paula — The Lazarus and the Rattle- snake — Misoric T»Ma — Sailors' Hospital at Jurujuba — Foundling-Hospital — Re- colhiiucnto for Crphan-Girls — New Misericordia — Asylum for the Insane — Jose d'Anchieta, Fi unolsr of the Misericordia — Monstrous Legends of the Order — Friar John d'Alu.e>dii — Churches — Convents 107 CHAPTER VIII. Illumination of ♦.hi Ci y- —Early to Bed — Police — Gambling and Lotteries — Muni- cipal Government —Vaccination — Beggars on Horseback— Erisons^Slavery — Bra- '^zilian Laws in ffv i-f (he Clorgy — Monsignor Bedini — Toleration among the Brazilians — The Padr')- -F'isi^vi's — Consumption of Wax — Tbe Intrude — Pro- cessions — Anjinhos — Sauta P-isv-ill.'anp, — The Cholera not cured by Processions 140 v^Krt on Lv>gs — Brs^zilian Lady's Delight — Her Troubles — The Marketing and Watering — Kill thj ^ixo — Boston Apples and Ice — Family Recreations — The Boy — The CoUogi.^— Oopiti'or.-Schools — Highest Aca- demies of Learning — The Gentleman — Duties ol th'* C'ti.-en — Elections — Political Parties — Brazilian Statesmen — Nobility — Ord°,r,- of k'li^hthood 1^ CHAPTER XI. Praia Grande — San Domingo — Sabbath-Keeping — Manv'i6\a- -rinC3 v''9 Area- -View from Ingd — The Armadillo — Commerce of Brazil — The F'ne.-'t '^rj- — Eng- lish Chapel — Brazilian Funerals — Tijuca — Bennett's — Cascades — Excursions — Botanical Gardens — An Old Friend— Home •, CHAPTER XII. The Campo Santa Anna — The Opening of the Assemblea Geral— Historj- o' PvciN succeeding the Acclamation of Dom Pedro II. — The Regency — Con?«;it'vtt»i«s-' Reform — Condition of Political Parties before the Revolution of 1S40 — Debates i' the House of Deputies — Attempt at Prorogation — Movement of Antonio Carlos- Deputation to the Emperor — Permanent Session — Acclamation of Dom Pedrc'* i Contents. 9 PAQI Majority — Tbe Assembly's t'roclaiuation — Rejoicings — New Ministry — Public Congratulations — Heal State of Things — Ministerial Programme — Preparations for the Coronation — Change of Ministry — Opposition come into Power — Coronation postponed — Splendor of the Coronation — Financial Embarrassments — Diplomacy — Dissolution of the Camara — Pretext of Outbreaks — Council of State — Restora- tion of Order — Sessions of the Assembly — Imperial Marriages — Ministerial Change — Present Condition 211 CHAPTER XIII. The Emperor of Brazil — His Remarkable Talents and Acquirements — Now York Historical Society — The First Sight of D. Pedro II. — An Emperor on Board an American Steamship — Captain Foster and the " City of Pittsburg" — How D. Pedro II. was received by the " Sovereigns'' — An Exhibition of American Arts and Manu- factures — DifiBcuUies overcome — Visit of the Emperor — His Knowledge of American Authors — Success among the People — Visit to the Palace of S. Christovao — Long- fellow, Hawthorne, and Webster 231 CHAPTER XIV. Brazilian Literature — The Journals of Rio de Janeiro — Advertisements — The Freedom of the Press — Effort to put down Bible-Distribution — Its Failure — National Library — Museum — Imperial Academies of Fine Arts — Societies — Brazilian Historical and Geographical Institute — Administration of Brazilian Law — Curious Trial 251 CHAPTER XV. The Climate of Brazil — Its Superiority to other Tropical Countries — Cool Resorts — Trip to St. Alexio — Brazilian Jupiter Pluvius — The Mulatto Improvisor — Sydney Smith's "Immortal" Surpassed — ^ Lady's I iUBressions of Travel — An American Factory — A Yankee House — The Ride up the Organ Mountains — Forests, Flowers, and Scenery — Speculation in Town-Lots — Boa Vista — Height of the Serra dos OrgOes — Constaucia — The "Happy Valley" — The Two Swiss Bachelors — Youth renewed — Prosaic Conclusion — Todd's " Student's Manual" — The Tapir — The Toucan — The Fire-Flies — Expenses of Travelling — Nova Fribourgo — Cauta Gallo — Petropolis 26S CHAPTER XVI. Preparations for tbe Voyage to the Southern Provinces — The Passengers — Ubatub.a — Eagerness to obtain Bibles — The Routine on Board — Aboriginal Names — San Sebastian and Midshipman Wilberforce — Santos — Brazilians at Dinner — Incorrect Judgment of Foreigners — S. Vincente — Order of Exercises — My Cigar — Paranagui — H.B.M. "Cormorant" and the Slavers — Mutability of Maps — Russian Vessels in Limbo — The Prima Donna — An English Engineer — Arrive at San Francisco do Sul 303 CHAPTER XVII. The Province of Parand — Message of its First President — Mate, or Paraguay Tea — Its Culture and Preparation — Grows in North Carolina — San Francisco do Sul— Expectations not fulfilled — Canoe-Voyage — My Coiupanions not wholly carnivo- rous—A Travelled Trunk— The Tolling-Bell Bird— Arrival at Joinville— A New! Settlement — Circular on Emigration to Brazil 320 V. 10 Contents. CHAPTER XVIII. PAQJ Colonia Donna Francisca — The School-Teacher — The Clergyman — A Turk — Bible- Distribution — Suspected — A B C — The Fallen Forest — The House of the Director — A Runaway — The Village Cemetery — Moral Wants — Orchidaceous Plants — Charlatanism — San Francisco Jail — The Burial of the Innocent, and the money- making Padre — The Province of Sta. Catharina — Desterro — Beautiful Scenery — Shells and Butterflies — Coal-Mines — Province of Rio Grande do Sul — Herds and Herdsmen — The Lasso — Indians — Former Provincial Revolts — Present Tranquil- lity assured by the Overthrow of Rosas and of the Paraguayan Lopez Jr 334 CHAPTER XIX. Jonrney to San Paulo — Night-Travelling — Serra do Cubatao — The Heaven &f the Moon — Frade Vasconcellos — Ant-IIills — Tropeiros — Curious Items of Trade — • Ypiranga — City of San Paulo — Law-Studeuts aud Convents — Mr. Mawe's Espe- rienco contrasted — Description of the City — Respect for S. Paulo — The Vibionary Hotel-Keeper '. '. 354 CHAPTER XX. History of San Paulo — Terrestrial Paradise — Reverses of the Jesuits — Enslavement of the Indians — Historical Data — The Academy of Laws — Course of Study — Dis- ^ tinguished Men — The Andradas — Jose Bonifacio — Antonio Carlos — Alvares Machado — Vergueiro — Bishop Moura — A Visit to Feijo — Proposition to abolish Celibacy — An Interesting Book — The Death of Antonio Carlos de Andrada — High Eulogium — Missionary Efforts in San Paulo — Early and Present Condition of the Province — Hospitalities of a Padre — Encouragements — The People — Proposition to the Provincial Assembly — Response — Result — Addenda — Present Eucourage- meuts 366 CHAPTER XXI. Agreeable Acquaintance — Old Congo's Spurs — Lodging and Sleeping — Company — Campinas — Illuminations — A Night among the Lowly — Arrival at Liraeira — A Pennsylvanian — A Night with a Boa Constrictor — Eventful and Romantic Life of a Naturalist — The Bird-Colony destined to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences — Ybecaba — Sketch of the Vergueiros — Plan of Colonization — Bridge of Novel Construction — Future Prospects 396 CHAPTER XXII. A New Disease — The Culture of Chinese Tea in Brazil — Modus Operandi — The Deceived Custom-House Officials — Probable Extension of Tea-Culture in South America — Homeward Bound — My Companion — Senhor Jose and a Little Diffi- culty with him — California and the Musical Innkeeper — Early Start and the Star- Spangled Banner — The Senhores Brotero of S. Paulo — Fourth of July inaugurated in an English Family — "Yankee Doodle" on the Plains of Ypiranga — Lame and Impotent Conclusion — Astronomy under Difficulties — Deliverance — Return to Rio de Janeiro 416 Contents. 11 CHAPTER XXIII. PAOI The Brazilian North — Extent of the Empire— The Falls of Itamarity — Gigantic Fig- Xree— The Keel-Bill — A Plantation iu Miuas-Goraes— Peter Parley in Brazil — Sweot Leuions — Baronial Style — The Padre — Vesper-Hours — The Plantation- Orchestra— The White Ants obedient to the Church — The Great Ant-Eator — The Paca — The A'usical Cart — The Mines and other llesources of Minas-Geraes — Cotfee: its Ilisiury and Culture — The Province of Goyaz — Stingless Beos and Sour Honey — Mato Grosso — Long River-Route to the Atlantic — A Now Thoroughfare — Lieutenant Thomas J. Page — The Survey of the La Plata and its Aflluonts — First American Steamer at Corumba — Steamboat-Navigation on the Paraguay — Officers of the American Navy — Dr. Kane and Lieutenant Strain — Diamond and Gold Mines the Hinderers of Progress — The Difierence in the Results from Dia- monds and ColTee 432 CHAPTER XXIV. Cape Frio — Wreck of the Frigate Thetis — Campos — Espirito Santo — Aborigines — Origin of Indian Civilization — The Palm-Tree and its Uses — The Tupi-Guarani — The Liugoa Geral — Ferocity of the Aymores — The City of Bahia — Porters — Cadeiras — History of Bahia — Caramuru — Attack on the Hollanders — Measures tnken by Spain — The City retaken — The Dutch in Brazil — Slave-Trade — Sociability of Bahia — Mr. Gilmer, American Consul — The Humming-Bird — Whale-Fishery — American Cemetery — Henry Alartyn — Visit to Montserrat — View of the City — The Emperor's Birthday — Medical School — Public Library — Image-Factory — The Wonderful Image of St. Anthony — No Miracle — St. Anthony a Colonel — Visit to Valenfa — Daring Navigation — In Puna Naturalihus — The Factory and Colonel Carson — American Machinery — Skilful Negroes — Return Home — Commerce with the United States 464 CHAPTER XXV. Departure from Bahia — The Vampire-Bat — His Manner of Attack — The Bitten Negro — Annoyances magnified — Anacondas — One that swallowed a Hoarse — The Marmoset — Province of Alagoaz — The Republic of Palmares — Peruambuco — The Amenities of Quarantine-Lite — Improvements at the Recife — Peculiarities of Per- nambucan Houses — Beautiful Panorama — Various Districts of the City — A Bible-, Christian — Extraordinary Fauatieism of the Sebastianists — Commerce of Pernam- buco — The Population of the Interior — The Sertanejo and Market-Scene — The Sugar and Cotton Mart — The Jangad.i — Parahiba do Norte — Natal — Ceard, — The Paviola — Temperature and Periodical Rains — The City of Maranham — Judge Petit's Description — The Montaria — Departure 503 CHAPTER XXVI. Magnificence of Nature in the Brazilian North — The City of Parii — The Entrance of the Amazon — The first Protestant Sermon on these Waters — Parallel to the Black- Hole of Calcutta — Eifects of Steam-Navigation — Improvements in Parii — The Canoa — Bathing and Market Scenes — Produce of Para — India-Rubber — Pari Shoes — The Amazon River — Mr. Wallace's Explorations — The Vaca Marina — Cetacea of the Amazon — Turtle-Egg Butter — Indian Archery — Brazilian Birds and Insects — Visit to Rice-Mills near Pard. — Journey through the Forest — The Paraense Bishop's Sus- picions of Dr. Kidder — State of Religion at Pard 539 12 - Contents. CHAPTER XXVII. PAoa Amazonas— Its Discovery — El Dorado — Gonjalo Pizarro — His Expedition — Cruel- ties — Suflerings — Desertion of Orellana — Ilis Descent of the River — Fable of the Amazons — Fate of the Adventurer — Name of the River — Settlement of the Country — Successive Expeditions up and down the Amazon — Sufferings of Madame Godin — Present State — Victoria Regia — Steam-Navigation — Effects of Herndon and Gibbon's Report — Peruvian Steamers — The Future Prospects of the Amazon 563 Conclusion 582 NToTES 599 APPENDICES. Appendix A. — Chronological Summary of the Principal Events that have transpired in the History of Brazil 601 Appendix B. — Abstract of the Brazilian Constitution, sworn to on the 25th of March, 1824, and revised in 1834 603 Appendix C. — Lines composed by D. Pedro II 605 Appendix D. — Slavery and the Slave-Trade in Brazil — England and Brazil 606 Appendix E. — Tables of Brazilian Coins, Weights, and Measures 607 Appendix F. — Population — The Yellow Fever of Brazil 609 Appendix G. — Imports, Exports, Revenue, Ac. of Brazil 614 Appendix H. — Recent Discoveries of Coal in Brazil 617 Appendix I. — Religious Disabilities 625 Appendix J. — Professor Agassiz's Labors on the Amazon 627 Appendix K. — Thermometrical Observations at Rio de Janeiro in 1864 634 BATOF Scale of'Six'OeopraphicalNUe^ hmda ^\ 1 /. t'/" \ "iUt'ijaijnoii . . 2 Aiu^onuiotorMen of War, ^. 3 Atu^iompe for Menlmnt VosmU dischttrtiuig Carao 4 Anciwrniie tor 2d.Vessdjfreeeiiin^ Ovyo 5 \al/on*jO- ^ . -- 6 (rtWlbtUl _ . 7 (iun/to S.Anna 8 Passeio Ptihlicv 9 XS''t/n Moa JYot^tvn ID S.ffeniro THE SUGAR-LOAF, (ENTRANCE TO THE BAY OF RIO.) giprzil ma tlt(| grrfianji. CHAPTEE I. THE BAT OF RIO DE JANEIRO HISTORIC REMINISCENCES FIRST SIGHT OF THR TROPICS ENTRANCE TO THE HARBOR NIGHT-SCENES IMPRESSIONS OF BEAUTY AND GRANDEUR GARDNER AND STEWART THE CAPITAL OF BRAZIL DISTINC- TION OF RIO DE JANEIRO. The Bay of Naples, the Golden Horn of Constantinople, and the Bay of Eio de Janeiro, are always mentioned by the travelled tourist as pre-eminently worthy to be classed together for their extent, and for the beauty and sublimity of their scenery. The first two, however, must yield the palm to the last-named magnificent sheet of water, which, in a climate of perpetual summer, is enclosed within the ranges of singularly-picturesque mountains, and is dotted with the verdure-covered islands of the tropics. He who, 13 14 Brazil and the Brazilians. in Switzerland, has gazed from the Quai of Yevay, or from the windows of the old Castle of Chillon, upon the grand panorama of the upper end of the Lake of Geneva, can have an idea of the general vicAv of the Bay of Eio de Janeiro; and there was much truth and beauty in the remark of the Swiss, who, looking for the first time on the native splendor of the Brazilian bay and its circlet of mountains, exclaimed, "C'est V Helvetic Meridionalel" (It is the Southern Switzerland !) What a glorious spectacle must have presented itself to those early navigators — De Solis, Majellan, and Martin Aifonso de Souza — • who were the first Europeans that ever sailed through the narrow portal which constitutes the entrance to Nictherohy, (^Hidden Water,) as these almost land locked waters were appropriately and poetically termed by the Tamoyo Indians ! Though the moun- tain-sides and borders of the bay are still richly and luxuriantly clothed, then all the primeval forests existed, and gave a wilder and more striking beauty to a scene so enchanting in a natural point of view, even after three centuries of the encroachments of man. De Souza — as the common tradition runs — supposed that he had entered the mouth of a mighty river, rivalling the Orinoco and the Amazon, and named it Eio de Janeiro, {River of January,') after the happy month — January, 1531 — in which he made his imagined discovery. Whatever may have been the origin of this misnomer, it is not only applied to the large and commodious bay, but to the province in which it is situated, and to the populous metro- polis of Brazil, which sits like a queen upon its bright shpres. We all of us know, either by our own experience or by that of others, what is the sight of land to the tempest-tossed voyager. When the broad blue circle of sea and sky, Avhich for days and weeks has encompassed his vision, is at length broken by a shore, — even though that shore be bleak and desolate as the ice-moun- tains of the Arctic regions, — it is invested with a surpassing interest, it is robed in undreamed-of charms. What, then, must be the emotions of one who, coming from a latitude of stormy winter, beholds around him a land of perpetual summer, with its towering and crested palms, and its giant vegetation arrayed in fadeless green ! In December, 1851, when the Iludson and the Potomac were Entrance to the Harbor. 15 bridged by the ice-king, and clouds and snow draped the sky and the kind, our good vessel stood out upon a stormy sea. A few weeks of gales and rolling waves, varied by light winds and calms, brought us to Capo Fino. This isolated peak shoots up as steeply as the chalk-cliffs of England, as high as the Rock of Gibraltar, and is covered to its very summit with verdure. No clouds — as I last beheld them in conjunction with terra firma — were frown- ing over this summer-land. The balmiest breezes were blowing, and the palms upon the adjacent hills were gracefully waving above the world of veo'etation — so new to me — which c-leamed in the warm sunlight. It was in the midst of such a scene that the day, not without evening-glories, faded away. The morning sun shone clearlj', and the lofty mountain-range near the entrance to the harbor stood forth in an outline at once bold, abrupt, and beautiful. The first entrance of any one to the Bay of Rio de Janeiro forms an era in his existence : — " an hour Whence he may date thenceforward and forever." Even the dullest observer must afterward cherish sublimer views of the manifold beauty and majesty of the works of the Creator. I have seen the most rude and ignorant Russian sailor, the im- moral and unreflecting Australian adventurer, as well as the culti- vated and refined European gentleman, stand silent upon the deck, mutually admiring the gigantic avenue of mountains and palm- covered isles, which, like the granite pillars before the Temple of Luxor, form a fitting colonnade to the portal of the finest bay in the world. On either side of that contracted entrance, as far as the eye can reach, stretch away the mountains, whose pointed and fantastic shapes recall the glories of Alj^land. On our left, the Sugar-Loaf stands like a giant sentinel to the metropolis of Brazil. The round and green summits of the Tres Irraaos {Three Brothers) are in strong contrast with the peaks of Corcovado and Tijuca ; while the Gavia rears its huge sail-like form, and half hides the fading line of mountains which extends to the very borders of Rio Grande do Sul. On the right, another loft}'' range commences near tho principal fortress which commands the entrance of the bay, and, forming curtain-like ramparts, reaches away, in picturesque head- 16 Brazil and the Brazilians. lands, to the bold j^romontory well knoAvn to all South Atlantic navigators as Cape Frio. Far through the opening of the bay, and in some places towering even above the lofty coast-barrier, can be discovered the blue outline of the distant Organ Mountains, whose lofty pinnacles will at once suggest the origin of their name. The general effect is truly sublime; but as the vessel draAvs nearer to the bold shore, and we see, on the sides of the double mount which rises in the rear of Santa Cruz, the peculiar bright- leaved woods of Brazil, with here and there the purple-blooming quaresma-tree, — and when we observe that the snake-like cacti and rich-flowering parasites shoot forth and hang down even from the jagged and precipitous sides of the Sugar-Loaf, — and as we single out in every nook and crevice new evidences of a genial and pro- lific clime, — emotion, before overwhelmed by vastness of outline, now unburdens itself in every conceivable exclamation of surprise and admiration. The breeze is wafting us onward, and we pass beneath the white walls of the Santa Cruz fortress. A black soldier, dressed in a light uniform of enviable coolness, leans lazily over a parapet, while higher up on the ramparts a sentinel marches with leisurely tread near the glass cupola which, illuminated at night, serves as a guide to the entering mariner. Immediately an enormous trumpet is protruded from this cupola, and our good ship is saluted by a stentorian voice, demanding, in Portuguese-English, the usual questions put to vessels sailing into a foreign port. We soon glide from under the frowning guns of Santa Cruz, and are just abreast Fort Lage, celebrated as the first spot of the bay ever inhabited by civilized man. The scene which now opens before us is exquisitely beautiful. Far to our left, beneath the Sugar-Loaf, but nearer to the city, is the fortress of St. John, bright amid the surrounding verdure. Passing through a fleet of gracefully shaped canoes and market-boats, manned by half-clad blacks, we cling to the steep right-hand coast, which soon precipitously terminates, and reveals to us the lovely little Bay of Jurujuba, — the "five-fathom" bay of the English. Again looking to the opposite side, beyond St. John, we have a glimpse of the graceful Cove of Botafoga (the Bay of Naples in miniature) and the pretty suburb of the same name, which seems like a jewel set between the smooth white beach and C -5 Tropic Night-scenes. 17 vhe broad circle of living green. Here too we have another of the many views of the Corcovado and the Gavia, which, as we vary our position, are ever changing and ever beautiful. Now the vast city looms up before us, extending, with its white suburbs, for miles along the irregular shores of the bay, and run- ning far back almost to the foot of the Tijuca Mountains, diversified by green hills Avhich seem to spring up from the most pojiulous neighborhoods. These combined cii-cumstances prevent a perfect view of Ilio de Janeiro from the waters. While gazing uj^on the domes and steeples, on the white edifices of, the city, and the bright verdure-clad Gloria, Santa Theresa, and Castello Hills, we are cut short in our admiration by the cry of a Brazilian official : — " Let go your anchor." The command is obeyed, and we are comfortably lying to under the formidable-looking guns of the Fortelcza Ville- gagnon. Our vessel swings round and reveals to us on the opposite shore the city of Praia Grande, the parti-colored cliff' of St. Do- mingo, and upon a mere rock, which seems a fragment of the ad- joining shore, the little church of Nossa Senhora de Boa Viagem, in which Eoman Catholic voyagei'S are supposed to pay their vows, and around which many graceful palm-trees are nodding in the cool ocean-breeze. While awaiting the visit of the custom-house oflScers we remain upon deck, and tire not of scenes so novel and exciting. Little steamers and graceful falluas* are passing and re- passing from Praia Grande and St. Domingo. White sails are dot- ting the bay as far as the eye can reach, while all around us the serried masts of Brazilian and foreign vessels are evidences that we are in the midst of a vast and busy mart. The night soon succeeds the short twilight of the tropics, and the city from our ship seems like a land of fairy enchantment. Bril- liancy and novelty do not end with the day. Innumerable gas- lights line the immense borders of the city down to the very edge of the bay, and are reflected back from the water in a thousand 'quivering flashes. The very forms of the hills themselves are de- fined amid the darkness by rows of lamps extending over their verdure-clad summits, and seem like the fabled star-bridges of an Arabian tale. The steam ferry-boats bear various-colored lights, * See engraving on page 60. 2 18 Brazil and the Brazilians. and each vessel in the harhor has a lamp at its fore; while every turn of the wheel furrows through a diamond sea, and every dash of the oar and every ripple from the gentle evening breeze reveals a thousand brilliant phosphorescent animalciilse illuminating the otherwise darkened waters. When we look above us we behold new constellations spangling the heavens, and their queen is the Southern Cross, guarded by her silent and mysterious attendants, the Majel- lan Clouds. The Great Bear has long since been hidden from us; but just peeping over the natural ramparts of the Organ Mountains, we see an old and a welcome friend in that beaming Orion, who here loses none of his northern splendor, and does not even pale before his rival of the Southern Hemisphere. Amid such scenes who could close their eyelids in sleep ? Dr. Kidder on one occasion, re- turning from the northern provinces, entered the harbor at night- fall during a squall, and thus describes the scene : — " We passed close under the walls of Fort Santa Cruz ; but, just as the vessel was in the most critical part of the passage, the wind lulled, and the current of the ebbing tide swept her back, and by degrees carried her over toward the rocks upon which Fort Lage is constructed. The moment- was one of great excitement and danger. Our situation was perceived at the forts, which severally fired guns, and burned white and blue lights, in order to show us their position. "A more sublime scene can hardly be imagined. The rolling thunders of the cannon were echoed back by the surrounding mountain-peaks, and the brilliant glare of the artificial flames ap- peared the more intense in the midst of unusual darkness. Happily for the vessel and all on board, the wind freshened in time, and we were borne gallantly up to the man-of-war anchorage, where, at nine o'clock, we were lying moored to not less than seventy fathoms of chain. "The moon had not yet risen, and the evening remained very dark. This circumstance heightened the beauty of the city and the effect of her thousand lamps, which were seen brightly burn- ing at measured intervals over the hills and praias of her far- stretching suburbs. One young man was so enchanted with the novelty and splendor of the scene, that he remained on deck all night to gaze upon it, notwithstanding rain fell at intervals." Beauty and Grandeur. 19 More than one have had to confess tliat their first twenty-four hours hefore Eio have been spent in a pcrpendicuh^r position with the eyes wide open, and could exchiim, with empliasis, — " Most gloi'ious night ! Thou wert not sent for slumber." Every thing is so fresh, so novel and awakening, that we are like children on the eve of some great festival or the night before the first journe}" to some vast city Avith whose wonders the story-book and the improvisations of the nursery have filled the imagination to the full. I have again and again entered and quitted the Bay of Eio de Janeiro when the billows were surging and when the calm mantled the deep; and, whether in the purple light of a ti'Opic morning; in the garish noon, or in the too brief twilight of that Southern clime, it has alwaj^s presented to me new glories and new charms. It has been my privilege to look upon some of the most celebrated scenes of both hemispheres; but I have never found one which combined so much to be admired as the panorama which we have attempted to describe. On the Height of St. Elmo I have drank in as much of beaut}^ from that curvilinear bay of Southern Italy, upon whose bosom float the isles of Capri and Ischia, and upon whose margin nestle the gracefull3'-shaped Vesuvius, the long arm of Sorrento, and the proverbially-brilliant city of Naples. I have seen very great variety in the blue, isle-dotted Bay of Panama; and I have beheld in the Alps, and in the western entrance to the Straits of Majellan, where the black, jagged Andes are rent asunder, scenes of wildness and sublimity without parallel; but, all things considered, I have jet to gaze upon a scene which surpasses, in combined beauty, variety, and grandeur, the mountain-engirdled Nictherohy. The above impressions were penned before I had read, with a single exception, one of the many detailed descriptions of the Bay of Eio de Janeiro; and it occurred to me that those who had never Been the natural beauties of this region would not give ready assent to its exaltation above so many other places famous for their scenery. Such might say, "He is an enthusiast, an exagge- rator.'.' I have since perused many books, journals, and letters 20 Brazil and the Brazilians. on Brazil; and all — from the ponderous tomes of Spix and Yon Martius, down to the ephemeral lines of a contributor to the news- papers — are of one accord in regard to this wonderful bay. Though the works may be devoted to history, science, commerce, or to the epistolary correspondence of friends, in this respect they all bear a resemblance; for all draw the same portrait and from the same original. Indeed, when reading the description given by the late lamented English botanist, Gardner, I half suspected myself a plagiarist, though I had never read his interesting and truly valuable travels until my own account was written. Describing the entrance of the harbor, this naturalist says, — "Passing through the magnificent portal of the bay, we came to an anchor a few miles below the city, not being allowed to proceed farther until visited by the authorities. It is quite impossible to express the feelings which arise in the mind while the eye surveys the beautifully-varied scener}^ which is disclosed on entering the harbor, — scenery which is perhaps unequalled on the face of the earth, and on the production of which nature seems to have exerted all her energies. Since then I have visited many places celebrated for their beauty and their grandeur, but none of them have left a like impression on my mind. As far up the bay as the S^^. Vincent. St. Vin- cent no longer exists, unless its existence may be predicated in the few miserable houses and the broken fountain which mark the spot where was laid the first stone of the proudest colony of Por- tugal. On the margin of that spacious and protected harbor which De Souza rejected for an exposed arm of the sea, has sprung up the first commercial cit}^ of South America, and the third in the New World. It Avill not be uninstructive to glance at the position, at that time, of the kingdom which sent forth Diaz, Vasco da Gama, Cabral, Coelho, Christbpher Jacques, Vespucius, and De Souza, upon new and hazardous voyages of discovery. The territor}'- of European Portugal was then no greater than at present j but her ambitious monarchs and her daring navigators had pushed their conquests and discoveries not only along the whole western and eastern coasts of Africa, but to " the farthest Ind." Bartholomew Diaz beheld the Cape of Good Hope six years before Columbus discovered America; and Vasco da Gama doubled the same cape ere the great Genoese landed at the mouth of the Orinoco. Poi"- tugal had flourishing colonies in Angola, Loango, and Congo, before Cortez had burned his ships in the Mexican Gulf Before the Honorable East India Company was dreamed of, Portuguese vice- roys and Portuguese commercial enterprises swayed it over mil- lions in Hindostan and Ceylon. They trafficked with the distant Pcnians and the little-known Burmese, on the baiiks of the Irra- waddy, three hundred years before Judson proclaimed, near the 52 Brazil and the Brazilians. same river, the gospel of the blessed Saviour. Centuries before the English possessed Hong-Kong or the Americans had opened Japan b}^ commercial treaties, Portugal owned Macao, held intercourse with the curious Chinese, traded with the Japanese, and, through her priests, led more than half a million of those almond-eyed islanders to embrace the doctrines of Rome. Of her immense acquisitions by conquest and discovery, that of Brazil was not to be the least in its importance* and future destiny. "When wo look at what Portugal loas and what she is, we can only exclaim, "How are the mightj^ fiillen !" Portugal has been weighed in the balance and found wanting. Shorn of all her possessions in the East except a territory (comprising Goa and a few unimportant islands) not so large as the State of South Carolina, her commerce is now scarcely known in the Indian Seas. Her dominion west of Asia is limited to her own small European kingdom, to languishing colonies in Africa, and to a fcAV islands in the Atlantic. She owns not an inch of territory in the Western World, where once she had a quarter of the continent. She had not the conservative salt of a pure Chris- tianity to preserve her moralit}'' and her greatness. Like Spain, she became at once the patron and the protectress of the Inquisi- tion; and, though the Portuguese are far more tolerant than the Spaniards, yet the Government of Portugal held on to that cursed engine of Eoman intolerance until 1821. The contrast between Holland and Portugal forces itself upon the consideration of all. They are both nearly of the same European area and population, both were great maritime nations in the sixteenth century, and both made extensive conquests in the East. But, Avhile neighbor- ing states have created a mercantile marine since the era refoi-red to, Holland, in this respect, still ranks as the third power in Europe and the fourth in the world, and her internal pi'osperity has not declined. Her credit has always maintained the highest place among the nations of the earth, while Portugal has been more than once on the verge of bankruptcy. Holland to-day governs twenty-two millions of people, wlio are prosperous and advancing, whether in the Eastern or the Western hemisphere. Portugal, in all her dominions, rules less than one-third of that number. The former is distinguished for tolerance and intelli- gence; the latter, under the blighting shadow of the Papacy, has, Col'igny's Huguenot Colony. 53 even in the latter luilf of the nineteenth ccntniy, manifested nar- rowness and bigotry,'^' and her people, as a whole, have been the most ignorant of Europe. The last fcw^ years have, however, wo trust, been the precursor of a better era for Portugal. Her young and enlightened monarch has come to the throne with enlarged viows, and it is fondl}^ hoped that his subjects will be elevated, and that Portugal will assume a position more in accordance with the liistorieal traditions of those days when her kings were energetic, and when her navigators laid at her feet the treasures of the world. Eeturning from this digression, let us again watch the progress of events in the new acquisitions of Portugal in the Western World. Other eyes than those of Spanish navigators were looking toward Brazil, and to that ver}^ portion of it which had been slighted by Martin Alfonso de Souza. Among the adventurers from France was Nicholas Durand do Villegagnon, a Knight of Malta, a man of considerable abilities, and of some distinction in the French service. He had even been appointed to the gallant post of com- mander of the vessel which bore Mary, Queen of Scots, from France to her own realms. Yiliegagnon aspii'ed to the honor of establish- ing a colony in the New World, and Eio de Janeiro was the chosen spot for his experiment. He had the address, in the outset, to secure the patronage of the great and good Admiral Coligny, whose persevering attempt to plant the Eeformcd religion in both North and South America was a leading feature in his life up to the time when St. Bartholomew's Eve Avas written in characters of blood. Villegagnon proposed to found an asylum for the persecuted Huguenots. Admiral Coligny's intiuenco secured to him a respect- able number of colonists. The French court was disposed to view with no small satisfaction the plan of founding a colony, after the example of the Portuguese and Spaniards. It was in the year 1555 that Henry II., the reigning king, fur- nished three small vessels, of which Villegagnon took the com- mand and sailed from Havre de Grace. A gale of wind occurred while they were j^et on the coast, and obliged them to put into Dieppe, which they accomplished with considerable difficulty. By this time many of the artificers, soldiers, and noble adventurers 54 ■ ' Brazil and the Brazilians. had become sick of the sea, and abandoned the expedition so soon as they reached the shore. After a long and perilous voyage, Villegagnon entered the Bay of Nithcrohy, and commenced fortifying a small island near the entrance, now denominated Lage, and occupied by a fort. His fortress, however, being of wood, could not resist the action of the water at flood-tide, and he was obliged to remove farther upward, to the island now called Villegagnon, where he built a fort, at first named in honor of his patron, Coligny. This expedition was well planned, and the place for a colony fitly chosen. The native tribes were hostile to the Portuguese, but had long traded amicably with the French. Some hundreds of them assembled on the shore at the arrival of the vessels, kindled bonfires in token of their joy, and offered every thing they jiossessed to these allies who had come to defend them against the Portuguese. Such a reception inspired the French with the idea that the continent was already their own, and they denominated it La France Antarctique. It was upon this island that they erected their rude place of worship, and here these French Puritans off'ered their prayers and sang their hymns of praise nearly threescore years and ten before a Pilgrim placed his foot on Plymouth Kock, and more than half a centuiy before the Book of Common Prayer was borne to the banks of the James Eiver. On the return of the vessels to Europe for a new supply of colo- nists, considerable zeal was awakened for the establishment of the Reformed religion in these remote parts. The Church of Geneva became interested in the object, and sent two ministers and four- teen students, who determined to brave all the hardships of an unknown climate and of a new mode of life in the cause. It is interesting to reflect that when the Reformation was j-et in its infanc}', the subject of propagating the gospel in distant parts of the world was one that engaged the hearts of Christians in the city of Geneva while Calvin, Farel, and Theodore de Beza were Btill living. It would be difficult to find an earlier instance of Protestant missionary eff'ort. As the situation of the Huguenots in France was any thing but happy, the combined motive of seeking deliverance from oppression and the advancement of their faith appears to have prevailed TriE Trrachrry of Villegagnon'. 55 extensively, and iiuliiccd many to embark. "When we look at the incipient movements of this enterprise, Avithout the knowledge of its conclusion, there seems as mucli reason to hope that the principles of the Keformation would have taken root here, as they did afterward in North Amei-ica, where they have produced a harvest of such wonderful results. But misfortunes seemed to attend every step of the enterprise. At Harfleur, the Papist populace rose against the colonists, and the latter, after losing one of their best officers in the conflict, were obliged to seek safety in retreat. They had a tedious voyage, suffering at one time from a violent storm; and, having neared the Brazilian coast, had a slight encounter with the Portuguese. However, they were received by Villegagnon with apparent cor- diality, and effectual operations began to be undertaken for their establishment. But it was not long before certain untoward circum- stances occurred which developed the real and villanous character of their leader. Having gained over to his complete influence a certain number who cared not for spiritual piety, Villegagnon, under pretence of changing his religion and returning to the true faith, com- menced a series of persecutions. Those Avho had come to Antarctic France 'to enjoy libert}^ of conscience found their condition worse than befoi'C. They were subjected to abusive treatment and great hardships. This unnatural defection consummated the premature ruin of the colony. The newly-arrived colonists demanded leave to return, which was granted, but in a vessel so badly furnished that some refused to embark, and the majority, who persisted, endured the utmost misery of famine. Villegagnon had given them a box of letters, wrapped in sere-cloth, as was the custom. Among them was one directed to the chief magistrate of the port where they might chance to arrive, in which this worthy friend of the Guises denounced the men whom he had invited out to Brazil to enjoy the peaceable exercise of the Reformed religion^ as heretics worthy of the stake. The magistrates of Hennebonne, where they landed, happened to favor the Reformation, and thus the malignity of Villegagnon was frustrated, and his treacherj'- exposed. Of those who had feared to trust themselves to a vessel so badly stored, and so unfit for the voyage, three were put to 56 Brazil and the Brazilians. death by this persecutor. Others of the H\;guenots fled from him to the Portuguese, where they were compelled to apostatize, and to profess a religion which they abhorred. The homeward-bound colonists were reduced to the greatest extremity, and, from want of food, they not only devoured all the leather, — even to the covering of their trunks, — but in their despair they attempted to chew the hard, dry brazil-wood which hap- pened to be in the vessel. Several died of hunger ; and they had begun to form the resolution of devouring each other, when land appeared in view. They arrived just in time to undeceive a body of Flemish adventurers ready to embark for Brazil, and also about ten thousand Frenchmen, who would have emigrated if the object of Coligny in founding his colony had not thus been wickedly betrayed. Though the Portuguese w^ero so jealous of the Brazilian trade that they treated all interlopers as pirates, yet, by some oversight, they permitted this French colony to remain four years unmolested; and, had it not been for the ti'cachery of Villegagnon to his own pai'ty, Eio de Janeiro would probably have been, at this day, the capital of a French colony or of an independent State in which the Huguenot element would have been predominant. The Jesuits were well aware of this danger, and Nobrega, their chief and provincial, at length succeeded in rousing the court of Lisbon. A messenger was commanded to discover the state of the French fortifications. On the ground of his report, orders were despatched to Mem de Sa Barreto, governor of the colony, and resident at San Salvador, to attack and expel the intruders who remained. Having fitted out two vessels-of-war and several mer- chantmen, the governor, taking the command in person, embarked, accompanied by Nobrega as his prime counsellor. They appeared off the bar at Eio early in 1560, with the intention of surprising the island at the dead of night. Being espied by the sentinels, their plan was foiled. The French immediately made ready for defence, forsook their ships, and, with eight hundred native archers, retired to their forts. "With reinforcements from St. Yincente, Mem de Sa won the land- ing-place, and, routing the French from their most important holds, so intimidated them that, under cover of the night, they fled, some to their ships and some to the mainland. Defeat of the French. 57 The Portuguese, not being strong enough to keep the position the}' had taken, demolished the works, and carried off the artillery and stores which the}' found. A short time after this, new wars, made bj^ the native tribes, bi'okc out against them, and were prose- cuted at different points with great ferocity for several years. In the mean time, the French recovered strength and influence. Pre- parations wei'o again made to extirpate them. A party of Portu- guese and friendly Indians, under the command of a Jesuit appointed by Nobrega, landed near the base of the Sugar-Loaf, and, taking a position now known as Praia Vermelha, maintained a series of indecisive skirmishes with their enemies for more than a year. Occasionally, when successful, they would sing in triumphant hope a verse from the Scriptures, saying, " The bows of the mighty are broken," &c. Well might they call the bows of the Tamoyos mighty; for an arrow sent by one of them would fasten a shield to the arm that held it, and sometimes would pass through the body, and continue its way with such force as to pierce a tree and hang quivering in the trunk. Nobrega at length came to the camp, and at his summons Mem de Sa again appeared with all the succors he could raise at San Salvador. All was made ready, and the attack deferred forty-eight hours, in order to take place on St. Sebastian's Day. The auspicious morning came, — that of January 20, 1567. The stronghold of the French was stormed. Not one of the Tamoyos escaped. South ey most justly remarks, never was a war in which so little exertion had been made, and so little force employed on both sides, attended by consequences so important. The French court was too busy in burning and massacring Huguenots to think of Brazil, and Coligny, after his generous plans had been ruined by the villanous treachery of Villegagnon, no longer regarded the colony : the day for emigration from his country was over, and they who should have colonized Rio de Janeiro were bearing arms against a bloody and implacable enemy, in defence of every thing dear to man. Portugal was almost as inattentive to Brazil; so that, few and unaided as were the Antarctic French, had Mem de Sa been less earnest in his duty, or Nobrega less able and less indefatigable in his opposition, the former would have retained their place, and perhaps the entire country have this day been French. 58 Brazil and the Brazilians. Immediately after his victory, the govcrnoi, conformable to his instructions, traced out a new city, which he named San Sebastian, in honor of the saint under whose jiatronage the field was won, and also of the king of the mother-country. The name of San Sebas- tian has been supplanted by that of Eio de Janeiro. In connection with the event just narrated, there remains on record a melancholy proof of the cruelty and intolerance of the victors. According to the annals of the Jesuits, Mem de Sa stained the foundations of the city Avith innocent blood. "Among the Huguenots who had been compelled to fly from Villegagnon's per- secution was one John Boles, a man of considerable learning, being well versed both in Greek and Hebrew. Luiz de Gram caused him to be apprehended, with three of his comrades, one of whom feigned to become a Eoman Catholic; the others were cast into prison; and there Boles had remained eight years, when he was sent for to be mart3"red at Eio de Janeiro, for the sake of terrifying his countrj'- men, if any should be lurking in those parts." The Jesuits are the only historians of this matter. They pre- tend that Boles apostatized, having been convinced of his errors by Anchieta, a priest greatly celebrated in the annals of Brazil. But, by their own story, it is not very probable that a man who for eight long years had steadfastly refused to renounce the religion of his conviction would now yield. Boles doubtless proved a stub- born unbending Protestant, and for this suffered a cruel death. And, notwithstanding the statement that he was to be slain as an example to his countr3'men, " if an}^ should be found lurking in those parts," it was not the custom of Eome to put to death those who renounced their errors and came into her protecting fold. When Boles was brought out to the place of execution, and the executioner bungled in his bloody office, "Anchieta hastily inter- fered, and instructed him how to despatch a heretic as speedily as possible, — fearing, it is said, lest he should become impatient, being an obstinate man, and newly reclaimed, and that thus his soul would be lost. The priest who in any way accelerates the execu- tion of death is thereby suspended from liis office ; but the biogra- pher of Anchieta enumerates this as one of the virtuous actions of his life." Though Eio de Janeiro was thus founded in blood, there is no Reflections. 59 Roman Catholic country in the world freer from bigotfy and in- tolcrence than the Empire of Brazil. Thus failed the establishment of Coligny's colony, upon which the hopes of Protestant Europe had for a short time been concen- trated; and Rio de Janeiro will ever be memorable as the first spot in the Western hemisphere where the banner of the Reformed religion was unfurled. It is true that the attempt was made upon territory which had been appropriated by Portugal; still, a question might arise as to the right of priority in the discovery of this por- tion of Brazil, for it is certain that the Spaniard, De Solis, and also Majellan, Ruy Faleii'o, and Diogo Garcia, Portuguese navigators in the service of Spain, entered the Bay of Nitherohy long before Martin Affonso de Souza. In whatever way this may bo settled, the fact of the failure of this Huguenot effort is full of food for reflection; and we can full}' sympathize with the remarks of the author of "Brazil and La Plata," in regard to the treachery of Villegagnon, and the consequent defeat of the aims of the first French colonists: — "With the remembrance of this fiiilure in establishing the Re- formed religion here, and of the direct cause which led to it, I often find myself speculating as to the possible and probable results which would have followed the successful establishment of Protest- antism during the three hundred years that have since intervened. With the wealth, and power, and increasing prosperity of the United States before us, as the fruits at the end of two hundred years' colonization of a few feeble bands of Protestants on the compara- tively bleak and bain-en shore of the Northern continent, there is no presumption in the belief that had a people of similar faith, similar morals, similar habits of industry and enterprise, gained an abiding footing in so genial a climate and on a soil so exuberant, long ago the still unexplored and impenetrable wilderness of the interior would have bloomed and blossomed in civilization as tho rose, and Brazil from the sea-coast to the Andes would have become one of the gardens of the world. But the o-crm which miccht have led to this was crushed by the bad faith and malice of Villegagnon; and, as I look on the spot which bears his name, and, in the eyes of a Protestant at least, perpetuates his reproach, the two or three solitary palms which lift their tufted heads above the embattled 60 Brazil and the Brazilians. walls^ and furnish the only evidence of vegetation on the island, seem, instead of plumed warriors in the midst of their defences, like sentinels of grief mourning the blighted hopes of the long past." FORTRESS AND ISLAND OF VILLEGAGNON. But -WO should not look too "mournfully into the past;" for though, in the mysterious dealings of Providence no Protestant nation, with its attendant vigor and progress, sways it over that fertile and salubrious land, may we not to a certain extent legiti- mately consider the tolerant and fit Constitution of the Empire, and its good government, the general material prosperit}^, and the advancement of the Brazilians in every point of view far beyond all other South American nations, as an answer to the faithful prayers with which those pious Huguenots baptized Brazil more than three centuries ago? Note for 1S6G. — The present Emperor has certainly shown himself a friend of toleration. He has aided in the construction of Protestant chapels for colonists; the Government promptly suppressed three riots attempted against Brazilian Protestants, (at Rio de Janeiro, at Bahia, and at Praia Grande;) and other acts might be cited to demonstrate that we have true cause for gratitude at the position of religious toleration in Brazil. But Brazilian legislation should go one step further, and admit to the Parliament all fit men, of whatever religious denomination. Then Brazil will be abreast with the nineteenth century CHAPTER IV. EARLY STATE OF RIO — ATTACKS OF THE FRENCH IMPROVEMENTS UNDER THE VICEROYS ARRIVAL OF THE ROYAL FAMILY OF PORTUGAL RAPID POLITICAL CHANGES — DEPARTURE OF DOM JOHN VI. THE VICEROYALTY IN THE HANDS OF DOM PEDRO BRAZILIANS DISSATISFIED WITH THE MOTHER-COUNTRY DE- CLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE ACCLAMATION OF DOM PEDRO AS EMPEROR. For one hundred and forty years after its foundation, the city of San Sebastian enjoyed a state of tranquil prosperity. This quietness was in happy contrast with the turbulent spirit of the age, and especiall}^ with the condition of the principal towns and colonies of Brazil; nearly all of which, during the period referred to, had been attacked by either the English, the Dutch, or the French. In this interval the population and commerce of the place greatly increased. At the commencement of the eighteenth century the principal gold-mines of the interior were discovered by the Paulistas, the inhabitants of San Paulo. These gave the name of Minas Geraes (^General Mines) to a large inland province, which became then, as it still remains, tributary to the port of Rio de Janeiro. Gold- digging was found to produce here effects similar to those which resulted from it in the Spanish countries. Agriculture was nearly abandoned, the price of slaves — who had been early introduced — became enormous, and the general prosperity of the country retro- graded; while every one who could rushed to the mines, in hope of speedily enriching himself We even find that the curious and abnormal condition of California in 1848 had its counterpart three centuries ago in Brazil. Even the Governor of Rio, forgetful of his official character and obligations, went to Minas Geraes and engaged with avidity in the search for treasure. The fame of these golden discoveries sounded 61 62 Brazil and hie Brazilians. abroad, and awakened the ciq:)idity of the French, who, in 1710, sent a squadron, commanded by M. Du Clere, with the intent of capturing Rio. Tlie wliole expedition was ingloriously defeated by the Portuguese, under Francisco de Castro, Governor of Eio de Janeiro. This officer possessed no military ability, but blun- dered into a victory over the French, and permitted horrid cruelties to be practised upon the prisoners. France was not slow to resent the inhumanity with which her men had been treated. M. Duguay Trouin, one of the ablest naval officers of the times, sought permission to revenge his countrymen and to plunder Hio de Janeiro. Individuals were found ready to incur the expenses of the outfit, in prospect of the speculation. The project was a2:)in'oved by Government, and an immense naval force was placed at Trouiu's disposal. This expedition was eminently successful. The tactics of the imbecile Castro did not succeed: the city Avas stormed, taken, and afterward ransomed for a heavy sum. It was during the bombard- ment that the convent of San Bento was battered by the balls, the marks of which are still visible. The plunder and the ransom were so great, that, notwithstand- ing, on the return-voyage of the French, a number of their vessels went down Avith twelve hundred men and the most valuable part of the booty, there remained to the adventurers a j^rofit of ninety- two per cent, upon the capital they had risked in the outfit. From the time that Daguay Trouin's squadron weighed anchor on their homeward voyage, no hostile fleet has ever entered the harbor of Eio de Janeiro. Great changes, however, have taken place in the condition of that citj'. In 1763 it superseded Bahia as the seat of government, and became the residence of the viceroys of Portugal. The more substantial improvements of the capital were under- taken at this period. The marshes, which covered a considerable portion of the spot where the town now stands, were drained and diked. The streets were paved and lighted. Cargoes of African slaves, who had hitherto been exposed in the streets for sale, exhibiting scenes of disgust and horror, and also exposing the inhabitants to the worst of diseases, were now ordered to be Improvements under the Viceroys. GO removed to the Vallongo, which was designated as a general market for these unhappy beings. Fountains of running water were also multiplied. The great aqueduct which spans the llua dos Arcos was then constructed; and in these and various other waj's, the health, comfort, and prosperity of the city were promoted under the successive adminis- trations of the Count da Cunha, the Marquis of Lavradio, and Luiz de Yaseoncellos The system of government maintained during these periods throughout Brazil was absolute in the extreme, and by no means calculated to develop the great resources of the countrj^. j^ever- theless, it was anticipated by the more enlightened statesmen of Portugal that the colony would some day eclipse the glory of the mothei'-countr}^ None, however, could foresee the proximity of those events which were about to drive the royal family (the house of Bragauza) to seek an asylum in the New World, and to 64 Brazil a.\d the Brazilians. establish their court at Kio de Janeiro. The close of the eighteenth century witnessed their development. The French Revolution and the leading spirit which was raised up by it involved the slumbering kingdom of Portugal in the troubles of the Continent. Napoleon determined that the court of Lisbon should declare itself against its ancient ally, England, and assent to the Continental sj-stem adopted b}' the Imperial ruler of France. The Prince-Regent, Dom John VI., promised, but hesi- tated, delayed, and finally, too late, declared war against England. The vacillation of the Prince-Regent hastened events to a crisis. The English fleet, under Sir Sidney Smith, eetablished a most rigorous blockade at the mouth of the Tagus, and the British ambassador left no other alternative to Dom John VI. than to surrender to England the Portuguese fleet, or to avail himself of the British squadron for the protection and transportation of the royal family to Brazil. The moment was critical : the army of Napoleon had penetrated the mountains of Beira ; only an immediate departure would save the monarchy. No resource re- mained to the Prince-Regent but to choose between a tottering throne in Europe and a vast empire in America. His indecisions were at an end. By a royal decree he announced his intention to retire to Rio de Janeiro until the conclusion of a general peace. The archives, the treasures, and the most precious efl'ects of th'e crown, were transferred to the Portuguese and English fleets; and, on the 29th of November, 1807, accompanied b}^ his family and a multitude of faithful followers, the Prince-Regent took his de- parture amid the combined salvos of the cannon of Great Britain and of Portugal. That verj^ da}^ Marshal Junot thundered upon the heights of Lisbon, and the next morning took possession of the city. Early in January, 1808, the news of these surprising events reached Rio de Janeiro, and excited the most lively interest. What the Brazilians had dreamed of onlj^ as a remote possible event was now suddenly to be realized. The royal family might be expected to arrive any day, and preparations for their reception occupied the attention of all. The Viceroy's palace was imme- diately prepared, and all the public offices in the Palace Square were vacated to accommodate the royal suite. These not being deemed sufficient, proprietors of private houses in the neighborhood Arrival of the Royal Family. 65 were required to leave their residences and send in their keys to the Viceroy. Such Avere the sentiments of the people respecting the hosj")!- tality duo to their distinguished guests, that nothing seems to have been withheld; while many, even of the less opulent families, voluntarily offered sums of money and objects of value to administer to their comfort. Tlie fleet having been scattered in a storm, the jorincipal vessels had put into Bahia, where Dom John VI. gave that carta regia which opened the ports of Brazil to the commerce of the world. At length all made a safe entry into the harbor of Eio, on the 7th of March, 1808. In the manifestations of joy upon this occasion, ' .10 houses were deserted and the hills were covered with spec- tators. Those who could procured boats and sailed out to meet the royal squadron. The prince, immediately after landing, pro- ceeded to the cathedral, and publicly offered thanks for his safe arrival. The city was illuminated for nine successive evenings. In order to form an idea of the changes that have occurred in Brazil during the last lifty years, it must be remarked, that, up to the period now under consideration, all commerce and intercoui'se with foreigners had been rigidly prohibited by the narrow policy of Portugal. Vessels of nations allied to the mother-country were occasionally permitted to come to anchor in the ports of this mam- moth colony; but neither passengers nor crew were allowed to land excepting under the superintendence of a guard of soldiers. The policy pursued by China and Jaj)an was scarcely more strict and prohibitory. To prevent all possibility of trade, foreign vessels — whether they had put in to repair damages or to jji'ocure provisions and water — immediately on their arrival were invested with a custom-house guard, and the time for their remaining was fixed by the authori- ties according to the supposed necessities of the case. As a conse- quence of these oppressive regulations, a people who were rich in gold and diamonds were unable to procure the essential imjolements of agriculture and of domestic convenience. A Avealthy planter, who could display the most rich and massive plate at a festival, might not be able to furnish each of his guests with a knife at table. A single tumbler at the same time might be under the 6 66 Brazil and the Brazilians. necessity of making repeated circuits through the company. The printing-press had not made its appearance. Books and learning were equally rare. The people were in every way made to feel their dependence; and the spirit of industry and enterprise were alike unknown. On the arrival of the Prince-Regent the ports were thrown open. A printing-press was introduced, and a Eoyal Gazette was pub- lished. Academies of medicine and the fine arts were established. The Eoyal Librarj^, containing sixtj^ thousand volumes of books, was opened for the free use of the public. Foreigners were in- vited, and embassies from England and France took up their residence at Rio de Janeiro. From this period, decided improvements were made in the con- dition and aspect of the city. New streets and squares were added, and splendid residences were arranged on the neighboring islands and hills, augmenting, with the growth of the town, the picturesque beauties of the surrounding scenery. The sudden and 'continued influx of Portuguese and foreigners not only showed itself in the population of Rio, but extended inland, causing new ways of communication to be opened with the interior, new towns to be erected, and old ones to be improved. In fact, the whole face of the countr}'^ underwent great and rapid changes. The manners of the people also experienced a corresponding mutation. The fashions of Europe were introduced. From the seclusion and restraints of non-intercourse the people emerged into the festive ceremonies of a court, whose levees and gala-days drew together multitudes from all directions. In the mingled society which the capital now offered, the dust of retirement was brushed off, antiquated customs gave way, new ideas and modes of life were adopted, and these spread from circle to circle and from [town to town. Business assumed an aspect equally changed. Foreign com- mercial houses were opened, and foreign artisans established them- selves in Rio and other cities. This country could no longer remain a colony. A decree was promulgated in December, 1815, declaring it elevated to the dig- nity of a kingdom, and hereafter to form an integral part of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Algarves, and Brazil. It is scarcely' Rapid Political Changes. 67 possible to imagine the enthusiasm awakened by this unlooked-for change throughout the vast extent of Portuguese America. Mes- sengers were despatched to bear the news, which was hailed with spontaneous illuminations from the La Plata to the Amazon. Scarcely Avas this event consummated when the queen, Donna Maria I., died. She was mother to the Prince-Eegent, and had been for years in a state of mental imbecility'', so that her death had no influence upon political affairs. Her funeral obsequies were performed with great splendor; and her son, in respect for her memory, delayed the acclamation of his accession to the throne for a year. He was at length crowned, with the title of Dom John VI. The cere- monies of the coronation were celebrated Avith suitable magnifi-. cence in the Palace Square, on the 5th of February, 1818, Amid all the advantages attendant upon the new state of things in Brazil, there were many circumstances calculated to provoke political discontent. It was then that bitter feelings toward the natives of Portugal sprang up, which, though modified, still exist throughout the Empire, and made, at a later date, the severance of Brazil from the mother-country more easy of accomplishment than the separation of the thirteen colonies of North America from the crown of Great Britain. There had always been, to a greater or less extent, a certain rivalry between the native Brazilian and the Portuguese ; but now it found a new cause of excitement. The Government felt itself bound to find places for the more than twenty thousand needy and unprincipled adventurers who had followed the royal family to the Kew World. These men cared very little for the welfare of Brazil, either in the administration of justice or in acts for the benefit of the public. Their greatest interest by far was manifested in the eager desire to fleece the country and enrich themselves. Honors were heaped upon those Brazilians who had furnished house and money to the Prince- Regent; and, as he had nothing to give them but decorations, he was soon surrounded by knights Avho had never displayed either chivahy or learning. The excitement thus aroused in a country where titulary distinctions Avere hitherto almost unknoAvn was intense. Every one aspired to become a cavalheiro or a coin- mendador, and the most degrading sycophancy was practised to 68 Brazil and the Brazilians. obtain the ro^-al favor. Men who had been good traders in im- ported articles, or successful dealers in mandioca and coffee, once knighted, could never again return to the drudgery and debasing associations of commercial life, and must live either on previously- acquired fortunes or seek Government employment. On this gi'ound the native Brazilians and the newly-arrived Portuguese fought their first battles. They were rivals for place, and, once in office, the Brazihan was as open to evcrj* species of bribery and corruption as the most venal hanger-on of the court from Lisbon. The Brazilians, however, had one advantage over their adversaries. The natives sympathized most fully with their recently-knighted brethren, and listened to their complaints with a willing ear. These things, together with the wretched state of morals that prevailed at the court, were calculated to increase the jealousy of what the Brazilians considered a foreign dominion over thera. The independence of the English North American colonies and the successful revolutionary struggle of some of the neighboring Spanish-American provinces still more augmented the uneasiness of the people ; and a consciousness of this increasing discontent, and a fear that Brazil might be induced to follow the example of her revolting Spanish neighbors, doubtless had a powerful influence upon the Grovernment in making the con- cessions named. Tranquillity followed the erection of Brazil into a constituent portion of the kingdom; but it was of short duration. Discontent was at Avork. The intended revolt at Peruambuco in 1817 was betrayed to the Government, and the insurgents were prematurely compelled to take up arms, and suffered defeat from the troops sent against them by the Count dos Arcos. From this time there seems to have been a systematic exclusion of native Brazilians from commands in the army. Murmurs were gradually disseminated; but they found no echo — as in the case of the jSTorth American colonies — from the press, which had, with common schools, followed in the immediate wake of the English colonists. The first, and at that time the only, printing-press in the country, was brought from Lisbon in 1808, and was under the direct control of the royal authorities. Its columns faithfully recorded for the Brazilian public the health of Departure of D. John VL 69 all the Eun^pcan princes. It was filled with official edicts, birth- day odes, and panegyrics on the royal family; but its jiagos were unsullied by the ebullitions of the democracy, or the exposure of their grievances. As has been well said by Armitage, " to have judged of the country by the tone of its only journal, it must have been pronounced a terrestrial paradise, Avhere no word of com- plaint had ever yet found utterance." But at length the time arrived when the monotony of the Court Gazette was interrupted, and the people soon found voices for their grievances, and in the end substantial redress. The revolution which occurred in Portugal in 1821, in favor of a Constitution, was immediately responded to by a similar one in Brazil. After much excitement and alarm from the tumultuous move- ments of the people, the King, D. John. VI., conferred upon his son Dom Pedro, Prince-Eoyal, the office of Regent and Lieutenant to His Majesty in the Kingdom of Brazil. He then hastened his de- parture for Portugal, accompanied by the remainder of his family and the principal nobility who had followed him. The disheartened monarch embarked on board a line-of-battle ship on the 24th of AjDril, 1821, leaving the widest and fairest j)ortion of his dominions to a destiny not indeed unlooked for by his majesty, but wJiich was fulfilled much sooner than his melancholy forebodings antici- pated.* Eapid as had been the ijolitical changes in Brazil during the last ten years, greater changes still were about to take place. Dom Pedro, who now enjoyed the dignity and attributes of Prince- Eegent and Lieutenant of His Majesty the King of Portugal, was at this period in the twenty-third year of his age. He possessed many of the essentials of popularity. His personal beauty was not less marked than his frank and affable manners, and his dispo- sition, though capricious, was enthusiastic. He had decision of character, and was one who seemed to know when to seize the * Just as the vessel was ready to sail, the old king pressed his son to his bosom for the last time, and exclaimed, "Pedro, Brazil will, I fear, ere long separate herself from Portugal ; and if so, place the crown on thine own head rather than allow it to fall into the hands of any adventurer." 70 Brazil and the Brazilians. proper moment for calming the populace, as when at Eio, while the Kinc: was in the Palace of San Christovilo, only three miles away, ne, upon his own authority, gave to the people and the troops a decree whereby an unreserved acceptance of the future Constitution of the Portuguese Cortes was guaranteed. He also knew Avell how to guard his prerogative. The Prince's consort was by lineage and talent worthy of his hand, for Leopoldina was an archduchess of Austria; in her veins coursed the blood of Maria Theresa, and it was her sister Maria Louisa who was the bride of Napoleon. She was not possessed of great personal beauty, j'ct her kindness of heart and her unpretentious bearing endeared her to every one who knew her. Dom Pedro had left Portugal when a mere lad, and' it was believed that his highest aspirations were associated with the land of his adoption. In the office of Prince-Eegent he certainl}^ found scope for his most ardent ambition; but he also discovered himself to be surrounded with numerous difficulties, political and financial. So embarrassing indeed was his situation, that in the course of a few months he begged his father to allow him to resign his office and attributes. The Cortes of Portugal about this time becoming jealous of the position of the Prince in Brazil, passed a decree ordering him to return to Europe, and at the same time abolishing the royal tribunals at Eio. This decree was received with indig- nation by the Brazilians, who immediately rallied around Dom Pedro, and persuaded him to remain among them. His consent to do so gave rise to the most enthusiastic demonstrations of joy among both patriots and loyalists. The Portuguese military soon evinced symptoms of mutiny. A conflict seemed inevitable; but the Portuguese commander vacillated in view of the determined opposition manifested by the people, who flew to arms, and offered to capitulate on the condition of his soldiers retaining their arms. This was conceded, on their agreeing to retire to Praia Grande, a city on the opposite side of the bay, until transports could be provided for their embarkation to Lisbon; which was subsequently effected. The measures of the Cortes of Portugal, which continued to be arbitrary in the extreme toward Brazil, finally had the effect to hasten, in the latter country, a declaration of absolute independence. This measure had long Declaration of Independence. 71 been ardently desired by the more enlightened Brazilians, some of whom had already urged Dom Pedro to assume the title of Emperor Hitherto he had refused, and reiterated his allegiance to Portugal But ho at length, while on a journey to the province of S. Paulo received despatches from the mother-country, which had the effect of cutting short all delay, and caused him to declare for independ- ence in a manner so decided and explicit that henceforward all retrograde measures would be utterly impracticable. On the 7th of September, 1822, when he read the despatches, he was surrounded by his courtiers, on those beautiful camj)inas in sight of San Paulo, a city which had ever been, as it is now, cele- brated in Brazil for the liberality and intelligence of its inhabitants. It was then, on the margin of an insignificant stream, — the Ypiranga, — that he made that exclamation, ^'■Iridependencia ou viorte," (Independence or death,) which became the watchword of the Bra- zilian Revolution; and from the 7th of September, 1822, the inde- pendence of the countr^^ has since held its ofiicial date. It has been truly said that in the eyes of the civilized world it was a memorable circumstance, and must ever form an epoch in the history of the Western continent. It was indeed a gi-eat event, which has led to vast results. It was a grand revolution, begun by one whose very birth and position would have led the contemplative philosopher or statesman to pronounce it impossible that he should become the leader of a popular cause. It was the descendant of a long line of Euroj^ean monarchs who inaugurated that movement which severed the last — the most faithful — of the great divisions of South America from transatlantic rule. The Prince-Regent hastened to Rio de Janeiro by a rapid journey; and there, so soon as his determination was known, the enthusiasm in his favor knew no bounds. The municipality of the capital issued a proclamation on the 2l8t of Septembei', declaring their intention to fulfil the manifest wishes of the people, by proclaiming Dom Pedro the constitutional Emperor and perpetual defender of Brazil. This ceremony was performed on the 12th of October following, in the Campo de Santa Anna, iu the presence of the municipal authorities, the functionaries of the court, the troops, and an immense concourse of peoj^le. His High- 72 Brazil and the Brazilians. ness there publicly declared, his acceptance of the title conferred on him, from the conviction that he was thus obeying the will of the people. The troops fired a salute, and the citj^ was illuminated in the evening. Jose Bonifacio de Andrada, prime minister of the Government, had in the mean time promulgated a decree, requiring all the Portuguese who were disposed to embrace the popular cause to manifiest their sentiments by wearing the Emperor's motto — " Independencia ou morte" — upon their arm, ordering also, that all dissentients should leave the country within a given period, and threatening the penalties imposed upon high-treason against any one who should thenceforward attack, by word or deed, the sacred cause of Brazil. The prime minister was the eldest of three brothers, all of them remarkable for their talents, learning, eloquence, and (though at times factious) for their sterling patriotism. They were unin- fluenced by either the adulation of the populace or the favor of the Emperor. Jose Bonifacio de Andrada combined, to an eminent degree, the various excellencies suited to the emergencies of the incipient stages of the Empire. The Brazilian Revolution was comparatively a bloodless one. The glory of Portugal was already waning; her resources were exhausted, and her energies crippled' by internal dissensions. That nation made nothing like a systematic and persevering effort to maintain her ascendency over her long-depressed but now rebellious colony. The insulting measures of the Cortes were con- summated only in their vaporing decrees. The Portuguese domi- nion was maintained for some time in Bahia and other ports, which had been occupied by military forces. But these forces were at length compelled to withdraw and leave Brazil to her own control. So little contested, indeed, and so rapid, was this revolution, that in les'' than three years from the time independence was declared on the plains of the Ypiranga, Brazil was acknowledged to be inde- pendent at the court of Lisbon. In the mean time the Emperor had been crowned as Dom Pedro I., and an assembly of delegates from the provinces had been convoked for the formation of a Constitution. ARMS OF THE BRAZILIAN EMPIRE. CHAPTER Y. TUE ANDRADAS INSTRUCTIONS OF THE EMPEKOR TO TUE CONSTITUENT ASSEMHLY — ■ DOM PEDRO I. DISSOLVES THE ASSEMBLY BY FORCE — CONSTITUTION FRAMED BY A SPECIAL COMMISSION CONSIDERATIONS OF THIS DOCUMENT THE RULE OF DOM PEDRO I. CAUSES OF DISSATISFACTION THE EMPEROR ABDICATES IN FAVOB OF DOM PEDRO II. The new state of affairs did not, however, proceed with either smoothness or velocity. Political bitterness, jealousy, and strife were at work. The Andrada ministry* were accused of being arbitrary and tyrannical. Brazil owed her independence, and Dom Pedro I. his crown, chiefly to their exei'tionsj yet their administra- tions cannot by any means be exempted from censure. Their views were certainly comprehensive, and their intentions patriotic; but their impatient and ambitious spirit rendered them, when in power, intolerant to their political opponents. They were assailed with great energy, and finally compelled to resign; but such were the tumults of the people, and the violent partisan exertions in their favor, that they were reinstated, and Jose Bonifacio was drawn in his carriage by the populace through the streets of Eio de Janeiro. Eight months afterward a combination of all parties * Jose Bonifacio was prime minister, and Martin Francisco de indrada was at the head of the Finance Department. 73 14: Brazil and the Brazilians. again effected the ejection of the brothers Andrada from the ministry, but not from power. They became the most factious opponents of the Emperor and of the ministry which succeeded theirs. They were unmitigated in their attacks, both in the Assembly and through the press. The Constituent Assembly had done little besides wrangling. The members were mostly men of narrow views and of little ability; hence it was that the Andradas, by their eloquence and knowledge of parliamentary tactics, had such power over their minds. The Emperor, with great good sense, had, in opening the sessions, told the Assembly that the recent ''Constitutions founded on the models of those of 1791 and 1792 had been acknowledged as too abstract and too metaphj'sical for execution. This has been jH'Oved by the example of France, and more recently by that of Spain and Portugal." His Imperial Majesty seems to have had a high standard of constitutional excellence, and one which we would have deemed it difficult, and perhaps impossible, for the Brazilian peojjle to have reached. "We have need," he said in his address from the throne, " of a Constitution where the powers may be so divided and defined, that no one branch can arrogate to itself the prerogatives of another; a Constitution which may be an insur- mountable barrier against all invasion of the royal authority, whether aristocratic or popular; which will overthrow anarch}', and cherish the tree of liberty; beneath whose shade we shall see the union and the independence of this Empire flourish. In a word, a Constitution that will excite the admiration of other nations, and even of our enemies, who will consecrate the triumph of our prin- ciples in adopting them." (From the Falla do Throno, 3d May, 1823.) Notwithstanding those instructions, the Constituent Assembly made no progress in forming a document from which such grand results were to flow as those depicted by the Emperor. The Andradas continued their opposition to various measures brought forward by the Government. His Majesty was irritated by their continual thrusts at the Portuguese incorporated in the Brazilian army. An outrage committed by two Portuguese officers upon the supposed author of an attack upon them was, in the excited state of public feeling, magnified into an outrage on the nation. The D. Pedro L Dissolves the Assembly. '75 8uflfci-cr demanded justice from the House of Deputies, and the Andradas most loudly demanded vengeance on the Portuguese aggressors. The journal under their control, called the " Tamoyo," (from a tribe of Indians who wore the bitter foes of the early Por- tuguese settlers,) was equally violent. It even went so far as to insinuate that if the Government did not turn aside from its anti- national course, its power would be of short continuance, and, as a warning to the Emperor, the examjjle of Charles I. of England was alluded to in no unmeaning terms. But Dora Pedro I. was no weak and vacillating Stuart. He pos- sessed more of the spirit of Oliver Cromwell or of the First Na- poleon. The Assembly, through the three brothers, was induced to declare itself in permanent session. The Emperor, finding that they (the Andradas) still maintained their predominance, mounted on horseback, and, at the head of his cavalry, marched to the Chamber, planted his cannon before its walls, and sent up General Moraes to the Assembly to order its instantaneous dissolution. The Assembly was broken up. The three Andradas were seized, as well as the Deputies Eocha and Montezuma, and were, without trial or examination, transported to France. Thus ended, for a brief period at least, the political career of the eloquent, patriotic, and factious Andradas. The Emperor issued a proclamation, stating that he had taken the measures recounted above, solely with the view of avoiding anarch}^; and the public were reminded that " though the Emperor had, from regard to the tranquillity of the Empire, thought fit to dissolve the said Assembly, he had in the same decree convoked another, in conformity with the acknowledged constitutional rights of his people." A special commission of ten individuals was convened on the 26th of November, 1823, for the purpose of forming such a Con- stitution as might meet with the Imperial approval. The members of this commission immediately commenced their labors under the personal superintendence of D. Pedro I., who furnished them the bases of the document which he wished to bo framed, and gave them forty days for the accomplishment of the object. The ten councillors, as a body, were badly qualified for the im- portant task before them; yet several of their number were noted 76 Bkazil axd the Brazilians. for the excellence of their private characters, and two only for their erudition. One of these two, Carneiro de Campos, was for- tunately intrusted with the drawing up of the Constitution, and to him it has been said Brazil is principally indebted for a number of the most liberal provisions of the code, — provisions Avhich he insisted on introducing in opposition to the wishes of many of his colleagues. It is evident that the drafting-committee of ten could not foresee how liberal were the provisions of this Constitution, for most of them were staunch royalists; yet various providential circum- stances conduced to the production of a just and liberal instrument of government. [See Appendix B.] Its most important features may be stated in a few words. The government of the Empire is monarchical, hereditarj^, constitutional, and representative. The religion of the State is the Eoman Ca- tholic, but all other denominations are tolerated. Judicial pro- ceedings are public, and there is the right of habeas corpus and trial by jury. The legislative power is in the General Assembly, which answers to the Imperial Parliament of England or to the Congress of the United States. The senators are elected for life, and the representatives for four j^ears. The presidents of the provinces arc appointed by the Emperor. There is a legislative Assembly to each province for local laws, taxation, and government: thus, Brazil is a decentralized Empire. The senators and representa- tives of the General Assembly are chosen through the intervention of electors, as is the President of the United States, and the pro- vincial legislators are elected by universal suffrage. The press is free, and there is no proscription on account of color, The Constitution thus framed was accepted by the Emperor, and on the 25th of March, 1824, w^as sworn to by his Imperial High- ness, and by the authorities and people throughout the Empire. It is an instrument truly remarkable, considering the source whence it emanated, and we cannot continue the subsequent history of the countr}^ without devoting to its merits a few passing reflections. This Constitution commenced by being the most liberal of all other similar documents placed before a South American people. In its wise and tolerant notions, and in its adaptation to the nation for which it was prepared, it is second onl}" to that which govei-ns the The Brazilian Constitution, XT A.ngIo-Saxon Confederacy of North Amcricii. States and indi- viduals may utter, in their charters of government, fine sentences in regard to equality and right; but if they fail in practicability and in securing those very elements of justice, stabilitj^, and pro- gress, the eloquent phrases arc but "as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal." The Brazilian Constitution has, to a great extent, secured equality, justice, and consequently national prosperity. She is to-day govci'ned by the same Constitution with which more than thirt}' years ago she commenced her full career as a nation. While every Spanish-American Government has been the scene of bloody revolutions, — while the civilized world has looked with horror, wonder, and pity upon the self-constituted bill of the people's rights again and again trampled under foot by turbulent faction and priestly bigotry, or by the tyranny of the most narrow-minded dictators, — the only Portuguese-American Government (though it has had its provincial revolts of a short duration) has beheld but two revolutions, and those were peaceful, — one fully in accordance with the Constitution;* the other, the proclamation of the ma- jority of Dom Pedro II., was by suspending a single article of the Government compact. Mexico, which, in extent of territory, population, and resources, is more properly comparable to Brazil than any other Hispano- American country, established her first Constitution only one month (Februar}^, 1824) earlier than the adoption of the Brazilian charter of government and rights. But poor Mexico has been the prey of every unscrupulous demagogue who could for the moment command the army. Her Constitution has repeatedly been over- tlirown; the victorious soldiery of a hardier nation placed her at the mercy of a foreign cabinet; her dominion has been despoiled; her commerce crippled and diminished by her own inertness and narrow policy; personal security and national prosperity are unknown, and her people are this day no further advanced than when the Constitution was fii'st set aside in 1835. Brazil, on the other hand, has been continually progressing. The head of the Empire is in the same famil}', and governs under * The abdication of Dom Pedro I. in favor of his son, Dom Pedro II., the present Emperor. 78 Brazil and the Brazilians. the same Constitution that was established in 1824. Her commercfe doubles every ten years ; she possesses cities lighted by gas, long lines of steamships, and the beginnings of railways that are spread- ing from the sea-coast into the fertile interior; in her borders education and genei-al intelligence are constantly advancing. This great contrast cannot be accounted for altogether on the ground of the ditference between the two people and between their respective forms of government. It is doubtless true that a Monarchy is better suited to the Latin nations than a Republic ; and it is equally apparent that there is a very great dissimilarity between the Spaniard and his descendants, and the Portuguese and his descendants. The Spaniard affects to despise the Portuguese, and the latter has of late years been underrated in the eyes of the world.* The child of Castile, take him where you will, is ambi- tious, chivalric, bigoted, vain, extravagant, and laz}". The son of Lusitania is not wanting in vanity, but is more tolerant and less turbulent than his neighbor, and is a being both economical and industrious. The reasons, under Providence, of the great divergence in the results of the Brazilian and Mexican Constitution may be summed up briefly thus : — Brazil, while providing a hereditarj^ monarchical head, recognised most fully the democratic element ; while acknow- ledging the Roman Catholic religion to be that established b}'- the State, she guaranteed, with the single limitations of steeples and bells, the unrestricted right of worship to all other denominations; she established public judicial proceedings, the habeas corpus, and the right of trial by jury. Mexico, in the formation of her Constitution, copied that of the United States, but departed from that document, in the two most important particuhirs, as widely as the oft-quoted strolling actors de^iatcd from the original tragedy when i\\Qj advertised "Hamlet" to be played minus the role of the Prince of Denmark. The Mexican Constitution established an exclusive religion with all the rigorous bigotry of Old Spain ; and public judicial proceedings and the inter- vention by juries were omitted altogether. The starting-point of * "Strip a Spaniard of all his virtues, and you make a good Portuguese of him." — Spanish Peoverb. The Rule of Dom Pedro L 79 Brazil and Mexico wore entirely different : the former, happy in a suitable form of government and in liberal principles from the beginning, has outstripped the latter in all that constitutes true national greatness. Brazil did not, however, attain her present proud position in South America without days of trial and hard experience. Corrupt and unprincipled men were in greater numbers than those who possessed stern and patriotic virtue. The people were ignorant and unaccustomed to self-government, and were often used by unscrupulous leaders to the advancement of their own purposes. The administration of Dom Pedro I. continued about ten years, and, during its lapse, the country unquestionably made greater advances in intelligence than it had done in three centuries which intervened between its first discovery and the proclamation of the Portuguese Constitution in 1820. Nevertheless, this administra- tion was not without its faults or its difficulties. Dom Pedro, although not tyrannical, was imprudent. He was energetic, but inconstant ; an admirer of the representative form of government, • but hesitating in its practical enforcement. Elevated into a hero during the struggle for independence, he appears to have been guided rather by the example of other poten- tates than by any mature consideration of the existing state and exigencies of Brazil; and hence, perhaps, the eagerness with which he embarked in the war against Montevideo, which certainly had its origin in aggi'ession, and which, after crippling the commerce, checking the prosperity, and exhausting the finances of the Empire, ended only in the full and unrestrained cession of the province in dispute. It may be remarked, that the defeat of the Brazilians in the Banda Oi-iental, though a seeming disgrace, was one of the greatest blessings that could have been bestowed upon the Empire. It appears that that war and its disastrous results were the means of preserving Brazil from making such modifications in her Consti- tution as might, if effected, have terminated in the overthrow of some of her most valuable institutions. The non-success of her arms almost annihilated the thirst for military distinction which was springing up; and the energies of the rising generation were consequently turned more toward civil pursuits, from which resulted 80 Brazil and the Brazilians. social ameliorations that tended to consolidate the well-being of the State. In addition to the imprudence and inconstancy of the Emperor, it was said — and not without truth — that his habits were extrava- gant and his morals extremely defective.* And yet, the main cause of his personal unpopularity seems to have consisted in his never having known how to become the man of his people, — in his never having constituted himself entirely and truly a Brazilian. He was often heard to express the sentiment that the only true strength of a government lay in public opinion ; yet, unfortunately, he did not know how to conciliate the public opinion of the people over whom it was his destiny to reign. At the period of the Ilevo- lution, he had, under the excitements of enthusiasm, uttered senti- ments calculated to flatter the nascent spirit of nationality, and his sincerity had been credited ; j^et his subsequent employment of a foreign force, his continued interference in the affairs of Portugal, his institution of a secret cabinet, and his appointment of naturalized • Portuguese to the highest offices of the State, to the apparent ex- clusion of natives of the soil, had, among a jealous people, given rise to the universal impression that the monarch himself was still a Poi'tuguese at heart. /] The native Brazilians believed that they were beheld with sus- kI picion, and hence became restive under a Government which they regarded as nurturing foreign interests and a foreign party. Oppor- tunities for manifesting their dissatisfaction frequently occurred, and these manifestations were met by more offensive measures. At length, after fruitless efforts to suppress the rising spirit of re- bellion in different parts of the Empire, Dora Pedro found himself in circumstances as painful and as humiliating as those which forced his father, Dom John VI., to retire to Portugal. Opposi- tion which had long been covert became undisguised and relentless. The most indifferent acts of the Emperor were distorted to his pre- judice, and all the ii-regularities of his private life were brought * The older citizens of Rio de Janeiro have not yet forgotten the place that the Marchioness of Santos held in the first Emperor's affections ; and his slighting treatment of his own spouse — a daughter of the high house of Hapsburg — was notorious. It has been said that, though a bad husband, he was a good father. Popular Agitation. 81 before the public. Individuals to whom be bad been a benefactor deserted him, and, perceiving that his star was on the wane, had the baseness to contribute to his overthrow. The very army which he had raised at an immense sacrifice, which he had maintained to the groat prejudice of his popularity, and on which he had unfortunately placed more reliance than upon the people, betrayed him at last. After various popular agitations, which had the continual effectsj ^p) of Avidoning the breach between the Imperial party and the patriots, ' \ " the populace of Eio de Janeiro assembled in the Campo de Santa Anna on the 6th of April, 1831, and began to call out for the dis- missal of the new ministry, and for the reinstatement of some indi- viduals who had that very morning been dismissed. Dom Pedro I., on being informed of the assemblage and its objects, issued a pro- clamation, signed by himself and the existing ministry, assuring them that the administration was perfect^ constitutional, and that its members would be governed by constitutional principles. A justice of the peace was despatched to read this to the people ; yet scarcely had he concluded, w'hen the document was torn from his hands and trampled under foot. The cry for the reinstatement of the cabinet became louder; the multitude momentarily increased in numbers ; and, about six o'clock in the afternoon, three justices of the peace (in Spanish America it would have been a battalion of soldiers) were despatched to the Imperial residence to demand tha'' the "ministry who had the confidence of the people" — as the late cabinet were designated — should be reappointed. The Emperor listened to their requisition, but refused to accede >| to the request. He exclaimed, "I will do every thing for the ( people, but nothing by the people !" j No sooner was this answer made known in the Campo, than the most seditious cries were raised, and the troops began to assemble there for the purpose of making common cause with the multi- tude. Further representations were made to the Emperor, but were unavailing. He declared he would suffer death rather than consent to the dictation of the mob. The battalion styled the Emperor's, and quartered at Boa Vista, went to join their comrades in the Canajjo, where they aiu-ived about eleven o'clock in the evening; and even the Imperial guard 82 Brazil axd the Brazilians. of honor, winch had been summoned to the palace, followed. The populace, already congregated, began to supply themselves with arms from the adjoining barracks. The Portuguese party, in the mean time, judging themselves proscribed and abandoned, durst not even venture into the streets. The Emperor, in these trying moments, is said to have evinced a dignity and a magnanimity unknown in the days of his prosperity. On the one hand, the Empress was weeping bitterly, and aj)prehending the most fatal consequences; on the other, an adjutant from the combined assemblage of the troops and populace was urging him to a final answer. Dom Pedro I. had sent for the Intendant of Police, and desired him to seek for Yergueiro, a noble patriot, who had always been a favorite of the people, and who combined moderation with sterling integrity. Vergueiro could not be found. The envoy from the troops and populace urged his Majesty to give him an immediate decision, or excesses would be committed under the idea that he (the envoy) had been either assassinated or made prisoner. The Emperor replied, with calmness and firmness, ''I certainl}'- shall not appoint the ministry which they require: my honor and the Constitution alike forbid it, and 1 would abdicate, or even suifer death, rather than consent to such a nomination." The adjutant started to give this replj' to his general, but he was requested by Dom Pedro (who seemed to be struggling with some grand resolve) to staj" for a final answer. Kothing could be heard from Yergueiro. The populace were growing more impatient, and the Emperor was still firmer in his convictions of that which his position and the Constitution required of him in a moment so critical. But at length, like the noble stag of Landseer, singled out by the hounds, he stood alone. Deserted, harassed, irritated, and fiitigued beyond description, with sadness, yet with grace, he yielded to the circumstances, and took the only measure consistent with his convictions and the dignity of his im- perial office. It was two o'clock in the morning when he sat down, without asking the advice of any one, or even informing the mi- nistry of his resolution, and wrote out his abdication in the follow- ing terms : — "Availing myself of the right which the Constitution concedes Abdication of Dom Pedro I. 83 to me, I declare that I have voluntarily abdicated in favor of my dearly-beloved and esteemed son, Dom Pedro de Alcantara. " Boa Vista, 7th April, 1831, tenth year "I of the Independence of the Empire." i He then rose, and, addressing himself to the messenger from the Campo, said, '