Geology.—The east of this county lies in the Carboniferous Limestone plain, with domes of Old Red Sandstone rising near Dunmore and Mount Bellew. As Galway town is neared, the grey rock appears freely on the surface, and Lough Corrib spreads itself over almost level land. Its west branches, however, run up into “Dalradian” hills, which rise abruptly on the threshold of Connemara. A broad mass of ice-worn gneiss and granite lies between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, cut off so sharply at the sea as to suggest the presence of an east-and-west line of fracture. The Twelve Bens owe their supremacy to the quartzites, which are here well bedded and associated with limestone and mica-schist. Silurian conglomerates and sandstones, with andesitic lavas, overlie the Dalradians, with marked unconformity, south of Leenane and round Lough Nafooey. The surfaces of the hard rocks admirably record the action of ice throughout the county. There is black Carboniferous marble at Menlough near Galway; and the well-known “Connemara Marble” is a banded serpentinous crystalline limestone in the Dalradians at Recess, Ballynahinch and Streamstown. Compact red granite is worked at Shantallow, and the region west of Galway contains many handsome porphyritic red varieties.Climate and Industries.—The climate is mild and healthy but variable, and violent winds from the west are not uncommon. Frost or snow seldom remains long on the western coast, and cattle of every description continue unhoused during the winter. The eastern part of the county produces the best wheat. Oats are frequently sown after potatoes in moorish soils less adapted for wheat. The flat shores of the bays afford large supplies of seaweed for manure. Limestone, gravel and marl are to be had in most other parts. When a sufficient quantity of manure for potatoes cannot be had, the usual practice is to pare and burn the surface. In many places on the seashore fine early potatoes are raised in deep sea-sand manured with seaweed, and the crop is succeeded by barley. Those parts of the eastern district less fitted for grain are employed in pasturage. Heathy sheep-walks occupy a very large tract between Monivea and Galway. An extensive range from Athenry, stretching to Galway Bay at Kinvarra, is also chiefly occupied by sheep. Over half the total acreage of the county is pasture-land, and cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry are extensively reared. The proportion of tillage to pasturage is roughly as one to four; and owing to the nature of the country fully one-third of the total area is quite barren.Manufactures are not carried on beyond the demand caused by the domestic consumption of the people. Coarse friezes, flannels and blankets are made in all parts and sold largely in Galway and Loughrea. Connemara has been long celebrated for its hand-knit woollen stockings. Coarse linen, of a narrow breadth, called bandle linen, is also made for home consumption. There is a linen-weaving factory at Oughterard. The manufacture of kelp, formerly a great source of profit on the western shores, is still carried on to some extent. Feathers and sea-fowls’ eggs are brought in great quantities from the islands of Aran, the produce of the puffins and other sea-fowl that frequent the cliffs. Fishing affords occupation to many of the inhabitants, the industry having as its centres the ports of Galway and Clifden.The Midland Great Western main line enters the county at Ballinasloe, and runs by Athenry to Galway, with an extension to Oughterard (Lough Corrib) and Clifden. The Great Southern & Western line from Sligo to Limerick traverses the county from N. to S., by way of Tuam, Athenry and Gort.
Geology.—The east of this county lies in the Carboniferous Limestone plain, with domes of Old Red Sandstone rising near Dunmore and Mount Bellew. As Galway town is neared, the grey rock appears freely on the surface, and Lough Corrib spreads itself over almost level land. Its west branches, however, run up into “Dalradian” hills, which rise abruptly on the threshold of Connemara. A broad mass of ice-worn gneiss and granite lies between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, cut off so sharply at the sea as to suggest the presence of an east-and-west line of fracture. The Twelve Bens owe their supremacy to the quartzites, which are here well bedded and associated with limestone and mica-schist. Silurian conglomerates and sandstones, with andesitic lavas, overlie the Dalradians, with marked unconformity, south of Leenane and round Lough Nafooey. The surfaces of the hard rocks admirably record the action of ice throughout the county. There is black Carboniferous marble at Menlough near Galway; and the well-known “Connemara Marble” is a banded serpentinous crystalline limestone in the Dalradians at Recess, Ballynahinch and Streamstown. Compact red granite is worked at Shantallow, and the region west of Galway contains many handsome porphyritic red varieties.
Climate and Industries.—The climate is mild and healthy but variable, and violent winds from the west are not uncommon. Frost or snow seldom remains long on the western coast, and cattle of every description continue unhoused during the winter. The eastern part of the county produces the best wheat. Oats are frequently sown after potatoes in moorish soils less adapted for wheat. The flat shores of the bays afford large supplies of seaweed for manure. Limestone, gravel and marl are to be had in most other parts. When a sufficient quantity of manure for potatoes cannot be had, the usual practice is to pare and burn the surface. In many places on the seashore fine early potatoes are raised in deep sea-sand manured with seaweed, and the crop is succeeded by barley. Those parts of the eastern district less fitted for grain are employed in pasturage. Heathy sheep-walks occupy a very large tract between Monivea and Galway. An extensive range from Athenry, stretching to Galway Bay at Kinvarra, is also chiefly occupied by sheep. Over half the total acreage of the county is pasture-land, and cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry are extensively reared. The proportion of tillage to pasturage is roughly as one to four; and owing to the nature of the country fully one-third of the total area is quite barren.
Manufactures are not carried on beyond the demand caused by the domestic consumption of the people. Coarse friezes, flannels and blankets are made in all parts and sold largely in Galway and Loughrea. Connemara has been long celebrated for its hand-knit woollen stockings. Coarse linen, of a narrow breadth, called bandle linen, is also made for home consumption. There is a linen-weaving factory at Oughterard. The manufacture of kelp, formerly a great source of profit on the western shores, is still carried on to some extent. Feathers and sea-fowls’ eggs are brought in great quantities from the islands of Aran, the produce of the puffins and other sea-fowl that frequent the cliffs. Fishing affords occupation to many of the inhabitants, the industry having as its centres the ports of Galway and Clifden.
The Midland Great Western main line enters the county at Ballinasloe, and runs by Athenry to Galway, with an extension to Oughterard (Lough Corrib) and Clifden. The Great Southern & Western line from Sligo to Limerick traverses the county from N. to S., by way of Tuam, Athenry and Gort.
Population and Administration.—The population of county Galway (211,227 in 1891; 192,549 in 1901) decreased by more than half in the last seventy years of the 19th century, and the decrease continues, as emigration is heavy. About 97% of the population are Roman Catholics, and a somewhat less percentage are rural. The Erse tongue is maintained by many in this remote county. The chief towns are Galway (pop. 13,426), Tuam (3012), Ballinasloe (4904) and Loughrea (2815), with the smaller towns of Portumna, Gort, Clifden, Athenry, Headford, Oughterard and Eyrecourt. The county is divided into four parliamentary divisions (returning one member each); north, south, east and Connemara, while the town of Galway returns one member. There are eighteen baronies. Assizes are held at Galway, quarter-sessions at Galway, Ballinasloe, Clifden, Gort, Loughrea, Oughterard, Portumna and Tuam. The county comprises parts of the Protestant dioceses of Tuam and of Killaloe; and of the Roman Catholic dioceses of Elphin, Galway, Clonfert and Killaloe.
History.—The history of county Galway is exceedingly obscure, and nearly every one of its striking physical features carries its legend with it. For centuries local septs struggled together for mastery undeterred by outside influence. The wreck of part of the Spanish Armada on this coast in 1588 left survivors whose influence is still to be traced. The formation of Galway into a county was effected about 1579 by Sir Henry Sydney, lord deputy of Ireland. In the county at Aughrim (q.v.) the decisive battle of the English Revolution was fought in 1691. Among the antiquities are several round towers. The only perfect one is at Kilmacduagh, a very fine example 112 ft. high, leaning considerably out of the perpendicular. Raths or encampments are numerous and several cromlechs are to be seen in good preservation. The ruins of monastic buildings are also numerous. That of Knockmoy, about 6 m. from Tuam, said to have been founded in 1180 by Cathal O’Connor, was adorned with rude fresco paintings, still discernible, which were considered valuable as being the best authentic representations existing of ancient Irish costumes. Ancient castles and square towers of the Anglo-Norman settlers are frequently met with; some have been kept in repair, but the greater number are in ruins. The castle of Tuam, built in 1161 by Roderick O’Connor, king of Ireland, at the period of the English invasion, is said to have been the first building of this description of stone and mortar in Ireland. The remains of a round castle, a form of building very uncommon in the military architecture of the country, are to be seen between Gort and Kilmacduagh. The extraordinary cyclopean and monastic ruins on the Aran Islands (q.v.) must be mentioned; and the town of Galway, Athenry, and the neighbourhood of Ballinasloe all show interesting remains. The small church of Clonfert, in the south of the county, with a fine Romanesque doorway, is a cathedral, the diocese of which was united with Kilfenora, Kilmacduagh and Killaloe in 1833.
GALWAY,a seaport, parliamentary borough and the county town of county Galway, Ireland, on the north shore of Galway Bay, and on the main line of the Midland Great Western railway. Pop. of urban district (1901) 13,426. Some of the streets are very narrow, and contain curious specimens of old buildings, chiefly in antique Spanish style, being square, with a central court, and a gateway opening into the street. The most noteworthy of these is the pile known as Lynch’s Castle. This residence takes its name from the family of whom James Lynch Fitzstephen, mayor of Galway in 1493, was a member; whose severity as a magistrate is exemplified in the story that he executed his own son, and thus gave origin (according to one of several theories) to the familiar term of Lynch law. The principal streets are broad and contain good shops. St Nicholas church is a fine cruciform building founded in 1320, and containing monuments, and a bell, one of a peal, which appears to have been brought from Cavron in France, but how this happened is not known. The church was made collegiate in 1484, and Edward VI. created the Royal College of Galway in connexion with it;but the old college buildings no longer serve this purpose, and the church ceased to be collegiate in 1840. There are remains of a Franciscan friary founded in 1296. St Augustine’s church (Roman Catholic) is modern (1859). The town is the seat of a Roman Catholic diocese. There are grammar, model and industrial schools, the first with exhibitions to Trinity College, Dublin; but the principal educational establishment is University College, a quadrangular building in Tudor Gothic style, of grey limestone. It was founded as Queen’s College, with other colleges of the same name at Belfast and Cork, under an act of 1845, and its name was changed when it was granted a new charter pursuant to the Irish Universities Act 1908. The harbour comprises an extensive line of quays, and is connected for inland navigation with Lough Corrib. The shipping trade is considerable, but as a trans-Atlantic port Galway was exploited unsuccessfully. The fisheries, both sea and salmon, are important. The chief exports are wool, agricultural produce and black marble, which is polished in local mills. Other industrial establishments include corn-mills, iron-foundries, distilleries, and brush and bag factories. The borough, which returned two members to parliament until 1885, now returns one.
Galway is divided into the old and new towns, while a suburb known as the Claddagh is inhabited by fishermen. This is a curious collection of small cottages, where communal government by a locally elected mayor long prevailed, together with peculiar laws and customs, strictly exclusive inter-marriage, and a high moral and religious standard. Specimens of the distinctive Claddagh ring, for example, were worn and treasured as venerated heirlooms. These customs, with the distinctive dress of the women, died out but slowly, and even to-day their vestiges remain.
The environs of Galway are pleasant, with several handsome residences. The most interesting point in the vicinity is Roscam, with its round tower, ruined church and other remains. Salthill, with golf links, is a waterside residential suburb.
Little is known of the history of Galway until after the arrival of the English, at which time it was under the protection of O’Flaherty, who possessed the adjoining district to the west. On the extinction of the native dynasty of the O’Connors, the town fell into the hands of the De Burgos, the head of a branch of which, under the name of M’William Eighter, long governed it by magistrates of his own appointment. After it had been secured by walls, which began to be built about 1270 and are still in part traceable, it became the residence of a number of enterprising settlers, through whom it attained a position of much commercial celebrity. Of these settlers the principal families, fourteen in number, were known as the tribes of Galway. They were of Norman, Saxon or Welsh descent, and became so exclusive in their relationships that dispensations were frequently requisite for the canonical legality of marriages among them. The town rapidly increased from this period in wealth and commercial rank, far surpassing in this respect the rival city of Limerick. Richard II. granted it a charter of incorporation with liberal privileges, which was confirmed by his successor. It had the right of coinage by act of parliament, but there is no evidence to show that it exercised the privilege. Another charter, granted in 1545, extended the jurisdiction of the port to the islands of Aran, permitted the exportation of all kinds of goods except linens and woollens, and confirmed all the former privileges. Large numbers of Cromwell’s soldiers are said to have settled in the town; and there are many traces of Spanish blood among the population. Its municipal privileges were extended by a charter from James I., whereby the town, and a district of two miles round in every direction, were formed into a distinct county, with exclusive jurisdiction and a right of choosing its own magistrates. During the civil wars of 1641 the town took part with the Irish, and was surrendered to the Parliamentary forces under Sir Charles Coote; after which the ancient inhabitants were mostly driven out, and their property was given to adventurers and soldiers, chiefly from England. On the accession of James II. the old inhabitants entertained sanguine hopes of recovering their former rights. But the successes of King William soon put an end to their expectations; and the town, after undergoing another siege, again capitulated to the force brought against it by General Ginkell.
GAMA, VASCO DA(c.1460-1524), Portuguese navigator and discoverer of the sea-route to India, was born at Sines, a small seaport in the province of Alemtejo. Of da Gama’s early history little is known. His descent, according to theNobiliarioof Antonio de Lima, was derived from a noble family which is mentioned in the year 1166; but the line cannot be traced without interruption farther back than the year 1280, to one Alvaro da Gama, from whom was descended Estevão da Gama, civil governor of Sines, whose third son Vasco was born probably about the year 1460. In that year died Prince Henry the Navigator, to whose intelligence and foresight must be traced back all the fame that Portugal gained on the seas in the 15th and 16th centuries. Explorers sent out at his instigation discovered the Azores and unknown regions on the African coast, whence continually came reports of a great monarch, “who lived east of Benin, 350 leagues in the interior, and who held both temporal and spiritual dominion over all the neighbouring kings,” a story which tallied so remarkably with the accounts of “Prester John” which had been brought to the Peninsula by Abyssinian priests, that John II. of Portugal steadfastly resolved that both by sea and by land the attempt should be made to reach the country of this potentate. For this purpose Pedro de Covilham and Affonso de Payva were despatched eastward by land; while Bartholomeu Diaz (q.v.), in command of two vessels, was sent westward by sea (seeAbyssinia, 14). That there was in truth an ocean highway to the East was proved by Diaz, who returned in December 1488 with the report that when sailing southward he was carried far to the east by a succession of fierce storms, past—as he discovered only on his return voyage—what he ascertained to be the southern extremity of the African continent. The condition of John’s health and concerns of state, however, prevented the fitting out of the intended expedition; and it was not till nine years later, when Emanuel I. had succeeded to the throne, that the preparations for this great voyage were completed—hastened, doubtless, by Columbus’s discovery of America in the meanwhile.
For the supreme command of this expedition the king selected Vasco da Gama, who had in his youth fought in the wars against Castile, and in his riper years gained distinction as an intrepid mariner. The fleet, consisting of four vessels specially built for this mission, sailed down the Tagus on the 9th of July 1497, after prayers and confession made by the officers and crews in a small chapel on the site where now stands the church of S. Maria de Belem (seeLisbon), afterwards built to commemorate the event. Four months later the flotilla cast anchor in St Helena Bay, South Africa, rounded the Cape in safety, and in the beginning of the next year reached Malindi, on the east coast of Africa. Thence, steering eastward, under the direction of a pilot obtained from Indian merchants met with at this port, da Gama arrived at Calicut, on the Malabar coast, on the 20th May 1498, and set up, according to the custom of his country, a marble pillar as a mark of conquest and a proof of his discovery of India. His reception by the zamorin, or Hindu ruler of Calicut, would have in all probability been favourable enough, had it not been for the jealousy of the Mahommedan traders who, fearing for their gains, so incited the Hindus against the new-comers that da Gama was unable to establish a Portuguese factory. Having seen enough of India to assure him of its great resources, he returned to Portugal in September 1499. The king received him with every mark of distinction, granted him the use of the prefixDom, thus elevating him to the rank of an untitled noble, and conferred on him pensions and other property. In prosecution of da Gama’s discoveries another fleet of thirteen ships was immediately sent out to India under Pedro Alvares Cabral, who, in sailing too far westward, by accident discovered Brazil, and on reaching his destination established a factory at Calicut. The natives, again instigated by the Mahommedan merchants, rose up in arms and murdered all whom Cabral had left behind. To avenge this outrage a powerful armament of ten ships was fitted out at Lisbon, the command of which was at first given toCabral, but was afterwards transferred to da Gama, who received the title admiral of India (January 1502). A few weeks later the fleet sailed, and on reaching Calicut da Gama immediately bombarded the town, treating its inhabitants with a savagery too horrible to describe. From Calicut he proceeded in November to Cochin, “doing all the harm he could on the way to all that he found at sea,” and having made favourable trading terms with it and with other towns on the coast, he returned to Lisbon in September 1503, with richly laden ships. He and his captains were welcomed with great rejoicings and he received additional privileges and revenues.
Soon after his return da Gama retired to his residence in Evora, possibly from pique at not obtaining so high rewards as he expected, but more probably in order to enjoy the wealth and position which he had acquired; for he was now one of the richest men in the kingdom. He had married, probably in 1500, a lady of good family, named Catherina de Ataide, by whom he had six sons. According to Correa, he continued to advise King Emanuel I. on matters connected with India and maritime policy up to 1505, and there are extant twelve documents dated 1507-1522 which prove that he continued to enjoy the royal favour. The most important of these is a grant dated December 1519 by which Vasco da Gama was created count of Vidigueira, with the extraordinary privileges of civil and criminal jurisdiction and ecclesiastical patronage. During this time the Portuguese conquests increased in the East, and were presided over by successive viceroys. The fifth of these was so unfortunate that da Gama was recalled from his seclusion by Emanuel’s successor, John III., and nominated viceroy of India, an honour which in April 1524 he left Lisbon to assume. Arriving at Goa during September of the same year, he immediately set himself to correct with vigour the many abuses which had crept in under the rule of his predecessors. He was not destined, however, to prosecute far the reforms he had inaugurated, for, on the Christmas-eve following his arrival, he died at Cochin after a short illness, and was buried in the Franciscan monastery there. In 1538 his body was conveyed to Portugal and entombed in the town of Vidigueira. In 1880 what were supposed on insufficient evidence to have been his remains were transferred to the church of Santa Maria de Belem. His voyage had the immediate result of enriching Portugal, and raising her to one of the foremost places among the nations of Europe, and eventually the far greater one of bringing to pass the colonization of the East by opening its commerce to the Western world.
Bibliography.—Vasco da Gama’s First Voyage, by Dr E. Ravenstein (London, Hakluyt Society, 1898), is a translation with notes, &c., of the anonymousRoteiro(Journal or Itinerary), written by one of Vasco da Gama’s subordinates who sailed on board the “S. Raphael,” which was commanded by the admiral’s brother Paulo da Gama. This is the most important of the original authorities; five accounts of the voyage in letters contemporary with it are appended to the Hakluyt Society’s translation. See also J. de Barros,Decadas da India(Lisbon, 1778-1788, writtenc.1540); F.L. de Castanheda,Historia do descobrimento da India(Coimbra, 1551, largely based on theRoteiro);The Three Voyages of Vasco da Gama and his Viceroyalty, by Gaspar Correa (Hakluyt Society, 1869), chiefly valuable for the events of 1524;The Lusiadsof Camoens, the central incident in which is Vasco da Gama’s first voyage;Calcoen(i.e.Calicut),a Dutch Narrative of the Second Voyage of Vasco da Gama, written by some unknown seaman of the expedition, printed at Antwerp about 1504, reprinted in facsimile, with introduction and translation, by J. Ph. Berjeau (London, 1874); Thomé Lopes, narrative (1502) in vol. i. of Ramusio.
Bibliography.—Vasco da Gama’s First Voyage, by Dr E. Ravenstein (London, Hakluyt Society, 1898), is a translation with notes, &c., of the anonymousRoteiro(Journal or Itinerary), written by one of Vasco da Gama’s subordinates who sailed on board the “S. Raphael,” which was commanded by the admiral’s brother Paulo da Gama. This is the most important of the original authorities; five accounts of the voyage in letters contemporary with it are appended to the Hakluyt Society’s translation. See also J. de Barros,Decadas da India(Lisbon, 1778-1788, writtenc.1540); F.L. de Castanheda,Historia do descobrimento da India(Coimbra, 1551, largely based on theRoteiro);The Three Voyages of Vasco da Gama and his Viceroyalty, by Gaspar Correa (Hakluyt Society, 1869), chiefly valuable for the events of 1524;The Lusiadsof Camoens, the central incident in which is Vasco da Gama’s first voyage;Calcoen(i.e.Calicut),a Dutch Narrative of the Second Voyage of Vasco da Gama, written by some unknown seaman of the expedition, printed at Antwerp about 1504, reprinted in facsimile, with introduction and translation, by J. Ph. Berjeau (London, 1874); Thomé Lopes, narrative (1502) in vol. i. of Ramusio.
GAMALIEL(גמליאל). This name, which in Old Testament times figures only as that of a prince of the tribe of Manasseh (videNum. i. 10, &c.), was hereditary among the descendants of Hillel. Six persons bearing the name are known.
1.GamalielI., a grandson of Hillel, and like him designated Ha-Zāqēn (the Elder), by which is apparently indicated that he was numbered among the Sanhedrin, the high council of Jerusalem. According to the tradition of the schools of Palestine Gamaliel succeeded his grandfather and his father (of the latter nothing is known but his name, Simeon) asNasi, or president of the Sanhedrin. Even if this tradition does not correspond with historic fact, it is at any rate certain that Gamaliel took a leading position in the Sanhedrin, and enjoyed the highest repute as an authority on the subject of knowledge of the Law and in the interpretation of the Scriptures. He was the first to whose name was prefixed the title Rabban (Master, Teacher). It is related in the Acts of the Apostles (v. 34 et seq.) that his voice was uplifted in the Sanhedrin in favour of the disciples of Jesus who were threatened with death, and on this occasion he is designated as a Pharisee and as being “had in reputation among all the people” (νομοδιδάσκαλος τίμιος παντὶ τῷ λαῷ). In the Mishna (Giṭṭiniv. 1-3) he is spoken of as the author of certain legal ordinances affecting the welfare of the community (the expression in the original is “tiqqun ha-‘ōlām,”i.e.improvement of the world) and regulating certain questions as to conjugal rights. In the tradition was also preserved the text of the epistles regarding the insertion of the intercalary month, which he sent to the inhabitants of Galilee and the Darom (i.e.southern Palestine) and to the Jews of the Dispersion (Sanhedrin 11b and elsewhere). He figures in two anecdotes as the religious adviser of the king and queen,i.e.Agrippa I. and his wife Cypris (Pesahim 88b). His function as a teacher is proved by the fact that the Apostle Paul boasts of having sat at the feet of Gamaliel (Acts. xxii. 3). Of his teaching, beyond the saying preserved in Aboth i. 16, which enjoins the duty of study and of scrupulousness in the observance of religious ordinances, only a very remarkable characterization of the different natures of the scholars remains (Aboth di R. Nathan, ch. xl.). His renown in later days is summed up in the words (Mishna, end of Soṭah): “When Rabban Gamaliel the Elder died, regard for the Torah (the study of the Law) ceased, and purity and piety died.” As Gamaliel I. is the only Jewish scribe whose name is mentioned in the New Testament he became a subject of Christian legend, and a monk of the 12th century (Hermann the Premonstratensian) relates how he met Jews in Worms studying Gamaliel’s commentary on the Old Testament, thereby most probably meaning the Talmud.
2.GamalielII., the son of Simon ben Gamaliel, one of Jerusalem’s foremost men in the war against the Romans (videJosephus,Bellum Jud. iv. 3, 9,Vita38), and grandson of Gamaliel I. To distinguish him from the latter he is also called Gamaliel of Jabneh. In Jabneh (Jamnia), where during the siege of Jerusalem the scribes of the school of Hillel had taken refuge by permission of Vespasian, a new centre of Judaism arose under the leadership of the aged Johanan ben Zakkai, a school whose members inherited the authority of the Sanhedrin of Jerusalem. Gamaliel II. became Johanan ben Zakkai’s successor, and rendered immense service in the strengthening and reintegration of Judaism, which had been deprived of its former basis by the destruction of the Temple and by the entire loss of its political autonomy. He put an end to the division which had arisen between the spiritual leaders of Palestinian Judaism by the separation of the scribes into the two schools called respectively after Hillel and Shammai, and took care to enforce his own authority as the president of the chief legal assembly of Judaism with energy and often with severity. He did this, as he himself said, not for his own honour nor for that of his family, but in order that disunion should not prevail in Israel. Gamaliel’s position was recognized by the Roman government also. Towards the end of Domitian’s reign (c.A.D.95) he went to Rome in company with the most prominent members of the school of Jabneh, in order to avert a danger threatening the Jews from the action of the terrible emperor. Many interesting particulars have been given regarding the journey of these learned men to Rome and their sojourn there. The impression made by the capital of the world upon Gamaliel and his companions was an overpowering one, and they wept when they thought of Jerusalem in ruins. In Rome, as at home, Gamaliel often had occasion to defend Judaism in polemical discussions with pagans, and also with professed Christians. In an anecdote regarding a suit which Gamaliel was prosecuting before a Christian judge, a converted Jew, he appeals to the Gospel and to the words of Jesus in Matt. v. 17 (Shabbath 116a, b). Gamaliel devoted special attention to the regulation of the rite of prayer, which after thecessation of sacrificial worship had become all-important. He gave the principal prayer, consisting of eighteen benedictions, its final revision, and declared it every Israelite’s duty to recite it three times daily. He was on friendly terms with many who were not Jews, and was so warmly devoted to his slave Tabi that when the latter died he mourned for him as for a beloved member of his own family. He loved discussing the sense of single portions of the Bible with other scholars, and made many fine expositions of the text. With the words of Deut. xiii. 18 he associated the lesson: “So long as thou thyself art merciful, God will also be merciful to thee.” Gamaliel died before the insurrections under Trajan had brought fresh unrest into Palestine. At his funeral obsequies the celebrated proselyte Aquila (Akylas Onkelos), reviving an ancient custom, burned costly materials to the value of seventy minae. Gamaliel himself had given directions that his body was to be wrapped in the simplest possible shroud. By this he wished to check the extravagance which had become associated with arrangements for the disposal of the dead, and his end was attained; for his example became the rule, and it also became the custom to commemorate him in the words of consolation addressed to the mourners (Kethub. 8b). Gamaliel’s son, Simon, long after his father’s death, and after the persecutions under Hadrian, inherited his office, which thenceforward his descendants handed on from father to son.
3.GamalielIII., son of Jehuda I. the redactor of the Mishna, and his successor asNasi(patriarch). The redaction of the Mishna was completed under him, and some of his sayings are incorporated therein (Aboth ii. 2-4). One of these runs as follows: “Beware of those in power, for they permit men to approach them only for their own uses; they behave as friends when it is for their advantage, but they do not stand by a man when he is in need.” Evidently this was directed against the self-seeking of the Roman government. Gamaliel III. lived during the first half of the 3rd century.
4.GamalielIV., grandson of the above, patriarch in the latter half of the 3rd century: about him very little is known.
5.GamalielV., son and successor of the patriarch Hillel II.: beyond his name nothing is known of him. He lived in the latter half of the 4th century. He is the patriarch Gamaliel whom Jerome mentions in his letter to Pamachius, written in 393.
6.GamalielVI., grandson of the above, the last of the patriarchs, died in 425. With him expired the office, which had already been robbed of its privileges by a decree of the emperors Honorius and Theodosius II. (dated the 17th of October 415). Gamaliel VI. was also a physician, and a celebrated remedy of his is mentioned by his contemporary Marcellus (De Medicamentis, liber 21).
(W. Ba.)
GAMBETTA, LÉON(1838-1882), French statesman, was born at Cahors on the 2nd of April 1838. His father, a Genoese, who had established himself as a grocer and had married a Frenchwoman named Massabie, is said to have been his son’s prototype in vigour and fluency of speech. In his sixteenth year young Gambetta lost by an accident the sight of his left eye, which eventually had to be removed. Notwithstanding this privation, he highly distinguished himself at the public school of Cahors, and in 1857 proceeded to Paris to study law. His southern vehemence gave him great influence among the students of the Quartier Latin, and he was soon known as an inveterate enemy of the imperial government. He was called to the bar in 1859, but, although contributing to a Liberal review, edited by Challemel Lacour, did not make much way until, on the 17th of November 1868, he was selected to defend the journalist Delescluze, prosecuted for having promoted the erection of a monument to the representative Baudin, who was killed in resisting thecoup d’étatof 1851. Gambetta seized his opportunity and assailed both thecoup d’étatand the government with an eloquence of invective which made him immediately famous.
In May 1869 he was returned to the Assembly, both by the first circumscription of Paris and by Marseilles, defeating Hippolyte Carnot for the former constituency and Thiers and Lesseps for the latter. He elected to sit for Marseilles, and lost no opportunity of attacking the Empire in the Assembly. He was at first opposed to the war with Germany, but when satisfied that it had been forced upon France he did not, like some of his colleagues, refuse to vote supplies, but took the patriotic line of supporting the flag. When the news of the disaster at Sedan reached Paris, Gambetta called for strong measures. He himself proclaimed the fall of the emperor at thecorps législatif, and the establishment of a republic at the hôtel de ville. He was one of the first members of the new government of national defence, becoming minister of the interior. He advised his colleagues to leave Paris and conduct the government from some provincial city. This advice was rejected from dread of another revolution in Paris, and a delegation to organize resistance in the provinces was despatched to Tours, but when this was seen to be inefficient Gambetta himself (7th October) quitted Paris in a balloon, and upon arriving at Tours took the supreme direction of affairs as minister of the interior and of war. Aided by M. de Freycinet, then a young officer of engineers, as his assistant secretary of war, he displayed prodigies of energy and intelligence. He speedily organized an army, which might possibly have effected the relief of Paris if Metz had held out, but the surrender of Bazaine brought the army of the crown prince into the field, and success was impossible. After the defeats of the French near Orleans early in December the seat of government had to be transferred to Bordeaux, and when Paris surrendered at the end of January, Gambetta, though resisting and protesting, was compelled to submit to the capitulation concluded with Prince Bismarck. He immediately resigned his office. Elected by nine departments to the National Assembly meeting at Bordeaux (on the 1st of March 1871) he chose to sit for Strassburg, which by the terms of the treaty about to be submitted to the Assembly for ratification was to be ceded to Prussia, and when the treaty was adopted he resigned in protest and retired to Spain.
He returned to France in June, was elected by three departments in July, and commenced an agitation for the definitive establishment of the Republic. On the 5th of November 1871 he established a journal,La République française, which soon became the most influential in France. His orations at public meetings were more effective than those delivered in the Assembly, especially that made at Bordeaux on his return, and that at Grenoble on the 26th of November 1872, in which he spoke of political power having passed to lesnouvelles couches sociales. When Thiers, however, fell from power in May 1873, and a Royalist was placed at the head of the government in the person of Marshal MacMahon, Gambetta gave proof of his statesmanship by unceasingly urging his friends to a moderate course, and by his tact and parliamentary dexterity, no less than by his eloquence, he was mainly instrumental in the voting of the constitution in February 1875. This policy he continued during the early days of the now consolidated Republic, and gave it the appropriate name of “opportunism.” It was not until the 4th of May 1877, when the peril from reactionary intrigues was notorious, and the clerical party had begun a campaign for the restoration of the temporal power of the pope, that he delivered his famous speech denouncing “clericalism” as “the enemy.” On the 16th of May Marshal MacMahon, in order to support the clerical reactionaries, perpetrated his parliamentarycoup d’état, and on the 15th of August Gambetta, in a speech at Lille, gave him the alternative sesoumettre ou se démettre. He then undertook a political campaign to rouse the republican party throughout France, which culminated in a speech at Romans (September 18, 1878) formulating its programme. MacMahon, equally unwilling to resign or to provoke civil war, had no choice but to dismiss his advisers and form a moderate republican ministry under the premiership of Dufaure.
When the resignation of the Dufaure cabinet brought about the abdication of Marshal MacMahon, Gambetta declined to become a candidate for the presidency, but gave his support to Grévy; nor did he attempt to form a ministry, but accepted the office of president of the chamber of deputies (January 1879). This position, which he filled with much ability, did not prevent his occasionally descending from the presidential chair to make speeches, one of which, advocating an amnesty to thecommunards, was especially memorable. Although he really directed the policy of the various ministries, he evidently thought that the time was not ripe for asserting openly his own claims to direct the policy of the Republic, and seemed inclined to observe a neutral attitude as far as possible; but events hurried him on, and early in 1881 he placed himself at the head of a movement for restoringscrutin de liste, or the system by which deputies are returned by the entire department which they represent, so that each elector votes for several representatives at once, in place ofscrutin d’arrondissement, the system of small constituencies, giving one member to each district and one vote to each elector. A bill to re-establishscrutin de listewas passed by the Assembly on 19th May 1881, but rejected by the Senate on the 19th of June.
But this personal rebuff could not alter the fact that in the country his was the name which was on the lips of the voters at the election. His supporters were in a large majority, and on the reassembling of the chamber, the Ferry cabinet quickly resigned. Gambetta was unwillingly entrusted by Grévy on the 14th of November 1881 with the formation of a ministry—known asLe Grand Ministère. He now experienced the Nemesis of his over-cautious system of abstinence from office for fear of compromising his popularity. Every one suspected him of aiming at a dictatorship; attacks, not the less formidable for their injustice, were directed against him from all sides, and his cabinet fell on the 26th of January 1882, after an existence of only sixty-six days. Had he remained in office his declarations leave no doubt that he would have cultivated the British alliance and cooperated with Great Britain in Egypt; and when the Freycinet administration, which succeeded, shrank from that enterprise only to see it undertaken with signal success by England alone, Gambetta’s foresight was quickly justified. His fortunes were presenting a most interesting problem when, on the 31st of December 1882, at his house in Ville d’Avray, near Sèvres, he died by a shot from a revolver which accidentally went off. Then all France awoke to a sense of her obligation to him, and his public funeral on the 6th of January 1883 evoked one of the most overwhelming displays of national sentiment ever witnessed on a similar occasion.
Gambetta rendered France three inestimable services: by preserving her self-respect through the gallantry of the resistance he organized during the German War, by his tact in persuading extreme partisans to accept a moderate Republic, and by his energy in overcoming the usurpation attempted by the advisers of Marshal MacMahon. His death, at the early age of forty-four, cut short a career which had given promise of still greater things, for he had real statesmanship in his conceptions of the future of his country, and he had an eloquence which would have been potent in the education of his supporters. The romance of his life was his connexion with Léonie Léon (d. 1906), the full details of which were not known to the public till her death. This lady, with whom Gambetta fell in love in 1871, was the daughter of a French artillery officer. She became his mistress, and theliaisonlasted till he died. Gambetta himself constantly urged her to marry him during this period, but she always refused, fearing to compromise his career; she remained, however, his confidante and intimate adviser in all his political plans. It is understood that at last she had just consented to become his wife, and the date of the marriage had been fixed, when the accident which caused his death occurred in her presence. Contradictory accounts have indeed been given as to this fatal episode, but that it was accidental, and not suicide, is certain. On Gambetta the influence of Léonie was absorbing, both as lover and as politician, and the correspondence which has been published shows how much he depended upon her. But in various matters of detail the serious student of political history must be cautious in accepting her later recollections, some of which have been embodied in the writings of M. Francis Laur, such as that an actual interview took place in 1878 between Gambetta and Bismarck. That Gambetta after 1875 felt strongly that the relations between France and Germany might be improved, and that he made it his object, by travelling incognito, to become better acquainted with Germany and the adjoining states, may be accepted, but M. Laur appears to have exaggerated the extent to which any actual negotiations took place. On the other hand, the increased knowledge of Gambetta’s attitude towards European politics which later information has supplied confirms the view that in him France lost prematurely a master mind, whom she could ill spare. In April 1905 a monument by Dalou to his memory at Bordeaux was unveiled by President Loubet.
Gambetta’sDiscours et plaidoyers politiqueswere published by J. Reinach in 11 vols. (Paris, 1881-1886); hisDépêches, circulaires, décrets... in 2 vols. (Paris, 1886-1891). Many biographies have appeared. The principal are J. Reinach,Léon Gambetta(1884),Gambetta orateur(1884) andLe Ministère Gambetta, histoire et doctrine(1884); Neucastel,Gambetta, sa vie, et ses idées politiques(1885); J. Hanlon,Gambetta(London, 1881); Dr Laborde,Léon Gambetta biographie psychologique(1898); P.B. Gheusi, Gambetta,Life and Letters(Eng. trans. by V.M. Montagu, 1910). See also G. Hanotaux,Histoire de la France contemporaine(1903, &c.). F. Laur’sLe Cœur de Gambetta(1907, Eng. trans., 1908) contains the correspondence with Léonie Léon; see also his articles on “Gambetta and Bismarck” inThe Timesof August 17 and 19, 1907, with the correspondence arising from them.
Gambetta’sDiscours et plaidoyers politiqueswere published by J. Reinach in 11 vols. (Paris, 1881-1886); hisDépêches, circulaires, décrets... in 2 vols. (Paris, 1886-1891). Many biographies have appeared. The principal are J. Reinach,Léon Gambetta(1884),Gambetta orateur(1884) andLe Ministère Gambetta, histoire et doctrine(1884); Neucastel,Gambetta, sa vie, et ses idées politiques(1885); J. Hanlon,Gambetta(London, 1881); Dr Laborde,Léon Gambetta biographie psychologique(1898); P.B. Gheusi, Gambetta,Life and Letters(Eng. trans. by V.M. Montagu, 1910). See also G. Hanotaux,Histoire de la France contemporaine(1903, &c.). F. Laur’sLe Cœur de Gambetta(1907, Eng. trans., 1908) contains the correspondence with Léonie Léon; see also his articles on “Gambetta and Bismarck” inThe Timesof August 17 and 19, 1907, with the correspondence arising from them.
(H. Ch.)
GAMBIA,an important river of West Africa, and the only river of Africa navigable by ocean-going boats at all seasons for over 200 m. from its mouth. It rises in about 11° 25′ N. and 12° 15′ W., within 150 m. of the sea on the north-eastern escarpment of the Futa Jallon highlands, the massif where also rise the head-streams of the Senegal and some of the Niger tributaries, besides the Rio Grande and many other rivers flowing direct to the Gulf of Guinea. The Gambia, especially in its lower course, is very serpentine, and although the distance from the source to the mouth of the river is little more than 300 m. in a direct line, the total length of the stream is about 1000 m. It flows first N.N.E., receiving many left-hand tributaries, but about 12° 35′ N. takes a sharp bend N.W. and maintains this direction until it leaves the fertile and hilly region of Bondu. The descent to the lower district is marked by the Barraconda rapids, formed by a ledge of rock stretching across the river. Between 30 and 50 m. above the falls the Gambia is joined by two considerable affluents, the Nieriko from the north and the Kuluntu or Grey river from the south. From the Barraconda rapids to the Atlantic the Gambia has a course of about 350 m. Throughout this distance the waters are tidal, and the river is navigable all the year round by boats drawing 6 ft. of water. At Yarbatenda, a few miles below Barraconda, the river has a breadth, even at the dry season, of over 300 ft., with a depth of 13 to 20 ft. From the falls to McCarthy’s Island, a distance of 200 m., the river valley, which here presents a park-like appearance, is enclosed by low rocky hills of volcanic character. For 50 m. below the island, where the stream is about 800 yds. wide, the banks of the river are steep and thickly wooded. They then become low and are fringed with mangrove swamps. From Devil’s Point, a sharp promontory on the north bank—up to which place the water is salt—the river widens considerably and enters the Atlantic, in about 13½° N. and 16½° W., by a broad estuary. Near the mouth of the river on the south side is St Mary’s Island (3½ m. long by 1½ broad), and opposite on the north bank is Barra Point, the river being here contracted to 2½ m. Eighteen miles lower down the distance from shore to shore is 27 m. There is a sand-bar at the entrance to the river, but at the lowest state of the tide there are 26 ft. of water over the bar. The Gambia is in flood from November to June, when the Barraconda rapids are navigable by small boats. Above the rapids the stream is navigable for 160 m. Politically the Gambia is divided between Great Britain and France—Britain possessing both banks of the river up to, but not including, Yarbatenda.
The Gambia was one of the rivers passed by Hanno the Carthaginian in his famous voyage along the west coast of Africa. It was known to Ptolemy and the Arabian geographers, and was at one time supposed to be a mouth of the Nile, and, later (18th century), a branch of the Niger. It was possibly visited by Genoese navigators in 1291, and was certainly discovered by the Portuguesec.1446, but was first explored for any distance from its mouth (1455) by the Venetian Alvise Cadamosto(q.v.), who published an account of his travels at Vicenza in 1507 (La Prima Navigazione per l’Oceano alle terre de’ Negri della Bassa Ethiopia). Afterwards the Gambia became a starting-place for explorers of the interior, among them Mungo Park, who began both his journeys (1795 and 1805) from this river. It was not until 1818 that the sources of the Gambia were reached, the discovery being made by a Frenchman, Gaspard Mollien, who had travelled by way of the Senegal and Bondu. The middle course of the river was explored in 1851 by R.G. MacDonnell, then governor of the Gambia colony, and in 1881 Dr V.S. Gouldsbury also navigated its middle course. No native craft of any kind was seen above Barraconda. The more correct name of the river is Gambra, and it is so called in old books of travel.
See Mungo Park’sTravels(London, 1799); G. Mollien,Travels ... to the Sources of the Senegal and Gambia ..., edited by T.E. Bowdich (London, 1820); the account of Dr Gouldsbury’s journey in the Blue Book C 3065 (1881); also under the country heading below.
See Mungo Park’sTravels(London, 1799); G. Mollien,Travels ... to the Sources of the Senegal and Gambia ..., edited by T.E. Bowdich (London, 1820); the account of Dr Gouldsbury’s journey in the Blue Book C 3065 (1881); also under the country heading below.
GAMBIA,the most northerly of the British West African dependencies. It consists of a stretch of land on both sides of the lower Gambia. The colony, with the protectorate dependent upon it, has an area of about 4000 sq. m. and a population officially estimated (1907) at 163,000. The colony proper (including St Mary’s Island, British Kommbo, the Ceded Mile, McCarthy’s Island and other islets) has an area of about 69 sq. m. The protectorate consists of a strip of land extending ten kilometres (about 6 m.) on each side of the river to a distance of about 200 m. in a direct line from the sea. The land outside these limits is French. Within the protectorate are various petty kingdoms, such as Barra, to the north of the Gambia, and Kommbo, to the south. The breadth of the colony near the coast is somewhat greater than it is higher up. The greatest breadth is 39 m.
Physical Features, Fauna and Flora.—The colony, as its name implies, derives its character and value from the river Gambia (q.v.), which is navigable throughout and beyond the limits of the colony, while large ocean-going ships can always cross the bar at its mouth and enter the port of Bathurst. Away from the swamps by the river banks, the country is largely “bush.” The region above McCarthy’s Island is hilly. Much of the land is cleared for cultivation. The fauna includes lions, leopards, several kinds of deer, monkeys, bush-cow and wild boar. Hippopotami are found in the upper part of the river, and crocodiles abound in the creeks. The birds most common are bush-fowl, bustards, guinea-fowl, quail, pigeon and sand-grouse. Bees are very numerous in parts of the country. The flora resembles that of West Africa generally, the mangrove being common. Mahogany and rosewood (Pterocarpus erinaceus) trees are found, though not in large numbers, and the rubber-vine and oil-palm are also comparatively scarce. There are many varieties of fern. The cassava (manioca) and indigo plants are indigenous.Climate.—The climate during the dry season (November-June) is the best on the British West African coast, and the Gambia is then considered fairly healthy. Measures for the extermination of the malarial mosquito are carried on with good effect. The mean temperature at Bathurst is 77° F., the shade minimum being 56° and the solar maximum 165°. Upriver the variation in temperature is even greater than at Bathurst, from 50° in the morning to 100°-104° at 3P.M.being common at McCarthy’s Isle. The average rainfall is about 50 in. a year, but save for showers in May and June there is rarely any rain except between July and October. The first instance of rain in December in twenty-six years was recorded in 1906. The dry east wind known as the harmattan blows intermittently from December to March.
Physical Features, Fauna and Flora.—The colony, as its name implies, derives its character and value from the river Gambia (q.v.), which is navigable throughout and beyond the limits of the colony, while large ocean-going ships can always cross the bar at its mouth and enter the port of Bathurst. Away from the swamps by the river banks, the country is largely “bush.” The region above McCarthy’s Island is hilly. Much of the land is cleared for cultivation. The fauna includes lions, leopards, several kinds of deer, monkeys, bush-cow and wild boar. Hippopotami are found in the upper part of the river, and crocodiles abound in the creeks. The birds most common are bush-fowl, bustards, guinea-fowl, quail, pigeon and sand-grouse. Bees are very numerous in parts of the country. The flora resembles that of West Africa generally, the mangrove being common. Mahogany and rosewood (Pterocarpus erinaceus) trees are found, though not in large numbers, and the rubber-vine and oil-palm are also comparatively scarce. There are many varieties of fern. The cassava (manioca) and indigo plants are indigenous.
Climate.—The climate during the dry season (November-June) is the best on the British West African coast, and the Gambia is then considered fairly healthy. Measures for the extermination of the malarial mosquito are carried on with good effect. The mean temperature at Bathurst is 77° F., the shade minimum being 56° and the solar maximum 165°. Upriver the variation in temperature is even greater than at Bathurst, from 50° in the morning to 100°-104° at 3P.M.being common at McCarthy’s Isle. The average rainfall is about 50 in. a year, but save for showers in May and June there is rarely any rain except between July and October. The first instance of rain in December in twenty-six years was recorded in 1906. The dry east wind known as the harmattan blows intermittently from December to March.
Inhabitants.—The inhabitants, who are both thrifty and industrious, are almost entirely of Negro or Negroid race, the chief tribes represented being the Mandingo (q.v.), the Jolof and the Jola. Numbers of Fula (q.v.) are also settled in the country. Fully four-fifths of the natives are Mahommedans. The few European residents are officials, traders or missionaries.
Towns and Trade.—Bathurst, pop. about 8000, the chief town of the colony, in 13° 24′ N., 16° 36′ W., is built on St Mary’s Island, which lies at the mouth of the river near its south bank and is connected with the mainland by a bridge across Oyster Creek. It was founded in 1816 and is named after the 3rd earl Bathurst, secretary of state for the colonies from 1812 to 1827. Bathurst is a fairly well-built town, the chief material employed being red sandstone. It lies about 12 to 14 ft. above the level of the river. The principal buildings face the sea, and include Government House, barracks, a well-appointed hospital, founded by Sir R.G. MacDonnell (administrator, 1847-1852), and various churches. The market-place is shaded by a fine avenue of bombax and other wide-spreading trees. There are no other towns of any size in the Gambia. A trading station called Georgetown is situated on McCarthy’s Island, so named after Sir Charles McCarthy, the governor of Sierra Leone, who in 1824 was captured and beheaded by the Ashanti at the battle of Essamako. Albreda, a small port on the north bank of the river, of some historic interest (see below), is in the Barra district.