25 



Chapter IL 



THE COTTON SPINNING AND 

 WEAVING INDUSTRY 



Development. — The first cotton spinning and ^^•eavillg mills 

 are said to have been established in Minas Geraes as far back as about 

 1775. Shortly afterwards the States of Para and Maranhao had also 

 some small factories, if factories they could be called, for most of the 

 looms were worked by hand and the driving force for the spindles was 

 a " bolandeiro " (mule-driven mill). 



A wise Portuguese Government had imported hand spinners and 

 weavers from India for the purpose of teaching their handicraft and 

 we saw on our journey, especially in the villages along the Sao 

 Francisco, the hand staff, the spinning wheel and the hand loom, the 

 latter of the most primitive kind, the shuttle bemg thrown first by 

 the right then by the left hand. The hand gins used in the interior 

 of Brazil are almost identical with the " churkah " employed in India 

 and were probably brought over by the spinners from India. Large 

 numbers of hand looms are said to be in existence in all those parts of 

 Brazil where railways do not reach and it would be well to introduce 

 an improved hand loom with fly-shuttle as, no doubt, a saving of time 

 of 40 per cent, could be easily achieved. 



Spinning by hand is still in use in the Intcii( 



