Parati, with the title of a countship, and famous for its cacháça, (rum,) which is reputed to be the best in the state, was created a town in 1660, and is situated in a level country, on the western side of the bay of Ilha Grande, betwixt the river Patetiba, and that from which it derives its name. Its streets are straight, crossing at right angles, with edifices of stone, and a parochial church of Our Lady of Remedies, the chapels of Lapa, and of Griefs. It has a _Juiz de Fora_, a judicial officer, and royal professors (as they are called) of the primitive letters and Latin. Its commerce is considerable. It is situated about sixty miles west of the metropolis. Angra dos Reys is a maritime town, in a state of mediocrity, standing among the frontier mountains of Ilha Grande, which name it frequently takes. It is defended by two redoubts, and has a parish-church of Our Lady of Conceiçao; also the chapels of Lapa, and St. Luzia; a convent of Franciscans, and one of slippered Carmelites. The extensive domains of the former have not ceased to increase. Its inhabitants enjoy a salubrious air; and vessels of the largest size can come to anchor in the port. It has a _Juiz de Fora_, who is the same person that fills that situation at Parati, from whence it is distant twenty miles, and also has professors of the same kind. Its commerce is pretty considerable; the fig and vine trees prosper in its vicinity, and it is the most ancient town of the province. In the adjacent countries of Mambucaba, rice commonly renders one hundred for one; feijao, twenty; Indian corn, forty and fifty; a fertility that has induced many families to move to this district, which, since the year 1811, has been formed into a parish, with the church of Our Lady of Rozario, situated near the emboucheur of the river, upon its eastern bank. A few leagues to the north, and in the vicinity of the same margin of the river, is the picturesque mountain of Taypicu, having the form of a sugar-loaf; and at a moderate distance from the origin of the Mambucaba is the celebrated pinnacle denominated the Friar, from its similitude to a Franciscan with the cawl upon his head.