Chapter XX: Part 20

The frequent intercourse between Andalusia and the Berber countries on the other side of the strait is explained by vicinity as well as by similarity of climate. Algarve, Huelva, and the lower valley of the Guadalquivir, as far as Seville and Écija, that “stewing-pan” or “furnace” of Spain, form one of the hottest districts of Europe, and the coast, from Algeciras and Gibraltar to Cartagena, Alicante, and the Cabo de la Nao, is hardly inferior to it. The country around the Bay of Cádiz and the hilly districts in the extreme south, which are freely exposed to the _virazon_, or sea breeze, enjoy a more temperate climate. In the two torrid coast regions delineated above frosts are hardly known, and the mean temperature of the coolest month reaches 54° F. The heat is greatest around the bays exposed to the full influence of the hot African winds, and least on the Atlantic seaboard, where westerly breezes moderate it. Contrary atmospheric currents naturally meet in the Strait of Gibraltar, where the wind is generally high, and tempests are frequent in winter. Westerly winds prevail during winter, easterly winds in summer. The two promontories of Europe and Africa are looked upon by mariners as trustworthy signallers of the weather: when they are wrapped in clouds or mists rain and easterly winds may be looked for, but when their profiles stand out clearly against the blue sky it is a sure sign of fine weather and westerly winds.[142]

The dry and semi-tropical climate of Lower Andalusia frequently exercises a most depressing influence upon Northern Europeans. In the plain and along the coast it hardly ever rains during summer, and the heat is sometimes stifling, for the trade winds of the tropics are unknown. At Cadiz the land wind blowing from the direction of Medina Sidonia, and hence known as _medina_, is suffocating, and quarrels and even murders are said to occur most frequently whilst it lasts. But the most dreaded wind is the _solano_ or _levante_, which is hot as the blast from a furnace. A curious vapour, known as _calina_, then appears on the southern horizon, the air is filled with dust, leaves wither, and sometimes birds drop in their flight as if suffocated.

In the temperate regions of Europe summer is the season of flowers and foliage, but in Andalusia it is that of aridity and death. Except in gardens and irrigated fields all vegetation shrivels up and assumes a greyish tint like that of the soil. But when the equinoctial autumn rains fall in the lowlands, and snows in the mountains, the plants recover rapidly, and a second spring begins. In February vegetation is most luxuriant, but after March heat and dryness again become the order of the day. Indeed, Andalusia suffers from a want of moisture. There are steppes without water, trees, or human habitations, the most extensive being on {402} the Lower Genil, where the depressions are occupied by salt lakes, as in Algeria or Persia, and cultivation is impossible. Another steppe of some extent stretches to the east of Jaen, and is known as that of Mancha Real. The barren tracts on the Mediterranean slopes are relatively even of greater extent than those in the basin of the Guadalquivir. The volcanic region of the Sierra de Gata is a complete desert, where castles and towers erected for purposes of defence are the only buildings. Elsewhere the coast is occupied by saline plains, which support a vegetation mainly consisting of salsolaceæ, plumbagineæ, and cruciferæ, five per cent. of the species of which are African. Barilla, the ashes of which are used in the manufacture of soda, grows plentifully there.

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In the popular mind, however, Andalusia has at all times been associated with fertility. Its name recalls the oranges of Seville, the luxuriant vegetation of the Vega of Granada, the “Elysian Fields,” and the “Garden of the Hesperides,” which the ancients identified with the valley of the Bætis. The indigenous flora entitles Andalusia to its epithet of the “Indies of Spain,” and, in addition to {403} the tropical plants from Asia and Africa which grow there spontaneously, we meet with others which have been successfully acclimatized. Dates, bananas, and bamboos grow side by side with caoutchouc-trees, dragon’s-blood trees, magnolias, chirimoyas, erythrinas, azedarachs; ricinus and stramonium shoot up into veritable trees; the cochineal cactus of the Canaries and the ground-nut of the Senegal do well; sweet potatoes, cotton, and coffee are cultivated with success; and the sugar-cane succeeds in sheltered places. The coast between Motril and Málaga is supposed to yield annually £20,000 worth of sugar.

The fauna of Andalusia presents, also, some African features. The molluscs met with in Morocco exist likewise in Andalusia; the ichneumon may be seen on the right bank of the Lower Guadalquivir and elsewhere; the chameleon is plentiful; and a species of wild goat is said to be common to the mountains of Morocco and the Sierra Nevada. Nor should we forget to state that an African monkey (_Inuus sylvanus)_ still lives on the rock of Gibraltar, but whether he has been imported has not yet been determined.

* * * * *

In the dawn of European history Andalusia was probably inhabited by an Iberian race akin to that of the Basques. The Bastulæ, Bastarnæ, and Bastesæ, in the hills facing the Mediterranean, and the Turdetani and Turduli of the valley of the Bætis, bore Euskarian names, as did many of their towns. But even thus early they must have been a mixed race. Celtic tribes held the hills extending to the north-west of the Bætis, in the direction of Lusitania; the Turdetani, who were relatively civilised, for they possessed written laws, permitted Phœnicians, Carthaginians, and Greeks to settle amongst them, and in the end became thoroughly Latinised. Municipal charters discovered at Málaga, and more recently at Osuna (_Colonia Julia Genitiva_), prove that the cities of this province enjoyed a considerable degree of self-government.

When the Roman world broke down, Southern Spain was invaded by Vandals, {404} Byzantines, and Visigoths, to whom succeeded Arabs, Berbers, and Jews. The influence exercised upon the country by the Moors—that is, by a mixed race of Arabs and Berbers—has been more abiding than that of their Teutonic predecessors. They maintained themselves for more than seven centuries, were numerous in the towns, and cultivated the fields conjointly with the ancient inhabitants of the country. When the order of exile went forth against their whole race, Moorish blood circulated in the veins of those who were charged with the execution of this harsh measure. In certain portions of Andalusia, and more especially in the Alpujarras, where the Moors maintained their independence until the end of the sixteenth century, the mixture between the two races had made such progress that religious profession, and not the colour of the skin, decided nationality. Numerous Arabic words and phrases have found their way into the Andalusian dialect, and the geographical nomenclature of many districts is Arabic rather than Iberian or Latin. Most of the large buildings in the towns are _alcázars_, or mosques, and even the style of modern structures is Arabic, modified to some extent by Roman influences. The houses, instead of looking upon the street, face an interior court, or _patio_, where the members of the family meet by the side of a cool fountain. No further ethnical element has been added to the population since the epoch of the Arabs, for the few German colonists who settled at Carolina, Carlota, and elsewhere did not prosper, and either returned to their native country or became merged in the general population.

The Andalusians have frequently been called the Gascons of Spain. They are generally of graceful and supple build, of seductive manners, and full of eloquence, but the latter is too frequently wasted upon trifles. Though not devoid of bravery, the Andalusian is a great boaster, and his vanity often causes him to pass the bounds of truth. At the same time he is of a contented mind, and does not allow poverty to affect his spirit. The mountaineers differ in some respects from the dwellers in the plains. They are more reserved in their manners, and the _Jaetanos_, or mountaineers of Jaen, are known as the Galicians of Andalusia. The beauty of the highland women is of a more severe type, and, compared with the charming Gaditanes and the fascinating _majas_ of Seville, the women of Granada, Guadix, and Baza are remarkable for an air of haughty nobleness.

No doubt there are men in Bætica who work, but as a rule love of labour is not amongst the virtues of the Andalusian. The country might become the great tropical storehouse of Europe, but its immense resources remain undeveloped. To some extent this is explained by the fact that nearly the whole country is owned by great landlords. Many estates, which formerly were carefully cultivated, have been converted into sheep-walks, and for miles we meet neither houses nor human beings. The highlands, too, belong to large proprietors, but are leased to small farmers, who pay one-third of their product in lieu of rent.

The magnificent orange groves of Seville, Sanlúcar, and other towns, the olive groves, vineyards, and orchards of Málaga, supply the world with vast quantities of fruit; its productive corn-fields have made Andalusia one of the great granaries of the world; but it is mainly its wines which enable it to take a share in {405} international commerce. Immense quantities of the wine known as sherry are grown in the vineyards of Jerez, to the east of Cádiz. Many of the vineyards belong to Englishmen, and merchants of that nation are busily occupied in blending and other operations peculiar to their trade. Several wines, however, maintain their superior character to the present time. Such are the sweet _tintilla_ of Rota, _manzanilla_, and _pajarate_, made from dried grapes. In spite of many malpractices, this branch of industry has exercised a most beneficial influence upon the character of the population. Santa María, on the Bay of Cádiz, is one of the great wine ports of the world, and Spain has become a formidable rival of its northern neighbour.[143]

The ancient manufacturing industry of the country can hardly be said to exist any longer, but mining is still carried on. Strabo exaggerates the mineral wealth of the country, which is nevertheless very great. Nearly all the productive mining districts of Southern Spain are in the hills. The Sierra de Gádor is said to contain “more metal than rock.” Hundreds of argentiferous lead, copper, and iron mines have been opened there, and in the sierras of Guadix, Baza, and Almería. Near Linares, on the Upper Guadalquivir, there are lead mines yielding about 210,000 tons annually. The silver mines of Constantina and Guadalcanal, in the Sierra Morena, are being worked only at intervals. The coal basins of Bélmez and Espiel, to the north of Córdova, promise to become of great importance, although the output at present hardly exceeds 200,000 tons a year. Deposits of iron and copper exist near them.

But of all the mines of Spain those situated in the province of Huelva are the most productive. The Silurian rocks there are wonderfully rich in pyrites of copper. The mines of Rio Tinto strike the beholder by their stupendous extent; and the existence of ancient galleries, buildings, and inscriptions proves that they have been worked since the most remote time. The invasion of the Vandals temporarily put a stop to the work, which was only resumed in 1730. The two principal deposits have been computed to contain no less than 300,000,000 tons of ore. The deposits at Tharsis are much less extensive, but within easier reach of Huelva. They contain 14,000,000 tons of iron and copper pyrites, and are worked like an open quarry. The deposit is no less than 450 feet in thickness, and some of the ores yield twenty per cent. of copper. Immense heaps of scoriæ have accumulated near the mine, where they are bedded in regular strata dating back to the time of the Carthaginians. The sulphurous vapours rising from hundreds of furnaces poison the air and destroy the vegetation. The rivers Odiel and Rio Tinto run with ferruginous water which kills the fish; yellow ochre is thrown up along their banks; and in their estuary is precipitated a blackish mud consisting of the metal mixed with the sulphur of decomposed marine animals.[144] {406}

Andalusia, though a desert in comparison with what it might be, rivals Italy in the fame and beauty of its cities. The names of Granada, Córdova, Seville, and Cádiz awaken in our mind the most pleasing memories, for these old Moorish towns have become identified with a great advance in arts and science.

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Their advantageous geographical position accounts for their prosperity, past and present. Córdova and Seville command the fertile plain of the Guadalquivir, and the roads crossing the gaps of the neighbouring mountains converge upon them; Granada has its plentiful supply of water and rich fields; Huelva, Cádiz, {407} Málaga, and Almería are considerable seaports; and Gibraltar occupies a commanding position between two seas. There are other towns less populous, but of great strategical importance, as they command the roads joining the valleys of the Genil and Guadalquivir to the sea.

Amongst the smaller towns which have played a part in history are several to the east of Granada, such as Velez Rubio and Velez Blanco, on the Mediterranean slope; Cullar de Baza, with its subterranean houses excavated in the gypsum, on the western slope of the _Vertientes_, or “the water-shed;” Huescar, the heir of an old Carthaginian city; and Baza, environed by a fertile plain known as _Hoya_, or “the hollow.”

Granada, though it celebrates the anniversary of the entrance of Ferdinand and Isabella, is a very inferior place to what it was as the capital of a Moorish kingdom, when it had 60,000 houses and 400,000 inhabitants, and was the busiest and wealthiest town of the peninsula. It is still the sixth city of Spain, but thousands of its ragged inhabitants live in hideous dens, and close to the picturesque suburb of Albaicin a mob largely composed of gipsies has settled down in nauseous caverns. Remains of Moorish buildings are met with only in the suburb named, but at some distance from the city there still exist edifices which bear witness to the glorious reign of its ancient masters. The _Torres Vermejas_, or “red towers,” occupy a hill to the south; the _Generalife_, with its delightful gardens, crowns another hill farther east; and between them rise the bastions and towers of the _Alhambra_, or “red palace,” even in its present dilapidated condition one of the masterpieces of architecture, which has served as a pattern to generations of artists. From the towers of this magnificent building we enjoy a prospect which indelibly impresses itself upon the memory. Granada, with its towers, parks, and villas, lies beneath. The course of the two rivers, Genil and Darro, can be traced amidst the foliage, whilst naked hills bound the verdant plain of La Vega, which has been likened to an “emerald enchased in a sapphire.” The contrast between these savage mountains and the fertile plain, between the beautiful city and precipitous rocks, struck the Moors with admiration, for they saw reflected in them their own nature—an outward impassiveness and a hidden fire. Granada, to them, was the “Queen of Cities,” the “Damascus of the West.” Nor are the modern Spaniards behind them in their admiration of Granada and its vicinity.

There are other beautiful towns in the basin of the Genil, but none can compare with Granada, not even Loja, a “flower in the midst of thorns,” an oasis surrounded by rugged rocks and savage defiles. Jaen, however, almost rivals Granada. It, too, was the seat of a powerful Moorish king, the hills surrounding it are still crowned with the ruins of fortifications buried beneath luxuriant foliage, and the aspect of the town remains oriental to this day.

The upper valley of the Guadalquivir abounds in cities. Baeza had more than 150,000 inhabitants in the time of the Moors, but wars depopulated it, many of the people removing to Granada. Close by is Ubeda, another Moorish town. Higher up in the hills is the mining town of Linares, hardly large enough to {408} shelter 8,000 residents, but actually inhabited by 40,000. In descending the river we pass Andújar, famous on account of its _alcarrazas_, and about twenty miles below the town of Montoro we reach the marble bridge of Alcolea, celebrated for the many battles which have been fought for its possession.

Córdova dates back to the dawn of civilisation. It has been famous and powerful at all times, and the Spanish noblemen are proud of tracing their origin back to this fountain-head of the “blue blood” (_sangre azul_) which is supposed to flow in the veins of Spanish nobles. It was under the Moors that Córdova reached the apogee of its grandeur; from the ninth century to the close of the twelfth it had nearly a million of inhabitants; and its twenty-four suburbs spread far and wide over the plain and along the lateral valleys. The wealth of its mosques, palaces, and private houses was prodigious; but, more glorious still, Córdova could boast of being the “nursery of science,” for it was the greatest university of the world, abounding in schools and libraries. Civil wars, foreign invasions, and religious fanaticism led to the dispersion of its libraries, and Córdova can no longer boast of being the first city of Andalusia. Most of the old monuments have perished, but there still exists the marvellous _mezquita_, or mosque, built at the close of the eighth century by Abderrahman and his son. The {409} interior was fitted up in the most lavish manner, the floors being paved with silver, and the walls covered with gold, precious stones, ivory, and ebony, but a considerable portion of the building has been pulled down to make room for a Spanish cathedral.

The more fertile districts of the province of Córdova are at some distance from the Guadalquivir, in the hills to the south. Montilla, one of the towns there, is noted for its wines, as are Aguilar, Baena, Cabra, and Lucena, the latter boasting likewise of some manufactures. Between Córdova and Seville, a distance of over ninety miles, following the sinuosities of the river, we do not meet with a single town of note, for even Palma del Rio, at the mouth of the Genil, is only a small place, though of some importance as the outlet of Ecija, a large town higher up the Genil.

Seville, the reigning queen of Andalusia, boasts of a few remarkable buildings, including the alcazar, a gorgeous cathedral, and the palace known as “Pilate’s House,” in which the Renaissance is admirably wedded with the Moorish style. But more famous than either of these is _Giralda’s Tower_, with the saint’s revolving statue on the top, like a weathercock. But neither these buildings nor Murillo’s fine paintings have won Seville its epithet of “Enchantress.” For this it is indebted to its gaiety and to a succession of fêtes, amongst which bull-fights figure prominently. Seville became Spanish about the middle of the thirteenth century. Its citizens valiantly defended their municipal liberties against the King of Castile, but they were defeated, and most of its inhabitants then fled to Barbary. The town was repeopled by Christian emigrants. Triana, however, a suburb with which an iron bridge connects it, is inhabited by gipsies, whose secret tribunal has its seat there. A short distance to the north of Triana are the ruins of the amphitheatre of Italica, the old rival of Seville, and the native town of Silius Italicus, and of the Emperors Trajan, Hadrian, and Theodosius. Coria, another Roman city, which had its own mint during the Middle Ages, lies below Seville.

Seville has numerous potteries, but its silks and stuffs interwoven with gold and silver have ceased to command the markets of the world. The largest manufactory of the place, that of tobacco and cigars, is carried on by Government, and employs several thousand workmen.

Alcalá de Guadaira, to the south-east of Seville, supplies the latter with bread, and its delicious springs feed the aqueduct known as Arcos de Carmona, thus called because it runs parallel with the old Roman road leading to Carmona (Carmo).

The towns to the south of Seville are no longer of importance. Utrera, the most considerable amongst them, is a great railway centre, where the line to the marble quarries of Moron, and that passing through the fertile districts of Marchena and Osuna, branch off from the Andalusian main line. The town is well known to _aficionados_, or sportsmen, on account of the wild bulls which pasture in the neighbouring _marismas_. Lebrija, with its fine tower imitated from that of Giralda, is still nearer to these marshes, which extend almost to the mouth of the Guadalquivir. {410}

Sanlúcar de Barrameda, at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, with its white and pink houses shaded by palms, is not now the great port it was in the time of the Arabs. It may justly boast of having sent forth, in 1519, the first vessel which circumnavigated the globe, but it is now rather a pleasure resort than a place of commerce. Jerez de la Frontera, in the basin of the Guadalete, is the busiest town between Seville and Cádiz. It is a neat and showy place, surrounded by immense _bodegas_, or wine vaults, in which are stored the wines grown in the fertile valley of Guadalete, and known as sherry. Near Arcos de la Frontera, in the upper part of the valley, is pointed out the site upon which was fought the famous battle which delivered Spain to the Mussulmans.

The Bay of Cádiz, so well sheltered against winds and waves by the tongue of land which begins at the island of Leon, is surrounded by numerous towns, forming, as it were, but a single city. Rota, on the northern coast of the bay, is encircled by walls of cyclopean aspect. It is the resort of fishermen, and its vintners, though reputed Bœotians, produce one of the best wines of Spain. Farther south, at the mouth of the Guadalete, is the Puerto de Santa María, with its wine stores, at all times a bustling place. Puerto Real, the _Portus Gaditanus_, lies in a labyrinth of brackish channels, and is now merely a landing-place. The neighbouring dockyard, known as _Trocadero_, and the arsenal of Carraca, are frequently inhabited only by galley-slaves and their gaolers. The salt-pans near that place are most productive.

San Fernando is the most important town on the island of Leon, to the south of Cádiz. The initial meridian of Spanish mariners is drawn through its observatory. Looking across the navigable channel of San Pedro, which separates the island from the main, we perceive the villas of Chiclana, famous as the training-place of the _toreros_, or bull-fighters, of Andalusia. Turning to the north, we reach the narrow ridge of the Arrecife, which may be likened to a stalk with Cádiz as its expanded flower. Boatmen point out the supposed ruins of a temple of Hercules, now covered by the sea; and thus much is certain, that the land is at present subsiding, though this subsidence must have been preceded by an upheaval, as the peninsula upon which Cádiz has been built rests upon a foundation of shells, oysters, and molluscs.

We pass several forts, cross the ramparts of the Cortadura, erected in 1811, and at length find ourselves in the famous city of Cádiz, the heir of the Gadir of the Phœnicians, called Gadira by the Greeks, and Gades by the Romans. Cádiz was the leading city of Iberia when that country first became known. Like other cities, it has known periods of decay, but its great geographical advantages have always enabled it to recover quickly. It is the natural outlet of an extensive and fertile region, and its position near the extremity of the continent enables it successfully to compete with Lisbon for the trade of the New World. Palos may boast of having sent forth the _caravelas_ which discovered the West Indies, but it was Cádiz which reaped all the advantages of this discovery, more especially since the Tribunal of the Indies was transferred to it from Seville (1720). In 1792 Cádiz exported merchandise valued at £2,500,000 sterling to America, {411} {412} and received precious metals and other articles of a value of £7,000,000 in return. Soon afterwards Spain paid for a commercial monopoly maintained during three centuries by the sudden loss of her colonies, and Cádiz found itself dependent upon its fisheries and salt-pans. But recently fortune has again smiled upon the city, and its harbours are crowded with merchantmen.[145] Cádiz, with the towns surrounding its bay, has a population of 200,000 souls. The site of the city proper is limited by nature, and its houses have been built to a height of five and six stories. The inhabitants are fond of pleasure, vivacious, and quick at repartee. They have at all times shown themselves to be good patriots, and it was on the island of Leon that the Cortes met to protest against the occupation of the country by the French.

Almería, on the Mediterranean coast of Andalusia, rivalled Cádiz in importance as long as it remained in the possession of the Moors, but prosperity fled the place immediately the Spaniards occupied it. Subsequently the town suffered greatly from the pirates of Barbary, as is proved by the fortress-like cathedral built in the sixteenth century. The aspect of the place, with its narrow streets and old _kasba_, is quite oriental.

The towns to the west of Almería have a tropical climate and tropical productions. Dailas, said to be the first permanent settlement of the Arabs, is famous for its raisins; to it succeed Adra, at the mouth of the Rio Grande of Alpujarra, Motril, Vélez Málaga, and Málaga, embosomed in gardens watered by the Guadalmedina.

Málaga, like most of the ports on that coast, is of Phœnician origin, and the most populous town of Andalusia. Less rich than Granada, Córdova, and Seville in Moorish monuments, or than Cádiz in historical traditions, it is indebted to its port and to the fertile country surrounding it for its commercial pre-eminence. Its exports, consisting of raisins (_pasas_), almonds, figs, lemons, oranges, wine, olive oil, &c., are the product of the immediate vicinity. There are foundries, sugar refineries, and factories. Seen from the sea, the cathedral appears to be almost as large as the rest of the town, but in the latter must be included not only the houses standing at the foot of the citadel of Gibralfaro, but also the numerous villas dotting the surrounding hills. Nay, even the picturesque towns and watering-places in the neighbouring mountains, such as Alora, Alhaurin, Carratraca, and Alhama, may be looked upon as dependencies of the city, for scarcely any but _Malagueños_ resort to them.

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Antequera and Ronda, in the interior of the country, belong to the basin of the Mediterranean, for the one stands on the Guadalhorce, which enters the sea near Málaga, whilst the other occupies a position in the upper basin of the Guadiaro, which washes the foot of the hills of San Roque, to the north of Gibraltar. Antequera is one of the most ancient towns of Spain, and acts as an intermediary between Málaga and the valley of the Guadalquivir. On a hill near it stands a curious dolmen, twenty feet in height, known as _Cueva del Mengal_. {413} The picturesque Moorish town of Ronda is surrounded on three sides by a gorge 600 feet in depth, 120 to 300 feet wide, and spanned by three bridges, one Roman, one Arab, and the last (built 1740–88) Spanish. Ronda still possesses some strategical importance, for it defends the road leading from the valley of the Genil to that of the Guadiaro. The _Rondeños_ are noted for the skill with which they train horses for mountain travel. They are notorious smugglers, as are also many {414} of the inhabitants of the small seaport towns of Marbella, Estepona, and Algeciras, near Gibraltar.[146]

The rock of Gibraltar, of which the English obtained possession in 1704, has not only been converted into a first-rate fortress, but is likewise a busy place of commerce. Gibraltar produces nothing except a little fruit, and most of its provisions, including meat and corn, are imported from Tangiers, in Morocco. The inhabitants of the town are dependent for their support upon passing vessels, the English garrison, and a brisk contraband trade with Spain. Gibraltar affords very indifferent shelter, and only one-fourth of the vessels passing through the strait call there, and even these generally confine themselves to replenishing their stock of coal. Nor is a residence on this picturesque rock very pleasurable, for fevers prevail, and the military character of the place entails numerous restrictions. During the heat of summer many of the English residents—facetiously called “lizards of the rock”—seek refuge at San Roque, a village to the north of the bay, the neighbourhood of which affords excellent sport.[147]

IV.—THE MEDITERRANEAN SLOPE OF THE GREAT PLATEAU. MURCIA AND VALENCIA.[148]

In a few hours we are able to travel from the inhospitable plateaux to the hot valleys and plains of Murcia and Valencia debouching upon the Mediterranean.

The spurs from the Sierra Nevada, which approach the coast to the north of the Cabo de Gata, are separated by _ramblas_, or torrent beds, and gradually decrease in height as we proceed north. The torrent of Almanzora separates the Sierra de los Filabros from its northern continuation, the Sierra de Almenara, which for a considerable distance runs parallel with the coast. It sends out a spur in the direction of Cartagena, which terminates in Cabo de Palos. The inland ranges run almost parallel with this coast range, and are separated by longitudinal valleys opening out into the great transverse one of the Segura. These ranges are the Sierra de María, “el Gigante” (4,918 feet), with the Sierra de Espuña (5,190 feet), the Sierra de Taibilla, the Calar del Mundo (5,440 feet), and the Sierra de Alcaraz {415} (5,910 feet). The ranges to the north and east of the Segura must be looked upon as continuations of those mentioned. They attain their greatest altitude in the Moncabrer (4,543 feet), and their spurs form several notable promontories, amongst which are the volcanic Peñon de Ifach and the Cabos de la Nao and San António. Near the latter rises the Mongo (2,337 feet), which has become known as a crucial trigonometrical station.

The mountains which dominate the valley of the Júcar present the feature of a denuded plateau, above which rise a few isolated summits. The aspect of the basin of the Guadalaviar is far more mountainous. On the west it is bounded by the sierras having their nucleus in the Muela de San Juan (5,280 feet), and to the east rise the imposing mountain masses of the Javalambre (6,569 feet) and Peña Golosa (5,942 feet). The summits of the range which extends from the latter to the great bend of the Lower Ebro, such as the Muela de Ares (4,332 feet), the Tosal de Encanades (4,565 feet), and Bosch de la Espina (3,868 feet), bear Catalan names. A range of inferior heights runs parallel with it along the coast, the interval between the two forming a strath, or vale. This coast range terminates abruptly in the Sierra de Montsia (2,500 feet), close to the delta of the Ebro, and before the pent-up waters of the river had excavated themselves a path to the sea it extended right to the Pyrenees.

All these mountains are for the most part naked, and shrubs appear like black patches upon their whitish slopes. They stand out clearly against the blue and limpid sky, whose transparency has won Murcia the title of the “most serene kingdom.” The climate in the valley of the Segura is even more African in its character than that of Andalusia. There are only two seasons, summer and winter, the latter lasting from October to January, but the temperature throughout the year is equable, owing to the mistral which blows from the cool plateau and the sea breezes.

The flora, especially along the coast of Murcia, is a mixture of tropical and temperate plants. There are trees which shed their leaves in winter, others which retain their foliage throughout the year, and by the side of wheat, rice, maize, olives, oranges, and grapes are grown cotton, sugar-cane, sweet potatoes, nopals, agaves, and dates. Tropical diseases have found a congenial soil in this country. Yellow fever has been imported occasionally from America. The putrefying substances left upon the fields after floods poison the air, and the brackish waters of the lagoons, or _albuferas_, are the breeding-places of fever. The salt lakes to the south of the Segura, however, exercise no deleterious influence upon the climate.

Nowhere else in Spain is the rainfall so inconsiderable. Between Almería and Cartagena only eight inches fall during the year; in the environs of Alicante and Elche the rains are, perhaps, a trifle more copious; and at Murcia and Valencia, which lie at the foot of mountains that intercept the moisture-laden winds, they are more abundant still, though even there they do not exceed eighteen inches. Moreover, most of the rain is immediately absorbed by the thirsty air, and only a very small quantity finds its way through _ramblas_ to the sea. The quantity is altogether insufficient for agricultural purposes, and if it were not for the rivers the {416} country would be a desert. Cultivation is carried on only along the rivers and in a few other favoured spots. Veritable steppes extend on both banks of the Segura. The _campos_ between Almería and Villajoyosa, for a distance of 300 miles, are sterile and bare. The brine and magnesia springs, which rise at the foot of the saliferous triassic rocks, fill small lakes, which dry up in summer, and in August the lagoons near Orihuela become covered with a thick crust of salt.

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The beneficent rivers, whose waters are drunk by the _huertas_, or gardens, near their banks, are the Segura, Vinalapo, Júcar, Guadalaviar (known as Turia in its lower course), Mijaros, and several others. They all resemble each other as regards the ruggedness of their upper valleys and the savageness of the gorges through which they pass. The Segura forces itself a passage through several mountain defiles before it reaches the plain of Murcia. The Júcar and Guadalaviar (Wad-el-Abiad, or “white river”) have fewer obstacles to overcome, but some of the gorges through which they pass are nevertheless of surpassing beauty.

The volume of these rivers is comparatively small, and the husbandmen dwelling along their banks economize the water as far as possible. Reservoirs, or _pantanos_, have been constructed at the outlet of each valley, whence the water is distributed over the fields by means of innumerable canals of irrigation. The irrigated huertas contrast most favourably with the cultivated campos in their neighbourhood. Irrigation has probably been practised at Valencia since the time of the Romans, but the Moors appear to have been the first to construct a regular system of canals. Eight of these, ramifying into innumerable _acequias_, have converted the environs of Valencia into an Eden. Carefully manured as they are, these fields are never allowed to lie fallow. Stalks of maize fifteen and even twenty-five feet in height may be seen in the gardens, the mulberry-tree yields three or four harvests annually, four or five crops are obtained from the same field, whilst the grass is mown as many as nine or ten times. This luxuriant vegetation, however, is said to be watery, and hence the proverb, “In Valencia meat is grass, grass is water, men are women, and women nought.”

The huertas of the Júcar, though less famous than those of Valencia, are even more productive. Orange-trees predominate, and around Alcira and Carcagente alone 20,000,000 oranges are picked annually, and exported to Marseilles.

The oases in the great steppe which extends from Alcoy to Almería are less fertile than those on the Júcar and Guadalaviar. That of Alicante is fertilised by the Castalla, the waters of which are collected in the reservoir of Tibi. The huerta of Elche, on the Vinalapo, is chiefly occupied by a forest of palm-trees, the principal wealth of the inhabitants, who export the dates to France, and the leaves to Italy and the interior of Spain.

The huerta around Orihuela, on the Lower Segura, cannot boast of a palm forest like that of Elche, but is more productive. The inhabitants of Murcia, higher up on the same river, though they enjoy similar advantages, have failed to profit by them to the same extent. Their huerta, which contains a third of the total population of the province, is fertile, but cannot compare with that of their neighbours. Nor do the fields of Lorca equal them. They have not yet recovered from the bursting of a reservoir, the freed waters of which carried destruction as far as Murcia and Orihuela.

* * * * *

The moral and physical character of the inhabitants of a country exhibiting such great contrasts could hardly fail to present corresponding differences, and, indeed, we find that the inhabitants of the fertile gardens and those of the barren steppes and mountains differ essentially, in spite of their common origin. {418}

The people of Murcia cannot be said to have issued victoriously from the struggle against barren rocks, desiccating winds, and a dry atmosphere. They abandon themselves to a fatalism quite oriental, and make hardly any effort at improvement. Lazily inclined, they take their siesta in and out of time, and even when awake preserve an aspect of impassiveness as if they pursued a reverie. They are not much given to gaiety, and, though neighbours of Andalusia and La Mancha, do not dance. They are full of rancour and savage hatred when offended, and have exercised but small influence upon the destinies of Spain. They cannot compare in industry with Catalans, Navarrese, and Galicians, nor in intelligence with natives of any other part of Spain. The Valencians, on the other hand, are an industrious race. They not only cultivate their plains, but scale the barren slopes of the rocks with their terraced gardens. They are a gay people, famous for their dances. Ferocious instincts are asserted to underlie this outward gaiety, and a proverb says that “the paradise of La Huerta is inhabited by demons.” Human life is held very {419} cheaply in Valencia. Formerly that town supplied the courtiers of Madrid with hired assassins, and the numerous crosses in and around it are evidence of so many murders committed in the heat of passion. In Valencia, however, the use of the knife is a tradition of chivalry, as are duels in some other parts of Europe. The conscience of the murderer is perfectly at ease; he wipes the blood-stained knife upon his girdle, and immediately afterwards cuts his bread with it. The dress of the Valencians consists of loose drawers confined round the waist by a red or violet scarf, velvet waistcoats with pieces of silver, white linen gaiters leaving the knees and ankles bare, a bright kerchief wrapped round the shaved head, and a low hat with brim turned up and ornamented with ribbons. A many-coloured cloak with a broad fringe completes this costume, and, draped in it, even the meanest beggar possesses an air of distinction. In their customs and modes of thought the Valencians differ equally from their neighbours. They speak a Provençal dialect, mixed with many Arabic words, but more closely related to the language of the troubadours than the dialect of the Catalans.

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Agriculture is the leading pursuit of Valencia and Murcia, and a few branches of industry are carried on. Many hands are occupied in making the white wines of Alicante and the red ones of Vinaroz and Benicarló; the grapes of the vineyards of Denia, Javea, and Gandia, to the north of Cabo de la Nao, are converted {420} by a complicated process into raisins; and the _esparto grass_ growing abundantly on the sunny slopes of Albacete and Murcia is employed in the manufacture of mats, baskets, sandals, and a variety of other objects.[149] There are hundreds of metalliferous lodes, but only the lead mines in the hills of Herrerías, to the east of Cartagena, are being worked on a large scale, and that by foreigners. Zinc has been worked since 1861, and mines of copper, lead, silver, mercury, and rock-salt abound at some distance from the coast; but, from want of means of communication, their exploitation would not pay.

Valencia is the more industrial province of the two. Albacete manufactures the dreaded _navajas_, or long knives; Murcia has silk-mills; Cartagena rope-walks and other establishments connected with shipping; Játiva has a few paper-mills; but Valencia and Alcoy are now the great centres of industry. The former {421} manufactures the plaids worn by the peasantry, silks and linens, earthenware and glazed tiles. Alcoy supplies most of the paper for making Spanish cigarettes.

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The towns of Albacete and Almansa are important, as lying on the great high-road which connects the plateau of La Mancha with the Mediterranean seaboard. But they cannot vie in wealth and population with the towns situated on the coast, or within twenty-five miles of it. Lorca, the southernmost of these towns, lies picturesquely on the slopes and at the foot of a hill crowned by a Moorish citadel. The old town, with narrow tortuous streets and the remains of Arab palaces, has been given up to Gitanos, and a new town with wide and straight streets built in the fertile plain irrigated by the Guadalentin. A fine road joins Lorca to the small harbour of Aguilas, twenty miles to the south.

In descending the valley of the Guadalentin we pass Totana, the head-quarters of the Gitanos of the country, and Alhama, well known on account of its hot springs, and finally enter the mulberry and orange groves which surround the capital of the province. Murcia, though an extensive city, hardly looks like it, for its streets are deserted, its houses without beauty, and the only objects of interest are the cathedral, the shady walks along the banks of the Segura, and the canals irrigating the terrace gardens. Far more interesting is the neighbouring Cartagena, which was destined by its Punic founders to become a second Carthage in truth, and its magnificent harbour certainly affords great advantages for commercial and military purposes. The discovery of the rich lead and silver mines near the town contributed much towards its prosperity. Successive Spanish Governments have attempted to restore to Cartagena its ancient strategical importance. They have constructed docks and arsenals, and erected impregnable fortifications, but, in spite of this, the population of the town is hardly a third of what it was in the middle of the eighteenth century. The character of its commerce is almost local, notwithstanding its excellent port, and esparto grass, mats, fruits, and ore constitute the leading articles of export.

Alicante, though far less favoured by nature, is a much busier place, thanks to the fertility of the huertas of Elche, Orihuela, and Alcoy, and the railway which connects it with Madrid. Only small vessels can approach the quays and piers of the town, nestling at the foot of a steep rock crowned by a dismantled citadel. Larger vessels are compelled to anchor in an open roadstead. Other coast towns of Valencia, such as Denia and Cullera, offer still less shelter, but are nevertheless much frequented by coasting vessels. Formerly vessels which entered the Bay of Valencia during winter were bound to exercise the greatest caution, owing to violent easterly and north-north-easterly winds and fogs, for there existed not a single port of refuge. This want has now been supplied by the construction of a port at the mouth of the Guadalaviar, known as El Grao (strand) de Valencia.

Valencia, the fourth city of Spain in population, is the natural centre of the most fertile huertas. The “City of the Cid” still preserves its crenellated walls, turrets, gates, narrow and tortuous streets, balconied houses, the windows of which are shaded by blinds, and awnings spread over the streets to protect passers-by from the rays of the sun. Amongst its numerous buildings there is but one which is really curious: this is the _Lonja de Seda_, or silk exchange, a graceful structure of the fifteenth century. Gardens constitute the real delight of Valencia, and {423} the Alameda, which extends along the banks of the Guadalaviar, is, perhaps, the finest city promenade in Europe. The commerce of Valencia rivals that of Cádiz.[150]

Scale 1 : 54,000.]

To the north of Valencia the cultivable country along the coast is narrow, and incapable of supporting large towns. Castellon de la Plana, at the mouth of the Mijaros, has attained a certain importance, but farther north we only meet with small places inhabited by fishermen and vine-growers. Formerly the coast road was defended by castles, chief among which was Saguntum, famous for its glorious defence against Hannibal. Its site is occupied by the modern town of Murviedro, _i.e._ “old walls,” and its ruins are not very imposing.[151]

V.—THE BALEARIC ISLANDS.

The Balearic Islands are attached to the mainland of Spain by a submarine {424} plateau, and are geographically as well as historically a dependency of Valencia and Catalonia. The ranges of hills traversing these islands have the same direction as those of Murcia and Valencia. On the other hand, the peninsula of La Baña, at the mouth of the Ebro, extends beneath the sea in the direction of Ibiza, and from this submarine tongue of land rises a group of volcanic rocks. These are the Columbretes, from the Latin _colubraria_, signifying “serpents’ islets.”

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The Baleares are small in area, but favoured by climate, productiveness, and natural beauty. They are the “Happy Islands” of the ancients, and, compared with many of the coast lands, are indeed a favoured region. War and pestilence have been no strangers to them, but continual troubles have not interfered with their development.

The islands consist of two groups, the Pityuses and the Baleares proper. The name of the latter is said to refer to the expertness of the natives as slingers; and, when Q. Metellus prepared to land upon them, he took care to shelter his men beneath an awning of hides. The climate is moister and more equable than that of neighbouring Spain. Violent storms occur frequently.

The structures called _talayots_ (watch-towers) prove that the islands were inhabited before the historic epoch. These were built probably by the same race to whom the nuraghi of Sardinia owe their existence; but the present population is a very mixed one, for every nation of antiquity has successively invaded the island. {425} The language spoken is a Catalan dialect resembling that of Limousin. The Majorcans are generally small of stature, but well proportioned, and the women of some of the districts are famed for their beauty and expressive features. The peasantry are suspicious and thrifty, but honest and hospitable; and their dress, consisting of loose breeches, a belt, a bright-coloured vest, and a goatskin cloak, is picturesque. Dancing to the music of a guitar or flute is their favourite amusement.

IBIZA (IVIZA), the largest island of the Pityuses, is hardly more than fifty miles from Cabo de la Nao. Its surface is hilly and intersected by numerous torrent beds. Puerto Magno (Pormany, or Grand Port) lies on the west side, and a similar bay, the trysting-place of numerous fishing-smacks, on the south side. On its shore stands the capital of the island, an ancient Carthaginian colony. A chain of islets and rocks, similar to the Adam’s Bridge of Ceylon, joins the southernmost cape of Ibiza to Formentera Island. The climate is said to be so salubrious that neither serpents nor other noxious reptiles can bear it. The population is small, in spite of the fertility of the island. Watch-towers and castles of refuge near every village recall the time when the inhabitants suffered from Moorish pirates. The islanders are happy, for the central Government leaves them pretty much to themselves.

MALLORCA, or MAJORCA, the largest of the group, is the only one which can boast of a regular range of mountains, rising precipitously along the north-western coast, and culminating in the twin peaks of Silla de Torrella (4,940 feet) and Puig Mayor (4,920 feet). These mountains are amongst the most picturesque in all Europe, and from their summits may be enjoyed a magnificent prospect. The moufflon is said still to haunt their pine woods and recesses. The greater portion of the island consists of a plain lying at an elevation of 150 feet above the sea-level, and dotted over with isolated _puigs_, or conical peaks, surmounted in many instances by an old church or castle. The eastern extremity of the island is hilly, and the Bec de Farruch (1,863 feet) still bears its old Arabic name. Near it are the wonderful stalactite caverns of Arta, which extend beneath the sea. The extremities of the most depressed portion of the island open out towards two great bays, one in the north-east, the other in the south-west. Palma, the capital of the island, lies on the former of these, though the other, known as Puerto de Alcudia, would offer greater advantages were it not for the pestilential swamps which surround it. On the iron-bound northern coast there are no harbours, but coasting vessels frequent the creek of Soller, whence they export oranges.

The peasants, or _pageses_, of Majorca have the reputation of being good agriculturists, but much of the progress made is due to Catalan immigrants. The island produces delicious wines (Benisalem), olive oil, oranges, vegetables, and pigs, all of which find a market at Barcelona or in France. The corn grown is not, however, sufficient for the support of the population, and Majorcans as well as “Mahonian” gardeners are met with in every town of the Mediterranean. Bay-salt is made at Cape Salinas. Shoes, cottons, linens, baskets, and porous vases are produced; but the manufacture of _majolica_ has ceased. Palma is a busy place of 40,000 inhabitants, and its bastioned walls, castle, cathedral, and amphitheatrically built houses present a fine appearance from the sea. The inhabitants are proud of {426} their public buildings, and assert that their _lonja_ is superior to that of Valencia. The _Chuctas_, or converted Jews, are a curious element of the population. They occupy a separate quarter, marry amongst themselves, and have preserved their race distinctions and mercantile genius. A large portion of the landed property of the island has passed into their hands. A railway traversing the rich districts of Santa María and Benisalem, to the south of the populous towns of Manacor and Felanitx, connects Palma with Alcudia.[152]

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MENORCA, or MINORCA, twenty-four miles to the east of Majorca, is generally level, its culminating point, Monte Toro, in the centre of the island, only attaining a height of 1,171 feet. The strong northerly winds which sweep over its plains cause the trees to turn their branches in the direction of Africa, and orange-trees find shelter only in the _barrancas_, or ravines, which intersect them. The climate is less pleasant than that of the neighbouring island, and the soil less fertile, for, consisting for the most part of limestone, it rapidly absorbs the rain. There are two ports and two cities, one at each extremity of the island, which from time {427} immemorial have claimed precedence. Ciudadela (7,500 inhabitants) enjoys the advantage of closer proximity to Majorca, but its harbour is bad. Port Mahon (15,000 inhabitants), on the other hand, possesses an admirable port, and Andreas Doria says with reference to it that “June, July, and Mahon are the best ports of the Mediterranean.” The English made Mahon a wealthy city, but its trade fell off immediately when they abandoned it in 1802.

VI.—THE VALLEY OF THE EBRO. ARAGON AND CATALONIA.

The central portion of the valley of the Ebro is as distinctly separated from the remainder of Spain as is that of the Guadalquivir. It forms a vast depression, bounded by the midland plateau of Spain and the Pyrenees, and if the waters of the Mediterranean were to rise 1,000 feet, this ancient lake, which existed until its pent-up waters had forced themselves a passage through the mountains of {428} Catalonia, would be converted into a gulf of the sea. The Pyrenees in the north, the barren slopes of the plateaux to the south and south-west, form well-defined boundaries, but in the north-west the plain of the Ebro extends beyond Aragon, into a country inhabited by men of a different race.

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