on the other side of the strait is explained by vicinity as well as
by similarity of climate. Algarve, Huelva, and the lower valley of
the Guadalquivir, as far as Seville and Écija, that “stewing-pan” or
“furnace” of Spain, form one of the hottest districts of Europe, and
the coast, from Algeciras and Gibraltar to Cartagena, Alicante, and
the Cabo de la Nao, is hardly inferior to it. The country around the
Bay of Cádiz and the hilly districts in the extreme south, which are
freely exposed to the _virazon_, or sea breeze, enjoy a more temperate
climate. In the two torrid coast regions delineated above frosts are
hardly known, and the mean temperature of the coolest month reaches 54°
F. The heat is greatest around the bays exposed to the full influence
of the hot African winds, and least on the Atlantic seaboard, where
westerly breezes moderate it. Contrary atmospheric currents naturally
meet in the Strait of Gibraltar, where the wind is generally high, and
tempests are frequent in winter. Westerly winds prevail during winter,
easterly winds in summer. The two promontories of Europe and Africa
are looked upon by mariners as trustworthy signallers of the weather:
when they are wrapped in clouds or mists rain and easterly winds may be
looked for, but when their profiles stand out clearly against the blue
sky it is a sure sign of fine weather and westerly winds.[142]
The dry and semi-tropical climate of Lower Andalusia frequently
exercises a most depressing influence upon Northern Europeans. In the
plain and along the coast it hardly ever rains during summer, and the
heat is sometimes stifling, for the trade winds of the tropics are
unknown. At Cadiz the land wind blowing from the direction of Medina
Sidonia, and hence known as _medina_, is suffocating, and quarrels and
even murders are said to occur most frequently whilst it lasts. But the
most dreaded wind is the _solano_ or _levante_, which is hot as the
blast from a furnace. A curious vapour, known as _calina_, then appears
on the southern horizon, the air is filled with dust, leaves wither,
and sometimes birds drop in their flight as if suffocated.
In the temperate regions of Europe summer is the season of flowers and
foliage, but in Andalusia it is that of aridity and death. Except in
gardens and irrigated fields all vegetation shrivels up and assumes a
greyish tint like that of the soil. But when the equinoctial autumn
rains fall in the lowlands, and snows in the mountains, the plants
recover rapidly, and a second spring begins. In February vegetation
is most luxuriant, but after March heat and dryness again become the
order of the day. Indeed, Andalusia suffers from a want of moisture.
There are steppes without water, trees, or human habitations, the most
extensive being on {402} the Lower Genil, where the depressions are
occupied by salt lakes, as in Algeria or Persia, and cultivation is
impossible. Another steppe of some extent stretches to the east of
Jaen, and is known as that of Mancha Real. The barren tracts on the
Mediterranean slopes are relatively even of greater extent than those
in the basin of the Guadalquivir. The volcanic region of the Sierra
de Gata is a complete desert, where castles and towers erected for
purposes of defence are the only buildings. Elsewhere the coast is
occupied by saline plains, which support a vegetation mainly consisting
of salsolaceæ, plumbagineæ, and cruciferæ, five per cent. of the
species of which are African. Barilla, the ashes of which are used in
the manufacture of soda, grows plentifully there.
[Illustration: Fig. 152.—THE STEPPES OF ECIJA.
Scale 1 : 750,000.]
In the popular mind, however, Andalusia has at all times been
associated with fertility. Its name recalls the oranges of Seville,
the luxuriant vegetation of the Vega of Granada, the “Elysian Fields,”
and the “Garden of the Hesperides,” which the ancients identified with
the valley of the Bætis. The indigenous flora entitles Andalusia to
its epithet of the “Indies of Spain,” and, in addition to {403} the
tropical plants from Asia and Africa which grow there spontaneously,
we meet with others which have been successfully acclimatized.
Dates, bananas, and bamboos grow side by side with caoutchouc-trees,
dragon’s-blood trees, magnolias, chirimoyas, erythrinas, azedarachs;
ricinus and stramonium shoot up into veritable trees; the cochineal
cactus of the Canaries and the ground-nut of the Senegal do well; sweet
potatoes, cotton, and coffee are cultivated with success; and the
sugar-cane succeeds in sheltered places. The coast between Motril and
Málaga is supposed to yield annually £20,000 worth of sugar.
[Illustration: Fig. 153.—ZONES OF VEGETATION ON THE COAST OF ANDALUSIA.]
The fauna of Andalusia presents, also, some African features. The
molluscs met with in Morocco exist likewise in Andalusia; the ichneumon
may be seen on the right bank of the Lower Guadalquivir and elsewhere;
the chameleon is plentiful; and a species of wild goat is said to be
common to the mountains of Morocco and the Sierra Nevada. Nor should we
forget to state that an African monkey (_Inuus sylvanus)_ still lives
on the rock of Gibraltar, but whether he has been imported has not yet
been determined.
* * * * *
In the dawn of European history Andalusia was probably inhabited by an
Iberian race akin to that of the Basques. The Bastulæ, Bastarnæ, and
Bastesæ, in the hills facing the Mediterranean, and the Turdetani and
Turduli of the valley of the Bætis, bore Euskarian names, as did many
of their towns. But even thus early they must have been a mixed race.
Celtic tribes held the hills extending to the north-west of the Bætis,
in the direction of Lusitania; the Turdetani, who were relatively
civilised, for they possessed written laws, permitted Phœnicians,
Carthaginians, and Greeks to settle amongst them, and in the end became
thoroughly Latinised. Municipal charters discovered at Málaga, and more
recently at Osuna (_Colonia Julia Genitiva_), prove that the cities of
this province enjoyed a considerable degree of self-government.
When the Roman world broke down, Southern Spain was invaded by Vandals,
{404} Byzantines, and Visigoths, to whom succeeded Arabs, Berbers, and
Jews. The influence exercised upon the country by the Moors—that is, by
a mixed race of Arabs and Berbers—has been more abiding than that of
their Teutonic predecessors. They maintained themselves for more than
seven centuries, were numerous in the towns, and cultivated the fields
conjointly with the ancient inhabitants of the country. When the order
of exile went forth against their whole race, Moorish blood circulated
in the veins of those who were charged with the execution of this
harsh measure. In certain portions of Andalusia, and more especially
in the Alpujarras, where the Moors maintained their independence until
the end of the sixteenth century, the mixture between the two races
had made such progress that religious profession, and not the colour
of the skin, decided nationality. Numerous Arabic words and phrases
have found their way into the Andalusian dialect, and the geographical
nomenclature of many districts is Arabic rather than Iberian or Latin.
Most of the large buildings in the towns are _alcázars_, or mosques,
and even the style of modern structures is Arabic, modified to some
extent by Roman influences. The houses, instead of looking upon the
street, face an interior court, or _patio_, where the members of the
family meet by the side of a cool fountain. No further ethnical element
has been added to the population since the epoch of the Arabs, for the
few German colonists who settled at Carolina, Carlota, and elsewhere
did not prosper, and either returned to their native country or became
merged in the general population.
The Andalusians have frequently been called the Gascons of Spain. They
are generally of graceful and supple build, of seductive manners,
and full of eloquence, but the latter is too frequently wasted upon
trifles. Though not devoid of bravery, the Andalusian is a great
boaster, and his vanity often causes him to pass the bounds of truth.
At the same time he is of a contented mind, and does not allow poverty
to affect his spirit. The mountaineers differ in some respects from the
dwellers in the plains. They are more reserved in their manners, and
the _Jaetanos_, or mountaineers of Jaen, are known as the Galicians of
Andalusia. The beauty of the highland women is of a more severe type,
and, compared with the charming Gaditanes and the fascinating _majas_
of Seville, the women of Granada, Guadix, and Baza are remarkable for
an air of haughty nobleness.
No doubt there are men in Bætica who work, but as a rule love of labour
is not amongst the virtues of the Andalusian. The country might become
the great tropical storehouse of Europe, but its immense resources
remain undeveloped. To some extent this is explained by the fact that
nearly the whole country is owned by great landlords. Many estates,
which formerly were carefully cultivated, have been converted into
sheep-walks, and for miles we meet neither houses nor human beings. The
highlands, too, belong to large proprietors, but are leased to small
farmers, who pay one-third of their product in lieu of rent.
The magnificent orange groves of Seville, Sanlúcar, and other towns,
the olive groves, vineyards, and orchards of Málaga, supply the world
with vast quantities of fruit; its productive corn-fields have made
Andalusia one of the great granaries of the world; but it is mainly
its wines which enable it to take a share in {405} international
commerce. Immense quantities of the wine known as sherry are grown in
the vineyards of Jerez, to the east of Cádiz. Many of the vineyards
belong to Englishmen, and merchants of that nation are busily occupied
in blending and other operations peculiar to their trade. Several
wines, however, maintain their superior character to the present time.
Such are the sweet _tintilla_ of Rota, _manzanilla_, and _pajarate_,
made from dried grapes. In spite of many malpractices, this branch of
industry has exercised a most beneficial influence upon the character
of the population. Santa María, on the Bay of Cádiz, is one of the
great wine ports of the world, and Spain has become a formidable rival
of its northern neighbour.[143]
The ancient manufacturing industry of the country can hardly be said to
exist any longer, but mining is still carried on. Strabo exaggerates
the mineral wealth of the country, which is nevertheless very great.
Nearly all the productive mining districts of Southern Spain are in the
hills. The Sierra de Gádor is said to contain “more metal than rock.”
Hundreds of argentiferous lead, copper, and iron mines have been opened
there, and in the sierras of Guadix, Baza, and Almería. Near Linares,
on the Upper Guadalquivir, there are lead mines yielding about 210,000
tons annually. The silver mines of Constantina and Guadalcanal, in the
Sierra Morena, are being worked only at intervals. The coal basins of
Bélmez and Espiel, to the north of Córdova, promise to become of great
importance, although the output at present hardly exceeds 200,000 tons
a year. Deposits of iron and copper exist near them.
But of all the mines of Spain those situated in the province of Huelva
are the most productive. The Silurian rocks there are wonderfully
rich in pyrites of copper. The mines of Rio Tinto strike the beholder
by their stupendous extent; and the existence of ancient galleries,
buildings, and inscriptions proves that they have been worked since the
most remote time. The invasion of the Vandals temporarily put a stop to
the work, which was only resumed in 1730. The two principal deposits
have been computed to contain no less than 300,000,000 tons of ore. The
deposits at Tharsis are much less extensive, but within easier reach of
Huelva. They contain 14,000,000 tons of iron and copper pyrites, and
are worked like an open quarry. The deposit is no less than 450 feet
in thickness, and some of the ores yield twenty per cent. of copper.
Immense heaps of scoriæ have accumulated near the mine, where they are
bedded in regular strata dating back to the time of the Carthaginians.
The sulphurous vapours rising from hundreds of furnaces poison the
air and destroy the vegetation. The rivers Odiel and Rio Tinto run
with ferruginous water which kills the fish; yellow ochre is thrown up
along their banks; and in their estuary is precipitated a blackish mud
consisting of the metal mixed with the sulphur of decomposed marine
animals.[144] {406}
Andalusia, though a desert in comparison with what it might be, rivals
Italy in the fame and beauty of its cities. The names of Granada,
Córdova, Seville, and Cádiz awaken in our mind the most pleasing
memories, for these old Moorish towns have become identified with a
great advance in arts and science.
[Illustration: Fig. 154.—THE MINES OF HUELVA.
Scale 1 : 487,300.]
[Illustration: PEASANTS OF CORDOVA, ANDALUSIA.]
Their advantageous geographical position accounts for their prosperity,
past and present. Córdova and Seville command the fertile plain of
the Guadalquivir, and the roads crossing the gaps of the neighbouring
mountains converge upon them; Granada has its plentiful supply of
water and rich fields; Huelva, Cádiz, {407} Málaga, and Almería are
considerable seaports; and Gibraltar occupies a commanding position
between two seas. There are other towns less populous, but of great
strategical importance, as they command the roads joining the valleys
of the Genil and Guadalquivir to the sea.
Amongst the smaller towns which have played a part in history are
several to the east of Granada, such as Velez Rubio and Velez
Blanco, on the Mediterranean slope; Cullar de Baza, with its
subterranean houses excavated in the gypsum, on the western slope of
the _Vertientes_, or “the water-shed;” Huescar, the heir of an old
Carthaginian city; and Baza, environed by a fertile plain known as
_Hoya_, or “the hollow.”
Granada, though it celebrates the anniversary of the entrance of
Ferdinand and Isabella, is a very inferior place to what it was as
the capital of a Moorish kingdom, when it had 60,000 houses and
400,000 inhabitants, and was the busiest and wealthiest town of the
peninsula. It is still the sixth city of Spain, but thousands of its
ragged inhabitants live in hideous dens, and close to the picturesque
suburb of Albaicin a mob largely composed of gipsies has settled down
in nauseous caverns. Remains of Moorish buildings are met with only
in the suburb named, but at some distance from the city there still
exist edifices which bear witness to the glorious reign of its ancient
masters. The _Torres Vermejas_, or “red towers,” occupy a hill to the
south; the _Generalife_, with its delightful gardens, crowns another
hill farther east; and between them rise the bastions and towers of the
_Alhambra_, or “red palace,” even in its present dilapidated condition
one of the masterpieces of architecture, which has served as a pattern
to generations of artists. From the towers of this magnificent building
we enjoy a prospect which indelibly impresses itself upon the memory.
Granada, with its towers, parks, and villas, lies beneath. The course
of the two rivers, Genil and Darro, can be traced amidst the foliage,
whilst naked hills bound the verdant plain of La Vega, which has been
likened to an “emerald enchased in a sapphire.” The contrast between
these savage mountains and the fertile plain, between the beautiful
city and precipitous rocks, struck the Moors with admiration, for they
saw reflected in them their own nature—an outward impassiveness and a
hidden fire. Granada, to them, was the “Queen of Cities,” the “Damascus
of the West.” Nor are the modern Spaniards behind them in their
admiration of Granada and its vicinity.
There are other beautiful towns in the basin of the Genil, but none can
compare with Granada, not even Loja, a “flower in the midst of thorns,”
an oasis surrounded by rugged rocks and savage defiles. Jaen, however,
almost rivals Granada. It, too, was the seat of a powerful Moorish
king, the hills surrounding it are still crowned with the ruins of
fortifications buried beneath luxuriant foliage, and the aspect of the
town remains oriental to this day.
The upper valley of the Guadalquivir abounds in cities. Baeza had more
than 150,000 inhabitants in the time of the Moors, but wars depopulated
it, many of the people removing to Granada. Close by is Ubeda, another
Moorish town. Higher up in the hills is the mining town of Linares,
hardly large enough to {408} shelter 8,000 residents, but actually
inhabited by 40,000. In descending the river we pass Andújar, famous on
account of its _alcarrazas_, and about twenty miles below the town of
Montoro we reach the marble bridge of Alcolea, celebrated for the many
battles which have been fought for its possession.
[Illustration: Fig. 155.—THE ALHAMBRA.]
Córdova dates back to the dawn of civilisation. It has been famous and
powerful at all times, and the Spanish noblemen are proud of tracing
their origin back to this fountain-head of the “blue blood” (_sangre
azul_) which is supposed to flow in the veins of Spanish nobles. It was
under the Moors that Córdova reached the apogee of its grandeur; from
the ninth century to the close of the twelfth it had nearly a million
of inhabitants; and its twenty-four suburbs spread far and wide over
the plain and along the lateral valleys. The wealth of its mosques,
palaces, and private houses was prodigious; but, more glorious still,
Córdova could boast of being the “nursery of science,” for it was the
greatest university of the world, abounding in schools and libraries.
Civil wars, foreign invasions, and religious fanaticism led to the
dispersion of its libraries, and Córdova can no longer boast of being
the first city of Andalusia. Most of the old monuments have perished,
but there still exists the marvellous _mezquita_, or mosque, built at
the close of the eighth century by Abderrahman and his son. The {409}
interior was fitted up in the most lavish manner, the floors being
paved with silver, and the walls covered with gold, precious stones,
ivory, and ebony, but a considerable portion of the building has been
pulled down to make room for a Spanish cathedral.
The more fertile districts of the province of Córdova are at some
distance from the Guadalquivir, in the hills to the south. Montilla,
one of the towns there, is noted for its wines, as are Aguilar, Baena,
Cabra, and Lucena, the latter boasting likewise of some manufactures.
Between Córdova and Seville, a distance of over ninety miles, following
the sinuosities of the river, we do not meet with a single town of
note, for even Palma del Rio, at the mouth of the Genil, is only a
small place, though of some importance as the outlet of Ecija, a large
town higher up the Genil.
Seville, the reigning queen of Andalusia, boasts of a few remarkable
buildings, including the alcazar, a gorgeous cathedral, and the palace
known as “Pilate’s House,” in which the Renaissance is admirably
wedded with the Moorish style. But more famous than either of these is
_Giralda’s Tower_, with the saint’s revolving statue on the top, like a
weathercock. But neither these buildings nor Murillo’s fine paintings
have won Seville its epithet of “Enchantress.” For this it is indebted
to its gaiety and to a succession of fêtes, amongst which bull-fights
figure prominently. Seville became Spanish about the middle of the
thirteenth century. Its citizens valiantly defended their municipal
liberties against the King of Castile, but they were defeated, and
most of its inhabitants then fled to Barbary. The town was repeopled
by Christian emigrants. Triana, however, a suburb with which an iron
bridge connects it, is inhabited by gipsies, whose secret tribunal has
its seat there. A short distance to the north of Triana are the ruins
of the amphitheatre of Italica, the old rival of Seville, and the
native town of Silius Italicus, and of the Emperors Trajan, Hadrian,
and Theodosius. Coria, another Roman city, which had its own mint
during the Middle Ages, lies below Seville.
Seville has numerous potteries, but its silks and stuffs interwoven
with gold and silver have ceased to command the markets of the world.
The largest manufactory of the place, that of tobacco and cigars, is
carried on by Government, and employs several thousand workmen.
Alcalá de Guadaira, to the south-east of Seville, supplies the latter
with bread, and its delicious springs feed the aqueduct known as Arcos
de Carmona, thus called because it runs parallel with the old Roman
road leading to Carmona (Carmo).
The towns to the south of Seville are no longer of importance. Utrera,
the most considerable amongst them, is a great railway centre, where
the line to the marble quarries of Moron, and that passing through the
fertile districts of Marchena and Osuna, branch off from the Andalusian
main line. The town is well known to _aficionados_, or sportsmen, on
account of the wild bulls which pasture in the neighbouring _marismas_.
Lebrija, with its fine tower imitated from that of Giralda, is still
nearer to these marshes, which extend almost to the mouth of the
Guadalquivir. {410}
Sanlúcar de Barrameda, at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, with its white
and pink houses shaded by palms, is not now the great port it was in
the time of the Arabs. It may justly boast of having sent forth, in
1519, the first vessel which circumnavigated the globe, but it is
now rather a pleasure resort than a place of commerce. Jerez de la
Frontera, in the basin of the Guadalete, is the busiest town between
Seville and Cádiz. It is a neat and showy place, surrounded by immense
_bodegas_, or wine vaults, in which are stored the wines grown in the
fertile valley of Guadalete, and known as sherry. Near Arcos de la
Frontera, in the upper part of the valley, is pointed out the site
upon which was fought the famous battle which delivered Spain to the
Mussulmans.
The Bay of Cádiz, so well sheltered against winds and waves by the
tongue of land which begins at the island of Leon, is surrounded by
numerous towns, forming, as it were, but a single city. Rota, on the
northern coast of the bay, is encircled by walls of cyclopean aspect.
It is the resort of fishermen, and its vintners, though reputed
Bœotians, produce one of the best wines of Spain. Farther south, at
the mouth of the Guadalete, is the Puerto de Santa María, with its
wine stores, at all times a bustling place. Puerto Real, the _Portus
Gaditanus_, lies in a labyrinth of brackish channels, and is now merely
a landing-place. The neighbouring dockyard, known as _Trocadero_, and
the arsenal of Carraca, are frequently inhabited only by galley-slaves
and their gaolers. The salt-pans near that place are most productive.
San Fernando is the most important town on the island of Leon, to the
south of Cádiz. The initial meridian of Spanish mariners is drawn
through its observatory. Looking across the navigable channel of San
Pedro, which separates the island from the main, we perceive the
villas of Chiclana, famous as the training-place of the _toreros_, or
bull-fighters, of Andalusia. Turning to the north, we reach the narrow
ridge of the Arrecife, which may be likened to a stalk with Cádiz as
its expanded flower. Boatmen point out the supposed ruins of a temple
of Hercules, now covered by the sea; and thus much is certain, that the
land is at present subsiding, though this subsidence must have been
preceded by an upheaval, as the peninsula upon which Cádiz has been
built rests upon a foundation of shells, oysters, and molluscs.
[Illustration: Fig. 156.—CADIZ AND ITS ROADSTEAD.]