740 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 



panied that celebrated navigator, 

 obtained a commission for him- 

 self and his nephew Arias, to go 

 in search of new countries, and 

 to trade in any which Columbus 

 had not previously appropriated. 

 In Dec. 1499, they set sail with 

 four caravals from the port of Pa- 

 los, and were driven by storms 

 from the Cape de Verd islands to 

 Cape St, Augustin's on the Brazil 

 coast, on Jan. 26, 1500. They 

 landed and took possession of the 

 country for the crown of Castile. 

 Proceeding thence, they coasted 

 round northwards to the country 

 of Maranhani, and the mouth of 

 the vast river Amazon. But be- 

 fore Pinzon could return to Eu- 

 rope, a fleet was fitted out at Lis- 

 bon, under the command of Pedro 

 Alvarez Cabral. Its destination 

 was for the East Indies, but being 

 driven out of its course by a tem- 

 pest he arrived on the coast of 

 Brazil three months only after 

 Pinzon had first discovered it. 

 Cabral took possession of the coun- 

 try in tlie name of the crown of 

 Portugal, and called it Santa-Cruz, 

 which name however was, in a 

 few years, merged in that of Bra- 

 zil, by which this territory is still 

 known, though nosatisfactory ety- 

 mology has hitherto been assigned 

 for such appellation. 



Cabral was soon followed by 

 the celebrated navigator Amerigo 

 Vespucci ; to whom the honour is 

 due of having formed the first set- 

 tlement in the country. " It does 

 not appear that any farther atten- 

 tion was at this time paid to it. 

 No gold had been found, and it 

 produced no articles of commerce 

 which could be thought worthy 

 the notice of a government whose 



coffers were overflowing with th<? 

 produce of the spice trade, and 

 the riches of the African mines. 

 But the cargo of Brazil which 

 Vespucci had brought home, 

 tempted private adventurers, who 

 were content with peaceful gains, 

 to trade thither for that valuable 

 wood ; and this trade became so 

 well known, that in consequence 

 the coast and the whole country 

 obtained the name of Brazil, not- 

 withstanding the holier appellation 

 which Cabral had given it. Par- 

 rots and monkeysalso werebrought 

 home for the ladies. It was con- 

 venient for these traders to have 

 agents living among the natives, 

 and adventurers would not be 

 wanting who would willingly take 

 up their abode with friendly sa- 

 vages, in a plentiful and delight- 

 ful country, where they were 

 under no restraint. These were 

 not the only colonists. Portugal 

 had taken possession of Brazil, 

 and meant to maintain it. It was 

 the system of the Portuguese go- 

 vernment to make its criminals of 

 some use to the state ; a wise sys- 

 tem if wisely regulated ; in that 

 kingdom it obviously arose from 

 the smallness of its territory, and 

 lack of population to support its 

 extensive plans of ambition. Hi- 

 therto they had been degraded to 

 the African frontier, and more re- 

 cently to India also. In these si- 

 tuations they certainly served the 

 state ; yet this service was not 

 without heavy disadvantages. The 

 usual offences which were thus 

 punished, were those of blood and 

 violence ; ferocious propensities, 

 which were not likely to be cor- 

 rected by placing the offenders in 

 situations where they might in- 



