Imagens das páginas
PDF
ePub

into districts. The chief towns are as follows. Stockholm, the capital; lat. 59° 20′ N., long. 17° 54′ E.: population in 1839, 83,885. Upsala, Gefle, Gotheborg, Carlscrona, Christianstadt, and Wisby. Norway is divided into 17 amts, or districts. Its capital is Christiana, in 59° 55′ N. lat., and 10° 48′ E. long. population, 24,000. The other chief towns are Bergen, a large seaport; Drontheim, formerly the residence of the Norwegian kings; and Frederiksvörn, the naval arsenal of Norway.

SECTION XII.

RUSSIA IN EUROPE.

220. Situation and Boundaries.—Russia in Europe lies between 43° and 70° N. lat., and 18° and 65° E. long. Its greatest extent from north to south is 1720 miles; its greatest breadth 1791 miles its area exceeds 2,000,000 square miles. The whole population considerably exceeds 60 millions. It is bounded north by the Arctic Ocean; west, by Sweden, the Baltic, Russia, and Austria; south, by Turkey and the Black Sea; east, by the Oural Mountains, Oural River, and Caspian Sea.

221. General Description of the Country.-The greater portion of Russia is part of the vast plain of central Europe. The northern slope of this plain forms the basin of the White Sea. The southern slope includes central Russia, the Steppes, and the country beyond the Volga. The third slope extends from the borders of Prussia to the Gulph of Finland, and declines to the Baltic. The northern slope is barren: the Steppes yield little more than grass; but some regions are covered with forests, and a few are

comparatively fertile.

The chief gulphs are those of Riga and Finland, in the west of Russia; and the Bays of Arkangel and Onega, in the White Sea. The islands of Nova Zembla and Spitzbergen, in the Arctic Ocean, and of Aland, Dago, and Oesel, in the Baltic, belong to Russia. Domesness, at the entrance of the Gulph of Riga, is a dangerous cape. The principal mountains are the Oural, between Russia and Siberia; and the Valdai Hills, in the province of Novgorod. The more important rivers are the Dwina, Mezen, and Petchora, which flow toward the Arctic Ocean; the Neva, Duna, Vistula, and Niemen, which flow into the Baltic; the Dniester, Dnieper, Bog, Don, and Kuban, into the Black Sea; and the Wolga and Oural, into the Caspian Sea. Russia abounds with lakes; the largest of which are those of Ladoga, Onega, Ilmen, and Peipus. The climate of Russia, which comprises every variety, is of an extreme character; the winters being colder and the summers warmer than in the corresponding latitudes of western Europe.

222. Produce, Manufactures, and Commerce.-Russia is chiefly an agricultural country, yielding most abundant crops of rye, oats, and wheat. While corn and cattle constitute the wealth of central Russia, the south yields the vine, mulberry, and other delicate products. The Russian forests are of immense extent, and supply in profusion timber, tar, pitch, potash, and turpentine. Cattle of every kind, horses, and sheep are bred in vast numbers, especially in the Steppes. The forests contain great numbers of bees, which yield an abundance of wax and honey for exportation. There are also

many wild animals, whose skins and furs are important articles of trade in the northern districts. The fisheries of Russia are not the least important branch of its industry. Manufactures of various kinds, as of linen, cotton, cordage,

corn-brandy, and others, are making progress. The principal trading ports are St. Petersburg, Cronstadt, Riga, and Revel, on the Baltic Sea; Arkhangel and Onega, on the White Sea; Odessa, on the Black Sea. St. Petersburg engrosses the greater portion of the foreign trade; Moscow is the centre of the internal trade. The annual fair of Nishnei-Novgorod is probably the largest in the world. The roads throughout Russia are in general very bad; but all the great rivers, lakes, and seas have been connected by canals: so that there is uninterrupted communication from the Baltic to the Black Sea, the White Sea, and the Caspian.

223. Government and Institutions.-All political power emanates from the Czar, the autocratic Emperor of all the Russias. There are no legal limits to the monarch's will, but he is morally compelled to respect many privileges and usages. Public business is administered, under the Emperor, by the Imperial Council, the Senate, the Holy Synod, and the Committee of Ministers. The system of police is very efficient. The military power of Russia, though often exaggerated, is formidable at home. The naval force in the Baltic, the Black Sea, and the Caspian is considerable. The people are divided into four classes; nobles, clergy, burghers, and peasants. Education is beginning to extend and improve; but the only universities of reputation are those of Dorpat and Vilna. The clergy are unduly subjected to the temporal power; and the great bulk of the people are comparatively uncivilized and superstitious. 224. Political Divisions and Chief Towns. Russia is divided into 47 governments, or provinces; 5 of which are partly in Asia. There are 3 northern governments; 16 in Great Russia; 3 Baltic provinces; 6 in White Russia; 8 in Little or Red Russia; 4 in New Russia; 4 Volga provinces; 3 Oural provinces; the kingdom of Poland, constituted by the Congress of Vienna in 1815; and Finland. St. Petersburg, the capital, is in 59° 56′ N. lat., and 30° 19′ E. long. ; its population is upwards of 470,000. The other chief towns are Moscow, the ancient capital; Warsaw, the ancient capital of Poland; Revel; Riga; Helsingfors; Arkhangel; Vologoa; Tula; Kief; Odessa; Sebastopol; Vilna; Kazan; Astrakhan; Saratov; and Cracow.

SECTION XIII.

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL.

225. Situation and Boundaries.-These two independent kingdoms compose, physically, a single compact peninsula; often called The Peninsula. This lies between 36° and 44° N. lat., and between 4° E. and 10° W. long. Its greatest length is 720 miles; its greatest breadth 630 miles: the area of Spain, 179,465 square miles; of Portugal, 36,596. The population of Spain is about 14, of Portugal about 4, millions. The peninsula is bounded north by the Bay of Biscay and the Pyrenees; south, by the Atlantic and Mediterranean; east, by the Mediterranean; west, by the Atlantic.

226. General Description of the Country. This large peninsula lies at the south-western extremity of Europe. The interior consists of one vast elevated table-land, traversed by numerous mountains; branches of the Pyrenees, the Santillanos, the mountains of Castille, Sierra de Toledo, Sierra Morena, Sierra Nevada, Monserrat, Sierra de Estrella, and others. A narrow belt of maritime lowland slopes gradually towards the sea. The principal capes are Ortegal or Finisterre, in Galicia; Trafalgar, in Andalusia; San Martin, on the Mediterranean coast; the Rock of Lisbon, the most westerly point in the Continent of Europe; and Cape St. Vincent, also in Portugal. The islands are the Balearic, in the Mediterranean; the Azores, in the Atlantic; the Madeiras, and Cape Verde Islands, on

the coast of Africa. The river Ebro, flows in a southeasterly direction into the Mediterranean; the Douro, westward, into the Atlantic; the Tagus, Guadiana, Guadalquiver, and others, each having several affluents, also flow into the Atlantic. The climate is, generally, equable, mild, and salubrious, but varies according to the elevation.

227. Produce, Manufactures, and Commerce.-The vegetable productions of the Peninsula are rich and various. Andalusia is the granary of Spain; but other districts, as Leon and Old Castile, are hardly less productive, especially in barley. The olive and the vine are successfully cultivated. Generally speaking, the Peninsula is deficient in forests; yet these abound in Cataluna and Biscay. Fragrant wild flowers are most various and abundant. The animal kingdom presents nothing remarkable. Agriculture is in a wretched state in both Spain and Portugal: but Spain is capable of yielding the richest wheat; and Portugal abounds in olive-trees, whose oil is a valuable article of trade. The silver, quicksilver, and cobalt mines of Spain, and the iron mines of Portugal, are valuable other minerals are found, but the mines are not much wrought. The inland Spaniards are indolent; but those on the coasts, and many of the mountaineers, are active and enterprising. Considerable commerce is carried on, chiefly with France and England; with the latter country, to a great extent, through the medium of smugglers. The manufactures of Portugal are unimportant. Its separation from Brazil, and the loss of its Indian possessions, have greatly depressed its commerce. Subsequent political changes have been additionally injurious.

228. Government and Institutions. The government of Spain is now professedly a constitutional monarchy. Before the Peninsular War,-A.D. 1808-1814,-it was an absolute monarchy; except in the provinces of Biscay, which enjoyed great privileges. But from 1810 to the present time, Spain has been convulsed by a succession of revolutions; and this country, once so powerful and dignified, is now prostrate and distracted. Education is much neglected. The universities of Spain, once so celebrated, are now in a state of comparative

« AnteriorContinuar »