THE 



ANNUAL CYCLOPAEDIA 



A 



AFRICA, one of the six grand divisions of 

 the earth's surface, comprises the southwest- 

 ern portion of the eastern continent. Its po- 

 litical divisions are, on the north, the Empire of 

 Morocco ; the French province of Algeria ; the 

 pashaliks of Tunis, Tripoli, and Barca, and the 

 oasis of Fezzan, dependencies of the Turkish 

 empire; Egypt, a viceroyalty of the Turkish 

 empire, though in a state of ^M^wz-independ- 

 ency. On the east, Nubia and Kordofan, de- 

 pendencies of Egypt ; Abyssinia, a collection of 

 petty states under savage chieftains, a consid- 

 erable number of which have recently become 

 subject to the sway of the bold and capable 

 Theodore, the chief of Amhara, who has taken 

 the title of il King of the Kings of Ethiopia ;'' the 

 countries bordering on the gulf of Aden and 

 the Indian Ocean, and stretching south westward 

 for more than a thousand miles ; these are in- 

 habited by tribes of savages known by the 

 names of Somauli, Wakuafi, Wanika, Galla, &c. 

 &c. The names of the principal countries are : 

 Adel, Ajan, Berbera, Zanguebar (which is a 

 collection of several states), and Mozambique, 

 the coast of which is held by the Portuguese. 

 At different points of this long stretch of coast 

 the Arabs have established themselves, and 

 have reduced the native tribes to subjection, 

 though others, as the Gallas, defy their author- 

 ity and maintain an ascendency over the tribes 

 of the interior. Of these interior tribes or 

 their country little is known, the many attempts 

 made by missionaries and explorers to pene- 

 trate to any considerable distance from the 

 coast, having been, in most instances, repulsed 

 by the savages, often with the loss of the lives 

 of the explorers. On the Mozambique coast 

 the Portuguese have maintained for many years 

 an extended commerce, mainly in ivory and 

 slaves. Dr. Livingstone has penetrated into the 

 interior through this country, ascending the 

 TOL. II. l 



Zambezi to the Victoria Falls, and exploring a 

 portion of the course of the Shire and the Eov- 

 uma as well as the lakes Nyassa and Nyanja. 

 East of Mozambique, and separated from it by 

 the Mozambique channel, is the great and pop- 

 ulous island of Madagascar. 



South Africa is composed of several states, 

 part of them British colonies, and part in some 

 sense dependencies of these. The Cape Colony 

 is the oldest of these, and occupies the southern 

 portion of the continent ; above it, on the S. E., 

 are Caffraria, Natal, and the Zulu country ; and 

 lying west of these and separated from them 

 by the Kalamba mountains, the Orange river, 

 and Transvaal Republics, composed mostly of 

 Dutch settlers and their Hottentot or Bechu- 

 ana dependents. On the west coast, north of 

 the Orange river, and extending about 300 

 miles into the interior, is the Hottentot coun- 

 try, and lying between this and the Transvaal 

 Republics, the land of the Bechuanas. 



North of the Hottentot country, stretching 

 northward for more than 1,500 miles, is the 

 region long known as Lower Guinea, but really 

 composed of numerous chieftaincies and some 

 Portuguese colonies. These chieftaincies, be- 

 ginning with the most southern, are Cimbebas 

 and the country of the Damaras, Benguela, An- 

 gola a Portuguese colony, Congo, Loango, the 

 region of the Gabun, country of the Calbongas, 

 and Biafra. Between this and the eastern 

 coast described above, lies a vast tract, varying 

 in width from ten to twenty-eight degrees of 

 longitude, and extending from nearly ten, de- 

 grees above to sixteen degrees below the equa- 

 tor, almost wholly unexplored by Europeans. 

 Along the eastern portion of it Dr. Livingstone 

 has made some discoveries, but much of this 

 has only been penetrated by him and his ad- 

 venturous coadjutors. 



From the gulf of Biafra the continent turns 



