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Title: Spain
Author: Webster, Wentworth, 1829-1907
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.
*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Spain" ***
[Illustration: SPAIN
Edwd Weller]
London, Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington.]
SPAIN
BY THE
REV. WENTWORTH WEBSTER, M.A. OXON.
WITH A CHAPTER BY AN ASSOCIATE OF THE SCHOOL OF MINES.
_WITH ILLUSTRATIONS._
London:
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON,
CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET.
1882.
[_All rights reserved._]
LONDON:
PRINTED BY GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, LIMITED,
ST. JOHN'S SQUARE.
[etext transcriber's note:
No attempt has been made to correct, normalize or de-anglicize
the spelling of Spanish names or words.
For example: Calayatud/Calatayud, Alfonso/Alfonzo,
Cacéres/Caceres/Cáceres, Cardénas/Cárdenas, Guipúzcoa/Guipuzcoa all
appear]
PREFACE.
There is a difficulty in writing a book of this character on Spain,
which does not exist, we think, to the same extent with any other
European country. In most European nations the official returns and
government reports may be accepted as trustworthy, and the compiler has
little more to do than to copy them; but in Spain this is far from being
always the case. In some instances, from nonchalance and habitual
inexactitude, in others, and especially in all matters of finance and
taxation, from designed misstatement, all such reports have to be
received with caution and scrupulously examined. The reader must
remember also that in Spain smuggling and contraband dealing in various
forms is carried on to such a vast extent as seriously to vitiate all
trade returns. Thus it is that Spanish statistics can be considered
only as approximate truths.
Another difficulty arises from the very varied character of the Spanish
provinces. Hardly any statement can be made of one province which is not
untrue of another. The ordinary descriptions of Spain present only one,
or at most two, types, the Castling and Andalusian, and utterly neglect
all the rest. The provinces of Spain have been well described as divided
into "five Irelands" whose habits and modes of thought, political
aspirations, and commercial interests and aptitudes, are often utterly
opposed to those of the capital. A brief survey of the whole of Spain is
attempted in the following pages.
In a work of this kind one other obvious difficulty is to know what to
omit. Some well-worn topics will be found to be absent from these pages.
No references are made to the great Peninsular War. This can be easily
studied in the admirable pages of Sir W. Napier in English, and of
Toreno in Spanish, or in compendiums of these, which again are filtered
down in every guide-book. For a like reason Prescott's brilliant works
are not alluded to.
For the chapter on Geology and Mining the reader is indebted to one of
the most distinguished Associates of the School of Mines, who has been
recently engaged in practical geological survey and mapping in Spain.
Much also of the present work is due to private information most kindly
furnished by Spanish friends of high position in the literary and
political world, and with whom some of the subjects treated have been
frequently discussed. To these the author offers his warmest and most
grateful thanks.
ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
THE GEOGRAPHY OF SPAIN.
PAGE
Boundaries of the Peninsula 1
Area and Coast-line 2
Six divisions of Spain _ib._
_Mountain chains_:
Pyrenees 3
Cantabrian, Asturian, and Galician mountains 4
Leon _ib._
Oca, Sierra Moncayo, and Idubeda chains 5
Central Plateau and its passes _ib._
Culminating water-shed of the Peninsula 6
Guadarrama range _ib._
Toledan range 7
Sierra Morena and passes _ib._
Central ranges and river basins 8
Sierra Nevada and offshoots _ib._
Minor ranges 9
_Rivers, river basins, and rainfall_:
Five great rivers 10
Rivers of Galicia and Asturias 11
Basque Provinces 12
Ebro and its tributaries and canals 12
Catalonia, streams of 14
Douro and its tributaries 15
Tagus " " 17
Guadiana " " and lakes 19
Guadalquiver, its tributaries, islands, and marismas 22
Segura and its irrigation 24
Jucar " " 25
Guadalaviar or Turia _ib._
Lakes and Albuferas 26
Water toponymy 27
Comparative table of principal rivers 28
Mineral springs and Salinas _ib._
CHAPTER II.
CLIMATE AND PRODUCTIONS.
Five climates of Spain 30
Temperature and rainfall of:
Galicia and the Asturias 31
Santander and the Basque Provinces 32
Aragon _ib._
Catalonia _ib._
Valencia 34
Alicante _ib._
Murcia 35
Cartagena to Almeria _ib._
Malaga, Motril, Seville, and Cordova _ib._
Granada 36
Cadiz, Gibraltar, &c _ib._
Elevation of Central Plateau _ib._
Temperature and rainfall of Madrid, Salamanca, and Soria 38
Agricultural products of:
Galicia and the Asturias 39
Basque Provinces and basin of the Ebro 40
Moorish agriculture and exotic flora of Southern Spain 41
Products of Valencia and Murcia 43
Palms at Elche 44
Aromatic mountain shrubs 45
Products and wines of Andalusia 46
Products of the Central Plateau _ib._
Estremadura and law of the Mesta 47
Locusts 48
Corn-lands of Castile and Sierras de Campos 50
Comparative Flora of Spain 52
_Fauna_:
Monkeys of Gibraltar _ib._
Beasts and birds of prey _ib._
Game birds and African visitants _ib._
Noxious and useful insects _ib._
Merino sheep 54
Horses, cattle, and beasts of burden 55
Fisheries 56
Estimated total production of Spain 57
CHAPTER III.
GEOLOGY AND MINES.
Peculiar interest of Spanish geology 58
Granite and Silurian rocks _ib._
Carboniferous formation 59
Secondary formations _ib._
Upper Cretaceous _ib._
Eocene tertiary 60
Miocene fresh-water _ib._
Pliocene _ib._
Influence of geology on populations _ib._
Statistics of Spanish geology 61
Volcanoes, recent _ib._
_Minerals of_:
Gneiss and crystalline schists 62
Metamorphic rocks _ib._
Cambrian formation _ib._
Silurian slates _ib._
Devonian sandstones _ib._
Carboniferous series _ib._
Permian 63
Triassic conglomerates _ib._
Jurassic limestones and marl _ib._
Cretaceous formation _ib._
Eocene, Miocene, and Pliocene _ib._
Production and export of six chief minerals _ib._
Of argentiferous ore, cobalt, silver _ib._
Coal 65
Iron of the Bilbao district _ib._
Locality of principal mines 66
Mining laws 67
CHAPTER IV.
ETHNOLOGY, LANGUAGE, AND POPULATION.
Pyrenees, no true boundary of 69
Population of Spain, mixed 70
Iberi, Kelt-Iberi, Basques, and Kelts _ib._
Foreign races in Spain 73
Visigoths, Arabs, and Moors 75
Toponymy of Spain 76
Language of Spanish Jews 77
Existing dialects _ib._
Statistics of the Spanish language 78
Characteristics of " " 79
Population of Spain 80
Density of _ib._
Occupations of 81
Manufacturing and mining Provinces 82
Clergy _ib._
Distribution of property, great changes in 83
Abolition of Mesta and of feudal privileges _ib._
Sale of Crown and Church property 84
Actual distribution _ib._
Characteristics of the various populations 85
Galicians, Asturians, Basques, and Aragonese 86
Catalans, Valencians, and Murcians 86, 87
Andalusians 87
Manchegans, and Castilians 89
Gipsies, Maragatos, Passiegos, Hurdes, Sayagos, &c. 90
Contrabandistas _ib._
CHAPTER V.
DESCRIPTION OF PROVINCES.
Division of Kingdoms and Provinces 91
Galicia and its provinces, Corunna, Lugo, Pontevedra,
and Orense 92
Asturias 94
Santander _ib._
Basque Provinces, Biscay, Guipuzcoa, Alava 95
Navarre 96
Aragon and its provinces, Huesca, Saragossa, Teruel 97
Catalonia " Gerona, Barcelona, Tarragona, Lerida 100
Valencia " Castellon de la Plana, Valencia,
Alicante 103
Murcia " Murcia and Albacete 107
Andalusia, Mediterranean Provinces, Almeria, Granada,
Malaga 109
Atlantic: Cadiz, Huelva 117, 122
Inland: Seville, Cordova, Jaen 120, 123, 125
Estremadura, Badajoz, Cacéres _ib._
New Castile and La Mancha, Provinces--Ciud ad Real,
Toledo, Madrid, Cuenca, Guadalajara 127
Old Castile--Avila, Segovia, Soria, Logrono, Burgos 133
Leon--Salamanca, Valladolid, Zamora, Palencia, Leon 137
Balearic Isles 141
CHAPTER VI.
HISTORY AND POLITICAL CONSTITUTION.
Early liberties, _behetria_, _fueros_ 145
Capitulations of Moors and Jews 147
Conquest of the South and its results 149
The _Santa Hermandad_ _ib._
The Austrian Dynasty 151
The Bourbon Dynasty 152
Modern Constitutional Spain 153
Cortés of Cadiz _ib._
Reign of Ferdinand VII., and loss of American colonies_ib._
" Isabella II. 154
First Carlist War _ib._
Ministry of Narvaez 156
" O'Donnell 157
Expulsion of Isabella II., and provisional government _ib._
Amadeo I. 158
Republic _ib._
Second Carlist War 159
Cantonalist insurrection _ib._
Alphonso XII. 160
Ministry of Cánovas del Castillo 161
_Present Constitution and Administration of Spain_ 162
Cortés, Senate, Congress 163
Provincial administration 164
Municipal " _ib._
Religion 165
Rights of persons, natives and foreigners _ib._
_Military Administration_ 166
Army 167
Quality of Spanish soldiery, _pronunciamientos_,
&c. 168
_Naval Administration_ 169
Royal Navy _ib._
Mercantile Navy _ib._
_Judicial Administration_ 169
Legal Procedure 170
Prisons _ib._
Hospitals and lunatic asylums 171
Railways 172
Telegraphs _ib._
Letters and post _ib._
_Finances of Spain._
Public debt 174
Increase of, since 1868 175
Deficit of budgets _ib._
Sources of revenue 176
Expenditure _ib._
Imports and exports 177
Foreign tariffs _ib._
Protection and free trade 178
Empleomania and its results 179
CHAPTER VII.
EDUCATION AND RELIGION.
Universities, number of students, salaries of
professors 181
Theological seminaries 182
Course of university study 183
Provincial and special institutes _ib._
Secondary instruction, institutes and colleges 184
Number of students, and salary of masters 185
Course of instruction 186
University degrees _ib._
Primary education 187
_Church and Religion._
Early Church Councils 188
Roman and Mazarabic liturgy _ib._
Inquisition _ib._
Philip II., the Jesuits, and the Reformation 189
Expulsion of the Jesuits 191
Concordat of 1851 _ib._
Archbishops, bishops, and clergy _ib._
Mode of appointment of bishops 192
Spanish Protestants _ib._
CHAPTER VIII.
LITERATURE AND THE ARTS.
Præhistoric art and architecture 194
Roman and Visigothic _ib._
Arabic 195
Three periods of 196
Mudejar 201
Christian _ib._
Renaissance 202
Churrigueresque 203
Domestic architecture _ib._
Church furniture and minor arts 204
_Painting._
Characteristics of Spanish painting 205
Local schools 206
Murillo 208
Painters of Valencian school 209
" " Castilian " _ib._
" " Andalusian " _ib._
Modern painters 210
Industrial arts, goldsmith's work, iron, porcelain,
glass, wood, lace 212
Music _ib._
_Literature._
Early Romances 213
" Prose works 214
La Celistina and the _picaresque_ novels 215
Drama and _Autors_ 216
Lope de Vega _ib._
Calderon de la Barca 217
Cervantes _ib._
Quevedo 219
Historical writings 220
Poetry _ib._
Mystic writers 222
Classical and romantic schools _ib._
Modern writers: Poets--Espronceda, Zorilla, Becquer,
&c. 224
Novelists--Fernan Caballero, J. Valera, &c. _ib._
Dramatists--Hartzenbusch, Breton de los Herreros, &c. 225
Nunez de Arce 226
Historians--Condé Gayangos, De la Fuente, &c. _ib._
Geographers--Fernandez Guerra, Coello, Bowles _ib._
Geologists--Macpherson, &c. _ib._
Economists--Cárdenas, Colmeiro, De Azcárate 227
Theologians--Balmés, Donoso Cortez, C. Gonzalez, &c. _ib._
Philologists--F. Fita, &c. _ib._
Orators 228
Provincial literature 229
CHAPTER IX.
EPILOGUE.
Spain not a worn-out country 231
Two hindrances to development _ib._
Protection and free trade 233
Cruelty and charities of Spain 234
Appendix I.--Census of Provinces 237
" II.--Chief historical events 239
" III.--Chief books used 241
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Caballeros 86
Dominique, the Espada 88
Gipsies at Granada 90
Leaning Tower of Saragossa 98
General View of Granada, with the Alhambra 110
Alhambra Tower by Moonlight 114
Fountain of the Four Seasons, Madrid 130
Port of Cadiz 153
Vespers 190
Giralda of Seville 197
Moorish Ornamentation 199
[Illustration:
PHYSICAL MAP
of
SPAIN
Edwd Weller
London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington.]
SPAIN.
CHAPTER I.
THE GEOGRAPHY OF SPAIN.
Spain, with the neighbouring kingdom of Portugal, constitutes the most
westerly of the three southern peninsulas of Europe, and in Cape Tarifa,
latitude 36° 1', it attains the most southerly point of the whole
continent. Separated from France and from the rest of Europe by the
chain of the Pyrenees, and surrounded on all other sides by either the
Mediterranean or the Atlantic, it presents at first sight the appearance
of an exceedingly compact and homogeneous surface. It seems strange that
this well-defined peninsula should contain two separate kingdoms, with
peoples who speak languages allied, yet so distinct as to be mutually
unintelligible to the uneducated classes.
The peninsula lies between latitude 43° 45' and 36° 1' N., and between
3° 20' E. and 9° 32' W. longitude. In shape it is thus nearly a square;
a diagonal line from the N.E. Cape Creuz to the S.W. Cape St. Vincent
measures 650 miles, while from Cape Ortegal, N.W., to Cape Gata, S.E.,
would be 525 miles. The whole area of the peninsula contains 219,200
square miles, of which 36,500 on the west belong to Portugal, and
182,700 to Spain.
The peninsular form of the country would lead us to expect that it would
partake of all the characteristics of a maritime climate; but such is
not the case. From the comparative evenness of the coast-line, unbroken
and unindented by any deep inlets except on the extreme north-west, in
Galicia, the coast-line bears a less proportion to the whole surface
than that of many lands less surrounded by the sea. It counts only 1300
miles, 700 of which are washed by the Mediterranean, and 600 by the
Atlantic; that is, 1 mile of coast-line to 134 square miles of area;
while Italy contains 1 to 75, and Greece 1 to 7. From the configuration
of the coast, and from the character of the great central plateau, a
large part of Spain has really an extreme continental climate.
For while it is distinctly separated from the rest of Europe by the line
of the Pyrenees, Spain is no less distinctly divided into different
districts in the interior--districts which differ most widely in climate
and elevation and products. Six of these are usually named: (1) The N.W.
Atlantic coast, comprising Galicia, the coast of which presents a
continuation of the Fiord system of Norway, and of the Firths of
Scotland and Ireland; (2), the northern slope of the Cantabrian
Mountains, and the narrow slip of land contained between them and the
Bay of Biscay, comprising the Asturias, Santander, and the Basque
Provinces; (3) the Valley of the Ebro, with Navarre, Aragon, and
Catalonia; (4) the great Central Plateau--Leon, Old and New Castile,
Estremadura, and La Mancha; (5) the Mediterranean Provinces, including
Valencia, Murcia, and the parts of Andalusia between the Sierra Nevada
and the Mediterranean; (6) the rest of Andalusia sloping towards the
Atlantic.
We will treat of these in order.
_Mountain Chains._
But first we must speak of the various mountain systems and river basins
of Spain, without which it is impossible to understand either the
physical conditions of the country, or the social and political state of
the various populations which has resulted from them.
First, on the north is the chain of the Pyrenees, a continuation of the
great Alpine system of Central Europe, stretching from Cape Creuz, 3°
19' E., to the Bay of Biscay, 2° 12' W., a distance of 320 miles, and
prolonging itself westward in lower chains of different denominations
until it finally sinks into the Atlantic at Cape Finisterre. The
culminating points of the Pyrenees are towards the centre of the chain,
in Mounts Maladetta, 11,150 feet, and the Pic de Posets and the Mount
Perdu, each about 11,000 feet, whence the heights gradually descend, on
the east to the Mediterranean and on the west to the Bay of Biscay. With
the exception of the little Bidassoa, which in the lower part of its
course forms the boundary between France and Spain, at the bottom of the
Bay of Biscay, all the other waters of the Spanish side of the Pyrenees
belong to the Ebro and to the Mediterranean. Parallel to the coast of
the Bay of Biscay the Pyrenees are prolonged, first, by the Cantabrian
Mountains, which run through the Basque Provinces, and the Province of
Santandar; thence by the Picos de Europa, 8300 feet--from the
south-eastern spurs of which the Ebro and Pisuerga take their rise--and
the Asturian Mountains, to the Sierra de Penamarella, at the junction of
the three Provinces of Leon, Asturias, and Galicia. The chain here
attains its greatest elevation, 9450 (?) feet, then descends to a
plateau of about 4000 feet, whence it sinks rapidly to the Atlantic,
forming the headlands of Ortegal, the extreme north-western, and of
Finisterre, the extreme western, point of Northern Spain. The mountains
of Leon form the western watershed, between the waters of the Ebro and
those which fall into the Atlantic. The line is continued eastward by
the Oca Mountains, the Sierra de Moncayo, and the Idubeda Mountains.
These mountain chains divide the basin of the Ebro from that of the
Douro. They also form the northern buttress of the great plateau of
Central Spain, which attains an elevation of from 2000 to 4000 feet. The
rise to the plateau from the Bay of Biscay is very abrupt. Within fifty
miles of leaving the coast the railways from the north attain a height
of 2000 feet, and reach the Central Plateau, at Quintanapalla, at an
elevation of 3000 feet; while La Cañada, the highest point on the line
to Madrid, is nearly 4460 feet, or about sixty feet higher than the
tunnel of the Mount Cenis. From the eastern side the rise is less
abrupt, and the plateau is entered at the lower elevation of 2330 feet,
on the line from Alicante to Madrid. The famous Pass of Somosierra, on
the old northern coach-road from Madrid, is about 4700 feet above the
level of the sea. From these figures it is easy to perceive how very
different is the aspect of these buttress chains when seen from the
plateau, and when looked at from the plain from which they rise. Thus
the Sierra de Moncayo, 7700 feet, stands out with boldness from the
Valley of the Ebro, but viewed from the plateau of Castile it is
scarcely noticeable. From its summit, however, the finest view of the
whole range of the Pyrenees to be found anywhere on the Spanish side of
the chain, is to be obtained.
Turning thence towards the south and south-east, these mountain
chains--under the various names of the Sierras de Cuenca, de Molina, and
Albarracin--divide the river basins of the Mediterranean from the far
larger ones of the Atlantic. They have their culminating point in the
Muela de San Juan and the Cerro de San Felipe, nearly 6000 feet, at the
junction of the three provinces of Teruel, Cuenca, and Guadalaxara. From
the sides of these mountains the waters fall with rapid course, on the
north to join the Ebro, on the east and south to the Mediterranean;
while with gentler slope, but in far greater volume, the Douro, the
Tagus, and the Guadiana roll their waters to the Atlantic. From these
Sierras the plateau tilts gradually westward and southward, but is
intersected by mountain chains, peaks of which towards the west attain a
higher elevation than those which form the real culmination of this part
of the peninsula. The bare and bleak granite range of the Guadarrama,
which divides the basin of the Douro from that of the Tagus, and from
whose summits steals the icy wind so fatal to Madrid, attains in its
highest summit, Peña Lara, 7800 feet, near Segovia; while in its western
prolongation, the Sierras de Credos and de Gata, the Plaza del Moro
reaches 8700 feet. The chains which divide the valley of the Tagus from
that of the Guadiana are not nearly so well marked as are those more to
the north, and rise to a much less elevation above the plateau.
Beginning with a south-westerly prolongation of the Cerro de San Felipe,
under the successive titles of Montes de Toledo, Sierras de Guadaloupe,
Montanchez, and San Mamed, about 2000 feet, they reach the Portuguese
frontier near Portalegre. The highest point seems to be in the mountains
of Toledo at Villuercas, where a height of a little over 5000 feet is
attained. The mountains which separate the basins of the Guadiana and
the Guadalquiver, under the names of the Sierras de Alcaroz, Morena, de
Cordova, Guadacanal, and Aroche, and which form the southern buttress of
the central plateau, present a still greater difference than those of
the northern buttress when viewed from the plateau and from the plains
of Andalusia. From the former they appear only rolling undulations, and
the traveller scarcely notices the rise till he finds himself descending
one of the steep and savage gorges, like that of the Pass of
Despeña-Perroz, on the road and rail between La Mancha and Andalusia.
The Col of Despeña-Perroz is nearly 2500 feet above the sea, and but few
summits along the ranges of the Sierra Morena and its prolongations
attain a greater elevation, the general range being about 2000 feet,
except towards the west and north of Seville, where the Sierra de
Aracena reaches 5550 feet. Eastward of the Guadalquiver the ranges which
divide its waters from those of the Segura, the Sierras de Segura, and
Sagra, attain a greater height, the former 6500 feet, the latter to 7800
feet.
Thus as supports to the great plateau, or on it, we have the following
successive ranges as we proceed from north to south. First, the Sierra
de Moncayo and the Idubeda mountains, dividing the basin of the Ebro
from that of the Douro; next the Guadarrama chain, with the Sierras de
Credos and de Gata, separating the Douro from the Tagus; then the
Mountains of Toledo, and the Sierra de San Mamed, between the Tagus and
the Guadiana; and lastly, the southern buttress, the Sierra Morena,
dividing the Guadiana from the Guadalquiver.
But it is south of the last stream that the culminating points of the
whole peninsula are to be found--in the mighty Sierra Nevada, which
separates the lovely valley of Granada from the Mediterranean, shielding
it from the scorching winds of Africa, and giving it its eternal
freshness and verdure. The highest of its summits are Muley Hacen and
Velate, lying to the south-east of Granada, the former attaining nearly
11,670 feet, and the latter 11,400. The altitudes diminish rapidly east
and west. Towards the east, outlying ranges, such as those of the
Sierras de Filabrés and of Gador, attain heights of 6000 and 7000 feet
respectively; while in the westward prolongations, the Mesa de Ronda is
only 5000; and the chain gradually drops till it reaches the sea at Cape
Trafalgar, and the rock of Gibraltar, 1400 feet.
But besides these greater chains of mountains Spain is traversed by
numerous offshoots and lateral ranges, and a great portion of her
territory is more or less of a mountainous character. In districts where
rain is unfrequent these hills are absolutely bare of verdure for a
great part of the year, and remain untenanted and uncultivated. Among
the more elevated of these lesser chains are those of Monseni,
Monserrat, and Montagut, in Catalonia, which attain respectively 5500,
4000, and 3000 feet in height. On the borders of Leon and Galicia, and
in the latter province, there are numerous mountains and smaller ranges,
which vary from 3000 to 5000 feet. The whole frontier of Portugal is
covered by lower ranges, connecting the great chains of which we have
already spoken with hills of from 2000 to 3000 feet. From the great
eastern buttress two spurs, or rolling plateaux, run down to the
Mediterranean, and terminate in the different headlands--such as Cape
Gata in the south-east, Cape Palos near Carthagena, Capes de la Nao and
San Antonio near Denia, Peniscola, and others. Some of these smaller
ranges are exceedingly rich in minerals, and as they approach the sea
form sites of picturesque and enchanting beauty, such as can be
surpassed only by the better-known and historic glories of the coasts of
Italy or of Greece.
_Rivers of Spain._
Of the five great rivers of Spain only one, the Ebro, pours its waters
into the Mediterranean; the other four, the Douro, Tagus, Guadiana, and
Guadalquiver, discharge theirs into the Atlantic; but of these last the
Guadalquiver alone is wholly a Spanish stream. In the lower and more
valuable part of their course the Douro, Tagus, and Gaudiana, belong to
Portugal--a fact which must always be remembered when treating of the
internal commerce of Spain. But besides these larger streams there are
several of slightly smaller dimensions, of which we will treat in order.
Few countries present within so short a distance so great a difference
in rainfall and moisture as does Spain. In some parts of the Asturias
and Galicia the rainfall is probably as heavy as that of any part of
Europe--as much as 147-1/2 inches are said to have been measured in a
single year; and the average fall on the northern slopes of the
Cantabrian mountains is said to be sixty inches annually. Yet the
average of the whole basin of the Ebro--which rises from the southern
slopes of the Picos de Europa, one of the most rainy of the rainy
districts--is only eighteen inches annually, the last 300 miles of its
course being through almost barren districts, where rain seldom falls.
The principal river of Galicia is the Minho, with its tributary the Sil.
Each of these rises, though at some distance apart, from the southern
side of the Cantabrian mountains, much nearer to the waters of the Bay
of Biscay than to those of the Atlantic, into which they flow. They take
thence a southerly and south-westerly course, until they unite a few
miles above Orense. The lower part of the united course, which bears the
name of the Minho, forms from Melgaco to the sea the frontier between
the kingdoms of Portugal and Spain. The remaining rivers of Galicia are
numerous but of little importance: the Tambre is the largest of those
which fall into the Atlantic on the west; while on the north the sources
of the Eo and the Navia overlap those of the Minho, and take their rise
from the mountains which border on Leon. The whole country is
exceedingly well watered. Both in its agricultural character as a
grazing country, and in its flora and fauna, it resembles the milder
portions of southern Ireland and of Devonshire, but with occasional
products of a warmer zone. The rivers of the Asturias, Santander, and of
the Basque provinces, all partake of the same general character. In the
upper part of their courses they are mere mountain torrents, their
course is rapid but short, and they are of but little use for
navigation, though occasionally small but insecure harbours are formed
at their mouth. The only great exception to this is the Nervion, on
which Bilbao is situated, and which is navigable for eight miles from
its mouth. The waters of the Bidassoa, the Deva, and others, are,
however, utilized for the transport of ore from the mines and ironworks
along the course. The Bidassoa, for some ten miles before it enters the
Bay of Biscay at Cape Figueras forms the boundary between France and
Spain; about four miles from its issue, between Irun and Behobie, is the
celebrated Isle des Faisans, where, in 1659, the marriage was arranged
between Louis XIV. and the Infanta, which eventually placed the Bourbons
on the throne of Spain. The Bidassoa is the last of the northern rivers
of Spain which falls into the Atlantic.
The Ebro has its rise from the source, Fontibre, in the province of
Santander, and takes a south-easterly course of 466 miles, through the
provinces of Santander, Burgos, Navarre, and Aragon, almost parallel
with the Pyrenees, till it falls into the Mediterranean, through a sandy
delta stretching some fifteen miles into the sea below Amposta. The
descent for the first 200 miles of its course is exceedingly rapid, but
after that the fall is gradual till it reaches the sea. In its course
it receives the waters of many tributaries, both on the left from the
Pyrenees, and on the right from the Idubeda mountains and the sierras of
Southern Aragon. Were it not for these tributaries little of its waters
would reach the Mediterranean, so dry and arid are the Bardenas of
Navarre, and the Dehesas of Aragon, through which it flows. The
Spaniards have a proverb that it is the Navarrese and Aragonese
streams--the Arga, the Ega, and the Aragon--which make a man of the
Ebro. Farther down, the Gallego runs in near Saragossa; while the united
waters of the Cinca and the Segre at Mequinenza pour a far larger volume
of water into the parent bed than it contains itself. From the right,
the principal streams are the Xalon, with its tributary the Xiloca,
which joins the Ebro between Tudela and Saragossa, the Marten, and the
Guadalope near Caspe. The Ebro, notwithstanding its length, the number
of its tributaries, and the extent of its basin, 25,000 square miles, is
of little use for navigation. A magnificent canal--first projected and
commenced by the Emperor Charles V. (I. of Spain) then after a lapse of
more than two centuries taken in hand by Charles III., in 1770--runs
from Tudela to Saragossa; thence to the sea it still remains in project
only. The part already finished is falling into decay; and it is only
the excellent quality of the masonry, and of the cement or mortar
employed, that retards its utter ruin. The traffic is very small; and
even as a means of irrigation its waters are allowed greatly to run to
waste. At the apex of the delta from Amposta to San Carlos de la Rapita
a canal of eight miles has been cut for purposes of navigation; but the
formation of a bar, and the silting up of the bay, have rendered it
almost useless. The other rivers which flow into the Mediterranean,
between the lower course of the Ebro and the Pyrenees are the Fluvia,
which flows into the gulf of Rosas, the Ter, which passes by Gerona, and
the Llobregat near Barcelona. All are torrential streams, unfit for
navigation; but their waters, if all utilized for irrigation like those
of the Llobregat, would be sources of immense wealth to the country.
From the fact that the lower part of the course of the great rivers of
the plateau--the Douro, the Tagus, and the Guadiana--flow through
Portugal, their streams are hardly at all available as a means of
communication or of navigation for Spain; and from the nature of the
deeply cut beds which the waters have worn through the soil, flowing,
especially as they approach the frontiers of Portugal, through gorges
approaching in length and depth the cañons of North America, the rivers
are little available for irrigation, although far more use might be made
of them for this purpose than is actually done. Owing to the prejudices
of the Spanish husbandman, and to his reluctance to accept any change,
however profitable, in his ancient routine, neither the little that has
been done in the present century, nor the remains of a wiser agriculture
in former times are used by the peasantry. In the province of Zamora,
for instance, both the ancient "acequias" and the modern canal of the
Esla are equally neglected. The rich results that have followed the
employment of the waters in the few cases in which they have been
intelligently directed, stirs no one up to follow the example. It is one
of the many contrasts between different parts of Spain, that the value
of irrigation should be so well understood in some parts and so utterly
neglected and under-valued in others. But we shall have more to say of
this when we treat of the eastern and southern streams: at present let
us return to the Douro, and to the other rivers of the plateau.
The Douro takes its rise in the Lago Negro, or Black Lake, on the
southern flanks of the Mount Urbion, in the north-western angle of the
province of Soria. It first runs eastward to the city of that name, the
ancient Numantia, then turns almost directly south as far as Almazan,
whence it runs westward to Portugal, receiving meanwhile the waters of
the Esla, below Zamora; at the frontier, again it turns south, through
deep gorges which form the boundary between Spain and Portugal, until
it receives the waters of the Agueda, where it finally enters Portugal,
and after a westerly course thence of about 100 miles, falls into the
Atlantic below Oporto.
The basin drained by the Douro is the most extensive of all those of the
rivers in Spain. Including the portion in Portugal, it comprises 35,000
square miles; the length of the river is about 500 miles; the average
rainfall is stated at twenty inches. The chief affluents of the Douro
descend from the north from the mountains of Burgos and the Cantabrian
range. The largest are the Pisuerga, which rises not far from the
sources of the Ebro among the Picos de Europa, and flows almost directly
south by Palencia and Valladolid until it joins the Douro, some miles
above Tordesilla; the Esla, which also rises from the western flanks of
the same chain, not far from Covadonga, takes a somewhat more westerly
direction, and after receiving several smaller streams unites with the
Douro below Zamora. These two rivers supply water for two of the most
successful canals in Spain, especially that along the Pisuerga, for over
ninety miles from Alar del Rey to Valladolid. There is a considerable
traffic on it, especially for passengers. It was planned in 1753 by
Ensenada, but completed only in 1832. The canal of the Esla, for
purposes of irrigation, begun by English engineers in 1864, and
finished in 1869, has hardly been so successful. The latest report
(June, 1880) states that the peasant proprietors, notwithstanding
examples of the great utility of irrigation, obstinately refuse to use
it. The principal affluents of the Douro on the west and south are the
Tormes, which flows by Salamanca, and joins it about midway in its
course as a frontier of Portugal; and the Agueda, which runs in just
where it takes its final departure for the west.
The Tagus, the central river of Spain, and which divides its territory
into two nearly equal portions, rises from a fountain called the Fuente
Garcia, or Pié, on the south side of the Muela de San Juan, between the
Sierras de Molina, Albaracin, and San Felipe, the knot of mountains
which, as we have indicated above, form the great watershed of the
peninsula, whence the waters flow northwards to the Ebro, east and
southwards to the Mediterranean, and westwards, in the Tagus and its
tributaries, to the Atlantic. Were the whole peninsula of Spain and
Portugal one kingdom, the Tagus would be perhaps the most important of
its rivers; but in the divided state it is of far more value to Portugal
than to Spain. Its swift and turbid current, flowing between steep
banks, and in a bed broken into rapids and encumbered by rocks, is
scarcely navigable above Abrantes. The basin of the Tagus contains an
area of nearly 30,000 square miles, and its length is estimated at
about 550. The rainfall is less than that of the Douro, being only
sixteen inches annually. The river, moreover, runs by no means in the
centre of its basin, but far to the southwards of a central dividing
line, and consequently the tributaries which it receives from the north
or left bank are of much greater importance than those which come from
the south or right. After flowing a few miles in a north-westerly
direction, the river gradually bends, first westerly, and then in a
slightly south-westerly direction, in a deep channel, through a bare
rolling country, where everything takes the prevailing colour of red
dusty uplands, until it arrives at Aranjuez, situated at the confluence
of the Jarama and the Tagus, a royal residence whose abundance of water
and of shade make it a true oasis in a desert. The Jarama, which rises
in the Guadarama, brings in also the waters of the Henares, and those of
the Manzanares, on which Madrid is situated. These streams have been the
subjects of many projects and attempts at canalization, either for
irrigation or for supplying the metropolis with water. Most of these
have failed, but a canal from Porcal to Aranjuez, of seventeen miles and
a half, is in working order. The canal of Cabarrus brings the waters of
the Lozoya to Madrid. But the great enterprise of the canal of
irrigation from the Henares, constructed by the same English company
which made the canal of the Esla, and which was to have been
twenty-eight miles in length, and to have irrigated 30,000 acres, is
suspended by lawsuits as to the ownership of the waters. The Alberche,
which rises to the north of the Sierra de Gredos, enters the Tagus near
Talavera de la Reyna. The Tietjar, and the Alagon, which joins the main
stream just above Alcantara, beside the frontier stream, the Heyas, are
the only Spanish waters of importance from the north before the Tagus
enters Portugal; and from the south the Salor and the del Monte, both of
which have their rise and course in the same province of Caceres alone
need mention. In the upper part of its course, however, the smaller
tributaries of both the Tagus and the Guadiana often overlap, and but a
very few miles separate the Tagus itself from the waters which flow into
the Guadiana.
The exact source of the Guadiana has been a subject of much debate and
of many fables. Its true origin seems to be in a series of lakes at the
junction of the provinces of Ciudad Real and Albacete, near Montiel, in
La Mancha. A picturesque stream, the Ruidosa, with many cascades and
broken water, connects these lakes; but after running a few miles in a
north-westerly direction, it disappears underground near Tomesillo, and
is believed to rise to the surface after about twenty miles, in the Ojos
(eyes) of the Guadiana, near Damiel. Very soon it receives from the
right the united waters of the Zancara and the Giguela, streams whose
contributions are much more scanty, especially in summer, than the
length of their course on the map would lead one to suppose; thence the
river flows in a westerly direction, passing near Ciudad Real, below
which the Javalon enters from the left, coming from the Campo de
Montiel; near Don Benito the Zuja, from the Sierra Morena, joins it, and
some miles lower down the Matachet. Flowing past Medellin, five miles
below Badajoz the river crosses the frontier of Portugal, changes its
course from westerly to south-west, and afterwards south and south-east,
till it again joins the frontier near San Lucar, and dividing the two
countries till its mouth, falls into the Gulf of Cadiz at Ayamonte. In
the lower part of its course the river, which before has been wide and
shallow, and often almost dry in summer, narrows its course, and rushes
with impetuosity through the rapids called the Salto del Lobo (the
wolf's leap), near Serpa, in Portugal. The whole length of the Guadiana
is estimated at 550 miles, and the area of its bed at 24,000 square
miles. The rainfall is about fourteen inches.
To the south of the rivers of the plateau the only considerable stream
is the Guadalquiver, with its tributaries. The character of this river
is entirely different to that of the former streams. Like the Ebro, it
forms a true valley, instead of merely cutting its way through rocks,
cañons, and defiles. Its bed is on an average about 1200 feet below that
of the Guadiana in the greater part of its course. It is also the only
river in Spain of any utility for navigation; the tide is felt beyond
Seville, and vessels of 200 to 300 tons ascend to that city. There are
also several lines of steamboats trading thence directly with London,
Marseilles, Bilbao, Cadiz, and Gibraltar. The Guadalquiver takes its
rise from two sources--one, in the streams Guadalimar and Guadarmeno,
rises in the Sierra Alcaraz, and not very far from the sources of the
Guadiana; the other, which bears the name of the Guadalquiver, in the
south-west of the Sierra Sagra; this latter branch is soon joined by the
Guadiana Menor, coming down from the Sierra Nevada. The basin of the
Guadalquiver presents this peculiarity, that its boundary is not formed
by the line of the highest summits; on the contrary, many of its
tributaries take their rise on the farther side of the Sierra Morena on
the north, and of the Sierras de Granada and Nevada on the south, and
have cut their way through these higher grounds to join the Guadalquiver
in the plains of Andalusia. The upper part of its course is very rapid,
and the junction of the two rivers Guadalimar and Guadalquiver, in the
plains of Baeza, is about 5000 feet below the Punta de Almenara; but
from thence to the sea the fall is very slight. After the junction the
river passes by Andujar, Montoro, and Cordova, receiving on both banks
the waters of many streams of but little importance; but between Cordova
and Seville it is joined by its largest tributary, the Xenil, which
rises in the Sierra Nevada, and flowing through the celebrated Vega of
Granada, bursts through the Antequera mountains to enter the great plain
of Andalusia, and loses itself in the Guadalquiver. From Seville
downward the character of the stream is greatly changed; it wanders in
large meanderings through low and marshy grounds for two or three
leagues on each bank, mostly uninhabited, and used only for pasturing
cattle. These low lands, which are called _Marismas_, in dry weather are
covered with clouds of black dust, and in wet are an almost impassable
slough of mud; mid these the river divides, and its winding beds form
two islands--Isle Mayor and Menor, the former of which is wholly given
to cattle, while the latter is inhabited and well cultivated; The river
finally enters the Gulf of Cadiz, at San Lucar de Barameda, forcing its
way with difficulty through low hills of sand, like those of the Landes
in France. The marshes near the mouth are utilized as _Salinas_, for
making excellent salt; and on the hills which overlook the _Marismas_
some of the most renowned wines and fruits of Spain are produced. The
whole course of the Guadalquiver is about 340 miles and the area of its
basin 21,000: the rainfall is estimated at nineteen inches.
The other streams which fall into the Gulf of Cadiz--the Rio Tinto,
which runs into the Huelva basin, and the Guadalete at Cadiz--are of no
utility for navigation. The little port of Palos, whence Columbus sailed
to discover a new world, is almost entirely blocked up by sands brought
down by the former torrent.
The remaining rivers of Spain--those which, descending from the great
plateau, flow eastward to the Mediterranean--though all useless for
navigation, are among the most productive of all its streams. Flowing
through a country whose temperature exceeds that of the opposite coast
of Africa; where the rainfall is either scanty, or disastrous in
quantity from rare but terrible storms; and through districts in which
no rain falls for years together--the waters of these rivers, skilfully
applied to irrigation, have rendered what would otherwise be a barren
land one of fertility unparalleled in Europe. Unlike the peasants of
Castile, the cultivators of Murcia and Valencia have learnt to value the
use of water in agriculture; although even there, works which were first
constructed by the Moors have been allowed to fall into ruin, and are
yearly becoming of less utility. Of this we shall speak more at length
below. The three great rivers we have yet to notice are the Murcian
Segura, and the Jucar and Guadalaviar, in Valencia.
The river Segura takes its rise in the Sierra de Segura, between the
Sierras of Alcaraz and Sagra. The upper part of its course is that of a
mountain torrent, leaping from terrace to terrace of the mountains as it
descends, until after the junction of the Mundo, which rises from a
cirque in the Sierra Alcaras, like the cirque of Gavarnie in the
Pyrenees, and flows through a deep ravine from the north-east. Its
waters are dammed up, cut into numberless channels, and almost wholly
utilized for irrigation, so that only about ten per cent of them reaches
the sea; the rest are dissipated in the huertas of Murcia, Orihuela, and
part of Elche. Its tributary the Sangonera loses almost all its waters
in the plains of Lorca. With the little Vinalapo, almost 15,000 acres
are rendered productive by the waters of these streams in one of the
driest districts of Spain. The wheat of Orihuela is some of the finest
in Spain; and so certain is the crop as to give rise to the proverb,
"Rain or no rain, there is always wheat in Orihuela." The Segura has a
course of about 217 miles, and an area of about 850 square miles; the
average rainfall is estimated at about twelve inches, but the difference
is very great in different years, as the district is liable to rare but
most heavy and destructive floods.
The Jucar takes its rise not far from the sources of the Tagus, on the
south side of the Muela de San Juan, which we have before mentioned as
the culminating watershed of the peninsula. It flows first in a
south-westerly direction as far as Cuenca, whence it gradually turns
south and south-east, and at Jorquera, to the north-east of Albacete,
strikes eastwards for the Mediterranean, which it finally enters at
Cullera. Like the Segura and Guadalaviar, its waters are drained off for
irrigation; but its basin is narrower, and it can boast of no fertility
equal to the huertas of Murcia or Valencia. Its course is about 317
miles, the area of its bed 580, and the rainfall some twelve and a half
inches; the irrigated land is over 30,000 acres.
The Guadalaviar, or Turia, rises on the north side of the Muela de San
Juan, and descending rapidly, flows eastward past Albarracin and Teruel;
at which latter town it turns abruptly southwards till it enters the
province of Valencia, where it again takes a more easterly course,
flowing with ever-diminished stream through the rich garden of Valencia,
at which city it falls into the Mediterranean, with water which, except
in time of flood, scarcely rises above the ankle. The length of its
course is about 187 miles, the area of its basin 320 square miles; it
irrigates over 25,000 acres near Valencia.
Besides these larger rivers, there are on the Mediterranean slope
innumerable smaller streams, whose waters, though of little geographical
importance, are of the greatest utility to agriculture. In summer
scarcely a drop of their waters reaches the sea; all is either employed
for irrigation, or dissipated by evaporation; often they are dammed up
to form reservoirs or _pantanos_, sometimes employed for rice culture.
But small as these streams are, it is to them that this burning coast
owes its beauty and fertility, its almost tropical vegetation and its
rich products. The fair gardens of Castellon, of Gandia, of Murviedro
would be barren and valueless without these waters. Still farther to the
north the waters of the Llobregat, and the canal of Urgel in Catalonia,
are used for the same purpose.
The lakes of Spain are neither large nor numerous, but some are curious
from a geographical point of view. On the high plateaux whence the
Guadiana, the Guadalimar, the Segura, and the Jucar take their rise,
either a dam or a trench would suffice to turn the waters either to the
Atlantic or the Mediterranean; and here alone in Western Europe are
found temporary lakes with no outlet, and consequently salt from excess
of evaporation. For the same reason salt springs and brackish streams
abound in these highlands. All around the coast, both on the Atlantic
and Mediterranean, salinas, or salt-works for making salt, either from
the sea or from the brackish water of lagoons and tidal marshes, abound;
those of Cadiz, and of the coast between Cartagena and Alicante are
celebrated for the excellence of their salt. Besides these are the five
Albuferas, or lagoons, of Valencia, Alicante, Elche, Auna, and Oropesa.
Of these that of Valencia is far the largest, and feeds enormous
quantities of fish and of aquatic fowl of all kinds. The interior lakes,
as that of Sanabria in Zamora, Gallocanta in Aragon, and those from
which many of the rivers take their source, are noted only for their
picturesque beauty. We can hardly show the value of water in Spain
better than by directing the reader's attention to the number of places
which take their name from water of some kind: thus there are forty-four
villages or towns whose names are compounded of _Aguas_, waters; 238
into which the word _Fuente_, fountain, enters; 144 _Rios_, rivers; 54
_Arroyos_, brooks; 44 _Pozos_, wells; 30 _Salinas_, salt waters; 9 _Rio
Secos_, dry rivers; and about 600 _Molinos_ or water-mills. The
multiplicity of these last dates perhaps from the time when every
seigneur had his own mill, and obliged his vassals to grind their corn
there; but assuredly in a moister climate water would not have played so
great a part in the nomenclature, or toponymy, of the country.
We add the following table, deduced from Reclus' "Nouvelle Géographie
Universelle," 6° Serie, p. 886, compared with an article in "La Revista
Contemporanea," December 30th, 1880:--
Area of Length of Mean Outfall compared
Rivers. basin. course. rainfall. with rainfall.
Sq. miles. Miles. Inches. Per cent.
Northern {Minho&Sil 10,000 190 47-1/2 50
Rivers. {Ebro 25,000 466 18 20
Rivers of {Douro 35,000 506 20 40
the {Tagus 30,000 556 16 33
Central {Guardiana &
Plateau. {Zancara 24,000 553 14 20
Andulasia Guadalquiver 21,000 340 19 30
Mediterranean {Segura 8500 217 12 10
Rivers. {Jucar 5800 317 12-1/2 15
E. & S.E. {Guadalaviar 3200 187 -- 12
The mineral springs of Spain are very numerous, as might be expected in
a mountainous country, at the junction of different strata in the
metamorphic fissures, and in the neighbourhood of extinct volcanoes.
Many of them were known and used by the Romans, and possibly by other
races before their time. The Moors made use of many, more especially in
the south. The majority of these springs are much neglected, and the
bathing establishments in their roughness are a striking contrast to
those of Germany and of France; there is, however, no reason to suppose
that the waters themselves are less efficacious. The best known springs
lie along the line of the Pyrenees, in Catalonia, Navarre, and
especially in the Basque provinces and Santander. Another noted group
are in the neighbourhood of Granada, and on the northern slopes of the
Sierra Nevada. Those in the Guadarrama range are more frequented, from
their vicinity to Madrid. Many of the Salados and Salinas in the higher
parts of the eastern range, as well as the springs in the neighbourhood
of Valencia, might be utilized with advantage. In this, as in many other
things, Spain has not yet recovered the threads of a lost civilization,
and in many points of material comfort and well-being is behind the
Spain of Roman and of Moorish times.
CHAPTER II.
CLIMATE AND PRODUCTIONS.
Spain may be roughly divided into five climates: (1) that of the north
and of the Pyrenees, where rain is abundant; (2) the west or Atlantic
climate, including Portugal; (3) the north-east or Mediterranean; (4)
the east and south, or African climate; and (5) lastly, the climate of
the great Central Plateau, or the Continental. All these are well
marked, and differ greatly in their temperature, in elevation, in
exposure, in rainfall, and in prevailing winds. To speak of an average
temperature, or of an average rainfall in Spain, is only to mislead. The
temperature of the south and south-east is higher than that of the
opposite coast of Africa, while the winters in Castile recall those of
Scandinavia in their bitterness. In some of the Asturian valleys there
is, perhaps, the heaviest rainfall in Europe; while the lower valley of
the Ebro is almost a desert, from want of rain; and in parts of Valencia
and Murcia, and even in Andalusia, not a drop will fall for years; yet
at times these provinces, and their driest portions, are visited--as in
1802, 1879, and 1881--by overwhelming and destructive floods. To strike
an average, then, even for the same spot, through several years, is
often merely deceptive.
We have remarked above on the similarity of the conformation of the
western coasts of Galicia to those of Norway, Scotland, and Ireland.
They partake also of the same Atlantic character in their climate and
productions. Galicia and the Asturias are essentially grazing countries;
and from the Galician ports, up to 1878, about 20,000 head of fatted
cattle were annually sent to England. Except in the more sheltered
valleys, where the productions of a warmer clime will flourish, the
native flora is not unlike that of the milder parts of Ireland and of
Devonshire. The average temperature of Santiago is about 55° Fahr., with
a maximum of 95°, and a minimum of 28°; Oviedo is given as 54° average,
maximum 80°, and minimum 24°; while the rainfall of the former is from
58 to 68 inches, and that of the latter varies from 38 to 50 in ordinary
years, but in 1858 it attained 80 inches. Proceeding eastward we meet
the northern or Pyrenean climate, where the rainfall is not so great,
and, except in the immediate vicinity of the highest mountains, lessens
gradually as we either go eastward or descend into the plains. The
moisture is condensed and wrung out of the clouds brought by the watery
western winds, and precipitated on the mountains of the west and north.
From the Picos de Europa, in the province of Santander, which may be
considered as the meeting-point of the two climates, the waters descend
on the one side by the Ebro to the Mediterranean, by the Pisuerga to the
Douro and the Atlantic, and by the shorter northern streams to the Bay
of Biscay. In the valley of the Cabuervega (Santander) the rainfall is
57-1/2 inches. Passing eastward we find Bilbao and San Sebastian, with
an average temperature of 56° and 55°, a maximum of 93°, and minimum
23°, while the rainfall has diminished from 55 to 48 inches. At Vergara,
more inland, it is 52. At Huesca, in Aragon, notwithstanding its
proximity to the mountains, the rainfall is only 25 inches; at Balaguer,
in Catalonia, only 15-1/2. At Saragossa the climate becomes more
extreme; the average is 60°, the maximum 96°, and the minimum 20°, while
the rainfall descends to 14 inches. The equalizing influence of the
neighbourhood of the sea is felt in the Mediterranean climate at
Barcelona; for while the average is 63°, the maximum is only 88°, and
the minimum 32°, and the rainfall ascends to 24 inches. The difference
is still more marked if we compare the extreme oscillation between the
maximum and minimum temperatures. At Saragossa this is from 120° to
130°; at Barcelona from 90° to 100° Fahr.
The productions of this northern zone vary greatly according to
elevation and exposition. Those of the Basque Provinces still belong to
the north temperate zone climate--cattle, corn, and cider, as well as
wine. The olive, and the mulberry for silk, are almost unknown; but
maize is largely grown. As we approach Catalonia these products give way
to those of the Mediterranean region of Provence and of the Riviera--the
olive, the grape, the mulberry. A powerful red wine is made on the lower
southern spurs of the Pyrenees and of the Cantabrian Mountains, in the
Riojas, in Navarre, and in Aragon. Much of it would be excellent if more
attention were paid to the preparation, and especially to the conditions
of transport. Great quantities are at present exported to France by sea
from Bilbao and San Sebastian, and also by rail, for the purpose of
mixing with the thinner and poorer clarets of Bordeaux, to fit them for
the taste and market of England. In Catalonia the wine improves, and is
less used for mixing. The chief kinds are a red wine, like Rousillon,
and sweet, luscious wines, Rancio, somewhat like Muscat or Malaga. Of
late the manufacture of effervescing wines like champagne has been
carried on with considerable success. The wine made in Catalonia amounts
to one-fifth of the whole produce of Spain. Already the orange and the
palm appear.
Proceeding southwards from Catalonia, we gradually advance into the
south-eastern and southern climate of Spain, a climate which is rather
African than European in its character, and both whose products and
dryness have more relation to the African continent than to that of the
rest of Europe. It is here that the date-palm ripens--which it does not
on the opposite coast of Algeria--and the camel breeds, and can be used
as a beast of burden equally as in Egypt and the East. Sheltered by the
mountain ranges to the east and north from the cold winds which sweep
the plateau of Castile, exposed by the slope of the country to the full
influence of the southern sun and its powerful evaporation, the
characteristics of the climate are warmth and dryness, while the
vicinity of the Mediterranean partly tempers the extreme range of heat
and cold which might be found in lands more remote from the sea. Thus
the average temperature of Valencia is 65°, its maximum 102°, its
minimum 41°, and extreme range 100°. Alicante, still further south, has
an average of 66°, a maximum of 100°, and a minimum of 35°. The average
rainfall at Valencia is stated at 17, and that of Alicante at 18 inches;
but, as remarked above, in this south-eastern district of Spain averages
of rainfall are quite deceptive. In some years the quantity marked is
only a very few inches, 3 or 6, over the whole district, and there are
considerable portions where rain does not fall for years. The country
is rendered fertile and productive, not by its rains, but by irrigation
from the rivers, fed by the winter snows on the mountains which border
the great plateau. At times, however, as in 1802 and 1879, storms of
rain descend on the high lands of Murcia and the eastern sierras, and
floods rush down, sweeping away dams which have stood for centuries,
washing away towns and villages, and spreading destruction far and wide.
To compute the rainfall of such floods into an average is only to play
with figures. Murcia has an average temperature of 64°, maximum 112°,
minimum 24°, and an extreme range of 120°. The rainfall averages about
12-1/2 inches on the coast, but varies greatly; at Albacete it is said
to average 13 inches. The directly southern coast, from the Cabo de Gata
to Gibraltar, has a milder and more equable climate than that of the
south-eastern coast; but in the inland valley of the Guadalquiver the
range is more extreme, both for heat and cold. The dryness in the
eastern district still continues from Cartagena to Almeria; the rainfall
is said to be only 12 inches. At Malaga, while the average temperature
is 66°, about the same as that at Valencia and Alicante, the maximum is
said to be only 78°, and the minimum 53°. At Motril, between Malaga and
Almeria, the maximum is 77°, and the minimum 52°. In Seville on the
other hand, the average is 68°, with a maximum Of 118°, and a minimum of
30°. Cordova, somewhat colder, has a maximum of 93°, and a minimum of
27°. The rainfall is also more moderate at Malaga, 15-1/2 inches, and 23
at Seville. Granada, in its upland but sheltered valley, at an elevation
of 2681 feet, defended from the east and south by the snowy range of the
Sierra Nevada, and by the mountains of Granada to the north, has still
an average of 65°, with a maximum of 97°, and a minimum of 42°. The
rainfall varies considerably in different years, and various geographers
give its average as 23-1/2 33-1/2, and the latest (Reclus) 48-1/2. Cadiz
has an Atlantic climate, which in temperature and greater rainfall, 37
inches, closely approximates to that of Madeira. Moving westward it
decreases, at Gibraltar, 34-1/2, San Fernando, 27; while at Huelva and
Tarifa, where the moisture of the north-west gales is intercepted by the
Portuguese mountains, it descends to 24-1/2. We have now only to treat
of the climate of the great central elevation, the plateau, which ranges
at an average height of some 2000 feet above the sea. Thus, Madrid is
2148, Segovia 2299, Burgos 2873, Soria 3504, and the Escorial, 3683 feet
above the sea-level. But even these altitudes do not wholly account for
the rigour of the climate in the latitude of Naples, Rome, and
Constantinople. We have seen how excellent is the climate of Granada at
a nearly equal elevation, only three degrees further south. The extremes
of heat and cold felt at Valladolid and Madrid are due more to the
uncovered mountain ranges to the north, the treeless, waterless plains,
over which the wind sweeps unchecked, than to mere elevation. The want
of rain is greatly owing to the ranges of mountains parallel to the
frontier and to the Atlantic in Portugal, which condense and wring all
the moisture from the rain-clouds of the Atlantic, and distribute it
almost wholly on the western slope. Thus at Lisbon the fall is 29, at
Coimbra 35, at Oporto 63, in the mountains of Beira and Tras os Montes
from 68 to 100 inches; while on the eastern slope, at Salamanca it is 9,
Valladolid 12, at Badajoz 12-1/2, Ciudad Real 14. From the bare granite
range of the Guadarrama steals down the treacherous icy wind so fatal in
Madrid--not sufficiently strong to extinguish a candle, but quite enough
to destroy human life. It is the dislike of the Castilian peasant to
trees, which would overshadow so much of his small property, the
destruction of the mountain forests, and the want of good agriculture,
which has embittered the climate of these plateaux. Were the hill-sides
clothed with wood, the country dotted with farms, the wide and bare
plains covered throughout the year with varied agricultural produce, the
climate would soon be modified and become sensibly warmer, and no
longer, as it at present is, an obstacle to civilization and to
improvement. In spite of all neglect these plains grow some of the
finest wheat in Europe, and the lower mountain ranges supply pasture in
the summer for the immense flocks which return to winter in the plains
of Estremadura. The average temperature of Madrid is 59°, its maximum
104° to 107°, and its minimum only 7°. That of Salamanca is said to be
57°, with a maximum of 97°, and a minimum of 12°. The average rainfall
of Madrid is only from 9 to 14 inches, that of Salamanca 9, while Soria,
nearer to the mountains, in some years reaches 25 inches.
From the above sketch of the climate the reader will expect to find the
productions vary greatly in the different districts. The north and
north-west are the lands of cattle and of pasture. In Galicia and in the
Asturias the products are almost like those of the warmer parts of the
south-west of England and of Ireland, save that in the more sheltered
valleys the orange, citron, and pomegranate flourish; a palm is even now
and then to be seen; and the wine, especially on the confines of
Portugal, is excellent, and needs only more care in preparation to be a
rival to the famous Port of the neighbouring country. In the eighteenth
century, that of Ribadavia was considered to be the finest wine in all
Spain. Maize, too, is freely grown; but on account of their extreme
poverty, rye and spelt often replace both it and wheat as food for the
peasantry. The upland plateaux afford excellent pasture, especially for
cattle and horses; the hardy and sure-footed hacks of Galicia and the
Asturias are celebrated. The mountains here are often clothed with wood;
oaks of various kinds, and the edible chestnut, and the hazel-nut--of
which over 1000 tons, value 23,000_l._, are annually exported from
Gijon--grow on the lower spurs, giving food to herds of swine; beech,
and pine, and fir appear as we approach the tops. In the lower woods the
arbutus especially flourishes, and the young wild boars in autumn are
said to become half stupefied with its narcotic berries. As we proceed
eastward from Galicia to the Asturias the climate becomes sensibly
colder--the valleys face the north instead of the west; the orange is
less known, the mulberry will not flourish sufficiently well to pay for
silk cultivation, the olive will not grow, and the cork does not pay for
cultivation; the wines lose somewhat of their strength and lusciousness;
and cider, made from the excellent apples of the country, rivals the
juice of the grape in popularity. The mountains are covered with heath,
and fern, and furze, but the aromatic plants are fewer than in Galicia.
This description applies to the northern slope of the Cantabrian chain
and to the rolling hills and plateaux of the Basque provinces; but the
southern slopes of the chain, towards the Ebro, are again a land of vine
and olive, and of maize, which is everywhere the staple. In the Basque
provinces the plough is replaced by the ancient "laya," an instrument
as old, at least, as Roman times. It is a heavy two-pronged steel or
iron fork, with prongs one and a half to two feet long. A strong man
will work two of them at once, one in each hand, driving them into the
ground to their full depth, then with a backward strain turning up the
deep soil. Usually, four or five men work together, and raise their
arms, plunge the fork downwards, and heave, in perfect time. The
cultivation thus effected is excellent, but the expenditure of labour is
immense The productions do not vary greatly along the slopes of the
Pyrenees from those above described until we reach Catalonia; but in the
lower valley of the Ebro, where rain is rare, in the Bardeñas reales of
Navarre, and in the monegros, or despoblados of Aragon, we meet with a
phenomenon only too frequent in Spain--tracts of almost utter
barrenness. The Bardeñas reales are low spurs of the Pyrenees, with
table-lands, bluffs, and deep gorges, and these could scarcely be
brought under cultivation; but the "despoblados" (dispeopled lands) of
Aragon might be irrigated, either by the Ebro or by its tributaries, if
the water of the canal of Charles V. were but economically applied. The
sterility of some parts seems to have been the slow result of an
oppressive land tenure; for as Don Vicente de la Fuente has remarked,
the lands which belonged to the ancient señors (the feudal lords) lie
barren, while the lands of the comunidades, the free districts, are
still fertile. In treating, of the cultivation and the products of
eastern and southern Spain two facts become evident at once--how many of
the products are exotic, and how much of the cultivation is still
Arabian. We shall see in another chapter how deep a mark the Moor or
Arab has left on the population and toponymy of Spain; and the
agriculture of the greater part of central and southern Spain is still
Arabian. The methods of the Spanish peasant are almost all Arabian;
often he uses the Arabian hoe in preference to the Roman plough. The
_noria_, or water-wheel; the _sha'doof_, or swipe, the pole and bucket
for lifting water; the huge dams and reservoirs, the canals and ditches
(_acequias_), the regulations for the fair distribution of the
water,--all these, and even the very superstitions as to times of
sowing, the rotation of crops, the treatment of his animals--for all
these the Spanish peasant of the South is indebted to the Moors. The
treatise of Abu Zaccaria, with its traditions of Nabathean agriculture,
is still one of the manuals of agriculture in Spain. It is the Moors,
too, who first made the winter gardens in the sands near San Lucarde
Barameda, at the mouth of the Guadalquiver, and which supply Cadiz and
Seville with the earliest and latest vegetables. The Roman, with his
lofty aqueducts, brought water to the towns; but it was the Moor who
gave that blessing to the thirsty soil of the country districts of
Spain. And not only the methods of agriculture, but many of its fruits
and products were introduced by the Arab from the East, and some of
these are now the very staple of Spanish produce. It is they who brought
into Spain the cotton plant, rice, and the sugar-cane; mulberries, both
for fruit and for silk culture; sesame, the caper, the locust bean, the
castor-oil plant, alfalfa (lucerne), the pomegranate, almond, the walnut
and filbert, the chestnut and the ever-green oak, the wild olive, the
jujube, the pistacchio nut, the palm, several kinds of roses, the
wall-flower, with many another garden herb or flower. It was they who
improved the Andalusian steed into one of the most excellent in Europe
for riding, and the strain may still be traced even in the ponies of the
north. But the cultivated vegetation of the south which meets the
stranger's eye is perhaps still more indebted to the Americas.[1] It
needs an effort now to picture what Spanish agriculture and what Spanish
life was before the time of Columbus, when maize, and the potato, and
sweet potato, were unknown; when not a cigar was smoked or cigarette
made, or leaf of tobacco grown in Spain; when only garlic was known, and
those indispensable condiments of every dish, the tomato, and the
pimentos had not yet entered a Spanish kitchen, and chocolate had not
yet been sipped by Spanish ladies; when the hedges were bare of aloes,
and the prickly pear gave the beggar no fruit. And besides these common
gifts, there are the more luxurious ones of pine apples, grenadines (the
fruit of the passion-flower), abocado pears, chirimoyas, guavas,
earth-nuts, bananas, and many others, while the gardens are enriched
with magnolias and passion-flowers, and a wealth of creepers of all
kinds. The Australian eucalypti, also, are highly valued in Spain, both
as a febrifuge and for their prophylactic qualities in prevention of
malaria in marshy ground; and a decoction from their leaves has quite
passed into the popular pharmacopeia.
[1] For the converse of this, the plants and fruits introduced by the
Spaniards into America, see Markham's "Peru," in this series, p. 120.
The most common plant on the sun-dried hills of Valencia and Murcia, the
esparto-grass (_Stipe tenacissima_), after having been long used in
various native manufactures, has since 1856 become an article of
exportation, and an important addition to the wealth of Spain; but the
cultivation of the barilla plant for soda has much decreased. It is from
Valencia that the oranges come which are such favourites in Paris. The
tree is so valuable, both for fruit and flowers, that an acre will
sometimes give 600_l._ worth of produce. The dried raisins and almonds
so familiar in England, so eagerly looked for at Christmas time, and
the green preserved grapes, come from the districts of which we are now
speaking, the coast-lands from Valencia to Almeira and Malaga. The wines
are equally celebrated, from the strong red wines of Benicarlo, near the
frontiers of Catalonia, to the sweet wines of Alicante and of Malaga,
which are preferred by Continental taste to the drier and more fiery
sherries, wines of the Guadalquiver valley, which please the English
palate. Near the coast on the lower grounds, wherever there is
sufficient water, rice is grown; but, on account of the unhealthy
character of the cultivation, its culture is forbidden in the
neighbourhood of towns. Sugar-cane is extending on the southern coast.
In Andalusia alone more than 7000 acres are devoted to this culture, and
the total yield of the sugar-cane in Spain is estimated at nearly 20,000
tons. Palms are grown as an ornament and garden-tree from Barcelona to
Malaga, but in Murcia, and especially at Elche, they are planted for
production. Though the number seems declining, there are still some
40,000 palms together in the neighbourhood of Elche; in the last century
they are said to have numbered from 50,000 to 70,000. It is not for the
fruit alone, the date, but for the leaves (the so-called palm-branches)
that the trees are grown. In the winter these are tied into a close
bundle to exclude the rays of the sun, in order that they may become
white, and they are then exported to Rome and Italy, for use in the
Easter ceremonies of Palm Sunday. Oils and essences, extracted from many
plants and flowers, are also products of this region. The
liquorice-root, and many another flower, or fruit, or root of medicinal
value grows wild on the hills. The slopes of the eastern mountains are
covered with aromatic herbs, thyme, myrtle, box, rosemary,
southern-wood, mint, lavender, marjoram, nearly all the sweet-scented
herbs which were once carefully cultivated in the gardens of our
ancestors, are natives of these hills; and the flocks of goats returning
from their pastures bring the sweet odours into the tainted towns and
villages, and the first draught of milk from them is highly flavoured
thereby. On these treeless hills, and the warmer parts of the higher
plateaux, these aromatic herbs are often the only fuel which the peasant
can employ. The wealth of this portion of the Spanish soil, the variety
and beauty of its products, can be best seen in a visit to a fruit or
flower market in any of the towns of the south and east. The richness of
colour, the size and beauty of form, are amazing to the stranger; but
the quantity and the cheapness, the way in which these fruits and exotic
vegetables enter into the diet of the poor, is that which most
astonishes those from less generous climes. We have not space to
enumerate in detail a tithe of these productions; this must be sought in
more special treatises.
Almost equal in agricultural and garden wealth to that of the
coast-line, and superior to it as regards the culture of the vine, is
the valley of the Guadalquiver. The oranges of Seville (the civil
oranges of our forefathers, the main ingredient of marmalade), sack, and
sherry, are known in every English home of the middle and upper classes.
It is in the valley of the Guadalquiver, from San Lucar de Barameda to
above Cordova, that the finest sherries are produced. From San Lucar
comes the pleasant Manzanilla, the lightest and most wholesome of all
the sherries, but with a peculiar bitter taste and bouquet, like that of
the wild camomile-flower. In the neighbourhood of Jerez de la Frontera
the best sherries are produced, both brown and golden; the Amontillado,
the nutty-flavoured wine so much sought after, comes from Montilla, to
the south of Cordova. Several other kinds are manufactured, and have a
great local reputation. Comparatively very little of these strong and
fiery wines is consumed in Spain. Spaniards take them only as a liqueur,
not as the usual accompaniment of a meal or desert. Sherry, though grown
in Spain, is the foreigner's, and especially the Englishman's wine. The
red Valdepeñas, from the northern slope of the Sierra Morena, replaces
it at the Spaniard's table. For the modes of preparation of the various
sherries, we must refer our readers to special treatises; of its
statistics as an article of commerce we shall speak in another chapter.
The first palm-tree introduced into Spain is said to have been planted
near Cordova. The olives of this district are considered the finest in
Spain. Comparatively little of the oil is exported, but the home
consumption is enormous. The cork forests, too, are abundant; their bark
forms an important article of commerce.
We have now only to speak of the great central plateau, the Continental
climate of Spain, and its productions. This is peculiarly the
corn-growing district of Spain, the land of wheat and maize, especially
in the Castiles. Estremadura and Léon are rather pastoral districts. It
is in these provinces that the laws of the _Mesta_, for the protection
of the celebrated merino sheep, ruled supreme, and which, though
modified at the close of the last century, and some of their worst
abuses done away with, were finally repealed only in 1835. By these laws
the sheep and cattle which fed in the winter in the plains of
Estremadura, and in the summer on the mountains of Léon, were privileged
to enter almost any property on their line of march, to feed or to pass
the night there. A space of ninety yards wide was reserved on each side
of the highways for their accommodation; no land, especially no
corn-field, was allowed to be enclosed; and right of forcible entrance
was given to all orchards and vineyards where pasturage might be found.
Wherever the flocks had once fed, the land could not be sold or
alienated to any other purpose. The shepherds who tended these flocks
became almost as savage and ignorant as the beasts they looked after;
their privileges produced in them a contempt and hatred of all kinds of
fixed property, and they were ever trying to extend their oppressive
right at the expense of the more settled and agricultural portion of the
community. Under the influence of these laws Estremadura, which, in the
time of the Romans and Moors had been one of the richest provinces of
Spain, became under their Christian conquerors not only one of the
poorest and most thinly peopled districts, but also a curse and source
of destruction to the rest. Not only were all the evils of the old Roman
"latifundia" reproduced in this mediæval system, but the locust, which
never breeds in cultivated lands, or where the plough passes, was
enabled to make its home in the wilds and pastures of Estremadura,
whence it periodically sallied out to devastate the fairest and richest
portions of the land. In the years 1754 to 1757 it desolated the whole
of the provinces between Estremadura and the Mediterranean. In 1686 and
the following year it reached the principality of Barcelona, and, in
spite of exorcisms, ravaged the country till there was nothing more to
destroy. The provinces nearer to Estremadura are much more frequent
sufferers, and in recent years (in 1876 the crops in Ciudad Real were
utterly destroyed) a division of the army has been more than once
employed to destroy or to check them on their march. The only plant they
spare is the tomata, which they will not touch. Besides flocks,
Estremadura maintains huge herds of swine, which feed on the sweet
acorns and chestnuts of its woods, and whose flesh is renowned through
Spain. Owing to its situation on the borders of Andalusia, in which
province the Moors retained their powers long after they had lost the
rest of Spain, Estremadura was exposed to their frequent incursions;
every flock and herd was liable to be carried off, every fruit-tree to
be cut down, the farms burnt and crops destroyed; and in their
retaliation the Christian knights were almost as fatal as the Arab
horsemen. The country was never thoroughly peopled after the reconquest,
and the sense of insecurity remained long after the cause of it had been
removed. The laws of the Mesta and the emigration to the Americas (both
Cortes and Pizarro were Extrameños) finished the work of depopulation,
and left the province, as it has since remained, naturally one of the
richest, actually one of the poorest in Spain. The products, besides
those above mentioned, are cork, oak-bark and acorns for tanning,
honey, nuts, and chestnuts.
The bare plains of the Castiles are now the great corn-producing country
of Spain. But they have little or nothing of the beauty and variety of
cultivated land in other countries. There is no succession of crops, no
mixed husbandry, no scattered farm-houses, neither tree nor fence to
break the bare monotony. The hill-sides and mountains are given up to
pasture, the plains to wheat and maize. The husbandmen live in villages,
and ride out on donkeys in early morn to their distant fields, and
return home at night. A sense of insecurity seems still to brood over
the land, as if the peasant dared not trust himself outside the walls of
village or town. Only at harvest-time, in the warm summer and autumn
nights, he camps out among his crops, to thresh them on the spot, and
bring the produce home, a habit which often produces fever and ague.
Year after year the process is repeated; no improvement is ever made; if
rain falls the harvest is plentiful--so plentiful sometimes that the
lazy peasant will not reap his most distant fields, or procure new skins
or barrels for the over-abundant wine, though with the extension of
railways this evil is fast disappearing. There is hardly a greater
contrast than between the habits of the Castilian peasants and those of
the peasant-proprietors in the Basque provinces and in those of north
and north-west. In the Basque provinces the farms are scattered all
over the country, and travellers from other districts of Spain speak of
the whole district as if it were one city. The farm-house stands in the
midst of its grounds, with orchard, garden, trees and fences, meadow and
corn-land round it. To Englishmen this description is almost a matter of
course, and one must read the narrative of travellers from Castile fully
to appreciate the force of the contrast. There is, moreover, no natural
impediment whatever to a similar course of life in many districts of the
Castiles. Barren and dreary as they look, the plains called the "Sierras
de Campos," and some others, are watered by a kind of natural capillary
attraction; dry as the surface appears, water is always to be found at a
few inches below the surface, and the roots of the wheat and other
cereal crops penetrate to it. It is only the mixture of pride and
laziness and ignorance of the Castilian peasant, his senseless disdain
of all improvement, his want of ambition for anything better, that
prevents progress in this part of Spain. He refused to make use of the
machinery invented for him in the last century, nor will he avail
himself of the means of irrigation and the still better machines
provided for him now. Yet there is no agricultural country in which
machinery could be introduced to greater advantage.
Perhaps no better idea can be given of the productions of Spain, and of
the diversity of its climates and fruits, than by comparing those of
Murcia with those of the north-west and the centre. In January the bean
is in flower in Murcia, in April in Madrid; the vine and the wheat
flower in April in Murcia, but not till May or June in the province of
Madrid. The climate of Galicia, with its almost continual rain, and
Murcia with its droughts, are perhaps the most opposite climates of
Spain. The one is a land of pasture and of flax cultivation; its fruits
are the apple, the pear, the peach, strawberries, currants, and nuts of
all kinds; the predominant plant on the hill-sides is the furze, in
Murcia it is the Esparto grass. The fruits there cultivated in the
gardens are exotic, and have almost wholly replaced the indigenous
flora; the "huertas," the gardens or cultivated plains, are there almost
like oases in a desert.
The fauna of Spain--except in one particular, the monkeys (_Macacus
Innuus_) which inhabit the rock of Gibraltar, and which are the only
animals of their kind wild in Europe--does not greatly differ from that
of the rest of Southern Europe. In the highest part of the Pyrenees, in
the Sierra de Credos, and in the Sierra Nevada, the izard or chamois
still exists in considerable numbers. Whether the bouquetin is really
extinct, or still survives in the Spanish Pyrenees, is a disputed point.
In the forests which clothe the lower spurs, roe and fallow deer, wild
goats and wild boars, and in some districts red deer, are still to be
found. The beasts of prey are the bear, the wolf, the lynx, the fox,
wild cat, marten, ferret, weasel, &c.; and these are assisted by the no
less rapacious birds of prey--the vultures, eagles, hawks, falcons,
kites, harriers, pies, and jays. The game birds and animals are the
pheasant, now very rare, partridges of both kinds, bustards, both large
and small, sand-grouse, quails, which come in immense quantities to the
vineyards and maize-fields in the summer and autumn, woodcock, snipe;
wild duck, geese, all kinds of water-birds and waders, visit the marshes
of the rivers and the lagoons of the coast in winter; and on the
southern shores meet the flamingoes, pelicans, spoonbills, and other
birds from the African coast. From the same quarter come numerous and
brighter-plumaged birds of passage; orioles, bee-eaters, hoopoes, and
other natives of a warmer zone, are brought over by the hot south wind
so irritating to the nerves and temper of a southern Spaniard. It is
then that the shores of the Mediterranean are lined with sportsmen, when
the moon is near full, to take heavy toll of these winged travellers.
The entomology of Spain is probably very rich. We have spoken of the
locusts of Estremadura; and in the wilds where they breed--mere
solitudes in summer, when the flocks are absent in their northern
pastures--many a rare species of butterfly, cicada, and insect is
doubtless to be found. The insects of Spain, however, are not all
noxious or without value. Silk-worms are largely bred in the coast
provinces of the east and south, not only for their silk, but also for
the gut so precious to all trout and salmon fishermen. The cochineal
insect, which feeds on the leaves of the prickly pear, is cultivated for
its brilliant dye.
Of useful and domesticated animals, the sheep of Spain have always been
celebrated; the very name, "merinos," has been given to the softest kind
of wool or woolly tissue. It is said that the breed attained its
excellence through a present of English South Down rams by Edward I. to
the father of his Castilian bride, and that the wool has improved under
climatic influences. However this may be, the superiority has hardly
been maintained, and careless shepherding has sadly deteriorated the
breed; still the half-bred Spanish merinos are the favourite flocks
throughout the north of Spain and Southern France, and they are slowly
superseding the coarser native and local breeds. The Spanish cattle from
Galicia are well known in the English market, but they are not the
choicest of their kind. The bulls that are bred for the bull-fights are
reared chiefly along the marshy banks of the Guadalquiver, which, like
the delta of the Rhone, supports herds of half-wild cattle and
buffaloes. Cow's milk is little known or used in many districts of
Spain, and butter still less. Sheep or goat's milk supplies the place
of the former, and the olive-oil, excellent were it not too often kept
till rancid, that of the latter. Cheese and various kinds of curdled
milk or whey are also made from the milk of sheep. Since the advent of
the Arabs the Andalusian steed has been much celebrated. It is now
scarcely equal to its former fame, but, like many a horse of warmer
climes, its performances are better than its looks; hardy, sure-footed,
swift, and docile, if not over-weighted it will do more than one of many
a finer-looking but less enduring breed. The horse, however, is not the
true beast of burden in Spain; he is the charger, or the luxury of the
rich. The real work of the country is done by the humble mule or ass,
or, in some districts, by the ox. The fine Spanish mules are now seldom
bred in the country, but are procured from Poitou, or from the south of
France, where great attention is paid to their production, and where the
average price of a mule of six months old is higher than that of a horse
of the same age. For long journeys, and for carrying produce over the
mountain paths, or along the bad roads of the interior, the mule and
pack-saddle is still generally used. In fact, in some districts no other
mode of conveyance is possible; but the loss to commerce from want of
better communications is immense. It is this mode of carriage which
necessitates and continues the use of the tarred wine-skin, by which so
much excellent wine is rendered unsalable and almost undrinkable. It is
hard to recognize the delicious wine when tasted at the vineyard, in the
pitch-flavoured, half-fermented liquor which has travelled for days in a
skin exposed to the sun's heat by day, and the closeness and fetid
odours of the inns by night. Besides these, the camel, buffalo, and
llama, and vicunâ have been introduced successfully as an experiment for
breeding, but not in sufficient numbers to affect the means of transport
in the peninsula.
The fisheries in Galicia and along the north-west Atlantic coast, and
also at Huelva and at Cadiz, are very valuable. Not only are they an
abundant means of support to the inhabitants of the coast and of Léon
and Northern Castile, but the fishermen engaged in them furnish the best
sailors to the Spanish navy. The chief kinds of fish are sardines and
pilchards, of which great numbers are preserved in oil, the tunny, and
the sea-bream, of which enormous quantities are annually taken. The
rivers, from the Minho to the Bidassoa, furnish trout and salmon. In the
Mediterranean, tunny, and the anchovies which replace the sardines, are
the chief fisheries, but many Spaniards are also engaged in the
coral-fishing off the coasts of Catalonia, of Algiers, and of Tunis.
The total production of Spain has been approximately valued at
Agriculture £80,000,000
Mines 6,271,000
Manufactures 63,480,000
CHAPTER III.
GEOLOGY AND MINES.
Even in geological features Spain is a land apart. Divided from the rest
of Europe by the regular Palæozoic band of the Pyrenees, the rocks of
the Peninsula are only susceptible of separate study. Hence no
consistent geological history can be deduced from the fragmentary and
superficial observations that as yet form the basis of the geological
map of Spain. A few striking features and geological statistics may
however be presented; and the recently-published map of Botella, as well
as the mass of valuable matter already collected by the _Comision del
Mapa geologico de España_, are an earnest that Spanish geology will soon
occupy a place corresponding to its peculiar interest.
A mass of Granitic, Cambrian, and Silurian rocks forms the central
plateau of Spain, extending in a south-easterly direction from Galicia
to the valley of the Guadalquiver, and spreading to the north-east, as
shown by the chains of the Guadarrama and the mountains of Toledo, to
terminate in the Celtiberian range, running nearly parallel to the Ebro
by Soria and the Moncayo. In this mass the main folds of the strata
appear to run in a south-easterly, the main fractures in a
north-easterly, direction; whence the gridiron arrangement of the
mountain chains and river valleys, directed by these leading features of
the rocky structure. Great buttresses of the Carboniferous formation
occupy the corners of the central mass, to the north and south-west, and
occasional patches of its upper and coal-bearing beds are scattered over
the interior. The whole valley of the Ebro occupies a trough of
Secondary rocks, which extend in a south-easterly direction from the Bay
of Biscay to the Mediterranean, forming a wide boundary to the older
central mass, and running along the north coast towards Oviedo. The
Secondary formations of the Ebro sweep over the chain of the Moncayo on
to the central plateau by Burgos, Soria, and Calatayud; and their latest
member--the Upper Cretaceous--advances in two long tongues on to the
granite of the Guadarrama, and far to the east of Madrid, it being
probable that at least this member formerly extended over the central
plateau. Another wide band of Secondary rocks, running in a
north-easterly direction, forms the long strip of Andalusia south of
the Guadalquiver; and by Valencia and Cuenca this band is widely
prolonged to the Ebro basin; otherwise, a narrow and interrupted strip
along the south coast, and a bay-like expanse from the Atlantic, between
Lisbon and Oporto, are the only Secondary tracts of the Peninsula. These
Secondary rocks are however in great part concealed by Eocene Tertiary
beds, formed in marine gulfs in the valley of the Ebro and the
Guadalquiver, and overlaid by Eocene and Miocene fresh-water deposits;
the latter being also represented by vast lacustrine sheets, which
contemporaneously accumulated, and conceal the crystalline and palæozoic
formations in the elevated river basins of the central primary plateau.
Patches of Pliocene sands and clays along the Mediterranean coast,
sheets of diluvial gravels below the mountains, and alluvial sands along
the larger rivers represent the local and most recent effects of water
and ice.
The consequences of this general structure are apparent on every hand.
The population of Galicia is in many respects similar to that of the
Portuguese mountaineers, who occupy the same band of naked granitic and
primary rocks. The inhabitants of the varied and fertile Secondary band
of Andalusia and Valencia have many traits in common. The Biscayans are
a race apart, like the labyrinth of Cretaceous precipices and green
rainy valleys which they inhabit. All are distinct from the Castilians,
whose monotonous and isolated existence on the vast treeless steppes of
crumbling Tertiary sands and marls that carpet the primary plateau 2000
feet above the sea has deeply influenced their character. Finally, the
inhabitants of the Ebro basin, a region where the dry Tertiary soil of
Castile is combined with many characteristics of the Secondary tracts,
afford a curious mixture of Castilian with Basque or Valencian traits.
The inhabitants of the greater Spanish cities are of course products of
civilization, not of the soil.
Of the visible surface of Spain 37 per cent. is occupied by Crystalline
and Palæozoic rocks, 34 per cent. by Tertiary, 19 per cent. by
Secondary, and 10 per cent. by Quaternary deposits. The Palæozoic rocks
are greatly contorted and fractured, the Secondary scarcely less so, the
older Tertiary are crumpled up against the flanks of the mountain
chains, and even upturned Pliocene deposits testify in some places to
the late continuance of the movements that have contributed to the
production of the peculiar elevated character of the Peninsula. The
remains of undoubted volcanoes are confined to the insignificant groups
of Olot, Cabo de Gata, and Ciudad Real, but innumerable dykes and bosses
of igneous rock are scattered over the primitive plateau where
unconcealed by Tertiary sheets, and are also frequent in the Secondary
tracts. This abundance of igneous injections is intimately connected
with the exceptionally metalliferous character of Spain, while the
fractured and contorted condition of even the latest rocky formations
has contributed to a general diffusion of mineral wealth.
The granite and other igneous rocks form rounded bosses or prominent
pinnacles, according as they are more or less subject to atmospheric
decomposition; the pine and the Spanish chestnut flourish on their
slopes; iron, lead, copper, tin, graphite, phosphorite, kaolin,
steatite, and serpentine are among the products of these crystalline
masses. The gneiss and crystalline schists that in part probably
represent the Laurentian formation, contain silver, bismuth, molybdenum,
and tin; while metamorphic rocks of unknown age are amongst the richest
in mines, affording iron, lead, silver, copper, zinc, mercury,
manganese, and graphite. The Cambrian formation, a mass of lustrous
fissile slate, traversed by white quartz veins, furnishes lead, silver,
phosphorite, and gold. The Silurian slates and quartzites yield iron,
lead, silver, copper, mercury, manganese, antimony, cobalt, nickel,
anthracite, and gold. A few limited patches of Devonian sandstones,
quartzites, slates, marls, and limestones, afford iron, zinc,
phosphorite, cobalt, and nickel. The Carboniferous series, occupying
two per cent. of the surface, includes valuable coal-fields, the immense
masses of iron and copper pyrites of the Rio Tinto, Tharsis, and other
mines in the province of Huelva, besides iron, zinc, mercury, manganese,
antimony, cobalt, nickel, and phosphorite in other districts. The
silver-bearing metamorphic rocks of Cartagena, and a portion of the
slopes of the Sierra Nevada are classed in the Permian formation. The
Triassic conglomerates, sandstones, and variegated marls, which form the
usual base of the Secondary rocks, are rich in salt, gypsum, and iron,
and afford some copper and zinc. The Jurassic limestones and marls
contain asphalte and bituminous slate. The Cretaceous--mainly Neocomian
in the south, the Upper Cretaceous predominating in the north--contains
the immense iron deposits of Bilbao; valuable beds of lignite resembling
coal; lead, zinc, and asphalte mines in the northern provinces, and gold
in Granada. In the Eocene formation, which includes the Nummulitic
limestone that forms some of the highest summits of the Pyrenees, the
celebrated salt-mine of Cardona, in Catalonia, is usually classed. The
Miocene beds contain valuable sulphur deposits along the southern coast,
and great accumulations of sulphate of soda on the arid steppes of
Madrid and other provinces; while gypsum, in which Spain is probably
richer than the whole remainder of Europe, is abundant in this
formation. Lastly, some native silver is found in the Pliocene deposits
of Almeria, and in the Tertiary clays of Guadalajara, while the later
gravels of Galicia afford stream tin and gold, the last similarly
occurring in Leon and Caceres.
The quantity of mineral contained in the rocks of Spain is no less
remarkable than the exceptional variety of its distribution; but owing
to a series of adverse circumstances, the industrial production affords
a most inadequate idea of the capabilities of the mines, if developed by
a fair amount of capital and skill. The following figures, showing the
production in 1875, are derived from the last official reports issued by
the Spanish Government, and are certainly below the truth:--
Tons of ore Tons of metal
exported. produced in Spain.
Iron 336,000 37,000
Lead 10,000 119,000
Copper 362,000 6,620
Zinc 43,000 3,820
Manganese 14,000
Mercury 1,425
These figures do not include the bar iron produced directly from ore in
Spain, nor 160 tons of argentiferous copper ore, 89 tons of cobalt ore,
and 440 tons of nickel ore. The silver extracted in Spain amounted to
more than 16,000 lbs. troy, while four times that amount was contained
in exported argentiferous lead. The coal extracted amounted to 666,000
tons, lignite above 27,000, sulphur above 3000, and phosphorite above
12,000 tons. The year 1875 was, however, peculiarly unfavourable to
Spanish mining, and the working of the Bilbao mines, which now produce
nearly 2,000,000 tons yearly of excellent iron ore, was then practically
suspended by the Carlist war. All disadvantages cannot, however, arrest
the steady increase of mineral production in Spain, although under more
normal political circumstances the above figures would have been greatly
exceeded.
The chief coal district is that of Oviedo, Palencia, Leon, and
Santander. The coal-field of Oviedo, occupying an extent of 230 square
miles, and including a large number of workable beds, is of excellent
quality, but as yet little developed, owing to high railway tariffs, bad
condition of ports, traditional prejudices, want of skill and capital,
and of a local market for inferior qualities. These obstacles will
probably soon be overcome, and the development of the associated iron
ores afford an important field of enterprise.
The coal-field of Palencia, a continuation of that of Oviedo, is in
course of development by the Northern Railway Company. Smaller
coal-fields of great local importance exist in the provinces of Cordova,
Seville, Gerona, Burgos, Cuenca, Guadalajara, and Ciudad Real; that of
Gerona, although of small extent and very friable quality, has already
occasioned the construction of a railway of considerable length. Iron is
mainly obtained from Biscay, Oviedo, Murcia, and Almeria, but is
abundant in other provinces. Lead is worked chiefly in Murcia, Jaen,
Almeria, Badajoz, and Ciudad Real; the presence of antimony or of a
predominating admixture of blende is very common, but Spain is on the
whole the most important lead-producing country in Europe. Copper is
obtained mainly from the Rio Tinto mines and others in Huelva; also from
Seville, Palencia, Almeria, and Santander; but many other districts
contain veins yielding more or less of copper ore. Zinc has been chiefly
procured from superficial pockets of calamine in Santander and the
neighbouring districts; but in the form of blende it is widely
distributed in association with lead. Silver ores are worked in Almeria
and Guadalajara. The immense impregnation of cinnabar of Almaden, in
Ciudad Real, affords nearly all the mercury, but a little is obtained
from other mines in the same province and in Oviedo, Granada, and
Almeria. Manganese is obtained from Huelva, Oviedo, Teruel, Almeria,
Murcia, and Zamora. Nickel ore is worked in Malaga; cobalt in Oviedo and
Castellon. Tin occurs in a number of small veins in Galicia; and in the
rocks of Salamanca, Murcia, and Almeria, as well as in diluvial gravels.
The Spanish side of the Pyrenees contains numerous veins of
argentiferous lead, many of copper, and some of cobalt, nickel,
argentiferous copper, pyrolusite, &c., few of which are worked. The
lead-mines on the border between Catalonia and Aragon supplied the
Carlists with ammunition during the late civil war. The fact that more
than 12,000 concessions of mines already exist in Spain, while a large
number of lapsed concessions may be found, affords a better idea of the
mineral wealth of the country than the enumeration of the mines actually
worked.
That such enormous mineral resources should have as yet yielded no
greater results is easily explained. The Roman and Moorish workings,
although traditionally of fabulous yield, are of small depth, owing to
insufficient machinery for pumping. Till the present century, the
working of mines was forbidden by the Spanish Government, with the
object of favouring the development of the American colonies. The mining
laws of 1825 and 1849, suddenly placing the acquirement of mines within
the reach of every substantial peasant, produced a fever of speculation,
and a recklessness in the application of unskilled labour, which
naturally conduced to the discouragement of mining enterprise, while the
recurring civil wars excluded foreign capital and skill. Spaniards have
a mania for erecting smelting-works on the mines, a practice
occasionally justified by difficulties of transport, but which has
caused much loss of capital through inherent difficulties and want of
metallurgical skill. Endless litigation, arising from the defects of the
first mining laws, and the inexperience of the surveying engineers,
contributed to ruin the small capitalists who had attempted to work the
mines. Foreign capital is now the chief requirement. The existing mining
law, greatly improved since 1868, is the simplest in Europe; the expense
of a concession is almost nominal, and the royalties on ore are
extremely moderate. Large mining adventures in Spain rapidly develope
industrial conditions and profoundly affect the habits of the
population. Even in times of civil war a _modus vivendi_ between the
conflicting parties can be more easily secured than might be expected.
The development of means of transport, already considerable before the
last Carlist war, is being seriously resumed under the present
Government. The Spanish peasantry, when suitably treated, will be found
a fair-dealing, intelligent, and industrious class. It must, however, be
remembered that in the peculiar physical, political, municipal, and
fiscal conditions of Spain, no mining enterprise can safely be
undertaken without thorough investigation of all the external
circumstances, claims, and prospects concerned; since more mining
speculations have failed from inattention to such matters than from any
disappointment as regards the quality or quantity of ore.
P. W. S. M.
CHAPTER IV.
ETHNOLOGY, LANGUAGE, AND POPULATION.
On the first glance at a map of Spain and Portugal we are apt to think
that few countries could have so well-defined a frontier as that formed
by the Pyrenees, the Mediterranean, and the Atlantic. In so compact a
country, and one so distinct and so shut off from the rest of Europe, we
should expect to find a more unmixed and a more homogeneous population
than in any of those states whose frontiers are more open and
conventional. But such is very far from being the case. Even at the
present time the Pyrenees are no boundary throughout their whole course,
either as to race or language. The Basque overlaps them at one end, and
the Provençal at the other. Moreover, they have been a political
boundary throughout their whole length only since the middle of the
seventeenth century. Navarre was united to the Spanish crown in 1515,
and Rousillon to France only in 1659. Ecclesiastically, both the
dioceses of Bayonne and of Narbonne advanced far into Spain. So far
from the population of Spain being unmixed and pure, the contrary is far
nearer the truth. As Senor Tubino has well observed, from its position
at the south-western angle of Europe, and the most westerly of
Mediterranean lands, beyond which lay only the impassable ocean, it must
early have become a very eddy of nations, where all the tribes and races
who have successively held command of the Mediterranean must necessarily
have halted, over which and in which all invaders who have crossed the
Pyrenees from Northern Europe, or have passed the Straits of Gibraltar
from Africa, must have surged in almost ceaseless conflict. To think of
Spain as ever having been at any given time occupied solely by any
single race or people is to lose the clue to her whole history. Of this
not only the social and political condition of the country, but the
toponymy and nomenclature of her map afford decisive proof.
We first hear of Spain in history about the sixth century before Christ,
as then inhabited by the "Iberi" and "Kelt-Iberi," with here and there
colonies of more unmingled Kelts. It is more than probable that both of
these races succeeded anterior ones, the existence of which we trace
only through the remains of præhistoric archæology, in the flint, stone,
and bronze instruments, similar to those found elsewhere in Europe;
these were also probably followed by races whose remains we find in the
sculptors of the so-called "Toros" (bulls) of Guisando, and in the
builders of the Megalithic monuments, the dolmens, menhirs, and circles
which are found from Algeria to the Orkneys. For all purposes of history
we must take the "Iberi" and the "Kelts," with their mixed tribes, as
our starting-point. These we find scattered in much confusion throughout
the Peninsula. Either the tribes were constantly shifting their ground,
owing to petty wars and tribal dissensions or to unknown economic
conditions, or the successive Greek and Latin writers from whom we get
our information have not themselves been clear as to the distinction of
these races. Speaking loosely, we may say that the more purely Keltic
tribes held their ground in the north-west and west, in Galicia and
Portugal, with a few scattered colonies further south. Andalusia, parts
of the centre, the north and north-east were inhabited by the "Iberi;"
while the Kelt-Iberian tribes lay chiefly in the centre and on the
eastward slope. Both of these great races have left clear traces on the
maps of ancient Spain. There can be no reasonable doubt that the
"Illiberris" which we find in classical maps is a transcription of the
Basque "Iriberri," which we still find in the French Basque country and
in Navarre, meaning "New-Town," or more exactly, "Town-new;" that when
the Romans called a town which they built in Galicia "Iria-Flavia," in
honour of their then empress, they really used the Basque word "Iri," a
town or city, just as the colonists of the United States and Canada used
the French "ville" or English "town," and named a new city Louisville,
Charleston, Georgetown, in the North American colonies. So, too, any one
who compares the name "Peña," given to mountains and mountain-chains on
the map of Spain, together with the river names, "Tamaris," "Deva," and
the town and district of "Britonia" or "Britannia" in the north-west,
can hardly doubt that these names were given by the same Keltic race who
have left us so many "Pens" and "Bens" in Northern Britain, who gave the
names "Tamar" and "Dee" to Devonshire and Cheshire streams, and called
our own island Britannia, and themselves Britons. Which of these races
is the older? the Iberi, i.e. Basque, or the Keltic? How can we decide
this? Language is a deceitful tool as regards race. A people may utterly
forget their original language, and adopt that of their conquerors or of
some superior race with whom they have come in contact. Of this we have
not only numerous examples in the past, as in the Latin and romance
tongues superseding many a more ancient idiom, but we can see the same
change actually going on in our colonies and dependencies in our own
day. Still there is a certain rough chronology in language. A
monosyllabic language we may presume, in default of evidence to the
contrary, to have preceded one whose characteristic is agglutination;
and again, a language which agglutinates or incorporates its members is
presumably prior to an inflexional or analytic one. Now the Basque, the
modern form of some one of those tongues which the Greeks and Romans
called Iberian, belongs to the second of these classes, and the Keltic
to the third. Another mode of investigating the antiquity of a language
is to study the original names of the most necessary objects of daily
life, and see if they can reveal to us anything about the state of
civilization of those who used them before the language took a literary
shape or any books were written in it. A language in which we find all
the words expressing articles of greater civilization to be borrowed
from other tongues we may presumably deem older than the languages from
which it has borrowed them. Now in the Basque, Escuara, the undoubtedly
native words for cutting instruments seem all to have their root from
words signifying stone, or rock, and all such words which imply the use
of metal seem to be borrowed. The language as it were represents the
"stone" age, before the use of metals was known. It is also singularly
poor in collective and general terms; thus, while many of the names for
separate kinds of trees are native, the most common collective term
_arbola_, "the tree," is clearly borrowed from the Latin. Although the
arguments from anthropology, the form of the skull, &c., as compared
with other races, are of still more dubious value than those derived
from language, yet they all tend to the same conclusion. We may then
hold from these convergent lines of reasoning, at least as a provisional
hypothesis, that the Iberian or Basque race is older in Spain than the
Keltic, and consequently that in the representatives of the former we
have the remains of the oldest historical people of which we have any
record in the country.
We said above that, from its geographical position, the Peninsula would
necessarily be the final-halting-place in ancient times of all the
masters of the Mediterranean as they pushed westward. There we should
find their farthest outposts. Thus in Spain we have, at first dimly
seen, successive colonies of Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Greeks. There
it was that Carthaginians and Romans met to dispute the supremacy of the
Mediterranean and of the civilized world. When, after a long occupation,
during which it Latinized Spain more completely than any other country
except Italy, the Roman Empire fell, successive waves of barbarian
destroyers swept across the land, Sueves, Alans, Vandals, Visigoths, in
wild confusion and internecine strife, wrecked the civilization which
they could neither appreciate nor understand. The last of these races,
the Visigoths, who ruled the longest, strove hard to found an empire
from 450 to 710, but without success. The real power which held society
together then, and which wrought what little order and law still
existed, was the Church, and not the State. The Councils of the Church
were the true legislative assemblies, and the real representatives of
the people in those times. Yet, with all the power of the Church to
uphold it, the Visigothic Empire remained so weak that it fell at the
first shock of the Mohammedan Arabs. The Moors or Arabs landed in Spain
in the year 711. In ten years they had conquered all of the Peninsula
that they cared to hold; in eleven years more, 732, they had been
defeated at Poictiers by Charles Martel, and had withdrawn for ever from
France, except from the district of Narbonne. This rich province they
held for many years, and it would seem to them to be more than an
equivalent for the bare and humid mountains of Galicia and the Asturias,
or the higher Pyrenees, which alone in the Peninsula were exempt from
their sway. The Arabs and the Moors of Barbary are the last great race
that has occupied Spain. Jews and a few Gipsies are the only peoples
that have entered since. A few remnants of Berber tribes, isolated from
their countrymen by the rapid advance of the Christian army in the tenth
and eleventh centuries, like the Maragatos of Astorga, have remained in
North-Western Spain, and doubtful remains of other peoples are found
here and there, but none of these are in sufficient numbers to influence
the nation as a whole. No country was more completely Romanized than
Spain. In fact, after the Augustan age we might almost say that the best
Latin writers were Spaniards born; Seneca, Quintilian, Lucian, and
Martial were all natives of Spain. Hosius, the champion of Latin
Christianity in the early part of the fourth century, was a Spaniard.
The names of many of the towns are still Roman. Yet the Arabs have left
almost a deeper mark upon the toponymy of the country. Look at the map
of Spain, and we see, even up to the Pyrenees, how many Arabic names
there are, especially of rivers and mountains, upon the map of Spain.
Only in Galicia and the Asturias the Keltic and the Latin, in the Basque
Provinces the Basque, and in Catalonia the Romance names have held their
own. In all the rest the Roman names would have probably died away, but
that the language of the Church was Latin, and preserved the Roman names
of cities, monasteries, and shrines. Down even to the twelfth century it
might seem doubtful which language would prevail, so many Arabs wrote in
Spanish, and Spaniards in Arabic, or wrote Spanish in Arabic characters.
The struggle was decided by the sword; the expulsion of the Arabs was
also the expulsion of their tongue. Yet the Arabs have left far more
traces on Spanish than Spanish has done on Arabic. The Spanish Jews,
however, had forgotten their Semitic tongue, and to this day the sacred
language of the Jews of the Balkan Peninsula, and of many of the Syrian
Jews, even of those at Jerusalem, is not Hebrew but Spanish; their
liturgical works are written in that tongue, and they use it always in
the synagogue.
In spite, however, of all this mixture of races and of languages, Spain
and the Spanish language has perhaps fewer dialects than any other
European speech. From the Central Pyrenees to the Straits of Gibraltar
only one dialect is used, the Spanish or Castilian, the purest and
noblest of those which sprang from the decaying Latin. At the inner
angle of the Bay of Biscay Basque is still spoken by a population of
about 400,000 souls. The Galician dialect is far more closely allied to
the Portuguese than to the Spanish, and should be considered as
belonging to the former tongue. Between Galicia and the Basque Provinces
are the many Patois, or Bables, of Asturia, which alone of the Romance
tongues in the Peninsula have kept the three distinct genders, the
masculine, feminine, and neuter terminations of the Latin adjective. The
speech of Leon, too, may be classed as a separate dialect. In Catalonia,
Valencia, and the Balearic Isles a Provençal or Romance dialect is
spoken, the _Lemosin_ as it was called in mediæval times, and which
stretched from the Loire to the frontiers of Murcia, and from the
western coast of the Bay of Biscay, with few interruptions, almost to
the Black Sea. In the thirteenth century the Catalan dialect more
resembled that of the Gascon Béarnais, or the Western Languedocian, than
of the neighbouring Provence, but centuries of intercourse have since
modified it, and the three dialects of Catalonia, Valencia, and the
Balearic Isles must now be classed as a Provençal speech.
The tongues of all these successive occupiers of the soil have doubtless
left traces in the noble Spanish language, but in very unequal
proportions. A very few words belong to the old Iberian speech, but it
is to that, perhaps, that Spanish owes the purity and the paucity of its
vowel sounds, as from the Arabic it has gained the gutturals which have
prevented its sinking to the effeminate softness of the Italian, and it
still preserves the lofty sonority of the Latin. Some few of the
elements of its vocabulary may be traced to the Keltic, less to the
Teutonic languages. From Arabic it has taken more, and those words of
more important character. But the bulk of the language still remains
Latin. It is essentially one of the Romance dialects which sprang from
the "lingua rustica," the country speech of the decaying Roman Empire.
It has been calculated that six-tenths of its words are Latin, a tenth
Gothic or Teutonic, one-tenth liturgical and Greek, one-tenth American
or modern borrowings, and one-tenth Arabic. But as to this last, we must
not forget that the different parts of the vocabulary of a language have
a very different value. Some could be well dispensed with, some are of
first necessity. There are words which we only see in print, and seldom
or never hear spoken; there are words which belong only to science or to
pedantry; but there are others which are in daily and hourly use, and
whose employment is many times more frequent than the whole number of
words in all the rest of the language put together. It is thus that the
contribution of Arabic to Spanish vocabulary is of far more importance
than is apparent by its numerical proportion; many of the most common
terms, especially of those used in the south of Spain, are of Arabic
origin.
Thus has been formed the noble Spanish tongue, the richest and most
dignified of all that have sprung from the decay of Latin. Marvellously
adapted to oratory and to verse, most incisive and mordant in the
tongues of the lowest class, stately and sonorous almost to a fault, it
is yet unequalled in grace and tenderness in the old romances and in the
mouths of women and of children. Italian is its only rival. While
reading its stately sentences, and marking the majestic rhythm of Scio's
grand translation of the Bible and of its other religious literature, we
can well understand why Spain's greatest emperor, the lord of many lands
and of many tongues, spoke Spanish only to his God. It is rare to find a
foreigner who has mastered Spanish, who does not ever afterwards delight
in its use above all other tongues except his own.
The population of Spain, according to the census of 1877, is 16,625,000,
including the Balearic and Canary Islands, and the North African
possessions. The number of inhabitants in Spain has fluctuated much at
different periods, according as war, emigration, or bad government have
affected the condition of the people. In the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries the population, according to the only estimates procurable,
was about 9,000,000; in 1621, at the close of Philip III.'s reign, it
had sunk to 6,000,000, the lowest point on record; it gradually rose
from 7,500,000 at the end of the seventeenth century to 10,500,000 at
the close of the eighteenth. The wars of Napoleon then lowered it by
500,000, but in 1821 it had recovered, and reached 11,600,000. A more
rapid increase then took place till 1832, when the population numbered
14,600,000. The Carlist and civil wars which marked the beginning of the
reign of Isabella II. reduced it by more than 2,000,000, if the returns
are exact. In 1837 and in 1846 it stood at 12,200,000. In 1857 at
15,500,000, whence it mounted rapidly to 16,800,000 in 1870, a total
which the late Carlist war and that in Cuba has reduced by some 200,000;
and at the last census, 1877, as said above, the returns were
16,625,000.
The number of inhabitants to the square mile is 90, just half that of
France, about a third that of Great Britain, and a fifth that of
Belgium. This comparative scarcity is easily accounted for when we
consider that nearly one-half (46 per cent.) of the territory still
remains uncultivated; and although a considerable portion of this
consists of mountain or of naturally sterile soil, a still larger
portion of it is susceptible of some kind of cultivation, and even the
portion under cultivation would under good husbandry, support a much
larger population than it actually does.
More than two-thirds (66.75 per cent.) of the whole working population
of Spain are engaged in agriculture, and the total produce, including
cereals and cattle of all kinds, wine and fruits, cork, woods, esparto
grass, &c., after supplying the demand for home consumption, leaves a
surplus of agricultural produce for exportation of the value of
14,000,000_l_. sterling. Those engaged in manufacturing industry and in
commerce are reckoned at 10-1/2 per cent, of the working population; but
in Spain, as elsewhere, the relative numbers are slowly changing,
following the conditions of modern European life; a greater
proportionate number are annually withdrawn from agriculture, and are
being added to the population of the great towns, and to the
manufacturing industries. Thus, until the last census the highest
population of Spain per square kilometre was to be found, not in the
manufacturing provinces of Barcelona and Valencia, nor in the great
mining provinces, but in the fishing and agricultural province of
Pontevedra, in Galicia. In 1870 Pontevedra numbered 107, Barcelona 98
inhabitants to the square kilometre. In 1877 it is Barcelona that
numbers 108, and Pontevedra 100 only. Next after these provinces come
the two Basque ones of Guipuzcoa 88, and Biscay 87. The one almost
wholly agricultural, the other mining and agricultural. The nearest
after them is the province of Madrid, with only 77 per square kilometre,
and Corunna and Alicante with 75. These figures will, we think,
sufficiently indicate the character of Spanish industry.
The chief centres of manufacturing industry are Catalonia and Valencia,
in which provinces nearly all the textile goods of Spain are produced.
The chief mining districts are those round Carthagena in Alicante,
Linares in Jaen, the Rio Tinto in Huelva, Somorrostro in Biscay, and of
quicksilver at Almaden in the province of Ciudad Rodrigo; but valuable
mines, as detailed in a former chapter, are found in many other
provinces of Spain. In fact, there is scarcely one without a mine of
more or less importance.
Those engaged in professions of all kinds--lawyers, doctors, artists,
journalists--are only about 10-1/2 per cent. of the whole working
population. The clergy, who once numbered, it is said, one-third of the
whole population, have greatly diminished during the present century,
and are still gradually declining. Including religious orders of all
kinds, inquisitors, and the secular clergy, they still numbered, at the
close of the last century, nearly 250,000, out of a population of
10,500,000. In 1826 they had sunk to about 60,000, in 1858 to 44,000, in
1862 to 40,000, and their present numbers are probably about 35,000.
Immense changes have taken place in recent times, and more particularly
in the present century, with regard to the distribution of land in
Spain. The large amount of property held by the Crown, the religious
orders, the clergy, and various municipal bodies, and the restrictions
imposed by the laws of the Mesta on the enclosure of land, rendered the
number of private proprietors formerly very few. Even in 1800 their
number was only 273,760. In 1764 it was estimated that the clergy
possessed one-sixth of the real property, and one-third of the movable
property of all Spain, and the property of the Church paid scarcely any
taxes, or none at all. From the beginning of the sixteenth century
protests were continually being made against abuses of Church property,
but only towards the end of the eighteenth century were measures of
reform seriously undertaken. Little, however, was really effected till
the Cortes of Cadiz in 1812-13, when the feudal dues on land, of
whatever nature, regal, ecclesiastical, or seignorial, were abolished.
The religious orders were also suppressed. In 1820 a law was passed
forbidding the Church to acquire any more real property. Tithes, of
which the clergy possessed 60 per cent, and the laity 40, were
diminished by half in 1821, and wholly suppressed in 1837. In 1836 the
possessions of the clergy were declared to be national property, and the
sale of them was begun. This, with various interruptions, according as a
liberal or reactionary Government has been in power, has been continued
to the present time. The Crown and municipal property had been sold at
an earlier period, from 1813 to 1855. The Mesta was totally abolished in
1837 as to its privileged rights on property, and in 1851 became merely
an agricultural association for the improvement of the breed of cattle.
The serfs in Galicia were declared to have become proprietors of their
land by prescription in 1763.
The result of these successive measures, and of these immense sales of
territorial property, has been to throw the land into the hands of a
much greater number of small landed proprietors, who now number
3,426,083, so that, in spite of some large estates still existing,
especially in Andalusia, the average quantity of land held in Spain by
each proprietor would seem to be only about some 30 acres. Yet in
Galicia alone does there seem to have been any suffering caused by a too
great subdivision of land, and this perhaps was caused more by the
perpetuation of habits acquired while the land was burdened with
seignorial dues, when the occupier could neither quit his land nor sell
it. In this district the people are still miserably poor, their food and
houses are equally wretched, and nothing but the large emigration that
has taken and is now taking place will restore the province to any real
prosperity.
From what has been said in the preceding pages as to their ethnology,
the reader will not be surprised to learn that the different populations
of Spain have very different characteristics. The Galicians and
Asturians are the hewers of wood and drawers of water in Spain. They are
often fine, stalwart men, brave, and make excellent sailors. It is they
who reap the harvests for the more lazy Castilians and gather the
vintage of Oporto; it is they who do nearly all the hard work in all the
chief towns, not of Spain only, but also of Portugal. They are
proverbially honest and trustworthy as servants, though slow and
somewhat lacking in intelligence. Abroad, and as emigrants, they are
trusted as men of no other race are: in the countries of La Plata in
South America, the town-house, during the summer absence of the
proprietor and his family, is given over to a Gallego, as it stands, to
be taken care of, and rarely indeed is an article missing. The Asturian
partakes of the same general characteristics as the Galician, though in
a less marked degree. In the Montaneses, the inhabitants of the province
of Santander, we have the favourite nurses and female servants of
Madrid. The Asturias and Santander are remarkable for the number of
statesmen and economists they have produced in proportion to the
population. In the Basque Provinces we find an entirely different race,
not perhaps of so muscular a build, but active, and capable of great
endurance. Intelligent and proud of their ancient race and liberties,
they almost always retain their self-respect, and are for the most part
free from that cruelty towards animals which is so disfiguring a trait
in the character of other Spaniards. The Basques are generally found
among the upper and more trusted servants in civil life, in the army and
navy they make excellent petty officers; as seamen they are among the
best of Spain; as soldiers they are brave, enduring, capital marchers,
and as light infantry second to none of any nation. The Aragonese, like
the Galicians, count among the hard workers of Spain; generally of
shorter build, and very thick-set, but somewhat dull and very obstinate,
they are employed in the heaviest work. In literature they are known as
jurisconsults and historians. In Catalonia and Valencia we have the
bright Provençal race. A race apt for commerce and for manufacturing
industries; pushing, energetic, they gather to themselves the greater
part of the commerce, manufactures, and shopkeeping of all kinds, as far
as these are done by Spaniards, throughout the kingdom. Fiery in temper,
and not to be implicitly trusted, especially in Valencia, their
weapon is the knife, which they use sometimes on slight provocation; the
hired assassins and bandits of Spain have always been recruited thence.
Socialists and Federalists in politics, they have ever been disaffected
towards the central government. In Catalonia this may be the result of
memories of former independence; but it is curious to remark that
Barcelona and the cities of the Mediterranean, as compared with Cadiz
and Ferrol on the Atlantic, have played analogous parts in Spanish
history to those of Marseilles and Bordeaux in French; the Mediterranean
in each case being the home of the ultra-democrat and the man of the
"Montagne," and the Atlantic of the constitutionalists and the
Girondins. More to the south we find undoubtedly a greater mixture of
Moorish blood. The Andalusian is almost oriental in character, he is
fond of song and dance and colour, yet lazy withal, and disliking
sustained labour. He delights to deck himself with finery, and his women
with flowers; and his taste though glowing is never utterly debasing.
Excelling in wit and repartee, the Andalusian _gamin_ is the most
amusing rogue in Europe. He has a wild, fierce, momentary energy, and is
courteous and gracious in speech; his proverbs and songs are
innumerable, and sparkle with a peculiar wit and charm; but he
altogether lacks the more solid qualities of the men of the north.
Philosophers, orators, and poets rather than men of industry and science
are the product of these provinces. The Andalusian barely keeps up the
works which the more highly civilized Moors had done for him in
agriculture and in vineyard, but he does not improve upon them; and both
in mining and in wine cultivation, in manufactures, and in coasting
shipping, he allows nearly the whole of the trade and commerce of the
south to pass into the hands of foreigners or of Catalans. The men of
central Spain, except in the towns, the men of Leon, of the Castiles,
and of La Mancha, and in a less degree the men of Estremadura, have
changed but little for the last few centuries. They are Spaniards of the
type generally conceived by foreigners as applying to the whole nation.
Grave and slow of speech, exceedingly courteous unless their prejudices
are offended, fond of formality and proud of it; they are bigoted (but
less so than formerly), prejudiced, ignorant to an extreme, each
thinking his own town or village the _élite_ of the universe; content
with few comforts and preferring semi-starvation to exertion, the
Castilian is half ashamed of honest labour, but by no means averse to
corruption in any shape, and sees no disgrace in beggary. Cruel in the
extreme, when his passions are aroused, it is one of the misfortunes of
Spain that from the advantage of their elevated central physical
position, the Castilians, as warriors and statesmen, at all times among
the least civilized of her people, have been able to rule and control
the more civilized and more advanced (especially in political freedom
and administration) communities of the sea-board. It is a want of
discernment of this fact which makes so many of the picturesque
histories of Spain utterly fail in explaining the origin and the
progressive causes of her present condition. There are a few other
tribes in Spain which it may be worth while to notice, such as the
Gipsies, who seem still to keep themselves tolerably distinct in
Andalusia and in the south, but who in more than one instance have
completely coalesced with the Basques in the north. The Maragatos, the
trusted _Arrieros_ or muleteers of Leon, a remnant apparently of a wild
Berber tribe, left behind when the more civilized Moors retreated
southwards before the advance of the Christian conquerors; the Passiegos
near Bilbao, the men of the Sayago, the Hurdes of the Batuecas, the
Chuetas of Majorca, these and several minor tribes, remnants, perhaps,
of older populations whose ethnic affinities have never been made out,
are too few in numbers to affect the general population; but are of
interest to the ethnologist from the survivals of ancient laws and
customs which are still observed among them. One class, not a tribe, the
wretched commercial policy of Spain has developed to a greater extent
than in any other country, that of the smuggler or contrabandista. He
differs greatly in different districts, and even on the same line of
frontier. In some parts contrabandista is almost synonymous with bandit,
in others he is honest in his illegal trade, and more to be trusted with
immense sums than the officials who arrest him. In a small way he is a
type of the many contradictions of Spanish character and of "the things
of Spain."
[Illustration: CABALLEROS.
_Page 86._]
[Illustration: DOMINIQUE, THE ESPADA.]
[Illustration: GIPSIES AT GRANADA.
_Page 90._]
CHAPTER V.
DESCRIPTION OF PROVINCES.
Spain was formerly divided into some fourteen separate provinces or
kingdoms, once ruled by distinct and independent sovereigns, and under
very different political conditions. It was not until the taking of
Granada, in 1492, that the whole nation became, even nominally, subject
to the joint sovereigns Ferdinand and Isabella; and for long afterwards
Aragon and Catalonia preserved a semi-independence, while, even to our
own day, the Basque Provinces and Navarre were really an independent
republic united to the Spanish crown.
Since 1841, however, the whole country has been divided for
administrative purposes into forty-eight provinces, including the
Balearic Isles.
We shall now hastily sketch the chief features of the old kingdoms, with
the modern provinces included in each. Beginning from the north-west,
we have the kingdom of GALICIA, with its four provinces, _Corunna_,
_Lugo_, _Pontevedra_, and _Orense_. We have before remarked on the Frith
or Fiord-like character of the western coast of Galicia, a conformation
which gives it by far the finest harbours of the whole Spanish coast.
Thus, in the province of Corunna there are the harbour and city (33,000
inhabitants) of the same name, so well known by our forefathers under
the title of "the Groyne," and the scene of many a gallant fight both by
land and sea from the days of Queen Elizabeth to the fall of Sir J.
Moore, but now the chief port of the cattle-trade with England. Its port
is frequented by about 130,000 tons of British shipping annually; and
about 20,000 bullocks are exported annually, mostly in small schooners.
It has also a tobacco factory. A little to the north-east Ferrol
(23,000) has a still better harbour, and is one of the principal naval
establishments of Spain. It is capacious enough to almost contain the
united fleets of Europe; and its only drawback, a singular one in so
humid a climate, is the want of good water. But the most famous city in
the province, and indeed, in all Galicia, the pilgrim-town of Santiago
(St. James) de Compostella (24,000) owes its magnitude to devotion
rather than to commerce. The legend of the voyage of St. James to Spain,
the finding his body at Compostella, and his subsequent appearances in
battle as the champion of Spain, made this the most celebrated shrine
in Europe. Roads led to it from every land, and one of the popular names
of the "Milky Way" was "The road to Compostella." The wealth both of the
military order of Compostella and of the cathedral and chapter was
immense. Even now, after all its spoiling, the cathedral is rich in
precious goldsmiths' work, in architectural, and in literary treasures.
Pontevedra (8000) is the capital of the thickly-populated province of
the same name, whose inhabitants reap a harvest both from sea and land.
Vigo (6000) has an excellent harbour and roadstead, but its commerce has
greatly fallen off in comparison with that of Corunna. It was formerly
the port at which the galleons disembarked their treasures for Northern
Spain. The total tonnage of the harbour in 1878 was 208,000. _Orense_,
an inland province east of Pontevedra, has a capital of the same name
(11,000) on the banks of the Minho. It is the head of an agricultural
and pastoral district, and in it are produced some wines which were
considered in the eighteenth century the finest of all Spain. Here, too,
is one of the grand bridges of Western Spain, possibly of Roman
construction. _Lugo_, with its city (8000), faces north instead of west,
and has its harbours, Vivero and Rivadeo, on the Bay of Biscay; but the
near neighbourhood of Ferrol and of Corunna deprive them of all but
coasting trade.
The ASTURIAS, the home of the Spanish monarchy, and the only ancient
kingdom of which no part was subdued by the Moors (though they raided
once to Oviedo), contains but one province, called after its chief town
_Oviedo_ (34,000), with a cathedral, university, and a most pleasant
situation. In this province is Covadonga, where the Visigoth Pelayo, in
719, repulsed the Moors, and thus took the first step towards the
recovery of Spain. The whole country slopes rapidly from its southern
frontier, the summit of the Cantabrian Mountains, towards the Bay of
Biscay. Cangas de Tineo (22,000) is the centre of a mining district.
Owing to the great development of mining operations in this province
within the last ten years the small towns of Siero, Tineo, Grado, and
Villaviciosa have suddenly sprung into importance, and each now contains
over 20,000 inhabitants. The chief port is Gijon (30,000), of which the
chief trade is in hazel-nuts for England, of which over 1000 tons are
annually exported, to the value of 23,000 _l._ Here is one of the seven
government tobacco manufactories, and also important glass-works,
conducted chiefly by Swiss and French artisans; but it is far
outstripped in commercial importance by SANTANDER (41,000), the capital
of the neighbouring province, and the great port of outlet for the
agricultural riches of Leon and of the Castiles. Santander has also a
great trade with Cuba and Porto Rico, and possesses almost a monopoly
of the supply of cereals to those islands. A port of equal natural
excellence is Santoña, which the first Napoleon would have made the
Gibraltar of Northern Spain, but which is now frequented only as a
bathing-place by the inhabitants of the interior. The mountain scenery
of these two provinces is most picturesque, both along the sea-board and
in the interior, where the snow sometimes lies on the Picos de Europa
until July or August. The coal-mines of the Asturias are rapidly
assuming importance. The output was, in 1878, 400,000 tons, at a cost on
board ship of 13_s._ per ton. The extent of the bed is estimated at
667,200 acres.
The BASQUE PROVINCES (Las Provincias Vascongadas) are _Biscay_,
_Guipuzcoa_, and _Alava_. The union of the three is often represented by
a symbol like the heraldic bearings of the Isle of Man; and they are,
with Navarre and the French Pays Basque, the home of the Basque race,
but only one province, Guipuzcoa, is _wholly_ inhabited by them.
_Biscay_ has for its chief town the busy mining city of Bilbao (32,000)
on the Nervion, with a commerce of over 2,000,000_l._ annual value,
notwithstanding an inferior harbour, exceeding that of Santander. The
chief mines, iron, are in the Somorrostro district, a few miles to the
east of the city, and they are worked mainly by English, French, or
German companies. In 1879 the exports from Bilbao amounted to 1,160,248
tons of iron minerals, while the imports included 72,196 tons of English
coke and coal, chiefly for the use of the mines. In this province is the
Oak of Guernica, where the Spanish sovereigns swore to observe the
constitutional privileges or _fueros_ of the Basques. The chief city of
_Guipuzcoa_ is San Sebastian (21,000), a sea-port with a strong citadel.
Of less commercial importance than Bilbao, it is much frequented in
summer as a city of pleasure; the town has been almost wholly rebuilt
since the siege of 1813. The province, though almost wholly
agricultural, and famous for its cider and apple orchards, contains also
some mines, and a few manufactures grouped round its old capital, Tolosa
(8000). Eibar and Plasencia, two small manufacturing towns on the Deva,
have preserved the art of inlaying iron with gold and silver, and are
noted for their manufacture of fire-arms. _Alava_ has but one town of
importance, Vitoria (25,000), a picturesque city at the foot of the
Cantabrian Mountains and the head of the fertile plains of the Upper
Rioja. These two districts, the Riojas, divided by the Ebro, are noted
for their wines, which need only more careful preparation to become an
important article of commerce; at present they are chiefly exported to
Bordeaux, for mixing with inferior French wines, to be re-exported as
claret to England. NAVARRE, the only other province where Basque is
spoken, once formed part of a petty kingdom which stretched on both
sides of the Pyrenees, and of which the Spanish portion was definitely
secured to Spain by the Duke of Alva in the reign of Ferdinand the
Catholic, in 1512, has Pampeluna (25,000), a fortified city of Roman
origin, for its capital. The upper part of Navarre is extremely
mountainous, but it contains some useful iron-mines, and a Government
foundry at Orbaiceta. The southern parts, along the banks of the Arga,
and in the valley of the Ebro, are extremely fertile; but at the
south-eastern corner in the Bardeñas Reales, we encounter a series of
bare, stony hills, scored with deep ravines, and on which nothing will
grow, the first of the desert tracks so common in Spain. Tudela (9000)
on the opposite side of the Ebro, is united to the rest of the province
by a fine bridge; it is here the traveller first sees in operation the
_norias_ or water-wheels of the East.
The kingdom of ARAGON contains three provinces, _Huesca_, _Saragossa_,
and _Teruel_. The kingdom is almost bisected by the Ebro, towards which
it slopes on both sides, from the highest summits of the Central
Pyrenees on the north, and from the Idubeda Mountains and the Molina de
Aragon on the south. Aragon divides with the Asturias the honour of
having been one of the cradles of the Spanish monarchy. In 795 Don Asnar
defeated the Moors near Jaca, in the province of Huesca. But the
progress of the reconquest was very slow; from 714 to 1118 the Moors
held possession of the town and kingdom of Saragossa, and it is from
this occupation of four centuries that the traveller first meets here
distinct remains of Moorish architecture. A still more lasting note of
their sway is found in the nomenclature of the country. The rivers
Guaticalema, Alcanadre, Guadalope, the names of the sierras, Alcubiere,
and of many of the lesser towns and villages, sufficiently attest the
former presence of the race who gave those names.
_Huesca_ (10,000), the capital of the province of the same name, is an
episcopal and university town, the bishop's palace being on the site of
an old mosque. The upper part of this province is exceedingly
mountainous, and is entered from France by the Central Pyrenean road,
that of Somport, originally constructed by the Romans. The only other
towns are Barbastro (7000), Monzon (4000), and Jaca (3500), nearer the
mountains. _Saragossa_ (84,000), on the Ebro, formerly the Cæsar Augusta
of the Romans, then for four centuries the capital of a Moorish kingdom,
rivals Santiago de Compostella as a place of pilgrimage to the shrine of
the Virgen del Pilar. The worship has, however, much declined of late
years, and her devotees are not now a tithe of those who frequent the
more recent shrine of Notre Dame de Lourdes on the other side of the
Pyrenees. The art treasures of the cathedral were sold in 1870, when
many fine examples of jewellery and art were acquired for the Kensington
Museum. Saragossa, though now fallen as a place of commerce, must again
become important if the railway project is carried into effect, which
will place it on the most direct line between Paris and Madrid. The
Ebro, from its shallowness, is of no service for navigation; and, from
neglect, the canals of Charles V. and of Tauste do not render the
services they might, either for transport or for irrigation. Hence the
despoblados and desiertos in the valley of the Ebro, both above and
below the town. _Calayatud_ (12,000) was one of the four _comunidades_
of Aragon, and is in the midst of a mineral district, the wealth of
which seems at present almost wholly undeveloped. _Teruel_ (7000) is the
capital of a very mountainous province which slopes towards the
north-west from the Sierras de Molina and Albarracin, the mountain
ranges which form the eastern boundary of the great watershed of the
peninsula. Excepting the mines in these sierras, the province is almost
wholly agricultural, but with no towns of importance. The historian Don
Vicente de la Fuente has remarked that while the lands of the
_comunidades_, the four free towns of Aragon, Calayatud, Teruel, Daroca,
and Albarracin, have remained fertile under their more liberal
government, the lands of the Seigneurs in the valley of the Ebro, where,
almost alone in Spain, feudalism received its full development, have
been for centuries barren and _despoblados_.
[Illustration: LEANING TOWER OF SARAGOSSA.
_Page 98._]
CATALONIA.--The ancient principality of Catalonia is now separated into
four provinces, named after their chief towns, _Gerona_, _Barcelona_,
_Tarragona_, and _Lerida_. The first three lie along the shores of the
Mediterranean--the last, inland, and stretches from the Ebro to the
Pyrenees. To the north of Lerida, and buried in the mountains, is the
so-called republic of Andorra, which owes its practical independence to
the singular fact of a double _seigneurie_. Both the Counts of Foix, in
France, and the Prince-Bishops of Urgel, in Spain, were supreme Lords of
Andorra. On paper its constitution is by no means so free as that of
several other Pyrenean communities; but by skilfully playing off the
jealousies and rivalries of its two lords, and preventing either from
getting absolute power, this little state of twenty-eight miles by
twenty has remained unsubdued, and unattached to either nationality. The
chief trade of the republic may be said to be smuggling. _Lerida_,
except in the valley of the Segre, is extremely mountainous, and like
all the hill country of Catalonia is rich in minerals, especially in
salt, near Solsona. The rest of its products are chiefly agricultural.
The province is but thinly peopled; its chief town contains 20,000
inhabitants. Balaguer (5000), Urgel (3000), Solsona (2500), are the most
populous of the remaining. With _Gerona_ we enter the Mediterranean or
Provençal region and climate, and come in contact not only with
picturesque and glowing scenery, with a gorgeous variety of natural
productions, but also with traditions and remains of the great works of
all the races that have dominated this inland sea. From the Pyrenees to
Carthagena the names of the chief towns recall classic reminiscences,
and bring before us the struggles of ancient nations, contending on her
soil for a far mightier empire than that of Spain. The province of
Gerona contains Cape Creuz, the extreme north-easterly point of the
peninsula, not far from the old Greek cities of Rosas and Emporium
(Ampurias). Of its towns, Gerona, on the Ter, and Figueras have each
8000, but are surpassed by Olot, 10,000, around which town are grouped
the most recently extinct volcanoes in Spain. Coal is found in San Juan
de las Abadesas. Here the Spanish gravity is mingled with the fire and
dash of the Provençals, and the inhabitants both of Gerona and
Barcelona, are more Provençal than Spanish, in language, political
character, and in commercial and industrial aptitudes. The natural
productions, and the flora too, are almost identical with those of the
more sheltered parts of Provence and of the Riviera. Palm trees are seen
as common ornaments in gardens and public squares, oranges and olives
flourish, the mulberry is cultivated and silkworms are reared, and all
announces a warmer zone than any that we have hitherto traversed.
_Barcelona_ (250,000) the first industrial and commercial city of Spain,
and the second in point of population, is also the capital of the most
thickly inhabited province. The greater part of the trade and navigation
of the whole Spanish sea-board from Catalonia to Cadiz, or even to
Seville, is in the hands of its merchants. The cotton industry of
Catalonia employed in 1870 a capital of 6,000,000_l._, and 104,000
workmen, distributed in 700 factories. The chief of the other
manufacturing towns are Gracia (33,000), and St. Martin de Provensals
(24,000). The annual commercial movement of Barcelona is estimated at
about 11,000,000_l._ sterling. The British imports, chiefly of coal and
iron, amount to nearly 1,000,000_l._ sterling; but the exports are a
mere trifle, 10,000_l._, most of the ships returning in ballast; while
on the contrary, the exports of Tarragona, Palamos, Mataro, and
Villamena, and the smaller ports amount to nearly 1,000,000_l._, chiefly
in wine, and the imports are only half that amount. Irrigation is
successfully carried on in the valley of the Llobregat. _Tarragona_
(23,000) is rich in Roman remains, in the picturesque beauty of its
site, in its Gothic architecture, in the mildness of its climate, and in
the goodness of its wines; but it is surpassed both in wealth and
population by the neighbouring manufacturing city of Reus (27,000), and
also by Tortosa (24,000) on the Ebro, to which town all the river
transport converges. The Ebro below Tortosa forms a sandy delta, and its
channels are continually silting up. The canal of San Carlos, to connect
Amposta with the sea by the port of Alfaques, has had but little
success.
VALENCIA includes the three provinces of _Castellon de la Plana_,
_Valencia_, and _Alicante_, all three lying along the Mediterranean, and
facing east and southwards from the mighty buttress sierras which form
the eastern wall of the great central plateau. It is in these provinces
that we gradually pass from the Mediterranean climate to the "_Tierra
caliente_," the warm lands and African products of south-eastern Spain.
Here too we meet with the finest Roman remains; and Moorish architecture
begins to form a prominent feature in the characteristics of each city.
The speech is still a dialect of the Provençal, and the fiery Provençal
nature is still apparent in the political history of the cities of
Valencia. The hill-sides, bare of trees, are covered either with the
esparto grass or with strongly aromatic herbs and shrubs. The rainfall
gradually lessens; the streams all assume a torrential character, nearly
dry in summer, swollen with rapid floods in winter; but they are greatly
utilized for irrigation. By this means are formed the "_huertas_,"
gardens, and "_vegas_," plains, oases of beauty and fertility lying in
the bosom of the barren hills, which serve as frames to pictures as
valuable for their productiveness as they are enchanting in their
beauty. The chief towns in the province of _Castellon_ are Castellon de
la Plana (23,000), Vinaroz (9000), Villareal (8000), both near the
Mediterranean; Segorbe on the Palancia, and numerous smaller towns in
the interior. Benicarlo and Vinaroz, on the coast to the north of the
province, are noted for their excellent red wines, quantities of which
are exported to France for mixing with inferior French vintages, whence
they find their way to England as Rousillon or Bordeaux. _Valencia_, a
city of 143,000 inhabitants, and with a fine artificial harbour called
the "_grao_," is the third city in population in Spain; but its commerce
is little more than that of Santander and Bilbao, cities only one fourth
of its size. The value of British imports, chiefly of coal, cod-fish,
guano, and petroleum, in 1878, was 136,450_l_., and of exports, chiefly
of fruits to Britain, 524,984_l_. The "_huerta_" of Valencia, with its
canals for irrigation, its "_acequias_," "_norias_," and other devices
to draw the waters of the Guadalaviar, is one of the most successful
examples in Spain of regulated application of water to agriculture. The
quantity of water allotted to each property, the hour of opening or
closing the sluices, are regulated according to laws and customs
descended from Moorish times. So great is the drain upon the streams
that the waters of some of the smaller rivers are entirely absorbed in
the summer, and even of the Guadalaviar but little then reaches the sea.
It is from the _huerta_ of Valencia that the oranges come which form the
delight of the population of Paris at the new year; hence are the
raisins and the almonds and candied fruits equally dear to the British
housekeeper. Rice is successfully cultivated on some of the lower
grounds near the coast, and fruits and vegetables of every kind abound;
but the Spaniards complain that they lack the richness and lusciousness
of flavour belonging to those grown in other parts. "In Valencia," say
they, "grass is like water, meat like grass, men like women, and the
women worth nothing." The district was formerly noted for its
silk-growing and stuffs of silk; also for the fine pottery known as
Majolica ware from its carriers to the Italian ports, the sailors of
Majorca and the Balearic Isles. It was also the earliest place of
printing in Spain, and celebrated as a school of poetry and the arts;
but nearly all this ancient fame is lost. To the south of Valencia is
the large lake or lagoon of Albufera, the most extensive of the many
lagoons along the Mediterranean coast, about nine miles long and
twenty-seven miles round; it is full of fish, and frequented by wild
fowls, and its varied inhabitants recall those of the Nile rather than
those of any part of Europe. In the north of the province is Murviedro
(7000), the ancient Saguntum, with its port almost entirely blocked up.
Considerable remains of the older city still exist, with inscriptions in
idioms yet unknown, and are a treasure to archæologists. The largest of
the other cities are Alcira (13,000) on the Jucar, and Jativa (14,000).
The southern coasts of Valencia and the neighbouring districts of
Alicante abound in sites of picturesque beauty, and the position of many
of the ruined monasteries, built generally on the hills with a distant
prospect of the sea, can hardly be excelled.
_Alicante_, whose _huertas_ and _vegas_ with their appliances for
irrigation rival those of Valencia, has but 34,000 inhabitants.
Orihuela, in its rich wheat-growing district of never-failing harvest,
has 21,000, and Alcoy 32,000. The smaller towns are numerous, and from
the little ports in the north of the province, round Cape Nao, a good
deal of coasting trade is done with the neighbouring Balearic Isles.
From Denia, Tabea, and Altea, nearly 100,000 tons of raisins are shipped
every year, chiefly for Great Britain. At Elche (20,000) is the
celebrated forest of palms of which we have before spoken, and the
leaves of which are sent to Rome for the ceremonies of Easter week. The
number of the trees is gradually declining, as the produce hardly repays
the great amount of labour required. In the church at Elche religious
plays or mysteries are occasionally performed, with an enthusiasm and
solemnity both of actors and spectators equal to that of the
Passionspiel of Ober-Ammergau.
MURCIA contains the two provinces, _Murcia_ and _Albacete_. The first
faces the Mediterranean; the second, besides comprising the Sierras of
Alcazar and Segura, climbs those boundary mountains, and advances far
into the plateau of La Mancha, and thus contains within its limits the
sources of the Guadiana as well as those of the Mundo and the Segura.
_Murcia_, in its higher parts, is very thinly peopled, and in spite of
the fertile plains in the lower course of the Segura and the Sangonera,
and the rich mining district round Cartagena, has only two-thirds as
many inhabitants to the square mile as Valencia. Murcia is perhaps the
driest province of Spain, and the one in which the want of water is the
most generally felt, yet it is in this province that the floods are the
most pernicious and destructive. Year by year the irrigation works
become less effective. Ancient dams broken down by the floods are not
restored. Since 1856, however, a new source of wealth has been opened to
this province by the export of the esparto grass, which grows on all the
low hills, and which, in addition to its use in the country for numerous
native fabrics, is now largely exported for paper-making. The export
began only in 1856. In 1873 it had reached 67,000 tons for England
alone; in 1875 the money value of the whole export was 400,000_l._, but
it declined to 30,000_l._ in 1877, and 284,000_l._ in 1878, since which
date it has gradually lessened. Murcia, the chief city, is an irrigated
plain on the Segura, has a population of 91,000. It is one of the chief
seats of silk cultivation in Spain. Lorca (52,000), on the Sangonera,
offers another example of the extreme fertility that can be obtained by
irrigation in a suitable climate. Cartagena (75,000), with its grand
harbour and docks, is one of the three naval arsenals in Spain; but has
greatly fallen from its ancient wealth and importance. Like Barcelona
and Valencia it has distinguished itself by its extreme democratic and
cantonalist opinions, and has revolted against the republic equally as
against the monarchy. In its neighbourhood are some of the richest lead
and silver mines in Spain, and which have been worked since Carthaginian
and Roman times. The coal imported from England for smelting purposes
amounts to 80,000 tons yearly. The tonnage of British vessels employed
was over 200,000 in 1877. Along the coast are various lagoons and
salt-lakes (salinas), where salt is made on a considerable scale; it is
exported chiefly to the Baltic. The Barilla plant, for making soda, is
also cultivated along the coast; and, of the plants in the salinas, it
is computed that at least one-sixth of the species are African.
_Albacete_ (16,000), situated at the junction both of road and railway
from Murcia and Valencia to Madrid, is chiefly celebrated for its trade
in common cutlery. It is here that the large stabbing knives (navajas)
are made, and for the use of which both Valencians and Murcians have an
unenviable notoriety. On the plateau of this province (Albacete) are
found (Salinas) salt-lakes formed by evaporation, the only examples of
this kind in Western Europe. The only other town of any importance in
the province is Almanza (9000), on the edge of the plateau before making
the descent into Valencia. The numerous names compounded of "pozo,"
well, and "fuente," fountain, in this province, attest its arid
character, where fresh water is scarce enough to make its presence a
distinguishing mark to any spot.
ANDALUSIA embraces the whole of southern Spain from Murcia to the
frontier of Portugal. Its seaboard includes both the Mediterranean and
the Atlantic. In Cabo de Gata, 2°10' W., it has the extreme
south-easterly point of Spain; and in Cabo de Tarifa, 36°2' N., the
extreme southerly point, not only of Spain, but of Europe. One chain of
its mountains, the Sierra de Nevada, contains the highest summits of the
peninsula; and its river, the Guadalquiver, from Seville to the ocean is
the only stream of real service for navigation in the whole of Spain.
Its wines and olives, its grapes and oranges, and fruits of all kinds,
are the finest, its horses and its cattle are the best, its bulls are
the fiercest, of all Spain. The sites of its cities rival in their
entrancing beauty those of any other European land; while, wanting
though they may be in deeper qualities, its sons and daughters yield not
in wit or attractive grace or beauty to those of any other race. The
Moor has left a deeper mark here than elsewhere, even as he kept his
favourite realm of Granada for centuries after he had lost the rest of
Spain. And when the sun of Moorish glory set, it was from Andalusia that
the vision of the New World rose upon astonished Europe. The year of the
conquest of Granada (1492) was also that of the discovery of America.
All things take an air of unwonted beauty and of picturesque grace in
this land of sun and light; even the gipsy race, avoided and abhorred in
other countries of Europe, at Granada, as at Moscow, becomes one of the
attractions of the tourist. The province is not entirely of one type. It
unites many kinds of beauty; even in Andalusia are "_despoblados_" and
"_destierros_," dispeopled and deserted wastes, under Christian hands,
but once fertile and inhabited under Moorish rule. Savage wildness and
barrenness reign in its lofty mountain chains as much as softer beauty
does in the "_huertas_" and "_vegas_." But from the minerals the one
district is equally valuable as the other. The province possesses the
richest mines, as well as the richest fruits and wines, of the whole of
Spain. ANDALUSIA, is divided into the provinces of _Almeria_, _Granada_,
_Malaga_, on the Mediterranean; _Cadiz_, _Seville_, _Huelva_, on the
Atlantic coast; and _Cordova_ and _Jaen_ inland, along the upper waters
of the Guadalquiver.
[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF GRANADA, WITH THE ALHAMBRA.
_Page 110._]
In _Almeria_ (40,000) the flat-roofed houses are built round a central
court, the "_patio_," wherein is often a fountain, and palm and vine for
shade; while oranges, myrtles, passion-flowers, and other gay or
odoriferous shrubs or flowers, add their colour and perfume. The type
and the manners of the inhabitants tell us that we are already in the
land of the Moors. Almeria has declined from what it was when one of the
chief ports of transit between the Moors of Africa and their brethren of
south-eastern Spain; but from the growing importance of the Spanish
colony in Oran, its trade is now fast reviving. The exports are lead and
silver ore from the mines of the neighbourhood, fruits of all kinds, and
a little wine. The tonnage of British shipping employed at Almeria was,
in 1875, 117,123 tons; 1876, 85,840 tons; 1877, 89,988 tons. The chief
exports in 1877 were about 10,000 tons of esparto grass, 280,000 barrels
of grapes, 10,000 tons of minerals, and nearly 10,000 of calamine. The
sugar-cane is also grown here. The whole province is mountainous,
covered with the spurs and offshoots of the mighty Sierra Nevada, the
Sierras de Gador, de Filabres, de Cabrera, de Aljamilla, all which have
their terminations in headlands which run into the Mediterranean. The
basins of the rivers of the region are often cleft by these smaller
ranges, and thus they receive their waters from both the northern and
southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada. The only other towns of importance
are Cuevas de Vera (20,000), and Velez-Rubio (13,000), in the north of
the province on the road between Murcia and Granada, where some
lead-mines have been lately opened. The ports, except Almeria, are all
small; Dalias, on the confines of Granada, is noted for the magnificent
grapes and raisins shipped there.
_Granada_ (76,000) is one of the most celebrated spots of Europe, a city
of enchantment and of romance. It is one of the few places of renown,
the sight of which does not disappoint the traveller. The natural
advantages of its position would be sufficient to mark it as a city of
unusual beauty, were there no masterpieces of art and of architecture,
or storied memories, connected with it. It is situated in an upland
valley, at an elevation of 2200 feet above the sea level--sufficiently
high in that climate to prevent the summer's heat from being
oppressively exhausting, and not too high to hinder the choicest
semi-tropical fruits and flowers from growing in the open
air--surrounded, yet not too closely, by mountain ranges, of which those
to the east are the very highest in Spain--Mulhacen (11,700), Alcazaba
(11,600), and Veleta (11,400). The ice and snow on their summits not
only cool the hot winds which blow over them from Africa, but provide
the means of making the iced water which is the Spaniard's greatest
luxury. Its climate is second in its equable range only to that of its
coast towns, Motril and Malaga. It is watered by the united streams of
the Darro and the Jenil, which meet within the city, both hurrying from
their mountain home to join the Guadalquiver between Cordova and
Seville; and with their fertilizing waters dispersed in irrigation they
make the "Vega," or plain, of Granada one of the noted gardens of the
world. Granada is worth all the praise that has been sung or written of
it. On an isolated hill to the east, cut off from the town and from the
Generalife by the ravine through which the Darro flows, and enclosed
with a wall flanked by twelve towers, stands the celebrated group of
buildings known by the name of the Alhambra, perhaps the fairest palace
and fortress at once ever inhabited by a Moslem monarch. Almost
unrivalled in the beauty of its site, it outstrips all rivals in the
beauty of its Arab architecture. The mosque of Cordova is grander, and
the tombs of the Caliphs at Cairo may be in a purer style, but they lack
the variety and richness of these diverse buildings. The Alhambra hill
is to Arabic what the Acropolis of Athens was to Hellenic art; only to
the attractions of the plastic arts were added in the case of the
Alhambra the triumphs of the gardener's skill. Shrubs and flowers
delighted the eyes with colour, or gratified the sense of smell with
sweetest odours, while water, skilfully conducted from the neighbouring
hills, purled among the beds, or leaped in fountains, or filled the
baths with purest streams. Thus every sense and taste was gratified, and
Granada was indeed an earthly paradise to the Moor. Even in its decay,
and seen in fragments only, it is one of the world's wonders, a
treasure and delight to pilgrims of art from every land. But we must not
waste our space in detailing the beauties of Granada; its trade, sadly
diminished from what it was formerly, is chiefly in fruits and silk and
leather stuffs. Next to Granada, the chief city in the province is Loja
(15,000), near the Jenil, and the little port of Motril (13,500),
sheltered under the highest summits of the Sierra Nevada, is said to
possess the most equable climate of the Spanish Mediterranean ports. It
is here, in the extensive alluvial plain stretching from Motril to the
sea, that the sugar-cane is most extensively cultivated, producing in
1877, 113,636 tons of cane. Far inland, and separated from Motril by the
mountain mass, is Baza (13,500). The mineral riches of the Sierra Nevada
have never been adequately explored; from specimens used in the
construction of Granada, it must possess marbles of rare beauty; metals,
too, abound, but few of its mines are worked. In picturesque beauty,
when seen near at hand, these mountains are not nearly equal to the
Pyrenees and to many minor chains; with rounded summits, they are bare
and denuded of wood, and are entirely without the glacier forms, and the
lakes and rushing streams, which delight us in the Alps.
[Illustration: ALHAMBRA TOWER BY MOONLIGHT.]
_Malaga._--The greater part of this province lies in an amphitheatre of
mountains, stretching from the Sierra de Almijarras on the east to
those of De la Nieve and of Ronda to the west. It faces the full
southern sun, but is watered and irrigated by torrential streams from
the mountains, at times almost dry, at others, as in December, 1880,
rushing down in most destructive floods. The city, with over 110,000
inhabitants, boasts not only the finest climate in Spain, on which
account it is greatly frequented by invalids in the winter, but its
commerce is second in value to that of Barcelona. Its wealth and exports
are almost wholly agricultural, consisting of luscious wines--which,
however, have a greater reputation on the continent than in
England--oil, fruits, and especially dried raisins; oranges, olives,
figs, sugar, and sweet potatoes. Bananas, and all other tropical and
semi-tropical products of Spain are here found in perfection. Upwards of
2,000,000 boxes of raisins, 3,000,000 gallons of oil, and 1,100,100
gallons of wine, besides other fruits, esparto grass, and minerals
(chiefly lead), are annually exported. The tonnage of British vessels in
1878 was about 158,000 tons. It has been a city and port from great
antiquity; but though a favourite residence of the Moors, they have left
fewer remains here than at Granada, Seville, Cordova, Toledo, and many a
place of lesser note. Antequerra (25,000), on the Guadaljorce, on the
northern slope of the sierras, guards the defile leading to Malaga, and
was formerly of great military importance. The Cueva del Menjal, in the
neighbourhood, is a fine dolmen. Ronda (20,000), the chief town of the
sierra of the same name, is remarkable for its position on both sides of
an enormous fissure (el Tajo) from 300 to 600 feet deep, and which is
spanned by a magnificent bridge, constructed by the architect Archidone,
in 1761. Velez Malaga (24,000) is a small sheltered port to the east of
Malaga, with a trade in fruits and wines.
_Cadiz_, the most southerly province of Spain, includes the capes of
Trafalgar and Tarifa, and the Punta de Europa, or the English Rock of
Gibraltar. This province is also the principal seat of the great sherry
trade. The town (65,000) and port have greatly fallen from their former
importance, when Spain possessed nearly all the Americas south of
California, and but for the Transatlantic steamers to Cuba and the West
Indies, and to the Philippine Islands in the East Indies, would probably
decline still more. The application of steam, allowing ocean vessels to
ascend the Guadalquiver rapidly to Seville, has arrested there a great
deal of the produce which formerly came to Cadiz, but which is now
shipped at the former town. The total tonnage of the port is now about
800,000; the imports over 2,000,000_l._, of which about one-sixth is
British; but of the exports, which are about the same in value, fully
two-thirds go to Great Britain. Cadiz itself is undoubtedly one of the
oldest ports of Western Europe, and is situated on a narrow promontory,
formed into an island by the channel of San Pedro. Unlike most of the
southern cities of Spain, its houses are of great height and of several
stories, the contracted space of its site having occasioned this
architectural modification. The city is excellently supplied with fish;
the market is noted both for the quantity and the variety of its supply,
which amounts to nearly 900 tons annually. Round the Bay of Cadiz are
situated towns and harbours of considerable size, whose united commerce
is almost equal to that of Cadiz itself. Of these, Puerto de St. Maria
(22,000), on the northern side of the bay, is the great harbour for the
shipment of sherry wines. Immense quantities of salt are made, chiefly
for exportation, in the Salinas between Puerto Real and San Fernando
(26,000), and Chiclana (20,000), on the San Pedro canal, which cuts off
the Isle of Leon from the mainland. The export of wine from the whole
Bay was, in
Gallons. Butts.
1858 3,600,000, or 33,028
1862 5,600,000, " 51,376
1871 8,300,000, " 77,064
1876 " 61,609
1877 " 68,246
Xeres de la Frontera (64,000), situated about thirty miles from Cadiz,
surrounded by vineyards, is a city of Bodegas, or wine-cellars, the
principal of which, as well as of the vineyards, are in the hands of
foreigners. It is one of the busiest of Spanish commercial towns, and,
like Barcelona, is on that account less peculiarly Spanish than many
others. The exportation of sherry wines from the district, and those
shipped at Port St. Mary, amounted, in 1873, to 98,924 butts; 1874,
65,365 butts; from Jerez alone, in 1875, 43,727 butts; 1876, 42,272
butts; 1877, 41,660 butts; 87 per cent, of which goes to Great Britain
and her colonies. The decrease in later years is probably caused by the
greater amount of lighter French wines now consumed in England. San
Lucar de Barrameda (22,000), at the mouth of the Guadalquiver, is noted
for its winter-gardens, which are said to date from Moorish times, and
which supply Cadiz and Seville with their earliest fruits and
vegetables. From its vineyards, too, comes the stomachic Manzanilla
sherry, flavoured with the wild camomile, which grows abundantly in its
vineyards. Arcos (12,000), on the Guadalete, is the only other Spanish
town of importance in the province; but to the south lies the isolated
rock and fortress of Gibraltar (25,000), captured by the Earl of
Peterborough in 1704. Though held only as an English garrison (5000),
and made almost impregnable as a fortress, it is yet of considerable
commerce from its position as a port of call for vessels passing the
Straits of Gibraltar, and also from its contraband trade with Spain,
which is a source of constant irritation between the two nations. In
natural history, it is remarkable for its apes (_macacus inuus_), as the
only spot in Europe where any species of monkey lives, and it is
doubtful whether even these would survive without the aid of occasional
importations from Morocco.
_Seville_ is the typical province of Andalusia, and its city of 133,000
ranks fourth in population of the cities of Spain. The Moors have left
deeper outward traces at Granada, but here they have fused more
thoroughly with the population, and have given it the Oriental grace and
culture which is lacking in the former place; their wit belongs to
themselves. Seville is peculiarly the home of Spanish art; the greatest
of her painters, Murillo and Velasquez, were born there, and Zurbaran
painted his best pieces to adorn her walls. Her writers are scarcely
less noted. The most celebrated novelist of modern Spain, Cecilia Bohl
de Faber (Fernan Caballero), had her home there. There Amador de los
Rios composed his chief works. The Becquers--both the painter and the
novelist--were born there. It is a city of predilection for all of
artistic tastes. The Giralda, a tower of Moorish architecture, rivals,
if it does not surpass, in its exquisite proportions the _campanille_
of Italian art. The Alcazar is a home of beauty. The _patios_, or inner
courts, of many of the houses have remains of Moorish decoration. The
Cathedral shows that Christian lags not far behind Moslem architecture.
But Seville, on the Guadalquiver, is not a mere city of pleasure. Like
Paris, its gay exterior contains a great deal of real work and commerce
within. Since the invention of steam, allowing sea-going vessels to
breast with ease the current of the Guadalquiver, it has drawn to itself
a great deal of the traffic which formerly passed through the harbours
of the Bay of Cadiz. The tonnage of its shipping amounts to about
120,000 tons, and the value of its imports to over 2,000,000_l_., and of
its exports to 1,750,000_l_., one-half of which belongs to Great
Britain. Among its manufactories, one of porcelain, carried on by a
British company, but employing Spanish methods, is celebrated; and its
tobacco manufactory, with its 1000 women workers, is the largest
government establishment of the kind in Spain. The city long enjoyed
almost a monopoly of West Indian and of Manilla productions; the wealth
brought by the galleons was deposited here, and here are still preserved
the "Archivos de las Indias." It possesses both a university and a mint.
The lower part of the Guadalquiver runs through marshy lands, which in
places present almost impenetrable jungles. In these are bred the bulls
which supply the bull-fights with their victims, and which make Seville
the great school of _tauromachia_ in Spain. The finest Andalusian horses
are also produced in this province, and the wines, though not equal to
those of the neighbouring provinces of Cadiz and Cordova, are still
highly esteemed. Besides Seville, the chief towns are Ecija (24,000) on
the Jenil, a place of large trade; Carmona (18,000); Ossuna (16,000).
Utrera, Lebriga, and Marchena would be considerable towns in other
provinces, but we can only indicate them here. From the absence of
mountains Seville has not the mineral wealth of some other provinces,
but coal is worked at Villanueva del Rio, and the copper-mines at
Arnalcollar yield 20,000 tons of ore; other outlying deposits of the
Huelva beds are found in this province, and a great part of the lead
from the Linares mines is shipped here.
_Huelva_, the last maritime province of Spain, conterminous with
Portugal on the west and with Seville on the east, with its capital of
10,000, is one of the richest mining districts in Europe. Worked in
prehistoric times, and in the mythical dawn of history, by Iberians,
Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Romans, the mines of Tharsis and of
the Rio Tinto were strangely neglected by the Spaniards until purchased
by an Anglo-German company in 1873 for 3,850,000_l_., but with the
certainty of a rich return. There are now over 7000 men employed by
this company, and 906,600 tons of copper ore were extracted in 1879 from
the south lode only; about 10,000 tons of hematite iron were also sold.
The mines contain sulphur, copper, iron, and silver. In fact, the
mountains round the source of the Tinto seem to be almost one mass of
mineral ore. From the working of these mines the development of the
riches of this province has been most rapid of late years, and the
tonnage of shipping from the port of Huelva will probably soon rival, if
not surpass, that of Cadiz: in 1873 the foreign shipping was 180,000
tons; this had ascended to over 300,000 tons in 1877. The imports were
valued in 1873 at 168,000_l_., of which 112,000_l_. were British; and in
1877 to over 300,000, of which not quite one-half was British. The
exports are of far greater importance, ranging from 750,000_l_. in 1873,
of which 667,000_l_. were British, to 1,236,243_l_. in 1877, of which
1,132,782_l_. went to Great Britain. Except in minerals, the province is
not rich; but a trade which will probably increase, has lately sprung up
in wines, fruits, and cork. The frontier stream the Guadiana is of
little use to Spain, and the little port of Palos, whence Columbus set
out to give a new world to Spain, is now completely silted up.
_Cordova._--The interior provinces of Andalusia are _Cordova_ and
_Jaen_, both on the Guadalquiver, the latter embracing the sources and
upper part of the course, the former the central portion before it
enters the province of Seville. The northern part of the province of
Cordova is covered by parallel ranges of low mountains running east and
west--the Sierras de Cordova and de Pedroches within the province, and
the Sierras de Almaden and Morena, which form the boundary of Castile.
_Cordova_, the capital, contains now but 49,000 inhabitants in place of
the 1,000,000 who dwelt there when it was the seat of the western
khalifat. Its mosque, almost the sole remnant of its former splendour,
with its 1200 columns, is to Islam what the temple of Karnac at Thebes,
and that of Karnac in Brittany, with their 100 pillars, are to the
religions of Egypt and of prehistoric Europe. It is perhaps the grandest
building for worship ever raised by Moslem hands; its materials were
pillaged without scruple from shrines of older civilizations, but were
wrought into new and fairer forms of beauty by the magic of Arabian art.
As a Christian city, Cordova is of only second rank. It is chiefly noted
for its leather work, and for its commerce in wines and fruits. It is to
Cordova that the Amontillada sherry--the most prized of Spanish
wines--comes, from the vineyards round Montilla (15,000). The only other
town of importance in the province is Lucena (16,000), to the south.
_Jaen_, like Huelva, at the opposite extremity of Andalusia, is a mining
province, and like those of Huelva its mines are chiefly in the hands of
Englishmen and of foreigners. Linares (36,000), north of the
Guadalquiver, is the centre of the mining district, and is far the most
populous town in the province. Nearly 11,000 men, women, and boys were
employed in the lead-mines in 1877, and the ore raised amounted to
70,000 tons. It has been calculated that the production of the world is
about 300,000 tons of lead, of which Spain furnishes 100,000 tons and
the United Kingdom 100,000 tons. The capital, Jaen, south of the great
river, has only 24,000 inhabitants; Ubeda and Baza, close together, a
little south of Jaen, have each 15,000. Andujar (11,000), with its old
bridge over the Guadalquiver, is noted for its porous pottery, the
cooling water-jars used throughout the whole of Southern Spain. In the
north of this province is the celebrated Pass of Despeña-perros, through
the Sierra Morena, one of the wildest gorges through which the traveller
passes in any part of Europe; a few miles to the south of it is Las
Navas de Tolosa, the field of the battle in 1212 which first proved how
fast the power of the Moors was waning in Southern Spain.
ESTREMADURA, conterminous on the west with Portugal and on the south
with Huelva, is the wildest and least peopled of all the provinces of
Spain, and has been almost sufficiently described in a former chapter.
It is divided into the two modern provinces of _Badajoz_ and _Caceres_,
through which run respectively the two rivers, the Guadiana and the
Tagus. Desolate as it is now, the numerous Roman remains at Merida
(6000) and Trajan's mighty bridge at Alcantara tell what it was in Roman
times; but in Moorish days it suffered more from war than any other
province, and the curse, the "_mesta_," the only means the Christian
conquerors had of utilizing their vast and thinly-peopled properties,
has ever since rested upon it. Besides its flocks and herds its chief
wealth consists in acorns and bark for tanning, and cork for other
purposes. The rivers run in deep gorges, almost cañons, and are useless
for either navigation or for irrigation. Badajoz (22,000), on the
Guadiana, one of the frontier fortresses of Spain towards Portugal, is
by far the largest city. Higher up the river are Merida and Medellin,
but Don Benito (15,000) is of greater commercial importance than either.
_Caceres_, a province still more thinly peopled than Badajoz, having
only fifteen inhabitants instead of nineteen to the square kilometre,
has 12,000 for its chief town; Plasencia, on the Xerte, an affluent of
the Alagon, has only half that number. In the north-east of this
province, on the southern spurs of the lofty Sierra de Gredos, stands
the monastery San Juste, to which the Emperor Charles V. retired on his
resignation of his many crowns. The shepherds of Estremadura,
notwithstanding the scanty population, gave numbers of emigrants to the
New World; Cortez and Pizarro were swineherds, the one of Medellin, the
other of Truxillo. The town of Alcantara gives its name to one of the
three great military orders of Spain.
NEW CASTILE and LA MANCHA comprise the five modern provinces of _Ciudad
Real_, _Toledo_, _Madrid_, _Cuenca_, and _Guadalajara_, which all take
their names from their chief towns. The province of _Ciudad Real_, which
lies between the Sierra de Morena and the mountains of Toledo, is
traversed by the Guadiana. It is the most thinly populated of all the
provinces of Spain, having only thirteen inhabitants to the square
kilometre; but it is by no means the least wealthy. It contains within
it the quicksilver-mines of Almaden (9000), the richest deposit in the
world before the late discoveries in California. They were a source of
revenue to the Spanish crown for centuries, with an annual rent of over
a quarter of a million. They were however mortgaged by the Government
for thirty years in order to raise a loan of 2,318,000_l._ at five per
cent., to be extinguished in 1900. The average annual extract is
estimated at 12,000 tons of mercury. The vineyards round Valdepeñas
(11,000) supply the red wine which is the favourite beverage of the
Spaniards throughout the centre and the south, and the home consumption
of which is far beyond that of the sherries. Almagro (14,000) is known
for its lace manufacture; but Ciudad-Real, the capital (12,000), is
fallen from its ancient importance. Damiel (13,000) and Manzanares
(9000) are the only other towns that need mention.
_Toledo_ (21,000), watered by the Tagus, was for centuries the most
important city of Spain. It is here that the great councils which really
regulated the civil as well as the ecclesiastical administration of
Spain, from the fourth to the eighth centuries were held. Here too was
one of the centres of Arabic civilization: the waterworks, clocks, and
observatory of Toledo were among the wonders of the world from the tenth
to the twelfth centuries, and even after its capture by the Christians,
in 1085, the conqueror seemed for a while to have fallen under the same
spell. The court of Alfonso X., the Wise, was a semi-Moorish court, and
his tolerance excited the indignant wonder of travellers from other
parts of Europe. Moorish and Christian architecture is still most
strangely blended in many of its buildings, and Moorish architects were
long employed to keep in repair not only the structures which their
ancestors had raised, but even the Christian churches. The skill of its
ironworkers and the temper of its sword-blades were renowned throughout
Europe. The superiority of its steel was said to be due to some peculiar
virtue of the water of the Tagus used in tempering; but the best of the
iron was taken from the mines of Mondragon, in Guipuzcoa. The
manufactory has greatly fallen from its ancient splendour, but some good
weapons are still made, though they cannot compete in price with British
or foreign goods. The insurrection of its inhabitants under the
"Comuneros" in 1520, in defence of the ancient constitutional liberties
of Castille probably determined the selection of the more obsequious
town of Madrid as the capital of Spain by the Emperor Charles V. Toledo,
with its narrow streets and semi-Moorish houses, is emphatically the
city of Old Spain; the purest Spanish is said still to be spoken there,
and for native poets and romancers it seems to have an attraction beyond
that of any of the cities of Andalusia. The only other town of
importance in the province is Talavera, with its fifteenth-century
bridge of nearly a quarter of a mile in length.
_Madrid._--The province of Madrid lies between the Sierra de Guadarrama
on the north and the Tagus on the south. The city, which now contains
almost 400,000 inhabitants, was a third or fourth-rate town until
Charles V., and after him Philip II., chose it for the capital of Spain,
in place of either Toledo or Valladolid. Its recommendations seem to
have been its central position, and the absence of any strong traditions
of ancient constitutional liberties, such as might hamper the sovereign
in developing his new despotism. A city which owed its creation
entirely to the sovereign, and its riches to to the presence of his
court, would be certain to be obedient to its rulers. If Charles V. and
Philip II. did not make it the centre of a free and constitutional
government, they at least enriched it with all the treasures of art
which the rulers of the greater part of Europe could collect from the
various parts of their vast dominions. It is at the museum of Madrid,
which owes its existence to Ferdinand VII., that not only Spanish, but
also many of the Flemish and some of the Italian painters can be best
studied; and by a happy chance the royal palace, built in the eighteenth
century, is one of the least faulty and most impressive structures of
that age. At the west end of the city, on the banks of the Manzanares,
are the royal gardens; at the opposite extremity the promenades of the
Prado and the gardens of the Buen Retiro. These artificial parks and
walks in some way compensate for the dreary and almost desert aspect of
the country round Madrid; for there are "_despoblados_" and
"_destierros_" almost within sight of the greatest city of Spain. It is
now approached by rail from all sides, and the convergence of these iron
roads and of the highways will probably secure its future position as
the capital of the nation; but until the present century, contrary to
that of most European capitals, the approach to Madrid seemed to be
an approach from civilization to barbarism. As the traveller neared the
capital, whether from the north or from the east and south, the inns
grew worse, the roads more impassable, and the difficulty of procuring
food greater in the neighbourhood of the capital than elsewhere; the
contrast of magnificence and meanness, of dirt and discomfort and formal
etiquette in the city itself, until the time of Charles III., is the
theme of every visitor. Of late its character has much changed; the
increase of its population has not been caused by the natural growth of
its inhabitants, but by the migration thither of Catalans, Gallegos,
Asturians, Basques, and especially of Andalusians; and thus the Puerta
del Sol, the heart of Madrid, has become, as it were, the heart of
Spain, and almost every political and social movement which stirs the
nation has its origin there. Though not quite to the extent with which
Paris absorbs France, still Madrid collects to itself the greater part
of the intellectual and literary life of the nation. It is Madrid that
supplies most of the daily journals, the scientific periodicals,
reviews, and literature to the rest of Spain. Here is the seat of the
learned academies and of the chief literary, educational, and scientific
institutions. The universities, the national and the free, the Ateneo,
the great public libraries of Madrid, are the best in Spain. It is here
that Cortés meets, here that the elections are arranged, all the lines
of Spanish administration converge hither, and it is here that the
intrigues for place or power are principally conducted, and unhappily we
must add it is thus that Madrid is also the focus and example of
administrative corruption for the rest of Spain.
[Illustration: FOUNTAIN OF THE FOUR SEASONS, MADRID.
_Page 130._]
Besides Madrid, the province contains two other royal residencies,
Aranjuez to the south, at the junction of the Tagus with the Jarama, and
the Escorial to the north, at the foot of the Guadarrama. The chief
attractions of the former consist in its abundant supply of water, in
its fountains and running streams, and in the avenues and groves of
lofty trees, whose roots are fed by these waters. The Escorial is of an
entirely opposite character. This vast and extraordinary structure was
raised by Philip II., in pursuance of a vow made at the battle of St.
Quentin, August 10 (St. Lawrence's Day), 1557; the ground-plan is that
of a mighty gridiron, to recall that on which the martyr suffered. The
central piece of architecture is a chapel, impressive from its grand
simplicity; and however faulty the general design of the vast edifice,
several details, and especially the frescoes of the ceilings and some of
the paintings, are of great beauty. The whole fabric, in its severe and
sombre majesty, harmonizes well with the bare and wind-swept granite
mountains near which it is placed. Like most of the other
treasure-houses of Spain, it suffered severely from pillage during the
French invasion. _Acala de Henares_ (8000) was celebrated in the
sixteenth century as a university under the patronage of the Cardinal
Ximenes, and here the celebrated Complutensian Polyglot Bible was
printed. It was also the birthplace of Cervantes. The canal of Henares
is described above, pp. 18, 19.
_Cuenca_, one of the most thinly populated as well as one of the most
mountainous provinces of Spain, stretches on two sides of the chief
watershed, and the waters of the streams which rise in this province
from different slopes of the Cerro de San Felipe flow to the Atlantic
and to the Mediterranean. Cuenca (7000), the capital, is still untouched
by railway routes, and slumbers on its lofty cliff, and emerged into
temporary notoriety by its capture and sack by Alphonso, the brother of
Don Carlos, in 1874.
_Guadalajara_ (6500), on the Henares, though on the line of railway
between Saragossa and Madrid, is scarcely more lively than Cuenca, but
it contains the school for military engineers, the most distinguished
corps in the Spanish army, and which has never stained its character by
political intrigue. The province supports a slightly higher population
than that of Cuenca.
OLD CASTILE was with Leon for several centuries the chief of the rising
kingdoms of Spain, and the one into which all the rest gradually merged.
It now contains five provinces, _Avila_, _Segovia_, _Soria_, _Logroño_,
and _Burgos_. Avila (7000), still surrounded by its mediæval walls in
excellent preservation, is one of the most picturesque cities in Spain,
at an altitude of nearly 3500 feet above the sea-level. The province is
remarkable as the one in which the rudely-sculptured stone monuments of
boars and bulls, the "Toros de Guisando," are chiefly found. They are
the art remains of a population whose name, age, and ethnic affinities
are totally unknown. The southern half of this province is traversed by
the lofty Sierra de Gredos, and hiding in its secluded valleys are some
of the most primitive peoples of Spain. There are no other large towns
in the province.
_Segovia_ (7000), another of the picturesque cities of Spain, contains
fine specimens of Roman, Moorish, and Christian mediæval architecture in
its wondrous aqueduct, cathedral, the Alcazar, and castle. It was
formerly a place of great commercial as well as of political importance,
and was the centre of a trade in woollen goods which employed 34,000
workmen, and made the cloth of Segovia celebrated throughout Europe.
This commerce has now utterly departed, both from it and from the other
cities, such as Avila, Medina del Campo, which shared its reputation. It
is now visited by the lover of the picturesque, whose taste will be
here abundantly gratified. Not far from Segovia, under the Peñalarra
(7800 feet), on the northern slope of the Guadarrama range, are La
Granja and San Ildefonso. At a height of 4000 feet above the level of
the sea, this is the most agreeable of all the inland royal residences
of Spain. Built in French taste by Philip V., it is redeemed from
banality by its pleasant surroundings. But retired and peaceful as it
looks, La Granja has been the scene of some of the most important
political events in the modern history of Spain. The celebrated passes
of Somosierra (4700 feet), and that of the Col de Guadarrama (5000),
lead from this province to Madrid; the railway, too, attains at La
Cañada a height of 4457 feet above the level of the sea.
_Soria_, on the north-eastern edge of the great plateau, is one of the
poorest provinces of Spain. Leaning on the Sierra de Moncayo, the whole
of the northern and central part of the province slopes gradually to the
west, and is watered by the Douro, which takes its rise in the Sierra de
Moncayo. The southern angle of the province contains also the sources of
the Jalon, which, flowing through a break in the Idubeda range, finds
its way to the Ebro, and thence to the Mediterranean, the upper courses
of the two rivers completely overlapping. In spite of these two
river-valleys the province is very unproductive. Soria, near the site of
the Keltiberean Numantia, which held out for twenty-nine years against
the Romans, contains but 6000 inhabitants. Osma, on the Douro, has
barely 1000, and Agreda (4000) is celebrated only for the visions of a
nun in the sixteenth century.
The province of _Burgos_ overlaps the plateau, and in its northern and
southern extremities embraces the valleys both of the Ebro and the
Douro, with their respective towns, Miranda del Ebro and Aranda del
Douro. The basins of these two rivers are separated by the Oca or
Idubeda mountains, which cross the centre of the province. The
difference of the elevation of the two valleys may be seen in the fact
that while Miranda del Ebro is 1600 feet above the sea-level, Burgos is
more than 2800. Burgos (29,000) and Aranda del Douro were formerly towns
of considerable commerce, and the former had at one time a claim to be
considered the chief city of Northern Spain. It has now greatly fallen,
but will always be visited for the noble remains of Gothic architecture
in the city and its suburbs. Miranda del Ebro (3000), when the river
formed the customs line for all commerce passing from the Basque
Provinces into Spain, was of great consequence, and is now the point of
junction for the northern lines of railway from Bilbao and from Irun. In
this province, too, is the pass of Pancorbo, through which both road and
railway wind; for savage wildness it is inferior only to that of the
above-mentioned Despeña-perros in the Sierra Morena.
The whole province of _Logroño_ lies in the southern half of the valley
of the Ebro, and leans against the mountains which form the supports of
the great plateau. The Ebro forms its northern boundary, and its chief
towns, Logroño (12,000) and Calahorra (7000), are both on the river.
Here the traveller from the north first sees the Noria or Moorish
water-wheel at work. The province is noted chiefly for its strong, rough
wines, and for its agricultural products. Navarete is known in English
history as the spot where the Black Prince and Bertrand du Guesclin
fought out their mightiest duel, the one as the partisan of Pedro the
Cruel, and the other of Henry of Trastamare.
The kingdom of LEON is divided into five provinces, _Salamanca_,
_Valladolid_, _Zamora_, _Palencia_, _Leon_. _Salamanca_ lies along the
Portuguese frontier, which is here formed by the Rivers Douro and
Agueda. The city (15,000) was famous throughout the early part of the
Middle Ages for its university and for its Arabic and Hebrew learning.
It thus became in popular estimation the home of magic and of the black
arts, and as such its name is found in the folk-lore tales of many parts
of Europe; its students, poor, riotous, and witty, made it the
birthplace of the peculiar, picaresque romance literature of Spain, from
Lazarillo de Tormes to Gil Blas. Like all the Spanish provincial
universities, it is but the shadow of its former self, nor does the city
preserve any of the older features which still make Toledo a delight to
the tourist. Its old bridge over the Tormes is said to date from Roman
times. Bejar (8000) does a fair trade as a manufactory of cloth. Ciudad
Rodrigo (5000) is one of the strongest fortresses of Spain, and guards,
with Badajoz, the frontier against Portugal. The provinces of Salamanca
and Zamora contain some of the most peculiar and picturesque peasantry
yet remaining in Spain; even around Salamanca the festal dresses of the
Charros and Charras are rich with gold and silver ornaments of Moorish
type. In the valley of the Batuecas, amid the Sierra de Gata, the
Hurdes, and to the west of Zamora, the Sayagos, and again, the
Maragatos, to the north-west of the province, in the mountains of Leon,
are all remnants of ancient races, preserving habits and tribal customs
and laws, differing from their neighbours, and well worthy of the study,
as survivals, of the comparative ethnologist. The contrabandistas of the
province are among the boldest in Spain; they cross the Douro and its
deep ravine, sometimes on rafts or on inflated skins; at others, when
the river is in flood, in baskets suspended from ropes flung across the
whole ravine.
_Zamora_ (10,000), formerly a strong walled city on the Douro, in a
rich country, notwithstanding the rail which unites it to the Medina del
Campo, still remains one of the decaying towns of Spain. Toro (9000),
higher up the stream, is a busier town. A great impulse will probably be
given to all this district, now one of the most behindhand in Spain, by
the completion of the Portuguese lines of Beira-alta, connecting Lisbon
and Oporto with Paris by the North Spanish lines. Benavente (5000), on
the Esla, is the only other town we have to notice.
_Leon_, which gave its name to one of the old kingdoms of Spain before
the re-conquest of the Castiles, is full of towns which recall the
glories of the past, but which are of little importance in modern times.
The capital (9000) is noted for its cathedral and churches, which are
perhaps the purest specimens of Gothic, unmixed with Arabian art, to be
found in Spain. The province is generally mountainous, especially to the
north and west, and the higher lands afford excellent summer pasture for
flocks from the plains, and even from Estremadura. The valley of the
Esla is extremely fertile. Astorga (5000) may be considered as the
Capital of the Maragatos, of whom we have spoken above; like Sahagun
(3000), it is a town of ancient consequence now dwindling to
insignificance. The "_fuero_" or charter of Sahagun, 1085, was the model
of the "_fueros_" or constitutional privileges of the Castiles, which
were eventually lost in the war of the _comuneros_ in the time of
Charles V.
_Palencia._--Through this province passes the canal of Castile from Alar
del Rey to Valladolid, borrowing its waters from the Pisuerga, and is
the most useful for transport of all the canals of Spain. This waterway
is less needed now, owing to the railway of the north from Valladolid to
Santander, to Bilbao, and to San Sebastian, which runs parallel to it;
but it will be always available for local traffic. The capital is a
walled city on the banks of the Carrion, a little above its junction
with the Pisuerga, an affluent of the Douro; its cathedral is remarkable
for its size and simplicity, but is otherwise inferior to Leon. The
valleys, watered by these rivers are very rich in cereals, which find
their outlet for exportation at Santander. The great coal-field of the
Asturias extends into the north of this province, and at Barruelo de
Santillana is largely worked by the Northern Railway Company, and
supplies Madrid with a yearly increasing quantity of coal. The villages
near the mines are fast becoming populous towns.
_Valladolid_ (52,000) was till the middle of the sixteenth century the
capital of Spain, and is likely to become of great importance in the
near future as the point of junction of all the Spanish and Portuguese
railways of the north and west. The Douro flows through the centre of
the province, and the plains of Valladolid are perhaps the most fertile
of all those in North-western Spain. It is a great centre for the
corn-trade of the Castiles, and the smoke from its tall chimneys tells
also of manufacturing industry. There are here two colleges for Scotch
and Irish students for the Roman Catholic priesthood. They were
established at the time of the persecutions in England, but are much
less frequented now than formerly. Medina del Campo (4500) an ancient
commercial city, was ruined in the wars of the _comuneros_, but may
recover somewhat of its former traffic as a junction of railways. A town
of similar name and standing, Medina de Rio Seco (4500), is in the north
of the province; both are situated in rich corn-growing plains.
Tordesillas (3500), on the Douro, owes its existence to the junction of
roads which cross the river by its noble bridge. In this province is the
Castle of Simancas, wherein are deposited the archives of Spain, as
those of the Indies are at Seville. Long closed to the world, they are
now open to the researches of scholars, and guides and inventories in
aid are being published during the present year.
_The Balearic Isles._
These islands are geologically a submarine continuation of the Valencian
mountains which sink into the sea at Cape Nao. They are divided into
two groups: (1) Minorca, Majorca, Cabrera, and a few islets; the nearest
point of which to the mainland is Soller on Majorca, ninety-three miles
distant; (2) Iviza and Formentera, with some smaller satellites, are
within sixty miles of the Spanish coast. The whole superficies of the
islands is nearly two thousand square miles. The inhabitants number
about 290,000. The climate is equable but exceedingly variable within
somewhat narrow limits; the average both for Minorca and Majorca being
sixty-four, the highest temperature ninety, and the lowest forty-four.
The average rainfall is nearly twenty inches. Majorca, the largest of
the islands is about sixty miles from east to west, and fifty from north
to south. The surface is very broken, but with a few fertile plains; the
greatest elevation is 5000 feet. Minorca, twenty and a half miles to the
east of Majorca, is twenty miles long by six broad. Iviza, the largest
island of the western group is only four miles by four. The highest
points of these two islands are about 1000 feet; but Iviza retains
traces of volcanic action which seem to connect it geologically with the
extinct Catalan volcanoes, by way of the Columbretes rocks, and the
Point de la Baña at the mouth of the Ebro. Majorca and Minorca are
remarkable for erections called "Talayots," similar to the "Nuraghies"
of Sardinia; they are the work of one of the many prehistoric, or at
least unrecorded races whose blood mingles in the veins of the present
inhabitants, and the origin of them has given rise to almost as many
theories as those of the round towers of Ireland and Scotland. In the
west of Majorca is the remarkable and extensive cavern of Arta. The
language of the islanders is one of the purest dialects of the Provençal
speech. The only separate race now in the islands is that of the
"_Chuetas_" or converted Jews, who still keep apart notwithstanding
their nominal Christianity. The population is mostly engaged in
agriculture, and the islands export fruits, oil, leather, and a few
cattle, to an annual value altogether of 350,000_l>_, while the imports
amount to 210,000_l>_. The land is cultivated mostly by peasant
proprietors and metayers in small holdings, and by reason of steady
emigration those who remain are fairly prosperous. The people show
strong aesthetic tastes, and the art school of Palma is one of the most
flourishing of the whole of Spain. The chief towns on Majorca are Palma,
on the east coast, of 58,000 inhabitants; Manacor, in the centre, of
12,500; Felanitz, 10,000; and Llummayor, Soller, Inca, and Pollensa, of
about 8000 each. Minorca has only two towns of importance, Port Mahon,
22,000, and Ciudella, 7000, at opposite extremities of the island. Port
Mahon is perhaps the finest harbour in the Mediterranean, and is also
one of its strongest fortresses; during the English occupation the town
attained great prosperity. Iviza has only one town, of the same name as
the island, containing 5500 inhabitants. We have noticed before that the
majolica ware was not made in these islands, but at Valencia, and that
it acquired the name from Balearic vessels being used for its export to
Italy.
CHAPTER VI.
HISTORY AND POLITICAL CONSTITUTION.
In order to understand the present constitution, the political
condition, and the aspirations of the Spanish nation, it is absolutely
necessary to have some slight acquaintance with its previous history.
This we propose to give as briefly as possible.
In the eleventh and twelfth centuries there is no doubt that the
inhabitants of Northern Spain, under some of the petty kings, enjoyed
more constitutional liberty than any other people in Europe; that their
institutions generally, and especially their municipal privileges, were
more in accordance with the ideas of modern freedom and self-government
than those of any other nation at that date. The feudal system never
attained in Northern Spain, except in parts of Catalonia, the systematic
development, and the organized oppression of the lower classes, which it
reached in many other parts of Europe. The peculiar institution of
"_behetria_," which prevailed in Leon and the Castiles, and by which a
serf was free to go whither he would "from sea to sea," with all his
goods, and to put himself under any lord he chose, was of itself an
almost sufficient check to excessive tyranny by the nobles. The old
Roman municipal organization, of the towns had been preserved by
tradition throughout the whole of the Visigothic times down to 711, nor
had the practical working completely died out at the epoch of the early
reconquest of the north. Hence many of the charters or "_fueros_"
granted to the towns and cities by the kings are evidently founded on a
recollection of former institutions, modified according to the
necessities of the times. Thus the charter of Leon (1020) expressly
allows exemption from all arbitrary exactions, and grants the free
election of the _Alcalde_, and of the municipal council, with only the
appointment of the judges by the king. By the _fuero_ of Arganzon (1191)
it is expressly stated that if these royal officers overpassed their
duties, it would be lawful to kill them without incurring any
responsibility. Similar but still more strongly-worded clauses are found
in all the Basque _fueros_, and in the coronation oath of Aragon.
The representatives of the burgesses, "el estado llano," the low estate
in the "Cortés" or parliaments, began much earlier in Spain than in
other countries. Burgesses sat in the Cortés at Leon certainly in 1188,
if not in that of Burgos in 1169. In Aragon they were present still
earlier, in 1134, in Navarre in 1194, in Catalonia, where feudalism was
more developed than elsewhere, in 1218. These dates are simply those of
the first mention of the fact, not necessarily that of its first
institution; the records rather imply their presence at former sessions.
We find also early protests against judicial and administrative abuses
which prevailed long afterwards in other parts of Europe. In the _fuero_
of Arganzon (1191) the inhabitants claim exemption from the ordeal of
iron, hot-water, or battle. In 1152, the _fuero_ of Molina demands that
justice be done to all, and truth spoken without favour or bribery of
any kind whatever. The original capitulations granted to the Moors and
Mudejares of Castile, and especially to those of Aragon, breathe the
same liberal spirit. They are granted full liberty in the exercise of
their own religion, and to live under their own laws in their own
quarters, subject only to some fixed tribute and service. The spirit of
bigotry and of hatred between the two races commenced with the foreign
monks, with the semi-religious military orders, and with the legal
classes; afterwards it spread to the common people through envy at the
better use which the Jews, Mudejares, and Moriscos made of the
privileges granted to them, and the consequent superiority of their
condition compared with that of the serfs and lower classes of the
Christians. It is this fact which explains the rising of the population
at Saragossa in favour of the inquisition against the Mudejares and
Jews. Travellers in Spain, even to the middle of the fifteenth century,
were scandalized at the toleration of the Moors by the king and the
court. Theologians, lawyers (except the royal judges), medical men, and
traders were they who called for oppression of the Moors; the two last
classes evidently through jealousy of the superior skill and industry of
Moors and Jews as doctors and merchants; the literary class, the poets,
nobles, and kings were in favour of toleration. Afterwards indeed, in
the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries, the ravages of the
pirate ships of Algiers and Tunis roused an indignation and excited a
far more intense abhorrence than had existed in earlier times, when
Christian and Moslem knights met in fair and equal warfare.
The development of these early liberties, and the progress of the cause
of toleration and of true civilization in Spain, were checked by
circumstances which would assuredly have acted in a similar way in any
other nation. The establishment of the military orders, the conquest of
the south, especially the last campaign against Granada, put forces into
the hand of the king greater than those possessed at that time by any
other monarch. The richest half of Spain, the newly-conquered Mussulman
provinces, had not only no liberties of their own except those granted
in their respective capitulations, and which were speedily revoked, but
had neither knowledge of, nor any interest in the liberties of the
north. They were entirely at the mercy of their conquerors, Ferdinand
and Isabella, who had the control of the finest army of Christendom. The
mastership of all the great semi-monastic military orders, which had
hitherto been elective, was now granted to Ferdinand by Pope Innocent
VIII. (1492), and they were incorporated with the crown by a bull of
Adrian VI. (1523). An almost equally powerful engine in the royal hands
was the secret police of the Santa Hermandad (1476), founded to restrain
the excesses of the nobles and the practice of private war. The success
of this institution in the cause of order explains both the institution
and the popularity of the inquisition. It is easy to see what a leverage
was thus put into the royal hands to destroy the liberties of the north
of Spain. Add to this that the separate kingdoms, Navarre, Aragon,
Valencia, the Castiles, and the Basque Provinces had not yet been united
under a single head, nor had learned to work together, except in war,
for a single purpose. Catalonia and Aragon had indeed some sympathy with
each other, but they had none with Leon and Castile; their peculiar
language and habits isolated the Basque Provinces and Navarre from any
of the rest. A century of free representation and debate in a national
Cortés might have changed all this, but the opportunity was not given.
The discovery and the conquest of America, and the subsequent emigration
of the bolder spirits, turned men's thoughts away from internal reform
and the home constitution. Next the fatal election to the empire of
Charles V. threw into his hands fitting agents, in his foreign and
ecclesiastical ministers and governors, wherewith to crush any rising of
the people. Cardinal Ximenes was the only minister in Europe who at that
date could have pointed to a standing army with the proud words, "With
these I govern Castile; and with these I will govern it, until the king,
your master and mine, takes possession of his kingdom."
Yet even to the end of the seventeenth century the king swore to
preserve the ancient privileges of Aragon and Catalonia. The "_fueros_"
of Navarre were intact until 1840, and those of the Basque Provinces
till 1874. The wonder is, not that the Spanish liberties were crushed,
but that the memory of them should have continued so long, and after so
many ages of repression should yet be a living force with which every
statesman and ruler of Spain has still to make his account.
The suppression of Spanish liberty had already begun under the reign of
Ferdinand and Isabella, but the death of Francis I. and the retreat of
Charles V. into the cloister of San Juste definitely closes both the
period of chivalry and of such liberties as existed through the Middle
Ages in Europe. With Philip II. begins the era of statesmanship and of
bureaucratic centralization, when nations were really ruled from the
closet and with the pen, not with the sovereign's sword or by his
presence in the field. It is difficult for an Englishman to sympathize
with the view, but the period of Philip II. is still looked upon by the
majority of Spaniards as the golden era of the external position of
Spain. His absolutism, and his concentration in his own person of all
civil and religious rights, are condoned in their eyes by the glory of
his having made Spain the arbiter of Europe and the champion of
Catholicism. But with his successor set in that strange and progressive
decadence of intellectual power in the sovereigns of the Austrian
dynasty in Spain, which ended in the almost idiotcy of the childless
Charles II. Spain, which in the reign of Philip II. had all but imposed
the sovereign of her choice in France, in the reign of Charles II. was
ruled according to the intrigues and caprice of the court of Versailles.
Philip V., the grandson of Louis XIV., though vastly superior to the
late Austrian sovereigns, could never thoroughly emancipate himself from
the tutelage of the country to whose armies he owed his crown; and the
family degeneracy, which had shown itself in the Austrian sovereigns,
again appeared in the Bourbon family, and communicated itself to the
whole nation. The military and naval greatness of Spain disappeared, the
very wish for constitutional liberty died out, commerce and literature
were almost extinct, the population was declining in numbers and
increasing in misery, the country was daily growing poorer, and its
wealth was ebbing slowly away to other lands. The noble aristocracy of
Spain, once so full of loyal self-respect in the age of the Cid,
grovelled at the sovereign's feet, jealous only for precedence in
matters of court etiquette, or clamorous for posts in the colonies as a
means of corruption, and of enriching themselves by the plunder of the
provinces they administered. The only king who showed some royal talent,
and who intelligently endeavoured to effect the improvement of Spain,
was Charles III. (1759--1788). Unfortunately both he and his able
ministers, instead of basing their reforms on the native liberties and
constitutions of Spain, imitated almost wholly the spurious liberalism
of the encyclopædists and doctrinaires of France. Hence few of their
reforms took root. Those that were not immediately done away with did
not grow or develope. The successors of Charles III. were still more
feeble than his immediate predecessors, and the condition of the royal
family was such that Napoleon had no difficulty in forcing them to
abdicate, and to crown his brother Joseph king of Spain; but the nation,
unlike the royal family, refused to acquiesce in this usurpation of
their rights, and rose as one man to avenge the burning wrong.
[Illustration: PORT OF CADIZ.
_Page 153._]
The modern history of Spain begins naturally with that of the War of
Liberation, May 2nd, 1808, and politically with the Cortés of Cadiz,
1812, and with the constitution then promulgated. This declares: That
the Spanish nation is not the patrimony of any family or person; that
the sovereignty resides essentially in the nation, which is the
conservator of its own liberties and rights. The sole religion is and
shall always be the Apostolic Roman. The legislative power resides in
the Cortés with the king. The suffrage was universal, and one deputy was
to be elected for every 70,000 souls. Entails and feudal privileges had
been abolished by a law of August 6th, 1811, the liberty of the press
was voted, and in 1813 the inquisition was suppressed. The French had
been expelled, chiefly through the assistance of England, and the king
had returned from captivity; all looked well for the new era. But in
1814 Ferdinand VII. violated the oath which he had sworn to observe the
constitution; the inquisition was re-established; the feudal exactions
on real property were restored; and the fatal policy of violent reaction
and of ruthless vengeance on political opponents was inaugurated which
has wrought such deadly harm to the cause of progress in Spain. After an
absolute government of six years, Riego raised the standard of revolt at
Cadiz, and again Ferdinand swore to observe the constitution of 1812:
further reforms were established. In 1820, tithes were partially
suppressed, and the Church was forbidden to acquire any more real
property. A law of May 3rd, 1823, affirmed in stronger terms the law of
1813 on the abolition of entail: the religious orders were done away
with. But in the same year, with the assistance of a French army under
the Duc d'Angoulême, Ferdinand conquered the liberals and again violated
his oath to observe the constitution. Every act of the Cortés for the
last four years was annulled. Riego, with other chiefs of the liberal
party, was put to death under circumstances of atrocious cruelty, others
were banished, and a crafty and tenacious system of persecution was
directed against every liberal for the rest of the reign. During this
reign, too, through denial of all reform or suppression of any abuse,
the whole of the vast colonial empire of Spain on the continent of the
Americas was totally lost.
On the death of Ferdinand VII., June 29, 1833, another element of
discord was introduced. The first Bourbon king, Philip V., in defiance
of ancient Spanish precedents to the contrary, had introduced the Salic
law from France, and had procured its solemn promulgation by Cortés.
Ferdinand VII., with the consent of Cortés, abrogated this law, and left
the crown to his only child, Isabella II., an infant of less than three
years old, with her mother, Christina of Naples, as regent. His
brother, Don Carlos, who, since the king's last marriage, had been
intriguing against him with the ultra-conservative party, claimed the
throne under the law of Philip V. Henceforth a dynastic question was
added to the standing constitutional one.
The Carlists declared themselves the champions of legitimacy, the divine
right, and of absolutism; and thus forced the party of Isabella, the
Christinos, to appeal for support to the liberal and constitutional
party, though they had no more real attachment to the cause, and no more
intelligent appreciation of its benefits than had their opponents. A
blunder of the liberal party in hesitating to confirm the "_fueros_" of
the Basques, the last vestige still intact of the ancient constitutional
and municipal liberties of Spain, greatly strengthened their opponents,
who at once seized the opportunity and loudly confirmed them. A war of
seven years followed, in which the older liberal generals lost all their
former military prestige against Zumalacarregui in the Basque Provinces,
and against Cabrera in Aragon. But the assistance of England, and still
more the incapacity of Don Carlos, at length enabled Espartero to finish
the war by the convention of Vergara, August 30, 1839, by which _fueros_
were confirmed to the Basques on their laying down arms. Cabrera
continued the war in Aragon and Catalonia, but two years afterwards was
forced with his followers to take refuge in France. During this period
constitutional liberty had apparently made great progress in Spain, and
several useful reforms had been set on foot. But its course had been
marred by deeds of atrocious violence, such as the massacre of the monks
and the destruction of the convents in 1835, when valuable treasures,
both in art and literature, which had been spared in the great
Peninsular War, were finally lost. All ecclesiastical and church
property had been declared national, and the sale of it had been
commenced, tithes were wholly suppressed, the _mesta_ was
abolished--with results as to the division of property detailed in a
former chapter. From the regency of Christina dates, in a great degree,
the shameless corruption, the selfish intrigues, the abuses of all kinds
among the upper _employés_, which with rare exceptions have marked every
subsequent government of Spain. A reaction set in in 1843, with Narvaez
as its real chief. To his stern administration, however, are due the
establishment of the normal and technical schools, the foundation of the
present educational system in Spain, and the institution of the
_guardias civiles_, a kind of police after the model of the French
gendarmerie or the Irish constabulary, and which has proved itself the
most trustworthy body in Spain in defence of law and order under all
changes of government. It would be a weariness to the reader to recount
all the changes from liberalism to absolutism which followed during the
reign of Isabella II. No administration succeeded in impressing on the
bulk of the nation the fact that it was honest and capable; none won
respect abroad. Perhaps that of O'Donnell (1858-63), during which
occurred the successful campaign in Morocco, was the least corrupt and
inefficient; but the indignation of the country at the shame and
corruption of both court and government broke forth at last, and a
movement, headed by Admiral Topete and the fleet at Cadiz, in 1868
overthrew the Government, forced Isabella to fly, and declared the
Bourbons incapable of ruling in Spain.
On the abdication of Isabella II. in favour of her son, and her
retirement into France, a provisional government was formed with
Serrano, Topete, and Prim as chief members, to hold the reins of power
until Cortés should elect a new sovereign. The choice proved far more
difficult than was expected. Topete and others favoured the claims of
the Duc de Montpensier, the brother-in-law of the late queen, but the
objection to any of the Bourbon family was at that time too strong;
others desired to seize the opportunity of uniting Spain and Portugal
under one head by electing a member of the Portuguese royal family; but
this was rejected by the princes of Portugal. Two years were spent in
these debates, but at last the choice of Prim prevailed, and Amadeo,
the second son of Victor Emmanuel II. of Italy, was elected sovereign,
16th November, 1870. The murder of his chief supporter, Prim, before he
reached Madrid, deprived him of the only support which might have
consolidated his dynasty. Had it not been for the deeply-rooted dislike
of all Spaniards to a foreign ruler, Amadeo would have proved by far the
best sovereign that had sat upon the throne for many generations. He
honestly respected the constitution. His court was pure and incorrupt.
He was intelligently devoted to the best interests of Spain; but he
found all his efforts at improvement and reform utterly thwarted by the
intrigues of the nobility and of the upper _employés_ of every kind, and
after a trial of two years he resigned a post which he could no longer
maintain with true dignity and self-respect, and retired to Portugal,
February 11th, 1873. Thereupon a republic was proclaimed by Cortés, with
Figueras, Castelar, and Pi y Margall as chief ministers. But the events
of the last few years, the weakening of the central authority, the
attention which the Carlist rising in the north had drawn to the ancient
"_fueros_" or constitutional privileges of Spain, on the one side, and
the incidents of the war with the Paris Commune in France, together with
the influence of those of the communists who had found refuge in the
industrial cities of the east and south, on the other, produced constant
revolts in favour of a federal or cantonalist government of the
separate provinces. On July 15th, 1873, Don Carlos (Carlos VII.) the
grandson of the Don Carlos (Carlos V.) of the seven years' war, although
both his uncles and his father had solemnly renounced their rights to
the throne, re-entered the Basque Provinces, from which he had been
quickly driven by General Moriones at Oroquieta in a former attempt, and
raised the standard of legitimacy and divine right. On the other hand,
one after the other, Alcoy, Malaga, Seville, Cadiz, and, a few months
later, Cartagena and Valencia, revolted in a communistic or cantonalist
conspiracy which threatened the dismemberment of Spain, and the
destruction of her armaments. It was only after severe fighting, which
strained the resources of the Government to the utmost, that these
cities were subdued. Meanwhile Don Carlos had established himself firmly
in the Basque Provinces, and his brother Alfonso headed considerable
forces in Aragon and Catalonia. Fortunately Barcelona held aloof from
the cantonalist and _intransigente_ movement of Cartagena and Valencia.
These events, however, had shown the necessity of tightening the reins
of discipline in the army. Salmeron, who was now at the head of the
ministry, exerted himself to restore order, and endeavoured to work the
republic in a conservative sense. A year or two after, at the
instigation of Castelar, the penalty of death for mutiny was again
enforced. After Moriones and Serrano in the north had both failed in
their attempts to raise the seige of Bilbao, Concha at last succeeded,
May 2, 1874; and Martinez Campos, who had crushed the insurrection in
Valencia, was making way against the Carlists in Aragon and Catalonia.
Between these generals, with Pavia and others, a conspiracy was formed
to restore the Bourbon monarchy under Alfonso XII., son of Isabella.
Serrano offered only a doubtful resistance, and Castelar, opposed by the
_intransigente_ party, found himself almost alone in upholding a
conservative republic. The death of Concha, before Estella, in Navarre,
June 27, 1874, delayed for some months the proclamation of Alphonso, but
at length it took place, on December 30, 1874, and the republic fell
without a struggle. Alphonso XII. landed at Barcelona in the first days
of 1875, and entered Madrid on January 14th. In spite of some checks,
caused by the incapacity of his generals, his power was quickly
augmented. Many who, through hatred of the republic and of the
cantonalist excesses, had joined the Carlist ranks, abandoned the cause
when monarchy was restored. Don Carlos had proved to be as incapable as
his grandfather had been, and much less reputable in his private life.
By the end of August, Martinez Campos had taken Urgel, in Catalonia, and
by the close of the year he was free to assist Quesada in the Basque
Provinces. The united armies were successful, and on February 28, 1876,
Don Carlos entered France, leaving his followers and the Basque
Provinces entirely at the mercy of the conquerors. The consequence to
them has been the partial loss of their _fueros_, the incorporation of
the Basque conscripts with the rest of the army, and the annexation of
the provinces for the first time to the crown of Spain.
With Alphonso XII. entered Spain, as his chief adviser, Cánovas del
Castillo. Whether nominally prime minister, or out of office, he has
really held the reins of power--with the exception of the nine months'
ministry of Martinez Campos in 1879--from 1875 to February, 1881. On the
whole his exertions have been beneficial to Spain. By an arrangement
dated January 1, 1877, and by lowering the rate of interest, he saved
the public credit, which was on the verge of utter bankruptcy.
Insensibly he has detached himself from the progressive liberal
movement, and his rule has become more and more conservative. The decree
for toleration of religion, passed in the first months of the republic
of 1868, has been greatly modified, and interpreted in a sense more and
more unfavourable to religious freedom: But he has not succeeded in
breaking down the many abuses of the administration, or in putting an
end to the corruption of the upper _employés_, or in insuring freedom
and purity of parliamentary election; and until this is effected the
future of Spain must still be doubtful.
_Present Constitution and Administration of Spain._
It would be tedious and little instructive to our readers to detail the
various constitutions under which Spain has been governed since 1812. We
will give a sketch, as far as we are able, of the last only. By a
comparison of this with the constitution of Cadiz, it will be seen that,
in spite of all reactions, Spain has really progressed in the way of
freedom and good government.
The constitution of the Spanish monarchy, June 30, 1876, declares
Alphonso XII. de Bourbon to be the legitimate King of Spain. His person
is inviolable, but his ministers are responsible, and all his orders
must be countersigned by a minister. The legislative power resides in
the Cortés with the king. The Cortés is composed of two legislative
bodies, equal in power--the Senate and the Congress of Deputies.
The Senate is composed (1) of senators by their own right, who are--sons
of the kings, grandees of Spain with 3000_l._ yearly income, the
Captain-General of the Forces, the Admiral-in-Chief, the Patriarch of
the Indies, the Archbishops, the Presidents of the Council of State, of
the Supreme Tribunal, of the National Accounts, of the Council of War,
and of Marine, after two years' service; (2) of life senators, named by
the crown; (3) of senators elected by the corporations of the State, or
the richest citizens--half of these must be renewed every five years.
All senators must be thirty-five years of age, and the number of classes
(1) and (2) together must not exceed that of the elected senators, which
is fixed at 180.
The Congress of Deputies is returned by the electoral Juntas, one deputy
being elected for every 50,000 souls. Deputies are elected by universal
suffrage, and for a period of five years. The Congress meets every year
at the summons of the king, who has power to suspend or close the
session; but in the latter case, a new Congress must meet within three
months. The president and vice-presidents of the Senate are nominated by
the king, those of the Congress are elected from its own body. The
initiation of the laws belongs to the king, and to both legislative
bodies; but the budget, and all financial matters, must be first
presented every year to the Congress of Deputies. No one can be
compelled to pay any tax not voted by Congress, or by the legally
appointed corporations. The sittings are public, and the person of
deputies is inviolable. Ministers may be impeached by the deputies, but
are judged by the Senate.
Justice is administered in the king's name, and judges and magistrates
are immovable.
The provinces are administered (1) by a governor, who, with his
immediate subordinates, is nominated by the Government; (2) by a
Provincial Deputation, elected by the householders of the province. All
members must be natives of, or residents in, the province; their number
varies according to the population. (3) Five members elected from the
Provincial Deputation form a Provincial Commission to conduct business
when the deputation is not sitting. These authorities and bodies answer
nearly to the prefects and general councils of the French departments.
They are of much greater political importance in those provinces which
have preserved some of their ancient rights than in others.
Below the provincial are the municipal authorities, the Alcaldes
(mayors), Ayuntamientos (municipal councils), and the Juntas
Municipales. The internal administration of every parish is entrusted to
an Ayuntamiento or municipal council, elected by the residents, and
composed of the Alcalde or mayor, the Tenientes or assistants, the
Regidores or councillors. The Junta Municipal is composed of all the
councillors of the Ayuntamiento, and an assembly of three times their
number, and by them the municipal accounts are to be audited and
revised. The number of the Ayuntamiento varies according to the
population; one Alcalde, one Teniente, six Regidores, for 1000; and one
Alcalde, ten Tenientes, thirty-three Regidores, for 100,000. The real
independence and free action of these bodies varies much in different
provinces and in different circumstances. The smaller bodies are quite
under the thumb of the central government; the larger ones in the great
towns and in the more independent provinces are much less easily
influenced.
The Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman is declared to be the religion of the
State, and the nation is bound to maintain its worship and its
ministers. "But no one shall be molested on Spanish ground for his
religious opinions, nor for the exercise of his respective worship,
except it be against Christian morals. Nevertheless, no other ceremonies
or public manifestations shall be permitted than those of the religion
of the State." These last two articles are evidently equivocal, and
subject to great diversity of interpretation and of application.
All foreigners are free to settle in Spanish territory, and to exercise
therein their respective trades and professions, with the exception of
those which require special titles. The expression of opinion, the
press, the right of public meeting, of association, and of petition,
except from armed bodies, are respectively free. No Spaniard or
foreigner can be arrested or detained illegally. He must either be set
at liberty or be brought before a judge within twenty-four hours of his
arrest. No Spaniard can be arrested without a judge's warrant, and the
case must then be heard within seventy-two hours after his arrest;
otherwise he must be set at liberty on his own petition or on that of
any other Spaniard. Domicile is inviolable. Such are the principal
articles of the present Spanish Constitution. In spite of the excess of
some republican governments and the reaction of others, real progress
has been made, excepting only in the equivocal law on religion, and that
on marriages between Catholics and Protestants.
_Administrative Spain._
For military purposes, Spain is mapped out into five "capitanias
generales," conferring the rank of field-marshal on the possessors of
that office. The number of marshals, generals, and superior officers of
the special corps in active service is over 500. The number of the army
on a peace footing is fixed at 90,000, the infantry numbering 60,000,
the cavalry 16,000, artillery 10,000, and engineers 4000. Universal
conscription is nominally obligatory, but with the power of purchasing a
substitute for a fixed sum of 80_l._ The time of service is eight years,
four of which are spent in the active army and four in the reserve. In
the colonies the time is four years only, the whole of which must be
spent in active service. Besides the regular army in Spain are the corps
and garrisons in the Philippine Islands, in Porto Rico, and in Cuba,
where the mortality is so great that the troops need constant renewal.
In addition to the above must be reckoned the militia of the Canary
Islands, the "guardias civiles," a kind of constabulary like that of
Ireland or the gendarmerie of France. These are about 15,000 men, and
are some of the best and most trustworthy troops in Spain; the
carabineros or custom-house officers, who guard the frontiers, form
another corps of about 12,000. Towards the close of the late Carlist and
Cuban wars the actual army was far above these numbers, and it is
probable that 150,000 men were under arms on the side of the Government
in the Basque Provinces alone. The Spanish soldier is one of the best in
Europe, if properly commanded. He is sober, and has great powers of
endurance; is an excellent marcher, and a trustworthy sentinel;
persistent both in attack and defence, he still retains the steadiness
of the old Spanish "tercios," which were once the terror and admiration
of Europe. The Basques under Zumalacarrégui in the first Carlist war,
and the Catalans under Martinez Campos in the last, earned high praise
from all foreign officers who saw them. But too often these fine
qualities of the private have been rendered of no avail, owing to the
utter want of skill and competency in the officers and commanders, and
still more by reckless corruption and mismanagement in all things
relating to the commissariat and supplies. Another element of
deterioration has been the use of the soldiery as mere tools of
political intrigue in the frequent revolts and _pronunciamientos_ of
ambitious generals. The scientific corps, however, the artillery and
engineers, have always stood aloof from sedition. It was an attempt to
corrupt the former and to assimilate it in this respect to the rest of
the army, which led to the abdication of King Amadeo. The generals who
have achieved the greatest reputation in the Spanish army are Quesada
and Martinez Campos. Moriones, who distinguished himself in the Basque
Provinces during the last Carlist war, has lately died. Blanco and
Jovellar acquired distinction in Cuba, and Loma as a good brigadier in
the Carlist war. Serrano, Pavia, and others are better known in the
field of politics than in that of military action.
For naval purposes the coast of Spain is divided into three
departments--Ferrol, Cadiz, and Cartagena, at each of which ports is a
naval arsenal. The jurisdiction of the marine extends as far as the tide
and seventy feet beyond. The three departments, are divided into
_tercios navales_, _partidos maritimos_, and districts. The Spanish navy
consists of 121 ships, five of which are armoured vessels of the first
class, and eleven unarmoured; eighteen belong to the second class, and
fifty-six to the third, some of which are monitors and armoured
gunboats. There are also thirty-one smaller vessels, and a few ships
employed for training and for harbour services. The whole fleet mounts
525 guns, and is over 20,000 horse-power. The sailors number 14,000,
with 504 officers of all ranks, and the marine infantry 7000, with 374
officers. The old fame of Spanish ship-building, except for small
vessels, has almost entirely passed away. In the great war at the
beginning of the century, the finest vessels of our navy were prizes
taken from Spain. Spanish navigators, too, have long lost their old
renown, though the Basques are still esteemed as mariners. The ironclad
frigates and monitors of modern Spain have been almost all constructed
in foreign dockyards. The armoured gunboats, however, built in Spain are
a good and useful model.
The merchant marine consists of 226 ocean-going steamers and 1578 ocean
sailing-vessels measuring altogether 460,000 tons. Smaller vessels make
up a total of 3000 merchant-ships, less than one-fifth of the number of
those of Great Britain.
For the administration of justice the country is divided into Audiencias
Territoriales, Provincias, and Partidos Judiciales. The Audiencias, or
courts of appeal, are fifteen, with 373 judges or procureurs. There are
also 500 judges of first instance, and there is also a justice of peace
or alcalde in each town or municipality. All pleadings are still
conducted in writing in Spain; there is no verbal examination or
cross-examination in public. Suits both civil and criminal are thus
dragged out to an inordinate length. Judges are still suspected of being
open to bribery, and confidence in the just administration of the law is
as a consequence severely shaken. It is not uncommon for witnesses to be
summoned to testify to facts which happened many years before, and it
not unfrequently happens that either the principal witnesses or the
criminal himself is dead before the case is decided. As a conspicuous
instance, we may remind our readers that General Prim was assassinated
in open day in Madrid in 1870, and the case has not yet been adjudged.
The discipline of the prisons is in general extremely lax, and many
crimes, especially forgeries, are there concocted with impunity. There
is, however, a great difference in the treatment of the prisoners in
different prisons. Up to 1840 the office of Alcaide, or governor of a
prison, was sold by the Government to the highest bidder, and the
purchasers made the most they could out of the wretched prisoners by
starving them or by accepting bribes for illicit indulgences, and for
furnishing what they were bound to provide, so that it was commonly said
"that the _bagnios_ of Algiers were less terrible than the prisons of
Spain." Perhaps the worst of them all, up to the year 1833, was the old
prison of the city of Madrid, one dark dungeon of which was termed "El
Infierno"--Hell. Almost as bad was the Prison de Corté and the famous
Saladero. There was no classification, no cleanliness, and in some of
the cells neither light nor ventilation. In some of the country prisons
the cells were like the dens of a menagerie, and the starving prisoners
thrust their hands through the bars to beg food of passers-by. At last
has arisen an ardent band of philanthropists, of whom Senors Lastres and
Vilalva are at the head, and the first stone of a new prison in Madrid,
arranged on modern principles, was laid by the king in February, 1877.
Hospitals, lunatic asylums, and asylums for the sick and aged poor, and
other charitable establishments are of very varied descriptions in
Spain. Some of them, like the famous establishments of Cadiz, Seville,
Madrid, Cartagena, Valencia, and Cordova, are admirably managed, and
yield in practical benefit to none of other lands. The first lunatic
asylum ever founded was that at Valencia by Padre Jofre Gilanext, in
1409; three others, at Saragossa, Toledo, and Seville were founded in
the fifteenth century. That of Barcelona is said to be now the best
public lunatic asylum in Spain. Many others are nearly as good, while
one or two of the private asylums near Madrid are excellent; but in
some provinces these establishments, both public and private, are still
in a very wretched state.
Since 1848 there have been a little over 4000 miles of railway laid down
in Spain. The principal lines are the two which run from the extreme
ends of the French Pyrenees to the capital, connecting Spain with the
great European communications. Next in importance are those from the
Mediterranean ports Valencia, Alicante, Cartagena, to Madrid; Malaga and
Granada are connected with the metropolis by the line from Cadiz. A
rather circuitous route by Badajoz, Ciudad Real, and Toledo is the only
line at present open to Lisbon, but a more direct one is in course of
construction. The communications with the extreme north-west are not yet
completed, but the branch of the Great Northern Company from Santander,
which brings the products of the Asturian coal-fields to Madrid, is of
great importance. Other valuable lines are those of the valley of the
Ebro, from Miranda del Ebro by Saragossa to Barcelona. Should any of the
schemes projected for a direct route from Paris to Madrid, by any of the
central passes of the Pyrenees, through Saragossa, be carried into
effect, the line from the latter place to Madrid will be one of
considerable traffic. The coast-line from Barcelona to Valencia is of
great value to one of the richest wine and fruit districts of Spain.
Shorter lines, which may have a considerable influence on the welfare
of the country, are those which connect the great mineral fields with
the chief lines of transport or with the nearest port. It has been
remarked that hitherto, with some exceptions, Spanish railways have had
less influence in developing local traffic than those of any other
European country. The Great Northern lines, too, have suffered seriously
from interruptions caused by civil war, by floods, and other accidents
since 1868.
The total length of the telegraph lines is nearly 10,000 miles. The
number of public offices is 324, of private, 12; the telegrams
despatched amounted in 1877 to 2,023,579, of which about half were
private despatches for the interior. The expenses of working were
165,076_l._, and the receipts 156,950_l._, leaving a deficit of 8126_l._
The number of post-offices in 1877 was 2530, of letters 78,446,000;
postal cards, 1,040,000; newspapers, 38,479,000; books and samples,
5,767,000. To Great Britain were despatched, in 1879: Letters and postal
cards, 1,083,000; books, &c., 317,900; total, 1,400,900. From Great
Britain: Letters and postal cards, 931,100; books, &c., 646,100; total,
1,577,200. The receipts from the post-office in 1877 were 361,704_l._,
while the expenditure was 297,412_l._, leaving a surplus of 64,292_l._
_The Finances of Spain._
The most prominent circumstance in the financial condition of Spain is
the startling increase of the public debt since the revolution of 1868.
The capital of the debt was then 212,443,600_l._, the interest of which
was 5,580,000_l._ The funds, three per cents, were then at 33. In 1880
the capital of the debt amounted to 515,000,000_l._ Since 1870, by abuse
of credit, the interest of the debt had been paid from the capital; then
one-third of the interest was paid in paper, with a promise to pay the
remaining two-thirds in coin; this engagement was soon broken, but the
paper was punctually paid until 1874, when the interest of the debt was
erased from the budget. In face of the evident bankruptcy of the
country, an arrangement was made in 1876 between the Government and the
principal foreign fund-holders, by which, from January 1, 1877, to June
30, 1881, inclusive, the interest to be paid on the three per cents was
reduced to one per cent., and that on the six per cents to two per cent.
From June 30, 1881, to June 30, 1882, one and a quarter per cent. will
be paid, and arrangements as to future payments are to be made before
the last-mentioned date, and a return to a full interest of three and
six per cent. is to follow at fixed periods. The success of the scheme
is shown by the fact that in 1876 the three per cents, still nominally
paying three per cent. interest, were at 11-1/2; in January, 1881,
paying only one per cent. interest, they were quoted at 22; and the six
per cents, paying only two per cent. interest, were at 42.
From the above statement we may gather some idea of what the civil wars
of the republic, the cantonal, Carlist, and Cuban insurrections, joined
to the expensive experiments of well-intentioned but inexperienced
financiers, in remitting taxes while the public burdens were increasing,
have cost the nation. A calm observer, Mr. Phipps, in his official
report to the British Government, calculates that from 1868 to 1876 the
addition to the debt from these causes amounted to at least
260,000,000_l._, considerably more than the total debt of Spain in 1868.
Notwithstanding the plausible balance-sheets annually submitted to
Congress, the revenue and expenditure of Spain are still far from being
in a satisfactory condition. The writer above quoted states that
"enormous deficits in the budgets (however nominally balanced) have been
the invariable rule in Spain during a long course of years, under every
sort of _régime_ and under all circumstances." In the last budget,
1879-80, the revenue is stated at 32,494,552_l._, and the expenditure at
33,129,484_l._ Supposing these figures to be correct, the deficit,
634,932_l._, would be far less than for many years past.
The principal sources of Spanish revenue are, in round numbers:--
Direct Taxes £10,500,000
Indirect ditto 5,500,000
Customs 4,500,000
Stamps and Government Monopolies 9,000,000
National Property 1,750,000
Miscellaneous. 1,000,000
----------
£32,250,000
Of these the items most foreign to an Englishman's notion of taxation
are the produce of the seven great tobacco factories, Seville, Madrid,
Santander, Gijon, Corunna, Valencia, and Alicante, of which the net
revenue is over 2,500,000_l._, the lotteries, which bring in
5000,000_l._ net, the consumo tax, a kind of octroi, and the territorial
tax, which together furnish the largest contribution to the revenue. The
national property comprises the Almaden quicksilver-mines, valued at
over 250,000_l._ per annum, the Linares mines, leased at 20,000_l._, and
other sources about 30,000_l._ annually.
The heaviest item in the expenditure is the interest on the national
debt, over 11,500,000_l._; the ministry of war and the navy exceeds
6,000,000_l._, while pensions absorb 1,750,000_l._, public works over
3,000,000_l._, finance over 5,000,000_l._, administration of justice
more than 2,000,000_l._; the ministry of the interior, Cortés, the
civil list, &c., make up the remainder.
The total imports and exports of Spain were:--
Imports. Exports.
In 1877, £16,340,672 £18,175,140
In 1878, 15,910,016 17,172,596
In 1879, 17,730,756 20,155,964
But of this increased prosperity far more than her share has fallen to
France, owing chiefly to its being put in the same category with
Germany, Italy, Belgium, and Austria, as _most favoured_ nations, who
import their goods under the customs tariff of July 17, 1877, while
England and the United States continue-under the old tariff, as
_favoured_ nations only. This disproportion will probably be still more
marked, owing to the immense importation of Spanish wines into France
required to make up for losses by the phylloxera disease; while the
exportation of sherry to England has been gradually lessening for some
years, and now we take only some 4 per cent, of the quantity, and 12 per
cent in value, of the wine exported from Spain. One of our chief imports
into Spain, coal, is likely also to diminish, owing to the development
of the native coal-fields in the Asturias and in Andalusia. Our other
chief exports from Spain in fruits and minerals largely increase. The
present wine tariff of England, by which she virtually refuses to
purchase the bulk of Spanish wines in their natural state, while
importing them largely when mixed with inferior French white wines, and
treated as clarets, &c., is felt by Spaniards to be so unfair that,
until this system is modified there is little hope of obtaining a better
tariff for English manufactures; while the making Gibraltar an immense
depôt for a contraband trade is a wrong that rankles in the mind of all
southern Spaniards. The decline of the English import trade into Spain
would be much more marked but for the immense amount of English capital
employed in the larger mining and industrial enterprises.
The battle between protection and free trade is not yet fought out in
Spain. The manufacturing districts of Catalonia and the east coast
clamour loudly for protection, while the mining and agricultural and
wine-growing interests demand free trade. It is impossible to say on
which side the balance may turn. A conservative Government would
probably favour the former, while a liberal ministry might venture upon
the latter system.
Heavy as the public debt of Spain undoubtedly is, and serious as are the
charges imposed upon her by the still unsettled political condition of
the country and of its principal colony--Cuba, she might more than pay
the interest of her debts at the present rate of interest, and balance
the expenditure, but for the administrative corruption and utter want
of political morality, the fruit of long years of financial abuses, and
which has become almost a fixed habit amongst all classes of the
inhabitants. The Government seems to be a mark for fraud to every class,
from millionaire bankers and the largest landed proprietors down to the
ill-paid _employé_ who ekes out his scanty salary by accepting petty
bribes, and the labourer or fisherman on the frontier who never misses
the occasion of smuggling. It is easy to prove the truth of these
assertions. In 1877, in an official report, Mr. Phipps writes: "A few
English, French, and Spanish bankers advance money to Spain, with safe
security, on conditions as disastrous to the treasury as they are
discreditable to themselves." The territorial tax, which forms
one-fourth of the whole internal revenue is notoriously levied on only
54 per cent, of the whole area of the country. In some provinces not
two-thirds of the whole is returned at all, and much land that is
productive is returned as uncultivated. From the extent of the
contraband trade and the corruption of the custom-house officers, the
amount levied on imports and exports can hardly be above two-thirds of
their proper value. In fact, what Spain needs above everything at
present is an honest and impartial administration. The causes of her
poverty lie not so much in bad laws or a faulty constitution, but in a
corrupt and negligent administration. The system of empleomania,
whereby nearly every ill-paid _employé_ is almost forced to pillage,
the preference of this ill-paid idleness and of professional poverty to
honest toil in trade or agriculture--these are the true foes to the
prosperity of Spain. For party and political purposes, taxes are relaxed
for those who should bear their equal share of the burden, only to fall
with crushing weight on the honest workers, unconnected with, or who
refuse to bribe the administration.
CHAPTER VII.
EDUCATION AND RELIGION.
The fame of the Spanish universities has greatly fallen from what it was
in the early Middle Ages, when Salamanca ranked with Bologna, Paris, and
Oxford, as one of the four great universities in Europe; when its halls
were thronged with thousands of eager though needy scholars, and it was
the centre whence Semitic learning and civilization spread to the rest
of Europe. Even in a later day, in the sixteenth century, under the
patronage of Cardinal Ximenes, the university of Alcala de Henares
(Complutum) flashed into sudden fame as one of the great offshoots of
the Renaissance, with its 7800 students, and its noble production of the
first great Polyglot Bible since primitive times. In the eighteenth
century, however, this learning had all but disappeared from Spain, and
the education given in its universities was all but worthless. Little
was effected towards any true revival or improvement until 1845, though
something had been attempted before this in secondary education by the
successive reforms of 1771, 1807, and especially of 1824 and 1836.
The universities of Spain are now ten: Madrid, with 6672 students;
Barcelona with 2459; Valencia, 2118; Seville, 1382; Granada, 1225;
Valladolid, 880; Santiago de Compostella, 779; Saragossa, 771;
Salamanca, 372; and Oviedo with 216: making a total of 16,874 university
students. The number of regular professors is 415, with 240
supernumeraries and assistants, making a total of 655; that is, one
professor to every 26 students. The salary of the professors varies from
120_l._ to 260_l._ per annum, except in Madrid, where it is from 160_l._
to 300_l._ The budget of the whole universities is a little over
1,000,000_l._, and the expenditure slightly in excess, leaving a deficit
in 1879 of 4600_l._. The average cost of each student to the university
is a little over 6_l._.
Though the above institutions are all classed as universities by the
State, yet the course of instruction is by no means the same in all. At
Madrid alone the whole programme of university education is followed
out. This comprises the faculties of civil, canon, and administrative
law, of philosophy and literature, of science, of medicine, and of
pharmacy. Since 1868 theology is no longer studied in the universities,
but in the seminaries, of which there is one in each diocese, under the
direction of the bishop. The total number of pupils studying in these
institutions is 8562. At Valladolid are two theological colleges for
English, Scotch, and Irish students, established, one at the close of
the sixteenth, the other by the Jesuits at the close of the eighteenth
century.
Law is studied in all the Spanish universities, and medicine in all but
one--Oviedo; Madrid, Barcelona, Granada, and Compostella have faculties
of pharmacy, under which head a certain amount of natural science is
taught; of the exact sciences there are chairs only at Madrid,
Barcelona, and Salamanca; philosophy and literature are studied in
Madrid, Barcelona, Granada, Salamanca, Seville, and Saragossa. In
Oviedo, Santiago, Valencia, Valladolid, only the first year's or
preparatory course of law is read, this consists of Latin, general
literature, and universal history.
Besides these State universities, there are several institutions
supported by the provincial deputations; for instance, there is a
faculty of medicine in Seville supported by the province, another in
Salamanca at the joint expense of the province and of the municipality.
In addition to these there are technical schools for the study of
special branches of industry or of administration, such as those of
roads, canals, and harbours, of mines, and of forests, in Madrid and
Villa Viciosa. A school of industrial engineering, and of the
application of chemistry and mechanics, is working at Barcelona. There
are technical schools of commerce at Madrid and at Barcelona. Schools or
colleges of veterinary science are to be found in Madrid, Saragossa,
Cordova, and Leon. Naval schools are established in Santa Cruz
(Teneriffe), in Palma (Majorca), in Masnou (Barcelona), in San
Sebastian, supported by the funds of the provinces; there is also one at
Gijon, in the Asturias, founded by Jovellanos; two other private
foundations also exist at Lequeito and Santurce in Biscay. In Madrid
there is a special school of architecture, and also one of painting,
sculpture, and engraving. Excellent schools of the fine arts exist in
Barcelona, Cadiz, Corunna, Granada, Malaga, Oviedo, Seville, Valencia,
Valladolid, Saragossa, and at Palma in the Balearic Isles; this last is
remarkable for the number of its pupils and its generally flourishing
condition.
In each of the forty-nine provinces of Spain are institutions of
superior or secondary education. With the exception of the institutes of
Cardinal Cisneros and of San Isidro at Madrid, which depend on the
Government, and which hold the first and third rank as to the number of
their pupils, these institutions are supported by the funds of the
provinces or municipalities, but the professors are nominated by the
Government; besides those in the capital of each province, there are
also 11 others in various large towns in Spain. There are also 356
colleges of secondary education affiliated to the institutes, 58 of
which are under religious corporations, making a total of 417
establishments of secondary education, with 2730 professors who have all
taken degrees in science or literature.
The institutes give instruction to 14,872 pupils, and the colleges to
almost the same number, 14,290; home or private education absorbs 4476;
making a total in 1880 of 33,638; more than three times the number in
1848, and, including the episcopal seminaries, giving one pupil to every
398 inhabitants. All these pupils are admitted to the official
examinations, and take their degrees equally on passing them. It is
found that 13 per cent of the candidates are rejected at the
examinations, 43.8 per cent. simply pass, and 43.1 gain honours of
various kinds; while 9 per cent. take the degree of Bachelor from the
colleges, and 37.2 proceed to take it from the universities.
The salary of the masters is from 120_l._ to 180_l._ (except in Madrid
where it is from 160_l._ to 220_l._), with a right to a portion of the
fees for matriculation and degrees. The supernumerary masters receive
60_l._ in Madrid and 40_l._ in the provinces; auxiliary masters are
unpaid. Pensions of 20_l._ are sometimes given to poor but distinguished
pupils. The cost of all the institutes is 118,935_l._, the income,
44,818_l._, leaving a deficit of 74,117_l._ to be supplied either by the
State, the provinces, or the municipalities.
The course of instruction is two-fold, general and special. The general
comprises: Spanish and Latin grammar, two courses; rhetoric and poetry,
geography, history of Spain, universal history, psychology, logic and
ethics, arithmetic and algebra, geometry and trigonometry, physics and
the elements of chemistry, natural history, physiology and hygiene, and
elementary agriculture. The special courses are those of agriculture,
the fine arts, manufactures and commerce.
Of public schools of primary instruction there are about 23,000 of all
grades and classes, 1308 are infant schools and 1400 are for male and
100 for female adults.
The great drawback in the higher education of Spain is the
disproportionate number of students in law, medicine, or pharmacy, in
comparison with the few who cultivate the special branches of
agriculture, industrial or commercial science. Hence the former
professions are overstocked, with results productive of far-reaching
evils to the country and to the administration. Notwithstanding its far
inferior population the number of students in Spain who take their
degrees in law and medicine is almost treble that of France and of
Germany, while the total of degrees conferred in all the faculties of
Spain is equal to that of France, which has double the population.
Nothing more plainly shows the character of the people, and the mischief
of "_empleomania_" than such a fact in a country whose natural riches
in agriculture and mining are so great and so little developed, where
there is so large a field for industrial enterprises of many kinds, and
where the fruits of all these are at present almost wholly reaped by
foreigners.
The primary education of Spain, though nominally everywhere alike, is
really so very varied as to defy any average description. A few of her
infant schools are equal to the best of those of other countries. Where
the provincial deputations or the municipalities take an interest in
education the primary schools are very fair, but in other parts the
education is little more than nominal, and the schoolmaster's
appointment is well-nigh a sinecure both in pay and labour; and probably
at the present moment, notwithstanding the great improvements of late
years, two-thirds of the people can still neither read nor write.
_Church and Religion._
From the time of the OEcumenical Council of Nicea, A.D. 325, with the
brief exception of the reigns of the Arian Visigoth kings, Spain has
been the champion of orthodoxy in religion. From early times too the
demarcation between Church and State has been less marked, or rather the
influence of the former over the latter has been more constant and more
powerful, than in perhaps any other European kingdom. The great councils
of Toledo were scarcely more ecclesiastical than civil assemblies. The
recognition of the sovereign, the order of succession, the validity of
the laws, were either settled or sanctioned therein. Later, in the great
struggle with the Moors, through the antagonism of exclusive beliefs,
the war assumed the character of a religious crusade. The semi-monastic
Spanish military orders, the preaching of the monks, the sanction and
the bulls of the Popes--auxiliaries which the kings of Spain were forced
to summon to their aid--gave a complexion to the conquest and to the
national character quite different to what might have been the case had
the contest been fought out by the sovereign, the lay warriors, and the
civil power alone. Thus the triumph of the Christian over the Moor
became in some sort also the triumph of the Roman over the national
Spanish Church. The Mozarabic liturgy gave way to that of Rome. The
peculiar institution of the inquisition, following on that of the Santa
Hermandad in civil matters, developed in Spain a degree of power to
which it never attained in other lands. The certainty and the secrecy of
its proceedings, the mingled pomp and horror of its "autos de fe," the
whispers and the shudder with which men told of the tortures of its
hidden processes, deeply impressed and captivated the imagination of a
people singularly greedy of, and susceptible to, strong and vivid
emotions. The chivalrous respect for women, heightened by the reserve
and half-seclusion which the Spanish knights had learned from the Moors,
was transformed in the sphere of religion into an almost ardent passion
of devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Centuries before the doctrine of the
Immaculate Conception was proclaimed by Pius IX. the cry of the Spanish
beggar heard at every door throughout her vast dominions was, "Ave Maria
purisima, sin pecádo concebida." Spain had been the champion of
Christendom against the Jews and against the Moors; she had without
remorse violated every compact she had sworn with the latter, and she
became equally the champion of Roman Catholicism against the
Reformation. Though Philip II. failed in his great armed struggle with
the northern powers, and wasted and destroyed therein all the real
resources of Spain, yet Spanish theologians were among the most eloquent
and the most learned in the Council of Trent; and it was the Jesuits of
Spain who headed the reaction of the seventeenth century, and who won
back all but the Teutonic and Scandinavian races to the allegiance of
Rome. This glory of Catholicism is never absent from the heart of a
Spaniard. His whole literature is steeped in it; it inspires Spain's
greatest painters. It is this deep but unconscious feeling that
Protestanism is un-Spanish which is the real stronghold of Catholicism
in Spain, and which, in spite of spoliation and political subjection,
still gives the clerical party there a greater power than they possess
in other countries. Yet the few Spaniards who embraced the reformed
doctrines in the sixteenth century were not inferior to those of other
lands in earnestness, in learning, in eloquence, or in high position,
both in Church and State. There was just a moment when the court of
Charles V. hovered on the verge of protest against Rome. When, as before
related, the liberties of Spain fell beneath the iron rule of the
Austrian sovereigns, it was the Church, by the hand of one of its
greatest ornaments, Cardinal Ximenes, which became the willing
instrument of despotism. In return for the servility of the court, and
the presence and the sanction of the sovereign at the "autos," the
inquisition lent its aid to the monarchy, and its assistance was called
in to suppress the trade in horses, so senselessly forbidden, on the
northern frontier. In the seventeenth century, however, the Spanish
court fell under the influence of the French encyclopædists. The Jesuits
were banished in 1767. We need not detail again the various vicissitudes
of the abolition and re-establishment of the inquisition, of the
suppression of tithes, of the sale of Church property, the destruction
of the monasteries, and the exile of the monks, the effects of which
have been sufficiently indicated above.
[Illustration: VESPERS.]
Since the Concordat of 1851, Spain is ruled ecclesiastically by nine
archbishops; those of Toledo (the primate of all Spain), Burgos,
Saragossa, Tarragona, Valencia, Granada, Seville, Valladolid, and
Compostella, under whom are forty-six bishops, with their chapters, and
about 35,000 clergy. The mode of episcopal appointment is this: the
king presents three names to the Pope, of which his Holiness selects
one, who is forthwith nominated to the vacant see. Since 1868,
theological education is entirely under the hands of the bishops, who
have a seminary in each diocese. The clergy are paid by the State; but
the stipends of the country priests are said to be frequently in arrear.
In some parts of Spain, as in the manufacturing towns of Barcelona,
religion has to a great extent lost its hold upon the people; in other
parts, as in the Basque Provinces, the majority are still devout. Since
1871 a reaction from extremes of scepticism and advanced socialistic
views is manifest in many of the most popular writers. A small but
increasing body of Protestants has been established since 1868; but the
vicissitudes of revolution and reaction, and the present ambiguous state
of the law have acted unfavourably on the movement. The pastors have
honourably distinguished themselves by their zeal for the education of
the classes utterly neglected by the dominant Church. On the whole, the
clerical party in Spain, considered as a political body, seems gradually
sinking into a like condition to that of France. It is powerful enough
to thwart and check the policy of its opponents, but impotent to carry
out its own measures. The extreme Ultramontane party, for whom the Comte
de Chambord is too liberal and Pope Leo XIII. too comprehensive, has
lately adopted the banner of the Carlists. Whatever the future of Spain
may be, it is not probable that the Church will ever attain again the
political influence and the exclusive control of education which it
possessed in the past, in spite of the undoubted talents and virtues of
many of its upholders.
CHAPTER VIII.
LITERATURE AND THE ARTS.
Though one of the most interesting countries of Europe with regard to
architecture, Spain can lay claim to no style peculiar to itself, or
that originated wholly within the Peninsula. It contains, however, noble
specimens of art and architecture of very varied epochs and character,
from the work of the unknown sculptors who carved the so-called "toros"
of Guisando and erected the huge dolmens and other megalithic monuments
so thickly strewed over its soil, to the architects and artists of the
present day. Almost all the races which have trodden the land have left
monuments upon it--the Carthaginians, perhaps, the fewest. Scarcely
anywhere else does the solid, practical character of Roman architecture
appear more fully than in the amphitheatres, aqueducts, and especially
in the bridges of Spain. The amphitheatres, temples, and walls of
Murviedro (Saguntum), Tarragona, Toledo, Coria, Plasencia; the aqueducts
of Merida, Seville, and Segovia; the bridges of Tuy over the Minho, of
Zamora over the Douro, Salamanca over the Tormes, of Alcantara,
Garrovillas de Alconetar, and Puente del Arzobispo over the Tagus, of
Merida and Medellin over the Guadiana, of Seville, Cordova, and Ubeda
over the Guadalquiver, and of Lerida over the Segre, are noble relics of
Roman work. Of the period when Roman art was gradually modified under
Christian influences, and the basilica was transformed into the
Christian church, very few remains exist. To the Vandal and Gothic
conquerors belong part of the walls of Toledo, and a few chapels and
small churches in the north and north-west may belong in part to this
date (417-717); but the most peculiar artistic remains of this period
are the jewellers' and goldsmiths' work, preserved in the metal crowns
and treasure of Guarrazar (624-672), of a style which, though probably
derived from the East through Byzantium, continued to influence Spanish
goldsmiths' work down to the eleventh century.
[Illustration: GIRALDA OF SEVILLE.
_Page 197._]
The architecture and art of the race that succeeded to the Visigoths is
of much more notable character. The civil and religious architecture of
the Spanish Arabs is well worthy of most careful study, and is a grand
example of the artistic talent of a race which, though debarred by its
religious faith from the reproduction of human, or even of animal form,
and delighting neither in the scenes of the theatre or the circus, has
yet left masterpieces of architectural beauty in lands so wide apart as
Spain, Egypt, Persia, and Hindostan. The architecture of the Arabs in
Spain may be roughly divided into three periods: The first, from the
eighth to the tenth century, tells most clearly of its origin as an
imitation or modification of the Byzantine style; its masterpiece is the
Mosque of Cordova. The second period, from the tenth to the thirteenth
centuries, shows the architects seeking their real style--it is a period
of transition; its finest erection is the Giralda of Seville. The third
period is when the Moorish style acquired its fullest development in the
glorious Alhambra, from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries.
Contemporary with the last period is the Mudejar style, the modification
which Arabic art underwent in the hands of the Christian conquerors. To
this belong the Alcazar of Seville, 1353; the Mudejar gates of Toledo
and Saragossa, and the Chapel of St. James in Alcala de Henares. In
their domestic architecture the Arabs alone have almost solved the
problem how to unite ventilation and ornament by means of currents of
air of different temperatures. The pendulous stucco fretwork by which
they conceal the angles of their apartments serves not only for ornament
but to equalize the temperature and to admit of concealed openings
whereby air can penetrate without draught or chill. The sense of true
harmony of colour seems to be an intuitional gift of Oriental races, and
is practically understood by them as it never has been by any other. The
Mosaics of Greece and Rome, and those of mediæval Italy, in their
storied designs, appeal more to the intellect; but those of Arabic art
rest and charm the eye by the purity and harmonious blending of tone as
do none other. In spite of some apparent exceptions, and those of the
earliest date, as the Mosque of Cordova (788), and the cloisters of
Tayloon at Cairo (879), Arabic architecture, like Grecian, depended for
its effect more on the exquisite symmetry and exact proportion of all
details to a consummate whole, than to impressions of awe derived from
vast size or immense solidity. It is thus that the massive Roman arch
became moulded into the light horse-shoe shape, peculiar to the Spanish
Arabs from the eighth to the tenth centuries. The originality of this
architecture is not, however, so great as appears at first sight. The
influence of Byzantine architecture and of that of the Christian
churches with which the Arabs had become acquainted during their
conquests, and of constant accessions from Oriental art, can be clearly
traced therein. But in Spain there is perhaps a juster proportion, a
greater variety and richness of ornamentation and colour than is to be
found elsewhere. The grandest of Moorish buildings in Spain is
undoubtedly one of the earliest, the great Mosque of Cordova, with its
forest of 1200 columns, its fifty-seven naves, nineteen gates, and
upwards of 4000 lamps, recalling the impression produced by the Egyptian
hall of Karnac at Thebes,--an impression so vivid that even the
iconoclast emperor, Charles V., whose own palace mars the beauty of the
Alhambra, rebuked the Archbishop of Cordova for destroying what he never
could replace, when he cut away some of the columns to make room for a
Christian chapel. Not less beautiful in their graceful proportions than
the Campanile of Italy are the minarets and towers of Arabian art in
Spain, as the Giralda of Seville and others; even the quaintness of the
leaning tower of Pisa finds its counterpart in the leaning tower of
Saragossa. The Moorish gates of Toledo, of Seville, and the Alcazar of
Segovia show how castellated strength may be wedded to artistic
elegance; but the most perfect union at once of fortress and of palace
is to be found in the noble group of buildings known as the Alhambra, on
the hill of Granada. Though trembling on the verge of debasement when
the severer forms of Arabian art were beginning to admit the
representation of animal shapes, whose rude sculpture forms a contrast
to the exquisite correctness of the alphabetic and geometrical designs
which ornament the walls, these buildings may yet be regarded as marking
the culmination of Moorish art. The fertility of decorative design, the
exquisite use made of Arabic lettering, and the simple yet subtle forms
of geometrical interlacing--apparently most fantastic, yet really ever
subordinated to a just proportion with the whole--these are a theme of
wondering admiration to every student. A whole grammar of ornament might
be illustrated by examples taken from these buildings alone. The
architecture of the houses of the Moorish aristocracy which still remain
in Seville, Granada, Toledo, and Saragossa is wonderfully adapted both
to the necessities of the climate and to domestic ornament. In the more
northern examples the open galleries, in the more southern the flat
roof, of the apartments surrounding the inner quadrangle make a
delightful resort in the cool of the day; while the court or _patio_
itself, with its fountains and shade, its flowers and creepers and
odoriferous shrubs, its mingled play of light and colour, through which
the delicate grace of ornament is seen uninjured by the dust and contact
with the outside traffic, appears to the northern tourist almost like
one of the fairy homes of which his ancestors dreamed, and which have
been described to him in many a legend, as a thing too lovely to be
gazed upon by mortal eyes unless unsealed.
[Illustration: MOORISH ORNAMENTATION.]
The influence and the impress of Arabian art was not confined in Spain
to mosques or to buildings consecrated to the use of Mohammedans alone.
Some of the most beautiful specimens of this architecture were erected
for Christians or for Jews. Arabic inscriptions used as ornaments are
still to be seen on the altar of the Cathedral of Gerona, in the Shrine
of San Isidore at Leon; Arabic architecture is seen in the palace of the
archbishops of Toledo, in a chapel in Alcala de Henares, and in more
than one synagogue of the Jews. Christian bishops used as episcopal
seals rings on which were engraved the praises of Allah. Long after the
conquest of the great cities of the centre and of the south, Moorish and
Mudejar architects were retained in the pay of Christian monarchs to
keep in repair the cathedrals and palaces, the beauty of whose
architecture the Christians could appreciate but could not imitate, much
less surpass. It is this fact, and the mingling of style and ideas
consequent thereon, which gives its sole peculiar characteristic to
Spanish art.
Meanwhile, contemporaneously with the flourishing period of Arabian art
in the south, a Christian architecture, strikingly in contrast from its
poverty of style and of invention, was slowly being reconstructed in the
north. Of the eighth century we have the crypt of the Church of Santa
Cruz, at Cangas in the Asturias, and some remains in parts of the
churches of Oviedo. To the tenth century belong parts of the Church of
San Pablo at Barcelona, and other Catalan churches, with here and there
a chapel in the Western Pyrenees. During the eleventh and twelfth
centuries the more important churches of Northern Spain were almost
reproductions of those of Southern France; the Cathedral of Santiago de
Compostella is almost a copy of the Church of St. Sernin at Toulouse;
but the Romanesque (semi-Byzantine) style lingered somewhat longer in
Spain than in the neighbouring country, and especially in North-eastern
Spain. In the twelfth century edifices of real beauty are beginning to
be built; such are the cloisters of Tarragona and the cathedrals of
Lerida and of Tudela. The cathedrals of Avila and Siguenza are of more
native Spanish character; while those of Toledo, Burgos, and Leon show
the influence of French artists in their general plan, but with an added
ornamentation derived from the richer and more florid fancy of the
south. Of these perhaps Leon is the noblest and Burgos the richest
example in Spain. Segovia, Salamanca, and Seville, of the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries, are the latest of the great Gothic churches of
Spain, before the rise of the Renaissance.
Nowhere had the classical revival in architecture more influence than in
Spain. The almost exclusive type of church which, both in Spain and in
her vast colonies, is pointed out as the Spanish church, is that either
of the Renaissance or of the styles which have sprung from it. This soon
became fashionable, but its semi-pagan additions frequently harmonize
but ill with the deeper religious feeling of the preceding styles. Still
it has many fine examples; the works of Berruguete and Herrera are well
worthy of study. The Escorial, the work of the latter, is redeemed from
ugliness or meanness by the noble proportions of its central chapel and
pantheon. But to this semi-classical style succeeded, in the eighteenth
century, the Churrigueresque, the most debased of all styles, wherein
plaster took the place of sculpture, sham that of reality, and masses of
gilding and an incongruous medley of meaningless ornament concealed the
blunders in proportion and poverty of idea. The adoption of this style
by the Jesuits procured its prevalence in many districts of Spain and of
her colonies; occasionally the size of the buildings constructed gives a
certain grandeur and hides the debasement of the methods.
The domestic, palatial, and castellated architecture of Spain has little
peculiar beyond what has been already indicated. The royal palace at
Madrid, however, is one of the most successful architectural efforts of
the eighteenth century. The sculptured coats of arms on mean dwellings
are perhaps the most notable distinction of Spanish houses. Traces of
the influence of Moorish traditions may not unfrequently be observed. In
the north, the cottages and farms of the Basques, with overhanging roofs
and wooden galleries, recall in some degree those of Switzerland; in the
south the iron bars or rails (rejas) before the lower windows, and the
lattices (celosias) in the upper stories tell of insecurity and of
habits of almost Oriental seclusion of women.
Finer even than the architecture and the exterior of the buildings is
the church furniture in Spain. It is unsurpassed for beauty and
interest. The carved and sculptured wood-work in some of the cathedrals
is finer than even that of the Netherlands and of Germany. The storied
screens and choir stalls at Toledo; the retablos of Gerona and
Salamanca, of Avila and Seville; the choir fittings of Santiago, Zamora,
and of Burgos; the lecterns and pulpits both of brass and wood; and the
rails and gates and screens of noblest metal-work are often of simply
grand proportion; nay, even the polychrome wooden statues in the
churches will often be found to be of rarest beauty. The monuments
erected to the memory of the dead are equal to anything which affection
and piety have raised elsewhere, from that of Archbishop Maurice at
Burgos, in the thirteenth century--of the tombs of the constable and of
those of Juan II. and Isabel of Portugal, in the Cartuja de Miraflores,
of the fifteenth century; and that of Prince Juan, the only son of
Ferdinand and Isabella, at Avila, erected in 1497--down to the noble
mausoleum of inlaid metal-work by Zuloaga, lately placed in the Church
of the Atocha to the memory of Prim. In these and many more, Spain can
show a sequence able to vie with that of any other land. Hardly less
beautiful are the minor accessories of Catholic worship; the gold and
silver smiths' work of the chandeliers, the jewelled work of crosses,
custodias or shrines, and sacred vessels is often worthy of admiration.
In all such works of art, before the pillage of the French in the war of
liberation, and the destruction of the convents, Spain was probably one
of the richest of Christian lands. If we seem to insist too much on
ecclesiastical art in Spain, it is because, as we shall see still more
clearly in the case of painting, art has here concentrated its choicest
effort on religious subjects, and in them has won its greatest triumphs.
Except, perhaps, in arms and in porcelain, in portrait-painting and in
furniture, all the masterpieces of Spanish art are in some sense
ecclesiastical. Take away religion from her art, how poor would be the
residue, for even Arabian and Moslem art in Spain were essentially
religious.
_Painting._
Though Spain cannot rival some other countries, Italy for example, in
the number of her great painters; though she has founded no great
technical school; yet is she worthy of greatest admiration; in one or
two of her artists she has attained the very highest rank. As a
religious painter, especially in expressing in form and colour the
heights of mystic ecstasy, Murillo stands unrivalled. As a
portrait-painter of courtly grace and distinction, Velazquez has few
equals. It is not in landscape, or as interpreters of the ever-varying
beauty of external nature, that Spanish painters excel, but in the
delineation of the human form, and especially in the rendering of those
religious emotions which lead through asceticism to ecstasy. Not the
glorification of merely sensuous beauty, but the triumphs of the spirit
over the flesh are the conquests which they prefer to delineate.
Spanish painters may be divided among three great provinces: the
Valencian, Andalusian, and Castilian schools. Of these the Andalusian,
and especially the school of Seville, has produced by far the greatest
artists.
The earliest specimens of Spanish painting are of the decorative kind,
and are employed in subordination to architecture, to add colour to
form, and to heighten and make more evident the details of sculpture in
churches or convents. Much of this phase of art, in which they stand
very high, they probably learned from the Moors. From these labours in
churches and convents art in Spain received a religious imprint and
direction which it has never lost, and from which it is only now turning
in the present generation. Goya and Fortuny are perhaps the only
considerable painters of Spain in whose works religious subjects do not
preponderate. Spanish art reflects in a peculiar degree the
characteristic of Spanish theology. The mystic grace, the transport of
love which seems almost too human and tender when fixed on the Divine,
which moves us in the writings of St. Teresa, St. Juan de la Cruz,
Xavier, and others, touches us no less in the pictures of Murillo. Stern
and sombre, as these are lovely, are the paintings which remind us that
we are in the land of the inquisition. Figures of martyrs serene in
tortures, whose horrors are laid bare as by no other artists, figures of
saints of primitive, mediæval, or of later times, who have carried
asceticism to excess, portraits of men who were as severe to themselves
as they were pitiless to others; such are the subjects which are
faithfully rendered by the pencils of Ribalta, Ribera, Zurbaran, and
many others. Later on, when the old constitutional liberties of Spain
had almost utterly fallen, and when the worship of the king had begun
almost to rival that of the Blessed Virgin, Velazquez and others give us
portraits of the royal family of Spain. The fun and wit which really
existed in Spanish life, and which her novelists have depicted with such
relish in innumerable novels, is but poorly represented in Spanish art
by any of her great masters. Murillo's beggar-boys are almost the only
pictures which answer to the "picaresque" side of Spanish literature
till the advent of Goya and of Fortuny.
The expressions of the plastic arts of Spain are neither so idealized as
the Italian, nor so intellectual as the German, nor so sensuous as the
Flemish, nor so realistic as those of the Dutch school; but they are far
more powerful in colouring and truer and deeper in feeling than are
those of the French school. The Spaniard painted the types and
characters of his native land, but he delighted to throw around them the
magic lights that never were on sea or land; through the intense
darkness of his asceticism ever peers a ray of heavenly light; but the
type of the figure is ever Spanish; never, in the best days of art, was
inspiration sought from a reproduction of the forms of pagan classical
ism, or from a mere eclecticism of beauty. Though the drawing is
correct, we feel that it has not been learned from a mere study of
ancient statuary or from anatomical preparations, but from the living
type and figure. Here and there we find painters like Juande Joannes
(Vicente Macip) and Domenico Theotocopuli (El Greco), who might have
lived on Italian soil; but generally the tone of Spanish painters is
local and unmistakable. Through all his styles--the _frio_ (cold),
_calido_ (warm), and the _vaporoso_ (mystic)--Murillo remained faithful
to Spanish, nay, to Andalusian models; none can mistake his saints and
virgins, his boys and beggars, as belonging to any other race. He does
not tell the wondrous story of the Incarnation with so grand an appeal
to the intellect as do the Italian painters. The "woman blessed
throughout all generations" does not look out to us from his canvas from
the serene heights of perfect woman-hood which has found its crown in
the mystery of the Motherhood of the Son of God, but in younger and more
girlish forms he paints for us the maiden rapt in adoring ecstasy as she
experiences the wonders of love divine, bathed in the golden light of a
rapture which none but the very purest can ever feel, and which the very
angels are represented as reverencing.
Space forbids our giving even an approximate catalogue of Spanish
painters; we can merely single out for mention the two or three of
highest rank in their respective provinces. In Valencia we have Ribalta
(1551-1628), Juan de Joames (Vicente Macip) (1523-79), and the great but
gloomy Ribera (1588-1609). To this school also belong the artists of
Catalonia and of the Balearic Isles. In Castile are Navarette (El Mudo)
(1526-79), Morales (1509-86), Theotocopuli (El Greco) (died 1578), and
the younger Herrera (died 1686). But the greatest painters are from
Andalusia and from Seville. The well-known names of Herrera the Elder
(1576-1656), Zurbaran (1598-1662), Murillo (1618-82), Velazquez
(1623-60), suffice to show its pre-eminence. The eighteenth century, in
art as well as in literature, was a time of utter decadence; Goya
(1746-1820), the caricaturist, is the only artist we need mention; but,
like its literature, Spanish art is now at length rising from its long
sleep. Fortuny (1838-74), has made himself a European reputation;
though, through his early death, the pictures he has left give promise
only of what his future might have been. Rosales (1840-73), though less
known by foreigners, is of equal, if not of greater merit; like Fortuny,
he died in his early prime. Madrazo, Jimenez, Fradilla, and others,
though not of more than national reputation, yet prove that art is not
extinct in Spain.
In what have been called the industrial arts Spain was formerly very
rich, and, but for the wretched economical policy and administration of
the Government since the seventeenth century, would probably have held
her own against other countries. The gold and silver ornaments still
worn by the peasantry in a few districts perpetuate designs and methods
of workmanship originally derived from the Moors, and much of the church
work is still of great excellence. No less beautiful is the iron-work,
in which a grand effect is often produced by simply noble proportions in
the gates, _rejas_, and screens of her cathedrals and churches; and in
another sphere, in the manufacture of arms, and of inlaying steel or
iron with arabesque patterns of gold and silver, an art which has been
lately revived with great success in Biscay and the Basque Provinces. In
porcelain and pottery the majolica ware, made at Valencia, was renowned
throughout Europe; and the Moorish glazed and lustred ware, the
manufacture of which remained a secret till the present century, is
greatly sought after by amateurs. The wine-jars (_tinajas_ and
_alpujarras_), the porous pottery (_bucaros_), the _azulejos_ or
decorated tiles, continue traditions originally derived through the
Arabs from the East, but which had almost expired when the manufacture
was faintly revived under royal patronage in the times of Charles III.,
to start again on a stronger life with the aid of English capital in our
own times. Spanish glass is sometimes curious, and much of the stained
and painted windows in the cathedrals is excellent, especially that of
Toledo and of Leon; but this art was undoubtedly learned from foreign
workmen, and only became naturalized in Spain. Of carvings in wood and
marble and ivory we have already sufficiently spoken. In textile fabrics
and embroidery, especially in lace, Spain was formerly very rich. The
mantillas of the ladies, the dresses of the sacred images, the copes of
the clergy, gave full opportunity for the production of this fabric; but
the chief effort is now directed to the manufacture of the best foreign
laces, all of which are most successfully imitated by hand-workers in
Valencia and Murcia, where they can be produced at a lower cost than is
possible in colder and more northern climes. Everything in Spain, even
the common use of colour and of flowers by the Andalusian peasants,
shows a natural feeling for art; and its production is hindered more by
indolence, and by the mischievous economical conditions of almost all
Spanish industry, than by any want of talent in the native workman or
artisan.
Though, perhaps, there is no country in Europe in which music is more
appreciated or practised than in Spain, it is singular that she has
produced no really great master. She has many composers of "zarzuelas,"
a species of lighter opera; her traditional dance and ballad tunes are
some of the most inspiriting possible; and her guitar playing is
renowned, but more for the romantic sentiment of the words and the
occasion on which it is used than for the music itself. Well-nigh the
only name for which even Spaniards claim equality with the great
European masters in serious music is that of Don Manuel Doyague, of
Salamanca (1755-1842). His _Miserere_, _Te Deum_, and various _Masses_
are said to equal those of any master of his time.
_Literature._
It is not necessary to repeat here what has been said above on the
Spanish authors who wrote during the silver age of Latin literature, or
to trace again the origin of the Spanish language. It is evident that
all we can do is to give a very brief sketch of Spanish literature. This
literature is, perhaps, the richest in Europe in ballads and romances,
and these, which make one of its chief glories, are among its earliest
monuments. While the "Chanson de Roland" and other "Chansons de Gestes"
were being written in Northern France in the form of continuous epic
poems, Spain was celebrating her hero--the Cid--in a series of ballads.
These, if united, would tell almost the whole story of his life; but
each could be sung or recited alone as a separate and complete poem.
This form of verse continued for many ages to be the favourite
literature of the common people, and attained a development in Spain
beyond that which it did in any other land. For spontaneity, for
movement, for grace of expression, for sudden turns from martial ardour
to the most pathetic tenderness, the Spanish ballad is unrivalled. It
embraces and handles with almost equal success the most varied subjects:
war and chivalry and love, patriotism, wit, amusement, and religion,
have all been treated of in these romances, and the collections of each
kind would fill many volumes.
The first prose works in the Spanish language seem to have been a
translation of the Bible, under Alphonse X., and of two codes of law,
the "Fuero Juzgo" and "Las Siete Partidas," in the middle of the
thirteenth century. It seems to have been almost by accident that
Alfonzo wrote in the dialect of Leon and Castile in preference to that
of Galicia and Portugal. Had he chosen the latter, probably Portuguese
would have become the language of the whole Peninsula. Under his reign,
too, may have been commenced the first history written in Spanish, "La
Gran Conquista de Ultramar," telling the story of the Crusades, with
many romantic episodes. The next production that calls for remark is the
epic of Alexander the Great, by J. L. Segura, of the latter part of the
same century. This poem gives the name "Alexandrine" to all European
verse written in the same metre. In the early part of the fourteenth
century we have a collection of tales, with morals attached, called "El
Conde Lucanor," by Don Juan Manuel, nephew of Alphonse X. (1282-1347);
and Alfonso XI. continues the list of royal authors with a "Libro de la
Monteria,", or treatise on hunting. The arch-priest of Hita, Juan Ruiz
(1330-43), about the same time took up the strain of love and war in a
romance of mingled prose and verse, entitled "Guerras Civiles de
Granada." In the latter half of the fifteenth century we meet with a
remarkable production, the tragi-comedy of Celestina, which, in its
two-fold character of novel and of drama, has been the parent of a
double offspring, both of the comedy and of the _picaresque_ novel of
Spain. The Spanish rogue, at least in fiction, has been said to be the
only amusing rogue in Europe. The chief representations of him in
literature are in the novel of "Lazarillo de Tormes" (1554), by Hurtado
de Mendoza; "Guzman de Alfarache" (1599), by Mateo Aleman; and "La
Picara Justina" (1605), by the Dominican monk, Andreas Perez. The whole
series of these works culminated in a masterpiece, "Gil Blas," written,
not by a Spaniard, but by the Frenchman Lesage, in 1668; perhaps the
most graphic description of the manners of another nation ever written
by a foreigner.
The serious drama in Spain arose, probably, like that of other European
nations, from the mysteries and moralities of the Middle Ages, such as
are still continued to be performed occasionally at Elche and in other
districts. In the "Autos" of Calderon and others it bore clear marks of
this origin to a later date than any other contemporary drama. The first
plays of any consequence we hear of are those of Lope de Rueda
(1544-67), who, both as actor and as author, was greatly admired by
Cervantes. From him the Spanish drama, like the almost contemporary
Elizabethan drama in England, sprang at once to its full height.
Cervantes, in his tragedies "Los Baños de Argel," and in "El trato de
Argel" in which he described incidents in his own captivity, and in the
"Numancia," telling the story of the siege by the Romans, imitated and
surpassed his friend. In lighter pieces, comedies and _entremeses_, he
was less successful. Almost coeval with Cervantes is Lope de Vega
(1562-1635), perhaps the most prolific dramatic writer of any value that
ever lived. His pieces are numbered at from 1500 to 2000, and the best
of these are equal, if not superior, to those of Calderon in delineation
of character and in plot, and are inferior only in poetical merit. We
can only mention Tirso de Molina (1588-1648), Montahran (1602-38), and
Ruiz de Alarcon (died 1639) as dramatists of merit, whose best pieces,
especially those of the latter, approach very nearly to those of Lope
and of Calderon. Calderon de la Barca (1600-81), with the German, Göthe,
is the only dramatist of modern Europe who has been seriously put
forward as a rival, or even superior, to Shakspere. This we think to be
a mistake; in rich poetical imagery, in gorgeousness of fancy, in
harmony of verse, in stately dignity, in depth of religions feeling, in
knowledge of stage effect--in all these things he may be compared to our
English master; but he is very far inferior to him in width of sympathy,
in wit and rollicking fun, or in thoughtful humour; his comedy will not
bear comparison with that of Shakspere; but he falls most short in his
delineation of individual character. In comparison with Shakspere's, his
figures are but well-dressed puppets compared to living men and women;
not one of them lingers in the memory like a person whom we have known.
We remember Calderon's verses, we revel in his splendid poetry, but we
utterly forget who it is that utters these dazzling strains. Calderon's
dramas and comedies are reckoned at 120, and his Autos, religious or
sacramental pieces, generally performed by religious or civil
corporations in the open air, are numbered at about seventy. In these
plays abstract qualities take the place of living personages, and it is
perhaps the greatest proof of Calderon's genius that he has by his
brilliant poetry and serene religious feeling made some of even these
acceptable to a modern reader.
But while the drama and comedy and the picaresque novel had been thus
developing themselves, a whole literature of quite a different kind had
sprung up into favour, flourished, and died away. This consisted of the
prose books of chivalry, and of the pastoral romances both in prose and
verse. They are remembered now chiefly through mention of them in the
pages of the immortal work, the "Don Quixote," of Cervantes, which
crushed them for ever. The most celebrated of them was the "Amadis de
Gaul," written probably at the end of the fourteenth century. The
imitations of it were innumerable, each more wild, extravagant, more
insipid, and in worse taste than the last. Of the pastoral romances the
only one we need to note is the "Diana Enamorada," of Montemayor
(1520-61), and perhaps the most successful after this is the "Galatea,"
of Cervantes himself, who could never entirely shake off the influence
of the writings he delighted to satirize, and of which he was the
literary executioner. The one Spanish book which has become really
European, in a degree which has been attained by no other purely secular
work, is the "Don Quixote" of this author (1547-1616). Into this
extraordinary production, under the guise of the adventures of his hero,
the last of the knights-errant, with his squire, Sancho Panza--a story
full of mirth, incident, and humour--Cervantes has put all the wisdom
which, by his observation on mankind and literature, he had collected
during a singularly varied life as writer, soldier, seaman, Algerine
slave, poet, and man of business. Though hardly belonging to the school
of the classical Renaissance, yet we see in Cervantes a specimen of the
marked and distinguishing excellence of the men at that time--the width
of their sympathies; so that each more eminent man seemed to contain in
himself an epitome of the experience of mankind. It is, perhaps, to this
many-sidedness of his experience, and of his culture, that is owing the
genial character, the pathetic humour, and the total absence of
bitterness in this masterly satire. Thus Cervantes, while laughing down
and extinguishing for ever the absurdities of the chivalrous and
pastoral romances, yet retains his sympathy for all that was really
noble, though exaggerated, in them. His "Don Quixote," though moving
irrepressible laughter, will for ever remain one of the choicest
representations of a brave, pure-minded, honourable gentleman, and tears
of pity for him are not far distant from our smiles at his quaint
insanities. Since the days of Cervantes one kind only of the chivalrous
romances has really survived in literature, and that is the historical
romance, of which the "Guerras Civiles de Granada" of the arch-priest
Hita, mentioned above, is so good an example. Another satirist, less
known than Cervantes, to whom his life bears some resemblance, Quevedo y
Villegas (1580-1645), is even a more versatile writer. In prose and
verse his writings are very numerous, but his style, learned and
obscure, often laboured in the extreme, though pregnant with thought and
wit, contrasts unfavourably with the clearness of Cervantes; he holds
now in Spanish literature a place nearly analogous to that of Swift
among British writers.
But we must hurry on. With the downfall of Granada, the discovery of
America, the consolidation of the kingdoms of the Peninsula into one
nation, real historical study began in Spain. Thus we have in quick
succession many works of considerable merit, such as the "Annals of
Aragon," by Zurita (1512-80); the "Comunidades of Castille," by Mejia
(1549); the great "History of Spain," by the Jesuit Mariana (1536-1632);
Herrera's "General History of the Indies" (1549-1625); the "Commentaries
on Peru," by the Inca, Garcilasso de la Vega (1540-1616); the monographs
of Hurtado de Mendoza on the "Wars of Granada" (1610); the "Expedition
of the Catalans," by Moncada (1623); the "Wars of Catalonia," by Melo
(1645); and, in literary form superior to all these, the "Conquest of
Mexico," by Solis (1685).
Of poetry, apart from the stage and from the romances, there is not much
of real value to engage our attention. The grandest verses of early
Spain are undoubtedly the "Coplas" of Manrique (1476), which have been
often translated into English, and which form one of the finest elegies
extant in any language. After Garcilassa de la Vega (1503-36), Spanish
poets fell into an unworthy imitation of the Italian; and subsequently
Gongora (1561-1627) set the example of a still more debased and stilted
style, full of affected conceits and mistaken classicalism. The only
tolerable epic poem which Spain has yet produced is the "Araucana" of
Ercilla, which tells the story of the wars with Indians of that name in
Chili, and in which the author had personally taken part.
From the close of the seventeenth and through the greater part of the
eighteenth century, literature partook of the progressive decadence of
all things in Spain. It withered and declined under the double censure
and oppression of the king and of the inquisition. The theatre, which
had striven hard in Spain to become the ally, or even the handmaid, of
the Church, was contemptuously thrust aside by the latter, and within a
century of Calderon's death, not even an Infanta could procure
permission from the inquisition for a comedy in time of carnaval. No
history of any value could be written under such conditions; the only
outlet for literary skill lay in religious and mystic writings, which
are of singular beauty. The classical and grammatical movement of the
Renaissance which had begun so well under the patronage of Juan de
Cisneros, Cardinal Ximenes, the great minister of Charles V., and the
chief monument of which is the Complutensian Polyglot Bible of 1514-17,
and its greatest scholar, Antonio de Nebrija, soon died away, and the
Spanish universities, which for a while had been the admiration, became,
in the eighteenth century, the laughing-stock of Europe. Of the earlier
period we may mention among the religious writers Luis de Granada
(1505-68), Santa Teresa (1515-82), the Jesuit, Ribadeneyra (1527-1611),
Juan de la Cruz (1542-91); but even this literature degenerated into
casuistry and mere technical scholasticism. Spanish religious poetry is,
however, far more copious and of greater excellence than is generally
supposed. It has been studied and collected in our own day by the
opposite schools of the Spanish Protestants, and by the champion of
orthodoxy, Menendez Pelayo.
There is little to notice in Spanish literature from this time until the
rise of the doctrinaire and economical writers of the reign of Carlos
III., who for the most part closely followed the contemporary school of
French publicists and encyclopædists. Among these are Padre Benito
Feyjoo, who was the first to protest against the absence of science and
true learning in Spain; the Padre Isla (1703-81), decidedly one of the
wittiest of Spanish writers and satirists; Jovellanos (1744-1811), the
best statesman and political writer of his time, and in the purer walks
of literature the two Moratins (1737-1828). One or two philological
works, far in advance of their age, made now their appearance, such as
the tracts of Padre Sarmiento (1692-1770) on the Spanish language; the
works of the Jesuits Larramendi (1728-45) on the Basque, and of Hervas
(1735-1805) on general philology. To this period also belongs the
magnificent collection entitled, "La España Sagrada," commenced by
Florez (1754-1801), and, after many interruptions, completed only in
1880.
Towards the close of the eighteenth century, however, a reaction set in
against the French and so-called classical school, and the attention of
Spanish writers was recalled to the masterpieces of their own earlier
literature. The movement was accelerated by the course of political
events, and the successes of the war of independence against the French.
One of the earliest defenders of the romantic against the classical
school was Bohl de Faber, a Hamburg merchant settled in Cadiz. He
published in 1820-3, in his native town, selections from works of the
early poets and dramatists of Spain; and his daughter, Cecilia, under
the name of Fernan Caballero, has attained the highest rank among the
lady novelists of Spain. The admission of Bohl de Faber into the ranks
of the Spanish Academy, under Martinez de la Rosa, marks the definite
triumph of the national school. At first it seemed as if the movement
would produce simply a change of French for English and German models.
Fiction became a stiff imitation of Sir Walter Scott. In poetry the
influence of Byron reigned supreme. Espronceda (1810-42) has equalled
his master in his cynical odes. "The Beggar," "The Executioner," "The
last day of the Condemned," and "The Pirate," might almost have been
penned by Byron; and "El Mundo Diablo" will long live in Spanish
literature. Zorilla, born in 1817, still living, has been more
successful in his dramas than Espronceda, especially in "Don Juan
Tenorio," but his poems are inferior in force, though rich in colouring
and in the melody of his verse. Gustavo Becquer (1836-70) is another
poet who fed his genius with the legends of the past, but his models
were Edgar Poe and Hoffmann; some of his weird fantastic tales and poems
are excellent examples of their kind. Of an opposite character are the
realistic novels of Fernan Caballero above mentioned (1797-1877). These
are exquisite rose-tinted photographs of Spanish life and character
taken by one who sees everything Spanish with a favourable eye. Her
writings are distinguished by a delicate aristocratic grace and
tenderness which she throws over all subjects which she handles, whether
of high or lowly life. As an artist her plots are inferior to those of
many worse novelists; her descriptions of scenery are beautiful and
exact; as a delineator of individual character she fails, but as a
painter of type and class she is unrivalled. Her sketches abound in
humour and in gentle melancholy; a deep and true religious feeling
pervades every line, but she fails in strength and passion. Thus she can
be classed only in the second rank of female novelists, and does not
approach the genius of Georges Sand or of George Elliot. Trueba, in the
north, essays to imitate her, but he often sinks into puerility, nor
are his studies marked by the conscientious regard for fact which
distinguishes those of the lady writer. Pereda, who delineates the
peasants of Santander, is a less prolific writer but of higher literary
merit. Of living novelists we should place in the first rank Juan Valera
with his powerful novels, "Pepita Jimenez," "El Doctor Faustino," and
"Doña Luz." Next to him is, perhaps, Perez Galdos, who, in the series
entitled "Episodios Nacionales," rivals the national romances of
Erckmann-Chatrian in French. Pedro Alarcon has a greater fund of wit and
humour, and his "Sombrero de tres picos" is a most mirth-provoking tale.
Fernandez y Gonzalez, in the number, if not in the quality of his works,
may almost compete with the elder Alexandre Dumas, whose semi-historical
style he repeats. Feliz Pizcueta, a Valencian writer, has also written
many novels, whose scenes are laid in his native province. Among
dramatists now living, or lately dead, we may mention Hartzenbusch
(1806-80), whose "Amantes de Teruel" is one of the most successful
tragedies of the romantic school; Breton de los Herreros (1800-70);
Gertrudis de Avellaneda, the first Spanish female dramatist, born in
Cuba in 1816; Gutierrez, who, born in 1813, sought refuge, like Zorilla,
in Spanish America; Lopez de Ayala; and lastly, J. Estebanez, whose best
work is entitled "Un Drama Nuevo," and who reaches a high level of
dramatic art. Of more extravagant style, inferior to these, and already
marking a decadence, is José Echegaray, a man of most versatile and
opposite talents, and one of the first mathematicians of Spain, the best
of whose plays is "Locura o Santidad." Of lyric poets we may mention
Campoamor, an original but languid and graceful writer of minor verse,
and Selgas, whose grace is seasoned with wit and satire, but whose prose
is much superior to his verse. But by far the greatest of living Spanish
poets, though like Tennyson he has failed comparatively on the stage, is
Gaspar Nuñez de Arce. His "Gritos del Combate," and "La Ultima
Lamentacion de Lord Byron," contain some noble verses. He writes in the
spirit of purest patriotism, with a stern morality, and with severe and
chastened art.
But more important than in the movement of fiction and poetry has been
the influence of the romantic school in history. The attention of
Spaniards has been at length turned to the study of their original
records, and especially to that of the early Arabic writers. The first
to attempt this, but with insufficient means, was J. A. Condé
(1757-1820) in his "Historia de la Dominacion de los Arabes en España."
This has since been superseded by the exacter learning of Don Pascual
Gayangos, in the "Mohammedan Dynasties of Spain," by many foreign
writers, and by the labours of Fernandez y Gonzalez in "Los Mudejares de
Castilla" (1866) and others. The labours of Don Modeste and Don Vicente
Lafuente, the one in ecclesiastical, the other in civil history, must be
mentioned with approval, and the works of Amador de los Rios, on the
literature of Spain and on the history of the Jews in Spain, do honour
to his country. Among other historians, we may mention F. Castro and
Sales y Ferrer, whose works are the popular manuals in education.
Fernandez Guerra in the ancient, and Coello in the modern, Geography of
Spain, are authors of the highest class; nor must we omit the Englishman
Bowles, who wrote on the Natural History of Spain in 1775. In Geology
another English name, Macpherson, attains the highest rank, together
with the surveyors employed on the "Comision de la Mapa Geologica" of
Spain. On the history of property in Spain and Europe, are two
remarkable essays by Cárdenas and de Azcárate. In theology, on the Roman
Catholic side, are the writings of Balmés (1810-48); of Doñoso Cortes
(1809-53), of the present Bishop of Cordova, Ceferino Gonzalez; and,
still publishing, the remarkable production of Menendez Pelayo,
"Historia de los Heterodoxos in España;" while in the Protestant
theology, Usoz, assisted by B. Wiffen in England and Boehmer in Germany,
has rescued from oblivion the works of the Spanish reformers. In
philology the Jesuit, Padre Fita y Colomé, worthily continues the
traditions of Larramendi and of Hervas. Fernandez Guerra, and F. Tubino,
and the Barcelona school pursue archæological studies with success. The
influence of outside European thought is every day more evident in
Spain. Ardent disciples of the school of Comte, of Darwin, and of
Schopenhauer, are to be found among her publicists. In political economy
Figuerola, G. Rodriguez, Colmeiro, Azcárate, and others, follow keenly
the teaching of the English liberal school. Face to face in
parliamentary eloquence and in politics stand Cánovas del Castello and
Emilio Castelar; the latter distinguished by a florid oratory which is
unsurpassed in Europe, but whose style is far more effective when spoken
than when read; the former, with greater learning and a more cultivated
taste, would undoubtedly be known as a writer but for his devotion to
political life. The periodical and daily press of Spain, though not to
compare with that of England, or of the United States, is almost on a
par with that of most continental countries; the scientific and literary
reviews and magazines are yearly increasing both in numbers and in
value.
This sketch, however brief, would be incomplete without a glance at what
may be called the provincial literature of Spain. The publishers of
Barcelona, especially in illustrated works, vie with those of Madrid. It
is not in the Castilian tongue alone that the awakening is apparent. In
Catalonia and in Valencia the study of the native idiom and of their
ancient authors has been taken up with zeal, and with happiest results
in history and philology. Victor Balaguer, the Catalan poet and
dramatist is equal to all contemporary Spanish poets save Nuñez de Arce.
The dramas of Pablo Soler (Serafi Petarra) are received with an
enthusiasm unknown to audiences in Madrid. Mila y Fontanals, Bofarull,
and Sanpére y Miquel are investigating with success the language,
history, and archæology of their country. A like, though necessarily a
less important, movement is taking place in Andalusia, in the Basque
Provinces, in the Asturias, and in Galicia; everywhere what is worth
preserving in these dialects is being sought out, edited, and given to
the press. The archives of Simancas are at length thrown open to the
world, and guides and catalogues are being industriously prepared.
Sevillian scholars are also studying the archives of the Indies, and the
treasures of Hebrew and Arabian lore.
Thus, if Spain can at present boast no writer whom we can place
undoubtedly and unreservedly in the very first rank, she shows an
intellectual movement which, though confined at present to a
comparatively small portion of her inhabitants, may, if it spread and
continue, place her again in her proud position of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, as one of the first of European nations, not
perhaps in arms and power, but in literature, if not in science.
CHAPTER IX.
EPILOGUE.
A few words in conclusion. Spain is far from being a worn-out country.
On the contrary, both in the character and capacities of its varied
populations, in the mineral riches of its soil, in its agricultural
wealth, in industrial resources, and in the artistic taste of its
workmen, it is capable of vast development.
Two things hinder this, and will probably hinder it for some time. These
are the political separation of Spain and Portugal, so ill-adapted to
the geographical conformation of the Peninsula. The great rivers of
Spain run westward, but the benefit of these fluvial highways is
entirely lost to the country through the intercalation of Portugal into
the western sea-board, thus making useless to Spain her natural system
of river transport, and cutting her off from her best and most direct
Atlantic ports. It is Lisbon, and not Madrid, which should be the
capital of the whole Peninsula. Scarcely less an evil to Spain is the
possession of Gibraltar by the English, which, besides the expense of
watching the fortress, and the loss to Spain of the advantage of the
possession of the great port of call for the whole maritime traffic of
the East, is a school of smuggling and contraband, and a focus of
corruption for the whole of South-western Spain. Were the whole Atlantic
and Mediterranean sea-board in sole possession of one nation, the
expenses of the custom-house would be greatly lessened, while the
smuggling on the Portuguese and British frontiers would wholly
disappear. In no point was the effect of the narrow and jealous policy
of Philip II. more disastrous, than in his failure even to attempt to
attach the Portuguese to his rule when the kingdoms were temporarily
united under his crown.
The second evil, and one of still graver proportions, is that of the
exceedingly corrupt administration of the central government, and of
almost every branch of public employment. It is difficult to exaggerate
this mischief. It is not bad external political government, it is not a
faulty constitution, but it is an administration in which corruption has
become a tradition and the rule, that is the real evil in Spain. It is
this which baffles every ministry that tries to do real good. Only a
ministry, or succession of ministries, composed of men of thorough
honesty, of iron will, and of competence in financial administration,
supported by strong majorities, can hope to deal with this gigantic
growth. Even then it must be a work of time. With an honest
administration, and prudent and sagacious development of her resources,
Spain would soon regain financial soundness and recover her place among
the nations.
The contest between the opposite commercial systems of protection and
free trade is not yet concluded, nor is likely to be, in Spain. As long
as England, which has the greatest interest of any foreign power in the
establishment of the latter system, maintains a tariff which unduly
favours the wines of France in comparison with those of Spain free trade
is not likely to be popular. From the varied character of her products,
Spain is of all European countries naturally the most self-sufficing.
Her north-western provinces furnish her with cattle in abundance; no
finer wheat is grown than that on the central plateau, and it could
easily be produced in quantity more than sufficient for her wants; wine,
oil, and fruits she possesses in superfluity; even sugar is not wanting
in the south; cotton, indeed, she has not; but wool of excellent quality
is the produce of her numerous flocks, and it needs only the
establishment of efficient manufactories for Spanish cloth and woollen
stuffs to regain their ancient renown. All the most useful minerals
abound, and are of the finest quality, especially the iron, and the
development of the working of the Asturian and Andalusian coal-fields
renders Spain yearly more and more independent of England in this
respect. True it is that foreign capital is, and will for some time be
necessary to assist in extracting this hidden wealth; but if the
ordinary Spaniard of the educated classes, instead of seeking a bare,
and too often a base, subsistence in petty government employment or in
ill-paid professions--instead of seeking the barren honour of a
university degree--would apply himself to scientific, industrial, or
agricultural enterprise, he might soon obtain his legitimate share of
the profits which now go mainly into the hands of foreign speculators
and shareholders.
Spaniards are commonly said to be cruel and bloodthirsty, with little
regard for the sufferings of others or respect for human life; and
undoubtedly there is some truth in this charge, but it does not apply to
the whole Peninsula. Many of Spain's best writers deplore it, and
inveigh strongly against it and against the bull-fights, which, in their
present form, are not more than a century old. As a national sport, the
modern bull-ring, with its professional torreadors and its hideous
horse-slaughtering, differs from the pastime in which Charles V. and his
nobles used to take part as much as a prizefight from a tournament. The
appeals of Fernan Caballero to the clergy, the efforts of Tubino,
Lastre, and others to arouse the public against this wanton cruelty
have hitherto been of no avail. We can only hope in the future. On the
other hand, it is unjust to shut our eyes to the noble charities of
Spain. She was the first to care for lunatics. Many of her hospitals and
asylums for the aged were conducted with a tenderness and consideration
unknown in other lands. Even a beggar is treated with respect, and is
relieved without contumely. The treatment of her prisoners and the
condition of her prisons, which was long so foul a blot, is now being
efficiently removed; she is at least making an earnest effort to attain
the level of European civilization in this respect.
Intellectually, in science, and especially in literature, Spain is
advancing rapidly. The historical treasures long buried in the archives
of Simancas, and those of the Indies at Seville, are now thrown open to
the world, and are eagerly consulted by native historians. Her literary
and scientific men, though comparatively few in number, are full of zeal
and intelligence. There needs only a larger and more appreciative
audience to encourage them in their labours in order to bring the
literature of Spain to a level with that of any European country of
equal population.
APPENDIX I.
PROVINCES OF SPAIN AND THEIR POPULATION IN 1877.
Per square
Provinces. Inhabitants. Kilometer.
Alava 93,191 30
Albacéte 219,122 14
Alicante 408,154 75
Alméria 349,854 41
Avila 180,457 23
Badajoz 432,809 19
Barcelona 835,306 108
Burgos 332,461 23
Cacéres 306,594 15
Cadiz 430,158 59
Castellon 283,961 45
Ciudad-Real 260,641 13
Cordova 385,582 28
Corunna 595,585 75
Cuenca 237,497 14
Gerona 299,002 51
Granada 477,719 37
Guadalajara 201,288 16
Guipúzcoa 167,207 88
Huelva 210,641 20
Huesca 252,165 17
Jaën 422,972 32
Leon 350,210 22
Lerida 285,297 23
Logroño 174,425 34
Lugo 410,387 42
Madrid 593,775 77
Malaga 500,231 68
Murcia 451,611 39
Navarre 304,184 29
Orense 388,835 55
Oviedo 576,352 54
Palencia 180,785 22
Pontevedra 451,946 100
Salamanca 285,500 23
Santander 235,299 44
Saragossa 400,266 23
Segovia 149,961 21
Seville 505,291 36
Soria 153,654 15
Tarragona 330,105 52
Teruel 242,296 17
Toledo 334,744 23
Valencia 679,030 60
Valladolid 247,453 31
Vizcaya 189,954 86
Zamora 250,004 23
---------- --
16,053,961 32
Balearic Isles 289,035 60
Canaries 280,388 37
---------- --
16,623,384 33
---------- --
In area of surface Spain ranks the 5th of European States.
In number of population 7th "
In density of population to the square mile 14th "
In extent of colonies 5th "
Rates of women to men, 1044 to 1000.
The infantile mortality is said to be 24-1/2 per cent. in first year.
Expectation of life at 2 years old is said to be 49 years;
the average 41.
APPENDIX II.
PRINCIPAL EVENTS OF SPANISH HISTORY.
A.D.
Visigoth kings rule from 414 to 711
Entry of Moors, battle of Guadelete, death of last
Visigothic king 31 July, 711
Reconquest begun by Pelayo at Covadonga in the Asturias 719
Toledo captured by Alphonso VI. 1085
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa 1212
Final union of Leon and Castile 1230
Alphonso X. (Law Codes: The Fuero Real and Las Siete
Partidas) 1252
Union of Aragon with Castile under Ferdinand and
Isabella 1474
Inquisition established (first Auto de Fé, 1488) 1484
Conquest of Granada 1492
Discovery of America 1492
Expulsion of Moors from Castile, 1501; from Granada 1502
Conquest of Naples and Sicily 1504
_Austrian Dynasty_:--Philip I. and Joanna 1504
Charles I. (Emperor of Germany, Charles V.) 1516
War of Comunidades of Castile, Battle of Villalar 1521
Battle of Pavia, Francis I. prisoner 1525
Capture of Tunis 1535
Abdication of Charles I. 1556
Philip II.:--Greatest extension of Spanish monarchy, comprising
Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, Sardinia,
Milan, Roussillon, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg,
Franche-Comté, Tunis, Oran, the Canaries, Fernando
Po, St. Helena, The Americas, Philippine Isles, &c.
Insurrection of Low Countries 1566
First rebellion and expulsion of Moriscos 1568
Battle of Lepanto 1571
League of Provinces and independence of Holland, 25 Jan., 1579
Conquest of Portugal (1580-1640) 1580
Defeat of Armada 1588
Death of Philip II. 1598
Final expulsion of Moriscos 1609
Insurrection of Catalonia 1640
Loss of Portugal 1640
Battle of Rocroy 1643
Peace of the Pyrenees and marriage of Louis XIV. 1659
Death of Charles II., last of Austrian dynasty 29 Oct., 1700
_Bourbon Dynasty_:--War of Succession between Archduke
Charles and Philip V., 1701-13
Loss of Gibraltar 1704
Treaty of Utrecht 1713
Salic Law voted in Cortes 1713
Abolition of Constitution of Catalonia 1716
Charles III. 1759
Family Pact 1761
Expulsion of Jesuits 1767
Siege of Gibraltar 1782
Charles IV. 1788
Godoy, Prince of Peace 1795
Battle of Trafalgar 1805
Abdication of Charles IV. 1808
Ferdinand VII., Renunciation at Bayonne 1808
Joseph Bonaparte, King (1808-14)
Uprising of Spain 2 May, 1808
Peninsular War, 1808-14
Expulsion of French 1814
Cortés of Cadiz, suppression of Inquisition, of
Feudal Rights, and establishment of Constitution 1812
Return of Ferdinand VII., Inquisition re-established,
and Constitution abolished 1814
Insurrection of Riego, new Constitution (1820-23) 1820
Invasion of French, violation of Constitution 1823
Loss of American colonies. Buenos Ayres 1811
Chili 1818
Columbia 1819
Mexico 1821
Peru 1824
Absolutism till death of Ferdinand VII. (1823-33).
Birth of Isabella II., abolition of Salic Law, expulsion
of Don Carlos 1830
Death of Ferdinand VII. 1833
Regency of Christina, the queen-mother, 1833; expelled
1840 1833
First Carlist War, 1833-39.
Majority of Isabella II. 1844
War with Morocco 1860
Insurrection and expulsion of Isabella 1868
Provisional Government, 1868-70 1868
Amadeo I., November, 1870, to February, 1873 1870
Republic, Cantonalist insurrections 1873
Second Carlist War, 1873-76.
Alphonso XII. Dec., 1874
Don Carlos entered France, February, 1876 1876
Abolition of Basque Fueros 1876
Downfall of Cánovas del Castillo 1881
APPENDIX III.
LIST OF BOOKS CHIEFLY MADE USE OF IN THE FOREGOING PAGES.
_Geography_:--
La Nouvelle Géographie Universelle, par Elisée Reclus, series 5 and
6. Hachette, Paris, 1876.
Spanien und die Balearen. Willkomm, Berlin, 1879.
The Balearic Isles, by T. Bidwell. London.
Boletin de la Sociedad Geográfica de Madrid, various years.
Introduccion à la Historia Natural y à la Geográfica Fisica de
España, por Don Guillermo Bowles. Madrid, 1775.
Espagne, Algerie, et Tunisie, par P. de Tchikatchef. Paris, 1880.
Libro de Agricultura, por Abu Zaccaria. Spanish translation
Seville, 1878.
_Meteorology_:--
Reports of the Meteorological Society of Madrid, various years.
Revista Contemporanea, tomo xxx. 4. December, 1880.
_Philology_:--
Grammaire des Langues Romaines, par F. Diez, 2nd German edition.
French translation, Paris.
Études sur les Idiomes Pyrénéenes, par A. Luchaire. Paris, 1879.
Various articles in Spanish Literary and Provincial Journals.
_History, General_:--
Dunham's History of Spain and Portugal, 5 vols. Lardner's Cabinet
Encyclopaedia.
Resúmen de Historia de España, por F. de Castro, 12th edition.
Madrid, 1878.
Compendio Razonado de História General, por Sales y Ferré, last
edition, 4 vols. Madrid, 1880.
History of Civilization, by Buckle, 3 vols. London.
_Particular Histories_:--
Investigaciones sobre la História de España, por Dozy, Spanish
translation, 2 vols. Seville, 1877.
Los Mudejares de Castillo, por Fernandez Gonzalez. Madrid, 1866.
Vida de la Princesa Eboli, by G. Muro, with introductory letter by
Cánovas del Castillo. Madrid, 1877.
Text of various Fueros, and of the Constitutions since 1812.
Espagne Contemporaine, par F. Garrido. Bruxelles, 1865.
_Ecclesiastical History_:--
Die Kirchengeschichte von Spanien, von P. B. Gams, 5 vols. Berlin,
1879.
Historia de los Heterodoxos Españoles, por M. Menendez Pelayo,
tomos i. and ii. (Tomo iii. not yet published.) Madrid, 1880.
_History of Property, &c._:--
Ensayo sobre la História del derecho de Propiedad y su Estado
actual en Europa, por G. de Azcárate. Tomos i. and ii. (Tomo iii.
not yet published.) Madrid, 1879-80.
Estudios filosóficos y politicos, por G. de Azcárate. Madrid, 1877.
La Constitucion Inglesa y la politica del Continente, por G. de
Azcárate. Madrid, 1878.
Ensayo sobre la Propiedad Territorial en España, per Cardénas, 2
vols. Madrid, 1875.
_Art_:--
Street's Gothic Architecture in Spain. Murray, 1865.
The Industrial Arts of Spain, by Juan F. Riaño. London 1879.
Discurso de Recepcion, by Juan F. Riaño. Madrid, 1880.
Numerous articles in Spanish Periodicals.
_Literature_:--
Ticknor's History of Spanish Literature, 4 vols. London, 1845.
Sismondi's Literature of the South of Europe. Bohn, London, 1846.
Hubbard's Littérature Contemporaine en Espagne. Paris, 1876.
_Guide-Books_:--
Ford's last edition, and O'Shea's Guide to Spain, with numerous
Spanish general and local guides, and particular descriptions of
towns, provinces, &c.
Tourist Books in Spanish, German, French, and English. The only
ones needing mention, as going out of the common round are--
Untrodden Spain, by J. H. Rose. Bentley, 1875.
Among the Spanish People, by J. H. Rose. Bentley, 1877.
Government and Consular reports too numerous to specify; but we
must except Phipps' masterly Report on Spanish Finance to the close
of 1876.
INDEX.
AGRICULTURE, 41.
Alhambra, 113, 198.
Alphonso XII., 160.
Amadeo I., 138, 168.
Andorra, republic of, 100.
Arabs, 75.
Architecture, Roman, 194;
Arab, 195;
Mudejar, 200;
Renaissance, 202;
Churrigueresque, 203.
Army, 167.
Art, Visigothic, 195;
Arabic, 196;
Christian, 205;
industrial, 210.
BALEARIC ISLES, 141.
Bardeñas Reales, 13, 97.
Basque language, 71, 77, 78.
Behetria, 145.
Bidassoa, 12, 56.
Budgets, 175.
Bulls and bull-fighting, 121, 234.
CABALLERO, Fernan, 223.
Calderon, 216.
Camel breeds in Spain, 34, 65.
Cañada, La, pass of, 5, 135.
Canals, 13, 16, 18, 133.
Cánovas del Castillo, 161, 228.
Carlists, 155, 159.
Castelar, 158, 159, 228.
Cerro de San Felipe, 6, 133.
Cervantes, 215, 217.
Charles I., 13, 150.
Charles III., 13, 152.
Chuetas of Balearic Isles, 90, 143.
Church, councils of, 75, 187;
furniture and art, 205.
Clergy, 82, 191.
Coal-mines, 65, 94, 101, 122, 234.
Colleges, British, 141, 183.
Comunidades of Aragon, 40, 99.
Congress of deputies, 162.
Constitutions of Spain, 153, 162.
Contrabandistas, 90.
Cortés, 146, 162.
Cordova, mosque of, 124, 196, 198.
DEBT, public, 174.
Despeña-Perros, pass of, 3, 125.
Despoblados and Destierros, 7, 111, 130.
Douro, 15, 139.
EBRO, 12, 97, 99.
Escorial, 36, 132, 203.
Esparto grass, 43, 107, 111.
Exports and imports, 177.
FAUNA, 52.
Ferdinand VII., 153.
Finance, 174.
Fiords or Friths in Galicia, 3, 31, 92.
Fisheries, 56, 93, 118.
Flora, greatly exotic, 41, 42;
herbaceous aromatic, 45;
African, 108.
Fueros, 146, 147, 150, 158, 161.
Funds, 175.
GATA, Cabo de, 2, 9, 109.
Gibraltar, 9, 119.
Guadalaviar and irrigation, 24, 104.
Guadalquiver and affluents, 20, 109.
Guadarrama, range of, 6, 129, 135.
Guadiana and affluents, 19.
Guardias civiles, 156.
Guisando, Toros de, 71, 134, 194.
HISTORICAL school in Spain, 220, 226.
Hospitals, 171.
Hurdes, 90, 138.
IBERI, 70.
Imports and exports, 177.
Inquisition, 149, 188.
Irrigation of Llobregat, 26;
Esla, 17;
Henares, 18, 19, 193;
in Valencia and Murcia, 24, 25, 104, 106, 107.
Isabella II., 154.
JEWS of Balearic Isles, 77, 143.
Justice, administration of, 169.
KELT and Keltiberi, 70, 76.
LACE, 211.
Lakes, 19, 26, 105, 108.
Laya, Basque tool, 40.
Lead-mines, 64, 125.
Lemosin dialects, 77.
Locusts, 48, 53.
Lunatic asylums, 171, 235.
MAJOLICA ware, 105, 144, 211.
Manufactures, cotton, 81, 82, 102.
Maragatos, 105, 144, 211.
Marismas of Guadalquiver, 22, 121.
Merino sheep, 54.
Mesta, 47, 83, 84, 156.
Mineral springs, 28.
Minho, 11, 93.
Mining districts, 64, 94, 95, 102, 107, 110, 111, 122, 125, 140.
Monkeys at Gibraltar, 52, 120.
Mudejar art, 201.
Municipal administration, 164.
Mules, 55.
Murillo, 120, 206, 207, 209.
NAVY, 168.
Nevada, Sierra, 8, 109, 115.
OLIVES, 33, 47, 59, 101, 109, 116.
Orange cultivation, 39, 43, 46, 105, 109.
PAINTING, schools of, 206, 209.
Palms, 33, 44, 106.
Passiegos of Bilbao, 90.
Philip II., 132, 232.
Population, census of, 80, 82;
diverse of Spain, 69, 85;
occupations of, 81.
Post and letters, 172.
Pottery and porcelain, 105, 144, 211.
Prisons, 170, 234.
Professors, salary of, 182.
Property, distribution of, 83, 153;
Church, sale of, 83, 154, 191.
Provinces, administration of, 164.
Provincial literature, 228.
RAILWAYS, 172.
Rainfall, 10, 28, 31.
Republic of Andora, 100.
Rice cultivation, 42, 44, 105.
Rivers, comparative table of, 28.
Romans in Spain, 17, 41, 76, 93, 102, 108, 194.
SALINAS, 22, 26, 29, 108, 109, 118.
Salt-mine, 63, 100.
Schools and schoolmasters, 184.
Sea-board of Spain, 2.
Seguro, sierra and rivers, 8, 24, 107.
Silk, 17.
Sugar, 42, 44, 115.
TAGUS and its affluents, 17.
Taxes, 176.
Telegraphs, 173.
Tobacco factories, 121, 176.
Toleration, early religious, 147, 165, 188.
UNIVERSITIES, 182.
VISIGOTHS, 74, 187, 195.
WATER, names connected with, 27.
Wines of Galicia, 38, 93;
Riojas, 33, 96;
Navarre and Aragon, 33;
Catalonia, 33, 102;
Valencia, 104;
La Mancha, 127;
Malaga 116;
Andalusia sherries, 118, 119, 124.
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