fifty miles from Cabo de la Nao. Its surface is hilly and intersected
by numerous torrent beds. Puerto Magno (Pormany, or Grand Port) lies
on the west side, and a similar bay, the trysting-place of numerous
fishing-smacks, on the south side. On its shore stands the capital
of the island, an ancient Carthaginian colony. A chain of islets and
rocks, similar to the Adam’s Bridge of Ceylon, joins the southernmost
cape of Ibiza to Formentera Island. The climate is said to be so
salubrious that neither serpents nor other noxious reptiles can bear
it. The population is small, in spite of the fertility of the island.
Watch-towers and castles of refuge near every village recall the time
when the inhabitants suffered from Moorish pirates. The islanders are
happy, for the central Government leaves them pretty much to themselves.
MALLORCA, or MAJORCA, the largest of the group, is the only one which
can boast of a regular range of mountains, rising precipitously along
the north-western coast, and culminating in the twin peaks of Silla
de Torrella (4,940 feet) and Puig Mayor (4,920 feet). These mountains
are amongst the most picturesque in all Europe, and from their summits
may be enjoyed a magnificent prospect. The moufflon is said still
to haunt their pine woods and recesses. The greater portion of the
island consists of a plain lying at an elevation of 150 feet above the
sea-level, and dotted over with isolated _puigs_, or conical peaks,
surmounted in many instances by an old church or castle. The eastern
extremity of the island is hilly, and the Bec de Farruch (1,863 feet)
still bears its old Arabic name. Near it are the wonderful stalactite
caverns of Arta, which extend beneath the sea. The extremities of the
most depressed portion of the island open out towards two great bays,
one in the north-east, the other in the south-west. Palma, the capital
of the island, lies on the former of these, though the other, known
as Puerto de Alcudia, would offer greater advantages were it not for
the pestilential swamps which surround it. On the iron-bound northern
coast there are no harbours, but coasting vessels frequent the creek of
Soller, whence they export oranges.
The peasants, or _pageses_, of Majorca have the reputation of being
good agriculturists, but much of the progress made is due to Catalan
immigrants. The island produces delicious wines (Benisalem), olive
oil, oranges, vegetables, and pigs, all of which find a market at
Barcelona or in France. The corn grown is not, however, sufficient for
the support of the population, and Majorcans as well as “Mahonian”
gardeners are met with in every town of the Mediterranean. Bay-salt
is made at Cape Salinas. Shoes, cottons, linens, baskets, and porous
vases are produced; but the manufacture of _majolica_ has ceased.
Palma is a busy place of 40,000 inhabitants, and its bastioned walls,
castle, cathedral, and amphitheatrically built houses present a fine
appearance from the sea. The inhabitants are proud of {426} their
public buildings, and assert that their _lonja_ is superior to that
of Valencia. The _Chuctas_, or converted Jews, are a curious element
of the population. They occupy a separate quarter, marry amongst
themselves, and have preserved their race distinctions and mercantile
genius. A large portion of the landed property of the island has passed
into their hands. A railway traversing the rich districts of Santa
María and Benisalem, to the south of the populous towns of Manacor and
Felanitx, connects Palma with Alcudia.[152]
[Illustration: Fig. 165.—THE BALEARIC ISLANDS.
Scale 1 : 3,700,000.]
MENORCA, or MINORCA, twenty-four miles to the east of Majorca, is
generally level, its culminating point, Monte Toro, in the centre of
the island, only attaining a height of 1,171 feet. The strong northerly
winds which sweep over its plains cause the trees to turn their
branches in the direction of Africa, and orange-trees find shelter only
in the _barrancas_, or ravines, which intersect them. The climate is
less pleasant than that of the neighbouring island, and the soil less
fertile, for, consisting for the most part of limestone, it rapidly
absorbs the rain. There are two ports and two cities, one at each
extremity of the island, which from time {427} immemorial have claimed
precedence. Ciudadela (7,500 inhabitants) enjoys the advantage of
closer proximity to Majorca, but its harbour is bad. Port Mahon (15,000
inhabitants), on the other hand, possesses an admirable port, and
Andreas Doria says with reference to it that “June, July, and Mahon are
the best ports of the Mediterranean.” The English made Mahon a wealthy
city, but its trade fell off immediately when they abandoned it in 1802.
[Illustration: Fig. 166.—VIEW OF IBIZA.]
VI.—THE VALLEY OF THE EBRO. ARAGON AND CATALONIA.
The central portion of the valley of the Ebro is as distinctly
separated from the remainder of Spain as is that of the Guadalquivir.
It forms a vast depression, bounded by the midland plateau of Spain and
the Pyrenees, and if the waters of the Mediterranean were to rise 1,000
feet, this ancient lake, which existed until its pent-up waters had
forced themselves a passage through the mountains of {428} Catalonia,
would be converted into a gulf of the sea. The Pyrenees in the north,
the barren slopes of the plateaux to the south and south-west, form
well-defined boundaries, but in the north-west the plain of the Ebro
extends beyond Aragon, into a country inhabited by men of a different
race.
[Illustration: Fig. 167.—THE PITYUSES.
Scale 1 : 400,000.]
Historically and geographically, Aragon and Catalonia form one of the
great natural divisions of Spain, less extensive than the Castiles,
but hardly less important, and far more densely populated.[153] The
political destinies of Aragon and Catalonia have been the same for
more than seven centuries, but, in spite of this, {429} there exist
great contrasts, which have not been without their influence upon the
character of the population. Aragon, a country of plains surrounded by
mountains, is an inland province, and its inhabitants have remained for
the most part herdsmen, agriculturists, and soldiers. Catalonia, on
the other hand, possesses an admirable seaboard. Its natural wealth,
joined to favourable geographical position, has developed commerce
with neighbouring countries, and more especially with Roussillon and
Languedoc. Indeed, seven or eight centuries ago, the Catalans were
Provençals rather than Spaniards, and in their language and customs
they were closely related to the people to the north of the Pyrenees.
In the course of the great political revolution, the most terrible
feature of which was the war of the Albigenses, Catalonia became a
prey to the Castilians. As long as the Provençal world maintained its
natural centre between Arles and Toulouse, the populations of the
Mediterranean coasts, as far as the Ebro, Valencia, and the Baleares,
were attracted towards it as to their common focus. Those Christian
populations who found themselves placed between Provence on the one
hand and the Arab kingdoms on the other, naturally gravitated towards
the former, with whom they possessed community of race, religion, and
language. Hence the wide range of the idiom known as Limousin, and
its flourishing literature. But when an implacable war had converted
several towns of the Albigenses into deserts; when the barbarians of
the North had destroyed the civilisation of the South, and the southern
slopes of the Cévennes had been reduced by violence to the position of
a political dependency of the valley of the Seine, Catalonia was forced
to look elsewhere for natural allies. The centre of gravity was shifted
from the north to the south, from Southern France to the peninsula of
the Pyrenees, and Castile secured what Provence had lost.
The plateau to the south of the Ebro has been cut up, through the
erosive action of rivers, into elongated sierras and isolated _muelas_
(molars), and its edge is marked by numerous notches, through which
these rivers debouch upon the plain. The Sierra de San Just (4,967
feet), now separated from that of Gúdar by the upper valley of the
Guadalupe, is a remnant of this ancient plateau, as are the Sierras de
Cucalon (4,284 feet), de Vicor, and de la Virgen, which join it to the
superb mass of the Moncayo, in the north-west; and the same applies to
the Sierra de Almenara (4,687 feet), which rises to the west of them.
The granitic mountain mass of the Moncayo (7,705 feet) has offered
greater resistance to the erosive action of the waters than have the
cretaceous rocks of the plateau to the east of it. The Moncayo is
the storm-breeder of the plains of Aragon, and from its summit the
Castilian can look down upon the wide valley of the Ebro. To the
Aragonese the plateau is accessible only through the valleys of the
Guadalupe, Martin, and Jiloca, and it is these which have enabled
them to obtain possession of the upland of Teruel, which is of such
strategical importance, from its commanding position between the basins
of the Guadalaviar, Júcar, and Tajo.
To the north of the Ebro rises the snow-clad range of the Pyrenees,
which separates Spain from the rest of Europe. Several spurs descend
from this master range into Aragon. But there are also independent
ranges, one of which, that of {430} the Bardenas, rises immediately
to the north of the Ebro, right opposite to the gigantic Moncayo. The
parallel ridges of the Castellar and of the “district of the Five
Towns” form a continuation of these hillocks to the east of the Arba,
and then, crossing the valley of the Gallego, we reach the barren
terraces of the Monegros, upon which rises the insular Sierra de
Alcubierra, in the very centre of the ancient lake of Aragon. A saddle,
elevated only 1,247 feet above the sea-level, connects the latter with
the mountains of Huesca in the north.
[Illustration: Fig. 168.—PORT MAHON.
Scale 1 : 50,000.]
Several mountain masses of considerable height occupy the centre of
the country, and separate these riverine hills from the main range of
the Pyrenees. They consist for the most part of chalk, through which
the bounteous rivers descending from the Pyrenees have excavated their
beds. These channels, with their precipices, defiles, and cascades,
form one of the most picturesque mountain districts of Spain. The most
famous of these Pyrenean foot-hills is the Sierra de la Peña, which
is separated from the Pyrenees by the deep valley of the Aragon. At
the eastern extremity of this chain, high above the ancient city of
Jaca, rises the pyramidal sandstone mass of the Peña de Oroel (5,804
feet), from which we are able to embrace an immense horizon, extending
from the Pyrenees to the Moncayo. The wild district which occupies the
centre of this magnificent panorama is the famous country of Sobrarbe,
held in high veneration by patriotic Spaniards, for it was there they
commenced their struggles against the Moors.
[Illustration: MONSERRAT, CATALONIA.]
{431}
An elevated saddle connects the Sierra de la Peña with the irregular
mountain mass of the Sierra de Santo Domingo, to the south of it, whose
spurs descend in terraces into the rugged plain of the Five Towns. It
is separated by a narrow cleft, through which passes the Gallego from
the Sierra de Guara, which extends to the river Cinca in the east, and
several minor chains run parallel with it. This parallelism in the
mountain ranges may be traced, likewise, as far as the river Segre.
The Monsech, thus called from its arid calcareous ravines, presents the
appearance of an unbroken rampart from the south, but is intersected
at right angles by the gorges of two Nogueras—the Ribagorzana and
Pallaresa. The Peña de San Gervas and the Sierra de Boumort, which rise
to the north of it, are much less regular in their contours, but exceed
it in height.
The Pyrenees terminate with the gigantic mountains surrounding the
valley of Andorra, and with the Peak of Carlitte (9,583 feet). The
Sierra del Cadi (8,322 feet) belongs to a detached chain hardly
inferior to them in height, and culminating on French soil in the
superb pyramid of the Canigou (9,140 feet). Numerous spurs extend from
this sierra towards the sea.
In this rugged mountain region we meet with geological formations of
every age, from the Silurian to the cretaceous. Iron, copper, and
even gold abound, and might be worked with great profit if roads and
railways penetrated into the upper valleys. A coal-field on the Upper
Ter, near San Juan de las Abadesas, is being worked very sluggishly,
and others on the western slope of the Cadi have not even been touched.
The famous rocks of salt at Solsona and Cardona lie at the foot of the
Sierra del Cadi, and that of Cardona alone, though it has been worked
for centuries, is estimated to contain nearly 400,000,000 cubic yards.
The abundance of mineral veins is due, perhaps, to the existence of
subterranean lava lakes. The only volcanic hills in the north of Spain
are those near Olot and Santa Pau, in the upper basin of the Fluvia.
Immense sheets of basaltic lava have been ejected there during the
tertiary age from fourteen craters, one of them, upon which stands the
old town of Castelfollit, forming a huge rampart of picturesque aspect.
Jets of steam issue even now from many fissures in the rocks.
The mountains along the coast of Catalonia resemble in every respect
those of Valencia, from which they are separated by the gorge of the
Ebro. Near the mouths of that river the rugged and mountainous region
extends about thirty miles inland, as far as the Llanos del Urgel;
but farther north it widens, until it finally merges in the spurs
descending from the Pyrenees. The principal summits are the Mont Sant
(3,513 feet), the Puig de Montagut (2,756 feet), the Monserrat (4,057
feet), and Monseny (5,276 feet). The best-known passes are at the head
of the Francoli, through which runs the railway from Tarragona to
Lérida, the pass at the head of the Noya, and the Pass of Calaf.
Of the last-named mountains that of Monserrat is the most famous, for
suspended upon one of its flanks hang the remains of the celebrated
monastery in which Loyola deposited his sword. Monserrat has lost
its prestige as a holy place, but still remains one of the most
interesting subjects for the study of {432} geologists. It consists
of conglomerate, and has been worn by atmospheric agencies into
innumerable pillars, pinnacles, and earth pyramids surmounted by huge
boulders. Hermitages and the ruins of castles abound, and the prospect
from the highest summit extends from the Pyrenees to the Balearic Isles.
Crossing the valleys of the Llobregat and Ter, we reach the
swampy plain of Ampurdan, an old gulf of the sea, and with it the
north-eastern extremity of Spain, separated from France by the
Albères Mountains. The surrounding hills abound in the remains of
ecclesiastical buildings. One of these, near Cabo de Creus, the
easternmost promontory of Spain, and the Aphrodision of the ancients,
marks the site of a temple of Venus.
The basin of the Ebro forms a huge triangle, the mountains of Catalonia
being the base, whilst its apex lies in the hills of Cantabria, close
to the Atlantic. The surrounding hills differ much in height, but the
nucleus of all consists of granite, upon which have been deposited
sedimentary strata, the silent witnesses of the gradual filling up of
the old inland lake. The river itself traverses the very centre of
this triangle, at right angles to the Mediterranean, and only when it
reaches the mountain barrier separating it from the sea does it wind
about in search of an outlet.
The Fontibre, or “fountain of the Ebro,” gives birth at once to a
considerable stream, which, fed by the snows of the Peña Labra, rushes
with great impetuosity past Reinosa (2,687 feet), then passes through a
succession of defiles, and finally, having received the Ega and Aragon
with the Argo from the north, emerges from Navarra a great river. Below
Tudela (800 feet) it is large enough to feed two canals, viz. that of
Tauste, which carries fertility into the once-sterile tracts at the
foot of Bardenas, and the navigable Imperial Canal, which follows the
valley down to Zaragoza. The ordinary volume of the latter amounts
to no less than 494 cubic feet per second, but much of this water is
sucked up by the calcareous soil.
The tributary rivers which enter the Ebro in the plains of Aragon
compensate for the loss sustained through canals of irrigation. The
Jalon, Huerva, Martin, and Guadalupe join on the right; the Arba,
Gallego, and Segre on the left. This last is the most important of all,
for it drains the whole of the Pyrenean slope from Mont Perdu to the
Carlitte.
The Ebro, after its junction with the Segre, immediately plunges
into the coast ranges of Catalonia, and though the fall thence to
the sea amounts to 183 feet in 95 miles, no rapids or cataracts are
met with. The suspended matter brought down by the river has been
deposited in the shape of a delta which juts out fifteen miles into
the Mediterranean, covers an area of 150 square miles, and abounds in
salt marshes, lagoons, and dead river arms. A canal, twenty-two miles
in length, connects the harbour of refuge at Alfaques with the Ebro,
but is not available for ships of great draught, owing to the bar which
closes its mouth. The other embouchures of the river are likewise
closed by bars.
The volume of the Ebro[154] decreases annually, on account of the
increasing {433} quantities of water which it is called upon to
furnish for purposes of irrigation, and sooner or later it will be
reduced to the condition of the rivers of Valencia.
The productiveness of the irrigated fields of Aragon and Catalonia
bears witness to the fertility of the soil. Even saline tracts have
been converted into gardens. Tropical plants, agaves, cacti, and a
few feathery palms on the coast to the south of Barcelona recall the
beautiful landscapes of Southern Spain. The valley of the Ebro holds an
intermediate position between Murcia and Valencia and the bleak plateau
and mountains of the interior; but water, except in the immediate
neighbourhood of the rivers, is nowhere abundant. On some of the
hill-tops may be seen houses the walls of which are dyed red, because
it was found more economical to mix the mortar with wine than to
convey thither water for that purpose. This deficiency of moisture is
a great drawback to certain districts in the lower valley of the Ebro.
The greater portion of Bárdenas, the Monegros, and the terraces of
Calanda are treeless steppes. Cold and heat alternate abruptly, without
reference to seasons, and the climate, in spite of the proximity of
the sea, is quite continental in its character. The hot winds, so much
dreaded on the coast of Catalonia, do not blow from Africa, but from
the parched plains of Aragon.
The climate of Catalonia, owing to the breezes blowing from the
Mediterranean, is far more equable than that of Aragon, and to
this circumstance, no less than to differences of race and greater
facilities for commerce, this province is indebted for its distinct
individuality.[155]
Catalonia, being open to invasions from the sea as well as by land, has
a much more mixed population than its neighbour Aragon. On the other
hand, a conqueror once in possession of the latter had but little to
fear expulsion at the hands of new-comers, and the Moors maintained
themselves in Aragon three hundred years after they had been expelled
from Barcelona.
The inhabitants of the valley of the Ebro are offensively haughty, of
sluggish minds, given to old customs and superstitions, but they are
at the same time singularly persistent, and their bravery does credit
to their Celtiberian ancestors. These fine broad-shouldered men, who
follow their donkeys along the high-roads, the head enveloped in a
silken kerchief, and the waist confined by a violet-coloured belt, are
at all times ready for a fight. Up to the close of last century it was
customary to get up fights between villages in mere wantonness, and
the _rondallas_, a term now employed for open-air concerts, scarcely
ever terminated without bloodshed. In trifles the Aragonese are as
stubborn as in matters of importance, and they are said to “drive in
nails with their head.” For several centuries the Aragonese struggled
with the Moors, and the kings, dependent as they were upon the support
of the people, felt constrained to submit to a considerable limitation
of their power. It was Philip II. of Castile who suppressed these
ancient provincial privileges, and condemned Aragon to lead a life of
intellectual stagnation.
The Catalans are as self-opinionated as their neighbours the Aragonese;
noisy quarrels frequently take place amongst them; but they rarely
come to blows. They {434} are said to be less firm of character than
the Aragonese, yet they succeeded in maintaining their provincial
independence much longer. Few towns have stood more sieges than
Barcelona, and fewer still have offered a more valiant defence. The
Catalans are undoubtedly industrious. They have not only converted
the irrigable valleys facing the sea into gardens, but have likewise
attacked the arid mountains, and, by triturating the rocks and
carrying thither soil from the plain, have made them produce grapes,
olives, and corn. Hence the proverb, “A Catalan can turn stones into
bread.” Agriculture, however, does not wholly supply the wants of
so dense a population, and Barcelona with its suburbs has become a
huge manufacturing centre, where cottons, woollens, and other textile
fabrics, hardware, chemical preparations, glass, paper, and various
articles are produced. The province of Barcelona is the chief seat
of the cotton industry in Spain, and fully deserves to be called the
Spanish Lancashire.[156] The Catalans are a migratory race. They are
met with not only in every other province of Spain, but in all the
Spanish colonies. Everywhere they are reputed for their thrift, and in
Cuba are hated as rivals or masters by creoles and blacks.
The towns of Aragon and Catalonia present the same contrasts as do the
inhabitants of the two provinces. Those of the former are of solemn
and even gloomy aspect, whilst the picturesque cities of the maritime
province are full of bustle and mirth. The former represent the Middle
Age, the latter our modern era.
Zaragoza (Saragossa) is most favourably situated in the very centre of
the plain of Aragon. It has its Moorish alcázar (the Aljaferia), now
used as a barrack; a curious leaning tower similar to that of Pisa; and
fine promenades, including the Coso and shaded walks. But prouder than
of all these attractions are the inhabitants of the epithet “heroic,”
which was bestowed upon their city in consequence of the valiant
resistance it offered in 1808 and 1809, when they not only defended
their homes, but also their patron saint, the Virgen del Pilar.
At Zaragoza a few wide avenues have been cut through the labyrinth of
tortuous streets, but the other towns of the province have preserved
their physiognomy of former days. Jaca, in the upper valley of the
Aragon, between the Pyrenees and the Sierra de la Peña, with its grey
houses, still retains its turreted walls and ancient citadel. It
is the old capital of the kingdom of Sobrarbe, but would hardly be
mentioned now if it were not for its position at the foot of the Pass
of Canfranc, and the neighbouring monastery of La Peña. Huesca, at the
base of the hills, the Osca of the Romans, recalls the dominion of the
Ausks, or Euskarians. Standing in the midst of an irrigated plain, it
still enjoys a certain importance. It boasts of a richly decorated
cathedral, deserted monasteries, an old royal palace now occupied by
the university, and the remains of a turreted wall. Barbastro, near
the river Cinca, occupies a position similar to that of Huesca. The
carriage road over the Somport connects it with France.