1UI A S I L. 



J27 



to circumscribe the benefit derived from it, l>y ma- 

 king it the object of a monopoly. The value of this 

 wood imported into Europe amounts, however, to 

 between ISO.OOO/. and 10,000 /. 



Olinda, the capital of the provin.-?, ind formerly 

 of all the Dutch dominions in Brasil, is situated on a 

 hill, at about a mile's distance from the sea. It con- 

 tains only two thousand Portugu. inhabitants, but 

 a much greater number of Indians and people of co- 

 lour. Its trade is carried by the Recise, or port, 

 situated at the mouth of the river on which the city 

 lies. The harbour is far from good, the entrance for 

 large vessels being extremely narrow. Along the 

 whole of this coast extends an almost continued wall 

 of rocks, about sixty feet high, allowing vessels to 

 approach only by a few narrow openings at different 

 plao 



Tamaraca is situated only five miles north of Olin- 

 da, upon an island, which is separated from the con- 

 tinent by a narrow channel. It contains a pretty- 

 good harbour. The district attached to it is the 

 property of the Marquis of Monsanto. Paraiba, 

 which, under the Dutch government, became a place 

 of considerable importance, has also a tolerable har- 

 bour, at the mouth of a river of the same name. Rio 

 Grande is situated on a rock in the liver of that 

 name, and is, by its situation, nearly impregnable. 

 The district of Rio Grande produces wheat, hemp, 

 cows, and horses, in such abundance, that it is 

 reckoned the richest part of Brasil ; but, owing 

 to the numerous flats in the river, it is not able 

 to carry on an extensive navigation. The isle of Fer- 

 nando di Noronha, though at the distance of sixty 

 leagues from the coast, is also attached to the go- 

 vernment of Fernambuco. The Portuguese merely 

 keep a garrison there. The whole of Fernambuco 

 is supposed to contain a population of ly ,)>()() 

 whites, '39,000 negroes and muhttoes, and 33,700 

 Indians. 



On passing the great river San Francisco, we find 

 ourselves in the government of Bahia, long the centre 

 of Portuguese dominion in this part of the world. 

 Like that of Fernambuco, it is composed of four 

 provinces, Sergippe, Bahia Proper, Dos Ilheos, and 

 Porto Seguro. Bahia Proper is the most fertile and 

 populous of all the provinces. The plantations are 

 extended to a considerable distance inland, and are of 

 great extent, employing often two or three hundred 

 slaves. Sugar, cotton, and tobacco, are the staple 

 productions. The capital, Bahia, or .St Salvador, 

 carries on a very extensive trade, both with the mo- 

 ther country, and with the other provinces. The bay 

 on which it lies forms one of the noblest harbours in 

 the world. It is twelve leagues in length and three 

 in breadth, is entered from the south, and affords an- 

 chorage, where the united shipping of the globe 

 might be fully accommodated. The city is situated 

 on the right side of the bay, on a steep hill, with a 

 single street, parallel to the beach. The most mag- 

 nificent edifice is the grand church of the Ex Jesuits, 

 which is built entirely of European marble, while 

 every species of ornament is lavished on its interior. 

 The college and monastery attached to it, being no 

 longer occupied, have been converted into an hospital. 

 The remaining churches are loaded, though in a less 



ec, witli the amc gaudy and npentitioM orna- 

 itl ; but the general appearance of the town is far 

 from corresponding to these structures. The streets 

 are narrow, ill paved, and excessively dirty. Tlif 

 t the opulent inhabitants, have a dull 

 and dirty appearance from the street ; while those of 

 the lowest rank are composed of tiles, open to tli 

 roof, and instead of windows they have wooden lat- 

 tices, which are not even painted. The city is popu- 

 lous, containing upwards of an hundred thousand in- 

 habitants, of whom thirty thousand are whites, thirty 

 thousand mulattocs, and the rest negroes. 



The only pr sent defence of St Salvador consists 

 in a fort called Do Mar, situated on a small rocky 

 bank, about three quarters of a mile from tin- 

 shore. It is chiefly indebted for its strength to 

 the Dutch, who fortified it during their attempt to 

 obtain possession of the place, in ]62l. It consists 

 of a circular tower, with a lower battery : the diame- 

 ter of the whole is about 270 feet. The shipping, 

 by lying between this fort and the city, are placed 

 under its protection. Five hundred men compose its 

 garrison ; but through the negligence of the govern- 

 .t, this number is never complete. The passes 

 leading inland, to the north and south, are also de- 

 fended by two forts, Barbalho and St Pedro, neither 

 of which, however, possess any considerable strength. 

 The troops of the city, including militia, amount to 

 about 5000 ; one regiment of which is composed of 

 mulattoes and free negroes. Ships of war are con- 

 stantly building ; but as the dockyard admits only- 

 one at a time, the augmentation of their navy cannot 

 be very rapid. 



Bahia carries on a very extensive commerce, both 

 with the mother country, with the other provinces on 

 the coast, and with the interior. From the different 

 parts of its own government alone, eight hundred 

 launches and sumacks daily enter the harbour, bring- 

 ing the various productions of the neighbouring ter- 

 ritories. It is the centre of the trade of all these 

 districts, and the medium through which they trans- 

 mit and receive commodities to and from the mother 

 country. About fifty vessels are employed in the 

 trade between Lisbon and Oporto, bringing from 

 thence provisions, and every kind of European com- 

 modity, and carrying in return cotton, sugars, coffee, 

 tobacco, dying woods, and medicinal roots. The 

 trade to the more distant provinces of the colony is 

 also considerable, particularly that to the southern 

 province of Rio Grande. The European commodi- 

 ties carried thither, are disposed of, not only to the 

 Portuguese inhabitants, but also to the Spaniards of 

 Maldonado and Monte Video ; and the vessels in re- 

 turn bring dried beef and hides, the produce of the 

 vast meadows which extend in the neighbourhood of 

 those settlements. 



Besides the capital, this province contains Cocho- 

 ria, finely situated on the banks of a river, fifteen 

 leagues in the interior, and the mart for the northern 

 gold mines of Brasil. It contains also Tagoaripe, 

 Amoro Jacobina, Do Sitis, and San Francisco, at 

 each of which a considerable trade is carried on. 



Between Fernambuco and Bahia Proper is a small 

 province, called Sergippe. It is thinly inhabited, and 

 little known to Europeans. The capital of the 





