Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/83

 LACCADIVE ISLES a large proportion of N". W. Guatemala, Chia- pas, and perhaps Tabasco, along the banks of the river of their own name and of the Usu- masinta, seems at present to be confined to the fastnesses of the Chiche mountains. Little is known, however, of the precise limits of their country, as it is comprised in an extensive region hitherto unexplored, extending from lat. 16 to 17 K, and from Ion. 90 to 93 W., accord- ing to M. Morelet, who visited the region, and describes it in Voyage dans VAmerique Centrale (Paris, 1869). The Lacandones, now inter- mingled with the once indomitable Oholes and Manches, were formerly aggressive and cruel, and not only successfully resisted the Spanish arms, but by their frequent incursions mate- rially retarded the prosperity of the surround- ing European colonies. They are now shy and timid in their limited intercourse with the Span- ish population, and even with the civilized abo- riginal tribes, to whom they occasionally bring tobacco and sarsaparilla in exchange for manu- factured goods and rude instruments of agri- culture or warfare. They speak a dialect of the language of the Mayas of Yucatan, in all likelihood the parent stock from which their separation was coeval with and determined by the same causes as that of the Itzaes. (See ITZAES.) Although now subject to the laws of the republic of Guatemala, they preserve the habits and religion of their forefathers, and their territory remains in its primitive condi- tion. There is no reason for believing that they possess large cities and towns, with great temples glistening like silver in the sun, such as the cura of Quiche" affirmed to Mr. Stephens that he had seen with his own eyes from the tops of the mountains of Quezaltenango. LACCADIVE ISLES (Sanskrit, laMe, hundred thousand, and dive, island), a group of small islands in the Indian ocean, consisting of 20 clusters, 100 m. off the Malabar coast, be- tween lat. 10 and 12 40' K, and Ion. 72 and 74 E. ; area, 744 sq. m. ; pop. 6,800. They are dependencies of British India. The prin- cipal are Underoot, Oabarita Akhalu, Kalpeni, Kaltair, Cheltac, Kerdmut, Ameni, Corrittee, and Minicoy. They are all of coral formation. The largest is but 7 m. long, and many of them are barren uninhabited rocks. From the dan- gerous reefs around them they are seldom vis- ited by navigators, and during the S. W. mon- soon all intercourse with the mainland is cut off. The harbor most frequently called at for supplies is Kan-Eattea, lat. 10 34' N., Ion. 72 56 ; E. The islands are not fertile, excepting in cocoa 'palms, the fruit of which forms the principal food of the inhabitants, and its fibre or coir one of the chief articles of commerce. The other products are rice, in small quantities, sweet potatoes, plantains, and betel nuts. Cows are the only quadrupeds on the islands, and they are few and of small size. The sea abounds in fish and turtles. The natives are an inoffensive race, of Arabian origin, who profess a kind of Mohammedanism, and are LACE 77 called Moplays. Their dwellings are of stone, thatched. The Laccadives were discovered by Vasco da Gam a in 1499. LACE, a fabric of threads of cotton, linen, flax, silk, gold, or silver, interwoven to form a delicate plain or ornamental network. Ac- cording to some authorities, lace was in use among the Egyptians and the Greeks and Eo- mans. Mrs. Palliser and others suppose the articles referred to as lace in the Old Testa- ment, and other early works, to have been elaborate needlework or embroidery, and that lace was not made until a later period. The in- vention of lace is claimed both by Italy and Flandersi While it is difficult to determine in which country the manufacture had its origin, it appears that lace was made in both as early as the 15th century. Italian lace is supposed to be referred to in an account dated 1469, and preserved in the municipal archives of Ferrara, while bone and bobbin lace are unmistakably mentioned in a document dated 1493. At a very early period the laces of Venice, Milan, and Genoa were the best known in the com- mercial world. The " Venice point " lace, wonderful for delicate texture and elaborate design, became specially famous. In England it was highly prized and in general use in the reign of Elizabeth, and it found its way into France about the same period. Toward the latter part of the 18th century the manufacture began to decline, and it has since become ex- tinct. Flemish pictures of the 15th century represent persons adorned with lace, and a Belgian writer asserts that lace cornettes or caps were worn in that country as early as the 14th century. The invention of pillow lace has been claimed for Barbara Uttmann, who in 1561, having obtained aid from Flanders, began to make laces of various patterns at An- naberg, Saxony ; but it is asserted by other au- thorities that she only introduced the manu- facture into Germany at that date, as contem- poraneous paintings bear evidence to the ex- istence of the art in Flanders more than half a century before. The lace manufacture of the Netherlands increased with remarkable rapid- ity, and in the 16th century was a source of great wealth to the country. The article pro- duced was of great beauty; the old Flemish laces, the Brussels point and the Mechlin, rivalled the best of the Italian. Every coun- try of northern Europe, France (excepting Alencon), Germany, and England learned the art of lace making from Flanders. Prior to 1665 this industry seems to have been of little importance in France. The lace made was of coarse and inferior quality, and was in little demand compared with the artistic productions of Italy and Flanders, for which enormous sums were annually spent. IsTor did the pro- hibitions against these foreign luxuries develop the native manufacture. In 1666 the manu- facture of lace was established at Alencon by Colbert, who had secured from Venice 30 wo- men skilled in the art. Through the aid of