The intercourse of this port with India, in common with Mozambique, has been much annoyed by the privateers of the Isle of France, and will therefore, in all probability, florish equally by their suppression. A voyage thither and back is performed with great expedition: one large ship of eight hundred tons sailed, loaded at Surat, and returned within the space of seven months. A voyage to China seldom occupies a longer period. The trade thither will no doubt be revived, and it is not improbable that this port may, at no great distance of time, become an entrepôt for India goods destined for Europe.
Rio de Janeiro is conveniently situated for supplying a great variety of necessaries to the Cape of Good Hope and to New South Wales; indeed, of late years, English manufactures have been sold here so cheap, that it has been found more advantageous to ship them hence for those colonies than from home. Ships going on the South Sea whale-fishery touch here, and lay in large quantities of spirituous liquors, wine, sugar, coffee, tobacco, soap, and live stock.
The imports from the mother-country consist chiefly in vinegar, hardware, coarse linen, hats, silks, wine, and oil. From Sweden some iron, also pitch and tar are occasionally brought: it is preferred to English iron, particularly for mules’ shoes, on account of its greater ductility.
The exports consist principally of cotton, sugar, rum, coffee, rice, ship-timber, various fine cabinet-woods, hides, tallow, indigo, and coarse cotton cloths, in immense quantities, for clothing the Peons in the provinces of the River Plate. Among the more precious articles of export may be enumerated gold, in chains and other ornaments, diamonds, topazes of various colors, amethysts, tourmalines, (that are frequently sold for emeralds), chrysoberyls, aqua-marinas, and wrought jewelry.
This market has been greatly overstocked with English manufactures, in consequence of the sanguine speculations to which our merchants were incited by the late emigration. The supply exceeded the demand in a tenfold degree, and the excess gave rise to auctions, where goods were sold at unprecedentedly reduced prices. In proportion as English merchandize lowered, that of Brazil rose in value; and so great was the demand for it, owing to the numerous vessels waiting for cargoes, that within a year after the arrival of the Prince Regent, the price of every article of produce was doubled. Gold quickly disappeared; for the monied Portuguese, perceiving the avidity and impolitic eagerness with which the English forced their goods upon them, cautiously withheld their specie, and, by the alternative of barter, got rid of their own produce at a very high price, and obtained our merchandize almost at their own valuation. The losing party in this unequal traffic, though they had chiefly to blame their own imprudence in engaging in it, were loud in their complaints and remonstrances against the Portuguese merchants. A treaty of commerce was concluded, by which the duties on English merchandize were fixed at fifteenper cent. while other nations were to pay twenty-four per cent. ad valorem. A judge was appointed to attend solely to the concerns of the English, and to see justice done them: he was entitled the Juiz Conservador of the English nation. The person who now fills this important office is one of the most enlightened and upright of men; his official conduct, of which I have seen much, has secured him the respect of all parties, and has done credit to the choice of the Prince Regent, confirmed by the approval of his Excellency Lord Strangford. Further to cultivate and extend the interests of commerce, his Royal Highness has established a Board of Trade, in which are some experienced and intelligent men, to whose consideration every particular case, and every new regulation, is referred. One of the members of this Board, Dr. José da Silva Lisboa, has greatly distinguished himself by his zeal for the English nation, displayed in various publications on commerce, particularly in one dated May 1810, which contains a fund of solid argument on the principles laid down and acknowledged by our most celebrated statesmen and political writers. It is to be hoped that the diffusion of views so liberal, under the auspices of ministers, will banish that narrow-minded jealousy with which certain opulent individuals of the Brazilian capital regard the English merchants, whom they stigmatize as intruders; and that the general interests of commerce in this thriving colony will gain, through fair competition, what they have heretofore lost through overstocked markets.
The business of the custom-house, although still shackled with many troublesome and tedious regulations, especially with regard to small articles, has been considerably simplified; and in all cases, where a stranger finds himself at a loss how to proceed, he is sure to have every difficulty explained, and every obstacle removed, by appealing to the judge who presides over this department. The liberality and disinterestedness of this excellent officer are the more generally felt and acknowledged, from an apprehension of the inconveniences with which his situation might enable him to embarrass the trade, if he were inclined to a more rigorous execution of the laws.
In mentioning the advantages which have resulted to the English merchants from the liberality of the persons in office, I ought not to omit stating that much has been effected through the exertions of the British minister, who, while pursuing that conciliatory and moderate line of conduct, which gained him the esteem of the Prince Regent, ever firmly upheld the interests of his nation; and in all deliberations concerning them, reserved to himself the casting vote. With respect to individuals, it is true that he declined to be troubled on every trivial occasion, and scrupulously discountenanced every covert attempt at monopoly or peculation, from whatever quarter it came; but in great questions he acted with promptitude and decision; nor was he averse to use his influence in favor of a private individual, when a candid and manly appeal was made to him. Considering the peculiar circumstances attending his embassy, and also the jarring interests he had to reconcile, Lord Strangford conducted himself in a way highly honorable to his talents and character; and in continuing to merit the confidence of his own court, secured that of the Prince Regent and all his ministers. The treaty of commerce is a proof of the harmony which subsists between them, and may be regarded on our part as the most advantageous that, in the existing posture of affairs, could have been procured.
The harbour is easy of entrance and egress, generally speaking, at all times, as there is a daily alternation of land and sea breeze, the former blowing until about noon, and the latter from that hour until sun-set. Ships find here every conveniency for repairing, heaving down, &c. but it is to be hoped that docks will soon be formed, which will render the latter troublesome and dangerous operation unnecessary. There is an anchorage-duty paid, which forms an item in the bill of port charges.
Of the state of society in Rio de Janeiro, what I have to observe differs little from the description of the Paulistas given. The same habits and manners prevail at both places, allowing for some slight variation, caused by the greater influx of strangers to the capital. The Portuguese are in general rather punctilious and reserved in admitting a foreigner to their family parties; but having once received him, they are open and hospitable. The ladies are affable and courteous to strangers, extremely fond of dress, but less proud than those of other nations. In their mixed assemblies the utmost gaiety prevails, and is seasoned by that finished politeness for which the Portuguese are generally distinguished. The conversation of the best bred men, however, is more lively than instructive; for education is here at a low ebb, and comprehends a very limited course of literature and science. It is proper to add that, since the arrival of the court, measures have been adopted for effecting a thorough reform in the seminaries, and other institutions for public instruction; and that the Prince Regent, in his solicitude for the good of his subjects, has zealously patronized every attempt to diffuse among them a taste for useful knowledge. Under his auspices, the college of S. Joaquim has undergone considerable improvement: a lectureship on chemistry has been instituted, to which our countryman, Dr. Gardner, has been nominated by his Royal Highness; and it is to be hoped that from this appointment may be dated the introduction of experimental philosophy in that establishment.