746 



BRITAIN. 



Britain. 



W 



Wagrara, battle of, 70t 

 Walcheren, expedition to, 



705 



enquiry into the po- 

 licy of the, 7 10 

 Lord Porcliestcr's 

 speech on the, ib. 

 LordCastlereagh's speech 



on the, 711 

 Mr Grattan's speech on 



the, 712 



Wales, Prince of. See Prince. 

 Walpole, Sir Robert, made 



prime minister, 625 

 Washington avoids a gener- 

 "" al battle, 643 

 his successes against 



the British, <i i t 

 Wcllcsley, Sir Arthur, lands 

 with an army in 

 Portugal, filKi 



Wellesley defeats the French 

 at Vimeira, 696. 

 See IFi-Uington. 

 Wellington, Lord, defeats the 

 French at Tnlavera, 

 709 



pursues Massena, 730 



defeats the French at 



Fuentes D'Honore, 



731 



West India islands, capture 



of, 661 



Whitelocke, General, dismis- 

 sed his majesty's service, 

 684 

 Wilkes, John, proceedings 



against, 635 

 expelled from the House 



of Commons, 637 

 William, Prince of Orange, 

 married to the Prin- 

 cess Mary, 580 



William, his conduct and 

 views, G09 



invited to deliver Eng. 

 land ib. 



prciposes to invade Eng- 

 land, ib. 



lands his army in Tor- 

 bay, 610 



is joined by the English 

 nobility, ib. 



advances to London, ib. 



assembles the members 

 of the parliaments of 

 Charles II. 611 



and Mary elected to the 

 throne, 611 



declares war against 

 France, ib. 



sends an army to Ire- 

 land, 612 



his disputes with par- 

 liament, 610 



INDEX. 



William, his death and cha- 

 racter, K1G 

 Windham, Mr, his speech on 



reform, 701 

 examination of, 702 

 Wolfe, General, reduces Que- 

 bec, 632 

 his death, ib. 



Wyoming destroyed by the 

 Indians, 64T 



York taken by the parliamen- 

 tary army, 583 

 York, Duke of, investigations 



respecting the, 700 

 resigns his office of com- 

 mander in chief, 700 



Zealand, invasion of, by the 

 British, 68T 



Brtti 





Britain, 

 Brittany. 



BRI 



BRITAIN, NEW. See LABRADOR. 



BRITAIN, NEW, the name of a considerable island 

 i in the South Pacific Ocean, situated at the eastern ex- 

 tremity of Papua or New Guinea, from which it is se- 

 parated by the straits of Dampier, so called from the 

 navigator who first explored this island. New Ire- 

 land is a long island, situated to the east of New 

 Britain. The general aspect of the island, which is 

 well peopled, is woody and mountainous, enlivened 

 with beautiful streams and fruitful valleys. Cocoa 

 nuts, yams, ginger, and other roots, are among the 

 productions of New Britain. There are several vol- 

 canoes, both in this and in the circumjacent islands. 

 Latitude between 4 and 6 50' south ; and longi- 

 tude between 148 20', and 151 20' east. See 

 NEW GUINEA. (n>) 



BRITTANY, or BRETAGNE, one of the old pro- 

 vinces of France, bounded by Anjou, Normandy, and 

 the Main on the east, by Poitou partly on the south, 

 and by the sea on the west and north, so as to form 

 a peninsula. 



Brittany was formerly one of the most considerable 

 provinces of France, both from its extent, and from 

 the number and riches of its inhabitants. It stretch- 

 ed about 65 leagues from east to west, and about 44 

 from north to soutii. Its extent, according to 

 Necker, was 1174 square leagues, or 1801 accord- 

 ing to a later writer, M. Bonvallet Desbrosses. 

 The first of these authors reckons the population 

 at 2,276,000, being 1282 inhabitants for every 

 square league; while the latter makes it 1,620,900, 

 which gives only about 900 souls for every square 

 league. 



The climate of Brittany is mild, excepting near 

 the coast, where the air is loaded with vapours. The 

 soil consists chiefly of a gravelly sand, and the face of 



BRI 



the country is diversified with hills and plains. In 

 many parts there are extensive heaths, like those of ' 

 Cornwall, some of which are covered to a great ex- 

 tent with forests of wood. 



The principal productions of this province are 

 wheat, barley, oats, rye, flax, hemp, and wood. In 

 the fertile districts of Vannoig and St Brietix, about 

 one half of the barley and rye was exported to Spain 

 and Portugal. The wines of Brittany are chiefly 

 made in the neighbourhood of Nantes and Rhuys, 

 and are generally consumed in the province; but when 

 they are manufactured in great quantities, a consider- 

 able portion of them is converted into brandy. The an- 

 nual consumption of wines sent from Bourdeaux was 

 30,000 tonneaux, each of which contains 460 Paris 

 pints. 



The forests of Brittany, which consist of oaks, 

 beeches, chesnuts, &c. contain about 161,046 jour- 

 naux, and 36 cordes. * Great numbers of cattle, 

 and particularly cows, are fed in the pastxircs, and 

 a considerable commerce in butter is carried on with 

 Anjou. Yellow wax of the very best kind is made 

 in Lower Brittany, and about 150 thousand weight 

 is annually sold. Mines of lead are very abundant. 

 The principal ones are at Carnot, Pontpean, Carce, 

 and Poullaouen. The iron mines are also very con- 

 siderable, but they have not been wrought to any 

 great extent. At Penhouet, where the river Oudon 

 discharges itself into the Vilaine, there is an excellent 

 quarry of slates, which was let at 15,000 livers a year, 

 for nine years, and which can employ about 20O 

 workmen, who manufacture nearly 50,000 weight a 

 day. This slate, though smaller than that of Nantes, 

 is sold at Rcnnes at 22 francs for every thousand 

 weight. In the canton of St Nazaire, there is a field 

 filled with loadstones. Those which lie on the sur- 



\journal is 80 square cordes, A linear corde is 24 feet, and a. square corde 576 square feet or 16 toises. 



