BRAZIL 



485 



Para or Belem is a well-built town on the river of the same name, and contains a cathedral, 

 arsenal, governor's palace, and several higher institutions of education. It is the centre of an 

 active and extensive commerce, and has a population of 20,000 souls. 



Among the interior towns are Villarica or Preto, formerly a rich and populous city, but 

 now much dechned on account of the diminution in the production of the gold mines, to which 

 It owed its prosperity ; population, 9,000 ; Tejuco, the capital of the diamond district, con- 

 taining 6,000 inhabitants, distinguished for their intelligence ; Villa do Principe, remarkable for 

 its rich gold washings, with 5,000 inhabitants. 



3. Agriculture. In no country would agriculture yield greater returns to the industrious 

 cultivator, but, unhappily, in no country is it more generally neglected. A passion for seeking 

 gold and diamonds has nearly destroyed all relish for every other labor. Maize, beans, and 

 cassava root are raised in considerable quantities. In many parts wheat and other European 

 grains are reared. Cofi'ee and sugar are cultivated to a great extent ; as well as tobacco and 

 cotton. Vanilla and sarsaparilla are obtained in abundance. 



4. Commerce. The chief exports are gold, diamonds, sugar, cotton, cofiee, rice, rum, 

 Brazil and other woods, many of which are of the ornamental kinds. Several of these articles 

 are royal monopolies. The imports are principally manufactured goods of every description. 

 Manufactures scarcely exist in Brazil. 



5. Jlrmy and Jfavy. The Brazilian army is composed of about 30,000 regulars and 50,000 

 militia. The navy already contains 30 vessels of all sizes. 



6. Population. The population of Brazil is estimated at 5,000,000. Of this number 

 1,200,000 are whites, an equal number are mulattoes, 2,600,000 are slaves, and the rest are 

 Indians, mixed breeds, and free blacks. The importation of slaves from Africa for the last 30 

 years, has been equal to an average of 50,000 per annum. 



7 . Inhabitants. The white inhabitants of Brazil are generally of Portuguese descent, and 



though there is little love to the mother country, the Empire 

 bears the impress of its character. The races in Brazil are the 

 Whites, Blacks, and Indians. At Rio de Janeiro there are 

 1,400 French, and half as many English. In other parts of the 

 country there is a colony of Irish, another of Swiss, and there 

 are 2 colonies of Germans. There are also many Indians. The 

 classes are generally tliose of the South American States. All 

 are masters or slaves. There is, however, a nobility, and Don 

 Pedro ennobled several of the substantial and successful agricul- 

 turists. 



8. Dress. In the cities the dress is both showy and expen 

 sive, though less so than in Mexico. The ladies dress generally 

 in black, and throw over the head, face, and breast, a black vei 

 which, as it is worked whh sprigs at regular distances, makes th 

 face appear as though it were spotted with black patches. Silk 

 stockings are always worn, and much attention is paid to the neat 

 appearance of the feet. There is a kind of beetle, or bug of a very brilliant and glancing color, 

 that is sometimes worn in the hair as an ornament. The better class dress somewhat after the 

 European fashion ; the poor have little clothing but the usual American cloak or blanket with 

 a hole for the head ; and the dress of the negroes is as slight as decency tolerates. The Pau- 

 listas, at balls, assume an elegant white-silk dress, covered with spangles and golden chains. At 

 dinner parties, a calico jacket is furnished by the master of the house to each guest, as duly as 

 a napkin. 



9. Manner of Building. The cities of Brazil are well built and of massive materials, for 

 there are no earthquakes, as on the opposite side of the continent. The houses are neat and 

 kept in good order, though they are witliout uniformity of plan. Fires are rare, especially at 

 Rio, where the walls are of granite, and the floors of jacaranda, or other hard wood, which re- 

 sists fire like stone. In the country the better buildings, as well as farms, belong to the clergy, 

 not because they are wealtby, but perhaps because their low salaries compel them to attend to 

 agriculture. The following will answer for a description of one of the best of these buildings 

 ft has 5 large Venetian windows in front, ornamented with cornices and balconies ; a spacious 

 saloon v/ithin, and chambers leading from it, and a long corridor with apartments for servants. 

 The ceiling is a net- work of split bam.boo, painted and crossed with various devices. This is 



Brazilians. 



