_From the First Discovery down to the Arrival of the Royal
Family there, and its present Division into Provinces--The
general Character of the Indians._
The honour of discovering the new world, it is well known, justly
belongs to Christopher Columbus, a pilot of Genoa, although it
derives its name from Americanus Vespuccius, a Florentine navigator,
who performed two voyages to this hemisphere, under the auspices of
his Castilian Majesty, and two others by order of Emanuel, King of
Portugal. The latter voyages the Portuguese writers flatly deny,
and attribute the promulgation of a story so devoid of truth to the
arrogance and pride of Vespuccius; nor, in fact, does his relation
respecting this point appear to be supported by any collateral
testimony. A mere accidental occurrence, indeed, induced Columbus
first to entertain the idea of launching out upon unknown seas. The
master of a caravelleon, named Francisco Sanches, about the year
1480, arrived at Madeira, where Columbus then was, in a most pitiable
condition, with three or four sailors only remaining, and nearly
exhausted, in consequence of a tremendous tempest which had assailed
their ungovernable bark, and driven them to a remote western longitude,
where they saw, or fancied they saw, land. It was in those days
imagined, that the eastern coast of Asia was the western boundary of
the Atlantic Ocean, and Columbus was persuaded, that the land which
Sanches had seen was the island of Japan, or some other island upon
that coast, and which was then only arrived at by navigating around the
coast of Africa. The novel circumstance stirred up in his mind the most
animating presentiments;--the glory of opening to India a shorter and
more easy passage, by proceeding directly across the Atlantic, inspired
Columbus with enthusiasm, and he flattered himself, that the disclosure
of his ideas would produce ready concurrence in furnishing the
adequate equipments for the enterprise. He proceeded to Genoa for the
purpose of proposing his plan, but it was regarded there as a chimera.
He submitted the same proposition to John II. of Portugal, whose
subject he then was, which was rejected by the votes of some chosen
geographers. He next directed his way to the court of Castile, where
the learned ones entertained the same sentiments upon the subject
as the cosmographers of Lusitania, and where, perhaps, he would have
been equally unsuccessful had not the spontaneous offers which Luiz de
Santangal made to provide all the money requisite for the expedition,
and the voluntary proposal of Don Pedro de Mendonca to contribute
one-eighth of the expenses, overcome every difficulty. He sailed from
Palos, with three caravelleons under his command, on the 3d of August,
1492, and, passing the Canaries, directed his course to the westward,
till the 11th of October, when he descried an island, which he called
St. Salvador, now one of the Bahama Islands. He was much disheartened
at having traversed so much of the ocean with so little success; but he
continued, however, the voyage, and discovered the Island of Cuba, of
Hispaniola, now St. Domingo, and left 38 men there in a wooden fort. He
then retraced his way back, and arrived at Lisbon on the 6th of March,
1493. Columbus made three other voyages across the Atlantic, under the
protection of Ferdinand V. His second voyage was commenced from Cadiz,
on the 25th of September, 1493. He re-visited the Island of Hispaniola,
discovered Jamaica, and a great many other islands to the southward
of Cuba, and which, for its fertility and picturesque beauty, he
denominated the garden of the kingdom. Upon his third voyage, in 1498,
he saw the island of Trinidad, at the mouth of the Oronocos, on the 1st
of August. He afterwards disembarked on various parts of the coast of
Paria, returned to Hispaniola, and then to Europe. He sailed again from
Cadiz on the 9th of May, 1502, a third time visited Hispaniola, and
continued to navigate onward till he discovered the Island of Guanaia,
near Cape Honduras, and subsequently explored all the coast of the
continent, from Cape Gracias to Porto Bello.
Some persons, however, affirm that it is a great injustice to
attribute the honour of discovering this hemisphere to either of those
navigators, when it is certain that the oriental Syberios, called
Choukes, were in the habit of passing the Straits of Bhering, to the
American continent, in the summer season, from time immemorial. The
Danes discovered Greenland about the end of the tenth century, and the
Norwegians colonized it in the following one; and if this land is not a
portion of the continent, it is at least an island belonging to it.
Having briefly described the first discovery of the American continent,
it will now be in unison with the object of this work, to invite the
attention to an investigation of the circumstances resulting from the
discovery of that portion of it more immediately under consideration,
and which has excited endeavours on my part, very inadequate to render
justice to a subject of such prodigious magnitude. The Portuguese
imagine (and the inscriptions met with in the Brazil would appear
to corroborate the notion) that their countryman and ancestor, Pedro
Alvarez Cabral, was the first discoverer of that country; but this
honour indubitably belongs to the celebrated Spanish pilot, Vincente
Yanez Pinson, the companion of Columbus in his first voyage across
the Atlantic; and who, it is affirmed, would not have acquired the
fame of first descrying the new world, had not the despondency which
was clouding his mind, in the progress of that voyage, been dispelled
by the animating hope of success with which Pinson encouraged him.
In virtue of a commission granted to Vincente Yanez Pinson, by
the Castilian court, he quitted his native shores in pursuit of
undiscovered countries, in the month of December, 1499. He shaped his
course more to the southward than his late commander, Columbus; and on
the 26th of January, 1500, discovered land in about 8° south latitude,
having crossed the Atlantic in as short a period as the voyage is
commonly accomplished in at this day; evincing an undaunted spirit and
disregard to the prevailing practice then existing amongst navigators,
of taking in all sail and lying to during the night. The discovery
of this new land must have been highly consolatory and gratifying to
his feelings; he gave it, therefore, the name of Cape Consolation,
which can be no other than Cape St. Augustine, situated about twenty
miles to the south of Pernambuco. Pinson vainly went through the
ceremony of taking possession of the country for the Spanish crown.
The natives which they saw were exceedingly shy, and they endeavoured
without success to accomplish any intercourse with them. He proceeded
northward, towards Cape St. Roque, with his ships, and, again landing
upon the intervening coast, his people had several rencounters with
a horde of savages very different to the first they had seen. These
Indians used the bow and arrow, and attacked the Spaniards with great
spirit and dexterity. This reception induced Pinson to continue his
course along the northern coast of the Brazil; and, after proceeding
as far as the Oronocos, he returned to Europe without any manifest
advantage resulting from this undertaking. Although he was unfortunate
in losing some of his ships on the homeward voyage, he displayed
considerable nautical skill in conducting his vessels in safety along
the most difficult and dangerous part of the Brazilian coast.
During the period that Pinson was thus occupied, Portugal was fitting
out a fleet with much pomp and parade in the river Tagus, not with any
project of discovering a new territory, but in consequence of Don Vasco
da Gama having arrived at Lisbon, with certain intelligence of having
ascertained the navigation to India, round the Cape of Good Hope. The
Portuguese King, Emanuel, determined to send a fleet to establish
friendship and a treaty of commerce with the King of Calcutta, and
to create a factory in the same city. Merchandise of the best taste
was selected for the outward cargo, and the ships were to be laden in
return with spices. For the command of this fleet, which consisted of
ten caravels, and three larger vessels, a fidalgo was chosen, called
Pedro Alvarez Cabral. The number of persons on board amounted to
twelve hundred well selected and well armed. The fleet was prepared in
front of the Rastello, now called Belem; and it was determined that it
should sail on the 9th of March, 1500. At the vespers preceding, which
was on Sunday, the King went with all the court to open mass, in the
hermitage of our Lady of Belem, (or Bethlehem,) which site is occupied
at this day by the magnificent monastery of P. P. Jeronymos. Diogo
Ortiz, Bishop of Ceuta, delivered a discourse upon the object of the
expedition; and, during the service, a flag was placed upon the altar,
with the cross of the order of Christ, which the Bishop, with imposing
ceremony, consecrated; and the King, with his own hands, delivered
it to Cabral, who was near his Majesty during the ceremonies. The
_funçaō_ being finished, the colours were carried in procession,
accompanied by the King, to the beach, where Cabral and most of the
captains kissed his hand, and at the same time a grand salute was fired
by the whole fleet. This was considered the most powerful and brilliant
armament that had ever sailed from Portugal for distant countries.
The other captains were Sancho de Thoar (with succession to Admiral
Cabral), N. Coelho (who had been with Vasco da Gama), S. de Miranda
d’Azevedo, A. G. da Sylva, V. d’Athayde, S. de Pina, N. Leytao, P.
d’Athayde, L. Pirez, Gaspar de Lemos, the celebrated Bartholomew Dias,
discoverer of the Cape of Good Hope, and Diogo Dias, his brother, who
were to remain with the factory to be established. There were, besides,
seven Franciscan friars, subordinate to one named Frey Henrique, who
was afterwards bishop of Ceuta, eight chaplains, and a vicar, to
administer the sacraments in the factory of Calcutta. Ayres Correa was
appointed factor, or head of the establishment; and G. Barboza, and
Pedro Vas de Caminho, _escrivaōs_, or writers.
On the 14th of March, the fleet passed the Canaries; and after having
seen the island of St. Nicholas, one of the Cape de Verds, on the
22d, they discovered that the vessel of V. d’Athayde was missing.
Cabral took every pains to fall in with it again, but without effect.
He continued his voyage, and in order to avoid being detained by
the calms peculiar to the coast of Africa, and to profit by the
prevailing north-east trade wind, they stood so much to the westward,
that, on the 21st of April, (the last Oitava of Pascal,) they met
with signals of land, (which were certain floating plants,) and late
on the following day, in latitude 17° south, they saw a large round
mountain with smaller hills, which were the highest portions of the
Serra, now called Aymores, mostly covered with wood. Cabral made a
signal to the other ships to approach the land, and by sun-set they
anchored in 19 fathoms, about six leagues from it. From respect to
the _oitavario_,[1] Cabral gave the mountain the name of Mount
Pascal, which it yet retains; and the land he called Vera Cruz. The
following day they sailed towards the land, and came in front of the
mouth of a river now called Rio de Frade (River Friar); and remained
half a league distant from it during the night, with some difficulty,
in consequence of a strong south-east wind setting in. Captain N.
Coelho examined the river the same day, which was found incapable of
receiving even the smallest vessels of the fleet; and the wind not
being favourable to coast towards the south, Cabral ordered the fleet
to navigate northward, and despatched Affonso Lopez, his pilot, in one
of the smallest caravels, to proceed nearer the beach, and to examine
the first part he met with.
The squadron having coasted on about ten leagues, met with the bay
of Corôa Vermelha, otherwise Cabral, where, towards the evening, the
caravels nearest entered. Affonso Lopez, who was sounding the port,
met with two young Indians in a canoe, whom he carried to the admiral,
who had anchored with the larger ships a league from the reefs, which
were at the entrance of the bay. They were next morning placed upon
the beach dressed in Portuguese clothes, accompanied by a degradado,
or criminal, in order to observe the mode of living which prevailed
amongst the natives.
The fleet remained here eight days, during which time mass was
celebrated twice by Frey Henrique; the first, on Easter Sunday, upon
an island (its name is now Corôa Vermelha) within the bay, in sight of
a great number of Indians assembled upon the continental beach; the
other, on the 1st of May, at the foot of a grand cross, which had been
erected upon the main land, with the arms of King Emanuel, in testimony
of the solemn possession which in his name had been taken of this new
land of Vera Cruz.
There is a letter in the naval archives at Rio de Janeiro, written by
P. V. de Caminho (one of the _escrivaōs_ already mentioned) to
King Emanuel, giving a minute detail of all the circumstances attending
the stay of the armament in this port, which Cabral called “Porto
Seguro,” in noticing which, the above letter, written in language
differing from that of the present day, says, “_Acharam hos ditos
navios pequenos huum a recife com huum porto dentro muyti boo, e muyti
seguro com huuma muy larga entrada, e meterem-se dentro._” Also,
“_entraram toda las naaos e amcoraram-se em simco, seis bracas, ha
qual amcorajem demtro he tam grande e tam fremosa, e tam segura, que
podem jaser demtro neela mais de duzentos navios e naaos._”[2]
He says the Indians were quite naked, and their bodies painted with
various colours. They wore pendants of white bone from their ears.
Their cheeks were in like manner ornamented with bones, and their lips
slit, into which similar ornaments were also introduced. They used bows
and arrows. The two natives who came on board, when they saw the gold
embroidery upon the collar of Cabral’s coat, danced, put their hands
to the ground, and then to the collar: they showed the same feeling
in regard to silver; from which it was inferred that those precious
metals were not unknown to them. This letter also says, “_Mostraram
lhes huum papagayo pardo que aquy ho capitam tras; tomaram no logo na
maao; mostraram lhes huum carneyro, non fezeram delle mençam; mostraram
lhes huuma galinha, e asy aviam medo dela, e nom lhe queriam poeer ha
maao._”[3] The Portuguese offered them bread, dressed fish, and
other things, which on tasting they put out of their mouths; also wine,
which they did not like, and would not take it a second time. They
established a friendly intercourse with those Indians, from whom they
received in exchange for trifling articles, fruits, farinha (or flour)
of the mandioca, maize, &c. This writer, with many of the captains,
went a league and a half up the country, where they met with a body
of Indians, who had nine or ten houses rudely built of wood covered
with grass; each house had two small entrances, and was large enough
to receive thirty or forty persons. It consisted of but one apartment,
without any division. They bartered with them things of no value for
large and beautiful red parrots, two small green ones, and other
things. They went on shore again the next day to get wood and wash
linen, when they found sixty or seventy Indians, without bows or any
thing else, upon the beach, which number soon increased to two hundred,
all without bows and arrows. They mixed amongst the Portuguese, and
assisted them to collect wood and put it on board the boats. That
Cabral considered this land an island is evidenced by the conclusion of
the letter. “_Beijo haas maaos de V. A. deste Porto Seguro da vosa
Ilha da Vera Cruz. Hoje, Sesta feira primeiro dia de Mayo, 1500. P. V.
de Caminha._”[4]
On the 2d of May, this fleet sailed from Porto Seguro, and proceeded
on its voyage to India, leaving two degradados behind, who were seen
lamenting and crying upon the beach, and the men of the country
comforting them, demonstrating that they were not a people devoid
of pity.[5] One of them soon learnt the idiom of the Indians called
Tupininquins. He served as interpreter to the first Portuguese who
arrived there, and afterwards returned home. Some of the Portuguese
writers are piqued at the Spanish authors, Berredo and Antonio Galvum,
for pretending, as they say, that their countryman, Vincente Yanez
Pinson first discovered the Brazil; and they bring, as testimony
against the Spaniards, the following statement of Robertson. “Vicente
Yanez Pinson, one of the admiral’s companions in his first voyage,
sailed from Palos with four ships; he stood boldly towards the south,
and was the first Spaniard who ventured to cross the equinoctial line;
but he seems to have landed on no part of the coast beyond the mouth
of the Marignon, or River of the Amazons.” Robertson does not make a
positive assertion that Pinson did not land upon any other part of
the Brazilian coast, nor does he enter into particulars or give any
dates. The river Amazons is the north-western boundary of the Brazil;
and even if he only landed at the mouth of this great river, he of
course landed upon the Brazilian territory, and was unquestionably
the first discoverer of it. Conceding to the Portuguese the passage
which they adduce from Robertson, it offers no contradiction to the
circumstances and dates already detailed of Pinson’s voyage, which
show him to have anticipated the Portuguese at least three months in
this discovery. Cabral despatched Gaspar de Lemos from Porto Seguro,
to announce to the King this new land, which had been taken possession
of in his Majesty’s name. It is said that Lemos coasted northward
as far as Cape St. Roque, to ascertain the extent of this territory
which they had considered an island. Emanuel was so delighted with the
discovery of Vera Cruz, that he resolved to send out another squadron
to explore more minutely its extent; and it appears that three caravels
were ordered to sail upon this project from the Tagus, on the 1st of
May, 1501, but there is a considerable doubt who was the commander
of them; some say it was Americanus Vespuccius, others, that it was
Gonsalo Coelho. Cabral met this squadron at Goree on his return from
India, but the commander’s name is not mentioned. “_Che gamos ao
Cabo da Boa Esperance dia de Pascoa e encontrando alli bom tempo,
continuamos a viagem, e aportamos junto a Cabo Verde em Bezenegue,
onde encontramos tres caravellas, que El Rey de Portugal mandara para
descubrir a terra nova que tinhamos achado hindo para Calecute._”[6]
Francisco de Cunha, author of the Geographical Description of
Portuguese America, states that (“_Gonsala Coelho fora o primeiro
explorador da Costa Bazillica depois de Cabral e Lemos_,”) Gonsalo
Coelho was the first explorer of the Brazilian coast after Cabral and
Lemos. Americanus Vespuccius, in his own manuscript, asserts that he
undertook two voyages for the King of Portugal, this being the first.
It is difficult to arrive at a fair conclusion from this conflicting
testimony, whether he or G. Coelho had the command of those three
caravels. The Portuguese deny positively that it was Vespuccius; and
a French writer of “the General History of Voyages” peremptorily
falsifies all that Vespuccius has advanced upon the subject. “_Les
relations d’Americ Vespuce contienent le recit de deux voiages, qu’il
fit sur la même côte (du Brezil), au nom d’Emanuel, Rio de Portugal;
mais les dates en sont fausses, et c’est en quoi consiste l’imposture;
car il est prouvé par tous les temoignages contemporains que dans le
tems qu’il nomme, il étoit emploie à d’autres expeditions._”[7]
Antonio Galvum mentions the expedition but not the commander. All the
evidence however, regarding this squadron, concur as to the time of
its sailing, and arrival at the Brazil on the 17th of August. After a
long and tempestuous voyage, they made land near Rio Grande, to the
south of Cape St. Roque, where they met with Indians of a savage nature
and decidedly cannibals. Several people from the Portuguese ships
were seized by them, roasted over a large fire in presence of their
countrymen, with loud shoutings and rejoicings. The cannibals were so
expert with their bows and arrows, that this fleet was considerably
annoyed by them, and induced to coast on to the latitude of 8°
south, near Pernambuco, where they met with friendly Indians,[8] and
established an intercourse with them. After a few days, they continued
their voyage along the coast, and met with a kind reception every where
from the natives, who allowed them to land and make their observations
without injury upon the country and its productions. They described
the natives as being exceedingly well made, and universally attached
to the custom of perforating their faces and ears, and wearing bones
and stones as ornaments. They coasted on to 32° south latitude, and,
standing out to sea, reached as high a latitude as 52° south, where,
in consequence of a tempestuous _lebeccio_, they were compelled
to return, and arrived at Lisbon in September, 1502, having lost two
vessels.
Another expedition of six caravels sailed from Lisbon on the 10th of
June, 1503, with the avowed object of prosecuting still further the
examination of Vera Cruz. A variety of contradictory statements render
it doubtful who was the real commander of this squadron, although
the balance of testimony in this, as in the former case, is much in
favour of Gonsalo Coelho. Americanus Vespuccius again alleges that he
accompanied this fleet, and with two ships proceeded forward to the
coast of the Brazil, leaving the other four vessels at an island, some
of them wrecks; and he says those four vessels were all lost through
the want of ability on the part of the commander, whose name he does
not disclose. A work published at Paris, attributing the command of
the three first caravels to Vespuccius, continues thus:--“_El Rey D.
Manuel extremamente affeicoado a Vespucio deu lhe o commando de seis
navios com os quaes sahiu a dez de Mayo, 1503, e passou ao longo das
costas d’Africa, e do Brazil, com o intuito de descubrir uma passagem
pelo occidente para as Ilhas Mallucas, como ao depois se-descubriu:
depois d’apportar na Bahia de todos os Santos, navegou athe os Abrolhos
e rio Curababo, como nāo tinha mantimentos senāo para Vinte mezes,
tomou a resoluçao de voltar a Portugal onde chegou a dezoito de Junho,
1504._”[9] Maneol Ayres de Cazal supposes Christovam Jacques to
have been the commander, and Francisco de Cunha says, that the King
“_Mandou logo preparar outra armada de caravellas que entregou a
Christovam Jacques, fidalgo de sua casa e com o titulo de Cap-Mor,
o mandou continuar n’este empressa descubrindo aquella costa, sahui
armada, e seguindo viagem chegou a costa, sondando baixos e rios pondo
padroes d’armas Portuguezes, foi dar a huma bahia, aque poz o nome de
Todos Santos, e depois deligencias se recolhou a Portugal._”[10] But
Damian de Goes assigns the command to Goncallo Coelho. “_No mesmo
anno de 1503 mandou Goncallo Coelho com seis naus a terra de St. Cruz
com que partiu de Lisboa a hos dez dias de mez de Junho; das quaes por
ainda terem pouca noticia da terra perdeu quatro, e has outras duas
trouxe aho regno com mercadorias da terra que entam nam eram outras que
pau vermelho que chamam Brazil, e papagaios._”[11]
The testimony of three writers attribute the command of these six
caravels to three distinct individuals; but, from a fair investigation
of each statement, that of Goes, who assigns the command to Coelho,
appears more consonant with truth and the intentions of the King,
than the other two relations. The collateral supporter of Vespuccius’
claim, represents the object of the expedition to be for the discovery
of the Moluccas, which certainly does not coincide with the desire of
an immediate and continued exploration of St. Cruz, (or Vera Cruz,)
that seemed to actuate his Majesty solely in fitting it out; nor does
this account say any thing of the loss of four of the caravels, which
is generally admitted. Cunha, who gives the command to Jacques, most
probably alludes to the armament which that person had under his orders
in the year 1516, when he proceeded to the Brazil, and then entered
the bay of All Saints.
Assuming that G. Coelho was the admiral of these caravels, on
traversing the Atlantic they were driven by a severe gale to 3°
south latitude, where a loss of four was sustained upon some rocks
in the proximity of an island, which beyond a doubt was Fernando de
Noronha, situated in 3° 50′ south latitude. The two remaining vessels
continued their course to the coast of Vera or St. Cruz, and made
land near a magnificent bay (Bahia), which they entered, and gave the
appellation of _Todos os Santos_, (being All Saints Day.) They
coasted on southward, constantly approximating to the land, where the
shore presented no obstacles, minutely inspecting all its remarkable
rivers, ports, capes, and headlands, the adjacent islands, and the
coast generally, as far as Cape Virgins, near the Straits of Magellan.
They erected stone pillars, bearing the arms of Portugal, in some
of the most conspicuous situations. They left at Porto Seguro, a
colony consisting of a part of the persons who had escaped from the
shipwrecked vessels, with two Franciscan missionaries, and returned
to Portugal laden with Brazil wood. This wood had now acquired such
reputation in Europe, that the name of St. Cruz, otherwise Vera Cruz,
given to the country by Cabral, was lost in the denomination which it
universally received of the Brazil, (or Brazil wood country.)
In the same year, 1503, before the explorer Coelho reached the land of
Vera Cruz, Don Affonso d’Albuquerque arrived upon the coast, having
left Lisbon, on the 6th of April, with a squadron under his command for
India: the latitude or part of the Brazil that he saw is not stated,
but he observed the cassia and verniz trees. (“_Buona somma di cassia
et di vernizo, altro di momenti non abiamo compreso_”--Ramuzio.)
Shortly after Coelho’s return, a contract was granted for the Brazil
wood, and the colony began to be frequently visited by the caravels of
the contractors.
The King of Castile despatched Juan Dias de Solis, in the year 1509;
and it is said the celebrated pilot Vincente Yanez Pinson accompanied
him, to take possession of a part of the newly-discovered country, and
in pursuance of this project they erected crosses upon different parts
of the coast. The King of Portugal remonstrated against this proceeding
as an intrusion upon his share of the division of undiscovered
countries, which Alexander VI. had very artfully assigned to those two
nations. Feelings of bitter regret cannot but arise in the mind, on
contemplating, at the present day, this fine and fairest portion of the
new world, placed in such hands by an imaginary partition of unknown
lands. Had this best and richest region of America fallen to the share
of the English, French, or Dutch, it would no doubt have assumed a very
different appearance, compared with its actual state. That this would
have been the case is evident, from the present immensely superior
condition of the Anglo-American states, the territory of which was
colonized at a later period than Brazil, and whose soil is in general
so inferior to the latter country. The occasion of the difference may
be mainly attributed to the very opposite genius of the governments and
religion under the English and Portuguese; the free and wise character
of the former giving every facility to talent and industry of all
descriptions, while the ignorant and oppressive nature of the latter,
especially in relation to the commercial restrictions, which, till the
arrival of the King, had unfortunately existed, and in the domination
of the priesthood over the consciences and property of the people,
operating as a paralysis on agricultural, commercial, and scientific
enterprise, and upon all the beneficial pursuits of the mind. It is
now, however, pleasing to observe, that a very striking change has and
is taking place in these matters, the views of his present Majesty
being favourable to the amelioration of the country.
In 1510, a Portuguese ship was wrecked at the entrance of the Bay of
All Saints. The greater part of the crew escaped, and twenty-five years
afterwards nine sailors were found living amongst the Indians. Another
account affirms that they were all seized by the natives and devoured
excepting Diogo Alvarez, a man of distinguished family, who contrived
to make himself useful to those cannibals; and acquired the name of
“Caramura”--“a man of fire,” on his first discharging a gun, which he
had saved from the wreck.
In 1513, George Lopez Bixorda presented to King Emanuel three Brazilian
Indians, whom he had brought home in a contract vessel. They were
dressed with feathers, according to the fashion of their tribe.
The King of Castile ordered Solis upon a second expedition, in the year
1515, with a view of discovering a western passage to India. In the
prosecution of this voyage he discovered a large river, which he called
the River _Solis_. This name was very improperly superseded by the
appellation of Prata, or Plate, (the Silver River.) He lost his life
upon its banks by the hands of the Indians, who slew him with their
clubs, and roasted and devoured him within sight of his countrymen.
In justice, the river ought to have retained his name. His death
frustrated the object of the voyage, and the ships put back, took in
Brazil wood near the island of Itamaraca, and returned to Spain. The
Portuguese again demanded satisfaction for this infringement, which
was at last amicably adjusted.
Christovam Jacques, in the year 1516, entered the bay of All Saints
with a squadron of caravels, and in the course of exploring its
extensive limits, its rivers, and creeks, he fell in with two French
ships, which had previously entered the bay, and were loading with
Brazil wood, of which they had a considerable quantity on board, as
well as parrots and monkeys. He engaged the vessels, and after a
spirited defence they were destroyed. Subsequently, it would appear
from the testimony of a letter of donation to Pedro Lopez de Souza,
(who chose Itamaraca for part of his grant,) and by one which John
III. ordered to be written to Martim Affonso de Souza, that Christovam
Jacques was employed in establishing a factory upon the channel which
separates the island of Itamaraca from the continent, destined to
facilitate the exportation of Brazil wood, and to impede the attempts
of other nations who might visit that quarter in quest of it.
Diogo Garciam, a Portuguese pilot in the service of the Castilian
court, arrived near the mouth of the river Paraguay, in the year 1527,
and found there the ships with which Sebastian Caboto had sailed
from Cadiz, with the intention of proceeding to the Moluccas by the
straits of All Saints, now Magellan’s. He learned that the captain
had gone up the Paraguay, then River Solis, and proceeded with two
launches much above the confluence of the Parana in pursuit of him.
He found him engaged in the construction of the fort of St. Anna,
where they mutually agreed to give to the river Solis the name of the
river Prata, in consequence of seeing small pieces of that metal in
the possession of the Indians. Herrera states, that Diogo Garciam, on
his way to the river Solis, entered the bay of St. Vincente, (then
the River Innocentes,) where a Portuguese, who had been shipwrecked,
provided him with refreshments; also, that Garciam anchored off the
island of Patos, at the present day St. Catherine’s, where the Indians
furnished him with some provisions. He carried with him sixty men, in
two brigantines, to the fort of St. Anna; and before his departure he
despatched one of the largest vessels of his squadron to St. Vincente,
to take in a cargo, which he had agreed with the Portuguese mentioned,
to be sent to Portugal. It is probable that this individual was either
Joam Ramalho or Antonio Rodriguez, whom Martim Affonso de Souza found
there five years afterwards. It would appear that some Portuguese
had been established at St. Vincente some years; and the evidence of
Herrera, that some Indians had been shipped from thence to Portugal
in 1527, would tend to demonstrate that a factory had existed there
previous to the arrival of Martin A. de Souza, (the first donatory,)
and which factory had conceded to Pedro Goes the power of shipping to
Portugal a certain number of aboriginal Indians, free from all the
duties which it was customary to pay. (_Forros de todos os dereitos,
que custamavam pagar._) If this factory existed, neither the period
of its commencement is evident, nor by whom it was established.
The intelligence which the ship of Garciam brought to Portugal, in the
year 1528, that the Spaniards had formed an establishment upon the
river Plate, induced King John III. who wished that river to become the
divisionary line, to despatch an armament, in the year 1531, under the
command of Martim Affonso de Souza, with orders to erect fortifications
and to distribute lands to those who wished to establish themselves
in the country. The fleet, after having made and recognised Cape
St. Augustin, navigated along the coast and entered the bay of All
Saints, where they discovered and captured two French vessels. Joam de
Souza, captain of one of the ships composing the armament, was sent to
announce to the King this circumstance. Martim Affonso continued his
voyage to the south, and after refreshing at Porto Seguro, he found out
and entered the bay of St. Luzia, to which he gave the name of Rio de
Janeiro, in consequence of discovering it on the 1st of January, 1532.
Prosecuting the voyage, and always keeping as near land as possible,
he gave to the most remarkable and important places, the names of the
saints on whose days he discovered them. Having passed the island of
St. Sebastian, on the 20th of the same month, he proceeded to that
part of the port where it is supposed the factory was situated, and of
which no doubt he was previously informed. It appears, however, after
various operations upon the northern bar of the port to establish there
the colonists, who wished to remain in the land, he changed his plan
and removed them to the southern bar. He spent eleven months in the
execution of various measures upon the coast, and it was the month of
December before he arrived at the river Plate; for the sun, say the
Portuguese, was on the tropical line of Capricorn. (_O sol chegou ao
tropico de Capricornio._) Not meeting with any Spanish settlements
upon any part of the coast, he returned to the colony at the southern
bar of the bay of Santos, augmenting it considerably, by giving lands
to all individuals who determined to settle there, in pursuance of the
orders he had received. He sent eighty men into the interior, for the
purpose of discovering or making a conquest of the mines of Cannanea.
The entire party were murdered by the _Carijos_ Indians.
In the same year that Martim Affonso sailed from the Tagus, a
Portuguese squadron captured and conducted to Lisbon a ship of
Marseilles, which had been laden with Brazil wood, at Pernambuco,
where they demolished the Portuguese factory of Itamaraca, founded by
C. Jacques, and left sixty Frenchmen in their place. This information
induced the King to send Duarthe Coelho Pereyra to expel the French,
which he accomplished, and removed the factory to the margin of the
river Hyguaraçu, a few miles distant from the first situation. This
new establishment was the origin of the town of Hyguaraçu, to whose
mother-church the same D. C. Pereyra, being then the donatory of the
captaincy of Pernambuco, gave for patrons the saints Cosme and Damian,
in gratitude for the expulsion of the French on the day of those
saints, in the year 1531. It may be here remarked, that very little
progress, up to this period, would appear to have been made by the
Portuguese for the colonization of this country, now known to them
thirty-two years, and which they had assumed the right of calling and
considering their own.
King John III. at last roused by the attempts which the French
merchants were making to form establishments near the places now called
Pernambuco and Bahia, also by the formation of colonies, which the
Spaniards were promoting on the banks of the Paraguay, determined to
people this continent; and, in order to facilitate the colonization,
he divided the coast into certain large portions of fifty leagues,
which, under the denomination of capitanias, (captaincies,) were to
be bestowed on individuals distinguished by their services to the
crown; and who were to go personally, or to send colonists, in ships,
at their own cost, receiving an uncontrolled jurisdiction over these
royal donations. The historian, Joam de Barros, who was one of the
donatories, and was presented with the district of Maranham, affirms
that the country was partitioned into twelve captaincies; but there
were actually only nine, as five portions which he probably took
into his account, were divided betwixt Martim Affonso de Souza and
his brother Pedro Lopez de Souza, who were the two first donatories
that settled in the Brazil. Martim Affonso, who has been previously
mentioned, received a considerable tract of country contiguous to St.
Vincente, where we left him endeavouring to form a colony. Pedro Lopez
chose his quantum of territory in two lots, one near his brother’s,
called St. Amaro, and the other denominated Itamaraca, at a very
inconvenient distance from the first, situated not far from Pernambuco,
which latter capitania, as has been already stated, became the portion
of Duarthe Coelho Pereyra. The lands adjacent to the southern Parahiba
river were conceded to Pedro de Goes. The country betwixt the great
river St. Francisco, which was the southern boundary of Pernambuco, and
Bahia, was allotted to Francisco Pereira Coutinho. The next portion
of territory, proceeding southward, was denominated the Capitania dos
Ilheos, running north and south from the Rio dos Ilheos, (River of
Islands,) and granted to Jorge Figueiredo Correa. Cabral’s Porto Seguro
was included in the range of coast which formed the capitania of the
same name, and was a donation to Pedro Campo Tourinha. Espirito Santo
(Holy Spirit) was the appellation given to the next in rotation, and
obtained by Vasco Fernandez Coutinho. Rio de Janeiro was not colonized
for some time afterwards. This mode of allotment was not calculated to
maintain a long duration. The captains possessed despotic jurisdiction
over the colonists, many of whom were degradados, or criminals,
consequently less adapted to live in harmony, and the whole being at
the mercy of the former, complaints were frequent; so that, after a
lapse of about seventeen years from its commencement, this system was
terminated by a royal revocation of the power of the captains, followed
by the appointment of Thomé de Souza, a fidalgo, as governor-general
of the Brazil, who arrived at Bahia, the bay of All Saints, in April
1549, with instructions to build a city, which was to be called St.
Salvador. The fleet was accompanied by some Jesuits, who thus obtained
in the Brazilian regions, those means of improving the condition of
the Indians, and of the country in other respects, which has been so
honourable to their Trans-Atlantic character, and which presents so
pleasing and striking a contrast to their conduct in Europe, filled
as that conduct was with “treasons, stratagems, and spoils.” With the
mother-country, this colony passed under the dominion of the Spanish
crown, in the year 1580, for a period of nearly sixty years. The Dutch
possessed themselves of Pernambuco in the year 1630, and ultimately of
the whole country from the great river St. Francisco to Maranham, which
they retained till the year 1654. The last Philip, just before the
Brazil reverted to the Portuguese, conferred the title of Viceroy upon
the governor-general at Bahia, who then was the Marquis of Montalvam,
and which honour all his successors enjoyed. The seat of the vice-regal
government was transferred by Don Joseph I. from Bahia to Rio de
Janeiro, in 1773, which expired on the arrival of the royal family in
that country, in the year 1808. Don John IV. gave the title of Prince
of Brazil to his eldest son, Prince Don Theodosio, which descended to
all the hereditary princes of the house of Braganza, till the 17th of
December, 1815, when the Prince Regent, (now Don John VI.) raised that
country into a kingdom.
The Brazil is of such prodigious extent, that it will be impossible for
it to arrive even at a medium state of perfection under the dominion
of one government. Its prominent boundaries, now that Monte Video is
in the possession of the Portuguese, may be geographically considered
the river Amazons and the Atlantic on the north; the river Plate on
the south; the ocean on the whole of its prolonged range of eastern
coast; and the great rivers Madeira, &c. running north; the Paraguay
and Uruguay stretching south to the river Plate, on the west; although
the two provinces of Solimoes and Guianna, north of the Amazons, and
actually subordinate to the governor of Para, carry its northern
boundaries, politically speaking, almost as far as the Oronocos, making
its length upwards of forty degrees. Its greatest width is about thirty
degrees, from Cape St. Augustin to Point Abuná, upon the margin of the
river Madeira.
This vast region, comprising nearly two millions of square miles, is
now divided into twenty-two provinces, including the two mentioned
above, viz.
Guianna }
Para }
Maranham }
Siará }
Rio Grande, North }
Parahiba }
Pernambuco } All bordering in
Seregipe d’El Rey } part upon the
Bahia } coast.
Porto Seguro }
Espirito Santo }
Rio de Janeiro }
St. Paulo }
St. Catharina }
Rio Grande, South }
Mato Grosso }
Paraná }
Uruguay }
Solimoes } Interior provinces.
Piauhy }
Minas Geraes }
Goyaz }
The zoology and phytology of this country extend to such an infinity
of objects, that they would form a separate history of themselves.
They, as well as mineralogy, will be partially treated upon in the
topography of each province. In reference to the first subject, it
may be here observed, that a very considerable portion of the Brazil
is still occupied by Indians, consisting of a vast number of nations,
more or less numerous, and generally divided into tribes or hordes,
wandering about in a state of nudity, the principal part of their
time employed in hunting, gathering honey, and such fruits as nature
spontaneously produces. They believe in the immortality of the soul
and a Creator of all, whom they commonly denominate _Tupan_,
and, like many other barbarians, their adoration is divided between
the good and evil spirit, which latter they call _Anhanga_. No
state of government is found amongst them; each tribe has its elective
captain, who directs them only on occasions of assaults and in forming
ambuscades against an enemy. Each nation has its peculiar idiom,
but there is one exists amongst them denominated the general lingua,
which is the _Tupinamba_. At this day many tribes retain the
ancient custom of perforating their faces and using pieces of wood as
ornaments. In contracting marriages, the degree of relationship is not
respected. Polygamy is admitted amongst particular individuals only, in
a very few nations. Divorcements are generally very rare amongst them.
They are acquainted with no liberal art, and have a great antipathy
to civilization. Thousands of instances have occurred, in which they
have preferred fleeing from it back again into the woods, in pursuit
of their former rude habits. The governor of one of the comarcas of
Minas Geraes related to me an instance of an Indian who, instructed
in the Catholic faith, had actually entered upon the functions of a
priest, and who, notwithstanding, was afterwards induced, from the
natural bent of his mind, to abscond and rejoin his uncivilized tribe.
Their inherent indolence is conspicuous, and they have but little
consideration in life beyond the acquirement of their daily sustenance.
Frequent instances occur of their assassinating some of the Portuguese,
for whom they lie in ambush. The Portuguese almost universally provide
themselves with fire-arms, on traversing the districts inhabited by
the Indians, at which they are greatly terrified. Such as live upon
the banks of auriferous rivers or lands, and come in contact with the
Portuguese, will give pieces of gold for trifling articles of European
manufacture, particularly knives, the metal of which they consider of
such value, that, in sharpening them, they do not use a whetstone,
but a piece of wood, in order that the blade may experience as little
diminution as possible by the operation. Few Indians are seen in any
of the seaport-towns of the Brazil. Some are employed in the bay of
Rio de Janeiro, rowing boats in the service of the government. They
appear to keep themselves quite distinct, and do not mix with any
other class of people. They are not tall, but their early occupation
of hunting has given to their limbs much strength and agility. A
fine proportion of form is their general characteristic, and they
possess great muscular powers. Their features are regular, and there
is an universal resemblance between them and the various tribes.
They are of a copper-colour, with strong, lank, black hair, which
is permitted to hang over their ears, necks, and foreheads, adding
something to the sombre aspect of their countenances, which are sad
even to an extreme. If they were capable of learning from history, and
appreciating with feelings of patriotism the force of such an event, it
might naturally appear to be a dejection originating in the corroding
idea of the conquest of their country by strangers; but this apparent
characteristic melancholy can only be the result of, and founded upon,
their former habits of life and precarious mode of subsistence; which
having once contracted, and possessing an innate aversion to civilized
intercourse, may never totally disappear. There is nothing ferocious in
their physiognomy; on the contrary, they seem very inoffensive. I never
saw them indulge in any gaiety, rarely laughing, and speaking seldom.
They are expert rowers, and on a transient cessation from their labour,
exhibit no disposition to hold converse with each other, nor curiosity
or interest in the objects and bustle around them. The Jesuits were
undoubtedly the best class of ecclesiastics who have hitherto visited
the Brazil, not only, as has been observed, in initiating the Indians
into Christianity, but in the general pursuit and encouragement of
literature. The missions, for which they were so celebrated, will come
under consideration in treating of the provinces where they instituted
them; also the establishments of Christianized Indians, as well as the
numerous savage tribes existing at the present day.
As the colonization of the capitania of Rio de Janeiro did not
occur till after the Brazil was placed under the jurisdiction of a
governor-general, and no allusion having been made to that event in the
course of these preliminary observations, besides having long assumed
the highest rank amongst the provinces of the Brazil, it naturally
presents itself first in order, as well as the circumstances arising
out of a residence in its capital, for our consideration.