Travels in Brazil

by Henry Koster

THE TREATY OF FRIENDSHIP AND ALLIANCE.

I pass over the primary articles as being unimportant, or from the interest of the subjects to which they relate having already subsided.

Article 6th. “His Britannic Majesty is allowed the privilege of causing timber, for the purpose of building ships of war, to be purchased and cut down in the woods of Brazil.”

This was supposed to afford to Great Britain an inexhaustible and inexpensive source of supplying her navy with timber; but I have understood that the expence which must be incurred in felling the trees, and bringing the timber to the water’s edge, would be too great to render the project feasible; and that the woods of Brazil were discovered to contain a less proportion of valuable timber than had been imagined. If the British government had thought proper to act upon this article,—if the plan had been judged worthy of being executed, the advantages which Brazil must have derived from it would have been considerable. The increased traffic which would have been experienced by the ports in which dock-yards would have been established, and the number of mechanics who would have gone over, many of whom would in all probability have remained ultimately in that country, must have been beneficial to it. The ship carpenters and caulkers of Brazil are fully as good as those of England, and if encouragement was given to the most necessary art of ship-building, no external aid would be requisite. But due encouragement is what is wanting.

Article 7th. “Any squadron that may be sent by either of the High Contracting Parties to the succour of the other, shall be supplied with fresh provisions by that power for whose assistance it is fitted out.” This plainly alludes to the British squadron stationed at Rio de Janeiro for the protection of the coast of Brazil; and it is only fair that the party which is assisted should feed those who have undertaken its defence.

Article 8th. “Any number of ships of war are permitted to enter the ports of either of the High Contracting Parties.” This is connected with the foregoing article, and was necessary for its execution.

Article 9th. “The Inquisition or Tribunal of the Holy Office not having been hitherto established or recognized in Brazil, H.R.H. the Prince Regent of Portugal, guided by an enlightened and liberal policy, takes the opportunity afforded by the present treaty, to declare spontaneously in his own name, and in that of his heirs and successors, that the Inquisition shall never hereafter be established in the South American dominions of the Crown of Portugal.”

A hint is thrown out towards the conclusion of the same article of some intention to abolish the Inquisition in Portugal, and in all other parts of the Portugueze dominions. I imagine that Great Britain would scarcely have stipulated for this change of policy in the government of Brazil, if some intimation had not been made that the ministry of that country wished in this manner to get rid of the abominable tribunal. Great Britain indeed cannot be said to have stipulated for it; the Prince declares his purpose spontaneously. Be this as it may, this most horrible Court does not exercise its power in Brazil, and thus has been removed, almost irrevocably, one of the most intolerable burthens under which any nation ever laboured. The late Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, D. Rodrigo de Souza Coutinho, was a man of a liberal mind; and Brazil has in his death sustained a great loss; but this misfortune is alleviated by the means which it has afforded of placing at the head of affairs the Chevalier Araujo[259]. This nobleman seems to have adopted Brazil as his country, to direct his attention entirely to the concerns of that kingdom, and to wish to increase the importance of the State over which he has been most judiciously placed. He appears also to be aware of the means by which progressive prosperity is to be obtained,—liberality, toleration, mildness, reformation. The solemn manner in which the rulers of Brazil have declared their intentions in this respect, is a triumph of liberality over bigotry which was scarcely to be expected; and still less was the public avowal of principles like these to be looked for from the quarter in which they appeared. The misfortunes of Portugal have produced incalculable benefit to the transatlantic territories which she held under subjection; and although the mother country has suffered much, still some advantages cannot fail to proceed from the change in her situation; at any rate her internal affairs may meet with some alterations which may better the condition of the people. Portugal no longer enjoys the exclusive trade with Brazil, but I know not whether in the end she will not be happier in depending upon her own resources;—upon a moderate trade with other nations suited to her political importance, instead of the gigantic commercial intercourse which was carried on through her ports. The government will probably undergo some reform, and Portugal will in all likelihood soon see the Inquisition abolished, and may perhaps witness the re-establishment of the Cortes.

Article 10th. “A gradual abolition of the slave trade on the part of the Regent of Portugal is promised, and the limits of the same traffic along the coast of Africa are determined.” Of this subject I have already in another place treated.