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ARBUCKLES' ILLUSTRATED ATLAS
of
Fifty Principal Nations of the World


(Actual Size: 6-7/8" x 11-1/8" - shown approx. 1/2 scale)
CLICK on any map to see the corresponding card as it was originally issued.

Ecuador, Greece, Portugal, Morocco


(facing page)

ECUADOR.

       ECUADOR (the Spanish form of "equator"), a republic of South America, so called from lying on both sides of the equator. The Republic was constituted May 11, 1830, in consequence of a civil war which separated the members of the original Republic of Colombia. By its Constitution the executive is vested in a President, elected for the term of four years, while the legislative power is given to a Congress of two houses. The religion of the Republic, according to the Constitution, is Roman Catholic, to the exclusion of every other. Primary education is gratuitous and obligatory.
       Area, 184,000 square miles. Population, 946,000, besides an unknown number of uncivilized Indians. The country is traversed by a double range of the Andes, which encloses plateaus of from 8,000 to nearly 10,000 feet above the sea. Among the highest summits are Chimborazo, 21,424 feet, and Cotopaxi, a volconic cone, 18,875 feet. The climate varies much, from the tropical heat of the low tracts to the perpetual Spring of the valleys and the cold of the region of perpetual snow.
       The chief exports are cocoa, India rubber (an exudation from the stems of many trees), hides, coffee, vegetable ivory, precious metals and cinchona.
       Quito, the capital, is situated on a fertile plateau 9,492 feet above the sea, and only 15 miles south of the equator. It is surrounded by mountains, twenty peaks (of which eleven are snow-topped) being visible from the streets. Guayaquil, the chief port, is the best port on the west coast of South America.

GREECE.

      GREECE, or the modern KINGDOM OF THE HELLENES, is the southern portion of the most eastern of the three European peninsulas that project into the Mediterranean Sea, and was declared a kingom in 1830, after having thrown off the yoke of Turkey. It is distinguished among European countries, as Europe is among continents, for the great extent of its coast line, 2700 miles. It has every diversity of climate, from the winter severity of Arcadia to the sultry heat of the marshy plains.
      The executive is vested in the King and his responsible ministers (the heads of seven departments), and the whole legislative power in a single chamber of representatives, called the Boulé, elected by manhood suffrage, for the term of four years.
      Area, 24,970 square miles. Population, 1,979,000, the great majority of whom are adherents of the Greek Orthodox Church.
      The capital is Athens, where on the Acropolis stands the ruins of the Parthenon, whose harmony and grand proportions make it still one of the wonders of the world.
      Greece is mainly a pastoral and agricultural country, the land being to a large extent in the hands of peasant proprietors, but on the whole, agriculture is in a backward state. The manufactures are few and unimportant. The currant (Ital. papolina) or small Corinthian grape, is the most favored and best cultivated crop, and among other fruits are the vine, olive, almond, orange, lemon and fig. The staple article of export is currants, other articles are olive oil, lead, silver ore, zinc, sponges, dye and tanning stuffs.

PORTUGAL.

      PORTUGAL, the most westerly European kingdom, is physically one with Spain, occupying the Atlantic margin of the Iberian peninsula, and has an average breadth of only 100 miles with a length from N. to S. of 370 miles.
      The crown is hereditary in the female as well as the male line; but with preference of the male in case of equal birth-right. The Constitution recognizes four powers in the State--the Legislative, the Executive, the Judicial and the 'Moderating' authority, the last of which is vested in the Sovereign. There are two legislative chambers--the House of Peers and the House of Commons.
The Azores and Madeira are regarded as an integral part of the Continental Kingdom.
      Area, 34,410 square miles. Population, 4,160,000.
      Portugal has Colonial possessions in Africa and Asia, with a total area of 592,066 square miles and a population of 3,988,951.
      Lisbon is the capital, and one of the most beautiful harbors in the world. It has suffered much from earthquakes, that of 1st November, 1755 destroying the greater part of the city and some 50,000 lives.
      The surface of Portugal is in great part mountainous, the scenery combining highland grandeur of form with the bright subtle colors of a Southern clime. There is a great diversity of climate, but the dry, oppressive heats of Central Spain are unknown. The mineral wealth is considerable, but there is little mining enterprise. There are no manufactures of importance. Wine is the most important product, especially the rich, red, port wine, so called from being shipped at Oporto. The chief exports are wine, oil, cork, oranges, lemons, nuts, melons, olives, pyrites and wool.

MOROCCO.

      MOROCCO (Arab, Maghrib-el-Aksa, "the extreme west") is a Sultanate in the N.W. corner of Africa, forming part of the seaboard of the Mediterranean and Atlantic. The form of government is in reality an absolute despotism, unrestricted by any laws, civil or religious. The Sultan is chief of the State, as well as head of the religion, and he and his subjects are of the Malekite sect of Mohammedans. The differences are chiefly in the attitudes assumed during the recitals of prayers.
      Area, 219,000 square miles; population, 2,750,000.
      The mountains nowhere reach the level of perpetual snow, but the higher peaks of the Atlas are white as late as April, while the lower slopes are clad with luxuriant forests of valuable timber trees. In the great western plain the climate is remarkably temperate and equal. The districts along the margin of the Sahara are swept by scorching winds.
      Agriculture is carried on in a very primitive way. Among the products are wheat, maize, rice, sugar, cotton, tobacco, peas and beans, saffron, grapes, oranges, almonds, figs and dates. The live stock consists of large herds of cattle, horses of a small but spirited breed, and the goats whose skin furnish the famous morocco leather. The manufactures include morocco leather, carpets, shawls, flint-lock guns, beautifully inlaid with gold and silver; leather dyes, colored tiles and elegant water jars.
      Morocco, one of the capitals, is girt by a wall 23 feet high and 7˝ miles in circuit, and contains some 20 mosques and several large bazaars. The palace of the Sultan, outside the walls, is a magnificent building.