PERNAMBUCO, a large and important province of Brazil, in South America. It is separated on the south from the provinces of Seregipe and Bahia by the river St Francisco, and from Minas Geraes by the river Carinhenha; on the west it touches on Goyaz; and Paraiba, Seara, and Piauhy bound it on the north. This province is reckoned one of the most flourishing and important in Brazil, and contains more ports than any other, Recife, the capital, being only inferior to Rio and San Salvador in commercial enterprise and industry. Pernambuco extends about six hundred miles in length, but its breadth is much less, being only about fifty miles in the middle, though it widens to about two hundred towards each extremity. Its surface is very unequal, being in some parts mountainous, dry, and barren. In the interior, behind the capital, are immense plains, stretching to a great distance in all directions, although traversed in part by the great middle chain of mountains called the Serra of Borborema, which is described as the most majestic in Brazil. It commences near the sea, in the province of Rio Grande do Norte, and traverses that of Paraiba from north-east to south-west; it then bends to the west, separating that province from Pernambuco and Seara; and, lastly, inclines to the northward, dividing Pernambuco from Piauhy, its name changing as frequently as its altitude varies. In some parts it is rocky and barren, but the greater portion of it is covered with beautiful forests. The whole of this maritime district or canton was included, up to 1810, in the jurisdiction of the ouvidor of Jacobina; but it now goes by the name of the ouvidoria of the sertam of Pernambuco. The most important river of this state, or of any other in Brazil, belonging wholly to the country, is the St Francisco, the largest stream which flows into the Atlantic between the Amazons and the Plata. It rises in the serra of Canastra, in the province of Minas Geraes, in latitude 20° south. After traversing that province from south to north, it bends to the north-east on touching Pernambuco, and flowing along the borders of that state, keeps the same general bearing till within two hundred miles of the sea, when it bends to the south-west, entering the Atlantic in south latitude ll 0 nearly, after a course of more than one thousand miles. It receives several large streams during the first part of its course, the principal being the Carinhenha, which joins it on the borders of the comarca of Paracatu; the Rio das Velhas, and the Rio Verde, which enter from the right; and the Paracatu, Correntes, and Rio Grande, which flow into it from the left. But no stream of any importance joins the St Francisco after the confluence of the Rio Grande; and so few streams of any description flow from the arid regions of Bahia and Pernambuco,, that it may be doubted whether it does not lose more water by evaporation than is supplied by all the paltry affluents which join it during the latter part of its course. After the confluence of the Rio Grande, it bends first to the east, then to the east-southeast, to the aldeia of Vargem Redonda, where the navigation from above terminates. Below Villa Nova the river begins to separate into two large portions, forming a great number of low wooded islands, which are covered by the inundations. This great river, so deep in the interior during the middle part of its course, at length discharges itself by two shallow mouths. The principal one, which is the most northerly, although nearly two miles in width, has not depth enough to allow of the entrance of sumacas, except at high water. In fact, it is navigated by larger boats in the upper than in the lower part of its course.

The climate of Pernambuco is hot and moist in the interior, but more agreeable in the maritime district. Generally speaking, the soil is in many parts rich and fertile, producing cotton, sugar, cocoa, maize, mandioc, and a variety of fruits, medicinal herbs, and vegetables. In the interior, the vast plains already mentioned are covered with luxuriant grass, upon which vast herds of cattlö are fed; but these will be described afterwards. The province is divided into two parts by the river Pajehu, a tributary of the St Francisco, namely, the eastern and western districts or cantons. The eastern canton or ouvidoria is subdivided into three comarcas, the northern, central, and southern, the respective head towns of which are Olinda, Recife, and Alagoas. The western, however, has latterly been regarded as a separate province; but if so, it is a very small and unimportant one. The ouvidoria, as containing the capital, demands our first attention. Recife, or, as it is commonly called, Pernambuco, is not to be confounded with Olinda, although some geographers have considered them as forming but one city. It stands upon a flat, and is divided into three parts, a peninsula, an island, and the continent. Recife, or Pernambuco properly so called, is built upon a peninsula, which extends to the southward of Olinda. This is the most mercantile part of the threefold city. St Antonio stands upon an island or sand-bank formed by the arms of the Capibaribe, being connected with Recife by a large bridge almost entirely constructed of stone. The third division of the city is situated on the main land, to the southward of the other two, and is joined to them by a wooden bridge, considered as the largest in Brazil. This portion of Pernambuco is called Boa Vista, where the richer inhabitants reside. The appearance of the country, when Pernambuco is approached by sea, is described as charming. The hills are clothed with wood, gradually rising towards the interior, but none of them is of any considerable height. A singular reef of rocks runs parallel with the coast, and forms the harbour of Pernambuco, vessels being moored between it and the town, safe from every storm. This remarkable reef at the top is scarcely sixteen feet in breadth. To a great depth on the outside it slopes off more rapidly than the Plymouth breakwater, but it is perpendicular within, thus forming a magnificent natural bulwark or breakwater, within which the ocean is as still as a mill-pond. The reef extends beyond the northern boundary of the province to Maranham on the south. In some parts it sinks under water, and there are numberless breaks, by which a communication with the sea is laid open. In breadth it varies from a few fathoms to three quarters of a mile; but everywhere the water is of sufficient depth to admit the vessels mooring close to the rock. There is a bar at the entrance of the harbour, over which, in ordinary tides, there are sixteen feet of water, so that ships of considerable burden may lie there. The entrance into the harbour is very narrow, and close by a fort built on the reef. The hill of Olinda, studded with houses and convents, rises on the right hand, and an island thickly planted with cocoa-nut trees adds considerably to the scene on the left. The principal street of Boa Vista, the last portion of Pernambuco which remains to be described, is broad and handsome, although the ground on which it stands used formerly to be overflowed at high water. A long embankment connects the sand-bank and town of St Antonio with the mainland at Affogados, to the south and west of Boa Vista. The river Capibaribe, so famous in Pernambucan history, discharges its waters into the channel between St Antonio and Boa Vista, afterrunning for some distance in a course nearly from east to west. The city of Pernambuco, which, Mr Southey remarks, “has not inaptly been called the Tripoli of the New World,” has continued to be a place of the first consequence from the period of the Dutch conquest; and no other place has derived so great and unequivocal advantages from the growth of the cotton trade. Recife was built by the Dutch

• under Maurice of Nassau, and by them called Maurice Town or Mauritius. It is situated in latitude 8.14. south, and longitude 35.15. west, containing a population of above 60,000 souls. Of these, in 1821 not above a third were [7:17:237] whites, and they must now be greatly diminished. The rest consisted of mulattoes and negroes. The former are, generally speaking, more active, more industrious, and much more lively, than the others. Pernambuco long constituted, and still does, we suspect, one of the principal slavemarkets in the country; and the callousness and cruelty with which this inhuman traffic has always been carried on, have powerfully contributed to debase the minds and corrupt the morals of the inhabitants. Although within a few degrees of the equator, the climate of Pernambuco is remarkably salubrious, and rendered almost temperate by the refreshing sea-breezes. The comarca of Recife contains only three small towns, besides the capital, and these are too unimportant to require any particular description.

Olinda is situated upon a rocky hill, which, although not very high, is nevertheless the highest in the neighbourhood. Its appearance from the sea is beautiful and prepossessing; but this presage of elegance and grandeur is not realized on a narrow inspection. It is now in a state of great decay, having been deserted for the lower town of Recife. The elevations on which it stands are embosomed in dark woods, which seem coeval with the land itself; and being rent and broken in various directions, they present the most abrupt and picturesque scenery. The population of Olinda may amount to about seven thousand. When it was burned by the Dutch in 1631, it is said to have contained 2500 houses, and about 25,000 inhabitants. It was founded by Duarte Coelho Pereira about the year 1535, but it has continued to decline as Recife has advanced in prosperity. In the comarca of Olinda there are, besides the capital, four other towns, amongst which Goiana and Iguarassu are reckoned considerable places. The latter, distant from Recife seven leagues to the northward, and two from the sea, is one of the most ancient towns of the province. It contains but a scanty population. Goiana, distant about fifteen leagues from Recife, and four from the sea, is a much larger and more flourishing place than the other. It is situated on the banks of a river of the same name, which here bends so considerably as almost to surround the town. Besides sugar, a great quantity of cotton is exported, and there is a large cattle-fair held every Thursday. The planters have the advantage of water-carriage to Recife, as the river for many leagues both to the north and south is one of the largest, and is influenced by the tide even above Goiana. This town, with the surrounding district, is supposed to contain upwards of 20,000 inhabitants. There are several other towns or villages which carry on a considerable trade, and being chiefly situated upon the river Capibaribe, they enjoy ample facilities for communication with the capital.

One of the most important places in Pernambuco is the Island of Itamarca, one of the oldest settlements in Brazil, and formerly ♯, distinct captaincy. It is situated eight leagues to the northward of Recife, at a short distance from the mainland. The Dutch took it in 1633, built a fort on it, and of such importance did it appear to them, that for some time they contemplated removing the seat of government to the island; a plan which was overruled, although Itamarca appears to possess decided advantages as compared with the capital. In the year 1645 Joam Fernandes Vieira, the principal hero of the Pernambucan war, attacked the island, but did not succeed in obtaining possession of it. Subsequent attempts were made, with only partial success, and the Dutch did not surrender the fort until their expulsion in 1654. Itamarca is three leagues in length by about two leagues in breadth; it contains a considerable quantity of excellent land, and, with the exception of the immediate vicinity of Recife, is the most populous part of the province of Pernambuco. As the island produces excellent cane, there are here several sugar-works; and vines were formerly cultivated with great success. The shores are planted with cocoa-trees, amongst which are thickly scattered the cottages of fishermen. One chief source of the wealth to Itamarca is the salt-works, formed upon the sands which are overflowed by the tide at high water. Conception is the oldest town on the island; but the long village of Pillar, situated on its eastern side, is the principal settlement. The ants, the pest of Pernambuco, and indeed of all Brazil, are so numerous here, that whole plantations of mandioc and maize are sometimes destroyed by them. At the northern entrance to the channel of Itamarca is the port of Catuama, the second in importance in the province. Next to it, in the opinion of the inhabitants, is that of Tamandare, ten leagues south-west of Cape St Augustin; but Mr Henderson thinks this port the best of the whole. It is in the form of a bay, with a depth of water sufficient for large vessels, capacious enough to receive a fleet, and securely defended by a strong fort. Cape St Augustin is the only promontory on this part of the coast, and the most eastern land of South America. It has two forts, each of which defends a small port, and stands in latitude 8. 26. south. The comarca or province of Alagos is of comparatively little consideration. The capital, however, which bears the same name, is a place of considerable commerce, and has a population of 14,000 souls. The other towns belonging to Alagos are Maceyo, Porto de Pe-dras, and Penedo. The latter, the port of the great river St Francisco, is situated about seven leagues from its mouth. It is a flourishing place, and, with the district, contains about 12,000 inhabitants. The river, which is here a mile in breadth, rises only three feet in spring tides; but the town is exposed to injury when the freshes come down.

The western part of the province, or the sertam, is much more extensive than the maritime district; but it is very thinly inhabited, owing to the natural sterility of the soil, and the want of rain, which only falls during thunder showers. It contains several towns, the largest of which, called Barra do Rio Grande, is situated at the confluence of the Rio Grande with the St Francisco. One hundred miles below this town is that of Pilao Arcado, the second place in importance in the sertam. The population of the district has been stated at 5000 souls. Maize, mandioc, and melons are cultivated on the margins of the river, but all the country beyond its immediate vicinity is wild and sterile. There are a great many salt lakes at various distances from the river, and on the margins of these, salt collects, and forms a considerable article of trade. The great, indeed the only business of importance carried on in the sertam is the rearing of cattle, great herds of which range over the immense plains situated on either side of the mountain-chain already mentioned. The Sertanejos, as the inhabitants are called, occupy fazendas or cattle farms of such vast extent, that few know their bounds, although they attempt to calculate them by the hundreds of cattle pastured upon them. Their leagues, as in all other thinly-inhabited tracts, are of deceptive length, sometimes four miles. Their dress consists of jacket, hat, and long pantaloons or leggins, all of brown untanned leather, a tanned goat-skin over the bicast, and a pair of coarse cotton drawers or trousers. When on horseback and on a journey, which is often the case, the Sertanejo takes his hammock and portions of his wardrobe along with him, and also carries his farinha, dried meat, and other necessaries. The usual colour of a Sertanejo is dark brown; and the complexion even of those who are born white soon becomes as completely tanned as the dress which they wear. The dress of the women is homely enough, and they are kept in a state of considerable restriction, seldom appearing abroad, or, if they do so, they are never allowed to take any part in conversation. There are no wild cattle in these sertarns; but kine are exceedingly plentiful. The religion of the Sertanejos is confined to the observance of certain forms and [7:17:238]ceremonies, and to the frequent repetition of a few prayers; but they have great faith in charms, relics, and other things of the same kind. The traffic of the sertam is conducted by pedlars, who give them, in exchange for their live stock, hides, and cheese, various trinkets, articles of luxury, and English cottons, which are now superseding the coarse fabrics of the country. The population of the whole province amounted in the year 1830 to 602,000 souls.

The following is a statement of the quantities of the principal articles of merchandise exported from Pernambuco during the year ending January 1836: Cotton, 52,142 bags; sugar, 17,520 cases, 2846 half cases, 56,996 barrels, and 9180 bags; hides, 91,492; coffee, 300 bags; rum, fifty-eight puncheons; Brazil wood, 1200 quintals; and mandioc 1217 bags; the estimated value of the whole being nearly one million sterling. The number of vessels which entered during the same period was 247, and their total tonnage 47,696. Of these, 179 cleared with cargoes, the rest in ballast. The trade of Pernambuco with Great Britain is more extensive than that with any other country. The goods chiefly sent thither are cotton manufactures, hosiery, lace, and small wares, with earthenware, leather wrought and unwrought, hardwares and cutlery, iron and steel, beaver and felt hats, brass and copper manufactures, apparel, slops and haberdashery, beer, ale, butter and cheese, glass, arms, and ammunition. It appears by the parliamentary papers, from which this statement of the exports is taken, that the trade of Pernambuco is on the increase. (r. r. r.)