SLAVERY.

THE general equity of the laws regarding free persons of colour in the Portugueze South American possessions, has been to a certain degree extended to that portion of the population which is in a state of slavery; and the lives of the slaves of Brazil have been rendered less hard and less intolerable than those of the degraded beings who drag on their cheerless existence under the dominion of other nations. The Brazilian slave is taught the religion of his master, and hopes are held out of manumission from his own exertions; but still he is a slave, and must be guided by another man’s will; and this feeling alone takes away much of the pleasure which would be felt from the faithful discharge of his duty, if it was voluntarily performed. The consciousness that if the directions were not willingly attended to, the arbitrary will of the master would enforce their performance, removes much of the desire to please; obedience to a command is not required with any idea that refusal can possibly ensue, and therefore no merit is attached to its accomplishment by him whose orders are obeyed; nor does the slave feel that he is doing in any degree more than would be enforced if he had made any doubts. The world has heard so much, and from so many quarters, of the enormities which have been committed by slave-owners in the colonies with which England has had any communication; both from her own possessions, and from those of other nations, that no doubts can be entertained of their existence. That such evil deeds are of frequent occurrence, I would not wish to suppose, though that they are dreadfully too frequent is well known; I had rather not be persuaded that man in so depraved a state is often to be met with;—that many civilized beings should have made such rapid returns to barbarism. I have to say, that in Brazil too, such instances of barbarity are spoken of—that they do exist; they are, however, of rare occurrence, they are seldom heard of, and are always mentioned with abhorrence; but it is enough that instances should be recorded, of the abuse of this absolute power of one man over another; it is enough that this absolute power itself should be allowed to continue, to render the system upon which it is founded an evil of such great importance, as to sanction all exertions for its removal, as to make any government overlook many inconveniences rather than increase the numbers of those human beings who suffer this dreadful degradation.

The Indian slavery has been for many years abolished in Brazil, and the individuals who are now in bondage in that country are Africans, and their descendants on both sides, or individuals whose mothers are of African origin; and no line is drawn at which the near approach to the colour and blood of the whites entitles the child, whose mother is a slave, to freedom. I have seen several persons who were to all appearance of white origin, still doomed to slavery.

Slaves, however, in Brazil, have many advantages over their brethren in the British colonies. The numerous holidays of which the Catholic religion enjoins the observance[213], give to the slave many days of rest or time to work for his own profit; thirty-five of these, and the Sundays besides, allow him to employ much of his time as he pleases. Few masters are inclined to restrain the right of their slaves to dispose of these days as they think fit, or at any rate few dare, whatever their inclinations may be, to brave public opinion in depriving them of the intervals from work which the law has set apart as their own, that their lives may be rendered less irksome. The time which is thus afforded enables the slave, who is so inclined, to accumulate a sum of money; however this is by law his master’s property, from the incapability under which a slave labours of possessing any thing which he can by right call his own. But I believe there is no instance on record in which a master attempted to deprive his slave of these hard-earned gains. The slave can oblige his master to manumit him, on tendering to him the sum for which he was first purchased, or the price for which he might be sold, if that price is higher than what the slave was worth at the time he was first bought[214]. This regulation, like every one that is framed in favour of slaves, is liable to be evaded, and the master sometimes does refuse to manumit a valuable slave; and no appeal is made by the sufferer, owing to the state of law in that country, which renders it almost impossible for the slave to gain a hearing; and likewise this acquiescence in the injustice of the master proceeds from the dread, that if he was not to succeed he would be punished, and that his life might be rendered more miserable than it was before[215]. Consequently a great deal depends upon the inclinations of the master, who will however be very careful in refusing to manumit, owing to the well-known opinion of every priest in favour of this regulation, to the feelings of the individuals of his own class in society, and to those of the lower orders of people, and likewise he will be afraid of losing his slave; he may escape with his money, and the master will then run much risk of never seeing him again, particularly if the individual is a creole slave[216]. In general therefore no doubts are urged, when application is made for manumission by a slave to his master; who is indeed oftentimes prepared for it by the habits of industry and regularity of his slave, and by common report among the other slaves and free persons upon the estate, that the individual in question is scraping together a sum of money for this purpose. The master might indeed deprive the slave of the fruits of his own labour, but this is never thought of, because the slave preserves his money in a secret place, or has entrusted it to some person upon whom he can depend, and would suffer any punishment rather than disclose the spot in which his wealth lies concealed. A still more forcible reason than any other, for the forbearance of the master, is to be found in the dread of acting against public opinion; in the shame which would follow the commission of such an act; and perhaps the natural goodness which exists in almost every human being, would make him shun such gross injustice, would make him avoid such a deed of baseness.

A slave is often permitted by his owner to seek a master more to his liking; for this purpose a note is given, declaring that the bearer has leave to enter into the service of any one, upon the price which the master demands being paid by the purchaser. With this the slave applies to any individual of property whom he may wish to serve; owing to having heard a good report of his character towards his slaves, or from any other cause. This is a frequent practice, and at least admits the possibility of escape from a severe state of bondage to one that is less irksome.

A considerable number of slaves are manumitted at the death of their masters, and indeed some persons of large property fail not to set at liberty a few of them during their own life-time. A deed of manumission, however simply it may be drawn out, cannot be set aside; a register of these papers is preserved at the office of every notary-public, by which any distress which might be occasioned by the loss of the originals is provided against, for the copy of course holds good in law. A slave who has brought into the world, and has reared ten children, ought to be free, for so the law ordains; but this regulation is generally evaded; and besides, the number of children is too great for many women to be enabled to be benefited by it[217]. The price of a new-born child is 5l. (20,000 mil-reis,) and the master is obliged to manumit the infant at the baptismal font, on the sum being presented. In this manner a considerable number of persons are set at liberty, for the smallness of the price enables many freemen who have had connections with female slaves to manumit their offspring; and instances occur of the sponsors performing this most laudable act. Not unfrequently female slaves apply to persons of consideration to become sponsors to their children, in the hopes that the pride of these will be too great to allow of their god-child remaining in slavery[218]. Thus by their own exertions, by the favour of their masters, and by other means, the individuals who gain their freedom annually are very numerous.

The comforts of slaves in different situations are widely disproportionate; whilst some are doomed to an existence of excessive toil and misery, from the nature of their occupations and the characters of their masters, others lead a comparatively easy life. It is true, that in countries of which the workmen are free, the daily labour is unequally divided, but their wages are proportioned accordingly, and as each man is a free agent he seeks that employment to which his bodily and mental powers are befitted. The slave is purchased for a certain purpose, and is to follow the line of life which his master has chalked out for him; he is not to be occupied in that which he would himself prefer, or at any rate his wishes are not consulted upon the subject. The price for which a slave is to be obtained, and the convenience of the purchaser are oftener consulted than the fitness of his bodily strength to the labour which it is his lot to be ordered to perform. Besides the obligation of following an unsuitable trade, or at any rate of following one which he has not chosen, he has to endure the still incomparably greater grievance of bearing with a tyrannical, an inconsiderate, or a peevish master, whose commands are not to be called in question, whose will is absolute, and from whom the possibility of appeal is far removed, and that of redress placed at a still greater distance. Masters are punished by the payment of fines, for cruelty to their slaves, if any account of such behaviour should reach the ear of the Ouvidor of the province; but I never heard of punishment having been carried farther than this trifling manner of correction. The emoluments which proceed from this mode of chastising the offenders weigh heavily in its favour; the injury which the slave has received is not, I am afraid, the only cause which urges the exaction of the stipulated penalty; of this the slave does not receive any part.

All slaves in Brazil follow the religion of their masters[219]; and notwithstanding the impure state in which the Christian church exists in that country, still such are the beneficent effects of the Christian religion, that these, its adopted children, are improved by it to an infinite degree; and the slave who attends to the strict observance of religious ceremonies invariably proves to be a good servant. The Africans who are imported from Angola are baptized in lots before they leave their own shores, and on their arrival in Brazil they are to learn the doctrines of the church, and the duties of the religion into which they have entered. These bear the mark of the royal crown upon their breasts, which denotes that they have undergone the ceremony of baptism, and likewise that the king’s duty has been paid upon them[220]. The slaves which are imported from other parts of the coast of Africa, arrive in Brazil unbaptized, and before the ceremony of making them Christians can be performed upon them, they must be taught certain prayers, for the acquirement of which one year is allowed to the master, before he is obliged to present the slave at the parish church. This law is not always strictly adhered to as to time, but it is never evaded altogether. The religion of the master teaches him that it would be extremely sinful to allow his slave to remain a heathen; and indeed the Portugueze and Brazilians have too much religious feeling to let them neglect any of the ordinances of their church. The slave himself likewise wishes to be made a Christian, for his fellow-bondmen will in every squabble or trifling disagreement with him, close their string of opprobrious epithets with the name of pagam (pagan.) The unbaptized negro feels that he is considered as an inferior being, and although he may not be aware of the value which the whites place upon baptism, still he knows that the stigma for which he is upbraided will be removed by it; and therefore he is desirous of being made equal to his companions. The Africans who have been long imported, imbibe a Catholic feeling, and appear to forget that they were once in the same situation themselves. The slaves are not asked whether they will be baptized or not; their entrance into the Catholic church is treated as a thing of course; and indeed they are not considered as members of society, but rather as brute animals, until they can lawfully go to mass, confess their sins, and receive the sacrament.

The slaves have their religious brotherhoods as well as the free persons; and the ambition of a slave very generally aims at being admitted into one of these, and at being made one of the officers and directors of the concerns of the brotherhood; even some of the money which the industrious slave is collecting for the purpose of purchasing his freedom will oftentimes be brought out of its concealment for the decoration of a saint, that the donor may become of importance in the society to which he belongs. The negroes have one invocation of the Virgin, (or I might almost say one virgin) which is peculiarly their own. Our Lady of the Rosary is even sometimes painted with a black face and hands. It is in this manner that the slaves are led to place their attention upon an object in which they soon take an interest, but from which no injury can proceed towards themselves, nor can any through its means be by them inflicted upon their masters. Their ideas are removed from any thought of the customs of their own country, and are guided into a channel of a totally different nature, and completely unconnected with what is practised there. The election of a King of Congo (which I have mentioned in chapter 13,) by the individuals who come from that part of Africa, seems indeed as if it would give them a bias towards the customs of their native soil; but the Brazilian Kings of Congo worship Our Lady of the Rosary, and are dressed in the dress of white men; they and their subjects dance, it is true, after the manner of their country; but to these festivals are admitted African negroes of other nations, creole blacks, and mulattos, all of whom dance after the same manner; and these dances are now as much the national dances of Brazil as they are of Africa. The Portugueze language is spoken by all the slaves, and their own dialects are allowed to lay dormant until they are by many of them quite forgotten. No compulsion is resorted to to make them embrace the habits of their masters, but their ideas are insensibly led to imitate and adopt them. The masters at the same time imbibe some of the customs of their slaves, and thus the superior and his dependant are brought nearer to each other. I doubt not that the system of baptizing the newly-imported negroes, proceeded rather from the bigotry of the Portugueze in former times than from any political plan; but it has had the most beneficial effects. The slaves are rendered more tractable; besides being better men and women, they become more obedient servants; they are brought under the controul of the priesthood, and even if this was the only additional hold which was gained by their entrance into the church, it is a great engine of power which is thus brought into action.

But in no circumstance has the introduction of the Christian religion among the slaves been of more service than in the change which it has wrought in the men regarding the treatment of their women, and in the conduct of the females themselves. A writer of great reputation on West-Indian affairs, states that the introduction of the marriage ceremony among the slaves of the colonies of which he treats “would be utterly impracticable to any good purpose;” and again, that he who conceives that a remedy may be found for polygamy “by introducing among them the laws of marriage, as established in Europe, is utterly ignorant of their manners, propensities, and superstitions[221].” Is it not that by the masters these things are considered to be of little importance, and therefore unworthy of much trouble? As long as the work is done, little else is thought of. Where the interest of the master is concerned, the “manners, propensities, and superstitions” will soon be overcome. I hope that at the present day such opinions do not generally exist. All men in the same state of barbarism treat their women in the same manner; the evil lies not with the race of beings, but in the dreadful situation to which this one is reduced. Why, therefore, not attempt to improve and to benefit the individuals of which it is composed?

The slaves of Brazil are regularly married according to the forms of the Catholic church; the banns are published in the same manner as those of free persons; and I have seen many happy couples (as happy at least as slaves can be) with large families of children rising around them. The masters encourage marriages among their slaves, for it is from these lawful connections that they can expect to increase the number of their creoles. A slave cannot marry without the consent of his master, for the vicar will not publish the banns of marriage without this sanction. It is likewise permitted that slaves should marry free persons; if the woman is in bondage, the children remain in the same state, but if the man is a slave, and she is free, their offspring is also free. A slave cannot be married until the requisite prayers have been learnt, the nature of confession be understood, and the Sacrament can be received. Upon the estates the master or manager is soon made acquainted with the predilections of the slaves for each other, and these being discovered, marriage is forthwith determined upon, and the irregular proceedings are made lawful. In towns there is more licentiousness among the negroes, as there is among all other classes of men[222]. The passion of love is supposed only to exist in a certain state of civilization, and this may be granted without at the same time declaring that negroes are incapable of lasting attachment, without supposing that the regard of each sex is mere animal desire, unconnected with predilection. That species of affection which is heightened until personal possession is almost forgotten, doubtless is not felt by human beings who are in a state of barbarism; but still a negro may be attached, he may fix upon one object in preference to all others. That this is the case, I can vouch; I have known and have heard of many instances in which punishments and other dangers have been braved to visit a chosen one; in which journies by night have been made after a day of fatigue; in which great constancy has been shewn, and a determination that the feelings of the heart shall not be controuled.[223]

The great proportion of men upon many of the estates, produces, of necessity, most mischievous consequences. A supply is requisite to keep up the number of labourers. The women are more liable to misconduct[224], and the men imbibe unsettled habits; but if an adequate number of females are placed upon the estate, and the slaves are trained and taught in the manner which is practised upon well-regulated plantations, the negroes will be as correct in their behaviour, as any other body of men; and perhaps their conduct may be less faulty than that of other descriptions of persons, who have less to occupy their time, though their education may be infinitely superior. That many men and many women will be licentious, has been and is still the lot of human nature, and not the peculiar fault of the much injured race of which I speak.

I shall now state the manner in which the Africans are transported from their own country to Brazil, and the disposal of them on their arrival in South America; the characters of the several African nations with which the ships are loaded; the condition of those who are employed in Recife,—upon the sugar plantations,—in the Mata or cotton estates,—and in the Sertam or cattle districts.

As the voyage from the coast of Africa to the opposite shores of South America is usually short, for the winds are subject to little variation and the weather is fine, the vessels which are employed in this traffic are generally speaking small, and are not of the best construction. The situation of captain or master of a slave ship is considered of secondary rank in the Portugueze merchant-service, and the persons who are usually so occupied are vastly inferior to the generality of the individuals who command the large and regular trading vessels between Europe and Brazil. The slave ships[225] were formerly crowded to a most shocking degree, nor was there any means of preventing this; but a law has been passed for the purpose of restricting the number of persons for each vessel. However, I more than suspect, that no attention is paid to this regulation,—that means are made use of to evade the law. On the arrival at Recife of a cargo of slaves, the rules of the port direct that these persons shall be disembarked and taken to St. Amaro, which is an airy spot, and sufficiently distant from the town to prevent the admittance of any infectious disorder, if any such should exist among the newly-imported negroes; and yet the place is at a convenient distance for the purchasers, St. Amaro being situated immediately opposite to Recife, upon the inland bank of the expanse of waters which is formed by the tide on the land side of the town. However, like many others, this excellent arrangement is not attended to, and even if the slaves are removed for a few days to St. Amaro, they are soon conveyed back to the town. Here they are placed in the streets before the doors of their owners, regardless of decency, of humanity, and of due attention to the general health of the town. The small pox, the yaws, and other complaints have thus frequent opportunities of spreading. It is probable, that if the climate was not so very excellent as it is, this practice would be discontinued, but if it was not put a stop to, and the country was subject to pestilential complaints, the town would not be habitable.

In the day-time some of the streets of Recife are in part lined with these miserable beings, who are lying or sitting promiscuously upon the foot-path, sometimes to the number of two or three hundred. The males wear a small piece of blue cloth round their waists, which is drawn between the legs and fastened behind; the females are allowed a larger piece of cloth, which is worn as a petticoat; and sometimes a second portion is given to them, for the purpose of covering the upper parts of the body. The stench which is created by these assemblages is almost intolerable to one who is unaccustomed to their vicinity; and the sight of them, good God, is horrid beyond any thing. These people do not however seem to feel their situation, any farther than that it is uncomfortable. Their food consists of salt meat, the flour of the mandioc, beans, and plantains occasionally; the victuals for each day are cooked in the middle of the street in an enormous caldron. At night they are driven into one or more warehouses, and a driver stands to count them as they pass; they are locked in, and the door is again opened at day-break on the following morning. The wish of these wretched creatures to escape from this state of inaction and discomfort is manifested upon the appearance of a purchaser; they start up willingly, to be placed in the row for the purpose of being viewed and handled like cattle, and on being chosen they give signs of much pleasure. I have had many opportunities of seeing slaves bought, for my particular friends at Recife lived opposite to slave-dealers. I never saw any demonstrations of grief at parting from each other; but I attribute this to the dread of punishment if there had been any flow of feeling, and to a resigned or rather despairing sensation which checks any shew of grief, and which has prepared them for the worst, by making them indifferent to whatever may occur; besides, it is not often that a family is brought over together,—the separation of relatives and friends has taken place in Africa. It is among the younger part of the assemblage of persons who are exposed for sale that pleasure is particularly visible at the change of situation, in being removed from the streets of the town; the negroes of more advanced age do whatever the driver desires, usually with an unchanged countenance. I am afraid that very little care is taken to prevent the separation of relations who may chance to come over in the same ship; and any consideration on this point lies entirely with the owner of the cargo[226]. A species of relationship exists between the individuals who have been imported in the same ship; they call each other malungos, and this term is much regarded among them. The purchaser gives to each of his newly-bought slaves a large piece of baize and a straw hat, and as soon as possible marches them off to his estate. I have often in travelling met with many parties going up to their new homes, and have observed that they were usually cheerful;—any thing is better than to sit at the door of the slave merchant in Recife. The new master too does every thing in his power to keep them in good humour at first, whatever his conduct may afterwards be towards them.

The slaves which are usually brought to Pernambuco are known under the names of Angola, Congo, Rebolo, Anjico, Gabam, and Mosambique. These last have only been imported of late years, owing, I rather imagine, to the difficulty with which slaves have been obtained on the western coast of Africa, caused by the vigilance of the British cruisers in that quarter, and the vexations to which some of the slave ships have been liable from detention, although they were ultimately suffered to proceed on their voyages.

The Angola negroes make the best slaves; many of them have been in bondage in their own country, and therefore to these the change is for the better. Some of them have even served the whites in the city of Loanda, which is the principal Portugueze settlement upon the coast of Africa. But others were free in Angola, and consequently to these is allotted a life of disappointment and vexation, whenever they remember their own country. The negroes from Angola are however usually tractable, and may be taught to perform the menial services of a house or stable without much pains being taken with them; and they often shew great attachment[227], fidelity, and honesty. The Angola negroes are those who most commonly exert themselves to purchase their own freedom. The Congo negroes partake much of the character of the Angolans, being equally tractable; but they are steadier, and are particularly adapted to the regular routine of field labour. They are less quick in their movements than the Angolans, and do not seem to be so spirited and courageous; they obtain in a short period a knowledge of the Portugueze language. The Rebolos can scarcely in person be distinguished from the two former, being stoutly made, and not tall; they have a black skin, but it is not shining, and the features are flat. They seem to be a branch of the Angolans and Congos, but they are more obstinate, and more subject to despond than the others. These three tribes appear to have belonged originally to the same nation, for many parts of their characters are similar, their persons are of the same mould, and the dialects of each sufficiently resemble each other to be understood by all the three.

The Anjico negroes shew many marks of being of another nation; they make good slaves if they are well treated, and are yet preserved under due controul. They are difficult to train, and bear a heavy yoke impatiently; there is in them much independence of character, if they dared to shew it; there is also much cunning, and the desire and capability of over-reaching. Their persons are tall and well formed, their skins are of a glossy black, their eyes are expressive, and their countenances plainly denote that it is not by their own will that they continue in slavery. They are not however numerous. Great neatness is shown by them in their household arrangements, and they often exert themselves to obtain money; but they are less careful and prudent than the nations of which I have already treated. All the Anjico negroes have three gashes on each cheek, which are cut in a circular form from the ear to the mouth.[228]

The Gabam or Gaboon negroes have not been very long introduced, and from the well known general character of the nation they are sold at a reduced price. I have heard many persons state that they are cannibals[229]. They appear to be in a still more savage state than any of the former-mentioned nations, and are much given to despondency and consequent suicide; indeed ten and even twenty that have been purchased together have, in some instances, in the course of a short period, all died from despair, or have put an end to their lives in a more summary manner. It is with difficulty that the Gaboons can be taught to perform any labour above that of the simplest description; and sometimes they remain for years unbaptized, from the great trouble which is required in making them articulate any sounds to which they have not been accustomed. Yet it is rather that they will not be taught, than that they cannot learn, for I have heard many planters say, that if a Gabam negro can be made cheerful, and is induced to take an interest in those persons who are around him and in his occupations, he becomes a most useful and intelligent slave. The Gabam negroes are tall and handsome, and their skins are very black and shining; the features of many of them are good, being much less flat and blunt than those of their countrymen in general.

The Mosambique negroes are a poor and ugly race of beings, languid and inactive, and subject to despondency. Their colour inclines to brown, but still they have completely the negro features. As the price of these slaves is much below that of any other description of negroes, some of the planters have taken them on trial, but they are said to have many of the bad qualities of the Gaboons without their hardiness.

A negro will sometimes tell his master that he is determined to die, and too often the effects of his resolve begin shortly afterwards to be perceived; he becomes thin, loses his appetite, and dies almost a skeleton. One of the means which it is very generally said that these miserable beings employ for the purpose of destroying themselves, is that of eating considerable quantities of lime and earth, which either produces emaciation or dropsy. But it is strange that a habit of eating lime and earth should be contracted in some instances by African and likewise by creole children, and as frequently by free children as by those who are in slavery. This practice is not treated as if it were a disorder, but it is accounted a habit, which, by attention from those who have the charge of the children—in watching and punishing them, may be conquered without the aid of medicine. I know of some instances in which no medical treatment was deemed necessary, but the individuals recovered by means of chastisement and constant vigilance. It is a subject upon which I was often led to converse, and I discovered that most of the free-born families were acquainted with the practice from experience among their own children or those of their neighbours, and that they always considered it as a habit and not as a disease. Among adults, however, slaves are infinitely more subject to it than free persons.[230]

Pernambuco has never experienced any serious revolt among the slaves; but at Bahia there have been several commotions[231]. I believe that Bahia contains fewer free people than Pernambuco in proportion to the number of slaves; but I cannot avoid attributing the quietude of the latter in some measure to the circumstance of few of the Gold Coast negroes being imported to it, whilst at Bahia the principal stock of slaves is from that part of Africa. It is by the Mina negroes in Bahia that the revolts have been made, and by the Koromanties in Jamaica, in 1760[232]. These are, I believe, the same people under different names, and they are represented as possessing great firmness of mind and body, and ferociousness of disposition.

The Obeah-men of the Columbian islands and the Mandingueiros of Brazil[233], are evidently, from their practices, the same description of persons. The religion which the Brazilian slaves are taught, has likewise a salutary effect upon this point, for it tends to lessen or entirely removes the faith which was previously entertained by the Africans respecting the incantations of their countrymen; the superstitions of their native land are replaced by others of a more harmless nature. The dreadful effects of faith in the Obeah-men which sometimes occur in the British colonies, are not experienced in Brazil from the Mandingueiros: belief in their powers is certainly not extinguished, and indeed even some of the creoles imbibe a notion of the efficacy of their spells, but the effects of these are not generally felt.

The slaves who are employed in Recife may be divided into two classes; household slaves, and those which pay a weekly stipend to their owners proceeding from the earnings of some employment which does not oblige them to be under the immediate eye of the master. The first class have little chance of gaining their freedom by their own exertions, and are subject to the caprice and whims of their superiors; but some few are manumitted by the kindness of those whom they have served, and the clothing and food which is afforded to them is generally better than that which the other class obtains. This second class consists of joiners, shoemakers, &c. canoe-men, porters, &c. and these men may acquire a sufficient sum of money to purchase their own freedom, if they have the requisite prudence and steadiness to allow their earnings to accumulate; but too often, the inducements to expend them foolishly are sufficiently powerful to make these people swerve from their purpose. They generally earn more each day than the master exacts, and have besides the Sundays and holidays as their own; and if the slave feeds and cloaths himself, to these are added the Saturday of every week[234]. I think that allowing largely for him to supply every thing requisite for his support and decent appearance, and yet something for what to a person in such a rank in life may be accounted luxury, a slave so circumstanced may in ten years purchase his freedom. If his value is great, it is because his trade is lucrative, so that these things keep pace with each other. The women have likewise some employments by which they may be enabled to gain their liberty; they make sweetmeats and cakes, and are sent out as cooks, nurses, housekeepers, &c.

Creole negroes and mulattos are generally accounted quicker in learning any trade than the Africans. This superior aptitude to profit by instruction is doubtless produced by their acquaintance from infancy with the manners, customs, and language of their masters. From the little experience, however, which I have had, and from the general remarks which I have gathered from others, who might be judged better acquainted than myself with slaves, I think that an African who has become chearful, and seems to have forgotten his former state, is a more valuable slave than a creole negro or mulatto. He will be generally more fit to be trusted. Far from the latter submitting quietly to the situation in which they have been born, they bear the yoke of slavery with impatience; the daily sight of so many individuals of their own casts, who are in a state of freedom, makes them wish to be raised to an equality with them, and they feel at every moment their unfortunate doom. The consideration with which the free persons of mixed casts are treated, tends to increase the discontent of their brothers who are in slavery. The Africans do not feel this, for they are considered by their creole brethren in colour, as being so completely inferior, that the line which by public opinion has been drawn between them, makes the imported slave feel towards the creoles as if they had not been originally of the same stock.

Miserable objects are at times to be seen in Recife, asking alms in various quarters of the town, aged and diseased; some of these persons have been slaves, and when, from infirmity they have been rendered useless, their masters have manumitted them; and thus being turned away to starve in their old age, or in a crippled state, their only resource is to beg in the public streets. These instances of gross injustice and depravity in masters, are not many, but that they should occur, is sufficient to cause the aid of law to be called in, that the existence of them should be prevented.

The sugar-plantations which belong to the Benedictine monks and Carmelite friars, are those upon which the labour is conducted with the greatest attention to system, and with the greatest regard to the comfort and ease of the slaves. I can more particularly speak of the estates of the Benedictine monks, because my residence at Jaguaribe gave me daily opportunities of hearing of the management of one of their establishments; and although sugar-works were not erected upon the estate in question, still the number of negroes which were upon it, was fully adequate to this purpose. Besides, in some years canes were planted upon it, which were to be ground at some neighbouring mill. The frequent communication, likewise, which there was between the slaves of this plantation and those of the other estates, belonging to the same convent, upon which sugar is made, enabled me to ascertain that all the establishments which are owned by the Benedictines, are conducted in the same manner.

The slaves of the Jaguaribe St. Bento estate are all creoles, and are in number about one hundred. The children are carefully taught their prayers by some of the elder negroes, and the hymn to the Virgin is sung by all the slaves, male and female, who can possibly attend, at seven o’clock every evening; at this hour it is required that every person shall be at home. The young children are allowed to amuse themselves as they please during the greatest part of the day; and their only occupation for certain hours is to pick cotton for lamps, and to separate the beans which are fit for seed from those which are rotten, and other work of the same description. When they arrive at the age of ten and twelve years, the girls spin thread for making the coarse cotton cloth of the country, and the boys attend to the horses and oxen, driving them to pasture, &c. If a child evinces peculiar fitness for any trade, care is taken that his talents should be applied in the manner which he would himself prefer. A few of them are taught music, and assist in the church festivals of the convent. Marriages are encouraged; as early as the age of seventeen and eighteen years for the men, and at fourteen and fifteen for the girls, many of these unions take place. Immediately after their entrance into this state, the people begin to labour regularly in the field for their owners; oftentimes both boys and girls request the manager to allow them to commence their life of daily toil, before the age which is pointed out by the regulations of the convent; and this occurs because they are not permitted to possess provision grounds of their own until they labour for their masters. Almost every description of labour is done by piece-work; and the task is usually accomplished by three o’clock in the afternoon, which gives to those who are industrious an opportunity of working daily upon their own grounds. The slaves are allowed the Saturday of every week to provide for their own subsistence, besides the Sundays and holidays. Those who are diligent fail not to obtain their freedom by purchase. The provision grounds are never interfered with by the monks, and when a negro dies or obtains his freedom, he is permitted to bequeath his plot of land to any of his companions whom he may please to favour in this manner. The superannuated slaves are carefully provided with food and cloathing.[235]

None of the monks reside upon the Jaguaribe estate, but one of them comes from Olinda almost every Sunday and holiday to say Mass. Upon the other Benedictine estates there are resident monks. The slaves treat their masters with great familiarity; they only pay respect to the abbot, whom they regard as the representative of the Saint. The conduct of the younger members of the communities of regular clergy, is well known not to be by any means correct; the vows of celibacy are not strictly adhered to. This circumstance decreases the respect with which these men might otherwise be treated upon their own estates, and increases much the licentiousness of the women. I have seen upon these plantations many light-coloured mulatto slaves; but when the approximation to white blood becomes considerable, a marriage is projected for the individual with a person of a darker tint. No compulsion is made use of to oblige any one to marry, and therefore many of the slaves, contrary to the wishes of their masters, remain single. The monks allow their female slaves to marry free men, but the male slaves are not permitted to marry free women. Many reasons are alleged in favour of this regulation. One is that they do not wish that a slave should be useless in the way of increasing the stock of the plantation; likewise the monks do not wish to have a free family residing among their slaves (for obvious reasons), which must be the case if a man marries a free woman; they have less objection to a man, because he is during the whole of the day away from their people, or is perhaps employed by the community, and thus in part dependant upon it, and he merely comes to sleep in one of the huts; besides, a stranger is contributing to the increase of the stock.

The Jaguaribe estate is managed by a mulatto slave, who married a person of his own colour, and she likewise belonged to the convent. Her husband has purchased her freedom and that of her children; he possesses two African slaves, the profits of whose labour are entirely his own; but he is himself obliged to attend to the business of the plantation, and to see that the work of his masters is properly executed. This man has offered his two Africans in exchange for himself to the monks; but they tell him that the Jaguaribe estate could not be properly managed without his assistance; and, though much against his inclination, he continues in slavery. This is one of the strongest instances of man’s desire to act for himself; Nicolau enjoys the entire direction of the estate, and every comfort which a man of his description can possibly wish for; when he moves from home, he is as well mounted as the generality of the rich planters; he is permitted to be seated in the presence of his masters, and indeed is allowed all the privileges of free men; and yet the consciousness of being under the controul of another always occupies his mind, and leads him to desire the possession of those privileges as a right, which he at present only enjoys by sufferance.[236]

Slavery, however, in this less intolerable state exists in only a few instances; and although a great many of the planters certainly do treat their slaves with considerable regard and attention to their comforts, still, upon none of the estates, excepting those of the religious communities which have been mentioned, is the complete system of rendering unnecessary a constant supply of new labourers, made the primary object;—the end to which all other considerations must give place.

Next to the plantations which belong to the convents, stand some of those of the rich Brazilian owners, who go on quietly, if not systematically. Here the labour is not in general done by piece-work, nor do the labourers provide for their own subsistence; and the slaves are sent to the field at an earlier age than they ought, and earlier than is practised upon the convent estates. Some of the plantations, however, which are owned by individuals, do give the Saturday of each week for the slave to support himself[237]. Corporal punishments are resorted to contrary to the custom of the St. Bento and Carmo estates, and though great cruelties are not often committed[238], still the mode of punishment produces much suffering, much misery, much degradation. Confinement and privations, would, I rather imagine, be more efficacious. The pride of the slave, who is obliged to appear abroad with his back covered with scars, is at first much hurt; but the shame of being seen in this state soon wears off, and then all hopes of reform may be given up; he will continue in his faults, and be indifferent to the stripes which he must occasionally undergo for committing them. I have been requested by slaves, who had been often so treated, to punish them with the whip, and not to make them endure the misery of sitting in the stocks in solitary confinement. But the punishment is suffered in private; no exposure is occasioned by it. It would appear strange that the slave should prefer corporal punishment; and this would seem to denote that this class of men possesses none of those feelings of shame of which I have spoken; but I am convinced, that these are as deeply implanted in the negro, as in any other race of human beings. The case is this, where a slave has been often punished with the whip, and is seeing many of his companions and acquaintance undergoing the same punishment frequently, the knowledge that it is what he himself has before borne, and that so many are thus treated, takes away the horror which he would otherwise feel at the kind of chastisement. This proves the debased state,—the very low ebb to which human nature may be brought. The additional rigour which thus the slave seems to consider confinement to be, would be a recommendation to some persons, and perhaps the feeling is in the main right; for if the crime is great, the punishment should be adequate, and by this means of confinement no degradation of the human being is occasioned. Hopes may be entertained that the time which is given for reflection, and the depression of spirits which is produced by the loneliness of the situation, may bring about a correction of error; but by the whip, angry and vindictive feelings are excited, or despair is the consequence, and in either case the owner will be injured; in the former, by a determination to continue in fault, and in the latter by the death or inaction of the sufferer. The objection which is principally to be urged against the mode of chastisement, which I have accounted the least prejudicial to the slave, considered as a rational being, is to be met with in the loss of time which is incurred by confinement a due length; but I think, that this would be much more than compensated by the loss of health and of character which the negro suffers in undergoing punishment by the whip, and even of time during the period that the slave is recovering from the stripes. Iron collars, chains, and other punishments of the same description are likewise made use of, and are liable to the objection of rendering callous the sense of shame. I have observed, and have often heard it remarked, that scarcely any of the slaves who receive frequent correction, ever gain their freedom through their own exertions. The bad dispositions and inclinations of many, and the indifference which is produced in others by severe punishments, sufficiently account for this fact.[239]

The creole slaves are usually employed as tradesmen and household servants; even upon the sugar plantations this is the case where they are not more numerous than what are necessary to fill these departments; to the Africans the field labour is chiefly allotted. The negroes are sent to work as the sun rises, and far from being more capable of exertion in the early part of the morning than under the mid-day heat, the Africans are inactive and languid, until the increasing power of the sun removes the chill which they receive from the cool morning air. They frequently leave their huts wrapped up in their coverlids of baize, seemingly much distressed by the cold. The negroes breakfast about eight o’clock, and for this meal half an hour or less is allowed; and some masters expect that their slaves shall breakfast before they commence their work in the morning;—that is, before sunrise. The time which is allowed for dinner, is from twelve o’clock till two, when the labourers again continue their labour until half past five o’clock. They are now, generally speaking, expected to pick a small bundle of grass for the master’s saddle-horses, in some of the neighbouring provision grounds; but if this is not requisite, the work continues until sunset, about six o’clock. On the arrival of the people at home in the evening, they are sometimes required to scrape the rind from the mandioc for about one or two hours; but as none of the principal estates make a practice of selling the flour of the mandioc, and only prepare the quantity which is necessary for the subsistence of the slaves, this labour only occurs about once in each week, or less frequently. In crop time, the work is only discontinued on Sundays and holidays; and, as is practised on board vessels at sea, the negroes relieve each other at stated hours.

The field negroes are attended by a feitor or driver, who is sometimes a white man; but more frequently a free mulatto is employed for the purpose. It is the practice likewise of some of the planters to appoint a Creole, or even an African slave to the situation. Upon a feitor who is a slave, more reliance is to be placed than upon a free person of colour, for the slave feitor becomes responsible to his master for the work which is to be executed, and is therefore careful that every one should do his duty. It is a remark which is generally made; that the slave feitores require to be watched, that they may be prevented from being too rigorous towards those whom they are appointed to command; their behaviour is usually more overbearing than that of free men; and next to the slaves the European feitores are the most tyrannical. It is likewise frequently observed that even manumitted Africans who become possessed of slaves, which occasionally occurs, treat them in a severe and unfeeling manner, that is nothing softened, but rather rendered more violent, by a remembrance of their own sufferings. Experience in trouble too often leads those who have suffered to the infliction of equal or greater hardships, when opportunities for so doing are afforded; the human being becomes callous; it is tormented, and torments with the same indifference.

Medical attendance is not so well provided for as it ought, which proceeds rather from the small number of practitioners in the country, than from the negligence of the planters; indeed due attention in this respect is so much and so evidently their interest, that this alone, independent of any feelings of humanity, would make them seek every means of obtaining proper advice for their slaves[240]. I do not think that the food which the slaves receive is in sufficient quantities, or of a quality sufficiently nourishing for the labour which they are required to perform; and it would be undoubtedly much too scanty, if the days of intended rest did not supply them with an addition to the stock of provisions which the master affords. I have in another place stated, that the vegetable part of the food of the sugar plantation negroes is chiefly the flour of the mandioc; the animal food is generally the carne do SearÀ, salt meat which comes from Rio Grande do Sul; and sometimes salt fish supplies its place. The cloathing which is given to the slaves by the master consists of a shirt and drawers of the cotton cloth of the country, and a straw hat; a piece of baize and a mat are likewise afforded to them; but these things are not renewed as often as a due consideration to their comforts would demand. Although the negroes are fed by their masters, still as lands are to be had in abundance, the slaves are permitted to plant whatever they think fit, and to sell the produce to whom they please. Many of them rear pigs and poultry, and occasionally a horse is kept, from the hire of which money may be obtained.[241]

The newly-imported negroes are usually sent to work too soon after their arrival upon the estates; if proper care is taken of them, they may indeed be employed in almost any description of labour at the end of eight or ten months, but not much before this period. Damp situations should be avoided, and they ought not to be sent out in the morning earlier than eight o’clock, and they should breakfast before they leave home: by these precautions the loss of many slaves might be prevented; and they should be followed without any deviation, at least until the new negroes have been for a twelvemonth in the country to which they have been transported.[242]

I have represented slavery in what I conceive to be the state in which it usually exists upon the plantations; but any comforts which the human beings who are so circumstanced enjoy, and any respite from severe labour is so entirely at the will of the master, that the instances in which the fate of the slave is hard almost beyond endurance, are dreadfully too frequent. Some planters follow the system of performing certain kinds of work during the early part of the night, besides making the negroes labour for the full usual time during the day;—for instance, the whole of the labour of making the mandioc flour, preparing with the feet the clay for making bricks and earthenware, also building mud walls; besides removing bricks, fire wood, and so forth from one place to another. This extra work is called quingingoo. I even knew of one instance in which the field labour was continued until twelve o’clock at night, by the light of large fires which had been kindled in several parts of the ground. For this manner of proceeding there was no reason, excepting that it was the master’s pleasure so to act, for the season was favourable, and not too far advanced to have continued the work in the usual manner and yet have accomplished the planting of the field in proper time. Of cruelty I could say much, but I have gone far enough, and must not enter into farther details upon this part of my subject. The relation of such misdeeds do more harm than good, they serve as examples for those who have unprincipled minds and unfeeling hearts; and who may consider them as paths in which they may tread, because others have trodden in them, rather than as precipices which ought to be avoided. The power which is entrusted to an individual is too great, abuses must arise, the system is radically bad, and every possible means should be put into action for its extirpation.

I am acquainted with the owners of a few estates who profess to purchase any slaves however bad their characters may be, if they can obtain them below the usual price. The persons of secondary rank who possess only a few slaves, and have not the same means of punishing them if they misbehave which exist upon the great estates, dispose of those of their negroes who act improperly to the rich men who will purchase them. There is an estate in the Mata, of which the owner is known to buy any slave, however ill disposed he may be, provided he can obtain him at a low price. This man manages to keep his estate in the best order possible; every thing goes on regularly upon it. He even prefers purchasing creole slaves to Africans, although the former are invariably more difficult to manage. He is a man of determined character; on the arrival of one of these new slaves, he takes him to the prison of the estate and shews him the stocks, the chains, the whips, &c. saying “this is what you are to expect if you continue in your evil practices;” then a hut is given to the slave; and also cloaths and other articles of comfort, all of which are in a state of greater neatness, and are afforded in larger quantities than are usually bestowed upon the slaves of other plantations. On one occasion a negro struck the feitor, for which he was immediately confined, until the matter could be investigated; the freeman was found to be in fault, and was turned away. The negro suffered a certain degree of punishment for striking a superior, but he was ultimately appointed to the situation of feitor, having before held that of second driver. If this planter did not rule his people with great severity when guilty, his estate would soon become a den of thieves and murderers, for it is well known of what bad materials his gang of slaves is composed. This man is of mixed blood, but is nearly related to some of the first families of the province. It is well that a man should appear, who is willing, for the sake of a trifling difference in the price for which he may obtain his labourers, to take the trouble, and undergo the risk of person and of property in controuling a set of uneducated men, who cannot consequently have any principle of action, and whose habits are of the worst description. According to present circumstances he is of service to the country, for these fellows are kept quiet; but what a dreadful state it is, that the institutions of a country should be so framed that there should possibly exist in its centre, a body of human beings of which many of the individuals are criminals; men, who certainly never will be punished by the laws of the country, though punishment may or may not be inflicted by the person to whom they are subservient.

The slaves of the cotton estates undergo, as may be supposed, the same kind of punishments, and are subject to the same species of treatment as those which have already been spoken of; their management, as in other parts, is conducted on the whole in a more lenient or more rigorous manner, according to the dispositions of the owners. They are however liable to greater privations from the nature of the country in which they reside, and they do not enjoy the benefit of crop time, which is so favourable to the negroes of the sugar plantations. Food is not so easily obtained in parts which are so distant from great towns and from the sea-coast; and greater difficulty is experienced in the sale of the mandioc, the beans and the maize which the slaves raise upon their own provision grounds. Still the negroes of the cotton districts sometimes gain their freedom by their own exertions, for as cotton is a most lucrative plant, and yet may be cultivated and brought to market with little or no out-lay of money, those of the slaves who plant regularly and gather their trifling quantities, frequently in the end meet with the reward of their labours. This is not the case with the sugar-cane, for in cultivating this plant assistance is necessary, much work being required to be done within a given time, owing to the seasons in planting it, and to the nature of the cane when it ripens; and there is likewise the difficulty of having it ground, and of receiving the proceeds, &c. In the manufactory the slave has not his property under his own eye; it passes through the hands of many other individuals, and as there is no personal respect for the owner of the property, nor any means of redress in case of injustice, the slave has only a poor chance of being properly dealt with; the above circumstances being those to which the culture of the sugar-cane is subject, it is scarcely ever planted by slaves on their own account.

The cattle districts employ few slaves, and these are occupied at home, for scarcely any of them, unless they are Creoles, are deemed capable of undertaking the more arduous employments of pursuing the cattle, breaking in horses, &c. The slaves remain in the huts to attend to the less enterprising occupations. The climate of the Sertam is accounted well adapted to the constitutions of the Africans; sickly negroes are often purchased at reduced prices by persons who reside in the interior, under the idea that the climate will soon re-establish their health. The circumstance of the non-existence of the chigua or bicho[243], in the plains of the Sertam is of much importance; for this insect is extremely injurious to some of the negroes;—notwithstanding every precaution, the feet have in some instances been destroyed by them. The chigua has more effect upon the flesh of some persons than upon that of others; and the subjects who are violently attacked by this insect, are sometimes only preserved from being crippled by their removal to a part of the country in which it does not exist. The dryness of the air and soil of the Sertam generally removes agues of long standing, and likewise the complaint which frequently proceeds from the ague, and is called amarellidam, or yellowness. The Africans are seldom attacked by the ague, but they have often the amarellidam.

In the back settlements, beyond the plains of the Sertam, bordering upon the mountains where cotton is planted, and from which the plains are in part supplied with food, the number of negroes is becoming considerable. I have had opportunities of conversing with negroes from the Sertam, and have invariably found that they preferred their residence in the cattle districts even to a removal into the country bordering upon the sea. The diet of the Sertam negro is preferable to that of the plantation slave, so that this circumstance, independently of all others, would make the former be well aware of the superiority of his situation. Fresh beef and mutton are the usual food of the Sertam slaves, but upon the plantations these are rarely served out.

The most dreadful complaint to which negroes are subject more than other descriptions of men, is that which, in the Columbian islands is known under the name of yaws, and in Brazil by that of bobas. I had opportunities of seeing it, and most loathsome is the sight of the individuals who are afflicted with it. The body becomes covered with large ulcers, the patient is reduced to a mere skeleton, and is rendered generally for a time quite helpless. The facility with which it is communicated to others increases the distress of the patient; for every precaution must be taken in separating the sufferer to some distance from the other slaves. The adult who recovers from it seldom enjoys as perfect health as before. The negroes say that it gets into the bone; every change of weather is felt by those who have had the disorder, although they are again accounted in health, and in some cases the use of one or other of the limbs is occasionally lost for a time. A certain diet must be observed for many months after the disorder has apparently left the person who has had it, for the purpose of preventing a relapse; and sometimes a deviation from this, even some years after, will cause violent pains in the joints. The following circumstances occurred under my own eyes. A child belonging to one of my neighbours, whilst I resided at Jaguaribe, was in the practice of coming to amuse itself with some of the children of the plantation. He had this disorder upon him; and soon afterwards the son of a labourer caught it; all this was not made known to me, until a slave of eight years of age was reported to me to have the bobas; and shortly afterwards an old man, the father of this child, likewise fell sick. In the course of a short time, notwithstanding every care was taken, other persons were afflicted with the disease. A surgeon was applied to, and he prescribed mercury to all the patients. An infant of a few months old, which afterwards caught the disease, underwent the same treatment. The children who had arrived at a certain age all recovered, and until the period of my departure, they had never experienced any return, nor had felt any bad effects from it. The old man still laboured under it, but was recovering. The growth of the infant was stopped by the disease, and very little hopes were entertained of saving its life.

This horrible disorder is contracted by inhabiting the same room with the patient, and by inoculation; this is effected by means of a small fly, from which every precaution is oftentimes of no avail. Great numbers of the insects of this species appear early in the morning; but they are not so much seen when the sun is powerful. If one of them chances to settle upon the corner of the eye or mouth, or upon the most trifling scratch, it is enough to inoculate the bobas, if the insect comes from a person who labours under the disease. The same person can only have the bobas once. The scars which it leaves upon the bodies of the negroes have a most disgusting appearance; for the wounds have in some cases been of such long standing, and have penetrated so deep as to have changed the colour of the skin, which becomes of a most loathsome white colour.[244] However, deep wounds of any description have the same effect upon the negro skin.

There are considerable numbers of white persons and of colour who possess two or three slaves, and share with them the daily labour, even of the field. These slaves are, generally speaking, creoles, who have been reared in the family, or they are Africans who have been purchased very young for a trifling sum of money; they are frequently considered as part of the family, and share with the master the food for which both are working. These slaves appear on gala days well-dressed, and they have a certain air of independence, which shews that they think themselves to be something more in the world than mere drudges. The difference of the feeling of one of these men towards his master, and that of the generality of the slaves which are owned by great proprietors, is very striking. The former will not suffer in his presence a word to be spoken against his master, whilst the latter cares not if he hears every injurious epithet made use of. The slaves of small proprietors are not so liable to imbibe many of the faults to which those of wealthy men are subject, and they possess more pride,—a greater wish to act honourably,—a greater dread of being upbraided for a fault. Upon large estates the assemblage of so many persons tends to depravation, and the wide distance which there is between the slave and the master tends to produce a greater feeling of inferiority; but among the small proprietors the difference of rank is infinitely less, owing, among other causes, to the assistance which they receive from each other, in their daily occupations.[245]

From the vastness of the country, it might be supposed that if a slave escapes from his master, the chances would be against his return, but this is not the case. The Africans particularly are generally brought back; they are soon distinguished by their manner of speaking the Portugueze language; and if any one of them cannot give a good account of himself, he will not be allowed to remain long unmolested, for the profit arising from the apprehension of a runaway slave is considerable. Besides, the manumitted African generally continues to reside in the neighbourhood of the estate upon which he has served as a slave; so that when a man of this description, that is, an African, comes without being known, to settle in a district, suspicion immediately arises that he is not free. The manumitted creoles remove to where they are not known, because they do not wish that the state in which they were born should reach their new place of residence. An African must have been brought to Brazil as a slave, and therefore his situation of a freeman proves that his character is good, or he could not have obtained his liberty; but a creole may have been born free, and consequently his former state as a slave he wishes to conceal. Creole slaves, and more especially mulattos, often do escape, and are never afterwards heard of by their masters; but even these are sometimes brought back.

A case of great hardship occurred at Recife a short time before I left that place. A negro and his wife had escaped, and as their master had not received any tidings of them for sixteen or seventeen years, he supposed that both of them had died. However, one day there arrived at his door in Recife, a number of capitaens-do-campo with several persons in custody. He soon recognized his negro and negress, and was told that the five young persons who were with them were their children, and consequently his slaves. These poor creatures had been brought up until this period of their lives with the idea that they were free; and thus a young man of sixteen, and his sister of fourteen years of age, were at the season of joy and gladness to commence a life of misery. The master confined them all, until he could dispose of them to some slave-dealer, which he soon accomplished, and they were shipped from Recife for Maranham. I never heard how the discovery had been made, that these people were not free. Oh! system accursed, which thus damps the hopes and prospects of a whole life.

Some of the negroes who escape determine to shun the haunts of man, they conceal themselves in the woods, instead of attempting to be received into some distant village as free persons. They form huts, which are called mocambos, in the most unfrequented spots, and live upon the game and fruit which their places of retreat afford. These persons sometimes assemble to the number of ten or twelve, and then their dislodgement is difficult; for their acquaintance with the woods around gives them the advantage over any party which may be sent to attack them[246]. Sometimes a whole neighbourhood is disturbed by one of these communities, who rob the provision grounds, steal calves[247], lambs and poultry; and stories are told of the Gabam negroes stealing children.

The slaves of Maranham are in a less favourable state than those of Pernambuco, on the whole; but the system which is followed respecting them is radically the same. Their food is usually rice, which is said to disagree with most of the nations which come from Africa; and the treatment which they receive upon the estates in that part of the country, is said to be more rigorous; but of this I cannot myself speak, for I had no opportunities of judging.

Negroes who are decidedly of incorrigible character, are shipped from Pernambucco to Maranham, and though the cause for which these transportations are made, is well known, they are often sold to great advantage. Nothing tends so much to keep a slave in awe, as the threat of sending him to Maranham or to ParÀ.

That the general character of persons who are in a state of slavery should be amiable, and that goodness should predominate, is not to be expected; but we ought rather to be surprised at the existence of that degree of virtue which is to be found among those who are reduced to a situation of so much misery. Slaves are much inclined to pilfer, and particularly towards their masters this is very frequent; indeed many of them scarcely think that they are acting improperly in so doing[248]. Drunkenness is common among them[249]. A direct answer is not easily obtained from a slave, but the information which is required is learnt by means of four or five questions put in various ways. The necessity for this is frequently caused by stupidity, or from ignorance of the language in which the slave is addressed, rather than from any wish to deceive. It is in their behaviour to their families and companions, that the good part of the human being is displayed, and natural enough it is that it should be so. The negroes shew much attachment to their wives and children, to their other relations if they should chance to have any, and to their malungos or fellow passengers from Africa. The respect which is paid to old age, it is extremely pleasing to witness. Superannuated Africans, upon the estates, are never suffered to want any comforts with which it is in the power of their fellow slaves to supply them. The old negroes are addressed by the term of pai and mai, father and mother. The masters likewise add this term to the name of their older slaves, when speaking to them. That the generality of the slaves should shew great attachment to their masters, is not to be expected; why should they? The connection between the two descriptions of persons, is not one of love and harmony, of good producing gratitude, of esteem and respect; it is one of hatred and discord, of distrust, and of continual suspicion; one of which the evil is so enormous, that if any proper feelings exist in those who are supposed to benefit from it, and in those who suffer under it, they proceed from our nature, and not from the system.

It will be seen from the above statement, that the slaves of those parts of Brazil which I have had opportunities of seeing, are more favourably situated than those of the Columbian islands; but still they are slaves, and in this word is included, great misery, great degradation, great misfortune.