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understand that the white people were at one time also interred here. The English have a burying-ground at St. Amaro, not far from Boavista.
The roads branching off from Pernambuco into the interior are very good for a few miles, although sandy, and in some parts deep. They soon begin to contract into narrow bridle-ways, and are the tracks of troops of horses coming from the certams with cotton principally, and some other produce. The horses here are, from the sandy nature of the roads, never shod, and those driven from the interior by the mattutos[41] (inhabitants of the mattos, or woods) are generally very miserable and poor, and seem almost to give way under the burden of two bags of cotton, attached one on each side to a rudely constructed pack-saddle. Cords are commonly used by these persons for stirrups, into which they introduce the great toe. Their dress, consisting of a coarse cotton shirt hanging loosely over drawers, or trowsers, reaching to the calf of the leg, with a large slouching straw or black hat, a gun occasionally borne over one shoulder, and a sword in a wooden sheath, awkwardly suspended from a leathern belt, gives them a singular appearance. Some of these groups are rather of a superior order, being dressed in brown leathern overalls, a jacket, and a low round hat of the same. Parties of men and horses are thus continually arriving at and departing from Pernambuco. The men exhibit a great variety of complexions, and not one is to be seen that can be said to be of pure European descent, all having a mixture of Indian and African physiognomy. They are generally active and well formed. Few are Indians, more are mesticos.
The cotton planters, as well as proprietors of sugar works, visit the emporium of Pernambucan commerce in their gayest vestments, with their horses caparisoned in all the trappings and paraphernalia of Portuguese saddlery. The Brazilians generally, when they go from home, are fond of external show, without regard to much neatness, and upon those occasions they form a striking contrast to their general disgusting appearance in their domestic circles. There the
men are usually seen with a dressing gown, or a shirt worn loosely over drawers, without stockings, their breasts exposed, and indulging inert and slovenly propensities. The females, having this example before them, claim some allowance for their loose and slatternly mode of dressing, when at home, and their worse habit of generally expectorating, without regard to person, time, or place. Young females are entitled to much consideration also, on account of the illiberal system pursued in their education and manner of bringing up. They are, it may be said, almost excluded from society; and the suspicious treatment they experience from their parents must tend to extinguish every liberal and moral sentiment; in fact, it cannot be considered that those very parents themselves possess much, or they would not subject them to an ungracious and scrutinizing watch, by generally keeping them shut up, so that they do not enjoy even the necessary exercise for health, to which their Turkish mode of sitting on the ground or upon mats, is not very congenial. If a family walk out, the daughters precede the father and mother, and the negroes, frequently composing the whole household, bring up the rear. Their grand opportunities for displaying their persons are religious holidays and festivals, and the midnight masses at the churches are said to be fully attended by the females.
The lady of General Rego, the governor, who is a very accomplished woman, has endeavoured, very amiably but ineffectually, to introduce a social intercourse amongst the families, and particularly the females, of Pernambuco; and although this lady succeeded in making a commencement, it was afterwards declined by the families themselves, from the ridiculous excuse that it would become expensive to have new dresses for every fresh visit. The general also gave a public ball to the inhabitants, which was followed by one on the part of the English merchants; but it would appear, with the exception of some of the leading persons, that the inhabitants, from their little intercourse with the world, are yet inimical to any refined system of society.
The cotton planters, and senhors d’engenho in the interior, are stated to be liberal and hospitable to strangers; and many of them,
who have been recently acquiring considerable property, live in a comparatively comfortable style.
Apathy is a strong characteristic in the lower orders of Brazilians. In my various excursions near Pernambuco, I have seen men, at all hours of the day, stretched out upon tables, upon mats, or in redes, (nets,) slumbering their time away. If this class of people can obtain sufficient to satisfy the wants of the day, their views extend no further, and industry is no where seen amongst them; besides, the agricultural arm is paralysed nearly one-third of the year by holidays and saint days.
I was very hospitably entertained during a portion of my stay at Pernambuco by John Lempriere, Esq. the British consul, whose sitio is at the Solidado, a small hamlet, in which is situated a palace, formerly belonging to the bishop. It is a fine edifice, and built with uniformity, but is now rapidly sinking into decay, which will not be less accelerated by the use to which it is at present appropriated— that of a barrack. I brought a letter of introduction to Mr. Cockshott, when we immediately recognised each other as old acquaintances, his family and mine having been upon the most intimate terms of friendship for many years. I experienced great kindness from him, as well as many of the English merchants residing here, and spent a portion of my time at his country sitio, pleasantly situated at Ponta de Cho, upon the margin of the Capibaribe, from whence I was accompanied by Mr. Ray, the American consul, who also has a house here, to visit many of the neighbouring places, and cannot upon this occasion refrain from doing justice to my feelings, in acknowledging his frank and spontaneous attention and liberality.
The rides from Recife to Ponta de Cho, by several roads, are equally delightful, being partly bordered with lime hedges, and fences formed of the cocoa branch, interspersed with verdant foliage, and all the variety of fruit trees peculiar to the clime; groups of the high towering cocoa-nut tree heighten the beauty of the scenery, every where richly wooded.
The roads branching from Boavista, and meeting in one, about half-way to Ponta de Cho, are adorned with some elegant white houses, in a very excellent state of exterior repair, the grounds being enclosed by lofty walls, and many of the front entrances, consisting of a handsome portico, excelling any thing in this style near Rio de Janeiro. Every hundred yards, places of this character are met with to Ponta de Cho, where the river opens out and presents a very pleasing scene, the road running for a short distance along its margin, fronted by the residence of the governor, not very gracefully ornamented with a chapel in the middle of the entrance court. From hence the main road leaves the river, and for about two miles presents many neat houses to the Poco de Panela, some of them being the residences of English merchants.
In this interval the village of Casa Forte is passed, celebrated for having been one of the scenes of contest between the Dutch and Portuguese. The village of Poço de Panela is upon the left bank of the river, and is enlivened with houses of much more taste and neatness than a stranger would expect to see, with the impressions made upon his mind on landing at Recife.
It must be observed, that although the environs of Pernambuco have a fertilized appearance, in consequence of being well wooded, the soil is in a miserable state of cultivation, and not rendered so productive, by two-thirds, as it might be, being very generally uncleared of the brushwood, and a great portion remaining in its primeval condition. Proceeding from Ponta de Cho, by the Cruz das Almas road, which leads to Ollinda, a great proportion of the surrounding country is in a wild state; here and there are seen small patches of mandioca, groves of cocoa-nut, and other fruit trees, but the general aspect demonstrates the want of industry, for it would be expected that every yard of ground so near to a commercial city, with nearly one hundred vessels of different classes usually lying in its port, would be in progress at least of agricultural improvement. It is also remarkable, that between Recife and Ollinda, which latter city was formerly the seat of government and the centre of commerce, there is not a good road the whole way, parts of it for a considerable
distance assuming the appearance of a mere track. The present governor has ordered a road to be commenced by a nearer route, and in many places the germ of improvement in this essential point is observable, new roads being partly made and staked out. Intelligence and civilization is only diffused through a country by facility of communication, and to General Rego, the Pernambucanans are indebted for promoting this blessing; the roads in the immediate vicinity of the town have been widened and otherwise improved by his orders; and it is highly to be wished that such a spirit, tending so much to the real benefit of the province, may be encouraged. The revolution here, in 1817, is said to have materially retarded improvement, as that measure was brought about, not from any genuine sentiments of liberty, the four or five persons at the head of it being only desirous of procuring their individual aggrandizement; and it is said that such jealousy at last existed amongst them, that they attended the council secretly armed. They were men of no talent, and the principal actor, Senhor Martyens, was a decayed Portuguese merchant, from London. They, as well as many others, paid the forfeit of their lives for prematurely attempting a change which they did not understand, but which the lapse of a few years has, happily for the advancement of this country, brought about.
STYLE OF HOUSES AT POCO DE FERNELLA.
The new constitution of Portugal, already adopted at Para and Bahia, was spontaneously acceded to by the governor, the different public officers, and the people, without any effusion of blood, in the month of January, 1821. The imprisonment at Bahia, since 1818, of some of the first men of Pernambuco, arrested on suspicion of being implicated in the revolution, will now no doubt have its termination. That event brought upon Pernambuco a strict military government, and at the corner of every street after dusk, the ear was assailed by the military watch-word; under such a system, the inhabitants could not have been more fortunate than in the selection of General Rego for their governor, whose military experience was acquired with much credit in the Peninsular campaign, and whose gentlemanly and friendly conduct would tend to soften the rigours of a military occupation of the town. To the ready assistance and attention of the
NEGROES IMPELLING A CANOE WITH THE YARA & SCENERY AT PONTA DECHO.
governor to all matters in which their interests are concerned, the English merchants bear their united testimony.
During the Christmas holidays, and the hottest weather, Poço de Panela, Ponta de Cho, and the neighbouring, and more distant villages of Monteiro (the road to which partly leads by a bridle-way through woods) and of Caxanga, (where there is a spring of chalybeate water, approached also by a bye-way after crossing the river,) are fully occupied by the families of Recife, in their gayest attire and the ladies are frequently seen at the windows or at the doors, the men devoting the days of the holidays to gambling, seated in the verandas, playing at cards or backgammon. At this season the roads are also enlivened with horsemen going their evening rounds to these places of resort. Another very pleasing excursion to Ponta de Cho, Poço de Panela, and Monteiro, is by the river Capibaribe, whose winding banks are bordered with white cottages and houses, some of a very superior appearance, also inhabited during this period, and each having a bathing house rudely enough formed of the branches of the cocoa-nut tree. Innumerable canoes are seen gliding along the river, impelled with more velocity than by the oar or the paddle, by two vara men, who are negroes dressed in white cotton trowsers, exhibiting all the muscular movements of their naked arms and bodies in the exertion of using the vara, which, when well and regularly executed, is rather a graceful labour. A whole family, with furniture, and all the et ceteras, are moved up the river to their summer abode in this manner; and the ladies, in their smart dresses, with French hats and white plumes nodding to the river’s breeze, do not seem to regret that it is but transient liberty they are going to enjoy, and which they indulge in by a more free exhibition of themselves, and also by daily bathing in the river, probably two or three times, remaining in the water an hour or an hour and a half at once. They are said to be more expert divers and swimmers than the men, and it is not rare to see parties of them swimming about with much confidence, their hair being generally neatly dressed and bound up. One evening, on approaching the banks of the river beyond Monteiro, with Mr. Ray,
some females were bathing, and amongst them were an old gentleman and his young wife, with whom Mr. R. was acquainted. We took off our hats, and the compliment was very cordially returned by the whole party, by a low dip in the water; on re-passing a considerable time afterwards we observed them still enjoying this refreshing amusement. Previously to my leaving Ponta de Cho, the premier chuvas (first rains) were setting in, and the river already conveyed many canoes with families and their furniture on the return. The heaviest rains begin about March, when this part of the country is partially inundated and forsaken till the dry season recommences. There are various religious festivals during the holidays at different churches, in honour of saints. Those that appeared to attract the most attention were at the church of the Mount at Ollinda, at St. Amaro, and the Poço de Panela; to the latter, the English subscribed a certain sum each. Many people were assembled, and the houses were dedicated to the purposes of gambling. The multitude seemed to loiter about without any object, and there was a deadness and want of spirit and gaiety in their general demeanor. The church was open, which I entered in the midst of the ceremony of christening a child; a large lighted wax candle was as quickly introduced into my hand, and I was thus enlisted into the ranks. A band of music was playing in the gallery, to dissipate the shrill notes of the youngster, who was fingered rather roughly by the padre in the course of various ceremonies he performed, and in which he applied a considerable portion of salt. When the infant, after undergoing the last form of having a silver crown placed upon its head, was returned to its mother, it appeared quite exhausted; and a pretty general round of embracing concluded the ceremony. The master of the festa, and his wife and daughters were there: the females were splendidly dressed, but the absence of the graces prevented these adornments from having their due effect upon the imagination. The fire-works supplied by the subscription, and which concluded this festival, were, I understood, very indifferent.
The Christmas holidays are deemed by the merchants a great interruption to commerce, as no shipments can be made or business transacted during that period. The English establishments here amount to sixteen, and through their medium this province is supplied with every species of English manufactures. They labour, as has been previously stated, under considerable difficulties, in consequence of the mal-operation of the pauta. The produce shipped from hence, consists principally of cotton and sugar; of the latter, about twenty-five thousand cases annually, nearly one-half to England, and the remainder to Lisbon: the quantity of the former averages about eighty thousand bags, sixty thousand being sent to Great Britain, and the remainder principally to Lisbon. The Pernambuco cotton is the best in the Brazil, arising in part from the rigid inspection which it undergoes. A new inspection house was erected here, upon the beach, called the Forte do Matto, in the year
THE HOUSE OF THE SENHOR D’ENGENHO DE TORRE. NEAR PERNAMBUCO.
1815. The cotton is bought by the merchant at a certain price, when it is submitted to inspection and divided into three qualities; for the second quality, which is permitted to pass with the first, the merchant receives an allowance of five hundred reas per arrobe, from the planter; the third quality is totally rejected. The bags are then weighed for the merchant to pay the export duty, and as one bag is only weighed at a time, there has been considerable delay in getting the cotton through the inspection house for shipment. The present governor attended here, and attempted to make arrangements for weighing the cotton quicker, but matters shortly afterwards reverted to their anterior state. Sugar is classed into nine different qualities, and distinguished by the following marks, commencing with the finest and continuing by gradations downwards.
B F Branco Fino.
R F Ridondo Fino.
B R Branco Ridondo.
R B Ridondo Branco.
B B Branco Baixo.
B I Baixo Inferior.
MM Muscovado Macho.
MR Muscovado Retame.
MB Muscovado Brame.
Paying a shipping duty of sixty reas per arrobe.
Ditto of thirty reas per arrobe.
The sugar engenhos are some of them very considerable, and the two accompanying plates are representations of the exterior and interior of the Engenho de Torre not far from the right margin of the Capibaribe. The owner, who has amassed a respectable property, very politely allowed four gentlemen with myself to see this establishment. The juice is extracted by the compressure of the cane between three upright rollers, the centre one moving the other two, and being itself constantly carried round by relays of mares, which have a singular appearance from their ears being closely cropped. The juice flows along a channel to a lower apartment in the building, where it goes through the different processes of boiling, and when
completed is much inferior to the West-Indian sugar, and generally in a very dirty state.
The English merchants were desirous of getting a clergyman from England, having been without the performance of divine service for a considerable period; and, besides the want of an opportunity to fulfil one of the most essential and important duties in life, an unfavourable impression could not but operate against them in the minds of the inhabitants, from their having no public observance of religion. The contribution fund, in the hands of the committee, amounts to upwards of five thousand pounds, which those gentlemen have been anxious to apply to the purposes for which it is intended, that of building a church and an hospital, and the payment of a clergyman and a medical man, which latter appointment is filled by Dr. Ramsay, a gentleman of great acquirements in his profession, and deservedly and universally beloved and esteemed.
I accompanied him and some of the merchants, upon one occasion, amongst many others in which they had been endeavouring to obtain suitable buildings for a church, hospital, and residences for the doctor and a clergyman. The building which we saw had been recently erected, was very spacious, surrounded with some grounds, and well adapted for the purpose; the reason it was not rented or purchased arose from the proprietor demanding an exorbitant price.[42]
We, at the same time, paid a visit to Mr. Koster, (a gentleman known to the literary world by the publication of his travels in the northern part of the Brazil,) who had just arrived at Recife from Goyanna, from whence, in consequence of his indifferent state of health, he travelled in a net suspended between two horses, which was rendered, he said, a less disagreeable mode of conveyance, by the ambling pace of the horses. Mr. Koster had removed his residence to Goyanna, in hopes that the climate would be more suitable to his health and constitution; but his very delicate
appearance indicated a rapid decline, and I regret to say that he did not long survive.
On Stone by C. Shoosmithfrom a Sketchby Jas Henderson. Printedby C. Hullmandel.
THE SUGAR ENGENHO DE TORRE, AND A PLAN OF ITS INTERIOR.
The population of Pernambuco is estimated at about sixty-five thousand persons, St. Antonio containing much the greatest proportion. I endeavoured to discover the site and remains of Fribourg House, the first edifice built upon it by Prince Maurice of Nassau; and was finally assured that its remains constitute the present Casa de Fazenda Real, which, though exhibiting some antiquity in its aspect, in consequence of being white-washed, could not be identified with positive certainty. But its appearance, (pretty correctly represented in the plate,) combined with the tradition that it is actually the remains of Fribourg House, does not leave much room to doubt the fact. The convent fronting it has a great many cocoa-nut trees, which no doubt are the fruits of those he so copiously planted upon the island. A Prince who did so much for Pernambuco, in so short a time, and who here built the first two
THE SITE AND REMAINS OF FRIBOURG HOUSE, FORMERLY THE RESIDENCE OF PRINCE MAURICE OF NASSAU.
bridges that were known in the Brazil, is not undeserving of some monument in this place to his memory. There is a theatre in St. Antonio; but the performances are exceedingly indifferent, and the house, which is small, but thinly attended, no spirit existing for the encouragement of such an establishment.
CHAP. XVIII.
PROVINCE OF PARAHIBA.
Extent—Capitania of Itamaraca—Slow Advancement—Taken by the Dutch—Restoration—Capes and Ports—Rivers—Mountains— Zoology Phytology Povoaçoes Capital British Establishments Produce.
This province was originally the capitania of Itamaraca, or rather it comprehends almost two-thirds of it, not comprising at the present day more than sixty miles of coast, computing from the river Goyanna to the bay of Marcos, which is three miles to the north of the river Camaratiba; the province of Pernambuco having taken twenty to twenty-five miles from it on the southern side, and Rio Grande fifteen to twenty on the northern.
The capitania of Itamaraca was never more than a portion of that which John III. gave to Pedro Lopez de Souza in 1534. The other portion of this donation selected in the immediate vicinity of his brother’s capitania of St. Vincente, was denominated St. Amaro; and Itamaraca, being situated at so great a distance from it, experienced less attention, and was so much neglected that, forty years afterwards, there was not an establishment except in the island of Itamaraca, where the colonists did not exceed two hundred families, with three sugar works; and the French entered without interruption the ports of the continent in search of Brazil wood.
It is affirmed that the parish of Nossa Senhora of Conceiçao, in the island of Itamaraca, was the first povoaçao, and also for a considerable period the capital of the capitania; but, as the year of its foundation is not known, we are left in ignorance as to the precise epoch of the disembarkation of the first colonists.
In the short reign of King Henry, in consequence of the incapacity of the donatory to promote its colonization, Joam Tavarez was ordered by the governor-general, Lourenco da Veyga, to proceed to
this capitania, for the purpose of founding a prezidio in the island of Camboa, situated in the river Parahiba; which was removed by Captain Fructicozo Barboza to the situation of Cabedello, where being greatly annoyed by the Indians, Manuel Telles, governor of Bahia, despatched Diogo Baldez, in the year 1583, to afford him the necessary succour. The Indians and the French, who were their auxiliars, sustained a defeat; and Francisco Castrejon, commandant of a fort, which he had then constructed, would not recognise Fructicozo Barboza as superior, which induced the latter to retire, and the result was an invasion by the Indians, who compelled Castrejon to desert this post.
On his arrival at Pernambuco, Barboza returned with some companies, and having restored all the fortifications, he gave the origin to a povoaçao, which in the year 1585 was ennobled with the title of city, and called Fillippea. Its population had already arrived at seven hundred families, with twenty sugar works, when the Dutch, who had obtained possession of Pernambuco and Itamaraca, determined to conquer it.
After various attempts, during two years, which were always frustrated, it fell into the hands of General Segismundo Escup, in consequence of the capitulation of the fort of Cabedello, on the 19th of December, 1634, who substituted for it the appellation of Margarida, in honour of a Dutch matron. With its reduction, and the surrender of the fort of St. Antonio four days after, the whole province passed under the dominion of the Dutch, till their evacuation of this part of the Brazil in the year 1654.
It lies between 6° 15′ and 7° 15′ south latitude, and extends two hundred and ten miles at its greatest width from east to west.
The longest day in the year does not exceed twelve hours and a half. The winter commences at the equinox of March, and continues till July, and is never severe. The climate is warm, but refreshed by the delightful breezes with which it is visited from the sea. More than two-thirds of the face of the country, generally uneven, consists of catingas, the remainder is of strong substantial and fertile soils,
covered with extensive woods, principally upon serras of the greatest elevation, and in the vicinities of some rivers; and it is only in those latter districts, partially divested of their primitive sylvan shades, that cultivation is to be seen, comprised in plantations of the cotton tree, sugar cane, mandioca, Indian corn, legumes, tobacco, with some rice; and also the hortulans and fruits peculiar to the climate, including the pine-apple, water-melon, banana, and the orange, which are of excellent flavour.
CAPES AND ISLANDS.—Point Cabedello, south of the embouchure of the river Parahiba; Point Lucena, six miles north of the preceding; and Cape Branco, fifteen miles south of the first, are the principal.
There are no islands upon the coast of this province but in the mouths of rivers or the entrances of bays, and they are generally small.
PORTS.—That within the river Parahiba is the most frequented. The bay of Traicao, originally Acejutibiro, in the form of a half moon, with three entrances formed by two small islands, almost eight miles in width, having a small river at the extremity, is deemed the best port of the province, and capable of receiving a considerable number of small vessels. The northern entrance is almost two miles in width. From this bay a reef extends nearly eighteen miles to Cape Branco, between which and the beach there are nine and ten fathoms of depth, where vessels anchor in smooth water, protected from the agitation of the ocean by this recife, which is a portion of the celebrated chain extending along the coast, elevating its head occasionally above the water, as at Pernambuco, and in other latitudes.
The bay of Lucena, on the northern side of the point of the same name, is large, with a good anchorage, but is exposed to winds prevailing from north to east.
RIVERS. The Parahiba, from which the province takes its name, originates in the district of the Cayriris Velhos, in the skirts of the serra of Jabitaca, near the source of the Capibaribe, runs to the
east-north-east, and is considerable only in the vicinity of the ocean, into which it is discharged by two mouths, separated by the island of St. Bento, which is about three miles in extent. As the territory in which it rises is of a sandy nature, it becomes a stream in that district only during the period of the rains, nor does it receive till after half its course, any of those tributary currents which render it navigable for a considerable space. Ships advance up only a few miles, sumacas to the capital, and canoes as far as the town of Pilar. From hence upwards, its bed is stony, with many falls and currents rendering difficult or entirely impeding navigation. It does not abound in any part with fish. In the proximity of the sea it is wide and handsome, the margins being adorned with mangroves.
The Guarahu, which is the largest of its confluents, unites it on the left, not far from the capital.
The Mamanguape, which is handsome, and affords an advantageous navigation to the planters upon its adjacent lands, enters the ocean by two mouths, divided by a flat island covered with mangroves, between which and the chain of reefs, which arrests all the fury of the sea, there is an excellent anchorage place, where vessels lie in dead water, to which a narrow aperture amongst the reefs affords a passage, with three fathoms of depth, and is little more than ten miles to the north of Point Lucena.
The Grammame, originally Guaramama, which discharges itself between Port Francez and Cape Branco, has a large wooden bridge over it, on the road from Goyanna to the city of Parahiba. It is only navigable as far as the tide advances.
The Cammaratiba, which enters the sea ten miles north of the bay of Traicao, and the Popoca, which discharges itself six miles to the north of the Goyanna, are also navigable with the tide.
In the western part is the Piranhas, which has acquired the name of the fish with which it abounds. Its source is at the base of the serra of Cayriris, and after seventy miles of course to the north, it gathers on the left the river Peixe, which comes from the serra of
Luiz Gomez, with fifty miles of extent, always flowing through campinhas, where there are a great many emu-ostriches, and in its vicinity have been found gold and silver. Twenty-five miles below this confluence, it receives on the right the Pinhanco, which is little inferior to it, also flowing from the serra of Cayriris, in a serpentine course through an extensive district, abounding with cattle belonging to various fazendeiros, or breeders, who live dispersed about in different situations. After a long course, having become considerable by other streams, it enters the province of Rio Grande in its way to the ocean.
MOUNTAINS.—Almost all the mountains with which this province is interspersed, are arms of the serra Borborema, commencing near the sea, within the province of Rio Grande, which traverse it from north-east to south-west, dividing it into two parts, east and west. The latter, denominated Cayriris Novas, is an elevated country, and being refreshed with winds is wholesome, and also considerably wider than the eastern portion. January, February, March, and April, are here the most rainy months.
In the serra of Teyxeira, which is a portion of the Borborema, there are some inscriptions with green ink, in characters unknown to the adjacent inhabitants, but which are reputed to be the work of the Dutch, or the Flamengos, as they are yet called here.
ZOOLOGY. All the domestic animals of the Portuguese peninsula, multiply here without degenerating much. In the woods are seen the anta, deer, ounce, boar, monkey, quaxinin, preguica, or sloth, paca, quaty, and other quadrupeds common to the neighbouring provinces. There is here a species of ferret, the size of a cat, and resembling the quaty, with which the hunters draw from their burrows the moco and the preha. If the animal perceive a snake in the hole it will not enter. It does not appear to be known southward of the St. Francisco. Amongst the birds are observed the emuostrich, seriema, jacu, zabele, quail, parrot, rolla, sabia, troquaze pigeon, canary, cardal, wild duck, colhereira, heron, jaburu, socco, a diversity of the macarico, and the sparrowhawk. The arraponga has
the feathers black upon the back. The puppeyro, which is the size of a blackbird, with the bill of a pigeon, blue back, the breast red, and the tail when opened of beautiful colours, is only met with in the woods of the serras. Two Indian nations were the possessors of this country. The Cahetes, from the river Parahiba to the south, and the Potyguaras to the north; each tribe is divided into various hordes, and the whole have been christianized many years since.
PHYTOLOGY.—Cedar, Brazil wood, aroeira, pereira, batinga, which is yellow, iron and violet wood, fava-de-cheiro, (a species of pulse,) which grows in pods, and whose bean is deemed excellent for removing hoarseness; sipipira, bow-wood, heart of negro, anjico, angellim, jatuba, the cupahyba oil, and gum-mastick trees. In the woods where these trees grow, and where there are others for building, are also met with fruit trees growing without any human aid, such as the jabuticaba, pitomba, goyaba, cajue, ambuzo, and aracaza. The mangaba is very abundant in some parts. The cocoanut tree abounds along the coast, which in parts is sandy, in others rocky, or covered with mangroves. The catulezis a sort of large palm tree, the fruit of which affords aliment to cattle. The piki is a middling sized tree, its fruit round, of the size of an apple, with a green rind, and a large prickly stone, the almond of which is eaten roasted or raw; the pulp is white and soft, and is also eaten; an oil is likewise extracted from it, and used for seasoning.
This province produced formerly much excellent sugar, the culture of which has diminished considerably in consequence of the great droughts which are frequently experienced; but in its place cotton has greatly increased, as it resists the heat better, and at the present time does not leave a less profit to the cultivator.
In the eastern part of this province are the following towns:
Parahiba
Pilar
Alhandra
Villa Real
Villa do Conde
Villa da Rainba
St. Miguel Montemor.
In the western part are Pombal and Villa Nova de Souza.
Parahiba, denominated a city, in a state of mediocrity and populous, is situated upon the right bank, ten miles above the embouchure of the river of its name, near the confluence of the small river Unhaby. It is ornamented with a house of misericordia and its hospital; a convent of Franciscans, another of slippered Carmelites, and a third of Benedictines; five hermitages, that of Bom Jesus for the soldiers, Santo Cruz, St. Pedro Gonsalves, Our Lady of Rozario for the blacks, and May dos Homens for the mulattoes; also two handsome fountains of good water. It is the capital of the province, the residence of its governor, and of the ouvidor, whose jurisdiction extends also to the province of Rio Grande. It has its high-sounding royal professors of the primitive letters and Latin, and a junta of real fazenda, (the treasury.) Its only mother church is dedicated to Nossa Senhora das Neves. The Jesuits had a college here, which serves at the present day for the palace of the governors; they possessed another for recreation, at a distance of five miles on the beach of Tambahu, where there is an entertaining house of Franciscans. The principal streets are paved, and there are some good houses. The river, whose entrance is defended by two frontier forts, a league distant, is here a mile in width, forming a good port for sumacas. Ships can only advance a little higher up than the forts. A Juiz de Fora was granted to this city in the year 1813.
The Dutch exchanged its primitive name for that of Friderica, in honour of the Prince of Orange, and presented it with a sugar-loaf for arms, in allusion to the excellent quality of that article, which was
made in this district, and in pursuance of the plan they had adopted of granting similar armorial emblems of some leading object or production peculiar to the districts or capitanias then under their dominion.
An Englishman, a Scotchman, and an Irishman have recently settled in this city, and it is to be hoped, that an union will exist in their commercial operations, and that they will be induced to go hand-in-hand, thereby precluding that competition, which has been already alluded to as militating so seriously in other places against the interest of the merchant and manufacturer. These establishments were formed in conjunction with the merchants of Pernambuco, and from hence they receive supplies of manufactured goods, the returns for which are transmitted direct to England in sugar and cotton principally. Besides, additional sums of specie sent from Pernambuco to those merchants for the purchase of produce, give this city the advantage of disposing of a greater portion of the productions of the province than the amount of British commodities consumed in it. During my stay at Pernambuco two or three vessels were sent from thence in ballast to Parahiba to take in produce, the major part of which was purchased with specie remitted for the purpose, and not with the proceeds of goods sold here. The balance of specie in favour of this city, in its interchange of commodities with the British merchant, may arise from various causes. The two or three merchants at Rio de Janeiro, who supply the government with naval and military stores, receive bills in payment upon the Provincial or fora treasuries, and the specie thus and by other remittances coming into the Pernambuco market beyond the returns for goods sold, create an extra demand for produce, arising from the impossibility of transmitting those funds to England in any other way; and thus part of the specie finds its way to this city, from an expectation of its being disposed of to better advantage. Two circumstances concur in producing this result;—in the first place, a considerable part of the produce of the province of Parahiba, till very recently, was brought to the market of Pernambuco; but the measures of the governor to confine the productions of the district
under his jurisdiction to an exit by the head town, in order that the treasury may not be deprived of its revenue, has led to a concentration of the objects of exportation in this city, a direct transit to England being opened for them by the establishments mentioned, and whose object, in forwarding them at a lower rate than from Pernambuco, is at all events in the second place accomplished by an exemption from consulage duties.
One of the merchants settled here visited Pernambuco in the early part of 1820, whilst I was there, and purchased a cargo of bacalhao, or salt fish, from Newfoundland, being the sixth vessel which had arrived at Recife so laden in the course of two months, and this was the first entire cargo that had sailed from Pernambuco to Parahiba, demonstrating that this city is in a progressive state of commercial improvement.
In its environs the necessaries of life are cultivated, and the sugar cane, for which there are various engenhos, principally going by water. Towards the interior plantations of the cotton tree are to be seen, especially in the certam of Crumatahu.
Previous to the revolution at Pernambuco, which is said to have extended its baneful consequences to this province, particularly to the vicinity of this city, where the sugar is principally grown, the export of that article exceeded nine hundred chests annually, each containing fifty arrobas, or sixteen hundred pounds; but in 1819 the amount did not reach much above four hundred chests.
Notwithstanding sugar has diminished, the production of cotton is increasing rapidly. In 1816 it was nine thousand bags; in 1819 it reached seventeen thousand bags of five to five and a half arrobas each; and in the year 1820 it was confidently anticipated to reach twenty to twenty-four thousand bags.
The campinhas of this province, which afford cattle to the capital, and in part to Pernambuco and Bahia, when visited by two or three succeeding seasons of drought, entirely lose their vegetation, and
the streams disappear, so that a mortality ensues amongst the cattle, carrying them off in great numbers.
The governor of this city is endeavouring to effect some improvement in the roads, or rather tracks, through the province, which are in the same lamentable condition as in all other districts, and it is sincerely to be wished that his efforts may not be fruitless. He has issued orders for all individuals to make roads through their lands.
Ten miles from this city, and upon the margin of the same river, is the considerable arraial of St. Rita, with a hermitage so called.
Pilar do Taypu, forty miles above the capital upon the left bank of the Parahiba, is ornamented with a church of N. Senhora of Pilar. Cariri was its primitive name, when an aldeia of Indians, its first inhabitants, and who even at this day form, with their descendants, the principal portion of its population, cultivating in its environs a good quantity of cotton, mandioca, &c.
Nine miles from it is the arraial and parish of Tayabanna, upon the margin of the same river; and ten miles to the north is that of Cannufistula, with a hermitage; both grow much cotton. Gurunhem is upon a small river of the same name, with a chapel of N. Senhora of Rozario.
Near the Parahiba, and two miles from the town of Pilar, is the parish of St. Miguel; cotton is the wealth of its parishioners.
Alhandra, originally Urathauhy, is a middling town, and well situated near the river Capibary, nine miles north-east of Goyanna, and seven from the sea; it has a church dedicated to N. Senhora of Assumpçao. Its inhabitants are composed of Indians and whites, pure and intermixed, and are agriculturists and fishermen.
Villa do Conde, formerly Japoca, is yet small and without any thing remarkable. It has a church of the Lady of Conceiçao, and is about eighteen miles south of the capital, and near fifteen from the sea. Its inhabitants, Indians, whites, and mesticos, cultivate divers necessaries of life, and draw their water from a good fountain.
The town of St. Miguel, situated near a lake in the proximity of the bay of Trabicao, has the aspect of a small aldeia. Its church is dedicated to the archangel whose name it takes. Its inhabitants are Indians, and draw their subsistence from the same occupations as the preceding places.
Montemor is a vilota, or small town of the descendants of the aborigines, one mile from the northern margin of the Mamanguape, and fifteen from the sea. It had its commencement six miles more distant, where the parish of St. Pedro and St. Paulo is situated, for the habitation of the ancestors of its present inhabitants. The number of whites having greatly increased, and in order to avoid the dissensions which originated with the two hierarchies, it became expedient to separate them; for which purpose a new aldeia was founded with the name of Preguica, for the establishment of the first, in the situation where the town is. Its church is dedicated to the Lady of Prazeres. The senate of this town resides in the parish of St. Pedro and St. Paulo, better known by the name of Mamanguape, in consequence of being near that river. In the year 1813, when its population and that of its extensive district, had nearly reached fifteen thousand adults, it was dismembered of its western portion for the creation of the parish of N. Senhora of Conceiçao do Brejo d’Area.
Villa Real. By a law of the 17th of June, 1815, the above new parish of Conceiçao, was created a town, with the name of Villa Real do Brejo d’Area, its civil government being assisted by two ordinary judges and three vereadores, or aldermen, with other officers common to towns of the same order. It is seventy miles from Montemor, and cotton is its principal production.
Villa da Rainha, vulgarly called Campinha Grande, (Large Plain), in consequence of being a solitary place, in an extensive plain, one hundred and twenty miles west of the capital, is yet a small town, much frequented, however, in consequence of the royal road, (estrada-real) as it is ludicrously called, of the certam. Paupinna was its name previously to its becoming a town. Its inhabitants drink of a
contiguous lake, which failing of water in the years of great drought, obliges them to fetch it upwards of six miles. Its church is dedicated to the Lady of Conceiçao.
Pombal, a considerable town, speaking comparatively with others of the country, is well situated upon the river Pinhanco, four miles above its mouth, and one hundred and fifty miles south of Villa Nova da Princeza, a town of Rio Grande. It has for nominal patroness the Lady of Bom Successo (good success.) Its inhabitants, mostly whites, live upon the produce of agriculture, and of cattle, which are not numerous.
Villa Nova de Souza is situated upon the margin of the river Peixe, ten miles above its mouth, thirty-five from Pombal, and has a church of the Lady of Remedios. The inhabitants cultivate legumes, sugar, water-melons, and melons, in the vicinity of the rivers; and on the serras, mandioca, cotton, and Indian corn; in the catingas cattle pasture, and abound with a diversity of game. In the year 1806, there was scarcely an orange tree in the districts of the last two towns, where all the trees are bent to the west, in consequence of the constant and sometimes impetuous east wind that prevails here.
CHAP. XIX.
PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO NORTE.[43]
Contests with Indians Conquest Taken by the Dutch Restored Extent Sterility ofSoil Capes andPorts Mineralogy Mountains
Zoology Phytology Rivers and Lakes Povoações Island of Fernando de Noronha.
The conquest of this province, which is a portion of the capitania of Joam de Barros, was commenced in the year 1597, by order of Philip II. with the intention of impeding the exportation of Brazil wood by the French, and of overcoming the Potyguaras, who destroyed the plantations of the colonists of Parahiba, and interrupted the progress of that colony.
D. Francisco de Souza, governor of the state, by orders which he received, supplied what was requisite from the royal treasury. The squadron which was prepared at Pernambuco, and carried with it a Jesuit for an engineer, and a Franciscan to interpret the language of the Indians, directed its course to the mouth of Rio Grande, which was the port most visited by the Corsairs. The enterprise had its commencement by the construction of a wooden fort, near the place where the Fort dos Reys is now situated, and the first commandant of which, Jeronimo d’ Albuquerque, had many obstinate combats with the aborigines for more than a year, until the friendship which he established with Sorobabe, (Great Island,) chief of the Indians, through the mediation of a friendly one of the same tribe, afforded him an opportunity of laying the foundation of the city of Natal, which received this name in consequence of the inauguration of its mother church, in 1599, happening on the same day as the festivity of the birth of our Saviour. The want of better ports, the quality of the land, which did not encourage its colonization, and the Portuguese nation being then under the dominion of the Castilian crown, as well as the inconstancy of the Indians, equally unserviceable as friends, as they were fatal when enemies,
