An isolated country of Eastern Africa, consisting of three divisions, Amhara, Tigre and Shoa. Tigre and Amhara constitute one kingdom, and Shoa another; they are all divided into a great number of smaller provinces. Gondar, in Amhara, is the capital of all Ethiopia. Capital of Shoa, Ankobar; of Tigre, Adowa. Area about 200,000 square miles. Population about 3,000,000. Drained by numerous rivers emptying into the Nile.
Lowland soil grows wheat, cotton, maize, rice, sugar cane and flax. No foreign trade except exportation of small quantities of ivory, musk, coffee and gold dust; manufactures limited. Inhabitants a mixture of many races, warlike and uncivilized.
MADAGASCAR.Mad`a-gas´kar.
The largest African island; the third largest in the world. Area, 228,500 square miles. Population, 3,500,000. Near the centre of island, within an arc of 90 miles, there are 100 extinct volcanoes. Mean yearly temperature about 77°.
Government is an absolute monarchy, limited by powerful customs. The island has been swayed by the dynasty of the Hovas since 1810. Since the treaty of Tamatave, March 17, 1886, the country has been under the protectorate of France. Commercial and diplomatic relations established between the island and United States, Great Britain and France, in this century, previous to 1868. Capital, Tananarivo; population estimated at 100,000.
Soil generally fertile; forests of valuable timber abound. Chief products are rice, sugar, silk, cotton, bananas, potatoes, India rubber. Stock raising and agriculture are the main industries. Chief exports are cattle, hides, coffee, lard, sugar, vanilla, wax, gum, rice and seeds; principal imports are metal goods, rum and cotton goods. Silver five-franc piece the only legal coin; franc is cut into pieces for smaller coins. Tamatave principal port; pop., 6,000; number of ships entering her harbor during last six months of 1882, 116. In the same time the value of imports at Tamatave from the United States was $207,410; value of exports to United States, $257,485.