veffels are thereby enabled to fail against the stream, and perform a voyage almoft as foon up the river Amazon, as down it, which is a voyage of eight or ten months. Here are terrible ftorms of thunder and lightning during the time of the rains. Their tair feafon is when the fun is at the greatest distance from them, and the wet weather when the fun is vertical, or near it, as it is about the vernal and autumnal equinox.

Produce.] The trees of this country are all ever-greens, and they have fruits, flowers, and herbage, all the year round. Their fruits are cocoa-nuts, anana's, or pine-apples, guava's, bonana's, and fuch other fruits as grow within the tropics. Their foreft-trees are cedar, Brafil-wood, oak, ebony, logwood, iron wood, and many forts of dying woods; and they have the cancla, or cinnamon, as fome call it, because it has a bark which fomething resembles fpice. They "have Indian corn, and the callava root, of which they make bread. The country alfo produces cotton, fugar, yamis, potatoes, and farfaparilla.

Manufactures.] They fpin and weave themfclves cotton garments. The materials of their houfes are wood, thatch, and clay.

Buildings.] They build no higher than the ground-floor, and ufually upon an eminence, out of the way of the flood, but not far from fome river.

Government.] The banks of every river almost are inhabited by a different people, governed by their refpective caciques or fovereigns, who are diftinguifhed from their fubjects by coronets of beautiful feathers.

Arms and Wars.] Their arms are bows, arrows, and fpears; and they engage their enemies frequently on the water as well as on the land, though they have no better veffels than canoes, which are only great trees made hollow.

Perfons and Habits.] The natives are of the ufual flature, have tawny complexions, good features, long black hair, and black eyes; fometimes they wear mantles made of the fkins of beaits, but generally go naked.

They are a humane hofpitable people, have a genius for painting, and make good mechanics

Women.] They allow of polygamy, or a plurality of wives and concubines. And the women here, as in other American nations, do the moit laborious works.

Religion.] They worship the images of their ancient heroes, or fubordinate deities, and carry their gods with them in their expedi tions; but we hear of no temples or orders of priests among them.

Revolutions and memorable events.

T is very uncertain who were the original inhabitants of this Spaniards and Portuguese, who were fent to make discoveries up and down

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down the river of Amazon, which was not till after the conquest a Peru was completed.

Gonzalo Pizarro, brother of the Marquis who conquered Peru, ac cidentally discovered this river in the year 1540; and being informed that it paffed through a country well replenished with gold, he deter mined to fearch out the course of it; for which purpofe he affembled 340 veteran Spanish foldiers, horfe and foot, and four thousand Indians, to carry his ammunition, provifion, and baggage; with whom he fet out from Quito, which lies near the equinoctial, but was much incommoded by continual rains, and a flooded country, until he came to the mountains of the Andes, which were covered with fnow, and fo exceffive cold, that he loft many of his Indians by the severity of the weather. Several Spaniards alfo perifhed by the hardships they underwent, and for want of provifions in the defert countries they pal fed through; and the bogs, lakes, and moraffes, with which the country abounded, much retarded their march by land. They built a brigantine, which enabled them to cross the river, and avoid the im pediments they met with on that fide where they were. After which Orellana was made captain of the brigantine, and fifty men being put on board of it, Pizarro ordered them to fail down the river in fearch of provifions, and return to him again as foon as poffible; but Orellana, inftead of pursuing his orders, continued his voyage down the river, and left Pizarro and the people with him to difengage themselves from the difficulties they were in as well as they could. Pizarro having long waited for Orellana in vain, returned with the few people he had left to Quito in Peru; for in this expedition all the 4000 Indians perish. ed, and but 80 Spaniards remained alive of 340 he carried out with him.

In the mean time Orellana continued his voyage to the mouth of the river, where having built a more commodious brigantine, he entered the Atlantic ocean, and failed to the island of Trinity on the coast of Caribbiana; from whence he went to Spain, and giving that court an account of the great discoveries he had made, he obtained a commiffion for the conqueft of that country, to which he had given the name of Amazonia, and being joined by five hundred voluntiers, most of them young gentlemen, he arrived in the mouth of the river Amazon in the year 1554, but met with fo many difficulties before he had failed a hundred leagues up the river, that he abandoned the en terprife, and died in his return to Spain. Several other adventurers failed from Peru down this river afterwards; and Texeira, a Portuguefe, by help of the easterly wind, failed up the river from. Paria ia Brafil to Peru, and down again, in the years 1637 and 1638. But no gold being found in this country as they expected, neither the Spaniards or Portuguefe, or any other European nation, have thought it worth while to leave any colonies here; but the Indians of Amazonia ftill remain a free people, not fubject to any foreign dominion.

Spanish ISLANDS in AMERICA.

Situation.]

CUBA.

Uba is fituate in the Atlantic or American ocean,

C between 74 and 87 degrees W. Lon, and between 20
C

and 23 degrees N. Lat. upwards of 800 miles long from E. to W. and 70 miles broad.

Face of the Country.] A chain of hills runs through the middle of the island, but the land near the coaft is generally a level champaign country, well watered with rivulets, and flooded in the rainy feason, when the fun is vertical; but there are scarce any navigable rivers, as they run fo fhort a course from the hills into the fea. There are feveral good harbours in the island; the chief whereof are thofe of St Jago, towards the east end of the island; Cumberland harbour, further east ; and the Havanna, at the N. W. part of the island. The chief towns

are,

1. St Jago, W. Lon. 77. Lat. 20. ftrongly fituated and well forti fied, the capital of the island; but neither very populous nor rich at present.

2. The Havanna, W. Lon. 83. Lat. 23. a fecure, capacious harbour, of difficult accefs, where the galleons from Carthagena and Vera Cruz rendezvous on their return to Spain. Here the governor, the Bishop of St Jago, and most of the people of diftinction in the island, . refide. This city was taken from the Spaniards in the late war, by the English forces under the command of Lord Albemarle and Admiral Pococke, but was restored by the treaty of peace, which was concluded foon after.

3. Baracoa, fituate on the N. E. coaft of the island, has a good harbour for fmall vessels.

4. Porto del Principe, fituate also on the N. coaft, 300 m les east of the Havanna.

5. Santa Cruz, fituate on the N. coaft, 30 miles caft of the Ha

vanna.

Produce.] This island produces the fame animals as the continent under the fame parallel. The hills are pretty well planted with timber.

The foil produces maize, caffava-root, tobacco, fugar, hides, cotton, indigo, ginger, aloes, and long pepper; but European wheat, hemp, or flax, do not thrive here, any more than vines.

Situation.]

HISPANIOLA.

Ifpaniola is fituate in the Atlantic or American ocean, between 67 and 74 degrees W Lon. and between 18 and 20 degrees N. Lat. upwards of 400 miles long, and 120 broad; 50 miles eaft of Cuba, and 70 caft of Jamaica, and 300 miles N. of Terra Firma; fometimes called St Domingo, from its capital.

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In the middle of the country are mountains well planted with forefttrees; and other mountainous, barren rocks, in which were formerly filver mines, and gold fands in their rivulets.

Produce.] The reft of the country confifts of fine fruitful plains, which produce fugar, cotton, indigo, tobacco, maize, and caffavaroot; and the European cattle are fo multiphed, that they run wild in the woods, and are hunted for their hides and tallow

This ifland is now divided between the Spaniards and the French; I the Spaniards poffeffing most of the fouthern fhores, and the French the north and welt.

Towns.] The chief towns are, St Domingo. capital of the Spanish fettlements, fituate on a fpacious harbour on the outh fide of the ifland, W. Lon. 70 degrees, N. Lat. 18. the most ancient royal audience in N. America, and feat of the governor The inhabitants a mixture of Europeans, Creols, Mulatto's, Multees, and Negroes, not a fixth part Spaniards; founded by Bartholomew Columbus, brother to the Admiral, in 1504.

2. Conception de la Vega, 25 leagues north of St Domingo, founded by Columbus, from whence he had the title of Duke de la Vega.

The chief towns belonging to the French in Hispaniola, are,

1. Petit Guava's, W. Lon. 73 degrees, N. Lat. 16. a port-town, fituate on a bay at the weft end of the island.

2. Logane, another port-town, fituate on the fame bay.

3. Port Lewis, a good harbour on the fouth weit part of the ifland.

4. Cape Francis, the most easterly fettlement of the French on the north fhore.

Porto Rico, is fituate between 64 and 67 degrees W. Lon. and in 18 N. Lat. about 120 miles long, and 60 broad. This ifland confitts of little fruitful hills and valleys, and produces the fame fruits as the former iflands, and is equally unhealthful in the rainy feafon.

The town of Porto Rico, or St John, is fituate in 65 degrees W. Lon. 18, N, Lat, in a little ifland on the north fide of the main ifland, forming a capacious harbour, and joined to the chief illand by a caufey, and defended by forts and batteries, which render the town inacceffible.

The Virgin islands, fituate at the east end of Porto Rico are exceeding fmall.

The island of Trinidad is fituate in the Atlantic ocean, between 60 and 62 degrees W. Lon. and between 10 and 11 N. Lat. 90 miles long, and 60 broad; feparated from the continent of Andalufia, in Terra Firma, by the narrow ftreight of Boco del Drago, 80 miles N. W. of the river Oronoque; an unhealthful, but fruitful foil, producing fugar, tobacco, indigo, cotton, ginger, and Indian corn.

Margaretta is fituate in 65 degrees W. Lon. and 11-30. N. Lat. 60 miles N. of the continent of Terra Firma, and 200 W. of Trinity, being 50 miles long, and 24 broad. There is very little wood or water in this island.

The principal iflands belonging to Spain, in the Pacific ocean, are Chiloe, on the coast of Chili, and thofe in the bay of Panama, called the King's, or Pearl islands; Juan Fernando fituate in the Pacific o cean, 300 miles weil of Chili in America; W. Lon, 83. S. Lat. 33 degrees,

Gallipago's

Gallipago's iflands, fituate in the Pacific ocean, under the equator, 400 miles W. of Peru, between 85 and 90 degrees W. Lon.

Golden island, ifle of Pines, Samballas islands, and Bastimentos, near Porto-Bello, in Terra Firma.

Boundaries.] BOunded by the mouth of the river Amazon, and the

Atlantic ocean, on the north; by the fame ocean, on the eaft; by the mouth of the river Plata, on the fouth; and by a chain of mountains, which divide it from Spanish America, and the country of Amazons, on the west.

There are some small islands on the coaft of Brafil, where fhips touch fometimes for provifions in their voyage to the South feas; particularly, 1. Fernando, in 3 degrees S. Lat.; 2. St Barbara, in 18 degrees S. Lat.; and, 3. St Catharine's, in 28 degrees S. Lat.

Rivers.] The principal rivers are, 1. Siara, which gives name to a province. It runs from the S. W. to the N. E. and falls into the Atlantic

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