﻿MATTO 0R08S0. 



MATBOLE. 



nt 



vQbga U mach older tiiao M«Uodi Bath, from which it ia two miles 

 diitant The inhabitante are diicfly employed in lead-minra and 

 qnuriaa. 



MATTO OROSSO. [Bkaml.] 



MAUBEUQE. [NoRD.] 



MAUCHLINE. [ATBSBliut.] 



MAIONIO. [HfeBAULT.] 



IIAULEUN. [PTBtsfcn, BAtsn.] 



MAURA, SANTA. [Iosiak Uuuim.] 



MAURE. [iLLB-ar-VaAiXB.] 



UAURE. SAINTB. [Ikorb-bt-Loixk.] 



MAURIAC. fCAXtAL] 



HAURITA'NIA, or MAURKTA'NLA, which deriT«d its nam» 

 from its inhabitant* Manri or Haoruaii, waa bounded W. by the 

 Atlantic, N. by the Meditemnaan, a by the OntuU, and E. by 

 Mnnidia, thaa oorreeponding to the northern part of Maroooo and 

 Iha wliiiB part of AlKieia The oouotry of the Mauri waa originally 

 wparat«] from thato? the Haaatesyli by the Mulocath (Stnibo), or 

 Mulucba (Plin., T. I), the modem iiulwia; but the Roman province 

 of Uauritania included the country inhabited by both these people. 



Before the war with Jugurtha, the Romans had little or no know- 

 )*dge of Mauritania; of which Bocchus waa at that time the ruler. 

 (SaTlust, 'Bell. Jugurtli.,' a, Itt.) Mauritania wan Rfterwards given by 

 Aogiutus to Juba II., his paternal kingdom of Kuniidia having been 

 •reoted into a Roman province. Juba died about A o. 17, and was 

 iQOOseded by his aon PtolemMus, who waa put to death by Caligula. 

 Mauritania waa shortly afterwards divided into two provincea by 

 Claudius ( A.D. 43) ; which were called respectively Mauritania Tingitana 

 and Mauritania C'sesarii-n>ia. (Dion Caasins, Ix.). Tingitana, the 

 western proviooe, which derived its name from Tingia (Tangier), waa 

 divided from the other province Cssariensis by the Molocath ; and 

 Caaarieitsia was separated from Numidia by the Ampaagas ( Wad-tl- 

 JTsKr). Mauritania Caaarieoais was aubasquently subdivided into 

 two provinces : the western part retained the name of Ctesariensis, 

 but the eastern was called Sitifiensia, from Sitifi (Settf), a town on 

 the borders of Kumidia. 



Mauritania contained many towns of considerable importance tmder 

 the Roman empire. Of these, the principal iu Mauritania Tingitana 

 were, Rusadir (ifelitlak), a sea-port and a Roman colony, west of the 

 Molooath ; Tingis (Tangier), at the entrance of the Strait of Gibraltar, 

 which received especial marks of favour from Augustus Cotsar 

 (Dion, xlviii.), and became a Roman colony under Claudius (Pliny, 

 T. 1); Zilis or Zelis (Arzilla), made s Roman colony by Augustus 

 under the name of Julia Constautia Zilis, and placed under the same 

 jurisdiotion as the province of Bistica in Spain (Pliny, v. I) : it was 

 aituate<l a little to the aouth of Cape Spartel, which is called Cotes 

 by Strabo, and Ampelnsia by Mela (i. 5) ; Linx, Lixus, or Linga(^f. 

 Araitk), a Roman oolony, 82 Roman milea S. from Zilis, situated on 

 • river of the same name now Wad-al-Khos. Banasa, a Roman 

 eolony, 50 Roman miles S. from Lixus, situated on the Subur {Sdoo) ; 

 and, CO miles S. from the Subur, Sala {SaUe, or Sla), of which there 

 are extensive ruin>. 



The chief towna in Mauritania Cgesariensis were : — Salda, Sarda, or 

 Baldc, a aea-port and a Romau colony, which divided the kingdom of 

 Juba from the province of Numidia (Strabo) ; Julia Ccesarea (^crsAa/), 

 ■itttated on the ooast west of Saldee, a Roman oolony, which was 

 originally called lol (Strabo; Pliny, v. 1); Siga {Tatumbril), which 

 Pliny (v. 1 ) erroneotisly places opposite Malaga in Spain ; and in the 

 interior, south-west of Cirta, the important town of Sitifl {Selif), a 

 Roman colony. 



The physical featurea, &c. of Mauritania are described nnder 

 AtafeRii and Marocco. 



MACRITIUS, formerly IiU de Pnmet, an island and a British 

 ■ettlement, ia situated in the Indian Ocean, between 20° and 20° 84' 

 B. lat, 67* 20' and 57° 46' E. long. The greatest length, north to 

 south, is 38 miles ; the groatesit breadth, east to west, ia 27 miles ; the 

 circumference is about 120 mflea. The area is about 70O square miles. 

 The population in 1851 was 180,823; the emancipated davea and 

 their buuilirs numbered 48,880. The general population, as distin- 

 gnUMd from the Indiana and emancipated slaves, was (4,497. The 

 wUta population consists for the moat part of the descendants of 

 Frsooh families, and they apeak the Fi«ncn language. 



The island la surrounded by a oond reef, generaSy running parallel 

 to tiM abore* at a distance varying ttom a fhrlong to a quarter of a 

 nila, and mostly dry at low water. In this reef occur ten or twelve 

 blMklk by meat of whieh vaasehi of oonsiderable burden can reach 

 Ik* MMd. The iat«rior of the failand oontaina numerous hills and 

 mamcMa*, mostly taoUted. The moat elevated are near Cape Brabant 

 en the south-east ooaat, where they rise to about 8000 feet, and near 

 Port Louis on the north-east ooast. The mountain called Peter Botto, 

 which belonfB to the latter ^roup, has an elevation of 2600 feet The 

 origin of the island is obviously volcanic The soil is fertile, but 

 gaoerally shallow. 



The biUv districts in the interior of the island are covend with 

 trass, bat UMre is no timber fit for ship-buUding. The ebony wood 

 is of inferior qoality, but the iron-wood and red-wood are Taloabl*. 

 There are ooooa-nnt paluM, tamarind-trees, numgroves, and bamboos. 



The rainy saajson laato from Noramber to Maroh or ApriL The 



climate is damp through a oonaidarabb portion of the year. In the 

 dry season the wind generally blows ftrom the south-east The highest 

 temperature is about 87" Fahr., the lowest 60°, the mean annual tarn- 

 perature 78°. The island is periodically exposed to tempeatoous 

 weather, and is occasionally visited by temHc hurricanes. 



Yama, oaaaava, and maiae, aro cultivated for food. Esculent roots 

 and vegetables, European aa well aa tropical, thrive well and aboa- 

 dantly ; wheat and rice are laiaed. The best fruita are mangoaa, 

 ahaddodcs, and pine-applea. 



Sugar ia almost the only object of cultivation for export Improve- 

 ments haw of late been introduced into the manufacture. The sugar 

 crop for the year 1852 amounted to 75,000 tons. Bilk-wonna are 

 reared, but the quantity of silk produced ia amall. 



Horses are few, and seldom bred in the island. Mules and aaaes are 

 prineipally used for the saddle. Cattle are acaroa, on aooount of the 

 want of good pasture^ Cattle are imported from Madagascar ; goaia 

 and sheep are numerous on the ialand; hogs abound, and form a 

 material part of the food of the people. 



Port Louit, the capital of the island, is situated near the north- 

 western extremity, on a small bay or inlet, in 20° 9' S. lat, 67' 29' 

 E long. A reef runs out from the mouth of the inlet, passing close 

 to Tunuelier Island, a coral rouk, near which vessels usually anchor 

 when the wind blows out of the harbour. The harbour is capacious, 

 and during the fine season is perfectly safe. The towu is built at its 

 extreme south-western comer. In 1860 it was constituted a municipal 

 corporation. The town contains about 35,000 inhabitants. It has a 

 citadel, completed in 1843, good baiTacks, a new court-house, bacaar, 

 a royal ooUegey a theatre, and at a «hort distance an honpitaL There 

 are a library containing more than 60,000 volumes, moatly French, a 

 good botanical garden, and some docks for the repair of vessels. The 

 harbour and town are well fortified. 



On the eastfm coast is Grand Port, which ia large, but ita entrance 

 ia dilficult, being narrowed by several shoals. It can only be entered 

 and left with a fair wind, as it is impossible to tack. It is not much 

 frequented. NaAebourg ia a small towu on the south-east cosat, 

 with a good harbour, which was opened to foreign shipping in 1836. 



Mauritius is under the care of a governor and a legislative and 

 executive council, whose authority extends to the group of coral 

 ishinds called the Seychelles. The revenue for 1862 was 811,8541. ; 

 the expenditure was 2S'i,0yil. 



The value of the iuportd into Mauritius in 1 852 waa 1,062,3611. 6s. 9d., 

 that of the exports was l,\00,5t6L 14s. 6d. 



The commercial relations of Mauritius extend to Batavia, Bombay, 

 Surat, Muscat, the Persian and Arabian Qulfs, the western coast of 

 Africa, the Cape of Qood Hope, and Madagascar, but a considerable 

 portion of its produce comes to England. Besides sugar, small 

 quantities of iudigo, cloves, and some woods are exported. The 

 island receives from England and India silk and cotton goods ; and 

 from England cloth, wiue, oil, hats, iron aud steel utensils, with some 

 smaller articles. Madagascar supplies the Mauritiua with cattle and 

 rice, and receives iu return manufactured goods. Aiabia and Persia 

 are supplied with sugar from the Mauritius, aud seud in return dry 

 fruits and soma smaller articles. 



Mauritius, with the neighbouring ialand of Bourbon, was discovered 

 by the Portuguese in 1506 ; they took possession of Mauritius in 1545, 

 but appareutly formed no settlement on it The Dutch aurveyed it 

 iu 159^, and called it Mauritius, in honour of Maurice, stadtholder of 

 the republic of the Netherlands. They did not however settle here 

 till 1640, about which time they iixed themselves on the shores of 

 Grand Port They abandoned the island in 1708. In 1715 the French 

 took poaseanion of the island, formed a settlement at Port Louis, and 

 called the island Isle de France. They remained in the undisturbed 

 possession of it till the year 1810, when it was taken from them by 

 the British, to whom it was secured at the peace of 1814, and who 

 have retained it in their possession ever since. A bishop of Mauritius 

 has just (December 1854) beeu appointed by the British government 

 There are 18 government schools, attended by 1853 pupils in 1852; 

 and a royal college, with 27u pupils in 1862, an income of 8054/., and 

 an exjienditure of iSlOL during the same year. In 1852 there 

 returned to India 2893 adult male and 361 female immigi'onts, with 72 

 children. In the rural districts court-houses and jails have beeu 

 recently erected, and a little attention has been given to the con- 

 struction of new roads, and the repair of the highways now in use. 



MAURR [Cabtal] 



MAUVESlk [0«B8.] 



MAWES, HT. [CoRMWALt.] 



MAYAUUANA. [Bahamas.] 



MAYUULE, Ayrshire, Scotland, a burgh of barony and market- 

 town in the parish of Maybole and district of Carrick, ia pleasantly 

 situated on a small eminence surrounded by hills, about 6 miles from 

 the sea-coast, and 9 miles S. fVom Ayr, in 65° 20' N. lat, 4° 42' 

 W. long. The population of the town in 1881 was 8862. The burgh 

 is governed by 17 councillors. Many of the inhabitants are employed 

 in hand-lcjom weaving for Glasgow manufacturers. The church is a 

 large but inelegant structure. There are several achuola, a tsavings 

 bank, and some benevolent institutions. Maybole as the capital of 

 Carrick was once the winter residence of many noble families ; and in 

 it waa held the court of Bailliety for the] district. At the eost end of 



