Spanish and Portuguese South America during the Colonial Period; Vol. 1 of 2

by Robert Grant Watson

In the face of these disasters, Nobrega proclaimed aloud that the Portuguese were but suffering the righteous judgment of Heaven. They had broken treaties; they had enslaved prisoners; they had connived at cannibalism on the part of their allies. He was no mere eloquent declaimer. His words were followed by the most signal and heroic proof that they came from his innermost soul. He himself, with his colleague Anchieta, resolved to put themselves into the hands of the natives in order to obtain peace; and it speaks volumes for the character of the Fathers that, in the face of Portuguese treachery, the habit of their order was a safe passport amongst the savages.

It is true that twelve native youths were sent to S. Vicente as hostages; but in face of the excitement and prejudice which prevailed, it is probable that the two Fathers, who really deserved the name of holy men, owed their safety, and what they valued infinitely more, the success of their mission, rather to their own saintly and irreproachable conduct than to the guarantee of hostages. They nobly refused to accept peace on the condition of recommending their governor to give up three native chiefs who had allied themselves with the Portuguese, and who had accepted Christianity: their countrymen’s first duty, they said, was to keep faith inviolate, and if they should betray their allies, how could they now be trusted? The reply of the chief with whom they parleyed was, that if the Portuguese should decline to give up these men whom, according to their code of honour, it was incumbent they should receive, there should be no peace. A reference to the governor was agreed upon on both sides; but Nobrega, with a patriotic spirit which recalls that of the Roman Regulus, warned him emphatically against concluding peace on disgraceful terms under the apprehension of what might befall himself and his colleague. For two months the missionaries remained in this position. At the end of that time Nobrega was permitted to return, to consult with the governor, whilst Anchieta remained as a hostage; but after three months thus passed by the latter, he too for the time failed to win the crown of martyrdom; and a reconciliation was effected, chiefly through the efforts of Nobrega.

The small-pox about this period seems to have produced enormous havoc in certain of the Portuguese settlements in Brazil, where some three-fourths of the natives were carried away by it, or by the pestilence which followed in its wake. Six of the settlements which had been founded by the Jesuits had to be abandoned; and the Portuguese, we are told, profiting by the misery of their neighbours, gave food in exchange for slaves. Certain starving individuals sold their own persons, whilst others parted with their children. But although the lawfulness of these purchases was not questioned, the consciences of the purchasers were somewhat ill-at-ease in the matter. They, it seems, really thought it unfair and unchristian-like to claim men as their slaves, over whom they had no other right save that acquired by giving them food to save their lives. Yet they were unwilling to let them go free, if for no other reason than that their souls would be no longer in the way of salvation. In this dilemma a compromise was hit upon between God and Mammon; the slaves were told they were no longer slaves; but still, that they must continue to serve their possessors for life, to receive yearly wages. Should they escape, they would be pursued and punished; but the masters were not to sell or otherwise part with them.

1564.

The Portuguese Government were not satisfied that the possession of Villegagnon’s island at Rio de Janeiro should not have been retained; and a good opportunity of regaining it seemed to offer on the peace with the Tamoyos, which had been procured by Nobrega and his companion. Accordingly, the nephew of the Portuguese governor was sent to Bahia with two vessels, and with orders for his uncle to supply him with the force requisite for this purpose. Estacio de Sa reached his destination in February 1564, and in accordance with the advice of his uncle, before commencing operations, summoned Nobrega to his councils. They learned from a Frenchman that the tribe of Tamoyos had already broken the recent peace, and were the allies of his countrymen. This unexpected news completely upset the plans of the Portuguese commander, for the French vessels were protected by the Tamoyos at every point where an attack was possible. They declined to put out to sea, and, for want of small craft, he could not attack them at close quarters. Under these circumstances, and having learned that S. Vicente was beset by the savages, he thought it prudent to proceed to the latter place; he was, however, driven back by a storm to Rio de Janeiro.

It was now resolved by Estacio de Sa, in consultation with Nobrega, to proceed to Santos, where they found to their relief that those natives with whom the latter had been a hostage remained true to their engagements; and his presence and influence materially contributed to strengthen the force. These preparations, however, consumed the remainder of the year, and it was not until the following January (1565) that the expedition, consisting of six ships of war with a proportionate number of smaller craft, was ready to put to sea. But so unfavourable were the winds that, although they sailed from Bertioga on the 20th of January, it was the beginning of March when they reached Rio de Janeiro.

The troops were landed at Villa Velha, beneath the “Sugar Loaf.” Hardly had they intrenched themselves when they were attacked by the Tamoyos, who, however, were routed. The war was carried on with dilatoriness, a quality which has not unfrequently distinguished the military operations of Portugal and of Brazil. More than a year was wasted in petty skirmishes; at the end of this time the governor, Mem de Sa, appeared in person on the scene, exactly two years after the expedition had sailed from S. Vicente. On St. Sebastian’s day the French stronghold was assaulted: not one of their native allies escaped; two Frenchmen were killed, and five, who were made prisoners, were hanged. The victors then proceeded to another fortress of the enemy on Cat Island. After a bombardment this too was carried, but in the assault Estacio de Sa received a mortal wound. Most of the French escaped, and having with their allies been totally defeated, sailed in their four vessels to the province of Pernambuco, where they took possession of Recife. They were, however, attacked by the Portuguese governor of Olinda, and were compelled again to have recourse to their ships. Thus was Rio de Janeiro finally lost to the French. Those of the sons of France who should have formed the enduring colony marked out by Coligny were, through the treachery of Villegagnon, employed in bearing arms against their countrymen in France.

According to his instructions, the governor’s first act was to lay the foundations of a city, which, in honour of the Portuguese monarch and of the saint on whose day the victory had been won, was called S. Sebastian. The fortifications commanding the entrance to the harbour were completed by the natives, under the eye of the Jesuits, without any cost to the state; and it was but fair that the company should have assigned to it the space within the city for a college, together with a donation sufficient for the support of fifty brethren.

The French soon afterwards made an attempt to establish themselves at Paraïba, where for some time they carried on a profitable trade, and where they became allied with the natives; but they were not more successful in maintaining themselves here than they had been at Rio de Janeiro, and Paraïba too became a Portuguese settlement.

1570.