in 1577 Drake had passed through the Straits of Magellan in his
memorable voyage round the world. His appearance in the southern seas
alarmed Philip the Second, now King of Portugal as well as of Spain, and
consequently Lord of Brazil. He attempted to form a colony and maintain
a fort in the Straits, in order to prevent future navigators from
passing; but of it nothing is left but the name, _Port Famine_, which
attests the miserable fate of the colonists. The English commerce was
also cut off in Brazil. Some vessels trading peaceably at San Vincente
were attacked in the harbour by the Spaniards in superior force; one of
the latter was sunk, and the English escaped next day. In 1686, the Earl
of Cumberland fitted out an expedition, in which Raleigh served and
Witherington was admiral, which entered the reconcave of Bahia and
plundered it, remaining there six weeks, the city being only saved by
the Indian archers. Baretto, the governor of Brazil, died the next year,
and was succeeded by D. Antonio Barreiros the bishop, and Christovam de
Barros as joint governors; and they were soon superseded by Francisco
Giraldes: he, however, never arrived in the country, and Don Francisco
de Souza was appointed in his stead.
During his captaincy some search was made after mines by a descendant of
Caramuru, who offered to discover where he had found the silver of which
he had services in his house and chapel, on condition of receiving the
title of Marques. This Philip refused to grant, and the secret, if
indeed the man had one, died with him.
Meantime the celebrated Cavendish had made one voyage round the world,
and had committed such ravages on the coast of Spanish America, as not
even the atrocious habits of naval warfare in those days can excuse. In
1591, he embarked in a second expedition, arrived in December on the
coast of Brazil, and took Santos and burned San Vincente. The ships then
sailed for the Straits, but were baffled in their attempt to pass, and
returned to the coast of Brazil to obtain provisions. Cavendish, who had
many great and good qualities, and who might certainly think it
allowable to supply himself on an enemy's coast, made an attempt on
Espiritu Santo, but by a mistake in executing his orders it failed, and
he sailed for England, but died of a broken heart on the passage.
The most remarkable expedition of the English to the coast of Brazil was
that of Sir James Lancaster to Pernambuco. He had the command of three
small vessels of 240, 120, and 60 tons. At Cape Blanco he learned that a
rich carrack from India had been wrecked near Olinda, and that her cargo
was safely stowed at Recife. He therefore fitted five out of near thirty
small prizes to accompany him, and built a galley frigate to land with.
He was also reinforced by Captain Vernon with two ships, a pinnace, and
a prize, and then sailed direct for Recife, where they arrived in March,
1595. On Good Friday of that year the town was taken with little
resistance, and Lancaster permitted not the slightest disorder after the
place was taken. He fortified the sandy isthmus which connects Recife
with Olinda, and then proceeded at leisure to stow his ships with the
goods found in the town, and hired the Dutch vessels lying in the port
as store-ships. Some French privateers coming in, he also hired them
with part of the booty to assist in the defence of the place, till the
lading of the vessels should be completed. The Portuguese made several
attempts to burn Lancaster's ships, which were all baffled by his
prudence, and after remaining in possession of Recife twenty days he
prepared to sail. However, on the very last day of his stay, some of his
people, both English and French, having advanced too far in a sally
against the Portuguese, were killed, and the enemy claimed a victory,
which Lancaster being now ready for sea had no inclination to dispute.
And this was the last attack made by the English on the coast of Brazil.
But the French had renewed their attempts, and under Rifault and his
successor De Vaux had succeeded in forming a settlement in the island of
Maranham, 1611. And shortly afterwards Henry IV. sent Daniel de la
Touche, Lord of La Rivardière[15], to examine the country, in order to
form a permanent colony. His report was favourable; and though on his
return to France Henry was dead, an expedition of three ships,
containing 500 men, was fitted out, and in 1612 they arrived on the
island, speedily conciliated the natives, and the colony promised to
thrive. But the court of Madrid quickly sent out orders to the governor
of Brazil to attack the intruders. Various accidents prolonged the
warfare, and it was not until 1618 that they were dislodged, and a
permanent Portuguese colony formed. Its distance from the seat of
government determined the court of Madrid to erect Maranham and Para
into a separate state, of which the capital was fixed at San Luiz, a
town and fort built by the French on the island.
[Note 15: In Barbosa Machado's curious collection of pamphlets, in
the library of Rio de Janeiro, is one by the Capt. Symam Estacio da
Sylveira, printed in 1624. He had been at the taking of Maranham from
the French, and his paper is evidently a decoy for colonists. He says,
that Daniel de la Touche was induced to go thither by Itayuba of the
_Iron arm_, a Frenchman who had been brought up among the Tupinambas. Is
this Mr. Southey's Rifault?]
Meantime the Dutch had formed a West Indian Company, trusting that they
would thereby be able to annoy the court of Spain in their American
possessions, as they had already done in the East Indies. In 1624, a
fleet under Jacob Willekins and the famous Peter Heyne was fitted out
for that purpose. The ships having been separated in a gale of wind,
Willekins made the Morro de San Paulo, about forty miles south of Bahia,
where he waited for the rest of the convoy. When it arrived he sailed
boldly into the reconcave, and St. Salvador was taken almost without a
struggle. Vandort, the Dutch general, immediately began to fortify the
place, and proclamations being issued promising freedom and redress of
wrongs to all who should submit, many Indians, negroes, and Jews
instantly joined him. But the Portuguese, who had hoped that the Dutch
had only come to plunder the city, seeing that they were sitting quietly
down as in a permanent establishment, roused themselves, and after some
little disagreement as to who should command them, pitched on the Bishop
Don Marcos Texeira. He fixed his head-quarters on the Rio Vermelho. The
Dutch were weakened by the departure of Willekins for Holland, and of
Peter Heyne for Angola, the plan of the West India Company being to
secure that settlement, in order to have a certain supply of slaves for
their new conquests in Brazil. Dort had been killed, and there was no
competent commander. The Bishop's troops harassed those of the city in
every direction, and the Dutch were prepared to become an easy prey to
Don Fadrique de Toledo, who had been sent from Spain with a strong force
to recover the capital of Brazil. They capitulated, therefore, in May,
1625, and conditioned for being sent to Holland with sufficient arms and
their personal baggage, leaving the city and forts as they were.
The next year, however, Peter Heyne returned to the reconcave. Every
precaution was taken against him by the governor. Four large ships with
men and artillery were placed to intercept him; but in his single ship,
the rest of his squadron not being able to come up with him, ran in
between two of them, sunk one, and compelled several others to strike:
his own ship, however, grounded, and he burnt her. He added four ships
to his own fleet, loaded four others with prize-goods, and burnt the
rest. Nor was this his only success; for although the Dutch had been
baffled in several attempts on the coast, they sent home prizes enough
to be of national importance.
But a conquest of infinitely more consequence was shortly made; that of
Olinda, which, in 1630, was taken after a feeble resistance on the part
of Matthias de Albuquerque. The Dutch general-in-chief was Henrik Loncq,
the admiral was Peter Ardian, and Wardenburg commanded the troops. The
latter landed at Pao Amarello, three leagues to the north, while the
ships kept up a regular fire opposite to the place; consequently the
Portuguese were surprised, and the towns and forts easily taken.
But the country around continued to be the theatre of a most cruel
predatory war, during which atrocious cruelties were committed by both
parties, but chiefly by the Dutch; and while these things were going on,
a number of negroes had escaped from time to time into the great
palm-forests, about thirty leagues inland, and had multiplied so that
they are said to have amounted to upwards of thirty thousand. These men
were governed by a chief whom they called Zombi: they had some laws, a
shadow of the Christian religion, and were agriculturists. They harassed
the Portuguese, and added by their depredations to the general misery.
At length the Dutch government sent out Count Maurice of Nassau, to take
the command at Pernambuco. He arrived in 1537, and carried on the war so
vigorously that the Portuguese retired out of the province. He also set
about reforming the abuses which existed among the Dutch themselves at
Recife, and having established himself firmly there, he sent one of his
officers, Jan Koin, over to the coast of Africa, who took possession of
St. Jorge da Mina, by which a supply of slaves was secured, and leaving
a garrison there, returned to Recife. The next year, Maurice made an
unsuccessful attack on St. Salvador. His fleet anchored in the bay of
Tapagipe; but though he obtained at first some important posts, he was
finally repulsed and returned with loss to Pernambuco. There he occupied
himself in building a new town, and making the two first bridges that
had yet been built in Portuguese America, besides planting trees, and
improving the fortifications. In 1640 he sent the famous sea-warrior Jol
into the reconcave, to lay it waste; and he accordingly burnt the whole
of the sugar-works in the bay, while the Indians who were friendly to
the Dutch, fell on the land-side of the captaincy, and harassed the
unhappy settlers in an equal degree.
At length the court of Madrid began to be alarmed for the safety of
Brazil, and fitted out a large armament for its relief. Storms and
sickness diminished it, ere it arrived, to nearly one half. That half
arrived at Bahia, in 1640, under D. Jorge de Mascasentras, Marques de
Monte Alvam. Before he had time either to make open war, or to
negociate, the revolution in Portugal, which placed Braganza on the
throne of his ancestors, took place. The viceroy, unjustly suspected of
adhering to Spain, was sent home, and a commission, composed of
Barbalho, Correa, and the bishop, appointed in his stead.
One of the first acts of the restored Portuguese government was to make
a ten years' truce with the Seven United States. But this did not
prevent the continuance of hostilities in Brazil, and the other foreign
possessions of Portugal. Serigipe was surprised, Maranham conquered, and
Loanda in Angola and St. Thomas's taken.
Notwithstanding these successes, the Dutch government disapproved of
Count Maurice's administration. Instead of sending home either to the
States or the Company all the money and produce which he had gained in
Brazil, he had laid out great part of it, as well as of his private
fortune, in fortifying the mouths of rivers and harbours, particularly
Recife, in repairing and beautifying the towns, and in other public
works, which, looking forward to the permanent establishment of the
Dutch in the country, he considered as absolutely necessary. He was
accordingly recalled, and returned to Holland in 1644.
After the departure of Maurice the tyranny of the Dutch became so
intolerable, that the Portuguese began to rise against it almost
universally.
Maranham had already been wrested from their hands at the time of his
returning, and that event seemed to be the signal for the long and
calamitous struggle that ensued in Pernambuco and the neighbouring
Captaincies. Joam Fernandes Vieyra, a native of Madeira, had, at a very
early age, left his native island in hopes of bettering his fortune in
Brazil. He had succeeded, and at the time we speak of, he was one of the
richest Portuguese of Pernambuco, and highly esteemed by both his
countrymen and the Dutch. Against the latter, however, he was animated
both by patriotism and superstition. They oppressed his people, and they
were heretics. After waiting for years for a proper opportunity to
attempt their destruction, he seized the first months of Nassau's
absence, and communicating his plans to none but to two friends, one of
whom he commissioned to apply to the government of Bahia in person for
succour, he waited patiently for an answer. This man, André Vidal de
Negreiros, executed his commission exactly, and shortly afterwards
Antonio Diaz Cardozo, and sixty soldiers, were sent to Vieyra. He
concealed them in the woods in the neighbourhood of his dwelling, called
the Varzea, which was on the plain to the westward of the city, and then
summoned the Indian chief Camaram and the Negro chief Henrique Diaz[16],
to his assistance, and communicated his designs to his neighbours.
[Note 16: The following is an extract from one of the letters of
this Creole Negro: "Faltamos a obediença, que nos occupava no certam de
Bahia, por naõ faltarémos as obrigaçoens da patria; respeitando primeiro
as leys da natureza, que as do imperio."
_Castrioto Lusitano_.]
Early in 1645 the war began in earnest. The most shocking atrocities
were committed by both parties, especially towards the Indians, who
themselves as they were the most faithful allies, were also the most
inveterate and cruel enemies. In the course of the struggle, which
lasted until 1654, several leaders on both sides were slain, but none so
remarkable as the Indian Camaram. He had been educated by the Jesuits;
he understood Latin, wrote, read, and spoke Portuguese perfectly, but on
all occasions of ceremony used an interpreter, that he might not in
public do any thing imperfectly, and thereby derogate from the dignity
of his chieftainship. When a number of Indians were taken among the
Dutch, at one of the strong posts of the latter, a relation of Camaram's
was found among them. These men had all been condemned to death. Camaram
did not intercede for the life of his kinsman, but he saved his honour:
he slew him with his own hand, and buried him decently. The rest were
hanged by the common executioner, and left for the fowls of the air.
At length this horrible warfare was ended. The two battles of the
Gararapes[17], had decided the fate of the Dutch in Brazil: but it was
the co-operation of the fleet of the new Brazilian company that enabled
Vieyra, who was the real commander in this war, although several
military men of reputation, had, from time to time, had the nominal
chieftainship, to reduce Recife, and on the 23d of January 1654, to
present the keys of the city to the Royal Commander Francisco Beretto,
and to restore to the crown of Portugal the empire of Brazil, after nine
years of the most cruel war, during which the private fortune, and the
determined spirit of individuals had sustained the conflict, generally
without the aid, and often in direct opposition to the commands of the
court. But men once determined on freedom, or on national independence,
must in the end overcome all obstacles and vanquish every difficulty.
[Note 17:
Ves Agros Gararapes, entre a negra,
Nuvem de Marte horrendo
Qual Jupiter em flegra,
Hollanda o vistes fulminar tremendo.--DINEZ.
The Portuguese reader will do well to read the whole of Diniz's fine ode
to Vieyra, as well as that to Mem de Sa, on his conquests at Rio de
Janeiro. This writer is one of the best of the Arcadian school.--But he
wrote on subjects of a minor interest, while Guidi wrote to the
"d'Arcadia fortunate Genti"--of the Eternal city, where every civilised
being feels he has an interest.]
While these things were going on in the northern provinces, the Jesuits
had formed their singular establishments in Paraguay, and endeavoured to
stop, or at least limit the slave hunting of the Portuguese in the
interior, though without effect. The best part of the colony of St.
Vincent's had been removed to St. Paul's, a settlement on the plain of
Piratininga, and had flourished surprisingly. The people had become
hardy, if not fierce. They had distinguished themselves by the courage
and perseverance with which they had explored the country in search of
mines, and the activity with which they had brought in slaves for the
new settlements. The consciousness of their strength begot in them a
longing for independence, and seizing the opportunity of the accession
of the House of Braganza to the throne of Portugal, they attempted to
set up a king for themselves. Their attempt was baffled by Amador Bueno
de Ribiero, the very person they intended for their monarch, who, when
the people shouted "Long live king Amador," cried out "Long live Joam
IV." and, being swift of foot, ran and took refuge in the Benedictine
convent; and the same day, as there was no alternative, Joam IV. was
proclaimed by all the people.
The low state to which Portugal was now reduced, was seen in its effects
on the government of Brazil. When the appointed Governors, either on
their own judgment, or in obedience to the orders of the court of
Lisbon, attempted to carry any new measure into execution which the
people disliked, it was seldom in their power to enforce it, and they
could expect little assistance from home. The Jesuits had undertaken the
defence of the Indians, and endeavoured by every means to restrain the
practice of making slaves of them, and to mitigate the lot of such as
were already enslaved. But the Franciscans and some other orders derived
equal pecuniary benefit with the hunters from the sale of slaves, and
therefore they opposed them with vehemence. Interest was on the side of
the Friars, and the most disgraceful scenes took place in various
captaincies between the parties, the Governors being either not able or
not willing to interfere with effect.
Meantime, however, the people became accustomed to canvass and to
understand public questions; their governors began to respect them as a
real part of the estate; and a value for independence, and a feeling
that to attain it was in their own power, grew out of these disorders.
Had it been possible to have purified their religion from some of its
most superstitious observances, and to reform the moral habits of the
people, the prosperity of the country would soon have been equal to its
means; but wherever slavery is established it brings a twofold curse
with it. It degrades both parties even where the slaves are imported.
How much more then, as was the case here, when they were hunted on their
own grounds, where all the details, disgusting and iniquitous as they
are, of the seeking, capturing, and bending to the yoke, pass under the
eye till the heart grows callous to the cry of the orphan, the grief of
the widow, and the despair of the parent in being torn from whatever has
been dear to them?
The history of the Jesuit Vieyra's mission to Maranham is as humiliating
to human nature, as his sincere exertions in the cause of the suffering
Indians is creditable to himself; but neither his exertions, nor the
royal authority, could baffle the selfish cruelty and avarice of the
people of that captaincy; they broke out into open rebellion in defence
of their detestable practices, and even when they returned to obedience,
there was a compromise between humanity and avarice, to which the
Indians were again sacrificed.
Rio de Janeiro had enjoyed a greater degree of tranquillity during the
eighty years since its foundation than any other settlement, and its
trade had increased together with its population; but the southern part
of its jurisdiction was little more peaceable than Maranham, and not at
all more inclined to listen to the remonstrances of the friends of the
Indians. The Paulistas were the most difficult of all to manage; they
had been the most active and daring of all that hunted either for slaves
or for mines, and they were not willing to participate with others, far
less to resign the advantages they had gained by unwearied labour and
great sacrifices. Their conduct on the restoration of Portugal had
evinced a desire of more than the freedom of a colony, and their
neighbours were little less disposed for independence than themselves.
Santos, and even Rio, had joined them, and had shewn a disposition to
depose the governor appointed by the crown; and nothing but the
unimpeachable character and firm conduct of Salvador Correa de Sa e
Benevides (1658) prevented him from falling a sacrifice to that
disposition. Bahia continued to be the capital of the Brazilian states,
and its inhabitants proceeded to beautify it with churches, and
convents, and nunneries, while they defied the spirit of Christianity by
the importation of African, as well as the kidnapping Indian slaves.
Pernambuco was still undergoing the miserable effects of the long and
desultory war it had sustained; all the bands of government had been
loosed during that disastrous period; law and justice had fallen into
disuse; and had there not been a redeeming virtue in the free spirit
that lived on in spite of the evils among which it had sprung, its very
emancipation from a foreign power might have been regretted. The negroes
who had escaped to the Palmares, and whose depredations had been
disregarded in comparison with the evils of a foreign government, had
become a real source of ill to the Pernambucans. Although they
cultivated maize, and mandioc, and plaintains, they wanted every other
supply. They therefore robbed the Creoles of their cattle, their sugar,
their manufactured goods, and even of their Mulatto daughters and female
slaves; till at length the government resolved to free the country of
them, and called in the aid of a Paulista regiment for the purpose. Ten
thousand of the negroes bearing arms had assembled in their chief city,
which was surrounded by wooden walls, leaving the lesser ones
uninhabited. But their enemies had the advantage of cannon against them,
and of supplies of every kind; yet once the negroes beat off their
assailants. But numbers overpowered them, and being weakened by famine,
their city was forced, and the inmates seized as slaves. Zombi, however,
and the most resolute of his followers, threw themselves from a high
rock when they perceived their condition desperate. The Portuguese
abused their victory, and murdered the rest.
But there was an evil that affected Brazil generally--the too much and
the too little power of the governors. They had too much power, if any
appeal lay from them--too little, if they were absolute for the term of
their government. They were also virtually free from responsibility;
their opportunities, nay, their temptations to extortion were almost
irresistible; and, to crown all, the corrupt administration of the laws
kept pace with the vices and the irregularity of the government. In vain
had the wisest regulations been made, and the most just decrees issued.
The judges were in many cases parties concerned; they were so in all
cases where Indians and negroes were the objects of their judgment, for
they were possessors of both. Their salaries were insufficient, their
fees arbitrary. What wonder then if the administration was corrupt!
The cultivation of sugar and cotton had proceeded silently amidst all
this confusion. The discovery of the gold and diamond mines assisted the
government, both in Brazil and in the mother country, to make a stand in
the midst of the eminent peril which threatened, in consequence of the
losses sustained in the east, while at home there was a scanty and
impoverished population, ruined manufactures, and, above all, a neglect
of agriculture, that rendered Portugal dependent on foreigners for corn.
Every thing was wanted; there was nothing to return; and at the
beginning of the eighteenth century, Brazil may be truly said to have
saved Portugal, by covering with her precious metals the excessive
balance that was against her in every branch of commerce, in every
department of government.