CHIEF TOWNS.-Lisbon (246,000), the capital, on the right bank of the Tagus, and Oporto (106,000), at the mouth of the Douro, are the only two great cities which Portugal contains, and they divide between them nearly the whole of its commerce. Braga (19,500), an inland town, has considerable trade and manufactures. Coimbra (13,000) and Setubal (15,000) are next in size. The former is the seat of the only university in Portugal; and the latter is noted for its manufacture, and exportation of salt. CAPES.-Cape Roca, or the Rock of Lisbon, Espichel, in Estremadura, St. Vincent, St. Maria. MOUNTAINS.-Sierra d'Estrella, &c. See page 133. RIVERS.-Minho, Douro, Mondego, Tagus, Guadiana. To Portugal belong the Azores, or Western Islands, in the Atlantic. They are nine in number and have an area of 966 square miles and a population of 259,000. Angra (11,000), on the island of Terceira, is the capital. Also the Madeiras, off the north-west coast of Africa, with an area of 317 square miles, and a population of 130,000 Funchal (20,000) is the capital. COLONIES.-The Cape Verde Islands, off the west coast of Africa; and settlements in Senegambia, Guinea, Angola, Benguela, Mossamedes, on the west coast of Africa, with the islands of St. Thomas and Princes, in the Gulf of Guinea, and Mozambique, Sofala, &c., on the east coast of Africa; also Goa and other small settlements on the coast of India; Macao, near Canton, and part of the island of Timor, in the East Indies. Total AREA of the colonies, 713,200 square miles; and POPULATION, 3,880,000. HISTORICAL SKETCH. The ancient name of Portugala was Lusitania, but the boundaries are somewhat different. Connected geographically with Spain, it, in early times, shared the same fate, and was successively subjected to the Romans, the Suevi, the Goths, and the Moors. In the year 1139, the two kingdoms became distinct, when Count Alphonso, of the house of Burgundy, having defeated the Moors in the great battle of Ourique, was proclaimed by his victorious troops king of Portugal. He was therefore the first king of Portugal, and during his dynasty, which continued till 1580, the country rose to the highest point of political and commercial eminence. The early and extensive discoveries of the Portuguese in Africa, India, Brazil, &c., are well known. In 1580, on the failure of the royal line, Philip II., king of Spain; took possession of the kingdom; but in 1640, a revolution took place, and the crown was conferred on John, Duke of Braganza (John IV.), whose descendants are still in possession of it. • Its present name is derived from an ancient town on the Douro near the site of Oporto, called Calle. It implies the Port of Calle, or the western port. See note, page 274. In 1807 the French invaded Portugal, when the royal family emigra ted to Brazil. Some years after the establishment of peace, John VI. was induced to return to Europe (1821). In 1826 Brazil was separated from Portugal, Dom Pedro, son of John VI., taking the title of Emperor, and abdicating the Portuguese throne in favour of his daughter, Donna Maria. Dom Miguel, the brother of Dom Pedro, usurped the rights of his niece, from 1828 until 1834, when he was finally expelled. In 1853, Donna Maria died, and was succeeded by her son; Dom Pedro V., who died in 1861, leaving the crown to his brother, Dom Louis. ITALY. ITALY is bounded on the north and north-east by the Alps, which separate it from Switzerland, the Tyrol, and France; on the west and south by the Mediterranean; and on the east by the Strait of Otranto, the Adriatic, and Austria. Its length, from Cape Leuca to Mont Blanc, is about 700 miles; and its breadth varies from 350 to less than 20. Its AREA, including Sicily and the other islands is about 114,300 square miles; andits POPULATION (1881), 28,500,000. Previous to the year 1859, Italy comprised eight sovereign and independent states, namely (1) The Kingdom of Naples, including the Island of Sicily, in the south; (2) The Ecclesiastical States, or territories of the Pope; (3) In the north-west, Piedmont, Savoy, Nice, and Genoa, which, with the Island of Sardinia, constituted the Kingdom of Sardinia; (4) Austrian-Italy or the LombardoVenetian States in the north-east, or between the Po and Ticino, the Gulf of Venice and the Alps; (5) The Grand Duchy of Tuscany; (6) The Duchy of Lucca (united to Tuscany in 1847); The Duchies of (7) Modena and (8) Parma, which lay between the Sardinian and Ecclesiastical States. In consequence of the wars and revolutions in Italy between the years 1859 and 1866, the above-mentioned Kingdoms and Duchies, together with the Ecclesiastical provinces of the Romagna, Umbria, and the Marches, were formed into one kingdom. Nice and Savoy were ceded by Italy to France in 1859, and the Province of Venetia by Austria to Italy in 1866. On the withdrawal of the French garrison, consequent on the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war in 1870, the Italian army occupied Rome, and the remaining Ecclesiastical States were merged in the Kingdom of Italy. The small Republic of San Marino, one of the most ancient states in Europe, alone retains its independence. Its area is 23 square miles, and population 7,300. Usually called the kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Parma, Modena, Emilia,b Romagna, Tuscany, Umbria, The Marches, Naples, Sicily, District of Rome, . Republic of San Marino, Chief Towns. Turin, Alessandria, Vercelli, Genoa, Casale, Cagliari, Sassari. Milan, Cremona, Brescia, Lodi, Como, Venice, Verona, Mantua, Padua, Vicenza, (Parma, Piacenza. Modena, Massa, Carrara, Reggio. (Ferrara, Bologna, Ravenna, Forli, Rimini. Urbino, Ancona, Fermo, Ascoli. Naples, Gaeta, Capua, Salerno, Reggio, Palermo, Trapani, Marsala, Catania, Gir- ROME, Viterbo, Civita-Vecchia, Velletri CHIEF TOWNS.-Rome (272,000), once the capital of the world, is still a magnificent city. Its splendid buildings and architectural ruins are everywhere celebrated. Naples (463,000) surpasses every city in Europe for the beauty of its appearance and situation. Turin (226,000) is a handsome city in a fine situation, and is noted for its silk manufactures. Florence (122,000) is a beautiful city, and distinguished as a seat of science and art, and for its noble collection of paintings and statues. Genoa (138,000), formerly the capital of a republic of the same name, is one of the most commercial ports in Italy. Leghorn (78,000) is next to Genoa in commercial importance. Bologna (104,000) is the second city in the Romagna, and is famous for its sausages. Ancona (28,000), has a good harbour, and considerable trade. Palermo (206,000) and Messina (77,000) are beautiful cities with active commerce. Milan (214,000) and Venice (129,000) are large and magnificent cities; and there are many other large and noble cities in Italy; as Padua, Parma (45,000), Verona, Mantua, Modena (31,000), &c. ISLANDS.-Besides Sicily and Sardinia, already mentioned, there are Elba, Corsica, the Lipari Isles, Caprera, Ischia, and Malta. These are subdivided into 69 governments. b This name is derived from the Via Emilia, one of the ancient Roman highways. с Belongs to France. See page 279. The d Malta and the small islands of Gozo and Comino in its vicinity, belong geographically to Italy, but politically to Great Britain. capital of Malta is Valetta. X GULFS, &c.-Venice, Genoa, Gaeta, Salerno, Squillace, Taranto, Bay of Naples, Straits of Messina, Bonifacio, Otranto. CAPES.-Passaro, Spartivento, Leuca, Colonne. MOUNTAINS.-Alps, Apennines, Vesuvius; and in Sicily, Mount Etna. See page 128, &c. RIVERS. The Po, Adige, Ticino, Arno, Tiber, Volturno, Mincio. LAKES.-Maggiore, Lugano, Garda, Como, &c. Italy is a mountainous, but a rich, beautiful, and picturesque country. Its climate is delightful, and its sky clear and unclouded. The heat, however, in many places is very oppressive in summer; and the malaria at that season renders large tracts of it uninhabitable; as the Tuscan Maremme, the Pontine Marshes, and the Campagna di Roma. The south of Italy is subject to the sirocco from Africa. See page 178. HISTORICAL SKETCH. Rome was founded by Romulus, from whom it took its name, about 750 years before the Christian era. It was first governed by kings, of whom there were seven; subsequently by consuls chosen annually by the people; and in the end by emperors. The regal power was abolished (B.C. 508) in consequence of the tyranny and crimes of Tarquinius Superbus and his family; and the consular or democratic form of government then established, continued from that period till the time of Julius Cæsar, who by making himself perpetual dictator (B.C. 48), usurped the sovereign authority. After him Augustus and a long line of emperors succeeded. Rome was at first very small, but the daring and martial spirit of its inhabitants, originally either adventurers or outlaws, soon gave it an ascendancy over the petty states by which it was surrounded. They were constantly at war; and almost every war in which they were engaged brought them an accession of territory and power, till in the end they established their dominion over the whole of Italy. Elated with success, the warlike Romans became ambitious of foreign conquests; and the fertile island of Sicily, then the granary of the Carthaginians, was the first territory out of Italy which they became desirous of possessing. This led to the celebrated Punic wars, which terminated in the destruction of Carthage (B.C. 146). Having subdued their powerful and hated rivals, the Carthaginians, the spirit of conquest led the victorious Romans from country to country, till the whole world became subject to their sway. About the period of the Christian era the Roman power was at its height, but it soon after began to decline; and in the fifth century (476) the Heruli, under their king or leader, Odoacer, took possession of Rome and Italy, and thus put an end to the Roman empire in the west. Odoacer reigned as "king of Italy" for seventeen years, when he was slain by Theodoric the celebrated king of the Ostrogoths or Eastern Goths. Theodoric established the kingdom of the Goths in Italy; and having embraced Christianity, he reigned at Rome with great wisdom and moderation till his death (A.D. 526). In about twenty-six years after, Justinian by his generals, Belisarius and Narses, recovered Italy from the Goths, and annexed it to the eastern empire under an exarch or viceroy, who resided at Ravenna. Narses was the first exarch. In 568, the Lombards invaded Italy under their king or leader Alboin, and having conquered the greater part of the north of it, established the kingdom of Lombardy. In 753, the Lombards were successfully attacked by Pepin, king of France; and in 772, their kingdom in Italy was entirely overthrown by his son Charlemagne, who afterwards annexed Italy to the empire of the west, which he reestablished. See the Historical Sketches of France and Germany. The Eastern empire continued to exist till 1453, when Constantinople was taken by the Turks. SWITZERLAND. SWITZERLAND is bounded on the north by Germany; west by France; south by Italy; and east by Austria. Its length, from Mount Jura to the Tyrol, is about 200 miles; and its breadth, from Como to the Rhine at Schaffhausen, is 130 miles. Its AREA in square miles is upwards of 15,900; and its POPULATION · (1880), 2,846,000. Switzerland consists of 22 CANTONS, which are united into one political body called the Swiss Confederation. CHIEF TOWNS.-Berne is the chief town of the largest canton, and the capital of the whole. It is the seat of the diet, and the residence of the ministers from Foreign States. Geneva is beautifully situated on the lake of the same name, and is celebrated for its literary institutions, and the distinguished men it has produced. It is also noted for its extensive manufacture of watches. Basle or Rale and Zurich are two of the most commercial towns. Lausanne is an in teresting town near the Lake of Geneva, about 1,500 feet above the level of the sea. Schaffhausen is near the celebrated fall of the Rhine, and is noted for its trade. MOUNTAINS.-The Alps, the loftiest summits of which on the Swiss side are Mount Rosa, Mount Cervin, Jungfrau, Schrek-horn, Great St. Bernard, the Simplon, St. Gothard, Mount Jura. Mont Blanc is in the neighbourhood of Switzerland (between Savoy and Piedmont). See page 129. RIVERS.-The Rhine, Rhone, Aar, Ticino, Inn, &c. LAKES.-Geneva, Constance, Zurich, Lucerne, Neufchate!, Thun, Brienz, Wallenstadt, Maggiore, Lugano, &c. |