CHAPTER XIV.

THE ARAUCANIANS.

1560-1603.

But this matter sank into insignificance in the face of the attitude of the Araucanians. The few Ulmenes who had escaped from the late defeats, having assembled after the rout of Quipeo, unanimously elected as Toqui an officer who had distinguished himself, named Antiguenu. On accepting the command, he represented, that as almost all the youth of the country had perished, he thought it expedient to retire to some secure situation until such time as a sufficient army could be collected. In accordance with this prudent policy, he sought shelter in the marshes of Lumaco, where he erected scaffolds to protect his men from the miasma of this gloomy retreat. The youth of the nation went thither to be instructed in arms, and the Araucanians considered themselves free since they could still boast a national commander.

As soon as Antiguenu saw himself in a position to quit his retreat, he began to train his troops by making excursions into the Spanish territory, the report of which caused much disquietude to Villagran. In order, if possible, to stifle the flame at its commencement, he sent forward his son Pedro with such levies as could be mustered, soon following himself with a more considerable force. The first skirmishes were unfavourable to the Araucanians,—the natural result of the youth and inexperience of their soldiers. Their prudent commander was, however, by no means discouraged, and he had at length the satisfaction of showing that his countrymen had not degenerated, by defeating a body of Spaniards on the hills of Millepoa.

Animated by this success, Antiguenu now erected his standard on the mountain of Mariguenu, situated on the road which leads to the province of Arauco, and where, on a previous occasion, Lautaro had so signally defeated Villagran. That officer was prevented by ill-health from now assuming the command, which was entrusted to one of his sons, with the result that almost his entire army—the flower of the Spanish troops,—together with a great number of auxiliaries, were cut in pieces, their general being killed. After this victory Antiguenu marched against Canete; but Villagran, anticipating the impossibility of defending it, withdrew the inhabitants to Imperial or to Conception. The fortifications of Canete were destroyed, and the town was entirely consumed by fire. Villagran himself now fell a victim to the grief and anxiety which aggravated the disorder from which he suffered. He was deeply regretted by the colonists, who lost in him a wise and humane commander, to whose prudent conduct they were indebted for the preservation of their conquests. The special commission from the court had appointed as his successor his eldest son Pedro.

On the death of the governor, Antiguenu divided his army of four thousand men into two bodies; one of which, under the vice-Toqui Antunecul, was to lay siege to Conception, whilst with the other he himself was to march against the fort of Arauco. The former passed the Bio-bio, and having twice repulsed the forces of the governor, he closely invested the place for two months; but he was obliged eventually to retire, as he could not prevent the town receiving succours and provisions by sea. Meanwhile the defence of Arauco was maintained with the utmost vigour. As Antiguenu had observed that in his attack the bravest officers were pointed out to the Spaniards by their native troops, and thus became marks for their artillery, he resolved to take a well-deserved vengeance upon these, and for this purpose contrived to inform the Spanish general that his auxiliaries were intriguing to deliver up the place to the Araucanians. The Spanish commander, Bernal, gave such credit to this report, that he immediately ordered them to quit the place. They were at once seized by the Araucanians and put to death in sight of the Spaniards.

The Araucanian chief, impatient at the slow progress of the siege, now sought to bring it to a conclusion, and, with this end in view, challenged the Spanish general to single combat. Bernal, animated by an equally chivalrous spirit, accepted the challenge, notwithstanding the remonstrances of his soldiers. The combat lasted for two hours, at the end of which time the two champions were separated by their respective adherents. That which force had been unable to effect, now resulted from famine. Boats laden with provisions had repeatedly made the attempt to relieve the besieged, but they were invariably thwarted by the vigilance of the enemy, and at length Bernal found himself compelled to abandon the place. The Araucanian general permitted the garrison to retire unmolested, and contented himself with burning the houses and demolishing the walls of Arauco.

The next object which Antiguenu proposed to himself was the capture of Angol, which task he confided to one of his officers, who was, however, defeated on the way to that place. On this, Antiguenu hastened thither with two thousand men to repair the disaster; but whilst he was encamped at the confluence of the Bio-bio and the Vergosa, he was attacked by the entire Spanish force under the command of Bernal. The contest which ensued was one of the fiercest ever fought. The Araucanians employed with much skill the muskets which they had taken at the defeat of the Spaniards at Mariguenu, and sustained during three hours the assault of the enemy. Four hundred of the auxiliaries and a number of the Spaniards had fallen when the infantry of the latter began to give way. Bernal, seeing no other means of sustaining the fight, ordered his cavalry to cut down the fugitives. This severe measure had the desired effect, and the enemy’s entrenchments were at length carried. Antiguenu, forced along with a crowd of his soldiers, fell from a high bank into the river and was drowned. His death decided the battle, and a great slaughter of the Araucanians followed. Many also perished in the river, into which they had thrown themselves to escape. In this battle the victors themselves were almost all wounded.

Antiguenu was succeeded in the office of Toqui by Paillataru, brother or cousin of the celebrated Lautaro. This chief contented himself during the first years of his command with leading his men from time to time to ravage the enemy’s country. During this time Quiroga was appointed by the Royal Audience of Lima to be governor of Chili. Having received a reinforcement of three hundred soldiers, he entered, in 1565, the Araucanian territory and rebuilt the fort of Arauco and the city of Canete. He likewise constructed a new fortress at Quipeo. In the following year he despatched Ruiz Camboa with a small force to reduce to subjection the inhabitants of the archipelago of Chiloë, an enterprise in executing which no opposition was encountered. In the principal island he founded the city of Castro and the port of Chacao. The eighty islands of this archipelago, which owe their existence to earthquakes, and denote by their basaltic columns the action of fire, are inhabited by a race descended from the continental Chilians, but are of a very different character from theirs, being pacific and rather timid. Although the population is said to have been about seventy thousand, they allowed themselves to be subjected by a mere handful of Spaniards. These islanders, who are now greatly reduced in number, are said to display considerable aptitude for the mechanical arts, and are adepts in agriculture, raising beans, pease, and potatoes, which are the largest and best in Chili. They are likewise, as might be supposed, excellent sailors. After the conquest they readily embraced the Christian religion, to which they have ever since continued faithful.

The attention drawn to Chili by the continuance of the Araucanian war induced Philip II. to establish a court of Royal Audience in this part of his transatlantic dominions, independent of that of Peru. To this body was entrusted not only the political but likewise the military administration. The members of this tribunal, which was composed of four judges and a fiscal, entered Conception in August 1567. Its first act was to remove Quiroga, and to give the command of the army to Ruiz Gamboa. This officer was so fortunate as to defeat Paillataru in three obstinate contests. Being master of the country unopposed during one year, the Spanish general repeatedly but unsuccessfully proposed to the Araucanians to enter into negotiations for peace. Having failed to obtain this object, the government of the Royal Audience lost credit, and it was deemed more expedient to confide the chief authority to a new officer called Governor and Captain-General, who was to be President of the Audience and to command the army. Don Melchor de Bravo was invested with this character in 1568, and sought to signalize the commencement of his authority by a striking military success.

Paillataru having collected a new army and occupied the height of Mariguenu, De Bravo marched against him at the head of three hundred Spaniards and many auxiliaries. Equally fortunate with his predecessors who had commanded on this famous spot, Paillataru entirely defeated the Spanish army, and had almost made the President a prisoner. So intimidated was the latter that he resigned the command of the army to Gamboa, whom he ordered to evacuate the fortress of Arauco. Paillataru, having taken the post of Quipeo, marched against Canete, when he encountered in a fierce battle the troops of Gamboa. The Spaniards remained masters of the field, but were soon afterwards compelled to retreat from the Araucanian territory. For about four years after this date there was a suspension of arms on either side. During this period occurred a terrible earthquake, which did great damage to the Spanish settlements, entirely destroying Conception. In 1570, Imperial became the seat of a bishopric, which included the vast country lying between the Maúle and the southern confines of Chili.

On the death of Paillataru, which occurred about this time, the office of Toqui was conferred upon Alonzo Diaz, or Paynenancu, one of the mixed race of Spaniards and Chilians called Mustees, who had multiplied greatly. By this appointment the Araucanians desired to attach these to their cause, showing the confidence they reposed in them. Paynenancu had for ten years fought in their armies, distinguishing himself greatly. He was as rash as his predecessor had been cautious, but he was not fortunate in the enterprises which he undertook as a commander, being defeated on two occasions. On one of these, amongst the prisoners taken were several women found in arms, the greater number of whom destroyed themselves the same night.

The licentiate Calderon, having arrived in Chili with a commission from the court of Spain as examiner, took the step of suppressing the Court of Audience on the very proper principle of economy. The auditors were sent back to Peru, and Quiroga was once more appointed governor. Having received a force of two thousand men from Spain, he despatched his father-in-law, Ruiz Gamboa, to found a colony at the foot of the Cordilleras, between the cities of St. Iago and Conception. Chillan, so called from the river on which it stands, is now the capital of the fertile province of the same name. Quiroga died in 1580, leaving Gamboa as his successor. The three years of his government were occupied in opposing the attempts of Paynenancu, and in repelling other tribes of the Chilian Andes, who were instigated by the Araucanians to molest the Spanish settlements.

When information reached Spain of the death of Quiroga, Don Alonzo Sotomayor was sent out as governor to Chili, together with six hundred regular troops. Having landed at Buenos Ayres in 1583, the new governor proceeded thence by land to St. Iago, whence he immediately sent his brother to succour Villa Rica and Valdivia, which were besieged by the Araucanians. Don Louis succeeded in this object, having twice defeated Paynenancu. The enterprising Toqui was not, however, discouraged by his invariable defeats, which were always purchased dearly. To oppose him, the new governor, having driven off the Pehuenches from the neighbourhood of Chillan, entered the Araucanian territory with seven hundred Spaniards and the usual auxiliaries. Returning to the barbarous mode of warfare which had been adopted by Don Garcia de Mendoza, he laid waste the province of Encol. Such prisoners as fell into his hands were either hanged or dismissed with their hands cut off. Warned by the fate of Encol, the inhabitants of Puren Elicura, and Tucapel, after firing their houses and crops, secured themselves by flight. In the latter province but three captives were taken, and these were impaled. Such barbarities had the natural result of sending many recruits to the Araucanian army. Its unfortunate general withstood, on the frontiers of Arauco, the whole Spanish force, with only eight hundred men. His troops, however, fought with such resolution that the Spaniards were unable to break them until after an obstinate contest of several hours’ duration. Nearly all the Araucanians were slain; their commander was taken prisoner and executed. After this victory the fort of Arauco was once more rebuilt.

But the Spirit of Freedom which sat with Thrasybulus upon Phylœ’s brow had not yet deserted the Araucanians, whose valour revived on the elevation of one of their own pure race, the Ulmen Cayancaru, to the dignity of Toqui. One hundred and fifty messengers, furnished with the symbolical arrows, were despatched to various tribes in search of aid; and in a short time a considerable army was collected. The first exploit of Cayancaru was to attack by midnight the Spanish camp on the Carampangui, he having by means of a spy informed himself of its exact situation. The auxiliaries, who bore the first brunt of the assault, were cut in pieces. The Spaniards themselves owed their safety to the rising moon, which enabled them soon to direct an effective fire against their assailants. Cayancaru, having allowed his troops to rest during the remainder of the night, resumed the attack at daybreak, when an obstinate and bloody battle ensued. The Spanish horse and artillery, however, decided the day; but the victor, nevertheless, immediately after the battle, thought it prudent to raise his camp and retire beyond the Araucanian frontier. To protect this, he built the fort of Trinidad on the southern, and Spirito Santo on the northern bank of the Bio-bio. He likewise lost no time in raising a levy of two thousand horse and a considerable number of infantry.

The Araucanian general resolved to take advantage of the retreat of the governor to attack the fortress of Arauco; and, to facilitate this enterprise, he endeavoured to divert the Spanish forces as much as possible, incursions being made into the territories of Villa Rica, Angol, and Imperial, whilst a guard was placed on the shores of the Bio-bio. The garrison of Arauco, perceiving, from the preparations of Cayancaru, that their means of escape would be cut off, and that they would be eventually reduced by hunger, thought it better to perish with arms in their hands. They therefore attacked the works of the enemy with such vigour that they not only carried them, but put the Araucanians to flight. Cayancaru, extremely mortified, now resigned the command of his army to his son Nangoniel. The young commander, in no way discouraged by what had taken place, collected some infantry, together with a hundred and fifty horse, and having reinvested the same fortress, so distressed the Spaniards by want of provisions that they were forced to evacuate it. Nangoniel, having been soon afterwards drawn into an ambush and slain, was succeeded by Cadeguala.

It was about this time that an English squadron appeared in this part of South America. On the 21st of July 1586, Sir Thomas Cavendish sailed from Plymouth with three ships, and in the following year arrived on the coast of Chili. Landing at Quintero, he endeavoured to enter into negotiation with the natives, but he was attacked by the Corregidor of St. Iago, and after having suffered some loss, was compelled to quit the coast. Cadeguala availed himself of this timely diversion to surprise the city of Angol. Having, by means of secret agents, persuaded those Chilians who were in the service of Spaniards to set fire to their masters’ houses by night, he entered the city amidst the confusion, causing a dreadful slaughter of the citizens, who, in flying from the flames, fell into his hands. On that fatal night none would have escaped but for the opportune arrival of the governor two hours before the attack. With the greatest presence of mind he proceeded at the head of his guard to the various quarters, and, collecting the dispersed inhabitants, conducted them to the citadel. Having sallied thence at daybreak, he forced the enemy to retire. It is to be remarked, as showing how much the Araucanians had profited by the moral example given them by the Spaniards, that they no longer scrupled to employ treachery. On this occasion the Toqui was not deserted by any of his officers, as had been the fate of Caupolican when he employed the same means at Canete.

The next and last enterprise of the gallant Cadeguala was against the fortress of Puren, which he invested with four thousand men. The governor, hastening to relieve it with a strong reinforcement, was met by Cadeguala with a hundred and fifty lances and compelled to retreat. Elated with this success, he determined to decide the fate of Puren at a single blow. For this purpose he appeared before the walls, mounted on a splendid horse which he had taken from the governor, and defied the commander of the place, Garcia Ramon, to single combat at the end of three days. The challenge was accepted, and at the appointed time the intrepid Toqui appeared on the field with a limited number of attendants. The Spanish commander likewise came out with forty men, who, like the followers of the Toqui, remained at a distance. The two champions encountered each other with such fury that the first shock was decisive. Cadeguala fell, pierced through by the lance of his adversary. Even then he would not acknowledge himself vanquished; but life failed him in his attempt to remount his horse. His body, after a sharp contest, was carried off by his followers. With this incident, recalling similar ones between the Spaniards and their gallant opponents at the siege of Granada, ended the investment of Puren.

The Araucanians, under their new Toqui, Guanoalca, being informed that the garrison was ill-supplied with provisions and cut off from succour, were not long in returning to the siege of Puren, the Spaniards in which place, however, were permitted to retire unmolested to Angol. The Toqui then lost no time in marching against a new fort in the vicinity of the mountain of Mariguenu; but on its being reinforced he turned his arms against Spirito Santo and Trinidad on the Bio-bio, both of which were evacuated in 1589. Guanoalca was seconded in his military operations by the heroine Janequeo, the wife of Guepotan, who had long defended Leben. On the loss of that place he had retired to the Andes; but he had descended to the plains in order to regain his wife; and, being surprised, he chose to die rather than be made prisoner. He was well avenged. Janequeo placed herself at the head of a force of Puelches, and in 1590 began to make inroads upon the Spanish settlements, killing all who fell into her hands.

The governor of Chili marched against her, but only to lose time and men. Before his retreat he gave orders that all prisoners should be hanged. Janequeo next proceeded against the fortress of Puchanqui, near which she defeated its commander, Aranda, who was himself slain. The fort having resisted her efforts, she retired to the mountains near Villarica, the neighbourhood of which she rendered so unsafe that none ventured to quit the town. Moved by the complaints of the citizens, Sotomayor at length sent his brother Don Louis to their aid. Janequeo repelled the various assaults of the Spaniards, but was in the end obliged to retreat before their artillery. Her brother being taken, he obtained his life on the promise of keeping his sister quiet; but whilst his proposal for a reconciliation with the Spaniards was being debated in council, he was killed by a patriotic Ulmen, who would not hear of such a proposition.

In the year 1591 Quintuguenu succeeded to the office of Toqui on the death of Guanoalca. Having assaulted the fort of Mariguenu, he encamped with two thousand men upon the top of that famous height, whence the governor, putting himself at the head of a thousand Spaniards and a number of auxiliaries, resolved to dislodge him. The latter began at daybreak the difficult ascent of the mountain, leading the advanced guard in person. Half-way in the ascent he was attacked with fury by Quintuguenu; but, animating his men by his words and deeds, he sustained for an hour the terrible encounter, and forced the enemy, step by step, back into their entrenchments. The Araucanians defended themselves with the utmost bravery until mid-day, when their camp was forced on the left and right. Still Quintuguenu for a long time rendered the event doubtful. Recalling to his men the glorious memories of Lautaro, he exhorted them not to dishonour that holy spot by defeat. Rushing from rank to rank he fell, pierced by three mortal wounds at the hands of the governor, his dying word being “Liberty.” His death decided the day.

Sotomayor, the first Spanish conqueror on Mariguenu, conducted his army to the sea-shore, where he was saluted by the Peruvian fleet, which had witnessed his glorious victory. He next built a fort to replace that of Arauco in a locality which would be more readily succoured. He then set out for the province of Tucapel, marking his way by fire and sword. The next Toqui was Piallaeco, who soon lost his life in battle, when his countrymen were so overwhelmed that their remaining warriors had to take refuge in the marshes. These victories, however, on the part of the Spaniards were ineffectual to decide the war. The governor, who was an experienced soldier, seeing that a large force was needed for this purpose, resolved to proceed in person to Peru in order to obtain it. On his arrival there he was met by Don Martin Loyola (nephew of St. Ignatius), who had been appointed his successor. This officer had distinguished himself by capturing, in the fastnesses of the Andes, Tupac Amaru, the last of the Incas of Peru, a service which not only obtained for him the government of Chili, but likewise the hand of the Princess Clara Beatrix Coya, the daughter and heiress of the Inca Sayri Tupac. Loyola reached Valparaiso, the port of St. Iago, in 1593.

The Araucanians next chose for Toqui an active veteran named Paillamachu, whose career was destined to be of more lasting service to his country than had been that of any of his distinguished predecessors, unless indeed it be said that his career was but the result of their example. Imitating the precedent of Antiguenu, he retreated to the marshes of Lumaco, there to train an army. Loyola having proceeded to Conception, was there met by an Araucanian officer who had been sent to compliment him, and on whose mind he endeavoured to impress an idea of the resources of his sovereign, and of the necessity of submission. He was, however, assured in reply that the Araucanians would never submit to foreign control whilst they had a drop of blood in their veins. Loyola could not but admire the sentiments of the noble Antipillan, whom he dismissed with every demonstration of esteem. He nevertheless was far from relinquishing the policy of his predecessors.

Passing the Bio-bio, he founded near it a new city, to which he gave the name of Coya, in honour of his wife; and he established two castles to protect it. This proceeding was the signal for attack on the part of Paillamachu, whose lieutenant assaulted Fort Jesus in 1595, but failed to reduce it. In the following year the Araucanian general felt himself in sufficient strength to make frequent incursions into the Spanish districts; but he carefully avoided an encounter with their troops. With the object of restraining him, Loyola erected two new forts, one at Puren and the other on the border of the marshes of Lumaco. In 1597 he also founded a settlement in the province of Cujo, to which he gave the name of St. Louis de Loyola.

Paillamachu soon took by storm the fort of Lumaco, and the governor prudently demolished that of Puren, to save it from a like fate. Having next repaired the fortifications of Imperial, Villarica, and Valdivia, he returned to the Bio-bio, retaining as an escort only sixty half-pay officers, when he was attacked by the Toqui in the valley of Caralava and put to death with all his retinue. In less than forty-eight hours after this event the whole Araucanian provinces were in arms, as were likewise the Cunchese and the Cuilliches, and the whole country as far as the archipelago of Chiloë. Every Spaniard outside the garrisons was put to death; whilst Osorno, Valdivia, Villarica, Imperial, Canete, Angol, Coya, and the fortress of Arauco, were all at once invested with a close siege. Paillamachu himself, crossing the Bio-bio, burned the cities of Conception and Chillan, laying waste the surrounding provinces.

The receipt of this alarming news so terrified the inhabitants of St. Iago that they made up their minds to quit the country and retire to Peru. They appointed, however, as temporary governor Pedro de Viscara, a veteran of seventy years, who set out for the frontier with such troops as he could raise. Crossing the Bio-bio in the face of the enemy, he withdrew the inhabitants of Angol and Coya, sending them to Conception and Chillan. At the end of six months he was relieved by Don Francisco Quinones, sent by the Viceroy of Peru to assume the government. Several actions took place to the north of the Bio-bio; the most important occurred on the plains of Yumbel. This battle, fought between nearly equal numbers, continued with incredible fury for nearly two hours, when night parted the combatants, and the Toqui repassed the Bio-bio. The Spanish governor ordered his prisoners to be hanged. After this engagement the fort of Arauco and the city of Canete were evacuated.

The active Paillamachu went from place to place. He stormed Valdivia, putting to death a great number of the inhabitants, and forcing the remainder to save themselves on board ships, which at once set sail. By this exploit he secured all the cannon of the place, two millions of dollars, and four hundred prisoners. To add to these misfortunes, five Dutch men-of-war now appeared on the coast of Chili, plundering the island of Chiloë and putting the garrison to the sword. A party having attacked the Araucanians on the island of Talca, or Santa Maria, under the belief that they were Spaniards, were repulsed with the loss of twenty-three men.

Quinones was succeeded in the government by Garcia Raymon, an officer of much experience in South America, and who in turn had shortly to give place to Rivera, a soldier who had fought in the Low Countries, and who was now sent out with a regiment of veterans. His coming encouraged his countrymen to abandon their idea of quitting Chili; it did not, however, retrieve the fortunes of the war. After a siege of three years, Villarica fell into the hands of the Araucanians: whilst a similar fate awaited Imperial, which place owed its protracted defence to a Spanish heroine, called Inez Agulera. When defence was no longer possible, this lady, who during the siege had lost her husband and her brothers, escaped by sea with a great part of the inhabitants. The city of Osorno was the next to give way to the besiegers, and thus was freed from the presence of the Spaniards the extensive country between the Bio-bio and the archipelago of Chiloë, and the work of Valdivia and his successors was undone.

The cities which fell into the enemy’s hands were destroyed, and their prisoners, who had been reduced to terrible straits, were so numerous that almost each Araucanian family had one to its share. As ransom was permitted, many escaped from captivity. Others, induced by the love of their mixed offspring, preferred to remain with their conquerors. The valiant Paillamachu only survived till the following year, 1603. The towns which he destroyed have never been rebuilt;[R] their scanty ruins are his monument. Thus ended, as regarded its permanent results, the Araucanian War of Independence, exemplifying, if ever a war did, the sentiment contained in the lines:—

CHAPTER XV.

BRAZIL.

1570-1622.

It may be of interest here to give a brief account of this splendid colonial empire, as it was represented, for the information of the Portuguese Government, by one who had resided seventeen years in the country. In the year 1581 the city of S. Salvador, now Bahia, contained eight hundred inhabitants, and the whole Reconcave, or the coast-line of the surrounding bay, about two thousand, exclusive of negroes and native Indians. Five hundred horse and two thousand foot could be brought into the field; whilst three caravels and fourteen hundred boats were available for the king’s service. The cathedral church could boast five dignitaries, six canons, two minor canons, four chaplains, and one curé and his coadjutor. There were no less than sixty-two churches in the city, together with three monasteries. In this respect S. Salvador had certainly no cause of complaint. The country for two miles round was covered with plantations. In the Reconcave there were fifty-seven sugar-works, the quantity annually exported amounting to about two thousand four hundred hogsheads. Cattle and horses, which had been imported from the Cape de Verdes, increased in prodigious numbers. There were persons who possessed forty or fifty brood mares, which might sell at Pernambuco for thirty ducats a-piece; sheep and goats likewise flourished, having been imported from Europe.

Oranges and lemons, which the settlers had introduced, had become plentiful. The palm-tree was grown, and likewise the cocoa plant; the melon, the pomegranate, and the vine were not cultivated with such success, being unable to withstand the ravages of the ant. The tea plant had been discovered at Bahia, where coffee likewise was grown. Ginger throve so well that in one year four thousand arrobas were preserved. The sugar-cane is indigenous in Brazil, and was found in plenty near Rio de Janeiro. The parasites which fill up the interstices of the Brazilian forests were put to various uses; their juice was applied for the purpose of tanning, and their branches were woven into wicker-work or beaten into tow. These plants form a remarkable feature in Brazilian scenery. They encircle the trees up which they climb only to regain the ground; the same plant there takes root again, crossing from bough to bough and from tree to tree, wherever they may be carried by such breezes as may pierce the almost impermeable jungle.

In some portions of the Reconcave saltpetre was to be found; but for lime the colonists were dependent on oyster shells, which, however, were at some points procurable in great abundance. Fish of various kinds abounded, and oil was extracted from the liver of the shark. At one or two places ambergris was found. The rumours of wealth in the precious metals and stones which were then in circulation have since been amply confirmed.

In Bahia there were then said to be more than a hundred persons enjoying an income of five thousand cruzados, or two thousand five hundred ducats; whilst some settlers possessed plate and gold to a great value. They were supplied with wine from Madeira and the Canaries. The settlement of Pernambuco was not less flourishing; there were fifty sugar-works, the tenths of which were leased for nineteen thousand cruzados, or half that number of ducats. Olinda might contain seven hundred inhabitants, not including those who dwelt in the villas and works in the gardens of its vicinity. Three thousand men could be brought into the field; and it may be noted that as early as 1582 between four and five thousand African slaves were employed in the Captaincy. About five-and-forty ships came annually for sugar and brazil-wood.

S. Vicente likewise flourished. This Captaincy was situated sufficiently far to the south to admit of the cultivation of wheat and barley. It might also produce wine. Espirito Santo and other portions of Brazil did not fare so well as those above mentioned. The early settlers in the colony are said to have suffered much from the jiggers and other insects of the country, and it was only with time that they learned the remedies which the natives were accustomed to apply to the attacks of these tormentors. The fleets which had formerly been sent out each year with a reinforcement of young settlers now no longer arrived; and, wholesome as the air of Brazil for the most part is, it proved hurtful to many Europeans. The admixture, too, of the three different races, European, Brazilian, and Negro, was said to have generated certain new diseases, or at least new constitutions, in which old diseases took a new form. Complaints of the liver were prevalent, as were those of the eye. But on the whole it was said that in no instance have Europeans suffered so little by transplantation from their own country into one of a very different climate as did the Portuguese in Brazil. It may be remarked, however, that the term Brazil is a very wide word indeed, comprising as that empire does a space equal to about two-thirds of Europe, and that there are probably far greater variations of climate between its northern and its southern portions, as well as between its highlands and lowlands, than exist between the climate of Lisbon and that of its southern provinces. As to the moral quality of the early settlers, seeing that they comprised a considerable portion of the banished criminal population of the mother country, it is not surprising that the average of crime should for some time have been greater in the colony than in Portugal. The energy of the race, however, at this its heroic period, found ample scope, and as years rolled on the resources of the magnificent territory which had fallen under the Portuguese sceptre were gradually unfolded.

It was long before the French could be persuaded to give up the hope of establishing themselves somewhere in Brazil. They made the Paraïba their favourite port of trade, where they allied themselves with some savage neighbouring tribes, and caused such trouble to the Portuguese that they themselves resolved to establish fortified settlements on the above-named river. The governor of San Salvador deputed this task to Flores de Valdes, who had been sent by Philip II. of Spain, with a fleet of twenty-three vessels, to secure the Straits of Magellan when Drake had alarmed him for the safety of his possessions on the Pacific. Valdes had been foiled in his attempts to reach the Straits, and had been driven back to Bahia with only six ships. With these and two others he sailed to Pernambuco. There were four French vessels in the Paraïba. The French themselves, however, set fire to them, and then joined the savages on shore. The Spanish and Portuguese troops landed without opposition and constructed a fortress; but its commander could not long maintain it against the Pitagoares, and made a hasty retreat to Itamaraca. It was, however, again recovered by means of a fresh reinforcement from Pernambuco.

The name of England is at this period for the first time brought into prominent notice in connection with Brazil, which, being a colony of a country now under the Spanish crown, was subject to the warlike operations of the enemies of Spain. In 1582 an English expedition, destined for the East, and commanded by Admiral Fenton, reached the coast of Brazil and anchored off San Vicente, where an English vessel had previously come to trade. Indeed a trade had some time since sprung up between Plymouth and Southern Brazil, the first merchant navigator mentioned being the father of Sir John Hawkins, who made two voyages, in 1530 and 1532, respectively. The expedition under Fenton merely called for peaceful objects, and did not commit any act of hostility; but the proceedings of Drake had already drawn down the hatred of all Spaniards on his countrymen; and Flores, having been informed of the presence of English vessels at San Vicente, made for that place and prepared to attack them. The action began in the evening and was fought by moonlight. One of the Spanish ships was sunk, and in the course of the following day the English vessels put to sea. It is recorded to the credit of their humane commander that he refrained from sinking another of the Spanish vessels, not wishing to cause a needless loss of life.

Four years later another English expedition sailed for the South Sea, but of a less pacific nature. Lord Cumberland was at its head, but Withrington was in active command, and of two privateers which accompanied it, one had been fitted out by Raleigh. From information which they obtained from Portuguese vessels which they had captured, they resolved to attack San Salvador, and accordingly made for Bahia. The safety of that place is said to have been due to the presence of converted Indians, who had been gathered together there, and who constituted a formidable force of archers; but the English remained six weeks in the bay, doing much damage to the neighbouring country.

The next English privateer of whom we read in connection with Brazil is Cavendish, who sent two of his vessels to attack the town of Santos. The inhabitants were surprised at mass, and the one man who resisted was slain, the rest being detained prisoners in church. They contrived to escape, however, at night, and took good care to make away with all their portable property; so that when Cavendish arrived some days later he found neither inhabitants nor provisions. The result was that after remaining several weeks the fleet had to depart worse provisioned than when it had arrived. The next exploit of Cavendish was to burn San Vicente on his way to the Straits, which, however, he failed to pass. His ships being dispersed in a storm, he put back alone to the coast of Brazil, and landed twenty-five men near Santos, with instructions to seize provisions and return forthwith. But of this party not a man returned. They were seized by the natives, and only two were spared to be carried prisoners to Santos.

Cavendish was now joined by another vessel of his squadron, and made for Espirito Santo. It not being deemed prudent for the ships to attempt to cross the bar, a party of eighty men were sent over it in boats, the orders of their commander, Captain Morgan, being to discover a good landing-place near the town. Disobeying the positive commands of his superior, he landed with a number of his men, with the result that he was himself killed, together with a large proportion of his force, upon which Cavendish left the coast of Brazil in despair, and died, it is said, of grief on his homeward voyage.

The next English expedition to Brazil was better designed. Three ships, the largest of them being of about two hundred and forty tons, were fitted out by certain citizens of London, and sailed under the command of James Lancaster, who was well acquainted with the Portuguese, having lived amongst them. Pernambuco was his point of attack, and for this purpose he secured two Frenchmen as interpreters in the language of the neighbouring natives. One of his vessels, commanded by Barker, had to put back to refit, but this officer rejoined him off Cape Blanco, having already captured four-and-twenty Spanish and Portuguese sail. They then made for Pernambuco, and on the way fell in with another English squadron under Captain Venner, consisting of four vessels. Venner readily agreed to assist Lancaster in securing a rich prize from a ship from India which had been wrecked near Olinda, at the port of which place her cargo was stowed. Venner was to receive a fourth of the value of the prize.

They arrived off Recife towards the end of March, 1595, where they discovered three large Dutch ships lying at the entrance. Lancaster manned five of his prizes, with orders to board the Dutch vessels should they offer opposition. His men were embarked in boats, and he himself took command of the galley, rowed by eighty of his ship’s company. This happened at night, and when morning came they found that the boats had drifted half a mile to the north. It was now ebb-tide, and they were forced to remain off the port in full sight of the place; but they had the satisfaction of seeing the Dutch vessels move away from the entrance. About noon, Lancaster received a message from the governor, requesting to know his object. The reply, given in curt seaman’s terms, was that he wanted the Indian prize, and that he meant to have it. On this declaration the Portuguese manned the small work at the mouth of the harbour and collected their entire force of six hundred men. At two o’clock the tide turned, when Lancaster led the way, running his boat on shore immediately under the battery, the other boat’s crew following his example. The place was then gallantly stormed; upon which Lancaster made signal for his ships to enter the harbour. He left a garrison in the fort and planted its guns against Olinda; after this he marched on Recife, which place he found abandoned, and where he obtained the sought-for prize.

The admiral now displayed much prudence. As his booty could not readily be removed, he put the Isthmus of Recife in a state of defence. This done, he opened communication with the Dutch vessels, which he chartered to take cargoes to England. He likewise obtained assistance from some French vessels which soon afterwards arrived, and to which he parted with valuable stores that were in excess of his own requirements. He obstinately refused to enter into parley with the authorities of Olinda, going on board ship when their envoys came to seek him. Meanwhile the work of lading went on; and in repulsing an attack which was made upon his force he was so fortunate as to secure some small carts, which were invaluable for transporting his spoil. He likewise captured a Portuguese ship with forty hands, whom he employed to relieve his own men in the work of carrying.

The Portuguese, however, were not idle meanwhile. During three weeks they made repeated attacks on the English, who were always compelled to fight for their supply of water. They next set five small vessels on fire, and let them float down the stream; but for this attempt Lancaster was prepared, and the fire-ships were stopped by grappling-irons and chains. A week later, at midnight, three blazing rafts came down the stream, having long poles attached to their sides to prevent their being grappled, and likewise having sparkling fireworks. The English, however, laid wet cloths on their powder, flasks, and oars, and, seeing the necessity of stopping them at all hazards, succeeded in doing so. The attempts of the Portuguese to cut the cables of the enemy’s ships were likewise baffled. Whilst they were preparing a third attempt to fire the ships, Lancaster, having now got his booty on board, was ready to depart. On the day of departure, however, in consequence of the state of the tide, it was necessary to delay till the evening; and in the attempt to destroy a battery which was being prepared by the Portuguese, some three hundred French and English were led into an ambuscade, losing thirty-five of their number, amongst them the vice-admiral, Barker. The same evening eleven richly-laden vessels set sail, and all safely reached their destination.

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So well had Nobrega’s system been followed by his successors that, in the course of half a century, all the natives along the coast of Brazil, where Portuguese settlements extended, were collected in villages under their superintendence; whilst, on the other hand, so successfully had the slave-hunters practised their arts in setting one tribe of natives against another that the number of the latter was very greatly reduced. It thus happened that both missionaries and slave-hunters had now to penetrate much farther into the interior than heretofore, in search either of converts or of captives; and in this way fresh portions of the vast territory were from time to time discovered. About the year 1594, Rifault, a French adventurer, who had previously visited the coast of Brazil, returned to that country with three vessels, one of which he lost near Maranham, on which island he took refuge. Having returned to Europe, his people were now headed by the Sieur des Vaux, who persuaded the islanders to own the rule of the French. With this concession he too returned to France, and submitted to Henri IV. a project for taking possession of the considerable island of Maranham. The king listened with satisfaction, and sent back Des Vaux, accompanied by a commissioner of rank, by whose report he was to be guided; but before the report could be made Henri had been assassinated.