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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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