Encyclopaedia Britannica Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 2 Part 13

The lower division consists of pale-yellow, current-bedded sand and loam, with layers of pipeclay and occasional beds of flint pebbles. In the London basin, wherever the junction of the Bagshot beds with the London clay is exposed, it is clear that no sharp line can be drawn between these formations. The Lower Bagshot beds may be observed at Brentwood, Billericay and Highbeech in Ess.e.x; outliers, capping hills of London clay, occur at Hampstead, Highgate and Harrow. In Surrey considerable tracts of London clay are covered by heath-bearing Lower Bagshot beds, as at Weybridge, Aldershot, Woking, &c. The "Ramsdell clay," N.W. of Basingstoke, belongs to this formation. In the Isle of Wight the lower division is well exposed at Alum Bay (660 ft.) and White Cliff Bay (140 ft.); here it consists of unfossiliferous sands (white, yellow, brown, crimson and every intermediate shade), and clays with layers of lignite and ferruginous sandstone. Similar beds are visible at Bournemouth, and in the neighbourhood of Poole, Wareham, Corfe and Studland.

The leaf-bearing clays of Alum Bay and Bournemouth are well known, and have yielded a large and interesting series of plant remains, including _Eucalyptus_, _Caesalpinia_, _Populus_, _Plata.n.u.s_, _Sequoia_, _Aralia_, _Polypodium_, _Osmunda_, _Nipadites_ and many others. The sands and clays of Bovey Tracey (see BOVEY BEDS) are probably of the same age. The clays of this formation are of great value for pottery manufacture; they are extensively mined in the vicinity of Wareham and Corfe, whence they are shipped from Poole and are consequently known as "Poole clays"; similarly, "Teignmouth clay" is obtained from the Bovey beds. Alum was formerly obtained from the clays of Alum Bay; and the lignites have been used as fuel near Corfe and at Bovey.

The Bracklesham beds (_q.v._) are sometimes cla.s.sed with the overlying Barton clay as Middle Bagshot. In the London basin the Barton beds are unknown. In Surrey and Berkshire the Bracklesham beds are from 20 to 50 ft.

thick; in Alum Bay they are 100 ft., with beds of lignite in the lower portion; and about here they are sharply marked off from the Barton clay by a bed of conglomerate formed of flint pebbles. The Upper Bagshot beds, Barton sand and Barton clay, are from 140 to 200 ft. thick in the Isle of Wight.

The Agglestone (or Haggerstone) rock and Puckstone rock, near Studland in Dorsetshire, are formed of large indurated ma.s.ses of the Lower Bagshot beds that have resisted the weather; Creechbarrow near Corfe is another striking feature due to the same beds. Many of the sa.r.s.en stones or greywethers of S.E. England have been derived from Bagshot strata.

See _Memoirs of the Geological Survey_ (England):--"Geology of the Isle of Wight," new edition (1889); "The Geology of London and Part of the Thames Valley," vol. i. (1889); and "The Geology of the Country around Bournemouth" (1898).

BAHADUR KHEL, an Indian salt-mine in the Kohat district of the North-West Frontier Province, in the range of hills south of the village of Bahadur Khel between Kohat and Bannu. For a s.p.a.ce of 4 m. in length by a quarter of a mile in breadth there exists an exposed ma.s.s of rock-salt with several large hillocks of salt on either side. The quarries extend over an area 1 m. long by half a mile broad, and the salt is hewn out in large blocks with picks and wedges. The Indian government formerly maintained a large preventive establishment for the preservation of the revenue, but it was withdrawn in 1898. Consumption of Kohat salt is restricted, on account of its paying less duty, to the tracts lying to the north of the Indus and to the frontier tribes. In 1903 the rate was fixed at R.1 per maund, against R.2 for the rest of India. The mines are under the control of the Northern India Salt Department.

BAHADUR SHAH I., a Mogul emperor of Hindustan, A.D. 1707-1712, the son and successor of Aurangzeb. At the time of the latter's death his eldest surviving son, Prince Muazim, was governor of Kabul, and in his absence the next brother, Azam Shah, a.s.sumed the functions of royalty. Muazim came down from Kabul, and with characteristic magnanimity offered to share the empire with his brother. Azam would not accept the proposal and was defeated and slain on the plains of Agra. Muazim then ascended the throne under the t.i.tle of Bahadur Shah. He was a man of 64 and died five years later. During his lifetime the empire was already falling to pieces before the inroads of the Sikhs and Mahrattas, and through internal dissensions.

BAHADUR SHAH II., the last of the Mogul emperors of Hindustan, 1837-1857.

He was a t.i.tular emperor only, since from the time of the defeat of Shah Alam at Buxar in 1764 all real power had resided with the East India Company; but all proclamations were still worded under "The King's Realm and the Company's rule." His sole importance is due to the use made of his name during the Mutiny of 1857. Always feeble in character, he was at that time old, and, from the first, was wholly at the mercy of the mutinous soldiery in Delhi, who were controlled by a council called the Barah Topi, or Twelve Heads. His papers, seized after the fall of Delhi, are full of senile complaint of the disrespect and discourtesy which he suffered from them. At the time of the a.s.sault he fled to the Tomb of Humayun, 6 m. from Delhi, where he was captured by Major Hodson. In January 1858 he was brought to trial for rebellion and for complicity in the murder of Europeans. The trial lasted more than two months. The substance of the king's defence was that he had been a mere instrument in the hands of the mutineers. On the 29th of March he was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment for life. He was transported to Rangoon, and died there on the 7th of November 1862.

BAHAMAS (_Lucayos_), an archipelago of the British West Indies. It is estimated to consist of 29 islands, 661 cays and 2387 rocks, and extends along a line from Florida on the northwest to Haiti on the south-east, between Cuba and the open Atlantic, over a distance of about 630 m., from 80 50' to 72 50' W., and 22 25' to 26 40' N. The total land area is estimated at 5450 sq. m., of which the main islands occupy 4424 sq. m., and the population was 43,521 in 1881 and 53,735 in 1901. Some 12,000 of these are whites, the remainder coloured. The main islands and groups, beginning from the north-west, are as follows: Little and Great Abaco, with Great Bahama to the west; Eleuthera (a name probably corrupted from the Spanish _Isla de Tierra_), Cat, Watling, or Guanahani, and Rum Cay on the outer line towards the open ocean, with New Providence, the Exuma chain and Long Island forming an inner line to the west, and still farther west Andros (named from Sir Edmund Andros, governor of Ma.s.sachusetts, &c., at the close of the 17th century; often spoken of as one island, but actually divided into several by narrow straits); and finally the Crooked Islands, Mayaguana and Inagua. The Turks and Caicos islands continue the outer line, and belong geographically to the archipelago, but not politically. The surrounding seas are shallow for the most part, but there are three well-defined channels--the Florida or New Bahama channel, between the north-western islands and Florida, followed by the Gulf Stream, the Providence channels (north-east and north-west) from which a depression known as the Tongue of Ocean extends southward along the east side of Andros, and the Old Bahama channel, between the archipelago and Cuba. The Andros islands have a length of 95 m. and an area of 1600 sq. m.; Great Abaco is 70 m. long and its area is 680 sq. m.; Great Inagua is 34 m. long with an area of 530 sq. m., [v.03 p.0208] and Grand Bahama 66 m., with an area of 430 sq. m. But the most important island, as containing the capital, Na.s.sau, is New Providence, which is only 19-3/8 m. in length, with an area of 85 sq. m. This island supported a population in 1901 of 12,534.

In point of population the next most important island is Eleuthera (8733), followed by the Andros Islands (5347) and Cat Island (4658). The Abaco and Exuma groups and Long Island each support populations exceeding 3000, and there are smaller populations on Grand Bahama, the Crooked Islands, Inagua, Mayaguana, Watling, Rum Cay and the Biminis, though these last, which are two very small north-western islands, are relatively densely populated with 545 persons.

_Physical Geography._--The islands are of coral formation and low-lying.

The rock on the surface is as hard as flint, but underneath it gradually softens and furnishes an admirable stone for building which can be sawn into blocks of any size, hardening on exposure to the atmosphere. The highest hill in the whole range of the islands (in Cat Island) is only 400 ft. high. It is a remarkable fact that, except in the island of Andros, no streams of running water are to be found in the whole group. The inhabitants derive their water supply from wells. As a result of the porosity of the rock, many of the wells feel the influence of the sea and exhibit an ebb and flow. There is an extensive swampy lagoon in Eleuthera, the water of which is fresh or nearly so; and brackish lagoons also occur, as in Watling Island. An artificial lake in New Providence, constructed for the use of the turtle-catchers, is noted as exhibiting an extraordinary degree of phosph.o.r.escence. A remarkable natural phenomenon is that of the so-called "banana holes," which frequently occur in the limestone. Their formation has been attributed to the effect of rotting vegetation on the rock, but without certainty. These holes are of various depths up to about 40 ft., and of curiously regular form. The Mermaid's Pool in New Providence, which is deeper still, is partly filled with water.

_Geology_.--The Bahamas consist almost entirely of aeolian deposits (cf.

BERMUDAS) and coral reefs. The aeolian deposits, which form the greater part of the islands, frequently rise in rounded hills and ridges to a height of 100 or 200 ft., and in Cat Island nearly 400 ft. They vary in texture from a fine-grained compact oolite to a coa.r.s.e-grained rock composed of angular or rounded fragments, and they commonly exhibit strongly marked false bedding. The material is largely calcareous, and has probably been derived from the disintegration of the reefs, and from the sh.e.l.ls of animals living in the shallows. When freshly exposed the rock is soft, but by the action of rain and sea it becomes covered with a hard crust. The surface is often remarkably honeycombed, and the rock weathers into pinnacles, pillars and arches of extraordinary shapes. On the island of Andros there is an extremely fine white marl almost resembling a chalky ooze. The coral reefs are of especial interest from their bearing on the general question of the formation of coral reefs.

_Na.s.sau_.--The scenery of the islands is picturesque, gaining beauty from the fine colouring of the sea and the rich vegetation. Na.s.sau is a winter health-resort for many visitors from the United States and Canada. The town lies on a safe harbour on the north sh.o.r.e of New Providence, sheltered by the small Hog Island. There is a depth of 14 ft. at low-water spring-tide on the bar. The town extends along the sh.o.r.e, and up a slightly elevated ridge behind it. It contains the princ.i.p.al public buildings, and some interesting old forts, dating from the middle and close of the 18th century, though the subterranean works below Fort Charlotte are attributed to an earlier period. From the same century dates the octagonal building which, formerly a gaol, now contains a good public library. The sea-bathing is excellent. The months of February and March are the princ.i.p.al season for visitors. There is direct connexion with New York by steamers, which make the journey in about four days; and there is also connexion with Miami in Florida.

_Climate, Flora, Fauna_.--The climate of the Bahamas adds to their attractions. The mean temperature of the hottest months (June to September) is 88 F., and that of the coldest (January to March) 66. In a series of observations of winds about one half have been found to indicate a direction from north-east or east. Hurricanes occur from July to October, and May to October are reckoned as the rainy months. The rainfall recorded in 1901 at Na.s.sau amounted to 63.32 in. Where a mantle of soil covers the rock it is generally thin but very fertile. A well-defined area in New Providence is known as the "pine barrens," from the tree which princ.i.p.ally grows in this rocky soil. Elsewhere three types of soil are distinguished--a black soil, of decayed vegetable matter, where the land is under forest, a reddish clay, and a white soil occurring along the sh.o.r.es.

Andros Island and the Abaco Islands may be specially noted for their profusion of large timber, including mahogany, mastic, lignum vitae, iron and bullet woods, and many others. Unfortunately the want both of labour and of roads renders it impossible to turn much of this valuable timber to useful account, although attempts have been made to work it in Abaco. The fruits and spices of the Bahamas are very numerous, the fruit equalling any in the world. The produce of the islands includes tamarinds, olives, oranges, lemons, limes, citrons, pomegranates, pine-apples, figs, sapodillas, bananas, sour-sops, melons, yams, potatoes, gourds, cuc.u.mbers, pepper, ca.s.sava, p.r.i.c.kly pears, sugar-cane, ginger, coffee, indigo, Guinea corn and pease. Tobacco and cascarilla bark also flourish; and cotton is indigenous and was woven into cloth by the aborigines. But although oranges, pine-apples and some other fruits form important articles of commerce, it is only rarely that systematic and thorough methods of cultivation are prosecuted. Cotton has been found to suffer much from insect pests. Sisal is grown in increasing quant.i.ty. The Bahamas are far poorer in their fauna than in their flora. It is said that the aborigines had a breed of dogs which did not bark, and a small coney is also mentioned. The guana also is indigenous to the islands. Oxen, sheep, horses and other live-stock introduced from Europe thrive well, but little attention is paid to stock-rearing. There are many varieties of birds to be found in the woods of the Bahamas; they include flamingoes and the beautiful hummingbird, as well as wild geese, ducks, pigeons, hawks, green parrots and doves. The waters of the Bahamas swarm with fish; the turtle procured here is particularly fine, and the sponge fishery is of importance. In some islands there are rich salt ponds, but their working has decreased. The portion of Na.s.sau harbour known as the Sea Gardens exhibits an extraordinarily beautiful development of marine organisms.

_Government, Trade, &c_.--The colony of the Bahamas is under a British governor, who is a.s.sisted by an executive council of nine members, partly official, partly unofficial; and by a legislative council of nine members nominated by the crown. There is also a legislative a.s.sembly of 29 members, representing 15 electoral districts; the franchise being extended to white and coloured men of 21 years of age at least, resident in the colony for not less than twelve months, and possessing land of a value of 5 or more, or being householders for six months at a rental not less than 2:18s. in New Providence, or 1:4s. in other islands. The members' qualification is the possession of real or personal estate to the value of 200. The average annual revenue and expenditure may be set down at about 75,000, expenditure somewhat exceeding revenue. There is a public debt of about 105,000. The average annual value of imports is somewhat over 300,000, and of exports 200,000. The average annual tonnage of shipping, entering and clearing, exceeds 1,000,000. The government supports elementary free schools, controlled by a nominated board of education, while committees partly elected exercise local supervision. There are higher schools and a Queen's College in Na.s.sau. Na.s.sau is the seat of a bishopric of the Church of England created in 1861. The Bahamas are without railways, but there are good roads in New Providence, and a few elsewhere. A cable connects Na.s.sau with West Jupiter in Florida.

_History_.--The story of the Bahamas is a singular one, and bears princ.i.p.ally upon the fortunes of New Providence, which, from the fact that it alone possesses a perfectly safe harbour for vessels drawing more than 9 ft., has always been the seat of [v.03 p.0209] government when it was not the headquarters of lawlessness. San Salvador, however, claims historical precedence as the landfall of Columbus on his memorable voyage. Cat Island was long supposed to be the island first reached by Columbus (12th October 1492) and named by him San Salvador. Then the distinction was successively transferred to the neighbouring Watling, Great Turk, and Mariguana; but in 1880 the American marine surveyor, G. V. Fox, identified San Salvador, on seemingly good grounds, with Samana (Atwood Cay), which lies about midway between Watling and Mariguana. The chief difficulty is its size, for, if Samana is the true San Salvador, it must have been considerably larger then than now. Watling Island is generally accepted as the landfall.

Columbus pa.s.sed through the islands, and in one of his letters to Ferdinand and Isabella he said, "This country excels all others as far as the day surpa.s.ses the night in splendour; the natives love their neighbours as themselves; their conversation is the sweetest imaginable; their faces always smiling; and so gentle and so affectionate are they, that I swear to your highness there is not a better people in the world." But the natives, innocent as they appeared, were doomed to utter destruction. Ovando, the governor of Hispaniola (Haiti), who had exhausted the labour of that island, turned his thoughts to the Bahamas, and in 1509 Ferdinand authorized him to procure labourers from these islands. It is said that reverence and love for their departed relatives was a marked feature in the character of the aborigines, and that the Spaniards made use of this as a bait to trap the unhappy natives. They promised to convey the ignorant savages in their ships to the "heavenly sh.o.r.es" where their departed friends now dwelt, and about 40,000 were transported to Hispaniola to perish miserably in the mines. From that date, until after the colonization of New Providence by the British, there is no record of a Spanish visit to the Bahamas, with the exception of the extraordinary cruise of Juan Ponce de Leon, the conqueror of Porto Rico, who pa.s.sed months searching the islands for Bimini, which was reported to contain the miraculous "Fountain of Youth." This is in South Bimini, and has still a local reputation for healing powers.

It is commonly stated that in 1629 the British formed a settlement in New Providence, which they held till 1641, when the Spaniards expelled them.

This, however, refers to the Providence Island off the Mosquito Coast; it was only in 1646 that Eleuthera was colonized, and in 1666 New Providence, by settlers from the Bermudas. In 1670 Charles II. made a grant of the islands to Christopher, duke of Albemarle, and others. Governors were appointed by the lords proprietors, and there are copious records in the state papers of the attempts made to develop the resources of the islands.

But the buccaneers or pirates who had made their retreat here offered heavy opposition; in 1680 there was an attack by the Spaniards, and in July 1703 the French and Spaniards made a descent on New Providence, blew up the fort, spiked the guns, burnt the church and carried off the governor, with the princ.i.p.al inhabitants, to Havana. In October the Spaniards made a second descent and completed the work of destruction. It is said that when the last of the governors appointed by the lords proprietors, in ignorance of the Spanish raid, arrived in New Providence, he found the island without an inhabitant. It again, however, became the resort of pirates, and the names of many of the worst of these ruffians are a.s.sociated with New Providence; the notorious Edward Teach, called Blackbeard, who was afterwards killed in action against two American ships in 1718, being chief among the number.

At last matters became so intolerable that the merchants of London and Bristol pet.i.tioned the crown to take possession and restore order, and Captain Woodes Rogers was sent out as the first crown governor and arrived at New Providence in 1718. Many families of good character now settled at the Bahamas, and some progress was made in developing the resources of the colony, although this was interrupted by the tyrannical conduct of some of the governors who succeeded Captain Woodes Rogers. At this time the pine-apple was introduced as an article of cultivation at Eleuthera; and a few years subsequently, during the American war of independence, colonists arrived in great numbers, bringing with them wealth and also slave labour.

Cotton cultivation was now attempted on a large scale. In 1783, at Long Island, 800 slaves were at work, and nearly 4000 acres of land under cultivation. But the usual bad luck of the Bahamas prevailed; the red bug destroyed the cotton crops in 1788 and again in 1794, and by the year 1800 cotton cultivation was almost abandoned. There were also other causes that tended to r.e.t.a.r.d the progress of the colony. In 1776 Commodore Hopkins, of the American navy, took the island of New Providence; he soon, however, abandoned it as untenable, but in 1781 it was retaken by the Spanish governor of Cuba. The Spaniards retained nominal possession of the Bahamas until 1783, but before peace was notified New Providence was recaptured by a loyalist, Lieutenant-Colonel Deveaux, of the South Carolina militia, in June 1783.

In 1784 and 1786 sums were voted in parliament to indemnify the descendants of the old lords proprietors, and the islands were formally reconveyed to the crown. The Bahamas began again to make a little progress, until the separation of Turks and Caicos Islands in 1848, which had been hitherto the most productive of the salt-producing islands, unfavourably affected the finances. Probably the abolition of the slave-trade in 1834 was not without its effect upon the fortunes of the landed proprietors. The next event of importance in the history of the Bahamas was the rise of the blockade-running trade, consequent on the closing of the southern ports of America by the Federals in 1861. At the commencement of 1865 this trade was at its highest point. In January and February 1865 no less than 20 steamers arrived at Na.s.sau, importing 14,182 bales of cotton, valued at 554,675.

The extraordinary difference between the normal trade of the islands and that due to blockade-running will be seen by comparing the imports and exports before the closing of the southern ports in 1860 with those of 1864. In the first year the imports were 234,029, and the exports 157,350, while in the second year the imports were 5,346,112, and the exports 4,672,398. The excitement, extravagance and waste existing at Na.s.sau during the days of blockade-running exceed belief. Individuals may have profited largely, but the Bahamas probably benefited little. The government managed to pay its debt amounting to 43,786, but crime increased and sickness became very prevalent. The cessation of the trade was marked, however, by hardly any disturbance; there were no local failures, and in a few months the steamers and their crews departed, and New Providence subsided into its usual state of quietude. This, however, was not fated to last long, for in October 1866 a most violent hurricane pa.s.sed over the island, injuring the orchards, destroying the fruit-trees, and damaging the sponges, which had proved hitherto a source of profit. The hurricane, too, was followed by repeated droughts, and the inhabitants of the out-islands were reduced to indigence and want, a condition which is still, in some measure, in evidence.

See the valuable _General Descriptive Report on the Bahama Islands_, by Sir G. T. Carter (governor, 1898-1904), issued in place of the ordinary annual report by the Colonial Office, London, 1902; also Governor R. W. Rawson's _Report_, 1866; Stark's _History and Guide to the Bahama Islands_ (Boston, Ma.s.s., 1891); _Bahama Islands_ (Geog. Soc. of Baltimore), ed. G. B.

Shattuck (New York, 1905). For geology see A. Aga.s.siz, "A Reconnaissance of the Bahamas and of the Elevated Reefs of Cuba in the steam yacht 'Wild Duck,' January to April 1893," _Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard_, vol. xxvi.

no. 1, 1894.

BAHAWALPUR, or BHAWALPUR, a native state of India, within the Punjab, stretching for more than 300 m. along the left bank of the Sutlej, the Punjnud and the Indus. It is bounded on the N. and E. by Sind and the Punjab, and on the S. by the Rajputana desert. It is the princ.i.p.al Mahommedan state in the Punjab, ranking second only to Patiala. Edward Thornton thus described the general aspect of the state:--

"Bahawalpur is a remarkably level country, there being no considerable eminence within its limits, as the occasional sand-hills, seldom exceeding 50 or 60 ft. in height, cannot be considered exceptions. The cultivable part extends along the river line for a distance of about 10 m. in breadth from the left or eastern bank. In the [v.03 p.0210] sandy part of the desert beyond this strip of fertility both men and beasts, leaving the beaten path, sink as if in loose snow. Here, too, the sand is raised into ever-changing hills by the force of the wind sweeping over it. In those parts of the desert which have a hard level soil of clay, a few stunted mimosas, acacias and other shrubs are produced, together with rue, various bitter and aromatic plants, and occasionally tufts of gra.s.s. Much of the soil of the desert appears to be alluvial; there are numerous traces of streams having formerly pa.s.sed over it, and still, where irrigation is at all practicable, fertility in the clayey tract follows; but the rains are scanty, the wells few and generally 100 ft. deep or more."

The area covers 15,918 sq. m.; pop. (1901) 720,877, showing an increase of 11% on the previous decade; estimated gross revenue, 146,700; there is no tribute. The chief, whose t.i.tle is nawab, is a Mahommedan of the Daudputra family from Sind, and claims descent from Abbas, uncle of the Prophet. The dynasty established its independence of the Afghans towards the end of the 18th century, and made a treaty with the British in 1838 to which it has always been loyal. The benefits of ca.n.a.l irrigation were introduced in the 'seventies, and the revenue thus doubled. The territory is traversed throughout its length by the North-Western and Southern Punjab railways.

There are an arts college and Anglo-vernacular schools.

The town of Bahawalpur is situated near the left bank of the Sutlej, and has a railway station 65 m. from Mooltan. It has a magnificent palace, which is visible from far across the Bikanir desert; it was built in 1882 by Nawab Sadik Mahommed Khan. Pop. (1901) 18,546.

BAHIA, an Atlantic state of Brazil, bounded N. by the states of Piauhy, Pernambuco and Sergipe, E. by Sergipe and the Atlantic, S. by Espirito Santo and Minas Geraes, and W. by Minas Geraes and Goyaz. Its area is 164,650 sq. m., a great part of which is an arid barren _chapada_ (plateau), traversed from S. to N. and N.E. by the drainage basin of the So Francisco river, and having a general elevation of 1000 to 1700 ft.

above that river, or 2300 to 3000 ft. above sea-level. On the W. the _chapada_, with an elevation of 2300 ft. and a breadth of 60 m., forms the western boundary of the state and the water-parting between the So Francisco and the Tocantins. East of the So Francisco it may be divided into three distinct regions: a rough limestone plateau rising gradually to the culminating ridges of the Serra da Chapada; a gneissose plateau showing extensive exposures of bare rock dipping slightly toward the coast; and a narrower plateau covered with a compact sandy soil descending to the coastal plain. The first two have a breadth of about 200 m. each, and are arid, barren and inhospitable, except at the dividing ridges where the clouds from the sea are deprived of some of their moisture. The third zone loses its arid character as it approaches the coast, and is better clothed with vegetation. The coastal plain varies in width and character: in some places low and sandy, or swampy, filled with lagoons and intersecting ca.n.a.ls; in others more elevated, rolling and very fertile. The climate corresponds closely to these surface features, being hot and dry throughout the interior, hot and humid, in places unhealthy, along the coast.

Cattle-raising was once the princ.i.p.al industry in the interior, but has been almost extinguished by the devastating droughts and increasing aridity caused by the custom of annually burning over the campos to improve the gra.s.s. In the agricultural regions sugar, cotton, tobacco, cacao, coffee, mandioca and tropical fruits are produced. The exports also include hides, mangabeira rubber, pia.s.sava fibre, diamonds, cabinet woods and rum. The population is largely of a mixed and unprogressive character, and numbered 1,919,802 in 1890. There is but little immigration and the vegetative increase is low. The capital, So Salvador or Bahia (_q.v._), which is one of the princ.i.p.al cities and ports of Brazil, is the export town for the Reconcavo, as the fertile agricultural district surrounding the bay is called. The princ.i.p.al cities of the state are Alagoinhas and Bom Fim (formerly Villa Nova da Rainha) on the main railway line running N. to the So Francisco, Cachoeira and Santo Amaro near the capital in the Reconcavo, Caravellas and Ilheos on the southern coast, with tolerably good harbours, the former being the port for the Bahia & Minas railway, Feira de Santa Anna on the border of the _serto_ and long celebrated for its cattle fairs, and Jacobina, an inland town N.W. of the capital, on the slopes of the Serra da Chapada, and noted for its mining industries, cotton and tobacco. The state of Bahia includes four of the original captaincies granted by the Portuguese crown--Bahia, Paragua.s.su, Ilheos and Porto Seguro, all of which reverted to the direct control of that government in 1549. During the war with Holland several efforts were made to conquer this captaincy, but without success. In 1823 Bahia became a province of the empire, and in 1889 a state in the republic. Its government consists of a governor elected for four years, and a general a.s.sembly of two chambers, the senators being elected for six years and the deputies for two years.

(A. J. L.)

BAHIA, or SO SALVADOR, a maritime city of Brazil and capital of the state of Bahia, situated on the Bay of All Saints (_Bahia de Todos os Santos_), and on the western side of the peninsula separating that bay from the Atlantic, in 13 S. lat. and 38 30' W. long. Pop. (1890) 174,412; (est.

1900) 200,000. The commercial section of the city occupies a long, narrow beach between the water-line and bluffs, and contains the a.r.s.enal, exchange, custom-house, post-office, railway station, market and princ.i.p.al business houses. It has narrow streets badly paved and drained, and made still more dirty and offensive by the surface drainage of the upper town.

Communication with the upper town is effected by means of two elevators, a circular tramway, and steep zigzag roads. The upper town is built on the western slope of a low ridge, the backbone of the peninsula, and rises from the edge of the bluffs to alt.i.tudes of 200 to 260 ft. above the sea-level, affording magnificent views of the bay and its islands. There are wider streets, comfortable residences, and attractive gardens in this part of the city. Here also are to be found the churches, schools, theatres, asylums, and hospitals, academies of law and medicine, governor's palace, public library, and museum, and an interesting public garden on the edge of the bluff, overlooking the bay. The city is served by four street-car lines, connecting the suburbs with both the upper and lower towns. In 1906 contracts were made to reconstruct some of these lines for electric traction. The railways radiating from the city to inland points are the Bahia & Alagoinhas which is under construction to Joazeiro, on the So Francisco river, a short line to Santo Amaro, and two lines--the Bahia Central and the Nazareth tramway--extending inland from points on the opposite side of the bay. The port of Bahia, which has one of the best and most accessible harbours on the east coast of South America, has a large coastwise and foreign trade, and is also used as a port of call by most of the steamship lines trading between Europe and that continent. Bahia was founded in 1549 by Thome de Souza, the first Portuguese governor-general of Brazil, and was the seat of colonial administration down to 1763. It was made the seat of a bishopric in 1551, and of an archbishopric in 1676, and until 1905 was the metropolis of the Roman Catholic Church in Brazil. The city was captured in 1624 by the Dutch, who held it only a few months.

Always conservative in character, the city hesitated in adhering to the declaration of independence in 1822, and also to the declaration of the republic in 1889. Much of its commercial and political importance has been lost, also, through the decay of industrial activity in the state, and through the more vigorous compet.i.tion of the agricultural states of the south.

(A. J. L.)

BAHIA BLANCA, a city and port of Argentina, on the Naposta river, 3 m. from its outlet into a deep, well-sheltered bay of the same name. Pop. (est.

1903) 11,600. It is situated in the extreme southern part of the province of Buenos Aires and is 447 m. by rail S.W. of the national capital. The opening to settlement of the national territories of La Pampa and Neuquen has contributed largely to the growth and importance of Bahia Blanca. It is the natural shipping-port for these territories and for the southern districts of the province of Buenos Aires, from which great quant.i.ties of wheat and wool are exported. The bay has long been recognized as one of the best on the Argentine coast, and when the channel is properly dredged, will admit steamers of 30 ft. draught at low-water. The Argentine government has located its princ.i.p.al naval station here, at the [v.03 p.0211] Puerto Militar, between the city and the entrance to the bay. The port, whose trade is increasing rapidly, is connected with the neighbouring and interior producing districts by five or six lines of railway and their branches. Bahia Blanca dates from 1828, when a fort and trading post were located here, but its development as a commercial centre began only in 1885, when its first railway line was opened. In 1908 direct railway communication was opened with Mendoza and San Juan. Though situated near the mountainous section of southern Buenos Aires, the immediate vicinity of the city is low and swampy, its water is brackish, and it has been decidedly unhealthy; but a water supply from the Sauce Grande, 50 m.

distant, was projected in 1906, and this, with better drainage and street paving, was expected to improve matters. The mean annual temperature is 60, and the average annual rainfall is 19 in. The city has street cars, electric-lights and telephone service, and the port has a shipping pier 1640 ft. long, with s.p.a.cious warehouses and several miles of railway sidings.

BAHR, the Arabic for "sea," with the diminutive _bahira_. Bahr also signifies a. river, especially one with a large body of water, _e.g._ the Nile, and is sometimes used to designate the dry bed of a river.

BAHRAICH or BHARAICH, a town and district of British India, situated in the Fyzabad division of the United Provinces. The town is on the river Sarju.

Since the opening of the railway the place has begun to flourish. It contains the most popular place of pilgrimage in Oudh, the tomb of Masaud, a champion of Islam, slain in battle by the confederate Rajputs in 1033, which is resorted to by Mahommedans and Hindus alike. There is also a Mussulman monastery, and the ruined palace of a nawab of Oudh. The American Methodists have a mission here. Pop. (1901) 27,304.

The district of Bahraich contains an area of 2647 sq. m. It consists of three tracts: (1) in the centre, an elevated triangular plateau, projecting from the base of the Himalayas for about 50 m. in a south-easterly direction--average breadth, 13 m., area, 670 sq. m.; (2) the great plain of the Gogra, on the west, about 40 ft. below the level of the plateau; and (3) on the east, another lesser area of depression, comprising the basin of the Rapti. The _tarai_, or the forest and marshy tracts along the southern slopes of the Himalayas, gradually merge within the district into drier land, the beds of the streams become deeper and more marked, the marshes disappear, and the country a.s.sumes the ordinary appearance of the plain of the Ganges. The Gogra skirts the district for 114 m.; and the Rapti, with its branch the Bhalka, drains the high grounds. In 1901 the population was 1,051,347, showing an increase of 5% in the decade. A considerable trade is conducted with Nepal, chiefly in timber. A line of railway has been opened through the district to Nepalganj on the frontier. As there are no ca.n.a.ls in the district, irrigation is obtained solely from wells, tanks and rivers. The district is purely agricultural in character, and is one of large estates, 78% being held by _taluqdars_, of whom the four chief are the raja of Kapurthala, the maharaja of Balrampur, the raja of Nanpara and the raja of Payagpur.

Little is known of the history of the district before the Mahommedan invasion in A.D. 1033. Masaud was defeated and slain by the n.o.bles of Bahraich in 1033, and the Mahommedans did not establish their authority over the country till the middle of the 13th century. About 1450 the Raikwars, or Rajput adventurers, made themselves masters of the western portion of the district, which they retain to this day. In 1816 by the treaty of Segauli the Nepal _tarai_ was ceded to the British, but was given back in 1860. During the Mutiny the district was the scene of considerable fighting, and after its close a large portion was distributed in _jagirs_ to loyal chiefs, thus originating the _taluqdari_ estates of the present day.

BAHR[=A]M (_Varahr[=a]n_, in Gr. [Greek: Ouararanes] or [Greek: Ouraranes], the younger form of the old _Verethragna_, the name of a Persian G.o.d, "the killer of the dragon Verethra"), the name of five Sa.s.sanid kings.

1. BAHR[=A]M I. (A.D. 274-277). From a Pahlavi inscription we learn that he was the son (not, as the Greek authors and Tabari say, the grandson) of Shapur I., and succeeded his brother Hormizd (Ormizdas) I., who had only reigned a year. Bahr[=a]m I. is the king who, by the instigation of the magians, put to a cruel death the prophet Mani, the founder of Manichaeism.

Nothing else is known of his reign.

2. BAHR[=A]M II. (277-294), son of Bahr[=a]m I. During his reign the emperor Carus attacked the Persians and conquered Ctesiphon (283), but died by the plague. Of Bahr[=a]m II.'s reign some theological inscriptions exist (F. Stolze and J. C. Andreas, _Persepolis_ (Berlin, 1882), and E. W. West, "Pahlavi Literature" in _Grundriss d. iranischen Philologie_, ii. pp.

75-129).

3. BAHR[=A]M III., son of Bahr[=a]m II., under whose rule he had been governing Sejistan (therefore called Saganshah, Agathias iv. 24, Tabari).

He reigned only four months (in 294), and was succeeded by the pretender Na.r.s.eh.

4. BAHR[=A]M IV. (389-399), son and successor of Shapur III., under whom he had been governor of Kirman; therefore he was called Kirmanshah (Agathias iv. 26; Tabari). Under him or his predecessor Armenia was divided between the Roman and the Persian empire. Bahr[=a]m IV. was killed by some malcontents.