Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 11.djvu/241

formerly carried on in behalf of the Government, is now in private hands, ‘The trade of the place is chiefly in grain, flax, fruit, cloth, and silk. Population, 7900. Guadalajara is the Arriaca or Caraca of the Romans ; when taken by the invading Moors it was called Wada-l-hajarah (the river of stones), of which its present name (sometimes in the medi- zeval chronicles spelt Godelfare) is a corruption. It was

recaptured in the days of the Cid.

GUADALAJARA, or in the older spelling Guadalaxara, a city of Mexico, the capital of the state of Jalisco, is situated in the Atemarac valley not far from the Rio Grande de Santiago, about 280 miles W.N.W. of the city of Mexico, in 20° 41’ 10" N. lat. and 103° 21’ 15” W. long. Owing to its considerable elevation above the sea- level (according to the Boletin del Ministerio de Fomentos, 1876, 1552 metres, but according to older authorities 1580 metres), Guadalajara enjoys an excellent climate. On the whole it is well laid out, and its streets are kept in tolerably good condition. All the houses, whether built of stone, brick, or adobe, are plastered and whitewashed, and hardly a dozen of them attain the height of three stories. In the outskirts of the towa the buildings are of an inferior type. The Plaza Mayor is a square about 300 feet in each direc- tion, one side of which is occupied by the cathedral, another side by the casa de gobierno del estado or state buildings, and the remaining sides by portales or arches in the shelter of which are some of the main shops of the city. The cathedral, commenced in 1571 and finished in 1618, is a rather fine structure with two steeples and a large dome between them covered with figures in coloured tiles. The interior is gloomy but impressive. No small interest attaches to the Hospital de San Miguel de Belen, which comprises, not only a hospital proper with male and female wards, but a lunatic asylum and a school for little children. Contiguous to it is the principal cemetery of the city, which is arranged in rather an unusual fashion: three sides of the area are bounded by walls and colonnades, and the inner surface of the walls is divided into six tiers of niches or gavetas in which the dead are deposited. Another remark- able institution is the hospicio, occupying twenty-four large blocks of building, and not only affordingan asylum forfound- lings and orphans, for the blind, the deaf and dumb, and the infirm of all ages, for old people unable to secure a liveli- hood, but also serving asa refurmatory and training school. It presents a fine appearance with its dome and pillared portico, Its inmates number upwards of 1000, 700 being children, and 200 old men and women. Among the other public buildings and institutions of Guadalajara are the university (formerly the Jesuit college), eleveu conventual establishments, a theological seminary, an academy for tbe fine arts, a mint, a theatre, and a bull-ring. The favourite promenade is the paseo which runs for a mile and a quarter through the city, and terminates northward in the alameda or public garden. Guadalajara is a fairly busy town, with paper-mills and woollen and cotton factories; but all the principal establishments are in the handsof Frenchmen, Ger- mans, or Englishmen. The confectionery of the town is held in high repute, and the Indians of the neighbourhood are remarkable for the artistic ability with which they mould figures in clay or rags. The silk embroidery produced in the hospicio is also worthy of mention. Guadalajara was founded in 1531 by Nunez Guzman, and was made a bishop’s see in 1549. The population, which was only 19,500 in 1800, had increased to 46,804 by 1841, and to 70,947 by 1870. At Puente Grande in the neighbourhood, the Rio Grande forms a magnificent waterfall; and the bridge of Calderon is famous for the defeat of the insurgents under Hidalgo in June 1811. Several excellent views of Guadalajara will be found in Geiger, A Peep at Mexico. On the 11th of March 1875 Guadalajara was visited by a severe earthquake, which did damage tu nearly every large building in the town. An account of the mint of Guada- lajara, founded in 181], is given in Bol. Soc. de geogr. de la rep. Mexicana for 1871. In 1877 the value of the new coin was 1,467,660 piastres or dollars, 5000 yiastres being in copper and the rest in silver. New machinery driven by steam was imported from France in 1878. The total im- port trade of the town was reckoned at 3,280,000 piastres in 1878,—Great Britain having about 40 per cent. of the amount, France 25 per cent., the United States 10, and Germany 8. Full details on the money transactions of the city will be found in the Preussisches Handelsarchir, 1879.

GUADELOUPE, an island of the Antilles in the West Indies, belonging to France, is situated 62 miles from Martinique, between 15° 59’ 30” and 16° 20’ 18” N. lat. and between 61° 31’ 23” and 61° 50’ 32” W. long. The sailing distance from Brest i3 3750 nautical miles. A narrow channel, called La Riviére Salée, or Salt Stream, with a width of from 100 to 400 feet, separates tho island into two portions, Guadeloupe proper or Basse Terre and Grande Terre. The former or western portion measures 28 miles from N. to 8., and from 12 to 15 miles from FE. to W., and its coast-line is estimated at 87 miles. The latter or eastern portion measures 22 miles from N. to S. and 34 from §.E. to N.W., and its coast-line is estimated at 106 miles. Basse Terre has a mountainous surface of volcanic origin, attaining its greatest altitude in La Sou- fricre, a still active volcano, 4870 feet in height; while Grande Terre is generally flat, with no elevations higher than 115 feet, and consists entirely of calcareous forma- tions. In the rainy season the streams are subject to floods or “spates,” which, according to M. Casponi (/ev. Afar. et Coloniale, 1871), come on so suddenly that it is hardly safe to travel in the dry beds, lest, to use the local phrase, the galion descend. Basse Terre, as is natural, is traversed by a considerable number of streams,—the Goyave, tl.e Lézarde, the Moustic, the Petite Goyave, the Sainte Marie, the Trou au Chien, the Capsteire, &c.,— while Grande Terre is almost destitute of springs, and both men and catt'e are dependent for their water supply on the ponds and marshes. The mean temperature of the island is 79° Fahr.,—the maximum in the shade ranging from 86° to 91°, and the minimum from 68° to 72° July, August, and Septem- ber are the hottest months. At Basse Terre, about 180 feet above the sea-level, the thermometer in July shows a mean of 80°8° Fahr., in August 82°5°, and in September 82°6°. Like the rest of the West Indian islands, Guadeloupe is subject to terrible storms. That of 1825 almost entirely destroyed the town of Basse Terre, and that of 1865 proved equally disastrous to Grand Bourg. The rainfall is very heavy, on the coast no less than 86 inches per annum.

Along with its dependencies, the smaller islands of Marie Galante, Désirade, and Les SAintes, Guadeloupe forms a separate colonial government. The fullowing table gives the area of the several portions :—

Teetares. Acres, Guadeloupe or Dasse Terre. ........... 6. 94,631 = 233,844 Grande Terre........0..0... ccc ceceeuececeeeees 65,631 = 162,181 Marie Galante ..... .. eee 14,927 = 37,067 Désirade ..........cccccccecceee ees ce sec ee sees 2,720 = 6,720 Ties Saintes 2.0.0.0... ccc ec ceceee cee eeeeneees 1,422 = 8,514 Petite Terre ....0........00-.0 0 = 3843 = 848 Saint Martin (French portion) ........ .. 5,177 = 12,775 Total... .....c00 ceceeeeeeees 184,851 = 456,49

Of the total area 85,248 acres were under cultivation in

1873; 1932 acres were hattes or cattle-farms, 30,640 acres savannahs, and 106,258 acres woods and forests; while 69,689 acres were fallow. To the sugar-cane, which is tlre staple of the colony, 48,711 acres were devoted; to coffee,

8659 acres ; to cotton, 1855 acres; to cocoa, 1146 acres;