a country of Asia, bounded on the north by Circassia, on the east by Daghestan and Shirvan, on the south by Armenia, and on the west by the Euxine or Black sea; comprehending the greatest part of the ancient Colchis, Iberia, and Albania. About the etymon of the name of this country, authors are not agreed. The most probable opinion is, that it is a corruption by softening of Kurgia, from the river Kur; whence also it is supposed that the inhabitants are called by the Persians indifferently Gurgi and Kurgi; and the country Kurgijian and Gurgijian: It is divided by a ridge of mountains into eastern and western; the former of which is again subdivided into the kingdoms of Caket, Carduel or Carthuel, and Goguetia; and the latter into the provinces of Abcassia, Mireta or Imaretia, and Guriel. Another division is into Georgia Proper, Abcassia, and Mingrelia. A third division will be afterwards mentioned.

"Georgia, (fays Sir George Chardin) is as fertile a country as can be seen; the bread is as good here as in any part of the world; the fruit of an exquisite flavour and of different sorts: no place in Europe yields better pears and apples, and no place in Asia better pomegranates. The country abounds with cattle, venison, and wild fowl of all sorts: the river Kur is well stocked with fish; and the wine is so rich, that the king of Persia has always some of it for his own table. The inhabitants are robust, valiant, and of a jovial temper; great lovers of wine, and esteemed very truly and faithful; endowed with good natural parts, but, for want of education, very vicious. The women are generally so fair and comely, that the wives and concubines of the king of Persia and his court are for the most part Georgian women. Nature has adorned them with graces nowhere else to be met with: it is impossible to see them without loving them; they are of a good size, clean limbed, and well shaped. Another traveller, however, of no mean character, thus expresses himself with respect to the women: 'As to the Georgian women, they did not at all surprise us; for we expected to find them perfect beauties. They are, indeed no way disagreeable; and may be counted beauties, if compared with the Curdes. They have an air of health that is pleasing enough; but, after all, they are neither so handsome nor so well shaped as is reported. Those who live in the towns have nothing extraordinary more than the others; so that I may, I think, venture to contradict the accounts that have been given of them by most travellers.'"

This country formerly abounded with great cities, as appears not only from its history, but from the ruins of many of them still visible, which show that they must have been very large, opulent, and magnificently built. These were all destroyed by the inundations of northern barbarians from Mount Caucasus, as the Alans, Huns, Suevi, and some others, so much noted in history for their strength, courage, and conquests.

The latest division of this country is into nine provinces; five of which are subject to the famous prince Heraclius, forming what is commonly called the kingdom of Georgia; and four are under the dominion of David, composing the kingdom or principality of Imaretia. See IMERETIA.

This whole country is so extremely beautiful, that some fanciful travellers have imagined they had here found the situation of the original garden of Eden. The hills are covered with forests of oak, ash, beech, chestnuts, walnuts, and elms, encircled with vines, growing perfectly wild, but producing vast quantities of grapes. From these is annually made as much wine as is necessary for the yearly consumption; the remainder is left to rot on the vines. Cotton grows spontaneously, as well as the finest European fruit trees. Rice, wheat, millet, hemp, and flax, are raised on the plains, almost without culture. The valleys afford the finest pasturage in the world; the rivers are full of fish; the mountains abound in minerals, and the climate is delicious; so that nature appears to have favoured on this favourite country every production that can contribute to the happiness of its inhabitants.

On the other hand, the rivers of Georgia being fed by mountain torrents, are at all seasons either too rapid or too shallow for the purposes of navigation: the Black Sea, by which commerce and civilization might be introduced from Europe, has been till very lately in the exclusive possession of the Turks: the trade of Georgia by land is greatly obstructed by the high mountains of Caucasus; and this obstacle is still increased by the swarms of predatory nations, by which those mountains are inhabited.

It is said, that in the 15th century, a king of Georgia divided among his five sons the provinces of Carduel and Caket, Imaretia, Mingrelia, Guriel, and Abcassia. These petty princes were too jealous to unite for their common defence, and too weak singly to resist a foreign enemy, or even to check the encroachments of their great vassals, who soon became independent. By forming a party among these nobles, the Turks gradually gained possession of all the western provinces, while the Persians occupied the governments of Carduel and Caket. Since that period the many unsuccessful attempts of the Georgians to recover their liberty have repeatedly produced the devastation of their country. Abbas the Great is said to have carried off in one expedition from the provinces of Carduel and Caket no less than 80,000 families; a number which, probably, exceeds the whole actual population of those provinces. The most horrible cruelties were again exercised on the unhappy people, at the beginning of the present century, by the merciles Nadir; but these were trifling evils, compared with those arising from the internal diffusions of the great barons. This numerous body of men, idle, arrogant, and ferocious, possessed of an unlimited power over the lives and properties of their vassals, having no employment but that of arms, and no hopes of aggrandizing themselves but by the plunder of their rivals, were constantly in a state of warfare; and as their success was various, and the peasants of the vanquished were constantly carried off and sold to the Turks or Persians, every expedition increased the depopulation of the country. At length they invited the neighbouring mountaineers, by the hopes of plunder, to take part in their quarrels; and these dangerous allies, becoming acquainted with the country, and being spectators of the weakness of its inhabitants, soon completed its desolation. A few equal wretches, half naked, half starved, and driven to despair by the merciless exactions of their landlords, are thinly dispersed over the most beautiful provinces of Georgia. The revolutions of Persia, and the weakness of the Turks, have indeed enabled the princes of the country to recover their independence; but the smallness of their revenue has hitherto disabled them from repressing effectually the tyranny of the nobles, and relieving the burdens of the peasants.

The capital of Georgia is Teflis, where Prince Heraclius resides. (See TEFILIS.) Of this prince, fo celebrated for his exploits and successes in shaking off the Ottoman yoke, we have the following account by the late Professor Guldenstaedt when he travelled into these parts in 1770. "Heraclius, or, as he is called, the Tzar Iracli, is above 60 years old, of a middle size, with a long countenance, a dark complexion, large eyes, and a small beard. He passed his youth at the court and in the army of the celebrated Nadir Shah, where he contracted a fondness for Persian customs and manners, which he has introduced into his kingdom. He has seven sons and six daughters. He is much revered and dreaded by the Persian khans his neighbours; and is usually chosen to mediate between them in their disputes with each other. When they are at war, he supports one of the parties with a few troops, who diffuse a spirit and courage among the rest, because the Georgian soldiers are esteemed the bravest of those parts; and Prince Heraclius himself is renowned for his courage and military skill. When on horseback he has always a pair of loaded pistols at his girdle, and, if the enemy is near, a musket flung over his shoulder. In all engagements he is the foremost to give examples of personal bravery; and frequently charges the enemy at the head of his troops with the sabre in his hand. He loves pomp and expense; he has adopted the dress of Persia; and regulates his court after the manner of that country. From the example of the Russian troops, who were quartered in Georgia during the last Turkish war, he has learnt the use of plates, knives, and forks, dishes and household furniture, &c."

The subjects of Heraclius are estimated at about 60,000 families; but this, notwithstanding the present deflated state of the country, is probably an under valuation. The peasants belonging to the queen, and those of the patriarch, pay no tax to the prince, and therefore do not appear on the books of the revenue officers. Many similar exemptions have likewise been granted by the prince to his sons-in-law, and his favourites. Besides, as the impost on the peasants is not a poll-tax, but a tax on hearths, the inhabitants of a village, on the approach of the collectors, frequently carry the furniture of several huts into one, and destroy the remainder, which are afterwards very easily replaced. It is probable, therefore, that the population of Georgia does not fall short of 350,000 souls. The revenues may be estimated at about 150,000 rubles, or 26,250l. They consist of, 1. The customs, farmed at 17,50l.—2. Rent paid by the farmers of the mint, at Teflis, 17,50l.—3. The tribute paid by the khans of Erivan and Ganish, 7,000l.—and, 4. The hearth money levied on the peasants, amounting to 15,750l. The common coins here are the abafes, of about 1 1/2d. value, and a small copper coin, stamped at the mint at Teflis. Besides these, a large quantity of gold and silver money is brought into the country from Persia and Turkey, in exchange for honey, butter, cattle, and blue linens.

The government of Georgia is despotic; but, were it not for the assistance of the Russian troops, the prince would be frequently unable to carry his decrees into execution. The punishments in criminal cases are shockingly cruel; fortunately they are not frequent, because it is seldom difficult to escape into some of the neighbouring countries, and because the prince is more enriched by confiscating the property of the criminal, than by putting him to torture. Judicial combats are considered as the privilege of nobility, and take place when the cause is extremely intricate, or when the power and interest of two claimants are so equal, that neither can force a decision of the court in his favour. This mode of trial is called an appeal to the judgment of God.

The dress of the Georgians nearly resembles that of the Cossacks; but men of rank frequently wear the habit of Persia. They usually dye their hair, beard, and nails with red. The Georgian women employ the same colour to stain the palms of their hands. On their heads they wear a cap or fillet, under which their black hair falls on their forehead: behind it is braided into several tresses. Their eyebrows are painted with black, in such a manner as to form one entire line, and their faces are perfectly coated with white and red. Their robe is open to the girdle, so that they are reduced to conceal their breasts with their hands. Their air and manner are extremely voluptuous. Being generally educated in convents, they can all read and write; a qualification which is very unusual among the men, even of the highest rank. Girls are betrothed as soon as possible, often at three or four years of age. In the streets the women of rank are always veiled, and then it is indecent in any man to accost them. It is likewise uncivil in conversation to inquire after the wives of any of the company. These, however, are not ancient customs, but are a consequence of the violences committed by the Persians, under Shah Nadir. Travellers accuse the Georgians of drunkenness, superstition, cruelty, sloth, avarice, and cowardice; vices which are everywhere common to slaves and tyrants, and are by no means peculiar to the natives of this country. The descendants of the colonists, carried off by Shah Abbas, and settled at Peria, near Iupahan, and in Masanderan, have changed their character with their government; and the Georgian troops, employed in Persia against the Afghans, were advantageously distinguished by their docility, their discipline, and their courage.

The other inhabitants of Georgia are Tartars, Offi, and Armenians, called in the Georgian language Somakhi. These last are found all over Georgia, sometimes mixed with the natives, and sometimes in villages of their own. They speak among themselves their own language, but all understand and can talk the Georgian. Their religion is partly the Armenian, and partly the Roman Catholic. They are the most oppressed of the inhabitants, but are still distinguished by that instinctive industry which everywhere characterizes the nation.

Besides these, there are in Georgia considerable numbers of Jews, called, in the language of the country, Uria. Some have villages of their own; and others are mixed with the Georgian, Armenian, and Tartar inhabitants, but never with the Offi. They pay a small tribute above that of the natives.

of the United States of America, lying between South Carolina and Florida. It extends 120 miles upon the sea-coast, and 300 miles from thence to the Apalachian mountains, and its boundaries to the north and south are the rivers Savannah and Alatamaha. The whole coast is bordered with islands; the principal of which are Skidaway, Waffa, Ossabaw, St Catherine's, Sapelo, Frederica, Jekyll, Cumberland, and Amelia.

The settlement of a colony between the rivers Savannah and Alatamaha was meditated in England in 1732, for the accommodation of poor people in Great Britain and Ireland, and for the further security of Carolina. Private compassion and public spirit conspired to promote the benevolent design. Humane and opulent men suggested a plan of transporting a number of indigent families to this part of America free of expense. For this purpose they applied to the King, George II, and obtained from him letters patent, bearing date June 9, 1732, for legally carrying into execution what they had generously projected. They called the new province Georgia, in honour of the king, who encouraged the plan. A corporation, consisting of 21 persons, was constituted by the name of, The Trustees for settling and establishing the colony of Georgia.

In November 1732, 116 settlers embarked for Georgia to be conveyed thither free of expense, furnished with every thing requisite for building and for cultivating the soil. Mr James Oglethorpe, one of the trustees, and an active promoter of the settlement, embarked as the head and director of these settlers. They arrived at Charlestown early in the next year. Mr Oglethorpe, accompanied by William Bull, shortly after his arrival, visited Georgia; and after surveying the country, marked the spot on which Savannah now stands, as the fittest to begin their settlement. Here they accordingly began and built a small fort, and a number of small huts for their defence and accommodation. Such of the settlers as were able to bear arms were embodied, and well appointed with officers, arms, and ammunition. A treaty of friendship was concluded between the settlers and their neighbours the Creek Indians, and every thing wore the aspect of peace and future prosperity. But the fundamental regulations established by the trustees of Georgia were ill adapted to the circumstances and situation of the poor settlers, and of pernicious consequences to the prosperity of the province. Yet although the trustees were greatly mistaken with respect to their plan of settlement, it must be acknowledged their views were generous. Like other distant legislators, who framed their regulations upon principles of speculation, they were liable to many errors and mistakes; and however good their design, their rules were found improper and impracticable. These injudicious regulations and restrictions, the wars in which they were involved with the Spaniards and Indians, and the frequent insurrections among themselves, threw the colony into a state of confusion and wretchedness too great for human nature long to endure. Their oppressed situation was represented to the trustees by repeated complaints; till at length finding that the province languished under their care, and weary with the complaints of the people, they in the year 1752 surrendered their charter to the king, and it was made a royal government.

—In the year 1740, the Rev. George Whitefield founded an orphan house academy in Georgia about 12 miles from Savannah. Mr Whitefield died at Newbury port, in New England, in October 1770, in the 56th year of his age, and was buried under the Presbyterian church in that place. From the time Georgia became a royal government in 1752 till the peace of Paris in 1763, she struggled under many difficulties, arising from the want of credit and friends, and the frequent molestation of enemies. The good effects of the peace were sensibly felt in the province of Georgia. From this time it began to flourish under the fatherly care of Governor Wright. To form a judgment of the rapid growth of the colony, we need only attend to its exports. In the year 1763, they consisted of 7500 barrels of rice, 9633 pounds of indigo, 1250 bushels of Indian corn, which, together with deer and beaver skins, naval stores, provisions, timber, &c. amounted to no more than 27,021l. sterling. Ten years afterwards, in 1773, they amounted to 121,677l. sterling. The chief articles of export from this state are, rice, tobacco, indigo, fago, lumber of various kinds, naval stores, leather, deer skins, snake-root, myrtle, bees wax, corn, live stock, &c.

During the American war, Georgia was overrun by the British troops, and the inhabitants were obliged to flee to the neighbouring states for safety. Since the peace the progress of the population of this state is said to have been astonishingly rapid; though it has been a good deal checked within these few years by the hostile interruptions of the Creek Indians, who continually harass the frontiers of the state. Treaties have been held, and a cessation of hostilities agreed to, between the parties, but all have hitherto proved ineffectual to the accomplishment of a peace.

These Indians inhabit the middle parts of the state, Georgia, and are the most numerous tribe of Indians of any within the limits of the United States. Their whole number is 17,282, of which 5860 are fighting men. Their principal towns lie in latitude 32° and longitude 11° 23' from Philadelphia. They are settled in a hilly but not mountainous country. The soil is fruitful in a high degree, and well watered, abounding in creeks and rivulets, whence they are called the Creek Indians. The Seminoles, a division of the Creek nation, inhabit a level flat country on the Apalachicola and Flint rivers, fertile and well watered. The Chactaws or Flatheads inhabit a very fine and extensive tract of hilly country, with large and fertile plains intervening, between the Alabama and Mississippi rivers, in the western part of this state. This nation have 43 towns and villages, in three divisions, containing 12,123 souls, of which 4041 are fighting men. The Chickasaws are settled on the head branches of the Tombecbe, Mobile, and Yazoo rivers, in the north-west corner of the state. Their country is an extensive plain, tolerably well watered from springs, and of a pretty good soil. They have 7 towns, the central one of which is in latitude 34° 23', and longitude 14° 30' west. The number of souls in this nation, have been reckoned at 1725; of which 575 are fighting men.

That part of Georgia which has been laid out in counties is divided into the following, viz. Chatham, Effingham, Burke, Richmond, Wilkes, Liberty, Glynn, Camden, Washington, Greene, Franklin; and the chief towns are, Savannah, Ebenezer, Wayneborough and Louisville, Augusta, Washington, Sunbury, Brunswick, St Patrick's, Golphinton, Greenburg.—Savannah was formerly the capital, and is still the largest town (see SAVANNAH). But the present seat of government in this state is Augusta, situated on the south-west bank of Savannah river, about 134 miles from the sea, and 117 north-west of Savannah. The town, which contains not far from 200 houses, is on a fine large plain; and as it enjoys the best soil, and the advantage of a central situation between the upper and lower countries, is rising fast into importance. Louisville, however, is designed as the future seat of government in this state. It has lately been laid out on the bank of Ogeechee river, about 70 miles from its mouth, but is not yet built.

Savannah river forms a part of the divisional line which separates this state from South Carolina. It is formed principally of two branches, by the names of Tugulo and Keowee, which spring from the mountains. Ogeechee river, about 18 miles south of the Savannah is a small river, and nearly parallel with it in its course. Alatamaha, about 60 miles south of Savannah river, is formed by the junction of the Okonee and Okemulgee branches. It is a noble river, but of difficult entrance. Like the Nile, it discharges itself by several mouths into the sea. Besides these, there is Turtle river, Little Sitilla, Great Sitilla, Crooked river, and St Mary's, which form a part of the southern boundary of the United States. The rivers in the middle and western parts of this state are the Apalachicola, which is formed by the Catahouchee and Flint rivers, Mobile, Pascagoula, and Pearl rivers. All these running southwardly, empty into the gulf of Mexico.

In the grand convention at Philadelphia in 1787, Georgia, the inhabitants of this state were reckoned at 90,000, including three-fifths of 20,000 negroes. But from the number of the militia, which has been ascertained with a considerable degree of accuracy, there cannot be at most more than half that number. No general character will apply to the inhabitants at large. Collected from different parts of the world, as interest, necessity, or inclination led them, their character and manners must of course partake of all the varieties which distinguish the several states and kingdoms from whence they came. There is so little uniformity, that it is difficult to trace any governing principles among them. An aversion to labour is too predominant, owing in part to the relaxing heat of the climate, and partly to the want of necessity to excite industry. An open and friendly hospitality, particularly to strangers, is an ornamental characteristic of a great part of this people.

In regard to religion, politics, and literature, this state is yet in its infancy. In Savannah is an Episcopal church, a Presbyterian church, a synagogue, and a German Lutheran church, supplied occasionally by a German minister from Ebenezer, where there is a large convenient stone church, and a settlement of sober and industrious Germans of the Lutheran religion. In Augusta they have an Episcopal church. In Midway is a society of Christians established on the congregational plan. Their ancestors emigrated in a colony from Dorchester, near Boston, about the year 1750, and settled at a place named Dorchester, about 20 miles south-west of Charlestown, South Carolina. In 1752, for the sake of a better climate and more land, almost the whole society removed and settled at Midway.—They, as a people, retain in a great measure that simplicity of manners, that unaffected piety and brotherly love, which characterized their ancestors, the first settlers of New England. The upper countries are supplied pretty generally by Baptist and Methodist ministers; but the greater part of the state is without ministers of any denomination.

The numerous defects in the late constitution of this state, induced the citizens pretty universally to petition for a revision of it. It was accordingly revised, or rather a new one was formed, in the course of the year 1789, nearly upon the plan of the constitution of the United States, which has lately been adopted by the state.

The charter containing the present system of education in this state was passed in the year 1785. A college, with ample and liberal endowments, is instituted in Louisville, a high and healthy part of the country, near the centre of the state. There is also provision made for the institution of an academy in each county in the state, to be supported from the same funds, and considered as parts and members of the same institution, under the general superintendence and direction of a president and board of trustees, appointed for their literary accomplishments from the different parts of the state, and invested with the customary powers of corporations. The institution thus composed is denominated the university of Georgia.—The funds for the support of this institution are principally in lands, amounting in the whole to about 50,000 acres, a great part of which is of the best quality, lity, and at present very valuable. There are also nearly 6000l. sterling in bonds, houses, and town lots in the town of Augusta. Other public property to the amount of 1000l. in each county has been set apart for the purposes of building and furnishing their respective academies. The funds originally designed for the support of the orphan house are chiefly in rice plantations and negroes.

a township in the county of Franklin, containing about 400 inhabitants. It is situated on Lake Champlain, opposite to the north end of South Hero island.

a cluster of barren islands in the South sea, to the eastward of the coast of Terra del Fuego, in lat. 54° 30' S. and long. 37° W. One of these islands is 8 miles in length, and 30 in breadth.