of the island, has an excellent harbour, but the atmosphere hanging
over its marshes is deadly. Ile Rousse, farther to the west, is the
principal port of the fertile district of Balagna. It was founded by
Paoli in 1758, in order to ruin Calvi, which had remained faithful to
the Genoese. This object has been attained. Ile Rousse exports large
quantities of oil and fruit, whilst the old town of Calvi, on its
whitish rock, is a place without life, frequently visited by malaria.
The coast to the south of Calvi, as far as the Gulf of Sagone, though
exceedingly fertile, is almost a desert, and many parts of it suffer
from malaria. Ajaccio, however, at one time merely a maritime suburb of
Castelvecchio, standing a short distance inland, has risen into great
importance. It is the pleasantest and best-built town of the island,
and Napoleon, the most famous of its sons, showered favours upon it.
The inhabitants fish and cultivate their fertile orchards. They also
derive great advantages from a multitude of visitors, who go thither to
enjoy a delicious climate and picturesque scenery.
The other towns of Corsica are of no importance whatever. Sartène,
though the capital of an arrondissement, is merely a village, and the
activity of the district centres in the little port of Propriano,
on the Gulf of Valinco, one of the trysting-places of Neapolitan
fishermen. Corte is famous in the history of the island as the
birthplace of the heroes of the wars of independence. Porto Vecchio,
though in possession of the best harbour of the island, is frequented
only by a few coasting vessels, whilst Bonifacio, an ancient ally of
the Genoese, is important only because of its fortifications. The
prospect from the isolated limestone rock upon which it is built is
exceedingly picturesque. The mountains of Limbara stand out clearly
against the sky, and in front we look down upon the granitic islets
dotting the Strait of Bonifacio, so dangerous to navigators. It was
here the frigate _La Sémillante_ foundered in 1855, with nearly a
thousand souls on board.[133]
[Illustration]
{370}
[Illustration]
SPAIN.[134]
I.—GENERAL ASPECTS.
The Iberian peninsula, Spain and Portugal, must be looked upon
geographically as one. Differences of soil, climate, and language
may have justified its division into two states, but in the organism
of Europe these two constitute but a single member, having the
same geological history, and exhibiting unity in their physical
configuration.[135]
Compared with the other peninsulas of Southern Europe, viz. Italy and
that of the Balkans, Iberia is most insular in its character. The
isthmus which attaches it to the trunk of Europe is comparatively
narrow, and it is defined most distinctly by the barrier of the
Pyrenees. The contour of the peninsula is distinguished by its
massiveness. There are curving bays, but no inlets of the sea
penetrating far inland, as in the case of Greece.[136]
It was said long ago, and with justice, that Africa begins at the
Pyrenees. Iberia, indeed, bears some resemblance to Africa. Its outline
is heavy, there are hardly any islands along its coasts, and few
plains open out upon the sea. But it is an Africa in miniature, only
one-fiftieth the size of the continent upon which it appears to have
been modelled. Moreover, the oceanic slope of the peninsula is quite
European as to climate, vegetation, and abundance of running water; and
{371} certain features of its flora even justify a belief that at some
remote epoch it was joined to the British Islands. African Hispania
only begins in reality with the treeless plateaux of the interior,
and more especially with the Mediterranean coasts. There we meet the
zone of transition between the two continents. Its general aspect,
flora, fauna, and even population, mark out that portion of Spain as an
integral part of Barbary; the Sierra Nevada and the Atlas, facing each
other, are sister mountains; and the strait which separates them is a
mere accident in the surface relief of our planet.
[Illustration: Fig. 136.—THE TABLE-LANDS OF THE IBERIAN PENINSULA.
Scale 1 : 10,300,000.]
Spain, though nearly surrounded by the sea, is nevertheless essentially
continental in its character. Nearly the whole of it consists of
table-lands, and only the plains of the Tajo (Tagus) and of Andalusia
open out broadly upon the ocean. The coast, for the most part, rises
steeply, and the harbours are consequently difficult of access to the
inhabitants of the interior, a circumstance most detrimental to the
development of a large sea-borne commerce.
Ever since the discovery of the ocean high-roads to America and the
Indies, the Atlantic coast of the Iberian peninsula has taken the
lead in commercial matters, {372} a fact easily accounted for by
the physical features of the country. Spain, like peninsular Italy,
turns her back upon the east. The plateaux slope down gently towards
the west; the principal rivers, the Ebro alone excepted, flow in that
direction; and the water-shed lies close to the Mediterranean shores.
* * * * *
Spain must either have given birth to an aboriginal people, or was
peopled by way of the Pyrenees and by emigrants crossing the narrow
strait at the columns of Hercules. The Iberian race actually forms
the foundation of the populations of Spain. The Basks, or Basques,
now confined to a few mountain valleys, formerly occupied the
greater portion of the peninsula, as is proved by its geographical
nomenclature. Celtic tribes subsequently crossed the Pyrenees, and
established themselves in various parts of the country, mixing in many
instances with the Iberians, and forming the so-called Celtiberians.
This mixed race is met with principally in the two Castiles, whilst
Galicia and the larger portion of Portugal appear to be inhabited
by pure Celts. The Iberians had their original seat of civilisation
in the south; they thence moved northward along the coast of the
Mediterranean, penetrating as far as the Alps and the Apennines.
These original elements of the population were joined by colonists
from the great commercial peoples of the Mediterranean. Cádiz and
Málaga were founded by the Phœnicians, Cartagena by the Carthaginians,
Saguntum by immigrants from Zacynthus, Rosas is a Rhodian colony, and
the ruins of Ampurias recall the Emporiæ of the Massilians. But it
was the Romans who modified the character of the Iberian and Celtic
inhabitants of the peninsula, whom they subjected after a hundred
years’ war. Italian culture gradually penetrated into every part of the
country, and the use of Latin became universal, except in the remote
valleys inhabited by the Basques.
After the downfall of the Roman empire Spain was successively invaded
by Suevi, Alani, Vandals, and Visigoths, but only the latter have
exercised an abiding influence upon the language and manners of the
Spaniards, and the pompous gravity of the Castilian appears to be a
portion of their heritage.
To these northern invasions succeeded an invasion from the neighbouring
continent of Africa. The Arabs and Berbers of Mauritania gained a
footing upon the rock of Gibraltar early in the eighth century, and
very soon afterwards nearly the whole of Spain had fallen a prey to the
Mussulman, who maintained himself here for more than seven centuries.
Moors immigrated in large numbers, and they substantially affected
the character of the population, more especially in the south. The
Inquisition expelled, or reduced to a condition of bondage, hundreds
of thousands of these Moors, but its operations only extended to
Mussulmans or doubtful converts, whilst Arab and Berber blood had
already found its way into the veins of the bulk of the population.
Castilian bears witness to the great influence of the Saracens, for it
contains many more words of Arabic than of Visigothic origin, and these
words designate objects and ideas evidencing a state of progressive
civilisation, such as existed when the Arabs of Córdova and Granada
inaugurated the modern era of science and industry in Europe. {373}
During the dominion of the Moors the Jews prospered singularly on the
soil of Spain, and their number at the time of the first persecution
is said to have been 800,000. Supple, like most of their faith, they
managed to get a footing in both camps, the Christian and Mohammedan,
and enriched themselves at the expense of each. They supplied both
sides with money to carry on the war, and, as farmers of taxes, they
oppressed the inhabitants. The Christian faith triumphed in the end;
the kings, to pay the cost of their wars, proclaimed a crusade against
the Jews; and the people threw themselves with fury upon their hated
oppressors, sparing neither iron, fire, tortures, nor the stake. A few
Jewish families may have escaped destruction by embracing Catholicism,
but the bulk of that people perished or were driven into exile.
Far happier has been the lot of the Gipsies, or _Gitanos_, who are
sufficiently numerous in Spain to give a special physiognomy to several
large towns. These Gipsies have always conformed outwardly to the
national religion, and the Inquisition, which has sent to the stake so
many Jews, Moors, and heretics, has never interfered with them. The
Gipsies, in many instances, have settled down in the towns, but they
all have traditions of a wandering life, and most highly respect those
of their kinsmen who still range the woods and plains. These latter are
proud of their title of _viandantes_, or wayfarers, and despise the
dwellers in towns. These Spanish Gitanos appear to be the descendants
of tribes who sojourned for several generations in the Balkans, for
their lingo contains several hundred words of Slav and Greek origin.
M. de Bourgoing has drawn attention to the great diversity existing
amongst the population of Spain. A Galician, for instance, is more
like an Auvergnat than a Catalonian, and an Andalusian reminds us
of a Gascon. Most of the inhabitants, however, have certain general
features, derived from a common national history and ancestry.
The average Spaniard is of small stature, but strong, muscular, of
surprising agility, an indefatigable walker, and proof against every
hardship. The sobriety of Iberia is proverbial. “Olives, salad, and
radishes are fit food for a nobleman.” The physical stamina of the
Spaniard is extraordinary, and amply explains the ease with which the
_conquistadores_ surmounted the fatigues which they were exposed to in
the dreaded climate of the New World. These qualities make the Spaniard
the best soldier of Europe, for he possesses the fiery temperament
of the South joined to the physical strength of the North, without
standing in need of abundant nourishment.
The moral qualities of the Spaniard are equally remarkable. Though
careless as to every-day matters, he is very resolute, sternly
courageous, and of great tenacity. Any cause he takes up he defends to
his last breath. The sons always embrace the cause of their fathers,
and fight for it with the same resolution. Hence this long series of
foreign and civil wars. The recovery of Spain from the Moors took
nearly seven centuries; the conquest of Mexico, Peru, and South America
was one continued fight lasting throughout a century. The war of
independence which freed Spain from the yoke of Napoleon was an almost
unexampled {374} effort of patriotism, and the Spaniards may justly
boast that the French did not find a single spy amongst them. The two
Carlist wars, too, would have been possible nowhere else but in Spain.
Who need wonder, after this, if even the lowliest Spaniard speaks of
himself with a certain haughtiness, which in any one else would be
pronounced presumptuous? “The Spaniard is a Gascon of a tragic type;”
so says a French traveller. With him deeds always follow words. He is
a boaster, but not without reason. He unites qualities which usually
preclude each other, for, though haughty, he is kindly in his manners;
he thinks very highly of himself, but is considerate of the feelings
of others; quick to perceive the shortcomings of his neighbours, he
rarely makes them a subject of reproach. Trifles give rise to a torrent
of sonorous language, but in matters of importance a word or a gesture
suffices. The Spaniard combines a solemn bearing and steadfastness
with a considerable amount of cheerfulness. Nothing disquiets him;
he philosophically takes things as they are; poverty has no terrors
for him; and he even ingeniously contrives to extract pleasure and
advantage from it. The life of Gil Blas, in whom the Spaniards
recognise their own likeness, was more chequered than that of any other
hero of romance, and yet he was always full of gaiety, which even the
dark shadow of the Inquisition, then resting upon the country, failed
to deprive him of. “To live on the banks of the Manzanares,” says a
Spanish proverb, “is perfect bliss; to be in paradise is the second
degree of happiness, but only on condition of being able to look down
upon Madrid through a skylight in the heavens.”
These opposites in the character of the Spaniards give rise to an
appearance of fickleness which foreigners are unable to comprehend,
and they themselves complacently describe them as _cosas de España_.
How, indeed, are we to explain so much weakness associated with so many
noble qualities, so many superstitions in spite of common sense and a
keen perception of irony, such ferocity of conduct in men naturally
generous and magnanimous? A Spaniard, in spite of his passions, will
resign himself philosophically to what he looks upon as inevitable.
_Lo que ha de ser no puede faltar_, “What is to be will be,” he says,
and, wrapped up in his cloak, he allows events to take their course.
The great Lord Bacon observed, three hundred years ago, that the
“Spaniards looked wiser than they were;” and, indeed, most of them are
passionately fond of gambling, and their apathetic fatalism accounts
for many of the ills their country suffers. The rapid decay which has
taken place in the course of three centuries has led certain historians
to number the Spaniards amongst fallen nations. The edifices met with
in many towns and villages speak of a grandeur now past, and the
_despoblados_ and _dehesas_, which we encounter even in the vicinity of
the capital, tell of once fertile fields returned to a state of nature.
Buckle, in his “History of Civilisation,” traces this decay to the
physical nature of Spain and to a long succession of religious wars.
The Visigoths defended Arianism against the Franks, and when the
Spaniards had become good Catholics their country was invaded by Moors,
and for more than twenty generations they struggled against them. It
thus happened that patriotism became identical with {375} absolute
obedience to the behests of the Church, for every one, from the King
down to the meanest archer, was a defender of the faith rather than of
his native soil. The result might have been foretold. The Church not
only took possession of most of the land won from the infidels, but it
also exercised a baneful influence upon the Government, and, through
its dreaded tribunals of the Inquisition, over the whole of society.
[Illustration: Fig. 137.—DEHESAS IN THE ENVIRONS OF MADRID.
Scale 1 : 450,000.]
But whilst these long religious struggles tended to the moral and
intellectual abasement of the Spaniards, there were other causes which
operated in an inverse sense, and these Buckle does not appear to have
properly appreciated. The kings, in order to secure the support of the
people in their wars against the Mussulmans, found themselves compelled
to grant a large measure of liberty. The towns governed themselves,
and their delegates, as early as the eleventh century, sat with the
nobility and clergy in the Cortes, and voted the supplies. Local
government conferred advantages upon Spain then enjoyed only in few
parts of Europe. Industry and the arts flourished in these prosperous
cities, and a stop was even put to the encroachments of the clergy long
before Luther raised his powerful voice in Germany.
A struggle between the supporters of local government and of a
centralized monarchy at length became imminent, and no sooner had the
infidels been expelled than civil war began. It terminated in favour of
King and Church, for the _comuneros_ of the Castiles met with little
support in the other provinces, and their towns were ravaged by the
bloodthirsty generals of Charles V.
The discovery of the New World, which happened about this period,
proved a disaster to Spain, for young men of enterprise and daring
crossed the Atlantic, and thus weakened the mother country, which was
too small to feed such huge colonies. The immense amount of treasure
(more than £2,000,000,000 between 1500 and 1702) sent home from the
colonies contributed still further to the rapid decay of Spain, for
it corrupted the entire nation. Money being obtainable without {376}
work, all honest labour ceased, and when the colonies no longer
yielded their metallic treasures the country saw itself impoverished,
for the gold and silver had found their way to foreign lands, whence
Spain had procured her supplies.
[Illustration: Fig. 138.—DENSITY OF THE POPULATION OF THE IBERIAN
PENINSULA.]
History affords no other example of so rapid a decadence brought
about without foreign aggression. The workshops were closed, the arts
of peace forgotten, the fields but indifferently cultivated. Young
men flocked to the 9,000 monasteries to enjoy a life of indolence,
and “science was a crime, ignorance and stupidity were the first of
virtues.” Population decreased, and the Spaniard even lost his ancient
renown for bravery. If the Bourbon kings placed foreigners in all
high positions of state, they did so because the Spaniards had become
incapable of conducting public business.
But if we compare the Spain of our own days with the Spain of the
Inquisition, we cannot fail to be struck with the vast progress made.
Spain is no longer a “happy people without a history,” for ever since
the beginning of the century it has been engaged in struggles, and
during this period of tumultuous life it has done more for arts,
science, and industry than in the two centuries of peace which
succeeded the dark reign of Philip II. No doubt Spain might have done
{377} even more if the strength of the country had not been wasted
in internal struggles. Unfortunately the geographical configuration
of the peninsula is unfavourable to the consolidation of the nation.
The littoral regions combine every advantage of climate, soil, and
accessibility, whilst the resources of the inland plateaux are
comparatively few. The former naturally attract population; they abound
in large and bustling cities, and are more densely populated than the
interior of the country. Madrid, which occupies a commanding position
almost in the geometrical centre of the country, has become a focus of
life, but its environs are very thinly inhabited.
This unequal distribution of the population could not fail to
exercise a powerful influence upon the history of the country.
Each of the maritime provinces felt sufficiently strong to lead
a separate existence. During the struggles with the Moors common
interests induced the independent kingdoms of Iberia to co-operate,
and facilitated the establishment of a central monarchy; but, to
maintain this unity afterwards, it became necessary to have recourse
to a system of terrorism and oppression. Portugal, being situated on
the open Atlantic, shook off the detested yoke of Castile after less
than a century’s submission. In the rest of the peninsula political
consolidation is making progress, thanks to the facilities of
intercommunication and the substitution of Castilian for the provincial
dialects; but it would be an error to suppose that Andalusians and
Galicians, Basques and Catalans, Aragonese and Madrileños, have been
welded into one nation. Indeed, the federal constitution advocated
by Spanish republicans appears to be best suited to the geographical
configuration of the country and the genius of its population. The
desire to establish provincial autonomy has led to most of the civil
wars of Spain, whether raised by _Carlists_ or _Intransigentes_. It is
therefore meet that, in our description of Spain, we should respect the
limits traced by nature, bearing in mind the fact that the political
boundaries of the province do not always coincide with water-sheds or
linguistic boundaries.
II.—THE CASTILES, LEON, AND ESTREMADURA.[137]
The great central plateau of the peninsula is bounded on the north,
east, and south by ranges of mountains extending from the Cantabrian
Pyrenees to the Sierra Morena, and slopes down in the west towards
Portugal and the Atlantic. The uplands through which the Upper Duero,
the Tajo (Tagus), and the Guadiana take their course are thus a region
apart, and if the waters of the ocean were to rise 2,000 feet, they
would be converted into a peninsula attached by the narrow isthmus
of the Basque provinces to the French Pyrenees. The vast extent of
these plateaux—they constitute nearly half the area of the whole
country—accounts for the part they played in history, and their
commanding position enabled the Castilians to gain possession of the
adjacent territories. {378}
The Castiles can hardly be called beautiful, or rather their solemn
beauty does not commend them to the majority of travellers. Vast
districts, such as the Tierra de Campos, to the north of Valladolid,
are ancient lake beds of great fertility, but exceedingly monotonous,
owing to the absence of forests. Others are covered with small
stony hillocks; others, again, may be described as mountainous.
Mountain ranges covered with meagre herbage bound the horizon, and
sombre gorges, enclosed between precipitous walls of rock, lead into
them. Elsewhere, as in the Lower Estremadura, we meet with vast
pasture-lands, stretching as far as the eye can reach to the foot of
the mountains, and, as in certain parts of the American prairies, not a
tree arrests the attention. Looking to the fearful nakedness of these
plains, one would hardly imagine that a law was promulgated in the
middle of last century which enjoins each inhabitant to plant at least
five trees. Trees, indeed, have been cut down more rapidly than they
were planted. The peasants have a prejudice against them; their leaves,
they say, give shelter to birds, which prey upon the corn-fields.
Small birds, nightingales alone excepted, are pursued without mercy,
and a proverb says that “swallows crossing the Castiles must carry
provisions with them.” Trees are met with only in the most remote
localities. The hovels of the peasantry, built of mud or pebbles, are
of the same colour as the soil, the walled towns are easily confounded
with the rock near them, and even in the midst of cultivated fields
we may imagine ourselves in a desert. Many districts suffer from want
of water, and villages which rejoice in the possession of a spring
proclaim the fact aloud as one of their attributes. Huge bridges span
the ravines, though for more than half the year not a drop of water
passes over their pebbly beds.