Helping San Diego, California and beyond since 1997.
Do you need
volunteer, community service, work, military or court hours?
|
|
Helping San Diego, California and beyond since 1997.
|
|
Click here and add this page to your favorites!
|
Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: CLI-COM |
|
|
COCHIN , a town of British India, in the district of Malabar, Madras. Pop. (1901) 19,274. The town lies at the northern extremity of a strip of land about 12 M. in length, but in few places more than a mile in breadth, which is nearly insulated by inlets of the sea and estuaries of streams flowing from the Western Ghats. These form the Cochin backwaters, which consist of shallow lagoons lying behind the beach-line and below its level. In the monsoon the Cochin backwaters are broad navigable channels and lakes; in the hot weather they contract into shallows in many places not 2 ft. deep. The town of Cochin is about a mile in length by half a mile in breadth. Its first European possessors were the Portuguese. Vasco da Gama founded a factory in 1502, and Albuquerque built a fort, the first European fort in India, in 1503. The British made a settlement in 1634, but retired when the Dutch captured the town in 1663. Under the Dutch the town prospered, and about 1778 an English traveller described it as a place of great trade, " a harbour filled with ships, streets crowded with merchants, and warehouses stored with goods from every part of Asia and Europe, marked the industry, the commerce, and the wealth of the inhabitants." In 1795 Cochin was captured from the Dutch by the British, and in 18o6 the fortifications and public buildings were blown up by order of the authorities. The explosion destroyed much private property, and for a long time seriously affected the prosperity of the town. Considerable sea-borne trade is still carried on. A lighthouse stands on the ruins of the old fort. The chief
chief
COCHIN-CHINA,' a French colony in the extreme south of French Indo-China. The term formerly included the whole Annamese empireTongking, Annam, and Lower Cochin-China, but it now comprises only the French colony, which corresponds to Lower Cochin-China, and consists of the six southern provinces of the Annamese empire annexed by France in 1862 and 1867. Cochin-China is bounded W. by the Gulf of Siam, N.W. and N. by Cambodia
Cambodia
In 1901 the population numbered 2,968,529, of whom 4932 were French (exclusive of French troops, who numbered 2537), 2,558,301 Annamese, 231,902 Cambodians, 92,075 Chinese, 42,940 savages (Min Huong), the rest being Asiatics of other nationalities, together with a few Europeans other than French. Geography.Cochin-China consists chiefly of an immense plain, flat and monotonous, traversed by the Mekong and extending from Ha-Tien in the west to Baria in the east, and from Bien-Hoa in the north-east to the southern point of the peninsula of Ca-Mau in the south-west. The last spurs of the mountains of Annam, which come to an end at Cape St Jacques, extend over parts of the provinces of Tay-Ninh, Bien-Hoa and Baria in the north-east and east of the colony, but nowhere exceed 2900 ft. ' See also INDO-CHINA, FRENCH; and ANNAM. in height; low hills are found in . the north-western pros ince of Chau-Doc. Cochin-China is remarkable for the abundance of its waterways. The Mekong divides at Pnom-Penh in Cambodia into two arms, the Fleuve superieur and the Fleuve inferieur, which, pursuing a course roughly parallel from north-west to south-east, empty into the China Sea by means of the numerous channels of its extensive delta. From June to October the inundations of the Mekong cover most of the country, portions of which, notably the Plaine des Joncs in the north and a large tract of the peninsula of Ca-Mau, are little else than marshes. Besides a great number of small coastal streams there are four other rivers of secondary importance, all of which water the east of the colony, viz. the Don-Nai, which rising in the Annamese mountains flows west, then abruptly south, reaching the sea to the west of Cape St Jacques; the Saigon river, which flowing from north-west to south-east passes Saigon, the capital of the colony, 12 M. below which it unites with the Don-Nai; and the two Vaicos, which join the Don-Nai close to its mouth. These rivers flow into the sea through numerous winding channels, forming a delta united by canals to that of the Mekong. The waterways of Cochin-China communicate by means of natural or artificial channels (arroyos), facilitating transport and aiding in the uniform distribution of the inundation to which the country owes its fertility. Canals from Chau-Doc to Ha-Tien and from Long Xuyen to Rach-Gia join the Mekong with the Gulf of Siam. East of Cape St Jacques the mountains of Annam come down close to the sea; west of that point, as far as the southern headland of Ca-Mau, the coast-line of Cochin-China runs north-east to south-west for about 16o m. in a straight line broken only by the mouths of the Don-Nai and Mekong. From Cape Ca-Mau to Rach-Gia it runs north for a distance of 120 m., then north-west as far as Ha-Tien, where the boundary line between it and Cambodia meets the sea.Climate and Fauna.The climate of the country is warm, humid, and very trying to Europeans. The wet season, during which heavy rain falls almost daily, lasts from April to October, coinciding with the south-west monsoon. The hottest period lasts from the middle of April to the middle of June, the thermometer during that time often reaching 94 F., and never descending below 86. The forest regions of Cochin-China harbour the tiger, panther, leopard, tiger-cat, ichneumon, wild boar, deer, buffalo, rhinoceros and elephant, as well as many varieties of monkeys and rats. Of birds some species of parrakeet, the " mandarin " blackbird, and the woodcock are not found in the rest of Indo-China. Duck, teal, cranes and other aquatic birds abound in the delta. Venomous reptiles are numerous, and the Mekong contains crocodiles. Agriculture and Industries.The cultivation of the rice-fields, which cover large extents of the plains of Cochin-China, is by far the chief industry of the colony. Pepper is grown in considerable quantities in the districts of Ha-Tien and Bien-Hoa, and sugar-canes, coffee, cotton
Commerce.Rice is the chief article of export, dried or salted fish, pepper and cotton
mineral
paper , and arms and powder. The ports of Saigon and Mytho are accessible to the largest vessels, and are connected by a railway (see INDO-CHINA, FRENCH). The roadsteads of Rach-Gia, Ca-Mau, and Ha-Tien can accommodate only vessels of low tonnage. In 1905 exportsreached a value of 3,816,000, and imports a value of 4,834,000 (not including treasure and transit trade). Government and Administration.Cochin-China is administered by a lieutenant- governor under the authority of the governor -general of Indo-China. He is assisted by the conseil colonial numbering sixteen members, six of whom are French citizens elected by the French, six natives elected by the natives, the other four being members of the chamber of commerce of Saigon and the conseil prive. The conseil colonial, besides its advisory functions, discusses and votes the budget, determines the nature of the taxes, has supreme control over the tariffs, and extensive powers in the administration of colonial domains. The conseil prive is a deliberative body under the presidency of the lieutenant-governor, composed of colonial officials together with two native members. The colony is divided into four circumscriptions (Saigon, My-Tho, Vinh-Long, Bassac)1 at the head of each of which is an inspector of native affairs. These are subdivided into twenty provinces, each administered by an administrator of native affairs by whose side is the provincial council consisting of natives and occupied with the discussion of ways and means and questions of public works. The provinces are divided into cantons and subdivided into communes. The commune forms the basis of the native social system. Its assembly of notables or municipal council forms a sort of oligarchy, the members of which themselves elect individuals from among the more prominent inhabitants to fill vacancies. The notables elect the provincial councillors in the proportion, usually, of one to every canton, and their delegates elect the chief of the canton, who voices the wishes of the natives to the government. Local administration, e.g. supervision of markets,policing,land-transfer, &c., are carried on by a mayor and two assistants, to whom the municipal council delegates its powers. The same body draws up the list
capital is Saigon (q.v.) ; of the other towns, Cholon (q.v.), My-Tho, Vinh-Long and Chau-Doc are of importance.In 1904 the budget receipts amounted to 495,241 (as compared with 474,545 in 1899). To this sum the land and poll-tax and other direct taxes contributed 374,630. The main heads of expenditure, of which the total was 467,328, were as follows: Government . 87,271 Administration . 62,725 Public Works 40,454 Transport . 38,173 Public Instruction . 36,009 Topography and Surveying 32,036 History.The Khmer kingdom (see CAMBODI'A), at its zenith from the 9th to the 12th centuries, included a large portion of the modern colony of Cochin-China, the coastal portion and perhaps the eastern region being under the dominion of the empire of Champa, which broke up during the 15th century. This eastern region was occupied in the 17th century by the Annamese, who in the 18th century absorbed the western provinces. From this period the history of Cochin-China follows that of Annam (q.v.) till 1867, when it was entirely occupied by the French and became a French colony. In 1887 it was united with Cambodia, Annam and Tongking to form the Indo-Chinese Union (see INDO-CHINA, FRENCH). End of Article: COCHIN If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/CLI_COM/COCHIN.html"> COCHIN </a> |
|
|
(Previous) COCHERY, LOUIS ADOLPHE (1819-1900) |
(Next) COCHIN, DENYS MARIE PIERRE AUGUSTIN (1851L'Evol... |
|
Sponsored Advertisements