1684.
The Portuguese inBrazil, although they preferred to depute their labour to slaves, showed themselves eager to engage in the pursuits of trade—the governors of provinces, and even many of the clergy, embarking in such operations. It naturally followed that there was a great outcry against the monopoly which had been issued, all parties being interested in fanning the flame. The malcontents found a leader and exponent of their wrongs in one Manoel Beckman, a native of Lisbon, but of foreign extraction. The cry was against the monopoly and against the Jesuits, whose restoration had coincided with it in point of time. Beckman, inviting some kindred spirits to hisEngenho, pointed out to them that, if they would obtain their rights, they must act in defiance of the Governor. A conspiracy was formed, of which Beckman was appointed chief, and he was aided by a friar who preached in the cathedral against the monopoly. The conspirators soon numbered sixty, and the people were summoned to a secret meeting within the premises of the Franciscan convent atS. Luiz. They were harangued by Beckman, who pointed out that two things were necessary for the good of the State—namely, the abolition of the monopoly and the expulsion of the Jesuits, and he added, that if those present would consult their own safety, not to mention their interests, they would carry out those measures forthwith.
One of the leading conspirators drew his sword and convinced his audience that their only safety was to proceed in their enterprise. The assembly accordingly hastened to the town, where some murders and other outrages were naturally committed, the authorities being unable to stem the torrent of violence. TheCapitam Morwas told to consider himself a prisoner in his house; whilst the soldiers submitted themselves to the orders of Beckman, who thereupon convoked ajuntaof the three estates, namely, clergy, nobles, and people. Resolutions were passed deposing the Governor and theCapitam Mor,abolishing the monopoly, and expelling the Jesuits. The Chamber ratified the resolutions which had been taken. The late authorities having been confined, Beckman now notified to the Jesuits their banishment from the State, and that until means for transporting them were provided they must remain prisoners in their college. The multitude, under their self-constituted leader, next proceeded to the cathedral, whereTe Deumwas performed in honour of their exploits.
Three persons were appointed to administer the government, pending a reference to Lisbon. The next step was to despatch agents toBelem, to invite the people of that place to join the insurrectionary movement; but the only person who could be induced to accept this service was a friar. He was received atBelemin a manner which fully justified the reluctance of his colleagues to accompany him. The Chamber carried his papers to the governor, offering their service to inflict chastisement upon the rebels. Francisco de Sa was at a loss how to act, not knowing how far he might depend upon his own people, and yet feeling it incumbent upon him to take some measures for suppressing the insurrection. Meanwhile, the Chamber ofBelemsent a reply to the insurrectionary leaders, exhorting them to submission. Beckman, however, showed no inclination to recede from the position he had taken; and Palm Sunday was distinguished by the expulsion of the Jesuits from their college; each of them, bearing the emblem of the festival, embarked under a guard in two vessels. One of the two reachedPernambuco; the other fell into the hands of pirates.
Antonio de Albuquerque, who was the bearer of the reply fromBelem, was refused permission to address himself to the people. It is to be remarked that this insurrection atSt. Luizwas kept to a certain extent within bounds; two vessels belonging to the monopolist company arrived at this time with goods and negroes, the sale ofwhich was conducted on behalf of the Company by its agents. The governor now thought fit to offer a full pardon to all persons concerned in the insurrection, together with a large gratuity to Beckman; the latter, however, rejected the offer, whilst professing his readiness to submit to the orders of his sovereign when they should arrive; and the Governor’s agents returned toBelemto report the fruitless result of their errand.
Beckman, however, was by no means in an enviable position. He was compelled by the wish of the people to send his brother to Lisbon as their representative; and as those who had flocked to his help gradually broke away from him to attend to their own affairs, he saw himself without the means of supporting his usurped authority. In fact he only maintained his position in virtue of the weakness of Francisco de Sa. Beckman had grievances of his own to complain of against the local authority, which, perhaps, originally urged him to make himself the mouthpiece of the legitimate public outcry against the monopoly. He may also have been stimulated by the impunity which had attended the proceedings of the people ofMaranham, on the occasion of the expulsion of the Jesuits. It is rash, however, for any one heading a revolt against constituted authorities to found himself upon precedent. In this instance, the insurgent leader soon went beyond the limits which had been reached in the preceding case. Indeed he commenced by imprisoning theCapitam Morand deposing the Governor. He may likewise not have foreseen that as the previous insurrection had been allowed to pass with impunity to its leaders and had been followed by another, the court of Lisbon would consider it the more necessary to be severe on this occasion.
The leader of the revolt took a singular course with the object of making his position more secure. This was to ally himself with Joam de Lima, a well-born Portuguese, who commanded a piratical squadron. Thisbuccaneer now received the offer, on the part of the insurgents, of the port ofMaranhamas a harbour of refuge from which he and they might defy the Portuguese authority.
Meanwhile the news of the insurrection had been received with concern at Lisbon. In the case of the former outbreak, the Portuguese Government had perceived how difficult it would be for them to re-establish royal authority in so distant and extensive a province asMaranhamby force of arms, and had therefore had recourse to policy. They likewise feared lest the French fromCayenneshould renew their attempts at making a settlement on theAmazonsand revive their claims onMaranham. It was of the utmost importance that a suitable man should be found for the purpose of suppressing the insurrection inMaranham, and the royal choice fell upon Gomes Freyre, an officer whose qualities eminently fitted him for the task before him.
1685.
After having encountered not a few difficulties in the way of making preparation for a successful discharge of his mission, Gomes Freyre set out on his voyage, the King accompanying him on board ship to take leave, and, on the 15th of May, he arrived on the coast ofBrazil. Thomas Beckman, who had been sent to Portugal, was sent back toMaranhama prisoner. The new Governor was received with due submission on the part of the Senate and the people. Beckman, indeed, endeavoured to induce the people to oppose his landing; but the measures of Freyre were so decided that there was no time to carry his evil intentions into effect. Having taken possession of the government without opposition, he issued a proclamation granting pardon to all persons, excepting such as had instigated, or had taken a leading part in, the rebellion. Beckman took refuge on his estate sixty leagues distant, whilst his brother was lodged in prison. The reward offered for the former tempted a young man to effect his capture, and he was treacherously apprehended.
By the capture of the ringleader the revolt was at an end; but it was with the utmost reluctance that the Governor could bring himself to condemn him to the penalty which he had incurred. His reluctance was no doubt increased owing to the circumstances of Beckman’s base betrayal by a youth whom he had befriended; and it was only upon an attempt being discovered to escape from prison that Gomes Freyre yielded to the representations which were made to him that it was his duty to the public to sign his death-warrant. In doing so, together with that of another ringleader, he at the same time took upon himself the charge of providing for his two unmarried daughters. Beckman’s brother received the milder punishment of banishment for ten years; whilst the friar who had incited the people to insurrection was sentenced to be imprisoned in his convent.
The first measure of Gomes Freyre, after seizing the ringleaders of the rebellion, had been to restore all such persons as had been deprived of their offices. He likewise temporarily re-established the monopoly, whilst he recalled the exiled Jesuits. Having convened the Chambers ofBelemandSt. Luiz, and received their representations upon the state of the country, he came to the conclusion that the monopoly must be abolished. In his reports to Portugal he found great fault with the conduct of a portion of the clergy who had betaken themselves to trade, and were foremost in inciting discontent. The condition of the people he represented as deplorable; and he advocated, on the plea of necessity, the introduction of negroes for agricultural labour. The Indians he desired to be domesticated as far as might be possible, in order that they might afford to their countrymen an example of submission. But at the same time he pointed out that the same principle which authorized the Portuguese to purchase negroes in Africa was applicable to the savageTapuyas, who granted no quarter in war.
In order to relieve the distress atSt. Luiz, he tookfrom its population the materials for a new settlement between the riversItacúandMony. The two streams in question approach each other so nearly at one point in the interior that it was thought that two forts might suffice for the protection of the delta thus formed against the Indians. In furtherance of this plan, an expedition was despatched against the savages of theMeary, who had destroyed theengenhosformerly existing in this district. The Governor, having accordingly erected a fort upon theMeary, saw the importance of establishing communication overland withBahia; and an enterprising Portuguese, named Joam do Valle, boldly undertook to proceed thither by land. He succeeded in the attempt; but the fatigues which he had undergone proved fatal to his life.
Gomes Freyre found it necessary to despatch another expedition, under Sousa, against the savages of theAmazons. After a severe campaign, which lasted over six months, this officer effected the object entrusted to him. The lower valley of the great river was pacified; a number of dangerous chiefs, together with more than a thousand Indians, had fallen; whilst half of that number were brought back in chains.
1687.
At this period the position of the French in the north ofBrazilbecame a subject of disquietude to the authorities atPará. Although, in virtue of the line of demarcation by Pope Alexander VI., Portugal claimed the entire Brazilian coast, from thePlatain the south to theOyapokin the north, the maritime powers declined to admit her title. As early as the year 1608, the country between theAmazonsand theOrinocohad been taken possession of by Robert Harcourt in the name of James I. for England, and that King had made him a grant of the territory lying between the former river and theEssequibo, which falls into the sea about the centre of what is now BritishGuayana. The scheme, however, was frustrated, as were all attempts on the part of adventurers of different nations to establish themselves about theCabodo Norteand up theAmazons. It was during one of the expeditions of Raleigh that the harbour ofCayennehad first been noticed, and it subsequently attracted the attention of Harcourt. Some French adventurers settled at this locality about the year 1631. They had no commission from the Crown nor from any company; and, being left to their own resources, such of them as survived the hostilities between the native tribes in which they took part, gradually became mixed with the savages.
A few, however, had escaped to France; and it was on their representations that an expedition was sent out under Charles Poncet, who was appointed Lieutenant-General of the country of theCabo do Norte, a district which was not too minutely defined, and which he interpreted generally to include the whole coast between theAmazonsand theOrinoco. This officer took out with him some four hundred men, with whom he attempted to form settlements atCayenne,Surinam, andBerbice, which three places now form settlements in French, Dutch, and BritishGuayanarespectively. Owing to his cruelty, however, he himself fell a victim to the vengeance of the savages, whilst the various settlements were attacked and cut up. About forty survivors made their escape toSt. Kitts.
The disasters, however, ofM.PoncetdeBretigny did not deter the company at Rouen from pursuing the enterprise in which they had embarked; and they continued for eight years after his death to maintain a fort atCayenne. At this date a new company was formed, on the plea that the previous one had failed in fulfilling its conditions to the Crown. The chief of the next expedition, which consisted of seven hundred men, was theSieur deRoyville. ButDeRoyville was no more fortunate than his predecessor, being murdered on the outward voyage. The twelve associates who had accompanied him lost no time upon their arrival in quarrelling amongst themselves and in beheading one of their number, whilst three otherswere deported to an island, where they soon fell victims to the savages. The colony was not successful; some of its members perished from disease, and others from hunger; whilst others again were brought to theboucan.[6]The survivors were glad to seek the protection of the English, who were by this time established atSurinam.
1656.
1676.
A few years after this occurrence, the Dutch, findingCayenneforsaken, occupied it in the name of the West India Company. This settlement promised favourably; its commander, named Guerin Spranger, fulfilled all the conditions required for forming a profitable colony; but Louis XIV., at this period, gave to a new French company the country between the two great rivers, appointingM.le Hevrede laBarre governor ofCayenne. Five vessels were sent out, having on board a thousand persons, and Spranger had no alternative but to submit. His country was not then at war with France, but high-handed proceedings were the order of the day. The French were so fortunate as to find themselves in possession of a ready-made colony. Two years later it was laid waste by the English; but it was immediately re-occupied by the French. In the war which succeeded the peace of Breda,Cayennewas again taken by the Dutch; but in 1676 it was once more captured by the French under theComted’Estrees.
Cayenneonce more a French settlement, its guiding spirits lost no time in directing their attention towards the possessions of their neighbours. Their attempt to enter theAmazonswas forbidden by the captain ofCurupá, whilst five Frenchmen were found by the Jesuits trading for slaves in the interior.
1687.
About the year 1687 the province ofCearáwas so infested by the neighbouring savages that it was declared lawful and necessary to make war against them; and thehostilities were prosecuted with such vigour as to free the province from their presence for the future.
1688.
1694.
In proof that the trade ofBrazilwas steadily increasing, it is stated that, in 1688, the fleet which sailed fromBahiawas the largest which had ever left that port, and yet that it did not contain tonnage sufficient for the produce. A trade had sprung up betweenBuenos AyresandBrazil, and when it was prohibited, alike by the Spanish and by the Portuguese Governments, goods to the amount of three hundred thousandcruzadoswere left on the merchants’ hands atNova Colonia, and of double that amount atRio de Janeiro. The Government showed their appreciation of the importance ofBahiaby putting its forts in a proper state of defence. Three additional settlements in theReconcavewere now large enough to be formed into towns; and the currency inBrazilwas now put upon a proper footing by a regulation which permitted only milled pieces to pass, the practice of clipping having been hitherto prevalent.
The escaped negroes who had taken refuge in thePalmaresor palm forests, in the interior ofPernambuco, have already been mentioned. In the course of threescore years they had acquired strength and daring. Not contented with being left unmolested, they infested several Portuguese settlements; one of their chief reasons being to carry off women. They were under the government of a chief who was elected, and who listened to such whose experience gave them the right to counsel him. He was obeyed implicitly. His people did not abandon the sign of the cross. They had their officers and magistrates; and the greater crimes were punished with death. As they carried on a regular intercourse with the Portuguese settlements by means of their slaves, the evil arising from them as a place of refuge became so great that it was necessary to make an effort to put an end to it.
The negro settlement in thePalmareswas reputed to be so strong that the authorities ofPernambucolonghesitated to attack it; but at length Caetano de Mello determined to make a vigorous effort with the object of exterminating this formidable organization. With this end he solicited from the Governor-General the aid of the camp-master of a regiment ofPaulistas, and that officer was accordingly directed to proceed to join him. On his way, however, at the head of a thousand men, he unwarily resolved to reconnoitre thePalmares, and found himself in front of a double palisade of hard wood, enclosing a circle four or five miles in extent, and within which were some twenty thousand persons. The enclosure contained a rock which served as a look-out station; and it was surrounded by a number of smaller settlements, in which were stationed selected men.
1665.
In front of this strong position thePaulistaleader pitched his camp. On the third day the negroes sallied forth; and so fierce a conflict ensued that more than eight hundred persons were killed or wounded, with the result that the assailants were glad to retreat toPorto Calvo. At that point a force of six thousand men was assembled, which had been gathered fromOlinda,Recife, and elsewhere. The retreat gave the negroes time to prepare for the attack which they awaited. Their fighting strength is said to have amounted to ten thousand men. The Portuguese army advanced without delay, and encamped in front of the fortifications. The negroes, not having anticipated an attack of this nature, were unprovided with sufficient powder. On the other hand, the Portuguese had neglected to bring artillery.
Under these circumstances, the struggle between the two parties became one of endurance. Any attempt to cut a way through the palisade was easily foiled; but the negroes not only felt the want of weapons, but likewise that of provisions. The Portuguese, too, were for some time on short allowance; but they were reinforced by large convoys of cattle from theSan Francisco, and the despair which this sight occasioned to the besieged deprivedthem of the courage to withstand the attack which was simultaneously made. The gates were hewn down; and the chief and some of his followers, preferring death to renewed slavery, threw themselves down from the rock. The survivors of all ages were brought away as slaves.
About this time the question was formally raised as to the limits of the territory claimed by the French and by the Portuguese, respectively,M.de Ferrol, the Governor ofCayenne, claiming for France the whole to the north of theAmazons. He received for reply that it was the duty of the Portuguese governor to maintain possession of that which had been entrusted to his predecessors and to himself, and which included both sides of the river, together with the whole of the interior.M.de Ferrol, after some time, sent an expedition against the fort ofMacapá, which had lately been erected at theCabo do Norte, and which surrendered to him. In writing to the governor ofMaranham,M.de Ferrol justified this expedition on the ground that the place was within the limits of the French colony. Three hundred men were at once sent to recover the fort, which was thereupon put into a state of defence, pending a reference to Europe; but, owing to complications in European policies, it was allowed to remain in the hands of Portugal without further demur on the part of France.
1696.
Meanwhile the condition of the Indians throughoutBrazilhad gradually improved. For this they were indebted chiefly to the importation of negroes, but partly also to legislation. Throughout all the old captaincies, with the exception ofSt. Paulo, a pure Indian—that is to say one without negro blood—was declared free on demanding his freedom. This consummation must have gladdened the closing days of Vieyra’s life. His memorable existence was prolonged to the age of ninety; he having been for seventy-five years a member of the Order of Jesus. His brother Gonçalo survived him by one day.
Atthe close of the seventeenth century the Portuguese race had established themselves along the whole extent of the coasts of the vast region which now forms the Brazilian Empire,—fromParáin the north toRio Grande Do Sulat the other extremity. Of the interior of these immense provinces, extensive spaces—equal, indeed, to the size of European kingdoms—were then, and are still, uninhabited. The clouds driven westward by the periodical winds which prevail at certain seasons on the Southern Atlantic, meeting the huge and unbroken barrier of theAndes, are forced to discharge their contents in continuous deluges over the entire area of CentralBrazil, thus giving birth to the most voluminous water-systems which the world contains. But this is not the only result of the almost incessant downfall of waters which is witnessed on the eastern slopes of theAndes. Another result is that the superabundant moisture, falling upon a soil under the influence of a burning sun, produces an extent and luxuriance of tropical vegetation such as is nowhere else to be seen on the surface of the earth. This vegetation has hitherto, throughout all ages, baffled the efforts of man to contend with it; and ages will elapse ere the increase of the world’s population will force mankind to bend themselves to the huge effort of subduing this teeming virgin forest.
To give any clear idea of the mere extent of theregion which now forms the Empire ofBrazilis no trifling task. It is easy to say that it extends from the fourth degree of northern latitude to about the thirty-fourth degree of southern latitude, and that at its widest extent it covers the space between the thirty-fourth and the seventy-third degrees of western longitude. But it will give a far more accurate estimate of the superficies ofBrazilif we compare its area with something which we can realize. Its area is estimated at 8,515,848 geographical squarekilometres, or 3,275,326 English square miles,—the area of British India being 899,341 English square miles;—that is to say,Brazilhas an extent equaling about three and two-thirds that of British India. The area of France is 208,865 English square miles, being considerably less than one-fifteenth of that ofBrazil. But perhaps the best way of estimating the extent of the Brazilian provinces is to spread out a map of South America and compare their united bulk with that of one of the adjoining countries even of that colossal continent. The contiguous state ofUruguay, for instance, covers 73,500 English square miles, being double the area of Portugal; yet Uruguay would scarcely seem to add materially to the superficies of the adjoining empire, of which in extent it forms less than a forty-fourth part. Thus the little kingdom of Portugal annexed in America alone an empire almost ninety times larger than itself.
It may be of interest to give a general idea of the progress which the Portuguese race had made in effecting the conquest and civilization of the regions lying along the immense line of coast indicated above during the seventeenth century.Maranhamhad now been in their undisputed possession for seventy years, its seat of government being placed in the island of the same name. The capital boasted three churches and four convents; the European population of the State was estimated at the middle of the century at about four hundred, a number which in ten years had increased toseven hundred, whilst in 1685 there were more than a thousand Portuguese in the city ofSt. Luizalone. The rank and privileges of nobles were conferred upon all who had held a commission even for a few months in the local militia; indeed at one place the brotherhood of theMisericordia, which consisted of men of inferior rank, could find no recruits, since, with their exception, the whole population had become ennobled.
In order to reward the services of the inhabitants ofMaranhamandPará, it was decreed that none of them should be put to the torture, excepting in such cases as rendered torture applicable toFidalgos; they were likewise not to be imprisoned; but to be held on parole. They received the privileges of the citizens of Lisbon, and were not liable to be impressed either for land-service or for sea-service.
The revenue consisted for the most part of the tenths, which, about the middle of the century, might average five thousandcruzados.[7]There was a duty on wine; but little was imported, as the natives prepared a spirit extracted from maize and from the sugar-cane. A fifth of the slaves taken in lawful war belonged to the Crown. Some idea of the vastness of these provinces may be conceived from the fact that the voyage fromS. LuiztoBelemoccupied thirty days. In 1685 the latter city contained about five hundred inhabitants, with a clerical and monastic establishment out of all proportion to its numbers. The tenths ofParáand its subordinate captaincies amounted to about four thousandcruzados; whilst the saltworks produced two thousand more, and the fisheries an equal amount.
The salary of the Governor-General was three thousandcruzados; but on the whole the salaries to the various public officers were so small as almost to compel them to have recourse to other means of living. The priests were said to be of the very lowest order, being chiefly engagedin securing gain and in exciting discontent against the Jesuits, whose mental acquirements and whose manner of life were alike a reproach to their inferior brethren. The natives ofBrazilheld in the utmost horror and detestation the lot of slavery to which so many of them fell heirs. It is even said that many captives preferred death to being ransomed for the purpose of being thrown into perpetual captivity; and instances are on record when slave-hunters in vain set fire to the dwellings of Indians with a view to inducing them to come out and be captured.
Slave-hunting inBrazil, independently of the miserable lot of the captured victims, was attended by an enormous waste of life. Almost all slaves were kidnapped; and great numbers perished before reaching the Portuguese settlements. On their capture they were penned like cattle until a sufficient number were collected, being shut up for months together and exposed to the varying action of the elements. Such being the case, it is not surprising that often but half their number arrived at their destination. The Indians likewise who took part in the hunt, in the service of the slave-dealers, suffered greatly in the expeditions; while the Portuguese themselves returned in a wretched condition, after having penetrated more than two thousand miles into the interior, carrying devastation before them. The object of all this inhuman exertion was, of course, gain—gain to be derived in the first instance from the sale of the slaves, who were to become the means of gain to others. The sole pretext which could be urged on behalf of the slave-hunting was that it was a necessary evil, if such an expression may be used with reference to what may be avoided, since it was impossible for Europeans to perform the work of tilling the earth in such a climate; but, as Southey very justly remarks, that men of European stock are perfectly capable of all the labour which in such climates is required for the well-being of man is abundantly proved bythe prodigious fatigues which the Portuguese underwent in seeking slaves to do this “necessary” labour for them.
InMaranhamandParáthe colonists occupied one of the numerous islands per family, the country being so intersected by streams of all descriptions that these became natural and convenient landmarks. Inter-communication was carried on by water; and each family relied on its own means for subsistence. Vegetation being too luxuriant to admit of land for pasturage, game became the only animal food within reach of the colonists, and this, as well as fish, was procured by means of their Indians. This, however, formed but the smallest part of the slaves’ occupation, and it is stated that at this period the slaves inMaranhamandParáwere, literally, worked to death,—a statement which is borne out by the fact of depopulation.
In addition to slave-hunting, there were other inducements for traders in the interior. Sarsaparilla and other drugs were found in abundance, as were cinnamon and nutmeg, the vanilla and indigo. Cacao grew in plenty. Of the cultivated produce, cotton was the most important; the cotton ofMaranhamwas at this time accounted the best in America. Mandioc supplied the inhabitants with a satisfactory substitute for wheat-flour. Tobacco was one of the branches of agriculture chiefly cultivated inBrazilfrom the first. At the time in question this industry had grown into disuse inMaranhamfrom want of hands. As such persons as were without a trade could only procure subsistence by means of slaves, many families inMaranhamfell into distress owing to their not being able to procure the latter. The Portuguese had grown so accustomed to depend on slave-labour, that they allowed themselves to fall into destitution rather than work for their families; it was thought dishonourable for free men to cultivate the soil.
In strange contradistinction to the apathy of the Portuguese with respect to engaging in agriculture, was the eagernesswith which they embarked in commerce. It was found necessary to restrain the civil and judicial officers by means of statute; whilst the clergy showed equal readiness to join in speculations. Still, in spite of every disadvantage, the provinces ofParáandMaranhamgradually, though slowly, acquired population and importance. Such, however, could not be said of the adjoining captaincy ofCeará, which possesses neither river nor harbour, and is the least fertile portion ofBrazil, being subject to fatal droughts. Owing, nevertheless, to the disadvantages which this captaincy possessed for colonization, its native inhabitants were free from the molestations which beset those ofMaranhamandPará.
The settlement of the neighbouring captaincy ofRio Grande do Nortedates from the commencement of the seventeenth century. In this province, whilst it was under the Dutch, great efforts were made for exploring the country, civilizing theTapuyas, and improving the general condition of the people. The palace of Maurice of Nassau, together with the buildings and public works erected under his auspices, are solid mementoes of his administration, which is still further commemorated in the history ofBarlæus. During the government of this Viceroy an attempt was undertaken to discover the vestiges of some people who had possessed the country before the race of savages then existing, an attempt which has left the race in question a subject of curious speculation to the learned in such matters.[8]
Great efforts were made during the administration of Count Maurice to promote the reformed religion throughout the territories under his government. The Protestant missionaries were, it is said, regarded with much jealousy by Vieyra and his brethren. They are reputed to have succeeded to a considerable extent in imparting to the Indians the arts of civilization; but the efforts of the Dutch towards civilizing and humanizing the natives and negroes was confinedentirely to the government and the clergy. Nothing could exceed the barbarity of these invaders, on the whole, towards both races. Their privateers freely seized such Indians as they could entrap on the rivers or on the coasts, and sold them as slaves; whilst of their imported negroes the excessive mortality was imputed by Nassau himself to unwholesome food and physical suffering. It was no unusual thing for these slaves to commit suicide after attempting in vain to kill their masters.
The Dutch conquerors introduced into their Brazilian provinces that almost excessive domestic cleanliness for which their country is remarkable; whilst they increased the pleasures of life by the attention which they, in accordance with their national habits, did not fail to bestow upon horticulture. They reared vines with great success, and from which a wine was made that was much esteemed. Being accustomed to plains and swamps, they did not take advantage of the higher lands in forming their settlements; but the malaria and damp had less evil consequences than might have been anticipated, from the fact of the men being addicted to the free use of wine and tobacco. The Dutch women, however, who were without these counteractants, suffered much from the climate. The country possessed by Holland was only cultivated to an extent of some twelve or fifteen miles inland from the shore. The native industry of the Dutch had not sufficient time to display itself; and the almost continuous hostilities prevented the development of the fisheries. Although the invaders from Holland were inBrazilfor five-and-twenty years there was very little mixture of races between them and the Portuguese; the difference of religion was an almost insuperable barrier; and when they departed they left little or no trace behind them either in religion, language, or manners.
The population ofBahiaand the surrounding coast is said to have numbered, in the middle of the seventeenth century, some three thousand five hundred souls, notincluding a garrison of two thousand five hundred. A few years later, however,Bahiais described as having fine streets, grand squares, well-built houses, and splendid churches. At the close of the century it is said to have possessed two thousand houses, built of stone. It owed its prosperity, amongst other causes, to its being a place of safety for the new-Christians, who were persecuted with such cruelty in Portugal and Spain. Superstitious as were the Brazilians, even they successfully resisted the establishment of the Inquisition amongst them. If the new Christians were, inBrazil, a despised race, they could at any rate count on opportunities of gaining wealth and of retaining it when gained.Bahiapossessed abundant sources of riches; amongst others its whale fishery, which at one time was considered the most important in the world. At the close of the century it was rented by the Crown for thirty thousand dollars. The staple commodity was sugar.
In general, a scanty population was scattered along the shores and in the islands; and here and there we read of a place, such asPorto Seguro, possessing a population of fifty inhabitants. The numbers, on the whole, are so scanty that it seems strange that the Portuguese could have at the same time contended successfully with a foreign invader and with hostile tribes in the interior.Espirito Santohad five hundred Portuguese in its district; whilst the population ofRio de Janeirowas estimated at five times that number, exclusive of a garrison of six hundred. As a city it was inferior toBahia; it was, however, advancing rapidly in wealth. It owed the eminence which it soon attained, and which it retains amongst the cities ofBrazil, to its situation relatively to the mines which were soon to be discovered.
Ilha Grandeand the island ofS. Sebastianpossessed, in the middle of the century, no more than one hundred and fifty inhabitants each; the population ofSantoswas rather greater.S. Pauloboasted some seven hundredinhabitants; its neighbourhood, however, must have contained a considerable number, amongst whom were enlisted the terrible bands of freebooters, who carried desolation and destruction to the frontiers ofParaguay, and one band of whom penetrated as far as to the province ofQuito, where, having encountered the Spaniards, they escaped down theAmazonson rafts. The earliest gold found inBrazilwas gathered atS. Vicentein 1655, where it was coined.S. Vicente, at this time, had two thousand inhabitants. To the south of this place there was a small settlement atCananea, and a still smaller one atSanta Catalina.
It was commonly reported that Indian spices were indigenous inBrazil, and that their culture had been prohibited by the Government, lest it should interfere with the Indian trade. Whether this were so or not, an order was given by Joam IV. that every ship touching atBrazilon its way from India should bring with it spice plants. These were placed in the garden of the Jesuits atBahia, and two persons were brought fromGoawho understood the management of cinnamon and pepper plants. But, although the attempt promised success, it was not persevered in; and the subsequent discovery of mines diverted attention from this possible source of wealth. Previously to the finding of the precious metals, the production of sugar was the main object of the inhabitants of the coast.
A sugar-producingengenhoimplied the presence of various artisans, necessary for the continuous work of the machinery belonging to it. That is to say, it was a village-community in itself, more populous than many of the towns so-called then existing. It comprised in general an area of some eight square miles, the condition attached to the holding of this land being settlement and the cultivation of the necessary canes, which were to be sold at a fair price. From fifty to a hundred negroes were employed in eachengenho; a circumstance which,owing to the great cultivation of sugar in the province, had a marked influence on the population ofBahia. A French traveller[9]estimated the proportion of negroes to the white population as twenty to one; but this is probably the highest proportion which it assumed inBrazil. The negroes, according to his account, were exposed to purchase, exactly like beasts at our own cattle fairs, being entirely naked, being handled, as animals are, to test their muscle, and being obliged to show their paces.
The costume of the inhabitants ofcivilized Brazilduring the period of which we treat comprised every conceivable variety, from that of the almost entirely nude slave to that of the lady dressed according to the latest fashion from Lisbon. In the more flourishing settlements, such asOlindaandBahia, nothing could exceed the luxury of the female costume, the wives of the planters being attired in silks and satins covered with the richest embroidery, with pearls, rubies, and emeralds. Black was the prevailing colour, and the use of gold and silver lace was forbidden by a sumptuary law. In describing the results of holding slaves, it is necessary for the historian to state, with whatsoever reluctance, that the ladies ofBahia, even those the most distinguished amongst them, and who passed for being the most virtuous, did not, according to the direct statement of the French traveller above referred to, scruple to adorn their female slaves to the utmost extent, with the object of participating with them in the profits of their prostitution. This particular form of highborn depravity is, in so far as I am aware, peculiar toBrazilin the annals of history. The ladies ofBahiawere so indolent of habit that on going abroad they had to lean on their pages lest they should fall. Even the men,—if men they might be called,—were unable to descend the declivity on whichBahiastands, and were carried down on a contrivance called the serpentine, that is to say, a hammock suspended from a pole, a slaveattending meanwhile with a parasol. Each lady on going from home was attended by two negresses.
The Portuguese inBrazilwere exceedingly prone to jealousy, and it has been concluded that, as the punishment for convicted unfaithfulness was assured death, it is impossible to believe the often-repeated statement that connubial infidelity on the part of women was remarkably common; but the experience of many countries has shown that neither certainty of punishment nor the probability of detection can be relied upon as preventives of a breach of the marriage law; whilst it is likewise not the less certain that the risk incurred may add to the zest of the crime.
As might be anticipated from the fact that criminals were, from an early period, sent toBrazilto swell the ranks of the settlers, the police records of the various settlements are not gratifying reading. In the first place, the courts of justice were, in certain quarters, notoriously corrupt; robberies were committed in open day; whilst quarrels not unfrequently terminated in death. In short, the lives of the Christian settlers were certainly, as a whole, the reverse of being calculated to serve as examples to the heathen whom their missionaries were employed in converting. The very ships which brought out the Fathers too often carried out a supply of criminals whose lives serve as a practical antidote to their doctrines.
Much has been written, and probably with justice, concerning the apathy, the corruption, the extreme superstition, and the dissolute nature of the lives of the clergy inBrazil; but, taking them as they were, it is somewhat difficult to realize the picture of what the Portuguese transatlantic possessions would have become had they possessed no Church establishment. From the King down to the lowest peasant, the Portuguese of that age were deeply imbued with faith in the doctrines of Christianity; and, however much they might, in their practice, divergefrom its precepts, they were ever ready to compound for their sins by liberal donations to the Church and to charitable establishments. The Church, on its side, however irregular might be the lives of the clergy in general, was bound to keep up a certain degree of outward discipline and of attention to the good works for which it sought donations; whilst, from time to time, a luminary, such as Nobrega and Vieyra, arose in its ranks, stimulating to good works.
We have endeavoured in the preceding pages faithfully to record in so far as our limits permitted, the devotion and extraordinary achievements of such men as Nobrega, Anchieta, and Vieyra: it is but fitting to complete the picture of the remarkable ecclesiastics of the century by taking one from an opposite category. The Father Joam de Almeida, who had sat at the feet of Anchieta, is said originally to have been called John Martin, and to have been a subject of Queen Elizabeth; but, in the seventeenth year of his age, he found himself under the care of the Jesuits inBrazil. We are told of an Indian captive, who not only showed no impatience under the torments inflicted upon him by his captors, but who, when offered to be relieved of them, replied that he wished they were greater, in order that his enemies might see how thoroughly he despised them. In somewhat of a similar spirit John Martin, or Almeida, seemed not only to be indifferent to pain, but almost to revel in it. Such a character is not unfamiliar to Portuguese ecclesiastical annals. Those who have visited Cintra will remember the cave of the hermit Honorius, in which he dwelt for fourteen years, and which was of such dimensions as not to admit of his standing upright.[10]The unfortunate person of Almeida was regarded by him, in his mental capacity, as a natural enemy, which was only to be kept in subjection by perpetual scourgings,which were inflicted by a liberal assortment of implements; but notwithstanding which, he survived to the age of eighty-two. From this fact it must not be inferred that there was anything of evasiveness in his self-inflicted castigations. His constitution had grown accustomed to a form of suffering which his abstemious manner of living rendered possible, and which won for him the reverence of the superstitious population amongst whom he dwelt. On his demise, everything in any way connected with him became inordinately precious. The possession of portions of his autograph was almost too much good fortune to befall any one; but the porter of his convent was enabled to benefit himself and others by distributing drops of his blood and such articles as might have come in contact with the body of the dying saint. Nobrega and Vieyra, having done their work, had been allowed to sink into their rest, comparatively unobserved; but the death of the ascetic Martin created as much agitation as would have been produced by an earthquake. His funeral was attended by the whole population, from the governor downwards, and the multitude would not be persuaded to disperse until each one of them had kissed and embraced the corpse. Here it might have been thought his adoration might have been allowed to end; but it was even found necessary to set a guard over him at night, in order to protect his remains from the depredation of his pious votaries. The guard, however, would seem to have been insufficient for the purpose; since it was ascertained in the morning that one of the shoes of the anchorite was no longer to be found, whilst his pillow had likewise disappeared.
When the corpse of Martin had been committed to its coffin and confined to the grave, it might have been reasonably hoped that it would be allowed to rest in peace, or at least that the devotion of his admirers would cease to be expressed by aggressive acts. Such an idea,however, would betray ignorance of the inventiveness of superstition; since by night the grave was opened, and, the body having been removed, the precious hair was shaved off by a razor, whilst the remaining shoe and stockings were secured.
NotwithstandingGasca’s wise regulations, the tranquillity ofPeruwas not of long continuance. It was impossible that a country where anarchy had so long prevailed, and which contained so many discontented adventurers, should quietly settle down at once in the ways of peace. Several successive insurrections desolated the land for some years. These fierce but transient storms, however, excited by individual ambition, need not occupy attention. It is sufficient to say that in these contests a number of the early invaders perished. Indeed, as has been already said, of the men whose names are most conspicuous in this nefarious conquest, scarcely one seems to have ended his days in peace.
The Spanish authority being at length consolidated inPeru, it is desirable to show, in so far as may be possible, the nature of the government which succeeded to that of theIncas. The first visible consequence of the Spanish domination was the diminution in number of thePeruvians, to a degree more deplorable than astonishing. However great may have been the mortality caused among them by war, it was slight in comparison to that which resulted when tranquillity had been restored. All were now compelled to labour, their tasks bearing no proportion to their strength, but being exacted, nevertheless, with undeviating severity. Many of them were driven by despair to put an end to their ownlives; whilst fatigue and famine destroyed many more. WhenPeruwas divided amongst the conquerors, each of the latter was eager to obtain an instantaneous recompense for his services. Men accustomed to the carelessness of a military life had neither industry to carry on any plan of regular cultivation nor patience to wait for its slow returns. Disdaining to profit by the certain results of agriculture in the fertile valleys, they selected for their habitations the mountainous regions, which abounded in the precious mines. In order to develop these, many hands were wanted; and the natives were accordingly driven in crowds to the mountains. The sudden transition from the sultry valleys to the penetrating air of the higher altitudes combined with inordinate labour and scanty nourishment to produce an unwonted despondency, under which they rapidly melted away. In addition to this, large numbers were carried off by that scourge of the New World, the small-pox. These united causes were more than sufficient to thwart such well-meant regulations for the protection of the Indians as were promulgated by the Spanish Government, and as were invariably seconded, if not initiated, by the Church.
Nevertheless, a considerable number of the native race remained inPeru, more especially in the more remote regions. The fundamental maxim of Spanish jurisprudence with respect to her colonies was to consider these acquisitions as being vested in the Crown rather than in the State. By the celebrated Bull of Alexander VI., on which Spain founded its rights in the New World, the regions that had been or should be discovered were bestowed as a free gift upon Ferdinand and Isabella. Hence their successors were held to be the proprietors of the territories conquered by the arms of their subjects. All grants proceeded from them, and from them only all power issued,—with the exception, that is to say, of local municipal authority.
On the completion of the Spanish conquests in America, these were divided into two vast governments; the northern one being subject to the Viceroy ofNew Spain[Mexico]; the southern to the Viceroy ofPeru. The former, with which this work has no concern, comprised all the provinces to the north of the Isthmus ofPanamá. Under the latter were comprehended all the Spanish dominions in South America. It was so inconveniently extensive that some of its districts were separated by more than two thousand miles fromLima. Owing to the distance from Spain at which these respective governments lay and the difficulties of communication within them, it was inevitable that much inconvenience should arise. This inconvenience, however, became intolerable as time advanced. The population in the provinces remote from the seat of government complained with reason of their being subjected to a ruler whose residence was placed so far away as for practical purposes to be inaccessible; whilst the authority of the Viceroy over such districts was necessarily feeble and ill-directed.
As a partial remedy for these evils, a third Viceroyalty was later established, in the year 1718, atSanta Fè de Bogotá, the capital ofNew Granada, the jurisdiction attached to which included that over the provinces ofQuito,Popayan,Choco, and the region calledTierra Firma. The Viceroys not only represented the person of the Sovereign, but likewise possessed the full regal prerogatives within the precincts of their respective governments. The external pomp with which they were surrounded was suited to their real dignity and power, their courts being formed upon the model of that of Madrid. The Viceroy had his horse-guards and his foot-guards; his household regularly established; a large number of attendants; and altogether such magnificence as hardly to retain the appearance of delegated authority.
The Viceroys were aided in the discharge of the functions appertaining to their rank by officers and tribunalssimilar to those in Spain, some of whom were appointed by the King, and others by the Viceroy, but all subject to the latter and amenable to his jurisdiction. The administration of justice was vested in tribunals calledAudiences, formed on the model of the Court of Chancery in Spain. In the entire Spanish dominions of America there were elevenAudiences, of which seven were established in the southern division of the continent,—namely, atLima,Panamá,Santa Fé de Bogotá,La PlataorCharcas,Quito,St. Iago de Chili, andBuenos Ayres. The number of judges in each Court of Audience varied according to circumstances. The station was no less honourable than lucrative, and was, for the most part, filled by persons whose merit and ability invested the tribunal with much respect. Both civil and criminal causes came under its cognizance; and for each peculiar judges were set apart.
The distance by which they were separated from the mother country not unfrequently tempted the Spanish Viceroys to arrogate to themselves a power to which even their Master was a stranger, namely, that of intruding themselves into the seat of justice. In order to check such usurpation, laws were repeatedly enacted prohibiting the Viceroys, in the most explicit terms, from interfering in the judicial proceedings of the Courts of Audience, or from delivering an opinion or giving a voice with respect to any point in litigation before them. In some particular cases, in which any question of civil right was involved, even the political regulations of the Viceroy might be brought under the review of the Court of Audience, which, in those instances, might be deemed an intermediate power placed between him and the people, as a constitutional barrier to circumscribe his jurisdiction. Such restraint, however, as the Court might exercise over the person of the Viceroy was limited to advice and remonstrance; in the event of a direct collision between their opinion and his will, what he determined must be carried intoexecution; they could but lay the matter before the King and the Council of the Indies. The mere permission, however, to remonstrate and to report upon one who represented the sovereign, gave great dignity to the persons composing theAudience. Further than this, upon the death of a Viceroy, without provision for a successor, the supreme power devolved upon theAudienceresiding in the capital of the Viceroyalty. The decisions of these courts, in cases affecting sums exceeding six thousandpesos, might be carried by appeal before the Council of the Indies.
This supreme Council was established by King Ferdinand in 1511, and perfected by Charles V., thirteen years later. Its jurisdiction extended to every department, whether ecclesiastical, civil, military, or commercial. With it originated all laws and ordinances relative to the government and police of the colonies. By it were conferred all offices, the nomination to which was reserved to the Crown; and to it was accountable everyemployéin America, from Viceroys downwards. It took cognizance of all intelligence arriving from the American colonies, and of every scheme for the improvement of their administration. It was the invariable object of the kings of Spain to maintain the authority of this great Council, whose measures and inspection were, as a rule, wise and watchful. The meetings of the Council of the Indies were held in the place of residence of the Monarch. This body, in fact, more or less corresponded with our own Secretary of State for India in Council. There was, besides, a tribunal or board for the special regulation of commercial matters. This was calledCasa de la Contratacion, or the House of Trade, and was established in Seville, which port absorbed the commerce with the New World as early as 1501. It took cognizance of all matters appertaining to the annual fleets to and from Spanish America, and its decisions were subject alone to revision by the Council of the Indies.
The policy of Spain, with respect to her colonies in relation to other nationalities, was one of jealousy and exclusion, which augmented in proportion to their increased extent. In forming their American settlements, says the historian Robertson, the Spanish monarchs adopted a system taken partly from the colonizing principle of Greece and partly from that of Rome. The early Hellenic migrations served to enable a state to get rid of its superfluous citizens; the Roman colonies, on the other hand, were military detachments stationed as garrisons in a conquered province. The Spanish settlements in America partook of the nature of both. Whilst they soon became semi-independent, their connection with the mother country was retained by means of the rights of legislation and of the power of nominating the persons who should fill every department of the executive government.
The Spanish adventurers, who laid the foundations of the republics of South America, were much more successful in the work of destruction than in that of creation. Owing to a variety of causes, amongst them being disease, war, famine, the imposition of impossible tasks, the burden of oppressive taxes, transportation from the valleys to the mountains, labour in the mines, and being employed in the place of beasts of burden in expeditions—owing to these, the native population decreased with immense rapidity. On the other hand, owing to the jealously-restrictive policy of Spain in compelling her subjects in the New World to have recourse to the mother country for many of the necessities of life, and which could only be purchased at excessive cost, the numbers of the Spaniards did not increase in theratiothat might have been expected. Other reasons contributed to this, the chief one of which was the tenure of land, which was extremely unfavourable to the increase of population. Many of the conquerors obtained permission to convert theirencomiendas, or estates withserfs attached to them, intomayorasgos, a species of fief, which can neither be divided nor alienated. Thus a great portion of landed property, under this rigid form of entail, was withheld from circulation, and descended from father to son unimproved, and of little value either to the proprietor or to the community. In some instances enormous tracts of country were held by one person, the reason being that only extensive districts could afford the number of labourers requisite for the working of mines with any prospect of gain. The evil effects arising from these causes were very apparent; but we must hesitate to accept the computation of Benzoni[11]that in the year 1550 the entire Spanish population in the New World did not exceed fifteen thousand.
It is estimated, likewise, that the enormously expensive ecclesiastical establishment in the Spanish colonies greatly retarded their progress. The payment of tithes was enforced to the full extent, even in the case of articles requiring artificial production. Such fertile and wealthy regions, however, as had fallen to the lot of Spain in the New World through the enterprise of her sons, could not fail in the long run successfully to emerge from the mass of trammels which had been imposed upon them by the ignorance of legislators, the force of circumstances, and the power of superstition. Gradually a new society arose, the component elements of which may be classified as follows:—
In the first place came theChapetones, being the Spaniards who arrived from Europe. The Court of Spain, jealously anxious to ensure the dependence of the colonies on the mother country, made it a rule to fill all departments of the state by Spaniards born. Eachemployéwas required to furnish proof of a clear descent from a family of old Christians, untainted by Hebrew or Moorish blood, and uncontaminated by having appeared in the records of the Inquisition.
Next in order come theCreoles, or the descendants of Europeans settled in America. This class very soon began to exhibit the degeneracy which has invariably resulted wherever a portion of a vigorous race inhabiting an invigorating climate has migrated to an enervating one. It resulted, for example, in a marked degree with the Portuguese in India; and if it has not the same result with the English, this is to be attributed entirely to the fact that in almost all instances Anglo-Indians send their children, at an early age, to be brought up and educated in Europe, and that they themselves are being continually recruited from the mother country. In the instance of such English as are born and brought up in India, who are fortunately too few in number to require to be classified likeCreoles, the invariable rule of nature holds good, as it does amongst the Italians and French who, ever since the Crusades, have lived in greater or less numbers in the Levant, the word “Levantine” being a synonym for moral and physical degeneracy.
Thus theCreoles, though many of them were descended from the conquerors of the New World; though others could trace their pedigree to the noblest families of Spain; though some possessed the advantage of great patrimonial wealth, yet, owing to moral and physical causes, as well as to special legislation, sank naturally into a second-class position. Their mental vigour was in a marked degree lost, and such of it as remained was devoted to the indulgences of pleasure and superstition. Even the operations of commerce, in addition to the functions of government, fell to the lot of theChapetonesor natives of Spain.
The third class in the Spanish colonists arose from the offspring, either of Europeans with negroes, or of Europeans with original natives of America. These were called, respectively,MulattoesandMestizas, and they multiplied so greatly as to constitute a very considerable portion of the population throughout the transatlanticdominions of Spain. The several stages of descent in this race were distinguished by a peculiar name. In the third generation the hue of the Indian disappeared, and in the fifth the blood of theMulattobecame so undistinguishable that his offspring obtained all the privileges of the European. This robust and hardy race were invaluable in the Spanish settlements in practising the mechanical arts.
Amongst the inhabitants of the Spanish colonies, the fourth rank was assigned to thenegroespure and simple. They were in several settlements employed chiefly in domestic service. Their superior physical strength, as well as their favour with their masters, gave them an ascendancy over the natives, whom they were wont to treat with such insolence and scorn, that an implacable antipathy arose between the two races. This antipathy, which originated from accidental causes, was no sooner perceived than it was sedulously fomented, great precautions being taken to prevent anything which might form a bond of union between the two races.
Last of all, in the order of society, came the unfortunate native Indians, who had been so ruthlessly dispossessed of all their natural rights. Due regulations determined the nature and extent of the services which these were required to perform, and likewise the amount of the annual tax imposed upon all males between the ages of fifteen and fifty. When the native was an immediate vassal of the Crown, three-fourths of the tax, which may have been on an average about four shillings a head, were paid into the royal treasury. When he formed part of anencomienda, a like proportion belonged to the holder of the grant. As the originalencomiendaswere only granted for two lives, they then reverted to the sovereign. The benefit of the labour of the natives in like manner belonged either to the Crown or to the holder of the grant. They were compelled to assist in works of necessity, such as the culture of corn, tendingcattle, forming roads, bridges, &c.; but they could not be constrained to labour for the furtherance of objects of personal gratification or commercial profit. For the purpose of service in the mines they were called out in successive divisions, calledmitas, in which each person took his turn. InPerueachmitacould not exceed a seventh part of any inhabitants of a district, and was detained at service in the mines for six months at a time. Whilst engaged in this service, however, each labourer was duly paid, receiving from two to four shillings a day; and, after a time, a humane regulation was introduced, forbidding the deportation of the natives of the plains to the elevated regions. No Indian residing more than thirty miles from the mine might be assigned to themitaemployed in it.
The natives living in town were subject to the Spanish laws and magistrates; but those inhabiting their own villages were left in charge of theircaciques, by whom their affairs were regulated according to traditional usage. This dignity was in many cases permitted to continue by hereditary descent; and, for the further protection of the natives, the Spanish Court appointed, in the course of time, an officer in each district, who was styled “Protector of the Indians.” It was the duty of this functionary to assert their rights and to represent them in courts of justice. Of the reserved fourth of the Indians’ tribute a portion was assigned as the salaries for the protector and thecacique, the remainder being given for the purpose of their religious requirements, or for their own support in years of famine or other such calamity. Where so much has to be recorded of cruelty and misgovernment on the part of the Spaniards towards the natives of South America, it is gratifying to be enabled to state that hospitals were erected for the benefit of indigent and infirm inLima,Cuzco, and elsewhere, where the natives were treated with all humanity.
On a general review of Spanish legislation with respectto the treatment of the natives of the New World, it is admitted on all sides that, granted that Spain possessed any rights over them at all, her government, from the time of Isabella onwards, was most solicitous for their spiritual and material well-being. Several causes, however, as has been already observed, contributed to thwart the wise and humane legislation on the part of the mother country. Chief amongst these were the distance of the colonies from Spain, and the self-interest of those persons whose duty it was to see the laws and regulations enacted. InPerumore especially the Indians are stated to have been much oppressed, the law forbidding their employment at more than thirty miles from their homes being often broken. In several provinces, however, the natives were permitted to enjoy not only ease but affluence—possessing well-stocked farms, and being supplied with all the necessaries and many of the luxuries of life.
An important feature in the history of the Spanish colonies is the condition of the Church in the latter, and its connection with the State. Ferdinand “the Catholic” was likewise Ferdinand the politic; and in his transactions with the Holy See he had a vigilant eye for the interests of his Crown. With an early precaution against the introduction of Papal dominion in America, he solicited and obtained from the Pope, Alexander VI., a grant to his Crown of the tithes in all the newly-discovered countries, upon the condition of making provision for the religious instruction of the natives. Julius II. likewise conferred upon him and his successors the right of ecclesiastical patronage and the disposal of all benefices in the colonies. It is true that these pontiffs were entirely in the dark as to the value of that which was demanded; and when this fact became better known, their successors had occasion to lament their inconsiderate liberality. But the grants were beyond recall, and their consequence was to make the Spanish monarchs the heads of the American Church. In themthe administration of its revenues was vested, and their nominations to benefices were at once confirmed by the Pope. Thus was avoided all collision between spiritual and temporal jurisdiction. This limitation of the Papal authority is the more singular when we consider the character of the nation and that of the monarch by whom it was devised.
The hierarchy of Spanish America was constituted similarly to that of Spain. The inferior clergy were divided into three classes,Curas,Doctrineros, andMisioneros. Of these, the first were parish priests; the second had charge of districts inhabited by subjected Indians; the third were employed in converting and instructing independent tribes. The revenues of the Church were immense; its edifices and convents were magnificent, and its display of wealth ostentatious. Nothing could be less suitable for establishments so situated as were the Spanish colonies in South America than the introduction of the monastic system; yet that system was soon to be found there to a most flourishing extent. In a new settlement, where there is room to spread, the main object should be to encourage population; but the Spaniards, with their usual blindness, began from the first to erect convents, where persons of either sex were shut up in large numbers under a vow of celibacy. The numbers who crowded into those abodes of superstition and of listless ease were utterly lost to society; and the consequence of this was the more serious, inasmuch as none but persons of Spanish extraction were admitted into the monasteries.
A considerable proportion of the secular clergy in America were natives of Spain, being for the most part such as had little prospect of advancement in their own country. They were, as a body, not remarkable for their attainments either in science or in literature. But the greater part of the ecclesiastics in Spanish America were regulars. The missionaries of the four mendicant ordershad permission from the Pope to accept parochial charges in America, without being subject to the jurisdiction of the bishop of the diocese. It is to these alone amongst Spanish ecclesiastics that we are indebted for our accounts of the civil and natural history of the various provinces. Amongst them may be mentioned the history of the New World by the Jesuit Acosta, and likewise the natural and civil history ofChiliby the Abbé Molina, from whose work I have quoted, and who, although a Chilian, is so singularly fair towards the sworn foes of his country, the Araucanians. The general purport of Catholic testimony gives but a poor report of the moral character of the South American regular clergy, many of whom are said to have been not only destitute of the virtues to the observance of which they were sworn, but even of ordinary decorum. The vow of poverty was treated with contempt, some of the ecclesiastics becoming amongst the chief oppressors of the natives whom it was their duty to protect. The vow of chastity received as little regard.