Chap.m. of BRAZIL If t&e PORT VGVEZE. iSg 
Commodities ; they had confiderable Returns made 
them in Money, 
“ They feem to be ftill under great Apprehenfions 
of being, fome Time or other, attacked in this Coun- 
try, againft which they are provided pretty effedtu- 
«« ally, fince there are very few Colonies better fortified, 
in all refpefts, than this, as will appear from the 
“ Account I am going to give you of their Works for 
the Security of the Bay. In the firft Place, they 
have at Point SL Antonio a great fquare Fort, and 
«« below it a fmaller, with ten large Pieces of Cannon, 
which two Fortreflfes command the Mouth of the 
Bay. They are likewife tracing Ground for a new 
« Fort, which is to be called fhe Caftk of St. Peter^ 
and, when built, will be very ftrong. In the Middle 
of the Harbour they have a large Fcrtrefs, which of 
“ late they have repaired, and have now augmented. 
The Arfenal is flanked by two ftrong Baftions, which 
“ command the whole Port. On the other Side, between 
Monferat and this City, they have ereded a fine Ci- 
“ tadel, which is a regular Square, admirably fortified 
in every refped, and well furnifhed with Brafs Ar- 
tillery. At the Point of Monferat again, they have a 
“ fmall, but ftrong Fort, with twelve Pieces of heavy 
“ Cannon. There are yet two other Fortreflfes to be 
mentioned, one between St. Antonio and the City, 
where they make their Gunpowder, and the other the 
“ Powder Warehoufe, which lies on the other Side of 
‘‘ the City, and commands a large artificial Lake made 
by the Dutch ; fo that the City of St. Salvador is cover- 
“ ed by the Sea on one Side, and by the Lake on the 
other. The Garrifon confifts of two Regiments of 
“ Foot, three Regiments of Militia, and a Regiment 
«« of free Negroes, befides fome Cavalry which the 
Viceroy keeps up to reftrain the Banditti., who are 
<c very troublefome and do a great deal of Mifchief in 
the diftant Parts of the Colony. 
“ After having thus related to you the principal things 
I have feen here, though with little Method, yet 
with much Truth, I ought now to conclude; but as 
“ there are ftill fome things that have efcaped my Pen, 
though not my Obfervation, I think it may not be 
“ amifs to add them here, though without much Or- 
“ der, rather than omit them entirely ; the rather as 
“ they will contribute to explain fome Paflages that have 
gone before, and render the whole of my Account 
“ more perfed. The better Sort of People in St. Sal- 
vador very much refemble the Chinefe., that is'to fay, 
« they are excelTively civil and complaifant to Strangers, 
“ with a View to obtain from them Prefents and Gra- 
« tifications of much higher Value than the Trifles they 
“ beftow ; and if their Expedations on this head are 
“ not anfwered, they never fail to give Strangers as 
ftrong Proofs of Refentment at the End of their Ac- 
quaintance, as they did of their Politenefs at the Be- 
“ ginning. Their Forces in Brazil are, at prefent, 
much fuperior to any thing that can be fent againft 
« them ; and what I take to be the chief of their Strength 
is, their being ufed and feafoned to the Country; fo 
that I am fully perfuaded that an Attempt to difpoflefs 
them by any Nation except one, would be vain and 
fruitlefs, and ferve only to create a vaft Expence of 
Blood and Treafure to no end or purpofe: But for all 
this, it is very certain that either Privateers or . fmall 
Squadrons of Men of War might diftrefs them very 
‘‘ much upon their Coafts, and, perhaps, enrich them- 
“ felves confiderably, by taking fome of their Maritime 
Places. 
“ At the very Time I was there a Pirate did a great 
deal of Mifchief, and took abundance of Ships with 
“ Impunity. The Crew, as is ufual in fuch Veflfels, 
was compofed of People of all Nations ; and it was 
commanded by a Spaniard from the Ifland of St. 
Domingo. The Force of this Ship was far from being 
great ; for, according to the Accounts the Portugueze 
“ gave of her, fhe carried but thirty Guns, and her 
“ Crev/ confifted but of three hundred Men ; yet the 
whole City of St. Salvador was alarmed at the Re- 
port ; and though the Viceroy immediately equip- 
“ ped a fine new Frigate, which he had caufed to be 
Vol.il Numb. 
built there, yet file Was hlahned fo ilowly, that tild 
Pirate had time enough to bear away with her Prizes^ 
In a Word, there is nothing of the old Spirit and 
Bravery of the Portuguezefl^non to be feen here; but, 
on the contrary, the People are all lazy, indolent, 
and quite given up to their Pleafures ; this I take to 
“ be owing to their being ferved by Negroe Slaves ; for 
“ the'Servility of thefe poor Creatures makes their MaE 
“ ters infolent ; and moft of them keeping Seraglios 
“ of black Women, becom*e enervate in their Bodies, 
“ and lofe ail Firmnefs and Grandeur of Mind ; a thing, 
which as it occurred to me from Experience, fo I be- 
“ licve it whll appear very natural to you, from your 
own good Senfe and thorough Knowledge of human 
“ Nature. 
“ Upon fhe whole, therefore, I am inclined to belieVe 
“ that, unlefs by a conftant Succefiion of wife and good 
“ Governors, the Manners of the Inhabitants are chang- 
“ ed, and their ill Cuftoms abolifhed, there will, fome 
“ time or other, either from their Want of Provifions, 
“ the Infolence of the Negroes, or fome fuch like Caufe, 
“ happen an Infurredlion or Revolution, which will 
“ change the Face of Affairs here ; for that a Country, 
“ where the Inhabitants are plunged into Luxury and 
‘‘ Corruption, fliould enjoy, for a long feries of Years, 
“ uninterrupted Tranquility, is contrary to all Maxims 
“ of Policy ; and, indeed, that private Crimes and Public 
“ Peace Ihould conftantly dv/eil together, is not very 
reconcileable to Common-Senfe.” Thus far my An-- 
thor, to whofe Account I fhall prefume to add a fe\V 
Particulars that I have colledfed elfewhere* 
The City of St. Salvador lies in the Latitude of 14*^ 
South, and is at prefent the Centre of the Portugueze 
Trade in this Part of the World. Authors differ very 
much in the Accounts they give us of the Fleets fent 
hither annually from hijhon ; for fome make them dou- 
ble what others report them ; but the Reafon of this is, 
that the one fpeak of the whole Brazil Fleet, which 
generally affemble in the Bay of Alt Saints., in order 
to return together to Europe ; and the other of the Fleet 
from Li[bon, exprefly deftined for the Bay, ' which may 
be about thirty Sail efcorted by two Men of War, and 
which ufually fail about March. 
The Commodities they carry are Wine, Brandies, 
Meal, or Flower ; Oil, Cheefe, Cloths, Stuffs, Linnen, 
Iron rough and wrought; Paper, all kinds of Kitchen 
Utenfils, Laces, and moft kinds of Apparel. On the 
other hand, they bring from thence the beft Tobacco 
in Brazil, which is fo much efteemed in Europe ; Sugar, 
Indigo, Balfom Copahu, or Copaiva, Ipecacuanha, Pa- 
reira Brava, Cinnamon, long Pepper, Ginger, Woods 
for dying, and fome for inlaying ; Ambergreafe, and 
other rich Drugs and Perfumes ; befides thele they alfo 
export from hence raw Hides, Train-Oil, and Whale- 
Fins, abundance of thefe Creatures, being taken upon 
this Coaft, and, for this forty Years lalt paft. Gold, 
Amethyfts, and Diamonds. There are likewife fome 
Silver Mines in Brazil, which, though not wrought to 
fuch Profit as to allow the exporting much of this Metal 
to Portugal, yet furniflied fufficient for home Circula- 
tion; and of this Silver that Money is coined at 6’/. 
Salvador, which is current through the whole Colony j 
and which bears on one Side the Arms of Portugal, and 
on the other a Crofs charged with a Sphere, with the 
following Motto : Under this Sign will I Jland. 
All the reft of the Captainfhips which lie farther to 
the South, carry on their Trade by the Rio Janeiro, fo 
called for its having been difeovered in' the Month of 
January 1515; and which, from being fcarce known to, 
is at prefent become one of the moft famous and con- 
fiderable Rivers in, the World. The Banks of it are as 
beautiful and pleafant as can be imagined ; the Climate 
fine; the Soil extremely fertile, producing Sugar, In- 
digo, Tobacco, and Cotton, alF in very great Perfec- 
tion. It has been likewife found, that European Corn 
will grow here with very little Trouble, and to great 
Perfection ; but, for the Reafons already affigned, this, 
and all other Improvements, have been difregarded, tho’, 
independent of the Gold Mines which have been dif- 
eovered in this and the neighbouring Captainlhips of St, 
B b b Vincent^ 
