Spanish and Portuguese South America during the Colonial Period; Vol. 2

On entering the city, the French force was divided into two parties, the smaller of which was cut off, the men being quickly dispersed and yielding to panic. The governor’s palace was defended by a number of students, and was vigorously attacked by the main body of the French, in the hope of capturing the governor. A sharp conflict ensued, and the French leader was glad to retire with the remainder of his men into a large warehouse on the quay. He was under the belief that his other detachment had gained the city, being deluded by the ringing of the bells on account of its defeat. In this condition he had no alternative but to surrender at discretion. The success of the Portuguese was soiled by much cruelty towards their prisoners. A number of men who asked for quarter were killed by the rabble; whilst about a hundred and fifty were massacred in the streets. In all, about four hundred of the French were killed; two hundred and fifty were wounded; and six hundred were made prisoners. Of the Portuguese, one hundred and twenty fell; many, it is said, at the hands of their own countrymen in the confusion.

The whole history of this affair reflects very little credit either on the Portuguese governor or on the inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro. With so large a force at his disposal, it should have been easy for the former to bring the invaders to account in a much shorter time and with far less loss to himself; as regards the populace, they are even charged by the French with having murdered the surgeons who were sent on shore from the French ships, by permission of the governor, to attend their wounded countrymen; whilst, some months later, M. du Clerc himself was found murdered in his house. The latter act was probably the result of private vengeance; but much blame was attached to the Portuguese authorities for having failed to institute any inquiry into the matter.

1711.

The inhumanity with which the prisoners had been treated, together with the supineness of the provincial authorities in the matter of M. du Clerc’s death, roused, as might have been expected, much indignation in France. The celebrated Du Guay-Trouin proposed to undertake an expedition to Brazil, to assert the national honour. The force placed at his disposal consisted of fifteen vessels in all, the two largest carrying seventy-four guns each. The French admiral set sail from La Rochelle on the 9th of June 1711; but he did not arrive off Bahia until the 27th of the following August, and it was the 11th of September before he reached his destination.

The preparation of so extensive a naval force, although it was got ready with as much secrecy as possible, could not be unknown to the Portuguese Government; and accordingly the departure of the Brazilian fleet had been expedited, under a strong convoy. The fleet had reached Rio early in September; and thus the arrival of the French might have been looked for. Yet, after the lapse of some days, the Portuguese admiral, Da Costa, concluding that he had received a false alarm, relanded the men whom he had placed on board of the ships for the protection of the city, and relapsed into a false security. On the 10th, it was known that the enemy’s fleet had passed Cape Frio; and on the morning of the 12th, in the midst of a thick fog, their artillery was heard at the bar of the magnificent bay. The French, who were led by an officer acquainted with the port, passed the forts with the loss of three hundred men, and by noon were off the city. The incapable admiral, who had not had sufficient patience to persevere in the measures necessary to withstand an invasion of which he had ample warning, now lost his presence of mind. The commanders of his vessels received orders to cut their cables and to set fire to their ships when they had run them on shore.

The French commander took advantage of the ensuing night to make his preparations; and on the following morning he took possession of the island of Cobras, which the Portuguese were preparing to abandon. On the 14th he landed his troops, three thousand three hundred in number, not including five hundred suffering from scurvy, who were soon able to resume their duties. The governor renewed his tactics of the preceding year. Although his force was double that of the French, he allowed the latter to pursue their measures without the slightest opposition. He probably looked for a similar result, should the French admiral follow the example of Du Clerc in allowing his men to engage in a street fight; but the latter was warned by the fate of his countrymen.

Having erected one battery on shore, and another on the island of Cobras, Du Guay-Trouin summoned the governor to surrender at discretion, stating that he had been sent by his master to exact vengeance for the cruelties committed by the Portuguese in the preceding year. To this De Castro replied that the preceding expedition had been treated according to the laws of war, to which they had no claim, seeing that they had invaded Brazil as pirates, and without the King’s commission. He had saved six hundred lives from the fury of the people; nor had he been wanting in any respect towards his prisoners. It had, he said, been impossible to discover the murderer of M. du Clerc. To the summons to surrender he made answer that he was ready to defend to the last the city which had been entrusted to him by his King.

On the day after the receipt of this reply, the French admiral bombarded the Portuguese intrenchments, and prepared to assault them on the following morning. An accidental discovery of his movements during the night, which was due to the vivid lightning, induced him to anticipate his plan; and the cannonade continued throughout the entire night. The inhabitants, notwithstanding the fury of a violent tropical thunderstorm, preferred to seek refuge in the country. The whole population fled, the troops likewise being seized with panic; and in the morning Rio de Janeiro fell without resistance into the hands of the French, five hundred of their lately-imprisoned countrymen being now engaged in pillaging the city, which was given up to a general sack. Notwithstanding all the efforts of the commander, three-fourths of the houses and magazines were broken open in the first twenty-four hours. So great was the confusion, that the Portuguese, had they taken advantage of the opportunity, might have a second time made a good account of their invaders; but no such effort was made on their part, and the forts were surrendered with disgraceful readiness.

The governor meanwhile intrenched himself about a league from the city, sending for assistance to the governor of Minas. The French commander, however, who had come for the sake of reprisals and of plunder, was only anxious to depart. Perceiving the difficulty of obtaining a store of provisions, he sent to inform the governor that unless the city were immediately ransomed he would burn it to the ground. As there was nothing to prevent the French admiral from carrying his threat into execution, De Castro offered to ransom the city for six hundred thousand cruzados. This proposal was at first rejected, but was ultimately accepted, with the additional condition of supplying a large number of cattle; the whole to be paid within fifteen days. De Castro had shown, as might have been expected from him, but little discretion in the matter; for on the day following the signature of the agreement, Albuquerque arrived from Minas with one thousand five hundred horsemen, and as many foot-soldiers carried behind them; they were followed at a day or two’s distance by six thousand negroes. It is somewhat surprising that this able and independent officer, commanding a force double that of the French in number, should not have attacked them on his own account. The terms of the agreement, however, were punctually observed; and, on the 4th of November, the French re-embarked.

It may be of interest to recount the subsequent fate of this expedition, which, it should be remarked, was fitted out, not at the expense of the Crown of France, but at that of six persons who entered into it as a speculation; five of them being merchants of St. Malo, and the sixth the Comptroller of the King’s Household. The expenses of the outfit had been calculated at 1,200,000 livres. The project had been duly approved by the Government, whose ships and troops were placed at the commander’s disposal. This officer was so elated with his success at Rio de Janeiro, that he set sail for Bahia, with the intention of laying that place likewise under requisition. It was saved by the contrary winds against which Du Guay-Trouin had to struggle for six weeks, when, on account of the state of his provisions, he found it necessary to make for France. In the tempestuous weather which they encountered on the homeward voyage, two vessels of the squadron foundered, one of them being the finest ship of the fleet, and commanded by M. de Courserac, who had led the way into the harbour of Rio, and whose vessel contained a very large amount of treasure. A third vessel was driven to Cayenne, and there sank. There remained, however, to the partners a profit of ninety-two per cent. on their capital.

Francisco de Castro, the governor of Rio de Janeiro, was not at the end of his troubles with the departure of the French. The people, who had lost so much property as well as honour owing to his ill-fortune or mismanagement, declined to be any longer ruled by him, and insisted that Albuquerque should assume the authority until the King’s pleasure should be known. The King’s pleasure was, that De Castro should be superseded and placed upon his trial; he was degraded, and sentenced to perpetual imprisonment in a fort in India. Two other officers were likewise severely punished.

1713.

The success of the squadron under Du Guay-Trouin had been so marked that a second armament was equipped at the cost of private individuals, but with the assistance of the Government. Its objective point was Bahia; but its commander was of another stamp from that in which Du Guay-Trouin was cast. Bahia was spared; and he contented himself with a descent upon some of the smaller sugar-islands. The Portuguese colonies were, however, about to be relieved from further alarms by the Peace of Utrecht, by which they obtained the full sovereignty over both banks of the Amazons, France ceding, with much reluctance, all pretensions to the country between that river and the Oyapok. It was likewise stipulated that the French should not trade with Maranham.

1720.

The people of the Mines were thanked for the promptitude with which they had brought assistance for the deliverance of Rio; and S. Paulo, as being the capital of a captaincy, obtained the rank of a city. Some idea may be formed of the value of the yield of the mines at this time from the fact that, in the year 1714, the Government fifths were commuted for the equivalent of about £50,400 sterling. The commutation was, however, raised, three years later, by one-fourth. In the year 1720, the country of Minas Geraes was detached from S. Paulo and declared a separate captaincy.

Note.—The reader will, I fear, observe a want in this work, which has not by any means escaped the notice of the writer, but which he has found it impossible fully to supply. In almost every chapter there occur notices of large transactions in money, the coins quoted being those then current in Spain and Portugal, respectively. It would, of course, be possible to state approximately the relative value to a given standard of those various coins, respectively, at any one period; but the value of gold and silver coins of the same name varied so constantly and so considerably that it is impossible to lay down a definite standard of value throughout the whole area of which this work treats for any considerable part of the period to which it is devoted. As an instance of the tendency to mislead in taking any fixed coin as a standard in reference to South American monetary transactions, I may mention that, in Buenos Ayres, in the year 1866, I found the Argentine dollar, a coin which most English readers would naturally estimate as the equivalent of four shillings, to be worth exactly twopence. This, of course, applies to the paper dollar; but this would be the legal tender in payment of amounts stated in dollars, unless otherwise specified.

CHAPTER XII.

BRAZIL: DISCOVERY OF THE DIAMOND DISTRICT

1724-1749

1724.

The mining districts had on several occasions been the scene of serious and prolonged resistance against the constituted authorities, in consequence of the regulations respecting the mode of levying the royal share which were introduced with a view to prevent smuggling. It had been found necessary to make a severe example of the ringleaders of an insurrection; and the mining population were thenceforward amenable to law. It was established that all gold was to pass through the royal smelting-house before paying the royal fifths which were now re-established. The people of the mines had, by a timely discovery, escaped the danger of a negro insurrection; and in consequence so many negroes took to the woods that the same evil was apprehended as in the case of the Palmares. In order to avert such a contingency, Bush-captains were established, whose business it was to apprehend wandering negroes, for whom they received head-money from their masters. In many cases it was alleged that the Bush-captains, in order to receive the reward, made a practice of arresting negroes who were not runaways, and that this institution was only one degree less troublesome to the community than the evil which it was appointed to suppress—these individuals being likewise in the habit of detaining negroes and profiting by their labour.

The great importation of negroes into Minas Geraes gave occasion to fears which were not entertained elsewhere in Brazil, and in consequence an order was issued forbidding the formation of free blacks into separate companies, and requiring that they should be mixed with white soldiers. No person who was a mulatto within the fourth degree might be an ordinary judge or hold any municipal office in Minas Geraes. The mode of mining had now undergone a considerable alteration. Instead of opening cuttings and carrying the produce in bulk to be washed, water was conveyed to the mining ground, and, washing away the mould, broke up the blocks in pits or wooden troughs, thus saving a great expenditure of labour. As water-power thus became a valuable property, those in possession of water-courses derived great advantages therefrom. Their pretensions were, however, so extravagant that it was found necessary to establish a set of laws respecting the distribution of the water.

The discovery of the mines had brought about so great an increase of wealth that the jealous restrictions against the immigration of foreigners into Brazil were rendered more stringent than ever. Not only were they forbidden to enter the country, but no person might embark for it unless he were appointed to an office there, or unless he were a servant of Portuguese birth accompanying his master. Even Portuguese must be provided with passports; and the clergy were likewise under restrictions.

The Paulistas, being greatly outnumbered by strangers in Minas Geraes, sought and found a new field for their energies. It was to the enterprise of one of this class of men, named Pascoal Cabral, that was due the discovery of the mines of Cuyabá in the centre of the Continent,—mines which should more naturally have fallen to the lot of the Spaniards from Paraguay or from Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The journey thither from S. Paulo was long and arduous, and was further attended with no slight risk, leading the traveller through the native country of the fierce Puayaguas. These people rendered the journey to Cuyabá so dangerous that, when a colony had been established there, a strongly-armed vessel was sent thence to await the annual caravan of traders at the Paraguay river.

So soon as the richness of the locality became known, cattle and supplies were forwarded to Cuyabá, but with infinite difficulty and at proportionate cost. Mining at Cuyabá was attended with a danger from which Minas Geraes was free, namely, the presence of hostile and resolute Indians. Military discipline was found necessary for self-preservation; but the attitude of the savages was at least attended with the good result of compelling the settlers to sink their own jealousies and differences in making common cause against them. Thus the settlement of Cuyabá soon began to flourish as much as had those of Minas Geraes. As the way thither by water was so circuitous and difficult, the governor of S. Paulo offered a reward for the opening up of a communication by land; and this object was effected by Manoel de Lara, a house being established at the point where the Paraná was crossed, in order that the gold might be registered and the royal fifths collected. But such a mode of levying the dues proved ineffectual in a country where smuggling was so easy; and it was judged expedient to have recourse to a poll-tax upon the slaves.

A like measure was, after long hesitation, determined upon in respect to the taxation of Minas Geraes, where almost every conceivable contrivance had been resorted to in order to defraud the Crown of the royal fifths,—such measures, for instance, as corrupting the goldsmiths and employing coins. It was therefore strongly recommended to raise the royal proportion by means of taxing the produce according to the number of slaves employed; and the task of introducing this measure devolved upon the new governor, Gomes Freyre de Andrade, the son of the distinguished Gomes Freyre, who had restored order in Maranham.

When the edict for the capitation was posted in the public places throughout the captaincy, the inhabitants of two districts tore down the proclamation and prepared to resist the levying of the tax; but so conciliatory was the new governor that this threatened disturbance was quieted down; and the peace of the province was happily insured by the discovery, at this time, of several fresh mines, which promoted a general prosperity extending to the entire population.

But it was not to gold alone that Brazil was to owe the sudden increase of its prosperity which occurred during the early part of the eighteenth century. A rumour had long been current of the existence of diamonds; and one Bernardino da Fonseca Lobo had found specimens of these precious stones in the Serro do Frio, which he sent home to Portugal, and which procured him the title of Capitam Mor of Villa do Principe for life. Diamonds were declared to be royalties, and subject to the same duties as gold. It was difficult, however, to collect these duties in the same manner; since neither by number, weight, nor measure could any equitable plan of taking the royal fifths be devised. A capitation tax upon the slaves employed was therefore decided upon. The diamonds were to be remitted, as was gold, only in the King’s ships, one per cent. on their value being charged for freight. The result of this last discovery of the produce of Brazil was such that, in the course of two years, the price of diamonds in Europe went down seventy-five per cent. The property of individuals was so seriously threatened that it was found necessary, without delay, to take measures for limiting the number of diamonds extracted.

In order to arrive at this end, by which the price of diamonds was to be kept up artificially, several measures were proposed, and were referred to commercial men for their opinion. The advice of Dr. Joam Mendes was to the effect that the diamond country should be reserved for the King’s use; that it should be placed under special laws; and that the diamonds should be extracted for the King’s account slowly. After due deliberation, the Court resolved to adopt the counsel thus given, in so far as to reserve the diamond country and to limit the extraction; but not to undertake it on its own account. An officer was therefore charged to mark out the limits of the forbidden district, and so heavy a capitation was imposed as to prevent all but a few persons from searching for the precious stones. It was thought that they could only be offered for sale at a heavy price.

Under the government of Gomes Freyre, a contract was made for employing six hundred slaves in the work of extracting diamonds, an annual poll-tax to be paid upon the slaves of two hundred and thirty milreis. The Crown was to have the option of purchasing stones above a certain size. When, at the end of four years, this contract expired, it had proved so profitable that the capitation was raised to two hundred and seventy milreis; whilst the Treasury should each year give the contractor credit for sixty thousand milreis of the two hundred and sixty-two thousand for which he stood engaged. This arrangement fell in with the views of all parties. The European lapidaries kept back their stock until time should have effaced the effects of the sudden glut; and whilst they gave out that the Brazilian diamonds were inferior to the Oriental, they did not fail to pass off the former as the latter. They are even asserted to have sent Brazilian stones to Goa to find thence their way back to Europe, until the equal value of the Brazilian diamonds with those of India was established.

The Serro do Frio, in which these diamonds were found, had been first explored by two Brazilians probably from the town of Villa do Principe, which dates from the beginning of the century. The boundaries of Minas Geraes, to the east, lay along the adjacent captaincies of Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and Pernambuco. Towards the north and west there lay an undefined extent of unappropriated territory. To the south the province is bounded by the captaincies of S. Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The whole captaincy is a portion of an immense mountain-range. A winter of two months’ duration commences in May, when the average temperature is about 50° Fahrenheit; in the hot season the heat never exceeds 80°. The rainy season lasts from October till May, the rain sometimes continuing for days together. The captaincy of Minas Geraes was divided into four districts, of which that of Serro do Frio, called also the forbidden district, contained the diamond fields.

This district boasts innumerable peaks, some of enormous height, which present a scene of alpine grandeur and desolation—a grandeur which is added to by the magnificent cataracts into which the waters of the region are in many places gathered before they fall into the rivers which drain the district.

The Portuguese were now advancing in several directions into the interior of Brazil; more especially up the Amazons and the numerous tributaries of that stream. The Paulistas and the people of Minas Geraes spread themselves across the extensive region lying behind the captaincies of Bahia and Piauhy, which now forms the province of Goyaz; whilst from Cuyabá the settlers continued to advance towards the Chiquito and Moxo missions, and likewise in the direction of the western branch of the Tocantins. They thus secured for Portugal a country containing two hundred thousand square miles, which now forms the province of Matto-Grosso.

The name Goyaz is derived from the Goya tribe. The first discoverer of its mineral wealth was a Paulista, named Manoel Correa, who, in the seventeenth century, made his way thither at the head of a party of slave-hunters. He brought back some specimens of gold, which induced another adventurer to follow in his footsteps. He too found gold upon one of the rivers flowing into the Amazons. This second adventurer, called Bueno, was accompanied in another expedition by his son, then only twelve years old. They found the Goya women wearing pieces of gold picked up from the beds of the torrents. This was in 1670, before the age of Brazilian mining had arrived. Fifty years later Bueno’s son proposed to the Governor of S. Paulo to go in search of the spot which he had visited in his boyhood, and which, after three years’ searching, he once more found. He collected gold from five different streams, where he was appointed to establish a colony with the rank of Capitam Mor.