Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/374

 370 CORNWALLIS COROMANDEL CORNWALLIS, Charles, first Marquis and sec- ond Earl Oornwallis, a British general, born Dec. 31, 1738, died at Ghazepore, India, Oct. 5, 1805. He was educated at Eton and Cam- bridge, served in the seven years' war under Lord Granby, and succeeded to the peerage in 1762. An aide-de-camp and favorite of the king, he was made governor of the tower in 1770, but he nevertheless opposed the mea- sures which led to the American war. His regiment, however, being ordered to the scene of war in 1776, lie served with activity, at first as major general under Howe and Clinton in the Jersey campaigns, afterward in the expe- dition to the Chesapeake, and commanded the detachment which took possession of Phila- delphia, Sept. 24, 1777. He was engaged in the siege of Charleston in 1780, and after its capture was left with about 4,000 troops in command of South Carolina. Here he gained a victory over Gen. Gates at Camden, Aug. 16, 1780, and a second less decided over Gen. Greene, at Guilford, March 15, 1781. But, unable to hold the country, he entered Vir- ginia in the course of the spring, where, al- though superior to any opposing force, he could obtain no decided advantage. At length, un- able to extricate himself by sea, owing to the superiority of the French fleet, he shut himself up in Yorktown behind strong intrenchments. Here he was surrounded and besieged by the American and French armies and the French fleet, and obliged to surrender with his whole force, Oct. 19, 1781. This was virtually the end of the war, and soon led to that change of the English ministry which brought about the peace, and the recognition of American inde- pendence. He served again in 1784 '5 as gov- ernor of the tower, and in 1786 was appointed governor general and commander-in-chief of Bengal. Soon after his arrival the English power became engaged in a conflict with Tippoo Sahib, in which its existence was at stake. He took the field in person in 1790, penetrated Tippoo's dominions, and won a series of vic- tories by which the British authority in India was finally established. The war was brought to a close in two campaigns, in which the pow- er of the sultans of Mysore was broken, and a treaty made by which, in order to save the capital city Seringapatam, half of their domin- ions was surrendered to the British. In 1793 Lord Cornwallis returned to England, and in 1798 was made lord lieutenant of Ireland, then in a very distracted state. He restored tran- quillity, and repressed the excesses of the Orange party, acquiring the good will of the Irish. As minister plenipotentiary to France he signed the peace of Amiens in 1802, and having been again appointed governor general in the ser- vice of the East India company, whose affairs had fallen into disorder, he arrived in Calcutta in August, 1805, and was soon attacked by the disease of which he died. His correspon- dence, edited by Ross, has been published (3 vols., London, 1859). CORO. I. A state of the republic of Vene- zuela, extending along the Caribbean sea from Ion. 68 30' to 71 40' W., and bounded S. W. by Maracaibo and S. by Barquisimeto and Carabobo; area, 11,197 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 72,321. On its K coast the peninsula of Pa- raguana is connected with the mainland by a long narrow isthmus, forming on the W. the bay of Coro. It is drained by many small rivers emptying into the Caribbean sea, the principal of which is the Tocuyo, navigable 120 m. from its mouth. The soil is dry and sandy and generally fertile, but is little culti- vated. A large part of the state is covered with forests. The chief products are coffee, cacao, maize, and plantains. Mules, sheep, and cattle are raised to some extent, the plains furnishing abundant pasturage. The popula- tion consists mostly of Indians, negroes, and mixed races. II. Santa Afia de, the capital of the state, situated at the head of the bay of Coro, in lat. 11 24' K, Ion. 69 46' W., 190 m. W. N. W. of Caracas; pop. about 6,000. The streets are regular, but the town is poorly built and has no public edifices worthy of men- tion. The surrounding country is sandy and sterile, and the climate is hot and dry. The harbor is not very safe, but is much frequented, there being a considerable trade with the West India islands. Mules, goats, hides, sheepskins, and cheese were once exported in large quan- tities, but the business has fallen into decay. Coro was founded in 1527, and was the seat of the Spanish government of the province till 1636, when it was superseded by Caracas. COROLLA (Lat. corolla, a little crown), in botany, the inner of the two floral envelopes, forming the most showy part of the blossom, composed either of one entire piece, when it is monopetalous, or of several parts or leaves termed petals, when it is polypetalous. It is usually of delicate texture and bright color. It surrounds the stamens and pistil, and is sur- rounded by the calyx. Its principal function seems to be to protect the organs of fructifica- tion, which it at first completely encloses, and it withers and falls off when this service is no longer needed. The features of the corolla are important elements in all systems of botanical classification, and are the basis of Tournefort's. COROMANDEL, Coast of, a name applied to the W. shore of the bay of Bengal, and properly confined to the seaboard of the British districts of Tanjore, Arcot, Chingleput, and Nellore, ex- tending from Point Calimere, lat. 10 17' N., Ion. 79 56' E., to Gondegam, lat. 15 20' K, Ion. 80 10' E. The term is often applied, however, to the whole coast, as far north as Balasore. The places on this coast principally visited by shipping are Madras, Carikal, Cud- dalore, Pondicherry, and Pulikat. It has no harbors in which large vessels can ride in safety at all times, and is constantly swept by a heavy and dangerous surf. Landing is gen- erally accomplished by means of native boats of a peculiar construction. The shore is open