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COLONN A COLON Y. 



While the benevolent exertions of the society have 

 been thus successful in Africa, its influence on the 

 public sentiment in America has been very salutary. 

 The congress of the United States had already 

 abolished the slave-trade, in 1808, as soon as the 

 restrictions imposed by the constitution were re- 

 moved. Through the representations of the coloni- 

 zation society, tile act of March 3, 1819, was passed, 

 ji in In in/.iii- the president to make arrangements for 

 the support and restoration of recaptured negroes. 

 May 15, 1820, the slave-trade was declared to be 

 piracy, and punishable with death. The society lias 

 succeeded in overcoming the fears and prejudices of 

 its former opponents; some of the most eminent 

 statesmen in the slave-holding states have become 

 earnestly engaged in the cause ; the legislatures of 

 several of the same states have contributed funds for 

 its assistance ; and, in 1828, the number of auxiliary 

 societies amounted to ninety-six. The experiment 

 has convinced the blacks themselves of the great 

 benefits they must derive from their colonization, and 

 the number of applicants for transportation has been 

 constantly increasing. The emancipation of slaves 

 is also facilitated, now that provision is made for 

 them. In 1828, 100 were manumitted, and, in 1829, 

 200 were offered to the society, on condition that 

 they should be sent to Liberia. Information con- 

 cerning the history and objects of the society may 

 be found in its annual reports published at Wash- 

 ington, in the African Repository also published 

 at Washington, in the North African Review, Ja- 

 nuary, 1824, and January, 1825 (Boston), and in 

 the American Quarterly Review, No. 8, December, 

 1828. 



COLONNA, VITTORIA, the most renowned poet- 

 ess of Italy, was the daughter of Fabrizio Colonna, 

 high-constable of Naples; and born in 1490, at 

 Marino, a fief belonging to the family. At the age 

 of four years, she was destined to be the wife of 

 Fern. Franc. d'Avalos, marquis of Pescara, a boy of 

 the same age. The rare excellences, both of body 

 and mind, with which nature and a most careful 

 education had adorned her, made her an object of 

 universal admiration, so that even princes sued for 

 her hand. But, faithful to her vow, she gave her 

 hand to the companion of her youth, who had be- 

 come one of the most distinguished men of his age. 

 They lived in the happiest union. When her hus- 

 band fell, in the battle of Pavia (1525), Vittoria 

 sought consolation in solitude and in poetry. All 

 her poems were devoted to the memory of her hus- 

 band. She lived seven years, by turns at Naples and 

 at Ischia, and afterwards retired into a monastery, 

 first at Orvieto, and finally at Viterbo. She after- 

 wards abandoned the monastic life, and made Rome 

 her abode, where she died in 1547. Her Rime are 

 not inferior to the best imitations of Petrarch. The 

 finest are her Rime Spirituali (Venice, 1548, 4to), 

 which display deep feeling and pure piety. A col- 

 lect'on of all her poems appeared in 1760, at Ber- 

 gamo. 



COLONY. Before America and the way by sea 

 to the East Indies were discovered, the states of 

 Europe, in the middle ages, with the exception of the 

 Genoese and of the Venetians, had no foreign colo- 

 nies. The Mediterranean afforded a passage to an 

 extensive commerce, which was chiefly carried on 

 by the small Italian states, particularly Venice and 

 Genoa, and the sea-ports of Catalonia. The com- 

 merce between India and the continents of Europe 

 and Asia was carried on chiefly by way of Ormus 

 and Aden, on the Persian and Arabian gulfs. Alep- 

 po, Damascus, and the harbour of Barut, and espe- 

 cially Egypt, were the chief emporiums. As long 

 as commerce was confined to land-carriage, and con- 



ducted by small states, it never could have the im- 

 portance which it assumed in the hands of the Spani- 

 ards and Portuguese, after America was discovered 

 and the passage by sea to the East Indies effected. 

 When the Portuguese nation first commenced its 

 discoveries, it was in the vigour of its heroic age. 

 By continual wars with the Moors, first in Euroj e 

 and afterwards in Africa, the martial spirit of the 

 nation acquired that chivalrous energy which im- 

 pelled it to romantic enterprises, particularly as the 

 most violent hatred against the infidels was connect- 

 ed with it. From 1410, when Henry the Navigator 

 (q. v.) commenced his voyages and discoveries on 

 the western shore of Africa, till his death, in 1463, 

 the Portuguese discovered, in 1419, Madeira ; in 

 14159, cape Bojador ; in 1446, cape Vcrd ; two 

 years later, the Azores ; in 1449, the cape Verd 

 isles, and penetrated to Sierra Leone. In 1484, 

 Congo was visited. Bartolomeo Diaz reached 

 (1486) the cape of Tempests, which king John called 

 the cape of Good Hope. Soon afterwards, under the 

 reign of king Emanuel the Great, a daring adven- 

 turer led the Portuguese by that route to the East 

 Indies. Vasco da Gama landed, May 20, 1 498, at 

 Calicut, on the coast of Malabar. The Portuguese 

 did not succeed without a struggle, particularly with 

 the Moors, who had previously oeen in possession of 

 the inland trade of India., in establishing settlements 

 on the coast of Malabar, and nothing- out the lofty 

 spirit and the determined valour of the first viceroy, 

 the great Almeida of Abrantes (1505 9), and of 

 his still greater successor, Alphonso Albuquerque 

 (1515), could have founded, with such feeble means, 

 an extensive dominion hi India ; the chief seat ot 

 which, from 1508, was Goa. The Portuguese garri- 

 soned only some strong places along the coasts of 

 the continent and the islands, as commercial posts, 

 among which, on the coast of Africa, Mozambique, 

 Sofala, and Melinda ; in the Persian gulf, Ormus and 

 Mascat ; on the Malabar coast, besides Goa, Diu, 

 and Daman ; on the Coromandel coast, Negapatam 

 and Meliapoor (St Thomas), and Malacca on the 

 peninsula of the same name, were the most import- 

 ant. After the year 1511, colonies were established 

 also upon the Spice islands ; after 1518, in Ceylon ; 

 the latter of which soon became considerable. 

 Those in Java, Sumatra, Celebes, and Borneo re- 

 mained less important. Brazil, though discovered 

 in 1500, by Cabral, did not become of consequence 

 until more recently. On the other hand, the com- 

 mercial connexions formed, in 1517, with China, 

 and, in 1542, with Japan, were, for a long time, a 

 source of riches to the Portuguese. Till that time, 

 the Portuguese had been in the undisputed posses- 

 sion of all the East Indian commerce. In order to 

 prevent difficulties with Spain, all the discoveries 

 which should be made beyond cape Bojador were 

 adjudged, in 1481, by a papal bull of Sextus IV., to 

 the Portuguese. A dispute with Spain concerning 

 the possession of the Moluccas was adjusted, in 1529, 

 by an agreement that Charles V. should sell his 

 claims, for 350,000 ducats, to the crown of Portugal. 

 But, after Philip II., in 1580, had made himself 

 master of Portugal, the East Indian colonies also fell 

 under the dominion of the Spaniards, and, soon after, 

 into the power of the Dutch. The ability of some 

 great men, and the heroic spirit of the nation, had 

 founded the power of Portug-al in the East Indies. 

 It fell when the character of the people degenerated, 

 when a low trading spirit took the place of heroism, 

 even among the higher classes of the nation ; when 

 avarice, luxury, and effeminacy increased, and the 

 influence of the clergy, and particularly of the in- 

 quisition, became predominant. To these causes of 

 decline were added the annexation of Portugal to 



