G58 



nabi. Before the revolution of the colonies, 

 the whole coast of the Mosquitos, from Cape 

 Gracias a Dios to the Rio Chagre, compre- 

 hending the Island San Andres, had been sepa- 

 rated, by the royal cedule of the 30th Novem- 

 ber, 1803, from the Capitania general of Gua- 

 timala, and added to New Grenada. We find, 

 for the mean extent of a department of Colum- 

 bia, 7700 square marine leagues ; for the mean 

 extent of a province, 2400 square leagues ; one 

 of the twelve new departments of Columbia con- 

 sequently exceeds in extent thirty-three times, 

 and one of the thirty-eight provinces twelve 

 times a department of France (Vol. vi, p. 187). 

 The mean population of a department of 

 Columbia, of which the surface is equal to 

 twice that of Portugal, is 232,000 souls, that is, 

 half less than the mean population of a depart- 

 ment of France. Venezuela, that is the antient 

 Capitania general of Caraccas, has nearly half 

 the surface of the actual presidency of Bengal, 

 but its relative population is thirty-six times 

 less. Nothing is more striking than this dif- 

 ference between the antient civilization of 

 India, and those countries of South America 

 where mankind appears to be a colony recently 

 established. In the tables of population of the 

 fine map of Indostan, published by Mr. Carey, 

 in 1824, under the auspices of Colonel Valentine 

 Blacker, chief of the geographical engineers at 



