On the coaft are three small islands, where fhips touch for provifions in their voyage to the South Seas, viz. Fernando, St. Barbara, and St. Catherine's.

SEAS, BAYS, HARBOURS,

AND CAPES.

The Atlantic Ocean washes the coaft of

}Brafil on the north-eaft and eaft, upwards

of 3000 miles, forming several fine bays and harbours: as the harbours of Pernambuco, All Saints, Porto Seguro, the port and harbour of Rio Janeiro, the port of St. Vincent, the harbour of St. Gabriel, and the port of St. Salvador, on the north fhore of La Plata.

The principal capes are Cape Roque, Cape St. Auguftine, Cape Trio, and Cape St. Mary, the moft foutherly promontory of Brafil.

FACE OF THE COUNTRY, AIR, this country, because it was observed The name of Brafil was given to

CLIMATE AND RIVERS.

to abound with a wood of that name. To the northward of Brafil, which lies almoft under the equator, the climate is hot, boifterous, and unwholefome, fubject to great rains and variable winds, particularly in the months of March and September, when they have fuch deluges of rain, with ftorms and tornadoes, that the country is overflowed. But to the fouthward, beyond the tropic of Capricorn, there is no part of the world that enjoys a more ferene and wholesome air, refreshed with the foft breezes of the ocean on one hand, and the cool breath of the mountains on the other. The land near the coaft is in general rather low than high, but exceedingly pleafant, it being interfperfed with meadows and woods; but on the weit, far within land, are mountains from whence iffue many noble streams, that fall into the great rivers Amazon and La Plata; others running across the country from eaft to weft till they fall into the Atlantic Ocean, after meliorating the lands which they annually overflow, and turning the fugar-mills belonging to the Portuguefe. SOIL AND PRODUCE.] In general the foil is extremely fruitful, producing fugar, which, being clayed, is whiter and finer than our mufcovado, as we call our unrefined fugar; alfo tobacco, hides, indigo, ipecacuanha, balfam of Copaiba, Brafil wood, which is of a red colour, hard and dry, and is chiefly used in dyeing, but not the red of the beft kind; it has likewife fome place in medicine, as a ftomachic and reftringent.

The animals here are the fame as in Peru and Mexico. The produce

of the foil was found very fufficient for fubfifting the inhabitants until the mines of gold and diamonds were discovered: thefe, with the fugar plantations, occupy fo many hands, that agriculture lies neglected, and, in confequence, Brafil depends upon Europe for its daily food.

AND CUSTOMS.

INHABITANTS, MANNERS, Į The portrait given us of the manners and cuftoms of the Portuguese in America, by the moft judicious travellers, 'is very far from being favourable. They are described as a people, who, while funk in the most effeminate luxury, practise the most desperate crimes; of a temper hypocritical and diffembling; of little fincerity in converfation, or honefty in dealing; lazy, proud, and cruel; in their diet penurious; for, like the inhabitants of moft fouthern climates, they are much more fond of fhow, ftate, and attendance, than of the pleafures of free fociety, and of a good table; yet their feafts, which are.feldom made, are fumptuous to extravagance. When they appear abroad, they cause themselves to be carried out in a kind of cotton hammocks, called ferpentines, which are borne on the negroes' fhoulders, by the help of a bamboo about twelve or fourteen feet long. Moft of these hammocks are blue, and adorned with fringes of the fame colour: they have a velvet pillow, and above the head a kind of tefter, with curtains; fo that the perfon car. ried cannot be seen, unless he pleases; but may either lie down, or fit up leaning on his pillow. When he has a mind to be feen, he pulls the curtain afide, and falutes his acquaintance whom he meets in the streets; for they take a pride in complimenting each other in their hammocks, and even hold long conferences in them in the ftreets; but then the two flaves who carry them make use of a strong well made staff, with an iron fork at the upper end, and pointed below with iron: this they ftick faft in the ground, and reft the bamboo, to which the hammock is fixed, on two of these, till their matter's business or compliment is over. Scarcely any man of fashion, or any lady, will pass the streets without being carried in this manner.

TRADE AND CHIEF TOWNS.] The trade of Portugal is carried on upon the fame exclufive plan on which the feveral nations of Europe trade with their colonies of America; and it more particularly resembles the Spanish method, in not fending out fingle fhips, as the convenience of the feveral places, and the judgment of the European merchants, may direct; but by annual fleets, which fail at fated times from Portugal, and compofe three flotas, bound to as many ports in Brafil; namely, to Pernambuco, in the northern part; to Rio Janeiro, at the fouthern extremity; and to the Bay of All Saints, in the middle.

In this laft is the capital, which is called St. Salvador, and fometimes the city of Bahia, where all the fleets rendezvous on their return to Portugal. This city commands a noble, fpacious, and commodious harbour. It is built upon a high and fteep rock, having the fea upon one fide, and a lake, forming a crefcent, investing it almott wholly, fo as nearly to join the fea, on the other. The fituation makes it in a manner impregnable by nature; and they have befides added to it very strong fortifications. It is populous, magnificent, and, beyond comparison, the moft gay and opulent city in all Brafil.

The trade of Brafil is very great, and increases every year; which is the lefs furprifing, as the Portuguese have opportunities of fupplying themfelves with flaves for their feveral works at a much cheaper rate than any other European power that has fettlements in America; they. being the only European nation that has eftablished colonies in Africa, whence they import between forty and fifty thousand negroes annually,

all of which go into the amount of the cargo of the Brafil fleets for Europe. Of the diamonds there is fuppofed to be returned to Europe to the amount of 130,000l. This, with the fugar, the tobacco, the hides, and the valuable drugs for medicine and manufactures, may give fome idea of the importance of this trade, not only to Portugal, but to all the trading powers of Europe.

The chief commodities that European fhips carry thither in return, are not the fiftieth part of the produce of Portugal; they confift of woollen goods of all kinds from England, France, and Holland; the linen and laces of Holland, France, and Germany; the filks of France and Italy; filk and thread ftockings, hats, lead, tin, pewter, iron, copper, and all forts of utenfils wrought in thefe metals, from England; as well as falt fish, beef, flour, and cheefe; oil they have from Spain; wine, with fome fruit, is nearly all they are fupplied with from Portugal. England is at prefent moft interested in the trade of Portugal, both for home confumption and what they want for the ufe of the Brafils.

Brafil is a very wealthy and flourishing fettlement. Their export of fugar within forty years is grown much greater than it was, though anciently it made almoft the whole of their esportable produce, and they were without rivals in the trade. Their tobacco is remarkably good, though not raised in fuch large quantities as in the United States. The northern and fouthern parts of Brafil abound with horned cattle: thefe are hunted for their hides only, of which no less than twenty thoufand are fent annually to Europe.

The Portuguese had been long in poffeffion of Brafil before they difcovered the treafures of gold and diamonds which have fince made it fo confiderable. Their fleets rendezvous in the Bay of All Saints, to the amount of one hundred fail of large fhips, in the month of May or June, and carry to Europe a cargo little inferior in value to the treasures of the Spanish flota and galleons. The gold alone, great part of which is coined in America, amounts to near four millions sterling; but part of this is brought from their colonies in Africa, together with ebony and ivory.

HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT.] This country was first discovered by Americus Vefpuccio, in 1498; but the Portuguese did not plant it till 1549, when they fixed themselves at the Bay of All Saints, and founded the city of St. Salvador. They met with fome interruption at first from the court of Spain, who confidered the whole continent of South America as belonging to them. However, the affair was at length made up by treaty; and it was agreed that the Portuguese fhould poffefs all the country lying between the two great rivers Amazon and Plata; which they fill enjoy. The French alio made fome attempts to plant colonies on this coaft, but were driven from thence by the Portaguefe, who remained without a rival till the year 1580, when, in the very meridian of profperity, they were ftruck by one of thofe blows which generally decide the fate of kingdoms: Don Sebaftian, the king of Portugal, lott his life in an expedition againft the Moors in Africa; and by that event the Portuguese lott their independence, being abforbed into the Sparith dominions.

The Dutch, foon after this, having thrown off the Spanish yoke, and being not fatisfied with fupporting their independence by a fuccessful defenfive war, being fluffed with the juvenile ardour of a growing commonwealth, purfued the Spaniards into the remoteft receffes of their extenfive territories, and grew rich, powerful, and terrible, by the fpoils of their former matters. They particularly attacked the poffef

fions of the Portuguese; they took almost all their fortreffes in the Eaft Indies, and then turned their arms upon Brafil, where they took seven of the captainfhips, or provinces; and would have fubdued the whole colony, had not their career been topped by the archbishop, at the head of his monks, and a few scattered forces. The Dutch were, about the year 1654, entirely driven out of Brafil; but their Weft India company ftill continuing their pretenfions to this country, and haraffing the Portuguese at fea, the latter agreed, in 1661, to pay the Dutch eight tons of gold, to relinquith their intereft in that country; which was accepted: and the Portuguese have remained in peaceable poffeffion of all Brafil from that time, till about the end of the year 1762, when the Spanish governor of Buenos Ayres, hearing of a war between Portugal and Spain, took, after a month's fiege, the Portuguese frontier fortress called St. Sacrament; but, by the treaty of peace, it was restored.

FRENCH AMERICA.

THE poffeffions of the French on the continent of America are at pre

fent inconfiderable. They were matters of Canada and Louisiana; but they have now loft all footing in North America; though on the fouthern continent they have still a fettlement, which is called

CAYENNE, or EQUINOXIAL FRANCE.

IT is fituated between the equator and fifth degree of north latitude,

and between the fiftieth and fifty-fifth of weft longitude. It extends two hundred and forty miles along the coaft of Guiana, and near three hundred miles within land; bounded by Surinam, on the north; by the Atlantic Ocean, eaft; by Amazonia, fouth; and by Guiana, weft. The chief town is Caen. All the coaft is very low, but within land there are fine hills very proper for fettlements: the French have, however, not yet extended them fo far as they might; but they raise the fame commodities which they have from the West India iflands, and in no inconfiderable quantity. They have alfo taken poffeffion of the ifland of Cayenne, on this coaft, at the mouth of the river of that name which is about forty-five miles in circumference. The island is very unhealthy: but, having fome good harbours, the French have here fome fettlements, which raise fugar and coffee.

FRENCH ISLANDS IN AMERICA.

THE French were among the laft nations who made fettlements in the

Weft Indies; but they made ample amends by the vigour with which they pursued them, and by that chain of judicious and admirable meafures which they used in drawing from them every advantage that the nature of the climate would yield; and in contending against the difficulties which it threw in their way.

ST. DOMINGO, or HISPANIOLA.] This ifland was at firft pof

feffed by the Spaniards alone; but by far the moft confiderable part has been long in the hands of the French, to whom the Spanish part was likewife ceded by the treaty of peace between the two nations in 1795. It must now, therefore, be confidered as a French ifland.

It is fituated between the feventeenth and twenty-firft deg. north. lat. and the fixty-feventh and seventy-fourth of wett long. lying in the middle between Cuba and Porto Rico, and is 450 miles long, and 150 broad. When Hifpaniola was first discoved by Columbus, the number of its inhabitants was computed to be at least a million. But fuch was the cruelty of the Spaniards, and to fo infamous a height did they carry their oppreffion of the poor natives, that they were reduced to fixty thousand in the space of fifteen years. The face of the inland prefents an agreeable variety of hills, valleys, woods, and rivers; and the foil is allowed to be extremely fertile, producing fugar, cotton, indigo, tobacco, maize, and caffava root. The European cattle are fo multiplied here, that they run wild in the woods, and, as in South America, are hunted for their hides and tallow only. In the most barren parts of the rocks they dif covered formerly filver and gold. The mines, however, are not worked now. The north-weft parts, which were in the poffeffion of the French, confift of large fruitful plains, which produce the articles already mentioned in vait abundance. This indeed is the beft and moft fruitful part of the best and most fertile island in the West Indies, and perhaps in the world.

The population of this island was estimated, in 1788, at 27.717 white people; 21,808 free people of colour; and 405,528 flaves. Its trade employed 580 large fhips, carrying 189,679 tons, in which the imports amounted to twelve millions of dollars, of which more than eight millions were in manufactured goods of France, and the other four millions in French produce. The Spanifh fhips exported, in French goods or money, 1,400,000 dollars, for mules imported by them into the colony; ninety-eight French fhips, carrying 40,130 tons, imported 26,506 negroes, who fold for eight millions of dollars.

The most ancient town in this ifland, and in all the New World, built by Europeans, is St. Domingo. It was founded by Bartholomew Columbus, brother to the Admiral, in 1504, who gave it that name in honour of his father Dominic, and by which the whole ifland is named, especially by the French. It is fituated on a fpacious harbour, and is a large welt-built city, inhabited, like the other Spanish towns, by a mixture of Europeans, Creoles, Mulattoes, Meftizos, and Negroes.

The French towns are, Cape François, the capital, which is neither walled nor paled in, and is faid to have only two batteries, one at the entrance of the harbour, and the other before the town. Before its destruction in 1793, it contained about eight thousand inhabitants, whites, people of colour, and flaves. It is the governor's refidence in time of war, as Port-au-Prince is in time of peace. The Mole, though inferior to these in other refpects, is the first port in the island for fafety in time of war, being by nature and art ftrongly fortified. The other towns and ports of any note are, Fort Dauphin, St. Mark, Leogane, Petit Goave, Jeremie, Les Cayes, St. Louis, and Jacmel.

In the night between the 22d and 23d of August, 1791, a moft alarming infurrection of the negroes began on the French plantations upon this ifland. A fcene of the moft horrid cruelties enfùed. In a little time no lefs than one hundred thousand negroes were in rebellion, and all the manufactories and plantations of more than half the northeru