MOCHA, one of the principal ports of the Red Sea, and the chief city of the province of Yemen, in Arabia. It has a handsome appearance from the sea, all its buildings being white-washed, and several of its minarets overtopping the other buildings, whilst some of the tombs, which, as in many eastern cities, are handsome structures, break the monotonous view of the flat roofs which are common in Mahomedan cities. But if the eye is pleased by the
external aspect of the place, these ideas are quickly dispelled by a nearer view, owing to the filth which covers the streets and all the open places, and the mean and ruined state of many of the houses, which, being generally built of unburnt bricks, with little lime, are destroyed by the introduction of moisture, which decomposes the fragile materials of which these buildings are composed, and the bricks in consequence return to their original state of mud. The principal edifice is the residence of the Dola, which is large and lofty, having one front to the sea, and another to a square, which forms the only regular portion of the town. The other sides of this square are occupied by the residences of the other public functionaries, and by one extensive serai built by the Turks whilst they were in possession of the place. Those houses which front the sea, with their turreted tops and fantastic ornaments of white stucco, make a respectable appearance. They have mostly small and irregularly-placed windows, and in the upper apartments they substitute for glass a thin strata of a transparent stone found in a mountain near to Sana. These windows are mostly of a circular form. The houses are but rudely finished in the interior, the floors and roofs being made of chunam, and very uneven; the passages in them are long and narrow, and their staircases very steep. Those of the lower classes are still more rude, being mere huts of brick covered in the inside with mats, and sometimes in the outside with a little clay, with which the roof is thatched. The town is fortified by a wall sixteen feet towards the sea, but thirty feet towards the land; and it extends for about a mile in nearly a straight line facing the sea, and afterwards takes a circular direction. It is of no strength, and would be shattered to pieces by the first shock of artillery; in some places, indeed, it would scarcely bear the firing of its own cannon. Nor are the forts which defend it in any better condition. They might all be levelled to the ground by a single broadside from an English man-of-war. Its only use was to repel an irregular attack of the Wahabee cavalry. The garrison consists of about 200 musqueteers and eighty cavalry, who receive two dollars of pay per month, and provide their own arms and ammunition. Mocha possesses a considerable trade, and is the channel through which the intercourse of Europe with this part of the world is carried on. Coffee is the main staple, and is indigenous to the country, which produces it in great abundance, and of unrivalled excellence. It was introduced from Arabia into Aleppo and Damascus, and other great cities. It became known in France and England in the middle of the seventeenth century; the demand for it increased, and it became a source of wealth; but the shrub having been transplanted to the West Indies, the cheaper coffee of these countries, though of inferior quality, rivalled the produce of Mocha in the European markets. The whole quantity of coffee produced at Mocha, amounting, according to the estimate of Lord Valentia, to 4,880,000 lbs. was formerly conveyed to Jidda, where it was purchased by merchants from Europe or from India, and partly also from America. Mocha also carries on a considerable trade in myrrh, frankincense, and gum-arabic, which commodities are brought from the opposite coast of Berbera, in Africa; in balm of Gilead or of Mekka, a resinous juice much used in the East as a cosmetic; in senna, of which about 30,000 cwt. are exported; in sharks' fins, rhinoceros' horns and hides, acacia and civet from the interior of Africa. Grain and piece-goods are imported to a considerable amount from Bombay. The trade is carried on by about 250 Banians or Gentoo merchants, who are subject to great oppression, and who are only induced to remain from the great profits which they realize. Three per cent. of custom duty is imposed on English goods, and on those of other foreigners five per cent. A three-masted vessel pays 384 dollars on its arrival, and vessels with two masts only
one half each. Mocha is not a city of any antiquity. It does not appear to have been known so far back as four centuries. When it was visited by Alphonso Albuquerque in 1513, it seems to have been an inconsiderable place. The first attempt to open a trade with it was in 1610, by the British expeditions under Sharpey and Sir H. Middleton. It was here that the latter was treacherously surprised and made prisoner with a number of his men, though he afterwards obtained his release, and exacted satisfaction for the injuries which he had received. The Dutch took the lead amongst the Europeans in establishing a factory here; and they were followed in 1708 by the French, and afterwards by the English, who at length engrossed almost the whole trade, till they found formidable rivals in the Americans. The surrounding country is a dreary plain of arid sand, environed by mountains, and covered with a saline efflorescence, scarcely relieved in some parts by embrowned leaves and stunted vegetables, whose burnt appearance does not diminish the dreariness of the scenery. Dates grow in abundance around the town, but, like every thing else, are affected by the poverty of the soil from which they spring. The south-east wind, which blows for eight months of the year, and passes over the burning sands of Africa, renders the climate intensely hot. The north-west wind, which blows for the other four months, is also hot, as it passes over the burning sands of Arabia. It is supposed by travellers that the town does not contain above 5000 inhabitants. Long. 43. 20. E. Lat. 13. 20. N.
Мощна, an island off the coast of Chile, above sixty miles in circumference. It is fertile, and was formerly settled by Spaniards, but it is now uninhabited. It is, however, frequented by whale ships belonging to England and the United States.