GUATEMALA. Gaw-te-mah'la.
The most populous of the five Central American republics. Area, 41,830
square miles. Population, 1884, 1,278,311. Climate healthful; snow never
falls; frequent violent earthquakes occur. Watered by numerous rivers.
Constitution adopted 1859; amended 1879. President is chief executive;
legislative power in the hands of National Assembly; President and members
of Assembly elected for 6 years; suffrage universal. Capital, New
Guatemala; pop., 55,728.
The soil is fertile; cotton, sugar cane, coffee and tobacco are grown.
Roads are poor. Coffee crop, 1884, over 42,000,000 lbs. Sugar, wool and
fruit trade recently developed. In 1882, number of land-owners 5,334.
Imports, 1884, valued at $2,630,100; exports, $3,716,340. Miles of railway,
105. Miles of telegraph, 2,880; 1,100 miles controlled by the state.
Army consists of 2,180 men, rank and file; 33,000 militiamen. There is no
navy.
In 1882, sum spent on education, $434,753; state contributed $323,860; in
1883 there were 844 primary government schools; number night schools, 48;
pupils attending all schools, 42,021.
HONDURAS. Hon-doo'ras.
Republic established November 5, 1838. Area, 39,600 square miles.
Population, 458,000. Capital, Tegucigalpa; pop., 12,000. Numerous
mountains; between them fertile valleys. Coast line on the Pacific, 40
miles: Atlantic, 400 miles. Many excellent harbors; many rivers, some of
them navigable.
Government consists of President, 6 ministers, and an Assembly of 37
Representatives. Finances badly disordered; foreign debt, $26,125,106;
interest unpaid, $24,308,846. Standing army, 830 men; militia, 31,500.
Navy, 2 steam corvettes, with 8 guns.
The products are mahogany, fruit, cotton, cattle, coffee, tobacco, indigo,
India rubber and rosewood. Exports from Truxillo, 1883, $804,550; 26,000
head of cattle; mahogany valued at $88,000; hides and deer skins, $40,000.
Total exports, 1883, $2,193,149; imports, $1,749,146.
Railway, 29 miles. Telegraph, 1,800 miles; offices, 23; messages, 107,730.
Universities, 2; several colleges; 573 schools, with attendance of 20,518.
BRITISH HONDURAS. Hon-doo'ras.
A British Colony in Central America. Area, 7,562 square miles. Population,
27,452. Coast low and swampy; land gradually rises; on the inland boundary
are hills of from 800 to 1,000 feet high; mountains 4,000 feet high.
Sixteen rivers descend from elevated lands. Climate hot and damp;
temperature, 1878-79, 75deg; rainfall 105.49 inches, unusually heavy.
Government in the hands of Lieutenant Governor, an executive and a
Legislative Council. Capital, Belize; pop., 5,767. Soil fertile. Sugar cane
is grown; fruits flourish; the staple products, however, are the natural
woods of the colony. Annual export of mahogany, 3,000,000 feet; logwood,
15,000 tons; estimated value of fruit exports, $100,000. Total imports,
1883, $1,344,865; exports, $1,514,345. Large trade with neighboring
republics. {178}
JAMAICA. Ja-m[=a]'ka.
An island of the West Indies; formally ceded to Great Britain, in 1670, by
the treaty of Madrid; most valuable possession of the British Crown in the
West Indies. Area, including the Turks and Caicos Islands, annexed in 1873,
4,362 square miles. Population, 585,536. Surface mountainous. There is a
great variety of climate. Temperature in lowlands, 95deg at night, 85deg in
the day; in highlands, 40deg to 50deg. Produces most of the tropical
staples; the rosewood, mahogany and ebony of the island are well known.
Latest reports give 121,457 acres under crops; 120,264 in guinea grass, and
318,549 in pasture. Principal exports: coffee, 9,572,714 lbs.; ginger,
908,603 lbs.; pimento, 6,195,109 lbs.; 29,000 hhds. of sugar; 18,115
puncheons of rum, and 35,157 tons of logwood. Value of fruit exported in
same year, $197,255. Total value of imports, 1889, $6,609,810; exports,
$7,745,290.
Governor is assisted by a Privy Council and Legislative Council. Kingston,
the chief city and port, is the capital; pop., 38,566.
Miles of railway, 25; 60 miles in process of construction. Telegraph
stations and post offices in every town and village.
SAN DOMINGO. San Do-meeng'go.
A republic occupying the eastern and larger portion of the island of Hayti.
Area, 18,045 square miles. Country first settled by Spaniards under
Columbus in 1492. Republic founded 1844. President elected for a term of 4
years; legislative power in the hands of a National Congress. Capital, San
Domingo, founded 1494; population, 10000
The country is very fertile. Principal products, sugar, molasses, tobacco,
cotton, coffee, cacao, fruits, mahogany and live stock. The production of
sugar and molasses is largely on the increase. Latest reports give
$5,000,000 capital invested in sugar factories; amount of product, 10,000
tons.
Value of imports, 1883, $3,142,100; exports, $2,129,265. At the two most
important ports, San Domingo and Puerto Plata, there entered, in 1883, 297
vessels, of 192,042 tons.
HAYTI. H[=a]'tee.
A republic, occupying the west part of the Island of Hayti. Area, 10,204
square miles. Population, 572,000. Capital, Port au Prince; pop., 35,000.
Nine-tenths of total population are negroes. Essentially mountainous. In
plains, temperature rises to 96deg and 100deg; on high lands, ranges
between 60deg and 76deg. Constitution was adopted 1867. President is
elected for 4 years; National Assembly consists of Senate and House of
Commons. Mountains cultivable almost to their summits; covered with
valuable timber. Agriculture is backward, though the soil is probably the
most fertile in the West Indies. Business of the country transacted by
foreigners.
Finances badly deranged; foreign debt, $6,409,970; no interest paid on debt
for years. Revenue, $4,500,000; expenditures, $7,000,000. Three-fourths of
revenue derived from duties on imports and exports. Imports, 1881,
$7,283,620; exports, $6,240,460. In same year, 792 vessels entered, and 768
vessels cleared, the ports of Hayti.
By a law of 1878, army consists of 6,828 men; the Guard of the Government,
650 men.