A M E R I C A. 433- 
rivers, and mountains, \v!i'icli feparate it from Amazonia 
and the Spanifh poffeffions. On the coaft are three final! 
iilands, where fliips touch for provifions on their voyage 
to the South Seas, viz. Fernando, St. Barbaro, and St. 
Catharine’s. It was' accidentally difcovered by the Por- 
tuguefe in 1500; 
Cayenne is bounded north and eaft, by the Atlantic 
Ocean; fouth, by the Amazon river; and weft, by Guiana 
or Surinam. It extends 240 miles along the coaft of 
Guiana, and nearly 300 miles within land, lying between 
the equator and the 5th degree of north latitude. The 
land along the coaft is low, and very fubjeft to inundations 
during the rainy feafons, from the multitude of rivers 
which 3 ru(h down from the mountains with great impetu- 
ofity. Here the atmofphere is very hot, moift, and un- 
wholefome, el'pecially where the woods are not cleared 
away; but on the higher parts, where the trees are cut 
down, and the ground laid out in plantations, the air is 
more healthy, and the heat great, mitigated by the Tea 
breezes. The foil in many parts is very fertile, producing 
fugar, tobacco, Indian corn, fruits, and other neceflaries 
of life. The French took pofleflion of this in 1635. 
Surinam is the only province belonging to the Dutch 
on the continent of America, and is fttuated between 5 0 
and 7 0 north latitude, having the mouth of the Oronoko 
and the Atlantic, on the north ; Cayenne, on the eafi ;’ 
Amazonia, on the fouth ; and Terra Firma on the weft. 
The Dutch claim the whole coaft from the mouth of O- 
ronoko to the river Marowyne, on which are fttuated their 
colonies of Elfequibo, Demerara, Eerbice, and Surinam. 
The latter begins with the river Saramacha, and ends 
with the Marowyne, including a length of coart of one 
hundred and twenty miles. A number of fine rivers pafs 
through this country, the principal of which are Effe- 
quibo° Surinam, Demerara, Bcrbice, and Conya. El¬ 
fequibo is nine miles wide at its mouth, and is more than 
•> 0o miles in length. Surinam is a beautiful river, three 
quarters of a mile wide, navigable for the largeft veflels 
four leagues, and for fmaller veffels fixty or feventy miles 
farther. 0 Its banks, quite to the water’s edge, are covered 
with evergreen mangrove trees, which render the paffage 
up this river very delightful. The Demerara is about 
three quarters of a mile wide where it empties into the 
Surinam, is navigable for large veflels 100 miles; 100 
miles farther are feveral falls of eafy afeent, above which 
it divides into the fouth-weft and fouth-eaft branches. 
Amazonia is fttuated between the equator and 20° fouth 
latitude ; its length is 1400 miles, and its breadth 900 
miles: it is bounded on the north by Terra Firma and 
Guiana; on the eaft by Braiil; on the fouth by Paraguay; 
and on the weft by Peru. The air is cooler in this coun¬ 
try than could be expefted, conlidering it is fttuated in the 
torrid zone. This is partly owing to the heavy rains 
which occafton the rivers to overflow their banks one half 
of the year, and partly to the cloudinefs of the weather, 
which obfeures the fun great part of the time he is above 
the horizon. During the rainy feafon the country is fub- 
jeft to dreadful ftorms of thunder and lightning. 
Patagonia is fttuated between 35 0 and 54 0 fouth latitude; 
its length 1100 miles and its breadth 330: it is bounded- 
ndrth by Chili tend Paragua ; eaft by the Atlantic Ocean ; 
fouth by the Straits of Magellan ; w eft by the Pacific O- 
cean. The climate is faid to be much colder in this coun¬ 
try than in the north under the fame parallels of latitude, 
which is imputed to the Andes, which pafs through it, 
being covered with eternal fnow : it is-almoft impoftible to 
fay what the foil would produce, as it is not at all culti¬ 
vated by the natives. The northern parts, are covered 
with wood, among which is an inexhauftible fund of large 
timber ; but towards the fouth, it is faid, there is not a. 
finale tree large enough to be of ufe to mechanics. There 
are, however, good paftures, which feed incredible num¬ 
bers of horned cattle andhorfes, firft carried there by the 
Spaniards, and now increafed to an amazing degree—For 
the hiftory and prefent (fate of each of thefe provinces, lee 
under their refpeftive names. 
POLITICAL HISTORY , and REVOLUTION^ 
of NO R TH A MERIC A. 
We have feen that America was originally peopled by 
uncivilized nations, who lived moftly by hunting andfifh- 
ing. The Europeans, who firft viftted thefe Ihores, treat¬ 
ing the natives as wild hearts of the forefts, which have 
no property in the woods where they roam, planted the 
ftandard of their refpeftive matters where they firft landed, 
and in their names claimed the country by right of difeo- 
very. Prior to any fettlement in North America, numer¬ 
ous titles of this kind were acquired by the Englifti, 
French, Spanifh, and Dutch, navigators, who came hither 
for the purpofes of fifhing and trading with the natives. 
Slight as fuch titles were, they were afterwards thecaufes 
of contention between the European nations. The fub- 
jefts of different princes often laid claim to the fame traft 
of country, becatife both had difcovered the fame river 
or promontory ; or becaufe the extent of their refpeftive 
claims was undetermined. While the fettlements in this 
vaft uncultivated country were inconftderable and fcat- 
tered, and the trade of it confined to the bartering of a 
few trinkets for furs, a trade carried on by a few adveur- 
turers, the interfering of claims produced no important 
controverfy among the fettlers or the nations of Europe: 
But in proportion to theprogrefs of population, and the 
growth of the American trade, thejealoufies of the na¬ 
tions, which had made early difeoveries and fettlements 
on this coaft, were alarmed ; ancient claims.were revived; 
and each power took meafures to extend and fecure its own 
pofleflions at the cxpence 0/ a rival. 
By the treaty of Utrecht in 17,13, the Englifn claimed, 
a right of cutting logwood in the Bay of Campcachy, in 
South America. In the exercife of this right, the Englifti 
merchants had frequent opportunities of-carrying on a 
contraband trade with the Spanifh fettlements on the con¬ 
tinent. To remedy this evil, the Spaniards refolved to 
annihilate a claim, which, though often acknowledged, 
had never been clearly afeertained. To eff'eft this defign 
they captured the Englifti veflels, which they found along' 
the Spanifh Main, and many of the Britifii fubjefts were 
doomed to work in the mines of Potofi. Repeated feve- 
rities of this kind produced a war between England and 
Spain, in 1739. Porto Bells was taken from the Spaniards 
by admiral Vernon. Commodore Anfon, with a Iquadron 
of fhips, failed to the South Seas, diftrefled the Spanifn 
fettlements on the weftern fliore of America, and took a 
galleon laden with immenfe riches, But, in 1741, a for¬ 
midable armament, deftined to attack Car.thagena, under 
the command of lord Cathcart, returned unfuccefsful, 
with the lofs of upwards 12000 Britifh foldiers andfeamen; 
and the defeat ct the expedition railed a clamour againft 
the minifter, Sir Robert Walpole, which produced a 
change in the adminiftration. This change removed the 
feens of war to Europe, fo that America was not imme¬ 
diately affefted by the fubfequent tranfaftions, except that 
Louifburgh, the principal fortrefs of Cape Breton, was 
taken from the French by general Pepperell, affifted by 
commodore Warren witli a body of New England troops. 
This war ended in 1748, by the treaty of peace ligned at 
Aix-la-Chapelle, by which reftitution was made, on both 
(ides, of all places taken during the war. 
Peace however was of fhort duration. The French 
poflefled Canada, and had made conliderable fettlements 
in Florida, claiming the country on both Tides of the 
Mifliflippi, by right of difeovery. To fecure and extend 
their claims, thev eftablifhed a line of forts from Canada 
to Florida. They had fecured the important pafs at Nia¬ 
gara, and erefted a fort at the junftion of the Allegany 
and Monongahela rivers, called Fort du Ouefne. They 
took pains to fecure the friendfhip and atiillance of the 
natives 5 encroachments were made upon the Englilh pof- 
feflions,. 
