The extent of the great country, the exact title of which is the United States of Brazil, most of us hardly realize. With fifteen times the area of France, it covers more ground than the United States without Alaska and our more recent acquisitions, is larger than the whole of Europe, and is fifth in size (Percy Martin says third) among the nations of the world. While now it contains barely 22 millions of inhabitants, about five to the square mile, the great scientist and explorer Humboldt once prophesied that it would in the future be the most thickly settled portion of the globe, since from the richly productive nature of the soil life may there be supported with small exertion.

Of a somewhat triangular shape, Brazil extends a distance of 2600 miles from north to south and 2700 from east to west. Although in large part under or near the equator and without lofty mountains, it yet has considerable elevation, averaging 2000 to 3000 feet over more than half of its territory; not enough to occasion extreme cold anywhere, but sufficient to induce a more healthful and comfortable climate in such sections. Bordering on every South American country except Chile and Ecuador, it is favorably situated for having intimate commercial relations with all, when its settlements have spread out in every direction, instead of being chiefly in districts near the coast, with a few in the Amazon valley.

Historical

Accidentally discovered by Europeans within ten years after the first landing of Columbus on Western soil, some years elapsed before it received a permanent settlement. Pedro Álvarez Cabral, a Portuguese nobleman, by good fortune holds the honor of having in 1500 first beheld the most eastern shores of the American continent. Sailing from Lisbon for the East Indies with a fleet of vessels, Cabral was instructed by Vasco da Gama who had made the first all-sea voyage to that region to bear away to the southwest, in order to avoid the frequent calms off the coast of Guinea, until he should reach 34° south latitude when he should turn east. While following these directions, on the 2d of May Cabral sighted a mountain which, as it was Easter week, he called Paschoal. The next day he anchored off shore of the present State of Bahia, to commemorate which event, May 3 is a Brazilian national holiday and the date of the assembling of Congress. Ten days Cabral remained at anchor taking formal possession of the land, and having some communication with the Indians who appeared friendly. On the news reaching Portugal in the fall, another expedition was at once sent out and the coast was explored almost to La Plata, nearly 2000 miles, by Amerigo Vespucci, who was, however, disappointed by finding no wealth of gold or silver and no civilized inhabitants. The only article of immediate value seemed to be brazilwood which, furnishing a bright red dye, was in demand in Europe. Thus the land was called the Country of Brazilwood, soon shortened to Brazil.

The name America later bestowed upon the land which Vespucci explored, and which he first declared to be not a part of the Orient but a separate continent, was afterwards extended to include the northern half. Thus it seems peculiarly unfortunate that we should arrogate to ourselves the title of being the Americans, our only apology for so doing being the fact that we have no other name by which we can be called, a fact, however, which does not entitle us to forget that there are others.

The first real settlement by the Portuguese was made in January, 1532, at SÃo Vicente near the port of Santos, soon after which a second post was established on the high land above, in the vicinity of SÃo Paulo. Subsequently grants were made by King John III of Captaincies, twelve in number, each, one hundred fifty miles along the coast; these beginning at the mouth of the Amazon and extending south to the island of Santa Catharina. Six permanent colonies were founded, but the only ones early amounting to much were Pernambuco and SÃo Paulo, later Bahia and Rio de Janeiro.

The Jesuits, who were prominent in the early settlements, gave particular attention to Christianizing the Indians, bringing them into settlements under their jurisdiction and instructing them both in agriculture and in various industrial arts. Their labors were chiefly in the States of SÃo Paulo and Minas. As their system interfered with the exploitation of the Indians by the Paulistas these attacked the Jesuit settlements, within twenty-five years, it is said, killing 300,000 of the natives, and finally destroying all the Jesuit settlements on the upper ParanÁ.

In 1558 a nobleman, Mem da Sa, a soldier, scholar, and able administrator, as Governor, succeeded in consolidating the government of the various colonies and in establishing the Portuguese power on a firm basis, in spite of difficulties with Indians and with French settlers. In 1581 Philip II of Spain by obtaining the crown of Portugal became also the ruler of Brazil. During the sixty years of Spanish domination the expansion of Brazil to the west in territory which had been assigned to Spain was permitted, as a matter of no importance, later, however to involve unforeseen consequences.

In the seventeenth century there were years of struggle against the Dutch who first, in 1623, captured Bahia, to lose it in 1627; in 1630 they captured Pernambuco which they retained twenty-five years, at one time having under their control two-thirds of the population and developed resources of Brazil, Bahia and the southern provinces alone remaining in the hands of the Portuguese. Portugal having meanwhile recovered its independence from Spain, the Brazilians made continued efforts under the leadership of John Fernandez to expel the Dutch. At last they succeeded and January 26, 1655, the latter signed a capitulation for the surrender of Pernambuco and all other holdings in the country. This struggle fostered the development of a national spirit among the colonies, while the fact that the coast was held by the Dutch impelled the opening of land routes of communication in the interior. Cattle ranges became numerous, rumors of gold were heard, and in 1690 the Morro Velho, one of the great gold mines of the world, was discovered.

The eighteenth century saw many conflicts in the south, in Rio Grande and Uruguay, but in 1777 peace was declared with boundaries as at present. During this period occurred a literary development, six of the leading Portuguese poets appearing, not in Rio, but in Minas, twenty days on muleback from the coast. In 1807, John, Prince Regent of Portugal, came over, fleeing, with his court and with much property, from Napoleon. Received with enthusiasm, he opened to commerce the five great ports, encouraged literature, art, science, and education, and the immigration of foreigners, thus inaugurating a movement which gradually transformed the country. After the fall of Napoleon, Prince John, returning in 1821 to Portugal, left his son Pedro in charge, with the hint that if there was any likelihood of Brazil asserting her independence, as the Spanish provinces had done, he should put the crown on his own head. This on October 12, 1822, he did, being crowned Constitutional Emperor of Brazil. The separation from the Mother Country occurred without bloodshed in Rio, while from the remaining ports the Portuguese garrisons were expelled with little difficulty. Troubles came afterward. Pedro, regardless of the constitution, attempted to be a despot. After quelling a revolt in the north, becoming involved in war with Argentina which ended with the independence of Uruguay, and having alienated his earlier supporters, he was compelled in 1831 to abdicate in favor of his infant son. Stormy times continued so that after a nine years’ regency Pedro II, when only fifteen, was proclaimed of age and took the throne. Nine years more were required for the pacification of the whole country, when prosperity of all kinds followed. In spite of the expensive war with Paraguay and other drawbacks, commerce increased, general industry developed, and political reforms were instituted. In 1888 during the absence of Dom Pedro in Europe a bill for the abolition of slavery, having passed both Houses of Congress, was signed by Princess Isabella as Regent. In 1889 the old Emperor, who had returned, was summarily expelled, without even twenty-four hours’ notice to gather together his belongings; the diffusion of republican ideas among the soldiery making the revolution possible without bloodshed. A Provisional Government instituted many reforms, organized the Provinces into States, established universal suffrage, the separation of Church and State, etc. A Congress was assembled in February, 1891, a constitution was adopted, and Deodoro was elected President. Extravagance and insurrections followed, then financial distress which reached its height in 1900. Since that period the country has advanced rapidly in wealth, population, and in all other lines of development.

The individual States are less closely bound together than with us, and have greater power, being able to fix export and import taxes against each other.

Before embarking at Montevideo for Brazil it is wise to procure a little Brazilian money, which is more troublesome than any other. A milreis is about 33 cents; but instead of having 100 cents in what might be called their dollar they have 1000 reis. Five hundred reis sounds like a good deal; to pay 200 or 300 for car fare appears quite exorbitant; but remembering that 100 reis is only 3? cents it seems more reasonable.

The large majority of tourists will embark at Montevideo for Santos in one of the fine ships of the Lamport & Holt Line, the Hamburg American, or the A boats of the Royal Mail, all of which are comfortable, even luxurious. Ten days must be allowed, and from twenty to thirty will be enjoyed in the delightful cities of SÃo Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Brazil is an immense country, larger, we must remember, than the United States proper, and to see SÃo Paulo and Rio only, affords little more knowledge of the Republic than a glimpse of New York and Boston gives of ours; yet in a four months’ tour of the continent, that is all that can be arranged. The traveler with more time at his command may find pleasure and profit in visiting other portions of the great Republic. This may be done, so far as Southern Brazil is concerned, in two different ways. The tourist may take at Montevideo one of the boats of the Brazilian Lloyd Line, which call at the principal ports all along the coast, and thus journeying in complete comfort, may visit many prosperous cities, where he will be astonished by the high degree apparent, of culture, of business energy, and of rapid growth and progress. Or, if preferring as long as possible to avoid the sea, he may proceed from Montevideo to Rio all the way by land, and thus gain some idea of the great interior country, here so different from the vast Argentine plain, with much variety in scenery and enormous possibilities for future development.

This railway journey at present requires four or five days to SÃo Paulo, more time than by express steamer, and involves more fatigue and hardship. At last accounts there were no through sleepers, the road in places was rough and dusty and altogether slow. The distance to Rio is nearly 2000 miles. But on a new road through a rapidly developing country, quick changes and improvements may be looked for, and by the time any of my readers is ready for the overland journey, it is highly probable that it may be made in three days, perhaps in through sleepers. In one of these, the tourist may now set out from Montevideo, where details as to the comforts and duration of the journey may best be secured. The entire region is scantily peopled all the way to SÃo Paulo and there is no unusual or striking scenery, except in ascending to the plateau beyond Santa Maria in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, and in the descent to the town of UniÃo in the IguassÚ Valley. Along the route traveled, Uruguay and Southern Brazil show a pretty country of rolling pasture land to Passo Fundo in Rio Grande do Sul; then comes a hilly district covered with primeval forest, chiefly pine, to Ponta Grossa in ParanÁ and beyond, and in the State of SÃo Paulo highlands, agricultural and pastoral. A few villages of from 500 to 5000 people are scattered along the way, with two towns, Santa Maria and Ponta Grossa, of about 15,000 each. Within a few years it is possible that a cross railroad, already planned, will be built from SÃo Francisco on the coast to UniÃo, the station above referred to in the IguassÚ Valley, and thence onward to the IguassÚ Falls and AsunciÓn. When this road is finished it may be desirable to visit Montevideo from Buenos Aires; returning thither one might go by rail or steamer to Rosario and AsunciÓn, then across to the IguassÚ Falls and on by rail to UniÃo and thence proceed to SÃo Paulo. A coast railway is now planned between Rio and Porto Alegre (963 miles) by which it is expected that the journey will be made in 25 hours.

Rio Grande do Sul. By a coasting steamer, one will first visit the State of Rio Grande do Sul, the most southern in Brazil, well away from the tropics, hence with a temperate climate, much like that of Georgia, and largely settled by Germans. For a State with considerable seaboard, the location of its three chief cities on a fresh water lake or lagoon may at first appear curious, yet of course there is a reason. The coast being flat and generally sandy the best harbor is the lagoon, separated from the sea by a sandy spit of land only a few miles wide. The entrance, a narrow strait near the south end, has a considerable sand-bar on which engineers have been at work to secure a passage 33 feet deep, affording ingress to large ocean steamers. This will greatly augment the present important commerce. The larger steamers now entering go only to the city Rio Grande do Sul at the southern extremity of the LagÕa dos Patos, Lagoon of the Ducks, named from one of the tribes earlier inhabiting this region. The town has fine wide streets, many handsome buildings, and in the PraÇa TamandarÉ, on which stands the Post Office and Public Library, one unique feature: the only monument in Brazil, it is said, commemorating the freeing of the slaves. The citizens are justly proud of their Library of 40,000 volumes, probably the best south of SÃo Paulo, and of the fact that they possess the oldest newspaper in Brazil except the Jornal do Comercio of Rio.

Porto Alegre. As the Lagoon is 150 miles long (30 wide), it is a long sail, 12 hours, to Porto Alegre, the capital and chief town of the State at the northern end. Three hours from Rio Grande a call is made at the pleasant town of Pelotas, beyond which there is little to see on account of the width of the lagoon. The beef industry in the form of salt beef factories is a chief feature of the prosperity of Pelotas, and rows of beef strips hung up in the sun to dry, with an occasional factory, may be seen for miles along the shore. Porto Alegre, settled in 1742 by colonists from the Azores, after the Prussian Revolution in 1848 received many Germans, so that one-fourth of its 100,000 inhabitants are now of German descent. The town has some handsome public buildings, including a City Hall with marble columns from native quarries, and some that are old and ugly. A large stone building near the quay houses the public market, where fruit, vegetables, dairy products, etc., are sold at modest prices in comparison with those at Buenos Aires and Rio. The climate is healthful, with some freezing weather in the winter, and snow in the mountainous section inland. Minerals are found in the State, including coal, but the chief wealth is cattle; not the blooded stock of Argentina but good enough for jerked beef. Also agricultural products are important, one settlement, chiefly of Italians, exporting annually a million dollars’ worth. A beautiful waterfall 400 feet high called Herval may be visited a few hours from Sapyranga on the railway between Porto Alegre and Taquara.

Going north from Rio Grande the steamers of the Brazilian Lloyd and the Costeira lines call in the next State, Santa Catharina, at its capital Florianopolis, one of the most picturesque of Brazilian cities, on an island of the same name. Facing the mainland five miles across the Strait, with a background of hills rising from 1000 to 3000 feet, it is a charming contrast to the more level country previously visited. In the principal plaza a stone monument with a pyramid of cannon balls at the top commemorates those who, as Volunteers, perished in the Paraguayan War. Though a town of 30,000 people it is a quiet place where they mostly stay at home evenings and go to bed by ten o’clock. A little farther north, the port of SÃo Francisco, called the best south of Santos, from the building of the IguassÚ, Paraguay, and other railways is destined to be of great importance.

ParanaguÁ. In the State of ParanÁ, one of the most beautiful of Brazil, detached in 1858 from the State of SÃo Paulo, a call is made at ParanaguÁ, its chief seaport, from which yerba mate, grown in the interior, is an especially important export. In this State and the next, the larger and pleasanter cities are on the high land in the interior. The low semi-tropical strip along the shore is separated from the plateau region within by the Serra do Mar or Coast Range, extending far north very near the shore. Rivers, like the IguassÚ and ParanÁ, rising almost within sight of the Atlantic, flow thousands of miles to increase the waters of La Plata. The capital city, Curytiba, with 50,000 inhabitants, may be visited by rail from ParanaguÁ, a delightful four hours’ journey of 60 miles, among the valleys and up the slopes of the hills and mountains of the Serra do Mar, the climb to an altitude of 3000 feet being made without cogs or cables, by means of high trestles, bridges, and 17 tunnels. The journey is said to surpass in beauty the better known ride from Santos to SÃo Paulo, presenting a variety of natural scenery seldom found in so short a trip, along with rich semi-tropical vegetation, pine forests, and manifestations of industrial development. The State spends more in proportion upon education than does any other in Brazil. It possesses unlimited resources in cattle, agriculture, mines, and forests. The pine tree of Brazil, the Araucaria brasiliensis, especially prominent in this State, differs greatly in appearance from pines in the United States. They are a striking feature of the landscape, growing with a single straight trunk, sometimes 125 feet, with a diameter of six feet. Thus they somewhat resemble a palm, though crowned at the top with branches in shape like a bowl, bare to the end, where globes of dark crispy green leaves recall a candelabrum. All parts of the tree are useful; the fruit is edible, the nut is used to manufacture buttons, and the wood, for building and other purposes.

Beyond Curytiba the road goes on to meet the through line from Montevideo at Ponta Grossa. Not far from the junction is a curiosity called Villa Velha, old village, reminding of the Garden of the Gods, but even more remarkable. The reddish rocks of sandstone have had part of their formation cut away by time and water, leaving rocks which resemble houses, walls, or ruins, some, 300 feet high like castles and towers, with low bushes growing among them, the whole having the appearance of an abandoned city. Curytiba, like SÃo Paulo, though much smaller, is a wide-awake, modern city with handsome buildings, hotels, etc., and a boarding and day school conducted by two American ladies. An important industry is the preparation of yerba mate for market, 20 large mills existing for this purpose in various parts of the state. The mate profits sometimes reach 100 per cent.

In the vicinity of Antonina, a pretty town on the same bay as ParanaguÁ, is a curiosity called sambaquys, mounds, 71 in number, the work of a prehistoric race containing skeletons, pieces of pottery and of polished stone of varying aspect, apparently indicating a progress in culture through generations. Unfortunately many of these remains have been put to the prosaic use of making lime, but some near LagÕa Santa still await the archÆologist and the ethnologist.