CUNARD, SIR SAMUEL, Bart. (1787-1865), British civil engineer, founder of the Cunard line of steam-ships, was born at Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the 21st of November 1787. He was the son of a merchant, and was himself trained for the pursuits of commerce, in which, by his abilities and enterprising spirit, he attained a conspicuous position. When, in the early years of steam navigation, the English government made known its desire to substitute steam vessels for the sailing ships then employed in the mail service between England and America, Cunard heartily entered into the scheme, came to England, and accepted the government tender for carrying it out. In conjunction with Messrs Burns of Glasgow and Messrs MacIver of Liverpool, proprietors of rival lines of coasting steamers between Glasgow and Liverpool, he formed a company, and the first voyage of a Cunard steamship was successfully made by the “Britannia” from Liverpool to Boston, U.S.A., between July 4 and 19, 1840 (see Steamship Lines). In acknowledgment of his energetic and successful services Cunard was, in 1859, created a baronet. He died in London on the 28th of April 1865.
CUNAS, a tribe of Central American Indians. Their home is the Isthmus of Panama, from the Chagres to the Atrato. They are sometimes called Darien or San Blas Indians. They are a small active people, with remarkably light complexions.
CUNDINAMARCA, till 1909 a department of the eastern plateau of Colombia, South America, having the departments of Quesada and Tundama on the N., Tolima on the W. and S., and the Meta territory on the S.E. and E. The territorial redistribution of 1905 deprived Cundinamarca of its territories on the eastern plains, and a part of its territory in the Eastern Cordillera out of which Quesada and the Federal district were created—its area being reduced from 79,691 to 5060 sq. m., and its estimated population from 500,000 to 225,000. A considerable part of its area consists of plateaus enjoying a temperate climate and producing the fruits and cereals of the temperate zone, and another important part lies in the valley of the Magdalena and is tropical in character. The district of Fusagasuga in the southern part of this region is celebrated for the excellence of its coffee. The capital of the department was Facatativá (est. population, 7500), situated on the western margin of the sabana of Bogotá, 25 m. N.W. from that capital by rail. Other important towns are Caqueza, Sibaté, La Meza and Tocaima.
CUNEIFORM (from Lat. cuneus, a wedge), a form of writing, extensively used in the ancient world, especially by the Babylonians and Assyrians. The word “cuneiform” was first applied in 1700 by Thomas Hyde, professor of Hebrew in the university of Oxford, in the expression “dactuli pyramidales seu cuneiformes,” and it has found general acceptance, though efforts have been made to introduce the expression “arrow-headed” writing. The name “cuneiform” is fitting, for each character or sign is composed of a wedge (
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