Imágenes de página
PDF
ePub

of the Cape of Good Hope its foreign commerce diminished, but it is now reviving.

The overland mail to India, on its arrival at Alexandria, is forwarded by the canal of Mahomedah to Atfeh, it is thence carried up the Nile in steamers as far as Bulac, the port of Cairo, and is con◄ veyed across the Desert to Suez in carriages. The distance between Cairo and Suez is about 75 miles; it will probably soon be traversed by a railway.

Egypt has a large caravan traffic with the interior: toys and fire-arms are given in exchange for gold-dust, ivory, and slaves. The exports to England are raw cotton, flax, linseed, senna, and gum.

Towns.—Cairo, (pro. Ki'ro,) the capital, on the Nile, where it divides to form the Delta. Its distant appearance is striking, but its streets are exceedingly narrow, unpaved, and dusty. Pop. 300,000. Alexandria stands on a narrow neck of land separating Lake Mareotis from the sea; it was founded by Alexander the Great and constituted by him the capital of Egypt; it was taken by Caliph Omar, A. D. 640, who burnt its library, containing 700,000 volumes on every branch of literature. Cleopatra's Needles and Pompey's

Pillar excite attention.

Damietta and Rosetta are sea-ports situated at the principal mouths of the Nile. Aboukir Bay, the scene of Nelson's victory, is between Rosetta and Alexandria.

Girgeh is the nominal capital of Upper Egypt; but Siout is the larger

town.

Derr, capital of Nubia; Gondar, of Abyssinia.

Population.-Egypt contains about two millions of inThe population of the other states cannot be

habitants.

ascertained.

The population of Egypt is composed of Copts, the ancient inhabitants, Turks, its present masters, and Arabs, who form by far the largest portion.

Government.-Egypt is ruled with despotic sway by Mahomed Ali, who revolted from his former master, the Turkish sultan. Nubia and Abyssinia are in a state of anarchy; each tribe asserting its own independence.

Character and Religion.—The Abyssinians are savage; their favourite repast is flesh cut quivering from the ox while yet alive or recently slain. The religion of Egypt

is Mahometan. The Copts and Abyssinians profess a species of Christianity mingled with various superstitions.

Animals.-The ichneumon is of great value in destroy-. ing the eggs of crocodiles; the ibis is a bird which was held sacred by the ancient Egyptians. Swarms of locusts sometimes infest Egypt and the Barbary States. Hyenas abound in Abyssinia, and lions are found.

Ancient Name.-Egypt is in Scripture denominated Mizraim; Nubia nearly corresponds to the ancient Ethiopia.

Egypt abounds in antiquities. The celebrated pyramids are in the vicinity of Cairo, the largest of them covers eleven acres, and is 460 feet high; the ruins of Memphis, the capital of Egypt under the Pharaohs, are near the same city. The remains of the grandeur of Thebes are scattered over a large surface in the neighbourhood of Luxor, in Upper Egypt.

WESTERN AND CENTRAL AFRICA.

Situation. With the western coast of Africa, extending from the Senegal in 17o N. lat., to Cape Negro in the same lat. south, Europeans have been long acquainted; but of the interior little is known:

Face of the Country.-Many streams descending from the Mountains of the Moon refresh its torrid climate, and fertilize the soil. Forests of luxurious growth cover large tracts, and in the midst of them the choicest fruits and flowers flourish spontaneously. With the least possible labour, rice, maize, millet, and indigo are raised in abundance. Bees are very numerous.

Commerce.-Gold-dust, ivory, and slaves, are the chief objects of trade; palm oil, teak wood, bees'-wax and gum are exported to Britain.

Provinces.-On the coast are the districts of Senegambia, Guinea, and South Guinea, which embraces the regions on both sides of the Congo. The interior is known by the general name of Soudan or Nigritia.

Senegambia is watered by the Senegal and Gambia. The navigation of the Senegal, at all times difficult, is impracticable above Podor, except in the rainy season. The French have several settlements on he Senegal; the chief is St. Louis.

The Gambia is navigable only in the dry season, (December to June,) owing to the violence of the current when swelled by the rains. The English possess settlements on it; the chief are Fort James and Pisania.

The climate of Senegambia is dreadfully oppressive.

Sierra Leone is a British settlement on the N. of the Guinea coast, which was formed as an asylum for liberated slaves; it is unhealthy. The chief town is Freetown.

Liberia is a colony of free blacks from America.

Next follow the Grain coast, the Ivory coast, the Gold coast, the Slave coast, and the Coast of Calabar.

The most important provinces of the interior are Ashantee, which runs up from the Gold coast, Houssa and Bornou, which lie between the Niger and Lake Tchad.

Of the towns of the interior, Timbuctoo*, Sego, Jenne, and Kano, are among the chief.

Manners and Religion.-The tribes inhabiting the interior of Africa are chiefly negroes; they are a simple and indolent people, their wants are few, and abundance reigns around, yet they are perpetually at war. The tribes on the Calabar coast have been rendered peculiarly savage by intercourse with the slave merchants of Europe. The prevailing religions are the Mahometan and Pagan. The negroes place much dependence on charms.

EASTERN AFRICA AND MADAGASCAR. Of the Eastern Coast from Cape Guardafui to the Tropic of Capricorn little is known. The Portuguese

* After many unsuccessful attempts by other travellers, Major Laing, once an usher in the academy of the Author of this work, at length succeeded in reaching Timbuctoo. He resided there some time, but on his return through the desert, was murdered in his tent by order of the Sheik of Zawat.

have settlements upon the coast from Cape Delgado to Inhambane, but they are not of much value.

The island of Madagascar is about 800 miles long, and 200 broad. It is very mountainous. Tananarivo is

considered the capital.

The late King Radama abolished the slave trade at the suggestion of the English, on condition that twenty of his subjects should be instructed by the English. British missionaries were for some time resident in the island, but the present queen being violently opposed to Christianity, they have been compelled to retire.

SOUTHERN AFRICA.

Boundaries.-Southern Africa consists of the colony of the Cape of Good Hope, with the regions extending to the N. and the E. of it as far as discovered.

The northern boundary is undefined; the extreme southerly point reaches to nearly 35o S. lat.

Coast.-Africa terminates in a broad point which has several projecting headlands. The chief are the peninsula, called the Cape of Good Hope, which is formed by Table Bay on the N., and False Bay on the S. Cape Agulhas is the extreme point of the continent.

Table Bay is exposed to the westerly winds, which prevail during the winter months of June, July, and August. At other seasons it is a safe and commodious harbour; and during these months, False Bay is a safe station for shipping.

St. Helena Bay and Saldana Bay to the N. of Cape Town, are large harbours, and safe at all seasons; Algoa Bay to the E. contains good anchorage, but is exposed to the prevailing winds.

Face of the Country.-Three successive ridges of mountains run parallel to the coast and each other. On some of the summits of the northern range the snow perpetually lies. The plains near the sea are fertile, but much of the interior is an arid waste, denominated the Great Karoo. The only rivers are the Orange River and the Great Fish River.

Climate.-The climate fluctuates between the two extremes of rain and drought.

Productions.-The feeding of cattle forms the chief occupation of the colonists; corn, wool, wine, hides, and horns, are the principal exports.

Provinces.-Hottentotia is N. of Cape Colony, and Kaffraria E. Towns.-Cape Town; immediately behind the town, Table Mountain rises precipitously to the height of 3,582 feet; on the one side is the Lion's Head and the other the Devil's Hill.

Constantia, noted for its wine, and Simons Town, dependent upon its docks, are beside Cape Town.

Manners, &c.-Cape Colony was founded by the Dutch, and was long in their possession; a great portion of the population is still Dutch; the boors or farmers are extremely indolent. The Hottentots, the original inhabitants, were enslaved by the early settlers, but British justice has recently been extended to them. Bushmen, a tribe of unsubdued Hottentots, occupy Hottentotia. The Kaffirs are a wandering and warlike tribe.

AMERICA.

GENERAL VIEW.

Boundaries.-N. by the Polar Sea.-E. by the Atlantic.-S. by the Antarctic; and W. by the Pacific Ocean. Whether Greenland and the land north of Barrow's Strait are united to America, is yet unknown; it is probable that they are not.

Extent.-America lies between 75° N. and 56° S. lat., and 35° and 168° W. long.

Coast. Whilst the Old World stretches in its greatest length from east to west, the New reaches from north to south. America consists of two distinct portions linked together by the Isthmus of Panama or Darien; these are called North and South America.

The boldest headlands are, Cape Farewell, the southern extremity of Greenland; Cape Charles, in Labrador; Cape St. Roque, in Brazil; and Cape Horn, the most

« AnteriorContinuar »