i8o
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE

book Man or devil ! whichever thou art, haft thou refleded
VIU- upon the atrocioufnefs and the extravagance of thy
'~""v—' accufation ? Haft thou any idea of the infult thou haft
offered to thy rulers, and to thy fellow-citizens, in
fuppofing that thou Shouldft obtain their favour or
their efteem by fuch afperfions ? How much muft thy
nation have degenerated from the dignity and genero-
fity of its charader, if it did not partake of my indig-
nation upon this occafion 1
To the chimerical notions we have been refuting,
let us endeavour to fubftitute the real, or the probable
caufes of this deficiency of population.
Firft, the Portuguefe of St. Paul, in 1631, deftroyed
twelve or thirteen communities in the province of
Guayra, bordering upon Brazil. Thefe ruffians, whofe
number did not amount to more than two hundred
and feventy-five, could not indeed bring away more
than nine hundred of thetwenty-two thoufand Guaranis
that compofed this rifing colony : but feveral of them
were deftroyed by mifery and by the fword. Several
of them returned to their favage life. Scarce twelve
thoufand of them efcaped upon the borders of the
Parana and of the Urugua, where it had been refolved
to fix them.
The paffion which the devaftators had for making
flaves was not ftifled by this emigration. They pur-
fued their timid vidims into their new afylum ; and,
in procefs of time, would have difperfed, enllaved, or
affaffinated all of them, unlefs the Indians could be
fupplied with arms fimilar to thofe of their aggreflbrs.
It was a nice matter to make this propoi'al: for it
was a maxim with Spain not to introduce the ufe of
fire-arms among th<ymcient inhabitants ofthe otherhe-
mifphere, in the apjWhenfion that they might one day
ufe them themfelves to recover their primitive rights.
The Jefuits approved of this precaution, as being ne-
ceffary with nations whofe fubjedion was compelled :
but they judged it to be ufelefs with people, who were
freely attached to the kings of Spain by fuch eafy
bands, that they could be under no temptation ot