BOURBON, an island in the Indian Sea, about 400 miles to the east of Madagascar. It was discovered by the Portuguese in 1545, as appears by a date inscribed by them upon a pillar when they first landed. They gave it the name of Mascarenhas, but do not appear to have formed any establishment; so that when the French settled in Madagascar, this island was totally desolate. In 1642, De Pronis, agent for the French East India Company, took possession of the island, but used it merely as a place of banishment for offenders. The exiles, however, gave so favourable a report, that, in 1649, De Harcourt, then governor of Madagascar, formed an extensive settlement, to which, from the royal family of France, he gave the name of Bourbon. The colonists, however, finding their situation uncomfortable, and receiving no support from Madagascar, embraced the offer of an English captain, and in the year 1658 embarked for Madras. When the last great blow was given to the French at Madagascar by the natives, who surprised and cut them off in one night, there escaped as many men as, with their wives, who were natives, filled two canoes; and these being driven by the wind on the isle of Bourbon, formed a fresh colony, who, for want of an opportunity to remove, were constrained to remain in and to cultivate it. It was not long before a further supply of inhabitants arrived. A pirate who had been committing depredations in the Indian seas, returning to Europe, ran ashore and had his vessel dashed to pieces on the rocks, so that the crew were forced to join the former inhabitants; and as they had on board their vessel a great many Indian women whom they had made prisoners, they lived with them, and in process of time had a numerous posterity. As East India ships touched frequently here when too late to double the Cape, many of the sailors deserted and became planters in the isle of Bourbon. When the place grew more populous, the people naturally became more civilized, and desirous of living in a more commodious manner; which induced them to build small vessels, and make trips to Madagascar in order to purchase slaves, whom they employed in their plantations to cultivate aloes, tobacco, and other products, with which they carried on a small trade when ships of any nation anchored in their roads for refreshments. In this situation the French East India Company put in their claim; and assuming the property of the island, sent thither five or six families and a governor. At first the inhabitants expected to reap some benefit from their new masters; but finding very little, and considering the governor as tyrannical, they revolted at the instigation of a priest, and seized and put him into a dungeon, where he died. Some of the ringleaders were punished, a kind of fort was erected, and a few guns placed on it; but in other respects, within the last forty years, the island was in no state of defence. The number of inhabitants in the year 1717 was computed at 2000, viz. 900 free and 1100 slaves. When the present French India Company became, by their charter, possessed of the island of Bourbon, they began very diligently to improve it; raising new forts and batteries, so as to render it in a manner inaccessible, and importing the coffee-tree from Arabia, which has succeeded so well, that it has become an extensive object of culture, and is considered as only second to that of Yemen. The clove-tree was also introduced with success. In 1811 Bourbon was captured by a British force, but restored at the general peace.

The physical structure of this island presents many striking features. It does not, like the Isle of France, consist of a level plain, from which conical hills arise in detached masses. The whole island is as it were one mountain, having its most elevated points in the centre, and thence sloping gradually down to the sea. This great mass, however, is split into two portions, of which the loftiest, situate in the northern part, is called the Gros Morne, and its summit the Piton des Neiges or Snowy Peak. There is here no present action of volcanic fire; but the frequent occurrence of deep valleys or basins, rapid rivers bordered by perpendicular walls of rock, hillocks precipitated into these valleys and torrents, basaltic prisms often disposed in regular colonnades, strata thrown into the most irregular positions,—all these, in Μ. Bory de St Vincent’s opinion, indicate terrible physical revolutions in former times. The northern mountain is entirely volcanic, and the phenomena present themselves in an extraordinary state of frequency and activity. This writer not only conceives both these mountains to have been originally volcanic, but the whole island to have been thrown up by the action of subterranean fire. They appear to him also to have formerly composed only one, having an intermediate summit higher than that of either now is. The volcanic agitations, however, having hollowed the internal part of this great mass, the exterior crust fell in, and reduced the island to the shattered state which it now exhibits. To a great extent indeed it is divided into two portions by an immense hollow, bordered with perpendicular walls of rock, which, after running parallel for seven or eight miles, form an arch and unite. At the foot of the volcano is found an immense track of what the inhabitants call Brulé, or burnt country, supposed to have been formed by the lava spreading into a species of fiery lake, and then consolidating into the present surface. It is destitute of all vegetation whatever; and its colour is of the gloomiest black, the surface being broken by holes, crevices, and innumerable asperities of every description. These, joined to its hard and brittle consistence, render it impossible to tread on it without the severest injury to the feet. Those of our traveller’s attendant negroes were severely lacerated; and his own, though defended by strong shoes, were wounded in several places.

The streams of Bourbon are mere mountain torrents, which descend from steep to steep, and throw themselves into the sea. In their fall they dig deep ravines, bordered by lofty and almost perpendicular walls. The largest river, however, that of St Denis, has only a course of seven or eight miles. These deep and foaming torrents, the rude surface of the ground, and the perpendicular rents by which it is everywhere broken, render travelling through Bourbon a most arduous undertaking. Μ. Bory de St Vincent was assured that his plan of reaching the two principal peaks was altogether impracticable; but his enterprise and love of science enabled him to surmount all the intervening difficulties.

In the ascent to the summit of the volcanic mountain, the obstacles encountered were truly formidable. Sometimes the sides of nearly perpendicular rocks were to be climbed; at other times a road was to be made by cutting down the bushes and filling up the crevices; whilst a mist, which rises every day from the sea, rendered it impossible to distinguish his companions at the smallest distance. At length they reached the summit of the Mamelon central. The crater here, to which the name of Dolomieu was given, consists of a cavity forty fathoms in diameter, and about eighty feet deep, the bottom filled with confused piles of greyish coloured lava. The sides showed none of that soft lava which forms a species of varnish over the interior of other craters; they consisted of irregular fragments of hard and compact substances. Our author here notices the errororthose who expect, v hen they reach the summit of a crater, to look down into an unfathomable abyss. The fact is, that from whatever depth the liquified substances may have ascended, as soon as the conflagration ceases, they harden and fill up the [7:5:150]opening, so that only a very small void remains. Being ' led, however, by a sulphureous smell, to the left side of the present crater, they discovered a deep hollow like a tunnel, the walls of which were composed of burning lava; while beneath, two columns of fiery matter, rising to the height of 120 feet, threw up a bloody light, which shone brightly, even amid the blaze of a tropical noon. This spectacle, accompanied with a sound similar to that of a mighty cascade, filled their minds with terror and admiration.

Our traveller, in ascending, had supposed the Alamelon central to be the highest peak of the volcanic mountain; but he now discovered, at the distance of about 200 fathoms, a still more elevated point, which, after himself, he named Pory. It is a vast elliptic basin, the largest diameter of which is 120, and the smallest 100 fathoms. The sides rise perpendicularly like walls, and are 200 feet high at their greatest elevation. There were some broken parts, however, by which the travellers could descend into the abyss. They found it tolerably level; but the volcanic ashes with which it was bestrewed hid the scoriae and other substances which filled it. In the centre was a crevice, the depth of which they could not discover. This crater was entirely silent.

The travellers spent the night on the crater Dolomicu; but the tremendous sounds, the blaze of light, and the singularity of their situation, scarcely allowed them to close their eyes. At about 1200 feet beneath, they perceived a stream of lava issuing from the mountain, the outlet, probably, of those liquified substances which they saw fermenting at the bottom of the crater.

The crater is said to have been formed during a violent eruption of the volcano in 1791. In the beginning of June a burning vapour appeared rising from the summit, then the side of the mountain opened, and a vast torrent of lava rushed into the sea. On the 17th of July a subterranean noise, like the discharge of cannon, was heard throughout the island; after which there rose from the top of the mountain an enormous column of smoke, of a deep black, with white spots interspersed. The inhabitants, who had never before witnessed such a phenomenon, were struck with consternation? Soon, however, the column fell down, and formed a species of arch over the volcano. The falling in of the interior, undermined by the previous discharge, is supposed to have been the cause of the tremendous sound, and of the ultimate opening of the crater.

This is, perhaps, the most active volcano in nature. Since the Christian era, Etna has made only twenty-seven eruptions, and Vesuvius twenty-four. But a resident at Bourbon assured our author, that, from 1785 to 1802, the mountain had vomited flames at least twice every year, and eight of the streams had entered the sea. The lava, however, scarcely ever issues from the summit of a crater, but generally from openings far down the mountain, and sometimes almost on a level with the sea. It is remarkable, also, that earthquakes, which so generally desolate volcanic countries, are here unknown, or, at least, so slight, as to occasion no serious inconvenience. The constant escape of the subterraneous fire through the channel of the volcano may probably be the chief cause which prevents it from shaking the surrounding regions. Another usual accompaniment, that of warm springs, is also wanting; and none of the waters are impregnated with any species of gas. No petroleum has been found, nor any metal, except iron.

Our traveller next made an excursion to the Piton des Neiges, which forms the summit of the Gros Morne, the highest mountain in the island. This undertaking proved still more arduous. The season was favourable; yet, when they had mounted about half-way, a prodigious rain came on; and the road lay through wet and swampy grounds, which were soon entirely covered with water. The mists became so thick, that nothing could be distinguished. The negroes, accustomed to a milder air, were benumbed; and, refusing to proceed, would have perished with cold, had not the Frenchmen driven them forcibly on, till they came to a spot where they found shelter and refreshment. They spent here two nights, and on the third day were able to reach their destination.' The view from the summit appeared to our traveller to equal the most majestic scenes of the Alps and the Pyrenees. In the island beneath, every object was visible as on a map; while, on every side, the immeasurable extent of ocean mingling with the skies, made them feel as if insulated on this spot from the rest of the universe. The thermometer was so low as 8°. Here considerable masses of rock were observed, undermined to such a degree that a very slight effort was sufficient to throw them down the precipices, where, displacing others, they rolled to a great depth, and caused prodigious havock. Every part of the mountain, indeed, appears furrowed and shattered by the violent action of the rains, which have already sensibly diminished its magnitude, and are likely to do so more and more.

M. Bory does not appear to have instituted any investigation into the height of these mountains. Professor Jameson, in his Geognosy, estimates that of the Gros Morne at 9600, and that of the volcano at 7680 feet above the level of the sea. The French traveller gives a copious, but not very precise account of its geological features. The lower part of the Gros Morne is composed of basalt, a substance which abounds in every part of the island, and which, from the manner in which it is connected with and surrounded by lava, is conceived by our author to have been universally crystallized from a state of fusion. He notices, also, the frequent occurrence of what he calls trappean lava; though this, as well as much of the basalt, would probably, by the disciple of Werner, be referred to some of the newer formations of trap. On some of the precipices at the summit of the Gros Morne, there appeared an immense depth of horizontal strata, which might have rendered an igneous origin improbable, had it not been so clearly proved by other phenomena. Large blocks of granite are found in the rivers which flow at the foot of the Gros Morne.

It is now time to take a view of the political and commercial aspect of Bourbon. By the revolutionists it was· called Reunion; but this name, which was never fully es- i tablished, maybe now supposed to have again given place' to its ancient appellation. The island is divided into eleven parishes, St Denis, containing the capital of that name, St Marie, St Susanne, St André, St Benoit, St Rose, St Joseph, St Pierre de la Riviere d’Abord, St Louis du Gaul, St Leu, and St Paul. St Denis can scarcely be called a city; the streets resemble roads in the country, being covered with grass and sand, under which are often concealed sharp pointed stones, which inflict severe wounds on the feet. The houses are built of wood, and are agreeable; they are constructed entirely with a view to coolness. The furniture is slender, and many of the rooms are not even carpeted; a deficiency not arising from absolute poverty, but from the difficulty, in this remote situation, of procuring the artificial conveniences of life. The houses in the country are of a peculiar construction, very long, very narrow, and tapering to a point.

The island is distinguished into the windward and leeward quarters; of which the former, descending by a gentle slope, and refreshed by continual breezes, is fertile and smiling; while the latter is comparatively rude, dry, and barren. The torrents, continually washing away the [7:5:151]soil, are supposed to augment the sterility. Only a narrow slope, about a league and a half inward from the sea, is under regular cultivation. The interior consists of immense forests, inhabited by a species of fugitive mulattoes, who live almost in a state of nature. The population in 1763 was estimated by Bory de St Vincent at 4000 whites and 15,000 slaves. If these numbers are at all accurate, the increase must have been very great. The enumeration of 1827 gave 18,747 whites, 6387 free people of colour, 41,340 males, and 22,107 female slaves; in all 88,581.

The staple production of this island is coffee. The first plants were early brought from Arabia, and soon flourished to such a degree, that the coffee of Bourbon was only second to that produced in the parent district. During the revolution, the want of a regular market, by diminishing the encouragement to careful cultivation, sensibly lowered the quality. It is still, however, produced in large quantity. Next to it ranks the article of cloves. The clove-tree is of very easy cultivation; the chief disadvantage is the precariousness of the produce. It has been known in one year to yield only 1000 lbs., and in the next 500,000 lbs. Cotton, likewise, has been long a staple of the island; but a violent hurricane in 1801, and a disease which afterwards made its appearance among the plants, discouraged a number of the planters, who accordingly began to employ their lands in the culture of coffee. During the last ten or twelve years the culture of coffee, cotton, and cloves, has diminished, partly from local causes, and partly from the low price which they bear in Europe. On the other hand, that of sugar has very remarkably increased. In 1820 the produce was only from four to five millions of kilogrammes; in 1828 it had risen to thirteen, and in 1829 to twenty-nine millions. In 1827 the quantity of land employed in the production of sugar was stated at 8241 hectares, coffee 8909, spices 4993, grains 28,840. Bourbon labours under the serious disadvantage of not possessing a single harbour, nor any roadstead in which vessels can ride with safety. The trade, therefore, can be conducted only through the medium of Mauritius, and is entirely in the hands of the merchants of that island. (e.) Bourbon, Nicholas, a Latin poet of the sixteenth century, was a native of Vandeuvre, near Bar-sur-Aube, and the son of a blacksmith. He was so learned in the belles-lettres, and particularly in Greek, that Margaret de Valois appointed him preceptor to her daughter Jane d’Albret of Navarre, the mother of King Henry IV. After a residence of several years at court he retired to Candc, where he had a benefice, and died about the year 1550. He wrote eight books of Nugae; a poem on the forge, which he has entitled Ferraria; Paedologia, sive de Puerorum moribus Libellus; Tabellae Elementariae; and a Dialogue on the death of Francis of Valois and the accession of Henry. Erasmus praises his Nugae. Bourbon, Nicholas, a celebrated Greek and Latin poet, was nephew to the preceding. He taught rhetoric in several colleges of Paris; and the Cardinal de Perron caused him to be nominated professor of eloquence in the Royal College. He was also canon of Langres, and one of the forty of the French academy. At length he retired to the fathers of the oratory, where he died in 1644, aged seventy. He is esteemed as one of the greatest Latin poets France has produced. His poems were printed at Paris in 1630. 1 Bourbon-Vendee, an arrondissement in the department of Vendée, in France, extending over 630 square mdes, and comprehending eight cantons and seventy-three communes, with 65,171 inhabitants. The chief place, now of the same name, formerly La Roche-sur-Yon, and then Ville Napoleon, has been built since the civil war which devastated the department to which it belongs.