YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THE

HISTORY OF BRAZIL.

VOL. [.

y^

PuMshcdiy Smibh, Elder St Co.66 CamhaLIandon..

THE

HISTORY OF BRAZIL,
FROM THE PERIOD OF
THE ARRIVAL OF THE BRAGANZA FAMILY IN 1808,
TO
THE ABDICATION OF DON PEDRO THE FIRST IN 1831.
COMPILED FROM
State documents anlr otter ©rtginat Sources.
FORMING
A CONTINUATION TO SOUTHEY'S HISTORY OF THAT COUNTRY.
BY JOHN ARMITAGE, Esq.

•* It is thus that Legislation and Politics become gradually regarded as experimental sciences ;
and history, not as formerly, the mere record of tyrannies and slaughters, which, by immortal
izing the execrable actions of one age, perpetuates the ambition of committing them in every
succeeding one, but as the archive of experiments, successful and unsuccessful, gradually accu
mulating towards the solution of the grand problem — how the advantages of government are
to be secured with the least possible inconvenience to the governed." Hbrschel.

IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.

LONDON:
SMITH, ELDER AND CO., CORNHILL,
BOOKSELLERS TO THEIR MAJESTIES.
1836.

7.i-7

LONDON :
PRINTKD- BY STEWART AND CO.
OT.D BAILEY*

TO
MARK PHILIPS, ESQ., M.P.,
AN ENLIGHTENED BRAZILIAN MERCHANT,
AND
AN ARDENT AND ZEALOUS FRIEND TO THE PROGRESS
OF HUMAN INTELLIGENCE,
IN EVERY COUNTRY,
THESE VO LUM ES
ARE, WITH PERMISSION, INSCRIBED,
BY THE AUTHOR.

PREFACE.

Perhaps there is no country with which the
relations of Great Britain are so extensive, and
yet of which she at the same time knows so
little as the Empire of Brazil. The want of even
any ordinary means of reference regarding the
financial and political affairs of the country,
was so sensibly felt by the Author, during the
period of a long residence there, that he was
induced to enter upon the following history,
chiefly, from a consideration of the advantages
which a perfect acquaintance with the facts
noted herein, might give him, in a commer
cial point of view. As he proceeded in his
task, he however became animated by
higher motives ; for not only was it interest
ing to him to trace the gradual] progress of a
people from rudeness to comparative civili
zation, but he also felt, with the author
whom he has quoted on the title page, that
history can no longer be regarded as " the mere

Vlll PREFACE.
record of tyrannies and slaughters, but rather
as the "archive of experiments, tending to
show how the advantages of Government can
best be secured to the governed."
During the execution of the work, he has
had opportunities of associating with some of
the most eminent political characters in Brazil :
he has had access to documents and stores of
information open but to few ; and he has also
had occasion to visit the seat of the Cisplatine
war, and thus been enabled to estimate the man
ners and character of the wild inhabitants of
that district, from personal observation. Whe
ther or not he has turned these advantages to
good account, it is for the public to decide.
He is quite willing to concede that the circum
stance of his having been a foreigner in Brazil,
may occasionally have proved an obstacle to his
entering fully into the spirit of his theme ; yet he
hopes it will be borne in mind that this circum
stance also has had a tendency to prevent his
being unduly biassed in behalf of any faction.
Perhaps contemporary history can in some
instances be best written by a foreigner, since
he can associate with, and enter into the feel
ings of all parties without partaking their pas
sions.
Rio de Janeiro, July 1, 1835.

CONTENTS

THE FIRST VOLUME.

CHAPTER I.
Jealousy of Portugal relative to Brazil — Component parts of the Ad
ministration — Code of laws — Municipalities — Military force —
Orders of Knighthood — Appropriation of tithes by the Crown, and
its results on the condition of the Clergy — Prohibition of the law
of Entail, and of Manufactures ¦ — Population — General character
of the inhabitants — Education — Effects of the independence of the
United States of North America — Sedition in Villa Rica — Execu
tion of Tiradentes — Subsequent conspiracy in 1801 — Effects of the
French revolution — Arrival of the Royal Family in Brazil —
Formation of the Bank, and other public institutions — Results
of the late changes — Depravity of the Court — Conspiracy and re
volt in Pernambuco, in 1817 — Death of the Dowager Queen of
Portugal, and marriage of Don Pedro. — Auxiliary troops from
Portugal — Systematic exclusion of native Brazilians from com
mands in the army — Official journalism — Arrival of the intelli
gence of the revolt in Portugal in 1 820. Page 1
CHAPTER II.
Insurrection, and subsequent convocation of the Cortes in Portugal —
Manifesto to the Portuguese nation — Declaration of Para, Ma
deira, Bahia and Monte Video, in favour of the Constitution— Dis-

X CONTENTS.
orders in Pernambuco— Measures adopted by the government in
Rio de Janeiro— Acceptance of the Portuguese Constitution-
Resolution of Don John to return to Portugal— Elections-
Effects of the late changes on the disposition of the native inhabit
ants of Rio— Meeting, and subsequent massacre in the Exchange-
Impatience of Don Pedro to assume the regency— Nullification of
the acts of the 21st of April— Change of ministry— Predictions of
the counsellors of Don John VI.— Departure of the King, and his
parting charge to Don Pedro. - "age 22
CHAPTER III.
Character of Don Pedro — Measures adopted subsequently to the de
parture of the King— Reception of the bases of the Portuguese co-
stitution — Insurrection of the 5th of June, 1821. — Establishment of
provincial governments — Influence of the Portuguese party — Straits
of the Administration in Rio — Suspension of payments by the Na
tional Bank — Sketch of the history of that establishment — Change
in 'the sentiments of Don Pedro, in consequence of his embarrass
ments. - 37
CHAPTER IV.
Measures adopted by the Cortes of Lisbon — Suppression of the tribu
nals, and recal of the Prince — Appointment of Governors-at-
Arms — Aspirations for Independence — Effects of the Abolition o'
the Censorship — Patriotism of the Secular Clergy— Proclamation
of the 4th of October, 1821 — Attestation of Don Pedro — Effect of
the Decrees of the 29th of September — Preparations for the Re
gent's Departure — State of Parties — Address from San Paulo—
Andrada Family — Address of the Municipality of Rio — Consent of
the Prince to remain in Brazil — Revolt of the Auxiliary Division
in consequence — Ejection of the Portuguese Troops — Convocation
of a Council of State — Dissensions in Pernambuco and Bahia. - 50
CHAPTER V.
Incorporation of the Banda Oriental with Brazil in 1821 — Previous
siege of Monte Video — Operations of Artigas, and invasion of
the disputed province by the Portuguese — Overthrow of Artigas
— Municipal Congress — Threats of Buenos Ayres — Demonstra
tions of the Cortes. . (jo.

CONTENTS. xi
CHAPTER VI.
Demeanour of the Portuguese members of the Cortes towards the Bra
zilian Deputies — Arrival of the squadron for the conveyance of
the Prince — Journey of his Highness to Villa Rica — Prohibition
of the exportation of arms to Brazil by the Portuguese Government
— Acceptation of the title of " Perpetual Protector and Defender
of Brazil" by Don Pedro — Decree for the convocation of a Con
stituent Assembly — Order to General Madeira to embark for
Portugal — Manifesto of the first of August, 1822.— Commence
ment of hostilities in Bahia — Ejection of the Portuguese troops
from Pernambuco — Journey of Don Pedro to San Paulo, and
declaration of independence — All dissentients subjected to banish
ment — Election of Don Pedro as Emperor — State and prospects
of the new Empire, and its Administration. Pao-e 76
CHAPTER VII.
Further decrees of the Cortes of Lisbon — Return of the Brazilian
Deputies — Character of the Andrada Ministry, and their arbitrary
policy — Dissensions trf the Cabinet — Deportation of Ledo," and
dissolution of the Masonic Lodges — Coronation of Don Pedro 
New Order of Knighthood — Sequestration of Portuguese property
— Overtures to Lord Cochrane — Engagement of British seamen,
and organization of a battalion of foreigners — Incorporation of the
Imperial Guard of Honour — Lord Cochrane's operations off Bahia
— Portuguese abandonment of Bahia — Captain Grenfell's opera
tions at Park — Death of prisoners from suffocation — Lord
Cochrane's seizure of Portuguese property at Maranham, and re
turn to Rio. 92
CHAPTER VIII.
Affairs of Portugal — Decree for the Banishment of the Queen — Inva
sion of the Peninsula by the French, under the Due d'Angouleme —
Influence and Agency of the Clergy in Portugal — Counter-revolu
tion, and consequent Dissolution of the Cortes of Lisbon — Convo
cation of the Constituent Assembly in Rio de Janeiro — Spirit of
its'" Members — Speech of Don Pedro — Subsequent Discussion —
Coalition of the Royalists and Patriots against the Andradas, and

Xll CONTENTS.
consequent dismissal of the latter from the Cabinet — New Mi
nistry, and their Measures — Factious Opposition of the Andradas —
Arrival of Commissioners from Portugal- — Dissensions between
Brazilians and Portuguese — The Military March to San Chris-
tova~o, and the Members of the Assembly declare themselves in
permanent Session — Negotiations with the Government, and sub
sequent forcible Dissolution of the Assembly. Page 110
CHAPTER IX.
Manifesto relative to the dissolution of the Assembly — Convention of
a Council of State for the formation of a New Constitution —
Plot for the Assassination of Don Pedro — Affairs in Monte Video
— Unpleasant situation of Lord Cochrane — Bad faith of the
Government relative to the Prize Claims — Abstract of the New
Constitution, made oath to on the 25th of March, 1824 — Subse
quent analysis of its principal features — Spirit of the Administra
tion — Further particulars relative to the Prize Claims. 137
CHAPTER X.
Application of the Portuguese Government for the intervention of his
Britannic Majesty— Mediation of Mr. Canning, in 1824— Attempt
of Don Miguel to overthrow the Portuguese Administration —
Negotiations relative to the affairs of Brazil — Unsatisfactory line of
poilcy adopted by the Portuguese Government. - 159
CHAPTER XL
Revolt in Pernambuco — Arrest and subsequent release of Manoel
Carvalho Paes de Andrada — Proclamation of the " Confederation
of the Equator" — Lord Cochrane despatched to Pernambuco in
August, 1824— His operations and negociations there — Advantages
obtained by the Imperialists, under the command of Francisco de
Lima— Arrival of Commodore Jewett in Pernambuco, and flight of
Carvalho— Execution of Ratcliff, Metrowich, and Loureiro for
high treason, - - 166
CHAPTER XII.
Arrival of Lord Cochrane in Maranham, in November 1824  Dis
sensions there — Operations of his Lordship — His claim on the

CONTENTS. Xiii
ordnance, &c. formerly appertaining to the Portuguese Govern
ment — Banishment of Abranches — Arrival of a new President,
and his subsequent removal by Lord Cochrane — His Lordship's
departure for England. - Page 180
CHAPTER XIII.
Assassination of Caldeira in Bahia — Acknowledgement of the inde
pendence of the Spanish republics by England, and its effects on
the Negociations between Portugal and Brazil — Mr. Canning's
proposals to the Portuguese Government — Their Impolicy — Em
bassy of Sir Charles Stuart — Treaty of the 29th of August, 1825,
recognizing the independence — Secret convention annexed — Ratifi
cation of the treaty — State of parties in Brazil— Private character of
Don Pedro — Marchioness de Santos — Chalaca the favourite —
Operations of the Absolutists. 189
CHAPTER XIV.
Description of the Banda Oriental, and of the manners and character of
its inhabitants — State of Monte Video — Petition of the Cabildo
for absolute Government — Unique letter from the same body to
Don Pedro — Conspiracy for throwing off the Brazilian yoke —
Expedition of the thirty adventurers from Buenos Ayres — Defec
tion of Rivera — Interference of Buenos Ayres — System of warfare
pursued by the Gauchos — Battle of the Sarandi, on the 13th of
October, 1825. 205
CHAPTER XV.
Spirit of the Administration — Concessions of titulary honours, and
their effect — Treaties with the British Government —The Emperor
sails for Bahia, in February, 1826 — Pamphlet of Chapuis — Its
effect, and the subsequent banishment of the Writer — Death of Don
John VI.- — The Regency of Portugal declare in favour of Don Pe
dro, who consequently assumes the Crown — Grant of a Constitu
tion to the Portuguese — Policy of the appointment of an Heredi
tary Senate —Projected marriage of Donna Maria to her uncle Don
Miguel. - - 221

XIV CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XVI.
Convocation of the Legislative body on the 6th of May, 1826 — Law
regarding the nomination of Senators perverted by Don Pedro
Speech on the opening of the Chambers— Blockade of Buenos Ayres
—Operations of the Navy— Procrastinating policy of General Lecor
—Contrast of manners between the South American Spaniards and
the Brazilians — Timidity of the House of Deputies — State of
Finance — Dissatisfaction of the House concerning the late Treaty
with Portugal — Legislative measures — Close of the Chambers,
and Speech of His Majesty on that occasion. Page 236
CHAPTER XVII.
Operations of the blocklading force before Buenos Ayres — Impolicy of
the Brazilian Minister of Marine — Brown's discomfiture on the
29th of July, 1826 — Privateers— Land blockade of Monte Video-
Enlistments in Brazil — Employment of foreign troops — Impolicy of
the measure — Affairs of Buenos Ayres — Enthusiasm of the English
in the service of that Republic — Voyage of Don Pedro to Rio
Grande — Critical situation of Admiral Brown — Death of the Em
press — Marchioness of Santos — Interment of the Empress — Her
character — Payment of her debts by the Legislative Assembly. 254
CHAPTER XVIII.
Return of His Imperial Majesty to Rio — Dismissal of the Ministry —
Affairs of Buenos Ayres — Marquis de Barbacena — Battle of Ituza-
ingo — Browne's blockade of the Brazilian force in the Uruguay
and his success — Brazilian expedition to Colonia — Its failure,
— Brown's discomfiture on the 9th of April, 1827 — Overtures for
peace— Garcia's Treaty — Refusal of the Buenos Ayrean Govern
ment to ratify it — State of public feeling in Buenos Ayres — Infrac
tions of the blockade— Opening of the Legislative Chambers — His
Majesty's speech— Treaty regarding the Slave Trade— Augmen
tation of the stipend allotted to the Emperor— Colonel Cotter sent
to Ireland to engage colonists— Attempt of dictation to the De
puties on the part of the Senate— Don Pedro's scheme- for sup
plying funds to meet the expenses of the war— Closing of the
Session of the Chambers— Change of Ministry— Obvious incapacity
of the late Cabinet. 269

CONTENTS. XV
CHAPTER XIX.
Re-appointment of General Lecor to the command of the army — Mar
quis de Barbacena despatched to Europe — State of Affairs in
Portugal — Revolt in favour of Don Miguel — Interference of Great
Britain — Conduct of Don Pedro relative to the Affairs of Portugal
Appointment of Don Miguel as Lieutenant-General, and Regent of
Portugal — Don Miguel's Oath to the Constitution — Machinations
of the Absolutists — Death of Mr. Canning, and its effect on the
affairs of Portugal — Disolution of the House of Deputies there —
Convocation of the ancient States of the Kingdom in June 1828 —
Protest of the Marquis de Itabayana — Assembly of the Three Es
tates, and their decision — Donna Maria sent to Europe — Negotia
tions of the Marquis de Barbacena — Fulsome style of the Official
Journals in Rio. Page 293
CHAPTER XX.
Disputes relative to the prize claims — The North American Ministers'
interpretation of the laws of blockade — Unavailing representations
— Mr. Raguet demands his passports — The French and English
make similar claims to the Americans, and the British Ministry
undertake the office of mediators between the Emperor and the
Government of Buenos Ayres — State of the Imperial army —
Audacity of the privateers — Meeting of the Chambers in 1828 —
New Ministry — ¦ Revolt of the foreign troops, and subsequent
massacre — Further changes in the Cabinet — A French squadron
enters in line of battle, and their demand is acceded to — Negotia
tions for peace — Preliminary treaty — Effects of the war in Brazil
as well as in Buenos Ayres. 308
NOTES 331

ERRATA IN VOL. I.

Pa^e 4, line 13, for statutes, read code.
8, — 15, for its, read their.
30, — 30, for deliberate, read deliberative.
38, — 10, for revolt, read massacre.
86, — 12, for allies, read sallies.
124, — 8, for from the Emperor, read for the Emperor,
150, — 25, for session, read sessions.
169, — 20, for 1834, read 1824.
191, — 18, for was also the, read was the.
194, — 27, for he, read she.

THE
HISTORY OF BRAZIL.

CHAPTER I.
Jealousy of Portugal relative to Brazil — Component parts of the Ad
ministration — Code of laws — Municipalities — Military force —
Orders of Knighthood — Appropriation of tithes by the Crown, and
its results on the condition of the Clergy — Prohibition of the law
of Entail, and of Manufactures — Population — General character
of the inhabitants — Education — Effects of the independence of the
United States of North America — Sedition in Villa Rica — Execu
tion of Tiradentes — Subsequent conspiracy in 1801 — Effects of the
French revolution — Arrival of the Royal Family in Brazil —
Formation of the Bank, and other public institutions — Results
of the late changes — Depravity of the Court — Conspiracy and re
volt in Pernambuco, in 1817 — Death of the Dowager Queen of
Portugal, and marriage of Don Pedro. — Auxiliary troops from
Portugal — Systematic exclusion of native Brazilians from com
mands in the army — Official journalism — Arrival of the intelli
gence of the revolt in Portugal in 1820.
In order to form a correct appreciation of the
various political changes in Brazil, since the
period when Mr. Southey concludes his history
of that country, it will be necessary, in the first
instance, to pass in review the component parts
of the administration under the absolute system.
VOL. i. b

2 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
For more than three centuries one of the most
beautiful and fertile regions of the globe, was by
the policy of Portugal restricted from all inter
course, or commerce, with the other nations of
Europe ; and even the residence, or admission
of foreigners was equally prohibited. The ves
sels of the allies of the mother country were
occasionally permitted to anchor in its ports,
but neither passengers nor crew were allowed to
land, excepting under the superintendence of a
guard of soldiers. The result of these re
straints naturally was, that but little more was
known respecting the institutions of the colony,
than what the mother country chose to commu
nicate ; and as most of these accounts were
more or less disfigured by party feeling, it is
presumed that an exposition which of itself
would excite but little interest, but which will
materially tend to the elucidation of many
passages of the succeeding history, may not be
deemed an useless introduction.
— Previously to the year 1808, though the Viceroy
resident in Rio de Janeiro was nominally the
highest functionary of the government, yet this
personage was in reality invested with but little
political power, except in the province of Rio,
where alone he acted as Captain-general : the
virtual administration of the colony being en
trusted chiefly to similar officers, one of whom
was appointed to each province. They were

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 3
nominated for three years only, and received
their instructions from the Court of Lisbon, to
which they were compelled to render an account
of their proceedings. They were not only pro
hibited from marrying within the sphere of their
jurisdiction, but also from the transaction of
any commercial pursuits ; as well as from ac
cepting any present, or emolument, in addition
to the stipend allotted them by the government.
For the management and application of the
public finances, bodies were appointed denomi
nated "Juntas de Fazenda," Juntas of Finance ;
of which the Captains-general of the respective
provinces were the Presidents.
The highest functions of the judicial power
were confided to a Court of appeal, composed
of Desembargadores, or Chief Judges ; to whom
succeeded the Ouvidores, or itinerant Judges,
who were under the obligation of making an
annual circuit to the districts committed to their
charge, for the purpose of passing judgment in
criminal cases. For the adjudication of certain
causes, Judges, termed " Juizes de fora," who
were selected from amongst such as had taken
their degree in Coimbra, as bachelors of law,
were appointed ; who, as well as the officers of
the higher tribunals, were all nominated by
the Court of Portugal. In the less populous,
and inferior districts, " Juizes ordinarios," with
the same attributes as the "Juizes de fora,"
b 2

4 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
were also occasionally elected by the votes of
individuals, denominated " Bons de povo ;" the
qualification for which title was, to have held
office in the municipalities. From the sentence
of these "Juizes," appeal could be made to the
court of Desembargadores in Rio, and from
this again ultimately to the " Desembargo do
Paco" in Lisbon. Unless, however, the appel
lant were possessed either of great interest at
Court, or in default of it could bribe higher
than his antagonist, these final appeals were
seldom of any real utility.
The Statutes on which the decisions of the
judicial power were founded, was the Portu
guese Code framed during the reigns of the two
Philips, and entitled " Ordinacoens do Reino ;"
to which were appended all the " Cartas de Lei,"
and decrees issued since the accession of the
House of Braganza : forming altogether about
nine volumes. Though in ordinary cases the
decisions of both civil and criminal causes was
left exclusively to the judicial authorities, the
mandate of the Captains-general was at any
time sufficient either to suspend, or set aside the
ordinary operations of the law.
The Municipalities were close corporations,
formed on the model of those of Portugal;
where those bodies had formerly been entrusted
with the nomination of deputies to the supreme
Cortes : though this, as well as many other im-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 5
portant privileges, had latterly fallen into disue-
tude. On occasions of public ceremony, the
national banner was still carried in their pro
cessions, and they were still recognized, in ap
pearance at least, as the representatives of the
people. In Brazil also, their power was once
considerable ; and instances have occurred of
the deposition of the Captains-general by the
Municipalities, and of this exercise of authority
having been sanctioned by the entire approba
tion of the government at Lisbon ; though to
wards the end of the last century, their powers
had been restricted almost exclusively to the
improvement of roads, the construction of
bridges, the control of the markets, and other
objects of minor importance. Their executive
officers, who were entitled " Juizes Almotaceis,"
were nominated by the Municipalities them
selves, every three months ; and were charged
with the power of exacting fines, and enforcing
imprisonment, according to certain established
regulations. The regular troops were recruited according
to the direction, and placed entirely at the dis
position, of the Captains-general ; but the offi
cers were nominated by the Court of Lisbon.
The militia, or troops of the second line, were
enlisted by the officers of each respective corps,
and the officers themselves were also appointed
in Lisbon, at the proposition of the Captains-

6 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
general. Though serving gratuitously, this lat
ter force was often employed in very laborious
and odious services ; and its members, as well
as the regular troops, were amenable to mar
tial law, in all matters relative to their military
duty. In addition to the preceding, were the
" Ordenanc.as," or troops of the third line ; who,
by the regulations of their institution, ought to
have been composed exclusively of such indivi
duals as were incapacitated by physical defects,
or otherwise, from serving in the militia. Their
duty was to defend the country in cases of
emergency ; but this service was merely nomi
nal, and by a perversion of the real objects of
the institution, it became customary for all pos
sessed of sufficient patronage to obtain a post
in the Ordenancas, for the express object of
avoiding enrolment in the militia. The Fidal-
gos, or Portuguese noblemen of the first rank,
were exempt from personal service altogether.
The Orders j)f Knighthood were those of
Santo Iago, San Bento de Aviz, and the Order
of Christ ; of all of which the Sovereigns of
Portugal were the Grand Masters, and perpetual
administrators. Amongst other privileges ap
pertaining to the office of Grand Master of the
Order of Christ, a Pontifical bull had conferred
that of an entire ecclesiastical jurisdiction over
all ultra-marine conquests ; and by virtue of this
title, the crown of Portugal, shortly after the

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 7
discovery of Brazil, appropriated to its own
use all the tithes levied in this country; with,
however, a proviso, binding the Monarch to?
provide for the celebration of public worship,^
and to pay a stipulated sum for the adequate
maintenance of the various Clergy. By the
same authority the presentation of ecclesiastical
benefices was also constituted one of the ex
clusive privileges of Royalty ; though the propo
sition of candidates was subsequently delegated
to the Bishops, with an injunction that the na
tives of the respective captaincies, and more
especially the descendants of the ancient no
bility, who were among the first emigrants to
Brazil, should on all occasions be preferred ;
the right of presentation being still restricted
to the Sovereign. The stipulations made for the :
maintenance of the established Religion, and the :;
due support of the clergy, were nevertheless
but very imperfectly complied with. Many
Priests came to be dependent on the mere fees
of their office for subsistence ; and the stipend
paid to the highest dignitaries of the Church
was but trifling, when compared with what
would have accrued to them, had they been
allowed to retain possession of the tithes. The
revenue of the Archbishop of Bahia, the head
functionary of the Brazilian Church, never
amounted to more than ten contos of rees per
annum; at par, 2,8121. 10s. sterling; nor was

8 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
the Bishopric of Rio de Janeiro, embracing
within its limits the provinces of Rio Grande,
Espirito Santo, and Santa Catherina, ever worth
to its incumbent more than six contos of rees,
or 1,687/. 10*. per annum. These peculiarities
in the condition of the Clergy are, perhaps, wor
thy of more particular note than the circum
stances of any other class, since they will be
found to have exercised a most important in
fluence during the period of the subsequent
'revolution. The jealousy of the Portuguese government
constantly led them to dread the growth of
every power, or corporation, which might here-
afteFliiiirtate against tEe" exerciser of its autho
rity; and oh this account, not only were the
civil and ecclesiastical functionaries brought
more immediately under control than in the
mother country, but even the increase of capir
talists and large proprietors was system nti rally
s prevented . The entailment of landed property
could be effected only by virtue of an express
permission from the Sovereign ; and all manur
factures, excepting the preparation of sugar,
were most rigidly prohibited.
At the close of the last century, the popula
tion might be estimated at about three millions,
six hundred thousands; of whom, about two-
fifths were negro slaves. The majority of the free
population were also a mixed race, derived

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 9
jointly from African, Indian, and European
origin ; the white inhabitants being the only
class as yet entrusted with political power. In
the ideas and manners of a people comprising
so many different castes, it is evident there
could be but very little similarity; still their
more general characteristics were in every re
spect such as might be anticipated from the na
ture of their institutions. Provided for by the
labour of slaves, inhabitants of a climate where
the productions of the earth are almost sponta
neous, and devoid alike of the stimulus and the
instruction, which must have resulted from a
more unrestricted communication with fo
reigners, they were for the most part an indolent
and apathetic race.
Education had as yet made little progress
among them ; even the knowledge of the eccle
siastics was in most instances confined to a
little bad Latin ; and the happy individual who
possessed some acquaintance with both Latin
and French, was regarded as so transcendant a
genius, that people came from miles distant to
consult him. Poli^al science was completely
in its infancy, with l ^arly all the inhabitants of
Brazil. The histories of Greece and Rome, the
" Contrat Social" of Rousseau, and such few
stray volumes of the writings of Voltaire and
the Abbe Raynal as had escaped the vigilance
of the authorities, were hitherto their only

10 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
sources of information ; and there was neither a
Printing press, nor an University in all Brazil.
During the Vice-royalty of the Count de Re-
zende, from 1790 to 1801, an attempt was made
to establish a literary academy at Rio de Janeiro,
but its members were subjected to so much
political persecution, that they were compelled
to break up the association in its commence
ment. On the establishment of the independence
of the United States of North America, a vague
aspiration for the similar enfranchisement of
Brazil was undoubtedly cherished there ; but
this feeling was long limited exclusively to
such individuals as had become aware of the
exisTTng~siaT*raf othercbun fries i ; and such was
the absence of all the elements of sociability,
that public opinion could not at this period be
said to have any existence.
During the year 1789 a conspiracy was formed
by a few influential individuals in Villa Rica,
not so much, however, with the design of pro-
claiming an independent republic, as from a
desire to ascertain what co-operation they were
likely to meet with, in case that step should
subsequently be adopted. From a diminution
in the product of the gold mines in this dis
trict, several of the individuals working them
were in considerable arrear for taxes. These
arrears, the government in Lisbon had ordered

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 11
to be paid up, with but little regard to the prac
ticability of the demand. Much irritation had
in consequence been excited, and a military
officer, of the name of Joaquim Joze da Silva
Xavier, commonly termed " Tiradentes," or the
tooth drawer, was sent off by the conspirators
for the purpose of ascertaining the disposition
of the inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro. Here the
imprudence of Tiradentes led to an immediate
discovery of the association, the members of
which were forthwith arrested. Altogether, how
ever, their number did not amount to forty ; yet,
though but little could be urged in evidence
against them, they were all sentenced either
to death, banishment, or the galleys, according
to the different degrees of their supposed guilt.
These sentences were, nevertheless, mitigated
in favour of all except the unfortunate Tira
dentes ; who, though but an instrument in the
hands of others, was, after the lapse of two
years, condemned to be hanged, decapitated,
and quartered. By the same sentence it was
among other ignominious provisions enacted,
that his head should be exposed in the public
square in Villa Rica, his house razed to the
ground, and his children and grand- children
declared infamous.
A conspiracy, originating exclusively among
the people of colour, was also organized in
Bahia during the year 1801, but like the former

12 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
it was discovered before any attempt had been
made to carry it into execution. The commu
nication between the different provinces was
neither sufficient to facilitate a general revolt,
nor indeed were the free population disposed to
it. Their condition, as contrasted with that
which is the result of European civilization, was
wretched, yet the tyranny exercised over them
was of a negative rather than of a positive cha
racter. Their wants were few, and from the
almost total absence of either nobility, large
proprietors, or powerful ecclesiastical digni
taries, there was an equality throughout their
entire association, which prevented their being
sensible of any undue privations. Could they
have been exempted from all extraneous im
pulse, ages might have rolled away, and Brazil
have been known to Europe only as the colossal
yet submissive and unaspiring dependency of
Portugal. But events were occurring elsewhere
about the close of the eighteenth century, the
effects of which were fated to extend their in
fluence to the very ends of the earth. The
young republic of France emerged from amid
the storms of the revolution, and the crowned
heads of all the surrounding states entered into
one mighty coalition to crush the intruder. In
this attempt their efforts were partially suc
cessful ; yet their aggressive policy was ere long
followed up by a fearful and overwhelming

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 13
counteraction. They raised up a spirit which
they afterwards in vain attempted to exorcise.
They called forth a conqueror who for a while
scattered all their armaments before him, and
who burst and rivetted at will the manacles of
many nations. The results of his victories were
not bounded by the hemisphere wherein they
were achieved. They gave birth to the imme
diate independence of all the Spanish colonies
in South America, and by compelling the Royal
family of Portugal to seek refuge in Brazil,
they created, as it were, a new era in her history.
The Portuguese fleet, consisting of eight ships
of the line, four frigates, twelve brigs. and_a.
number of merchantmen, sailed from the Tagus
on the 29th of November. 1 807. in company with
an English squadron under the command of Ad
miral Sir Sidney Smith. During the voyage the
vessels were dispersed by a tempest which com
pelled the greater part to put into Bahia; whence
they proceeded to Rio de Janeiro, where the
Royal family arrived on the 7th of March, 1808.
By a decree dated the 28th of January, the ports
of Brazil had already been thrown open to foreign
vessels, and on the 21st of October in the same
year, a National bank was established in Rio de
Janeiro. Supreme tribunals for the affairs of
finance and justice were immediately created ;
a decree was issued permitting the free exercise
of_ all kinds of industry ; a number of minor

14 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
corporations for the regulation of commerce,
and other similar objects were instituted ; and
finally, a Printing press, denominated a Royal
one, was established. A military^academy, and
a medical school were also founded ; the Royal
library^ containing sixty thousand volumes,
was thrown open Jp_Jhe_public ; and, on the
overthrow of Napoleon, a National Institute
was formed from among a number of literary
and scientific characters, who were for the most
part engaged in France, through the influence
of the Count de Barca, at that time Minister.
From nearly all these measures, and more
particularly from the opening of the ports, im
portant advantages resulted to Brazil. The
produce of the country rose in price, while the
prices of all foreign articles of merchandize
fell ; the tyranny of the Captains-general was
considerably modified by the institution of ad
ditional tribunals ; and civilization and the arts
received an important impulse from the free
admission of strangers, who came in crowds for
the purpose of fixing their residence on the
shores of the modern El Dorado.
Concurrent with these advantages, however,
there were nevertheless many evils. A swarm
i of needy and unprincipled adventurers Tiad
come over with the Royal family, and for these
it became necessary to provide in the different
branches of the administration. A feeling of

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 15
rivalry had always prevailed between the Por-
tuguese and the native Brazilians, and this pro
ceeding on the part of the government natu
rally tended to augment it. The new comers
were but little interested in the welfare of the
country. They regarded their absence from
Portugal as temporary, and were far more
anxious to enrich themselves at the expense of
the state, than to administer justice, or to benefit
the public. The extravagance and prodigality i
of the Court were at the same time notorious.
While the " Uxaria," or domestic establishment
of the Royal family alone consumed six millions
of cruzades, amounting to about 540,000/. ster
ling annually, and its expenses were punctually
paid, the public servants were frequently left
nine and even twelve months in arrear ; and
many were thus necessarily compelled to de
pend upon fraud for subsistence.
Nor were these the only evils superinduced
by the presence of the Court. From a naturally
obliging disposition, the Regent Don John was
anxious that no service rendered either to him
self, or to the state, should pass unrewarded;
and being straitened in pecuniary matters, he
had, from a wrant of other means, recourse to an
unexampled distribution of titulary honours.
To such an excess was this liberality carried,
that during the period of his administration, He
conceded more honorary insignia, than all the

16 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
preceding Monarchs of the_House of Braganza
conjointly. On his first arrival in Rio de Ja
neiro, the chief merchants and landed proprie
tors had given up their houses for the accom
modation of the Royal suite; they had neglected
and sacrificed their private interests from a wish
to do honour to their distinguished guests ; and,
as far as their limited means would allow them,
had come forward with largesses of money. In
recompense for which services, they were deco
rated with the various honorary Orders originally
instituted during the times of chivalry. Indivi
duals who had never buckled on a spur, were
dubbed Knights ; while others in utter ignorance
of even the primary doctrines of their missals,
were created " Commendadores" of the Order
of Christ.
Amongst a people who as yet regarded their
ancient institutions with veneration, the excite
ment created by this distribution of honours
could not but be great. Until the arrival of the
Monarch, titulary distinctions were almost un
known, and appear to have been valued in
proportion to their scarcity. On being now
thrown open, as it were, to all, they became the
great objects of competition among the aspiring;
and there was, very soon, no species of petty
tyranny which was not put into active force, nor
any degradation which was not cheerfully sub
mitted to, when the object in view was that of

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 17
obtaining some of these high emanations of
Court favour. In most instances the applicants
were successful, and the gratification of their
hopes was in every instance accompanied by an
instantaneous change in their style of living.
Knights could no longer descend to the drudge
ries of commercial life, but were compelled to
live either on the resources already acquired ; or
in default of those, to solicit for employment
under the government. Here, however, the diffi
culties were much greater than in the first in
stance ; thecompetition being increasedj)y the
numerous emigrants from the mother country ;
and when all obstacles had been surmounted,
the emoluments attached to public offices were
too limited to permit of much extravagance on
the part of the holders. Opportunities were,
nevertheless, continually occurring for the sale
of favours and dispensations ; and the venality
of the Brazilians in office was, ere long, fully
on a par with that of their Portuguese col
leagues. The morals of the Court were also at the very
lowest ebb. The private character of the Regent
was unimpeachable ; but the infidelities of his
consort were so notorious, that her Royal spouse
lived apart from her in consequence.
Extension of commerce, in the meantime,]
contributed to bnng"extension of knowledge re-j
garding the actual condition of distant_coim-
vol. i. c

18 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
tries ; and muchdj^g^tisfj£lian--Sgas excited
against the government, particularly in the
northern provinces ; which, while reaping com
paratively few of the advantages conferred on
the metropolis by the arrival of the Royal family,4
were yet subjected to their full share of the
, additional burthens. The result was the secret
organization, in 1814. of a democratical associ
ation in Pernambuco, with the express object
' of forming a republican government. In the
ideas of the conspirators, there was doubtless
much exaggeration : but with North America on
the one hand, and the colonies of Spain already
engaged in the struggle for their independence %
on the other, it was perhaps no more than natu
ral. Few, and least of all the uninstructed, can
form a due estimate of their own deficiencies.
The consciousness of increasing discontent, and
a fear lest Brazil should follow the example of
her Spanish neighbours, meanwhile induced the
Prince Regent, during the following year, to ele
vate this immense territory to the degree of a
constituent part of Portugal and Algarve ; a
concession, which, had the object of the conspi
rators in Pernambuco been solely that of throw
ing off the European yoke, might alone have put
a check to their proceedings. They were, how
ever, equally bent on the adoption of representa
tive institutions, and were procee3uigTn~the de-
velopmenTof nEEeiFplans of insurrection . when

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 19
early in 1817, they were betrayed to the govern-
ment. Being thus compelled to take up arms
prematurely, they were but ill prepared to re
sist the disciplined troops despatched against
them from Bahia, by the Count dos Arcos.
After a number of indecisive skirmishes, they
were finally defeated on the 16th of May, on the
plains of Ipojuco. Domingues Jose Martins,
their General, was shortly afterwards executed,
with a number of his colleagues, and the re
maining leaders were either exiled, or thrown
into prison.
During the course of these events, several
changes took place within the bosom of the
Royal family. The dowager Queen of Portugal,
who had long been in a state of mental imbe
cility, died on the 20th of March, 1816, and the
Regent succeeded to the throne by the title of
Don John VI. A marriage was also negotiated
during the same year, between Don Pedro, the
heir apparent to the crown, and the Arch
duchess Leopoldina Carolina Josepha, daughter
of the Emperor of Austria ; and on the 5th of
November, 1817, the vessel bearing the future
Empress arrived in the harbour of Rio de
Janeiro. During the three succeeding years, which
were undistinguished by any events worthy of
record, there was perfect tranquillity. On the
occasion of the revolt in Pernambuco, a body of
c~2 ~~"

20 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
troops, which took the name of the auxiliary
division, had been brought over from Portugal.
In its ranks were comprised four battalions of
infantry of the line, a battalion of light infantry,
and a brigade of artillery. Of these a battalion
of infantry was quartered in Pernambuco, ano
ther in Bahia, and the remainder were retained
in Rio de Janeiro. From this period, the Bra
zilian troops were treated with but little con-
sideration. The Portuguese general, Vicente
Antonio de" Oliveira, in an address to the King,
formally requested that all Brazilians should
for the future be declared incompetent to the
fulfilment of any higher post than that of cap
tain. The requisition was of course treated
with inattention, yet all the highest ranks in the
army were thenceforward conferred almost ex-
J clusively on the Portuguese. ~The~seed"s~of dis
content were thus disseminated by the very
means intended for its suppression ; andmur-
murs were excited, which, however, as yet found
ncTecho ; thegnjy printing press hitherto per
mitted in Rio, the Royal one, being under
the immediate censorship of the authorities.
Through its medium, lhe~pubhc were" duly and
faithfully informed, concerning the health of all
the Princes in Europe. Official edicts, birth-day
odes, and panegyrics on the reigning family,
also from time to time illumined its pages;
which were unsullied either by the ebullitions

HISTORY Ot BRAZIL. 21
of democracy, or the exposure of grievances.
TcThave judged of Brazil by its only journal, it
must certainly have been deemed a terrestrial
paradise, where no word of complaint had ever
yet found utterance.
Such was the existing state of affairs in the
newly created kingdom, when, in October 1820,
intelligence arrived of the revolt in Portugal, in
favour of a Constitutional government.,.

CHAPTER II.
Insurrection, and subsequent convocation of the Cortes in Portugal —
Manifesto to the Portuguese nation — Declaration of Para, Ma
deira, Bahia and Monte Video, in favour of the Constitution — Dis
orders in Pernambuco — Measures adopted by the government in
Rio de Janeiro — Acceptance of the Portuguese Constitution —
Resolution of Don John to return to Portugal — Elections —
Effects of the late changes on the disposition of the native inhabit
ants of Rio — Meeting, and subsequent massacre in the Exchange-
Impatience of Don Pedro to assume the regency — Nullification of
the acts of the 21st of April — Change of ministry — Predictions of
the counsellors of Don John VI. — Departure of the Kino- and
his parting charge to Don Pedro.
The commerce of Portugal had suffered severe
ly by the opening of the ports of Brazil in 1810,
and the jealousy of her inhabitants had since
been roused by the elevation of their former
colony to the rank of a kingdom. They were,
moreover, becoming impatient of a despotism
unsupported by the pomp of Royalty; and now,
on the conclusion of the war in Europe, when
even Spain and Italy attempted to organize Con
stitutional governments, Portugal, stimulated
by example, also rose and demanded the con
vocation of Cortes for the formation of a Con
stitutional charter. As early as the eleventh

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 23
century, there had existed in Portugal " States
General," or Cortes, composed jointly of the
Clergy, the Nobility, and the Deputies of the
principal towns. More than a hundred years had
elapsed since the last assembly of this body had
been held, but its existence had never been for
mally abolished. The present convocation was
thus regarded rather as the resumption of an
ancient, though long-neglected right, than as an
innovation, and was hailed with universal re
joicing among a people singularly attached to
their old institutions. The first insurrectionary
movement took place in Oporto, on the 24th of
August, 1820, and was immediately abetted by
the military. Lisbon manifested similar senti
ments on the 15th of September following, and a
general session of the Cortes wras finally held in
Lisbon, in the month of January, 1821. Here
one of their first acts was to publish a manifesto,
formally addressed to the Portuguese nation,
wherein, adverting to the present retrograde
situation of Portugal, all their chief misfortunes
were traced jointly to tiie residence of the Royal
family, and the Court in Rio de Janeiro, and to
the enactment opening the ports of Brazil to the
vessels of all nations : the latter measure being
more particularly deprecated, as the cause of
an almost entire extinction of both the manu
factures and commerce of Portugal.
Intelligence of the primary movements in

24 HISTORY OF BRAZIL
Oporto and Lisbon, in the meantime, reached the
ultra-marine dominions, where they produced a
powerful sensation. The troops stationed in
Para, as well as the inhabitants, declared for
the popular cause ; and the island of Madeira,
the city of Bahia, and the garrison stationed in
Monte Video, speedily followed their example.
In Pernambuco alone the military kept aloof
from the people. This province had, ever since
its subjugation in 1817, been confided to the go
vernment of Luiz de Rego Barreto, a military
officer, who, being furnished with full powers
for the suppression of any future attempts at
revolt, had sometimes availed himself of them
with extreme severity. This rigorous line of con
duct naturally led to much discontent, and on the
arrival of the intelligence of the late events in
"Portugal, a considerable number of the inhabit
ants of the province assembled in a small town
situated about thirty-six leagues from the capi
tal, and declared, that unless a Constitutional
system of government were adopted, and their
grievances redressed, J the v wouTHlioTon gee, ac
knowledge subjection to the Court, of Rio. The
Rqyjtl troops were, however, sent out against
them, and after a sharp conflict, the insurgents*
who were but indifferently organized, were'
obliged to disperse.
In Rio.de Janeiro, where the authority of the
government was more complete, and where

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 25
there were fewer abuses, the effects of po
pular opinion were manifested with less_energy.
All classes, and more particularly the native
Portuguese, were nevertheless loud in their ex-
pressions of sympatlry_withjhe inhabitants of
the peninsula ; and in order to prevent any un
timely "explosion , a Council of state, at the head
of which was the Marquis de Alegrete, a noble
man of little talent, and less education, was con
vened by the government, for the purpose of
deciding on the most advisable measures. After
an interval of anxious uncertainty, a Manifesto
dated the 18th of February, 1821, was made pub
lic on the 21st of the same month, wherein his
Majesty announced his intention of sending Don
Pedro to Portugal, with full powers to treat
with the Cortes, and to consult with them con
cerning the Constitution. It was also promised
to adopt in Brazil all such parts of the Consti
tution agreed upon, as might be found appli^
cable and expedient.
The effect produced by this declaration proved
very different from what was anticipated. The
intimation of his Majesty announced an inten
tion, to modify the Constitution previously to
its adoption in Brazil ; and to this, both the Por
tuguese and Brazilians were alike opposed . <
Though without any very clear perceptions on
the point, both were eager for the extension of
the sphere of their personal liberties, and on the

26 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
morning of the 26th of February, the auxiliary di
vision of Portuguese military, who were, in parti
cular, determined to have their full share of the
benefits which the newly established system
was expected to shower down on their comrades
in the mother country, marched in a body to the
Largo de Rocio, a large square near the centre
of the city, for the purpose of explicitly demand-
ing that the Constitution _of Portugal should,
when promulgated, be adopted in Brazil. A
number" of ^citizens connected with the move
ment, also convoked a meeting in the saloon of
the Theatre adjoining, where they were shortly
joined by the Princes, Don Pedro and Don
Miguel, who were hailed on arrival with cries of
" Viva el Rey !" — " Viva a Constituicab !"
Here, after the representation of the insur
gents had been laid before the Prince royal, Don
Pedro, the Municipality of the city was sum
moned, and his Highness coming forward on the
verandah of the Theatre, read to the people and
troops assembled in the square below, a decree.
whereby an unreserved acceptance was given byl
the Monarch to the future Constitution nf th&
Cortes. The two Princes afterwards made oath,
both in the name of the King, and their own, to
observe and fulfil the dictates of this Constitu
tion. On the conclusion of which ceremony,
the nomination of a new Ministry was also

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 27
insisted on, and this demand was also con
ceded. The joy resulting from these concessions was
excessive. An immense crowd marched on to
San Christovao, the country seat of the King,
and insisted on dragging his carriage to the
city, an honour with which Don John would
gladly have dispensed. Unaccustomed to the
unrestrained exhibition of popular feeling, he
had, from the period when he received intelli
gence of the revolution in the mother country,
been a prey to continual terrors. The only
burthen of his conversation was the fate of
Louis XVI ; and on the present occasion, when
the populace took the horses from his carriage,
such was his trepidation, that he swooned away.
On his arrival in the city, he, however, instantly
ratified the oath already made by the Princes ;
when all the public functionaries, and other indi
viduals of note in Rio de Janeiro, subsequently
followed the example of the Royal family : and
thus the Constitution, the basis of which had
not even beenjjrojected. was universally sworn
to. "Public festivities were in consequence re
solved upon, and the city was illuminated for
nine successive evenings.
Before many more days had elapsed, the ce
lebrated Manifesto issued by the Cortes of Lis
bon was received ; a document which, while

28 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
productive of the most serious apprehensions to
the Brazilians, was yet greeted with still in
creasing satisfaction by the Portuguese. This
latter class had long beheld with jealousy the
gradual extension of foreign commerce, whilst
that of Portugal was day by day diminishing.
This result, which, doubtless, arose principally
from the progress which all other nations were
making in the manufacturing arts, while Por
tugal remained inactive, they regarded as the
natural consequence of a free trade ; and they
entertained hopes that, by placing Brazirunder
the authority of the Cortes, and compelling the
Royal family to return to Portugal, they might
againjbe invested with the exclusive monopoly
of all Brazilian commerce.
A conspiracy was in fact said to have been
formed, with the co-operation of the auxiliary di
vision, for the express purpose of accomplishing
this object; but from all the evidence that can
be collected on the point, it does not appear that
it had any fixed plan. The sympathy of the
European residents and military with the pro
ceedings of the Cortes, was nevertheless obvious;
and his Majesty was, in consequence, induced
much against his own wishes, to sign a decree
dated on the 7th of March, wherein he stateoTiTs
intention of returning to Lisbon, and leaving the
kingdom of BrazITnTthe charge of Don Pedro,
until the general Constitution of the Portuguese

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 29
nation should be established. On the same day
instructions for the election of Deputies to the_
Cortes of Lisbon were issued; and in the ab
sence ofarryl:e^ulliIion^^om the Cortes on this
head, the elections were to take place in the
manner established in the Spanish Constitution.
The people were to nominate commissioners ;
these Commissioners, the parish electors ; these
parish electors, the provincial electors; and
these provincial electors, the Deputies.
The gradual development of the preceding
events had in the meantime awakened a spirit
which had never on any previous occasion mani-~
tested itself among the native inhabitants of
Rio de Janeiro. In the primary movements in
this city the European Portuguese had taken
precedence of the Brazilians, who had in the first
instance held back from timidity ; but from the
increased enthusiasm with which they entered
into the elections, from the projects of instruc
tions which were sketched out for the government
of their Deputies to Portugal, and from the
opposition manifested to all the plans of what
they already began to term re-colonization, the
Portuguese faction was made aware that in the
peopte they^adltblrEormasters~and not slaves^
Already they regretted having marched with too
great precipitancy, but it was impossible to re
tract. Their only remedy was to dissemble their
chagrin, and to take the first opportunity to

30 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
crush this nascent impulse. An apt occasion
for which, was unfortunately not far distant.
The parochial elections had been satisfac
torily completed, when the Chief magistrate of
the metropolis, Ouvidor da Comarca, in con
formity with the orders of his Majesty, convoked
a meeting of the electors, for the purpose of
acquainting them with the purport of a decree
whereby DonJPedro was placed at the head of
the provisional government, to be established on
the departure of the King. This superfluous
convocation it appears extremely difficult to ac
count for ; excepting by the generally received
hypothesis, that Don John, aware of the hos
tility of the majority of the electors to his de
parture, was anxious to obtain their suffrages
in favour of his stay, as an off-set to the Por
tuguese Manifesto. Be this as it may, the meet
ing took place on the evening of the 21st of
April, in the New Exchange ; when a tumul
tuous discussion ensued, which is in the outset
said to have been fomented by the emissaries
of the King, who were stationed in the crowd
for the express purpose of opposing the intention
notified in the decree. The result was one which
might have been anticipated. The confusion
ere long attained such a height, that the Presi
dent found himself utterly unable either to direct
or to control the deliberations of the meeting.
Unacquainted with the forms of deliberate as-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 31
semblies, and influenced by exaggerated ideas
as to the extent of their qualifications, the elec-
tors proceeded to decree measures, not only af
fecting tue generaLinterests of the nation, but
also the august person of His most Faithful
Majesty. Such was the warmth excited, that the
few were overruled by the many, and resolu
tions of the most violent import were absolutely
carried by acclamation. The Generals Curado,
and Moraes, were sent off to the fortresses of
Santa Cruz, Villagalhon, and Lage, to intimate
that the departure of the squadron fitting out for
the conveyance of the King to Portugal should
be prevented. Au outcry was also made that
the treasure which had been conveyed on board
should again be disembarked ; and finally, from
a well founded apprehension that the Constitu
tion formed by the Cortes might be constructed
in such a manner as to favour the interests of
Portugal, at the expense of those of Brazil,
it was decided that the Spanish Constitution ,
should be the one adopted, and that a deputa
tion should be forthwith sent to the King to re
quire its immediate acceptance.
This deputation was at once despatched to the
Palace, and there ushered into the presence of
the feeble-minded Monarch ; who not only re
ceived the members with urbanity, but before
their departure, gave his assent to a decree,
whereby the Spanish Constitution, which it is

32 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
not probable that he had ever seen, was or
dered to be put in observance. With which re
ply the Deputation returned to the Exchange,
where they were greeted with the most enthu
siastic acclamations.
Intelligence of these important occurrences in
the meantime spread through the city, and the
Portuguese troops began to assemble in the
Largo de Rocio. The electors, on being inform
ed of this, decided that the General Carlos Fred-
erico de Caula, Governor-at-arms, should be sum
moned for the purpose of giving information re
lative to the movement of the armed force. The
General accordingly presented himself to the
electors, and pledged his word of honour in favour
of the good intentions of the troops, and of
his profound respect for the electoral College.
Satisfied with this promise, the deliberations
were continued much in the same style as before,
uhlilnearly three in the morning ; when a com
pany of the auxiliary division arrived, and,
without the slightest warning, fired a volley of
musquetry on the^unarmed electors, and those
around them ; and afterwards carried the place
at the point of the bayonet. Fortunately, the
majority had already retired, and the results
were less fatal than might have been antici
pated ; but three individuals were killed on the
spot, and upwards of twenty wounded.
The order given to the troops to inarch on the

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 33
electoral college is generally attributed to Don
Pedro. He isknown to have been amongst them
in the Largo de Rocio, on the evening in ques
tion, and there are cogent reasons for believing
that no[ one was more anxious than the Prince
to facilitate the departure of his Royal parents.
A mutual coolness hsfd long subsisted between
them, and Don Pedro had betrayed frequent
symptoms of impatience at the subordinate
station which he had hitherto held; and, as
well as his chief adviser and confidant, the
Count dos Arcos, he was known to have har
boured the most bitter animosity against the
existing Ministry. That nobleman, the ex-Go
vernor of Bahia, is generally accused of having
fomented the ambition of the Prince from a hope,
that, in case of the elevation of his patron, he
would be created Prime Minister ; and if this
were so, the result proves that his calculations
were not ill-founded. The proposal of being ap
pointed to the Regency had proved highly grati
fying to Don Pedro. He had left Portugal at
an early age, with but little regret ; and the
Count dos Arcos had subsequently inflamed his
young imagination with the most exalted ideas
of the magnificent resources of Brazil. Eager,
therefore, to obtain the expected dignity, and
fearful lest the departure of Don John should
be inopportunely prevented by the pertinacity
of the electors, he is said to have adopted the
VOL. i. d

34 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
arbitrary measure of dissolving the meeting in
the Exchange by an armed force. It is, how
ever, only just to add, that this hypothesis is as
yet supported by circumstantial evidence alone.
Throughout the city of Rio de Janeiro the
depth of consternation succeeded to the deli
rium of excitement. The public places of resort
were deserted, the operations of commerce were
suspended, and for the space of several weeks
this bustling metropolis bore the unnatural ap
pearance of a city of the dead. The King took
advantage of this depression, and on the 22d of
April issued a Decree annulling all that had
been enacted on the preceding evening ; as well
as another, conferring on Don Pedro the dignity
and attributes of Regent, and Lieutenant to his
Majesty in the Kingdom of Brazil. A new Mi
nistry was also formed, the members of which
were, the Count de Louzaa, Minister of Finance;
the Count dos Arcos, Minister of Justice, the
Home department and Foreign affairs ; Manoel
Antonio Farinha for the Marine department,
and Carlos Frederico de Caula, hitherto Com
mander of the Portuguese troops, as Minister of
War. On the day following, two Proclamations
were published , inculcatin g fidelity to the Regent;
and on the evening of the 24th of April, the
King, with the remaining members of his family,,,
embarked on board the line-of-battle ship, Don
John VI.

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 35
The Counsellors of the unfortunate Monarch,
and more particularly Silvestre Pinheiro Fer-
reira, Minister for the Foreign Department, had
already foreseen the direction which public af
fairs would ere long take in Brazil. Habituated
to the presence of a local government, this
country would not now, they predicted, submit
itself anew to the inconveniences, and still less
to the humiliation, of a government situated on
the other side of the Atlantic. The Cortes
would, they feared, but irritate that jealousy,
the germs of which were already springing up ;
and they already regarded a speedy separation
of the two countries as inevitable ; unless, on his
arrival in Portugal, the King should succeed in
closing the sessions of the Portuguese legis
lature. These considerations had made a profound
impression on the mind of Don John ; who very
naturally felt all a parent's repugnance to the
thought, that this immense territory should thus
be for ever lost as an heritage to the House of
Braganza. He was on the other hand incensed
against the Prince royal, for having assisted in
forcing his return from Rio de Janeiro ; and
before sailing on the morning of the 26th, he is
said to have addressed some strong reproaches to
his Highness. When, however, the anchor was up,
the vessel under way, and the old King strained
his son to his bosom for the last time, — " Pedro,"
d 2

36 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
exclaimed he,—" Brazil will, I fear, ere long se
parate herself from Portugal ; and if so, place
the Crown on thine own head, rather than allow
it to fall into the hands of any adventurer !"
In the same fleet with his Majesty, were all
the principal nobility who had accompanied him
from Portugal, along with their adherents, form
ing altogether a suite of more than three thou
sand individuals ; in which number were com
prised the chief capitalists of the metropolis;
and immense sums in specie were in conse
quence withdrawn from the Bank on this occa
sion.

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 37

CHAPTER III.
Character of Don Pedro — Measures adopted subsequently to the depar
ture of the King — Reception of the bases of the Portuguese con
stitution — Insurrection of the 5th of June, 1821. — Establishment of
provincial governments — Influence of the Portuguese party — Straits
of the Administration in Rio — Suspension of payments by the Na
tional Bank — Sketch of the history of that establishment — Change
in the sentiments of Don Pedro, in consequence of his embarrass
ments.
Don Pedro was at this period in the twenty-
third year of his age, and was the father of two
children, Don John Carlos, Prince De Beira>
and the Princess Donna Maria de Gloria. He
was of a handsome person, his manners were
frank and affable, and his disposition, though
capricious, was enthusiastic. Many essentials
for popularity he certainly possessed : how far
he was otherwise qualified for the fulfilment of
the high functions imposed upon him, will best
be seen in the sequel. One of his first cares,
after the departure of the King, was as far as
possible to check that growing spirit of disunion
between the Brazilians and the Portuguese,
which was daily becoming more and more evi
dent; for which purpose he gave frequent ban-

38 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
quets, to which the mjUtary_officers o£ both
countries were indiscriminately invited. Here
botbTparties made their appearance, dissembled
their resentments, feasted together, and left each
other as irreconcileable enemies as ever. The
situation of the Prince was certainly one of some
difficulty. On the one hand, the manifest inti
macy existing between him and the officers of
the auxiliary division, after, as well as before, the
revolt of the 21st of April, became highly offen
sive to the Brazilians ; whilst, on the other, the
Ministry of the Count dos Arcos, who was sus
pected by the Portuguese of being more strongly
attached to the interests of Brazil than to those
of the mother country, proved equally displeas
ing to these praetorian supporters of the authority
of Don Pedro. The Administration was also in
financial difficulties. The preceding government
had left an empty treasury, and the national
Bank was, from previous mismanagement, so
much impoverished, that it was on the point of
suspending its payments. A rigid and inflex
ible system of economy was thus an object of
supreme necessity ; and, principally through the
influence of the Count dos Arcos, who was pos
sessed of both tact and energy, it was carried
into effect, as well in the domestic establishment
at San Christovao, as throughout the various
branches of the Administration. Many decrees
exhibiting a lively interest inthe public welfare

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 39
were also published, and several oppressive im
posts abolished ; yet these demonstrations were,
it must be owned, regarded by all parties with
suspicion rather than gratitude : being, it was
feared, no more than schemes for popularity,
hazarded for the purpose of again cementing the
tottering edifice of absolute power.
In the mean time the election of the Brazilian
deputies for the Cortes of Lisbon was completed.
The bases of the Portuguese Constitution were
also received in Rio de Janeiro, where, on their
arrival, though they were regarded by all parties
as founded on just and reasonable principles,
yet the Prince resolved to postpone the convo
cation of the authorities, who ought to make
oath to them, until he should receive intelligence
of the events succeeding to the entry of his most
faithful Majesty into Lisbon.
This delay not only gave rise to much dis
satisfaction among the Portuguese party, but
very materially tended to confirm their appre
hensions that, the Prince, in conjunction with
the Count dos Arcos, might yet annul all that
had hitherto been done, and re-establish, or
rather continue, the old system. The known
character and sentiments of the Minister most
undoubtedly gave some weight to this supposi
tion, but, fortunately for the accuracy of history,
the correspondence of Don Pedro with his
father has since been made public ; and it must

40 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
be confessed, that no sufficient ground for this
opinion can be adduced. Under an impression
of its validity, however, the auxiliary division
organized a second insurrectionJ_which was put
in force on the 5th of June, 1821 ; on which day
they again marched to the Largo de Rocio, and
there demanded that the bases of the Consti
tution lately transmitted from Portugal should
forthwith be sworn to. Though highly incensed
at this rebellious conduct, Don Pedro, after con
voking the provincial electors, and ascertaining
that their sentiments were in accordance with
those of the troops, took the oath required be
fore the Bishop of Rio and the Municipality ; in
which example he was immediately imitated by
the entire assemblage. No sooner had he thus
far acceded to the wishes of the revolters, than
they further required that the Count dos Arcos
should be dismissed from the Ministry, that the
command of the armed force should be placed
in the hands of a military commission, and that
a Junta, responsible to the Cortes of Lisbon,
should be appointed, without whose approbation
no law should be promulgated, nor any impor
tant business decided upon. His Highness found
himself under the necessity of acceding to .all
these d£ominds_-also ; ancTPedlo Alvarez" Deniz
was appointed to the Ministry in place of the
Count dos Arcos, who was despatched to Lisbon.
A Junta and a Military Commission were also

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 41
organized ; but the former was shortly after re
duced to a nullity, and the latter speedily dis
solved itself, by the mutual consent of its mem
bers. Other sources of chagrin were, in the mean
time, rapidly contributing to disgust the Prince
with his lately acquired authority. By a law,
dated the 24th of April, 1821, the Cortes of Lis-
bondeclared, that all the provinciaj^ovornments
which should detach themselves from Iheir com
mon centre, Rio de Janeiro, and subject them
selves to the immediate administration of the
tribunals of Portugal, would be well deserving
of their country. The result of which disorgan-
izingjjeeree, was the instantaneous formation of
a crowd of jjgtty provisional municipal govern-
ments throughout Brazil ; each£prresrjojiding
directly with the Cortes of Lisbon, and each re
fusing anylUnger to payus quota towards the
revenue of Rio de Janeiro. The alleged ground
of this separation from their natural centre, was
an apprehension that the Prince was only wait
ing a favourable opportunity to invest himself
with absolute power; and this opinion was in all
parts eagerly fomented by the commercial class,
consisting almost exclusively of native Portu
guese, who were, as has been before stated,
strongly stimulated by a hope that the Cortes
would speedily re-invest them with all their an
cient privileges and immunities. Every fo-

42 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
reigner they considered as an interloper, and the
treaty of commerce which had been effected with
the English in 1810, was the especial object of
their vituperation.
Such was the influence of this party in the
city of Bahia, that the provisional Junta who had
held the reins of goverrmierrt-4fir-tilSf~province
ever since its first manifestation in favour of the
Constitution, explicitly refused to acknowledge
the authority of Don Pedro as Regent ; on the
ground that his nomination ought to have eman
ated from the Cortes, and not from the King, and
that consequently the decree of the 22nd of April
was null and void. As a further proof of their
loyalty to the government of Portugal, they also
requested from thence an additional number of
troops, to maintain the existing relations of the
two countries. These manifestations were too
flattering to the Cortes not to be well received.
They declared them to be essentially constitu
tional, and immediately shipped off to Brazil the
detachments required. The colonial system,
which the merchants in Bahia testified a wish to
revive, also met with their entire approbation, and
their acknowledgments. Thus, though nomin
ally the Regent of Brazil, Don Pedro found him-*
self in reality no more than the simple Governor
of Rio de Janeiro, and one or two of the south
ern provinces ; in the greatest difficulties from
the falling off of the revenue, and yet surround-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 43
ed by a numerous and expensive administra
tion : while, to add to his financial embarrass
ments, the NatinnaLFiank suspended its pay
ments on the 28th of July, 1821.
This establishment, the history of which is so
intimately interwoven with the subsequent poli
tical history of Brazil, was first instituted by a
Royal decree, dated the 21st of October, 1808,
under the denominaton of the Bank of Brazil ;
and the duration of its charter fixed at twenty
years. The shareholders were responsible to
no further extent than the amount of their re
spective shares ; and its capital was one thou
sand, two hundred contos of reis, which at par,
amounted to £337,500 sterling, in shares of one
conto of reis each ; which capital was, however,
in the first instance doubled, and afterwards
trebled. All suits and actions against Bank.
stock were null.
The projected operations of the Bank were
the discounting of bills ; advances on mortgaged
property, silver, gold, and diamonds ; the trans
mission of the funds of individuals, and the
Treasury, to all parts of Brazil, or abroad ; the
reception of deposits at the legal rate of inter
est ; the sale of the Royal monopolies, such as
diamonds, Brazil wood, ivory, and orchilla weed ;
and the purchase and sale of bullion. Its ad
ministration was placed in the hands of forty
shareholders ; by whom a Junta was chosen an-

44 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
nually from their own number, who were again
placed under the presidency of four directors.
This Junta was to have the disposal of the
funds of the Bank, and the directors were ap
pointed for the scrutiny of its various transac
tions. All disputes to be decided by a general
meeting of the proprietors.
The nomination of the members of the Junta
and directors of the Bank, was in the first in
stance vested in the Regent, and afterwards in
the general assembly of shareholders, subject
to the royal confirmation. Five-sixths of the
dividends accruing to the proprietors were to be
paid every six months ; the remaining sixth
being retained in the coffers of the Bank as a
fund of reserve, on account of which they were
to receive five per cent, per annum. Foreigners
were allowed to hold shares, but not to take any
part in the direction.
Much unwillingness was in the outset dis-
played by both Brazilian and Portuguese capi
talists, to invest their fjindsin this novelinstittt-
tioju^ nor was it until the King made known his
intention of conferring the honours of knight
hood on all the principal shareholders, that a
sufficient sum could be raised for the commence
ment of operations. Such, however, was then
the eagerness to obtain the flattering distinction,
that many unprovided with the necessary amount
of property, took the specified number of shares,

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 45
and left the actions unpaid for in the coffers of
the Bank as security. These shares were in the
half yearly statements of the directors counted
as metallic currency ; yet, whenever the dividend
fell due, many of them are known to have been
privately delivered over to their nominal owners,
and after the full amount of interest had been
paid upon them, to have been again placed in
deposit in the coffers of the Bank. The direc
tors are also known to have made a practice of
discounting bills for their own peculiar benefit,
with the funds belonging to the establishment :
which they were enabled to do with complete
impunity, since publicity on these points formed
no part of their system.
It was not to be expected that an association
thus constituted could long be prevented from
becoming a willing instrument in the hands of
a despotic government. It was the interest of
the Bank to lend, and it was also the momen
tary interest of the government to borrow. Loans
upon loans of paper money were in consequence
made to the Treasury ; but as neither the capital,
nor the responsibility, of the Bank were in
creased, this paper money was not the represen
tative of any real value. TJhe_jjrjQpxLeiars— of
Bank stock nevertheless received their full rate
of interest upon it ; and the consequence was
that their gains were enormous. Yet neither
these gains, nor the lucrative system of fraud

46 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
adopted by the directors, and other chief func-
tionaries of the institution, could long support
their increased extravagance. Dazzled by their
apparently inexhaustible resources, they forsook
their commercial occupations, adopted the man
ners of the Court, and entered upon a style of
living unrivalled even by the nobility. At length,
the Treasurer abandoned his family, and fled to
the United States ; carrying with him the funds
of an Insurance company, with which he was
also entrusted ; and out of the four individuals
appointed to the directorship, — one declared
himself a bankrupt, yet having secured the
bulk of his property to his sons, to whom he
acted as guardian, was enabled to enjoy his
illicit gains with impunity; another retired from
trade insolvent, and was never able to reimburse
the sums which he had taken as a loan from
the Bank ; and a third, after having for a long
time sheltered himself under the protection of
a corrupt Ministry, failed for an enormous
amount, the greater part of which consisted in
a debt due to the bank. Thus was an institu
tion, created at an epoch when Brazil had
opened her ports to the commerce of all na
tions, and which under judicious management
might have proved an important source of pros
perity, and given a material stimulus to that
commerce itself, perverted to the most mis
chievous and criminal purposes.

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 47
At the time when Don John left Brazil, the
Government debt to the Bank alone amounted
to considerably more than the actual capital of
the establishment: whilst the entire suite ac
companying his Majesty to Portugal, having
sent all the Bank paper in their hands to be
exchanged for bullion, the Junta were reduced
to the greatest poverty, and on the 28th of July
following, being unable any longer to take up
their issues in specie, they found themselves
under the necessity of substituting a certain
form of exchange ; as for example, for a note of
one hundred milreis, Rs. 75||000 were given in
small notes, Rs. 15||000 in silver, and Rs. 10||000
in copper ; a measure constituting injactjjms-*,
pension of payments.
TFEis nriancTal crisis was not, however, at the
moment, productive of any violent commotion ;
as the less instructed part of the population
were taught to attribute the consequent depre
ciation of the Bank paper to the Balance of
trade, — a groundless panic, and the want
of a circulating medium ! If they were not
convinced, they were at least mystified, and do
not appear to have regarded the late measures
on the part of the Bank with any adequate
alarm. These adverse circumstances, in con
junction with the seditious spirit of the Portu-
guese troops, nevertheless succeeded in giving
Don Pedro the most hearty disgust for the

48 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
office and attributes which he then held ; and,
accordingly, on the 21st of September, we find
him addressing his Royal father in the following
words : —
" With the permission of your Majesty, I will
lay before you the unhappy and lamentable
situation of this province ; to the end, that
your Majesty may transmit me such orders, as
will enable me to retire with dignity from the
fatal labyrinth wherein I find myself en
tangled. " This province, Sire, was for thirteen years
considered as the seat of the monarchy, and it
was so in reality : — circumstances had thus or
dained it. All the authorities ordinarily con
centrated in a metropolis were here established,
and in default of a sufficient revenue, all the
other provinces contributed their share. The
Bank, moreover, enjoyed a certain credit ; there
were precious metals in its coffers ; there was
but little copper coin, and the little that there
was, circulated freely ; thanks to the honourable
reputation of the Bank.
" Fortunate circumstances having restored the
Monarchy to its ancient and primitive seat, all
the provinces of Brazil adhered, as in duty
bound, to the national cause. The Bank, mean
while, has been brought into discredit by its
administrators, who have dissipated its funds.
Gold and silver have been withdrawn from cir-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 49
dilation, no province remits funds, and yet all
the Ministers, all the principal members of the
administration, continue to reside here; and the
dependents living at the expense of the State
are innumerable. Meanwhile, the only funds
paid into the Treasury, are the revenues of the
province, and these are paid only in paper. It
is, nevertheless, necessary to maintain as here
tofore, a multitude of functionaries, the staff of
an entire army, and numerous tribunals ; and, as
I have before said, there are no longer any
finances, nor do I know how to obtain them.
Such is a faithful picture of the unfortunate
situation of this province.
" I supplicate your Majesty, by all that is
most sacred, to relieve me from these painful
functions, beneath the burthen of which I can
no longer exist. Horrible visions continually
surround me. Some already are beneath my
eyes ; others more dreadful are in prospect.
They are continually before me, and I conjure
your Majesty to permit me, as soon as possible,
again to kiss your royal hand, and to reseat
myself on the steps of your throne."

VOL. I.

50 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.

CHAPTER IV.
Measures adopted by the Cortes of Lisbon— Suppression of the tribu
nals, and recal of the Prince — Appointment of Governors-at-
Arms — Aspirations for Independence — Effects of the Abolition of
the Censorship— Patriotism of the Secular Clergy— Proclamatiou
of the 4th of October, 1821 — Attestation of Don Pedro— Effect of
the Decrees of the 29th of September — Preparations for the Re
gent's Departure — State of Parties — Address from San Paulo-
Andrada Family — Address of the Municipality of Rio — ConseDt of
the Prince to remain in Brazil — Revolt of the Auxiliary Division
in consequence — Ejection of the Portuguese Troops — Convocation
of a Council of State — Dissensions in Pernambuco and Bahia.
The Coxtes_oX Lisbon were in the mean time
\ proceeding in their labours, with but little con-
sidgration for the npinjons_of thepeople-ioi'
whom they were legislating ; excepting in those
! cases wherein they happened to agree with their
own. That their intentions were patriotic can
not be denied, but unfortunately their p^
trjotismwas of the most exclusive caste. Their
measures for doing away withT"the Inquisi
tion, for the admission of every citizen to
public offices, for the liberty of the press,
the establishment of legal equality, the abo
lition of the Royal veto, and of all secutor
/and ecclesiastical privileges, sufficiently indi-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 51
cate the spirit in which they were determined
to legislate for themselves ; yet, no sooner were
the affairs of Brazil on any occasion brought
before them, than their dispositions became as
aristocratical, as they had on other questions
been democratic.
By a decree of the 28th of July, 1821, it was
resolved, that the army ot Jfortugal and Bra-
zil should^ henceforth form but one body.
The object of this measure evidently was,
by enabling the government to call, at will, the
Brazilian troops to Portugal, and to despatch
the Portuguese to Brazil, thus to re^accom-
plishjthe subjection of the American portion_pf '
the kingdom. On receiving intelligence of the
increasing agitation throughout Brazil, and of
the refusal of the city of Bahia to acknowledge
the authority of the Regent, their conduct be ¦
came_still more arbitrary. Although not more
than one-fourth of the Brazilian deputies had
taken their seats, by a decree of the 29th of
September, the Chancery court, the Treasury,
the Junta of commerce, and all the various cen-'
tral tribunals and establishments, which had
been createdin Rjo^de-Janeiro during the reign
of Don John, were abolished ; whilst, by an
other decree of the same date, the Prince was
ordered to return to Lisbon, with the condition,
that "Before his entry into Portugal, he should
make a tour, incognito, through England, France,
e2

52 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
and Spain, for the purpose of completing his
political education.
Perhaps, more worthless and inefficient tribu
nals than those in Rio de Janeiro have, on the
whole, seldom had existence ; yet it would be dif
ficult to vindicate their suppression. In a Mani
festo which Portugal had addressed to the various
nations of Europe at the time when she reclaimed
her King, one of the principal grounds of com
plaint was, that justice was administered with
excessive delay and expense, from a distant*™0
six thousand miles ; andjyet, in the face of this
plea, she now attempted to subject Brazil, a
constituent part of the kingdom, to_the_same_:
disability. The recal/ of the Prince was, like
the abolition ofthlTtribunals, dictated by a wish
|to annihilate even the last vestige of the central
IWayernment, previously established in Rio de
Janeiro. To this succeeded another decree, dated the
1st of October, by which a Govern or- at- arms, de
puted by the executive power in Lisbon, and in
dependent of the provisional juntas, was ap
pointed to each province ; and, on the 18th of the
same month, it was also decided that further
detachments of troops should be sent off toPer^
nambuco, and Rio de Janeiro. It is, perhaps;
impossible to conceive a series of measures
better adapted to frustrate their own ends ; yet,
from the language of the Cortes, it might have

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 53
been assumed that they were conferring a
boon, which must necessarily be accepted with
gratitude. They asserted that this removal of
the tribunals must materially tend to multiply
the relations, and strengthen the bonds of union
existing between the two countries ; and that
the troops already sent to, and at present des
tined for Brazil, were Constitutional forces,
whose appearance must necessarily be gratify
ing to all the friends of liberty. The .Brazi
lians jxmld not, however, be made to compre
hend the force of this reasoning. They might
possibly have submitted to the decrees, if the rein
forcements had preceded them ; but as the Cortes
in their wisdom invariably sent out the decrees
first, and the troops destined for their enforcement
afterwards, symptoms of rebellion very soon be
came apparent.
As it has been before observed, the native
Brazilians had, in imitation of the European
residents, embraced the Constitutional cause
with ardour, because, by means of it. they_ex-
pgnted an amplification of their civil liberties .
When, on the contrary, they became convinced
that it was the intention of the Cortes to reduce
them once more to the condition of colonists,
they again stood apart from the Portuguese
faction, and determined, if possible, to achieve
their own independence. With the abolition of
the censorship, a host of energies, unknown

54 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
before, immediately evinced themselves through
out the whole social body ; and fiiejpress_began
to teem with periodical publications. Fortu
nately for the progress of humanity, the writings
of the Abbe de Pradt, on colonial policy, had
fallen into the hands of some of the chief lead
ers of public opinion in the city of Rio~ The
works of this author have since been super
seded in Europe, where their novelty is gone
by, and where less diffuse expositions of the
same principles have since appeared ; but the
soundness of his general maxims has since this
period only been confirmed. He was the first
papular writer on the continent who gave utter-
ance toTHaf celebrated sentiment, " Let Europe
look to Europe, and America to America, and
all will be well !" which truly prophetic words
Avere echoed back with the most ardent en
thusiasm among the early partizans of the in
dependence, in their conversation, in their cor
respondence, and, more than all, in their Sffr-
. sonic associations. Sentiments of a similar
tendency, though far more cautiously worded,
also from time to time made their appearance
in the newly instituted journals; and though, in
other respects, it must be owned that these
publications contained but little worthy of in
terest, yet they were, for the most part, edited
in a liberal spirit, and were not ill adapted to
the circumstances of the country. Until noj

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 55
the great mass of the free population had re
main^ in j^nuiance, buTtgnorance isjess diffi
cult to vanquish than prejudice. They had little
to unlearn, and the progress of truth was not
embarrassed at every step by that false know
ledge which is too often the bane of cultivated
Europe. The very insignificance of Portuguese
literature was here favourable to the progress of
the new philosophy.
It is also gratifying to record, and it may be
characterized as an important and interesting
fact, that the secular Clergvwere ever in the.
foremost rank throughout this moral struggle .
Being deprived of their tithes, they had neither
any piroperty to protect, nor any established
privileges or abuses to preserve. On the con
trary, they were animated with the same spirit
as the people, and regarded their interests as
bound up with those of the entire Brazilian
community. In general, they were certainly de
ficient in knowledge, and but too often licentious
in their habits, yet they were possessed of con
siderable influence, and this influence they uni
versally employed for the propagation and ge
neralization of liberal opinions.
In proportion, however, as the crisis ap
proached, the partizans of independence be
came more and more aware of the difficulties
of their enterprise. All the maritime cities of
Brazil were held by Portuguese troops, the

56 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
means of communication were difficult and
uncertain, and the provinces were divided
amongst themselves. Unless the co-opera
tion of the Prince could be obtained, it ap-
peared impossible that, either the centraliza
tion ofjthekingdom could be again established,
or a sanguinary and doubtful contest be avoided.
His Highness was therefore at once sounded on
the topic, and is said to have given the pro
moters of the scheme a favourable hearing;
though on subsequently discovering that the
Brazilians were without any regularly organized
party, that much confidence was still placed in
the Cortes, and that the auxiliary division were
still the virtual masters of the city, he appears
to have vacillated, and to have again recurred to
the scheme of following his Royal father to Por
tugal. The patriots nevertheless dej£rxain£d
on anjsffort, and as early as the 4th nf Ortnher,
proclamations were issued, deciaring Brazil in-
rlppPnrlpntj anrl Dnn Pedro emperor. This at
tempt, however, proved altogether. abortive, and
in addressing the King on the subject, his High
ness expressed himself against the conspirators
in the most violent language. " They have
wished," he observed, " and it is said that they
still wish, to proclaim me Emperor. I protest to
your Majesty, that I never will be perjured;
that I never will be false ; and that if they com
mit this folly, it will only be after having mas-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 57
sacred me, and my brave Portuguese adherents,
since I here swear to be always faithful to your
Majesty, and to the Portuguese nation and Con
stitution! a solemn oath, which I now trace with
my blood."
The force of this attestation, which, according
to its tenor, he actually traced with his own
blood, may certainly have some weight in evinc
ing the sincerity of the Prince at the moment
when the communication was penned ; yet it is
far from exonerating him from the guilt of hav
ing held secret council with the conspirators :
the belief in which charge appears to be con
firmed by the fact, that though a number of the
subordinate agents were arrested, no notice was
ever taken of the real heads of the conspiracy.
Though every hope of Don Pedro's co-operation
was thus for the moment excluded, the patriot
party were shortly after strengthened by a most
powerful reinforcement, whence they had least
expected it. On the arrival of the Decrees of the
29th of September, a phenomeniin — occurred
which does not appear to have at all entered
into the calculations of the Cortes. All the indi- |
viduals who were dispossessed of their offices by
the annihilation of the tribunals, were instanta
neously ^corrverjed^into^i2ied^p^lrio^ ; and, as
though transformed by some supernatural agen
cy, those who had crouched through the greater
part of their lives among the lowliest slaves of

58 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
power, now started up amongst the most noisy
and strenuous advocates for independence. The
decree for the recalf of the Prince naturally
gave birth also to an equally violent commotion
amongst all the old royalists, who began to ap
prehend, with much apparent justice, that if his
Highness were once allowed to depart, Monarchy
could never more be re-established in Brazil.
Don Pedro, nevertheless, prepared to obey the
intimation ; and orders were given for the elec
tion of a Junta, into whose hands the reins of
the government were to be confided, on his de
parture. As soon as the choice should be made,
he wrote to his father that he would immediately
set sail for Portugal. " All is at present quiet,"
said his Highness, " since the troops are united
and obedient, although too few for the service."
The outcry against his departure became,
however, day by day more general ; and this, too,
more especially, amongst a class whom none
could accuse of favouring either the cause of in
dependence, or any other innovation whatsoever.
Perhaps the singular aspect which the contend*
ing factions suddenly assumed at this juncture,
has seldom, if ever, been paralleled. Whilst on
the one hand, the Constitutional Portuguese
were disposed to support to the utmost, the late
arbitrary decrees of the Cortes ; on the other,
the bigoted and superstitious supporters of
legitimacy were unconsciously enlisted in the

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 59
cause of the patriots, under the impression, that
they were thus alike thwarting the operations
of the democratic Cortes, and preventing the
future establishment of a republican government
in Brazil.
In the city of San Paulo, which is situated
within a few days' journey of Rio de Janeiro,
and where the patriots were even stronger than
in the metropolis, their operations were also, on
this occasion, more prompt and decisive than
those of their partizans in that city! (Jn his
receiving the intelligence of the Prince's recall,
Joze Bonifacio de Andrada e Silva, the Vice-
president of the Provincial junta, summoned a
meeting of his colleagues at eleven o'clock
at night, and before they again separated, suc
ceeded in obtaining their signatures to an ad
dress, wherein his Highness was plainly told,
that his departure would be the signal for Bra-
zU__to declare her independence. " How dare
these deputies of Portugal," observed the Junta,
in this justly celebrated document, " without
waiting for those of Brazil, thus promulgate
laws affecting the most sacred interests of each
province of an entire kingdom ? How dare they
dismember and subdivide this kingdom, into a
number of isolated particles, possessing no com
mon centre of strength and union ? How dare
they deprive your Royal Highness of the Regency
with which your august father, our Monarch,

60 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
had invested you ? How dare they snatch from
Brazil the Tribunal instituted for the interpre
tation and modification of the laws (desembargo
do paco) ; the one for the general administration
of ecclesiastical affairs (mesa de consciencia e
ordens); the Council of finance (Conselho de
fazenda) ; the Tribunal of commerce (Junta de
commercio); the Court royal (Casadesuplicacao);
and so many other establishments calculated
for the public utility? To whom are the unfor
tunate people hereafter to address themselves,
touching their economical and judicial interests!
After having been for twelve years accustomed
to prompt redress, will they now undergo anew
the delays and the chicanery of the tribunals of
Lisbon? After all the deceitful promises of
reciprocal equality and fraternity, can any one
actually believe in the existence of this vile
stratagem ?"
In this same address the proviso that the
Regent should travel through Europe incognito,
before he was permitted to enter Portugal, was
also stigmatized as an insult which had excited
the public indignation even more than the out
rage on their affections, committed in the re
moval of the august heir to the house of Bra
ganza. Joze Bonifacio de Andrada, the individual
with whom these proceedings had their origin,
was_a_native o£_Lhe__province of San r^aulo;

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 61
and the eldest of three brothers, all of whom
had enjoyed the advantages of an education in
the college of Coimbra in Portugal ; whereTie took
his degree as Doctor in jurisprudence and
natural philosophy. He afterwards travelled
during several years in the northern countries of
Europe, devoting himself meanwhile to scien
tific researches, the results of which it was his
intention to publish in Brazil. On his return
to Portugal, he was created Professor of metal
lurgy in Coimbra, and of chemistry in Lisbon ;
and on the invasion of Portugal headed a corps
formed from among the students to repel the
intruders. Having, however, at length obtained
the requisite authority, he returned to Brazil in
1819. Antonio. Carlos, the second brother, who
had also taken the degree of Doctor in jurispru
dence and philosophy, had returned from Por
tugal at a much earlier period, and was exer
cising the office) of Ouvidor in Pernambuco,
when the revolt in 1817 took place. Being ar
rested as an accomplice of the conspirators, he
was sent down to Bahia, where he remained in
prison four years, which period he almost exclu
sively employed in instructing a number of his
fellow prisoners in rhetoric, foreign languages,
and the elements of judicial science. Being
at length liberated, he returned to San Paulo,
and was shortly afterwards elected Deputy
for that province, in the Cortes of Lisbon,

62 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
whither he had recently gone for the purpose of
exercising his functions. Martin Francisco, the
youngest, had also taken his degree as Doctor
of mathematics ; and of the entire family, it
may be remarked that, they were amongst the
'most intelligent and talented men in the coun
try. On the completion of the address to Don
Pedro, Joz6 Bonifacio immediately transmitted
it to Rio de Janeiro, whither he shortly after
wards prepared to follow it, for the purpose of
enforcing its arguments in person. A corres
ponding agitation had in the meantime evinced
itself in the province of JVlinas, where. similar
^proceedings were in progress ; when the inhabi
tants of Rio de Janeiro, on being made aware
of what was taking place, addressed themselves
also to the Municipality of the city as their only
representatives ; and in a Manifesto, to which
were attached upwards of eight thousand sig
natures, requested the interference of the Presi
dent with Don Pedro, to avert the execution
of the two late decrees of the Cortes. In
accordance with their wishes, Joze Clemenjfl
P^ereira, afterwards Minister, waited officially on
the Prince, on the 9th of January 1822, and after
presenting the Manifesto, proceeded to lay be
fore his Highness an exposition of the feelings
of the royalist, as well as of the patriot party,
concerning his departure. " Can it be possible,"

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 63
exclaimed the orator, in his address, which was
immediately afterwards published, " that your
Highness is still ignorant of the existence of a
republican party, disseminated through several,
if not all, the provinces of Brazil ? Are not a
number of the leaders of the explosion in 1817
still in existence ? And if so, are they not men
of energetic characters, whose ideas are not
likely to have changed ? What other opinion
will appear to them so well founded as their
own ? Does not public rumour announce it as
certain, that even in this city a fraction of their
party has acquired new vigour with the hope of
the departure of your Highness ? That its efforts .
to acquire strength, and to gain converts, are
unceasing ? And that it has lost courage only
at the aspect of the prevailing opinion which
calls for the residence of your Royal Highness in
Rio de Janeiro ?
" Let Brazil be endowed with a proximate
centre of union and activity ; let. her own a part
of the legislative, and a branch of the execu
tive power, with competent, extensive, and
liberal attributes ; but so regulated that there
will still be one only legislative, and one only
executive power ; one only Cortes, and one only
King ; that Portugal and Brazil may henceforth
form one only united family, one only people,
one only nation, one only empire.
"Remain, Prince, amongst us, to give the sove-

64 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
reign Congress time to become acquainted with
the perilous state of affairs here, and to furnish
that assembly with the means of becoming ac
quainted with our predominant opinions. Give
them time to receive the humble representations
of this faithful and constitutional people, united
to those of the other provinces. Give these
provinces leisure to congregate round that cen
tre of union, where it is indispensable to rally
in order to save the country. Give us time,
Prince, and let us hope that the fathers of the
country will yet listen to the aspirations of their
children in Brazil."
An immense concourse of people of all classes
had attended the Municipality on this occasion,
amongst whom were a number of officers belong
ing to the Portuguese division, anxious to wit
ness the result of the requisition. After a
patient hearing of the deputation, the Prince
finally thought proper to accede to the general
wish, exclaiming — "If it be for the good of all,
and for the general felicity of the nation, tell the
people that I will remain!"
This explicit declaration gave rise to the most
enthusiastic demonstrations of joy amongst
both patriots and royalists. The Portuguese?
military, however, soon again evinced symptomi"
of mutiny. Avilez, the Commandant, at once
requested his dismissal ; and, indeed, even before
this had been officially accorded, his troops,

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 65
amounting to two thousand men, left their quar
ters on the evening of the 1 1th of January, and
providing themselves with artillery, marched to
the Casteilo hill, which commanded the entire
city. Intelligence of this movement was during
the night made public, and ere the following day
dawned, the Campo de Santa Anna, a plain about
half a mile distant from the position occupied
by the Portuguese troops, was crowded with
armed men. The majority of these were undis
ciplined citizens, little fitted to cope with the ve
teran Portuguese, many of whom had fought un
der the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsula.
In numbers, however, they were far superior to
their antagonists : they were also well provided
with artillery, and an immediate conflict appeared
inevitable, when Avilez, perplexed by this un
expected opposition, fearful of offending the
Prince, and vacillating from the circumstance
of his having no positive orders from the Cortes,
offered to capitulate, on condition that his sol
diers should be allowed to retain their arms.
This was conceded, provided they would retire
to Praya Grande, a village on the opposite side
of the bay, until vessels could be provided for
their embarkation to Lisbon. The repeated
attempts at dictation which this division had
manifested towards the Prince, had previously
incensed him, and finding himself supported on
VOL. I. f

66 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
the present occasion, he determined on thus re
moving them to the mother country. As His
Highness promised to become responsible to the
Cortes for the consequences of their departure,
the Portuguese finally accepted the terms, and
crossed over to Praya Grande the same day.
The Prince himself abstained from appearing
in the Campo, and the Princess, with her chil
dren, was sent for safety to the Royal seat
at Santa Cruz, about twelve leagues from the
capital. The fatigue of the journey, which was
performed with great precipitation under a burn
ing sun, unhappily proved fatal to the heir appa
rent, the Prince of Beira, a feeble child of eleven
months old ; who died on the 6th of the following
month.
I Preparations were in the meantime made for
;the immediate embarkation of the Portuguese
troops in Praya Grande. But when the moment
of departure arrived, they refused to go on board
the transports, until the arrival of an expedition
which was daily expected from Lisbon. Irri
tated at their refusal, the Prince stationed him
self in one of the gun-boats, by which the divi
sion had been prevented from communicating
with the city of Rio, and threatened that, unless
they immediately embarked, he himself would
be the first to fire upon them. Their demand
for a longer stay was then modified into an ap
plication for three months' pay in advance, which

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 67
was at once complied with, and on the 15th of
February they finally sailed for Europe.
During the progress of these events, Joze
Bonifacio had arrived from San Paulo, and had
been elevated by Don Pedro to the office of Mi
nister of the Interior, of Justice, and of Foreign
affairs. One of the first objects of the new.Prjmei
Minister was toj^^establish that centralization of
f.he prnvincei^jghich theC^ortes had almosten-
iirejy annulled, and whicTTBeeame of necessity
the most effectual safeguard against external,
aggression. With this intent a Decree was pub
lished on the 16th of February, the day after
the departure of the auxiliary division, direct
ing the convocation of a Council of representa
tives ; the members of which were to be deputed
by the electors of all the various provinces of
Brazil. All such as had sent four deputies to
the Cortes were to name one for this assembly,
and the others in the same proportion. The
duties of this convocation were to counsel the
Prince in all affairs of importance ; to institute
various projects of reform in the administration,
and to bring forward the claims and exigencies
of the respective provinces : the Prince being,
by virtue of the same decree, created its Presi
dent. The task which the Minister had imposed
upon himself was, however, fraught with no
slight difficulty. Only four provinces came for-

68 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
ward to join the league, viz., Rio de Janeiro,
Minas Geraes, Rio Grande do Sal, and San
Paulo. Pernambuco had for a long time been
a prey to civil dissensions. Two battalions of
the line, and the bulk of the militia had taken
arms against the Governor, Luis do Rego, and
several conflicts had already taken place. At
length, however, the Portuguese troops stationed
there were recalled in the month of November,
and replaced by others, who, being in the
phrase of the Cortes " Constitutional troops,"
would, it was calculated, prove more acceptable
under the present disposition of the inhabi
tants. In B^hia public tranquillity was also disturbed
during the month of February, j.8.22 ; when a
struggle for precedence arose between the Bri
gadier Manoel Pedro de Freitas, ajjrazilian,
and General Madeira, the Portuguese Governor-
at- arms. The "Rrayiliaji troops, and a body of
the_peonle took up arms in favour of Freilas,
but being overpowered on the 17th of February,
they retired to the fort of San Pedro, whence
they again sallied on the 21st, for the purpose
of encamping in the interior, Madeira in the
meanwhile secured his position in the city;
commerce was for the time suspended ; and for
several weeks the place remained in a state of
utter anarchy and confusion.

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 69

CHAPTER V.
Incorporation of the Banda Oriental with Brazil in 1821 — Previous
siege of Monte Video — Operations of Artigas, and invasion of
the disputed province by the Portuguese — Overthrow of Artigas
— Municipal Congress — Threats of Buenos Ayres — Demonstra
tions of the Cortes.
While the entire kingdom of Brazil was thus
agitated by internal commotions, the acquisition
of a distant territory was apparently confirmed
by General Lecor, Baron of Laguna ; at whose
instance, the Cabildo, or Municipal Congress of
Montevideo, met on the 18th of July, 1821,
for the purpose of deciding whether the Banda
Oriental should constitute itself independent,
or form a federative union with Brazil, : when,
after a prolonged and violent discussion, the
latter alternative was agreed to.
In order to have a clear perception of the
causes which led to this union, it will be neces
sary to recur to the period, when the Spanish
colonies on the banks of the river Plata first
declared their independence. This event took
place in Buenos Ayres in 1810, during the Vice-

70 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
royship of the Marquis Cisneros. Elio, the
Governor of Monte Video, as well as the Gover
nors of Conchas, Cordova, Potosi, Charcas, the
Viceroy of Lima, and the ex-Captain-general of
Buenos Ayres, declared against the revolution,
and took up arms against the insurgents. With
the exception of Elio, they were, however, all
successively overpowered ; and the republicans,
under the joint command of Rondeau, a South
American officer, and Artigas, a Gaucho chief
tain, laid siege to Monte Video. Elio, finding
himself unable to maintain the city, applied to
the Portuguese government in Brazil for suc
cour. Four thousand men were accordingly
despatched to his assistance ; but the Spaniard
having apparently become distrustful of his
new allies, shortly afterwards succeeded in
making terms of peace ; whereby it was agreed^
that the republicans should retire from the Ban
da Oriental, and the Portuguese at the same
time return to Brazil. This was at once com
plied with by both parties ; but the truce was
not of more than twelve months' duration. Elio
was superseded by Don G. Vigodet, who arrived
from Spain with reinforcements ; but the re
publicans were on the alert, and Monte Video
was again besieged by the united forces of Ron
deau and Artigas.
The latter, though a talented and intrepid
chieftain, appears to have been possessed of

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 71
little principle ; for, in consequence of a quarrel
with Rondeau, he withdrew his followers, and
despatched a letter, which was intercepted, of
fering his services to the Spanish governor of
Monte Video. Rondeau nevertheless main
tained the siege until June, 1814, when the
citadel surrendered : though the republican forces
were unable to maintain their conquest against
Artigas, who, under pretence of aiming at the
entire independence of the province, commenced
hostilities against his old allies. After having,
therefore, shipped all the artillery and stores
to Buenos Ayres, they evacuated the place, and
Artigas entered it. The present was a tempt
ing opportunity to the Portuguese government
in Rio de Janeiro, which had long coveted the
possession of the Banda Oriental ; and the
Queen, who was a Spanish Princess, and sister
to Ferdinand VII., resolved on taking this un
fortunate province under, what was termed, her
maternal protection. Some trifling aggressions
committed on the frontier of Rio Grande served
as an immediate pretext for hostilities, and a
force of ten thousand men was accordingly des
patched under the command of General Lecor ;
the principal division of which entered Monte
Video in January 1817, singing "Te Deum" for
their success. Civil war, and the emigration
consequent on it, had already reduced the in
habitants to less than one-third of their original

72 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
number, and the suburbs were but a heap of
blackened and crumbling ruins. The Por
tuguese invasion gave the finishing stroke to
this work of destruction ; even the villages and
settlements of the interior were for the most
part destroyed, and the city of Monte Video
was for a time reduced to a state of destitution.
The existing government of Buenos Ayres com
plained loudly of this incursion into a territory
appertaining to their republic, but to no pur
pose. To all their remonstrances General Lecor
answered, that he had committed no act of in
terference ; the province in question having con
stituted itself independent.
Artigas himself not only held the plains with
his celebrated " Montenero," or roving band,
but by giving the sanction of his authority to
every pirate who chose to prey on the Portu
guese, he almost annihilated their coasting trade
with the southern provinces. On land also,
though at present he retired before the invaders,
he continued to carry on a guerilla war of four
years' continuance ; during the course of which
he made an attack on Buenos Ayres, invaded
Entre Rios, excited a revolt in Santa Fe, and
committed many flagrant outrages in Paraguay.
Being at length defeated in Entre Rios, by
Ramirez, a Buenos Ayrean General, formerly
one of his own lieutenants, he was compelled
to fly with a thousand men, the remnant of his

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 73
forces, into Paraguay ; where he was seized and
retained a prisoner by the Dictator Doctor
Francia. Having thus got rid of his most dangerous
enemy, Lecor laid the proposal for the incorpo
ration of the long-disputed province with the
kingdom of Brazil, before the Municipal Con
gress. Many of the members of this body were
at the time holding public offices, and others
had received honorary decorations, from the
government of Rio de Janeiro. They were,
therefore, neither impartial arbitrators, nor were
they in reality invested with attributes for any
such decision. The majority nevertheless gave
their votes in favour of the incorporation ; and
the decision does not appear to have met with
any opposition on the part of the inhabitants.
Exhausted by civil war, abandoned by their re
publican compatriots, esteeming themselves too
weak to maintain their own independence, and
distracted by contending factions, even foreign
supremacy appeared preferable to perpetual
anarchy. In Rio de Janeiro the event was hailed as a
decisive triumph. The principle "that mankind
are neither the property, nor the heritage of any
dynasty, and that they have the inherent right
to elect, or adopt, what government they think
fit," was constantly reiterated in the public
prints, as though an election thus obtained at

74 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
the point of the bayonet could be considered as
a free choice. It was also urged through the
same medium, that the river Plata formed the
natural boundary of Brazil; without its ever oc
curring to the sagacity of these reasoners, that
if once the principle of natural boundaries were
acknowledged, the small strip of land denomi
nated Portugal, might with equal justice be
claimed by Spain.
The Buenos Ayreans, who had hitherto ab
stained from all interference, now most vehe
mently declared against this secession of territory,
and their government openly stated its intention
of again restoring at all risks the integrity of
the united provinces of the republic. The
Cortes of Lisbon were also far from regarding the
proceedings of. General Lecor with unmixed
satisfaction. In the first instance they appeared
to approve of what he had done ; but as they
deemed it judicious policy to weaken Brazil,
while reinforcing the mother country, they shortly
afterwards evinced a willingness to abandon
Monte Video to its fate, in case that Spain would
in return give up Olivenca. This town, which
is situated on the frontier of Estremadura, ori
ginally appertained to Portugal, and had been
ceded to Spain by the treaty of Badajoz, in
1801. The Congress of Vienna had in 1815
already recommended its restitution, but hitherto
without effect ; and as the place contained nearly

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 75
five thousand inhabitants, and was strongly for
tified, the Portuguese were naturally anxious to
recover possession of it.
The inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro, and more
particularly the royalists, received notice of the
intentions of the Cortes with considerable im
patience. They were indignant beyond measure
that a fertile and extensive province should thus
be balanced against a paltry town ; and they uni
versally exclaimed, that neither patriotism, nor
religion, nor humanity, would allow them thus
to desert a people who had voluntarily sought
their protection. It is not impossible, however,
but the prospective advantages which were ex
pected to result from the possession of Monte
Video, may have had some influence in thus awa
kening their philanthropy. Were Monte Video
to be ceded to Spain, it appeared probable that
the exclusive system would again be enforced;
and not only would Brazil be thus deprived of all
communication with the city in question, but the
commercial intercourse with the Uruguay and
the Parana, would be henceforth held by a very
precarious tenure. In proportion, therefore, to
the willingness of the Cortes to cede this terri- i
tory, the general wish of Brazil to retain it
naturally increased ; and hence arose another
fertile source of contention between the mother-
country and her trans-atlantic provinces.

76 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.

CHAPTER VI.
Demeanour of the Portuguese members of the Cortes towards the Bra
zilian Deputies — Arrival of the squadron for the conveyance of
the Prince — Journey of his Highness to Villa Rica — Prohibition
of the exportation of arms to Brazil by the Portuguese Government
— Acceptation of the title of "Perpetual Protector and Defender
of Brazil" by Don Pedro — Decree for the convocation of a Con
stituent Assembly — Order to General Madeira to embark for
Portugal — Manifesto of the first of August, 1822. — Commence
ment of hostilities in Bahia — Ejection of the Portuguese troops
from Pernambuco — Journey of Don Pedro to San Paulo, and
declaration of independence — All dissentients subjected to banish
ment — Election of Don Pedro as Emperor — State and prospects
of the new Empire, and its Administration.
Notwithstanding the dissatisfaction which had
been caused throughout the American portion
of the kingdom by their previous measures, the
PCortes of Lisbon were still pursuing their legis-
/ lative career, unchanged either by the spread of
(jiberal opinions, or by the current of events. A
¦ number of the Brazilian Deputies had been in-
| structed by their constituents to stipulate for
jsuch modifications of the Constitution, as might
appear requisite for the peculiar circumstances
;of Brazil; which modifications they were, how
ever, unable to obtain. They were gravely re-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 77
minded by their Portuguese colleagues, that
Brazil had made oath to the Constitution of the
Cortes ; and that it was therefore incumbent upon
her to adopt it, whatever might be the principle
on which it was constructed. The Deputies for
Portugal amounted to more than one hundred
and thirty ; those for Brazil to seventy only, and
of these seventy not more than fifty ever arrived
in Lisbon. Their number was consequently
too small to exercise any powerful influence on
the decisions of the assembly. They were ever
ia the minority; and the demonstrations of con
tempt to which they were perpetually subjected,
were even more mortifying than their repeated
defeats. One of them, named Minez Tavares,
requested a decree for the formation of an Uni
versity in Brazil ; when he was told in reply,
that a few infant schools would be more appro
priate. Others, whose sentiments were known
to be opposed to those of the majority, were by
the clamours of the galleries frequently prevent
ed from obtaining a hearing ; and of the remain
der, a few were treacherously unfaithful to their
trust. On the subject of free trade, their represen
tations were even more fruitless than in behalf of
their personal liberties. In the entire chamber,
a Desembargador of the name of Brito, appeared
to be the only Portuguese who had familiarized
himself with the science of Political economy ;

78 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
and he was regarded by his colleagues as a
dreaming theorist, utterly out of the pale of all
argument. The practical men either passed
over his expositions in contemptuous silence, or
triumphantly referred him to the successful policy
pursued in former days by the Marquis de Pom-
bal. Even had the spread of intelligence been
more general among the Cortes, it may be
doubted whether they could have acted with
more liberality. The bulk of the Portuguese
nation was decidedly opposed to any material
concessions to Brazil; and an assembly con
stituted as the Cortes of Lisbon were, could not
long have acted in opposition to the popular
voice. On receiving intelligence of the disor
ders in Bahia, a committee was appointed by
the Cortes to deliberate upon the propriety of
allowing the Prince to remain abroad until
tranquillity could be restored. About the same
time it was also decided that the marine aca
demy in Rio, which they had previously sup
pressed, should be maintained ; but this wise
and conciliatory line of conduct was evinced far
too late to be of any service in checking the
revolution already in progress.
The squadron destined for the conveyance of
the Prince Royal to Lisbon arrived in Rio de
Janeiro on the 5th of March, but was prevented
from entering the port until the Commander
had signed a protestation of conformity, and en-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 79
tire obedience to the will of the Prince. This
was finally done, and after having been fur
nished with such stores and supplies as were
deemed needful, the fleet was again despatched
to Portugal on the 24th of the same month. Six
hundred men were, however, engaged to remain
in the service of Brazil. — "I have found," re
marked Don Pedro, when writing on this topic
to the King, "that these arrangements are
useful on two accounts ; first, because they have
furnished Brazil with soldiers, who, when the
period of their service is completed, will become
excellent labourers ; and secondly, because they
have served to evince that there is no hatred
felt towards the Portuguese. By this expedient
I have endeavoured to tighten the bonds which
unite us to the mother country." In the avowal of
these sentiments there appears no reason what
ever to suspect the sincerity of the Prince.
Though prepared to proclaim the independence
of Brazil, in case this step should afterwards be
come necessary for the maintenance of his au
thority there, he was exempt from all feelings
of hostility to Portugal, and would willingly
have maintained the existing union between the
two countries, had this been any longer practi
cable. On the day following that on which the squa
dron sailed, his Highness quitted Rio for Villa
Rica, the capital of Minas Geraes ; the Pro-

80 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
visional government in which city had refused
to acknowledge the authority of the Prince ; of
whose intentions they were as yet distrustful.
His unexpected presence proved, however, suffi
cient to restore their confidence ; and in the course
of a few days, he was enabled to return to Rio
de Janeiro, in the full assurance of having en
tirely eradicated all germs of disaffection.
Affairs in the metropolis were, in the mean
time, assuming a more serious aspect. An of
ficial notification had arrived, wherein the
government of Portugal not only directed its
Consuls in foreign ports to prevent the exporta-
\ tion of either arms oTammunition to its Trans-
Atlantic provinces, but also threatened that,
where the prohibition was eluded, confiscation of
both ship and cargo should take place on their
arrival. This notification was regarded as
equivalent to a declaration of war, and the Mu
nicipality came in a body to supplicate the
Prince to accept at their hands the title and at
tributes of " Perpetual Protector and. Defender j
of Brazil." In accordance with their wishes j
he instantly did so ; and on the 13th of May,
the birth-day of the King of Portugal, the event
was celebrated by great public rejoicings. The
patriot party were more especially amongst the
advocates for this concession of increased attri
butes to the Prince, in ord e that he might thus,
with every appearance of legality, confer upon

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 81
Brazil an independent legislature. Experience
had made them fully aware that no good govern
ment could be anticipated from the Cortes of
Lisbon, and they were impatient for the organi
zation of a Chamber, the members of which
being exclusively chosen from among their fel
low countrymen, would naturally have for their
chief object the welfare of Brazil. No sooner,
therefore, had they accomplished the first step,
than measures were taken for the immediate ful
filment of the second; and on the 20th of the same
month the Municipality, many of whom were in
fluenced by similar opinions on this point to those
of the patriots, again marched to the Palace, at
tended by a large assemblage of citizens, where
they presented a petition to His Highness, forthe;
speedy convocation of an indeperictent legisla-
tive cjmmber ; whose ""office it should be to de-!
liberateih~~"public session, on the conditions
which should henceforth continue to unite Brazil
to Portugal ; and to make such alterations and
amendments in the Constitution, as might be
deemed necessary.
Don Pedro replied to the deputation, that he
would be guided by the will of the various pro
vinces, as expressed by the Council of represen
tatives already decreed ; which body was accord
ingly corryokea\ As yet there were only three of
these counsellors in Rio de Janeiro, who were,
however, convened on the 3rd of June, when their
VOL. I. G

82 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
first act was to declare their own incompetence,
"and to request an independentjegislatuje. This
requisition, which was seconded by the entire
cabinet, was in consequence acceded to. A de
cree for the creation of a constituent and legis
lative Assembly was issued in the course of the
same day, and the Prince, in his address to the
council, assured its members that this was the
happiest moment of his life, since the assembly
must necessarily promote that felicity of the peo
ple, which was his only desire. His enthusiasm
being at length excited in the cause, — " It is ne
cessary," he observed in his correspondence,
"that Brazil should have her own legislature:
this opinion becomes daily more general. With
out this legislature she can know no felicity.
Laws made at a distance, by individuals who
are neither Brazilians, nor acquainted with the
^vants of Brazil, cannot be good. Brazil is in
her adolescence, and is every day developing
new vigour. What is appropriate for her to-day
will no longer be so to-morrow, as it will then
be useless, and a new necessity will be experi
enced. She is best acquainted with her own
wants, and it is absurd to retain her longer in
dependence on another hemisphere. As I have
already said, she ought to have her own Legisla
ture : the demand is just, it is founded on the
rights of man, it is conformable to constitutional
sentiments, and it is, moreover, a means of

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 8^
maintaining an union which must otherwise
shortly cease. Without equality of rights there
can be no union. No one unites himself in so
ciety with the view of injuring his condition,
and the strongest party ought certainly to know
how to protect his own rights. Brazil will at
least protect hers, and I myself will sustain them
with my blood. Deign, Sire, to order that this
letter be presented to the Cortes."
During the same month His Highness also
despatched an order to General Madeira, com
manding him to embark with all his troops
for Lisbon ; and at the same time forwarded an
address to the inhabitants of Bahia, commend
ing them for the opposition which they had
made to this commander. This mandate, how
ever, met with little attention. Don Pedro pro
mised to become responsible to the government
of Portugal, but Madeira refused to move with
out the sanction of the Cortes. This refusal,
and the intelligence that the Cortes, offended
beyond measure by the return of the squadron
from Rio de Janeiro, were on the point of send
ing out a more efficient force, at length induced
the Regent to adopt a bolder line of policy. A
Manifesto, dated August the 1 st, 1 82gj_was accord
ingly published, wherein His Highness, while ex-
pressing his wish to maintain an amicable union j
with Portugal, called on. the Brazilians to unite
and accomplish by force, if it were necessary,

34 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
the great work of their independence. This
interesting document, which was in reality writ
ten by Ledo, one of the members of the Council
of Representatives, though abounding in exag
gerated declamation, was on the whole_not_ill
adapted to_caBtivate the people to_wJiom it was
addressed. The opening passage, which was
taken entire from a proclamation published ;in
Francejluring the time of the revolution, com
menced in the following prophetic strain. "The
time for deceiving mankind is past. The Govern
ments which still wish to found their power on
the alleged ignorance of the people, or on an
cient errors and abuses, are destined to see the
colossus of their greatness hurled down from
the fragile base on which it has been erected."
A Decree was also issued on the same day,
whereby all troops quartered in Brazil without
the permission of Don Pedro, were declared
enemies ; and an order was given for the fortifica
tion of the ports. At the same time, to avoid
every appearance of hostility, it was in the same
instrument declared that the commercial and
amicable relations existing between the two
countries should remain unaltered. This was
followed by a justificatory Manifesto, addressed
to all the various nations and governments with
which Brazil was on the terms of amity.
" I am not a rebel," wrote Don Pedro to the
King, "as the enemies of your Majesty will

HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
doubtless aver to you : the fault rests solely
with circumstances." At the same time, however,
His Highness did not hesitate to bestow on the
Cortes, who, in addition to their misgovernment
of Brazil, had acted with but little consideration
towards Don John, a series of epithets more dis
tinguished by their force than their propriety.
This assembly had certainly but few claims on
his gratitude. As though repentant of the wil
lingness to concession evinced during the early
part of the year, they had since decided upon the
indictment of such of the members of the Junta
of San Paulo, as had signed the petition for the
stay of the Prince ; they had also declared the
nullity of the Decree convoking a Council of Re
presentatives ; and had finally despatched a force
of fifteen hundred men for the reinforcement of
General Madeira in Bahia.
This expedition arrived at its destination in
the month of August, about the same time that
a Brazilian squadron, despatched from Rio for
the purpose of expelling the Portuguese troops,
also made its appearance there. Labatul, the
Brazilian General, nevertheless, disembarked his
troops on the coast without opposition, and suc
ceeded in uniting his detachment to the native
force which had maintained itself in the interior
since the unfortunate combat of the 17th of Feb
ruary. The hostile armies, in the first in
stance, placed themselves in observation; nega-

J HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
tiations were afterwards entered into, but with
out success, and hostilities finally commenced.
1 The division of Madeira comprised altogether no
I more than three thousand regular troops, and
I about two thousand militia; composed princi-
| pally of Portuguese, devoted to the cause of the
i mother-country. The Brazilians were about
eight thousand, and their numbers increased
| daily. They were, however, quite ujiahle to
cope with_the disciplined troops nf Madoira •
aiiaThough they made repeated attacks on the
city, the successful allies of the garrison as fre
quently compelled them to retire with consider
able loss.
In Pernjjpab.uco, where the spirit of in.de-
pendence was sfronger than in any other city of
Brazil, the pajrioJs_y£gre_more fortunate, as they
succeeded in ejecting the lately arrived division
of " Constitutional troops," by means of nego
tiation alone ; and, on the completion of this im
portant step, sent down a deputation to Rio de
Janeiro for the purpose of signifying their adhe
sion to the Regent.
The final declaration of entire independence
and separation from Portugal, was in the mean
time hastened by the despatches transmitted
to Don Pedro by his Royal father. At the pe
riod of their receipt His Highness was in
the vicinity of San Paulo, whither he had
gone in consequence of some dissensions which

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 87
had taken place between the Andrada family
and Oyenhausen, the President of the provi
sional Junta, and which had terminated in the
expulsion of Martin Francisco from that city.
The Prince left Rio on the 1 4th of August, after
investing the Princess Royal with the Presi
dency, and the Ministry and Council of Represen
tatives with the administration of affairs during
his absence. Previously, however, to his arrival
at his destination, whither he went by way of
Santos, he was put in possession of letters from
the King of Portugal, which had the instan
taneous effect of inducing him to declare the
entire independence, in such a decided and
explicit manner, as to render all retrograde
measures utterly impracticable.
It was on the 7th of September, 1822, on the
margin of the Ypiranga, a small stream near
the city of San Paulo, that he thus finally com
plied with what had long been the warmest
wish of every enlightened Brazilian, and from
this~day the independence of the country has
since held its official date. It was in the eyes '
of all the civilized world a memorable circum
stance, and must ever form an epoch in the his
tory of the trans-atlantic world. It was one of
those great events regarding which men look
rather to the result, than to the means which
have led to its accomplishment. A son of the
Kings of Europe had espoused the cause of

88 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
American independence, and the universal en
thusiasm in his favour knew no bounds.
Scarcely had the ceremony been concluded,
before His Highness again departed for Rio de
Janeiro, where he arrived on the 15th of the
same month, having performed the intervening
journey in less time than it was ever known to
have been executed before ; and on the evening
of his arrival appeared in the Theatre with a
badge on his arm bearing the motto " Independ
ence or death /" These transactions were such
as could no longer leave any doubt regarding the
future intentions of the Prince. The proximity
of his accession to the throne became apparent
to all, and it, therefore, created but little surprise,
when, on the 21st of September, a Proclamation
was issued by the Municipality, declaring, that
it was their intention to fulfil the manifest wish of
the people, in solemnly proclaiming Don Pedro
*' Constitutional Emperor of Brazil" on the 12th
of the October following.
A Decree signed by Joze Bonifacio, with the
rubric of the Prince, was also made public on
the same day, wherein it was enacted, that all
the Portuguese who were willing to embrace the
popular cause should manifest the same by the
adoption of a badge similar to that borne by the
Prince at the Theatre, on the evening of the
15th ;— that all the dissentients resident in
the cities of the interior should be compelled to

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 89
leave the country within four months, and those
resident in the maritime cities within two months,
from the period of the promulgation of the pre
sent decree ; and that if any one should hence
forth attack the sacred cause of Brazil, either by
words or writing, he should incur the full penal
ties imposed on high treason.
The 12th of October, the birth-day of the
Prince, being appointed for his formal recogni
tion, the functionaries of the Court, the munici
pal authorities, the troops, and an immense
concourse of people, were early in attendance,
and the ceremony took place in the Campo de
Santa Anna, where His Highness publicly de
clared that he accepted the title of Constitu
tional Emperor of Brazil, from the conviction
that it was conferred on him by the will of the
people. At the same time he stated that he
would accept, and put in force, the Constitution
which might shortly be expected from the Con
stituent and Legislative Assembly ; provided that
this document were worthy of himself and of
Brazil. The troops then fired a salute, and
the city was illuminated in the evening. The
final solemnity of the Coronation was postponed
until the 1st of December.
Don Pedro was at this period still young, and
was blessed beyond the common lot of Princes
in the amiable disposition of the Empress, Don
na Carolina Leopoldina. Though she was not

90 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
beautiful, yet her kindness of heart and her
unassuming manners were such as to endear
her to all around her ; and a long and brilliant
future appeared to await the happy Monarch.
Under a more economical management, the state
of the finances had been gradually ameliorated,
and the late appointment of Martin Francisco,
the brother of the chief Minister, to the super
intendence of this department, gave hopes that
it would henceforward meet with an honest and
efficient administration. The cities of Bahia,
Maranham, Para, and Monte Video were still
f held by Portuguese troops, supported by a nu
merous and well-appointed squadron ; but, as it
will shortly appear, the energy and foresight of
Joze Bonifacio had already provided adequate
means for their speedy and effectual expul
sion. It may certainly be urged, that there was
neither any privileged class of nobility whose
interest it was to form a barrier around the
Emperor, and to protect him in the face of mal
administration, however flagrant ; nor were the
Clergy either placed in circumstances, or in
fluenced by convictions, inducing them to preach
the theory of the " divine right ;" yet jjublic
opinion, that " Queen of the world," as Don
Pedro himself styled her, in his correspondence
with his father, was^almost universally injjis

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 91
favour, and had he governed with even common
prudence, he might have been completely suc
cessful in strengthening and consolidating his
newly constituted authority.

92 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.

CHAPTER VII.
Further decrees of the Cortes of Lisbon — Return of the Brazilian
Deputies — Character of the Andrada Ministry, and their arbitrary
policy — Dissensions in the Cabinet — Deportation of Ledo, and
dissolution of the Masonic Lodges — Coronation of Don Pedro-
New Order of Knighthood — Sequestration of Portuguese property
— Overtures to Lord Cochrane — Engagement of British seamen,
and organization of a battalion of foreigners — Incorporation of the
Imperial Guard of Honour — Lord Cochrane's operations off Bahia
— Portuguese abandonment of Bahia — Captain Grenfell's opera
tions at Para — Death of Prisoners from suffocation — Lord
Cochrane's seizure of Portuguese property at Maranham, and re
turn to Rio.
During the course of the foregoing events, the
Cortes of Lisbon had, in a Decree dated the
19th of September, 1822, declared : —
First, That the decree of the 3rd of June,
convoking a constituent assembly in Brazil was
illegal. Second, That the Minister, or Ministers, who
signed that decree, were responsible for its ille
gality, and should be indicted accordingly.
Third, That the government of San Paulo, in
consequence of its having disobeyed the Cortes,
and constituted itself independent, was a go
vernment de facto, and not de jure, and that all

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 93
voluntary obedience to its authority should be
accounted criminal.
Fourth, That the power existing in the hands
of the Prince should be committed to a Regency,
nominated in Lisbon.
Fifth, That, unless the Prince embarked for
Lisbon, within the space of a month from the
receipt of this decree, he should be excluded
from the throne of Portugal.
Sixth, That every military commander volun
tarily obeying the actual government of Rio de
Janeiro, should be accounted a traitor.
Seventh, That the Government should em
ploy all the means in its power for the enforce
ment of these resolutions.
In addition to these fulminations, another De
cree, dated October the 3rd, was also issued, in
the name of the King, whereby all the festivities
customarily held on the birth-day of the Prince
were prohibited.
It is needless to say, that nearly all the Bra
zilian Deputies voted in opposition to these
ordinances, but their voices were drowned in the
clamours of the majority. Insults and threats
were also continually heaped upon them by the
populace ; and now that an armed struggle ap
peared inevitable, seven of their number, the
most notable of whom were Antonio Carlos de
Andrada, Barato, Lino Coutinho, and Feij6,
furtively embarked for Falmouth, where, on the

94 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
22nd of October, they published a solemn de
claration of the motives which had forced them
thus to desert the Cortes, and to quit Lisbon.
The Andrada Ministry, meanwhile, continued
to maintain themselves at the head of the
Government in Rio de Janeiro : yet though
Brazil owed her independence, and Don Pedro,
his crown, chiefly to their exertions, yet it
must be confessed that their subsequent ad
ministration cannot be by any means exempted
from censure. Their views were comprehen
sive, and their intentions patriotic, but that im
patient and ambitious spirit, which had inclined
them to republican principles during the colonial
bondage of their country, now rendered them
arbitrary and intolerant on their accession to
power. On the expulsion of Martin Francisco
from the city of San Paulo, upwards of thirty
individuals, principally people of consideration;
were also banished, as opponents to indepen
dence ; and amongst this number were several
who, from former feuds, were the personal ene
mies of the Andrada family ; a circumstance
tending to stamp the whole transaction with the
despicable spirit of revenge for private injury.
Many others were also arrested in Rio de
Janeiro, under pretext of alleged conspiracies,
many of which were never proved to have had
any existence : the system of espionage was car
ried on to a greater extent than ever, under the

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 95
absolute regime of Don John, and in several of
the decrees issued for the apprehension of indi
viduals accounted hostile to the national cause,
it was, with utter disregard to the established
law, enacted that the criminals should be pu
nished with all the rigour which the peace and
security of the state should seem to require.
One only Journal, the " Correio de Rio de Ja
neiro," presumed to censure their acts ; and on
the 21st of October, its Editor was unex
pectedly summoned to the Police Office, where
he was compelled to sign a document, binding
himself to discontinue his publication, and to
leave the states of Brazil in one of the first
vessels sailing thence.
The Andradas were not, however, long per
mitted to enjoy their supremacy unmolested.
Ledo, the individual who had penned the Mani
festo of the 1st of August, after having obtained
the co-operation of Joze Clementi Pereira, a Por
tuguese by birth, whose services in behalf of the
popular cause have already been alluded to, had,
on the proclamation of the independence, made
an effort to supplant the Andradas in the favour
of Don Pedro, by causing His Highness to be
declared Emperor in all the Masonic lodges
of the metropolis ; with a proviso that he should,
before ascending the throne, make oath to the
Constitution expected from the Constituent
Assembly. The object of this officious step was

96 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
at once seen by the Andradas, and adroitly de
feated. Taking advantage of the clause, where
by the Prince was required to adopt any Con'
stitution which the Assembly might frame, how
ever democratic its tendency, they endeavoured to
brand Ledo and his colleagues as Republicans,
assuming the guise of Monarchists ; and hence
arose a series of dissensions, which at length
reached such a height, that on the 28th of Oc
tober, the Andradas sent in their resignation.
No sooner, however, were they out of office,
than from the violent exertions of their partizans,
and the tumults of the people, His Majesty was
induced to recal them to the Cabinet, which they
persisted in refusing to re-enter, unless their op
ponents, and certain other obnoxious individuals,
were immediately banished. To this arbitrary
measure Don Pedro finally assented. Ledo and
his followers were exiled forthwith ; and the two
brothers on the second day after their resigna
tion were reinstated, to the great apparentsatis-
faction of the populace, who drew the~ carriage
of Joze Bonifacio into town intriumph. The
papers and documents appertaining to the Ma
sonic associations in question, were subse
quently seized; several of their members were
put upon their trial on frivolous pretexts ; and
the Lodges closed. The Andradas, as well as
Don Pedro, were Freemasons, but having
ascertained that they had less weight in this

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 97
body than the party of Ledo, they proceeded
to organize a new secret Society, under the name
of the " Apostalado," with the rites, and, incon
gruous as it may appear, with some of the de
nominations of the Carbonari of Italy. This
Institution, which had for its object to counteract
the efforts of the Masons, and to confirm Mon
archy in Brazil, under the principles adopted
in Europe, and which subsequently received
within its bosom nearly all the Deputies of the
Constituent Assembly, became in the hands of
the Andradas a powerful instrument of domina
tion. At the same time a Friar of the name of
Sampayo, a man of talent, was charged on the
part of the society with the management of a
journal entitled the "Regulador," intended to
vindicate the principles of their Institution, and
to promulgate the doctrines above mentioned.
Notwithstanding this apparent success in the
political schemes of the Ministry, not only were
many partizans alienated by the closing of the
Masonic Lodges, but the apprehensions of the
patriots were aroused. The popularity of the
Cabinet began rapidly to decline, and many
schemes were formed on the part of its oppo
nents, for the purpose of effecting the ejection
of the Ministry.
Before the plans for this new object had
reached maturity, the Coronation took place on
the 1st of December, and the event was cele-
VOL. I. H

98 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
brated by great festivities and rejoicings. The
enthusiasm of several of the patriots is never
theless said to have been somewhat damped by
the unexpected promulgation of a Decree, dated
on the same day, in which His Majesty stated,
"that being desirous to augment with his Im
perial munificence the means of remunerating
the services rendered to him, he had, in con
formity with the constant practice of the au
gust Monarchs his predecessors, determined to
found a new Order of Knighthood, to be deno
minated, The Order of the Crusader"
This unexpected resumption of a feudal usage,
the unfortunate results of which had been so
fully exemplified since its adoption in Brazil,
during the preceding reign, naturally became
productive of much dissatisfaction ; more espe
cially among all such qf^the patriots as were in
clined to republican principles. In the provinces
of the north this was even more apparent than
in Rio de Janeiro ; and a pamphlet was there
published, denominated an "Analysis of the De
cree of the 1st of December," wherein the author
contended, that all such services as those alluded
to in the document in question, were rendered to
the nation rather than to the Emperor; and that
consequently, all decrees for their recompense
ought in justice to emanate from the Deputies
of the nation only. Throughout the entire
pamphlet there was also much exaggerated de
clamation and complaint against all that had

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 99
hitherto been done by the new Administration ;
and it appears beyond a doubt that it tended
materially to augment the disaffection existing
both in Bahia and Pernambuco to the still un-
cemented authority of His Imperial Majesty.
The exterior relations of the country were,
however, still the paramount object with the
public as well as with the Administration ; and
the necessity of expelling the Portuguese forces
from all the various points of the empire of
which they still held possession, having already
met with the timely attention of Joze Bonifacio,
by a Decree dated the 11th of December, all
property in Brazil belonging to Portuguese sub
jects, was sequestrated. The Marine force
was also augmented, and overtures were made
to Lord Cochrane, at this time residing on his
estate at Quintera, in Chili, to take the com
mand of a Brazilian squadron. This his Lord
ship agreed to do, on the same terms as those
on which he had already commanded the Chilian
Fleet; with the further proviso, that the sum
of sixty thousand dollars, owing to him by the
Chilian Government, should be defrayed by the
Emperor, in case his Lordship should render
services to Brazil.
During the interim preceding his arrival, the
greatest activity succeeded to the inertness for
merly apparent in the dock-yard. A voluntary
subscription for the re-inforcement of the Navy
h 2

100 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
was entered into with unexampled enthusiasm ;
all the unemployed vessels of the Government
were fitted out for war ; and the only seventy-
four whose timbers were judged to be sound,
was in a manner re-built. It was, however,
found utterly impossible to equip these vessels
with native seamen, the coasting trade having
been hitherto carried on exclusively by Portu
guese ; and orders were consequently sent to
Felisberto Brant, who had been appointed Bra
zilian Charge d'Affaires in London, to engage a
number of both officers and seamen, on terms
highly advantageous to the parties. The Mili
tary establishment was also augmented, and on
the 8th of January a Decree was issued for the
organization of a battalion of foreigners.
About the same time, the_formatioji of a body
guar_6Lof yeomanry, entitled the Imperial Guard
of. Honour, was~e3el!tecl7Tfce r members oTwhich
were selected at the pleasure of the Emperor,
from amongst the youth of the principal families
in Rio. By the terms of this Institution, which
was productive of a far greater sensation in the
metropolis than the decree of the 1st of Decem
ber, all the individuals selected were, whatever
might be their principles, required to take an
oath of implicit obedience to His Imperial Ma
jesty ; and many who would gladly have avoided
the honour thus thrust upon them, found them
selves placed in the unenviable situation of

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 101
pledges in behalf of the sentiments of their
connexions. A series of events was, however, on the point
of occurring, which for a time, at least, turned
all the speculations of the public in a very dif
ferent direction. Lord Cochrane arrived in Rio
on the 21st of March, 1823, on which day he
entered the port with some officers in a brig,
afterwards named the Bahia, and immediately
hoisted his flag on board the line-of-battle ship
the Pedro Primeiro, as first Admiral of Brazil.
On the 29th of the same month, the port of
Bahia was declared in a state of blockade; and
fortunately, a number of officers and seamen
arrived at this juncture from England, in the
English merchant vessel the Lindsay, and en
abled his Lordship to put to sea on the 3rd of
April, with the following squadron : —
Pedro Primeiro, 74 guns
Piranga - - 46 ,,
Maria de Gloria, 32 ,,
Liberal - - 22 „
and two vessels intended as fire-ships. There yet
remaining in port, to join as soon as ready, the
Paraguassu, 42 guns, and Nitheroy of 36. This
latter vessel having joined the squadron on the
29th of April, the coast of Bahia was discovered
on the 1st of May; and on the 4th, the Portuguese
squadron in line of battle. It consisted of one
line of-battle ship, two frigates, two store-ships

102 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
armed, and as effective as frigates, four corvettes,
two brigs, and two smaller craft. The disparity
of force was great, yet Lord Cochrane imme
diately bore down, broke their line, and the
action became general for some time ; when a
circumstance occurred on board the Pedro Pri
meiro, which compelled his Lordship to bear
away with his vessels, followed by the enemy's
two frigates Constituicao and Perola. Two
marines, natives of Portugal, who had been
stationed to hand up the powder, had become
intoxicated, and on attempting to remove them,
they threatened to fire the magazine. This
naturally led to much confusion. His Lordship
also observed with great annoyance, that the fire
of the Pedro Primeiro was extremely ill-di
rected, from want of skill in the crew. There
were only one hundred and seventy English
men on board, the remainder of the men con
sisting of a crowd of vagabonds picked up in
the streets of Rio, and one hundred and thirty
black marines ; a newly raised corps composed
principally of emancipated slaves. Under these
circumstances, the Admiral judged it most ad
visable to retreat, and adopt fresh measures for
the enforcement of his orders, which were the
usual orders of war, " to take, sink, burn, and
destroy." He accordingly proceeded to the
Morro de San Paulo, a small port about thirty
miles to the southward of Bahia, wrhere he

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 103
transferred the whole of the English officers
and seamen of the squadron to the Pedro
Primeiro ; and, with the exception of the Maria
de Gloria corvette, laid up all the other vessels.
The two former, luckily for Brazil, were excel
lent sailers, and maintained the blockade of
Bahia with such vigilance, as to cut off nearly
all supplies from that city ; and that in the face
of an enemy infinitely superior in numbers, in
the rainy season of the year, and at a time when
the seamen were badly supplied with provisions.
The Portuguese made repeated attempts to sup
ply themselves with farinha, a kind of coarse
flour, forming the staple food of the inhabitants
of Brazil, by sending down smacks to San
Matheos, in the captaincy of Espirito Santo, for
that article. These, however, rarely escaped
the two cruizers, and above a dozen of them fell
into the hands of Lord Cochrane. Occasionally
the Portuguese squadron would come out, and
chase the two vessels as far as the Morro
de San Paulo, but they always retired again
without committing hostilities. At length, on
the night of the 12th of June, the Admiral
determined on entering the port of Bahia, with
the intention of cutting out, by a coup de main,
the Constituicao frigate of 52 guns, at anchor
with the Portuguese squadron. For this pur
pose, besides his own vessels, he took the Para-
guassu, which had joined him some days before,

104 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
and the Maria de Gloria, and at midnight pro
ceeded up the harbour with a light breeze, and
was hailed by the guard-boats, and subsequently
by the Constituicao. At this crisis, unfortunately,
a dead calm came on, the tide was beginning to
ebb, and the vessels of Lord Cochrane were
again gradually swept out of the bay ; a single
shot only having been fired from one of the
forts. The blockade, however, continued with
the same rigour as before. A battalion of troops,
under the command of Colonel Jose Joaquim de
Lima e Silva, had also been sent up previous to
the expedition of Lord Cochrane, for the pur
pose of reinforcing the division under General
Labatut. Thus besieged by land, and block
aded by sea, Bahia was at last reduced to a
state of starvation. The slaves were absolutely
dying in the streets from hunger, and the Por
tuguese were at length compelled to evacuate
the city. They accordingly sailed on the 3rd of
July, 1823; taking with them nearly all the
moveable riches of the city, and the church plate.
The sick and the wounded were also taken on
board, and most of the merchants embarked
with their whole property. Lord Cochrane imme
diately followed them with the Pedro Primeiro,
Paraguassu, Nitheroy, and Maria de Gloria, but
these vessels having separated during the night,
on the following morning the Admiral found him
self alone in the midst of the enemy. Such,

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 105
however, were the terrors of his name, and the
anxiety of the Portuguese to avoid a conflict,
that they allowed him to make a succession of
captures ; during the course of which one vessel
only, a charrua, fired a broadside upon him.
The top-masts of the vessels taken were imme
diately cut away, but from a want of hands to
keep them, several made their escape. The
weather, which was stormy, accompanied by
drizzling rain, enabled them to elude the vigi
lance of the Admiral, and several of the most
valuable prizes were thus lost to the captors.
Such as were retained were sent under the
charge of an officer to Pernambuco. Fortunately
for Brazil, the private signals and instructions
of the Portuguese Admiral were captured on
board the Gran Para, the following morning ;
by which Lord Cochrane learned, that part of
the transports with troops were to proceed to
Maranham, and the remainder, in case of sepa
ration, to rendezvous at the island of Fernando
de Noronha. They were accordingly met some
days afterwards near that island, and chased
thence to the north of the line. Finding it im
possible, however, to separate the more Valuable
vessels from the rest of the fleet, and aware of
the urgent importance of clearing the entire
Brazilian territory from the Portuguese forces,
his Lordship determined on bearing away for
Maranham, though he had no specific orders to

106 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
that effect from the government. Captain Tay
lor, the Commander of the Nitheroy, in the
meantime, followed in the track of the Por
tuguese squadron to the very mouth of the
Tagus ; and succeeded in taking several valuable
prizes, which were successively sent to Rio de
Janeiro for adjudication.
Lord Cochrane, meanwhile, succeeded in con
ducting his vessel through a most perilous and
intricate navigation into Maranham, a port into
which no line-of-battle ship had ever preceded
the Pedro Primeiro. Here he perceived that a
number of transports with troops had already
arrived, and immediate preparations were made
for the blockade of the port. This, however,
became unnecessary, as the Provisional Junta
came on board to deliver up the town, and to
testify their adhesion to the cause of independ
ence. Possession was consequently taken of
the brig-of-war Don Miguel, and a schooner;
as well as of all the Portuguese merchant vessels
in the harbour, excepting such as were destined
for the conveyance of troops to the mother-
country ; and an order was given for the confis
cation of all property belonging to Portuguese
resident in Portugal.
The brig Don Miguel was afterwards sent,
under the command of Captain Grenfell, with
ninety-six men, to reduce Para ; in which he suc
ceeded by means of a stratagem. Having

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 107
arrived before the town, he summoned it to
surrender, intimating at the same time, that
Lord Cochrane was off the mouth of the river
with a powerful squadron to enforce the sum
mons, in case of opposition. The consequence
was, that the city submitted, and all obnoxious
individuals were expelled, before the deceit was
found out. Here several merchantmen were cap
tured ; in addition to the Imperatriz, a fine new
fifty-gun frigate. The good fortune of Captain
Grenfell was not, however, uninterrupted. A
number of anarchists, denominating themselves
partizans of Don Pedro, in conjunction with a
division of undisciplined troops, made an at
tempt to depose the Provisional Junta : which
body being thus circumstanced, at once claimed
the assistance of Captain Grenfell ; who landed
with his men, and after having quelled the
insurrection, and, with the aid of the authorities,
made a considerable number of prisoners, shot
five of the ring-leaders in the public square.
Thence he returned on board, where on the
same evening he received an order from the
President of the Junta, to prepare a vessel large
enough to contain about two hundred of the
prisoners. A ship of six hundred tons burthen
was accordingly selected ; but instead of limit
ing himself to the number indicated, the Pre
sident sent on board, as it was afterwards as
certained, two hundred and fifty-three : who,

108 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
in the absence of Captain Grenfell, were all
crammed into the hold of the prison-ship, and
placed under a guard of fifteen Brazilian sol
diers. Crowded until almost unable to breathe, and
suffering alike from heat and thirst, the! poor
wretches attempted to force their way on deck,
but were repulsed by the guard, who, after
firing upon them, and fastening down the
hatchway, threw a piece of ordnance across
it, and effectually debarred all egress. The
stifling sensation caused by this exclusion of
air drove the suffering crowd to utter madness;
and many are said to have lacerated and
mangled each other in the most horrible man
ner. Suffocation with all its agonies suc
ceeded. The aged and the young, the strong
and the feeble, the assailant and his anta
gonist, all sank down exhausted, and in the
agonies of death. In the hope of alleviating
their sufferings, a stream of water was at length
directed into the hold, and towards morning the
tumult abated, but from a cause which had not
been anticipated. Of all the two hundred and
fifty-three, four only were found alive, who
had escaped destruction from having concealed
themselves behind a water-butt.
Lord Cochrane, during the interim, remained
in Maranham, where one of his first measures
was to satisfy the demands of the Indian troops,

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 109
recruited in the province of Piauhy, with the
intention of marching upon Maranham, and who,
although they had rendered no service, were
clamorous for pay. His Lordship, therefore.
sent them the sum of sixty contos of reis, found
in the Treasury. Having subsequently em
barked on board the Pombinha, a beautiful
Portuguese ship in the harbour, such goods
as, after a proper examination at the Custom
house, were found to belong to Portuguese
merchants resident in Portugal, and having
also despatched his other prizes to Rio de Ja
neiro, he prepared to follow them. A quantity
of the merchandize seized in the Custom-house,
and also several of the prize vessels, were at
once redeemed on account of the proprietors,
and the amount paid over to Lord Cochrane.
His Lordship finally sailed from Maranham
on the 20th of September, 1823, and arrived
in Rio on the 9th of November following ;
having had the satisfaction of seeing the entire
Brazilian territory, with the exception of the
Banda Oriental, cleared of its enemies, prin
cipally by means of his own exertions. In
Rio de Janeiro his services appeared to have
given the most entire satisfaction ; and on his
arrival in that city, he was informed that the
Emperor had, as a testimony of particular
approbation, already conferred upon him the
rank and title of Marquis of Maranham.

110 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.

CHAPTER VIII.
Affairs of Portugal — Decree for the Banishment of the Queen — Inva
sion of the Peninsula by the French, under the Due d'Angouleme—
Influence and Agency of the Clergy in Portugal — Counter-revolu
tion, and consequent Dissolution of the Cortes of Lisbon — Convo
cation of the Constituent Assembly in Rio de Janeiro — Spirit of
its Members — Speech of Don Pedro — Subsequent Discussion-
Coalition of the Royalists and Patriots against the Andradas, and
consequent dismissal of the latter from the Cabinet — New Mi
nistry, and their Measures — Factious Opposition of the Andradas—
Arrival of Commissioners from Portugal — Dissensions between
Brazilians and Portuguese — The Military March to San Chris-
tova~o, and the Members of the Assembly declare themselves in
permanent Session — Negotiations with the Government, and sub
sequent forcible Dissolution of the Assembly.
The Constituent Cortes of Lisbon closed their
labours on the 4th of November, 1822, and were
immediately succeeded by the Legislative As
sembly ; the Brazilian Deputies remaining in
Portugal being still retained as the representa
tives of Brazil. Several of the Portuguese
members wrere supplanted by others, but the
spirit of the assembly remained essentially the
same. The intention to reduce again to suh-
jection the rebellious provinces of Brazil still
existed in full vigour ; but the civil dissensions

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. Ill
which now began to agitate the mother-coun
try, turned the immediate attention of her le
gislators towards another quarter. A law had
been passed, by which all public functionaries
of the Administration were required to make
oath to the Constitution prior to the 3d of De
cember, 1822, under pain of banishment. The
King, who was as easily ruled by the Cortes of
Lisbon, as he had previously been by his minis
ters in Rio de Janeiro, had acceded to this
condition on his arrival; but the proud spirit
of the Queen was not thus easily subdued.
She distinctly and energetically refused com
pliance : a frigate was in consequence prepared
for her removal, even before the expiration of
the allotted time, and an order was finally issued
in the name of the King for her banish
ment. It is well known that this sentence was never
carried into execution. Under the plea of ill-
health, the Queen demanded a respite of a few
months, and before the period which she herself
had appointed for her departure arrived, the
Cortes were too busily occupied in preparations
for external war, to bestow even a thought upon
Her Majesty.
His most Christian Majesty, Louis XVIII.
had long been apprehensive, lest the rage for
popular government at present agitating the
Peninsula, should extend to his own dominions,

112 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
and in alliance with Ferdinand VII. he willingly
consented to despatch an army of 100,000 men,
under the command of the Due d'Angouleme
into Spain, with the alleged intent of preserving
that country from the anarchy towards which
its fanatical representatives appeared to be
hurrying it. The Constitutional party in Spain
nevertheless, took up arms against these offi
cious philanthropists, and the Cortes of Lisbon
resolved to second their efforts. Even such as
had been among the least scrupulous when legis
lating for the trans-atlantic portion of the
kingdom, were now found among the foremost
in repelling all attempts at foreign dictation
regarding their own affairs. First amongst
the advocates for hostilities was the Deputy
Moura ; hitherto noted, above all others, for his
exaggerated animosity to the cause of Brazil.
" There is no want of money," exclaimed this
acute logician ; " there is plenty of money in
Portugal, and being expended in war it remains
in the country." To an assembly entertaining
the economical sentiments prevalent in the Con
gress of Lisbon, such an argument alone must
have proved irresistible.
Whilst, however, the members of the assem
bly in question were thus legislating, their op
ponents, the absolutists, were acting. Intelli
gence of the unanimous election of Don Pedro
as Emperor arrived in Lisbon, and this circum-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 113
stance was by the partizans of the ancient sys
tem of Government represented as attributable
solely to the mis-government of the democratic
Cortes. The clergy, whose long-established.
privileges had, in several instances, been in
fringed upon by the existing legislature, re
peated the cry which every where obtained an
easy credence. Where the press is comparatively
unknown, the influence of the priesthood is ne
cessarily great, and the Portuguese clergy were
moreover possessed of considerable temporal
sway ; fully two-thirds of the landed property
in Portugal being at this period in their posses
sion. They were thus, from many reasons, en
abled to facilitate the counter-revolution, and
by pointing out the existence of the Cortes as the
only obstacle to a reconciliation between the
King and Don Pedro, or, in other words, be
tween Portugal and Brazil, they succeeded in
inducing a hope, that were the monarch re
invested with all his ancient powers, the mo
ther-country might even yet re-monopolize the
commerce, if not the government, of all the
Brazilian territory.
Such was the state of the public mind, when,
in February, 1823, the Count de Amarante
planted the standard of rebellion in favour of
absolute government in Villa Real. In the
commencement of his enterprise, he was de
feated by the constitutional forces under General

114 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
Luiz do Rego, the ex-Governor of Pernambuco,
and driven into the Spanish territory, where he
made an offer to the Due d'Angouleme to com
bine his movements with those of the invading
army. His Royal Highness declined the pro
posal, as incompatible with the relations of
peace existing between France and Portugal ;
yet intimated to General do Rego, who had
crossed the Portuguese frontier in pursuit of the
Count de Amarante, that the constitutional
forces would be held responsible for any acts
of hostility committed against the French
army. The counter-revolution was, however, too far
advanced to receive any material check from this
affected forbearance on the part of the French.
On the 27th of May, a regiment of infantry,
which had -left General do Rego on the frontier,
was met by an officer who had formerly com
manded it, but who had been dismissed by the
present Government, and by him the troops
were induced to declare against the Constitu
tion. The regiment then proceeded to Villa
Franca, where the Infante Don Miguel, who
had secretly left the capital, placed himself at
their head, and issued a Proclamation calling
upon the nation to deliver the King. The intel
ligence arrived in Lisbon the same day, and, on
the following one, General Sepulveda, who had
been invested with full powers over the forces

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 115
in the capital, proceeded to join the Prince.
All the troops, with the exception of one regi
ment, followed ; and though the King for a while
affected to deprecate the proceedings of a party,
the leaders of which were suspected to be his
own emissaries, he eventually abandoned Lis
bon, placed himself at the head of the retro-
graders, and after again entering the metropo
lis, and for some time amusing the people With
promises of another Constitution, finally re
established the old system of absolute govern- P
ment. Thus, on the 3d of June, 1823, abruptly termi- I
nated the Session of the celebrated Cortes of;1
1820. Unwise in their policy towards Brazil, it
has lain within the scope of the present narra
tive to bring forward only such of their acts as
can be but ill defended ; yet it would doubtless
be unjust on this account to condemn their en
tire administration. Their intentions were pa
triotic, and had their efforts received a more
judicious direction, instead of having, as at pre
sent, been the means of creating a prejudice
against Constitutional Government, from the
baneful effects of which Portugal is still suffer
ing, they might have been hailed alike as the
benefactors of their country and their race.
In Brazil, where they had but few claims on
the gratitude of the inhabitants, the intelligence
of the foregoing events was received by the
i 2

1 16 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
Royalists with rejoicing, and even by the pa
triots without any material dissatisfaction.
From the labours of the constituent and legis
lative Assembly, already convened in Rio, the
latter party looked for a more satisfactory code
of fundamental law than could under any cir
cumstances be expected from Portugal. This
constituent body, which was first assembled on
the 17th of April, counted in its numbers fifty-
two deputies ; and, after a series of preparatory
sessions, it was decided that their labours should
commence on the 3d of May, the anniversary of
the discovery of Brazil, by Cabral. Before en
tering upon the proceedings of the new legisla
tion, it may, however, be desirable to give some
general idea of its elements. The majority
was formed almost exclusively of Magistrates,
Judges of primary jurisdiction, Juris-con suits,
and the higher Dignitaries of the Church, princi
pally men of upwards of fifty years of age,
contracted in their notions, and inclined to roy
alist principles. The minority, consisting chiefly
of the subordinate Clergy, and of landed pro
prietors of small fortune, were eager in their
aspirations after liberty ; but liberty of that
vague and undefined cast, which every one in
terpreted after his own fashion, and according
to the measure of his own feelings. At heart
they were philanthropists, yet neither they, nor
their opponents, were characterized by much

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 117
practical aptitude for their allotted functions.
Inhabitants of districts, where their superior
learning had hitherto caused them to be re
garded as oracles, each brought with him exag
gerated ideas of his own importance, combined
in most instances with an utter ignorance of the
tactics usually put in force in deliberative as
semblies ; and, unless the three Andradas, who
were all elected deputies, be excepted, there
were few, if any, individuals above mediocrity
among them.
On the 3d of May the Session was opened by
the Emperor in person, who addressed the De
puties at some length on the occasion. After
laying before them a rather overcharged exposi
tion concerning the finances, the marine and
land forces, the new Empire, and the reforms
instituted since his accession to the throne, His
Imperial Majesty thus concluded : —
" When I was consecrated and crowned on the
1st of last December, I made oath as constitu
tional Emperor, and more particularly as per
petual Defender of this Empire, to defend with
my sword, the country, the nation, and the Consti
tution, if this last were worthy of Brazil and of
me. I now solemnly ratify this promise, per
suaded that you will aid me to fulfil it, in form
ing a Constitution at once wise and equitable ;
dictated by reason, and not by caprice ; looking
only to the public good, which depends on a

118 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
fundamental law, established on the bases which
experience has demonstrated as the fittest to
ensure liberjty_jto_the__people, and strength to
the authorities. We have need of a Constitu
tion where the powers may be so divided and
defined, that no one branch can arrogate to itself
the prerogatives of another ; a Constitution
which may be an insurmountable barrier
against all invasion of the Royal authority,
whether aristocratic or popular, which will
overthrow anarchy, and cherish the tree of
liberty ; beneath whose shade we shall see the
union and the independence of this empire
flourish. All the Constitutions founded on the
models of those of 1791, and 1792, have been
acknowledged as too abstract, and too metaphy
sical for execution. This has been proved by
the example of France, and more recently by
those of Spain and Portugal. The true princi
ples with which the members of this Assembly
are imbued, give me hopes that the Constitution
which you will form, will be worthy of my
Imperial sanction, and appropriate to the exi
gencies and civilization of the Brazilian nation.
In a word, that it will excite the admiration of
other nations, and even of our enemies, who
will consecrate the triumph of our principles in
adopting them."
As might have been anticipated, the clause
wherein His Majesty engaged himself to de
fend the Constitution, in case it were worthy

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 119
of him and of Brazil, when coupled with the
circumstances which had given rise to the late
banishment of Ledo and his colleagues, became
the cause of many serious apprehensions ; and
on the subsequent proposal of a vote of thanks
to the Emperor, Deputy Araujo Lima ob
served, that the tenour of His Majesty's speech
was entirely satisfactory, with the exception
of the words in question. " It could not be
supposed," he said, " that the Assembly of De
puties would seek to form a Constitution which
should be unworthy of Brazil."
Antonio Carlos de Andrada remarked in re
ply, that the words alluded to were perfectly
constitutional ; that no one was obliged to de
fend what was unworthy of himself, and that he
was of opinion, that the Assembly ought to de
clare its intention to form a Constitution worthy of
Brazil, and consequently worthy of the Emperor.
Deputy Maia then observed, that in order
that time might not be lost in forming a Con
stitution, which might not after all be accepted,
it was to be desired that His Majesty would
succinctly and briefly establish the conditions,
under which he was willing to accede to the
social compact ; but that even these conditions
should not be admitted, unless they were
deemed just. Another Deputy maintained, that
notwithstanding this apparent attempt at dic
tation on the part of the Emperor, if a liberal
Constitution were formed, His Majesty would

120 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
doubtless accept of it. Moniz Tavares, ex-
deputy to the Cortes of Lisbon, coincided in
opinion with the last speaker, and observed,
that in case the Emperor should disapprove of
the Constitution when formed, he would doubt
less accede to the suggestions of his conscience,
and resign the Imperial authority.
This last clause instantly gave rise to the
liveliest animadversions on the part of both
Antonio Carlos de Andrada, and the Minister
Joze Bonifacio. After defending the language
of Don Pedro, the latter then proceeded to
anathematize the spirit of democracy with consi
derable warmth. He dilated on the unfortu
nate condition of Spanish America, for four
teen years involved in civil war ; he dwelt on
the sufferings of Franee, assuaged only by
the return to a monarchical form of Govern
ment ; and, after alluding to the present dis
tracted state of the Peninsula, concluded in the
following words : — " As far as my voice can go,
I protest in the face of the Assembly, and of
the entire people, that we will form a Con
stitution not democratic, but monarchical ; and
I myself will be the first to concede to the
Emperor that which is really his due."
Several Deputies spoke in reply, but the mi
nisterial party prevailed, and the Assembly
stated, in the vote of thanks, that its members,
with the assistance of divine Providence, hoped

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 121
they might be enabled to frame a Constitution
which should be alike worthy of the Brazi
lian nation, of the Emperor, and of them
selves. The Andradas were as yet all powerful.
Profiting by their influence in the "Aposto-
lado," wherein Don Pedro himself was Presi
dent, they there discussed beforehand all the
matters subsequently submitted to the deli
beration of the Assembly ; and a plan for dis
solving the House, in case it should refuse to
submit to this system of dictation, is even said
to have been here devised by the Andradas
themselves. The period of their final overthrow
was, however, fast approaching. The patriots i
were already alienated, and the Royalists, j
though at present supporting the administra
tion, had all along regarded its leaders with
suspicion. A casual circumstance contributed
to hasten the crisis. On the 20th of June, 1823,
Moniz Tavares laid before the Assembly the
project of a law for the expulsion of all adopted
Portuguese, who might be deemed hostile to
the cause of the Empire, and Antonio Carlos
spoke in favour of the measure. The Royalists,
who were apprehensive lest this blow might be
aimed at themselves, entered into a coalition
with the patriots, with the object of ejecting the
Andradas from the Ministry, and the ear of
the Emperor was easily gained. A fall from

122 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
his horse, whereby his life was apparently en
dangered, prevented his attendance to public
business for several weeks, but no sooner did
he find himself in a state of convalescence, than
the Andradas were dismissed ; an event which
took place on the 17th of July.
Their successors, who were both chosen from
i the Royalist party, though not highly popular,
had at least, up to the period of their elevation
borne the repute of being well intentioned.
They were Joze" Joaquim Carneiro de Campos,
afterwards Marquis de Caravellas, as Minister
; of the Empire ; and Manoel Jacinto Nogueira
de Gam a, afterwards Marquis de Baependy, as
Minister of Finance.
Their appointment was, as a matter of course,
succeeded by an immediate change of policy
throughout all the relations of the Government.
Not only were the political prosecutions insti
tuted by the Andradas against the alleged
opponents of the independence, abandoned, but,
although both Brazil and Portugal were at this
moment in a state of open and declared war,
an Imperial order, dated the 2nd of August,
was despatched to the provisional Government
of Bahia, requiring its members to enlist, and
embark for Rio de Janeiro, all the Portuguese
prisoners of war who should voluntarily wish to
engage in the service of Brazil. In the censure
of this impolitic act none were more acrimonious

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 123
than the Andradas." On their dismissal from
the Cabinet they instituted a periodical, entitled
the " Tamoyo," the name of an Indian tribe
noted for their hostility to the Portuguese, in
which, while another individual figured as the
responsible editor, they covertly attacked the
existing administration. The publication was
well written, and bore evidence to both the ex
tent and variety of their literary attainments;
yet the free, if not democratic principles which
it advocated, were in strange discordance with
those by which the Andradas themselves had
been actuated during the time of their Ministry.
There was also an unbecoming petulance mani
fested, whenever their former policy happened
to come under the censure of their contempo
raries ; and while exaggerated eulogiums were
passed on their own administration, the errors
of their successors were attributed to the very
worst motives. The enlistment of the Portu
guese prisoners of war had naturally rendered
the patriots suspicious, lest an attempt might
even yet be made to replace the two countries
on their former relative footing ; and this sus
picion was openly fomented by the writings of
the Andradas, whose advances to their ancient
partizans were sufficiently obvious. In the
House of Deputies, their conduct was also
characterized by a similar spirit. From the
day on which Joze Bonifacio and Martin Fran-

124 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
cisco were dismissed from the Ministry, they
were ever found in the ranks of the opposition ;
where their ascendency was as constantly exer
cised to the prejudice of their successors.
It was at this juncture, that, on the 7th of
September, a Portuguese brig, on board of which
was the Marshal Pinto de Franca, arrived with
despatches from the Emperor, and after hoist
ing a flag of truce, entered the harbour of Rio
de Janeiro. These despatches His Majesty,
however, refused to receive, unless the indepen
dence of Brazil were acknowledged as the basis
of all future negotiations. The Marshal had
not been empowered to enter into any stipula
tions on this head, and though he himself was
allowed to disembark, in consequence of his
infirm health, the remainder of his suite were
prevented from holding any communication with
the city. A Portuguese corvette arrived a few
days afterwards with the Count de Rio Maior,
and other Commissioners deputed by the Por
tuguese government, to arrange a settlement of
existing differences, and without any prelimi
nary negotiation, or even hoisting a flag of
truce, entered the port.
With these Commissioners the Emperor also
refused to treat, except on the conditions already
demanded from Pinto de Franca ; and as they
had no authority to accede to those terms, they
were not only prohibited from all communication

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 125
with the shore, but as they had entered under a
hostile flag, the vessel was detained as a prize,
and the Count de Rio Maior, and his suite, sub
sequently compelled to re-embark for Lisbon in
a packet. Whilst, however, from motives of expediency,
the Emperor treated the entire body of the
Commissioners thus unceremoniously, and even
made an affectation of refusing to open the
private letters from his relative, he is, with
every appearance of truth, charged with having
held secret communications with the Count de
Rio Maior. Be this matter as it may, the
entire official correspondence relative to the
transaction was forthwith transmitted to the
Chamber of Deputies, as an indubitable tes
timony of His Majesty's good faith towards the
cause of the independence.
This Assembly had of late been the cause of
more than ordinary anxiety to the Emperor,
since the present Cabinet was becoming daily
more and more embarrassed in its career,
through the factious opposition of the Andra
das. As it has been before stated, the majority
of the Assembly were individuals of contracted
notions, who, had the leaders of the Ministry
been possessed of even common administrative
talent, might have been rendered entirely con
formable to the will and influence of the su
preme authority ; yet neither Don Pedro, nor

126 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
his Ministers were apparently qualified to un
dertake their direction. On the other hand,
the Andradas were fluent, bold, and subtle;
and by their intimate acquaintance with par
liamentary forms, and a certain declamatory
eloquence, which perhaps more from its novelty
than from its intrinsic merit, gave them the re
putation of being the first orators in Brazil,
they were able to thwart nearly all the mea
sures of their opponents. This they were
generally most unscrupulous in doing, even at
the expense of their consistency. On the
occasion of a debate relative to the title con
ferred on Lord Cochrane, for instance, it was
insinuated by some member of the minority,
that His Majesty had in this instance infringed
on the attributes of the legislature ; an opinion
which was instantly echoed by Antonio Carlos,
who, notwithstanding the previous fervour of
his loyalty, remarked, that nobility unaccom
panied by any corresponding power, was an
institution of which he could not comprehend
the object ; and that he therefore hoped that
an intimation might be conveyed to Don Pedro,
requesting him to confer no more titles, unless
with the sanction of the House of Deputies.
These petty bickerings, which were of con
tinual occurrence, had, when combined with the
domination of the Andradas, the natural effect
of irritating the mind of His Imperial Majesty,

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 127
and a casualty which occurred shortly after
wards, brought matters to a crisis. A letter
had appeared in a periodical entitled the " Senti-
nella," containing some remarks to the prejudice
of the Portuguese military, incorporated in the
army of Brazil. The result was, that on the
evening of the 5th of November, two officers of
artillery, both natives of Portugal, entered the
shop of a Brazilian apothecary, named David
Pamplona, whom they suspected of being its
author, and maltreated the unfortunate man in
such a brutal manner, as nearly to deprive him
of life.
At any other period the outrage might per
haps have passed over without particular notice ;
but in the present excited state of public feeling,
it was magnified into an outrage on the nation.
The sufferer demanded justice from the House
of Deputies ; and the Andradas, who had all
along inveighed against the engagement of the
Portuguese military, and who were happy in
the present opportunity of turning the public
wrath against their opponents, most loudly
demanded vengeance on the aggressors. In
the " Tamoyo" also, their language was equally
violent. Insinuations were thrown out that un
less the Government should turn aside from the
anti-national path in which it was at present
treading, its power would be of short con
tinuance, and the example of Charles the First

128 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
of England was alluded to, by way of warning
to Don Pedro. The military, in the meantime,
espoused the cause of their comrades, and a
regiment of infantry, the commanding officer
of which was known to be on terms of cordiality
with the Emperor, marched to Santo Christovao,
where they were shortly afterwards joined by
the remainder of the army. Here they were
favourably received ; a circumstance which gave
rise to the most serious apprehensions on the
part of the Assembly, who began to regard
their political existence as in peril. In this
respect, their suspicions were only too well
grounded. Mortified beyond measure by the
ascendency of the Andradas, His Majesty re
solved either on their expulsion, or on the
dissolution of the entire Chamber. The Minis
ters being unwilling to countenance either of
these bold measures, were immediately dis
missed ; and on the 10th of November replaced
by individuals of royalist principles, and of a
less scrupulous cast. On the same day an
immense crowd began to congregate about the
House of Deputies ; and, at the instance of
Deputy Alencar, were admitted into the cham
ber. Here, however, their presence naturally
led to great confusion, and the President was
prematurely compelled to close the Session.
On the following morning a message from the
Emperor was laid before the House ; wherein it

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 129
was stated, that the officers of the troops en
camped at San Christovao required satisfaction
from the Assembly, for the attack made on
their honour, as well as on the intentions of
His Majesty in various periodicals. In conse
quence of which, Antonio Carlos de Andrada
proposed that the House should declare itself
in permanent session ; and that a deputation
should be sent to inquire from the government
the motives of the late movements of the mili
tary force; both of which propositions were,
after a brief discussion, approved of; and the
result was transmitted by two Secretaries to
Don Pedro, with a request for information from
the Government regarding the nature of the
satisfaction required ; the number of officers
who had urged the complaint ; and also, which
were the offensive periodicals.
To these inquiries the Government some
what evasively made reply, " that as to the
officers, they were unanimous ; that the offen
sive periodicals were the Tamoyo, and the
Sentinella ; and the individuals complained
of, the three Andradas, as Editors of the first,
and collaborators of the second ; and, moreover,
leaders of a seditious party :" a communication,
which, after some discussion, it was resolved to
submit to the consideration of a Committee
appointed for the purpose.
During the entire night of the 11th, which is
VOL. I. K

130 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
still emphatically and characteristically termed
by the patriots " the Night of the agony," the
Deputies remained at their stations, notwith
standing the most poignant apprehensions had
gradually succeeded to the excitement which
induced them to declare their session perma
nent. Inexperienced in the march of political
events, and with the massacre of the " Praca do
Commercio" still fresh in their recollection,
they already regarded themselves as martyrs in
the cause of their country ; and many of the
Priests proceeded to confess themselves to each
other, under the impression that ere many hours
had elapsed, their lives might probably fall a
sacrifice to the wrath of the infuriate soldiery.
To their credit it may, however, be remarked,
that in the face of this apparent danger, they
betrayed no symptoms either of wavering or
trepidation. On the contrary, by mutual exam
ple and exhortation, they sustained each other's
flagging spirits, and when the following day
dawned their numbers were still undiminished.
Early on the morning of the 12th, Antonio
Carlos proposed that the Minister of the Em
pire should be summoned before the Assembly ;
and on being put to the vote, it was decided in
the affirmative. On his arrival, the President
inquired from His Excellency, if he knew the
number of officers who had complained to the
Emperor. His Excellency replied, that he was
unacquainted with the number ; but that they

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 131
were many, and that His Majesty had himself
affirmed, that his physical and moral existence
had been attacked in one of the numbers of the
Tamoyo. President. Did His Excellency know the
motives which had led to the assemblage of the
troops in San Christovao ? — had they all been
summoned there, or had a part of them gone
there voluntarily ?
Answer. His Excellency knew nothing, ex
cepting that they were assembled there to
prevent any disorders in the capital, and to
preserve the subordination of the troops. Any
further inquiries on this head could be best
replied to by the Minister of War.
Question. Had orders been given for the
arrest of any Editors of periodicals ?
Answer. His Excellency believed that some
orders to this effect had been given to the
Minister of Justice.
Question. Were the troops under arms ?
Answer. His Excellency did not know.
Question. Had His Majesty demanded, or
proposed the dismissal of the Andradas ?
Answer. Such a request had been made, but
lie had stated to his Majesty that the applica
tion was inadmissible.
Question. Was His Excellency aware how
long the troops would be retained at San
Christovao, or what was their ultimate purpose ?
k2

132 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
Answer. It was considered imprudent to
quit their station, until the Assembly had
acceded to their wishes ; and the troops were
perfectly unanimous.
On the termination of these interrogatories,
the Minister retired, and an acrimonious dis
cussion ensued ; during the course of which it
was proposed, that the troops should receive an
order to retire to such a distance from the city
as might leave the assembly unrestricted in the
exercise of their deliberations. In proportion,
however, as the danger began to be regarded as
more imminent, the citizens who had hitherto
crowded the galleries, and on whom the An
dradas placed much reliance, began to disperse,
and in a short time there were few remaining
in the House, except the members. The Royal
ists, and more particularly such as had been
noted for their hostility to the Andradas, were
overjoyed at this circumstance, and made no
attempt to conceal their exultation. Joz6 Boni
facio, however, against whom their virulence
was principally directed, bore the ordeal with
fortitude. It was on this memorable occasion
that, in the words of n young author, who has
since adverted to the circumstance ; —
" Then rose that brave old man, and though the tenrs
Ran trickling down his checks, creel In; stood ;
' This head is groy,' cried he, ' and all my years
Have bcin devoted to my country's good :

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 133
Now will I die for her ; the purple flood
That fills this aged heart shall freely flow,
And glut the craving of your murderous brood ;
Yet mark ye, from this blood when I am low
A Hydra will spring up, and well avenge the blow !' "
Exhausted with his emotions, and overcome
with fatigue from having sat up all the pre
ceding night, he soon after retired from the
chamber. The Emperor, in the meantime, finding that
the three brothers still maintained their pre
dominance, mounted on horseback, rode into
town at the head of a body of cavalry, and
after surrounding the chamber with a military
force, and planting cannon before its walls,
sent up Brigadier Moraes to the Assembly,
with an order for its instantaneous dissolution.
The President attempted to enter the proceed
ing of Moraes in the records of the House, but
not even this was permitted ; and along with all
his colleagues, he was compelled immediately
to retire.
Antonio Carlos and Martin Francisco de
Andrada, as well as Deputies Rocha and Mon
tezuma, were arrested on the stair-case ; and in
company with Joze Bonifacio, who was also
apprehended in his own house, conveyed on
board "a vessel almost ready for sea, and with
out either trial or examination, transported to
France. Thus terminated for at least a series
of years, the political career of the Andradas

134 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
On the impartial Chronicler, it is incumbent to
confess, that when in power they were arbitrary,
and when out of place factious ; yet their views
were ever great, and their probity unimpeach
able. It was by Joze Bonifacio, that the un
certain and inconstant resolutions of Don Pedro
were irrevocably fixed. He it was, who, by
contrasting the supremacy over a nascent Em
pire, with that over a decaying kingdom, and
who by representing the loss of Brazil as ine
vitable in case of the Prince's departure, again
kindled up the expiring ambition of the youth
ful potentate, and led on to the accomplish
ment of a revolution, effected with but little
sacrifice, and almost unstained by blood. The
disinterestedness of both himself and his bro
ther Martin Francisco is, perhaps, equally
deserving of eulogy. Title and wealth had
alike been placed within their grasp, yet they
retired from office undecorated, and in honour
able poverty. In many of their acts they may
doubtless be censured, yet when the critical
circumstances of Brazil at the period are taken
into consideration, surely some apology may be
made for their errors.
During the entire period elapsing from the
convocation to the close of the constituent As
sembly, its members had passed no more than
five projects of law, all on objects of minor
importance; and had made but little progress in

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 135
the discussion of the various articles of the i
Constitution. In theDecree for the dissolution, His Majesty
stated, that he had been led to this step by the
perjury of the Assembly ; but that another would
be immediately convoked for the purpose of
taking into consideration the project of a Con
stitution, which he would himself lay before its
members ; and which would be doubly as liberal
as the one projected by the Assembly. This
was succeeded by a declaration, dated on the
13th, whereby his Majesty thought proper to
qualify the charge of perjury as applied to the
whole Assembly, and to state that the factious
individuals only, who by their preponderance
had dominated over the Congress, were in
cluded in the accusation. A Proclamation was
also issued on the same day, wherein the arrest
of the Andradas, and their pai zans, was stated
to have been effected solely with the view of
avoiding anarchy ; and a promise was made that
the families of the criminals should be taken
under the protection of the government. " The
salvation of the country," continued his Ma
jesty in the Proclamation, " which is confided
to me, as the Perpetual Defender of Brazil, and
which is the supreme law, has required these
measures. Have confidence in me, as I have
in you, and you will see that our internal and
external enemies will alike supplicate our in-

136 HISTORY OP BRAZIL.
dulgence. Union ! Brazilians, union ! Whoever
has adhered to our sacred cause, and made
oath to the independence of the Empire, is a
Brazilian !"

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 137

CHAPTER IX.
Manifesto relative to the dissolution of the Assembly — Convention of
a Council of State for the formation of a New Constitution-
Plot for the Assassination of Don Pedro — Affairs in Monte Video
— Unpleasant situation of Lord Cochrane — Bad faith of the
Government relative to the Prize Claims — Abstract of ths New
Constitution, made oath to on the 25th of March, 1824 — Subse
quent analysis of its principal features — Spirit of the Adminis
tration — Further particulars relative to the Prize Claims.
Whatever might have been the feelings of con
sternation with which the patriots beheld the
dissolution of that body, which they had re
garded as the great bulwark of their liberties,
the Portuguese residents, whether absolutists
or adherents to the late Cortes, were for the
most part gratified. They had looked on the
Chamber with dislike from its first convocation,
and they now beheld its dissolution with plea
sure. His Majesty did not, however, deem it pru
dent to leave his defence entirely in other
hands. A Manifesto, to which the imperial
signature was attached, was issued on the 16th
of November, wherein the aberrations of the
late Assembly were sagaciously ascribed to the

138 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
genius of evil. The Emperor ingenuously
owned that he himself had summoned the
troops to San Christovao, with the just de
sign, as he asserted, of leaving the Assembly in
perfect liberty. In the same document, vehe
ment complaints were made regarding the ca
lumnies, of which His Majesty had been the
object ; the motion that the troops should re
tire from the vicinity of the city, was stigma
tized as a measure which would have deprived
the Government of its necessary vigour and
energy ; and the public were finally reminded,
that though the Emperor had, from regard for
the tranquillity of the empire, thought fit to
dissolve the said Assembly, he had in the same
decree convoked another, in conformity with
the acknowledged constitutional rights of his
people. A Special commission, or Council of State,
consisting of ten individuals, was subsequently
convened on the 26th of the same month, for
the purpose of forming such a Constitution as
might meet with the Imperial approval ; and its
members immediately commenced their labours
under the personal inspection of Don Pedro,
who forthwith furnished them with the bases,
whereon it was his intention that the document
should be framed.
These concessions were, however, far from
satisfying the patriots. The entire separation

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 139
of Brazil from Portugal was in their eyes of
equal importance with the adoption of repre
sentative institutions ; and this separation now
appeared to have been again rendered ex
tremely problematical. Don Pedro was by
many regarded as being still the heir-apparent
to the Crown of the latter country; and now
that he had obtained possession of the throne
in Brazil, apprehensions arose lest he might
attempt again to unite the two countries, and
thus reduce the independence of the latter to
an empty assumption. The consequence was a
conspiracy, originating with the republican
faction, for the assassination of the Emperor,
and the day subsequently named as the one on
which he would make oath to the new Constitu
tion, was the one appointed for the perpetration
of the deed.
Notwithstanding, however, the perils and the
discontent with which the Administration were
encompassed in Rio de Janeiro, the cause of
Brazil was still gaining ground. Intelligence
of the success of Lord Cochrane in the north,
and his subsequent arrival in the metropolis,
had no sooner reached Monte Video, than it had
the effect of inducing the Portuguese Com
mander of that city to capitulate. Previously
to Brazil declaring her independence, the Banda
Oriental had sent up a Deputy, Don Joze Lucas
Obes, to the Council of Representatives, con-

140 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
vened by Don Pedro ; and the Municipal Senate
shortly afterwards testified their adherence to
the cause of independence. The efforts of Ge
neral Lecor to bring over the garrison, were,
however, unsuccessful. They revolted, and
placing themselves under the command of Bri
gadier Don Alvaro de Costa, continued to re
tain possession of the city on behalf of the
Cortes. Lecor meanwhile fled to the village of San
Jose, where, by concentrating the native forces
stationed on the Uraguay, he raised an army of
nearly three thousand men ; and, returning to
Casavalle, about two leagues from Moute Vi
deo, declared the city in a state of siege, prohi
bited all payments to the garrison, and threat
ened every one who should afford them assist
ance with prosecution. The locality of Monte
Video, which can be approached by land in one
direction only, facilitated the operations of
the General ; yet, such was his remissness, that
a constant communication with the interior is said
to have been maintained throughout the entire
period of the siege. Don Alvaro, at least, con
tinued to hold the city, and the Cabildo, not-
w ithstanding their previous professions in fa
vour of the independence, thought fit to ac
knowledge his authority. The Government in
Rio refused payment of the bills drawn on the
Treasury for the supplies of the garrison ; or-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 141
dered Don Alvaro and his followers to embark
immediately ; and finally sent down a naval
expedition for the enforcement of their man
dates ; but all to no purpose. Don Alvaro
maintained his position, nor was it until he be
came aware that the Portuguese forces had
been ejected from every other point of Brazil,
that he was induced to enter into a convention
with General Lecor, in which, on condition that
the Brazilian Government would pay up the
arrears due to his troops, and provide trans
ports, he agreed to embark with all his forces
for Lisbon. It was also stipulated, that the
Brazilian Government should convoy the squad
ron as far as the Azores, and guarantee the
troops against hostilities, in case stress of wea
ther should compel them to put into any of the
northern ports. The embarkation took place
as soon as transports could be provided, and
the Portuguese troops were thus pacifically dis
possessed of their last stronghold in America.
Meanwhile, Lord Cochrane himself remained
in Rio, patiently waiting the adjudication of his
prizes ; and, as a succession of captures were
still coming in from the coast of Portugal,
whither Captain Taylor had followed the Portu
guese, the officers and crews of the squadron
were led to form the most flattering hopes.
The result, however, did not equal their antici
pations. The prizes had been guaranteed to

142 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
the squadron previous to its sailing, but the
object of the expedition was now attained, and
His Majesty, under the influence of his Roy
alist Counsellors, manifested but little eager
ness in fulfilling the engagements entered into
during the ministry of the Andradas. He was
anxious, in the first instance, to avoid giving
offence to his Portuguese subjects ; and, in the
second, by delaying the condemnation of the
sequestered vessels and property, to facilitate a
peace with the mother-country.
He did not, however, dare to make an open
avowal of these sentiments. A nominal Prize-
court was instituted ; of which, incredible as
it may appear, the majority of the members
were by birth Portuguese, every way interested
in defeating the claims of the captors. To
the prizes taken in Maranham, and the pro
perty there seized in the Custom-house, this
tribunal denied the alleged rights of the squad
ron altogether ; on the plea, that this city had
formed an integral part of the Brazilian Empire
before Lord Cochrane's arrival, and that, con
sequently, all the seizures effected there, were
invalid. His Lordship in vain recalled to the
attention of the members the fact, that though
Maranham might nominally be termed a Bra
zilian province from the time of the independ
ence, it was actually until the period of its de
claration, in the possession of Portugal ; and

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 143
that, as it had afterwards been delivered up
by the Portuguese authorities to an armed
Brazilian force, all property appertaining to
the enemy, by the customary usages of war, fell
to the share of the captors, unless an equivalent
were granted by the Crown.
The Prize-court not only overruled this ob
jection, but even declared the Admiral bound
to make restitution of all such sums as he had
received in ransom for property apprehended
in the port in question ; a decision, however, to
which his Lordship peremptorily refused to
accede. In the adjudication even of such prizes as
had been actually guaranteed, the same spirit
prevailed. In every instance, pleas the most
extravagant were admitted, and sentences the
most incongruous issued. In the case of a
certain prize, Captain Taylor of the Nitheroy,
an officer, who, after following the enemy into
the mouth of the Tagus, had burned four
vessels under the guns of the line-of-battle
ship Don John VI. was sentenced to be im
prisoned for six months on the Uha das Cobras,
and to forfeit double the amount of his prize-
money, in behalf of the owners of the property
seized. In another, the Pombinha, the ship
loaded by Lord Cochrane in Maranham, with
goods out of the Custom-house, was, on being

144 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
declared an illegal prize, given up to the Por
tuguese owner, along with all her cargo. These,
and many similar decisions, were publicly im
peached by his Lordship, but to no purpose.
Official letter after letter, and appeal after ap
peal, were transmitted to the Minister, but no
redress was to be obtained ; and his Lordship in
consequence, felt himself compelled to refuse
payment to the Government of the amount of
specie seized during the blockade of Bahia, as
well as of the sum subsequently received in
redemption of the seizures in Maranham ; a
resolution, in which, taking into consideration
the bad faith of the Government, he appears
to have been fully justified.
The prize-vessels were in the meantime de
livered up by order of the Government, to the
charge of the Inspector of the Arsenal, and by
him again to individuals, who, being in no
manner responsible for the property on board, al
lowed it to be carried off by night with the utmost
impunity. The consequence was, that when the
members of the Prize-court at length decided in
their wisdom on discharging the vessels, in order
to prevent the cargoes from being damaged, they
discovered to their astonishment, that in this re
spect, their intentions had been already fore
stalled ; and that, strange as it might seem, many
valuable cargoes had entirely disappeared. As

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 145
for the vessels themselves, they were for the
most part allowed to lie and rot, until they
became equally valueless to either party.
On the occasion of the entry of Captain
Grenfell, in the frigate Imperatriz writh forty
contos of reis on board, the product of the ran
som of the prizes taken by him in Para, a still
more flagrant breach of faith was committed ;
as the Emperor proceeded on board in person,
and in the absence of Captain Grenfell, carried
off the money. The Captain was also soon
afterwards subjected to a Court Martial, in
consequence of the suffocation of the prisoners
in Para ; but on its being proved that he had in
reality but little connection with that disastrous
circumstance, and that through his exertions
the city had been preserved from utter anarchy,
he was in the end honourably acquitted.
The preceding are, however, minor parti
culars, which would be unworthy of relation,
except inasmuch as they may serve to explain
the motives of the subsequent conduct of Lord
Cochrane ; and it now becomes necessary to
refer to the course of events of more import
ance. The project of the new Constitution to
be conceded by the Emperor was brought for
ward early in the month of January, 1824, but
the promise that it should be submitted to a
National Assembly for their approval was not
adhered to. Copies of the document were,
VOL. I. L

146 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
however, transmitted to the Municipal Chambers
of the various provinces, and as the majority
were judged to be in favour of its adoption,
the Emperor, the Empress, the Bishop of Rio,
and the Municipal Body, finally made oath to
it on the 25th of March following.
In the evening the Royal family attended the
Theatre. It had been the design of the con
spirators against the life of His Majesty, to set
fire to the house during the performance, and
to assassinate him in the confusion expected to
ensue. This plan, however, proved abortive,
the Emperor being happily rescued in the
beginning of the tumult, without even being
aware of the imminence of his danger. The
Theatre was reduced to ashes ; but although
some suspicion was excited, the existence of
the conspiracy never fully transpired until sub
sequently to the abdication in 1831.
The Constitution was, in its general principles
at least, equally satisfactory with the projected
one in discussion in the late Assembly. In
accordance with the promise of the Emperor,
many of its dispositions were even more liberal.
By its provisions, Brazil was declared an inde
pendent Empire, and its government Monarchi
cal, Constitutional, and Representative. The
reigning dynasty were to be Don Pedro, and
his successors. The Roman Catholic religion
was constituted that of the State; but the

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 147
exercise of all others was permitted. The un
restricted communication of thought, either by
means of words, writings, or the agency of the
press, exempt from censure, was permitted; with
the condition that all who should abuse this
privilege, should become amenable to the law ;
and a guarantee founded on the principles of
the English Habeas Corpus act was also con
ceded to the public. The privileges of citi
zenship were extended to all free natives of
Brazil, to all Portuguese resident there from
the time of the Independence, and to all natural
ized strangers. The law was declared equal to
all; all were constituted liable to taxation in
proportion to their possessions; the highest
offices of the State were all laid open to
every citizen ; and all privileges, excepting
those of office, abolished. The political powers
acknowledged by the Constitution were the
Legislative, the Moderative, the Executive, and
the Judicial ; all of which were acknowledged
as delegations from the nation. It was declared
that the General Assembly should henceforth
consist of two chambers ; the chamber of Depu
ties, and that of the Senate, both elective ; but
while the Deputies were to hold their office for
four years only, the Senators were appointed
for life. The especial attributes of the Assem
bly were to administer the oaths to the Emperor,
the Imperial Prince, the Regent, or the Regen-
l 2

148 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
cy ; to elect the Regent, or Regency ; and to fix
the limits of his or their authority ; to acknow
ledge the Imperial Prince as successor to the
Throne, on the first meeting after his birth ; to
nominate the Guardian of the young Emperor,
in case such Guardian were not named in the
parental testament; to resolve all doubts re
lative to the succession on the death of the
Emperor, or vacancy of the Throne ; to exa
mine into the past administration, and to re
form its abuses ; to elect a new dynasty, in
case of the extinction of the reigning family ;
to pass laws, and also to interpret, suspend,
and revoke them ; to guard the Constitution,
and to promote the welfare of the nation ; to
fix the public expenditure, and taxes ; to ap
point the marine and land forces annually
upon the report of the Government; to con
cede, or refuse, the entry of foreign forces
within the Empire ; to authorize the Govern
ment to contract loans, to establish means for
the payment of the public debt, to regulate the
administration of national property, and de
cree its alienation ; to create, or suppress pub
lic offices, and to fix the stipend to be allotted
to them ; and lastly, to determine the weight,
value, inscription, type, and denomination of
the coinage. During the tenure of their office,
the members of both Houses were alike ex
empted from arrest, unless by the authority of

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 149
their respective Chambers, or when seized in
the commission of a capital offence. For the
opinions uttered during the exercise of their
functions, they were declared inviolable. All
measures for the levying of imposts, and mili
tary enrolments, the choice of a new dynasty
in case of the extinction of the existing one, the
examination of the acts of the past administra
tion, and the accusation of Ministers, or Coun
sellors of State, were required to have their
origin with the House of Deputies. For the
indemnification of its members, it was decided
that a pecuniary remuneration should be al
lotted to each during the period of the sessions
The number of the Senators was fixed at
one-half that of the Deputies ; and the mem
bers were required to be upwards of forty
years of age, and to be in actual possession of
an income amounting to at least eight hundred
milreis per annum. It was their exclusive at
tribute to take cognizance of the individual
crimes committed by the Members of the Royal
Family, Ministers, or Counsellors of State ; as
well as of the crimes of Deputies, during the
period of the Legislature. Their annual sti
pend was fixed at half as much again as that of
the Deputies.
The members of both Chambers wrere to be|
chosen by provincial Electors, who were them-j,
selves to be elected by universal suffrage; in

150 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
which only minors, monks, domestics, and indi
viduals not in the receipt of one hundred milreis
per annum, were excluded from voting. Whilst,
however, the Deputies were appointed directly
by the Electors, the Senators were nominated
in triple lists, from which three candidates it was
ordained that his Majesty should select one.
Each Chamber was qualified with powers for
the proposition, opposition, and approval of
projects of law. In case, however, the House
of Deputies should disapprove of the amend
ments, or additions of the Senate, or vice versa, it
was decided that the dissenting Chamber should
have the privilege of requiring a temporary
union of the two houses, in order that the mat
ter in dispute might thus be decided in general
Assembly. A veto was conceded to the Emperor, but it
was only suspensory in its nature. In case
three successive Parliaments should present the
same project for the Imperial sanction, it was
declared that on the third presentation it
should, under all, or any circumstances, be con
sidered that the sanction had been conceded.
The ordinary annual Session of the two Houses
of Legislature were limited to the period of four
months. To each province of the Empire, a General
Council was appointed, for the purpose of dis
cussion on its particular interests, and the for-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 151
mation of projects of law accommodated to its
localities, and urgencies ; but these Assem
blies were not invested with any power ex
cepting that of proposing laws of provincial
interest. The attributes of the Mpderative power,
which was designated the Key to the~entire
political organization, and which was vested:
exclusively in the hands of the Emperor, were,
the nomination of Senators, according to the
before mentioned regulations ; the convocation
of the General Assembly, whenever the good
of the Empire should require it ; the sanction
of the decrees, or resolutions of the Assembly ;
the enforcement, or suspension of the projects
of the provincial Councils during the recess of
the Chambers ; the dissolution of the House
of Deputies ; the nomination of Ministers of
State ; the suspension of magistrates ; the di
minution of the penalties imposed on crimi
nals ; and the concession of amnesties.
The titles acknowledged in the Constitution
as appertaining to His Majesty, were, " Con
stitutional Emperor, and Perpetual Defender of
Brazil." His person was declared inviolable,
and sacred, and he himself exempt from all re
sponsibility. He was, moreover, designated as
the Chief of the Executive power, which power
was to be exercised through the medium of his
Ministers. Its principal functions were the

152 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
convocation of a new General Assembly in
the third year of each legislature ; the nomi
nation of Bishops, Magistrates, military and
naval Commanders, Ambassadors, and Diplo
matic, and Commercial Agents ; the formation
of all treaties of alliance, subsidy, and com
merce ; the declaration of war and peace ; the
granting of patents of naturalization, and the
exclusive power of conferring titles, military
orders, and other honorary distinctions. All acts
emanating from the executive power were to be
signed by the Ministers of State, before being
carried into execution, and those Ministers
were to be held responsible for all abuses of
power, as well as for treason, falsehood, pecu
lation, or attempts against the liberty of the
subject. In addition to the Ministry, a Council of State
was also appointed, the members of which were
to hold their offices for life. They were to be
heard concerning all matters of serious import,
and principally on all subjects relating to war
and peace, negotiations with foreign States,
and the exercise of the moderative power.
For all counsels wilfully tending to the preju
dice of the State, they were to be held respon
sible. The Judicial power was declared indepen
dent, and was appointed to consist of Judges
and Juries for the adjudication of both civil and

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 153
criminal cases, according to the disposition of
future codes for this effect. The Juries were
to decide upon the fact, and the Judges to ap
ply the law. For all abuses of power the Judges,
as well as the other officers of justice, were
to be held responsible. It lay within the attri
butes of the Emperor to suspend the Judges in
the exercise of their functions, but they were
to be dismissed from office only by a sentence
of the supreme Courts of appeal, which were to
be forthwith instituted in all the various pro
vinces. The Presidents of the provinces were to be
nominated by the Emperor ; but their privileges,
qualifications, and authority, were to be fixed
hereafter by the Assembly.
If, after the expiration of four years, it should
be found that any articles of the Constitution
required reform, it was decreed that the pro
posed amendments should originate with the
House of Deputies ; and if, after discussion, the
necessity of the reform was conceded, an act
was to be passed and sanctioned by the Em
peror in the usual manner, requiring the electors
of the Deputies for the next Parliament to con
fer on their representatives especial powers
regarding the proposed alteration or reform.
On the assembling of the next House of Depu
ties, the matter in question was to be proposed
and discussed, and, if passed, to be appended

154 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
to the Constitution, and solemnly promul
gated. Finally, civil and criminal codes were to be
organized; the use of torture was abolished;
the confiscation of property was prohibited ; the
custom of declaring the children and relations
of criminals infamous was abrogated, and the
rights of property, and the public debt were
'guaranteed. On the whole, the Constitution was a satis
factory document, and far more liberal in its
dispositions than the character of its compilers
had led the public to anticipate. Fortunately,
they were Royalists, unqualified to estimate
either the ultimate consequences, or even the
immediate bearings of the guarantees which
they were conferring. They were instructed to
form such a document as might ensure popu
larity, and, moreover, the period allotted by the
Emperor for the completion of their labours had
been restricted to forty days. They were thus,
from a double motive, compelled to rely rather
on authority, than on the results of either ratio
cination or reflection. In their compilation,
they followed the Portuguese Constitution of
1822, rather than the one lately projected by
the Constituent Assembly. The idea of the
General Councils of the provinces was borrowed,
with few variations, from the Constitution of
the Netherlands. The union of the Chambers,

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 155
in case of dissent, was copied from the funda
mental Code of Norway, and several articles
were transcribed, word for word, from the Con
stitution of the French Constituent Assembly
of 1791. The Code, however, to which they
were more than all indebted, was a project
proposed in the writings of Benjamin Con
stant, as a modification of the Charter of
France. On attentive revision, traces of the vacillation
under which the commission laboured in the at
tempts to reconcile contending interests, and to
amalgamate principles in themselves contradic
tory, may be found in the dispositions of the Code
itself. In one article, all the powers legislative,
moderative, executive, and judicial, are stated
to be delegations from the nation, and yet,
shortly afterwards, the moderative or irrespon
sible power, is styled the Key to the entire po
litical organization. It is true, that the phrase,
" the Key to the entire political organization,"
being altogether metaphorical, may be ex
plained away in such a manner, as to remove
the appearance of a contradiction ; yet why em
ploy any such figurative expressions in the con
coction of a code of laws? The admission of the
title of " Perpetual Defender of Brazil," as ap
plied to the Emperor, into the body of the Con
stitution, also appears somewhat incompatible
with the institutions of a free people, who ought

156 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
to be their own defenders. By virtue of this ap
pellation, the privileges of dictatorship were ap
parently vested in His Majesty, and in case he
should at any future time, have requested an
ulterior law for the entire development of his
attributes in this respect, it is easy to perceive
that a venal legislature could instantaneously
have invested him with almost absolute au
thority. Notwithstanding these, and some other minor
discrepancies, the Constitution was as a whole
hailed with rejoicing. A few of the Municipa
lities were opposed to the appointment of the
Senate for life, on the ground that this per
manence was neither more nor less than an
utter exemption from all responsibility ; and
that the strongest of all incitements to public
esteem was thus wilfully done away with.
From a similar feeling, objections were also
made to the separation of the Moderative from
the Executive power ; and had the Constitu
tion been submitted, according to promise, to
the sanction of a National Assembly, it ap
pears doubtful, whether either of the foregoing
provisions would have been accepted.
Whilst, however, circumstances had thus
induced the Government to confer a Consti
tution, which, whatever might be its faults,
was at least quite as liberal as could be deemed
appropriate to the circumstances of the country,

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 157
a retrograde principle still appeared to per
vade nearly all the acts of their administration.
None, excepting Ministerial papers were al
lowed to be printed; the tendency in favour j
of the Portuguese was openly pronounced ; ;
and even the interests of the Naval officers,
through whose instrumentality the integrity
of the Empire had been accomplished, were
still thwarted as before, and the situation of
Lord Cochrane rendered daily more and more
disagreeable. On the one hand, the officers
and seamen looked to him for their prize-
money, and reproached him with apathy ; and
on the other, he was told by the Minister of
the Empire, Joao Severiano Maciel da Costa,
afterwards Marquis de Queluz, that he was
too exacting, and avaricious, and ought to con
tent himself with his pay. These taunts from
both parties at length exasperated him be
yond all measure, and led him to form the cele
brated project of repaying himself, which he
soon afterwards carried into execution ; and
which has since been the means of drawing
upon him so much obloquy, from individuals
unacquainted with the facts of his provocation.
Eight entire months were consumed in fruit
less attempts to bring the Ministry to a sense
of their injustice ; during which period a con
siderable number of both officers and seamen
retired from the service in disgust. The Roy-

158 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
alist party, however, maintained their pre
ponderance, and it was not until affairs in Per
nambuco assumed an aspect which again put
the Admiral's services in requisition, that his
complaints were attended to. Then, and then
only, was a grant of two hundred contos of
reis given out of the Treasury on account;
which sum was immediately distributed amongst
the officers and crews still remaining.

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 159

CHAPTER X.

Application of the Portuguese Government for the intervention of his
Britannic Majesty — Mediation of Mr. Canning, in 1824 — Attempt
of Don Miguel to overthrow the Portuguese Administration —
Negotiations relative to the affairs of Brazil — Unsatisfactory line
of policy adopted by the Portuguese Government.

The violent dissolution of the Constituent As
sembly was regarded by the Cabinet of Por
tugal, as an unquestionable proof of the as
cendancy of the Portuguese party in Brazil ;
and their hopes that Don Pedro might even
yet acknowledge the supremacy of his father,
and establish an entire re-union with the
mother-country, were consequently revived. It
was not long, however, before they discovered
that in forming this opinion, they had been
far too sanguine, and in March 1 824, they ap
plied specifically, in a " Note Verbale," pre
sented in London by M. de Villa Real, for
the intervention of His Britannic Majesty, to
procure an immediate assent to the following-
conditions.

160 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
1st, The cessation of hostilities on the part
of Brazil against Portuguese ships and subjects.
2d, The restitution of all Portuguese pro
perty wrongfully confiscated.
3d, Abstinence from any attack upon the
Colonies remaining faithful to Portugal.
4th, The dismissal by the Brazilian Govern
ment of all British subjects from its service.
This application was made on the alleged
foundation of ancient Treaties subsisting be
tween Portugal and Great Britain : which
Treaties, however, Mr. Canning, who then held
the seals of the Foreign Department, did not
consider applicable to the present contest,
which he looked upon as of a domestic, rather
than of a foreign nature, though he willingly
accepted the office of a mediator ; as British
interests were at stake both in Portugal and
Brazil. In whatever manner a protracted strug
gle between the two countries might have ter
minated, Great Britain would inevitably have
been a loser by the contest ; and in the hope
of accomplishing a peace, Mr. Chamberlain,
the British Charge d'Affaires in Rio, was im
mediately directed to urge upon the Brazilian
Ministry the fulfilment of the foregoing con
ditions. This pacific mediation was, however, far from
proving altogether satisfactory to the Portu-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 161
guese Ministers. They had looked for positive
mandates, to be supported by an armed in
terference. They either were, or affected to
be, still of opinion that an union between Brazil
and the parent state might again be effected,
and being disappointed in their expectations
of forcible intervention on the part of Great Bri
tain, they at least made an affectation of turn
ing their minds to a project for again reducing
Brazil to obedience, by means of an expedition
fitting out in the Tagus. While they continued
in this disposition, Felisberto Brant returned
to England from a voyage to Brazil, charged,
jointly with another Commissioner, to open a
negotiation for the arrangement of peace.
No sooner did the Portuguese Ministry learn
the arrival of the Brazilian Plenipotentiaries in
England, than they gave positive assurances
that no expedition should sail from Portugal
while negotiations were pending ; and these
assurances, when in their turn they reached Rio
de Janeiro, also produced on the part of the
Brazilian Ministers, a determination to do all
in their power to prevent further hostilities :
though this cessation of arms could not be pub
licly announced. All treaty was, however, for
a time suspended, by an attempt on the part
of Don Miguel to overthrow the government of
Portugal. The irresolute and vacillating cha-
VOL. I. M

162 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
racter of the King had there roused at xmce
the fears of the Absolutists, and the hopes of
the Constitutional party. The Queen herself
openly declared to her adherents that her hus
band was unfit to reign ; Don Miguel was well
known to share the sentiments of his mother;
and the result was an attempt made on the 30th
of April, 1824, to depose the existing Adminis
tration. Under the plea of having discovered
a conspiracy against the life of his Royal father,
the Infante placed himself at the head of the
military, and at once proceeded to throw into
prison the most influential of his own political
opponents. The King, however, with appa
rent justice, regarded this step as preparatory
to an attempt for his own dethronement, and
sought refuge from the over-zealous loyalty of
his son on board the Windsor Castle, an Eng
lish ship of war, lying at anchor in the Tagus.
He there held an audience with the Foreign
Ambassadors at that time resident in Lisbon,
and finding them unanimous in the determina
tion to support him, he despatched a letter to
the Infante, intimating, that in case of submis
sion, His Majesty would overlook the excesses
which an indiscreet zeal had induced him to
commit. To this condition Don Miguel finally
thought proper to accede; and, with many
expressions of filial regard, requested permis-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 163
sion to retire from Portugal, lest his presence
should afford a pretext for a continuance of
intrigue amongst the Constitutionalists. This
wish was, of course, granted without any dif
ficulty. The Infante, in consequence, departed
for Vienna, and the King finally re-assumed the
command of the arnvy in person. As for the
Queen, she learned the triumph of her weak
and irresolute spouse with but little satisfac
tion ; declaring that, had the Infante consulted
with her, " the streets of Lisbon should have
run with blood before such a disgraceful com
pact should have been acceded to."
It was not until the European concerns of
Portugal were settled, that those of Brazil could
be attended to. Negotiations between the Bra
zilian Plenipotentiaries on the one hand, and a
Portuguese Minister on the other, were, how
ever, at length entered upon in London, on the
12th of July, but nothing definitive was con
cluded. Notwithstanding the previous over
throw of the democratic Cortes, to whose exist
ence alone the obstinacy of the Brazilians had
been ascribed, the negotiation made but little
progress. That promptitude of operation which
is often cited as one of the characteristic advan
tages of a despotic form of Government, did
not, in the present instance, extend itself
throughout the diplomatic relations of the Por-
m 2

164 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
tuguese Court. The Brazilians demanded in
dependence, the Portuguese Sovereignty ; and
these words reciprocally interchanged, formed
the only substance of five different conferences.
The unsatisfactory nature of these proceedings
at length induced Mr. Canning to address a
communication to the Portuguese Government,
pointing out the danger lest their hostilities
might convert the Monarchical Government
already established in Brazil, into a number of
separate republics ; and, on this account, re
questing an acknowledgment of the indepen
dence. On the other hand, the representatives
of Austria, Russia, and Prussia, which coun
tries had not a single sail off the coast of South
America, or a single bale of goods in the ports
of either Portugal or Brazil, calmly recom
mended perpetual war, rather than the admis
sion of revolutionary principles.
The Portuguese Ministry decided upon an
intermediate course ; and thus managed to dis
satisfy all parties. They drew up a project,
wherein the independence was nominally ac-
j knowledged ; but, as they still insisted on -a
joint diplomacy, a common army, and that the
King of Portugal should be acknowledged as
senior Emperor of Brazil, it was, of course, in
admissible. Not content, however, with the rejection of

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 165
the Brazilian commissioners in London, the
Portuguese Government sent out an obscure
emissary, of the name of De Leal, to Rio de
Janeiro, where he was thrown into prison ;
and after having had his proposals rejected,
dismissed with orders to quit the territories of
Brazil forthwith.

166 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.

CHAPTER XL
Revolt in Pernambuco — Arrest and subsequent release of Manoel
Carvalho Paes de Andrada — Proclamation of the " Confederation
of the Equator"— Lord Cochrane despatched to Pernambuco, in
August, 1824 — His operations and negociations there — Advan
tages obtained by' the Imperialists, under the command of Fran
cisco de Lima — Arrival of Commodore Jewett in Pernambuco,
and flight of Carvalho — Execution of Ratcliff, Metrowich, and
Loureiro for high treason.
While the Emperor was thus in vain attempt
ing to obtain satisfactory terms of peace from
the mother-country, the integrity of the new
Empire was seriously endangered by an insur
rection in the North. The city of Rio de Ja
neiro, and the circumjacent provinces had sub
mitted to the violent dissolution of the Consti
tuent Assembly, without any show whatever of
insubordination ; but, in the more distant pro
vince of Pernambuco, a very different spirit was
manifested. The cause of the Independence
had there received no factitious aid from the
presence of an extravagant and ostentatious
Court; but it had, perhaps, on that very ac
count, taken root more vigorously among the
people. From the period when their ancestors

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 167
expelled the Dutch in the seventeenth century,
the inhabitants of Pernambuco had ever been
noted for their impatient and democratic spirit ;
and, in 1817, whilst the inhabitants of every
other province in Brazil had been retained in
uncomplaining submission, they had already
revolted. Though defeated, they had again
taken up arms against Luis Dorego ; and,
finally, they had expelled the Portuguese with
out any extraneous assistance.
It could not be expected that a community
imbued with this rebellious disposition would
long yield a blind and unscrutinizing obedience i
to the arbitrary domination of the Court. On!
the contrary, they declared, through the medium
of their public journals, that they might as well
remain a colony of Portugal as constitute them
selves a colony of Rio de Janeiro ; and, on re
ceiving intelligence of the events which had
taken place in that city on the 12th of Novem
ber, they came to the resolution of proclaiming
a republican form of government.
At the head of an association for the accom
plishment of this rash and premature project,
for both rash and premature it must unques
tionably be pronounced, was Manoel Carvalho
Paes de Andrada, the elected President of the
province ; a young man of agreeable manners,
of an impetuous, active, and enthusiastic disposi
tion, and of considerable popularity ; yet, in no

168 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
wise remarkable either for the extent of his
acquirements, or the depth of his prudence.
The democratic principles of this individual
were already well known to the Government in
Rio, at the period of his election. He had been
connected with the insurrection of 1817, and
was in the United States, whither he had gone
for the purpose of purchasing arms and ammuni
tion, when his fellow-conspirators were prema
turely called into the field. He had, conse
quently, remained in exile from his native
country, until its separation from Portugal again
permitted him to return to Pernambuco. His
appointment thus proved any thing but agree
able to the Royalist administration, and an
other President of the nomination of the Em
peror was, on the present occasion, sent up from
the metropolis ; but the inhabitants of the city
of Pernambuco, in three general Assemblies, as
often refused to acknowledge any authority
excepting that of the individual of their elec
tion. The port was consequently blockaded for
three months by Captain Taylor, and, on the
20th of March, 1824, Carvalho was unexpec
tedly arrested, through the defection of two mi
litary officers, Scara and Lamenha. Both of
these individuals were in the party of Carvalho,
when they received an account of their own
promotion by the Court of Rio ; and finding

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 169
themselves thus favoured by the existing pow
ers, and aware that the troops under their com
mand could be influenced in any manner which
they might think proper, they came to the reso
lution of effecting a counter-revolution, and
proceeded to arrest Manoel Carvalho as before
stated. The garrison of Fort de Brum, where
he was conveyed a prisoner, however, revolted
in his favour. All the troops, with the excep
tion of those implicated in his arrest, also de
clared in behalf of the popular cause ; and, be
fore many hours had elapsed, Carvalho was
again re-instated in the Presidency, and the
refractory battalion sent off to Barra Grande, a
small port in the province of Alagoas.
The conspirators, meanwhile, proceeded to
engage a small naval force, and were only
waiting a favourable moment for the execu
tion of their plans, when a Decree, dated in
Rio, on the 11th June, 1834, was received,
whereby the Government of Pernambuco were
informed that a squadron was now fitting out
in the Tagus, for the invasion of Brazil ; and
that, as the Emperor was incompetent to pro
tect the whole coast of the Empire, the Per-
nambucans would for a time be required to
rely upon themselves for means of defence.
This occasion was deemed a fit one for car
rying the projected revolution into effect; and
Proclamations were accordingly issued by the

170 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
President on the 2d of July, denouncing Don
Pedro as a traitor, whose intention it was to
abandon Brazil to the Portuguese. At the same
time a call was made on the various provinces
of the north of Brazil, to disclaim the authority
of the Imperial Government, and to league
themselves in an alliance to be entitled the
" Confederation of the Equator." The troops
were also placed under arms, and all necessary
measures were taken for the defence of the
city. A large number of the inhabitants of
Parahyba, Rio Grande do Norto, and Ceara,
subsequently declared in favour of the same
cause ; but the movement was less unanimous
than had been anticipated. Misled by the
enthusiasm existing in the city of Pernambuco,
the conspirators had expected that the whole
country would rise in arms at their call. But
the pacific inhabitants of the interior were too
indifferent to the cause of dissension, and too
much in the habit of implicit obedience, to
be at all ripe for any such projects ; and Bar-
reto, afterwards created Marquis de Recife,
the proprietor of an extensive territory near
Cape St. Augustine, even took up arms in the
cause of the Emperor ; whilst the troops who
had before arrested Carvalho, as well as a num
ber of partizans, rallied round his standard.
Here Carvalho besieged them by land, and at
the same time with a small naval force block-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 171
aded them by sea 5 but without any decided
success. Intelligence of these proceedings in the mean
time reached Rio de Janeiro, where the " Ha
beas Corpus," conceded by the Constitution,
was suspended through Pernambuco ; and ano
ther President, a native of that province, ap
pointed in Carvalho's stead. The unemployed
vessels of war were also fitted out for sea, and a
division of about twelve hundred men despatched
under the command of General Francisco de
Lima, the brother of Lima who had previously
conducted the siege of Bahia, with orders to
co-operate with the troops of Barreto. The
squadron sailed from Rio, on the 1st of August,
1834, under the command of Lord Cochrane ;
and, after landing the troops in Macey6, pro
ceeded to blockade the city of Pernambuco.
His Lordship did not, however, it must be
owned, proceed in this service with his usual
vigour. He issued repeated Proclamations,
stating his persuasion, that the dissensions
now agitating Pernambuco had their origin
in erroneous impressions regarding the events
which had taken place in Rio de Janeiro ;
and he volunteered to act as a mediator between
the insurgents and the Emperor. He recalled
to their attention the distracted state of the
Spanish republics throughout South America,
and he finally threatened to increase the rigour

172 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
of the blockade; to destroy their shipping,
and by sinking vessels in the mouth of the
harbour, to block up all entrance into the port,
unless the integrity of the Empire were again
acknowledged within eight days from the date
of his first Proclamation.
His Lordship had anticipated immediate
compliance, but was disappointed. He had
only employed the foregoing threats in the
hope that by intimidation a struggle might
be prevented ; and as this opinion proved in
correct, his situation became one of much em
barrassment. Whatever might be his desire to
avoid a conflict, he could not, after the decisive
language which he had adopted, employ his
own officers in any further negotiation. It,
however, happened that at this crisis the Eng
lish packet arrived from Falmouth, with Mrs.
Graham, the authoress of the " Journal of a
voyage to Brazil," on board as a passenger ;
and of the mediation of this Lady Lord Coch
rane determined to avail himself; well aware
that while he might, without suspicion, employ
her as a Diplomatic Agent, her sex would
ensure her respect and protection from all
parties. Mrs. Graham cheerfully undertook
the office proposed, and made several attempts
to arrange the terms of a personal interview
between his Lordship and Carvalho, on board
the French brig of war L'Inconstant, then lying

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 173
there. Failing, however, in this, she was next
entrusted with terms of peace ; wherein, on
condition that all Government property should
be respected, and the balance in the Treasury
paid over to the Imperial Authorities, a per
mission was granted to the leaders of the re
bellion, to embark for any foreign port along
with their families, and all their bona fide pro
perty ; a certificate of protection being pro
mised to all the rest who should surrender.
These efforts on the part of the Admiral,
were all unavailing. To his advances, Car
valho replied by an offer of four hundred
contos of reis, in case his Lordship would
abandon the Imperial cause, and come over to
the Republicans ; and on an indignant refusal,
all further negotiations were broken off.
A schooner, the Leopoldina, was conse
quently fitted out for the bombardment of the
city, the harbour being too shallow to admit
vessels of heavy burthen, and as no doubt
existed but that Lord Cochrane would attempt
to carry his threats into execution, unless the
place should surrender, the inhabitants of
Recife, the wealthiest division of the city,
began to fly towards the interior in the utmost
confusion ; carrying with them all their move
able property, their furniture, and their slaves.
The schooner commenced throwing shells on
the 28th of August, about midnight, but with

174 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
little effect, being inadequate to such service.
The idea of taking the place by storm, was in
consequence given up for the present, and a
casualty which occurred to the Admiral's ship a
few days afterwards, compelled him to abandon
the blockade altogether. The Lameirao, or outer
road of Pernambuco, is an extremely danger
ous anchorage during certain months of the
year, and the ground so rocky, that a vessel
rarely moors there for any length of time,
without losing an anchor. Such was the case
with the Pedro Primeiro : she lost every anchor
but one, which circumstance was alleged by
Lord Cochrane as his motive for bearing down
for Bahia, whither he sailed, leaving Pernam
buco still in the hands of the republicans.
In the meantime, the troops of General Lima
formed a junction with those of Barreto. The
forces of the Republicans were still in greater
number, but as they were far behind their op
ponents in discipline, and they met with but
little of that ardent co-operation which they
had anticipated, they were unable to oppose
any effectual barrier to the invading force.
After a succession of skirmishes, terminating
in every instance to the advantage of the Im
perial army, General Lima finally entered Per
nambuco on the 11th of September, and in the
course of the following day, succeeded in ob
taining possession of the Treasury,— in which

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 175
were found four hundred contos of reis, pro
bably the money rejected by Lord Cochrane, —
and of the Government Palace.
The troops of Carvalho, meanwhile, retreated
into the parish of Recife, and breaking down
the bridge which unites this district to the rest
of the city, they there entrenched themselves,
and commenced a brisk fire on the position
occupied by the Imperialists. But very fortu
nately for the Imperial cause, a naval division,
commanded by Commodore Jewett, arrived on
the 11th with eight hundred men on board, a
number of whom were immediately disem
barked, and preparations made for the assault
of Recife. In the meantime, however, a for
tuitous circumstance did more for the besiegers
than all their own exertions. At the time
when General Lima entered Pernambuco, he
managed to intercept Carvalho, who was at the
head of a body of troops in the vicinity ; and
the latter being anxious to reach the city, was
consequently obliged to proceed thither on a
fishing raft, in the only direction by which it
could under existing circumstances be ap
proached. Before he could effect his landing,
however, the firing became so incessant that,
according to Carvalho's own account, the fisher
men refused to draw up to the shore, and thus
compelled him to seek refuge on board His
Britannic Majesty's Corvette the Tweed. Here

176 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
he arrived soon after midnight, and in the
course of the following day despatched condi
tions to Commodore Jewett, by which, in case of
their acceptance, he guaranteed the entire
surrender of the Republican force within ten
hours. In substance, the terms were little
more than a transcript of those previously
offered by Lord Cochrane, but the season for
capitulation was past, and they were treated
with utter neglect.
The flight of Carvalho, was in the meantime
blazoned forth ; and as few knew the exact
circumstances under which it had taken place,
his partizans at once gave up their cause as lost.
The assault on Recife took place on the 17th
of September, about two in the morning, when
the resistance was even more feeble than had
been anticipated; and before 8 a.m. the entire
city was in the hands of the Imperialists;
the majority of the Republican troops, either
making their escape, or secreting themselves.
The prisoners, amounting to about four hun
dred men, were for the most part embarked
for Rio de Janeiro, and thence again to the
ports of the South.
The Imperial troops had expected to have
apprehended Carvalho on his estate in Santa
Anna, about two leagues from the Capital,
but they were disappointed. On arriving
there they found his mother only, at her devor

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 177
tions. The chapel was brilliantly illuminated,
and it may be recorded as a trait of national
manners, that for more than six months she
had burned tapers night and day before the
shrine of Our Lady of Conception ; to whom
she had also, during the same period, directed
her fervent but fruitless supplications for the
success of the cause in which her son was en
gaged. Three only of the individuals connected with
the insurrection were subsequently executed.
Their names were Ratcliff, Metrowich, and
Loureiro; and they were arrested on board a
vessel in which were also a number of incen
diary proclamations. Ratcliff was a Portu
guese ; Metrowich, a Maltese ; and Loureiro,
a Brazilian. The first two were officers of
the brig-of-war, Constituicao ou Morte, em
ployed in the siege of Barra Grande, and the
third was Commander of the schooner, Maria
de Gloria, also engaged in the same service-
Though they were not proved to have taken
any very active part in the siege ; though the
indictment was informal ; the evidence brought
against them principally hearsay, and it was
shown that Loureiro had been compelled to
embark against his will, yet all were con
demned in the utmost rigour of the law ;
whilst to others, taken in open rebellion, an
act of amnesty wras conceded.
VOL. i. n

178 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
The severity exercised in this instance may
perhaps, however, be explained by a reference
to the affairs of Portugal. Ratcliff had for
merly been employed in the office of one of
the Ministers of State in Lisbon, and had
volunteered to write out the Decree for the
banishment of the Queen, on the occasion of
her refusal to make oath to the Constitution.
His death was thus regarded by all as a sacri
fice to the wrath of offended Royalty, rather
than as the just punishment due to his offence ;
and as the unfortunate man's companions were
implicated equally with himself in the terms
of the indictment, it was deemed necessary
that they should suffer also.
During the short imprisonment elapsing be
tween the period of his sentence and its execu
tion, Ratcliff traced on the wall of the Oratory
the lines —
" Quid mihi mors nocuit? virtus post fata virescit,
Nee stevi gladio perit ilia tyranni."
" What pain can death inflict, where virtue still
Survives and triumphs o'er the tyrant's will ?"
Their merit is perhaps trifling; the second
line is even defective in measure ; yet they at
least appear to evince the convictions of the
writer. When brought to the scaffold, he ex
claimed, "I die innocent! God grant that my
blood may be the last shed for the liberty of

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 179
Brazil." He was anxious to have addressed the
people, but was not permitted. Loureiro be
trayed some symptoms of trepidation as the
crisis approached, but Metrowich, like Ratcliff,
died with firmness.
Lord Cochrane in the meantime, returned to
Pernambuco, and, in conjunction with General
Lima, took measures for putting an end to the
war in the more remote provinces. In this
their efforts were attended with perfect suc
cess. Parahyba, Rio Grande do Norte, and
Ceara, successively submitted to the Imperial
forces ; and thus terminated within the space of
a few months, the celebrated " Confederation
of the Equator."

N 2

180 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.

CHAPTER XII.
Arrival of Lord Cochrane in Maranham, in November, 1824 — Dis
sensions there — Operations of his Lordship — His claim on the
ordnance, &c. formerly appertaining to the Portuguese Govern
ment — Banishment of Ab ranches — Arrival of a new President,
and his subsequent removal by Lord Cochrane — His Lordship's
departure for England.
From Pernambuco Lord Cochrane proceeded
along the coast, accompanied by the Piranga,
Commodore Jewett, and the Cacique brig,
Captain Manson ; and, having secured the
allegiance of Rio Grande, and Ceara, arrived
in the port of Maranham on the 9th of No
vember, 1824. This province he found in a
state of anarchy. The leaders of the army or
ganized in favour of the independence, had risen
against the authority of the President, Miguel
Bruce, a Brazilian, originally of Scotch ex
traction, and hostilities were actually in oper
ation at the time when Lord Cochrane entered
the port ; each of the contending parties osten
sibly declaring for Don Pedro, and each accus
ing the other of wishing to form a Republic.
As Bruce, who at present held the city, placed

history of brazil. 181
his chief confidence in people of colour, to many
of whom he had given commissions, the more
respectable class of the inhabitants hailed the
arrival of Lord Cochrane with great joy. Ad
dresses poured in upon him from all quarters,
and even the ladies of Maranham came for
ward in a deputation to congratulate him.
After remaining a few weeks in port, and
ascertaining the actual state of parties, his
Lordship sent a cutter with thirty men up the
river Itapicuru to the scene of hostilities, with
an order for both parties to lay down their
arms. This mandate the assailing party im
mediately complied with, and dispersed. The
troops of the President also embarked in five
smacks, and were under way to Maranham,
when they were met by Lord Cochrane, who
had followed the cutter in the Atlante schooner,
and after being brought under the guns of the
Piranga, and the Pedro Primeiro, they were
compelled to disembark on a small island,
where they were retained as prisoners until
after the departure of his Lordship. Bruce
himself was subsequently dispossessed of his
powers, and sent off by an early conveyance
to Rio de Janeiro.
Having thus re-established order through
out the province, and appointed to the Presi
dency Manoel Telles da Silva Lobo, an indi
vidual entirely in his own interests, Lord

182 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
Cochrane proceeded to carry into execution
a plan which he had formed long before.
Notwithstanding the services which he had
already rendered to Brazil, and the acknow
ledgment of them in the title of Marquis of
Maranham, conferred upon him by the Em
peror, he had hitherto met with nothing but
bad faith on the part of the Administration in
Rio de Janeiro ; and he was well aware that
terms of peace enacting the restitution of all
Portuguese property were in actual negotiation.
He therefore looked upon the admission of
his claims on the Imperial Government as
hopeless, and determined to seize the present
opportunity of indemnifying himself whilst
yet in his power. In doing this, he had
nothing to apprehend from the President.
This individual, the humble ex-secretary to
the provincial Government, owed his elevation
solely to the favour of his Lordship ; the be
sieging army had dispersed, and the troops of
Bruce were prisoners. Under the plea, there
fore, that the ordnance, military stores, am
munition, and all the various fixtures formerly
appertaining to the Portuguese Government,
were in reality the lawful prize of their captors
from that nation, he proceeded to make an
estimate of their value, which was found to
amount to nearly four hundred contos of reis.
This amount, however, and also the sixty

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 183
contos formerly furnished to the army of Piauhy,
his Lordship, in consideration of the impo
verished state of the province, agreed to com
mute for about the fourth part, or a hundred
and six contos ; provided the latter sum were
paid immediately.
A Memorial to this effect was then sent in
to the Treasury, but as the claim was altogether
novel, and the members of the Board had
neither a sufficient amount in their coffers,
nor any orders from the Government of Rio,
they demurred regarding its payment. His
Lordship, in consequence, appeared in person
at a meeting held by this body, and after ad
ducing his estimates, proceeded to urge the
claims of the squadron with great firmness.
From a glance at the respective position of
the parties, it is easy to perceive how the dis
pute must necessarily terminate. An unani
mous vote was finally passed, that as the Trea
sury was nearly empty, the Custom-house
should furnish the stipulated sum ; and an
order was given on the latter establishment
for the amount.
This order was to be discharged by succes
sive instalments, but the conduct of Lord
Cochrane was, in the meantime, bitterly ar
raigned by an individual named Abranches, the
Editor of a periodical entitled the " Censor."
This person, a Portuguese by birth, had the

184 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
audacity to stigmatize the Admiral as at once a
pirate and a robber. For several weeks Lord
Cochrane, through the medium of another pe
riodical, publicly responded to the accusations
brought against him in the "Censor;" but,
finding that his exculpations appeared only to
aggravate the violence of his opponent, he de
termined on the adoption of more decisive mea
sures. Fortunately for him, the " Censor" en
joyed the sympathies of the Portuguese party
only, for the Brazilians universally regarded
the services of his Lordship with gratitude.
By his energetic conduct he had twice pre
served them from the horrors of civil war. His
present exaction was certainly a heavy one, but
it was of little consequence to the people whe
ther their revenues were paid over to his Lord
ship, or to the Treasury in Rio de Janeiro.
Under these circumstances, therefore, the Pre
sident was easily induced to issue an order for
the instantaneous banishment of Abranches, on
the alleged ground of his having issued publica
tions at once inimical to the public peace, and
personally offensive to the Marquis of Ma
ranham ; a sentence which was immediately
carried into execution, and which subsequently
gave rise to the keenest mortification on the
part of the Ministry in Rio de Janeiro.
The money meanwhile came round but
slowly, and the designs of his Lordship were

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 185
again subjected to a far more serious obstacle
in the arrival of another President from Rio de
Janeiro. The conduct of Bruce had for a long
time been unsatisfactory to the Court, and the
consequence was that, before the news of his
dismissal had arrived there, an individual of the
name of Pedro Joze da Costa Barros, a partizan
of the Portuguese faction, had been appointed
to supersede him in the Presidency. The newly
appointed functionary arrived at his destination
early in February, when he was received with
all due honours by the actual President, as well
as by Lord Cochrane and his suite, and requested
to take charge of the government on the follow
ing day. To their solicitations he very naturally
replied, that, finding the province in a state of
peace, he was anxious to ascertain the particu
lars of the late convulsions, and the actual state
of political parties, before he entered upon his
official duties. No sooner, however, had he
been made aware of the late proceedings of Lord
Cochrane, than he intimated to his Lordship his
intention to assume office in the course of a few
days. To this sudden resolution his Lordship re
fused to accede. It had become evident that Bar
ros was an individual of a much less complying
disposition than Lobo, the actual President; and,
as the payment of the stipulated one hundred
and six contos was still incomplete, his Lordship
took occasion to postpone the fulfilment of Bar-

186 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
ros's intention, under the plea that he had already
written to Rio de Janeiro regarding political
affairs here, and that, as he expected an answer
within ten days, he deemed it most advisable to
retain Lobo in office until the expiration of that
time. Incensed at this unexpected opposition,
Barros immediately threw off the mask, and
telling Lord Cochrane that he fully compre
hended the motives of this treatment, threatened
to make his Lordship responsible for it to the
Emperor. The revenue of the Custom-house, in the
meantime, came forward more slowly than ever.
The appointed ten days passed over, and after
them twenty more, but neither had the amount
been completed, nor had the expected commu
nications arrived from Rio de Janeiro. Barros
had, however, in connection with a number of
partizans, determined on a forcible attempt to
invest himself with the Presidency, to be exe
cuted on the 10th of March, 1825. Of this
Lord Cochrane received intelligence in an ano
nymous communication, and after disembark
ing a force from the line-of-battle ship, he pro
ceeded to arrest Barros as a conspirator, and, on
the 12th, sent him off a prisoner in the brig of
war, Cacique, to Para, there to wait the deter
mination of the Emperor.
Having at length received the stipulated
sum from the Custom-house, as well as fifteen

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 187
contos in ransom for a slave vessel, claimed as
a prize on the first surrender of Maranham, and
still retained there, his Lordship finally sailed
for England in the Piranga, on the 20th of May.
He had already placed Commodore Jewett in
the Pedro Primeiro ; and had despatched this
vessel to Bahia, whither he gave it out to be his
intention to follow her. He nevertheless pro
ceeded directly to Portsmouth, where he arrived
after a passage of thirty-seven days, and on
landing was received with the most enthusiastic
greetings, His engagement had been to serve
Brazil until the recognition of her independence
by Portugal, and as this had not as yet been
effected, he still kept his flag flying on board
the Piranga, though there was but little proba
bility that his services would ever again be put
in requisition ; especially after the line of con
duct which he had pursued in Maranham.
The news of his proceedings in the mean time
arrived in Rio de Janeiro, where they excited
the liveliest indignation on the part of the Mi
nistry. Sensible, however, of their own pre
vious breaches of faith, they were sparing in cen
sure. The "DiarioFluminense," the only official
organ of the Administration, transcribed the ac
counts from Maranham relative to the foregoing
transactions, without even annexing one single
comment. Their wrath was manifested solely
in the immediate dismissal of Lobo from the

188 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
Presidency, and the re-appoihtment of Pedro
Joze de Costa Barros to that office. The Portu
guese, who had ever regarded his Lordship with
dislike, were loud in their vituperations ; but
that the Brazilians were in general influenced
by a very different feeling, was apparently
evinced by their election of Lobo as one of their
Deputies to the General Assembly.

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 189

CHAPTER XIII.
Assassination of Caldeira in Bahia — Acknowledgment of the inde
pendence of the Spanish republics by England, and its effects on
the Negociations between Portugal and Brazil — Mr. Canning's
proposals to the Portuguese Government — Their Impolicy — Em
bassy of Sir Charles Stuart — Treaty of the 29th of August, 1825,
recognizing the independence — Secret convention annexed — Ratifi
cation of the treaty — State of parties in Brazil — Private character
of Don Pedro — Marchioness de Santos — Chalaca the favourite —
Operations of the Absolutists.
Scarcely had the insurrection in Pernambuco
been quelled, when the troops in Bahia rose
against Felisberto Gomez Caldeira, the military
Governor of that city ; and, on the 25th of Oc
tober, 1824, assassinated him. His undue par
tiality to the Portuguese was the alleged cause
of the sedition, in which this catastrophe had
its origin. The leaders of the conspiracy were,
however, removed to Monte Video, before any
further demonstrations of disaffection had taken
place, and public order was again restored.
The metropolis had, in the mean time, re
mained in a state of tranquillity throughout all
these dissensions in the North. The negocia-

190 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
tions for peace with the mother-country were
still pending, but an event now occurred which
had the effect of materially expediting their
progress. This was the recognition of the in
dependence of several of the Spanish republics
of South America by the government of Great
Britain. Though this acknowledgment had no
direct connection with the affairs of either Por
tugal or Brazil, it yet gave a moral force to the
cause of freedom all over the world.
Mr. Canning had foreseen this. He had
repeatedly urged the Portuguese Ministry to
concede in time, but his requisitions had been
slighted. He nevertheless determined on a
further effort for an amicable adjustment, and
for this end despatched Sir Charles Stuart to
Lisbon, expressly for the purpose of inducing
His most Faithful Majesty to grant to Brazil an
entire Legislative independence, and to con
firm to Don Pedro the unlimited exercise of
the Imperial Authority, under such titles as
the Brazilian people had already conferred
upon him. At the same time he also advised
that the Emperor should be recognized as
heir apparent to the Throne of Portugal, in
order to evince a continued connection between
the two Crowns. By immediately conceding a
Carta Regia to this effect, it was urged that His
most Faithful Majesty might still reserve all

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 191
his own titles and dignities, as well as his
private property in Brazil.
Notwithstanding the apparent feasibility of
this arrangement, there were many objections
to it, which do not appear to have had their
due weight with the English Minister. With
regard to the acknowledgment of Don Pedro
as heir apparent to the Crown of Portugal,
it may be observed, that by an old fundamental
law of that Kingdom, no Foreigner can, under
any circumstances, ascend the Throne ; and
Don Pedro having expatriated himself by his
accession to the Crown of Brazil, had clearly
incapacitated himself for any such assumption.
That continued connection between the two \
Crowns, which Mr. Canning appears to have
considered it thus desirable to maintain, or
rather to re-establish, it was also the first wish
of every patriotic Brazilian to avoid. After
all the struggles for their independence, the
Portuguese influence thus entailed upon them
might easily deprive them of all the chief pri
vileges for which they had so ardently striven.
The private property alluded to, had, moreover,
no real existence. Under the absolute regime,
the property of the Monarch and that of the
Nation were in every respect synonymous.
The Sovereign had an uncontrolled power over
the revenue, as well as over all the property

192 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
appertaining to the State; yet this was in his
capacity as the head of the Government, and
not as a private individual ; and no claim there
fore, denominating as private property all the
various tenements and possessions appropriated
by the Monarch during his residence in Brazil,
could reasonably be admitted.
Sir Charles Stuart was, nevertheless, des
patched to Lisbon with the before-mentioned
proposal. He was also authorized to express
his willingness to be the bearer to Brazil of
either this, or any other edict, formed on the
same principles ; and there to do his utmost to
secure to Portugal the commercial advantages
enjoyed by the most favoured nation ; waving
any rights which Great Britain might possess
under the Treaty of 1810, to object to this.
The co-operation of the Emperor of Austria
was about this time also secured by Mr. Can
ning. The daughter of this Potentate, was the
wife of Don Pedro, and now that a Monarchical
form of government appeared to have been
consolidated in Brazil, the aid of the Austrian
Representatives, both in Lisbon and in Rio
de Janeiro, was finally ensured to Sir Charles
Stuart, who arrived in Lisbon in the month of
March, 1825. To his representations, the
Portuguese Ministry replied, that they were
quite willing to enter upon an amicable ar
rangement of the nature proposed, but under

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 193
certain specified conditions. These were, that
in the first place, His most Faithful Majesty
should assume the title of Emperor of Brazil ;
and in that character, as well as in that of King
of Portugal and Algarves, create Don Pedro, bya
" Carta Patente," his associate in the Imperial
title, and then cede to him the sovereignty over
Brazil, as well as the eventual right of succes
sion to the throne of Portugal. The other sti
pulations, required as essential to the final ac
knowledgment of the independence, were the
restitution of captures, the removal of all se
questrations, the adoption by Brazil of the
common debt, and the establishment of a satis
factory treaty of commerce between the two
countries. Now, independently of the extravagance of
the condition whereby Brazil, after clearing her
territory by an armed struggle, was required to
encumber herself with the debts of Portugal,
the title of Emperor had already been confer
red on Don Pedro by acclamation, and not by
any supposed legitimate inheritance. There
was, on this account, an apparently insuperable
obstacle to its being conceded to the King of
Portugal, and Sir Charles vainly exerted the
whole of his diplomatic skill to procure a modi
fication of these conditions. All that he could
obtain was a verbal permission from the King
to take whatever steps might be necessary for a
vol. i. o

194 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
settlement. He accordingly sailed for Rio de
Janeiro on the 24th of May, and arrived there
on the 18th of July following.
The Emperor received him warmly, but in
the outset declared, that public opinion would
prevent his granting the title of Emperor to his
father. He, however, referred the terms of
peace to his Ministry. Several conferences
were held in consequence, but as the Brazilian
Plenipotentiaries remained firm in refusing to
acknowledge the sovereignty of Don John, Sir
Charles was finally compelled to propose the
acceptance of a preamble, wherein the acknow
ledgment of the independence, and of Don
Pedro as Emperor, preceded the announcement
of His most faithful Majesty's resolution to as
sume the Imperial title, and this they ac
cepted. The preamble having been thus decided, the
articles of the Treaty were found of more easy
adjustment. The first two were little more than
a recapitulation of the preamble. The third
contained a promise, on the part of the Emperor,
not to accept the proposals of any of the Portu
guese colonies to unite themselves to Brazil,
and thus placed it in the power of Portugal to
extinguish the slave-trade which he had hi
therto protected, on account of the Brazilian
planters. The fourth was a stipulation of alli
ance. The fifth placed the subjects of both

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 195
countries on the footing of the most favoured
nations. The sixth and seventh decreed the
mutual restoration of confiscated property,
ships, and cargoes. The eighth established a
joint commission of Brazilians and Portuguese
to decide upon the matters treated of in the two
foregoing articles. The ninth stipulated, that
where restitution of property should be found
impracticable, indemnification should take place.
The tenth established a duty of fifteen per cent.
to be paid reciprocally on all merchandize im
ported into either country from the other : and
the eleventh appointed the time of the ratifica
tion. All mention of the succession to the
throne of Portugal was purposely omitted.
Throughout the whole negotiation Don Pedro
openly avowed his determination to renounce
all claim to the crown of that country, and, as
any stipulations on this matter would necessa
rily have increased the difficulties of the treaty,
Sir Charles deemed it most prudent to avoid
their introduction.
Whilst, however, the terms of this important
document were apparently constructed on fair
and open principles, a secret convention was
appended to it, whereby not only did Don
Pedro unconstitutionally bind the Brazilian
government to take to account the sum of
1,400,000?. sterling, the amount of a loan con
tracted by Portugal with Great Britain in 1823,
o2

190 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
for the express purpose of opposing the inde
pendence ; but he also entered into a stipula
tion to pay over to His most faithful Majesty,
a sum equivalent to 600,000?. sterling, for his
palace, and other private property in Brazil ;
though, as it has been before observed, this
property had hitherto been regarded as be
longing solely and exclusively to the nation.
The treaty and convention were, nevertheless,
severally signed in Rio, on the 29th of August,
by the Brazilian Plenipotentiaries on the one
part, and by Sir Charles Stuart, for His most
faithful Majesty on the other, and of the whole
transaction it may certainly be said,
" Here Folly dash'd to earth the victor's plump,
And policy regain'd what arms had lost."
The Emperor subsequently affixed his ratifi
cation to the document, and it was sent off to
England in the British ship-of-war, the Spar-
tiate. The phraseology of the ratification was
not, however, altogether satisfactory to Sir
Charles. He represented to the Brazilian Go
vernment, that the style which the Emperor
had adopted, viz. "By the grace of God, and
the unanimous acclamation of the people," was
highly objectionable, and the Spartiate, when
under weigh, was actually recalled to substitute
the words, " by the Constitution of the State,"
in lieu of the former phrase.

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 197
This important alteration having been made,
the Spartiate sailed for England with the
treaty. On its reception, Mr. Canning wrote to
the English Charge d 'Affaires in Lisbon, requir
ing him to urge its immediate acceptance, and,
if possible, to induce His most faithful Majesty
either to abstain from all assumption of the Im
perial title, or at least to assume it in such a
manner as might not challenge recognition.
Such, however, was the discontent with which
the Treaty was received in Portugal, that the
British Minister abstained from divulging his
instructions on the latter point. The Govern
ment are said to have complained alike of the
style of the preamble, and of the silence regard
ing the succession to the throne of Portugal ;
whilst the people were equally loud in their cla
mours against the commercial arrangement. It
was not sufficient that they were permitted to
trade on the terms of the most favoured nations.
What the Portuguese merchants wanted, and
what they had even anticipated, was either a
direct, or an indirect, continuation of the ex
clusive sj'stem, by the absence of all impost in
the Custom houses of each nation.
The Ratification by Don John nevertheless
took place shortly after the receipt of the
treaty, but under circumstances of a most un
warrantable nature. On the same day on which
the roynl signature was attached to the docu-

198 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
ment, an instrument denominated a " Carta de
Lei" was published by the Minister of the In
terior, wherein not only did His most faithful
Majesty assume the title of Emperor of Brazil,
in precedence to that of King of Portugal ; but
the very conditions with which Sir Charles
Stuart had been charged previous to his de
parture from Lisbon, and to which the Brazi
lian Government had explicitly refused accept
ance, were inserted as those which had been
actually acceded to.
Such was the indignation, either real, or as
sumed, of Don Pedro and his Ministers, on re
ceiving notice of these proceedings, that they
threatened the Portuguese Cabinet that they
would publish some act which should have the
effect of annulling the whole treaty. Their sin
cerity in this menace may be doubted, yet they
were evidently apprehensive lest this injudi
cious assumption on the part of His most faith
ful Majesty, might again excite suspicions of re-
colonization, and thus promote the extension of
that republican spirit which it had hitherto been
their chief endeavour to quell.
Nor were the Administration without their
coadjutors and supporters in the provinces.
During the progress of the foregoing negotia
tions, the political parties throughout Brazil
had resolved themselves under two general
heads. \1 Under one were the Absolutists, in-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 199
eluding in their ranks nearly all the individuals
who had held office during the preceding reign,
a great number of wealthy Portuguese, and
many other individuals, who, whilst admitting
all the advantages of constitutional government
in the abstract, yet denied the policy of its ap
plication to the ignorant and heterogeneous po
pulation of Brazil. . Under the other were the \
adherents to the Constitution as it stood, or, as !
they may still be denominated, the Patriots ;
each sect, meanwhile, avowing themselves the
partizans of Don Pedro, yet each seeking to
bias the Administration according to their own
peculiar views. On the first proclamation of
the Constitutional code of law, the Absolutists
had for a time refrained from the open advocacy
of their opinions, but the late measures of the
internal Administration had revived their hopes.
The new principles were for the most part unap
plied theories ; and they, as well as their oppo
nents, hadbecome aware that, instead of recurring
to the peculiar circumstances of his elevation with
honest pride, His Majesty appeared anxious
only to sink them in oblivion. In the columns
of the " Diario Fluminense," a perpetual stress
was laid on the circumstance of Don Pedro's
legitimacy; whilst not a word was ever said
about his unanimous election. A conscious un
easiness was manifested, as though the validity
of the Emperor's claims had been unexpectedly

200 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
called into question, and the parting charge,
whereby Don John was known to have enjoined
on his son the assumption of the Crown of
Brazil, was more than once brought before the
public by the sagacious editors of the same
periodical. With the dissolution of the Constituent As
sembly, His Majesty had at length obtained
possession of that supreme and uncontrolled au
thority, for which he had so ardently striven ;
yet the very circumstance of its attainment ap
peared to have the precise effect of unfitting him
for its exercise. Perhaps this result was no
more than natural. Having achieved his great
object, he had no longer the same motives,
either for the exertion of his talents, or the con
cealment of his failings. Temptations were
necessarily multiplied around him ; men of in
tegrity were as much as possible excluded from
his presence ; and the plain and simple lan
guage of truth and soberness, was superseded
by the vilest adulation. He still continued to
associate with all ranks on terms of cordiality,
and even of familiarity, but his conversation
was not adapted to inspire reverence for either
his morals, or his abilities. The principal part
of his leisure hours was spent in the society of
a lady of the name of Castro, to whom he had
been introduced during his visit to San Paulo,
in 1822. Since then, she had so far succeeded

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 201
in engaging his affections, that he publicly
avowed her as his mistress, created her Mar
chioness de Santos, and erected a palace for
her residence in the immediate vicinity of San
Christovao. At the same time, his treatment
of the unfortunate Empress was most unfeeling.
While favours were showered down on the head,
and promotions dispensed from the hand, of
the newly created Marchioness, the high-born
daughter of the House of Hapsburg, though
inexpensive in her habits, was continually
reduced to the necessity of soliciting the loan of
money from her dependents.
The characters of the political agents by
whom the Emperor was surrounded, was, more
over, but little calculated to insure public con
fidence. Partizans of the Absolutist faction
were found oven in the Cabinet, and in the se
lection of friends, or rather favourites, His Ma
jesty was oven more unfortunate. At their
head was a Portuguese of the name of Francisco
Gomez da Silva ; better known in Brazil by the
appellation of Chain ca, a word synonymous
with the French term persiflage, noisy, extrava
gant, insolent, and dissipated in character ; yet,
on the other hand, frank in his manners, witty
in conversation, indefatigable in any service in
which he was engaged, and the sincere friend
of Don Pedro. From the rank of a domestic
in the Imperial household, he had been sue-

202 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
cessively elevated by the Emperor to that of
Adjutant of the Guard of Honour, and private Se
cretary ; and had finally acquired such an ascen
dancy over the mind of his Royal patron, that
he may, without exaggeration, be said to have
shared the supreme authority.
Such were the coterie in whose hands the
control of affairs was actually vested. That
Don Pedro was sincerely anxious for the wel
fare of Brazil, was, however, sufficiently mani
fested by his disorderly activity. In the army,
in the navy, in the ministerial offices, and in
the Custom-house, his interference was per
petual, and the confusion hence resulting may
be easily imagined. His cares were, indeed,
directed rather to points of detail than to ge
neral measures ; and in these irregular sallies,
he was unfortunately only too much encouraged
by the ill-timed eulogies of the individuals by
whom he was surrounded. Unable either to
appreciate, or to comprehend, the vivifying in
fluence of free institutions, their only object
was to perpetuate their own power ; and a mo
dification of the Constitution, with the effect
of rendering its provisions somewhat less de
mocratic, at length came to be confidently
spoken of in the circles of the aristocracy, as on
the point of taking place.
The liberty of the press, though nominally
guaranteed, had, in the meantime, been utterly

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 203
extinguished; the Presidents of the provinces
still continued in the exercise of the most arbi
trary acts ; the functions of the legislative body
were continually infringed upon by the Cabinet ;
and though nearly two years had elapsed since
the dissolution of the first Assembly, there as
yet appeared but very little probability of the
early convocation of another. Emboldened by
this retrograde line of policy, the leaders of the
Absolutist party simultaneously drew up a
number of petitions from various parts of the j
Empire, requesting the Emperor to abrogate the :
Constitution altogether ; and strange as it may
appear, though their request was declined, the
requisitionists were yet singled out for marked
distinction. Conrado Jacob de Niemeyer, the
President of a military commission appointed
for the trial of the rebels in Ceara, one of these
individuals, was rewarded with the Order of the
Crusader ; — Chichorro, the Juiz de fora of Tau-
bate, proclaimed absolute Government in three
towns in the province of San Paulo, and re
ceived thanks from the Minister of the Empire,
the Count de Valenca, in the name of His Impe
rial Majesty ; — Teixera, a resident in Itaparica,
who wrote to the Minister of Justice, Clemente
Ferreira Franca, in 1824, in favour of absolute
government, and who had since that period been
employing his eloquence in the same cause, was
shortly after this period created Baron of Ita-

204 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
parica ; and, finally, the entire Cabildo of Monte
Video, who had also presented a petition of a
similar cast, were one and all honoured; the
President by the " Commendaria," and the
other members by the " Habito," of Christ.
A revolt, however, took place in this last-men
tioned province, even before the ratification of
the treaty with Portugal, which had not only
the effect of precluding any change of govern
ment at this time, but which, though of apparent
insignificance in its commencement, was yet
fated to become the means of effecting an entire
change in the future destinies of Brazil.

HLSTORY OF BRAZIL. 205

CHAPTER XIV
Description of the Banda Oriental, and of the manners and character of
its inhabitants — State of Monte Video — Petition of the Cabildo
for absolute Government — Unique letter from the same body to
Don Pedro — Conspiracy for throwing off the Brazilian yoke —
Expedition of the thirty adventurers from Buenos Ayres — Defec
tion of Rivera — Interference of Buenos Ayres — System of warfare
pursued by the Gauchos — Battle of the Sarandi, on the 13th of
October, 1825.
Before entering upon any detailed explanation
of the events in which the revolt alluded to at
the close of the preceding chapter had its rise,
it may be well to give some account of the topo
graphy of the province in which it took place, as
well as of the manners and character of its in
habitants. The Banda Oriental, or, as it was formerly
termed, the Cisplatine province, is situated on
the margin of the River Plata, and is bounded
on the west Jay the Uru^
by the Atlantic ocean. On the north, it is
partially separated from the province of Rio
Grande by the Ybiqui Guazu, falling into the
Uruguay, and the Jaguarao running into the
Atlantic ; and altogether comprehends a terri-

206 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
tory of one hundred leagues from north to
south, by about eighty from east to west.
The principal towns are the sea-ports of Monte
Video, Maldonado, and Colonia del Sacra
mento. There are also a few towns of less im
portance in the interior, but Monte Video is the
only place of any extensive commerce. Its
exports consist exclusively of hides, horns, tal
low, and j irked beef. The province contains no
plantations of any description ; nor, indeed, any
agricultural establishments whatever, excepting
a few small farms in the immediate vicinity of
the towns. The interior consists of one vast
expanse of undulating plains, utterly devoid of
enclosures : the only boundaries being the small
streams with which the province is intersected.
The margins of these are overrun with thickets,
which, from the prevalence of the sarandi, an
aquatic shrub, can only be penetrated at cer
tain passes opened for the convenience of tra
vellers. On the open plains no trees are to be
seen, excepting such as have been planted by
the hand of man. Ostriches, deer, and wild
horses abound throughout the province, and the
fastnesses on the banks of the rivers are much
infested by the ounce, and the jaguar, or Ame
rican tiger.
The scanty population consists exclusively
of Gauchos, or herdsmen, and their families.
These are a mixed race, principally of Indian

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 207
and Spanish extraction ; and their sole employ
ment is the tending of cattle, which is invaria
bly performed on horseback. Their dress is simi
lar to the European costume, excepting that they
wear a wrapper of baize around the waist, after
the fashion of a Highland kilt, and are univer
sally furnished with a poucho, or cloak, made
from an oblong piece of cloth, through the cen
tre of which is an orifice for the head of the
wearer. From their infancy they are accus
tomed to mount the most ungovernable horses,
and also at an early age to attain surprising
expertness in the management of the lasso, and
the bolas. The lasso is a compact rope of un-
tanned hide, furnished with a noose at the end,
with which the Gaucho will arrest, and en
tangle, any animal from amidst an entire herd.
In its employment, the horse of the assailant
is spurred on to a gallop ; the Gaucho then coils
up his lasso, and after giving it a few turns in
the air, flings it with unerring certainty, around
either the horns, the head, or the foot of the
animal aimed at. The horses of the Gauchos
are so well trained, that in the same moment
in which the lasso flies, they wheel round, and
by tightening the noose, utterly prevent the es
cape of the captive. They will thus arrest and
throw down a bull in the midst of his most rapid
career. The bolas, which were originally In
dian weapons, are more formidable still. Three

208 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
heavy spherical stone balls, each enclosed in a
casing of untanned hide, are attached to thongs
about four feet in length, which are again at
tached to each other, at the opposite extremi
ties. When thrown, the Gaucho seizes one of
the balls, and whirls the other two over his head,
until they separate, after the manner of the go
verning balls of a steam-engine. When stretched
to their full extent, they are flung so, that the
central point, where the thongs are attached,
falls full upon the object aimed at; and the balls
are then coiled round and round with irresistible
violence. In their manners, the Gauchos are hospitable
and kind ; yet they are also quarrelsome, un
principled, and cruel. The wars which have
agitated the Spanish provinces, ever since 1810,
have in part contributed to this. Equipped only
with his bolas, his lasso, and the knife invaria
bly stuck in his girdle, every Gaucho is from
his habits a soldier ; animated by the spirit of
nationality, and ever eager to engage in corpo
real strife. Amongst such a people the affec
tions can have but little sway, and home but
few attractions. It is on the plains that their
physical energies are developed, their emulation
excited, and their triumphs achieved. Their
habitations are wretched huts, constructed of
wicker-work and clay, and thatched in such an
imperfect manner as to afford a very inefficient

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 209
defence against the inclemencies of the wea
ther. Their leisure hours are, for the most part,
devoted to gaming, of which they are inordi
nately fond. When travelling through uninha
bited districts, or when benighted, they are in
the habit of forming a bed from their saddles,
which consist of several detached pieces, and
after manacling their horses, to sleep in the
open air, under no covering but a poncho. Like
the men, the women are also excellent eques
trians, and perform all their journeys, however
short the distance, on horseback.
Such are the inhabitants of the interior of the
Banda Oriental ; the province, whose subjuga
tion by the Portuguese, as well as its subsequent
cession to Brazil, has already been related.
The inhabitants of the maritime towns have, on
the other hand, adopted European customs, and
present a striking contrast, both in manners and
appearance, to the rude and uncivilized dwell
ers on the plains. Consisting principally of
landed proprietors, and tradesmen, they pos
sess ample means of instruction, and are often
intelligent as well as affable.
By the terms of the capitulation agreed upon
between General Lecor and Don Alvaro, it will
be recollected, that the former was again to be
invested with the possession of Monte Video.
Notwithstanding the alleged right of a people
" to elect or adopt whatever government they
VOL. i. p

210 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
think fit," so loudly enunciated on occasion of
the previous incorporation, the identical pro
vince then in question was thus unceremoniously
transferred by one foreign power to another;
and this too in opposition to the remonstrances
of a large portion of the inhabitants ; for many
were becoming somewhat impatient of foreign
sway. Since the first occupation of Monte Vi
deo by the Portuguese, not a single public work
had been engaged in. Though a few individuals
had been enriched by the presence of an army,
maintained principally at the cost of the Bra
zilian Government, yet the landed proprietors
were, for the most part, involved in ruin ; and
during the repeated sieges of the city, the su
burbs had been quite razed to the ground. So
fearful had the besiegers been of any unex
pected attack on their lines, that for miles into
the interior, not a house, nor even a tree, had
been left standing. All the immediate vicinity
of the city had been again reduced to the soli
tude and stillness of the desert.
The outcries of the Oriental patriots were,
however, made in vain. General Lecor again
entered the city with his troops ; and the Ca
bildo, ever obsequious to the ruling party, made
oath to the Constitution, with the exception only
of such articles as might interfere with the bases
of the incorporation, on the 10th of May, 1824.
Finding, however, that these bases of the

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 211
incorporation were "more likely to entail preju
dice than benefit, the electors of the province
were ultimately led to desire their abrogation ;
and on the occasion of the election of Deputies
for the ensuing Legislative Assembly, they de
clared in a public act, their anxiety to be placed
in every respect on the same footing with the
other provinces of Brazil.
To General Lecor this intimation proved any
thing but agreeable. He held his office of per
petual Governor by virtue of the articles of the
incorporation ; and anxious only for the perma
nence of office, or perhaps secretly influenced
by the Cabinet in Rio, he recurred to the scheme
of inducing the Cabildo to petition His Imperial
Majesty against any ulterior innovations what
ever. In pursuance of this object he availed
himself of the services of Jose Raimundo
Guerra, the Syndic of the province, a native of
Old Spain, who drew up the celebrated letter,
wherein the Cabildo, after attesting their fide
lity to the cause* of Brazil, entreated theJEmpe-
ror that no interference might take place with
their religion ,_habits, and customs ; but that
they might still be governed under the old re
gime, and all obstacles thus be removed from
the march of the administration. This was in the
month of December, 1824. Only six months
before, the same corporation had made oath to
the Constitution ; yet this does not appear to
p 2

U12 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
have been regarded as the slightest obstacle to
the petition. The Members all affixed their
signatures to the document, and moreover des
patched a complimentary address to Don Pe
dro, on the same occasion, which may be wor
thy of particular note, as at once illustrating
the character of its compilers, and the style of
eloquence in vogue with these admirers of ab
solute sway. His Imperial Majesty had sent
down his portrait to Monte Video, where it was
allotted a conspicuous situation in the Munici
pal Chamber, a circumstance which gave rise
to the effusion alluded to.
" Who is this," exclaimed the worthy mem
bers of the Cabildo, in this overflowing ebulli
tion of loyalty ; " who is this that approaches us
majestically, with an august yet juvenile, sweet,
and affable aspect, with a gallant and heroic
air, and to whom our tribute of affection is ren
dered between perturbation and pleasure, as
though we were in the presence of the Angel of
the Lord ? There can be no doubt it is Pedro the
First ! His martial appearance and his expres
sive countenance, alike indicate his presence.
By an impulse of the most singular love, he is
seated on the sublime throne, and resting his
left hand on his fulminating sword, he has
taken up with his unconquerable right hand his
imperial diadem to place it on his chosen Monte

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 213
Video. The landscape represented, is like the
real landscape ; a proof that the portrait must
also resemble the original. It is a fact, Sire,
your Monte Video loves you, and can say to
you as a bride, I am my lover's, and my lover is
mine !"*
It could not be expected that this interesting
and eloquent effusion, when coupled as it was
with the request for the re-adoption of the pa
ternal system of government, would be allowed
to pass unrecompensed. The Members of the
Corporation were rewarded in the manner be
fore indicated, and General Lecor was shortly
afterwards honoured with the title of Viscount.
The requisition in question, nevertheless, ap
pears to have been regarded either as prema
ture, or what is more probable, to have consi
derably exceeded the wishes of the Emperor.
The same members who had been privately re
warded, were publicly reproved ; and Don Pe
dro, in his reply to the Cabildo, reminded them
that, without infringing the Constitution to
which he had made oath, he could not accede
to their requisition ; that all alterations were
vested solely in the hands of the legislative As
sembly, with the imperial sanction ; and that,
in all necessary cases, the Government was al-
* Dated Monte Video, 7th of December, 1824, and published in the
Diario Fluminense.

214 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
ready authorized to suspend all the formalities
guaranteeing individual liberty, as had been
already done in the provinces of the north.
The indisposition of the patriot, or Buenos
Ayrean party, to Brazilian supremacy, under
any form, was, however, too deeply rooted to
allow the permanence of tranquillity. A con
spiracy for throwing off the foreign yoke was
formed in Monte Video. The conspirators were
upwards of two hundred in number; and,
amongst them was Colonel Fructuozo Rivera, a
native of Cordova, and an officer in the Brazi
lian army, under General Lecor. On previous
occasions he had often distinguished himself in
the service of the Empire, and had received
many promises of advancement from the Court
of Rio ; yet they all proved insufficient to main
tain him in his allegiance. Having finally deter
mined on the adoption of hostilities, the conspi
rators sent over emissaries to request assistance
from Buenos Ayres.
The Government of that city was as yet un
willing to afford any direct aid to the Cispla-
tine patriots ; yet subscriptions in their favour
were openly entered into ; insurrection was
every where advocated ; and arms and ammuni
tion were prepared for the revolters. In the
undisguised manner in which this was done,
much imprudence was evinced. Long ere the
plans of the conspirators were matured, the

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 215
Argos, a Buenos Ayrean Gazette, had the teme
rity to speak of Fructuozo Rivera as a par-
tizan. This officer, however, managed to remove the
suspicions of the Court of Rio, by publishing a
Manifesto, dated February the 1 3th, 1 825, wherein
he declared, that he would ever defend the pre
vious incorporation with the good faith incum
bent on a man of honour, and a soldier. These
professions, it need hardly be remarked, were
insincere, or at least equivocal. At this very
period he was in correspondence with the ene
my ; and, with his knowledge and collusion, a
party of thirty-three men, at the head of whom
was Colonel Juan Antonio Lavalleja, crossed
the river from Buenos Ayres, with the intent
of proclaiming rebellion throughout the Banda
Oriental. Lavalleja was a native of Monte Video, who
had long been noted for his uncompromising
hostility to foreign supremacy. During the
ministry of the Andradas, he had been desig
nated by them as a declared enemy to the Em
pire, and his property had, in consequence,
been subjected to sequestration. Since this
period, he had resided principally in Buenos
Ayres, where he employed himself in com
merce. His exalted patriotism, however, be
came the cause of throwing him into a very dif
ferent career. On a dark and stormy night in

216 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
March, 1825, he crossed the river, as before
stated, in an open boat, along with thirty-two
other bold spirits, and landed unobserved at
Las Vacas, on the northern bank. Several
cases of arms and ammunition were also brought
over, but were for the moment deposited in an
Estancia, or cattle farm, near Colonia, while
Lavalleja and his companions employed them
selves in scouring the country for recruits.
Whatever may be thought of the prudence of
this little band of adventurers, it is difficult to
refrain from admiring that intrepid spirit, which
could induce them, with their slender resources,
to bid defiance to the power of the Emperor of
Brazil. But they were not left long alone.
Rivera joined them on the 17th of April, and
the inhabitants of the plains flocked round
them from every quarter. And now commenced
a guerilla war, in which the skirmishes in every
instance terminated in favour of the Gauchos.
They were few in number, but on horseback
they were far superior to their opponents ; and
they, moreover, possessed a perfect knowledge
of the face of the country.
Intelligence of Rivera's defection in the mean
time reached Rio de Janeiro, whence two thou
sand men were immediately embarked for the
disaffected province. Admiral Lobo was also
despatched with a small naval force, to notify
to the Buenos Ayrean government, that unless

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 217
they abstained from further aid to the revolters,
and recalled their subjects now under arms in
the Banda Oriental, His Imperial Majesty
would repel force by force, being determined
to protect the political rights of his Cisplatine
subjects. To this communication the Govern
ment of Buenos Ayres replied, that the actual
insurrection was the work of the Oriental peo
ple alone ; that the supplies furnished from
Buenos Ayres had been bought either with
the money, or on the credit, of private indi
viduals in the stores of the city, which were
open to all alike, whether friends or enemies ;
that they were not aware that any of their sub
jects were in the Banda Oriental ; and that,
even if such were the case, the laws of the
Republic would not authorize them to recall
their citizens from a territory over which they
possessed no control. Moreover, they added,
in order to evince unequivocally their amicable
disposition towards Brazil, they would put in
execution a project, which they had long before
formed, of sending up an Envoy to the Court of
Rio, but that they would no longer condescend
to carry on a diplomatic correspondence with
the Admiral.
Notwithstanding this plausible language, it
became daily more and more apparent that
these ambitious republicans were far from ob
serving the neutrality professed. They esta-

218 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
blished a line of troops along the Uruguay,
without pretext and without notifying the same
to the Court of Rio ; they allowed a number of
armed vessels, appertaining to unknown indivi
duals, to be fitted out in the roads ; and, finally,
on occasion of the Brazilian Consul having been
insulted by the populace, they refused to give
any adequate satisfaction.
The guerilla war in the Cisplatine meanwhile
continued as before. According to the " Diario
Fluminense," the revolters were time after time
routed with total loss ; yet from some unex
plained fatality, they appeared to acquire fresh
forces from every defeat. Like the Parthians of
old, they fought as they fled. They achieved their
successes by avoiding all direct collision ; and
by the speed of their movements, and their un
systematic mode of warfare, set at nought the
profound tactics of the Imperial leaders.
When least expected, they would sweep like
a whirlwind round the outskirts of the Brazi
lian army ; throw down the horses with their
bolas ; entangle the riders in their lassos ; and,
after depriving the unfortunate wretches of life,
again instantaneously disappear. Pursuit was
out of the question. Not only were the Gau
chos superior horsemen, but as they made a
practice of driving off the cattle before them,
and burning up every blade of grass in the route
of their enemies, they obliged the Brazilians to

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 219
burthen themselves with stores, provisions, and
fodder, while they themselves were unincum
bered. Yet their triumphs were not owinj>- to
mere physical superiority alone. There was
another cause, to the agency of which they
were more Hum all indebted for their victories.
They were volunteers, and they were all nni-
mnlcd by the spirit of nationality; whereas the
Brazilian troops acting against them were, for
the most pari, either conscripts or foreigners,
who, though brave, Imd not their hearts in the
cause. It was not as in the war for independ
ence, where every freeman felt alike his inte
rests and his honour engaged in the struggle.
In (lie present instance, the common soldiers
regarded the issue of the contest with comparative
indifference. They were neither more nor less
limn mere machines ; nnd their every movement
was mechanical. Amongst the Gauchos, on the
other hand, " Im Patria /" was the rallying
cry. It is not, then, surprising that a hnndful
of men should have harassed an army. Enthu
siasm in the cause of their native country lent
wings to their speed, and gave an edge to their
sabres. No decisive action, however, occurred until
the 12th of October, by which time the Guucho
force was considerably augmented; and they
were, moreover, well supplied with fire-arms
from Buenos Ayres. Having on this day dis-

220 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
covered the Imperial army in a disadvantageous
position, on a site denominated " El Sarandi,"
they commenced the attack, and a general
engagement took place; wherein, strange
as it may appear, the followers of the band of
thirty-three, who had a few months before
crossed the River Plata by night, in an open boat,
defeated upwards of 2,200 troops of the line.
The intelligence soon reached Rio de Janeiro,
where it had the effect of convincing the Em
peror, that either the Oriental province must be
for ever ceded by Brazil, or a mgrejyjgonmsjao-
licy adopted. By the advice of his Ministry he
decided on the latter step. In the columns of the
" Diario Fluminense," the fatal combat of the
Sarandi was transformed into an important and
decisive victory ; yet on the 13th of December
following, war, offensive and defensive, was de
clared against Buenos Ayres.

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 221

CHAPTER XV.
Spirit of the Administration — Concessions of titulary honours, and
their effect — Treaties with the British Government —The Emperor
sails for Bahia, in February, 1826 — Pamphlet of Chapuis — Its
effect, and the subsequent banishment of the Writer — Death of Don
John VI. — The Regency of Portugal declare in favour of Don Pe
dro, who consequently assumes the Crown — Grant of a Constitu
tion to the Portuguese — Policy of the appointment of an Heredi
tary Senate — Projected marriage of Donna Maria to her uncle Don
Miguel.
Notwithstanding the growing importance of
the war, the same principles of government
were still acted upon in Rio de Janeiro. In
stead of striving after the further development
of the system nominally adopted, the Adminis
tration appear to have made it their chief object
to enter upon a rivalry with the old Courts of
Europe. Diplomatic agents, many of whom
were still in their teens, were despatched to all
the Continental Governments; French Figu
rantes, and Italian Sopranos, were allured to
Rio, and engaged at the Imperial Opera House ;
and Parades and Processions were provided for
the people with as great a zeal, as though within
the phrase "panem et circenses," were centred

222 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
alike all the cares and attributes of a Consti
tutional Government. In the concession of ti
tulary honours, the same spirit was also made
apparent. Scarcely had the independence been
guaranteed by the treaty of August, when His
Imperial Majesty celebrated the occasion of his
birth-day on the ensuing 1 2th of October, by a
creation of Nobility, comprehending one Count,
seventeen Viscounts, and twenty-one Barons,
besides Commendadores, and Knights of differ
ent Orders, innumerable.
It cannot be said, that either this, or any of
the future distributions of honorary Insignia,
fulfilled the effect intended. Unaccustomed,
under the absolute government, to the presence
of either nobility or large proprietors, the Bra
zilians, as a people, had contracted the habit of
regarding all, excepting those placed in autho
rity over them, as their equals ; and the system
of castes, introduced by the Institution in ques
tion, had all along proved highly offensive to
the national Vanity. Moreover, not only were
the titles conceded often misapplied, but as for
every badge there was a crowd of aspirants, for
every one who went away satisfied, numbers
were necessarily disappointed. Had the ser
vices for which these favours were granted
been obvious, or had they even been conferred
by a law, there could have been no cause of
complaint ; but as they were all conceded arbi-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 223
trarily, according to the decision of the Empe
ror alone, the neglected claimants all united in
condemning His Majesty's unjust partiality, and
in bitterly lamenting his unfortunate want of
discernment. As was jestingly observed, by
many of the Royalists themselves, more Re
publicans were made by these honorary promo
tions, than by all the machinations of the De
mocrats. One just and beneficent measure, to which
the Ministry at this period gave their assent,
ought not, however, to be passed over in silence.
This was a treaty with the British Government
for the final abolition of the Slave Trade ; a
measure not less desirable in a political, than
in a moral point of view. A treaty, whereby
this traffic was limited to the South of the
Equator, had been previously entered into, be
tween Great Britain and Portugal, on the occa
sion of the Congress of Vienna, in 1815. By a
subsequent Convention, dated the 28th of July,
1817, it was further stipulated, that all vessels
engaged in the Slave Trade should be provided
with passports, signifying the legality of the
voyage ; that the right of search should be con
ceded to all vessels of war ; and that a mixed
commission, formed of English and Portuguese
jointly, should be appointed, for the purpose of
deciding on the legality of the captures.
Since this period, the separation of Brazil

224 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
from the mother country, had rendered a re
newal of the treaties previously entered into
with the Court of Portugal a matter of neces
sity ; at the same time that it had given the
British Government an increased claim on the
Administration in Rio. A further treaty was,
in consequence, acceded to by the Emperor;
by the terms of which it was stipulated, that
in four yTears after its ratification, the Slave
Trade should entirely cease. The vessels of
war appertaining to each of the contracting
powers, were mutually invested with the right
of search ; and all subsequent continuation of
the traffic, whether under the British, or the
Brazilian flag, became punishable as piracy.
Unfortunately, however, the conditions of this,
as well as of a new Commercial Treaty, were ne-
gotiated by Sir Charles Stuart without suffi
cient authority from his Government ; and as
there were in each of these instruments stipu
lations of an unsatisfactory nature, the English
Premier, Mr. Canning, thought fit to prevent
their subsequent ratification in Great Britain.
Mr. Canning was, moreover, much annoyed by
the publication of these Treaties in the official
journal of the Brazilian Government; and on
this account, instead of renewing the negotia
tions in Rio, he determined on bringing them
to a conclusion in London.
Exaggerated rumours regarding the Carta de

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 225
Lei lately issued in Portugal had, in the mean
time, reached Bahia, and serious apprehensions
of recolonization had been excited in conse
quence. The Europeans were there fewer in
number than in Rio de Janeiro ; their influence
in society was less, and the remembrance of
the suffering experienced during the previous
siege was still rankling in the minds of the
inhabitants. Much animosity was thus excited,
and the cry of " Death to the Portuguese !"
rang through the city, notwithstanding all the
efforts of the President to smother it. The
knowledge of this disquietude induced Don
Pedro to visit that city ; whither he went ac
companied by the Empress. In his prepara
tions for the voyage, he acted with the same
celerity which had before characterized him on
similar occasions, and arrived there unexpect
edly in the month of February, 1826. Happily,
the ferment was as yet but in its commence
ment; and the personal assurances of His
Majesty, aided by the co-operative measures
of the Marquis de Quiluz, at this time Presi
dent, were soon found amply sufficient to re
store peace and order throughout the entire
province. The equanimity of the Ministry was, never
theless, put severely to the test, during the
absence of the Emperor, by the unexpected
appearance of a pamphlet entitled " Reflections
VOL. I. Q

226 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
on the treaty of Independence, and the Carta de
Lei issued by His most Faithful Majesty." The
author, Pierre Chapuis, a Frenchman by birth,
had for some time been Editor of the Regulador
de Madrid. Falling, however, under the displea
sure of the Spanish Government, he had removed
to Lisbon, where he again resumed his occupa
tion as a Journalist, until persecution at length
compelled him to quit that city, and to seek a
refuge in Rio de Janeiro ; where he published
the pamphlet alluded to, soon after his arrival.
As has been already stated, the public press
had been all but annihilated. The banishment
of the Editor of the Correio, by the Andradas,
the subsequent exile of the Andradas them
selves, and lastly, the adoption of the same
arbitrary step in Maranham towards the Editor
of the Censor, had jointly contributed to
this. The minor journals had entirely disap
peared. A few detached pamphlets from the
pen of Joze de Silva Lisboa, a Royalist, sub
sequently created Viscount de Cayru, and the
columns of the Diario Fluminense, were at
this period the sole vehicles of political infor
mation ; and this last mentioned publication,
the worthy rival of the only gazette published
in Rio during the time of the absolute Govern
ment, but very seldom condescended to address
the understandings of its readers. A few un
important official edicts, a shipping list, an

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 227
extract or two from the European Journals,
concerning Spain, or Turkey, with occasionally
a long diatribe on the horrors of Democracy,
formed the sum total of its contents. Regard
ing the Carta de Lei, though an object of para
mount importance to every reflecting being in
the Empire, not a single word was said. From
time to time, bulletins appeared from the
theatre of war in the South, yet as they were
invariably in favour of the Imperial cause,
whilst the contest appeared to be as far from
termination as ever, people at last began to
suspect their authenticity.
Such was the state of periodical literature in
Brazil, when Chapuis, irritated at this po
verty, determined on entering upon a bolder
career. In his " Reflections," he accordingly
subjected the Carta de Lei of His most Faithful
Majesty to an analysis, by which he succeeded
in exposing, in a striking light, the wonderful
absurdity by which the title and office formerly
conferred on Don Pedro by the unanimous
acclamation of the people, were here spoken of
as a boon conceded by Don John VI. The ac
knowledgment of His Imperial Majesty as heir
apparent to the Crown of Portugal was, more
over, reprobated as an assumption calculated
only to re-awaken the fear of recolonization ;
and the continued connection between the two
Kingdoms which had been urged by Mr. Can-
Q 2

228 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
ning, and which by the terms of the Carta de
Lei was distinctly implied, was also charac
terized as replete with peril ; since Brazil was
thus unwittingly rendered responsible to foreign
nations for all the mal-administration of the
Portuguese Cabinet. " In case of a war in
Europe," urged the author, " the enemies of
Portugal might at once fall upon Brazil ; take
her vessels, annihilate her commerce, and
blockade her ports ; and this solely on ac
count of this unwarrantable assertion. The
words of the Carta de Lei are in direct contra
diction to the spirit of the Treaty, and one
of the two documents is thus necessarily in
valid." The consternation of the Government at this
audacious language in the mouth of a stranger,
while no Brazilian had as vet ventured to med-
die with the subject, may be easily conceived.
The Diario Fluminense assailed him as an
anarchist banished from every country in Eu
rope, on account of his revolutionary princi
ples, and now come to Brazil for the sole
purpose of fomenting dissension. An attempted
refutation of the pamphlet was also put forth
by a Friar of the name of Sampayo, the ex-
champion of the Apostolado ; but as, for the
accomplishment of his object, it became ne
cessary to reprint the most obnoxious passages,
the effect obtained was directly at variance

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 229
with the one intended. This very opposition
was by Chapuis regarded as a triumph ; and
had its influence in inducing him to undertake
the management of a newspaper, in the co
lumns of which he retorted with interest on the
assailants of his essay. Misled by a decree
of the Minister of the Empire, wherein the
banishment of Abranches by Lord Cochrane,
was censured as a step which could be tole
rated only in a Government where will had pre
cedence of law, he proceeded to arrogate to
himself the office of a Censor on the proceed
ings of the Administration. Comparatively a
stranger in Rio de Janeiro, he had formed his
opinions on politics from a perusal of the Con
stitutional Code, without sufficiently ascertain
ing whether its enactments were ever carried
into execution. It may, however, be pleaded as
some extenuation of his error, that it was of
very brief duration. In less than a week after
the return of their Majesties from Bahia,
whence they arrived on the 1st of April, 1826,
he was, without any previous intimation, ar
rested, thrown into prison, and thence sent
on board ship, and compelled to quit the Em
pire. The forcible removal of the unfortunate Edi
tor would, probably, have still further aug
mented the public distrust, had not a circum
stance occurred at this crisis, which at once put

230 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
the intentions of His Majesty to the test, and
henceforward effected an entire change through
out the political relations of Brazil.
This was the unexpected death of his most
faithful Majesty, Don John VI., who expired in
Lisbon on the 10th of March, 1826, not without
strong suspicions of being poisoned. During
the short illness preceding his dissolution he
appointed a Regency, consisting of the Princess
Donna Isabella Maria, the Patriarch, the Duke
de Cadaval, the Marquis de Villada, and the
Count dos Arcos ; but he did not proceed to any
nomination of his successor. By many it has
been assumed as a matter of regret, that the
Crown should not have been bequeathed by
testament, either to Don Pedro, or to the In
fante Don Miguel ; yet it does not appear to
have been recollected, that any disposition to
this effect would have been in direct opposition
to the fundamental Code enacted on the first
consolidation of the Portuguese Monarchy, and
subsequently sanctioned by the Cortes con
voked in 1640. Even the most despotic govern
ments in Europe, as for example Russia, have
their fundamental laws of succession. By vir
tue of the one in question, and it is necessary
to remark that it had never been abrogated, the
Crown of Portugal descends to the male heirs of
the Monarch ; and only in default of male issue
can it be placed on the head of a female. The

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 231
reigning Monarch is not, under any pretext,
permitted to nominate his successor. In case
of vacancy, this privilege is by the same autho
rity declared to be vested solely in the nation.
Foreigners are also expressly prohibited from
assuming the regal authority, and the last of
the Philips was actually excluded under this
pretext. Notwithstanding, therefore, the terms of the
Carta de Lei, whereby the right of succession to
the Portuguese throne was conceded to Don Pe
dro, he appears to have clearly forfeited all
legal claim to it, in having constituted himself
a Brazilian. Considering, nevertheless, that
the interests of Portugal could be best furthered
by the conservation of the two Crowns in the
same line of the Royal Family of Braganza,
relying on the support of the English Cabinet,
and personally indisposed towards Don Miguel,
the Regency decided on the proclamation of
Don Pedro as Monarch, and a ship was imme
diately despatched to Rio de Janeiro with the
tidings. The vessel arrived at her destination on the
24th of April, 1826, on which occasion public
demonstrations of mourning were adopted for
the space of three days. Don Pedro, in the
meantime, proceeded to assume the rank of
King of Portugal, but only for the express pur
pose of immediately abdicating in favour of his

232 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
daughter, the Princess Donna Maria de Gloria,
at this time in the 8th year of her age. If, how
ever, the assumption of the vacant throne by
the Emperor were open to the imputation of
illegality, this abdication in favour of Donna
Maria was still more so. Even in case of the
admission of Don Pedro's claims, the Crown
ought to have descended to his son, at this time
five months old ; and not, during the existence
of that son, to a daughter. The situation of Don
Pedro was, however, one of much embarrass
ment. By the Constitution of Brazil, all alli
ances, or federations, opposed to the indepen
dence of the Empire were expressly prohibited ;
and he had on this ascertained the state of
public feeling too justly, not to know that any
attempt to re-unite the two Crowns might be
come the signal for a second revolution through
out Brazil. His son was, moreover, an infant ;
born since the proclamation of the indepen
dence ; the nobility of Portugal, jealous beyond
measure of their privileges, and indisposed to the
slightest innovation, were more likely to support
the claims of Don Miguel, than those of His Im
perial Majesty ; and the Constitutional party in
that kingdom, though possessed of little influ
ence, were clamorous in favour of a representa
tive government. The only plan for the conci
liation of all parties, and the one finally adopted
by Don Pedro, lay, in the first instance, in the

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 233
celebration of a marriage between the Infante
Don Miguel and the Queen Donna Maria ; and,
secondly, in the grant of a Constitutional
Charter ; whereby, whilst the people were en
trusted with the privilege of choosing their own
representatives, the nobility were created an
hereditary House of Peers. Sir Charles Stuart,
who was on this occasion admitted into the
Imperial Councils, and by whom the idea of
placing Donna Maria on the throne of Portu
gal, is said to have been first suggested to the
Emperor, objected in part to the foregoing pro
ject, on the ground, that the grant of an entirely
new Constitution could not fail to awaken the
jealousy of many of the European powers. On
this account, the English Ambassador advised a
convocation of the ancient states of the King
dom ; a measure against which no such objec
tion could be urged. To this, however, His
Majesty replied, that if it were necessary again
to call together the said Cortes of the na
tion, many alterations would be found indispen
sable, from these convocations having been in
disuse for many years ; and that this Assembly
might thus become dangerous to the govern
ment, or, at least, give rise to great perturbation,
from the facility with which it could take to itself
the denomination and prerogatives of a Constitu
ent Assembly. The Emperor thus deemed it most
expedient to affix the precise limits to the Le-

234 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
gislature, and a Constitution formed on the
model of that of Brazil was in consequence con
ceded to the Kingdom of Portugal. The veto
of the Sovereign was, however, rendered abso
lute instead of suspensory, and the elective Se
nate superseded by an hereditary House of
Peers. Regarding the first of these changes,
a difference of opinion may exist, yet the policy
of the second appears sufficiently obvious. Un
questionably, the nomination of Senators from
a regard for their qualifications for the office
must in the abstract ever lie less open to ex
ception, than their appointment from the acci
dent of birth ; but, without attempting here to
enter upon any analysis of the motives of Don
Pedro, it may be remarked, that an Institution
which had its origin in the peculiar circum
stances of Brazil, could not have proved alto
gether applicable to the existing state of Por
tugal. In the former country, no aristocracy
could, at the period of the independence, be
said to exist, whereas, in the latter, they were
an opulent and powerful body ; who, if not al
lowed to take their share in the legislation,
would naturally have directed their efforts to
the overthrow of the government. Whatever
may have been the unfitness of many of their
number for the delicate and complicated task
imposed upon them, they were on the whole
less dangerous as legislators than as conspi-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 235
rators ; and their appointment as a Senate thus
appears to have been not only judicious, but
imperatively called for, in the existing state of
the mother-country.
Having finally organized the Charter, and
issued an act of amnesty to all confined for poli
tical offences, the Emperor abdicated the Crown
of Portugal in favour of his daughter, on the
3d of May, 1 826 ; with, however, a proviso,
rendering the validity of the act dependent on the
future marriage of the Queen with Don Miguel.
This marriage the late King had long had
in contemplation, and it is spoken of by Don
Pedro in his correspondence with that Monarch.
It had since then been advocated by Mr. Can
ning, and had been a matter of common con
versation in Portugal, where the union of
persons standing towards each other in that
degree of affinity is frequent. The violent and
dissolute character of the Prince was the only
material objection to the step, but it was on
this account proposed that he should be pre
vented from having the custody of the Queen
until after the expiration of her minority.
On the whole, the projected scheme was
sufficiently feasible in appearance ; but, before
it could be carried into execution, obstacles
were found to its development, which had in no
wise entered into the calculations of Don Pedro.

236 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.

CHAPTER XVI.
Convocation of the Legislative body on the 6th of May, 1826 — Law
regarding the nomination of Senators perverted by DonHPedro —
Speech on the opening of the Chambers — Blockade of Buenos Ayres
— Operations of the Navy — Procrastinating policy of General Lecor
— Contrast of manners between the South American Spaniards and
the Brazilians — Timidity of the House of Deputies — State of
Finance — Dissatisfaction of the House concerning the late Treaty
with Portugal — Legislative measures — Close of the Chambers,
and Speech of His Majesty on that occasion.
Under different pretexts Don Pedro had
hitherto deferred the convocation of the House
of Assembly, but the utter exhaustion of the
treasury occasioned by the war in the South,
and the consequent necessity for further re
sources, appeared at length to have rendered
the assistance and co-operation of the nation
through the medium of its Representatives, a
matter of absolute necessity. The election of
the Deputies had already taken place in 1824,
according to the forms prescribed by the Con
stitution ; but, in the choice of the Senators,
the Emperor had without materially infringing
on the letter, found means to evade the spirit
of the law altogether, and to introduce into this

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 237
body a number of individuals who were little
more than the blind instruments of his will.
As it has been before stated, in the abstract of
the Constitution, His Majesty ought to have
appointed one member from among the three
first names of each list. In several instances
it, however, happened, that the same members
were deputed for two places ; of which His
Majesty took advantage, and after nominating
the members in question for one place, he erased
their names from all the other lists, and nomi
nated the fourth, or even the fifth, member in
stead of the third. An example may render
this somewhat more clear. The Emperor was
anxious to nominate the fifth member for Goyaz
instead of the third, and the two members first
on the list for Goyaz, had also a precedence in
other provinces. After, therefore, nominating
diese individuals for other provinces, he erased
their names from the lists of Goyaz, and counted
the fifth member on the list as the third.
The meeting of the General Assembly finally
took place on the 6th of May, 1826, when His
Imperial Majesty addressed the members. He
expressed his regret that he should formerly have
been compelled to dissolve the Constituent
Chamber, and stated the continuance of peace
in all the provinces, excepting the Cisplatine,
where a number of ungrateful individuals had
revolted, and were supported by the Govern-

238 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
ment of Buenos Ayres. For the defence of the
national honour, he said, it therefore became
necessary that the integrity of the Empire
should be maintained.
" The independence of Brazil," the Emperor
continued, " had been acknowledged by his au
gust Father, Don John VI. on the 15th of No
vember preceding, and the recognitions of Aus
tria, England, Sweden, and France, had since
succeeded. That of the United States of Ame
rica, had already preceded these.
" Since then, intelligence had arrived of the
death of Don John, which was the cause of
much grief to the Emperor, who, finding him
self the legitimate King of Portugal, at a period
when he had least expected it, had been guided
in his conduct solely by his wishes for the wel
fare of Brazil. On this account he had abdi
cated, and given up all his indisputable rights in
favour of his daughter Donna Maria da Gloria,
now Queen of Portugal." His Majesty then
concluded by expressing a hope that even the
most incredulous would now acknowledge him
as the Perpetual Defender of Brazil, and by
recommending to the Assembly measures for
the dissemination of instruction, attention to the
public establishments, and such steps as might
secure respect to the constituted authorities.
The two Houses of Legislature afterwards se-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 239
parated, each to perform its allotted duties in
the form prescribed by the Constitution.
A squadron of upwards of thirty sail were, in
the meantime, blockading the river Plata, under
the command of Admiral Lobo. The city of
Buenos Ayres, as well as her dependencies, had
been declared in a state of blockade on the
21st of December, 1825, but by an ulterior com
munication from the Brazilian Admiral, foreign
vessels were allowed to leave the port until the
13th of February.
The Government of Buenos Ayres had antici
pated these hostilities, and had made all the pre
parations in their power for repelling them ;
having purchased a merchant ship which they
fitted up as a corvette of twenty-six guns, four
brigs, and several small craft ; in all, however, a
very inefficient force compared with that of their
opponents. These vessels were almost entirely
manned by English sailors, and a few Chinos,
or native Indians from the province of Entre-
Rios, and were placed under the command of
Admiral Brown, an English Officer, who had
already distinguished himself in the service of
the Republic during the struggle for independ
ence. In their declaration of war dated the 2d
of January, 1826, they, moreover, stated that
letters of marque, authorizing privateers to act
against the vessels and property of the Em-

240 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
peror of Brazil, would be accorded to all who
should ask for them.
The equipment of the newly purchased
vessels not being complete on the first declara
tion of the blockade, the Brazilians were but
little molested until the 4th of February, when
Admiral Brown bore down on their squadron,
at this period consisting of seventeen sail, in
cluding three corvettes, and three brigs of war.
Notwithstanding their superiority of force, the
Brazilians declined action, and stood away from
their opponents. Admiral Brown nevertheless
continued cruising in their vicinity, and on the
9th succeeded in engaging three corvettes, the
united force of which he alone withstood for
some time, unsupported by any of the remain
ing vessels under his command. Being, at
length, compelled to haul off, he rejoined his
own vessels, and on the same day by superior
manoeuvring succeeded in bringing on a general
action ; in which, incredible as it may appear,
the Brazilians were considerably worsted, and
compelled to retire towards Ensenada, a small
port about eight leagues below Buenos Ayres ;
where they for some time remained stationary.
The Buenos Ayrean squadron hereon pro
ceeded to attack Colonia, a small town on the
northern bank of the river, ill provided with
ammunition, and besieged by land. Here,
however, they lost one of their finest vessels,

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 241
which struck upon a reef, and also several gun
boats, which" fell into the hands of their anta
gonists. Brown nevertheless maintained his
position, until the arrival of the entire Bra
zilian squadron, on the 7th of March, compelled
him to stand away for the outer roads of Bue
nos Ayres.
Having succoured Colonia, the Brazilian
naval force nextsailed in the direction of Monte
Video. Admiral Brown in the meantime con
tinued cruising about the river, and on the 1 1th
of April unexpectedly ran into the port of Monte
Video, where fifteen Brazilian vessels of war,
and amongst them two frigates, were lying at
anchor. The Commander of the Imperial squad
ron happened to be on shore at the time, and
Brown, after reconnoitering, was thus enabled
to make good his retreat without even coming
into action.
Finding, however, that he could obtain no
decisive advantage with his small vessels, he
came to the resolution of attempting to carry
the Brazilian Flag Ship, a frigate of fifty guns,
by boarding. The attempt was accordingly
made on the night of the 27th of April ; but,
unfortunately for the success of its projector,
on his arrival alongside the vessel in question,
some uncertainty arose as to whether she were
the one they were in search of, or the English
frigate Doris, at this time in the river Plata.
vol. i. R

242 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
For the purpose of satisfying all doubts, Brown
hailed her in English, and on receiving an un
satisfactory answer, poured in a broadside and
prepared to board. The frigate, however,
answered his fire vigorously, with artillery and
musquetry, and at this critical moment one of
the Buenos Ayrean Brigs coming up a-stern, ran
between the combatants in such a manner as to
preclude all possibility of boarding. During
the time lost in extricating the three vessels, a
number of the Brazilian men of war had got
under weigh, and it was resolved by Brown to
discontinue the action. He accordingly stood
off, and was pursued by the Brazilians until
day-break. On rejoining the remaining vessels
of his squadron a partial action took place;
but this, like all preceding it, terminated with
out any decisive result to either party.
For several weeks afterwards both parties
abstained alike from hostilities, but the Buenos
Ayreans continued cruising about the river to
facilitate the passage of foreign merchant ships
which were almost daily breaking the blockade.
The ill success of Admiral Lobo meanwhile led
to his recall to Rio de Janeiro, where he was
shortly after his arrival summoned to appear
before a Court Martial, for the inefficient direc
tion and application of the forces confided to
his command, as also for abandoning Martin
Garcia, a small island commanding the en-

history of brazil. 243
trance of the Uruguay ; in itself an important
post, and one which had already been fortified
at a considerable expense by the Brazilians.
While these events were occurring, the Im
perial troops continued to keep possession
of Monte Video. After the defeat at El Sa
randi, they had taken up their head-quarters
in this city ; yet such was the audacity of the
Gauchos that they would frequently ride up
to the very walls in hopes of plunder. A
reward of three contos of reis was at length
offered for the head of the infamous Juan Antonio
Lavalleja, and another of four contos for that
of the traitor Fructuozo Rivera, but the un
civilized inhabitants of the plains were either
unable to read, or1 unwilling to accede to the
terms pointed out in the proclamation. Not
withstanding the nominal blockade, boats were
also passing continually to, and from, Buenos
Ayres ; the periodicals of this city were cir
culated throughout Monte Video ; and, what
was of still more importance, detachments after
detachments of troops were transmitted to the
Banda Oriental, for the purpose of reinforcing
the revolters. Like the Gauchos of the northern
bank, they were inured to the hardships of a
wandering life, and were, moreover, soldiers by
occupation, in the daily habit of contention with
the Indians of the Pampas, a wild and bar
barous race, between many tribes of whom and
r 2

244 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
the white inhabitants there still exists a war of
extermination. It could not be expected that
Brazilian conscripts, utterly devoid of enthu
siasm, could in a war of skirmishes contend
with success against such troops as these.
While, however, admitting to the fullest extent
the physical as well as moral inferiority of
the Imperial troops, it would be somewhat
unjust to refrain from bestowing upon them
that commendation which is really their due.
With regard to precision of movements, watch
words, signals, and all the formalities and
minutiae of military science, which the Gauchos
in their unsophisticated ignorance affected to
despise, they had attained a proficiency truly
astonishing; yet even this proficiency proved at
times but a feeble guarantee against the irre
gular assaults of the enemy. They were unable
to venture outside the walls without danger of
being cut off by their opponents ; and on one
occasion it is recorded, that the sentinel on
guard at the gates of Monte Video was actually
lassoed, and carried off by a Gaucho.
The philosophic spirit with which they bore
these petty annoyances is perhaps even more
praiseworthy than their high state of discipline.
General Lecor, in whose hands the entire con
duct of the campaign had been placed, had
from his dilatory policy received the very
general appellation of " Fabius secundus ;" and

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 245
his young officers were, with few exceptions,
too well satisfied with the attractions of Monte
Video, to be at all anxious to quit it for the
plains. The gaiety of the South American Spaniards,
and particularly of the females, as contrasted
with the monotonous gravity of the Portuguese
and their Brazilian descendants, arrests in a
remarkable degree the attention of every tra
veller. In Brazil there is but little social inter
course even amongst intimate friends. The
women are retained in almost conventual se
clusion, and have but little voice in society. In
Monte Video and Buenos Ayres, on the con
trary, every evening is dedicated either to the
theatre, the ball, or the tertulia, or soirie ;
and neither war, nor revolution, nor famine,
have as yet been able to change the national
bias in this respect. Hence the superior at
tractions of the Spanish ladies. Their manners
are in general fascinating ; and though imper
fectly educated, their conversation is replete
with wit and variety. It cannot be surprising
then, that the contrast should have had its
weight with the Brazilian officers. They found
superior attractions among the Spanish ladies,
and a greater facility of access to society than
they had as yet experienced among their own
countrywomen ; and many marriages were the
result even on the verge of an expected campaign.

246 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
Thus were the forces of the procrastinating
General retained in Monte Video, in complete
inaction, throughout nearly the entire year of
1826. The House of Deputies in Rio de Janeiro were
meanwhile pursuing their career with timidity.
They had but little faith in the stability of the
new order of things. Many of them regarded
their convocation as a step adopted for the
purpose of amusing the public, and liable at all
times to terminate by another act similar to the
dissolution of the Constituent Chamber. Un
certain, moreover, of the degree of support
which they might look for from the people, and
fearful of coming in collision with the supreme
power, they proceeded in their labours with ap
prehension. The report of the financial affairs of
the Empire given in by the Marquis de Baependy
was, nevertheless, any thing but satisfactory.
A loan of 3,686,200Z. sterling, effected by the
Marquis de Barbacena, then Felisberto Brant,
in 1824, had been entirely expended, and six
millions of cruzades of copper coined, and issued
at about four times its intrinsic value. Ten
millions of cruzades in paper had also been
borrowed from the insolvent Bank, a step for
which the Ministry could not even quote the
authority of a precedent. Notwithstanding all
the heavy expenses incurred during the war of
the independence, the Andrada Ministry reli-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 247
giously abstained from all augmentation of the
obligations existing on the part of the Govern
ment towards this establishment. Their suc
cessors were, however, less scrupulous; al
though the impolicy of further loans, under ex
isting circumstances, was glaring. The value
of the notes sank in proportion to their in
creased issue ; the agio on the precious metals
rose in a corresponding ratio, and the public
were thus compelled to bear the loss incurred ;
whilst the Government were paying interest on
the loan. Had the administration, instead of
having succoured itself by notes from the Bank,
employed its own paper-money, the guarantee
to the public would have been equally good, the
payment of interest might have been avoided,
and the agio on the precious metals would pro
bably have been less ; for this paper might
have circulated throughout the Empire, whereas
the circulation of the notes of the Bank ex
tended only to Rio de Janeiro and the other
provinces, Bahia and San Paulo, in which,
branch Banks had been established.
In the other departments of finance, an
equally flagrant system of mismanagement ap
peared to have been adopted. Altogether the
amount of the public debt had been tripled
since the dissolution of the Constituent Assem
bly, yet, according to the Minister, there was no
occasion whatever for disquiet on this account.

248 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
" Brazil," observed his Excellency, in his report
to the House, " must submit to these expenses
which are unavoidable in the formation of a
mighty Empire ; wherein it is necessary to create
every thing, and to encourage every thing with
a large and generous hand, if it be intended that
we take our rank among nations of the first
order. Far be from us either indecision or in
quietude from these embarrassments ! Let us
rather fix our attention on the brilliant future
reserved for this nascent Empire !"
Futile and unsatisfactory as was all this, the
House refrained from any direct strictures on
the topic, and it was only concerning a point on
which they regarded their nationality as inte
rested, that they ventured on a remonstrance
with the existing authorities. The time had at
length arrived when it became impossible any
longer to conceal the particulars of the secret
convention annexed to the Treaty of the 29th of
August, 1825, and to their utter astonishment,
the members were now, for the first time, made
acquainted with the fact, that His Imperial
Majesty had undertaken to pay from the
Treasury of Brazil, an amount equivalent to
2,000,000Z. sterling; the greater part of which
sum had, as already stated, been contracted by
Portugal, in 1823, for the express purpose of op
posing the independence.
By the Constitution it was enacted, that all

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 249
treaties should be laid before the Assembly, as
soon as the interest and security of the State
might permit ; yet, on the present occasion, the
Minister had contented himself by a slight and
insufficient exposition of facts unsupported by
any document whatever.
After due deliberation on the topic, the Com
missioners appointed for the inspection of the
affairs of finance and diplomacy, gave it in as
their impression, that the Minister ought to
have laid before the House the full particulars
of the secret convention, since they were not
aware that either the interest or security of the
State would have thus incurred any imminent
peril, and no other reason could exempt him
from the necessity of so doing. " To the Cham
bers," continued they, " it appertained to exa
mine whether these treaties contained any mat
ters which might be of prejudice or dishonour
to the nation, and for which the Ministers en
trusted with the negotiation might be deemed
responsible : moreover, according to the Consti
tution, it was one of the attributes of the Cham
bers to make the application of funds necessary
for such payments as the one entailed on Brazil
by this Convention, though the language of the
Minister seemed to imply that their intervention
was not of any necessity."
The terms stipulated by the secret Conven
tion, they evidently regarded as a degrading

250 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
manumission, for which there existed not the
slightest necessity, and chiefly on this account,
authentic copies of the Treaty and Convention
in question, as well as of a Treaty of commerce
with France by the terms of which the duties
formerly paid on the imports from that nation
were considerably diminished, were demanded
by the Commissioners.
Inquiries were also made for some explicit
information as to why the Treaties lately entered
into by the British Government had not yet
been ratified in London ; as well as with regard
to the appointment of diplomatic Agents in
nearly all the Courts in Europe, before the As
sembly had been enabled to decide either
on the character, number, or emoluments of
these individuals. In the report of the Mi
nister it was stated, that the Emperor had
organized, and would continue to organize the
diplomatic corps in such a manner, that, with
out pressing heavily on the Treasury, he might
have his diplomatic agents in all the principal
Courts, and States, with which amicable rela
tions were entertained. Yet, by the terms of
the Constitution, he had, in this respect, been
clearly usurping the functions of the legislative
body. These subjects do not, however, appear to
have been fully cleared up before the Session
again came to a close. The period of its du-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 251
ration being limited to four months, and the
quantity of business being excessive, much was
necessarily left undone. A project of law
fixing the responsibility of the Council and Mi
nisters of State, a decree for the immediate in
stitution of Universities in San Paulo and
Olinda, and another for the augmentation of the
stipend allotted to His Imperial Majesty, were
the principal measures passed through the House
of Deputies, and subsequently remitted to the
Senate. No arrangements were adopted for
bettering the state of the revenue, yet, on the
3 1st of August, the Government were autho
rized to complete the recruiting of the various mi
litary corps now existing, comprising altogether
more than thirty thousand regular troops, in the
entire Empire. The naval force it was also de
cided should be maintained at its present ex
tent. The principal measures decided upon during
the same period in the Senate, for subsequent
transmission to the Deputies, were a project
for the naturalization of foreigners, another for
the regulation of the provincial Councils, and
a third regulating the attributes of the Ministers
of State. Before the projects passed through
the House of Deputies had been brought under
discussion, however, His Imperial Majesty, on
the 6th of September, closed the Session of the
General Assembly in the following speech.

252 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
Like all documents of a similar nature, it may
be regarded as the production of the Ministry,
and along with such facts as will subsequently
be adduced, may in some measure tend to elu
cidate their statesman-like views, and give some
idea as to their average scale of intellect.
" August and most worthy Representatives of
the Brazilian nation. The execution of the law
is the first duty of all citizens. It appoints four
months for the Sessions of this Assembly ; they
are concluded, the time for closing is therefore
arrived, and on this account am I among you.
The labours of this Session have not been so
few but that they have given some laws, and
also afforded hopes that in future, others may
appear, I do not say all, but a great part of
such as are necessary for the literal execution of
the Constitution. The harmony reigning be
tween the two Chambers, and the efforts which
they have made for the happiness and the great
ness of the nation, clearly show the patriotic
spirit by which this Assembly finds itself ani
mated. — My hopes have been consummated;
the Sessions have begun and been closed, and
prudence and wisdom have presided over them."
" It now behoves the illustrious Senators and
Deputies retiring into the different provinces of
the Empire, that during the interval between
this and the ensuing Session, they meditate on
the mode of promoting the prosperity of the Em-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. " 253
pire, and instil into the people obedience to the
Government ; showing them that whoever obeys
the Government, obeys also the law, and that
he who obeys the law, ensures to himself ho
nour, and life, and prosperity.
" The Constitutional Emperor and Per
petual Defender of Brazil."

254 history of brazil

CHAPTER XVII.
Operations of the blockading force before Buenos Ayres — Impolicy of
the Brazilian Minister of Marine — Brown's discomfiture on the
29th of July, 1826 — Privateers — Land blockade of Monte Video-
Enlistments in Brazil — Employment of foreign troops — Impolicy of
the measure — Affairs of Buenos Ayres — Enthusiasm of the English
in the service of that Republic — Voyage of Don Pedro to Rio
Grande — Critical situation of Admiral Brown — Death of the Em
press — Marchioness of Santos — Interment of the Empress — Her
character — Payment of her debts by the Legislative Assembly.
On the recall of Admiral Lobo from the river
Plata, Admiral Rodrigo Pinto Guedes was
appointed to the command of the Brazilian
squadron. Two frigates and several smaller
vessels were at the same time added to the
detachment off Buenos Ayres, which was
placed under the command of Commodore
Norton, an English Officer, and other measures
were taken for enforcing the blockade in a more
efficient manner. The Brazilian force was
overwhelming ; but, fortunately for the Buenos
Ayreans, they themselves were in the posses
sion of an almost impregnable position. The
only anchorage before Buenos Ayres, consists

HISTORY OE BRAZIL. 255
of an open roadstead, which is separated by a
long bar of sand running parallel with the
course of the river, into two divisions ; denomi
nated the inner and the outer roads. The inner
roads, which are within the distance of a mile
from Buenos Ayres, are from the shallowness
of the water, inaccessible to vessels of heavy
burthen ; and are only connected with the outer
roads by a narrow and circuitous channel, of
difficult navigation. In this former anchorage
the few vessels composing the Buenos Ayrean
squadron were accustomed to lie, whilst the Ad
miral generally took his station in the connect
ing channel. Here, protected on one hand by a
sand-bank running out to the distance of five or
six miles, and, on the other, by the batteries
of Buenos Ayres, they were completely out of
the reach of the Brazilian squadron, which con
sisted principally of frigates, and other vessels
of heavy burthen. Unfortunately for Brazil, mo
tives of ostentation, and an anxiety to impress
on foreign nations an exalted idea of the naval
force of the new Empire, had led to the joint
purchase and construction of a fleet but little
qualified either for carrying on the war in the
river Plata, or for the protection of the coasting
trade. While small swift-sailing vessels would
not only have been more easily equipped, but
also more appropriate to the actual exigencies
of the country, the ambition of Don Pedro and

256 HISTORY OF BRAZIL,
the ill-judging policy of the Marquis de Para-
nagoa, the Minister of Marine, had hitherto pro
vided frigates, corvettes, and other heavy vessels
only. The Buenos Ayreans might, in consequence,
have remained for an indefinite period altoge
ther unmolested, had not Brown, in the hope of
surprising his opponents, had the temerity to
quit his position on the night of the 29th of
July, 1826. Being, however, but inadequately
supported, and having a brave and intelligent
officer to contend with, he had reason speedily
to regret his precipitation. By the well-directed
fire of the frigates, Brown's flag-ship was, be
fore the following morning, reduced to an utter
wreck, and had the utmost difficulty in regain
ing her former position, though towed in by
gun-boats, and covered by the brig Republic, in
which the Admiral re-hoisted his flag. From
this period the Buenos Ayreans were, from the
insignificance of their force, obliged to content
themselves by remaining on the defensive ; yet,
by means of privateers, which they were con
tinually fitting out, they shortly succeeded in
rendering themselves more formidable than ever.
These vessels were, for the most part, beautiful
Baltimore built schooners, and brigs from one
to twelve guns, manned by adventurers of all
nations, English, Americans, Frenchmen, and
Italians ; in general individuals of dissolute

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 257
character, yet brave and reckless to the last
degree. The inactivity of the Buenos Ayrean
squadron enabled them to fill up their comple
ment of men as quickly as they could be pre
pared for sea, and before many months had
elapsed, the entire coast from Maranham to Rio
Grande was infested by these unscrupulous de
predators. Vessels from all parts of the world were in
the meantime arriving daily in the river Plata.
Many of these were, at the time of departure,
unaware of the existence of a blockade, and
made no attempt to avoid the Imperial squa
dron. All were, however, taken possession of,
and sent into Monte Video. Hence they were
again despatched to Rio for adjudication; yet
not, it is said, before the most valuable portion
of their cargoes had been furtively abstracted
by the Prize Agents ; many of whom are known
to have made considerable fortunes by these illi
cit depredations. It had long been confidently ex
pected by the Brazilian Cabinet that, even with
out any decisive triumph on the part of the Im
perial forces, the distress entailed on Buenos
Ayres by the blockade, would compel the Go
vernment of this Republic to sue for peace. The
national Bank had there suspended its payments,
soon after the declaration of war ; and the troops
now in the Banda Oriental having been with
drawn from the Pampas, or plains of the inte-
vol. i. s

258 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
rior, where their presence had hitherto been
required to keep the Indians in check, there
appeared every probability that a civil war would
shortly commence in those districts. A similar
consideration had also some weight with the
Gauchos, but it was only to induce them to
carry on the campaign with increased vigour ;
and, finding it impossible to seduce the forces
of General Lecor to the plains, they decided
on a land blockade of the city of Monte Video.
Fructuozo Rivera and a number of his Cispla
tine partizans were opposed to the step, since its
adoption would block up the only channel
through which they could dispose of their pro
duce, or receive commodities in return. It was,
nevertheless, carried into execution during the
month of July, but produced no change what
ever in the tactics of the Brazilian General;
who contented himself by remarking, that it
was a Buenos Ayrean measure, which, by aug
menting the jealousy existing between the
chiefs of the Republic and those of the Cispla
tine province, must of itself bring matters all
the sooner to a crisis. In the province of Rio
Grande, where the Gauchos had already made
several incursions, and where a force of five
thousand men had been brought together, this
inactivity on the part of the General gave rise to
much impatience, and on his arrival on the
frontier of this province, in the month of Sep-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 259
tember, several of his officers broke out into
open mutiny, and a commotion took place, in
which several lives were lost, but which ended
in the re -establishment of the General's au
thority. The enlistment of troops in Brazil was in the
meantime found to be attended with greater
difficulties than had been anticipated. The free
peasantry of the interior, a mixed race, derived
jointly from Indian, European, and African
origin, were altogether indifferent as to the
success of the war, and were alike, by their
habits, prejudices, and disposition, unfitted for
the career of arms. Born within the genial and
luxurious regions of the tropic, and compara
tively unaccustomed to hardship, they were for
the most part an indolent, weak, and inoffensive
race. In the struggle for independence, many
of them had taken up arms ; but this was in
defence of their homes and families, and not
from any particular regard either for the integ
rity of the empire, or for Don Pedro. On the
completion of this great struggle, and on their
recognition as an independent people, they had
expected that they might at least be permitted
to enjoy the advantages of peace ; but to their
utter astonishment, they found that this boasted
triumph had as yet brought little, except in
creased privation in its train. Notwithstanding
their abhorrence of a military life, they were
s 2

260 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
seized like malefactors, and after being bound
and crammed into the holds of filthy ships, were
sent off to the bleak and dreary plains of the
south, there to contend with the rigours of an
inhospitable clime, and the tactics of a pitiless
enemy. Numbers sickened and died on the
passage. During the session of 1826, the vic
tims who had thus perished, either in the
vessels or in the hospitals on arrival, were
stated by one of the deputies to amount to
nearly one thousand.
This ill success was one of the motives in
ducing the Cabinet to decide on the further
employment of foreign military. By the terms
of the Constitution, it was one of the exclusive
privileges of the legislative body to permit, or
refuse, the entry of foreign troops within the
limits of the empire ; yet, whilst the letter of
the law was in appearance observed, its spirit
was, on the present occasion, unscrupulously
infringed upon, by the engagement of Germans
as colonists, and by their being drafted into
the army on their arrival. For this step, greater
facilities existed than even for the enlistment of
native troops ; and the class who, in the event
of a servile war in Brazil, might be regarded
as the great bulwark against anarchy, were
thus also exempted from the danger of being
swept off; yet the measure was not on this
account less reprobated by the Patriots, many

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 261
of whom were not only actuated by the old pre
judice against foreigners, but were moreover
suspicious, lest the Government having at its
disposition a force unconnected either by
kindred, by sympathy, or even by the common
tie of language with the inhabitants, might at
some future period set the Chambers altogether
at defiance. It cannot, however, be said that
these opinions had as yet made much progress
beyond the precincts of the Metropolis. The
public discontent was as yet but in its germ,
and by a more judicious policy on the part of
the administration, it might easily have been ex
tinguished. The land blockade of Monte Video was in the
meanwhile maintained until the end of October,
by which time the Buenos Ayrean Government
had become fully sensible of its impolicy. On
its first adoption it had occasioned the defec
tion of Fructuozo Rivera. Since the compara
tive cessation of the maritime trade of Buenos
Ayres, the main channel of her commerce lay
through Monte Video, and it at length became
fully evident to all, that in prohibiting any
communication with this latter city, the Buenos
Ayreans had in reality been inflicting a far
more serious injury on themselves than on the
Imperialists. The Indians of the Pampas had
also commenced their ravages, and serious dis
sensions had taken place between the Supreme

262 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
Government of Buenos Ayres and the Munici
palities of several of the confederated provinces,
yet the Republicans unflinchingly maintained
their hostile position. They were further in
duced to do this from their confident expecta
tion of the speedy arrival of two frigates, a
corvette, and several smaller vessels, which
they had lately purchased from the Chilian
Government. Unfortunately, however, for the
success of their calculations, the expected
vessels encountered a gale off Cape Horn, in
which one of the frigates sustained so much
damage, that she was compelled to return to
Chili, where she was condemned as unsea-
worthy ; and the other, with five hundred men
on board, is supposed to have foundered,
never after having been heard of. The only
vessels which succeeded in making their way
to the point of rendezvous in Patagonia, were
the corvette Chacabuco, and a small schooner.
Had the entire squadron succeeded in reaching
Buenos Ayres, the naval operations of the Re
public would probably have assumed a far more
serious aspect. While the Brazilian vessels of
war were indifferently manned, and their crews
dispirited by their inability to obtain any de
cided advantages, the British seamen in the
service of Buenos Ayres, and in the privateers,
were animated by the warmest enthusiasm.
Flushed with their constant success, and proud

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 263
of having with such ineffectual means so long
kept at bay the colossal forces of the Emperor
Don Pedro, their self-love became interested in
the strife in which they were engaged. The
present salvation of the Republic they regarded
as in a great measure the work of their own
hands, and they swore to each other in perfect
sincerity, that, whilst they were in existence, the
cause of the United Provinces should never
succumb. Such was the unfavourable state of affairs
which induced Don Pedro to undertake a voy
age to the seat of war, in the hope that he
might alike stimulate the troops with his pre
sence, and also ascertain from personal inspec
tion the real state of the Southern provinces.
A Proclamation to this effect was accordingly
issued on the 12th of November, and on the
24th, His Majesty sailed from Rio in the line-of-
battle ship Don Pedro Primeiro, attended by a
frigate, a corvette, a schooner of war, and a
number of transports. During the voyage he
had the annoyance to witness the escape of the
Chacabuco, the Buenos Ayrean corvette, from
under the guns of the entire squadron. This
vessel had been cruising along the coast, in
company with the Sarandi schooner, on board
of which was Admiral Brown, and they had
already captured a number of merchant vessels,
which were successively sent down to the Sa-

264 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
lado, a small river on the opposite bank to
Monte Video, the entrance of which is fortified-
Off St. Catherine the two vessels accidentally
separated, and on the clearing up of a fog the
Chacabuco found herself in the midst of a hostile
squadron. All the vessels immediately closed
upon her, but after exchanging a few broadsides,
her Commander, by his superior manoeuvring,
succeeded in extricating her without material
damage, from her apparently perilous position.
During the absence of the Emperor, the Em
press sickened and died. From the garbled
accounts which were at this time published re
garding this distressing event, but little accurate
information can be gleaned ; but unfortunately
for the credit of Don Pedro, the truth is at
present only too notorious. Before his depar
ture he had an interview with Her Majesty, on
which occasion some altercation ensued. Their
union had long been unhappy. All the in
fluence which ought naturally to have apper
tained to the Empress had passed into the hands
of the Marchioness de Santos ; and to such an
extent had the infatuation of Don Pedro for
this lady, attained, that in an official edict he
had recently avowed an infant, to which [she
gave birth in 1825, as his daughter, by the title
of Duchess de Goyaz. His demeanour towards
the Empress was at the same time unfeel
ing, and on the present occasion he is even

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 265
accused of having had the brutality to strike
her. In this there may possibly be some exag
geration, but what is certain is, that the unfor
tunate Empress, who was at this period far ad
vanced in her pregnancy, was forthwith conveyed
from the scene of their interview to a sick-bed,
whence she never rose again, excepting to per
form a short and painful pilgrimage to the
Gloria Church, where vows were in vain offered
up for her recovery. After an illness of the
most excruciating nature, the earthly sufferings
of Her Majesty terminated on the 11th of De
cember, 1826.
It is painful even to the stranger to know,
that her last moments were embittered by an
insult, which might well have been spared.
During the agonies of the fever prior to her
decease, the Marchioness de Santos had the
heartless effrontery to present herself for ad
mittance to the sick-room. The demand na
turally created some confusion in the ante
chamber, of which Her Majesty inquired the
cause. She had hitherto borne the ill-treat
ment of Don Pedro with the most exemplary
submission, but this last insult instantaneously
called up in her bosom the proud spirit of the
House of Austria, and she refused, in decisive
and explicit terms, to receive the projected
visit. Incensed beyond measure at the re
fusal, the Marchioness attempted to force her

266 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
way into the chamber of the Royal Invalid,
and would have succeeded, had it not been
for the personal interposition of the Marquis
de Paranogoa, the Minister of Marine, who
planted himself on the threshold, and told her,
' ' Tenha paciencia Senhora MarquezaVossamerce
nao pode entrar." — " Have patience, my Lady
Marchioness, you cannot enter." Her Lady
ship, in consequence, retired with many threats
of vengeance on the entire Cabinet, some of
which were shortly after carried into execution.
Before the death of the Empress had taken
place, the letters of the Marchioness, com
plaining bitterly of the treatment which she
had met with in the Palace, were already far
advanced on their way to Don Pedro.
During the entire illness of Her Majesty, all
the minor symptoms of her malady were de
tailed in the public journals with disgusting
circumstantiality ; in order, it is said, to pre
vent any suspicions of poison. When, at length,
the vital spark became extinct, preparations
were made, in conformity with the established
rules of Court etiquette, for a solemn " beija-
mao," or kissing of hands, to take place on the
following day. Like true courtiers, the ad
herents to the fortunes of Don Pedro had, be
fore this, abstracted themselves as much as pos
sible from the presence of the Empress, and
with the exception of a few faithful attendants,

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 267
who had followed her from Germany, and who
were bound to her by other ties than those of
interest, none were found willing to cheer her
hours of solitude. No sooner, however, had she
become insensible to their attentions, than all
again crowded around her. They who had
treated her with coldness and insult while
living, now bent down in lowly adulation to her
ashes ; and for weeks after, the columns of the
Diario Fluminense were filled with little beside
elegies, monodies, and fulsome and exaggerated
relations of the pomp and ceremonies instituted
on the melancholy occasion. After having lain
in state three days, her remains were finally in
terred in the Convent of Nossa Senhora de
Ajuda, and the earth closed over a daughter of
the Cassars, and a sister to the bride of Napo
leon. Amiable in her disposition, but devoid of
personal attractions, she never had the happi
ness to secure the affections of Don Pedro, who
had another attachment at the period of her
arrival from the object of which he was vio
lently separated by Don John ; and to this cir
cumstance may, perhaps, be traced some of the
instances of neglect, and even of cruelty, with
which he treated his unfortunate wife. Had
her influence over him been greater, it might
have been well both for himself and for Brazil ;
for not only were her views often masculine, but
that her popularity was also considerable, was

268 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
shortly afterwards evinced by the payment of
her debts, amounting to eighty contos, from
the national purse, by an act of the Legislative
Assembly.

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 269

CHAPTER XVIII.

Return of His Imperial Majesty to Rio — Dismissal of the Ministry —
Affairs of Buenos Ayres — Marquis de Barbacena — Battle of Ituza-
ingo — Browne's blockade of the Brazilian force in the Uruguay,
and his success — Brazilian expedition to Colonia — Its failure
¦ — Brown's discomfiture on the 9th of April, 1827 — Overtures for
peace — Garcia's Treaty — Refusal of the Buenos Ayrean Govern
ment to ratify it — State of public feeling in Buenos Ayres — Infrac
tions of the blockade — Opening of the Legislative Chambers — His
Majesty's speech — Treaty regarding the Slave Trade — Augmen
tation of the stipend allotted to the Emperor — Colonel Cotter sent
to Ireland to engage colonists — Attempt of dictation to the De
puties on the part of the Senate — Don Pedro's scheme for sup
plying funds to meet the expenses of the war — Closing of the
Session of the Chambers — Change of Ministry — Obvious incapacity
of the late Cabinet.

The voyage of Don Pedro to the south was not
productive of those happy effects which had
been anticipated. He was still in the capital of
Rio Grande, when the letters of the Marchioness
de Santos complaining of the treatment which
she had met with at the hands of the Ministry,
were put into his possession. Such was his
mortification on becoming acquainted with
their contents, that he instantly determined

270 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
to return to Rio. His projected visit to the
seat of the war, the animation to be excited
throughout the ranks of his army by his pre
sence, and the corresponding terror so confi
dently looked for throughout those of the ene
my, were all at once forgotten. After appeas
ing the differences existing among his prin
cipal officers, and appointing the Marquis de
Barbacena to the chief command, prepara
tions were made for his return, and before he
received intelligence of the death of the Em
press, he was already on the point of sailing
for Bio. He again arrived there on the 15th
of January, 1827, and, in conformity with Court
etiquette, the Ministry went on board in a body
to compliment His Majesty on his safe arrival.
Their reception was, however, marked by such
studied indignity, that, with the exception of
the Minister of War, they all immediately sent
in their resignations.
By the patriot party, whose ranks had of
late received great reinforcements, their dis
missal was hailed with congratulation. "They
had ever," it was urged, " treated the Repre
sentatives of the people with undisguised dis
dain ; they had refused the information asked
for at their hands ; and, looking to their conduct,
it might be said that they had deemed them
selves qualified to frame and interpret laws
without any assistance whatever from the Le-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 271
gislature. The pecuniary wants to which their
extravagance gave rise, and the unforeseen
occurrences of the war which they expected to
have concluded in four or six months at the
utmost, had obliged their Excellencies to de
scend a little from their high position, and to
seek communication with the House of Deputies,
yet they neither brought forward any projects
of law, nor condescended to favour the Assem
bly with any exposition of their political or
economical views. On the contrary, tbey ap
peared to consider themselves vilified, if by
chance they went before the Commissioners of
the nation to discuss its interests, and to subject
themselves to the decisions of the majority."
On the other hand, Don Pedro himself ap
peared to have heretofore regarded their
administration with tolerable complacency,
having conferred on each individual of their
number the title of Marquis. They had all
formed part of the Council of State convoked
shortly after the dissolution of the Constituent
Assembly, and their successors on the present
occasion, were not only selected from the same
body, but they were also individuals appertaining
to the same rank of titular aristocracy, and im
bued with similar ideas, feelings, and principles.
They were, the Marquis de Macaio, as Minister
of Marine : the Marquis de Queluz, as Minister
for Foreign Affairs and Finance ; the Marquis

272 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
de Nazareth, as Minister of Justice ; and the
Viscount de San Leopoldo, as Minister of the
Empire. The intelligence of the arrival of His Imperial
Majesty on the frontier had, in the meantime,
excited the liveliest sensation in Buenos Ayres.
The President of the Argentine Republic ad
dressed a Proclamation to the inhabitants, en
gaging them to join the army, which was
immediately augmented by considerable re
inforcements ; and, amongst others, by a
battalion of German Lancers. The entire force,
comprising upwards of seven thousand cavalry,
and a corps of artillery, was placed under the
command of Don Carlos Alvear ; who threatened
the positions of the Imperial army in Rio
Grande. The Brazilians were, nevertheless,
superior in numbers. They had at the present
period no fewer than twelve thousand men on
the frontier; five thousand in Monte Video, one
thousand in Colonia, one thousand on the island
of Gorriti, and about five hundred on the island
of Lobos.
On a few occasions the successful career of
the Buenos Ayreans appears to have lulled them
into a false security, and by means of night
marches, straggling parties were surrounded
and made prisoners in their quarters ; but these
incidents had but little effect on the fate of the
campaign. The ignorance and mismanagement

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 273
of the Marquis de Barbacena proved even more
fatal to the Imperial cause, than the procras
tinating policy of General Lecor. The Marquis,
who under the name of Filisberto Brant, had
already rendered himself conspicuous during
the negotiations with Portugal, was a sagacious
and talented courtier ; possessed of considerable
tact, agreeable in conversation, and polished in
his manners, but without any military expe
rience whatever, and of great self-conceit. In
a proclamation which he issued soon after his
accession to the supreme command, he promised
his troops and the public, that within a few days
the Brazilian banner should be planted in Buenos
Ayres ; and after a subsequent series of marches
and counter-marches, of which the object has
not yet transpired, he finally engaged the enemy
on the 20th of February, 1827, in the plain of
Ituzaingo. Scarcely, however, had the engage
ment commenced when Alvear withdrew his
troops, and by a feigned retreat succeeded in
drawing the entire force of Barbacena into a
position where they were in turn attacked at
great disadvantage ; and after an engagement
of six hours' duration, utterly routed, leaving
twelve hundred men dead on the field, and ten
pieces of artillery. The loss of the enemy was
also severe, but considerably less than the Bra
zilians. Fortunately, their horses were ex
hausted by forced marches over an immense
VOL. i. t

274 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
tract of sandy plains, or the loss of the Bra
zilians would probably have been much greater.
What contributed to render this disaster more
mortifying, and the war still more unpopular, was
that the Marquis of Barbacena had in the onset
been so confident of victory, that he refused to
wait for an expected re-inforcement of nearly two
thousand men, under the command of Bento
Manoel ; and on his defeat afterwards, he threw
all the blame on his troops in order to exonerate
himself. On the very same day on which the news of
this engagement arrived in Buenos Ayres, in
telligence was also received of the joint capture
and destruction of an entire division of the Bra
zilian fleet. On the return of Admiral Brown
from his cruise in the Sarandi, he found that
the third division of the blockading squadron
consisting of nineteen small vessels were up the
Uruguay, whither they had proceeded for the
purpose of communicating with the army.
Brown hereon resolved on an instant pursuit,
and on the day after his arrival followed on in
their track with all the smaller vessels of his
squadron, which, however, were altogether only
five schooners and eight gun-boats. After re
connoitring the position of the Brazilian force,
and ascertaining that they could not at the
moment be engaged, excepting to great dis
advantage, he again fell down the river, and

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 275
took possession of the island of Martin Garcia
commanding its entrance. This island, or rather
islet, which is situated right in the mouth of
the Uruguay, at the point where this river falls
into the Plata, had at the commencement of the
war been fortified, and subsequently abandoned
by Admiral Lobo. Brown again took possession
of it, and planting batteries in such a position
as to prevent all junction of the Imperial force
in the river Plata with that already in the Uru
guay, he proceeded to resume the offensive.
By this hardy manoeuvre the situation of the
contending parties was rendered truly singular,
and perhaps altogether unprecedented. While
the Brazilians were blockading Buenos Ayres,
the Buenos Ayreans were a little higher up
blockading a Brazilian force in the Uruguay.
The second attempt of Brown took place imme
diately afterwards, and was attended with perfect
success. On the 10th of February he suc
ceeded in bringing his opponents into action,
took eleven of their finest vessels, and burned
five of the remainder. Out of all the nine
teen only three escaped him.
Throughout all the war the indefatigable activity
of Brown afforded a forcible contrast to the ap
parent apathy of the Brazilian Admiral Rodrigo
Pinto Guedes, who, confining himself to the splen
did cabin of his line-of-battle ship, was seldom
or ever seen by the seamen under his orders.
t 2

276 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
Possessed of considerable reputation for abi
lity acquired during the time of the ab
solute government, when everything was
decided by intrigue alone, Guedes was better
qualified to concoct plans in the Cabinet, than
to carry them into execution. Cold, calculating,
and selfish, he testified much more eagerness
in the seizure of prizes, from the capture of
which he succeeded in amassing a considerable
fortune, than in harassing and discomfiting his
enemies. To add to the misfortunes of the Brazilians,
an expedition which they had despatched to
Patagonia fell almost entirely into the hands of
the enemy. The Buenos Ayrean privateers had
hitherto found a safe and convenient refuge for
themselves and their prizes in the Rio Negro,
on this coast, and a Brazilian expedition of two
corvettes and two schooners, was despatched to
take the place. On the 28th of February, they
entered the river leading to their destination,
but one of the corvettes grounded and was lost.
The nav^g^tion for the other vessels also became
so difficult that they were left at anchor, whilst
their crews proceeded against the town, situated
on the bank, by land. The attack was con
ducted by Captain Shepherd, who was unfor
tunately killed by the first discharge of mus
ketry from the garrison. This untoward cir
cumstance led to some confusion, and subse-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 277
quently to a retreat ; during which the Imperial
force discovered, to their dismay, that the priva
teers and other Argentine craft in port had
already fallen upon the almost defenceless
vessels of the expedition, and had succeeded in
overpowering the few hands left for their pro
tection. Thus cut off from all succour, the
party on shore were compelled to lay down their
arms. Out of six hundred and fifty prisoners
taken on this occasion, two hundred and fifty
were Englishmen and Americans, who forth
with attached themselves to the Republican
cause : the vessels falling into the hands of
the Buenos Ayreans, were the corvette Itaparica
of twenty guns, and the two schooners, Escu-
dero and Constancia.
Brown was, however, from the smallness of
his craft in the river Plata, unable to make any
impression on the heavy vessels of his oppo
nents ; and the latter being, from their draught
of water, unable to follow the enemy over the
shoals, no decisive blow was struck by either
party until the 9th of April. On this day Brown
made an attempt to stand out to sea, but was
intercepted by Commodore Norton, and an
action ensued ; during which two of the largest
Buenos Ayrean brigs got aground, and lay ex
posed to the united attacks of a Brazilian
squadron of eighteen sail. Brown, though
wounded, nevertheless defended himself until

278 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
his ammunition was expended, and subsequently
succeeded in setting fire to one of the brigs.
The remaining one, which was reduced to a
perfect wreck, surrendered to the frigate. This
was an unfortunate blow for the Buenos Ayreans ;
and in conjunction with the strife between the
Unitarians and the Federalists, into which two
parties the inhabitants of the United Provinces
were divided, appears to have decided the Go
vernment of the Republic to enter into stipula
tions for peace. Notwithstanding the previous
success of their arms, the difficulties of their
situation had been continually on the increase.
Their troops were almost naked, civil war had
broken out in the provinces, the paper money
of the National Bank had sunk to one-third of
its original value, and although they had at
length abandoned the land blockade of Monte
Video, the authorities of that city had hitherto
precluded the renewal of commercial intercourse.
Under these circumstances, the President
deemed it expedient to enter into negotiations
with Don Pedro ; and Don Manuel Jose Garcia,
a Minister who had been all along opposed to
the war, was despatched to Rio de Janeiro for
the furtherance of this object. In case the
Government of Brazil should manifest a wil
lingness to treat with him, he was authorized to
adjust and conclude any preliminary Conven
tion, or Treaty, which should have for its basis

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 279
either the devolution of the Oriental province to
Buenos Ayres, or its erection into a separate
State, free and independent, under the forms
and rules which its own inhabitants should
choose and sanction. In the latter case, no
compensation was to be accorded to either of
the belligerent parties. Such, however, was
this Plenipotentiary's desire for a pacific ar
rangement, that he exceeded these instructions
so far as to enter into a convention, whereby
the province in question was ceded to Brazil,
and a compensation agreed to for all Brazilian
property hitherto taken by privateers.
This document the Government of Buenos
Ayres refused to ratify. The members of the
Administration were here the leaders of an ultra-
patriot party. In the present critical circum
stances of the State, perhaps none but an ultra-
patriot party could have directed alike the peo
ple and the army with sufficient energy. Mo
derate men would have been overborne by the
torrent of popular opinion. The common peo
ple were intoxicated with the frequent triumphs
of the army and navy, and the commercial class
were by this time equally fanatical. The long-
continuance of the war had directed their spirit
of enterprise into a new and profitable channel.
The capital which could no longer be employed
in their business, had been invested in the outfit
of privateers ; and the success of these vessels

280 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
had in some measure made amends for the sus
pension of the regular trade. By many of the
owners of this species of property peace was
regarded only as the forerunner of ruin.
There was also a further cause contributing
to augment the public fatuity. The fluctuation
in the value of commodities, arising in part
from the continuous fall in the value of the
paper-currency, and in part from the uncertainty
of arrivals from foreign ports, led on to specula
tions hitherto unprecedented. Fortunes were
suddenly amassed by individuals heretofore
unconnected with business ; purchases were
made by adventurers who were obliged to again
enter the market as sellers before they could
fulfil their original engagements regarding pay
ments ; and the bustle and animation resulting
from these transactions were such as had never
before been witnessed. By many this unna
tural and feverish excitement was mistaken
for real prosperity. The public mind was too
much inflamed to admit of reflection, and no
sooner were the terms of Garcia's Treaty made
known, than a tumult took place. In the words
of the " Gazeta do Brazil," a ministerial journal
lately established in Rio, " The house of the
President was attacked and stoned for two
hours by the sovereign people ; Garcia was
compelled to fly, and an attempt was made to
assassinate his unfortunate Secretary in the

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 281
Cafe de la Victoria." War ! war ! war ! was
the cry in every mouth ; and the women came
forward to offer their jewels and their trinkets
in support of the exigencies of the State.
Whatever might have been the wishes of the
Government, they could not, in the present ex
cited state of public feeling, have resisted the
popular impulse.
In Rio de Janeiro, meanwhile, the desire for
peace amongst all except the Corcunda, or
Royalist party, was equally extreme. The ra
vages of the Buenos Ayrean privateers had be
come so formidable, that the premium of marine
insurance from Rio to Bahia under convoy,
could not be effected at less than ten per cent.
Without convoy, thirty per cent, was often re
fused. At the same time, the city- of Buenos
Ayres was known to receive succours direct
from Brazil. Fast-sailing vessels, fitted out
and loaded principally at Rio de Janeiro, and
cleared for the coast of Chili, were continually
eluding the vigilance of the blockading squa
dron. The destination of these was so noto
rious, that a public journal in Rio, from mali
cious motives, actually advertised a vessel for
" Valparaiso, via Buenos Ayres," giving as a
reference the residence of an Englishman well
known to be engaged in this illicit commerce.
Such was the general disposition, when, on
the 3rd of Mav, 1827, His Majesty again

282 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
opened the Session of the Legislative Assembly.
He commenced his address by announcing the
death of the Empress, and his regret on the
melancholy occasion. He afterwards alluded
to the war ; the continuance of which he de
clared necessary, until the Cisplatine province
should be cleared from her invaders, and her
incorporation with the Empire of Brazil ac
knowledged by Buenos Ayres. Referring to
the affairs of the interior, His Majesty requested
the attention of the Representatives to the
affairs of finance. " The judicial power," ob
served the Emperor, " is also an important de
partment, which ought to give essential aid to
the new system of finance, which I hope to see
established. We have neither a Code nor forms
of procedure in accordance with the spirit of the
age. The laws are contradictory; the judges
embarrassed ; criminals are suffered to escape
punishment ; the salaries of the Magistracy are
insufficient to guarantee them against the temp
tations of a vile and sordid interest. Without
a good system of finance and legislation no
nation can exist. On this account, I particu
larly call the attention of the Assembly to these
two objects, which ought to claim a precedence
above all others. During the embarrassments
of war all cannot be regularly organized ; but
the Government has need to be authorized to
put a stop to peculation, and to punish all such

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 283
as neglect their duty, and who strive to over
throw the established order of things. No one
can be more disposed than myself to keep
within the limits of the law ; but when those \
who endeavour to elude it find no check, the
Government ought to be provided with neces
sary powers, until the general system can be
completely organized." As to exterior relations
with the continent of Europe, His Majesty
affirmed the continuance of amity, and stated
that the betrothment of the Queen of Portugal
had already been celebrated in Vienna, and that
Don Miguel might shortly be expected in
Brazil. Finally, he designated as enemies to
the throne, to the country, and to religion, all
entertaining opinions in opposition to those
enunciated; and stated his conviction of the
uniformity of sentiments existing between him
self and the members of the Legislature.
The disposition of the House of Deputies was
still as timid and vacillating as during the pre
ceding Session, yet the unfortunate results of
the war, the obvious imbecility of the Adminis
tration, and the consciousness of the moral
power devolving upon them as a natural conse
quence of increasing intelligence, had given the
members of the opposition a confidence in them
selves in which they had hitherto been found
wanting. One of the first objects submitted to
their attention was a treaty already entered into,

284 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
between the British Government and that of
Brazil, for the suppression of the Slave-trade.
This document, which was drawn up under the
auspices of Mr. Canning, limited the duration
of the traffic to three years from the last ratifi
cation of the present treaty ; after which its
continuance became punishable as piracy.
The Government of Brazil had been long
pledged to the final adoption of this step, and
as His Britannic Majesty threatened to employ
force, unless the former engagements on this
head were carried into effect, the Emperor had
already affixed his signature to the convention
on the 23rd of November, 1826, during the
recess of the Chambers. This unauthorized
ratification of a treaty involving so many im
portant consequences, without previously sub
mitting it to the General Assembly, was ex
ceedingly irregular ; yet from the prevailing
spirit of the debates on the topic, it appears
probable that the chief articles agreed upon,
would, under any circumstances, have met with
approbation. As was stated by various mem
bers in the House of Deputies, notwithstanding
the vigour with which the African trade had
been carried on for many years, the amount of
the slave population had remained almost sta
tionary. From a wish to avoid the risk and
trouble of rearing children, the planters had
been in the habit of employing male slaves

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 285
only. To such a pitch had this system been
carried, that on many estates scarcely a single
female could be found ; and in the majority of
the plantations they seldom exceeded the pro
portion of one female to four males. Thus, un
happily for America, as well as for Africa, did
this inhuman traffic appear to entail on Brazil
an ever increasing necessity for its continuance.
After a lengthened discussion a Committee was
finally appointed for the purpose of reviewing
and examining the conditions of the Treaty, and
though its members, in their report, appear to
have considered the infliction of the penalties
awarded to piracy on all engaged in the contra
band traffic as opposed to the dictates of the
Constitution, the majority were yet induced to
acquiesce in the justice of the main principles
on which the Convention had been founded.
To the revision of this important Treaty suc
ceeded the adoption of a decree for the institu
tion of Universities in the cities of San Paulo
and Olinda : a law for the creation of Justices
of peace ; another for the augmentation of the
income of His Imperial Majesty, from two
hundred to one thousand contos of reis per an
num ; and, finally, a Decree for the funding of
the public debt. The utility of the first-men
tioned measure is too obvious to require any
comment whatever. Regarding the second,
which was a law organized and brought forward

286 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
by the opposition, it may be remarked that its
prospective advantages were that, instead of
these Justices of peace being nominated, like
the " Juizes de fora," by the government, for an
unlimited time, they were to be appointed di
rectly by popular election, for four years only ;
and their services were to be gratuitous. Their
attributes were restrained within a more limited
circle than those of the " Juiz de fora ;" and
from the mode and circumstance of their elec
tion, an increased responsibility towards the
public was secured.
Concerning the augmentation of the sum al
lotted to the Emperor, it may be necessary to
state that on his first elevation to the Regency
it had been fixed at one hundred and forty-four
contos of reis per annum; or 31,350/. sterling.
During the recess between the dissolution of the
Constituent and the convocation of the Legisla
tive body, he had by a decree raised the amount
to two hundred contos, or 46,666/. 13*. Ad. ster
ling ; and in 1 826 it had again been decided by
the House of Deputies, that it should be raised to
four hundred contos. This project had not, how
ever, as yet been sanctioned by the Senate ; and
as His Majesty's expenses had for several years
averaged nearly seven hundred contos, it was
now proposed, in the form of an amendment,
that the amount should be raised to one thousand
contos, or 148,437/. 10*. sterling. It must be

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 287
acknowledged that the moment for this increase
was ill chosen. The public debt had since the
last session been considerably augmented ; the
deficiency for the current year could not be
estimated at less than five thousand contos ;
and the country was involved in a ruinous war ;
yet, though a few of the Deputies had the
hardihood to oppose the measure, the greater
number were still too fearful of coming into col
lision with the Imperial authority, to resist
its adoption. During the discussions it was
clearly evinced that the stipend at present
conceded to His Majesty was larger in propor
tion to the revenue than that of any constitu
tional monarch in Europe ; yet the amendment
was in the end carried through the House of
Deputies by a large majority.
Whilst, however, thus complaisant towards
the personal exigencies of the Emperor, the De
puties were resolved not to sacrifice their popu
larity altogether, to the extravagance of the
Administration. It had been the expectation
of the Cabinet that further imposts would have
been levied, and the revenue thus augmented ;
but to this the Deputies were inflexibly opposed.
In the hope of conciliating the opinion of their
constituents, they were more disposed to lessen
than to add to the public burthens, and actually
proceeded to abolish an oppressive tax, hitherto
levied on all gold mines. The actual revenue

288 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
they regarded as amply sufficient for times of
peace ; and they on this account proceeded to
organize the law for the funding of the public
debt, deeming, as they did, the system of credit
to be the most expedient for the time being.
Intelligence of the refusal of the Buenos
Ayrean Government to ratify Garcia's Treaty of
peace in the meantime arrived in Rio, and
Colonel Cotter, an Irish Officer in the service of
the Empire, was in consequence despatched by
the Government to Ireland, for the purpose of
engaging colonists on the same principles as
those on which the Germans, who had been
drafted into the army, had already been en
gaged. The House of Deputies were also re
quested to concede such assistance as might
enable the Administration to carry on the cam
paign with increased vigour. In the despatch
of the Minister it was stated that " His Imperial
Majesty, having done every thing within the
scope of his attributes, and even endangered
his precious life for the good and salvation of
the country, had the indubitable right to look
for efficient co-operation on the part of the
Chambers." To this communication the President replied,
that the matter should meet with their most se
rious attention ; and a Commission was ap
pointed for the purpose of taking it into con
sideration. The result was a decision on the

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 289
part of the House, that a force of thirty thou
sand men, the number at present authorized,
was amply sufficient for present exigencies.
To this the Senate had the hardihood to pro
pose as an amendment, that the number should
be augmented by three thousand additional
troops ; a step in itself decidedly unconstitu
tional : since by the terms of the charter all pro
posals for taxes and enlistments, were required
to originate with the House of Deputies. This
attempt at dictation did not fail to awaken the
indignation of the patriots in the other House.
" Let us not," exclaimed Vasconcellos, a Mem
ber for the province of Minas Geraes, " let us
not admit the slightest infraction of the Consti
tution. This article is even more important
than that relating to taxes; for enlistment is also
a tax ; and, let us ask, of what nature ? It
is a tax imposed on the liberty, the blood, and
the lives of our fellow-citizens. Let not then
the Senate violate this article of our Constitu
tion." In a further amendment, the Senate also pro
posed that this additional reinforcement should
be recruited principally from among foreigners,
an intimation which proved even more galling
to the Deputies than the preceding. The
amendments were in both cases rejected ; and
as the Deputies were equally indisposed to the
imposition of further taxes, His Majesty, as a
VOL. I. v

290 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
last resort, resolved upon devoting towards the
expenses of the war, the amount of one month's
stipend, with a promise that as long as the
struggle should continue he would also continue
DO
to apply towards the exigencies of the state, one-
half of the said stipend, as a loan, for which he
would not require the payment of interest.
This patriotic example his subjects were called
upon to imitate : but with the exception of a few
confirmed royalists and the Marchioness de
Santos, the appeal appears to have been at
tended with but little effect.
An additional number of German colonists
were about the same time drafted into the army,
and several native battalions transported from
the northern provinces to Rio Grande. His
Majesty, however, deemed it expedient to hold
out hopes of peace to the Chambers, and in
closing the Session, which was, on account of
the press of affairs, protracted until the 16th of
November, he recommended the Deputies to re
main in the metropolis, in order that they
might be in readiness to deliberate at any time,
on the terms of a peace which must shortly be
looked for.
An entire change of the Ministry took place
only four days afterwards. Some changes had
previously been made in the Cabinet during the
current year, yet that administrative superiority
necessary for the command of a majority in the

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 291
House of Deputies had not as yet been attained
by its members. The circle of the Counsellors
of State, sarcastically termed by the patriots
"the vicious circle," from which the administra
tions of the last three years had been taken al
most in toto, had certainly been any thing but
prolific in talent. With the exception only of
the Count de Valenca, the Viscount de San
Leopoldo, and the Marquis de San Joao de
Palma, who had all three been recently ad
mitted, the members of this body were the same
individuals who had formerly organized the
Constitution ; yet, monstrous as it may appear,
their subsequent Administration seemed to have
been little else than one continual series of
awkward and ineffectual attempts for its sub
version. Certainly the members of the late
Cabinet were somewhat less obnoxious on this
account than their predecessors, yet they had
even managed to surpass them in incapacity.
A short time previous to the close of the Ses
sion one of their Excllenci s actually proposed
that a salary should be allotted to the Counsel
lors of State, and attempted to put his proposi
tion to the vote, notwithstanding its opposition
to the fundamental law of the Empire. An
other assured the opposition that, were he dis
posed, he could easily quash all their argu
ments ; a third kept silence on all points, until
called upon to state the reason why he had al
ii 2

292 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
lotted to himself the salaries attached to two
different offices ; a fourth avowed himself a par-
tizan of the theories of Bentham, yet, having a
defect in his articulation he was never able to
develope them to the entire satisfaction of the
Deputies; and another, after having for some
time favoured the House with an exposition of
his own luminous perceptions on the subject of
ship-building, concluded in the following words :
" I cannot give a reason for my assertion, but
the House may rely upon me that it is true."
" Oh, stupidity ! oh, impudence ! " exclaimed
the " Astro de Minas," a lately established
paper of bolder principles than any which had
hitherto appeared since the time of Chapuis,
" what an opinion must foreigners form of
Brazil, in case they estimate her by her
Ministry ! "

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 293

CHAPTER XIX.
Ilc-appointment of General Lecor to the command of the Army —
Marquis de Barbacena despatched to Europe — State of Affairs in
Portugal — Revolt in favour of Don Miguel — Interference of Great
Britain — Conduct of Don Pedro relative to the Affairs of
Portugal — Appointment of Don Miguel as Lieutenant-General,
and Regent of Portugal— Don Miguel's Oath to the Constitution —
Machinations of the Absolutists — Death of Mr. Canning, and its
effect on the Affairs of Portugal — Dissolution of the House ot
Deputies there — Convocation of the Ancient States of the Kingdom
in June, 1828 — Protest of the Marquis de Itabayana — Assembly
of the Three Estates, and their decision — Donna Maria sent to
Europe — Negotiations of the Marquis de Barbacena — Fulsome
fityle of the Official Journals in Rio.
From the period of the battle of Ituzaingo until
the close of the year 1827, the Imperial army
on the frontier contented themselves by acting
on the defensive. Only one skirmish of im
portance took place in Camacua, in the month
of April ; and this, like all those which had
preceded it, terminated in favour of the repub
licans. These repeated defeats led to the recall
of the Marquis de Barbacena, and to the re
appointment of General Lecor to the command
of the army. Barbacena, whose insinuating man
ners have before been alluded to, had, never-

294 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
theless, succeeded in inspiring His Majesty
with a high opinion of his talents ; and, as the
late events in the South proved beyond a doubt
that they lay not in the military line, it appears
to have been concluded that diplomacy was
his forte. Certainly, the patriot party were of
a different opinion. The diplomatic talents of
the Marquis had already been put to the proof,
during the negotiations with Portugal ; and,
whatever might have been the advantages re
sulting to the plenipotentiary, the high terms
on which the acknowledgment of the inde
pendence had been purchased from Don
John VI., they regarded as any thing but
satisfactory. His Excellency was, however,
despatched to Europe, for the joint purpose of
effecting a further loan, of contracting a second
marriage for Don Pedro in some of the reigning
families in that continent, and lastly, of con
ducting the negotiations still pending with
Portugal. The Constitution framed by Don Pedro had
met with acceptance in this kingdom, and on
the occasion of the first assembly of the Legis
lative body, both houses were profuse in their
acknowledgments of gratitude. Reflecting men
saw, however, even at this time, that the feeling
in its behalf was any thing but national.
"The Letra (bill of exchange) has been
presented and accepted," wrote Silvestre Pin-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 295
heiro, the talented ex-minister of Don John,
to a friend in Brazil ; " yet it appears doubtful
whether it will ever be paid ; for the drawer has
neither any funds here, nor is his credit by any
means good in this market." Such, in fact,
was Pinheiro's conviction regarding the future
course of events in Portugal, that, although
elected a member of the House of Deputies,
he never thought proper to take his seat. Like
many others, he had observed that, excepting
among the middle class of citizens, who were
but a diminutive number, the charter had few
sincere adherents. The Magistracy were, for
the most part, individuals of retrograde ideas ;
the bulk of the nobility and clergy regarded the
appointment of a separate and independent
Chamber of Deputies as an infringement on
their established privileges, and the populace
were, from the unsatisfactory administration of
the late Cortes, indisposed to any constitutional
government whatever. ,
Under the irritation resulting from the inde
pendence of Brazil ; the quarter whence the
Constitution had emanated was in itself a suf
ficient cause to preclude its popularity. Nor
were these symptoms of dissatisfaction long in
coming to a crisis. Scarcely had the sessions
of the Legislature been opened, when a Royalist
party, headed by the Marquis de Chaves, took
up arms in the province of Traz os Montes, with

296 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
the intent of proclaiming Don Miguel absolute
monarch of the kingdom. At the same time,
the Cabinet of Spain gave unequivocal demon
strations of an intention to support and assist
the revolters. The British Ministry were, on
the other hand, anxious that the Constitution of
Don Pedro should be maintained ; and Mr.
Canning, by his representations, induced the
House of Commons to decide upon sending
such an armed force to Portugal, as might be
sufficient to keep the revolters in check. Five
thousand men, under the command of Lieu
tenant-General Sir William Clinton, were ac
cordingly disembarked there on the 15th of
January, 1827, the insurgents fled for refuge
into Spain, and the members of the legislature
were thus enabled to continue their sittings,
free from further molestation. Between the
two chambers there was nevertheless but little
accordance. The majority of the laws passed
through the House of Deputies were thrown
out by the Peers ; amongst whom the Aposto
lical party, headed by the Counts de Rio Pardo
and de San Miguel, were greatly predominant.
Don Pedro, in the meantime, notwithstand
ing his conditional abdication of the Crown of
Portugal, continued to act as though the admi
nistration of that kingdom and of Brazil were
still vested in the same hands. The entire
equipment of the vessel which brought the in-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 297
telligence of the death of the King of Portugal,
was furnished exclusively by the naval arsenal
of Brazil, and the line-of-battle ship Don
John VI, in which it was intended that Don
Miguel should visit Rio de Janeiro for the pur
pose of conveying thither his young bride, was
also magnificently decked out, and provided
with the due complement of seamen, at the ex
pense of the Empire. In all the despatches
relative to the administration of Portugal, His
Majesty also retained the style of a monarch,
and continued to affix his signature as Don
Pedro IV. Many of these related to objects of
importance, yet they were decided without any
consultation of the Council of Portugal. Doctor
Bernardo Joze de Abrantes e Castro, was created
a Counsellor of State ; Marshal Luiz do Rego
Barreto, the ex-Governor of Pernambuco, was
. appointed to the post of Lieutenant-General
and Governor-at-arms in the province of Minho ;
and his brother-in-law, the Baron de Rio Seco,
was elevated to the peerage. At the same time
the Duke de Lafoens and the other members of
the deputation from the Regency of Portugal,
who had arrived in Rio in a Portuguese vessel
expressly fitted out by the Portuguese Govern
ment, were, in consequence of some misunder
standing with His Majesty, condemned to the
mortification of returning to Europe at their
own expense ; the Duke de Lafoens in the English

298 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
packet, and the others in Portuguese merchant
men. Unexpected obstacles, however, opposed them
selves about this period to the designs of Don
Pedro. Don Miguel was neither willing to
visit Rio de Janeiro, nor would the existing
ministry of the Infanta, Donna Isabella Maria,
consent to acknowledge the validity of the des
patches in question. This untoward opposition
from both parties, and the fear of a civil war, at
length induced the Emperor, by a Decree of the
3d of July, 1827, to appoint Don Miguel his
Lieutenant-General and Regent in Portugal.
In observance of this diploma, in itself reputed
an infraction of the Constitution, His Highness
the Infante quitted Vienna for Portugal ; and,
after visiting Paris and London on his route,
arrived in Lisbon on the 22d of February, 1828.
Here he made oath to the Constitutional Charter
on the 26th of the same month ; an act nearly
simultaneous with the absolute and uncondi
tional abdication of the Portuguese Crown by
Don Pedro in favour of his daughter.
Events were, however, transpiring which
seemed to render the permanence of Her most
faithful Majesty's reign extremely problema
tical. No sooner had Don Miguel assumed the
Regency in that kingdom, than the opponents
of the Charter gave free utterance to their opi
nions, and began to agitate the feasibility of

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 299
constituting His Highness absolute monarch
For this they had a precedent before their eyes
in the elevation of Don Pedro ; who, notwith
standing his oath of allegiance to Portugal,
taken on occasion of his accession to the Re
gency of that country, had yet at an ulterior
period been created Emperor by the acclama
tion of the people. It was moreover urged by
the advocates for a similar step, that whenever
on previous occasions, as, for example, during
the reigns of Don John IV. and Don Pedro II.,
any articles of the ancient Cortes of Lamego
had been altered, the consent of the people, con<-
stituted in Cortes, had been obtained for this
purpose ; and that consequently, before Don
Pedro could legally annul these same institutes,!
he ought to have convoked the representatives |
of the people in Portugal for this especial
purpose. The explicit assumption of the Sovereignty
of the people implied in these arguments, may
appear somewhat startling in the mouths of the
advocates for absolute monarchy, yet altogether,
they were such as were deemed most appropri
ate to the crisis ; they were highly flattering to
the populace, and they were everywhere echoed
by the Clergy. The principle of the " divine
right" was not merely out of date, but in the
present instance it could have been employed
only with a view to the prejudice of the Church.

300 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
Warned by the proceedings of the Cortes of
1 820, the Clergy were fully aware that if a con
stitutional Charter were long maintained, an
attack on their privileges, if not on their pro
perty, would necessarily ensue ; and they were
thus almost to a man indisposed to the continu
ance of the existing system. In their Homilies,
the two brothers, Don Miguel and Don Pedro,
were held up by the correlative appellations of
Jacob and Esau. Journals advocating the cause
of absolute government, or as it was on the pre
sent occasion termed, " the cause of the people,"
were conducted under their auspices ; and the
general prejudice against the Charter confirmed
through their efforts.
Such was the state of affairs in Portugal when
the death of Mr. Canning, and the accession of
the Duke of Wellington, five months afterwards,
to the office of Premier, led to an entire change
throughout the political relations of Great Bri
tain. Notwithstanding that the insurgents were
still in force on the frontiers of Spain, and that
the danger of invasion was still manifest, the
British troops were recalled during the month
of April 1828.
The Infante, in the meantime, went on in the
career usually pursued by whatever party may
happen to hold possession of the supreme
power, bestowing the highest appointments in
the army on individuals possessing his personal

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 301
confidence, and proceeding to the appointment
of a ministry composed on the same principles.
To this last measure succeeded a Decree, dated
on the 13th of March, for the dissolution of the
House of Deputies ; a step which had scarcely
been carried into execution, when on the 25th
of April, 1828, the Municipality of Lisbon pre
sented a petition requesting His Highness to
assume the dignity and title of King of Por
tugal. To this representation His Highness
replied in a Decree, dated on the same day,
declaring that the requisition would be taken
into consideration when presented in legal
terms. By legal terms, was implied a decision
of the ancient States of the kingdom to this
effect ; and a further Decree, dated the 3d of
May, was issued for their convocation, in order,
as the Minister of Justice stated in his circular,
" that Portugal might again become Portugal."
This convocation, by which the charter of
Don Pedro was virtually annulled, conjointly
with the imprisonment of the editors of all Con
stitutional journals, led to the flight of many of
the partizans of Donna Maria to France, Eng
land, and Brazil. Others of a more determined
character sought refuge in the city of Oporto ;
where the inhabitants, being principally of
the middle class, and engaged in commerce,
were advocates for the charter. The troops
quartered in this city also espoused the cause

302 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
of the inhabitants, and a provisional govern
ment was appointed, principally composed of
such as had already figured in the revolution
of 1820, or who had since made sacrifices in
behalf of the Constitutional cause. Unfor
tunately the number of members was greater
than necessary ; their conflicting opinions were
continually tending to negative each other, and
all their subsequent acts were consequently
wanting in that vigour and energy which can
only be obtained under the administration of
a few. The Visconde de Itabayana the Brazilian
Minister in London, in conjunction with the
Marquis de Rezende the Minister to the Court
of Austria, entered into a joint protest against
the late proceedings of the Infante, but to no
purpose. The Government in Lisbon having
at its head a prince already reputed as the mo
narch, neither suffered this protest nor the revolt
in Oporto to interfere with its measures. The
Session of the Three Estates was opened by
the Infante on the 23d of June 1828, and the
Bishop of Viseu addressed the members on the
occasion, regarding the right of Don Miguel to
the Portuguese crown, to the exclusion of Don
Pedro and his daughter Donna Maria. The
Desembargador Joze Acursio das Neves after
wards rose, and dilated at considerable length
on the evils which Don Pedro had already

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 303
caused to the Portuguese nation, by the conces
sion of independence to the Empire of Brazil ;
he recalled the examples wherein various mo
narchs of Portugal had on previous occasions
been excluded from the throne ; and concluded
by assuming, that the nation only, as a supreme
judge, could decide between the pretensions
of the Emperor of Brazil and his daughter, and
those of Don Miguel ; and that, on this account,
the three estates were assembled. This dis
course, as well as that of the bishop, was lis
tened to with apparent approbation, and the
Infante subsequently ordered that each Estate
should again assemble separately on the 25th,
in the various edifices of San Roque, Santo An
tonio, and the Convent of San Francisco. As
was doubtless anticipated, they decided that
Don Miguel was the legitimate King, and that
all that had been done by Don Pedro was null
and void from its illegality. For the adoption
of this decision they gave the following
grounds : —
First, Don Pedro had become the sovereign of
a foreign country ; and this circumstance, by
constituting him a foreigner, excluded him from
the throne of Portugal, conformably to the de
cree of the Cortes of Lamego, and to the de
mand made by the three Estates at the period
of the Assembly in 1642.
Secondly, The residence of Don Pedro out of

304 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
the kingdom is contrary to the ordinance of the
Cortes of 1641, of that of Thomar, and of the
letters patent of 1642.
Thirdly, Portugal and Brazil having become
separate and distinct states since the 15th of
November 1 825 ; and Don Pedro having chosen
the crown of the latter country, he is unquali
fied to reign over Portugal, by the terms of the
same letters patent of 1642.
Fourthly, This Prince has violated the Portu
guese laws in arrogating to himself an exorbi
tant and discretionary power.
The Assembly, moreover, declared in conclu
sion, that the oaths pronounced by Don Miguel
were invalid, from having been forced and con
tracted in a foreign country.
Without attempting to estimate the validity
of these various arguments, it may be sufficient
to state here, that the decision was confirmed
by Don Miguel, who caused himself to be pro
claimed King of Portugal and Algarve, and
who, by a decree of the 15th of July, again dis
solved the same Assembly to which his elevation
had been owing.
Intelligence of the dissolution of the House
of Deputies in the meantime arrived in Rio,
where it had the effect of inducing the Emperor
to expedite the departure of Donna Maria to
Europe, in the hope that if her Majesty could
be placed under the protection of her maternal

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 305
grandfather, the Emperor of Austria, her union
with Don Miguel might even yet be effected.
The Marquis de Barbacena, the universal ge
nius who during the year 1827 had alternately
figured before the army in the south, the minis
try in Rio, and subsequently before the re
spective courts of London, Munich, Sardinia,
and Paris, and who, with all his versatility of
talent and his astonishing expedition, had yet
returned to Rio without having concluded any
one of the objects of his mission, was selected
as the guardian to the youthful potentate during
her voyage ; and at the same time charged to
conclude as briefly as possible the negotiations
for the second marriage of Don Pedro. In his
previous correspondence with the Court of Rio,
he had indicated the democratic regimen of
Brazil as the chief obstacle to the alliance of
the Emperor with any of the reigning families
in Europe ; yet, far from being discouraged by
this difficulty, he represented it as having been
in a great measure surmounted through his own
peculiar subtlety. Before, however, he brought
his negotiations to a close, he had deemed it
expedient again to visit Rio de Janeiro, and,
in consequence of his presence here at this
juncture, he became intrusted with the tem
porary guardianship of Donna Maria. Her
most faithful Majesty finally sailed from Rio on
the 5th of July 1828. She was still a child, in
vol. i. x

306 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
the tenth year of her age, and her departure
was regarded with but little interest by the in
habitants of Rio. If, however, any credit can
be attached to the asseverations of the " Diario
Fluminense," there were at least a few indivi
duals whose excess of sensibility on this occasion
was such as to make ample amends for the
indifference of the greater number.
" Her Majesty Donna Maria the Second,"
exclaimed the highly gifted Editor of this
periodical, in a paragraph, which may be
worthy of insertion, as illustrative of the pom
pous nonsense with which he still from time
to time disfigured his pages, — " Her Majesty
Donna Maria the Second left this city on
the day before yesterday, for the Court of
Vienna, whither she is gone to kiss the hand of
her august grandfather. That fortunate Court,
which eleven years ago felicitated Brazil with a
prototype of virtues which it would be difficult
to imitate, and which prototype was quickly
coveted by Heaven, will now be well repaid
with the sovereign presence of the youthful
Queen, the blessed offspring and living image
of her mother. The just and pungent anguish
in which the privation of this august object
steeps our hearts, and which the policy of
Empires compels us to support, can alone be
alleviated by the thought, that this brilliant
star, now ceasing to scintillate in the southern

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 307
cross, will henceforth light up the skies of
Europe, and re-produce in another hemisphere
the high virtues of the great genius, the Founder
of the Brazilian Empire. On occasion of her
departure we were favoured with the following
sonnet, which we publish alike on account of
the worthy object to which it is dedicated, and
also from a wish to make known the transcen
dent genius of the writer.
" Alas 1 high Queen," fcc. &c &c.

x 2

308 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.

CHAPTER XX.
Disputes relative to the prize claims — The North American Ministers'
interpretation of the laws of blockade — Unavailing representations
— Mr. Raguet demands his passports — The French and English
make similar claims to the Americans, and the British Ministry
undertake the office of mediators between the Emperor and the
Government of Buenos Ayres — State of the Imperial army —
Audacity of the privateers — Meeting of the Chambers in 1828 —
New Ministry — Revolt of the foreign troops, and subsequent
massacre — Further changes in the Cabinet — A French squadron
enters in line of battle, and their demand is acceded to- — Negotia
tions for peace — Preliminary treaty' — Effects of the war in Brazil
as well as in Buenos Ayres.
While the events taking place in Portugal thus
appeared to betoken the proximity of a rupture
between Don Pedro and Don Miguel, the deten
tion and seizure of an immense number of neu
tral vessels, by the blockading squadron in the
river Plata, threatened to become the cause of
an equally serious embarrassment to the Em
peror. In protesting against the measures car
ried into execution by the Imperial Government,
the United States of North America took the
precedence. During the month of September,
1824, an American vessel had been seized,

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 309
under the pretext of an infraction of the block
ade of Pernambuco, and nearly fifteen months
had elapsed before a definitive sentence for her
release could be obtained. On the subsequent
declaration of war with Buenos Ayres, the Bra
zilian Minister for foreign affairs informed Mr.
Raguet, the Charge d'Affaires of the United
States in Rio de Janeiro, that the Emperor
had given orders to equip a squadron for the
purpose of placing in a state of blockade all the
ports belonging to the United Provinces of the
river Plata, and on the following morning it was
announced that, by order of the Emperor, the
said ports would be immediately blockaded by
the force at present stationed there, which
would shortly be augmented by an expedition
on the point of sailing. To this commu
nication of the Minister, Mr. Raguet made
reply on the 13th of December, acknowledging
the full right of a belligerent power to injure its
enemy by means of siege or blockade, but in
sisting that no such power could of itself decide
regarding the interest of neutrals, who have
their rights as well as the belligerent parties.
" With regard to the commerce of neutral nations
with friendly states," argued Mr. Raguet, " ithad
been acknowledged as a principle, that these
neutrals could not justifiably furnish contraband
articles of war to either of the hostile powers,
nor even convey provisions or stores to the ports

310 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
or places blockaded, or besieged ; but it had at
the same time been acknowledged, that no port
could be considered in a state of blockade,
unless it were encompassed by a naval force
sufficiently imposing to preclude an entry.
Insomuch, that if the squadron, or blockading
force were constrained to absent itself by any
other cause than stress of weather, the blockade
was for the time raised, and its renewal must be
regarded as a new blockade, in no manner
affecting the interests of the neutrals who might
have_ entered the said port during the interim.
This manner of regarding the laws of block
ade," continued the negociator, " was sanc
tioned by the armed neutrality of 1 780, and by
a convention concluded in 1801, between Great
Britain and Russia, in which it was stipulated
• that to determine the state of a blockaded port,
this denomination shall only be given to a port
where the dispositions taken by the attacking
power, by means of vessels either stationary or
sufficiently near to each other, demonstrate
the evident danger of attempting to penetrate
therein.' This definition had been adopted by
all the other Cabinets of Europe, and by the
United States, the only independent nation in
America, at the epoch of the convention." Mr.
Raguet also urged, that another principle
equally incontestable, was that of warning the
vessels which seek to enter a blockaded port, of

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 311
the existence of the blockade; in default of
which neither seizure nor condemnation could
take place." In support of these principles,
Mr. Raguet cited a variety of instances in
which they had since been adopted by the va
rious maritime nations of Europe.
To these representations, the Viscount de
Santo Amaro, at this time Minister, replied
somewhat evasively, that, in the orders given
to the Brazilian Admiral, all neutral vessels
having entered the Argentine ports prior to the
declaration of the blockade, were to be allowed
fourteen days to complete their lading, and
afterwards to be permitted to depart without
molestation. The matter was thus suffered to rest for the
moment, but during the months of June, August,
and September, 1826, several American vessels
were seized as being destined for the blockaded
port ; and this too, without any warning to re
tire. On this point the Brazilian Government
could certainly quote the conduct of England,
during the late war in Europe, as a precedent •
yet they do not appear to have reflected that the
system had been adopted by England only, the
most powerful maritime nation in the world ; and
this too, in opposition to the protests of all others.
On the present occasion their conduct led to an
immediate protest on the part of the American
Charge d'Affaires, against the seizure of these

312 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
vessels, and to a demand for damages and in
terest on account of the delay occasioned.
The Marquis de Tnhambupe, who had suc
ceeded as Minister to the Viscount de Santo
Amaro, replied to Mr. Raguet, that the notifica
tion, which it was pretended ought to have been
made of the existence of the blockade, had
already been fulfilled in its previous announce
ment to all nations, and that a sufficient space
of time had elapsed for all to be aware of it.
" Neutral vessels," urged the Minister, "could
not be permitted to attempt a violation of the
blockade under the pretext of being ignorant of
its existence, since they could easily inform
themselves of the fact at the nearest neutral
port ; and any other line of conduct on their
part appeared to announce hostile intentions.
Nevertheless, as vessels had been taken out at
sea on account of the destination of their pass
ports for the blockade ports, the Emperor had
decided that such only should be retained, as had
manifested an evident intention to violate the
blockade." Mr. Raguet, on the other hand, insisted on the
principle already cited, that no vessel could be
seized for an infraction of the laws of blockade,
except when trying to enter into port after
having been warned off, and that a mere notifi
cation to foreign countries was insufficient.
In support of this pretension, he urged, that all

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 313
the territory from the Amazon to Cape Horn,
was in the possession of one or other of the bel
ligerent parties ; that the nearest neutral ports
were Valparaiso, and the Cape of Good Hope ;
and that a voyage to either of these ports would,
in most cases, be tantamount to a return to the
port whence the vessel started.
These representations were, however, entirely
unavailing. The decision regarding the cap
tured vessels was referred to a prize Court, with
which the Government stated it would be con
trary to the Constitution of the Empire for
them to interfere ; and the Brazilian Admiral,
unable to make any invidious exceptions exclu
sively in favour of the Americans, continued to
seize as prizes, all vessels bound to Buenos
Ayres. The result was the continuation of alterca
tions between Mr. Raguet and the Brazilian
Ministers, which terminated only on the 8th of
March, 1827, in a demand on the part of the
former for his passports. They were of course
granted ; but a few days after his departure a
Brazilian envoy of the name of Rebello was
despatched by the Emperor to the United
States, with the object of making an amicable
arrangement relative to all existing difficulties.
A successor to Mr. Raguet was in consequence
appointed by the President, and all further dis
cussion suspended until the month of Novera-

314 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
ber following, when the Emperor, wishing to
put an end to the abuse committed by foreign
vessels in the habit of entering Monte Video,
and afterwards sailing ostensibly for distant
ports, but in reality for Buenos Ayres, charged
the authorities in the former city to prevent any
vessels from leaving that anchorage during the
continuance of the war, unless they could give
guarantees that their destination was not for any
of the ports of the Argentine Republic. Owing,
however, to the energetic representations of Mr.
Tudor, the lately arrived American Minister, re
garding the inj ustice and illegality of this mea
sure, it was subsequently abandoned on the 16th
of January, 1828.
On similar grounds to the foregoing, the
French Government, following the example of
the Americans, instituted a plea for the damages
occasioned to their subjects by illegal captures;
and England, which had been a greater sufferer
from the system pursued than all other nations
conjointly, not only brought forward a claim for
indemnity, but by her interference attempted to
put a period to the continuance of the war.
The British Administration had all along been
anxious to facilitate an amicable arrangement
between the belligerents, and happily for both
parties, Don Pedro was at length found willing
to listen to terms which he had formerly spurned
with indignation. Sickness, desertion, and loss

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 315
in battle, had reduced the effective force on the
frontier to less than seven thousand men ; the
enemy were fully equal in numbers, and their
force was daily augmented by desertions from
the Imperial army. In addition to this, a two
years' run of ill success had extinguished almost
every vestige of martial spirit ; or, as General
Lecor thought fit to term it, in an intercepted
despatch, " of patriotism." Among the militia
an equal indisposition to the service existed.
Even in the province of Rio Grande, suffering un
der the war, the inhabitants dispersed themselves
in the woods, and on the plains of the interior,
in preference to taking up arms. The owners
of the cattle farms were the principal sufferers.
. Incursions on their estates were of daily occur
rence ; their slaves were continually escaping
into the Banda Oriental, where they at once
became invested with the privileges of freemen,
and their cattle were swept off by thousands.
Braun and Calado, two of the chief officers of
Lecor, were of opinion, that he ought to give
battle, alleging, that if they were to lose all, it
would be better to do so in the field, than by
desertion, and the demoralization consequent
upon it. The General, however, remained firm
to his principles, and a violent discussion en
sued, which ended in Braun's arrest, and in a
request on the part of Calado for his passport to
Monte Video.

316 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
In the river Plata the naval force of Don
Pedro was equally unfortunate. From the
smallness of their remaining vessels, the Buenos
Ayreans were no longer able to encounter the
Brazilian squadron, yet the ravages of the pri
vateers were more flagrant than ever. The
audacity with which many of these marauders
carried on their depredations appears truly
astonishing. One of them, the Congresso,
boarded every vessel entering the harbour of
Rio de Janeiro for nearly a week ; and finally
escaped in the face of two frigates, and a brig-
of-war. The Brazilian brig-of-war Cacique was
captured off Pernambuco by a privateer, the
utmost exertions of her commander, Captain
Manson, one of the bravest officers in the service,
being unable to keep his crew to their guns :
and the Niger, a small privateer of only eight
guns, made an attempt to carry the Maria
Isabel, a thirty-six gun frigate, by boarding.
In the last instance it happened that the Niger
was lying off Santos, when the Maria Isabel
sailed from that port with a convoy of sugar-
laden smacks. The Captain of the Niger kept
the convoy in sight ; and during the night made
sail and ran alongside the frigate, boarded her,
and kept possession of her quarter-deck for
several minutes. The difficulty of boarding
was, however, so great, in consequence of the

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 317
relative position of the two ships, that before a suf
ficient number of men could be thrown on board,
the frigate's crew rallied, and the assailants were
again driven back into their own vessel, with
the loss of several prisoners. The Niger never
theless succeeded in escaping, and even after
this made a capture of part of the convoy.
These unfortunate results, in conjunction with
the continual augmentation of the public debt,
were becoming a daily-increasing source of dis
content, when the legislature again assembled
on the appointed day, the 3d of May, 1828. In
his Speech on the occasion, the Emperor an
nounced that the Court of Madrid was the only
one in Europe which had refrained from ac
knowledging the Brazilian Empire ; that Trea
ties of Commerce and navigation had been con
cluded with Great Britain and Prussia ; that the
Government of the United States had replaced
the Charge d'Affaires who had quitted Rio ; that
negotiations had been, entered into with the
Government of Buenos Ayres, and that the act
of his own abdication of the Throne of Portugal
had been completed. Passing to the affairs of
the interior, he congratulated the Assembly on
the order and tranquillity existing in all the
provinces ; a proof, urged the Emperor, that the
Monarchico- constitutional system was daily
consolidating itself more and more. Finally,

318 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
he concluded by again requesting the attention
of the Assembly to the affairs of finance and
justice. It had been hoped that the Ministry appointed
in the month of November, 1827, would, for the
first time since the practical adoption of the
representative system, have been able to com
mand a majority in the House of Deputies.
Its members were in part selected from the
bosom of the legislature, and the reputation for
probity enjoyed by Araujo Lima, the Minister
of the Empire, in conjunction with the tact and
skill universally ascribed to Calmon, the Minis
ter of Finance, excited for a moment the ex
pectation of all parties. This latter, a native of
Bahia, had been educated in an English Uni
versity ; was reputed to have enjoyed the per
sonal intimacy of Mr. Canning, and, although
cold and artificial in his style of eloquence, was
yet one of the most acute debaters in the House.
All the favourable hopes which had been in
spired were, however, done away with on the
convocation of the Chambers. People in gene
ral form their opinions from results alone, and
the unfortunate issue of the present war had
naturally led to a material development of
the spirit of opposition in the House of De
puties. At the same time, all the former popu
larity of Don Pedro was fast waning away.
Instead of being any longer regarded as the

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 319
tutelar genius of the country, an almost univer
sal prejudice had arisen against him ; and the
administration of the Cabinet did not tend to
re-assure the public confidence. — The want of
talent in the majority, the suspected corruption
and overbearing deportment of others, and the
egotism of all, were alone sufficient to discredit
them as a body ; and in spite of the means em
ployed to ensure votes, means said to have been
modelled on those previously reduced to system
in England by Sir Robert Walpole, the Minis
try still found themselves in a minority. Their
embarrassments on this head were, however,
cut short by a casualty, which unexpectedly led
to their dismissal. This was nothing less than
a revolt on the part of the foreign troops sta
tioned in Rio de Janeiro.
The mission of Colonel Cotter to Ireland, for
the purpose of engaging emigrants there, has
been already alluded to. The terms entered
into by this officer with the colonists were, that
all should have their passage paid ; that each
able-bodied man should receive wages equiva
lent to a shilling a-day, and that they should be
furnished with good provisions, and appropriate
clothing for a hot climate. Artists and labourers
were assured of constant employment, and the
latter, who were to bring their own working
utensils, were to receive grants of land of forty
acres and upwards. As a further inducement,

320 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
it was stated, that no one would be compelled
to remain against his will ; and not a word was
said regarding any engagement for military
service. These terms were far too advantageous not
to meet with immediate acceptance, and before
many weeks had elapsed, near three thousand
emigrants, men, women, and children, were
under sail for Rio de Janeiro. Here their
arrival had neither been anticipated by the
inhabitants, nor were they welcome. The
intention of the Government to compel the
greater number of them to take up arms, was
too evident to admit of any doubt ; and the
general repugnance to a foreign military force
has been already spoken of.
The majority of the emigrants arrived at their
destination early in January, 1828, and were
disembarked in a condition which, under other
circumstances, could not have failed to awaken
compassion. Mothers with their infants on the-
breast, young girls approaching womanhood,
and athletic labourers in the prime of life, were
all landed in a state of almost utter nudity.
From the landing-place they were marched off
to the barracks, in the Rua dos Barbonos, amid
the taunts of the populace, and the jeers of
multitudes of negroes, shouting and clapping
their hands at the unexpected apparition of the
" white slaves," as they were pleased to deno-

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 321
minate the unfortunate Irish. This extraor
dinary reception immediately gave rise to the
belief that they had been betrayed, and they
speedily became clamorous for the fulfilment of
the engagement entered into with Colonel Cotter.
As, however, the liberal terms entered into by
this agent had been wholly unauthorized on the
part of the Government, their fulfilment was
explicitly refused ; and the male portion of the
colonists were clearly given to understand that
they had no alternative, excepting either to
enlist or starve. For a time they were incre
dulous. They could not believe that the
Government of any civilized country would
consent to sanction the unparalleled want of
faith, by means of which they had been seduced
from their native countiy. They published the
conditions of their engagement, and, aware of
the apprehension with which they were regarded
by the public, asserted that they were engaged
as pacific colonists, and not as soldiers. At the
same time, many resolutely abstained from
enlistment, under the hope that tardy justice
would at length be accorded to them. Others,
meanwhile, sought for temporary relief in
inebriety, and this fatal propensity, by in
volving them in perpetual quarrels with the
natives, tended to augment at once their unpo
pularity and their wretchedness. The repeated
disorders occurring in the districts where they
VOL. I. v

322 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
were stationed, finally led to the removal of the
greater part of their number to more distant
quarters, where all who had the pertinacity to
insist on the fulfilment of their compact with
Colonel Cotter, were deprived of their rations,
and compelled to subsist solely on eleemo
synary aid.
Such was the condition of the Irish emigrants,
when, in the month of June, a German soldier
was, for some trifling neglect of discipline,
condemned to receive two hundred and fifty
lashes. Before, however, that number had been
completed, his comrades cried out that it was
intended to sacrifice his life, and they set him at
liberty. On receiving intelligence of this, the
Irish, to the number of fifty or sixty, ran to co
operate with the Germans, and the mutiny
assumed a serious aspect. Several wine and
provision stores were sacked, and the quarters
of the officers were attacked and pillaged. On
the following morning, the number of the
insurgents was found to have increased, and
the major of a German regiment, whom the
soldiers accused of having kept back their pay,
was killed on the spot, and two other officers
wounded. Bento Barrozo Pereira, the Minister of War,
then gave orders to the Count of Rio Pardo,
the commander of the native forces in the city,
to attack the foreigners, and to give no quarter.

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 323
A crowd of free men of colour and slaves,
of their own accord, went to co-operate with
the native troops on the occasion, and upwards
of sixty Irish were killed, and one hundred
wounded in the fray. The slaves, who had
been imprudently entrusted with arms, were
distinguished above all the rest by their bar
barities ; in many instances, severing the limbs
of their expiring victims from the bodies, and
bearing them off in triumph.
This unfortunate occurrence decided Don
Pedro on again sending home the Irish. Mr.
Aston, the English Secretary of Legation,
proceeded to re-assemble them ; and on the
3d of July, one thousand four hundred of their
number were again embarked for Ireland. The
remainder dispersed themselves in the provinces.
The German regiment was removed to another
station, and one of the ring-leaders of the insur
rection was subsequently executed. The patriots
were overjoyed with these distressing results,
and the affair was represented, in the pages of
some of their lately instituted Journals, as a
most magnanimous effort on the part of the
people ; but the Emperor, in whom the project
of bringing over the Irish had met its chief
partizan, indignant beyond measure .at the
Minister of War, dismissed not only him, but
all the others who undertook his defence ;
Calmon, Araujo, Lima, and the Ministers of
y2

324 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
Justice and Marine. On the adoption of this
change, even the Emperor appeared to have
at length been awakened to the necessity of
forming a more popular Administration; and
now, for the first time since the consolidation
of the monarchy, were the important depart
ments of Justice and Finance offered to mem
bers of the patriot party. The individuals
designated had, however, but little anxiety to
accept office, in the present embarrassed state
of affairs. They were under the conviction that
it was a change of system, rather than of
individuals, that was required; and as they
had but little confidence, either in any projected
reforms, or in the steadiness of the deter
minations of Don Pedro, they decided on
remaining in their capacity of censors. The
members for the new Cabinet were thus neces
sarily selected from the Ministerial ranks.
With the exception of Joze Clemente Pereira,
the individual formerly banished by the An
dradas, who was appointed Minister"; of the
Empire and of Justice, they were none of them
endowed with much force of character. Pereira
himself was indefatigable in the Cabinet, and
possessed of considerable administrative talent ;
yet vacillating in his political opinions, often
! inconsistent, and desirous of conciliating at
once the Emperor and opposition ; the one by
/

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 325
an implicit and unscrupulous obedience, and
the other by every species of condescension.
Scarcely had the organization of the Ministry
been completed, when they were placed in rather
a singular dilemma by the arrival of the French
Vice- Admiral Roussin, on the 6th of July, who
came with a line-of-battle ship and two frigates,
for the purpose of demanding the immediate
restitution of all the French vessels taken in the
river Plata, as well as an indemnity for the losses
incurred. The agitation caused through the city
on this occasion was extreme. Both Chambers
were indisposed to accede to any such demand;
yet, as Roussin threatened to employ force in
case other means were unavailing, Don Pedro
thought fit to put an end to the question, and
of his own will directed the restitution of the
vessels reclaimed, with indemnity for loss ;
and transmitted a declaration to this effect to
the French commander. The vessels were in
consequence given up, and it was stipulated
that the payment of the indemnity should be
completed before the end of the year 1 829.
The mediation of the British Government be
tween Brazil and Buenos Ayres, in the meantime,
tended to facilitate the long desired peace. Under
the auspices of Great Britain negotiations were
entered upon, the basis of which was that the
Banda Oriental should remain independent for
the space of five years, and afterwards adopt/

326 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
whatever Government she might think proper.
The Cabildo of Monte Video, who had compro
mised themselves too far in favour of the Impe
rial cause to hope for much consideration under
any independent government, were implacably
opposed to this arrangement, and drew up a
petition to the Emperor, praying his Majesty
rather to continue the war than thus to abandon
the province. The time for this was, however,
past. The Republican army was daily aug
menting in numbers, whilst that of Brazil was
as rapidly dwindling away ; and Fructuozo
Rivera, whose defection from the cause of
Buenos Ayres had, ever since the adoption of
the land blockade of Monte Video, been noto
rious, at this crisis made overtures of reconci
liation to Lavalleja, and began to ravage the
comparatively unprotected province of Misiones.
Notwithstanding the frequent avowal of Don
Pedro to the Chambers that the war should be
carried on until the incorporation was acknow
ledged, the insurrection, and subsequent removal
of the revolted foreign troops, the difficulty of
raising recruits, and the threatening aspect of
affairs in Portugal, altogether rendered peace a
matter of absolute necessity ; and in conjunc
tion with British interference, led to a total
abandonment of the pretensions formerly set
forth. A preliminary Treaty of Peace, stated,
in the heading of the document itself to have

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 327
been accomplished through the mediation of
his Brazilian Majesty, was concluded in Rio de
Janeiro on the 28th of August 1828. By its
terms the long disputed province was declared
an independent state, separate alike from Brazil
and the United Provinces of Buenos Ayres, and
subject to whatever laws the interests, neces
sities and resources of its inhabitants should
point out. The Representatives of the said
province were immediately to establish a pro
visional Government for the administration of
affairs, until the installation of the definitive
Government, to be created by the Constitution.
On the installation of this provisional Govern
ment, the authorities at present existing in the
province were to be withdrawn. If within the
space of five years the tranquillity of Monte
Video should be perturbed by civil war, the
contracting parties mutually bound each other
to render all necessary assistance to its legal
Government. After the expiration of this period
it was decided that all protection should cease,
and that the said province should be consi
dered as in a state of perfect and absolute in
dependence. An absolute and perpetual oblivion
of all political offences, a mutual interchange
of prisoners, and an article guaranteeing the free
navigation of the river Plata for both parties,
were also stipulated on terms of perfect reci
procity.

328 HISTORY OF BRAZIL.
Such was the termination of the fatal and
disastrous war of the South; a war which, inde
pendently of the losses sustained by Insurance
Companies, and private individuals, is calcu
lated to have cost Brazil one hundred and
twenty millions of cruzades, and eight thousand
citizens. At the same time it must be acknow
ledged, that it appears to have been the means
of preserving her from such modifications of her
Constitution as might, if put in force, have ter
minated in the overthrow of many of her most
valuable institutions. The continued ill suc
cess of the Brazilian arms had, moreover, the
effect of almost annihilating that thirst after
military distinction which perhaps holds out
but too many attractions to the ardent and en
thusiastic. The energies of the rising genera
tion were, as a consequence of this ill success,
turned rather towards a civil than a military
career ; and the social ameliorations which
have resulted from this circumstance, have in
all probability been the means of since preserv
ing Brazil from utter anarchy.
In Buenos Ayres, on the other hand, where
the struggle had been attended by a continued
run of good fortune, and where victory after
victory had kindled up the enthusiasm of the
inhabitants, results directly contrary in their
nature were preparing. Scarcely had peace
been proclaimed, when, as a consequence of

HISTORY OF BRAZIL. 329
the ecldt with which they were still invested,
the military acquired a preponderance over the
civil authorities ; dissensions succeeded ; each
petty chief appealed to the sword, and the
fertile plains on the banks of the river Plata
have since this period been little else than one
vast theatre of anarchy, civil war, fraternal
bloodshed, and devastation.

NOTES.

Page 2. — For more than three centuries, &;c.
The affairs of Brazil were under the superintendence
of the " Ultra- Marine Council" in Lisbon, a body whose
aptness for their functions may be, in some measure, illus
trated by the following fact. The fort of Coimbra, situated
on the frontier of Matto Grosso, had, a short time previous
to the conclusion of the treaty of limits, effected in 1777
between Spain and Portugal, been attacked by a Spanish
force. On receiving intelligence to this effect the Ultra-
Marine Council immediately ordered that the " Na6 das
quintas," or line-of-battle ship annually sent to Brazil for
the King's share of the product of the gold mines, should
be despatched to the relief of the garrison. How the
navigation of a line-of-battle ship up the Uruguay was to
be effected was not explained.

Page 2. — Previously to the year 1808, #c.
The seat of the Vice-royalty was, originally, in Bahia,
but was removed to Rio de Janeiro as a more central
situation in the year 1763. Philip III. appointed D.
Jorge Mascarenhas, Marquis de Montalvad, as the first

332 NOTES.
Viceroy, in 1640, and this nobleman took possession of his
post on the 15th June in the same year, but only retained
it until the month of April in the year following. Twenty-
two years afterwards elapsed ere Don Affonso VT. revived
the title. This he finally did in the person of D. Vasco
Mascarenhas, first Count de Obidos, who took office on the
24th June, 16(5$, and retained it until the 13th June, 1667,
when he delivered over his baton to Alexandre de Souza,
who came out as Captain General. From this period the
Vice-royal Government was interrupted for the space of
forty-seven years, but was again established by Don
Joao V. in favour of D. Pedro Antonio de Xoronbas,
second Count de Villa Verde and first Marquis de Angeja,
who entered upon his government on the 13th Jane, 1714.
D. Sancho de Faro e Souza, who succeeded him, was un
provided with any patent as Viceroy, but D. Vasco Fer-
nandes Cesar de Menezes, first Count de Sabugoza,
who succeeded him on the 23d November. 1720, was
furnished with it, and it was henceforward conceded to his
successors, who were, Andre de Mello e Castro, installed
on the 11th May, 1735; D. Luiz Pedro Peregrino, tenth
Count de Atousruia, who received the baton in 1749;
D. Marcos de Xoronha, sixth Count dos Arcos, who took
charje of the government in 1755 : and, lastlv, D. An
tonio de Almeida Soares e Portugal, third Count de
Avintes, and afterwards Marquis de Lavradio, who took
office on the 9lh January, 1760, but who died on the
4th July following. Through this casualtv the govern
ment of Bahia fell into the hands of the Chancellor
Thomaz Kubim de Barros Barreto, to whom succeeded
the Chancellor Joze Carvalho de .Andrade, who had for
his associate in authority Colonel Goncalo Xavier de
Barros Alviui, and afterwards the Archbishop D. Fr. Ma
noel de Santa I^nez. From the hands of these D. An-

NOTES. 333
tonio Rolim de Moura Tavares, first Count de Azambuja,
who, as Captain General, received the government of the
Capitania in 1766. Bahia could this enumerate only eight
Governors holding the patent of Viceroy.
The first Viceroy in Rio de Janeiro was D. Antonio
Alvarez de Cunha, Count of the same title, who took pos
session of his office on the 16th October, 1763. To the
Count de Cunha succeeded the Count de Azambuja, the
ex-Governor of Bahia, who took office on the 21st Novem
ber, 1767. The subsequent Viceroys were D. Luiz de
Almeida Portugal Soares De§a Alarcao Silva Mascarenhas,
second Marquis de Lavradio, and fourth Count, de Avintes,
installed on the 4th November, 1769 ; Luis de Vascon-
cellos e Souza, who took office on the 5th April, 1779 ;
D. Joz6 Luiz de Castro, the second Count de Rezende,
installed on the 9th July, 1790 ; D. Fernando Joze" de
Portugal, installed on the 14th October, 1801, and, finally,
D. Marcos de Noronha, eighth Count dos Arcos, who
entered upon his functions on the 2 1st August, 1806, and
remained in office until the arrival of Don Joao VI. from
Portugal in 1808.
In one of the latest books published on the affairs of
Brazil, viz., " Histoire du Bresil depuis sa decouverte
jusqu'a nos jours," the author, Mr. D.B. Warden, has, by
some inexplicable mistake, given the names of several of
the later Captains General of Bahia as the Viceroys of
Rio de Janeiro.

Page 5. — In Brazil, also, their power was once consider
able, Sec.
On occasion of the French invasion in 1710, Fran
cisco de Moraes e Castro, the Captain General of Rio

334 NOTES.
de Janeiro, was deposed by the municipal chamber of
the city, and the Government in Lisbon subsequently
testified their approbation of the step. On another occa
sion an entire chamber was arrested for having- unduly
assumed the same authority. The patronage of the re
spective parties was of more weight in Lisbon than the
evidence on either side.

Page 6. — The orders of knighthood, fyc.
" The principal order of knighthood," observes an
English author, when treating on the affairs of Portugal
about the close of the last century, " is the Order of Christ,
instituted by King Dennis soon after the abolition of the
Knights Templars, and confirmed in the year 1319 by
Pope John XXII. The insignia of this is a red cross
within a white one. The seat of this order is at the city
of Thomar. It has four hundred and fifty-four com-
manderies. Concerning the order of Santo Iago writers
differ, but it is said to have been raised about the year
1030, from the fraternity of some other orders ; and to have
received the confirmation of Pope Alexander III. The
badge of this order is a red sword, in the shape of a cross,
resembling the handles of ancient swords. To this order
belong forty-seven small towns, and places, and one hun
dred and fifty commanderies, besides the splendid convent
of Santos o Novo, to the west of Lisbon. The third order
in Portugal, that of Aviz, is said to have been instituted so
early as the year 1147, by King Affbnso Henriques. The
seat of this order is at Aviz in the province of Alemtejo.
Its commanderies are only forty-nine in number, and the
badge belonging to it is a green cross in the form of a lily.
These three orders are all religious, with liberty of marriage

NOTES. 335
to the knights. The Kings of Portugal are their perpetual
Masters. The Knights of Malta have likewise twenty-
three commanderies here."
In addition to the above orders, it may be remarked
that there was one denominated of the " Torre e Espada,"
(Tower and Sword,) instituted by Don Affonso V., but it
soon fell into entire disuse, and was only re-established
during the reign of Don Joao VI. This latter monarch
also, on the acclamation, created another order, the
" Ordem de Congeigao," but this was conceded to very
few individuals.

Page 7. — The revenue of the Archbishop of Bahia, &c.
The Episcopalian Establishment in Brazil was, and is still,
as follows: —
Comprehending within its limits
Archbishopric of Bahia  Sergipe.
tv , • r -d- j t ¦ 1 Santa Catharina, Espirito Santo,
B.shopnc of R.o de Jane.ro . J and Rio ^^ £ gu,
 San Paulo  San Paulo only.
 Marianna  Minas Geraes.
 Cuiaba  Matto Grosso.
x, , 1 Parahyba, Rio Grande do Norte,
 Pernambuco . . > ., J ' „ , '
\ Alagoas, Ceara.
 Maranham  Piauhy.
¦  Para  Para only.
The author has not been able to ascertain the exact
revenues of all the Bishops, as they consisted in part of
landed property, and were thus of course dependent on
circumstances. He can, however, state that they were
none of them paid equally with the Archbishop of Bahia.
TheCongrua, or sum paid to them by the Government was

336 NOTES.
very small, varying from four to eight thousand cruzades per
annum, (at par from 450Z. to 900?. sterling.) That allowed to
the vicar varied from fourhundred to eight hundred cruzades
per annum, (at par from 45/. to 90/. sterling), and the fees
from their office seldom more than doubled this amount,except
in the three principal cities, Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and Per
nambuco. All property bequeathed to the Church was, and
is still placed at the discretion of the " Confraria," or lay-
brotherhood, attached to the respective establishment, and
devoted principally to the expense of religious ceremonies,
to alms, to the relief of the brethren sick or in distress,
and other similar purposes. The Vicar has a voice in the
administration of the fund, but derives little direct benefit
from it. Many of these " Confrarias" thus possess landed
property and dwelling-houses, and with the revenues each
supports a hospital for the brothers, in whose numbers
are comprised nearly all the middle class of citizens.
In Brazil there were never any tribunals for the adjudi
cation of ecclesiastical offences. While in all the Spanish
Colonies the Inquisition was established, delegates and
familiars only, of the Holy Office, were appointed in Bra
zil. This circumstance tended to modify, in a very re
markable manner, the agency and influence of that fear
ful tribunal. The delegates having no positive jurisdic
tion, were obliged as a primary step, to embark all delin
quents for Lisbon : and although this measure was adopt
ed in a few instances, the individuals accused, in general,
found means for its frustration through the patronage and
protection of the civil authorities. Fortunately for the
Colony, her later Viceroys (with the exception only of
the Count de Rezende) were singularly free from the taint
of fanaticism. Under the administration of Don Fernando
Jose de Portugal, a translation of the " Tartuffe" was even
allowed to be represented on the public stage, the acting

NOTES. 337
delegate of the Holy Office in Rio de Janeiro in vain at
tempting to obtain the sanction of the Viceroy for its
suppression. D. Fernando contented himself by inviting
the worthy father to his box in the theatre on the evening
of the representation, and the latter finding his complaints
altogether unheeded, prudently dropped the contest. The
familiars were numerous, but of little weight. Any per
son might obtain the qualification, provided that he could
in the first instance obtain an authenticated certificate that
in his origin he was free from all taint of either Moorish,
Indian, or other Infidel blood. On this account, it became
common for individuals of suspected origin to obtain the
office, not so much from any ambition for its exercise, as
from the anxiety of thus proving themselves of the pure
Circassian (or rather Christian) strain.

Page 8. — All manufactures, except the preparation of
sugar, &c.
Even in the present century a number of spinning ma
chines, of the ver)' rudest construction, were publicly
broken in Rio de Janeiro, in consequence of an order
from the metropolitan Government. On another occasion,
the Count de Cunha shut up the shops of the goldsmiths.
In the words of the Canon Pizarro, the most faithful if
not the most enlightened historian who has as yet appeared
in Brazil : " He carried into execution the ' Carta Regia'
of the 28th November, 1698, which prohibited the exist
ence of more than two or three goldsmiths in the pro
vince ; and another ' Carta' of the 26th September, 1703,
ordering the observance of the foregoing, and determining
that the shops of all exceeding this number should be
closed and their tools seized ; and also a proclamation of
vol. i. z

338 NOTES.
the 20th May, 1730, ordering that the regulations deter
mined on the 13th July, 1689, should be adhered to ; and
finally, a ' Carta Regia' of the 30th July, 1766, ordering
the office of goldsmith to be suspended in the Captainships
of Minas, Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and Pernambuco ; and
he prohibited the public labour of these said goldsmiths,
and caused their tools and the instruments in their work
shops to be carried off to the mint. This prohibition,
however, endured but few years ; the following Viceroys
winking at its infraction, from a regard to the necessity
which there existed for these artisans in the capital of the
State, where it was daily necessary to work at least in the
repair of plate and jewellery, rendered unavailable
through accidents." — See " Memorias Historicas do Riode
Janeiro," vol. v. page 180.

Page 9. — It is evident there could be very little
similarity, &c.
" There is certainly," (observes St. Hilaire), " nothing
homogeneous among the inhabitants of Brazil. Never
theless, it may in general be said that their manners
are gentle, that they are good, generous, and hospitable,
even magnificently so ; and that in particular in some pro
vinces they are notable for their intelligence and vivacity.
But the colonial system had kept them in the most pro
found ignorance, the admission of slavery rendered the
example of the most abject vices familiar ; and from the
time of the arrival of the Court of Portugal in Rio de
Janeiro, the habit of venality had been introduced among
all classes. A multitude of haughty and overbearing
patriarchs, divided among themselves by intrigues, puerile
vanities, and petty interests, were disseminated over all

notes. 339
the superficies of Brazil, but society had as yet no exist
ence. Scarcely could any elements of sociability be dis
covered." It may be worthy of remark, that the inhabitants of
Bahia were generally reputed the most intelligent of
Brazil, those of Pernambuco the most ardent and indepen
dent in character, those of Minas the most pacific and in
dustrious, aud those of San Paulo the most inflexible and
persevering, — characteristics, probably arising from the
respective peculiarities of their physical condition. Bahia
had been the aucieut metropolis; hi Pernambuco the
Dutch had left behind them traces of their republican
institutions ; in Minas the perpetual search for gold was of
itself a circumstance calculated to give rise to the habits
pointed out ; and in San Paulo the wild and roving habits
of the early European population were well calculated to
engraft upon them the disposition noted above. As a fear
ful exemplification of the habits of their forefathers, the
traditional story of " Sete Orelhas," or seven ears, is often
cited by the Paulistas themselves. A young man, a native
of San Paulo, had succeeded in seducing a young lady in
the same province, which circumstance coming to the
ears of her relations, seven of her cousins, who considered
the honour of the family as implicated, took an oath of
revenge, entrapped the seducer into their power, and
flayed him alive. Apprehending, however, some act of
retributive justice on the part of a brother of their victim,
to whom he was much attached, most of them soon after
retired into distant provinces. The precaution was, how
ever, taken in vain. The brother pursued and assassinated
them every one, although it took him eleveu years to com
pass his object. As a trophy of his vengeance, he also
took from each individual whom he assassinated, an ear,

340 NOTES.
and hence the appellation of " Sete Orelhas," by which he
is still spoken of.

Page 9. — Provided for by the labour of slaves, &c.
In music, an art which not even the Court of Portugal
could regard as dangerous, Brazil had even surpassed
the mother country, a circumstance, perhaps, owing to
the more indolent and quiescent habits of the population,
and to the comparative isolation of the dwellers in the
interior. Regarding the popular Brazilian Modinhas,
Mr. Beckford, in his " Travels in Italy, Spain, and Por
tugal," speaks in the following enthusiastic strain of eulo-
gium : —
" Those who have never heard this original sort of
music, must and will remain ignorant of some of the most
bewitching melodies that ever existed since the days of
the Sybarites. They consist of languid, interrupted mea
sures, as if the breath were gone with excess of rapture,
and the soul panting to meet the kindred soul of some
beloved object; with a childish carelessness, they steal
into the heart before it has time to warn itself against
their enervating influence; you fancy you are swallowing
milk, and are admitting the poison of voluptuousness into
the closest recesses of your existence ; — at least such
beings as feel the power of harmonious sounds are doing
so ; I won't answer for hard-eared phlegmatic northern
animals." It is possible that the merits of the performers (two
young ladies of the Court of Portugal), may have been in
some measure instrumental in thus exciting the raptures of
Mr. Beckford. Many of the modinhas are certainly very
beautiful, but European music has of late taken their

NOTES. 341
place in Brazil, and that cumbrous-looking instrument,
the piano-forte, has quite superseded the guitar. The
science of music has thus advanced, and the ear may
receive additional gratification from the change ; yet all
that could enrapture alike the eye and the mind, the
expression of the features, the easy, graceful, half-reclin
ing attitude, and the countless associations of poetry and
romance connected with the latter instrument, have, at
the same time, disappeared, to the infinite regret, amongst
others, of the author, who, oil this point at least, acknow
ledges himself a partizan for " things as they were."

Page 9. — Education had as yet, £<c.
As amongst all people in the infancy of civilization,
there were, in conjunction with an implicit belief in
signs and omens, many popular superstitions. For every
malady there was some particular saint, whose inter
cession was supposed to be more available than that of
any other. In all diseases of the throat, for instance,
St. Braz was the saint appealed to; in case of wounds
and scars, St. Roque; for protection against lightning,
Sta. Barbara and St. Jeronymo; against the plague, St.
Sebastiao; against vermin in the habit of attacking the
cattle, St. Mark ; in case of suffering caused by fire, St.
Lourenco, (who, by-the-bye, was roasted on a gridiron) ; in
behalf of bachelors, St. Joao Evangelista ; and in the
affairs of Hymen, St. Goncalo. For the recovery of all
lost and stolen property, St. Antonio was usually invoked,
as well as for the purpose of again bringing runaway
slaves to the domicile of their masters. Iu the last in
stance, a " trezena,"' or prayer to the saint, repeated for
thirteen successive davs, was resorted to; and in case the

342 NOTES.
slave was to appear at all, he was expected to show him
self ere the expiration of the allotted period, St. Antonio
also held, and up to the present day still holds, in Rio de
Janeiro, the post of colonel in the army,* and receives his
pay as such through the hands of his terrestrial delegates
the Franciscan monks, who profess to apply the sum ex
clusively to the illumination of the altar of their church, on
occasion of their religious festivals.
Since, however, the opening of the ports, and the con
sequent ingress of heretics from all quarters, the efficacy
of spiritual intercession appears to have greatly abated,
and, to the infinite regret of the pious, aneurisms of the
heart and other diseases, the existence and nature of
which were unknown to the old Portuguese practitioners,
have not as yet been entrusted to the charge of any
tutelar saint whatever.

Page 10. — Duringthe Viceroyalty of the Count deRezende.
One of the members was in the habit of receiving
the " Courrier d'Europe," a French newspaper, printed
in London. As the conductors of this periodical were
principally French emigrants, its pages were naturally
of a conservative, rather than of a disorganizing ten
dency ; yet, the individual in question was summoned
before the tribunals, charged in the indictment with re
ceiving revolutionary papers with a red seal (the stamp)
upon them. The red seal was alone regarded by the
* In Lisbon he holds a still higher rank, in consequence of
some prodigies of valour effected by the regiments in which the
Saint was quartered.

NOTES. 343
authorities as unquestionable evidence of the democratic
tendency of the paper, and its future reception was in
consequence rigidly prohibited.
Page 10. — During the year 1789, a conspiracy, &c.
In the number of the conspirators was Gonzaga, one of
the most elegant Lusitanian poets of the last century.
He was a Portuguese by birth, but had been appointed
to the office of Juiz de Fora, in Villa Rica, where
he became deeply enamoured of a young lady, to whom*
under the name of Marilia, nearly all his poems are ad
dressed. His sentence was banishment to Mozambique,
on the coast of Africa, whither he was sent, and where he
died in wretchedness. Many of his lyrical poems may be
found in the " Parnasso Lusitano." His style is often
incorrect, but his language is harmonious, and his ideas
are characterized by a depth of feeling and a tenderness
unrivalled by any of the poetical writers of the present
day. Marilia, the once-cherished object of his affections
is still living, at an advanced age, in the province of
Minas Geraes.
Regarding the grounds of his condemnation, the elo
quent words of Mr. Southey may be quoted. " Thomaz
Antonio Gonzaga," observes this author, " was one of
those who were condemned to banishment for life. There
was a doubt concerning the part which he had taken :
both Tiradentes and P. Carlos Correia denied that he had
appeared at any of their meetings, or taken any part in
their designs ; they had used his name, they said, without
his knowledge, because of his reputation, and the weight
which his supposed sanction would give to their cause.
Tiradentes protested that he did not say this for the pur-

344 NOTES.
pose of screening Gonzaga, because there was a personal
enmity between them. There was no direct proof to
countervail this positive testimony in his behalf; but there
was strong ground for suspicion : he had urged the
Intendant to levy the tax, not for the deficiency of one
year's fifths alone (which appears to have been what the
Government intended), but for the whole arrears. His
defence was, that he believed that the " Junta de Fa-
zenda," when they tried this, would be convinced of its
utter impracticability, and that, by reporting accordingly to
the Queen, they would obtain a remission. But this
policy appeared too fine to be honest; the judges believed
that be acted in collusion with the conspirators for the
purpose of exciting discontent and tumult ; and upon that
opinion they condemned him." — See Southey's History of
Brazil, vol. iii. chap. 43.

Page 11 . — By the same sentence it was, among other igno
minious provisions, enacted, &c.
As a further instance of the barbarity of the judicial
institutions at this period, it may also be mentioned
that Joze de Rezende Costa, one of the officers at present
in the Treasury (in 1835), was sentenced to death for not
having come forward to give evidence against his own
father. The father was certainly in the list of conspirators,
yet, the only charge of which he could be proved guilty,
and, indeed, the only one noted in the act of accusation,
was, that he had said that he would not send his son to
Coimbra to study, since he was in hopes that ere long they
would have a University in the province of Minas. This
unguarded expression was, nevertheless, construed into
high treason, and both he and his son were condemned to

NOTES. 345

death, a sentence which was, however, afterwards merci
fully commuted into banishment to the coast of Africa.
For further particulars relative to the manner in which
justice was habitually administered, the reader is referred
to the Appendix (Document No. 1.)

Page 12. — Yet the tyranny exercised over them was of a
negative, rather than of a positive character , be.
Sufficient confirmation of this may be found in the in
structions of the Marquis de Lavradio to his succes
sor (Document No. 1). Arbitrary acts were of every-day
occurrence, yet, the direct exercise of cruelty was ex
tremely rare. The memory of several of the Viceroys and
Captains General is still respected even by the advocates
for the representative system of government. Luiz de
Vasconcellos e Souza was universally esteemed for his
urbanity, his probity, and his unceasing anxiety for the
public welfare. Don Fernando Joze de Portugal was also
a promoter of the arts and a patron of talent ; and at a
subsequent period, when Minister of State, under Don
Joao VI., he published a translation of Pope's " Essay on
Man," and of the " Essay on Criticism" of the same author
in Portuguese prose, with many notes, evincing extensive
erudition. Targini, BaraodeSao Lourenco, the chief officer
of the royal treasury, afterwards took advantage of the
literary predilections of Don Fernando in a manner evincing
considerable adroitness. He acquired a sufficient know
ledge of the English language for the purposes of transla
tion, and, in an incredible short space of time, produced
the same " Essay on Man" in blank verse, and soon after
caused it to be published in England along with a volumi
nous series of notes, certainly little analogous to the sub-

340 NOTES.
ject, but resplendent with quotations from both the Greek
and German languages, neither of which Targini himself
understood. This artful flattery had its effect, and from
this period until the departure of the royal family, or
rather during all the time which Don Joao VI. resided in
Brazil, the influence of Targini operated unrestrainedly
throughout all the financial measures adopted. Though,
however, endowed with both tact and vivacity, he proved a
most miserable financier, as may be gathered from many
passages in the preceding history.

Page 13. — During the voyage the vessels were dispersed.
One of the vessels of the squadron having on board
some ladies of the court, arrived in Rio de Janeiro
on the 17th January, yet, such was the rigorous etiquette
in observance, that from motives of respect to the Prince,
the poor creatures remained pent up in the vessel for more
than a month, not daring, under any pretext, to disem
bark before his Royal Highness.

Page 14. — A printing press, denominated a Royal one, was
established.
Some years after the establishment of the royal press
in Rio de Janeiro, another was established in Bahia
under the protection of the government. These were
the only two in existence when the Portuguese Con
stitution was proclaimed in February, 1821. Up to this
period a rigid scrutiny was also exercised with regard to
all books imported. In the tribunal denominated the
" Desembargo do Pa§o," founded soon after the arrival of

NOTES. 347
the monarch, there was a list of the works, the entry of
which might be safely allowed. All not comprised in this
were rigidly prohibited.

Page 15. — The Regent Don John.
The Portuguese write Dom Joao, and prefix to the names
of females Dona. The author has, however, followed the
English orthography, and written Don and Donna.

Page 32. — Three individuals were killed on the spot, and
upwards of twenty wounded.
The number of victims on this occasion has been much
exaggerated. Mrs. Graham also, in her " Journal of a
Voyage to Brazil," asserts that the electors were as
sembled for the purpose of nominating their representa
tives to the Cortes ; but the fact is, that the individuals
assembled were only the parochial electors who were not
invested with any powers whatever for this object.
Dr. Walsh, in his "Notices of Brazil," has also fallen
into the same error. In fact, the entire work of this latter
writer is so extremely incorrect, that but little dependence
can be placed upon either the historical or the topographi
cal details with which he has favoured his readers. The
revolt of the auxiliary division on the 26th February, 1821,
is, by the Doctor, fixed on the 25th of that month ; the
relation given (Vol. i. p. 191.) of the exhibition of the
portraits of the King and Queen in the theatre, as a sub
stitute for personal attendance, is altogether a romance,
the King having attended in person on the evening in

348 NOTES.
question. The " Pra§a de Commercio"* is, (in page 193
of Vol. i.) unceremoniously, transferred from its actual
locality on the Praya dos Mineiros to the Rua Direita ;
the number of the auxiliary troops who, on the 11th
January, 1822, took up their station on the Castle Hill is
stated at seven hundred, whereas, they were just double
the number ; the Prince Don Pedro is said to have headed
the Brazilians assembled in the Campo on the following
day, whereas, the fact is, that he kept out of the way and
was not even seen in the Campo ; General Madeira is said
to have landed in Bahia in February, 1822, whereas, he
had already been stationed there a long time prior to the
commencement of the revolution. In page 217 the rivulet
Ypiranga is transformed into a town, and in page 223 the
Doctor speaks of the ships lying in dock, although there is
not a single dock within the limits of the bay. In page
244 the first Legislative Assembly is said to have been
called together in May, 1825, whereas, this convocation
only took place in the following year, 1826; the Deputies
are stated to be elected for three years only, instead of
four, and, in the same paragraph, the present Emperor is
stated to have been born in October, 1825, although (page
269) his birth-day is afterwards named as taking place on
the 2d of December in that year. Let not, however, the
reader suppose that these are the only inaccuracies by
which the work in question is disfigured. Similar ones,
though perhaps of minor importance, occur in almost every
page throughout the entire two volumes.
Page 38. — A rigid and inflexible system of economy, &;c.
" I have reduced the twelve hundred horses in the
* Now a part of the Custom-house.

NOTES. 319
stables of the royal establishment to one hundred and
fifty-six. All my linen is washed by my own slaves;
my expenses are less than formerly, and if I can econo
mize still further, I intend to do so for the good of the
nation." — Letter of Don Pedro to the King of Portugal,
dated 17th July, 1821.

Page 42. — The colonial system which the merchants in
Bahia, &c.
The commercial policy of the Cortes of Lisbon, and the
meddling spirit by which they were actuated, as well in
the domestic concerns of Portugal as in those of Brazil,
are so fully exemplified in the following decree, which the
author has selected from a number of similar documents,
that any comment upon it, or attempt at subsequent
exposition would be idle.
TRANSLATED COPY.
" The Regency of the Kingdom, in the name of the
King Don Joao VI., make known that the General Ex
traordinary and Constituent Cortes of the Portuguese
Nation, have decreed the following : —
" The General Extraordinary and Constituent Cortes
of the Portuguese nation, taking into consideration the
heavy loss which the free entry of foreign swine has caused
in this kingdom, not only to the breeders of national
swine, but also in preventing the augmentation of the
forests supplying acorns and beech mast, and desiring to
promote and augment these two branches of agriculture,
decree the following:

350 NOTES.
" 1st. From the publication of this decree henceforward,
the entry of foreign swine into this kingdom of Portugal
and Algarve is prohibited, under pain of seizure.
" 2d. Any authority, or any private individual, may
apprehend them, and one-half of the product will be given
to the apprehender, and the other half to the poor of the
place where the seizure is effected.
" 3d. After seizure, they will be sold by auction before
the Municipal Chamber of the Magistrate of the place,
who, within the space of twenty-four hours, will decide,
verbally and in a summary manner, any doubts which may
arise ; and the municipalities will afterwards pass sentence
according to the terms of the preceding article.
" Let the Regency of the Kingdom thus understand it,
and cause it to be executed. — Palace of Cortes, 24th
May, 1821.
" Hermano Joze Braamchamp de Sobral, President.
" Joao Babtista Felgueras, Deputy Secretary.
" Agostino de Mendon^a Falcao, Deputy Secretary."

Page 55. — It is also gratifying to record, &c.
The secular clergy are also (as the author can abun
dantly testify), in general, kind-hearted, hospitable, and
altogether free from that persecuting spirit, which is
in England too often regarded as the invariable cha
racteristic of the catholic priesthood. As to the re
gular clergy residing in the monasteries, they are too
thinly scattered to have much weight in the social scale ;
and as the Government has prevented the further entry
of novices, they were every day diminishing in number.
Many of the monasteries in the interior are already unin
habited, and some few are even falling into ruins.

NOTES. 351
The contrast between the condition of the Brazilian
clergy and that of the same body in the Spanish Viceroy-
alties, was striking and worthy of interest. The Archbishop
of Mexico enjoyed an income of upwards of one hundred
and twenty thousand silver dollars, or fully ten times the
amount of the revenue allotted to the Archbishop of Bahia,
and the other ecclesiastical dignitaries in the respective
colonies were paid in like proportion. This disparity tended
to render the temporal interests of the two bodies essentially
different, and, as might naturally be expected, led to a
different modification of clerical influence during the revo
lutions which have subsequently taken place. While the
Brazilian clergy were ever the foremost in promoting liberal
principles, the Spanish clerical body, influenced by their
spiritual heads, were the firmest supporters of the old
institutions ; nor was it until the Cortes of the mother
country undertook to reform the ecclesiastical establish
ment of the peninsula, that they declared against their
former rulers, and espoused the cause of the revolution ;
doubtless from an apprehension lest the new regulations in
Spain would soon be enforced in Mexico.
It is also worthy of note, that while in Brazil the exer
cise of all religions is permitted, the intolerance prevailing
in Mexico is still extreme. " While," observes an intel
ligent American writer on the present state of Mexico, —
" while the revolution has regenerated Mexico, and swept
off colonial despotism, with all its train of corruptions and
abuses, it has yet done little to relieve the nation from the
thraldom of an established hierarchy, and the worst of all
despotisms, that of superstition."
" In the third article of the Mexican constitution, it is
declared, ' that the religion of the Mexican nation is the
Catholic Apostolic Roman. The nation protects it by

352 NOTES.
just and wise laws, and prohibits the exercise of any
other.' This provision," continues the writer, " but little
accords with the free, just, and liberal principles of the
constitution of which it forms a part, and casts the only
dark shade on the luminous political horizon of the nation,
and its fair prospects of a splendid career of moral, poli
tical, and social advancement."

Page 73. — Where he vias seized and retained a prisoner by
the Dictator, Dr. Francia.
" After Artigas had been confined a few days in the
Convent of Mercy, he was sent, without being able to
obtain an audience from the Dictator, to the villagre of
Caruguaty, eighty-five leagues N. E. of Assumption.
From that place it was impossible for him to escape but
by a desert on the Portuguese side, of which there was
but little probability after the excesses which he had com
mitted against that nation. The Dictator assigned him a
house and lands, with thirty-two piasters a month, his
former pay as lieutenant of Chasseurs, and ordered the
Governor of the Circuit to furnish him besides with what
ever accommodations he required, and to treat him with
respect. Here, at the age of sixty, he cultivated his farm
with his own hands, and, as if to make amends for his past
life, became the father of the poor of Curuguaty: he
distributed the greater part of the produce amongst them,
and afforded all the assistance in his power to such of
them as laboured under sickness. In this manner termi
nated the political career of Artigas." — See Essai His-
torique sur la Revolution de Paraguay, par Rengger et
Longchamps.

NOTES. 353
Page 78. — The successful policy pursued informer days
by the Marquis de Pombal.
The Marquis de Pombal was Chief Minister of Portugal
during the greater part of the reign of Don Joze 1st, and
was certainly an able, though somewhat despotic states
man. In his administration of justice he was rigid : he
restrained and punished the defrauders of the state, and,
relying on his own energy and his great personal influence
over the Monarch, he frequently set alike the clergy and
the nobility at defiance. His chief aim was to restore
Portugal to all her pristine greatness, and in the pursu
ance of this object, he made every sacrifice. In his com
mercial policy, however, (and it was to this principally
which the Cortes of Lisbon alluded in their eulogies) he
was not at all in advance of his neighbours, as may be
gathered from the following trait.
By a treaty of commerce with Portugal, dated in 1703,
the English and Dutch obtained an exemption in their
favour, of a law prohibiting the importation of woollens.
In return, they agreed to take the wines of Portugal, and
in consequence of the demand thus created, many exten
sive corn districts were converted into vineyards. On the
accession of Pombal (then Count de Oeiras) to the mi
nistry, he immediately ordered a third part of the vines in
the kingdom to be rooted up, in order to prevent any
future scarcity of corn, — " a measure," continues the Por
tuguese chronicler,* " which was certainly one of the
greatest benefits that this minister ever conferred on his
country, and which renders more pardonable the despotism
with which he habitually governed."
* Moraes.
VOL. I. A A

354 NOTES.
It was under the administration of Pombal, that the
expulsion of the Jesuits from Brazil was effected, — a
measure fatal to the civilization of the Indians, as may be
amply educed from Southey's History. But Pombal was
not a man for half-measures. Having once adopted a
resolution, he was seldom known to swerve from it, what
ever might be the dangers or difficulties of carrying it
into execution.

Page 74. — The Buenos Ayreans who had hitherto ab
stained from all interference, now most vehemently
declared against this secession, &c.
This intimation on the part of the Buenos Ayrean
Government was officially notified in the " Argos," a
periodical of that city, and gave cause to an angry re
joinder, penned by a Portuguese, resident in the lately
incorporated state. Finding, however, no one on the spot
who would print his effusion, the writer was compelled to
transmit it to Rio de Janeiro, where it was published,
along with a postscript, complaining bitterly that the
liberty of the press, — that fundamental institution in all
free countries, — had no existence in Monte Video.

Page 87. — It was on the 7th September, 1822.
It was the intention of the inhabitants of San Paulo to
have erected a monument commemorating the event on
an acclivity overlooking the Ypiranga, but at the time
when the author visited the place in December 1834, the
work had proceeded no further than the foundations.

NOTES. 355

Page 90. — Tliat queen of the world, as Don Pedro himself
styled her.

In his letter of the 22d January, 1822.

Page 98. — A pamphlet was then published, denominated
an Analysis, &c.
Barato, formerly a deputy to the Cortes of Lisbon. Of
the spirit of this singular treatise, sufficiently rational in
the abstract, yet singularly inapplicable in the existing
state of intelligence and civilization in Brazil, a very fair
idea may be formed from the following extract, worthy,
perhaps, of insertion, as in some measure illustrating the
democratic spirit which soon after burst out in actual
insurrection in the provinces of the North.
" 'With my Imperial munificence !' How is it possible
that free and honourable citizens can restrain their indig
nation, on learning that our Emperor after having sum
moned a legislative body, has yet continued to make use
of the terms ' My Imperial munificence.' ' The means of
remunerating services rendered to me !' It is necessary that
Brazil look to these pretensions and put them all to flight.
Whoever renders services, renders them to the nation and
never to the Emperor, who is but a part of the nation : all
decrees for the recompense of such services ought there
fore to emanate from the deputies of the nation. When
formerly the chief of a people, through the ignorance and
blindness of his subjects and his own usurpation of the
unalienable and inprescriptible rights of legislation and
representation, actually believed himself the proprietor of
A A 2

356 NOTES.
these subjects, as if they had been as many beasts of bur
den, he might naturally make use of the terms * my im
perial munificence,' but, at present this is not the case ;
our Emperor is a constitutional Emperor, and not our pro
prietor. He is a citizen, Emperor through our favour, and
chief of the executive power, but not, therefore, autho
rized to arrogate to himself and usurp such powers as
belong to the nation."
"This absolute language clearly indicates the existence
of occult intrigues with the end of overruling Congress ;
and it is on this account, that the public murmurs and
apprehends evil from the elections of certain Deputies,
who appear to have been designated as fit members for the
ensuing legislature, solely for the purpose of introducing
into the new Empire the principles of an aristocratical
despotism. We are friendly to the Emperor as our Per
petual Defender, and on this account desire that his minis
ters may not illude and overthrow him by means of their
servile adulation. Let us hope that the example of
James the Second of England, of Buonaparte Emperor of
the French, and of many other such, may open the eyes of
Pedro the First, and that he will check these fantasies of
his ministers. He ought to look to every thing, and to
ponder upon every thing; for the inhabitants of Brazil
wish to be well governed, but not to submit to arbitrary
domination."

Page 111. — Under the plea of ill health, the Queen de
manded a respite of a few months, #c.
The letter transmitted by Her Most Faithful Majesty to
the King, on this occasion, and subsequently, printed,
forms one of the most curious tirades against the Cortes,

NOTES. 357
which have ever come before the public, and evinces in a
remarkable manner how materially the ideas of sovereigns
and subjects at times differ on questions of Government.
Let, however, the reader form his own judgment on the
matter.
translated copy.
"Sire,
" I last night received, by the hand of one of your
ministers, the order to depart from your territories. Its
purport was to banish me ; you have requested me to
descend from the throne to which you once elevated me !
I pardon you, I compassionate you from my inmost heart.
All my contempt, all my hatred shall be reserved for those
who surround you, and who have betrayed you. I shall be
more free in my banishment than you in your palace. My
liberty, at least, will attend me. My soul hath never been
enslaved, it hath never humiliated itself in the presence of
those rebel vassals who have dared to impose laws on you,
and who have endeavoured to compel me to take an oath
that my conscience rejected. I have not cared for their
threats, I have obeyed the voice of Heaven, which has
announced to me that if the epoch of greatness had passed,
that of glory was now to begin. The world shall yet
exclaim, ' The Queen has preserved unspotted the majesty
of the diadem, she has not suffered that its splendour
should be dimmed.' ' While those potentates who held
alike the sceptre and the sword, have crouched down
before the storm, she alone hath remained firm and un-
quailing.' "As thy obedient wife, I will obey thee, Sire, but my
obedience shall be to thee alone. To your Majesty I will
only remark that my infirmities and the rigour of the
season, at this moment render my immediate departure

358 NOTES.
impossible. They have not as yet required that you should
pass the sentence pf my death. I will go soon, yet whi
ther shall I find a place of rest ? whither, alas ! shall I
direct my steps ? My country, our country is a prey to
the spirit of revolutions : my brother, like you, is a crowned
captive ! In vain will be the tears of his young and beau
tiful bride to share her grief with mine in some kind
solitude ! Ye shall not then deny me leave to take my
daughters with me. Among the laws that ye have im
posed, there is none that separates a parent from her
children ; and though the rights of a Queen may be des
pised, surely some regard will be paid to those of a mother.
With the arrival of spring I will quit these states, this
land wherein I have reigned, and in which I have done
some good. I will take part in the perils of my brother,
and tell him that they can never vanquish me ! I am a
banished woman, but my conscience is unstained, for I
have ever remembered the blood that runs in my veins.
Farewell, Sire ! I leave you old, sick and on a vacillating
throne, and extreme indeed is the grief which I experience
in being thus compelled to forsake you. Your son (Don
Miguel) is absent from you. The ill-intentioned beings by
whom you are surrounded, have kept him apart from you,
even with more care than from his mother. May He who
reigneth over kings watch over you, and confound the
machinations of your enemies ! Wherever the wife whom
you thus banish from you may go, she will always pray for
you. She will ever supplicate from God a long life for
you, and peace and prosperity for the land whence she is
banished.
" The Queen."
Donna Carlotta was not an admirer of the constitutional
regimen, nor were some other individuals of the same

NOTES. 359
august House of Braganza. Donna Maria Benedicta,
the aunt of Don Joao the Sixth, and the sister to the
Dowager Queen, a lady who had accompanied the Royal
Family in their emigration to Brazil, was so extremely
irritated on hearing of the proclamation of the Constitu
tional Government in Portugal, that she immediately sum
moned all her domestics into the drawing-room, crying out
at the same time with mock humility, " Be seated, ladies
and gentlemen, pray be seated, you are at present the
governors of the world, if you want any thing, command
me ; I am here at your orders." (" Assentem-se meus Sen-
hores, assentem-se, vos sois agora que governais o mundo,
¦ — de querem alguma cousa, mandem-me, que aquiestou as
suas ordens.")
Unlike, however, Donna Carlotta, Donna Benedicta was
a lady of exemplary private character. Her talents were
also of a superior order, a circumstance tending to render
the transition to entire nullity more mortifying. As to
such of the family as had hitherto been noted only for
their incapacity, the privation was less, and it cannot
therefore be surprising that they should have borne the
change with more equanimity.
Page 138. — A special commission or council of state, con
sisting, Sfc.
The members of this Council were the following indivi
duals : —
f Joao Severiano Maciel da Costa Marquis de Queluz
* Luiz Joze de Carvalho e Mello Viscount de Cachoeira
* Clemente Ferreira Franca Marquis de Nazareth
Those marked ? dead ;— f dead since the revolution of 1831.

360 NOTES.
Marianno Joze Pereira de Fonseca Marquis de Maricsi
* Joao Gomez de Silveira Mendon§a Count de Fanado
Francisco Villela Barboza Marquis de Parauagoa
t Barao de Santo Amaro Marq. de Santo Amaro
Antonio Luiz Pereira da Cunha Marquis de Inhambupe
Manoel Jacinto Nogueira da Gama Marquis de Baependy
Joze Joaquim Carneiro de Campos Marquis de Caravellas
The entire number also took their seats as Senators,
after being of course nominated in the triple list.
In the place of the three first who died were substituted the
Count de Valenca,
Viscount de Sa5 Leopoldo,
Marquis de Sao Joao de Palma.
Several of their number were noted for the excellence
of their private characters ; and one or two, as for instance,
Pereira de Fonseca, and Carneiro de Campos, for the
extent of their erudition. As a body, however, they were
but ill qualified for the task to which they were appointed.
Fortunately Carneiro de Campos was intrusted with the
drawing up of the constitution, and to this individual is
Brazil principally indebted for a number of the most
liberal provisions of the code, — provisions which he insisted
on introducing in opposition to the wishes of many of his
colleagues. On the other hand, Clemente Ferreira Franca was
about the most obsequious, abject, and time-serving of
the entire council. He, however, defended himself from
the charge with warmth. "My colleagues (observed he)
have not hesitated to tax me with servility, but the charge
is utterly unfounded. I am not one whit more servile
than they are, but the fact is, I am less hypocritical."
On another occasion, when it was debated in the Senate
whether the members of this body should rise, on the
entrance of His Imperial Majesty, the Marquis (for by this

NOTES. 361
time he had been created a Marquis) proposed that they
should rise and advance two steps. The fairest estimate
of the united talents of the Council may, however, be
derived from the subsequent history of the administra
tion,

Page 187. — He, nevertheless, proceeded directly to Ports
mouth, Sfc.
The plea alleged by Lord Cochrane, in his official
despatch to the Brazilian Government, for thus returning
to England was, that his top-masts sprung when in about
20° north latitude : and that he put into Portsmouth, as
the nearest port to refit, an allegation which was at least
founded on fact, and which (considering that he was to the
leeward of Cape S. Roque), and had a very strong cur
rent running against him, would, under any circumstances,
warrant the step.

Page 200. — A lady of the name of Castro, to whom, &c.
Often sarcastically denominated the Nova Castro, a
sobriquet, taken from the title of one of the most popular
dramas of the Portuguese theatre. The tragical story of
Inez de Castro, the beautiful but unfortunate bride of
Don Pedro the First, of Portugal, has been selected as the
theme of two different dramas,* of which the latest written
has, by way of contra-distinction, been termed the Nova,
or New Castro, and this somewhat singular appellation
* The first written by the celebrated Antonio Ferreira.

362 NOTES.
was, from an assumed parity of circumstance, maliciously
applied to the Marchioness de Santos. On a certain occa
sion, the directors of an amateur theatre having refused to
admit her ladyship to their representations, on the ground
of her character not being sufficiently spotless, an order was
immediately issued, whereby the theatre was closed and
the directors indicted, on the ground that as their statutes
had never been submitted to the sanction of the Govern
ment, they were liable to the penalties imposed by law on
all secret societies. The prosecution was afterwards aban
doned ; but the theatre was not permitted to be re-opened.
" Pray," inquired an individual, unacquainted with the
facts of the case, " what was the reason for which your
theatre was so suddenly closed V " Why," replied the
director interrogated, " for no other earthly reason, that I
can discover, except that we had refused to admit the
Nova Castro on our list."

Page 220. — Having on this day discovered the Imperial
army, &c.
In a manuscript account of this engagement, drawn up
by the individual who officiated as aide-de-camp to Laval
leja, on this occasion, and subsequently communicated to
the author, the writer observes : " The enemy awaited us
with firmness, and reserved their fire until we were within
the distance of twenty-five paces. Lavalleja's body of
horse, however, charged them with such impetuosity, that
their ranks were broken ere they could draw their sabres,
and but few of their number were sufficiently fortunate to
find safety in flight." Altogether the number of Brazilians
killed and wounded is stated at near one thousand : that of

NOTES. 363
prisoners at upwards of seven hundred. The loss of the
Gauchos was only two hundred altogether, killed and
wounded.

Page 228. — The Diario Fluminense assailed him as an
anarchist, Sfc.
Chapuis appears to have anticipated this attack. " It
may be asked (remarked he in his preface to the reflec
tions) who authorised me to discuss and to analyze the
acts of the government? The answer is obvious. As a
citizen of the world, and not as the inhabitant of this or
that spot of earth, I voluntarily undertake to publish the
result of my reflections on the present relations of the Em
pire of Brazil in connexion with the Kingdom of Portugal.
The task I impose on myself is a patriotic one, and I will
execute it with the Constitution of the Empire in my hand.
This alike instructs me in my rights and in my duties ; I
will not abuse the first, neither will I exceed the second :
thus, I shall have nothing to fear." The result, however,
proved that his opinions in this last respect were erroneous.

Page 229. — Misled by a decree of the minister of the
empire.
The decree alluded to may be quoted as worthy of
interest. TRANSLATED COPY.
His Majesty having inspected the despatch of the Presi
dent of Maranham, dated on the 4th June, in this year.

364 NOTES.
where is related the proceeding adopted towards Joao
Antonio Garcia de Abranches, editor of the periodical
entitled the " Censor," he being violently compelled to
embark for Lisbon, and this incompetent and absolute
measure being by no means justified by the exposition in
the above mentioned despatch, of the nature of the doc
trines published in that periodical, although tending to
overthrow the established order of affairs ; and even less
by the extravagant motive that the said editor attacked
the conduct of the Marquis de Maranham, as though it
were prohibited by law to censure him : His Majesty has
deemed fit to disapprove of this unjust and arbitrary act,
which discovers, on the part of the individual who put it
in force, either a perfect ignorance of the legal measures
applicable in such cases, or a determination to overthrow
the rights guaranteed by the constitution; and he com
mands the Secretary of State for the affairs of the Empire
to make this known to the said President, and to reprove him
severely for having, in this transaction, acted in a manner
which could only be approved of by a government where
will has the precedence over law.
" Palace of Rio de Janeiro, 3rd September, 1835.
"(Signed) Estevao Ribeiro de Rezende."
It had been repeatedly urged to Chapuis that this re
proof of the President of Maranham had been issued solely
in cousequence of the coalition existing between Ministers
and the Portuguese party, and not from any real regard
for the constitutional doctrines avowed. This assumption
he however refused to credit. He even quoted the fore
going decree triumphantly in the first number of the
"' Verdadeiro Liberal."

NOTES. 365
Page 285.— To such a pitch had this system been
carried, fyc.
Discouraging as this representation may appear, it is an
undisputed fact that, on the whole, the condition of the
slave population in the country is much less onerous than
in the cities. On the plantations (unless an estate should
happen to change hands) they become virtually praedial
slaves, and their condition will be found to assimilate,
in many respects, to that of the Russian Serf. Both in
the cities and on the plantations they are universally bap
tized, and among the old Portuguese families they are
instructed in the external ceremonies and leading dogmas
of the Catholic religion.
Should the descendants of the existing race obtain their
liberty in the same gradual manner in which the peasantry
of Europe have obtained the gradual relaxation of the feu
dal system, important advantages must necessarily accrue
both to Brazil and to the class in question. In case, however,
of either insurrection or of any injudicious interference on
the part of foreign nations, the reverse would, in all probabi
lity, ensue. Even if it were possible that a pacific liberation
could instantaneously be effected throughout Brazil, the
newly constituted freemen would be found so utterly unfit
for the exercise of civil privileges, that anarchy would in
evitably and immediately ensue ; an absolute government
would take the place of the present constitutional one, and
the entire association would, in all probability, retro
grade. It is perfectly correct that a servile war has been often
prognosticated to Brazil, but, in the opinion of the writer,
with but little plausibility. According to an approxima
tion made soon after the revolution in 1831, (for there is

366 NOTES.
no correct census,) the free population in the provinces is
estimated as follows : —

Rio Grande,

160,000 souls.

Santa Catharina,

35,000

Rio de Janeiro,

320,000 5 Inc!udin&the Dis
£ trict of Campols

S. Paulo,

270,000

Minas,

600,000

Goyaz,

50,000

Matto Grosso,

30,000

Espirito Santo, -

40,000

Bahia,

400,000

Sergipe,

50,000

Alagoas,

100,000

Pernambuco,

400,000

Parahiba,

100,000

Rio Grande de Norte,

30,000

Ceara,

150,000

Piauhy,

70,000

Maranhao,

120,000

Para,

110,000

*

3,035,000

And the slave population was, at the same time, computed
at about two millions. In the principal cities, Rio de
Janeiro, Bahia, and Pernambuco, the slaves preponderate
decidedly in number over the freemen ; but there are some
provinces tolerably populous, where the bulk of the popu
lation consists almost exclusively of free people. In Ceara,
where the inhabitants are stated at one hundred and fifty
thousand, there are not ten thousand slaves, and in Rio
Grande of the South, the proportion is about the same,
• See Aurora, 22d June, 1831.

NOTES. 367
In general there is but little feeling of fraternity amongst
the negroes ; except in Bahia, where they are all of one
nation, inhabitants originally of the coast of Mina, who are
at once the most intelligent and the most athletic race
hitherto imported into Brazil. Here many revolts have
taken, and will, in all probability continue to take place;
but it does not follow, on this account, that the same
spirit will extend itself throughout the country. In the
other provinces the variety of nations is so great, and the
plantations are situated so far apart, that any attempts at a
general insurrection must prove altogether nugatory. The
probabilities of this will also be diminished by the gradual
amelioration in the condition of the slaves, the Brazilians
being almost universally far less severe task-masters than
their predecessors the Portuguese.
The nations principally imported into Rio, previous to
the cessation of the traffic, are Cabindas, (including under
this name Congos of all the various tribes as far as Angola),
Benguelas, Angolas, Mozambiques, Inhambanes, Quili-
manes, and Cacanges. Of these the Cabindas and other
nations from the Western coast are generally tattooed;
those from the Eastern coast are mostly distinguished by
punctures, whereby the skin is raised in a peculiar manner.
By virtue of a law passed during the session of 1831,
the forfeiture of both ship and cargo is entailed on all
found guilty of continuing the importation; yet, a large
contraband traffic is still carried on in many instances
through the connivance of the locar authorities, who, being
elected on the spot of their jurisdiction, are but too often
imbued alike with the prejudices and short-sightedness
of their constituents.
It is, however, a gratifying circumstance to the friends
of humanity, that the leaders of public opinion in the Me
tropolis, to whatever party they may have happened to be-

368 NOTES.
long, have been almost unanimous in their reprobation of
the traffic in question. Joz& Bonifacio had, at the period
of his banishment in 1823, already drawn up a memorial,
or rather an essay, on the topic, which it was his intention
to lay before the Constituent Assembly, with the end of
inducing them to take some prohibitory measures.
Since this period all the leading journalists, at the head
of whom may be placed Evaristo Ferreira de Veiga, have
adopted similar views, and the " Sociedade Defensora" of
Rio de Janeiro, the most influential patriotic association in
Brazil, in the month of February, 1834, offered a premium
of Rs.400||000, to the individual who should produce the
best analytical memoir on the subject. As yet, it must be
acknowledged, that these philanthropic ideas are by no
means generalized, yet they are day by day making
progress. It is also worthy of note, that in Brazil, where the poli
tical association is composed of such heterogeneous ma
terials, and where honours are open to all alike, distinctions
of caste have necessarily less weight than in any other civi
lized country. Here, since the first revolution in 1822,
men of colour have been admitted to the highest offices in
the State. Several of the Deputies are of mixed blood,
and in one or two instances, individuals who bear in their
physiognomy indubitable traces of a similar origin, have
been found even in the Cabinet.

Page 286. — Concerning the augmentation of the sum
allotted to the Emperor, &c.
In the remarks of Vergueiro, one of the Members who
voted in opposition to this measure, the stipend allotted to
the King of England, was instanced as absorbing only one

NOTES. 369
fiftieth part of the revenue ; that of the King of France
one thirty-sixth ; and that allotted to Don Pedro, in 1826,
(400 contos), one thirty-fourth, the entire revenue of Brazil
being estimated at 34 millions of cruzades, or 13.600
contos.

Page 289. — The result was a decision on the part of the
House, that a force of thirty thousand men, the number
at present authorized, fyc.
In this number the militia were not included. Accord
ing to the report of the Minister of War, the army of
Brazil at this period consisted of 27,815 regular troops, and
in addition to these, there were 99,773 militia and "ordi
nances," altogether 127,588 men.

Page 290. — But with the exception of a few confirmed
royalists and the Marchioness de Santos, &c.
The following document, which is extracted from the
columns of the " Diario Fluminense," may perhaps prove
an object of curiosity to the European reader : —
TRANSLATED COPY.
" Articles of Office."
Department of Finance.
" Most Illustrious and Excellent Lady,"
" I conveyed to the august presence of H. M. the Em
peror, our Master, the letter which your Excellency ad-
VOL. I. b B

370 NOTES.
dressed to him, in which your Excellency offers towards
the war in the South, a con to of reis gratuitously, and forty
milreis as a monthly loan, without any interest, as long as
the war continues ; and all which you possess, in case
it be necessary to the State. H. I. M. orders me to
thank you especially for this trait of your distinguished
patriotism ; and in order to make known more generally
the estimation with which he regards the patriotic proceed
ing of your Excellency, particularly on account of your
Excellency being the first Brazilian lady who has thus
acted, he has ordered me, that along with this letter,
I should also cause that which your Excellency addressed
to his Imperial person, to be published in this journal.
" May God guard your Excellency.
" Marquis de Queluz.
" Palace, 17th October, 1827.
" To the Marchioness de Santos.

" Sire, — As a Brazilian, and an inhabitant of San
Paulo, and, consequently, a friend of my country, of its
honour, and of the glory and august person of your Imperial
Majesty, to whom I owe all my fortune, I come before the
throne of your Imperial Majesty, to offer gratuitously
a conto of reis for the war in the South, and forty milreis
monthly, as a loan, for the same object, without any inte
rest, following in this step the generous example given
by your Imperial Majesty. My sex does not permit me
to offer also my person, but your Imperial Majesty may
count on all I possess in the ultimate necessities of the
State.

NOTES. 371
" May God guard and bless the days of your Imperial
Majesty, as I and all Brazilians have need. I am, Sire,
the very faithful, grateful, and obliged subject of your
Imperial Majesty,
" Marchioness de Santos.
" To H. I. M. Don Pedro 1st."

END OF VOL. I.

PRINTED DV STEWART AND CO., OLD BAIT.EY.