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ingly rare. The earths are very similar to the alkalies (q. v.), forming, with the acids, peculiar salts, and resembling the alkalies likewise in their composition. They consist of peculiar metals in combination with oxygen, and compose the greatest part of the solid contents of the globe. They differ from the alkalies principally in the following peculiarities: they are incombustible, and cannot, in their simple state, be volatilized by heat; with different acids, especially the carbonic, they form salts, insoluble, or soluble only with much difficulty, and with fat oils, soaps insoluble in water. They are divided into two classes, the alkaline and proper earths. The former have a greater similarity to the alkalies. In their active state, they are soluble in water, and these solutions may be crystallized. They change the vegetable colors almost in the same way as alkalies, and their affinity for acids is sometimes weaker and sometimes stronger than that of the alkalies. They combine with sulphur, and form compounds perfectly similar to the sulphureted alkalies. With carbonic acid, they form insoluble salts, which, however, become soluble in water by an excess of carbonic acid. The alkaline earths are as follows: 1. barytes, or heavy earth, so called from its great weight; 2. strontites (q. v.); both these earths are counted among the alkalies, by many chemists, on account of their easy solubility in water; 3. calcareous earth, or lime, forms one of the most abundant ingredients of our globe; 4. magnesia is a constituent of several minerals. The proper earths are wholly insoluble in water, infusible at the greatest heat of our furnaces, and, by being exposed to heat, in a greater or less degree, they lose their property of easy solubility in acids. Some of them are incapable of combining with carbonic acid, and the remainder form with it insoluble compounds. They are the following: 1. alumine; 2. glucine, which is found only in the beryl and emerald, and a few other minerals; 3. yttria is found in the gadolinite, in the yttrious oxide of columbium, &c.; 4. zirconia is found less frequently than the preceding, in the zircon and hyacinth; 5. silex. The earths were regarded as simple bodies until the brilliant researches of sir H. Davy proved them to be compounds of oxygen with peculiar bases, somewhat similar to those of the alkalies, potassium and sodium. Some of the heavier of the earths had often been imagined to be analogous to the metallic oxides; but every attempt to

effect their decomposition or reduction had proved unsuccessful. After ascertaining the compound nature of the alkalies, Davy subinitted the earths to the same mode of analysis by which he had effected that fine discovery. The results obtained in his first experiments were less complete than those afforded with the alkalies, owing to the superior affinity between the principles of the earths, as well as to their being less perfect electrical conductors. By submitting them to galvanic action, in mixture with potash, or with metallic oxides, more successful results were obtained; and a method employed by Berzelius and Pontin, of placing them in the galvanic circuit with quicksilver, terminated very perfectly in affording the bases of barytes and lime, in combination with this metal. By the same method, sir H. Davy decomposed strontites and magnesia; and, by submitting silex, alumine, zircon and glucine to the action of the galvanic battery, in fusion with potash or soda, or in contact with iron, or by fusing them with potassium and iron, appearances were obtained sufficiently indicative of their decomposition, and of the production of bases of a metallic nature. Thorina, the last discovered earth, was decomposed by heating the chloride of thorium with potassium. The metallic bases of the earths approach more nearly than those of the alkalies to the common metals, and the earths themselves have a stricter resemblance than the alkalies to metallic oxides. Viewing them as forming part of a natural arrangement, they furnish the link which unites the alkalies to the metals. Accordingly, many of the more recent systems of chemistry treat of all these bodies as forming a single group under the name of the metallic class. Still (as doctor Ure justly remarks), whatever may be the revolutions of chemical nomenclature, mankind will never cease to consider as earths those solid bodies composing the mineral strata, which are incombustible, colorless, not convertible into metals by all the ordinary methods of reduction, or, when reduced by scientific refinements, possessing but an evanescent metallic existence. (For a more particular account of the properties of the earths, and of their bases, consult the articles relating to them, respectively, in this work.)

EARWIG; an insect whose name is derived from its supposed habit of insinuating itself into the ears of persons who incautiously sleep among grass where it is found. It is extremely doubtful whether

EARWIG-EASTER ISLAND.

the animal intentionally enters the ear; and, indeed, there is no reason whatever that it should, except from mere accident. A piece of an apple applied to the orifice, is said to entice the insect, and thus relieve the sufferer; where this fails, a few drops of sweet oil destroy the life of the earwig, which must then be extracted with a proper instrument by a physician. A remarkable fact, in relation to the earwig, is its great abundance at particular times, and its subsequent rarity. From the observations of entomologists, it has been proved that these insects migrate in considerable flocks, selecting the evening for their excursions. Much damage is sustained by gardeners from the depredations of these little animals among fruit and tender vegetables, which constitute their proper food: occasionally, however, they feed on animal substances, and even devour each other. The places in which the species of this small genus are found are chiefly damp and cool situations, under stones and the bark of trees, among chests and boxes which have been long undisturbed, and in similar haunts. In the systems, the family which is formed of the original genus forficula of Linnæus, consists of two genera, forficula and labidura; to which another is added by Leach, the characters of which differ in so trifling a degree from the preceding, as to prevent its being generally received as distinct. It is even doubtful whether the simple disparity in the number of joints in the antennæ, is worthy of any distinction further than a section. The forficula auricularia is a small insect, about three quarters of an inch in length, having the wings folded under very short and truncate elytra or wing-cases, and the extremity of the abdomen armed with a horny forceps. When alarmed, the insect elevates the abdomen, and opens these forceps, in order to defend itself from the attack of its enemies.

EAST; one of the four cardinal points of the world, being the point of the horizon where the sun is seen to rise when in the equator. In Italy and throughout the Mediterranean, the east wind is called the levante. (For the origin of the word, see Easter.)

EASTER; the festival commemorating the resurrection of Christ. The Greek arxa, and the Latin pascha, from which come the French pâques, the Italian pasqua, and the name of the same festival in several other languages, originated from the notion that Christ was typified by the paschal lamb, ordained by Moses in the feast

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of the passover; thus Paul says (1 Cor. v. 7), "For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us." The first Christians were therefore considered to continue the Jewish feast; understanding by the lamb, which was sacrificed at the festival, Jesus, who suffered for mankind. (See Passover.) Among the Greeks and Roman Catholics, Easter is the most joyful festival of the church, and is also observed with great solemnity by the English church, the Lutherans, and the European Calvinists. The Greek and Roman Catholic churches did not celebrate it at precisely the same time, and, while some Christians were mourning in commemoration of the passion, others were rejoicing in the resurrection of the Savior. In the second century, the dispute became warm. The Eastern church would not discontinue the celebration of the feast at the same time with the Jews; whilst the Western church insisted upon celebrating it without the paschal lamb, and beginning it on Sunday, the day of Christ's resurrection. It was finally settled by the Council of Nice, in 325, that the feast should be held on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox, and not on the same day with the Jews. The English name Easter, and the German Ostern, are most probably derived from the name of the feast of the Teutonic goddess Ostera, which was celebrated by the ancient Saxons early in the spring, and for which, as in many other instances, the first missionaries wisely substituted the Christian feast. Adelung derives ostern and easter from the old word oster, osten, which signifies rising, because nature arises anew in spring. This is also the derivation of east, in German, osten. Easter-fires, Easter-eggs, and many other customs and superstitions, have all their origin from the ancient heathen feast, which, as the celebration of the resurrection of nature, was very appropriately succeeded by the festival which commemorates the resurrection of Christ.

EASTER ISLAND, or DAVIS' ISLAND; an island in the South Pacific ocean, lon. 109° 50 W., lat. 27°8′ S. It is of a triangular form, one side about 12 miles long, the other two about 9 each. Square miles, about 14. Population differently estimated, at 700, 1500, and 2000. The inhabitants are of a tawny color, well formed, sagacious and hospitable, yet thievish. The surface is mountainous and stony, and the hills rise to such a height, that they are visible at the distance of 45 miles. At the southern extremity is the crater of a volcano of great size and depth. The soil of the

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EASTER ISLAND-EAST INDIA COMPANIES.

island is extremely fertile, but not a tenth part is under cultivation. EASTERN EMPIRE. (See Byzantine Empire.)

EAST INDIA COMPANIES. From the earliest times, the commercial enterprise of the Europeans has been directed towards an immediate intercourse with the East Indies; but the Arabian empire, and its mercantile grandeur, at first, and the dominions of the Persians and Turks at a later period, presented insurmountable barriers. The commercial shrewdness of the Italian republics did not succeed in entirely overcoming these obstacles; and even the Venetian commerce with India, extensive as it was, could not be called direct. After the Turks had established themselves in Europe, by the conquest of Constantinople, and in Africa, by that of Egypt, the access to India was more completely shut up, and the enterprising spirit of the merchants of Christendom was turned to the discovery of a direct channel to that land of commerce. The west of Europe was delivered from the Saracens, and the warlike spirit which had long been occupied by the contests with the infidels required some new scene of activity. The great Portuguese prince Henry, surnamed the Navigator, directed this energy towards the ocean; and not half a century had elapsed from the taking of Constantinople, when Vasco da Gama (1498) landed in Hindostan, on the coast of Malabar, and the Portuguese successfully established themselves on those distant shores. The whole commerce of the East Indies was in their hands for nearly a century-the golden age of Portugal. The efforts of Alphonso Albuquerque, Nuño da Cunha and Francis Xavier-the latter with spiritual weapons, and the former by force of arms-will ever be remembered with admiration, even had they not been sung in the glorious verses of Camoens. During eighty years, while the transportation of Indian productions through Genoa, Venice and the Hanse towns, was constantly diminishing, Lisbon was the India of the north of Europe. The English and Dutch obtained their supplies of Indian spices either from Lisbon or from Portuguese merchants in Antwerp. Venice also found herself supplanted by the military power of the Portuguese and the subjection of her commercial friends, the Saracens. When, however, Philip II, in 1580, united Portugal with the Spanish monarchy, and soon after commenced his war with England, against whose vessels he closed the ports of his empire, the Brit

ish merchants were compelled to draw their supplies of Indian produce from the Netherlands. The Dutch took advantage of this circumstance, and raised the price of pepper to three times its former amount. But the revolt of the Netherlands from Spain induced Philip II to take decided measures against the Dutch commerce also, and the capture of their vessels in the port of Lisbon compelled the Dutch to engage in a direct trade to India: the English soon followed their example. Thus, during the last ten years of the sixteenth century, the foundation was laid in England and Holland, nearly at the same time, of those great commercial corporations, called East India Companies. They are distinguished from the Hanseatic league, and other earlier unions of that kind, in being merely associations of individuals uniting for a common commercial purpose, with transferable shares, and not of political bodies; and also by having bought their privileges and rights at once from their own governments, while those of the earlier commercial confederacies were obtained, together with their political privileges, by successive treaties. As such an extensive commerce in distant parts of the world requires a political power to preserve and protect it, we find the English, Dutch, and other smaller East India companies, engaged, soon after their establishment, in laboring to form a political power on the basis of wealth; which, even if it succeeded, would not accord with the politics of the mother country, and would not be able, for any great length of time, to resist the reaction that would arise in the conquered countries.-I. The earliest East India company was the Portuguese, although essentially different, in its organization, from the others. By the union of Portugal with Spain, the connexion between the distant Portuguese governments in India and the mother country became less close. Abuses of every kind, illicit traffic on the part of the viceroys and officers, smuggling and piracy became prevalent. The Spanish government perceived that the East India commerce, if continued on account of the crown, would not only be unprofitable, but would occasion an annually increasing loss, and therefore granted the exclusive privilege of the East India trade, in 1587, to a company of Portuguese merchants, in consideration of the annual payment of a considerable sum. This company, in attempting to enforce its privileges, became involved in disputes, equally disadvantageous to both parties, with the Portuguese government

DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY.

in India, which was engaged in the smuggling trade; and the way for the enterprises of the Dutch and English could not have been better prepared than by this weakening of the Portuguese power. To this may be added, the impatience of the Indian nations under the Portuguese yoke, and the jealousy and hatred entertained against both by the Arabians. The English and Dutch companies found every thing in that state of division which is favorable to the establishment of a third party, by means which, in any other case, would be entirely inadequate. This explains their immediate and brilliant success, notwithstanding the great inferiority of their strength. The Portuguese company, on the contrary, on the breaking out of open war between England and Holland and Spain, soon became unable to pay the annual tribute to the crown, and "gradually declined, till, in 1640, on the reestablishment of Portuguese independence by king John IV, of the house of Braganza, it was entirely abolished.From that time, the insignificant remains of the Portuguese commerce with the East Indies have been in the hands of the government, if we except the unsuccessful attempt to form a new company in

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II. Eight years after the establishment of the first Portuguese company, the offer of a Dutchman, Cornelius Houtman, who had been taken prisoner by the Spanish, and had become acquainted with the Portuguese East India trade, induced the merchants of Amsterdam, who had already made three unsuccessful attempts to discover a passage to India through the Northern ocean, to form a company, under the name of the "Company of Remote Parts," and send their first commercial fleet round the cape of Good Hope to India, under the command of Houtinan. Four small vessels were equipped with a capital of 70,000 guilders, and sailed the 2d of April, 1595, from the Texel. The example of Amsterdam was followed in the other United Provinces; but these companies soon became aware that they interfered mutually with each other; and, March 20, 1602, they were united by a charter from the states general, conferring on them the exclusive privilege of trading to the East Indies for twenty-one years, together with all necessary civil and military powers. The former companies remained, in some measure, distinct from each other, and the six cities of Amsterdam, Middelburg, Delft, Rotterdam, Horn and Enkhuysen, which had made

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the first attempts, were allowed to continue the commerce from their ports. This company began its operations with a capital of 65 millions guilders; 65 directors (Bewindhebbers)—divided amongst the different members, in proportion to the amount of shares, so that Amsterdam had twenty-five, Middelburg twelve, and each of the other cities seven-superintended the equipment of the vessels, in their respective ports; a committee of fifteen directors, apportioned in the same manner, had the general direction of affairs. In 1622, the subject of the renewal of the charter being before the states general, it appeared that, during the 20 years of its existence, 30 millions guilders, that is, more than four times the amount of the original capital, had been divided amongst the stockholders; besides which, a great amount of capital had been vested in colonies, fortifications, vessels, and other property, on which no dividend could be made. These results will not be surprising, if we consider how much more favorable was the condition of the East Indies, in every respect, for republicans and Protestants than for Catholics and subjects of a monarchy. The Portuguese acted on the principle, that without a strong military force, and a religion common to the conquered and ruling nation, no permanent commercial connexion could be formed; and this system was pursued for a century, sometimes with prudence, but more frequently with great inhumanity. The Dutch, on the contrary, with their indifference to the moral relations of natious, and their well conducted commerce, were well calculated to succeed. Their superiority to the English, in their first enterprises, was owing not only to their superior skill by sea, their youthful republican spirit, and the greater amount of their capital, but chiefly to their having carried on all their operations, from the first, with a common capital, while the first English East India company, till 1610, was a mere association, each member of which transacted business on his own account, merely conforming to certain general rules, such as the employing the company's ships. It has been proved by subsequent results, that a mere money power cannot be upheld without an entire disregard of the claims of humanity; and the example of the first Portuguese conquerors has convinced enlightened men, that the dominion of Europeans in India remains insecure, if not founded on a certain moral, legal and religious community with the inhabitants of

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DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY.

the country. The charter of the Dutch East India company was continued till 1644; Batavia was founded in a very favorable situation for the traffic with the Spice islands, the chief branch of the Indian trade; 34-41 freighted vessels annually left the ports of Holland for India; 25-34 merchant vessels, on the average, returned. The commerce with Japan increased rapidly, and the extension of Portuguese power in the Brazils, after the accession of the house of Braganza to the throne, although a great disadvantage to the Dutch West India company, promoted the interest of the East India company, by directing the attention of the Portuguese wholly to America, and leaving free scope to the Dutch in Asia. In 1641, Malacca, the capital of the Portuguese East Indies, fell into the hands of the Dutch, by the treason of the governor. But the increasing activity of the English and French, and the political and military establishments of the company, diminished their profits, and it was difficult to raise the 1,600,000 guilders, which were to be paid to the states general, in 1644, for the extension of the charter till 1665. Soon after, however, the independence of the republic of the United Provinces was secured by the peace of Westphalia-an event which was of great advantage to the company, and enabled them to found colonies on the cape of Good Hope.This was done in the course of 20 years (from 1650), at an expense of 20 millions guilders. These colonies were a great assistance to the intercourse between Europe and India, and richly repaid the expenses incurred. In 1658, the conquest of Ceylon was completed, after a vigorous defence by the Portuguese; and the Tartar revolution in China occasioned the settlement of 30,000 Chinese, who would not submit to the new government, in the Dutch island of Formosa. These proved a valuable accession to the population. Although the direct commerce with China had to struggle with insurmountable difficulties, the indirect communication through these emigrants, who were well acquainted with the country, and the influx of Chinese productions from all sides into Batavia, amply recompensed the company. They were, however, deprived of this valuable island in 1661, by a Chinese adventurer, named Kaxinga, whose family afterwards ceded it to the emperor of China. The energy of the company seemed to be excited by this loss. In 1663, the most valuable settlements of the Portuguese on the coast of Malabar were

taken; and, in 1666, by the conquest of Macassar, the object of the exertions of 70 years, they obtained the monopoly of the spice trade. At this time, the civil and military expenses of the company, exclusive of the expenses of the war, amounted to 34 millions guilders. In 1665, after much opposition, the charter was renewed till 1700, on condition of the payment of a large sum into the treasury; and the report of the company showed an almost inconceivable extension of commerce.— Their factories extended from the cape of Good Hope to the coasts of Arabia and Persia. They were masters of all the important settlements of the Portuguese, from Surat, on the Malabar coast. Ceylon, with its cinnamon and ivory; the pearl fishery and cotton trade on the coast of Coromandel; Bengal and Orissa, with their silks and cottons, rice, sugar, saltpetre, &c., were in the hands of the company, as was also the commerce with Pegu, Siam, and Tonquin, only interrupted by some temporary accidents. They obtained valuable supplies of silver and copper from Japan; carried on an extensive trade in spices with Amboyna, the Banda islands, and the Moluccas, &c. Malacca, the principal seat of the Portuguese trade, appeared, by this report, to be on the decline, the expense of protection being disproportioned to the size of the place; and the straits of Sunda, on which Batavia is situated, had superseded the straits of Malacca, as the general passage to the further East. The charter of the company has since been several times renewed, and always on condition of the payment of large sums; from 1701-40; then till 1775; and in 1776 for 30 years more, for the sum of two millions guilders, and the annual payment of 360,000 guilders. Avarice and cruelty, which increased with the gradual decay of the republican spirit, and the decline of simple and moderate habits; a shameless system of intrigue towards their allies, and particularly their incapacity to appreciate the moral and religious character of the nations of India; and, finally, the renewed vigor of the British company at the commencement of the 18th century, and the change in the European demand; the preference given to other spices; these are the principal causes of the decline of the Dutch East India company. In the 18th century, their annals abound with relations of conspiracies, insurrections, and generally unsuccessful wars; and, in 1781, we find them so completely broken up by the war with England, and by enormous political

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