Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/451

BAGWORM. colored wings. They sometimes swarm in city parks and similar situations, and defoliate shade trees over a large area, unless the cocoons are scraped off and destroyed. Compare.

BAHADUR, ba-ha'dUor, (c. 1767-1862). The seventeenth and last Great Mogul of the House of Tamerlane. When he was 90 years old, the Mohammedans of Hindustan made him leader of the movement to reëstablish the Mogul Empire. He took refuge in the tomb of his ancestors when Delhi was captured by the British, but was taken prisoner and banished to Rangoon. He wrote a large number of songs, which were published under the title of Safar (Victory), and was regarded as the most gifted of the modern poets of Delhi.

BAHALUL, bii'ha-liJol'. A character in The Arabian Nights. He is nicknamed 'The Crazy,' and is a fool of Harun-al-Rashid's court.

BAHA'MAS, or A group of islands, forming a division of the British West Indies, situated in the Atlantic Ocean, between latitudes 21° and 27° 31' N., southeast of Florida and north of Cuba and Haiti (Map: West Indies, K 2). Including the reefs, they number over 3000, of which only about 20 are inhabited.The principal islands are New Providence, Abaco, Harbor Island, Great Bahama, Andros Island, San Salvador, Long Island, Mayaguana, Eleuthera, Exuma, Watling's Island, Acklin's Island, Crooked Island, and Great Inagua. The total area of the group is placed at 5450 square miles. The islands are long and narrow, with a generally low surface, the highest point attaining to an altitude of a little above 225 feet; they are comparatively fertile, though the soil is not of great depth. Some of the larger islands have a valuable growth of timber. Cotton and sisal are cultivated to a considerable extent, and other leading products are maize, pineapples, oranges, grapes, etc. Fishing for sponges and other marine products is one of the most important occupations. The climate, although moist, is not unhealthful for whites, though among the negroes there is a high rate of mortality from pulmonary complaints. The mild winter temperature has made the islands, particularly New Providence (the most important, with an area of 85 square miles), a popular place of winter and health resort.

The imports into the Bahamas in 1900, principally textiles and flour, amounted to £335,209 ($1,676,345), while the exports were valued at £207,223 ($1,036,115). The principal articles of export are sponges, pineapples, fibre, turtle shell, etc.

The islands are administered by a governor, assisted by executive and legislative councils of nine members each, and a representative assembly of 29 members, elected on a property qualification. Education is subsidized to a considerable extent by the Government. The revenue and expenditures of the colony for 1900 were £78,860 ($394,300) and £82,837 ($414,185) respectively. The capital, Nassau (q.v.), on New Providence, is the seat of a United States consul. Total population of the Bahamas in 1891, 47,565; in 1901, 53,735.

The Bahamas were discovered by Columbus in 1492, though the exact locality of his first landing has been the subject of considerable dispute. The English, in 1629, established a settlement on New Providence, from which they were driven by the Spanish in 1641, and from that time until 1783, when they were ultimately acquired by England, they were alternately in the possession of the Spanish and the British. At this period, the islands became notorious as the rendez-vous of pirates and the scene of disorder and lawlessness. During the Revolution, the Bahamas gave refuge to a number of American Tories, whose wealth and slave-labor aided materially in the development of the islands. The blockade of the Southern ports during tge Civil War made Nassau the chief station in the blockade-running trade, and increased the commerce of the islands to an enormous extent. The Bahamas have suffered severely from hurricanes, notably in 1866 and in 1883, and disastrous droughts have occurred. In 1848 the Turk and Caicos Islands were joined to Jamaica for administrative purposes. Consult: British Empire Series (London, 1900); Stark, History and Guide to the Bahamas (Boston, 1891). For further references, see.

BAHAR, ba-har'. See.

BAHAWALPUR, b.-i-hii'wal-poor', or BHAWALPUR, b'h:i'wal-]iuor'. One of the Native States of the Punjab, India, in latitudes 27° 41' to 30° 25' N., and longitudes 69° 30' to 73° 58' E., with an area of 17,285 square miles (Map: India, B 3). Population, in 1891, 650,000; in 1901, 720,700. The country is remarkably level, but only about one-sixth is capable of cultivation, the fertile portion skirting the Ghara and the Indus. Beasts of chase, such as tigers and boars, abound; domestic animals, camels, kine, buffaloes, goats, and broad-tailed sheep, are raised. The principal exports are cotton, sugar, indigo, hides, drugs, dyestuffs, wool, butter, and provisions in general. The principal imports are the wares of Britain. Bahawalpur is traversed by the Indus Valley Railway.

BAHAWALPUR, or BHAWALPUR (Bhawal Khan, name of a ruler + Skt. pur, city). The capital of the Native State of the same name, India, on a tributary of the Ghara, in latitude 29° 24' N. (Map: India, B 3). It has a circuit of 4 miles — part, however, of the inclosed space being occupied by groves of trees. Bahawalpur has manufactures of scarfs and turbans, chintzes, and other cottons, and the immediate neighborhood is remarkably fertile in grain, sugar, indigo, tobacco, and butter, with an abundance of mangoes, oranges, apples, and other fruits in perfection. For external commerce Bahawalpur is favorably placed. It has railway connection with Multan (q.v.) and stands at the junction of three routes respectively from the east, southeast, and south; while, toward the north, the Hindu merchants, who are very enterprising, have dealings with Bokhara, and even with Astrakhan. Population, about 14,000.

BAHIA, ba-e'a (Sp. and Portug., bay), or São Salvador de la Bahía de Todos os Santos. Capital of the State of Bahía, Brazil, the second city of the country, and the seat of an archbishop, who is Primate of Brazil (Map: Brazil, K 6). It is situated on the east shore of the Bahia de Todos os Santos, or Bay of All Saints, from which it takes its name. It is 440 miles southwest of Pernambuco, and 800 miles northeast of Rio Janeiro, with both of which cit-