construction are concerned, but is far less voluminous and sonorous.
Nasal and hissing sounds, which a foreigner finds it difficult to
pronounce, abound, but there are no gutturals. Arab words are less
numerous in Portuguese than in Castilian, but the Lusitanians, as well
as the Spaniards, still swear by the god of the Mohammedans—_Oxala_
(_Ojalà_); that is, “If Allah wills it.”
The Portuguese cannot compare in numbers with the other nations
of Europe, and their influence upon the destinies of the world is
consequently small. At one time of their history, however, they
surpassed all other nations by their maritime enterprise. The Spaniards
certainly shared in the great discoveries of the fifteenth century,
but it was the Portuguese who made them possible by first venturing to
navigate the open ocean. It was a Portuguese, Magalhães, who undertook
the first voyage round the world, terminated only after his death. A
similar pre-eminence amongst nations will never be met with again,
for the increased facilities of communication exercise a levelling
influence upon all. Portugal, therefore, can never again hope to resume
the national status which she held formerly, but her great natural
resources and favourable geographical position at the extremity of the
continent must always insure her an honourable place amongst them.
II.—NORTHERN PORTUGAL. THE VALLEYS OF THE MINHO, DOURO, AND MONDEGO.
The mountains of Lusitania are a portion of the great orographical
system of the whole peninsula; but they are not mere spurs, gradually
sinking down towards the sea, for they rise into independent ranges;
and the individuality of Portugal is manifested in the relief of its
soil quite as much as in the history of its inhabitants.
The mountains rising in the north-eastern corner of Portugal, to
the south of the Minho, may be looked upon as the outer barrier of
an ancient lake, which formerly covered the whole of the plains of
Old Castile. From the Pyrenees to the Sierra de Gata this barrier
was continuous, and the breaches now existing date only from a
comparatively recent epoch, and are due to the erosive action of
torrents. The most considerable of these breaches, that of the Douro,
could have been effected only by overcoming most formidable obstacles.
The most northern mountain mass of Portugal, that of the Peneda of
Gavieiro (4,727 feet), rises abruptly beyond the region of forest, and
commands the Sierra Peñagache (4,065 feet) on the Spanish frontier to
the east, as well as the hills of Santa Luzia (1,814 feet) and others
near the coast. Another mountain mass rises {474} immediately to
the south of the gorge through which the Limia passes after leaving
Spain. This is the Serra do Gerez (4,815 feet), a range of twisted,
grotesquely shaped mountains, the only counterpart of which in the
peninsula is the famous Serranía de Ronda. This range, together with
the Larouco (5,184 feet), to the east of it, must be looked upon as the
western extremity of the Cantabrian Pyrenees, and like them it consists
of granitic rocks.
The flora of these northern frontier mountains of Portugal much
resembles that of Galicia, and on their slopes the botanist meets with
a curious intermingling of the vegetation of France, and even Germany,
with that of the Pyrenees, Biscay, and the Portuguese lowlands. On the
southern summits, however, and more especially on the Serra de Marão
(4,665 feet), which forms a bold promontory between the Douro and its
important tributary the Tamega, and shelters the wine districts of
Oporto from north-westerly winds, the opportunities for examining into
the arborescent flora are but few, for the forests which once clad
them have disappeared. The schistose plateaux to the east of them and
to the north of the Douro have likewise been robbed of their forests
to make room for vineyards. Most wild animals have disappeared with
the forests, but wolves are still numerous, and are much dreaded by
the herdsmen. The mountain goat (_Capra ægagrus_), which existed until
towards the close of last century in the Serra do Gerez, has become
extinct. The Serra da Cabreira (4,196 feet), to the east of Braga, is
probably indebted for its name to these wild goats.
If the Serra do Gerez may be looked upon as the western extremity of
the Pyrenean system, the magnificent Serra da Estrella (6,540 feet),
which rises between the Douro and Tejo, is undoubtedly a western
prolongation of the great central range of Spain which separates the
plateaux of the two Castiles. These “Star Mountains” are attached
to the mountains of Spain by a rugged table-land, or _mesa_, of
comparatively small height. The great granitic Serra da Estrella rises
gently above the broken ground which gives birth to the Mondego. It can
easily be ascended from that side, and is hence known as the _Serra
Mansa_, “the tame mountain.” On the south, however, above the valley
of the Zezere, the slopes are abrupt and difficult of access, and are
known for that reason as _Serra Brava_; that is, “wild mountain.”
Delightful lakelets, similar to those of the Pyrenees and Carpathians,
are met with near the highest summit of the range, the Malhão de
Serra. The tops of the Serra da Estrella remain covered with snow
during four months of the year, and supply the inhabitants of Lisbon
with the ice required for the preparation of their favourite sherbet.
The orographical system of the Estrella ends with the Serra de Lousão
(3,940 feet), for the hills of Estremadura, which terminate in the
Cabo da Roca, a landmark well known to mariners, belong to another
geological formation, and consist for the most part of Jurassic strata
overlying the cretaceous formation.
The mountains of Beira and Entre Douro e Minho are exposed to the full
influence of the moisture-laden south-westerly winds, and the rainfall
is considerable. The rain does not descend in torrents, as in tropical
countries, but pours down steadily. It is more abundant in winter and
spring, but not a month passes {475} without it. Fogs are frequent at
the mouths of valleys and along the coast as far south as the latitude
of Coimbra. At that place as much as sixteen feet of rain has fallen in
a single year, an amount only to be equalled within the tropics.
[Illustration: Fig. 193.—THE VALLEY OF THE LIMIA, OR LIMA.
Scale 1 : 300,000.]
The humidity of the air accounts for the great equability of the
climate of Northern Portugal. At Coimbra the difference between the
coldest and warmest month amounts to but 20° F. Frosts are severe
only on the plateaux exposed to the north-easterly winds, and the
heat becomes unbearable in deep valleys alone, where the air cannot
circulate freely.[173] At Penafiel, where the rays of the sun are
thrown back by the rocky precipices, the heat is almost that of a
furnace. This, however, is an exception, and the climate generally can
be described as temperate.
Running water is abundant. Camões has sung the beauties of the fields
of Coimbra watered by the Mondego, the charms of cascades sparkling
amidst foliage, and the purity of the springs bursting forth from rocks
clad with verdure. The Vouga, the affluents of the Douro, the Ave,
Cavado, and Lima, likewise take their {476} devious courses through
smiling landscapes whose beauties are set off by rocks and mountains.
The Lima, whose delights might well cause Roman soldiers to forget the
rivers of their own country, is the only river of the peninsula still
in a state of geological transition. All others have drained the lakes
which gave birth to them, but in the case of the Lima that old lake
basin is still occupied by a swamp, known as Laguna Beon, or Antela,
the only remains of a mountain-girt inland lake as large as that of
Geneva.
[Illustration: Fig. 194.—DUNES OF AVEIRO.
Scale 1 : 400,000.]
The current of the rivers of Northern Portugal is too great to permit
of their being utilised as high-roads of commerce. They have ports at
their mouths, but the Douro, which drains nearly a sixth of the Iberian
peninsula, is the only one amongst them which facilitates access to an
inland district. Mariners dread to approach the coast when the wind
blows on shore. Between the Minho and Cabo Carvoeiro, a distance of
200 miles, the coast presents features very much like those of the
French landes. Its original indentations and irregularities have been
obliterated by barriers of sand. The lower valley of the Vouga was
formerly an inlet of the sea extending far inland. The basin of Aveiro
resembles geologically that of Arcachon. Its waters abound in fish, but
the Douro is the southernmost river of Europe visited by salmon. The
abundance of life in certain localities of it is figuratively expressed
by a Spanish proverb, which says, “The water of the Douro is not water,
but broth.”
The rectilinear beach of Beira-mar is lined for the most part with
dunes, the old gulfs behind which are gradually being converted into
insalubrious swamps, fringed by heath, ferns, strawberry-trees, and
broom, whilst the neighbouring forests consist of oaks and pines.
Formerly these dunes invaded the cultivated portions of the country,
as they still do in France, where like geological causes have produced
like results. But long before a similar plan was thought of in France
these Portuguese dunes were planted with pines, and as early as the
reign of King Diniz “the Labourer,” at the beginning of the fourteenth
century, they had ceased to “march.” {477}
The population of the cultivable portions of the basins of the Minho
and Douro is very dense, and in order to maintain themselves the
inhabitants are forced to work zealously. Their country is the most
carefully cultivated of the peninsula. In a large measure this industry
is due to the fact of the peasantry being the owners of the land they
cultivate, or at least _affarádos_—that is, copyholders—who only pay
a few shillings annually to the lords of the manors. Many of the
peasants are wealthy, and the women are fond of loading themselves with
jewellery, amongst which necklaces made in the Moorish taste are most
prominent. The cultivation of the fields is attended to with scrupulous
care; and the most ingenious methods are employed for the irrigation
of the upper slopes of the hills, which are frequently cut up into
terraces, or _geios_. These Northern Portuguese are as distinguished
for moral excellence as they are for industry. Their sweetness of
disposition, gaiety and kindliness are the theme of universal praise,
and as regards their love of dancing and music they are veritable
Theocritan shepherds. Challenges in improvised verses form one of the
amusements of young men. Nor is the population devoid of physical
beauty. The women of Aveiro, though often enfeebled by malaria, have
the reputation of being the prettiest in all Portugal.
The cultivation of the vine and the making of port wine constitute the
principal branch of industry of the country. The chief vine-growing
district, ordinarily known as _Paiz do Vinho_, lies to the north of
the Douro, between the Serra de Marão and the Tua, and is exposed to
the full force of the rays of the summer sun. In the middle of the
seventeenth century the cultivation of this district had hardly begun.
The English had not then learnt to appreciate these growths, and were
content with the various Portuguese wines shipped from Lisbon. It
was only after the treaty concluded by Lord Methuen in 1702 that the
cultivation of the vine assumed certain dimensions in the district
of the Douro, and ever since the reputation of port has been on the
increase. The Marquis of Pombal founded a company for the production
of wine, and the small town of Pezo da Regoa, on the Corgo, then
became famous for its wine fairs, at which fortunes were lost and won,
and a town of wine cellars and stores sprang up opposite the town of
Porto, or Oporto, near the mouth of the Douro. For more than a hundred
years port and sherry have kept their place on the tables of English
gentlemen, and nearly all the wine produced on the banks of the Dóuro
finds its way to England or to British colonies. Indeed, up to 1852 the
best quality, known as “factory wine,” could be exported to England
alone. Next to the English the Brazilians are the best customers of
Oporto: they receive nearly 1,000,000 gallons of wine annually.[174]
The breeding of mules and fattening of Spanish cattle for the London
market yield considerable profit. Early vegetables are forwarded not
only to London but also to Rio de Janeiro. Manufactures were already
of some importance in the {478} Middle Ages, and have recently been
much developed by enterprising English capitalists. Oporto has cotton,
linen, silk, and woollen mills, foundries and sugar refineries, and
its jewellers and glove-makers enjoy a good repute. But agriculture,
industry and legitimate commerce, and even the smuggling carried on
in the frontier district of Bragança, do not suffice to support the
ever-increasing population, and thousands emigrate annually to Lisbon
and Brazil.
[Illustration: Fig. 195.—OPORTO AND THE PAIZ DO VINHO.
Scale 1 : 1,000,000.]
Northern Portugal may be described as the cradle of the existing
kingdom, and it was Porto Cale, on the site of Villanova de Gaia,
the southern suburb of Oporto, which gave a name to all Lusitania.
At Lamego, to the south of the Douro, the Cortes met, according to
tradition, in 1143, and constituted the new kingdom of which Oporto
became the capital. When the country recovered its independence after
the short dominion of Spain, the Dukes of Bragança were invested
with the regal power. Though Lisbon occupies a more central position
than Oporto, the latter frequently takes the initiative in political
movements, and the success of any revolution is said to depend upon the
side taken by the energetic population of the north. If we may accept
the estimate of the _Portuenses_, they are morally and physically
the superiors of the _Lisbonenses_. They alone are the true sons of
the great people whose vessels ploughed the ocean during the age
of discoveries, and there can be no doubt that their gait is more
determined, their speech and their glance more open, than those of the
inhabitants of the capital. In vulgar parlance, people of Oporto and
Lisbon are known as _tripeiros_ and _alfasinhos_; that is, tripe and
lettuce eaters.
[Illustration: OPORTO.]
Porto, or O Porto, the “Port” _par excellence_, is the natural capital
of Northern Lusitania, the second city of Portugal on account of its
population and commerce, the first in manufactures. As seen from
the banks of the Douro, here hardly {479} more than 200 yards in
width, and spanned by a magnificent railway bridge, it rises like a
double amphitheatre, whose summits are crowned by the cathedral and
the belfry _dos Clerigos_, and the narrow valley separating them
covered with houses. The lower town has broad streets, intersecting
each other at right angles, but the streets climbing the hills are
narrow and tortuous, and even stairs have frequently to be ascended
in order to reach the more elevated quarters of the town. Cleanliness
is attended to throughout, and the citizens are most anxious in that
respect to insure the praises of their numerous English visitors. Gaia,
a long suburb, occupies the opposite side of the river. It abounds
in factories and storehouses, and its vast cellars are stated on an
average to contain 80,000 pipes of wine. Beautiful walks extend along
the river bank and its terraces, and the long reaches of the stream are
covered with shipping, and fringed with gardens and villas. The hills
in the distance are crowned with ancient convents, fortifications, and
villages half hidden amongst verdure. Avintes, famous for the beauty
of its women, who supply the town daily with _broa_, or maize bread,
is one of them. Suburbs extend along both banks of the river in the
direction of the sea. The river at its mouth is only two fathoms in
depth during low water, and dangerous of access when the wind blows
from the west. Even at Oporto vessels of 400 or 500 tons are exposed to
danger from sudden floods of the river, which cause them to drag their
anchors. The port of the Douro has therefore to contend with great
difficulties in its rivalry with Lisbon.[175]
The small town of São João da Foz, at the mouth of the Douro, has a
lighthouse, but carries on no commerce. Near it are Mattozinhos and
Leça, the latter of which boasts of an ancient monastery resembling
a fortress, and is much frequented on account of its fine beach and
refreshing sea breezes. Espinho, to the south of the Douro, is another
favourite seaside resort, in spite of the all-pervading smell of
sardines. The small ports to the north of the Douro are frequented only
by coasting vessels or by seaside visitors. The entrance to the Minho
is defended by the castle of Insua, on a small island, as its name
implies, and by the insignificant fortress of Caminha. The river is
accessible only to vessels drawing less than six feet. The mouth of the
Lima, though even more difficult of access, is nevertheless occupied by
a town of some importance—coquettish Vianna do Castello, beautifully
ensconced amidst the verdure of its fertile plain. Other towns are
Espozende, at the mouth of the Cávado, and Villa do Conde, at that of
the Ave. Formerly most of the vessels engaged in the slave trade and
those employed in the great maritime enterprises of the Portuguese were
built here, and it still boasts of a few ship-yards.
Amongst the inland towns of Entre Douro e Minho are Ponte de Lima,
famous for the beauty of the surrounding country; Barcellos,
overhanging the shady banks of the Cávado; and Amarante, celebrated for
its wines and peaches, and proud of a fine bridge spanning the Tamega.
But the only towns important on account of their population are Braga
and Guimarães, both placed on commanding heights overlooking a most
fertile country. Braga (Bracara Augusta), an ancient Roman colony, the
capital of the Galicians, then of the Suevi, and later on the residence
of {480} the Kings of Portugal, became the primatial city of the whole
of the peninsula when the two kingdoms were temporarily united under
the same sovereign. But Braga is not only a town of the past, it is
even now a bustling place, where hats, linens, arms, and beautiful
filigree are manufactured for exportation to the rest of Portugal
and the Portuguese colonies. Guimarães is equally as interesting as
Braga on account of its monuments and mediæval legends. Visitors are
still shown the sacred olive-tree which sprang from a seed placed in
the soil by King Wamba, when still a common labourer; and Affonso,
the founder of the Portuguese monarchy, was born in the old castle.
Guimarães is a busy manufacturing town; it produces cutlery, hardware,
and table-linen, and English visitors never fail to purchase there
a curiously ornamented box of prunes. Near it are much-frequented
sulphur springs, known to the Romans as _Aquæ Levæ_. But the most
famous mineral springs of modern Portugal are the Caldas do Gerez, in a
tributary valley of the Upper Cávado.
[Illustration: Fig. 196.—SÃO JOÃO DA FOZ AND THE MOUTH OF THE DOURO.]
The towns of Traz os Montes and Beira Alta are too far removed from
highways to have attracted a considerable population. Villa Real,
on the Corgo, is the busiest place of Traz os Montes, owing to the
vineyards in its neighbourhood. {481} Chaves, an old fortress near
the Spanish frontier, boasts of one of those Roman bridges which have
rendered the century of Trajan famous: it was formerly noted for its
mineral springs (_Aquæ Flaviæ_). Bragança, the old provincial capital,
has a commanding citadel, and, owing to its geographical position, is
an important place for smugglers, the legitimate exports fluctuating
regularly with the customs tariff. It is the most important place in
Portugal for the production of raw silk. Lamego, a picturesque town
to the south of the Douro, opposite the Paiz do Vinho, enjoys a great
reputation for its hams; Almeida, which keeps in check the garrison of
Spanish Ciudad Rodrigo, was anciently one of the strongest fortresses
of Portugal; and Vizeu is an important station between the Douro and
the Mondego. Its fairs are more frequented than any others in Portugal,
and in its cathedral may be seen the famous masterpiece painted by the
mythical Gran Vasco. The herdsmen around Vizéu are noted for their
strength and beauty. Their uncovered heads and bare legs give them an
appearance of savagery, but their manners are as polished and dignified
as those of the rest of their countrymen.
Coimbra (_Æminium_), in Beira-mar, is the most populous town between
Oporto and Lisbon. It is known more especially for its university,
whose professors and students impart to it the aspect of a mediæval
seat of learning. The purest Portuguese is spoken there. The environs
are delightful, and in the botanical garden the plants of the tropics
mingle with those of the temperate zones. From the banks of the
Mondego, upon which the city is built, visitors frequently ascend to
the _Quinta das Lagrimos_ (“house of tears”), the scene of the murder
of the beauteous Inez de Castro, whose death was so cruelly revenged by
her husband, Peter the Judge.
Few countries in the world can rival the beautiful valley of the
Mondego, that “river of the Muses” held dear by all the Lusitanians,
because it is the only one which belongs to them exclusively. Condeixa,
a town near Coimbra, fully deserves to be called the “Basket of Fruit,”
for its gardens produce most exquisite oranges. In the north the ruins
of the monastery of Bussaco occupy a mountain terrace covered with a
dense forest of cypresses, cedars, oaks, elms, and exotic trees. This
delightful place and the hot springs of Luso, near it, are a favourite
summer residence of the citizens of Lisbon and Coimbra.
Figueira da Foz, the port of Coimbra, is well sheltered, but, like most
other ports of Northern Portugal, is obstructed by a bar of sand. It
is nevertheless much frequented by coasting vessels, and amongst its
exports are the wines of Barraida. Ovar and Aveiro, in the “Portuguese
Netherlands,” on the banks of a lagoon separated by a series of dunes
from the high sea, are the two other ports of this part of the coast.
They were important places during the Middle Ages, but the shifting
bars, which render access to them difficult, have put a stop to their
prosperity. The seamen of these two places have a high reputation
for daring. They engage in sardine-fishing, oyster-dredging, and the
manufacture of bay-salt.[176] {482}
III.—THE VALLEY OF THE TEJO (TAGUS).
The lower course of the Tejo, called Tajo in Spain, separates Portugal
into two portions differing much in their general aspect, climate, and
soil. The valley itself is a sort of intermediary between the north and
south, and the vast estuary into which the river discharges itself.
[Illustration: Fig. 197.—COIMBRA.]
Where the Tejo enters Portugal, below the magnificent bridge of
Alcántara, it is still hemmed in between precipitous banks, and is
neither navigable nor available for purposes of irrigation. Having
traversed the defile of Villa Velha do Rodão, its valley gradually
widens, and after having received its most considerable tributary,
the Zezere, it becomes a tranquil stream, abounding in islands and
sand-banks, and is navigable during the whole of the year. Below
Salvaterra the river bifurcates, its two branches enclosing the marshy
island of Lezirias. The vast estuary which begins below this island
is an arm of the sea rather than a river; its waters are saline, and
between Sacavem and Alhandra there are {483} salt-pans. The Tejo
affords one of the most striking instances of a river encroaching upon
its western bank, which is steep and hilly, whilst the left bank is low.
[Illustration: Fig. 198.—ESTUARY OF THE TEJO (TAGUS).
Scale 1 : 580,000.]