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The coasts of this country were discovered by Columbus in 1502, and most part of it was conquered by the Spaniards before 1524, and it was erected into a Captain-Generalship by the Emperor Charles V., in 1527. The policy adopted by Spain towards Guatemala, was attended with unintentional benefits to the latter. Being only a Captain-Generalship, the scale of its public expenditures was kept down in deference to the higher pretensions of the Spanish Viceroyalties, and as its financial wants were few, taxation pressed lightly on the people. It was not, however, permitted to export more of its native products than were sufficient to pay for the articles the merchants of Cadiz thought necessary to send for its consumption!

Central America was declared independent by the people, on the 15th December, 1821, and was incorporated with Mexico, which had just thrown off the Spanish yoke itself, but on the fall of Iturbide it disconnected itself from that republic, and again formed into a separate, independent government, November 22d, 1824, under the title of the "United States of Central America," and the several provinces were at the same time transformed into independent republics, as far as their own internal affairs were concerned, on the principle adopted in the states of the American Union, the Constitution of which, they chiefly copied in forming their federal fundamental law. The new federal government was organized in April, 1825, Don Manuel José D'Arcé being the first president. On the expiration of D'Arcé's term, in 1830, Gen. Francis Morazan was elected president, and again re-elected to that office in 1835.

In the early part of 1838 civil war broke out between the Indians and whites, and on the 24th of February the city of Guatemala was attacked and captured by the insurgents under General Carrera, a pure blooded Indian, and Señor Salazar, who had been vice-president since the 1st May, 1835, was killed. The government was overpowered, and Carrera ultimately succeeded in gaining the presidency, which he retained until the dissolution of the confederacy, in 1846, and continued governor of the state of Guatemala, over which he ruled with great moderation and wisdom, until 15th August, 1848, when he was overthrown by a stronger party. The dissolution was preceded by a long period of anarchy and bad feeling among the several states, which, though not actually, had been virtually dissolved since 1839. Carrera gave the death-blow to the confederacy by an actual declaration in 1846, but, at the same time, he stated that it was not impossible that, at a future time, and under favorable auspices, for a new alliance to be determined upon. The number of states are now five, viz. Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, San Salvador, and Nicaragua; all forming independent republics, and as such have been recognized by foreign powers, especially by England, which has lately concluded a treaty of alliance and commerce with the state of Guatemala.

Great agitation has lately disturbed the states of Honduras and Nicaragua, in consequence of the advances made by the boy-king of Mosquitia, an imaginary kingdom on the eastern coasts. The merits of the controversy are not as yet understood in the United States, but sufficient is known to arouse a jealous feeling towards the English, under whose protection this soi-disant king is placed, since it is supposed that the objects of England are sinister, and point to some act of usurpation not compatible with American interests. The latest accounts of this affair will be found under the articles "Mosquitia," (p. 67.)

OR, COLUMBIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

THE Islands composing this division of the Western World are situated in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, extending in a curved direction from the southern coast of the United States to the north-east coast of South America. They consist of four large and a number of small islands, besides numerous rocky islets, called cayos or keys, surrounded by or interspersed with coral reefs and sand banks. Their geographical situation is between 10 and 28° north latitude, and 59° 30' and 85° west longitude. They are generally divided into three groups, viz: the Lucayos, or Bahamas; the Greater Antilles; and the Lesser Antilles, or Caribbean Islands. The "Bahamas" consist of fourteen principal and an indefinite number of smaller islands, extending in line off the coast of Florida to the Island of San Domingo, 750 miles. These are chiefly of coral formation,-low, flat, and scantily covered with soil, and most of them uninhabited. The climate is mild and agreeable, being free from the influence of tropical endemics.

The "Greater Antilles" consist of the Islands of Cuba, Porto Rico, Hayti or San Domingo, and Jamaica, the position of which is further west than either the Bahamas or Caribbean Islands.

The "Lesser Antilles" form a long chain, extending in a curved line from Porto Rico to the Gulf of Paria, usually called the "Windward Islands," and of a smaller and more scattered group, along the coasts of Venezuela, contra-distinguished as the "Leeward Islands." English writers, however, generally apply the latter name to the more northerly part of the first group, from Dominica to the Virgin Islands, restricting the appellation of " Windward Islands" to those between Dominica and Trinidad.

Most of these islands contain isolated peaks or mountain ranges, the summits of which, in the large islands, attain a great altitude. Mount Potrillo, in Cuba, has an elevation of 9,000 feet, and the Blue Mountains of Jamaica a general height of 5 to 7,150 feet above the ocean level. The following table will exhibit the culminating points of the most remarkable mountains in the several islands:

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Several of the Caribbean Islands are of volcanic origin, while others are of secondary formation, and low, rising very little above the sea. Numerous streams descend from the mountains, which, though they do not attain to the magnitude of rivers, yet serve to irrigate the fine plains and vallies through which they pass, and whose fertility is mainly owing to their influence.

The West Indies, excepting the more northerly of the Bahamas, lie between the tropics, and are, consequently, subject to great heats; yet even in

the warm season, the influence of the surrounding ocean, the periodically recurring sea-breezes, and height of the land in the interior, tend to modify the climatic intensity peculiar to their geographical position. In the interior of the large islands, in which elevation is more marked, a mild and delightful temperature is enjoyed throughout the year, and several of the smaller islands possess the same advantages. The lowlands, however, in all these islands are exceedingly unhealthy, and endemic influences render them unfit for the habitation of foreigners. Here life is short, even among the native born. At an elevation of 1,200 feet, the aspect of the climate is different, nor is it liable to the propagation, and prevalence of those fevers and fluxes which prove so destructive to life in the low and swampy grounds. In the more northerly of the islands, ice sometimes forms in winter, but snow never falls. The inhabitants will complain of cold when the thermometer is ranging between 600 and 700. The year, as in the most tropical countries, may be divided into two seasons, the wet and dry, though there is sufficient variation to mark the four seasons of more temperate regions. The spring may be said to commence in April, when the fields put forth their verdant appearance. From May to October the tropical summer reigns in all its intensity, and the heat is insupportable; the sea-breeze, however, which sets in about noon, greatly moderates the tem perature. The mean height of the thermometer at this season is 80° Fah. The nights are beautiful, and are tempered by the land breeze, which blows gently off shore from about ten o'clock until day-break. With October commence the autumnal rains, when the waters pour down in torrents;— these continue until December, between which and April serene and pleasan weather prevails. The trade winds blow from an easterly direction from December to June: August is the season of hurricanes, which frequently devastate whole islands. These rarely occur, however, in Cuba, and are almost wholly unknown in Trinidad.

The rich and varied productions of these islands give them an important position in a commercial point of view. To their valuable native plants, art and industry have added others not less valuable. The sugar-cane, yielding its triplicate of sugar, molasses, and rum; the coffee-plant; pimento or allspice; the plantain and the banana; the pine-apple, anana, yam and sweet potato; maize, cassava, manioc and cocoa; the tobacco and cottonplants; various dye-woods and stuffs, as fustic, logwood, and cochineal; and medicinal plants, as liquorice, arrow-root, jalap, and ipecacuanha; and woods for cabinet work, as mahogany and lignumvitæ ;-all are either indigenous or introduced staples, and render vast contributions to commerce. To this list must be added all the varieties of tropical fruits: the bread-fruit, cocoa-nut, mango, paw-paw, guava, orange, lemon, tamarind, fig, cachewnut, mammee, grenadilla, vanilla, &c., &c.

The cattle of the West Indies are inferior, and only a few of the islands contain sheep and goats. Very few horses, asses or mules are reared, and consequently great numbers of these animals are imported from the adjacent continents. Hogs are more abundant, and find a ready and plentiful supply of food in the woods. Wild animals are almost extinct, and consist only of a few wild boars, monkeys, rats, and the smaller species. The manati is found in Trinidad and Tobago. Reptiles and amphibious animals inhabit the shores and margins of the rivers, and fish and turtles are abundant. The bird tribe is extensive, and remarkable for beautiful plumage. Insects-mosquitos, cock-roaches, centipedes, scorpions, ants, chigos-abound in all the islands. In fact, all the abundance and all the torments of intertropical regions, prevail in the West Indies.

The original inhabitants of these islands have long been extinct, except a small remnant which still exists in the Islands of St. Vincent and Trinidad. When discovered, a dense population covered these prolific regions, but the barbarities of the Europeans, in a short space of time, destroyed these unhappy people, supplying their places with the no less unhappy African. Cuba, and the other large islands, were found in possession of the Arrawauks, a peaceful and timid race, that soon submitted to the invaders. The inhabitants of the Lesser Antilles, on the contrary, were the warlike and vigorous The present Caribs, who resisted the sway of the Europeans to the last. population is composed of white and colored persons: the former are Europeans and their descendants; while the latter consist of Africans, their descendants, and the mixed races sprung from an indiscriminate amalgamation of all. These are of every variety of color and complexion, and are variously classified as mulattoes, quadroons, &c., according to the preponderance of caste. There is also another class lately introduced into the British islands, under the name of "Coolies," who originate in the mountains of Asia, and are imported as free laborers, under stringent restrictions. These are intended to supply the place of the recently emancipated negroes, who, it is said, have become worthless and lazy, and a burden upon the colonist. The negro race is, however, the most numerous, forming about threefourths of the whole population. The curse of slavery has been abolished in all the islands except those belonging to Spain. Ten years ago this barbarous institution terminated in the British Islands, and during the year 1848, the Dutch, French, and others emancipated their slaves. In Cuba and Porto Rico, the slaves yet form about two-thirds of the negro population.

With the exception of San Domingo, all the West India Islands are appropriated as colonial dependencies of European powers, and are under the surveillance of governors appointed respectively by the nations to which they belong. In the Spanish, Dutch, &c., islands, the government is of a military character, but in those belonging to the crown of Great Britain, civil constitutional governments prevail, and the institutions of the mother country, when suitable to the condition of the colonies, are the laws of the land. The French West Indies are, since the revolution of February, 1848, an integral portion of that republic, and are entitled to representation in the national councils.

The commerce of the West Indies contributes vast supplies of tropical productions, alike to the nations of Europe and America. Their colonial position, however, acts unfavorably on their prosperity, and retards that development of industry and capital they would otherwise enjoy. Nevertheless, even in a dependent state, the export and import trade is immense, and a source of wealth to those engaged in it. The chief articles of export are-sugars, molasses, rums, coffee, tobacco, cotton and cocoa; drugs, spices and dye-stuffs; mahogany and other hard woods for cabinet work; and a great variety of fruits, &c. The imports are the manufactures of Great Britain and other countries, and foreign productions generally. The United States supplies these islands with flour, and a great variety of salted provisions, and some manufactured articles. An extensive commerce is also carried on with the South American states, more especially with Venezuela and New Grenada.

The reader is referred to the separate accounts of these islands, for further and more minute information respecting their condition and re

sources.

The following table affords a general view of the extent and population of the principal islands, and the nations to which they pertain.

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