GUERILLAS GUERRERO. 



577 



the small glass figures, which were used before the I 

 invention of the barometer (q. v.), to show the 

 variations of temperature. The pressure of the 

 atmosphere he exhibited by means of two large hol- 

 low hemispheres of copper and brass, an ell in dia- 

 meter. These being fitted closely together, the 

 air contained in the hollow sphere thus formed was 

 exhausted by means of an air-pump. Guericke then 

 harnessed horses to strong rings, attached to the 

 hemispheres, and they attempted in vain to separate 

 them. The number of horses was increased to thirty 

 without success. An additional number at length 

 made them part with a loud report. He was also 

 an astronomer. His opinion, that the return of 

 comets might be calculated, has been confirmed. 

 His most important observations, collected by him- 

 self, appeared at Amsterdam, in folio (in 1672), en- 

 titled Experimenta nova, ut vacant Magdeburgica, de 

 vacua Spatio, &c. See Air-Pump. 



GUERILLAS (Spanish diminutive of guerra, 

 war), in the war for Spanish independence, was the 

 name of the light, irregular troops, who did much 

 injury to the enemy, while their disconnected char- 

 acter and active movements secured them from suf- 

 fering much in return. They consisted chiefly of 

 peasants, who, in the ardour of patriotic zeal and 

 religious fanaticism, having put to death such French- 

 men as fell into their hands on the first retreat of the 

 French forces, fled to the mountains, on their return, 

 to avoid their resentment, collected in numbers, 

 chose leaders, and carried on a partisan warfare, 

 without being paid or dressed in uniform. They 

 appeared sometimes in small bands, sometimes to the 

 number of 1000, hanging on the outskirts, picking 

 oft' single soldiers, attacking small detachments, in- 

 tercepting couriers ; and it was with difficulty that 

 the French could keep up any communications. The 

 general Juan Martin Diaz, surnamed El Empecinado, 

 first organized them with some system, in the 

 vicinity of Madrid, after Saragossa had been taken 

 by the Frencli (1808), and Spain, by the defeat of its 

 armies, seemed lost beyond recovery. Romana, 

 however, extended the plan much farther. They 

 contributed to sustain the confidence of the people 

 in the final success of their arms, and to maintain a 

 spirit of determined resistance. They fought even 

 to the capital, which was occupied by the enemy. 

 It was a no less important circumstance, that every 

 advantage gained by the Spanish and British troops 

 was proclaimed, by their means, in all quarters, with 

 the rapidity of lightning, and often, of course, with 

 (riT.it exaggerations. Sir Robert Wilson had like- 

 wise a great influence in the organization and success 

 of the guerillas. 



GUERNSEY, an island in the English Channel, 

 near the coast of Normandy and Brittany, lies in 

 Mount St Michael's bay, a spacious gulf formed by 

 cape La Hogue in Normandy and cape Frehille in 

 Brittany ; in 49 13' N. lat. ; 2 40 7 W. Ion. This 

 beautiful island is nine miles in length and about 

 thirty in circumference. It is abundantly watered, 

 though, from its limited size, none of the streams are 

 considerable. The soil throughout is rich and fertile, 

 and yields very fine pasture. The cows are much 

 esteemed, yielding abundance of excellent milk. A 

 great number of them are yearly exported to Eng- 

 land. Vegetables are also excellent, and in great 

 variety. Timber, with the exception of the elm tree, 

 is not lofty, but luxuriant. Most kinds of fruits and 

 flowers grow in profusion ; and so genial is the cli- 

 mate, that myrtles and geraniums flourish in the open 

 ground, and the more hardy species of the orange 

 tree, the Seville, will fructify with very little shelter 

 in winter. Thousands of that beautiful flower, the 

 Guernsey lily, are exported yearly to England and 



France. The fig tree attains great luxuriance, and 

 sometimes reaches a remarkable size. The aloe tree 

 frequently blossoms here. One of the most useful 

 vegetables is a marine plant, called varec, which is 

 used both for fuel and manure. Both the judicial 

 and executive authorities are exercised by a lx)dy 

 called the royal court, composed of twelve jurats, the 

 procureur or attorney-general, and the comptroller 01 

 solicitor-general. But the task of raising money to 

 defray public expenses, is committed to what is called 

 the states of deliberation a political body composed 

 of the governor for the time being, the bailiff, twelve 

 jurats, and the procureur, the eight rectors of the ten 

 parishes, and the united voices of the constables of 

 each parish, the total number of voters being thirty- 

 two. Application must, however, in certain cases, 

 be made to the king, for permission to carry into effect 

 the levies proposed by this body. Guernsey is 

 divided into ten parishes, the churches appertaining 

 to which were consecrated between the years 1111 

 and 1312. Dissenters, more particularly the Calviri- 

 ists and Methodists, are very numerous, and have 

 several chapels. The Roman Catholics are few. The 

 society of Friends or Quakers are rather increas- 

 ing in number. Steam vessels and sailing packets 

 ply daily between Portsmouth, Plymouth, Southamp- 

 ton, and many other ports of England, to this 

 island ; there is also a constant water communica- 

 tion kept up between this and the opposite French 

 coast. The only town of Guernsey is called St 

 Peter's Port, which is built on the eastern coast of 

 the island. The inhabitants of Guernsey are more 

 French than English in their character; their language 

 is a corruption of the old Norman, very few being 

 able to speak English. Population in 1841,28,521. 

 The most recent account of Guernsey is to be found 

 in the late Mr Inglis's work, entitled " The Channel 

 Islands." 



GUERRERO, VICENTE, president of the United 

 Mexican States, was a Creole by birth, and is said 

 also to have been partly of Indian extraction. He 

 took arms against the royalists at the very commence- 

 ment of the revolution in Mexico, and never ceased 

 to occupy a prominent position in the affairs of that 

 country. In 1819, after Hidalgo, Morelos. and Mina 

 had successively fallen victims to their zeal in the 

 cause of independence, and the patriots, being unsuc- 

 cessful everywhere, were captured, cut up, or dis- 

 persed, Guerrero continued in arms in the province 

 of Valladolid, at the head of a formidable guerilla in 

 the Tierra Caliente. The publication and general 

 adoption of the terms of accommodation between 

 the Mexicans and Spaniards, proposed by Iturbide, 

 known as the plan of Iguala, and the new impulse 

 thus imparted to the revolution, gave employment 

 and importance to Guerrero once more, until the 

 usurpation of Itnrbide placed him in opposition to all 

 the steady republicans. When Santa Anna raised the 

 standard of revolt in 1823, and the success of the 

 insurgents under him and Victoria gave the republi- 

 cans a chance of overturning the mushroom emperor, 

 Guerrero, with Bravo, fled from Mexico in secret, 

 and placed himself at the head of a body of troops 

 in the west. The result of all these movements was 

 the dethronement of Iturbide, the adoption of the 

 constitution of 1824, and the election of Victoria as 

 president, and Bravo as vice-president of the Mexi- 

 can States. In the organization of political parties 

 which ensued, general Guerrero became the rallying 

 point of the liberal or popular party, the Yorkinos. 

 and was also repeatedly called into active service in 

 his military capacity, by reason of the civil troubles 

 which the anxious impartiality of president Victoria 

 rather tended to augment than to moderate. In 1827 

 Guerrero was despatched to Vera Cruz, to put down 

 2 o 



