Europeans 9,509
Burghers and Eurasians 23,539
Low-country Sinhalese 1,458,320
Kandyan Sinhalese 872,487
Tamils 953,535
Moors (Mahommedan) 228,706
Malays 11,963
Veddahs (Aborigines) 3,971
Altogether there are representatives of some seventy races in Ceylon.
The Veddahs, who run wild in the woods, are the aborigines of the
island.
_Language_.--The language of nearly 70% of the population is
Sinhalese, which is nearly allied to Pali (q.v.); of the remaining
30%, with the exception of Europeans, the language is Tamil. A corrupt
form of Portuguese is spoken by some natives of European descent. The
Veddahs, a small forest tribe, speak a distinct language, and the
Rodiyas, an outcast tribe, possess a large vocabulary of their own.
The Sinhalese possess several original poems of some merit, and an
extensive and most interesting series of native chronicles, but their
most valuable literature is written in Pali, though the greater
portion of it has been translated into Sinhalese, and is best known to
the people through these Sinhalese translations.
_Religion_.--The principal religions may be distributed as
follows:--Christians, 349,239; Buddhists, 2,141,404; Hindus, 826,826;
Mahommedans, 246,118. Of the Christians, 287,419 are Roman Catholics,
and 61,820 are Protestants of various denominations; and of these
Christians 319,001 are natives, and 30,238 Europeans. The Mahommedans
are the descendants of Arabs (locally termed Moormen) and the Malays.
The Tamils, both the inhabitants of the island and the immigrants from
India, are Hindus, with the exception of 93,000 Christians. The
Sinhalese, numbering 70% of the whole population, are, with the
exception of 180,000 Christians, Buddhists. Ceylon may properly be
called a Buddhist country, and it is here that Buddhism is found
almost in its pristine purity. Ceylon was converted to Buddhism in the
3rd century B.C. by the great Augustine of Buddhism, Mahinda, son of
the Indian king Asoka; and the extensive ruins throughout Ceylon,
especially in the ancient cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, bear
witness to the sacrifices which kings and people joined in making to
create lasting monuments of their faith. The Buddhist temples in the
Kandyan country possess valuable lands, the greater portion of which
is held by hereditary tenants on the tenure of service. These lands
were given out with much care to provide for all that was necessary to
maintain the temple and its connected monastery. Some tenants had to
do the blacksmiths' work, others the carpenters', while another set of
tenants had to cultivate the land reserved for supplying the
monastery; others again had to attend at the festivals, and prepare
decorations, and carry lamps and banners. In course of time
difficulties arose; the English courts were averse to a system under
which the rent of lands was paid by hereditary service, and a
commission was issued by Sir Hercules Robinson (afterwards Lord
Rosmead) when governor, to deal with the whole question, to define the
services and to enable the tenants to commute these for a money
payment. The result of the inquiry was to show that the services,
except in a few instances, were not onerous, and that almost without
an exception the tenants were willing to continue the system. The
anomaly of an ecclesiastical establishment of Anglican and
Presbyterian chaplains with a bishop of Colombo paid out of the
general revenues has now been abolished in Ceylon, and only the bishop
and two or three incumbents remain on the list for life, or till they
retire on pension.
_Education_.--There has been a great advance in public instruction
since 1875, through the multiplication of vernacular, Anglo-vernacular
and English schools by government, by the different Christian missions
and by the Buddhists and Hindus who have come forward to claim the
government grant. The government has also started a technical college,
and an agricultural school has been reorganized. An agricultural
department, recommended by a commission, should profit by the services
of the entomologist, mycologist and chemical analyst added by the
governor to the staff of the royal botanic gardens at Peradeniya.
There are industrial and reformatory schools, which are partially
supported by government. In spite of the great advance that has been
made, however, at the census of 1901 no fewer than 2,790,235 of the
total population were entered as unable to read or write their own
tongue. Of this number 1,553,078 were females, showing a very
unsatisfactory state of things.
Soil.
_Agriculture._--The natural soils of Ceylon are composed of quartzose
gravel, felspathic clay and sand often of a pure white, blended with
or overlaid by brown and red loams, resulting; from the decay of
vegetable matter, or the disintegration of the gneiss and hornblende
formations. The whole of the great northern extremity of the island
consists of a sandy and calcareous admixture, made to yield productive
crops of grain, tobacco, cotton and vegetables by the careful industry
of the Tamil population, who spare no pains in irrigating and manuring
their lands. Between the northern districts and the elevated mountain
ranges which overlook the Bintenne and Uva countries are extensive
plains of alluvial soil washed down from the table-lands above, where
once a teeming population produced large quantities of grain. The
remains of ancient works of irrigation bear testimony to the bygone
agriculture of these extensive regions now covered by swamps or dense
jungle.
The general character of the soil in the maritime provinces to the
east, south and west is sandy. Large tracts of quartzose sand spread
along the whole line of sea-coast, some of which, of a pure white, and
very deficient in vegetable matter, is admirably adapted to the growth
of the cinnamon plant. In the light sandy districts where the soil is
perfectly free, and contains a portion of vegetable and mineral loam,
the coco-nut palm flourishes in great luxuriance. This is the case
along the entire coast line from Kalpitiya to Point de Galle, and
farther eastward and northward to Matara, stretching to a distance
inland varying from 100 yds. to 3 m. From this light sandy belt as far
as the mountain-zone of the Kandyan country the land is mainly
composed of low hilly undulations of sandstone and ferruginous clay,
incapable of almost any cultivation, but intersected in every
direction with extensive valleys and wide plains of a more generous
soil, not highly fertile, but still capable, with a little industry,
of yielding ample crops of rice.
The soil of the central province, although frequently containing great
quantities of quartzose sand and ferruginous clay, is in many of the
more elevated districts of a fine loamy character. Sand sufficiently
vegetable and light for rice culture may be seen at all elevations in
the hill districts; but the fine chocolate and brown loams overlying
gneiss or limestone formations, so admirably adapted for coffee
cultivation, are only to be found on the steep sides or along the base
of mountain ranges at an elevation varying from 2000 to 4000 ft. Such
land, well-timbered, contains in its elements the decomposed particles
of the rocks above, blended with the decayed vegetable matter of
forests that have for centuries scattered beneath them the germs of
fertility. The quantity of really rich coffee land in these districts
is but small as compared with the extent of country--vast tracts of
open valleys consisting of an indifferent yellow tenacious soil
interspersed with many low ranges of quartz rock, but tea is a much
hardier plant than coffee, and grows on poorer soil.
_Irrigation_.--The native rulers covered the whole face of the country
with a network of irrigation reservoirs, by which Ceylon was enabled
in ancient times to be the great granary of southern Asia. Wars, and
the want of a strong hand to guide the agriculture of the country, led
to the decay of these ancient works, and large tracts of land, which
were formerly highly productive, became swampy wastes or dense
forests. The remains of some of the larger irrigation works are
amongst the most interesting of the memorials of Ceylon's former
greatness. Some of the artificial lakes were of great size. Minneri,
formed by damming across the valleys between the low hills which
surround it with an embankment 60 ft. wide at the top, is at this day
20 m. in circumference. It has recently been restored by government,
and is capable of irrigating 15,000 acres; while the Giant's Tank,
which has also been restored, irrigates 20,000 acres. Another lake,
with an embankment several miles in length, the Kalawewa, was formed
by damming back the waters of the Kalaoya, but they have forced their
way through the embankment, and in the ancient bed of the lake, or
tank, are now many small villages. In connexion with these large tanks
were numerous canals and channels for supplying smaller tanks, or for
irrigating large tracts of fields. Throughout the district of
Nuwarakalawiya every village has its tank. The embankments have been
formed with great skill, and advantage has been taken to the utmost of
the slightest fall in the land; but they in common with the larger
works had been allowed to fall into decay, and were being brought to
destruction by the evil practice of cutting them every year to
irrigate the fields. The work of restoring these embankments was
undertaken by the government, and 100 village tanks were repaired
every year, besides eighteen larger works. In 1900 a sum of five
million rupees was set apart for these larger undertakings.
_Cultivation and Products._--The area of uncultivated land is little
over 3-1/2 million acres, whereas fully four times that amount is
capable of cultivation. A great deal is waste, besides lagoons, tanks,
backwaters, &c. Thick forest land does not cover more than 5000 sq. m.
Scrub, or chena, and patana grass cover a very great area. Tea, cacao,
cardamoms, cinchona, coffee and indiarubber are the products
cultivated by European and an increasing number of native planters in
the hill country and part of the low country of Ceylon. A great change
has been effected in the appearance of the country by the introduction
of the tea plant in place of the coffee plant, after the total failure
of the latter owing to disease. For some time coffee had been the most
important crop. In the old days it grew wild like cinnamon, and was
exported so far back as the time of the Portuguese, but was lightly
esteemed as an article of European commerce, as the berry was gathered
unripe, was imperfectly cured and had little flavour. In 1824 the
governor, Sir E. Barnes, introduced coffee cultivation on the West
Indian plan; in 1834 the falling off of other sources of supply drew
general attention to Ceylon, and by 1841 the Ceylon output had become
considerable, and grew steadily (with an interval in 1847 due to a
commercial crisis) till 1877 when 272,000 acres were under coffee
cultivation, the total export amounting to 103,000,000 lb. Then owing
to disease came a crisis, and a rapid decline, and now only a few
thousand acres are left. On the failure of the coffee crops planters
began extensively to grow the tea plant, which had already been known
in the island for several years. By 1882 over 20,000 acres had been
planted with tea, but the export that year was under 700,000 lb. Five
years later the area planted was 170,000 acres, while the export had
risen to nearly 14,000,000 lb. By 1892 there were 262,000 acres
covered with tea, and 71,000,000 lb. were that year exported. In 1897,
350,000 acres were planted, and the export was 116,000,000 lb. By the
beginning of the 20th century, the total area cultivated with tea was
not under 390,000 acres, while the estimate of shipments was put at
146,000,000 lb. annually. Nearly every plantation has its factory,
with the machinery necessary to prepare the leaf as brought in from
the bushes until it becomes the tea of commerce. The total amount of
capital now invested in the tea industry in Ceylon cannot be less than
L10,000,000. The tea-planting industry more than anything else has
raised Ceylon from the depressed state to which it fell in 1882.
Before tea was proved a success, however, _cinchona_ cultivation was
found a useful bridge from coffee to the Ceylon planter, who, however,
grew it so freely that in one year 15,000,000 lb. bark was shipped,
bringing the price of quinine down from 16s. to 1s. 6d. an ounce.
In a few places, where the rainfall is abundant, rice cultivation is
allowed to depend on the natural supply of water, but in most parts
the cultivation is not attempted unless there is secured beforehand a
certain and sufficient supply, by means of canals or reservoirs. In
the hill country every valley and open plain capable of tillage is
made to yield its crops of grain, and the steep sides of the hills are
cut into terraces, on which are seen waving patches of green rice
watered by mountain streams, which are conducted by means of channels
ingeniously carried round the spurs of the hills and along the face of
acclivities, by earthen water-courses and bamboo aqueducts, so as to
fertilize the fields below. These works bear witness to the patience,
industry and skill of the Kandyan villagers. In the low country to the
north and east and north-west of the hills, irrigation works of a
more expensive kind are necessary. In January 1892, the immemorial
rent or tax on fields of _paddy_ (rice in the husk) was removed, but
not the customs duty on imported rice. But even with the advantage of
protection to the extent of 10% in the local markets, there has been
no extension of paddy cultivation; on the contrary, the import of
grain from India has grown larger year by year. Through the
multiplication of irrigation works and the northern railway, rice
culture may be sufficiently extended to save some of the large imports
(8,000,000 to 9,000,000 bushels annually) now required from India.
Tobacco is extensively cultivated in various parts of the island, and
the growth of particular places, such as Dumbara and Uva, is much
prized for local consumption. The tobacco of export is grown in the
peninsula of Jaffna. The exports of this article in 1850 were 22,176
cwts., valued at L20,698. The cultivation of the plant has not greatly
increased of recent years, and is almost entirely in the hands of
natives in the northern and parts of the central Province.
Ceylon has been celebrated since the middle of the 14th century for
its cinnamon, and during the period of the Dutch occupation this spice
was the principal article of commerce; under their rule and up to 1832
its cultivation was a government monopoly. With the abolition of the
monopoly the quantity exported increased, but the value declined.
Unlike the coffee plant, the hardy tea plant grows from sea-level to
7000 ft. altitude; but crown forest-lands above 5000 ft. are no longer
sold, so that a very large area on the highest mountain ranges and
plateaus is still under forest. Moreover, on the tea plantations
arboriculture is attended to in a way unknown in 1875; the Australian
eucalypts, acacias and grevilleas, Indian and Japanese conifers, and
other trees of different lands, are now freely planted for ornament,
for protection from wind, for firewood or for timber. A great advance
has been made at Hakgalla and Nuwara Eliya, in Upper Uva, and other
high districts, in naturalizing English fruits and vegetables. The
calamander tree is nearly extinct, and ebony and other fine cabinet
woods are getting scarce; but the conservation of forests after the
Indian system has been taken in hand under a director and trained
officers, and much good has been done. The cinnamon tree (wild in the
jungles, cultivated as a shrub in plantations) is almost the only one
yielding a trade product which is indigenous to the island. The
coco-nut and nearly all other palms have been introduced.
Among other agricultural products mention must be made of _cacao_, the
growth and export of which have steadily extended since coffee failed.
Important also is the spice or aromatic product of cardamoms.
The culture of _indiarubber_ was begun on low-country plantations, and
Ceylon rubber is of the best quality in the market. The area of
cultivation of the coco-nut palm has been greatly extended since 1875
by natives as well as by Europeans. The products of this palm that are
exported, apart from those so extensively used in the island itself,
exceed in a good year L1,000,000 sterling in value. Viticulture and
cotton cultivation, as well as tobacco growing, are being developed
along the course of the new northern railway.
Taking the trade in the products mentioned as a whole, no country can
compete with the United Kingdom as a customer of Ceylon. But there is
a considerable trade in nearly all products with Germany and America;
in cardamoms with India; in cinnamon with Spain, Italy, Belgium,
Australia, Austria and France; and in one or other of the products of
the coco-nut palm (coco-nuts, coco-nut oil, copra, desiccated
coco-nut, poonac, coir) with Belgium, Russia, France, Austria,
Australia and Holland.
_Pearl Fishery._--Pearl oysters are found in the Tambalagam bay, near
Trincomalee, but the great banks on which these oysters are usually
found lie near Arippu, off the northern part of the west coast of
Ceylon, at a distance of from 16 to 20 m. from the shore. They extend
for many miles north and south, varying considerably in their size and
productiveness. It is generally believed that the oyster arrives at
maturity in its seventh year, that the pearl is then of full size and
perfect lustre, and that if the oyster be not then secured it will
shortly die, and the pearl be lost. It is certain that from some
unexplained cause the oysters disappear from their known beds for
years together. The Dutch had no fishery from 1732 to 1746, and it
failed them again for twenty-seven years from 1768 to 1796. The
fishery was again interrupted between 1820 and 1828, also from 1833 to
1854, from 1864 to 1873, and again from 1892 to 1900. The fishery of
1903 was the first since 1891, and produced a revenue of Rs.829,348,
being the third largest on record. In 1797 and 1798 the government
sold the privilege of fishing the oyster-beds for L123,982 and
L142,780 respectively. From that time the fishery was conducted by the
government itself until 1906, when it was leased to the Ceylon Pearl
Fisheries Company for twenty years at a rent of L20,000 a year.
Professor Herdman, F.R.S., was appointed to inquire and report on the
conservation and cultivation of the Ceylon pearl-oyster, and visited
Ceylon in January 1902. In consequence of his report, a marine
laboratory for the culture of the pearl oysters was established in
Galle harbour under the care of Mr Hornell.
_Mineral Industries._--Commercially there are two established mineral
industries:--(1) that of digging for precious stones; and (2) the much
more important industry of digging for plumbago or graphite, the one
mineral of commercial importance found. Further developments may
result in the shipment of the exceptionally pure iron ore found in
different parts of Ceylon, though still no coal has been found to be
utilized with it. Several places, too--Ruanwella, Rangalla, Rangbodde,
&c.--indicate where gold was found in the time of the Kandyan kings;
and geologists might possibly indicate a paying quartz reef, as in
Mysore. Owing to the greatly increased demand in Europe and America,
plumbago in 1899 more than doubled in price, rising from L40 to L80,
and even L100 a ton for the finest. Latterly there has been a
considerable fall, but the permanent demand is likely to continue keen
in consequence mainly of the Ceylon kind being the best for making
crucibles. The trade with Great Britain and the United States has
slightly decreased, but there has been a rapid expansion in the
exports to Belgium and Holland, Russia, Japan and Victoria; and the
industry seems to be established on a sound basis. One consequence of
its development has been to bring European and American capitalists
and Cornish and Italian miners into a field hitherto almost entirely
worked by Sinhalese. Though some of the mines were carried to a depth
of 1000 ft., the work was generally very primitive in character, and
Western methods of working are sure to lead to greater safety and
economy. Besides a royalty or customs duty of 5 rupees (about 6s. 8d.)
per ton on all plumbago exported, the government issue licenses at
moderate rates for the digging of plumbago on crown lands, a certain
share of the resulting mineral also going to government. The plumbago
industry, in all its departments of mining, carting, preparing,
packing and shipping, gives employment to fully 100,000 men and women,
still almost entirely Sinhalese. The wealthiest mine-owners, too, are
Sinhalese land-owners or merchants.
As regards _gems_, there are perhaps 500 gem pits or quarries worked
in the island during the dry season from November to June in the
Ratnapura, Rakwane and Matara districts. Some of these are on a small
scale; but altogether several thousands of Sinhalese find a precarious
existence in digging for gems. Rich finds of a valuable ruby,
sapphire, cat's-eye, amethyst, alexandrite or star stone, are
comparatively rare; it is only of the commoner gems, such as
moonstone, garnet, spinels, that a steady supply is obtained. The
cat's-eye in its finer qualities is peculiar to Ceylon, and is
occasionally in great demand, according to the fashion. The obstacle
to the investment of European capital in "gemming" has always been the
difficulty of preventing the native labourers in the pits---even if
practically naked--from concealing and stealing gems. A Chamber of
Mines, with a suitable library, was established in Colombo during
1899.
_Manufactures._--Little is done save in the preparation in factories
and stores, in Colombo or on the plantations, of the several products
exported. The manufacture of jewellery and preparation of precious
stones, and, among native women and children, of pillow lace, give
employment to several thousands. Iron and engineering works are
numerous in Colombo and in the planting districts. The Sinhalese are
skilful cabinetmakers and carpenters. The Moormen and Tamils furnish
good masons and builders.
_Commerce._--There has been rapid development since 1882, and the
returns for 1903 showed a total value of 22-1/2 millions sterling. The
principal imports were articles of food and drink (chiefly rice from
India) manufactured metals (with specie), coal, cotton yarns and piece
goods from Manchester, machinery and millwork and apparel. The Ceylon
customs tariff for imports is one of 6-1/2% _ad valorem_, save in the
case of intoxicating drinks, arms, ammunition, opium, &c. The chief
export is tea.
_Roads._--The policy of the Sinhalese rulers of the interior was to
exclude strangers from the hill country. Prior to the British
occupation of the Kandyan territory in 1815, the only means of access
from one district to another was by footpaths through the forests. The
Portuguese do not appear to have attempted to open up the country
below the hills, and the Dutch confined themselves to the improvement
of the inland water-communications. The British government saw from
the first the necessity of making roads into the interior for military
purposes, and, more recently, for developing the resources of the
country. The credit of opening up the country is due mainly to the
governor, Sir Edward Barnes, by whose direction the great military
road from Colombo to Kandy was made. Gradually all the military
stations were connected by broad tracks, which by degrees were bridged
and converted into good carriage roads. The governors Sir Henry Ward
and Sir Hercules Robinson recognized the importance of giving the
coffee planters every assistance in opening up the country, and the
result of their policy is that the whole of the hill country is now
intersected by a vast number of splendid roads, made at a cost of
upwards of L2000 per mile. In 1848 an ordinance was passed to levy
from every adult male in the colony (except Buddhist priests and
British soldiers) six days' labour on the roads, or an equivalent in
money. The labour and money obtained by this wise measure have enabled
the local authorities to connect the government highways by minor
roads, which bring every village of importance into communication with
the principal towns.
_Railways._--After repeated vain attempts by successive governors to
connect Colombo with the interior by railways, Sir Charles MacCarthy
successfully set on foot a railway of 75 m. in length from Colombo to
Kandy. The railway mileage had developed to 563 m. in 1908, including
one of the finest mountain lines in the world--over 160 m. long,
rising to 6200 ft. above sea-level, and falling at the terminus to
4000 ft. The towns of Kandy, Matale, Gampola, Nawalapitiya, Hatton and
Haputale (and practically Nuwara Eliya) in the hills, are thus
connected by rail, and in the low country the towns of Kurunegala,
Galle, Matara, Kalutara, &c. Most of the debt on the railways (all
government lines) is paid off, and the traffic receipts now make up
nearly one-third of the general revenue. An Indo-Ceylon railway to
connect the Indian and Ceylon systems has been the subject of separate
reports and estimates by engineers serving the Ceylon and Indian
governments, who have pronounced the work across the coral reef
between Manaar and Rameswaram quite feasible. A commission sat in 1903
to consider the gauge of an Indo-Ceylon railway. Such a line promised
to serve strategic as well as commercial purposes, and to make Colombo
more than ever the port for southern India. The headquarters of the
mail steamers have been removed from Galle to Colombo, where the
colonial government have constructed a magnificent breakwater, and
undertaken other harbour works which have greatly augmented both the
external trade and the coasting trade of the island.
_Government._--Ceylon is a crown colony, that is, a possession of the
British crown acquired by conquest or cession, the affairs of which
are administered by a governor, who receives his appointment from the
crown, generally for a term of six years. He is assisted by an
executive and a legislative council. The executive council acts as the
cabinet of the governor, and consists of the attorney-general, the
three principal officers of the colony (namely, the colonial
secretary, the treasurer and the auditor-general), and the general in
command of the forces. The legislative council includes, besides the
governor as president and nine official members, eight unofficial
members--one for the Kandyan Sinhalese (or Highlanders) and one for
the "Moormen" having been added in 1890. The term of office for the
unofficial members is limited to five years, though the governor may
reappoint if he choose. The king's advocate, the deputy-advocate, and
the surveyor-general are now respectively styled attorney-general,
solicitor-general, and director of public works. The civil service has
been reconstituted into five classes, not including the colonial
secretary as a staff appointment, nor ten cadets; these five classes
number seventy officers. The district judges can punish up to two
years' imprisonment, and impose fines up to Rs.1000. The police
magistrates can pass sentences up to six months' imprisonment, and
impose fines of Rs.150. The criminal law has since 1890 been codified
on the model of the Indian penal code; criminal and civil procedure
have also been the subject of codification. There are twenty-three
prisons in the island, mostly small; but convict establishments in and
near the capital take all long-sentence prisoners.
_Banks and Currency._--Ceylon has agencies of the National Bank of
India, Bank of Madras, Mercantile Bank of India, Chartered Bank of
India, Australia and China, and of the Hong-kong and Shanghai Bank,
besides mercantile agencies of other banks, also a government savings
bank at Colombo, and post-office savings banks all over the island. In
1884, on the failure of the Oriental Bank, the notes in currency were
guaranteed by government, and a government note currency was started
in supersession of bank notes. The coin currency of Ceylon is in
rupees and decimals of a rupee, the value of the standard following
that fixed for the Indian rupee, about 1s. 4d. per rupee.
_Finance._--With the disease of the coffee plant the general revenue
fell from Rs.1,70,00,000 in 1877 to Rs.1,20,00,000 in 1882, when
trade was in a very depressed state, and the general prosperity of the
island was seriously affected. Since then, however, the revenue has
steadily risen with the growing export of tea, cocoa-nut produce,
plumbago, &c., and in 1902 it reached a total of 28 millions of
rupees. (J. F. D.; C. L.)
_History._--The island of Ceylon was known to the Greeks and Romans
under the name of _Taprobane_, and in later times Serendib, Sirinduil
and Zeylan have been employed to designate it by writers of the Western
and Eastern worlds. Serendib is a corruption of the Sanskrit
_Sinhaladvipa_. Like most oriental countries, Ceylon possesses a great
mass of ancient records, in which fact is so confused with fable that
they are difficult to distinguish. The labours of George Turnour
(1799-1843), however, helped to dissipate much of this obscurity, and
his admirable edition (1836) of the _Mahavamsa_ first made it possible
to trace the main lines of Sinhalese history.
The Sinhalese inscriptional records, to which George Turnour first
called attention, and which, through the activity of Sir William Gregory
in 1874, began to be accurately transcribed and translated, extend from
the 2nd century B.C. onwards. Among the oldest inscriptions discovered
are those on the rock cells of the Vessagiri Vihara of Anuradhapura, cut
in the old Brahma-lipi character. The inscriptions show how powerful was
the Buddhist hierarchy which dominated the government and national life.
The royal decrees of successive rulers are mainly concerned with the
safeguarding of the rights of the hierarchy, but a few contain
references to executive acts of the kings, as in a slab inscription of
Kassapa V. (c. A.D. 929-939). In an edict ascribed to Mahinda IV. (c.
A.D. 975-991) reference is made to the Sinhalese palladium, the famous
tooth-relic of Buddha, now enshrined at Kandy, and the decree confirms
tradition as to the identity of the fine stone temple, east of the
Thuparama at Anuradhapura, with the shrine in which the tooth was first
deposited when brought from Kalinga in the reign of Kirti Sri Meghavarna
(A.D. 304-324).
The earliest inhabitants of Ceylon were probably the ancestors of the
modern Veddahs, a small tribe of primitive hunters who inhabit the
eastern jungles; and the discovery of palaeolithic stone implements
buried in some of their caves points to the fact that they represent a
race which has been in the island for untold ages. As to subsequent
immigrations, the great Hindu epic, the _Ramayana_, tells the story of
the conquest of part of the island by the hero Rama and his followers,
who took the capital of its king Rawana. Whatever element of truth there
may be in this fable, it certainly represents no permanent occupation.
The authentic history of Ceylon, so far as it can be traced, begins with
the landing in 543 B.C. of Vijaya, the founder of the Sinhalese dynasty,
with a small band of Aryan-speaking followers from the mainland of
India. Vijaya married the daughter of a native chief, with whose aid he
proceeded to master the whole island, which he parcelled out among his
followers, some of whom formed petty kingdoms. The Sinhalese introduced
from the mainland a comparatively high type of civilization, notably
agriculture. The earliest of the great irrigation tanks, near
Anuradhapura, was opened about 504 B.C. by the successor of Vijaya; and
about this time was established that system of village communities which
still obtains over a large part of Ceylon.
The island was converted to Buddhism at the beginning of the 3rd century
B.C. by the preaching of Mahinda, a son of the great Buddhist emperor
Asoka; a conversion that was followed by an immense multiplication of
_daghobas_, curious bell-shaped reliquaries of solid stone, and of
Buddhist monasteries. For the rest, the history of ancient Ceylon is
largely a monotonous record of Malabar or Tamil invasions, conquests and
usurpations. Of these latter the first was in 237 B.C. when two officers
in the cavalry and fleet revolted, overthrew the Sinhalese ruler with
the aid of his own Tamil mercenaries, and reigned jointly, as Sena I.
and Guptika, until 215. The Sinhalese Asela then ruled till 205, when he
was overthrown by a Tamil from Tanjore, Elala, who held the reins of
power for 44 years. In 161 B.C. Elala was defeated and slain by
Dutegemunu, still remembered as one of the great Sinhalese heroes of
Ceylon. The ruins of the great monastery, known as the Brazen Palace, at
Anuradhapura, remain a memorial of King Dutegemunu's splendour and
religious zeal. He died in 137 B.C., and thenceforth the history of
Ceylon is mainly that of further Tamil invasions, of the construction of
irrigation tanks, and of the immense development of the Buddhist
monastic system. A tragic episode in the royal family in the 5th century
A.D. is, however, worthy of notice as connected with one of Ceylon's
most interesting remains, the Sigiri rock and tank (see SIGIRI). In A.D.
477 King Datu Sen was murdered by his son, who mounted the throne as
Kasyapa I., and when he was driven from the capital by the inhabitants,
infuriated by his crime, built himself a stronghold on the inaccessible
Sigiri rock, whence he ruled the country until in 495 he was overthrown
and slain by his brother Mugallana (495-513), who at the time of his
father's murder had escaped to India.
Towards the close of the 10th century Ceylon was invaded by Rajaraja the
Great, the Chola king, and after a series of protracted campaigns was
annexed to his empire in 1005. The island, did not, however, remain long
under Tamil domination. In 1071 Vijaya Bahu succeeded in re-establishing
the Sinhalese dynasty, and for a while Ceylon was freed from foreign
intervention. The most notable of the successors of Vijaya Bahu, and
indeed of all the long line of Sinhalese rulers, was Parakrama Bahu I.
(1155-1180), whose colossal statue still stands near Polonnaruwa. He not
only took advantage of the unaccustomed tranquillity of the country to
restore the irrigation tanks and the monasteries, but he availed himself
of a disputed succession to the Pandya throne of Madura to turn the
tables on his Tamil enemies by invading India. According to the
_Mahavamsa_ his generals met with immediate and unbroken success;
according to the more probable account preserved in a long Chola
inscription at Arpakkam near Kanchi, they were, though at first
successful, ultimately driven out by a coalition of the southern princes
(V.A. Smith, _Early History of India_, ed. 1908, p. 411). In any case,
within thirty years of Parakrama Bahu's death his work was undone; the
Malabar invaders were once more able to effect a settlement in the
island, and the Sinhalese capital was moved farther and farther south,
till in 1410 it had become established at Kotta, now a suburb of
Colombo. In 1408 a new misfortune had befallen the Sinhalese dynasty; in
revenge for an insult offered to a Chinese envoy, a Chinese army invaded
the island and carried away King Vijaya Bahu IV. into captivity. For
thirty years from this date the Sinhalese kings of Ceylon were tributary
to China.
When, in 1505, the Portuguese Francisco de Almeida landed in Ceylon, he
found the island divided into seven kingdoms. Twelve years later the
viceroy of Goa ordered the erection of a fort at Colombo, for which
permission was obtained from the king of Kotta; and from this time until
the advent of the Dutch in the 17th century the Portuguese endeavoured,
amid perpetual wars with the native kings, who were assisted by Arab and
other traders jealous of European rivalry, to establish their control
over the island. They ultimately succeeded so far as the coast was
concerned, though their dominion scarcely penetrated inland. Materially
their gain was but small, for the trade of Ceylon was quite
insignificant; but they had the spiritual satisfaction of prosecuting a
vigorous propaganda of Catholicism, St Francis Xavier being the most
notable of the missionaries who at this time laboured in the island.
The fanatical zeal and the masterful attitude of the Portuguese were a
constant source of dissension with the native rulers, and when the
Dutch, under Admiral Spilberg, landed on the east coast in 1602 and
sought the alliance of the king of Kandy in the interior of the island,
every inducement was held out to them to aid in expelling the
Portuguese. Nothing seems to have come of this until 1638-1639, when a
Dutch expedition attacked and razed the Portuguese forts on the east
coast. In the following year they landed at Negombo, without however
establishing themselves in any strong post. In 1644 Negombo was captured
and fortified by the Dutch, while in 1656 they took Colombo, and in 1658
they drove the Portuguese from Jaffna, their last stronghold in Ceylon.
Pursuing a wiser policy than their predecessors, the Dutch lost no
opportunity of improving that portion of the country which owned their
supremacy, and of opening a trade with the interior. More tolerant and
less disposed to stand upon their dignity than the Portuguese, they
subordinated political to commercial ends, flattered the native rulers
by a show of deference, and so far succeeded in their object as to
render their trade between the island and Holland a source of great
profit. Many new branches of industry were developed. Public works were
undertaken on a large scale, and education, if not universally placed
within the reach of the inhabitants of the maritime provinces, was at
least well cared for on a broad plan of government supervision. That
which they had so much improved by policy, they were, however, unable to
defend by force when the British turned their arms against them. A
century and a half had wrought great changes in the physical and mental
status of the Dutch colonists. The territory which in 1658 they had
slowly gained by undaunted and obstinate bravery, they as rapidly lost
in 1796 by imbecility and cowardice.
The first intercourse of the English with Ceylon was as far back as
1763, when an embassy was despatched from Madras to the king of Kandy,
without, however, leading to any result. On the rupture between Great
Britain and Holland in 1795, a force was sent against the Dutch
possessions in Ceylon, where the opposition offered was so slight that
by the following year the whole of their forts were in the hands of the
English commander.
The abiding results of the occupation of Ceylon by the Portuguese and
Dutch is described by Sir Emerson Tennent (_Ceylon_) as follows:
"The dominion of the Netherlands in Ceylon was nearly equal in
duration with that of Portugal, about 140 years; but the policies of
the two countries have left a very different impress on the character
and institutions of the people amongst whom they lived. The most
important bequest left by the utilitarian genius of Holland is the
code of Roman Dutch law, which still prevails in the supreme courts of
justice, whilst the fanatical propagandism of the Portuguese has
reared for itself a monument in the abiding and expanding influence of
the Roman Catholic faith. This flourishes in every hamlet and province
where it was implanted by the Franciscans, whilst the doctrines of the
reformed church of Holland, never preached beyond the walls of the
fortresses, are already almost forgotten throughout the island, with
the exception of an expiring community at Colombo. Already the
language of the Dutch, which they sought to extend by penal
enactments, has ceased to be spoken even by their direct descendants,
whilst a corrupted Portuguese is to the present day the vernacular of
the lower classes in every town of importance. As the practical and
sordid government of the Netherlands only recognized the interest of
the native population in so far as they were essential to uphold their
trading monopolies, their memory was recalled by no agreeable
associations: whilst the Portuguese, who, in spite of their cruelties,
were identified with the people by the bond of a common faith, excited
a feeling of admiration by the boldness of their conflicts with the
Kandyans, and the chivalrous though ineffectual defence of their
beleaguered fortresses. The Dutch and their proceedings have almost
ceased to be remembered by the lowland Sinhalese; but the chiefs of
the south and west perpetuate with pride the honorific title Don,
accorded to them by their first European conquerors, and still prefix
to their ancient patronymics the sonorous Christian names of the
Portuguese."
The British forces by which the island had been conquered were those of
the East India Company, and Ceylon was therefore at first placed under
its jurisdiction and administered from Madras. The introduction of the
Madras revenue system, however, together with a host of Malabar
collectors, led to much discontent, which culminated in rebellion; and
in 1798 the colony was placed directly under the crown. By the treaty of
Amiens, in 1803, this situation was regularized, from the international
point of view, by the formal cession to Great Britain of the former
Dutch possessions in the island. For a while the British dominion was
confined to the coast. The central tract of hilly country, hedged in by
impenetrable forests and precipitous mountain ranges, remained in
possession of Sri Vikrama Raja Sinha, the last of the Sinhalese dynasty,
who showed no signs of encouraging communication with his European
neighbours.
Minor differences led in 1803 to an invasion of the Kandyan territory;
but sickness, desertion and fatigue proved more formidable adversaries
to the British forces than the troops of the Sinhalese monarch, and
peace was eventually concluded upon terms by no means favourable to the
English. The cruelty and oppression of the king now became so
intolerable to his subjects that disaffection spread rapidly amongst
them. Punishments of the most horrible kinds were inflicted, but failed
to repress the popular indignation; and in 1815 the British, at the
urgent request of many of the Adigars and other native chiefs, proceeded
against the tyrant, who was captured near Kandy, and subsequently ended
his days in exile. With him ended a long line of sovereigns, whose
pedigree may be traced through upwards of two thousand years.
By a convention entered into with the Kandyan chiefs on the 2nd of March
1815, the entire sovereignty of the island passed into the hands of the
British, who in return guaranteed to the inhabitants civil and religious
liberty. The religion of Buddha was declared inviolable, and its rights,
ministers and places of worship were to be maintained and protected; the
laws of the country were to be preserved and administered according to
established forms; and the royal dues and revenues were to be levied as
before for the support of government.
With the exception of a serious outbreak in some parts of the interior
in 1817, which lasted for upwards of a year, and of two minor attempts
at rebellion easily put down, in 1843 and 1848, the political
atmosphere of Ceylon has remained undisturbed since the deportation of
the last king of Kandy.
AUTHORITIES.--Major Thomas Skinner, _Fifty Years in Ceylon_, edited by
his son, A. Skinner (London, 1891); Constance F. Gordon Gumming, _Two
Happy Years in Ceylon_ (2 vols., Edinburgh, 1892); H.W. Cave, _The
Ruined Cities of Ceylon_ (London, 1897), and _The Book of Ceylon_
(London, 1908); Sir Emerson Tennent, _Ceylon_ (2 vols. 4th ed., 1860);
J. Ferguson, _Ceylon in 1903_ (Colombo); J.C. Willis, _Ceylon_
(Colombo, 1907). See also E. Muller, _Ancient Inscriptions in Ceylon_,
published for the government (1883-1884), and the important
archaeological survey in _Epigraphia Zeylonica_, part i., 1904, ii.,
1907, iii., 1907, by Don Martino de Silva Wickremasinghe, who in 1899
was appointed epigraphist to the Ceylon government. Among other works
on special subjects may be mentioned H. Trimen, F.R.S., director of
Ceylon Botanic Gardens, _Ceylon Flora_, in 5 vols., completed by Sir
Joseph Hooker; Captain V. Legge, F.Z.S., _History of the Birds of
Ceylon_ (London, 1870); Dr Copleston, bishop of Colombo, _Buddhism,
Primitive and Present, in Magadha and in Ceylon_ (London, 1892);
review by Sir West Ridgeway, _Administration of Ceylon, 1896-1903_;
Professor W.A. Herdman, _Report on the Pearl Oyster Fisheries,
1903-1904_.
CHABAZITE, a mineral species belonging to the group of zeolites. It
occurs as white to flesh-red crystals which vary from transparent to
translucent and have a vitreous lustre. The crystals are rhombohedral,
and the predominating form is often a rhombohedron (r) with interfacial
angles of 85 deg. 14'; they therefore closely resemble cubes in
appearance, and the mineral was in fact early (in 1772) described as a
cubic zeolite. A characteristic feature is the twinning, the crystals
being frequently interpenetration twins with the principal axis as
twin-axis (figs, 1, 2). The appearance shown in fig. 1, with the corners
of small crystals in twinned position projecting from the faces r of the
main crystal, is especially characteristic of chabazite. Such groups
resemble the interpenetrating twinned cubes of fluorspar, but the two
minerals are readily distinguished by their cleavage, fluorspar having a
perfect octahedral cleavage truncating the corners of the cube, whilst
in chabazite there are less distinct cleavages parallel to the
rhombohedral (cube-like) faces. Another type of twinned crystal is
represented in fig. 2, in which the predominating form is an obtuse
hexagonal pyramid (t); the faces of these flatter crystals are often
rounded, giving rise to lenticular shapes, hence the name phacolite
(from [Greek: phakos], a lentil) for this variety of chabazite.
[Illustration: FIG. 1. FIG. 2. Twinned Crystals of Chabazite.]
The hardness of chabazite is 4-1/2, and the specific gravity 2.08-2.16.
As first noticed by Sir David Brewster in 1830, the crystals often
exhibit anomalous optical characters: instead of being uniaxial, a basal
section may be divided into sharply-defined biaxial sectors. Heating of
the crystals is attended by a loss of water and a change in their
optical characters; it is probable therefore that the anomalous optical
characters are dependent on the amount of water present.
Besides phacolite, mentioned above, other varieties of chabazite are
distinguished. Herschelite and seebachite are essentially the same as
phacolite. Haydenite is the name given to small yellowish crystals,
twinned on a rhombohedron plane r, from Jones's Falls near Baltimore in
Maryland. Acadialite is a reddish chabazite from Nova Scotia (the old
French name of which is Acadie).
Chemically, chabazite is a complex hydrated calcium and sodium silicate,
with a small proportion of the sodium replaced by potassium, and
sometimes a small amount of the calcium replaced by barium and
strontium. The composition is however variable, and is best expressed
as an isomorphous mixture of the molecules (Ca, Na2) Al2(SiO4)2 + 4H2O
and (Ca, Na2) Al2(Si3O8)2 + 8H2O, which are analogous to the felspars.
Most analyses correspond with a formula midway between these extremes,
namely, (Ca, Na2)Al2(SiO3)4 + 6H2O.
Chabazite occurs with other zeolites in the amygdaloidal cavities of
basaltic rocks; occasionally it has been found in gneisses and schists.
Well-formed crystals are known from many localities; for example,
Kilmalcolm in Renfrewshire, the Giant's Causeway in Co. Antrim, and
Oberstein in Germany. Beautiful, clear glassy crystals of the phacolite
("seebachite") variety occur with phillipsite and radiating bundles of
brown calcite in cavities in compact basalt near Richmond, Melbourne,
Victoria. Small crystals have been observed lining the cavities of
fossil shells from Iceland, and in the recent deposits of the hot
springs of Plombieres and Bourbonne-les-Bains in France.
Gmelinite and levynite are other species of zeolites which may be
mentioned here, since they are closely related to chabazite, and like it
are rhombohedral and frequently twinned. Gmelinite forms large flesh-red
crystals usually of hexagonal habit, and was early known as
soda-chabazite, it having the composition of chabazite but with sodium
predominating over calcium (Na2, Ca)Al2(SiO3)46H2O. The formula of
levynite is CaAl2Si3O10 + 5H2O. (L. J. S.)
CHABLIS, a town of north-central France, in the department of Yonne, on
the left bank of the Serein, 14 m. E. by N. of Auxerre by road. Pop.
(1906) 2227. Its church of St Martin belongs to the end of the 12th
century. The town gives its name to a well-known white wine produced in
the neighbouring vineyards, of which the most esteemed are Clos,
Bouguerots, Moutonne, Grenouille, Montmaires, Lys and Vaux-Desirs. There
are manufactures of biscuits.
CHABOT, FRANCOIS (1757-1794), French revolutionist, had been a
Franciscan friar before the Revolution, and after the civil constitution
of the clergy continued to act as "constitutional" priest, becoming
grand vicar of Henri Gregoire, bishop of Blois. Then he was elected to
the Legislative Assembly, sitting at the extreme left, and forming with
C. Bazire and Merlin de Thionville the "Cordelier trio." Re-elected to
the Convention he voted for the death of Louis XVI., and opposed the
proposal to prosecute the authors of the massacre of September, "because
among them there are heroes of Jemmapes." Some of his sayings are well
known, such as that Christ was the first "_sans-culotte_." Compromised
in the falsification of a decree suppressing the India Company and in a
plot to bribe certain members of the Convention, especially Fabre
d'Eglantine and C. Bazire, he was arrested, brought before the
Revolutionary Tribunal, and was condemned and executed at the same time
as the Dantonists, who protested against being associated with such a
"_fripon_."
CHABOT, GEORGES ANTOINE, known as CHABOT DE L'ALLIER (1758-1819), French
jurist and statesman, was president of the tribunal of Montlucon when he
was elected as a deputy _suppleant_ to the National Convention. A member
of the council of the Ancients, then of the Tribunate, he was president
of the latter when the peace of Amiens was signed. He had a resolution
adopted, tending to give Napoleon Bonaparte the consulship for life; and
in 1804 supported the proposal to establish a hereditary monarchy.
Napoleon named him inspector-general of the law schools, then judge of
the court of cassation. He published various legal works, e.g. _Tableau
de la legislation ancienne sur les successions et de la legislation
nouvelle etablie par le code civil_ (Paris, 1804), and _Questions
fransitoires sur le code Napoleon_ (Paris, 1809).
CHABOT, PHILIPPE DE, SEIGNEUR DE BRION, COUNT OF CHARNY AND BUZANCAIS
(c. 1492-1543), admiral of France. The Chabot family was one of the
oldest and most powerful in Poitou. Philippe was a cadet of the Jarnac
branch. He was a companion of Francis I. as a child, and on that king's
accession was loaded with honours and estates. After the battle of Pavia
he was made admiral of France and governor of Burgundy (1526), and
shared with Anne de Montmorency the direction of affairs. He was at the
height of his power in 1535, and commanded the army for the invasion of
the states of the duke of Savoy; but in the campaigns of 1536 and 1537
he was eclipsed by Montmorency, and from that moment his influence began
to wane. He was accused by his enemies of peculation, and condemned on
the 10th of February 1541 to a fine of 1,500,000 livres, to banishment,
and to the confiscation of his estates. Through the good offices of
Madam d'Etampes, however, he obtained the king's pardon almost
immediately (March 1541), was reinstated in his posts, and regained his
estates and even his influence, while Montmorency in his turn was
disgraced. But his health was affected by these troubles, and he died
soon afterwards on the 1st of June 1543. His tomb in the Louvre, by an
unknown sculptor, is a fine example of French Renaissance work. It was
his nephew, Guy Chabot, seigneur de Jarnac, who fought the famous duel
with Francois de Vivonne, seigneur de la Chataigneraie, in 1547, at the
beginning of the reign of Henry II.
The main authorities for Chabot's life are his MS. correspondence in
the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, and contemporary memoirs. See also
E de Barthelemy, "Chabot de Brion," in the _Revue des questions
historiques_ (vol. xx. 1876); Martineau, "L'Amiral Chabot," in the
_Positions des theses de l'Ecole des Chartes_ (1883).
CHABRIAS (4th century B.C.), a celebrated Athenian general. In 388 B.C.
he defeated the Spartans at Aegina and commanded the fleet sent to
assist Evagoras, king of Cyprus, against the Persians. In 378, when
Athens entered into an alliance with, Thebes against Sparta, he defeated
Agesilaus near Thebes. On this occasion he invented a manoeuvre, which
consisted in receiving a charge on the left knee, with shields resting
on the ground and spears pointed against the enemy. In 376 he gained a
decisive victory over the Spartan fleet off Naxos, but, when he might
have destroyed the Spartan fleet, remembering the fate of the generals
at Arginusae, he delayed to pick up the bodies of his dead. Later, when
the Athenians changed sides and joined the Spartans, he repulsed
Epaminondas before the walls of Corinth. In 366, together with
Callistratus, he was accused of treachery in advising the surrender of
Oropus to the Thebans. He was acquitted, and soon after he accepted a
command under Tachos, king of Egypt, who had revolted against Persia.
But on the outbreak of the Social War (357) he joined Chares in the
command of the Athenian fleet. He lost his life in an attack on the
island of Chios.
See Cornelius Nepos, _Chabrias_; Xenophon, _Hellenica_, v. 1-4; Diod.
Sic. xv. 29-34; and C. Rehdantz, _Vitae Iphicratis, Chabriae, et
Timothei_ (1845); art. DELIAN LEAGUE, section B, and authorities there
quoted.
CHABRIER, ALEXIS EMMANUEL (1841-1894), French composer, was born at
Ambert, Puy de Dome, on the 18th of January 1841. At first he only
cultivated music as an amateur, and it was not until 1879 that he threw
up an administration appointment in order to devote himself entirely to
the art. He had two years previously written an _opera bouffe_ entitled
_L'Etoile_, which was performed at the Bouffes Parisiens. In 1881 he was
appointed chorus-master of the concerts then recently established by
Lamoureux. In 1883 he composed the brilliant orchestral rhapsody
entitled _Espana_, the themes of which he had jotted down when
travelling in Spain. His opera _Gwendoline_ was brought out with
considerable success at Brussels on the 10th of April 1886, and was
given later at the Paris Grand Opera. The following year 1887, _Le Roi
malgre lui_, an opera of a lighter description, was produced in Paris at
the Opera Comique, its run being interrupted by the terrible fire by
which this theatre was destroyed. His last opera, _Briseis_, was left
unfinished, and performed in a fragmentary condition at the Paris Opera,
after the composer's death in Paris on the 13th of September 1894.
Chabrier was also the author of a set of piano pieces entitled _Pieces
pittoresques, Valses romantiques_, for two pianos, a fantasia for horn
and piano, &c. His great admiration for Wagner asserted itself in
_Gwendoline_, a work which, in spite of inequalities due to want of
experience, is animated by a high artistic ideal, is poetically
conceived, and shows considerable harmonic originality, besides a
thorough mastery over the treatment of the orchestra. The
characteristics of _Le Roi malgre lui_ have been well summed up by M.
Joncieres when he alludes to "cette verve inepuisable, ces rythmes
endiables, cette exuberance de gaiete et de vigueur, a laquelle venait
se joindre la note melancolique et emue." Chabrier's premature death
prevented him from giving the full measure of his worth.
CHACMA, the Hottentot name of the Cape baboon, _Papio porcarius_, a
species inhabiting the mountains of South Africa as far north as the
Zambezi. Of the approximate size of an English mastiff, this powerful
baboon is blackish grey in colour with a tinge of green due to the
yellow rings on most of the hairs. Unlike most of its tribe, it is a
good climber; and where wooded cliffs are not available, will take up
its quarters in tall trees. Chacmas frequently strip orchards and
fruit-gardens, break and devour ostrich eggs, and kill lambs and kids
for the sake of the milk in their stomachs.
CHACO, a territory of northern Argentina, part of a large district known
as the Gran Chaco, bounded N. by the territory of Formosa, E. by
Paraguay and Corrientes, S. by Santa Fe, and W. by Santiago del Estero
and Salta. The Bermejo river forms its northern boundary, and the
Paraguay and Parana rivers its eastern; these rivers are its only means
of communication. Pop. (1895) 10,422; (1904, est.) 13,937; area, 52,741
sq. m. The northern part consists of a vast plain filled with numberless
lagoons; the southern part is slightly higher and is covered with dense
forests, occasionally broken by open grassy spaces. Its forests contain
many species of trees of great economic value; among them is the
_quebracho_, which is exported for the tannin which it contains. The
capital, Resistencia, with an estimated population of 3500 in 1904, is
situated on the Parana river opposite the city of Corrientes. There is
railway communication between Santa Fe and La Sabana, an insignificant
timber-cutting village on the southern frontier. In the territory there
are still several tribes of uncivilized Indians, who occasionally raid
the neighbouring settlements of Santa Fe.
CHACONNE (Span. _chacona_), a slow dance, introduced into Spain by the
Moors, now obsolete. It resembles the Passacaglia. The word is used also
of the music composed for this dance--a slow stately movement in 3/4
time. Such a movement was often introduced into a sonata, and formed the
conventional finale to an opera or ballet until the time of Gluck.
CHAD [CEADDA], SAINT (d. 672), brother of Cedd, whom he succeeded as
abbot at Lastingham, was consecrated bishop of the Northumbrians by
Wine, the West Saxon bishop, at the request of Oswio in 664. On the
return of Wilfrid from France, where he had been sent to be consecrated
to the same see, a dispute of course arose, which was settled by
Theodore in favour of Wilfrid after three years had passed. Chad
thereupon retired to Lastingham, whence with the permission of Oswio he
was summoned by Wulfhere of Mercia to succeed his bishop Jaruman, who
died 667. Chad built a monastery at Barrow in Lincolnshire and fixed his
see at Lichfield. He died after he had held his bishopric in Mercia two
and a half years, and was succeeded by Wynfrith. Bede gives a beautiful
character of Chad.
See Bede's _Hist. Eccl._ edited by C. Plummer, iii. 23, 24, 28; iv. 2,
3 (Oxford, 1896); Eddius, _Vita Wilfridi_, xiv., xv. edited by J.
Raine, Rolls Series (London, 1879).
CHAD, a lake of northern Central Africa lying between 12 deg. 50' and 14
deg. 10' N. and 13 deg. and 15 deg. E. The lake is situated about 850
ft. above the sea in the borderland between the fertile and wooded
regions of the Sudan on the south and the arid steppes which merge into
the Sahara on the north. The area of the lake is shrinking owing to the
progressive desiccation of the country, Saharan climate and conditions
replacing those of the Sudan. The drying-up process has been
comparatively rapid since the middle of the 19th century, a town which
in 1850 was on the southern margin of the lake being in 1905 over 20 m.
from it. On the west the shore is perfectly flat, so that a slight rise
in the water causes the inundation of a considerable area--a fact not
without its influence on the estimates made at varying periods as to the
size of the lake. Around the north-west and north shores is a continuous
chain of gently sloping sand-hills covered with bush. This region
abounds in big game and birds are plentiful. In the east, the country
of Kanem, the desiccation has been most marked. Along this coast is a
continuous chain of islands running from north-west to south-east. But
what were islands when viewed by Overweg in 1851, formed in 1903 part of
the mainland and new islands had arisen in the lake. They are generally
low, being composed of sand and clay, and lie from 5 to 20 m. from the
shore, which throughout its eastern side nowhere faces open water. The
channels between the islands do not exceed 2 m. in width. Two principal
groups are distinguished, the Kuri archipelago in the south, and the
Buduma in the north. The inhabitants of the last-named islands were
noted pirates until reduced to order by the French. The coast-line is,
in general, undefined and marshy, and broken into numerous bays and
peninsulas. It is also, especially on the east, lined by lagoons which
communicate with the lake by intricate channels. The lake is nowhere of
great depth, and about midway numerous mud-banks, marshes, islands and
dense growths of aqueous plants stretch across its surface. Another
stretch of marsh usually cuts off the northernmost part of the lake from
the central sections. The open water varies in depth from 3 ft. in the
north-west to over 20 in the south, where desiccation is less apparent.
Fed by the Shari (q.v.) and other rivers, the lake has no outlet and its
area varies according to the season. The flood water brought down by the
Shari in December and January causes the lake to rise to a maximum of 24
ft., the water spreading over low-lying ground, left dry again in May or
June. But after several seasons of heavy rainfall the waters have
remained for years beyond their low-water level. Nevertheless the
secular shrinking goes on, the loss by evaporation and percolation
exceeding the amount of water received; whilst, on the average, the
rainfall is diminishing. In 1870 the lake rose to an exceptional height,
but since then, save in 1897, there has been only the normal seasonal
rise. The prevalent north-east wind causes at times a heavy swell on the
lake. Fish abound in its waters, which are sweet, save at low-level,
when they become brackish. The lagoons are believed to act as purifying
pans in which the greater part of the salt in the water is precipitated.
In the south-west end of the lake the water is yellow, caused by banks
of clay; elsewhere it is clear.
[Illustration: Lake Chad]
The southern basin of Chad is described under the Shari, which empties
its waters into the lake about the middle of the southern shore, forming
a delta of considerable extent. Beyond the south-east corner of the lake
is a depression known as the Bahr-el-Ghazal (not to be confounded with
the Nile affluent of the same name). This depression is the termination
of what is in all probability the bed of one of the dried-up Saharan
rivers. Coming from the Tibesti highlands the Bahr-el-Ghazal has a
south-westerly trend to Lake Chad. Near the lake the valley was formerly
swampy, and at high-water the lake overflowed into it. There was also at
one time communication between the Shari and the Bahr-el-Ghazal, so that
the water of the first-named stream reached Chad by way of the
Bahr-el-Ghazal. There is now neither inlet nor outlet to the lake in
this direction, the mouth of the Ghazal having become a fertile millet
field. There is still, however, a distinct current from the Shari delta
to the east end of the lake--known to the natives, like the depression
beyond, as the Bahr-el-Ghazal--indicative of the former overflow outlet.
Besides the Shari, the only important stream entering Lake Chad is the
Waube or Yo (otherwise the Komadugu Yobe), which rises near Kano, and
flowing eastward enters the lake on its western side 40 m. north of
Kuka. In the rains the Waube carries down a considerable body of water
to the lake.
Lake Chad is supposed to have been known by report to Ptolemy, and is
identified by some writers with the Kura lake of the middle ages. It was
first seen by white men in 1823 when it was reached by way of Tripoli by
the British expedition under Dr Walter Oudney, R.N., the other members
being Captain Hugh Clapperton and Major (afterwards Lieut.-Colonel)
Dixon Denham. By them the lake was named Waterloo. In 1850 James
Richardson, accompanied by Heinrich Barth and Adolf Overweg, reached the
lake, also via Tripoli, and Overweg was the first European to navigate
its waters (1851). The lake was visited by Eduard Vogel (1855) and by
Gustav Nachtigal (1870), the last-named investigating its hydrography in
some detail. In 1890-1893 its shores were divided by treaty between
Great Britain, France and Germany. The first of these nations to make
good its footing in the region was France. A small steamer, brought from
the Congo by Emile Gentil, was in 1897 launched on the Shari, and
reaching the Chad, navigated the southern part of the lake.
Communication between Algeria and Lake Chad by way of the Sahara was
opened, after repeated failures, by the French explorer F. Foureau in
1899-1900. At the same time a French officer, Lieut. Joalland, reached
the lake from the middle Niger, continuing his journey round the north
end to Kanem. A British force under Colonel T.L.N. Morland visited the
lake at the beginning of 1902, and in May of the same year the Germans
first reached it from Cameroon. In 1902-1903 French officers under
Colonel Destenave made detailed surveys of the south-eastern and eastern
shores and the adjacent islands. In 1903 Captain E. Lenfant, also a
French officer, succeeded in reaching the lake (which he
circumnavigated) via the Benue, proving the existence of water
communication between the Shari and the Niger. In 1905 Lieut. Boyd
Alexander, a British officer, further explored the lake, which then
contained few stretches of open water. The lake is bordered W. and S.W.
by Bornu, which is partly in the British protectorate of Nigeria and
partly in the German protectorate of Cameroon. Bagirmi to the S.E. of
the lake and Kanem to the N.E. are both French possessions. The north
and north-west shores also belong to France. One of the ancient trade
routes across the Sahara--that from Tripoli to Kuka in Bornu--strikes
the lake at its north-west corner, but this has lost much of its former
importance.
See the works of Denham, Clapperton, Barth and Nachtigal cited in the
biographical notices; _Geog. Journal_, vol. xxiv. (1904); Capt. Tilho
in _La Geographie_ (March 1906); Boyd Alexander, _From the Niger to
the Nile_, vol. i. (London, 1907); A. Chevalier, _Mission Chari-Lac
Tchad 1902-1904_ (Paris 1908); E. Lenfant, _La Grande Route du Tchad_
(Paris, 1905); H. Freydenberg, _Etude sur le Tchad et le bassin du
Chari_ (Paris, 1908).
CHADDERTON, an urban district of Lancashire, England, within the
parliamentary borough of Oldham (q.v.). Pop. (1901) 24,892. Cotton and
chemical works, and the coal-mines of the neighbourhood, employ the
large industrial population.
CHADERTON, LAURENCE (?1536-1640), Puritan divine, was born at Lees Hall,
in the parish of Oldham, Lancashire, probably in September 1536, being
the second son of Edmund Chaderton, a gentleman of an ancient and
wealthy family, and a zealous Catholic. Under the tuition of Laurence
Vaux, a priest, he became an able scholar. In 1564 he entered Christ's
College, Cambridge, where, after a short time, he formally adopted the
reformed doctrines and was in consequence disinherited by his father. In
1567 he was elected a fellow of his college, and subsequently was chosen
lecturer of St Clement's church, Cambridge, where he preached to
admiring audiences for many years. He was a man of moderate views,
though numbering among his friends extremists like Cartwright and
Perkins. So great was his reputation that when Sir Walter Mildmay
founded Emmanuel College in 1584 he chose Chaderton for the first
master, and on his expressing some reluctance, declared that if he would
not accept the office the foundation should not go on. In 1604 Chaderton
was appointed one of the four divines for managing the cause of the
Puritans at the Hampton Court conference; and he was also one of the
translators of the Bible. In 1578 he had taken the degree of B.D., and
in 1613 he was created D.D. At this period he made provision for twelve
fellows and above forty scholars in Emmanuel College. Fearing that he
might have a successor who held Arminian doctrines, he resigned the
mastership in favour of John Preston, but survived him, and lived also
to see the college presided over successively by William Sancroft (or
Sandcroft) and Richard Holdsworth. He died on the 13th of November 1640
at the age of about 103, preserving his bodily and mental faculties to
the end.
Chaderton published a sermon preached at St Paul's Cross about 1580,
and a treatise of his _On Justification_ was printed by Anthony
Thysius, professor of divinity at Leiden. Some other works by him on
theological subjects remain in manuscript.
CHADWICK, SIR EDWIN (1800-1890), English sanitary reformer, was born at
Longsight, near Manchester, on the 24th of January 1800. Called to the
bar without any independent means, he sought to support himself by
literary work, and his essays in the _Westminster Review_ (mainly on
different methods of applying scientific knowledge to the business of
government) introduced him to the notice of Jeremy Bentham, who engaged
him as a literary assistant and left him a handsome legacy. In 1832 he
was employed by the royal commission appointed to inquire into the
operation of the poor laws, and in 1833 he was made a full member of
that body. In conjunction with Nassau W. Senior he drafted the
celebrated report of 1834 which procured the reform of the old poor law.
His special contribution was the institution of the union as the area of
administration. He favoured, however, a much more centralized system of
administration than was adopted, and he never ceased to complain that
the reform of 1834 was fatally marred by the rejection of his views,
which contemplated the management of poor-law relief by salaried
officers controlled from a central board, the boards of guardians acting
merely as inspectors. In 1834 he was appointed secretary to the poor law
commissioners. Finding himself unable to administer in accordance with
his own views an act of which he was largely the author, his relations
with his official chiefs became much strained, and the disagreement led,
among other causes, to the dissolution of the poor law commission in
1846. Chadwick's chief contribution to political controversy was his
constant advocacy of entrusting certain departments of local affairs to
trained and selected experts, instead of to representatives elected on
the principle of local self-government. While still officially connected
with the poor law he had taken up the question of sanitation in
conjunction with Dr Southwood Smith, and their joint labours produced a
most salutary improvement in the public health. His report on "The
Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population" (1842) is a valuable
historical document. He was a commissioner of the Board of Health from
its establishment in 1848 to its abolition in 1854, when he retired upon
a pension, and occupied the remainder of his life in voluntary
contributions to sanitary and economical questions. He died at East
Sheen, Surrey, on the 6th of July 1890. He had been made K.C.B. in 1889.
See a volume on _The Evils of Disunity in Central and Local
Administration ... and the New Centralization for the People_, by
Edwin Chadwick (1885); also _The Health of Nations, a Review of the
Works of Edwin Chadwick, with a Biographical Introduction_, by Sir B.
W. Richardson (1887).
CHAEREMON, Athenian dramatist of the first half of the 4th century B.C.
He is generally considered a tragic poet. Aristotle (_Rhetoric_, iii.
12) says his works were intended for reading, not for representation.
According to Suidas, he was also a comic poet, and the title of at least
one of his plays (_Achilles Slayer of Thersites_) seems to indicate that
it was a satyric drama. His _Centaurus_ is described by Aristotle
(_Poet._ i. 12) as a rhapsody in all kinds of metres. The fragments of
Chaeremon are distinguished by correctness of form and facility of
rhythm, but marred by a florid and affected style reminiscent of
Agathon. He especially excelled in descriptions (irrelevantly
introduced) dealing with such subjects as flowers and female beauty. It
is not agreed whether he is the author of three epigrams in the Greek
Anthology (Palatine vii. 469, 720, 721) which bear his name.
See H. Bartsch, _De Chaeremone Poeta tragico_ (1843); fragments in A.
Nauck, _Fragmenta Tragicorum Graecorum_.
CHAEREMON, of Alexandria (1st century A.D.), Stoic philosopher and
grammarian. He was superintendent of the portion of the Alexandrian
library that was kept in the temple of Serapis, and as custodian and
expounder of the sacred books ([Greek: ierogrammateus] sacred scribe)
belonged to the higher ranks of the priesthood. In A.D. 49 he was
summoned to Rome, with Alexander of Aegae, to become tutor to the
youthful Nero. He was the author of a _History of Egypt_; of works on
_Comets, Egyptian Astrology_, and _Hieroglyphics_; and of a grammatical
treatise on _Expletive Conjunctions_ ([Greek: syndesmoi
parapleropaeromatikoi]). Chaeremon was the chief of the party which
explained the Egyptian religious system as a mere allegory of the
worship of nature. His books were not intended to represent the ideas of
his Egyptian contemporaries; their chief object was to give a
description of the sanctity and symbolical secrets of ancient Egypt. He
can hardly be identical with the Chaeremon who accompanied (c. 26 B.C.;
Strabo xvii. p. 806) Aelius Gallus, praefect of Egypt, on a journey into
the interior of the country.
Fragments in C. Muller, _Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum_, iii.
495-499.
CHAERONEIA, or CHAERONEA, an ancient town of Boeotia, said by some to be
the Homeric Arne, situated about 7 m. W. of Orchomenus. Until the 4th
century B.C. it was a dependency of Orchomenus, and at all times it
played but a subordinate part in Boeotian politics. Its importance lay
in its strategic position near the head of the defile which presents the
last serious obstacle to an invader in central Greece. Two great battles
were fought on this site in antiquity. In 338 B.C. Philip II. and
Alexander of Macedon were confronted by a confederate host from central
Greece and Peloponnese under the leadership of Thebes and Athens, which
here made the last stand on behalf of Greek liberty. A hard-fought
conflict, in which the Greek infantry displayed admirable firmness, was
decided in favour of Philip through the superior organization of his
army. In 86 B.C. the Roman general L. Cornelius Sulla defeated the army
of Mithradates VI., king of Pontus, near Chaeroneia. The latter's
enormous numerical superiority was neutralized by Sulla's judicious
choice of ground and the steadiness of his legionaries; the Asiatics
after the failure of their attack were worn down and almost annihilated.
Chaeroneia is also notable as the birthplace of Plutarch, who returned
to his native town in old age, and was held in honour by its citizens
for many successive generations. Pausanias (ix. 40) mentions the divine
honours accorded at Chaeroneia to the sceptre of Agamemnon, the work of
Hephaestus (cf. _Iliad_, ii. 101). The site of the town is partly
occupied by the village of Kapraena; the ancient citadel was known as
the Petrachus, and there is a theatre cut in the rock. A colossal seated
lion a little to the S.E. of the site marks the grave of the Boeotians
who fell fighting against Philip; this lion was found broken to pieces;
the tradition that it was blown up by Odysseus Androutsos is incorrect
(see Murray, _Handbook for Greece_, ed. 5, 1884, p. 409). It has now
been restored and re-erected (1905).
AUTHORITIES.--Thucydides iv. 76; Diodorus xvi. 85-86; Plutarch,
_Alexander_, ch. 9; _Sulla_, chs. 16-19; Appian, _Mithradatica_, chs.
42-45; W.M. Leake, _Travels in Northern Greece_ (London, 1835), ii.
112-117, 192-201; B.V. Head, _Historia Numorum_ (Oxford, 1887), p.
292; J. Kromayer, _Antike Schlachtfelder in Griechenland_ (Berlin,
1903), pp. 127-195; G. Sotiriades in _Athen. Mitteil._ 1903, pp. 301
ff.; 1905, p. 120; 1906, p. 396; [Greek: Ephem. Archaiol.], 1908, p.
65.
CHAETOGNATHA, the name given by R. Leuckhart to a small group of
transparent and for the most part pelagic organisms, whose position in
the animal kingdom is a very isolated one. Only three genera, _Sagitta_,
_Spadella_ and _Krohnia_, are recognised, and the number of species is
small. Nevertheless these animals exist in extraordinary quantities, so
that at certain seasons and under certain conditions the surface of the
sea seems almost stiff with the incredible multitude of organisms which
pervade it. Rough seas, &c., cause them to seek safety in dropping into
deeper water. Deep-sea forms also occur, but in spite of this the group
is essentially pelagic.
[Illustration: _Spadella cephaloptera_ (Busch).
St, Septa dividing body-cavity transversely.
g^2, Cerebral ganglia.
n^1, Commissure uniting this with ventral ganglion (not shown in fig.).
n^2, Nerve uniting cerebral ganglia with small ganglia on head.
nr, Olfactory nerve.
d, Alimentary canal.
r, Olfactory organ.
te, Tentacle.
t, Tactile hairs springing from surface of body.
e, Ovary.
el, Oviduct.
ho, Testes.
sg, Vas deferens.
f^2, f^3, Lateral and caudal fins.
sb, Seminal pouch.