Watkin Tench's 1788 (4 page)

It should seem that the power of the church, which has been so long on the decline in Europe, is at length beginning to be shaken in the colonies of the Catholic powers. Some recent instances which have taken place at Tenerife evince it very fully. Were not a stranger, however, to be apprised of this, he would hardly draw the conclusion from his own observations. The bishop of these islands, which conjunctively form a see, resides on the Grand Canary. He is represented as a man in years and of a character as amiable as exalted, extremely beloved both by foreigners and those of his own church. The bishopric is valued at ten thousand pounds per annum, the government at some-what less than two.

In spite of every precaution, while we lay at anchor in the road a convict had the address, one night, to secrete himself on the deck when the rest were turned below and, after remaining quiet some hours, let himself down over the bow of the ship and floated to a boat that laid astern, into which he got, and cutting her adrift, suffered himself to be carried away by the current until at a sufficient distance to be out of hearing, when he rowed off. This elopement was not discovered till some hours after, when a search being made and boats sent to the different parts of the island, he was discovered in a small cove to which he had fled for refuge. On being questioned, it appeared he had endeavoured to get himself received on board a Dutch East Indiaman in the road, but being rejected there, he resolved on crossing over to the Grand Canary, which is at the distance of ten leagues, and when detected was recruiting his strength in order to make the attempt. At the same time that the boats of the fleet were sent on this pursuit, information was given to the Spanish governor of what had happened, who immediately detached parties every way in order to apprehend the delinquent.

Having remained a week at Tenerife, and in that time completed our stock of water and taken on board wine etc., early on the morning on the 10th of June we weighed anchor and stood out to sea with a light easterly breeze. The shortness of our stay and the consequent hurry prevented our increasing much any previous knowledge we might have had of the place. For the information of those who may follow us on this service, it may not, however, be amiss to state the little that will be found of use to them.

The markets afford fresh meat, though it is neither plentiful nor good. Fish is scarce, but poultry may be procured in almost any quantity at as cheap a rate as in the English seaports. Vegetables do not abound, except pumpkins and onions, of which I advise all ships to lay in a large stock. Milch goats are bought for a trifle, and easily procured. Grapes cannot be scarce in their season, but when we were here, except figs and excellent mulberries, no fruit was to be procured. Dry wines, as the merchants term them, are sold from ten to fifteen pounds a pipe.
^†
For the latter price the very best, called the London Particular, may be bought. Sweet wines are considerably dearer. Brandy is also a cheap article. I would not advise the voyager to depend on this place for either his hogs or sheep. And he will do well to supply himself with dollars before he quits England to expend in the different ports he may happen to touch at. Should he, however, have neglected this precaution, let him remember when he discounts bills or exchanges English money here not to receive his returns in quarter dollars, which will be tendered to him, but altogether in whole ones, as he will find the latter turn to better account than the former both at Rio de Janeiro and the Cape of Good Hope.

The latitude of the town of Santa Cruz is 28° 27½′ north, the longitude 16° 17½′ west of Greenwich.

†
A large cask which held around 500 litres.

4

The passage from Tenerife to Rio de Janeiro in the Brazils

I
N
sailing from Tenerife to the south-east, the various and picturesque appearances of the peak are beautiful to the highest degree. The stupendous height, which before was lost on the traveller, now strikes him with awe and admiration, the whole island appearing one vast mountain with a pyramidal top. As we proceeded with light winds, at an easy rate, we saw it distinctly for three days after our departure, and should have continued to see it longer had not the haziness of the atmosphere interrupted our view. The good people of Santa Cruz tell some stories of the wonderful extent of space to be seen from the summit of it that would not disgrace the memoirs of the ever-memorable Baron Munchausen.
^†

On the 18th of June we saw the most northerly of the Cape Verde Islands, at which time the commodore gave the fleet to understand, by signal, that his intention was to touch at some of them. The following day we made Sao Tiago, and stood in to gain an anchorage in Port Praia Bay. But the baffling winds and lee current rendering it a matter of doubt whether or not the ships would be able to fetch, the signal for anchoring was hauled down and the fleet bore up before the wind. In passing along them we were enabled to ascertain the south end of the isle of Sal to be in 16° 40′ north latitude, and 23° 5′ west longitude. The south end of Boa Vista to be in 15° 57′ north, 23° 8′ west. The south end of the isle of Maio in 15° 11′ north, 23° 26′ west; and the longitude of the fort, in the town of Port Praia, to be 23° 36½′ west of Greenwich.

By this time the weather, from the sun being so far advanced in the northern tropic, was become intolerably hot which, joined to the heavy rains that soon after came on, made us very apprehensive for the health of the fleet. Contrary, however, to expectation, the number of sick in the ship I was embarked on was surprisingly small and the rest of the fleet were nearly as healthy. Frequent explosions of gunpowder, lighting fires between decks, and a liberal use of that admirable antiseptic, oil of tar, were the preventives we made use of against impure air; and above all things we were careful to keep the men's bedding and wearing apparel dry. As we advanced towards the Line the weather grew gradually better and more pleasant. On the 14th of July we passed the equator, at which time the atmosphere was as serene and the temperature of the air not hotter than in a bright summer day in England. From this period until our arrival on the American coast, the heats, the calms and the rains by which we had been so much incommoded were succeeded by a series of weather as delightful as it was unlooked for. At three o'clock in the afternoon of the 2nd of August, the
Supply
, which had been previously sent ahead on purpose, made the signal for seeing the land, which was visible to the whole fleet before sunset, and proved to be Cape Frio, in latitude 23° 5′ south, longitude 41° 40¼′ west.

Owing to light airs we did not get abreast of the city of St Sebastian, in the harbour of Rio de Janeiro, until the 7th of the month, when we anchored about three-quarters of a mile from the shore.

†
A fictional figure of the eighteenth century, famous for his wildly exaggerated stories.

5

From the arrival of the fleet at Rio de Janeiro till its departure for the Cape of Good Hope, with some remarks on the Brazils

B
RAZIL
is a country very imperfectly known in Europe. The Portuguese, from political motives, have been sparing in their accounts of it. Whence our descriptions of it in the geographical publications in England are drawn I know not. That they are miserably erroneous and defective is certain.

The city of St Sebastian stands on the west side of the harbour, in a low unhealthy situation, surrounded on all sides by hills which stop the free circulation of air, and subject its inhabitants to intermittent and putrid diseases. It is of considerable extent. Mr Cook
^†
makes it as large as Liverpool; but Liverpool, in 1767, when Mr Cook wrote, was not two-thirds of its present size. Perhaps it equals Chester, or Exeter, in the share of ground it occupies, and is infinitely more populous than either of them. The streets intersect each other at right angles, are tolerably well built and excellently paved, abounding with shops of every kind in which the wants of a stranger, if money is not one of them, can hardly remain unsatisfied. About the centre of the city, and at a little distance from the beach, the palace of the viceroy stands, a long, low building, no wise remarkable in its exterior appearance; though within are some spacious and handsome apartments. The churches and convents are numerous and richly decorated. Hardly a night passes without some of the latter being illuminated in honour of their patron saints, which has a very brilliant effect when viewed from the water and was at first mistaken by us for public rejoicings. At the corner of almost every street stands a little image of the virgin, stuck round with lights in an evening, before which passengers frequently stop to pray and sing very loudly. Indeed, the height to which religious zeal is carried in this place cannot fail of creating astonishment in a stranger. The greatest part of the inhabitants seem to have no other occupation than that of paying visits and going to church, at which time you see them sally forth richly dressed,
en chapeau bras
,
^††
with the appendages of a bag for the hair, and a small sword. Even boys of six years old are seen parading about, furnished with these indispensable requisites. Except when at their devotions, it is not easy to get a sight of the women and, when obtained, the comparisons drawn by a traveller lately arrived from England are little flattering to Portuguese beauty. In justice, however, to the ladies of St Sebastian, I must observe that the custom of throwing nosegays at strangers for the purpose of bringing on an assignation, which Doctor Solander and another gentleman of Mr Cook's ship met with when here, was never seen by any of us in a single instance. We were so deplorably unfortunate as to walk every evening before their windows and balconies without being honoured with a single bouquet, though nymphs and flowers were in equal and great abundance.

Among other public buildings, I had almost forgot to mention an observatory which stands near the middle of the town and is tolerably well furnished with astronomical instruments. During our stay here some Spanish and Portuguese mathematicians were endeavouring to determine the boundaries of the territories belonging to their respective crowns. Unhappily, however, for the cause of science, these gentlemen have not hitherto been able to coincide in their accounts so that very little information on this head, to be depended upon, could be gained. How far political motives may have caused this disagreement I do not presume to decide; though it deserves notice that the Portuguese accuse the Abbe de la Caille, who observed here by order of the King of France, of having laid down the longitude of this place forty-five miles too much to the eastward.

Until the year 1770 all the flour in the settlement was brought from Europe, but since that time the inhabitants have made so rapid a progress in raising grain as to be able to supply themselves with it abundantly. The principal corn country lies around Rio Grande in the latitude of 32° south, where wheat flourishes so luxuriantly as to yield from seventy to eighty bushels for one. Coffee also, which they formerly received from Portugal, now grows in such plenty as to enable them to export considerable quantities of it. But the staple commodity of the country is sugar. That they have not, however, learnt the art of making palatable rum the English troops in New South Wales can bear testimony; a large quantity, very ill flavoured, having been bought and shipped here for the use of the garrison of Port Jackson.

It was in 1771 that St Salvador, which had for more than a century been the capital of Brazil, ceased to be so; and that the seat of government was removed to St Sebastian. The change took place on account of the colonial war at that time carried on by the courts of Lisbon and Madrid. And, indeed, were the object of security alone to determine the seat of government, I know but few places better situated in that respect than the one I am describing; the natural strength of the country, joined to the difficulties which would attend an attack on the fortifications, being such as to render it very formidable.

It may be presumed that the Portuguese government is well apprised of this circumstance, and of the little risk they run in being deprived of so important a possession, else it will not be easy to penetrate the reasons which induce them to treat the troops who compose the garrison with such cruel negligence. Their regiments were ordered out with a promise of being relieved and sent back to Europe at the end of three years, in conformity to which they settled all their domestic arrangements. But the faith of government has been broken, and at the expiration of twenty years all that is left to the remnant of these unfortunate men is to suffer in submissive silence. I was one evening walking with a Portuguese officer when this subject was started and, on my telling him that such a breach of public honour to English troops would become a subject of parliamentary inquiry, he seized my hand with great eagerness. ‘Ah, Sir!' exclaimed he. ‘Yours is a free country. We—' His emotions spoke what his tongue refused.

As I am mentioning the army, I cannot help observing that I saw nothing here to confirm the remark of Mr Cook that the inhabitants of the place, whenever they meet an officer of the garrison, bow to him with the greatest obsequiousness, and by omitting such a ceremony would subject themselves to be knocked down, though the other seldom deigns to return the compliment. The interchange of civilities is general between them and seems by no means extorted. The people who could submit to such insolent superiority would, indeed, deserve to be treated as slaves.

The police of the city is very good. Soldiers patrol the streets frequently, and riots are seldom heard of. The dreadful custom of stabbing, from motives of private resentment, is nearly at an end since the church has ceased to afford an asylum to murderers. In other respects, the progress of improvement appears slow and fettered by obstacles almost unsurmountable, whose baneful influence will continue until a more enlightened system of policy shall be adopted. From morning to night the ears of a stranger are greeted by the tinkling of the convent bells, and his eyes saluted by processions of devotees, whose adoration and levity seem to keep equal pace, and succeed each other in turns. ‘Do you want to make your son sick of soldiering? Shew him the trainbands
^{††â€} 
of London on a field day.' Let him who would wish to give his son a distaste to popery point out to him the sloth, the ignorance and the bigotry of this place.