Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/568

BARATARIA. BARATARIA, ba'ia-ta-re'a. A name, signi- fying 'deception,' given to an island which ap- pears in fairy tales. In Cervantes's Don Quixote, Sancho Panza is made Governor of Barataria. but resigns his honors in disgust over his experi- ences at the inaugural feast, when appetizing dishes are placed before him, but removed before he has a chance to eat.

BAR'ATA'RIA, In American history, a company of outlaws who established themselves in and near the Bay of Barataria, La., on the west side of the Mississippi Delta, about 40 miles south of New Orleans, whence they emerged to commit depredations on the shipping of England and Spain. Under the leadership of the notorious Jean Lafitte (q.v.), they rapidly increased in numbers and audacity, and succeeded in capturing large quantities of booty, which they disposed of through their agents at New Orleans. Their colony was broken up in September, 1814, by Commander Daniel T. Patterson, of the United States Navy. Subsequently Lafitte and a number of his men volunteered for the defense of New Orleans against the British, and served with gallantry under Jackson in the battle of January 8, 1815. Consult two articles on "Jean and Pierre Lafitte," by Charles Gayarre, in Vol. X. of The Magazine of American History (New York, 1885).

BAR'ATHRON. A deep gorge outside of Athens, originally a quarry, and artificially enlarged, into which criminals condemned to death were hurled. Here the messengers sent by Darius to demand symbols of submission from the Athenians were put to death.

BARATIERI, ba'r.i-tya're. (1841-1904). An Italian general, born at Condino, in the Tyrol. He fought under Garibaldi in Sicily in 1860, and after the war against Austria in 1866 joined the regular army. In 1891 he was made Governor of Eritrea, the new possession of Italy on the Abyssinian coastland, in Africa. In pursuance of the ambitious schemes of conquest entertained by the Italians, and in violation of a treaty concluded with the Negus Menelek in 1889, General Baratieri advanced into the highlands of the interior to the west and southwest of Massowah, and after a long campaign captured Kassala, in July, 1894. Advancing thence into Tigré (q.v.), he twice defeated the ras, or prince, of that country in January, 1895. The conquests of the Italians finally drove Menelek to resistance; the latter's generals took the field with 100,000 men, and Baratieri was forced to retreat from Adowa, the capital of Tigré, toward Adigrat. Fearing, however, to continue his retreat lest his forces should be thoroughly demoralized, he resolved to attack the Abyssinians, advanced once more on Adowa, and on the morning of March 1 joined battle on the heights near that place. So fierce was the onslaught of the Shouan forces of Menelek that the Italians were routed, with the loss of 250 officers, 7000 men, and all their artillery. General Baratieri was brought before a court-martial, which absolved him of criminal responsibility, but censured at the same time his conduct of the campaign. Baratieri left the army in the same year. In 1897 he published Memorie d'Africa, in the nature of a defense.

BARATYNSKI, ba'ra-tin'ske, (1800-44). A Russian poet and friend of Pushkin. While serving as a soldier in Finland, he was so impressed by the stern grandeur and picturesqueness of nature that he embodied these aspects in his poem Eda (1826). His best work is The Gypsy, a popular poem picturing Russian high life. His complete works were published at Moscow (1869; ed. 4, Kazan, 1884); Fiedler's Russischer Parnass (Dresden, 1889) contains several of his poems in German translation.

BARB (Fr. barbe, from Barbarie, Barbary). A distinct variety of the Arabian horse cultivated by the Moors of Barbary, and introduced by them into Spain. Barbs are less remarkable for their beauty and symmetry than for their speed and endurance when stimulated by the excitement of a contest. The most celebrated barb to leave his mark upon the thoroughbreds of the world was the horse commonly known as the "Godolphin Barb," from the family name of his English owner, the Duke of Leeds (of the Godolphin family). Nearly every race-horse of note on the English turf has a strain of the blood of this famous animal, who died in December, 1753, aged 29 years.

BARB (i.e. ) APE, HORSE, PIGEON, etc. See the substantives.

BAR'BACAN. See.

BARBACENA, biir'ba-sfi'na, Caldeira Brant Pontes Felisberto, Marquis of (1772-1841). A Brazilian soldier and statesman, born near Mari- anna, State of Minas Geraes. He became a mem- ber of the Constitutional Assembly in 1823, and was elected senator in 1826. When in command in 1827 of the Brazilian forces in Uruguay, he was defeated at Ituzaingó. In 1828 he accom- panied to Lisbon Maria II., the young Queen of Portugal, whose rights he very skillfully main- tained. He was Brazilian Prime Minister in 1829-30.

BARBA'DOS (Portug., the bearded, from the bearded fig tree, Ficus barbata, found there in abundance). The most easterly of the West Indian islands, a possession of Great Britain, situated 78 miles east of St. Vincent, in latitude 13° 4' N., and longitude 59° 37' W. (Map: West Indies, E 8.) It has an area of 166 square miles. The surface, generally flat along the coast, which is surrounded by coral reefs, is elevated in the interior, where Mount Hillaby, the highest point, rises to about 1100 feet. Barbados has a healthful, and, for a tropical island, a moderate climate, the mean temperature being about 80°. Earthquakes occur infrequently, but occasional hurricanes have caused great distress.

The soil is especially adapted to the cultivation of sugar-cane, which forms the staple of the island. Of the 106,240 acres occupied by Barbados, about 100,000 acres are under cultivation, nearly one-third of which is devoted to sugar culture. Next in the rank of production come cotton, tobacco, coffee, indigo, and arrowroot. There are numerous sugar-works and several rum distilleries, and the fishing interests are of importance. The commerce of Barbados in 1900 comprised imports valued at £1,045,252 ($5,226,260), and exports, £909,011 ($4,545,055); the principal articles exported being sugar, molasses, and rum; while the imports consisted largely of