CAHARIKS. 



CANAltnx 





UM soil is sandy, but UM valleys are well adapted for 



There are several small mountain streams. 

 Tbe entire population of Canara has been estimated at about 

 7*0,000, of which number it was computed that more than one-sixth 

 were Brahmins. About 50,000 were said to to Roman Catholics, 

 The inhabitant* of UM sea-coast are principally Mohammedan*, and 

 those of the interior Hindoos. 



The chief production of UM province is rice, for cultivating which 

 I u peculiarly favourable, owing to the prevalence of rains. 



total, ""* pepusw are also cultivated. 

 The chief towns are in UM north division BattiooUah, and in the 

 sooth divMon Mannlore and Baroelore. Baliinllak stands on the 

 tin 13*55' N. lat. and 74' 37' E. long. ; on UM north bank of 

 which waters a beautiful valley 



Scondaholay. a naall itream which water* a beautiful valley 

 Bonded by bilk. Jfmmguhn is built on the margin of a nit lake, 

 which U Mpanted from the eea by a andy beach in 13* 63' N. lat, 

 and 74' 57 K. long. It U a place of oooaiderabie trade ; the eiporU 



1 1 rineipaUy of rice, betel-nut, pepper, sandal-wood, and turmeric 

 to Muscat, Ooe. Bombay, and the coast of Malabar. The import* 

 consist of raw sugar and silk from Bengal and China, and of oil and 

 bee from Surat The Portuguese had a factory here, which was 

 destroyed in 1596 by the Arabs from Muscat. In 1768 the town was 

 taken by the English, but retaken by Hyder. In 1783 it again sur- 

 rendered to the English, but was immediately besieged by Tippoo, 

 and when at the conclusion of the war it was given up to him was 

 little more than a heap of ruins. The fortifications have since been 

 dismantled. The population is estimated at 30,000. Bandore, sup- 

 pond to to the Barace of the ancients, is situated on the sea- 

 coast 55 miles N. from Mangalore, in 13 37' N. lat, 74 47' E. long. 



The province of Canara, which till then had been subject to 

 Hindoo sway, was subdued by Hyder Ali, raja of Mysore, in 1763. 

 On the death of his son Tippoo, in 1799, the whole province was 

 placed under British authority. Canara is now included in the 

 territories of the Bombay presidency. 



(Buchanan, Journey Ikrougk Mytort, Canara, and Malabar ; Mill, 

 Hillary of Bri'.itk India.) 



AU1KS, a group of inland* in the Atlantic, lying off the coast 

 of Africa, between 27 40' and 29 30' N. lat, 13 30' and 18 20' 

 \V. long. They are supposed to be the Fortunate Islands of the 

 ancient*. Pliny in his account of them (vi. 32), which is taken from 

 Juba, the learned Mauritania!! prince, calls one island Nivaria, or 

 Snow Island, which is probably Tenerife ; another island he calls 

 Canaria, from the number of dogs of a large size that were found 

 there ; Juba had two of these dogs. The first meridian of PtolenuBUs 

 if drawn through the group. 



The first account we have of these islands in modern times is about 

 UM year 1330, by a French ship which was driven among them by stress 

 of weather. Upon this discovery a Spanish nobleman, Don Luis, 

 count of Claramonte, obtained a grant of the islands from Pope 

 Clement VI., with the title of king. Nothing was however done 

 towards making a settlement till 1385, when a fleet under Ferdinando 

 Perara sailed from Cadiz and touched st Lanzarote, but was driven 

 away by the natives. The next expedition was from Seville in 1393, 

 but no possession was taken of any of the islands. In 1400 another 

 fleet sailed from Rochelle, under John de Bethencourt, and anchored 

 at Lanzaroto, where they built a fort at Point Rubicon. The 

 adventurers then passed over to Fuerteventura ; but being opposed by 

 UM natives they were obliged to re-embark. De Bethencourt returned 

 to Spain, and having obtained from Enrique III. of Castillo and Leon 

 a grant of the islands, with the title of king, again sailed to Lanzarote, 

 and in J une 1 405, touk possession of Fuerteventura, Oomera, and Hierro ; 

 but failed in his attempts upon Oran-Canaria or Canaria and Palma. 



De Bethenoourt died in 1408 and was succeeded by a nephew, 

 who in 1418 sold his right to the islands to Enrique de Guzman. 

 This nobleman expended Urge sums in endeavouring to subdue the 

 other island*, but without success. In 1 461 the Spaniards went through 

 UM form of taking possession of Canaria and Tenerife for the crown. 



Some difference having arisen between Spain and Portugal with 

 regard to these island*, in consequence of a second sale of them by 

 UM nephew of De Bethencourt to the latter power, the Portuguese 

 arrived in force at l^anzaroto to take possession ; but the dispute was 

 settled by treaty, in which the islands were ceded to Spain. A treaty 

 of commerce was entered into with the chiefs of Canaria in 1476 ; 

 bat in UM same year the court of Castillo purchased the right to the 

 **. ?7*!? 1<lll * ed UUn<U of C" 4 *. Tenerife, and Palma, and in 

 UM following year sent out a fleet to undertake the conquest of 



&?** "J^ "J**"' *" t not fin * 11 ' "nplW'> till April 1488. 

 Palma and Tenenf. were .ubj.igated respectively in 1481 and 1493. 



orsjtaeJ inhabitant, were called Guanohe*. of ^whom 

 little U now known except their bravery and their custom of embalm- 

 ing the dead. Owm to intermarriage with their conquerors, UM 

 Ouaocbe. tove ceased to exist as a separate people, and the popu 

 latino may now to considered entirely Spanish. 



The group consists of seven islands : Hierro or Form, Palma, 

 Oomera, Tenerife. Qnn-Canaria, Fuerteventura, anil Lauzarote ; and 

 of several small rocky isleU, UM largest of which are Graciosa and 

 Alegraoza. Tbe whole group stands on a bank ; but UM depth of 



water between UM islands is very great, and the passages are good. 

 They are all of volcanic origin, and present a surface diversified by 

 rocks, gorges, mountains, and valleys. The coasts are high and 

 irecipitous ; there are no close harbours, the anchorage being gene- 

 rally open roadsteads. The mountains which are barren, rocky, and 

 peaked, rise to the greatest height about the centres of the islands, 

 and some of them have their summits covered with snow during the 

 winter. The valleys, wherever there is water or any humidity in the 

 soil, are exceedingly fertile, producing grain, vegetables, and fruits, 

 both tropical and European. The vine w extensively cultivated, and 

 much wine is made. The sugar-cane grows, but its cultivation is 

 neglected. All kinds of domestic cattle abound in some of the islands. 

 Camels are reared and used as beasU of burden. Fowls, ducks, geese, 

 nigeons, and turkeys are very numerous. The number of wild birds, 

 lx.th native and migratory, is also very great ; among the former are 

 wild pigeons, quails, larks, and canaries. 



Each of the islands has its governor, and the whole group U 

 under a Captain-General. The whole area of the islands is 3340 

 square miles; and the population in 1849 was 257,719. The entire 

 annual produce is estimated as follows : wheat, maize, barley, millet, 

 and rye, 170,000 quarter.; wine, 64,000 pipes; barilla, 300,000 

 quintals ; and potatoes, 600,000 barrels. The chief foreign trade is 

 with Kngland, the United States, and Hamburg; there is also an 

 active trade between the islands. The principal ports are Santa-Cruz 

 and Orotava in Tenerife, and Palings in Gran-Canaria. The export* 

 consist of wine, fruite, corn, barilla, honey, orchilla, moss, fish, 

 cochineal, raw silk, Ac. ; the imports are woollen and cotton cloths, 

 linen, silks, colonial produce, brandy, paper, oil, glass, hardware, Ac. 

 There are important fisheries along the coast of Africa. 



The temperature is very equable and the climate excellent. There 

 are two seasons, the rainy and the dry. The dry season lasts from 

 April to October; during its continuance the weather is constantly 

 fine, and the north-east trade-wind blows without intermission, being 

 strongest from the middle of May to the middle of August Tho 

 mountains of the several islands, by obstructing the course of the 

 north-east trade-wind, cause calms to prevail for several miles to 

 leeward to the point where the divided currents again unite. These 

 winds render communication between the islands tedious. A vessel 

 can sail from Tenerife to Hierro in a day ; but the return voyage 

 takes 10 or 12 days, sometimes three or four weeks. Since 1849 

 however the communication between the islands has been much 

 facilitated by the use of steam-packet*. A mail steamer plies regu- 

 larly every week between the islands and Cadiz. Frum October 

 to April the south-west winds prevail, attended with rain ; and at 

 times with thunder-storms. The genial nature of the climate is 

 disagreeably affected, at the beginning and end of the rainy season, 

 by the south-east wind called El Levante, which blowing across the 

 Sahara is dry, hot, and sultry, and produces great thirst It sometimes 

 carries clouds of locust*, which commit great ravages on the corn- 

 fields and plantations. The islands are ill-supplied with spring-water. 

 Kaiu-watcr is preserved in tanks. 



Hierro or Ferro, the most south-western of the Canaries, contains 

 about 80 square miles, and hag a population of 5000. The pro- 

 montory on the west coast, now called Bebesa, was formerly famous 

 as the point through which the universal first meridian was drawn ; 

 it is about 18 1 0' W. of Greenwich. The island suffers more than any 

 of the others from droughts, and but for the frequent fogs vegetables 

 could not live, Valverdt, a small place on the north-eastern coast, is 

 the chief place in the island. 



Palma lies N. by E. of Hierro; it is about 30 miles long from 

 north to south, and its greatest breadth is about 20 miles. The area 

 10 square miles, and the population about 34,000. The mountain 

 ridge runs from north to south, and contains many extinct craters of 

 great height Tho central crater called Caldera is surrounded by 

 many lofty peaks, of which the Pico-de-los-Muchachos and the Pico- 

 de-la-Cruz rise to the respective heights of 7631 and 7469 feet 

 above the sea. The coast* and valleys are extremely fertile, pro- 

 ducing much wine, fruits, and silk. There are forests in the island 

 ju which good timber is grown ; the palm, sweet-bay, and myrtle 

 abound; and m many places the Euphorbia baUamifera or Canaritiui* 

 grows. Santa-Cna-de-tat-Paimat, the capital, is on the east coast : 

 it and Tozacorte on the west coast are the chief ports. Some taffeta*, 

 -tun-, and ribands are the only manufactures of any importance. 



Oomera, which lies 8.E. of Palma, is nearly circular, and contain* 

 164 square miles. The mountains consist of granite and micaceous 

 slate. The valleys ore well watered, but badly cultivated. Corn, 

 wine, oil, cotton, fruiU, moss, and honey are produced. Cattle, 

 sheep, mules, poultry, and game are abundant San-Sebattian is the 

 chief town and port. The island has a population of about 12,000. 



Tenertfe (sometimes incorrectly written Teneriffe) is the largest and 

 most important of the islands. It is about 60 mile* long from north- 

 east to south-west; its greatest breadth is 30 miles, but it grows 

 gradually narrower towards the north-east, and at that extremity the 

 breadth Is not more than 6 miles. The area is about 1226 square 

 miles, and the population 80,000. About one-seventh of the surface 

 is fit for cultivation ; the remainder is covered with lava and otlicr 

 volcanic matter, and a great part of it is entirely destitute of vege- 

 tation. The coasts present some remarkable promontories Del- 



