34 



CITY OF RIO JANEIRO. 



[1822. 



stood as interfering with the vessel that is entering the passage ; for 

 the port regulations of the place require all vessels to bring-to a 

 little below fort Do Vilganhon. Any vessel attempting to pass before 

 she has been visited will be fired at from the fort, and the commander 

 will be liable to imprisonment, in addition to paying a fine for each 

 gun so discharged. 



In entering this port, the navigator must take care to pass within 

 hail of fort Santa Cruz, in order to answer any questions that may be 

 asked, and he will find sufficient depth of water close to the rocks, 

 even for a ship of the line. This ceremony complied with, he must 

 steer for fort Do Vilganhon, opposite to which he must either lie-to 

 or come to anchor, and not permit any boat to come alongside, except 

 those of the government, until he obtains a pass, or pratique. This 

 necessary talisman will open a passage for him to the island of Cobras, 

 or Copper Serpent Island, the place of anchorage for merchant-ships. 

 On this island are works of defence, magazines, dock-yards, wharves, &c. 



Rio J aneiro is the capital of all the Portuguese dominions in America. 

 In former times Bahia dos Todos, or Santos, was the principal seat of 

 government and chief mart for commerce in the Brazils ; but the dis- 

 covery and improvement of the gold and diamond mines within one 

 hundred leagues of the city of Rio Janeiro, or St. Sebastian's, gave a 

 decided preponderance to the latter. The city is built on a plain at 

 the west side of the harbour or bay, at the foot of several high moun- 

 tains which rise behind it. It extends into the bay on a projecting 

 peninsula, or tongue of land, about four miles within the mouth of the 

 harbour. The river, or arm of the sea, on which it stands, derives its 

 name from having been discovered on the day of the feast of St. Jan- 

 uarius ; or on the first day of January, in the year 1516. 



The entrance into the harbour from the sea is bounded on the west 

 side by a leaning conic eminence called Sugar-loaf Hill, a gigantic rock 

 a thousand feet high ; and on the other side by the huge mass of granite 

 supporting the castle of Santa Cruz. This entrance being narrow, and 

 well fortified by nature, the port might easily be rendered impregnable 

 to an enemy. The castle or fortress just named may be considered 

 the principal work of defence. There is a battery of some extent on 

 the other side, at the foot of Sugar-loaf Hill ; but, like many others 

 along-shore, it has become almost useless by neglect. The city de- 

 rives but little protection from its immediate fortifications ; and the 

 island of Cobras, notwithstanding its contiguity, is little calculated to 

 afford the city any assistance in case of invasion. 



The city is well built, the houses in general being of stone, and two 

 stories high, having a little balcony before the windows, and a lattice 

 of wood before the balcony, after the fashion of the European Portu- 

 guese and Spaniards. The streets are not broad, but quite straight, 

 crossing each other at right angles. The palace, or imperial resi- 

 dence, fronts the water ; and, with the public square adjoining, is in 

 full view from the anchorage. This edifice, however, though exten- 

 sive in dimensions, has nothing particularly magnificent in its appear- 

 ance to indicate its being the mansion of royalty. There are also a 

 number of churches, but not remarkable for splendour or elegance, ex- 



