SANTA Catalina, one of the Solomon Islands, in long. 162. 31. 80. E. and lat. 10. 53. 50. S.

Santa Catharina a province of Brazil, comprehending the island of the same name, and a territory of sixty leagues in length from north to south on the neighbouring continent, reckoning from the Sahy Grande, which separates it from St Paulo on the north, to the Mampituba, which divides it from Rio Grande on the south. On the west, the heads of the Cordillera divide it from the same provinces, its greatest width not exceeding twenty leagues. The above limits include a territory extending from 25° 50' to 29° 20' of south latitude. On the continent, four miles south-east of the capital, stands the town of San Jose, the inhabitants of which are principally occupied in sawing timber into planks, making bricks, and growing rice. To the north of this town the shores are studded with houses, pleasantly situated amid bananarias, orangeries, and plantations of rice, coffee, and mandioca. Nine leagues from San Jose is the village of Armaçao, situated at the extremity of the Bay of St Miguel. It is a fishing station for whales, which were formerly very numerous on the coast, and in the bays that indent it. The conveniencies for the manufacture of oil are extensive and well contrived, and all the fish on the coast are brought to this quarter. Beyond the point of Armaçao is that of Dos Ganchos, forming the southern extremity of the spacious Bay of Tejuco or Tejucas, into which a river of the same name, fifty fathoms wide, discharges itself. Ten leagues north of this place is the fine capacious harbour of Gua-roupas, with its handsome town. Further northward is the Bay of St Francisco, in which there is an island with a town, both of the same name. The harbour is fine, and has three entrances, defended by forts. Ship-building is carried on at this place to some extent; the cutting of the fine timber in the neighbourhood, and other labours connected with this art, being the chief occupation of the inhabitants, who may amount to about two thousand. The largest continental town in the province is Laguna, prettily situated upon the eastern margin of the lake from which it derives its name, two miles from the bar, and sixty miles south of Desterro. In the months of November, and December particularly, a prodigious quantity of a long fish, with a forked tail, called bagre, enter the lake, supplying a lucrative branch of commerce. This place contains four thousand inhabitants. Fifteen miles north of Laguna is Villa Nova, or Santa Anna, situated on an elevation near the northern extremity of the same lake. More flax is ma[7:19:643]nufactured here than in any other part of the province. The other towns or villages of Santa Catharina are small and of little importance. In 1812 the population, according to Cazal, was 31,530; but it has greatly increased. The province is divided into seven parishes, three of which are situated on the island of Santa Catharina, and four on the continent. The whole are included within the see of Rio de Janeiro. For a description of the island of Santa Catharina, see the article Catherine, St .

Santa Cruz, or St Croix, a small and unhealthy island, situated in about sixty-four degrees west longitude and eighteen north latitude. In 1643 it was inhabited by the Dutch and the English, who soon became enemies to each other; and in 1650 they were both driven out by twelve hundred Spaniards, who arrived there in five ships. The triumph of these lasted but a few months. The remains of that numerous body, which were left for the defence of the island, surrendered without resistance to a hundred and sixty French, who had embarked, in the year 1651, from St Christopher’s, to make themselves masters of the island. It continued without inhabitants and without cultivation till 1733, when it was sold by France to Denmark for L.30,750. Soon afterwards the Danes built there the fortress of Christianstadt. It was then that this northern power seemed likely to take deep root in America; but, unfortunately, she laid her plantations under the yoke of exclusive privileges. Industrious people of all sects, particularly Moravians, strove in vain to overcome this great difficulty. Many attempts were made to reconcile the interests of the colonists and their oppressors, but without success. The two parties kept up a continual struggle of animosity, and not of industry. At length the government purchased, in 1754, the privileges and effects of the company. The price was fixed at L.4l2,500; and the navigation of the islands opened to all the subjects of the Danish dominions. It is the most valuable of the Danish possessions in the West Indies. The soil is fertile and well cultivated, and the principal productions are sugar, rum, and coffee. It is about eighty-one square miles in extent, and contains about 37,000 inhabitants, of whom 3000 are whites, 1200 free blacks and mulattoes, and the remainder slaves.

Santa Cruz, a small island among the Philippines, near the south coast of Luzon. Long. 121. 52. E. Lat. 13. 42. N. Also an island near the south-west coast of Mindanao. Long. 122. 12. E. Lat. 6. 40. N.

Santa Fe, a city of Spain, on the plains of Granada, and in the province of Andalusia. When, under Ferdinand and Isabella, the court of Spain determined to reduce to the Christian dominion the last refuge of the Moors in the city of Granada, as the siege was likely to be very protracted, this city was founded near it, as the head-quarters of the Catholic forces. It is in a fine situation, surrounded by the best cultivation, and enjoying the best soil in Spain, perhaps in the world; and its powers of irrigation are always greater in proportion to the heat of the weather, as the waters are supplied from the melting of the snows on the summit of the Sierra Nevada. This city has been frequently injured by earthquakes, which have at times almost destroyed its edifices. One in 1807 was especially destructive; but, from the richness of the soil, it has speedily risen from its ruins, and been as flourishing as before the visitation. It is said that a narrow strip of land, extending the whole distance across the plain, and on one part of which this city is built, is periodically subject to this calamity, which, however the inhabitants may dread it, has not power to drive them from it. Near to this place is the residence and estate granted by the Spanish government to the Duke of Wellington for his services during the war. It is called the Sota de Roma, and is finely situated.

Santa Fe de Bogota, a town of South America, and capital of New Granada, is situated at the foot of a steep mountain, at the entrance of a vast plain. It is the residence of a viceroy and an archbishop, and the seat of an audiencia and a university, and contains magnificent houses, five bridges, and thirty thousand inhabitants. The air is constantly temperate. The wheat of Europe and the sesame of Asia produce abundant crops, and at all seasons. The plateau on which the town of Santa Fe de Bogota is situated bears a resemblance in several respects to that which encloses the Mexican lakes. They are both more elevated than the convent of St Bernard, the former being 8190, the latter 7008 feet above the level of the sea. Long. 74.10. W. Lat. 4. 35. N.