Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/423

 AMERICA 391 climate is greatly modified by the elevation. With the exception of a small tract in the N. E. angle, comprising French, Dutch, and Brit- ish Guiana, no part of South America is under the dominion of any foreign power. The pres- ent political divisions are eleven in number. "We enumerate them in geographical order, com- mencing at the north : 1. Venezuela, in the north, bordering on the Atlantic and Caribbean sea; area, 425,000 sq. m. ; pop. about 1,250,000. The only census ever taken was in 1847, when the population was 1,267,000, since which it has probably decreased somewhat owing to frequent revolutions. The bulk of the popula- tion are of mixed Indian and negro blood, hardly one in a hundred being put down as pure whites. 2. The United States of Colom- bia, formerly known as New Granada, bound- ed N". by the Caribbean sea and Central Amer- ica, E. by Venezuela, S. by Brazil and Ecuador, and W. by the Pacific. It comprises the south- ern part of the isthmus of Darien, the Panama railroad running through it. Area, 500,000 sq. m. ; pop. in 1864, 2,794,000, since which tune partial enumerations indicate a slight in- crease. Most of the population is of mixed races. Those in whom European blood pre- dominates over Indian are about 1,480,000; Indian over European, 440,000 ; Indian and negro, 440,000; pure Indian, 150,000; negro, 90,000. 3. The empire of Brazil, the only monarchy, stretching westward in its northern part from the Atlantic to Colombia, in its south- ern part to Bolivia. It includes the greater part of the basin of the Amazon. Area, 3,140,000 sq. m. The population is variously estimated at from 10,000,000 to 12,000,000. The best native authority gives it in 1867 at 11,780,000, of whom 9,880,000 were free, 1,400,000 slaves, and 500,000 uncivilized Indians. The propor- tion of people of mixed blood is small com- pared with other South American states. 4. Uruguay, bounded by Brazil, the Atlantic, and the Argentine Confederation; area, 75,000 sq. m. ; pop. 300,000. 5. Paraguay, bounded by Bolivia, Brazil, and the Argentine Confedera- tion, the only country with no seacoast ; area, 70,000 sq. m. ; pop. in 1857, 1,300,000, but since greatly reduced by war and famine. 6. Bolivia, extending from Brazil to the Pacific ; area, 575,000 sq. m. ; pop. 2,000,000. 7. The Argentine Confederation, extending from Bo- livia and the Andes to the Atlantic ; area, 600,000 sq. m. ; pop. 1,800,000. 8. Patago- nia, occupying the extreme southern end of the continent ; area, 350,000 sq. m. The population is insignificant, consisting wholly of savages, destitute of any organized government. All the foregoing states are E. of the Andes. The remaining ones are on the Pacific shore, the summits of the range, and its eastern slope. 9. Ecuador, upon and just S. of the equator; area, 275,000 sq. m. ; pop. about 1,300,000, of whom half are reckoned as whites, though many are of mixed blood. Its cultivated parts comprise a narrow strip on the Pacific, the ele- vated valley of Quito, between the ridges of the Cordilleras, and the eastern slope of the latter. Within its limits are several of the loftiest peaks of the Andes. 10. Peru, S. of Ecuador, crossing the Andes, and extending down the eastern slope; area, 600,000 sq. m. ; pop. 2,500,000, of whom 15 per cent, are whites and 57 per cent. Indians. 11. Chili, occupying the narrow Pacific coast S. of Bo- livia and W. of the Argentine Confederation and northern Patagonia ; area, within its estab- lished limits, about 150,000 sq. m. ; pop. in 1868, 1,900,000. IV. ISLANDS OF AMERICA. The islands not immediately adjacent to the mainland, which may be properly considered as belonging to the American continent, are grouped as follows : 1, the Greater Antilles, in- cluding Cuba, Hayti, Jamaica, and Porto Rico ; 2, the Lesser Antilles, including Barbadoes and about 30 others ; 3, the Bahamas, about 500 in number, most of them uninhabited. Their total area is not far from 100,000 sq. m., with a population of over 4,000,000. With the ex- ception of Hayti, these are subject to different European powers. To these may be added Greenland, belonging to Denmark, the popu- lation of which numbers only a few thousands. The area and population of the American continent may be summed up in round num- bers as follows: COUNTRIES. Area, sq. m. Population. NORTH AMEBICA. British America 8.500,000 800,000 8,600,000 4.455,000 9,175,000 33,553,001) Mexico United States. . 7,900,000 20,000 40,000 47,000 58,000 10,000 52,188,000 185,000 1,180,000 850,000 400,000 600,000 CENTRAL AMERICA. Costa Eica Guatemala .... Honduras Nicaragua San Salvador. Totals, Central America SOUTH AMERICA. 175,000 600,000 575,000 8.140,000 15J,(iOO 500.000 275,000 480.000 70,000 850,000 600,000 75.000 425,000 2,665,000 1,800,000 2.000,000 11.780,000 1.900,000 2.600,000 1.800,000 300,000 325,000 4,000 2,500,000 300,000 1,250,000 Bolivia Brazil Chili Colombia Ecuador Guiana Paraguay Peru Uruguay Venezuela Totals, South America 7,240,000 100,000 26,259,000 4,000,000 ISLANDS Totals, America 15,410,000 85,112,000 The history of America, as authentically re- corded, hardly goes back five centuries, or about 100 years before the colonization by the Europeans. For everything earlier we have only the ruins left by extinct races, and tradi- tions in which the mythical element is pre- dominant. It is certain that the Northmen