Rib de
Janeiro.'
In another garh'of the h arbour *of Rio,- not far from
the town, at a place called Val Longo,«aththe warehouses
fos th^reeoption’ /and preparation for sale,/ of »the* slaves
imported, chiefly/, from ArigolaandiBe^uela on thd coast
of-AfricaiSl This .spot! wasrappropriated to the purpose
of .cleansing, anoihting,' fattening',. rendering /sleek, and
saleable, and cdncekli^p^the i defects of| .this^fefM^&teOf
beings, who seemeddittle sensible of the- humiliathwafiof
their condition.| About five thousand-- werejusdally soldy
every? ye&i%o at Rio, out of twenty Thousand purchased
for: the whole of the Brazils. The av&ragf&vpriceij\vas
about jfiyenty-eight pounds. sterling:eJ6eh^^Before-they
were shipped/from Africa, a duty, of ten thousandfrpis>a
freMIsspajd to the qeteennf Port»gl^sl^^itt.thAI-.^EHd
whole amounted tb about sixty thousakid pounds1 a yeM^;
which goes into her privy purse, and is not?eonsidered
'as part of thd public revenue. In the wholesof/the Brazils
there were ^supposed to^ be,' at least,v si^ hundred
thousandaslaves^Afei in Africa, t or descended, from
those who wseife.f The whites wtere computed to amount
to about - twb hundred 'thousand.( The _■ (propdrtWn /of
blacks to whites in the town of Riorwas supposed tdvbb
mucfr^greater, there being in it atcld^tI forty tWussand
of the-former, including such as had: been .emancipated,
to abBut three thousahdiof th*latter? tfj
Whatever may be the sufferingfof islaves,. under tasjk
masters upon plantations, those residing: ini the tb^n
wentadie «ajipèapnco^f tyvsetGfesjJflpis. The hüpSn,
frame?fè©ls3ind€edvfeWier:Wfriteand;i^'th^i^foire^pxposed ,
to jfe jve r> mi sprats r in a,warm Glipia|eï|han int a cold? one.
Inithe dattepa dwell>ifig<|o;ishelter «fr^m the inclemency
of thpiïwleftthpr,! garmentsl'fbr thej^pdy,. and artificial
pp.gtjSn «winter. are, almost ^as:■ nece^^JY' as food'to any
thing Mkgccom^rtahlet^-stpnsè.[^TheSe a«tfole§may?,
with de.^sviricnnvQnynt^ l^p^dlspe'n^g.dywith,*or a sufE-\
cienpyicf -them provided;}«'insAopieal
climatesnév em,jj aj^fip, f-food, . tfiv |«#ptane,Qnsv honnty óf
nafcuiig’jsupplies it mp^e. readily« imy^agSPP^th an tin colder
.countrie&i;. and in the A||e$,j/e^mented liquorish to ibe
.procured, Qnlyg,by art.'and labour, #re? sometimes/requisite
;v wherg^f, -within .t"hjeTrppi^-^ef^stream supplies
what, in most- qas#s^ is. .Tber,e; -more ^ ^ 4 rnwèlbas
^salutary-i The West«„ India! shy%'ha4 not,,,therefore*,
muchjto\epvy-the .peasants;;Of many Eu-rópêano kingdoms,
« The, plantation slaves in theqBrazPs hayébtvi©
daysifupof .sgven: fqr theino^n purpósps, which is ’more
than is allowed in the West India- .island# Thehlaves
in the Brazilsuw^re,upbrafoed-far.«being! addicted to
stealing and lying; which indeed appear to,: be the
vices of«' th.ejr condition/ everywhere., This condition
is hereditary «through tll^i mother, and is not confined to
colour. There«,were many at Rio in t h a t o f i b v e r y
tin ere /between 'black and; white. The Africans; .seemed
naturally of a gay and active disposition, easily .reepm
Rio dc
Janeiro.