ana sorted to the coast ; and, in 1634, about sixty persons, 
“= partly English ae ee French, under the command 
~~ of a Captain Marshall, were found in Surinam cultiva- 
a tobacco, and making trading be ogg to the neigh- 
_ bouring coasts. In ‘1650, this voluntary settlement 
_ was taken under the protection of Great Britain, and 
Lord Willoughby of Parkham was pepetntes governor; 
but, in 1667, it was taken by the Dutch, and finally 
ceded to them by the treaty of Westminster in 1674, 
in exchange for the a ini of New York. Similar 
settlements were gra ually made by other powers, on 
different parts of the coast ; and the country of Guiana 
has'thus been distributed by phers into four dis- 
tinct divisions ; viz. Spanish Guiana, Dutch Guiana, 
French Guiana, and Portuguese Guiana. Spanish 
» Guiana extends along the coast about thirty leagues 
from the mouth of the Orinoco to Cape Nassau, and runs 
inland about 150 leagues on the south of the Orinoco ; 
Dutch Guiana lies between Cape Nassau and the river 
Maroni ; French Guiana between the Maroni and the 
river Carapana; and Portuguese Guiana, between 
the Carapana and the river of the Amazons. The 
more inland part of the country, behind these settle- 
ments, may be considered as a fifth division, and called 
Yndian Guiana. Of these, Spanish Guiana is by far the 
“Most extensive and valuable possession. Its breadth, 
indeed, for the space of 80 leagues eastward, does not 
exceed 30 leagues; but it afterwards widens to more 
than 150 leagues, running along the back of the Dutch 
and French possessions, till it reaches the equinoctial 
line, which separates it from the Portuguese territories. 
It is divided into Upper and Lower Guiana, of which 
the river Caroni may be considered as the separating 
boundary. Lower Guiana is intersected in all direc- 
tions by numerous rivers, which from time immemorial 
have’contributed to increase the vegetable mould on its 
‘surface, so that in point of fertility it is not surpassed 
by any other portion of territory in the American con- 
tinent. But, for the space of 30 leagues from the coast, 
it is completely occupied by the Caribs, the most fero- 
cious of the Indian tribes, who have hitherto massacred 
every <a missionary or settler, who ventured to 
approach their habitations ; and whose hostility to the 
Spaniards, the Dutch have been accused of fomenting, 
for eh aa of extending their commerce along the 
coast of Spanish Guiana. The city of Saint Thomas, 
the capital of Spanish Guiana, is situated on the right 
bank of the Orinoco, about 90 leagues from the mouth 
of the river ; and is the residence of a governor and a 
bishop. Its streets are larly built and well paved ; 
and its climate pure aid healtiyy ; but its port is in- 
commodious, and its distance from the coast unfavour- 
able to its’ commercial prosperity. From this port of 
Guiana, were exported, from 1791 to 179%, 10,380 
oxen, and’3140 mules, all either bred in the province or 
brought from Varinas; an:|, in return, were imported 
200. , and 349,448" piastres in specie. From 
1791 to 1795 the silver exported to Europe amounted 
to 25,203 piastres, and the commodities to 363,397 
piastres. But this commerce is said to have greatly di- 
minished. The population of Spanish Guiana, exclu- 
sive of the ion occupied by the Caribs near the 
coast, is estimated only at 34.000, of which 19,425 In- 
s are under the jurisdiction of the missionaries, 
6575 reside in the capital, and the remaining 8000 are 
stattered through the different villages. Farther par- 
ticulars respecting the political and ecclesiastical state 
of this province will be found under the articles Ca- 
rAccAs and Ortnoco; and for an account of the other 
European settlements on the coast of Guiana, we refer to 
GUIANA. 
541 
the articles Benarce, Cayenne, Demenany, Suniwam, 
&c. In the present article we confine ourselves to such 
topics as may be considered common to them all, espe- 
eially to the natural history of Guiana, comprising its 
a climate, native productions, original inhabitants, 
Guiana was originally called by some navigators the 
wild coast; and its shores, accessible onl by the 
mouths of its rivers, are every where covered by dan- 
ous banks, quicksands, rocks, and imp le 
ickets. Its appearance from the sea is wild and un- 
cultivated ; and it is so low and flat, that, even where 
there are plantations along the coast, there is nothing 
visible at first, but a continued forest standing close to 
the beach; so that the country appears as a cluster of 
trees growing out of the water. The European settlers, 
icularly the Dutch, attempted at first to cultivate 
the banks of the rivers, at a considerable distance from 
the coast; but, by the example of the British, were 
persuaded to extend their plantations along the shore, 
where the soil is remarkably fertile, and adapted for 
every variety of tropical production. The ground, for 
a considerable way up the country, is every where 
level ; and so low, that, during the rainy season, it is 
usually covered with water nearly two feet in height. 
This renders the soil so rich, that, on the surface, for 
12 feet in depth, it is a stratum-of perfect manure, and 
has been actually carried to Barbadoes for that purpose. 
In some places, 30 crops of rice can be raised in suc- 
cession ; whereas, in the West India islands, not more 
than two is ever expected from the richest lands. The 
whole country is intersected by deep swamps or marshes, 
numerous rivers, and extensive savannahs, The interior 
has been little explored ; but, in proceeding inland, it 
becomes more hilly, and the soil poorer, sometimes 
rocky, and often sandy. It is covered with immense 
forests, rocks, and mountains; and, in some of the lat- 
ter, a variety of mineral substances are. found. The 
most prominent objects are a lake called Parima, whose 
extent varies with the seasons; and a chain of moun- 
tains called Mei, nearly parallel with the form of the 
coast. From these mountains, rivers flow in every di- 
rection ; some, like the Essequibo, falling into the At- 
lantic; some, like the Caroni, joining the Orinoco ; 
and others, like the Ric Blanco, uniting with the river 
of the Amazons. 
Guiana. 
Aspect, 
The climate of Guiana is the mildest and most 8a- Cyjmate. 
lubrious of an 4 om country hitherto inhabited by 
Europeans. This been ascribed principally to the 
regular Weel Fe of the trade-wind over the surface of 
a-vast tract of ocean, which thus carries a 
stream of cool air over Guiana from east to west; 
while, on the opposite coast of Africa, the same ee 
torial wind, coming over land, is heated with the sultry 
vapours of sandy daeits Besides this general flow of 
the whole atmosphere in a westerly direction, there is 
a daily lateral fluctuation, termed the sea-breeze and 
the land-breeze ; the former, which is the cooler of the 
two, blowing from the north-east during the day, 
temperating the ardour of noon ; and the latter, which 
is the warmer of the two, blowing from-the south-east 
during the night, preventing too rapid a_chillness. 
The range of the thermometer on the coast, during the 
whole year, is from 72 to 87 ; and, between two or three 
hundred miles up-the country, it is from 654 to 84, 
Instead of the cold and the warm seasons of Europe, 
the year is divided by the rainy and the dry seasons, 
which may be termed the winter and summer of the 
country. But, in Guiana, there may be said to be an- 
nually two winters or wet seasons, and two summers 
