| SILVER COINS. | COPPER COINS. |
| (1) A vintêm, 20 reis = about a penny. (2) Half a tostaõ, 50 reis = nearly threepence. (3) Three vintens = about threepence halfpenny. (4) Tostaō, 100 reis = rather more than sixpence. (5) Six vintens = about sevenpence. (6) Twelve vintens, 240 reis = about one shilling and twopence. (7) Crusado novo, 24 vintens = about two shillings and fourpence. |
(1) One-and-a-half-reis piece (Peter II., 1700) = less than half a farthing. (2) Three-reis piece (Maria and Peter III., 1797) = less than a farthing. (3) Five-reis piece (Maria Regina, 1799) = about a farthing. (4) Ten-reis piece (Maria I., 1799) = a little more than a halfpenny. |
Very different from this tale of decay is the history of the Portuguese in Brazil during the same period, and the comparison shows clearly of how much greater value is a colony than a dominion conquered and held by the sword. The loyalty of the Portuguese colonists was shown by their expulsion of the Dutch with hardly any assistance from the home government, and the bonds of kinship enabled the Portuguese to maintain their power in South America without the establishment and maintenance of powerful armies. Indeed, one of the most valuable lessons taught by the history of the daughter country, is that the less interference the mother country makes in the affairs of its colony, the better it will be for both countries. The material prosperity of Brazil in the seventeenth century was due to the fact that during that period the colony was essentially agricultural, and that there was therefore time for a large and industrious population to collect, before gold was discovered in large quantities. The production of tobacco and sugar was the staple employment of the inhabitants, and the rapid development of these resources caused the growth of a large fleet, not only to carry these commodities to Europe, but to import the thousands of negro slaves, who worked in the plantations. And it is here well to remark that at this time the Portuguese settlers made no attempt to enslave the native Brazilians, who were protected by the Jesuits and by edicts of the king, but considered it perfectly just and right to make use of negro slaves. This wise behaviour and the conduct of the Jesuits, who laboured assiduously among the natives, placed them on friendly terms with their conquerors, who soon began to intermarry with them. Owing to this friendly relationship the interior of the continent was gradually opened up, and at last gold was discovered in large quantities. It was fortunate for the Portuguese that it had not been discovered before, for otherwise they would certainly have lost their colony during the “Sixty Years’ Captivity,” but at this time they were too strongly planted to be expelled, and had besides the potent protection of the English navy. The first discovery of gold on a large scale took place in 1699, and the arrival of the first cargo at an opportune juncture gave King Pedro the means he required for setting his army on foot. It must be remembered that at this time there were no Californian or Australian gold fields, and that the discovery of gold in Brazil was of more importance than it would be now. King Pedro prepared to work this source of wealth in a prudent manner; he did not attempt to make the gold fields a royal monopoly, which the independent inhabitants of the captainships would not have allowed, but demanded one-fifth of the total registered yearly export. This left enough profit for the gold searchers, and as the yearly revenue of the crown of Portugal from this source was at least £300,000, it may be imagined that the kings of Portugal were well able to maintain a splendid court at Lisbon in spite of the loss of the Asiatic trade. No story is more interesting than this growth of Brazil into the most valuable possession of Portugal; the land, which was at first inhabited by convicts, surpassed in wealth the dominion won by the noblest sons of the country.
