021 



BASS. 



BASSIGNY. 



9J2 



to about 60,000, consisting of Arabs, Turks, Armenians, Jews, and a 

 few Nestorian Christians. The greater proportion are Mohammedans 

 of the Sunni sect. The Shatt-el-Arab, which falls into the Persian 

 Gulf about 70 miles below Basrah, has a bar at>the mouth on which 

 is only 12 feet of water, but there is a deep channel within, which 

 enables ships of 500 tons burden, if they pass the bar at spring-tides, 

 to ascend the river to Basrah. [BAGHDAD, PASHALIC OF.] 



With the exception of the banks of the river, which are covered 

 with rice-fields and plantations of palm-trees, the country around 

 Basrah is entirely uncultivated, and towards the west and south the 

 barren desert begins immediately at the walla of the town. Basrah 

 is an important trading depot, and the chief inlet by which the 

 products of Hindustan and the eastern countries are introduced into 

 this part of the Turkish empire. Its commerce is therefore considerable, 

 and similar in character to that of ABOU-SHEHR, from which place 

 it is distant about 200 miles N.W. Six or eight British ships arrive 

 annually, hut the chief part of the traffic is carried on in Arabian 

 vessels, which belong to the merchants of Muscat. The imports 

 received at Basrah are indigo, sugar, spices, &c., from Hindustan, tin 

 from Banca, shawls from Persia, pearls from Bahrein, and cotton and 

 woollen goods and cutlery from Europe ; the exports are principally 

 bullion, pearls, dates, copper, raw silk, horses, and drugs. It has 

 occasionally happened that the amount of dates exported has been 

 more than 10,000 tons in the year. The traffic in the interior of the 

 country is chiefly conducted by caravans to Aleppo and Baghdad. 



The town of Basrah was founded by Otbah ben Gazwan, at the 

 command of the Kalif Omar ben Khittdb, in the year 635 or 636 of 

 the Christian era. But this ancient city was situated eight miles 

 south-west of the present Basrah, at the modern town of Zobeir, 

 where its ruins are still to be found. It was built on the canal of 

 Obollah or Obillah, which formerly proceeded from Hit, three days' 

 journey north of Hillah, and ran parallel to the Euphrates, to the 

 Gulf of Khor Abdallah ; the bed of this canal may still be traced. 

 It appears that the ancient town of Basrah was deserted and fell into 

 decay in consequence of this canal being neglected. 



(Kinneir's M'ii"iir uf the Persian Empire ; Niebuhr's Rcitebetchm- 

 buny nach Arabien, tkc. ; Keppel's Journey from India to England; 

 Chesney's Surrey of the Euphratei and Tigris: London, 1850.) 



BASS, an island or rather rock in the Frith of Forth, about three 

 miles from the shore, directly opposite the promontory upon which 

 the ancient fortress of Tantallon is situated ; in 56 5' N. lat., 

 2 37' W. long. 



The rock appears to "be principally composed of green-stone and 

 trap. It is nearly round, about a mile in circumference, and 420 feet 

 above the surface of the sea. Towards the south, that is, opposite 

 th mainland, it declines with shelving rocks to the water, and there 

 affords the only landing place. Towards the west, north, and east, 

 it rises perpendicularly out of the sea nearly 200 feet high ; and in 

 some places the precipices hang over. In others the rock is excavated 

 to a great depth by the waves : one cavern runs quite through the 

 rock from north-west to south-east, and affords shelter to a vast 

 number of wild pigeons. The sea is deep at the foot of the cliffs, 

 but shallow where the rock declines. A spring on the su'nmit of the 

 rock in former times supplied water to the garrison of a small castle. 

 There is pasture for a few sheep. The island is frequented by 

 flocks of aquatic birds, which continue there during the summer, and 

 almost cover the entire surface with their nests. Of these birds the 

 solan geese (the Pelecanus Baasanui of Linnaeus) are the most abundant. 

 They arrive in March and leave in September ; but a few stay 

 throughout the winter. This is the only island on the eastern coast 

 of Britain which the solan goose frequents. " Twelve solan geese 

 with their feathers on " are annually paid to the minister of North 

 Berwick as vicar of the Bass. 



In the reign of Charles II., and that of his successor, this island 

 was used as a state prison. After the revolution of 1688 a body of 

 men took possession of it, and it had the doubtful honour of being 

 the last place in Great Britain which held out for James II. 



igh's Camden's Britannia ; Carlisle's Topographical Dictionary 

 I ; New Statiftical Account of Scotland ; The Bass Rock, by 

 T. M'Crie, D.D., &c.) 



BASS'S STRAIT, between New South Wales and Van Diemen's 

 Land, or Tasmania. [AUSTRALIA ; NEW SOUTH WALES ; VICTORIA ; 

 VAX DIKMEN'S LAND.] 



I'.ASSA, also called BAFFA or BUFF A, is the best port on that 

 part of the coast of Guinea which is called the Grain Coast, and is 

 situated between the capes of Mesurado and Las Palmas. Bassa is 

 about 70 or 80 miles from Cape Mesurado, and a few miles to the 

 north-west of the American colony of Liberia, in about 7 N. lat., 

 10" 2f W. long. It was formerly much resorted to by trading vessels, 

 for a sort of coarse pepper which grows on this coast iu great 

 abundance. In later times it was only occasionally resorted to by vessels 

 trading to the contiguous coasts for slaves. The country about it 

 pr .'luces oranges, lemons, and bananas; it has also good pastures, 

 and cattle, sheep, and goats are reared. 



BASSA'NO, a town in the province of Vicenza in Austrian Italy 

 is situated on a gentle declivity on thu luft bank of the Bn 

 the northern border of the groat Paduan plain, and at the foot of the 

 lower hills which rise gradually to the north and west of it towards 



he Alps of the Tyrol. It is on the direct road from Padua to Trent, 

 24 miles N. from Padua, and 17 miles N.N.E. from Vicenza. The 

 own is joined to a suburb on the right bank of the Brenta by a 

 landsome bridge originally built by Palladio, and afterwards restored 

 by the architect Ferracina. Several of the churches of Bassano are 

 decorated with paintings by Giacomo da Poute called ' II Bassano,' 

 and his son Francesco, both natives of this town. 



The origin of Bassano is not known. It is first noticed in the 

 u'story of the family of Eccelino, the lords of the March of Treviso, 

 under the emperors of the house of Hohenstauffen. The famous 

 Eccelino da Romano of cruel memory resided here some time, and 

 juilt the tower which still goes by his name. Francis I. of Carrara, 

 ord of Padua, embellished and fortified the town. It afterwards 

 massed under the dominion of the Visconti of Milan, who gave it up 

 n 1404 to the republic of Venice. Under that republic Bassano and 

 'its territory formed a separate province, which was administered by 

 i representative of the Senate, who was the political and military 

 'overnor. During the war of the league of Cambray against Venice in 

 ;he beginning of the 16th century Bassano was taken and re-taken by 

 the belligerents, and was plundered by the emperor Maximilian's Ger- 

 man soldiers. It afterwards enjoyed peace for nearly three centuries, 

 until Bonaparte seized it in 1797 with the rest of the Venetian terri- 

 tory, and then gave it up to Austria by the peace of Campo Formio. 



Bassano is a place of considerable trade : it has manufactures of 

 woollen cloths, straw hats, and leather ; and it exports a great 

 quantity of silk, the produce of its own territory. There is a large 

 printing establishment which has paper-mills and a school of engraving 

 annexed to it. Bassano has about 10,000 inhabitants. The country 

 around is hilly, and covered with vines and olive-trees, and interspersed 

 with villages. 



BASSEIN, a town and port in the province of Aurungabad, situated 

 on the point of the continent of Hindustan opposite to the north end 

 of the island of Salsette, in 19 20' N. lat., and 72 52' E. long. 



Bassein was once a city and fortress of importance. In 1531 it 

 was ceded to the Portuguese, under the provisions of a treaty con- 

 cluded by them with the Sultan of Cambay, and for more than two 

 centuries it remained in the undisturbed possession of that nation. 

 In 1750 the town was taken by the Mahrattas, from whom it was 

 captured by the British in 1774. By the treaty of Poonah, Bassein 

 was however again relinquished to the Mahrattas. In 1780 the 

 fortress was besieged and taken by the British, but was given up 

 again in 1782. In 1802 the Peishwa Bajee Rao fled to Basseiu from 

 his rival Holkar, and sought the protection of the British government, 

 with whom he concluded a treaty. In 1818 Basseiu, with the rest 

 of the Peishwa's territories, was definitely taken by the British. 



The state of cultivation exhibited in the surrounding country is 

 at present flourishing. To the north and north-east of Bassein are 

 forests of teak-wood, from which the ship-building establishments at 

 Bombay are supplied. A considerable part of the agricultural 

 population are professors of the Roman Catholic religion, which it is 

 probable was introduced among them by the early European settlers 

 from Portugal. 



(Rennell's Memoir ; Mill's British India ; Parliamentary Paper*.) 



BASSETERRE is the capital of the island of St. Christopher's in 

 the West Indies ; in 17 20' N. lat., 62 50' W. long. The town is 

 situated on the south side of the island, at the mouth of a small 

 river. It was founded in 1623. The houses are generally well 

 built, and there is an open square iu the centre of the town. Basse- 

 terre is defended by three forts. A new jail was built in 1846; it 

 has ai. iron roof which was made at Glasgow. There is one small 

 church, and a second was commenced in 1845. A sum of 600?. was 

 voted in each of the years 1846-7-8, for the encouragement of 

 education, under the Episcopal, Wesleyau, and Moravian bodies. A 

 savings bank was established in 1847. The district of Basseterre 

 contains 17 square miles. It is divided into two parishes, St. George's 

 and St. Peter's, and sends six members to the assembly the former 

 sending four, the latter two members. Basseterre is the name given 

 by the French to the district from its being the lower portion of the 

 island. The vale of Basseterre is exceedingly beautiful and well 

 cultivated. The auchorage is in au open bay, aud a continual heavy 

 surf beats on the shore, which is a s^ndy beach. As this prevent,* 

 any wharf or quay being erected, the goods are shipped in a boat 

 called a ' moses,' manned by expert rowers, who, watching the lull 

 of the surf, pull on shore, laying the broadside of the boat to the 

 beach so as to roll out or admit the cargo. Those articles which arc 

 packed in water-tight casks, as rum, &c., are generally floated off or 

 on shore. A lighthouse was built on the beach in 1846. [ST. 

 CHRISTOPHER'S.] 



BASSETERRE. [GUADALOUPE; MARIE-GALANTE.] 



BASSE VELDE. [FLANDERS, EAST.] 



BASSIGNANA. [ALESSANDRIA.] 



BASSIGNY, a district iu the former province of Champagne in 

 France, now forms the arrondissements of Chaumont aud Lnngrcs in 

 the department of Haute-Marne, the canton of Gondrecourt in the 

 department of Meuse, and a small portion of the arrondissenieut of 

 i r-Aube in the department of Aube. Its chief towns were 

 Langres, Chaumont, and Bourbon-les-Baius. [MARNE, HAUTE ; 

 MISUSE, Department of.] (Dictionnaire de la France.) 



