BAH 



197 



BAH 



Bafcam* spheres, that had ever been undertaken. The island 

 Bahar. w hi c h was thus honoured was St Salvadore, to which 



l * v English mariners have given the name of Call Island. 



Here Columbus erected a cross ; and, taking posses- 

 sion of it in t! - name of his Catholic majesty, gave it 

 the appellation which it still bears. The more import- 

 ant and inviting regions, however, which he afterwards 

 discovered, prevented him from making any permanent 

 settlements in St Salvadore ; and the Bahamas were 

 completely neglected, till, about the year 1629, the 

 English, then animated with all the ardour of adven- 

 ture, began to plant on the island of Providence, which 

 had hitherto been uninhabited. Some years after, Cap- 

 tain Sayle, an English mariner, then on a voyage to 

 Carolina, was forced, by stress of weather, to land on 

 one of these isles ; and, on his return to England, 

 made so favourable a report of their soil and climate, 

 that a grant of them was solicited and obtained by 

 six of the proprietaries of Carolina. Sayle soon af- 

 ter visited them a second time, and gave the English 

 government such a flattering account of the advan- 

 tage which might be derived from the possession of 

 the island of Providence in particular, that they were 

 induced to send out thither a governor and colony, 

 about the year 1672. This settlement, however, 

 . * was so much harassed by Spanish pirates, that it be- 



came necessary to abandon Providence, and all the 

 Bahama islands. They now became the resort of 

 pirates, who annoyed the American trade to such a 

 degree, that the English government was at length 

 compelled to take some strong measure in order to 

 reduce them. In the year 1721, King George I. 

 on the conclusion of peace with Spain, sent out a 

 force to dislodge these outlaws, and to fortify and 

 settle the island of Providence. The Bahamas, how- 

 ever, have never risen to any degree of importance 

 among the other islands in this immense commercial 

 archipelago. Such, indeed, was their insignificance, 

 that scarcely any information could be obtained con- 

 cerning them, even by the lords of the committee of 

 council for the affairs of trade and plantations. " To 

 the inquiries of their lordships, in 1789," says Mr 

 Bryan Edwards, " as to the extent of territory in 

 these islands, the quantity of land in cultivation, the 

 number of white inhabitants, productions, exports, 

 Sec. the only answer that could be obtained from the 

 governor, was, that it was at that time impossible to 

 ascertain any of those particulars. It appears, how- 

 ever, from the testimony of other persons, that these 

 islands are in general rocky and barren ; that the 

 only article cultivated for exportation is cotton, of 



p which the medium export is 1500 bags, of 2 cwt. 



each ; that the inhabitants (who, in 1773, consisted of 

 2052 whites, and 2241 blacks) have of late years 

 been considerably augmented by emigrants from 

 North America ; but of their present numbers no 

 precise account is given." See Edward's History of 

 the West Indies, vol. i. p. 574, Svo edit, (fi) 



BAHAR, the name of one of the eleven provin- 

 ces into which Hindostan was divided t>y Acbaf. 

 It is situated to the west of Bengal, and is about 

 250 miles long, and 200 broad. Wheat, rice, and 

 pease, are produced in considerable quantities, and 

 the province furnishes the greater part of the salt- 

 petre which is imported by the East India company, 



and a considerable proportion of the cottons 3ent to- 

 England to be printed. The chief produce of this 

 province is opium, which is now become a most im- 

 portant article of commerce, from the great demand 

 tor this drug in China, into which it is smuggled 

 with the connivance of the government. The reve- 

 nue of Bahar under Aureng-zebe was 101^ lacks of 

 rupees. Patna is the capital of the province, the 

 greater part of which belongs to the British. See 

 Eraser's History of Nadir Shah, p. 34.; Hodge's 

 Travels in India, p. 44. ; and Valentia's Travels, 

 vol. i. p. 91. ( ) 



BAHIA de Todos i.os Sanctos, or San Sal- 

 vador, the name of the chief town of a rich pro- 

 vince of the same name in Brazil. It is situated on 

 the eastern side of All Saints' Bay, on a rocky foun- 

 dation, often 600 feet above the level of the sea, and 

 is defended by a numerous garrison, and by several 

 forts and batteries. The revenue of the city is part- 

 ly derived from exorbitant duties on merchandize, but 

 chiefly from the Brazil wood, and from the produce 

 of the gold and diamond mines in the neighbourhood. 

 The trade of Bahia with Lisbon and Oporto is car- 

 ried on by means of about 50 vessels, which supply 

 the province with linen, woollen, silks, hats, wheat, 

 flour, rice, wine, furniture, bacalhao, cheese, salt, 

 and the manufactures of Europe and India ; and 

 carry back gold, cotton, sugar, coffee, tobacco, skins, 

 and a variety of woods, balsams, and gums. The 

 province of Bahia extends about 50 leagues along 

 the coast. Provisions are very dear, and the climate 

 unhealthy. The population of the city is nearly 

 100,000 ; of which 30,000 are whites, 30,000 people 

 of colour, and 40,000 negroes. E. Long. 39, N. 

 Lat. 12" 30'. See Lindley's Narrative, Svo. 1805, 

 p. 271. j and Sir.G. Staunton's Embassy to China, 

 vol. i. See also Brazil and St Salvador, (o) 



BAHR el Abiad. I c a 



nAoij a r See Abyssinia. 



J3AHR el Azrek.J 



BAHRIN, or Bahiirein, or B iharem, a word 

 signifying tivo seas, is the name of a group of small 

 islands situated on the western side of the Persian 

 gulf, and long famous for their pearl fishery. The 

 chief islands are Aval or Bahrin, Samahe, and Arad, 

 or Ennebi Salehh. The Bahrin inlands once be- 

 longed to the Portuguese, but afterwards fell into 

 the hands of the Persians and Arabians, who obtained 

 alternate possession of them. They now belong to 

 the Schiek of Busheer ; but the revenue which he 

 derives from them has been much diminished by the 

 obstinacy of the Houls, a tribe of Arabs between 

 Gombroon and Cape Bardistan, who refuse to pay 

 duty for the privilege of fishing pearls. The unequal 

 pearls are sent to Constantinople, and other parts of 

 Turkey, and the perfect ones are exported to Surat, 

 from which they are diffused over the whole of Hin- 

 dostan. The fishing vessels, amounting according to 

 some to 3000, and only to 300 according to others, 

 pay several duties, one to the king of Persia, another 

 to the sultan of Bahrin, and a third to the prince to 

 whom the fishermen are subject. The pearls found 

 here sometimes weigh 50 grains, but in general then- 

 weight is only about 10 or 12 grains. The inhabi- 

 tants of Bahrin obtain from Surat their cloths and 

 sjlk6, by means of Moorish merchants. A lack f 



Eahia 

 I 



Bahri. 



