A DICTIONARY, GEOGRAPHICAL, STATISTICAL, AND HISTORICAL, OF THE VARIOUS COUNTRIES, PLACES, AND PRINCIPAL NATURAL OBJECTS IN THE WORLD. ILLUSTRATED WITH MAPS. BY J. R. M°CULLOCH, ESQ. "Nec omnia dicentur sed maxime insignia." IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, ORME, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS. MDCCCXLI. PREFACE. THE utility of geographical works is so generally admitted, that it seems unnecessary to endeavour, by any lengthened statements, to conciliate the favourable opinion of the reader by dwelling on their merits. There are few so incurious as not to wish to learn something of the state of foreign countries, especially of those with which their own nation is connected, or which have been celebrated in history. The desire to gratify this laudable curiosity has, in all ages, prompted individuals to visit foreign countries; and has made the works of voyagers and travellers be eagerly sought after. But the situation of most people precludes the possibility of their leaving their native country; while few of those who do travel can survey more than a small part of the earth's surface. Neither is it possible adequately to supply this want of personal knowledge by resorting to the relations of travellers. These are frequently contradictory and inconclusive; the statements in them are usually, also, limited in their application, and are not always to be depended on; and, though it were otherwise, the command of many hundred volumes, and the free disposal of one's time, would be necessary to enable an individual to acquire, by their means, even a superficial acquaintance with the different regions of the earth. Hence the utility of geographical works, compiled with due care and knowledge: they embody the information scattered in the accounts of travellers, in topographical works, and in official returns and other public and private documents; sift and distribute it under its proper heads; and lay it before the reader in a condensed form, disencumbered from superfluous or irrelevant matter. Systematical works, or those in which the various details with respect to the physical, moral, and political state of a country or district are arranged in their natural order, in a consecutive narrative, are probably the best adapted for the use of the student and scientific reader. But Dictionaries are decidedly more convenient, and better fitted for public use. When arranged in alphabetical order they are easy of consultation; and, if properly compiled, the articles in them are not connected or mixed up with others, but are separately complete, supplying the inquirer with independent, and, at the same time, precise and well authenticated information. Such works seem, from the extreme diversity and interest of the subjects treated of, peculiarly fitted to "excite curiosity by their variety, to encourage diligence by their facility, and to reward application by their usefulness." We need not, therefore, wonder that they have generally, even when their execution has been very indifferent, enjoyed a large share of popularity. But how interesting and important soever the matter, it is still true that the value of a Geographical Dictionary must depend principally on its authenticity and trustworthiness. And we believe it will be pretty generally admitted, that by far the greater number of those publications that have hitherto appeared in this country have not been of a kind to inspire confidence. Most of them, perhaps we might say all, have been very carelessly compiled, and evince little discernment or sound criticism; and what is worse, their authors have seldom referred to the sources whence their statements have been derived; so that the reader has nothing better to trust to than the authority of, perhaps, an anonymous compiler, at the same time that he is deprived of the means of readily verifying his facts, or of referring to the original authorities for further information. These works are mostly also either on too contracted or too extensive a plan; so that while, in the one case, the reader is frequently not supplied with important information, in the other, the book is at once too bulky, costly, and inconvenient. Another defect by which most Geographical Dictionaries published in Great Britain have been characterised, is the disproportioned size of the parts, or the preponderance given to minor articles and uninteresting topics, while those having reference to great countries, or important places or subjects, have often been reduced in a more than corresponding degree. It is difficult, indeed, to hinder the descriptions of towns in geographical works from extending beyond their due proportion; but still they may be confined within reasonable limits, and without displaying the glaring anomaly of an account of a capital city, for example, occupying a greater space than that of the country in which it is situated. The researches connected with his Commercial Dictionary, having led the author of this work to refer to a good many Geographical Dictionaries, he became strongly impressed with a sense of their defects; and it occurred to him that he might perhaps be able to produce one that should be more generally accurate and useful. At first, we were inclined to think that we might probably be able to construct our work on the basis of the Edinburgh Gazetteer, the property of Messrs. Longman and Co.: but on a closer examination of the latter, we found its plan and execution so very defective, that we considered it expedient to lay it wholly aside, and to endeavour to produce an entirely new work. The improved state of geographical knowledge, and the increasing relations of this country with others, required, indeed, that a Geographical Dictionary, aspiring to the character of a book of reference, should be principally drawn up from original sources, and with as much care and discrimination as possible. It is necessary, however, to observe, that we have not attempted to supply the reader with a complete Geographical, Statistical, and Historical Dictionary. We have proceeded on a principle of selection; |