meet with {459} villages, such as San Martin de la Arena (the port of
the decayed town of Santillana), San Vicente de la Barquera, Llanes,
Rivadesella, and Lástres. Nor is Gijon, with its huge tobacco factory,
a place of importance, though formerly it was the capital of all
Asturias. It exports, however, the coal brought by rail from Sarna
(Langres), and with Aviles, on the other side of the elevated Cabo de
Peñas, enjoys the advantage of being the port of Oviedo, situated in a
tributary valley of the Nalon, fifteen miles in the interior. Oviedo
has flourishing iron-works, a university, and a fine Gothic cathedral,
said to be richer in relics than any other church in the world. The
mountain of Naronca shelters the town against northerly winds, and
its climate is delicious. The environs abound in delightful spots. At
Cangas de Onis, which was the first capital of the kingdom, founded
by St. Pelagius, but now merely a village in a charming valley, are
the caverns of Covadonga, in which the ashes of the saint have found a
last resting-place, and which are consequently objects of the highest
veneration to patriotic Spaniards. Trubia, the Government gun and
small-arms factory, lies seven miles to the west of Oviedo.
Cudillero, Luarca, Navia (a place said to have been founded by Ham,
the son of Noah), Castropol, and Galician Rivadeo are mere fishing
villages, and only when we reach the magnificent rias opening out into
the Atlantic do we again meet with real towns. The first of these is
Ferrol, which was only a village up to the middle of last century,
but has since been converted into a great naval station and fortress,
bristling with guns, and containing dockyards and arsenals.
La Coruña, the Groyne of English sailors, depends rather upon commerce,
manufactures, and fishing than upon its military establishments and
fortifications. It is one of the most picturesque towns of Spain, and
its favourable geographical position will enable it, on the completion
of the railway now building, considerably to extend its commerce, which
at present is almost confined to England.[166] On a small island near
it stands the Tower of Hercules, the foundations of which date back to
the Romans, if not Phœnicians. It was from the ria of Coruña that the
“Invincible Armada” set out upon its disastrous expedition.
Each of the rias of Southern Galicia has its port or ports. That of
Corcubion is sheltered by the Cape of Finisterre; on the ria of Noya
are the small towns of Noya and Muros; that of Arosa is frequented by
vessels which convey emigrants from the ports of Padron and Carril to
La Plata; the ria of Pontevedra extends to the town after which it
is named; and farther south still, the towns of Vigo and Bayona rise
on the shore of a magnificent bay, protected by a group of islands
known to the ancients as “Isles of the Gods.” Vigo, with its excellent
harbour, has become the great commercial port of the country,[167] but
is, perhaps, better known on account of the galleons sunk by Dutch and
English privateers.
Three of the principal inland towns of Galicia—viz. Lugo, Orense, and
Tuy—rise on the banks of the Miño. The old Roman city of Lugo (Lucus
Augusti) is enclosed within mediæval walls, and has warm sulphur
springs. Orense, with its superb old bridge, is likewise celebrated for
its hot springs, or _burgas_, which are {460} said to raise sensibly
the temperature of the plain in winter, and supply the whole town with
water for domestic purposes. Tuy, opposite the Portuguese town of
Valença do Minho, is important only as a frontier fortress. Santiago
de Compostela, the famous old capital of Galicia, on a hill near the
winding banks of the Saria, is the most populous town of North-western
Spain. It was here the grave of St. James the apostle was discovered
in the ninth century. The attraction which it formerly exercised upon
pilgrims was immense.[168]
IX.—THE PRESENT AND FUTURE OF SPAIN.
Contemporaneous Spain is full of disorder. The political, financial,
and social machinery is out of joint, and civil war, active or latent,
is carried on almost in every province. The ruin wrought by these
incessant domestic wars is incalculable.
[Illustration: Fig. 184.—SANTOÑA AND SANTANDER.
Scale 1 : 360,000.]
Successive Governments have had recourse to miserable expedients
without being able to disguise the bankrupt condition of the country.
The creditors of the State, no less than the Government officials,
remained unpaid, and even schools had to be closed because the pittance
due to the schoolmaster was not forthcoming.
But in spite of this apparent ruin real progress has been made. In
order to fairly judge Spain we must remember that the period when
the Inquisition was permitted to commit its judicial murders is not
very remote. In 1780 a woman of Seville was burnt at the stake for
“sorcery and witchcraft.” At that time the greater part of Spain was
held in mortmain, and the cultivation of the remainder {461} was very
indifferently attended to. Ignorance was universal, more especially at
the universities, where science was held in derision.
The great events in the beginning of the nineteenth century have roused
the Spaniards from their torpor, and the country, in spite of temporary
checks, has increased in population and wealth. Labour is more highly
respected now than it was formerly, and whilst monasteries and convents
have been emptied, the factories are crowded with workmen. For much
of this progress Spain is indebted to foreigners. Millions have been
invested by them, and, though the expected profits have scarcely ever
been realised, the country at large has permanently profited from
this inflow of capital. The English have given an immense impetus to
agriculture by buying the wines of Andalusia, the corn and flour of
the Castilians, and the cattle of the Galicians. They have likewise
developed the mining industry of Huelva, Linares, Cartagena, and
Somorrostro. The French have vastly aided the manufacturing industry.
Foreign capitalists and engineers have established steamboat lines
and railways. The small towns of the interior are awakening from
their lethargy, and modern life is beginning to pulsate through their
veins.[169]
In intellectual matters Spain has made even greater progress. Ignorance
is still a great power, especially in the Castiles, where schoolmasters
are little respected, populous towns are without libraries, and
catechisms and almanacs are the only literature of the peasantry.
But the position which Spain now holds in literature and the arts
sufficiently proves that the country of Cervantes and Velasquez is
about to resume its place amongst the other countries of Europe. In
science, however, Spain lags far behind, and Michael Servetus is the
only Christian Spaniard whose works mark an epoch in the progress of
human knowledge. But the spirit of inquiry at one time alive amongst
the Moors of Andalusia may possibly revive amongst their descendants.
It is very much to be desired that intellectual progress should mollify
the manners of the people.[170] It is a scandal that the “noble science
of bull-baiting” should still meet with so large a measure of support
in Spain. These bull-fights, as well as the cock-fights so popular in
Andalusia, are sports unworthy a great nation, and should be put down,
just as _autos da fé_ have been put down.
[Illustration: Fig. 185.—OVIEDO AND GIJON.
Scale 1 : 300,000.]
[Illustration: Fig. 186.—TOWER OF HERCULES (LIGHTHOUSE), CORUÑA.]
Since a generation or two Spain has got rid of most of her colonies,
which only {462} hindered her moral and material progress. The
metropolis is no longer called upon to uphold slavery, the Inquisition,
commercial monopolies, and similar institutions, “devised to insure the
happy government of these colonies.” These {463} latter certainly have
had their revolutions and counter-revolutions, but they have made some
progress in population and wealth. Unfortunately the entire colonial
empire was not lost. Cuba and the Philippine Islands are frequently
represented {464} as adding to the wealth of Spain, and large sums
have certainly been paid by them into the treasury. But these results
have been achieved at the cost of fearful suffering and demoralisation
to governors and governed, and unless Spain adopts the colonial system
of England, by granting self-government to colonies, it will to a
certainty lose the last shreds of its colonial empire, after having
exhausted its strength in vain efforts to maintain it.
[Illustration: Fig. 187.—RIA DE VIGO.
Scale 1 : 280,000.]
But though the colonies be lost, the influence of Spain upon the rest
of the world will endure for centuries. Spain has impressed her genius
upon every country subjected at one time or other to her power. Sicily,
Naples, Sardinia, and even Lombardy still exhibit traces of Spanish
influence in their architecture and customs. In Spanish America we find
towns inhabited by Indians which are quite Spanish in their aspect,
and almost resemble detached portions of Badajoz and Valladolid. The
Indians themselves have adopted the Castilian tongue, and with it
Castilian manners and modes of thought. A vast territory, twice the
size of Europe, and capable of supporting millions of inhabitants, is
occupied now by Spanish-speaking peoples. {465}
X.—GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION.
Since September, 1868, when a revolution upset the Government of
Isabella II., Spain has passed through a series of revolutions and
convulsions, terminating in December, 1874, in the accession of Alfonso
XII., a son of Isabella. Soon afterwards the revolt in the Basque
provinces raised by Don Carlos, the “legitimate” king of the country,
was suppressed, and the work of internal organization could begin.
The legislative power is vested in the King and the Cortes. These
latter include a Senate and a House of Deputies. The Senate consists
of hereditary members (such as royal princes and grandees), of life
members chosen by the King, and of senators elected by corporations.
The members of the House of Deputies are elected for five years. The
President and Vice-President of the Senate are appointed by the King,
who enjoys the right of dissolving the Cortes on condition of fresh
elections being ordered within three months.
[Illustration: Fig. 188.—RAILROADS OF THE IBERIAN PENINSULA.
Scale 1 : 10,300,000.]
These governmental revolutions scarcely affected the administration
of the country. The treasury is always empty, the annual receipts do
not suffice to pay the interest upon the national debt, taxes have
increased, the conscription demands more men than ever, and the schools
diminish in numbers.[171] {466}
The political and administrative divisions of the country have remained
the same since 1841. Spain is divided into forty-nine provinces,
including the Canaries. Each province is subdivided into districts,
and has its civil governor. The communes are governed by an _alcalde_,
or mayor, assisted by an _ayuntamiento_, or municipal council, of from
four to twenty-eight members. The judicial administration is modelled
on that of France. There are 9,400 justices of the peace (one for each
commune), about 500 inferior courts, 15 courts of appeal, and a supreme
court sitting at Madrid.
[Illustration: Fig. 189.—FOREIGN COMMERCE OF THE IBERIAN PENINSULA.]
For military purposes continental Spain is divided into twelve
districts, each under a captain-general. These are New Castile,
Catalonia, Aragon, Andalusia, Valencia with Múrcia, Galicia, Granada,
Old Castile, Estremadura, Burgos, Navarra, and the Basque provinces.
The Balearic Isles, the Canaries, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the
Philippines constitute five additional districts. Military service is
compulsory, but substitutes are admitted on payment of a heavy ransom.
The annual levy varies exceedingly, and as many as 80,000 men are
officially stated to have been levied in a single year, though 60,000
would appear to be the utmost the population can supply. The term of
service is seven years in the cavalry and artillery, eight years in
the infantry, of which three are passed in the “provincial militia.”
About 100,000 men are supposed to be actually under arms in the {467}
peninsula, 130,000 are on furlough, and 70,000 men are stationed in
the colonies, mostly in Cuba, where about one-fourth of the total
strength perish annually.
The principal fortresses are St. Sebastian, Santoña, and Santander, on
the Bay of Biscay; Ferrol, La Coruña, and Vigo, on the rias of Galicia;
Ciudad Rodrigo, on the Portuguese frontier; Cádiz and Tarifa, at the
entrance of the Strait of Gibraltar; Málaga, Cartagena, Alicante, and
Barcelona, on the Mediterranean; Figueras, Pamplona, and Zaragoza, at
the foot of the Pyrenees.
The navy consists of 123 steamers, propelled by engines of 24,694
horse-power, armed with 755 guns, and manned by 14,000 sailors and
5,500 marines. Six of these vessels are ironclad frigates. The number
of superior officers is exceedingly large, and their salaries weigh
heavily upon the treasury.
[Illustration: Fig. 190.—DIAGRAM EXHIBITING THE EXTENT OF THE CASTILIAN
LANGUAGE.
Scale 1 : 36,000,000.]
Officially the privileges of the nobility have been abrogated. The
number of “noblemen” is, perhaps, larger in Spain than anywhere else in
Europe, for the population of entire provinces, such as the Vascongadas
and the Asturias, claims to have “blue blood” in its veins. In 1787 no
less than 480,000 “gentlemen” were enumerated, not including minors,
and if the proportion is the same now, there must exist at the least
3,000,000 Spaniards who claim to be _hidalgos_, or “sons of somebody.”
About 1,500 grandees are privileged by custom to remain covered in the
presence of the King, and about 200 of these belong to the highest
rank. All of these do not, however, owe their rank to birth, for many
plebeians, taking advantage of the financial miseries of the country,
have succeeded in getting themselves ennobled. The order of the Golden
Fleece, founded in 1431 by Philip the Good, is one of the distinctions
most coveted by princes and diplomatists. {468}
The Roman Catholic religion is that of the State, and its prelates
enjoy great privileges, but all other confessions are supposed to
be tolerated. The schools, unfortunately, still remain in the hands
of ecclesiastics, who likewise exercise a censorship with respect
to pieces to be produced on the stage. Formerly Spain was the most
priest-ridden country in Europe. At the close of last century there
were 144,000 priests, 71,000 monks, and 35,000 nuns, but only 34,000
merchants. War and revolutions played havoc with the conventual
institutions, but as recently as 1835 they still harboured 50,000
inmates. Subsequently the whole of them were suppressed, and in 1869
the last Spanish monk retired from the Carthusian monastery of Granada
to find a refuge in Belgium. Since then, however, the laws of the land
have again been relaxed in favor of monks and priests. There are 9
archbishops and 54 bishops.
AREA AND POPULATION OF SPAIN AND ITS COLONIES.
Area. Population
Sq. m. (1870). Density.
NEW CASTILE (Castilla):―
Madrid 2,997 487,482 162
Toledo 5,586 342,272 61
Guadalajara 4,870 208,638 41
Cuenca 6,725 238,731 35
Cuidad Real 7,840 264,649 34
OLD CASTILE:―
Santander 2,113 241,581 114
Burgos 5,650 353,560 62
Logroño 1,945 182,941 94
Ávila 2,981 175,219 60
Segovia 2,714 150,812 53
Soria 3,836 158,699 41
Palencia 3,126 184,668 59
Valladolid 3,043 242,384 80
LEON:―
Salamanca 4,940 280,870 57
Zamora 4,135 250,968 61
Leon 6,167 350,992 56
ESTREMADURA:―
Cáceres 8,013 302,455 34
Badajoz 8,687 431,922 49
ANDALUSIA:―
Almería 3,302 361,553 110
Cádiz 2,809 426,499 152
Córdova 5,190 382,652 73
Granada 4,937 485,346 98
Huelva 4,122 196,469 48
Jaen 5,184 392,100 75
Málaga 2,824 505,010 180
Seville 5,295 515,011 97
VALENCIA:―
Castellon de la Plana 2,446 296,222 121
Valencia 4,352 665,141 153
Alicante 2,098 440,470 210
MURCIA:―
Albacete 5,972 220,973 37
Murcia 4,478 439,067 98
BALEARIC ISLES:―
Baleares 1,860 289,225 155
CATALONIA (Cataluña):―
Lérida 4,775 330,348 69
Gerona 2,272 325,110 143
Barcelona 2,985 762,555 256
Tarragona 2,451 350,395 143
ARAGON:―
Huesca 5,878 274,623 47
Zaragoza (Saragossa) 6,607 401,894 61
Teruel 5,491 252,201 46
NAVARRA AND BASQUE PROVINCES (Vascongadas):―
Navarra 4,046 318,687 80
Vizcaya (Biscay) 849 187,926 221
Guipúzcoa 728 180,743 248
Alava 1,205 103,320 86
ASTURIAS:―
Oviedo 4,091 610,883 152
GALICIA:―
Orense 2,739 402,796 147
Pontevedra 1,739 480,145 282
La Coruña 3,079 630,504 210
Lugo 3,787 475,836 126
――――――― ――――――――――
TOTAL SPAIN 192,959 16,835,506 87
――――――― ――――――――――
AFRICA:―
Canaries 2,808 283,859 101
West Coast 850 35,000 41
AMERICA:―
Cuba 45,983 1,400,000 30
Puerto Rico 3,596 625,000 173
OCEANIA:―
Philippines 65,870 6,000,000 91
Carolines 534 18,800 35
Pelew Islands 345 10,000 29
Marianas 417 8,000 19
――――――― ―――――――――
TOTAL COLONIES 120,403 8,380,659 70
――――――― ―――――――――
SPAIN AND COLONIES 313,362 25,216,165 80
{469}
[Illustration]
PORTUGAL.[172]
I.—GENERAL ASPECTS.
Portugal, one of the smallest states of Europe, was nevertheless during
a short epoch one of the most powerful.
It might appear at the first glance that Portugal ought to be a member
of a state including the whole of the Iberian peninsula; but it is
neither to chance nor to events purely historical that Portugal owes
its separate existence. The country is one by its climate, fauna, and
vegetation, and the inhabitants dwelling within it naturally adopted
the same sort of life, nourished the same ideas, and joined in the same
body politic. It was by advancing along the coast, from river to river,
from the Douro to the Minho and Tejo, from the Tejo to the Guadiana,
that Portugal constituted itself an independent state.
Soil and climate mark off Portugal very distinctly from the rest of
the Iberian peninsula. Speaking generally, that country embraces
the Atlantic slopes of the plateau of Spain, and the limit of the
heavy rains brought by westerly winds coincides very nearly with the
political boundary between the two countries. On one side of the line
we have a humid atmosphere, frequent rains, and luxuriant forests;
on the other a brazen sky, a parched soil, naked rocks, and treeless
plains. These abundant rains convert the feeble streams flowing
from the plateau into great rivers. The natural obstacles, such as
rapids, which obstruct the principal amongst them, are met with near
the political frontier of the country. The harbour of Lisbon was the
kernel, as it were, around which the rest of the country has become
crystallized. Its power of attraction proved equal to that which caused
the rest of the peninsula to gravitate towards Madrid and Toledo.
As frequently happens where neighbouring nations obey different laws
and are made to fight each other at the caprice of their sovereigns,
there is no love lost between Spaniards and Portuguese. The former,
being the stronger, sneer at “Portugueses pocos y locos” (small and
crack-brained). The Portuguese are far more demonstrative in giving
expression to their aversion. Formerly “Murderer {470} of the
Castilians” was a favourite sign-board of houses of entertainment, and
the national poetry breathes passionate hatred of the Spaniard. This
animosity must interfere with the Iberian union, advocated only by a
handful of people.
[Illustration: Fig. 191.—RAINFALL OF THE IBERIAN PENINSULA.
According to Jelinek and Hann. Scale 1 : 10,300,000.]
Ancient Lusitania was inhabited by Celtic and Iberian tribes, who
resisted for a considerable time the conquering arms of Rome. Those
dwelling near the coast had been subjected to the influence of Greek,
Phœnician, and Carthaginian colonists; but the influence exercised
by the Romans, who forced their language and form of government upon
the people, was far more durable. Suevi and Visigoths have left
but few traces of their presence. The Mohammedans of various races
have largely modified the blood and manners of the inhabitants,
especially in Algarve, where they maintained themselves to the middle
of the thirteenth century. The numerous ruins of fortresses existing
throughout the country bear witness to the severe struggles which took
place between these races before uniformity of government and religion
was established.
The Kings of Portugal, taking the advice of the Inquisition, expelled
all heretics. The persecution of the Moors was pitiless, but the Jews
were occasionally granted a respite. The Spanish Jews settled near the
frontier, having outwardly embraced {471} the Christian religion, were
permitted to remain; but the more conscientious Jews kept true to their
faith, and carried the knowledge they possessed to other countries of
Europe and to the East. At the time of their exile they were engaged in
literature, medicine, and law, as well as in commerce; at Lisbon they
had founded an academy of high repute; it was a Jew who introduced the
art of printing into Portugal; and Spinoza, that noble and powerful
thinker, was a Jew of Portuguese extraction.
But the Portuguese have not only the blood of Arabs, Berbers, and
Jews in their veins, they are likewise much mixed with negroes, more
particularly in the south and along the coast. The slave trade existed
long before the negroes of Guinea were exported to the plantations
of America. Damianus a Goes estimated the number of blacks imported
into Lisbon alone during the sixteenth century at 10,000 or 12,000 per
annum. If contemporary eye-witnesses can be trusted, the number of
blacks met with in the streets of Lisbon equalled that of the whites.
Not a house but had its negro servants, and the wealthy owned entire
gangs of them. The immunity of Portuguese immigrants who face the
deadly climates of the tropics is sometimes ascribed to this infusion
of negro blood, but erroneously as we think. Most of these immigrants
come from the mountains of the north, where the race is almost pure;
and if the Portuguese become acclimatized more rapidly than individuals
of other nations, they owe it to their sobriety.
At the present day it is the Galicians who exercise most influence upon
the population of Lusitania. They immigrate in large numbers to Lisbon
and other towns, where they gain their living as bakers, porters,
doorkeepers, and domestic servants. Being ridiculed on account of their
uncouth language and rustic manners, they mix but little with the rest
of the population. Their numbers, however, are ever increasing, and
their thrift and industry soon place them in a position of ease.
The mixture of these diverse elements has not produced a handsome race.
The Portuguese possess but rarely the noble mien of the Spaniard. Their
features, as a rule, are irregular, the nose is turned up, and the lips
are thick. Cripples are rare amongst them, but so are tall men. Squat
and short, they are inclined to corpulency. The women cannot boast the
fiery beauty of the Spaniards, but have brilliant eyes, an abundance of
hair, animated features, and amiable manners.
[Illustration: Fig. 192.—PORTUGUESE TYPES: PEASANT OF OVAR; WOMAN OF
LEÇA; PEASANT WOMAN OF AFFIFE.]
Travellers speak highly of the manners, civility, and kindness of the
peasantry not yet contaminated by commerce. The cruelties committed
by Portuguese conquerors in the Indies and the New World have given
the nation a bad reputation, though, as a rule, the Portuguese has
compassion for all sorts of suffering. He is a gambler, but never
quarrels; he is fond of bull-fights, but takes care to wrap up the
bull’s horns in cork, in order that the animal may be saved for future
contests; and he is exceedingly kind to domestic animals. In their
intercourse the Portuguese are good-tempered, obliging, and polished.
To tell a Lusitanian that he has been “brought up badly” is to offend
him most seriously. Their oratory is elegant, though ceremonious. Even
the peasants express themselves with a facility and command of words
remarkable in a people so badly educated. Oaths {472} and indecent
expressions scarcely ever pass their mouth, and, though great talkers,
and even boasters, they are most guarded in their conversation.
Portugal has {473} produced great orators, and one of her poets,
Camões, is amongst the most illustrious the world has ever seen. On
the other hand, Portugal has given birth to no great artist, for Gran
Vasco is a mythical personage. Camões himself avows this when he says,
“Our nation is the first because of its great qualities. Our men are
more heroic than other men; our women better-looking than other women;
and we excel in all the arts of peace and war, excepting in the art of
painting.”