At dium between the fhell of a pomgranate and the peel of an orange; fofter than the one, and lefs tough than the other. This coat is remarkably fet round with a variety of small regular knobs or excrefcences, within which, or rather within the whole coat, is a foft white pulp, sweet and very pleafant, greatly refembling a cuftard in colour and tafte; whence probably it had this name given it by the English. In the middle are a few black ftones, or kernels, but no core, the whole infide befides confifting of pulp. The custard-tree is of the fize of a quince-tree, with long, flender, and thick-fet branches, fpreading all round. the extremity of these the fruit grows, upon a stalk ten inches long, flender and tough, hanging down in a beautiful manner with the weight of the fruit. As to the papa, it is found in most of the countries within the tropics; and fo indeed is the cuftard-apple. It is a fruit of the fize of a water-melon, hollow as that, and having a strong refemblance to it in fhape and colour, both internally and externally; but, inftead of the flat kernels of the melon, the papas have a handful of small blackish feeds like pepper-corns, and, like thefe, hot and pungent to the tongue. When ripe, the fruit is foft, fweet, and luscious, but hard and unfavoury before it has arrived at full maturity; though even then it fupplies, when boiled, the place of turnips, or other vegetables, with beef or pork, and is much efteemed by failors for this purpose. The tree bearing this fruit is about ten or twelve feet high, the trunk at the bottom about two feet in diameter, and leffening gradually to the top. It has no fmall branches, but leaves shooting out immediately by a ftalk from the body of the tree, amidit which the fruit grows. The leaves are ferrated, and of an oval form. The chief animals bred in this ifland are cows, horfes, affes, mules, deer, hogs, goats, and black-faced monkies with long tails. Of the feathered kind there are found cocks, hens, ducks, Guinea hens, both tame and wild, paroquets, parrots, pigeons, turtle doves, crab-catchers, curlieus, and a variety of others, valuable only for their plumage. Such is the account of thefe iflands given by the authors the reader will find cited in the margin; to which we may add what Jarric afirms, that fo numerous are horfes in the ifland of St. Jago, that upwards of three thoufand, fit for a campaign, can be raifed there. The fame writer adds, that, in all the Cape de Verd islands, the padres officiate as phyficians, furgeons, and apothecaries, uniting in their own perfons the cure of foul and body; Canary body; but their medical fkill confifts chiefly in magic, forcery, and a correfpondence with the devil, or rather in fraud, hypocrify, and impofture . WITHOUT entering upon a difpute of little confequence to our readers, whether the Canary islands be the fame which the ancients called the Fortunate iflands, and are particularly defcribed by Ptolemy and the Elder Pliny, we shall think it fufficient that we give the reader a juft account of them: thefe are fpeculative points, for which he may confult our Ancient History, and the Greek and Latin geographers; though we cannot avoid obferving, that, if Ptolemy defcribes the fame islands, he has certainly placed them near eleven degrees too near the equinoctial, under the 16th degree; from which circumflance fome geographers have thought that the Cape de Verd iflands had formerly bore this appellation. We are now well affured by the most accurate observations, that the Canary islands lie between 27 degrees 10 minutes and 29 degrees 50 minutes north latitude, and between the 12th and 17th degrees 50 minutes longitude west from London. Thevet aflirms, that, by the Africans in general, they were called Elbard; and Gomara afferts, that they had the name Canary given by the Spaniards, on account of the number of large dogs which they found on one of these islands. Hernius, however, and Dr. Harris agree, that the word Canary is not borrowed from the Latin term for that animal, according to Pliny, nor from the number of dogs with which they abound, as Gomara conjectures; but from the Canaanites, or Phoenicians, who, as Scylax Cariandenus obferves, ufed to fail often from the continent to Carne, which others think is only a contraction of Canary. But thefe are all conjectures, which ferve only to fhew the erudition, the ingenuity, and talents of hiftorians for hypothefes, which add nothing to truth, or the improvement of their readers (A). Navig Holland, A. 1598, 99. Sanut. lib. vii. Purch. lib. vii. cap. 12. Linfch. cap. 95. Thevet. Cofm lib. iii. Davity, tom. v. p. 627. La Croix, p. iv. p. 630, & feq. Jarric, lib. v. (A) It may deferve notice, that Abulfeda, Ulug Beg, or Beigh, and other Arabian geo. graphers, have called thefe iflands Jazaia Alcha Adal, or Happy Islands. Nor Nor are writers lefs divided with respect to their number, than about their fituation and name. Gramaye afferts, that fix were only known to Ptolemy and Pliny; and that, even in this number the island of Madeira was included; whereas modern travellers and geographers reckon no lefs, than twelve, exclufive of Madeira; but of these seven only have been thought to merit any defcription. These are Lancerota, Fuerte Ventura, Gran-Canaria, Ferro, Palma, Teneriffe, and Gomara. To thefe Purchas adds certain fmall islands, by the names of Lobos, Roca, Graciofa, Santa Clara, Allegrança, and Inferno; the proper names of which, according to Sanutus, are Vecchio Marino, Sainte Claire, Rocho, Graciofa, and Alegrança; omitting likewife two of the number mentioned by the former compiler. Whether or not the Canaries were known in the days of Ptolemy and Pliny, certain we are, that, before the year 1402, or, according to fome Spanifh hiftorians, 1405, the moderns were entirely ignorant of them, though they were peopled by Chriftians, and even catholics, who muft have had fome communication with Europe, by their acknowleging the fupremacy of the fee of Rome, as it is allowed on all hands they did. By what channel this intercourse was carried on, or how Chriftianity came to be planted there, history is entirely filent. This, however, is affirmed, that John king of Caftile having invefted a Frenchman, called de Betancourt, with the property of these islands, which had been seen by fome mariners, if he could conquer them; this adventurer immediately fet to work in providing for his expedition. He had the good fortune to make himself mafter of Lancerota, with its citadel, and Fuerte Ventura, after florming a convent of the order of St. Francis. His right he made over, according to Gramaye, five years afterwards to Diego Herrera, by whom it was that Fuerte Ventura was conquered. Sanutus fays, that Betancourt undertook this expedition by the permiffion of the queen of Caftile; and that he dying, the property of the two iflands was fold by his heirs to Herrera, or rather to the infant Don Henry, who fent Herrera to make farther conquefts, in which he fucceeded, by reducing Ferro and Gomara. In procefs of time, the other iflands were conquered in the fame manner; but it would not be worth while to dwell upon a subject so variously related. This much only is certain, that in the peace between Ferdinand of Caftile and Alphonfo V. of Portugal, after a bloody war in which thefe monarchs had been en gaged, gaged, it was ftipulated, that they fhould reciprocally renounce all pretenfions prior to the date of this treaty; that henceforward the Canary islands should infeparably belong to the crown of Caftile; and that, as an equivalent, the commerce and navigation of Guinea fhould belong to Portugal, exclufive of the Caftilians. This was the treaty figned on the 4th of November, 1479, at Al cobazas $. The Canary islands lie eaft from the coaft of Biledulgerid, between the 27th deg. 10 min. and the 29th deg. 50 min. north latitude, and between the 12th and 17th, 50 min. longitude weft from London. La Croix, however, alters this geography, infifting, that they include all that space between the 26th deg. 30 min. and 29th deg. 30 min. north latitude, oppofite to Cape Nun, about feventy or eighty leagues from the Barbary coaft, and about nine or ten leagues diftant from each other. If we attend to the nature of these islands, we shall find that, their situation being fo near the tropic of Cancer, the climate must neceffarily be hot, as they lie greatly exposed to the ftrongest heat of the fun, as is fufficiently proved by their early harvefts, which happen generally in the months of March and April. The foil, indeed, is every where admirably rich and fruitful, but particularly famous for the production of that grape of which the Canary wine, fo much esteemed all over Europe, is made, and exported in fuch large quantities. According to Sanutus, there was formerly but one island fo remarkably fertile either in corn or wine, though, at prefent, they all produce every neceffary of life. Here wheat, barley, honey, wax, fugar-canes, oranges, figs, pomgranates, citrons, peaches, pine-apples, with a variety of other fruits, fpring up in the utmost abundance and perfection. Here alfo grows a large quantity of a plant called oriffel, which feveral botanifts affirm to be the phalaris of Diofcorides (B), and which Delechamp, upon Pliny, calls the fecond genus of the barba, or, more properly, grain of Theophraftus. This plant they cultivate with great care, for the nourishment of thofe little birds fo valuable for their beautiful plumage and sweet voices, • Purch. Pilg. lib. vii. cap. 12. Cadamoft, lib. vii, Sanut. lib. iii. Gramaye Afrique, lib. ix. cap. 3. (B) This is a genus of the triandria-dygynia, with a bivalve corolla, and only a fingle feed contained in the corolla, in which it perfectly resembles the orifell. well well known by the name of Canary birds. In these islands there is likewife produced a great quantity of a gum or refin, called bre, which is an exfudation from the pine by the means of fire; different, however, from the method practifed in Norway, and the northern countries of Europe. Nor are the Canary islands lefs abundantly supplied with cattle, fuch as cows, fheep, goats, and wild affes, which run about the mountains in droves; and perhaps their most valuable article of commerce are the fkins and hides, in which they deal largely with all the maritime European powers. Their woods are ftored with a variety of the feathered kind, and the furrounding feas ftocked with fhoals of fish, particularly fturgeon, which forms the chief sustenance of the poor. All the islands have ditches and marshes, filled with fea water at fpring-tides, and afterwards evaporated by the heat of the fun, till a fine feafalt is formed. As to the original inhabitants of these islands, there is a variety of opinions; but what is advanced by the greater number of writers as the most probable, is the following, though it likewife labours under difficulties which are too obvious to require a formal refutation. They are faid to have been exiles from Africa, whom the Romans banished hither, after having cut out their tongues, for having blafphemed against their gods, or the Roman divinities; it is, however confeffed, by persons perfectly acquainted with their language, that it has not the leaft refemblance or affinity either to the Latin or Arabic; nor indeed would it be eafy to conceive how parents, deprived of the organ of fpeech, fhould be able to tranfmit the language to pofterity; for writing, and the orthography, could never teach the found of the elements, or be able to annex any certain and fixed ideas to the different characters. Nicols fays, that all the defcendents of the ancient inhabitants speak the fame language; which, however, is diverfified into a variety of different dialects. They were clothed, fays the fame author, in hides and skins, without any particular cut or fashion. Amidft caves and rocks, their only dwellings, they lived in the moft intimate friendship and happy union. Their language varied but little from what is now spoken by their pofterity. Their food was the flesh of horned cattle, dogs, and the milk of goats. They made also a kind of pudding, or bread, of milk and ground or triturated corn, which they called goffia, now common in the island under the MOD. VOL. XII. C fame |
