There were twelve towns at the close of last century on the left bank of the _Amazons_ under the government of _Pará_, amongst them being _Faro_ to the far west, _Obidos_, _Alemquer_, _Montalegre_, _Outeiro_, _Almerin_, _Mazagam_, _Villa Vistoza_, and _Macapa_. The settlements on the southern side of the great river were more numerous and more important. They included _Samtarem_, which in 1788 contained 1300 inhabitants, and _Villa Franca_, which contained a similar number; also _Mundrucus_, so called from the tribe of that name who had begun to cultivate the arts of civilization. Towns and settlements were likewise increasing upon the river _Zingu_. _Vieiros_, _Souzel_, and _Pombal_ contained in 1788 about 800 inhabitants each; whilst _Gurupa_, which was considered the key of the _Amazons_, contained 400 of European blood. _Melgaço_, _Oeyras_, and _Portel_ were likewise considerable settlements inhabited by Indians in the same captaincy. Cameta was, with the exception of _Pará_, the largest town in the State, containing about 6000 white inhabitants. The communication between this place and _Pará_ was carried on by one of those natural canals which are so narrow as only to afford a passage for canoes. The province of _Rio Negro_, after the edict by which the Jesuits were removed, seems to have suffered no detriment from that measure. Its most remote establishment was distant from _Pará_ four hundred and eighty-five leagues, which, in ascending the river, was accounted a journey of nearly three months. _Pará_ itself had become a populous and flourishing city, the cathedral and the palace being built on a grand scale. The Jesuits’ College had been converted into an episcopal palace and a seminary, which boasted professors of Latin rhetoric and philosophy. The city possessed a judicial establishment, a theatre, a hospital, a convent of Capuchins and likewise one of Carmelites. Ships for the navy were constructed at _Pará_, and timber was exported to Lisbon for the use of the arsenals. Amongst its exports were Oriental and other spices, cacao, coffee, rice, cotton, sarsaparilla, copaiba, tapioca, gum, India-rubber, chestnuts, hides, and molasses.