COLIMA, a small Pacific coast state of Mexico, lying between Jalisco on the N.W. and N., and Michoacan on the E. Including the Revilla Gigédo islands its area is only 2272 sq. m., which thus makes it the second smallest of the Mexican states. Pop. (1895) 55,264; (1900) 65,115. The larger part of its territory is within the narrow, flat coastal plain, beyond which it rises toward the north-east into the foothills of the Sierra Madre, the higher masses of the range, including the Colima volcano, lying outside the state. It is drained by the Ameria and Coahuayana rivers and their affluents, which are largely used for irrigation. There are tidewater lagoons and morasses on the coast which accentuate its malarious character. One of the largest of these, Cuitlán, immediately south of Manzanillo, is the centre of a large salt-producing industry. The soil is generally fertile and productive, but lack of transportation facilities has been a serious obstacle to any production greatly exceeding local demands. The dry and rainy seasons are sharply defined, the rainfall being abundant in the latter. The climate is hot, humid and malarious, becoming drier and healthier on the higher mountain slopes of the interior. Stock-raising is an important industry in the higher parts of the state, but the horses, mules and cattle raised have been limited to local demands. Agriculture, however, is the principal occupation of the state, the more important products being sugar, rice, Indian corn, palm oil, coffee, indigo, cotton and cacao. The production of cacao is small, and that of indigo and cotton is declining, the latter being limited to the requirements of small local mills. There are two crops of Indian corn a year, but sugar and rice are the principal crops. The “Caracolillo” coffee, produced on the slopes of the mountains culminating in the volcano of Colima, is reputed the best in Mexico, and the entire crop (about 506,000 ℔. in 1906) is consumed in the country at a price much above other grades. There are important mineral deposits in the state, including iron, copper and lead, but mining enterprise has made no progress through lack of transportation facilities. Salt is made on the coast and shipped inland, and palm-leaf hats are manufactured and exported. Hides and deerskins are also exported in large quantities. A narrow-gauge railway has been in operation between the capital and Manzanillo for many years, and in 1907 a branch of the Mexican Central was completed between Guadalajara and the capital, and the narrow-gauge line to the coast was widened to the standard gauge. The chief cities of the state are the capital Colima, Manzanillo, Comala (the second largest town in the state), 5 m. from the capital, with which it is connected by an electric railway, Ixtlahuacan Coquimatlan and Almoloyan.
COLIMA, a city of Mexico and capital of a state of the same name, 570 m. (direct) W. by S. of Mexico City and about 36 m. inland from the Pacific coast. Pop. (1895) 18,977; (1900) 20,698. Colima is picturesquely situated on the Colima river, in a large fertile valley about 1650 ft. above the sea, and lies in the midst of fine mountain-scenery. About 30 m. to the north-east the volcano of Colima, in the state of Jalisco, rises to an elevation of 12,685 ft.; it is the most westerly of the active volcanoes of Mexico. Colima enjoys a moderately cool and healthy climate, especially in the dry season (November to June). The city is regularly laid out and is in great part well built, with good public buildings, several churches, a theatre, two hospitals, and a handsome market completed in 1905. Tramways connect the central plaza with the railway station, cemetery, and the suburb of Villa de Alvarez, 2½ m. distant, and an extension of 5 m. was projected in 1906 to Comala. The local industries include two old-fashioned cotton mills, an ice plant, corn-grinding mill, and five cigarette factories. Colima is the commercial centre for a large district, but trade has been greatly restricted by lack of transportation facilities. A railway connects with the port of Manzanillo, and the Mexican Central railway serves Colima itself. Colima was founded in 1522 by Gonzalo de Sandoval. It has not played a very prominent part in Mexican history because of its inaccessibility, and for the same reason has suffered less from revolutionary violence.
COLIN, ALEXANDRE (1526-1612), Flemish sculptor, was born at Malines. In 1563 he went, at the invitation of the emperor Ferdinand I., to Innsbruck, to work on the magnificent monument which was being erected to Maximilian I. in the nave of the Franciscan church. Of the twenty-four marble alti-rilievi, representing the emperor’s principal acts and victories, which adorn the sides of this tomb, twenty were executed by Colin, apparently in three years. The work displays a remarkable combination of liveliness and spirit with extreme care and finish, its delicacy rivalling that of a fine cameo. Thorwaldsen is said to have pronounced it the finest work of its kind. Colin, who was sculptor in ordinary both to the emperor and to his son, the archduke Ferdinand of Tirol, did a great deal of work for his patrons at Innsbruck and in its neighbourhood; particular mention may be made of the sepulchres of the archduke and his first wife, Philippine Welser, both in the same church as the Maximilian monument, and of Bishop Jean Nas. His tomb in the cemetery at Innsbruck bears a fine bas-relief executed by one of his sons.
COLL, an island of the Inner Hebrides, Argyllshire, Scotland. Pop. (1901) 432. It is situated about 7 m. west of Caliach Point in Mull, and measures 12 m. from N.E. to S.W., with a breadth varying from ¾ m. to 4 m. It is composed of gneiss, is generally rather flat, save in the west where Ben Hogh reaches a height of 339 ft., and has several lakes. The pasturage is good and the soil fairly fertile. Much dairy produce is exported, besides sheep and cattle. The antiquities include stone circles, duns, the ruins of Breachacha Castle, once a fortress of the Lords of the Isles. A steamer from Oban calls regularly at Arinagour.
COLLAERT, HANS, Flemish engraver, son of Adrian Collaert, a draughtsman and engraver of repute, was born at Antwerp about 1545. After working some years in his father’s studio, he went to Rome to perfect himself in his art. His engravings after Rubens are very highly esteemed. He left many works; among the best may be mentioned a “Life of Saint Francis,” 16 prints; a “Last Judgment,” folio; “Monilium, Bullarum, Inauriumque Artificiosissimae Icones,” 10 prints, 1581; “The Dead Christ in his Mother’s Lap”; “Marcus Curtius”; “Moses Striking the Rock,” and “The Resurrection of Lazarus,” after Lambert Lombard; “The Fathers of the Desert”; and “Biblia Sacra and the History of the Church,” after Rubens.