the marriage-treaty
between Charles II. and Catherine of Braganza (1662). The island is a
barren, treeless waste, surrounded by rocks. Its inhabitants, who live
chiefly by the manufacture of salt, by cattle-farming and by fishing,
are compelled to import most of their provisions from Sao Thiago, with
which, for purposes of local administration, Maio is included.

_Sao Thiago_ (63,000) is the most populous and the largest of the Cape
Verde Islands, having an area of 350 sq. m. It is also one of the most
unhealthy, except among the mountains over 2000 ft. high. The interior
is a mass of volcanic heights, formed of basalt covered with chalk and
clay, and culminating in the central Pico da Antonia (4500 ft.), a
sharply pointed cone. There are numerous ravines, furrowed by
perennial streams, and in these ravines are grown large quantities of
coffee, oranges, sugar-cane and physic-nuts, besides a variety of
tropical fruits and cereals. Spirits are distilled from sugar-cane,
and coarse sugar is manufactured. The first capital of the islands was
Ribeira Grande, to-day called Cidade Velha or the Old City, a
picturesque town with a cathedral and ruined fort. It was built in the
15th century on the south coast, was made an episcopal see in 1532,
and became capital of the archipelago in 1592. In 1712 it was sacked
by a French force, but despite its poverty and unhealthy situation it
continued to be the capital until 1770, when its place was taken by
Praia on the south-east. Praia (often written Praya) has a fine
harbour, a population of 21,000 and a considerable trade. It contains
the palace of the governor-general, a small natural history museum, a
meteorological observatory and an important station for the cables
between South America, Europe and West Africa. It occupies a basalt
plateau, overlooking the bay (Porto da Praia), and has an attractive
appearance, with its numerous coco-nut trees and the peak of Antonia
rising in the background above successive steps of tableland. Its
unhealthiness has been mitigated by the partial drainage of a marsh
lying to the east.

_Fogo_ (17,600) is a mass of volcanic rock, almost circular in shape
and measuring about 190 sq. m. In the centre a still active volcano,
the Pico do Cano, rises to a height of about 10,000 ft. Its crater,
which stands within an older crater, measures 3 m. in circumference
and is visible at sea f