Many studies have been made on the Engenho dos Erasmos in Santos; studies on its history; and studies on its preservation. In both cases the advances were slow. This article is another contribution. First, present studies to valorize the site are introduced. Second, recent research on the history of the engenho is presented.

Preservation

São Jorge dos Erasmos was one of the first engenhos in Brazil. Today, it is the symbol for the start of the sugar cultivation. The ruins are a testimony of the arrival in the country of industry, slavery, foreign investments, and in fact the entire colonial society.

As a historic mark, São Jorge might be important. But, seen as a building, it is just a misery bunch of stones on a remote spot in Santos. With the existing knowledge it is impossible to say how the engenho might have looked like. There was a house, a chapel for São Jorge, a senzala, a waterwheel, a mill to juice the cane, a kitchen to heat the caldo, a casa de purgar to purify the sugar, and much more. But where?

Historic documents hardly contain information about the ordinary life at the engenho. And archaeological excavations (executed by SPHAN in the early 1960s) gave more questions than answers. A big "fosse" was found, for example, and again, it is not sure what for it might have served. At the bottom there were some forms of sugarloafs; the best evidence that indeed we deal with the ruins of São Jorge.

The Universidade de São Paulo acquired the ruins in 1958. A surrounding area was donated, in June 1990, to the Municipality of Santos. Since then, the Commissão do Património Cultural da USP initiated new studies to come to a more proper destiny for this National Monument.

The problem is simple. As the ruins do not reveal the relevance of the complex and as it is scientifically impossible to complete them, new ways have to be found to show what this place represents for the history of Santos and Brazil.

Three types of potential users of the site can be distinguished: visitors, researchers and local residents. While specialists try to discover more about the XVIth century, it should be possible that visitors and residents look over their shoulders. On the site there is space to construct a number of small with a museum, a laboratory and community services. These new functions, carefully placed in the landscape, add to the contemporary significance of the monument.

In resume, the preservation of the engenho combines the following aspects:

• conservation of the ruins and recuperation of the surrounding landscape;
• extention of the knowledge about the engenho and the first sugar enterprises in Brazil (further studies in Brazilian and European archives, new excavations;
• typological research, involving both other ruins in the Baixada Santista and engenhos at the Açores and Madeira)
• permanent exhibition of finds and facts that explain what is known about São Jorge and which efforts wereneeded to produce sugar;
• relation of the site to the neighbourhoods of São Jorge and Caneleiras; after all, the identification of residents with the monument is vital for its maintenance; and besides, the green space offers a(scarse) op.ortunity for leisure.

A first step to increase the knowledge about the engenho was the inventory of existing publications and historic documents. A microfilm with 89 historic documents from Belgian archives is kept at USP (2). Many of these sources were translated and published in Brazil long time ago by Furtado (1914), Laga (1963) and Stols (1968) (3). New facts concerning the family of Erasmus were found in The Netherlands. All the information put together gives an indication about the rise and fall of the enterprise in São Vicente.

The company of Erasmus Schetz

São Jorge was the third engenho in the Baixada Santista, constructed in 1534. Martim Afonso took the initiative for its foundation after his return to Portugal. Together with 3 investors he formed a society that explored the engenho: the "Armadores do Trato". This pact was to dominate the export of sugar and the import of European products in the Capitania. From the start, São Jorge had a link to Antwerp: amongst the socios was Johan van Hielst, feitor in Lisbon of the firm of Erasmus Schetz. Around the year 1540 Erasmus Schetz acquired the entire engenho (4).

Brazilian publications tend to suggest that Erasmus made his fortune in Brazil. This is a slight exaggeration. In fact, Schetz owned one of the major trade houses of Antwerp in the 16th century, with interests all over Europe. Literature about this period reveals much about the Schetz, but does not even mention their affairs in Brazil (5).

Erasmus Schetz was a German, from Achen. He probably spent his youth in Lisbon (6). After his wedding (1511) he settled down in Antwerp. Schetz inherited the cup.ermines in the Rhineland from his mother(Kranz). From his mother-in-law (Kelmis, La Calamine) came an interest in the Galeiberg or Altenberg (Morro Velho), an endless source of sink-silicate; essential for the production of yellow cup.er. And, eventually, his father-in-law (Van Richtergem) made him successor in a successful trade of Portuguese spices.

Cup.er was, in that time, one of the main trade articles with Portugal. It was used in the commerce with India and Guine; cup.er brace-, leg- and necklets were changed for pep.ers. The wealth of the cup.er made Schetz into a banker, involved in many different enterprises. He is also said to have been a humanist and intelectual; 35 letters in Latin to Erasmus of Rotterdam are kept.

After his death in 1550 the suns (Gaspar, Baltasar, Melchior, Koenraad) of Erasmus continued the company, involving also other merchands: Christoffel Proenen, Adriaan van Hielst and Jan Vlemincx. The latter was the sun-in-law of Gaspar Schetz. Both Proenen and Vlemincx came from Maastricht (The Netherlands). Proenen is described as the central figure in the company; Vlemincx was an even greater humanist and writer than Erasmus Schetz (7).

A contract of 1561, involving Baltasar, Melchior and Koenraad Schetz, as well as Jan Vlemincx, mentions "the coalmine, land and the mill in Brazil" (8). The Schetz brothers brought these possessions into the company of the four. A letter of Gaspar Schetz, written in 1576, speaks of the eigth part of the "ingenio" in Brazil that belonged to Aert Vlemincx (probably a relative of Jan -who had died in 1568) (9).

Gaspar Schetz, Senhor de Grobbendonck, was the main successor of Erasmus. In 1555 he entered in public offices, first as financial agent of Philips II in Antwerp, later as Tresurer General. In 1567, Gaspar moved to Brussels. The services to the emperor obliged him to resign from commercial activities. Although Gaspar Schetz moved out of the family business, he still occurred in a great number of enterprises. Ap.arently, the engenho São Jorge was one of them, as Gaspar was responsible for shipments to Brazil in 1579, a year before his death. From 1593 onwards, the heirs of Gaspar Schetz act as the owners of the engenho, trying to sell it.

Life at São Jorge

The history of the engenho was made by Portuguese, Germans, Belgians, Dutch and Italians. Meanwhile, the work was done by Indians and a few slaves from Guine. The owners were represented in Brazil by "feitors", maily Germans (Peter Roessel, c. 1540; Paulo Werner, 1579) and Italians (Giovanni Batista Maglio, 1556; Jeronimo Maya, 1593). Over the years many new buidings were constructed at the site. The feitors also bought more land to plant sugarcane, because it was not very profitable to work with "lavradores".

Sugar functioned as money in the Capitania. As the "Armadores do Trato" imported products from Europe they could control this sweet economy. São Jorge produced more or less 1.000 arrobas of sugar a year. According to a letter which was sent from Santos to Antwerp in 1548, there were 130 slaves (10). Half of them did not work, being either too young or too old. The majority of the slaves was Indian; but the most important ranks (mestre de açúcar, purgador) were kept by "seven or eight" negros from Guine.

The same letter also speaks of the difficult circumstances to keep an engenho in São Vicente. Nobody could be trusted; the moradores had invaded lands that belonged to the engenho; and the feitors were always after their own profit. Besides, there was a big lack of sup.lies from Europe like meat and cheese.

The absence of civilization and justice in São Vicente was also noted by Padre Manoel Nobrega. In 1553 he wrote: "Pelo que não só entre os índios e gentios, e isto mais nesta capitania do que em outras. A razão, creio, é porque a gente (brance) desta terra é fraca em entender e de má á criação, e há á muito habituada em grandes maldades, e gente de menos qualidade que tôda (gente branca) do Brasil" (11).

There was a constant danger of attacks by Indians and French, reason why the engenho looked like a fortress: "todas as casas se erguem numa altura e todas juntas e próximas de maneira que nenhuma fazenda seja tão forte para os contrários, nem tenha melhores casas em todas estes engenhos. Daí que se pode defendê-lo facilmente com 3 ou 4 berços (pequena artilharia)" (12).

In between 1540 and 1548 the engenho had been enlarged with: "uma casa muito grande de 6 lanços (13,2 m) e uma senzala com uma ferraria, todas providas com baluartes, e ainda duas casas cobertas de telhas, muito boas e fortes".

In the early years, the mill was not located at the hill (a sambaquis?) were the ruins of the engenho now can be found. The letter of 1548: "Quanto ao engenho, é velho e está á para cair e deve ser refeito neste primeiro ano. A roda está á para cair, fica arriada demais e a á água submerge-a, pois a maré entra ás vezes na levada, o que dá á grande impedimento para a moagem. Daí que ser mudado para cima e deve ser feito um bom que ficará á na descida da colina".

From all this information it can be concluded that the complex was composed of different units, rather than a single-roofed area, as was thought before (13). The buildings were (partly) constructed of taipa with roofs of palm leaves (palha).

Decadence

The exportation of sugar from the Capitania of São Vicente to Europe only lasted some decades. After 1580 the region entered in a severe decline. In 1579, Gaspar Schetz still invested in Brazil. He sent a large load of products from Antwerp to São Jorge.

The cargo contained 99 paintings, many products for religious services, clothes for the slaves. and new kettles for the engenho (14). Two years later, also the engenho Madre de Deus was improved, with materials that were brought by the "Minion of London" (15). But, in 1585, Fernão Cardim wrote about São Vicente: "Agora a vila é pobre por esterem as terras gastas e faltam indios que as cultivem, se vai despovoando" (16). There are many possible reasons for the decay.

First of all, the permission to occupy the Planalto caused a huge exodus from the litoral of São Vicente. Indian slavery was prohibited in 1570, causing an even further reduction of the labour force. Moreover, the litoral offered hardly any space for expansion. The Northeast, in short, had favourable conditions. Still it is strange that the fields were abandoned while the price of sugar was extreemly high. A closer look at Europe and the organization of the sugar industry might explain this.

At the end of the 16th century The Netherlands (NB: Os Países Baixos) were at war with Spain. Antwerp was a leading city in the revolt until it was taken by the Spanish in 1585. A period of economic expansion stoped abruptly, as the river Schelde, the only link to the sea, got blocked in Zeeland. Meanwhile, the Schetz were engaged in court processes, intriges, malversations and bankrupts. Their role as tradehouse vanished.

Stols mentions the limited operationality of the family-tied enterprise (17). The company could not control the circumstances. Activities in Brazil got paralysed by the feudal mentality that came from Portugal. And the feitors, who were sup.ost to represent the interests of the owners, mainly thought of their own profits.

It all hap.ened simultaneously: Antwerp and Schetz lost their power. The type of management of this early multinational was inadequate. And the production area lacked a labour force as well as space for expansion. The sugar cultivation in São Vicente did not just enter in a crisis, but disap.eared completely.

The heirs of Gaspar Schetz did not manage to sell the engenho (18). In 1593, they authorized Jeronimo Maya to substitute Paulo Werner as feitor. The instructions told him to enter in court against Werner and to liquidate the possessions. In the following years (1597, 1603), the family wrote letters to Jesuits in Brazil and asked them to find out what had hapened. It seems that Jeronimo Maya had not obeyed the instructions, but sold the engenho for his own benefit.

New attempts to win at least some money with the sell of the site were made in 1603. First, Antonio Dooge was put in charge. Soon after, he was substituted by Mr. Goossens in Lisbon. Goossens had to find somebody who could go to Santos. In 1612 eventually, a representative of the Schetz ap.eared in São Vicente: Manuel van Dale. This merchand lived in Lisbon and was a member of the famous Van Dale-clan that had long controled the sugar commerce in Antwerp.

Van Dale and the Superior of the Jesuits entered in court in São Vicente. They tried to re-obtain the engenho from the provedor dos fundos e ausentes who had put São Jorge for sale, on behalf of the heirs of Jerônimo Leitão. The defenders of Schetz argued that the provedor acted illegaly. The site still belonged to the Schetz and, besides, the Portuguese king had prohibited the sale of engenhos. The final decision of the court is not known; but ap.erently the Schetz gave up the property.

The buildings were probably destroyed in 1615 during the attacks of Joris van Spilbergen, from Holland. In the next centuries the site was in use for small-scale agricultural production.

Hidden at the foot of the hills, and far away from the cities of São Vicente and Santos, the remains of this early industry could come down to our times. As the urban expansion now reaches the ruins, it is the moment to act, before they disapear completely. The challenge is to bring the landscape with the ruins carefully into the city. And to bring the city to the ruins and the landscape. The Sitio São Jorge can show us how it all started.

notes

1
‘Engenho dos Erasmos, vestígios de uma primeira multinational’ Leopoldianum vol. XVII, nº 49, Revista da Universidade Católica de Santos, 85-92, april 1991.

2
The microfilm is kept at CAPH USP.

3
FURTADO, Dr. Alcebiades: "Os Schetz da Capitania de São Vicente", in: Publicações do Arquivo Nacional, vol.14, 1914, p. 5-31; LAGA, Carl: "O Engenho dos Erasmos em São Vicente; Resultado de Pesquisas em Arquivos Belgas", in: Revista Estudos Historicos, no. 1, Marília, jun. 1963, p. 13-43; STOLS, Eddy: "Um dos primeiros Documentos sobre o Engenho dos Schetz em São Vicente", in: Revista da História, São Paulo, USP, Vol. 37, 19 (1968) 76, p. 407-419.

4
"cêrca dos anos 1540", mention in the Memorial for Mr. Goossens in Lisbon, 16-03-1603, translated and published in LAGA, op. cit.

5
PRIMS, Floris: "Geschiedenis van Antwerpen, deel VIII: Met Spanje (1555-1715)", NV Standaard Boekhandel, Antwerpen 1943.

6
Erasmus traded in Lisbon in silver, cup.er and other metals, according to Guicciardini, an admirer and friend of the Schetz, quoted in Denucé, Afrika en de handel van Antwerpen.

7
PRIMS, op. cit, p. 197.

8
"Declaratien van den Comp.e van Sr. Cunraedt Schetz", 02-04-1561, microfilm CAPH, document 1.

9
Letter to Rodrigo Alvarez Caldera, 05-05-1576, Dutch translation (from spanish), microfilm CAPH, document 31.

10
Incomplete letter in Dutch, dating 13-05-1548; translated and published in Stols, op. cit.

11
Quoted from: FRANCA, Francisco de Assis Carvalho. "Os 32 Companheiros de Martim Afonso e a Cidade de São Paulo", in: Esaios Paulistas, Ed. Anhambi, São Paulo 1958, p. 672.

12
STOLS, op. cit.

13
Luís Saia defended this theory. In the (unpublished) report on the excavations he wrote: "Toda a instalação estaria disposta sob um mesmo teto, segunda um partido aglutinado".

14
The accounts of all the products that were sent was translated and published in LAGA, op. cit.

15
See: PANTALEÃO, Olga: "Um Navio inglês no Brasil em 1581; a viagem do Minion of London", in: Revista Estudos Historicos, nº 1, Marilia, jun de 1963, p. 45-93

16
CARDIM, Fernão (1540?-1625), "Tratados da Terra e Gente do Brasil", Belo Horizonte, Itatiaia, São Paulo, Edusp, 1980, p. 174.

17
STOLS, op. cit.

18
There are ten documents that deal with the liquidation of the engenho. They were published in FURTADO, op. cit; and LAGA, op. cit, São Paulo, 08-02-1990.

about the author

Paul Meurs, architect, partner at the Consultancy Office Urban Fabric, Schiedam, and professor at the Technology University Delft