Saint Thomas

Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)

an island in the West Indies belonging to Denmark. It is situated about forty-three miles east of Porto Rico . The surface is hilly. Its chief town was at one time a center of West Indian trade. The inhabitants are chiefly negroes who make a living by raising sugar. St. Thomas, together with the other Danish islands, St. Croix and St. John, has an area of 138 square miles. The combined population is about 130,000. In 1870 a treaty was signed for the sale of these islands to the United States , but it was rejected by the United States Senate. In 1902 a second treaty was negotiated with the same end in view. It was rejected by the Danish legislature. The islands have suffered seriously from earthquakes and hurricanes. They are of importance to the United States, chiefly by reason of their strategic position. Their possession by a strong nation would afford opportunity for the establishment of a naval station commanding, in a way, the approach to the prospective Panama canal . Saladin (1137-1193), a famous Arabian sultan of Egypt and Syria. He served in Syria and became chief minister or vizier of Egypt in 1169. He overpowered a rival line of caliphs in North Africa and Syria, known as Fatimites, in 1171, and was proclaimed sultan in 1174. The Christians, who wrested the Holy City from the Mohammedans and established a kingdom at Jerusalem as the result of the earlier Crusades, annoyed the Mohammedan caravans on their way to Mecca. An atrocious massacre of Mohammedan pilgrims stirred Saladin to attempt the expulsion of the Europeans from Palestine. In the battle of Tiberias, fought on the plain of that name in 1187, he captured King Guy of Jerusalem and with his own scimitar cut down Chatillon, the guilty author of the massacre. He then took possession of Acre and other coast towns, and two years later recaptured the Holy City of Jerusalem. He was prevented from capturing Tyre by the arrival of help from Europe. Under Richard the Lion Hearted of England and Philip II of France, the Crusaders retook Acre and carried their victorious banners to the very walls of Jerusalem. A truce was then concluded whereby the Christians retained the coast with the privilege of visiting Jerusalem, which remained in the hands of the sultan. Saladin gained power by treachery and violence,--methods usual in the Orient,-but he exercised it wisely and for the good of his people. A favorable view of this ruler, and the knightly qualities which are popularly attributed to him, may be had from Scott's Talisman. See Saracen