WEST INDIES. 



793 



at Praia. The inhabitants are a mixed race de- 

 scended from white settlers and Guinea negroes. 

 Coffee, medicinal drugs, and millet are cultivated. 

 On the coast of Senegambia is the territory of 

 Portuguese Guinea, extending inland to the coun- 

 try of Futa Djallon. Rubber, beeswax, oil-seeds, 

 ivory, and hides are exported. The revenue for 

 1900 was estimated at 56,655 milreis, and ex- 

 penditure at 216,742 milreis. The value of im- 

 ports in 1898 was 458,566 milreis; exports, 223,136 

 milreis. In the Gulf of Guinea are the fertile 

 volcanic islands of St. Thomas and Principe (see 

 POKTUGAL), and south of the Congo State the 

 great colony of Angola (see SOUTH AFRICA). 



Spanish West Africa. The Rio de Oro terri- 

 tory has an area of about 100,000 square miles 

 and 50,000 inhabitants. It is administered from 

 the Canary Islands. Adrar, in the interior, for- 

 merly claimed by Spain, has been conceded to 

 France. Ifni, near Cape Nun, is a settlement of 

 6,000 population. The area is 27 square miles. 

 The island of Fernando Po, in the Bight of Biafra, 

 is fertile and salubrious. With Annabon, Corisco, 

 Elobey, and San Juan, it has an area of 850 

 square miles and 30,000 inhabitants. The Muni 

 territory, on the mainland opposite Corisco, has 

 an area of about 8,000 square miles south of the 

 German protectorate of Cameroons and shut in 

 by the French Congo in the interior. 



Liberia. The republic of Liberia, settled by 

 American freedmen in 1822 and subsequent years 

 and constituted an independent state in 1847 on 

 the model of the United States of America, has 

 an estimated area of 35,000 square miles and a 

 population of 60,000 Afro-Americans and 2,000,- 

 000 natives. Monrovia, the capital, has about 

 5,000 inhabitants. The President is G. W. Gib- 

 son, who assumed office in December, 1900; Vice- 

 President, J. J. Ross. There are many American 

 missionaries, and schools are numerous in the 

 coast settlements. The military force numbers 

 1,000 men, besides 500 militia. The revenue, de- 

 rived mainly from customs, amounts to about 

 $160,000 a year. A foreign debt of 110,000 

 was contracted in 1871. In 1899, when the ar- 

 rears of interest amounted to 178,000, an ar- 

 rangement was made by which the debt and the 

 rate of interest were reduced and provision was 

 made for clearing off the unpaid arrears and the 

 principal, the duties on rubber and other products 

 being pledged for this purpose. The principal 

 under this arrangement amounted in June, 1900, 

 to 78,000 and arrears of interest to 18,720. 

 There is also an internal debt on which no inter- 

 est has been paid for a long time. The value of 

 the foreign trade is estimated at 500,000, ex- 

 ports exceeding imports. The chief exports are 

 coffee, palm oil and kernels, rubber, cacao, sugar, 

 arrowroot, ivory, hides, and piassava. Foreign 

 trade is restricted to the chief seaports, and whites 

 are not permitted to acquire real estate. A con- 

 cession for the export of rubber has been granted 

 to a company, and one has been formed to mine 

 gold, which is supposed to exist in certain locali- 

 ties, although no profitable mines have yet been 

 developed. 



WEST INDIES. The principal islands of the 

 West Indian archipelago are now freed from Euro- 

 pean rule (see CUBA, HAYTI, PORTO Rico, SANTO 

 DOMINGO), while the less important ones are still 

 colonies of European powers. 



British Colonies. The largest of the British 

 islands is Jamaica, which has an area of 4,424 

 square miles, inclusive of Turks and Caicos 

 Islands, the Caymans, and the Morant and Pedro 

 Keys. The island of Jamaica, with Turks island, 

 had 747,550 inhabitants in 1899. The Governor 



is Sir Augustus Hemming. The white popula- 

 tion in 1891 was 14,092, and there were 10,110 

 East Indians and 481 Chinese. The Government 

 schools numbered 74(5 in 1900, with 98,598 pupils 

 on the rolls and 61,219 in average attendance. Of 

 a total area of 694,580 acres in 1899 the area 

 tilled was 177,664 acres. Of the total 2(5,121 acres 

 were devoted to sugar, 25,902 to coffee, 25,1S4 

 to bananas, 12,174 to coconuts, 419 to corn, 1,721 

 to cacao, 85,747 to ground provisions, 127,574 

 to Guinea grass, 231 to pimento, 43,729 to pasture 

 and pimento, and 345,382 to pasture. There are 8 

 railroad lines, having a length of 185 miles. The 

 receipts in 1900 were 116,348; expenses, 9(5,- 

 486; number of passengers carried, 402,095. The 

 telegraphs had a length of 698 miles. The num- 

 ber of messages in the year ending March 31, 1899, 

 was 96,812; receipts, 5,630; expenses, 7,397. 

 The number of letters and postal cards forwarded 

 in the year was 5,073,350. The shipping of the 

 colony consisted of 148 sailing vessels, of 8,843 

 tons. The revenue in 1899 was 773,610; expendi- 

 ture, 719,959. The debt was 1,875,116. The 

 revenue from customs was 358,501. Of the ex- 

 penditures 107,315 were for the debt, 61,150 

 for police, and 64,366 for public works. The 

 value of imports in 1899 was 1,844,332, and of 

 exports 1,868,080. The imports of textile fabrics 

 were 427,115; offish, 159,565; of flour, 148,- 

 042; of rice, 35,777. The most important export 

 is fruit to the United States, mainly bananas. 

 Coffee of the highest grade can be raised in Ja- 

 maica, and is to some extent. Jamaica rum is 

 unexcelled, but the spirit is less in demand than 

 formerly. Jamaica oranges are good, but they 

 have been supplanted in the American market. 

 Jamaica ginger and pimento are unique and 

 valuable products. The tonnage of vessels en- 

 tered and cleared was 1,793,511 tons. A direct 

 line of mail, passenger, a'nd freight steamers be- 

 tween Kingston and the English port of Bristol 

 began operations in the spring of 1901. It receives 

 a subsidy of 40,000 a year paid by the colonial 

 and the British governments in equal shares. The 

 four steamers of the company were fitted with ap- 

 pliances for carrying tropical fruits to Europe. 

 The voyage takes thirteen or fourteen days. Each 

 vessel, according to contract, must take at least 

 20,000 branches of bananas purchased direct from 

 planters. The bananas, pineapples, mangoes, and 

 oranges arrived in good condition. The results 

 were so satisfactory that the owners of the line 

 decided to give a weekly instead of a fortnightly 

 service. The Legislative Council, opened on Feb. 

 26, had to consider a deficit of 24,639 in spite 

 of 100,000 of retrenchments accomplished in 

 three years. The Government proposed to in- 

 crease the taxes on property and real-estate hold- 

 ings. The elected and official members declared 

 their willingness to provide the necessary revenue. 

 The Governor gave offense to the elected members 

 by nominating additional members. The elected 

 members by a formal resolution expressed their 

 feeling that the presence of these nominated mem- 

 bers was irritating and humiliating, and requested 

 their withdrawal or the neutralization of their 

 votes. 



Turks and Caicos Islands, consisting of over 

 30 keys with a total area of 165 miles, have a 

 population of 4,744. About 2,000,000 bushels of 

 salt are raked and exported every year to the 

 United States and British America. Sponges are 

 exported also. The Commissioner is E. J. Cam- 

 eron, who carries on the administration with the 

 assistance of a Legislative Board of 5 members 

 under the supervision of the Governor of Jamaica. 

 The Cayman Islands, which are administered by 



