Chapter XXXI: Appendix (5)

[264] The privileges which British subjects have long enjoyed in the dominions of the crown of Portugal are considerable. I give as concise an account of them as I possibly can. “D. Joam by the grace of God Prince Regent of Portugal, &c. To all my _Corregedores_, &c. be it known, that Joam Bevan declares himself to be a merchant, resident in this city (Lisbon, I suppose,) and a subject of his Britannic Majesty, and therefore competent to enjoy all the privileges and immunities which have been conceded to British subjects, &c. The merchants of that nation may freely trade, contract, buy and sell in all these kingdoms and lordships, &c. and where a doubt arises concerning any business with them, this shall be construed rather with a bias in their favour than against them(1). British subjects can only be arrested and confined in their own houses, according to their rank in life, or in the castle of St. Jorge; and these arrests cannot be carried into executions by bailiffs (_homems de vara_) but only by the _alcaide_(2). They are exempted from the payment of certain duties upon those articles which they can prove to be for the use of their own families. They cannot be obliged to give up their houses or warehouses against their consent(3). They cannot be obliged to serve as guardians, and they are exempted from certain imposts. They may carry offensive and defensive arms, by day and by night with or without a light, taking care not to do with them what they ought not to do.”

Then follow the penalties to which those officers will be subjected who do not pay a due regard to these privileges.

The clerks and servants of Englishmen enjoy the same privileges to the number of six, provided they are not Spaniards.

British subjects cannot be arrested, nor can their houses be searched without an order from their judge-conservator. Then follow some regulations by which their law proceedings may be rendered as easy as possible. They are not subject to the jurisdiction of the _Juiz de Orfaons & Auzentes_(4).

The copy of the privileges from which the above has been extracted is passed in the name of John Bevan. I obtained it at Pernambuco as a curiosity. If the state of government in Brazil is considered, these privileges are absolutely necessary for the prevention of oppression; and even the privilege of wearing arms is not more than is requisite, because although the laws which prohibit Portugueze subjects from carrying arms ordain severe penalties, still scarcely any man in Brazil leaves his own home without some species of weapon; and the crime which is committed in so doing is too general to be punished.

(1) _Mais em seu favor do que em odio._—What occasion is there for this? Impartiality is what is required.

(2) An officer of a rank somewhat superior.

(3) An officer of government can turn an unprivileged man out of his house by placing the letters P. R. upon his door.

(4) The officer into whose hands the property of orphans falls, and of those persons who die without heirs resident upon the spot. It is difficult to reclaim what has found its way into this office.

[265] Du Tertre, in speaking of a species of _Karatas_, which is to be found in the islands, “_dans des deserts pierreux, où il ne se trouve guere d’eau douce_,” says “_les paysans travaillez de la soif y courent, parce que ces feüilles sont tellement disposés, qu’elles se ferment en bas comme un verre, où on trouve quelquefois une pinte d’eau fraische, claire et trés saine, et cela a sauvé la vie à plusieurs qui sans cela seroient morts de soif_.”—Histoire des Antilles, tom. ii. p. 100.

I heard this mentioned frequently whilst I was in the Sertam; but at the time we were in want of water, we were not crossing any of those lands upon which the plant grows.—_Transl._

[266] Bolingbroke says, that “it is a common thing to feed swine with pine-apples. My astonishment was increased when our conductor took us to a large trench fifty rood long, and twelve feet wide, which was absolutely filled up with pine-apples; they so completely overran the estate at one time, that he was obliged to root them up for the purpose of preventing their farther extension.”—Voyage to the Demerary, &c. p. 21.

Neither pigs nor pine-apples are to be found thus by wholesale in Pernambuco.—_Transl._

Barrere says “_La Pitte, qui est une espéce d’ananas, fournit encore une filasse d’un bon usage. Le fil en est plus fort et plus fin que la soye. Les Portugais en font des bas qui ne cedent en rien, dit-on, par leur bonté et par leur finesse aux bas de soye._”—Nouvelle Relation de la France Equinoxiale, p. 115.

Old Ligon says “the last and best sort of drinke that this iland or the world affords, is the incomparable wine of pines; and is certainly the nectar which the gods drunke; for on earth there is none like it; and that is made of the pure juyce of the fruit itselfe, without commixture of water or any other creature, having in itselfe a naturall compound of all tastes excellent, that the world can yield. This drinke is too pure to keep long; in three or four dayes it will be fine; ‘tis made by pressing the fruite, and strayning the liquor, and it is kept in bottles.”—A true and exact History of the Iland of Barbadoes, 1657.

[267] Du Tertre speaks of a species of _Karatas_, which agrees, from his description, with this in the height of the stalk, the shape of the leaves, and the colour of the flowers; which he says are _estroileés_—_Transl._ He adds, “_Avant que les boutons de ces fleurs soient ouverts ils sont remplis d’un fort beau et bon cotton, dont l’on se peut servir utilement: apres que l’on a fait boüillir les füeilles l’on en tire du fil dont l’on se sert en plusieurs endroits de l’Amerique, non seulement à faire des toilles, mais encore à faire des licts pendans. La racine et les füeilles de cette plante broyées et lavées dans une riviere, jettent un suc qui estourdit si fort le poisson, qu’il se laisse prendre à la main: ce grand tronc qui est tout spongieux estant seché, brulle comme une méche ensouffrée, et froté rudement, avec une bois plus dur, s’enflame et se consume._”—Histoire des Antilles, tom. ii. p. 106.

Labat gives the same account, and adds that persons who are in the habit of smoking “_ne manquent jamais d’avoir sur eux leur provision de tol_.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. 6. p. 142.

“_Le caratas dont j’ai parlé dans un autre endroit est bien meilleur que la Savonette pour blanchir le linge. On prend la füeille et aprés en avoir ôté les piquans, on la bat et l’écrase entre deux pierres et on frote le linge avec l’eau. Elle produit le même effet que le mielleur savon, elle fait une mousse ou écume épaisse, blanche, qui decrasse, nettoye et blanchit parfaitement le linge, sans le rougir ou le brûler en aucune facon._”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. vii. p. 385.

[268] At Pillar, upon the island of Itamaraca, the persons who are in the habit of preparing the _cairo_, dig holes in the sands below high water mark, and bury the rind of the coco for several days before they beat it. I suppose this method is resorted to, owing to the want of a running stream in which to steep the rind.—_Transl._

[269] There are some breaks, but they are not extensive, as far as I am acquainted with the country.—_Transl._

[270] In Wildenow this plant is so arranged.—_T._

[271] “The inhabitants of the plains of Iguaraçu make use of it to fasten together the rushes from which they make the mats that are used for pack-saddles.”—_Discurso sobre a Utilidade da Instituicam de Jardims, &c._

Padre Ignacio de Almeida Fortuna told me, that he had had a pair of stockings made from the fibre of the _Macaiba_. I brought some of the fibre to England; it is extremely strong and fine. I think Dr. Arruda may perhaps have been rather hasty in ranking it with the _tucum_, in the difficulty of obtaining it. At Itapissuma, near to Itamaraca, a great quantity of thread is manufactured for fishing-nets, &c. and it has at that place a fixed price.—_Transl._

“Referring the meeting to what was communicated in the last annual Report on the subject of a species of hemp, manufactured from the leaves of a particular kind of palm which abounds in Sierra Leone and its neighbourhood, the directors have now to add, that one of their Board, Mr. Allen, has lately subjected a small quantity of cord, manufactured from this substance, to experiments calculated to ascertain its strength, as compared with the same length and weight of common hempen cord. The result has been very satisfactory.” In five trials, the average is as follows “hempen cord 43_lbs._ 3-fifths. African cord 53_lbs._ 2-fifths, being a difference in favour of the African cord of 10_lbs._ in 43_lbs._”—Fourth Report of the Directors of the African Institution, p. 15.

[272] I have often in the course of this volume spoken of the _jangadas_.—_Transl._

[273] The seeds have a strong aromatic smell, and the taste is very pleasant.—_Transl._

[274] In the neighbourhood of Goiana I saw a large piece of land completely covered with the common _maracuja_; the owner of the ground complained to me of the trouble which he should have in getting rid of the plant when he should wish to cultivate the land.—_Transl._

[275] Excepting in times of famine, the food which may be thus obtained causes too much destruction to allow of its becoming general, and even if it should for a time afford subsistence to the people, this cannot last long, for the trees will soon be destroyed. The quantity of food which each tree yields is too small, the growth of the trees too slow, and the space which each plant occupies too considerable ever to render the cabbage of the palms a permanent staple food of any country.

Dr. Arruda has not spoken of the _dendezeiro_ or _dende_ tree, which, next to the coco tree, is the palm which is of the most service to the Pernambucans. An oil of good quality is made from the nut, and is sold in Recife as a culinary ingredient, being more generally used than the coco oil. The fruit resembles much that of the _coco naia_, according to Arruda’s description of the latter.

Labat, who has a propensity to call in question the opinions of others, in speaking of the tree which he calls _palmier franc ou dattier_, says, “_On prétend que cet arbre est mâle et femelle, &c. Je suis fâché de ne pouvoir pas souscrire au sentiment des naturalistes, mais j’en suis empêché par une expérience que j’ai trés-sûre, opposée directement à leur sentiment, qui dément absolument ce que je viens de rapporter sur leur bonne foi; car nous avions un dattier à côté de notre couvent du Moüillage à la Martinique, qui rapportoit du fruit quoiqu’il fut tout seul. Qu’il fut mâle ou femelle, je n’en sçai rien, mais ce que je sçai trés certainement, c’est que dans le terrain où est le Fort Saint Pierre et le Moûillage et a plus de deux lieuës à la ronde il n’y avoit et n’y avoit jamais eu de dattier, &c._”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p. 276.

[276] The _goiaba_ is to be found in all situations in Pernambuco; there is scarcely a _cercado_ (field) of any sugar plantation which has not several of these trees scattered about upon it. The _goiaba_ is never cut down, for the people are fond of it, and the cattle likewise feed upon it. The _araça_ is another species of the same plant; the shrub and the fruit of this are smaller than the _goiaba_, and the inside of the fruit is of a pale yellow colour, instead of a deep red.—_Transl._

[277] Labat speaks of a species of _canelle bâtarde_, and he adds, “_On se sert beaucoup en Italie d’une canelle semblable à celle que je viens de décrire; les Portugais l’apportent du Bresil dans des paniers de roseaux refendus et à jour; on l’appelle canelle geroflée (canella garofanata). On la met en poudre avec un peu de gérofle, de veritable canelle, de poivre et de graines tout-à faite resemblables à celles de nos bois d’Inde des Isles, et on en fait un debit assez considérable._”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p. 92.

[278] In the Philosophical Transactions for 1811 is given, “An Account of a Vegetable Wax from Brazil,” by William Thomas Brande, Esq. F. R. S. The work from which I extract part of the account is Nicholson’s Journal, Vol. xxxi. p. 14.

“The vegetable wax described in this paper was given to the president by Lord Grenville, with a wish on the part of his Lordship, that its properties should be investigated, in the hope that it might prove a useful substitute for bees’ wax, and constitute in due time a new article of commerce between Brazil and this country. It was transmitted to Lord Grenville from Rio de Janeiro by the Conde das Galveas(1), as a new article lately brought to that city(2), from the northernmost parts of the Brazilian dominions, the _capitanias_ of Rio Grande and Seará, between the latitude of three and seven degrees north; it is said to be the production of a tree of slow growth, called by the natives _carnâùba_, which also produces a gum used as food for men, and another substance employed for fattening poultry.”

“The wax in its rough state is in the form of a coarse pale grey powder, soft to the touch, and mixed with various impurities, consisting chiefly of fibres of the bark of the tree, which when separated by a sieve amount to about 40 _per cent._ It has an agreeable odour, somewhat resembling new hay, but scarcely any taste.”

(_Here follow various chemical Experiments which I wish I could insert, but they are too long._)

“Having been unsuccessful in my attempts to bleach the wax in its original state, I made some experiments to ascertain whether its colour could be more easily destroyed, after it had been acted upon by nitric acid, and found that by exposing it spread upon glass to the action of light, it became in the course of three weeks of a pale straw colour, and on the surface nearly white(3). The same change was produced by steeping the wax, in thin plates, in an aqueous solution of oxymuriatic gas, but I have not hitherto succeeded in rendering it perfectly white.”

(_Other chemical Experiments follow, which are of considerable Length._)

“From the preceding detail of experiments, it appears that although the South American vegetable wax possesses the characteristic properties of bees’ wax, it differs from that substance in many of its chemical habitudes; it also differs from the other varieties of wax, namely, the wax of the myrica cerifera, of lac, and of white lac. The attempts which have been made to bleach the wax have been conducted on a small scale; but from the experiments related, it appears that after the colour has been changed by the action of very dilute nitric acid, it may be rendered nearly white by the usual means. I have not had sufficient time to ascertain whether the wax can be more effectually bleached by long continued exposure, nor have I had an opportunity of submitting it to the processes employed by the bleachers of bees’ wax.”

“Perhaps the most important part of the present inquiry is that which relates to the combustion of the vegetable wax, in the form of candles. The trials which have been made to ascertain its fitness for this purpose are extremely satisfactory; and when the wick is properly proportioned to the size of the candle, the combustion is as perfect and uniform as that of common bees’ wax. The addition of one eighth to one tenth part of tallow is sufficient to obviate the brittleness of the wax in its pure state, without giving it any unpleasant smell, or materially impairing the brilliancy of its flame. A mixture of three parts of the vegetable wax with one part of bees’ wax, also makes very excellent candles.”

(1) This nobleman is since dead.

(2) It was sent to Rio de Janeiro by Francisco de Paula Cavalcante de Albuquerque, Governor of Rio Grande do Norte.

(3) The portion which the Governor of Rio Grande gave to me was in the form of a cake, which could not be pierced, but was brittle; it was of a pale straw colour.—_Transl._

[279] “_On l’apporte (the root) en Europe coupeé en rouelles blanches & assez légéres._”—_Voyage du Chevalier des Marchais a Cayenne, &c._ tom. iii. p. 262.

I brought some of it to England in powder.—_Transl._

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE:

—Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected.