The opening of the Amazon, which occurred on the 7th of September, 1867, and by which the great river is free to the flags of all nations from the Atlantic to Peru, and the abrogation of the monopoly of the coast trade from the Amazon to the Rio Grande do Sul, whereby 4,000 miles of Brazilian sea coast are open to the vessels of every country, cannot fail not only to develop the resources of Brazil, but will prove of great benefit to the bordering Hispano-American Republics and to the maritime nations of the earth. The opening of the Amazon is the most significant indication that the leven of the narrow monopolistic Portuguese conservatism has at last worked out. Portugal would not allow Humboldt to enter the Amazon valley in Brazil. The result of the new policy is beyond the most sanguine expectation. The exports and imports for Para for October and November, 1867 were double those of 1866. This is but the beginning. Soon it will be found that it is cheaper for Bolivia, Peru, Equador, and New Granada east of the Andes to receive their goods from and to export their indiarubber, chincona, &c., to the United States and Europe via the great water highway which discharges into the Atlantic than by the long, circuitous route of Cape Horn, or the Trans-Isthmian route of Panama. The Purus and the Madeira are hereafter to be navigated by steamers. The valley of the Amazon in Brazil is as large as the area of the United States east of Colorado, while the valley of the Amazon in and out of Brazil is equal to all the United States east of California, Oregon, and Washington territory, and yet the population is not equal to the single city of Rio de Janeiro or the combined inhabitants of Boston and Chicago. It is estimated that a larger population can be sustained in the valley of the Amazon than elsewhere on the globe.
Explorations have already been commenced by enterprising men from the Southern States of America, who have no doubt of the adaptability of the soil and of the climate on the banks of this noble stream for all the productions of the torrid zone. One of these pioneers, Mr. John W. Dowsing, has lately presented a most interesting report, with respect to the resources of Para, to his Excellency the President of that important province:—
May it please your Excellency, I herewith have the honour to submit a succinct Report of a recent exploration of a portion of the valley of the Amazon, and some of the tributaries of the Amazon river, by me, accompanied by Captain John B. Jones, George M. Sandidge, Charles H. Mallory, and Charles M. Broom, and all under the patronage of the Imperial Government of Brazil.
In accordance with instructions from the Minister of Agriculture to your Excellency, I was furnished with transportation, and one conto of reis to defray incidental expenses, and letters to various officials within the Province of Para to facilitate my explorations and secure as far as practicable every information I might desire in regard to the country, in order that I might more fully report to those of my countrymen in the United States who are now deeply interested in emigration.
Myself and party, consisting of the four above-named gentlemen, left Belem on the 9th of November, 1867, on board the steamer Soure for Cameta on the Rio Tocantins. After several days' preparation we ascended that river nearly to the falls; returning we ascended the Amazon and Tapajoz rivers to the town of Santarem and surrounding country, thence to the contiguous islands and up the Tapajoz, thence up the Amazon river to its junction with the Rio Negro to the city of Manaos.
From Manaos we made several excursions into the country. It was my purpose to go to Rio Branco, but utterly failing to obtain transportation, after remaining twenty-two days, I changed my course to Rio Matary and the lakes into which it leads.
The information I obtained at the various places visited would doubtless be of great utility to the commercial world. It would open up a new market for the various productions, and new fields for the employment of industry.
The trade up the valley of the Amazon, upon the great river and its numerous tributaries, is very considerable. Its full extent and value does not appear in the published statistics of your commerce.
The trade up this magnificent valley is susceptible of almost unlimited expansion. It stands alone in the inconceivable grandeur of its capabilities and the wonderful sublimity of its future destinies.
This magnificent valley, with its wonderful and inexhaustible resources, will form a great avenue of commercial communication between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. It is an immense prolific theatre for the formation of colonies. There is no doubt but that the best route for many manufactures from Europe and North America to Peru is through the valley of the Amazon. The productions of this wonderful valley are necessarily very diversified. They include all the tropical vegetables and fruits, many kinds of furniture and dyewoods, many medicinal drugs, and in the elevated lands it is peculiarly rich in minerals. The great staples exported in which the commercial world is interested are indiarubber, cacao, sarsaparilla, tobacco, hides salted and green, various vegetable oils, cotton, deer skins, isinglass, urucu, rice, &c., &c.