————

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 Spainib.

Mountain chains:
Pyrenees[3]
Cantabrian, Asturian, and Galician mountains[4]
Leonib.
Oca, Sierra Moncayo, and Idubeda chains[5]
Central Plateau and its passesib.
Culminating water-shed of the Peninsula[6]
Guadarrama rangeib.
Toledan range[7]
Sierra Morena and passesib.
Central ranges and river basins[8]
Sierra Nevada and offshootsib.
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 Turiaib.
Lakes and Albuferas[26]
Water toponymy[27]
Comparative table of principal rivers[28]
Mineral springs and Salinasib.

[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]
Aragonib.
Cataloniaib.
Valencia[34]
Alicanteib.
Murcia[35]
Cartagena to Almeriaib.
Malaga, Motril, Seville, and Cordovaib.
Granada[36]
Cadiz, Gibraltar, &cib.
Elevation of Central Plateauib.
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 Plateauib.
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 Gibraltarib.
Beasts and birds of preyib.
Game birds and African visitantsib.
Noxious and useful insectsib.
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 rocksib.
Carboniferous formation[59]
Secondary formationsib.
Upper Cretaceousib.
Eocene tertiary[60]
Miocene fresh-waterib.
Plioceneib.
Influence of geology on populationsib.
Statistics of Spanish geology[61]
Volcanoes, recentib.
Minerals of:
Gneiss and crystalline schists[62]
Metamorphic rocksib.
Cambrian formationib.
Silurian slatesib.
Devonian sandstonesib.
Carboniferous seriesib.
Permian[63]
Triassic conglomeratesib.
Jurassic limestones and marlib.
Cretaceous formationib.
Eocene, Miocene, and Plioceneib.
Production and export of six chief mineralsib.
Of argentiferous ore, cobalt, silverib.
Coal[65]
Iron of the Bilbao districtib.
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 Keltsib.
Foreign races in Spain[73]
Visigoths, Arabs, and Moors[75]
Toponymy of Spain[76]
Language of Spanish Jews[77]
Existing dialectsib.
Statistics of the Spanish language[78]
Characteristics of " "[79]
Population of Spain[80]
Density ofib.
Occupations of[81]
Manufacturing and mining Provinces[82]
Clergyib.
Distribution of property, great changes in[83]
Abolition of Mesta and of feudal privilegesib.
Sale of Crown and Church property[84]
Actual distributionib.
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]
Contrabandistasib.

[CHAPTER V.]

DESCRIPTION OF PROVINCES.
Division of Kingdoms and Provinces[91]
Galicia and its provinces, Corunna, Lugo, Pontevedra, and Orense[92]
Asturias[94]
Santanderib.
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, Cacéresib.
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 Hermandadib.
The Austrian Dynasty[151]
The Bourbon Dynasty[152]
Modern Constitutional Spain[153]
Cortés of Cadizib.
Reign of Ferdinand VII., and loss of American coloniesib.
" Isabella II.[154]
First Carlist Warib.
Ministry of Narvaez[156]
" O'Donnell[157]
Expulsion of Isabella II., and provisional governmentib.
Amadeo I.[158]
Republicib.
Second Carlist War[159]
Cantonalist insurrectionib.
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 foreignersib.

Military Administration		[166]
Army[167]
Quality of Spanish soldiery, pronunciamientos, &c.[168]

Naval Administration		[169]
Royal Navyib.
Mercantile Navyib.

Judicial Administration		[169]
Legal Procedure[170]
Prisonsib.
Hospitals and lunatic asylums[171]
Railways[172]
Telegraphsib.
Letters and postib.
Finances of Spain.
Public debt[174]
Increase of, since 1868[175]
Deficit of budgetsib.
Sources of revenue[176]
Expenditureib.
Imports and exports[177]
Foreign tariffsib.
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 institutesib.
Secondary instruction, institutes and colleges[184]
Number of students, and salary of masters[185]
Course of instruction[186]
University degreesib.
Primary education[187]
Church and Religion.
Early Church Councils[188]
Roman and Mazarabic liturgyib.
Inquisitionib.
Philip II., the Jesuits, and the Reformation[189]
Expulsion of the Jesuits[191]
Concordat of 1851ib.
Archbishops, bishops, and clergyib.
Mode of appointment of bishops[192]
Spanish Protestantsib.

[CHAPTER VIII.]

LITERATURE AND THE ARTS.
Præhistoric art and architecture[194]
Roman and Visigothicib.
Arabic[195]
Three periods of[196]
Mudejar[201]
Christianib.
Renaissance[202]
Churrigueresque[203]
Domestic architectureib.
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]
Musicib.
Literature.
Early Romances[213]
" Prose works[214]
La Celistina and the picaresque novels[215]
Drama and Autors[216]
Lope de Vegaib.
Calderon de la Barca[217]
Cervantesib.
Quevedo[219]
Historical writings[220]
Poetryib.
Mystic writers[222]
Classical and romantic schoolsib.
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, Bowlesib.
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 developmentib.
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]