Commercial Geography: based on the latest researches and statistical returns. A complete manual of the countries of the world ... their natural productions ... manufactures, etc. ... Translated by F. Muirhead ... With a map of the chief trade routes

Front matter

COMMEKCIAL GEOGRAPHY: BASED ON THE LATEST RESEARCHES AND STATISTICAL RETURNS. A COMPLETE MANUAL OP THE COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD, THEIR CHIEF CENTRES OF TRADE AND MEANS OF COMMUNICATION, THEIR NATURAL PRODUCTIONS, MINERAL RESOURCES, EXPORTS, MANUFACTURES, ETC. BY Dr. GAEL ZEHDEN, PROFESSOR IN THE H ANDELS- AK ADEM IE OF VIENNA. TRANSLATED BY FINDLAY MUIEHEAD, M.A. FROM THE FIFTH GERMAN EDITION, REVISED FOR TRANSLATION BY THE AUTHOR. WITH A MAP OF THE CHIEF TRADE ROUTES. LONDON: BLACKIE & SON, 49 & 50 OLD BAILEY, E.C. GLASGOW, EDINBURGH, AND DUBLIN. 1889. AUTHOR'S

Preface

. I am exceedingly pleased to have an opportunity of prefacing a few words to the present English translation of my work on Com mercial Geography. Of that work, first taken in hand twenty years ago, five editions, representing 15,000 copies, have been demanded in Austria, Ger many, and Switzerland; while even in other countries, of which the national language is not German, such as Sweden, Norway, Holland, and the United States of America (in German schools), it has been adopted as a medium of instruction in its subject. I may perhaps be justified in taking these facts as proofs that my method is one that has approved itself to some of the most advanced nations of the globe. But I derive a peculiar satisfaction from the translation of my book into English, for if England includes it in the list of its books of instruction, that fact will practically be a letter of introduction to all quarters of the globe.

I need not here recount in detail the con tents of my work. Those who even glance through the volume will find that they have before them a piece of honest work, in which I have striven to convey geographical instruction in a form approved by practical experience. In the present age, when international commerce consists no longer in the peaceful exchange of the productions of the different zones, but is often a keen life-and-death rivalry between competing nations and continents, the educated merchant must learn to regard the world as an economic organism, in which each nation discharges the function that best accords with its economic development. I believe that my book owes much of its friendly reception to the attempt made in it to account for the economic posi tion of each state by its physical character and by the ethnographic peculiarities and the degree of civilization of its people.

I trust that my labours will commend themselves to the English speaking public, that has always endeavoured to accord to technical instruction its due place and privileges by the side of general culture. Prof. Dr. C. ZEHDEN. Vienna, Dec. U, 1SSS. TRANSLATOR'S

PREFACE.

. The growing acknowledgment of the importance of systematic instruction in geography, and the want of any satisfactory work on Commercial Geography in English, are more than sufficient excuse for the present translation of one of the most successful and pi*actical manuals on the subject. Dr. Zehden's book, first published in 1871, deservedly enjoys a high reputation. It has passed through five editions in German; it has been officially admitted to all the higher commercial schools in Austria; and it has already been translated, in whole or in part, into Polish, Portuguese, Italian, and Russian. It is, however, more than a mere school-book. In the preface to the last edition the author remarks: " What the public now demand is a description of the earth; not a learned disquisition upon purely geographical problems, nor an account of geographical marvels, but a plain practical description of the earth.

The practical needs of the present day require geography to depict the earth as the abode of mankind, and the various regions of the globe as the spheres of action of the various peoples. It must furnish us with an explanation of the agricultural, industrial, and commercial circumstances, of the poverty or wealth of each country, deduced from its situation, its climate, the nature of its surface, the character of its people, and its animal, vegetable, and mineral productions." The present book is an attempt thus to explain the connection between the economic conditions and the purely geographical peculiarities of the individual countries. Its practical value has been readily recog nized by the enterprising commercial spirit which is growing on the Continent, and the work has made its way into numerous counting houses and offices.

It is hoped that it will do so also in English speaking countries. The information it supplies, at once clear and definite yet not overladen with statistics that speedily become obsolete, is precisely what a merchant desires to possess about countries with which he may trade, or about commodities in which he may deal. It presents not merely a faithful account of countries as they now are, but also numerous indications of the course of their future development. The systematic arrangement of the work, TRANSLATOR'S

PREFACE.

. IV its copious table of contents, appendices, etc., render it peculiarly easy of consultation. The last German edition has been expressly revised by the author for the purposes of this translation, and the information has been brought down to date. Some considerable alterations have been found necessary iu adapting the book for English readers ; but for the general scope and proportion of the whole, and for the arrange ment of the material, the author is entirely responsible. The sections on Great Britain and the British Colonies have been some what expanded from the German text; those on Austria-Hungary correspondingly abridged; a paragraph on the characteristics of the inhabitants of the North American Union has been omitted; and foot-notes have been added at various points. Of the Appendices, the first has been very considerably expanded from the German text, the other is altogether new.

The double Index is a feature which is not found in the German edition. It should, perhaps, be here noted that names of leading commercial or manufacturing towns and of articles (productions, exports, manufactures, etc.) of special importance are printed in italics. London, 28th Dec. 1SSS. CONTENTS. Page Introduction, .--.--- 9

Part I

— MATHEMATICAL GEOGRAPHY. Paffe The Moon, 19 The Earth, ----- 10 Motion of the Moon, - - - 19 Mathematical Divisions, - - 10 The Motions of the Earth, - - 12 The Seasons at Different Latitudes, 17 The Stars, 21 Divisions of Time, - 24

Part II

—: -PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. Land and Water, - 28 Mankind, - 55 Land, 28 Races of Men, ----- 55 Coast-line, 28 Mental Differences among Mankind, 56 Elevations and Depressions, - - 29 Language, ----- 57 Religion, 58 Water, 32 Degrees of Civilization, - - - 59 The Sea, ------ 32 Communications, - - - - 61 Waters of the Land, - - - 40 Routes, ------ 61 The Air, 42 Posts, Telegraphs, Railways, etc., 62 Temperature of the Air, - - 42 Winds, - 45 Exchange, 63 Markets and Fairs, - - - - 65 Rain and Snow, - - - - 49 Exchanges, ----- 66 Climate, - 51 Insurance, ----- 66 Natural Products, - 53 The State, 66

Part III

— POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY. EUROPE. The British Empire, - 69 The Seychelles, - - - 131 Great Britain and Ireland, - - 70 Socotra, 131 Foreign Possessions of Great Britain, 104 In Europe: St. Helena, - - - - 132 British West Africa, - - 132 Heligoland; Gibraltar; Maltese British East Africa, - - - 133 Islands, 104 In Australia and Oceania: In Asia: Australia, ----- 133 Cyprus, 105 Tasmania, - 144 British India, - - - - 106 New Zealand, - 144 Ceylon, 121 Fiji Islands and New Guinea, 146 The Straits Settlements, - - 121 Labuan, 123 In America: North Borneo, - 123 British North America, - 147 Hongkong, - 123 Bermudas, - 155 Aden, - - 124 In Africa : British West Indies, - 156 British Honduras, - 158 British South Africa, - 124 British Guiana, - 159 Falkland Islands, - 159 Mauritius, - CONTENTS.

VI Page Page Holland or The Netherlands, - 160 Luxemburg, 172 Austria-Hungary. - - - - 259 Bosnia and Herzegovina, - - 301 Foreign Possessions of Holland, - 173 In Asia: Switzerland, 303 France, 315 Java and Madura, - 174 Foreign Tos sessions of France, - 343 The Outposts : In Africa : Sunda Islands, Sumatra, Bor- Algeria and Tunis, - 344 neo, Celebes, Riau, Moluc- Possessions in Senegambia, - 348 cas, New Guinea, - - 177 In America : Gaboon and Gold Coast, - - 349 Reunion, 349 Surinam, Curacoa, - 181 Comoro Islands, - - - 349 Obock, - - - - - 350 Belgium, isi In Asia: Denmark, 190 Possessions in Hindostan, - 350 Dependencies and Colonies: Possessions in Indo-China: Faroe Islands, - 194 Cochin-China, - - - 351 Iceland, 194 Annam and Tonquin, - - 351 Greenland, ----- 195 In Oceania: Danish West Indies, - - - 196 New Caledonia, - - - 352 Sweden and Norway, - - - 196 Loyalty Islands, - - - 352 Norway, 201 Marquesas, - 353 Sweden, 205 Tahiti, 353 Germany, 209 Mangareva Group, - - - 353 Prussia, 212 Tubuai and Tuamotu Islands, 353 Saxony, 227 New Hebrides, - - - - 353 In America: The Thuringian States, - - - 232 St. Pierre, - - - - 354 Hesse, 233 Miquelon, 354 Anhalt, 234 Brunswick, ----- 234 Martinique, - 354 Waldeck-Pyrmont, - 235 Guadeloupe, - 354 Lippe-Detmold aud Schaumburg- Lippe, 235 French Guiana, - - - 355 Spain, __---- 356 Oldenburg, 235 Foreign Possessions of Spain, - 371 Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz, - 236 In Africa : Ceuta, 371 The Hanse Towns, - - - - 237 Canary Islands, - 371 Hamburg, - 238 West African Coast, - - 372 Bremen, 240 Fernando Po, - - - - 372 Ltibeck, 241 In Asia: Bavaria, ------ 242 Philippine and Sulu Islands, - 372 Wiirttemberg, - 249 In Oceania: Baden, .-.___ 252 Marianne, Caroline, and Pelew Islands, - - - - - 374 Alsace-Lorraine, - 255 Foreign Possessions of Germany, - 259 In Africa: In America: Cuba, 374 Porto Rico, - - - - 377 Togoland and Little Popo, - 259 Cameroon, - 259 Portugal, 378 Damaraland, - 259 Foreign Possessions of Portugal, - 381 Great Namaqualand, - - 259 In Africa : German East Africa, - - 259 In Oceania: Azores, 3S2 Madeira, ----- 332 Kaiser Wilhelm's Land, - - 259 Bismarck Archipelago, - - 269 Cape Verde Islands, - - 382 Portuguese Guinea, - - - CONTENTS.

VII Page St. Thorns, - - - - 383 Principe, 383 Angola, 383 Mozambique, - - - - 383 In Asia : Goa, 383 Daman and Diu, - - - 383 Timor, 383 Macao, 383 Italy, 384 Foreign Possessions of Italy, - - 398 Assab, - 398 Arafali, - 398 Massowah, ----- 399 States on the Lower Danube, - 399 Pvoumania, ----- 399 Bulgaria, 403 Servia, 406 Montenegro, 408 Page The Turkish Empire, - - - 409 Turkey in Europe, - - - - 410 Turkey in Asia, - 417 Asiatic Turkey Proper, - - 417 Turkish Arabia, - 424 Turkish Protectorates in Africa, - 425 Egypt, with Nubia and the Egyptian Sudan, - - - - 425 Tripoli and Barca, with Fezzan, 432 Greece, 432 The Russian Empire, - - - 438 Russia in Europe, with Poland and Finland, 438 Russia in Asia, .... 462 Caucasia, 463 Siberia, 467 Russian Central Asia, - - - 473 ASIA. The Chinese Empire, - - - 476 China Proper, - 476 Manchuria, ----- 485 Mongolia, 485 Tibet, 486 Jungaria, - 487 Eastern Turkestan, - 487 Corea, 487 Japan, 48S Siam, 493 Persia, 494 Afghanistan, 494 Baluchistan, - - - - - 494 Kafiristan, 494 Independent Arabia, - - - 601 AMERICA.

The United States, - - - 603 Alaska, 533 Latin America, - - - 534 Mexico. 536 Central American Republics, - 542 Guatemala, 543 San Salvador, 543 Honduras, 543 Nicaragua, 543 Costa Rica, 643 South America, - - - - 545 Brazil, 545 The Argentine Republic, - - 553 Paraguay, 553 Uruguay, 553 Chili, 556 Bolivia, 558 Peru, 558 Ecuador, - 658 Colombia, 561 Venezuela, 563 Hayti, 564 AFRICA. Morocco, 566 The Sahara, 568 Central and Southern Africa, - 569 Senegambia and Upper Guinea, 573 Sudan or Nigritia, - - - 573 The South African Triangle, - 575 Lower Guinea; Kaffirland; Orange Free State; Transvaal Republic; Swahili Coast; Somali Lands; Gala Lands, - 575 The Congo State, - - - - 577 Abyssinia, 579 Islands of Africa, - - - - 579 Madagascar, CONTENTS. OCEANIA. Page I Hawaii or Sandwich Islands, - 581 I J>ai!e Samoa and Tonga Islands, 582 Appendix I. Some of the principal Steamship Companies of the World, - - 584 Appendix II.

Railway Guides and Time-tables for the principal Countries of the World, 690 Map of the Chief Trade Routes, - (facing) 592 Index of Places, ------- 593 Index of Products and Manufactures. - - - ... - COMMEECIAL GEOGKAPHY.