Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/55

Rh ANGLO-SAXON LITERATURE. See.  ANGLO-SAXONS. See.  ANGOLA, a name that is employed to designate at least three different, although partly coincident, portions of the west coast of Africa. It is often applied to the whole coast-line, from Cape Lopez de Gonsalvo, in lat. 44 S., to St Felipe de Benguela, in 12 24 S.; the Portuguese consider that the entire country lying between the Zaire or Congo and lat. 18 S., and stretching for a considerable but somewhat indefinite distance into the interior, over which they assert that their authority extends, ought to be called Angola ; lastly, the name is by most British geographers and travellers applied to that part of the preceding territory which lies between 8 20 and 9 30 S., and which nearly corresponds to the Portuguese sub-government of Angola. The natives, whose practice seems to harmonise with the third of these applications of the word, also call the country Dongo. With the exception of a flat, sandy, barren plain, that extends from the coast for a considerable distance inland, Angola, using the word in its most restricted sense, is mountainous and well- watered. Its chief rivers are the Coanza, which bounds it on the north, the Danda, which bounds it on the south, and the Benga. Most of the country is very fertile, pro ducing palms, citrons, oranges, lemons, bananas, tamarinds, mangroves, and sugar canes in great abundance. Nor is the fauna less extensive ; all the animals common in inter- tropical Africa are found in Angola, as well as some peculiar to the district ; while the sheep, the cow, and the horse have been imported from Europe. Of its mineral productions, lead, sulphur, petroleum, and iron are plenti ful ; and gold, silver, and copper are said to exist in the interior. Gum, wax, and ivory, are now the most im portant articles of trade ; but formerly the principal traffic was in slaves. The heat is usually moderate, and the climate comparatively mild and salubrious. The religion of the natives of Angola is Fetichism ; they believe implicitly in their priests, who pretend to bestow rain, favourable winds, and other blessings upon those Avho have propitiated them by liberal gifts. In criminal cases much use is made of what our ancestors called " the judgments of God." The accused is made to swallow poison, to take in his hand burning coals, or to undergo tests of a similar nature, and, unless he escapes unhurt from these trials, is pronounced guilty; of course the priests contrive that those whom they wish to absolve should suffer no harm. The native huts are formed merely of straw or dried leafy plants, in tertwisted upon a framework of stakes ; containing no aperture for the admission of light, they form not so much dwelling-houses, as dens for sleeping in, while the tenants spend the day and receive company in an open space in front that is covered with a slight roof. The population of Angola is estimated at about 250,000, of whom about 2000 are Europeans. Angola was discovered by the Portuguese under Diego Cam in 1484; and since that time, with the exception of a short period, from 1G40 to 1G48, during which the Dutch attempted to expel them, they have maintained their possession of the country undis turbed by other European powers. It cannot be said, how ever, that they have done much during this long rule either to develop the resources of the country or to improve the condition of its people ; and, while they permitted an active slave trade to be carried on, their influence must have been much more injurious than beneficial. St Paul de Loando, at which the governor resides, is the chief town. They possess a few forts in the interior, but over the greater part of the country their authority is hardly felt.  ANGORA, or, the ancient, a city of Turkey in Asia, capital of the vilayet of the same name, situated upon a steep hill, near a small stream, which flows into the Angara, a tributary of the Sakaria or Sangariuo, about 220 miles E.S.E. of Constantinople. The modern town is not well built, its streets being narrow and many of its houses of mud; but there are a great many fine remains of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine architecture, the most remarkable of which is a temple of white marble, erected by the inhabitants in honour of Augustus. On the walls of this temple is the famous Monumentum Ancyranum, an inscription in Greek and Latin, detailing the principal events in the life of the emperor, a great part of which is still legible. Angora has long been celebrated for its goats, whose soft silky hair, about 8 inches long, forms the chief article of export from the town. The fineness of the hair may perhaps be ascribed to some peculiarity in the atmosphere, for it is remarkable that the cats, dogs, and other animals of the country are to a certain extent affected in the same way as the goats, and that they all lose much of their distinctive beauty when taken from their nativo districts. The other exports are goat and cat skins, gum, wax, honey, yellow berries, and madder root, while the import of British and other European goods is considerable, although the trade is almost entirely in the hands of Armenians. The population is variously estimated at from 20,000 to 60,000. Ancyra originally belonged to Phrygia, and afterwards became the chief town of the Tectosages, one of the three Gallic tribes that settled in Galatia, about 277 B.C. In 189 B.C., Galatiawas subdued by Manlius, and in 25 B.C. it was formally made a Roman province, of which Ancyra was the capital. Ancyra was the seat of one of the earliest Christian churches, founded probably by the apostle Paul, and councils were held in the town in 314 and 358 A.D. In 1402 a great battle was fought in the vicinity of Ancyra, in which the Turkish sultan Bajazet was defeated and made prisoner by Tamer lane, the Tartar conqueror. In 1415 it was recovered by the Turks under Mahomet I., and since that period has belonged to the Ottoman empire.  ANGORNO, or, a town of Bornu, in Central Africa, near the south-west shore of Lake Chad, from which it is separated by a level plain that is often under water. It is said to have a population of 30,000, which is much increased during the markets, when a large traffic is carried on in cotton, amber, metals, corals, and slaves.  ANGOSTURA, also called, and, a town of Venezuela, capital of the province of Guayana, situated on the right bank of the Orinoco, about 240 miles from its mouths, and only 191 feet above the level of the sea. It is the seat of a bishop, and contains a cathedral, a college, and an hospital, while a fort stands on the opposite side of the river, at this point comparatively narrow. Being the centre of a rich and extensive territory, Angostura would before now have probably become a large and flourishing city, had it not been retarded by the war of independence, and by the unsettled state of the country ; for a long period it retro graded rather than progressed, and although now in a more prosperous condition, it has not yet reached the posi tion to which it is entitled. The Orinoco is navigable for vessels of 300 tons, and a considerable trade is carried on in cocoa, sugar, cotton, jerked meat, and hides, as well as in the bark that takes its name from, the city. In 1819 a congress met at Angostura, which resulted in the union of Venezuela and New Granada into one government under the name of the republic of Columbia ; and in the same year the town began to be called Ciudad Bolivar, in honour of Simon Bolivar, who freed the country from the yoke of Spain. Population, about 8000.  ANGOULÊME, a city of France, capital of the department of Charente, and formerly of the province of Angou-