Chap. III. (?/ BRAZIL PORTUGUEZE. 187 
“ that this Plan was very wifely concerted ; for they 
“ multiplied prodigioufly, and, in the Space of about 
“ fifteen Years, thePriefts added feveral hundreds of 
“ Families to their Colony •, extending Weftward foiir- 
“ fcore, or one hundred. Miles farther than the P^r- 
“ tugueze had any Settlements before that Time. By 
“ Degrees they purchafed Slaves, more efpecially the 
“ Ecclefiaftics, whom they employed in the Silver 
“ Mines *, and, treating the Negroes better than moft of 
“ their Neighbours, they foon became very rich *, fo 
“ that feveral Parifii Priefts, in the Captainihip of St. 
“ Vincent., were worth from ten to fifty thoufand Cru- 
“ fades ; that is,, from fifteen hundred to eight thou- 
“ fand Pounds apiece. 
“ They paid the King’s Fifth very regularly, and 
“ this was the beginning of the Riches drawn from this 
“ Part of the World. But when it was once known, 
“ that fo much Wealth was to be had in thefe hitherto 
“ uncultivated Regions, there began very foon to refort 
“ thither abundance of Adventurers, of all Countries, 
and of all Charafters ; when I fay of all Countries, 
“ I mean Spaniards, as well as Portugueze, free Negroes, 
“ Mulattoes, and all the different Mixtures that are to be 
‘‘ met with in Brazil, down to the Carr ibo cos, who are 
“ the Offspring of Brazilian Savages, by Negroe Wo- 
“ men and by different Charadters, I mean Monks as 
“ well as Laymen, Soldiers, Mechanics, broken Planters ; 
“ and, in fhort, all that Sort of Men, who are ready to 
“ go any where, or to do any thing to get a 1 dving. As 
“ thefe were quite a different Race , from thofe of the 
“ new Colony before-mentioned, it is not to be fup- 
“ pofed that they could dwell together, more efpecially 
as the former were the quieteff, and moft fimple ; the 
latter the moft riotous and turbulent People in the 
“ World. 
‘‘ Thefe Adventurers, therefore, took care to look 
“ out for a new Settlement, and they found one of the 
“ propereft Places in the World for their Reception, at 
' no great Diftance. This was the thick and vaft Foreft 
“ of Parnabaccaha, which overfpread all the Mountains 
“ at the Back of this Captainfhip, and in which hitherto 
“ none but wild Beafts took up their Dwelling. They 
“ foon cleared a Part of this Wildernefs for their Habi- 
tation, in which they eftablifhed not only a new 
“ Town, which they called San Paulo, but a new Re- 
‘‘ public alfo, in which they lived after the Manner they 
liked beft. At firft this was overlooked, becaufe the 
“ Country was judged of no great Value, and the adja- 
cent Captainfhips were very well pleafed to be rid of 
thofe Sort of Folk, who reforted thither. In the Space, 
“ however, of a very few Years, they grew too ftrong 
‘‘ to be dealt with ; for, receiving, as they did, all Sorts 
of People, they quickly increafed from two or three 
“ hundred, to as many thoufand. Men ; and being a 
bold, hardy, enterprizing, and daring Crew, the Go- 
vernors knew not how to deal with them. In the 
firft Place, they took care to , fortify the Avenues to 
their Territory, which were naturally ftrong ; and 
they feldom ventured abroad, but in Bodies of four- 
“ fcore, or one hundred, Men, and in fuch Parties 
they frequently traverfed the whole Extent of Brazil. 
“ Thefe were the People who firft difcovered and wrought 
“ the Gold Mines, which muft be exceffively rich, fince 
“ they were able to obtain fuch vaft Quantities of Metal, 
without any of thofe Affiftances which the Spaniards 
“ have in their Settlements in Chili. As this required, 
“ however, a great Number of Hands, they feized 
“ upon all Indians and Negroes they could 
“ meet with, and compelled them to undergo fuch 
“ Fatigues as they thought proper. 
“ This new and extraordinary Commonwealth was 
“ denominated, from the Place of their Denomination, 
“ Paulifis, and they would not fuffer any of the Por- 
“ tugueze Officers to enter their Territories ; yet they ac- 
“ knowledged the Sovereignty of the Crown of Portugal, 
“ and paid regularly what they faid was the Fifth of 
“ the Gold they obtained ; which, in the Year 1691, 
“ amounted to one thoufand Marks, or eight thoufand 
“ Ounces ; which ffiews, that at that time they drew an- 
nually from the Rivers and Mountains in their Poffef- 
“ fion, forty thoufand Ounces of Gold; they took cares 
“ however, every time they paid the Tribute, to de‘- 
‘‘ dare, they did it freely, and of their own Accord, 
“ out of Refped to the Crown of Portugal, and not 
“ from any fort of Fear or Senfe of Obligation. The 
“ Tyranny of the Governors of Brazil, and the Op- 
preffion of the Spanijh Governors in the adjacent Pro- 
“ vinces, furniffied this new State with abundance of 
“ Members, fo that at laft it became a very difficult 
“ thing to get Admittance amongft them, and the Me- 
“ thod in this Refped was fingular enough to deferve 
“ Notice. 
“ They obliged fuch as prefented themfelves upon their 
“ Frontiers, which they never fuffered any Stranger to 
“ enter, to fubmit to a very ftridt Examination, that 
‘‘ they might know whether they were fit for their Com- 
“ munity, and be fure they were not Spies, or Perfons 
“ who intended to betray them ; upon the bare Sufpi- 
“ cion of which they made no Scruple of beating their 
“ Brains out : But if; upon this Examination, they judg- 
“ ed they might prove ufeful Members; they obliged 
“ them to bring in two Slaves for their Support ; affign- 
“ ing them a Dwelling and Plantation, by which they 
“ commenced Paulifis, and were to continue fo to the 
“ End of their Lives ; for any Attempt to defert was 
“ puniffied with Death without Mercy. They made no 
“ Exception of Country or Complexion; a Savage was as 
“ welcome to them as a European ; and every Man after 
“ his Admiffion was at liberty to lead what kind of Life 
“ he liked beft, provided he did not difturb the Peace 
“ of the Society. The Jefuits of Paraguay, either out- 
“ of Concern for the Souls of thefe People, or moved by 
“ the Report of their great Riches, made feveral At- 
“ tempts to gain Admittance amongft them, but to no 
“ fort of Purpofe ; yet they lived upon very fair Terms 
“ with this ftrange Society ; and the Portugueze flirewd- 
“ ly fufpedled, that the reverend Fathers furniffied them 
“ with Fire-Arms and Ammunition, becaufe they knew 
“ not how they could be furniffied any other way.” 
Our Author proceeds no farther, and therefore it is 
impoffible to fay when or how this little Republic was 
fubverted ; but it is certain, that all this Country is now 
in the Hands of the Portugueze, and as much under the 
Obedience of the King of Portugal as any other Part of 
Brazil ; but the City of St. Paul is ftill looked upon as 
the Centre of the Mines, and a Garrifon is maintained 
there, for their Security. We know not, however, in 
what manner the Gold is wrought or refined there ; but, 
in all Probability, their chief Works are Lavadero^ s, 
which have been largely deferibed in the firft Volume, fince 
we do not hear of their ufing Quickfilver, as the Spaniards 
do ; but it is very certain, that they are much increafed 
in Value, fince the King of Portugal^ Fifth amounts very 
commonly to one hundred and fifty thoufand Pounds per 
Annum : And it appears by the lateft Accounts, that thefe 
Mines are continually improving. 
The only Captainfhip to the Southward of that of 
St. Vincent, is that of del Rey.^ extending from the Lati- 
tude of 28 to 34 Degrees, 30 Minutes, South, being about 
four hundred Miles in Length, but not above one hundred 
broad in any Part of it. The Country is fruitful and 
pleafant ; but the Portugueze abfolutely negledted it till 
the Difeovery of the Mines of St. Vincent put them upon 
planting and fecuring it, by eredting feveral Forts on the 
North-fide the River la Plata, to which the Spaniards 
formerly pretended, and upon which they are ftill fup- 
pofed to caft a jealous Eye. The Country in this Pro- 
vince is as pleafant and fruitful as any in Brazil, and as 
capable of Improvement ; but as it has not been fo long 
inhabited as the other Captainfhips, it is far from being 
thoroughly peopled. There are only a few Villages upon 
the Sea Coaft, and fome Fortreffes on the River of Plate. 
The chief Advantage which the Portugueze' draw at 
prefent from this Province, is a kind of fmuggling Trade, 
which they carry on with the Spaniards, whom they 
furniffi with Rum and Tobacco of their own Growth, and 
with Wines, Brandy, Cloaths, Silks, and Linnens from 
Europe,'w]iiQ]\ occafions Quarrels andDifputes between the 
two Nations, though in reality the true Ground of their 
Con- 
