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.
AREAANDPOPULATIONOFSPAINANDITSCOLONIES. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area. Sq. m. | Population (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 | |
| NAVARRAANDBASQUE 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 | |
| TOTALSPAIN | 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 | |
| TOTALCOLONIES | 120,403 | 8,380,659 | 70 | |
| SPAINANDCOLONIES | 313,362 | 25,216,165 | 80 | |
PORTUGAL.[*]
I.—GENERAL ASPECTS.
ORTUGAL, one of the smallest states of Europe, was nevertheless during a short epoch one of the most powerful.