CARACAS CARA VAN. 



CARACAS; n provmer, \vliii -h, with the province 

 of Carabobo, constitutes, according to the law of 

 June 23, 1824, the department of Venezuela, one of 

 the twelve departments of Colombia. (See Venezuela.) 

 The city of ( 'nracas, or Leon de Caracas, is the ca- 

 pital of the department of Venezuela, formerly a cap- 

 tain-generalship ; Ion. 67 5' W. ; lat. 10 31' N. 

 In 1812, the population was estimated at 50,000. 

 March 26 of that year, the city was partly destroyed 

 by an earthquake, and nearly 12,000 persons were 

 buried in the ruins. By the political events which 

 followed this catastrophe, the population of this ill- 

 fated city was reduced, in four or five years, to less 

 tlian 25,000. The city is situated five leagues from 

 the sea, from which it is separated by a chain of 

 mountains, at an elevation of 3000 feet above the 

 ocean. A good road traverses the mountains to the 

 port La Guayra. Caracas carried on a considerable 

 tr.ule. The greatest part of the productions of the 

 whole province, consisting principally of cocoa, cof- 

 iee, indigo, cotton, sarsaparilla ; and the Varinas to- 

 Iwcco, is brought here for sale, or to be exclianged 

 for European manufactures and productions. The 

 temperature is generally between 77 and 90 Fahr. 

 in the day, and between 68 an4 L 72 at night ; but 

 this general mildness is connecMPwith great fluctua- 

 tions in the weather. Humboldt, among the vapours 

 of November and December, could sometimes hardly 

 fancy lumself in one of the temperate valleys of the 

 torrid zone, the weather rather resembling that of 

 the north of Germany. Caracas is the seat of the 

 intendant of Venezuela, and has a college, a court 

 of justice, nine churches, and five convents. The 

 streets are straight and well built, intersecting each 

 other at right-angles, at a distance of about 300 feet. 

 The inhabitants consist of whites, descendants of 

 Spaniards, free coloured people, a few slaves, and 

 Indians. The first are either merchants, planters, 

 professional or military men, very proud, and disdain- 

 ing all kinds of labour. The women are considered 

 very handsome, having large black eyes, full of ex- 

 pression, jet-black hair, and fine complexions ; but 

 they are careless of their figures. They seldom leave 

 their houses except to go to mass, when they wear 

 the long veils called mantillas, covering nearly the 

 whole body. They possess considerable natural ta- 

 lent and vivacity, but little or no accomplishments. 

 Caracas, as is well known, has been conspicuous 

 throughout the revolution of Venezuela and New 

 G renada against Spain. 



CARACCI. See Carracci. 



CARACCIOLI, Louis ANTOIXE PE; bom in 1721, 

 at Paris, of an ancient and distinguished Neapolitan 

 family. His talents for conversation procured him a 

 distinguished reception, in Rome, from Benedict XIV. 

 end Clement XIII. He afterwards went to Germany 

 and Poland. After having educated the children of 

 j rince Rzewuski,in the latter country, he returned to 

 Paris, and wrote his Lettres du Pape Clement XIF'. 

 (Ganganelli), which display a kind spirit, a benevo- 

 lent philosophy, and fine taste. They also contain 

 intelligent observations on many situations of life. 

 For a long time, they were thought to be the genu- 

 ine productions of the pope, and excited the greatest 

 interest in France, and throughout Europe. He 

 died in 1803. 



CARACCIOLI, marquis de, the friend of Mar- 

 montel and D'Alembert, born hi 1711, was, about 

 the middle of the eighteenth century, Neapolitan 

 imiliassador in London and Paris. He was esteemed 

 one of the first ornaments of the accomplished so- 

 riety of the capital of France. He died in 1789, in 

 the office" of viceroy of Sicily. 



CARACCIOLI, FRANCISCO, brother of the duke of 

 Uoccaroinana, was distinguished as Neapolitan ad- 



miral, in 1793, at Toulon ; but, being treated by his 

 court with contempt, he entered tin- s r r\ice of the 

 Parthenopean republic, and repelled, with a few ves- 

 sels, an attempt of the Sicilian-Knglish fleet to ef- 

 fect a landing. When Ruffo took 'Naples in 1799 

 Caraccioli was arrested, contrary to the terms of ca- 

 pitulation, was condemned to deatli by the junta 

 (see Speziale), was hanged at the mast of his frigate 

 and thrown into the sea. His deatli is a blot on the 

 fame of Nelson. 



CARACTACUS ; a king of the ancient British 

 people called Silures, inhabiting South Males. He 

 defended his country seven years against the Ro- 

 mans, but was at last defeated, and led in triumph 

 to the emperor Claudius, then at York, where his 

 noble behaviour and pathetic speech obtained him 

 liberty, A. D. 52. Buchanan, Monipenny, and the 

 other ancient Scottish historians, make this heroic 

 prince one of the Scots monarchs. 



CARAITES, or CARJEANS, among the Jews ; 

 those, who reject the tradition of the Talmud, anil 

 hold merely to the letter of Scripture, in opposition 

 to the Rabbinists. See Rabbi. 



CARAMAN1A ; an interior province of Asiatic 

 Turkey, east of Natolia, comprising about 35,000 

 square miles. It is intersected by tlie Kisil Jermak, 

 which, after a course of about 350 miles, flows north 

 into the Black sea. Caramania comprehends the 

 ancient Pamphylia, and a great part of Cilicia, 1'isi- 

 dia and Cappadocia Minor. Bajazet united it to the 

 Ottoman empire hi 1488. The inhabitants carry on 

 some trade with camels' hair, goats' wool and opium. 

 The population probably does not exceed from J.V) 

 to 200,000. Cogni, or Konich (lat. 38" Itf N., Ion. 

 32" 25' E., 308 miles east of Smyrna, and 150 north of 

 the shore of the Mediterranean) is the capital. Thera 

 is also a town of this province called Caramania. 



CARAVAGGIO, MICHAEL ANGEI.O AMERIGHI, or 

 MORIGI, called Michael Angela da Caravaggio, a ce- 

 lebrated painter, born at Caravaggio, in the Milan- 

 ese, in 1569, was at first a journeyman mason, but 

 soon applied himself to the study of painting, studied 

 in Milan and Venice, and afterwards went to Rome, 

 where he distinguished himself. He may be consi- 

 dered as the inventor of a manner which has had a 

 crowd of imitators. His characteristic traits are 

 vigour and truth of chiun-oscv-ro, combined with 

 excellent colouring. He was fond of introducing 

 broad and deep masses of shade, whereby a great 

 effect is given to the light. To aid him in producing 

 this effect, the room in which he worked was illu- 

 minated by a skylight, and the walls were painted 

 black. He excelled in the painting of naked figures. 

 His faults are obvious. Narrow and servile imita- 

 tion of nature was his highest aim. Annibal Caracci 

 and Domenichino were, perhaps, less distinguished 

 than Caravaggio during their lives, but after their 

 death were ranked liigher; because, without ne- 

 glecting colouring and the study of nature they 

 aimed at correctness of design, and dignity of con- 

 ception. His violent character involved him in many 

 difficulties. He died as early as 1609. The painters 

 who have imitated him most are Manfredi, Valentin. 

 and Ribeira, called Espagnolet. 



CARAVAGGIO. See Caldara. 



CARAVAN, or KARAVAN ; a Persian word 

 used to denote large companies which travel toge- 

 ther in the Levant and in Africa, for the sake of se- 

 curity from robbers, having in view, principally, 

 trade or pilgrimages. Such a company often have 

 more than 1000 camels to carry their baggage and 

 their goods. These walk in single file, so that the 

 line is often a mile long. On account of the exces- 

 sive heat, they travel mostly early in the morning. 

 As every Mohammedan is obliged to visit the tomb 



