'.: 



BASEL. 



BASHEE ISLANDS. 



908 



of the 22 Swiss Cantons, is bounded E. by Aargau, S. and S.W. by 

 Soleure, W. by Berne and the French department of Haut-Rhin, 

 N. and N.E. by Baden and the Rhine. It extends about 23 miles 

 in length from north-west to south-east, and about 14 miles in its 

 greatest breadth, the average breadth being only about 9 miles, owing 

 to the irregularity of its form. The area of the canton is 184 square : 

 miles : its population including the divisions of Bale-Ville and Bale- ' 

 Campagne in 1850 was 77,385, of whom about one-fifth were Roman 

 Catholics, and four-fifths Protestants, according to the Helvetic 

 Confession of Faith. 



The greater part of the canton lies upon or between the lateral 

 offsets of the Jura Mountains, the principal ridge of which divides 

 the southern part of the canton from Soleure. The northern part 

 of the canton slopes towards the banks of the Rhine, and forms a 

 plain round the town of Basel. This part of the territory is very 

 fertile in corn and wine ; the rest abounds in rich pastures which 

 feed considerable numbers of cattle and sheep. The Rhine supplies 

 good fish in abundance. The other river of the canton ia the Birs, 

 which rises in the Miinster Thai in the former Bishopric of Basel, 

 enters the canton at ^Esch, passes by the field of St. Jacob, memorable 

 for tlie battle between the Swiss and the French in 1444, and joins 

 the Rh:'ie about half a mile to the east of the town of Basel. It is 

 a mountain river, rapid, and subject to sudden floods. 



The Canton of Basel is divided into seven districts, two of which, 

 namely, Riehen and Klein Huningen, are north of the Rhine, and the 

 others, Farnspurg, Homburg, Waldenburg, Miinchenstein, and Liech- 

 stall, are south of that river. In 1833 in consequence of internal 

 disputes which occasioned the interference of the Diet, the town of 

 Basel with the two small districts north of the Rhine, and a narrow 

 strip of ground to the south adjoining its walls, were formed into a 

 separate state or republic called Bale-Ville, or Basel Town : the rest 

 of the canton, composed of the five larger districts, forms another 

 republic called Basel Country, with Liechstall a town of about 2000 

 iiih.iliitants for its capital. Each of these two states sent a deputy to 

 the Helvetic Diet, but the two had only one vote between them, and 

 if they did not agree the vote was null. Under the new constitution 

 of Swit/erland each of the two divisions returns one member to the 

 Senate or Council of State. Bale-Ville sends one member and Bale- 

 Campagne two members to the National Council. The manufacturers, 

 the capitalists, and the principal traders are in the town of Basel ; the 

 other part is entirely agricultural. The funds of the university, the 

 church, and school endowments were divided between the two frac- 

 tions of the canton. The library of the university which contained 

 between 30,000 and 40,000 volumes was likewise divided. The lan- 

 guage is a dialect of the Swiss-German, but French is generally 

 understood in the town and also in most parts of the country. 



(Geoffraphiicha Lexicon der Schweiz ; Ebel's Manuel do, Voyayeur ; 

 Dandolo's Surizzera Occidentale.) 



BASEL, BASLE, or BALE, formerly the capital of the Swiss canton 

 of Basel, now of the republic of Bale-Ville, is the largest although 

 not the most populous town in Switzerland. It contains within its 

 walls the site of the fortress Basilia, built by Valentinian I. After 

 the destruction in A.D. 450 of Augusta Rauracorum [AUGST] this town 

 gradually rose into consequence. It early became an episcopal see. In 

 !1 7 the town was destroyed by the Magyars ; but although it suffered 

 at later dates repeatedly from the plague, and in 1336 from a terrible 

 earthquake, which was followed by a conflagration that lasted eight 

 days and almost destroyed the whole town, it recovered from these 

 disasters, and maintained its rank as a free city of the German empire. 

 It brave citizens successfully resisted the surrounding nobility. In 

 the year 1460 the University of Basel was established, after the citizens 

 had obtained permission by a bull from Pope Pius II. The internal 

 'fions which had distracted it having also subsided, Basel was 

 then at the height of its power and in the possession of a small terri- 

 tory. In 1501 it entered the Swiss Confederacy, being then the most 

 flourishing town of Switzerland and an important trading place. In 

 consequence of the town adopting (1527) reformed principles the 

 bishop left it, from which time it has been entirely independent. But 

 down to the latest times its population has gradually diminished, 

 which circumstance has been partly ascribed to the almost complete 

 I'xclinion of strangers from becoming burghers of Basel, and none but 

 burghers being allowed to carry on business in that city. 



I'mm 1431 till 1448 Basel was the seat of a great council. During 

 the 18th century numerous editions of Greek and Latin authors, as 

 well as other works, were printed in this town. In the year 1795 the 

 peace between France and Prussia, and France and Spain, was con- 

 cluded within its walls. 



Basel is situated in 47 3' N. lat., 1 35' E. long., at an elevation 

 of about 800 feet above the sea-level, at the point where the Rhine 

 changes its western into a northern course. The Rhine divides 

 it into two parts, Great and Little (Gross and Klein) Basel, which are 

 connected by a wooden bridge. Great Basel, on the left bank of the 

 illiinf, is built on rather uneven ground. The whole town contained 

 in 1850 a population of 29,555, of whom upwards of 24,000 were Pro- 

 testants. Some parts of the town have still an ancient appearance. 

 The streets of Great Basel are mostly confined and crooked ; in the sub- 

 urbs and Little Basel they are broad and regular. There are numerous 

 public fountains in the town. Of the churches the Minister (cathedral), 



which stands in an elevated part of the town, is the most remarkable. It 

 was built in 1019. and contains among other monuments the tomb of 

 Erasmus. Its two steeples are each 205 feet high. Adjoining to it 

 is the great hall in which the Council of Basel held its sittings, and 

 a fine cloister. The town-house contains two large and finely-orna- 

 mented halls. The town has several fine public buildings, among 

 which are the post-office, the casino, and the theatre. 



The Pfalz (Palatium), near the Miinster, which is a terrace raised 

 on a wall 75 feet above the Rhino, and planted with horse-chestnut 

 trees, commands a beautiful prospect of the river, the town, and the 

 country. Besides the university Basel has many religious, literary, 

 and scientific societies, schools, and several public and private libraries ; 

 the university library is very valuable, and contains a collection of 

 paintings, drawings, and wood-cuts by Holbein. There are several 

 charitable institutions. 



The chief manufacture of the town and of the canton is silk-ribbons, 

 which are exported to the value of 12,000,000 francs annually, chiefly 

 to America. The transit trade employs many hands. Business in 

 bills of exchange and the wine and book trade are also considerable. 

 There are likewise large tanneries, tobacco manufactories, &c. Basel 

 has direct communication by railway with Germany by the trunk line on 

 the right bank of the Rhine, and with Paris, via Strasbourg and Nancy. 



Basel is the birthplace of Euler ; of James, John, and Daniel Ber- 

 noulli ; and of Buxtorf. It contends with the Bavarian towns of 

 Griinstadt and Augaburg for being the birthplace of Holbein. 



(Communication from Zurich, Switzerland.) 



BASFORD, Nottinghamshire, a village and the seat of a Poor-Law 

 Union in the parish of Basford and northen division of the wapentake 

 of Broxtow, is situated on the right bank of the little river Lene, in 

 52 58' N. lat., 1 10' W. long., 2 miles N.W. from Nottingham, 126 

 miles N. by W. from London : the population of the entire parish, 

 which includes several hamlets, in 1851 was 10,093. The living is a 

 vicarage in the archdeaconry of Nottingham and diocese of Lincoln. 

 Basford Poor-Law Union contains 43 parishes and townships, with an 

 area of 88,039 acres, and a population in 1851 of 64,923. 



The village lies in a bottom, amid scenery of the richest character. 

 The church is large and has a handsome spire. There is a district 

 church at New Basford of recent erection. There are meeting-houses 

 for Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists, General Baptists, and Scotch 

 Baptists. There are National and Infant schools ; and Daily and 

 Sunday schools are connected with the various chapels. The village 

 owes its importance almost entirely to its manufacturing industry. 

 Hardly a tenth of the inhabitants are employed in agriculture. The 

 chief manufactures are hosiery, frame-work knitting, lace and 

 lace-making machinery. There are cotton-mills, dye-houses, and 

 bleaching-grounds, and several corn-mills. 



BASHAN (from two Hebrew words, signifying 'fertile soil') is 

 called by the Septuagint Basan, by Eusebius Basanites, and by 

 Josephus and Ptolemams Batansea. Bashan belonged to Gilead in the 

 widest sense (Jos. xiii. 30, 31), but in a stricter sense it was distin- 

 guished from and situated to the north of Gilead (Jos. xvii. 1,5; xx. 

 8 ; 2 Kings x. 33 ; Micah vii. 14). Bashan comprehended Golan and 

 its territory (Deut. iv. 43 ; Jos. xxi. 27), and bordered in the north 

 upon the Syrian districts Geshuri and Maachathi : in the south it did 

 not reach to the river Jabbok. (Deut. iii. 13-16.) Its western boun- 

 dary was the Jordan, and the eastern limits are undefined. Bashau, 

 or Bantansea, is now called El-Bottein, or Belad Erbad, a district 

 south of Dicholan and west of Hauran. Seetzen and Burckhardt 

 have described in their travels the geology of El-Bottein. 



Bashan was a kingdom under Amoritish sovereigns who resided in 

 Ashtaroth and in Edrei. (Deut. i. 4; Jos. ix. 10; xii. 4.) Og was 

 the last king of the Amoritish dynasty. In the battle of Edrei, about 

 the year B.C. 1452, the Israelites smote Og, with his sons, and all his 

 people, until there was none left alive; and they possessed his laud. 

 (Num. xxi. 33-35.) Moses gave Bashan unto the half tribe of Manas- 

 seh (Deut. iii. 13) B.C. 1451. At the commencement of the Christian 

 era Bashan belonged to the tetrarchia of Philippus (Joseph. ' Antiquit.' 

 xv. 10, 1 ; xviii. 4, 6 ; Bell. Jud. ii. 6, 3), and afterwards to the 

 tetrarchia of Agrippa II. (' Antiquit.' xx. '7, 1.) The fertile plains of 

 Bashan produced men of such uncommon stature that it was called 

 the Land of Giants. (Deut. iii. 13.) The oaks, sheep, and oxen were 

 proverbially fine. (Isa. ii. 13; Ezek. xxvii. 6; Zech. xi. 2; compare 

 Jer. 1. 19 ; Micah vii. 14 ; Deut. xxxii. 14 ; Ps. xxii. 13 ill the English 

 Bible verse 12, but in Hebrew verse 13.) These plains are intersected 

 by basalt ridges, which are prolongations of the Antilibanus, the 

 mountains of which being higher than Zion are alluded to in Psalm 

 Ixviii. 15, 16. It appears from various ruins that the towns of Bashan 

 were chiefly built on heights. Porphyrius was a native of Bataniea. 



BASHEE ISLANDS, a cluster of five islands and four rocky islets, 

 lying between Luzon the great Philippine island and Formosa, between 

 20 and 21 N. lat., and near 122 E. long. The five islands which ore 

 inhabited were named by Dampier, who visited them, Bashee, Orange, 

 Groat, Monmouth, and Grafton- islands. The name of Bashee was 

 given in consequence of the addiction of the natives to the use of a 

 spirituous liquor which they distil from rice and the juice of the 

 sugar-cane, and to which liquor the name of Bashee is applied. The 

 inhabitants are a strong athletic race, and are described as very 

 inoffensive in their manners. 



