Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/586

566 WEST INDIES of cotton, 290 hogsheads of sugar, and 29,500 gallons of molasses. There were 671 horses, 940 mules and asses, 1,013 milch cows, 1,684 other cattle, 1,152 sheep, and 894 swine. Capi- tal, St. Francisville. WEST INDIES, the name given to the vast archipelago of about 1,000 islands between North and South America, extending in two irregular lines, which unite at Hayti, from the peninsulas of Yucatan and Florida to the mouth of the Orinoco. They enclose the Caribbean sea, dividing it from the gulf of Mexico and from the Atlantic ocean. They lie between lat. 10 and 28 N. and Ion. 59 and 85 W., and are divided into four groups : 1, the Baha- mas, about 600 in number, low flat islands of coral formation, S. E. of Florida, and extend- ing toward Hayti (see BAHAMAS); 2, the Greater Antilles, between the Bahamas and Central America, comprising the four great islands of Cuba, Hayti or Santo Domingo, Ja- maica, and Porto Rico, with a few neighbor- ing small ones; 3, the Lesser Antilles or Ca- ribbean islands, extending in a semicircular line from Porto Rico to the mouth of the Ori- noco, and by some geographers also called col- lectively Windward islands, but by others, as well as the English government, divided into Leeward and Windward islands, respectively N. and S. of lat. 15 ; and 4, the group off the coast of Venezuela (the Leeward islands of the Spanish explorers), embracing Margarita, Tor- tuga, Buen Ayre, Curacoa, and several smaller islands. The following table exhibits the area, population, &c., of the larger islands and groups, according to the latest authorities : ISLANDS. TO WHOM BELONGING. An*, q. m. Popula- tion. CAPITALS. Pup. or capital. Hayti, Hispaniola, or Santo Domingo. . . Cuba, Porto Rico, isle of Pines, and de- ' Hayti, the W. part, an I independ. republic f Santo Domingo, or *) Dominican repub- 1 lie, the K. port, an [ indopend. republic j t Spain 10,204 18,000 47,278 18,751 1,094 485 188 8 449 672,000 13,500 J.1M.J.3- 1,068,830 816,457 86,871 87,700 2,900 80,988 Port-au- Prince 21,000 6,000 200,000 20,000 83,000 9,000 7,000 18,000 11,800 Santo Domingo ,., j Havana (Cuba) Tho Bahama*, Jamaica, and most of the Lesser Antilles (Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada, Barbadoes, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Dominica, Montscrrat, Antigua, Bt Christopher, Barbuda, Anguilla, most of the Virgin Islands, Ac.) i Great Britain | Kingston (Jamaica) -< Nassau (Now Providence). . . . ( Port of Spain (Trinidad) l Basse-Terre (Guadeloupe) . . 1 Port Koyal (Martinique) Wfllemstad, or Curacoa (Cu- racoa) France Guadeloupe, Deslrade, Martinique, Mario Galante, Los Salntes, N. part of St. Martin's, all in the Lesser Antilles Ouracoa, Buen Ayre, Oruba, Los Roques (off Venezuela); St. Eustatius, Saba, and 8. part of St. Martin's (I-esser Antilles) Netherlands j- Denmark St. John's, St. Thomas, and Santa Cruz (Virgin islands) j Christ ianst<l (Santa Cmz).. . | Charlotte Amalie (St Thomas) Gustaria. 6,000 11,890 900 2,753 St. Bartholomew (Lesser Antilles) Sweden Margarita, Tortuga, <kc. (off Venezuela). Total Venezuela Assumption (Margarita) 95,929 4^81,785 The surface of the islands is very diversified. The Bahamas are low, flat, and of coralline formation. The Antilles, Greater and Lesser, are volcanic, and form the peaks of a moun- tain chain continuous with the N. E. range of Venezuela, and rising in Cuba, Hayti, and Ja- maica into summits from 6,000 to 8,000 ft. high, and in many of the Lesser Antilles to the height of 4,000 to 5,000 ft. Hayti, Ja- maica, and some other islands occasionally ex- perience slight earthquake shocks. The vol- cano in Guadeloupe occasionally emits smoke and flame, but the latest violent eruption in the archipelago was in St. Vincent in 1812. Hurricanes occur nearly every year, and are sometimes very destructive, especially in the Lesser Antilles. The Bahamas are intensely hot, though for a part of the day the sea breezes temper the heat. The more moun- tainous islands have a temperate climate. Gold, silver, alum, copper, and coal are found in Cuba ; gold, silver, copper, tin, iron, and rock salt in Hayti; lead, copper, and salt in Ja- maica; gold, copper, iron, lead, and coal in Porto Rico ; asphaltum and petroleum in Trin- idad ; and salt in the Bahamas. The charac- teristic feature of the botany of the West In- dies is the predominance of ferns and orchi- daceous plants. The forests furnish mahog- any, lignum vita), granadilla, rosewood, and other valuable woods. Tropical fruits abound. Of spices, drugs, and dye stuffs, ginger, pep- per, aloes, sassafras, annatto, cochineal, log- wood, and indigo are the principal. Maize, tobacco, coffee, sugar, and cotton are culti- vated. Of the formerly existing wild ani- mals, the agouti, peccary, raccoon, and wild boar, the last only remains. Birds are nu- merous, and their characteristics are beautiful and varied plumage and lack of song. Reptiles abound, including turtles, lizards, and snakes. Fish are very abundant. Insects and reptiles are the pest of the islands. When Columbus discovered the West Indies, the southern isl- ands were peopled by the Caribs, a fierce tribe, and the northern by the Arrawaks, a gentler race. Both are now nearly extinct. About half of the entire population are white.