Basilipotamo, a river of European Turkey, in
the Morea, which flows into the gulf of Colocy-
thia. It was called Eurotas by the ancients.

Basingstoke, a town in Hampshire, Eng. It has
a great trade in corn and malt, a manufacture of
f    druggets and shalloons, and a navigable canal to

the river Wey. near its entrance into the Thames;
and being situate at the junction of several great
roads, from all parts of the West of England, it is
a place of considerable bustle. Pop. in 1821,3,615.
It is 18 m. N. N. E. of Winchester, and 45 W. by
S. ofLondon.

The village of Old Basing, which is a township
in the parish of Basingstoke, situate about two
miles in the east, is distinguished for the deter-
mined stand which it made against the forces
of Cromwell, by whom it was ultimately taken,
wiien he put nearly the whole garrison to the
sword, and razed the fortress, which was the resi-
dence of the marquis of Winchester, to the ground.
Pop. 1073.

Baskenridge, ph. Somerset Co. N. J. 8 m. S. W.
Morristown. General Lee was taken prisoner
here by the British during the revolutionary war.

Basques, a late territory of France, which inclu-
ded Lower Navarre, Labourd, and Soule, and now
forms with Bearn, the department of Lower Py-
renees.

Bass, an insulated rock near the coast of Scot-
land,at the entrance of the Frith of Forth, between
the towns of North Berwick and Dunbar. On
the south side it is almost conic, on the other it
overnangs the sea in .a tremendous manner. It
is inaccessible on all sides, except the south-west,
and there it is with difficulty a man can climb up
by the help of a rope or ladder. In May and June
it is quite covered with the nests, eggs, and young
birds of the gannets and solan geese. The rock is
one mile in circumference, and has a rabbit war-
ren and pasture for a few sheep. A ruinous.
castle, once the state prison of Scotland, stands at
the edge of the precipice. The garrison in 1694,
surrendered to king William, ana the fortifications
were demolished.

Bass Islands, a group of islands in Lake Erie,
comprised in Huron county, Ohio. There are 3
large and several smaller ones. The southern-
most contains the haven of Put-in-Bay, near
which Commodore Perry engaged and captured
the whole British squadron, Sept. 10th, 1813.

Bass’s Strait, a channel about 40 leagues wide,
which separates Van Diemen’s Land from the
south extremity of New Holland. It contains a
chain of islands that run north and south. This
strait was discovered, in 1798, by surgeon Bass,
in an open whale-boat and passed through by him
and lieutenant Flinders, in the Norfolk, in 1799.

Bassano, a town in the north of Italy, in Vincen-
tino, on the east bank of the river Brenta, in a
country productive of excellent wine and oil. The
French defeated the Austrians at this place in
1796. It is 18 m. N. of Vicenza.

Bassee,or La Basse, a town of France, in the de-
partment of Nord, formerly of great strength, but
dismantled by Louis XIV. It is seated on the
Deule. 18 m. S W. of Lisle.

Bassetn, a town of Hindoostan, in the country
of Baglana. It was taken by the English in 1780,
but restored to the Mahrattas in 1783. It stands
n the sea-coast, opposite the N. W. point of the
.sland of Salsette, 20 m. N. of Bombay. L'ing.
72. 40. E. lat. 19. 20. N.

Bassenthwaite-water, a lake in Cumberland, three
miles N.W. of Keswick. It is four miles long,

bounded on one side by high hills, wooded, in
many places, to their bases; on the other, by the
fields and the skirts of Skiddaw. The river Der-
went flows through its whole length. There is a
village named Bassenthwaite on the east bank of
the lake, containing 264 inhabitants.

Basseterre, the capital of St. Christopher, built
by the French, when this part of the island was in
possession, before it was ceded to the English in
1713. It is situate on the S. E. end of the island,
and is defended by three forts. Long. 63. 13. W
lat. 17. 10. N.

Basseterre, the capital of Guadaloupe, on the S.
AV. part of the island, defended by a citadel and
other fortifications. Long. 61. 59. W. lat. 15.59.
N.    '

Bassien, or Persaim, a city of Pegu,capital of the
province of Bassien. It is a trading place, situate
on a river of the same name, which is the west
branch of the Irrawaddy, 110 m. S. AV. of Pegu.
Long. 94. 53. E. lat. 16. 22. N.

Bassorah, or Basra, a city and seaport of Asiatic
Turkey, in Irac Arabi. It stands on the west
bank of the Euphrates, or Shat-ul-Arab, navigable
for ships of500 tons burthen up to the town, about
65 m. above the entrance of the river, into the Gulf
of Persia. Bassorah appears to have been founded
about the middle of the seventh century, and pro-
gressively advanced into importance until it be-
came the most considerable trading town of all
western Asia; and previous to the route to India
by the Cape of Good Hope, it was the medium
through which a great portion of the commerce
of Asia passed to Venice and Genoa, and from
thence over western Europe. It was taken pos-
session of by the Turks, in 1688, since which pe-
riod it has continued to decline, having been al-
ternately exposed to the interruptions of the Per-
sians, Arabs, and Turks; and since the com-
mencement of the 19th century, when the tide of
commerce began to set from the west to the east,
Smyrna has become what Bassorah was, for so
many centuries, the emporium of the greater por-
tion of the commerce of that part of the world.
Bassorah however still continues to be a place of
considerable traffic, which is participated in, more
or less, by most of the trading nations of both Eu-
rope and Asia. The city is surrounded by a wall
of clay, said to be six miles in circumference,
mounted with a great number of cannon ; the
streets are bad and narrow, and the houses con-
structed of bricks have a mean aspect. It is
nominally under the dominion of Turkey, but
governed by an Arab chieftain, with little defer
ence to the Ottoman authority. The great desert
of Arabia runs up nearly to the town; the immedi-
ate vicinity, however, is very fertile. A wall of seve-
ral miles in extent has been constructed on the side
of the desert, as a check on the predatory incursions
of the Arabs, who frequently commit depredations
under the very walls of the town. xe2x80xa2 The popula-
tion is estimated at about 60,000, among whom
are a considerable number of Jews, Armenians,
and Arabs, and natives of the more eastern parts
of Asia. It is about 210 m. S. W. of Ispahan, in
lat. 30. 30. N. and 47. 45. E. long.

Bastia, a seaport of European Turkey, in Alba-
nia, opposite the island of Corfu, at the mouth of
the Calamu. Long. 20. 20. E. lat. 39. 40. N.

Bastia, a city on the N. E. coast of the Island
of Corsica, capital of the island, with a good har
bour and a strong castle. It was taken by the En
glish in 1794. It is 80 m. S. S. W. of Leghorn
Long. 9.20. E. lat. 42. 38. N. Pop. about 11,500.