Indeed, at the first glance, it almost appears as if Madrid owed its existence to the caprice of a king. It has no river, for the Manzanares is merely a torrent, its climate is abominable, and its environs present fewer advantages than those of Toledo, the ancient capital of the Romans and Visigoths. But once having been selected as the capital, Madrid could not fail to rise in importance, for it occupies a central position with respect to all other towns outside the basin of the Upper Tajo. Pinto (Punctum), a short distance to the south of Madrid, is popularly supposed to be the mathematical centre of the peninsula; and thus much is certain, that the plain bounded in the north by the Sierra de Guadarrama forms the natural nucleus of the country, and is traversed by its great natural highways.

Toledo occupies a position almost equally central. It was the capital of the country during the reign of the Romans, and subsequently became the capital of the ecclesiastical authorities and of the kings of the Visigoths, and retained that position until it fell into the power of the Moors. During the struggles between Moors and Christians the latter shifted their capital from place to place, according to the varying fortunes of the war, but no sooner had the former been expelled from Córdova than the Christian kings again established themselves in the plain to the south of the Sierra de Guadarrama. They had then to choose between Toledo and Madrid. Toledo no doubt offered superior advantages, but its citizens having joined the insurrection of the comuneros against Charles V., the Emperor-king decided in favour of Madrid. Philip III. endeavoured to remove the capital to Valladolid, but the natural attractions of Madrid proved too strong for him, and the schools, museums, public buildings, and manufactories which have arisen in the latter since then must for ever insure it a preponderating position. The railways, which now join Madrid to the extremities of the peninsula, countervail the disadvantages of its immediate neighbourhood; and although the purest Castilian is spoken at Toledo, it is Madrid which, through its press, has insured the preponderance of that idiom throughout Spain. Madrid has long been in advance of all other cities of the peninsula as regards political activity, industry, and commerce, but its growth having taken place during a period devoid of art, it is inferior to other towns with respect to the character of its public buildings. The museums, however, are amongst the richest in Europe, and make it a second Florence. Immediately outside the public promenades of the Prado and Buen Retiro we find ourselves in a desolate country covered with flints, and this must be crossed by a traveller desirous of visiting the delightful gardens of Aranjuez, the huge Escorial built by Philip II., or the villas in the wooded valleys of the Sierra de Guadarrama. These latter supply Madrid with water, as the neighbouring mountains do with ice. Formerly one of the most secluded of these valleys became {394} the seat of a mock-kingdom, nominally independent of the Kings of Castile. During the Moorish invasion the inhabitants of the plain of Jarama had sought shelter in the mountains, and the rest of the world forgot all about them. They called themselves Patones, and elected an hereditary king. About the middle of the seventeenth century the last of the line, by trade a carrier, surrendered his wand of authority into the hands of a royal officer, and the valley was placed under the jurisdiction of the authorities at Uceda.[140]

III.—ANDALUSIA.[*]

Andalusia embraces the whole of the basin of the Guadalquivir, together with some adjoining districts. It is bounded in the north by the Sierra Morena, which in the direction of Portugal becomes a rugged mountain district of crystalline formation intersected by tortuous ravines, and rising in the Sierra de Aracena, north of the mining region of the Rio Tinto, to a height of 5,500 feet. Farther east the Sierra Morena ascends in terraces above the valley of the Guadalquivir, and on its reverse slope we meet with districts, such as that of Los Pedroches (1,650 feet), hardly less monotonous of aspect than the plains of La Mancha. The {395} Punta de Almenara (5,920 feet), in the Sierra de Alcaraz, in the extreme east, may be looked upon as the culminating point of this sierra, which is indebted for its name of “Black Mountain” to the sombre pines which clothe its slopes.

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Fig. 147.—ARANJUEZ.

Scale 1 : 75,000.

The line of water-parting does not pass through the highest summits of this range. Most of the rivers rise on the plateau, and take their course, by picturesque gorges, right through the heart of the mountains. The most famous of these gorges is that of Despeñaperros (2,444 feet), leading from the dreary plains of La Mancha to the smiling valley of Andalusia. This pass has played a great part in every war. At its foot was fought in 1212 the fearful battle of Navas de Tolosa, in which more than 200,000 Mussulmans are said to have been slaughtered.

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