408 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1817. 



trary. In conversing on one oc- 

 casion with a man of coloui- who 

 was in my service, I asked him 

 if a certain Capitam-mor was not 

 a mulatto man; he answered, 

 " be was, but is not now." I 

 begged him to explain, when he 

 added, " Can a Capitam-mor be 

 a mulatto man ?" I was inti- 

 mately acquainted with a priest, 

 whose complexion and hair plainly 

 denoted from whence he drew 

 his origin j I liked him much : 

 he was a well-educated and intel- 

 ligent man. Besides this indi- 

 vidual instance, I met with seve- 

 ral others of the same descrip- 

 tion. 



The regiments of militia, which 

 are called mulatto regiments, are 

 so named from all the officers and 

 men being of mixed casts ; nor 

 can white persons be admitted 

 into them. The principal offi- 

 cers are men of pioperly ; and 

 the colonel, like the commander 

 of any other regiment, is only 

 amenable to the govei'nor of the 

 province. In the white militia 

 regiments, the officers ought to 

 be by law white men ; but in 

 practice they are rather reputed 

 white men, for very little pains 

 are taken to prove that there is no 

 mixture of blood. Great num- 

 bers of the soldiers belonging to 

 the regiments which are officered 

 by white men, are mulattos, and 

 other persons of colour. The 

 regiments of the line, like^^■iseJ 

 (as I have elsewhere said,) admit 

 into the ranks all persons except- 

 ing negroes and Indians ; but tlie 

 oihcers of these must prove nobi- 

 lity of birth ; however, us ceitain 

 degrees of nobility have been con- 

 ferred upon persons in whose fa- 

 milies there is much mixture of 



blood, this proof cannot be re- 

 garded as being required against 

 the mulatto or mamaluco part of 

 the population. Thus an Euro- 

 pean adventurer could not obtain 

 a commission in these regiments, 

 whilst a Brazilian, whose family 

 has distinguished itself in the pro- 

 vince in former times, will prove 

 his eligibility without regard to 

 the blood which runs in his veins. 

 He is noble, let that flow from 

 whence it may. 



The late colonel of the mulatto 

 regiment of Recife, by name No- 

 gueira, went to Lisbon, and re- 

 turned to Pernambuco with the 

 order of Christ, which the Queen 

 had conferred upon him. A chief 

 person of one of the provinces is 

 the son of a white man and a wo- 

 man of colour ; he has received 

 an excellent education, is of a ge- 

 nerous disposition, and entertains 

 most liberal views upon all sub- 

 jects. He has been made a colo- 

 nel, and a degree of nobility has 

 been conferred upon him ; like- 

 wise the Regent is sponsor to one 

 of his children. Many other in- 

 stances might be mentioned. Thus 

 has Portugal, of late years from 

 policy, continued that system into 

 whicli she vvas led by her peculiar 

 circumstances in former times. 

 Some of the wealthy planters of 

 Pernambuco, and of the jich in- 

 habitants of Recife, are men of 

 colour. The major part of the 

 best mechanics are also of mixed 

 blood. 



It is said tliat mulattos make 

 bad masters ; and tliis holds good 

 oftentimes witii persons of this 

 description, who have been in a 

 state of slavery, and become pos- 

 sessed of slaves of their own, or 

 are employed as managers upon 



estates. 



