Full text of "Chambers's concise gazetteer of the world : topographical, statistical historical, pronouncing"

V*
FRDM-THE

TRINITYC

CHAMBERS'S

CONCISE GAZETTEER

THE WORLD

TOPOGRAPHICAL
STATISTICAL
HISTORICAL
PRONOUNCING

EDITED BY

DAVID PATRICK, LL.D.

EDITIOKT

London: 47 Paternoster Row

W. & R. CHAMBERS, LIMITED

Edinburgh: 339 High Street .
1906

Edinburgh :
Tinted by \V. & B. Chambers, Limited,

&
103

Ota ~ M

PEEFAOE.

THE first question that naturally comes into one's mind when a place is
mentioned is : * Where is it ? ' ' What is to be known about it ? ' is as
naturally the second. One cannot open a newspaper without lighting on some
reference to the railway bridge over the Zambesi, the battle of Tsushima,
difficulties at Koweit, the naval base at Rosy th, or, it may be, to Masampho,
Skagway, Tchernavoda, Tuskegee, Zeebrugge ; or there will be jtn allusion
to the 'prisoner of Chillon,' the 'rector of Lutterworth,' the 'martyr of Erro-
mango,' the 'sage of Chelsea,' the 'Mantuan,' the 'Corsican,' the 'cure
of Meudon,' the 'victor of Barossa,' the 'hero of Khartoum,' the
'Chiltern Hundreds,' the 'monks of Medmenham,' or the 'Little Gidding
community. '

Not even Macaulay's schoolboy could carry the whereabouts of all these
places in his head, or could explain every one of the allusions. The present
work aims to supply the want indicated. It is largely based on the geo-
graphical matter of Chambers's Encyclopaedia, but many of the articles are
new, and there are numerous additions to the list. It is a Gazetteer of the
World, comprehensive yet handy, containing the latest and most reliable
information about nameworthy places at home and abroad : the last census of
civilised countries, and the most authentic official figures, have, it need hardly
be said, been taken advantage of in every available case. The etymology of
the names, where it is significant and interesting, has not been neglected, and
an attempt has been made to do justice, however briefly, to history and literary
associations. This is probably the only Gazetteer of the World that explains
the interest of Craigenputtock and Somersby, Morwenstow and Chalfont St
Giles, Ramsbottom, Wem, and Tong. Yet, full though it is, it does not
profess to be exhaustive ; to give, for instance, every one of (at least) 275 cities,
counties, towns, townships, villages, hamlets, and post-offices of the name of
Washington in the United States, or every one of the 90 NeAvtons on both sides
of the Atlantic. To have attempted this would, by the curtailment of the
longer articles, have involved the sacrifice of much space now put to a better
use. Instead, the aim of the work has been to tell everything that may be
reasonably wanted about every place likely to be looked for, and to tell it with
the utmost conciseness consistent with clearness and readableness. References
to standard books have been added to the articles on the more important and
interesting countries, towns, and even villages.

PREFACE.

1 The pronunciation has been indicated in all cases where doubt could arise
by accent when this suffices, or by re-spelling in full, in the way most likely
to be intelligible to the average reader ; although it must be remembered that
in many cases the pronunciation can only be approximately suggested in
English spelling. The g in the re-spellings is always hard, as in get ; ay or a
is the English a in fate ; i is the sound in mine; ow is always the sound in
how, now ; uh is the obscure sound between eh and ah ; hh here represents the
guttural ch of German arid Scotch words ; and recourse had sometimes to be
had to 6 to represent the German o and the French oeu, and to ii to indicate
the German ii and the ordinary French u. Many readers will be glad to
know that the instinctive English way of accenting Altona, Potomac, Potosi,
and Cordilleras is not that customary in those parts ; that English people do
not pronounce Godmanchester, Belvoir, or Hughenden as the spelling sug-
gests ; that Scotsmen do not defer to Southron expectations in such names as
Culloden and Oban, Kirkcudbright and Milngavie ; that the Welsh do not say
Merioneth, and that Amlwch is easier to utter than it looks at first sight ;
that British sailors who have been on the spot are not safe guides for the true
pronunciation of names like Callao and Iquique, Monte Video and Buenos
Ay res, Setubal and Santander.

In this revised reissue facts, figures, and statistics have as far as possible been
brought down to the early years of the new century ; many articles have been
entirely rewritten, and hundreds have been inserted for the first time. Since
the first issue Rhodesia and Nigeria have changed beyond recognition ; the
Commonwealth of Australia has been constituted ; Canada has made un-
paralleled progress ; British South Africa has gone through more than one crisis ;
Indian provinces have been reconstituted, divided, renamed ; the republic of
the United States has increased vastly in population and wealth at home, and
entered on a significant policy of expansion abroad ; the sister kingdoms of
Norway and Sweden no longer live under the same roof; Spain has lost its
colonies, and Panama become a nation ; Port Arthur and Dalny, Korea and
Manchuria, Russia and Japan, have 'made history;' Vesuvius has been in
disastrous eruption, and San Francisco been destroyed. These are but instances
of thousands of new landmarks of the world's progress and of the changes time
brings with it. In the revision of this work a strenuous effort has been made
to take account of all new developments and to make the Gazetteer a still
more valuable companion to the general reader.

CONCISE

GAZETTEER OF THE WORLD

A (pron. Ah), the name of several Euro-
pean rivers in Westphalia, Switzer-
land, and North France all small.

Aachen (AJi'hen), the German name
of AIX-LA-CHAPELLE.

Aalborg (Awl-borg; 'Eel-town'), a
seaport of Jutland and seat of a bishopric, on the
Limfiord. Pop. (1890) 19,503 ; (1901) 31,462.

Aalen (Ah'leri), a town of Wiirtemberg, on the
Kocher, 46 miles E. of Stuttgart. Pop. 8805.

Aalesund (Awl-e-soond\ a Norwegian town,
with an excellent harbour, built on three small
islands of the province of Romsdal. Pop. 11,700.

Aalst. See ALOST.

Aalten, a Netherlands town, on the Aa, 30 miles
E. of Arnhem. Pop. 7000.

A'an, or AVON, a small Banffshire lake, lying
2250 feet above sea-level among the Cairngorms,
which sends oif the Avon, 29 miles, to the Spey.

Aar (Ahr), next to the Rhine and Rhone the
largest river in Switzerland, rises in the Bernese
Oberland, flows through Lakes Brienz and Thun,
and passing Interlaken, Thun, Berne, Soleure,
and Aarau, joins the Rhine above Waldshut after
a course of nearly 200 miles.

Aarau (ATir'ow). See AARGATT.

Aargau (ATir'gow; Fr. Argovie), the least
mountainous canton of Switzerland, on the lower
course of the Aar, with the Rhine for its north
boundary. Area, 548 sq. m. ; pop. (1900) 206,500,
mainly Protestant and German-speaking. The
chief town is Aarau, on -the Aar. Pop. 7500.

Aarhuus (Aivr-hoos), a seaport on the east
coast of Jutland, the second of Danish cities,
with a fine Gothic cathedral of the 13th century.
Pop. (1870) 15,025 ; (1890) 33,306 ; (1901) 51,850.

Ab'aco. See BAHAMAS.

Abakansk, a fortified Siberian town, near the
Abakan's junction with the Yenisei. Pop. 3000.

Ab'ana and Pharpar are identified generally,
the former with the Barada, flowing through
Damascus ; the latter with the Awaj, which rises
on the SE. slopes of Hermon, passes 8 miles from
Damascus, and falls into a lake to the south.

ABER

Abancay (Abariki), chief town of the Peruvian
province of Apurimac, 65 miles WSW. of Cuzco.
Pop. 5000.

Abbazia (Abbatzee'a), a health-resort on the bay
of Fiume, at the head of the Quarnero gulf of the
Adriatic, 5 miles NW. of Fiume by rail. The
'Nice of the Adriatic' has since about 1880
become famous for its fine climate, beautiful
situation, and luxuriant vegetation. Pop. 3000.

Abbeoku'ta, an African city, or rather collec-
tion of small towns or villages, capital of the
territory of Egba, in the Yoruba country, 80
miles N. of Lagos. Pop. 150,000.

Abbeville (Abb-veel'\ a prosperous manufac-
turing town in the French dep. of Somme, on
the river Somme, 12 miles from its mouth, and
49 miles S. of Boulogne. The west front of the
church of St Wolfram, commenced in the reign
of Louis XII., is a splendid example of Flamboy-
ant, with noble portals and rich tracery. The
chief manufactures are woollen cloths, carpets,
linens, sacking, and sugar. Near Abbeville were
found, in 1841, many prehistoric flint imple-
ments. Pop. (1872) 18,108 ; (1901) 21,100.

Abbey Craig, an abrupt eminence (362 feet),
IJ mile ENE. of Stirling. It is crowned by the
Wallace monument (1869), a baronial tower 220
feet high.

Abbeydorney, a Kerry village, 5 miles N,
of Tralee, with a ruined abbey (1154).

Abbeyfeale, a market-town, 37 miles SW. of
Limerick. Pop. 896.

Abbeyleix (Abbey-leece 1 ), a town of Queen's
County, 61 miles SW. of Dublin. Pop. 987.

Abbiate-Grasso (Abbiah'tay), a town of Italy,
14 miles WSW. of Milan. Pop. 7025.

Abbotabad, in the NW. Frontier Province of
India, 180 miles NNW. of Lahore. Pop. 5000.

Abbotsbury, a Dorset village, at the head of
the Fleet tidal inlet, S miles NW. of Weymouth.

Abbotsford, built in 1811-24 by Sir Walter
Scott, on the Tweed's south bank, 2 miles W. of
Melrose.

Aber, a Carnarvonshire coast-village, at the

ABERAVON

ABERDOUR

mouth of a lovely little glen, 4f miles E. of
Bangor.

Aberavon, or PORT TALBOT, a seaport of Gla-
morganshire, on the Avon, near its mouth in
Swansea Bay, 32 miles W. of Cardiff. The valley
of the Avon is shut in by lofty hills, while every
available space is occupied by tinplate, copper,
and iron works. It is one of the 'Swansea
boroughs.' Pop. (1861) 2916 ; (1901) 7560.

Aberayron, a Cardiganshire watering-place, 14
miles SSW. of Aberystwith. Pop. 1340.

Aberbrothock. See ARBROATH.

Abercarn, a coal-mining municipality, pros-
perous and progressive, of Monmouthshire, 8
miles NW. of Newport. Pop. 12,600.

Abercorn, a Linlithgowshire hamlet, near the
Firth of Forth, 3| miles W. of South Queensferry.
From 681 to 685 it was the seat of a bishopric.

Aberdare, a town of Glamorganshire, 4 miles
SW. of Merthyr-Tydvil, and within its parlia-
mentary boundary. Coal and iron are found in
abundance in the vicinity, and Aberdare is a
flourishing centre of iron and tin works. Pop.
(1841) 6471 ; (1861) 32,299 ; (1901) 43,400.

Aberdeen, the chief city and seaport in the
north of Scotland, lies in the SB. angle of Aber-
dsenshire, at the mouth and on the north side
of the Dee, 111 miles N. of Edinburgh. William
the Lion confirmed its privileges in 1179 ; the
English burned it in 1336, but it was soon rebuilt,
and called New Aberdeen. Old Aberdeen, within
the same parliamentary boundary, is a small
town a mile to the N., near the mouth of the
Don, and is the seat of St Machar's Cathedral
(1357-1527), now represented by the granite nave.
King's College and University, founded by Bishop
Elphinstone in Old Aberdeen in 1494, and Maris-
chal College and University, founded by the Earl
Marischal in New Aberdeen in 1593, were in 1860
united into one institution, the University of
Aberdeen. It has 25 professors and from 800 to
900 students in its four faculties of arts, divinity,
law, and medicine ; with Glasgow University it
sends one member to parliament. Marischal
College was rebuilt in 1841, and greatly enlarged
in 1892-95; whilst King's College is a stately
fabric, dating from 1500, its chapel adorned
with exquisite wood carvings. Aberdeen has
a flourishing trade and thriving manufactures ;
and having been largely rebuilt and extended
since the formation of Union Street in 1800,
the 'Granite City* now offers a handsome
and regular aspect. Among the chief public
edifices are the County Buildings (1867-73), the
Post-office (1876), the Market-hall (1842 ; rebuilt
after the fire of 1882), the Trades-hall (1847), the
Royal Infirmary (1740 ; rebuilt 1840), the Lunatic
Asylum (1819), the Grammar-school (1863), the
Art Gallery and Art School (1882-83), and Gor-
don's College (1739-1834). The last has been
much extended as a technical school, the founda-
tioners being no longer resident ; whilst the
Infirmary was reconstructed and modernised to
celebrate the Queen's Jubilee (1887). St Nicholas,
now divided into the East and West churches,
has a fine new spire (1880), 190 feet high. A
carillon of 37 bells was placed here in 1887. One
may also notice the market-cross (1686); the
Wallace, Gordon Pasha, and three other statues ;
and the Duthie Public Park of 47 acres (1883).
Since 1810, when the debt upon the harbour was
29,614, the expenditure on harbour improve-
ments has exceeded 1,000,000, the works having
included the formation of the Victoria Dock

(1848), a breakwater, the southward diversion of
the Dee (1872), and a graving-dock (1886). The
trade of the port has largely increased since
1850 ; and the aggregate tonnage of vessels enter-
ing in good years exceeds 600,000 tons. Railway
communication has also been fully established
since 1848-54. The chief exports are woollens,
linens, cotton-yarns, paper, combs, granite (hewn
and polished), cattle, grain, preserved provisions,
and fish. Aberdeen has the largest comb and
granite-polishing works in the kingdom. There
are several large paper-works within a short dis-
tance of the town ; and soap, chemicals, whisky,
and agricultural implements are amongst the
manufactures. Wooden shipbuilding was for-
merly a prosperous industry, the Aberdeen clip-
pers being celebrated as fast sailers. Connected
with Aberdeen, which has always been a cele-
brated seat of learning, have been the names
of Barbour, Boece, Jameson, Gregory, Reid,
Beattie, Campbell, Byron, Skinner, Hill Burton,
W. Dyce, J. Phillip, and Sir A. Anderson, to
whose provostship (1859-66) belong the intro-
duction of a fine water-supply, and many other
improvements. Pop. of the parliamentary burgh,
which since 1885 has returned two members,
(1801)26,992; (1841)63,288; (1881)105,003; (1891)
121,623 ; (1901) 153,500.

Aberdeenshire, a large maritime county in
the extreme NE. of Scotland. The fifth in size of
the Scottish counties, it has a maximum length
of 85 and breadth of 47 miles, with 62 miles of
sea-coast, and an area of 1971 sq. m. It has
long been popularly divided into five districts
(proceeding from south-west to north-east) Mar,
Strathbogie, Garioch, Formartine, and Buchan.
Aberdeenshire is generally hilly, and in the
south-west (Braemar) entirely mountainous, the
loftiest summits here being Ben Muich-Dhui
(second only to Ben Nevis), 4296 feet ; Cairntoul,
4241 ; Cairngorm, 4084 ; Benabourd, 3924 ; Loch-
nagar, 3786 : whilst northward rise Bennachie,
1698 ; the Buck of Cabrach, 2368 ; and Mormond
Hill, 769. The predominant rocks are granite
and gneiss. The granite is very durable, and is
much used for building and polishing. The chief
rivers are the Dee (87 miles long), Don (82), and
Ythan (35), which run eastward into the North
Sea ; and the Deveron (61 miles), which runs
north-east into the North Sea. The Ythan yields
the pearl-mussel, but rarely pearls of any value.
The most fertile parts lie between the Don and
Ythan, and in the north-east angle of the county.
About 37 per cent, of the area of the county
is cultivated, the chief crops being oats, barley,
and turnips ; whilst nearly 8 per cent, is under
wood. Aberdeenshire is unsurpassed in breeding
and feeding stock. Its principal breed is the
Polled Angus. The fisheries on the coast are
very productive, and Peterhead is the East Coast
centre of this industry. Balmoral (q.v.) is the
principal mansion ; and amongst the antiquities
are the ruins of Kiklrummie Castle and the
Abbey of Deer. The chief towns and villages
are Aberdeen, Peterhead, Fraserburgh, Huntly,
Kintore, Inverurie, Turriff, Ballater, arid Castle-
ton. The county returns two members to par-
liament ; the city of Aberdeen, two ; and the
burghs of Peterhead, Kintore, and Inverurie,
with Elgin, Cullen, and Banff, one. Pop. (1801)
121,065 ; (1841) 192,387 ; (1891) 284,036 ; (1901)
30,440. See the history by A. Smith (1875), the
Spalding Club publications, and Watt's Aberdeen
and Banff (1900).

Aberdour, (1) a Fife village, on the Firth of

ABERDOVEY

ABYSSINIA

Forth, 3 miles W. of Burntisland, with a ruined
castle of the Earls of Morton. Pop. 748. (2) An
Aberdeenshire village, 8 miles W. by S. of Fraser-
burgh. Richard Chancellor was lost in Aberdour
Bay (1556).

Aberdovey, a watering-place of Merioneth-
shire, on the Dovey estuary, 10 miles N of
Aberystwith.

Aberfeldy, a pleasant Perthshire village, near
the Tay's south bank, 32 miles NW. of Perth by
rail. The neighbouring Falls of Moness are cele-
brated in Burns's Blrks of Aberfeldy. A monu-
ment (1887) commemorates the embodiment of
the Black Watch here in 1740. Pop. 1569.

Aberffraw, a seaport of Anglesey, 12 miles SE.
of Holyhead. Pop. 959.

Aberfoyle, a Perthshire hamlet, immortalised
through Scott's Rob Roy, 23 miles W. of Stirling
by rail.

Abergavenny (Abergen'ny; Rom. Gobannium),
a market-town of Monmouthshire, at the Gav-
enny's influx to the Usk, 13 miles W. of Mon-
mouth. It has remains of an old castle and of a
priory, with collieries and ironworks near. Pop.
of municipal borough (1901) 7800.

Abergeldie Castle, the Aberdeenshire seat of
the Prince of Wales, on the Dee's right bank, 6
miles W. of Ballater, and 2 ENE. of Balmoral.

Abergele, a Denbighshire market-town, 34
miles W. of Chester. The burning here in 1868
of the Irish limited mail cost 33 lives. Pop. 1981.

Aberlady, a Haddingtonshire coast village, 3
miles NE. of Longniddry. Pop. 505.

Abernethy, a small police-burgh of Perthshire,
near the Earn's influx to the Tay, 8| miles SE. of
Perth. The ancient capital of the Picts, and
from 865 till 908 the seat of the sole Scottish
bishopric, it retains one of the two Round Towers
in Scotland, 73 feet high. Pop. 852.

Abersychan, an iron and coal mining town of
Monmouthshire, 11 miles N. of Newport. Pop.
(1901) 17,770.

Abertillery, a town of Monmouthshire, 16
miles NNW. of Newport. Pop. 21,945.

Aberystwith, a watering-place and municipal
borough of Cardiganshire, on the Ystwith, at its
mouth in Cardigan Bay, 242 miles NW. of London
by rail. It is the seat of the University College
of Wales (1872). There are remains of a castle
(1109). Till 1885 it was one of the Cardigan
parliamentary boroughs. Pop. (1851) 5231 ; (1891)
6725 ; (1901) 8015.

Abingdon, a municipal borough of Berkshire,
situated at the junction of the Ock and the
Thames, 6 miles S. of Oxford, and 60 WNW. of
London. 'Abbaddun' (Abbot's town) was an
important place in the 8th century, and its
Benedictine abbey, rebuilt in 955, was very rich.
Its school, founded in 1563, was rebuilt in 1870.
A large clothing manufactory employs many
hands. Till 1885 Abingdon returned a member
to parliament. Pop. (1851) 5954 ; (1901) 64SO.

Abington, a Lanarkshire village, on the Clyde,
14 miles SSE. of Lanark.

Abkhasia, or ABASIA, a district of Asiatic
Russia, between the Caucasus and the Black Sea.
The inhabitants, who numbered at the outbreak
of the Turkish war of 1878 about 30,000, are
now, by emigration, less than half as numerous.
Russia gained possession of the fortresses of
Abkhasia in 1824, but finally subdued the people
only in 1864. See CAUCASUS.

Abo (pronounced Obo), the chief town of a
government in Finland, on the river Aurajoki,
near its embouchure in the Gulf of Bothnia, 170
miles WNW. of Helsingfors by rail. It has an
active trade, and exports timber, and bar and
cast iron. Its university was transferred to
Helsingfors after the great fire of 1827. A peace
between Sweden and Russia was signed here in
1743. Pop. (1890) 31,671; (1900) 37,700.

Abomey. See DAHOMEY.

Aboukir', a coast-village of Egypt, 13 miles
NE. of Alexandria. In Aboukir Bay Nelson won
the great ' Battle of the Nile ' over the French
fleet, August 1, 1798. Here Napoleon in 1799
defeated a Turkish army ; and here Sir Ralph
Abercromby's expedition landed in 1801.

Abousambul. See ABU-SIMBEL.

Aboyne', a Deeside village, 32^ miles W. by
S. of Aberdeen. Aboyne Castle is the seat of
the Marquis of Huntly. See his Records of
Aboyne (1894).

Abraham, PLAINS or HEIGHTS OF, close to the
city of Quebec, the scene of Wolfe's victory,
13th September 1759. They were so called from
a pilot, Abraham Martin.

Abrantes (A-brarites), a town of Portugal, on
the Tagus, 84 miles NE. of Lisbon. Pop. 6380.

Abruzzo (Abroot'so), or ABRUZZI, a district of
Central Italy, was formerly the north-east corner
of the Kingdom of Naples, in the loftiest portion
of the Apennines. The jagged mountain groups
reach in the Gran Sasso cl'Italia 9600 feet.

Abu, a mountain (5650 feet) of India, in the
territory of Serohee, Rajputana, a detached
granite mass rising like an island front the plain
of Marwar, near the Aravalli ridge. It is a cele-
brated place of pilgrimage, especially for the
Jains, who have live temples at Delwara, about
the middle of the mountain, two of which are
the most superb of all Jain temples. Both are
built of white marble, finely carved, and date
from 1031 and 1197 A.D. The mountain contains
a beautiful lake 4000 feet above the sea ; and the
region is a summer-resort for Europeans.

Abu Klea, on the route across country between
Korti and Metammeh, both on the great bend of
the Nile below Khartoum. Here, on 17th January
1885, Sir Herbert Stewart defeated the Mahdi.

Abushehr. See BUSHIRE.

Abu-Simbel (also Abousambul or IpsambuT), a
place on the left bank of the Nile, in Lower
Nubia, the site of two very remarkable rock-cut
temples, amongst the most perfect and noble
specimens of Egyptian architecture.

Aby'dos, (1) a town in Asia Minor, situated at
the narrowest part of the Hellespont, opposite
Sestos, was the place whence Xerxes and his
vast army passed into Europe in 480 B.C. ; and
in poetry is famous for the loves of Hero and
Leander. (2) A city of Upper Egypt, on the left
bank of the Nile, once second only to Thebes,
but even in Strabo's time a mere ruin. Here the
remains of the Memnonium and of a temple of
Osiris are still remarkable.

Ab'yla. See CEUTA.

Abyssinia (from the Arabic name Habesh,
'mixture,' given on account of the mixed popu-
lation), is a highland state of Eastern Africa,
jealous in defence of its independence, and lies
between the flats at the south end of the Red
Sea and the Blue Nile on the west, and extends
from Nubia southward to the Galla country.

ABYSSINIA

Divisions are Tigre in the north, Anihara in the
centre, and Shoa in the south, besides outlying
territories in the S. and SE. (Harar, q.v.).
Abyssinia, with an area of 180,000 sq. m., mainly
consists of a huge tableland with a mean eleva-
tion of 7000 feet. The declivity to the bordering
tract on the Red Sea is abrupt ; towards the Nile
basin it is more gradual. The main mass has
been cut into a number of island-like sections by
the streams, which have worn their channels into
ravines of vast depth as much sometimes as 4000
feet. The principal are the head-streams of the
Blue Nile, issuing from the great Lake Tzana,
Tana, or Dembea, and the Atbara, also a tribu-
tary of the Nile ; less important are the Mareb
and the Hawash. Isolated mountains, with
naked perpendicular sides, present the most
singular forms. The Samen Mountains have
summits rising to the height of 15,000 feet.
The climate, notwithstanding its tropical posi-
tion, is on the whole moderate and pleasant
owing to its elevation, though in the river
valleys and swamps the heat and moisture are
suffocating and pestilential. As a whole, the
country is exceedingly fruitful ; and its produc-
tions are of the most varied nature, from the
pines, heaths, and lichens of North Europe to
the choicest tropical plants. Two, and in some
places three, crops can be raised in one year.

The population numbers some four millions,
and consists of various elements, the chief being
the Abyssinians proper a brown, well-formed
people, belonging to the Semitic stock. The
basis of the language is the ancient Ethiopic
(see ETHIOPIA) or Ge'ez, a Semitic tongue which
is now the sacred language. The modern dialect
of Amhara is the prevalent language of the
country. There are Gallas and Somalis in the
south and south-east. The Falashas are of
Jewish origin, and still retain many of their
racial peculiarities. The towns are small
Adis Ababa, capital of Shoa and of Abyssinia;
Gondar, in Amhara ; Adowa, or Adua, in Tigre ;
Axum (q.v.), the old capital not to speak of
Harar (q.v.), lately annexed. Any foreign trade
comes mainly through Massowah. The religion of
the Abyssinians proper is a debased Christianity ;
but the Gallas and other alien tribes are mostly
Mohammedan, and partly also pagan. Abyssinia
is a part of what was anciently called Ethiopia ;
Ityopya is still the Abyssinian name of the
country. The first king, according to the native
tradition, was Menilehek or Menelek, the son of
Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Christianity
was introduced in the 4th century by Fru-
mentius; the kingdom of Axum, named from
the capital, was the nucleus of the state, and
attained its greatest extent in the 6th century.
From the commencement the church of Abys-
sinia has adhered to the mother-church of Egypt,
and with her adopted the Monophysite doctrine ;
and the metropolitan bishop or abuna continues
to be nominated by the Coptic Patriarch. The
modern history of Abyssinia has been mainly
struggles between the princes of various districts
for supreme power. About 1850 an Amharic
adventurer obtained dominion over successive
provinces, and in 1855 had himself crowned,
under the name of Theodore, as Negus of Abys-
sinia. His maltreatment of European political
agents and missionaries led to the British expedi-
tion under Lord Napier, which stormed Magdala,
Theodore's royal fortress, whereupon Theodore
died by his own hand. Johannes, king of Tigre,
was the next Negus, and on his death in 1889,
Menelek of Shoa succeeded to the 'empire.'

8 ACONCAGUA

Meanwhile Italy had occupied the flats on the
coast, now the Italian dependency of Eritrea
(with Massowah as headquarters). By a con-
vention of 1889 Abyssinia became almost an
Italian protectorate ; but after the battle of
Adowa (1896), disastrous to the Italians, Italy
fully recognised Abyssinian independence.

Acadla (Acadie) was the name given by the
French settlers to Nova Scotia (q.v.), on its first
settlement in 1604.

Aca,jutla,(Acahoot-la), a small seaport on the W.
coast of San Salvador, with considerable trade.

Acapulco (Acapool'co), the best Mexican harbour
on the Pacific, 180 m. SW. of capital. Pop. 5000.

Acarnania, with jEtolia, a north-western pro-
vince of Greece (q.v.).

Accra, since 1875 capital of the (British) Gold
Coast Colony, and after Cape Coast Castle, the
most important town on the coast, lies slightly
to the W. of the long, of Greenwich. It is
a healthy place, and has considerable export
trade in palm-oil, ivory, gold dust, india-rubber,
monkey skins, gum copal, and camwood. There
is telegraphic communication with England, the
Niger, and the French and Portuguese settle-
ments to the south. Pop. 20,000.

Accrington, a manufacturing town of Lanca-
shire, incorporated as a municipal borough in
1878. It lies in a deep valley, surrounded by
hills, 22 miles N. of Manchester, and 5 miles
E. of Blackburn. The town-hall (1857) is a
handsome building, and there is a neat market-
hall. The industries are mainly calico-printing,
Turkey-red dyeing, iron-founding, with coal-
mining in the neighbourhood, and chemical
works. Pop. (1841) 8719 ; (1901) 43,120.

Acerra (A-ser'ra), a city of southern Italy, 9
miles NE. of Naples by rail. Pop. 14,121.

Achaia, a small Greek district lying along the
north coast of the Peloponnesus.

Achalganj, a town of India, in the south part
of Oude, near the Ganges. Pop. 5000.

Acheen. See ATCHEEN.

Achelo'us, now called Aspropot'amo, the largest
river in Northern Greece, rises in Mount Pindus,
flows south and south-west, and falls into the
Ionian Sea opposite Cephalonia.

Achill (Ahh'ilT), 'Eagle' Isle, off the west coast
of Ireland, belonging to County Mayo, is 15 miles
long by 12 miles broad, and has a very irregular
coast-line. It is wild and boggy, not 500 of its
51,521 acres being cultivated. There are three
villages, and a number of hovels scattered over
its barren moors, sometimes in small clusters,
forming hamlets, but so wretched as hardly to
be fit for beasts. Achill rises towards the north
and west coast, where one of the mountains,
Achill Head, composed, like the rest of the
island, wholly of mica-slate, presents towards
the sea a sheer precipice, 2192 feet high. Pop.
now below 4500. '

Aci Reale (A-see Ee-a'le), 'a town of Sicily, 50
miles SW. of Messina by rail. Lying at the
foot of Mount Etna, where the small river Aci
enters the sea, it is famed for its mineral waters,
and for the cave of Polyphemus and the grotto
of Galatea in its vicinity. Pop. 26,431.

Aconcagua, the highest peak of the Andes
(q.v.), rising to a height of 22,867 feet, according
to Gussfeldt's measurements in 1883. The moun-
tain, which is an extinct volcano (though this
has been disputed), is 100 miles ENE. of Val-

ACQUAVIVA

ADELAIDE

paraiso, on the frontier of Chili and the Argen-
tine Republic.

Acquaviva, a town of South Italy, at the foot
of the Apennines, 28 miles SSE. of Bari by rail.

Acqui (Lat. Aquce Statiellce), a town of North-
ern Italy, 21 miles SSW. of Alessandria by rail.
It derives its name from its hot sulphur springs,
and contains an old castle, a Gothic cathedral (12th
century), and remains of a Roman aqueduct.
Pop. 9411.

Acre, ST JEAN D'ACRE, or ACCA, the Biblical
Accho, is a seaport on the coast of Syria, not far
from the base of Mount Carmel, and contains
about 10,000 inhabitants. It is 80 miles NNW.
of Jerusalem, and 27 S. of Tyre. The harbour is
partly choked with sand, yet is one of the best
on this coast. In 1892 a railway was commenced
from Acre to Damascus ; and omnibuses rnn
regularly from Haifa to Acre. Taken by the
Crusaders in 1110, Acre was recovered in 1187
by the Sultan Saladin ; but retaken in 1191 by
Richard I. of England and Philip at a cost of
100,000 men. The town was now given to the
Knights of the Order of St John, who kept it by
constant fighting for a hundred years. In 1517
it was captured by the Turks ; in 1799 besieged
by the French for sixty-one days, but success-
fully defended by the garrison, aided by English
sailors and marines under Sir Sidney Smith.
In 1832 it was stormed by Ibrahim Pasha, son of
the viceroy of Egypt, and held by him till in
1840 it was bombarded and taken by a combined
English, Austrian, and Turkish fleet.

Acri, a town of South Italy, 13 miles NE. of
Cosenza. Pop. 3944.

Acroceraunia. See ALBANIA.

Acton, a town of Middlesex, 4 miles W. of
Hyde Park. Pop. (1901) 37,744.

Acton Burnell, a Shropshire parish, 8 miles
SSE. of Shrewsbury, at whose mined castle was
passed in 1283 the 'Statute of Merchants.'

Ada, a town of Northern Hungary, on the
river Theiss, an important station for steamers.
Pop. 9993.

Ada! is the name of the flat and barren coun-
try lying between the Abyssinian plateaux and
the Red Sea, from Massowa to the Bay of
Tajurra, its greatest width being 300 miles.

Adalia (anc. Attalia), a seaport on the S. coast
of Asia Minor, on the Gulf of Adalia. Pop. 30,000.

Adamawa, an African state or territory be-
tween the Cameroons and Lake Chad, most of
which (excluding Yola) by Anglo-German agree-
ment lies within the German sphere Yola being
in Nigeria. In the S. are mountains, amid which
rise numerous streams, the most important
being the Benue (q.v.), which waters the entire
province. The people, who profess Mohammed-
anism, are active, industrious, and intelligent.
The chief town is Yola (15,000 inhabitants).

Adams, a township of Massachusetts, adjoining
North Adams, with busy manufactories, and em-
bracing Mount Greylock (3505 feet), the highest
point in the state. Pop. 12,000.

Adam's Bridge, a chain of sand shoals 30
miles long, extending from a small island off the
Indian coast to one just off Ceylon. It greatly
obstructs the navigation of the channel.

Adam's Peak, the name given by Moham-
medans, and after them by Europeans, to a
mountain summit in the south of Ceylon, 7420

feet high (not, however, the highest of the
group). The native name is Samanella. The
cone forming the summit is a naked mass of
granite, terminating in a narrow platform, in
the middle of which is a hollow, five feet long,
having a resemblance (increased by human
agency) to a human footstep. Mohammedan
tradition makes this the scene of Adam's peni-
tence, after his expulsion from Paradise ; he
stood 1000 years on one foot, and hence the
mark. To the Buddhists, the impression is the
Sri-pada, or sacred footmark, left by Buddha on
his departure from Ceylon ; and the Hindus
recognise Buddha r. 13 an avatar of Vishnu. Multi-
tudes of devotees visit the mountain.

Adana (A'dana), a province in the SE. of Asia
Minor, is named from its chief city Adana, con-
taining 50,000 inhabitants. The city, on the
Sihun, 30 miles from the sea, commands the pass
of the Taurus Mountains.

Adare, a market-town on the Maig, in the
county, and 11 miles SW. of the town, of
Limerick. Pop. 516.

Adda, a river of Lombardy, rising in the Alps,
flowing through Lake Como, and falling into the
Po after a course of 180 miles.

Addiewell, a mineral village of Midlothian,
1 mile WSW. of West Calder. Pop. 2000.

Addis Abeba (Adis Ababa), capital of Abys-
sinia, lies in the south of the province of Shoa,
8000 feet above the sea. Pop. 50,000.

Addiscombe, a place in Surrey, near Croydon.
A mansion here was, in 1812, converted by the
East India Company into a college for their
cadets, but sold in 1861.

Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, on the
Torrens, 7 miles by rail SE. of Port Adelaide, on
St Vincent Gulf. It stands on a large plain, and
is walled in on the eastern and southern sides by
the Mount Lofty range ; the town proper is en-
closed by a wide belt of garden and shrubbery.
The first settlement was made in 1836, and named
after the queen of William IV. The Torrens
divides the town into North and South Adelaide,
the former being occupied chiefly with residences,
and the latter forming the business portion of
the town. Four substantial iron bridges span
the Torrens, which has been formed by a dam
into a lake l mile long. The streets are broad
and regularly laid out, especially in Adelaide
proper, to the south of the river, where they
cross each other at right angles, and are planted
with trees. Among the public buildings are the
new parliament houses, erected at a cost of about
100,000; government offices, post-office, and
town-hall ; South Australian Institute, with
museum, library, and art-galleries ; and hospital.
The botanical garden, with the botanical garden
park, covers more than 120 acres of ground. The
chief manufactures are woollen, leather, iron, and
earthenware goods ; but the chief importance of
Adelaide depends on its being the great emporium
for South Australia. Wool, wine, wheat, flour,
and copper ore are the staple articles of export.
Among educational institutions the most im-
portant are the Adelaide University ; St Peter's
(Episcopal) College; St Barnabas Theological
College, opened in 1881 ; and Prince Alfred
(Wesleyan) College. It is the seat of an Anglican
and of a Roman Catholic bishop. Glenelg on the
sea, 5 miles away, is a favourite watering-place.
Pop. (1871) 27,208; (1881) 38,479; (1901) 39,250,
or, with suburbs, 163,450. PORT ADELAIDE, its
haven, dates from 1840, is situated on an estuary

ADELSBERG

ADRAR

of the Gulf of St Vincent, has a safe and com-
modious harbour, and an ocean dock capable of
admitting ships of the largest size. It is a prin-
cipal port of call for vessels arriving from Europe
either round the Cape or by the Suez Canal ; and
since 1887 railway communication has been estab-
lished between Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and
Brisbane. Two forts have been erected for the
defence of the port. Tramways were introduced
in 1878. Municipal pop. 6000.

Adelsberg, a market-town in Carniola, 22 miles
NE. of Trieste, with a pop. of 1800. Near it are
numerous caves, the most famous being a large
stalactite cavern, the Adelsberg Grotto. This
cavern, the largest in Europe, between 2 and 3
miles long, is divided into the old and the new
grotto, the latter discovered in 1816 ; a third
very fine one came to light in 1889. The various
chambers, called by names such as the Dome,
the Dancing-hall, the Belvedere, contain stalac-
tites and stalagmites of great size and grotesque
forms. The river Poik runs through a part of
the grotto, and then disappears below the ground.

Aden, a peninsula and town belonging to
Britain, on the SW. coast of Arabia, 105 miles E.
of the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, the entrance to
the Red Sea. The peninsula is a mass of volcanic
rocks, 5 miles long from E. to W., and rising to
1776 feet. It is joined to the mainland by a
narrow, level, and sandy isthmus. The town is
on the eastern shore of the peninsula, stands in
the crater of an extinct volcano, and is sur-
rounded by indescribably barren, cinder-like
rocks. The main crater is known as the Devil's
Punch-bowl. Frequently the heat is intense ;
but the very dry hot climate, though depressing,
is unusually healthy for the tropics. The Romans
occupied it in the 1st century A.D. Till the dis-
covery of the Cape route to India (1498), it was
the chief mart of Asiatic produce for the Western
nations ; but in 1838 it had sunk to be a village
of 600 inhabitants. The increasing importance
of the Red Sea route gave Aden great value as a
station for England to hold ; and in 1839, after a
few hours' contest, Aden fell into the hands of
the British. It is of high importance both in a
mercantile and naval point of view, especially as
a great coaling station ; it has a garrison and
strong fortifications. The population and re-
sources of the place have rapidly increased since
1838, and the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869
gave it a great impetus. The annual value of its
imports sometimes exceeds two millions, while
that of its exports (coffee, gums, spices) amounts
to a million and a half. It is a telegraphic sta-
tion on the cable between Suez and Bombay, and
on the line to Zanzibar and the Cape. To provide
for its growing population, a considerable terri-
tory on the mainland has been acquired and
added to the peninsula, the total area (including
the island of Perim, q.v.) being 75 sq. m. ; and
the settlement, which is politically connected
with Bombay (seven days' sailing distant), had in
1901 a population of 41,250. The bulk of the
natives are Arabs and Somalis from Africa, all
speaking Arabic. In the settlement there are,
besides Aden proper, called the Camp, or the
Crater, two other centres of population Steamer
Point, which is cooler than the Crater ; and the
outlying town of Shaikh Othman, with a Presby-
terian mission, 10 miles towards the interior.

Aderbijan. See AZERBIJAN.

Aderno (anc. Adranum), a town of Sicily, at
the base of Mount Etna, 17 miles NW. of Catania.
Pop. 19,180.

Adiabe'ne, a district of Assyria, E. of the
Upper Tigris, between the greater and the lesser
Zab rivers.

AdigQ(Ad'ijay; Ger. Etsch; anc. Athesis), a river
of Italy, rising in the Rhsetian Alps, and formed
by various streamlets which descend from these
mountains and unite at Glarus. Thence it flows
east into Tyrol, then, after a slight south-east-
ward detour, due south past Trent and Rove-
redo into Lombardy, and, passing Verona, takes
a south-eastern sweep, and enters the Adriatic
not far north of the Po. It is 250 miles long,
650 feet broad in the plain of Lombardy, and
10 to 16 feet deep.

Adirondack Mountains, the chief range in
New York State, lie between Lakes Champlain
and Ontario. Rising from an elevated plateau
about 2000 feet above sea-level, they are remark-
able for grand and picturesque scenery ; the
highest summit, Mount Marcy, is 5402 feet high.
Small lakes are numerous ; the head-streams of
the Hudson are here ; and there is much fine
timber in the region. The whole northern wilder-
ness of New York State is popularly known as
the Adirondacks, and is a very favourite resort
of sportsmen and pleasure-seekers.

Adjygurh. See AJAIGARH.

Adlington, a Lancashire township, 3 miles
SE. of Chorley. Pop. 4590.

Admiralty Island lies off the coast of Southern
Alaska, in 57 30' N. lat., and 134 15' W. long.
It is about 90 miles long, well wooded and
watered ; and contains coal and copper. It is
inhabited, and belongs to the United States.

Admiralty Islands, a group of 40 islands, to
the NE. of New Guinea, about 2 S. lat., and
147 E. long. They were discovered by the Dutch
in 1616. The largest is above 50 miles long, and
is mountainous but fruitful ; their total area is
878 sq. m. Some are volcanic, others are coral
islands. They abound in cocoa-nut trees, and are
inhabited by a race of tawny frizzle-headed
savages, of the Papuan stock, about 800 in
number. Together with New Britain and some
adjoining groups, they were annexed by Germany
in 1885, and now form part of the Bismarck
Archipelago.

Adoni, a town of Madras, 64 miles NE. of
Bellary. Pop. 32,441.

Adour, a French river, rising in the dep. of
Hautes Pyrenees, and flowing 180 miles through
Gers and Landes, till it enters the Atlantic below
Bayonne. It is navigable for 80 miles.

Adowa, a town of Abyssinia, the capital of
Tigre, stands 6270 feet above sea-level, and 145
miles NE. of Gondar. Adowa is the chief entre-
pot of trade between the interior of Tigre and
the coast. Hera on 1st March 1896 an Italian
army was routed by the Abyssinians. Pop. 4000.

Adpar, a town of Cardigan and Carmarthen
shires, on the Teifl, opposite Newcastle-Emlyn.
Till 1885 it was one of the Cardigan boroughs.

Adra (anc. Abdera), a Mediterranean seaport
of Spain, 49 miles SE. of Granada, near great
lead-mines. Pop. 9039.

Adramyti (anc. Adramyttium ; Turkish Edre-
mid), a town on the west coast of Asia Minor,
opposite Mitylene. Pop. 6000.

Adrar, a region of 30,000 sq. m. in the west of
the Sahara, bordering on the Spanish territory of
Rio de Oro, but now recognised as wholly or
mostl y Fren ch .

ADR1A 11

Adria, a town of Northern Italy, between the
Po and Adige, is one of the oldest cities in
Europe, having been founded by the Etruscans.
So late as the 12th century A.D., it was a flourish-
ing harbour on the Adriatic Sea, to which it gave
name ; but it has been gradually separated from
the sea, from which it is now 14 miles distant.
It still retains several interesting remains of
Etruscan and Roman antiquity, with a fine
cathedral. Pop. 11,320.

Adrian, a city of Michigan, U.S., situated on
the Raisin River. It is well furnished with
water-power, commands the trade of a large
grain-growing region, has several factories, and
a Methodist college founded in 1859. Pop. (1870)
8438 ; (1890) 8756 ; (1900) 9654.

Adrianople (Turkish Edirne; Bulgarian Odrin),
the third city of European Turkey, stands on the
navigable Maritza (the ancient Hebrits), 198 miles
WNW. of Constantinople Vy rail. The splendid
mosque of Selim II., the palace, and the immense
bazaar of Ali Pasha, may be named as its prin-
cipal features. Founded or greatly improved by
the Emperor Hadrian, Adrianople was the seat
of the Ottoman sultanate from 1366 to 1453.
The Russo-Turkish war was here concluded,
September 14, 1829, by the Peace of Adrianople.
After the capture of the Turkish army defending
the Shipka Pass in January 1878, the Russians
entered Adrianople unopposed ; and an armistice
was concluded here on the 81st. Pop. 80,886.

Adrian's Wall. See HADRIAN'S WALL.

Adriatic Sea, a large arm of the Mediterranean
Sea, extending 450 miles north-westward between
Italy and the Balkan Peninsula, and terminated to
the south by the strait of Otranto, 45 miles wide.
The west coast is comparatively low and has few
inlets, and the north is marshy and edged with
lagoons. On the other side, the coasts of Illyria,
Croatia, Dalmatia, and Albania are steep, rocky,
and barren, with many inlets, and begirt with a
chain of almost innumerable small rocky islands.
The total area of the sea, including islands, is
calculated at 52,220 sq. in. the area of the
islands being 1290 ; the mean depth is 110 fathoms,
the greatest depth 565 fathoms. The chief rivers
flowing into it are the Adige and the Po, which
are continually depositing soil on the coast, so
that places once on the shore are now inland.
The extreme saltness of the Adriatic is probably
owing to the comparatively small quantity of
fresh water poured into it by rivers. Venice,
Trieste, Fiume, Ancona, Bari, and Brindisi are
the chief ports. The fisheries are rich, and in-
dustriously worked.

Adur, a Sussex river, flowing 20 miles south-
ward to the English Channel at Shoreham.

jffigean Sea, the old name of the gulf between
Asia Minor and Greece, now usually called Archi-
pelago (q.v.).

.ffigi'na, a mountainous Greek island, 33 sq. m.
in area, in the Gulf of JBgina (the ancient Sara-
nicus Sinus). The town of ^Egina stands at the
NW. end of the island. There are considerable
remains still left of the ancient city, and the
ruins of solidly built walls and harbour moles
still attest its size and importance. The island
contains about 9000 inhabitants.

.ffiolian Islands. See LIPARI.

JEtna. See ETNA.

Afghanistan' is the country lying to the north-
west of India. Its boundaries are, on the north,
the Oxus or Amu Daria, from its source to Khoja

AFGHANISTAN

Saleh, and thence (since 1885-87) a line drawn
across the Turkoman desert (Russian territory)
south-westward to the Murghab, passing south
of Penjdeh, and touching the Hari-Rud at Zul-
fikar. On the east, the frontier runs along the
eastern foot of the Suliman Mountains ; but here
again some of the tribes are almost independent,
and the Indian government controls the more
important passes. On the south, a line passing
north of Quetta in about the 30th parallel of N.
lat., divides Afghanistan from the territory of
the khan of Kelat and Beluchistan ; while on
the west, the meridian of 61 E. long, approxi-
mately defines the boundary with Persia. Within
these limits, Afghanistan extends 400 miles from
north to south, and 600 miles from east to west,
and contains an area which may be roughly
estimated at 240,000 sq. m., or about twice the
size of Great Britain and Ireland. This includes
Badakhshan and Wakhan in the north-east, and
Afghan Turkestan in the north, comprising the
Uzbeg States of Balkh, Kunduz, Maimana, Shi-
barghan, Khulm, Akcha, and Andkhoi, owning
allegiance and paying tribute to the Ameer.
Afghanistan may be divided into the three great
river-basins of the Oxus, the Indus, and the Hel-
mand. Afghanistan is for the most part an arid,
mountainous country, and cultivation is only
met with in some of its valleys. The principal
mountain systems are the Hindu Rush, with its
westerly continuations, the Koh-i-Baba, Pagh-
man, Safed-Koh, and Siah-Koh. The climate is
as diversified as the physical configuration. At
Ghazni (7279 feet) the winter is extremely
rigorous ; the climate of Seistan, in the south-
west, is hot and trying ; while other parts are
temperate.

The population of Afghanistan is composed of
a variety of nationalities, and is estimated at
about 4,900,000. The Afghans proper, or Pathans,
number about 3,000,000, and are divided into
tribes or clans Duranis, Ghilzais, Yiisufzais, and
others. The Duranis are the dominant tribe;
the Ghilzais, the strongest and most warlike ;
the Yiisufzais, the most turbulent. Of the non-
Afghans, the Tajiks are the agricultural and
industrious portion of the population ; the Hind-
kis and Jats chiefly live in the towns, and are
traders ; the Kizilbashes are Turko-Persians, and
form the more educated and superior class ;
while the Hazaras, a race of Mongol origin, are
nomads. The language of the Afghans the
Pakhtu or Pushtu belongs to the Aryan family.
In religion they are Suuni-Mohammedans. In
character they are proud, vain, cruel, perfidious,
extremely avaricious, revengeful, selfish, merci-
less, and idle. 'Nothing is finer than their
physique, or worse than their morale.' The
Afghans do not as a rule inhabit towns, except
in the. case of those attached to the court and
heads of tribes. The townsmen are mostly
Hindkis and other non- Afghan races, who prac-
tise various trades and handicrafts considered
derogatory by men of rank. The principal towns
are Kabul (population 140,000), the seat of govern-
ment and centre of a fertile district ; Ghazni, a
strong fortress ; Kandahar, the chief city of
Southern Afghanistan, with 50,000 inhabitants ;
and Herat, formerly considered the key of India.
Among the natural productions of Afghanistan
is the plant yielding the asafretida. The castor-
oil plant is everywhere common, and good tobacco
is grown in the district of Kandahar. The culti-
vated area round Herat produces magnificent
crops of wheat, barley, cotton, grapes, melons,
and the mulberry-tree. In special localities are

AFIUM-KARA-HISSAR

AFRICA

forests of pistachio. The general appearance of
the country during winter is barren and arid in
the extreme, owing to the absence of trees and
woody shrubs ; but in spring a mass of vegeta-
tion springs up, giving a grand colouring to the
landscape. The industrial products are silk,
chiefly for domestic use, and carpets, those of
Herat being of admirable quality. The manu-
facture of postins, or sheepskins, is one of the
most important occupations. Merchandise is all
transported on camel or pony back. Commerce
suffers much from frequent wars and bad govern-
ment.

The history of Afghanistan as an independent
state only dates from the middle of the 18th
century. For two centuries before, Herat and
Kandahar had been in the possession of Persia ;
while Kabul was included in the Mogul empire
of Delhi. Upon the death of Nadir Shah in 1747,
Ahmed Shah Durani subjugated the different
provinces, and when he died in 1773, left an
empire to his son, Timur Shah. For English-
men, the chief events in the history of Afghan-
istan are the expedition in 1839 which estab-
lished Shah Soojah on the throne ; the rebellion
of 1841, in which the residents Burnes and Mac-
naghten were killed, and the Anglo-Indian troops
perished in the retreat ; the punitive expedition
in 1842 ; the defeat of Dost Mohammed in 1849 ;
the war with Shere Ali in 1878-79, and instal-
ment of Yakub Khan ; the rising at Kabul and
murder of Cavagnari the English resident ; the
punitive expedition under Roberts ; the establish-
ment in 1881 by British assistance of Abdur-
rahman, succeeded in 1901 by his son Habib-
xillah ; and alarms as to Russian encroachments.

See Elphinstone's Cabul (1815) ; Kaye's History
of the War in Afghanistan (1851, 4th ed. 1878) ;
Bellew, Afghanistan and the Afghans (1879);
Reports by Lumsden and Macgregor.

Afium-Kara-Hissar ('Opium Black Castle'),
a city of Asia Minor, 170 miles ENE. of Smyrna.
The chief trade is in opium, and there are manu-
factures of felts, carpets, arms, and saddlery.
Pop. 20,000.

Africa, a continent of the eastern hemisphere,
forming a south-western extension of Asia, to
which it is attached by the narrow isthmus of
Suez, now pierced by a canal 90 miles long.
Africa is thus constituted an insular mass of
irregular triangular shape, with base on the
Mediterranean, and apex at the junction of the
Indian and Atlantic Oceans, which bathe its
eastern and western shores respectively. From
Cape Blanco in Tunis, to Cape Agulhas in Cape
Colony, it stretches southward across about 5000
miles, disposed almost equally on both sides of the
equator. The extreme eastern and western points
are Capes Guardafui on the Indian Ocean, and
Verd on the Atlantic, a distance of about 4500
miles. But owing to the sudden contraction of
the land at the Gulf of Guinea, whence, like both
Americas, India, and other peninsular masses,
it tapers continuously southwards, the total
area is considerably less than would seem to be
indicated by these extreme distances. Including
Madagascar and all adjacent insular groups, it
cannot be estimated at much more than 11,500,000
sq. m., or some 5,000,000 less than either Asia or
America. Of all the continents except Australia,
Africa is the most uniform and monotonous in
its general outlines, unrelieved by broad estu-
aries, bights, or inlets of any kind penetrating
far inland. Hence, although about three times
larger than Europe, its coast-line scarcely exceeds

15,000 miles, as compared with the 19,000 of that
more highly favoured continent.

Geologically, Africa is nearly destitute of in-
sular groups, almost the only islands that belong
physically to the mainland being lerba and one
or two islets in the Mediterranean, and a few on
the east side, such as Socotra, and farther south,
Pemba, Zanzibar, and Mafia, almost forming
parts of the adjacent coast. Perim, Dahlak, and
a few others in the Red Sea, are mere coral reefs,
dominated here and there by volcanic crests.
The Comoro group between Madagascar and
Mozambique is also volcanic ; while Madagascar
itself and the outlying Mascarenhas (Mauritius,
Reunion, and Rodriguez) appear to be surviving
fragments of a Miocene continent, now flooded
by the waters of the Indian Ocean. On the west
side, the little Bissagos group alone forms a geo-
logical dependency of the mainland. Annabon,
St Thomas, Prince, and Fernando Po, in the Gulf
of Guinea, as well as Madeira, the Canary, and
Cape Verd archipelagoes, are all of volcanic
origin, the latter being separated by profound
abysses of over 3000 feet from the continent.
Lastly, St Helena and Ascension are mere rocks
lost amid the Atlantic waters.

Corresponding with the uniform continental
contour, is the generally monotonous character
of the interior, which is relieved by no great
central highlands or conspicuous water-partings
at all comparable to those of the other great
continental regions. The somewhat premature
generalisation, which compared it to ' an inverted
basin,' gives a misleading idea of its true con-
formation. The outer rim of mountain-ranges is
not nearly so continuous and uniform as this
comparison would imply; while the interior is
disposed, not in one vast elevated plain, but
in two well-marked physical regions a great
southern tableland with a mean altitude of over
3500 feet, falling northwards to a much lower
but still elevated plain with a mean altitude of
about 1300 feet. Owing to this generally high
altitude, and to the almost total absence of
extensive low-lying plains, Africa, notwithstand-
ing the lack of vast alpine regions like the Euro-
pean Alps and Pyrenees, has nevertheless a
greater mean elevation (1900 to 2000 feet) than
Europe (1000).

The southern plateau is intersected by several
mountain-ranges, very little or not at all ex-
plored. The chief mountain systems of the
north are the Atlas and the Abyssinian high-
lands. The culminating points of the continent
are near the equator : Ruwenzori (19,000), Kenia
(19,000), and Kilimanjaro (19,680 feet).

Hydrographically, the two great southern
basins of the Congo and Zambesi balance those
of the Nile and Niger of the northern plain,
while the secondary Orange and Limpopo in
the extreme south find their counterparts in the
Senegal and Draa of the NW. The Zambesi
and Limpopo, together with the Rovuma, Juba,
and a few other coast streams, flow to the Indian
Ocean ; all the others, together with the Cunene,
Koanza, Ogoway, Volta, Gambia, Tensift, Muluya,
and Mejerdah, to the Atlantic, either directly or
through the Mediterranean. The Makua-Welle
is a tributary of the Congo ; the Shari flows into
Lake Tsad or Chad.

Africa possesses a magnificent equatorial lake
system, elsewhere unrivalled except by the great
North American lacustrine basins. They are
grouped towards the east side of the continent
between 15 S. and 4 N. lat., and all stand on
the southern tableland, draining seaward through

AFRICA

the Zambesi (Nyassa, with outflow Shire), the
Congo (Tanganyika, with intermittent outflow
Lukuga), and the Nile (Alexandra Nyanza, Vic-
toria Nyanza, Albert-Edward Nyanza, and Albert
Nyanza, with outflow Somerset Nile). The
Alexandra (Akanyaru) drains north-eastwards
through the Alexandra Nile (Kagera) to the
Victoria, queen of African lakes, and, next to
Superior (31,200 sq. in.), the largest fresh-water
basin (over 30,000 sq. in.) on the globe. Lakes
Tsad (Chad) and Ngami have no seaward out-
flow ; the Abyssinian Lake Tana, Tzana, or Dem-
bea, 6100 feet, is a true alpine lake.

Above all the great divisions of the globe,
Africa is distinguished by the general uniformity
of its climatic phenomena, a circumstance due
to its massive form and intertropical position.
In the region approaching nearest to the northern
or southern equinoctial lines, rain falls through-
out the year, thanks to the opposing trade-winds.
In the northern hemisphere a zone of two wet
seasons stretches from the equator to the 15 lat.
In summer, copious showers are caused by the
moisture-bearing SW. winds ; in winter, the NW.
currents become in their turn the bearers of
heavy rain-charged clouds to the southern
plateau. But on both sides of the torrid zone,
comprising about seven-tenths of the whole con-
tinent, the difference in the disposition of the
winds causes a corresponding contrast in the
rainfall. Here the trade-winds maintain their
normal direction constantly, or with but slight
temporary deviations. Blowing from the NE. in
the northern, from the SE. in the southern hemi-
sphere, they divert to the equator most of the
vapours crossing their path, leaving elsewhere
clear skies and arid lands. Thus it happens that
Africa has two almost completely barren zones
of rocks, gravels, marls, clay, and sand the
Sahara and Libyan desert in the north, Kalahari
and other wastes in the south. This regular
disposition of the climates is completed by the
regular alternation of winds and rains in the
zones of Mauritania and the Cape, both belong-
ing to the region of subtropical rains, which
fall in the respective winters of each hemisphere.
Africa is thus disposed from north to south in
successive gray and more or less intensely green
belts, whose limits coincide in several places
with the isothermals, or lines of equal tempera-
ture. The lines indicating mean annual tempera-
tures of 68 and 75 F., traverse, in the north,
the Mediterranean seaboard and the Sahara
respectively ; in the south, the Orange basin
and a zone stretching obliquely from Mozam-
bique to the Cameroons ; while the area of
greatest mean heat (82 P.) is comprised within
an irregular curve enclosing the Upper Nile
basin between Khartoum and the Albert Nyanza
north and south, Lake Tsad and Massowah
(Massawah) west and east. The climate, except
on the Mediterranean, Saharan, Red Sea, and
extreme south coasts, is nearly everywhere mal-
arious on the low-lying and generally marshy
coast-lands between the outer rim and the sea.
It is the same in the Chambeze, Malagarazi
(Unyamwesi), Shari, and other inland districts,
which are either constantly or periodically under
water. But elsewhere, with due precautions, i/ue
continent cannot be regarded as insalubrious ;
and the Sahara,, for instance, is distinctly a
healthy region, although, owing to rapid radia-
tion, the hot days are here succeeded by cool
and occasionally even frosty nights.

About 41 per cent, of the surface is said to be
either desert, or under scrub, or otherwise

absolutely waste, and 35 per cent, steppe, or
nearly treeless grass-grown savannah, leaving
only 24 per cent, for forest and arable lands.
The continuous forest growths are confined
mainly to the vast equatorial region between
the Upper Zambesi and Soudan, and to some
isolated tracts about the Abyssinian plateau, in
the Moroccan Atlas, all along the Guinea coast,
about the Middle Limpopo and Zambesi, and in
parts of Masai Land and the Upper Nile basin.

Fauna. Africa is the peculiar home of the
large fauna such as the lion, the panther and
leopard, the hyena, fox, and jackal. The great
herbivora are represented by the elephant, the
rhinoceros, the buffalo, the giraffe, the hippo-
potamus, and the crocodile. Africa is also the
special home of the gnu, and several other species
of antelopes. The monkey family is also spread
over the whole continent. Peculiar also are such
equidse as the zebra and quagga. Of land mam-
mals there are altogether enumerated about 480
species peculiar to this continent, amongst which
are 95 of the simian and 50 of the antelope family.
The avi-fauna includes the ostrich, the secretary,
ibis, guinea-fowl, weaver-bird, roller-bird, love-
bird, waxbill, whydah, sun-bird, parrots, quail,
and several other indigenous species. Reptiles
and insects also abound the tsetse fly being one
of the great impediments to the progress of
culture.

Recent authorities roughly estimate the popu-
lation of Africa at about 210,000,000, or 18 to
the square mile, a density five times less than
that of Europe. According to the nature of soil
and climate, the population is distributed very
unevenly over the surface, being massed some-
what densely in the Nile delta, in the Upper
Nile Valley, and generally throughout Soudan,
less thickly over the southern plateau, and very
thinly in Mauritania and Tripolitana ; while large
tracts, especially in the Western Sahara, the
Libyan and Kalahari wastes, are absolutely un-
inhabited. Of the whole number, probably less
than 1,000,000 are recent immigrants from Europe,
settled chiefly in the extreme north (Egypt
and Algeria) and in the extreme south (Cape
Colony, Natal, and the former Boer States).
About 34,000,000, all of Semitic stock, are in-
truders from Asia, some in remote or prehistoric
times (3,000,000 Himyarites in Abyssinia and
Harar from South Arabia), some since the spread
of Islam (over 30,000,000 nomad and other Arabs,
chiefly along the Mediterranean seaboard, in West
Sahara, and Central and East Soudan). All the
rest, numbering about 175,000,000 altogether,
may be regarded as the true aboriginal element,
and may be regarded as falling into two main
groups the Negro and Negroid peoples, and the
Hamitic. The Negroes proper, including the
Fanti, Ashanti, Mandingo, Haussa, Bari, and
Monbuttu stocks, are mainly in Upper Guinea,
Senegambia, and the Soudan. The Bantus to
the south of them include Kaffirs, Zulus, Bechu-
anas, Matabele, Wagandas ; and the other Negroids
are the Hottentots and the Bushmen, Batwas,
and Akkas. To the Hamitic stock are referred
the Berbers, Gallas, and Somalis, as also the
Fans, Fulahs, and the Egyptian Fellahs. Speak-
ing generally, the northern Hamites and Semites
are Mohammedans and stock-breeders, the
southern Bantus nature-worshippers and agri-
culturists ; all these factors intermingling in the
intervening zone of Soudan. The chief exceptions
to this broad statement are the Christian Abys-
sinians (Monophysite sect) ; the Hottentots, who
are mainly cattle-breeders ; and the Algerian

AFTON 14

Berbers, who prefer tillage to pasturage. Nearly
the whole of Africa is under the direct or indirect
control of seven European states Great Britain,
France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Italy, and
Turkey or within their recognised spheres of
influence. The only independent states re-
maining are Morocco, Abyssinia, and Liberia.

Of African soil, Great Britain holds (1) in
South Africa, the Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal,
Orange River Colony, Basutoland, Bechuana-
land (as a protectorate), Rhodesia, British Cen-
tral Africa Protectorate; (2) in East Africa,
Zanzibar (as a protectorate) and dependencies,
British East Africa Protectorate, Uganda, British
Somaliland ; (3) in West Africa, Gambia, Sierra
Leone, Gold Coast, Lagos, and Northern and
Southern Nigeria ; (4) Mauritius, Ascension, St
Helena, &c. ; (5) Egypt (temporarily occupied) ;
(6) Anglo-Egyptian Soudan, held by Britain and
Egypt jointly. France holds Algeria, Tunis,
Senegal, French Guinea, the Ivory Coast,
Dahomey, the Western Soudan, the Sahara,
French Congo, Obok or French Somaliland,
Madagascar, Reunion, and the Mayottes and
the Comoros.

German Africa includes Togoland, the Camer-
oons, German South-west Africa (Damaraland,
Namaqualand), and German East Africa. Portu-
guese Africa : Angola, Portuguese East Africa,
Madeira, Cape Verde Islands. Spanish Africa :
Ceuta, Spanish Sahara (Rio de Oro and Adran) ;
the Canaries, Fernando Po, and other Islands.
Italian Africa : Eritrea, Italian Somaliland.
Belgian Africa is the Congo Free State.

According to estimates based on the latest
available data, British Africa in all (without
Egypt, but including the Egyptian Soudan) in-
cludes about 3,510,000 sq. m., with about
84,000,000 inhabitants ; French Africa, 2,970,000
sq. m., 27,500,000 inhabitants ; German Africa,
742,000 sq. m., 6,750,000 inhabitants ; Portuguese
Africa, 804,000 sq. m., 7,750,000 inhabitants;
Spanish Africa, 250,000 sq. m., population not
known ; Italian Africa, 136,000 sq. m., 1,000,000
inhabitants ; Belgian Africa (Congo Free State),
900,000 sq. m., pop. 30,000,000 ; Turkish Africa
(Egypt and Tripoli), 8,000,000 sq. m., pop.
11,300,000; Abyssinia, 150,000 sq. m,, pop.
3,500,000 ; Morocco, 219,000 sq. m., pop. 5,000,000 ;
Liberia, 14,000 sq. m., pop. 1,000,000.

See works on Africa by Keith Johnston, Reclus,
Hartmann, and others ; the works and the lives
of Bruce, Mungo Park, Livingstone, Baker,
Burton, Speke and Grant, Earth, Schweinfurth,
Cameron, Stanley, Johnston, Thomson, and other
travellers ; Jones's History of African Exploration
(New York, 1875) ; books on the partition of Africa
by Silva White (1892) and Scott Keltie (1893) ; and
Sir H. H. Johnston's Colonization of Africa (1899).

Afton, an Ayrshire stream, joining the Nith at
New Cumnock.

' Agades (A-gd-des), once a very important city of
Africa, and still a great meeting-place of trading
caravans, is the capital of the state Air or Asben,
south of the Sahara, and is built upon the eastern
edge of a great tableland, at an elevation of not
less than 2500 feet. In the 16th century it prob-
ably contained 60,000 inhabitants; now it has
some 7000.

Agadir, the southernmost seaport town in
Morocco, at the mouth of the Sfls, 23 miles SE.
of Cape Ghir. It was once a place of importance ;
but a revolt in 1773, and the consequent rise of
Mogador, have lessened its value, and its pop.
now does not exceed 1500.

AGRA

Agar, a town of India, in the state of Gwalior,
41 miles NE. of Ujain. It stands in an open plain,
1598 feet above the sea. Pop. 30,000.

Agde (anc. Agatha Narbonensis), a town in the
French dep. of Herault, 3 miles from the Mediter-
ranean Sea, on the left bank of a navigable
stream, the mouth of which forms a harbour.
Pop. 7705.

Agen (A'-zhon"), chief town of the French dep.
of Lot-et-Garonne, on the right bank of the
Garonne, 84 miles SE. of Bordeaux. It carries
on an active trade in woollen and linen fabrics,
leather, coloured paper, colours, cordage, and
sailcloth ; and is an important railway centre.
Joseph Scaliger and the barber-poet Jasmin were
natives. Pop. 18,500.

Aghrim, or AUQHRIM (Auhh'rim), a hill in
Galvvay, Ireland, 30 miles SW. of Athlone. Here,
on 12th July 1691, Ginckell defeated the French
and Irish adherents of James II. under St Ruth.

Agincourt (A'zhan a lcoor\ now AZINCOURT, a
small village in the centre of the French dep.
of Pas-de-Calais, celebrated for Henry V.'s great
victory over the French, October 25, 1415.

Agnano, till 1870 a small lake 3 miles west of
Naples, about 60 feet in depth, and without visible
outlet. As it caused malaria, it has been drained.
On the right lies the Grotta del Cane (q.v.), and
on the left are the sulphurous vapour-baths of
San Germano.

Agno'ne, a town of South Italy, 22 miles NW.
of Campobasso, noted for its copper and steel
manufactures. Pop. 6179.

Agra, a city in the United Provinces of
Agra and Oudh, on the Jumna, 139 miles
SE. of Delhi by rail, and 841 NW. of Calcutta.
The ancient walls embraced an area of 11 sq.
m., of which about one-half is now occupied.
The houses are mostly built of red sandstone,
and, on the whole, Agra is the handsomest city
in Upper India. Some of the public buildings,
monuments of the house of Timur, are on a scale
of striking magnificence. Among these are the
fortress built by Akbar, within the walls of which
are the palace and audience-hall of Shah Jehan,
the Moti Masjid or Pearl Mosque, and the Jama
Masjid or Great Mosque. Still more celebrated
is the white marble Taj Mahal, situated without
the city, about a mile to the east of the fort.
This extraordinary and beautiful maxisoleum was
built by the Emperor Shah Jehan for himself and
his favourite wife, who died in 1629 ; and is
remarkable alike for the complexity and grace of
the general design, and the elaborate perfection
of the workmanship. In the centre, on a raised
platform, is the mausoleum, surmounted by a
beautiful dome, with smaller domes at each
corner, and four graceful minarets (133 feet high).
Of British edifices the principal are the Govern-
ment House, the Government College, three
missionary colleges, the English church, and the
barracks. The climate, during the hot and rainy
seasons (April to September), is very injurious
to Europeans ; but the average health of the city
is equal to that of any other station in the
North-western Provinces. The principal articles
of trade are cotton, tobacco, salt, grain, and
sugar. There are manufactures of shoes, pipe
stems, and gold lace, and of inlaid mosaic work,
for which Agra is famous. It is a very important
railway centre, and has many claims to be re-
garded as the commercial capital of the North-
west. Pop. (1901) 188,022. Agra first rose to
importance in the beginning of the 16th century,

AGRAM

AIRDS MOSS

and was the capital of the Mogul sovereigns till
1658, when Aurungzebe removed ~to Delhi. It
was taken in 1784 by Sindhia, and surrendered in
1803 to Lord Lake. From 1835 till 1862, it was
the seat of government for the North-west Pro-
vinces. During the mutiny the Europeans had,
in June 1857, to retire to the Fort or Residency.
Heroic sallies were occasionally made ; and Agra
was relieved early in October by the rapid and
brilliant march of Colonel Greathed.

Agram (Croatian Zagreb), capital of the Aus-
trian province of Croatia and Slavonia, lies at
the foot of a richly wooded range of mountains,
2 miles from the Save, and 142 NE. of Fiume by
rail. The cathedral, dating partly from the llth
century, with new towers and an ornate western
facade added in 1890-93, is one of the finest
Gothic buildings in Austria. The manufactures
include tobacco, leather, and linen. An earth-
quake in November 1880 destroyed most of the
public buildings, and overthrew 200 houses.
Agram possesses a university founded in 1874,
with 40 lecturers and 400 students. Pop. (1890)
87,529 ; (1900) 57,800.

Agrigentum. See GIBGENTI.

Agtelek, a Hungarian village to the NE. of
Pesth, near one of the largest and most remark-
able series of stalactitic caverns in Europe, some
of them nearly 100 feet high.

Aguas Calientes, a town of Mexico, capital of
a central state, with an area of 2900 sq. m., stands
on a plain 6000 feet above sea-level, 270 miles NW.
of the city of Mexico by rail. The environs
abound in hot springs, hence the name. Pop.
32,500.

Aguilar de la Fronte'ra, a Spanish town of
Andalusia, 26 miles SSE. of Cordova. Pop. 12,398.

Aguilas, a fortified port in the Spanish province
of Murcia, with large smelting-houses, and an
export trade in lead, iron ore, sulphur, esparto,
and figs. Pop. 12,500.

Agul'has, CAPE, the most southern point of
Africa, lies about 100 miles ESE. of the Cape of
Good Hope, in lat. 34 49' S., long. 20 0' 40" E.
In 1849, a lighthouse was erected on the point,
which is very dangerous for ships. The Agulhas
Bank, about 40 miles broad, extends along the
whole southern coast of Africa, from near Natal
to Saldanha Bay.

Ahmedabad', chief town of a district in Guzerat,
second amongst the cities of the province of
Bombay, is 50 miles NE. of the head of the Gulf
of Cambay. It was built in 1412 by Ahmed
Shah, and finally came to the British in 1818.
In the 18th century it was one of the largest and
most magnificent cities in the East, with a
population of 900,000. Its architectural relics
are gorgeous, even in the midst of decay, and
illustrate the combination of Saracenic with
Hindu forms mainly of the Jain type. The Jama
Masjid, or Great Mosque, rises from the centre
of the city, and is adorned by two superb
minarets. There are some twelve other mosques
(one lined with ivory) and six famous tombs.
The modem Jain temple is of singular beauty.
The prosperity of the place was almost wholly
destroyed by the rapacity of the Mahrattas, but
it has largely recovered, and is still famous for
its rich fabrics of silk and cotton, brocades,
pottery, paper made of jute, and articles of gold,
silver, steel, and enamel. Pop. 185,900.

Ahmednagar (Ahmadnagar), a town of the
province of Bombay, 122 miles E. of Bombay, is
the third city of the Deccan. It was HOunded in.

1494 by Ahmed Nizam Shah. In 1797 it fell into
the hands of the Mahrattas, and in 1817 became
British. It became a municipality in 1855 ; and
possesses a good supply of water by means of
aqueducts. Strong carpets, cotton and silk
cloths, and copper and brass pots, are manufac-
tured here. Pop. 42,492.

Ahmedpur', a town of India, 25 miles SW. of
Bahawalpur ; pop. 30,000.

Afrwas, a small village of Persia, in the pro-
vince of Khuzistan, 70 miles NE. of Bassora.
The neighbourhood is covered with the ruins of
the capital of Artabanus, the last of the Parthian
kings.

Aidin (Guzel-Hissar), a town of western Asia
Minor, on the Meander, 60 miles SE. of Smyrna
by rail, is the capital of a province, and was
built out of the ruins of the ancient Tralles.
The trade is important in morocco leather,
cotton, and fruit. Pop. 37,000.

Aigues-Mortes (Aig Mort), a town (pop. 4787)
in the French dep. of Gard, in an extensive salt-
marsh, 3 miles from the Mediterranean by a
canal. In the middle ages, when the sea came
much nearer the town, it was a very important
Mediterranean harbour.

Ailsa Craig, a rocky islet of Ayrshire, 10 miles
W. by N. of Girvan. Rising abruptly out of the
sea to a height of 1114 feet, it is about 2 miles
in circumference, and is accessible only at one
point. The rock is a mass of trap, assuming in
some places a distinctly columnar form. On the
NW., perpendicular cliffs rise to a height of from
200 to 300 feet; on the other sides, the Craig
descends to the sea with a steep slope. Till the
erection of a lighthouse (1883-86), the only in-
habitants were goats, rabbits, and wild-fowl;
solan geese, in particular, breeding in the cliffs
in countless numbers. About 200 feet from the
summit are some springs, and on the ledge of
a crag on the eastern front, are the remains of
an ancient stronghold. In 1831, the Earl of
Cassillis, the proprietor of Ailsa Craig, was raised
to the dignity of Marquis of Ailsa. Pop. about
30 in all.

Ain, a French river flowing 118 miles south-
westward, through the deps. of Jura and Ain, to
the Rhone, 18 miles above Lyons.

Ain, an eastern dep. of France, separated from
Savoy by the Rhone. The eastern part is moun-
tainous, with summits 5000 to 6500 feet high.
Bourg is the capital. Area, 2239 sq. m. ; pop.
(1891) 356,907 ; (1901) 350,416.

Ain-Tab, a town of Syria, on an affluent of
the Euphrates, 64 miles NNE. of Aleppo ; pop.
40,000.

Air, or ASBEN, an oasis-kingdom in the north
of the Soudan. Agades (q.v.) is the capital.

Aira Force, a waterfall, 80 feet high, near the
west shore of Ullswater.

Airdrie, a flourishing municipal burgh in NE.
Lanarkshire, 2 miles E. by N. of Coat bridge, and
11 E. of Glasgow. Standing on the high-road
between Edinburgh and Glasgow, near the Monk-
land Canal and the North British Railway, it
owes its prosperity to the abundance of coal and
ironstone in the vicinity. The weaving of cotton
goods is carried on, as are also iron-founding,
silk-weaving, and paper-making. ' Since 1832 it
has united with Falkirk, &c. to send a member
to parliament. Pop. (1831) 6594 ; (1861) 12,918 ;
(1891) 15,133, or, with suburbs, 19,135.

Airds MOSS, a moorish tract in Ayrsliire to

AIRE

AJMERE

the NE. of Auchinleck, the scene of a Covenant-
ing skirmish (1680).

Aire, a river in the West Riding of Yorkshire,
flowing 70 miles to the Ouse.

Aire (anc. Vicus Julii), a French town in the
dep. of Landes, on the Adour, 112 miles S. of
Bordeaux, with an ancient cathedral ; pop. 3892.

Aire-sur-Lys, a fortified town in the French
dep. of Pas-de-Calais, on the Lys, 37 miles W. of
Lille by rail ; pop. 8165.

Airlie, in Forfarshire, 8 miles WSW. of Forfar,
the seat of the Earl of Airlie, famous in song.

Airolo, an Italian-Swiss village, in the upper
valley of the Ticino, and 150 yards from the
southern mouth of the great St Gothard Tunnel ;
pop. 2000.

Airthrey, a place with mineral springs near
Bridge of Allan.

Aisne (Airi), a French river, flowing 150 miles
north-westward and westward through the deps.
of Marne, Ardennes, Aisne, and Oise, till it falls
into the river Oise, above Compiegne.

Aisne, a dep. in the north of France, com-
prising parts of Picardy, Brie, and the Isle of
France. Hilly in the south, level in the north,
it belongs to the basin of the Seine, and is
watered by the rivers Aisne, Marne, and Oise.
Laon is the capital. Area, 2839 sq. m. ; pop.
(1891) 545,493 ; (1901) 535,583.

Aiwalyk, a seaport in the north-west of Asia
Minor, on the Gulf of Edremid (Adramyti). Pop.
35,000.

Aix (Aiks), a French town, formerly capital
of Provence, in the dep. of Bouches-du-Rhone,
20 miles N. of Marseilles. It is believed to
have been founded by the Roman consul, C.
Sextius (120 B.C.), on account of the mineral
springs in the neighbourhood, and thence to have
got the name Aquce Sextice. Aix is the seat of
an archbishop ; and possesses a college with a
public library of 150,000 volumes and 1100 MSS.
The baptistery of the cathedral is believed to
have been originally a temple of Apollo. There
is also an old clock-tower with a quaint mechan-
ical clock. The industry consists chiefly in
cotton-spinning, leather-dressing, and trade in
olive-oil, wine, almonds, &c. The warm springs
are slightly sulphurous, with a temperature from
90 to 100 F. The field on which Marius defeated
the Teutones lies in the plain between Aix and
Aries. Pop. 25,000.

Aix-la-Chapelle (Aiks-la-s7iapel' ; Ger. Aachen),
a town of Rhenish Prussia, is situated in a
fertile hollow, surrounded by heights, and
watered by the Wurm, 39 miles W. by S. of
Cologne. Pop. (1867) 67,923 ; (1900) 135,245, of
whom not 7 per cent, are Protestants. Aix is
the centre of a valuable coal district, and of
numerous thriving manufactories, especially for
spinning and weaving woollen fabrics, for needle
and pin making, and for machinery, bells, glass
buttons, chemicals, and cigars. Charlemagne
founded its world-wide celebrity; in 814 it
became his grave, the spot being marked with
a stone. In 796 he had rebuilt the imperial
palace, on whose site the present town-house was
built in 1353, as well as the chapel which forms
the nucleus of the cathedral. This ancient
cathedral is in the form of an octagon, which,
with various additions round it, forms on the
outside a sixteen-sided figure. The so-called
'great relics,' shown once in seven years, attract
thousands of strangers. Much has of late years

been done to restore this venerable pile. The
columns brought by Charlemagne from the palace
of the Exarch at Ravenna, had been carried off
by the French ; but most of them were restored
at the Peace of Paris. The town-house, on the
market-place, is flanked by two towers older than
itself. In its coronation-hall, thirty-five German
emperors and eleven empresses have celebrated
their coronation banquet, and the walls have
been decorated with frescoes of scenes from the
life of Charlemagne. Before the town-house
stands a beautiful fountain, with a bronze statue
of Charlemagne. Aix-la-Chapelle now possesses
broad streets, many fine public buildings, taste-
ful churches, and luxurious hotels ; and from
being a quiet old city of historical interest, has
become a busy centre of manufacturing industry.

The mineral springs, of which six are hot and
two cold, were known in the time of Charle-
magne. The temperature of the hot springs
varies from 111 to 136 F. ; they are efficacious
in cases of gout, rheumatism, cutaneous diseases,
&c. The cold springs are chalybeate.

The name of the place is derived from the
springs, for which it has been always famous.
Charlemagne granted extraordinary privileges to
this city, which in the middle ages contained
more than 100,000 inhabitants. Seventeen im-
perial diets and eleven provincial councils were
held within its walls. The removal of the corona-
tions to Frankfort (1531), the religious contests
of the 16th and 17th centuries, a great fire which
in 1656 consumed 4000 houses, combined with
other causes to bring into decay this once flour-
ishing community. In 1793 and 1794, Aix-la-
Chapelle was occupied by the French ; and by
the treaties concluded at Campo Formio and
Luneville it was formally ceded to France, until
in 1815 it fell to Prussia.

Aix-les-Bains (AiTcs-le-Ban e ), a small town in
the French dep. of Savoy, in a delightful valley
near Lake Bourget, 8 miles N. of Chambery. It
was a much-frequented bathing-place in the time
of the Roman empire (Aquce Gratiance), and
among its many ancient remains are the arch
of Campanus, the ruins of a temple, and of a
vapour-bath. The two sulphurous hot springs
are used both for drinking and as baths, and
attract annually 5000 visitors. Pop. 4799.

Ajaccio (Ayat'cho), capital of Corsica, on the
west side of the island, at the head of the
Gulf of Ajaccio. It has a fine cathedral, com-
pleted in 1585, and a spacious harbour, protected
by a citadel ; and was the birthplace of Napoleon.
There is a statue of him as First Consul (1850),
and an equestrian monument of him as emperor
surrounded by his four brothers (1865). The
house of the Bonapartes, the 'Casa Bonaparte, '
is now national property. The chief employ-
ments are the anchovy and pearl fisheries, and
the trade in wine and olive-oil. Ajaccio has
become a winter-resort for consumptive patients.
Pop. 21,200.

Ajaigarh, a hill-fort of India, in the United
Provinces, about 130 miles WSW. of Allahabad.
Within its walls are two great masses of ruined
Jain temples.

Ajalpn, the modern Ydlo, a town of the Levites
belonging to the tribe of Dan in ancient Pales-
tine. In a valley near it Joshua defeated five
Canaanitish kings, the sun and moon standing
still in order to make his victory more complete.

Ajmere (Ajmir), an ancient city of Rajputana,
the capital of a district, 228 miles W. by S. of
Agra by rail. It is situated in a picturesque and

AJODHYA

ALASKA

rocky valley, and is surrounded by a stone wall
with five gateways. The Dargah or tomb of the
Mussulman saint, Kwaja, within the town, is
held in great veneration. Trade has revived
since the opening of the railway (1875), the prin-
cipal export being cotton. Pop. 75,500.

Ajodhya, an ancient city of Oudh, on the right
bank of the Gogra, adjacent to Fyzabad (q.v.).
Its site is marked by heaps of ruins, overgrown
with jungle ; there is also a modern town of the
same name with 7500 inhabitants, nearly 100
temples, 36 mosques, and a fair which yearly
attracts half a million of pilgrims.

Ak'abah (the Biblical Elath), a haven at the
head of the Gulf of Akabah, the north-eastern
horn of the Red Sea.

Akerman. See AKJERMAN.

Akhalzikh, a town of Russian Transcaucasia,
110 miles W. of Tittis, on an affluent of the Kur ;
pop. 13,757.

Ak-Hissar (anc. Thyatird), a town of Asia
Minor, 52 miles NE. of Smyrna ; pop. 12,000.

Akhlat, or ARDISH, a town of Asiatic Turkey,
on the NW. shore of Lake Van ; pop. 4000.

Akhtyrka, a town of Russia, 58 miles NW. of
Kharkotf, on a small affluent of the Dnieper;
pop. 23,400.

Akita, a town in Hondo Island, Japan ; pop.
29,500.

Akjerman (Ak-yer-man), or AKERMAN, a town
of Russia, in Bessarabia, on the Black Sea, at
the mouth of the Dniester ; pop. 28,300.

Akmolllnsk, capital of a province of Western
Siberia, 300 miles SW. of Omsk ; pop. 5700.

Akola, a town of Berar, India, 60 miles SW.
of Ellichpur; pop. 29,300.

Akot, a town of Berar, 35 miles SW. of
Ellichpur; pop. 16,000.

Akron, in Summit county, Ohio, U.S., is 36
miles south of Cleveland. It has woollen fac-
tories, flour-mills, a steam-engine factory, a stove
factory, a mineral-paint mill, &c. Pop. (1870)
10,006; (1890) 21,601 ; (1900) 42,730.

Ak-shehr (' White City '), a city of Asia Minor,
near the salt lake of Ak-shehr, and 60 miles SE.
of Konieh ; pop. 6000.

Ak-su, a town of Chinese Turkestan, 260 miles
NE. from Yarkand, on an affluent of the Tarim,
and at the southern base of the Thian-shan
Mountains. It was formerly the capital of a
separate khanate ; in 1867 it became a part of
the state of Eastern Turkestan, under Yakoob
Beg, but was reconquered by China in 1877. It
is celebrated for its manufactures of cotton cloth
and saddlery, and is an entrepot of commerce
between Russia, Tartary, and China. Pop. 20,000,
besides a large Chinese garrison.

Akyab, a town of Burma, the chief seaport of
Arakan, is situated on the eastern side of the
island of Akyab, at the mouth of the Kuladan
River, 190 miles SE. of Calcutta. In 1826, be'ng
then a mere fishing-village, it was chosen for the
chief station of the province, and now is a great
rice port ; pop. 43,989.

Alabama, one of the United States, touching
the Gulf of Mexico, and lying between Georgia
and Mississippi. In the south are the Piny
Woods ; next the fertile Cane-brake or Black
Belt ; next the mineral region ; to the north,
part of the fertile valley of the Tennessee. The
Alabama and Tombigbee are navigable rivers.
B

Cotton, maize, oats, wheat, and sweet potatoes
are produced ; the minerals, including coal and
iron, are important; and manufactures are de-
veloping. The climate is warm but equable, and
save in the Black Belt and near the swamps,
healthful. Montgomery is the capital, Mobile
the chief port of the state. Area, 51,5*0 sq. in.
more than England without Wales ; pop. (1840)
590,756; (1890) 1,513,017; (1900) 1,828,697, of
whom 827,000 were coloured.

Ala Dagh, a range (11,000 feet) in the great
tableland of Erzeruin, in Turkish Armenia, to
the north of Lake Van.

Alago'as, a maritime province of Brazil',
bounded on the N. and W. by Pernambuco. Pop.
about 520,000. The town of Alagoas, once the
capital, has 5000 inhabitants. The present capital
is the port of Maceio.

Alais, a town of the French dep. of Gard, on
a plain at the base of the Cevennes Mountains,
31 miles NW. of Nimes by rail. It embraced the
Protestant cause in the religious wars of France,
and was besieged and taken in 1629. Alais owes
its prosperity chiefly to the mineral wealth of the
surrounding district, which produces coal, iron,
lead, zinc, and asphalt; there are large iron-
foundries here, and manufactures of silk and
ribbons. Pop. 18,500.

Alajuela (A-la-hoo-ay'la), a city of Costa Rica,
Central America, 23 miles WN\V. of Cartago,
with which it is connected by rail ; pop. 10,000.

Alameda (A-la-mai'da), a watering-place of Cali-
fornia, on the Bay, 3 miles by steam-ferry E. of
San Francisco. Pop. 17,500.

Al'amos, Los ('the poplars'), a town of
Mexico, in the state of Sonora, 45 miles E. of
the Gulf of California, is famous for its copper
and silver mines ; pop. 10,000.

Aland Islands (O'land), a group of 300 small
islands and rocks at the entrance of the Gulf
of Bothnia, opposite Abo, the largest being
situated about 25 miles from the Swedish coast.
Only 80 of them are inhabited. The inhabitants
are of Swedish origin, skilful sailors and fisher-
men. Pop. 24,000, of whom two-thirds inhabit
the largest island, called Aland, which is 18 miles
in length, and contains Bomarsund. These
islands, formerly Swedish, were taken possession
of by Russia in 1809.

Ala-shehr ('the exalted city,' anc. Philadel-
phia), a city of Asia Minor, 75 miles E. of
Smyrna. It was founded about 200 B.C., and is
famous as the seat of one of the Seven Churches
of Asia. It is still a place of considerable im-
portance, and carries on a thriving trade with
Smyrna, to which it is now joined by a railway.
There are many interesting remains of antiquity.
Pop. 15,000, including 3000 Greeks.

Alaska, a territory of the United States, occu-
pying the NW. portion of the North American
continent, together with a great number of
islands, mostly in the Pacific Ocean. It is
bounded N. by the Arctic Ocean, E. by the
North-west Territories of Canada and by British
Columbia ; SW. by the Pacific Ocean, and W. by
Behring Sea and the Arctic Ocean. Its land area
is estimated at 581,400 sq. m., or about as large
as Great Britain, Ireland, France, and Spain
combined. The northern portion of Alaska,
containing five-sixths of its area, consists essen-
tially of a vast expanse of moor or tundra, broken
here and there by mountain-spurs (an especially
marked feature in the south), and varied by count-
less lakes, water-courses, and swamps. About

ALA-TAU

ALBANIA

one-third of this region lies within the Arctic
Circle. The winter climate is here terribly severe,
and the short summers are rendered almost un-
endurable by clouds of mosquitoes or gnats.
This region is traversed by the great river Yukon,
about 2000 miles long, the Kuskoquim, and other
large streams. Its population is Innuit or
Eskimo, in the north and on the coast, but
Athabascan or Tinneh (Red Indian) elsewhere.
The fisheries and the fur-trade afford subsistence
to the scanty population. A second section com-
prises the Aleutian Islands (q.v.), and a great
part of the peninsula of Aliaska. This division
is mountainous, and actively volcanic. It is
very thinly peopled by the Aleuts. The Pribylof
Islands, in Behring Sea, are the main seat of the
capture of the fur-seal. South-eastern Alaska
consists of a narrow strip of continental land,
together with the Alexander Archipelago, lying
near the mainland. This region is extremely
mountainous, and has many great glaciers nearly
reaching the sea. The climate on the tide-level
is singularly mild for the latitude, but almost
incessant rains prevail. The country is well
timbered, and the waters abound in valuable
fish. The natives are Indians of the Haida and
Thlinket races. Alaska has a very small English-
speaking white population, and a few semi-
Russian natives. Gold is mined in the Yukon
valley, at Cape Nome, and elsewhere. Coal,
mostly of poor quality, is common.

A few cattle are kept near the settlements, but
th climate is so wet that sheep cannot do well.
Some potatoes and a few garden vegetables are
grown. The native animals include the reindeer,
the moose, the Rocky Mountain sheep, bears,
wolves, and foxes ; the muskrat, ermine, mink,
sable, lynx, beaver, wolverene, squirrel, hare,
porcupine, and marmot ; the sea and river otter ;
fur, hair, and other seals, and the walrus. The
fisheries are very important. Among the valu-
able food fishes are the cod, herring, halibut, and
salmon of several species. The principal towns
of the territory are all small, and most of them
are on the coast. Among them are Sitka, the
capital ; Fort Wrangel ; and Belkofsky, the chief
dep6t of the trade in seal-otter furs ; Juneau is a
gold-mining town ; and Skagway is the port for
the access to Klondike by the White Pass.
Illoolook is on Oonalashka Island. Alaska, for-
merly called Russian America, was first visited
by the Russians under Vitus Behring in 1741.
In 1799 the whole country passed under control
of the Russian American Company. In 1867 the
United States purchased the entire territory
from Russia for $7,200,000 in gold. Pop. (1900)
80,600 whites, and 30,000 Eskimos and Indians.

See Wardman, A Trip to Alaska (1885); Elliott,
Our Arctic Province (1886) ; H. W. Seton Karr,
The Shores and Alps of Alaska (1887); Halleck,
Our New Alaska (1886); The Alaska Coast Pilot;
Woolman, Picturesque Alaska (1890); Emmons,
Alaska and its Mineral Resources (1898) ; reports
of the geological survey (1900, &c.) and of the
Harriman Expedition (1901-4).

Ala-tau ('mottled'), a range of lofty moun-
tains forming the boundary between Turkestan
and Mongolia, and the northern limit of the great
tableland of Central Asia. It is made up of five
sierra-like sub-ranges, all grouped round Lake
Issik-Kul, which range in elevation from 10,000
to 15,000 feet. The loftiest peak, Khan Tengri,
is 24,000 feet above the sea.

Alatyr, a Russian town, on the Sura, 103 miles
NW. of Simbirsk ; pop. 15,000,

Alausi, a town of Ecuador, 70 miles E. of
Guayaquil, 7980 feet above the sea ; pop. 6000.

Al'ava, the southern and largest, but most
sparsely populated, of the three Basque provinces
of Spain. Mountains are scattered through the
whole province, and yield various minerals, stone,
and timber in abundance. Area, 1205 sq. in. The
inhabitants, who are chiefly Basques, number a
little over 96,000. The soil is generally fertile,
and along the Ebro fruits and wine are produced.
The capital is Vittoria.

Alba (anc. Alba Pompeia), a very ancient city
of North Italy, on the Tanaro, 41 miles SW. of
Alessandria by rail. Its cathedral was founded
in 1486. Pop. 6961.

Albacete (Al-ba-thay'teh), capital of a Spanish
province, 140 miles SE. of Madrid by rail, in a fer-
tile but treeless plain. It has great cattle-fairs.
Pop. 20,671. The province is partly formed from
ia, and p

the former kingdom of Murcia,

partly from

New Castile. It is generally hilly, in some parts
attaining 5000 feet. The mineral wealth is con-
siderable. Area, 5972 sq. m. ; pop. 233,000.

Albania forms the south-western portion of
the remaining immediate possessions of European
Turkey, and extends along the western shore of
the Balkan Peninsula, from the river Bojana to
the Gulf of Arta. To the north it is bounded,
since 1878-80, by the newly-won Montenegrin
territory, and by Bosnia; on the south it is
separated, since 1881, from Greece by the river
Arta. The eastern boundary is a mountain-range,
which to the north attains an altitude of 7990
feet'. Westward of this range lie parallel chains,
enclosing long elevated valleys, sinking to level
strips along the coast, which mostly consist of
unhealthy swamps and lagoons. The highlands
advance to the sea, forming steep rocky coasts.
One promontory, the Acroceraunian, projecting
in Cape Linguetta far into the sea, reaches a
height of 6642 feet.

A fine climate and a favourable soil would seem
to invite the inhabitants to agriculture, but for
the most part in vain. In the north, little is
cultivated but maize, with some rice and barley,
in the valleys ; whilst the mountain terraces are
used as pastures for numerous herds of cattle and
sheep. In the south the slopes of the lower
valleys are covered with olives, fruit, and mul-
berry trees, intermixed with patches of vines and
maize, while the densely wooded mountain-ridges
furnish valuable supplies of timber. The plateau
of Janina yields abundance of grain ; and in the
valleys opening to the south, the finer fruits are
produced, along with maize, rice, and wheat.

Upper or Northern Albania formed part of the
Illyria of the Romans ; Lower or Southern Al-
bania corresponds to ancient Epirus. The in-
habitants form a peculiar people, the Albanians,
called by the Turks Arnauts, and by themselves
Skipetars. According to Lord Strangford, 'the
true Albanian part of their language, after pre-
cipitation of the foreign elements, is distinctly
Indo-European, and is more closely connected
wiih Greek than with any other Indo-European
language existing or recorded (Letters on Philo-
logical Subjects, 1878). The Albanians are half-
civilised mountaineers, frank to a friend, vin-
dictive to an enemy. They are constantly under
arms, and are more devoted to robbery than to
cattle-rearing and agriculture. They live in per-
petual anarchy, every village being at war with
its neighbour. Many of them serve as mercen-
aries in other countries, and they form the best
soldiers of the Turkish army. At one time the

ALBANO

Albanians were all Christians; but after the
death of their last chief, the hero Scanderbeg,
in 1467, and their subjugation by the Turks, a
large part became Mohammedans. The Al-
banians are by most writers divided tribally
into Gheghs, Tosks, Ljaps, &c. ; but again, to

r)te Lord Strangford, ' the true and intelligible
ision is that of religious denomination. The
typical region of the Mussulmans is in the
centre ; that of the Latins is in the northern
district ; and that of the Albanians in com-
munion with the Greek Church, corresponding
fairly to Epirus, is in the south, with Janina
for its capital.' Of the 1,400,000 Albanians of
the Ottoman empire, it is estimated that
1,000,000 are Mohammedans, 280,000 members
of the Greek Church, and 120,000 Roman Cath-
olics. There are, besides, some 250,000 Albanians
in Greece ; and 100,000 in Italy (Sicily mostly),
whither they emigrated towards the close of the
15th century. By the treaty concluded then, in
1478, between the Turks and the Venetians,
Albania became a Turkish province, which al-
most gained independence under Ali Pasha, but
which, during the insurrection of Greece (1821-8),
returned to at least nominal allegiance to the
Porte. Ten rebellions have since broken out
one in 1883.

See Von Hahn's Albanesische Studien (1854),
and his Reise im Jahr 1863 (1870); Herguard's
Haute Albanie (1858) ; Knight's Travel in Albania
(1880) ; and other works cited in the full biblio-
graphy of Meyer's Albanisclie Studien (1883).

Alba'no, a town of Italy, 13 miles SSE. of
Rome, on the declivity of the lava-walls which
encompass Lake Albano, and opposite the site
of Alba Longa. It is the seat of a bishop, and is
surrounded by the mansions of wealthy Romans.
There are numerous remains of ancient buildings.
Good wine is made here. Pop. 8560.

The ALBAN LAKE, or Lago di Castello, is formed
in the basin of an extinct volcano, and has a cir-
cumference of 6 miles, with a depth of 530 feet.
Its surface is 961 feet above the sea-level. While
the Romans were at war with Veii (390 B.C.), they
opened a tunnel through the lava-wall which
bounds it. The tunnel, which still fulfils its
ancient office, is a mile in length, with a height
of 7 feet, and a width of 4 feet.

Albany is a division of the eastern province of
Cape Colony, in which Grahamstown (q.v.) stands.

Albany, capital of the state of New York, and
seat of justice of Albany county, stands on the
west bank of Hudson River, 142 miles N. of the
city of New York. The river is an important
channel of commerce, which is further facilitated
by the Erie and Champlain canals ; and six im-
portant railway lines centre here. The city has
a copious water-supply, and excellent drainage
and sewerage systems, and is lighted by elec-
tricity and gas. Albany has a fine city hall, a
high school, one large and several small public
parks, a theatre, an opera-house and a music-hall,
a celebrated county prison ; Roman Catholic and
Episcopalian cathedrals ; a noted state normal
school, a law school, a medical college ; an
observatory, a large United States government
building, and a very costly and splendid state
capitol, considered the finest building of its class
in the whole republic. Three bridges and several
ferries cross the river to the suburban towns of
East Albany, Greenbush, and Bath. Albany has
a large trade in timber, grain (especially barley),
and cattle. Leading articles of manufacture are
cast-iron stoves and heating apparatus, fanning

ALBERT NYANZA

implements, boots and shoes, bricks, wagons,
clothing, flour, stoves, castings and hollow-ware,
furniture, ales and beer, malt, tobacco, cigars,
musical instruments, and stationers' goods. The
winter climate of Albany is severe for its latitude.
The extensive cattle-markets are situated at West
Albany. Near the site of Albany tlie Dutch
founded a fur-trading station in 1614. The Dutch
colony was ceded to Great Britain in 1664, and
the town took its present name in honour of the
Duke of York and Albany, afterwards James II.
of England, who received a grant of the colony.
In 1686 a city charter was granted to Albany,
which is thus the oldest chartered city in the
United States. In 1807 Albany became the
capital of the state. Till the 19th-century period
the city had many of the quaint characteristics
of a Dutch town. Pop. (1800) 5349 ; (1830) 24,209
(1860) 62,367 ; (1890) 94,923; (1900) 94,151.

Albany, in Western Australia, is on King
George's Sound, 256 miles SSE. of Perth, by a
line of railway projected in 1885. It is a place
of call for P. & 0. steamers. Pop. 3665.

Albay, a town in the south end of the Philip-
pine island of Luzon, 2 miles from the Bay of
Albay ; pop. 13,000.

Albemarle Sound, a shallowish inlet in the
north coast of North Carolina, U.S., running 60
miles inland, with a breadth of 4 to 15 miles.

Alberta, from 1882 one of the four provisional
districts of the North-west Territory of Canada,
made a province of the Dominion in February
1905. It includes, besides the former district,
about one-half of the former district of Atha-
basca and small parts of Saskatchewan and
Assiniboia. The area is 275,000 sq. in. The SW.
portion of the province contains the great cattle-
ranches of Canada, and has good grass and water.
Fort MacLeod and Calgary, both thriving towns,
are the two great centres for the ranchmen.
The latter stands in a valley between the Bow
and Elbow rivers, and is the trading centre for a
large district. Coal is abundant on the Bow and
Belly rivers ; timber is plentiful ; there are also
petroleum deposits, and the Rocky Mountains
and their foot-hills are rich in minerals. The
capital is Edmonton. Pop. estimated at 250,000.

Albert Lea, a post-village in Freeborn county,
Minnesota, on a lake of the same name, 100 miles
S. of St Paul. It contains flour-mills, grain ele-
vators, and machine-shops. Three railways centre
here. Pop. 1966.

Albert-Edward Nyanza (Muta Nzige, South-
ern Luta Nzige), a lake of Equatorial Africa, dis-
covered by Stanley in 1876, and again visited by
him in 1889. It occupies the southern end of a
vast natural depression, of which the Albert
Nyanza fills the northern extremity; is due
south of the mountain mass of Ruwenzori ; and is
surrounded by wide grassy plains, over which it
once seems to have extended. It is 3307 feet
above sea-level ; and beyond the depression in
which it lies is a tableland from 5500 to 6500 feet
high. The water of the lake flows into the Albert
Nyanza by the Semliki River.

Albert Nyanza (Mwutan Nzige, Luta Nzige),
a large lake of East Central Africa, is situated
in a deep rock-basin, 80 miles NW. of the
Victoria Nyanza. It is of an oblong shape, 100
miles long from N. to S., and 25 broad. On
the E. it is fringed by precipitous cliffs, with
isolated peaks rising 5000 feet above it. The
lake itself lies 2720 feet above the sea, and 1470
feet below the general level of the country ; its

ALBERT RIVER

ALDERNEY

water is fresh and sweet, and it is of great depth
towards the centre. The N. and W. shores of
the lake are bordered by the Blue Mountains,
nearly 10,000 feet in height. The existence of
this vast lake first became known to Europeans
through Speke and Grant in 1862 ; in 1864 Sir
Samuel Baker was the first European to visit
it, and named it after the Prince Consort. In
1887 Emin Pasha recorded his conviction that the
western part of the lake was filling up. It is a
great reservoir or backwater of the Nile. The
Somerset-Nile runs into its north-east corner, and
the Nile issues out of its north-west corner.

Albert River, North Queensland, traverses
a grassy plain, and flows 200 miles to the Gulf of
Carpentaria, below Burketown. It is connected
by a cross branch with another nearly parallel
stream, the Gregory.

Albi, capital of the French dep. of Tarn, is
built on a height near the Tarn, a tributary of
the Garonne, 42 miles by rail NE. of Toulouse.
It is very old, and suffered greatly during the
persecutions of the Albigenses, who took their
name from it. The chief buildings are the cathe-
dral (1282-1512), the old fortress, and the arch-
bishop's palace. Pop. 15,300.

Albion, a town of Michigan, U.S., on the Kala-
mazoo River, 96 miles W. of Detroit. It is the
seat of a Methodist college, with over 300
students. Pop. 4716.

Albuera (Albooai'ra), in the Spanish province
of Estremadura, a hamlet, famous for Beresford's
defeat of the French, May 16, 1811.

Albufera (Alboofai'ra), a Spanish lake 10 miles
long, close to the sea and connected by canal
(7 miles) with Valencia.

Al'bula, a pass (7595 feet ; f mile long) and a
mountain-stream in the Swiss canton of Grisons.

Albuiiol, a small town of Spain, 40 miles SE.
of Granada. Pop. 8945.

Albuquerque (Albookerkay\ a town of Spain,
24 miles N. of Badajoz, near the Portuguese
frontier. Pop. 7400.

Al'bury (or ' Federal City '), on the New South
Wales bank of the Murray River, at the head of
its navigation, and 190 miles NE. of Melbourne
by rail. Pop. 5850.

Alcala' de Guadaira, a town of Spain, 9 miles
E. by S. from Seville by rail, celebrated for pro-
ducing the finest bread in Spain. Pop. 8991.

Alcala' de Henares, a town in Spain, Cer-
vantes's birthplace, on the Henares, 21 miles E.
of Madrid by rail. Its university, founded by
Cardinal Ximenes in 1510, enjoyed a European
fame, but was removed to Madrid in 1836, and
the town is now not a shadow of its former self.
Here was printed in 1517 the great Complutensian
Bible, a monument of the piety and learning of
the great cardinal. The chief buildings are the
Colegio de San Ildefonso, the seat of the ancient
university; its chapel containing the founder's
tomb ; the archbishop's palace ; the cathedral ;
and the church of Santa Maria, in which, in 1547,
Cervantes was baptised. Pop. 14,974. The Com-
flutum of the Romans, the town owes its modern
name to the Moors, under whom it was Al-Kalat,
'the castle.'

Alcala' la Re'al ('the royal castle'), a city of
Andalusia, Spain, in the province of Jaen, 26
miles NW. of Granada. Its strong fortress was
taken in 1340 from the Moors by Alfonso XI. in
person, whence the name Real. Pop. 15,977.

Al'camo, a quaint old town of Sicily, 52 miles
SW. of Palermo by rail. Originally founded by

the Saracens on Monte Bonifato (2713 feet), it
long retained a Moslem population, who were
driven out by the Emperor Frederick II. in 1233,
when the new town was built at the foot of the
hill. Pop. 51,697.

Alcafiiz', a town of Aragon, Spain, in the pro-
vince of Teruel, 63 miles SE. of Saragossa, on
the Guadalope, with a magnificent collegiate
church ; pop. 7673.

Alcan'tara (Arabic, ' the bridge '), an old Span-
ish town in Estremadura, on a rocky height above
the Tagus, near the Portuguese frontier. The
six-arched bridge, 670 feet long and 210 high,
from which it takes its name, was built under
Trajan, 105 A.D. It has twice been partially
blown up, but the larger part is still intact.
Pop. 3414.

Alcan'tara, a seaport of Brazil,in the province
of Maranhao, on the Bay of St Marcos ; pop. 10,000.

Alcaraz, a town of La Mancha, Spain, 36 miles
WSW. of Albacete ; pop. 4672.

Alcaude'te, a town of Spain, 22 miles SW. of
Jaen. Pop. 9191.

Alcazar al-kebir, a city of Morocco, 80 miles
NW. of Fez. Here, in 1578, Sebastian, king of
Portugal, was defeated and slain by the Moors.
Pop. 9000.

Alcazar de San Juan, a town of Spain, in the
province of Ciudad Real, 92 miles SSE. of Madrid
by rail. Pop. 9512.

Alcester, a Warwickshire market-town, at the
confluence of the Alne and Arrow, 15 miles WSW.
of Warwick. Pop. 2406.

Alci'ra, a town of Spain, 22 miles SSW. of
Valencia by rail, on an island in the river Xucar ;
pop. 18,469.

Alcoy, a town of Spain, on the river Alcoy, 15
miles N. of Alicante, manufacturing paper, especi-
ally cigarette-paper, sugar-plums, and coarse
woollen cloths ; pop. 32,520.

Aldborough, a decayed town, now a mere
village, of the West Riding of Yorkshire, on the
river Ure and on Watling Street, 7 miles SE. of
Ripon. Till 1832 it sent two members to parlia-
ment. Extensive remains of the Roman town of
Isurium have been found here. Pop. of town-
ship, 507.

Aldeburgh, a small seaport and watering-place
of Suffolk, 29 miles NE. of Ipswich by rail. It
was disfranchised in 1832 ; but in 1885 it received
a new municipal charter. It has a quaint, half-
timbered Moot Hall ; and in the church is a bust
of the poet Crabbe, who was a native. Pop. 2159.

Alderney (Fr. Aurigny), a British island in the
English Channel, 55 miles S. by E. of Portland
Bill, 15 NE. of Guernsey, 31 N. of Jersey, and
10 W. of Cape la Hogue. The Race of Alderney,
or strait that separates it from the coast of Nor-
mandy, is very dangerous in stormy weather.
The island is 4J miles by l mile ; area, 3 sq. m.
The highest point is 281 feet above sea-level. To
the S. the coast is bold and lofty ; to the N. it
descends, forming numerous small bays, one of
which has been formed into a fine, though un-
completed, harbour, with a granite breakwater,
at a cost, including strong fortifications, of more
than 1,250,000. The Caskets are a small cluster
of dangerous rocks, 6| miles to the W., on which
are three lighthouses. The soil in the centre of
the island is highly productive ; the Alderney
cattle are a small but handsome breed. Half
the inhabitants, originally French, now speak
English, and all understand it. Protestantism

ALDERSHOT CAMP

has prevailed here since the Reformation. Alder
ney is a dependency of Guernsey, and subject to
the British crown. The 'town' of St Anne is
situated in a picturesque valley near the centre
of the island. It has an Albert memorial in the
shape of a Gothic arch, and a cruciform church
(1850) in the Early English style, with a tower
104 feet high. Pop. of island (1841) 1038 ; (1861)
4932 ; (1881) 2048 ; (1891) 1857 ; (1901) 2062. See
CHANNEL ISLANDS.

Aldershot Camp, a permanent camp of exer-
cise on the confines of Hampshire, Surrey, and
Berkshire, 35 miles SW. of London, and ISj- S. of
Windsor. It was established in 1854-55 during the
Crimean war, to provide for practical instruction
in tactics, outpost duties, and other exercises
requiring a wide tract of country and large bodies
of troops, &c. From its situation on the Bagshot
Sands it is extremely healthy ; the old wooden huts
have been superseded by brick huts and barracks.
The Basingstoke Canal, running directly across
the Heath, has occasioned a division into North
Camp and South Camp. There are usually from
10,000 to 15,000 troops of all arms at the camp ;
and a considerable town has sprung up near it,
with a population of over 31,000, as against 875
in Aldershot parish in 1851.

Aldwinkle All Saints, a Northamptonshire
parish, on the Nen, 3 miles NNE. of Thrapston.
Dryden was a native, as was Fuller of the adjoin-
ing parish of Aldwinkle St Peter.

Aldworth. See HASLEMERE.

Ale, a Roxburghshire stream, flowing 24 miles
to the Teviot.

Alemtejo (Alen 9 tai'zUo), the largest (9381 sq.
m.) but most sparsely peopled of the provinces
of Portugal. The chief towns are Evora (the
capital), Elvas, and Portalegre. Pop. 410,150.

Alengon (Alon ff son g ), chief town of the dep. of
Orne, on the Sarthe, 68 miles SSE. of Caen.
The cathedral of Notre Dame (1553-1617) is a
Gothic edifice, with good stained glass. Woollens
and linens, embroidered fabrics, straw-hats, lace-
work, artificial flowers, hosiery, &c. are made ;
the manufacture of the famous Alencon point-
lace (point d'Alencon) employs barely a tenth
part of the 20,000 hands that once engaged in it.
The cutting of the so-called Alencon diamonds
(quartz-crystals) is an industry which has also
greatly declined. Pop. (1872) 15,080; (1891)
17,141; (1901)14,500.

Aleppo (Italianised form of HaleV), a town in
the north of Syria, capital of a Turkish province
between the Orontes and the Euphrates, in a
fruitful valley watered by the Kuweik. It stands
in a large hollow, surrounded by rocky hills of
limestone, and beyond is mere desert. The fruit-
ful gardens, celebrated for their excellent plan-
tations of pistachios, are the sole contrast to
the desolation which environs the city, whose
numberless cupolas and minarets, clean, well-
paved streets, and stately houses, make it even
yet one of the most beautiful in the East. Till
the discovery of the sea-route to India, it was a
principal emporium of trade between Europe and
Asia. It supplied a great part of the East with
fabrics of silk, cotton, and wool, and gold and
silver stuffs ; but in 1S22 an earthquake swallowed
up two-thirds of the houses. The plague of 1827,
the cholera of 1832, and the oppression of the
Egyptian government, all but completed its de-
struction. It has only partiaUy recovered from
its misfortunes, but is still the principal em-
porium of the inland commerce of Northern Syria.

ALEXANDRIA

Its port is Scanderoon. Aleppo has a large trade
in cotton and silk goods, skins, tobacco, wine,
and oil ; and manufactures much-admired cloth
(of silk, cotton, and wool), carpets, cloaks, and
soap. English goods are largely imported. The
trade is mainly in the hands of the native Chris-
tians (Greeks and Armenians), who may number
20,000, and have superseded the European houses
formerly here. The Jews, 5000 in number, are a
very wealthy community. Aleppo is a telegraph
station on the Indo-European line. Pop. 120,000.

Aleshki, a Russian town in the government of
Taurida, on the Dnieper ; pop. 8915.

Alessandria, the capital of a province of North-
ern Italy, in a marshy country near the con-
fluence of the Bormida and Tanaro, 58 miles ESE.
of Turin, It was built in 1168 by the inhabitants
of Cremona, Milan, and Placentia, as a bulwark
against the Emperor Frederick I., and was after-
wards called Alessandria in honour of Pope Alex-
ander III. In 1800, Bonaparte here concluded
an armistice. It was the principal stronghold of
the Piedmontese during the insurrection of 1848-
49. The citadel is still one of the strongest
fortresses in Italy, and in war the whole sur-
rounding country can be inundated. The richly
decorated cathedral was rebuilt in 1823. Pop.
70,761, who carry on a trade in linens, woollens,
silk fabrics, stockings, and wax-candles. Two
great fairs are held here annually.

Aletsch, the largest glacier (12 miles long) in
Europe, sweeps round the southern side of the
Jungfrau. To the NW. lies the Aletschhorn
(13,773 feet).

Aleutian Islands, a chain of about 150 islands,
in several groups, extending westward, from the
American peninsula of Aliaska, and forming an
insular continuation of that peninsula towards
the Asiatic peninsula of Kamchatka. These
islands are chiefly included in the United States
territory of Alaska, and fall into five groups
the Fox, Andreanov, Rat (Kreesi), Blizhni, and
Komandorski Islands. The chain is apparently a
continuation of the main Alaskan range of moun-
tains, and contains volcanic peaks from 4000 to
8000 feet high. The islands abound in springs,
and are overrun with foxes, dogs, and reindeer,
while the coasts swarm with fish, seals, and
otters. The 2000 inhabitants, of mixed descent,
from the aboriginal Eskimos and Russian settlers,
are hunters and fishers, and trade in furs and fish.
See works cited at ALASKA.

Alexandra Park, a place of public recreation
for northern London, 6 miles N. of Charing Cross.
It was opened in 1863, and its present 'palace'
dates from 1873, its predecessor having been
burnt two years before.

Alexandretta. See SCANDEROON.

Alexandria was founded by Alexander the
Great in 332 B.C. It was situated originally on
the low tract of land which separates the lake
Mareotis from the Mediterranean, 14 miles w r est
of the Canopic mouth of the Nile. In the Medi-
terranean, off the city, lay an island, on whose
NE. point stood the famous lighthouse, the
Pharos, built in the 3d century B.C., and said
to have been 400 feet high. The island was con-
nected with the mainland by a mole, thus form-
ing the two harbours. Alexandria had reached
its greatest splendour when, on the death of
Cleopatra, the last of the Ptolemies, in 30 B.C.
it came into the possession of the Romans. Its
population may have numbered 300,000 free
citizens, and a larger number of slaves. Its

ALEXANDRIA

ALGERIA

glory was long unaffected, and it was the em-
porium of the world's commerce, especially for
corn. In the reign of Caracalla, however, it
suffered severely ; and the rise of Constantinople
prompted the decay of Alexandria. Christianity
was introduced, according to tradition, by St
Mark. The strife between Christianity and
heathenism powerfully described in Kingsley's
Hypatitt gave rise to bloody contests in Alex-
andria. The Serapeum, the last seat of heathen
theology and learning, was stormed by the
Christians in 389 A.D., and converted into a
Christian church. Alexandria was a chief seat
of Christian theology till it was taken by the
Arabs in 641. The choice of Cairo as capital of
the Egyptian califs hastened the now rapid decay
of the city ; the discovery of America, and of the
passage to India by the Cape of Good Hope, very
much diminished its trade ; and when, in 1517,
the Turks took the place, the remains of its
former splendour wholly vanished. In 1778
Alexandria contained no more than 6000 inhab-
itants. Under Mehemet Ali, however, the tide
turned, and the city recovered rapidly. It is
now again one of the most important commercial
places on the Mediterranean. The Suez Canal
diverted part of its trade ; but this was more
than compensated by the general impetus given
to Egyptian prosperity. In 1882, during the
rising of Arabi Pasha, an English fleet, in the
interests of the khedive, bombarded the forts of
Alexandria for over ten hours, July 11. On the
two following days the town was sacked and
plundered by the soldiery and populace, and
great part of it destroyed by fire.

The present city (called Skanderi'eh by the
Arabs) is chiefly built on the mole, which has
been increased by alluvial deposits till it has
become a broad neck of land between the two
harbours. The city is a strange mixture of East
and West, old and new. The unpaved native
town contains poor houses and wretched huts.
The ever-increasing Frankish quarters have quite
a well-lit European appearance, and swarm with
cafes, shops, theatres, and the like. The castle
stands near the old Pharos, and the handsome
new lighthouse has a revolving light, visible at
a distance of 20 miles. Recent improvements,
undertaken at a cost of 2,000,000, were to con-
vert the old harbour the western one into one
of the best and most spacious on the Mediter-
ranean. There is railway communication with
Cairo and Suez ; the Mahmoudieh Canal connects
Alexandria with the Nile. The recent growth
of the city has been extraordinary- Pop. (1825)
16,000; (1840) 60,000; (1882) 227,064; (1900)
320,000, of whom 50,000 were foreigners, many
Greeks, Italians, and French. The value of ex-
ports (cotton, cotton seed, lentils, wheat, oil seed,
hemp, drugs) varied in 1891-1901 from 10,000,000
to 15,000,000 (two-thirds going to Britain); of
imports, from 5,000,000 to 13,000,000 (half from
Britain). Of the few remaining objects of an-
tiquity the most prominent is Pompey's Pillar, as
it is erroneoxisly called. Of the so-called Cleo-
patra's Needles two obelisks of the 16th century
B.C. which long stood here one was brought to
England and erected on the Thames Embank-
ment, 1878; and the other, presented by the
khedive to the United States, was set up at New
York in 1881.

Alexandria, a town of Dumbartonshire, on
the west bank of the Leven, opposite Bonhill,
3 miles N. of Dumbarton. It has grown from a
mere ' clachan ' to a thriving town, such growth
being due to the neighbouring cotton-printing,

bleaching, and Turkey-red dye-works, established
since 1768. Pop. (1841) 3039 ; (1891) 7796.

Alexandria, a port of entry on the right or
Virginian bank of the Potomac, U.S., 7 miles
below Washington (on the opposite side of the
river), and 100 from the entrance of the Poto-
mac into Chesapeake Bay, whence the largest
vessels may reach the port. There are cotton
manufactures here. Pop. (1870) 13,570; (1890)
14,339; (1900)14,528.

Alexandropol (formerly Gumri), the largest
town in the Erivan district of Russian Armenia,
with a stronghold commanding the head-waters
of the Euphrates. The silk trade is actively
carried on. Pop. 30,477.

Alexandrov, a town in the Russian govern-
ment of Vladimir, 58 miles NE. of Moscow.
Pop. 7200.

Alexandrovsk, a Russian town in the govern-
ment of Ekaterinoslav, on the Dnieper. Pop.
16,500. (2) A port in East Siberia, opposite
Saghalien. (3) A town in the province of the Don,
15 miles NNE. of Novo-Tcherkask. Pop. 16,250.

Alexinatz, a town of Servia, on the Moravitza,
134 miles SSE. of Belgrade by rail. Pop. 5108.

Alford, (1) a market- town of Lincolnshire, 23
miles NNE. of Boston ; pop. of parish, 2843.
(2) A village of Aberdeenshire, 30 miles NW. of
Aberdeen. Here Montrose defeated the Cove-
nanters under Baillie, 2d July 1645. Pop. 635.

Alfoxton Park, in Somerset, 12 miles WNW.
of Bridgwater, was Wordsworth's home in 1797-98.

Alfreton, a market-town of Derbyshire, 14
miles NNE. of Derby by rail. It has manufac-
tures of hats, stockings, and brown earthenware,
with neighbouring collieries and ironworks.
Pop. of parish, 17,355.

Algarve, the smallest and most southerly of
the provinces of Portugal. The name is Arabic,
and means 'a land lying to the west.' It was a
Moorish province till 1253. Area, 1873 sq. m. ;
pop. 254,037. The northern part of the province
is occupied by a range of barren mountains of
4000 feet high, terminating in Cape St Vincent.
The chief town is Faro.

Algeci'ras, or ALOEZIRAS, a town of Spain, on
the Bay of Gibraltar, 5 miles by water (9 by road)
W. of Gibraltar. Its harbour is bad, but it
possesses a good dock ; and its oranges are
famous, as well as its bull-tights. It was the
first town in Spain taken by the Moors (711) ;
in 1344 it was retaken by Alfonso XI. of Castile,
after a twenty months' siege. He destroyed the
old Moorish town ; the modern one was built by
Charles III. in 1760. Pop. 12,924.

Algeria (Fr. Algerie], a country on the north
coast of Africa, which has since 1830 been a
French possession, and is now regarded as an
outlying part of France rather than as a colony.
It lies between Morocco and Tunis, and is usually
denned as extending from the Mediterranean to
about the 30th parallel of N. lat. on the south. But
the southern boundary, separating the Algerian
Sahara from the rest of French Sahara (which
now extends southwards to a line drawn west
from Lake Chad to the Niger), is very arbitrary.
The total area, with the northern or Algerian
Sahara, is about 255,000 sq. m., or more than
twice the size of Great Britain and Ireland.
From the coast inwards Algeria is marked off
into three distinct regions : in the north, the
Tell mountainous, cultivated land, with fruit-
ful valleys ; in the middle, the region of Steppea

ALGERIA

ALHAMA

mountainous tableland, producing much grass
and other fodder for cattle after the rains, and
traversed from west to east by a string of brack-
ish lakes or marshes, called Shotts; while farther
south is the Algerian Sahara, with oases. In the
northern part of the Tell is a series of mountain-
chains, called by the French the Lesser Atlas or
Coast Mountains ; while the south limit is a
parallel chain, the Middle Atlas. The Tell, the
most fertile and much the most populous section
of Algeria, occupies an area altogether of about
54,000 sq. m. The Algerian Sahara consists partly
of sandy dunes, partly of country covered after
rain with herbage; and there are oases round
the wells.

The more considerable streams of Algeria rise
in the middle region, and have therefore to seek
their outlet in the Mediterranean, through passes
in the middle and coast ranges. Though swollen
in the winter, they shrink in the summer to a
thread, or even quite out of sight. Not one of
them is navigable, but they are used for purposes
of irrigation. The Sheli'f is the longest and
largest.

The climate of Algeria is distinguished into
only three seasons : winter, from November to
February; spring, from March to June ; summer,
from July to October. The planting of forests,
drainage, and irrigation, by the French, have
effected great improvements. In the Sahara, by
the sinking of artesian wells, desert tracts have
been converted into cultivated land, and in ten
years the inhabitants of the oases of the northern
Sahara increased from 6600 to 13,000, while about
517,000 palms and 90,000 fruit-trees are now
counted. Algeria is coming to the front as a
wheat-growing country. Fruits and vegetables
are grown for the markets in France, England,
and Germany. The cultivation of the grape, silk,
and tobacco is rapidly extending. Immense tracts
of land, suitable for no other cultivation, have
been successfully planted with vines. The forest
vegetation of Algeria is extremely rich by nature,
comprising pine, oak, cedar, pistachio, mastic,
carob, olive, myrtle. Special exports are cork
and halfa or esparto grass. Algeria has a very
considerable wealth of metals, iron and copper
being abundant, though little worked. Over 100
mineral springs are counted in Algeria.

Algeria is divided into three departments, each
subdivided into a civil and a military territory :

Area in sq. m. Pop. 1901.

Algiers department 65,930 1,641,210

Oran 44,620 1,107,354

Constantiue 73,930 1,990,992

184,480 4*39,556

Algerian Sahara 193,000 62,000

Total 377,480 4,801,556

The number of Europeans, in 1830 only 600, in
1840, 27,000, in 1881, 400,000, was in 1901 about
500,000, of whom 293,000 were French by origin
or naturalisation, and 150,000 Spanish, and 57,667
naturalised Jews, besides Italians, Germans, &c.
The native population, partly Arabs (including
Bedouins), partly Berbers or Kabyles ; the Moors
of the towns being of mixed descent from these
two stocks. In 1904 about 1900 English miles of
railway were open for traffic, and the telegraph
had over 6300 miles of line.

The trade of Algeria shows a constant increase.
Since the French occupation, the imports have
increased fifty, and the exports one hundred-
fold. The imports, three-fourths of which come
from France, have varied of late years from
8,800,000 to 13,000,000. The exports, two-

thirds of which go to France, varied from
6,000,000 to over 12,000,000. The imports are
chiefly manufactured cotton, hemp, linen, silk,
and woollen stuffs ; cloths, sugar, hides, paper,
liquors, metals, building materials, &c. The
exports are cereals, wool, raw hides, living
animals, minerals, early fruit, halfa and other
vegetable fibres, cork, iron, copper, and lead
ores.

Part of the present Algeria was anciently
included in Numidia and part in Mauritania.
Occupied and partially Romanised by the Romans,
it was overrun by the Vandals in the 5th cen-
tury. Later came the Arabs, who began about the
9th century to establish Mohammedan dynasties
and states. Hither emigrated many of the Moors
expelled from Spain. From the middle ages
downward, the Algerian coast towns were known
to Europe mainly as nests of pirates. The French
conquered the country, not without much fight-
ing, in 1830. From 1834 down to 1870 Algeria
was entirely under military rule. At that date
a civil governor-general, with residence at Algiers,
was substituted ; the Sahara is still under mili-
tary rule. The governor-general is assisted by a
council whose function is purely consultative.
The colonists send two deputies and one senator
for each department to the French Chambers.

Alghero (Algal 1 ro\ a seaport on the west coast
of the island of Sardinia, 15 miles SW. of Sassari.
It has a cathedral. Pop. 8995.

Algiers (Al jeers'; Fr. Alger ; Ar. Al-jezair, 'the
islands'), the capital of Algeria, was built about
935 A.D. by an Arab chief. It rises from the
sea-shore up the sides of a precipitous hill in
the form of an equilateral triangle. The apex
is formed by the Kasbah, the ancient fortress of
the deys, which is 500 feet above sea-level. With
the exception of some mosques, the new or low
town consists of wharfs, warehouses, govern-
ment houses, squares, and streets, principally
built and inhabited by the French ; while the
old or high town is almost wholly Moorish.
The great glory of the city is the Boulevard de
la Republique, with its magnificent terrace, built
in 1860-66 by Sir Morton Peto, at a cost of eight
million francs. Here may be found as motley a
crowd as anywhere in the world, denizens of all
nations Arabs, Moors, and Jews ; French,
Spaniards, Maltese, English, Germans, and
Italians. The shops, too, are occasionally very
good. The French have at great expense im-
proved the port, which is safe and spacious and
has a lighthouse. It is strongly fortified, and
can contain 40 warships and 300 trading vessels.
The original harbour was made in 1525 by con-
necting with the shore four little islands (hence
the name of the city). Near the great quays is
the railway station, connecting Algiers with
Constantino and Oran. The town has a Catholic
cathedral, a French Protestant church, an Eng-
lish church, a synagogue, a library, museum,
hospitals, theatres, and banks. There is a great
trade, Algiers being the chief commercial place
in Algeria. Algiers has become famous as a
winter residence for Europeans suffering from
chest diseases. It fell into the hands of the
French in 1830. Pop. (1901)96,550 ; with suburbs,
140,000 not quite half French.

Algoa Bay, a broad inlet at the eastern
extremity of the south coast of Africa, with a
sheltered anchorage except towards the south-
east. On it stands Port Elizabeth.

Alham'a (Arabic Al Hammdm, 'the bath'), a
decayed town of Andalusia, Spain, 24 miles SW.

ALHAMB&A

of Granada. Its warm sulphur baths are still
frequented by visitors. It was a famous fortress
of the Moors; and there are still remains of
Roman and Moorish buildings. The town was
much injured by a severe earthquake in the end
of 1885. Pop. 7867. ALHAMA DE ARAGON, 8
miles SW. of Calatayud, has famous mineral
springs. Pop. 1500. ALHAMA, 13 miles SW. of
Murcia, is also celebrated for its warm mineral
waters. Pop. 8356.

Alhambra, a fortified suburb of Granada,
which forms a sort of acropolis to the city, and
in which stand the exquisite remains of the
palace of the ancient Moorish kings of Granada.
The name is a corruption of the Arabic Kal 'at al
hamra, 'the red castle.' It is surrounded by a
strong wall, more than a mile in circuit, and
studded with towers. One of them contains the
famous Hall of the Ambassadors. The remains of
the Moorish palace are called by the Spaniards
the Casa Real. It was begun by Ibn-1-ahmar
(1248), and completed by his grandson, Moham-
med III., about 1314. The portions still stand-
ing are ranged round two oblong courts, one
called the Court of the Fishpond, the other the
Court of the Lions. They consist of porticos,
pillared halls, cool chambers, small gardens,
fountains, mosaic pavements, &c. In the most
beautiful room in the palace, the Hall of the
Abencerrages, to the beauty of colour and of
ornamentation is added an arcade resting on
light and graceful marble arches that run round
the place. A great part of the ancient palace
was removed to make way for the palace begun
by Charles V., but never finished. Since then
it has suffered from the neglect and greed of
successive governors ; from the French, who
blew up eight of its towers and tried to destroy
the whole; and from earthquake. A partial
restoration was made at the expense of Queen
Isabella (1862) ; but much damage was done by
fire in September 1890. See the works by
Washington Irving (1832), Owen Jones (1848),
and Murphy (new ed. 1856).

Alican'te, chief town of a Spanish province,
on a bay of the Mediterranean, 282 miles SB. of
Madrid by rail. It is the third seaport in the
kingdom. The chief exports are esparto grass,
lead, wine, almonds, and liquorice root. Its
climate is well suited for invalids. Population,
50,250. The province, formed in 1834 of parts of
the old kingdoms of Valencia and Murcia, lias an
area of 2098 sq. m. The wine of Alicante has a
high reputation) and there are about twenty lead
and copper mines. Pop. (1900) 470,150.

Aligarh (or Allygurh), a fort in the United Pro-
vinces of India, 55 miles N. of Agra. It was
stormed by the British in 1803 ; and here early
in the mutiny of 1857 ten days after the out-
break at Meerut the native troops rose. There
is here a Mohammedan Anglo-Indian college.
Fort, station, and the native city of Koil form
the municipality of Aligarh ; pop. 70,000.

Alima, a right-hand tributary of the Congo,
flowing mainly westward.
Aline, a sea-loch of Argyllshire.
Aliwal, a Punjab village on the Sutlej, 9 miles
W. of Ludhiana ; scene of a British victory over
the Sikhs on 28th June 1846. ALIWAL NORTH, a
town of Cape Colony, just across the Orange
from the Orange Colony, with a brisk trade ; pop.
3500. ALIWAL SOUTH, a port of Cape Colony, 200
miles E. of Capetown ; pop. 3000.

Alkmaar, an old town of the Netherlands, on

4 ALLEGHENY

the North Holland Canal, 19 miles N. by W. of
Amsterdam by rail. It has a Gothic town-house,
the 15th-century church of St Lawrence, manu-
factures of sailcloth, sea-salt, &c., and trade in
cattle, grain, butter, and excellent cheese of
which it exports enormous quantities. Alkmaar
held out against Alba in 1573, and here, in 1799,
the Duke of York signed a not very honourable
capitulation. Pop. 19,048.

Allahabad ('city of God'), the seat of the
government of the United Provinces of British
India, occupies the fork of the Ganges and
Jumna, 390 miles SE. of Delhi, and 564 WNW.
of Calcutta. The situation of Allahabad, at the
confluence of the holy streams of India, has ren-
dered it a much-frequented place of pilgrimage.
A stronghold existed here from the earliest
times, but the present fort and city were founded
by Akbar in 1575. From 1736 till 1750 the
Mahrattas held Allahabad, which was ceded to
the British in 1801. On 6th June 1857, the
mutiny extended to Allahabad ; and, the Euro-
peans continuing to hold the fort, the city soon
became little better than a heap of ruins. The
position of Allahabad, with its ready communi-
cation by river and rail, renders it naturally a
centre of commerce and civilisation. The most
noteworthy buildings are the great mosque and
the Sultan Khossor's caravanserai a line clois-
tered quadrangle. The fort contains the famous
pillar of Asoka (240 B.C.). Near by is the temple
covering the undying banian tree ; it is said to
communicate with Benares by a subterranean
passage, through which flows a third holy river,
the Saras wati, visible only to the eye of faith.
Allahabad possesses the government offices and
courts, Roman Catholic cathedral, Mayo Memo-
rial and town hall, a free public library, &c. The
Muir Central College, instituted by Sir W. Muir,
was opened in 1886 ; and a university was opened
in 1889. A great fair is held annually, which is
visited by about 250,000 persons. The cotton,
sugar, and indigo produce of the fertile district
of Allahabad is brought in large quantities into
the city. Pop. (1872) 143,693; (1901) 172,032.
ALLAHABAD district is 85 miles in length by 50 in
breadth. Area, 2850 sq. m. ; pop. 1,500,000.

Allan, (1) a tributary of the Forth, near Stir-
ling. (2) A tributary of the Teviot, near Hawick.
Alleghanies (Allegai'nies), a term sometimes
used as synonymous with the Appalachians (q.v.),
sometimes applied only to that portion of the
system which extends from Pennsylvania to
North Carolina, and which forms the watershed
between the Atlantic and the Mississippi. It is
sometimes used in a still more restricted sense.
The ridges, 2000 to 2400 feet high, are remarkable
for their parallelism and regularity, all the main
valleys being longitudinal. Composed of strati-
tied rocks of the Silurian, Devonian, and Carbon-
iferous ages, they are rich in coal, iron, and
limestone, and their forests supply much valu-
able timber.

Alleghany, a river, which, rising in the north
part of Pennsylvania, unites with the Mononga-
hela at Pittsburgh to form the Ohio. It is navi-
gable for nearly 200 miles above Pittsburgh.

Allegheny, or ALLEGHANY, one of the chief
manufacturing cities of Pennsylvania, on the
Alleghany River, opposite Pittsburgh. It is the
terminus of important railway lines, and the site
of the Western Penitentiary, a Presbyterian theo-
logical seminary, an observatory, the Carnegie
Public Library, a park of 100 acres, a Catholic or-
phanage, and a college for coloured persons. The

ALLEN 25

chief industries include rolling-mills for iron,
cotton and woollen mills, breweries, foundries,
a steel factory, blast-furnace, and locomotive
Avorks. It is a favourite place of residence for
Pittsburgh business men. Pop. (1870) 53,180;
(1880) 78,681 ; (1890) 105,287 ; (1900) 129,896.

Allen, Boo OF, a series of morasses east of the
Shannon, in King's County and Kildare, Ireland,
comprising about 150,000 acres. Their average
elevation is 250 feet above sea-level. Lough
Allen, in Leitrim, is a lake on the upper course
of the Shannon (q.v.), 8900 acres in area.

Allendale, a town of Northumberland, on the
Allen rivulet, 9 miles SW. of Hexham. Pop.
of parish, 3009.

Allentown, a manufacturing town of Penn-
sylvania, U.S., on the Lehigh River, CO miles
NW. of Philadelphia by rail. The Lehigh Valley
is rich in iron ore and anthracite coal, and has
large blast-furnaces, ironworks, and rolling-
mills ; and there are manufactures of furniture
and linen thread. Pop. (1860) 8025 ; (1880) 18,063 ;
(1890) 25,228 ; (1900) 35,416.

Alleppi. See AULAPOLAI.

Allier, a river of Central France, rising in the
east of the dep. of Lozere, and flowing 233 miles
northward through Haute-Loire, Puy-de-D6me,
and Allier, to the Loire below Nevers.

Allier, a dep. in the centre of Prance, has an
area of 2822 sq. m., and a population of 422,000.
Mineral springs are found at Vichy and else-
where. The chief town is Moulins.

Allington, a Kentish parish, 1 mile NNW.
of Maidstone. It was the birthplace of Sir
Thomas Wyatt the poet.

Alloa, a seaport town in Clackmannanshire,
on the left bank of the tidal Forth, 6 miles E.
of Stirling, and 35 WNW. of Edinburgh. Among
its buildings are the county court-house (1865),
the handsome new town-hall (1888), the corn
exchange (1862), and the parish church (1819);
and its special feature is the Lime-tree Walk
(1714), leading up from the harbour. It manu-
factures whisky, ale, woollen yarn, pottery, glass,
iron, &c. There is some shipbuilding; and coals
are exported from neighbouring pits. The harbour
was improved in 1863. The Forth is here crossed
by a railway viaduct (1885). Close by is Alloa
House (1838), the seat of the Earl of Mar and
Kellie, with Alloa Tower, 89 feet high, and built
about 1223. Here Queen Mary spent part of her
childhood, as also did James VI. and Prince
Henry. Pop. (1841) 5443 ; (1901) 11,417.

Alloway, Burns's birthplace, and the scene of
his Tarn o' Shanter, lies on the right bank of the
'bonny Doon,'_2 miles S. of the town of Ayr.
The 'auld clay biggin,' in which the poet was
born on 25th January 1759, was in 1880 converted
into a Burns Museum. The 'haunted kirk ' still
stands, a roofless ruin, near the 'Auld Brig;'
and hard by is the Burns Monument (1820).

All-Saints' Bay, in the province of Bahia,
Brazil, forms a superb natural harbour, measur-
ing 37 by 25 miles.

Allygurh. See ALIGARH.

Alma, a river in the Crimea, rising at the foot
of the Tchadir Dagii, and flowing westward into
the Bay of Kalamita, half-way between Eupat-
oria and Sebastopol. On its steep banks a bril-
liant victory was won on 20th of September 1854,
by the allied armies of Britain and France, under
Lord Raglan and Marshal St Arnaud, over the
Russian army commanded by Prince Menschikoff.

ALNWICK

Alma'da, a town of Portugal, in the province
of Estremadura, built upon a height over the
Tagus, opposite Lisbon. Pop. 8091.

Almaden', a town of Spain, in the chain of the
Sierra Morena, 50 miles SW. of Ciudad Real. It
is famous for its twelve rich quicksilver mines,
employing 4000 miners, with an annual output
of 2,500,000 Ib. The present mines, 1200 feet
deep, date from the 17th century ; but the quick-
silver was worked here by the Romans. Crown
property, they were rented by the Fuggers of
Augsburg (1525-1645), and by the Rothschilds
(1836-63), but are now again carried on by gov--
eminent. Pop. 8126. NEW ALMADEN, in the
Coast Range, California, 12 miles from San Jose,
was first worked regularly for mercury in 1845,
and now yields upwards of 2,000,000 Ib. a year.

Almagro, a town of Spain, 13 miles ESE. of
Ciudad Real. It has a great manufacture of
lace. Pop. 8289.

Almali. See ELMALU.

Almansa, a town of Spain in the province of
Albacete, 60 miles NW. of Alicante by rail.
There is a ruined Moorish castle. An obelisk,
about a mile distant, marks the spot where the
French, under the Duke of Berwick, on 25th
April 1707, defeated an army of Spanish and
English troops. Pop. 9480.

Almeida, one of the strongest fortified places
in Portugal, on the Spanish frontier, and in the
province of Beira. In 1702 it was captured by
the Spaniards, and in 1810 it was defended against
Massena by an English officer, until the explosion
of a powder-magazine compelled him to capitu-
late. Pop. 2500.

Almeri'a (Arabic Al-Mariyat, 'the conspicu-
ous '), the chief town of a Spanish province, on
a gulf or bay of the Mediterranean, 120 miles E.
of Malaga. It has a well-defended harbour, a
cathedral, and a grammar-school. In the time
of the Moors, it was, next to Granada, the richest
town in the kingdom, with 150,000 inhabitants.
Now, it has only a few trifling manufactures,
although it still keeps up considerable trade.
The much-needed railway from Linares to this
isolated port was being made in 1893-94. Popu-
lation, about 50,000. The province consists of
the eastern portion of the ancient kingdom of
Granada, and has an area of 3302 sq. m. There
are rich mines in the sierras, yielding copper,
iron, mercury, silver, and lead. Population
360,000.

Almodo'var del Campo, a town of New Castile,
Spain, 22 miles SW. of Ciudad Real ; pop. 12,279,
chiefly employed in agriculture and silver-mining.

Almond, in Scotland, tributaries (1) of the
Firth of Forth at Cramond ; and (2) of the Tay
above Perth.

Almondbury, to the SE. of Huddersfield, is
practically a part of Huddersfield (q.v.).

Almo'ra, a town in the United Provinces of
India, 87 miles N. of Bareilly, on the crest of a
ridge of the Himalayas, 5337 fet above the sea.
Pop. 8000.

Almunecar, a seaport of Andalusia, Spain, 33
miles S. of Granada ; pop. 8878.

Alnmouth, a little watering-place of Northum-
berland, at the mouth of the Alne, 5 miles ESE.
of Alnwick. Pop. 593.

Alnwick (An'nick), the county town of North-
umberland, on the Alne, 38 miles N. by W. of
Newcastle by rail. It has a large central market-
place, a spacious town-hall, and a corn exchange

ALORA

ALPS

Of 1862. Alnwick was at an early period a
fortified town, and one of its four gates remains,
with fragments of the walls. At the north
entrance of the town stands Alnwick Castle, the
seat originally of the De Vescis, and since 1310
of the Percies of Northumberland. It has been
sumptuously restored since 1854 in the Italian
palazzo style, and is one of the most magnificent
baronial structures in England. During the
middle ages, it was a bulwark against the inva-
sions of the Scots, and it was thrice besieged
by Malcolm Canmore, who here met his death ;
by David I. , who captured it ; and by William
the Lion, who here was taken prisoner. Alnwick
ceased in 1886 to enjoy certain prescriptive
municipal usages it formerly possessed. Pop.
7500.

Alo'ra, a town of Spain, 23 miles NW. of
Malaga by rail. Pop. 10,568.

Alost, or AALST, a town in the Belgium pro-
vince of Bast Flanders, on a navigable tributary
of the Scheldt, 19 miles NW. of Brussels by rail.
The church of St Martin, though unfinished, is
one of the grandest in Belgium, with a famous
painting by Rubens 'St Roche beseeching our
Saviour to stay the Plague of Alost,' and also the
mausoleum of Marten, a native of Alost and
Belgium's first printer (1473). Alost has also a
13th-century town-hall with a beautiful belfry,
and a Jesuit college. Pop. 30,200.

Alpe'na, an American post-town, at the mouth
of Thunder Bay River, in Michigan, with foun-
dries and numerous sawmills. Pop. (1880) 6153 ;
(1890) 11,283 ; (1900) 11,802.

Alpes, name of three deps. in France. That of
B ASSES- ALPES occupies the NB. part of Provence,
and is, for the most part, mountainous. The
wines are excellent; the mines produce lead,
green marble, &c. The dep. is watered by the
Durance; its chief town is Digne. Area, 2685
sq. m. ; population, 115,000.

The HAUTES-ALPES, lying north of the Basses-
Alpes, and forming a part of the old province of
Dauphine, is traversed by the chief range of the
Cottian Alps, which here rise to 14,000 feet. The
scenery, especially along the impetuous Durance,
is singularly picturesque. Area, 2158 sq. m. ;
population, 109,000. The mines produce lead,
copper, iron, and anthracite. Chief town, Gap.

ALPES MARITIMES, a dep. in the extreme SE.
of France, on the shores of the Mediterranean
and confines of Italy, was formed in 1860. It
is made up. of the ancient county of Nice, then
ceded to France, and of the arrondissement of
Grasse. The chain of the Alpes Maritimes forms
the northern boundary of the dep., and from it
numerous spurs run seaward, among which are
lovely and fertile valleys. The silkworm is
reared, and honey exported. There are some
mineral springs. The tunny, anchovy, and sar-
dine fisheries are important. The capital is Nice,
and the other principal towns are Antibes, Ville-
franche, Cannes, Grasse, and Menton or Mentone.
Area, 1482 sq. m. ; pop. 293,500.

Alpnach, or ALPNACHT, a Swiss village, in the
canton of Unterwalden, at the foot of Mount
Pilatus, 1 J mile from that part of Lake Lucerne
called Lake Alpnach. Its celebrated 'slide,' 8
miles long, for the timber of Mount Pilatus, is
now disused. Pop. 1679.

Alps (possibly a Celtic word meaning 'high;'
cf. Gaelic alp, ' a high mountain ; ' or connected
with Lat. ctibus, 'white'), the most extensive
system of lofty mountains in Europe, raising
their giant masses on a basis of 90,000 sq. m.,

between 6 40' and 18 E. long., and extending
in some places from the 44th to the 48th parallel
of latitude. The Alpine system is bounded on
the N. by the hilly ground of Switzerland and
the upper plain of the Danube ; on the E., by
the low plains of Austria ; on the S., by the
Adriatic Sea, the plains of Lombardy, and the
Gulf of Genoa; and on the W., by the plains of
Provence and the valley of the Rhone. A string
of lakes encircles both the northern and southern
bases of these mountains, the former at an eleva-
tion of 1200 to 2000 feet ; the latter, 600 to 700
feet. The varied natural scenery of France,
Italy, Germany, and Austria has a common
centre of union in this lofty region. Valleys
open out in all directions, sending their melted
snows on one side into the North Sea, on another
into the Black Sea, and on another into the
Mediterranean. The principal basins are those
of the Rhine, the Danube, the Po, the Rhone,
and the Var.

I. Of the WESTERN ALPS the principal ranges
are : (1) The Maritime Alps, extending from the
middle Durance southwards to the Mediter-
ranean, and rising in the Aiguille de Chambeyron
to a height of 11,155 feet. (2) The Cottian Alps,
north of these, whose highest summit, Monte
Viso, is 12,605 feet. (3) The Dauphine Alps,
separated by the valley of the Durance from the
Cottian ; their highest summit is the Pic des
Ecrins, 13,462 feet. (4) The Graian Alps, forming
the boundary between Savoy and Piedmont, and
attaining in the Grand Paradis, an elevation of
13,300 feet. II. MIDDLE ALPS. Central Cftaire.
(1) The Pennine Alps, between the plains of
Lombardy and the valley of the Rhone. Highest
summits : Mont Blanc, 15,732 feet ; Monte Rosa,
15,151 feet. (2) The Lepontian or Helvetian
Alps, from the depression of the Simplon, along
the plateau and masses of St Gothard, to the
pass of the Spliigen. (3) The Rhtetian Alps,
between the Inn, the Adda, and the Upper Adige.
Northern Chain. (I) The Bernese Alps, between
the Rhone and the Aar. Highest summits :
Finsteraarhorn, 14,026 feet ; Aletschhorn, 13,803 ;
Jungfrau, 13,671 feet. (2) The Alps of the Four
'Forest Cantons,' the Schwyz Alps, &c. The
Southern Chain. (I) The Ortler Alps, between
the Adda and the Adige. (2) The Trientine Alps,
between the Adige and the Piave. III. Of the
EASTERN ALPS the principal chains are : (1) The
Noric Alps, between the plains of the Drave and
the Danube. (2) The Carnian Alps, between the
Drave and the Save. (3) The Julian Alps, be-
tween the Save and the Adriatic Sea.

No lofty mountains in the world are more
easily crossed than the Alps ; the Mont Cenis,
the Brenner, the St Gothard, and tlie Simplon
(with still longer tunnel bored 1896-1904) rail-
ways into Italy from the north now afford special
facilities. Other notable passes are the Little St
Bernard (7190 feet at the highest point), the
Great St Bernard (8120 feet), and the Spliigen
(q.v.).

The rocks which enter into the composition
of the Alps belong to many different geological
systems, and occur for the most part as more or
less interrupted belts or zones, which extend
in the same general direction as the great chain
itself viz. from SW. to NE. The higher and
central ranges consist principally of crystalline
schists, such as gneiss and mica-schist, with
which granite is occasionally associated. These
crystalline Archnean rocks are flanked on either
side by an irregular zone of various sedimentary
strata, along with beds of limestone, dolomite,.

ALPUJARRAS

ALTENGAARl)

&c. The geological structure of the Alps clearly
shows that these mountains are 'mountains of
upheaval.' The strata of which they are com-
posed must originally have been spread out in
approximately horizontal positions, and they
have since been folded, flexed, puckered, and
fractured. Since their upheaval, the Alps have
suffered excessive denudation. Enormous moun-
tain-masses have been gradually removed by the
action of ice, running water, &c.

The population of the Alpine regions is esti-
mated at 6,000,000 to 7,000,000, of whom perhaps
one half are Teutonic, and the other half of
French, Italian (and Romanic), or Slavonic origin,
in pretty equal proportions. Six states share the
Alps. The western portion is shared by France
and Italy. Switzerland claims the Middle Alps
almost exclusively for her own. Bavaria has
only a small share. Austria has the largest
share of the Alps in the provinces of Tyrol,
Illyria, Styria, and the archduchy. The Alpine
mountains are rich in singularly beautiful natural
scenery, and attract such crowds of visitors that
they have been called ' the playground of Europe.'

See works by Agassiz, the brothers Schlagint-
weit, Murchison, Tyndall (1860-73), Bonney
(1868), Ball's Guides (3 vols. 1868-70), Umlauft
(Eng. trans. 1888), and see also SWITZERLAND.

Alpujarras (Al-poo-har'ras ; Arabic Al-Bush-
erat), a name applied to all the valleys lying
south of the chief chain of the Sierra Nevada, in
the south of Spain.

Alsace-Lorraine (Ger. Elsass-Lothringen), since
1871 a state or 'imperial territory' (Reichsland)
of the German empire, bounded west by France,
east by Baden, and south by Switzerland. Its
utmost length, from north to south, is 123
miles ; its breadth varies between 22 and 105
miles ; and its area is 5580 sq. m., of which 1353
belong to Upper Alsace (in the south), 1844 to
Lower Alsace (NE.), and 2383 to Lorraine (N\V.).
Pop. (1871) 1,549,738; (1900) 1,719,470, of whom
over 1,300,000 were Catholics, and 80 per cent.
German-speaking, the French-speaking population
being mainly in the larger towns and in Lorraine.
The Rhine flows 115 miles north-by-eastward
along all the eastern boundary, and receives,
below Strasburg, the 111 from Alsace, 127 miles
long. Other rivers are the Moselle, flowing
through Lorraine past Metz, and its affluent the
Saar. Along the Rhine is a strip of level country,
9 to 17 miles broad, and declining from 800 to
450 feet above sea-level. Westward of this rise
the Vosges Mountains, culminating at a height
of 4677 feet ; whilst Lorraine, rather hilly than
mountainous, rarely attains 1300 feet. About
48'5 per cent, of the entire area is arable, 11-6
meadow and pasture, and 30-8 under wood.
Alsace-Lorraine produces much wine, grain, and
tobacco ; it is rich in mines, iron and coal ; and
manufactures iron, cotton, wool, silks, chemicals,
glass, and paper. It contains the important
cities of Strasburg, Miihlhausen, Metz, and Col-
mar.

In Ca?sar's time Alsace-Lorraine was occupied
by Celtic tribes, and formed part of ancient
Gaul ; thereafter largely Germanised, from the
10th century it formed part of the German
empire, till a part of it was ceded to France at
the Peace of Westphalia (1648), and the rest fell
a prey to the aggressions of Louis XIV., who
seized Strasburg (1681) by surprise in time of
peace. By the Peace of Ryswick (1697), the
cession of the whole was ratified. In 1814-15
Russia would not hear of the restitution of

Alsace-Lorraine to Germany ; and it was not till
1871, after the Franco-German war, that Alsace
and German Lorraine were, by the treaty of
Frankfort, incorporated in the new German
empire. The great mass of the population were
strongly against the change, and 160,000 elected
to be French, though only 50,000 went into
actual exile, refusing to become German subjects.
For, at least since the era of the Revolution,
Alsace in sentiment was wholly French. To
France she gave the bravest of her sons Keller-
mann, Kleber, and many another hero ; Strasburg
first heard the Marseillaise; and MM. Erckmann-
Chatrian, Lorrainers both, faithfully represented'
their countrymen's love of La Patrie in the days
of the second as of the first Napoleon. See
French works by Grad (18S9) and Matthis (1890).

Alsen, a Baltic island off the coast of Sles-
wick. Formerly Danish, it became Prussian in
1864. It is 19 miles long, and 12 broad ; its area
is 121 sq. in. Pop. 25,000, almost all Danish-
speaking. The chief town is the port of Sonder-
borg ; pop. 6000.

Alster, a river in Holstein, formed by the
confluence of three streams, in the neighbour-
hood of Hamburg spreads itself out, and forms a
lake, called the Great or Outer Alster, and within
the town, the Inner Alster. It flows by several
channels into the Elbe.

Alston, a market-town of Cumberland, 26
miles ESE. of Carlisle. Pop. of parish, 3184.

Altai, the Ghin-shan or Golden Mountains of
the Chinese, is the name given to a wild moun-
tainous region which covers the southern parts
of Tomsk, in Siberia, and partly extends into
Mongolia. It comprises the mountainous border-
region of the great plateau of Central Asia, be-
tween the Tian-shan and the Sajan Mountains,
and consists of two separate parts the Altai
proper, belonging to the Russian empire ; and the
Great Altai, in Mongolia. The highest summit,
Byelukla, reaches the height of 11,000 feet. The
valleys on its outskirts are being rapidly colon-
ised by Russian agriculturists (over 600,000), who
find an easy living in the fertile soil and the rich
sub-alpine meadows. The gold-washings of the
Altai, and its silver, lead, copper, iron, and coal
mines, are another source of wealth. Nearly
45,000 Kalmucks, Teleutes, and Kumandintses
represent the small remainder of the formerly
much denser and more highly civilised popula-
tion, all of the Ural-Altaic stock. The town of
Barnaul (17,180 inhabitants) is the chief centre of
administration.

Altamu'ra, a town of South Italy, 28 miles
SW. of Bari, with a fine cathedral, founded in
1220 ; pop. 19,817.

Alte'a, a Spanish seaport, 25 miles NE. of
Alicante ; pop. 5865.

Al'tena, a town of Prussia, 47 miles NW. of
Siegen by rail, with manufactures of needles,
pins, and hardware ; pop. 12,900.

Altenburg, the capital of the duchy of Saxe-
Altenburg, on the Pleisse, 30 miles S. of Leipzig
by rail. On an almost perpendicular rock of
porphyry stands the old castle of Altenburg, the
scene in 1455 of the 'Prinzenraub.' Its founda-
tions are probably as old as the llth century ;
and, since the two fires of 1S65 and 1868, it has
been finely restored. Brushes, woollen goods,
gloves, and cigars are manufactured. Pop. (1890)
31,439 ; (1900) 37,150.

Altengaard, a hamlet in Finmarken, the
northernmost province of Norway, on the south

ALTHORP PARK

AMAZON

Side of the Alten Fiord, in 69 55' N. lat., with a
meteorological station.

Althorp Park, the seat of Earl Spencer, 6
miles NW. of Northampton.

Alton, a town of Hampshire, 8 miles SW. of
Farnham. Its Perpendicular parish church was
thoroughly restored in 1867. Hops are grown in
the neighbourhood, and there are large breweries
in the town. Pop. 5600.

Alton, a city and port of Illinois, U.S., on the
left bank of the Mississippi, 24 miles N. of St
Louis. Laid out in 1817, and since 1868 the seat
of a Catholic bishopric, it is a centre of com-
merce, and has a Baptist college (1836). Pop.
(1860) 6332 ; (1900) 14,210.

Al'tona, the largest and richest city in the
Prussian province of Sleswick-Holstein, is situ-
ated on the steep right bank of the Elbe, just
below Hamburg, so that the two cities are
divided only by the state-boundaries. Altona
lies higher than Hamburg, and is much healthier.
Of public buildings, the most notable are the
churches of the Trinity (1743) and St John (1873) ;
and of four monuments, there is one to Bliicher
(1832). Invested with special privileges in 1664,
and burnt by the Swedes in 1713, Altona was
annexed to Prussia in 1866. Pop. (1840) 28,095 ;
(1860) 45,524 ; (1890) 143,249 ; (1900) 161,501.

Altoo'na, a city of Pennsylvania, U.S., at the
eastern base of the Alleghanies, 117 miles E. of
Pittsburgh. It contains large locomotive works
and machine-shops in connection with the Penn-
sylvania Central Railroad, employing 5000 hands.
Pop. (1870) 10,610 ; (1900) 38,973.

Altorf, or ALTDORF, the chief town in the
Swiss canton Uri, at the head of the Lake of
Lucerne, and on the St Gothard road and rail-
way. There is a colossal statue of William Tell
in this the scene of his chief exploits. Pop. 3000.
ALTORF, or ALTDORF, in Middle Franconia
(pop. 4000), was the seat of a university from
1623 to 1809.

Allotting, a very ancient place of pilgrimage
in Upper Bavaria, not far from the river Inn, 31
miles N. of Traunstein. A chapel contains the
wonder-working black image of the Virgin, dat-
ing from the 8th century, and a rich treasure
of gold, silver, and precious stones. Another
chapel contains the tomb of Tilly. Pop. 4232.

Altrincham (Al'tring-am), a town of Cheshire,
on Bowdon Downs, 8 miles SW. of Manchester by
rail, is situated on the Bridgewater Canal. It
has manufactures of artificial manures, and an
iron-foundry ; but the chief employment is raising
fruits and vegetables for the Manchester market.
Pop. 17,100.

Altrive, the home and death-place of Hogg, the
Ettrick Shepherd, in Yarrow parish, Selkirkshire.

Alum-Bagh (Alambdgh), a domain 4 miles from
Lucknow, comprised a palace, mosque, and park ;
and in 1857 was converted by the rebels into a
fort. It was taken by the British in September ;
and on evacuating Lucknow, Sir James Outram
with 3500 men held it against 30,000 sepoys and
50,000 volunteers, until in March, Sir Colin
Campbell reconquered Lucknow, and relieved the
Alum-Bagh. Havelock had been buried within
the walls in November 1857.

Alum Bay, Isle of Wight, near the Needles, a
bay with fantastically variegated cliffs.

Alva, a town in what since 1891 is Clack-
mannanshire, at the base of the Ochils, 7| miles
ENE. of Stirling by rail (1863). It has extensive
manufactures of shawls and tweeds. Immedi-

ately behind the village is Alva Glen, noted for
its picturesque beauty and mamu'liceut water-
fall. Pop. 5000.

Alvara'do, a town of Mexico, on the Gulf of
Mexico, at the mouth of the river Alvarado
40 miles SE. of Vera Cruz ; pop. 6000.

Alwar, or ULWAR, a Rajput state of India, in
Rajputana, with an area of 3024 sq. in. and a pop.
of 750,000. The capital, Alwar, is a town of
56,750 inhabitants, 94 miles WNW. of Agra.

Alyth (Ai'litJi), a Perthshire town, 26 miles
NE. of Perth, with woollen, linen, and jute
manufactures. Pop. 1965.

Alzey (Altzei), a town of Rhenish Hesse, on
the Selz, 18 miles SW. of Mainz. Pop. 6932.

Amalfi (Amdl'fee), a seaport on the Gulf of
Salerno, 24 miles SE. of Naples. It has a Roman-
esque cathedral. Founded under Constantino
the Great, and long a powerful republic, with
50,000 inhabitants, and 'doges' of its own, it fell
about the close of the llth century under the
power of the Normans, was plundered by the
Pisans in 1135, and saw its commercial decay
completed by a terrible storm in 1343. Masani-
ello was a native. Pop. 7792.

Amarapu'ra (' city of the gods '), till 1860 the
capital of Burma, was situated on the left bank
of the Irawadi, 6 miles NE. of Ava. Founded in
1783, it was totally destroyed by fire in 1810, and
almost totally by earthquake in 1839 ; so that the
population dwindled from 175,000 in 1800, to
almost nil after Mandalay became the seat of
government. Little remains but some beautiful
trees, and a few ruined pagodas.

Amasia, a town in the province of Sivas, in
Asia Minor, in the deep valley of the Yeshil-
Irmak. The ancient town, long capital of the
kings of Pontus, was the birthplace of Strabo.
There ai*e numerous interesting remains of
antiquity, particularly the tombs of the kings of
Pontus. Silk and salt are the chief articles of
export. Pop. 25,000.

Amatitlan, a deep lake in the Central Ameri-
can state of Guatemala, surrounded with pre-
cipitous volcanic rocks. It empties into the
Pacific Ocean through the river Michatoyat. Near
the lake are many hot springs, and on the river
is the town of Amatitlan, as late as 1840 a miser-
able Indian village, but now, through the intro-
duction of the cochineal culture, an active town
of 10,000 inhabitants.

Amazon, or AMAZONS (Portuguese AmazSnas,
from an Indian word Amassona-, 'boat-destroyer'),
a river of South America, and the largest stream
on the face of the globe. It is known locally as
Maraiion, Orellana, Solimoens, Parana-tinga, and
Parana-uassu. The name Marafion (or Tungur-
agua) belongs properly to the more northern of
its two main head-streams, rising in Lake Lauri-
cocha (Peru) about 10 30' S. lat., 76 10' W. long.
Some writers insist that the river Apurimac, or
Ucayali (the more southern of the two great head-
streams), is the true Amazon. It is commonly
said that the Amazon, to its remotest source, is
nearly 4000 miles long ; but 3000 miles is a more
probable estimate. Most of the upper branches
flow in deep mountain gorges of the Cordillera ;
east of the Cordillera the vast forest-plain is
entered, which stretches from the sub-Andean
foot-hills to the sea. It is a region rich in
botanical treasures, having a fertile soil and a
prodigiously large rainfall. Owing to this rain-
fall, the country is traversed by a very great
number of large navigable rivers, either direct or .

AMAZONAS

AMERICA

Indirect affluents of the Amazon. Steam naviga-
tion has been introduced on many of the larger
brandies ; but the natural resources of the
country are very little developed.

The principal tributaries from the north are
the Napo, the Putumayo, the Japura, and the
llio Negro (which connects, through the Cassi-
quiare, with the Orinoco) ; from the south the
Javary, the Jutahy, the Jurua, the Purus, the
Madeira, the Tapajos, the Xingu, and the Toc-
antins. For a considerable distance the main
river forms the boundary between Peru and
Ecuador ; but its course lies chiefly through the
northern half of Brazil, its general direction
being to the NNE. Its mouth is crossed by the
equator. The drainage area of the river is placed
at 2,500,000 sq. m., or two-thirds the area of
Europe ; and the main stream and its tributaries
are said to afford over 25,000 miles of water-
way suitable for steam navigation. The main
channel, at the mouth, is 50 miles wide. The
average flow of the river is placed at 2J miles per
hour. The tides are noticed for about 400 miles
up the river. The tidal phenomenon called the
bore (here known as Pororoca) is very destructive
in the main channel of the lower river, near its
mouth. The name Amazon is probably derived
from the female warriors (Amazons) seen by early
explorers in the valley of this river ; the name
Maranon is derived from a voyager who visited
the river in 1503 ; Orellana was the name of one
who sailed on it in 1540.

The climate of the river- valley, though hot and
very damp, is greatly mitigated by its trade-
winds, which blow from the east with little
interruption throughout the dry season. The
river abounds in fish in very great variety of
species, and turtles and alligators are plentiful,
as well as porpoises and manatees. The main
river is fullest from March to June inclusive, and
lowest in August and September. The river is
open to the commerce of all nations, but trade
has been impeded by import and export duties.
Para is the principal outlet by sea of the com-
merce of the Amazon Valley. Many useful and
some highly valuable timber-trees grow on the
river. One of the leading pursuits of the lower
valley is the shipment to Para of india-rubber
and Brazil-nuts. The western part of the basin
affords quinine-yielding barks, coca, cacao, sugar,
coffee, palm-wax, ipecacuanha, copaiba, sarsa-
parilla, vanilla, and other valuable vegetable
products, and a considerable amount of gold is
procured in it.

See works by A. R. Wallace (1853 ; new ed.
1889), H. W. Bates (1864 ; new ed. 1892), Agassiz
(1868), Brown and Lidstone (1878), and H. H.
Smith (New York, 1879).

Amazo'nas, (1) the northernmost province of
Brazil, has an area of 750,000 sq. m., and a pop.
of 148,000. (2) A fertile department of Peru,
bounded on the N. by Ecuador. Area, 14,150
sq. m. ; pop. 70,800.

Ambala. See UMBALLA.

Amber, a decayed city in the Rajput state of
Jaipur, India, formerly its capital, about 4 miles
NE. of Jaipur, with a vast but deserted palace.
It is situated on the margin of a small lake, in a
deep hollow among hills.

Amberg, a town of Bavaria, 35 miles E. of
Nuremberg. Chief buildings are the town-hall
(1490) and St Martin's (1421), with a steeple 321
feet high. There is a large arsenal, some manu-
factures, and mining. Near is the Maria-Hilfs-
berg, a place of pilgrimage. Pop. 22,500.

Ambleside, a market-town of Westmorland,
situated in the heart of the Lake District, about
a mile from the head of Lake Windermere.
Rydal Mount, for many years the residence of
Wordsworth ; Fox How, a summer retreat of Dr
Arnold ; and the Knoll, where Miss Martineau
lived and died, are all in the neighbourhood.
Coarse woollen cloths are made here. Pop. 23CO.

Amboise, a French town in the dep. of Indre-
et-Loire, on the Loire, 15 miles by rail E. of
Tours. The town is memorable for the Huguenot
conspiracy (1560), which cost the lives of 1200
Protestants. The castle of Amboise from 1431
was a frequent residence of the Valois kings;
and since the days of Louis XL, 15,000 prisoners
are said to have been confined in its subterranean
'oubliettes.' Pop. 4580.

Amboyna, the most prominent of the Moluc-
cas or Spice Islands belonging to the Dutch,
lies SW. of Ceram, and NW. of Banda. Area,
365 sq. in. Pop. about 38,000, nearly a third
Mohammedans. Amboyna is mountainous, well
watered, fertile, and healthy. Clove, sago,
mango, and cocoa-nut trees are abundant, also
fine timber for cabinet-work. The Dutch took
Amboyna from the Portuguese in 1605. The
British settlement was destroyed by the Dutch
in the infamous Amboyna massacre of 1623, for
which, in 1654, Cromwell exacted compensation.
The British held the island in 1796-1802. It
became finally Dutch in 1814. AMBOYNA, capital
of the Dutch Moluccas, on the bay of Amboyna,
has a good roadstead ; pop. about 9000.

Ambriz, the northernmost division of the
Portuguese territory of Angola, West Africa,
extending from the Congo to the river Ambriz.
The town of Ambriz has a pop. of 5000. See
ANGOLA.

America, the Avestern continent and its adja-
cent islands, forming the main body of land found
in the western hemisphere. America has an area
of about 16,500,000 sq. in., and is larger than
Europe and Africa together. It is more than four
times as large as Europe, five times as large as
Australia, and half as large again as Africa ; but
is considerably smaller in area than Asia. It is
customary to regard Greenland as a part of Amer-
ica ; while the adjacent island of Iceland, though
partially in the western hemisphere, is usually
associated with Europe. The other principal
American islands in the Atlantic are Newfound-
land, Cape Breton, Anticosti, Prince Edward
Island, Long Island, the Bermudas, the Antilles
or West Indies, Joannes, the Falkland Islands,
Staten Land, and South Georgia. At the south-
ern extremity of America lies the archipelago of
Fuegia (Tierra del Fuego). In the Pacific are the
Aleutian Islands, Kadiak, the Alexander and
Queen Charlotte groups, Vancouver and other
British-Columbian Islands ; the Santa Barbara
group, Revilla-Gigedo, the Pearl Islands, and
others in the Gulf of Panama, the Galapagos,
Juan Fernandez and the associated islets, Chiloe
and the Chonos Archipelago. In the Arctic
Ocean there are many large but unimportant
islands.

The American continent consists of two prin-
cipal parts, NORTH AMERICA and SOUTH AMERICA,
which are connected by the narrow Isthmus of
Panama. These two bodies of land, though
differing very much in climate and productions,
are much alike in several respects. Each is of
triangular outline, with the shortest side to the
north, and with a narrow southern prolongation.
In outline, North and South America have each

AMERICA

a certain resemblance to Africa. The two Amer-
icas have each a high range of volcanic moun-
tains, extending from north to south along the
west coast, a broad central plain, and a relatively
low eastern mountain-range. Their great rivers
have also some features in common, especially in
regard to their direction. America is called the
New World ; and from the historical point of
view, this name is obviously appropriate; but
geologically it may be called the Old World,
since the oldest known strata have their widest
development on its surface ; and there have been
here found relics of prehistoric man, whicli must
be regarded as among the oldest yet discovered.

NORTH AMERICA has an area of more than
9,000,000 sq. m. It is considerably larger than
South America, which is in turn larger than
Europe and Australia combined. The western
mountain-system of North America comprises
a very great number of minor ranges, mostly
having a north and south direction. The main
chain (Sierra Madre) cannot be said to preserve
an unmistakable identity throughout. The Coast
Range, the Sierra Nevada, and the Cascade Moun-
tains are the most noted of the western parallel
ranges ; they all lie on the Pacific slope, and
they contain some of the highest of North
American peaks. The elevated plateau called
the Great Basin (chiefly in Utah and Nevada,
U.S.), contains the Great Salt Lake and several
smaller bodies of strongly saline water, evidently
the remains of a much larger lake which once
sent its waters to the sea. The eastern or great
Appalachian mountain-system has a general NNE.
direction, nearly parallel with the Atlantic coast-
line.

North of the St Lawrence River is seen the
vast and complicated mountain-system of the
Laurentides, which extend from the Atlantic
westward to near Lake Superior. The highest
mountain in North America is Mount McKinley,
in Alaska (20,464 feet). Orizaba, in Mexico, is
18,250 feet; Mount Logan, in Yukon, 19,539;
Mount St Elias, long believed to be the highest
summit, 18,024. Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl,
in Mexico, are 17,520 feet and 16,960 feet respec-
tively. Many other peaks are over 14,000 feet.

A very remarkable feature of North America
is the great central plain which reaches from the
Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. A promi-
nent feature of the central plain is the Hauteur
des Terres, a high ridge, whence flow the Missis-
sippi, the Red River, the St Lawrence, and the
Winnipeg. This ridge is nowhere over 2000 feet
high, and its ascent is extremely gradual. The
most general name for the great plains of North
America is prairie; there are local distinctions
between timbered and bald or treeless prairies ;
and few prairies are of a dead-level surface, and
many are ' rolling 'that is, their surface is a
succession of low wave-like swells and depres-
sions.

The coast-line of North America on the west
is almost everywhere high and rocky. To the
south of Puget Sound, good harbours are rare ;
but British Columbia and Alaska have great
numbers of good seaports, the coast-line being,
in many places, deeply cut with high-walled
fjords, or 'canals,' and elsewhere sheltered by
ranges of high and well-wooded islands. The
Atlantic coast, to the north of New York Bay, is
generally rocky and well sheltered with islands,
and has abundance of good natural harbours ;
but south of the parallel of New York, the coast
of the mainland is almost everywhere low and
sandy. Many of the best ports are formed by

river-mouths, and have sand-bars across their
entrances. Nowhere else in the world is there
any such extent of low and sandy coast as on
the Atlantic and Gulf seaboards of the United
States.

In general, Canada and the Atlantic slope are
well watered and have abundant rains. Along a
narrow strip on the Pacific slope, from San Fran-
cisco southward to Acapulco, the water-supply
is deficient, and the interior regions near the
coast have locally a desert character ; while from
Acapulco southward the rainfall is ample for all
needs. The central valley is generally well sup-
plied with water ; but to the west of the Missis-
sippi there are but scanty summer rains. As the
Rocky Mountains are approached, the water-
supply becomes more deficient ; and, except
where irrigation is practicable, agriculture proper
generally gives place to the grazing of cattle.
But in the Canadian part of the central valley
there is ordinarily no deficiency of rainfall. In
the Rocky Mountain region, the summers are
generally very dry ; and in some sections, irriga-
tion is required in order to produce crops. Still
the great volume and length of the North
American rivers, and the immense number of
lakes, are sufficient proof of the amplitude of
the general rainfall. In the Rocky Mountain
region of Canada, the great rivers, Yukon, Fraser,
Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Mackenzie, take
their rise. Between these mountains and Hud-
son Bay, a girdle of vast lakes, or inland seas
(Great Bear, Great Slave, Athabasca, Deer Lake,
Winnipeg, and others), are seen to form a regu-
lar succession running from the Arctic Circle in
a SSE. course to Lake Superior (412 by 167
miles), which is itself the largest fresh-water
lake in the world, and the first of a wonderful
chain of great sea-like expansions of the Upper
St Lawrence (the others being Michigan, Huron,
Erie, and Ontario). The line of these great lakes
(from Great Bear Lake to the Lake of the Woods
inclusive) marks the eastern limit of a fertile
prairie region resting on fossiliferous rocks. East
of this line we find a vast wilderness of ' Barren
Grounds.' North of the St Lawrence system,
almost the whole country is thickly studded
with lakes, which, with their connecting streams,
form a network of important waterways travers-
able by canoes and boats.

The Atlantic slope of the United States is well
supplied with water, and many of its streams
afford extensive navigation. The Hudson is
noted for its fine scenery ; the Potomac is one
of the noblest of American rivers ; and important
streams flowing to the Atlantic are the St John,
the Penobscot, the Kennebec, the Merrimac
(noted as affording more utilised water-power
than any other river in the world), the Connecti-
cut, the Delaware, the Susquehanna, the James,
and the St John's, nearly all navigable in their
lower courses. The chief rivers flowing to the
Gulf of Mexico are the Appalachicola, the Mobile,
the Pearl, the great Mississippi, the Sabine, the
Trinity, the Brazos, the Colorado of Texas, and
the Rio Grande.

Of the many large Alaskan rivers, the principal
are the Yukon and the Kuskoquim. The Fraser
is a swift and strong river ; the great river Col-
umbia is noted alike for its navigation, its salmon-
fisheries, and its enormous cataracts. The Rio
Colorado, whose waters flow to the Gulf of Cali-
fornia, traverses a desert plateau. Here, nearly
every watercourse runs in a deep-walled canon,
a narrow valley with precipitous sides, often of
prodigious height.

AMERICA 31

The winter cold and the summer heat of North
America are extreme, when we consider the
latitudes. Variations of temperature are more
sudden and more extreme than in South America
or Western Europe. The arctic portion of North
America has a climate of extreme severity ; and
much of the northern sub-arctic region has a
decidedly arctic climate. South of the Canadian
line, we are still in the spring-wheat belt ; and
not till we go south 4 or 5 degrees of latitude do
we enter the winter- wheat belt. Maize is planted
in the warmer parts of Canada, and in nearly all
the more southern parts of North America. The
other cereals grown in*the United States are
much the same as those ordinarily produced in
Europe. Sugar-cane is raised only in the most
southern parts of the United States, and in lati-
tudes still farther south. Tobacco is an im-
portant crop not only in tropical America, but
nearly as far north as Canada. Cotton reaches
its northern limit in California, Missouri, and
Virginia. True rice is grown in the more southern
United States. Throughout the Atlantic and
Gulf slopes of North America, the winter climate
is much more severe than in corresponding Euro-
pean latitudes. It will be observed that nearly
all the cultivated crop-products of North America
(except maize, potatoes, and tobacco) are of Old-
World origin. The same thing is true in a less
degree of the cultivated fruits. The European
apple thrives even better in North America than
in Europe ; so likewise do the peach, the pear,
and other fruits. But the grapes generally cul-
tivated in America are of native or hybrid origin ;
although the European grape does well in Cali-
fornia and Mexico. The cranberries, straw-
berries, and some of the other cultivated small
fruits of North America, are of native origin, as
are some of the more hardy varieties of the plum.
Subtropical fruits, such as the orange, h'g, and
lemon, do well in that limited part of non-tropi-
cal North America which lies south of the frost-
line. The mineral treasures of North America
are vast ; coal, iron, copper, gold, silver, lead,
and petroleum being abundant, besides salt and
other valuable products.

The native peoples of North and South America
alike would appear to have been all of one race,
although the Eskimo of the far North resemble
the ' Indian," or copper-coloured native races,
not so much in appearance and in physical
features, as in the polysynthetic or incorporative
character of their system of word-building. The
present population of North America contains
a copious element of the Indian stock, chiefly
found in the remoter parts of Canada and in
Mexico and Central America. In Spanish Amer-
ica and in Manitoba (Canada), there are many
persons of mixed white and Indian origin. The
Spanish language is spoken in Central America,
Mexico, Cuba, and Puerto Rico ; French prevails
in parts of Canada and Louisiana, and in some
of the West Indies ; and a German dialect pre-
vails locally in Pennsylvania. But by far the
largest share of the North American people are
English in language, if not in descent.

The political divisions of North America are
(1) Danish America, which includes Greenland,
and three small islands of the Virgin group in
the West Indies. (?) British North America, in
which division we may place the Dominion of
Canada, Newfoundland, Labrador, the Bermudas,
the numerous British West Indian islands, and
British Honduras. (3) The United States, includ-
ing the detached territory of Alaska. (4) Mexico.
(5) The Central American republics of Honduras,

AMERICA

Guatemala, Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica,
together with Panama unless its southern part
be regarded as belonging to the South American
continent. (6) The West Indian republics of
Hayti and San Domingo. (7) The Dutch West
Indies. See the articles on the separate states
and colonies.

The population of North America, with the
West Indies, is not less than 105,000,000 souls, of
whom 7,000,000 may be of Indian descent. The
very great majority of North American Indians,
who fall into about a dozen stocks or groups of
tribes, are found in Mexico and Central America.
The people of African stock number at least
11,000,000, most of whom are natives of the
United States. The original slave element was
derived from almost every coast-region of the
African continent.

SOUTH AMERICA has somewhat the same general
shape on the map as North America, and the
semi-continents have many features in common,
as well as certain marked contrasts. The broad-
est part of each is towards the north ; but the
northern portion of North America is a frozen
and most repelling region, having its coasts
washed by a trackless frozen ocean, filled with
barren and ice-crowned islands ; while the Carib-
bean Sea, which lies north of the southern half
of the continent, is entirely tropical, and is
encircled by a chain of rich and beautiful islands,
where frosts are never seen. The climates are
therefore reversed. The greater portion of North
America has either a cold or a temperate* climate ;
while that part of South America which is of
corresponding position and importance has a hot
climate. The tropical region of North America
is relatively small in area ; while in South Amer-
ica it is much the smaller part which has a. cold
climate. Moreover, the winter cold of Patagonia,
Tierra del Fuego, and the Falkland Islands is
never extreme, like that of so great a part of
North America. Even Tierra del Fuego, which
has a terribly bleak and blustering wet and
windy climate, is never very cold. The summers
of the extreme south of America are indeed
relatively cold, but the winters are correspond-
ingly mild ; that is to say, the climate is more
steady and less changeable than that of North
America.

The Andes, or South American Cordilleras,
have some features in common with the great
North American Cordilleras, the Rocky Moun-
tain system. They both extend north and south ;
both are near the west coast ; both are volcanic ;
and both cut off the rains from a considerable
region, rendering the climate locally very dry.
But the Andes are much more nearly continu-
ous ; they are a much more complete barrier to
the traveller and merchant, as well as to the
rain-bearing winds of the Atlantic ; they have
a much greater absolute height, and contain a
far greater number of very lofty peaks. Their
volcanic activity is also at present much more
intense than is seen at any point in North
America north of the Tehuantepec Isthmus. The
dry or desert region west of the Andes is far
more extensive and far more completely arid
than the corresponding section of North America.
To the east of the Andes, and as it were reclining
against them, there is an enormous and lofty
plateau on which are scattered various extinct
or dormant volcanic peaks ; but the western
slope of the Andes is usually very steep. In
some parts of the eastern sub- Andean plain there
appear complicated (but generally north and
south) ranges of lower mountains, occasionally

AMERICA

AMERSHAM

sending put an arm of hills into the plains of
the interior. The really temperate part of South
America, including most of Chili, Uruguay, and
the Argentine Republic, has a mild, and for the
most part singularly equable and agreeable clim-
ate ; although Northern Chili is a hot and arid
desert, and the southern third of that country,
including the Chonos Archipelago, is drenched
with continual rains. The greater and most
characteristic region of South America is the
tropical portion. For a tropical country the
climate is in general remarkably fine, regular,
and healthful. A marked feature is the large
and regular rainfall, caused by the Andes, which
here stand exactly across the course of the trade-
winds. These winds, carried gradually upwards
by the shelving plateaus, till they reach the cold
Andean summit-region, precipitate nearly all
their moisture, and leave the narrow strip of
land west of the Andes a desert. Towards the
north and south, the Pacific slope, being out of
the highway of the trade-winds, receives abun-
dant moisture from the Pacific. Owing to the
enormous rainfall of tropical South America, it
is above all others the land of great rivers. The
three great river-systems of the Orinoco, the
Amazon, and the Plata are all primarily devel-
oped upon the eastern terraces of the Andes ;
but the Plata derives its main water-supply from
the Brazilian mountains. Other large rivers are
the Magdalena in Colombia, the Sao Francisco
in Brazil, and the Rio Negro in the Argentine
Republic. South America has few large lakes,
Lake Titicaca being one of the most remarkable ;
but the slopes of the Southern Andes abound in
smaller lakes, doubtless of glacial origin.

The interior of South America presents con-
siderable variety. In the central and southern
portion of Venezuela we find extensive steppes
or prairies, here called llanos ; an open region,
in part treeless, but in general grassy and devoted
to pasturage. To the east and west of these the
country is for the most part densely wooded.
The vast forest-clad plain of the Amazon is of
fluviatile origin. Towards the southern tropic
we encounter a region which, though little de-
veloped, appears to be one of the finest and most
fertile on the globe. Farther south the forests
begin to disappear, and finally end in the great
treeless pampas of the Argentine Republic. The
Patagonian region south of the pampas consists
largely of a succession of terraces rising west-
ward to the Andes, and crossed by many swift
and copious rivers. Here are seen vast fields
covered with loose stones and shingle, recalling
the enormous boulder-covered waste of Labrador.
Farther south lies the Fuegian Archipelago, a
gloomy and unpleasant region with a bleak
climate.

The mineral wealth of South America is very
great, including gold, silver, mercury, copper,
diamonds, and coal.

The agricultural capabilities of a large part of
South America are unquestionably very great.
Stock-breeding is the leading industry on the
pampas of the south, and on the llanos and
campos of the north. Coffee-growing is a pro-
minent pursuit in Brazil. The cereal grains
thrive remarkably in the temperate regions.
Sugar, tobacco, and cotton are produced in
the warmer latitudes. Silver, copper, iodine,
nitrates, guano, hay, and provisions are shipped
from the west coast. From the La Plata coun-
tries wool and various cattle products still take
the lead, although flour and grain are becoming
important staples of export. Peruvian bark and

other medicines, india-rubber, cabinet-woods,
chocolate, tobacco, and fruits are shipped from
the tropical and forest-regions of the north.

The aboriginal population of South America is
divided into a large number of tribes, which have
been grouped under some eight different stocks.
The white population is largely Spanish in lan-
guage and descent, except in Brazil, where Por-
tuguese is spoken. The common people of Chili
are largely of Gallician (Spanish) descent ; while
Basque blood is said to prevail in Peru. The
Brazilian whites are to a considerable extent of
Azorean and Madeira stock. There are numbers
of German colonists in Brazil, the La Plata
countries, and Chili; and also many Italians,
Basques, and other Europeans in the Argentine
Republic and Uruguay. The English language
is spoken in the Falklands and in Guiana ; French
and Dutch prevail in parts of Guiana. The negro
element is strong in Brazil, in parts of Peru, and
in Guiana ; and there are many persons of mixed
descent. It is believed that the total population
of South America is about 38,000,000.

A considerable number of the islands usually
reckoned as West Indian, and assigned by most
geographers to North America, are really conti-
nental and South American. Such are the large
British colony of Trinidad ; the Venezuelan island
of Marguerita ; and the Dutch island of Curagoa.

All the states of America, each with a separate
article, are either republics or colonies.

NORTH AMERICA.

States.

Area in
sq. in.

Pop.

United States ....

3,025,600
3,556,350
766,000
172,700

320,000
1,062,800
96,550

76,085,794
5,639,201
13,545,462
3,984,721
10,516
6,340,267

British America, including j
Canada, Newfoundland, Ber- >
muda, British Honduras )
Mexico

Central America, including San )
Salvador, Nicaragua, Hon- h
duras, Guatemala, Costa Rica >

Polar lands (say)

West Indies

Total

9,000,000

105,605,961

SOUTH AMERICA.

States.

Area in
sq. m.

Pop.

Venezuela
Colombia and Panama

417,000
332,000
160,000
528,000
536,000
1,970,000
72,700
57,300
218,900
170,500
3,288,000
6,500

2,444,816
3,878,600
1,205,600
4,609,999
1,788,674
4,794,149
930,680
635,571
3,128,095
407,553
14,339,915
2,043

p eru

Argentine Republic

Chili

Guiana (Brit.,French,Dutch)
Brazil

Falkland Islands (British).. .
Total

7,756,900

38,165,695

Grand Total of America

16,756,900

143,771,656

Amersfoort, an ancient town of the Nether-
lands, 14 miles NE. of Utrecht by rail. It has a
large trade in grain ; and manufactures of brandy,
cotton, and woollen goods, leather, soap, and
beer. Here was born the statesman Olden-
barneveld. Pop. 18,182.

Amersham, a town of Bucks, 1\ miles ENE.
of Wycombe. Pop. 3210.

AMESBURY

AMSTERDAM

Amesfoury, a coursing ground in Wiltshire,
near Stoneheuge, and 7 J miles N. of Salisbury.

Amesbury, a township of Massachusetts, 38
miles by rail N. of Boston, with woollen and
carriage factories. Pop. 9473.

Amha'ra ('the high lands'), the middle and
largest of the three divisions of Abyssinia,
extending from the Tacazze to the Blue Nile, and
embracing the heautiful Lake Tzana. Capital,
Gondar (q.v.).

Amherst, a seaport of Tenasserim, Burma, on
the Bay of Bengal, at the mouth of the Sal win,,
80 miles S. of Maulmain. Founded in 1826 as
capital of the newly-ceded province, it was next
year superseded by Maulmain. Pop. 3000.

Amherst, a seaport of Nova Scotia, at the head
of Cumberland Basin, an inlet of the Bay of
Fundy ; pop. 5000.

Amherst, in Massachusetts, 20 miles N. of
Springfield, is seat of Amherst College (Congrega-
tional) and of an agricultural college ; pop. 5000.

Amherstburg, a town of Ontario, Canada, at
the head of Lake Erie, 4 miles S. of Detroit ;
pop. 2272.

Amiens (Fr. pron. Am-i-on 8 ; anc. Samardbriva),
a French city, capital once of Picardy, and now of
the dep. of Somme, on the many-channelled,
navigable Somme, 81 miles N. of Paris by rail.
Its fortifications have been turned into charming
boulevards, but it still retains its old citadel.
The cathedral of Notre Dame is a masterpiece of
Gothic architecture. Begun in 1220, it is 452
feet long, and has a spire (1529) 426 feet high ;
but its special feature is the loftiness of the nave,
141 feet. In his little work called The Bible of
Amiens, Ruskin says this church well deserves the
name given it by Viollet-le-Duc, ' the Parthenon
of Gothic architecture, ' and affirms that its style
is ' Gothic pure, authoritative, and unaccusable.'
Other noteworthy buildings are the H6tel-de-
Ville (1600-1760), in which the Peace of Amiens
was signed in 1802 ; the large museum (1864), in
Renaissance style ; and the public library (1791),
with 70,000 volumes. Amiens has considerable
manufactures of velvet, silk, woollen, and cotton
goods, ribbons, and carpets. Peter the Hermit
and Ducange were natives, and there are statues
to both of them. In the Franco-German war, on
27th November 1870, General Manteuffel inflicted,
near Amiens, a signal defeat on a French army
30,000 strong, and three days later the citadel
surrendered. Pop. (1872) 61,063 ; (1901) 90,758.

Amirante Islands, a group of eleven low,
wooded islands lying SW. of the Seychelles,
opposite the 'east coast of Africa. Area, 32 sq.
in. ; pop. 100 French-speaking half-breds. They
fell to Great Britain in 1814, and form a depend-
ency of Mauritius.

Am'lwch (pron. w as oo), a small seaport of
Anglesey, North Wales, on the north coast of the
island, 21 miles NNW. of the Menai Bridge by
rail (1867). It is a busy but rather dirty town,
with the neighbouring rich copper-mines of the
Parys Mountain. Till 1885 Amlwch united with
Beaumaris, &c. in returning one member. Pop.
of parish, 4443.

Ammergau. See OBER-AMMERGAU.

Amol, a town of Persia, 76 miles NE. of
Teheran, on the Heraz, a river which flows into
th.e Caspian ; pop. 10,000.

Amoor. See AMUR.

Amoy', a seaport of China, on a small island of
the same name, in the province of Fukien, 325
C

miles ENE. of Canton direct. The third in im-
portance of the treaty ports, it was one of the
earliest seats of European commerce in China,
the Portuguese having had establishments here
in the 16th, and the Dutch in the 17th century.
In 1841 it was taken by the British, and by the
treaty of Nankin, a British consul and British
subjects were permitted to reside there. The
trade is now open to all nations. The imports
are opium, rice, cotton-twist, British long-cloths,
beans, peas, umbrellas, clocks, &c. ; the exports
are tea, sugar, paper, opium, grass-cloths, gold-
leaf, &c. Pop. 95,600. The island of Amoy,
measuring 9 by 7 miles, has 400,000 inhabitants.

Ampthill, a town of Bedfordshire, 7 miles S.
by W. of Bedford. Pop. of parish, 2194.

Amraoti (sometimes Oomrawuttee), a district in
Berar, British India, with an area of 2759 sq. in. ,
and a pop. of 675,328. Its capital, Amraoti, is
an important cotton-mart, the terminus of a
state branch railway ; pop. 28,550.

Amritsar (often Umritsir), a well-built city of
the Punjab, 32 miles E. of Lahore by rail. It is
the religious metropolis of the Sikhs, a distinction
which, along with its name (literally, 'pool of
immortality '), it owes to its sacred tank, in the
midst of which stands the marble temple of the
Sikh faith. Founded in 1574, but all of it more
recent than 1762, it possesses considerable manu-
factures of cashmere shawls, cotton, silks, &c.,
and carries on trade to the annual value of
3,500,000. Pop. (1901) 162,500.

Amroha, a town in the United Provinces of
India, 20 miles NW. of Moradabad ; pop. 37,000.

Amrum, a north Frisian island off the coast
of Sleswick, SW. of Fohr, is a low-lying half-
moon of grassy downs, 8 miles long, of late visited
as a health-resort. Oysters are taken and wild
ducks decoyed. Pop. 1000.

Amsterdam (' dam ' or ' dike of the Amstel 'X
the capital of the Netherlands, is situated at the
influx of the Amstel to the Ij or Y (pron. eye),
an arm (now mostly drained) of the Zuider-Zee,
44| miles NNE. of Rotterdam by rail. It is
divided by the Amstel and numerous canals into
a hundred small islands, connected by more than
300 bridges. Almost the whole city, which
extends in the shape of a crescent, is founded on
piles driven 40 or 50 feet through soft peat and
sand to a firm substratum of clay. Merely a
fishing-village at the beginning of the 13th cen-
tury, with a small castle, in 1482 it was walled
and fortified. After the revolt of the seven pro-
vinces (1566), it speedily rose to be their first
commercial city ; and in 1585 it was enlarged by
the building of the New Town on the west. The
establishment of the Dutch East India Company
(1602) did much to forward the well-being of
Amsterdam, which, twenty years later, had 100,000
inhabitants. It had to surrender to the Prussians
in 1787, to the French in 1795 ; and the union of
Holland with France in 1810 entirely destroyed
its foreign trade. The old firms, however, lived
through the time of difficulty, and in 1815 com-
merce again began to expand an expansion
greatly promoted by the opening of the North
Holland Canal (1825), and the North Sea Canal
(1876).

The city has a fine appearance when seen from
the harbour, or from the high bridge over the
Amstel. Church towers and spires, and a perfect
forest of masts, relieve the flatness of the pros-
pect. The old ramparts have been levelled,
planted with trees, and formed into promenades.
The three chief canals the Heerengracht, Keizers-

AMSTERDAM

ANCONA

gracht, and Prinsengracht run in semicircles
within each other, and are from 2 to 3 miles long.
On each side of them, with a row of trees and a
carriage-way intervening, are handsome resi-
dences. The building-material is brick ; and the
houses have their gables towards the streets,
which gives them a picturesque appearance.
The defences of Amsterdam now consist in a row
of detached forts, and in the sluices, several
miles distant from the city, which can flood
(save in time of frost) the surrounding land.

The population, which from 217,024 in 1794,
sank to 180,179 in 1815, rose to upwards of 538,000
in 1902, of whom the majority belong to the Dutch
Reformed Church. The chief industrial establish-
ments are sugar refineries, engineering works,
mills for polishing diamonds and other precious
stones, dockyards, manufactories of sails, ropes,
tobacco, silks, gold and silver plate and jewelry,
colours and chemicals, breweries, distilleries,
with export houses for corn and colonial pro-
duce ; cotton-spinning, book-printing, and type-
founding are also carried on. The present Bank
of the Netherlands dates from 1824, Amsterdam's
famous bank of 1609 having been dissolved in
1796.

The former Stadhuis (' Townhouse '), converted
in 1808 into a palace for King Louis Bonaparte,
and still retained by the reigning family, is a
noble structure of 1648-55, 282 feet long, and 235
broad, with a round tower rising 182 feet. It has
a hall, 120 feet long, 57 wide, and 90 high, lined
with white Italian marble. The cruciform Nieuwe
Kerk (New Church), a Gothic edifice of 1408-14,
has a splendidly carved pulpit, and the tombs of
Admiral de Ruyter and Vondel. The 14th-cen-
tury Old Church (Oude Kerk) is rich in painted
glass, has a grand organ, and contains several
monuments of naval heroes. Literature and
science are represented by a university supported
by the municipal principality, museums and
picture-galleries, a botanical garden, several
theatres, &c. The new Ryksmuseum contains a
truly national collection of paintings, its choicest
treasure Rembrandt's 'Night-guard.' Rembrandt
made Amsterdam his home ; and his statue (1852)
now fronts the house he occupied. Spinoza was
a native. A water-supply was introduced in 1853.

Amsterdam, a manufacturing town of New
York, on the Mohawk River, 33 miles NW. of
Albany. Pop. 22,000.

Amsterdam, a barren volcanic islet annexed
by France, with the islet of St Paul, in 1893, is
in 37' 50' S. lat. and 77 30' E. long., about
midway between the Cape of Good Hope and
Tasmania.

Amu-Daria. See Oxus.

Amur (Amoor), or SAKHALIN, a river formed by
the junction of the Shilka and the Argun, which
both come from the south-west the former
rising in the foothills of the Yablonoi Mountains.
From the junction, the river flows 3000 miles
south-eastward and north-eastward to the Sea
of Okhotsk, opposite the island of Saghalien.
Its main tributaries are the Sungari and the
Usuri, both from the south. Above the Usuri,
the Amur is the boundary between Siberia and
Manchuria; below it, the river runs through
Russian territory. It is very valuable for
navigation, and carries a considerable fleet of
steamers, but on account of the bar at its
mouth, goods are generally disembarked, and
carried overland to Alexandrovsk. The river
is frozen for six months of the year ; in summer
there are extensive inundations.

From 1636, Russian adventurers made excur-
sions into the Chinese territories of the Lower
Amur.; but it was not until 1854-56 that two
military expeditions established the stations of
Alexandrovsk and Nikolaevsk. In 1858 China
agreed to the treaty of Tientsin, by which the
left bank of the Amur, and all the territory
north of it, became Russian ; and below the
confluence of the Usuri, both banks. In 1860
Russia acquired the wide territory extending
from the Amur and the Usuri to the Pacific
coast, with harbours on the Pacific in a com-
paratively temperate latitude, where navigation
is impeded by ice for not more than three or
four months a year.

This vast territory falls into two Russian
provinces the Maritime Province between the
Usuri and the sea, and the government of
Amur, north of the river. The latter has an
area of 172,850 sq. in., and a pop. of 122,640,
mostly belonging to the Tungusic stock. The
capital is, since 1882, Khabarovka, and not, as
formerly, Blagovestschensk. Nikolaevsk, once
the only important place in these regions, is on
the Amur, 26 miles from its mouth, where the
river is \\ mile wide, and in places 15 feet deep.
Near the southern end of the Maritime Province
(area, 715,980 sq. m. ; pop. 221,750) is situated
the important harbour of Vladivostok (' Rule of
the East'), or Port May, which, in 1872, was
placed in telegraphic communication with Europe
by the China submarine cable. Vladivostok is
one terminus of the Trans-Siberian railway com-
menced in 1891. The island of Saghalien (q.v.) is
also a part of the Amur region in the wider sense.

Amurnath, a cave in Cashmere, amidst the
mountains on the north-east boundary. It is an
opening in a gypsum rock, 30 yards high, and 20
in depth. Believed to be the residence of the
god Siva, it is visited by multitudes of pilgrims.

Anadyr, a gulf of North-east Siberia, into
which flows the Anadyr River after a course of
500 miles from the Stanovoi Mountains.

Anagni, a town of Italy, on a hill, 40 miles
ESE. of Rome. The seat of a bishop since 487,
it was the birthplace of popes Innocent III.,
Gregory IX., Alexander IV., and Boniface VIII.
Pop. 6347.

Anahuac ('near the water '), the original name
of the ancient kingdom of Mexico.

Anam. See ANNAM.

Ananiev, a town of Southern Russia, 100 miles
N. of Odessa ; pop. 16,449.

Anapa, a Russian seaport on the east shore of
the Black Sea, 50 miles SE. of Yenikale ; pop. 7037.

Anatolia. See ASIA MINOR.

Anco'na, the capital of a province in Italy, on
a promontory of the Adriatic, 127 miles SE. of
Ravenna by rail. Its harbour had become much
silted up, but in 1887 was improved and deepened ;
and it is still the most important seaport be-
tween Venice and Brindisi. The manufactures
are silk, ships 1 rigging, leather, tobacco, and soft
soap ; the exports (declining) are cream-of-tartar,
lamb and goat skins, asphalt, bitumen, corn,
hemp, coral, and silk. Since 1815, the old citadel
was the only fortification until, recently, strong
forts were erected on the neighbouring heights.
A mole 2000 feet long, built by Trajan, and a
triumphal arch of the same emperor, are the
most notable antiquities ; the cathedral was built
in the llth c. Pop. (1901) 57,000. Founded
about 380 B.C. by Syracusans, Ancona was de-
stroyed by the Goths, rebuilt by Narses, and

ANCRUM MOOR

ANDES

again destroyed by the Saracens in the 10th
century. It afterwards became a republic, but
in 1532 was annexed to the States of the Church.
In 1797 it was taken by the French, but sur-
rendered to the Russians and Austrians. During
1832-38 a French force held it ; in 1849 a revolu-
tionary garrison capitulated to the Austrians ;
and in 1861 it was incorporated in the kingdom
of Italy. The March of Ancona was the name
applied to the territory lying between the Adriatic
and the Apennines, from Tronto NW. to San
Marino.

Ancrum Moor, Roxburghshire, 5J miles NW.
of Jedburgh, was in 1544 the scene of the defeat
of 5000 English.

Andalu'sia (Span. Andahtci'a), a large and
fertile region occupying the south of Spain, and
washed both by the Mediterranean and the
Atlantic. The name is a form of Vandalitia or
Vandalusia, from the Vandals, who overran it
in the 5th century. The biblical Tarshish prob-
ably, it was the seat of a splendid Moorish
monarchy from the 8th century A.D. to 1235-48.
Andalusia mainly consists of the great basin
of the Guadalquivir ; in the south, the Sierra
Nevada attains a height of 11,657 feet. It is
still one of the most fertile districts of Spain,
with celebrated breeds of horses and mules. It
is divided into the provinces of Almeria, Jae'n,
Malaga, Cadiz, Huelva, Seville, Cordova, and
Granada. The chief towns are Seville, Cordova,
Jae'n, and Cadiz. Area, 33,340 sq. m. Pop.
3,470,089.

An' damans, a group of thickly wooded islands
towards the east side of the Bay of Bengal, 680
miles S. of the Hooghly mouth of the Ganges.
They consist of the Great and Little Andaman
groups. The former group, more than 150 miles
long and 20 miles broad, comprises four islands,
the North, Middle, and South Andaman, and
Rutland Island. The Little Andaman, 30 miles
S. of the larger group, is '28 miles long by 17
miles broad. The total area is 2508 sq. m. The
dark, dwarfish natives, seldom five feet high,
stand also in the lowest stage of civilisation.
Their number in Great Andaman is about 2000 ;
in Little Andaman, from 1000 to 1500. A British
settlement was made on North Andaman in 1789,
but abandoned in 1796 for Penang. The present
capital is Port Blair, on South Andaman, the
largest island of the group. The harbour here is
one of the finest in the world. Since 1858, the
Andamans have been used by the Indian govern-
ment as a penal settlement for sepoy mutineers
and other life-convicts. In 1901 the population
of the convict colony was 18,670, of whom 2240
were women. In 1872 Lord Mayo, viceroy of
India, was 1 - assassinated at Hopetown on Viper
. Island by a Mussulman convict.

Andelys, LES, a town in the Norman dep.
of Eure, 20 miles NE. of Evreux. Chateau
Gaillard was built here by Richard Coeur de Lion
to command the Seine. Pop. 5509.

Andenne, a town of Belgium, 12 miles E. of
Namur by rc*il ; pop. 7903.

Anderab, a town in Afghan Turkestan, on the
northern slope of the Hindu Rush Mountains, 80
miles SSE. of Kunduz ; pop. 6500.

Andermatt, or URSERN, a Swiss village in the
canton of Uri, 18 miles S. of the Lake of Lucerne.
Pop. 750.

Andernach (Roman Avtunnacum), a town of
Rhenish Prussia, on the Rhine, 11 miles NW. of
Cpblenz by rail. It was a residence of th.e Mero-

vingian kings, and afterwards one of the most
flourishing places on the Rhine. A great tower,
a fine church, and the ruined castle of the arch-
bishops of Cologne, give it quite a mediaeval
aspect. Pop. 7781.

Anderson, capital of Madison county, Indiana,
on the west fork of White River, 36 miles by rail
NE. of Indianopolis. It manufactures engines,
carriages, furniture, &c. Pop. (1880) 4126 ; (1890)
10,741. ; (1900) 20,178.

Andersonville, a village in Georgia, U.S., 60
miles SW. of Macon by rail, noted as having been
the seat of a Confederate States military prison.'
Andes (said to be derived from the Peruvian
anti, copper, metal), a lofty mountain-system of
South America, extending north and south along
the whole Pacific coast, and really a continuation
of the vast and complicated mountain-system of
Western North America, though on the Isthmus
of Darien the height of the connecting ridges is
less than 130 feet. The mountains of the Fuegian
Archipelago, south of the mainland of South
America, including Cape Horn and Diego
Ramirez, must be held to belong to this system.
Without allowing for curves, the Andes extend
some 4500 miles. The Patagonian portion of the
system is much cut by steep ravines, some-
times partly filled with glaciers, and not seldom
occupied by deep arms of the sea. On both
east and west sides of the ranges vegetation is
luxuriant, due to the excessive abundance of the
rainfall. Between lat. 42 and 24 S. the main
chain of the Andes recedes from the sea-coast,
leaving in Chili a tract of country nowhere
exceeding 120 geographical miles in breadth.
The mountains here reach a mean elevation of
11,830 feet; one of the peaks, Aconcagua/is the
loftiest on the American continent, 22,867 feet.
Another, Cima del Mercedario, is 22,312 feet. In
this region, both to the north and to the south,
there is but one main line of peaks ; but between
these two parts two high parallel ranges occur,
having between them a relatively low plateau.
The Bolivian Andes occupy perhaps one-third of
the area of the republic, and form a vast arid
region of great elevation. Amongst them are
Gualtieri, 22,000 feet high, and Sorata and Illi-
mani, both above 21,000. The east and west
Cordilleras of Bolivia enclose the land-locked
plateau of the Desaguadero, 13,000 feet in height,
and having an area of 30,000 sq. m.

In Peru the maritime Cordillera overlooks the
sea in a close succession of volcanic cones. Near
lat. 10 S. the chain divides into the seaward
Cordillera Negra, and the more eastward Cordil-
lera Nevada, with a deep trough or ravine inter-
vening. The central Cordillera of Peru is the
chain which bounds the Titicaca basin on the
west. The eastern Andes of Peru form a magnifi-
cent succession of grand peaks, with only very
local evidences of recent volcanic action. Of the
Peruvian peaks the highest are Huascan (22,000
feet) and Huandoy (21,088 feet). The lofty wilder-
nesses of the high Peruvian Andes form a cold
and wind-swept region known as the Puna. In
the SW. of Ecuador the various ridges of the
Andes coalesce, immediately to divide again into
two main chains, both characterised by intense
volcanic activity. According to Whymper Chim-
borazo is 20,498 feet, Cotopaxi 19,613, and Anti-
sana 19,335. The Colombian Andes are disposed
in three main lines. Only a few of the peaks of
the Venezuelan Andes rise above the snow-line.
One of the plateaus, Assuay, is 14,500 feet high ; the
lowest notable pass, Planchon, is 11,455 feet high.

ANDIJAN

ANGOLA

The great bulk of the Andean masses is com-
posed of stratified rocks ; upheaval, denudation,
and direct volcanic action have been leading fac-
tors in building the mountains. Volcanic action
is still very great in Ecuador, but less so in the
other parts of the chain. Gold, silver, copper,
mercury, and other metals abound in nearly
every part of the Andes. There are three trans-
Andean railways two in Peru, and a more im-
portant one, unfinished in 1004, which connects
the Chilian and Argentine railways by a rack-
rail line with five tunnels, nearly continuous,
about 8 miles long and at a height of between
9000 and 10,000 feet. See Conway, The Bolivian
Andes(lWI); Fitzgerald, The Highest Andes(1899);
Whymper, Travels amongst the Great Andes of the
Equator (1892).

Andijan, capital of a district in Ferghana,
connected by rail with Bokhara ; it was destroyed
by earthquake in 1902. Pop. 50,000.

Andkhui, capital of a khanate in Afghan
Turkestan, between the northern spurs of the
Paropamisus and the Amu-Daria (Oxus).

Andorra, a valley republic of the Eastern
Pyrenees, between the French dep. of Ariege
and the Spanish province of Lerida, part of
Catalonia. It is enclosed by mountains, through
which its river, the Balira, breaks to join the
Segre at Urgel. Area, 171 sq. m. ; pop. 5831.
Said to have been declared a free state by Charle-
magne, Andorra now stands under the common
protectorate of France and the Catalonian Bishop
of Urgel. The republic is governed by a sovereign
council of twenty-four members, chosen by cer-
tain heads of houses, and the council elects a
president for four years. The Andorrans are
good-natured, hard-working mountaineers, hos-
pitable, moral, and devoted to liberty. They
speak a dialect of Catalonian. The capital is
Andorra la Vieja (pop. 600) ; San Julian (500) and
Canillo (500) are the other towns. See works by
Berthet (Paris, 1879) and Deverell (Loud. 1884).

An'dover (Andeafaran, 'passage of the river
Ande '), a municipal borough and market-town of
Hampshire, 66 miles SW. of London. Chartered
by Henry I., Richard I., and John, Andover till
1867 returned two members, till 1885, one. The
chief trade consists in corn and malt ; at Wey-
hill, 3 miles west, an October fair is held,
formerly very important. Pop. 6000.

Andover, a village of Essex county, Massa-
chusetts, 23 miles N. of Boston, with about 7000
inhabitants. Settled in 1643 from its English
namesake, it is famous, even in Massachusetts,
for its educational institutions, especially the
Phillips Academy and the Congregational Theo-
logical Seminary.

Andria, a city of South Italy, 30 miles W. of
Bari, with a fine cathedral (1046) ; pop. 46,795.

Andros, (1) an island of the Greek Archipelago,
the most northern of the Cyclades, separated
from Euboea by a channel 6 miles broad. It is
25 miles long, 10 miles broad, and 156 sq. m. in
area. Pop. 20,562, of whom 1800 are in the chief
town, Andros, on a bay of the east coast.
(2) One of the Bahamas (q.v.).

Andujar, a town of Spain, on the Guadal-
quivir, at the base of the Sierra Morena, 48 miles
ENE. of Cordova by rail ; pop. 15,116.

Anega'da, a British coral island, the most
northerly of the Virgin Islands, lying east of
Porto Rico, in the West Indies. Area, 13 sq. m. ;
pop. 200.

Angara, a tributary of the Yenisei (q.v.).

Angeln, a district of Sleswick, between the
Bay of Flensburg and the Schlei, supposed to be
the home from which came the Angles who
invaded England in the 5th century.

Angermanland, a former division of Sweden,
now chiefly comprised in the government of
Westernorrland, extends along the Gulf of
Bothnia, and is watered by the river Angerman,
200 miles long. The chief town is Hernb'sand,
with a pop. of 6000.

Angermiinde, a town of Prussia, on Lake
Miinde, 43 miles NE. of Berlin by rail; pop.
7833.

Angers (On g zhayr ; anc. Andegavurri), formerly
the capital of the duchy of Anjou, and now
of the French dep. of Maine-et-Loire, on the
navigable Maine, not far from its junction with
the Loire, 214 miles SW. of Paris by rail. Angers
was the seat of a university (1246-1685), and of a
military college, at which the Earl of Chatham
and the Duke of Wellington received part of their
education. David, the great sculptor, was a
native. The castle was built by St Louis about
1250 on a projecting rock above the river. The
fine cathedral is also a 13th-century building.
Sail-making, wool and cotton spinning, and weav-
ing are carried on. The neighbouring slate-
quarries employ 3000 men. Pop. (1872) 54.454;
(1891) 70,508 ; (1901) 82,400.

Anglesey, or ANGLESEA (A.S. Angles Eyi.e.
' the Englishmen's island '), an island and county
of Wales, separated from the north-west main-
land by the Menaj Strait (q.v.), which is spanned
by the suspension bridge (1826) and by the
tubular bridge (1850). The extreme length is 21
miles; the extreme breadth, 19; the coast-line
measures about 80 ; and its area is 302 sq. m., or
193,453 acres. The climate is mild but foggy,
especially in autumn ; the general aspect of the
island, flat and uninteresting, there being very
little wood. The island is rich in minerals ; the
Parys and Mona copper-mines, near Amlwch,
were opened in 1768. Lead ore, containing much
silver, has also been found. Anglesey, known to
the Romans as Mona, was one of the chief seats
of the Druidical power, which in 61 A.D. was all
but destroyed by the Roman general, Suetonius
Paulinus. The island was again subdued by
Agricola, 76 A.D. Egbert conquered it in the
9th century, and it was finally subdued by
Edward I. The market-towns are Amlwch,
Beamnaris, Holyhead, Llangefni, and Llanerch-
y-medd. The first four united in sending one
member till 1885, when they were merged in
the county, which returns one member. Pop.
(1841) 38,106 ; (1901) 50,606.

Anglia, EAST, a kingdom founded by the
Angles about the middle of the 6th century, in
the eastern part of central England, in what
forms the present counties of Norfolk and Suffolk.

Angola, a name formerly used loosely of the
whole West African coast from Cape Lopez to
Benguela, but restricted, since the establishment
of the Congo Free State in 1885, to the Portuguese
West African possessions, extending from the
Congo southward to Cape Frio ; or even more
narrowly, to the northern section between the
Congo and the Coanza. Area, 312,000 sq. m. ;
pop. 2,000,000. The coast strip is level, barren,
extremely hot, and very unhealthy. Beyond
is hill-country, reaching a height of 3000 feet.
The main rivers are the Kwango, running north
to the Congo, and the Coanza and Cunene,
running west to the Atlantic. Yams, tobacog,

ANGORA

ANNAM

indigo, rice, cotton, and sugar are freely pro-
duced ; but under Portuguese mismanagement
the wealth of the country is undeveloped or
decaying. There is abundance of iron in the moun-
tains ; also copper, lead, sulphur, and petroleum
are obtained. Angola was long notorious for its
great slave-trade. The natives are Congo negroes,
and belong to the great Bantu stock. In the
16th century they were mostly converted by the
Jesuits to a kind of Christianity, but soon fell
back into fetichism. Many of the 3000 white
men, mostly Portuguese, are transported con-
victs, and there are some 30,000 mulattos. The
Portuguese under Diego Cam discovered this
coast in 1486, but St Paul de Loanda was not
built till 1578.

Ango'ra, or ANQWIREH (anc. Ancyra), capital
of a Turkish province in the mountainous interior
of Asia Minor, 220 miles ESE. of Constantinople.
It was a flourishing city under the Persians, and
was made the capital of the Roman province of
Galatia Prima. The present city has 32,000 in-
habitants ; its trade is mainly in the hands of
the Armenians, who number 9000. It is famous
for its breed of goats, with beautiful silky hair,
eight inches long.

Angostura, capital of the province of Guayana,
in Venezuela, on the right bank of the navigable
Orinoco, about 240 miles from its mouth. It is
built at a pass (angostura), where the river is
narrowed by rocks. The town is now more
usually called Ciudad Bolivar. Pop. 12,000.

Angouleme, the capital of the French dep. of
Charente, and formerly of the province of
Angoumois, stands 220 feet above the winding
Charente, 83 miles NB. of Bordeaux by rail. It
has a fine Romanesque cathedral (1136), and a
striking hotel-de-ville, with which is incorporated
the remnant of the ancient castle of Angouleme,
where was born the celebrated Marguerite of
Navarre, author of the Heptameron. Ravaillac
was also a native. The old bastions have been
converted into fine terrace-walks. There are
manufactures of machinery, paper, and wire, and
a brisk trade in brandy. Pop. (1866) 24,961;
(1891) 34,188 ; (1901) 37,650.

Angra, the capital of the Azores, a seaport at
the head of a deep bay on the south coast of the
island of Terceira. Pop. 11,070.

Angra-Pequena, a bay on the south-west
coast of Africa, 150 miles N. of the Orange River
mouth, on the coast of Great Namaqualand (q.v.).
It is the only port of the German South-west
African territory ; the neighbourhood is a sandy,
waterless region, enjoying a healthy climate. In
1883 Angra-Pequena was ceded by a Namaqua
chieftain to Luderitz, a Bremen merchant ; and
next year it was taken under German protection.

Angri, a town of South Italy, 17 miles NW. of
Salerno. Pop. 9110.

Anguilla, or LITTLE SNAKE, an English West
India Island, one of the Lesser Antilles, 160 miles
E. of the eastern extremity of Porto Rico. Area,
35 sq. m. ; pop. 4500.

Angus. See FOBFARSHIRB.

Anhalt, a duchy of the German empire, almost
surrounded by the Prussian province of Saxony,
which breaks it up into two principal and five
smaller portions. Area, 869 sq. m. ; pop. (1875)
213,689 ; (1900) 316,085, nearly all Protestants.
Dessau, Zerbst, BenVburg, Kb'then, and Ballen-
stedt are the principal towns. The eastern part
is level and fertile ; the western part, approaching
the Harz Mountains, is hilly and largely covered

with wood, and possesses mineral wealth, especi-
ally in lead and silver. Anhalt began to be an
independent principality in the first half of the
13th century. It was divided into three duchies
in the beginning of the 17th century, but in 1863
the whole territory was reunited into one duchy.

Ani, a ruined city of Turkish Armenia. 25
miles SE. of Kars.

Anio, the ancient name of the Teverone, a
tributary of the Tiber, which rises in Monte
Cantaro, and joins the larger river 3 miles above
Rome. Its beautiful cascade at Tivoli (the
ancient Tibur) is celebrated by the classical
poets.

Anjou (OnOzhoo), a former province in the NW.
of France, of about 3500 sq. m. in extent, now
forming the dep. of Maine-et-Loire, and small
parts of the deps. of Indre-et-Loire, Mayenne,
and Sarthe. It lies on both sides of the lower
course of the Loire, where it receives the Maine.
Its capital was Angers.

Anklam, a town in the Prussian province of
Pomerania, on the navigable Peene, 4 miles from
its mouth in the Kleines Haff, and 41 SE. of
Stralsund by rail. Long a place of commercial
importance, a member of the Hanseatic League
from the 14th to the 16th century, it manufac-
tures iron, sugar, and soap. Pop. 14,784.

Anko'bar, the capital of the kingdom of
Shoa, in Abyssinia, is built 8200 feet above sea-
level. Pop. 600015,000.

Annaberg, a mining town of Saxony, on the
Erzgebirge range, 34 miles S. of Chemnitz by
rail. Pop. 16,822.

Annabon. See ANNOBON.

Annagh, an island of County Mayo, in Achill
Sound.

Annam, an ' empire ' on the east coast of the
Indo-Chinese peninsula, has since 1885 been a
French protectorate and part of French Indo-
China, which comprises, besides Annam, Tong-
king or Tonquin in the north (once a province of
Annam), French Cochin-China in the south, and
Cambodia on both sides of the lower Mekong.
Before the French controversy with Siam in
1893, the western boundary of Annam was gener-
ally understood to be the main mountain ranges
between the Mekong and the sea. But in 1893
France insisted that the Mekong should be
regarded as the frontier ; and this demand was,
under protest, conceded from Cambodia north
to the Laos country, or about 18 N. lat. The
area of Annam, as now extended (but without
Tonquin or other divisions of Indo-China), is some
50,000 sq. m. ; the population, Annamites on the
coast, and Mois and Laos in the hills and west of
them, is variously stated at from 5,000,000 to
10,000,000.

Annam lies wholly in the torrid zone, yet even
during the hot and rainy season, extending over
the six months from April to September, the
thermometer seldom mounts from a minimum
of 70 to beyond 100 F. On account of the
moisture, however, the heats in June and July
are sometimes almost intolerable. The country,
save on the coast and along the Mekong, is
mountainous ; minerals are believed to abound ;
coal is worked near Turane. The mountains are
covered with valuable timber, and the lower
lands are extremely fertile. The chief produc-
tions are, besides rice and other cereals, cotton,
cinnamon, sugar, tea, coffee, and tobacco. The
chief ports are Turane (wholly under French
control), Qui-Nhon, and Xuan-Day : Hue is the

ANNAMABOE

ANTARCTIC OCEAN

capital. The principal imports are rice, cotton
cloths and yarns, opium, and paper, for the most
part from China and Japan.

The Annamese are mainly of Mongoloid stock.
The inhabitants of the mountains are taller,
fairer, and stronger than the inhabitants of the
plain. The latter are small of stature but well
proportioned, indolent but expert. The speech
of the Annamese is monosyllabic, like Chinese,
from which they have borrowed many words.
The mass of the people worship tutelary spirits ;
Confucianism is in vogue with the more culti-
vated ; the remainder adhere to Buddhism. There
are besides about 420,000 Roman Catholics, de-
scendants of immigrants from Macao and Japan
(1624), and of Portuguese fugitives from Malacca.
The native prince is retained on the throne,
and the interior administration on the Chinese
pattern is in the hands of Annamite officials,
though the French, through the superior council
of Indo-China, have supreme authority, and
French troops occupy part of the citadel of Hue.
Annamaboe, a seaport on the Gold Coast of
Africa, 10 miles E. of Cape Coast Castle. Pop.
5000.

Annan, a seaport of Dumfriesshire, on the
river Annan, near its entrance into the Solway
Firth, 18 miles ESB. of Dumfries by rail. Edward
Irving was a native (marble statue, 1892) ; and
Carlyle, as a schoolboy, led ' a doleful and hate-
ful life ' at the academy. A royal burgh, Annan
unites with Dumfries, &c. to return one member.
Pop. 5805.

Annandale, a district of Dumfriesshire, tra-
versed by the river Annan, which, rising near
headstreams of the Tweed and Clyde, flows 49
miles southward to the Solway Firth, at a point
If mile below Annan town. Near its source is
a singular hollow called the Marquis of Annan-
dale's (or Devil's) Beef-tub.

Annap'olis, a seaport of Nova Scotia, on an
arm of the Bay of Fundy, 95 miles W. of Halifax
by rail. Established in 1604 by the French as
the capital of their province of Acadia, under
the name of Port Royal, it was ceded to Britain
in 1713, and changed its name in honour of Queen
Anne ; not till 1750 was it superseded by Halifax.
Pop. 1200.

Annapolis, the capital of Maryland, U.S., on
the south bank of the Severn, 2 miles from its
entrance into Chesapeake Bay, and 40 miles E.
by N. of Washington by rail. Among its edifices
are an imposing state-house, St John's College
(1784), a Roman Catholic seminary, a naval hos-
pital (1871), and a naval academy (1845). Founded
as Providence in 1649, Annapolis was renamed
after Queen Anne in 1708. Pop. (1870) 5744;
(1890) 7604 ; (1900) 8525.

Ann Arbor, a flourishing city of Michigan, on
the Huron River, 38 miles W. of Detroit by rail.
Settled in 1824, and incorporated as a city in
1851, it is the seat of the state university (1837),
and has manufactories of carriages, furniture,
paper, woollen goods, blinds, and ploughs, with
mineral springs and a hydropathic establishment.
Pop. (1870) 7363 ; (1890) 9431 ; (1900) 14,509.

An'necy, chief town of the French dep. of
Haute-Savoie, 22 miles S. of Geneva, and 25
miles NW. of Aix-les-Bains by rail. It stands
at the NW. extremity of the Lake of Annecy,
which, lying 1426 feet above the sea, is 9 miles
long, and flows by the Fier to the Rhone. It has
manufactures of linens, cotton-yarn, silks, straw
goods, and steel wares. The castle of the Counts

of Geneva is now a barrack ; and there are a
cathedral (1523) and hotel-de-ville, with a statue
near it of the chemist Berthollet. Here Eugene
Sue died in exile. Pop. 11,331.

Anniston, a town of Alabama, 63 miles by rail
E. of Birmingham, with flourishing iron mines
and works. Pop. 10,000.

Annobon, or ANNOBOM, the smallest of the
four islands in the Bay of Biafra, the eastern
part of the Gulf of Guinea, now belonging to
Spain. Area, 6 sq. m. ; pop. 1600 negroes, who
profess to be Catholics. The island was dis-
covered by the Portuguese on New- Year's Day
(Anno Bom), 1471.

Annonay (anc. Annoniacum), a town in the
French dep. of Arddche, 37 miles S. of Lyons.
The chief manufacture is paper, the first estab-
lished by the father of the aeronauts Montgolfier,
who were born here. Pop. 14,000.

Annsborough, a village of County Down, 3
miles W. of Dundrum. Pop. 430.

Ansbach (in England often ANSPACH), a town
of Bavaria, on the Rezat, 25 miles SW. of Nurem-
berg. It manufactures furniture, buttons, bricks,
&c. The last margrave of Ansbach, of the
Hohenzollern line, gave up his possessions in
1791 to Prussia ; and in 1807 Napoleon transferred
Ansbach to Bavaria. Pop. 18,057.

Ansonia, a borough within the town of Derby,
New Haven county, Connecticut, on the Nauga-
tuck River, 2 miles above its confluence with
the Housatonic, and 12 W. of New Haven by
rail. It has manufactures of iron, brass, and
copper goods, clocks, electrical goods, webbing
and knit goods, carriages, and hardware. Pop.
13,000.

Anspach. See ANSBACH.

Anstruther, EASTER and WESTER, two con-
tiguous royal burghs on the coast of Fife, 9 miles
S. of St Andrews. Fishing and fish-curing are
the staple industries, the harbour (1866-77) being
at Cellardyke. East Anstruther was the birth-
place of Dr Chalmers, Tennant the poet, and
Goodsir the anatomist. With the other St
Andrews burghs, they return one member to the
House of Commons. Joint pop. 1700 ; or, with
Kilrenny, 4500.

Antananarivo, or TANANAR^VO, the capital of
Madagascar, has a population estimated at 100,000.
It is situated on a hill, in an undulating district,
at an elevation of 5000 feet above the level of
the sea, from which it is distant 110 miles.

Antarctic Ocean, the ocean situated about, or
within, the Antarctic Circle. The Great Southern
Ocean is that part of the ocean which surrounds
the world between the latitude of 40 S. and the
Antarctic Circle. The northern portions of this
band are often called the South Atlantic, South
Indian, and South Pacific, while the southern
portions are usually called the Antarctic Ocean.
The average depth of the continuous ocean which
surrounds south polar land is about two miles ;
it gradually shoals towards Antarctic land, which
in some places is met with a short distance
within the Antarctic Circle. Only three navi-
gators, Cook, Weddell, and Ross, have crossed
the 70th parallel south. The last in 1841 sailed
along the coast as far as 70 S., within sight of
high mountain ranges, which here terminated in
an active volcano, Mount Erebus, 12,000 feet
high. His farther progress was stopped by an
icy barrier 150 to 200 feet in height, along which
he sailed to the east for 300 miles. The depth

off this ice-barrier was 260 fathoms, so that it

AtfTEQUERA

Was just in the condition to generate those
large, fiat-topped, tabular icebergs which are the
characteristic feature of the Antarctic regions.
Where the coast is steep and high, there is no
true 'ice-barrier,' the ice being only 6 or 10 feet
above the sea, extending many miles from the
shore. Ross and D'Urville alone have succeeded
in setting foot on land within the Antarctic
Circle. This land was of volcanic origin ; but
there is no doubt a large extent of continental
land around the South Pole, for the Challenger
in 1874 dredged up granitites, mica-schists, sand-
stones, and other continental rocks close to the
ice-barrier. Dr Murray estimates the extent of
the Antarctic continent at 3,000,000 sq. m. Vege-
tation and land animals have not been observed
on this land. Whales, grampuses, seals, pen-
guins, petrels, albatrosses, and other oceanic
birds abound. Diatoms are very abundant in
the surface-waters, and their dead frustules form
a pure white deposit called diatom ooze, about
the latitude of 60, outside the blue muds which
surround the continent. Life is abundant in the
surface-waters, and at the bottom of the ocean.
The mean temperature both of the air and sea,
south of 63 S., is even in summer below the
freezing-point of sea-water. The fall of rain and
snow is estimated as about equal to a rainfall of
30 inches annually. The ice on the Antarctic
continent is stated by some writers to have a
thickness of several miles, but there is no reliable
information on this point. In 1901-4 a series of
expeditions added much to our knowledge of
Antarctica. See works by Mackinder (1892),
Burn-Murdoch (1894), Cook (New York, 1900),
Bernacchi (1901), Borchgrevink (1901), Neumayer
(Berlin, 1901), Gerlache (Paris, 1902), and Balch
(Philadelphia, 1902).

Anteque'ra (the Antiquaria of the Romans),
a town in the Spanish province of Malaga, on
the Guadalhorce, 65 miles W. of Granada by rail.
Held by the Moors from 712 to 1410, it retains
some portions of a Moorish castle and of the
ancient walls. Pop. 31,600.

Antibes (OnPteeV; anc. Antipolis), a seaport in
the French dep. of Alpes Maritimes, 7 miles 8.
of Cannes. Founded by a colony of Greeks from
Massilia (Marseilles), Antibes in the Austrian
War of Succession was severely bombarded by
Browne during a three months' siege (1746).
Pop. 8050.

Anticosti, a Canadian island in the Gulf of St
Lawrence, which it divides into two channels,
is 140 miles long, and 30 broad in the centre.
The hills in the interior rise to about 600 feet.
Anticosti has two good havens, one at Ellice
Bay, near the western end, and the other at Fox
Bay, in the NW. The climate is severe; the
surface an alternation of rocks and swamps. It
is visited by fishermen in the summer, but there
are hardly any inhabitants save lighthouse-
keepers and a few officials.

Antietam (pron. Antee-tairi), a narrow but deep
river in Maryland, U.S., falling into the Potomac
7 miles above Harper's Ferry. On its banks,
near Sharpsburg, on 17th September 1862, the
Union troops under McClellan defeated the Con-
federates under Lee, though at a loss of nearly
13,000 men.

Antig'ua, a West India island, the most im-
portant of the Leeward Islands, is 28 miles long
and 14 wide ; in Boggies Hill attains a maximum
altitude of 1328 feet ; and has an area of 97 sq.
m. Antigua was discovered in 1493 by Colum-
bus, who named it after the church of Santa

39 ANTRIM

Maria La Antigua in Seville. It was first settled
by a few English in 1632, and was declared a
British possession by the Treaty of Breda (1667)
Antigua is the seat of an Anglican bishop. It
has suffered severely from earthquakes as in
1689, 1843, and 1874-and from hurricanes.
Numerous islets, rocks, and shoals border the
shore, so that, generally speaking, access is diffi-
cult and dangerous. Antigua produces lar^e
quantities of sugar, molasses, rum tamarinds
carrowroot, and cotton. Pop., including Bar-
buda, a little over 35,000 ; of St John, the capital,

Anti-Lebanon. See LEBANON.

Antilles, a term applied to the whole of the
West India Islands (q.v.) except the Bahamas.
The Greater Antilles are Cuba, Jamaica, Hayti,
and Porto Rico ; the others are known as the
Lesser Antilles.

An'tioch, the ancient capital of the Greek
kings of Syria, and long the chief city in Asia,
lies in a fertile and beautiful plain, on the left
bank of the river Orpntes, 14 miles from the sea.
In the time of Antiochus the Great, and under
the Roman emperors of the first three centuries,
it contained 500,000 inhabitants, and vied in
splendour with Rome itself. It was one of the
earliest strongholds of Christianity indeed, it
was here that the name Christians was first used.
Its downfall dates from the 5th century; and
the modern Antakieh, which forms a portion of
Syria, in the province of Aleppo, has a popula-
tion of only 17,500, mostly Turks employed in
silk-culture, eel-fishing, and in the production of
corn and oil. It exhibits almost no traces of its
former grandeur, except the ruins of the walls
built by Justinian, and of a fortress erected by
the Crusaders. ANTIOCH, in Pisidia, founded
also by Nicator, was declared a free city by the
Romans in the 2d century B.C. It was often
visited by St Paul.

Antip'aros (anc. Oliaros), one of the middle
Cyclades, in the ^gean Sea, close to Paros. It
is 13 sq. m. in area, and has about 700 inhabit-
ants. Rich lead mines were discovered in 1872.
Its wonderful stalactite grotto is not alluded to
by any classical writer, but has been well known
since 1673. At a depth of 918 feet under the
entrance, the chief chamber is reached 312 feet
long, 98 wide, and 82 high.

Antisana, a volcano of the Andes, in Ecuador,
35 miles SE. of Quito, 19,335 feet high.

Antiva'ri, a seaport on the coast-district
assigned to Montenegro by the Treaty of Berlin
in 1878. It was formerly Albanian, and is 18
miles NW. of Scutari. Pop. 1500.

Antofagasta, a port in the Chilian province of
the same name. Founded in 1870, it owes its
rapid rise to the neighbouring saltpetre deposits,
and to the rich mines of Caracoles, with which it
is connected by railway. It was taken from
Bolivia by Chili in the war of 1879. Pop. 20,100.

Antoninus, WALL OF, or GRAHAM'S DYKE, a
Roman rampart erected in 140 A.D., during the
reign of Antoninus Pius, from Carriden on the
Firth of Forth to near Old Kilpatrick on the
Firth of Clyde. It was 36 miles long, and
followed the earlier line of Agricola's forts (81
A.D.). See Waldie's Northern Roman Wall (1883).

Antrim, a maritime county of Ulster, stands
second among the Irish counties in population,
but in size only ninth. Its greatest length is 57
miles; its greatest breadth, 28; its extent of
sea-coast, 90 ; and its area, 1192 sq. m. Of this,

ANTWERP

APENNINES

rather more than three-fourths is in tillage and
pasture ; and one per cent, under wood. Off the
north coast lie Rathliii Isle and the Skerries ;
and off the east coast, the Maiden Rocks. The
east coast is hilly ; and from Lame to Fair Head,
parallel ranges stretch SW. into the interior,
forming valleys opening seaward, called the
Glens of Antrim. The interior slopes towards
Lough Neagh. The highest eminences are
Trostan, 1810 feet; and Slievemish, or Blemish,
1782. The principal streams are the Bann, from
Lough Neagh to the Atlantic ; the Main, running
parallel to the Bann, but in the reverse direc-
tion, into Lough Neagh ; and the Bush, flowing
north into the Atlantic. Many peat-bogs occur.
Between Ballycastle and the mouth of the Bann,
the basalt assumes very picturesque forms ; and
the Giants' Causeway (q.v.) is one of the most
perfect examples of columnar basalt in the world.
Fine salt-mines occur at Duncrue and Carrick-
fergus ; small coal-fields near Ballycastle and in
the interior ; and rich beds of iron ore in Glen-
ravel. The soil is mostly light, and the chief
crop is oats. There are some linen, cotton, and
coarse woollen manufactures. The towns are
Lisburn, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Carrickfergus,
Larne, and Antrim (pop. 1820). Belfast, most of
which was formerly reckoned as in Antrim, is
now wholly without the administrative comity.
County Antrim returns four members to parlia-
ment : Bel fast borough, four. Pop. (1841) 351,496 ;
(1891) 427,968; (1901, excluding Belfast) 190,090
over 99,000 Presbyterians, 41,000 Protestant
Episcopalians, 40,400 Roman Catholics.

Antwerp (Fr. Anvers; Flem. Antwerpen, 'on
the wharf), the chief commercial city of Bel-
gium, on the river Scheldt, 52 miles from the
sea, and 27 N. of Brussels. It is the Liverpool
of the Continent, and the tonnage of vessels
entering its port has increased tenfold within
thirty years, until it stands at over 6,000,000
tons annually. The trade and manufactures of
Antwerp have so extended, that the large dock
and quay accommodation having been found too
limited, a new quay, 2 miles in length, and
docks, constructed at a cost of nearly 4,000,000,
were opened in 1885. The chief exports are flax,
sugar, iron, woollen goods, metals, glass, and
tallow ; the chief imports are wheat, petroleum,
wool, cotton, coffee, tobacco. The manufactures
consist chiefly of sugar, white-lead, cotton goods,
lace, linen-thread, sewing-silk, black silk stuffs,
starch, and printers' ink. There are also to be
mentioned oil-refining, tobacco-manufacture, the
cutting of diamonds and other precious stones,
and shipbuilding. The chief public institutions
are the Academy of Sciences, Academy of Paint-
ing and Sculpture, a Medical and Surgical School,
Naval Arsenal, Museum (with specimens of the
pictures of Rubens, Vandyck, Titian, and Matsys),
Zoological Gardens, the Flemish Theatre, and the
Plantin Museum (1876). The six-aisled cathedral
(1352-1518), the noblest Gothic structure in Bel-
gium, is 500 feet in length by 250 in breadth,
with a roof supported by 125 pillars, and an
exquisite spire, 403 feet high, in which hangs a
splendid carillon of 99 bells. The interior is
enriched by the two greatest of all the pictures
of Rubens, the Elevation of, and the Descent
from, the Cross. The Church of St James con-
tains the monument of the Rubens family. The
Exchange (1531), a fine building, is said to have
been Gresham's model of the old London Ex-
change. It was burnt in 1858, but rebuilt in the
same style, and reopened in 1872. The hotel-de-
Ville (1565) is a fine building in the Renaissance

style. The old fortifications were demolished ifl.
1860, though Alva's famous citadel (1567) stood
till 1874 ; and since 1851 new fortifications have
been erected outside the city, with detached
forts to the south-east, rendering Antwerp one
of the most strongly fortified places in Europe.
Pop. (1846) 88,487 ; (1891) 232,723 ; (1904)291,950.

Antwerp in the beginning of the 16th century
was the commercial capital of the world. When
in 1576 it was seized by the Spanish soldiery,
8000 persons were murdered, and the city-hall
and nearly a thousand buildings burnt. This
and the assault of the Duke of Parma in 1585,
caused Antwerp to sink into decay. From 1794
till 1814, while it was held by the French,
Napoleon attempted to make it a great military
and commercial centre. The union of Belgium
with Holland in 1815 was very favourable to
Antwerp. When the revolutionary party gained
possession in 1830, the Dutch commandant,
General Chasse, retreated to the citadel, and
commenced a bombardment, which destroyed
the arsenal. In 1832, 50,000 French under Mar-
shal Gerard appeared before Antwerp, to demand
the surrender of the citadel ; and after its interior
had been reduced to ruins by the French artillery,
Chasse capitulated. The city was handed over
to the Belgians, and since the treaty of 1839,
Antwerp has had a singularly prosperous career.
French is the business language, but the majority
of the inhabitants speak Flemish.

Anupshalir, a town of India, in the United
Provinces of A<*ra and Oudh, on the Ganges, 73
miles SB. of Delhi ; pop. 15,000.

Aonlaganj', or AOUNLAH, a town of India, 21
miles SW. of Bareilly ; pop. 14,000.

Aosta (anc. Augusta Pretoria), a cathedral
city of Italy, on the Dora Baltea, 19 miles from
the opening of the great St Bernard Pass, and 80
miles NNW. of Turin by rail. St Bernard was
archdeacon of Aosta ; and here Anselm, arch-
bishop of Canterbury, was born. Near by are
the celebrated baths and mines of St Didier.
Pop. 7672.

Apatln', a town of Hungary, on the left bank
of the Danube, 49 miles SW. of Theresiopol ; pop.
13,9/3.

Ap'eldorn, a town of Holland, 17 miles N. of
Arnheim. The Loo, a royal hunting-lodge,
beloved of William of Orange, is near. Paper-
making is the staple industry. Pop. 26,283. .

Ap'ennines (Ital. Appennini, Lat. Mons Apen-
nimis), a mountain-chain extending 740 miles
uninterruptedly throughout the whole length of
the Italian peninsula. It belongs to the system
of the Alps. The average height of the entire
chain is about 4000 feet, which in the north sinks
to 3500 feet, and in the Abruzzi rises to 7000 feet.
Here, in Monte Corno, the highest peak of the
range known as Gran Sasso d'ltalia, they reach
an elevation of 9574 feet, and in Monte Velino, of
7916 feet. The Apennines are crossed by thirteen
principal passes ; and seven of these are traversed
by railways. The principal chain exhibits,
for the most part, a dreary and barren appear-
ance. It looks like a vast wall, with very few
projecting peaks to break its dull monotony.
Only in the Abruzzi, and above all, in the marble
mountains of Carrara and Seravezza, do the bold
and magnificent forms of the Alps appear. Where
water is plentiful there is no lack of rich pastures
and dense forests ; but usually only thin grass
and wild scrubby bushes cover the stony slopes.
The greater number of the forest brooks, with
deep rocky ravines, during summer are dry.

APEtfRADE

Where the mountains dip down to the sea, as at
the Riviera of Genoa and the Gulf of Naples, a
rich, peculiarly southern vegetation clothes the
declivities. There is no region of perpetual
snow ; but the summits of the Abruzzi and the
lofty peaks of Lunigiana are often covered with
snow from October far into May.

Apenrade (Ah-pen-rah'dd), a Sleswick-Holstein
seaport, 66 miles NNW. of Kiel. Pop. 7361.

Apia (Ah-pee'a). See SAMOA.

Apol'da, a town of Saxe- Weimar, 9 miles NE.
of Weimar by rail. It has manufactures of
hosiery, amongst the most important in Ger-
many, besides dye-works, machine-works, and
bell-foundries. Pop. 20,850.

Appalachians, a great mountain-system of
North America, nearly parallel with the Atlantic
coast, and extending from the Gulf of St Law-
rence SSW. to the west central portion of
Alabama. Geologically, it is much older than
the Western Cordillera, known as the Rocky
Mountain system, but it is in the main much
later in geologic date than the Laurentian
system, which represents it on the north of the
St Lawrence. It is the parent of many of the
rivers of the Atlantic States ; but several large
streams break its continuity ; and one, the river
Hudson, is a tidal channel which carries even
sea-going vessels through the range. The
Appalachians consist, in the main, of various
parallel ranges, separated by wide valleys. Even
the low hill-ranges between the mountains and
the sea have much of the same parallelism, and
the sea-coast has in a marked degree the same
general direction and curvature as the mountains
themselves ; while, far to the NE., the nearly
detached peninsula of Nova Scotia and the island
of Newfoundland are traversed by ranges exhibit-
ing the same parallelism and the same general
direction as are seen in the Appalachian ranges.

Locally, the Appalachians have various names
e.g. in the Gaspe Peninsula, the Shickshock
Mountains, the Franconia Mountains of New
Hampshire (where Mount Washington attains
6293 feet) ; the Green Mountains of Vermont are
the Hoosic Range in Massachusetts ; the Cat-
skills and Shawangunk Mountains ; in Penn-
sylvania and Maryland, the South Mountain or
Blue Ridge, which is regarded as identical with
the Unaka or Smoky Mountain Ridge of North
Carolina and Tennessee ; and west of the South
Mountain of Pennsylvania the great Alleghany
Ridge (q.v.), which often gives name to the whole
system.

Nowhere do the Appalachians reach the snow-
line. Their highest points occur in North Caro-
lina, where Mitchell's Peak reaches the height of
6688 feet. The principal coal-beds of this chain
occur in Pennsylvania to the NNE., and in the
other states southward along the mountains to
their termination in Alabama, the chief coal-
basins being either among the mountains, or to
the westward of them. There are beds of anthra-
cite coal on the eastern slopes of the Appa-
lachians, chiefly in Pennsylvania, west of which
the coal becomes bituminous, after we have
crossed basins of semi-anthracitic and moderately
bituminous coal. This coal region is one of the
most productive, extensive, and important any-
where known. Of the metals, by far the most
important is iron, of which various ores are
largely wrought. Gold occurs chiefly to the
eastward of the mountains, and is wrought at
various points from Virginia to Alabama. Zinc,
lead, and other metals are found in this range,

41 APURIMAC

which also affords marbles, slates, and a great
variety of building-stones.

Appalachico'la, a river of the United States,
rising in Georgia, and flowing through Florida
into Appalachicola Bay in the Gulf of Mexico.
Reckoning from its remotest sources, it is about
400 miles long, being navigable by steamboats
for 70 miles up to the junction of the Chatta-
hoochee with the Flint, where the name ot
Appalachicola is first given. APPALACHICOLA is
also a cotton-shipping seaport at the mouth of
this stream ; pop. 3500.

Appenzell' (from Ablatis Cello), a double
canton in the NE. of Switzerland. It is divided
into two divisions Innerroden and Ausserroden ;
the former of which is peopled by Roman
Catholics ; the latter by Protestants, and noted
for its dense population. The surface is moun-
tainous, especially in the south, where Mount
Sentis attains 8220 feet. The chief river is the
Sittern. The canton, once dependent on the
Abbey of St Gall, won its independence after
a struggle, and joined the seven old cantons in
1452. Area, 162 sq. m. ; pop. (1900) 68,780, of
whom over 55,000 were in Ausserroden. Appenzell,
the capital, is situated on the Sittern ; pop. 4500.
The largest town is Herisau (pop. 14,100).

Appin (Apfhane, 'abbey lands'), a beautiful
coast district of Argyllshire, extending along the
east shore of Loch Linnhe, 15 miles NNE. of
Oban. It is the country of a branch of the
Stewarts.

Appleby, the county town of Westmorland,
on the Eden, 13 miles SE. of Penrith. There is
a castle, first mentioned in 1088, the keep of
which, called Caesar's Tower, is still in tolerable
condition. Appleby was disfranchised in 1832,
but received a new municipal charter in 1885.
Pop. 1776.

Appleton, a city of Wisconsin, U.S., 185 miles
N. of Chicago, and 120 miles from Milwaukee by
rail. It stands on the Grand Chute Rapids of
the Fox River, which, with a descent of 30 feet
in 1 mile, affords immense water-power for
flour, paper, and woollen mills. There are also
manufactures of machinery. Lawrence Univer-
sity (1847) is a Methodist institution. Pop.
(1880) 8005 ; (1890) 11,869 ; (1900) 15,085.

Appomattox Courthouse, a village of Vir-
ginia, 20 miles E. of Lynchburg. Here Lee, on
April 9, 1865, surrendered the army of Northern
Virginia, 27,805 men strong, to Grant. .

Apsheron, a peninsula on the west coast of
the Caspian Sea, belonging to the Russian govern-
ment of Baku. Its enormous petroleum industry
is noticed at Baku (q.v.).

Apt (Apta Julia), a cathedral town In the
French dep. of Vaucluse, 30 miles E. of Avig-
non ; pop. 4378.

Apulia (modern Puglia), the south-eastern
part of Italy as far as the promontory of Leuca,
comprising the three provinces of Bari, Foggia,
and Lecce, with an area of 8540 sq. m., and a
pop. of 2,054,000.

Apu're, a navigable river of Venezuela, which
rises near the western boundary among the
Eastern Cordillera, and flows nearly 1000 miles
eastward to the Orinoco,

Apu'rimac, a river of Peru, also called Tambo,
which, after a northward course of 500 miles,
helps to form the Ucayali, and finally joins the
Amazon. It gives name to a province with an
area of 8200 sq. m., and a pop. of 180,000.

AQtttLA

ARABIA

Aq'uila, the capital of an Italian province, on
the Alterno, near the loftiest of the Apennines,
64 miles SE. of Terni by rail. It was built by
the Emperor Frederick II. from the ruins of the
ancient Amiternum, a town of the Sabines, and
birthplace of Sallust the historian. In 1703 it
was almost destroyed by an earthquake, in which
2000 persons perished. It is a bishop's see,
and a busy place, with a large trade in saffron.
Pop. 24,720.

Aquilei'a (also Aglar), a decayed town of
Austria, at the head of the Adriatic, 22 miles
NW. of Trieste ; pop. 1000.

Aquita'nia, the Latin name of a part of Gaul,
originally including the country between the
Pyrenees and the Garonne, peopled by Iberian
tribes and by Celtic settlers.

Arabgir' (anc. Anabrace), a town of Asiatic
Turkey, in the province of Sivas, not far from
the Euphrates, and on the caravan road from
Aleppo to Trebizond. Pop. 30,000, one-fourth
Armenians, the rest Turks.

Arabia, the great south-western peninsula of
Asia. Its greatest length from NW. to SE. is
about 1800 miles ; its mean breadth, about 600 ;
its area, 1,230,000 sq. m. ; and its population
conjectured to be 5,000,000. It is bounded on
the N. by the highlands of Syria and the plains
of Mesopotamia ; on the E., by the Persian Gulf
and the Gulf of Oman ; on the S., by the Arabian
Sea; and on the W., by the Red Sea and the
Suez Canal. Midway between Mecca and Medina
runs the tropic of Cancer. Ptolemy is supposed
to be the author of the famous threefold division
into Arabia Petrcea, in the NW. ; Arabia Felix,
to the south of Mecca ; and Arabia Deserta, in
the interior. Modern divisions are : the Sinaitic
Peninsula (see SINAI), between the Gulfs of Suez
and Akaba ; the Hedjaz (' the Barrier '), the larger
and northern strip to the east of the Red Sea ;
Yemen, the southern and smaller strip to the east
of the Red Sea ; Hadramaut, the region along the
southern coast ; Oman, the extreme south-eastern
end of the peninsula ; El-Hasa, along the Persian
Gulf ; Nejd, the central highlands of Arabia.

In shape, Arabia is an irregular parallelogram,
broadest at the southern end ; in character, it is
mainly African. The vast central plateau rises
from a height of 2500 feet in the N. to 7000 feet
in the SW., and is bounded by western and
southern mountain chains, the former attaining,
to the south of Mecca, a height of 8500 feet.
Between the mountains and the sea is a low hot
strip of land, partially fertile, of varying width.
There is a desert in the north of the interior,
the mountainous country of Nejd near the very
centre, and to the south of Nejd another very
sterile sandy desert (Dahna). Hedjaz and Yemen
extend from the Red Sea indefinitely towards the
interior, and consist partly of the TeMma, or low
country, along the sea, and partly of the moun-
tain district beyond. Mecca and Medina, with
their seaports Jiddah and Yembo, are in Hedjaz.
Yemen is on the whole well watered, has rich
and fertile valleys, and contains one-fifth of the
whole population of Arabia. Yemen possesses
two very important commercial towns, Mocha
and Loheia, situated on the coast of the Red Sea.
Hadramaut resembles the Hedjaz in character.
Oman is mainly mountainous, is partly very
fertile, and possesses the good harbour of Mus-
cat. It has considerable trade, and some manu-
factures of cotton, silk, and arms. Hasa is com-
paratively level and fertile. Large portions of
Arabia are perfectly arid ; nowhere does a river

reach the sea all the year round ; but the more
fertile portions are so extensive as to constitute
two-thirds of the total area : one-third of the
whole may be accounted desert and uninhabit-
able.

Politically, Hedjaz, Yemen, and El-Hasa are
really three Turkish provinces ; the Sinaitic
Peninsula is in Egyptian hands ; England exer-
cises much influence in Hadramaut through her
possession of Aden ; the Sultan of Oman is inde-
pendent, and in alliance with England ; Nejd,
the seat of the once powerful Wahabi State, is
independent. The Emir of Shomer or Shammar
pays a small annual tribute to the Sherif of
Mecca, in recognition of Turkish supremacy.

The Arab is of medium stature, muscular make,
and brown complexion. Independence looks out
of his glowing eyes ; by nature he is quick, sharp-
witted, imaginative, and passionately fond of
poetry. Courage, temperance, hospitality, and
good faith are his leading virtues ; but these are
often marred by a spirit of rapacity and sanguin-
ary revenge. His wife or wives do the work,
keep the house, and educate the children.
Arabian life is either nomadic or settled. The
wandering tribes, or Bedouin, who have, how-
ever, their allotted winter and summer camping-
grounds, and a strong attachment to their own
mode of life, entertain notions of the rights of
property differing seriously from those regulat-
ing the West ; yet even their most marauding
tribes are not without a traditional code of law
and honour, the only law recognised among them ;
the enforcing of it is left to every tribesman.
The settled tribes, styled Hadesi and Fellahs,
are despised by the Bedouin, who scorn to inter-
marry even with the few artisans that accompany
every tribe. The Bedouin are several times out-
numbered by the settled population, and there-
fore must not be regarded as normal Arabs,
who are adventurous, commercial, and willing
to become sailors. Yet mountain and desert
barriers and patriarchal anarchy make Arabia
the 'anti-industrial centre of the world.' The
export of coffee, dates, figs, spices, and drugs,
though still considerable, is said to be only a
shadow of the old commerce which existed
before the circumnavigation of Africa. The
government is patriarchal, and the chief men
of the various tribes have the title of Emir,
Sheikh, or, in a religious sense, Imam.

Before the rise of Mohammed the history of
the peninsula is obscure and confused ; one
bond of union amongst the tribes, constantly at
war with each other, was the Kaaba, a small rude
temple of unknown antiquity, where the idols of
the tribes, over 350 in number, were kept. The
grand epoch in Arabian history, the Hegira
(Hedjra), is Mohammed's flight in 622 A.D. from
Mecca to Medina, where he gathered his first
body of adherents, and commenced actively the
establishment of his doctrines by the sword and
otherwise. Now for the first time the Arabian
tribes became united under one sceptre, and were
powerful enough to erect new empires in three
quarters of the world in Palestine, Mesopotamia,
and Persia ; in Egypt and the north of Africa ;
and in Spain. The dominion of the Arabs, from
the time of Mohammed till the fall of the califate
of Bagdad in 1258, or even to the expulsion of
the Moors from Spain, is an important period in
the history of civilisation. The Arabian literature
becaine the vehicle of a characteristic culture,
and Arabic scholars were the main cultivators of
philosophy and science including mathematics,
astronomy, medicine, &c. in the middle ages.

ARABIAN GULF

ARAVALLI

But the movements that had so much effect on the
destinies of other nations left Arabia itself in a
neglected and exhausted condition, and the pen-
insula was broken up into several distinct and
unimportant principalities. In the 16th and 17th
centuries the Turks, Persians, Dutch, and Portu-
guese took possession of parts of the country.
The native orthodox Moslem Wahabi empire was
founded in Central Arabia about 1760, shattered
in 1812 by Mehemet Ali of Egypt, and again
restored. And now the country is politically
distributed as above described.

See works by Pococke, Niebuhr, Burckhardt,
Burton, Palgrave, Welsted, and Doughty and
Lady Anne Blunt.
Arabian Gulf. See RED SEA.
Arabian Sea, that part of the Indian Ocean
which lies between India on the east and Arabia
on the west. Its two great arms are the Red
Sea proper and the Persian Gulf.
Aracan. See ARAKAN.

Arad, a town of Hungary, on the Maros, an
affluent of the Theiss, 95 miles SE. of Buda-
Pesth, and 74 E. of Szegedin by rail. It carries
on a large trade in corn, spirits, wine, and
tobacco, and is one of the greatest cattle-markets
in Hungary. Pop. 56,260. NEW ARAD, across
the river, has 5000 inhabitants.

Ar'afat, MOUNT, a granite hill (260 feet), 15
miles SE. of Mecca, visited by the faithful, and
believed to be the spot where Adam again met
Eve, after a punitive separation of 200 years.

Ar'agon, once a kingdom, now divided into
the three provinces of Saragossa, Huesca, and
Teruel, in the NE. of Spain. Area, 17,980 sq.. m. ;
population, 913,000. It is bounded on the north
by the Pyrenees, and watered by the Ebro.
Aragon was conquered by the Moors in the
beginning of the 8th century, recovered from
them and united with Catalonia (1137), and was
united with Castile through the marriage of
Ferdinand of Aragon with Isabella, heiress of
Castile (1469). The chief towns are Saragossa,
Calatayud, Huesca, and Teruel.

Arago'na, a town of Sicily, 6 miles NNE. of
Girgenti by rail. Pop. 12,000.

Araguay', a large river of Brazil, flowing 1000
miles northward, till, at San Joao, it joins the
Tocantins, which again, after a northerly course
of 300 miles more, mingles its estuary with that
of the Amazon.

Ar'akan, long the most northerly division of
British Burma, is a narrow strip of territory on
the Bay of Bengal. Its length is 400 miles, its
breadth varies from 90 miles in the north to
about 15 ; and the area is 14,526 sq. m. A range
of mountains, nearly parallel with the line of
coast, the highest point 7000 feet above sea-
level, separates Arakan from Pegu and Upper
Burma. Rice is the chief article of exportation ;
the others are cotton, tobacco, sugar, hemp,
indigo, betel-nuts, and timber, especially teak.
The imports consist mainly of British manu-
factures. Pop. 737,518.

Aral, LAKE, separated by the platsau of Ust-
Urt from the Caspian Sea, is the largest lake in
the steppes of Asia. It has an area of about
24,000 sq. m. ; is fed by the Jaxartes and Oxus
(the present Sir-Daria and Amu-Daria) ; has no
outlet ; and is generally shallow, its only deep
water (225 feet) being on the west coast. Its
level is 117 feet above that of the Caspian, which
is 84 feet below the surface of the Black Sea.
Like other lakes which are drained only by

evaporation, it is brackish. Fish, including
sturgeon, carp, and herring, are abundant. The
lake is dotted with multitudes of islands and
islets ; and navigation is difficult. The area now
occupied by the Sea of Aral has been dry land
twice within historical times the Jaxartes and
the Oxus then running south of the Sea of Aral
to the Caspian. This was the case during the
Greco-Roman period, and again during the 13th
and 14th centuries A.D.

Aran, SOUTH ISLES OF, Ireland, are three small
islands lying NE. and SW. across the entrance to
Gal way Bay. Total area, 11,287 acres. They
rise to a height of from 200 to 354 feet on the
west side, ending in cliffs facing the Atlantic.
Most of the land is rudely cultivated. Inish-
more, the chief island, is still known as Aran-na-
naomh, or 'Aran of the Saints.' Pop. 3100. See
Burke's South Isles of Aran (1887).

Aranjuez (A-rdn-hoo-ayth' ; Lat. Ara Jovis), a
town of Spain, on the Tagus, 30 miles SSE. of
Madrid by rail. Its palace was long a favourite
spring-resort of the royal family, from Charles V.
downwards. Pop. 12,700.

Ar'arat, a general old name for the district
through which the Aras flows, and never the
name by which the Mount of Ararat has been
known to the people around it. Associated,
however, as the mountains of this district are in
Genesis, viii. 4, with the landing-place of the
ark after the flood, the name has been, naturally
enough, appropriated to the highest peak, which
in Armenian is called Massis or Massis Ljarn ;
in Tartar and Turkish, Aghri-Dagh, or curved
mountain ; and in Persian, Koh-i-Nuh, or Noah's
mountain. The twin mountains of Ararat form
an elliptical mass, 25 miles long, by 13 broad,
and rising, Great Ararat to 16,969 feet, Little
Ararat to 12,840 feet above the sea-level ; the
two summits 7 miles apart. In 1828 the Czar
Nicholas annexed the territory around Erivan ;
and Little Ararat is now the meeting points of
the Russian, Turkish, and Persian empires. On
the 20th of June 1840, dreadful shocks of earth-
quake were felt, and great masses of the moun-
tain were thrown into the plain. Tournefort
made a partial ascent of the mountain in 1700 ;
and several ascents have been made since 1829.
See Bryce's Transcaucasia and Ararat (2d ed.
1878).

Aras (anc. Araxes), the chief river of Armenia,
formed by the junction of the Bingol-Su and the
Kaleh-Su, and itself, after a course of 500 miles,
joining the Kur (anc. Cyrvs), which descends
from the Caucasus through Georgia, about 75
miles from its mouth. Their united waters turn
suddenly to the south, and fall by three mouths
into the Caspian.

Araucania, the country of the Araucos or
Araucanian Indians, in the south of Chili. The
Chilian province of Arauco, lying between the
Andes and the Pacific Ocean, and bounded on the
north by Concepcion, on the south by Valdivia,
was formed in 1875, with an area of 8100 sq. m.,
and a pop. (1903) of 71,500. A large part of Arauco
and the more southerly province of Valdivia is
occupied by Indians, who have mostly submitted
to Chilian authority. The Araucanians are a
fierce and warlike people, now numbering more
than 50,000.

Arau're, a town of Venezuela, 60 miles ENE.
ofTruxillo. Pop. 5000.

Aravalli, a range of mountains in Western
India, extending 300 miles north-eastward through

ARBELA

ARCTIC OCEAN

Rajputana. The highest summit is Abu (q.v.),
5650 feet.

Arbe'la, now Brbil or Arbil, a small town of
Assyria, east from Mosul, gave name to Alex-
ander's final defeat of Darius, 331 B.C.

Arbigland, an estate, the birthplace of Paul
Jones, on the coast of Kirkcudbrightshire, 13
miles S. of Dumfries.

Arbirlot, a Forfarshire parish, 3 miles W. by
S. of Arbroath. Archbishop Gladstanes and Dr
Guthrie were ministers.

Arbo'ga, a town in Sweden, on the small river
Arboga, by which, with the aid of a canal, the
lakes Hielmar and Malar are united, 101 miles
WNW. of Stockholm by rail. Pop. 5823.

Arbois, a town in the French dep. of Jura, 7
miles NE. of Poligny by rail. Pop. 4040.

Arbroath', or ABERBROTH'OCK, a seaport of
Forfarshire, at the mouth of the Brothock Burn,
17 miles ENE. of Dundee. Here in 1178 William
the Lion founded a Tyronensian abbey in which
he was buried (1214), and which was destroyed
by the Reformers in 1560. The picturesque ruins
of its cruciform church, which measured 276 by
160 feet, present a noble west doorway and a
rose-window, 'the round O of Arbroath.' The
chief industries are flax-spinning, engineering,
and the manufacture of boots, sail-cloth, and
linen fabrics. The new harbour, begun in 1841,
admits vessels of 400 tons ; the old harbour was
converted into a wet-dock (1871-77). The chief
exports are grain, potatoes, fish, and paving-
flags; the chief imports are coal, flax, hemp,
jute, and hides. Arbroath is a royal burgh,
and with Montrose, &c., returns one member.
Arbroath is the 'Fairport' of Scott's Antiquary.
Pop. (1831) 13,795 ; (1901) 22,546. See works by
Miller (1860), Hay (1876), and J. Adam (1886). *

Arbuthnott, a Kincardineshire parish, 2 miles
WNW. of Bervie. Dr Arbuthnott was a native.

Arcachon (Ar'ca-shon"'), a bathing-place dating
from 1854, in the French dep. of Gironde, 34
miles SW. of Bordeaux by rail. The fine broad
sands are admirably adapted for bathing; and
the place is sheltered by sand-hills, covered with
extensive pine-woods. The climate is always
temperate, and the rainfall is but 32 inches.
Scientific oyster-culture is practised here on a
large scale. Pop. 10,300.

Arcadia, the central, mountainous part of the
Peloponnesus (or Morea) in Greece, treated in
poetry as the home of primitive simplicity, peace,
and innocence.

Archaig, a loch of Lochaber, Inverness-shire, 10
miles N. of Fort William. It is 12 miles long,
and sends off the Archaig River li mile to Loch
Lochy.

Archangel, the chief city of a Russian govern-
ment, 40 miles above the junction of the Dwina
with the White Sea. It is the seat of an arch-
bishop, and the chief commercial city for the
north of Russia and Siberia, and is frequented
by much shipping especially British from June
to October, the port being clear of ice only during
that period. The harbour is a mile below the
town, at the island of Solombaly ; and 12 miles
below are a government dockyard and mer-
chants' warehouses. The chief articles of traffic
are fish, flax, oats, linseed, tar, pitch, rosin,
train-oil, skins, furs, timber, wax, iron, tallow,
bristles, caviare. The manufactures include
cordage, canvas, linen, leather, beer, and sugar.
The town, which owes its name to a monastery
Of St Michael, and which is connected by river

and canal with a great part of European Russia,
is the oldest seaport in the empire, dating its
rise from a visit paid by the English seaman,
Chancellor, in 1553. Pop. 19,540. The govern-
ment has an area of 331,505 sq. m., and a pop. of
350,000.

Archipel'ago, an Italian coinage, first met
with in 1268, and signifying 'the chief sea, 1 was
applied originally to that part of the Mediter-
ranean which separates Greece from Asia (the
jEgean Sea of the ancients) ; but is now extended
to any sea, like it, thickly interspersed with
islands, or rather to the group of islands them-
selves. All archipelagoes fall naturally into
two groups, the oceanic and the continental.
The islands in the Greek Archipelago consist
principally of two groups, called Cyclades and
Sporades; the first from their encircling the
sacred island of Delos, the second from their
being scattered in a wavy line. The former lie to
the east of Southern Greece, while the latter skirt
the west of Asia Minor. The numerous islands
which stud this sea range in size from the merest
barren rocks to Crete, with an area of 3326 sq. in.
Most are of volcanic origin, with high bluffs
rising abruptly from the sea. Of the Cyclades,
all belonging to Greece, the principal are : Syra,
Delos, Tenos, Andros, Cythnos, Thera, Naxos,
Melos, and Paros. The chief islands of the
Sporades are : Carpathos, Rhodes, Cos, Patmos,
Icaria, Samos, Chios, Lesbos, Lemnos, Imbros,
Samothrace, and Psyra. These all belong to
Turkey, and constitute a separate vilayet of the
empire, except Samos, which is autonomous, and
tributary only ; but the following, off Euboea
(Negropont), and many smaller islands, belong to
Greece : Scyros, Icos, Scopelos, and Sciathos.

Arcis-sur-Aube (Ar'see-siir-Odb), a town of 2841
inhabitants, in the French dep. of Aube, on the
navigable Aube, 22 miles N. of Troyes by rail. It
was the birthplace of Dan ton, and near it the
allies defeated Napoleon, March 20-21, 1814.

Ar'cole, a village on the left bank of the Adige,
in Northern Italy, 15 miles ESE. of Verona.
Here Napoleon defeated the Austrians, 15-17th
November 1796.

Arcos de la Fronte'ra, a town on the Guada-
lete, in the Spanish province of Cadiz, 20 miles
ENE. of Xeres. It was so called from its stand-
ing on the frontiers of the old Moorish kingdom
of Granada. Pop. 16,910.

Arcot (Aru-Kadu, 'six deserts'), a city of
British India, in the presidency of Madras, on
the Palar, 5 miles from Arcot railway station,
and 65 WSW. of Madras. In 1751 Clive captured
Arcot ; and having taken it, was in turn besieged
for seven weeks. Pop. 12,000.

Arctic Ocean. The Arctic Ocean lies to the
north of Europe, Asia, and North America, and
surrounds the North Pole ; it is usually defined
as the water area within the Arctic Circle.
Physiographically, the Norwegian Sea and Green-
land Sea, situated between Norway and Green-
land, belong to the same basin as the Arctic
Ocean. If the Arctic Ocean be regarded as lying
wholly within the Arctic Circle, then it is almost
land-locked between that circle and the parallel
of 70 N. It communicates with the Pacific by
Behring Strait, and Avith the Atlantic through
Davis Strait and the wide sea between Norway
and Greenland. The area of the ocean is about
5,500,000 sq. m., and into it there drain about
8,600,000 sq. m. of land. The coasts of Europe
and Asia are low, and have several deep indent*-

ARDAHAN

tions, the principal being the White Sea and Gulf
of Obi. The shores of North America are skirted
by a most irregular assemblage of islands, forming
numerous gulfs, bays, and channels. The prin-
cipal rivers from Asia are the Lena, Yenesei, and
Obi; from Europe, the Onega, Dwina, and
Petchora ; from America, the Mackenzie. The
Arctic highlands are covered with an enormous
depth of snow and ice. In some places this
results in the formation of great glaciers, one of
the most remarkable of which is the Humboldt
Glacier, in 79 N. lat., on the west coast of Green-
land. There are, however, no large, flat-topped
tabular icebergs, like those of the southern hemi-
sphere, within the Arctic Ocean ; and this of
itself is good evidence that there is no expanse of
land towards the North Pole. The whole ocean
is covered by immense ice-fields from 5 to 50 feet
in thickness. During winter these are bound
together by the severe frost, but these continuous
masses break up during the summer months into
floes and floe-bergs. Sometimes vast spaces of
water and long lanes are formed between the floes
and ice-fields, and these have, doubtless, given
rise to the notions regarding an open Polar Sea
which at one time prevailed. When these great
floating ice-fields come together, the margins
where they collide are piled up on each other, and
thus is produced the well-known hummocky ice-
floes. When this hummocky ice is jammed against
a shallow shore, and becomes fixed for long periods
of time, the appearances are produced to which
Nares gave the name of ' Palseocrystic Sea.' In
the more open parts of the ocean the ice is, how-
ever, always in motion. Immense quantities of
field and hummocky ice pass down each year
between Spitzbergen and Greenland, and Green-
land and Iceland. Parry reached a latitude of 82
45', Markham reached 83 20', and Lockwood (of
Greely's expedition, 1882) 83 24', the most
northerly point yet attained. In 1850 M'Clure
entered Behring Strait, and brought his crew home
by Davis Strait, thus discovering the North-west
Passage. In 1878 and 1879 Nordenskiold sailed
from the Atlantic to the Pacific along the northern
shores of Europe and Asia, thus discovering the
North-east Passage. In 1893 Nansen set forth on
his novel and adventurous expedition; hoping
that his ship would be carried by the current,
after being frozen in the ice, from the shores of
Asia across or near the North Pole, and ultimately
out into the open sea again off the coasts of
Greenland. The ocean appears to be shallow
to the north of Europe and Asia, the depth
500 miles to the north of the Lena being only 38
fathoms ; but between Spitzbergen and the north
of Greenland there is a deep opening into the frozen
sea, where the depth is 2500 fathoms. Whales,
seals, and walruses are now a much less plentiful
source of wealth than they used to be. In winter
the temperature of the air is sometimes as low as
- 47 F., and in summer is usually a little above
the freezing-point.

See books on Arctic exploration or special
expeditions by K?ne (1853), M'Clintock (1859),
Blake (1874), Markham (1874, 1878, and 1881),
Payer (1876), Nares (1878), Nordenskiold (1881),
De Long (1882), Gilder (1883), Greely (1386),
Nansen (1897), Peary (1898), and Dittmar (1901).

Ardahan, a village of about 300 houses in the
portion of Turkish Armenia ceded in 1878 to
Russia, 35 miles NW. of Kars.

Ardalan, a province in the west of Persia, em-
bracing the basin of the Shirwan Rud. Area, 6000
sq. m. ; pop. 150,000. Capital, Kermanshah(q.v.).

45 AREQUIPA

Ardchattan, an Argyllshire parish on Loch
Etive, with a ruined priory (1231).

Ardebil, a town of Persia, 110 miles E. of
Tabriz ; pop. 16,000.

Ardeche, a mountainous dep. in the south of
France, takes its name from a tributary of the
Rhone, and includes part of ancient Languedoc.
In the NW. of the dep., the Cevennes culminate
in the volcanic Mont-Mezene (5752 feet). Iron,
coal, antimony, lead, marble, and gypsum are
wrought. Area, 2136 sq. in. ; pop. 350,000. The
capital is Privas.

Ardee', a town in the west of County Louth,
Ireland, on the river Dee, 12 miles inland. The
ancient castle, built about the year 1200, is used
as the town-house ; and there is a handsome
convent. Pop. 1880.

Ardennes, an extensive hill-country and forest,
occupying the SE. corner of Belgium, between the
Moselle and the Meuse, but extending also into
France and Rhenish Prussia. The average height
of the hills is less than 1600 feet ; but in the east
they attain 2100. The Arduenna Silva of the
Romans extended over a still wider area. See a
work by Lindley (1887). Shakespeare's Forest of
Arden is a district in Warwickshire, extending
from the Avon to near Birmingham.

Ardennes, a French dep. bordering on Belgium.
Mezieres is the capital, but Sedan is the chief
town. Area, 2020 sq. in. ; pop. 314,923.

Ardglass, a coast-town of County Down, 6
miles SSE. of Downpatrick. Pop. 504.

Ardlam'ont Point, Argyllshire, at the W. en-
trance to the Kyles of Bute. Ardlamont House,
the old seat of the Lamonts, became famous
through a ' not proven ' murder trial (1893).

Ardmore', a watering-place in County Water-
ford, 7 miles ENE. of Youghal.

Ardnamurchan Point, a rugged headland of
Argyllshire, the most westerly point of the main-
land, with a castle-like lighthouse (1849).

Ardoch, Perthshire, 12 miles NNE. of Stirling,
has a Roman camp, the most entire in Britain.

Ardoye, a town of Belgium, 17 miles S. of
Bruges ; pop. 6082.

Ardrisn'aig, a seaport of Argyllshire, at the
entrance of the Crinan Canal, 2 miles SSW. of
Lochgilphead. Pop. 1258.

Ardross'an, a seaport and watering-place in
Ayrshire, 1 mile WNW. of Saltcoats, and 32 miles
SW. of Glasgow by rail. It dates from 1806, and
the harbour is one of the safest and most acces-
sible on the west coast of Scotland. A new dock
was formed in 1887-92. The chief exports are
coal and pig-iron. On a hill above the town
stands a fragment of Ardrossan Castle, said to
have been surprised by Wallace. Pop. (1851)
2071 ; (1891) 5294 ; (1901) 5950.

Ardvreck Castle. See ASSYNT.

Areci'bo, a town on the north coast of the
Spanish West Indian island of Porto Rico, 45
miles W. of San Juan. Pop. 10,000.

Arenberg (Aremberg), from 1644 till 1820 a
small sovereign duchy of Germany, lying between
Jiilich and Cologne ; now part of the district of
Coblenz, Rhenish Prussia.

Ar'endal, a town of Norway, near the mouth of
the Nidelf in the bay of Christiania. It is built
partly on piles, partly on rock, and has been
called ' Little Venice.' Its bay forms an excellent
harbour. Pop. 11,150.

Arequipa (Ar-e-kee'pa), a name given to a moun-

AREZZO

ARGYLLSHIRE

tain in the west Cordillera of the Peruvian Andes,
and then to a city at its foot, and to the southern
dep. of Peru. The mountain, also called Mitsi, is
volcanic, and has a height of 18,500 feet. Its neigh-
bourhood is subject to earthquakes. The city,
in a rich valley, 7700 feet above the sea, is the
third largest in Peru, with 35,000 inhabitants.
The dep. has an area of 27,744 sq. in., and a pop.
of 260,282.

Arezzo (anc. Arretium), the chief city of an
Italian province, near the confluence of the Chiana
with the Arno, 38 miles ESE. of Florence. The
Piazza Grande, built by Vasari, is remarkable ;
and the Gothic cathedral (begun 1277) has a
splendid marble altar by Pisano. The city pro-
duces silk, and manufactures cloth, combs, and
pottery. Natives were Petrarch, the poet Aretino,
the painter Spinello Aretino ; Guido of Arezzo,
inventor of the musical scale ; the botanist
Cesalpino ; Pope Julius III. ; and Vasari. Pop.
15,816.

Argaum', a village in Berar, India, between
Ellichpur and Aurungabad. Near it, on 28th
November 1803, two months after Assaye, Wel-
lesley again defeated the Mahrattas.

Argenta (Ar-jen'ta), a town of Central Italy,
21 miles SB. of Ferrara by rail ; pop. 3000.

Argentan (Ar-zhon g tan a ), a Norman town in the
French dep. of Orne, on the river Orne, 42 miles
SSE. of Caen by rail ; pop. 5728.

Argenteuil (Ar-zJion g -tuh'yee^, a town in the
French dep. of Seine-et-Oise, on the Seine, 6 in.
NW. of Paris. Its ruined priory was founded in
656, and was by Charlemagne turned into a nun-
nery, of which Heloise became abbess. Pop. 15,799.

Argentine Republic, or ARGENTINA, a federal
republic of South America, taking its name from
the river La Plata (' River of Silver '). It has an
area of 1,125,086 sq. m., including the unsettled
territories on the north and the south, but the
organised and settled provinces occupy less than
one-half this area. The whole country is more than
ten times larger than Great Britain and Ireland
taken together. The republic is made up of four-
teen provinces and a number of territories. On the
west, the Andes divide this republic from Chili ;
Bolivia bounds the country on the north, while
Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, and the Atlantic
Ocean form the eastern limit. The great island-
group of Fuegia, on the south, belongs partly to
this republic and partly to Chili.

Except for the sub-Andean foot-hills, and a
few other local and unimportant hilly or moun-
tainous tracts, nearly all the country consists
of vast plains or pampas. The northern plain
region (the Chaco) is in part densely wooded ; but
most of the Pampas country is open, presenting
wide ranges of treeless pasture, varied by patches
of huge thistles and other coarse plants. In the
Patagonian region there are extensive districts
completely covered with stones and shingle,
interspersed with clumps of thorny brushwood,
and having in the hollows many strongly saline
ponds or lakes.

The climate in the extreme north is very hot, for
it lies north of the tropic of Capricorn. The more
remote southern territories have an extremely
bleak, windy, and disagreeable climate, but are
not really so cold as might be expected from their
relatively high latitude. But the country in
general enjoys an equable, temperate, and health-
ful climate. The people of the country are mostly
Spanish in their language and descent, although
there are many Italians, French, and other Euro-
pean immigrants. The Gauchos, or herdsmen of

the plains, are a hardy and spirited, but ignorant
race, often of partial Indian descent. Some of
the Indians of the remote districts have become
skilled in the rearing of flocks and herds. Agri-
culture has of late been rapidly extended. Wheat,
maize, flax, and linseed are exported ; but the
chief staples of export are skins, hides, hair,
bones, bone-ashes, horns, phosphorus, ostrich-
feathers, wool, tallow, dried and salt beef, beef-
extract, fresh meat (frozen), and live animals.
The greater part of the republic is well watered
and highly fertile, but there are extensive regions
of waste land. Sugar-culture thrives in the NW.
and north. Wines, spirits, and dried fruits are
extensively produced ; a valuable product of the
north is mate, or Paraguay tea. The rivers Parana
and Uruguay, with their large tributaries, are
important channels of trade. The mineral re-
sources of the country are comparatively unde-
veloped. The principal seaport is Buenos Ayres,
the capital and largest city. Among the other
large towns are Cordoba, Rosario, La Plata, Men-
doza, Tucuman, Corrientes, Salta, and Santa Fe.
The commerce of the country (imports25,000,000;
exports 36,000,000) is mainly with Great Britain,
Germany, the United States, and France.

The population of the country in 1869 was
1,736,922 ; in 1902 it was officially estimated at
5,025,000 (4-5 to the sq. m.), of whom 500,000
were of Italian birth, 200,000 Spanish (very many
of them Basques), 95,000 French, 22,000 English,
18,000 German, and 15,000 Swiss. Much of the in-

crease is due to immigration (from 60,000 to 90,000

annually). The religion

The government is closely modelled upon that

,
ion is Roman Catholic.

of the United States. In 1892 the length of
railway lines open for traffic was 7140 miles, with
a projected extension across the Andes to meet
the Chilian railways. The river La Plata was
visited by the Spaniards in 1516, and the country
was colonised in 1535. In 1810 the colonists
founded a local provisional government. A san-
guinary war for independence followed, which
did not cease till 1824. Spain acknowledged the
independence of the country in 1842. Since
1890 financial troubles and political turmoil have
seriously injured the well-being of what was
long the best governed and most prosperous of
South American states.

See Mulhall, Handbook of the River Plate (1884) ;
M. F. Paz Soldan, Geografia Argentina (1885);
Lady F. Dixie, Across Patagonia (1880); Rum-
bold, The Great Silver River (2d ed. 1890); Turner,
Argentina and the Argentines (1892) ; Hudson,
The Naturalist in La Plata; and the recent
British and American Consular Reports.

Ar/golis, the north-eastern peninsula of the
Morea of Greece, lying between the Bays of
Nauplia and ^Egina. Together with Corinth, it
forms one of the thirteen provinces of the king-
dom of Greece, with an area of 1442 sq. m., and
a pop. of 160,000. Its capital is Nauplia.

Argos'toli, a seaport of the Ionian Islands, the
capital of Cephalonia, is the seat of a Greek
bishop, and has a good harbour. It was almost
destroyed by earthquake in 1867. Near it are
the 'sea-mills of Argostoli,' two holes in the
rocky coast, into which the sea pours with a
force sufficient to drive two mills. Pop. 9871.

Argyll' shire, a county in the west of Scotland.
Its greatest length is 115 miles ; its greatest
breadth, 55 ; and its extent of coast-line as much
as 2289 miles, owing to the numerous sea-lochs.
Next to Inverness, it is the largest county in
Scotland, its area being 3213 sq. m., of which

ARGYROKASTRON

ARKANSAS

023 belong to the islands. The chief islands are
Mull, Islay, Jura, Tyree, Coll, Lismore, and
Colonsay, with lona and Staft'a. The chief peaks
are Bidean nam Bian (3766 feet) and Ben Cruachan
(3689) ; the sea-lochs, Lochs Moidart, Sunart,
Linnhe (branching off into Lochs Leven and
Eil), Fyne, and Long ; the streams are the Orchy
and Awe ; the fresh-water lakes are Lochs Awe
and Lydoch. Lead occurs at Strontian (where
the mineral Strontianite was discovered), at Tyn-
drum, and in Islay and Coll; roofing-slates in
Easdale and Ballachulish ; coal near Campbel-
town ; fine marble in Tyree, &c. ; and excellent
granite near Inveraray. The total percentage of
cultivated area is only 5 -7. Sheep and cattle
rearing is the chief occupation. Whisky is manu-
factured in Campbeltown and Islay. Towns
and villages are Inverasay, Campbeltown, Oban,
Dunoon, Lochgilphead, Tarbert, and Tobermory.
The county returns one member. to parliament.
Pop. (1831) 100,973 ; (1901) 65,84934,428 Gaelic-
speaking.

Argyrokastron (the Turkish Ergeri), a town
of Albania, in the province of Janina, near the
Dryno, an affluent of the Viosa. Pop. 9000.

Aria'no (Arianum), a cathedral city of Italy,
2800 feet above the sea, and 84 miles NE. of
Naples by rail. Pop. 17,522.

Ari'ca, a seaport of Tacna, the most southerly
department of Peru. It was stormed and taken
by the Chilians in 1880, was retained (with Tacna)
by treaty for ten years, and was still in Chilian
hands in 1905. Pop. (once 30,000) 4000.

Arichat (A-ree-shatf), a seaport on the south
side of Isle Madame, Nova Scotia, with a harbour
for the largest vessels. It is the see of a Roman
Catholic bishop. Pop. 2000.

Ariege, a dep. in the south of France, lying
along the northern slopes of the Pyrenees. Area,
1890 sq. in. ; pop. (decreasing) 200,000. The river
Ariege rises in the Pyrenees, and flows 93 miles
to the Garonne near Toulouse.

Arin'os, a river in the south-west of Brazil,
which, after a north-west course of 700 miles,
joins the Tapajos, itself an affluent of the Amazon.

Arizona, till 1906 a territory of the United
States, bounded N. by Utah, E. by New
Mexico, S. by the republic of Mexico (Sonora),
and W. by California and Nevada. Its western
boundary is mostly formed by the Colorado of
the West. This river traverses the NW. part
of Arizona in a deep and narrow water-worn
channel (the Grand Canon), more than 300 miles
long, and nowhere less than a mile below the
surface of the surrounding country. Arizona had
an area of 112,920 sq. in. ; it was thus nearly as
large as Italy. It is in general a region of high
plateaus, traversed by various mountain-ranges,
presenting abundant evidence of not remote vol-
canic action. In the SW. the country has a
desert character, and in all parts the rainfall is
decidedly limited 14 '21 inches annually at Fort
Defiance. In various parts there are extensive
lava-beds. The whole region lies in the drainage
basin of the Colorado, the chief affluents being
the Gila, the Bill Williams, and the Colorado
Chiquito. The water-supply over large areas of
Arizona is mainly derived from deep natural
wells and ' water-holes.' It is believed that fully
10,000,000 acres of ground might be profitably
irrigated. The country is in general extremely
healthful ; but in the SW. the summer heat is
excessive, and malarial fevers are not unknown
upon the bottom-lands of the Lower Colorado.

Maize, barley, and wheat are the leading pro-
ducts. Arizona is an important seat of gold and
silver mining. Copper is also mined and smelted
very largely. Coal has been obtained. Rock-
salt, lead, and other valuable mineral deposits
are found in almost every part of the country.
The principal towns are Phoenix, the capital, and
Tucson. Some interesting old Indian towns, or
pueblos (Moquis), still remain, with their remark-
able native semi-civilisation. This region was
first visited by Spaniards in 1570. After 1821 the
country was a part of Mexico until 1848, when
most of it passed to the United States, the trans-
ference being completed in 1853 by the ' Gadsden
Purchase.' The territory was organised in 1863.
In 1870 the population was 9658 ; in 1900, 122,900.
In 1906, including the adjoining territory of New
Mexico, it was made a state of the Union. Total
area, 235,380 sq. m. ; pop. (1900) 318,210. See
NEW MEXICO.
Arkaig. See ARCHAIG.

Arkan'sas (formerly pron. Ar'kansaw), a state
of the American Union, is bounded on the N. by
Missouri, on the E. by Missouri, Tennessee, and
Mississippi, on the S. by Louisiana, and on the
W. by Texas and the Indian Territory. Area,
53,850 sq. m. about that of England without
Wales, of which some 800 sq. in. is water-surface.
The southern limit is the parallel of 30 N. lat.,
and the northern boundary for the most part is
on the parallel of 36 30'. The Mississippi River
washes nearly all the eastern border of the state.
The extreme east and west limits are respectively
89 40' and 94 42f W. long. Nearly all the
country is well timbered. Along the eastern
border of the state lies a strip of rich alluvial
and swampy land, limited westward by Crowley's
Ridge. A similar low and wet tract is traversed
by the lower Arkansas River. The southern half
of the state contains great areas of yellow and
loamy land of Tertiary age, interspersed thinly
with tracts of red clays and hills of iron-ore.
West of the Crowley's Ridge region is a con-
siderable breadth of gray silty prairies. In the
west of the yellow Tertiary loams are large
patches of 'black prairie' of Cretaceous age.
The west and central portions of the state form
a broken hill-region of Tertiary origin. Great
prairies of red loam and clay soil prevail in the
W. and NW. Towards the north is the Ozark
mountain-region, a broken country of high hills
and ridges. The soils, though of extremely vari-
ous character, are mostly good throughout the
state. The coal-measures very extensively under-
lie the surface, and coal crops out at many
points ; but thus far it has not been much
wrought. Silver-bearing galena and zinc appear
to be abundant, and iron-ores exist in vast
amounts. The villages of Hot Springs in Gar-
land county, and Eureka Springs in the NW., are
celebrated health-resorts. The novaculite, or
hone-stone, of this state is extensively wrought
and exported. The Mississippi, Arkansas, Red,
White, St Francis, Ouachita, and other navigable
rivers afford cheap transport. Agriculture is the
leading pursuit in Arkansas, and cotton is the
great staple of production. Maize is also very
largely produced, and considerable quantities of
oats and wheat are harvested. Live-stock, wool,
tobacco, pork, fruit, and dairy products are
marketed. Although malarial fevers and severe
heat are to be encountered in the marshy and
flat alluvial districts, the larger portion of the
country has an agreeable and healthful climate.
In quality, variety, and accessibility, the

ARKANSAS CITY

of this state is hardly surpassed. The mineral
resources of the state have been but little util-
ised. Lying outside the great currents of immi-
gration, Arkansas has, until very recent years,
preserved to a remarkable degree the character
of a frontier country. Even the large extent of
river navigation for a long time served to hinder
the development of the country, since it dis-
couraged the construction of railways ; and the
old system of slave labour and of large holdings
of land was not favourable to rapid material
development. This region formed a part of the
French colony of Louisiana, and was purchased,
together with the rest of that colony, by the
United States in 1803. The earliest French settle-
ment was made at Arkansas Post in 1685. Ar-
kansas was organised as a territory in 1819, and
became a state in 1836, and seceded in 1861.

The principal towns are Little Rock, the state
capital (pop. 40,000), Pine Bluflf (12,000), and
Fort Smith (11,000); Hot Springs (9500) is a
health-resort. Pop. of Arkansas (1820) 14,255 ;
(1860) 435,450 ; (1880) 802,525 ; (1890) 1,128,179 ;
(1900) 1,311,564, of whom upwards of 366,000 were
of African or mixed descent.

Arkansas City, a manufacturing town in the
state of Kansas, on the Arkansas River, 51 miles
by rail S. by E. of Wichita. Pop. (1880) 1012 ;
(1890) 8547 ; (1900) 6140.

Arkansas River, next to the Missouri the
Mississippi's chief affluent, is 1514 miles long
(800 navigable for steamers) ; rises in the Rocky
Mountains, at an altitude of 10,000 feet, on the
borders of Utah, and joins the ' Father of Waters '
at Napoleon, 275 miles above New Orleans. Its
chief tributary is the Canadian River.

Arkinholm. See LANGHOLM.

Arklow, a seaport of Wicklow, 49 miles S. of
Dublin, at the mouth of the lovely Avoca. There
are ruins of the castle of the Ormonds, destroyed
by Cromwell in 1649, and traces of an ancient
monastery. Pop. 4000.

Arko'na, the NE. promontory of the island of
Riigen, in the Baltic. Its chalk cliffs, rising 177
feet, are topped with a lighthouse (1827), itself
78 feet high. Here stood a famous fortification
long impregnable, and the temple of the Wend
deity Swantewit, destroyed by Waldemar I. of
Denmark in 1168.

Arlberg, a crystalline mountain mass of Aus-
tria amongst the Alps, which forms the boundary
between the Tyrol and Vorarlberg ('the land
before or beyond the Arlberg'). The difficult
pass over this ridge, from Bludenz to Landeck
and Innsbruck, is 5300 feet high ; but a railway,
with a main tunnel 6720 yards long, through the
Arlberg Alp was opened in 1884.

Aries (Roman Arelate), a town in the French
dep. of Bouches du Rhone, on the principal
branch of the Rhone, 15 miles from the sea, and
63 miles NW. of Marseilles. Its Roman remains
include baths, a palace of Constantino, an aque-
duct, and an amphitheatre for 25,000 spectators.
The cathedral (7th century) has a splendid door-
way. Aries manufactures silk, hats, tobacco,
brandy, soap, glass bottles, and railway wagons.
Pop. 13,87d.

Arlon (Arlon 3 '), a town of Belgium, 27 miles
WNW. of Luxemburg by rail. Pop. 7684.

Armadale, a police-burgh of Linlithgowshire,
with chemical works, 2 miles W. by S. of Bath-
gate. Pop. 3990.

Armagh', the capital of County Armagh, 33
miles SW. of Belfast, is situated on a gentle

48 ARMENIA

eminence, whence its Ard-Magha, 'high field.'
The cruciform 12th-century cathedral occupies
the site of one founded by St Patrick in the 5th
century. A new Roman Catholic cathedral (1904)
occupies the principal height to the north, and
the primate's palace that to the south. There
are a college, a celebrated observatory, public
library (1771), and barracks for 200 men. The
chief manufacture is linen-weaving. Armagh,
from 495 to the 9th century, was the metropolis
of Ireland, renowned as a school of theology and
literature. Till 1885 it returned one member.
Pop. 7500.

Armagh, a small inland county in Ulster,
Ireland. Its greatest length is 32 miles, and
breadth 20. Area, 512J sq. in., about one-half
under tillage. Slieve Gullion, in the SW., attains
1893 feet. The country bordering upon Lough
Neagh is low and boggy, and the Louth plain
extends into the south end of Armagh. The
principal rivers are the Callan, Tynan, Upper
Bann, and Blackwater. The soil is fertile, with
a good deal of bog. Besides agriculture, linen
and cotton weaving are the chief industries. The
county returns three members of parliament.
The chief towns are Armagh, Lurgan, Porta-
down, and part of Newry. Pop. (1841) 233,024 ;
(1891) 143,056 ; (1901) 125,392, of whom 45 per
cent, were Catholics, and 32 Episcopalians.

Armagnac (Ar-nidn-yac), a district in the
south of France, a part of Gascony now mostly
included in the dep. of Gers. The soil is fer-
tile, and its wine and brandy (Eau d' Armagnac)
are well known.

Armenia, a high tableland in the upper valleys
of the Euphrates, Tigris, Aras, and Kur, some
500 miles long, by nearly the same breadth. In
ancient times an independent country, it re-
peatedly recovered its independence down to the
middle ages, although with varying boundary.
It is now, however, distributed between Russia,
Turkey, and Persia, and stretches, in its utmost
extent, from Asia Minor on the W. to the Caspian
Sea on the E., and from the Caucasus on the N.
to the Murad Su on the S. The interior consists
mostly of pastoral plateaus, 2700 to 7000 feet
above sea-level, crowned by conical heights or
traversed by mountain-chains, and culminating
in Mount Ararat, 16,969 feet high. A chain of
mountains, stretching from Ararat to the con-
fluence of the two head-waters of the Euphrates,
divides Armenia into a northern half and a
southern half. The mountain-system of Armenia
is mostly volcanic, a fact still evidenced by the
hot mineral springs, such as the sulphur springs
of Tiflis, and by earthquakes. The Murad Su
and the Kara Su form the head-waters of the
Euphrates ; whilst the Shett, rising to the south
of Lake Van, and an arm of the Diarbekr,
rising in the Alinjik Dagh, constitute the head-
waters of the Tigris. Other rivers are the Aras,
the Kur, and the Tchorak. Of lakes, there is
Van in Turkish, Goktcha or Sevan in Russian,
and Urmia in Persian Armenia. Armenia is rich
in metals, possessing mines of silver, lead, iron,
arsenic, alum, rock-salt, and especially copper.
The climate is distinguished into a region of rains,
with subtropical climate, embracing parts of the
valley of the Kur and the Upper Tigris ; a region
of perpetual snow, and an intermediate region
of very various grades. The plateaus volcanic,
dry, and singularly bare of wood have a very
severe climate ; the winters long and inclement,
and the summers short.

The ancients distinguished Armenia Major, the

ARMENTIERES

larger and eastern half, bordering on Media and
the Caspian Sea, on Mesopotamia and Assyria,
from Armenia Minor to the west of the Euphrates.
Turkish Armenia comprises, besides the old Ar-
menia Minor, the vilayets of Van, Bitlis, Darsim,
Erzerum, with parts of Diarbekr and Charput.
The Sasun (q.v.) district was the scene of
great atrocities by Kurds and Turks in 1893-94.
Russian Armenia, formerly Persian, forms the
NE. part of old Armenia Major, and includes
the governments of Erivan, Elizabetpol, and
Kars, with parts of Tiflis. In this Russian
division of Armenia are situated the three old
monasteries Etchmiadzin (q.v.), Haghpad, and
Sanahine. Persia holds the SE. corner of Ar-
menia Major in the province of Azerbijan.

The Armenians, whose national character is
almost as strong as is that of the Jews, belong
to the Iranian group of the Indo-Germaiiic family.
The Armenians, at the present day, are to be
found in almost all Turkish provinces ; in Russia,
Persia, and India ; in the great commercial cities
of the Mediterranean ; in the Austrian empire ;
at London, Manchester, and other capitals of
Western Europe, occupying posts as money-
changers, bankers, and merchants, though also
as artisans and porters. Their number in Armenia
itself is estimated at 1,000,000 at the most ; in
Persia and adjacent territories, 100,000 ; in Euro-
pean Turkey, 400,000; in Russia, 500,000; in
India, 5000; in Africa, 5000; in Transylvania,
Hungary, and Galicia, 16,000. Their total number
is calculated at not more than 2,500,000. Among
the foreign invaders domesticated in Armenia are
the Turks, mostly engaged in agriculture ; the
nomadic Kurds; in the SE., the Tartars; Nes-
torians occupying the mountains of the Persian
frontier, and speaking a Syriac dialect ; Georgians,
in the north. Greeks, Jews, and Gypsies are also
scattered throughout Armenia. The Armenians
themselves are at home mostly shepherds and
tillers of the soil. The Armenian church differs
from the Greek church in being monophysite
(attributing one nature only to Christ). Some
Armenians are 'united' (i.e. to- the Roman
Catholic Church).

See Curzon, Armenia (1854) ; Norman, Armenia
(1878); Tozer, Turkish Armenia (1881); Creagh,
Armenians, Koords, and Turks (1880) ; Hepworth,
Through Armenia on Horseback (1898) ; H. F. B.
Lynch, Armenia (2 vols. 1901) ; and works named
at ARARAT.

Armentieres, a manufacturing town in the
French dep. of Nord, on the Lys, 12 miles WNW.
of Lille by rail. Pop. 2(5,500.

Armisticio, a territory of Venezuela, with an
area of 7040 sq. m., bounded on the S. and W. by
the United States of Colombia.

Armor'ica, an old name of Brittany (q.v.).

Arnhem, the capital of the Dutch province of
Guelderland, on the Rhine, 38 miles ESE. of
Utrecht. The manufactures include tobacco,
woollen and cotton goods, soap, and paper. Sir
Philip Sidney died here in 1586 ; in 1813 the
town was taken by the Prussians. Pop. (1891)
51,105 ; (1903) 60,150.

Arnhem Land, a name formerly applied to a
region in northern Australia (belonging to the
colony of South Australia), so called from the
ship of the Dutch navigators who discovered it
in 1618.

Arno, next to the Tiber the most considerable

river of Central Italy, rises on Mount Falterona,

an offset of the Apennines, at 4444 feet above

sea-level, and 25 miles N. of Arezzo. It flows

49 ARRAN

140 miles westward to the sea, 11 miles below
Pisa, where it once had its embouchure. At
Florence it is 400 feet wide, but is fordable in
summer. Of its rapid and destructive inunda-
tions the most memorable were those of 1537 and
1740.

Arnold, a town of Notts, 5 miles N. by E.
of Nottingham, with lace and stocking manu-
factures. Boningtou was a native. Pop 8769

Arnsberg, a town of Westphalia, on the Ruhr,
36 miles E. of Hagen by rail. Here were held
the famous Vehmgerichte. Pop. 9131.

Arnstadt, the chief town in the principality
of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, on the Gera, 10
miles S. of Erfurt. Dating back to 704 A.D., it
is now a manufacturing town, with weaving,
glove-making, brewing, &c. Pop. 14,818.

Arnswalde, a Prussian town, 41 miles SE. of
Stettin, between three lakes. Pop. 8378.

Arokszallas, a town of Hungary, 44 miles NE.
of Pesth. Pop. 12,794.

Arolsen, the capital of the principality of
Waldeck, on the Aar, 14 miles SSW. of Warburg.
Its castle (1720) contains West's ' Death of Wolfe.'
The sculptor Rauch and the painter Kaulbach
were natives. Pop. 2620.

Aroo'stook, a river which, rising in the north
of Maine, falls into the St John in New Bruns-
wick, after a course of about 120 miles.

Arpi'no (anc. Arpinum), the birthplace of
Cicero and Marius, on an eminence midway
between Rome and Naples. Pop. 5145.

Ar'qua, an Italian village with 1000 inhabitants,
12 miles SW. of Padua, in the Euganean Hills.
Here Petrarch died (1374).

Arrabida, a monastery, cave, and place of
pilgrimage, W. of Setubal (q.v.) in Portugal.

Arracan. See ARAKAN.

Arragon. See ARAGON.

Arrah, a town of Bengal, 320 miles NW. of
Calcutta by rail. Here in 1857 a dozen English-
men, with 50 Sikhs, held out for eight days
against 3000 sepoys. Pop. 46,998.

Arran, an island of Buteshire, in the mouth of
the Firth of Clyde, 5| miles SW. of Bute, 10 W.
of Ayrshire, and 3 E. of Kintyre, from which it is
separated by Kilbrannan Sound. It is 19 miles
long and 10 J broad, with an area of 168 sq. m.,
about a seventh part being cultivated. Pop.
(1821) 6541 ; (1901) 4819. The general aspect of
Arran is mountainous and heathy, and in the
north the jagged peaks are singularly grand.
All around the coast is the low platform of an
ancient sea-margin, with lofty cliffs on the S. and
SW., from which the country rises abruptly.
The highest point is Goatfell (Gaelic Gaoth
Bheinn, 'wind mountain"), which rises 2866 feet.
From its sides slope the romantic glens of Rosa
and Sannox, and at its base to the SE. opens
Brodick Bay. South of this, round a bluff head-
land, is Lamlash Bay, the chief harbour of Arran,
and the best on the Firth of Clyde, sheltered by
Holy Island, ence the seat of a monastery. A
picturesque mass of columnar basalt, 1030 feet
high, succeeds. Farther south lies Whiting Bay,
near which are two cascades 100 and 50 feet high.
At the SE. point of Arran is Kildonan Castle,
opposite which is the small isle of Pladda,
crowned by a lighthouse. Large caverns occur
in the cliffs of the S. and SW. coast. In one of
these, the 'King's Cave," in the basaltic promon-
tory of Drumadoon, Robert the Bruce hid him-
self. Shiskine Vale, opening into Drumadoon

ARRANMORE 50

Bay, is the most fertile part of Arran. Loch
Ranza, a bay in the north end of Arran, runs a
mile inland, and is a herring-fishing rendezvous.
There are only rivulets in Arran ; one of them
tumbles over a precipice 300 feet high. Almost
the whole island belongs to the Duke of Hamil-
ton, whose seat is Brodick Castle. Many anti-
quities occur, such as cairns, standing stones,
and stone circles. Lochranza Castle, now in
ruins, was once a residence of the Scots kings.
See D. Landsborough's Arran (2d ed. 1875), and
J. Bryce's Geology of Arran (4th ed. 1875).

Arranmore, or NORTH ARRAN, a Donegal island,
4 miles long by 3 wide, and 745 feet high.

Arras, the capital of the French dep. of Pas-
de-Calais, on the navigable Scarpe, 120 miles
N. of Paris. A fortress of the first rank, it has
a cathedral (1755-1833) and a beautiful Gothic
hotel-de-yille (1510), whose belfry, 246 feet high,
was rebuilt in 1835. There are manufactures of
lace, hosiery, beet-sugar, &c. ; and its tapestry
was formerly so famous that in England the
name arras was given to all such hangings.
Arras was the capital of the Celtic Atrebates
(whence the name), and subsequently of Artois.
It did not finally become French till 1640.
Robespierre was a native. Pop. (1872) 21.447 :
(1891) 25,701 ; (1901) 25,850.

Arrochar, a village at the head of Loch Long,
17 miles N. of Helensburgh by rail.

Arroyo Molinos, a village in Estremadura,
Spain, where Lord Hill routed the French, 28th
October 1811.

Arru Islands, a group of over eighty islands
in the Dutch East Indies, lying west of New
Guinea, with a united area of 2650 sq. m., and a
population of 15,000. The largest island is
Tanna-Besar (77 miles long by 50 broad). The
surface is low, the coasts are steep and inacces-
sible, on the east side fringed with coral reefs.
The soil is covered with the most luxuriant vege-

"Arsamas, a Russian town, 60 miles S. of
Nijni-Novgorod ; pop. 11,497.

Ars-sur-Moselle, a town of Alsace-Lorraine,
on the Moselle, 6 miles SW. of Metz by rail :
pop. 4620.

Arta (Turkish Narda, the ancient Ambracia),
capital of a division of Thcssaly, ceded to Greece
by Turkey in 1881 (area, 395 sq. m. ; pop. 31,178).
The town stands on the Arta (the ancient Arac-
thus), 8 miles from its mouth in the Gulf of Arta
(the ancient Ambratian Gulf), an arm of the
Ionian Sea between Greece and Albania. It is
the see of a Greek archbishop. Pop. 7328.

Arthur's Seat, a lion-shaped hill, immediately
east of Edinburgh, rising 822 feet. The ascent is
easy, and the prospect from the top unrivalled.
Arthur's Seat is supposed to derive its name
from the British king.

Artois (Ar-twah'), an old province in the north
of France, bounded by Flanders and Picardy, and
almost corresponding with the modern dep. of
Pas-de-Calais. Its capital was Arras.

Artvln, a town of Russian Armenia, on the
Charuch, 34 miles S. of Batum ; pop. 8000.

Am. See ARRU.

Arun, a Sussex river, flowing 37 miles to the
English Channel at Littlehampton.

Ar'undel, an ancient municipal borough (till
1867 also parliamentary) of Sussex, on the navi-
gable Arun, 5 miles from its mouth, and 10 miles
E. of Chichester. Arundel Castle, the seat of

ASHANTI

the Fitzalans, Earls of Arundel, from 1243 to
1580, and since then of the Howards, comprises
a circular Norman keep, 100 feet hih and a
modern Gothic edifice dating from 1791. It has
stood three great sieges, in 1102, in 1139, and in
1644. There are a cruciform parish church (1387)
and a splendid R. C. church (1873). Pop. 8644.

Aruwimi, an important tributary of the Congo,
entering the latter from the north in 1 Iff N.
lat., 23 30' E. long. It was explored for 100
miles by Stanley in 1883, and by it Stanley
advanced to the relief of Emin Pasha in 1887.

Arve (Arv), a Swiss stream rising in the Col de
Balme, one of the Savoy Alps, and flowing 62
miles through the Vale of Chamouni and the
canton of Geneva to the Rhone.

Arveyron, a small tributary of the Arve, in
Savoy, is the outlet of the famous Mer de Glace,
in the Vale of Chamouni, from which it issues in
a torrent through a beautiful grotto of ice 40 to
150 feet high.

Asben. See AIR.

Ascension, a solitary island nearly in the
middle of the South Atlantic, 685 miles NW. of
St Helena, in 7 57' S. lat., and 14 21' W. long.
It is said to have received its name from having
been discovered by a Portuguese navigator on
Ascension-day, 1501. It is 7 miles long, 6 broad,
and 35 sq. m. in area. First occupied by the
English in 1815, in connection with Napoleon's
detention on St Helena, it is now used only as a
sanatorium, having ceased since 1887 to be a
coaling depot. Like St Helena, it is of volcanic
origin, one of the peaks of a submarine ridge
which separates the north and south basins of
the Atlantic. It rises in the Green Mountain to
a height of 2870 feet. Several astronomers and
savants have visited Ascension, from Halley in
1677, to Darwin, Sir Wyville Thomson, and Mr
Gill. Pop., with Kroomen, about 450. See Mrs
Gill's Six Months in Ascension (1879).

Asch, a town of Bohemia, 14 miles NW. of
Eger, with thriving silk, cotton, and woollen
manufactures ; pop. 19,209.

Aschaffenburg (Asha/enboorg'), a Bavarian
town of Lower Franconia, on the Main, at the
Aschaff s influx, 25 miles SE. of Frankfort. The
castle of Johannisburg, a Renaissance pile of 1605-
14, overlooks the whole town. Paper is the staple
manufacture. Pop. 18,630. The Romans built a
fortress at Aschaffenburg, which in 1814 was
ceded to Bavaria by Austria. Near it the Prus-
sians defeated the Austrians, July 14, 1866.

Aschersleben (Asherslay'beri), a town of Prus-
sian Saxony, on the Bine, 32 m. SW. of Magdeburg.
Population, 28,500, largely occupied in manufac-
tures of woollens, linens, sugar, &c.

As'coli (anc. Asculum Picenum), a city of Italy,
on the Tronto, 83 miles S. of Ancona by rail. It
has a fine cathedral, and it suffered much from
an earthquake in 1878. Pop. 15,195. ASCOLI
(anc. Asculum Apulum) is another episcopal city,
19 miles S. of Foggia. Pop. 6178. Pyrrhus here
defeated the Romans, 279 B.C.

Ascot Heath, a circular race-course in Berk-
shire, nearly 2 miles long, 29 miles WSW. of
London, and 6 SW. of Windsor. The races, which
take place early in June, were instituted in 1711.

Ashanti, or ASHANTEE, a negro kingdom of
Western Africa, included since 1896 in the
British protectorate, and attached to the Gold
Coast colony, behind which it lies. It is a
hilly country ; its rivers are the Volta, Prah,

ASHBOURNE

ASIA

and Assinee. Population estimated at from
1,000,000 to 3,000,000, of whom a fifth are war-
riors. The country proper is one continuous
forest; the land in the neighbourhood of the
towns is carefully cultivated, and extremely fer-
tile, producing maize, millet, rice, yams, tobacco,
sugar, cocoa, the pine-apple, gums, dye-woods,
and timber. The principal exports are gold-dust
and palm-oil. The capital is Coomassie (q.v.);
Kpando, near the Volta, is an important centre
of trade, and so is Salaga or Paraha. In 1700
Coomassie was made the capital by Osai Tutu,
who conquered various neighbouring states, and
became a sort of feudal sovereign over a large
district. In their course of conquest over the
Fan tees, the Ashantis became involved in war
with the British (1807-26), and were finally
driven from the sea-coast ; and in 1873-74 an
army under Wolseley took Coomassie. King
Prempeh, after a spell of raiding, was forced in
1896 to accept the British protectorate; and a
rebellion was suppressed after a third expedition
to Coomassie, which is now connected by rail
with the Gold Coast ports. See works by
Bowdich (1819; new ed. 1873), Brackenbury
(1874), Reade (1874), Stanley (1874), Weitbrecht
(1875), Reindorf (1895), and Freeman (1898).

Ashbourne, a market-town of Derbyshire, 13
miles NW. of Derby. Its church (1241) has a
spire 212 feet high ('the Pride of the Peak ') ; the
grammar-school dates from 1585. Prince Charles
Edward was here in 1745, and here Moore wrote
great part of Lalla Rookh. Pop. 4040.

Ashburnbam, a Sussex parish, 5 miles W. of
Battle, with the seat of the Earl of Ashburnham.

Ashburton, a small town in the south of
Devonshire, on the borders of Dartmoor, 9 miles
NNW. of Totnes by rail. Till 1868 it returned a
member to parliament. Pop. of parish, 2662.

Ashburton River, an unnavigable stream of
Western Australia, rising in the mountains west
of the Great Desert, and flowing 400 miles north-
westward into Exmouth Gulf. Its lower course
was explored by Sholl in 1866, its upper by Giles
in 1876.

Ashby-de-la-Zouch, a town of Leicestershire,
18 miles NW. of Leicester. It owes its suffix to
the Norman family of La Zouch. Their ruined
castle, celebrated in Scott's Ivanhoe, and rebuilt
in 1480 by Sir William Hastings, crowns a height
to the south of the town. Mary, Queen of
Scots, was imprisoned here. Leather is the
staple industry. Pop. 4750.

Ashdod (New Test. Azotus, now Esdud), a
village on the Mediterranean, 21 miles S. of Jaffa.
Once a chief city of the Philistines, it is now a
miserable place with a pop. of 300.

Ashdown, the seat of Lord Craven, in West
Berkshire, 3 miles NW. of Lambourn. Here, in
871, Ethelred and Alfred gained the great victory
of JEscdun over the Danes.

Ashe, the Duke of Marlborough's birthplace,
3 miles SW. of Axminster, Devon.

Asheville, capital of Buncombe county, North
Carolina, 70 miles by rail NW. of Spartanburg,
with a number of tobacco factories. Pop. (1880)
2616 ; (1890) 10,235 ; (1900) 14,694.

Ashford, a market-town of Kent, 14 miles SW.
of Canterbury, and 56 SE. of London. It is a
railway junction, and the seat of the South-
eastern Railway workshops. Eastwell Park lies
3 miles N. Pop. 13,500.

Ashiestiel, a Selkirkshire mansion, on the

Tweed, 5J miles WSW. of Galashiels. Scott
lived here 1804-12.

Ashingdon, a parish of South Essex, 2* miles
N. of Rochford. Here, in the battle of Assan-
dun (1016), the sixth fought in the year, Canute
defeated Edmund Ironside.

Ashland (1), a post-borough of Schuylkill
county, Pennsylvania, 119 miles NW. of Phila-
delphia by rail. It depends principally upon its
rich mines of anthracite coal ; but it has also
foundries, machine-shops, and several mills. Pop.
(1890) 7346 ; (1900) 6438. (2) Capital of Ashland
county, Wisconsin, on Lake Superior, 391 miles
by rail NW. of Milwaukee. It has a busy trade in
lumber, is a terminus of five railways, and has
grown up since 1880. Pop, 13,500.'

Ashraf, a town in the Persian province of
Mazanderan, near the south coast of the Caspian
Sea, 56 miles W. of Astrabad. A favourite resi-
dence of Shah Abbas the Great, it still contains
over 800 houses.

Ashridge Park, Earl Brownlow's seat, on the
Bucks and Herts border, 3 miles N. of Berk-
hampstead.

Ashtabu/la, a rapidly increasing town of the
state of Ohio, U.S., on the Cleveland and Erie
Railway, 3 miles from Lake Erie, and 49 miles
NE. of Cleveland. Pop. (1880)4445 ; (1900) 12,950.
Ashton-in-Makerfield, a township in South
Lancashire, 4 miles S. of Wigan. Pop. (1881)
9824 ; (1891) 13,379 ; (1901) 18,687.

Ashton-under-Lyne, a town of Lancashire, 6J
miles E. of Manchester. It was enfranchised in
1832, and returns one member. A great seat of
the cotton manufacture, it suffered severely
during the cotton famine (1861-65). The popula-
tion is also employed in bleaching, dyeing, and
calico-printing, in collieries, and in the manu-
facture of machines, bricks, &c. Ainong the
buildings are the town-hall (1841), the infirmary
(1860), and the old parish church, with tombs of
the Assheton family, from whom., the town got
its name. Pop. (1851) 29,791 ; (1901) 51,080, of
whom 43,890 were within the municipal borough.
Asia, the largest of the divisions of the world,
occupies the northern portion of the eastern
hemisphere in the form of a massive continent
which extends beyond the Arctic Circle, and by its
southern peninsulas nearly reaches the equator.
Apparently Asia was a local name given to the
plains of Ephesus, gradually extended to the
Anatolian peninsula, and later on to the whole
of the continent.

Viewed in their broad features, Europe and
Asia constitute but one continent, extending from
west to east, and having the shape of an immense
triangle, the angles of which are Spain in the
west, the peninsula of the Tchuktchis in the
north-east, and that of Malacca in the south-
east. The Arctic Ocean in the north, the Pacific
in the east, and the Indian Ocean, continued by
its narrow gulf, the Red Sea, which nearly
reaches the Mediterranean, enclose the continent
of Asia. This immense mass of land touches the
latitude of 77 34' N. in Cape Tchelyuskin, while
Cape Burros, at the extremity of the peninsula
of Malacca, and 5350 miles distant from the
former, falls short by 1 15' of reaching the
equator. Cape Baba, in Asia Minor, advances as
far west as the 26th degree of longitude, and the
utmost NE. extremity of Asia East Cape, 5990
miles distant from Cape Baba protrudes to the
190th degree (12 hours 40 minutes) to the east of
Greenwich. The area covered by Asia and its

ASIA

islands is 17,255,890 sq. m. that is, almost
exactly one-third of the land-surface of the globe
(32 per cent.). It is one-half larger than Africa, and
more than four times larger than Europe. Geo-
graphically, Europe is a mere appendix to Asia,
and no exact geographical delimitation of the
two continents is possible. The low Urals are
not even an administrative frontier: European
Russia extends over their eastern slope. Caucasus
is Asiatic in character ; but, to separate it from
Europe, one must resort to the old dried-up
channel of the two Manytch rivers, which, at a
geologically recent epoch connected the Black
Sea with the Caspian. Asia Minor also Asiatic
in character so closely approaches Europe that
the Sea of Marmora and its narrow river-like
straits seem almost an artificial boundary. The
line of separation from Africa is better defined
by the narrow Red Sea ; but Arabia participates
so largely in the physical features of Africa that
it is in a sense intermediate between the two
continents. In the south-east, the numberless
islands of the Dutch Indies relics of a sunken
continent appear as a bridge towards Australia.
And in the extreme north-east, Asia sends out a
peninsula to meet one of the Alaskan peninsulas
in America, from which it is separated only by
a shallow and narrow channel, Behring Strait.
Although the coasts of Asia are much more
indented by gulfs and peninsulas than those of
Africa or America, still it stands in this respect
much behind Europe, and the length of its coast-
line is reckoned at 33,000 miles in all (Europe hav-
ing one of 50,000 miles) ; besides, about one-fifth
of its shores is washed by the ice-bound Arctic
Ocean, or by the foggy and icy Sea of Okhotsk.
Its peninsulas are massive too, and, as a rule,
little indented. Three immense offsets continue
the continent of Asia into more tropical latitudes
Arabia, India, and the Indo-Chinese Peninsula.
Asia Minor protrudes between the Black Sea and
the Mediterranean. In the Pacific there are only
three large peninsulas Corea, Kamchatka, and
that of the Tchuktchis.

The islands of Asia are very numerous, and
cover an aggregate of no less than 1,023,000 sq.
m. (nearly 6 per cent, of Asia's surface). The
coasts of Asia Minor are dotted with islands.
Cyprus and Ceylon are important. In Eastern
Asia, a narrow strip of islands, some large like
Sumatra (177,000 sq. m.) and Java, others mere
reefs, extend in a wide semicircle, under the
name of Andaman and Sunda Islands, from
Burma to Australia, separating the Indian Ocean
from the shallow Java Sea and the Malay Archi-
pelago. This last an immense volcanic region
inhabited by the Malay race comprises the huge
Borneo, the ramified Celebes, and the numberless
small islands of the Moluccas, the Philippines,
&c. ; connected northward with the Chinese
coast by the island of Formosa, which, like
Hainan, may almost be considered part of the
Chinese mainland. The Loo-choo (Liu-kiu) Islands
and the Japanese Archipelago, the latter joining
Kamchatka by the Kuriles, continue farther NE.
the chain of islands. Saghalien is close to the
continent. In the Arctic Ocean also are some
unimportant islands.

Asia is at once the largest and the highest of
all continents. Not only has it a number of
mountains which exceed by five and six thousand
feet the loftiest summits of the Andes ; it has
also the highest and the most extensive plateaus.
If the whole mass of its mountains and plateaus
were uniformly spread over its surface, the con-
tinent would rise no less than 2800 to 3000 feet

above the sea. High plateaus are the predomi-
nant feature of Asia's orographical structure :
they occupy nearly two-fifths of its area. One
of them that of Western Asia, including Ana-
tolia, Armenia, and Iran extends in a south-
easterly direction from the Black Sea to the
valley of the Indus ; while the other the high
plateau of Eastern Asia, still loftier and much
more extensive stretches NE. from the Hima-
layas to the north-eastern extremity of Asia.
These vast regions, mostly unfit for human
settlement, and over wide areas mere dry deserts,
divide Asia into two parts the lowlands of
Siberia and the Aral-Caspian depression to the
north, and the lowlands of Mesopotamia, India,
and China to the south. The highest parts of
the East Asian plateau are in Tibet, varying from
18,000 feet to 10,000 feet in height. This highest
plateau of the earth is girdled by the highest chain
of mountains, the Himalayas a typical ' border-
ridge' which has one foot on the high plateau,
and the other in valleys ten to fifteen thousand
feet deeper, where the palm and vine grow freely.
This immense chain of snow-clad peaks, which
in Europe would reach from Gibraltar to Greece,
raises its lofty summits above 20,000 feet ; its
lowest passes are 15,000 feet high, and Gauri-
sankar or Mount Everest the highest mountain
of the globe has its snow-cap at a height of
29,000 feet, that is, 5 miles above the sea.

In the north-west, the Tibet plateau joins
another much smaller, but very high plateau
that of Pamir (' the roof of the world '), of which
the Tagarma peak reaches a height of 25,800 feet.
Farther north and north-east of the Pamir is a
wide, intricate complex of several high chains,
known under the general name of Tian-shan
(q.v.). The great Khan-tengri rises there to
24,000 feet.

On the north, the plateau of Tibet is bordered
by a succession of lofty chains (Kuen-lun, Altyn-
tagh, Nan-shan), reaching more than 20,000 feet
in their highest parts. These chains separate it
from the great central depression which is occu-
pied by Eastern Turkestan in the west, and by
the Desert of Gobi in the east. This great
depression including the Han-hai, or ' dried-up
sea,' of the basin of the Tarim has an altitude
of from 3000 to 4000 feet in the west, and 2200
feet in its lowest part the depression of Lake
Lob-nor. It has no outlet. The dry and barren
ridge called Eastern Tian-shan, and two other
ridges running NW., separate the Han-hai depres-
sion of Central Asia from the trenches of Urumtsi
and Urungu, which descend west to the lowlands
of Siberia. Beyond the great depression the
plateau rises again, and reaches an average
height of from 4000 to more than 5000 feet in the
upper basin of the Yenisei and Selenga. To
the north-west, the plateau is bordered by the
snow-clad Sailughem ridge of the Altai (8000 to
9000 feet), which is broken by the depression in
which Lake Baikal lies. A broad zone of alpine
tracts more than 150 miles wide and 2000 miles
long the Altai, the Kuznetskiy Ala-tau, the
Baikal, Lena, Olekma, and Vitim mountains
fringes this plateau in the west.

The hilly tracts of Asia are not confined to the
plateaus and their border-ridges. The Caucasus,
an immense wall of snow-clad mountains,
stretches NW. to SE. for nearly 800 miles along
the border of the Armenian plateau, from which
it is separated by the broad valley of the Kura.
It reaches 18,560 feet in the Elborous (Elburz)
peak. The Urals, from 2000 to 4000 feet high,
which separate Europe from Asia, are a broad

ASIA

belt of hilly tracts, stretching as a whole from
north to south.

The interior of the Indian peninsula is again
occupied by the wide plateau of the Deccan,
having an average height of from 1500 to 3000
feet, bordered in the west by the Western Ghats
(7870 feet high) and the Cardaman Mountains,
and in the east by the much lower and broader
Eastern Ghats. The Pedrotallagalla peak in
Ceylon rises 8330 feet.

The whole of North-western Asia is occupied
by an immense lowland Siberia which joins
in the south the wide Aral-Caspian depression.
This lowland, whose level is less than five or
six hundred feet high, does not touch the alpine
regions which fringe the great plateau of East
Asia. It is separated from them by a belt of
elevated, undulating plains. On the northern
coast of the Caspian, the Aral-Caspian depression
descends even below the level of the sea. The
wide space between the great plateaus of Western
and Eastern Asia and that of the Deccan, watered
by the Indus and the Ganges, is again an
immense lowland, covering no less than 400,000
sq. m., and supplying the means of existence to
125 millions of inhabitants. Another wide low-
land, Mesopotamia, or the broad valley of the
Tigris and Euphrates, was a cradle of civilisation
from the remotest antiquity. The predominant
feature of Asia's hydrography is the existence of
very wide areas having no outlet to the sea. On
the great plateau of Eastern Asia the region of the
Han-hai and Gobi is watered only by the Tarim,
which falls into the rapidly drying marshes of
Lob-nor. If we add to this wide area the drain-
age basins of Lake Balkhash with its tributaries,
the Hi and other smaller rivers ; the great Lake
Aral, with the Syr-daria (Jaxartes) and Amu-
daria (Oxus), as also the numerous rivers which
flow towards it or its tributaries, but are desic-
cated by evaporation before reaching them ; and
finally the Caspian with its tributaries, we find
an immense surface of more than 4,000,000 sq. m.
that is, much larger than Europe which has
no outlet to the ocean. Four inland drainage
areas more must be added to the above the
plateaus of Iran and Armenia, two separate areas
in Arabia, and one in Asia Minor.

The drainage area of the Arctic Ocean includes
all the lowlands of Siberia, its plains, and large
portions of the great plateau. The chief rivers
flowing north to the Arctic Ocean are the Obi,
with the Irtish; the Yenisei, with its great
tributary the Angara, which brings to it the
waters of Lake Baikal ; and finally the Lena,
with its great tributaries, the Vitim, Olekma,
Vilui, and Aldan.

Three great rivers enter the Pacific, and all
three are navigable for thousands of miles : the
Amur, composed of the Argun and Shilka, and
receiving the Sungari (a great artery of naviga-
tion in Manchuria), the Usuri, and the Zeya ; the
Hoang-ho ; and the Yang-tse-kiang, the last two
taking their rise on the plateau of Tibet. The
Cambodia or Mekong, the Salwen, and the
Irawadi, rising in the eastern parts of the high
plateau, water the Indo-Chinese Peninsula.
Rising on the same height, the Indus and the
Brahmaputra flow through a high valley in
opposite directions along the northern base of
the Himalayas, until both pierce the gigantic
ridge at its opposite ends, and find their way in
opposite directions to the sea. The Tigris and
Euphrates, both rising in the high plateau of
Armenia, flow parallel to each other.

A succession of great lakes, or rather inland

seas, are situated all along the northern slope ot
the high plateaus of Western and Eastern Asia.
The Caspian, 800 miles long and 270 wide, is an
immense sea, its level now 85 feet below the level
of the ocean ; Lake Aral has its level 157 feet
above the ocean ; farther east we have Lake
Balkhash (780 feet), Zaisan (1200 feet), and Lake
Baikal (1550 feet). Three large lakes, Urmia, Van,
and Goktcha, and many smaller ones, lie on the
highest part of the Armenian plateau.

Volcanoes play an important part in Asia's
geology; more than 120 active volcanoes are
known in Asia, chiefly in the islands of the
south-east, the Philippines, Japan, the Kuriles,
and Kamchatka, and also in a few islands of the
Sea of Bengal and Arabia, and of Western Asia.
Numerous traces of volcanic eruptions are found,
not only in these same regions, but also in Eastern
Tian-shan, in the north-western border-ridges of
the high Siberian plateau, and in the south-west
of Aigun in Manchuria. Earthquakes are fre-
quent, especially in Armenia, Turkestan, and
around Lake Baikal.

Asia is exceedingly rich in a great variety of
mineral products. There are gold-mines of great
wealth in the Urals, the Altai, and Eastern
Siberia ; and auriferous sands are found in Corea,
Sumatra, Japan, and the Caucasus Mountains.
Silver is extracted in Siberia; platinum in the
Urals ; copper in Japan, India, and Siberia ; tin
in Banca ; mercury in Japan. Iron ore is found
in nearly all the mountainous regions, especially
of Asia Minor, Persia, Turkestan, India, China,
Japan, and Siberia ; but iron mining is still at a
rudimentary stage. Immense coal-beds are spread
over China and the islands of the Pacific (Hai-
nan, Japanese Archipelago, Saghalien), Eastern
Siberia, Turkestan, India, Persia, and Asia Minor.
They cover no less than half a million square
miles in China alone ; but the extraction of coal
is as yet very limited. Graphite is found in
Siberia. The diamonds of India, the sapphires
of Ceylon, the rubies of Burma and Turkestan,
the topazes, beryls, &c. of the Urals and Ner-
tchinsk, have a wide repute. Layers of rock-salt
are widely spread, and still more so the salt
lakes and springs. The petroleum wells of the
Caspian shores rival those of the United States.
Mineral springs are widely spread over Asia ;
those of Caucasus and Transbaikalia already
attract a number of patients.

Even Eastern Europe has quite a continental
climate. Still more continental is the climate
throughout Asia, with the exception of a part of
its coast regions. On account of the immense
area of Asia, great differences of climate are met
with, and therefore the meteorologists subdivide
the continent into several very different climatic
regions, of which Eastern Siberia, dry, and in
winter very cold, includes Verkhoyansk, the
coldest spot of the Eastern Hemisphere ; while
India, the Indo-Chinese Peninsula, and adjoining
islands have a tropical climate, with abundant
periodical rains. Asia Minor has of all Asiatic
regions the most moderate and agreeable climate.
During the winter, Asia, as a whole, with the
exception of India, the Indo-Chinese Peninsula,
and South-western Arabia, enjoys a temperature
much lower than that of corresponding latitudes
elsewhere ; while in July, throughout all Asia,
except on the coasts of the Kara Sea, Kamchatka,
and the Manchurian littoral, the temperature is
higher than under the same latitudes elsewhere.

The aggregate population of Asia is estimated
at 891 millions, being thus more than one-half of
the entire population of the globe. This popula-

ASIA

tion gives, however, only an average of ^inhabit-
ants per sq. m. It is very unequally distributed,
and reaches 557 per sq. m. in some provinces of
China denser than in England (540 per sq. m.)
and 470 in some parts of North-western India.
Nearly one-tenth is almost quite uninhabited.

The inhabitants of Asia belong to five different
groups : the so-called Caucasian (Fair type) in
Western Asia and India ; the Mongolian in Cen-
tral and Eastern Asia, as also in the Indo-Chinese
Peninsula ; the Malay in Malacca and the Indian
Archipelago ; the Draviclas in South-eastern India
and Ceylon ; and the Negritos and Papuas in the
virgin forests of the Philippine Islands and
Celebes. A sixth great division comprises the
stems which inhabit North-eastern Asia the
Hyperboreans. The Europeans reckon about six
millions (Russians) in Caucasus, Turkestan, and
Siberia; some 100,000 (British) in India; and
75,000 in the Dutch Indies.

The four great religions which are professed by
the great majority of mankind the Jewish,
Buddhist, Christian, and Mohammedan had their
origin in Asia. At present the inhabitants of
Asia belong chiefly to the Buddhist religion,
which inclusive of the followers of Lamaism,
the moral philosophy of Confucius, and the
teachings of Lao-tse, who all accept more or less
the Buddhist ritual has no less than 530 to 560
millions of followers i.e. nearly one-third of
mankind. The old faith of Hinduism has no less
than 207 millions of followers in India. Most of
the inhabitants of Western Asia, as also of part
of Central Asia, follow the religion of Islam ;
they may number about 90 millions. The
Christians number about 20 millions in Armenia,
Caucasus, Siberia, and Turkestan. Many of the
Ural- Altaians continue to maintain their ancient
faith, Shamanism. Jews are scattered mostly in
Western and Central Asia. A few fire-worshippers
Guebres or Parsees who are found in the west
of India and Persia are the sole remnant of the
once wide-spread religion of Zoroaster.

The chief political divisions of Asia, with their
approximate areas and population (mostly esti-
mated), are as follows :

States and Territories.

Area
In sq. m.

Siberia 4,824,570

Caucasus 182,500

Transcaspia (with Caspian) 400,070

Russian Turkestan 1,541,500

Khiva and Bokhara 114,600

Asiatic Turkey 729,410

Arabia 968,200

Persia 636,400

Afghanistan 240,000

Kaflristan and Hindu Kush 20,000

Beluchistan 106,800

India (with Burma) 1,560,160

Nepal, Bhutan, &c 89,600

Ceylon 25,360

French and Portuguese India 1,800

Siam 280,650

Malacca States 31,500

French Indo-Chiua 225,620

Population.

5,731,552

9,251,945

372,193

7,349,481

Chinese Empire

Corea

Macao

Hong-kong

Japan

Dutch East Indies

Philippines, &c. (U.S. and Ger.)..

British Borneo and Labuau

Native Borneo

Cyprus

16,953,530

3,741,222

9,000,000

4,000,000

1,000,000

840,000

295,038,950

3,300,000

3,576,990

847,484

6,000,000

676,138

20,000,000

4,218,400

84,250

148,500

116,260

IS
3,580

10,000,000

75,000

297,200

46,450,000

35,200,000

8,342,000

175,000

645,000

237,022

17,211,760 891,730,717

The amount of cereals rice, millet, wheat,
barley, oats, &c. supplied by the rich corn-
fields of China, Indo-China, Japan, and even

Turkestan may be best judged by the density
of population in the better- watered parts of these
countries, and by the rapidly increasing amounts
of corn exported, especially from India ; while in
Southern Siberia, the Altai, and the Middle Amur,
Russian settlers raising wheat, rye, oats, barley,
melons, &c. on the virgin soil of the prairies enjoy
a welfare hardly known in Russia. The crops
of cotton in India and Asia Minor helped Europe
to meet the cotton crisis of 1863 ; and those of
Bokhara and Transcaucasia gave an impulse to
the growing cotton industry of Russia. Tea is the
chief crop of Southern China, Assam, India, and
Ceylon ; and coffee is largely grown in Arabia,
India, Ceylon, and the Dutch colonies. The silk-
worm culture is widely spread in Asia Minor,
Persia, Turkestan, India, China, and Japan.
The sugar-cane is largely raised in Southern and
South-eastern Asia. Oleaginous plants, indigo
and other dye plants, jute, spices, the cinchona-
tree, and opium-producing plants are extensively
cultivated ; as also fruit-trees in Western Asia
and Turkestan. The cocoa-palm, the bread-tree,
and the gutta-percha tree are also grown in
tropical Asia.

On the inland steppes and plateaus of Asia,
numberless herds of horses, horned cattle, and
sheep furnish all the necessaries of life to the
nomad or half-nomad Mongolian inhabitants of
these regions, and supply the European trade with
a yearly increasing amount of hides, wool, and
tallow. The forests of the far north and north-east
afford the means of existence to nomad and
Russian hunters. Both supply the trade with
rich furs ; while the rivers of Siberia and Man-
churia provide food for the nomad Ostiaks, Gols,
and Ghilyaks. And the Behring and Okhotsk
Seas of the Northern Pacific, and their islands,
supply the civilised world with some of the
finest furs.

The plateaus, the deserts, and the mountainous
regions of Asia, thickly clothed with impene-
trable forests and intersected by deep gorges and
valleys, are so many obstacles to the communica-
tion between different parts of the continent.
The roads of Asia, except those of China and
India, and a few main lines elsewhere, are mostly
mere footpaths or tracks marked in the deserts,
with wells far apart, and bleached with the bones
of camels. Caravans of camels are therefore the
chief means of transport for goods and travellers
in the interior ; donkeys, yaks, and even goats
and sheep are employed in crossing the high
passages of the Himalayas ; horses are the usual
means of transport in most parts of China and
Siberia, and in the barren tracts of the north the
reindeer, and still farther north the dog, are
made use of. Fortunately, the great rivers of
Asia (especially China and Siberia) provide water
communication over immense distances.

Railways are only beginning to make their
appearance in Asia. In India they already
represent a total length of 26,000 miles. Russia,
too, has spread her railways right across Asia to
the shores of the Pacific. China decided in 1886
to open its territory to railway-construction, and
in 1905 had nearly 3000 miles open, and con-
cessions given for about 2500 more. Japan has
over 4000 miles open. There are also railways in
Burma, Siam, and Turkey in Asia. All the chief
ports in the south and south-east of Asia are
already in regular steam communication with
Europe and the United States.

Telegraph communications are in a much more
advanced state than the roads. St Petersburg
is connected by telegraph with the mouth of

ASIAGO 55

ASPINWALL

the Amur, Vladivostok, and Port Arthur; while
another branch, crossing Turkestan and Mongolia,
runs on to Tashkend, Peking, and Shanghai. Con-
stantinople is connected with Bombay, Madras,
Singapore, Saigon, Hong-kong, and Nagasaki in
Japan ; and Singapore with Java, Australia, and
so with New Zealand. India has nearly 60,000
miles of telegraphs ; China, 14,000 miles ; and
Japan, 17,000 miles, with 2200 miles of sub-
marine cables.

Hitherto Asia has supplied Europe chiefly with
raw materials gold, silver, petroleum, teak and
a variety of timber-wood, furs, raw cotton, silk,
wool, tallow, and so on ; with the products
of her tea, coffee, and spice plantations ; and
with a yearly increasing amount of wheat and
other grain. Steam-industry, although but a
very few years old, threatens to become a rival
to European manufacture. Indian cottons of
European patterns and jute-stuffs already com-
pete with those of Lancashire and Dundee. The
silks, printed cottons, carpets, jewellery, arid cut-
lery of particular districts in India, China, Japan,
Asia Minor, and Persia, far surpass in their
artistic taste many like productions of Europe ;
and the export of these articles is increasing.

CENTRAL ASIA is a term, in its geographical
sense, used of the region lying between the
Altai Mountains and the Persian Gulf, and in-
cludes part of Siberia, all Turkestan, Afghanistan,
Beluchistan, and part of Persia. An earlier usage
that of Humboldt gave this name to the khan-
ates of Bokhara and Tartary. In Russian official
language, Central Asia is an administrative divi-
sion of the empire lying to the SW. of Siberia, and
comprising, with part of what used to be called
Siberia, the recent Russian annexations in Turkes-
tan. Russian Central Asia is divided into the
governments of Akmolinsk, Semipalatinsk, Tur-
gai, Uralsk, Semirechinsk, Sir-daria, Zarafshan,
Amu-daria, the Trans-Caspian territory, and Fer-
ghana. The total area is given at 1,201,000 sq.
m., and the pop. at 4,390,000. For the physical
geography of the region, see ASIA ; see also
TURKESTAN, SIBERIA, KHOKAND, &c.

Asiago, a town of North Italy, 22 miles N. of
Vicenza, on a ridge. Pop. 2016.

Asia Minor (Asia the Less) is the name usually
given to the western peninsular projection of
Asia, forming part of Turkey in Asia. The late
Greek name for Asia Minor is Anatolia
Anatole, ' the East,' whence is formed the Turkish
Anadoli. Asia Minor includes the whole penin-
sula, with an area of 220,000 sq. m. It consti-
tutes the western prolongation of the high table-
land of Armenia, with its border mountain-ranges.
The interior consists of a great plateau, or rather
series of plateaus, rising in gradation from 3500
to 4000 feet, with bare steppes, salt plains,
marshes and lakes ; the structure is volcanic,
and there are several conical mountains, one of
which, the Ergish-dagh (Argseus), with two
craters, attains a height of 11,830 feet. The
plateau is bordered on the north by a long train
of parallel mountains, 4000 to 6000 feet high.
These mountains sink abruptly doAvn on the
north side to a narrow strip of coast. Similar
is the character of the border ranges on the
south, the ancient Taurus, only that they are
more continuous and higher, being, to the north
of the Bay of Skanderoon, 10,000 to 12,000 feet.
Between the highlands and the sea lie the fertile
coast-lands. Of the rivers the largest is the
Kizil Irmak (Halys), which, like the Yeshil
Irmak (Iris), and the Sakaria (Sangarius), flows

into the Black Sea ; the Sarabat (Hermus) and
Meinder (Maeander) flow into the Jigean. Here
the forest-trees and cultivated plants of Europe
are seen mingled with the forms characteristic of
Persia and Syria. The central plateau, which is
barren, has the character of an Asiatic steppe,
more adapted for the flocks and herds of nomadic
tribes than for agriculture ; while the coasts,
rich in all European products, fine fruits, olives,
wine, and silk, have quite the character of the
south of Europe, which on the warmer and drier
south coast shades into that of Africa.

The inhabitants, some 7,000,000 in number,
comprise the dominant race, the Osmanli Turks,
who number about 1,200,000 ; allied to these are '
the Turkomans and Yuruks. There are also
hordes of nomadic Kurds, with the robber tribes
of the Lazes in the north-east. The Greeks and
Armenians are the most progressive elements in
the population, and have most of the trade ;
while the Greeks monopolise the professions, the
ownership of the land is largely passing into the
hands of Greeks, Armenians, and Jews.

Here, especially in Ionia, was the early seat of
Greek civilisation, and here Alexander the Great
and the Romans successively contended for the
mastery of the civilised world. Since the con-
quest by the Turks (about 1300 A.D.), the ancient
civilisation of the country and its prosperity
have been sadly brought to ruin. After the
Russo-Turkish war of 1877 Great Britain made
a secret engagement to guarantee the Asiatic
dominions of the Porte, and to assume an in-
definite protectorate over Asia Minor.

Asirgarh, a strong fortress in the Central
Provinces, 300 miles NE. of Bombay, stands on
an isolated mountain, 850 feet above the base.

Askabad, a town of Russian Turkestan, the
political centre of Transcaspia, situated on the
Transeaspian Railway, 290 miles SB. of Mikhail-
ovsk, the seaward terminus, and 232 WNW. of
Merv. It was occupied by the Russians in 1881.

Askeaton, a town in the county, and 15 milea
WSW. of the town, of Limerick. Pop. 679.

Askja (AsKya,; 'basket'), the largest volcano
in Iceland, rises near the centre of the island.
Its vast circular crater, over 23 sq. in. in area, and
about 17 miles in circumference, lies at a depth
of over 700 feet within a mountain built up to
a height of 4633 feet above the sea. A great
eruption in 1875 first called attention to Askja.

As'olo, a walled town 35 miles NW. of Venice,
with memories of Caterina Cornaro, queen of
Cyprus, and Robert Browning. Pop. 955.

Aspatria, a Cumberland village, with an agri-
cultural college, 7| miles NE. of Maryport.

Aspe (Asp), a romantic valley (pop. 12,000) in
the Western Pyrenees, close to the Spanish fron-
tier. It was formerly a republic under the pro-
tection of the princes of Beam. (2) A town of
Spain, 25 miles W. of Alicante. Pop. 7910.

Aspern, a small village of Austria, on the
Danube's left bank, nearly opposite Vienna.
Here on May 21-22, 1809, Napoleon was defeated
by the Austrians under Archduke Charles.

Aspinwall, or COLON, a seaport of the republic
of Panama, but practically a United States colony,
is situated at the Atlantic extremity of the
Panama Railway (1849-55), and of the unfinished
inter-oceanic Panama Canal, on the island of
Manzanilla in Limon Bay, 8 miles NE. of the old
Spanish port of Chagres, and 47 NW. of Panama
by rail. In 1870 the Empress Eugenie presented
the town with a statue of Columbus, after whom

ASPROMONTE

ASSYRIA

it is named officially Colon. The name Aspin-
wall it derives from a New York merchant, the
originator of the Panama Railway ; the company
having founded the town in 1850. Pop. 4500.

Aspromonte (As-pro-mon'tay), a rugged moun-
tain (6907 feet) of Italy, near Reggio, overlooking
the Strait of Messina. Here Garibaldi was de-
feated and captured, 28th August 1862.

Assab Bay, an Italian trading station on the
west coast of the Red Sea, 40 miles NW. of the
Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb. The district around it
(area, 243 sq. m. ; pop. 1300) was sold in 1870 by
some Danakil chieftains to an Italian steamship
company for a coaling station, and in 1880 was
taken over by the Italian government.

Assal', a large salt-lake, nearly 600 feet below
sea-level, in Adal, East Africa, 9 miles from the
coast of the Bay of Tajurrah.

Assam', from 1S74 to 1905 a separate province
at the NE. extremity of British India, with an
area of 46,341 sq. in. ; but in 1905 made part of
the new joint province of Eastern Bengal and
Assam (see BENGAL). A series of valleys, watered
by the Brahmaputra and some sixty lesser rivers,
it is very fertile, and abounds in wood ; the
tea-plant is indigenous. Since 1840, when its
commercial cultivation was begun, 600.000 acres
have been taken up for tea ; some three-fourths
of the tea grown in India is the produce of
Assam. The other products are rice, mustard,
gold, ivory, amber, musk, iron, lead, petroleum,
and coal. Scarcely a fourth of the fertile area is
cultivated. There is steamboat and railway com-
munication with Calcutta. In 1826, at the close
of the first Burmese war, Assam was ceded to
the British, but it was only in 1838 that, in con-
sequence of the misgovernment of the native
rajah, the entire country was placed under British
administration. The towns of any size are Gau-
hati (12,000) and Sebsagar (6000). A majority of
the people are Hindus. A striking feature of
Assam is the abundance of tigers, rhinoceroses,
leopards, bears, buffaloes, and elephants ; the
"snakes are most destructive to human life. Pop.
(1872) 4,124,972 ; (1881) 4,881,426 ; (1891) 5,476,833;
(1901)6,126,343.

Assa'ye, an Indian village in the extreme
north-east of the Nizam's dominions, 43 miles
NE. of Aurungabad. Here, on 23d September
1803, Wellesley, afterwards Duke of Wellington,
with 4500 men, defeated 50,000 Mahrattas.

Assen, a town of NE. Holland, 17 miles S. of
Groningen by rail. Pop. 11,200.

Assiniboia, till 1905 a Canadian district within
the limits of the North-west Territories, formed
by an order in Council in 18S2. It was bounded
on the south by the United States frontier, on
the east by Manitoba, and on the north by the
former district of Saskatchewan, and had an area
of 89,535 sq. m. It contained the towns of Regina
(now the capital of the new province of Alberta)
and Fort Pelly. The climate is subject to ex-
tremes, ranging from 58" F. below zero in winter
to 106 above it in summer. In 1905 the new
provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta were
formed, and Assiniboia was divided between them,
Saskatchewan getting the greater portion.

Assin'iboine, a river of British North America,
rising in 51 40' N. lat. and 105 E. long., and,
after a course of 400 miles, at Winnipeg joining
the Red River (q.v.), which discharges its waters
into Lake Winnipeg. Its tributaries are the Little
Souris, Qu'appelle, Rapid River or Little Saskat-
chewan, White Sand River, and Beaver Creek.

Assi'si, a town of Central Italy, on a steep
hill, 14 7niles SB. of Perugia by rail. It is the
birthplace of St Francis, who founded here in,
1209 the mendicant order that bears his name.
The monastery (1229) has two Gothic churches,
one surmounting the other, with frescoes and
paintings by Cimabue, Giotto, &c. ; beneath, in
a Doric crypt (1818), are the relics of St Francis.
Assisi also possesses a cathedral. Pop. 6705.

Assiut. See SIOUT.

Assmannshau'sen, a village on the Rhine, 3
miles below Rudesheim, famous for its red and
white wine.

Assos, a ruined town on the Gulf of Edremid,
whose still imposing remains were successfully
excavated, in 1881-83, by the American Institute
of Archaeology.

Assouan' (also Eswan; the ancient Syene) is
the southernmost city of Egypt proper, on the
right bank of the Nile, and beside the first or
lowest cataract. Near are the islands of Philse
and Elephantine. On the left bank are cata-
combs. There are some remains of the ancient
city. In the neighbourhood are the famous
syenite quarries from which so many of the huge
obelisks and colossal statues were cut to adorn
the temples and palaces of ancient Egypt. Here
is the great dam erected (1899-1902) in connection
with Egyptian irrigation. Pop. 12,000.

Assumption. See ASUNCION.

As'synt, LOCH, a beautiful fresh-water lake of
Sutherland, 6 miles E. of Lochinver. Lying
215 feet above sea-level, it measures 6J miles by
f mile. To Ardvreck Castle, on a north-eastern
promontory, the Marquis of Montrose was
brought a prisoner in 1650.

Assyria, the northernmost of the three great
countries that occupied the Mesopotamia!! plain.
It was bounded on the N. by the Niphatea
Mountains of Armenia ; on the S. by Susiana
and Babylonia ; on the E. by Media ; and on the
W., according to some, by the Tigris, but more
correctly by the watershed of the Euphrates, for
many Assyrian ruins are found to the west of the
Tigris. It was thus about 280 miles long from N.
to S., and rather more than 150 broad from E. to
W. This plain is diversified by mountain-chains
on the north and east, and watered by the Tigris
and its affluents, between two of which the Zab
rivers lay the finest part of the country, called
Adiabene. As it was the boundary-land between
the Semitic people and Iran, it became the scene
of important political events. Its extraordinary
fertility enabled it to support a large population.
The high degree of prosperity and civilisation
reached by its inhabitants in very early times is
attested not only by ancient writers, but by the
extensive ruins of mighty cities, by the canals
and contrivances for irrigation, and by the numer-
ous proofs furnished by recent excavations of
an acquaintance with the arts and sciences. The
ruins of many cities are grouped around Nineveh ;
while lower down, the Tigris exhibits an almost
unbroken line of ruins from Tekrit to Bagdad.
Under the Mohammedans this fine country is
now almost a desert. Nineveh (q.v.) was the
capital. There are indications that this Semitic
state was founded as far back as 2330 B.C. ; its
king was certainly powerful about 1320 B.C. ;
Tiglath-pileser (1140) was its first great prince ;
after some centuries of decay the empire was
again a great power under Shalmaneser II, (858).
In the 7th century B.C. the empire was greatly
decayed, and Babylon independent : finally

ASTERABAi)

ATHBOY

Nineveh was taken in 605, and Assyria became &
province of Media. The Assyrian language was
akin to Hebrew and Phoenician. On the topo-
graphy and archaeology, see books by Botta,
Oppert, Layard, George Smith, Perrot and
Chipiez, Sayce, Maspero, Rogers (1901).

Asterabad'. See ASTUABAD.

Asti (Asia Pompeia), a city of Piedmont, lies
on the Tanaro, 35 miles ESE. of Turin. The vino
d'Asti is a kind of sweet muscatel, effervescing
like champagne. Pop. 17,340.

Aston, the name of upwards of 60 English
towns, villages, townships, or parishes, the best
known being beside Birmingham (q.v.).

Astoria, originally a fur-trading station in
Oregon, U.S., on the left bank of the Col-
umbia, founded by the Pacific Fur Company
in 1811, and named from its chief proprietor,
John Jacob Astor. It was a main point in the
American claim to the territory of Oregon (q.v.).
There are upwards of 50 large salmon-tinning
establishments in the neighbourhood. The
lumbering industry is also important. Pop.
(1881) 2803 ; (1891) 6184 ; (1900) 8381.

Astrabad', a decayed town in the north of
Persia, at the foot of the Elburz Mountains, 30
miles SE. of the Caspian. Pop. (1808) 75,000 ;
(1904) 18,000.

Astrakhan', a barren government in the SE.
of European Russia, watered by the Volga, and
washed on the SE. by the Caspian Sea. Area,
91,327 sq. m. ; pop. 1,003,500. ASTRAKHAN, the
capital, is situated on a high island in the Volga,
41 miles from its mouth in the Caspian Sea. The
Kreml, or fortress, and the White Town alone
have houses of stone ; the suburbs contain wooden
buildings only. Lengthwise through the middle
Of the city runs a canal which connects the
Kutum arm of the Volga with the main stream.
Of nearly 40 Greek churches, the finest is the
cathedral (1696), on the highest point in the
Kreml. Pop. 113,710, consisting of Russians,
Armenians, Tartars, and Persians. Almost the
entire commerce with Persia and Transcaucasia
passes through the city. Its great markets
attract every year many thousands of merchants,
and its three bazaars are among the busiest marts
in Europe or Asia. The city is connected by
steamers with all parts of the Caspian, and is
the principal harbour of that sea. The industries
are shipbuilding, dyeing, silk manufacture, &c. ;
the sturgeon and other fisheries are amongst the
greatest in the world.

Astrolabe Bay, a large inlet of the sea on the
northern coast of the eastern portion of New
Guinea, opposite the end of New Britain.

Astu'rias, or OVIEDO, a northern province of
Spain, washed on the north by the Bay of Biscay.
Area, 4091 sq. m. ; population, 628,000. The
chief towns are Oviedo (q.v.), the capital, Gijon,
Aviles, Llanes, and Luarca.

Asuncion (Span. As-soon-thee-oan r ), capital of
the republic of Paraguay, on Paraguay River, has
connection by steamers with Buenos Ayres, and
by a railway of 45 miles with Paraguari. Founded
in 1537 on the Feast of the Assumption, it has a
cathedral (1845) and a trade in leather, tobacco,
sugar, manioc, and mate or Paraguay tea. Pop.
(1857) 40,000; (1886) 24,838 ; (1901) 51,700.

Atacama', a northern province of Chili, with
an area of 30,400 sq. m., and a population of
70,000. Silver and copper are largely mined, and
gold is also found in considerable quantities.
Capital, Copiapo; pop. 9916. The Desert of

Atacama till the war of 1879 belonged also
partly to Bolivia. Its silver and saltpetre works
have to some extent peopled its solitudes.

At'bara, a tributary of the Nile, rises in
Abyssinia near Lake Tzana, flows mainly north-
west, and after receiving the larger Takazze,
joins the Nile below Berber being its only
tributary below the junction of the White with
the Blue Nile. For some months its course is
almost dry.

Atchafalay'a, an outlet of the Red River or
of the Mississippi, but receiving very little of
the waters of the latter except in time of flood.
It runs nearly southward to Chetimaches Lake,
and after passing through it, reaches the Gulf of
Mexico by Atchafalaya Bay after a course of
about 220 miles.

Atcheen (also Aclieen or Atchin; called by
the Dutch Atjeh), until 1873 an independent
state in the north-west part of Sumatra, now a
province of the Dutch Indies, with an area of
20,501 sq. m., and a pop. of 290,700. The natives
in appearance, dress, character, and manners, are
distinct from the rest of the inhabitants of
Sumatra, being of darker colour and lower
stature, and more active and industrious. The
capital is Kota Radja or Atcheen, in the north-
western extremity, on a stream navigable by
boats, 4 miles from its port Oleh-leh, with
which, since 1876, it has been connected by a
railway. Pop. 10,000.

Atchison, a city of Kansas, U.S., on the Mis-
souri's left bank, 333 miles above St Louis. Nine
railway lines converge here ; and the city has
flour-mills, an iron-foundry, machine-shops, manu-
factures of furniture, carriages, and wagons. Pop.
(1870) 7054 ; (1880) 15,106 ; (1900) 15,722.

Ateshga (' place of fire '), a spot on the penin-
sula of Apsheron, on the west coast of the Caspian
Sea. Many Guebres or Persian Fire- worshippers
still visit it, and bow before the holy flames which
issue from the bituminous soil.

Ates'sa, a town of South Italy, 23 miles SSE.
of Chieti. Pop. 5086.

Ath, or AATH, a fortified town in the province
of Hainault, Belgium, on the navigable Dender,
32 miles SW. of Brussels. Pop. 11,000.

Athabas'ca (locally La Biche, 'red -deer or elk
river '), a river and lake in the North-west Terri-
tory of the Canadian Dominion, forming part of
the great basin of the Mackenzie. The river rises
in the Rocky Mountains, in a little lake at the
foot of Mount Brown, one of the highest points
in the range, and flows over 600 miles NE. and
NW., until it unites with the Peace River, from
beyond the Rocky Mountains, to form the Slave
River, which, again, after passing through Great
Slave Lake, takes the name of the Mackenzie
(q.v.). Lake Athabasca receives nearly all its
waters from, and has its sole outlet in, the Atha-
basca River, which traverses not its length but
its breadth, and that not in its middle, but at its
extremity. It is 230 miles long, and from 14 to
30 broad. It was discovered in 1771 by Samuel
Hearne, and named by him Lake of the Hills.
ATHABASCA, formerly one of the four divisions of
the Canadian North-west, defined in 1882, be-
tween British Columbia and a line to the east of
the Athabasca River, and between the parallels
55 and 60 N. lar. In 1905 it was about equally
divided between the newly formed provinces of
Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Athboy, a market-town of County Meath, on

ATHELNEY

ATLANTA

the river Athboy, 7 miles NW. of Trim. Pop.
613.

Ath'elney, ISLE OF (' island of nobles '), a
marsh at the junction of the rivers Tone and
Parret, in the middle of Somersetshire, 7 miles
ENE. of Taunton. Here Alfred hid himself from
the Danes in 878.

Athenry, in County Galway, 10 miles NW. of
Loughrea. Pop. 850.

Athens, anciently capital of the Greek state of
Attica and centre of Greek culture, now capital
of the modern kingdom of Greece, 4 miles from
its harbour of Piraeus, on the Gulf of -ffigina. The
city, which takes its name from Athena, ' goddess
of science, arts, and arms,' and its own patron
divinity, was originally built on the Acropolis,
a conspicuous limestone rock rising 500 feet above
the Attic plain, and afterwards spread out on
the plain below ; while the Acropolis became the
citadel and subsequently the site of a group of
beautiful temples of the time of Pericles (5th
century, B.C.). The ruins of the Parthenon, the
Erechtheum, the temple of Nike Apteros (' Wing-
less Victory '), and the Propylaea, still remain to
testify to the former glory of the Acropolis. Of
the other ancient buildings the most notable are
the Theseum (also of the Periclean period, and
still almost perfect), and the fragments of the
vast temple of Zeus (begun in 530 B.C. and finished
by the Roman Emperor Hadrian), with the theatre
of Dionysus, &c. Not far from the Acropolis
rose the hill Lycabettus (911 feet), and the hillocks
or ridges of the Pnyx and the Areopagus or Mars
Hill. At a greater distance the plain is bounded
by Hymettus (3368 feet), Pentelicus (3641), and
other ranges. Athens was fabled to have been
founded by the hero Cecrops. The most brilliant
period of its history was when, after the Persian
wars (5th century, B.C.), Athens took the lead
amongst the Greek states, became powerful by
land and sea, was adorned by Pericles with her
most glorious buildings, and brought Greek litera-
ture and Greek philosophy to their highest de-
velopment. Its decline dates from the disastrous
conclusion of the Peloponnesian war (403 B.C.).
It was plundered and ruined by Sulla in 87 B.C. ;
and neither under Byzantine nor Turkish rule
ever attained any prosperity. In the days of her
glory Athens had some 100,000 free inhabitants
and twice as many slaves ; when after the libera-
tion of Greece Athens was made the capital of
the new kingdom (1834), it was a wretched village
of a few hundred houses. Since then it has had
a prosperous growth, looks like a well-built
German town, and had in 1904 a pop. of 115,000,
with a fine royal palace, many handsome private
residences, a university with 50 professors and
more than 1000 students, and a good deal of mis-
cellaneous trade by way of the Piraeus. It is
connected by rail also with Corinth, and the
Athens-Larissa line is to bring Greece into rail-
way communication with the rest of Europe.
See, besides works on Greece, ancient and modern,
Dyer's Ancient Athens (1873). ;

Athens, a name applied to more than twenty
places in the United States. (1) In Georgia, 92
miles WNW. of Augusta. It contains several
cotton factories, and is the seat of the university
of Georgia (1801). Population, above 11,000.
(2) In the south of Ohio, on the Hocking River,
is the seat of the Ohio University (1804). Pop.
3200.

Atherstone, a market-town of Warwickshire,
14 miles N. of Coventry by rail. Drayton was
born close by. Pop. 5300.

Atherton, a township of Lancashire, 13 miles
WNW. of Manchester. Pop. (1871) 7581 ; (1891)
15,833 ; (1901) 16,211.

Athlone, a town of Ireland, on the Shannon,
chiefly in Westmeath, but partly in Roscommon,
80 miles W. of Dublin by rail. The chief manu-
factures are felt-hats, friezes, linens, and stays.
The Shannon is crossed by a fine bowstring and
lattice iron bridge of two arches, 175 and 40 feet
span. Till 1885 Athlone returned one member.
Its castle, founded in King John's reign, in the
war of 1688 was unsuccessfully besieged by Wil-
liam III., but was afterwards taken by General
Ginckell. The fortifications cover 15 acres, and
contain barracks for 1500 men. Pop. 6617.

Ath'ple, a district in the north of Perthshire,
occupying a great part of the southern slopes of
the Grampians.

A'thos (Gr. Hagion Oros, 'Holy Hill'), the
most eastern of the three tongues of the Chalci-
dice Peninsula on the ^Cgean Sea, connected
with the mainland by a low and narrow isthmus,
about a mile across. The length of the peninsula
is about 31 miles ; its breadth varies from 3 to 6
miles. At the southern extremity, a solitary
peak rises abruptly to a height of 6346 feet above
the sea. Xerxes cut a canal through the isth-
mus, traces of which still exist. This peninsula
is the seat of twenty large monasteries, besides
numerous hermitages and chapels. The entire
number of monks is about 6000. They enjoy
complete autonomy, subject to paying the Turk-
ish government an annual tribute of about 3500.
Caryes, the principal place in the peninsula, is
picturesquely situated in the midst of vineyards
and gardens, and has 1000 inhabitants. Here
the market is held ; but no female, even of the
lower animals, is permitted on Athos. In the
middle ages, Athos was the centre of Greek learn-
ing and Christian-Byzantine art. Now learning
is at a very low ebb ; scarcely more than two or
three monks of tolerable education can be found
in a monastery. The libraries are neglected,
though containing several beautiful (but not
important) manuscripts. See works by Curzon
(1849 ; 6th ed. 1881), Athelstan Riley (1887), and
Brockhaus (Leip. 1891).

Athy', the chief town of County Kildare, on
the Barrow, here joined by the Grand Canal, 45
miles SW. of Dublin by rail. Pop. 3(300.

Atitlan, a Central American lake, in Guate-
mala, 24 miles long, and 8 to 10 miles broad. It
seems to occupy the crater of an extinct volcano,
and is of great depth. It has no visible outlet.
High cliffs surround it, and on its southern bank
rises the volcano of Atitlan (12,538 feet), at whose
foot lies the little Indian town of Santiago de
Atitlan, with a pop. of 9000.

Atlanta, a flourishing city of the United
States, capital of Georgia, is situated 1100 feet
above sea-level, 294 miles NW. of Savannah, and
7 miles SE. of the Chattahooch.ee River. Seven
railroads centre at it. Atlanta has an extensive
and rapidly increasing trade in cotton, dry goods,
horses and mules, and especially tobacco. Public
buildings are the custom-house, state-house,
opera-house, the Atlanta University for the edu-
cation of coloured young men and women, Clark
Theological School (coloured Methodist), and two
medical colleges. In September 2, 1864, the city
was captured by the Union troops under General
Sherman, and the entire business portion de-
stroyed by them on leaving it a month later.
Since the restoration of peace, however, its pros-
perity has been uninterrupted and its growth

ATLANTIC CITY 59

rapid. Atlanta was settled in 1840 ; was incor-
porated as the village of Marthasville in 1842 ; as
Atlanta, in 1847. Pop. (1850) 2572 ; (1870) 21,879 ;
(1890) 65,533'; (1900) 89,872.

Atlantic City, a fashionable American health-
resort, on a narrow, sandy island off the coast of
New Jersey, 60 miles SE. of Philadelphia by rail.
Pop. (1870) 1043 ; (1890) 13,055 ; (1900) 27,838.

Atlantic Ocean (so called either from Mount
Atlas or from the fabulous island of Atlantis),
separating the Old from the New World, Europe
and Africa being on the E., and North and South
America on the W. Its greatest width is about
5000 miles, but between Brazil and the African
coast the distance is only about 1600 miles. It is
in open communication with both the Arctic
Ocean and Antarctic or Southern Ocean. The
North Atlantic, stretching from 70 N. to the
equator, has an area of 14,000,000 sq. m. It com-
municates with many inclosed or partially in-
closed seas, such as the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of
Mexico, and Hudson Bay on the west, the Baltic,
North Sea, Mediterranean, and Black Sea on the
east. The South Atlantic from the equator to
40 S. has an area of 10,100,000 sq. m. ; if it be
supposed to extend through the great Southern
Ocean as far as the Antarctic circle, its area is
16,700,000 sq. m.

Towards the centre of the North Atlantic, be-
tween Africa and North America, and in the
centre of the South Atlantic, between Africa and
South America, there are anticyclonic areas of
high atmospheric pressure (over 30 inches), out
of which winds blow in all directions to surround-
ing regions where the pressure is less. The
positions of these high-pressure areas and the
winds that blow out from them, determine the
great oceanic currents and the positions of the
Sargasso seas, for the winds everywhere deter-
mine and control the movements of the surface
waters. The SE. and NE. trades drive the
heated surface waters of the tropics before them,
and eventually produce the Equatorial current,
which on reaching Cage St Roque bifurcates,
one branch becoming the Brazil current of the
South Atlantic, the other and larger branch
passing on to the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of
Mexico, finally issuing from the latter by the
Strait of Florida, forming the Gulf Stream (q.v.),
the greatest and most important of all oceanic
currents. A cold Arctic current passes south-
ward along the shores of Greenland, and unites
off Cape Farewell with the Davis Strait current,
forming the Labrador current, which passes along
the west coast of America, and passes beneath
the Gulf Stream to the south of the banks of
Newfoundland. Icebergs are carried as far south
as 40 N. in the northern and as far north as 38
S. in the southern hemisphere. In the equatorial
regions, the surface water has generally a tem-
perature ranging from 70 to 84 F. ; the tempera-
ture decreases as the depth increases. The warm
water is a relatively thin stratum, the greater
part of ocean water having a temperature below
40 F. It is ice-cold in the Atlantic at the
bottom even beneath the equator. The water of
the Atlantic contains the least salt towards the
poles and in the equatorial belt of calms. The
saltest water (density over 1-0275) is found in the
centre of the trade- wind regions. The salinity of
the deeper waters is considerably below the
average of the surface. The average depth of
the Atlantic is between 2 and 3 miles (2200
fathoms). A low submarine ridge runs down the
centre, from north to south, with an average

ATTICA

depth of about 1700 fathoms over it. On either
side of this ridge there are, both in the North
and South Atlantic, depths of between 3000 and
4000 fathoms. The greatest depth yet met with
is just north of the Virgin Islands (4561 fathoms).
The surface waters from equator to poles swarm
with all kinds of pelagic plants and animals,
many of which emit phosphorescent light, pro-
ducing what is known as luminosity of the sea.
In the centre of the North Atlantic, in the so-
called Sargasso Sea, there are enormous floating
banks of gulf weed (Sargassum bucciferum), on
which a large number of peculiar animals live.
Life has been found to exist at all depths in the
Atlantic, but it becomes less abundant as greater
depths and a greater distance from continental
shores are reached. There are relatively few
oceanic islands. Iceland, the Azores, St Paul's
Bocks, Ascension, and the Tristan da Cunha
group all rise from the central elevation, and are
all of volcanic origin. Jan Mayen rises from the
deep water of the Norwegian Sea. The coral
group of Bermudas rises from the deep water of
the Western North Atlantic. Off the west coast
of Africa are the Canaries, Cape Verds, and
Madeira. In the South Atlantic, to the west of
the central ridge, are Fernando Noronha and
Trinidad, and to the east of the central ridge, St
Helena. There are numerous continental islands,
such as the British Isles, Newfoundland, the West
Indies, the Falklands, and others. The most
civilised nations of the world inhabit the shores
of the Atlantic, and it is the great commercial
highway of the world. It has been sounded in
all directions, and the nature of its bed is so well
known that telegi'aph cables can be laid across
it with great certainty of success. In the neigh-
bourhood of some continental shores, and around
some of the volcanic cones which rise from the
floor of the ocean, there are occasionally very
steep slopes ; but as a rule, the bed of the ocean
is a widespread, gently undulating plain.

Atlas, the great mountain-system of North-
western Africa, stretching north-eastward from
Cape Nun in Morocco to Cape Bon in Tunis, a
distance of 1400 miles. It is not properly a
mountain-chain, but rather a very irregular moun-
tainous mass of land, that attains its greatest
height (13,000 feet) in Miltsin 27 miles SE. of
the city of Morocco, whilst in Algeria the eleva-
tion is only 7673 feet, in Tunis 4476, and in
Tripoli 3200. The slopes on the north, west,
and south are covered with vast forests of pine,
oak, cork, white poplar, wild olive, &c. The
valleys are well watered and capable of cultiva-
tion with great profit.

Atra'to, a river of Colombia, rising on the
Western Cordillera at an altitude of 10,560 feet,
and running 305 miles northward through low
swampy country, till it falls by several mouths,
interrupted by bars, into the Gulf of Darien. It
is navigable by steamers for fully 250 miles,
being 750 to 1000 feet wide, and 8 to 70 feet
deep. A route, surveyed by the United States
government in 1871, proposed to connect the
Atrato and the Jurador, flowing into the Pacific,
by a canal 48 miles long.

Atrauli (Atrowli), a town of British India, in
the United Provinces, 16 miles NE. of Aligarh.
Pop. 18,000.

Atrek, a river of Pe/sia, rising in Khorasan,
and flowing nearly 350 miles westward to the
Caspian Sea, from Shatt downwards along the
boundary with the Russian empire.

At'tica, one of the political divisions or states

ATTLEBOROtIGH

AUDE

Of Hellas or ancient Greece, of which Athens was
the capital. Its area was about 640 sq. m. ;
rather smaller than that of Lanarkshire. To-
day Attica and Boeotia together form a nomarchy
or government of Greece, with an area of 2472
sq. m., and a pop. of 315,000.

Attleborough, a market-town of Norfolk, 16
miles SW. of Norwich. It had a college of the
Holy Cross (1387). Pop. of parish, 2302.

Attleborough, a post-village in Massachusetts,
U.S., 31 miles SW. of Boston by rail. Pop. 11,350.

Attock, a town of the Punjab, on the left
bank of the Indus, here spanned by a great rail-
way bridge (1883). A fort was established here
by the Emperor Akbar in 1581, to defend the
passage of the river, but it is no longer a position
of strength. The situation, however, of Attock
is important, whether in a commercial or in a
military view, it being at the head of the steain-
boat navigation of the Indus, 940 miles from its
mouth. Pop. 4000.

Attrek. See ATREK.

Aubagne (0-bdn'), a town in the French dep. of
Bouches-du-Rhone, on the Huveaune, 10 miles
E. of Marseilles by rail. Pop. 5498.

Aube (OaV), a dep. in the north-east of France,
occupying the southern part of the old province
of Champagne and a small portion of Burgundy.
The western part belongs to the basin of the
Seine ; the eastern to that of the Aube, which
rises near Mount Saule, on the plateau of Lan-
3, and flows 140 miles north-westward by La
Bar, and Acris, to the Seine. Area, 2310
sq. m. Pop. 246,000.

Aubenas (Odb-nd), a town of SE. France, dep.
Ardeche, 50 miles NNE. of Alais by rail. It is
built on a height rising 688 feet above the river
Ardeche, and has a fine old castle. Pop. 5671.

Aubervilliers (0-ber-veel-yay'), in the Seine
dep., 5 miles N. of Paris. Pop. 28,000.

Auburn, or LISSOY, a Westmeath village, 7
miles NE. of Athlone. Goldsmith's father was
rector here, and it is his ' deserted village ; ' the
name ' Auburn ' was taken from his poem.

Auburn, several places in the United States.
(1) In the state of New York, 173 miles W. by
N. of Albany. The outlet of Owasco Lake flows
through the town, furnishing a water-power
which is employed in manufactures of agricultural
machinery, wool, cotton, silk, carpets, iron, &c.
The state prison, founded here in 1816, with over
1000 inmates, has since 1823 been conducted on
the ' silent ' or ' Auburn ' system. There are also
a state asylum and a state armoury. Pop. (1870)
17,225; (1880) 21,924; (1900) 30,345. (2) A town
of Maine, on the west bank of the Androscoggin
River, opposite Lewiston, and 35 miles N. of
Portland by rail. It has manufactures of cotton,
furniture, and boots and shoes. Population,
above 13,000.

Aubusson (0-biis-son s ), a town in the French
dep. of Creuse, in the rocky gorge of the river
Creuse, 47 miles ENE. of Limoges. Pop. 6248.

Auch (Oash), capital of the French dep. of Gers,
on the river Gers, 44 miles S. of Agen by rail.
The Augusta Auscorum of the Romans, it is built
on a hill, whose summit is crowned by the
cathedral (1489-1662), rich in stained glass and
carved woodwork. Pop. 9500.

Auchendrane, a seat 4 miles S. of Ayr, the
scene of Scott's Ayrshire Tragedy.

Auchenheath, a Lanarkshire collier village,
2J miles N. of Lesmahagow. Pop. 640.

Auchensaugh, a Lanarkshire hill, 2 miles
SSE. of Douglas, where in 1712 the Cameronians
founded the Reformed Presbyterian Church.

Auchinblae, a Kincardineshire village, 5 miles
NNE. of Lawrencekirk. Pop. 450.

Auchinleck, an Ayrshire village, 15 miles E.
of Ayr by rail. Pop. 2168. The parish con-
tains Auchinleck House (locally called ' Place
Affleck '), the seat of the Boswells.

Auchmithie, a Forfarshire fishing-village, 3J
miles NNE. of Arbroath. It is the 'Mussel-
crag ' of Scott's Antiquary. Pop. 353.

Auchmuty, a Fife village, on the Leven, 1J
mile W. of Markinch. Pop., with Balbirnie
Mills, 419.

Auchterarder, a Perthshire village, 14 miles
SW. of Perth by rail. Pop. 2276, largely em-
ployed in the woollen manufacture. The oppo-
sition to the presentee to Auchterarder parish
originated (1834) the struggle which ended in the
formation of the Free Church in 1843,

Auchtergaven, a Perthshire parish, 7 miles
N. by W. of Perth. The poet Robert Nicoll was
a native.

Auchtermuchty, a Fife royal burgh, 10J miles
WSW. of Cupar. Pop. 1387.

Auckland, the northern provincial district of
New Zealand, includes fully half of North Island,
and is about 400 miles long by 200 wide at its
widest. The coast-line of nearly 1200 miles is
very long in proportion to the area. Volcanic
action has deeply left its mark on the surface of
Auckland ; and the warm lake and geyser scenery
of the region about 90 miles SE. below the Bay
of Plenty is amongst the most remarkable in
the world. The 'Hot Lake ' district covers an
area 120 miles long by 10 to 15 wide, and includes
hot springs, cisterns of hot water, and mud vol-
canoes ; at Rotorua is an admirably equipped
bathing-boom and sanatorium. The other lakes
are Tarawera, Rotoiti, and Rotomahana. The
wonderful pink and white terraces near Tarawera
Lake were destroyed by a volcanic eruption in
1886. Pop. (1875) 79,104; (1881) 99,451; (1891)
133,267 ; (1901) 175,870.

Auckland, the largest city in the North Island
of New Zealand, on a peninsula 7 miles wide on
the Hauraki Gulf. It stands on the south side
of Waitemata Harbour, one of the finest harbours
in New Zealand ; and its splendid wharves and
graving-docks offer the most complete facilities
for shipping. Auckland is distant from Sydney
1315 miles ; from Melbourne, 1650. It possesses
also a harbour on the western side of the island
in Manukau, only 6 miles across. It has a uni-
versity college and cathedral, and the foundation
stone of a Free Library and Art Gallery was laid
in 1885. Shipbuilding, sugar- refining, rope-
spinning, and brick-making are among the
industries. Pop. (1881) 16,675; (1901) 34,220.
Founded in 1840, and named after Lord Auck-
land, governor-general of India, the town was
capital of New Zealand till 1865.

Auckland Islands, a group of islands about
180 miles to the south of New Zealand. The
largest of them measures 30 miles by 15. It has
two good harbours, and is covered with the richest
vegetation. The Auckland Islands are valuable
chiefly as a whaling station, but are not peopled.
They were annexed by Great Britain in May 1886.

Aude (Oad), a maritime dep. in S. France,
part formerly of Languedoc. Area, 2438 sq. m. ;
population, 313,500. The southern part is occu-
pied by spurs of the Pyrenees, attaining 4037 feet

AUDENSHAW

AUSTRALASIA

in the Pay de Bugarach ; but the greater portion
belongs to the valley of the lower Ancle (130
miles), falling into the Mediterranean. The chief
town is Carcassonne (q.v.).

Audenshaw, a town of Lancashire, 5 miles E.
from Manchester. Pop. 7220.

Audh. See OUDH.

Audley, a town of Staffordshire, 5 miles NW.
of Hanley, with coal and iron works. Pop. 13,700.

Audley End, Essex, l mile SW. of Saffron
Walden, the seat of Lord Braybrooke.

Auerstadt (Ow'er-stet), a village of Prussian
Saxony, 10 miles W. of Naumburg. Here, in Octo-
ber 1806, the French defeated the Prussians.

Aughnacloy, a Tyrone town, on the Black-
water, 10 miles SW. of Dungannon. Pop. 974.

Aughrim. See AGHRIM.

Augsburg, a city of Bavaria, capital of the
province of Swabia, is situated in the angle
between the rivers Wertach and Lech, 37 miles
WNW. of Munich. It has a noble street, the
Maximilian Strasse, adorned with three bronze
fountains (1593-1602) ; and the principal edifices
are the Renaissance town-house (1620), with its
splendid 'Golden Hall;' the Perlach Tower,
dating from the llth century ; the former epis-
copal palace, where, on 25th June 1530, the
Protestant princes presented the Augsburg Con-
fession to Charles V. ; the grand old mansion of
the merchant-princes, the Fuggers ; the ' Three
Moors,' one of the most interesting hostelries
in Germany; and the Gothicised Romanesque
cathedral (994-1421), with its bronze doors and
early glass-paintings. The industry of Augsburg
is once more vigorous. Cotton is now the staple
manufacture, besides woollens, paper, tobacco,
machinery, gold and silver wares, brewing, print-
ing, lithography, and bookselling. Pop. (1871)
51,270; (1900) 89,500 ; of whom 66 per cent, were
Catholics. The Emperor Augustus in 12 B.C.
here founded the 'colony' of Augusta Vlndeli-
corum, which in 1276 became a free city of the
empire, and which was the centre of German art
as represented by the Holbeins, Burgkmair,
Altdorfer, <fcc. The discovery of the Cape route
to India, and of America, dried up the sources of
Augsburg's prosperity. It ceased to be a free
city on the abolition of the German empire in
1806, and was taken possession of by Bavaria.

Augusta, or AGOSTA, a fortified seaport of
Sicily, 11 miles N. of Syracuse by rail. Pop.
12,210. Near it, in 1676, the French under
Duquesne gained a great naval victory over a
Spanish and Dutch fleet under De Ruyter.

Augusta (1), the capital of Maine, U.S., on the
Kennebec, 63 miles NNE. of Portland by rail. A
dam, 17 feet high, affords considerable water-
power ; there are several cotton and other mills ;
and in 1886 a new system of waterworks was
introduced. Augusta contains a U.S. arsenal ;
and at Togus, 4 miles distant, is one of the
national institutions for disabled soldiers. Pop.
(1880) 8665; (1900) 11,683. (2) The third city of
Georgia, U.S., on the Savannah River, 231 miles
from its mouth, but only 132 from Savannah by
rail. It is the head of steamboat navigation on
the river, which is here spanned by three bridges,
connecting the town with Hamburg, S.C., and
which is crossed by a stone dam, 1720 feet in
length, from which a canal, 8 miles long and 150
feet wide, supplies water both for domestic use
and for the cotton and other mills. Augusta is
the seat of the Medical College of Georgia (1832).
Pop. (I860) 12,493 ; (1880) 21,891 ; (1900) 39,540.

Augustenburg, a village of 600 inhabitants
on a bay of the island of Alsen (q.v.). Its castle
(1776) was formerly the residence of the Dukes of
Holstein-Sonderburg- Augustenburg.

Augusto'vo, a town of Russian Poland, on the
Netta, a feeder of the Bug, 138 miles NE. of
Warsaw. Pop. 13,094.

Augustus, FORT. See FORT AUGUSTUS.

Aulapolai', or ALLEPPI, a seaport, with a
lighthouse, in Travancore state, Madras, 33 miles
S. of Cochin. Pop. 25,000.

Auldearn, a Nairnshire village, 2$ miles ESE.
of Nairn. Near it Montrose won his fourth
victory, 9th May 1645. Pop. 313.

Aumale (0-mdl'), an unimportant town of 1966
inhabitants, in the French dep. of Seine-
Inferieure, on the Breste. Since 1547 it has
given the title of duke to various families.
AUMALE, a town of Algeria, 57 miles SE. of
Algiers, is a strong military post. Pop. 3706.

Auray (O'ray), a port in the French dep. of
Morbihan, 20 miles E. of Lorient by rail. Here
is a large deaf and dumb institute ; and 2 miles
north is the famous place of pilgrimage of St
Anne of Auray. Pop. 5517.

Aurich (Ow'rihh), in the Prussian province of
Hanover, almost in the centre of East Friesland,
16 miles NE. of Emden by rail. Pop. 6399.

Aurillac (0-reel-yac), capital of the French dep.
of Cantal, on the Jourdanne, 116 miles SW. of
Clermont. Pop. 14,756.

Aurora (1), a city of Illinois, U.S., on Fox River,
at the junction of several railroads, 39 miles
WSW. of Chicago. It has machine-shops, flour-
mills, manufactories of woollens, cottons, watches,
corsets, silver ware, carriages, and extensive rail-
road workshops. Pop. (1860) 6011 ; (1880) 11,873 ;
(1900) 24,147. (2) A city of Missouri, 270 miles
SW. of St Louis, in a mining region. Pop. 6500.

Aurungabad, the name of at least four places
in India, the most important being in the state
of Hyderabad, on the Doodna, a tributary of the
Godavery. It has a ruined palace of Aurungzebe,
and the mausoleum of his daughter. Pop. 36,850.

Auskerry, an Orkney island, 2 miles S. of
Stronsay. Pop. 7.

Aussee, a town in the Salzkammergut of Styria,
at the confluence of three mountain-streams,
which form the Traun, 23 miles SE. of Ischl by
rail. Situated 2171 feet above the level of the
sea, it has mineral springs and baths and pretty
villas, and is visited by some 6000 strangers
annually. Pop. 1569.

Aussig, a town of Bohemia, on the Elbe, here
joined by the Biela, 66 miles NNW. of Prague.
It has large chemical works. Pop. 37,270.

Austerlitz (Czech Slavlcov), a town of Moravia,
on the Littawa, 12 miles ESE. of Briinn. Pop.
3500. Here, on 2d December 1805, Napoleon
defeated the Russians and Austrians.

Austin, the capital of Texas, U.S., on the
Colorado River, 166 miles W. by N. of Houston.
It has a State Capitol (1887) and a State Uni-
versity. Austin was named after the founder of
the state of Texas. Pop. 22,500.

Australa'sia is a term etymologically equal
to Southern Asia; but used to indicate Australia
and the adjoining islands Tasmania, New Zea-
land, Papua or New Guinea. New Caledonia, the
New Hebrides, New Ireland, and New Britain.
The term would thus exclude the Malay Archi-
pelago, Micronesia, and Polynesia proper ; but
some authors include these great groups of

AUSTRALIA

62 AUSTRALIA

Islands also, making the name therefore equi-
valent to Oceania. Popularly, on the other hand,
it means the ' Australian Colonies ' of Great
Britain, including Tasmania, New Zealand, Fiji,
&c.

Australia, by far the largest island on the
earth's surface, and with or without adjoining
islands, reckoned one of the continents, lies
between 10 39' and 39 ll' S. lat., and between
113 5' and 153 16' E. long. It has a length from
west to east of about 2400 miles ; and a breadth
from north to south of 1971 miles ; with a total
area of 2,944,628 sq. in., about one-fourth less
than that of Europe, or more than twenty-five
times that of Great Britain and Ireland. By the
shortest route, its nearest point is 11,000 miles
distant from England. It is separated from New
Guinea by Torres Strait, 90 miles broad, and
from Tasmania by Bass Strait, 140 miles wide ;
on the NW., W., and S., it is washed by the
Indian Ocean; and on the E., by the South
Pacific. This island-continent is, above all other
continents, exceedingly compact, with an almost
unbroken outline on the east and west. Parallel
with the east coast, at a distance of about 60
miles, stretches for 1200 miles the Great Barrier
Reef. The name Australia in its present signifi-
cation was suggested by Captain Flinders, and
came into use about 1817.

The island is mainly a plateau with a pre-
cipitous face outwards, and at most places
bounded by a strip of lower-lying land between
that face and the sea-coast. The eastern edge
of the plateau averages 2000 feet in height, the
western but 1000 feet; while there is in all
directions an inclination towards a central de-
pression somewhat south and east of the actual
centre of the continent. One great river, the
Murray, Australia's only great river, drains by
means of its many large tributaries Darling,
Murrain bidgee, &c. the whole of the south
portion of the eastern half of the plateau, most
of Victoria, New South Wales, the south of
Queensland, and the east of South Australia ; and
in the SE. corner is the principal mountain range,
the Australian Alps (highest points Mount Town-
send, 7350 feet, and Mount Kosciusko, 7308)
continued northwards into New South Wales by
the Blue Mountains, the Liverpool Range, &c.
There is no drainage into the interior in the
western part of the plateau, which is but slightly
inclined : and here the slight and irregular rain-
fall collects in salt marshes, which sometimes in
flood greatly extend their area. Next to the
Murray, the most important rivers are the Fitz-
roy and the Burdekin in Queensland. By far the
best part of the continent for European settle-
ment and European agriculture is the south-
east Victoria, New South Wales, and part of
South Australia both on and outside of the
plateau. Queensland is rich and fertile, but
tropical and sub-tropical. The northern coast
strip is largely covered with tropical forests. A
portion only of Western Australia is available
for agriculture or pastoral occupation. Consid-
erable areas of the interior are hopeless, irre-
claimable, almost impassable sandy desert ; but
much of the interior area, covered with scrub and
prickly plants, might under irrigation become
available for human occupation.

The foundation of the plateau is granite, some-
times replaced by palaeozoic slates and schists
inclined so as to stand almost on edge. Above
both are in east and south-east coal-bearing areas,
of both mesozoic and palaeozoic age. The central
depression is of cretaceous age. The higher

edges of the plateau are all volcanic, craters,
asli cones, and ash beds being still very con-
spicuous in many places. Gold, discovered in
New South Wales in 1851, has since been found
in all the Australian colonies, especially Vic-
toria, Queensland, and New South Wales. In
1851-91, Australia produced about 100,000,000 oz.
valued at over 350,000,000. Of late years the
gold produce has much fallen off. There are
rich silver-mines in New South Wales, copper-
mines in South Australia, and tin-mines in
Queensland. There are great coal-fields in New
South Wales and Queensland ; and iron has been
found in several colonies. Lead, bismuth, anti-
mony, diamonds, and various kinds of precious
stones form part of Australia's mineral wealth.

In proportion to its size, Australia, lying
mostly within the temperate zone, enjoys on the
whole an equable climate, although subject to
great occasional irregularities ; in general, hot
and dry, and remarkably salubrious. Within
the tropics, it has its rainy season in summer
(November to April) ; south of the tropics, almost
exclusively in winter. The principal mountains,
both for extent and height, lying to the east
or windward side, receive by far the heaviest
tribute of moisture brought by the winds from
the Pacific ; and, as a rule, the amount of rainfall
on the east side is in inverse proportion to the
distance from the east coast. The west side has
far less rain than the east, and there the rainfall
is proportionate to the proximity to the west
coast. What moisture is left in the winds after
their passage across the highlands, the intense
heat rising from the central plains tends to dis-
sipate, instead of allowing it to condense into
rain. South Australia, Victoria, and in a less
degree, New South Wales, are exposed to hot
winds from the interior which rapidly raise the
temperature of the lands they visit to 115 or
higher, and are followed by an equally sudden
fall. Melbourne has a mean temperature of 58 ;
Sydney, 63; Adelaide, a little higher; Perth,
about the same as at Sydney. Captain Sturt
found the mean temperature of the interior for
three months over 101 F. in the shade, and the
drought such as to unloosen the screws of his
boxes, split his combs into thin laminae, make
the leads drop out of his pencils, and his finger-
nails become brittle as glass ; the season was,
however, an exceptional one, and good pastoral
country exists within a short distance of what
he described as the 'Stony Desert.' The east
highlands have a greater proportion of snow than
their latitude and height would argue. At 5000
feet of altitude, in certain situations, snow lies
all the year round, and many of the higher
mountains are covered with snow all the winter.

The worst feature in the climate of Australia
is the total uncertainty and inequality of the
rainfall in all parts of the continent, menacing
the whole country with almost equally distress-
ing alternations of drought and flood. Droughts
sometimes completely wither up vegetation over
large tracts of land, to the destruction of many
thousands of cattle. The ordinary drought itself
renders almost all the rivers of Australia, with the
exception of the Murray proper, merely intermit-
tent ; shrunk for months together into straggling
water-holes, with or without some connecting
thread of stream. As rivers, they really cease
to exist for a longer or shorter period every year.
Even the Murray is only navigable at certain
seasons of the year. The rainy season, on the
other hand, swells these pools into terrific floods,
inundating the country, and often most seriously

AUSTRALIA

destroying property. Most successful irrigation
colonies have been established at Mildura in
Victoria, and Renmark in South Australia, both
utilising the waste waters of the River Murray.
Water for the use of stock in summer is exten-
sively stored in dams, and large tracts of country
with no surface-water have been made available
for settlement by sinking wells. In some dis-
tricts where the conformation is favourable,
artesian wells have proved a success.

The vegetation of Australia is altogether
unique, standing at a long interval from that
of all other quarters of the globe ; but it is
exceedingly abundant in species. These, it is
calculated, number about 10,000 considerably
more than are to be found in all Europe. A
peculiarity of Australian vegetation is the abund-
ance of 'scrub' the 'mallee,' 'mulga,' &c.
The highlands are rich in wood, such as that of
the gum-trees of the genus Eucalyptus, growing
to a height of 250 feet, with a girth of 12 to 20
feet ; one felled giant measuring as much as 480
feet. Then in the south and west, and even a
little into the interior, though less abundantly
there, are the valuable shea-oaks, beef-woods, or
Casuarinas. The ' wattles ' or acacias, abounding
everywhere in the country, and comprising over
300 species, are also a most characteristic feature
of Australia, with lovely yellow blossoms, and
generally fragrant. The Australian bush is
fragrant all the year. Australia affords so wide
a variety of climate and soil that most European
trees and plants have been successfully intro-
duced. The Scotch thistle has become a serious
nuisance.

The zoology of Australia is even more peculiar
than its botany. The mammalia of other lands
are totally wanting here, except some rats and
mice, and the dingo or wild dog, while the mar-
supials or pouch-bearing mammalia of Australia
have but the opossums of America to represent
them in any other part of the world. The largest
of the marsupials are the kangaroo, hare kangaroo,
and rat kangaroo. The fruit-eating bat, or flying-
fox, is found. Then there are opossums and
phalangers. The wombat is the largest of the
marsupials, next to the kangaroo. The ant-eater
of Western Australia is of the size of a squirrel.
The ornithorhynchus, platypus, duck-mole, or
water-mole, having no teeth or marsupial pouch,
has broad webbed feet, a horny mandible like
a duck-bill, and is oviparous. Australia favours
the acclimatisation of animal as well as plant
life, and the rabbit has proved so prolific as to
require special public eiforts for its suppression.
The camel has done excellent service in the work
of exploration.

The birds, if not quite so unique and strange a
feature of Australia as are its mammalia, excel
those of all other temperate lands for beauty of
plumage and fineness of form. Passing over the
splendid parrots and cockatoos, we note for their
singularity of figure or brilliancy of feather, the
regent-bird, rifle-bird, fly-catcher, and lyre-bird.
Notable are also honey-suckers, brush-turkeys,
the bower-birds, the emu and cassowary, and the
Podargi, of enormous mouth 'more-porks,' as
they are called, from their singular cry. Alto-
gether, Australia has 650 distinct species of birds
to muster against Europe's 500. Of reptiles,
Australia has no less than 140 different kinds,
its largest lizard measuring from 4 to 6 feet.
Nor does Australia want for snakes. Though
destitute of both the vipers and pit-vipers, it
makes up for this by the Elapidse (a family
including the Indian cobras), constituting two-

thirds of the snakes of Australia, all poisonous,
though only five kinds are fatally so. The black
snake of Australia measures from 5 to 8 feet long.
Australia abounds, moreover, in insects, beauti-
ful and peculiar. English singing and game
birds have been largely introduced. The com-
mon sparrow has multiplied to such an extent
that it has become a pest. Axis deer and Angora
goats have been acclimatised.

Almost as much as its botany and zoology,
the human natives of Australia are isolated and
peculiar, separated by a wide remove from the
Papuans, the Malays, and the Negroes. Of a
dark coffee-brown complexion, rather than
actually black, the Australian stands not much
short of the average European in height, but is
altogether of much slimmer and feebler build ;
his legs, in particular, are very lean and destitute
of calves (a defect common to dark races). His
head is long and narrow, with a low brow promi-
nent just above the eyes, but receding thence in
a very marked degree. The nose, proceeding
from a narrow base, broadens outwardly to a
somewhat squat end. The face bulges into high
cheek-bones. The mouth is big and uncouth,
the upper jaw projecting over the lower, but
with fine white teeth. The whole head and face,
and indeed the whole person, is covered with a
profusion of hair, which, when freed of its
usually enclogging oil and dirt, is soft and
glossy. The intellect of the Australian, directed
almost exclusively to the means of procuring
food, operates wholly within the range of the
rudest bodily senses ; but inside that elementary
sphere, displays no little nimbleness and skill.
He is unsurpassed in tracking and running down
his prey ; and his weapons, though of the most
primitive kind, are well adapted to assist him
in that purpose, whilst his rude culinary and
domestic apparatus manifests equal skill. His
language, within its very circumscribed sensuous
sphere, is fairly expressive and complete ; and
in the facility with which he learns to chatter
foreign languages is noteworthy. Outside this
circle, however, all is blank to the Australian.
In summer the natives roam about naked, and
sense of shame seems almost wholly undeveloped
in them. Morality is entirely reduced to the
notion of property, wives being one item in a
man's chattels the stealing of which has a definite
punishment attached to it. Yet the ' black
fellows ' are capable of loyal affection and grati-
tude. Without doubt they have often murdered
Europeans, but in many cases this was but more
or less legitimate reprisal for prior atrocities
committed by the convicts or other reckless
Europeans. None of them have fixed habita-
tions ; caves may be taken advantage of, but
usually the best habitation they have is a screen
of twigs and bushes, covered with foliage or turf;
sometimes, however, logs of wood and turf serve
for a few days' or weeks' shelter. By way of
food the Australian devours the kangaroo, emu,
opossum, wombat, lizards, snakes (of which the
head is rejected), frogs, larvae, white ants, moths,
which are usually roasted, fire being produced
by rubbing together two pieces of stick. His
boomerang is an ingenious throw-stick, and is
skilfully used even for knocking down birds on
the wing. There is no government among this
people outside that of the family, and no laws
except traditionary rules about property. In the
way of religion they have little save their terror
of ghosts and demons, and some superstitious
traditional rites applicable to certain epochs in a
man's life, more particularly at his burial. Their

AUSTRALIA

marriage customs are curious, the fundamental
principle being exogamy, the custom which pro-
hibits a man from marrying a woman of his own
tribe. They cannot usually count beyond five.
Like almost all other savages, the native Aus-
tralians are rapidly vanishing before the advance
of civilisation. In the settled districts some of
them are usefully employed as shepherds and
stockmen, but the majority prefer nomadic habits.
The intermittent use of European clothing induces
consumption, while the diseases and vices they
acquire from Europeans are another potent
factor of their destruction. The lowest estimate
of their number, prior to European settlement
among them, gives over 150,000 ; they are now
calculated at less than half that figure.

Some old 15th and 16th century maps show,
where the north of Australia is, a territory
of various outline named Java Major, or Java
the Greater ; and it seems probable that after
Magellan's death his followers sighted Western
Australia in 1522. The present Torres Strait
refers to the presence of Torres there in 1606.
Dirk Hartog Island in the west carries us back
to Dirk Hartog and the year 1616. Arnhem
Peninsula is a reminiscence of the Dutch vessel
Arnhem, which in 1618 explored the coast of
that land. The Dutch ship, Guldene Zeepaard,
in 1627 sighted a large part of the south coast
from Cape Leeuwin eastwards. The Gulf of
Carpentaria was named, probably by Tasman,
after Carpentier, governor of the Dutch Indies,
1623-27. All the early explorers brought back a
forbidding report of desolate shores thinly occu-
pied by brutal savages. In 1688 Australia was
first seen by British eyes in the person of
Dampier, who gives name to an archipelago in
the NW. Near a century later (1770) we find
Captain Cook at this island-continent, on his
course of circumnavigation of the globe, explor-
ing the whole eastern coast from Gipps Land on
the SE. (in Victoria) to Cape York; and the
exploration of the whole coast of Australia was
completed by the Beagle (in which Charles
Darwin sailed), 1837-43.

Inland exploration began with the first British
occupation of New South Wales in 1788, but for
the first twenty-five years was confined inside
the Blue Mountains, to a district of some 50
miles inland. In 1813, however, that barrier
was passed, and the valley of the Fish River and
Bathurst Plains were brought within the limits
of civilisation. Two years later (1815) the Lach-
lan River (tributary of the Murrumbidgee) was
lighted on. Important later explorations were
those of Hume and Sturt (1819-28), Mitchell
(1835), Eyre (1839-40), Sturt (1844-45), Leichardt
(1843-46), M'Donall Stuart (1862, across the con-
tinent from south to north), Burke and Wills
(disastrous, same date), Gregory (1861), Jardine
(1864). Later still, using the trans-continental
telegraph of 1872 as a basis, were the expeditions
of Giles, Warburton, and Forrest ; and those of
Hodgkinson, Giles, Favenc, Hann, Crawford,
Stockdale, Carrington, Lindsay, Tenison- Woods,
Milman, and Tietkins. These expeditions seem
to demonstrate that much of the interior of
Australia, between the west of the overland
telegraph line and the east of the narrow hilly
border of Western Australia, is little better than
desert unmitigated sand, dense scrub, or porcu-
pine grass. A considerable area in the east of
Western Australia is yet unexplored ; as also are
the adjoining parts of the Northern Territory of
South Australia, and the interior of Cape York
Peninsula.

The first European settlement in Australia was
made in 1788 at Botany Bay under Captain
Phillip, but was almost immediately transferred
to the adjoining Port Jackson, close to where
Sydney now is ; it comprised in all 1030 persons,
of whom 757 were convicts. In 1825 Moreton
Bay (now Queensland) was settled as a part of
New South Wales, attaining in December 1859
the position of a separate colony. The settle-
ment of Western Australia (the Swan River Set-
tlement, as it was then called) dates from 1829.
It continued to be a penal settlement from 1851
to 1868. Port Phillip (now Victoria), then a part
of New South Wales, was first colonised in 1835,
and on 1st July 1851 was constituted an inde-
pendent colony. The colonisation of South Aus-
tralia by British emigrants dates from 1836.

Especially after the discovery of gold in 1851,
Australia advanced in all departments of material
well-being at a rate surpassing that of any other
country on the globe. In 1801 the settlement
at and about Sydney had increased to 5547
persons ; in 1835 the European settlers of Aus-
tralia (including Tasmania) amounted to 80,000.
By 1851 the population had risen to 350,000.
The discovery in that year of the gold-fields
caused a sudden and enormous inrush of immi-
grants from all parts of the world ; now Aus-
tralia alone has over 3,800,000, and Australasia
4,600,000. The population is, of course, almost
all of European origin, the predominating ele-
ment being British. The British-born are no
longer the most numerous element in the colonial
populations, the native-born being now over three-
fourths. Chinese and Germans number about
30,000 and 38,500 respectively; there are many
Polynesians (' Kanakas ') in Queensland ; not to
speak of Scandinavians, Americans, and French.
The largest cities are Melbourne, capital of Vic-
toria ; Sydney, of New South Wales ; Adelaide, of
South Australia ; Brisbane, of Queensland ; Ball-
arat, in Victoria, and Sandhurst, also in Victoria.

The Commonwealth of Australia, comprising the
five Australian ' states ' (heretofore colonies) and
Tasmania, was sanctioned by the British Parlia-
ment on July 9, 1900, and proclaimed in Sydney
on January 1, 1901. The Executive is vested in the
Governor -general (representing the sovereign),
assisted by an Executive Council of seven minis-
ters of state, who must be members of the
Federal Parliament. The Legislature consists of
the Governor-general, a Senate, and a House of
Representatives. The Senate, corresponding to
the House of Lords in Britain, has 36 members
(6 from each state) elected for six years, half of
them being renewed every three years ; in cer-
tain circumstances it may be dissolved by the
Governor-general and entirely re-elected. The
House of Representatives, corresponding to the
British House of Commons, has 75 members
elected for three years, and apportioned among
the separate states according to population New
South Wales sending 26 ; Victoria, 23 ; Queens-
land, 9 ; South Australia, 7 ; Western Australia,
5 ; and Tasmania, 5. Members of both Houses
receive 400 per annum.

The Federal Parliament legislates on all matters
affecting the Commonwealth as a whole, such as
commerce, railways, shipping, firiance, defence,
postal and telegraph services, emigration, &c.,
leaving more local matters to be dealt with by
the state parliaments. Each state has a gover-
nor, a Legislative Council, and Legislative
Assembly. See the separate articles.

There is no state church in Australia. In
respect of numbers, Episcopacy is the dominant

AUSTRALIA

form of religion, Roman Catholics come second,
Presbyterians third, and Methodists fourth. Edu-
cation has of late been rapidly diffusing itself.
In all the colonies education is either free and
compulsory, or the primary schools are all so
liberally endowed by the government as to place
elementary instruction within the reach of all
classes ; while libraries, museums, botanical
gardens, schools of art, mechanics' institutes,
&c., are multiplying in all the colonies under
the liberal patronage of the several governments.
There are universities in Melbourne, Sydney,
and Adelaide, and also well-equipped astron-
omical observatories.

Literary enterprise in Australia is mainly ab-
sorbed in journalism, as may well be believed
when it is mentioned that in the Australasian
colonies, including Tasmania and New Zealand,
some 800 newspapers, magazines, and periodicals
are published, many of them dailies. The current
book literature is of course mainly that of the
old country ; and of the literature produced in
the colonies, by far the greater part is still the
work of men born and bred in Britain. In
literature proper, there are but few outstanding
names those of Lindsay Gordon, Marcus Clarke,
Henry Kendall, P. W. Hume, Mrs Campbell
Praed, and ' Rolfe Boldrewood,' being perhaps
the best known.

The chief and most general staple produce of
Australia, for which the country is peculiarly
adapted, and which constitutes its largest export,
is wool. Over all the highlands and the river-
lands of the sea- border wherever, in fact, there is
water sheep thrive remarkably, except perhaps
within the tropics, and the wool is of the finest
quality, realising the highest prices in the English
market. The exports of wool from Australia
have an annual value of from 16,000,000 to
20,000,000 (New South Wales alone sending to
the amount of from 7,300,000 to 11,300,000 a
year in 1882-91). The cereals of Europe and maize
have been introduced into the island-continent
with the happiest success. Potatoes everywhere
yield abundantly. The vine is extensively culti-
vated. Sugar is a very important product of
Queensland ; tobacco, cotton, arrowroot, and
bananas are also largely grown.

The trade of Australia exhibits a remarkable
development, the average of trade per inhabitant

being about five times that of Europe, and nearly
five times that of Canada. The imports of Aus-
tralia have risen from 35,557,716 in 1874, to
68,129,455 in 1901 ; the exports in the same
period from 36,724,866 to 75,026,787. It has
not escaped the influence of the wave of depres-
sion which has affected the whole of the civilised
world during recent years, followed by many
financial disasters, including the stoppage of
many of the banks. The borrowing powers of
the various governments have been much too
freely used, and many of the public works are
unproductive, and the public debt has become
burdensome. The exports consist principally of
wool, frozen meat, preserved meat, tallow, skins
of all kinds, hides, wheat, cotton, sugar, and
wine. New South Wales, alone of all the divi-
sions of Australia, has (since the governorship
of Sir Hercules Robinson, 1872-79) adopted the
principle of free-trade. A heavy protective tariff
prevails in Victoria, and the example of this
colony has been followed by South Australia.

Since 1870, railways and telegraphs have been
increasing rapidly ; there is railway
from Adelaide, via Melbourne and Sydney, to

lway connection

Brisbane, communication having been completed
in 1888 ; and there are shorter lines in the several
colonies. At the end of 1902 the railway lines of the
Commonwealth already working measured 13,821
miles,and 1065 miles were in course of construction.
Telegraphically, the colonies are now all linked
together with Tasmania and New Zealand, and
with the mother-country via Java and India.

Manufactures suitable to the country are rap-
idly developing. Magnificent lines of steamers
maintain frequent communication with Europe
and America, between the various colonies, and
with the Fiji Islands and New Caledonia. Mails
have been delivered in Adelaide in twenty-nine
days from London vid Brindisi, and the sea-
passage between Adelaide and Plymouth may be
covered in about thirty-five days. Mails have
been delivered at King George's Sound in less
than twenty-four days from London. The length
of the voyage in sailing-ships ranges generally
from severity to one hundred days.

The following are some of the statistics of the
Australian colonies, as shown in the official tables
for the census year 1901. For comparison those
of New Zealand are added.

STATISTICS 1901.

COLONIES.

Area in
Sq. Miles.

Pop. in

1891.

Pop. in
1901.

Revenue
in 1901.

Public Debt
in 1301.

Imports in
1901.

Exports in
1901.

Acres under
crop in 19014

Victoria
New South Wales
Queensland
South Australia.
West Australia.
Tasmania

87,884
310,367
668,497
903,690
975,920
26,215

1,140,405
1,132,234
393,718*
320,431*
49,782*
146,667

1,201,341
1,359,133
496,596*
362,604*
184,124*
172,475

7,702,818
10,805,543
4,096,290
2,661,549
3,142,912
826,163

50,013,552
61,479,662
38,534,614
26,448,805
11,709,430
9,095,735

18,927,340
26,928,218
6,376,239
7,478,288
6,454,171
1,965,199

18,646,097
27,351,124
9,249,366
8,318,820
8,515,623
2,945,757

2,913,296
2,567,215
307,344
2,188,707
217,124
513,719

TOTAL
New Zealand . . .

2,972,573
104,471

3,183,237
626,658t

3,776,273

772, 71 9 1

29,235,275
6,217,789

197,281,798
52,966,447

68,129,455
11,817,915

75,026,787
12,881,424

8,707,405
12,195,542

GRAND TOTAL..

3,077,044

3,809,895

4,548,992

35,453,064

250,248,245

79,947,370

87,908,211

20,902,947

Exclusive of aborigines. f Exclusive of Maoris (43,143 in 1901). J Including sown grasses and hay.

See also the articles VICTORIA, NEW SOUTH
WALES, QUEENSLAND, SOUTH AUSTRALIA, WEST-
ERN AUSTRALIA, and those on the great cities,
&c., of Australia ; the Australian Handbook and
other annuals ; The Australian Encyclopaedia,
edited by G. C. Levey, C.M.G. (1892) ; A. Trollope,
Australia and New Zealand (1873) ; A. R. Wallace,
4li>stralasia (1893) ; historical works by Bonwick

(1882), Rusden (1883), Allen (1882), Sir Henry
Parkes (1892), and Greville Tregarthen (' Nations'
series, 1893) ; a history of exploration by Favenc
(1888); R. Wallace, Rural Economy and Agri-
culture of Australia and New Zealand (1891) ;
works on the aborigines by Dawson (1881) and
Curr (1888) ; and D. B. W. Sladen's Australian
Poets and A Century of Australian Song (1888).

AUSTRIA

Austria, the usual name of the great empire
now officially called the AUSTRO - HUNGARIAN
MONARCHY, is a Latinised form of the German
Oesterrcich (Fr. Autriche), meaning ' Eastern King-
dom." Since 18G7, the empire is composed of a
union of two states under one emperor, but ad-
ministratively distinct. The one is Austria, or
Cisleithania (' on this side the Leitha,' a tributary
of the Danube on the frontiers of the archduchy
of Austria and Hungary) ; the other, Hungary
and the lands of the Hungarian crown, or Trans-
leithania. The Austrian dominions form geo-
graphically a compact territory, with a circum-
ference of about 5350 miles. The total area,
240,456 sq. m., is greater than that of any other
European state save Russia, and is nearly twice
the area of the United Kingdom. The body of
the empire lies in the interior of Europe, though
it has about 500 miles of sea-coast on the Adri-
atic. Austria borders on Italy, Switzerland,
Bavaria, Saxony, Prussia, Russia, Roumania,
Servia, and Montenegro. The nominally Turkish
provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, occupied
and administered by Austria, are for all practical
purposes part of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy,
though not included as such in official statistics.
The following table shows the area and popula-
tion of the empire at the censuses of 1880 and
1900:

I. AUSTRIAN LANDS

Lower Austria

Upper Austria

Salzburg

Btyria

Carinthia

Carniola

Istria, Trieste, Ac

Tyrol and Vorarlberg

.. 3,084
_ ..11,324

Bohemia 19,980

Moravia 8,583

Silesia 1,987

Galicia 30,307

Bukowina 4,035

Dalmatia 4,940

Area in Population Population
sq, miles. in 1880. in 1900.
2,329,021

760,879

163,566
1,212,367

348,670

481,176

650,897

911,887
5,557,134
2,151,619

565,772
5,951,954

7,654
4,631
2,767
8,670
4,005

193,247

1.356,058

367,344

755,183

979,878

6,318,280

2,435,081

476,164

7,295,538
729,921
691,597

Total for Austria.. 115,823 22,130,705 26,107,304
II. LANDS OF THE HUNGARIAN CROWN

Hungary & Transylvania 107,858 13,700,005 16,653,332

Fiume 8 21,363 38,139

Croatia and Slavonia 16,767 1,889,351 2,512,060

Total for Hungary 124,633 15,610,719 19,203,531

Total for the Monarchy.240,456 37,741,424 45,310,835

The area of Bosnia and Herzegovina is 23,179
Sq. in., and the pop. in 1895 was estimated at
1,738,092. In 1900 the capital, Vienna, had a
pop. of 1,622,269; and there were in the empire
seven other towns above 100,000 (Budapest,
Prague, Trieste, Lemberg, Gratz, Briin, Szegedin),
and thirteen others above 50,000.

Three-fourths of Austria is mountainous or
hilly, being traversed by three great mountain-
chains the Alps, Carpathians, and Sudetes,
whose chief ridges are of primitive rock. The
Rhaetian and Noric Alps stretch from Switzerland
to the Danube, and contain the highest points of
the Austrian territories, the Ortler Spitze risin^
to 12,814 feet. The Carpathian Chain, extending
for 880 miles, rises on the left bank of the
Danube, near Presburg, and sweeping in a curve,
first east, and then southward through Transyl-
vania, again meets the Danube ; it culminates at
8517 feet. The Sudetes run through the north-
east of Moravia and Bohemia, in which last the
range is known as the Riesengebirge, or Giant
Mountains. Continuous with this range, but

beginning on the left bank of the Elbe, are the
Erzgebirge, or Ore Mountains, on the confines
of Saxony. The chief plains of the Austrian
empire are the vast lowlands of Hungary and
the plain of Galicia. The chief lakes are Lake
Balaton (382 sq. m.) and the Neusiedler See (117),
both in Hungary ; and remarkable is also the
Zirknitz Lake (q.v.) in Illyria.

The leading rivers are : the Danube, which has
a course of 850 miles within the Austrian
dominions, its navigable affluents being the Inn,
Save, Drave, March, Waag, and the Thoiss, which
drains nearly half of Hungary ; the Vistula, with
its tributary the Bug ; the Elbe, with the Moldau
and Eger ; the Dniester and Adige.

The climate of Austria varies much on account
of the extent and diversity of the surface. In
the warmest southern region between 42-46lat.,
rice, olives, oranges, and lemons ripen in the
better localities ; and wine and maize are pro-
duced everywhere. In the middle temperate
region from 46-49, which has the greatest extent
and diversity of surface, wine and maize still
thrive to perfection. In the northern region,
beyond 49, except in favoured spots, neither
wine nor maize succeeds ; but grain, fruit, flax,
and hemp thrive excellently.

The mineral wealth of Austria is not surpassed
in any European country. Bohemia, Hungary,
Styria, Carinthia, Salzburg, and Tyrol take the
first place in respect of mineral pi-oduce. Ex-
cept platinum, none of the useful metals is want-
ing. The value of their yearly produce is estim-
ated at about 12,000,000. Of this sum coal yields
about a half, iron a fifth, salt a tenth, and gold
and silver together one-fourteenth ; whilst copper,
zinc, quicksilver, lead, iron, coal, and many other
minerals, together with precious stones, marble,
gypsum, &c., are plentiful. Austria is peculiarly
rich in salt. Rock-salt exists in immense beds
on both sides of the Carpathians, chiefly at
Wieliczka (q.v.). There are inexhaustible de-
posits of coal in the monarchy, the richest in
Moravia and Bohemia. Austria has some 1COO
mineral springs, some of them of European
reputation, as the sulphur baths of Baden in
Lower Austria, the saline waters of Karlsbad,
Marienbad, Franzensbad, Teplitz, &c., all in
Bohemia.

Although three-fourths of the surface is moun-
tainous, more than five-sixths is productive, being
used either for tillage, meadows, pasture, or forest.
Grain of all kinds is cultivated ; rice grows
in the Banat ; potatoes are raised everywhere ;
fruit grows in profusion; for wine, Austria is
second only to France ; and other vegetable pro-
ducts are flax and hemp, tobacco, rape-seed.
Nearly a third of the productive surface is covered
with wood.

Bohemia takes the lead in manufacturing in-
dustry, then follow Austria Proper, Moravia and
Silesia, and Hungary. Vienna is the chief seat
of manufacture for articles of luxury ; Moravia,
Silesia, and Bohemia for linen, woollen, and glass
wares ; Styria and Carinthia, for iron and steel
wares. The chief manufactured articles of export
are those of silk and wool ; the only others of
consequence are linen twist, glass wares, and
cotton goods. The yearly value of manufactured
iron is considerable. The glass wares of Bohemia
are of special excellence. The manufactures of
cotton, of silk, of hemp and flax, are very exten-
sive. The manufacture of tobacco is a state
monopoly. Austria is not favourably situated
for foreign commerce. High mountains oppose
great obstacles on all hands to communication,

AUSTRIA

and separate the producing districts from the
only sea that touches the empire ; while the
chief navigable rivers have their mouths in other
countries. The total imports vary in value from
42,000,000 to 70,000,000 a year, some of the
principal items being cotton, wool, woollen yarn,
cotton yarn, coffee, silk, coal and coke, machin-
ery, furs and hides, tobacco. The exports have an
annual value of from 60,000,000 to 80,000,000,
half being for agricultural products grain, sugar,
cattle, flour, eggs, feathers, &c. ; also timber,
minerals, wood-wares.

Nearly two-thirds of the whole commerce of
the empire is carried on with Germany. Its
next best markets are Roumania, Russia, Italy,
and Servia. The direct trade with Great Britain
is comparatively small ; the Board of Trade
returns recognising only the trade by way of
the Austrian seaboard. Between 1891 and 1902
the exports from Austria to Great Britain varied
from 1,100,000 to 1,375,245 ; and the goods im-
ported direct from Great Britain, from 1,600,000
to 2,516,899. The length of railways in 1902
was 12,750 miles more than half belonging to
state lines.

There are three distinct budgets, one for the
whole empire, another for Austria Proper, and
a third for the kingdom of Hungary. Besides
their share of the interest on the national debt,
Austria pays a larger and Hungary a smaller
sum towards the 'common expenditure of the
empire ; ' the precise proportions to be settled
every ten years have of late been fiercely
disputed by the Hungarians, and, with Hun-
garian home-rule demands, caused very strained
relations between Austria and Hungary in
1904-5. The budget estimates for the imperial
expenses for the year 1904 showed a total of
16,270,500. The accounts of Austria Proper
generally show large deficits. In 1904 the revenue
was, however, stated at 72,396,250, and the
expenditure at 72,282,150. In 1904 the general
debt of the empire was 222,212,084, and the
special debt of Austria 156,904,946. For Hun-
gary in 1903 the revenue and expenditure nearly
balanced at 45,435,946 ; the debt (largely for
railways) amounted to 214,366,540. Hungary
also pays 2,541,606 annually to the common
debt of the empire.

The population is very unequally distributed.
The most populous districts are those of the
south-west and of the north-west. The Al-
pine regions and those of the Carpathians are
sparsest ; and generally the density diminishes
towards the east. The population of Austria
embraces a greater number of races, distinct
in origin and language, than that of any other
European country except Russia. The Slavs
are the most numerous race, amounting to
nearly 42 per cent, of the whole population.
They form the bulk of the population of Bo-
hemia, Moravia, Carniola, Dalmatia, Croatia,
Slavonia, the Woiwodina, the north of Hungary,
and Galicia. They are, however, split up into
a number of peoples or tribes, differing greatly
in language, religion, culture, and manners ; so
that their seeming preponderance in the empire
is thus lost. The chief branches of the Slavic
stem are, in the north, the Czechs or Bohemians
(the most numerous of all), Ruthenians, and
Poles; and in the south, the Slovenians, Croats,
Serbs, and Bulgarians. The Germans number
above 25 per cent., dispersed everywhere, but
mainly in the western parts of the empire. The
Romance peoples (speaking languages derived
from that of ancient Rome) amount to fully 9

per cent. , and are divided into western and east-
ern. The western consist of Italians, inhabiting
the south of Tyrol, Istria, and Dalmatia ; the
Ladins (Latins), in some valleys of Tyrol ; and
the Friulians about Gorz, north of Trieste. The
eastern Romance people are the Roumanians,
who are found in Transylvania, Hungary, the
Woiwodina, and the Bukowina. The Magyars, or
Hungarians proper, number over 16 per cent. :
they are located chiefly in Hungary and Tran-
sylvania. The small remaining portion is com-
posed chiefly of Jews, Armenians, and Gypsies.
The principal languages are German, Hungarian,
and Bohemian ; but Polish, Ruthenian, and Croat
languages are also spoken.

In 1900 there were 30,580,192 Roman Catholics ;
4,990,678 Greeks and Armenians united with the
Roman Church; 3,423,175 Orthodox Greeks;
1,654,396 Lutherans ; 2,569,699 Calvinists ; 68,872
Unitarians; 2,076,277 Jews. There are nearly 300
abbeys and above 500 convents in the empire.

Education, whether high or low, is mostly
gratuitous. The primary schools in Austria are
to a very large extent in the hands of the clergy.
The law enforces compulsory attendance at the
' Volks-schulen,' or national schools, of all chil-
dren between the ages of six and twelve. There
is a very great difference between the German
provinces and the Slavonic ones in respect of
education. In Vorarlberg 82 per cent, of the in-
habitants read and write ; in Bukowina not quite
10 per cent. There are eleven universities in the
empire, at Vienna, Prague, Gratz, Brunn, Inns-
bruck, Pesth (Budapest), Cracow, Klausenburg,
Lemberg, and Czernowitz. Vienna, Gratz, and
Innsbruck rank as German universities ; Prague
has since 1880 a Bohemian and a German uni-
versity. There are in the whole monarchy over
4000 newspapers and other periodicals (about 380
newspapers), of which nearly half are in German.

Military service is compulsory on all citizens
capable of bearing arms. The term of service
is twelve years three in the standing army,
seven in the reserve, and two in the landwehr.
The army has on a peace footing 396,000 men,
and on a war footing 2,580,000. The navy com-
prised 11 ironclads, 15 cruisers, 62 torpedo boats,
and 20 vessels for coast defence. These are
manned by about 9000 men, raised to 14,000 in
time of war.

Austria is a monarchy hereditary in the House
of Hapsburg-Lorraine. In the case of the reign-
ing family dying out, the states of Bohemia
and of Hungary have the right of choosing a
new king. Since the year 1867 Austria has
been reconstructed as a dual empire, consisting
of a German or 'Cisleithan* monarchy, and a
Magyar or ' Transleithan ' kingdom. Each of the
two countries has its own laws, parliament,
ministers, and government, and deals with the
affairs exclusively relating to itself. The ministers
for affairs common to the whole empire (foreign
affairs, finance, army) are not responsible to either
parliament, but to the Delegations a body form-
ing a connecting link between the two portions
of the empire. These constitute' a parliament of
120 members : the one-half is chosen by the legis-
lature of Germanic Austria, and the other half
represents Hungary. The person of the sovereign
is another link between the two members of the
empire.

The Austrian Reichsrath consists of an upper
and a lower house. The upper house is com-
posed of the princes of the imperial family who
are of age, of upwards of 50 nobles, 10 arch-
bishops, 7 bishops, and 105 life-members nomi-

AUSTRIA

AVEYRON

nated by the emperor. The lower house num-
bers 353 elected members. The executive of
Hungary is carried on in the name of ' the king '
by a responsible ministry.

The empire of Austria arose from the smallest
beginnings at the end of the 8th century. In
796 a Margraviate, called the Eastern Mark (i.e.
'March' or frontier-land), was founded as an
outpost of the empire of Charlemagne, in the
country between the Enns and the Raab. The
name Oesterreich appears first in 996. In 1156 the
mark was raised to a duchy ; and after coming
into the possession of the House of Hapsburg in
1282, it rapidly rose to be a powerful state. The
princes of that House extended their dominion
by marriage, by purchase, and otherwise, over a
number of other states, including the crowns of
Bohemia and Hungary ; and from 1438 down to
the 19th century, they held almost without in-
terruption the throne of the German empire
(nominally 'the Holy Roman Empire '}the
emperor being the most conspicuous, if not
always the most powerful personage amongst the
crowned heads of Europe. In 1804 Francis
declared himself hereditary Emperor of Austria,
and two years afterwards resigned the dignities
of German Emperor and King of the Romans.
Thenceforward, especially during the troublous
times of 1848-50, Austria held the pre-eminence
amongst German states ; but after the victory of
Prussia at Koniggratz (Sadowa), in the short but
decisive Austro-Prussian war of 1866, Austria was
excluded from Germany an exclusion made final
by the reconstruction of the German empire with
the kings of Prussia as hereditary German em-
perors. In 1867 Austria was itself reconstituted
on its present footing as the Austro-Hungarian
monarchy.

See Coxe, History of the House of Austria (3 vols.
1847-53; continued by Kelley, 1853); Leger,
Histoirede I'Autriche-Hongrie (1879) ; Sidney Whit-
man, The Realm of the Habsburgs (1893).

Austria, ARCHDUCHY OF, the cradle and nucleus
of the Austrian empire, lies on both sides of the
Danube, from the mouth of the Inn to Presburg,
on the borders of Hungary, and embraces an area
of 18,052 sq. m., with a pop. (1900) of 4,089,547.
It now forms three of the crown-lands, or adminis-
trative provinces of the empire viz. Lower and
Upper Austria (i.e. Austria below, and Austria
above, the Enns), and the duchy of Salzburg.

Auteuil (0-tuh'yee l ), formerly a country village
at the entrance of the Bois de Boulogne, now en-
closed within the fortifications of Paris. It was
the residence of Boileau and Moliere.

Autun (0-tun g ; anc. Augustodunum), in the
French dep. of Saone-et-Loire, in the Burgundian
district of Autunois, on the river Arroux, 31 miles
NW. of Chalon by rail. It has a fine cathedral
(12th century), and many ruins of Roman temples,
gates, triumphal arches, and other antiquities.
Cloth, carpets, and velvet are manufactured.
Talleyrand was bishop of the diocese, and here
Macmahon was born. Pop. 13,593.

Auvergne, a southern central district of
France, was before the Revolution a separate
province, and coincided nearly with the modern
departments of Cantal and Puy-de-D6me. Of
several summits that have apparently been at
one time volcanoes, the highest is Mont-Dore
(6188 feet). Auvergne produces iron, lead, copper,
and coal, and is rich in valuable mineral springs,
both cold and hot. Many Auvergnats, speaking
their own patois, seek employment in Paris and
Belgiuin.

Auxerre (0-serr 1 ; anc. Autissiodorim), chief
town of the French dep. of Yonne, on the Yonne,
109 miles SE. of Paris. Its noble Gothic cathedral
dates from 1215, but was not completed till the
16th century. The principal manufactures are
wine (a light Burgundy), candles, chemicals, and
hosiery. Pop. 15,300.

Auxonne (0-zonn'\ a fortified town in the
French dep. of Cote d'Or, on the Saone, 20 miles
SE. of Dijon. Pop. 5118.

Ava, a ruined city of Burma, of which it was
the capital 1364-1740, and again 1822-38. It
stands on the Irawadi, 6 miles SW. of Amara-
pura. On the opposite bank stands Sagaing (q.v).

Avallon (anc. Aballo), a town in the French
dep. of Yonne, 26 miles SE. of Auxerre, on a
steep hill of red granite, nearly surrounded by
the river Cousin. Pop. 5571.

Avalon, a peninsula forming the eastern part
of Newfoundland (q.v.), in which St John's, the
capital, is situated.

Avatcha, a bay on the east coast of Kam-
chatka, by far the best harbour of the peninsula,
and containing the smaller bay on which stands
the capital, Petropaulovsk (q.v.).

Avebury, or ABURY, a village of Wiltshire, 6
miles W. of Marlborough. It is the site of the
largest megalithic structure in Britain, including
a large outer circle, 330 yards in diameter, and
two smaller stone circles. The stones that remain
are 5 to 20 feet in height above the ground, and
3 to 12 in breadth and thickness. From an en-
trance to the circle issued the ' Kennet Avenue,"
running 1430 yards south-eastward in a perfectly
straight line, and 17 yards broad, with a range of
blocks on either side similar to those of the circle
itself. Of surrounding antiquities may be men-
tioned a double circle on Hakpen Hill, and a
large barrow, or lofty conical mound called Sil-
bury Hill, f mile to the S. It measures 676
yards in circumference, and is 130 feet high.

Aveiro, a town of Portugal, a bishop's see, 40
miles S. of Oporto by rail, on a salt lake or
lagoon joined to the sea by a canal. Pop. 9167.

Avelli'no (anc. Abellinum), chief town of an
Italian province at the foot of Monte Vergine,
59 miles E. of Naples by rail. It has a cathedral.
Pop. 23,790.

Aventine Hill. See ROME.

Aver'nus (Gr. Aornos, ' birdless ; ' now Lago
d' Aver no), a small, nearly circular lake in Cam-
pania, Italy, situated between Cumse, Puteoli,
and Baise. It is l mile in circumference, and
occupies the crater of an extinct volcano. The
mephitic vapours arising from it were believed in
ancient times to kill the birds that flew over it ;
hence, according to some, its Greek appellation.
Owing to its gloomy and awful aspect, it became
the centre of almost all the fables of the ancients
respecting the world of shades. Here were
located Homer's entrance to the under world,
the Elysian fields, the grove of Hecate, and the
grotto of the Cumean Sibyl.

Aversa, a town of Italy, 12J miles by rail N.
of Naples. Pop. 23,183.

Avesnes (A-vehri), a town in the French dep. of
Nord, 13 miles E. by rail of Cambrai. Pop. 5446.

Aveyron, a mountainous dep. in the south of
France, named from the river which runs 90
miles westward through it to the Tarn, a feeder
of the Garonne. Area, 3376 sq. m. ; population,
382,000. The capital is Rodez.

AVEZZANO

AXHOLME

Avezza'no, a town of South Italy, 22 miles S.
of Aquila. Pop. 6166.

Aviglia'no, a town of South Italy, 10 miles
NW. of Potenza. Pop. 12,949.

Avignon (Avenio), a city of Provence, capital
of the French dep. of Vaucluse, on the left bank
of the Rhone, 75 miles NW. of Marseilles. With
narrow, crooked streets, ' windy Avignon ' still
is encircled by lofty crenellated walls (1349-68),
except on the north side, where the Eocher des
Doms rises steeply from the Rhone to a height
of L'OO feet. Here is the cathedral, dating from
the llth century, with its papal throne ; whilst
hard by towers the vast palace of the popes
(1339-64). The multitude of churches and con-
vents made Rabelais call Avignon la ville son-
nante, 'the city of bells;' and churches there
still are in plenty, though that of the Cordeliers,
with the tomb of Petrarch's Laura, was demolished
in 1791. Near the hotel-de-ville (1862) are the
quaint old Jacquemart belfry and a statue of
Crillon, Henry IV.'s brave captain ; Petrarch's
statue (1874) may also be noticed. The univer-
sity (1303) was abolished in 1794. Avignon has
manufactures of paper, leather, silk, iron, &c.
Pop. (declining) now about 34,000. Avignon was
the capital of the ancient Cavares, and presents
many remains of the times of the Romans. In
the middle ages it formed, with the surrounding
district, a county, which the popes bought in
1348. They held it till 1790, when the city with
its district was united with France. Pope
Clement V. and six of his successors from 1309
to 1378 resided here, as also did the French anti-
popes (1378-1418). A little cottage was long the
loved retreat of John Stuart Mill, the place
where he died in 1873.

Av'ila, capital of a Spanish province of Avila,
in Old Castile, stands 3000 feet above the sea, at
the base of the Sierra de Guadarrama, 71 miles
NW. of Madrid by rail. It has a fine Gothic
cathedral, a Moorish castle, and massive granite
walls 42 feet high and 14 broad, with 86 towers
and 10 gateways. Its university (1482) was
reduced to a college in 1807. Pop. 11,809. Here
St Teresa was born. The province is mountain-
ous. Area, 2981 sq. m. ; pop. 200,500.

Aviles (anc. Flavignavia), a seaport of Spain,
close to the Bay of Biscay, 19 miles N. of Oviedo.
Pop. 12,145.

Avlona (Ital. Valona, anc. Aulori), the best
seaport in Albania, stands on an eminence near
an inlet of the Adriatic, protected by the island
of Sasseno (anc. Saso). It carries on considerable
trade with Brindisi, &c. Pop. 5000. Valonia,
imported hence to England for tanning, is the
acorn-cup of a kind of oak. Up to 1691 the town
belonged to the Venetians.

Avo'ca, or OVOCA (Celt, 'meeting of the
waters '), a small river of County Wicklow,
formed by the union of the Avonmore and Avon-
beg. It runs through a very picturesque vale
only J mile broad, with wooded banks 300 to
500 feet high, and after a course of 9 miles
reaches the sea at Arklow. See AVONDALE.

Av'ola (Abolla), a seaport of Sicily, 13 miles
SW. of Syracuse. The famous honey of Hybla
comes from this neighbourhood. Pop. 12,286.

Avon (Celt, 'river' or 'stream'), the name
of several of the smaller British rivers. (1) The
Upper or Warwickshire Avon rises at Naseby
in Northamptonshire, runs 96 miles south-west
through Warwickshire and Worcestershire, pass-
ing Rugby, Warwick, Stratford, and Evesham,

and joins the Severn at Tewkesbury. It receives
several tributaries, including the Swift from
Lutterworth. (2) The Lower or Bristol Avon
rises in north-west Wiltshire, and runs 70 miles,
first south in Wiltshire, and then west and north-
west between Gloucestershire and Somerset,
passing Bradford, Bath, and Bristol, to the
Bristol Channel. It is navigable for large vessels
up to Bristol. (3) The Wiltshire and Hampshire
or East Avon rises in the middle of Wiltshire,
and runs south 70 miles through Wiltshire and
Hampshire, passing Amesbury, Salisbury, and
Ringwood, and entering the English Channel
at Christchurch. It is navigable up to Salisbury.
In Wales, two rivers named Avon one rising
in Monmouthshire, the other in Glamorganshire
fall into Swansea Bay. In Scotland there are
several of the same name, affluents of the Spey,
Clyde, and Forth. See also A' AN.

Avondale, the Wicklow seat of the late Mr
C. S. Parnell, on the Avonmore, 1 mile S. of
Rathdrum.

Avonmouth, in Gloucestershire, at the mouth
of the Avon, 6 miles NW. of Bristol, has a pier
and extensive docks (1879), constructed at a cost
of 600,000.

Avranches (Av-ron g sh'), a French town in
the dep. of Manche, on the left bank of the
See, near its mouth in St Michel's Bay, 37 miles
E. of St Malo by rail. Till 1801 a bishop's seat,
its former cathedral was built in the 18th
century on the site of a cathedral consecrated
in 1121, in which Henry II. received absolution
for Becket's murder. Pop. 7764.

Awbeg, a river of Cork, flowing 30 miles to
the Blackwater.

Awe, LOCH, an Argyllshire lake, with Loch
Awe station and hotel near its foot, 22 miles E.
of Oban. Lying 118 feet above sea-level, it
extends 22f miles north-eastward, is from 3 fur-
longs to 3 miles broad, covers 15^ sq. in., and
has a maximum depth of 102 feet. The scenery
is most striking at the north-east end originally
the head of the lake, where the water is studded
with numerous wooded islets, overshadowed by
towering and rugged mountains, the chief Ben
Cruachan (3689 feet). On a rocky peninsula,
in the north end of the lake, stands Kilchurn
Castle, once a fortress of great strength, built
about 1440 by Sir Colin Campbell of Glenorchy.
The waters of the lake are carried off at its
north-west end by the brawling river Awe, which,
after a course of 5 miles, enters Loch Etive at
Bunawe. The magnificent 'Pass of Brander,'
through which the road and railway run beneath
the shoulder of Ben Cruachan, was the scene of
a conflict in 1308 between Robert the Bruce and
the Macdougals of Lorn, in which that clan was
all but exterminated. At the north-east end of
the loch it receives the waters of the Orchy and
Strae.

Ax, a town in the French dep. of Ariege, at
the foot of the Pyrenees, 74 miles SSE. of
Toulouse. Pop. 1233. Its 80 hot sulphur-springs
range in temperature from 77 to 172 F.

Axbridge, a Somerset village, 10 miles NW. of
Wells. Pop. of parish, 732.

Axe, two rivers of Somerset and of Dorset and
Devon, flowing the one 25 miles to the Bristol
Channel, the other 21 to the English Channel.

Axholme, ISLE OF, a low level tract of North-
west Lincolnshire, cut off by the Trent from the
rest of the county. Measuring 18 by 5 miles, it
was anciently a forest, and then a marsh, which

AXIM

AZERBIJAN

WAs drained into the Trent in 1625 and succeed-
ing years by Cornelius Vermuydeu, a Dutchman,
at a cost of 56,000. Epworth here was the
home of the Wesleys.

Axim, an important station and port on the
Gold Coast, a little E. of the mouth of the
Ancobrah River.

Ax'minster, a town of Devonshire, on the
Axe, 27 miles E. of Exeter by rail. From 1755
till 1835 Axminster was famous for the manu-
facture of Turkey and Persian carpets. Dr
Buckland was a native. Pop. of parish, 2909.
See Pulman's Book oftlie Axe (1875).

Axmouth, a Devon fishing village, 6 miles
SSW. of Axminster. Pop. 615.

Axum, once capital of an Ethiopian kingdom,
is now in the modern Abyssinian province of
Tigre, and lies mainly in ruins. Pop. 5000. See
a monograph on it by J. T. Bent (1893).

Ayacu'cho (formerly Huamanga or Guamanrja),
a town of Peru, 220 miles ESE. of Lima. Founded
by Pizarro in 1539, it is now a handsome and
thriving town. Here, on 9th December 1824,
the combined forces of Peru and Colombia totally
defeated the last Spanish army that ever set
foot on the continent. Pop. 20,000. The dep. of
Ayacucho has an area of about 20,000 sq. in., and
a pop. of upwards of 300,000.

Ayamon'te, a fortified town in the Spanish
province of Huelva, Andalusia, on the Guadiana,
near its mouth. Pop. 6511.

Ayasaluk, a village on the site of the ancient
Ephesus (q.v.).

Aylesbury, the chief town of Buckingham-
shire, in a fertile vale, on a rivulet flowing to the
Tame, 43^ miles NW. of London. Among its
buildings are the cruciform parish church, finely
restored by Sir G. G. Scott (1849-67), the corn
exchange and markets (1865), and the county
infirmary (1862). The inhabitants are engaged
in making bone-lace and straw-plait, in brewing,
dairying, and rearing fat ducks for the London
markets. Aylesbury was taken from the Britons
by the Saxons in 571. Till 1885 it formed with
its hundred a parliamentary borough, returning
two members. Pop. (1841) 5429 ; (1901) 9244.

Aylesford, a village near the centre of Kent,
on the right bank of the Medway, 3J miles NW.
of Maidstone. Remarkable ancient remains are
found here, including the cromlech called Kits
Coity House (q.v.). Pop. of parish, 2647.

Ayr, the county town of Ayrshire, at the
mouth of the river Ayr, 40 miles SSW. of
Glasgow by rail. The Town's Buildings, with
a spire 226 feet high, were erected in 1828, and
greatly enlarged in 1881. The so-called ' Wallace
Tower' is a Gothic edifice of 1834, 113 feet high.
There are also the County Buildings, modelled
after the temple of Isis in Rome, the Academy
(founded 1764 ; new building, 1880), and the
Carnegie library (1893). Three bridges span the
river, and connect Ayr proper with Newton-
upon-Ayr and Wallacetown a railway viaduct,
and the 'Twa Brigs' of Burns. Of these the
narrow four-arched ' Auld Brig ' dates probably
from the end of the 15th century, and the ' New
Brig' (1788) was rebuilt in 1879. There are
statues of General Smith Neill, the thirteenth
Earl of Eglinton, and Burns. Part of the tower
of the old church of St John, built in the 12th
century, and turned into a fort by Cromwell, is
still standing, and now forms, with additions, a
dwelling-house. Harbour improvements, includ-
ing a wet dock and slip dock, have been carried

out since 1874 at a cost of over 150,000. The
tonnage of vessels entering the port has in-
creased in seventeen years from 140,000 to
345,000. The chief export is coal ; grain and
timber are imported ; and there are manufactures
of lace and woollen fabrics, carpets, large saw-
mills, &c. A splendid new water-supply, drawn
from Loch Fiulas, 20 miles distant, was intro-
duced in 1887. William the Lion made Ayr a
royal burgh about 1200 ; and it unites with
Campbeltown, Irvine, Inveraray, and Oban in
sending a member to parliament. Pop. (1841)
15,749 ; (1861) 18,573 ; (1901) 28,697.

Ayrshire, a large maritime county in the SW.
of Scotland, washed on the W. by the Firth of
Clyde and the North Channel. Its greatest
length is 78 miles ; its greatest breadth, 28 ; and
its area is 1149 sq. in., it being seventh in size of
the Scottish counties. The general aspect of
the county is undulating ; Shalloch on Minnoch
(2520 feet) in the S. is the highest summit ; Loch
Doon (5| x | mile) is much the largest of several
fresh-water lakes ; and the chief rivers only 20
to 38 miles long are the Ayr, the ' bonny ' Doon,
the Garnock, the Irvine, the Girvan, and the
Stinchar in the south, with the first 16 miles of
the Nith. Ayrshire is rich in valuable minerals,
especially coal, ironstone, limestone, and free-
stone. The three ancient divisions of the county
are Carrick, south of the Doon, mostly wild and
hilly; Kyle, between the Doon and the Irvine,
containing much rich level land ; and Cunning-
hame, comprising all the country north of the
Irvine, mostly fertile. The percentage of culti-
vated area is 43'2. Dairy-husbandry is carried
to high perfection. The Dunlop cheese, almost
as celebrated as Stilton, since 1855 has been
almost superseded by Cheddar. Manufactures,
especially woollen and cotton, are largely carried
on to an important extent. Pop. (1801) 84,207 ;
(1881) 217,504 ; (1901) 254,468. Ayrshire returns
two members to parliament. The chief towns
are Ayr, Kilmarnock, Girvan, Maybole, Dairy,
Kilwinning, Beith, Irvine, Stewarton, Old Cum-
nock, Ardrossan, Saltcpats, Troon, Mauchline,
Galston, Newmilns, Kilbirnie, and Largs. Of
antiquities, the most interesting are the ruins
of Crossraguel and Kilwinning Abbeys ; of ' Allo-
way's haunted kirk,' with the ' auld clay biggin,'
Burns's birthplace, hard by ; and of the castles
of Turnberry (the family seat of Bruce), Dunure,
Loch Doon, Dean, Dundonald, &c. It contains
the battlefields of Largs and London Hill ; and
during the religious persecutions of the Stuarts,
it was a stronghold of the Covenanters. See
works byJ. Paterson (2 vols. 1847-52), and A.
Millar (1885).

Ayton, a Berwickshire village, 7J miles NW.
of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Pop. 603.

Ayuthia, the former capital of Siam, on the
Menam, 50 miles N. of Bangkok. Founded in
1357, it was sacked and half destroyed by the
Burmese in 1767. Among its magnificent but
ruinous buildings are Buddhist temples, especi-
ally the ' Golden Mount,' 400 feet high.

Azamgarh. ('Azam's Fort'), a town in the
United Provinces of India, on the river Tons,
81 miles N. of Benares. It was founded in 1665
by Azam Klian. Pop. 19,000.

Azerbijan', or ADERBAIJAN, the ancient Media
Atropatene, the north-western province of Persia,
has an area of about 40,100 sq. m., and a pop. of
2,000,000. The surface is very mountainous,
Savalan (an extinct volcano), near Ardebil,
reaching over 13,000 feet; whilst Mount Ararat

A2INCOURT

BABYLONIA

rises on the north-west border. The chief rivers
are the Aras or Araxes, the Kara Su, and the
Kizil-Uzen. The salt lake Urmia (q.v.), the
largest in Persia, is near the western border.
Towns are Tabriz (the capital) and Urmia.

Azincourt. See AGINCOURT.

Azo'res, or WESTERN ISLANDS, a Portuguese
archipelago in the mid-Atlantic, in 36 55'
39 55' N. lat. and 25" 10' 31 16' W. long.
Stretching over a distance of 400 miles, their
nine islands are divided into three distinct
groups Sta Maria and Sao Miguel in the SE. ;
Terceira, Sao Jorge, Pico, Graciosa, and Fayal in
the middle ; and Flores and Corvo in the NW.
Of these, Flores lies 1176 miles W. of Cape Rocca
in Portugal, 1484 SW. of Falmouth, and 1703
ESE. of Halifax. In 1431-53 the Azores were
taken possession of by the Portuguese. They
were then uninhabited ; but Punic coins have
been found on Corvo. The Portuguese called
them Azores, from a$or or azor, a hawk or kite,
found in numbers on the islands. Their total
area is 919 sq. in., and the pop. 257,000. The
area, population, and the maximum altitude
of the different islands are as follows : Sta Maria
(38 sq. in. ; 5880 ; 1889 feet) ; Sao Miguel (299 sq.
in. ; 107,000 ; 3854 feet) ; Teroeira (164 sq. m. ;
45,391 ; 3435 feet) ; Graciosa (24 sq. m. ; 8718) ;
Sao Jorge (91 sq. m. ; 18,000) ; Pico (173 sq. m. ;
27,904 ; 7613 feet) ; Fayal (69 sq. m. ; 26,264) ;
Flores (54 sq. m. ; 10,700 ; 3087 feet); Corvo (7
sq. m.; 1000). The capital is Angra, in Terceira ;
but Ponta Delgada, in Sao Miguel, is a larger
town, being counted ' the third city of Portugal '
(pop. 18,000). The Azores are of volcanic origin,
and with the exception of Corvo, Flores, and
Graciosa, are still liable to eruptions and violent
earthquakes, the worst of twenty-one shocks
since 1444 having been those of 1591, 1638, 1719,
and 1841. Hot mineral springs are numerous.
The coast is generally steep and rugged; the

interior abounds in ravines and mountains.
Oranges are the chief article of export. The
climate is extremely moist, but equable; and
though the islands are exposed to severe storms
of wind and rain, some of them are visited as
winter health-resorts, especially by Americans.
The Azores are regarded as a province, not a
colony, of Portugal, and as belonging to Europe.
See works by Godman (1870), W. F. Walker (1886)
and Roundell (1889).

Azo'tus. See ASHDOD.

Azov, a town in the south of Russia, on the
left bank of the Don, 7 miles from its mouth. Spite
of the silting of the harbour, there is a large export
of grain, with fishing and fish-curing. Pop. 27,500.

Azov, SEA OF, named after the town, is a large
gulf of the Black Sea, formed by the Crimean
peninsula, or rather an inland lake connected
with the Black Sea by the Strait of Yenikale or
Kertch (anc. Bosporus Cimmerius), 28 miles long,
and barely 4 wide at the narrowest. The intri-
cate Siwash or Putrid Sea, which is just a succes-
sion of swamps, is cut off from the western
portion of the Sea of Azov by the long narrow
slip of low sandy land called the Peninsula of
Arabat. The ancient name of the Sea of Azov
was Palus Mceotis or 'Mseotic Marsh;' by the
Turks it is called Balik-Denghis, or 'Fish Sea.'
from its abundance of fish. The water is almost
fresh. The whole sea is shallow, from 3 to 52
feet deep; and measuring 235 by 110 miles, it
occupies an area of 14,500 sq. m. Tho largest
river emptying into it is the Don.

Azpeitia,(Ath-pay'e-te-a), a town in the Spanish
prov. Guipuzcoa, on the Urola, 18 miles SW. of
San Sebastian. A mile from it is the famous con-
vent of Loyola (1683), now converted into a mus-
eum. It comprises a tower of the Santa Casa, in
which St Ignatius of Loyola, the great founder
of the Jesuits, was born in 1491. Pop. 6548.

AALBEK, a ruined city of Syria, 35
miles NNW. of Damascus, and 38 SSE.
of Tripoli. The name signifies ' City
of Baal,' the Sun-god, and was by the
Greeks, during the Seleucide dynasty,
converted into Heliopolis. Baalbek lies 4500
feet above sea-level, at the opening of a small
valley into the plain of El-Buka'a (Ccele-Syria),
on the lowest slope of Anti-Lebanon. It was
once the most magnificent of Syrian cities, full
of palaces, fountains, and beautiful monuments ;
now it is famous only for the splendour of its
ruins the Great Temple, a Corinthian edifice,
surmounting a Cyclopean substruction or plat-
form ; the Temple of Jupiter, larger than the
Parthenon at Athens ; and a circular building,
supported on six granite columns. From the
earliest times a chief seat of sun-worship, Baal-
bek was completely pillaged by Timur Beg in
1400; and its destruction was completed by a
terrible earthquake in 1759. It is now a wretched
village, with some few hundred inhabitants. See
works by Woou and Dawkins (1757), Renan(1864),
and Frauberger (1891).

Baba, CAPE (Gr. Lectum), a bold rocky head-
land near the western point of Anatolia, 12 miles
from the northern extremity of Mitylene. The
town of Baba here has a pop. of 4000.

Babatag, or BABADAGH, a town of 7000 inhab-
itants, in the Roumanian Dobrudja, 2J miles W.
of Lake Razim.

Bab-el-Mandeb (i.e. 'the gate of tears'), the
strait between Arabia and the continent of Africa,
by which the Red Sea is connected with the Gvjf
of Aden and the Indian Ocean. The Arabian
peninsula here throws put a cape, bearing the
same name as the strait, and 865 feet high, 20
miles distant from which the wall-like coast of
Africa rises in Ras es Sean to over 400 feet.
Within the straits, but nearer to Arabia, lies the
bare rocky island of Perim (q.v.), since 1857
occupied by the British as a fort.

Bablock Hythe, a ferry over the Isis or
Thames, 4 miles WSW. of Oxford.

Babylonia (Babilu in the Assyrian inscrip-
tions, Babirush in the Persian) was the name
given by the Greeks, and after them the Romans,
to the low alluvial plain watered by the lower
streams of the Tigris and Euphrates, now form-
ing the modern Arab province of Irak-Arabi. In
the Old Testament it bears the various names of
Shinar, Babel, and ' the land of the Chaldees.'
For thousands of years before the Christian era
it was the seat of a special type of civilisation ;
the earliest inhabitants we know of were Sumeri-
ans and Akkadians, both probably belonging to
the Ugro-Finnic branch of the Turanian races.
Subsequently, Semitic tribes settled in the
country. After long wars with the neighbouring
power, Assyria, Babylonia was conquered in 729
B.C. by the Assyrians, and in 712-705 Babylonia
became an Assyrian province. In 625 Nabo

BACCHIGLIONE

BADEN BEI WIEN

polassar rebelled and became an independent
king, and was succeeded by his son Nebuchad-
nezzar. And henceforward Babylonia was a
separate state till 538, when it was conquered
by Cyrus and became a Persian province. For
the site of the city of Babylon, see HILLAH.

Bacchiglione (Balc-keel-yo'nay), a river of N.
Italy, rising in the Alps, and flowing 90 miles
south-eastward, to the Adriatic near Chioggia.

Bacharacli (Bahh'a-rahli), a town of Rhenish
Prussia, qn the Rhine, 30 miles SE. of Coblenz.
Pop. 1840. Its name is said to be a corruption of
Bacchi am ('Bacchus' altar'), and the vine is
still largely cultivated. Here Bliicher crossed
the Rhine, January 1, 1814.

Backergunge. See BAKERGANJ.

Bacolor, a town of the island of Luzon, Philip-
pines, 10 miles NW. from Manila. Pop. 9737.

Bactrfa, a province of the ancient Persian
empire, lying north of the Paropamisus (Hindu
Kush) Mountains, on the Upper Oxus.

Ba'cup, a town of Lancashire, on the Spodden
rivulet, 19i miles N. by E. of Manchester by rail.
Constituted a municipal borough in 1882, it has
a mechanics' institute (1846, enlarged 1870), a
market-hall (1867), a very large co-operative store
that cost 22,000, &c. Cotton-spinning and
powerloom-weaving are the staple industries ;
and there are also dye-works, brass and iron
foundries, and neighbouring coal-pits and vast
stone quarries. Pop. (1798) 1426 ; (1871) 17,199 ;
(1881) 25,033 ; (1891) 23,498 ; (1901) 22,505.

Badagry, a small British port on the Slave
Coast, Upper Guinea, long a great slaving port,
with 10,000 inhabitants.

Badajoz (Bad-a-jozz' ; Spanish pron. Badh-a-
Jihoath'), capital of a Spanish province, is built
on a slight hill crowned by a Moorish castle,
on the Guadiana, crossed here by a stone bridge
of 28 arches. It is 5 miles from the Port-
tiguese frontier, 174 miles from Lisbon, and 315
from Madrid by rail. Badajoz is a fortress of
the first rank, and has an old cathedral built
like a fortress, with a splendid organ. Its chief
articles of manufacture are hats, soap, coarse
woollens, leather, and pottery. Pop. (1900)
30,900. Badajoz was the Pax Augusta of the
Romans, the Bax Augos, Bathaljus of the Moors.
As one of the keys of Portugal, it has often been
besieged twice in vain by the British in 1811,
but was stormed by Wellington in 1812, after a
most murderous resistance by the French, and
delivered up to pillage for two days. The pro-
vince has an area of 8687 sq. m., and a pop. of
(1900) 520,246.

Badakhshan', a territory of Central Asia,
lying in 36 38 N. lat., and 69 72 E. long.,
with the chain of the Hindu Kush on the S., and
the Oxus, or Amu Darya, on the N. It is drained
by the Kokcha, a head-stream of that river, and
is famous throughout the East as a picturesque
hill-country diversified with woods, rich pasture,
and fertile, well-cultivated valleys, its surface
varying from 500 to 15,600 feet above sea-level.
Faizabad (q.v.) is the capital. The inhabitants,
estimated at 100,000, are largely Tajiks, an Aryan
race speaking Persian, and Mohammedans.

See Yule's Marco Polo (1871) ; Wood's Journey
to the Source of the Oxus (new ed. 1872) ; and Vam-
bery's Central Asia (1874).

Badalona, a Spanish seaport, 5 miles NE. of
Barcelona. Pop. 19,885.

Baden (Bdh-den), a grand-duchy in the SW.
corner of the German empire between Alsace-

Lorraine and Wiirtemberg, separated from Swit- 1
zerlaud by the Rhine. Area, 5824 sq. m., less
than Yorkshire ; pop. (1900) 1,867,944, mainly
Catholics. The Schwarzwald, or Black Forest
(q.v.), attains a maximum altitude of 4903 feet.
Being drained by the Rhine and the Danube,
Baden belongs to the basins of two opposite
seas ; the sources of the Danube, however, drain
only some 350 sq. in. The Rhine's chief tribu-
taries are the Neckar, Murg, and Elz. On the
north-east the Baden territories are bounded by
the Maine. Except a part of the Lake of Con-
stance, Baden has no lake of importance. The
Rhine Valley of Baden is one of the warmest and
most fruitful districts, not only of Germany, but
of Europe. Grain, vegetables of all sorts, tobacco,
hemp, rape, opium, &c. are grown, and a large
quantity of wine is produced. The principal
minerals are the products of the limestone
quarries and of the clay and gravel pits, and
gypsum, largely used for pavements. Coal, zinc,
and manganese are found, and the production of
salt and soda is important. Baden is rich in
mineral springs ; and there are a great number
of much-frequented watering-places, as Baden-
Baden, Badenweiler, &c.

The manufactures of Baden include ribbons
and cotton fabrics, paper, leather, rubber goods,
chemicals, machinery, tobacco, chicory, sugar,
beer, trinkets, mirrors, wooden clocks, and straw-
plaiting. Karlsruhe is the residence of the
sovei'eign ; the capitals of the four ' circles ' are
Constance, Freiburg, Karlsruhe, and Mannheim ;
and besides, there are two towns each with a
population above 20,000.

Baden, a town and fashionable watering-place
in the Swiss canton of Aargau, on the Limmat,
14 miles NW. of Zurich by rail. Its sulphur-
baths, the Thermce Helvetica of the Romans,
yearly attract some 20,000 visitors. Their tem-
perature is as high as 117 r F. Pop. 6692.

Baden-Baden, a town in the grand-duchy of
Baden, situated in the pleasant valley of the Oos,
at the edge of the Black Forest, 8 miles from the
Rhine, and 23 SSW. of Karlsruhe by rail. Pop.
above 16,000 ; but its visitors during the season
(May September) are often four times the num-
ber of the settled population. Its thirteen
medicinal springs were known to >the Romans.
They have a temperature of 115 to 150 F., are
impregnated with iron, magnesia, lime, and sul-
phuric and carbonic acids, and are especially
recommended in chronic cutaneous diseases, gout,
rheumatism, and stomach complaints. The beauty
of Baden-Baden has been largely due to its gam-
ing-tables, once the most renowned in Europe,
but closed in 1872 ; besides paying a rent of over
14,000, they devoted a like sum yearly to the
beautifying of the promenades and public gardens.
The buildings include the Conversationshaus
(1824) ; the new Trinkhalle, or pump-room (1842) ;
the theatre (1862) ; the Friedrichsbad (1877) ; the
villa occupied by Queen Victoria in 1872 and
1876 ; the ruined ' old castle ' crowning the Schloss-
berg ; and the ' new castle ' (1479), destroyed, like
the old, by the French in 1689, but restored, and
now the summer residence of the grand-duke.

Baden bei Wien (i.e. 'Baden near Vienna;'
Bdh-den bi Veane), a watering-place of Austria, on
the Schwechat, 17 miles S. by W. of Vienna by
rail. It was the Aquce Pannonicce of the Romans,
and is still famous for its warm mineral springs,
which are visited during the season by upwards
of 10,000 persons. They are sulphurous, with
much carbonic acid gas, have a temperature of

BADENOCH

79 to 104" F., and are good for skin diseases,
gout, and rheumatism. Pop. 12,500.

Ba'denoch, a Highland district in the south-
east part of Inverness-shire, 45 miles long by 19
broad, bounded by Lochaber, Athole, Braemar,
and Moray, and traversed by the Spey.

Badenweiler, a Black Forest watering-place in
the SW. corner of Baden, 20 miles NNE. of Basel ;
frequented yearly by some 5000 visitors.

Badghis, a region north of Herat, comprising
the country between the Murghab and the Hari-
rud rivers, as far northward as the edge of the
desert. It lies just to the south of the boundary
line between Afghanistan and the Russian terri-
tories, as defined in 1887.

Badminton, the seat of the Duke of Beaufort,
in the south of Gloucestershire, 7 miles E. of
Yate Junction. It is a stately Pallaclian edifice
of 1682, with a fine park.

Badrinath, a peak of the main Himalayan
range, Garhwal district, North-western Pro-
vinces, India, 22,901 feet above the sea. A shrine
of Vishnu stands on one of its shoulders at a
height of 10,400 feet, 56 miles NE. of Srinagar.

Baena, a Spanish town 25 miles SSE. of Cor-
dova. Pop. 14,801.

Baeza, a town of Spain, in the province of
Jaen, 9 miles from Baeza station, this being 160
S. of Madrid. The Roman Beatia, and the seat
of Moorish califs, with 150,000 inhabitants, it
never fairly recovered from its sack by the
Castilians in 1228. Here are a quondam uni-
versity (1533) and the oratory of St Philip de
Neri. Pop. 15,430.

Baffin Bay, a gulf, or rather sea, on the NE.
coast of North America, extending between
Greenland and the great islands NE. of Hudson
Bay (one of which is called Baffin Island), in 69
to 78 3 N. lat. It is about 800 miles long, with an
average breadth of 280. The shores are lofty and
precipitous, backed by snow-clad mountains.
Baffin Bay communicates with the Atlantic by
Davis Strait; and with the Arctic Ocean by
Smith and Lancaster Sounds. Discovered in
1562, it was first explored in 1615 by William
Baffin, pilot of Bylot's expedition.

Bagamoyo, a village on the coast of German
East Africa, opposite the island of Zanzibar, a
frequent starting point of expeditions to the
interior.

Bagdad, or BAGHDAD, the capital of a pro-
vince of Asiatic Turkey, on the Tigris, 500
miles from its mouth. It is surrounded by a
brick wall, 5 miles in circumference, and 40 feet
high, but in some places broken down, and by a
deep dry ditch ; the river is spanned by a bridge
of boats, 220 yards long, and the communication
is guarded by a citadel. There are four gates,
the finest of which, bearing date 1220, has re-
mained closed since 1638. Bagdad has an ex-
tremely picturesque appearance from the outside,
being encircled and interspersed with groves of
date-trees, through which one may catch the
gleam of domes and minarets ; but it does not
improve on closer inspection. The bazaars
exhibit the produce of both Turkish and Euro-
pean markets ; but commerce has greatly de-
creased since Persia began to trade with Europe
by way of Trebizond, or of the Persian Gulf on
the south. Nevertheless Bagdad still carries on
a considerable traffic with Aleppo and Damascus,
and has manufactures of red and yellow leather,
silks, and cotton stuffs. Dates, wool, grain, and
timbac (a substitute for tobacco) are exported,

3 BAGSHOT HEATlf

and a number of horses are sent into India. Of
the population, estimated at 180,000, the greatest
part are Turks and Arabs. In 1831 an inundation
destroyed one-half of the town and several
thousand lives. Cholera visits it periodically;
in 1831, 4000 people perished daily for several
days from its ravages. In 1870-71 Bagdad also
suffered severely from famine. Since 1836, British
steamers have plied on the Tigris between Bagdad
and Basra ; and here is one of the chief stations
of the Anglo-Indian telegraph.

Bagdad in the 9th century was greatly enlarged
by Haroun Al-Raschid, and under his son, Al-
Mamuri, it became the great seat of Arabic learn-
ing and literature. It was conquered by the
sultan, Murad IV., in 1638, and ever since has
been under the sway of the Porte. The province
of Bagdad, comprising great part of the lower
basins of the Euphrates and Tigris, falls into the
vilayets of Bagdad (pop. 850,000), Mosul (350,000),
and Basra (200,000).

Bagenalstown, a market-town on the Barrow,
in the county, and 10 miles S. of the town of
Carlow. Pop. 1900.

Baghal, or BHAGUL, a Punjab hill-state in
North-west India, on the south bank of the
Sutlej. Area, 124 sq. m. ; pop. 24,633.

Baghelkhand, the name of five native states,
under the political superintendence of the
governor-general's agent for Central India, lying
to the south of the districts of Mirzapur and
Allahabad. The total area is 11,324 sq. m. ;
pop. 1,562,595.

Bagheria, or BAGARIA, a town of Sicily, 8
miles E. by S. of Palermo by rail. Pop. 12,650.

Baghistan. See BEHISTUN.

Bagirmi, or BAGHERMI, a country in Central
Africa, bounded on the W. by Bornu and a por-
tion of Lake Tsad. Its area is estimated at
nearly 71,000 sq. m. ; its pop. at 1,500,000. The
capital is Masena.

Bagnacavallo (Ban-ya-ca-val'lo), a cathedral
city of Italy, 11 miles W. of Ravenna. Pop. 3843.

Bagnara (Ban-yali'ra), an Italian coast-town,
16 miles NE. of Reggio. Pop. 9749.

Bagneres (Ban-yehr'), two watering-places both
in the Pyrenees, France. (1) BAGNERES DE
BIGORRE, on the Adour, in the dep. of Hautes
Pyrenees, 1820 feet above sea-level, 13 miles SE.
of Tarbes by rail. Known to the Romans as
Vicus Aquensis Balnearies or Aquce Bigerrorum,
it now is visited by 20,000 strangers yearly, and
has fourteen baths and over fifty springs (90 to
135 F.), recommended for catarrhal and nervous
diseases. Pop. 6986. (2) BAGNERES DE LUCHON,
in the dep. of Haute Garonne, 43 miles by road
SE. of Bagneres de Bigorre, and 22 by rail S.
of Montrejeau Junction. Its cold, tepid, and
hot sulphurous waters (up to 130 F.) are recom-
mended in rheumatism, gout, cutaneous dis-
eases, and paralysis, and attract 10,000 visitors
annually. Pop. 3585.

Bagni di Lucca (Ban'yee dee Look'ka), a bath-
ing-place of Italy, 17 miles N. of Lucca, and has
hot springs of from 96" to 136 F. Pop. 900.

Bagno a Ripoli (Ban'yo dh Rip'olee), an Italian
village, 5 miles from Florence, containing baths.

Bagno in Romagna (Ban'yo in Romdn'ya), an
Italian bathing-place, on the Savio, 35 miles E.
by N. of Florence. It has hot springs of tem-
perature 10S-110 F. Pop. 1875.

Bagshot Heath, near Windlesham in Berk-

BAHAMAS

BAIKAL

shire and Surrey, is a tract of nearly 50 sq. m.,
463 feet above sea-level.

Baha'mas, or LUCAYOS (Span. Los Cayos), a
chain of British West Indian islands, stretching
nearly 600 miles north-westward from near the
north coast of Hayti to the east coast of Florida.
The chain extends in N. lat. from 21 42' to 27
34', and in W. long, from 72 40' to 79 5'. There
are 20 larger islands, 653 islets or cays, and 2387
reefs. The chief members of the group, if
reckoned from the NW., are : Great Bahama,
Abaco, Eleuthera, New Providence, Andros, Cat
Island, San Salvador or Watling's Island, Exuma,
Long Island, Crooked Island, Acklin, Mariguana,
Inagua, Little Inagua. The Caicos (q.v.) and
Turk's Island, which geographically belong to
the Bahamas, have since 1848 been politically
annexed to Jamaica.

The area is 5390 sq. m. ; and in 1900 the popula-
tion was 53,565, of whom about 6500 are Euro-
peans. Of coralline formation, the islands gener-
ally are of reef-like shape, long, narrow, and
low, the highest hill not exceeding 230 feet.
With very little appearance of soil, they derive
considerable fertility from the tendency of the
porous rock to retain moisture. Sponges are
largely found round the shores. Cotton cultiva-
tion received a great impulse during the American
civil war. The sugar-cane, too, is grown more
largely than formerly ; but the salt manufacture
has ceased to be remunerative. The tempera-
ture ranges from 57 to 113 F. ; but in the winter
the climate is so delightfully temperate as to be
often recommended in the United States to
sufferers from pulmonary complaints. The
annual rainfall is from 43 to 45 inches. In 1866
and 1883 the Bahamas were visited by furious
and destructive cyclones.

The Bahamas, Columbus's earliest discovery
(1492), were occupied in 1629 by the English,
to whom, after various vicissitudes of fortune
in the wars with Spain and France, they were
ultimately secured by the peace of Versailles
(1783). Nassau, in New Providence, is the seat
of government. During the American civil war,
Nassau became the station for blockade-runners,
and thence derived unexampled prosperity ; the
value of imports and exports rising from 234,029
and 157,350 in 1860, to 5,346,112 and 4,672,398
in 1864. They have greatly declined since ; their
present annual value, on a four years' average,
being 325,000 and 200,000. So far, however,
as agriculture is concerned, the impulse then
received has been maintained by the Bahamas.
Both Baptists and Wesleyans are nearly twice
as numerous as members of the Church of Eng-
land, which was disestablished in 1869. See
works by Bacot (2d ed. 1871) and Powles (1888).

Bahar. See BEHAR.

Bahawalpur, capital of an Indian native state
in political connection with the Punjab, lies
near the left bank of the Sutlej, which here is
crossed by the fine ' Empress ' railway bridge. It
has manufactures of scarfs, turbans, silks, and
chintzes. Pop. 13,635. Area of the state, 17,285
sq. m. ; pop. 750,042.

Bahia (Bd-ee'a), capital of a Brazilian province,
next to Rio de Janeiro the largest city of the
republic, on a range of hills along the sea-shore.
The bay, which is one of the finest in America, is
defended by forts, with the island of Itaparica
sheltering the entrance. Bahia has a university,
and is the seat of an archbishop, who is primate
of Brazil. The chief exports are sugar, cotton,
coffee, tobacco, rice, &c. Bahia is the oldest

city in Brazil, and till 1763 was the capital
The bay was discovered by Amerigo Vespucci
in 1503, and the city was founded by a Portu-
guese navigator named Correa in 1510. Pop.
180,000. The province has an area of 164,502
sq. m., and a pop. of 1,950,000.

Bahia Blanca, a growing port of the Argentine
Republic, in the province of Buenos Ayres. It is
situated on the Naposta River, three miles from
its entrance into the bay of Bahia Blanca, and
has a good harbour. Pop. about 10,000.

Bahia Honda, a harbour on the north coast
of Cuba, 60 miles WSW. of Havana, protected by
a fort. Pop. 1500.

Bahr, an Arabic word signifying a large body
of water, is applied both to lakes and rivers.
Bahr-el-Abiad (the White River), and Bahr-el-
Azrak (the Blue River), are the chief branches
of the Nile (q.v.). Bahr-el-Ghazal is the name
of the upper branch of the Nile, constituted by
the Bahr-el-Arab and many other tributaries,
which flows sluggishly eastward to join the
Bahr-el-Jebel and so form the Bahr-el-Abiad.
The Bahr-el-Ghazal gives name to a province in
the SW. of the Egyptian Soudan, bravely held for
years by the governor, Frank Lupton. Bahr-el-
Yemen is the Red Sea (q.v.), and Bahr-Lut (Sea
of Lot) the Dead Sea (q.v.).

Bahraich, a town of Oudh, India, 70 miles
NE. of Lucknow. To the shrine of Masatid, a
warrior and Mussulman saint, there is a great
concourse of pilgrims every May. Pop. 27,000.

Bahrein Islands, or AVAL ISLANDS, a group
of islands in the Persian Gulf. The most import-
ant of these is Bahrein (pop. 40,000), 33 miles
long and 10 broad. Manama, the capital, has a
good harbour. The Bahrein Islands are chiefly
remarkable for their pearl-fisheries, which em-
ploy, during the season, from 1000 to 2000 boats,
each manned with from 8 to 20 men. The
annual value of the pearls is estimated at up-
wards of 300,000. The islands are inhabited by
Arabs, and since 1861 have been under English
protection. Pop. 70,000.

Balsa, a small town of antiquity, on the coast
of Campania, 10 miles W. of Naples and opposite
Puteoli. The ruins still standing on the desolate
coast, or visible beneath the clear waters of the
sea, are now the only evidence of its former
magnificence.

Baikal (Turkish, Bei-kul, ' rich lake ') is, after
the Caspian Sea and the Sea of Aral, the largest
lake of Asia, with an area of 13,500 sq. m. It
is a fresh-water lake, and is situated in the south
of Siberia, in the government of Irkutsk, in 51
20' 55" 3& N. lat., and 103 110 E. long., and
somewhat resembles a sickle in shape. Its
length is 330 miles, and its breadth 9J to 40
miles ; height above the sea, 1360 feet ; mean
depth 850 feet, but in some places as much as
4500 feet, more than 3000 feet below sea-level.
Its waters are a deep blue, and remarkably clear.
Its outlet is by the Lower Angara, a chief tribu-
tary of the Yenisei ; but the river is inconsider-
able in size compared with those which flow into
the lake. It has several islands the largest,
Olkhon, 32 miles long. There are numerous hot
springs on its shores, and earthquakes are fre-
quent. Formerly the lake or rather sea seems
to have been much more extensive. The diffi-
cult section of the great Siberian railway passing
round the south end of the sea was not completed
till 1904 ; the connection being till then carried on
by steamers (or across the Baikal ice in winter),

BAILEN

BALAKLAVA

The annual value of its salmon, sturgeon, and
other fisheries is estimated at 200,000 roubles.
The capture of fresh-water seals is a source of
income to the Russian settlers. The surface of
the lake is frozen from November to May, but
the traffic is carried on over the ice.

Bailen', or BAYLEN, a town of Andalusia,
Spain, 22 miles N. of Jaen. Pop. 7988. Here,
on July 19, 1808, the Spaniards won their first
and only victory over the French, 18,000 of whom
laid down their arms.

Bailieborough, a market-town of Cavan
county, 58 miles NW. of Dublin. Pop. 1154.

Bailleul (Ba-yul'\ a town in the French dep. of
Nord, 19 miles NW. of Lille. The Baliol family
hence derived its name. Pop. 11,900.

Baireuth, or BAYREUTH (Bye'roit), capital of
the Bavarian province of Upper Franconia, on
the Red Maine, 43 miles NNB. of Nuremberg by
rail. Its principal buildings are the old palace,
dating from 1454 ; the new palace (1753) ; the old
opera-house (1748); and a magnificent 'national
theatre ' (1875) for the performance of the operas
of Wagner, who, dying at Venice, was in 1883
buried in the garden of his villa here. Jean
Paul Richter died here in 1825, and a monument
has been erected to his memory. Baireuth's
chief articles of industry are cottons, woollens,
linen, leather, tobacco, parchment, and porce-
lain. Population, 30,000, of whom only about
15 per cent, are Catholics. See Milner-Barry's
Baireuth and the Franconian Switzerland (1887).

BaituI, or BETUL (Bay-tool'), a town of British
India, in the hill-country of the Central Province,
50 miles NE. of Ellichpur. Pop. 5700.

Baja (Beth' y a), a market-town of Hungary, on
the Danube, 90 m. S. of Pesth, with a fine castle,
several convents, and brisk trade. Pop. 19,941.

Bajmok (Bye-mok), a village of Hungary, 16
miles SW. of Theresienstadt. Pop. 6661.

Bakarganj, a British district in the Dacca
division of India, under the lieutenant-governor
of Bengal, contains 3649 sq. m. Barisal, the
headquarters, on the Barisal River, is the only
town with over 5000 inhabitants. Bakarganj,
the former capital, near the junction of the
Krishnakati and Khairabad rivers, is now in
ruins. Pop. 2,353,965.

Bakau (Ba-kow 1 ), a Roumanian town on the
river Bistrisza, 187 miles N. of Bucharest by
rail. Pop. 15,000.

Bakchiserai (Turkish, 'Garden Palace'), a
town in the Russian government of Taurida, the
residence of the ancient princes or khans of the
Crimea, 15 miles by rail SW. of the present
capital, Simferopol. The palace (1519) of the
khans has been restored by the Russian govern-
ment in the oriental style. Pop. 15,377.

Bakel, a town with a strong fort, in the E. of
the French colony of Senegal, on the Senegal
River. Pop. 2600.

Baker, MOUNT, a volcano (14,100 feet) of
Washington State, U.S., in the Cascade Range,
a continuation of the Rocky Mountains, 20 miles
from the Canadian frontier. It was very active
in 1880.

Bakewell, an ancient market-town in Derby-
shire, on the Wye, 25 miles NNW. of Derby. It
has warm baths and a mineral spring. Pop. 2848.

Bakhmut, a town of Southern Russia, in the
government of Ekaterinoslav, on a tributary of
the DoneU. Pop. 19,674.

Bakhtegan, or NIRIS, a shallow salt-lake
(74 x 13 miles) in the Persian province of Far-
sistan, 47 miles E. of Shiraz.

Bakony Forest, a densely wooded hill-country
of Hungary, extending from Lake Balaton north-
ward to the Danube. Immense herds of swine
are annually driven hither to feed upon the
mast.

Baku, an important seaport of Russian Trans-
caucasia, on the Apsheron peninsula, on a
crescent-shaped bay in the Caspian Sea. Since
1883 it has been connected by rail with Tiflis,
and so with Poti and Batoum on the Black Sea,
561 miles distant ; and since 1887, by the North
Caucasus Railway, with Novorossiak on the
Black Sea. The whole soil around Baku is
impregnated with petroleum, which, mono-
polised till 1872, now forms the staple branch
of its industry. Some of the fountains ignite
spontaneously, a fact which caused Baku to be
esteemed as a holy city by the Parsees (see
ATESHGA). Most of the petroleum wells are
situated on the Balakhani peninsula, 8 or 9
miles to the north. Lines of pipe carry the
oil into the ' black town ' of Baku, which is full
of oil refineries emitting vast volumes of smoke.
One well, tapped in 1886, began to spout oil with
extraordinary force, deluging the whole district,
till the outflow, on the eighth day, had reached
a daily rate of 11,000 tuns, or more than the
entire produce of the world at the time. Another
gigantic naphtha fountain burst out in 1887,
rising to a height of 350 feet, and after forming
an extensive petroleum lake, forced its way into
the sea. How rapidly the industry grew may be
judged from the fact that the number of drilled
wells increased from 1 in 1871 to 400 in 1883.
Cotton, silk, opium, saffron, and salt are also
exported. The Arabian Masudi is the first who
mentions Baku, about 943, and he gives an
account of a great volcanic mountain in its
vicinity, now extinct. Baku was taken by
Russia from the Persians in 1806. The harbour,
which is strongly fortified, is one of the chief
stations of the Russian navy in the Caspian.
The population some 16,000 in 1880 was in 1900
about 115,000. Baku is capital of a government
of Russian Transcaucasia, with an area of 15,516
sq. m., and a pop. of 810,000. See works by
Marvin (1884-86).

Ba'la, a town of Merionethshire, North Wales,
near the foot of Bala Lake, 12 miles SW. of
Corwen by rail. Pop. 1622. Bala Lake measures
4 miles by 1 mile, and sends off the Dee from its
foot. From Lake Vyrnwy (q.v.), 10 miles south,
Liverpool draws its water-supply.

Balaghat' (' above the Ghats '), a large tract of
elevated country in the south of India, extend-
ing from the rivers Toombudra and Krishna in
the north to the farthest extremity of Mysore in
the south. Also a British district in the Central
Provinces. Pop. 330,554.

Balahissar, a village in the south-western
part of the province of Angora, in Asia Minor,
on the site of the ancient Pessimis, which was
famous for its worship of Cybele.

Balakla'va, a small Greek fishing-village with
700 inhabitants, in the Crimea, 8 miles SE. of
Sebastopol. The landlocked harbour, which
affords secure anchorage for the largest ships,
till 1860 was a naval station. Balaklava is the
Symbolon Limen of Strabo, and the Cembalo of the
Genoese (1365-1475), who were expelled by the
Turks, as these were in turn by the Russians.
During 1854-56 it was the British headquarters,

BALASINOR

BALLAARAT?

and the famous charge of the Six Hundred (25th
October 1854) has made the name glorious as
Thermopylte.

Balasinor, a tributary state of India, in the
province of Guzerat, Bombay. Area about 150
sq. m. ; pop. 42,000. The chief town, Balasinor,
is 51 miles N. of Baroda. Pop. 9000.

Balasor', a seaport of Bengal, on the right
bank of the Burabalang River, 15 miles from its
mouth. Pop. 20,865.

Balaton, LAKE (Ger. Platten-See), a lake, the
largest in Hungary, 55 miles SW. of Pesth.
Lying 426 feet above sea-level, it has a length of
48 miles, a breadth of 10, and an area of 245
sq. m. Its mean depth is 20 feet, but in one
part it sinks to 150. It is fed by over thirty
streams the chief the Szala as well as by
numerous springs. Its outlet is by the Sio,
which flows to the Sarvitz, a feeder of the
Danube. The waters have a slightly brackish
taste. Fish of various kinds abound, including
a kind of perch, weighing from 10 to 20 pounds,
and found nowhere else.

Balbriggan, a watering-place in Dublin
county, 21 miles N. by E. of Dublin. It manu-
factures linen, cotton (especially cotton stock-
ings), and calico. Pop. 2233.

Balcarres, a Fife mansion near Colinsburgh,
where Lady Ann Barnard wrote 'Auld Robin
Gray.' It is a seat now of the Earl of Crawford.

Baldock, a town of Hertfordshire, 37 miles N.
of London. Pop. 2057.

Baldoon', a ruin If mile SSW. of Wigtown, the
true scene of Scott's Bride of Lammermoor.

Bale. See BASEL.

Balearic Isles, a group of islands Mallorca
(Majorca), Minorca, Iviza, Formentera, Cabrera,
and several smaller islets lying off the coast of
Valencia. They formed from 1220 to 1344 the
kingdom of Mallorca, which was united in 1349
with the crown of Aragon ; and they now form a
Spanish province, with an area of 1935 sq. m.,
and a population of 312,000. The Phoenicians
visited the Balearic Isles at a very early date,
and they were followed by the Greeks, the
Carthaginians, and (123 B.C.) the Romans. The
Baleares were famous slingers. See Bidwell's
Balearic Isles (1876).

Balerno, a Midlothian village, with paper-
works, on the Water of Leith, 7 miles SW. of
Edinburgh. Pop. 699.

Balfron', a Stirlingshire village, 19 miles NNW.
of Glasgow. Pop. 737.

Balfrush' (more correctly Barfurusli, ' mart of
burdens'), a town in the Persian province of
Mazanderan, on the Bhawal, 12 miles from its
mouth in the Caspian Sea. It is a centre of
trade between Russia and Persia. Pop. 30,000.

Balgovmie. See DON (Aberdeenshire).

Balham, part of Streatham (q.v.).

Bali (Bdh'lee), or LITTLE JAVA, one of the Sunda
Islands, lying east of Java. It is 75 miles long,
60 broad, and 2300 sq. m. in area ; pop. 760,000.
A chain of mountains crosses the island from
east to west, rising in the volcanic peak of
Gunungagung to 12,379 feet. The Balinese are
a superior race, and speak a language related to
Javanese. Their religion is Brahmanism of an
ancient type. Under the Dutch, the nine little
principalities of the island are governed by native
rulers. Chinese and a few Europeans are the
chief traders.

Balize. See BELIZE, HONDURAS.

Balkans, a ridge or series of ridges of moun-
tains in south-eastern Europe (anc. Hcemus ;
Balkan is Turkish for 'mountain'). They form
the boundary between Bulgaria and Eastern
Roumelia, extending from Timok, SE. of Sophia,
eastward to the Black Sea, and accordingly are
the backbone of the joint principality of Bulgaria
and Eastern Roumelia. The watershed between
the Danube and the ^Egean, they have a steep
slope southwards, but northwards incline gradu-
ally towards the Danube. They are highest in
the west, where the mean height is 6500 feet.
The ridge is crossed by some 30 passes, of which
the Shipka, between Kezanlik and Tirnova, and
4290 feet high, is the most noted in history
especially as the scene of severe fighting in the
Russo-Turkish war of 1877-78. The term BALKAN
PENINSULA, frequently occurring in connection
with the evergreen ' Eastern Question,' is a usual
name for the peninsula in South-eastern Europe
running southwards between the Adriatic and
the ^Egean. The most convenient northern boun-
dary is the Save and the Lower Danube ; though
historically and politically Rpumania and some
parts of the Austrian dominions are closely
associated with the regions south of the Danube.
Greece is a peninsula upon a peninsula, but is
not usually accounted one of the Balkan States.
In a general way the Balkan Peninsula and
Balkan States cover the area of Turkey in Europe
and the non-Turkish States either now or lately
under Turkish suzerainty, with the exception
of Roumania and Greece. See the articles
TURKEY, BULGARIA, SERVIA, MONTENEGRO,
ALBANIA, and BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA.

Balkh (anc. Bactria), a district of Afghan
Turkestan, the most northerly province of
Afghanistan. Offsets of the Hindu-Kush traverse
it in a NW. direction, and slope down to the low
steppes of Bokhara. Its length is 250 miles ; its
breadth, 120. The natives are Uzbegs. BALKH,
long the chief town, is surrounded by a mud
wall ; but though bearing the imposing title of
'mother of cities,' it has not in recent times had
any of the grandeur of ancient Bactra, on the site
of which it is built. It was twice destroyed by
Genghis Khan and Timur. A terrible outbreak
of cholera in 1877 caused the capital of Afghan
Turkestan to be transferred to Mazar, west of
Balkh ; since which Balkh has been an insignifi-
cant village.

Balkhash' (Kirghiz Tengis; Chinese Sihai), a
great inland lake near the eastern borders of
Russian Central Asia, between 44 and 47 N. lat.,
and 73 and 79 E. long. Lying 780 feet above
sea-level, it extends 323 miles WSW. ; its breadth
at the west end is 50 miles, at the east from 9 to
4 miles ; the area is 8400 sq. m. The water is
clear, but intensely salt. Its principal feeder is
the river Hi. It has no outlet.

Ballaarat, or BALLARAT, a thriving town of
Victoria, 100 miles WNW. of Melbourne, and 58
NW. of Geelong by rail. It is next in import-
ance to Melbourne, and owes its rise to the dis-
covery of the gold-fields there in June 1851,
being the oldest of the considerable gold-fields of
Victoria, and in fact the oldest but one of all
the gold-fields of the colony. Ballaarat is the
see of Protestant and Roman Catholic bishops.
Amongst the industries are iron -founding, brew-
ing, distilling, with flour and woollen mills.
When the surface diggings became exhausted
after the first rush in 1851, deposits of gold
were found at greater depths, and now there are
mines as deep as some English coal-pits, with

BALLABGARH

BALTIC PROVINCES

steam pumping and all the requisite machinery.
The 'Welcome Nugget,' the largest ever found,
was discovered in 1858 at Bakery Hill. It
weighed 2217 oz. 16 dwt., and was sold for
10,500. Pop. (1891) 40,849 ; (1901) 49,414.

Eallabgarh, a town of India, in the Punjab,
21 miles S. of Delhi. Pop. 7000.

Ballachu'lish, a village of Argyllshire, on
the south shore of salt-water Loch Leven, 16
miles S. of Fort- William. Its quarries of blue
roofing clay-slate, commenced about 1760, pro-
duce in a busy year 17,000,000 roofing-slates,
weighing 30,000 tons. Pop. 1045.

Ballaghaderreen, a town of County Mayo, 12
miles NW. of Castlereagh. Pop. 1266.

Ballantrae (Ballantray 1 ), a fishing-village at
the mouth of the Stinchar, in the S. of Ayrshire,
10 miles WSW. of Pin wherry station. Pop. 514.

Bal'later, a village of Aberdeenshire, on the
Dee, 44 miles WSW. of Aberdeen by rail. Near
it are the medicinal springs of Pannanich, Bal-
moral Castle (q.v.), and Ballatrich Farm, con-
nected with Byron's boyhood. Pop. 1250.

Ballenstedt, a town of Anhalt, in the Harz
Mountains, 7 miles SE. of Quedlinburg by rail.
Its castle was a monastery 940-1525, and from
1765 till 1863 the residence of the dukes of
Anhalt-Bernburg. Pop. 5852.

Balleny Islands, five small volcanic islands
discovered in the Antarctic Ocean, 1839, nearly
on the Antarctic circle, and in long. 164 E.

Ballina', a seaport on the confines of counties
Mayo and Sligo, on the tidal Moy, 7 miles S. of
its entrance into Killala Bay, and 168 miles NW.
of Dublin by rail. It has a R. C. cathedral (that
of the Bishop of Killala). In 1798 the French
landed and took Ballina, but were three weeks
afterwards defeated at Killala. Pop. 4505.

Ballinakill, a town of Queen's county, 63 miles
SW. of Dublin. Pop. 464.

Ballinamore, a town of County Leitrim, 15
miles NE. of Carrick-on-Shannon. Pop. 654.

Ballinasloe', a town in Connaught on the
borders of counties Gal way and Koscommon,
on the river Suck, 94 miles W. of Dublin. At
the great annual fair for five days in October, as
many as 60,000 sheep and 6000 horned cattle,
besides horses, have been sold. Pop. 4904.

Ballincollig, a town of County Cork, on the
Bride, 7 miles W. of Cork. Pop. 740.

Ballingarry, a town in the county, and 16
miles SW. of the town of Limerick. Pop. 540.

Ballinrobe', a town of County Mayo, on the
Robe, 17 miles SSE. of Castlebar. Pop. 1552.

Balloch, a village at the foot of Loch Lomond,
20 miles NW. of Glasgow.

Ballochmyle, an Ayrshire estate, near Mauch-
line, rendered famous by Burns.

Ballybay, a town of Monaghan, 79 miles NNW.
of Dublin. Pop. 1208.

Ballybunnion, a watering-place of Kerry, 9
miles NW. of Listowel.

Ballycas'tle, a seaport of County Antrim, on
an open bay opposite Rathlin Isle, 68 miles N.
of Belfast by rail. Its harbour and pier cost
150,000, but the former is silted up, and the
sea has destroyed the latter. Pop. 1471.

Ballyclare, a town of Antrim, 10 miles SW.
of Larne. Pop. 2066.

Ballyconnell, a village in the county, and 14
miles NNW. of the town of Cavan.

Ballygawley, a Tyrone village, 11 miles WSW.
of Dungannon.

Ballyhalbert, a fishing-village of County
Down, 13 miles SE. of Newtonards.

Ballyhooly, a village in the county, and 18
miles N. by E. of the city of Cork.

Ballyjamesduff, a market-town in the county,
and 11 miles SE. of the town of Cavan. Pop.
652.

Ballylongford, a Kerry village, 8 miles N. of
Listowel. Pop. 545.

Ballymahon, a market-town in the county,
and 12 miles S. of the town of Longford. Pop.
713.'

Ballyme'na, a town of County Antrim, on the
Braid, 33 miles NNW. of Belfast by rail. It is
one of the greatest linen and flax markets in
Ireland, and its vicinity is covered with extensive
bleach-fields. Pop. (1901) 10,886.

Ballymoney, a market-town of County Antrim,
53 miles NNW. of Belfast by rail. Pop. 2955.

Ballymote, a town in the county, and 14 miles
S. of the town of Sligo. Pop. 997.

Ballynahinch, a market-town of County Down,
12 miles S. of Antrim. Pop. 1542.

Ballyragget, a town in the county, and 10
miles NW. of the town of Kilkenny. Pop. 518.

Ballyshannon, a seaport of County Donegal,
at the mouth of the river Erne, on a small inlet
running off from Donegal Bay, 157 miles NW. of
Dublin by rail. It is celebrated for its salmon-
fishing. Pop. 2359.

Ballywalter, a fishing- village of County Down,
10 miles SE. of Newtonards.

Balme, Col de, a mountain pass (7200 feet)
between Mont Blanc and the Dent du Midi,
taking over the route from Martigny to Chamonix.

Balmer'ino, a small village of Fife, on the
Firth of Tay, 3 miles SW. of Dundee by water.
Near it are scanty remains of a Cistercian abbey
(1227). See a work by J. Campbell (1867).

Balmo'ral, a royal residence in Braemar,
Aberdeenshire, 9 miles W. of Ballater, and 52 of
Aberdeen. Standing 926 feet above sea-level on
a natural platform that slopes gently down from
the base of Craig-gowan (1437 feet) to the Dee, it
commands a magnificent prospect on every side.
The estate was acquired by Prince Albert in
1848-52; and the castle rebuilt (1853-55) at a
cost of 100,000 in the Scottish Baronial style of
architecture.

Balquhidder(.BaZ-'w7u(M'er), aPerthshire parish,
28 miles NW. of Stirling, with Rob Roy's grave.

Balrampur, a town of Oudh, India, near the
frontier of Nepaul. Pop. 15,000.

Balta, a town on the Kodema, an affluent of
the Bug, in the government of Podolia, Russian
Poland. Pop. 24,440.

Baltic Provinces, the five Russian govern-
ments bordering on the Baltic viz. Courland,
Livonia, Esthonia, Petersburg, and Finland ; or
in a restricted sense often the first three. The
Baltic provinces once belonged to Sweden,
except Courland, which was a dependency of
Poland. They came into the possession of Russia
partly in the beginning of the 18th century,
through the conquests of Peter the Great, partly
under Alexander in 1809. No pains have been
spared to Russianise them, and since 1876-77
they have lost their remaining privileges, and
been thoroughly incorporated in the Russian

BALTIC SEA

BAMBERQ

empire. The inhabitants are mainly Esths and
Letts, with many Germans.

Baltic Sea, the great gulf or inland sea bor-
dered by Denmark, Germany, Russia, and Sweden,
and communicating with the Kattegat and North
Sea by the Sound and the Great and Little Belts.
Its length is from 850 to 900 miles; breadth,
from 100 to 200 ; and area, including the Gulfs
of Bothnia and Finland, 184,496 sq. m., of which
12,753 are occupied by islands. Its mean depth
is 44 fathoms, and the greatest ascertained depth,
between Gottland and Courland, 140. The group
of the Aland Islands divides the south part of
the sea from the north part or Gulf of Bothnia
(q.v.). The Gulf of Finland (q.v.), branching off
eastwards into Russia, separates Finland from
Esthonia. A third gulf is that of Riga or Livonia.
The Kurisch and other Haffs are not gulfs, but
fresh-water lakes at the mouths of rivers. The
water of the Baltic is colder and clearer than
that of the ocean, and contains in most places
only a fourth of the proportion of salt found in
the Atlantic ; though the salinity varies in
different parts and at different seasons. Ice
hinders the navigation from three to five months
yearly. Rarely, as in 1658 and 1809, the whole
surface is frozen over. Tides, as in all inland
seas, are little perceptible at Copenhagen, about
a foot. Upwards of 250 rivers flow into this
sea, which, through them and its lakes, drains
not much less than one-fifth of all Europe,
its drainage area being estimated as 717,000 sq.
m. The chief of these rivers are the Oder,
Vistula, Niemen, Dwina, Narva, Neva, and
Motala. The principal islands are Zealand, Fiinen,
Bornholm, Samsoe, and Laaland (Danish) ; Gott-
land, Oland, and s Hveen (Swedish) ; the Aland
Islands (Russian)-; and Riigen (Prussian). The
Eider Canal, connecting the Baltic near Kiel
with the North Sea at Tonningen, facilitates
the grain trade ; and the two seas are also con-
nected by the Gotha Canal, which joins the lakes
of South Sweden. These are navigable for boats
of light draught only ; but in 1887-95 a great
canal was constructed from Brunsbiittel, at the
mouth of the Elbe, to Holtenau and Kiel, to
allow the passage of the largest vessels, being 61
miles long, 28 feet deep, 200 wide at the surface,
and 85 at the bottom ; and as the voyage round
from the Elbe to Kiel represents nearly 600 miles
of dangerous sailing or steaming, the canal must
prove of great value to commerce and to the
German navy. The cost was estimated at
8,000,000, .and the yearly maintenance at
50,000. The most important harbours in the
Baltic are : in Denmark, Copenhagen ; in Ger-
many, Kiel, Liibeck, Stralsund, Stettin, Danzig,
Konigsberg, and Memel ; in Russia, Riga, Narva,
Cronstadt, and Sveaborg ; and in Sweden, Stock-
holm and Karlskrona.

Baltimore, a fishing-village in County Cork,
on Baltimore Bay, 7 miles SW. of Skibbereen.
Here in 1887 the Baroness Burdett-Coutts estab-
lished a technical fishery school. Pop. 597.

Baltimore, a port of entry and the largest city
of Maryland, and the seventh city of the United
States in population, stands on the northern
bank of the river Patapsco, an arm of Chesa-
peake Bay, 250 miles by ship-channel from the
ocean, 96 miles SW. of Philadelphia, and 40 NE.
of Washington, D.C., in 39 17' N. lat., 76 37'
W. long. Its site is uneven, and its surround-
ings are picturesque and pleasant. The plan of
the streets is not so strictly uniform as in many
cities. The harbour is spacious and

perfectly secure, having a minimum depth of 24
feet, and access from the sea is safe and easy.
Baltimore is an important centre of the traffic
in bread-stuffs, and is also the seat of extensive
and varied industries cotton and woollen goods,
flour, tobacco and cigars, beer, glassware, boots
and shoes, iron and steel (including machinery,
car-wheels, iron bridges, stoves, furnaces, &c.),
clothing, pianos, organs, and the canning of
oysters, employing over 2000 hands.

Baltimore is noted for the fine architecture of
its public and other buildings, among the finest
being the chamber of commerce, the Roman
Catholic archiepiscopal cathedral, the custom-
house, the Maryland Institute, the academy of
music, the city-hall, the Johns Hopkins Hos-
pital, the post-office, and the Peabody Insti-
tute. The public monuments (the Washington
column is 210 feet high) have given it the name
of the 'monumental city.' There are several
public squares and parks, the beautiful Druid
Hill Park of nearly 700 acres, being the most
celebrated. The Johns Hopkins University,
endowed with over $3,500,000 by a Quaker phil-
anthropist of that name (1795-1873), was opened
in 1876, and ranks as one of the first seats of
learning in the country. Founded in 1729, the
city was named in honour of Lord Baltimore,
the founder of the Maryland colony, and in 1796
was incorporated as a city. Pop. (1790) 13,503 ;
(1830) 80,625; (1860) 212,218; (1880) 332,313;
(1890) 434,439; (1900) 508,957.

Baltinglass, a Wicklow market-town, on the
Slaney, 10 miles E. of Mageney. Pop. 1007.

Baltistan, or LITTLE TIBET, an alpine region
of Kashmir, through which the Upper Indus
flows. It contains Mount Godwin-Austen, 28,250
feet high, next to Everest the highest on the
globe.

Baltjik', a Bulgarian seaport, on the Black
Sea, 20 miles NE. of Varna. Near it is ruined
Tomi, whither Ovid was exiled. Pop. 4000.

Baluchistan. See BELUCHISTAN.

Balwearie, 2 miles W. by S. of Kirkcaldy,
the ruined tower of the 'wizard' Sir Michael
Scott.

Bambarra, one of the Soudan states of Western
Africa, lying (where 5 W. long, and 12 N. lat.
cross one another) on both sides of the Upper
Niger. The inhabitants, a branch of the Man-
dingoes, number about 2,000,000, and are superior
to their neighbours in intelligence. The upper
classes profess Mohammedanism, but the lower
are pagans. The principal towns are Sego, San-
sanding, Yamina, and Bammako. In 1881 a
French treaty with the sultan of Sego opened
the country, which is now in the French sphere.

Bamberg, a Bavarian city, in Upper Fran-
conia, on the Regnitz, 3 miles above its conflu-
ence with the Main, and 33 N. of Nuremberg by
rail. Set in the midst of vineyards, orchards,
and hop-gardens, and founded about 769, from
1007 to 1802 it was the seat of independent
prince-bishops. The magnificent Romanesque
cathedral, founded by the Emperor Henry II. in
1004, has five towers, and contains the elabor-
ately carved tomb of the founder and his em-
press, Cunigunda. Opposite it is the palace
(1702) of the former prince-bishops, from one
of whose windows Marshal Berthier met his
death. St Michael's Benedictine abbey (1009)
was in 1803 converted into an almshouse. The -
ruins of the castle of Altenburg stand on an
eminence 1J mile from the town. Pop. (187})

BAMBOROUGH CASTLE

BANFFSHIRE

25,738; (1900) 41,850, who manufacture beer,
cotton, cloth, gloves, tobacco, &c.

Bamborough Castle, an ancient fortress on
the Northumbrian coast, 5 miles E. of Belford,
and 1(3J SE. of Berwick. Crowning a basaltic
rock, 150 feet high, it was founded about 547
by Ida the 'Flame-bearer,' first king of North-
umbria, and named Bebbanburli, after Bebbe, his
queen. Forfeited by Tom Forster for his share
in the '15, it was purchased by Bishop Crewe,
and bequeathed by him in 1721 to trustees for
benevolent purposes. In 1894 it was purchased
from the trustees by Lord Armstrong, and en-
dowed as an almshouse of cultured poverty.
Bamborough village was a royal borough before
the Conquest, and in Edward I.'s time returned
two members. Grace Darling is buried in the
churchyard. See vol. i. of Bateson's History of
Northumberland (1893).

Bambouk, a country of Senegambia, Western
Africa, lying in the angle formed by the Senegal
and Faleme rivers. It has rich iron ore and
deposits of gold in its rivers, especially the
Faleme. Faranaba and Mandinka are the chief
towns. The inhabitants, Mandingoes, are pro-
fessedly Mohammedans.

Bamian, a mountain-valley in Afghanistan,
on the road between Kabul and Turkestan, and
near the northern base of the Koh-i-baba range.
It lies 8500 feet above sea-level, is drained by
a feeder of the Oxus. The inhabitants are
Hazaras. The most notable feature of the dis-
trict is a number of Buddhist figures of enor-
mous size carved in the conglomerate cave-
pierced rocks, 200 to 300 feet high, which form
the northern side of the valley. Of these there
are five; and the two principal were described
by a Chinese Buddhist monk about 630 A.D.
The largest is 173 feet high, or 3 feet higher than
the Nelson Monument in Trafalgar Square.

Bam'mako, a trading town of Bambarra, on
the Upper Niger, fortified by the French in 1883.
Pop. 10,000.

Banagher, a town of King's county, on the
Shannon, 18 miles SE. of Ballinasloe. Pop. 1114.

Banas, or BUNAS, three rivers of India. (1)
In Rajputana, rising in the Aravalli Mountains,
and flowing 300 miles NE. and SE. to the Cham-
bal. (2) A river also rising in the Aravalli
Mountains, and flowing 180 miles SW. to the
Runn of Cutch. (3) In Chutia Nagpur, Bengal,
flowing 70 miles NW. to the Son, near Rampur.

Banat, any district or territory under a Ban
or military frontier chief, but specially applied
since 1718 to a part of Hungary which had no
separate ban or governor, and was bounded by
the Theiss, Danube, and Maros. It was formed
into an Austrian crown-land in 1849, but was
incorporated with Hungary in 1860.

Banbridge, a town in County Down, on the
Bann, 76 miles N. of Dublin. It is a seat of the
linen manufacture in all its stages. Pop. (1881)
5609; (1891)4907; (1901)5006.

Banbury, a town of Oxfordshire, on the Oxford
Canal and the Cherwell, 23 miles N. of Oxford,
and 78 NW. of London by rail. Its strong castle
(c. 1125) was demolished during the Great Re-
bellion ; and in 1469 the Yorkists were defeated
in the vicinity. The town is still famous for its
cakes and ale ; and it manufactures webbing and
agricultural implements. Till 1885 Banbury re-
turned a member to parliament ; and it is a
municipal borough, whose boundaries were greatly

extended in 1889. Pop. (1901) 12,967, barely one-
third being in the town proper.

Banca, an island from 8 to 20 miles broad
lying SE. of Sumatra, from which it is separated
by the Strait of Banca. It forms a Dutch Resi-
dency, with an area of 4977 sq. in., and a pop.
of about 95,000, one-fourth Chinese. Gold, iron
ore, silver, lead, and amber are found, but tin is
the chief mineral. The once dense forests have
been terribly thinned for smelting purposes.
The capital, Muntok, in the north-west part of
the island, has a fort and 3000 inhabitants.

Banchory, a Kincardineshire village, on the
Dee, 17 miles WSW. of Aberdeen. Pop. 1470.

Banda, chief town of a district in the United
Provinces, India, on the Ken River, 95 miles
SW. of Allahabad. It is a great mart for cotton.
Pop. 22,974.

Banda Isles, 12 Dutch islands of the Moluccas,
50 miles to the south of Ceram. Area, 17 sq. m. ;
pop. 8000 (500 Europeans and half-castes). The
chief production is the nutmeg. An active
volcano, Gunong-Api (1744 feet), rises near the
centre of the group, which the Dutch acquired
in 1801-14.

Bandajan', a pass (14,854 feet) over the Hima-
layas, in Kashmir.

Banda Oriental. See URUGUAY.

Ban-de-la-Roche, or STEINTHAL, a valley of
Lower Alsace, in the Vosges Mountains, the scene
of the labours of Oberlin.

Bandelkhand. See BUNDELKHAND.

Bandon, or BANDONBRIDGE, a town of County
Cork, on the Bandon, 20 miles SW. of Cork by
rail. Founded in 1608 as a Protestant colony, it
was incorporated by James I., and now belongs
chiefly to the Duke of Devonshire. Till 1885
Bandon returned one member to the House of
Commons. Pop. (1871) 6131 ; (1901) 2S30. The
river Bandon rises in the Carberry Mountains,
and after a course of 40 miles (15 navigable) forms
at its mouth the harbour of Kinsale.

Bandong, a flourishing commercial town in the
western end of Java, near the volcano Gunong
Guntour. Since 1864 it has been the capital of a
province, the Preanger Regencies.

Banff (pron. Bamf), the capital of Banffshire,
on the Moray Firth, at the mouth of the Deveron,
50 miles NNW. of Aberdeen by rail. On the
right bank of the Deveron, 1J mile ENE., is the
fishing-town of Macduff, included since 1832 in
the parliamentary burgh. Scarce a fragment
remains of the old castle, in which Archbishop
Sharp was born ; the present castle is a plain
18th-century edifice. Duff House, the seat of
the Duke of Fife, was built in 1745 by the elder
Adam. The public buildings include a town-
house (1796), the county buildings (1871), a
lunatic asylum (1865), Chalmers's hospital (1862),
and a museum, of which Thomas Edward (1814-
86), the 'Scotch naturalist,' was long curator.
The harbour of Banff is inferior to that of Mac-
duff. Witli Elgin, Cullen, Inverury, Kintore, and
Peterhead, Banff sends one member to parliament.
Pop. (1901) 7148 (nearly half in Macduff).

Banff, a health-resort among the grand scenery
of the Canadian Rocky Mountain National Park,
in the south-west of Alberta and on the Canadian
Pacific Railway, with a hot sulphur spring. Pop.
350.

Banffshire, a county in the NE. of Scotland,
bounded N. by the Moray Firth. Its greatest
length is 59 miles, its greatest breadth 31, and

BANGALORE

BANNOCKBURN

its area 646 sq. m. The coast is rocky, but not
high, except to the east of Banff. Chief summits
are the Bin of Cullen (1050 feet), Ben Binnes
(2755), and, on the Aberdeenshire border, Ben
Macdhui (4296). The rivers are the Spey, which
bounds a third of the county on the west ; and
the Deveron, 61 miles long, and mostly included
within the county. The former ranks after the
Tweed and Tay as a salmon-river. The southern
part of Banffshire is in the Highlands, the north
being purely Lowland. Banffshire is divided
into the districts of Enzie, Boyne, Strathisla,
Strathdeveron, Balveny, Glenlivet, and Strath-
avon. The chief towns and villages are Banff,
Macduff, Portsoy, Keith, Cullen, Buckie, Duff-
town, and Tomintoul. Much whisky is pro-
duced. The county returns one member. The
battle of Glenlivet (q.v.) was fought in 1594.
Pop. (1801) 37,216 ; (1841) 49,670 ; (1901) 61,488.

Bangalore, a fortified town of Mysore, in a
district of the same name, lies 3000 feet above
sea-level, 216 miles W. of Madras by rail. When
Mysore was occupied by Britain in 1831, Banga-
lore was made the administrative capital of the
state ; and when in 1881 Mysore was restored to
its maharajah, the British cantonment of Banga-
lore was specially exempted. In 1791 it was
stormed by Lord Cornwallis. Pop. (1871) 142,513 ;
(1891) 180,366 ; (1901) 159,046.

Bangkok, the capital of Siam, stands on the
Menam, 20 miles from its mouth, in 13 38' N.
lat. and 100 34' E. long., and stretches for some
6 or 7 miles along both sides of the river, here a
wide and noble stream. The pop. is about
600,000, half of whom are Chinese, in whose
hands is centred nearly all the trade, which is
large, the exports exceeding 2,000,000, and the
imports 3,800,000. The approach to Bangkok
by the Menam is exceedingly beautiful, with its
temples, gardens, noble trees, and palaces. A
large number of the houses float on rafts moored
to the banks of the river and its many canals ; and
the ordinary houses of the city, which are almost
wholly of bamboo or other wood, are raised upon

Eiles. The internal traffic is chiefly carried on
y means of canals, there being only a few
passable streets in the whole city. Bangkok is
the constant residence of the king. The palace
is surrounded by high walls, and is nearly a mile
in circumference. It includes temples, public
offices, huge barracks, and a theatre ; the famous
white elephants have also a place within the
palace. The temples are innumerable, and
decorated in the most gorgeous style. In the
neighbourhood of Bangkok are iron-mines and
forests of teak-wood. Among evidences of pro-
gress, specially rapid after 1895, may be men-
tioned the promotion of educational institutions,
the erection of steam-mills, the introduction of
gas and electricity, regular mails (since 1884),
telegraph connection with Burma and Cambodia,
railways to Korat and Paknam (1900). In 1893
French war-ships forced their way, in spite of an
ineffective defence, to Bangkok, and secured here
a treaty making important concessions to France.
See SIAM.

Bangor, a city and seaport of Carnarvonshire,
on the Menai Strait, 60 miles W. of Chester by
the main railway route from London to Dublin
(1850). Its chief trade is derived from the great
Penrhyn slate-quarries, 5 miles distant, which
employ 2000 men. Bangor unites with Car-
narvon, &c. in sending one member. In 525 St
Deiniol founded a college here ; and in 550 he
became the first bishop ; his cathedral was thrice

destroyed, in 1071, 1282, and 1402. The present
cruciform edifice (1496-1532) was ' unequalled in
meanness,' until in 1869-80 it was restored by Sir
Gilbert Scott. In 1883 Bangor received a muni-
cipal charter, and the University College of North
Wales was opened here in 1884. Pop. (1851)
6338 ; (1891) 9892 ; (1901) 11,269.

Bangor, a small seaport and watering-place in
County Down, on the south side of the entrance
to Belfast Lough, 12 miles ENE. of Belfast. Pop.
5903. St Cungall in 555 founded Bangor Abbey,
which in the 9th century had 3000 inmates. See
a monograph by the Rev. C. Scott (2d ed. Bel-
fast, 1887).

Bangor, a city and port in the state of Maine,
246 miles NE. of Boston by rail, on the Penob-
scot, 60 miles from its mouth, and at its con-
fluence with the Kenduskeag, which affords ex-
tensive water-power. At spring-tides, here rising
17 feet, the harbour is accessible for the largest
vessels, and as the navigation cannot go higher,
Bangor is one of the largest lumber depots in the
world. Under English rule the place was known
as Kenduskeag ; its present name was taken from
the well-known psalm-tune, a favourite of one of
its ministers, Seth Noble. It was incorporated
as a city in 1834. Pop. (1870) 18,289; (1880)
16,856 ; (1890) 19,103 ; (1900) 21,850.

Bangor-isco'ed ('Bangor below the Wood'),
a Welsh village on the Dee, in a detached por-
tion of Flintshire, 5 miles SE. of Wrexham. It
was once the seat of one of the largest monas-
teries in Britain, founded before 180 A.D., and
containing 2400 monks in the time of St Augus-
tine. Pop. 554.

Bangweo'lo, or BEMBA, a great Central African
lake, discovered by Livingstone in 1868, which
is 150 miles long by 75 in width, and 3700 feet
above the sea. The Chambese, flowing into it,
and the Luapula issuing from it, constitute the
head-stream of the Congo. The shores are flat,
and parts of the lake are mere marsh. On its
south shore Livingstone died.

Banialu/ka, a fortified town of Bosnia, on the
Verbas, 54 miles SE. of Novi by rail. Pop. 15,357.

Banjermassin', a former sultanate on the
SE. of Borneo, with an area of 5928 sq. m., and
a pop. of about 300,000, chiefly Mohammedans.
Tributary to Holland since 1787, it was annexed
in 1857. BANJERMASSIN, the capital, is on the
island of Tatas ; pop. 30,000.

Bankipur, an Indian civil station close to Patna
(q.v.), since 1905 sub-capital of Western Bengal.

Banks Land, an island in the west of Arctic
America, discovered by Parry in 1819, and ex-
plored by Maclure in 1850. There is also a
Banks Island off the coast of British Columbia.

Bank'ura, a town, capital of a district in
Bengal, on the Dhalkisor River. Pop. 19,000.

Bann, two rivers in the north-east of Ireland
the Upper Bann, flowing into, and the Lower
Bann, out of Lough Neagh. The Upper Bann,
rising in the Mourne Mountains, runs 25 miles
NNW. through Down and Armagh. The Lower
Bann flows 40 miles NNW., through Lough Beg,
dividing the counties of Antrim and London-
derry. It runs past Coleraine, into the Atlantic
Ocean, 4 miles SW. of Portrush. It has import-
ant salmon and eel fisheries.

Bannatyne, a Forfarshire seat, 7 miles NW.
of Dundee.

Bannockburn, a Stirlingshire village of 2444
inhabitants, 3 miles SSE. of Stirling, on th

BANSWARA

BARCELONA

Bannock Burn, a little affluent of the Forth. It
is a seat of the woollen manufactures, especially
of carpets and tartans. Here, on 24th June
1314, Robert Bruce, with 30,000 Scotch, gained
a signal victory over Edward II., with 100,000
English. Not far off was fought the battle of
Sauchieburn (q.v.). See R. White's Battle of
Bannockburn (1871).

Banswara, a hilly, well-wooded state in the
south-west of Rajputana. It has an area of 1500
sq. in., and is peopled by wild and turbulent
Bheels. In 1818 it passed voluntarily under
British protection. Pop. 164,000. The capital,
Banswara, lies 8 miles W. of the Mahi River.
Pop. 6000.

Bantam', a decayed seaport, 61 miles W. of
Batavia, in a residency of the same name, which
forms the west end of Java. It was the first
Dutch establishment in Java (1595), and the seat
of government of the residency, until trans-
ferred to the more salubrious Serang, 6 miles
distant, in 1816.

Bantry, a seaport in the south-west of County
Cork, at the head of Bantry Bay, and 44 miles
WSW. of Cork. Pop. 3100. BANTRY BAY runs
25 miles ENE., with a breadth of 4 to 6 miles.
It is one of the finest harbours in Europe. Here
a French force attempted to land in 1796.

Banyuls-sur-Mer, a watering-place of France
in the Pyrenees Orientales, 21 miles SE. of Per-
pignan by rail. Pop. 2342.

Banyu'mas (Dutch spelling, Banjoemas), a town
of Java, on the Serajo, 22 miles from the south
coast. Pop. 9000.

Banyirwangi, a seaport on the east coast of
Java. Pop. 10,000.

Banz, a former great Benedictine monastery
(1071-1803) in Bavaria, on the Maine, 3 miles
below Lichtenfels.

Bapaume (By-pome 1 ), a town in the French dep.

of Pas-de-Calais, 12 miles S. of Arras, scene of a

German victory on 2-3d January 1871. Pop. 3000.

Baraba', a steppe of Siberia, between Obi and

Irtish.

Baracoa, a decayed seaport near the east end
of Cuba. Pop. 4900.

Barataria, a bay of Louisiana, W. of the Missis-
sippi delta, haunted in 1800-14 by a band of pirates.
Barbacena (Bar-ba-say' na), a town of Brazil,
125 miles NW. of Rio de Janeiro. It lies 3500
feet above the sea. Pop. 5000.

Barba'does, one of the Windward Islands, the
most easterly of all the West Indies, lies 78 miles
E. of St Vincent, in 13 4' N. lat., and 59 37'
W. long. Its length is 21 miles; its greatest
breadth, 14 miles ; and its area, 166 sq. m.,
almost all under cultivation. At Bridgetown,
the capital, is the open roadstead of Carlisle
Bay, the only harbour, the island being almost
encircled by coral-reefs. The interior is generally
hilly, Mount Hillaby, the loftiest summit, rising
1104 feet above sea-level. The climate is fairly
healthy ; the temperature equable ; and the
average rainfall 57 inches. Shocks of earth-
quake are sometimes felt, and thunderstorms
are frequent and severe. But hurricanes are
the grand scourge of Barbadoes, two in 1780
and 1831 having destroyed 4326 and 1591 per-
sons, and property to the value of 1,320,564
and 1,602,800. Barbados is the official spelling.
The area of the island is 166 square miles. In
1834 the population was 102,231 ; by 1901 it
had increased to 195,588 nearly 1200 inhabit-

ants to every square mile. About 20,000 are
white, and the rest coloured. The trade and
the revenue bear a similar testimony to the
benefits of emancipation. Barbadoes was made
the see of a bishop in 1824 ; and the bulk of the
population belong to the Anglican communion.
It was first colonised by the English in 1625,
having previously been depopulated by the
Spaniards. See Schomburgk's History of Bar-
badoes (1848).

Bar'bary, in Northern Africa, comprises the
countries known in modern times as Barca, Tri-
poli Proper, Fezzan, Tunis, Algeria, and Mor-
occo ; and in ancient times as Mauritania,
Numidia, Africa Propria, and Cyrenaica. It
stretches from Egypt to the Atlantic Ocean, and
from the Mediterranean to the Desert of Sahara,
or between 10 W. and 25 E. long., and 25 to 37
N. lat. The north-west of this region is divided
by the Atlas Mountains iuto two parts. The
history of Barbary is a record of successive
conquests by Romans, Vandals, Arabs, Turks,
and the French (1830). To Europe it was chiefly
known as the home of the dreaded Barbary
corsairs. See the articles on the several coun-
tries of Barbary.

Barbastro, a cathedral city of Spain, on the
Vero, 44 miles NW. of Lerida by rail. Pop. 7155.

Barberton, a gold-mining town of the Trans-
vaal, 292 miles N. of Durban. Pop. 5000.

Barbizon (Bar-bee-zon"), a village close to the
Forest of Fontaineblean. It is a great artists' re-
sort, and was the home and death-place of Millet.
Corot, Diaz, Daubigny, and Rousseau were other
members of the ' Barbizon School ' of painters.

Barbu'da, a fertile, densely wooded coral
island, one of the Lesser Antilles, 30 miles N.
of Antigua, of which it is a dependency. It is
10 miles long, 8 broad, and 75 sq. m. in area.
Pop. 650.

Barby, a town of Prussian Saxony, on the
Elbe, 15 miles SE. of Magdeburg. Pop. 5222.

Barca, a country extending along the northern
coast of Africa, between the Great Syrtis (now
Gulf of Sidra) and Egypt. The climate is healthy
and agreeable in the more elevated parts, which
reach a height of almost 2000 feet, and in those
exposed to the sea-breeze. There are none but
small streams, but the narrow terrace-like tracts
of country are extremely fertile, realising all
that is said of the ancient Cyrenaica. But the
good soil extends over only about a fourth of
Barca : the east exhibits only naked rocks and
loose sand. Many ruins in the north-west attest
its high state of cultivation in ancient times,
when its five prosperous cities bore the title of
the Libyan Pentapolis. Subject successively to
Egypt, Rome, and the Byzantine empire, it was
conquered by the Arabs in 641, and now forms
a dep. of Tripoli. Area, 60,700 sq. m. ; pop.
500,000. The capital is Benghazi (q.v.).

Barcellona and Pozzo di Gotto, two towns of
Sicily, 22 miles WSW. of Messina, standing close
together, so as really to form one town. Bar-
cellona has sulphur-baths. Pop. 13,948.

Barcelona, the second largest and the most
important manufacturing city in Spain, is beauti-
fully situated on the Mediterranean between the
mouths of the Llobregat and the Besos, 228 miles
E. of Saragossa and 439 ENE. of Madrid. The
castle of Montjuich commands the town from the
south, and the arsenals near by comprise infantry
and cavalry barracks for 7000 men. Barcelona is
divided into two parts the old town and the

BARCELONA

new _by the Eambla (river-bed), which has been
formed into a beautiful promenade. There is
another fine promenade, the Muralla del Mar, or
sea-wall. Barcelona has a cathedral (1298), a
university (1430 ; rebuilt 1873) with 2500 students,
a theatre (the scene in 1893 of an Anarchist bomb
outrage), and manufactures of silk, woollens,
cottons, lace, hats, firearms, hardware, &c. The
imports are raw cotton, coffee, sugar, wheat,
spirits, timber, salt-fish, hides, wax, iron, and
coal ; the exports fruits, vegetables, wines, silk,
oil, and salt. Next to Cadiz, it is the chief port
in Spain ; in population it is next to Madrid.
Pop. (1878) 249,106 ; (1900, after annexation of
suburbs) 533,000.

Barcelona, capital of the state of Bermudez,
Venezuela, near the mouth of the Neveri, 160
miles E. of Caracas. Pop. 10,800.

Bard, a village in the Italian province of Turin,
23 miles SE. of Aosta. When the French crossed
the St Bernard in 1800, Bard fortress, manned by
400 Austrians, maintained an eight days' resist-
ance to their further advance. Pop. 450.

Bardsey, 9 miles NNE. of Leeds, was the
birthplace of the dramatist Congreve.

Bardsey Isle, an island, 2 miles long, in Car-
digan Bay, with a ruined monastery.

Bardwan', or BURDWAN (correctly Vardham-
dna), a city of Bengal, 67 miles NNW. of Calcutta
by rail. In point of architecture, it is a miser-
able place an aggregate, as it were, of 73 villages.
It contains a palace of the Maharajahs, and a
large collection of temples. Pop. 35,080.

Bareges (Ba-rezh'), a small watering-place, with
mineral baths, in the French dep. of Hautes-
Pyrenees, 4040 feet above sea-level, and 12 miles
SE. of Pierrefitte railway station.

Bareilly, or BARELI, the chief city of a district
in Rohilkhand, North-west Provinces of India,
on the Ramganga, 152 miles E. of Delhi. Cotton,
grain, and sugar are the staples of commerce ;
furniture and upholstery the manufactures.
Bareilly is the seat of a college attended by over
300 students. Population, 132,000. Rai Bareilly
is a town in Oudh, near Lucknow.

Barfleur (Bar-flor'), a seaport in the French
dep. of La Manche, 15 miles E. of Cherbourg.
Hence, in 1066, William the Conqueror set out
on his invasion of England. On the ill-famed
Pointe de Barfleur stands the highest lighthouse
in France, 271 feet above the sea. Pop. 1185.

Barfrush. See BALFRUSH.

Barga Pass, a Himalaya hill-pass (15,000 feet)
in the north of Bashahr State, Punjab.

Barge, a town of Piedmont, 30 miles SW. of
Turin. Pop. 2074.

Barholm, a ruined tower (Scott's ' Ellangowan ')
on the coast of Kirkcudbrightshire, 5| miles SE.
of Creetown.

Bari (Bdh'ree), capital of an Italian province, on
a peninsula in the Adriatic, 277 miles SE. of
Ancona, with a brisk export trade, an old Nor-
man castle, the church of San Nicola (1087), and
the older archiepiscopal cathedral. Pop. 60,000.

Baringo, an African lake lying NE. of the
Victoria Nyanza, and degree N. of the equator.
It is 20 miles long, lies 3000 feet above the sea,
and has no outlet, though its water is fresh.

Barisal, headquarters of Bakarganj (q.v.), in
a region of the Brahmaputra delta, disturbed by
mysterious noises of disputed origin known as
1 Barisal guns." Pop. 16,000.

Barking, a market-town of Essex, on the

5 BAfcNSTAPLE

Roding, 7 miles NE. of London, with market-
gardens and jute-factories. Its Benedictine abbey
(founded 670), one of the richest convents in the
kingdom, has left hardly a trace. Near Barking
Creek is one of the great outfalls into the Thames
of the (partially purified) London sewage. Pop.
(1851) 5076 ; (1891) 14,301 ; (1901) 21,547.

Barkly, two towns in Cape Colony: Barkly
East, in the NE., 35 miles E. of Aliwal North,
pop '2500 Barkly West, a diamond-digging centre
in 1870-90, on the Vaal, 40 miles NE. of Kimberley,
pop. 2000.

Bar-le-Duc, capital of tlie French dep. of Meuse,
158 miles E. of Paris. It manufactures cottons,
and has the ruined castle of the Dukes of Bar.
Pop. 15,634.

Barletta, a seaport of Italy, on the Adriatic,
34 miles NW. of Bari by rail. Pop. 41,994.

Barmen, a busy town in the district of Diissel-
dorf, Rhenish Prussia, extending in the beautiful
valley of the Wupper for about 4 miles from close
to Blberfeld almost to Langenfeld. It is the
principal seat of the ribbon-manufacture on the
Continent, and produces also cloth, stay-laces,
thread, soap, candles, metal wares, buttons,
machinery, and pianofortes. There are, besides,
in the valley, numerous bleach-fields and Turkey-
red dye-works. Barmen is a great missionary
centre, and possesses the mission-house and
seminary of foreign missions belonging to the
Rhenish Missionary Society. Pop. (1871) 74,947 ;

(1890) 116,144 ; (1900) 141,950.

Barmouth, a watering-place of Merioneth-
shire, Wales, at the mouth of the Maw, 10 miles
W. of Dolgelly. Opposite, across the river, is
Cader Idris, 2914 feet high. Pop. 2219.

Barnard Castle, a market-town in the county
of Durham, on the Tees, 15 miles W. of Dar-
lington. On a rocky height are the ruins of a
castle built in 1112-32 by Barnard Baliol. Near
it is an art museum (1874). Pop. (1851) 4357 ;

(1891) 4341 ; (1901) 4421.

Barnaul, a town of Western Siberia, on the
Obi, 290 miles SSW. of Tomsk. It is a great
mining and smelting centre. Pop. 33,529.

Barnes, a Surrey parish, on the Thames, 7
miles WSW. of Waterloo station. It has mem-
ories of Cowley, ' Fielding, Handel, Hoare, and
the ' Kitcat Club.'

Barnet, a town of Hertfordshire, 11 miles NNW.
of London. It has still large fairs. Here, on
14th April 1471, the Yorkists defeated the Lan-
castrians, killing their leader, Warwick, 'the
king-maker.' An obelisk (1740) marks the spot.
Pop. 7876.

Barnsley, a manufacturing town in the West
Riding of Yorkshire, on the river Dearne, 10
miles S. of Wakefield, and 15 N. of Sheffield by
rail. Standing high, in the midst of a rich
mineral district, it has manufactures of linen,
iron, steel, and glass, bleaching and dye works,
&c. It was made a municipal borough in 1869.
Pop. (1851) 13,437 ; (1891) 35,427 ; (1901) 41,083.
- Barnstable, a port of entry, with coasting
and fishing trade, in Massachusetts, U.S., situ-
ated on the south side of Barnstable Bay, 65
miles SE. of Boston. Pop. 4342.

Barn'staple, a town of Devonshire, on the
right bank of the tidal Taw, 6 miles from its
mouth, and 40 NW. of Exeter by rail. Owing
to the silting up of the river, much of the trade
of Barnstaple has been transferred to Bideford.
It has manufactures of lace and pottery. Athel-

BARODA

stan built a castle here ; and there are a 14th-
century parish church, a town-hall (1855), an
Albert memorial tower (1863), &c. Till 1885
Barnstaple returned two members. Pop. (1861)
10,743 ; (1891) 13,058 ; (1901) 14,137.

Baro'da, the second city of Guzerat, and third
in the Presidency of Bombay, capital of the
territory of the Guicowar (Gaekwar) of Baroda,
is 248 miles N. of Bombay by rail. It stands
to the east of the Viswamitri, and has several
palaces and a considerable trade, occupying an
important position between the coast and the
interior. Population, 105,000. The Mahratta
state of Baroda, the political control of which
in 1875 was transferred from Bombay to the
government of India, includes the territories of
the Guicowar in various parts of the province
of Guzerat. Area of these territories, 8570 sq. m.
(larger than Wales). Pop. 2,185,005.

Barossa. See BARROSA.

Barquisimeto (Bar-kee-see-may'to), a town of
Venezuela, on an affluent of the Tocuyo, in a
fertile and healthy plain, 1700 feet above sea-
level. Founded in 1522, it was destroyed in 1812
by a dreadful earthquake. Pop. 38,476.

Barra, an island of Inverness-shire, near the
southern extremity of the outer Hebrides, 42
miles W. of Ardnamurchan Point. It is 8 miles
long, 2 to 5 broad, and 25 sq. m. in area. A low
sandy isthmus, over which the sea nearly breaks
at high water, connects the two parts into which
Barra is divided. The south or larger part rises
to 2000 feet. Pop. (1841) 1977 ; (1891) 2131 ; (1901)
2362, Gaelic-speaking, and largely Catholic, and
among the most industrious of Scottish fisher-
men. A lighthouse (1833) on Barra Head is 680
feet above the sea. Kismull Castle was the
ancient seat of the M'Neills, who in 1840 sold
the island to Colonel Gordon of Cluny.

Barra, a pleasant suburban town, 3 miles E. of
Naples ; pop. 8464.

Barra, a petty Mandingo kingdom of Western
Africa, near the mouth of the Gambia, with an
estimated pop. of 200,000. It borders on British
Gambia (q.v.).

Barrackpur, a town of Bengal, on the B. bank
of the Hooghly, 15 miles up the stream from
Calcutta. It is a favourite retreat for Europeans
from Calcutta ; and to the south is the suburban
residence of the Viceroy. Pop., with Nawab-
ganj, about 20,000.

Barrafranca, a town of Sicily, near Caltani-
setta ; pop. 9052.

Barra Head. See BERNERA.

Barra Mansa, a town of Brazil, on the Para-
hiba, 70 miles NW. of Rio de Janeiro ; pop. 5000.

Barranquilla(jBar-ra%-fceeZ'2/a), the chief port of
Colombia, in Bolivar state, near the Magdalena's
left bank, 15 miles from the sea. Pop. 45,000.

Barren Island, a small active volcano in the
Bay of Bengal, lying east of the Andamans,
about 94 E. long.

Barrhead', a town of Renfrewshire, 8| miles
SW. of Glasgow by rail. Founded about 1773, it
has cotton-mills, and bleaching, dyeing, and print
works. The poet John Davidson was born here.
Pop. (1841) 3492 ; (1891) 8215 ; (1901) 9855.

Barrier Reef, an immense coral-reef extend-
ing along the NE. coast of Australia for over 1000
miles, at a distance from the shore of from 10
to upwards of 100 miles. In many places it rises
out of great depths. There are several breaks or
passages in it, only one, Raines Inlet, being safe

83 BARROW-IN-FURNESS

for ships, with a lighthouse. See Saville-Kent,
The Great Barrier Reef (1893).

Barro'sa, a Spanish village 16 miles SSE. of
Cadiz. Here, on March 5, 1811, General Graham
(Lord Lynedoch), with a handful of British,
gained a glorious victory over the French.

Barrow, a term applied in honour of Sir John
Barrow, to (1) Point Barrow, on the northern
coast of Alaska, in 71 23' N. lat. and 156 31' W.
long., long received as the most northerly spot
on the American mainland (but see BELLOT
STRAIT, BOOTHIA). (2) Cape Barrow, on the
northern coast of Canada, or Coronation Gulf,
68 N. lat., 111 W. long. (3) Barrow Strait, the
earliest of Parry's discoveries, leading to the
west out of Lancaster Sound. Besides its main
course to Melville Sound, Barrow Strait throws
off Prince Regent's Inlet to the south, and
Wellington Channel to the north. It averages
50 miles in breadth, extending pretty nearly
along the parallel of 74 N., from 85 to 100 W.

Barrow, a river in the south-east of Ireland,
rising in the north of Queen's County, on the
north-east slope of the Slieve Bloom Mountains,
and flowing 100 miles E. and S. past Portarling-
ton, Athy, Carlow, and New Ross, until, having
received the Nore and the Suir, it forms the
large and secure estuary of Waterford harbour,
9 miles long. It is navigable for ships of 300
tons to New Ross, 25 miles up, and for barges
to Athy, 65 miles up, whence the Grand Canal
communicates with Dublin.

Barrow Falls, 2 miles S. of Keswick, a double
cascade, 122 feet high.

Barrow-in-Furness, a seaport and manufac-
turing town of North Lancashire, situated on the
south-western coast of the peninsula of Furness.
By rail it is 36 miles WNW. of Lancaster, and 268
NNW. of London. In 1847 it was a fishing-
village of 325 inhabitants ; in 1864 the population
had risen to 10,608, in 1871 to 18,245, in 1891 to
51,712, and in 1901 to 57,584. This rapid increase,
matched in Great Britain by only Birkenhead
and Middlesbrough, is owing to the discovery
in 1840 of extensive deposits of rich haematite
ore at Park, near Barrow ; to the establishment
both of mines and smelting-works ; and to the
opening of railway communication throughout
the district. Smelting-works established in 1859
were in 1866 amalgamated with the Bessemer
Steel Company, founded three years before.
Copper also is obtained in considerable quantity
in the neighbourhood ; whilst some 20,000 tons
of slate are annually quarried. The Dukes of
Devonshire and Buccleuch are the principal
landowners, and gave name to the first two
docks, which, together covering 66 acres, were
opened by Mr Gladstone in 1867. The Ramsden
and the Cavendish Dock (1877) cover a respec-
tive area of 78 and 200 acres, and, like their
predecessors, are 24 feet deep. Barrow Island
has since 1871 become the seat of great iron
shipbuilding yai'ds ; and huge flax and jute-
works were erected in 1872 to provide employ-
ment for women and girls. There are besides
engineering works, a great steam-mill, furnace-
building works, and iron-founding, brewing,
boiler-making, &c. There are statues of the
first mayor, Sir James Ramsden (1872), and Lord
Frederick Cavendish (1885); but the great orna-
ment of the place is the town-hall, built in 1887
at a cost of 80,000. The interesting ruins of
Furness Abbey lie within 2 miles of the town ;
while on Piel Island there are the ruins of a
castle built by the Abbot of Furness. Made a

BARROW-ON-SOAR

municipal borough in 1867, Barrow since 1885
has returned one member. See J. Richardson's
Furness Past and Present (Barrow, 1880).

Barrow-on-Soar, a village of Leicestershire,
3 miles SB. of Loughborough.

Barry, a seaport, with docks and a tidal basin,
in Glamorgan, 7 miles SW. of Cardiff; it exports
coal, iron, and iron manufactures. Pop. 27,000.

Barry Links, in Forfarshire, 9 miles ENE. of
Dundee, a government camp of instruction.

Bar-sur-Aube (Bar-siir-Oab), a town in the
French dep. of Aube, 137 miles ESE. of Paris.
Pop. 4306.

Bar-sur-Seine (Bar-sur-Sayn), a town in the
French dep. Aube, 21 in. SB. of Troyes. Pop. 2773.

Bartfa, or BARTFELD, a town of Hungary, on
the river Topla, near the borders of Galicia,
with hot baths. Pop. 5884.

Barth (Bart), a seaport of Prussia, at the mouth
of the Barth, 21 miles W. of Stralsund. Pop. 7714.

Barton-upon-Humber, an ancient town of
Lincolnshire, 8 miles SW. of Hull. Pop. 5671.

Barton-upon-Irwell, a village and township of
Lancashire, 5 miles W. of Manchester. Here
was built in 1770 Brindley's famous aqueduct,
carrying the Bridgewater Canal across the Irwell,
superseded in 1890-93 by a swing bridge of novel
and ingenious construction, crossing the Manches-
ter Ship Canal. Pop. of rural district (1901) 8065.

Bas. See BATZ.

Basel (Bdh'zel; Fr. Bale; old Fr. Basle), a
Swiss city and canton. The canton was divided
in 1833 into two independent half-cantons, called
Basel-town and Basel-country. The urban half-
canton consists only of the city, with its pre-
cincts, and three villages on the right bank of
the Rhine ; the remainder forms the half-canton
of Basel-country, which borders on Alsace-
Lorraine and Baden, and has an area of 178 sq.
m. but little larger than Rutlandshire. The
Roman Basilia, after 1032 it formed part of the
German empire, but joined the Swiss Confederacy
in 1501, having in 1431-43 been the scene of a
famous church council. The Rhine, here spanned
by three bridges, 200 yards long, divides the city
into two parts Great Basel on the south side,
and Little Basel on the north. The minster, a
cathedral till 1528, was built between 1010 and
1500. It has two conspicuous towers, 218 feet
high. Other buildings are the town-hall (1508) ;
the university (1460) ; a museum, with thirty-two
pictures by- the younger Holbein, who lived thir-
teen years in Basel ; and a public university
library of 160,000 volumes and 4000 manuscripts.
During the Reformation, the university was a cen-
tral point of spiritual life, and it has numbered
among its professors Erasmus and GScolampadius,
both of whom died here, and the mathematicians
Euler and Bernouilli, who were natives. It has
now some 70 professors and lecturers, and about
300 students. Pop., mainly Protestant and Ger-
man-speaking, of Basel-country, 70,000; of Basel-
town (1850) 29,555 ; (1900) 112,250.

Bashahr, one of the Punjab Hill-states, on the
lower slopes of the Himalayas, traversed by the
Sutlej. Area, 3320 sq. m. ; pop. 74,345.

Bashan, a country of North-eastern Palestine,
situated to the east of the Jordan. A volcanic
plateau rising in the Jebel-ed-Druz to 6000 feet,
it extends 60 miles north and south, and about
40 miles east and west. It is covered with the
ruins of the so-called 'giant cities,' which, how-
ever, according to Major Conder, date only from

BASS ROCK

the early Christian centuries ; their roofs, doors,
stairs, and windows are of stone, some of them
as perfect as when first built. See Dr Porter's
Giant Cities of Bashan (1865).

Bashi, or BATANES ISLANDS, the most north-
erly small cluster of islets in the Philippine
chain of islands, lying between Luzon and For-
mosa. They consist of three larger (Bayal,
Batan, and Saptang) and many smaller islets.
Area, 127 sq. m. ; pop. 8250.

Basim, or BASSIM, a town of India, in the
province of Berar, 413 miles E. by N. of Bombay.
Pop. 12,576.

Basingstoke, a town in the north of Hamp-
shire, 48 miles WSW. of London. It is a busy
road and railway centre, and has a trade in corn,
malt, coal, and timber. Basing House (Marquis
of Winchester), 1J mile E., for two years with-
stood the Roundheads ; but Cromwell at last took
it by storm, and burned it to the ground, in 1645.
Pop. (1871) 5574 ; (1901, mun. borough) 9793.

Basle. See BASEL.

Basra (also Bassora or Bussora\ a town of
Asiatic Turkey, on the west bank of the Euph-
rates, 56 miles from its mouth in the Persian
Gulf. The river, navigable up to Basra for ships
of 500 tons, is there divided into a number of
channels, and by evaporation and frequent over-
flowing makes the climate very unhealthy. The
population, once 150,000, had sunk in 1854 to
5000, but the establishment of the English Tigris
and Euphrates Steamship Company altogether
changed the prospects of Basra, and now it prob-
ably contains at least 40,000 inhabitants. Basra
was founded in 636 by the Calif Omar, and soon
became one of the most famous cities of the East.

Bass. See BASS ROCK.

Bassadore, the principal station for British
ships in the Persian Gulf, situated at the west
end of the island of Kishifi.

Bassa'no, a cathedral city of Italy, on the
Brenta, 30 miles N. by W. of Padua. Near it
Napoleon defeated the Austrians in 1796. Pop.

5, dangerous ledges of rocks to the SE.
of Ceylon, in 6 11' 6 22' N. lat., and in 81 28'
81 43' E. long. On both are lighthouses.

Bassein', (1) a town in Burma, on the Bassein
River, one of the mouths of the Irawadi, 75 miles
from the sea, but accessible to the largest ships.
It is an important centre of the rice trade. It
was captured by the British in 1852. Pop.
30,147. (2) A decayed town, 28 miles N. of
Bombay. Ceded to the Portuguese in 1534, it
was taken by the Mahrattas in 1765, and in 1780
surrendered to the British. Pop. (1720) 60.499 ;
(1901)11,000.

Bassenthwaite, a Cumberland lake, 3 miles
NNW. of Keswick. It is 4 miles long, f mile
wide, 78 feet deep, and 226 feet above sea-level.
Skiddaw towers above it.

Basse-terre (Fr., 'lowland'), three places in
the West Indies. (1) The capital of St Chris-
topher's or St Kitt's, on the west coast ; pop.
9000. (2) Capital of the French island of Guade-
loupe ; pop. 9500. (3) The chief town of Marie
Galante, a dependency of Guadeloupe, which is
about 12 miles to the NW.

Bassora. See BASRA.

Bass Rock, an island-rock of Haddingtonshire,
near the mouth of the Firth of Forth, 2 miles
from Canty Bay, and 3J miles ENE. of North
Berwick. Confronted by the ruins of Tantallon

BASS STRAIT

BATHGATE

Castle, and composed of volcanic greenstone and
trap tuff, it is 1 mile in circumference, and 313
feet high, is inaccessible on all sides but the
south, and is denizened by myriads of solan
geese and other birds, which give it a snowy
appearance in the distance. In 756 St Baldred
died in a hermitage on the Bass Rock ; in 1671
Charles II. purchased it for 4000, and within its
dreary dungeons many Covenanters were con-
fined. Four young Jacobite prisoners captured,
and, with twelve more who joined them, held it
for King James, from June 1691 till April 1694.
In 1701 the fortifications were demolished, and
five years afterwards the Bass passed into the
possession of the Dalrymples. See an interesting
volume by Hugh Miller and four others (1848).

Bass Strait, the isleted channel separating
Tasmania from Australia. It runs 180 miles
almost due east and west, and has an average
breadth of 140 miles. It was named after George
Bass, surgeon of H.M.S. Reliance, who in 1798
proved the existence of the channel.

Bastia (Baslee'a), a seaport of Corsica, 95 miles
NNB. of Ajaccio by rail. It was founded in 1383
by the Genoese, and till 1811 was the capital of
Corsica. Pop. 23,000.

Basutoland, a British possession in South
Africa, lying between Cape Colony, Natal, and
the Orange River Colony, with an area of 10,300
sq. in. nearly as large as Belgium with a popu-
lation of 650 Europeans and 265,000 Basu tos, a
people either belonging to the Bechuana stock
or closely allied thereto. The country is one
continuous rugged plateau, has the best grain
land in South Africa, and admirable pasture ;
the climate is perfect, and the scenery beautiful.
Basutoland was annexed to the Cape Colony in
1868, but separated from it in 1884 ; it is governed
by a resident commissioner under the High Com-
missioner for South Africa.

Batangas, a seaport of the Philippine island
of Luzon, 50 miles S. of Manilla, on an extensive
bay opening into the Strait of Mindoro. It was
founded in 1581. Pop. of town and district,
40,000.

Bata'via, properly the name of the island
occupied by the ancient Batavi, became at a
later date the Latin name for Holland and the
whole kingdom of the Netherlands. The name
Batavian Republic was borne by the Netherlands
from 1795 till 1806.

Batayia, the capital of the Dutch East Indian
possessions, stands on the NW. coast of Java,
near the mouth of the Tjiliwong. That small
and shallow river is connected with a network of
canals which intersect the town ; and the influ-
ence of a vertical sun on the canals made Batavia
proverbial as the grave of Europeans. The
temperature, though not extreme, is oppressive
from its uniformity, the mean of winter being
78-1 F., and that of summer only 78'6.
Latterly, the climate has been improved by
draining, and most of the merchants live in the
healthier suburbs, farther inland. The old town
now contains mainly shops, stores, offices, and
the houses of natives and Chinese. During the
day, however, it is a busy place ; and in it are
still the town-house, the exchange, the great
poorhouse, a hospital, &c. The bay is spacious,
but very shallow towards the shore. Batavia is
accessible only to boats ; and since 1880 the
government has constructed a great harbour
some distance to the eastward at Tanjong Priong,
connected with the capital by roa'd, rail, and
canal. To seaward the bay is protected by a

range of islands and sandbanks. Its markets
present at once all the productions of Asia and
all the manufactures of Europe. The exports
include coffee, rice, indigo, hides, arrack, sugar,
tin, pepper, teak, tea, and tamarinds ; the im-
ports, cottons, woollens, silks, machinery, iron
goods, and wine. In 1811, while Holland was
under France, Batavia was taken by the English,
but was restored to its former owners in 1816.
The Dutch government has laid a telegraphic
cable of 600 miles from Batavia to Singapore.
Population, 120,000.

Batavia, a post-village of Western New York,
on Tonawanda Creek, 36 miles NE. of Buffalo by
rail. Pop. 10,000.

Batchian. See MOLUCCAS.

Bath, the chief city of Somerset, is beautifully
situated in the wooded valley of the sinuous
Avon, 12 miles ESE. of Bristol, and 107 W. of
London. Its houses are built wholly of white
freestone ' Bath oolite,' worked in the neigh-
bouring quarries. Set in a natural amphitheatre,
with Lansdown Hill (813 feet) to the north, the
city has a finer appearance than any other in
England. The beauty and sheltered character of
its situation, the mildness of its climate, and
especially the curative efficacy of its hot chaly-
beate springs, have long rendered it a favourite
fashionable resort. The springs were known to
the Romans, who here in the 1st century A.D.
built baths, of which extensive remains have
been discovered. The temperature of the springs
varies from 97 to 120 F. The water is most
useful in bilious, nervous, and scrofulous com-
plaints, palsy, rheumatism, gout, and cutaneous
diseases. Besides a beautiful park (1830), Bath
has the Assembly Rooms (1771), the Guild-hall
(1766), the Pump-room (1797), the Mineral Water
Hospital (1737-1861), and the new baths (1887).
The Abbey Church (1499-1616) is a cruciform
Late Perpendicular structure, with a fine fan-
tracery ceiling in the style of Henry VII. 's
chapel, and a central tower 162 feet high. On
Lansdown Hill is Beckford's Tower, 130 feet
high, built by the eccentric author of Vathek.
South of the city is Prior Park, built in 1743 by
Ralph Allen, Fielding's friend, and now a
Catholic college. There are several other edu-
cational establishments. Bath returns two mem-
bers to parliament, and conjointly with Wells is
the seat of a diocese. It has no manufactures of
importance ; but it has given name to a kind of
bun, to wheeled invalid chairs, and to 'bricks'
(made of very fine sand from the Parrel River)
used for cleaning metal. Coal is found in the
neighbourhood. Pop. (1881) 51,814; (1901)
49,817. Traditionally founded by a British
prince, Bladud (863 B.C.), Bath is really of great
antiquity. It was a Roman station called Aquce
Solis, at the 'intersection of the great Roman
ways from London to Wales, and from Lincoln
to the south coast of England. Richard I.
granted Bath its earliest extant charter. It
figures frequently in literature, in the works of
Smollett, Fielding, Anstey, Madame D'Arblay,
Miss Austen, Dickens, &c. See works by Warner
(1800), Scarth (1864), Sir G. Jackson (1873), Peach
(1873-86), King and Watts (1885), Meehan (1897).

Bath, a city and port of entry, Maine, U.S.,
on the Kennebec River, 35 miles S. of Augusta.
Shipbuilding is the chief industry. Bath was
incorporated as a town in 1780. and as a city in
1850. Pop. 11,000.

Bathgate, a town of Linlithgowshire, 20 miles
W. by S. of Edinburgh. Freestone, coal, carbon^

BATHtiRST

BAVARiA

iferous limestone, and bituminous shale have
been extensively wrought in the vicinity the
last since 1852. There are also large paraffin and
paper works, a distillery, &c. In 1S24 the town
was constituted a free burgh of barony, in 1865 a
police-burgh. Sir James Simpson was a native.
Pop. 5331.

Bath'urst, a name applied to various localities
in honour of Earl Bathurst, Colonial Secretary
(1812-28). (1) BATHURST in New South Wales,
the first county settled beyond the Blue Moun-
tains, is bounded NE. by the Macquarie, and
SW. by the Lachlan. Besides its gold-fields
(discovered in 1851), it has also slate-quarries,
copper-mines, and silver-mines. The chief town,
Bathurst, on the Macquarie River, 144 miles W.
of Sydney by rail, is now the third in New South
Wales. Erected into a municipality in 1862, it
contains a government railway workshop, and
has manufactures of soap, candles, glue, boots,
leather, beer, &c. It is the seat of an Anglican
and of a Roman Catholic bishop. Pop. 9870. (2)
BATHURST ISLAND, off North Australia, close to
the much larger Melville Island. (3) BATHURST,
the principal settlement of the British colony on
the Gambia (q.v.). It is situated on St Mary's
Isle, a sandbank at the mouth of the river. Pop.
8000. (4) An island in the Arctic Ocean, inter-
sected by the 100th meridian, and situated im-
mediately beyond the 75th parallel. (5) BATH-
URST INLET, an arm of the Arctic Ocean, pro-
jecting due south for 75 miles into the North
American continent, just touching the Arctic
circle and 110 west longitude. (6) A division
in the east of Cape Colony.

Batignolles, a northern suburb of Paris.

Bat Jan. See MOLUCCAS.

Batley, a manufacturing town in the West
Riding of Yorkshire, 8 miles SW. of Leeds ; since
1868 a municipal borough, associated for parlia-
mentary purposes with Dewsbury, 1 mile distant.
Batley is a chief seat of the shoddy and heavy
woollen manufactures arrny cloths, flushings,
pilots, druggets, &c. It has a town-hall (1864-
74), a free grammar-school (1612 ; reconstituted
1874), waterworks (1871-78), &c. Pop. (1851)
9308 ; (1871) 20,871 ; (1901, mun. borough) 30,321.

Batn-el-Hajar ('Womb of Rocks'), a stony
district of Nubia, stretching along the Nile in
the neighbourhood of the third cataract.

Baton Rouge, a city on the east bank of the
Mississippi, 129 miles above New Orleans, from
1847 to 1862, and again since 1880, the capital of
the state of Louisiana. It has a national arsenal
and barracks, a military hospital, a deaf and
dumb asylum, an elegant state-house, &c. Pop.
12,000.

Batoum', a town of Hussian Transcaucasia, on
the Black Sea, 201 miles W. of Tiflis, and 575 of
Baku, by a railway (1883). The Berlin Congress
of 1878, in sanctioning the cession of Batoum by
Turkey to Russia, stipulated that it should not
be made into a naval station ; but the Russians
have rendered it a second Sebastopol, and in 18S6
withdrew its privileges as a free port. The
harbour is one of the best on the east coast of
the Black Sea. Pop. 30,000, mostly Russians.
Batoum was founded as Petra by one of Jus-
tinian's generals early in the 6th century A.D.,
and figures as Vati in the middle ages.

Batshian. See MOLUCCAS.

Battersea, a SW. suburb of London, on the
Surrey side of the Thames, here crossed by the
Chelsea, Albert, and Battersea bridges. In the

parish church (1777) is a monument to Lord
Bolingbroke, who was born and died in a house
close by. Battersea Park, 185 acres in area, was
laid out in 1852-58 at a cost of 318,000. It is
now one of the London metropolitan boroughs.
Pop. (1901) 168,896. The parliamentary division
returns one member.

Battle, a town in Sussex, 6 miles NW. of
Hastings. An uninhabited heathland then,
Senlac by name, it received its present name
from the battle of Hastings, fought here on
14th October 1066, when William the Conqueror
overthrew King Harold. To commemorate his
victory, he founded in 1067, on the spot where
Harold fell, a splendid Benedictine abbey. The
so-called Battle Abbey Roll, generally assumed
to have been a list of William's followers, but
probably of Edward I.'s time or later, is sup-
posed to have perished in the burning of Cow-
dray House, near Midhurst, in 1793 ; and the
ten copies of it extant have all been grossly
tampered with. The abbey, two-thirds a ruin,
was bought in 1857 by Lord Harry Vane, after-
ward Duke of Cleveland. Pop. 2996. See works
by J. B. Burke (1848), Mackenzie Walcott (2d ed.
1867), and the Duchess of Cleveland (1889).

Battle Creek, a thriving town of Michigan,
on the Kalamazoo River, 45 miles SW. of Lan-
sing. It has flour-mills, iron-foundries, machine-
shops, &c. Pop. (1880) 7063 ; (1900) 18,563.

Battlefield, 3 miles NE. of Shrewsbury, the
scene of the battle of Shrewsbury (1403), in which
Hotspur was defeated and slain.

Battleford, in Saskatchewan, Canada, at the
junction of the Battle River with the Saskat-
chewan, 175 miles to the north of the Canadian
Pacific Railway. It was capital of the North-
west in 1876-83.

Batum. See BATOUM.

Baturin', a town of South-west Russia, on the
Seim, 50 miles SSW. of Novgorod. Pop. 6850.

Batz, or BAS, a small island in the English
Channel, belonging to France, and situated off
the north coast of the dep. of FinisteTe. Its
length is about 2J miles, and its breadth about
1 mile. It has three villages; a fine haven,
that of Kernoc, and a lighthouse. Pop. 1184.

Bautzen (Boivt'zcn; Wendish Budissiri), a
town in Saxony, on the Spree, 35 miles W. of
Gbrlitz. The chief buildings are a former cath-
edral (1497), and the castle of Ortenburg, dating
from 958, a frequent residence of the kings of
Bohemia. The manufactures include woollens,
fustian, linen, hosiery, leather, and gunpowder.
Pop. (1871) 13,165 ; (1900) 26,025. Here Napoleon
won a barren victory over the Russians and
Prussians, May 20-21, 1813.

Bavaria (Ger. Bayern), the second state of the
German empire. It is divided into two unequal
parts, separated by Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt,
of which the eastern comprises eleven-twelfths
of the whole. Its frontiers touch also on Alsace-
Lorraine, Prussia, Bohemia, Austria, and the
Tyrol the divisions are Bavaria upper and
lower, the Palatinate upper and lower, the three
divisions of Franconia, and Swabia. The area,
29,375 sq. m., is a little less than that of Scot-
land. In 1900 the pop. was 6,176,057; Munich, the
capital, had all but 500,000 inhabitants, and Nurem-
berg over 261,000. There are close on 4,500,000
Catholics to 1,750,000 Protestants and 55,000 Jews.
Bavaria is walled in on the SE., NE., and NW.
by mountains ranging from 3000 feet to close on
.10,000 feet in height highest elevation the Zug-

BAWTRY

BEACHY HEAD

spitz in the Noric Alps, 9605 feet high. The
interior is intersected in several directions by
various less elevated ranges, alternating with
extensive plains and fertile valleys. The country
is rich in wood, nearly one-third of its surface
being covered with forests, mostly of pine and
fir. The Rhine flows along the eastern boundary
of the Palatinate ; the Danube has a navigable
course of 270 miles in Bavaria ; the north part of
the state is in the basin of the Main. The soil is
very fertile, and the wealth of the country con-
sists almost wholly of its agricultural produce,
including wine and cattle. The chief minerals
are salt a government monopoly coal, and
iron, which is worked almost everywhere. Beer,
coarse linens, and woollens are the most im-
portant manufactures. The growth of the
population of Bavaria has been much checked
by the law that no marriage can take place
until the guardians of the poor are satisfied
that the persons wishing to marry have adequate
means to support a wife and family a law
which has tended to increase inordinately the
number of illegitimate children. The three
Bavarian universities are at Munich, Wlirzburg,
and Erlangen, the last being Protestant. Bavaria
is a constitutional monarchy, the throne heredi-
tary in the male line. When Bavaria in 1870
became one of the states of the German empire,
she still retained certain privileges, including
the control of her home affairs, of her postal
system, and of her army in time of peace. The
army forms two corps of the imperial army,
under the command of the king of Bavaria in
time of peace, but controlled by the emperor
of Germany in war. The legislature consists of
a chamber of senators and one of deputies.
The revenue of Bavaria is about 24,000,000,
which is more than enough to cover the total
expenditure. The public debt in 1892 was
87,000,000, about two-thirds of it having been
contracted for railways.

Held successively ' by the Celtic Boii, the
Ostrogoths, and the Franks, Bavaria was con-
stituted first a margraviate, then a dukedom by
Charlemagne and his successors ; and in 1180
the crown was bestowed on a duke of the House
of Wittelsbach, ancestor of the still reigning
dynasty. The Rhenish Palatinate was added to
the ducal dominions in 1216 : in 1805 the duke
was, for services rendered, made a king by
Napoleon I. The Bavarians sided with Austria
in 1866, and took an active share in the Franco-
German war of 1870-71.

Bawtry, a village in the West Riding of York-
shire, 8 miles SE. of Doncaster. Pop. of parish,
947.

Baya'mo, or SAN SALVADOR, a town in the
east of Cuba, on the northern slope of the Sierra
Maestra. It is connected by railway with Man-
zanilla. Pop. 7500.

Bayana, or BIANA, a town of India, in the
Rajput state of Bhurtpur, 50 miles SW. of Agra.
Pop. 8758.

Bayazid', a town of Turkish Armenia, in the
province of Erzerum, on a spur of Ala Dagh,
15 miles SW. of the foot of Mount Ararat. From
15,000 prior to 1829 its pop. has dwindled to 5000.
In 1877 it was seized by the Russians, but was
restored by the Berlin Congress of 1878.

Bay City, the fourth town of Michigan, U.S.,
on the Saginaw River, 4 miles from Saginaw
Bay, and 108 miles NNW. of Detroit. It is an
important railway centre, with a large trade in
timber and salt, and some shipbuilding. Pop.

(1860) 1583 ; (1890) 27,839 ; (1900) 27,628. On the
opposite bank of the river are the consolidated
villages of Salzburg, Wenona, and Banks, known
as West Bay City, with a pop. of 12,981 ; and
the village of Essex (2000) adjoins the north end
of the city. An act of the state legislature of
1887 provided for the consolidation of these with
Bay City in 1891.

Bayern. See BAVARIA.

Bayeux (Bah-yuh'\ a city of Normandy, in the
French dep. Calvados, on the Aure, 15 miles
NW. of Caen. In its public library is the famous
'Bayeux Tapestry; 1 and its cathedral was rebuilt
after a fire by William the Conqueror in 1077, '
though the present edifice dates mainly from
1106 to the 13th century. Pop. 7583.

Bay Islands, a small group in the Bay of
Honduras, 150 miles SE. of Balize. The cluster
was proclaimed a British colony in 1852, but in
1859 was ceded to Honduras. The chief of the
six islands is Roatan (30 by 9 miles; 900 feet
high). Pop. 5000.

Bay of Islands, a safe and extensive harbour
on the east coast of the northernmost portion of
the North Island of New Zealand. It is 11 miles
across, and nearly a hundred islands stud its
surface. Russell, a considerable port, is on the
south side of the bay.

Bayonne, a strongly fortified town in the
French dep. of Basses-Pyrenees, at the conflu-
ence of the Adour and Nive, 4 miles from the
Bay of Biscay, and 63 miles WNW. of Pan by
rail. Population (declining), 23,000. Spanish
in aspect, yet with a strong Basque admixture,
it has a 13th-century cathedral, an inviolate
citadel, one of Vauban's masterpieces ; and manu-
factures of brandy, liquorice, chocolate, bottles,
&c. Bayonne belonged to the duchy of Aqui-
taine, then to Gascony, and to the English from
1152 to 1451. In 1814 it was besieged in vain by
the British and Spanish allies.

Bayonne, a city of New Jersey, U.S., 6 miles
SW. of New York by rail, on the narrow pen-
insula to the south of Jersey City, between
New York and Newark Bays. It has a large
coal-dock, and chemical and other works. Pop.
(1880) 9372 ; (1890) 19,033 ; (1900) 32,722.

Bayreuth. See BAIREUTH.

Bayswater, a NW. suburb of London.

Baza (Roman Bastia), a town of Spain, 50
miles ENE. of Granada. Pop. 11,828.

Bazardjik, a town of Bulgaria, 26 miles N. of
Varna. Pop. 9545. TATAR-BAZARDJIK, a town
of Eastern Roumelia, on the Upper Maritza, 23
miles W. of Philippopolis by rail, with warm
baths, and 15,659 inhabitants, having greatly in-
creased since the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-78.

Bazeilles (Ba-zel'ye), a village in the French dep.
of Ardennes, near the Meuse, 4 miles SSE. of
Sedan. A pretty, well-to-do place, it was burnt
to the ground by the Bavarians on the day of
Sedan (1st Sept. 1870), but was rebuilt, in great
measure with British contributions. Pop. 1391.

Beachy Head, the loftiest headland on the
south coast of England, projecting into the
English Channel, 3 miles SSW. of Eastbourne,
Sussex. It consists of perpendicular chalk-cliffs,
575 feet high, forming the east end of the South
Downs. The Belle Toute Lighthouse (1831), 2fc
miles to the west, is 285 feet a"bove the sea, and
is seen above 20 miles off. Off Beachy Head, a
French fleet beat the combined English and
Dutch fleets, 30th June 1690.

BEACONSFIELD !

Beaconsfield, a quiet little market-town of
Buckinghamshire, 10 miles N. of Windsor. It
is noteworthy as the home and the burial-place
of the poet Waller and of Edmund Burke, and
as having given his earl's title to Benjamin Dis-
raeli. Pop. 1750.

Beaminster, a Dorset market-town, on the
Birt, 6 miles NNE. of Bridport. Pop. 2000.
Bearhaven. See CASTLF.TOWN BEARHAVEN.

Bear Island, County Cork, in Bantry Bay,
measures 6 by 1 miles.

Bear Lake, GREAT, in the north-west of
Canada, in 65-67 N. lat., and 117-123 W. long.
Lying 246 feet above sea-level, Great Bear Lake
is irregular in shape, with an area of 7012 sq. m.,
or not much smaller than Wales. It sends forth
a river of its own name to the Mackenzie.

Beam, one of the thirty-two old French pro-
vinces now forming the greatest portion of the
dep. of Basses-Pyrenees. The inhabitants are
chiefly Gascons with a strong Basque infusion,
and they speak the purest Gascon dialect. Beam
virtually became a part of France on Henry IV.'s
accession (1593), but was only formally incorpor-
ated with it in 1620.

Bear River, a stream of Utah, U.S., which
rises in the Rocky Mountains, flows NW. into
Idaho, then bends round and again returns into
Utah, falling into Great Salt Lake.

Beas, one of the ' Five Rivers ' of the Punjab,
rises in the Snowy Mountains of Kulu, at 13,320
feet above sea-level, and flows 290 miles SW. to
the Sutlej, 30 miles above Ferozpur.

Beatrice, capital of Gage county, Nebraska,
on the Big Blue River, 40 miles by rail S. of
Lincoln, with limestone quarries, cement works,
flour and lumber mills, &c. Pop. (1880) 2447 ;
(1900) 7875.

Beattock, the junction for Moffat (q.v.).

Beaucaire (Bo-Ttayr 1 ), a town in the French dep.
of Gard, on the Rhone, opposite Tarascon, 14 m.
SSW. of Avignon. Vessels enter its harbour by
a canal from the Mediterranean. A July fair,
once attended by 300,000 strangers, still does a
brisk trade in silks, wines, oil, &c. Pop. 8906.

Beauce (Boass), a fertile district of France,
partly in the deps. of Loir-et-Cher and Eure-et-
Loire, of which the capital is Chartres. Also a
SE. county of Quebec province, Canada.

Beaufort (Bo-forr'), an Angevin town of 4317
inhabitants, in the French dep. of Maine-et-
Loire, 19 miles E. of Angers. Its ancient castle
came into the hands of the Lancaster family at
the end of the 14th century, and gave name to
the natural sons of John of Gaunt.

Beaufort (Bo'fort), a port, N. Carolina, U.S.,
at the mouth of Newport River. Pop. 2500.
Also a port and watering-place of S. Carolina, on
Port Royal Island, and terminus of Port Royal
Railroad, 14 miles from the ocean. Pop. 5000.

Beaufort, WEST, a town of Cape Colony, near
the foot of the Nieuwveld Mountains, 338 miles
NW. of Capetown by rail. Pop. 2600.

Beaugency (Bo-zlion g -see'), a town in the French
dep. of Loiret, on the Loire, 16 miles SW. of
Orleans by rail. Here the Germans defeated the
French, December 7-10, 1870. Pop. 3775.

Beaujolais (Bo-zlio-lay'), a subdivision of the
old French province of Lyonnais, now forming
the northern part of the dep. of Rhone, and a
small part of Loire.

Beaulieu (Bewley), a village of Hampshire,
at the head of a creek, on the verge of the

3 BECHUANALAND

New Forest, 6 miles NE. of Lymington. King
John here founded a Cistercian abbey in 1204.

Beauly (pron. Bewley), a village, 10 miles W.
of Inverness, with remains of a priory founded
in 1232. Beauly Firth (7 by 2 miles) is the upper
basin of the Moray Firth, and receives the river
Beauly, winding 10 miles NE. Pop. 859.

Beauma'ris, a seaport, watering-place, and
chief town of Anglesey, North Wales, on the
west side of the picturesque bay of Beaumaris,
near the north entrance to the Menai Strait
3 miles N. of Bangor, and 239 miles NW. of
London. It has the ivy-covered remains of a
castle erected by Edward I., and a free grammar-
school. Till 1885 it united with Amlwch, Holy-
head, and Llangefni in returning one member.
Pop. (1871) 2291 ; (1901) 2310.

Beaune (Boane), a town in the French dep.
Cote d'Or, 23 miles SSW. of Dijon by rail, with a
fine 13th-century church, a splendid hospital,
founded in 1443 by Nicholas Rollin ; and a bronze
statue (1849) of Monge the mathematician. It
manufactures serges, woollen cloth, and cutlery,
and gives name to one of the best Burgundy
wines. Pop. 12,755.

Beauvais, the capital of the French dep. Oise,
situated in the valley of the Therain, 55 miles
NNW. of Paris. Of its unfinished cathedral,
begun in 1225, the choir, 153 feet high, is the
loftiest as well as one of the finest specimens
of Gothic in France. The industries include the
weaving of Gobelins tapestries (since 1664), and
the manufacture of cotton, woollen cloths, shawls,
and carpets. Population, 17,500. Beauvais was
known by the Romans as Ccesaromagus, after-
wards as Bellovacum. In 1472 it was besieged
by Charles the Bold of Burgundy, with 80,000
men, when the women of Beauvais, under Jeanne
Hachette, displayed remarkable valour.

Beaver Dam, a city at the outlet of Beaver
Lake, Wisconsin, U.S., 61 miles NW. of Mil-
waukee, on the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St Paul
Railway. It is the centre of a fertile district,
and has a university, various factories, and flour-
mills. Pop. 5222.

Beaver Falls, a village of Pennsylvania, U.S.,
near the Beaver River's junction with the Ohio,
34 miles NW. of Pittsburgh. The 'Harmony'
society of economy controls most of the factories
here. Pop. 12,000.

Bebek, a lovely bay on the European side of
the Bosphorus, with a palace (built 1725).

Beccles, a Suffolk market-town and municipal
borough, on the Waveney, 8 miles W. of Lowes-
toft. It has a fine church with a detached
belfry, a good grammar-school, and large print-
ing-works. Pop. 7000.

Bechuanaland (BetcJiooah'naland), a tract of
South Africa, inhabited by the Bechuanas, extend-
ing from the Zambesi to the Transvaal border.
The Bechuanas, who speak a Bantu language, also
occupy a considerable portion of the Transvaal.
British protection extends over Bechuanaland as
far north as 22 S. lat. since 1884. South of the
river Mplopo a territory was proclaimed a crown
colony in 1885 ; its area is 51,000 sq. in., and its
population is about 70,000, of whom some 10,000
only are whites. The protectorate of Bechuana-
land outside the crown colony is in extent about
380,000 sq. m. more than thrice as large as the
Transvaal or the United Kingdom with a popu-
lation of some 130,000. (For Rhodesia and the
British area farther north, see RHODESIA, ZAM-
BESIA, MATABELELAND, MASHONALAND.) Bechu-

BECKENHAM

BEDLINGTON

analand is a portion of an elevated plateau 4000
to 5000 feet above sea-level, and though so near
the tropics, is suitable for the British race.
In winter there are sharp frosts, and snow falls
in some years. The rains fall in summer, and
then only the rivers are full. It is an excellent
country for cattle ; sheep thrive in some parts,
and there are extensive tracts available for corn-
lands. There are extensive forests to the north-
east, and to the west the Kalahari Desert, which
only requires wells dug to make it habitable.
The enormous quantities of buck which roam
over the land attest the productiveness of the
soil. Gold has been found near Sitlagpli, and
diamonds were discovered at Vryburg in 1887.
The province of Stellaland is principally inhab-
ited by Boers, and the rest of the country by
Bechuanas, speaking a Bantu language. Their
ancestors are said to have come from the north.
They have since 1832 been at enmity with the
Matabele, and in later years the Transvaal
Boers endeavoured to occupy their country.
During the native risings in 1878, the Bechuanas
invaded Griqualand West, and were in turn sub-
dued by British volunteers as far as the Molopo.
When the British government withdrew from
Bechuanaland in 1880, the natives, being help-
less, were left to the mercy of the Boers of the
Transvaal, whose harsh treatment in 1882 and
1883 led to the Bechuanaland expedition in 1884.
The administration of the protectorate was left
to three chiefs (Khama, Sebele, Bathoen) under
British protection, represented by a resident
commissioner under the High Commissioner for
South Africa. The colony of Bechuanaland was
incorporated with Cape Colony in 1895.

Beckenham, a town of Kent, 7 miles S. by E.
of London. Pop. 27,000.

Becse, OLD, a Hungarian town, on the Theiss.
Pop. 19,000. NEW BECSE, on the B. bank, 348
miles SSE. of Pesth, has a pop. of 7000.

Becskerek, a town of Hungary, on the Bega
canal, 368 miles SSB. of Pesth by rail. Pop.
22,100.

Bedarieux (Bay-dar-yuh'), a town in the French
dep. of Herault, on the Orb, 27 miles NNW. of
Beziers by rail. Pop. 6046.

Beddgelert, a Carnarvonshire village, a great
tourist centre, near Aberglaslyn Pass, 12 miles
SB. of Carnarvon. ' Gelert's Grave ' is marked
by a few stones.

Bedford, the county town of Bedfordshire, on
the navigable Ouse, 49 miles NNW. of London
by rail. The Ouse is spanned here by two
bridges a stone one of five arches, 306 feet
long, built in 1811 at a cost of 15,000, and an
iron one, built in 1888 at a cost of 6000. The
charitable and educational institutions are mostly
due to Sir W. Harper, Lord Mayor of London
(c. 1496-1573). He in 1566 founded a free school,
and endowed it with 13 acres of land in Holborn.
The enormously increased value of the property
(from 150 to 15,000 a year) enables the trustees
to maintain grammar, modern, and preparatory
schools for boys, the same class of schools for
girls, and almshouses. The chief manufacture
is that of agricultural implements. Lace-making
is also carried on ; straw-plaiting has declined.
An embankment beside the Ouse forms a pretty
promenade ; and a people's park of 60 acres was
opened in 1838. Bedford returns one member
(bill 1885 two) to parliament. Pop. (1851) 12,693 ;
(1901) 35,144. Bedford (Bedican-fortha) was the
scene of a battle between the Britons and Saxons
in 571. The Danes burned it in 1010. Bunyan,

who was born at Elstow, near Bedford, was for
twelve years a prisoner in Bedford jail, and
ministered to the Nonconformist congregation
in Mill Lane from 1672 to his death in 1688.
His chapel has been twice rebuilt, in 1707 and
1849 ; but his chair and other relics of him are
preserved ; whilst a colossal bronze statue of him
by Boehm was erected at the cost of the Duke of
Bedford in 1874.

Bedford Level, an extensive tract of flat land
in the east of England, embracing nearly all
the marshy district called the Fens. It extends
inland around the Wash into the six counties
of Northampton, Huntingdon, Cambridge, Lin-
coln, Norfolk, and Suffolk, and has an area of
about 750,000 acres. Its inland boundary forms
a horseshoe of high lands, and reaches the towns
or villages of Brandon, Milton (near Cambridge),
Earith, Peterborough, and Bolingbroke. Of the
three divisions, the north level lies between
the rivers Welland and Nene ; the middle, between
the Nene and the Old Bedford River; and the
south extends to Stoke, Feltwell, and Milden-
hall. Intersected by many artificial channels,
as well as by the lower parts of the rivers Nene,
Cam, Ouse (Great and Little), Welland, Glen,
Lark, and Stoke, it receives the waters of the
whole or parts of nine counties. A great forest
at the coming of the Romans, and by them
rendered a fertile inhabited region, this district,
owing to incursions of the sea, became a morass
in the 13th century, but has been drained since
1634, mainly by the enterprise of Francis, Earl of
Bedford, the principal landholder whence the
name. See Heathcote's Reminiscences of Fen and
Mere (1876).

Bedfordshire, a midland county, the 37th of
the 40 English counties in size, and 36th in
population. Extreme length, 31 miles ; breadth,
25 ; area, 461 sq. m. The general surface is
level, with gentle undulations. In the south,
a range of chalk-hills, branching from the
Chilterns, crosses Bedfordshire in a north-east
direction from Dunstable, and another parallel
range runs from Ampthill to near the junction
of the Ivel with the Ouse. Between the lattel
ridge and the north-west part of the county,
where the land is also somewhat hilly, lies the
corn vale of Bedford. No hill much exceeds
500 feet in height. The chief rivers are the
Ouse (running through the centre of the county,
17 miles in a direct line, but 45 by its windings),
navigable to Bedford ; and its tributary, the
Ivel, navigable to Shefford. There are extensive
market-gardens, especially on the rich deep
loams. Bedfordshire is the most exclusiA'ely
agricultural county in England, its cultivated
area being 88 '1 per cent., against 79 '3 for the
whole kingdom. Pop. (1801) 63,393; (1841)
107,936 ; (1901) 171,249. The principal proprietor
is the Duke of Bedford ; and his seat, Woburn
Abbey, is the chief mansion. Lace-making and
straw-plaiting are leading industries, carried on
almost entirely by women. Bedfordshire is
divided into nine hundreds and 122 parishes.
Two members of parliament are returned for
the county, one for the Biggleswade, arid one
for the Luton division. Many British and
Roman antiquities exist, as well as the ruins
of several monasteries. Three Roman roads
crossed the county, and several earthwork camps
remain.

Bedlington, a Northumberland township, 5
miles SB. of Morpeth. Here about 1800 Mr
Aynsley bred the famous Bedlington terriers.

BEDNOR

90 BELFAST

Bednor', BEDNUR, or NAGAR, a decayed city,
now a village, of Mysore, India, 150 miles NW.
of Seringapatam. It was at one time the seat
of government of a rajah, and its pop. exceeded
100,000. In 1763 it was taken by Hyder Ali,
who pillaged it of property to the estimated
value of 12,000,000.

Bedwellty, a mining urban district of Mon-
mouthshire, with ironworks, 7 miles from Ponty-
pool. Pop. 10,000.

Bedwin, a Wiltshire town, 5 miles SW. of
Hungerford. Pop. of parish, 1627.

Bedworth, a market-town of Warwickshire, 3
miles S. of Nuneaton. Pop. of parish, 7485.

Beer, a Devon fishing-village, l mile SW. of
Axmouth.

Beeston, an urban district of Notts, 3 miles
from Nottingham. Pop. 8960.

Beeston Rock, a steep eminence (366 feet) in
Cheshire, 2 miles S. of Tarporley, with a ruined
castle (1220).

Begharmi. See BAGIRMI.

Be'gles, a town of France, in the department
Gironde, 2 miles S. from Bordeaux. Pop. (1901)
12,061.

Beg-Shehr, or KERELI GOL, a mountain lake
in Asia Minor, 44 miles SW. of Konia. Lying
almost 3700 feet above the sea, it is over 30
miles long, from 5 to 10 miles broad, and contains
several islands. On its east and north shores
are the towns of Begshehr and Kereli.

Behar, or BAHAR (also Bihar), once one of
the three provinces under the Nawab of Bengal,
now one of the four great provinces of Bengal,
occupying part of the valley of the Ganges, com-
prising the two divisions of Patna and Bhagal-
pur, and subdivided into 12 administrative dis-
tricts. Area, 44,200 sq. in. ; pop. (1901) 24,241,395.
The Ganges divides the province almost into
two equal parts ; it is watered besides by several
of its important tributaries. Kooch Behar is a
native state near Bhotan, under the lieutenant-
governor of Bengal ; area, 1307 sq. m. ; pop.
578,863. Its capital is also Kooch Behar, or
Kuch Behar.

Behar, or BAHAR, a town of Bengal, 54 miles
SE. by S. of Patna. The original city is nearly
deserted, and the present town consists of houses
scattered about its remains, and interspersed
with fields, gardens, and groves. Silk, cotton
cloths, and muslin are manufactured here. Pop.
45,000.

Behistun, or BISUTUN (anc. Baghistan), the
site of an ancient Persian city, 22 miles B. of the
city of Kirmanshahan. It is noted for its famous
precipitous rock, which on one side rises per-
pendicularly to the height of 1700 feet, and
which bears cuneiform inscriptions of Darius
Hystaspes about 515 B.C.

Behring Strait separates Asia from America,
and connects the Pacific with the Arctic Ocean.
The proof that the two continents were not con-
nected was given by a Cossack named Deschnev,
who in 1648 sailed from a harbour in Siberia, in
the Polar Ocean, into the Sea of Kamchatka.
But his voyage was regarded by Europeans
as a fable, until Behring's expedition in 1728.
The strait was explored and accurately described
by Cook in 1778. The narrowest part is near 66
lat., between East Cape in Asia, and Cape Prince
of Wales in America, where the capes approach
within 36 miles ; about midway are three unin-
habited islands. The greatest depth is some 30

fathoms. BEHRING SEA, called also the Sea of
Kamchatka, is that part of the North Pacific
Ocean to the S. of Behring Strait. The right
of sealing in Behring Sea, long a source of diffi-
culty between Britain and the United States,
was settled by arbitration in 1893. BEHRING
ISLAND, the most westerly of the Aleutian
Islands, has an area of 30 sq. m., and was the
place where Vitus Behring, or Bering, the dis-
coverer, was wrecked and died in 1741.

Beilan', a pass in the northern extremity of
Syria, on the east shore of the Gulf of Scanderoon,
runs across the mountain-range of Amanus. It
is the common route from Cilicia into Syria.
The town of Beilan (pop. 5000) is situated near
the summit-level of the pass, 1584 feet above the
Mediterranean.

Belra (Bai/ee-ra), a Portuguese province ; area
about 9222 sq. m., and a pop. of 1,517,432. The
surface is mountainous ; the rivers are the Douro
and Tagus. It is divided into the districts of
Aveiro, Castello Branco, Coimbra, Guarda, and
Vizeu. The capital is Coimbra.

Beira, a small town (pop. 5000) in Portuguese
East Africa, near the mouth of the Pungwe
River, 12 miles from the point whence the rail-
way towards Mashonaland starts.

Beiram. See BAIRAM.

Beit-el-Fakih, a town of Yemen, Arabia, near
the Red Sea, 87 miles N. of Mocha. Hodeida, on
the Red Sea, is the port. Pop. 8000.

Beith, a small town of North Ayrshire, on the
borders of Renfrewshire, 18 miles SW. of Glasgow
by rail. It has large cabinet-works and the
Speir School (1887), resembling the old college
at Glasgow. Pop. 49(53.

Beja (Bay'zha; Roman Pax Julia), a town in
the province of Alemtejo, Portugal, 101 miles
SE. of Lisbon by rail. It has a castle and a
cathedral. Pop. 8887.

Bejapur. See BIJAPUR.

Bejar, a town of Spain, 45 miles S. of Sala-
manca. Pop. 9500.

Bekaa. See CCELE-SYRIA.

Bekes, or BEKESVAR, a town of Hungary, at
the confluence of the Black and White KOros,
113 miles SE. of Pesth. Pop. 25,700.

Bekes Csaba, a town of Hungary, 7 miles S. of
Bekes by rail. Pop. 37,243.

Belbeis (anc. Bubastis Agria), a town on the
east ami of the Nile, Lower Egypt, 28 miles
NNE. of Cairo. Pop. 11,500.

Belchi'te, a town of Spain, on the Aguas, 22
miles SSE. of Saragossa. Here, on June 18,
1809, the French completely routed the Spanish.
Pop. 3279.

Belem'. See LISBON.

Belem', or PARA', capital of the Brazilian
province of Para (q.v.).

Belfast', the largest and most prosperous city
in Ireland, since 1S98 a county apart from Antrim,
is situated mainly on the left bank of the Lagan,
at its entrance to Belfast Lough (12 x 3 miles).
It is 12 miles from the Irish Sea, 101 N. of
Dublin, 130 SW. of Glasgow, and 156 NW. of
Liverpool. On the Antrim side the picturesque
hills, rising almost to the dignity of mountains,
have an impressive effect, and the general aspect
of the town is bright and animated. Though the
seat of the linen industry, with a number of
mills and manufactures of several kinds, Belfast
has a much more pleasant appearance than most

BELFAST

British manufacturing towns. On each side of
the spacious lough, which resembles in some
respects the Lake of Geneva, are a number of
pleasant villas, whilst in the higher suburb of
Malone, and along the Lisburn Road, handsome
edifices of a similar character have sprung up.
A fine large new street called Royal Avenue was
in 1884 driven through the centre of the town
from York Street to Donegal Place. It contains
the new post-office, the Ulster Reform Club, the
offices of the Water Commissioners, and the free
library, which, with many fine shops, form a
very imposing thoroughfare. The Queen's College,
a handsome brick building, was opened in 1849.
The Presbyterian College in 1881 had, in con-
junction with the Magee College of Londonderry,
the power conferred on it of granting theological
degrees. The Catholics and Methodists have
colleges of their own, while a Royal Academical
Institution and the Belfast Academy, with other
institutions of a similar character, supply great
educational facilities. Simultaneously with drain-
age and other improvements in the town, the
Harbour Commissioners have been engaged in
greatly improving the quays and the harbour.
With this object they had already expended
500,000 when, under an Act of 1883, they
obtained power authorising an additional ex-
penditure of about a million of money more.
Recent improvements are a through channel and
a deep-water quay, new parks, new hospitals,
and a Protestant cathedral (1899-1904). The
linen trade is by no means the sole staple,
several industries having since 1855 greatly de-
veloped, notably shipbuilding ; others are rope-
making, the manufacture of aerated waters,
and the whisky trade. At intervals there have
been serious riots between the lowest classes of
Protestants and Catholics. Belfast is a town of
great energy, steadily growing, and handsome
beyond most large commercial and manufactur-
ing towns. Amongst famous natives are the
physicists Thomas Andrews, Lord Kelvin, and
his brother, Professor James Thomson ; Sir J.
Emerson Tennant ; Sir Samuel Ferguson ; and
the painter Lavery. In 1888 it became a city, in
1892 its mayor became Lord Mayor, and in 1898,
much extended in area, it was made ' the county
of the city of Belfast.' Pop. (1821) 37,117 ; (1851)
102,103; (1881) 208,122; (1891) 255,950; (1901)
349,180. See George Benn's History of Belfast
(1877).

Bel'fast, a port of entry in Maine, U.S., on
the west side of Penobscot Bay. Pop. 4294.

Belford, a town of Northumberland, 15 miles
SSB. of Berwick-on-Tweed. Pop. of parish,
854.

Belfort (Bel-forr"), capital of the French remnant
ot the dep. of Haut-Rhin, 117 m. BNE. of Dijon
by rail. From 1870 this remnant (235 sq. m.),
taking its name from the town, has been called
the Territolre de Belfort (or, alternatively, Haut-
Rhin), and consists of those portions of Haut-
Rhin which, seized by the Germans during the
Franco-German war, were restored to France in
1871. The strategical importance of Belfort was
recognised by France on its cession by Austria
in 1648, and it was fortified by Vauban. A
fortress of the first rank, it maintained, from 3d
December 1870 till 16th February 1871, a gallant
defence against the Germans. It then capitu-
lated, the defenders marching out with all the
honours of war. The fortifications have been
enormously strengthened since 1874. Pop. (1872)
014 ; (1901) 32,570 ; of territory (1901) 92,304.

BELGIUM

Belgard, a Prussian town of Pomerania, on the
Persante, 16 miles SSW. of Koslin. Pop. 7(517.

Belgaum', or BELGAM, the chief city of a dis-
trict in the presidency of Bombay, situated to the
E. of the dividing ridge of the West Ghats, at a
height of 2500 feet above the sea, 55 miles NE. of
Goa. Its fort in 1818 was taken from the Peishwa
by the British. The chief articles of commerce
are dry fish, salt, dates, cocoa-nuts, coir. Cotton
cloth is manufactured here. Pop. 36,800.

Belglojoso (Bel-ji-o-yo'zo), a town of Lombard y,
North Italy, 9 miles E. of Pavia. Pop. 3168.

Belgium (Fr. Belgique), one of the smaller
European states, consists of the southern portion
of the former kingdom of the Netherlands (as
created by the Congress of Vienna), lying be-
tween France and Holland, the North Sea and
Rhenish Prussia. Its greatest length from north-
west to south-east is 173 miles ; and its greatest
breadth from north to south, 105 miles. The
area is 11,373 sq. m., not a third of that of
Ireland. Pop. (1880) 5,520,009; (1901) 6,693,548.
There are nine provinces Antwerp, West Flan-
ders, East Flanders, Hainault, Li6ge, Brabant,
Limburg, Luxemburg, and Nainur, of which
Luxemburg is the largest and Limburg the
smallest. Brussels, the capital, is, with its
suburbs, the largest town (pop. 565,000) ; Antwerp
is half its size ; Liege and Ghent have more than
150,000 inhabitants ; and there are twenty other
towns with over 20,000. The population of
Belgium is of partly Germanic, partly Celtic
origin. The Flemings (of Teutonic stock) and
Walloons (Celtic in origin) speak each their own
dialects of Dutch and French ; there are also num-
bers of Germans, Dutch, and French. East and
West Flanders, Antwerp, and Limburg are almost
wholly Flemish; and Brabant mainly so. The
line between the Flemish and Walloon districts
is sharply defined, the Flemish part being the
richest and most cultivated. The French lan-
guage has gained the ascendency in educated
society and in the offices of government; but
the Flemish dialect prevails numerically in the
proportion of nine to eight. Belgium is next to
England the most densely peopled country in
Europe, the population being 589 to the sq. m.,
as compared with 558 in England, without Wales
(150 in Scotland, 136 in Ireland). In Brabant
the density is close on 1000 per sq. m.

Belgium is, on the whole, a level, and even low-
lying country ; diversified, however, by hilly dis-
tricts. In the south-east, a western branch of
the Ardennes highlands (2000 feet) separates the
basin of the Maas from that of the Moselle. The
unfertile Campine, composed of marshes and
barren heaths, extends along the Dutch frontier.
In Flanders dykes have been raised to check the
encroachments of the sea. The abundant water-
system of Belgium is chiefly supplied by the
great navigable rivers Scheldt and Maas, both of
which rise in France, and have their embouchures
in Holland. These rivers have numerous and
important tributaries, and there are some 40
canals (563 miles). Of the total area, almost
two-thirds are in ordinary cultivation, more
than one-eighth is meadow and pasture, one-
sixth is under wood, and less than 600,000
acres are waste or water. Good pasturage is
found on the slopes and in the valleys of the
hilly districts, and in the rich meadows of the
low provinces. Beet is largely grown ; and the
level provinces raise wheat, rye, oats, and barley,
leguminous plants, hemp, flax, colza, tobacco,
hops, dye-plants, chicory, and a little wine. It

BELGIUM

BELIZE

has been said that the agriculture of Belgium
is gardening on a large scale, so carefully and
laboriously is every inch of soil cultivated by
the farmers, the vast majority of whom are small
holders owning less than one hectare (about 2
acres) of land. The spade is still the principal
implement used. Belgium is famous for its
horses. In the Campine, honey, silk, and fine
butter are produced. There are valuable fisheries
on the coast. Belgium is rich in minerals, which
yield great quantities of coal and iron, with
lead, copper, zinc, calamine, manganese, alum,
peat, marble, limestone, granite, and slate.
The chief manufactures are linen, woollens
(with carpets), cotton, silk, lace, leather, metals
(especially iron and iron goods), paper, glass,
porcelain, and beet-sugar. Among the principal
articles of export are coal, flax, linen, woollen
and cotton goods, glass, firearms, and nails.
More than a third of the whole is consigned to
France, and most of the remainder to Germany,
England, and Holland. The chief imports are
cereals and flour, raw textiles, vegetable sub-
stances, chemicals, minerals, timber, resin and
bitumen, hides, tissues, coffee, animals, meat,
yarns, wines. The sea-borne trade is almost
entirely in British hands. In 1902 the imports
were valued at over 94,227,000, and the exports
at over 77,000,000. These sums exclude the
value of 'goods in transit,' which may amount
to some 70,000,000 more. The commercial in-
tercourse of Belgium with Great Britain in 1902
amounted to 26,550,000 for exports from Bel-
gium, and 12,620,000 for imports into it. In the
middle of the 13th century, Flanders, with Bruges
as its chief seat of manufactures, had surpassed
all its neighbours in industry. After the dis-
covery of America, Antwerp took the place of
Bruges. The unhappy period of Spanish oppres-
sion and the war in the Netherlands deeply
depressed Flemish commerce. But Belgium has
long been again a busy and prosperous com-
mercial country, the separation from Holland
having been indirectly favourable to the develop-
ment of Belgian resources. Belgium employs the
French decimal system of weights, measures, and
moneys.

The Roman Catholic is the dominant religion.
Although full liberty of worship is guaranteed to
all, and the ministers of each denomination are
paid by the state, almost the entire population
are Roman Catholics, the number of Protestants
being set down at 10,000, of Jews at 4000. There
are over 1200 conventual houses, inhabited by
4000 monks and 21,000 nuns. Diversity of dia-
lects has retarded the formation of an independ-
ent national literature to act as the bond of
national unity. The Flemish element the most
important has done much of late to foster the
Flemish tongue, and if possible secure its pre-
dominance. Painting and architecture formerly
flourished in the wealthy old towns of Flanders ;
and in modern times a revival of art has taken

Slace. There are universities at Ghent, Lie*ge,
russels, and Louvain, and an elaborate school
system, partly secular, partly Catholic.

Military service is by conscription, all males
above 19 being liable ; but substitution is per-
mitted. The army, on a peace footing, numbers
48,8il officers and men ; in war time, 154,780,
besides the garde civique, of 43,647 men. The
importance of Belgium in a military point of
view affords a reason for the maintenance of
fortifications at Antwerp, Dendermonde, Namur,
Diest, Liege, and other places. The chief arsenal
is at Antwerp. In 1902 the revenue of Bel-

gium was 20,031,000, leaving a margin over the
expenditure, 19,901,000 ; while the national debt
was under 112,000,000. The interest is more than
covered by the revenue from the railways, for
which the debt was almost entirely contracted.

The Gallia Belgica of the Romans passed under
the sway of the Franks, and fell later to the
Burgundian princes. On the death of Charles
the Bold in 1477 it passed by marriage to the
House of Hapsburg. The Spanish Netherlands
remained (unlike the northern provinces which
rebelled against Spain and became a Protestant
republic) under the Spanish branch of the Haps-
burgs, till in 1713 they were transferred to
Austria. From 1794 Belgium was under French
sway, but on the fall of Napoleon was united
with the kingdom of the Netherlands. It re-
belled in 1830, and since then has had a separate
career as a limited constitutional monarchy.
The legislative body consists of two chambers
the Senate, and the Chamber of Representatives,
non-resident members of the latter body being
paid a small salary during the session. Both are
elective bodies.

See descriptive works on Belgium by Genon-
ceaux (1879), Hymans (1880), Wauters (1882), and
Scudamore (1901) ; and histories by Juste (1868),
Moke (1881), Hymans (1884), and Boulger (1902).

Belgorod' (Russian Bjelgorod, ' white town '), a
town in the Russian government of Kursk, on
the Donetz, 412 miles S. of Moscow by rail. It
is an archbishop's see, and has manufactures of
leather, soap, and woollens, and three important
fairs. Pop. 26,097.

Belgrade' (Serb. Bielgorod, ' white town '), the
capital of Servia, lies opposite Semlin, at the
confluence of the Save and Danube, 215 miles
SSE. of Pesth, and 234 miles NNW. of Vranja, by
rail. The walls have disappeared since 1862 ; the
last and finest of the five gates was demolished
in 1868 ; and the citadel is hardly up to the
requirements of modern warfare. Year by year
the town is losing its old Turkish aspect, becom-
ing more modern, more European. The royal
palace, the residence of the metropolitan, the
national theatre (1871), and the public offices are
the principal buildings. Opposite the theatre is
a bronze monument (1882) to the murdered
Prince Michael III. Belgrade has but trifling
manufactures of arms, cutlery, saddlery, silk
goods, carpets, &c. It is, however, the entrepot
of the trade between Turkey and Austria. Pop.
(1872) 26,674 ; (1900) 69,100. Belgrade is the
Singidunum of Ptolemy. Its position has made
it the chief point of communication between
Constantinople arid Vienna, and the key to
Hungary on the south-east. The Greeks held it
until 1073, after which it passed through the
hands of Hungarians, Greeks again, Bulgarians,
Bosnians, and Servians, who sold it in 1426 to
the Emperor Sigismund. In 1440 it was un-
successfully besieged by the Turks ; and when
stormed (1456), was retaken from the Turks by
the heroism of Hunyadi and Capistrano. Of
seven more sieges between 1522 and 1789 the
chief was in 1717, when the citadel surrendered
to Prince Eugene, after he had defeated 200,000
Turks, with a loss to them of 20,000 men. In
1862, after a wanton bombardment from the
citadel, it was made the capital of Servia,
though the citadel remained with the Turks till
1867.

Belgravia, a district in the southern part of
the West End of London.

Belize (Be-leeze 1 ), or BRITISH HONDURAS, a

BELLA

British colony washed on the E. by the Bay of
Honduras, in the Caribbean Sea, and elsewhere
surrounded by Guatemala and Mexico. It forms
the south-east part of Yucatan, and measuring
180 by 60 miles, has an area of 7560 sq. m., or a
little larger than Wales. In 1901 the population
was 37,480, of whom less than 2000 were whites.
The river Belize traverses the middle of the
country, and the Ilio Hondo and the Sarstopn
form respectively its north-western and its
southern boundary. The Cockscomb Mountains
(4000 feet) are the highest eminences, the land
all along the coast being low and swampy. The
country has a general tropical fertility ; its chief
exports are mahogany and logwood, besides
sugar, coffee, cotton, sarsaparilla, bananas, plan-
tains, and india-rubber. The name Belize is
probably a Spanish corruption of the name
Wallis, one of the early British settlers ; other-
wise it is usually referred to the Fr. balise, 'a
beacon.' Those early settlers, buccaneers at
starting, then logwood-cutters, were frequently
attacked by the Spaniards ; but after 1798, when
they repulsed a fleet and a land-force of 2000
men, their occupation was formally acquiesced
in. Since 1862 Belize has ranked as a British
colony, with a lieutenant-governor, whose rank
was raised in 1884 to that of governor. Belize,
the capital, is a depot for British goods for
Central America, and has a pop. of about 6600.
See A. R. Gibbs's British Honduras (1883).

Bella, a town of Italy, 17 miles S. of Melfi.
Pop. 5830.

Bellaggio (Bellad'jo), an Italian village on the
spit between the arms of Lake Como. Pop. 966.

Bellaire, a town of Ohio, U.S., on the Ohio
River, 5 miles below Wheeling, with manufac-
tures of glass, nails, pig-iron, &c. Pop. 9934.

Bella'ry, the chief town of a district, 305 miles
NW. of Madras by rail. One of the principal
military stations in the presidency of Madras,
its fort crowns a high rock. Pop. 58,250.

Belleek, on the Erne in Fermanagh, from its
own clay formerly manufactured fine porcelain
(Belleek ware) and pottery.

Bellegarde (Bel-gard 1 ), a second-class fortress
of France, in the dep. of Pyrenees-Orientales,
built by Louis XIV. in 1679. It is situated on
the Spanish confines on the road leading over
the Col de Pertuis from Perpignan to Figueras.

Belle Isle, a British island in the Atlantic,
21 miles in circumference, midway between New-
foundland and Labrador. It gives name to the
strait on the south-west, 70 miles long, and 11
miles wide at the widest. There is another small
island of the same name in the Bay of Concep-
tion, Newfoundland.

Belleisle-en-Mer, an island of the French dep.
of Morbihan, 8 miles S. of Quiberon Point. It is
11 miles by 7, and has an area of 330 sq. m. Pop.
10,117, chiefly engaged in fishing, and 2967 in the
fortified seaport of Le Palais.

Belleville, an eastern suburb of Paris, now
enclosed by the line of fortifications.

Belleville, a town in the province of Ontario,
Canada, on the Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario, 48
miles W. of Kingston by rail. Here is Albert
University (1857). Pop. 9516.

Belleville, a city of Illinois, U.S., 16 miles
SE. of St Louis. It has manufactures of iron
goods, thrashing-machines, and flour. Pop.
(1871) 8146 ; (1901) 17,484.

Belley, a town in the French dep. of Ain, 40
miles E. of Lyons. It has a cathedral dating

93 BELUCHISTAN

from 889, and fine lithographic stones are pro-
cured in the neighbourhood. Pop. 6385.

Bellingham, a Northumberland village, on the
North Tyne, 16 miles NNW. of Hexham. Pop.
of parish, 1268.

Bellinzo'na, or BELLENZ, the chief town of
the Swiss canton of Ticino, on the river Ticino,
109 miles SSE. of Lucerne by rail. It still has
its three old castles. Pop. 5436.

Bellot Strait, the passage on the north coast
of North America, which separates North Somer-
set from Boothia Felix, and connects Prince
Regent Inlet with Franklin Channel. Its east
entrance was discovered in 1852 by Lieutenant
Bellot. It is 20 miles long, and, at its narrowest
part, about 1 mile wide, running pretty nearly
on the parallel of 72, between granite shores
which rise here and there to 1500 feet. A point
on the south shore, 71 55' N., 95" W., is the
most northerly point of the North American
continent.

Bell Rock, or INCHCAPE, a reef of old red
sandstone rocks in the German Ocean, 12 miles
SE. of Arbroath, and nearly opposite the mouth
of the Tay. It is 2000 feet long ; at high water
of spring-tides it is covered to a depth of 16 feet,
at low water is partly uncovered to a height of 4
feet ; and for 100 yards around, the sea is only 3
fathoms deep. A lighthouse, 120 feet high, de-
signed by Robert Stevenson and Rennie, was
erected in 1807-10, at a cost of 61,331.

Bellshill, a Lanarkshire mining town, 9 miles
ESE. of Glasgow. Pop. 8786.

Bellu'no, a cathedral city of Northern Italy,
on the Piave, 42 miles N. of Treviso. Pop. 18,650.

Belnmllet, a Mayo fishing-village, 49 miles
NW. of Ballina. Pop. 652.

Beloit, a city of Wisconsin, U.S., on Rock
River, 75 miles SW. of Milwaukee. It has a col-
lege (1847), foundries, &c. Pop. 10,500.

Belper, a market-town of Derbyshire, on the
Derwent, 7 miles N. of Derby. It owes its
prosperity to the cotton-works of Messrs Strutt,
one of whom was in 1856 created Lord Belper.
The manufacture of silk and cotton hosiery is
also largely carried on ; but nail-making has
declined. Pop. (1851) 10,082 ; (1901) 10,934.

Belt, the name given to two straits, the GREAT
and the LITTLE BELT, which, with the Sound,
connect the Baltic with the Cattegat. The
GREAT BELT, nearly 40 miles long, and 10 to
nearly 20 miles broad, divides the Danish islands,
Zealand and Laaland, from Fiinen and Lange-
land. The LITTLE BELT divides Fiinen from Jut-
land. It is as long as the Great Belt, but narroAvs
from 10 miles to less than a mile. Both the
Belts are dangerous to navigation.

Belturbet, an Irish town, on the Erne, 9 miles
NW. of Cavan. Pop. 1675.

Beluchistan, or BALUCHISTAN (Belootch'istan),
a country of Asia, bounded on the N. by Afghan-
istan, on the E. by Sind, on the S. by the Arabian
Sea, and on the W. by the Persian province of
Kerman. The frontier towards Afghanistan is
seldom anywhere clearly defined. Beluchistan,
which has' a coast-line of over 500 miles, corre-
sponds in general with the ancient Gedrosia.
The area is about 133,000 sq. m., and the pop.
is estimated at some 1,050,000. Until 1S10 Belu-
chistan was almost entirely a terra incognita to
Europeans. Most of the country indeed is still
unknown, but it has been crossed by several trav-
ellers ; the laying of the Indo- Afghan Railway

BELUCHISTAN

BENARES

(by Quetta to Kandahar, 1885-94) through the
desert in the north-east, and the surveys of the
Indo-European Telegraph Company in the south,
have established its general features. The surface
is generally mountainous, more especially towards
the north, where branches of the great Suliman
Range, running north and south, rise to a height
of 12,000 feet. The ranges in the south generally
run east and west, parallel with the coast, and
the longitudinal valleys between form the prin-
cipal thoroughfares, there being no regular routes
in the country except those through the Bolan
and Mula passes to Quetta and Kelat. Even the
bottoms of some of the valleys have an elevation
of 5700 feet ; and the capital, Kelat, situated on
the side of one of them, is 6783 feet above the
level of the sea. Large deserts, rendered im-
passable in summer by sand-storms, and swept
in winter by benumbing, piercing winds, occupy
hundreds of square miles of the country ; and
the rivers unless after heavy rains, when those
in the north-east frequently inundate great tracts
of country are inconsiderable, few of the streams
in the south appearing to be perennial at all.
The west is largely a land of drought, with
stretches of sand varied by bare hills and treeless
valleys. The temperature is one of striking and
sudden extremes, 125 F. in the shade having
been registered on the coast even in March,
although at Kelat, in February, water has been
observed to freeze as it was poured on the ground.
There are few cattle ; sheep, mountain goats, and
antelopes are numerous. The camel is the
ordinary beast of burden ; but in the north-west
serviceable horses are bred. The wild animals
include the tiger, leopard, wolf, hyena, ape, wild
ass, &c., and fish in great quantities are caught
off the coast. Wherever there is a sufficiency of
water the soil is productive the lowlands yield-
ing rice, sugar, cotton, indigo, and tobacco ; and
the higher grounds, wheat, barley, madder,
maize, and pulse. The minerals are gold, silver,
copper, lead, antimony, iron, tin, sulphur, alum,
and sal-ammoniac, and in 1887 valuable petroleum
wells were discovered in the north. The only
nameworthy towns are the capital, Kelat (q.v.),
and Quetta. Gwadar, on the coast, is a fort and
a telegraph station.

The inhabitants belong to the distinct races of
Brahui and Beluchis. The former are the domi-
nant as well as the aboriginal race, and are
hospitable and generous ; the latter, a hungry,
needy, greedy people, are largely nomadic. The
Brahui are usually referred, though doubtfully,
to the Dravidian stock. In appearance they are
short, sturdy, and strongly built, with round,
flat faces, and brown hair. Their dress is a
coarse calico tunic, with trousers fastened at the
ankles, and a skull-cap with sash of the same
colour. The Beluchis are of Iranian descent,
with a mingling of Tartar blood, and their lan-
guage closely resembles the modern Persian ;
they are both numerically smaller and a more
recent element than the Brahui. They are tall,
with longer and more prominent features, and
are brave, but restless and prone to predatory
warfare, in which they frequently show them-
selves senselessly cruel. Both races are Moham-
medans of the Sunni sect. Besides these two
races, there are colonies of Persian descent
called Dehwars (' villagers '), and scattered fami-
lies of Luri, a sort of Gypsies of possibly Indian
origin. Beluchistan is, in a somewhat indefinite
manner, under the authority of the khan of
Kelat, who, with a revenue of about 30,000,
maintains an army of 3000 men. For his hos-

tility, his capital was held (1839-41) by a British
force. In 1877 England obtained by treaty with
the khan the right of permanently occupying
Quetta (which was annexed, with his consent, in
1887), and of having a political agent at Kelat ;
and the khan practically became a feudatory of
the Indian empire, and placed his territory at
the disposal of the British government for all
military and strategical purposes. With Kelat
may be reckoned the Las Bela. The semi-inde-
pendent Marri and Bugti tribes are administered
from Sibi. BRITISH BELUCHISTAN is a chief-coin-
missionership of British India, so constituted in
1887, out of the districts of Pishin, Thai Chotiali,
and Sibi, in south-eastern Afghanistan ; with
Khetran, the Zhob Valley, and the Gumal Pass
added later. British Beluchistan, some 46,000
square miles in area, has 310,000 inhabitants.

See Bellew's From the Indus to the Tigris (1874),
works on Beluchistan by Hughes (1877), Mac-
gregor (1882), Floyer (1882), and Oliver (1891),
and Thornton's Life of Sir R. Sandeman (1895).

Belvoir Castle (pron. Beever), Leicestershire,
7 miles W. by S. of Grantham, the magnificent
seat of the Duke of Rutland.

Bembato'ka, a bay on the NW. coast of
Madagascar.

Bembridge, a village near the east corner of
the Isle of Wight, 5 miles SB. of Ryde, giving
name to a division of the Tertiary formation.
Pop. 1100.

Bemersydo, Berwickshire, on the Tweed, 2
miles NE. of St Boswells, the seat of the Haigs.

Bemerton, a Wiltshire parish, 1 mile W. by
N. of Salisbury, the scene of George Herbert's
ministry.

Benares (Be-ndh'rcz), or VARANASI, the most
sacred city of the Hindus, and one of the chief
towns of North India, situated on the northern
bank of the Ganges, 420 miles from Cal-
cutta. In the United Provinces of Agra and
Oudh, it is seventh in size of Indian cities. It
skirts the crescent-like Ganges for 3 miles, and
the high bank is lined continuously with broad
flights of ghats or stairs, leading to the innumer-
able temples and large substantial houses, which
present towards the river an imposing array of
towers and pinnacles and richly carved facades.
Benares, however, is disappointing internally,
the streets being mere narrow lanes between
lines of tall, dismal houses. Among the chief
buildings are the Nepalese Temple ; Aurungzebe's
mosque, with its two minarets 147 feet high ;
Raja Jai Singh's observatory ; the Gopal Mandir,
wealthiest of all the temples ; the Bisheswar or
Golden Temple of Siva, the holiest of all ; and
the famous Monkey Temple, in the suburbs.
Other points of special interest are the well of
Mani Karniki, formed of Vishnu's sweat; the
Juana-vapi, or 'pool of knowledge ;' and the Lat
Bhairo, a portion, it is believed, of one of Asoka's
pillars. At the Burning Ghat the bodies of
Hindus are reduced to ashes. The city counts
1450 Hindu temples or shrines, most of them
small, and 272 Mohammedan mosques. In the
European quarter there is the Government College,
a large freestone structure, with 700 students;
the Prince of Wales's Hospital ; and a town-hall.
By far the most important European work is
the Dufferin railway bridge over the Ganges,
opened in 1887, and 3518 feet long. Benares
draws immense revenues from the thousands of
pilgrims who visit it from all parts of India. It
has a considerable trade, not only in country
produce, but in English goods, jewellery, and

BENAVENTE 95

BENGAL

precious stones. Its brass-ware, gold-cloth, and
lacquered toys are famous. Pop. (1901) 209,350.
A city of great antiquity, Benares (Sansk. Vdrd-
nasi) was for 800 years the headquarters of Bud-
dhism. In the 4th century B.C. it reverted to
Brahminism, the ancient faith, of which it has
ever since been the metropolis. It has been in
the hands of many temporal rulers the Rajput
princes, the Mogul emperors, the Oudh nawabs
being ceded by the latter to the British in 1775.

Benaven'te, a town of Spain, on the Esla, 34
miles N. from Zamora. Here Moore's retreat com-
menced, 28th December 1808. Pop. 4518.

Benbec'ula, one of the Hebrides, between
North and South Uist, 20 miles W. of Skye,
belongs to Inverness-shire. Measuring 6 or 7
miles either way, it is nearly 36 sq. m. in area,
low and flat, and consists chiefly of bog, sand,
and lake, with a very broken coast-line. Nearly
three-fourths of the area are under crofts and
farms. Pop. 1434.

Bencoo'len, capital of a Dutch residency on
the SW. coast of Sumatra. Owing to the surf
and coral reefs, landing is difficult ; the site is
low and swampy, and the houses are mostly built
on bamboo piles. Pepper and camphor are the
chief exports, but trade has declined. Bencoolen
was founded by the English (1686), but was ceded
to the Dutch in 1825. Pop. 10,000.

Bender, a strongly fortified town, in the
Russian province of Bessarabia, on the Dniester,
82 miles NW. of Odessa by rail. The principal
industries are the manufacture of bricks, stone-
ware, paper, and leather, with agriculture, fishing,
and mining. It was captured by the Russians
from the Turks in 1770, 1789, 1806, and 1811,
and ceded to Russia in 1812. Pop. 44,684.
Bender- Abbas is also another name for the town
of Gombroon (q.v.).

Ben'digo (for some time renamed SANDHURST),
a town of Victoria, on Bendigo Creek, 101 miles
by rail NNW. of Melbourne, in the centre of a
rich auriferous country. It owes its rise to the
discovery of gold here in 1851. The mines employ
4500 miners, and yield about 150,000 oz. per
annum. Bendigo was proclaimed a municipality
in 1855, a borough in 1863, and a city in 1871.
Pop. (1881) 28,662; (1891) 26,774 ; (1901) 41,900.

Beneven'to (anc. Beneventum), a city of Italy,
on a hill near the confluence of the Galore and
Sabato, 61 miles NE. of Naples by rail. It has
a citadel, a fine old archie piscopal cathedral, and
a magnificent arch, erected in 114 A.D. to the
honour of the Emperor Trajan. From 1053, when
it was given to the pope by the Emperor Henry
III., until 1860, when it was united with the
kingdom of Italy, Benevento was governed
through a resident cardinal with the title of
Legate. Pop. 25,000.

Benfieldside, a Durham township, 13 miles
SW. of Gateshead. Pop. 7259.

Bengal' (old Bangdld), a name given to part of
British India, but variously signifying (1) the old
historical presidency which, in pre-mutiny times
comprised the greater portion of Northern India ;
(2) the modern military division, corresponding
in extent to the old presidency ; (3) the province
as it was till 1905, also called Lower Bengal,
comprising Bengal Proper (the division of Cal-
cutta and four other districts), Behar Orissa
and Chota Nagpore ; (4) Bengal as divided in 1905
from Eastern Bengal and Assam, witli 141,580
square miles and fifty-four millions of inhabit-
ants ; while Eastern Bengal (Chittagong, Dacca,

and Rajshahi divisions) and Assam lias 106,540
square miles and thirty-one millions. The
undivided province before 1905 had an area of
151,000 square miles and seventy-five millions
with the native states, eighty millions, or more
than the United States of America. Only some
11,000 were British-born. Bengal comprises the
low-lying deltas of the Ganges and Brahmaputra,
and the alluvial plains stretching along their
lower courses; hemmed in on the N. by the
Himalayan ramparts. The distinctive features
of Bengal are its immense network of rivers, the
magnificent range of the Himalayas, the luxuri-
ant but fever-haunted Terai at the base of the
great mountain-chain, and the trackless forests
and jungles of the Sundarbans (Sunderbunds),
on the sea-face of the delta the almost undis-
puted home of the tiger and rhinoceros. As com-
pared with Northern India, Bengal has few very
large cities. Calcutta, the capital, is one of the
largest cities in the world, having, with suburbs,
a pop. of a million and a quarter ; the next
largest in the province being Patna, with 150,000.

The climate of the plains is similar to that of
the Indian seaboard everywhere hot and humid.
But inland in Behar it is much drier, with hot
winds in summer ; while in ascending the hills,
every variety of climate is met with, till the
perpetual snow-line is reached. The ordinary
range of temperature in the plains is from about
52 F. in the cold season, to 103 in the shade in
summer. The people are mostly employed in
agriculture, and among the chief products are
indigo, jute, the opium poppy, oil-seeds, many
varieties of rice, cinchona, tea, turmeric, pepper,
the silk mulberry, cotton, sugar, and innumer-
able grains, spices, and drugs. Opium is a
government monopoly ; and cinchona is chiefly
grown at the government plantation at Darjil-
ing. Bengal has considerable mineral wealth ; in
Burdwan, coal, iron, and copper are worked.
The jute and cotton mills round Calcutta employ
over 40,000 hands. Standing far in advance of
the rest of India in education, the enlightened
classes in Bengal are largely employed in govern-
ment service. The province has five colleges
affiliated to the university of Calcutta, besides
nearly 30 ' institutions ' catalogued as giving
university education, besides higher and lower
schools, engineering, normal, and industrial
schools.

Within the province there is a great variety of
race, language, religion, and degrees of civilisa-
tion. A large proportion of the people are
descended from the Aryan stock ; but no sharp
line can be drawn between those called Hindus
and those reckoned aborigines or non- Aryan, as
many low-caste Hindus are wholly aboriginal in
blood. Bengal in 1905 had 25 million Moslem
inhabitants (mostly in the upper classes), while
about 3 millions are semi-savage tribesmen, and
280,000 are returned as Christian converts.
Bengalis speaking Bengali number 40 millions ;
Hindustani speakers, 26 millions. As divided in
1905, Bengal contains 42 millions of Hindus and
9 of Mohammedans ; while Eastern Bengal and
Assam has 18 millions of Mohammedans and 12
of Hindus. In Bengal Proper the Santals are the
most notable aboriginal stock ; in the feudatory
states are the Kolarian or Dravidian Gonds, Kols,
and Bhuiyas, with Indo-Chinese tribes. The Mo-
hammedan conquest dates from 1200. See INDIA.

Bengal, BAY OF, a triangular portion of the
Indian Ocean, between India and the Indo-
Chinese peninsula. The bay receives many large
rivers the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Irawadi, Mah-

BENGAZI

BERBERAH

anacli, Godavery, Krishna, and Cauvery. On
the west coast there is hardly anything worthy
of the name of harbour ; on the east there are
many good ports Akyab, Gwa, Maulmain, Tavoy
River. The numerous islands include the Anda-
man, Nicobar, and Mergui groups.

Benga'zi (anc. Hesperis), a North African sea-
port, capital of the Turkish vilayet of Barca, on
the coast of the Gulf of Sidra. Pop. 7000.

Benguela (Ben-gay'la), a country of W. Africa,
bordering on the Atlantic, between Angola on the
N. and Mossamedes on the S., and lying roughly
between 10 and 15 S. lat. and 12 and 17 E.
long. Its surface is generally mountainous, rising
from the coast-line inland in a series of terraces.
Sulphur, copper, and petroleum are found in the
mountains, and also gold and silver in small quan-
tities. SAO FELIPE DE BENGUELA, the Portuguese
capital of the above region, on a level plain near
the sea, in 12 33' S. lat., was once a great slave-
station. Pop. 2000 natives and a garrison of 100
men. The harbour is good, though difficult of
entrance. See From Benguella to Yacca, by
Capello and Ivens (1883).

Benhar, EAST, a Linlithgowshire mining vil-
lage, 1J mile NNW. of Fauldhouse. Pop. 57&

Beni', an impetuous river of South America,
in the state of Bolivia, rises in the La Paz
Cordillera of the Andes, at a height of almost
12,000 feet, and joins the Mamore, after a course
of over 1000 miles, to form the Madeira, one of
the largest affluents of the Amazon.

Benicar'lo, a town of Spain, 84 miles SW. of
Tarragona. Pop. 7913.

Benicia, capital of Solano county, California,
and formerly capital of the state, on the Car-
quinez Strait, 30 miles NE. of San Francisco.
It has a commodious harbour, and is the seat of
the U.S. Pacific arsenal. Pop. 2794.

Beni-Hassan, a village of Upper Egypt, on
the east bank of the Nile, remarkable for its
catacombs.

Benin', a country of Western Africa, lying
between the lower Niger and Dahomey. Once a
powerful kingdom, it is now broken up into
several small states, whilst all the coast-line is
British, included either in Lagos, or in the Niger
protectorate, which are separated by the Benin
River. The pop. is dense. The capital, Benin,
73 miles inland from the mouth of the Benin
River, has a pop. of above 15,000. Gato is a
centre for the palm-oil trade. The river Benin is
2 miles wide at its mouth, but has a troublesome
bar of mud. Benin was discovered by the Portu-
guese Alfonso de Aveiro (1486).

Benin, BIGHT OF, that portion of the Gulf of
Guinea (q.v.) extending from Cape Formosa to
Cape St Paul, with a coast-line of 460 miles.

Beni-Souef , a town of Central Egypt, on the
right bank of the Nile, 70 miles SSW. of Cairo.
A branch line of railway has been constructed
westward to Medinet el Fayum, and the town
is the entrepot of the fertile Fayum, and has
cotton-mills and alabaster quarries. Pop.
11,085.

Ben Law'ers, a Perthshire mountain, flanking
the NW. shore of Loch Tay, and attaining 3984
feet, or with the cairn at the top (rebuilt in
1878), 4004.

Ben Led! (Leddy), a mountain (2875 feet) of
Perthshire, 4J miles W. by N. of Callander. A
jubilee cairn was erected on it in 1887.

Ben Lomond, a Scottish mountain (3192 feet)

in the NW. of Stirlingshire, on the east side of
Loch Lomond, 13 miles N. of Dumbarton.

Ben Macdhu'i, a mountain (4296 feet) of
South-west Aberdeenshire, one of the Cairn-
gorms, 18 miles WNW. of Castletown-of-Braemar.

Benmore, the name of several Scottish moun-
tains. (1) Perthshire, 10 miles SW. of Killin,
3843 feet ; (2) in Assynt parish, Sutherland, 3234
feet ; (3) in Mull island, 3185 feet, &c.

Ben Nevis, a mountain of Inverness-shire, 7
miles SE. of Fort William, by a carriage-road
opened in 1880. The loftiest summit in Great
Britain, it has a height of 4406 feet, with a tre-
mendous precipice of 1500 feet on the north-east
side. Till a road to the top was made in 1883,
the ascent was difficult. A meteorological obser-
vatory was erected on the summit in 1883, and
beside it is now a shelter for travellers.

Ben-Rhydding, a hydropathic establishment
(1846), in the West Riding of Yorkshire, on the
Wharfe, 12 miles NW. of Leeds. The name is a
modern coinage.

Ben Rinnes, a Banffshire mountain (2755 feet).

Bentham, a town in the West Riding of York-
shire, on the Wenning, 12 miles WNW. of Settle.
Pop. of parish, 2273.

Bentley Priory, a seat in Harrow parish, 3
miles WNW. of Edgware. Queen Adelaide died
here.

Be'nue (spelt also Binue and Benuwe), an im-
portant river of Central Africa, forming the great
eastern affluent of the Niger, which it joins 230
miles above its mouth in the Gulf of Guinea.
Flowing through wide tracts of fertile territory,
and navigable for 700 miles, it is a highway into
the heart of the Soudan. Dr Earth describes it
as 800 yards wide, with a general depth in its
channel of 11 feet. and. 'a liability to rise under
ordinary circumstances at least 30, or even at
times 50, feet higher.' The Benue was explored
by Dr Baikie (1854 and 1862), and by Mr Flegel
(1879-83), who reached its sources, in the Adam-
awa country, in 7 30' N. lat. and 13 E. long.

Ben Venue (Venoo'), a Perthshire mountain
(2393 feet) flanking Loch Katrine.

Ben Wyvis (Wee 1 vis or Wl'vis), a lumpish moun-
tain (3429 feet) of Ross-shire, 8 in. NW. of Dingwall.

Benzerta. See BIZEBTA.

Berar', a commissionership of India till 1902
under the resident of Hyderabad, and called
'Hyderabad Assigned Districts,' but now in the
Central Provinces. It is bounded by Bombay
and the Nizam's dominions. Its length from
east to west is about 150 miles ; area, 17,710 sq. m. ;
pop. 2,754,000. Berar consists of six districts,
assigned to Britain under the treaties of 1853
and 1861 with the bankrupt Nizam of Hyder-
abad, but leased in perpetuity in 1902. Mainly
a broad and fertile valley running east and west,
between the Satpura and Ajanta ranges, it is tra-
versed by the Purna, a tributary of the Tapti.
Ellichpur was the capital of the old kingdom.

Berat', a town of Albania, Turkey, 30 miles
NE. of the seaport of Avlona. Pop. 12,000.

Berber, a town on the right bank of the Nile,
below the confluence of the Atbara. Pop. 8000.

Ber'berah, a seaport of British Somaliland,
with a good harbour, on a bay of the Gulf of
Aden. It was conquered by Egypt in 1875, but
in July 1884 the British government took posses-
sion of it. A fair here brings over 30,000 people
together.

BERBICE 97

Borbice (Ber-beessT), the E. division of British
Guiana (q.vA bounded on the E. by the Corentyn
and Dutch Guiana. Area, 21,000 sq. in. The
Berbice River is navigable for small vessels 175
miles from its mouth. An important affluent
is the Canje. New Amsterdam, on the right
bank of the Berbice River (pop. 9000), is the
chief town and port.

Berchtesgaden (Berhh-tez-gdh'den'), a village of
Bavaria, on a mountain-slope, 15 miles S. of Salz-
burg. It has a royal castle (once an abbey) and
huge government salt-mines. Pop. 1901.

Berck-sur-mer, a harbour and bathing resort
in the French dep. of Pas-de-Calais, 22 miles S.
of Boulogne. Pop. 5752.

Berdiansk', a seaport of southern Russia, in
the government of Taurida, on the NW. coast of
the Sea of Azov. Pop. 28,180.

Berditchef ', a town of Russia, 108 miles WSW.
of Kiev, with five annual fairs. Pop. 55,000.
Berehaven. See CASTLETON BEREHAVKN.
Bere Regis, a Dorset town, 8 miles SSW. of
Blandford. Pop. of parish, 1144.

Beresina (Ber-e-zce'na), a river of Russia, rising
in the N. of the Lithuanian government of Minsk,
and flowing 350 miles S. (over 200 navigable)
to the Dnieper. It is memorable on account of
the disastrous passage of the French army,
November 1812, during the retreat from Moscow.
Bereslav, a town in the Russian government
of Kherson, on the Dnieper. Pop. 11,093.

Berezna, a town of Russia, in Tchernigov, on
a tributary of the Desna. Pop. 10,827.

Berezov', a town of Siberia, in the government
of Tobolsk, on a branch of the Obi. Pop. 2000.

Berezovsk, a village in the Russian province
of Perm, near Ekaterinburg, gives name to a
famous gold-field, wrought since 1744.

Berg, a former German duchy on the Rhine's"
right bank, now incorporated with the Prussian
dominions, between Diisseldorf and Cologne.

Berga, a town of Catalonia, Spain, 52 miles
NNW. of Barcelona. Pop. 4735.

Ber'gama (anc. Pergamos), a city of Asia Minor,
40 miles N. of Smyrna. Pop. 6000.

Ber'gamo (anc. Bergomum), a fortified town of
Lombardy, 34 miles NE. of Milan by rail. It
has a castle, a cathedral, and manufactures of
silk, cotton, linen, woollens, and iron goods.
Tiraboschi and Donizetti were natives. Pop.
43,819.

Bergedorf (Ber'gay-dorf), a town of Germany,
10 miles SE. of Hamburg. Pop. 9209.

Bergen (Ber'gen ; g hard), a seaport in the west
of Norway, and the second city of the kingdom,
situated on a promontory at the head of a deep
bay. The harbour is safe and commodious, and
around it the town is built, presenting a pictur-
esque appearance from the sea, with its cathe-
dral and wooden houses of various colours. It
has manufactures of gloves, tobacco, porcelain,
leather, soap, and cordage, besides distilleries
and shipbuilding yards. Its principal trade,
however, is the export of stockfish, herrings, and
fish-oil and roe. Since 18S3 Bergen has been
connected by railway with the north of the Har-
dangerfjord. The chief imports are brandy, wine,
corn, cotton, woollens, hemp, sugar, tobacco,
coffee, &c. Bergen, formerly called Bjorgvin ('the
pasture betwixt the mountains'), was founded
about 1070 by Olaf Kyrre. Often devastated by
fire between 1189 and 1855, it was long the

BERKSHIRE

most important trading town of Norway, but
has been recently surpassed by Christiania. The
castle of Bergenhus was till 1397 the residence
of the Norwegian kings. Bergen was the birth-
place of Holberg, Dahl, Welhaven. and Ole Bull.
Pop. (1872) 30,252 ; (1901) 72,251.

Bergen-op-Zoom (Ber-gen-op-Zoam 1 ; g hard), a
town of Holland, 21 miles N. by W. of Antwerp,
stands on the little river Zoom, at its entrance
into the east branch of the Scheldt. It has a
harbour, manufactures of brick and earthen-
wares, and a large trade in anchovies. Strongly
fortified until 1707, Bergen-op-Zoom was repeat-
edly besieged by the Spaniards, French, and
English between 1581 and 1814. Pop. 14,419.

Bergerac (Berzh'erak), a town in the French dep.
of Dordogne, on the Dordogne, 60 miles E. of
Bordeaux by rail. Most of its inhabitants are
employed in the surrounding ironworks and paper-
mills. Its wines are esteemed. Pop. 15,485.

Bergholt, EAST, a Suffolk parish. Constable's
birthplace, on the Stour, 9 miles SSW. of Ips-
wich.

Bergues (Berg), a town and fortress in the
French dep. of Nord, on the Colme, 5 miles SSE.
of Dunkirk. Pop. 5380.

Berhampur, two towns in British India. (1)
in Madras, a military station, 18 miles SW. of
Ganjam, and but 9 from the coast. Pop. 25,653.
(2) in Bengal, on the Bhagirathi, 5 miles below
Murshidabad. It was long one of the principal
military stations in British India, and in 1857
was the scene of the first open act of mutiny.
Pop. 24,515.

Beri, (1) a town of India, in the British district
of Rohtak, Punjab, 36 miles W. by N. from
Delhi. Pop. 9695. <2) A state in Bundelkhand.
Area, 30 sq. m. ; pop. 4985.

Berja, a town of Spain, 22 miles W. of Almeria,
with lead-mines. Pop. 13,493.

Berkeley, a town of Gloucestershire, on the
Avon, 17i miles SW. of Gloucester by rail. It
lies in the Vale of Berkeley, which consists of
rich meadow pasture-land, and is celebrated for
its ' Double Gloucester ' cheese. Berkeley Castle,
on an eminence to the south-east, about 1162
was granted by Henry II. to Robert Fitzhardinge,
with whose descendants it has since continued,
they having held the title of Baron Berkeley
from 1295, and of earl and viscount from 1679.
Here Edward II. was murdered in 1327. Dr
Jenner, the discoverer of vaccination, was a
native, and is buried in the parish church. Pop.
of parish, 890. See Smyth's Lives of the Berkeleys

Berkeley, a town of Almeda county, Cali-
fornia, overlooking the Bay of San Francisco, is
the seat of the state university. Pop. 13,500.

Berkeley Sound, an inlet of the East Falk-
land Island, near its north-eastern extremity.

Berkhamstead, a market-town of Hertford-
shire, on the Bulburn, 28 miles NW. of London.
Straw-plaiting is carried on, and manufactures of
wooden articles and chemicals. Cowper was a
native. Pop. of parish, 6034.

Berkovitza, a town of Bulgaria, 40 miles NNW.
of Sofia, on a tributary of the Danube. Pop. 5445.

Berkshire (Bark'shir), a midland county,
bounded by Gloucester, Oxford, Bucks, Surrey,
Hampshire, and Wiltshire. Its greatest length
is 53 miles ; its greatest breadth, 30 ; and the
area, 705 sq. m., or 451,210 acres, nearly one-
half of which is under tillage, one-fourth in pas-

BERLAD

BERMUDAS

ture, and one-sixteenth in wood. Berkshire,
which is one of the most beautiful of the English
counties, lies in the valley of the Thames, and
has an undulating surface, rising in some parts
into hills, of which White Horse Hill attains 893
feet. The Thames winds 100 miles along the
northern border of the county, whose other
rivers are its tributaries the Kennet, Loddon,
and Ock. The Kennet is navigable for 30 miles.
The country between the fertile vales of Kennet
and the White Horse consists chiefly of sheep-
walks ; and along the Thames, and to the west of
the Ridge Way, or Downs, it is principally dairy
and pasture land. The chief crops are oats and
wheat. ' Double Gloucester ' and ' pine-apple '
cheese are sent in large quantities to London.
Swine are extensively reared. Berkshire is
divided into 20 hundreds, 151 parishes, and 12
poor-law unions. It returns five members to
parliament, one for each of the three divisions
(Abingdon, Newbury, Wokingham), one for Read-
ing (the county town), and one for Windsor. The
county contains besides, the municipal boroughs
of Newbury and Maidenhead, and the market-
towns of Faringdon, Hungerford, Wantage, Wok-
ingham, East Hsley, and Lambourn. British
and Roman remains are numerous ; of the old
castles, the principal is Windsor; of monastic
establishments, the abbeys of Abingdon and
Reading. There are many Norman churches,
erected in the 12th and 13th centuries. In 1836
Berkshire was transferred from the diocese of
Salisbury to that of Oxford. Pop. (1801) 110,480 ;
(1841) 161,759; (1901) 256,509. See Lieut. -Col.
Cooper- King's History of Berkshire (1887).

Berlad (Bdrladu), a town of Lower Moldavia,
84 miles by rail NNW. of Galatz. Pop. 24,008.

Berlen'gas, a group of rocky islands in the
Atlantic Ocean, off the west coast of the Portu-
guese province of Estremadm-a.

Berlin', the capital of Prussia, and since 1871,
of the German empire, and the third largest city
of Europe, is situated on a flat sandy plain, in
52 30' N. lat., 13 24' E. long., and is divided
into two nearly equal parts by the sluggish
Spree. The inconvenience of its low-lying situa-
tion in the midst of the sandy flats of Branden-
burg is more than made up for by the great
geographical advantages of its position in the
heart of Northern Germany. By rail it is 177
miles SE. of Hamburg, 101 NNE. of Leipzig,
and 362 ENE. of Cologne ; whilst from London
it can be reached in 25 hours, Paris in 23, and
Vienna in 15. The advance of the city has" been
extraordinary. In 1804 the pop. was 182,157 ; in
1871 it was 826,341; in 1880, 1,122,330; and in
1900, 1,888,848. It was not till the time of the
' Great Elector,' Frederick- William (1640-88), that
the town became of consequence. In the 17th
century it received many French and Bohemian
religious refugees. Under Frederick the Great,
it continued to prosper. Since the peace of 1815,
Berlin has increased with extraordinary rapidity ;
by reason of the high rents, a tenth of the popula-
tion are driven to take up their abode in cellars
underground. At the centre of the city is the old
royal palace, with nearly 700 apartments. Near
this are the emperor's palace, the imperial resi-
dence ; the royal library, which contains upwards
of 1,300,000 volumes and 30,000 manuscripts ; the
old and new museums, the national gallery, the
arsenal, the royal theatre, the opera-house, the
guard-house, and the university. These are all
situated between the Spree and the east end of
the street ' Unter den Linden ' (so called from its

double avenue of limes). The city is adorned
throughout with numerous statues of national
heroes, the Great Elector, Frederick the Great,
and many others. There are more than 20 theatres
in Berlin. The university, established in 1809,
has 400 professors and lecturers and 6000 students,
with museums, institutes, and library. Famous
professors have been Fichte, Hegel, Schelling,
Schleiermacher, Eichhorn, De Wette, Neander,
Wolff, Savigny, Niebuhr, the brothers Grimm,
Ranke, Moinmsen, Curtius, Lepsius, Dorner,
Treitschke, Sybel, Dove, Gneist, Virchow, Helin-
holtz, Van t'Hoff.andHarnack. Other institutions
are the Academy of Sciences ; the Military
Academy; the Academy of Architecture; the
Academic High School (of art) ; the School of
Mines ; the School of Agriculture ; the Artillery,
Technical, and Engineering Colleges ; the In-
dustrial (1881), Ethnological (1886), and other
museums ; the Academy of Music ; and the Obser-
vatory. About 88 per cent, of the pop. are
Protestants, 7 per cent. Roman Catholics, and
5 per cent. Jews. Berlin has a cathedral,
rebuilt in 1893-95, 100 Protestant and 15
Catholic churches. Of these, the Nicolaikirche
(restored in 1880), Marienkirche (with a spire
295 feet high), and Klosterkirche, all of the 13th
century, are the oldest ; the Petrikirche (with a
tower 315 feet high) is the loftiest; and the
Michaelskirche (Catholic), Thomaskirche, Zions-
kirche, Dankeskirche (1884), and Heiligekreuz-
kirche (1887), are more recent. The New Syna-
gogue (1866) has seats for 3000 persons.

The Old Museum contains antiquarian speci-
mens, a collection of 90,000 coins, a gallery of
ancient sculpture, and a picture-gallery with
about 1300 paintings. The New Museum con-
tains six magnificent mural paintings by Kaul-
bach in the grand staircase, a very valuable
collection of casts, the Egyptian museum, and
500,000 engravings. The National Gallery in-
cludes about 700 works by modern artists. The
celebrated Brandenburg Gate leads to the Thier-

firten. To the south-west of this lies the
oological Garden. The Botanical Garden (at
Schoneberg) contains 25,000 species. Noteworthy
also are the Rathhaus, the royal chateau of
Monbijou, the Rnhmeshalle in the arsenal, the
Gothic monument on the Kreuzberg, the Column
of Peace in the Belle- Alliance-Platz, the Warriors'
Monument, the Column of Victory, the War Office,
the new building for the Reichstag, the Ex-
change, and the Reichsbank. Berlin now ranks
among the most important mercantile places of
continental Europe, and has large manufacturing
industries.

See, besides the guidebooks, Vizetelly, Berlin
under the New Empire (1879), and histories (in
German) by Wilken (1826), Fidicin (1852), Schwe-
bel (1882), &c.

Berlin, a town of Ontario, Canada, 62 miles
SW. of Toronto by rail. Pop. 10,000.

Berlin, the name of forty different towns,
villages, hamlets, and townships in the United
States. The largest is a city of Coos county,
New Hampshire, on the Androscoggin River, 15
miles from Mount Washington. Pop. 10,000.

Ber'mondsey, a south-east suburb of London,
on the south bank of the Thames, and (since 1899)
one of the metropolitan boroughs. Pop. 130,760.

Bermu'das, or SOMERS' ISLANDS, British pos-
sessions in Mid-Atlantic, 2900 miles from Liver-
pool, and 677 from New York. They were so
named from Bermudas, a Spaniard, who first
sighted them in 1515, and from Sir George Somers,

BERMUDEZ

BERWICK-ON-TWEED

an Englishman, whose shipwreck here in 1609
was the immediate occasion of their colonisation
from Virginia in 1611. This low and lonely
archipelago is a mere group of specks ; for though
it numbers perhaps 100 islets and more than
twice that number of rocks, yet it measures
only 19 sq. m. in all, the whole occupying a
space of about 14 miles in length by little more
than 5 in breadth. The islands are composed
of blown coral sand, and are surrounded by a
living, growing reef of coral the most northerly
of atolls. The great value of this natural for-
tress as a British naval station, defended by its
extensive barrier of reefs and rocks, with only
one or two intricate channels, arises from its
situation. In 32 15' N. Int., and 64 51' W. long.,
the Bermudas occupy, commercially and politi-
cally, a singularly commanding position. In the
principal or Main Island is the seat of govern-
ment, Hamilton, on a deep inlet running 2 or 3
miles into the land. St George's contains the
picturesque town of the same name, and a land-
locked and fortified harbour. Ireland Island is
occupied by a dockyard and other naval establish-
ments ; and Boaz and Watford Islands have the
military depots and garrisons. At Ireland Island
also is the celebrated Bermuda Floating Dock,
towed out from England in 1869. The minor
islands of St David, Cooper, Smith, Nonsuch,
Godet, and others, form numerous picturesque
and deep creeks and bays. The group forms an
almost continuous chain, and with one break
there is uninterrupted communication by roads,
causeways, and bridges for 22 miles ; but from
the shape of most of the islands, and the number
of lagoons, the communications are largely by
water. The climate is tempered by an almost
constant sea-breeze, and the air is moist at all
seasons. The thermometer never falls below 40
F., and seldom rises above 85. The islands are
becoming a popular holiday and winter resort,
especially for Americans. The soil is poor in
quality, and not more than a fourth is cultiv-
able at all ; still the raising of early vegetables
for New York is a great industry. Besides being
useful as a naval station, Bermuda was formerly
an important convict depot, but since 1862 it has
ceased to be so. The colony has a very complete
telegraph system. Pop. (1871) 12,121; (1901)
17,535, almost two-thirds of them coloured, and
more than half are members of the Church of
England. See works by Lefroy (1882), Ogilvy
(1883), Dorr (New York, 1884), and Heilprin
(Phil. 1890).

Bermudez, a state in the NE. of Venezuela,
between the Orinoco and the Caribbean Sea.

Bern, or BERNE, a Swiss canton, bounded on
the N. by France. It is the most populous, and
next to the Grisons the largest canton of Switzer-
land ; its area being 2650 sq. m., and its pop.
(1900) 589,433 more than one-sixth of the total
inhabitants of Switzerland. Most of these are
Protestant and German-speaking. BERN, the
capital of the canton, and since 1849 of Switzer-
land, 68 miles by rail SSW. of Basel, is situated
on a lofty sandstone promontory formed by the
winding Aar, which surrounds it on three sides.
It is one of the best and most regularly built
towns in Europe, as it is the finest in Switzer-
land. The houses are massive structures of free-
stone, resting upon shop-lined arcades. Rills of
water flow through the streets. The view of the
Alpine peaks from the city is magnificent. The
principal public buildings are a Gothic cathedral
(1421-1573); the magnificent Federal Council

Hall (1857), the mint, the hospital, and the
university. Bern has an interesting museum,
and a valuable public library of 50,000 volumes.
Population, 65,000. Bern was founded in 1191,
was made a free imperial city in 1218, under
Frederick II.; and between 1288 and 1339 success-
fully resisted the attacks of Rudolf of Hapsburg,
Albert his son, and Louis of Bavaria. The
' Disputation of Bern ' between Catholics and
Reformers in 1528 (January 6-27) prepared the
way for the acceptance of the reformed doctrine.
On account of the traditionary derivation of its
name (Swabian bern, 'a bear'), bears are main-
tained in a public bear-pit.

Bernalda, a town in South Italy, in the pro-
vince of Potenza. Pop. 6976.

Bernard, GREAT ST. See ST BERNARD.

Bernay, a French town in the dep. of Eure,
25 miles WNW. of Evreux. Pop. 6964.

Bernburg, a town in the German duchy of
ATI halt, till 1863 capital of Anhalt-Bernburg, on
the Saale, 23 miles S. of Magdeburg. It manu-
factures machinery, sugar, spirits, porcelain,
&c. Pop. (1871) 15,709 ; (1900) 34,500.

Berne. See BERN.

Ber'nera, (1) a Ross-shire island, 23 miles W. of
Stornoway, on the coast of Lewis. It measures
5? by 3J miles, and attains 223 feet. Pop. 585.
(2) An Inverness-shire island, 1 mile N. of North
Uist, measuring 5J by 2 miles. Pop. 521.

Ber'neray, an Inverness-shire island, 14 miles
SSW. of Barra. Pop. 17.

Berni'na, a mountain of the Rhsetian Alps,
13,290 feet high, in the Swiss canton of Grisons.
Its summit was first attained in 1850. The Ber-
nina Pass (7642 feet), with a carriage-road (1864),
leads from Pontresina to Poschiavo.

Berre, ETANG DE, a lagoon of France, dep.
Bouches-du-Rhone, 45 miles in circumference,
with salt-works and eel-fisheries.

Berri, or BERRY, a former province of Central
France, now forming Indre and Cher deps.

Bervie, a seaport and one of the Montrose
burghs in Kincardineshire, near the mouth of
Bervie Water, 13 miles NE. of Montrose by rail.
Pop. 1207.

Berwick, NORTH. See NORTH BERWICK.

Berwick-on-Tweed (Ber'rick), at the mouth of
the Tweed, 58 miles ESE. of Edinburgh, and 67
N. by W. of Newcastle. The liberties of the
borough, called ' Berwick Bounds,' have an area
of 8 sq. m., and with Spittal and Tweedmouth,
form the ' county of the borough of Berwick-on-
Tweed.' Though long boasting to be neither
in England nor Scotland, and still possessing
separate quarter-sessions and commission of the
peace, it is to ' all intents and purposes part of
the county of Northumberland (the adjoining
parts of which formed till 1844 a detached
portion of Durham); especially since by the
Redistribution Act of 1885 Berwick ceased to
return two members, and was for election pur-
poses merged in Northumberland. The town is
engirt with ramparts of Elizabeth's time, and has
large barracks (1719). Tweedmouth and Spittal
(the latter a favourite watering-place), on the
south side of the Tweed, have since 1835 both
been included within the municipality. They
are reached by a narrow stone bridge (1609-34) of
fifteen arches ; and the river is also spanned by
Robert Stcphenson's magnificent viaduct (1850)
of 28 arches, 136 feet high and 2160 long. The
public buildings include the town-hall (1760),

BERWICKSHIRE

100

BETHLEHEM

with a belfry 150 feet high, the corn exchange
(1858), and several churches, Presbyterian out-
numbering the Anglican. The harbour has been
improved by the construction of a wet-dock
(1873-76), at a cost of 40,000; there is a con-
siderable coasting trade, but the salmon-fishing,
has fallen off. For the manufacture of agri-
cultural implements Berwick stands high, and
in Spittal there are several large artifi-
cial-manure works. Pop. (1S41) 12,689; (1901)
13,437. Berwick, in the 12th century, was
the chief seaport of Scotland ; was captured by
Edward I. in 1296, was annexed to England in
1333, after the battle of Halidon Hill, and was
finally ceded by Scotland in 1482. See J. Scott's
History of Berwick (1888).

Berwickshire (Berriclcshir), a Border county
of south-east Scotland, bounded by Haddington-
shire, the German Ocean, Berwick-on-Tweed,
Northumberland, Roxburghshire, and Mid-
lothian. It extends from east to west 29 miles,
from north to south 21 miles, and has an area
of 464 sq. m., or 297,161 acres. Berwickshire is
divided into three districts the fertile Merse,
the Lainmermoors, and Lauderdale. The coast,
19 miles in length, is rocky and bold, rising at St
Abb's Head and other points to heights of from
177 to 528 feet above sea-level, and having only
two bays, at Eyemouth and Coldingham. The
Lammermoors, whose highest point in Berwick-
shire is Scenes Law (1683 feet), besides seventeen
other summits exceeding 1240, consist of Silurian
strata, stretching to St Abb's Head. The streams
Blackadder, Whitadder, and Leader Waters-
are all tributaries of the Tweed, the Eye alone
flowing direct to the sea. Pop. (1801) 30.206;
(1841) 34,438; (1861) 36,613; (1901) 30,816.
Berwickshire returns one member to parlia-
ment. Agriculturally, Berwickshire occupies a
prominent position, 65 '4 per cent, of the entire
area being in cultivation, it has suffered pro-
portionally from the recent agricultural depres-
sion. The Earlston ginghams excepted, there
are no manufactures worth naming. The prin-
cipal towns are Duns, Greenlaw, Lauder, Eye-
mouth, Coldstream, and Earlston. The county
contains some very interesting examples, though
on a comparatively small scale, of Norman or
Pointed architecture, at Coldingham, Dryburgh,
&c. There are also the remains or sites of Fast,
Hume, and Cranshaws castles, and of British and
Roman camps and barrows, besides remains of a
curious broch-like structure at Edinshall, near
Duns.

Berwyn Mountains, a range (2716 feet) on the
border of Merioneth and Montgomery shires.

BesanQon (Be-zon ff son 9 ), a fortified French city,
the capital now of the dep. of Doubs, and formerly
of Franche-Comte, on the river Doubs, 57 miles
E. of Dijon. It was the ancient Vesontio or
Besontium; in 58 B.C. Caesar expelled the Sequani
hence, and in the neighbourhood gained a victory
over Ariovistus. It finally came into the posses-
sion of France in 1674. Several streets still bear
old Roman names ; and in the neighbourhood
are ruins of a triumphal arch, an aqueduct, an
amphitheatre, and a large theatre. Among later
structures are the 12th-century cathedral, the
Palais de Justice (1749), and the half-Gothic,
half- Renaissance palace (1534) of Cardinal Gran-
vella. Besancon makes a large percentage of the
watches made in France, and 15,000 of its inhab-
itants are engaged in this industry, introduced
from Switzerland about 1818. Other manufac-
tures are porcelain, carpets, iron-wire, Seltzer-

water, and beer. Abel Remusat and Victor Hugo
were natives. Pop. 51,000.

Besika Bay (Be-zee'ka), a bay on the north-
west coast of Asia Minor, to the south of the
entrance of the Dardanelles. The English fleet
was stationed here during crises in the Eastern
Question, in 1853-54 and 1877-78.

Bessarabia, a government in the south-west
of Russia, on the Roumanian frontier. Area,
17,627 sq. m. ; pop. 1,932,175. The Dniester
flows along the whole of its northern and eastern
boundaries ; the Pruth separates it from Mol-
davia on the west ; and it has the Danube on the
south. In the north-west the country is traversed
by well- wooded offshoots of the Carpathian Moun-
tains ; generally, however, Bessarabia is flat and
fertile. Bessarabia, which fell under the power
of the Turks in 1503, was ceded to Russia in 1812.
By the Treaty of Paris the portions lying along
the Pruth and Danube 3578 sq. m., with some
200,000 inhabitants were assigned to Moldavia,
but by the Berlin Congress of 1878 were again
transferred to Russia.

Bessbrook, an Armagh market-town, 2 miles
NW. of Newry. Pop. 2977.

Besseges (Bes-sezli'), a town in the French dep.
of Gard, 21 miles N. of Alais. Pop, 9068.

Betanzos (Betan'thoas), a Spanish town, 10
miles SB. of Corunna. Pop. 8101.

Beth'any (' house of dates '), by the natives of
Palestine called ' El' Azariyeh ' or ' Lazariyeh '
('town of Lazarus'), is situated on the southern
slope of the Mount of Olives, 2208 feet above the
sea, 2 miles ESE. of Jerusalem. It was the
home of Lazarus and his sisters, often visited by
the Saviour, and the scene of his ascension. It
is now a poor place of some 200 inhabitants, with
nothing remarkable except the reputed house of
Martha and Mary, and the cave or grave of
Lazarus shown by the monks. Bethany is also
the name of three German mission stations in
South Africa ; one in Great Namaqualand, one in
the Orange Free State, and one in the Transvaal.

Bethel ('house of God'), now called Beitin,
11 miles N. of Jerusalem, mentioned in Scripture
as the scene of Jacob's dream. The old name of
the place was Luz. Here Abraham pitched his
tent ; at a later date it was a resting-place of the
ark, a royal residence, and a seat of idolatrous
worship. It is a heap of ruins.

Bethesda, a small town of Carnarvonshire (so
named from its Nonconformist chapel), 4| miles
SB. of Bangor. Its inhabitants are mostly em-
ployed in the neighbouring Penrhyn slate-
quarries. Pop. (1861) 7346 ; (1901) 5281.

Bethlehem ('house of bread'), the birthplace
of Jesus Christ and of King David, and the
Ephratah of the history of Jacob, is now a small
unwalled village of white stone houses, 6 miles
S. of Jerusalem. The population, about 3000
souls, is wholly Christian Latin, Greek, and
Armenian. The Convent of the Nativity, a large
square building, resembling a fortress, was built
by the Empress Helena, 327 A.D., but destroyed
by the Moslems in 1236, and, it is supposed,
restored by the Crusaders. Within it is the
Church of the Nativity, with a crypt below,
where the blessed Virgin is said to have been
delivered.

Bethlehem, a post-borough of Northampton
county, Pennsylvania, on the Lehigh River, 55
miles N. of Philadelphia by rail, is the principal
settlement in America of the Moravians, by

-;, paint,

whom it was founded in 1741. It has silk,

BETHNAL GREEN

101

BHAGIRATH1

and flour mills, and is noted for its excellent
schools. Two bridges connect it with South
Bethlehem, the seat of Lehigh University (1866)
and other Episcopal institutions, and possessing
iron and steel works. Another borough, West
Bethlehem, separated from Bethlehem by Mqno-
cacy Creek, contains silk and planing mills,
machine-shops, and dye-works. Pop. 7762.

Bethnal Green, an eastern suburb of London,
since 1SS5 a parliamentary borough with two
divisions, and since 1899 one of the metropolitan
boroughs. It is largely peopled by silk-weavers,
an offshoot of the Huguenot settlement in Spital-
tields. Its museum is a branch of the one at
South Kensington. Pop. (1901) 129,680.

Bethsaida, a village on the western shore of
the Lake of Galilee, the birthplace of Peter and
Andrew and Philip. Its site has been identified
with a heap of grass-grown ruins. At the north-
eastern extremity of the lake was another Beth-
saida, a village, near which the five thousand
were fed.

Bethuno (Bay-tun'), a town in the dep. of Pas-
de-Calais, on a rock overlooking the river Brette,
16 miles NNW. of Arras, with old fortifications by
Vauban. It has bleaching-wprks and manufac-
tures of soap. It belonged in the middle ages
to Flanders, but was ceded to France by the
Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Pop. 11.398.

Bettia, a municipal town in the north-west
corner of Behar, India, on the line of the Tirhut
state railway. Pop. 22,780.

Bettws-y-Coed (Bettus-ee-Ko'ed), a tourist centre
in Carnarvonshire, North Wales, at the Llugwy's
influx to the Conway, 15 miles S. of Llandudno
Junction by rail. Pop. of parish, 840.

Betwa, a river in Bundelkhand, North-west
Provinces, India, which flows 360 miles north-
east to the Jumna.

Beulah Spa, 1 mile S. of Upper Norwood, was
much resorted to once, but is now built over.

Beuthen (Boy'ten), a town of Prussian Silesia,
121 miles SE. of Breslau. It lies in a mining
district, and manufactures woollen cloths and
earthenware. Pop. 52,500.

Bev'eland, NORTH and SOUTH, two Dutch
islands in the Scheldt's estuary. South Beveland
is the largest and most fertile of the Zeeland
islands, with a pop. of 23,000. North Beveland
is low and marshy.

Beveren, a town of Belgium, 5 miles W. by
S. of Antwerp. Lace-making is the principal
industry. Pop. 8023.

Beverley, the chief town of the East Riding
of Yorkshire, 1 mile W. of the river Hull, with
which it communicates by canal, and 8 miles
NNW. of the city of Hull. Its trade consists
in corn and coal ; and tanning and the manufac-
ture of agricultural implements are the staple
industries. The superb Gothic minster is 334
feet long and 167 across the transept ; the western
towers are 200 feet high. The 14th-century North
Bar is the sole survivor of four old gates. Bever-
ley arose out of a priory founded by St John of
Beverley (d. 721). The name is a corruption of
Beverlac, ' lake of beavers.' Incorporated in 1573,
Beverley till 1870 returned two members. Pop.
(1851) 10,058 ; (1891) 12,539 ; (1901) 13,183.

Beverloo', a village of Belgium, 12 miles NW.
of Hasselt. Pop. 1097.

Beverly, a town of Massachusetts, on an arm
of the Atlantic, opposite Salem, and 18 miles

NE. of Boston by rail. It has a good harbour.
Pop. 13,821.

Bewcastle, a village of East Cumberland, 10
miles NE. of Brampton. A headless stone cross
in the churchyard, 14 feet high, bears an Anglo-
Saxon runic inscription of the year 670. Pop.
of parish, 800.

Bewdley (formerly Beaulieu, from its pleasant
situation), a town of Worcestershire, on the
Severn, 3 miles WSW. of Kidderminster. A
municipal borough since 1472, it returned one
member till 1885. Pop. 2866. See Burton's His-
tory of Bewdley (1883).

Bex, a village in the Swiss canton of Vaud,
26 miles SE. of Lausanne, with great salt-mines,
salt-works, and sulphur-baths. Pop. 3958.

Bexar. See SAN ANTONIO.

Bexhill-on-Sea, a Sussex watering-place and
municipal borough (1902), 5 miles WSW. of
Hastings. Pop. 12,500.

Bexley, a town of Kent, on the Cray, 3 miles
W. of Dartford. Pop. 13,000.

Beyerland, an island-district, 15 miles long,
of South Holland, between the Maas and the
Hollandsche Diep.

Beypur', a seaport of Western India, in Mala-
bar district, Madras, near the mouth of the
Beypur River, 6 miles S. of Calicut. Since 1858
it is the terminus of a railway across India from
Madras via Coimbatore. Pop. 6739.

Beyrout, or BEIRUT (Bay-roof ; Old Test. Ber-
othai or Berothah ; anc. Berytus), a flourishing
town, on the coast of Syria, and at the foot of
Lebanon, 55 miles from Damascus, and 147 from
Jerusalem. It is a great seaport and emporium
of most of the trade with the shores of Syria,
Palestine, and Cilicia, with a regular service of
Egyptian, French, British, and other steamers.
The roadstead is full of sand-banks, and large
ships cannot approach within half a mile of the
shore, but shelter is found during stormy weather
in the Beyrout River, about 3 miles from the
town. Commerce has trebled within the last
fifty years. About half the total imports are
from Great Britain. In 1859 a line of omnibuses
was established here, and a French company
completed in 1863 a good road to Damascus, and
in 1895 a railway (across Lebanon) to Damascus
was completed ; in 1886 gas was introduced. Bey-
rout is an episcopal see of Greeks and Maronites,
and has Catholic and Protestant missions, with
an American college. Of 120,000 inhabitants only
30 per cent, are Mohammedans, and some 5000
are Europeans.

Bezdan, a market-town of Hungary, on the
canal joining Theiss and Danube. Pop. 10,000.

Beziers (Bayz-yay 1 ), a town in the French dep.
of Herault, 49 miles SW. of Montpellier, with

E re-Roman remains, a noble Gothic cathedral, a
ishop's palace, and manufactures of silks and
woollens. Pop. 50,000.

Bezwada, a town in Madras, on the left bank
of the Kistua, of growing importance. Pop.
25,000.

Bhagalpur', or BOGLIPOOR, a town of Bengal,
on the right bank of the Ganges (7 miles wide),
265 miles NW. of Calcutta. Pop. 76,000.

Bhagirathi (Bageerut'tee), a branching arm of
the lower Ganges, divides the Murshidabad dis-
trict into two portions, forms the boundary line
between Nadiya and Bardwan districts, and joins
the Jalangi at Nadiya town to form the Hooghly
(q.v.). Also a head-stream of the Ganges, rising

BHAMO

102

B1ELEFELJJ

in Gangotri Peak, Garhwal, North-west Provinces,

which joins the Alaknanda at Deoprayag.
Bhamo', a town of Burma, at the head of the

navigation of the Upper Irawadi, 40 miles W.

of the Chinese frontier, and 300 NNE. of Man-

dalay. Pop. 7500.
Bhandara, a town of India, in the Central

Provinces, 40 miles E. of Nagpur. Pop. 13,150.
Bhanpura, or BHAMPURA, a walled town of

Central India, in Indore state, on the Rewa, 60

miles S. of Kotah. Pop. 13,400.
Bhartpur 7 , or BHURTPORE', the capital of a

protected state in India, 35 miles W. of Agra by

rail. Lord Combermere captured it in 1827.

Pop. about 50,000. Area of state, 1974 sq. m. ;

pop. 645,540, mostly Jats.
Bhatgaon, a town of Nepaul, 8 miles SE. of

Khatmandu. Pop. 30,000.
Bhaunagar, the capital of a Bombay native

state, on the Gulf of Cambay, 60 miles NW. of

Surat. Pop. 57,653. Area of state, 2860 sq. to. ;

pop. 400,323.
Bhilsa, a town of India, in Gwalior state, on

the Betwa, 26 miles NE. of Bhopal. Pop. 7070.
BMwani (Bee-wah'nee), a town of the Punjab,

37 miles SE. of Hissar by rail. Pop. 35,487.

Bhopal, the capital of a native state in Central
India, 325 miles SW. of Allahabad. Population,
77,000. The state was founded in 1723 by Dost
Mohammed Khan, and a treaty of dependence
was concluded with Britain in 1818. Area, 13,000
sq. m. ; pop. 1,500,000.

Bhuj (Boodj), the capital of Cutch (q.v.), 180
miles SE. of Hyderabad. Pop. 26,421.

Bhutan (Boo-tan'), a native state in the eastern
Himalayas, bounded by Tibet, Assam, and Sik-
kim. It is divided into East and West Bhutan ;
and before the British annexation in 1841 and
1865 of the eighteen Dwars or passes which lead
from the plains to the lofty terraces of Bhutan,
the area was estimated a.t 20,000 sq. m. ; since,
it has been estimated at 17,000 sq. m. The whole
surface is mountainous, with summits exceeding
24,000 feet. The central regions, at an elevation
of 8000 or 10,000 feet above the sea, are covered
with the finest forests of oak and pine, with
beech, ash, birch, and maple. The Manas, a
tributary of the Brahmaputra, is the chief river.
The nominal religion is Buddhism. The govern-
ment, almost purely ecclesiastical, is in the hands
of a rapacious oligarchy. The Dhann Rajah,
the nominal head, is treated rather as a god than
as a sovereign ; while the Deb Rajah, the actual
head, is elected every three years by the chiefs
from amongst themselves. Polygamy and poly-
andry are common. The Bhutias are neat joiners,
and their houses have the appearance of Swiss
chalets. The winter capital is Punakha, on the
Bugui River, 96 miles NE. of Darjeeling. The
summer capital is Tasichozong (Tassisudon), on the
Gudada River, a centre of Lamaism. The original
inhabitants, believed to be from Kuch Behar,
were called Tephu ; they were subdued by a band
of Tibetan soldiers 200 years ago, who settled in
Bhutan. The Bhutias speak a dialect of Tibetan.
In 1772 the rajah of Kuch Behar received assist-
ance from the British government against their
invasions. Later raids led to the treaty of 1865,
when the eighteen Dwars or passes of Bengal
and Assam were ceded to the British govern-
ment in return for a yearly subvention. Pop.
variously estimated at from 20,000 to 200,000.
Bia'fra, BIGHT OF, a large bay on the west

coast of Africa, at the head of the Gulf of Guinea,
between Capes Formosa and Lopez. The prin-
cipal rivers flowing into it are the Niger (q.v.),
the New and Old Calabar rivers, the Rio del Rey,
the Cameroon, and the Gaboon; its islands are
Fernando Po (Spanish), and St Thomas' and
Prince's Islands (Portuguese). Opposite Fer-
nando Po are the Cameroons (q.v.).

Bial'ystok, a town of Russia, on the Biala, 55
miles W. by S. of Moscow by rail. Over thirty
factories produce woollen stuffs. Pop. 59,926.

Blana. See BAYANA.

Biancavilla, a town of Sicily, on the south-
west declivity of Mount Etna, 24 miles NW. of
Catania. Pop. 13,021.

Biarritz (Bee'ar-reets), a watering-place in the
French dep. of Basses-Pyrenees, on the Bay of
Biscay, 6 miles SW. of Bayonne. Here, in 1855,
Louis Napoleon built the Villa Eugenie for the
empress, who already, as Countess de Teba, had
been a frequent visitor. During the season (July-
September) the place is often visited by 6000
guests. There is a good golf course. Pop. 13,000.

Biberach. (Bee'ber-ahh), a town of Wiirtemberg,
on the Reiss, 23 miles SSW. of Ulm. There are
manufactures of machinery, artificial flowers, &c.
Here the Austrians were defeated by Moreau in
1796, and in 1800 by Saint Cyr. Pop. 8938.

Bibericli. See BIEBRICH.

Bicester (Bis'ter), a market-town of Oxford-
shire, 12 miles NNE. of Oxford. There are manu-
factures of rope, clothing, sacking, and pale ale.
The ruins of Alia Castra, or Alcester, lie l mile
to the south-west, on the ancient Roman Akeman
Street. Pop. 3043.

Bicton Park, a Devonshire seat, 4 miles WSW.
of Sidmouth, with splendid grounds.

Bidar (Bee'dar), a town in the Nizam's Domin-
ions, near the right bank of the Manjera, a tribu-
tary of the Godavery, 75 miles NW. of Hyderabad.
Pop. 13,000.

Bidasso'a, a river which, rising in Spain,
bounds that country and France, and, after a
course of 33 miles, falls into the Bay of Biscay
at Fuenterabia.

Biddeford, a town of Maine, U.S., on the right
bank of the Saco River, 6 miles from its mouth
in the Atlantic Ocean, and 93 miles NNE. of
Boston by rail. It has manufactures of cotton
and woollen goods and machinery, and there is a
large trade in timber. Pop. 16,500.

Bid'eford, a 'little white seaport town' and
municipal borough of North Devon, on the Tor-
ridge, 3^ miles above its confluence with the
Taw's estuary, and 9 miles SW. of Barnstaple.
The name signifies 'by-the-ford,' and is pro-
nounced Bid-de-ford, like that of its American
daughter. The old bridge of 24 arches and 226
yards long, which unites the two divisions of
Bideford, was widened in 1864. There are manu-
factures of ropes, sails, earthenware, and leather.
Vessels of 500 tons can get up to the quay. Sir
Richard Grenville was a native. Population,
8750.

Biebrich (Bee'brihJi), a town on the right bank
of the Rhine, 2J miles S. of Wiesbaden. It has
the castle of the dukes of Nassau. Pop. 12,500.

Biel (Beat), a beautiful Haddingtonshire seat,
4 miles SW. of Dunbar.

Biel. See BIENNE.

Bielefeld (BeeHeh-felt), a town in the Prussian
province of Westphalia, picturesquely situated on

BIELEFF

103

BILLINGSGATE

the little Lutter, at the foot of the Teutoburger-
Wald, 28 miles SW. of Minden. It is the centre
of the Westphalian linen-trade, and has exten-
sive bleaching-grounds, manufactures of woollen
thread, soap, leather, and its meerschaum pipes
are celebrated. Pop. 65,000.

Bieleff', an ancient town of Russia, on the Oka,
160 miles SSW. of Moscow. Pop. 9171.

Bielitz, a town of Austrian Silesia, on the
Biala, 60 miles SW. of Cracow. Pop. 17,060.

Biella, a town of North Italy, 56 miles NE. of
Turin by rail. Pop. 15,662.

Bielo-oz'ero ('White Lake'), a lake in the
government of Novgorod, Russia, 25 miles long,
20 broad, and 432 sq. m. in area. It discharges
into the Volga. BIELOZEBSK is an old wooden
town on the south shore. Pop. 4286.

Bielo'pol, a town of Russia, 106 miles NW. of
Kharkov, with brandy distilleries. Pop. 15,178.

Bielshohle, a stalactite cavern, 230 yards long,
in the Harz Mountains, was discovered in 1672.

Bielsk', a town of Russia, 112 miles NE. of
Warsaw. Pop. 9763.

Bienne (Bee-enn' ; Ger. Bid), a town in the can-
ton of Bern, 56 miles SW. of Basel by rail, beauti-
fully situated at the base of the vine-clad Jura,
and at the foot of the Lake of Bienne. Popu-
lation, 22,500, engaged in the manufacture of
watches, leather, cotton, &c. The LAKE OF
BIENNE, lying 1424 feet above sea-level, and 252
feet deep, is 9 miles long by 3 broad. It receives
the surplus waters of Lake Neuchatel by the
Thiel, by which river it again discharges its
own. Towards its head is the lie St Pierre, to
which Rousseau retired for two months in 1765.

Bies-Bosch (Bees' -bosk'), a marshy sheet of water
of the Netherlands, 77 sq. m. in area, between
the provinces of N. Brabant and S. Holland.

Biggar, a town of Lanarkshire, 28 miles
SW. of Edinburgh. The collegiate church was
founded in 1545 ; of Boghall Castle, the seat of
the Flemings, hardly a vestige remains. Dr
John Brown, author of Rob and his Friends, was
born here; and John Gladstones (1693-1756),
great-grandsire of W. E, Gladstone, is buried in
the churchyard. Pop. 1366. See Hunter's Biggar
and the House of Fleming (2d ed. 1867).

Biggleswade, a market-town of Bedfordshire,
41 miles NW. of London by rail, with a great
corn-market. Pop. of urban district, 5120.

Big Horn, a navigable river of the United
States, and the largest affluent of the Yellow-
stone, rises near Fremont's Peak in the Rocky
Mountains, in the NW. of Wyoming territory,
and flows 350 miles north-eastward.

Bigorre, a mountainous district of south-west
France, mainly in the dep. of Hautes-Pyrenees.
Tarbes is the chief town.

Big Sandy River, also called Chatterawah, a
navigable affluent of the Ohio, formed by the
junction of two branches which rise in Virginia.

Bihacz (Bil>alcK), a strong fortress-town of
North-west Bosnia, on the Una, near the Croatian
frontier. Pop. 4506.
Bihar. See BEHAB.

Bihe, a fruitful district of South Africa, E. of
Benguela, and under Portuguese influence. It
is an important caravan centre, being traversed
by the only trans-continental route south of the

Congo. Area, 2500 sq. m. ; pop. 95,000. Kag-

ttomba, the king's capital, is over 3 miles in

circumference. See Major Pinto's How I Crossed
Africa (1881).

Bijanaghur. See VIJAYANAGAB.

Bijapur (Beejapoor'), a decayed city in the
Bombay Presidency, 160 miles SE. of Poona. It
was for centuries the capital of a powerful king-
dom ; in 1686 was captured by Aurungzebe, in
the 18th century passed to the Mahrattas, and
became British in 1848. Now lofty walls of hewn
stone enclose the desolate fragments of a once
vast and populous city. The ruins are almost all
Mohammedan, and consist of beautiful mosques,
colossal tombs, a fort, &c. Pop. 23,800.

Bijawar, a petty native state in the Bundel-
khand Agency. Area, 974 sq. in. ; pop. 123,285.

Bijbharu', or BIJBAHAR, a town of Kashmir,
India, on the Jhelum, 25 miles SE. of Srinagar.

Bijnaur', a town of the United Provinces,
3 miles E. of the Ganges. Sugar, Brahmanical
threads, and cotton cloth are manufactured.
Pop. 16,147. The district of Bijnaur, in the N.
of the Rohilkharid division, contains more than
a dozen towns with a population of over 5000.

Bikaner', the capital of a Rajput state, lies
in a desolate tract, 250 miles WSW. of Delhi.
It is surrounded by a battlemeuted wall of 3
miles in circuit, and from a distance presents a
magnificent appearance ; but many of its carved
buildings are in narrow and dirty lanes. Pottery,
stone-cutting and carving, the making of a white
candy and of blankets, are amongst the industries.
Pop. 54,000. The state contains 23,340 sq. m. ;
pop. 585,000, mainly Jats.

Bilba'o (Span. Beel-bdh'o), a town of Spain, the
capital of the province of Vizcaya (Biscay), in a
mountain gorge on the Nervion, 8 miles SE. of
its mouth at Portugalete, and 63 miles N. by E.
of Miranda by rail. Four bridges span the river,
which divides the old town from the new. The
city is purely commercial. There are docks for
building merchant-vessels, and in the vicinity
are iron and copper mines. The canalisation of
the river in 1886 has since enabled steamers of
700 to 800 tons to come up to the town ; but the
narrow channel and the heavy sea on the bar
still render the port equally difficult to enter or
leave. Nevertheless, the annual amount of British
tonnage entering Bilbao largely exceeds that of
any other foreign port in Europe, except Ant-
werp. The chief imports are coal, coke, codfish,
timber, petroleum, tin, sugar, coffee, and colonial
goods. The exports, which include red wines
and wool, are numerous and unimportant, with
the exception of iron-ore, on which the pros-
perity of the port depends. Population, 75,000.
Bilbao was founded in 1300 under the name of
Belvao i.e. 'the fine fort' and soon attained
great prosperity. It suffered severely in the
wars with France, first in 1795, and again in
1808. During the Carlist struggles it stood two
great sieges, Zumalacarreguy here receiving his
death-wound in 1835, whilst in 1874 it was vainly
besieged and bombarded by Don Carlos for four
months.

Bil'bilis. See CALATAYUD.
Bilin', a town of Bohemia, on the Bila, 5 miles
SW. of Teplitz. Its mineral springs, rich in
native carbonate of soda, are largely sought by
sufferers from gastric, catarrhal, or scrofulous
complaints. Pop. 7604.

Billericay, an Essex market-town, 4 miles E.
of Brentwood. Pop. 1394.
Billingsgate, a fish-market a little below

BILLITON

104

BIRMINGHAM

London Bridge. It was opened in 1558 as a
landing-place for provisions; and in 1699 was
made ' a free and open market for all sorts of
fish.' The present handsome stone building was
finished in 1874.

Bil'liton, or BLITONG, an island in the Dutch
East Indies, between the SE. of Banca and the
SW. of Borneo. It is about 50 miles in length
by 45 broad, 1855 sq. m. in area, and in the north
3000 feet high. Tandjong is the harbour, Pan-
dang the chief town. Pop. 48,779.

Billom (Bee-yon 9 '), a. decayed town of Auvergne,
in the French dep. of Puy-de-D6me, 14 miles
ESE. of Clermont. Pop. 3930.

Bill Quay, on the Tyne, in Durham, 3 miles E.
of Gateshead, the seat of shipbuilding yards,
bottle-works, &c.

Bilma, a town of the Sahara, Central Africa,
situated in IS" 40' N. lat., 14 E. long., on an
oasis called the Wady Kawar.

Bilston, a town in South Staffordshire, 2 miles
SE. of Wolverhampton, and within its parlia-
mentary borough. The centre of the hardware
trade, it has extensive iron and coal mines,
iron-smelting works, iron-foundries for making
machinery, besides works for tin-plate goods,
japanned and enamelled wares, nails, wire, screws,
and coarse pottery. Pop. 25,000.

BilucMstan. See BELUCHISTAN.

Bima, a seaport of Sumbawa, one of the Sunda
Isles, on the north coast, 100 miles E. of Sumbawa.

Bimbia, an African district on the south slope
of the Cameroon Mountains, and on the river
Bimbia, since 1884 part of the German protec-
torate. See CAMEROONS.

Binche (Ban g sJi), a town of Belgium, 10 miles
E. of Mons. Pop. 10,100.

Bingen (Bing'eri), a town of Hesse, on the
left bank of the Rhine, 39 miles SE. of Coblenz.
Below the town is the Bingerloch, formerly danger-
ous to navigation, but in 1834 the sunken rocks
were blown up. In mid-river stands the Mause-
turm of Bishop Hatto. Nearly opposite Bingen,
in the Niederwald, is the colossal statue Ger-
mania, erected 1877-83 to commemorate the war
of 1870-71. Pop. 9215.

Bingham, a town in the county, and 8 miles
E. of the town of Nottingham. Lord Sherbrooke
was a native. Pop. of parish, 1687.

Binghamton, a flourishing city of New York,
at the junction of the Chenango and Susquehanna
rivers, 215 miles NW. of New York City. It is an
important railway centre, and manufactures flour,
engines, carriages, leather, and cigars. Pop.
41,000.

Bingley, a town in the West Riding of York-
shire, 5 miles NW. of Bradford. It has worsted,
woollen, cotton, and paper manufactures. Pop.
18,500.

Bintang, a Dutch East Indian island, 40 miles
SE. of Singapore. Area, 454 sq. m. ; pop. 18,000.

Binue. See BENUE.

Biobio, the largest river of Chili, flows 220
miles (100 navigable) WNW. from near the volcano
of Antuco in the Andes to Concepcion on the
Pacific Ocean. It is 2 miles wide at its mouth.

Bir, a town of Asiatic Turkey, on the Euph-
rates, 80 miles NE. of Aleppo. Pop. 9000.

Birbhum, a district in the Bardwan division
of Bengal, with an area of 1756 sq. m. It is one
of the greatest copper-fields of the world, though
practically untapped as yet.

Birchington, a Kentish coast village, 3J milea
W. by S. of Margate. Pop. of parish, 2122.

Birkeufeld, a German principality belonging
to Oldenburg (q.v.), but surrounded by the
Prussian Rhine Province. Area, 194 sq. in. ;
population, 43,500. The capital, Birkenfeld, has
a pop. of 2500.

Birkenhead, a market- town, seaport, municipal,
parliamentary, and county borough of Cheshire,
lies opposite Liverpool, on the left bank of the
Mersey. Birkenhead owes its origin to the Bene-
dictine Priory of Byrkhed, founded in the llth
century. The crypt and other portions of the
priory still remain. Birkenhead has only of late
risen from comparative obscurity to its present
important position. In 1836 it received the
grant of a market, in 1861 obtained the privi-
lege of returning a member to parliament, in
1877 was created a municipal borough, and in
1888 a county borough. The main streets are
laid out with great regularity, crossing each
other at right angles, and about 20 yards wide ;
but the back streets are narroAv and the houses
mean. The park, 180 acres in extent, was laid
out at a cost of 140,000 ; and there is another
park in Tranmere, called Mersey Park, of 29
acres and 33,000 cost, opened in 1885. The
principal public buildings are the market-hall,
the new town-hall, the new sessions and police
courts, the borough hospital, the free library,
and the public baths. A railway bridge over the
Mersey at Runcorn, opened for traffic in 1869,
shortened by 10 miles the distance between the
Liverpool and Birkenhead docks ; and the Mersey
railway tunnel, 1230 yards long, was opened by
the Prince of Wales in 1886. There is also com-
munication with Liverpool by ferry-steamers.
The idea of constructing docks here was due to
the Messrs Laird, who in 1824 purchased from
the Liverpool corporation, at a very low price,
a large piece of ground on the borders of the
Wallasey PooL The first dock, however, was not
opened till 1847. In 1857 the Birkenhead docks
were amalgamated with those of Liverpool, and
vested in one public trust, called 'The Mersey
Docks and Harbour Board.' Including the Great
Float, an immense harbour, constructed on the
site of Wallasey Pool, with an area of over 140
acres, they extend from Woodside to Seacombe,
a distance of about a mile, the total area being
about 170 acres, with 9 miles of quayage. The
corn-warehouses at Seacombe constitute a vast
pile of buildings, and a great deal of coal
is shipped from the port. Birkenhead is cele-
brated for its shipbuilding yards, some of the
largest iron ships afloat having been built here.
In the neighbourhood of the docks are the Canada
Works for the construction of gigantic bridges,
the Britannia Machinery Works, the Birkenhead
Forge, &c. There are also oil-cake mills, exten-
sive flour-mills, wagon-works, and several smaller
engineering works. St Aidan's College, an An-
glican theological college, is in the suburb of
Claughton. Pop. (1821) 236 ; (1861) 54,649 ; (1891)
99,857 ; (1901) 110,915.

Birket-el-Hadji ('lake of the pilgrims'), a
small lake 10 miles NE. of Cairo, where the Mecca
pilgrims assemble and separate.

Birmah. See BURMA.

Birmingham, a city and a municipal, parlia-
mentary, and county borough, the chief town of
the Midlands, is celebrated for its metallic manu-
factures throughout the world. It stands near
the centre of England, in the north-west of War-
wickshire, with suburbs extending into Stafford-

BIRMINGHAM

105

BISCHOFF

shire and Worcestershire, 112 miles NW. of
London. It is picturesquely situated on the east
slope of three undulating hills, on the Rea and
the Tame, and though rather irregularly built,
has been greatly improved in this respect within
recent years, while its water-supply and sanitary
arrangements are admirable. There are seven
public parks in the suburbs. The public build-
ings include the Corinthian town-hall (1832-52),
the scene of triennial musical festivals and great
political meetings ; the market-hall, dating from
1838 ; the Italian municipal buildings (1874-78),
at a cost of nearly 200,009 ; the corn exchange
(1847) ; the Gothic exchange buildings (1863-65) ;
and the post-office. Queen's College (1807) and
the Mason Science College, founded in 1875 by
Sir Josiah Mason, were incorporated in Birming-
ham University in 1900. Other institutions are
the Birmingham and Midland Institute, the
museum and art gallery, the school of art, the
technical school, the libraries, King Edward VI.'s
grammar-schools, and the blue-coat school. Bir-
mingham became the see of a bishop in 1904.
Its mayor has been a Lord Mayor since 1896.
There are more than a dozen statues or memorials of
Birmingham worthies (including Watt, Priestley,
Bright, Chamberlain, Mason, Dawson), and other
eminent men. The parish church of St Martins,
erected in 1873 at a cost of nearly 30,000, stands
on the site of the old building, dating from the
13th century ; and the Catholic cathedral of St
Chad (Birmingham being the seat of a Catholic
see) was erected from the designs of Pugin, at a
cost of over 30,000.

In Leland's Itinerary (1538) Birmingham is re-
ferred to as the abode of 'smiths and cutlers.'
In cutlery goods it has been completely super-
seded by Sheffield, but in all other kinds of the
finer metal manufactures it is unrivalled by any
other town in the world. Iron and brass found-
ing are carried on, and steam-engines and various
kinds of machinery are made ; but the principal
manufactures are the finer kinds of gold, silver,
copper, brass, steel, mixed metal, plated metal,
glass, papier-mache, japanned and electrotyped
articles, including firearms, ammunition, swords,
metal ornaments, toys, jewellery, coins, buttons,
buckles, lamps, pins, steel-pens, tools, arms, and
locks. Over 560,000 gun-barrels were manufac-
tured in 1891 ; and other specialties, of which an
enormous quantity are manufactured, are steel-
pens, buttons, nails, and screws. ' Brummagem '
is colloquially used to denote anything sham or
fictitious, such as cheap jewellery, now no longer
made here so much as in London and in
Germany. Near Handsworth, a little to the
north of Birmingham, were the famous Soho
Works, founded by Watt and Boulton. The
Bermingeham of Domesday was later known as
Bromwychham (whence Brummagem). During
the Civil War the town supplied the Parliament-
arians with swords, but it was taken by Prince
Rupert in 1643. It suffered severely from the
plague in 1665-66. The celebration by a number
of Radicals, 14th July 1791, of the capture of
the Bastille, was the occasion of a serious riot by
the upholders of church and king, who attacked
Dr Priestley's house, and destroyed his library.
Subsequently Birmingham was prominently as-
sociated with the reformers of 1832 and the
Chartists, and it was the famous headquarters of
what was known as the Liberal ' caucus.'

Baskerville, the printer, carried on his business
in Birmingham. Wilmore and Pye, the engravers,
David Cox, and Burne-Jones Avere Birmingham
men. Dr Joseph Priestley was a Unitarian min-

ister in Birmingham ; here, too, was the chapel
of the brilliant lecturer George Dawson. Bir-
mingham, which, Mr Joseph Chamberlain claims,
is the best-governed city in the world, was incor-
porated in 1838, and became a county borough
and a city in 1888. In 1867 the number of par-
liamentary representatives was increased from
two to three, and in 1885 it was divided into
seven parliamentary districts, each returning one
member. The population in 1770 Avas 30,806,
Avhich by 1801 had increased to 60,822, by 1851
to 232,841, by 1871 to 343,787, by 1881 to
400,774, by 1891 to 478,113, by 1901 to 533,040.

See Hutton's History of Birmingham (1781),
and Bunce's History of the Corporation (1885) ;
Langford's Century of Birmingham Life (2 vols.
1868) ; and Dent's Old and New Birmingham (2
vols. 1879-80), and The Making of Birmingham
(1S94).

Birmingham, the capital of Jefferson county,
Alabama, and the most important seat of the
iron industry of the southern states, is situated
at the junction of several raihvays, 95 miles
NNW. of Montgomery. It has numerous found-
ries, mills, factories, and machine-shops ; and the
development of the iron interests of its imme-
diate vicinity has caused a marvellous growth
of the city. Pop. 40,000.

Birnam, a Perthshire hill, 1324 feet high, near
Dunkeld. Birnam Wood, forming part of an
ancient royal forest, is immortalised by Shake-
speare in Macbeth. Opposite Dunkeld is the
pretty village of Birnam ; pop. 394.

Birni, a ruinous town, the former capital of
Bornu (q.v.), 100 miles W. of Lake Chad.

Birr. See PARSONSTOWN.

Birrenswark. See BRUNSWARK.

Birstal, a woollen manufacturing town in the
West Riding of Yorkshire, 7 miles SSW. of Leeds.
Dr Priestley was born hard by. Pop. 6558.

Biru', a kingdom of Soudan, Western Africa,
bounded on the E . by the Niger.

Bisaccia (Bisat'cha), a town of Italy, 60 miles
E. of Naples. Pop. 6189.

Bisacquino (Bisaquee'no), a town of Sicily, 27
miles S. of Palermo. Pop. 9588.

Bisalnag'ar, a town of India, in Baroda, 220
miles NW. of Mhow. Pop. 21,000.

Bisalpur', a town of India, in the United
Provinces, 24 miles E. of Bareli. Pop. 10,000.

Bis'cay, or VIZCAYA, the most northerly of the
Basque Provinces of Spain, is bounded N. by the
Bay of Biscay. Area, 833 sq. in. ; population,
312,000. Chief town, Bilbao (q.v.).

Biscay, BAY OF (Fr. Golfe de Gascogne), that
portion of the Atlantic Ocean which sweeps in
along the northern shores of the Spanish penin-
sula from Cape Ortegal to St Jean de Luz, at the
western foot of the Pyrenees, and thence curves
northward along the west shores of France to
the island of Ushant. The depth of water varies
from 20 to 200 fathoms. The whole of the south
coast is bold and rocky, but great parts of the
French shores are low and sandy. Navigation
of 'the bay' is frequently rendered dangerous
by the prevalence of strong winds, especially
Avesterly ones. Rennel's Current SAveeps in from
the ocean round the north coast of Spain.

Bisceglia (Bishel'ya), an Italian seaport, on the
Adriatic, 21 miles NW. of Bari. Pop. 31,675.

Bischoff, MOUNT, a post-town of Tasmania, 60
miles W. of Launceston. Here Avere discovered

BISCHWEILER

106

BLACK COUNTRY

in 1872 some of the richest tin-mines in the
world, the yield of pure tin from the ore being
from 70 to 80 per cent. The mount takes its
name from the chairman of a land company
(1828). There is railway communication with
Emu Bay, 45 miles distant. Pop. 1420.

Bischweiler (Bishvl'ler), a town of Alsace, on
the Mocler, 17 miles N. of Strasburg. Pop. 7810.

Bisham Abbey, a Tudor mansion, in Berk-
shire, on the Thames, opposite Great Marlow.
Elizabeth resided here in Mary's reign.

Bishop-Auckland, a town in the county, and
9 miles SW. of the city, of Durham, stands on
an eminence 140 feet above the confluent Wear
and Gaunless. Its abbey-like palace of the
bishops of Durham was founded about 1300 by
Bishop Antony Bek, and rebuilt by Bishop Cosin
about 1665. There are a fine town-hall of 1863
with a spire 100 feet high, engineering- works,
and large neighbouring collieries. Pop. (1851)
4400; (1891)10,527 ; (1901)11,969.

Bishop's Castle, a municipal borough (incor-

g orated 1885) of Shropshire, 9 miles WNW. of
raven Arms junction by a branch line (1865).
Till 1832 it returned two members. The bishops
of Hereford had a castle here. Pop. 1386.

Bishop-Stortford, a town of Hertfordshire, on
the Stort, 12 miles ENE. of Hertford. In Saxon
times it was the property of the bishops of
London. Pop. 7150.

Bishop's Waltham, a town of Hampshire, 9j
miles SE. of Winchester. It has been imme-
morially the property of the bishops of Win-
chester. There are remains of their castle (1135).
Pop. of parish, 2309.

Bishopwearmouth. See SUNDERLAND.

Bisigna'no, a cathedral city of South Italy,
10 miles N. of Cosenza by rail. Pop. 4255.

Biskra, a town of Algeria, 150 miles S. of
Constantino by rail, in an oasis watered by the
Wady Biskra and by springs. The Roman Zaba,
under the Moors it became a large town 71,000
people died of the plague in 1663. Pop. 8609.

Bisley, (1) a market-town of Gloucestershire,
3 miles E. of Stroud. Population, 2500. (2) A
common in Surrey, 3 miles WNW. of Woking, the
successor in 1890 to Wimbledon as the meeting-
place of the National Rifle Association.

Bismarck, a thriving town, since 1889 capital
of North Dakota, U.S., stands in the centre of
the state on the east side of the Missouri, here
crossed by the Northern Pacific Railway on an
iron bridge which cost $1,000,000. Pop. 3500.'

Bismarck Archipelago, the official name for
New Britain, New Ireland, New Hanover, and
several smaller adjoining islands in the South
Pacific, since in 1884 they became a German
dependency. See NEW BRITAIN, &c.

Bismark, a Prussian town of 2599 inhabitants,
35 miles N. of Magdeburg.

Bissa'gos, or BIJUJA ISLANDS, a group of thirty
small volcanic islands, off the west coast of
Africa, opposite the mouth of the Rio Grande.
Thickly wooded, and many of them densely
peopled, they have several fine ports, but the
climate is excessively dangerous for Europeans.
The principal islands belong to the Portuguese.

Bissao, an island and Portuguese station closer
to the African coast than the Bissagos.

Bistritz, a Transylvanian town on the Bistritza
River, 50 miles NE. of Klausenburg. Pop. 9063.

Bisutun. See BEHISTUN.

Bitche (Ger. Bitsch), a German town of Lof
raine, in a wild and wooded pass of the Vosges,
49 miles NNW. of Strasburg. Its citadel crowns
a precipitous rock in the middle of the town.
The Prussians tried vainly to surprise it in 1793 ;
it resisted the Germans for seven weeks in 1815,
and only surrendered three weeks after the close
of the war of 1870-71. Pop. 3849.

Bithur', a town in India on the Ganges, 12
miles NW. of Cawnpore. Pop. 6685.

Bithynia, an ancient division of Asia Minor,
separated from Europe by the Propontis (Sea of
Marmora) and the Bosphorus.

Bitlis, a town of Turkish Armenia, 120 miles
SE. of Erzerum. It lies 5470 feet above the sea,
in a deep ravine traversed by the river Bitlis,
a head-stream of the Tigris. Pop. 35,000.

Bitonto, a cathedral city of Italy, 5 miles from
the sea, and 10 WSW. of Bari. Near it the
Spaniards defeated the Austrians, 25th May 1734.
Pop. 32,726.

Bitter Root Mountains, a range of the Rocky
Mountains between Idaho and Montana.

Bizerta, or BENZERTA, a seaport of Tunis, at
the head of a bay of the Mediterranean, is the
most northerly town in Africa, being 38 miles
NW. of Tunis. Pop. 10,000. The ancient Hippo
Diarrhytus or Zaritus, Bizerta since 1881 has
been held by the French, who have strongly
fortified it, and made it a great naval station.

Bjela, a town in the Polish government of
Siedlce, on the Krzna River. Pop. 10,500.

Blackadder, a Berwickshire stream, flowing 20
miles to the Whitadder.

Blackburn, a town of Lancashire, 21 miles
NNW. of Manchester, and 9 E. of Preston, stands
on a stream from which it appears to derive its
name, a branch of the Ribble. It had acquired
some importance as a market-town in the 16th
century, and in the middle of the 17th it was
noted for its Blackburn Checks, a kind of linsey-
woolsey, afterwards superseded by the Blackburn
Grays, so called from their being printed un-
bleached. During the 18th century the cotton
manufacture became the chief industry of the
place, which is now the largest and most import-
ant cotton manufacturing town in the world,
the number of cotton-factories being very great,
and many of them employing from 1000 to 2000
operatives. Great improvements in machinery
for the cotton manufacture have been made in
Blackburn e.g. the invention of the spinning-
jenny by James Hargreaves, a native of the
town, in 1767. The chief public buildings are
the town-hall (1856), an Italian edifice built at
a cost of 30,000; the Gothic exchange (1865);
the infirmary (1862); and St Mary's Church, of
very ancient foundation, but almost entirely
rebuilt (1826-57). There is a corporation park
of 50 acres, part of which is 700 feet above sea-
level, and co7innands a wide view ; a new Queen's
Park of 35 acres was opened on Jubilee day,
1887. The grammar-school was established by
Queen Elizabeth in 1567 ; in 1888 the Prince of
Wales laid the foundation-stone of the technical
school. Mr John Morley was born here. Black-
burn has returned two members since 1832; it
received its municipal charter in 1851, and in
1888 became a county borough. Pop. (1831)
36,629; (1891) 120,064; (1901) 129,216. See
Abram's History of Blackburn (1878).

Black Country, a region of mines and works
on the border of Stafford and Warwick shires,
between Wolverhampton and Birmingham.

BLACK DOWN

107

BLADENSBURG

Black Down, (1) the highest part (1067 feet) of
the Mendip Hills, in Somerset ; (2) a hill-ridge
(900 feet) on the border of Somerset and Devon,
near Wellington, crowned by a Wellington
obelisk ; (3) a hill-ridge (817 feet) of NW. Dorset,
near Portisham, with a column to Nelson's
Hardy.

Black Forest (Ger. Schwarzu-ald), a wooded
mountain-chain in Baden and Wurtemberg, run-
ning parallel with the course of the Rhine after
its great bend near Basel, often only a few miles
distant from it, and also bounded by the Rhine
upon the south. The chief rivers rising in the
Black Forest are the Danube, Neckar, Murg,
Kinzig, Elz, Enz, and Wiessen. The chain
attains its greatest elevation in the bare and
round-topped Feldberg (4903 feet). The great
mass called the Kaiserstuhl (Emperor's Chair),
situated near Breisach, is quite isolated. Silver,
copper, cobalt, lead, and iron are found in
greater or less quantity in the principal chain,
which is luxuriantly wooded, its name Schwarz-
wald being derived from the dark-tinted foliage
and immense number of its fir-trees. The district
is also rich in mineral waters e.g. the baths of
Baden-Baden (q.v.) and Wildbad (q.v.). On the
Rhine side the descent is precipitous, but to-
wards the Danube and the Neckar it is gradual.
Among its numerous valleys, the Murgthal is
the most famous for its natural beauties; but,
indeed, the whole of the country is here rich in
picturesque scenery, gemmed with cascades and
deep mountain-lakes, around which cluster the
legends of many centuries. The rearing of cattle,
and the manufacture of wooden clocks and other
articles, form the chief industry of the inhabit-
ants. See Seguin's Black Forest (2d ed. 1886).

Blackheath, a high-lying open common of 70
acres, in the county of Kent, 7 miles SE. of
London, near Greenwich Park. It is a favourite
holiday resort for Londoners. Blackheath was
the first place in England where the ancient
Scottish game of golf was introduced, most likely
in 1608. On it stands Morden College, founded
in 1695 by Sir John Morden for decayed Turkey
merchants. Of schools innumerable, the chief is
the Proprietary (1830). Blackheath was formerly
the scene of several insurrections, including those
of Wat Tyler (1381), Jack Cade (1450), and the
Cornishmen under Lord Audley (1497).

Black Isle, the peninsula in Easter Ross lying
between the Beauly and Moray Firths and
Cromarty Firth.

Black Mountains, a range (2631 feet) in South
Wales, between Brecknock and Carmarthen
shires.

Blackness Castle, Linlithgowshire, on the
Firth of Forth, 3 miles ESE. of Bo'ness, was
once a state prison, and since 1874 has been the
central Scotch ammunition depot.

Blackpool, a flourishing watering-place of
Lancashire, on the Irish Sea, between More-
cambe Bay and the estuary of the Ribble, 18
miles WNW. of Preston. The population has
risen from 1664 in 1851 to 23,846 in 1891, and
47,348 in 1901 ; but the numbers who resort here
during the bathing-season far exceed the perma-
nent residents, for Blackpool is one of the most
frequented watering-places in the west of Eng-
land, the sands being excellent, the views delight-
ful, and the climate bracing. There are three
fine piers, one of them with a splendid pavilion ;
a promenade 3 miles long, with electric trams ;
an Eiffel-like tower (1895), 500 feet high ; winter-
gardens, an aquarium, a free library, theatres,

and several large hotels. Blackpool was consti-
tuted a municipal borough in 1876.

Blackrod, a Lancashire town, with cotton-
mills and collieries, 5 miles SSE. of Chorley.
Pop. 3875.

Black Sea, or EUXINE (anc. Pontus Eiixinus),
is an inland sea lying between Europe and Asia,
extending from 41 to 46 38' N. lat., and from
27 30' to 41 50' E. long. Its greatest length
from east to west is 720 miles ; its greatest
breadth, near the west end, 380 miles ; and its
area, exclusive of the Sea of Azov, is 163,711
sq. in. On the south-western extremity it com-
municates by the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmora,
and the Dardanelles, with the Mediterranean,
and on the north-east by the Strait of Kertch,
or Yenikale, with the Sea of Azov. The Black
Sea drains nearly one-fourth of the surface of
Europe, and also about 114,000 sq. m. of Asia.
Throughout its whole extent it has but one
island, and that a small one, lying opposite the
mouths of the Danube, called Adassi, or Isle of
Serpents, on which is a lighthouse. In the centre
its depth ranges between 1000 and 1070 fathoms.
All the coasts are high, with good harbours,
except between the mouths of the Danube and
the Crimea ; there the land is low, and the danger
of navigation greatly increased in winter by the
presence of floating ice ; for, from the many
large rivers which flow into this sea and that of
Azov (Danube, Dniester, Bug, Dnieper, Don,
Kuban, and Rion, in Europe ; and the Kizil-
Irmak and Sakaria, in Asia), the waters are
fresher than those of the Mediterranean, and
consequently easily frozen. There is no tide in
this sea, but the large rivers flowing into it give
rise to currents, which are particularly strong in
spring when the snows melt. There is a strong
flow out through the Bosphorus.

From the fall of Constantinople (1453), all but
Turkish vessels were excluded from its waters,
until the treaty of Kainardji (1774), when the
Russians obtained the right to trade in it. Ten
years after, Austrian ships were privileged to
trade here ; and by the Peace of Amiens in 1802
British and French ships were admitted. By
the Treaty of Paris (1856) it was opened to the
commerce of all nations, and closed to ships of
war, while the erection of arsenals was forbidden ;
but this article was repudiated by Russia in 1870,
and in the following March, at a conference in
London, the neutralisation of the sea was abro-
gated. The Bosphorus and Dardanelles are still
closed to ships of war other than Turkish and
Russian, but the sultan can open them at need
to allies.

Blackstairs, a range (2610 feet) between Car-
low and Wexford counties.

Blackwall, a suburb of London, in Middlesex,
at the junction of the Lee with the Thames, 3
miles ESE. of St Paul's.

Blackwater, the name of numerous rivers and
rivulets in Great Britain and Ireland, of which
the longest are : (1) The Blackwater of Munster,
100 miles in length, which enters the sea at
Youghal harbour ; (2) the Blackwater of Ulster,
50 miles Ion?, falling into the south-west corner
of Lough Neagh ; (3) the Blackwater of Essex,
40 miles long, falling into the North Sea.

Blackwood, Nithsdale, Dumfriesshire, 6 miles
SSE. of Thoruhill, the birthplace of Allan
Cunningham.

Bladenoch, a large distillery near Wigtown.

Bladensburg, a village of Maryland, on the

BLAENAVON

108

BLOOMINGTOtf

east branch of the Potomac, 6 miles NE. of
Washington. Here the British won the battle
deciding the fate of the capital, August 24, 1814.

Blaenavon, a town of Monmouthshire, with
ironworks, 6 miles NNW. of Poiitypool. Pop.
10,869.

Blagovestschensk, a town of the Amur province
of Russian Asia, at the confluence of the Amur and
Seja rivers. Pop. (1880) 8000 ; (1900) 33,000.

Blairadam, a seat in Kinross-shire, near Loch-
leven.

Blair- Athole, a Perthshire village, at the con-
fluence of the Garry and Tilt, 20 miles NNW. of
Dunkeld. Blair Castle (Duke of Athole) dates
from the 13th century, and as restored in 1872
is a fine baronial structure. Claverhouse was
buried in the old church of Blair. Pop. 366.

Blairgowrie, a Perthshire town, on the Ericht's
right bank, 20 miles NNE. of Perth by a branch
line (1855). It has flax spinning and weaving
factories. Pop. 3378.

Blakesware, a vanished Hertfordshire mansion
(Lamb's ' Blakesmoor '), 4 miles E. of Ware.

Blanc, LE, a town in the French dep. Indre, 68
miles SSE. of Tours. Pop. 6065.

Blanc, MONT. See MONT BLANC.

Blanco, CAPE, a remarkable headland on the
west coast of Africa, in 20 Q 47' N. lat., and 16
58' W. long., the extremity of a rocky ridge which
projecting westward, and then bending south-
ward, forms a commodious harbour, the Great
Bay. It was first discovered by the Portuguese
in 1441. Cape Blanco (i.e. 'white cape') is also
the name of headlands in Spain, Greece, America,
and the Philippines.

Blandford, a town in Dorsetshire, on the
Stour, 10 miles NW. of Wimborne. It suffered
much in 1579, 1677, 1713, and 1731, from fire, only
twenty-six houses escaping on the last occasion.
It is built of brick, and is neat and regular ; its
chief charm is Bryanston Park, Lord Portman's
seat. It was formerly famed for its bandstrings
and lace ; now shirt-buttons are made here.
Pop. of municipal borough, 3700.

Blankenberghe, a summer resort on the coast
of West Flanders, 9 miles N. of Bruges by rail.
Pop. 4328.

Blankenburg, (1) a town, 37 miles SSE. of
Brunswick, on the borders of the Harz Moun-
tains. Pop. 10,300. (2) A watering-place in the
Rudolstadt division of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt,
25 miles S. by W. of Weimar. Pop. 2120.

Blan'tyre, or HIGH BLANTYKE, a village of
Lanarkshire, near the right bank of the Rotten
Calder, 8J miles SB. of Glasgow by rail, in a
coal and iron mining district. Pop., with
Auchenwraith and Causewaystones, (1901) 2521.
Low Blantyre, or Blantyre Works, If mile NE.,
has dyeworks, and a weaving factory where
young David Livingstone, a native of the place,
worked as a ' piecer ; ' here also are his memorial
church and statue. Pop. 1505. Also the name
of a Scottish mission-station founded in 1876, to
the south of Lake Nyassa, Central Africa. It is
situated on the heights between the Upper Shire
and Lake Shirwa, in a well-wooded district.

Blarney Castle, a ruined tower, 4 miles NW.
of Cork, with a stone, difficult of access, to kiss
which endows one with eloquence.

Blaydon, a manufacturing town of Durham,
on the Tyne, 5 miles W. by S. of Newcastle.
Pop. 19,371.

Blaye (anc. Blavia), a river-port in the French

dep. of Gironde, 20 miles NNW. of Bordeaux.
It lies on the right bank of the Gironde, here 2^
miles broad, at the base of a rocky eminence
crowned with Vauban's citadel (1652). Pop. 4157.

Bleiberg, an Austrian village in Carinthia, 8
miles W. of Villach, in the valley of the Drave,
near the Bleiberg (Lead Mountain). Pop. 3500.

Blekinge(j3ZcM/7d7ifir-e7i,) is a province in Sweden,
also called after Carlskrona (q.v.).

Bleneau (Blay-no'), a village in the French dep.
of Yonne, 29 miles WSW. of Auxerre. Here
Turenne defeated Conde in 1652.

Blenheim (Ger. Blindheim), a village of Bavaria,
23 miles NNW. of Augsburg. It gives name to
the great victory of Marlborough and Prince
Eugene over the French and Bavarians, August
13, 1704. The battle, however, really took place
at the neighbouring village of Hbchstadt, and to
the Germans is so known.

Blenheim, capital of Marlborough district,
New Zealand, on the Wairau River, near the
coast, 20 miles S. of Picton by rail. Population,
about 5000.

Blenheim Park, near Woodstock, Oxford-
shire, the seat of the Duke of Marlborough, was
designed by Vanbrugh, and gifted by the nation
to the victor of Blenheim. It stands in a park
12 miles round.

Blessington, a market-town of Wicklow, on
the Lififey, 18 miles SW. of Dublin. Pop. 302.

Bletchingley, an ancient town of Surrey, 5
miles NE. of Reigate. Till 1832 it returned two
members. Pop. of parish^ 2128.

Bletchley, a railway junction in Buckingham-
shire, 47 iniles NW. of London, 31 NE. of Oxford,
and 45 SW. of Cambridge.

Blewfields. See BLUEFIELDS.

Blida (Blee-da), a thriving town of Algeria, 32
miles SW. of Algiers by rail, with orange orchards.
Pop. 16,628.

Block Island, formerly called Manisees, is
situated in the Atlantic, 9 miles S. from Rhode
Island, United States, to which it belongs. It is
8 miles long, and contains the township of New
Shoreham, a summer resort. A breakwater on
the east side of the island forms a harbour of
refuge. Pop. 1447.

Bloemfontein (Bloomfon'tine), capital of the
Orange River Colony, on the Modder, 200 miles
W. by N. of Durban. It is the seat of an Anglican
bishopric and of a college. Pop. (1904) 33,890.

Blois (Blwafi), capital of the French dep. Loir-
et-Cher, on the Loire, here spanned by a bridge
(1717) 1000 feet long, is 36 miles SW. of Orleans.
It has an archiepiscopal cathedral, and an old
castle, the scene of many historical events.
After 1814 it was used as a barrack ; but since
1845, especially in 1880-87, a great par-t of it has
been restored at great cost. Natives have been
King Stephen of England, Louis XVI., and the
physicist Papin, of whom a statue has been
erected. Blois has manufactures of porcelain
and gloves, with a trade in brandy, wine, and
wood. Pop. 23,500.

Bloomington, (1) capital of M'Lean county,
Illinois, 126 miles SSW. of Chicago, is an im-
portant railway centre, and has a brisk trade and
large railway-works, with foundries, furnaces,
and coal-mines. There is a Wesleyan university
in the town ; and near it is the Illinois Normal
University. The population is over 25,000. (2)
A town in Indiana, seat of the state university,

BLUEFIELDS

109

BOHEMIA

between the branches of the White River, 60
miles SSW. of Indianapolis. Pop. 7018.

Bluefields, ESCONDIDA, or Rio DEL DESASTRE,
a river of Nicaragua flowing eastward to the
Caribbean Sea. Here is a small town of the same
name.

Blue Mountains, (1) a branch of the Dividing
Range, New South Wales, running very nearly
parallel with the coast, about 80 miles inland.
Their highest point, Mount Beemarang, is 4100
feet high. See JENOLAN CAVES. (2) The Blue
Mountains, in the centre of Jamaica, attain in
the West Peak 7105 feet.

Blumenau, a German colony in the Brazilian
state of Santa Catharina (q.v.), 50 miles inland
of the capital, Desterro. The population in 1905
was 40,000, mainly German ; the township of
Blumenau has 7000 inhabitants.

Blyth (Blith), a seaport of Northumberland, at
the mouth of the river Blyth, 9 miles SE. of
Morpeth. Pop. 5553.

Bobbio, a Lombard town, 3 miles SSE. of
Pavia, near the confluence of the Bobbio and the
Trebbia. Here Columbanus founded a monas-
tery in 612. Since 1014 it has been the seat
of a bishopric. Pop. 4635.

Bobruisk, a town of Russia, on the Beresina,
87 miles SE. of Minsk by rail. Pop. 30,079.

Boca Tigre, the Portuguese translation of the
Chinese name Hu-mun, 'tiger's mouth,' given to
the upper portion of the estuary of the Canton
River (q.v.).

Bochnia, a town of Austrian Galicia, 24 miles
ESE. of Cracow by rail, with rock-salt mines.
Pop. 11,000.

Bocholt (Boh'holt), a town of Prussia, on the
Aa, 13 miles N. of Wesel by rail, with manu-
factures of cotton and machinery. Pop. 20,576.

Bochum (Bok'noom), a Prussian town, 35 m. NE.
of Diisseldorf by rail. Besides great steel and iron
works, it has manufactures of carpets, &c., with
coal-mines near. Pop. 70,000.

Boddam, a fishing-village of Aberdeenshire, 3
miles S. of Peterhead. Pop. SOO.

Boden-See. See CONSTANCE, LAKE OF.

Bodmin, the county town of Cornwall, in the
middle of the county, 30 miles NNW. of Plymouth.
It arose out of a priory, founded in 936 or
earlier ; and till 1868 returned two members, then
till 1885 one. Pop. 5500.

Bodyke, an estate in County Clare, 16 miles
N. of Limerick, well known through its evictions
(1887).

Body's Island, a long, narrow strip of sand, off
North Carolina, with a lighthouse (150 feet), the
highest in the United States.

Boeotia, an ancient political division of Greece,
now forming with Attica a province of the
modern kingdom, with an area of 2472 sq. m.,
and a joint pop. of 314,000.

Boghaz-Keui (anc. Pterio), a village of Asia
Minor, in Angora province, 150 miles S. of
Sinope. In its vicinity is a vast ruined temple.

Bognor, a Sussex watering-place, 9J miles SE.
of Chichester by rail. Founded in 1786 by a
London hatter, Sir R. Hotham, it has an iron
pier (1865) 1000 feet long, and a good esplanade.
Pop. 6200.

Bogodukhof, a cathedral town of Russia, 43
miles NW. of Kharkoff. Pop. 10,904.

Bogota, under Spanish rule SANTA FE DE

BOGOTA, in South America, the federal capital
of the United States of Colombia. It is on a
tableland 400 sq. m. in area, and 8694 feet
above the sea, which separates the basin of the
Magdalena from that of the Orinoco, is bounded
on all sides by mountains, lofty enough to give
shelter, yet below the line of perpetual snow.
This extensive plain a temperate zone on the
verge of the equator, with a salubrious climate
and a mean temperature of 60 F. is exceedingly
fertile, being as rich in pasture as in grain. The
greater number of its people, however, are sunk
in poverty. This is largely due to the difficulty
of transport. Bogota is 65 miles from its port,
Honda, the head of navigation on the Magda-
lena ; and from this point goods must be con-
veyed over the mountains in packages of not
more than 125 Ib. The few manufactures of the
place include soap, leather, cloth, and articles
made from the precious metals. Bogota was
founded in 1538, and in 1598 became the capital
of the Spanish vice-royalty of New Granada ;
since 1554 it has been the seat of an archbishop.
It is regularly and handsomely built, teems with
churches, and has likewise an unfinished capitol,
a mint, a university, &c. Pop. (1800) 21,464 ;
(1897) 100,000. The river Bogota, otherwise
called the Funcha, is the single outlet of the
waters of the tableland, having found a passage
for itself towards the Magdalena. At the cataract
of Tequendama the waters plunge over a preci-
pice 625 feet high.

Boguslav, a town of Russia, 70 miles SSE. of
KiefT. Pop. 9030.

Bohemia (Ger. Bohmen), formerly one of the
kingdoms of Europe, now forms the most northern
province of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy.
It has an area of 19,980 sq. m., or about two-
thirds that of Scotland ; pop. (1880) 6,560,819 ;
(1900) 6,318,697. Prague, the capital of the king-
dom, and third city of the empire, has over
200,000 inhabitants ; Pilsen has about 70,000,
Budweis 40,000, and Reichenberg 35,000. The
country is surrounded on all sides' by lofty
mountain-ranges, the principal of which are
the Riesengebirge on the north-east, dividing
Bohemia from Silesia, highest peak the Schnee-
koppe (5330 feet) ; on the north-west, the Erzge-
birge (4182) ; on the south-west, the Bbhmerwald
(4783). The country belongs to the upper basin
of the Elbe, and is well watered by its many
affluents, the Moldau, Eger, Iser, &c. The climate
is mild and pleasant in the valleys, but raw and
cold in the mountainous regions. A remnant of
volcanic action still continues in the eruptions
of carbonic acid gas which have established so
many mineral springs of deserved repute, at
Carlsbad, Eger, Marienbad, Teplitz, and else-
where. The mineral wealth is varied and exten-
sive, consisting of silver, tin, copper, lead,
iron, cobalt, bismuth, antimony, alum, sulphur,
graphite, and porcelain clay, with some precious
and ornamental stones. More coal is produced
than in all the rest of the Austrian empire.

The soil is generally fertile ; more than one-
half of the area is arable land, and forests cover
nearly a third. Flax and hops are plentiful, and
much fruit is exported. Some wine is produced
near the Moldau and the Elbe. Bohemia is a
great centre of dyeing and calico-printing, of linen
and woollen manufactures. Other important
branches of industry are the manufacture of
paper, ribbons, lace, chemicals, porcelain-ware,
and the Turkish fez. The glass-works of Bohemia
are celebrated, and afford employment to some

BOIS-DE-BOULOGNE

110

BOKHARA

27,000 persons, and there are many ironworks.
Beet-root sugar is manufactured extensively, and
so are beer and brandy. Its position secures
Bohemia a large transit-trade.

The bulk of the people are Czechs, a Slavonic
race, speaking their own Czech tongue, which
has an old and varied literature. They dwell
chiefly in the centre and east of the country, and
number 4J millions. The German population,
amounting to over 2 millions, reside mainly in
the north-east, and in the cities ; their influence
on industry, trade, and commerce is great in
proportion to their numbers. The distinction
between Czech and German is very sharply drawn,
and the demand of the Czechs for fuller Home
Rule than the provincial diet and administration
afford, and for the restoration of the crown-
rights of the Bohemian kingdom, has maintained
a long standing political controversy with the
Austrian government. There are about 100,000
Jews. The vast majority of the population be-
long to the R. C. Church ; of the 120,000 Pro-
testants most are Calvinists. Education is much
more widely diffused than in any other Austrian
province. Since 1882 the university of Prague
is divided into a German and a Czech university.
The number of students is over 4000, of whom
1200 attend the German lectures. Bohemia
sends 110 members more than a fourth of the
total to the Lower House of the Austrian
Reichsrath.

The country derives its name from the Celtic
Boii, who were expelled about the Christian era
by the Germanic Marcomanni ; and by the 5th
century, we find the country peopled by the
Slavonic Czechs. In 1086 the dukes of Prague
were made kings by the emperor, and Bohemia
became a state of the German empire. In the 15th
century took place the religious movement of John
Huss and Jerome of Prague. In 1458, after a long
war, the kingdom became elective, and the Hussite
George of Podiebrad was chosen king. His suc-
cessor, the Polish Ladislaus, became also king of
Hungary (1490) ; and on his son's death at the
battle of Mohacz (1526), the crowns of both
kingdoms passed to Ferdinand of Austria, and
the history of Bohemia merges in that of Austria.
The withdrawal of religious liberty in 1608 led
to the troubles which ended in the election of
the Protestant Frederick V. of the Palatinate to
be king of Bohemia, and the Thirty Years' War,
in which Bohemia suffered so severely, the Haps-
burgs being restored, and Protestantism stamped
out in blood. There are histories in German by
Pelzel (1817), Palacky (1836), Tomek (1882), and
others.

Bois-de-Boulogne. See BOULOGNE.

Boise (pron. Boiz; formerly called Boise City),
the capital of Idaho, U.S., and a centre of tlie
silver industry, near the Boise River, 520 miles
NE. of San Francisco. Pop. 7311.

Bois-le-Duc (Bwah-leh-Diik' ; Dutch 's Hertogen-
bosch, ' Duke's Forest '), a Dutch city, capital of N.
Brabant, at the junction of the Dommel and the
Aa, 28 miles SSE. of Utrecht by rail. Strongly
fortified till 1876, it is the seat of a Catholic
archbishop, and has a very fine cathedral (1312-
1498), arsenal, &c. Iron-founding, book-printing,
the making of beer, spirits, woollens, cigars,
jewellery, linen-thread, ribbons, and cutlery are
industries. Bois-le-Duc was founded in 1184 by
Godfrey III., Duke of Brabant, in a wood, hence
its name. Surrendered to the Dutch in 1629, in
1794 it was taken by the French, in 1814 by the
Prussians. Pop. 35,000.

Bojador (Bo-ya-dor 1 ), CAPE, a headland on the
west coast of Africa, in 26 7' N. lat., 14 29' W.
long. The Portuguese doubled this cape in 1432.

Bojano (Bo-yah'no), an Italian cathedral city,
13 miles SW. of Campobasso. Pop. 3506.

Bokhara (Bok-hah'ra or Bo-liali'ra), the portion
of Turkestan under the rule of the khan (or emir)
of Bokhara, nominally independent, but prac-
tically a vassal state of Russia. It lies between
Russian Turkestan on the N., the Pamir on the
E., Afghanistan on the S., and the Kara-kum
desert on the W. Area, 90,000 sq. m. ; pop.
1,800,000. Only in the neighbourhood of the
rivers is cultivation possible. The rest of the
soil is composed of a stiff arid clay, interspersed
with low sand-hills. Bokhara has only three
rivers of any importance the Amu-Daria or
Oxus, the Zarafshan, and the Karshi, of which
the first reaches the Sea of Aral, the other two
are absorbed in the desert sands. Outlying pro-
vinces of Bokhara, separated by mountains, are
Darwaz, Karategin, Hissar, and Kulab, The
climate is healthy, but subject to great extremes
of heat and cold. The sands of the Oxus yield
gold, and salt, alum, sulphur, and sal-ammoniac
are found. The other products include rice and
cotton, wheat, barley, beet-root, vegetables,
hemp for making bhang, silk, fruits in immense
abundance, tobacco, and the sweet gum or manna
of the camel's thorn. The industry includes the
manufacture of silk-stuffs, cotton-thread, sha-
green, jewellery, cutlery, and firearms. Its geo-
graphical position secures Bokhara the transit-
trade between Russia and the south of Asia ; and
the Transcaspian Railway has increased its pros-
perity. The population consists chiefly of the
aboriginal Tajiks of Persian, and of the dominant
Uzbegs and Turkomans of Turkish origin. Persian
slaves are numerous. The army numbers 30,000,
since 1885 drilled by Russian officers.

Bokhara, corresponding in the main to the
ancient Sogdiana, was conquered in the beginning
of the 8th century by the Arabs, who were dis-
possessed of it in 1232 by Genghis Khan. It fell
into the hands of Timur in 1403, and in 1505 was
taken by the Uzbegs, its present masters. With
the accession of the Khan Nasrullah (1826) the
country became an object of rivalry to Britain
and Russia, who in vain sent envoys to cultivate
his friendship. After the capture of Tashkend
by the Russians in 1865, the khan was compelled
to oppose them, but was utterly defeated at the
battle of Irdjar, May 20, 1866 ; and in July 1868
a peace Avas concluded by which Samarkand was
ceded to the czar. During the invasion of Khiva
in 1873 the khan assisted the Russians, and was
rewarded by a large addition to his territory
from the Khivan possessions. In 1882 a Russian
political agent was appointed.

BOKHARA, the capital, is situated on a plain
a few miles from the Zarafshan, in the midst of
trees and gardens. It is between 8 and 9 miles
in circumference, and surrounded by embattled
mud walls about 24 feet high, and pierced by
eleven gates. The houses are built of sun-
burned bricks on a wooden framework. The
palace of the khan occupies an eminence over
200 feet in height in the centre of the city.
The mosques, which are said (fabulously) to be
365 in number, form one of the greatest features
of Bokhara, which is the centre of religious life
in Central Asia. The city has long been cele-
brated as a seat of learning, and contains about
80 colleges, said to be attended by some 5000
students. Bokhara is still the most important

BOLAN PASS

111

BOLIVIA

commercial town in Central Asia, although the
gradual drying up of the Zarafshan, through the
Russian irrigation-works at Samarkand, has
lessened the population by about a half. Silks,
woollens, and swords are manufactured, and
large slave-markets are held ; but the most
striking feature of the town is its numerous
bazaars, filled with the richest wares of Europe
and of Asia. Bokhara was in 1888 connected by
the Transcaspian Railway with Merv, and so
with the Caspian ports. The pop. is estimated
at 70,000. See TURKESTAN ; the History of Bok-
hara, by Vambery ; Wolff's Narrative of a Mission
to Bokhara (1845) ; and works on Central Asia, by
Vambery (1874-85), Boulger (1879), Von Hellwald
(1874), Lansdell (1885), and Curzon (1888).

Bolan' Pass, a narrow, precipitous gorge,
ascending nearly 55 miles north-westward to the
broad plateau of Dasht-i-Bidaulat, in Beluchistan,
and lying pretty directly between Sind and Kan-
dahar. Its entrance and its outlet are respec-
tively 800 and 5800 feet above the sea, it thus
having an average gradient of fully 90 feet to
the mile. Down the pass pours a torrent, now
at many points bridged by a good military road ;
and in 1885-86 a military railway was laid. In
parts of it there are three rails, the central one
being toothed to catch a cogwheel on the engine.
The route is highly defensible, and is commanded
by the fortress at Quetta (since 1877 British), 25
miles from the upper end. It is overhung by
eminences attaining a height of 800 feet.

Bolbec, a busy town in the French dep. of
Seine-Inferieure, 19 miles BNE. of Havre by rail.
It manufactures woollens, linen, cotton, and
chemicals. Pop. 12,000.

Bolchov. See BOLKHOV. A

Bolgary, a village of 150 houses in the Russian
government of Kazan, near the Volga. It occu-
pies the site of Bolgar, the old Bulgarian capital.

Bolgrad, a town in the Russian province of
Bessarabia, 28 miles NW. of Ismail, at the head
of Lake Yapuch. Pop. 13,000.

Boll, an ancient town of Asia Minor, on the
left bank of the river Boli, 136 miles E. by S. of
Constantinople. Pop. 5000.

Bolingbroke, a ruined castle, Lincolnshire, 3J
miles W. by S. of Spilsby. Henry IV. was born
here.

Bolivar (Bolee'var), the name of several states
of South America. (1) A state of Colombia,
W. of the Magdalena. Area, 21,345 sq. m. ; pop.
300,000. Capital, Cartagena ; chief port, Barran-
quilla. (2) A state of Venezuela ; pop. 50,289.

Bolivia, a republic on the west side of South
America, deriving its name from the liberator
Bolivar, and formed in 1825, till which year, as
Upper Pern, it had formed part of the vice-
royalty of Buenos Ayres. It is enclosed by
Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, the Argentine Republic,
and Chili. Its coast provinces Bolivia lost to
Chili through the war carried on by Bolivia and
Peru against Chili in 1879-83. The area of the
republic is new 536,000 sq. in., and the popu-
lation is probably under 1,800.000, though some
estimates give 2,300,000. Bolivia contains the
greater part of. the loftiest and most moun-
tainous district of America, as comprising a sec-
tion of the Andes system at its broadest exten-
sion. The lofty plateau of Oruro, with an aver-
age height of 13,000 feet, and about 150 miles
broad, is enclosed between the Andes proper
(now the western boundary of Bolivia), arid the
Cordillera Real, to the east. There are also inter-

mediate ranges and isolated groups ; of the vol-
canoes, all the western region, Sahama, Illampu,
and Illimani, are over 21,000 feet high. The
great plateau falls into two parts, of which the
northern is the more inhabited, as containing the
Lake of Titicaca and many well-watered valleys
round it. The southern and lower tableland is
chiefly a desert. The Cordillera Real system
descends abruptly, on the north, to the plain of
the Amazon : but its eastern edge is a series of
terraces, sinking gently to the plains of eastern
Bolivia, which in the north belong to the Amazon
basin, and in the south to the pampas of the
Plata.

Although situated entirely within the tropics,
Bolivia, from its varied elevation, possesses a
wide range of climate and productions. In the
punas (over 11,000 feet high) the climate is cold
and dry, and the vegetation scanty. The valleys
of the eastern terraces, between 9500 and 11,000
feet, have a temperate climate, and wheat and
maize are produced ; in those between 5000 and
9500 feet, tropical fruits flourish. East of the
inner Cordillera lie the plains under the 5000
feet limit. This district, with its numerous
streams, its luxuriant tropical vegetation, its
rich forests of valuable trees in the north, and
its immense open savannahs in the south, sur-
passes most countries of South America in fertility
and resources. Coffee, rice, cacao, coca, pine-
apples, bananas, tobacco, cotton, and the valu-
able cinchona are cultivated ; and among other
important plants are the copal and caoutchouc
trees. In the punas are found the guanaco,
llama, alpaca, vicuna, and the chinchilla ; in the
east, jaguars and tapirs. Mining is the most
important industry of the country ; for its gold,
silver, copper, and tin ores have long been famous,
in spite of the excessive cost of transport. The
mines of Potosi are estimated to have produced
since 1545 over 600,000,000 sterling of silver.
Potosi, Oruro, and the richest mine, Huanchaca,
still produce large quantities annually. From the
landlocked position of the republic, its foreign
trade labours under heavy disadvantages, for its
great rivers, flowing mainly by the Madeira to
the Amazon, and by the Pilcomayo to the Parana,
are rendered unnavigable by rapids. More is to
be hoped for from the railways, which have
reached Bolivia from Chili, Peru, and Argentina ;
telegraphs also connect Bolivia with the outer
world. The exports are stated to have an annual
value of 1,800,000 two-thirds silver, and the
imports 1,200,000. The exports to Great Britain
vary from 140,000 to 200,000; the imports
from thence from 45,000 to 100,000, being
chiefly iron, cotton, woollen, and manufactured
goods.

The population of Bolivia is a mixture of half-
caste Spaniards and Indians, and a few negroes.
The Indians are partly civilised (Quichuas and
Aymaras), partly semi-civilised (Cliiquitos and
Moxos), and partly wild. The religion of the
country is Roman Catholic, but others are toler-
ated. There are five universities ; but only 5 per
cent, of the children of school age attend the
schools.

The executive is vested in a president, with
two vice-presidents, and a ministry divided into
five departments ; while the legislature consists
of a congress of two chambers, the Senate and
the House of Representatives, both elected by
universal suffrage. The public revenue, between
700,000 and 800,000, is usually greatly exceeded
by the expenditure. The public debt is set
down at about 2,000,000. The seat of the execu-

BOLKHOV

112

BOMBAY

tive government, formerly La Paz, was trans-
ferred in 1869 to Oruro, and now changes between
Oruro and Sucre. The chief towns are La Paz
(45,000), Cochabamba (14,705), Chuquisaca or
Sucre (12,000), and Potosi (11,000). Bolivia de-
clared its independence 6th August 1825. Its
history has been largely a series of restless and
purposeless revolutions. Slavery was abolished
in 1836. In 1879 a war broke out between Chili
and Bolivia allied with Peru, of which the issue
was disastrous to the allies.

See, besides books of travel in German or French
by Tschudi (1856), D'Ursel (1879), and Wiener
(1880), works on Bolivia by Church (1873),
Mathews (1879), and Child (New York, 1894).

Bolkhov, a cathedral city of Russia, on the
river Nugra, 37 miles N. of Orel. Pop. 26,395.

Bollington, a Cheshire town, 3 miles N. by
B. of Macclesfield, with cotton and silk factories.
Pop. 5913.

Bologna (Bolon'ya), one of the most ancient
cities of Italy, beautifully situated on a fertile
plain at the foot of the lower slopes of the Apen-
nines, 82 m. N. of Florence, and 135 SE. of Milan
by rail. An irregular hexagon, it is enclosed by a
high brick wall, 5 to 6 miles in extent, with
twelve gates, and is intersected by the canal of
Eeno. It has many fine palaces of the nobility ;
over 70 churches, including the cathedral and
San Domenico, with the tomb of St Dominic,
richly ornamented by Michael Angelo ; and two
remarkable leaning towers (c. 1100) the Asinella,
with a height of 274 feet, and a lean of 3$ feet,
and the Garisenda, with a height of 137 feet, and
a lean of 8J feet. The university of Bologna, the
oldest in Europe, celebrated its eighth centenary
in 1888. Medicine has long superseded law as the
principal study, and the discovery of Galvanism
by one of its professors has shed a lustre on
the university, which was the earliest school for
the practice of dissection of the human body.
For centuries learned female professors have pre-
lected within its walls. The number of students,
stated at 10,000 in 1262, now is only about 1400.
Bologna also possesses an academy of music
(1805), at which Rossini studied. The university
library contains 160,000 vols. and 6000 MSS., and
there is besides a city library of 120,000 vols.
The Accademia delle Belle Arti is particularly
rich in the works of those native artists who
founded the Bolognese school of painting. Bo-
logna has given eight popes and more than 200
cardinals to the Church. There are some manu-
factures, including silk goods, velvet, crape, wax
candles, musical instruments, chemical products,
paper, cards, and 'polony' sausages. Pop. (1872)
115,957 ; (1901) 152,000. The Etruscan Felsina,
and afterwards as Bononia the chief town of
the Boii, Bologna in 180 B.C. was made a
Roman colony. After the fall of the Roman
empire, it passed into the hands of the Longo-
bards and Franks ; by Charlemagne was made
a free city, but in 1506 came under the papal
supremacy.

Bolor-Tagh, a lofty border-ridge of the Pamir
plateau, ranging SW. toNE., which falls abruptly
to Kashgaria.

Bolsena (Bolsay'na ; anc. VolslniV), a town on
the north shore of the Lake of Bolsena (Lacus
Volsiniensis), 20 miles NNW. of Viterbo. It now
has only 2214 inhabitants ; but prior to 280 B.C.
it was one of the twelve Etruscan cities. The
lake, about 10 miles long and 8 broad, occupies
a volcanic hollow.

Bol'sover, a village of Derbyshire, 6 miles E. of

Chesterfield. Bolsover Castle .belongs to the
Duke of Portland. Pop. of urban district, 6844.

Bolsward, an old town of Friesland, 15 miles
SW. of Leeuwarden. Pop. 6939.

Bolton, or BOLTON-LE-MOORS, an important
manufacturing town and parliamentary, muni-
cipal, and county borough in South Lancashire,
on the Croal, 11 miles NW. of Manchester. It
was celebrated as far back as the time of Henry
VIII. for its cotton and its woollen manufactures,
introduced by Flemish clothiers in the 14th cen-
tury. Emigrants from France and the Rhenish
Palatinate subsequently introduced new branches
of manufacture ; and the improvements in cotton-
spinning of the middle of the 18th century
rapidly increased the trade of the town. Though
Arkwright was at one time a resident, and
Crompton lived all his life in Bolton parish, the
opposition of the working-classes long retarded
the adoption, in the town, of their inventions
the spinning-frame and the mule. Bolton, con-
taining more than 100 cotton-mills, with about 4
million of spindles, is now one of the principal
seats of the cotton manufacture in Lancashire.
Muslins, fine calicoes, quiltings, counterpanes,
dimities, &c., are manufactured. There are also
extensive foundries and ironworks, bleaching-
mills, chemical works, paper-mills, and dyeworks,
with many neighbouring coal-mines. Bolton has
public libraries and a museum, a public park
and recreation grounds, a town-hall (1873), which
cost 170,250, market-hall, fish-market, exchange,
mechanics' institute, &c., and a water-supply
from Entwisle Moor, 5 miles away. Bolton was
the birthplace of the daily evening press. During
the Civil War the Parliament garrisoned Bolton ;
in 1644 it was stormed by the Earl of Derby, who
was beheaded here in 1651 on a spot now marked
by his statue. Since 1832 it has returned two
members. Pop. (1871) 92,655; (1881) 105,973;
(1891) 115,002 ; (1901) 168,215.

Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire, on the river Wharfe,
6 miles E. of Skipton, and 21 NW. of Leeds.
Founded for Augustinian canons about 1150, it
is celebrated in Wordsworth's White Doe of
Rylstone and The Force of Prayer. The remains
range from Early English to Perpendicular ; and
the nave of the church has been restored for
service. The gateway, familiar through Land-
seer's picture, has been incorporated in Bolton
Hall, a seat of the Duke of Devonshire.

Boma, the capital of the Congo State (q.v.).

Bo'marsund, a Russian fortress on Aland
Island, commanding the Gulf of Bothnia. In
1854 it was destroyed by an Anglo-French force,
after a six days' bombardment. The Treaty of
Paris bound Russia not to restore it.

Bombay, the western province of India. In-
cluding Sind and Aden (q.v.), it comprises 26
British districts and 19 native or feudatory
states, and contains 194,189 sq. m., of which
69,045 are in native states. The Nerbudda River
divides the 'presidency' into two portions: in
the north is Guzerat, chiefly consisting of alluvial
plains, with the Cutch and Kathiawar penin-
sulas ; to the south is the Mahratta country,
which includes parts of the Deccan, Carnatic, and
Konkan or coast-districts. The small territories
of the Portuguese Goa, Daman, and Diu have
an area of 1062 sq. m. The coast-line is irregular,
broken by the gulfs of Cambay and Cutch, with
several fine natural harbours, Bombay and Kar-
achi (Kurrachee) being the most important ; in
the north are the Khirtar, in the south-east are

BOMBAY CITY

113

BO'NESS

the western Aravalli mountains ; the Sahyadris
or Western Ghats run almost parallel with the
coast ; the Satpura range runs east, and forms
the watershed between the Tapti and Nerbudda.
Sind is fertilised throughout by the Indus ; the
Subarmati and Main flow through North Guzerat ;
the Nerbudda pursues a western course into the
Gulf of Cainbay. The Tapti flows through Khan-
desh, entering the sea above Surat. The Runn
of Cutch (q.v.), in the west of Guzerat, covers
about 8000 sq. m., and is the great source of salt-
supply. There are few minerals, and no coal ;
iron is mined at Teagar in Dharvar, and there is
gold amongst the quartz. Good building-stone is
abundant, with limestone and slate. In the dry
sandy districts of Sind, the thermometer has
reached 130 in the shade ; the mean temperature
in Lower Sind, during the hottest months, is
98 in the shade. The coast-districts are hot and
moist, with a heavy rainfall during the monsoon.
The tableland of the Deccan has an agreeable
climate, except during the hot months.

Of late years, manufacturing industries have
been extremely active in Bombay, which com-
mands the richest cotton-fields in India. The
stoppage of the American cotton-supply dur-
ing the civil war gave a grand impulse to the
trade of Bombay, where the first mill had been
started in 1854, the exports of cotton during the
five years 1861-66 averaging in value 21,582,847
a year. The wealth poured into Bombay at this
period led to a vast extension of the trade, which
partly continued after the period of inflation had
passed. Not only does Bombay now compete
with Manchester in the Indian market ; it exports
its own manufactures. After cotton, the other
great staples are opium, wheat, and seeds. The
trade in opium is worth nearly five millions
sterling annually, two millions being the clear
revenue derived by government from a pass duty
of 550 rupees a chest. Although of recent origin,
the wheat trade has assumed large proportions.
Other principal exports are sugar, tea, raw wool,
woollen shawls, fibres, and drugs ; while among
the imports are machinery, metals, oils, coal, and
liquors. There is a considerable trade in Arab
horses. Silk- weaving is carried on at Ahmedabad,
Surat, Nasik, Yeola, and Poona ; carpets are made
at Alnnednagar ; cutlery, armour, and gold and
silver work in Cutch. Pop. (1891) of native
states, 8,059,298; of British territory, 18,901,123
reduced by 1901 by famine and plague to
6,908,648 and 18,559,561 respectively.
Bombay City occupies the entire breadth of
te SE. end of Bombay Island or Peninsula,
ordering at once on the harbour inside, and on
Back Bay outside. The island, now permanently
jnnected by causeways and breakwaters with
ilsette Island and the mainland, is over 11 miles
ig by from 3 to 4 broad. The island-studded
irbour is one of the finest in the world ; the
available for shipping being about 14 miles
length by 5 broad. Bombay is the most Euro-
n in appearance of all the cities in India. In
business part there are several streets con-
inuously lined with splendid buildings ; while
e bazaars, which extend from the fort towards
lazagaon, are traversed by fairly wide streets,
ensive lines of tramways passing through even
most crowded parts. Many of the private
houses of European residents are built on the
suburb of Malabar Hill, the ridge running into
the sea forming the west of Back Bay ; and at
Breach Candy looking seaward. On the espla-
nade, facing Back Bay, are the secretariat, the
university, senate-hall, high court, offices of

public works, sailors' home, and statue of the
Queen. In the neighbourhood of the fort are
the town-hall, the mint, cathedral, and custom-
house. The terminus of the Great Indian Penin-
sular Railway, opened in 1876, cost upwards of
300,000. The harbour is defended by batteries
and ironclads. It has an extensive system of
quays, wharves, and docks, extended in 1904-11
at a cost of 35,000,000 rupees. Mazagaon Bay,
the centre of shipping activity, is at the head of
the harbour. The city water-supply, equal to
100,000,000 gallons a day, has since 1892 been
drawn from the Tansa valley, 65 miles N. Always
favourably situated for foreign trade, Bombay
has profited largely by being the first important
port reached by vessels from Europe, and by
being tlie terminus of the mail line to India by
Suez and Aden, so that it stands next to Cal-
cutta in amount of trade. The chief articles of
export are cotton, wheat, shawls, opium, coffee,
pepper, ivory, and gums ; the chief imports, piece-
goods, thread, yarn, metals, wine, beer, tea, and
silk. The chief industries of the city are dye-
ing, tanning, and working in metal. The imports
of the province of Bombay in the period 1885-
1903 varied in annual value from 20,000,000 to
30,000,000; the exports from 23,000,000 to
31,000,000. With 60 large steam-mills, Bombay
in one aspect resembles a city in Lancashire.
Pop. (1881) 773,19(5 ; (1891) 821,764 ; (1901, after
famine and plague) 776,000. In 1509, about a
year before the capture of Goa, the Portuguese
visited the island ; and by 1532 they had made it
their own. In 1661 they ceded it to Charles II.
of England, as part of Catharine of Braganza's
dowry, and in 1668 he granted it for an annual
payment of 10 to the East India Company,
which in 1685 transferred what was then its prin-
cipal presidency to Bombay from Surat. Bombay
was the birthplace of Dean Farrar, Sir Monier
Williams, and Rudyard Kipling. See Sir W.
Hunter's Bombay (1892).

Bommel, a town of Holland, on the Waal, 20
miles SSE. of Utrecht. Pop. 3835. The Bom-
melerwaard is a fertile island-district (16 by 6
miles), formed by the Waal and Maas.

Bona (Fr. Bone), a seaport of Algeria, on a bay
of the Mediterranean, near the mouth of the
Sebus, 220 miles W. of Tunis by rail. It has
good bazaars, manufactures of tapestry, saddlery,
and native clothing ; and a trade in wool, hides,
com, fec. The exposed roadstead has been made
into a fair harbour. There are iron and copper
mines near Bona, and some scanty remains of
Hippo Regius, St Augustine's episcopal seat,
destroyed by Calif Osman in 646. Pop. 32,500.

Bonaire. See BUEN-AYRE.

Bonar, a Sutherland village, at the head of
Dornoch Firth, 14 miles WNW. of Tain. Pop.
366. Telford's bridge (1812) here was destroyed
in 1892, but has been rebuilt.

Bona Vista, a bay, cape, and seaport (pop.
2500) on the east coast of Newfoundland.

Bonchurch, a village, Isle of Wight, 1 mile B.
of Ventnor.

Bondu a country of French Senegambia,
Africa, to the W. of Bambouk, on the lower
Senegal and Faleme rivers, lying between 14
15 N. lat. and 12 13 W. long. The Fulah
inhabitants are Mohammedans. Pop. variously
estimated at from 30,000 to 100,000.

Bo'ness or BORROWSTOUNNESS, a seaport in
Linlithgowshire, on the Firth of Forth, 23 miles
WNW. of Edinburgh. It has a wet-dock of 7i
acres (1881), a large shipping trade in coal, and

BONHILL

114

BORDEAUX

manufactures of salt, soap, malt, vitriol, iron,
earthenware, &c. Graham's Dyke, otherwise
Antoninus' Wall, traverses the parish. Dugald
Stewart spent his last twenty years at Kinneil
House (Duke of Hamilton's) in the neighbour-
hood. Pop. (1851) 2645 ; (1901) 9306.

Bonhill, a Dumbartonshire town, with dye-
works, on the Leven's left bank, opposite Alex-
andria, and 4 miles N. of Dumbarton. Bonhill
was the seat of the Smolletts. Pop. 3343.

Boni, a small state in the south-west penin-
sula of Celebes, now practically Dutch, with an
area of 935 sq. m. The inhabitants, called Bugis,
have an allied language to the Macassars, and as
enterprising merchants and sailors are found in
every port of the East Indian Archipelago. The
pop. by some estimates amounts to 200,000. The
capital, Boni, stands on the east coast of the
peninsula. The GULF OF BONI, 200 miles long,
and 40-80 broad, separates the south-east and
south-west peninsulas of Celebes.

Bonifacio, STRAIT OF (Boneefat'cTio), the strait
between Corsica and Sardinia, only 7 miles wide
at the narrowest. It is named from the Corsican
seaport of Bonifacio ; pop. 3397.

Bonillo (Boneel'yo), a town of Spain, 34 miles
WNW. of Albacete. Pop. 4996.

Bonin', or (Japanese) OGASAWARA ISLANDS, a
volcanic group in the Pacific Ocean, 700 miles
SSE. of Japan, where 27 N. lat. crosses 142 E.
long. Area, 30 sq. m. ; pop. 1500. Discovered by
Quast and Tasman in 1639, they were taken
possession of by Britain in 1827 ; but in 1878
the Japanese reasserted their sovereignty, with
the view of making them a penal settlement.
The harbour is Port Lloyd.

Bonn (anc. Bonna), a town of Rhenish Prussia,
beautifully situated on the left bank of the
Rhine (here 600 yards wide), 21 miles SSE. of
Cologne by rail. The Minster, said to have been
founded by the Empress Helena in 320, but
dating chiefly from the llth and 13th centuries,
has live towers, the middle one 311 feet high.
Near it is a monument to Beethoven, who was
born in the Rheingasse ; and at Bonn are buried
Niebuhr, Bunsen, and Schumann. The uni-
versity, founded in 1777-86, in 1802 was trans-
formed into a lyceum, but was re-established in
1818, receiving from government the beautiful
electoral palace (1717-30) and other buildings,
with an annual revenue of nearly 15,000 sterling.
It has 126 professors and lecturers, and over 1200
students. Among its professors have been Nie-
buhr, A. W. Schlegel, Arndt, Welcker, Dahlmann,
Hermes, and Simrock; Prince Albert was a
student here. It has a library of above 250,000
volumes, a splendid laboratory (1868), an art
museum (1884), a botanic garden, &c. The
manufactures jute, soap, chemicals, &c. are
unimportant. Pop. (1871) 26,030 ; (1890) 38,805 ;
(1900) 50,737, chiefly Catholic.

Bonny, or BONI, a town and a river of Guinea,
now in the British Niger protectorate. The river
forms an eastern debouchure of the Niger, and
falls into the Bight of Biafra. On the east side,
near its mouth, is the town of Bonny, notorious
from the 16th to the 19th century as the rendez-
vous of slave-trading ships.

Bonnyrigg, a Midlothian town, 7 miles S. of
Edinburgh. Pop. 2924.

Bonyhad, a market-town of Hungary, 150 miles
S. of Budapest. Pop. 5970.

Bonsall, a Derbyshire village, 2 miles SW. of
Matlock. Pop. of urban district, 1360.

Booby Island, a level rock in Torres Strait, in
10 36' S. lat., and 141 53' E. long., 3 feet above
high water, and i mile in diameter.
Boodroorn. See BUDRUN.
Boom, a town of Belgium, 10 miles S. of Ant-
werp, with great brick and tile works, breweries,
tanneries, rope-walks, sailcloth manufactures,
salt-works, &c. Pop. 16,239.
Boondee. See BUNDI.

Boone, a city of Iowa, 43 miles NW. of De3
Moines, in a coal-mining district, with flour-
nills, potteries, and tile-works. Pop. 10,000.

Booneville, a city of Missouri, on the Missouri
River, 40 miles NW. of Jefferson City. Pop. 5000.
Bootan. See BHUTAN.

Boothia Felix, a peninsula on the north coast
of North America, in which is the most northern
rt of the continent, Murchison Point, 73 54'
lat. It was discovered by Sir John Ross
(1829-33), and named, like the neighbouring
Boothia Isthmus and Boothia Gulf, after Sir
Felix Booth (1775-1850), a London distiller, who
had furnished 17,000 for the expedition. Here,
on the western coast, near Cape Adelaide, Ross
discovered the magnetic pole, 70 5' 17" N. lat.,
and 96 46' 45" W. long.

Bootle, a municipal (1868) and county borough
of Lancashire, to the north of and adjoining
Liverpool, which includes a large portion of the
Mersey dock system. It has a municipal techni-
cal college (1900). Pop. (1861) C500 ; (1881) 27,112 ;
(1891) 49,217 ; (1901) 58,556.

Booton, or BOUTON, an island off the coast of
the south-eastern ray of Celebes. The people are
Malays. The sultan, who resides at Bolio, is in
allegiance to the Dutch. Area, 1700 miles ; pop.
17,000.

Boppard (anc. Baudobriga), a town of Rhenish
Prussia, on the left bank of the Rhine, 10 miles
S. of Coblenz. Pop. 5894.

Bordeaux (Bor-do 1 ), the third seaport of France,
and chief town in the dep. of Gironde, is beauti-
fully situated in a plain on the left bank of the
Garonne, about 60 miles from its mouth in the
Atlantic, and 359 miles SSW. of Paris by rail.
Transatlantic steamers can easily ascend with the
flood to Bordeaux, which is accessible at all times
to vessels of 600 tons. The commerce both by
the Garonne and by railways is very extensive,
and the long and crescent-shaped harbour, pro-
viding anchorage for 1200 ships, has a singularly
noble appearance. The river is crossed by a
bridge 532 yards long, erected in 1811-21. The
archiepiscopal cathedral of St Andre, consecrated
in 1096, is remarkable for its beautiful towers,
designed and built by English architects during
the English occupation. Bordeaux contains a
faculty of science and letters (rebuilt in 1885-87,
and constituting part of the university of France,
with 1500 students), schools of theology, medi-
cine, art, and navigation, an academy of arts
and sciences, a valuable gallery of paintings, a
museum, and an observatory. The Grand Theatre
is one of the largest and finest buildings of its
kind in France. The public library has upwards
of 160,000 volumes. Pop. (1872) 190,682 ; (1891)
247,890 ; (1901) 257,638.

The principal branches of industry are the pro-
duction or preparation of sugar, brandy, liqueurs,
vinegar, tobacco, printed calicoes, woollen goods,
casks, paper, earthenware, glass bottles, capsules,
labels, and chemical products. There are large
dockyards, but little shipbuilding. The old
Canal du Midi connects Bordeaux with the Medi-

BOKDELAIS

115

BORNEO

terranean. Except those of Champagne, no
French wines have been so much exported to
foreign countries as those grown in the dep. o:
Gironde, especially the Medoc, and known as
Bordeaux wines. Some of them are red (knowi:
in England as Claret), others white. Brandy,
vinegar, fruit, fish, lace, jewellery, ready-made
clothing, and skins are also among the principal
exports, the largest trade being with England
and South America. Bordeaux is an important
centre of the French cod-fishing ships for New
foundland and elsewhere.

Remains of the Roman Burdigala, which was
made by Hadrian the capital of Aquitania Secunda,
are the so-called 'palace of Gallienus,' really the
ruins of a large amphitheatre. Having suffered
successively from Vandals, Goths, Franks, and
Moors, Bordeaux was taken by Charles Martel
In 735 ; as the capital of the duchy of Guienne,
in 1152 passed, by the marriage of Eleanor of
Guienne with the future Henry II. of England,
under English dominion ; and was finally restored
to France in 1451. It was the birthplace of the
poet Ausonius, Richard II. of England, and Rosa
Bonheur.

Bordelais (Bordelay"), the country round about
Bordeaux, was a recognised division of Guienne.
Bordentown, a town of New Jersey, on the
Delaware, 28 miles ENE. of Philadelphia. It
has iron-foundries, machine-shops, shirt-factories,
and shipyards. Pop. 4232.

Borders, the tract of country lying immediately
on both sides of the frontier line between Eng-
land and Scotland, which runs diagonally north-
east or south-west, between the head of the
Solway Firth at the latter extremity, and a point
a little north of the mouth of the Tweed at the
other extremity ; the counties touching upon this
line being Cumberland and Northumberland on
the English side, and Dumfries, Roxburgh, and
Berwick on the Scottish side. The distance
between the two extremities is nearly 70 miles
as the crow flies ; but, following the frontier line
in its irregularities, about 110 miles. The line of
division is for the most part a natural one. The
middle portion, extending 35 miles, is formed by
the high barrier of the Cheviot range. Leaving
the Cheviots in the south-west, the line descends
for nearly 22 miles by Kershope Burn, and the
waters of the Liddel, Esk, and Sark, to the Sol-
way Firth. From the north-east extremity of
the Cheviots, the windings of the Tweed, for
about 13 miles eastward, form the natural
boundary. But at a point about 5 miles from
the mouth of that river, the line strikes out
semicircularly in a north-easterly direction, till
it reaches the east coast a few miles north of the
town of Berwick-on-Tweed ; the space thus en-
closed, embracing within it what are known as
the ' Liberties ' of that town, having been at one
time regarded as neutral territory between the
two kingdoms. On the western Border, near
1 the Solway, was a corresponding tract of country
claimed by both kingdoms, and hence called the
Debateable Land.' For the history, traditions,
I minstrelsy, &c., of the Border country, see works
I by Ridpath (1776), Scott (1803), Veitch (1878) and
Groome (1887), with others upon the counties.

Bordighera (Bordigay'ra), a winter-resort in the

Italian Riviera, on a hill overlooking the Mediter-

I ranean, 7 miles WSW. of San Remo by rail. It

I was founded in 1470, but its modern progress

dates from the opening of the Cornice road in

823, and of railway communication. Pop. 4556.

Bor'eray, a Hebridean island, Inverness-shire,

1 sq. m. in area, 3 miles W. of North Uist
Pop. 112.

Borgerhout, an Antwerp suburb, on the Schyn,
has tapestry and tobacco factories, and dye and
bleaching works. Pop. 36,388.

Borgo, a name given to a number of towns
and villages in Italy and Southern Tyrol, and
indicating the growth of the town or village
around a castle or castellated rock, the original
Borgo. Thus there are the Borgo, the north part
of Rome, on the right bank of the Tiber ; Borgo-
Manero, an Italian town in the province of
Novara, with 4821 inhabitants ; Borgo San Don-
nino, in the province of Parma, with 4493, &c.

Borgu, or BUSSANGA, a country in the basin
of the middle Niger (right bank), of which the
western (and larger) part is now French and the
eastern is a province of (British) Northern Nigeria.
At Boussa or Bussang (now British) on the Nicer
Mungo Park lost his life in 1805.

Borissov, a town in the Russian government
of Minsk, on the Beresina, 418 miles WSW. of
Moscow by rail. Pop. 14,235.

Borkum, an East Frisian island, at the mouth
of the Ems, 25 miles NW. of Emden. Pop. 684,
increased in summer by over 2000 visitors.

Bormio, an Italian village with eight hot sul-
phur-baths, on the borders of Tyrol, 27 miles
NNE. ofTirano. Pop. 1744.

Borna, a town of Saxony, on the Wyhra, 17
miles SSE. of Leipzig by rail. Pop. 8350.

Borneo, next to Australia and New Guinea the
largest island in the world, is situated in the
Indian Archipelago, in 7 3' N. 4 10' S. lat., and
108 53' 119 22' E. long. It is bounded on the
E. by the Sea of Celebes and the Macassar Strait
S. by the Sea of Java, W. and N. by the Gulf of
Siam and the China Sea. Its length is about
800 miles, with a breadth of 700, and an area of
about 284,000 sq. m. The population is estimated
at 1,875,000. In the far north rises the magni-
ficent mass of Kinabalu (13,698 feet high), the
culminating peak of the Indian Archipelago.
Throughout the narrow northern portion of the
island there runs a kind of central ridge in a
general south-west direction, with highest points
ranging from 4000 to 8000 feet ; and this can be
traced far to the south-west. Of modern vol-
canic activity there is in Borneo no trace. Many
of the rivers are navigable far inland for boats
of considerable burden, but their value as water-
ways is lessened by the bars which usually pre-
vent the entrance of sea-going vessels, and in
their upper reaches by frequent rapids and occa-
sional waterfalls. There are many lakes. The
climate in the low grounds is humid, hot, and
unhealthy for Europeans ; but in the higher parts
towards the north- the temperature is generally
moderate, the thermometer at noon varying
from 81 to 91 F. Vegetation is extremely luxu-
riant. The forests produce ironwood, bilian,
teak, ebony, sandalwood, gutta-percha, dye-
woods, benzoin, wax, dragon's blood, sago, cam-
phor, various resins, vegetable oils, and gums.
Nutmegs, cloves, cinnamon, pepper, betel, gin-
ger, rice, millet, sweet potatoes, yams, cotton,
sugar, indigo, tobacco, coffee, pine-apples, coco-
luts, &c., are cultivated. The mountains and
brests contain many monkeys, among them
the orang-outang. Tapirs, a small kind of tiger,
small Malay bears, swine, wild oxen or banteng,
and various kinds of deer abound. The elephant
s found in the north, and the rhinoceros in the
lorth-west. The few domesticated animals are

BORNHOLM

116

BORROWSTOUNNESS

buffaloes, sheep, goats, dogs, and cats ; horses
are seen in Banjermassin. Among the birds
are eagles, vultures, Argus-pheasants, peacocks,
flamingos, pigeons, parrots, and the swallows
which construct the edible nests prized by
the Chinese for making soup. The rivers, lakes,
and lagoons swarm with crocodiles, and many
kinds of snakes, frogs, lizards, and leeches. Fish
are plentiful, and the coasts are rich in tortoises,
pearl-mussels, oysters, and trepang. Brilliant
butterflies and moths are in great variety. Among
the mineral products are coal, gold, and copper ;
antimony, iron, tin, platina, nickel, diamonds
and other precious stones, rock-crystals, porce-
lain-clay, petroleum, and sulphur.

The population consists of the aboriginal
heathen Dayaks or Dyaks, who constitute the
great bulk of the population ; the Mohammedans
or 'Malays;' and the Chinese. The Dyaks live
chiefly in the interior. The Malays on the coasts
are traders and bold sailors. The Chinese engage
in trade and mining, and are unwearied in their
efforts to make money and then return to their
native country. They have always endeavoured
to live as independent republics under chiefs
chosen by themselves. The principal exports are
gold, gold-dust, diamonds, coal, ratans, gutta-
percha, edible nests, cotton, wax, timber, dye-
woods, mats, resins, sandalwood, camphor, &c. ;
the imports, earthenware, iron, steel, and copper
work, piece-goods, yarns, woollen and silk fabrics,
medicines, provisions, wines, spirits, rice, sugar,
tea, tobacco, opium, gambir, gunpowder, &c.

Borneo has never formed a political unity, and
there is no native designation for the island as
a whole. The name Borneo (Burnei or Brunei)
originally applied to nearly the whole of the
north-west of the island, under a sultan with
absolute authority. The capital, Brunei, 20 miles
from the coast, on the river of the same name,
has at most 20,000 inhabitants ; the total popula-
tion of Borneo proper or Brunei may now be
stated at 125,000. Its area was reduced by the
erection of Sarawak (q.v.) into a practically
independent principality by Sir James Brooke
(1841-68), and by the establishment of the British
North Borneo Company under the charter of
1881. The company has been successful in
appropriating and developing its territory, which,
with an area of 31,000 sq. m., and a coast-line of
900 miles, is divided into nine provinces, and has
its capital at Elopura or Sandakan (pop. 5000).
The population of the territory is estimated at
200,000. Since 1888 both Brunei and Sarawak
have been under British protection ; and since
1891 Labuan is administered by the company.
But by far the largest part of the island is ruled
directly or indirectly by the Dutch, who have
divided it into the Residency of the Western
Division of Borneo, and that of the Southern and
Eastern, the former having Pontianak (q.v.) as
the seat of government, the latter Banjermassin
(q.v.). The population of the Dutch portion of
the island is about 1,200,000, of whom 800 are
Europeans, and 32,000 Chinese. The chief towns
in Borneo are Sambas (10,000), Pontianak (9000),
Banjermassin (30,000), Brunei (20,000), and
Kuching (12,000).

See Wallace, Malay Archipelago (1869); Bur-
bidge, Garden of the Sun (1880) ; Bock, Head-
hunters of Borneo (1881); Frank Hatton, North
Borneo (1885); the Handbook of British North
Borneo (periodical) ; and Posewitz, Borneo (1889 ;
Eng. trans. 1892).

Bornholm (I pronounced), a rock-bound Danish
island in the Baltic, 90 miles E. of Zealand. Area,

226 sq. m. It is traversed by a hill-ridge (511
feet). The capital is Rb'nne or Rottum, on the
west coast, with 7000 inhabitants. Pop. 45,364.

Bornu, or BOENORO, a powerful but declining
state of Central Africa, somewhat larger in ex-
tent than England, bounded on the E. by Lake
Chad, and N. by the Sahara. By treaty with
France of 1890 it is within the British sphere of
influence. The greater part of the country is
perfectly level, and much of it is liable to be
overflowed in the rainy season, which lasts from
October to April. The heat from March to June
is excessive, ranging from 104 to 107 F. The
two principal rivers are the Shari and the
Komaduga Yaobe, both of which fall into Lake
Chad. The soil is fertile, yielding plentiful
crops of maize, millet, and other tropical pro-
duce. Wild beasts are very numerous. The
population, which is estimated at about five
millions, is mostly of negro race, and called
Bornuese or Kanuri. The ruling race, called
Shuwas, are of Arab descent and bigoted Moham-
medans ; but many traces of fetichism remain
among the masses. Whatever they have of civil-
isation is derived from the Arabs. The slave-
trade is eagerly prosecuted in Bornu. In the
beginning of the 19th century, Bornu was con-
quered by the Fellatahs, whose yoke, however,
was soon shaken off. Dr Nachtigal, who visited
Bornu in 1870, described it as rapidly decaying.
The ruins of Birni, the old capital, on the Yaobe,
may still be seen. Kuka or Kukawa, the present
capital, on the west shore of Lake Chad, has a
pop. of about 60,000. Gornu, to the south-east,
is still more populous, and has one of the most
important markets of Central Africa.

Boro Budor ('the great Buddha'), the ruin of
a splendid Buddhist temple in Java, near the
junction of the Ello and Progo. Built probably
between 600 and 1430 A.D., it is a pyramid 520
feet square, and 118 high.

Borodino (Borodee'no), a village of Russia, 70
miles W. of Moscow. It is on the Kaluga, an
affluent of the Moskwa, and gave name to the
great but indecisive battle between Napoleon and
the Russians, 7th September 1812. The French
name the battle from the Moskwa.

Boroughbridge, a market-town of Yorkshire,
on the Ure, 22 miles NW. of York. Edward II.,
in 1322, defeated the Earl of Lancaster here.
Hard by are three great monoliths, the ' Devil's
Arrows,' 16 to 22 feet high. Pop. 824.

Borovitchi, a town of Russia, on the river
Msta, 98 miles E. of Novgorod. Pop. 10,375.

Borovsk, a town of Russia, 49 miles NNE. of
Kaluga. Pop. 9505.

Borris, a village 17 miles S. of Carlow. Pop.
518.

Borrodale, an Inverness-shire estate, on Loch-
na-Nuagh, 35 miles W. by N. of Fort William.
Prince Charles Edward landed here (1745).

Borrome'an Islands, a group of four small
lovely islands in the western arm of Lago Mag-
giore, Northern Italy. They are named after the
ancient family of Borromeo.

Borrowdale, a beautiful valley of Cumberland,
5 miles S. of Keswick, ascending from the head
of Derwentwater towards the Honister Pass.
Here is the Bowder Stone, 89 feet in circumfer-
ence, and 1971 tons in weight. The famous
plumbago mine at Seathwaite in Borrowdale was
closed in 1850.

Borrowstounness. See BO'NESS.

BORSAD

117

BOSTOK

Borsad, a town of northern Bombay ; pop.
13,000.

Borstal, a suburb of Rochester, with a reform-
atory for 'juvenile-adult' criminals.

Berth, a Cardiganshire watering-place, 8 miles
N. of Aberystwith.

Borthwick, a peel-tower with memories of
Queen Mary, 13 miles SSE. of Edinburgh.

Bosa, a cathedral city on the W. coast of
Sardinia, 85 miles NNW. of Cagliari. Pop. 669G.
Boscastle, a Cornish coast-village, 20 miles W.
of Launceston.

Bos'CObel, on the eastern verge of Shropshire,
37 miles N. of Worcester, was, after the defeat of
Worcester (3d September 1651), for two days
the hiding-place of Charles II. His 'Royal
Oak ' is represented by a tree grown from one of
its acorns ; but Boscobel House still stands.

Bosco Reale (Re-ah'leh), an Italian village, 10
miles ESE. of Naples. Pop. 8190.
Bosna-Serai. See SARAJEVO.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, a province lying be-
tween Dalmatia and Slavonia, which has made
rapid progress in prosperity since the Berlin
Treaty of 1878 transferred it from Turkey to
Austria. (Herzegovi'na, locally pron. Hertzegov'ma,
is a Slav word for ' duchy ' formed from the German
Herzog.) Although not formally incorporated by
treaty, these provinces form virtually a portion
of the empire-monarchy, and enjoy the advan-
tages of a settled government. Area, 19,725
sq. in., of which 16,197 belong to Bosnia, and
3528 to Herzegovina ; population, 1,650,000. The
Dinaric Alps, here attaining a maximum altitude
of 7663 feet, form the water-parting between the
Adriatic and Danube basins ; and four rivers
the Unna, the Vrbas, the Bosna (from which
Bosnia takes its name), and the Drina flow
northwards to the Save. Flocks and herds are
largely reared. The commerce is largely In the
hands of Jews, the majority of whom reside in
Sarajevo, the capital, which is now connected by
rail both with Budapest and the Adriatic. With
the exception of the Jews, Gypsies, and some
Osmanli who live in the larger towns of Bosnia,
all the inhabitants of the Illyrian Alps are Slavs,
and in Herzegovina their characteristics are most
strongly marked. The Bosnians themselves,
though united by race, are divided by religion,
Mussulman against Christian, Greek-Orthodox
against Roman Catholic. Hence, in spite of
every natural advantage, they were, unlike their
Servian brethren, unable to emancipate them-
selves from the Turkish yoke. Although they
form little over a third of the population, the
Mussulmans possess more than their share of
landed property. The original population were
doubtless of Illyrian (Albanian) stock, but were
partly extruded, partly Slavonised, during the
great Slav migrations of the early Christian cen-
turies. The country was long dependent on
Hungary, but became a kingdom some thirty
years before the first Turkish invasion (1401).
Soon after 1463 Bosnia was permanently con-
quered by the Turks, and thousands of the
inhabitants were carried off as slaves, the boys
were trained to be janissaries; the most obsti-
nate Christians emigrated, and the bulk of the re-
mainder accepted Islam more or less completely.
Rebellions against the Osmanli power have been
frequent, the Christian element became more
powerful, and in 1878 the time for an Austrian
occupation (bitterly resisted by the Mohammedan
natives) seemed to 'have come.

See Evans, Through Bosnia and Herzegovina on
Foot (1876); Asboth's work (Eng. trans. 1889);
Laveleye's (trans. 1887) and Miller's (1896) on the
Balkans ; and Munro's Bosnia (2d ed. 1900).

Bos'phorus, or BOSPORUS (Latinised forms of
a Greek word meaning 'ox- ford'), the ancient
name of the channel which separates Europe
from Asia, and connects the Black Sea (Euxine)
with the Sea of Marmora (Propontis). It was
so called, according to the legend, from lo, who
swam across in the form of a cow. Afterwards,
as the same name was bestowed upon other straits,
this was designated the Thracian Bosporus. Its
shores are elevated, and throughout its length
the strait has on either side seven bays or gulfs,
with corresponding promontories on the opposite
side. One of these gulfs forms the harbour of
Constantinople, or, as it is often called, the
Golden Horn. Across the Golden Horn is Pera,
and opposite the imperial city, on the other side
of the Bosphorus, is Scutari. The length of the
Bosphorus is about 17 miles, with a breadth of
from little more than mile to 2 miles, and its
average depth is about 30 fathoms. None but
Turkish war-ships may navigate it without con-
sent of the Sublime Porte. See BLACK SEA and
KERTCH.

Bostan' (EL), 'the Garden,' a town of Asiatic
Turkey, on the Sihun, 40 miles NW. of Marash.
Pop. 8500.

Boston, a parliamentary and municipal borough
and seaport in Lincolnshire, on the Witham, 30
miles SE. of Lincoln and 107 miles NE. of London
by rail. Its name is a contraction of ' Botolph's
town,' and it is supposed to occupy the site of
the Benedictine abbey founded on the Witham
by St Botolph in 654, and destroyed in 870 by
the Danes. Under the Normans, Boston became
a place of importance, in 1204 paying the largest
dues (780) of any English port but London
(836). In Edward III. 'a reign many foreign
traders settled, and the merchants of the Han-
seatic League established a guild in Boston.
After their departure, the town declined, and
the suppression of the monasteries by Henry
VIII. further injured it; but his grant of a
charter of incorporation, and Mary's subsequent
grant of extensive lands, partly compensated for
this. The parish church measures 283 by 99 feet,
and is one of the largest without transepts in
England. The Perpendicular tower ('Boston
Stump') is 263 feet high, and terminates in an
octagonal lantern, doubtless intended for a light-
house by land and by sea. The clearing of the
river of silt, the formation of a new channel in
1881, and the opening of a new dock in 1884,
have greatly promoted the trade of Boston, for
ships of 2000 tons can now reach the heart of
the town. The chief exports are coal, machinery,
corn, and wool ; and the imports consist of tim-
ber, maize, cotton-seed, and general merchandise.
Boston is a great market for cattle and sheep,
and has manufactures of canvas, sail-cloth, ropes,
sacking, beer, iron, brass, leather, bricks, whit-
ing, and hats, with some shipbuilding. Fox the
martyrologist, Conington, Jean Ingelow, J.
Westland Marston, and H. Ingram (founder
of the Illustrated London News) were natives.
Since 1885 Boston returns only one member to
parliament. Pop. (1851) 14,733; (1901) 15,667
(parliamentary borough, 20,456).

Boston, capital of Massachusetts, and fifth in
size of the cities of the United States, is situated
on an inlet of Massachusetts Bay, called Boston
Harbour, at the mouths of the Charles and

BOSTON

BOUFARIK

Mystic rivers, 234 miles NE. of New York by
rail. It is connected with Cambridge, on the
other side of the Charles, by several bridges.
Boston possesses an excellent harbour, protected
by several forts, and covering 75 sq. m., with a
minimum depth of 23 feet at low tide ; it has
four fine lighthouses, and is dotted with more
than fifty islands. Eight lines of railway con-
verge here. Boston is reputed to be the wealth-
iest city of America in proportion to its popula-
tion. The chief imports are sugar, wool, hides
(for its large boot and shoe manufactories),
chemicals, flax, and cotton goods ; the principal
exports, meat and dairy products, cattle, bread-
stuffs, cotton, and tobacco. Its manufactures
are very varied ; and its wool market comes next
after that of London in importance. The Charles-
town government navy yard is within the present
limits of Boston, and the city, besides being the
seat of many varied local manufactories, is the
headquarters of heavy railroad, mining, and
insurance interests. Boston is exposed to east
winds, and pulmonary complaints are very preva-
lent; but otherwise its climate is healthy. It
is one of the best built cities in the United States,
prominent among its specimens of elaborate
architecture being Trinity Church and the R. C.
cathedral, the former erected at a cost of 750,000.
The older buildings include the State-house (1795),
with a conspicuous gilded dome, the Old State-
house (1712), Christ Church (1723), Faneuil Hall
(1743), afterwards termed 'The Cradle of Liberty,'
and King's Chapel (1754). Among later public
buildings and institutions may be noted Tremont
Temple, the headquarters of New England Bap-
tists, containing an audience-hall ; the Free
Public Library ; the Post-office and Sub-treasury
building, of granite, erected at a cost of about
$6,000,000 ; the Lowell Institute, for the support
of free public lectures ; besides hospitals, homes,
asylums, orphanages, dispensaries, &c. Among
the higher institutions of learning are the Boston
College (Catholic) ; the Boston University(Metho-
dist) ; schools of technology and industrial sci-
ence ; two conservatories of music, schools of
law and divinity ; and the Massachusetts Medical
College, connected with Harvard University,
which, though located in Cambridge, is virtually
a Boston institution. The ' Hub of the Universe '
has long been noted for the interest taken by its
citizens in literature, science, and art. It has
been the birthplace of many famous men, includ-
ing Franklin, J. S. Copley the painter, and his
son Lord Lyndhurst, Chancellor of England,
E. A. Poe, Emerson, Ticknor, Sumner and Park-
man, as Cambridge was of Holmes and Lowell ;
while associated with it and Cambridge have
been Hawthorne, Longfellow, Agassiz, Whittier,
Motley, Bancroft, Prescott, Channing, T. Parker,
Dana, Margaret Fuller, Thoreau, Aldrich, the
Alcotts, the Jameses, and Howells. The city
possesses some 250 literary, musical, and kin-
dred associations. The number of newspapers
and periodicals (including the Atlantic Monthly)
here published is about 250. Originally founded
in 1630 as Trimountain (from three hills on
which it was built), upon the Shawmut penin-
sula, it was afterwards named Boston, after
Boston in Lincolnshire, the native place of
some of its colonists. The city now comprises
What were formerly the separate towns of Rox-
bury (annexed in 1867), Dorchester (1869), and
Charlestown, West Roxbury, and Brighton (1873).
The conspicuous part borne by the town in the
early troubles with England brought about the
'Boston Massacre' of 1770, in which several

people were killed by the fire of the soldiery;
and after the destruction of the British-taxed
tea in the harbour (1773), the port was practically
closed, and the town occupied by a British force,
which, in March 1776, was finally compelled to
evacuate the place (see BUNKER HILL). From
1830 to 1860 Boston was the headquarters of the
movement for the suppression of slavery. The
city has suffered from several destructive confla-
grations, notably that of 1872. Pop. (1800) 24,937 ;
(1840)93,383; (1860)177,840; (1880) 362,839 ; (1890)
448,447 ; (1900) 560,892. See Winsor's History of
Boston (4 vols. 1880-82).

Boston Spa, a pretty watering-place in the West
Riding of Yorkshire, on the Wharfe, 3 miles
NW. of Tadcaster.

Bosworth, or MARKET BOSWORTH, a market-
town, Leicestershire, 12 miles W. by S. of
Leicester. On a moor 2 miles S. Richard III.
was defeated and slain (1485). Pop. of parish, 836.

Boszor'meny, a town of Hungary, 10 miles
NNW. of Debreczin. Pop. 25,238.

Botany Bay, a shallow inlet of New South
Wales, 5 miles S. of Sydney, discovered by Cook
in 1770, and named by him from the number of
new plants in its vicinity. In 1787 Botany Bay
received England's first penal colony in the east ;
and though it was supplanted next year by Port
Jackson, a better harbour to the north, it long
continued to be the popular designation of the
Australian convict settlements generally.

Bothnia, GULF OF, that part of the Baltic
Sea (q.v.) which lies to the north of the Aland
Islands, having on its eastern shore Finland, on
the western and northern Sweden and Lapland.
It extends from 60 to 66 N. lat. and 17 to 25"
35' E. long., its greatest length being 415 miles,
and its average breadth 100 miles. Its depth
varies from 20 to 50 fathoms, but both along its
shores and in the middle are many islets, sand-
banks, &c., which render the navigation difficult.
In winter it is usually so hard frozen that it can
be crossed by sledges.

Bothwell, a Lanarkshire village, on the Clyde's
right bank, 8 miles SE. of Glasgow. Bothwell
Brig here was the scene of Monmouth's bloody
defeat of the Covenanters in 1679 ; and a mile
from the village are the stately ruins of Both-
well Castle, at whose base the Clyde washes
the fair scenery of 'Bothwell Bank,' famous for
centuries in Scottish song. Held before that by
Olifards and Murrays, Bothwell Castle was pos-
sessed by the Douglases from 1365 till 1455 ; and
to them it reverted in 1492, being now owned by
their representative, the Earl of Home. Both-
wellhaugh, 2 miles ESE., gave designation to
James Hamilton, assassin of the Regent Moray.
Joanna Baillie was a native of Bothwell. Pop.
3015.

Botoshani, a town of Moldavia, on the Shiska,
62 miles NW. of Jassy. Pop. 31,024.

Bqtzen, or BOZEN (Ital. Bolzano), an important
trading town of the Austrian Tyrol, on the Eisach,
35 miles NNE. of Trent by the Brenner Railway.
It manufactures silk, linen, hosiery, leather, &c.
Pop. 13,641.

Bouches-du- Rhone (Boosh-dii-Ron ; ' mouths of
the Rhone '), a clep. in the south-east of France,
formerly a part of Provence, with an area of 1971
sq. m. It is divided into the three arrondisse-
rnents of Marseilles, Aix, and Aries. Pop. (1872)
554,911 ; (1891) 630,622 ; (1901) 734,347.

Boufarik, a town of Algeria, 23 miles S. of
Algiers by rail. Pop. 5275.

BOUGIE

119

BOURNEMOUTH

Bougie, a port of Algeria, on the Bay of
Bougie, 120 miles E. of Algiers. The Saldce of
the Romans, and the ' Little Mecca ' of the
Arabs, it had sunk to a small village in 1833,
when the French captured the place. Their
extensive works have since rendered it a strong
fortress and a commercial centre. Pop. 12,500.

Bouillon, a duchy, originally German, now
part of Belgian Luxemburg, consists of a woody
and hilly district in the Ardennes, about 145 sq.
m. in extent. It was the possession of the famous
crusader, Godfrey de Bouillon. The principal
town is Bouillon, between steep hills on the
Semoy, 9 miles NNE. of Sedan. Pop. 2765.

Boulak, or BULAK, a town of Egypt, on the
Nile, opposite an island of the same name, 1 mile
NW. of Cairo, of which it forms a suburb and the
port. Pop. 20,000.

Boulge, a Suffolk parish, 3 miles NNW. of
Woodbridge. Edward FitzGerald is buried here.

Boulogne (Boo-lon"), a SW. suburb of Paris,
on the Seine's right bank. It has numerous
villas, and over 400 wash-houses on the river,
which is here crossed by a fine stone bridge of
twelve arches. Population, 37,500. The Bois de
Boulogne, the Parisian's favourite place of recrea-
tion, is traversed by many walks and drives (see
LONGCHAMP). At the entrance of the wood lies
Auteuil (q.v.). During the Revolution the trees
of the older walks were mostly cut down ; but
when Napoleon chose St Cloud for his summer
residence, new walks were planted and laid off.
All traces of the injuries inflicted during the
siege of 1870-71 have now disappeared.

Boulogne-sur-Mer, a fortified seaport in the
French dep. of Pas-de-Calais, situated at the
mouth of the Liane in the English Channel, 27
miles SW. of Calais, and 158 N. by W. of Paris by
rail. The town consists of two parts Upper
and Lower Boulogne. The upper town, formerly
strongly fortified, contains the hotel-de-ville, on
the site of the castle where Godfrey de Bouillon
was born in 1061, and the former cathedral,
rebuilt (1827-66) in the Italian style, with a dome
300 feet high, and with a miraculous image of
the Virgin. The lower town, the seaport proper,
is newer, more populous, and more lively, in-
habited chiefly by merchants, mariners, and fisher-
men. Boulogne has extensive and excellent salt-
water baths ; and, on account of its fine sands, it
is a favourite, though somewhat expensive resort
for sea-bathing. The English residents have
recently become much less numerous. Pop.
(1S72) 39,700 ; (1901) 44,416, actively engaged in
the manufacture of linen, cordage, iron, steel
pens and buttons, oil, soap, and chemical pro-
ducts. Boulogne is the chief station in France
of the North Sea fisheries. It has an active
coasting trade, and ranks with Calais as one of
the nearest and most frequented places of passage
between France and England, steamers plying
daily to London, and twice a day to Folkestone.
Paris is reached by railway in 4^ hours. About
6000 vessels, most of them English, of over
1,000,000 tons burden, enter or clear the port
annually. The principal imports are woollen,
cotton, and silk material ; the exports; are manu-
factured fabrics, leather, and wine. A new and
vast deep-sea harbour was constructed in
1SSO-1904. The works include outer moles
or breakwaters with a length of over 4400 yards,
and an inner mole or traverse, 1200 yards long
and 200 wide, alongside which steamships may
lie at all states of the tide. The Portus Gesoriacus
of the Romans, and later Bononia or Bolonia,

Boulogne in 1435 came into the possession of the
Duke of Burgundy, and was united with the
crown of France by Louis XI. in 1477. It was
taken by the English in 1544, and restored to
the French in 1550. Here, in 1804, Napoleon
encamped 180,000 men and collected 2400 trans-
ports, ready at any favourable moment to swoop
down on Britain. The poets Churchill and Camp-
bell, and Lo Sage, the author of GU Bias, died
here.

Bourbon, ISLE DE. See REUNION.

Bourbonnais (Boorbonnay"), in the centre of
France, from 1327 to 1523 formed the duchy of
Bourbon, and afterwards, as a crown domain,
formed a province. It now constitutes the dep. of
Allier and part of Cher. The capital was Moulins.

Bourbonne-les- Bains (Boorbonn'-leh-Ban g ), a
town in the French dep. of Haute-Marne, 29 miles
ENE. of Langres. Its saline springs reach a
temperature of over 130 F. Pop. 4766.

Bourboule, a bathing- resort in the French dep.
of Puy-de-D6me, on the Dordogne, with hot
mineral springs of 88-129 F. Pop. 2161.

Bourgas. See BURGAS.

Bourg-en-Bresse (Boorg-on ff -Bress), the chief
town of the French dep. of Ain, on the Reyssouze,
37 miles NE. of Lyons. The church of Brou
here, built by Margaret of Austria in 1505-36,
contains a superb monument to Philibert of
Savoy. Bourg manufactures mineral waters and
pottery. Pop. 18,500.

Bourges (Boorzh; anc. Avaricum), capital of
the French dep. of Cher, at the confluence of the
Aurou and the Yevre, 144 miles S. of Paris, and
69 SSE. of Orleans. Its houses are antique, and
its streets crooked and dirty. The cathedral
(1220-1538) is a splendid Gothic edifice, the in-
terior one of the noblest in France, being 405 feet
long and 117 high. A university (1465) was sup-
pressed at the Revolution. The hotel-de-ville
dates from 1443. Brewing is carried on, and
there are nurseries. Chosen in 1861 to be an
arsenal, Bourges has a cannon foundry, and has
greatly increased in strategical importance since
the loss of Metz. Louis XI. and Bourdaloue
were natives. Pop. 47,500.

Bourget, LE (Boorzhay'), a village 6j miles
NE. of Paris, during the siege in 1870 the scene
of a series of bloody struggles disastrous to the
French. The LAC DU BOURGET, the largest
wholly French lake, in Savoie dep., lies 780 feet
above sea-level, and measures 7 by 3 miles.

Bourne, a town of Lincolnshire, 9 miles W. of
Spalding. Lord Burghley, Dr Dodd, and Worth
' of Paris ' were natives. Pop. 4500.

Bournemouth, a favourite Hampshire health
resort, on Poole Bay, 37 miles SW. of South-
ampton, and 116 of London. It is included
within the parliamentary borough of Christ-
church, from which it is 4 miles distant, and in
1890 it was made a municipal borough. Its rise
has been'rapid ; until 1838 it consisted of but a
few fishermen's huts and a coastguard station.
It is situated for the most part in the pine-clad
valley of the Bourne Brook, the banks of which

are laid out as public gardens. The sands extend
for 3 miles. The climate is fine, the air

soft

without being relaxing, and the country around
is beautiful. Two piers, one 800, the other 840
feet long, were erected in 1861 and 1879. Of
several churches the finest is St Peter's (1864),
with memorial windows to Keble, who died at
Bournemouth : in its churchyard are the graves
of Godwin, Mary Wollstouecraft, and Mary

BOUKNEVILLE

120

BRADFORD

Shelley. Pop. (1861) 1940 ; (1871) 5906 ; (1881)
18,607 ; (1901) 47,100.

Bourneville, a Worcestershire suburb of Bir-
mingham, built since 1879 as a garden city by
Mr George Cad bury for the employees in his
great cocoa-works, admirably equipped for family
and social life. Pop. 4000.

Boussa, or BUSSANG, a walled town of (British)
Northern Nigeria, off an island in the Niger, in
10 20 7 N. lat. Mungo Park perished here in 1805.
Pop. 10,000.

Bouvines (Boo-veari), a village in the French
dep. of Nord, 8 miles SE. of Lille, the scene of
Philip Augustus's victory over Otho IV. in 1214,
and of struggles in 1794 between the Austrians
and the victorious French army of the north.

Bovine (Bovee'no), a cathedral city of South
Italy, 20 m. SSW. of Foggia. Pop. 7388. The
imperialists defeated the Spaniards here in 1734.

Bowdon Downs. See ALTBINCHAM.

Bowling, a Dumbartonshire village, on the
Clyde, 3 miles ESE. of Dumbarton. Pop. 1018.

Bowling Green, a town of Kentucky, 114 miles
S. by W. of Louisville by rail. Pop. 8803.

Bowmore, a seaport of Islay island, Argyll-
shire. Pop. 748.

Bowness, (1) a town of Westmorland, on the
east side of Lake Windermere, 8 miles NW. of
Kendal. Pop. 2662. (2) A seaport of Cumber-
land, on the Solway Firth, 12 miles WNW. of
Carlisle. Pop. of parish, 1322.

Box Hill. See DORKING.

Boxtel, a town of Holland, 38 miles S. by E. of
Utrecht. An Anglo-Dutch army was here de-
feated by the French in 1794. Pop. 6703.

Box Tunnel, 3195 yards long, on the Great
Western Railway, 5 miles NE. of Bath.

Boyaca, a dep. of Colombia, touching Vene-
zuela. Area, 33,351 sq. m. ; pop. 650,000.
Capital, Tunja, 6000 inhabitants.

Boyle, a town in County Roscommon, on the
river Boyle, above its expansion into Lough Key,
108 miles NW. of Dublin by rail. Pop. 2474.

Boyne, a river of Ireland, rises in the Bog of
Allen, and flows 80 miles through Kildare, King's
County, Meath, and Louth, past Trim, Navan,
and Slane, and enters the Irish Sea 4 miles below
Drogheda. It receives the Mattock and Black-
water, and is navigable for vessels of 250 tons to
Drogheda, for barges of 70 tons to Navan. In the
battle of the Boyne, fought on its banks, 3 miles
W. of Drogheda, on 1st July 1690, William III.
defeated James II.

Bozen. See BOTZEN.

Bozrah (mod. el-Busaircli), a town of Edom, in
the mountain district to the south-east of the
Dead Sea, about 300 B.C. capital of the Naba-
tseans, but now an unimportant village.

Bozzolo (Bot'zolo), a town of North Italy, 14
miles WSW. of Mantua. Pop. 4154.

Bra, a town of North Italy, 31 miles SSE. of
Turin by rail. Pop. 9856.

Brabant' was the name formerly given to an
important province of the Low Countries, extend-
ing from the left bank of the Waal to the sources
of the Dyle, and from the Maas and the plain of
Limburg to the Lower Scheldt. After many
changes, Brabant was made a part of the kingdom
of Holland, at the Congress of Vienna ; but since
the revolution of 1830, the three provinces of
Brabant have been divided as follows : North or

Dutch Brabant, the Belgian province of Antwerp,
and South Brabant, also Belgian.

Brabourne, a parish of Kent, 6 miles E. of
Ashford.

Brackley, a market-town of Northamptonshire,
on the Ouse, 7 miles WNW. of Buckingham. It
is a municipal borough, reincorporated in 1886,
and till 1832 returned two members. Pop. 2500.

Braddock, a borough of Pennsylvania, on the
Monongahela, 10 miles by rail SE. of Pittsburgh,
with steel and car works. Here General Brad-
dock fell in 1755. Pop. 16,500.

Bradfield, in Berkshire, 7 miles W. of Reading,
the seat of a public school, St Andrew's College
(1850). Pop. of parish, 1458.

Bradford, an important manufacturing town
in the West Riding of Yorkshire, on a tributary
of the Aire, at the meeting of three vales, 9 miles
W. of Leeds, 34 SW. of York, and 191 NNW. of
London by rail. Bradford in 1832 was created
a parliamentary borough, in 1847 a municipality,
in 1888 a county, and in 1897 a city. Municipal
and parliamentary boroughs were made conter-
minous in 1885 ; in 1899 the municipal (county and
city) was extended to include Idle. For parlia-
mentary purposes it falls into 3 districts, each
returning one member. Bradford is the chief
seat in England of the spinning and weaving of
worsted yarn, and the great mart for the long
wools used in worsted fabrics. It has developed
of late worsted coating, velvet, and plush in-
dustries. The first mill was built in 1798 ; there
are now more than 300. Coal and iron mines
occur near Bradford, and the ironworks at Bow-
ling and Lowmoor are very large and important ;
the making of machinery is a considerable indus-
try ; and there are neighbouring stone quarries.
The parish church of St Peter is a fine Perpen-
dicular building, with a tower of later date, and
a number of interesting monuments. Bradford
has also a town-hall (1873) of medieval design,
which cost over 100,000, with campanile and
carillon ; mechanics' institute (1870) ; St George's
Hall (1853) ; exchange (1867); extensive wholesale
and retail markets, which have cost 150,000 ;
grammar-school ; technical college (1882) ; free
library (1872) ; post-office, a fine building in the
Italian style (1887) ; &c. Of its seven parks the
older are Peel Park (56 acres), Lister or Man-
ningham Park (56 acres), Horton Park (39 acres),
Bowling Park (53 acres), and Bradford Moor
Park (15 acres). In the civil wars, the people
of Bradford took the parliament side, and twice
defeated the royalists, but were afterwards them-
selves defeated by the Earl of Newcastle. The
worsted trade, introduced to Bradford at the end
of the 17th century, made rapid progress after the
invention of the steam-engine. In a riot at Brad-
ford against the introduction of worsted power-
looms in 1826, two of the rioters were shot dead
by the defenders of the mill which contained
the obnoxious machinery, and many more were
wounded. In 1825 a strike for increased wages,
in which 20,000 persons were concerned, lasted
six months. Its trade suffered severely owing to
the McKinley tariff in the United States. This
town is the seat of the first English temperance
society (1830). There are statues of Sir Robert
Peel, Richard Oastler, Sir Titus Salt, S. C. Lister,
and W. E. Forster. Pop. (1851) 103,778 ; (1881)
194,495 ; (1891) 216,361 ; (1901) of parl. borough,
216,375, and of mun. and county borough, 279,767.
See James's History of Bradford (2 vols. 1841-66).

Bradford, a Pennsylvania!! town, 65 miles S.

BRADFORD-ON-AVON

121

BRANDOti

of Buffalo, with oil-wells and sawmills. Pop.
15,514.

Bradford-on-Avon (Sax. Bradanford, 'broad
ford '), a town of Wiltshire, on the Avon, and on
the Kennet and Avon Canal, 9 miles SB. of Bath.
Formerly it was the seat of important woollen
manufactures, and kerseymeres were first made
here. The tiny churcli (38 feet long) of St
Lawrence, built by St Aldhelm between 675 and
709, is the only perfect building of pre-Norman
times now remaining in England. It had been
used for two centuries as a school and dwelling-
house, when in 1856 it was rescued from profana-
tion. On the summit of Torr Hill are the ruins
of a 14th-century chapel of the Virgin ; and the
town bridge retains its desecrated chapel. At
Bradford, Cenwalh, king of the West Saxons,
gained a great victory over the Welsh in 652.
Pop. 4557.

Brading, a small but ancient town, once a
parliamentary borough, in the Isle of Wight, 4
miles S. of Ryde by rail. In its churchyard is
buried the 'Dairyman's Daughter;' and in 1880
the remains of a Roman villa, with a tesselated
floor, were unearthed near the town. Pop. 1994.

Braemar', a Highland district occupying the
south-west corner of Aberdeenshire (q.v.), in the
heart of the Grampian Mountains, and traversed
by the upper waters of the Dee. In the east
part is Balmoral ; and near its centre, 61 miles
W. by S. from Aberdeen, is the small village of
Castleton of Braemar, where in 1715 the Earl of
Mar raised the Pretender's standard. Pop. 516.

Braeriach (Bray-ree'ahh), a summit (424S feet)
of the Cairngorms, on the border of Aberdeen
and Inverness shires.

Braga, the capital of the Portuguese province
of Minho, 34 miles NE. of Oporto by rail. It
has the palace of the primate of Portugal, a
fine Gothic cathedral (12th century), and manu-
factures of linen, hats, cutlery, firearms, jewel-
lery, &c. The Bracara Augusta of the Romans, it
retains ruins of a temple, an amphitheatre, and
an aqueduct. Near it is a celebrated place of pil-
grimage. Pop. 24,755.

Bragansa, two considerable towns in Brazil.

(1) A seaport, 100 miles NE. of Para, at the mouth
of the Caite. Pop. of town and district, 6000.

(2) An inland city of 10,000 inhabitants, 50 miles
NE. of Sao Paulo.

Braganza, or BRAGANCA, capital of the Portu-
guese province Traz-os-Montes, on the Fervenca,
26 miles NW. of Miranda. It is the see of a
bishop, and gives name to the ruling House of
Braganza. Pop. 5495.

Brahmanbaria, a town of India, Tipperah
district, in the presidency of Bengal, on the Titas
River. Pop. 17,438.

Brahmaputra (' son of Brahma '), one of the
largest rivers of India, rises in Tibet, and, after
partially mingling with the Ganges, flows into
the Bay of Bengal. From explorations (1878-82)
by one of the Asiatics attached to the Indian
Survey, it was rendered certain that the Sanpo
is the highest source of the Brahmaputra (and
not, as had been sometimes said, of the Irawadi).
The Sanpo has its rise in Lake Manasowar in
Western Tibet, in an elevated tableland, from
which also spring the Sutlej and the Indus ; flows
eastward for 1000 miles on the plateau of Tibet ;
then, turning SE., it pierces the Himalayas to
descend to the valleys of Assam. Here known
as Dihong, it unites with the Dibong and the
Brahmakunda, the three rivers forming the Brah-

maputra, which flows SW. and S. The entire
length from the latter source exceeds 900 miles ;
from the former 1800 miles. The united stream
bears along a vast body of water, broken by
many islands, and throwing off branches ; it flows
from NE. to SSW. for about 450 miles, leaves
Assam near Dhoobri ; flows S. round the Garo
Hills; for 180 miles its course is through the
plain of East Bengal, till it joins the Padma, or
main stream of the Ganges, at Goalanda. Here
the conjoint delta of these rivers begins ; the
great body of its waters flowing SE. reaches the
sea by the estuary known as the Meghna. During
the rains the Brahmaputra floods hundreds of
sq. m. of country, reaching a height of 30 to 40
feet above its usual level. This supersedes arti-
ficial irrigation, and the plains so watered yield
abundantly rice, jute, and mustard. The Brah-
maputra is navigable for steamers to Dibrugarh,
800 miles from the sea.

Brahui. See BELXJCHISTAN.

Braidwood, a Lanarkshire village. 7 miles
WNW. of Carstairs Junction. Pop. 587.

Braila, or BRAHILOV, a river-port of Roumania,
on the left bank of the Danube, 10 miles above
Galatz, and 142 NE. of Bucharest by rail. The
seat of a Greek cathedral, it was a free port till
1883, has new docks (1886-92), and exports large
quantities of corn and other products. Braila
was burned by the Russians in 1711, and Gort-
schakoff crossed here in 1854. Pop. 56,715.

Braine-le-Comte (Brain-le-Con ff t), a town of the
Belgian province of Hainaut, on the Senne, 19
miles SSW. of Brussels. Pop. 8176.

Braintree, a market-town of Essex, 45 miles
NE. of London by rail. It has manufactures of
silk, crape, straw-plait, &c. Pop. 5333.

Brambanan, a district of the province of Sura-
karta, Java, rich in remains of Buddhist temples.

Bramber, a Sussex village, on the Adur, 4J
miles NNW. of New Shoreham. It has a ruined
castle, and till 1832 returned two members.

Brambletye House, a ruined Jacobean mansion,
in Sussex, near East Grimstead.

Brampton, a very ancient town of Cumber-
land, 9 miles ENE. of Carlisle by rail, once a great
centre of hand-loom weaving. The moot-hall is a
magistrate's office. Near it is Lanercost Abbey
(q.v.). Pop. of parish, 2790.

Bran, a feeder of the Tay, with fine falls, near
Dunkeld.

Branco, Rio, a river of Northern Brazil, rising
in the Parima Mountains, and flowing 400 miles
southward to the Rio Negro, of which it is the
principal tributary, on its way to the Amazon.

Brandenburg (u as oo), a central province of
Prussia, formed the nucleus of the present mon-
archy, and almost all a low plain. Area, 15,410
sq. m. ; population, 3,200,000. The town of Bran-
denburg (anc. Brennibor of the Wends), on the
Havel, 38 miles WSW. of Berlin, has a castle and
a cathedral (14th century), with a fine crypt, on
an island in the river. Pop. 50,000.

Brandenburg, NEU. See NEUBRANDENBURG.

Brandeston, a Suffolk parish, on the Deben,
3| miles SW. of Framlingham. It was the resi-
dence of the great lawyer, Charles Austin.

Brandon, a quaint old market-town, mostly
on the Suffolk side of the Little Ouse, 7 miles
NW. of Thetford, and 86 NE. of London by rail.
In the neighbourhood are Neolithic flint-work-
ings known as the Grimes Graves. Gun-flints are

BRANDON

122

BRAZIL

Still made here, chiefly for the African market ;
and the continuity of this industry can be traced
at Brandon in unbroken sequence to an early
prehistoric period. Pop. of parish, 2334.

Brandon, a town of Manitoba, Canada, on the
Canadian Pacific Railway, below the junction of
the Assiniboine and Little Saskatchewan rivers,
in a prolific wheat-growing district. It was
founded in 1881, and in the following year had
over 1500 houses. Pop. 7000.

Brandywine Creek, a stream rising in Chester
county, Pennsylvania, flowing south-eastward
into Delaware, and emptying into Christiana
Creek at Wilmington. Here, September 11,
1777, 13,000 Americans, under Washington, were
defeated by 18,000 British, under Lord Howe.

Brantford, a town on the Grand River, Ontario,
24 miles SW. of Hamilton by rail. Pop. 18,000.
Brantwood. See CONISTON LAKE.
Branxholm, a quondam Border castle, Rox-
burghshire, 3 miles SW. of Hawick.
Brass River, a deltaic arm of the Niger (q.v.).
Brattleboro, in Wimlham county, Vermont, on
the Connecticut River, 110 miles S. of Mont-
pelier. Pop. 6000.

Braunsberg, a town of East Prussia, on the
navigable Passarge, 8 miles from its mouth, and
38 SW. of Konigsberg by rail. It mamifactures
machinery, felt, and leather goods. Pop. 12,759.
Bray, (1) a Berkshire parish, on the Thames, 1
mile S. by E. of Maidenhead. The 'Vicar of
Bray ' was Simon Aleyn, from 1540 to 1588, during
the reigns of Henry VIII., Edward VI., Mary, and
Elizabeth. (2) A seaside town, partly in Dublin
county, but chiefly in Wicklow, 13 miles SB.
of Dublin by rail. The beauty of its situation
has raised it from a small fishing-village to a
watering-place, popularly known as the ' Irish
Brighton.' Pop. 7500 doubled in the season.

Bray is a district of Normandy, now the south-
eastern part of Seine-Inferieure, famous for its
cattle and dairy produce.

Brazil', the largest state of South America,
covering nearly half of the South American
continent, is little less in area than the whole
of Europe ; even if it be found that the esti-
mated area, 3,288,000 sq. m., should be reduced to
3,219,000. It has a length of 2660 miles, and a
breadth of 2705 miles between extreme points.
It borders on every state in South America except
Chili. The name was given by early explorers
from thinking that the red dyewood (Brazil-wood)
found here was identical with the East Indian
dyewood known to them as Brasil. Brazil is a
triangular-shaped country, occupying the eastern
angle of the continent. It lies almost wholly
within the tropics, and is still in great part un-
explored and unsettled. On the north and west
are the great depressions of the Amazon and
Paraguay rivers, which comprise large areas of
flood-plains and swamps, heavily wooded, and
almost uninhabitable. The northern coast is
bordered by low, alluvial bottom-lands and sandy
plains, full of lakes, and in places very sterile ;
while the southern angle of the country is roll-
ing campo land, bordered by a low sandy coast.
Above its eastern angle a large area of coast-
lands and neighbouring plateau is subject to
periodical devastating droughts. The interior of
the country, however, is a high plateau, with a
general elevation of 1000 to 3000 feet, irregularly
ridged by mountains and deeply cut by large
rivers. The mountainous ranges of the maritime
system form the eastern margin of this plateau,

the easternmost of which is known as the Serra
do Mar. This range plays an important part
in the development of Brazil, for it is a costly
barrier to communication with the interior, and
turns nearly all the great rivers inland to find out-
lets through the distant Amazon and La Plata.
The mountains are composed almost exclusively
of uplifted strata of great geological age, gneiss
and metamorphic schists, with granite and other
eruptive rocks. The great elevated plains are
composed of horizontal strata dating from the
Silurian age. Brazil possesses three great river-
systems the Amazon, La Plata, and San Fran-
cisco. The Amazon and its tributaries drain fully
a half of the country. To the east of the Madeira
these tributaries are tableland rivers, broken by
rapids and freely navigable for comparatively
short distances. West of the Madeira they are
lowland rivers, sluggish, bordered by extensive
flood-plains, and afford free navigation for long
distances. The La Plata system drains nearly
one-fifth of the country through its three branches
the Paraguay, ParanS, and Uruguay. The first
of these is a lowland river, freely navigable for a
long distance, while the other two are tableland
rivers, full of obstructions, and without free out-
lets for their upper-level navigation. The Sari
Francisco is a tableland river, flowing north-east
between the Goyaz and maritime mountains, and
then, breaking through the latter, south-east to
the Atlantic. It is not freely navigable because
of the Paulo Affonso Falls. The other coast-
rivers are generally short. The climate of Brazil
varies greatly the lowlands of the Amazon and
a great part of the coast being hot, humid, and
unhealthy, while the tablelands and some dis-
tricts of the coast swept by the trade-winds are
temperate and healthy. The vegetation of Brazil
is luxuriant and varied. The vast forests of the
Amazon contain hundreds of species of trees,
draped and festooned by climbing plants, lianas,
orchids, &c. Rosewood, Brazil-wood, and others
supply valuable timber; whilst tropical fruits
are abundant. The number of species of animals
is also very large, but the individuals in each
are comparatively few. Beasts of prey are the
jaguar, puma, tiger-cat, and ocelot; the other
animals include the monkey, tapir, capybara,
peccary, ant-eater, sloth, and boa-constrictor.
Alligators, turtles, porpoises, and manatees swarm
in the Amazon ; and among birds the parrots and
humming-birds are especially numerous. The
population of Brazil, according to an official esti-
mate of 1900, was 14,500,000, of whom some
2,000,000 were negroes, 400,000 Indians, and the
remainder pretty equally divided between whites
and half-breeds. In the coast-towns the whites
predominate. The proportion of non-producers
is very large, the natural conditions of the
country rendering labour but slightly necessary
to meet the ordinary requirements of life. The
institution of slavery has had much to do with
this state of things. The African slave-trade
was prohibited in 1831, but did not actually
cease until 1854. In 1871 a gradual emancipa-
tion law was adopted, and in 1885 a more thorough
one ; and finally, by the law of 13th May 1888,
immediate and unconditional emancipation was
decreed. The Roman Catholic is the established
religion, and is supported by the state ; but all
other sects are tolerated. There are, however,
less than 30,000 non-Catholics in the country.
Education is still in a very backward condition.
The language is Portuguese, with dialectal varie-
ties.
Since the revolution of 1889, Brazil, as the

BRAZIL

123

BRECKNOCKSHIRE

'United States of Brazil,' is a federative repub-
lic : each of the old provinces, also the federal
district around the capital, Rio Janeiro, is a
state, and is administered by its own authorities
at its own expense : while defence, customs,
postage, banking, &c., are the concern of the
union. The central executive authority consists
of the president, a vice-president, and a ministry.
The legislative authority resides in a national
congress of two chambers, the chamber of depu-
ties and the senate. Each state has its own
administrative, legislative, and judicial authori-
ties. The army is raised by obligatory military
service, and consists of about 30,000 men, besides
15,000 gendarmerie. The navy comprises 3 sea-
going and 6 coast defence armour-clads, 14 torpedo
boats, besides unarmoured cruisers, corvettes,
gunboats, and transports, manned in all by 7000
officers and men. The revenue has since 1900
varied from 15,000,000 to 25,000,000 ; the ex-
penditure has of late years been nominally at
least covered by the revenue. The debt, exter-
nal, internal, and floating, is about 110,000,000.

The industries of Brazil are confined almost
exclusively to agriculture, mining, and forest
products. Stock-raising has totally failed to
keep pace with the domestic consumption of
jerked-beef, which is largely imported. The
coast fisheries have also been neglected, although
Brazil is a large consumer of codfish. The forest
products are rubber, mate, nuts, cocoa, medicinal
plants, cabinet and dye woods, &c. the first
ranking third in importance as an article of ex-
port. Of agricultural products, coffee occupies
the first place, and furnishes about two-thirds
of the total exports of the whole empire. Sugar
ranks second. The production of cotton and
tobacco has considerably decreased, and that of
tapioca has nearly disappeared. Rice, maize, and
many other products are easily grown, but have
been overshadowed by coffee and sugar, and to
some extent discouraged by the high cost of
internal transportation. In colonial times the
mining industries yielded large results ; they are
now comparatively unimportant. Gold and dia-
monds are found in Minas Geraes, Parana, and
Bahia, but the annual production at present is
not large. Iron ores of superior quality exist in
several provinces, but the absence of coal is a
serious obstacle. The total exports varied in
1900-3 from 35,000,000 to 44,000,000 a year, the
imports from 22,000,000 to 24,000,000. The
annual exports to Great Britain vary from
4,000,000 to 5,000,000; the imports (which
have declined) have a like range. The in-
habitants of the southern provinces of the empire
are broadly distinguished by their energy from
the more indolent northerners. It is in the
southern provinces that the numerous German
colonies (comprising some 220,000 Germans) are
mostly established. Steam communication with
Europe was opened in 1850, and telegraphic co7n-
munication in 1874. The first railway was opened
in 1854 ; Brazil now possesses some 9800 miles of
railway and 17,400 miles of telegraph. The
milreis, the unit of the monetary system, fluctu-
ates very much in value from 2s. 3d. (1890) to
llfd. (1902).

Brazil was discovered by Pinzon in 1500, and
taken possession of, for Portugal, by an ex-
pedition under Cabral in the same year. In 1808
the royal family of Portugal expelled by the
French took refuge in the colony, which became
a kingdom in 1815, an empire in 1822. The
emperor Dom Pedro II. was expelled in 1889,
and a republic established, which has been much

perturbed by rebellions. Since 1891 civil war
had been going on desultorily in some parts of
the republic, especially around Rio Janeiro, in
the province of Rio Grande, and in Minas Geraes,
which in 1892 declared itself a separate state.
In 1893 the capital was bombarded by the navy in
rebel hands, but in 1894 the rebellion collapsed.
There was a minor rising in 1897 under a religious
fanatic ; and a more important plot against the
government in the same year was frustrated.

See works on Brazil or the Amazon valley by
Southey (history, 1819), Agassiz (1870), Hartt
(1870), A. R. Wallace (1870), Bates (1873), Mulhall
(1877), Fletcher and Kidder (frequently reprinted,
Phila.), H. H. Smith (1880), and Wells (1886).

Brazos, a river of Texas, U.S., rising in a
tableland called the Staked Plain, in the NW. of
the state, and running 950 miles south-eastward
to the Gulf of Mexico, 40 miles SW. of Galveston.

Brazza, the largest and most populous of the
Dalmatian islands of the Adriatic, with an area
of 152 sq. m., and a pop. of 25,000. It rises to
2578 feet, and is richly wooded. San Pietro is
the chief town.

Breadal'bane, a district of NW. Perthshire,
among the Grampians, giving the title of earl
to a branch of the Campbells.

Brechin (Bree'hUn), a town of Forfarshire, on
the South Esk, 8 miles W. of Montrose. With
Montrose, &c. it returns one member. Linen
and paper are manufactured, with bleaching,
distilling, and brewing. David I. founded a
bishopric here about 1150. Part of the cathedral
is now the parish church, at whose south-west
angle rises the Round Tower (c. 983, 87 feet high)
of a Culdee college, similar to the Irish ones, and
to the one at Abernethy, the only other example
in Scotland. Brechin Castle, the ancient seat of
the Maules, and now of the Earls of Dalhousie,
was taken by Edward I. in 1303 after a twenty
days' siege. The town itself was burned by
Montrose in 1645 ; and near it Huntly defeated
the rebellious Crawfords in 1452. Dr Guthrie
was a native. Pop. (1851) 6638 ; (1901) 8941.

Brecknock, or BRECON, the capital of Breck-
nockshire, at the confluence of the Usk and
Honddu, 183 miles W. by N. of London by rail,
and 40 NE. of Swansea. It lies in the midst of
fine mountain scenery, and has beautiful public
walks, the triple-peaked Brecon Beacons (2910
feet) rising to the south. From 1536 to 1885
Brecon returned one member to parliament.
Flannels, coarse woollens, and hats are manu-
factured. Bernard de Newmarch founded the
town, and built a castle here in 1094. Henry
VIII. in 1541 converted a Dominican friary into
a college, which was rebuilt in 1864 ; the priory,
now the parish church, was restored in 1862.
Mrs Siddons was a native. Pop. (1881) 6372;
(1901) 5875.

Brecknockshire, or BRECON, an inland county
of South Wales. The maximum length is 39
miles ; its breadth ranges between ll and 30
miles ; and its area is 719 sq. m., of which only
43 per cent, is cultivated. Brecknockshire is
one of the most mountainous counties in South
Wales, and has deep, beautiful, and fertile valleys.
Two principal mountain-chains, the highest in
South Wales, culminating in the Brecon Beacons
at 2910 feet, intersect the county in the north
and south, and occupy, with their offshoots, a
great part of the surface. The chief rivers are
the Wye and Usk ; and Llangorse Lake covers
nearly 1800 acres. The agriculture, though still
defective, especially in the higher districts, hag

JBREDA

124

BRENTFORD

been greatly improved by the Brecknockshire
Agricultural Society, instituted in 1775. The
mineral produce is small, consisting of iron,
especially along the south border ; coal and lime-
stone are also found in the south and west. The
Brecon Canal connects the county with the
Bristol Channel. There are several small fac-
tories of woollens and worsted hosiery ; also
several important ironworks, but the ore is
chiefly obtained from adjoining counties. Breck-
nockshire returns one member to parliament.
Pop. (1801) 32,325 ; (1871) 61,627 ; (1901) 54,213.
The chief towns are Brecon (the county town),
Builth, Crickhowell, Hay, and Llanelly. There
are many remains of British and Roman camps,
Roman roads, cairns, cromlechs, mounds, and
castles, throughout the county. The Normans
wrested the county from the Welsh princes in
1092. Llewelyn, the last British prince of Wales,
was killed at Llanafanfechan, near Builth, in
1282. Welsh is still the language of the middle-
class and the peasantry. See Jones's History of
Brecknockshire (2 vols. 1805-9).

Breda, a town of Holland, at the confluence
of the navigable Mark and Aa, 60 miles ENB.
of Flushing by rail, and 30 NNE. of Antwerp.
Its Gothic cathedral (1510) has an octagonal
steeple 311 feet high; whilst the castle (1350)
received its present shape from William III.
(1696), and in 1828 was converted into a military
academy. There are manufactures of carpets,
linen, hats, soap, leather, &c., and dyeworks,
breweries, and rope-walks. The population is
about 30,000. Fortified until 1876, Breda was
captured by the Spaniards (1581), by the Dutch
under Maurice of Orange (1590), by Spinola (1625),
again by the Dutch (1632), and twice by the
French (1793-95), who were finally driven out
in 1813.

Bredfield, a Suffolk parish, Edward Fitz-
Gerald's birthplace, 3 miles N. of Woodbridge.

Breede (Bray'deJi), a river in Cape Colony, flow-
ing SE. to the Indian Ocean at St Sebastian's
Bay, 60 miles NE. of Cape Agulhas. It is navig-
able for vessels drawing not more than 10 feet
of water to a distance of 40 miles.

Bregenz (Bray-gent^ ; anc. Brigantium), a town
of Austria, capital of the Vorarlberg, on the east
shore of the Lake of Constance ; it is the ter-
minus of the Arlberg railway (from Innsbruck),
with a great tunnel, opened 1884. Pop. 7736.

Breisach, ALT (Bri-sahh ; anc. Mons Brisiacus),
a town of Baden, situated on an isolated basalt
hill (804 feet) on the right side of the Rhine,
14 miles W. of Freiburg. The minster is a 13th-
century structure. Pop. 3506.

BreiSgau (Bnse'gow), a German district extend-
ing along the right bank of the Rhine, from the
episcopal territory of Strasburg to Basel, em-
bracing Freiburg and the southern Black Forest.
Since 1810 it has been part of Baden.

Breitenfeld (Brl'tenfelf), a Saxon village, 5
miles N. of Leipzig. In the first of three battles
here (17th September 1631), Gustavus Adolphus
defeated the imperialists under Tilly ; the second
(2d November 1642) was also a victory of the
Swedes over the imperial forces ; and the third
was one act of the great ' Battle of the Nations '
at Leipzig, 16th October 1813.

Bremen (Bray 1 men), a free city of Germany, on
the Weser, 39 miles by rail SSE. of Bremerhaven,
and 76 NW. of Hanover. Pop. (1875) 102,177;
(1900) 163,297. Bremen is divided into the Old
and the New Town the former on the right, the

latter (dating from 1620) on the left bank of the
river, which is spanned by four bridges. The
ramparts and bastions round the old town have
been formed into public promenades. Among
the principal buildings are the cathedral (1043-
70 ; reconstructed 13th to 17th centuries), tho
Gothic town-hall (1409), with its famous wine-
cellar, the 'Schutting' or guildhall (1537), the
exchange, the museum, the post-office, and the
observatory of Dr Olbers, who here discovered
the planets Pallas and Vesta. Bremen is a
very thriving place, and now ranks as the second
commercial city in Germany. Large vessels stop
at Bremerhaven. Bremen carries on an exten-
sive commerce with Great Britain, North and
South America, the West Indies, Africa, the East
Indies, and China ; its great foreign trade, how-
ever, is with the United States. Bremen ships
about 50 per cent, of all emigrants sailing from
Germany, principally to the United States. The
chief imports are tobacco, coffee, sugar, cotton,
rice, skins, dyewoods, wines, petroleum, timber,
and hemp. The exports consist of woollen goods,
linens, glass, rags, wool, hemp, hides, oil-cake,
colours, and wooden toys. Large quantities of
tobacco are re-exported. There are manufactures
of woollens and cottons, cigars, paper, and starch,
and breweries, distilleries, rice-mills, and sugar-
refineries. Bremen is the headquarters of the
North German Lloyd Steamship Company (1857).

Bremen first became of historical note in the
8th century, when it was erected into a bishopric
by Charlemagne. It soon attained considerable
commercial importance, and became one of the
principal cities of the Hanseatic League. In 1810
it was incorporated with the French empire, but
recovered its independence in 1813, and by the
Congress of Vienna was admitted in 1815 as one
of the Hanse towns into the Germanic confedera-
tion. In 1867 it became a member of the North
German confederation, and now it forms part of
the German empire. The area of the territory is
99 sq. m. ; pop., including the town of Bremen
(1900) 224,882.

Bremerhaven (Bray merhdh' fen), the port of
Bremen, on the Weser estuary, nearly 10 miles
from the open sea, and 39 NNW. of Bremen. It
was founded by Bremen in 1827, and rapidly
became a thriving place. A second dock was
opened in 1866, a third in 1874 ; and in 1888 a
great port, with docks, was undertaken atNorden-
ham, on the opposite bank. The Geeste sepa-
rates it from Geestemiinde (q.v.). The population
has risen from 3500 in 1850 to over 21,000.

Brenner Pass, a pass (4588 feet) in the Central
Tyrol Alps, on the road between Innsbruck and
Botzen, connecting Germany with north-east
Italy. Open at all seasons of the year, it is the
lowest pass over the main chain of the Alps.
In 1867 a railway through the pass was opened.
The distance from Innsbruck to Botzen in a
direct line is only 52 miles, but frequent wind-
ings extend the railway to 78 miles. It passes
over numerous viaducts and bridges, and through
twenty-seven tunnels, one of them 935 yards long.

Brenta (Medoacus Major), a river of North
Italy, issuing from a small lake in the Tyrol, and
flowing 120 miles southward and eastward to the
Gulf of Venice at the haven of Brondolo.

Brentford, the county town of Middlesex, 10
miles W. of Paddington station, at the influx of
the Brent to the Thames, which is crossed here
by a bridge leading to Kew. Consisting chiefly
of one long irregular street, it has gin-distilleries,
a brewery, sawmills, a soap-work, the Grand

BRENTWOOD

125

BRIDGE OF EARN

Junction Water-works, &c. There are many
market-gardens in the vicinity. Here Edmund
Ironside defeated the Danes in 1016 ; in 1558 six
martyrs were burned at the stake ; and in 1642
Prince Rupert defeated the Parliamentarians.
Pop. 15,500.

Brentwood, a market-town in Essex, 10 miles
SW. of Chelmsford by rail. It has a richly
endowed grammar-school (1567). Population,
4932.

Brescia (Bresh'ya; anc. Brixia), a city of Lom-
bardy, on the rivers Mella and Garza, 51 miles
E: of Milan by rail. It has two cathedrals the
old (dating from the 7th century), and the new
(1604-1825); the Tosi Gallery or Town Museum,
adorned with frescoes ; the 12th-century Broletto
Palace ; the Biblioteca Qulriniana, with 40,000
volumes, founded in 1750 by Cardinal Quirini ;
and the Temple of Hercules, which, built by Ves-
pasian, and excavated in 1822, forms a repository
for classical antiquities. The cemetery (1810) is
regarded as the finest in Italy. A statue of
Arnold of Brescia was unveiled in 1882. Brescia
manufactures woollens, silk, leather, paper, arms,
cutlery, &c., and its wine is of good quality.
Pop. 71,000.

Breslau (Brezflow), capital of Prussian Silesia,
150 in. SE. of Frankfort-on-Oder by rail, is situated
at the confluence of the Ohlau and Oder. It has
a university founded by the Emperor Leopold I.
in 1702, with over 1200 students, and a library of
300,000 volumes; a cathedral (1148-1680); and
the Protestant church of St Elizabeth, with a
steeple 298 feet in height, and a splendid organ.
Linen fairs are held, and Breslau is a great
wool-mart. It has manufactures of linens,
woollens, cotton, silks, lace, jewellery, machines,
earthenware, soap, alum, starch, &c., with many
distilleries. Breslau is a city of Slavonic origin,
and was for many centuries occupied alternately
by the Poles and the Bohemians. It afterwards
passed to Austria, from which it was taken by
Frederick II. of Prussia in 1741. Six years after-
wards it was captured by the Austrians after a
bloody battle, but retaken by Frederick in about
a month. It was often besieged from that time
until 1814, when its fortifications were completely
demolished; since 1890, however, it has again
been made a first-class fortress. Pop. (1870)
207,997 ; (1900) 422,800.

Bressay, one of the Shetland Isles, separated
from Lerwick by Bressay Sound. It is 6 miles
long, 1 to 3 broad, and lOf sq. in. in area. The
coast is rocky, there are several caverns, and the
highest point is 724 feet above sea-level. Pop.
699, chiefly fishermen. Bressay Sound is one of
the finest natural harbours in the world. In its
west centre is the harbour of Lerwick with light-
house. East of Bressay, with a narrow and
dangerous sound between, is a rocky isle, Noss,
6 miles in circuit, rising abruptly from the sea to
a height of nearly 600 feet, with a flattish top.
A detached rock or holm, on the south-east side,
in former years communicated with Noss by
means of a cradle or wooden chair run on strong
ropes stretched across a yawning gulf.

Brest, a strongly fortified city in the dep. of
Finiste're, one of the chief naval stations of
France, is situated 389 miles by rail W. of Paris,
on the north side of the Bay or Road of Brest.
One of the finest harbours in Europe, the road-
stead is formed by the promontory of Finiste're
on the north and Kelerun on the south, and is
broken up into various bays formed by the
mouths of streams as they enter the bay. The

only entrance to the bay is by a narrow channel
called Le Goulet, which is scarcely a mile wide,
and is strongly defended by batteries ; the diffi-
culty and danger of access to hostile ships being
increased by rocks in the middle of the channel.
The roadstead from this entrance to the mouth
of the Elon is about 6 miles in length. Under
Napoleon III. 600,000 was expended on harbour
and fortification works, and a further sum of
1,500,000 between 1883 and 1894. The small
river Penfeld flows through the town ; on its
left bank is the town proper, on its right the
suburb of liecouvrance, connected by a splendid
iron swing-bridge (1861), 65 feet high, and 34?
long. The manufactures include leather, wax-
cloth, paper, and rope ; the exports are chiefly
beer, grain, brandy, and fish. Brest has exten-
sive shipbuilding yards, rope-walks, storehouses,
quays, arsenals, and dry-docks ; its industry is
chiefly confined to the equipment of the navy in
its various branches. The splendid position of
Brest made it an object of contention to French,
English, and Spaniards. In 1631 Cardinal Riche-
lieu resolved to make it a naval station, and
commenced the fortifications, which were com-
pleted by Vauban, but have since been greatly
extended. In 1694 the English under Lord
Berkeley were repulsed here with great loss ;
in 1794 the French fleet was defeated off Brest
by the English fleet under Howe. Pop. (1872)
66,272 ; (1891) 75,854; (1901) 84,285.

Brest Litovsk (Polish Brzesc), a strongly forti-
fied town of Russian Poland, on the Bug, 132
miles ESE. of Warsaw, and 682 WSW. of Moscow.
It has vast magazines and military stores, and
an extensive trade in its cloth manufactures,
Russian leather, soap, and wood. Pop. 47,981.

Bretagne. See BRITTANY.

Bretigny (Breteenyee'), a village in the French
dep. of Eure-et-Loir, 20 miles S. of Paris by rail
Here, in 1360, Edward III. concluded a peace
with France.

Bretten, a town of Baden, the birthplace of
Melanchthoh, 16 miles ENE. of Karlsruhe by
rail. Pop. 4932.

Brezowa (Brez'ova), a market- town of Hungary,
20 miles NW. of Leopoldstadt. Pop. 5549.

BrianQon (Breeon a son f ; anc. Brigantium), a
town in the French dep. of Hautes-Alpes, 162
miles NNE. of Marseilles by rail, on the Durance.
It is the highest town in France 4330 feet above

As the principal arsenal and depot
of the French Alps, it is so strongly fortified as
to be deemed impregnable. Pop. 5638.

Briansk (Bree-ansk), a town of Russia, on the
Desna, 77 miles W. of Orel by rail. Pop. 26,403.

Briare (Breedhr'), a town in the dep. of Loiret,
on the Loire, 102 miles SSE. of Paris by rail.
The Canal de Briare (35 miles long), uniting the
Loire and Seine, was the first constructed in
France (1642). Pop. 5651.

Bridgend, a market-town of Glamorganshire,
17 miles W. of Cardiff, with ironworks and
collieries. Pop. 6062.

Bridgenorth. See BRIDGNORTH.

Bridge of Allan, a beautiful village on Allan
Water, 3 miles N. of Stirling by tram. Sheltered
by the Ochils, it owes its prosperity partly to
the mineral saline wells of Airthrey, and partly
to its delightful situation and mild climate. Pop.
(1861) 1803 ; (1901) 3240.

Bridge of Earn, a village of Perthshire, on the
Earn, 4 miles SSE, of Perth. Pop. 365.

BEIDGE OF WEIR

126

BRIENNE-LE-CHATEAU

Bridge of Weir, a Renfrewshire village, on the
Gryfe, 7 miles W. by N. of Paisley. Pop. 2242.

Bridgeport, a city and port of entry of Con-
necticut, U.S., at the entrance of the Pequan-
nock into an inlet of Long Island Sound. It is
53 miles SW. of Hartford, and 57 NE. of New
York. It has a safe harbour for small vessels,
a considerable coasting trade, several fine public
parks, and a system of street railways. Golden
Hill, commanding fine views of the sound and
shore, is covered with good residences, many
of the inhabitants belonging to New York.
The manufactures are extensive, particularly of
carriages, harness, machinery, metallic cart-
ridges, and sewing-machines. Pop. (1870) 18,8G9;
(1880) 27,643 ; (1890) 48,866 ; (1900) 70,996.

Bridgeton, a city and port of entry in New
Jersey, U.S., on Cohansey Creek, 38 miles S. of
Philadelphia. It has the West Jersey Academy,
South Jersey Institute (1870), a public library,
and manufactures of woollen goods, iron, leather,
carriages, machinery, and canned fruits. Pop.
15,000.

Bridgetown, the capital of Barbadoes (q.v.),
is situated on the west coast of the island along
the north side of Carlisle Bay, which forms its
roadstead. The inner harbour is protected by a
breakwater known as the Mole Head. Founded
in 1628, the town took the name Indian Bridge,
and later its present appellation, from a rude
aboriginal structure which spanned a neighbour-
ing creek. It suffered much from fire in 1666,
1766, and 1845; in 1831 from a hurricane. A
railway of 23 miles in length to the parish of
St Andrew was completed in 1882. Population,
about 35,000.

Bridgewater Canal, a canal in Lancashire and
Cheshire, 42 miles long, uniting Worsley with
Runcorn and Manchester. It was formed in
1762-72 by the Duke of Bridgewater and Brindley,
and bought (1888) by the Manchester Ship Canal
Company. It is carried over the Manchester
Ship Canal at Barton-upon-Irwell (q.v.) by a
great swing-bridge.

Bridgnorth, a municipal borough of Shrop-
shire, 19 miles SB. of Shrewsbury. The Severn
divides it into the upper or 'High Town,' and
lower or 'Low Town,' the two connected by an
inclined railway (1892) with a vertical rise of
111 feet. The High Town is built on a red sand-
stone rock rising 180 feet above the right bank
of the river. This rock was formerly crowned
by a royal fortress, a huge leaning fragment
being all now left of the keep. Bridgnorth has
a grammar-school existing in Henry VIIL's reign,
carpet, worsted, and tanning industries, and agri-
cultural trade. Until 1868 it returned two
members, and until 1885 one. The Danes
wintered here in 896, and the site of a Saxon
castle, built by the princess Ethelfleda, is still
distinctly marked. Robert de Belesme (a kins-
man of the Conqueror) built the Norman castle,
and unsuccessfully defended it against Henry I.
It was also besieged by Henry II. and Edward
II. The castle was demolished by the Parlia-
mentarians after a three-weeks' siege, during
which the 'High Town' was destroyed by fire,
one of the few houses surviving being the fine
old Tudor mansion, still standing, in which,
Bishop Percy was afterwards born (1728). Baxter
began his ministry here. The population is over
6000.

Bridgwater, a municipal borough and river-
port of Somersetshire, on the Parret, 6 miles in
a direct line, and 12 by the river, from the

Bristol Channel, and 29 miles SW. of Bristol.
It stands on the border of a plain between the
Mendip and Quantock Hills, in a well-wooded
country. The Parret, which admits vessels of
700 tons up to the town, rises 36 feet at spring-
tides, and is subject to a bore, 6 or 8 feet high ;
a canal gives water communication with Taunton.
Bath or scouring bricks, of which Bridgwater
has a monopoly, are made here of a inixture of
sand and clay found in the river, and there are
carriage-works and potteries. The Conqueror
granted the manor to one Walter de Douay, and
its name thereupon became Burgh-Walter, of
which Bridgwater is a mere corruption. A castle
was built here in the reign of John, and an
Augustinian abbey about 1230. Admiral Blake
was a native of Bridgwater, which in the great
rebellion was forced by Fairfax to surrender, the
castle being dismantled. The battle of Sedgemoor
(q.v.) was fought in 1685 near Bridgwater, whose
corporation had proclaimed Monmouth as king.
Bridgwater formerly returned two members, but
was disfranchised in 1870. Pop. (1851) 10 317
(1901) 15,209. See the history of the town by
S. J. Jarman (1889).

Bridlington, or BURLINGTON, a town in the
East Riding of Yorkshire, 6 miles SW. of Flam-
borough Head, and 23 SSE. of Scarborough. An
old-fashioned place, with narrow irregular streets,
it is supposed to have been the site of a Roman
station. An Augustinian priory of immense
wealth, founded in Henry I.'s reign, is repre-
sented by the nave of its splendid church, inixed
Early English and Perpendicular in style. On
Bridlington Bay, 1 mile SE., is Bridlington Quay,
the port of the town, which has risen into repute
as a watering-place, with fine sands, a parade,
ornamental gardens, a chalybeate mineral spring,
and hot and cold baths. The bay has good
anchorage, and the harbour is enclosed by stone
piers. In 1643 Henrietta Maria landed here from
Holland with arms and ammunition bought with
the crown-jewels, when Bridlington was cannon-
aded for giving her refuge. In 1899 it became a
municipality. Pop. 13,000.

Bridport, a municipal borough of Dorsetshire
at the confluence of the Asker and the Brit, 2
miles from the English Channel, and 16 W. of
Dorchester by rail. It stands on an eminence
surrounded by hills, and has a town-hall (1785),
and a good cruciform parish church. Till 1867
Bridport returned two members to parliament ;
and till 1885, one. The chief manufactures are
ropes and cordage (a ' Bridport dagger ' was pro-
verbial for a halter in Leland's day), besides
twine, shoe-thread, fishing-nets, and sailcloth.
Vessels 9f 250 tons can enter the harbour, which
is 1 mile below the town. The population is
about 6000.

Brieg (Breeg), a town of Prussian Silesia, on
the Oder, 27 miles SE. of Breslau by rail. The
13th-century church of St Nicholas has a splendid
organ, and towers added in 1884-85. Brieg manu-
factures machinery, ironwares, sugar, leather,
tobacco, &c. Pop. 25,000.

Briel (Breal), or BRIELLE, sometimes THE
BRILL, a fortified seaport town of South Holland,
situated on the north side of the island of Voorne,
near the mouth of the Maas. Pop. 4562, chiefly
pilots and fishermen. Briel may be considered
as the nucleus of the Dutch republic, having
been taken from the Spaniards in 1572. De Witt
and Tromp were natives.

Brienne-le-Chateau (Bree-enri-le-Shdhto'), a
town (pop. 1680) in the dep. of Aube, on the

BRIENZ

127

BRINDISI

Aube, 35 miles ENE. of Troyes. At the mili-
tary school here (suppressed in 1790) the great
Napoleon spent five years. Here, too, he was
defeated by the allies in January 1814.

Brienz (Bree-entz'), a Swiss town at the foot of
the Bernese Alps, on the NE. shore of the lake of
Brienz, 30 miles ESE. of Bern. Pop. 2758. The
lake, 8| miles long and 1 broad, is an expansion
of the river Aar, and is believed to have been at
one time united with Lake Thun. It lies 1857
feet above the sea, is 859 feet deep at one point,
and is surrounded by lofty mountains. The
Giessbach Cascades, a series of line falls, are
accessible by a cable tramway.

Brierfield, an urban district, Lancashire, 2J
miles NE. of Burnley. Pop. 7500.

Brierley Hill, a town of Staffordshire, 2 miles
NE. of Stourbridge. It has numerous collieries,
large ironworks, glassworks, brickworks, and
potteries. Pop. 13,000.

Brigg, a market-town of Lincolnshire, 24 miles
N. of Lincoln. Pop. 3500.

Brighouse, a manufacturing town in the West
Riding of Yorkshire, 4 miles ESE. of Halifax,
a municipal borough since 1S93. Pop. 22,500.

Brightlingsea, an Essex seaport, on the Colne's
estuary, 8 miles SE. of Colchester. It has oyster
fisheries. Pop. 5000.

Brighton, a parliamentary, municipal, and
county borough and fashionable watering-place
in Sussex, 50j miles S. of London by rail (1J
hour). Its former name, Brighthelmstone (1252-
1810), was superseded about 1800 by Brighton,
which occurs, however, as early as 1660. The
town is built on a slope ascending eastward to
a range of high chalk-cliffs ; to the west, these
hills recede from the coast ; and the nearest
point of the South Downs is the Devil's Dyke,
5 miles distant. Ancient Brighthelmstone was
a mere fishing-village on a level under the cliff.
It suffered much at the hands of French, Flem-
ings, and Spaniards, and still more from the sea,
whose inroads in 1699, 1703, and 1706 under-
mined the cliffs and destroyed many houses.
Further inroads are prevented by a sea-wall of
great strength (60 feet high and 23 feet thick at
the base), extending along the east cliffs, and
built between 1827 and 1838 at a cost of 100,000.
The writings of Dr Richard Russell, a celebrated
physician, first drew public attention about 1753
to Brighton as an eligible watering-place, and
the discovery of a chalybeate spring in the
vicinity increased its popularity. The visit of
the Prince of Wales in 1782, and his subsequent
yearly residence there, finally opened the eyes
of the fashionable world to Brighton's immense
attractions, and it thenceforth became the
crowded resort of a health-seeking population,
in which the opening of the Brighton Railway
in 1841 greatly assisted. It was made a parlia-
mentary borough (returning two members) in
1832, a municipal one in 1854 ; its progress has
been very rapid, and the town is still steadily
increasing. A.S becomes a favoured retreat of
wealth and aristocracy, Brighton is for the most
part extremely well built, consisting of new and
elegant streets, squares, and terraces. The pub-
lic hotels are magnificent; besides these there
are the boarding-houses and nearly 1000 lodging-
house keepers. A range of splendid houses fronts
the sea for upwards of 3 miles, the promenade
asphalted from end to end, and exceptionally
well lighted being almost on a dead level, within
a few feet of the sea, for the greater part of its

length, but rising at the east end of the town to
a height of 60 feet, on the top of the sea-wall
already referred to. Beneath this is the Madeira
Road, a fine drive and promenade a mile in
length, and sheltered effectually from the north
wind. The population is greatly increased during
the fashionable seasons (especially in late summer
and autumn) by the influx of visitors, the average
number being 50,000, chiefly from London, for
which reason it is sometimes called London-super-
Mare. Of over twenty churches, St Nicholas,
dating from the time of Henry VII., is the only
ancient one; Holy Trinity Church has been
rendered famous from the ministry of F. W.
Robertson. The public buildings include the
town-hall, the town-hall in the adjoining town-
ship of Hove (part of the parliamentary borough,
but not included for municipal purposes), the
unrivalled aquarium (1872), museum of British
birds, school of science and art, Brighton college,
theatre, and the Sussex county hospital. At
Queen's Park, in the east of the town, is the
German Spa establishment, and at St Anne's
well and wild gardens in the west is a chaly-
beate spring. In the north of the town is the
Preston public park of 62 acres (1884), which cost
50,000, the money being left to the town by the
'leviathan ' bookmaker, Mr W. E. Davies (1819-79).

Near the centre of the town is the Royal
Pavilion or Marine Palace, a fantastic oriental
or Chinese structure, with domes, minarets, and
pinnacles, and Moorish stables, begun for the
Prince of Wales in 1784, and finished in 1827.
It was purchased in 1850 for 53,000 by the
corporation, and with its fine pleasure-grounds
it is devoted to the recreation of the inhabitants.
The concert-hall known as the 'Dome,' formerly
the royal stables, can accommodate 3000 people.
Adjoining are the public library and museum
and picture-gallery. The famous chain pier
(1823), 1136 feet in length, was destroyed in a storm
in 1896; the much wider 'West Pier' (1866) is
1115 feet long ; and the New Pier and Marine
Palace (1900) is 1700 feet long. Pop. (1801) 7339 ;
(1821) 24,429 ; (1841) 46,661 ; (1861) 77,693 ; (1881)
107,546; (1891) 115,873 ; (1901) 123,478 ; of parlia-
mentary borough, two members (1901), 153,386.
See works by Erredge (1862), J. Bishop (1875-80),
Sawyer (1878), Sala (1895), and on the ' Brighton
Road ' by C. G. Harper (1892).

Brignoles (Breen-yoll'), a town in the French
dep. of Var, 42 in. ESE. of Aix by rail. Pop. 4298.

Brihuega (Bree-way'ga), a town of New Castile,
Spain, on the Tajuna, 20 miles ENE. of Guad-
alajara. Pop. 3700. Here, in 1710, the English
general Stanhope was defeated by the Due de
Vendome, and compelled to surrender.

Brindaban, or BINDRABAN, a town of the
North-west Provinces, on the Jumna, 6 miles N.
of Muttra. It is one of the holiest cities of the
Hindus ; and through the munificence of wealthy
devotees there are a large number of costly
temples and shrines. Here, as at Benares, the
immediate margin of the river is occupied by
flights of steps, or ghauts. Pop. 22,717.

Brin'disi (anc. Bmndisium or Brundusium), a
seaport town of Southern Italy, on a small pro-
montory in a bay of the Adriatic, 346 miles SE.
of Ancona by rail. It was the principal naval
station of the Romans in the Adriatic, with a
pop. of 100,000. Horace has made a journey to
Brundisium the subject of one of his satires (Sat.
i. 5), and Virgil died here (19 B.C.) on his return
from Greece. With the decline of the crusades
it sank into insignificance, and subsequently it

BRIOUDE

128

BRISTOL

suffered greatly from wars and earthquakes.
The principal buildings are the archiepiscopal
cathedral (1150), now in a somewhat ruinous
state ; and the castle, commenced by the Emperor
Frederick II., and finished by Charles V. Since
the establishment of the Overland Route to
India, Brindisi has greatly increased, and as the
terminus of the Mont Cenis and other railway
routes, it has become a great point of departure
for passengers for the East. It is about 60 hours
from London by rail ; and the weekly steamers
to Alexandria make the passage in three days.
The extensive and well-sheltered harbour has
undergone great improvement ; and mail steamers
can now lie alongside the quays in 26 feet of
water. Pop. 24,508.

Brioude (Bree-ood'), a town in the dep. of Haute-
Loire, 44 miles SSE. of Clermont. Pop. 4832.

Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, a sea-
port and chief seat of trade in the colony, is
situated about 500 miles N. of Sydney, and 25
miles from the mouth of the Brisbane River,
which falls into Moreton Bay. Pop. (1876) 26,911 ;
(1881) 31,109 ; (1891) 48,738 ; (1901, within a five-
mile radius) 119,428. North and South Brisbane
are connected by an iron bridge, 1080 feet long,
destroyed in 1893 and rebuilt in 1897. Notable
buildings are the Parliament Houses, Government
House, museum, supreme court, post-office,
custom-house, Anglican and Catholic cathe-
drals, and some of the banks. There are several
parks and botanic gardens. The export trade,
which is large, includes gold, wool, cotton, sugar,
tallow, and hides ; and the imports, most of the
articles in use among a thriving community.
Regular steam communication is kept up with
the other Australian ports, as well as with
London (11,295 miles). The channel of the river
has been deepened, and admits of large vessels
coming up to Brisbane. Brisbane is the terminus
of several local railways, and since 1888 it has
had through railway connection with Sydney,
Melbourne, and Adelaide the last link being the
bridge over the Hawkesbury River. Brisbane
was settled as a penal station in 1825 by Sir T.
Brisbane, governor of New South Wales. In
1839 the convict settlement was broken up. The
era of progress began in 1842, when the colony
was opened to free settlers. At first an appanage
of New South Wales, the Moreton Bay district
was erected into an independent colony in 1859,
when the city was incorporated. The Brisbane
River rises in the Burnett Range, and receives
the Bremer and other rivers before its entrance
into Moreton Bay, below the town of Brisbane.
Its floods in February 1893 did tremendous
damage to the city, South Brisbane being prac-
tically laid in ruins.

Bristol, a mercantile city, 118 miles W. of
London, and 6 from the mouth of the Avon, at
its junction with the Frome, is locally partly in
Gloucestershire and partly in Somerset, but since
1373 has been itself a county. The castle, rebuilt
with a vast keep by Robert, Earl of Gloucester
(died 1147), fell into decay, and was demolished
in 1654. The cathedral was formerly a church
of Augustinian canons (1148); the nave and
aisles, pulled down for rebuilding in 15th cen-
tury, were rebuilt in 1877; the choir is good
14th-century work; fine Norman chapter-house
and gateway remain. Bristol, originally in the
diocese of Worcester, was created a see and a
city in 1540, with the abbey-church of St Augus-
tine's as cathedral, and was united to the see of
Gloucester in 1836 ; its re-erection as a separate

see took place in 1897. Of its other churches the
most noteworthy is St Mary Redcliff, justly
declared by Queen Elizabeth to be the 'fairest
and most famous parish church in England.'
Mainly rebuilt by William Canynges, merchant
(c. 1470), it is vaulted throughout, and is a
magnificent specimen of Perpendicular. The
truncated spire was completed, 280 feet from
ground, and 170 feet from top of tower, in 1872.
In the muniment-room is the chest in which
Chatterton (1752-70) pretended to have found the
Rowley poems. Among the ancient houses of
the town are Canynges' house, Redcliff Street,
Spicer's (or Back) Hall, and St Peter's Hospital.
The principal educational institutions are Uni-
versity College (1876), Clifton College (1862), and
the grammar-school (1531) ; and the charitable
foundations, Queen Elizabeth's Hospital (1586),
the Red Maids' School (1621), and Colston's School
(1704), now removed to Stapleton, Gloucester-
shire. The City Library (free) dates from 1613.
Bristol, which derived its early wealth from ex-
porting slaves to Ireland, received its first charter
from Henry II., who also (1171) gave Dublin to
the men of Bristol. One of the ' staple ' towns
(1353), Bristol took a prominent part in discovery
and colonisation. In 1497 John Cabot sailed from
the port, and was the first to discover North
America ; his son Sebastian declared that he was
born in Bristol, and sailed thence on his voyage
of 1498. The city was taken by Prince Rupert
in 1643, and by Fairfax in 1645. Colston the
philanthropist (1636-1721) founded many chari-
ties, and his 'day' is annually kept in Bristol.
In the 18th century privateering was largely
carried on. Southey was a native of Bristol,
and he and Coleridge were much there in their
younger days. Burke sat for the city, one of
his chief supporters being Champion (1743-91),
maker of the famous Bristol china. The Reform
riots of 1831 occasioned great loss of life and
property. The first transatlantic steam-ship, the
Great Western, was built in the port in 1838.
Strenuous efforts have been made to improve
the dock accommodation ; in 1809 the Avon for
about 3 miles was turned into a floating harbour,
and in 1883 the corporation purchased large
docks at Avonmouth and Portishead. The prin-
cipal imports are grain, provisions, oils, hides,
tallow, sugar, and petroleum ; the exports coal,
salt, tin-plates, cotton piece-goods, chemical pro-
ducts, manufactured oils, and sundries. In 1885
the number of its -members of parliament was
raised from two to four. Pop. within mun.
boundaries (1801) 61,153 ; (1841) 125,148 ; (1871)
182,552 ; (1881) 206,503 ; (1901) 328,842 ; of parl.
borough (1901) 321,908. The Hotwell, noticed by
the Bristol chronicler, William Worcester (died
c. 1491), enjoyed some reputation as a fashionable
resort during the later half of the 18th century ;
it is now deserted and decayed. Clifton, how-
ever, the parish to which it belongs, has thriven.
It is mentioned in Domesday, but has little history
till it appears as a ' beautiful village ' in 1760 ; it
is now a large and handsome suburb of Bristol,
of which it forms part for municipal and parlia-
mentary purposes. It stands above St Vincent's
Rocks, which rise majestically from the Avon.
The river is spanned 245 feet above high-water
by a suspension bridge (1864). Clifton has a
zoological garden (1836), fine arts academy (1858),
museum and library, and other public buildings.
In the neighbourhood are the remains of some
Roman camps. See works by Barrett (1789),
Seyer (1823), Nicholl and Taylor (1881), Hunt
(1887), and Latimer (1887-93).

BRISTOL

129

BROCKVILLE

Bristol, (1) a town of Bucks county, Penn-
sylvania, on the Delaware River, 20 miles NNE.
of Philadelphia. It has manufactures of iron,
machinery, flour, felt, worsted, and furniture.
Pop. 7553. (2) A port of entry, and capital of
Bristol county, Rhode Island, on Narragansett
Bay, 15 miles SSE. of Providence by rail, with
shipbuilding and sugar-refining, and manufac-
ubber goods.

tures of cotton and ru

Pop. 6478.

Bristol Bay, an arm of Behring Sea, lying
immediately to the north of the peninsula of
Aliaska.

Bristol Channel, an inlet of the Atlantic
Ocean, between South Wales on the north, and
Devon and Somerset shires on the south ; or it
may be regarded as an extension of the estuary
of the river Severn. It is about 80 miles long,
and 5 to 43 miles broad ; the depth ranging from
5 to 40 fathoms. It is the largest inlet or estuary
in Britain, having a very irregular coast-line of
220 miles. The chief rivers which flow into it
are the Towy, Taff, Usk, Wye, Severn, Avon,
Axe, Parret, Taw, and Torridge. The tides in
it rise to an extraordinary height 35 to 47 feet.
The chief bays and harbours are Caermarthen
and Swansea Bays, Cardiff" Roads, on the north,
and Bideford or Barnstaple, Ilfracombe, Mine-
head, Porlock, and Bridgwater, on the south.

Britain. See GREAT BRITAIN, NEW BRITAIN.

Britannia Bridge. See MENAI STRAIT.

British Columbia, Guiana, New Guinea, North
Borneo. See COLUMBIA, GUIANA, NEW GUINEA,
BORNEO. For British East, Central, and South
Africa, see IBEA, NYASSA, RHODESIA, ZAMBESIA.

Briton Ferry, the port of Neath in South
Wales. Pop. 6000.

Brittany (Fr. Bretagne; anc. Armorica), the
great north-western peninsula of France, extend-
ing in triangular form into the sea, its base rest-
ing on Normandy, Maine, Anjou, and Poitou,
its sides washed by the Channel and the Atlantic
Ocean. In earlier times it formed, with the
name of duchy, one of the provinces of France ;
now it forms the five deps. of Finistere, Cotes-
du-Nord, Morbihan, Ille-et-Vilaine, and Loire-
Inferieure, with a total area of 13,130 sq. m.,
and a population of 3,250,000, more than one-
third of whom speak Breton, belonging to the
Cymric or southern group of the Celtic languages.

Brive-la-Gaillarde (Breev'-la-Ga-yard'), a town
in the French dep. of Correze, 55 miles SSE. of
Limoges by rail. Pop. 13,445.

Brixen, a town of Tyrol, on the Brenner
Railway, 57 miles SSE. of Munich. Pop. 5842.

Brixham, a seaport and watering-place of
Devonshire, on Tor Bay, 25 miles S. of Exeter
(32^ by rail). It is an irregular place, sprinkled
over three valleys and four hillsides ; pictur-
esque, and fishy as even few fishing-towns.
There are iron-mines, limestone quarries, min-
eral-paint works, and a bone cave on Windmill
Hill, discovered in 1858. William of Orange
landed here, November 4, 1688. Population,
above 8000.

Brixton is a district of London (SW.), in
Lambeth parish.

Broach, BAROACH, or BHARUCH, a town of
Guzerat, Bombay Presidency, on the north bank
of the Nerbudda, 228 iniles N. of Bombay by
rail. Anciently one of the chief ports of Western
India, and in the 16th century ' a town of weavers
making the finest cloth in the world,' Broach
was taken by the British in 1772, ceded to
I

Sindhia in 1783, and again retaken by the British
in 1803. It carries on a small coasting trade,
the principal exports being raw cotton, grain,
and seeds. Pop. 42,168, including many Parsees
and Jains.

Broadford, a coast-village of Skye, 8 miles
WSW. of Kyle Akin ferry.

Broadhaven, a watering-place of Pembroke-
shire, 6 miles WSW. of Haver ford west.

Broadlands. See ROMSEY.

Broadmoor, in SE. Berkshire, 2 miles from
Wellington College Station, is the state asylum
for 500 criminal lunatics. It is a large brick
building, opened in 1863.

Broads, THE NORFOLK, a series of inland lakes
usually said to be formed by the widening or
'broadening' out of the rivers. More probably
their origin is due to a change in the general
level of the land surface of the county ; for
even within historic times the river Yare was
an estuary of the sea, in which herrings were
caught at the time of Domesday. The broads
par excellence are those up the Bure or North
River (which empties itself into the sea at Yar-
mouth), and its tributaries the Ant and the
Thurne. On the Bure are the well-known broads
of Wroxham, Salhouse, Hoveton, Horning, and
Ranworth ; on the Ant those of Barton and
Sutton ; on the Thurne those of Hickling, Mar-
tham, and Horsey. The three fine broads of
Ormesby, Rollesby, and Filby, though connected
and forming a chain, have no practicable outlet
to the river ; the Yare or Norwich River has no
broads on which sailing is possible, but those at
Surlingharn, Strumpshaw, and Rockland are well
worthy a visit, and very accessible by rail ; near
Lowestoft, on the Waveney, is Oulton Broad.
The broads have grown greatly in favour with
holiday-makers, so that now on a Saturday, dur-
ing ; August and September, perhaps a hundred
yachts may be seen at once. See works by
Davies (1884), Rye (1887), Suffling (1891), Emer-
son (1893), and Dutt (1903).

Broadstairs, a Kentish watering-place If mile
NE. of Ramsgate, so named from the breadth
of the sea-gate or stair, which was formerly
defended by a gate or archway. Near it is a
noble orphanage, founded by Mrs Tait. Dickens
was a frequent visitor. Pop. 6266.

Broadway, an old-fashioned Worcestershire
village, a great artists' haunt, 5 miles SE. of
Evesham. Pop. of parish, 1436.

Brocken (Mons Bructenis of the Romans ; pop-
ularly Bloclcsberg), the highest summit (3740 feet)
of the Harz Mountains, in Prussian Saxony, 20
miles WSW. of Halberstadt. It holds an im-
portant place in folklore as the witches' meeting-
place on Walpurgis night, and for the optical
illusion known as the ' Spectre of the Brocken.'

Brockenhurst, a New Forest village, Hamp-
shire, 4 miles N. by W. of Lymington.

Brocket Hall, Herts, on the Lea, 2J miles N.
of Hatfield, has been the seat of Lord Melbourne,
Lord Palmerston, and Earl Cowper.

Brockton, formerly called North Bridgewater,
a town of Massachusetts, U.S., 20 miles S. of
Boston. It manufactures boots. Pop. (1880)
13,608 ; (1890) 27,294 ; (1900) 40,063.

Brockville, a town of Ontario, on the left
bank of the St Lawrence, 125 miles SW. of
Montreal. It is on the Grand Trunk and the
Brockville and Ottawa railways, and a port of
call for steamers. It took its name from Sir

BRODICK

130

BROUSSA

Isaac Brock (1769-1812), who fell in the battle of
Queenstown. Pop. 9609.

Brodick, a coast-village of Arran, 14 miles
WSW. of Ardrossan.

Brody, a town of Galicia, 89 miles ENE. of
Lemberg by rail. A free town from 1779 to 1879,
it has leather and flax manufactures, breweries,
refineries, &c. The trade is in the hands of the
Jews, who form three-fourths of the inhabitants
of this 'German Jerusalem.' Pop. 17,534.

Broek (rhyming with Luke), 4J miles NE.
of Amsterdam, was formerly the show 'clean
village ' of Holland. Pop. 1553.

Bromberg, a town of Posen, 6 miles from the
Vistula, and 99 SSW. of Danzig. It has iron-
foundries, machine-shops, cloth and paper mills,
distilleries, breweries, and corn-mills. The llrom-
berg Canal, 17 miles long, by uniting the Netz
and Brahe, connects the Oder and Elbe with the
Vistula. Pop. (1843) 8878 ; (1900) 52,160.

Bromley, a market-town of Kent, on the
Ravensboume, 10 miles SB. of London. Long
the residence of the bishops of Rochester, it has
a church, with the grave of Dr Johnson's wife.
Pop. 80,000.

Brompton is a district of London in the parish
of Kensington, SW. Once specially a quarter for
artists, it contains a fine consumption hospital
and the Oratory.

Brom'sebro, a village and castle of Sweden,
27 miles S. of Kalmar.

Bromsgrove, a market-town of Worcestershire,
in a richly wooded valley, near the small river
Salwarp, 12 miles NNE. of Worcester. It has a
grammar-school (1553 ; refounded 161)3), and a fine
old church with a spire 189 feet high. The linen
manufacture has been superseded by nail and
button making. Pop. 8500.

Bromwich. See WEST BROMWICH.

Bromyard, a market-town of Herefordshire,
on the Frome, 14 miles NE. of Hereford. Pop.
of parish, 1660.

Broni, a town of Northern Italy, with mineral
springs, 11 miles SE. of Pavia. Pop. 5147.

Bron'te, a town of Sicily, at the western base
of Mount Etna, 33 miles N W. of Catania. Nelson
was created Duke of Bronte by the Neapolitan
government in 1799. Pop. 19,427.

Brook Farm, an abortive community estab-
lished in 1840 on Fourier's principles, 8 miles
SW. of Boston, U.S.

Brookline, a suburban town 4 miles SW. of
Boston, U.S., with niunerous handsome villas
and parks, and manufactories of philosophical
instruments, &c. Pop. 25,000.

Brooklyn, since 1898 a borough in the enlarged
New York City, and capital of King's county, New
York, is on the west end of Long Island, opposite
(old) New York, from which it is separated by
a strait called East River, nearly a mile wide,
running from Long Island Sound to New York
Bay, and with which it is connected by steam-
ferries, and a magnificent suspension bridge (fin-
ished 1883), 5989 feet in length by 85 in breadth,
and with a river span of 1595J feet, intended for
foot-passage, carriages, and railways. Two lines
of elevated railways and numerous lines of horse-
cars traverse the streets of Brooklyn, making
easy communication between the suburban sec-
tions and the ferries. Though it is not a port
of entry, the amount of foreign and domestic
freight that comes to its warehouses is enormous.
Some of these docks are among the most exten-

sive in the United States, covering from 40 to
60 acres each, and are lined with immense store-
houses for grain and other freight. At the south-
east extremity of the city, upon a high ridge
overlooking New York Bay and its environs, is
the beautiful Greenwood Cemetery, covering 400
acres ; and near at hand are the Ridgewood
reservoir and Prospect Park, a public pleasure-
ground of 540 acres, which has cost, including
two noble boulevards connected with it, extend-
ing respectively 3 and 2 miles to Coney Island
and East New York, nearly $12,000,000. The
borough possesses a water front of 10 miles, and
within its area of 25 sq. in. are carried on the
refining of sugar and petroleum, the manufacture
of glass, chandlery, clothing, carpets, chemicals,
paints, oilcloth, metallic wares, tobacco, steam-
boilers, lace, hats, buttons, paper, felt goods,
&c., and shipbuilding. The public buildings
include the court-house, erected at a cost of
$543,000 ; the hall of records, costing $328,000 ;
the municipal building, costing $200,000; an
academy of music, seated for 2400 persons,
&c. There is a fine government post-office, and
a U. S. navy yard, which occupies 40 acres, with
extensive ship-houses, workshops, and military
stores, and a dry-dock which cost about $1,000,000.
First settled in 1636, the town was organised by
the Dutch governor of New Amsterdam in 1646,
and named Breukelen from a place of the same
name in the Netherlands, 8 miles NW. of Utrecht.
It was incorporated as a city in 1834, to which
Williamsburg and Bushwick were added in 1855,
and in 1886 the town of New Lots (East New
York). In 1898 it became part of the larger New
York. Pop. (1810) 4402; (1850) 96,838; (1880)
566,603; (1890)806,343; (1900)1,166,582.

Broom, LOCH. See SUMMER ISLES.

Broomhall, the Earl of Elgin's seat, Fife, 2J
miles S. by W. of Dunfermline.

Brora, a coast- village of Sutherland, at the
mouth of the Brora River, 4 miles NE. of
Golspie. Pop. 540.

Broseley, a Shropshire town, on the Severn,
15 miles SE. of Shrewsbury, now a ward divi-
sion of the municipal borough of Wenlock.

Brou. See BOURG-EN-BRESSE.

Brough. (Bruff), a Westmorland town, 5 miles
NNE. of Kirkby Stephen. Pop. 656.

Brougham (Broom), a Westmorland parish, 2
miles SE. of Penrith, with the fine ruin of
Brougham Castle, the seat of the Cliffords, and
with Brougham Hall, the seat of Lord Brougham
and Vaux.

BrougMon-in-Furness, a market-town of Lan-
cashire, at the head of the Duddon estuary, 9
miles NW. of Ulverston. Pop. 1159.

Broughty-Ferry, a town of Forfarshire, on the
Firth of Tay, 3^ miles E. of Dundee. Many
Dundee merchants occupy fine villas at Broughty-
Ferry, which has all the amenities of a favourite
watering-place. Its castle (1498) was held by the
English 1547-50, and in 1860-61 was repaired as
a Tay defence. Pop. (1861) 3513 ; (1901) 10,484.

Broussa, BRUSA, or BOURSA, the ancient Prnsa,
where the kings of Bithynia usually resided,
situated in Asiatic Turkey, at the foot of Mount
Olympus, in Asia Minor, 13 miles S. of the Sea
of Marmora. The old citadel stands on a rock
in the centre of the town. Both Greeks and
Armenians have an archbishop here. The silks
of Broussa are much esteemed, but the produc-
tion of the silk-factories, many of which are in
the hands of Europeans, has fallen off. Wine is.

BROWN

131

BRUNSWICK

largely produced by the Greeks, and fruit is
exported ; carpets and tapestry are also made ;
and meerschaum clay is obtained from a hill in
the vicinity. In ancient times Broussa was
famous for its sulphurous thermal baths, which
during the terrible earthquakes of 1855 ceased for
a time to flow, but soon returned with a fuller
current than before. The mosques (one of which,
'the Magnificent,' has a large dome adorned with
beautiful coloured tiles) suffered severely from
the same earthquakes. The sultan Othman be-
sieged Broussa in 1317 ; and in 1327 his son
Orkhan, the second emperor of Turkey, captured
it, and made it the capital of his empire, and it
continued so until the taking of Constantinople
by Mohammed II. in 1453. The first six Ottoman
sultans are buried here. Pop. 77,000.

Brown, MOUNT, in the Rocky Mountains, near
the source of the Columbia River, and on the
borders of British Columbia and Alberta, is not,
as was thought, 16,000, but 9000 feet high.

Brownhills, a town of Staffordshire, 5 miles
N. of Walsall. Pop. 15,703.

Brownsville, a port of entry, Texas, on the
north bank of the Rio Grande, opposite Mata-
moros, 35 miles from the river's mouth in the
Gulf of Mexico. In May 1846 the town was
occupied by a few U. S. troops, who maintained
their position in the face of a bombardment that
lasted a week. Pop. (5500.

Brpxburn, a mining and manufacturing town
of Linlithgowshire, on the Union Canal, 12 miles
W. of Edinburgh. It is chiefly notable for its
shale-oil works. Pop. 6250.

Bruar, a Perthshire stream, with fine falls, 3
miles W. of Blair Athole.

Bruchsal (Brook'sal), a town of Baden, on the
Saalbach, 12 miles NE. of Karlsruhe. The prince-
bishops of Spires resided here from the 16th cen-
tury. Machinery, cigars, paper, and soap are
manufactured. Pop. 14,000.

Bruck (Brook), (1) a walled town of Austria,
on the Leitha, 26 miles SE. of Vienna by rail.
Pop. 4836. (2) A town of Upper Styria, on the
Mur, 108 miles SW. of Vienna by rail. Pop.
7795. (3) A market-town of Bavaria, 15 miles
W. of Munich by rail. Pop. 3418.

Briickenau (Briik'en-ow'), a town of Bavaria,
on the Sinn, 17 miles NW. of Kissingen. Near
it are warm springs. Pop. 1592.

Bruff, a Limerick village, 6 miles N. of Kil-
mallock. Pop. 798.

Bruges (Briizh; Flem. Brugge, 'the bridges'),
a city of Belgium, 8 miles from the sea, with
which it is connected by the three canals from
Ghent, Sluys, and Ostencl, all much inferior to
the direct ship-canal from Heyst (Zeebrugge), 26
feet wide (made 1896-1903). By rail it is 14 miles
E. of Ostend, and 62 WNW. of Brussels. Among
the most interesting buildings are Les Halles
(1364), a cloth and flesh market, with the famous
belfry, 353 feet high ; the Gothic hotel-de-ville
(1377), with a library of 100,000 volumes; the
church of Notre Dame, with a spire 442 feet high,
a statue of the Virgin (said to be by Michael
Angelo), and monuments of Charles the Bold and
his daughter Mary, wife of the Emperor Maxi-
milian ; the cathedral of St Sauveur, with an
ugly brick exterior, but a fine interior, containing
the stalls of the knights of the Golden Fleece ;
and St John's Hospital, with Hans Memling's
masterpieces adorning the reliquary of St Ursula's
arm. Bruges has manufactures of lace, woollens,
liuen, cotton, leather, soap, starch, and tobacco ;

and distilleries, sugar and salt refineries, and
shipbuilding yards. Pop. (1901) 53,100, of whom
very many are poverty-stricken. Dating from
the 3d century, Bruges by 1200 was the central
mart of the Hanseatic League, and by 1300 had
become the metropolis of the world's commerce,
its population then amounting to over 200,000.
In 1488 the citizens rose in insurrection, and im-
prisoned the Archduke Maximilian, and with the
harsh measures of repression which ensued com-
menced the commercial decline of Bruges. Many
of the traders and manufacturers, driven forth
from their own country by the religious persecu-
tions of the following century, settled in Eng-
land ; in the 16th century, however, the tapestry
of Bruges was still celebrated. Taken by the
French in 1794, in 1815 the city became a part of
the kingdom of the United Netherlands, and in
1830 of the Belgian monarchy. At Bruges lived
John van Eyck (1428-41), Caxton (1446-76), and
Memling (1477-94). See James Weale, Bruges et
ses Environs (4th ed. 1887).

Brugg (Broogg), a town in the Swiss canton of
Aargau, on the Aar, 36 miles ESE. of Basel by
rail. Near it is the site of Vindouissa, the chief
Roman station in Helvetia ; and it was also the
cradle of the Hapsburgs, whose ruined castle
(1020) crowns a wooded height 2 miles distant.
Zimmermann was a native. Pop. 2435.

Briihl (nearly Breed), a town of Rhenish Prussia,
8 miles SSW. of Cologne by rail. It has a splen-
did 18th-century castle. Pop. 7030.

Brunei, a Mohammedan sultanate under British
protection (since 1888) in the NW. of Borneo,
whose sultan was formerly overlord of the whole
island. Area, 4000 sq. in. ; pop. perhaps 25,000
or 30,000. The capital, Brunei, on a river of the
same name, is a miserable, dirty town, built on
piles, with 10,000 inhabitants.

Brunig, a Swiss pass (3396 feet), forming the
shortest and easiest route between the ' Forest
Cantons ' and the Bernese Oberland. A road was
formed in 1857-62, and in 1888 a Brunig branch
of the Berne-Lucerne Railway was opened.

Bruni Island (North and South) lies off the
south part of the east coast of Tasmania, from
which it is separated by D'Entrecasteaux Channel.
It is 32 miles long, 1 to 11 miles wide, and 160
sq. m. in area. Coal is mined.

Briinn, a city of the Austrian empire, the
capital of Moravia, at the confluence of the
Schwarzawa and the Zwittawa, 93 miles N. of
Vienna by rail. Behind the city, on an eminence
(984 feet), rises the castle of Spielberg, where
Silvio Pellico was confined 1822-30. Briinn has
a steam-tramway, a cathedral, St James's Church,
with a tower 305 feet high, and important manu-
factxires of woollens, machinery, linen, leather,
chemicals, &c. Pop. (1881) 82,660 ; (1900) 110,000,
40 per cent, of whom were Czechs.

Brunnen (Broon'nen), the port of the Swiss
canton of Schwyz, on the Lake of Lucerne, 17
miles by water, but 28 by rail ESE. of Lucerne.
Here in 1315, after the battle of Morgarten, the
deputies of the Forest Cantons formed a league.

Brunswark, a conspicuous hill (920 feet) of S.
Dumfriesshire, with Roman camps.

Brunswick, DUCHY OF (Ger. Braunschweig), a
state of Northern Germany, consisting of three
larger and five smaller distinct parts, with a total
area of 1423 sq. m. Pop. (1875) 327,493 ; (1900)
464,333, mostly Lutherans, and (in the country)
speakers of Platt-Deutsch. Of the three larger
parts, the principal one, forming the circle of

BRUNSWICK

132

BEZEZANY

Wolfenblittel, and including the capital, lies
between Prussia and Hanover; the second, ex-
tending westward from Prussia to the Weser,
divides Hanover into two parts ; and the third,
forming the Blankenburg district, lies to the south-
east, between Hanover, Anhalt, and Prussia.
Brunswick belongs mostly to the basin of the
Weser, which serves as a boundary on the west.
Its surface is mostly mountainous, particularly
in the southern portions of the country, but it
has nevertheless level tracts of considerable
extent. The climate in the lowlands resembles
the general climate of Northern Germany ; but in
the Harz district it is so much colder that harvest
is generally a month later than in the plains.
Brunswick in 1235, with Luneburg, was made a
duchy. In 1884, at the death of the childless
Duke William, the succession passed to the
Duke of Cumberland, son of George V., the
dethroned king of Hanover. As he refused to
recognise the new constitution of the German
empire, the imperial government declined to
allow the succession to take place, and an in-
terregnum occurred.

BRUNSWICK, the capital, stands on the Oker,
143 miles WSW. of Berlin. In the 13th century
Brunswick became a member of the Hanseatic
League, and soon attained considerable com-
mercial prosperity, but its importance declined
with the decay of the League. Most irregularly
built, with narrow and crooked streets, it has a
cathedral (1173-1469), the church of St Andrew
with a steeple 341 feet high, and a fine Gothic
Rathhaus. The manufactures include jute,
woollen and linen, leather, sewing-machines, &c.
A fine avenue of linden-trees leads to the ducal
palace, which, destroyed by fire in 1830 and 1865,
is now an imposing edifice of 1869. Pop. (1871)
57,833 ; (1900) 12S.226'

Brunswick, (1) a port of entry, Georgia, on
St Simon Sound, an inlet of the Atlantic, 186
miles SE. of Macon by rail. Population, about
10,000. (2) A town of Maine, 29 miles NE.
of Portland by rail, at the head of navigation
on the Androscoggin River, whose falls or rapids
supply water-power for cotton, paper, and other
mills. It is the seat of Bowdoin College (1794),
a Congregational institution of high standing,
at which Nathaniel Hawthorne and Longfellow
graduated. Pop. 7012.

Brunswick, NEW. See NEW BRUNSWICK.

Brussels (Fr. Bruxelles), the capital of Belgium,
is situated in a fertile plain on the ditch-like
Senne, 27 miles S. of Antwerp, and 193 NE. of
Paris. It has a circumference of about 5 miles,
and is built partly on the side of a hill ; though
some of the streets are so steep that they can
be ascended only by means of stairs, Brussels
may on the whole be pronounced one of the
finest cities in Europe. The fashionable Upper
Town, in which are the royal palace, public
offices, chief hotels, &c., is much more healthy
than the older Lower Town, which is greatly
subject to fogs, owing to its intersection by
canals and the Senne, although the stream now
passes under an arched covering, which sup-
ports a new boulevard. But the closely built
old streets, with their numerous handsome build-
ings, formerly belonging to the Brabant nobility,
but now occupied by merchants and traders,
have a fine picturesque appearance, while some
of the public edifices are unrivalled as specimens
of Gothic architecture. French is spoken in the
upper division; but in the lower Flemish is
the current language prevalent, and by many the

Walloon dialect is spoken. The walls which
formerly surrounded Brussels have been removed,
and their place is now occupied by pleasant
boulevards extending all around the old town,
and shaded by alleys of limes. The AlUe Verte
a double avenue along the Scheldt Canal forms
a splendid promenade, and leads toward the
country palace of Laeken, 3 miles north of the
city. Besides the fine park of 32 acres, in the
Upper Town, ornamented with fountains and
statues, and surrounded by the palace and other
state buildings, Brussels has several other squares
or places, among which are: the Place Royale,
with its colossal monument of Godfrey of
Bouillon ; the Grand Place, in which is the
hotel-de-ville, a splendid Gothic structure of the
15th century, with a spire of open stonework
364 feet high ; and the Place des Martyrs, where
a memorial has been erected to those who fell
here in the revolution of 1830. The statue group
of the Counts Egmont and Horn is notable.
The cathedral of St Gudule, dating from the 13th
century, has many richly painted windows, and
a pulpit considered to be the masterpiece of
Verbruggen. In the Palais des Beaux Arts is the
picture-gallery, containing the finest specimens
of the Flemish school of painting ; a valuable
museum ; and the public library, with 234,000
volumes and 22,000 MSS., many of the latter
being beautifully illuminated. The new Palais
de Justice, built in 1866-83 at a cost of more than
2,000,000, is one of the most magnificent build-
ings in Europe. The royal palace and the
national palace (for the chambers) are important
buildings. The university (1834) has over 1300
students. There are schools of painting and
sculpture, and a conservatorium. There is a
museum of paintings by the artist Wiertz, many
of them on painful and repulsive subjects.
Brussels lace is particularly famous. Of the so-
called Brussels carpets only a few are manu-
factured here, most of those of Belgian make
being produced at Tournai. There are also manu-
factures of damask, linen, ribbons, embroidery,
paper, jewellery, hats, soap, porcelain, carriages,
&c. Pop. (1846) 123,874 ; (1866) 157,905 ; (1901)
212,500, or, with its eight suburbs, 565,000.

Dating from at least the 8th century, Brussels
under Charles V. was made the court-residence
in the Netherlands, and became afterwards,
under Philip II., the chief arena of the atrocities
committed by Alva and the Inquisition. It
suffered greatly in the war of Spain against
Louis XIV. in whose reign it was bombarded
by Marshal Villeroi, and upwards of 4000 build-
ings destroyed and in that of Austria against
Louis XV. ; but still more from the continual
prevalence of party animosities caused by the
policy of Austria. Under the mild rule of Maria
Theresa, it flourished greatly, and in this time
many of its best institutions r.nd public build-
ings were founded. In 1792 Brussels fell into
the hands of the French. It was incorporated
with the kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815 ;
in 1830 it became the capital of Belgium.

Briix, a town of Bohemia, on the Biela, 78
miles NW. of Prague by rail. In its vicinity are
coal-mines, and the famous mineral springs of
Pullna and Seidlitz. Pop. 20,136.

Brynmawr, an iron-working town of Breck-
nock, 8 miles WSW. of Abergavenuy ; pop. 7000.
The American Bryn Mawr, with its college for
women (1885), is 10 miles NW. of Philadelphia.

Brzezany, in Galicia, 52 miles SE. of Lemberg ;
pop. 11,500.

BUACHAILLE ETIVE

133

BUDLEIGH SALTERTON

Buachaille Etive, two mountains (3345 and
3129 feet) of Ardchattan parish, Argyllshire.

Bubastis (the Pi-beseth of Ezek. xxx. 17 ; now
Tel Bast), a ruined city of Lower Egypt, on the
eastern main-arm of the Nile, near Zagazig.
Under the 25th dynasty (725-686 B.C.) the city
was a royal residence, but after the Persian con-
quest it gradually lost its importance. The ruins
of its great temple were discovered by M. Naville
in 1887.

Bucaramanga, capital of the dep. of Santander
in the NE. of Colombia, on the Lebrija River,
3200 feet above sea-level. Pop. 20,000.

Buc'cari, or BAKAR, a free port of Croatia, on
an inlet of the Gulf of Quarnero, 5 miles by rail
ESE. of Fiume. Pop. 2000.

Buccleuch (Buk-deiv'), a small Selkirkshire
glen, 18 miles SW. of Selkirk, with the site of
a stronghold of the Scotts, who hence took the
title of earl (1619) and duke (1663).

Buchan (Bulih'ari), the NE. district of Aber-
deenshire, between the Ythan and the Deveron.
It rises in Mormond Hill to 769 feet ; portions
of the coast are bold and precipitous, and 6
miles south of Peterhead are the famous Bullers
of Buchan, a huge vertical well in the granite
margin of the sea, 50 feet in diameter and 100
feet deep, into whose bottom the sea rushes by
a natural archway. Buchan contains the towns
of Peterhead, Fraserburgh, Macduff, and Turriff.
Buchan Ness is the easternmost promontory of
Scotland, 3 miles S. of Peterhead. See Pratt's
History of Buchan (1859).

Bucharest (Bucuresci), the capital of the former
principality of Wallachia and of the present
kingdom of Roumania, stands 265 feet above sea-
level, in the fertile but treeless plain of the small
sluggish Dambovitza. By rail it is 716 miles SE.
of Vienna, 40 N. of Giurgevo on the Danube, and
179 NW. of Varna on the Black Sea. A strange
meeting-point of East and West, the town as a
whole is but meanly built, but the streets are now
mostly paved, and lighted with gas. An elaborate
system of fortification was undertaken in 1885.
The royal palace was rebuilt in 1885; and the
Catholic cathedral is a fine edifice of 1875-84.
The number of cafes and gambling-tables is
excessive ; and altogether Bucharest has the
unenviable reputation of being the most disso-
lute capital in Europe, with all the vices but
few of the refinements of Paris. There is, how-
ever, a university (1864). The corso, or public
promenade, is a miniature Hyde Park. Bucha-
rest is the entrepot for the trade between Austria
and the Balkan Peninsula, the chief articles of
commerce being textile fabrics, grain, hides,
metal, coal, timber, and cattle. Bucharest has
been several times besieged ; and between 1793
and 1812 suffered twice from earthquakes, twice
from inundations, once from fire, and twice from
pestilence. Pop. (1866) 141,754 ; (1901) 282,100.

Buckau (Boolc'kow), a manufacturing town of
Prussian Saxony, in 1887 incorporated with Mag-
deburg (q.v.).

Buckhaven, a fishing-village of Fife, on the
Firth of Forth, 5& miles E. of Thornton Junction.
Pop. 5000.

Buckle, a fishing-town of Banffshire, 13 miles
ENE. of Elgin by rail. Its harbour (1874-80),
constructed of concrete at a cost of 60,000,
consists of an outer and innej basin, with an
area of 9 acres. Pop. 6600.

Buckingham, the county town of Bucking-
hamshire, stands, almost encircled by the Ouse,

61 miles NW. of London. An ancient place forti-
fied by Edward the Elder (918), it yet has no
antiquities, owing to a great fire in 1725. Since
1848 Aylesbury has superseded it as the assize
town, and it lost its last member in 1885. The
grammar-school was founded in 1548. The bob-
bin-lace manufacture has declined. Pop (1851)
4020 ; (1891) 3364 ; (1901) 3150.

Buckinghamshire, or BUCKS, a south-midland
county of England, surrounded by Bedfordshire,
Herts, Middlesex, Surrey, Berks, Oxfordshire,
and Northamptonshire. Thirty-third in size of
the English counties, it has a maximum length
of 57 miles, a varying breadth of 8 and 27 miles,
and an area of 730 sq. m., or 466,932 acres. It
is finely diversified with hill and dale, wood and
water. To the south is the Chiltern range of
chalk-hills, which, entering from Oxfordshire
and stretching across the county in a north-
easterly direction, are partly covered with heath
and wood, and rise near Wendover to a height of
905 feet above sea-level. The chief rivers are the
Thames, bordering the county on the south-west,
the Ouse, Ousel, Colne, and Thame, the last two
falling into the Thames. Buckinghamshire is
eminently an agricultural county, 87 per cent,
of the entire area being in cultivation. The
chief dairy product is butter for the London
market ; in the fertile vale of Aylesbury, fatten-
ing of cattle is extensively carried on ; the sheep
are noted for their fine and heavy fleeces ; and
large numbers of ducks are reared. Nearly 40
sq. m. are under woods and plantations, beech
and oak being the chief timber-trees. The chief
manufactures are paper, straw-plait, and thread-
lace. The county returns three members to
parliament ; Aylesbury, Buckingham, Marlow,
and Wycombe having ceased in 1885 to be parlia-
mentary boroughs. It contains some Roman and
British remains, as traces of Watling, Icknield,
and Akeman Streets or Ways ; remains of the
religious houses of Missenden, Notley, Burnham,
Medmenham, and Ivinghoe; and vestiges of
Lavendon and Whitchurch Castles. Bucks is
rich too in scenes of historic or biographical
interest, as Chalfont St Giles, Horton, Hampden,
Milton, Stoke Poges, Olney, Slough, Stowe,
Aston Sandford, Beaconsfield, Gregories, Barden-
ham, and Hughenden. Pop. (1801) 108,132 ; (1841)
156,439; (1901)197,064. See county histories by
Lipscomb(1847), Sheahan (1862), and Page(1905-6).

Bucklyvie, a Stirlingshire village, 15i miles
W. of Stirling. Pop. 383.

Buck of Oabrach, an Aberdeenshire mountain
(2368 feet), 13 miles SW. of Huntly.

Buczacz, a town of Austria, in Galicia, on the
Stripa, an affluent of the Dniester, 47 miles ENE.
of Stanislau by rail. Pop. 9970.

Bu'dapest, the official designation of the
capital of Hungary, which consists of Buda (Ger.
Ofen) on the right and Pest or Pesth on the left
bank of the Danube, the two cities having formed
a single municipality since 1872. See PESTH.

Budaun, a town of India, 140 miles NW. of
Lucknow. Pop. 39,372.

Buddon Ness, the promontory, 95 feet high,
on the north or Forfarshire side of the entrance
to the Firth of Tay.

Bude, a watering-place on the north coast of
Cornwall, 17 miles NNW. of Launceston. Pop.
1057.

Budleigh Salterton, a sheltered Devon water-
ing-place, at the mouth of the Otter, 5 miles E.
ofExmouth. Pop. 1S70.

BUDRUN

134

BUGi

Budrun (Boodroon), a seaport of Asiatic Turkey,
on the north shore of the Gulf of Kos, 96 miles
S. of Smyrna. It is the site of the ancient
Halicarnassus, the birthplace of Herodotus and
Dionysius. Pop. 6000.

BudweiS (Bood'vice; Czech Budejovice), a cathe-
dral city of Bohemia, on the navigable Moldau,
133 miles NW. of Vienna by rail. It manufactures
machines, stoneware, lead-pencils, saltpetre, &c.
Population, 40,000. Near it is Schloss Frauen-
berg (1847), Prince Schwarzenberg's seat.

Buenaventura (Bway'nayentoo'ra), a town on
the Pacific coast of Colombia. Pop. 5000.

Buena Vista (Bway'na Veesta), a village of Mex-
ico, 7 miles S. of Saltillo, where in February 1847,
some 5000 U. S. troops defeated 20,000 Mexicans.

Buen-Ayre (Span. Bwayn-lreh), Fr. BONAIRE, a
West Indian Island, 60 miles from the coast of
Venezuela, and 30 E. of Curasao, like which it be-
longs to the Dutch. Area, 127 sq. m. ; pop. 4043.

Buenos Ayres (Bwaynos I'rez; Eng. pron.
usu. Bonos Ai'rez), the largest province of the
Argentine Republic, extending along the Atlantic,
from the mouth of the Plata to that of the
Rio Negro ; on the NE. it is washed by the Plata
and the Parana. In administration the province
is independent of the -central government. Its
area is about 118,000 sq. m. (close on that of
Great Britain and Ireland), with a pop. (excluding
the city, a province by ftself) of 1,210,000. The,
city of Buenos Ayres, the federal capital of the
Argentine Republic, stands on the right bank of
the Plata, which here, at a distance of 150 miles
from the open sea, is 28 miles across, but so
shallow that ships drawing 15 feet of water are
obliged to anchor 7 or 8 miles from the shore.
Monte Video, on the opposite shore, possesses a
better harbour ; but Buenos Ayres has greater
facilities in carrying on an inland trade, and
undertook, moreover, in 1887, a system of har-
bour works to connect two channels of the Plata,
and so bring the largest vessels up to the wharfs.
The city is partitioned into blocks of about 150
yards square, with uiucldy, uneven roads ; still,
new houses, generally of brick faced with marble
or stucco, are everywhere taking the place of the
old comfortless Spanish- American erections, and
the value of property has enormously increased.
The principal buildings are the cathedral, second
in South America to that of Lima alone, the
chapel of Santa Felicitas, with elaborate frescoes,
Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyterian
churches, the university, a military college, the
new post-office, the mint and government offices,
and some of the palatial railway depots. There
are also printing establishments ; manufactories
of cigars, carpets, cloth, furniture, and boots and
shoes ; some small dockyards ; and an Emigrants'
Home. The city is the seat of an archbishop-
ric, and possesses several public libraries and
museums, eleven hospitals, and numerous other
charitable institutions. The terminus of six
railways, it has some 150 miles of tramway lines
there is cable communication with Europe and
the United States, and a good telephone service.
The drainage is well planned, and the water and
gas supply excellent; the climate is not sc
exceptionally fine as the name of the town (' good
airs or breezes ') would imply. The exports (one-
sixth to England) and imports (about one-hal:
British) are practically those of the Argentine
Republic : but there is also a river-trade averaging
3,500,000. Pop. (1902) 865,500. Buenos Ayres.
was founded in 1535, but was subsequently twice
destroyed by the Indians. In 1806 a British force

rtiich had just captured the city, was obliged to
.urrender ; and in 1807 another, which attempted
o recover the place, was repulsed with heavy
oss ; and these successes over so formidable a foe
,mboldened the colonists, three years afterwards,
,o throw off the yoke of Spain. In the insurrec-
ion of 1892 the city was bombarded.

Buffalo, a city of New York state, capital of
Me county, is at the east end of Lake Erie, and
at the head of Niagara River. It is 295 miles
NW. of New York City in a direct line, but 423
by the Erie Railroad ; the distance from Chicago
is 539 miles. In population and wealth, Buffalo
ranks third among the cities of New York. I
has a capacious harbour, admitting vessels of 17
7 eet draught, and with an outer breakwater 4000
feet long, besides other breakwaters, piers,
basins, and canals. The harbour is guarded by
Fort Porter, which stands two miles out from
the heart of the city ; close by is the old fort,
built in 1812, but now in ruins. The water front
of the city extends 8 miles along the lake and
river, while Buffalo Creek has been rendered
navigable for over a mile. The commercial im-
>ortance of Buffalo dates from the completion of
,he Erie Canal in 1825 ; but since 1862 the lake
commerce has yielded to the competition of the
railroads. The chief business is the receiving,
transferring, and storing of grain, the annual
amount of which (including flour) received by
lake and railroad is from 70,000,000 to 90,000,000
bushels. The live-stock trade is scarcely second
in importance ; the iron and steel works rank
next to those of Pittsburgh ; and the shipments
of Pennsylvania coal, which finds a depot here,
have greatly increased of late years. The lumber
trade is also large, but has been partly diverted
to Tonawanda, 10 miles below Buffalo, where
more room is afforded. The industrial works
comprise four blast-furnaces, large rolling-mills,
machine-shops, car-shops, iron shipyards, stove-
foundries, tanneries, breweries, flour-mills, and
manufactories of agricultural implements. Buffalo
is connected with the Niagara Utilisation Com-
pany's works for electric lighting and motor power.
The navigation of Lake Erie usually opens about
the middle of April, the extreme dates being a
month earlier and a month later. Buffalo has
wide streets, well paved and lighted, and gener-
ally lined with trees. It has excellent sewerage,
and extensive water-works supplied from Niagara
River; and its healthfulness is attested by the
low death-rate of 14 per 1000. There are five
public squares, and the magnificent park consists
of three sections, connected by boulevards, which
encircle the city. The city and county hall is an
imposing structure of Maine granite, in the form
of a double Roman cross, with a tower 245 feet
high, surmounted by four statues. The other
prominent buildings are the U. S. custom-house
and post-office, the public library, the state
arsenal, the county penitentiary, and a state
asylum for the insane (in North Buffalo). Of the
two finest of its 100 churches, St Joseph's Cathe-
dral (Roman Catholic) is a gray Gothic structure ;
and St Paul's (Episcopal) has been rebuilt since
its burning in 1888. Founded in 1801, Buffalo
was burned in 1813 by British and Indians. It
was incorporated as a city in 1832, and had then
a population of 15,000, which had increased in
1860 to 81,130 ; in 1880 to 155,137 ; in 1890 to
255,664 ; in 1900 to 352,387.

Bug (Boog), the name of two Russian rivers.
The Western Bug rises in Austrian Galicia, and
after a course of 470 m., mostly along the eastern.

BUGIS

135

BUNZLAU

frontier of Poland, it joins the Vistula near War-
saw. The Eastern Bug (anc. Hypanis) rises in
Podolia, and flows 520 miles south-east into the
Dnieper's estuary.
Bugis. See BONI.

Bugulma (Boogoolma), a town in the Russian
government of Samara, on the Bugulminka, a
tributary of the Kama. Pop. 13,74(5.

Buguruslan (Boogoorooslan), a town in the
Russian government of Samara, on the Kind,
in the Volga steppe. Pop. 19,390.

Buildwas (Blld'was), a Shropshire parish, on
the Severn, 4 miles N. of Much Wenlock, with
a ruined Cistercian abbey (1135).

Builth (Bilth), a town of Brecknockshire, on
the Wye, 14 m. N. of Brecon. Pop. 1805. Builth
Wells, 1 mile N\V., have mineral properties.

Buitenzorg (Bl'tenzorg), a town in Java, 35
miles S. of Batavia by rail, stands in mountainous
country, and has so fine a climate that it is a
favourite summer-resort. Pop. 25,000.

Bujalance (Boo-ha-lan'thay), a city of Andal-
usia, Spain, 25 miles E. of Cordova. Pop. 11,250.
Bukkur, a fortified island of the Indus, in
Sind, between the towns of llohri and Sukkur.

Bukowina (Booko, ' beechland '), an eastern
province of the Austro-Hungarian empire,
surrounded by Galicia, Russia, Moldavia, and
Hungary. Area, 4035 sq. in. ; pop. (1869) 513,404 ;
(1900)730,195, of whom 42 per cent, are Ruthen-
ians, 33 Moldavians, and 12 Jews, while 71 per
cent, belong to the Greek Church. It is tra-
versed by offsets of the Carpathians, culminating
at 6077 feet ; gives rise to many rivers flowing
towards the Black Sea ; and abounds in wood,
cattle, horses, and minerals. Capital, Czernowitz.
Bulacan, a port of Luzon, Philippines, 20 miles
NW. of Manila. Pop. 14,000.
Bulak. See BOULAK.

Bulandshahr, a town in the Meerut division of
the United Provinces of India. Pop. 17,500.

Bulawayo, the old capital of Matabelelaiul, and
now chief commercial place in Southern Rhodesia,
is 290 miles SW. of Salisbury, and is connected by
rail both with Beira (1900) and with Capetown
(1897). Pop. 7000 (4000 whites).

Bulgaria, a principality in the Balkan Penin-
sula, between the Danube and the Balkans. It
was created by the Treaty of Berlin (1878), and
since 1885 Eastern Roumelia, lying to the S., has
been practically incorporated with it. The area
of Bulgaria is 24,500 sq. m. ; that of Eastern
Roumelia, 13,700; and their united population
in 1903 was 3,310,715 over three-fourths Bul-
garians, 530,000 Turks, 90,000 Gypsies, 72,000
Roumanians, 70,000 Greeks, and 34,000 Jews.
The north of Bulgaria is fertile plain and hilly
country ; the south is wooded and mountainous.
A fine waterway as her northern boundary and
an outlet to the Black Sea, a seaboard, a mild
climate, a purely agricultural country capable of
great development, free institutions and about
the most liberal constitution in Europe, a peas-
antry possessing the solid qualities and persever-
ing industry of northern races with these ele-
ments for her economic development, her right
to a national existence cannot be disputed. The
physical aspects of Eastern Roumelia are very
varied, the surface in the west being broken up
by the offshoots of the Albanian ranges, and in
the north and north-east by the Balkans and
their spurs. The principal exports are cereals,
and the imports live-stock; but there are im-

portant manufactures of woollens and attar of
roses, and the production of wine and tobacco
receives considerable attention. Sofia is the
capital, the other principal towns being Varna,
Shumla, Rustchuk, Widin, Razgrad, Sistova,
Tirnova, and Plevna ; Philippopolis is the chief
town of Eastern Roumelia. The Bulgarians be-
longed originally to the Ural-Altaic stock, but
have adopted a Slavonic dialect. First crossing
the Danube in the 6th century A.D., by 1186 they
had split up into three principalities, and from
1393 fell under the domination of the Turks.
The Bulgarians now extend far beyond the
boundaries of the two Bulgarian states, into
Macedonia, Bessarabia, &c., their total number
being estimated at seven millions. See Samuel-
son, Bulgaria (1888) ; Dicey, The Peasant State
(1894) ; Miller, The Balkans (1896).

Bullers of Buchan. See BUCHAN.

Bull Bun, a small stream separating Fairfax
and Prince William counties in Virginia, 25 miles
W. by S. of Washington. It gives name to a
battlefield, where on July 21, 1861, and August
29, 1862, the Confederates gained two victories.

Bulsar, a seaport of India, on the estuary of
the river Bulsar, 115 miles N. of Bombay by
rail. Pop. 14,229.

Bulstrpde Park, Bucks, 2J miles ESE. of
Beaconslield, a seat of the Duke of Somerset.

Bultfontein (Booltfontayn), a place with dia-
mond mines in Griqualand West, E. of Kimberley.

Bulti (Booltee), part of Cashmere (q.v.).

Buncombe, the county of North Carolina whose
tedious representative in congress (1819-21) ex-
plained when interrupted that he was ' speaking
for Buncombe' hence 'bunkum.'

Buncrana (Bun-krah'na), a Donegal town, on
Lough Swilly, 12 m. from Londonderry. Pop. 1316.

Bundaberg, a sugar port of Queensland, 272
miles N. of Brisbane. Pop. 5000.

Bundelkhand(jBoo?ideZA;/ranrf), a region of Upper
India, between the Chambal and the Jumna. It
includes five districts of the British NW. Provinces
(Banda, Jalaun, Jhansi, Lalitpur, and Hamirpur) ;
also the ' Bundelkhand Agency,' a subdivision of
the Central Indian Agency, which is a group of
30 native states. Principal towns Kalpi, Jhansi,
Kalinjar, Banda, Jalaun, Chhatarpur, Datia.

Bundi, a native state of Rajputana ; area, 2225
sq. m. ; population, 180,000, nearly all Hindus.
Chief town, Bundi (pop. 20,000).

Bundo'ran, a watering-place on Donegal Bay,
4 miles SW. of Ballyshannon. Pop. 896.,

Bungay, a market-town of Suffolk, on the
Waveney, 6 miles W. of Beccles. It grew up
around the 12th-century castle of the Bigods,
Earls of Norfolk, some ruins of which still re-
main ; but mostly it is later than the great fire
of 1688. It has a large printing establishment.
Pop. 3560.

Bunker Hill, an elevation (112 feet) on the
peninsula of Charlestown, now part of Boston,
Massachusetts, connected by a ridge, 700 yards
long, with Breed's Hill (75 feet). The two heights
were the scene of the first hard-fought battle of
the American Revolution (June 17, 1775), in
which the Americans repulsed two attacks by
General Gage's forces, and were dislodged only
after reinforcements had been brought up, and
their ammunition was spent. A granite obelisk,
221 feet high, marks the site of the redoubt.

Bunzlau (Boontz'tow), a town of Prussian
Silesia, 25 miles WNW. of Liegnitz by rail. It

BUNZLAU

136

BURMA

manufactures earthenware, woollens, glass, &c.
Pop. 14,532.

Bunzlau, JUNG (Czech Mladd Boleslav), a town
of Bohemia, on the Iser, 32 miles NB. of Prague
by rail. Pop. 14,250.

Burano (Boo-rdh 1 'no), an island and town, 5 in.
NE. of Venice. Its lace manufacture, once fam-
ous, has been revived. Pop. 8300.

Burdekin, a river of Queensland, draining the
district of North Kennedy. It rises not far from
the coast, and after an irregular course forms a
delta emptying into Bowling Green and Upstart
bays. It was discovered by Leichhardt in 1845,
and explored by Dalrymple and Smith in 1859-60.

Burford, a town of Oxfordshire, on the Wind-
rush, 18 miles W. by N. of Oxford. Pop. of
parish, 1346.

Burg (Boor-fir), a town of Prussian Saxony, 15
miles NB. of Magdeburg by rail. It manufactures
woollens, leather, tobacco, &c. Pop. 22,414.

Burgas (Boorgas), a port of Eastern Roumelia,
on the Gulf of Burgas, in the Black Sea, 76 miles
NE. of Adrianople. Pop. 9000.

Burgdorf (Boor g -dor f ; Fr. Berthoiid), a Swiss
town, 14 miles NE. of Bern by rail. In the old
castle here Pestalozzi established his famous
school (1798-1804). Pop. 85S1.

Burgess Hill, a town of Sussex, 8 miles N. of
Brighton. Pop. 4888.

Burgh-by-Sands, a Cumberland parish, 5 miles
NNW. of Carlisle. An obelisk marks the death-
place of Edward I.

Burgh Castle, a Suffolk parish, 4 miles WSW.
of Yarmouth, with a most perfect Roman camp.

Burghead, a fishing-town of Elginshire, on the
Moray Firth, 11 miles NW. of Elgin. Pop. 1531.

Burghley House, 'by Stamford town,' in
Northamptonshire, on the Welland, the splendid
Renaissance mansion of the Marquis of Exeter,
was commenced in 1575 by Lord Burghley, and
has a noble park, carvings by Grinling Gibbons,
and a great collection of pictures.

Burglen, a village in the Swiss canton of Uri,
about a mile from Altorf, is the traditional
birthplace of William Tell. The supposed site of
his house is now occupied by a chapel (1522), on
whose walls are represented scenes from his his-
tory. Pop. 1778.

Burgos (Boor'gos), a city of Spain, the ancient
capital of Old Castile, on the river Arlanzon,
225 miles N. of Madrid by rail. Founded in
884, it has a castle, in which our Edward I. was
wedded, and Pedro the Cruel born, and an archi-
episcopal cathedral (1221), which ranks with
those of Toledo and Leon as one of the three
great Spanish churches of the Early Pointed
period. It is a glorious building, with its twin-
spired western facade, its exquisite lantern, and
its fifteen chapels so rich in fine sculpture and
tombs. Burgos was the birthplace of the Cid,
whose bones are preserved at the town-hall. It
has manufactures of woollens and linens. The
university (1550) is now extinct, but there is a
college with twenty-one professors. The city
formerly had 50,000 inhabitants ; but on the
removal of the court to Madrid in the 16th cen-
tury, it began to decline in importance. It was
further greatly injured in 1808 by the French.
In 1812 the castle was four times unsuccessfully
besieged by Wellington, who, however, took it in
the next year, when the French blew it up, and
tjhe fortifications. Pop. 30,250.

Burgundy, till 1477 an independent princi-
pality of widely varying area in the east and
south-east of what is now France, and later a
French province (Fr. Bourgogne), which comprised
the present departments of Ain, Cote-d'Or, Saone-
et-Loire, and Yonne, with parts of adjoining deps.
Among its towns were Dijon, Macon, Autun,
Chalon-sur-Saone, and Bourg. The white and
red wines of Burgundy have a great celebrity.

Burhanpur, a town of the Central Provinces,
India, on the Tapti, 280 miles NE. of Bom-
bay. The remains of buildings show that the
town extended over an area of 5 sq. m. when
under the Moguls. The city was taken by
General Wellesley in 1803, but it was only in
1860 that Burhanpur came completely under
control of the British government. The town
contains a palace built by Akbar, and a mosque
built by Aurungzebe. Pop. 33,017.

Burley-in-Wharfedale, a village and town-
ship in the West Riding of Yorkshire, on the
Wharfe, 10 miles N. of Bradford. Pop. 3310.

Burlington, three cities in the United States :
(1) The capital of Des Moines county, Iowa, on
the right bank of the Mississippi (here crossed
by a railway bridge), 207 miles WSW. of Chicago.
Laid out in 1834, it is the seat of a Baptist
college, and has manufactures of machinery,
farming implements, flour, carriages, &c. Pop.
(1870) 14,930 ; (1900) 23,200. (2) A port of entry
of Burlington county, New Jersey, on the Dela-
ware, 7 miles above Philadelphia. It possesses
an Episcopalian college (1846), and large manu-
factories of shoes, ironware, and thread. Pop.
7264. (3) A port of entry and capital of Chitten-
den county, Vermont, and the most populous
city in the state, beautifully situated on the
eastern shore of Lake Champlain, 40 miles WNW.
of Montpelier by rail. It has a good harbour,
with a breakwater and lighthouse, and has access
by canals and the Richelieu River to the Hudson
and St Lawrence. It is the seat of the State
Agricultural College (1865), and of Vermont Uni-
versity (1800) ; has cotton, flour, and planing
mills, machine-shops, and manufactures of furni-
ture, &c. ; and is one of the largest lumber
markets in the States. Pop. (1870) 14,387 ; (1880)
11,365 ; (1900) 18,640.

Burlington. See BRIDLINOTON.

Burma, once the chief state in the Indo-
Chinese peninsula, is now the largest of all the
provinces of the Indian empire. It stretches
from 28 lat., on the confines of Tibet, southward
for 1100 miles, to 10 lat, far down the Malay
Peninsula, and from 103 long., on the Chinese
border, for TOO miles westward to the Bay of
Bengal. It is conterminous with China and
Siam on the east ; and for the rest it is bounded
by the Indian provinces of Bengal and Assam,
and by the ocean. Its total area is 236,738
square miles, of which 81,160 belong to the old
province of Lower Burma, 87,390 to Upper Burma,
and 68,188 to tlie Shan States. The country
consists of the great basin of the Irawadi and
its affluents ; the rugged country drained by the
Salween and Sittang rivers, on the upper waters
of which are situate the Shan States ; and the
narrow maritime provinces of Arakan and Tenas-
serim. The deltas of the Irawadi, Salween,
Sittang, and Koladan rivers are flat plains, and
there are smaller areas of level land at the
mouths and on the banks of some of the feeders
of the Irawadi. The level cultivable plains prob-
ably do not exceed 50,000 sq. m. in all. The rest
of Burma is hilly broken country, covered for the

BURMA

137

BURNTISLANf)

Ihost part with forest. The China hills in the
north-east reach a height of 15,000 feet. The
Shan States occupy a vast upland, cleft by deep
chasms, in which flow the Salween and the Cam-
bodia rivers and their feeders. The chief river
of Burma is the Irawadi, 1100 miles in length,
which is navigable all the year round by river-
stearners to Bhamo, 700 miles from the sea, and
50 miles from the Chinese border. The rivers
are the chief highways of the country ; but dur-
ing the dry season all, except the very largest
and the tidal channels, are too low for naviga-
tion. Sometimes the flood-waters of the Irawadi
submerge the country for 10 or 15 miles on either
side to a depth of 4 to 14 feet. The inundated
villages, however, do not suffer, as the houses
are all built on piles. The rainfall varies widely
in different parts of Burma, from 200 to 42 inches.
In the delta and along the coast the rainy season
lasts for five, six, or sometimes even seven months.
From February to the end of April the climate
of the delta is dry and hot (occasionally 100 in
the shade). Higher up the Irawadi valley the
climate is much hotter and dryer in the summer,
but cooler in the winter months. The climate
of Burma is more trying to Europeans than that
of the plains of India. The forests of Burma
contain an abundance of useful and beautiful
trees, including teak, bamboo, and trees produc-
ing valuable fibre, wood-oil, varnish, tannin, and
gums. Among the wild animals of Burma may
be mentioned the elephant, three species of rhin-
oceros, tapir, buffalo, bison, many kinds of deer,
small wild cattle, hog, tiger, leopard, bear, and
wild dog. Among domestic animals, the buffalo,
oxen, elephants, and ponies are all good. No
horses are bred, and sheep and goats are rare.
Pythons and cobras abound. The variety of
birds and of fish is immense. Gold is found in
small quantities by washing river-sand ; silver
is extracted at lead-workings in the Shan States.
Iron, copper, lead, and tin exist in great quantity,
petroleum is found in several districts. Jade and
amber are worked. Coal exists at several places
in Upper Burma. The coal found as yet in Lower
Burma has proved of poor quality and scanty in
quantity. The ruby-mines north of Mandalay
yield the best rubies in the world.

At the census of 1901 the population of Lower
Burma was 5,389,897, and of Upper Burma
3,849,833, and 1,250,894 in the Shan depen-
dencies, showing a total population of 10,490,624.
Of these some 7,000,000 are Burmans, 800,000
Karens, the rest being mainly other hill tribes
(Chins, Kachins, Singphos, Paloungs, &c.). The
Burmans are a short-statured, flat-featured,
thick-set people. They are excitable and fond
of fun and laughter ; much given to dramas,
dances, and shows ; and callous to suffering in
others. Dacoity or robbery with violence by
gangs is common. Burmese women are well
treated. Burmans are Buddhists by religion ;
the most respected class are the Buddhist monks,
whose function is to set an example of a correct
life, and to instruct the young. They observe
the vows of celibacy and poverty, but can return
to the world when they please. They shave their
heads, wear yellow robes, and live in monasteries.
The Shans resemble the Burmans ; but being
highlanders, are poorer, hardier, and more cour-
ageous. The Karens are less clever, but more
persevering and methodical than Burmans. There
are over 500 parishes of Christian (American
Baptist) Karens, containing nearly 200,000 souls.
The Burmese language is monosyllabic ; it is
written from left to right, the shape of the letters

being circular. The classical language of Burma
is Pali. The name Burma is, according to Yule
in Hobson-Jobson, an Englished form of Mram-ma,
pronounced by the people Bam-md. The primary
schools of the country are the Buddhist monas-
teries, in which every Burman lad must be taught
to read and write. Over 60 per cent, of the males
in Lower Burma above the age of twelve can read
and write.

The external sea-borne trade of Lower Burma
is valued at over twenty millions sterling. Most
of this trade centres in Rangoon. The chief
export items are rice, teak timber, cutch, hides,
cotton ; while the chief import items are cotton
piece-goods and yarns, silk goods, coal, hardware,
salt, and metals. Several railways are in opera-
tion, including that from Rangoon to Mandalay.
Extensions are in progress in several directions ;
and possible railway communication between
Burma and China has been much discussed. The
commercial and financial development of Lower
Burma under British rule has been great and rapid.
The arts in which Burmese excel are wood-carving,
silver repousse work, woven silk fabrics of many
colours, and lacquer-ware. Burma is governed
under the Viceroy of India, by a chief-commis-
sioner. A Buddhist Burman dynasty was estab-
lished on the Irawadi at least as early as the
llth century. It was not till 1820 that the
Burmese came directly into contact with the
British power in Assam, then Burmese. In con-
sequence of Burmese aggression followed by war,
Arakan and Tenasserim were ceded in 1826, Pegu
in 1854 ; and in 1886 Upper Burma was incorpor-
ated with British India. See works by Forbes
(1876), Fytche (1878), Scott ('Shway Yoe,' 1882
and 1886), Phayre (1883) ; and for the Burmese,
Siam, and China Railway, works by Colquhoun
and Holt Hallett.

Burnham, a Somerset watering-place, on
Bridgwater Bay, 7 miles N. of Bridgwater.
Pop.. 2897.

Burnham Beeches, in Bucks, near Maiden-
head, and 25 miles W. of London, the remains of
an ancient forest, purchased in 1879 by the
London Corporation. See a work by Heath (1880).

Burnham Thorpe, a Norfolk parish, 4 miles
W. by S. of Wells. Lord Nelson was born in the
former rectory.

Burnley, a thriving town of Lancashire, in a
narrow vale on the banks of the Brun, near its
influx to the Calder, 21 miles E. of Preston, and
27 N. of Manchester. Roman remains have been
found, but it is a modern-looking place, a great
seat of the woollen and then of the cotton manu-
facture, with a literary institute and exchange
(1855), a market-hall (1868), the Victoria Hospital
(1886), a grammar-school (temp. Edward VI.), and
an ancient parish church, restored in 1856.
It manufactures looms and other machinery,
has cotton-mills, calico-printing works, iron and
brass foundries, breweries, tanneries, and rope-
works. There are collieries in the vicinity. Burn-
ley was created a municipal borough in 1861 (the
boundary being extended in 1889), a parliamen-
tary borough (returning one member) in 1867,
and a county borough in 1888. Pop. (1871)
44,320 ; (1891) 87,016 ; (1901) 97,050.

Burnmouth, a Berwickshire fishing-village, 5J
miles NNW. of Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Burntisland, a seaport and watering-place of
Fife, on the Firth of Forth, 5 miles N. of Granton
by steam-ferry (1848). Backed by the Bin, 632
feet high, it has a quaint parish church (1594),

BURRA

138

BURY ST EDMUNDS

and the old castle of Rossend, where Chastelard
incurred his doom. The harbour has been much
improved, and coal is shipped in large quantities.
Burntisland is one of the four Kirkcaldy burghs.
Pop. (1841) 1959 ; (1901) 4846.

Burra, EAST and WEST, two Shetland Isles,
10 miles SW. of Lerwick. Pop. 203 and 612.

Burra Burra, a fainous copper-mine in South
Australia, 101 miles N. by E. of Adelaide. It
was discovered in 1844.

Burrard Inlet, a narrow inlet, 9 miles long, at
the SW. corner of British Columbia, a little north
of the mouth of the Fraser River. It forms one
of the finest harbours on the Pacific coast, and
has become of much importance by the opening
of the Canada Pacific Railway, whose terminus is
at Vancouver here.

Burray, an Orkney island, between Pomona
and South Ronaldshay. Area, 4 sq. m. ; pop. 671.

Burriana, a Spanish town, 34 miles N. of
Valencia. Pop. 10,179.

Burrow Head, a promontory, 150 feet high,
the SB. extremity of Wigtownshire.

Burscheid, a town of Prussia, on the Wupper,
20 miles SE. of DUsseldorf. Pop. 7828.

Burslem, a town of Staffordshire, within the
parliamentary borough of Hanley, 20 miles N. by
W. of Stafford. It is known as the 'mother of
the potteries,' the pottery manufacture having
been established here about 1644. Porcelain and
pottery of all kinds are produced on a large scale,
as well as encaustic tiles. There is also a glass
manufactory. A fine town-hall, Renaissance in
style, with a lofty clock-tower, was erected in
1865. Burslem was the birthplace of Josiah
Wedgwood (1730-95) ; and a Wedgwood Memorial
Institute was opened in 1870 to serve as a school
of art, free library, and museum. Burslem was
made a municipal borough in 1878, the boundary
being enlarged in 1891. Pop. (1851) 16,954 ; (1891)
32,000 ; (1901) 38,850.

Burton-on-Trent, a municipal borough (since
1878) of East Staffordshire and South Derbyshire,
25 miles E. of Stafford, on the river Trent, the
ancient bridge over which was superseded in 1864
by one 470 yards long. Burton-on-Trent owes its
rapid extension to the brewing of ale, the staple
of the place. The opening of the Midland Rail-
way in 1839 paved the way for future progress.
Cotton-spinning was at first the chief industry,
but this has been discontinued since 1849. Its
rise and progress as a brewing centre has been
largely due to the suitability of the water for this
purpose. There was some small local trade in
beer in the 16th century here ; Burton ale had a
repute in London in 1630 ; and a considerable
export trade had been established with the Baltic
ports by the middle of the 18th century. In 1791
there were nine breweries, in 1851 sixteen, and
now there are nearly twice that number, some of
them e.g. those of Bass and Allsopp, being on a
scale of unparalleled magnitude. There are, of
course, extensive cooperages, and also iron-
foundries. A church or monastery was erected
by the Trent in the 9th century ; Burton Abbey
was founded and endowed by Wulfric, Earl of
Mercia, in 1002. The town suffered in the Great
Rebellion, and has suffered repeatedly by floods,
the water standing 4 or 5 feet deep on some
streets in 1875. Pop. (1851) 7944 ; (1901) 50,386.

Burtscheid, a town of Rhenish Prussia, J mile
from Aix-la-Chapelle, has manufactures of woollen
cloths and cassimeres, and celebrated sulphur

springs and baths, with a temperature of 106 to
155 F. Pop. 16,139.

Buru, or BOEROE, an island of the Malay
Archipelago, in the residency of Amboyna, from
which it lies 40 miles to the W. Marshy along
the coast, and most of it densely wooded, it
attains in one peak 10,320 feet. Area, 3360 sq.
m. ; pop. 40,000 to 50,000.

Bury, a flourishing manufacturing town of
South-east Lancashire, on a rising ground backed
by hills on the north and east, between the Irwell
and the Roche, 10 miles NNW. of Manchester.
The woollen manufacture introduced by Flemings
in the 14th century attained its zenith under
Elizabeth, but had greatly declined by 1738,
when Bury was merely 'a little market-town,'
and it has long been all but eclipsed by the
cotton industry. Besides spinning and weaving
factories, there are important paper, print,
bleach, and dye works, and some large foundries
and engine manufactories. In the vicinity are
excellent freestone quarries, and abundant coal-
mines. Some improvements in the cotton manu-
facture arose here notably, the invention by
John Kay of the fly-shuttle. Sir Robert Peel
(1788-1850) was born at Bury in a cottage near
Chamber Hall, his father being a great calico
manufacturer. In 1852 a bronze statue of him
was erected in the market-square. Bury was
made a parliamentary borough (returning one
member) in 1832, a municipal borough in 1876
(the boundary was extended in 1885), and a
county borough in 1888. Pop. (1851) 31,262;
(1891) 57,212 ; (1901) 58,030.

Bury St Edmunds, or ST EDMUNDSBURY, a
clean, well-built town of West Suffolk, on the
little river Lark, 26 miles NW. of Ipswich, and 76
NNE. of London. It was named after Edmund
the Martyr, who on Christmas-day 856 was
crowned here king of the East Angles, and who
in 870 was shot to death at Hoxne by the Danes.
His relics were translated hither in 903, and in
1020 Canute reared a Benedictine abbey in his
honour, which in time became the richest and
most important in England, Glastonbury only
excepted. Little now remains but the noble
Abbey Gate (1327-77), Decorated in style, and 62
feet high; and the Norman Tower or Church
Gate (c. 1090), a quadrangular tower of massive
simplicity, 86 feet high. The cruciform church
itself, which measured 512 by 212 feet, is repre-
sented only by the west front and the piers of
the central tower, one of which bears the inscrip-
tion : 'Near this spot, on 20th November 1214,
Cardinal Langton and the Barons swore at St
Edmund's altar that they would obtain from
King John the ratification of Magna Charta.'
St Saviour's Hospital was founded by that notable
abbot, Samson, whose life and actions, as recorded
by Jocelin de Brakelonde, Carlyle has so vividly
recalled in his Past and Present. The poet Lyd-
gate was a monk of Bury St Edmunds ; and
Bishops Gardiner and Blomfield, Sir Nicholas
Bacon, and Crabb Robinson were natives. St
Mary's and St James's churches are both fine
Gothic edifices of the 15th century ; in the
former is the tomb of Mary Tudor, the widow
of Louis XII. of France. The grammar-school
(1550) was rebuilt on a new site in 1883 in Queen
Anne style at a cost of 12,000. Donaldson was
one of its head-masters, and amongst its scholars
have been the Norths, Bancroft, Cumberland,
Blomfield, J. M. Keinble, FitzGerald, and Sped-
ding. Defoe, Wollaston, ' Mr Pickwick,' ' Ouida,'
and F. W. Robertson were residents. Since 1883

BtJSACHINO

139

CABOUttGt

Bury St Edmunds has returned only one member
to parliament. Pop. (1801) 7655; (1841) 12,538;
(1901) 16,250. See works by Gilling water (1804)
and Thomas Arnold (1893).

BusacMno. See BISACQUINO.

Busaco (Boo-sah'ko), a Portuguese ridge north
of the river Mondego, 16 miles NNB. of Coimbra.
Here, in 1810, Wellington repulsed Massena.

Busby, a town with cotton-mills and print-
works, 7 miles S. of Glasgow. Pop. 1786.

Bushey, a small village in the south of Hert-
fordshire, 1J mile S. of Walford. BUSHEY PARK,
a royal park, close to Hampton Court, is in
Middlesex, 14 miles SW. of London.

Bushire(oo-s/ieer'; properly ABUSHEHB, 'father
of cities,' also written Bushahr), a principal
port of Persia, on a sandy peninsula on the cast
shore of the Persian Gulf, in the province of Fars.
The district is liable to be devastated by earth-
quakes and the simoom, and is deficient in water ;
but the situation is highly favourable for com-
merce. It is the land terminus of the Indo-
European telegraph line, and a chief station of
the British Indian Steam-navigation Company;
and has a large trade both in imports and exports.
Pop. 20,000.

Bushmills, an Antrim market-town, on the
river Bush, 8 miles NE. of Coleraine. Pop. 979.

Busiu, BUSEO, BUZEO, or BUZAU, a Roumanian
town, in Wallachia, 60 miles NE. of Bucharest,
with a cathedral and much trade. Pop. 23,000.

Bussanga. See BOROU.

Bussorah. See BASRA.

Busto-Arsizio, a town of Italy, 20 miles NW.
of Milan. Pop. 9891.

Bute, an island in the Firth of Clyde, separated
from Argyllshire by the winding Kyles of Bute,
mostly under a mile wide, and about 6 miles
distant from 'Ayrshire, 8 NE. of Arran. It is 15^
miles long, 1J to 6J broad, and 49 sq. m. in area.
The surface to the north is high, rugged, and
barren, attaining 875 feet in Kames Hill ; in the
centre and south it is low and undulating, and
comparatively fertile. Of six small lakes, the
largest is Loch Fad (2 by \ mile), in a cottage
on whose west shore lived Kean and Sheridan
Knowles. The climate is milder than in any
other part of Scotland, and though moist, less so
than on the west coast generally ; hence, Bute is
much resorted to by invalids. The principal
town is Rothesay (q.v.). Most of the island
belongs to the Marquis of Bute, whose beautiful
seat, Mount-Stuart, 5 miles SSE. of Rothesay,
has been rebuilt since the tire of 1877 at a cost of
nearly 20,000. Among the antiquities of Bute
are Rothesay Castle, Kames Castle (John Ster-
ling's birthplace), Kilmorie Castle, St Blane's
Chapel, and Dungyle, a remarkable vitrified fort
on a high crag on the south-west coast. From
an early period till 1266 Bute was more or less
subject to the Norwegians. Pop. (1801) 6106 ;
(1841) 9499 ; (1891) 11,735 ; (1901) 12,180.

BUTESHIRE, a county comprising the isles of
Bute, Arran, the Cumbraes, Holy Isle, Pladda,

Inchmarnock, and other smaller islands. The
area of the whole is 225 sq. m., or 143,977 statute
acres. Pop. (1871) 16,977 ; (1901) 18,787. Bute-
shire returns one member to parliament. The
county town is Rothesay, in Bute.

Butler, a town of Pennsylvania, on the Coneque-
nessing Creek, 30 miles N. of Pittsburgh (45 by
rail). It has woollen, flour, and planing mills,
and plate-glass and carriage factories. The neigh-
bourhood is rich in natural gas, petroleum, and
coal and iron fields. The population is now well
over 11,000.

Butte (Bewt), capital of Silver Bow county,-
Montana, 72 miles by rail S. by W. of Helena,
with silver-mines, quartz-mills, smelters, &c.
Pop. (350 in 1870) now 31,000.

Butterley, a seat of ironworks and collieries, in
Derbyshire, 10 miles NNE. of Derby. Sir James
Outram was born at Butterley Hall.

Buttermere, a Cumberland lake, 9 miles SW.
of Keswick. Lying 247 feet above sea-level, it is
1J mile long, mile wide, and 90 feet deep, and
is united by a short stream to Crummock Water
(240 ft., 2| m. by f m., 130 ft. deep), which dis-
charges to the Cocker.

But'tevant, a market-town on the Awbeg, 27
miles N. of Cork. Pop. 979.

Buxar, or BAXAR, a town of Bengal, on the
south bank of the Ganges, 411 miles NW. of
Calcutta by rail. Here in 1764 Sir Hector Munro
defeated Mir Kasim. Pop. 18,498.

Buxton, a town in Derbyshire, 37 miles NW.
of Derby, and 25 SSE. of Manchester. It lies
1025 feet above sea-level, in a deep valley sur-
rounded by hills and moors, which have been
tastefully planted ; and the only approach is a
narrow ravine, by which the Wye flows into the
Derwent. Buxton has long been famous for its
calcareous springs, tepid (82 F.) and cold (dis-
charging 120 gallons of water per minute), and
its chalybeate springs. They were probably
known to the Romans, and in 1572 were cele-
brated by one Dr John Jones as 'the ancient
baths of Buckstones.' The town is visited
annually, from June to October, by 8000 to 12,000
persons, the waters being taken for indigestion,
gout, rheumatism, and nervous and cutaneous
diseases. Near Buxton is the Diamond Hill,
famous for its crystals ; and Poole's Hole, a gas-
lit stalactite cavern 770 yards long. Pop. (1871)
3717 ; (1891) 7424 ; (1901) 10,185.

Buyuk'dereh, a village on the Bosphorus, 10
miles NNE. of Constantinople, is the summer
residence of many of the ambassadors.

Byblos, an ancient city of Phoenicia, now a
village of 600 inhabitants, called Jubeil, on a
shallow bay at the base of the lower range of the
Libanus, midway between Tripoli and Beyrout.

Byland Abbey, a ruined Cistercian monastery
in the North Riding of Yorkshire, founded 1137,
and chiefly represented by its noble Norman and
Early English church, 328 feet long.

Bytown, till 1854 the name of Ottawa (q.v.).

Byzantium. See CONSTANTINOPLE.

>ABATUAN, a town in the island of
Panay in the Philippines, province
Iloilo. Pop. 18,000.

Cabes, or KHABS, a port of Tunis, at
the head of its own gulf. Pop. 10,000.
Catoinda, a small Portuguese territory on the
west coast of Africa, north of the mouth of the

Congo, and bounded on the E. by the Congo State.
It was delimited in 1886. The capital, Cabinda,
was formerly a noted slave port ; pop. 8000.

Cabot Strait, the entrance to the Gulf of the
St Lawrence, between Newfoundland and Cape
Breton.

Catoourg, a village in the French dep. of Cal-

CJABKA

140

CAtiLlARi

vados, on the Dives, 11 miles SW. of Trouville by
rail. Pop. 1056.

Cabra, a town of Spain, 37 miles SE. of Cor-
dova. Pop. 13,160.

Cabrach. See BUCK OF CABBACH.

Cabrera, one of the Balearic Isles (q.v.).

Cabul. See KABUL.

Cac'camo, a town of Sicily, 5 miles SW. of
Termini. Pop. 7964.

Caceres (Kah'the-rez). a province of Spain, in
the north of Estremadura. Area, 8014 sq. in. ;
population, 355,000. The capital. Caceres (anc.
Castra Ccecilm), 45 miles N. of Merida by rail, is
famous for its bacon and sausages. Here the
allied forces defeated the Duke of Berwick's rear-
guard, 7th April 1706. Pop. 16,749.

Cachar Plains, a district of British India in
the chief-commissionership of Assam, bordering
on Manipur. Area, 2472 sq. in. ; pop. 367,542.
Silchar (pop. 6567) is the headquarters.

Cacongo, or KAKONGO, a district of West
Africa, immediately N. of the mouth of the
Congo. Cabinda (q.v.) is part of it ; the rest
has been absorbed in the Congo Free State.

Cadenabbia, a health-resort, beautifully situ-
ated among orange and citron groves, on the west
shore of Lake Como. Its famous Villa Carlotta
contains works by Canova and Thorwaldsen.

Cad'er Idris (' Chair of Idris,' a reputed giant),
a picturesque mountain (2914 feet) in Merioneth-
shire, Wales, 5 miles SW. of Dolgelly. It con-
sists of an immense ridge of broken precipices,
10 miles long, and 1 to 3 miles broad.

Cadiz (Kay'diz; Span. pron. Kdh'deeth), a great
Spanish port, capital of a province in Andalusia,
is situated on the Atlantic at the extremity of a
narrow tongue of land projecting 5 miles NW.
from the Isle of Leon, 95 miles SSW. of Seville
by rail. A small channel, with a drawbridge and
a railway bridge, separates the island from the
mainland ; at its northern outlet stands the
arsenal of La Carraca, with large docks, 4 miles
ESE. of the city. The town, which is walled
and defended from the sea both by a series of
forts and by low shelving rocks, is about 2 miles
in circuit, and presents a remarkably bright
appearance, with its shining granite ramparts,
and its whitewashed houses crowned with terraces
and overhanging turrets. It has few public build-
ings of note : its two cathedrals being indifferent
specimens of architecture, though possessing
some excellent Murillos. Cadiz reached its
highest prosperity after the discovery of America,
when it became the depot of all the commerce
with the New World, but declined greatly as a
commercial city after the emancipation of the
Spanish colonies in South America. The exports
consist of salt, cork, lead, wine, tunny-fish, olive-
oil, and fruits. The manufactures are glass,
woollen cloth, leather, soap, hats, gloves, fans,
&c. Pop. (1887) 63,277 ; (1897) 70,180. Built by
the Phoenicians, under the name of Gaddir
('fortress'), about 1100 B.C., Cadiz afterwards
passed to the Carthaginians ; was captured by
the Romans, who named it Gades, and under
them soon became a city of vast wealth and
importance. In 1587 Drake destroyed the Spanish
fleet in the bay ; nine years later, Cadiz was
pillaged and burned by Essex.

Cadore (Kah-do'ray ; also Pieve di Cadore), the
birthplace of Titian, is a small village of Venetia, at
the foot of the Alps, and 22 miles NE. of Belluno.

Cadzow (Kad'yoo). See HAMILTON.

Caen (KorV), chief town of the French dep. of
Calvados, and the former capital of Lower Nor-
mandy, is situated on the left bank of the navi-
gable Orne, here joined by the Odon, 9 miles
from its mouth, 149 W. by N. of Paris, and 83
ESE. of Cherbourg. Among its fifteen churches
are St Etienne and La Sainte Trinite, both
founded in 1066 by William the Conqueror and
his queen Matilda, and containing their graves,
which the Huguenots violated in 1562 ; and St
Pierre (1308-1521), with an exquisite spire 242
feet high. The Conqueror's castle, finished by
Henry I. of England, was dismantled in 1793,
and now serves as a barrack. The faculty or
university (1809) is successor to one founded by
our Henry VI. in 1436 ; and in the Hotel de Ville
is a library of 80,000 volumes and a fine collec-
tion of paintings. The chief manufacture is lace.
Trade is facilitated by a maritime canal connect-
ing the port with the sea. In 1346, and again
in 1417, Caen was taken by the English, who held
it till 1450. Malherbe, Marot, Huet, and Auber
were natives (a marble statue of the last was
unveiled in 1883) ; Charlotte Corday lived here ;
and Beau Brummell died jn the lunatic asylum.
Pop. (1872) 39,415; (1901) 41,530.

CaergWTle (Ka-er-goor'leli), one of the Flint
boroughs, 5 miles NNW. of Wrexham. Pop. 1328.

Caerla'verock, a splendid ruined castle near
the Nith's mouth, 7 miles SSE. of Dumfries.
For over four centuries the seat of the Max-
wells, earls of Nithsdale (1620-1716), and still
owned by their representative, Lord Herries, it was
captured by Edward I. in 1300. Robert Paterson,
Scott's ' Old Mortality,' is buried in the church-
yard. See Eraser's Book of Caerlaveroclc (1873).

Caer'leon ('castle of the legion;' Lat. Isca
Sihirum), a town of Monmouthshire, on the Usk,
2J miles NE. of Newport. It was very early the
seat of a see the only one, it seems, in all Wales
which was transferred to St David's in the 6th
century. A Cistercian abbey existed here before
the Reformation. Many Roman relies have been
found ; and there are also remains of an amphi-
theatre, measuring 222 by 192 feet, and known as
King Arthur's Round Table. Pop. 1410. See
Lee's Isca Silurum (1845).

Caermarthen, Caernarvon. See CARMARTHEN,
CARNARVON.

Caerphilly, a town of Glamorganshire, 7J
miles N. by W. of Cardiff. It has a fine ruined
castle, ironworks, and collieries. Pop. 15,830.

Caerwys, one of the Flint boroughs, 7J miles
E. of St Asaph. Pop. 550.

Csesare'a (now Kaisarieh), a once splendid sea-
port on the coast of Syria, 30 miles N. of Joppa,
built by Herod about 22 B.C., and named in honour
of Caesar Augustus. It is now a heap of half-
buried ruins, with a few fishermen's huts.
C^ESAREA PHILIPPI, 95 miles N. of Jerusalem,
near the source of the Jordan, received its suffix
in honour of Philip the Tetrarch. It is now a
heap of ruins, with the small village of Paneas, or
Banias, on its site.

Caffraria. See KAFFRARIA.

Cagliari(pron. Cal'yari), the capital of Sardinia,
at the head of a spacious bay, on the south coast
of the island. By steamboat it is 34 hours from
Leghorn and 27 from Naples, by rail 174 miles S.
of Porto Torres. With a lagoon on either hand,
it lies at the base and on the slopes of a steep
hill, 300 feet high. Its harbour, defended by
forts, has been enlarged since 1882 ; and Cagliari
has a university (1596; remodelled 1764), a castle

CAHERCONLISH

141

CAITHNESS

(c. 1217), and a cathedral (1312). Pop. 53,750.
Cagliari occupies the site of the Carthaginian
Carales, and has a Roman amphitheatre, measur-
ing 95 by 79 yards.

Caherconlish, a village in the county and 8
miles SE. of the town of Limerick.

Ca'hir, a town in County Tipperary, on the
Suir, 11 miles NW. of Clonrael. On a rock in the
river is a 12th-century castle. Pop. 2056.

Cahirciveen, or CAHERSIVEEN, a Kerry village,
at the mouth of the Caher River, 39 miles WSW.
of Killarney. Near it is ruined Carhan House,
O'Connell's birthplace. Pop. 2013.

Cahors (Ka-or'; anc. Divona), the chief town in
the French dep. of Lot, on a small rocky peninsula,
formed by a bend of the river Lot, 71 miles north
of Toulouse by rail. It has a 12th-century
cathedral, a 14th-century bridge, and many Roman
remains, including those of a magnificent aque-
duct. Fenelon was a student at the university
here, which, founded by Pope John XXII. in
1321, was united with that of Toulouse in
1751 ; and here were born the poet Marot, and
Gambetta, to whom a monument was raised in
1884. Pop. 11,751.

Caicos (Kl'koes), a group of islands belonging
geographically to the Bahamas, but annexed in
1874 to Jamaica. Area, with Turk's Islands, 223
sq. m. ; population, 4750.

Cairnbulg, an Aberdeenshire fishing-village,
2J miles ESB. of Fraserburgh. Pop. 561. '

Cairngorm, a mountain (4084 feet) of Banff and
Inverness-shire, 3 miles NE. of Ben Macdhui.
From it are namerl the yellow rock-crystals
found in the neighbourhood. Cairntoul (4241
feet) is another peak of the same group.

Cairo (Kl'ro), the capital of modern Egypt, is
in 30 6' N. lat., and 31 26' E. long., on the right
bank of the Nile, 131 miles by railway from Alex-
andria, and near the apex of the Delta. In the
present day it covers about 11 sq. m. of the
sandy plain, and extends from Mount Mukattam
to the port of Boulak (Bulaq) ; but only a small
part of the modern city belongs to the Cairo of
history, which consisted originally of little more
than an immense palace with its attendant build-
ings. Modern Cairo is built upon the remains of
four distinct cities, founded between 641 and
969 A.D. ; but with the last hundred years it has
been greatly enlarged on the west side, the space
between the old city and the Nile having been
covered with villas and palaces of European con-
struction. The mediaeval city, however, may still
be seen in something of its former picturesque-
ness in the streets and bazaars, which occupy and
surround the site of the original palace-enclosure
of El-Kahira. The quarter bounded by the north
and east walls, between the Bab-en-Nasr ('gate
of victory') and the Citadel, is still purely
oriental ; and it is chiefly in this part that are
found the numerous mosques, schools, fountains,
and latticed houses which represent the art of
the Saracens in its most chaste and perfect form.
Here is situated the Azhar University (founded
971), to which 2000 students annually flock from
all parts of the Mohammedan world ; here is the
mosque of El-Hakim (990), the beautiful Maristan
and tomb of Kalaun (1288), and the fine mosques
of En-Nnsir (1298), Aksunkur (1347), Sultan Hasan
(1358), El-Muayyad (1420), and El-Ghori (1503), to
mention but a few of these exquisite monuments.
The medieval city, however, is rapidly giving way
to the encroachments of western commerce and
sanitation. The separate closed quarters of dis-

tinct trades are becoming rarer. Very few of the
old palaces of the Mamelukes are still standing ;
the most beautiful features of the decoration of
ancient houses and even mosques have been de-
spoiled by the travelling collector ; and natural
decay, aided by centuries of neglect and ignorant
injury, has reduced the remains of a perhaps un-
rivalled epoch of Saracenic art to those shattered
but exquisite ruins, which an official 'Commis-
sion for the Preservation of the Monuments' now
endeavours, not, indeed, to restore, but if possible
to rescue from further demolition and decay.

The modern portion of the city consists partly
in a few broad streets or 'boulevards,' which*
pierce the mediaeval quarters, and have destroyed
many priceless monuments of art, but chiefly in
the western suburb of Ismailia, formed by new
villas, built along broad avenues lined with trees,
and extending from the square called the Ezbe-
kiya, near or in which are the principal hotels,
the opera-house, theatre, and the European
shops, as far as Boulak (q.v.). In this suburb
are some of the numerous palaces of the Khedive,
notably Abdin, where all official receptions take
place ; others are situated on the bank of the
Nile, where are also barracks and a hospital.
Modern Cairo, including the whole circuit, old
and new, is the largest city in Africa, and second
only to Constantinople in the Turkish empire.
Railways and telegraphs connect it with Alex-
andria, Ismailia, Suez, Port Said, and Upper
Egypti its central station (1893) being a magnifi-
cent structure. Steamers ply on the Nile as far
as the Second Cataract. Gas, the telephone, and
other modern appliances are in universal use
among the European and official circles. There
is a busy trade, but chiefly of the transport
kind, consisting of the produce of the interior.
Manufactures, except rude pottery, turned wood-
work, and silver-smithery, are almost non-exist-
ent ; and the arts of ancient and mediaeval Egypt
appear to have been almost forgotten. After
1882 Cairo was the centre of English influence in
Egypt. Three new bridges across the Nile were
built in 1904-6 at a cost of 191,000. Pop. (1882)
374,838 ; (1898) 570,060. See works by Lane (1896),
Reynolds-Ball (1898), S. L. Poole (1892, 1902).

Cairo (Kd'ro), capital of Alexander county, Illi-
nois, at the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi,
180 miles below St Louis. A steel bridge (1888),
costing $5,000,000, connects the railways north
and south of the Ohio. The city, Martin Chuzzle-
wit's ' Eden,' formerly suffered much from inun-
dations, from which it is protected by levees,
now utilised for streets and railways. There are
numerous factories, and a U.S. marine hospital
and custom-house. Pop. (1860) 2188; (1890)
10,324 ; (1900) 12,566.

Caithness, a county in the extreme NE. of
the Scottish mainland, 43 miles long, 28 miles in
extreme width, and 701 sq. m. in area. Except
in the west and south, where the mountain-range
dividing Caithness from Sutherland attains in
Morven a height of 2313 feet, its general aspect
is level and bare, being in great part moorland
and treeless. The northern sea-coast is bold and
rocky, with Dunnet Head and Duncansby Head,
on the west side of which is John o Groats
House (q.v.). The climate is damp and chilly ;
auroras are seen almost nightly in winter. Only
23 per cent, of the entire area is in cultivation ;
and the crops are 20 days later in ripening than
in the Lothians. There are herring, ling, cod,
salmon, and lobster fisheries ; Wick being a chief
seat of the herring-fishery. The other exports

CAIVANO

142

CALCUTTA

are cattle, oats, wool, and flagstones, of which,
as well as of freestone and slate, Caithness con-
tains quarries, the chief that of Castlehills, 5
miles E. of Thurso. The county returns one
member ; and Wick is its only parliamentary
burgh ; another town Is Thurso. A railway
(1874) connects them with the south. Pop.
(1801) 22,609; (1861) 41,111; (1901) 33,860. See
works by Laing (1866) and Calder (new ed. 1887).

Caivano (Ki-vah'no), a town of Italy, 4 miles
N. of Naples. Pop. 10,832.

Cajabamba (Kahabam'ba), cap. of the prov. of
Chimborazo, in Ecuador, 102 miles S. of Quito, on
the arid plateau of Topi, at an elevation of 9480
feet. Pop. 18,000. The former town of Rlobctniba,
founded here in 1533, was in 1797 overwhelmed
by an earthquake that cost 30,000 lives.

Cajamarca (KaTutmar'kd), a NW. dep. of Peru,
between the western chain of the Andes and the
Amazon. A railway connects it with the Pacific.
Area, 14,000 sq. m. ; pop. 450,000. The capital is
Cajamarca; pop. 12,000.

Cakemuir, a Midlothian tower, 2 miles E. of
Borthwick, whence Queen Mary fled hither.

Calabar', a coast-district on the Gulf of Guinea,
now embraced in the southern division of the
British protectorate of Nigeria. Its limits are
not clearly denned ; but it is usually understood
to extend from the Nun mouth of the Niger to
the Cameroon colony. The surface is low and
flat, and the climate unhealthy. Palm-oil, ker-
nels, ebony, ivory, india-rubber, shea butter, and
beni-seed are the chief articles of commerce.
The Scottish Presbyterians have had a mission
here since 1846, which has produced beneficial
changes. Of the different tribes, the Efik, who
are a negro stock, is the most important. The
chief towns are Duke Town, Creek Town, and
Old Town. The Old Calabar or Cross River,
believed to rise near Iko, beyond Uyanga, enters
the Bight of Biafra by an estuary 9 miles broad,
is mainly the estuary of the Cross River. It
is navigable by steamers for 200 miles above
its mouth. The New Calabar River is a branch
or mouth of the Niger. See Goldie's Calabar and
its Mission (1890).

Calabria, the south-west peninsula of the
kingdom of Italy, bounded N. by the province
of Basilicata. Area, 6637 sq. m. ; pop. about
1,400,000. It is traversed throughout its entire
length of 160 miles by the forest-clad Apennines,
whose valleys afford rich pasture. There is no river
of any importance ; but the valleys and plains
are very fertile, yielding wheat, rice, cotton
liquorice, saffron, the sugar-cane, &c., and also
the vine, orange, lemon, olive, fig, and mulberry
in luxuriance. The coast fisheries, particularly
of the tunny and anchovy, are important. The
'compartimento,' which is very subject to earth-
quakes, is divided into the provinces of Cosenza,
Catanzaro, and Reggio. In ancient times the
name Calabria was given to the south-east penin-
sula, nearly corresponding to the modern pro-
vince of Lecce, no portion of which is included
in modern Calabria, which answers to the ancient
Bruttium. The people are a proud, fiery, and
revengeful race, long celebrated as among the
fiercest of banditti. See Ross and Cooper's High-
lands of Calabria (1888).

Calahorra, a cathedral city of Spain, 30 miles
SE. of Logroiio by rail. It is the ancient Cala-
gurris, Quintilian's birthplace, celebrated for its
obstinate but unsuccessful resistance to Pom-
pey's legate (78 B.C.). Pop. 8830.

Calais (Fr. pron. Ka-laiJ), a port in the dep. of
Pas-de-Calais, on the Strait of Dover, here 21 m.
wide, by rail is 184 miles N. of Paris. It ranks
as a fortress of the first class, the old walls,
dividing it from its suburb, Saint Pierre, having
been demolished since 1883, and their place
supplied by a ring of exterior forts. The gate
built by Richelieu in 1635, and immortalised by
Hogarth, has disappeared ; but the cardinal's
citadel (1641) still stands on the west of the
town. On the south and east are low marshy
grounds, which could be submerged in the event
of an invasion. A new harbour, comprising a
tidal one of 15 acres and a wet-dock of 27, was
opened in 1889. Calais is one of the chief ports
of debarkation for travellers from England to
France, and has steam communication thrice a
day with Dover, with which since 1851 it has
also been connetfced by submarine telegraph.
With the air of a Flemish more than of a French
town, Calais has not much to boast of in the
way of objects of interest. The picturesque
hotel-de-ville was rebuilt in 1750, and restored
in 1867. The adjoining Tour de Guet (1214)
served as a lighthouse till 1848 ; the present
lighthouse is 190 feet high. A museum (1884)
occupies the site of the Hotel Dessin, where
Sterne lodged, and Scott, and Lady Hamilton.
A handsome English church was built in 1862.
The chief manufacture is tulle or bobbin-net,
introduced by English from Nottingham in 1818.
Pop. (1872) 39,700; (1901) 53,180. Till 997 a
small fishing-village, Calais in 1347, after a
twelvemonth's siege, was captured by Edward
III. of England, and the self-devotion then shown
by six of the citizens forms one of the noblest
passages of history. The English retained it
until 1558, when it was captured by the Duke
of Guise, its garrison of 800 men holding it for
a week against his 30,000.

Calais (Kal'lis), a town of Maine, 82 miles ENE.
of Bangpr, at the head of navigation on the St
Croix River. There is some shipbuilding and a
large trade in lumber. Pop. 7690.

Calafias (Kaldriyas), a town of Andalusia,
Spain, 27 miles N. of Huelva and 13 NE. of
Tharsis, with which it was connected by rail in
1887. Here is a large copper-mine. Pop. 6721.

Calascibetta (Ka-ldh-shee-bet'td), or CALATASCI-
BETTA, a town of Sicily, 64 miles SE. of Palermo.
Pop. 6615.

Calatafimi (Kalatafee'mee), a town of Sicily,
8 miles SW. of Alcamo ; named from a ruined
Saracenic castle, Kalat-al-Fimi. Here, in 1860,
Garibaldi defeated the Neapolitans. Pop. 10,500.
Ga.la,ta,yu.d.(Kalatayood'; Arab. ' Ayud's Castle '),
a city of Aragon, Spain, on the Jalon, 152 m. NE.
of Madrid by rail. It is built out of the ruins of
ancient Bilbilis, the birthplace of Martial, which
lay about 2 miles to the east. Pop. 10,057.

Calatrava la Viega (Kalatrdh'va), a ruined city
of Spain, on the Guadiana, 12 miles NE. of Ciudad
Real. Its defence against the Moors, in 1158, after
being abandoned by the Templars, is famous as
originating the Order of the Knights of Calatrava.
Calave'ras, an inland county of California, E.
from San Francisco, with a picturesquely varied
surface, including hills, canons, prairies, and
forests. It is rich in granite, quartz, limestone,
and slate, and copper and gold are mined.

Calcutta, the capital of Bengal and of British
India, is situated on the left bank of the HugH
(Hooghly), an arm of the Ganges, in 22 34' N.
lat., and 88 24' E. long., about 80 miles from the

CALCUTTA

143

CALICUT

sea by the river. It was founded in 1686, by
the removal hither from Hugli of the factories
of the East India Company. Calcutta is the
Anglicised form of Kalikata, as this again is the
Moslemised form (1596) of Kali-ghat, a famous
shrine of the goddess Kali, which still exists to
the south of the city. In 1707 Calcutta had
acquired some importance as a town, and was
made the seat of a presidency. In 1756, how-
ever, it was unexpectedly attacked by Suraj-ud-
Daula (Surajah Dowlah), the Nawiib of Bengal,
and yielding after a two days' siege, was the
scene of the tragedy of the 'Black Hole.' The
city remained in the hands of the enemy until
seven months afterwards, when Clive recaptured
it. In 1772-90 Calcutta superseded Murshidabad
as seat of the central government in India ; in
1852 it was erected into a municipality. Pop.
(1837) 229,700 ; (1891) 741,144; (1901) 1,026 ; 9S7, of
whom 62 per cent, are Hindus, 32-2 Moham-
medans, and 4'4 Christians. The appearance of
the city as it is approached by the river is very
striking. On the left are the Botanical Gardens,
destroyed by the cyclones of 1867 and 1870, but
since replanted ; and the Bishop's College, a
handsome Gothic edifice, now used as an engin-
eering college. On the right are the suburb of
Garden Reach, the government dockyards and
the arsenal, and the Maidan Esplanade, which
has been termed the Hyde Park of India. Here,
near the river, lies Fort William, the largest
fortress in India, constructed (1757-73) at a cost
of 2,000,000, and occupying, with the outworks,
an area of 2 sq. m. Facing the Esplanade, among
other fine buildings, is the Government House,
the official residence of the Viceroy of India,
a magnificent palace erected (1799-1804) by the
Marquis of Wellesley. Beyond this, extending
northwards along the river-bank, is the Strand,
two miles in length, and 40 feet above low-
water, with various ghats or landing-places. It
is adorned by many fine buildings, including
the custom-house, the new mint, and other
government offices, and is lined by a splendid
series of jetties for ocean steamers. Among
other places of interest are the High Court,
the Bengal Government Offices, St Paul's Cathe-
dral, the Scotch church (St Andrew's), the Imperial
Museum, the town-hall, Bank of Bengal, Jesuits'
College, Medical College, university (1857), the
domed post-office, and the Treasury. Calcutta
has three theatres, several large European hotels,
two fine clubs the Bengal and United Service,
four daily English newspapers, and a number
of monuments throughout the city, the most
noticeable being those to the Marquis of Wel-
lesley, Sir James Outram, and Sir David Ochter-
lony, the last a column 165 feet high. Of Cal-
cutta's own sons the greatest is W. M. Thackeray.
Although the European quarter of the town is
distinguished for its fine public buildings and
commodious dwelling-houses, the quarters occu-
pied by the natives present a very different
appearance, their houses being in most instances
built of mud or bamboo and mats, and the streets
narrow and unpaved. Calcutta has been said
to be a city of palaces in front and of pig-styes
behind. Great havoc was clone in the native
quarter by the cyclone of 1S64, which destroyed
40,700 native houses ; and those of 1867 and 1870
were likewise very destructive. Considerable
improvements have now been effected ; new and
wider streets have been opened through crowded
quarters ; brick houses are fast replacing the
huts, and an extensive system of drainage has
been carried out to the no small advantage of

the inhabitants. The water-supply of Calcutta
has been very much improved (1865-88), the large
tanks interspersed throughout the city having
been superseded by an excellent supply drawn
from the Huglf, 15 miles above Calcutta. The
result of this has been a marked improvement
in the health of the city. Electricity and gas have
taken the place of the oil-lamps which till far on
in the 19th century lighted the streets at night.
Tramways have been extensively introduced, and
steam tramways run to some of the suburbs.
A canal girds a part of the city beyond the
Circular Road. In Howrah and other villages on
the right bank of the river are warehouses, iron-
works, timber-yards, large jute-mills, &c. Cal-
cutta may be regarded as the great commercial
capital of Asia ; and its communications by
rail and steamboat afford great facilities for its
extensive commerce. Navigation on the Hugl!
has been greatly improved, and an extensive
scheme of docks constructed at Kidderpur, at
a cost of nearly 3 millions sterling. The river,
adjacent to the city, varies in breadth from a
quarter of a mile to nearly a mile. Ships of
5000 tons ascend to Calcutta in the usual course,
the main difficulty to shipping being the James
and Mary shoal, half-way down the river.

Calder, MID, a Midlothian village, 11J miles
WSW. of Edinburgh. Near it is Calder House,
where Knox celebrated the Lord's Supper (1556).
Pop. 703. WEST CALDER, a mining town, 16 miles
WSW. of Edinburgh. Pop. 2652.'

Caldron Linn, waterfalls on the Devon, 2|
miles ENE. of Dollar.

Caledonian Canal, a chain of natural lakes
united by artificial canals, running straight across
Scotland south-westerward from the North Sea
to the Atlantic, through Glenmore, or the Great
Glen of Albin, in Inverness-shire. The sea and
fresh-water lochs in this line are the Moray
Firth and Lochs Dochfour, Ness, Oich, Lochy,
and Linnhe. Suggested by Watt in 1773, and
carried out from Telford's plans in 1803-23, at
a total cost up to 1849 of 1,311,270, the canal
was designed to avoid the dangerous and tedious
navigation of ships, especially coasting-vessels,
round by the Pentland Firth ; the distance
between Kinnaird's Head and the Sound of Mull
by this route being 500 miles, but by the canal
only 250, with an average saving of 9 days for
sailing-vessels. From the head of the Moray
Firth to that of Loch Linnhe, its length is 60
miles, 37% miles being natural, and 23 miles
artificial. Each cut is 120 feet broad at surface,
50 at bottom, and 17 deep. The highest part is
Loch Oich (105 feet); and there are in all 28
locks. Ships of 500 to 600 tons can pass through.
The annual expenditure exceeds as a rule the
income, each ranging between 6000 and 11,000.

Calf of Man, an island, 1 sq. m. in area, and
360 feet high, at the southern extremity of the
Isle of Man.

Cal'gary, a town of the North-west Territory
of Canada, with station on the Canadian Pacific
Railway 2262 miles W. of Montreal, stands 3380
feet above sea-level, between the Bow and Elbow
rivers. It dates from 18S4. Pop. 7500. -There
is a bay of this name on the north-west coast
of the island of Mull in Scotland.

Cali (Kalee' ; in full SANTIAGO DE CALI), a town
of Colombia, 3300 feet above the sea, 50 miles
SE. of Buenaventura by rail. Pop. 16,000.

Cal'icut, a seaport of Malabar, Madras presi-
dency, 6 miles N. of Beypur terminus, and 566,

CALIFORNIA

144

CALLERNISH

SSE. of Bombay. It was the first spot in India
visited overland by Covilham (1486) and round
the Cape by Vasco da Gama (1498), being then
the chief emporium on the coast. So populous
and powerful was it, that it twice repulsed the
Portuguese, slaying their commander in 1509,
and expelling Albuquerque himself in 1510. In
1792, when it fell into the hands of the English,
it was little better than a ruin ; but since then
it has made progress in trade and population,
though the anchorage is an open roadstead. The
cotton cloth at first exported hence was called
'calico.' Pop. (1881) 57,085; (1901) 75,510. See
Logan's Malabar (Madras, 1887).

California, a state of the American Union,
bounded by Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, the Mexican
territory of Lower or Old California, and the
Pacific Ocean. The parallels of 32 28' and 42
N. lat. respectively mark its S. and N. limits.
The state has an area of 155,980 sq. m. It is thus
larger than any other state or territory, except
Texas and Alaska, larger than Italy, or Prussia,
or Hungary, and more than a fourth larger than
the whole of the United Kingdom. The aspect
of the country is extremely varied. Along the
eastern border of the state extend the ranges
of the Sierra Nevada, which connects with the
Cascade Range its northward extension. The
scenery in this part of the state is often (as in
the wonderful Yosemite and Hetch-Hetchy val-
leys) very striking. There are twelve peaks which
exceed 10,000 feet in height; Mount Whitney
(14,898 feet) being higher than any other in the
United States outside of Alaska. West of the
Sierra Nevada lies the central valley of Cali-
fornia, drained by the Sacramento River, and
the San Joaquin. The eastern slope of the
great valley is very gradual, while the opposite
side of the Sierras has a sharp and precipitous
descent towards the great basin of Nevada. The
Coast Mountains consist of a number of ill-
defined ridges. To the south of the San Joaquin
Valley a transverse ridge connects the coast-
ranges with the Sierra, separating to some extent
Southern California from the rest of the state.
The coast-line is mostly high and rocky, with
only a few bays and harbours. California pre-
sents a great variety of climatic conditions. In
the north-west the rainfall is excessive, and in
the north the winters are rather severe than
mild ; the coast region of the northern half of
the state is damp, with cool or cold nights, even
in summer. But Southern California, in tem-
perature and productions, has a semi-tropical
character ; and the serenity of its climate has
made it famous as a resort for invalids. In the
south the scanty rainfall and the extreme summer
heat detract from an otherwise perfect climate.
In general it may be said that the winters in
California are mild, and the summers dry, and
not intensely hot, though often very dusty.
There are practically but two seasons a more or
less rainy winter, and a nearly rainless summer.
Extremes of temperature are much less marked
than in the states east of the Rocky Mountains.
In the interior the thermometer sometimes
reaches 120 in summer.

The gold production of the state, at one time
enormous, for many years declined, but has of
late again increased ; in the years 1848-64 the
annual product was $56,000,000 ; in 1900-4 it
averaged over $15,000,000. Among the valuable
minerals obtainable are quicksilver, lead, silver,
borax, rock-salt, marbles, asphalt, potash-salts,
native soda, sulphur, kaolin, and many others ;
petroleum is abundant ; coal is not extensively

wrought. Copper, iron, chromium, antimony
and other metals abound. But the mineral wealth
of the state is not more remarkable than its agri-
cultural resources, wheat, alfalfa or lucerne, the
vine, and all manner of fruits growing luxuri-
antly. In many sections irrigation facilitates
agriculture. The distillation of brandy, sugar-
refining, shipbuilding, the packing of meats, silk-
growing, and bee-keeping are profitable indus-
tries. The fisheries are of growing importance.
The principal exports are wheat, barley, wool,
wines, brandy, honey, hops, timber, provisions,
metals, ores, borax, and other minerals ; fish and
furs, largely from Alaska ; dried, preserved, and
green fruits, including oranges, prunes, raisins,
and almonds. The Lick observatory at Mount
Hamilton belongs to the state university at
Berkeley ; there is another university at Palo
Alto. Pop. (1850) 92,597 ; (1860) 379,994 ; (1870)
560,247; (1880)864,694; (1890)1,208,130; (1900)
1,485,000. Chinese immigration was stopped by
restrictive legislation in 1882-92. The principal
cities are San Francisco (q.v.), Los Angeles, Oak-
land, and Sacramento, capital of the state. The
prosperity of the state was greatly stimulated by
the opening of the Union Pacific Railway in 18(39.
In April 1906 a disastrous earthquake and the
resultant fires destroyed a great part of Sail
Francisco and injured many other towns.

LOWER or OLD CALIFORNIA is a peninsula and
a territory of Mexico, continuous southward
from the state of California, and is detached by
the Gulf of California and the lower reaches of
the Rio Colorado from the rest of Mexico. Its
area is 61,562 sq. in., or more than half the
extent of Great Britain and Ireland. The climate
is exceedingly dry, and the surface mountainous,
and excepting in some of the valleys, agriculture
is hardly practicable. The whale-fishery and
pearl-fishery are of some value. Some mining is
done, and salt, sugar, orchil, and a little wine
produced. Pop. 42,200.

The GULF OF CALIFORNIA, an arm of the Pacific
Ocean, which divides the peninsula above de-
scribed from the rest of Mexico, is 700 miles in
length, and varies in width from 40 to 100 miles.
It receives the waters of the Colorado.

Callan, a market-town, on the Owenree, 13
miles SW. of Kilkenny. Pop. 1843.

Callander, a Perthshire vills
centre, on the Teith, 16 miles I
rail. Pop. 1438.

, a great tourist
f. of Stirling by

Callao (Span. pron. Kal-ydh'o), the port of Lima,
Peru, 7 m. SW. of Lima, on a small bay, possesses
a floating-dock, while fine harbour-works, em-
bracing an area of 520 acres, with extensive pier
and dock accommodation, were completed in
1875 ; and the spacious roadstead, sheltered by
the island of San Lorenzo, is one of the safest in
the world. The huge old Spanish fortress is
used for custom-house offices. There are sugar-
refineries, ironworks, and sawmills ; and the ex-
ports are wool, sugar, specie, copper, cotton,
bark, hides, guano, and cubic nitre. Pop. 48,000.
The present Callao dates only from 1746, when
the original city, a little to the south, was
destroyed by an earthquake and an invasion of
the sea. It was bombarded in 1880 during the
war between Chili and Peru.

Callendar, a mansion f mile ESE. of Falkirk,
with memories of Queen Mary, Prince Charles
Edward, &c. In the grounds is a well-preserved
section of the northern Roman wall.

Callernish, a district on the west coast of the .

CALLINGTON

145

CAMBRAI

island of Lewis, 16 miles from Stornoway, remark-
able for its four stone circles.

Callington, a Cornish market-town, 11 miles
S. of Launceston. Pop. of urban district, 1714.

Calmar. See KALMAR.

Calne (Kauri), an old market-town of Wilt-
shire, 6 miles ESE. of Chippenham by a branch-
line (1863). It has a town-hall (1882), a free
grammar-school (1660), and a large bacon-curing
industry. A municipal borough, Calne returned
one member till 1885. Pop. 3455.

Caltabelotta (Arabic Kalaat-el-Ballut, 'castle
of the cork-trees '), a town of Sicily, 10 miles NE.
of Sciacca, with an ancient castle crowning a
steep rock above a stream. Pop. 6178.

Caltagirone (Kaltajeero'nay), a city of Sicily,
on two hills (2013 feet), 38 miles SW. of Catania.
Pop. 33,000.

Caltanisetta, a fortified town of Sicily, 83
miles SB. of Palermo by rail. It has a cathedral,
mineral springs, and sulphur- works. Pop. 44,500.

Calton Hill. See EDINBURGH.

Calumet, a mining locality of Houghton county,
Michigan, on a peninsula of Lake Superior, 42 m.
N. of L'Anse by rail. The Calumet and Hecla
copper-mine is one of the richest in the world.

Calvados (Kal-vad'os), a maritime dep. of Nor-
mandy. The principal rivers are the Touques,
Orne, Dives, Seulles, Aure, and Vire. The coast
is formed partly by bold ridges, partly by sand-
downs, cliffs, and reefs ; the dangerous reef ex-
tending for 16 miles between the mouths of the
Orne and the Vire was called Calvados, after the
Salvador, a vessel in the Spanish Armada ship-
wrecked here, and from it the dep. takes its
name. Towns are Caen (the capital), Bayeux,
Falaix, Honfleur, Lisieux, and Trouville. Area,
2130 sq. m. ; pop. (1861) 480,992 ; (1901) 410,178.

Calvi (Kal'vee), a seaport of Corsica, on a penin-
sula in the Gulf of Calvi, 38 miles WSW. of
Bastia. Captured by the English after a siege of
fifty-one days in 1794(when Nelson lost an eye), it
was retaken by the Corsicans next year. Pop. 1987.

Galw, or KALW (Kalv), a town of Wiirtemberg,
35 miles WSW. of Stuttgart. Pop. 5423.

Cam, or GRANTA, a sluggish narrow river,
which, rising in Essex, flows 40 miles NW. and
NE. through Cambridgeshire, and falls into the
Ouse 3 miles above Ely.

Camargue. See BOUCHES DU RHONE.

Cambaluc (Khan-Baligh, 'city of the em-
peror'), the name by which Marco made Pekin
(q.v.) known to Europe.

Cambay (Khambhdt), the port and capital of
a small Indian feudatory state of Bombay presi-
dency, lies in the north-west portion of the
peninsula, at the head of the Gulf of Cambay,
52 miles S. of Ahmedabad. Many ruins still
attest its former magnificence, the main cause of
its decay having been the gradual obstruction
of its seaward navigation. It exports agate,
cornelian, and onyx ornaments. Pop. 31,390.
The area of Cambay state is 350 sq. m. ; pop.
79,722. The Gulf of Cambay, 80 miles long and
'" broad, was formerly a great commercial resort.

Camberwell, a metropolitan and parliamentary
nigh (three members) of London. Pop. of

3tr. bor. (1901) 259,339.

Cambodia, or CAMBOJA (Fr. Cambodge), nomin-
ally a kingdom in Indp-China under a French
protectorate, but practically a French depend-
ency, on the lower course of the Mekong, between
Siam, Annam, and French Cochin-China, and
J

comprising an area of 38,000 sq. m. The coast,
156 miles long, offers but one port, Kampot.
The mountains of the north and west (some of
them over 3000 feet high) generally contain iron,
limestone, sandstone, and more sparingly, copper.
The greater part, however, of Cambodia consists
of alluvial plains, completely inundated during
the rainy season. In the north-east are forest-
clad tracts. The principal river is the Mekong,
Cambodia or Tonle-Tom, with its tributaries and
branching mouths ; a kind of backwater is the
Tonle-Sap, expanding into the Great Lake, 100
miles by 25 miles in area, with a depth of 65 feet
at its maximum. The climate is divided into the
rainy season from April to October, but inter-
rupted in August, and the dry from October to
April. The thermometer ranges from 70 to 104
F. The natural products are rice, tobacco, salt
fish, betel, cotton, maize, pepper, cinnamon,
vanilla, cardamoms, sugar-cane, indigo, manioc,
ramee, sesame, gutta-percha, &c. The forests con-
tain excellent timber. Crocodiles are found in
the rivers. The population is about 1,500,000,
mainly of the Cambodian stock, with 100,000
Annamites, 150,000 Chinese, 40,000 Malays, and
a few hundreds of Frenchmen. Pnom-Penh, the
capital, at the junction of the 'Four Anns' of
the river, has a population of 35,000. The Cam-
bodians approach the Malay and Indian types,
are less Mongoloid and more nearly resemble the
Caucasian type than their neighbours ; they speak
a monosyllabic language. The principal industry
is the fishing of the Great Lake. In Kompong-
Soai are manufactures of iron. The total com-
merce of Cambodia is valued at from 10 to 12
million francs yearly. The religion of Cambodia
is a development of Buddhism, in which the wor-
ship of ancestors forms a large part. The most
remarkable feature of Cambodia is the splendid
ruins of Khmer architecture. The temples and
palaces of Angkor (the old capital, north of the
Great Lake, abandoned in the 14th century),
which were known to Portuguese missionaries in
the 16th century, have since 1858 been explored
by French and other travellers, and are even less
remarkable for their magnitude and number than
for their artistic value. They are believed to
range from the beginning of our era to the 15th
and 16th centuries, the finest dating from between
the 8th and 14th.

The ancient kingdom of Cambodia or Khmer
formerly extended over a large part of Indo-
China. Buddhism would appear to have been
introduced in the 4th century. In the 16th and
17th centuries Portuguese, Spaniards, and Dutch
successively set up their factories at the mouth
of the Mekong. In the 17th century the capital
was Cambodia or Pontaipret, a place now much
decayed, on the Mekong, opposite the mouth of
the Tonle-Sap. The Khmer kingdom has been
dismembered since the 17th century, by Annam
first, and then in 1812 by Siam. In 1863 France
concluded a treaty placing Cambodia under a
French protectorate, and since 1887 it is practi-
cally a province like Annam (q.v.) of French
Indo-China. See works by Mouhot (trans. 1864),
Vincent (1873), Thomson (1875), and others.

Camborne, a Cornish town, 12 miles WSW. of
Truro by rail. Round it are productive copper,
tin, and lead mines. Pop. of parish, 14,730.

Cambrai (anc. Camaracum), a city and first-
class fortress of the French dep. of Nord, on
the Scheldt, 128 miles NNE. of Paris by rail.
Among the principal public buildings are the
town-house, archiepiscopal palace, and cathedral

CAMBRIDGE

146

CAMBUSLANG

(rebuilt after the fire of 1859), with a monument
to Fenelon. The town also contains a college,
theological seminary, and library, with 40,000
vols. and 1200 MSS. The manufactures are
cambric so named from Cambrai linen thread,
lace, sugar, soap, leather, &c. Pop. (1872) 22,897 ;
(1901) 15,000. The League of Cambrai was formed
in 1508 by the pope, the emperor, and the kings
of France and Spain.

Cambridge (Kaim'brij), county town of Cam-
bridgeshire, lies on the Cam, 58 miles N. by E.
of London, and 76 NB. of Oxford. Two import-
ant Roman roads, Akeman Street and the Via
Devana, here cross the valley of the Cam, and
were guarded by the station Camboritum, the
outlines of which can still be clearly traced on
the north side of the river. In its centre is the
partly artificial mound, now known as Castle
Hill, which is probably a relic of a yet older
British city. The Saxon town of Grantabrygge
occupied the site of Camboritum, and it was here
that the Norman castle was built. The present
town, as distinguished from the university, has
not many features of interest. It possesses a
guildhall, corn exchange, free public library, and
jail. There is also a fine county hospital founded
under the will of Dr Addenbrooke in 1743, and
an extensive recreation ground named Parker's
Piece. Of the churches St Benedict's or Benets
has a tower which is a fine specimen of the so-
called Saxon architecture, and the church of the
Holy Sepulchre is the oldest of the four round
churches in England, having been built in 1101
in imitation of the church of the Holy Sepulchre
at Jerusalem. It was restored by the Camden
Society in 1841. The parish church of Great St
Mary's is also the church of the university, at
which all academic services are held. In 1887-90
there was built a fine R. C. church, with a spire
215 feet high. The country round Cambridge is
somewhat flat and dull ; but on the west side
the grounds known as ' the Backs ' of the col-
leges are very beautiful, consisting of gardens,
meadows, and avenues. The Cam flows through
them, and is crossed by nine bridges. Above
Cambridge the Cam is a small but picturesque
stream. Below Cambridge it is dull and ugly,
but is used for boat-racing. Since 1885 the
borough of Cambridge has sent one member to
parliament, instead of two as formerly. Pop.
(1851) 27,815; (1871) 30,078; (1901) 47,737, of
whom 38,393 were within the municipal borough.

The university, dating from about the 12th
century, comprises the following colleges in the
order of their antiquity : St Peter's, Clare, Pem-
broke, Caius, Trinity Hall, Corpus Christi, King's,
Queens', St Catharine's, Jesus, Christ's, St John's,
Magdalene, Trinity, Emmanuel, Sidney Sussex,
Downing, Selwyn. Ridley Hall (a theological
training-college), Westminster (Presbyterian) Col-
lege, and Girton and Newnham colleges for women
are no part of the university. Teachers number
120, students 3000. Chief among college buildings
are King's (1441), with its noble Perpendicular
chapel ; Trinity, with its courts, its hall, and its
library by Wren ; and John's, with its splendid
new chapel (1869) by Scott. There are also the
library, Senate house, Fitzwilliam museum,
observatory, union, &c. See works by J. Bass
Mullinger (2 vols. 1873-84), and Willis and Clark
(4 vols. 1889), besides Humphry's short Guide
(5th ed. 1890).

Among its ' wranglers ' (those who constitute
the first-class after the public mathematical
honour examinations) have been the great
English mathematicians for many generations.

But amongst the eminent men Cambridge has
sent forth have been men as various as Cranmer,
Ridley, Latimer, Parker, Tillotson, Tenison,
Jeremy Taylor, Isaac Barrow, Paley, Cudworth,
Wollaston, Bentley, Person, Lord Bacon, Harvey,
Sir Isaac Newton, Lord Burghley, Falkland,
Straff ord, Oliver Cromwell, Pitt, Palmerston,
Fuller, Pepys, H. Walpole, Wilberforce, Macaulay,
Thackeray, Lytton, Darwin, Marlowe, Fletcher,
Spenser, Milton, Ben Jonson, Waller, Herrick,
Dryden, Cowley, Gray, Byron, Coleridge, Words-
worth, Tennyson.

Cambridge, a city of Massachusetts, virtually
a suburb of Boston (q.v.), from which it is separ-
ated by the Charles River, is principally distin-
guished as the seat of Harvard University ; it was
the home from 1836 of Longfellow, who lived in a
house formerly occupied by Washington. Cam-
bridge was first settled in 1630, and is therefore
one of the oldest towns in New England. It
early became noted for its printing industry,
and the manufacture of books is now one of its
leading industries ; besides which there are large
manufactories of furniture, glass, ironware, tin-
ware, bricks, chemicals, net and twine, sugar,
soap, and rubber. Within the limits of the city
are comprised the different localities of Old Cam-
bridge, or Cambridge proper, which is distinc-
tively the seat of the university ; East Cambridge
or Lechmere Point, a manufacturing district ;
Cambridgeport, where is located the city hall,
numerous churches, several banks, a convent,
and some manufactories ; and North Cambridge,
which is principally devoted to residences. Here
Washington assumed command in 1775. The
famous cemetery of Mount Auburn is partly in
Cambridge and partly in Watertown. Pop. of
Cambridge (1870) 39,364 ; (1900) 91,886.

Cambridgeshire, an inland eastern county of
England, 48 miles long, llj to 33 miles broad,
and 821 sq. m. or 525,182 acres in area. As
much as 92 per cent, of that area consists of
arable land, meadow, and pasture, the rest being
fens. The surface, except in the south, which
is somewhat elevated and on the chalk forma-
tions, is flat and thinly wooded, with villages
and churches here and there on slight elevations
called ' eys ' or islands. In a country less level
the much-vaunted Gog-Magog Hills, 4 miles SB.
of Cambridge, would escape observation. The
northern portion of Cambridgeshire forms part
of the Bedford Level (q.v.). The chief of the
sluggish rivers are the Ouse, which crosses the
middle of the county from west to east, with
its tributary the Cam ; the Nene, which borders
the county on the north ; and the Lark. These
are all navigable to a certain extent. The chief
towns are Cambridge, Ely, Wisbeach, March,
Thorney, Linton, Soham, Newmarket, and Roy-
ston. Cambridgeshire returns three members to
parliament, one for each of the Chesterton, New-
market, and Wisbeach divisions. Pop. (1801)
89,346? (1841) 164,459; (1871) 186,906; (1901)
190,687. Of four great dykes or earthworks the
chief is the Devil's Ditch, extending 7 miles
south-eastward from Reach to Wood-Ditton. It
is 18 feet high on the east side, and was certainly
of pre-Roman workmanship, as it is cut through
by Roman roads. See works by Holl (1882) and
Babington (1883).

Cambuskenneth, a ruined abbey (1147), on
the Forth, near Stirling. James III. and his
queen are buried here.

Cambuslang, a mining town of Lanarkshire,
4 miles SB. of Glasgow. Here a revival, known

CAMBUSNETHAN

147

CAMPSIE

as the Camb'slang Wark,' was held, under White-
field, in 1741. Pop. (1881) 5538 ; (1901) 12,252.
Cambusnethan. See WISHAW.
Camden, a city and port of entry of New
Jersey, on the left bank of the Delaware Eiver,
opposite Philadelphia, with which it is connected
by steam-ferries. It has shipyards and dry-
docks, foundries, cotton and woollen mills, and
manufactures of machinery, ironwares, paints
oilcloths, &c. Pop. (1880) 41,659 ; (1900) 75,935.

Camden Place, a Kentish seat, 2 miles ENE.
of Bromley. Here lived and died the antiquary
Camden.

Camden Town, a north suburb of London.
Camelford, a quaint little Cornish town, near
the source of the Camel ('crooked brook'), 15
miles W. of Launceston. Within 3 miles of it is
the traditionary scene of King Arthur's last
battle ; also near are the great slate-quarries of
Delabole. ' Ossian ' Macpherson was member for
Camelford, which was disfranchised in 1832. Pop
of Lanteglos parish, 1370.
Cam'elon. See FALKIRK.
Camerino (Kamayree'no; anc. Camerinum), a
town of Central Italy, on a spur of the Apennines,
41 iniles S W. of Ancona. It has an archiepiscopal
cathedral occupying the site of a temple to
Jnpiter, and a university (1727). Pop. 12,000.

Cameroon (often Cameroons; in German spelt
Kamerwn), a German colony on the west coast of
Africa, extending from the Rio del Rey, a little
east of the Old Calabar River, southwai'ds to
a point slightly below 3" N. lat., where it is
bounded by French Congo. On the north-west,
the boundary is a line from the Rio del Rey to
near Yola on the Benue, and thence to Lake
Chad. The eastern boundary is understood to
be about the meridian 15 E. This would make
Adamawa and part of Bagirmi the 'Hinterland'
of Cameroon. But the arrangements, on this
head and as to the boundary towards the interior
agreed on by Germany and Britain in 1893, were
hotly contested by the French. The area has
be^n estimated at 190,000 sq. m., and the pop. at
3,500,000. The name is derived from the Came-
roon River (Port, camarao, 'a shrimp'), which
enters the Bight of Biafra opposite Fernando Po
by an estuary over 20 miles wide. The low
mangrove swamps that clothe its banks render
the climate very trying to Europeans ; but much
of the interior is high-lying and healthy. The
natives belong to the Bantu group, the Duallas
living nearest the coast. In 1884 the German
flag was hoisted at Cameroon, and by 1893 the
revenue decidedly exceeded the expenditure.
The country is very fertile ; ebony, red-wood,
and palm-trees clothing the Cameroon, which
also has long been noted as an 'oil river,' and
for its cotton and ivory ; while many tropical
fruits grow wild. North-west of the estuary lie
the Cameroon Mountains, a volcanic group, which
attain a height of 13,746 feet in the peak Mongo
ma Lobah ('mount of the gods '), first scaled by
Burton and Mann in 1862.

Campagna, a cathedral city of Italy, 13 miles
E. of Salerno. Pop. 6896.

Campagna di Roma (Kampan'ya dee Rom'a), an
undulating, mostly uncultivated plain of Italy,
surrounding Rome, including the greatest part of
ancient Latium, with a length of about 90 miles,
and an extreme breadth inland, to the Alban
and Sabine hills, of 40 miles. A broad strip of
sandy plain skirts the Mediterranean, with a
thick fringe of pines. The ground is almost

entirely volcanic, the lakes being formed bv
craters of extinct volcanoes, and the broad Tibet-
winds across the plain between banks of tufa
of which the Seven Hills of Rome are composed.
Of late some drainage has been attempted, and
eucalyptus plantations have been made in the
hope of reducing the malarious conditions.

Campanha, a town of Brazil, 150 miles NW.
of Rio de Janeiro. Pop. 6000.

Campania, anciently a province on the west
coast of Italy, having Capua as its capital, and
now subdivided into the provinces of Benevento
Naples, Salerno, Avellino, and Caserta. It was
one of the most productive plains in the world.

Campbell Island, a lonely island to the south
of New Zealand, in 52 34' S. lat., and 169 12' E
long. Though 1498 feet high, and only 85 sq. m.
in area, it is yet valuable for its harbours. Dis-
covered in 1810, it served as an observatory dur-
ing the Transit of Venus in 1874.

Campbelltown, an Inverness-shire village, on
the Moray Firth, 12 miles NE. of Inverness
Pop. 648.

Campbeltown, a royal burgh and seaport of
Argyllshire, on the E. coast of the Kintyre pen-
insula, 83 miles SW. of Glasgow by water. It
curves round the head of a sea-loch (2| x f mile),
which is sheltered by Davarr Island (300 feet
high), and forms a magnificent harbour. The
place is an important fishing centre, and has
upwards of twenty whisky distilleries. With
the other Ayr burghs it returns one member to
parliament. Dr Norman Macleod was a native.
Pop. (1841) 6797 ; (1901) 8286.

Campden, a Gloucestershire market-town, 9i
miles ESE. of Evesham. Pop. of Chipping
Campden parish, 1536.

Campeachy (San Francisco de Campeche). a
seaport on the west side of the peninsula of
Yucatan. It has a citadel, university, naval
academy, and shipbuilding docks. The haven
is safe, but very shallow, and the trade, prin-
cipally in logwood and wax, has greatly fallen
off; while cigars and palm-leaf hats are almost
the only manufactures. Founded in the middle
of the 16th century, it was taken, occupied, and
burned by buccaneers in 1685. Pop. 16,600.

Camperdown (Dutch Camperduin), a ' broad
tract of low dunes in North Holland, 25 miles
N. of Haarlem. Off here Admiral Duncan de-
feated the Dutch fleet under Admiral Winter
October 11, 1797.

Campinas, Slo CARLOS DE (Kampee'nas), a town
of Brazil, 44 m. NW. of Sao Paulo. Pop. 28,000.
Campine (Kam'peen), a barren district in the
provinces of Antwerp and Limburg in Belgium.

Campobasso, a town of South Italy, among
the Apennines, 52 miles N. of Benevento by rail
Pop. 15,594.

Campobello, two towns of Sicily. (1) CAMPO-
BELLO DI LICATA, 17 miles N. of Licata by rail,
with sulphur-mines. Pop. 7481. <2) CAMPOBELLO
DI MAZZARO, 32 miles SSE. of Trapani by rail.
Pop. 6586.

Campo-Formio, a village of Northern Italy, 6
iles SW. of Udine. Here peace was concluded
on 17th October 1797 between Austria and the
French Republic.

Campos, SAO SALVADOR DOS, a town in the

Brazilian province of Rio de Janeiro, on the

Parahyba, 30 miles from its mouth. Pop. 35,000.

Campsie, a Stirlingshire parish, 12 miles N. by

E. of Glasgow. The Campsie Fells (1894 feet)

CAMPVERE

148

CANADA

are part of the Lennox Hills. Norman Macleod
is buried in the graveyard.

Oampvere (now Fere, Veere, or Ter-Vere), a
small fortified Dutch town on the north-east of
the island of Walcheren, with a port on the
Veergat, which separates Walcheren from Ndrth
Beveland. The town has fallen into decay ; but
its former prosperity is indicated by such large
edifices as the town-house and cathedral church.
Pop. about 900. From 1444 till 1795 it was the
seat of a Scottish factory, the only staple port
between Scotland and the Netherlands.

Cana, OF GALILEE, the scene of our Lord's
first miracle, and the birthplace of Nathanael,
was situated in the neighbourhood of Capernaum,
to the W. of the Sea of Galilee.

Canaan ('low-land'), the name originally ap-
plied to the low coast-land of Palestine on the
Mediterranean, inhabited by the Canaanites
(strictly so called), as opposed to the mountain-
land. Later it became extended to the whole
country, yet only to the part west of the Jordan,
the part east of Jordan being contrasted with it
as the ' Land of Gilead.'

Canada (probably derived from an Indian word
kannatha, meaning a village, but understood by
the first French discoverers to apply to the
country at large), a British dominion occupying
the northern part of North America. Canada
originally comprised the vast territory extending
as far west as the Mississippi, and including the
great lakes, which was ceded to Great Britain by
France in 1763. Subsequently, at the termina-
tion of the War of Independence, it was limited
to the region now occupied by the provinces of
Ontario and Quebec, described prior to 1867 as
Upper and Lower Canada respectively. The
Dominion of Canada is a confederation of the
colonies of British North America, constituted in
1867. Upper and Lower Canada, Nova Scotia,
and New Brunswick were the first to unite.
The Hudson Bay Territory was acquired from
the company, a portion of it formed into the
province of Manitoba, the remainder designated
the North-west Territories, and both were ad-
mitted into the confederation in 1870. Part of
the North-west Territories was subsequently
divided into districts Keewatin in 1876, and
Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Atha-
basca in 1882. In 1871 British Columbia, and
in 1873 Prince Edward Island, became parties to
the Union, which now includes the whole of
British North America, except Newfoundland.

Canada is bounded on the N. by the Arctic
Ocean, on the W. by the Pacific and Alaska, on
the E. by Newfoundland and the Atlantic, and
on the S. by the United States. Both the
Atlantic and Pacific shores abound in deep
indentations forming magnificent harbours and
sheltered bays. The most striking physical feat-
ures of Canada are the Rocky Mountains, the
Laurentian Range (which forms the watershed
between Hudson Bay and the St Lawrence, and
varies in height from 1000 to 3000 feet), and the
chain of immense fresh- water lakes. The eastern
portions of Canada are generally well timbered,
as are also British Columbia and the North-west
Territories north of the Saskatchewan. West-
ward of the Red River, between the 49th and
55th parallels of latitude, there is an immense
fertile plain, suitable for general agriculture and
grazing (the eastern end being about 800 feet,
and the western about 3000 feet, above the level
of the sea), extending nearly to the Rocky Moun-
tains. This range consists of triple chains with

valleys between ; the most easterly has the great-
est elevation near the 52d parallel, the highest
peaks being Mount Brown (16,000), Mount Mur-
chison (15,789), and Mount Hooker (15,700). The
average height of the chain is from 7000 to 8000
feet. Canada is well watered, the map present-
ing a network of lakes and rivers. The system
of the St Lawrence alone, with the great lakes
Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie, and Ontario
(between the last are the celebrated falls of
Niagara), drains an area in Canada of 330,000
sq. in. With their outlet the lakes form the
greatest fresh-water way in the world. Other
important lakes are Winnipeg, Winnipegosis,
Manitoba, Lake of the Woods, Great Slave, Great
Bear, and Athabasca. Other rivers are the Sas-
katchewan and the Winnipeg, flowing into
Lake Winnipeg, and the Nelson, flowing from it
into Hudson Bay ; the Assiniboine and the Red
River, which flow into Lake Winnipeg ; the
Albany and the Churchill, emptying into Hudson
Bay ; the Athabasca and the Peace rivers, flow-
ing into Lake Athabasca, and the Slave River,
from it into Great Slave Lake ; the Mackenzie,
fed from both the Great Slave and the Great
Bear lakes, and emptying into the Arctic Ocean ;
the Fraser and Thompson, in British Columbia,
emptying into the Pacific ; the Ottawa and the
Saguenay, emptying into the St Lawrence ; and
the St John, in New Brunswick, which it partly
separates from the State of Maine. The principal
islands of the Dominion are : on the east, Cape
Breton, Prince Edward and Magdalen islands,
and Anticosti, in the Gulf of St Lawrence ; and
on the west coast, Vancouver Island and Queen
Charlotte Islands. All the great Arctic islands,
except Greenland, belong to Canada.

The cold in winter and the heat in summer are
greater than in Great Britain, but the climate is
a healthy one. Spring commences two or three
weeks later than in England, but the conditions
for the rapid growth of produce warm sunshine
and a sufficiency of rain are so favourable that
the crops of the two countries are about equally
advanced by the middle of July. The winter
may be said to continue from the middle of
November to the end of March, or about four
and a half months. British Columbia probably
possesses the finest climate in North America.
In some inland parts of Canada the maximum
temperature may be from 90 to 96, and the
minimum from 20 to 26 below zero. But al-
though there are these extremes, the air is always
dry, bracing, and exhilarating. All the grain and
fruit crops grown in England flourish in Canada ;
and many species raised in England under glass,
such as grapes, peaches, melons, and tomatoes,
ripen in southern Canada in the open air. Canada
is nearly as large as the whole of Europe, and
about 600,000 sq. m. larger than the United States
Without Alaska. At the census of 1901 the area
and population of provinces and districts were :

Area, sq. m. Pop.

Prince Edward Island 2,000

Nova Scotia 20,550

New Brunswick 28,100

Quebec 227,500

Ontario 219,650

Manitoba 64,066

British Columbia 382,300

Territories, Islands, &c 2,371,481

459,574
331,120

2,181,947
255,211
178,657
211.649

3,315,647 5,371,315

In all, 4,671,815 were natives of Canada, 386,545
of the United Kingdom, 19,338 of other parts of
the British empire, 127,899 of the United States,
31,231 of Russia, 27,300 of Germany, and 107,187

CANADA

149

CANADA

of China, Scandinavia, France, and Italy;
1,649,371 were French -speaking. There were
108,112 Indians. Alberta and Saskatchewan (ab-
sorbing Assiniboia and Athabasca) were consti-
tuted provinces in 1905. The chief towns are
Montreal (267,730), Toronto (208,040), Quebec
(68,840), Ottawa, capital of the Dominion (59,928),
Hamilton (52,634), Winnipeg (42,340), Halifax
(40,832), and St John (40,711). Catholics num-
ber 2,229,600, Presbyterians 842,442, Angltaans
680,620, Methodists 916,886, and Baptists 316,477.
English is generally spoken in the Dominion, but
in some parts of the province of Quebec, French
is the only language understood. In the Domin-
ion, Quebec, and Manitoba parliaments, members
may address the House in either language. The
French spoken by the habitants, as the French-
Canadians are called, is a patois which in many
respects resembles the French of the 17th cen-
tury more closely than the French of modern
Paris. The principal universities are, in the
order in which they were founded, as follows :
Dalhousie (N.S.), 1820 ; M'Gill (Que.), 1821 ; New
Brunswick, 1828 ; Toronto (Ont.), 1828 ; Queen's,
Kingston (Ont.), 1841 ; Laval (Que.), 1852 ; Mani-
toba, 1877. The government also established
(1874) the Royal Military College at Kingston
(Ont.). Canada has passed beyond the mother-
country in many social questions. Thus, as
regards the liquor traffic, local option prevails ;
by an Act of the Dominion Parliament in 1882,
marriage with a deceased wife's sister was legal-
ised ; religious liberty prevails ; there is practi-
cally free and un sectarian education, and a free
and liberal franchise ; members of parliament are
paid for their services ; the parliaments are quin-
quennial; and there is no system for legalising
pauperism, although orphans and the helpless and
aged of both sexes are not neglected.

Between the years 1879 and 1903 the annual
value of Canadian imports varied from $81,965,000
(1879) and $241,214,961 (1903) ; while that of ex-
ports rose from $71,491,000 (1879) to $225,849,724
(1903). In 1903 the exports to Great Britain were
$131,202,000, and to the United States $71,784,000 ;
while the imports from Britain were $58,894,000,
and from the United States $137,605,000. Chief
imports are iron manufactures, wool manufac-
tures, coal and coke, sugar, cotton and cotton
manufactures, bread-stuffs, silks, chemicals ;
exports are lumber and other forest-products
($39,536,958, including wood-pulp), cheese
($24,712,943), cattle, wheat and wheat flour
($29,265,840), barley, and other agricultural pro-
ducts, cod and other fish, coal, and minerals.
These figures do not give an accurate idea of the
total trade of Canada ; they only embrace the
outside trade, and do not include the large busi-
ness which takes place between the provinces.
Canadian fisheries are, as regards the area
available, the largest in the world, embracing
nearly 5600 miles of sea-coast, in addition to
inland seas, innumerable lakes, and a great
number of rivers teeming with fish ; and there are
twelve fish-breeding establishments in different
parts of the Dominion. The total value of the
produce of the fisheries varies from $21.000,000 to
over $25,000,000 annually.

The minerals are chiefly coal, gold, copper,
iron, phosphates, salt, antimony, mineral oils,
and gypsum. Gold-mines have been and are
being worked in Nova Scotia, in Quebec, and
Ontario, and largely in British Columbia, where
there are yet immense fields to open up. Silver-
mines are being worked in Ontario ; and that at
Silver Islet, Thunder Bay (on Lake Superior), has

been the richest yet discovered in Canada. Iron
ore is found all over the Dominion. Copper has
been mined to a considerable extent both in
Quebec and Ontario, and the deposits of the ore
are of great extent. There are very large coal-
deposits in Nova Scotia. The coast of British
Columbia is rich in coal of a good quality. Coal
is known to exist over a vast region stretching
from 150 to 200 miles east of the Rocky Moun-
tains, and north from the frontier for about 1000
miles. The total value of the mining produce of
Caiwida averages over $65,000,000 annually.

The forest-products of Canada constitute one.
of her most important sources of wealth. They
find their way to all parts of the world to the
United States, to the United Kingdom, and to
the Australian colonies. Canadian cattle are of
good quality, many pedigree and highly priced
cattle having been imported for the improvement
of the flocks and herds. Herds of Shorthorns,
Herefords, Galloways, Polled Angus, and Jerseys
are to be found in many parts of Canada. Great
progress has been made in dairy-farming, and the
factory system has been latterly introduced in
the older provinces. There are factories for mak-
ing cheese, and creameries for butter. Agricul-
ture is the leading interest of the country.
Mixed fanning is generally carried on, the grow-
ing of grain and fruit, stock-raising, and dairy-
farming being more or less combined. Great
progress has recently been made in the develop-
ment of manufactures. The 'national policy'
comprises a high protective system, but since
1901 gives a preference to Britain.

There are nearly 19,000 miles of railway in
Canada. The Canadian Pacific Railway (4319
miles) was completed in 1885 ; by it the distance
from Liverpool to Japan and China is shorter by
1000 miles than via New York and San Fran-
cisco. In 1905 the Grand Trunk system
was planning extension to the Pacific, and the
Dominion government proposed another line to
the north of the Canadian Pacific. The railway
is not only of importance locally to Canada, as
connecting the various provinces and opening up
the vast North-west Territories for settlement,
but it is of imperial importance as providing a
new route to Australasia and the East, available
for commerce, and for military and naval pur-
poses. The canals of Canada are works of great
utility and importance. The channel of the St
Lawrence has been deepened, and vessels of 5000
and 6000 tons now reach Montreal, 700 miles
from the Atlantic Ocean. There is a system of
canals to overcome the St Lawrence rapids, and
the difference in the levels of the great lakes
(600 feet) which affords uninterrupted navigation
from the Strait of Belleisle to the head of Lake
Superior, a distance of 2384 miles, of which 71J
miles are canals. A scheme has been proposed
for a new route between Britain and North-west
Canada through Hudson Bay, with a railway
from Port Nelson to Manitoba. There are regu-
lar lines of steamers between Canada and Britain,
and from Vancouver to Australia and China and
Japan. The postal and telegraph systems are
very complete, and the Pacific cable from Van-
couver to Australia was completed in 1902.

The revenue of the Dominion in the years 1887
to 1905 varied from $35,754,000 (1887) to over
$66,000,000 ; the expenditure from $35,658,000 to
$52,000,000. The constitution of Canada is con-
tained in the British North America Act of 1867.
The government of Canada is federal. The pro-
vinces have local legislatures, and they also elect
the Federal Parliament which sits at Ottawa.

CANADA

150

CANARY ISLANDS

llie Executive Government and authority of and
over Canada is vested in the crown of Great
Britain. The governor-general for the time
being, whose emoluments are paid out of the
Canadian revenue, carries on the government in
the name of the sovereign, with the assistance
of a council, known as the cabinet, consisting of
the heads of the various departments, which
is responsible to the House of Commons. The
Dominion Parliament consists of an upper house,
styled the Senate (81 members), and the House
of Commons (214 members). The senators are
nominated for life by the governor in council.
The commons are elected every five years, unless
the House be dissolved before its course has
run ; and there is a special franchise distinct
from that in force for the provincial assemblies.
At the head of each of the provinces is a
lieutenant-governor, appointed by the gover-
nor in council, and paid by the Dominion, who
is the link between the provinces and the Federal
Government. Quebec and Nova Scotia have each
a two-chamber legislature; New Brunswick,
Ontario, Manitoba, British Columbia, and Prince
Edward Island only single-chamber assemblies.
The executive in each province is responsible to the
local legislature. The North-west Territories are
administered by a lieutenant-governor and a
council, partly elected and partly nominated.
Legislation upon local matters is delegated, as a
general rule, to the provinces. There is also a
very perfect system of municipal government
throughout the Dominion. Both the counties
and townships have their local councils, which
regulate the taxation for roads, schools, and
other purposes, so that every man directly votes
for the taxes he is called upon to pay. Local
taxation is very light.

In 1534 Jacques Cartier landed near Gaspe and
took possession of Canada for the king of France ;
but little was done by way of settlement till
1608, when Champlain founded Quebec. From
this time till 1763 Canada, from Acadia (Nova
Scotia) to Lake Superior and down the Missis-
sippi to the Gulf of Mexico, was held to be
French territory. The struggle between Great
Britain and France for supremacy was long
and bitter, but ended in 17(53 with the Treaty
of Paris, by which all the French dominions
in Canada were ceded to Britain, save the small
islands of St Pierre and Miquelon, retained as
fishing stations. Hudson Bay territory, Nova
Scotia, and Newfoundland, had passed to Eng-
land by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Through
the American War of Independence, what is now
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana,
and Illinois, was lost in 1783 to the United
States, no longer British colonies. Quebec was
in 1791 divided into Lower and Upper Canada.
A rebellion took place in 1837-38, and the pro-
vinces were reunited in 1840. Prince Edward
Island and New Brunswick were separated from
Nova Scotia in 1770 and 1784. British Columbia
was made a crown colony in 1858, and Vancouver
Island joined to it in 1866. The confederation of
all the British North American provinces ex-
cept Newfoundland took place in 1867-71, and
the prosperity of the Dominion was only tempo-
rarily disturbed by the Red River rebellion of
1869. The fishery rights have repeatedly been
a source of difficulty between Canada and the
mother-country on the one hand and the United
States on the other, and the dispute about seal-
ing in Behring Sea and off the Alaskan coasts
was only settled by arbitration in 1893. The
long-existing dispute as to the boundary between

Canada and the United States territory of Alaska
was finally settled by a joint commission in 1903.

There are French histories of Canada by
Faillon, Garneau, and Revilland ; in English by
Tuttle (1878), G. Bryce (1887), Kingsford (8 vols.
1888-98), and Roberts (1898). See also works
by Fream (1889), Munro (1890), Goldwin Smith
(1891), Lucas (1901), Bradley (1904).

Canadian River, a shallow tributary of the
Arkansas, rising in the NE. part of New Mexico,
and running 900 miles generally eastward through
Texas and Indian Territory to the Arkansas. Its
largest tributary is the Rio Nutria, or North Fork
of the Canadian, which runs parallel to the main
stream for about 600 miles.

Canandaigua, the capital of Ontario county,
New York, at the north end of Lake Canandaigua
28 miles SB. of Rochester by rail. Pop. 6168.

Canary Islands, a Spanish group in the
Atlantic Ocean, where 15 W. long, crosses 29
N. lat. ; the nearest is only 62 geographical
miles from the NW. coast of Africa. There are
seven large and several small islets, with a joint
area of 2808 sq. in., and a population of 360,000.
The principal islands, proceeding from east to
west, are Lanzarote (323 sq. m.), Fuerteventura
(326), Gran Canaria (758), Tenerife (877), Gomera
(169), Palma (718), and Hierro or Ferro (82). The
coasts are steep and rocky, and the surface is
diversified with high mountains, narrow gorges,
and deep valleys, the loftiest summit being the
Peak of Tenerife (12,200 feet). All the islands
are volcanic, and everywhere show plain marks of
their origin, in the shape of cones, craters, beds of
tuff and pumice, and streams of lava ; but erup-
tions have taken place within the historical
period only in Tenerife, Palma, and Lanzarote.
There are no rivers, and on several of the islands
water is very scarce. Upwards of 900 species of
wild flowering plants have been found on these
islands 420 of them peculiar to the group, and
48 others common to it and to the other North
Atlantic islands, but found nowhere else. The
flora as a whole is mainly of a South European
character, with a large infusion of African genera.
As to the cultivated plants, the warmth of the
lowest region allows of the growth of the sugar-
cane, sweet potato, bananas, date-palm, &c. ;
whilst above, to the height of 3000 feet, the
vine and various cereals are cultivated in a
climate resembling that of the south of Europe.
Minerals are few and of little importance. The
temperature near the sea is genial. The mean
annual rainfall amounts to 14 inches. In conse-
quence of the higher temperature, the less rain-
fall, and drier atmosphere compared with Madeira,
and of the much increased facilities for reaching
the islands, Orotava and Las Palmas are coming
into note as winter-resorts for invalids. A few
years ago cochineal was the staple production,
but the competition of aniline dyes has been
severely felt, and cochineal, no longer bringing
in a good profit, has fallen into neglect. The
cultivation of the vine (almost ruined after 1853
by the grape disease) and sugar-cane is extend-
ing ; wine being exported to the European conti-
nent, and sugar to Spain. Tobacco is also grown.
Submarine cables connect the islands both with
the continent of Europe and the African coast.

The Canaries, the Fortunate Islands of the
ancients, were rediscovered in 1334, when a
French vessel was driven amongst them by a
storm. In 1404 the Norman Jean de Bethen-
court, having obtained assistance from Spain,
mastered four of the islands. His successor

CANCALE

151

CANTERBURY

having sold his rights in Spain, they were after-
wards acquired by the king, who sent a large
force in 1477 to conquer the Guanches, a brave
and intelligent race of large stature, and com-
paratively fair. Their origin is unknown, but
they are assumed by inanjr to have been of
Berber or of Libyan stock. Their resistance was
so stubborn, that it was not until 1495 that the
last of the islands was finally annexed to Spain,
of which they now form a province.

See works by Pegot-Ogier (Eng. trans. 2 vols.
1882), Olivia Stone (1888), C. Edwardes (1889),
G. W. Strettell (1890), J. Whitford (1890), and
J. H. T. Ellerbroke (1S92>

Cancale (Kon y kdhl'\ a bathing-place in the
French dep. of Ille-et-Vilaine, 8 miles ENE. of St
Malo, on Cancale Bay, famous for its oysters.
Pop. 3723, or with the port, La Houle, 6578.

Candahar. See KANDAHAR.

Candeish. See KHANDESH.

Candia is the name of a town of Crete (once
the capital), and was long the only name by
which the island was known in Western Europe.
The city of Candia stands on the north coast of
the island, north of Mount Ida. Its harbour is
sanded up. Pop. 22,800. See CRETE.

Candy. See KANDY.

Canea (anc. Cydonia), present capital and chief
commercial town of Crete, on the north-west
coast, with a fine harbour. Pop. 24,500.

Canelones (Kan-ay-lo'nez), a dep. of Uruguay.
Area, 1827 sq. m. ; pop. 86,750. Capital, Guade-
lupe, 30 in. N. of Monte Video by rail ; pop, 3000.

Canicatti, a town of Sicily, on the Naro, 24
miles ENE. of Girgenti by rail. Pop. 19,599.

Canna, one of the Inverness-shire Hebrides,
12 miles SW. of Skye, and 3 NW. of Rum. It
rises to 800 feet, and is 4 miles long, 1 mile
broad, and 4 sq. in. in area. With the adjoining
island of Sanday (1 sq. in.) its population in 1841
was 225 ; it is now under 100, mostly Catholic.

Cannae, an ancient town of Apulia, Southern
Italy, near the mouth of the Aufidus (now
Ofanto), and 1J mile N. of the modern Canosa.
Here, in 216 B.C., Hannibal defeated the Romans
with prodigious slaughter.

Cannanore, a seaport and cantonment of
Malabar, Madras, 50 miles N. of Calicut. Pop.
27,818.

Cannes (Kdnri), a watering-place in the dep. of
Alpes-Maritirnes, charmingly situated on a bay
of the Mediterranean, 19 miles SW. of Nice by
rail. Though founded by the Romans, it was
but a place of 3000 inhabitants, when in 1815
Napoleon landed near it from Elba ; nor was it
till 1836 that Lord Brougham first selected it as
a health-resort. Alexis de Tocqueville, Prosper
Merimee, Louis Blanc, Victor Cousin, Auerbach,
J. B. Dumas, and the Duke of Albany have died
in Cannes ; and in 1887 Queen Victoria came to
Cannes to visit the place, and to see the beauti-
ful Albany Memorial Church of St George of
England, erected with funds raised by the Prince
of Wales. Cannes is celebrated for the salubrity
of its climate. Low wooded hills shelter it from
the north, and it occupies the centre of the great
curved bay, 14 miles across, of which Cap Roux
and Cap d'Antibes form the extremities. It has
a small port, and a trade in flowers, becoming
yearly of greater importance. There are farms
of violets, roses, oranges, tuberoses, jessamine,
and cassia. Pop. (1872) 8201 ; (1901) 25,350
sometimes doubled by winter visitors.

Cannock, a town of Staffordshire, 8 miles
NNW. of Walsall. Cannock Chase abounds in
important iron industries. Pop. (1851) 2099;
(1871) 6(550 ; (1901) 23,992.

Cannstatt, a town of Wiirtemberg, on the
Neckar, 3 miles NE. of Stuttgart. Of Roman
origin, it has much-frequented mineral springs,
and manufactures of iron, cottons, tobacco, &c.
Pop. (1875) 15,064 ; (1900) 26,500.

Canonbie, a Dumfriesshire Border parish on
the Esk, 16 miles N. by E. of Carlisle. Coal is
found.

Canosa (anc. Cannsium), a town of Southern
Italy, 13 miles SW. of Barletta. It has a castle-
crowned hill and a cathedral (1101-1825). Pop.
24,200. See CANN.E.

Canossa, a ruined castle of Italy, 12 miles SW.
of Reggio. Here the Emperor Henry IV. in 1077
made submission to Pope Gregory VII.

Canso, CAPE, the eastern extremity of Nova
Scotia, at the entrance of Chedabucto Bay.
Canso Strait, 17 miles long and 2 wide, separates
Nova Scotia from Cape Breton.

Cantal, an inland dep. of Southern France,
formed out of the south portion of the old
province of Auvergne. Area, 2090 sq. m. ; pop.
(1901) 234,382.

Canterbury, a municipal, parliamentary, and
county borough, and the seat of the metropolitan
see of all England, in East Kent, 56 miles ESE.
of London by road (62 by rail), and 16 NW. of
Dover. Standing in a plain on the banks of the
Stour, amid gently swelling hills, it occupies the
site of the Roman Durovernum and Saxon Cant-
warabyrig (' borough of the men of Kent '), and
from its position on the great London highroad
must always have been a place of importance.
There are some remains of the ancient walls (If
mile in circuit and 20 feet high), and the West
Gate (c. 1380) is the survivor of six. Near the
city wall is a large artificial mound, the Dane
John (probably Donjon), and connected with this
mound is a public garden, laid out in 1790, from
the top of which is a fine view of the country
around. The much mutilated castle, whose
Norman keep resembled Rochester's, has been
degraded to a gas-work ; the guildhall (1439 ;
rebuilt 1697) has been refaced with modern
brick; and the Checquers Inn, where Chaucer's
pilgrims lodged, lost its 'dormitory of the
hundred beds ' by fire in 1865.

But the great glory of Canterbury is its magni-
ficent cathedral, whose precincts are entered
through a splendid Perpendicular gateway (1517).
It was founded in 597 by St Augustine ; enlarged
by Archbishop Odo (942-959) ; totally destroyed
by fire (1067) ; rebuilt by Archbishop Lanfranc
and Priors Ernulf and Conrad (1070-1130) : this
building it was that witnessed the murder of
Becket (29th December 1170) ; bereft of its choir
by fire (1174) ; partly rebuilt by William of Sens,
and another William, an Englishman ; and trans-
formed as to the nave and nave-transepts by Prior
Chillenden into the Perpendicular style of that
period (1378-1411). The central or ' Bell Harry '
tower was carried up (1495) to about double its
original height ; also in the Perpendicular style, it
is 235 feet high. The north-west or Arundel steeple
was taken down and rebuilt in 1834-40 ; like the
south-west or Dunstan steeple (1413-44), it is 130
feet high. The north transept is called the
Martyrdom transept, for here took place the
murder of Becket. In 1220, fifty years later,
his remains were translated from the crypt to a

CANTERBURY

152

CANTON

shrine in the newly erected Trinity Chapel, east-
ward of the choir. That shrine was demolished
in 1538 ; but in 1888 a stone coffin, with remains
of a skeleton, supposed to be Becket's, was dis-
covered in the crypt, and reinterred there after
careful examination. In 1643 the building was
'purified,' as it was called, by order of parlia-
ment ; still very many most interesting monu-
ments remain such as the tombs of Stephen
Langton, the Black Prince, Henry IV., and
Archbishops Peckham, Meopham, Stratford, Sud-
bury, Courtenay, Chicheley, Stafford, Kemp,
Bourchier, Morton, Warham, and Cardinal Pole.
The fifty-one statues that since 1863 have adorned
the south porch and the western entrance include
19 of Canterbury's 94 archbishops, 21 English
sovereigns, 3 deans, Erasmus, &c. Of stained
glass there are some fine old specimens, and some
new ones of very varied merit. The total length
of the cathedral is 522 feet, by 154 in breadth at
the eastern transept. Its predominant styles
are Transition-Norman and Perpendicular. The
large and lofty crypt was in 1561 given up by
Elizabeth to a congregation of French and
Flemish Protestant refugees, and a French ser-
vice still is held here. On 3d September 1872
the church narrowly escaped destruction for the
fourth time by fire, the outer roof being burned,
over all the east portion of the choir.

To the north of the cathedral are the Cloisters,
144 feet square ; the Chapter-house (1411) ; the
New Library and the Howley Library ; the
beautiful Green Court ; the Deanery (1517) ; and
the King's School (1541). Marlowe, who was a
native, and a drinking fountain to whose memory
was erected in 1891, and Dr Harvey, went to
school here. These occupy the site, and in part
the buildings, of the Benedictine Priory of
Christ's Church. The remains of the Abbey of
St Augustine, to the east, were in 1844-48 trans-
formed into an Anglican missionary college. Of
fourteen old churches, St Martin's has a font,
said to be the very one in which Ethelbert was
baptised by St Augustine, whilst St Dunstan's
contains the monuments of the Ropers, and, in a
vault, the head of Sir Thomas More. The Clergy
Orphan School occupies a conspicuous position
on St Thomas's Hill, a mile out of the city ; the
Simon Langton Schools were opened in 1882.
There are, besides, several hospitals, large
barracks, a corn exchange, and an art gallery
presented to the city in 1882 by one of her sons,
Sidney Cooper, R.A. There is also a free library
and museum. Canterbury has a large trade in
grain and hops. Races used to be run on Barham
Downs, but they were eclipsed in importance
by the Canterbury 'cricket week.' Since 1885
the city has returned only one member. Pop.
(1851) 18,388 ; (1901) 24,899. See works by Willis
(2 vols. 1845-69), Dean Stanley (10th ed. 1883),
Dean Hook (12 vols. 1860-76), and R. Jenkins
(1880).

Canterbury, a provincial district of New
Zealand (q.v.), in the centre of the South Island,
with an area of 14,039 sq. m.; till 1876 it was a
province, with Christchurch as its capital, and
Lyttelton as its port. The district was settled
in 1850 by the Canterbury Association, a society
of peers, bishops, and commoners interested in
the colonisation of New Zealand. It has a coast-
line of 200 miles, a breadth of 150, and is well
watered by numerous rivers. Coal, iron ore,
fireclays, quartz, and gold exist, and coal-mines
are in operation. On the eastern side of the
great range of hills are the far-famed Canterbury
Plains, the great sheep district of the colony.

There is railway connection between Christ-
church and Dunedin, with various branch lines.
The staple trade is in wool and grain. The
Bishop of Canterbury is primate of New Zealand.
The medicinal hot springs at Hamnar Plain
in Amuri district have considerable celebrity.
Mount Cook (13,200 feet) is the highest mountain
in New Zealand. Pop. (1871) 46,801 ; (1891)
128,392 ; (1901) 143,041.

Cantire. See KINTYRE.

Canton, a large commercial city and port in
the south of China, and capital of the province of
Kwang-tung (of which the name Canton is merely
a corruption), is situated in 23 7' 10" N. lat., and
113 14' 30" E. long., on the north or left side of
the Shu-kiang, or Pearl River, in a rich alluvial
plain, 70 miles N. of Macao, at the mouth of the
estuary of the Canton River, and 90 NW. of
Hong-kong. The city is surrounded by walls
25 to 40 feet high and 20 thick, with an espla-
nade inside, six miles in circumference ; and it
is divided by a partition wall running east and
west into two unequal parts, the north or old
city, much the larger, and the south or new city.
There are twelve outer gates, four gates in
partition wall, and two water gates; shut and
guarded by night. The entire circuit, including
suburbs, is nearly 10 miles. At the south-west
corner of the suburbs, south of the river, are the
Hongs or European quarter, divided from the
river by a quay, 100 yards wide, called Respon-
clentia Walk. The streets, more than 600, are in
general less than 8 feet wide, and very crooked.
The houses along the water-side are built on
piles, and subject to inundations. There are two
pagodas, the ' Plain Pagoda,' erected ten centuries
ago, 160 feet high, and an octagonal nine-storied
pagoda, 175 feet high, erected more than 1300
years ago ; and 124 temples or Joss-houses. The
Honam temple covers, with its grounds, 7 acres,
and has 175 priests attached. The 'Temple of
Filial Duty ' has 200 priests, supported by 3500
acres of glebe-lands. The priests and nuns in
Canton number more than 2000, nine-tenths of
them Buddhists. The ' Temple of Five Hundred
Genii ' has 500 statues of various sizes in honour
of Buddha and his disciples. Examination Hall,
in the old city, is 1330 feet by 583 feet, covers 16
acres, and has 8653 cells. Nearly half the craft
on the river are fixed residences, and the popu-
lation on land and water can hardly be less than
a million and a half. The climate of Canton may
be pronounced healthy. The average tempera-
ture ranges from 42 to 96 F. ; though falls of
snow occurred in 1835 and 1861. The average
rainfall is 70 inches. Pop. 1,800,000.

The admirable situation of Canton, with a safe
and commodious anchorage for the largest vessels,
explains how, from an early period, it was a
favourite port with foreign merchants. The
earliest notices date back to two centuries B.C. ;
and the Arabs made regular voyages hither as
early as the 9th century A.D. The Portuguese
found their way to it in 1517, and were followed
by the Dutch a hundred years later. These in
turn were supplanted by the English before the
close of the 17th century, and an immense trade
was carried on by the agents of the East India
Company, whose monopoly ceased in April 1834.
In 1842 Canton became one of the five 'treaty
ports ' open to foreign commerce. The city was
captured by the allied French and English forces
in December 1857, and continued to be garrisoned
by them till October 1 861 . The chief exports from
Canton are tea, silk, sugar, and cassia ; the chief

CANTON

153

CAPE COLONY

imports, cotton, woollen, and metal goods, food-
stuffs, opium, kerosene, &c.

Canton River is a name given to the chief
channel by which the united waters of the Si-
kiang and the Pe-kiang rivers reach the sea
through the delta. Shu-kiang or Pearl Eiver is
another name for part of this waterway ; and
Boca Tigre (q.v.), Bocca Tigris, or Boque, a part
of it below Canton, where the estuary is com-
pressed between escarped hills.

Canton, capital of Stark county, Ohio, on
Nimishillen Creek, 56 miles SSE. of Cleveland,
with foundries, iron and steel works, paper and
wool mills. Pop. (1860) 4041 ; (1900) 30,667.

Cape Breton (Britfun"), a rocky Canadian island
of irregular form, at the eastern extremity
of Nova Scotia, from which it is separated by
the Gut of Canso, one mile broad. Measuring
100 by 85 miles, it has an area of 3120 sq. m.,
with a pop. of 97,000. The coast is greatly
indented, and an inlet, the Bros d'Or, entering
the island on the east, forms a lake (50 by 20
miles) which renders most of the interior access-
ible by water, and which, now continued by a
ship-canal ( mile) to St Peter's Bay, on the south
coast, bisects the island. The climate is moist,
but milder than that of the adjoining continent ;
the principal exports are timber, fish, iron ore,
and coal. Originally French, it was taken and
retaken by the English in 1745-58 ; and in 1819
became part of the province of Nova Scotia.
The towns are Sydney, Arichat, and Port Hood,
the once strongly fortified Louisbourg having
sunk to a village.

Cape Coast Castle, a British settlement in the
Gold Coast Colony, Upper Guinea, 315 miles W.
of Lagos. It lies in a chasm, and is defended
by the great castle and by three small forts on
the hills behind. Ceded by the Dutch in 1665,
from 1672 it was possessed by several companies
till 1843, when it was taken over by government.
In 1875 it was superseded by Accra as capital of
the Gold Coast. L. E. Landon died here in 1838.
Pop. 11,500.

Cape Cod, a narrow peninsula of Massachusetts,
in form like the letter L, which, with a length
of 65 miles, forms the south-east boundary of the
great bay of that state. A canal across the neck
has been proposed.

Cape Colony, officially COLONY OF THE CAPE
OF GOOD HOPE, is a British colony situated at
the southern extremity of the African continent.
It is bounded on the N. by German South-west
Africa, the Bechuanaland Protectorate, the
Orange River Colony, and British Basutoland ;
on the S. by the Southern Ocean ; on the E. by
Natal ; and on the W. by the Atlantic Ocean.
Neither Basutoland (q.v.), the Bechuana Pro-
tectorate, nor the territories of the South Africa
Company (see MATABELELAND, MASHONALAND,
ZAMBESIA) are part of the colony. All sections
are under the authority of the High Commis-
sioner for British South Africa, who is distinct
from the governor of Cape Colony. Pondoland
was annexed i,o the Cape Colony in 1894, and in
1895 the crown colony of British Bechuanaland
was also incorporated. The total area of the
Cape Colony is now estimated at over 277,000
square miles.

The Cape Colony is deficient in navigable rivers,
and in gulfs or arms of the sea stretching inland.
The best natural harbour, Saldanha Bay, is un-
used, on account of the aridity of the land around
it. Table Bay, the principal harbour, is naturally
much exposed on the north-west ; but has been

protected by a breakwater (see CAPETOWN). False
Bay, lying to the east of the Cape of Good Hope,
includes Simon's Bay, which is the imperial naval
station. Algoa Bay has Port Elizabeth on its
western shore. Running parallel to the coast-line
of the Cape Colony, and at an average distance
from it of about 150 miles, there is a range of
mountains which forms the watershed of the
country, and is known as the Stormberg, the
Sneeuberg, the Nieuwveld Mountains, the Rogge-
veld Mountains, and Kamiesberg. The Eastern
Province, along with the Cape peninsula, is on
the whole better watered than the interior
portion of the Western Province, which is
largely covered with the Karroo or steppe,
dreary-looking, but of great value to the sheep-
farmer. Beyond the belt of country skirting
the sea-coast agriculture can only be success-
ful where there is a suppy of water for irrigation.
The climate of the Cape Colony and of the
interior of Southern Africa generally is one of
the finest in the world, and eminently suited for
Europeans. As a health-resort the Cape has
long been favourably known. The climate on
the coast is superior to that of England. But
it is after the traveller leaves this well-watered
belt that he finds himself in a rare and yet
balmy atmosphere which is exhilarating to the
healthy, and most beneficial to those subject to
lung-complaints, especially if they have arrived
in the country at a sufficiently early stage. At
Wynberg, near Capetown, the mean temperature
in winter is 55, in summer 63, the summer
maximum being 96. On the elevated plateau at
Aliwal North, the winter mean is 48-8, summer
mean 67*4, summer maximum 102. In 1891 the
area and population were as follows :

Colony proper ,

Griqualand West

East Griqualand

Tembuland

Transkei ,

WalfishBay

Area, sq. m. Pop.

191,416 956,485

15,197 83,375

7,594 152,618

4,122 180,415

2,552 153,563

430 768

Total 221,311 1,527,224

In 1904 the census (delayed by the war) showed
579,741 whites and 1,830,074 coloured, a total
of 2,409,815. Griqualand West, Pondoland (an-
nexed in 1894), and British Bechuanaland (an-
nexed 1895) are now part of the Colony proper.
The natives of the Cape Colony are steadily in-
creasing. There are two main groups of natives
the yellow-coloured and oblique-eyed Gariepine
people (named from the Gariep or Orange River) ;
and the darker, and far more numerous Bantu
family. The Gariepine family includes Hotten-
tots, Korannas, Namaquas, and Bushmen. The
Bantus are subdivided into numerous tribes,
Kaffirs, Zulus, Basuto, Bechuana, Matebele,
Mashona, &c. The earliest settlers were from
various countries in North Europe, being the
servants of the Dutch East India Company ; to
these Avere added 150 Huguenot refugees in 1688.
In 1820 English and Scotch settlers were placed
by government on land in the Eastern Province ;
and after the Crimean war the German Legion was
settled in King Williamstown district. The dis-
covery of diamonds caused a rush to Griqualand
West. The Eastern Province of the colony is,
roughly speaking, an English country. The
western part is mainly occupied by Dutch-
speaking descendants of the early settlers.
There are 8000 miles of road in the Colony
proper. The railway system extended in 1893
to 2300 miles of government line (besides

CAPE COLONY

154

CAPE HAYTIEN

177 miles of private lines), belonging to three
main systems, Western, Midland, and Eastern.
Capetown is now connected with Mafeking and
Palapwe in British Bechuanaland, and, by the
line running through the Orange Free State, with
Johannesburg in the Transvaal, which again will
soon be connected with the east coast at Delagoa
Bay. There are over 5000 miles of telegraph line.

A few elephants and buffaloes are still 'pre-
served ' in the Knysna and Zitzikama forests, but
the hippopotamus, rhinoceros, giraffe, eland,
quagga, gnu, and other large game, are, with the
lion, no longer to be seen within the Cape Colony.
Smaller antelopes are still found, with baboons,
monkeys, wild cats, porcupines, jerboas, conies,
ant-eaters ; as also tiger-cats, leopards, jackals,
and wild dogs. The variety of birds is also
great, and some are peculiar, such as the secre-
tary-bird, the honey-bird, the weaver-bird, and
the ostrich. Reptiles still abound ; the alligator
is chiefly found beyond the colony, but the
iguana, the cobra di capello, puff-adder, and
other snakes are found in the colony. Insect life
is also abundant. It is probable that no single
country in the world has contributed so largely
to European conservatories and gardens as the
Cape of Good Hope sending such handsome
flowering shrubs as the pelargoniums, heaths,
proteas, and the lovely bulbous plants of iridese,
amaryllidese, and liliaceae.

The chief exports from the colony are diamonds
and wool. Cattle are also extensively raised,
especially in the grassy districts of the Eastern
Province. Pneumonia, known as ' lung-sickness,'
was introduced from Holland in 1857, and has
never since been eradicated. In the northern
parts of the colony, and more especially in the
countries beyond the colony, horses are subject
during the summer months to a climatic disease
known as ' the horse-sickness." Ostrich-feathers
have long been an article of export from the Cape,
and in 1864 ostrich-farming was commenced at
the Cape, and is now one of the leading industries.
Viticulture was introduced by Dutch settlers in
1653, and developed by the Huguenot refugees.
In 1900 there were about 83,000,000 vines in the
Cape Colony, producing nearly 5,000,000 gallons
of wine and over 1,100,000 gallons of brandy.
The climate of the south-western part of the
colony is said to excel that of any other country
for viticulture. Tobacco is extensively grown
in certain districts. The climate of the colony
is favourable to the growth of fruit in great
variety.

Woollen fabrics, leather, furniture, and soap are
produced. Fishing is carried on in all the bays
which indent the coast. Guano deposits are
found on the small islands along the west coast.
The diamond-fields of Kimberley, and its huge
mines, have (since 1867) become the most im-
portant centre of the industry in the world. The
finest South African diamond is the 'Porter-
Rhodes diamond,' found in 1880, and valued at
60,000. Diamonds are far the largest single
item of export from the colony, having nearly
three times the value of the wool exported. Gold
is found in various districts. Copper is found
throughout the district of Namaqualand. Coal
is at present worked only in two or three spots.
Iron ores are abundant in several places ; and
lead, zincblende, manganese, as well as valuable
stones, such as garnets, agates, crocidolites,
jaspers, chalcedonies, amethysts, &c., are found,
as well as fine marbles and granite.

From 1887 to 1902 the revenue of the colony
rose from 3,352,000 to 11,285,697 ; the expendi-

ture from 3,333,000 to 11,950,745. The public
debt in 1903 was over 36,970,000. In the same
years the imports varied in value from 5,771,000
to 34,220,500 ; the exports, of which the princi-
pal items were diamonds and wool, with hides,
ostrich-feathers, angora goats' hair, copper ore,
and wine, rose in value from 7,719,000 to
17,456,151. The total value of diamonds ex-
ported from 1867 to 1902 was 105,804,863.

The colonial government consists of a gover-
nor, nominated by the crown, whose term
of office usually extends to six years. He is
assisted by an executive council, practically
the ministry. There are five offices in the Cape
ministry the colonial secretary, the treasurer
of the colony, the attorney-general, the com-
missioner of crown-lands and public works, and
the secretary for native affairs. The Lower
House, or House of Assembly, at the Cape, con-
sists of ninety-five members. The Upper House,
or Legislative Council, consists of twenty-three
members. The House of Assembly is purely
elective ; in the Upper House the single excep-
tion is the chairman or president of the council,
who is the chief-justice of the colony, ex officio.
Members of both Houses receive a guinea a day
while the House is sitting, and, if residing over
15 miles from Capetown, 15s. per clay for not
more than 90 days. The Cape Colony is divided
into eighty-one divisions or counties, in each of
which there is a divisional council elected every
three years, which is empowered to levy rates
and manage the business of the division. The
chairman is the civil commissioner of the divi-
sion, who is usually also the resident magistrate.
The large towns are under mayors and town coun-
cils ; smaller towns have municipal councils ;
and villages have management boards. There is
an appeal from the colonial courts of justice to
the House of Lords. Education is provided for
by 2438 state-aided schools, the enrolled pupils
numbering over 150,000, besides many private
and mission schools. The University of the Cape
of Good Hope was founded in 1873, and received
a royal charter in 1877.

The Cape of Good Hope was discovered by the
Portuguese navigator Bartholomew Diaz in 1486.
It was not till 1652 that the Dutch East India
Company took possession of Table Bay and
fortified it, not at first with purposes of colonisa-
tion, but for the supply of the Company's vessels
on their way to and from the East Indies.
Colonisation soon began ; and when in the 18th-
century wars the French conquered Holland, an
English fleet was sent to hold the Cape for the
allies. It was restored to Holland at the peace
of Amiens in 1801, but was retaken by Britain in
1805, after some fighting. Since 1814 it has been
definitively British. In 1825 an executive
council, and in 1835 a legislative council, were
established ; in 1853 a regular colonial parlia-
ment came into being. Responsible government
was conceded in 1872 ; and the chief difficulties
of tlie Cape government have been, besides Kaffir
wars, the harmonising of the interests of Dutch
and British elements, especially before, during,
and after the Transvaal war of 1S99-1902.

See Theal's History of South Africa (5 vols. 4th
ed. 1899) ; and books by Froude (1880), Anthony
Trollope (1878), Mackenzie (1S87), Keane (1895),
Mockler-Ferryman (1898), Worsfold (1898), Young-
husband (1898), Lucas (1899), Johnston (1899), and
Burton (1902).

Cape Haytien, or LE CAP, a seaport on the
north coast of Ilayti, 90 miles N. of Port au
Prince. Pop. 30,000.

CAPE HORN

165

CAPRI

Cape Horn, &c. See HORN (CAPE), &c.
Gape of Good Hope, popularly regarded as
the most southerly promontory of Africa, though
it is half a degree N. of Cape Agulhas. This
celebrated promontory is in 34 22' S. lat., and
18 29' E. long., being the termination of Table
Mountain (3582 feet). On the north it forms
Table Bay ; on the west it shuts in False Bay
and Simon's Bay. 'The Cape' was actually
reached and doubled by the Portuguese Diaz,
driven out of his reckoning by tempests, in 1486
six years before Columbus saw America. The
cape Diaz had from his experiences on the voyage
named 'Cape of all the Storms' John II. of
Portugal renamed Cabo de Buena Esperanza
('Cape of Good Hope'). But it was only in
1497 that Vasco da Gama took advantage of the
discovery, rounding the Cape on his adventurous
voyage from Lisbon to Calicut.

Cape River, or Rio DE SEGOVIA, a river of
Nicaragua, flowing nearly 300 miles north-east-
ward to the Caribbean Sea, and forming part of
the boundary with Honduras.

Capernaum (' village of Nahum '), a prosperous
place in the time of Christ, identified generally
with Tell Hum, on the NW. coast of the Sea of
Galilee, but by Conder with Khan Minieh, in the
NE. corner of the plain of Gennesaret.

Capetown, the capital of Cape Colony, is situ-
ated between the north base of Table Mountain
and Table Bay, in 33 55' S. lat., 18 28' E. long.
The view of the town, alike from the bay and
from the mountain, is most imposing. For years
the early history of Capetown and of the Cape
Colony were one and the same. The town was
laid out by its Dutch founders (1652) with mathe-
matical preciseness the main thoroughfares
crossing one another at right angles. The houses
of old Capetown are mostly flat-roofed and
whitewashed. A few church towers rise here
and there, and break the monotony, with an
occasional mill chimney. The beautiful govern-
ment gardens in the heart of Capetown serve
the purposes of a public park. There is a fine
oak avenue, extending f mile through the gar-
dens. Government House, on the left side of
the gardens, is a heavy 17th-century building,
altered and added to from time to time. The
gardens are 14 acres in extent, and contain
upwards of 8000 varieties of trees and plants.
Other edifices are the handsome Houses of
Parliament (1885), the public library and museum,
the Fine Arts Gallery, the law courts, the govern-
ment offices, the old castle, the town-house, the
Standard Bank, the railway station, and the
Commercial Exchange. The old ' stoeps,' or railed-
-"verandas, which blocked the side pavements,
appeared with the 19th century. The town is

..I drained and paved, has a good water-supply,
electric tramways, and a suburban railway.
The earliest conception of the Europeans in
settling at the Cape was to make it a place of
call for passing vessels belonging to their own
nation. In a highei sense, the Capetown Har-
bour Board, in erecting the breakwater and con-
structing the docks, have made Table Bay a
place of call for passing vessels of all nations.
The docks were opened in 1870 the graving-
dock in 1882 ; the total cost of the works ex-
ceeding 2,000,000. Pop. (1875) 33,239, or with
suburbs, 45,240 ; (1902) estimated at 167,000.

Cape Verd, the most westerly headland in
Africa, between the rivers Gambia and Senegal,
in 14 53' N. lat., 17 34' W. long. The Portuguese
discovered it in 1443.

Cape Verd Islands (Ilhas do Cabo Verde), a
group of Por