10^8 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1805. 



in which it is conduced. About 

 forty vessels, of two hundred and 

 fifty tons each, arc engaged in it; 

 ■which scarcely complete their voy- 

 ages in two years, though the dis- 

 fancc is only twenty degrees to the 

 southward. They take with them 

 from Bahia a (rifling quantity of 

 rum, sugar, earthenware, and Eu- 

 ropean goods (chiefly British and 

 German), which they dispose of for 

 the greatest part, the salt excepted, 

 in a contraband trafiic with the Spa- 

 niards of Maldonado and Montcvi. 

 dec, for silver. During this traffic 

 the crews are employtd in loading 

 with jerk bocf and hides, prepared 

 from the line cattle that abound in 

 the Savannahs adjoining Parasuay. 

 After slaughtering these animals, 

 they cut the flesh into thin pieces, 

 about U\o feet in length, which they 

 salt, and dry in (he sun and smok. 

 ing-houscs ; and Uiey cure the hides 

 at the same time. 



" The ships, as they arrive at Ba- 

 hia, sell the beef on board by re- 

 tail, at two vindns a pound. It is 

 purchased principally by the lower 

 class of inhabitants, and for the use 

 of slaves and shipping. By dispos- 

 ing in this manner of a cargo, instead 

 of landing it, a vessel is detained 

 five months in port, and sometimes 

 longer ; so that in the period which 

 one voyage takes, reckoning tiic idle 

 time lost at Rio Grande, three might 

 be made. 



" The trade carried on in the im- 

 mediate confines of the bay, of which 

 a great part is inland, is astonishing. 

 There are full eight hundred launches 

 and sumacks of different sizes, daily 

 bringing their tribute of commerce 

 to the capital : tobacco, cotton, and 

 various drugs, from Cachoiera ; the 

 greatest assortment of common 



earthen ware from laffuaripc ; runt 

 and whale-oil from Itaporica ; tim- 

 ber from the province of the llheos ; 

 farinha and salt fish from Porto Se- 

 guro ; cotton and maize from the ri- 

 vers Real and San Francisco ; and 

 sugar, fire-wood, and vegetables, 

 from all quarters. A degree of 

 wealth, unknown in Europe, is thus 

 put in circulation, and would be 

 considerably increased, if even the 

 supine nation who at present enjoy 

 the country were left to their free 

 exertions ; but their trade is slavish- 

 ly fettered by the severest regula- 

 tions. Bahia, as well as Pernam. 

 bucco, has a staple for cotton ; and 

 on the importation o( this article, in 

 the launches and sumacks, the 

 w hole is landed at a warehouse ap- 

 pointed for the purpose, where it is 

 weighed, sorted, and pressed ; its 

 quality, first, second, or inlerior, 

 marked on the hales ; and tlun it is 

 ready for exportation. In this ge- 

 neral store it continues til' disposed 

 of by the owner, at the prices com- 

 monly fixed by the staplers. The 

 aqua ardent is in the hands of an 

 exclusive company, to whom every 

 pipe that does not pass through its 

 warehouses pays a duty increasing it 

 to the price at which the company 

 sells. Tobacco, Brasil-wood, bul- 

 lion, and the precious minerals, as 

 I have already mentioned, are dis- 

 posed of by government alone. 

 Foreigners are expressly forbidden 

 every species of trade, and are not 

 even allowed to ship colonial pro- 

 duce in Portuguese bottoms. In 

 short, the prohibitions and mono- 

 polies arc so many, that commerce 

 is contracted in its operations, in-, 

 dustry debilitated, .■•.ud smuggling 

 encouraged : for men in all countries 

 are too n ady to engage in what is 



forbiddcHj 



