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PRINCIPE ISLAND
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PRINCIPE See also:ISLAND lies 90 M. N.E. of St See also: Scient. t. xv. (Paris, 1907) ; A. See also:Pinto de See also:Miranda Guedes, " Viacao em S Thome " in B.S.G. Lisboa (1902) pp. 299-357; E. de See also:Campos 1 According to Aug. See also:Chevalier (in O. Occidenle, May loth, 1910) the See also:population of St Thomas and Principe combined in Dec. 1909 was 68,221, the " natives " being given at over 23,000. " S. Thome " B.S.G. Lisboa (1908), pp. 113-134; W. A. Cadbury, Labour in Portuguese See also:West See also:Africa (2nd ed., See also:London, 191o); A ilha de S Thome (Lisbon, 19o7); The See also:Boa Entrada Plantations (See also:Edinburgh, 19o7); and See also:British Consular reports. ST THOMAS, an island in the Danish West Indies. It belongs to the Virgin Island See also:group, and lies 40 M. E. of See also:Porto Rico, in 18° 20' N. and 64° 55' W. Pop. (1901) 11,012, mostly negroes. It is 13 m See also:long, varies in width from I m. to 4 M. and has an area of 33 M. It consists of a single See also:mountain See also:ridge, the peaks of a submerged range, culminating in West Mountain (1555 ft.). St Thomas stands on a prolongation of the range which supports the Greater See also:Antilles, and is built up of much disintegrated eruptive See also:rock (See also:porphyry and See also:granite). The See also:climate is tropical, varying in temperature between 70° F. and 8o° F., modified, however, by the See also:sea breezes. The See also:average yearly rainfall is about 45 in., earthquakes are not unknown, and hurricanes at times sweep over the island. The only See also:town, See also:Charlotte Amalie (pop. 8540), lies in the centre of the S See also:coast, at the See also:head of one of the finest harbours in the West Indies. This consists of an almost See also:land-locked See also:basin, about a m. across, varying in See also:depth from 27 to 36 It., and entered by a narrow channel only 300 yds. wide. It is equipped with a floating See also:dock, which can accommodate See also:ships up to 3000 tons, a patent slip for smaller vessels and a repairing yard. Danish is the See also:official See also:language, but See also:English predominates, while See also:French, See also:Spanish and Dutch are also spoken. St Thomas was once the greatest distributing centre in the West Indies, but the introduction of steamships and cables led to its decline, and the removal of the Royal See also:Mail Steamship See also:Company's headquarters to See also:Barbados in 1885 was the final See also:blow. The See also:production of See also:sugar, which decayed gradually after the abolition of See also:slavery, is practically See also:extinct. Aloes, fibrous See also:plants and See also:fruit are grown. St Thomas is the seat of See also:government for the Danish West Indies (St Thomas, St See also: After their departure in 1667 the island came into the hands of the British, and it was held by them till 1671, when it passed into the hands of the Danish West See also:India Company, which was succeeded in 1685 by the so-called See also:Brandenburg Company, the shareholders of which were mainly Dutch. The See also: In the See also:middle ages it was a fortified town belonging to the bishops of Liege, and See also: He owed a See also:good See also:deal to Theophile Gautier, but he carried ornateness to a See also:pitch far beyond Gautier's. Saint-Victor died in Paris on the 9th of July 1881. See also Deljant, Paul de Saint-Victor (1887). ST See also:VINCENT, JOHN JERVIS, See also:EARL OF (1735-1823), British See also:admiral, was the second son of Swynfen Jervis, See also:solicitor to the See also:admiralty, and treasurer of See also:Greenwich See also:hospital. He was born at Meaford in See also:Staffordshire on the 9th of See also:January 1735, and entered the See also:navy on the 4th of January 1749. He became See also:lieutenant on the 19th of See also:February 1755, and served in that See also:rank till 1759, taking part in the See also:conquest of See also:Quebec. He was made See also:commander of the " See also:Scorpion " See also:sloop in 1759, and See also:post-See also:captain in 176o. During the See also:peace he commanded the " Alarm " 32 in the Mediterranean, and when he was put on half pay he travelled widely in See also:Europe, taking professional notes everywhere. While the See also:War of See also:American See also:Independence lasted, he commanded the " Fourroyant " (8o) in the Channel, taking part in the See also:battle of See also:Ushant on the 27th of July 1778 (see See also:KEPPEL, See also:VISCOUNT) and in the various reliefs of See also:Gibraltar. His most See also:signal service was the See also:capture of the French " Pegase " (74) after a long See also:chase on the 19th of See also:April 1782, for which he was made K.B. In 1783 he entered parliament as member for See also:Launceston, and in the general See also:election of 1784 as member for See also:Yarmouth. In politics he was a strong Whig. On the 24th of See also:September 1787 he attained See also:flag rank, and was promoted See also:vice-admiral in 1793. From 1793 till 1795 he was in the West Indies co-operating with the See also:army in the conquest' of the French islands. On his return he was promoted admiral. In See also:November 1.795 he took command in the Mediterranean, where he maintained the See also:blockade of See also:Toulon, and aided the See also:allies of Great See also:Britain in See also:Italy. But in 1796 a great See also:change was produced by the progress of the French armies on See also:shore and the See also:alliance of See also:Spain with See also:France. The occupation of Italy by the French armies closed all the ports to his ships, and See also:Malta was not yet in the See also:possession of Great Britain. Then the addition of the Spanish See also:fleet to the French altered the See also:balance of strength in the Mediterranean. The Spaniards were very inefficient, and Jervis would have held his ground, if one of his subordinates had not taken the extraordinary course of returning to See also:England, because he thought that the dangerous See also:state of the country required that all its forces should be concentrated at See also:home. He was therefore obliged to See also:act on the instructions sent to him and to retire to the See also:Atlantic, with-See also:drawing the garrisons from See also:Corsica and other places. His headquarters were now on the coast of See also:Portugal, and his chief See also:duty was to See also:watch the Spanish fleet at See also:Cadiz. On the 14th of February 1797 he gained a most See also:complete victory against heavy odds (see ST VINCENT, BATTLE OF). The determination to fight, and the admirable discipline of his See also:squadron, which was very largely the fruit of his own care in preparation, See also:supply the best See also:proof that he was a commander of a high See also:order. For this victory, which came at a very critical See also:time, he was made an earl and was granted a See also:pension of 3000. His qualities as a disciplinarian were soon to be put to a severe test. In 1797 the grievances of the sailors, which were of old See also:standing, and had led to many mutinies of single ships, came to a head in the great general mutinies at Spithead and the See also:Nore. Similar movements took See also:place on the coast of See also:Ireland and at the Cape of Good See also:Hope (see the See also:article NAVY: See also:History). The spirit spread to the fleet under St Vincent, and there was an undoubted danger that some outbreak would take place in his command. The peril was averted by his foresight and severity. He had always taken great care of the See also:health of his men, and was as strict with the See also:officers as with sailors. It must in See also:justice be added that he was peculiarly fitted for the work. We have ample See also:evidence from his contemporaries that he found a See also:pleasure in insulting officers whom he disliked, as well as in See also:hanging and flogging those of his men who offended him. He carried his strictness with his officers to an extent which aroused the actual hatred of many among them, and exasperated See also:Sir John Orde (1751-1824) into challenging him to fight a See also:duel. Yet he cannot be denied the See also:honour of having raised the discipline of the navy to a higher level than it had reached before; he was always ready to promote good officers, and the efficiency of the squadron with which See also:Nelson won the battle of the See also:Nile was largely due to him. His health See also:broke down under the See also:strain of long cruising, and in See also:June 1799 he resigned his command. When the earl's health was restored in the following year he took the command of the Channel fleet, into which he introduced his own rigid See also:system of discipline to the See also:bitter anger of the captains. But his method was fully justified by the fact that he was able to maintain the blockade of See also:Brest for 121 days with his fleet. In 180, he became first See also:lord and held the See also:office till See also:Pitt returned to See also:power in 1803. His See also:administration is famous in the history of the navy, for he now applied himself to the very necessary task of reforming the corruptions of the See also:dockyards. Naturally he was fiercely attacked in and out of parliament. His See also:peremptory See also:character led him to do the right thing with the maximum of dictation at See also:Whitehall as on the See also:quarter-See also:deck of his See also:flagship. He also gave an opening to his critics by devoting himself so wholly to the reform of the dockyards that he neglected the preparation of the fleet for war. He would not recognize the possibility that the peace of See also:Amiens would not last. Pitt made himself the See also:mouthpiece of St Vincent's enemies, mainly because he considered him as a dangerous member of the party which was weakening the position of England in the See also:face of See also:Napoleon. When Pitt's second See also:ministry was formed in 1803, St Vincent refused to take the command of the Channel fleet at his See also:request. After Pitt's death he resumed the duty with the temporary rank of admiral of the fleet in 18o6, but held it only till the following year. After 18,o he retired to his See also:house at Rochetts in See also:Essex. The rank of admiral of the fleet was conferred on him in 1821 on the See also:coronation of See also:George IV., and he died on the 14th of See also: (D. H.)
ST VINCENT, one of the British Windward Islands in the West Indies, lying about 13° 15' N., 61° Io' W., west of Barbados and See also:south of St See also:Lucia. It is about 18 m. long by 11 in extreme width, and has an area of 140 sq. m. A range of volcanic hills forms the backbone of the island; their slopes and spurs are beautifully wooded, and the valleys between the spurs are fertile and picturesque. The culminating point is the See also:volcano called the Soufriere (3500 ft.) in the See also:north, the disastrous eruption of which in May 1902 devastated the most fertile portion of the island, a comparatively level See also:tract lying to the north, called the Carib Country (see below). The climate of St Vincent is fairly healthy and in See also:winter very pleasant; the average See also:annual rainfall exceeds too in., and the temperature ranges from 88° F. in See also:August to 66° in See also:December and January. Hurricanes are not uncommon.
The See also:capital of the island is See also:Kingstown, beautifully situated on the south-west coast near the See also:foot of See also:Mount St See also:Andrew (2600 ft.).
The population of the island in 1891 was 41,054 (2445 See also: Other articles of export are cacao, cotton, spices, fruit, vegetables, live stock and poultry. The average annual value of exports in 1896–1906 was £63,157 (in 1903–1904, the year following that of the great eruption, it was £38,174, and in 1905–1906 it was £53,078) and of imports, £80,467. In 1905–1906 the value of imports from the United See also:Kingdom was £25,471, and that of exports to the United Kingdom £24,405.
The See also:present constitution See also:dates from 1877, when the legislative council, consisting of four official and four nominated unofficial members, was formed. In 1899 an important See also:scheme was entered upon, by means of a See also: In 1762, however, General Monckton captured the island; the treaty of Paris in 1763 confirmed the British possession, and settlement proceeded in spite of the refusal of the Caribs to admit British See also:sovereignty. Recourse was had to arms, and in 1773 a treaty was concluded with them, when they were granted lands in the north of the island as a reserve. In 1779 the island was surrendered to the French, but it was restored to Britain by the treaty of See also:Versailles (1783). In 1795 the Caribs See also:rose, assisted by the French, and were only put down after considerable fighting by Sir See also:Ralph See also:Abercromby in 1796, after which the majority of them were deported. The emancipation of See also:negro slaves in the island took place in 1838; in 1846 the first Portuguese labourers were introduced, and in 1861 the first East Indian coolies. St Vincent suffered from a terrific See also:hurricane in 178c, and the Soufriere was in eruption in 1821. Severe See also:distress was occasioned by the hurricane of the 11th of September 1898, from which the island had not recovered when it was visited by the eruption of the Soufriere in 1902. This eruption was synchronous with that of Mont Pele in See also:Martinique (q.v.). There had been signs of activity, since February 1901, but the most serious eruption took place on the 6th/7th of May 1902. There were earthquakes in the following July, and further eruptions on the 3rd of September and the 15th of See also:October, and on the 22nd of March 1903. Many sugar and arrowroot plantations were totally destroyed, and the loss of life was estimated at 2000. A See also:Mansion House Fund was at once started in London for the See also:relief of the sufferers, and subscriptions were sent from all parts of the civilized See also:world, and notably from the United States. ST VINCENT, BATTLE OF, fought on the 14th of February 1797, between the British and Spanish fleets, the most famous and important of many encounters which have taken place at the same spot. The battle of 1797 is of See also:peculiar significance in British naval history, not only because it came at a vital moment, but because it first revealed the full capacity of Nelson, which was well known m the navy, to all his countrymen. In the course of 1796 the Spanish government had made the disastrous alliance with the French See also:republic, which reduced its country to the level of a See also:pawn in the See also:game against England. The Spanish fleet, which was in a complete state of neglect, was forced to sea. It consisted of 27 See also:sail of the See also:line under the command of See also:Don Jose de See also:Cordoba—fine ships, but manned in haste by drafts of soldiers, and of landsmen forced on See also:board by the See also:press. Even the flagships had only about eighty sailors each in their crews. Don Jose de Cordoba, who had gone out with no definite aim, was in reality drifting about with his unmanageable ships in two confused divisions separated from one another, in See also:light winds from the W. and W.S.W., at a distance of from 25 to 30 M. S.W. of the Cape. While in this position he was sighted by Sir John Jervis, of whose nearness to himself he was ignorant, and who had sailed from Lisbon to attack him with only 15 sail of the line. Jervis knew the inefficient See also:condition of the Spaniards, and was aware that the general condition of the war called for vigorous exertions. He did not hesitate to give battle in spite of the numerical superiority of his opponent. Six of the Spanish ships were to the south of him, separated by a long See also:interval from the others which were to the south west. The British squadron was formed into a single line ahead, and was steered to pass between the two divisions of the Spaniards. The six vessels were thus cut off. A feeble See also:attempt was made by them to molest the British, but being now to leeward as Jervis passed to the west of them, and being unable to face the rapid and well directed See also:fire to which they were exposed, they sheered off. One only ran down the British line, and passing to the stern of the last See also:ship succeeded in joining the bulk of her fleet to windward. As the British line passed through the See also:gap between the Spanish divisions the ships were tacked in See also:succession to meet the See also:wind-See also: Their incompetence as gunners enabled the " Captain " to assail their flagship, the huge " Santisima See also:Trinidad " (130), with See also:comparative impunity. The " San Josef " (112), and the " San See also:Nicolas " (8o), which fell aboard of one another, were both carried by boarding by the " Captain." Four Spanish ships, the " See also:Salvador del Mundo " and " San Josef " (112), the " San Nicolas " (8o), and the " San Isidro " (74), were taken. The " Santisima Trinidad " is said to have struck, but she was not taken possession of. By about half-past three the Spaniards were fairly beaten. More prizes might have been taken, but Sir John Jervis put a stop to the action to secure the four which had surrendered. The Spaniards were allowed to See also:retreat to Cadiz. Sir John Jervis was made Earl St Vincent (q.v.) for his victory. The battle, which revealed the worthlessness of the Spanish navy, relieved the British government from a load of anxiety, and may be said to have marked the complete predominance of its fleet on the sea. ST See also:VITUS'S See also:DANCE,' or CHOREA, a disorder of the See also:nervous system occurring for the most part in See also:children, and characterized mainly by involuntary jerking movements of the muscles throughout almost the entire See also:body (see See also:NEUROPATHOLOGY). Among the predisposing causes See also:age is important, chorea being essentially an ailment of childhood and particularly during the period of the second dentition between the ages of nine and twelve. It is not often seen in very See also:young children nor after See also:puberty; but there are many exceptions. It is twice as frequent with girls as with boys. Hereditary predisposition to nervous troubles is See also:apt to find expression in this malady, especially if the general health becomes lowered. Of exciting causes strong emotions, such as fright, See also:ill-usage or hardship of any See also:kind, insufficient feeding, overwork or anxiety, are among the most See also:common; while, again, some distant source of irritation, such as teething or intestinal See also:worms, appears capable of giving rise to an attack. It is an occasional but rare complication of pregnancy. The connexion of chorea with See also:rheumatism is now universally recognized, and is shown not merely by its frequent occurrence before, after or during the course of attacks of rheumatic See also:fever in young persons, but even independently of this by the liability of the See also:heart to suffer in a similar way in the two diseases. Poynton and See also:Paine have demonstrated a diplococcus, which they regard as the specific micro-organism of rheumatism, and which has been found in the See also:lymph spaces in the cortex in chorea. An attempt has recently been made to demonstrate the infectious nature of the chorea. The symptoms of St Vitus's dance sometimes develop suddenly as the result of fright, but much more frequently they come on insidiously. They are usually preceded by changes in disposition, the See also:child becoming sad, irritable and emotional, while at the same time the general health is somewhat impaired. The first thing indicative of the disease is a certain awkwardness or fidgetiness of manner together with restlessness. In walking, too, slight dragging of one See also:limb may be noticed. The convulsive See also:muscular movements usually first show themselves in one part, such as an .See also:arm or a See also:leg, and in some instances they may remain localized to that limited extent, while in all cases there is a tendency for the disorderly symptoms to be more marked on one See also:side than on the other. When fully developed the phenomena of the disease are very characteristic. The child when standing or sitting is never still, but is constantly changing the position of the body or limbs or the facial expression in consequence of the sudden and incoordinate action of muscles or See also:groups of them. These symptoms are aggravated when purposive movements are attempted or when the child is watched. Speech is affected both from the incoordinate movements of the See also:tongue and from phonation sometimes taking place during an act of See also:inspiration. The taking of See also:food becomes a See also:matter of difficulty, since much of it is lost in the attempts to convey it to the mouth, while swallowing is also interfered with owing to the, irregular action of the pharyngeal muscles. When the tongue is protruded it comes out in a jerky manner and is immediately withdrawn, the jaws at the same time closing suddenly and sometimes with considerable force. In locomotion the muscles of the limbs act incoordinately and there is a marked alteration of the gait, which is now halting and now leaping, and the child may be tripped by one limb being suddenly jerked in front of the other. In See also:short, the whole muscular system is deranged in its operations, and the See also:term " See also:insanity of the muscles " not inaptly expresses the condition, for they no longer act in See also:harmony or with purpose, but seem, as Trousseau expresses it, each to have a will of its own. The muscles of organic life (involuntary muscles) appear scarcely, 1 This name was originally employed in connexion with those remarkable epidemic outbursts of combined See also:mental and. See also:physical excitement which for a time prevailed among the inhabitants of some parts of See also:Germany in the middle ages. It is stated that sufferers from this dancing See also:mania were wont to resort to the chapels of St Vitus (more than one in See also:Swabia), the saint being believed to possess the power of curing them. The transference of the name to the disease now under See also:consideration was a See also:manifest See also:error, but so closely has the association now become that the See also:original application of the term has been comparatively obscured. if at all, affected in this disease, as, for example, the heart, the rhythmic movements of which are not as a See also:rule impaired. But the heart may suffer in other ways, especially from inflammatory conditions similar to those which attend upon rheumatism and which frequently See also:lay the See also:foundation of permanent heart-disease. In severe cases of St Vitus's dance the child comes to present a distressing See also:appearance, and the physical health declines. Usually, however, there is a remission of the symptoms during See also:sleep. The mental condition of the patient is more or less affected, as shown in emotional tendencies, irritability and a somewhat fatuous expression and bearing, but this change is in general of transient character and ceases with convalescence. This disease occasionally assumes a very acute and aggravated See also:form, in which the disorderly movements are so violent as to render the patient liable to be injured, and to necessitate forcible See also:control of the limbs, or the employment of anaesthetics to produce unconsciousness. Such cases are of very See also:grave character, if, as is common, they are accompanied with sleeplessness, and they may prove rapidly fatal by exhaustion. In the great majority of cases, however, complete recovery is to be anticipated sooner or later, the symptoms usually continuing for from one to two months, or even sometimes much longer. The remedies proposed have been innumerable, but it is doubtful whether any of them has much control over the disease, which under suitable hygienic conditions tends to recover of itself. These conditions, however, are all-important, and embrace the proper feeding of the child with nutritious light See also:diet, the See also:absence of all See also:sources of excitement and annoyance, and the rectification of any causes of irritation and of irregularities in the general health. For a time, and especially if the symptoms are severe, confinement to the house or even to See also:bed may be necessary, but as soon as possible the child should be taken out into the open See also:air and gently exercised by walking. Ruhrah, recognizing the importance of rest, recommends a modified See also:Weir-See also:Mitchell treatment. Of medicinal remedies the resist serviceable appear to be See also:zinc, See also:arsenic and See also:iron, especially the last two, which act as tonics to the system and improve the condition of the blood. In view of the connexion of chorea with rheumatism, Koplik and Dr D. B. Lees recommend salicylate of soda in large doses. Recently See also:ergot, hot packs and mcnobromate of camphor have found See also:advocates, while cessation of the movements has followed. the application of an See also:ether spray to the spine twice daily. As sedatives in cases of sleeplessness, bromide of See also:potassium and See also:chloral are of use. In long-continued cases of the disease much benefit will be obtained by a change of air as well as by the employment of moderate gymnastic exercises. The employment of See also:massage and of See also:electricity is also likely to be beneficial. After recovery the general health of the child should for a long time receive See also:attention, and care should be taken to guard against excitement, excessive study or any exhausting condition, physical or mental, from the fact that the disease is apt to recur, and that other nervous disorders still more serious may be developed from it.
In the rare instances of the acute form of this malady, where the convulsive movements are unceasing and violent, the only See also:measures available are the use of chloral or See also:chloroform inhalation to produce insensibility and muscular relaxation, but the effect is only palliative.
SAINT-WANDRILLE, a See also:village of north-western France, in the See also:department of See also:Seine-Inferieure, 28 m. W.N.W. of See also:Rouen by See also:rail. It is celebrated for the ruins of its See also:Benedictine See also:abbey. The abbey See also: The church communicates with a See also:cloister, from which an interesting See also:door of the See also:Renaissance period opens into the See also:refectory. Beside this entrance is a richly ornamented See also:lavabo of the Renaissance period. The refectory is a See also:room over See also:loo ft. long, lighted by graceful windows of the same period. The abbey was founded in the 7th century by St Wandrille, aided by the donations of See also:Clovis II. It soon became renowned for learning and piety. In the 13th century it was burnt down, and the rebuilding was not completed till the beginning of the 16th century. Later in the same century it was practically destroyed by the See also:Huguenots, and again the restoration was not finished for more than a See also:hundred years. The demolition of the church was begun at the time of the Revolution, but proceeded slowly and in 1832 was entirely stopped. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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