BOUNDARIES, EXTENT OF VENEZUELA. 79 



lower Orinoco and the Rio Branco basins. At the eastern extremity of the 

 Pacaraima range Mount Roraima forms the present corner-stone where con- 

 verge the frontiers of Venezuela, Brazil, and British Guiana. 



Nevertheless, the boundaries farther east are still in dispute. Here the 

 English occupy, besides the Essequibo basin and part of the Orinoco basin, a 

 vast region some 36,000 square miles in extent, which is claimed by the Vene- 

 zuelans as part of their domain. But the British Government and the settlers 

 in Guiana value its possession all the more that it is conterminous with the 

 Venezuelan goldtields of the upper Guy uni, and also contains auriferous deposits 

 itself. 



In the direction of the north-west the English have extended their acquisi- 

 tions as far as the mouth of the Orinoco. Here the Amacuro river and the channel 

 separating Barima Island from the mainland may be regarded as already forming 

 part of the great delta. Thanks to this position at the entrance of the Orinoco, 

 Great Britain may hope some day to acquire the political and commercial supre- 

 macy in the whole of the delta region, facing which is the important military 

 and trading station of Trinidad. 



Since the days of Walter Raleigh, England has several times attempted to 

 penetrate into the interior of the continent through this gateway. In the 

 "Archives of the Indies" there exists a Spanish map, dated 1591, on which 

 figures a large island in the m.iddle of the delta with the legend : " Aqui estan los 

 Ingleses," that is, " Here are the English." In 1808 the British Government 

 occupied various points of the delta, where its farthest station, standing on a 

 height between the Orinoco branches and the Guarapiche river, commanded both 

 the entrance of the navigable channels and of the Serpent's Mouth. This 

 rstrategic point was even spoken of as a future " Gibraltar," and although it has 

 since been abandoned, the Venezuelans want also to recover Barima Island and all 

 the coastlands as far as Maruca, near Cape Nassau. They are also anxious to 

 secure their goldfields on the Cuyuni river from any risk of annexation. But 

 they can hardly hope for success in a diplomatic struggle with Great Britain. 

 They might no doubt easily obtain the good offices of the United States, but are 

 afraid of the danger of a protectorate, powerful allies often exacting too high a 

 price for their services. England has hitherto declined to submit the question to 

 .arbitration.* 



Extent — Population — Cartography. 



Within the actual limits recognised by Colombia and Great Britain, Vene- 

 zuela still comprises an enormous territory out of all proportion to its scanty 

 population. The superficial area was approximately estimated in 1893 at about 

 530,000 square miles, occupied by scarcely 2,200,000 inhabitants. The greater 

 part of the territory, a wilderness roamed by a few scattered wild tribes, is still 

 an almost unknown region from the geographical point of view. Certain tracts 

 bordering on British Guiana, and more especially those conterminous with Brazil, 



* And will continue to do so until Venezuela withdraws her claim to the Barima district, and gives 

 up some other utterly preposterous demands. — Ed. 



