Lord Cochrane returned to Valparaiso on the 3rd of June, 1822, having been absent more than twenty months. An enthusiastic welcome awaited him. Medals were struck in his honour, and in various ephemeral ways the public grat.i.tude was expressed.
It was, however, only ephemeral. There was no substantial recognition of his great services. His men were left unpaid, and he himself was subjected to further indignities of the sort already described. It is not necessary here to give any detailed account of them, or to enter into a particular rehearsal of his efforts during the next six months to continue his beneficial services to Chili. He had done the great service for which he had been invited to South America. In the course of about three years he had scoured the Pacific of the Spanish ships, which had offered an obstacle too serious for the patriots to overcome by any force or wisdom of their own. He had made it possible for them to a.s.sert their independence of a foreign yoke, and, if their patriotism had been genuine enough, to work out internal reforms, by which the sometime colonies of Spain in South America might have been able to vie in greatness with the sometime colonies of England in the northern continent. The benefits which he conferred especially upon Chili were shared by all the liberated communities along the whole Pacific coastline up to Mexico. But all were alike ungrateful, except in fitful words and in sentiments that prompted to no action.
Shortly after his return to Chili, Lord Cochrane went to live upon the estates that had been conferred upon him. Soon, however, he was forced to go back to Valparaiso, there to look after the interests of the officers and crews who had served him and Chili during the previous fighting time. His earnest arguments on their behalf were not heeded.
The poor fellows were left to starve and be perished by the cold of a South American winter, against which the pitiful rags in which they were clothed afforded no protection. And before long fresh incidents arose which made it impossible for him to persevere in fighting their battle.
General San Martin, having run his course of petty tyranny in Peru, was soon forced to resign his protectorate and seek safety in Chili.
He reached Valparaiso on the 12th of October, and then Lord Cochrane, who had long before seen good reasons for suspecting it, was convinced that Zenteno and many other influential men in Chili were in league with him. He claimed that San Martin should be tried by court-martial for his treasons, known to all the world. Instead of that San Martin was loaded with honours, and fresh indignities were heaped upon his chief accuser. This monstrous action of the ministers led to a revolution, which, if Lord Cochrane had stayed to the end, might have proved much to his advantage. But the revolution, headed by General Freire, an honest man, had for its object the overthrow of O"Higgins, also an honest man, though too weak to withstand the influences brought to bear upon him by the bad men by whom he was surrounded.
Lord Cochrane refused Freire"s offers to join in opposition to O"Higgins, always, as far as his small powers permitted, his good friend. He preferred to abandon Chili, or rather to allow it to abandon one who had done for it so much and had received so little in return. "The difficulties," he said, in a dignified letter addressed to General O"Higgins, still nominally the Supreme Director, in which he virtually resigned his appointment as Vice-Admiral of the Republic, "the difficulties which I have experienced in accomplishing the naval enterprises successfully achieved during the period of my command as Admiral of Chili have not been mastered without responsibility such as I would scarcely again undertake, not because I would hesitate to make any personal sacrifice in a cause of so much interest, but because even these favourable results have led to the total alienation of the sympathies of meritorious officers--whose co-operation was indispensable--in consequence of the conduct of the Government.
That which has made most impression on their minds has been, not the privations they have suffered, nor the withholding of their pay and other dues, but the absence of any public acknowledgment by the Government of the honours and distinctions promised for their fidelity and constancy to Chili; especially at a time when no temptation was withheld that could induce them to abandon the cause of Chili for the service of the Protector of Peru. Ever since that time, though there was no want of means or knowledge of facts on the part of the Chilian Government, it has submitted itself to the influence of the agents of an individual whose power, having ceased in Peru, has been again resumed in Chili. The effect of this on me is so keen that I cannot trust myself in words to express my personal feelings. Whatever I have recommended or asked for the good of the naval service has been scouted or denied, though acquiescence would have placed Chili in the first rank of maritime states in this quarter of the globe. My requisitions and suggestions were founded on the practice of the first naval service in the world--that of England. They have, however, met with no consideration, as though their object had been directed to my own personal benefit. Until now I have never eaten the bread of idleness. I cannot reconcile to my mind a state of inactivity which might even now impose upon the Chilian Republic an annual pension for past services; especially as an Admiral of Peru is actually in command of a portion of the Chilian squadron, whilst other vessels are sent to sea without the orders under which they act being communicated to me, and are despatched through the instrumentality of the governor of Valparaiso [Zenteno]. I mention these circ.u.mstances incidentally as having confirmed me in the resolution to withdraw myself from Chili for a time, asking nothing for myself during my absence; whilst, as regards the sums owing to me, I forbear to press for their payment till the Government shall be more freed from its difficulties. I have complied with all that my public duty demanded, and, if I have not been able to accomplish more, the deficiency has arisen from circ.u.mstances beyond my control. At any rate, having the world still before me, I hope to prove that it is not owing to me. I have received proposals from Mexico, from Brazil, and from a European state, but have not as yet accepted any of these offers. Nevertheless, the habits of my life do not permit me to refuse my services to those labouring under oppression, as Chili was before the annihilation of the Spanish naval force in the Pacific. In this I am prepared to justify whatever course I may pursue. In thus taking leave of Chili, I do so with sentiments of deep regret that I have not been suffered to be more useful to the cause of liberty, and that I am compelled to separate myself from individuals with whom I hoped to live for a long period, without violating such sentiments of honour as, were they broken, would render me odious to myself and despicable in their eyes."
That letter sufficiently explains the reasons which induced Lord Cochrane to resign his Chilian command. He had, as he said, received invitations to enter the service of Brazil, of Mexico, and of Greece.
The Mexican offer he declined at once, as acceptance of it would involve little of the active work in fighting which, if for a good cause, was always attractive to him. a.s.sistance of the Greeks who, a year and a half before, had begun to throw off their long servitude to Turkey, and who were now fighting desperately for their freedom, was an enterprise on which he would gladly have embarked, but the invitation from Brazil was more pressing, and he therefore conditionally accepted it. "The war in the Pacific," he said, on the 29th of November, in answer to two letters written on behalf of the newly-elected Emperor of Brazil, "having been happily terminated by the total destruction of the Spanish naval force, I am, of course, free for the crusade of liberty in any other quarter of the globe. I confess, however, that I have not hitherto directed my attention to the Brazils; considering that the struggle for the liberties of Greece, the most oppressed of modern states, afforded the fairest opportunity for enterprise and exertion. I have to-day tendered my ultimate resignation to the Government of Chili, and am not at this moment aware that any material delay will be necessary previous to my setting off, by way of Cape Horn, for Rio de Janeiro; it being, in the meantime, understood that I hold myself free to decline, as well as ent.i.tled to accept, the offer which has, through you, been made to me by his Imperial Majesty. I only mention this from a desire to preserve a consistency of character, should the Government (which I by no means antic.i.p.ate) differ so widely in its nature from those which I have been in the habit of supporting as to render the proposed situation repugnant to my principles, and so justly expose me to suspicion, and render me unworthy the confidence of his Majesty and the nation."
In accordance with the terms of that letter, Lord Cochrane wrote as we have seen to the Supreme Director of Chili, not completely resigning his employment, but proposing to absent himself for an indefinite period. His proposal was at once accepted by the Chilian Government, to whom his honesty and his popularity with the people made him particularly obnoxious. He thereupon made prompt arrangements for his departure. He quitted Valparaiso on the 18th of January, 1823, in a vessel chartered for his own use and that of several European officers and seamen, who, like him, were tired of Chilian ingrat.i.tude, and who begged to be employed under him wherever he might serve.
Of the subsequent occurrences in the Western States, for which he had done so much, and tried to do so much more than was permitted, it is enough to say that Peru, sadly abused by San Martin, and almost won back to Spain, was rescued by the valour and wisdom of Bolivar, and that Chili, destined to much future trouble through the bad action of its false patriots, was temporarily benefited by the successful revolution which placed General Freire in the Supreme Directorship.
Lord Cochrane had not been absent three months before a new Minister of Marine wrote to inform him of Freire"s accession and to solicit his return. From this, however, he excused himself, on the grounds that he had now entered into engagements with Brazil which he was bound to fulfil, and that his past treatment by the Chilian Government discouraged him from renewal of relations which had been so full of annoyance to him. "On my quitting Chili," he said in his reply, "there was no looking to the past without regret, nor to the future without despair, for I had learned by experience what were the views and motives which guided the counsels of the State. Believe me that nothing but a thorough conviction that it was impracticable to render the good people of Chili any further service under existing circ.u.mstances, or to live in tranquillity under such a system, could have induced me to remove myself from a country which I had vainly hoped would have afforded me that tranquil asylum which, after the anxieties I had suffered, I felt needful to my repose. My inclinations, too, were decidedly in favour of a residence in Chili, from a feeling of the congeniality which subsisted between my own habits and the manners and customs of the people, those few only excepted who were corrupted by contiguity with the court, or debased in their minds and practices by that species of Spanish colonial education which inculcates duplicity as the chief qualification of statesmen in all their dealings, both with individuals and the public. I now speak more particularly of the persons lately in power, excepting, however, the Supreme Director, whom I believe to have been the dupe of their deceit. Point out to me one engagement that has been honourably fulfilled, one military enterprise of which the professed object has not been perverted, or one solemn pledge that has not been forfeited. Look at my representations on the necessities of the navy, and see how they were relieved. Look at my memorial, proposing to establish a nursery for seamen by encouraging the coasting trade, and compare its principles with the code of Rodriguez, which annihilated both. You will see in this, as in all other cases, that whatever I recommended, in regard to the promotion of the good of the marine, was set at nought, or opposed by measures directly the reverse. Look to the orders which I received, and see whether I had more liberty of action than a schoolboy in the execution of his task. Sir, that which I suffered from anxiety of mind whilst in the Chilian service, I will never again endure for any consideration. To organize new crews, to navigate ships dest.i.tute of sails, cordage, provisions, and stores, to secure them in port without anchors and cables, except so far as I could supply these essentials by accidental means, were difficulties sufficiently hara.s.sing; but to live amongst officers and men discontented and mutinous on account of arrears of pay and other numerous privations, to be compelled to incur the responsibility of seizing by force from Peru funds for their payment, in order to prevent worse consequences to Chili, and then to be exposed to the reproach of one party for such seizure, and the suspicions of another that the sums were not duly applied, are all circ.u.mstances so disagreeable and so disgusting that, until I have certain proof that the present ministers are disposed to act in another manner, I cannot possibly consent to renew my services where, under such circ.u.mstances, they would be wholly unavailing to the true interests of the people."
Writing thus to the Minister of Marine, Lord Cochrane wrote also at the same time to General Freire, who, as has been said, asked him to join his revolutionary movement. "It would give me great pleasure, my respected friend, to learn that the change which has been effected in the government of Chili proves alike conducive to your happiness and to the interests of the State. For my own part, like yourself, I have suffered so long and so much that I could not bear the neglect and double-dealing of those in power any longer, but adopted other means of freeing myself from an unpleasant situation. Not being under those imperious obligations which, as a native Chilian, rendered it inc.u.mbent on you to rescue your country from the mischiefs with which it was a.s.sailed, I could not accept your offer. My heart was with you in the measures you adopted for their removal; and my hand was only restrained by a conviction that my interference, as a foreigner, in the internal affairs of the State would not only have been improper in itself, but would have tended to shake that confidence in my undeviating rect.i.tude which it was my ambition that the people of Chili should ever justly entertain. Permit me to add my opinion that, whoever may possess the supreme authority in Chili, until after the present generation, educated as it has been under the Spanish colonial yoke, shall have pa.s.sed away, will have to contend with so much error and so many prejudices as to be disappointed in his utmost endeavours to pursue steadily the course best calculated to promote the freedom and happiness of the people. I admire the middle and lower cla.s.ses of Chili, but I have ever found the senate, the ministers, and the convention actuated by the narrowest policy, which led them to adopt the worst measures. It is my earnest wish that you may find better men to co-operate with you. If so, you may be fortunate and may succeed in what you have most at heart, the promotion of your country"s good."
For the real welfare of Chili Lord Cochrane was always eager; but in the treatment which he himself experienced he had strong proof, both during his four years" active service under the republic and in all after times, of the difficulties in the way of its advancement.
Not only was he subjected to the contumely and neglect of which he complained in the letters just quoted from: he was also directly mulcted to a very large extent in the scanty recompense for his services to which he was legally ent.i.tled, and indirectly injured to a yet larger extent. "I was compelled to quit Chili," he wrote at a later date, "without any of the emoluments due to my position as Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, or any share of the sums belonging to myself and the officers and seamen; which sums, on the faith of repayment, had, at my solicitation, been appropriated to the repairs and maintenance of the squadron generally, but more especially at Guayaquil and Acapulco, when in pursuit of the _Prueba_ and the _Venganza_. Neither was any compensation made for the value of stores captured and collected by the squadron, whereby its efficiency was chiefly maintained during the whole period of the Peruvian blockade.
The Supreme Director of Chili, recognizing the justice of payment being made by the Peruvians for at least the value of the _Esmeralda_, the capture of which inflicted the death-blow on Spanish power, sent me a bill on the Peruvian Government for 120,000 dollars, which was dishonoured, and has never since been paid by any succeeding Government. Even the 40,000 dollars stipulated by the authorities at Guayaquil as the penalty for giving up the _Venganza_ was never liquidated. No compensation for the severe wounds received during the capture of the _Esmeralda_ was either offered or received.
Shortly after my departure for Brazil, the Government forcibly and indefensibly resumed the estate at Rio Clara, which had been awarded to me and my family in perpetuity, as a remuneration for the capture of Valdivia, and my bailiff, who had been left upon it for its management and direction, was summarily ejected. Unhappily, this ingrat.i.tude for services rendered was the least misfortune which my devotedness to Chili brought upon me. On my return to England in 1825, after the termination of my services in Brazil, I found myself involved in litigation on account of the seizure of neutral vessels by authority of the then unacknowledged Government of Chili. These litigations cost me, directly, upwards of 14,000_l._, and, indirectly, more than double that amount. Thus, in place of receiving anything for my efforts in the cause of Chilian and Peruvian independence, I was a loser of upwards of 25,000_l._, this being more than double the whole amount I had received as pay whilst in command of the Chilian squadron."
CHAPTER X.
THE ANTECEDENTS OF BRAZILIAN INDEPENDENCE.--PEDRO I."s ACCESSION.--THE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL TROUBLES OF THE NEW EMPIRE.--LORD COCHRANE"S INVITATION TO BRAZIL.--HIS ARRIVAL AT RIO DE JANEIRO, AND ACCEPTANCE OF BRAZILIAN SERVICE.--HIS FIRST MISFORTUNES.--THE BAD CONDITION OF HIS SQUADRON, AND THE CONSEQUENT FAILURE OF HIS FIRST ATTACK ON THE PORTUGUESE OFF BAHIA.--HIS PLANS FOR IMPROVING THE FLEET, AND THEIR SUCCESS.--HIS NIGHT VISIT TO BAHIA, AND THE CONSEQUENT FLIGHT OF THE ENEMY.--LORD COCHRANE"S PURSUIT OF THEM.--HIS VISIT TO MARANHAM, AND ANNEXATION OF THAT PROVINCE AND OF PARa.--HIS RETURN TO RIO DE JANEIRO.--THE HONOURS CONFERRED UPON HIM.
[1823.]
In 1808, King John VI. of Portugal, driven by Buonaparte from his European dominions, took refuge in his great colonial possession of Brazil, and the result of his emigration was considerable enlargement of the liberties of the Brazilians. Thereby the immense Portuguese colony in South America was prevented from following in the revolutionary steps of the numerous Spanish provinces adjoining it.
In Brazil, however, during the ensuing years party faction produced nearly as much turmoil as attended the struggle for independence in Chili and the other Spanish, colonies. Those Brazilians who were still intimately connected with the inhabitants of the mother country rallied under Portuguese leaders, and did their utmost to maintain the Portuguese supremacy over the colony. Quite as many, on the other hand, were eager to take advantage of the new state of things as a means of consolidating the freedom of Brazil. Plots and counterplots, broils and insurrections, lasted, almost without intermission, until 1821, when King John returned to Portugal, leaving his son, Don Pedro, as lieutenant and regent, to cope with yet greater difficulties. The Cortes of Portugal, able to get back their king, desired also to bring back Brazil to all its former servitude. So great was the opposition thus provoked that the native or true Brazilian party induced Don Pedro to throw off allegiance to his father. In October, 1822, the independence of the colony was publicly declared, and on the 1st of December Don Pedro a.s.sumed the t.i.tle of Emperor of Brazil.
Only the southern part of Brazil, however, acknowledged his authority.
The northern provinces, including Bahia, Maranham, and Para, were ruled by the Portuguese faction and held by Portuguese troops. A formidable fleet, moreover, swept the seas, and the independent provinces were threatened with speedy subjection to the sway of Portugal.
That was the state of affairs in the young empire of Brazil during the months in which Lord Cochrane, having destroyed the Spanish fleet in the Pacific, was being subjected to the worst ingrat.i.tude of his Chilian employers. Don Pedro and his advisers, hearing of this, lost no time in inviting him to enter the service of the Brazilian nation.
Equal rank and position to those held by him under Chili were offered to him. "Abandonnez vous, milord," wrote the official who conveyed the Emperor"s message, on the 4th of November, 1822, "a la reconnaisance Bresilienne, a la munificence du Prince, a la probite sans tache de l"actuel Gouvernement; on vous fera justice; on ne rabaissera d"un seul point la haute consideration, rang, grade, caractere, et avantages qui vous sont dus." In yet stronger terms a second letter was written soon afterwards. "Venez, milord; l"honneur vous invite; la gloire vous appelle. Venez donner a nos armes navales cet ordre merveilleux et discipline incomparable de puissante Albion."
Lord Cochrane, as we have seen, accepted this invitation; not, however, without some misgivings, which, in the end, were fully justified. Having quitted Valparaiso on the 18th of January, 1823, he arrived at Rio de Janeiro on the 13th of March. He had not been there a week before he discovered that, while all cla.s.ses were anxious to secure his aid, the Emperor Pedro I. stood almost alone in the desire to treat him honourably and in a way worthy of his character and reputation. Vague promises were made to him; but, when a statement of his position was asked for in writing, very different terms were employed. He was only to have the rank of a subordinate admiral, with pay of less amount than the Chilian pension that he had resigned. His employment was to be temporary and informal, subjecting him to the chance of dismissal at any moment. When, however, resenting these trickeries, he announced his intention of proceeding at once to Europe, and accepting the Greek service offered to him, a different tone was adopted. Under the Emperor"s signature he was appointed, on the 21st of March, First Admiral of the National and Imperial Navy, with emoluments equal to those he had received from Chili.
He did not then know, though he was soon to learn it by hard experience, how strong, even at the imperial court, was the influence of the Portuguese party, and by what meanness and trickery it sought to maintain and augment that influence. "Where the Portuguese party was really to blame," he afterwards said, "was in this,--that, seeing disorder everywhere more or less prevalent, they strained every nerve to increase it, hoping to paralyze further attempts at independence by exposing whole provinces to the evils of anarchy and confusion. Their loyalty also partook more of self-interest than of attachment to the supremacy of Portugal; for the commercial cla.s.ses, which formed the real strength of the Portuguese faction, hoped, by preserving the authority of the mother country in her distant provinces, to obtain as their reward the revival of old trade monopolies which, twelve years before, had been thrown open, enabling the English traders--whom they cordially hated--to supersede them in their own markets. Being a citizen of the rival nation, their aversion to me personally was undisguised--the more so, perhaps, that they believed me capable of achieving at Bahia, whither the squadron was destined, that irreparable injury to their own cause which the imperial troops had been unable to effect. Had I, at the time, been aware of the influence and latent power of the Portuguese party in the empire, nothing would have induced me to accept the command of the Brazilian navy; for to contend with faction is more dangerous than to engage an enemy, and a contest of intrigue is foreign to my nature and inclination."
Having entered the Brazilian service, however, Lord Cochrane applied himself to his work with characteristic energy and success. He hoisted his flag on board the _Pedro Primiero_ on the 21st of March, and put to sea on the 3rd of April. His squadron consisted of the _Pedro Primiero_, a fine and well-appointed ship, rated rather too highly for seventy-four guns, commanded by Captain Crosbie; of the _Piranga_, a fine frigate, entrusted to Captain Jowett; of the _Maria de Gloria_, a showy but comparatively worthless clipper, mounting thirty-two small guns, under Captain Beaurepaire; of the _Liberal_, under Captain Garca. He was accompanied by two old vessels, the _Guarani_ and the _Real_, to be used as fireships. Two other ships of war, the _Nitherohy_, a.s.signed to Captain Taylor, and the _Carolina_, were left behind to complete their equipment, and the first of these joined the squadron on its way to Bahia, which, being the nearest of the disaffected provinces, was the first to be subdued.
The coast of Bahia was reached on the 1st of May, and Lord Cochrane was arranging to blockade its capital and port, on the 4th, when the Portuguese fleet came out of the harbour. It comprised the _Don Joa_, of seventy-four guns; the _Const.i.tuca_, of fifty; the _Perola_, of forty-four; the _Princeza Real_, of twenty-eight; the _Regeneraca_, the _Dez de Fevereiro_, the _San Gaulter_, the _Principe de Brazil_, and the _Restauraca_, of twenty-six each; the _Calypso_ and the _Activa_, of twenty-two; the _Audaz_, of twenty; and the _Canceica_, of eight; being one line-of-battle ship, five frigates, five corvettes, a brig, and a schooner. Lord Cochrane did not venture with his small and as yet untried force to attack the whole squadron, but he proceeded to cut off the four rearmost ships. This he did with the _Pedro Primiero_, but, to his disgust, the other vessels, heedless of his orders, failed to follow him. "Had the rest of the Brazilian squadron," he said, "come down in obedience to signals, the ships cut off might have been taken or dismantled, as with the flag-ship I could have kept the others at bay, and no doubt have crippled all in a position to render them a.s.sistance. To my astonishment, the signals were disregarded, and no efforts were made to second my operations."
The _Pedro Primiero_, after fighting alone for some time, and during that time even doing but little mischief, by reason of the clumsy way in which her guns were handled, had to be withdrawn.
At that failure Lord Cochrane was reasonably chagrined. Worse than the fact that the Portuguese had escaped uninjured for this once, was the knowledge that he could not hope thoroughly to punish them without first effecting great reform in the materials at his disposal. On the 5th of May he wrote to the Government to complain of the miserable condition of the ships and crews provided for him by the Brazilian Government. "From the defective sailing and manning of the squadron,"
he said, "it seems to me that the _Pedro Primiero_ is the only one that can a.s.sail an enemy"s ship-of-war, or act in the face of a superior force so as not to compromise the interests of the empire and the character of the officers commanding. Even this ship, in common with the rest, is so ill-equipped as to be much less efficient than she otherwise would be. Our cartridges are all unfit for service, and I have been obliged to cut up every flag and ensign that could be spared to render them serviceable, so as to prevent the men"s arms being blown off whilst working the guns. The guns are without locks.
The bed of the mortar which I received on board this ship was crushed on the first fire, being entirely rotten. The fuses for the sh.e.l.ls are formed of such wretched composition that it will not take fire with the discharge of the mortar. Even the powder is so bad that six pounds will not throw out sh.e.l.ls more than a thousand yards. The marines understand neither gun exercise, the use of small arms, nor the sword, and yet have so high an opinion of themselves that they will not a.s.sist to wash the decks, or even to clean out their own berths, but sit and look on whilst these operations are being performed by seamen.
I warned the Minister of Marine that every native of Portugal put on board the squadron, with the exception of officers of known character, would prove prejudicial to the expedition, and yesterday we had clear proof of the fact. The Portuguese stationed in the magazine actually withheld the powder whilst this ship was in the midst of the enemy, and I have since learnt that they did so from feelings of attachment to their own countrymen. I enclose two letters, one from the officer commanding the _Real_, whose crew were on the point of carrying that vessel into the enemy"s squadron for the purpose of delivering her up. I have also reason to believe that the conduct of the _Liberal_ yesterday in not bearing down upon the enemy, and not complying with the signal which I had made to break the line, was owing to her being manned by Portuguese. The _Maria de Gloria_ also has a great number of Portuguese, which is the more to be regretted as otherwise her superior sailing, with the zeal and activity of her captain, would render her an effective vessel. To disclose to you the truth, it appears to me that one half of the squadron is necessary to watch over the other half. a.s.suredly this is a system which ought to be put an end to without delay."
Other indignant complaints of that sort, which need not here be repeated, were reasonably made by Lord Cochrane. The bad equipment of his squadron, both in men and in material, had hindered him, at starting, from achieving a brilliant success over the enemy, and though his subsequent achievements were of unsurpa.s.sed brilliance, he was to the end seriously hindered by the wilful and accidental mismanagement of his employers.
Lord Cochrane lost no time, however, in correcting by his own prudent action the evil effects of this mismanagement. Not choosing to run the risk of a second failure, and believing that two good ships would be more serviceable than any number of bad ones, he took his squadron to the Moro San Paulo, where he transferred all the best men and the most serviceable fittings to the flag-ship and the _Maria de Gloria_. There he left the other vessels to be improved as far as possible, directing that instruction should be given in seamanship to all the incompetent men who showed any promise of being made efficient, and that several small prizes which he had taken on his way from Rio de Janeiro should be turned into fireships for future use. With the two refitted ships he then went back to Bahia, to watch its whole coast and blockade the port.
The wisdom of this course was at once apparent. Several minor captures were made; the supplies of Bahia were cut off, and the enemy"s squadron was locked in the harbour for three weeks. Lord Cochrane went to the Moro San Paulo on the 26th, leaving the _Maria de Gloria_ to overlook the port, and then the Portuguese fleet ventured out for a few days. It dared not show fight, however, and was driven back by the flag-ship, which returned on the 2nd of June. "On the 11th of June,"
said Lord Cochrane, "information was received that the enemy was seriously thinking of evacuating the port before the fireships were completed. I therefore ordered the _Maria de Gloria_ to water and re-victual for three months, so as to be in readiness for anything which might occur, as, in case the rumour proved correct, our operations might take a different turn to those previous intended.
The _Piranga_ was also directed to have everything in readiness for weighing immediately on the flag-ship appearing off the Moro and making signals to that effect. The whole squadron was at the same time ordered to re-victual, and to place its surplus articles in a large shed constructed of trees and branches felled in the neighbourhood of the Moro. Whilst the other ships were thus engaged, I determined to increase the panic of the enemy with the flag-ship alone. The position of their fleet was about nine miles up the bay, under shelter of fortifications, so that an attack by day would have been more perilous than prudent. Nevertheless, it appeared practicable to pay them a hostile visit on the first dark night, when, if we were unable to effect any serious mischief, it would at least be possible to ascertain their exact position, and to judge what could be accomplished when the fireships were brought to bear upon them.
"Accordingly," the narrative proceeds, "having during the day carefully taken bearings at the mouth of the river, on the night of the 12th of June, I decided on making the attempt, which might possibly result in the destruction of part of the enemy"s fleet, in consequence of the confused manner in which the ships were anch.o.r.ed. As soon as it became dark we proceeded up the river; but, unfortunately, when we were within hail of the outermost ship, the wind failed, and, the tide soon after turning, our plan of attack was rendered abortive. Determined, however, to complete the reconnoisance, we threaded our way amongst the outermost vessels. In spite of the darkness, the presence of a strange ship under sail was discovered, and some beat to quarters, hailing to know what ship it was. The reply, "An English vessel," satisfied them, however, and so our investigation was not molested. The chief object thus accomplished, we succeeded in dropping out with the ebb-tide, now rapidly running, and were enabled to steady our course stern-foremost with the stream anchor adrag, whereby we reached our former position."
That exploit was more daring than Lord Cochrane"s modest description would imply; and, though the bold hope that it might be possible for a single invading ship to conquer the whole Portuguese squadron in its moorings was not realized, the effect was all that could be desired.
The Portuguese Admiral and his chief officers were at a ball in Bahia while Lord Cochrane was quietly sailing round and amongst their squadron, and the report of this achievement was brought to them in the midst of their festivities. "What!" exclaimed the Admiral, "Lord Cochrane"s line-of-battle ship in the very midst of our fleet!
Impossible! No large ship can have come up in the dark." When it was known that the thing had really been done, and that the construction of fireships at the Moro San Paulo was being rapidly proceeded with, the Portuguese authorities, both naval and military, considered that it would be no longer safe to remain in Bahia Harbour. They were seriously inconvenienced, moreover, by the success with which Lord Cochrane had blockaded the port and all its approaches. "The means of subsistence fail us, and we cannot secure the entrance of any provisions," said the Commander-in-Chief, in the proclamation intimating that the so-called defenders of the province were thinking of abandoning their post. This they did after a fortnight"s consideration. On the 2nd of July the whole squadron of thirteen warvessels and about seventy merchantmen and transports, filled with a large body of troops, evacuated the port.
That was a movement with which Lord Cochrane was well pleased. He had been in doubt as to the prudence of leading his small fleet into a desperate action in the harbour, by which the inexperience of his crews might ruin everything, and which might have to be followed by fighting on land. But now that the Portuguese, both soldiers and sailors, were in the open sea, he could give them chase without much risk, as, in the event of their turning round upon him with more valour than he gave them credit for, the worst that could happen would be his forced abandonment of the pursuit. The valour was not shown.
No sooner were the Portuguese out of port, with their sails set for Maranham, where they hoped to join other ships and troops, and so augment their strength, than Lord Cochrane proceeded to follow them and dog their progress.
His scheme was a bold one, but as successful as it was bold.
Attended first by the _Maria de Gloria_ alone, and afterwards by the _Carolina_, the _Nitherohy_, and a small merchant brig, the _Colonel Allen_, in which he had placed a few guns, he pursued and hara.s.sed the c.u.mbrous crowd of Portuguese warships, troop-ships, and trading vessels, about eighty in all, through fourteen days. The chase, indeed, was practically conducted by his flag-ship, the _Pedro Primiero_, alone. The other vessels were ordered to look out for any of the enemy"s fleet that lagged behind or were borne away from the main body of the fugitives, either to the right hand or to the left.
Of these there were plenty, and none were allowed to escape. The pursuers had easy work in prize-taking. "I have the honour to inform you," wrote Lord Cochrane in a concise despatch to the Brazilian Minister of Marine, on the 7th of July, "that half the enemy"s army, their colours, cannon, ammunition, stores, and baggage have been taken. We are still in pursuit, and shall endeavour to intercept the remainder of the troops, and shall then look after the ships of war, which would have been my first object but that, in pursuing this course, the military would have escaped to occasion further hostilities against the Brazilian empire."
Most of his prizes and prisoners Lord Cochrane sent into Pernambuco, the port then nearest to him, and he despatched two officers to hold Bahia for Brazil. With his flag-ship he continued his pursuit of the enemy, losing them once during a fog, and, when, he found them, being prevented from doing all the mischief which he hoped, as a calm enabled them to keep close together and present a front too formidable for attack by a single a.s.sailant. The Portuguese, however, continued their flight as soon as the wind permitted. Lord Cochrane did not trouble them much during the day, but each night he swept down on them, like a hawk upon its prey, and hara.s.sed them with wonderful effect. They were chased past Fernando Island, past the Equator, and more than half way to Cape Verde. Then, on the 16th of July, Lord Cochrane, after a parting broadside, left them to make their way in peace to Lisbon, there to tell how, by one daring vessel, thirteen ships of war had been ignominiously driven home, accompanied by only thirteen out of the seventy vessels that had placed themselves under their protection.
Lord Cochrane would have continued the pursuit still farther, had not some of the troop-ships contrived to escape; and as he was anxious that these should not get into shelter at Maranham, or, if there, should not have time to recover their spirits, he deemed it best to hasten thither. He reached Maranham before them, and thus found it possible to carry through an excellent expedient which he had devised on the way.
Maranham, the wealthiest province of the old Brazilian colony, was best guarded by the Portuguese, and now served as the centre and stronghold of resistance to the authority of the new Emperor. Lord Cochrane"s plan had for its object nothing less than the annexation of the whole province singlehanded and without a blow. With this intent, he entered the River Maranham, which served as a harbour to the port of the same name, on the 26th of July, with Portuguese colours flying from the mast of the _Pedro Primiero_. The authorities, deceived thereby, promptly sent a messenger with despatches and congratulations on the safe arrival of what was supposed to be a valuable reinforcement from Portugal. The messenger was soon undeceived, but Lord Cochrane at once made him the agent of a much more elaborate and altogether justifiable deception Announcing to him that the swift sailing of the _Pedro Primiero_ had brought her first to Maranham, but that she was being followed by a formidable squadron, intended for the invasion of the province, he sent him back with letters to the same effect, addressed to the Portuguese commandant and to the local Junta of Maranham. "The naval and military forces under my command," he wrote to the former, "leave me no room to doubt the success of the enterprise in which I am about to engage, in order to free the province of Maranham from foreign domination, and to allow the people free choice of government. Of the flight of the Portuguese naval and military forces from Bahia you are aware. I have now to inform you of the capture of two-thirds of the transports and troops, with all their stores and ammunition. I am anxious not to let loose the imperial troops of Bahia upon Maranham, exasperated as they are at the injuries and cruelties exercised towards themselves and their countrymen, as well as by the plunder of the people and churches of Bahia. It is for you to decide whether the inhabitants of these countries shall be further exasperated by resistance, which appears to me unavailing, and alike prejudicial to the best interests of Portugal and Brazil," "The forces of his Imperial Majesty," he said to the Junta, "having freed the city and province of Bahia from the enemies of independence, I now hasten--in conformity with the will of his Majesty that the beautiful province of Maranham should be free also--to offer to the oppressed inhabitants whatever aid and protection they need against a foreign yoke; desiring to accomplish their liberation and to hail them as brethren and friends. Should there, however, be any who, from self-interested motives, oppose themselves to the deliverance of their country, let such be a.s.sured that the naval and military forces which have driven the Portuguese from the south are again ready to draw the sword in the like just cause, and the result cannot be long doubtful."
Those mingled promises and threats took prompt effect. On the following day, the 27th of July, after a conditional offer of capitulation had been rejected, the members of the Junta, the Bishop of Maranham, and other leading persons, went on board the _Pedro Primiero_ to tender their submission to the Emperor of Brazil. The city and forts were surrendered without reserve, and in less than twenty-four hours from Lord Cochrane"s first appearance in the river the flag of Portugal was replaced by that of Brazil. A great province had been added to the dominions of Pedro I. without bloodshed, and with no more expenditure of ammunition than was needed for the volleys discharged in honour of the triumph.
The liberation of Maranham was publicly celebrated on the 28th of July, and on the following day the Portuguese troops embarked for Europe, special concessions being made to them by Lord Cochrane, who deemed it well that they should be out of the way before the device by which he had outwitted them was made known. No resentment was to be expected from the civilians, as even those most hearty in their adherence to the Portuguese faction in Brazil would not dare to offer direct opposition to the sentiments of the majority. But Lord Cochrane wisely set himself to conciliate all. "To the inhabitants of the city," he said, "I was careful to accord complete liberty, claiming in return that perfect order should be preserved and property of all kinds respected. The delight of the people was unbounded at being freed from a terrible system of exaction and imprisonment which, when I entered the river, was being carried on with unrelenting rigour by the Portuguese authorities towards all suspected of a leaning to the Imperial Government. Instead of retaliating, as would have been gratifying to those so recently labouring under oppression, I directed oaths to the const.i.tution to be administered, not to Brazilians only, but also to all Portuguese who chose to remain and conform to the new order of things; a privilege of which many influential persons of that nation availed themselves."
With the capture of Maranham alone, however, Lord Cochrane was not satisfied. Without a day"s delay, he despatched a Portuguese brig which he had seized in the river and christened by its name, under Captain Grenfell, to follow at Para, the only important province of Brazil still under the Portuguese yoke, the same course which he had just adopted with such wonderful success. He himself found it necessary to remain at Maranham for more than two months, where he had to curb with a strong hand the pa.s.sions of the liberated inhabitants, eager to use their liberty in lawless ways and to retaliate upon the Portuguese still resident among them for all the hardships which they had hitherto endured.
On the 20th of September, having heard that Captain Grenfell had entirely succeeded in his designs on Para, he started for Rio de Janeiro, and there he arrived on the 9th of November. "I immediately forwarded to the Minister of Marine," he said, "a recapitulation of all transactions since my departure seven months before; namely,--the evacuation of Bahia by the Portuguese in consequence of our nocturnal visit, connected with the dread of my reputed skill in the use of fireships, arising from the affair of Basque Roads; the pursuit of their fleet beyond the Equator, and the dispersion of its convoy; the capture and disabling of the transports filled with troops intended to maintain Portuguese domination on Maranham and Para; the device adopted to obtain the surrender, to the _Pedro Primiero_ alone, of the enemy"s naval and military forces at Maranham; the capitulation of Para, with the ships of war, to my summons sent by Captain Grenfell; the deliverance of the Brazilian patriots whom the Portuguese had imprisoned; the declaration of independence by the intermediate provinces thus liberated, and their union with the empire; the appointment of provisional governments; the embarkation and departure of every Portuguese soldier from Brazil; and the enthusiasm with which all my measures--though unauthorised and therefore extra-official--had been, received by the people of the northern provinces, who, thus relieved from the dread of further oppression, had everywhere acknowledged and proclaimed his Majesty as const.i.tutional Emperor."
Lord Cochrane"s services had, indeed, been, many of them, "unauthorised and therefore extra-official." He had been sent out merely to recover Bahia; but, besides doing that, he had gained for Brazil other territories more than half as large as Europe. For this, however, nothing but grat.i.tude could be shown, and the grat.i.tude was, for the time at any rate, unalloyed. On the very day of the _Pedro Primiero"s_ return, the Emperor went on board to offer his thanks in person. Further, thanks were voted by the legislature, and tendered by all cla.s.ses of the people.
"Taking into consideration the great services which your excellency has just rendered to the nation," wrote the Emperor on the 25th of November, "and desiring to give your excellency a public testimonial of grat.i.tude for those high and extraordinary services on behalf of the generous Brazilian people, who will ever preserve a lively remembrance of such ill.u.s.trious acts, I deem it right to confer upon your excellency the t.i.tle of Marquis of Maranham." The decoration of the Imperial Order of the Cruizeiro was also bestowed upon Lord Cochrane, and on the 19th of December he was made a Privy Councillor of Brazil, the highest honour which it was in the Emperor"s power to grant. On the same day he also received from the Emperor a charter confirming his rank and emoluments as First Admiral of Brazil, "seeing how advantageous it would be for the interests of this empire to avail itself of the skill of so valuable an officer," and in recognition of "the valour, intelligence, and activity by which he had distinguished himself in the different services with which he had been entrusted."