GUIANA, French, is the smallest and most eastern of the three colonies. It lies between N. Lat. 2. and 6., and W. Long. 51. 30., and 54. 30.; being bounded on the N. and N.E. by the Atlantic, E. and S. by Brazil, and W. by Dutch Guiana. It is about 250 miles in length from N. to S., and varies in breadth from 100 to 150 miles. Area, 27,560 square miles. It has a coast line of 200 miles, extending from the Maroni to the Oyapoc. The low alluvial tract along the coast is of great fertility. The mountain chains run E. and W., and are almost wholly of granite, but do not attain a great elevation. The country is abundantly watered; and the coast-lands appear to be less unhealthy than in British Guiana. The island of Cayenne, at the mouth of the Oyapoc, is about 30 miles in circumference, and is separated from the continent by a narrow channel. The roadstead at the mouth of the Oyapoc, though small, is the best on the coast, having everywhere from 12 to 13 feet of water. The capital, Cayenne, is situated on the northern side of this island, and contains 5220 inhabitants. The new town is well built, and has good streets; the government house is in the old town. The harbour is protected by a fort and several batteries. The colony is divided into two districts, Cayenne and Sinnamary, and fourteen communes. The government is vested in a governor, a privy council, and a colonial council composed of sixteen members elected by the colonists. The cultivated lands are estimated to be about \frac{1}{2}th of the whole territory. Besides the staples of British and Dutch Guiana, its productions comprise pepper (including Cayenne, which is so called from the island of that name), cloves, cinnamon, and nutmegs. Trade is chiefly with France and its colonies. In 1854 the official value of the imports into France from French Guiana was L.20,000; exports, L.192,000. The French first settled in Cayenne in 1604; the British and Portuguese captured the colony in 1809, but restored it to the French in 1814, in whose possession it still remains. It has recently been made a place of banishment for French political offenders, and in 1852, 2500 of these were sent out. Pop. about 22,000, of whom about 15,000 are emancipated slaves.