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BRAZIL 217 tlse remaining two thirds being made up of mamalucos or mestizos, mulattos, cafuzos (from Indian and negro), civilized and savage Indians, and Africans, which last form the most numerous unmixed race in the empire. The Brazilian character, with an admixture of mildness and generosity, has a disposition to- ward vindictiveness ; and homicides from that motive are not uncommon, especially in the interior. The more educated classes, though somewhat ceremonious and proud, have re- markable suavity of manner ; and as a nation the people are hospitable, gay, courteous, and communicative, quick at learning, and deeply inspired with the love of theoretical liberty. The aborigines of Brazil were a warlike, fero- cious people, of the most revengeful character. Many of them were cannibals; some of them ate their enemies in grand ceremonial ; others made war for the purpose of obtaining human food ; and still others devoured their relatives and friends as a mark of honor and considera- tion. The Catauxis and other tribes on the river Purns kill and eat members of other tribes at the present day, and even preserve the flesh thus obtained by smoking and drying it. The number of aboriginal tribes found in Brazil at the time of its discovery was prob- ably not far short of 100. They dwelt mostly in a narrow belt along the coast from N. to 8., extending thence back to the Paraguay, and across the region drained by the head waters of the Plata and Amazon. Nearly all these people spoke the same language, which was however divided into numerous dialects and sub-dia- lects. They were called on the coast Tupi, or by some name having that word for its root ; while in the interior they commonly received the name of Guarani, to which great family they all seem to have belonged, the differences in the tribes resulting from the different situa- tions in which they were placed, and from other accidental circumstances. They were not settled, neither were they wildly nomadic, each tribe having certain limits, where it re- mained until driven out by a superior force. The plantain, banana, cashew, yam, and above all the mandioca and more than 200 species of palm, furnished them food, drink, and rai- ment. With few exceptions the Indians of Brazil are of a bright yellowish copper color ; they are robust and well made ; their hair black, lank, and coarse, and the beard thin ; the nose small, the lips not very thick, the face round, eyes small, and skin soft and shining. Nearly all the tribes paint their skin according to fantastical designs. Though usually grave and serious, they do not present the stolid apathy of the northern Indians ; they are fond of feasts and pastimes, and are prone to excess in the use of stimulating liquors. Few of them have any definite idea of a Supreme Being, but all believe in the existence of malig- nant demons. Some tribes practise polygamy. The Botocudos, the most celebrated of all the tribes (see BOTOCUDOS), speak a language en- tirely distinct from the Tupi and from that of the other coast tribes; but all the Brazilian Indians may be communicated with through the lingoa geral, the basis of which is the Tupi- guarani, and which was formed by the priests, traders, and slave hunters. The majority of the Indian tribes have altogether disappeared ; and some of those still existing have been driven far back into the interior, where they remain in their primitive savagism. The an- thropophagous tribes are chiefly confined to the banks of the Doce, Punis, and other tribu- taries of the Amazon. Many have, however, through the influence of the missionaries, embraced Christianity and become partially civilized, and are for the most part engaged in agriculture. The Indians being found unprof- itable as slaves, recourse was had to the im- portation of negroes from Africa, who in ear- lier times were treated with unparalleled cru- elty ; but after the effectual suppression of the slave trade in 1850, the price of slaves be- came so enhanced that slave owners were im- pelled by self-interest to relax the severity of their treatment. The facilities for emancipation were nevertheless great; and a man's color does not in Brazil debar him from any civil or political privilege. Persons born in Brazil of African parents are called Creoles. A law for the gradual abolition of slavery, passed Sept. 28, 1871, enacts that children henceforth born of slave mothers shall be of free condition,' though bound to serve the owners of their mothers for a term of 21 years, as apprentices. Refusal to work for their hereditary taskmas- ters will be followed by severe penalties ; but the apprentices, if cruelly treated, can appeal to a criminal court, which may declare them free. The same act emancipates the slaves that were the property of the government ; but they are required to hire themselves out, in de- fault of which, being under the inspection of the government for five years, they will, if found living in vagrancy, be compelled to labor in the public establishments. Large numbers of private individuals have followed the example of the crown and set their slaves at liberty ; and others at their death have left them free, with portions of land for their maintenance. About 30,000 slaves were manumitted in this manner between the passing of the emancipation act and the month of December, 1872. Dom Pedro II. attempted to turn the tide of German emigration to Brazil, and a colony was formed on the Rio Grande do Sul ; and after the aboli- tion of the slave trade (1850), an act was passed offering liberal inducements to colonists, particu- larly as to the easy purchase of lands. Planters too entered into the colonization scheme, and by their abuses and bad faith threw discredit upon the attempts of the crown and paralyzed its efforts to people the interior. To prevent these abuses, private associations were formed in Rio de Janeiro and other cities for the pur- pose of redressing the wrongs of immigrants, providing them with all necessary assistance