190 
THE UPPER AMAZONS. 
Chap. III. 
and Portuguese territories in South America. The 
chief commissioner for Spain, Don Francisco Requena, 
lived some time in the village with his family. I found 
only one person at Ega, my old friend Roma5 de 
Oliveira, who recollected, or had any knowledge of this 
important time, when a numerous staff of astronomers, 
surveyors, and draughtsmen, explored much of the 
surrounding country, with large bodies of soldiers and 
natives. 
More than half the inhabitants of Ega are mame- 
lucos ; there are not more than forty or fifty pure 
whites ; the number of negroes and mulattos is proba- 
bly a little less, and the rest of the population consists 
of pure blood Indians. Every householder, including 
Indians and free negroes, is entitled to a vote in the 
elections, municipal, provincial, and imperial, and is 
liable to be called on juries, and to serve in the national 
guard. These privileges and duties of citizenship do 
not seem at present to be appreciated by the more 
ignorant coloured people. There is, however, a gradual 
improvement taking place in this respect. Before I 
left there was a rather sharp contest for the Presidency 
of the Municipal Chamber, and most of the voters 
took a lively interest in it. There was also an election 
of members to represent the province in the Imperial 
Parliament at Rio Janeiro, in which each party strove 
hard to return its candidate. On this occasion, an un- 
scrupulous lawyer was sent by the government party 
from the capital to overawe the opposition to its 
nominee; many of the half-castes, headed by my old 
friend John da Cunha, who was then settled at Ega, 
