The country between Tarragona and Barcelona is densely populated. We pass through the fertile district of El Panadés, the equally fertile valley irrigated by the reddish waters of the Llobregat, with towns and villages in rapid succession, until we reach the suburbs of Barcelona. The city proper lies on the sea, at the foot of the fortifications crowning the steep heights of Monjuich. There is another citadel of immense size to the east of the city, yet this latter reposes gaily beneath its batteries, which could easily reduce it to ashes. Barcelona boasts of being the great pleasure town of Spain. Its population is less than that of Madrid, but there are more theatres and concert halls. The dramatic performances are of a superior class, and the taste of the people is more refined. The public promenades, such as the Rambla, occupying the bed of an ancient torrent, the {437} sea-walls, and the avenues of trees which separate Barcelona from the citadel and the suburb of Barceloneta, are crowded on fine evenings. Barcelona is no doubt the “unique city” of Cervantes, and perhaps “the home of courtesy and of valiant men;” but we doubt its being the “common centre of all sincere friendships.” Barcelona exceeds all other towns of Spain by its commerce.[157] The harbour is exposed to southerly winds, and somewhat difficult of access. Barcelona is ever renewing itself. There are broad streets of uniformly built houses, and some quarters, as that of Barceloneta, on a tongue of land to the east of the port, are laid out with all the regularity of an American city. The only architectural monuments of note are a Gothic cathedral and the old palace of the Inquisition. But all around the town, beyond the suburbs with their factories and workmen’s dwellings, we meet with numerous villas, occupying delightful nooks in verdant valleys or the steep hill-slopes. No more charming district exists in Spain than that to the north of Barcelona and Badalona, extending as far as Masnou, Mataró, and the river Tordera. Promontories covered with vines, pines, and cork-oaks, and sometimes crowned by the ruins of a castle, project into the sea; the valleys are laid out in gardens enclosed with aloe hedges; towns and villages follow in rapid succession; and the boats and nets of fishermen are seen on the beaches.
Most towns of the province of Barcelona emulate the manufacturing industry of the capital. Igualada, at the foot of the Monserrat; Sabadell, in a valley, full of factories; Tarrasa, the old Roman city, near which are the famous baths of La Puda; Manresa, on the Cardoner rivulet; Vich, the old primatial city of Catalonia; and Mataró, on the coast, are all distinguished for the manufacture of cloth, linens, silks, cotton stuffs, ribbons, lace, leather, hats, faience, glass, or paper. Manufacturing industry has likewise spread into the neighbouring province of Gerona, and notably to the city of Olot; but the vicinity of the French frontier, the practice of smuggling, and the presence of large garrisons in the fortresses of Gerona and Figueras have hindered its development. Gerona has sustained many a siege, and Figueras, in spite of its huge citadel, has been repeatedly captured. The walls of Rosas are crumbling to pieces, and every vestige of the Greek city of Emporion has been buried beneath the alluvium brought down by the river Fluvia, but it still lives in the name of the surrounding district of Ampurdan.[158]
The crest of the Pyrenees constitutes for the most part the political boundary between France and Spain, but there are exceptions to this rule. At the western extremity of the chain Spain enjoys the advantage, for the valley of the Bidassoa, on the French slopes, belongs to it; but France is compensated in the east by the possession of Mount Canigou and the valley of the Upper Segre. As a rule, however, Spain has the best of the bargain, and this is only natural, as the Pyrenees are most accessible from the south, and the population there is more dense. The {438} herdsmen of Aragon and the Basque provinces never missed an opportunity of taking possession of pastures on the northern slopes of the mountains, and these encroachments were subsequently ratified by international treaties.
The valley of Aran, in the very heart of the Pyrenees, is one of these bloodless conquests of Spain. The French Garonne rises in that valley, but the defile through which it leaves it is very narrow and easily obstructed. Up to the eighteenth century the Aranese enjoyed virtual independence; and as they are shut off from the rest of the world by mountains covered with snow during the greater part of the year, these 21,000 mountaineers would appear to possess more claim to constitute themselves an independent republic than any other people in Europe.
Farther east there is another mountain valley which, nominally at least, forms an independent republic. This is Andorra, a territory of 230 square miles, with 6,000 inhabitants. A few pastures on the French slope excepted, the whole of this valley is drained by the beautiful stream of Embalira, or Valira, which joins the Segre in the smiling plain of Seo de Urgel. Most of the mountains of Andorra have been robbed of their trees, and the destruction of the few remaining forests is still going on. The vegetable soil is being rapidly washed away, and the moraines of ancient glaciers gradually slide down the mountain slopes.
The republic of Andorra is said to owe its existence to a defeat of the Saracens by Charlemagne or Louis le Débonnaire, but in reality up to the French Revolution the valley enjoyed no sovereign rights whatever. It was a barony of the Counts of Urgel and of Aragon. In 1278 it was decided that Andorra should be held jointly by the Bishops of Urgel and the Counts of Foix. In 1793 the French republic declined to receive the customary tribute, and in 1810 the Spanish Cortes abolished the feudal régime. Andorra thus became an independent state. The inhabitants, however, continue to govern themselves in accordance with old feudal customs, which are not at all reconcilable with the principles of modern republics. The land belongs to a few families. There is a law of entail, and younger brothers become the servants of the head of the family, whose hospitality they enjoy only on condition of their working for him. The tithes were only abolished in 1842. The “liberty” of these mountaineers consists merely in exemption from the Spanish conscription and impunity in smuggling; and, to increase their revenues, they have recently established a gambling-table. Their legitimate business consists in cattle-breeding, and there are a few forges and a woollen factory.
The republic of Andorra recognises two suzerains, viz. the Bishop of Urgel, who receives an annual tribute of £25, and the French Government, to whom double that sum is paid. Spain and France are represented by two provosts, the commandant of Seo de Urgel exercising the functions of viceroy. The provosts command the militia and appoint the bailiffs, or judges. They, together with a judge of appeal, alternately appointed by France and Spain, and two rahonadores, or defenders of Andorran privileges, form the Cortes. Each parish is governed by a consul, a vice-consul, and twelve councillors elected by the heads of families. A General Council, of which the consuls and delegates of the parishes are members, meets at the village of Andorra. But in spite of these fictions Andorra is an {439} integral part of Spain, and the carabineers never hesitate to cross the frontiers of this sham republic. By language, manners, and customs the Andorrans are Catalans. Exemption from war has enabled them to grow comparatively rich. They are intelligent and cunning, and well know how to assume an air of astonishment when their interests are at stake. Acting the fool, in order to take some one in or avoid being ensnared, is called by their neighbours “playing the Andorran.” Andorra, a neat village, is the capital of the territory, but San Julia de Loria is the most important place, and the head-quarters of the smugglers.
VII.—BASQUE PROVINCES, NAVARRA, AND LOGROÑO.[*]
The Basque provinces (Vascongadas) and the ancient kingdom of Navarra, though scarcely a thirtieth part of Spain, constitute a separate region, not only on account of geographical position, but also because they are inhabited for the most part by a distinct race, having its own language, manners, and political institutions.