The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. 2 (of 9): Being His Autobiography, Correspondence, Reports, Messages, Addresses, and Other Writings, Official and PrivateJefferson, Thomas
History
The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. 2 (of 9): Being His Autobiography, Correspondence, Reports, Messages, Addresses, and Other Writings, Official and Private
Jefferson, Thomas
United States -- Politics and government -- 1775-1783; United States -- Politics and government -- 1783-1865
As, by this time, I had been advised to try the waters of Aix, I wrote
to the gentleman my design, and that I would go off my road as far as
Nismes, under the pretext of seeing the antiquities of that place, if
he would meet me there. He met me, and the following is the sum of the
information I received from him: "Brazil contains as many inhabitants as
Portugal. They are, 1. Portuguese. 2. Native whites. 3. Black and mulatto
slaves. 4. Indians, civilized and savage. 1. The Portuguese are few in
number, mostly married there, have lost sight of their native country,
as well as the prospect of returning to it, and are disposed to become
independent. 2. The native whites form the body of their nation. 3. The
slaves are as numerous as the free. 4. The civilized Indians have no
energy, and the savage would not meddle. There are twenty thousand regular
troops. Originally these were Portuguese. But as they died off, they
were replaced by natives, so that these compose at present the mass of
the troops, and may be counted on by their native country. The officers
are partly Portuguese, partly Brazilians; their bravery is not doubted,
and they understand the parade, but not the science of their profession.
They have no bias for Portugal, but no energy either for anything. The
priests are partly Portuguese, partly Brazilians, and will not interest
themselves much. The Noblesse are scarcely known as such. They will,
in no manner, be distinguished from the people. The men of letters are
those most desirous of a revolution. The people are not much under the
influence of their priests, most of them read and write, possess arms,
and are in the habit of using them for hunting. The slaves will take the
side of their masters. In short, as to the question of revolution, there
is but one mind in that country. But there appears no person capable
of conducting a revolution, or willing to venture himself at its head,
without the aid of some powerful nation, as the people of their own might
fail them. There is no printing press in Brazil. They consider the North
American revolution as a precedent for theirs. They look to the United
States as most likely to give them honest support, and, from a variety of
considerations, have the strongest prejudices in our favor. This informant
is a native and inhabitant of Rio Janeiro, the present metropolis, which
contains fifty thousand inhabitants, knows well St. Salvador, the former
one, and the mines d'or, which are in the centre of the country. These are
all for a revolution; and, constituting the body of the nation, the other
parts will follow them. The King's fifth of the mines yields annually
thirteen millions of crusadoes or half dollars. He has the sole right of
searching for diamonds and other precious stones, which yield him about
half as much. His income from those two resources alone, then, is about
ten millions of dollars annually; but the remaining part of the produce of
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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