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.