Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 09.djvu/390

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GUEVARA. 346 GUIANA. that of E. Hellowcs (London, 1574), and that of G. Fenton (1575). Consult: Guevara, "Epfstolas familiares v escogidas," in the Blblioteca clasica espai'wla (Barcelona, 1880) : the selections from Guevara given in "Obras escogidas de filosofos," etc., in Blblioteca de autores espafioles (Madrid, 1S73) ; and for his life, Antonio, in Biblioteca nova. GUEVARA, Lns Velez de (1570-1644). A Spanish puet and dramatist, born at Ecija. Anda- lusia. Little is' known of his life except that he was Court chamberlain to Philip IV., and a fecund and popular playwright in the style of Lope de Vega. Of his 400 dramas, the names of about 80 remain, and his works have never been collected. The most notable are two tragedies, Mas pesa cl reii que In san;ire and Rcinar despues de niarir. and two comedies. La hina de la sierra and El ollero de Oeana. His most remark.ible ■work is El diablo cojiiclo (1641), a powerful satire, from which Le Sage borrowed much for his Le diable boiteux. Other tales by him are printed in the Coleccvon de novelas escogidas (1785-04). GU;EVI, gwa've (South African name). The pygmy .Tntelope. See Bluebuck. GUGLIELlffil, guo-lyel'me, Pietro (1727- 1804). One of the most celebrated Italian com- posers of the eighteenth century. He was born at ilassa di Carrara, and was educated chiefly b,y his father, who was maestro di cappella in the ducal chapel of ilodena. He gained a European reputation as a musician and composer : but after living in Germany and England returned to Italy at the age of fifty to find his operas neglected for those of Cimarosa and Paisiello. Guglielmi immediately set to work and com- posed a number of new operas which regained for him the public favor. He was appointed maestro di cappella at Saint Peter's, Rome, by Pope Pius VI., in 1793, and from that time up to the day of his death occupied himself com- pletely with his official duties. He was the com- poser of almost twenty operas, many of them extremely popular in their day, several oratorios, and considerable Church music. His death oc- curred at Rome. GUIAN, ge'an. A tovn of Samar, Philip- pines, situated at the southern extremity of the island, about 109 miles southeast of Catbalogan. Population, in 1898, 11,300. GUIAN.^, ge-;l'na. A territory in the north- cast part of .South America, bounded by the At- lantic on the north, by Brazil and the Atlantic on the east, and by Brazil and Venezuela on the west (see accompanying map). Its area is estimated at 175,400 square miles. (Brazilian Guiana, lying on the south, is sometimes em- braced under this general heading.) Guiana has not been thoroughly explored. Its surface may be described, on the whole, as a plateau rising toward the west and north, with an average eleva- tion of about 3200 feet. The mountains have nowhere been found to rise higher than the peak Rorairaa (S600 feet). This mountain is on the western boundary, and belongs to the Pacaraima range. Along the southern border of Guiana is the low Tumuc Huniae range. The coast is level and low-, and dikes keep back the ocean at many joints. Guiana is a well-watered country, numerous rivers coursing through it northward to the sea. The most important of thein arc the Essequibo (600 miles in length, the longest river in Guia- na), Jlazaruui, licrbice, Corentyn, and ilaroni (400 miles). Owing to numerous rapids and falls, they are navigable only for comparatively short distances. Of the many fertile valleys, none has any considerable extent except the depression lying between the Essequibo and the Corentyn. Little is known of the geology of Guiana, except in the southern part, near the Brazilian boundary, where valuable deposits of gold have given an impetus lately to geological ex- ploration. In this region gneisses and granites are found to underlie heavy beds of sandstone and other stratified rocks of undetermined age. The climate is tropical. Owing to the intense heat and humidity along the coast, the northern portion of Guiana is particularly unliealthful. Both here and up along the rivers fevers have greatly interfered with the development of the country by Europeans. The climate of the upland interior is naturally more moderate and inviting. The rainy period extends from the last of April imtil the middle of August, during which time there is a very heavy precipitation. Along the coast there is a second and lighter rainy season from November to February. In the short dry periods of the year east winds prevail. Guiana is free from hurricanes. The vegetation is wholly equatorial. In the lower and northern sections heavy forests cover the land. They usually ex- tend well up toward the higher parts. The forests, like the fauna, are similar to those of the Amazon region, possessing valuable medicinal and dye woods and the typical wild fruits of the torrid zone. The magnificent Victoria regia was first made known from the Berbice River. The plateau itself, so far as explored, is practically barren. The low, forest-covered lands are very fertile, but are surpassed in richness by the tide- irrigated coast strip. The cultivated land pro- duces the usual tropical crops, as well as some of a less torrid region. Among the larger animals may be mentioned the j.aguar. sloth, tapir, ant- eaters, capybara, and numerous monkeys (howl- ers, capuchins, mannosets). The boa, anaconda, and a number of venomous species represent the serpents. Politically Guiana is divided into three coun- tries — British, Dutch, and French Guiana. British Guian., This Colony, a possession of Great Britain, forms the western part of Guia- na, and lies between Venezuela and the Corentyn River. Its area is about 95,100 square miles, being more than half that of all Guiana. Of British Guiana (quite the most important of the three Colonies), only the alluvi.al stretch along tlie coast has been really developed. Thereare three settlements — Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice — with Georgetown as the capital of the Colony. In addition, there is the new northwest district, which began to he opened up in 1883. There w-ere 83,000 acres in the Colony in cultivation in 1900, nearly seven-eighths of which was in sugar. The live-stock interests are not important. Wood- cutting is a leading industry. The gold-mines are being exploited, and employ some 11.000 miners. Diamonds are also found, chiefly along the Mazaruni River. The principal export is sugar, forming about 55 per cent, of the total exports for the Colony. Next in order of value rank gold (£393.926) and