CAPE COLONY.

THE Cape Colony, occupying the most southern extremity of the continent of Africa, was first settled by the Dutch in 1650, captured from them by Great Britain in 1795, restored at the peace of Amiens, again conquered in 1806, and was finally confirmed by the congress of Vienna to the British government in 1815. The area of this colony is about 120,000 square miles, a great portion of which consists of mountains of naked sandstone, or of the great Karroo plain, whose hard dry soil is scarcely ever moistened by a drop of rain. Three successive ranges of mountains divide the colony, of which the most interior and elevated is that called Nieuwvelds Bergen and Sneeuw Bergen. These ranges divide the country into terraces of different elevations. The plain next the sea has a deep and fertile soil, well watered by numerous rivulets, covered with grass, and a beautiful variety of shrubs and trees. Rains are frequent, and the climate is mild and agreeable. The second terrace contains large tracts of arid desert; and the third region, called the Great Karroo, is destitute of almost every trace of vegetation, and is unoccupied by men or animals. Beyond this tract, at the foot of the Sneeuw Bergen, or Snowy Mountains, there is an excellent grazing country, where cattle are raised in great numbers for the colony.

The settlement is frequently deluged with rain in the cold season, but it has scarcely a shower in the hot months, and is parched by a constant dry wind. The changes in the atmosphere are frequent and sudden; grain of good quality, wine and fruits for the supply of the colony, are all produced within the distance of one to three days' journey from Cape Town, but most of the territory is devoted to pasturage. The agriculture is generally slovenly; 14 or 16 oxen being frequently used to draw an unwieldy plough, that only skims the surface.

The Dutch farmers or boors, of whom grazing forms alone the sole occupation, hold very extensive premises, reaching often for several miles in every direction; they are generally very ignorant and indolent, but extremely hospitable, and live in rude plenty, surrounded by their herds and flocks, and have numbers of Hottentot slaves, who are indeed not liable to sale, but are bondsmen fixed to the soil. The eastern part of the colony, called the District of Albany, was settled in 1820, by British emigrants, whose condition was at first promising, but in consequence of a succession of dry seasons, were reduced to great poverty. The district was recently more flourishing, and the people carry on a lucrative trade with the interior tribes. The population of the colony is about 150,000, of whom 33,600 are registered apprentices.

Cape Town, the capital of the colony, situated about 30 miles north of the Cape of Good Hope, is an important station, being the only place of refreshment for vessels between Europe and America on one side, and the East Indies, China, and Australia on the other. It must in consequence always be a great commercial thoroughfare. The Dutch society at the Cape is extremely mercantile; and Hoopman, or Merchant, is held as a title of honour; but the prevalence of slavery has diffused habits of indolence, even among the lower ranks, who consider it degrading to engage in any species of manual labour. Since the occupation by Britain, the residence of civil and military officers, and the great resort of emigrants and settlers, have given it much the character of an English town. The population of Cape Town is upwards of 20,000. The imports in 1833 were £258,456, and of exports, £256,800.

The other places in the colony are, in general, only villages, which, in a country entirely agricultural, derive their sole importance from being the seat of the local administration. Constantia and Simon's Town, in the close vicinity of the Cape, are supported, the one by the produce of wine, the other by docks for shipping. Stellenbosch and Zwellendam, the chief places in the two most flourishing agricultural districts adjoining, contained, some time ago, the one only seventy, the other thirty houses. Graaf Reynet and Uitenhage, at the head of extensive districts in the east, are not more important. Gnadenthal has been made a neat village by the missionaries, who have fixed it as their principal station.

The only place which has risen to any importance is Graham's Town, in the district of Albany, near the eastern extremity of the colony. The troops stationed there to watch the Caffre frontier, with the recent colonists, who, disappointed in their agricultural pursuits, sought other employment, have swelled its population to about 3000. It is described as "a large, ugly, ill-built, straggling place, containing a strange mixture of lounging officers, idle tradesmen, drunken soldiers, and still more drunken settlers." It is romantically situated in a deep valley, surrounded by hills and glens, through which heavy wagons are seen coming often from a great distance, not only with provisions and necessaries, but skins of the lion and leopard, buffalo horns, eggs and feathers of the ostrich, tusks of the elephant and rhinoceros, and rich fur mantles.

CAFFRARIA.

CAFFRARIA, or the country of the Caffres, extends from the eastern boundary of the Cape Colony along the shores of the Indian Ocean to Delagoa Bay; being about 650 miles in length, and from the sea-coast to the mountains, which divide this region from the Bechuana country, it is from 130 to 150 miles in breadth. To the Caffrarian Coasts the Portuguese have given the name of Natal, which is generally followed by navigators, though it is quite unknown to the natives.

The Caffres appear to be either a distinct race or a mixture of the Negro and the Arab. They are a handsome, vigorous people, of a deep glossy brown colour, with features almost European, and frizzled but not woolly hair. They are perhaps of all nations the most completely pastoral, and have large herds of horned cattle, of which they understand thoroughly the guidance and management. They live chiefly on milk, and seldom kill any of their oxen; and owing to their roving habits, do not depend much upon agriculture; but where they are in any degree settled, the women plant millet,-Caffre corn,-a peculiar species somewhat resembling Indian corn, in which the grain grows in a bunch like grapes: they also raise pumpkins, water-melons, and tobacco, which last they smoke through water in a horn. The women construct enclosures for the cattle, make utensils and clothes, cut wood, and manufacture rush mats, and baskets of reeds so closely woven as to hold milk and other liquids. They moreover build houses in the shape of a dome, thatched with straw and plastered on the inside with clay and cow-dung.

The employments of the men are war, hunting, and tending and managing the cattle which constitute the riches of the Caffre: he does not use them as beasts of burden, except when removing with his kraal from place to place: his delight is to be among them with his shield, by beating on which, and by different modulations of the voice, they are taught to go out to graze, to return to their enclosures, or follow their owner, according to his dictation. These people, like the Chinese, consider all other nations inferior to themselves, and suppose that Europeans wear clothes merely on account of having feeble and sickly bodies. They have scarcely any religious ideas: some of them, however, profess to believe that a great being came from above and made the world, after which he returned and cared no more about it.

The Caffres are divided into several tribes, of which the chief are the Tambookies, Mambookies, and the Hollontontes or Zoolas, who are the most numerous and warlike of all the tribes: their king, Chaka, lately deceased, a most remorseless and bloody tyrant, had a force of 15,000 men constantly equipped for war, and on urgent occasions could raise 100,000. He was the most formidable conqueror in this part of Africa. Several wars between the Caffres and the colonists of the Cape have at different times taken place, generally resulting in the latter extending their territory eastward into Caffraria.

Various missionary stations have been, within a few years past, established in the southern parts of this region, where schools for the instruction of the native

children have been formed, and churches established, at which many of the Caffres attend; and hopes are entertained that an impression favourable to the cause of religion and civilization has in many cases been made.

BECHUANAS, OR BOSHUANAS.

THE Country of the Bechuana or Boshuanas, occupying a considerable extent of Southern Africa, is bounded on the east by Caffraria, on the west by the extensive desert of Challahengah; on the south is the Hottentot territory, which separates it from the colony of the Cape; while on the north is the domain of various tribes very little known, of whom the Macquanas are supposed to extend far to the north.

This region was unknown to Europeans until 1801, since which period it has been explored by various travellers, of whom, Mr. Campbell, a missionary, animated by a laudable zeal to diffuse Christianity among the African people, has not only twice visited Lattakoo, but has even penetrated 200 miles farther, to Kurrechane, the most northern and largest of the Bechuana states. Some later travellers have, it is said, extended their researches still farther, but their accounts have not yet been published.

The Bechuanas are not so tall and handsome as the Caffres, but have made considerably greater progress in industry and the arts. They dwell in towns of some magnitude, and cultivate the ground, raising millet, beans, gourds, water-melons, &c. They have also numerous herds of cattle, which the men, as among the Caffres, both tend and milk, while the females till the soil and build the houses. The first discoverers painted these people in the most flattering colours, and they appear to be really honest, and friendly to each other and to strangers who have gained their good will; but the enmity between neighbouring tribes is as deadly, and the mode of conducting war as barbarous, as among the rudest African hordes. They place their glory in commandoes, raides or forays undertaken with a view of carrying off cattle and murdering the owners. In consequence of this mutual hostility, the population is almost entirely concentrated in towns or their immediate vicinity. They are in consequence larger than might be expected in their part of the continent.

Lattakoo was the first visited, and the name remains, though in consequence of a schism in the tribe, the town has been transferred to a spot about sixty miles farther north. New Lattakoo is supposed to contain about 6000 people. Meribohwey, capital of the Tammahas, is not of equal importance. Mashow, to the north, within the territory of the Barolongs, is a fine town, with 10,000 inhabitants. Melita, the capital of the Wanketzens, is likewise important. Kurrechane, to the north-east of the latter, and at least 1000 miles from Cape Town, is the largest and best built town in this region, and where the inhabitants have made the greatest progress in the arts of life. They work skilfully in iron and copper, and also in leather, earthen-ware, &c. Their houses are surrounded by good stone inclosures, and the walls of mud are often painted, as well as moulded into ornamental shapes. The population, when first visited, was about 16,000, but is now reduced in consequence of having been sacked by the Mantatees, a wandering and predatory tribe, who overran, some years ago, a considerable part of this and the neighbouring countries of Caffraria.

EASTERN AFRICA.

EASTERN AFRICA comprises an immense extent of coast, reaching from the Caffre country to the border of Abyssinia, a length of about 3000 miles. It may be considered as extending inland about 500 or 600 miles from the sea, but its contents, for the most part, and all its boundaries on this side, are unknown. This

vast range of country contains many grand features of nature, and a large proportion of fertile territory, capable of yielding the most valuable productions; yet scarcely any part of the world is less known, or has excited less interest among Europeans. The Portuguese, as soon as they had discovered a passage into the Indian seas, occupied all the leading maritime stations, from which they studiously excluded every other people.

Extensive, though ill-explored, natural objects diversify this region. The coast consists almost entirely of spacious plains, often of alluvial character, and covered with magnificent forests. It appears, however, undoubted, that at 200 or 300 miles in the interior, considerable ranges of mountains arise; geographers have even delineated a long chain parallel to the coast, called Lupata, or the Spine of the World; of which the representation north of the Zambezi, as given by some, is entirely arbitrary. The rivers also are of considerable magnitude, though only their lower courses are at present known. The Zambezi may rank in the first class of African streams. It enters the Indian Ocean by four mouths, the principal of which are the Cuama and Lubo. Near Quiloa, several great estuaries are found. The Pangany, near Mombas, is also an important river. North of this place is the estuary of the Ozee: it is, no doubt, the largest stream in this part of Africa, as intelligent natives state that its navigation extends a distance of three months travel to the north, through populous and well-settled regions: it is probably the Zebee of the interior. The Juba and Webbe are reported to be large rivers, though nothing has been ascertained of their commencement and course. The only great lake known in this quarter is the Maravi, in the interior from Quiloa and Mozambique. It is represented as of great extent, resembling an inland sea, and salt like the ocean.

This territory is generally occupied by brown or black nations, who, however, bear no resemblance to the true negroes except in colour; some of them are numerous, and not destitute of arts and industry. The coast, however, has, in modern times, been chiefly in possession of two foreign powers. The Portuguese, when, in the close of the fifteenth century, they made their way round the Cape, found almost all the maritime stations in the hands of the Arabs, whom they succeeded in driving successively from each, and occupying their place.

On this coast the Portuguese claim authority from Delagoa Bay on the south, to Querimba, near Cape Delgado, a region in length about 1200 miles, extending for some distance into the interior. This territory they denominate the Government of Sena, or Mozambique; but their power is exercised at only a few detached points, and is much less regarded by the natives than formerly.

Beginning from the south we find Inhambane, which has an excellent harbour, and is defended by a fort and 150 men. The other Portuguese do not exceed twenty-five, but there is a numerous coloured population. Sabia, immediately north of Inhambane, is thinly settled, although the soil is fertile. Sofala, supposed by some to be the Ophir whence Solomon drew large supplies of gold and precious stones, was at the time of the first arrival of Europeans very important, as the emporium of the gold and ivory brought in great quantities down the Zambezi. Since Quillimane became the channel by which these commodities were conveyed, Sofala has sunk into a village of poor huts. The Portuguese, however, still maintain there a fort, which holds supremacy over the more southerly station of Inhambane.

Quillimane, at the mouth of the Zambezi, is now the chief seat of trade on this part of the coast. From eleven to fourteen slave-vessels come annually from Rio de Janeiro, and each carries off, on an average, from 400 to 500 slaves. The situation is swampy and unhealthy; but the population is nearly 3000, though only twenty-five houses are occupied by Portuguese or their descendants.

Mozambique is the principal establishment of the Portuguese in Eastern Africa. Though it derives its importance from being the emporium of the gold, ivory, and slaves, brought down the Zambezi, it is situated about 300 miles from the mouth of that river, and the trade is in a great measure transferred to Quillimane. It is built on an island, which has a good roadstead and a commodious pier, but affords by no means either a convenient or healthy situation. The trade in slaves, the

most extensive, has been much diminished since the British obtained possession of Mauritius and the Cape, and prohibited the introduction of them into these colonies. There is a fort sufficient to defend it against the pirates who infest these seas, but not to secure it against the attack of any regular force. Yet the government-house displays still remnants of the former splendour of the viceroys of Eastern Africa. Like the custom-house and other public structures, it is spacious, and built of stone, though falling into decay. The governor, and even his negro attendants, are richly loaded with golden ornaments: tea, to which the principal inhabitants are every evening invited, is presented in a full service of gold.

In the interior, on the Upper Zambezi, the Portuguese possess merely the small forts of Sena and Tete, erected with a view to the protection of their trade; with two, still smaller, in the more remote stations of Zumbo and Manica. In these settlements, joined to that of Quillimane, they maintain 264 troops, and have a population of 500 Christians, with 21,827 slaves. The ground is generally fertile, and abounding particularly with honey, wax, senna, and other dyeing drugs. Monomotapa, or more properly Motapa (since Mono is merely a general term for kingdom), has been dignified in the early narratives with the title of empire. If it ever deserved such an appellation, it is now broken into fragments, the largest of which is held by the Changamera, a chief represented as a great conqueror, but of whom no very precise or recent information has reached us. He belonged to the Maravi, a race of daring freebooters, who neglect agriculture and devote themselves entirely to plunder. Manica is celebrated as the country chiefly affording the gold for which this part of Africa is famous. A small fort is maintained here by the Portuguese.

The Cazembe, a sovereign reigning with despotic sway over a numerous people far in the interior, was first made known to the Portuguese in 1796, by Pereira, a mulatto trader, who visited the country, and at whose suggestion the Cazembe was induced to send an ambassador to Tete, who soon returned without having effected the object of his mission. The country yields in abundance iron and copper, and also some gold, and is the seat of a very considerable trade in ivory and slaves. The subjects of this prince belong to the Moviza, who are a comparatively peaceable and industrious people. These, with the Maravi before mentioned, are the predominant races in this quarter.

North-east of the kingdom of the Cazembe, is the nation of the Moolooas, represented as more numerous and more intelligent, and to have attained a higher degree of industry and civilization than any other in this quarter of Africa. The country abounds in copper. The king, however, is absolute, and the atrocious custom of human sacrifice prevails.

On the coast, north from Mozambique, occur the Querimba Islands, giving name to the opposite territory. The whole of this region, from Cape Delgado to the northern limit of Magadoxa, is denominated Zanzibar, or Zanguebar: the term, however, is most commonly restricted to that part of it extending from Quiloa to Mombas. Quiloa, about 100 miles north-west from the bold promontory of Cape Delgado, was found by the Portuguese a great seat of power and commerce. About the end of the seventeenth century it was wrested from them by the Imâm of Muscat, whose officers have since governed it. It is now dwindled into a miserable village. Mombas, north of Quiloa, is situated on an island about three miles long and two broad, surrounded by cliffs of madrepore, which make it a kind of natural castle. The country is fertile in corn, and fit for the sugar-cane, and the small shells called cowries are collected in great abundance on the shore. The harbour is excellent, and a considerable trade is carried on along the coast in dows, (Arab vessels whose planks are sewed), often of 250 tons burthen. Britain for two years maintained a factory there, but withdrew it in 1827.

Parallel to this coast, at the distance of about twenty or thirty miles, are the small but fine islands of Monfia, Zanzibar, and Pemba. They are of coral foundation, but the surface is flat, and covered with a soil highly productive in grain and sugar. The climate, however, especially that of Zanzibar, is very unhealthy. They are partly independent and partly subject to the Imam of Muscat. The town of Zanzibar is said to contain 10,000 inhabitants. Melinda, north of Mom