toa nieuho*f's brazil, 



for the blood of fo many Innocent people. They reprefented to His Excellency, that 

 ■he was obliged by his ftation to aflift them in this extremity, as they were his country- 

 men ; but if that fhould not be prevailing enough, reafons of ftate would induce him 

 not to force them to defpair by denying them his aid ; which if he did, it ihould be at 

 the peril of his head, and that he muil give a fevere account of it before God Almighty, 

 and others, if they fhould be conflrained to beg that from a foreign power which they 

 could not obtain from their countrymen. . The governor having taken all thefe preffing 

 reafons into mature conlideration, and in refped both of Your Lordfhips* requeft, and 

 the heavy complaints of the Portuguefe, made it his chief care to find out the moft 

 €ffed:ual means (which Your Lordfhips feemed to leave to his difcretion) to appeafe 

 this revolt. Being fenfible that the revolt of the Portuguefe inhabitants had taken deep 

 root among them, and was likely to prove more univerfal againfl your government, he 

 judged it moH expedient to fend hither certain perfons with fuch forces as he thought 

 might either by their prudence, and if that failed, by force of arms, reftore the fo 

 much-defired tranquillity. It is upon this account, my Lords, we are come to this place, 

 in order to employ all our force and affiftance, according to your requeft, purfuant-to 

 the peace eftablifhed betwixt thefe two nations, in regard of which we value not the 

 ^xpences we have been put to upon this occafion. But we fcarce had fet foot afhore, 

 when our ears and hearts were ftruck with the doleful outcries of forty innocent Catho- 

 lic Portuguefe, murdered in the church of Rio Formofa, whither they were enticed 

 for that purpofe, by thofe that were in your fervice, without the leafl refped of age 

 or fex, the very babes being by the natives barbaroufly murdered as they were lying 

 on their mother*s breafts. Neither have the fighs and groans of many noble maids 

 €fcaped our ears, that were ravifhed in the Vergea and St. Lawrence, by the Brazilians, 

 not to mention here what barbarities have been committed in Pojuka, where is the fight 

 of many a hermit and innocent babe who were flaughtered in a cave. Neither have 

 they abftained from holy and confecrated places ; they have cut to pieces the images of 

 the faints, and ftripped the queen of heaven, the virgin' Mary, our blefled lady, of all 

 her apparel ; things fo enormous, and never heard of before, enough to create horror 

 and aitonifliment in a generous heart. And notvvithftanding Your Lordfhips had de- 

 fired the governor-general to interpofe his authority, you did form a camp, which 

 continues in the field to this day ; and we being obliged by our orders to come to you 

 upon the Receif, we judged it not convenient to leave any armed power behind us, 

 which in time might prove the occafion of great inconveniences to us ; we fhall ender- 

 vour to ftiew all due refped and kindnefs to your fubjeds, and carry the garrifon of 

 Serinham along with us, until matters may be concerted betwixt Your Lordfhips and 

 us, for the fervice of God and the ftate. In the meanwhile, we moft earneftly defire 

 a ftop may be put to the outrages committed by your foldiers hitherto, to avoid all 

 occafion of a rupture on your fidej we proteft on the other hand, in the name of God 

 and John IV. the King our mafter, whom God preferve, as alfo in the name of the 

 States-General, whofe power God encreafe, that we defire nothing fo much as the 

 continuation of the late eftablifhed peace, which fhall be the guide of all our adions ; 

 of which we have brought along with us an authentic copy, to ferve us as a fuflicient 

 juftification by all the princes of Europe. And that Your Lordfhips may be fatisfied 

 in the reality of it, we have fent you enclofed a copy of the proclamation publifhed by 

 lis, at our landing in this .captainfhip. God preferve Your Lordfhips. 



*' Serinham, Aug. 8, 1645. Martin Scares Moreno. 



Andrew Vidal de Negreiros.** 



The 



