Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/383

EASTERN EMPIRE tains several hundred gigantic stone statues, tolerably well chiselled. The largest of these are 40 ft. high, and measure 9 ft. across the shoulders. Many of them stand in the crater of the great volcano, while others are scattered about the island, generally prostrate. They were cut from the common rock of the island, and many unfinished statues are yet to be seen in the quarries. Nothing is known of the ori- gin of these statues. They were certainly not made by the present race of inhabitants, who have no tools adequate to their sculpture, nor any means of moving such huge masses. The native traditions about them are puerile, and seem to ascribe them to a supernatural origin. The conjecture has recently been advanced that the island is the remnant of a submerged continent, and that the statues were made by an extinct people who worshipped their idols in high places, and to whom the craters of volcanoes were peculiarly sacred. EASTERN EMPIRE. See BYZANTINE EMPIRE. EAST FELICIANA, a S. E. parish of Louisi- ana, bounded -N. by Mississippi, E. by the Amite river, S. W. by the Mississippi, and W. by Thompson's creek ; area, about 500 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 13,499, of whom 9,393 were col- ored. The Clinton and Port Hudson railroad extends from the capital to the Mississippi riv- er. The surface is moderately uneven, and the soil is well watered, fertile, and easily tilled. There are forests of pine, oak, and bay. The chief productions in 1870 were 167,262 bush- els of Indian corn, 26,263 of sweet potatoes, 10,252 bales of cotton, and 5,900 Ibs. of rice. There were 1,147 horses, 890 mules and asses, 2,155 milch cows, 3,954 other cattle, 2,284 sheep, and 5,637 swine. Capital, Clinton. EAST INDIA COMPANIES, associations formed to conduct trade between Europe and the In- dies. The overland trade, in which the Italian republics were foremost, was terminated by the Turkish conquest of Constantinople and Egypt. The necessity of a new route to India then became the problem of western Europe, and Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope and reached the Malabar coast in 1498. The Portuguese then established themselves in India, and for nearly a century monopolized its trade. Portugal being united with Spain in 1580 and its ports closed to British vessels, the English bought their Indian supplies of the Dutch. But when on the revolt of the Nether- lands Dutch vessels also were excluded from the port of Lisbon, both Dutch and English established direct trade with the Indies. In 1587 a charter was granted to a Portuguese company, in consideration of an annual trib- ute. On the breaking out of the war between England, Holland, and Spain, which struck a disastrous blow at the India trade, the Por- tuguese company became unable to pay its annual tribute to the government, and was abolished in 1640. In 1595 a "Company for Remote Parts" was formed at Amsterdam, which in 1602, having been united with other EAST INDIA COMPANIES 375 companies, received a charter from the states general conferring on them the exclusive priv- ilege of trade to the East Indies for 21 years, with the necessary civil and military powers. They began with a capital of 6,500,000 guil- ders, and in 20 years their dividends amount- ed to 30,000,000 guilders, besides vast amounts of property in colonies, fortifications, and ves- sels. The charter was extended to 1644; Ba- tavia was founded ; the commerce with Japan, which returned silver and copper for commodi- ties, was extended; in 1641 Malacca, capital of the ^then neglected Portuguese East India possessions, was acquired by the Dutch ; and from 34 to 41 freighted vessels were sent out annually, of which from 25 to 34 returned loaded. Yet so rapidly did the English and French commerce increase during these years, that in 1644 the Dutch East India company could scarcely command the 1,600,000 guilders required as a subsidy to the government, on again renewing its charter for 21 years. The peace of Westphalia, which secured the inde- pendence of the republic of the United Prov- inces, once more gave the company life. In 1665 the charter was with much opposition renewed till 1700. At this time the company held the principal seats of commerce in Ceylon, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and in fact through- out the Indian archipelago, and had large col- onies in South Africa. They commanded the trade with Pegu, Siam, Tonquin, Japan, the Banda and Molucca isles, Amboyna, &c. Ba- tavia was then in all its glory, and the straits of Sunda on which it is situated had become, instead of those of Malacca, the channel to the further Indies. The charter was renewed in 1701, in 1741, and in 1776, the last time for 30 years, and on condition of paying down 2,000,- 000 guilders, with 360,000 annually. Turning their hands against every one in tiie East, and seeking, by oppression of natives, exclusion of Europeans, and the forced production of some spices with prohibition of the cultivation of others, to rule the markets of the world and to extend and consolidate their dominion and wealth, the company was yet so exhausted by war with England and political expenses, that in 1781 the states general were obliged to assist it with a loan. In the first French revolution it lost nearly all its possessions. The establish- ment of the Batavian republic in 1795 termi- nated its existence, and the aifairs of the com- pany passed into the hands of the government. A new company was established in 1824, called the Handel Maatschapij or trading association. This company became the agent for the sale of the government produce in Europe, and the carrier of this produce, and farmed some branches of the public revenue of Java and the other Dutch East India colonies. A French East India company, founded in 1664 by Col- bert, was broken up in 1770. A Danish East India company, founded in 1618, was dissolved in 1634 ; it was reconstituted in 1670, and again dissolved in 1729. A new company, formed