and no Settlements were made, to any purpose, till the Year 1549, when John King of Portugal fent a great Fleet thither, with 1000 Soldiers on board.

TRADE.] The European Ships commonly arrive in Brafil in February or March, and they have generally quick Paffages; finding, at that time of the Year, brifk Gales to bring them to the Line, little Trouble then in croffing it, and brisk Eaft-north-east Winds to carry them thither. The chief Commodities these Ships transport from Europe, are Linencloths, both coarse and fine; Woollens, as Bays, Serges, Perpetuanas, &c. Hats, Stockings, both of Silk and Thread; Bifcuit-bread, Wheat-flour, Wine, Oil-olive, Butter, Cheese, &c. Iron, and all Sorts of Iron-tools, Pewter Veffels of all Sorts, as Difhes, Plates, Spoons, &c. Looking-glaffes, Beads, and other Toys. The Ships commonly return from Brafil the latter End of May, or in June. They bring to Europe Sugar, Tobacco, either in Roll or Snuff, never in Leaf.

Of the French Empire in America.

CLIMATE,
GOVERNMENT,
TRADE,

RELIGION,

S Louifiana refembles Carolina in these Articles; and as New-France refembles New-England, New-York, New-Scotia, which lie contiguous to it; therefore CHARACTER, I fhall not repeat them here, but refer CUSTOMS. jmy Reader to thefe Heads in the refpective Countries. As to the Trade of the French Inlands in America, they export prodigious Quantities of Sugar; which Commodity the French have cultivated with great Application of late Years; and, it feems, have had enough of it to furnish themselves, and all Europe.

THE

Of the Dutch Dominions in America.

HE chief of the Dutch Settlements is Surinam, on the Coaft of Guiana, in Terra-Firma. They have given the Name of Surinam to all the Country about this Fortress for feveral hundred Miles; and look upon themselves as Sovereigns of it. To the Northward of Terra-Firma, among the Caribee Inlands, lie the Dutch Ifles Curaffaw and Bonair. The Ifland of Curaffow, containing about 342 Square Miles, is not fo much esteemed for its Produce, as its Situation for a Trade with the Spanish Weft-Indies: Formerly the Harbour

of

of Curaflow was never without Ships from Carthagena and Porto-Bello; however, the Dutch have ftill a very extenfive Trade in this Place, fending Ships of good Force from Holland, freighted with European Goods, to this Coast, from whence they make very profitable Returns. The Ifland of Bonair contains about 168 Square Miles; the Dutch have feven or eight Soilders here, and five or fix Families of Indians, whofe chief Employment is the looking after their Goats for their Mafters, of which the Dutch falt up great Numbers every Year. Add to these the Iland of Oraba, feven or eight Leagues to the Weftward of Curaffow; which are all the Acquifitions of the Dutch in America.

ASTRONOMY.

Of the SOLAR SYSTEM according to COPERNICUS.

S.A

T the Beginning of this Difcourfe you promised to give me fome Idea of Aftronomy, which I should now attend to with great Pleasure.

M. As to the Science of Aftronomy in all its Parts, tho' it is both pleasant and useful, it may perhaps be too intricate and laborious for you to enter upon at prefent. I will therefore content myself with endeavouring to give you a general Notion of the Copernican Syftem, without entering at all into the abftrufe Parts of the Science.

The Earth we live upon, has been generally thought to be the Center of the Univerfe, and to be fixt and immoveable. Pythagoras indeed among the Ancients, taught the contrary; but his Opinion for want of being thoroughly canvass'd by learned and ingenious Men, grow into Difrepute, and was for many Centuries totally neglected. About 250 Years ago it was again reviv'd by Copernicus, a Native of Thorn in Pruffia; and is of late, by our great Newton, establish'd on fuch clear and folid Principles, that it is now universally receiv'd.

This Syftem is difpofed in the following manner. The Sun is placed in the Center, from whence it never moves. But from fome Obfervations made on its Spots, it is found

to

to turn round on its own Axis, from Weft to East, in about 25 Days. Round about him at unequal Distances fix opaque spherical Bodies continually revolve: These are called the primary Planets. That which is neareft to the Sun is called Mercury; the next Venus; then our Earth; the next beyond is Mars; after him Jupiter; and the moft diftant of all is Saturn. Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars, are called fuperior Planets, because their Circuits are beyond the Earth's Orbit; Mercury and Venus are called inferior Planets, because their Circuits are within that Orbit.

Besides thefe, there are discover'd in this Syftem ten other Bodies, which move about some of these primary Planets in the fame manner, as they move round the Sun. These are called fecondary Planets. The moft confpicuous of them is the Moon, which moves round our Earth; four move in like manner round Jupiter, and five round Saturn.

The fame Planet is not always equally diftant from the Sun; but if the Distance of the Earth from the Sun be divided into ten equal Parts, the mean Distance of Saturn from the Sun will be 95 fuch Parts, of Jupiter 52, of Mars 15, of Venus 7, and of Mercury 4. Now the Distance of the Earth from the Sun is found to be about 76 Millions of English Miles. If therefore you multiply one tenth Part of this Diftance, which is about 7600cco Miles, by 95, it will give you the Distance of Saturn from the Sun, in English Miles; if by 52, it will give you the Distance of Jupiter; if by 15, of Mars; if by 7, of Venus; and if by 4, of Mercury.

But from a round Calculation, the Distance of each Planet from the Sun in English Miles is about

The Distance of the Moon from the Earth is about 30 of the Earth's Diameters, or 240 Thoufand Milles. Its Proportion to the Earth in Magnitude is as 5 to 258; that is, it is more than 50 times lefs than the Earth. The Sun is about a Million of times bigger than the Earth.

Y 4

The

The Diameters of the Sun, the Earth, and each of the Planets, in English Miles, are nearly as follows;

All these Planets, both primary and fecondary, being opaque Bodies, and receiving all their Light from the Sun, as well as making their great Revolutions round him, are for thefe Reafons look'd upon as Dependents on him, and make up altogether what is called the Solar System,

All these Planets move one Way, from Weft to Eaft; and of the primary Planets, the most remote is longeft in finishing its Courfe round the Sun. The Period of Saturn falls fhort only 16 Days of 29 Years and a half. The Period of Jupiter is 12 Years wanting about 50 Days. The Period of Mars is within 43 Days of 2 Years. The Revolution of the Earth is one Year. The Period of Venus is perform'd in about 224 Days and an half, and of Mercury in about 88 Days.

Such of thefe Bodies are revolve round their own Axis, perform that Revolution in the following times. The Sun in fomething more than 25 Days. Mars in one Day and 40 Minutes. The Earth in 23 Hours 56 Minutes. And Jupiter in 10 Hours.

The Moon revolves about her Axis in the fame time that fhe makes her Courfe round the Earth, which is a Month; fo that her Inhabitants have but one Day throughout the Year. It is very probable, that Mercury and Saturn alfo revolve round their own Axes, as all Parts of their Surfaces cannot otherwife receive the Light and Heat of the Sun, which in all Probability are as neceilary and convenient to them, as we find them to be to the Earth. The Certainty of this Revolution in the other Planets is proved by the Appearance and Difappearance of certain Spots on their Surfaces, which rifing first on one Side or Edge of the Planet's Difk, move by Degrees to the Middle, and fo on till they reach the oppofite Edge, where they fet and difappear: Ánd after they have been hid for about the fame Space of Time that they were

vifible