South-cast of Maragnan is a district called Ciara, or Scara, where the Portuguese have formed so few settle ments, that some doubt is entertained whether it ought to be reckoned among the number of their provinces. They have constructed a fort, however, in a situation where there is a harbour, though capable of receiving only small vessels. Two or three ships touch here annually, to take in the few productions of this district.
We come now to the extensive government of Fer nambuco, which extends along the coast, till it is bound ed by the great river of San Francisco. It is formed by the union of four provinces, those of Fernambuco Proper, of Paraiba, of Rio Grande, and Tamaraca. These were the districts held by the Dutch, so long as that nation kept its ground in Brasil ; and they are accordingly the most carefully cultivated. Sugar, the most valuable pro duction of these climates, is raised here in greater per fection, than in any other part of South America. Bra zil wood, besides, which this country exclusively pro duces, is found in the province of Fernambuco alone. The government, however, has been careful to circum scribe the benefit derived from it, by making it. the ob ject of a monopoly. The value of this wood imported in to Europe amounts, however, to between 30,0001. and 40,0001.
Olinda, the capital of the province, and formerly of all the Dutch dominions in Brasil, is situated on a hill, at about a mile's distance from the sea. It contains only two thousand Portuguese inhabitants, but a much greater number of Indians and people of colour. Its trade is carried by the Recisc, or port, situated at the mouth of the river on which the city lies. The harbour is far from good, the entrance for large vessels being extremely narrow. Along the whole of this coast ex tends an almost continued wall of rocks, about sixty feet high, allowing vessels to approach only by a few narrow openings at different places.
Tamaraca is situated only five miles north of Olinda, upon an island, which is separated from the continent by a narrow channel. It contains a pretty good har bour. The district attached to it is the property of the Marquis of Monsanto. Paraiba, which, under the Dutch government, became a place of considerable impor tance, has also a tolerable harbour, at the mouth of a river of the same name. Rio Grande is situated on a rock in the river of that name, and is, by its situation, nearly impregnable. The district of Rio Grande pro duces wheat, hemp, cows, and horses, in such abun dance, that it is reckoned the richest part of Brasil ; but, owing to the numerous fiats in the river, it is not able to carry on an extensive navigation. The isle of
Fernando di Noronha, though at the distance of sixty leagues from the coast, is also attached to the govern ment of Pernambuco. The Portuguese merely keep a garrison there. The whole of Fernanibnco is supposed to contain a population of 19,600 whites, 39,000 negroes and mulattoes, and 33,700 Indians.
On passing the great river San Francisco, we find ourselves in the government of Bahia, long the centre of Portuguese dominion in this part of the world. Like that of Pernambuco, it is composed of four provinces, Sergippe, Bahia Proper, Dos Rheas, and Porto Seguro. Bahia Proper is the most fertile and populous of all the provinces. The plantations are extended to a considera ble distance inland, and are of great extent, employing often two or three hundred slaves. Sugar, cotton, and tobacco, are the staple productions. The capital, Bahia, or St Salvador, carries on a very extensive trade, both with the mother country, and with the other provinces. The bay on which it lies forms one of the nobl-st har bours in the world. It is twelve leagues in length and three in breadth, is entered from the south, and affords anchorage, where the united shipping of the globe might be fully accommodated. Tne city is situated on the right side of the bay, on a steep hill, with a single street, parallel to the beach. The most magnificent edifice is the grand church or the Ex Jesuits, which is built entirely of European marble, while every species of ornament is lavished on its interior. The college and monastery attached to it, being no longer occupied, have been converted into an hospital. The remaining chur ches are loaded, though in a less degree, with the same gaudy and superstitious ornaments ; but the general ap pearance of the town is far from corresponding to these structures. The streets are narrow, ill paved, and ex cessively dirty. The houses, even of the opulent in habitants, have a dull and dirty appearance from the street ; while those of the lowest rank are composed of tiles, open to the roof, and instead of windows they have wooden lattices, which are not even painted. The city is populous, containing upwards of an hundred thousand inhabitants, of whom thirty thousand are whites, thirty thousand mulattoes, and the rest negroes.