182 



A VOYAGE TO 



The earth is not cultivated, no manufactures are esta- 

 blished, commerce is on the lowest footing, and the 

 country continues for centuries a wilderness. So evi- 

 dent was the injurious effect of this spirit on the colo- 

 nies, that it was even recommended by some ministers, 

 to prohibit the working of mines entirely.* But for 

 this intoxicating effect, there is no reason why indus- 

 try employed in the preparation of the precious metals, 

 should be more injurious than when employed in ma- 

 nufactures. It is apt to entice away from every other 

 pursuit, and a country must always be in a state of 

 great dependence upon all others, when possessed of 

 but one branch of industry. Even here there is a dif- 

 ference between the monopoly of industry by the min- 

 ing business, and the situation of a country compelled 

 by necessity to confine itself to one pursuit; in the lat- 

 ter case, it is necessity alone which will induce it to 

 do so; for if possessed of any other resources or capa- 

 cities, there is no danger of their being despised or 

 neglected; but where the precious metals form the 

 staple commodity, their seductive influence will be 

 such as to monopolise every attention. 



Considering the wonderful variety and value of the 

 products of Brazil, the possession of mines was per- 

 haps more injurious than beneficial. Southey informs 

 us, that it was proved by experiments nearly a centu- 

 ry ago, that the spices of the Indies, cinnamon, cloves, 

 and nutmeg, could be naturalized in this happy cli- 

 mate. Their cultivation was suggested at the time 

 as a mode of undermining the power of the Dutch. The 

 sugar, coffee, and cotton of Brazil, can be transported 

 as cheaply to Europe as from the West Indies, or the 



■ Travels in Portugal by the duke de Chatelet, vol. i. p. 247. 



