Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/630

Rh 592 A L M - A L M supplement, the Companion to the Almanac, led to a great improvement in this class of publications. The Stationers Company issued the English Almanac, a work of a similar kind. The entire repeal in 1834, by the 3d and 4th Will. IV., c. 57, of the heavy stamp duty on all almanacs of fifteenpence per copy, gave an additional stimulus to the publication of almanacs of a better class, and from that time the number has greatly increased. It is interesting to remark that the British Almanac and Companion still exist, and retain their original form and character, and that this has from 1870 been the principal almanac pub lished by the Stationers Company. The variety of extraneous matter included in almanacs, corresponding to the very numerous other objects to which the almanac proper is often only secondary, can be merely alluded to here. A number of publications, issued in Ger many from the middle of the 18th to the middle of the 19th century, under such titles as Musenalmanack, or Almanack dcs Muses, contain some of the best works of some of the most celebrated German poets. The Almanack de Gotha, which has existed since 1764, and is published at present both in French and German, gives a particular account of all the royal and princely families of Europe, and ample details, compressed into little space, concerning the administration and the statistics of the different states of the world. As works of general statistical reference, the two national almanacs, Oliver and Boyd s New Edinburgh Almanac (from 1837) and Thorns Irish Almanac (horn 1843), are of very great value. The Nautical Almanac is a publication the object of which is to supply information that is indispensable to the navigator and the astronomer. It gives with the utmost precision the positions of the principal heavenly bodies at short intervals of time, and other important details of celestial phenomena. The moon s exact position is regis tered for every hour, and also the angular distances at noon and midnight daily of the moon from the sun and several fixed stars. By means of the data thus supplied, in connection with observations of the heavenly bodies, time, latitude, and longitude can be determined. The Nautical Almanac has been published regularly since the issue in 17G6 of the Almanac for 1767. It was originated by Dr Maskelyne, the astronomer -royal, who conducted it for many years. About 1830 the Lords of the Admiralty were induced by complains of its defects to bring the subject under the notice of the Royal Astronomical Society. The society appointed a committee to consider what changes seemed necessary, and, on the committee s recommendation, the form was adopted which has continued with little change from 1834 to the present time. During that period the Almanac has been published under the superintendence of the Admiralty. It is issued generally three years at least before it comes into use. The Connaissance des Temps (from 1679), the Berliner Jahrbuch (from 1776), and the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanack (from 1855) are publications of a similar kind. (See, in addition to works referred to above, interesting papers by Mr J. O. Halliwell and Professor De Morgan in the Companion to tke Almanac for 1839, 1840, 1845, 1846.) ALMANSA, a town of Spain, in the province of Al- bacete, 35 miles E.S.E. of the town of that name, on the Madrid and Alicante railway. The surrounding plain is very fertile, and irrigated by means of a large reservoir. There are manufactures of linen and cotton fabrics, and also of brandy, leather, and soap. A Moorish castle is to be seen on a hill to the north-west of the town. About a mile from Almansa stands an obelisk commemorating the decisive battle fought here on 25th April 1707, in which the French, under the Duke of Berwick, the natural son of James II. of England, completely defeated the allied English and Spanish armies. The French greatly out numbered the opposing force. This battle hastened the conclusion of the war of the Spanish succession. Popula tion of the town, about 8000. ALME, or ALMAI (from dlim, wise, learned), the name of a distinct class of singing girls in Egypt. To be received into it, according to M. Savary, it is necessary to have a good voice, to understand the language well, to know the rules of poetry, and be able to compose and sing impromptu couplets adapted to the circumstances. The almai are present at all festivals and entertainments, and also at funerals, where they act the part of hired mourners. They are to be distinguished from the ghawazee, or dancing girls, who perform in the public streets, and are of a lower order. ALMEIDA, a strongly-fortified town of Portugal, in the province of Beira, situated between the Coa and the Duas Casas, a branch of the Agueda, 95 miles N.E. of Coimbra, and 25 miles from the Spanish fortress of Ciudad Rodrigo. It was taken by the Spaniards in 1762, and again by the French in 1810. The recapture of it by the Duke of Wellington in 1811 was deemed one of the most brilliant exploits of the Peninsular war. It is well fortified, and contains an ancient churcb &quot;*id two hospitals. Popula tion, 60 80. ALMEIDA, DON FRANCISCO DE, the first viceroy of Portuguese India, was born at Lisbon about the middle of the 15th century. He was the seventh son of the second Count of Abrantes, and tlms belonged to one of the most distinguished families in Portugal. In his youth he took part under Ferdinand of Aragon in the wars against the Moors (1485-92). In March 1505, having received from Emmanuel I. the appointment of viceroy of the newly-con quered territory in India, he set sail from Lisbon in com mand of a large and powerful fleet, and arrived in July at Quiloa, which yielded to him almost without a struggle. A much more vigorous resistance was offered by the Moors of Mombaza, but the town was taken and destroyed, and its large treasures went to strengthen the resources of Almeida. At other places on his way, such as the island of Angediva, near Goa, and Cananore, he built forts, and adopted measures to secure the Portuguese supremacy. On his arrival in India he took up his residence at Cochin, where a Portuguese fort had been built by Albuquerque in 1503. The most important events of Almeida s brief but vigorous administration were the conclusion of a com mercial treaty with Malacca, and the discoveries made by his son Lorenzo, who acted as his lieutenant. The latter was probably the first Portuguese who visited Ceylon, where he established a settlement, and is also celebrated as the discoverer of Madagascar and the Maldive islands. In 1508 he was killed at Dabul in a naval engagement with the Moors. His father was preparing signally to avenge his death when Albuquerque arrived in Cochin, and pre sented a commission empowering him to supersede Almeida in the government. It was probably Almeida s unwilling ness to be thwarted in his scheme of vengeance that chiefly induced him to refuse to recognise Albuquerque s com mission, and to cast him into prison. (See ALBUQUERQUE.) The punishment he inflicted on the Moors was speedy and terrible. Sailing along the coast, he pillaged and burned various ports, including Goa and Dabul, and finally encountering the enemy s combined fleet off Diu early in 1509, he completely destroyed it. Returning immediately to Cochin, he held out for a few months against the claims of Albuquerque, but in November 1509 he was compelled to yield. On the 1st December he set sail for Europe with an escort of three vessels. On the voyage the fleet called at Saldanha Bay, in South Africa, to