,314 B O U 
tuti'on was dedroyed by a hurricane. The French, how¬ 
ever, went to work again ; and, after i’orae acquaintance 
with the climate, I'ucceeded better, and added aloes to the 
red of their plantations : but receiving no fuccour from 
Madagafcar, and being tired of living by themfelves, 
they readily embraced the offer of an Engliih captain, and 
in 1658 embarked for Madras. When the lad great blow 
was given to the French at Madagafcar by the natives, 
who fut prifed and cut them off in one night, there efcap- 
ed as many men, as with their wives, who were natives, 
filled two canoes; and thefe, being driven by the wind on 
the ifie of Bourbon, were the next let of people who in¬ 
habited it. This colony, for want of an opportunity to 
remove, were condrained to cultivate this new country, 
and to remain in it. It was not long before a further dock 
of inhabitants arrived. A pirate who had committed de¬ 
predations in the Indies, returning to Europe, ran adtore 
and was diipwrecked upon the rocks, fo that the crew were 
forced to join themfelves to the former inhabitants; and 
as they had on-board a great many Indian women whom 
they had made prifoners, they lived with them, and in 
probed of time had a numerous poderity. As the Ead 
India (hips touched frequently here, when too late to dou¬ 
ble the Cape, many of the bailors, for tlqe fake of the wo¬ 
men, deferted at the time of their departure, and daying 
behind became planters in the ifle of Bourbon. As the 
place grew more populous, the people became more civi¬ 
lized ; and, being defirous of living in a more commodious 
manner, were induced to build fmall vefiels, that they 
might fometimes make a trip to Madagafcar, to purchafe 
Haves, whom they employed in their plantations to culti¬ 
vate aloes, tobacco, and other things, in which they traded 
when (hips of any nation anchored in their roads for the 
fake of refrelhments. In this fituation they were, when 
the French Ead-India company put in their claim ; and, 
affuming the property of the ifland, lent thither five or fix 
families, and a governor. At fird the inhabitants expected 
to reap fome benefit from their new matters ; but finding 
very little, and thinking the governor took too much upon 
him, they revolted at the indigation of a pried, feized 
their governor and put him into a dungeon, where he died 
of hunger and grief. For this fome of the ringleaders 
were puniflied, a kind of fort was erected, fome guns plac¬ 
ed on it, and a new governor was fent over. Among thefe 
people the ufual didinction of whites and blacks entirely 
fails: for even the free are of different colours ; and a 
French w riter allures us, that he faw in a church one fa¬ 
mily, confiding of five generations, of all complexions. 
The elded was a female, 108 years of age, of a brown 
black, like the Indians of Madagafcar; her daughter, a 
mulatto ; her grand-daughter, a meftizo ; her great grand¬ 
daughter, of a dufky yellow ; her daughter, again, of an 
olive colour ; and the daughter of this lad, as fair as any 
Englidi girl of the fame age. Thefe peo.ple are, generally 
Ipeaking, of a quiet difpofition; very indudrious; and fub- 
miflive to authority, provided it is exercifed with tolerable 
equity ; for otherwife the whole of them are apt to rife in 
rebellion at once ; and the Haves have fo little reafon to 
complain of their niaders, that they are always on the fame 
fide. The ifland is divided into Jour quarters. The fird 
js that of St. Paul, which is the larged'and bed peopled : 
their lioufes are built at the foot of a deep mountain, on 
both (ides of a frefh-water lake. The quarter of St. Den¬ 
nis lies feven leagues from that of St. Paul, towards the 
ead, where the governor refides. At two leagues didance, 
is the quarter of St. Mary’s, which is but thinly peopled. 
The lad and mod fertile quarter is that of St. Sufannah, 
which is at the didance of four leagues from St. Dennis. 
There are many goud roads for (hipping round the ifland, 
particularly on the north and fouth fides ; but hardly a 
(ingle harbour where the (hips can ride fee tire again d thofe 
hurricanes which blow during the monfoons. Indeed the 
coad is fo furrounded with rocks, funk a few feet below 
the water, that entrance into the harbours, at lead coad- 
itjg along the lliore, is at all times dangerous. On the 
BOV 
.fouthern extremity there is a volcano, which continually 
throws up flame, fmoke, and fulphur, with a hideous 
roaring noife, terrible in the night to mariners. The cli¬ 
mate, though intenfely hot, is healthy, being refrefhed by 
cooling gales that blow morning and evening from the fea 
or land. Sometimes, however, terrible hurricanes (hake 
the whole ifland, and affright the inhabitants ; but gene¬ 
rally without any other bad confequence. No country can 
be more happily watered than Bourbon ; every fide of it 
is refrefhed by rivulets, fprings, and murmuring brooks, 
which tumble in delightful cafcades down the crevices and 
chinks of the mountain into the fea. The ifland now a- 
bounds in fruit, grafs, and cattle. It produces excellent 
tobacco, aloes, coffee, white pepper, ebony, palm, and 
other kinds of wood and fruit-trees, fpontaneoufly. (t 
.yields wood fit for fhip-building, and a great variety of 
trees that afford odoriferous gums and relins; among the 
red, benzoin, of an excellent kind, and in great abundance. 
■Notwithdanding the quantity of white pepper fhrubs, they 
could never difeover either the plant that bears the black 
pepper, or cubebs, though this lad has been frequently 
found with the inhabitants. The rivers are well docked 
with fiih, the coads with land and fea tortoifes, every part 
of the country with horned cattle, as well as hogs and 
goats. Ambergrife, coral, and the mod beautiful (hells, 
are gathered upon the drore. The woods are filled with 
game, fuch as turtle-doves, paroquets, pigeons, and a 
great variety of other birds. Lat. 22. 5. S. Ion. 55. 20. E. 
Greenwich. In 1748, admiral Bofcawen appeared before 
this ifiand with a Britifh fleet; but found it fo well fortified 
both by nature and art, that he was obliged, after canno¬ 
nading to very little purpofe, to purfue his voyage. 
BOUR'BON, a county of the United States of America, 
in Kentucky. 
BOUR'BON L’ARCHAMBAU'D, a town of France, 
in the department of the Allier, and chief place of a can¬ 
ton, in the didritfl of Cerily, which gave name to a coun¬ 
try, and the lioufe of Bourbon ; celebrated for its hot me¬ 
dicinal waters and baths. It contains two hofpitals, and 
about two thoufand fouls : four leagues wed of Moulins. 
BOUR'BON LAN'CY, a town of France, and .princi¬ 
pal place of a didrift, in the department of the Saone and 
Loire, celebrated for its medicinal fprings. It contains 
three parilhes and two hofpitals. Near it are found ruins, 
which bear evidence of its former magnificence: fifteen 
leagues wed-north-wed of Macon, and nine and a half 
fouth-wed of Autun. 
BOUR'BON, a fmall idand of Africa, near the coad of 
Senegal. Lat. 11. N.-Ion. 15. W. Greenwich. 
BOUR'BON, Family of, were the lad reigning princes 
in the kingdom of France. Henry IV. in 1589, though 
of the tenth generation, was the neared heir, and fuc- 
ceeded Henry III. (the lad of the Valois race,) whofe bro¬ 
ther Francis 11 . married Mary queen of Scots, and both 
died without iffue. Louis XVI. was the fifth king of this 
family in fucceflion. The Bourbon family alfo mounted the 
throneofSpainin 1700, by PhilipV. grandfon toLouisXIV. 
which was (lie occafion of the long and bloody war that 
ended in tlie peace of Utrecht. A branch of theSpanidi 
family likewife mounted the throne of the two Sicilies in 
j 7-34. Thefe three branches entered into a treaty offenfive 
and defenfive in 1761, which has ever (ince been didin- 
guifhed by the name of the family comhaEl. 
BOUR'BONNE LES BAINS, a town of France, and 
principal place of a didried, in the department of the Up¬ 
per Marne, Celebrated for its hot baths: lix leagues ead- 
north-ead of Langres. 
BOUR BONNOI'S, before the revolution, a province of 
France, bounded on the ead by Burgundy, on the north 
and wed by Nivernoisand Berry, and on tile fouth by Au¬ 
vergne;-the climate is very temperate, and the country 
abounds in corn, hemp, fruit, wine, padurage, and wood ; 
there are fome mines of coal, and medicinal fprings. 
BOUR'BOURG, a town of France, in the department 
of the North, and chief place of a canton, in the didrifd 
of 
