SAN 
659 
SAN 
chan ges which Santorin has experienced in consequence of 
the e ifects of a volcano, that has acted in it from a very 
■remote era, we may discover four principal periods, very 
distinct from one another. At the first period the island 
was limited to mounts St. Stephen and St. Elias, as far as 
the environs of Pyrgos and Messaria, the only places that 
are not volcanized. The second was the formation of the 
rest of the island as far as Therasia or Aspronisi. The road¬ 
stead did not then exist, and the island was as large again, 
of a rounded or oblong form. The third period was that of 
the sudden and extraordinary depression, which took place 
in the middle of the island, from which has resulted the 
roadstead. The fourth and last period was that of the for¬ 
mation of those islands, which have successively issued from 
the bottom of the sea. If we consider what Santorin must 
have been at its second period, from what it is still at this 
day, we shall easily be persuaded, that it must have been 
one of the finest and the most fertile islands of the Archipe¬ 
lago. Its circular form, a soil susceptible of culture, which 
rose by degrees from the border of the sea, in the form of a 
calotte, flattened at its top, St. Stephen and St. Elias, situated 
at one of the extremities, covered perhaps with verdure and 
wood ; every thing concurred to render Santorin, if not a 
very beautiful island, at least one of the most agreeable of 
the Archipelago ; for on the supposition that this mountain 
was covered with vegetables, it contributed to the embellish¬ 
ment of the island; it furnished the inhabitants with wood, 
and probably afforded them a very copious spring of water. 
At the present .day, notwithstanding the small extent of its 
territory being estimated at seven or eight leagues in circuit, 
though it wants a good harbour, and has only cistern water, 
Santorin is still the most populous and the richest of all the 
small islands of the Archipelago. On the south part of 
Santorin was built, on the summit of a mountain, now 
called St. Stephen’s mountain, a flourishing town, the ca¬ 
pital of the island, bearing the name of Thera. Its ruins 
still attest its ancient magnificence. Here was a temple de¬ 
dicated to Neptune, and another to Apollo, to whom the 
whole island was consecrated. Several inscriptions and mo¬ 
numents, and particularly two large statues, erected in ho¬ 
nour of the emperors Marcus Aurelius and Antoninus, are 
mentioned by those who have visited the island, and indi¬ 
cate the populous and flourishing state of this island under 
the Roman empire. On this island are reckoned five prin¬ 
cipal villages, in each of which is a primate; viz., Pyrgos, 
Apanomeria, Scauro, Emborio, and Acroteri. The pri¬ 
mates, distinguished by the name of “ Epitropi,” are 
charged with the police of their respective districts, with con¬ 
voking the inhabitants for public purposes, &c.; they are 
renewed every year, and appointed by the general assemblies 
of the people. Besides these five principal villages, there 
are several others of less note, such as Merevelli, Vour- 
voulo, Phiro-Stephani, Phira, Gonia, Carterado, Votona, 
Messaria, and Megalo-Chorio. The population, according 
to Sonnini, consists of 8000 or 10,000 inhabitants, but ac¬ 
cording to Olivier, exceeds 12,000 souls; almost all of the 
Greek church. In Tournefort’s time, the number of Roman 
Catholics amounted to one-third of the inhabitants; but at 
present they do not form one-sixth. Here are two bishops, 
the one Latin and the other Greek, and two convents of 
nuns of the same description. The Greek priests are nume¬ 
rous and poor. The inhabitants share, in common with 
several other islands, the advantage of having no Turks 
among them. They are very laborious, diligent, and tem¬ 
perate. They apply themselves with incredible activity to 
the culture of the vine and that of cotton. The women 
manufacture cloth of different qualities; they also knit caps 
and stockings, which they sell to strangers, and send to 
Russia, and to some towns of Italy. Wine forms the prin¬ 
cipal revenue of the island ; and the most esteemed is that 
known under the name of “ vino santo.” At a proper age 
it is preferable to the best Cyprus wine. The quantity of 
wine annually exported is reckoned at a million of okes. 
Hence is also exported a small quantity of brandy. Although 
the soil of the island is very dry, and far from fertile, the 
cotton-tree and the vine thrive extremely well. The land 
is not good enough for wheat. Only a little barley and some 
legumes are gathered. Fruit-trees are very scarce; the fig- 
tree and the almond-tree are almost the only ones cultivated. 
A few sheep, goats, and hogs are bred. Asses and mules are 
made use of for draught; oxen are seldom employed for 
ploughing. No fuel is used besides wood and charcoal, 
which are brought from the coast of Asia, or the lentisk, 
which the inhabitants cut at Hiera, and on some neighbour¬ 
ing islands. The partridge and the hare, though common 
in most islands of the Archipelago, are very scarce at Santo¬ 
rin ; but quails are very plentiful; and these they are in the 
habit of parboiling, and preserving through the winter in 
vinegar, or in vino santo. 
The villages situated on the summit of the intersected 
ground of the roadstead present a very singular aspect. The 
houses are cut into the pumice-stone, half built on the out¬ 
side of it, and placed one above the other, according to the 
disposition of the ground. The part which is elevated on 
the outside is levelled at the top like a terrace, by means of a 
mixture of lime-stone and pumice-stone sifted. The poorest 
villages are merely an assemblage of caverns made in the 
pumice-stone. Pyrgos is the most considerable, the best 
built, and the richest village of the island ; the air is pure and 
the prospect agreeable. All the houses have a cistern, which 
cisterns are carefully filled in the rainy season, as the inha¬ 
bitants have no other water to drink or to give to their cattle. 
From the top of the mountains of Santorin may be discovered 
the island of Candia, distant about 18 leagues. 
The road of Santorin is about seven miles in length from 
north to south, and six in breadth from the little harbour of 
Phira to the island of Aspronisi. It would be one of the best 
ports of the Archipelago, if ships could anchor there; boats 
anchor at San Nicolo. Two leagues to the south-west of 
Santorin lie two islets, little known and uninteresting. They 
are named the “ Great and Little Christiana.” Lat. 36. 
28. N. long. 25. 36. E. Sonnini. Olivier , 
SANTOS, a town and port of Brazil, in the captaincy of 
St. Paul’s. It is a place of considerable trade, being the 
storehouse of the province, and the resort of many vessels 
trading to the Rio de la Plata. It is tolerably well-built, and 
its population, consisting chiefly of merchants, shopkeepers, 
and artificers, amounts to 6 or 7000. The situation is by 
no means healthy, as the country around is low, woody, and 
frequently deluged with rain, by reason of the high moun¬ 
tains in its vicinity, which impede the passage of the clouds. 
Several rivulets flowing from the foot of these mountains 
intersect the land in various directions, and unite in one great 
river, a little above the town of Santos. The rice of this 
district, which is grown in great quantities, is considered the 
best in Brazil, and the bananas are equally noted. 
From this port the Spanish territories, as well as Rio 
Grande, receive a great proportion of their sugar, coffee, rum, 
rice, mandioca, indigo, &c.; in return they bring hides and 
tallow, which are generally exported hence to Europe. The 
Portuguese send much of their produce to the Spanish colo¬ 
nies, and are generally ill-paid; but the shortness of the 
voyage, and the want of other markets, tempt many young 
men to speculate, notwithstanding the heavy duties, and the 
numberless petty obstacles, with which their neighbours have 
impeded and encumbered this commerce. As Santos is the 
embarking place of St. Paul’s, its intercourse with that town 
is very considerable. In the course of a day several hundred 
mules frequently arrive, laden with the produce of the 
country, and return with salt, iron, copper, earthenware, and 
European manufactures. For the traffic of its immediate 
vjcinity, it has the convenience of water-carriage, its river 
being navigable about 20 miles, up to Cuberton, where an 
officer with a guard of soldiers is stationed to receive the 
king’s duties, for the repair of the roads and other public 
purposes. The harbour of Santos has a safe entrance, and is 
very secure ; it is a strait, having the island of St. Vincent 
to the left, for the extent of half a mile, when it takes a dif¬ 
ferent direction. Here is situated the port, which has good 
anchorage, with regular soundings towards the shore, which 
shoals 
