Spain

by Wentworth Webster

SPAIN

BY THE
REV. WENTWORTH WEBSTER, M.A. OXON.
WITH A CHAPTER BY AN ASSOCIATE OF THE SCHOOL OF MINES.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.

London:
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON,
CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET.
1882.
[All rights reserved.]

LONDON:
PRINTED BY GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, LIMITED,
ST. JOHN'S SQUARE.

[etext transcriber's note:
No attempt has been made to correct, normalize or de-anglicize the spelling of Spanish names or words.
For example: Calayatud/Calatayud, Alfonso/Alfonzo, Cacéres/Caceres/Cáceres, Cardénas/Cárdenas, Guipúzcoa/Guipuzcoa all appear.
Click on any of the images to view them enlarged.]

[ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS.]
[LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.]
[INDEX.]

PREFACE.

————

THERE is a difficulty in writing a book of this character on Spain, which does not exist, we think, to the same extent with any other European country. In most European nations the official returns and government reports may be accepted as trustworthy, and the compiler has little more to do than to copy them; but in Spain this is far from being always the case. In some instances, from nonchalance and habitual inexactitude, in others, and especially in all matters of finance and taxation, from designed misstatement, all such reports have to be received with caution and scrupulously examined. The reader must remember also that in Spain smuggling and contraband dealing in various forms is carried on to such a vast extent as seriously to vitiate all trade returns. Thus it is that Spanish statistics can be considered only as approximate truths.

Another difficulty arises from the very varied character of the Spanish provinces. Hardly any statement can be made of one province which is not untrue of another. The ordinary descriptions of Spain present only one, or at most two, types, the Castling and Andalusian, and utterly neglect all the rest. The provinces of Spain have been well described as divided into "five Irelands" whose habits and modes of thought, political aspirations, and commercial interests and aptitudes, are often utterly opposed to those of the capital. A brief survey of the whole of Spain is attempted in the following pages.

In a work of this kind one other obvious difficulty is to know what to omit. Some well-worn topics will be found to be absent from these pages. No references are made to the great Peninsular War. This can be easily studied in the admirable pages of Sir W. Napier in English, and of Toreno in Spanish, or in compendiums of these, which again are filtered down in every guide-book. For a like reason Prescott's brilliant works are not alluded to.

For the chapter on Geology and Mining the reader is indebted to one of the most distinguished Associates of the School of Mines, who has been recently engaged in practical geological survey and mapping in Spain.

Much also of the present work is due to private information most kindly furnished by Spanish friends of high position in the literary and political world, and with whom some of the subjects treated have been frequently discussed. To these the author offers his warmest and most grateful thanks.

ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS.

[CHAPTER I.]
THE GEOGRAPHY OF SPAIN.
PAGE
Boundaries of the Peninsula	[1]
Area and Coast-line	[2]
Six divisions of Spain	ib.
Mountain chains:
Pyrenees	[3]
Cantabrian, Asturian, and Galician mountains	[4]
Leon	ib.
Oca, Sierra Moncayo, and Idubeda chains	[5]
Central Plateau and its passes	ib.
Culminating water-shed of the Peninsula	[6]
Guadarrama range	ib.
Toledan range	[7]
Sierra Morena and passes	ib.
Central ranges and river basins	[8]
Sierra Nevada and offshoots	ib.
Minor ranges	[9]
Rivers, river basins, and rainfall:
Five great rivers	[10]
Rivers of Galicia and Asturias	[11]
Basque Provinces	[12]
Ebro and its tributaries and canals	[12]
Catalonia, streams of	[14]
Douro and its tributaries	[15]
Tagus " "	[17]
Guadiana " " and lakes	[19]
Guadalquiver, its tributaries, islands, and marismas	[22]
Segura and its irrigation	[24]
Jucar " "	[25]
Guadalaviar or Turia	ib.
Lakes and Albuferas	[26]
Water toponymy	[27]
Comparative table of principal rivers	[28]
Mineral springs and Salinas	ib.
[CHAPTER II.]
CLIMATE AND PRODUCTIONS.
Five climates of Spain	[30]
Temperature and rainfall of:
Galicia and the Asturias	[31]
Santander and the Basque Provinces	[32]
Aragon	ib.
Catalonia	ib.
Valencia	[34]
Alicante	ib.
Murcia	[35]
Cartagena to Almeria	ib.
Malaga, Motril, Seville, and Cordova	ib.
Granada	[36]
Cadiz, Gibraltar, &c	ib.
Elevation of Central Plateau	ib.
Temperature and rainfall of Madrid, Salamanca, and Soria	[38]
Agricultural products of:
Galicia and the Asturias	[39]
Basque Provinces and basin of the Ebro	[40]
Moorish agriculture and exotic flora of Southern Spain	[41]
Products of Valencia and Murcia	[43]
Palms at Elche	[44]
Aromatic mountain shrubs	[45]
Products and wines of Andalusia	[46]
Products of the Central Plateau	ib.
Estremadura and law of the Mesta	[47]
Locusts	[48]
Corn-lands of Castile and Sierras de Campos	[50]
Comparative Flora of Spain	[52]
Fauna:
Monkeys of Gibraltar	ib.
Beasts and birds of prey	ib.
Game birds and African visitants	ib.
Noxious and useful insects	ib.
Merino sheep	[54]
Horses, cattle, and beasts of burden	[55]
Fisheries	[56]
Estimated total production of Spain	[57]
[CHAPTER III.]
GEOLOGY AND MINES.
Peculiar interest of Spanish geology	[58]
Granite and Silurian rocks	ib.
Carboniferous formation	[59]
Secondary formations	ib.
Upper Cretaceous	ib.
Eocene tertiary	[60]
Miocene fresh-water	ib.
Pliocene	ib.
Influence of geology on populations	ib.
Statistics of Spanish geology	[61]
Volcanoes, recent	ib.
Minerals of:
Gneiss and crystalline schists	[62]
Metamorphic rocks	ib.
Cambrian formation	ib.
Silurian slates	ib.
Devonian sandstones	ib.
Carboniferous series	ib.
Permian	[63]
Triassic conglomerates	ib.
Jurassic limestones and marl	ib.
Cretaceous formation	ib.
Eocene, Miocene, and Pliocene	ib.
Production and export of six chief minerals	ib.
Of argentiferous ore, cobalt, silver	ib.
Coal	[65]
Iron of the Bilbao district	ib.
Locality of principal mines	[66]
Mining laws	[67]
[CHAPTER IV.]
ETHNOLOGY, LANGUAGE, AND POPULATION.
Pyrenees, no true boundary of	[69]
Population of Spain, mixed	[70]
Iberi, Kelt-Iberi, Basques, and Kelts	ib.
Foreign races in Spain	[73]
Visigoths, Arabs, and Moors	[75]
Toponymy of Spain	[76]
Language of Spanish Jews	[77]
Existing dialects	ib.
Statistics of the Spanish language	[78]
Characteristics of " "	[79]
Population of Spain	[80]
Density of	ib.
Occupations of	[81]
Manufacturing and mining Provinces	[82]
Clergy	ib.
Distribution of property, great changes in	[83]
Abolition of Mesta and of feudal privileges	ib.
Sale of Crown and Church property	[84]
Actual distribution	ib.
Characteristics of the various populations	[85]
Galicians, Asturians, Basques, and Aragonese	[86]
Catalans, Valencians, and Murcians	[86], [87]
Andalusians	[87]
Manchegans, and Castilians	[89]
Gipsies, Maragatos, Passiegos, Hurdes, Sayagos, &c.	[90]
Contrabandistas	ib.
[CHAPTER V.]
DESCRIPTION OF PROVINCES.
Division of Kingdoms and Provinces	[91]
Galicia and its provinces, Corunna, Lugo, Pontevedra, and Orense	[92]
Asturias	[94]
Santander	ib.
Basque Provinces, Biscay, Guipuzcoa, Alava	[95]
Navarre	[96]
Aragon and its provinces, Huesca, Saragossa, Teruel	[97]
Catalonia " Gerona, Barcelona, Tarragona, Lerida	[100]
Valencia " Castellon de la Plana, Valencia, Alicante	[103]
Murcia " Murcia and Albacete	[107]
Andalusia, Mediterranean Provinces, Almeria, Granada, Malaga	[109]
Atlantic: Cadiz, Huelva	[117], [122]
Inland: Seville, Cordova, Jaen	[120],[123], [125]
Estremadura, Badajoz, Cacéres	ib.
New Castile and La Mancha, Provinces—Ciud ad Real, Toledo, Madrid, Cuenca, Guadalajara	[127]
Old Castile—Avila, Segovia, Soria, Logrono, Burgos	[133]
Leon—Salamanca, Valladolid, Zamora, Palencia, Leon	[137]
Balearic Isles	[141]
[CHAPTER VI.]
HISTORY AND POLITICAL CONSTITUTION.
Early liberties, behetria, fueros	[145]
Capitulations of Moors and Jews	[147]
Conquest of the South and its results	[149]
The Santa Hermandad	ib.
The Austrian Dynasty	[151]
The Bourbon Dynasty	[152]
Modern Constitutional Spain	[153]
Cortés of Cadiz	ib.
Reign of Ferdinand VII., and loss of American colonies	ib.
" Isabella II.	[154]
First Carlist War	ib.
Ministry of Narvaez	[156]
" O'Donnell	[157]
Expulsion of Isabella II., and provisional government	ib.
Amadeo I.	[158]
Republic	ib.
Second Carlist War	[159]
Cantonalist insurrection	ib.
Alphonso XII.	[160]
Ministry of Cánovas del Castillo	[161]
Present Constitution and Administration of Spain	[162]
Cortés, Senate, Congress	[163]
Provincial administration	[164]
Municipal "	ib.
Religion	[165]
Rights of persons, natives and foreigners	ib.
Military Administration	[166]
Army	[167]
Quality of Spanish soldiery, pronunciamientos, &c.	[168]
Naval Administration	[169]
Royal Navy	ib.
Mercantile Navy	ib.
Judicial Administration	[169]
Legal Procedure	[170]
Prisons	ib.
Hospitals and lunatic asylums	[171]
Railways	[172]
Telegraphs	ib.
Letters and post	ib.
Finances of Spain.
Public debt	[174]
Increase of, since 1868	[175]
Deficit of budgets	ib.
Sources of revenue	[176]
Expenditure	ib.
Imports and exports	[177]
Foreign tariffs	ib.
Protection and free trade	[178]
Empleomania and its results	[179]
[CHAPTER VII.]
EDUCATION AND RELIGION.
Universities, number of students, salaries of professors	[181]
Theological seminaries	[182]
Course of university study	[183]
Provincial and special institutes	ib.
Secondary instruction, institutes and colleges	[184]
Number of students, and salary of masters	[185]
Course of instruction	[186]
University degrees	ib.
Primary education	[187]
Church and Religion.
Early Church Councils	[188]
Roman and Mazarabic liturgy	ib.
Inquisition	ib.
Philip II., the Jesuits, and the Reformation	[189]
Expulsion of the Jesuits	[191]
Concordat of 1851	ib.
Archbishops, bishops, and clergy	ib.
Mode of appointment of bishops	[192]
Spanish Protestants	ib.
[CHAPTER VIII.]
LITERATURE AND THE ARTS.
Præhistoric art and architecture	[194]
Roman and Visigothic	ib.
Arabic	[195]
Three periods of	[196]
Mudejar	[201]
Christian	ib.
Renaissance	[202]
Churrigueresque	[203]
Domestic architecture	ib.
Church furniture and minor arts	[204]
Painting.
Characteristics of Spanish painting	[205]
Local schools	[206]
Murillo	[208]
Painters of Valencian school	[209]
" " Castilian "	ib.
" " Andalusian "	ib.
Modern painters	[210]
Industrial arts, goldsmith's work, iron, porcelain, glass, wood, lace	[212]
Music	ib.
Literature.
Early Romances	[213]
" Prose works	[214]
La Celistina and the picaresque novels	[215]
Drama and Autors	[216]
Lope de Vega	ib.
Calderon de la Barca	[217]
Cervantes	ib.
Quevedo	[219]
Historical writings	[220]
Poetry	ib.
Mystic writers	[222]
Classical and romantic schools	ib.
Modern writers: Poets—Espronceda, Zorilla, Becquer, &c.	[224]
Novelists—Fernan Caballero, J. Valera, &c.	ib.
Dramatists—Hartzenbusch, Breton de los Herreros, &c.	[225]
Nunez de Arce	[226]
Historians—Condé Gayangos, De la Fuente, &c.	ib.
Geographers—Fernandez Guerra, Coello, Bowles	ib.
Geologists—Macpherson, &c.	ib.
Economists—Cárdenas, Colmeiro, De Azcárate	[227]
Theologians—Balmés, Donoso Cortez, C. Gonzalez, &c.	ib.
Philologists—F. Fita, &c.	ib.
Orators	[228]
Provincial literature	[229]
[CHAPTER IX.]
EPILOGUE.
Spain not a worn-out country	[231]
Two hindrances to development	ib.
Protection and free trade	[233]
Cruelty and charities of Spain	[234]
————————
[Appendix I.]—Census of Provinces	[237]
" [II.]—Chief historical events	[239]
" [III.]—Chief books used	[241]

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

	PAGE
Caballeros	[86]
Dominique, the Espada	[88]
Gipsies at Granada	[90]
Leaning Tower of Saragossa	[98]
General View of Granada, with the Alhambra	[110]
Alhambra Tower by Moonlight	[114]
Fountain of the Four Seasons, Madrid	[130]
Port of Cadiz	[153]
Vespers	[190]
Giralda of Seville	[197]
Moorish Ornamentation	[199]