As soon as it heard of this
discovery, the Portuguese government thought it would make as much profit
out of it as possible, so it no longer authorized any other exploitation
in the Diamantina regions than that of the diamond, and it imposed upon
such exploitation a tax that was fixed at 28 francs per laborer in 1729
and 224 in 1734. From 1734 to 1739 all operations were suspended, and a
more lucrative organization for the treasury was sought for. In 1739 the
era of contracts was inaugurated. The exploitation of the diamond was
farmed out for four years to a _contratador_, who was to work a certain
territory with a number of men, fixed at 600 as a maximum, and to pay into
the treasury a sum per workman (whether working or not) that varied from
1,288 francs per year in 1734 to 1,344 francs for the last contract, that
ended in 1772. At this epoch the government took the exploitation of the
diamond in hand, and gave it in charge of a special administration, which
was submitted to the direction of the treasury of Lisbon, and which had at
its head a comptroller. This new regime lasted till 1845. In order to
render the surveillance of the treasury agents efficient, and prevent
smuggling (which can be so easily done with an object like the diamond),
it was necessary to impose a special regime over the entire region of
Diamantina, and, in fact, the latter was, up to the independence of
Brazil, submitted to Draconian regulations.
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