What part of the United States was formerly a possession of Mexico, and how did it become a possession of the United States?From a cyclopedia learn the character of the political organization of Mexico and the Central American states.From the report listed below find what commercial routes gain, and what ones lose in distance by the Nicaragua, as compared with the Panama canal.From a good atlas make a list of the islands of the West Indies; name the country to which each belongs, and its exports to the United States.
What part of the United States was formerly a possession of Mexico, and how did it become a possession of the United States?
From a cyclopedia learn the character of the political organization of Mexico and the Central American states.
From the report listed below find what commercial routes gain, and what ones lose in distance by the Nicaragua, as compared with the Panama canal.
From a good atlas make a list of the islands of the West Indies; name the country to which each belongs, and its exports to the United States.
FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE
The Statesman's Year-Book.Great Canals of the World—pp. 4058–4059.
The Statesman's Year-Book.
Great Canals of the World—pp. 4058–4059.
SOUTH AMERICASOUTH AMERICA
In its general surface features South America resembles North America—that is, a central plain is bordered by low ranges on the east and by a high mountain system on the west. In the southern part, midsummer is in January and midwinter in July. The mineral-producing states are traversed by the ranges of the Andes and all of them except Chile are situated on both slopes of the mountains.
Colombia.—This republic borders both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. One port excepted, however, most of its commerce is confined to the shores of the Caribbean Sea. The lowlands east of the Andes are admirably adapted for grazing, and such cattle products as hides, horns, and tallow are articles of export. This region, however, even with the present facilities for transportation, produces only a small fraction of the products possible.
The intermontane valleys between the Andean ranges have the climate of the temperate zone; wheat and sheep are produced. The chief industrial development, however, is confined to the lands near the Caribbean coast. Coffee, cacao, and tobacco are grown for export, the business of cultivation being largely controlled by Americans and Europeans. Rubber, copaiba, tolu, and vegetable ivory[59]are gathered by Indians from the forests.
A PASS IN THE ANDESA PASS IN THE ANDES
The montane region has long been famous for its mines of gold and silver. The salt mines near Bogota are a government monopoly and yield a considerable revenue. Near the same city are the famous Muzo emerald mines.
The rivers are the chief channels of internal trade. During the rainy season steamboats ascend the Orinoco to Cabugaro, about two hundred miles from Bogota. About fifty steamboats are in commission on the Magdalena and its tributary, the Cauca. Mule trains traversing wretched trails require from one to two weeks to transport the goods from the river landings to the chief centres of population. Improvements now under way in clearing and canalizing these rivers will add about five hundred miles of additional water-way. The railways consist of short lines mainly used as portages around obstructions of the rivers.
An unstable government and an onerous system of export taxes hamper trade. Coffee, a leading product, goes mainly to Europe. Cattle products, and balsam of tolu are purchased mainly in the United States. Great Britain purchases the gold and silver ores. The chief imports—textiles, flour, and petroleum—are purchased in the United States.BogotaandMedellinare the largest cities. The isolation of the region in which they are situated shapes the indifferent foreign policy of the government.Barranquilla,Sabanilla, andCartagenaare the chief ports.
Panama.—This state, formerly a part of Colombia, includes the isthmus of Panama. Geographically it belongs to North America, and practically it can be approached from Colombia by water only. The secession of Panama was brought about by the complications of the isthmian canal. A treaty with the United States gives the latter sovereign control over the canal and the strip of land ten miles wide bordering it.PanamaandColonare the two ports of the canal. The United States exercises police and sanitary regulations in these cities, but it has no sovereignty over them.
Peru.—Peru has great resources, both agricultural and mineral. Cotton is one of the chief products. The ordinary fibre is excelled only by the sea-island cotton of the United States; the long-staple fibre of the Piura is the best grown. The former is generally employed for mixing with wool in the manufacture of underwear, and is sold in the United States and Europe; the latter, used in the manufacture of thread and the web of pneumatic tires, goes mainly to Great Britain.
Cane-sugar is a very large export crop, Great Britain, the United States, and Chile being the principal customers. The area of coffee production is growing rapidly. Coca-growing has become an important industry, and the plantations aggregate about three million trees;[60]a large part of the product is sent to the chemical laboratories of the United States. A small crop of rice for export is grown on the coast.
The Amazon forest products yield a considerable revenue. Rubber and vegetable ivory are the most valuable. Cinchona, or Peruvian bark, however, is the one for which the state is best known; and there is probably not a drug-shop in the civilized world that does not carry it in stock.[61]
Cattle are grown for their hides, and of these the United States is the chief purchaser. The wool of the llama, alpaca, and vicuña is used in manufacture of the cloth known as alpaca, and the value of the shipments to Great Britain usually exceeds one million dollars a year. In the mining regions the llama is used as a pack-animal, and a large part of the mine products reach the markets by this means of transportation. The mines yield silver and copper; in the main the ores are exported to Great Britain to be smelted.
The products already named are the chief exports; the imports are cotton textiles, machinery, steel wares, and coal-oil. Great Britain has about one-half the foreign trade; the United States controls about one-fourth.Callao, the port ofLima, is the market through which most of the foreign trade is carried on. Steamship lines connect it with San Francisco and with British ports.Mollendois the outlet of Bolivian trade. The railways are short lines extending from the coast.
Ecuador.—This state has but little commercial importance. The only cultivated products for export are cacao, coffee, and sugar. The first-named constitutes three-fourths of the exports, and most of it goes to France. The land is held in large estates, and most of the laboring people are in a condition of practical slavery. The bread-stuffs consumed by the foreign population and the land proprietors are imported. Animals are grown for their hides and these are sold to the United States.
Another manufacture that connects Ecuador with the rest of the world is the so-called "Panama" hat. The material used is toquilla straw, the mid-rib of the screw-pine (Carlodovica palmata). The prepared straw can be plaited only when the atmosphere is very moist, and much of the work is done at night. The hats are made by Indians,who are governed by their own ideas regarding style and shape. They bring from twenty-five to fifty dollars apiece in the American markets, where nearly all the product is sold.[62]
Mule-paths are the only means of inland communication. There is a considerable local traffic on the estuaries of the rivers, but this is confined to the rainy seasons. A railway built by an American company is in operation fromGuayaquil, a short distance inland. This city is the chief market for foreign goods, and it is the only foreign port of the Pacific coast of South America in which the volume of trade of the United States approximates that of Germany and Great Britain.
Bolivia.—Bolivia lost much of its possible commercial possible future when, after a disastrous war, its Pacific coast frontage became a possession of Chile. The agricultural lands are unfortunately situated with reference to the mining population; as a result, a considerable amount of food-stuffs must be imported from Argentina. Coffee, cacao, and coca are the principal cultivated products. Rubber from the Amazon forest is the most valuable vegetable product, but a considerable amount of cinchona bark and ivory nuts are also exported.
The mines, however, are the chief wealth of the state and give it the only excuse for its political existence. They produce silver, tin, copper, gold, and borate of lime. Inasmuch as a large part of the ore and ore products must be transported by llamas and mules, only the richest mines can be profitably worked. With adequate means of transportation, the mines should make Bolivia one of the most powerful South American states.
Railways already connectOrurowith the sea-coast. A railway now under construction will connectLa Paz(the pass) with the Pacific coast, and also Buenos Aires. Excellent roads to take the place of the pack-trains are under construction.
Practically all the imports, consisting of cotton and woollen textiles, machinery, and steel wares, are purchased in Great Britain. The exports are more than double the imports. Most of the goods pass through the Chilean port Antofagasto, or Mollendo, Peru.La Paz,Oruro, andSucreare the chief cities.
The hypothetical state of Acré is situated in the angle where Bolivia, Peru, and Brazil join. The rubber forests, together with the absence of legal government, led to its existence. The government is wholly insurrectionary, but it at least uses its powers to encourage the rubber trade.
Chile.—This state comprises the narrow western slope of the Andes, extending from the tropic of Capricorn to Cape Horn, a distance of about three thousand miles. The resources of the state have been so skilfully handled, that with the drawback of a very small proportion of cultivable land, Chile is the foremost Andean state.
The cultivation of the ordinary crops is confined to the flood-plains of the short rivers. These, as a rule, are from twenty to fifty miles long and a mile or two in width. They are densely peopled and cultivated to the limit. Between the river-valleys are long stretches of unproductive land.
Within the valleys wheat, barley, fruit, and various food-stuffs are grown. Of these there are not only enough for home consumption, but considerable quantities are exported to Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. Much of the cultivable landrequires to be watered, and the system of irrigation has been developed with extraordinary skill. The grazing lands are extensive. In the northern part an excellent quality of merino wool is produced; the greater part of the clip, however, is an ordinary fibre. The cattle furnish a considerable amount of leather for export.
The conditions which have made the northern part a desert have also given to the state its greatest resource—nitre.[63]The nitrate occurs in the northern desert region. The crude salt is crushed and partly refined at the mines, and carried by rail to the nearest port. The working of the nitrate beds is largely carried on by foreign companies. Nearly all the product is used as a fertilizer in Germany, France, and Great Britain. Nitrate constitutes about two-thirds of the exports. Iodine and bromine are also obtained from the nitrates, and the Chilean product yields nearly all the world's supply.
Copper is extensively mined and, next to the nitrates, is the most valuable product. Great Britain is the customer for the greater part. Coal occurs in the southern part of the state, and is mined for export to the various states of the Pacific coast. It is not a good coal for iron smelting, however, and about three times as much is imported as is exported. A considerable part of the imported coal comes from Australia, and with it structural steel is made from pig-iron that is also imported.
Chile is well equipped with railways, a part of which has been built and are operated by the state. The most important line traverses the valley between the Andes andthe coast ranges, from Concepcion to Valparaiso. In this region are most of the manufacturing enterprises.
The imports are chiefly coal, machinery, textile goods, and sugar. The British control about two-thirds of the foreign trade; the Germans and the French have most of the remainder. The United States supplies the Chileans with a part of the textiles, a considerable quantity of Oregon pine, and practically all the coal-oil used.
VALPARASIOVALPARASIO
Valparaisois the chief business centre of the Pacific coast of South America. Most of the forwarding business is carried on by British and German merchants. The transandine railway, now about completed, will make it one of the most important ports of the world.Santiagois the capital.ConcepcionandTalcaare important centres of trade.Chillanis the principal cattle-market of the Pacific coast of South America.Copiapois the focal point of the mining interests.Iquiqueis the port from which about all the nitrates are shipped.Punta Arenas, one of the "end towns" of the world, is an ocean post-office for vessels passing through the Straits of Magellan. It is about as far south as Calgary, B.C., is north.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
What will be the probable effect of an interoceanic canal on the commerce of these states?From the Abstract of Statistics make a list of the exports from the United States to these countries.From the statistics of trade in the Statesman's Year-Book compare the trade of the United States with that of other countries in these states.How have race characteristics affected the commerce and development of these states?What is meant by peonage?What cities of the tropical part of these states are in the climate of the temperate zone?
What will be the probable effect of an interoceanic canal on the commerce of these states?
From the Abstract of Statistics make a list of the exports from the United States to these countries.
From the statistics of trade in the Statesman's Year-Book compare the trade of the United States with that of other countries in these states.
How have race characteristics affected the commerce and development of these states?
What is meant by peonage?
What cities of the tropical part of these states are in the climate of the temperate zone?
FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE
Carpenter's South America.Vincent's Around and About South America.Fiske's Discovery of America—Chapters IX-X.Procure, if possible, specimens of the following: Cacao and its products, ivory nuts, cinchona bark, crude nitrate, Panama straw, iodine (in a sealed vial), llama wool, alpaca cloth, Peruvian cotton.
Carpenter's South America.
Vincent's Around and About South America.
Fiske's Discovery of America—Chapters IX-X.
Procure, if possible, specimens of the following: Cacao and its products, ivory nuts, cinchona bark, crude nitrate, Panama straw, iodine (in a sealed vial), llama wool, alpaca cloth, Peruvian cotton.
The eastern countries of South America are mainly lowland plains. The llanos of the Orinoco and the pampas of Plate (La Plata) River are grazing lands. The silvas of the Amazon are forest-covered. In tropical regions the coast-plain is usually very unhealthful; the seaports excepted, most of the cities and towns are therefore built on higher land beyond the coast-plain.
Venezuela.—The greater part of Venezuela is a region of llanos, or grassy plains, shut off from the harbors of the Caribbean Sea, by mountain-ranges. On account of their pleasant climate the mountain-valleys constitute the chief region of habitation. The plains are flooded in the rainy season and sun-scorched during the period of drought; they are therefore unfit for human habitation.
Coffee is cultivated in the montane region; and cacao in the lower coast lands. Almost every part of the coast lowlands is fit for sugar cultivation, and in order to encourage this industry, the importation of sugar is forbidden. As is usual in similar cases, the domestic sugar is poor in quality and high in price. Among the forest products rubber, fustic, divi-divi,[64]and tonka beans, the last used as a perfume, are the only ones of value. The cattle of the llanos, the native long-horns, furnish a poor quality of hide, and poorer beef. A few thousand head are shipped yearly down the Orinoco to be sent to Cuba and Porto Rico.
The placer gold-mines of the Yuruari country, a region also claimed by Great Britain, have been very productive. Coal, iron ore, and asphaltum are abundant. Concessions for mining the two last-named have been granted to American companies. The pearl-fisheries around Margarita Island, also leased to a foreign company, have become productive under the new management.
The means of intercommunication are as primitive as those of Colombia. Short railways extend from several seaports to the regions of production, and from these coffee and cacao are the only exports of importance. The Orinoco River is the natural outlet for the cattle-region, but the commerce of this region is small. The lagoon of Maracaibo is becoming the centre of a rapidly growing commercial region.
Caracas, the capital and largest city, receives the imports of textiles, domestic wares, flour, and petroleum from the United States and Great Britain. The railway to its port,La Guaira, is a remarkable work of engineering.Puerto Cabello, the most important port, receives the trade ofValencia. FromMaracaibo, the port on the lagoon of the same name, is shipped the Venezuelan coffee.Ciudad Bolivaris the river-port of the Orinoco and an important rubber-market.
The Guianas.—The surface conditions and climate of the Guianas resemble those of Venezuela. The native products are also much the same, but good business organization has made the countries bearing the general name highly productive. For the greater part, the coast-plain is the region of cultivation. Sugar is still the most important crop; but on account of the fierce competition of beet-sugar, on many of the plantations cane-sugar cultivation is unprofitable and has been abandoned for that of rice, cacao, and tobacco. Great Britain, Holland, and France possess the country. The divisions are known respectively as British Guiana, Surinam, and Cayenne, and the trade of each accrues to the mother-country. British Guiana is noted quite as much for its gold-fields on the Venezuelan border (Cuyuni River) as for its vegetable products.Georgetown, better known by the name of the surrounding district,Demerara, is the focal point of business.New Amsterdamis also a port of considerable trade. The gold-mining interests centre atBartica.
A CACAO PLANTATIONA CACAO PLANTATION
PREPARING THE BEANS FOR SHIPMENTPREPARING THE BEANS FOR SHIPMENT
CACAO-TREECACAO-TREE
MAKING CHOCOLATEMAKING CHOCOLATE
Surinam, in addition to its export of vegetable products, contains rich gold-mines, and these contribute a considerable revenue.Paramaribois the port and centre of trade. Phosphates and gold are among the important exports of Cayenne, whose port bears the same name.
Brazil.—This state, nearly the size of the United States, comprises about half the area of South America. Much of it, including the greater part of the Amazon River basin, is unfit for the growth of food-stuffs.
There are three regions of production. The Amazon forests yield the greater part of the world's rubber supply. The middle coast region has various agricultural products, of which cotton and cane-sugar are the most important. From the southern region comes two-thirds of the world's coffee-crop. There are productive gold-mines in the state of Minas Geraes, but this region is best known for the "old mine" diamonds, the finest produced.
The Amazon rubber-crop includes not only the crude gum obtained in Brazil, but a considerable part, if not the most, of the crop from the surrounding states. The bifurcating Cassiquiare, which flows both into Amazonian and Orinocan waters, drains a very large area of forest which yields the best rubber known. The yield of 1901 aggregated about one hundred and thirty million pounds, ofwhich about one-half was sold in the United States, one-third in Liverpool, and the rest mainly in Antwerp and Le Havre. The price of rubber is fixed in New York and London.
The cotton and cane-sugar are grown in the middle coast region. The cotton industry bids fair to add materially to the prosperity of the state. A considerable part of the raw cotton is exported, but the reserve is sufficient to keep ten thousand looms busy. About three hundred and fifty million pounds of the raw sugar is purchased by the refineries of the United States, and much of the remainder by British dealers.
The seeds of a species of myrtle (Bertholletia excelsa) furnish the Brazil nuts of commerce, large quantities of which are shipped to Europe and the United States.[65]Manganese ore is also an important export, and Great Britain purchases nearly all of it.
The coffee-crop of the southern states is the largest in the world; and about eight hundred million pounds are landed yearly at the ports of the United States. The coffee-crop, more than any other factor, has made the great prosperity of the state; for while the rubber yield employs comparatively few men and yields but little public revenue, the coffee-crop has brought into Brazil an average of about fifty million dollars a year for three-quarters of a century.
Cattle products also afford a considerable profit in the vicinity of the coffee-region. The hides and tallow are shipped to the United States. For want of refrigerating facilities, most of the beef is "jerked" (or sun-dried), and shipped in this form to Cuba.
The facilities for transportation, the rivers excepted, are poor. The Amazon is navigable for ocean steamships nearly to the junction of the Ucayale. The Paraguayaffords a navigable water-way to the mouth of Plate River. Rapids and falls obstruct most of the rivers at the junction of the Brazilian plateau and the low plains, but these streams afford several thousand miles of navigable waters both above and below the falls.
Nearly all the railways are plantation roads, extending from the various ports to regions of production a few miles inland. The most important railway development is that in the vicinity of Rio, where short local roads to the suburban settlements and the coffee-plantations converge at the harbor. About fourteen thousand miles of railway are completed and under actual construction. A considerable part of the mileage is owned and operated by the state, and it has become the policy of the latter to control its roads and to encourage immigration. One result of this policy is the increasing number of German and Italian colonies, that establish settlements in every district penetrated by a new road.
In 1900 the total foreign trade aggregated upward of two hundred and seventy-five million dollars. The imports consist of cotton and woollen manufactures, structural steel and machinery, preserved fish and meats, and coal-oil. Great Britain, Germany, the United States, and France have nearly all the trade. The United States sells to Brazil textiles and coal-oil to the amount of over eleven million dollars yearly, and buys of the country coffee and rubber to the amount of six times as much.
Rio de Janeiro, commonly called "Rio," is the capital and commercial centre. Its harbor is one of the best in South America. Formerly all the coffee was shipped from this port, but the greater part now goes fromSantos.Porto Alegre, the port of the German colonies, has also a growing export trade.
Bahia,Pernambuco(orRecife),Maceio,Cearáare themarkets for cotton, sugar, and tobacco, much of which is shipped to other Brazilian ports for home consumption.ParáandCearámonopolize nearly all the rubber trade. The position ofManaos, at the confluence of several rivers, makes it one of the most important markets of the Amazon basin, and most of the crude rubber is first collected there for shipment.Cuyabais the commercial centre of the mining region; its outlet is the Paraguay River, and Buenos Aires profits by its trade.
Argentina and the Plate River Countries.—These states are situated in a latitude corresponding to that of the United States. The entire area from the coast to the slopes of the Andes is a vast prairie-region. As a result of position, climate, and surface the agricultural industries are the same as in the United States—grazing and wheat-growing.
Cattle-growing is the chief employment, and the cost per head of rearing stock is practically nothing. For want of better means of transportation the shipments of live beef are not very heavy; the quality of the beef is poor, and until recently there have been no adequate facilities for getting it to market.[66]A small amount of refrigerator beef and a large amount of jerked beef are exported, however. Near the markets, there are large plants in which the hides, horns, tallow, and meat are utilized—the last being converted to the famous "beef extract," which finds a market all over the world.
The sheep industry is on a much better business basis. Both the wool and the mutton have been improved by cross-breeding with good stock. As a result the trade inmutton and wool has increased by leaps and bounds; and nearly three million sheep carcasses are landed at the other ports of Brazil, at Cuba, and at various European states. The wool is bought mainly by Germany and France, but the United States is a heavy purchaser. The quality of the fibre, formerly very poor, year by year is improving.
Wheat, the staple product, is grown mainly within a radius of four hundred miles around the mouth of Plate River. The area of cultivation is increasing as the facilities for transportation are extended and, little by little, is encroaching on the grazing lands. The wheat industry is carried on very largely by German and Italian colonists. Flax, grown for the seed, is a very large export crop. Maize, partly for export and partly for home consumption, is also grown.
The timber resources, chiefly in Paraguay and the Gran Chaco, are very great, but for want of means of transportation the timber-trade cannot successfully compete with that of Central America and Mexico. Workable gold and silver ores are abundant along the Andean cordillera; gold, silver, and copper are exported to Europe. A poor quality of lignite occurs in several provinces, but there are no available mines yielding coal suitable for making steam. There are petroleum wells near Mendoza.
Most of the manufactures pertain to the preparation of cattle products, although a considerable amount of coarse textiles are made in the larger cities from the native cotton and wool. Hats, paper (made from grass), and leather goods are also made. In general, all manufactures are hampered by the difficulties of getting good fuel at a low price.
Transportation is carried on along Plate River and the lower parts of its tributaries. The railway has become the chief factor in the carriage of commodities, however, and the railways of Argentina have been developed on theplans of North American roads. About twelve thousand miles are in actual operation, one of which is a transcontinental line, about completed between Buenos Aires and Valparaiso. Electric railways have become very popular, and the mileage is rapidly increasing.
The import trade, consisting of textile goods, machinery, steel, and petroleum, is carried on with Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium (mainly transit trade), the United States, and Italy. The competition between the European states for this trade is very strong, and not a little has been acquired at the expense of the United States, whose trade has not materially increased.
AREA OF THE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF MATÉAREA OF THE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF MATÉ
Buenos Airesis the financial centre of this part of South America. Among its industries is the largest meat-refrigerating plant in the world. The harbor atLa Platais excellent and has drawn a considerable part of the foreign trade from Buenos Aires.Rosario,Cordoba,Santa Fé, andParanaare the markets of extensive farming regions.Mendozais the focal point of the mining interests.
Paraguayhas a large forest area, but for want of means of transportation it is without value. Even the railway companies find it cheaper to buy their ties in the United States and Australia, rather than to procure them in Paraguay. In spite of the extent of good land, thewheat and much of the bread-stuffs are purchased from Argentina. Tobacco and maté are the only export crops, and they have but little value. The Parana and Paraguay Rivers are the only commercial outlet of the state.
Uruguay.—Owing to its foreign population Uruguay is becoming a rich country. The native cattle have been improved by cross-breeding with European stock, and the state has become one of the foremost cattle and sheep ranges of the world. The value of animal products is not far from forty million dollars yearly. These go mainly to Europe, and so also does the wheat-crop.
France and Argentina purchase most of the exports and Great Britain supplies most of the textiles and machinery imported. The trade of the United States is about one-fourth that of Great Britain.Montevideois the chief market and port. AtFray Bentosis one of the largest plants in the world for the manufacture of cattle products.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
What kind of commerce has led to the establishment of the various ports along the Spanish Main?What advantages has the American fruit-shipper, trading at South American ports, over his European competitor?What is meant by "horse latitudes," and what was the origin of the name?In what way may the opening of an interoceanic canal affect the coffee-trade of Brazil?—the nitrate trade of Chile?
What kind of commerce has led to the establishment of the various ports along the Spanish Main?
What advantages has the American fruit-shipper, trading at South American ports, over his European competitor?
What is meant by "horse latitudes," and what was the origin of the name?
In what way may the opening of an interoceanic canal affect the coffee-trade of Brazil?—the nitrate trade of Chile?
FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE
From the Abstract of Statistics find the exports of the United States to each of these countries.From the Statesman's Year-Book compare the trade of the United States in each of these countries with that of Great Britain, France, Germany, and Italy.If possible, obtain specimens of the following: Crude rubber, pampas grass, Brazil nuts (in pod), and raw coffee of several grades for comparison with Java and Mocha coffees.
From the Abstract of Statistics find the exports of the United States to each of these countries.
From the Statesman's Year-Book compare the trade of the United States in each of these countries with that of Great Britain, France, Germany, and Italy.
If possible, obtain specimens of the following: Crude rubber, pampas grass, Brazil nuts (in pod), and raw coffee of several grades for comparison with Java and Mocha coffees.
Almost all the commercial activity of Europe is south of the parallel and west of the meridian of St. Petersburg. Most of the great industries are controlled by Germanic and Latin peoples, and among these Great Britain and Germany stand first.
Great Britain and Ireland.—The United Kingdom, or Great Britain and Ireland, are commonly known as the British Isles. The British Empire consists of the United Kingdom and its colonial possessions; it includes also a large number of islands occupied as coaling stations and for strategic purposes. All told, the empire embraces about one-seventh of the land area of the world and about one-fourth its population.
The wonderful power and great commercial development is due not only to conditions of geographic environment but also to the intelligence of a people who have adjusted themselves to those conditions. The insular position of the United Kingdom has given it natural protection, and for more than eight hundred years there has been no successful invasion by a foreign power. Its commercial position is both natural and artificial. It has utilized the markets to the east and south, and has founded great countries which it supplies with manufactured products.
THE BRITISH EMPIRETHE BRITISH EMPIRE
The position of the kingdom with respect to climate is fortunate. The movement of the Gulf Stream on the American coast carries a large volume of water into the latitude of the prevailing westerly winds, and these in turn carry warm water to every part of the coast of the islands. As a result, the harbors of the latter are never obstructed by ice; those of the Labrador coast, situated in the same latitude, are blocked nearly half the year.
The high latitude of the islands is an advantage so far as the production of food-stuffs is concerned. The summer days in the latitude of Liverpool are very nearly eighteen hours in length, and this fact together with the mild winters, adds very largely to the food-producing power of the islands.
The highlands afford considerable grazing. Great care is taken in improving the stock, both of cattle and sheep. In the north the cattle are bred mainly as meat producers; in the south for dairy products. Durham, Alderney, and Jersey stock are exported to both Americas for breeding purposes. The sheep of the highlands produce the heavy, coarse wool of which the well known "cheviot" and "frieze" textiles are made. Elsewhere they are bred for mutton, of which the "South Down" variety is an example.
The lowland regions yield grain abundantly where cultivated. The average yield per acre is about double that of the United States, and is surpassed by that of Denmark only. Both Ireland and England are famous for fine dairy products. These are becoming the chief resource of the former country, which is practically without the coal necessary for extensive manufacture. The fishing-grounds form an important food resource.
The cultivated lands do not supply the food needed for consumption. The grain-crop lasts scarcely three months; the meat-crop but little longer. Bread-stuffs from the United States and India, and meats from the United States, Australia, and New Zealand make up the shortage.The annual import of food-stuffs amounts to more than fifty dollars per capita.
The growing of wool and flax for cloth-making became an industry of great importance just after the accession of Henry VII. With the advent of peace, it became possible to manufacture into cloth the fibres that before had been sent for that purpose to Flanders. The utilization of the coal and the iron ore years afterward brought about an economic revolution that was intensified by the invention of the steam-engine and the power-loom.
These quickly brought the country into the foremost rank as a manufacturing centre. Moreover, they also demanded the foreign markets that have made the country a maritime power as well—for an insular country must also have the ships with which to carry its merchandise to its markets.
The development of the manufactures, therefore, is inseparably connected with that of the mineral and metal industries. From very early times the metal deposits of the country have been a source of power. Copper and tin were used by the aboriginal Britons long before Cæsar's reconnaissance of the islands, and it is not unlikely that the Bronze Period was the natural development that resulted from the discovery of these metals.
Coal occurs in various fields that extend from the River Clyde to the River Severn. The annual output of these mines at the close of the century was about two hundred and twenty-five million tons. In the past century the inroads upon the visible supply were so great that the output in the near future will be considerably lessened. Not far from one-sixth of the output is sold to consumers in Russia and the Mediterranean countries, but a growing sentiment to forbid any sale of coal to foreign buyers is taking shape.
BRITISH ISLESBRITISH ISLES
Iron ores are fairly abundant, but the hematite required for the best Bessemer steel is limited to the region about Manchester and Birmingham. The shortage of this ore has become so apparent within recent years that Great Britain has become a heavy purchaser of ores in foreign markets. The coal in the Clyde basin is employed mainly in the manufacture of railway iron, steamship material, and rolling stock. The manufacture of Bessemer steel is gradually moving to the vicinity of South Wales, at the ports of which foreign pig-iron can be most cheaply landed. In west-central England the several coal-fields form a single centre of manufacture, where are located some of the largest woollen and cotton mills in Europe. It also includes the plants for the manufacture of machinery, cutlery, and pottery.
The import trade of Great Britain consists mainly of food-stuffs and raw materials.[67]Of the latter, cotton is by far the most important. Most of it comes from the United States, but the Nile delta, Brazil, the Dekkan of India, the Iran plateau, and the Piura Valley of Peru send portions, each region having fibre of specific qualities designed for specific uses. The native wool clip forms only a small part of the amount used in manufacture. The remainder, more than three million pounds, comes from Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
The supply of flax is small, and 100,000 tons are imported to meet the wants of the mills. The greater part is purchased in Russia, but the finer quality is imported from Belgium. Jute is purchased from India and manufactured into burlap and rugs.
But little available standing timber remains, and lumbermust, therefore, be imported. The pine is purchased mainly in Sweden, Norway, Canada, and the United States. A considerable amount of wood-pulp is imported from Canada for paper-making. Mahogany for ornamental manufactures is obtained from Africa and British Honduras. Oak, and the woods for interior finish, are purchased largely from Canada and the United States.
The export trade of Great Britain consists almost wholly of the articles manufactured with British coal as the power. These are made from the raw materials purchased abroad, and the stamp of the British craftsman is a guarantee of excellence and honesty. Of the total export trade, amounting yearly to about one billion, two hundred million dollars, nearly one-third consists of cotton, woollen, linen, and jute textiles; one-fifth consists of iron and steel manufactured stuffs made from British ores. About one-third goes to the colonies of the mother-country, with whom she keeps in close touch; Germany, the United States, and the South American states are the chief foreign buyers.
For the handling and carriage of these goods there is an admirable system of railways reaching from every part of the interior to the numerous ports. The rolling stock and the locomotives are not nearly so heavy as those used in the United States; the railway beds and track equipment, on the whole, are probably the best in the world. Freight rates are considerably higher than on the corresponding classes of merchandise in the United States. The public highways are most excellent, but the means of street traffic in the cities are very poor.
The harbor facilities at the various ports are of the best. The docks and basins are usually arranged so that while the import goods are being landed the export stuffs are made ready to be loaded. The facilities for the rapid transfer of freights have been improved by thereconstruction of the various river estuaries so as to make them ship-channels. The estuaries of the Clyde, Tyne, and Mersey have been thus improved, while Manchester has been made a seaport by an artificial canal. The British merchant marine is the largest in the world, and about ninety per cent. of the vessels are steamships.
Londonis the capital; it is also one of the first commercial and financial centres of the world. The Thames has not a sufficient depth of water for the largest liners, and these dock usually about twenty miles below the city. The colonial commerce at London is very heavy, especially the India traffic, and it is mainly for this trade that the British acquired the control of the Suez Canal.
Liverpoolis one of the most important ports of Europe, and receives most of the American traffic. The White Star and Cunard Lines have their terminals at this port.
Southamptonis also a port which receives a large share of American traffic. The American and several foreign steamship lines discharge at that place.HullandShieldshave a considerable part of the European traffic.Glasgowis one of the foremost centres of steel ship-building.CardiffandSwanseaare ports connected with the coal and iron trade.Queenstownis a calling point for transatlantic liners.
Manchesteris both a cotton port and a great market for the cotton textiles made in the nearby towns of the Lancashire coal-field.LeedsandBradfordand the towns about them are the chief centres of woollen manufacture.WiltonandKidderminsterare famous for carpets.Birminghamis the centre of the steel manufactures.Sheffieldhas a world-wide reputation for cutlery. In and near the Staffordshire district are the potteries that have made the names ofWorcester,Coalport,Doulton,Copeland, andJackfieldfamous.Belfastis noted for its linen textiles,and also for some of the largest steamships afloat that have been built in its yards.Dundeeis the chief centre of jute manufacture.
The German Empire.—The German Empire consists of the kingdoms of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, and Würtemburg, together with a number of small states. The "free" cities of Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck, whose independence was purchased in feudal times, are also incorporated within the empire. The present empire was formed in 1871, at the close of the war between Germany and France. The merging of the states into the empire was designed as a political step, but it proved a great industrial revolution as well.
The plain of Europe which slopes to the north and the Baltic Sea, the flood-plains of the rivers excepted, is feebly productive of grain. It is a fine grazing region, however, and the dairy products are of the best quality. Among European states Russia alone surpasses Germany in the number of cattle grown. The province of Schleswig-Holstein is famous the world over for its fine cattle. Cavalry horses are a special feature of the lowland plain, and the government is the chief buyer. The wool product has hitherto been important, but the sheep ranges are being turned into crop lands, on account of the increase of population in the industrial regions.
The midland belt, however, between the coast-plain and the mountains, is the chief food-producing part of Germany. Rye and wheat are grown wherever possible, but the entire grain-crop is consumed in about eight months. The United States, Argentina, and Russia supply the wheat and flour; Russia supplies the rye.