Chap. I. Captain 1 UiiA m Dampier, i i 5 s 
two Convents of Cafmelites ; a Chapel for Seamen dole by 
the Sea-fide, .where Boats commonly land, and the Seamen 
o-o immediately to Prayers ; another Chapeffor poor Peo- 
pie, at the farther End of the fame Street, which runs along 
by the Shore ; and a third Chapel for Soldiers at the Edge 
of the Town, remote from the Sea •, and an Hofpital in the 
Middle of the Town. The Nunnery ftands at the outer 
Edge of the Town next the Fields, wherein, as I was told, 
are feventy Nuns. Here lives an Archbifhop, who has a 
fine Palace in the Town, and the Governor’s Palace is a 
fine Stone Building, and looks handfome to the Sea, tho’ 
but indifferently furnifhed within ; both Spanijh and Por- 
tuguefe , in their Plantations abroad, as I have generally 
obferved, affecting to have large Houfes, but are little cu- 
rious about Furniture, except fome of them with refpedt 
to Pictures. The Houfes of the Town are two or three 
Stories high, the Wall thick and ftrong, being built with 
Stone, and a Covering of Pantile, and many of them have 
Balconies. The principal Streets are large, and all of them 
paved or pitched with fmall Stones. There are alfo Parades 
•in the molt eminent Places of the Town, and many Gar- 
dens, as well within the Town, as in the Out-parts of it, 
wherein are Fruit-trees, Herbs, _ Salladings, and Flowers, 
in great Variety, but ordered with no great Care nor Art. 
The Governor, who refides here, is called Don John de 
Lancaftrio , being defcended, as they fay, from our Englijh 
Lancajter Family; and he has a Refpedt for our Nation 
on that Account, calling them his Countrymen : I waited 
on him feveral times, and always found him very courteous 
and civil. Here are about 400 Soldiers in Garifon ; they 
commonly draw up, and exercife in a large Parade before 
the Governor’s Houfe, and many of them attend him 
when he goes abroad. The Soldiers are decently clad in 
brown Linen, which, in thefe hot Countries, is far better 
than Woollen \ but I never faw any clad in Linen, but only 
thefe. Befides the Soldiers in Pay, he can foon have fome 
Thoufands of Men in Arms upon Occafion. The Ma- 
gazine is on the Skirts of the Town, on a fmall Rifing 
between the Nunnery and the Soldiers Church ; it is big 
enough to hold 2 or 3000 Barrels of Powder, but I was 
told, it feldom had more than 100 in it, fometimes but 
eighty ; there are always a Company of Soldiers to guard it, 
and Centinels looking out both Day and Night. A great 
many Merchants always refide at Bahia ; for ’tis a Place of 
great Trade. I found here above thirty great Ships from 
Europe , with two of the King of Portugal's Ships of War 
for their Convoy, befides two Ships that traded to Africa 
only, either to Angola , Gambia , or other Places ontheCoaft 
of Guiney ; and abundance of Small-craft, that only run to 
and fro on this Coaft, carrying Commodities from one Port 
of Brafil to another. The Merchants, that live here, are 
faid to be rich, and to have many Negro Slaves in their 
Houfes, both of Men and Women. They are chiefly Por- 
tuguefe , Foreigners having but little Commerce with them; 
yet here was one Mr. Cock , an Englijh Merchant, a very 
civil Gentleman, and of a good Repute. He had a Patent 
to be our Englijh Conful ; but did not care to take upon him 
any public Charafter, becaufe Englijh Ships feldom come 
hither, here having been none in eleven or twelve Years 
before this Time. Here was alfo a Danifh and a French 
Merchant, or two ; but all have their Effects tranfported 
to and from Europe in Portuguefe Ships, none of any other 
Nation being admitted to trade hither. There is a Cuftom- 
houfe by the Sea-fide, where all Goods imported or ex^ 
ported are entered ; and, to prevent Abufes, there are five 
or fix Boats, that take their Turns to row about the Har- 
bour, fearching any Boats they fufpeft to be running Goods, 
The chief Commodities, that the European Ships bring 
hither, are Linen Cloths both coarfe and fine, fome Wool- 
lens, alfo Bays, Serges, Perpetuanas, &c. Hats, Stockings 
both Silk and Thread, Bifquet-bread, Wheat, Flour, Wine, 
(chiefly Port) Oil-olive, Butter, Cheefe, &c. and fait Beef 
and Pork would be good Commodities thefe. They 
bring hither alfo Iron, and all manner of Iron Tools, Pewter 
Veffels of all forts, as Difhes, Plates, Spoons* &c. Looking- 
glaffes, Beads, and other Toys ; and the Ships that touch 
at St. lago bring thence, as Ifaid, Cotton, which is after- 
wards fent to Angola. The European Ships carry from 
hence Sugar* Tobacco, either in Roll or Snuff, never in 
Leaves, that I know of, Thefe are the ftapl'e Cbmfh'pdi" 
ties* befides which, there are Dye-woods, as Fuftic,, 
with . Woods for other Ufes, as fpeckled Wood,. Brafil,. Cfn 
They alfo carry home raw Hides, Tallow; Train-oil, of 
Whales, 0 f. Here are alfo kept tanie Monkeys, Parrots; 
Partridges, &c. which the Seamen carry home. The Sugar 
of this Country is much better than that which we bring 
home from our Plantations ; for all the Sugar, that is made 
here, is clayed, which makes it whiter and finer than our 
Mufcovado, as we call our unrefined Sugar. Our Planters 
feldom refine any with Clay, unlefs fometimes a little to fend 
home as Prefents for their Friends in England , Their 
Way of doing it here is, by taking fome of the whiteft Clay, 
and mixing it with Water, till it be like Cream ; With this 
they fili up the Pans of Sugar* that are funk two or three 
Inches below the Brim, by draining the Melaffes opt of it; 
firft fcraping off the thin hard Craft of the Sugar, that lies 
at the Top, and would hinder the Water of the Clay from 
foaking through the Sugar of the Pan. The Refining is 
made by this Percolation for ten or twelve Days Time, that 
the clayifh Liquor lies foaking down the Pan : The white 
Water whitens the Sugar as it paffes through it, and the 
grofs Body of the Clay grows hard at the Top, agd may be 
taken off at Pleafure, when fcraping off with a Knife the 
very upper Part of the Sugar, which will be a little fullied* 
that which is underneath, will be white almoft to the Bot- 
tom ; and fuch as is called Brafil Sugar is thus whitened. 
When 1 was there, this Sugar was fold for fifty Shillings^ 
Hundred, and the Bottoms of the Pots, which is very coarfe 
Sugar, for about twenty Shillings per LIundred, both Sorts 
being then fcarce ; for here was not enough to lade the Ships* 
and therefore fome of them were to lie here till the next Sea- 
fon. The European Ships commonly arrive here in Febru- 
ary or March ; and they have generally quick Paffages, 
finding, at that Time of the Year, brifk Gales to bring 
them to the Line, little Trouble then in croffing it, and 
brifk Noith Nortn-eaft Winds afterwards to bring them 
hither. They commonly return from hence about the latter 
End of May , or in June. It was faid, when I was here, 
that the Ships would fail May 20. and therefore they were 
all very bufy, fome in taking in their Goods, others in 
careening and making themfelves ready. The Ships that 
Come hither commonly careen at their firft Coming, here 
being a Hulk belonging to the King for that Purpofe. This 
Hulk is under the Charge of the Superintendant I fpoke of; 
who has a certain Sum of Money for every Ship that careens 
by her. He alfo provides Firing, and other Neceffaries fof 
that Purpofe ; and the Ships commonly hire of the Mer- 
chants here each two Cables to moor by all the Time they 
lie here, and fo faVe their own Hempen Cables % for thefe 
are made of a fort of Vegetable String, fpringihg from the 
Top of a Tree, and in its Subftance refembling Hair, which 
is very ftrong and lading. There is a great Trade car- 
ried on here of different Kinds ; but particularly a fort of 
Whale-fifhing. Thefe Creatures are but fmall ; but, as they 
come in great Numbers, the killing of them turns to good 
Account, as may appear from the Profit arifing by the Royal 
Licences, which bring thirty thoufand Dollars annually to 
the King of Portugal. The Inhabitants of this City are* 
generally fpeaking, rich, or at leaft in very good Circtim- 
ftannes ; fo that few or none of them want their Negro 
Slaves for all domeftic Ufes, by whom alfo they are carried, 
when they go abroad, in a kind of Hammocks, where they 
lie or fit at their Eafe, either covered with a Curtain* or 
expofed, as they think proper * Befides this Port or Bay 
of AU Saints , there are two Harbours much frequented in 
Brafil, viz. Pernambuca or Fernambuca , and Rio Janeiro ; 
and, befides thefe, there is a Town and Haven called 
St. Paul's , near which they gather much Gold ; but the 
People are faid to be a fort of Banditti, without Laws, 
Order or Government: But, however, as they have, a great 
deal of Money, they are very well furnifhed with European. 
Commodities. Indeed Money is every-where plenty in this 
Country fince the Difcovery of the Gold Mines ; which 
muft increafe the Regret of the Dutch, who were once 
Mafters of the beft: Fart of Brafil, 
7. The Country about the City of Bahia de todos los San- 
tos is flat, neither very high, nor exceffive low, fufficiently 
watered with Rivers and Rivulets, The Soil is; generally 
