mines in Spain, known as early as the days of the Carthagenians, and entirely neglected since the discovery and conquest of the New World, should again come into vogue and increase the revenue of the Spanish monarch. Mines of quick-silver are wrought in La Mancha, at a place called Almaden. Different parts of Spain afford cobalt, antimony, copper, tin, and lead. In Catalonia, coals are found; in the Asturias amber and jet; crystallized sulphur is found in the neighbourhood of Cadiz; and in Murcia, a kind of red earth called almagra, which is mixed with Spanish snuff. Spain contains no less than 177 species or kinds of marble. CHAP. III.-AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRY-MANUFACTURES AND COMMERCE-WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. Agriculture.] Spain has a very fertile soil, and might support three times its present population, and at the same time supply a considerable part of Europe with its superabundant products. Where water is not wanting, every thing prospers in the most luxurious manner; and there is not one province in Spain, notwithstanding its present desert appearance, which can be called sterile; even in those districts where rocks are heaped upon rocks there are small tracts of land particularly fit for cultivation, and it is these which are often the best cultivated. Catalonia, for example, is a mountainous region; but is well-cultivated by the inhabitants, who are much more industrious than those of any other part of Spain. In the rich provinces along the coasts of the Mediterranean, the industry of the Moors seems to have still left an impression on the character of their successors. But in the centre of the kingdom, where the lazy, phlegmatic Spaniard shuns every occupation which requires exertion, the most fertile districts are utterly neglected. This is particularly the case in both Castiles, Leon, and Estremadura,-almost one-half of the kingdom. The general state of agriculture may be said to be very indifferent, the management of the soil is little understood; and the prerogatives of landlords, and the unequal distribution of property, shackle industry. It is said that a good harvest might provide Spain with sufficient corn for 18 months consumption; but such a harvest is never reaped, and the want of corn must be supplied by importations from Africa, Sicily, the Canary-islands, the coasts of the German Ocean, and North America. The provinces of the interior-which have always more corn than their consumption requires-might supply those of the coast; but the communication is so difficult from the want of good roads, and so many other obstacles to commercial intercourse exist on account of the bad administration, that it is 4 The extraordinary number of holy-days observed in Spain, proves extremely injurious to the national industry and wealth. Though many of the holy-days have been abolished, as regards the restrictions from working, the people are still required to attend mass on these days, which must occasion much loss of time, especially to those who reside at a distance from a church. The diocese of Toledo still retains forty-one holy-days in the year, besides the Sabbath, on which it is unlawful to work. The days dedicated to the titular saints of particular parishes, the patron saints of private families, and the guardian saints of individuals, are so many other feasts on which labour is temporarily suspended. "The Count de Capomonez states the sum lost every holy-day or feast-day, by the suspension of labour, at six millions of reals, or four millions of livres, amounting to £166,666 13s. 4d. If it be admitted that labour in a national point of view constitutes wealth, what an immense loss does Spain annually sustain by the effects of a blind superstition! Allowing the number of feast-days retained to be forty-one in the year, the annual loss to the nation will amount to £6,833,333 6s. Sd.!!" found cheaper and more easy to get the corn from abroad. The mode in which agriculture is carried on in Spain is totally different in the different provinces. There is more wheat grown than rye; and a great quantity of barley which serves for horses and cattle is raised. Oats are rare; but beans and peas which are favourite dishes with the Spaniards-are grown in great quantity, as well as Indian corn. The harvest takes place in the north in July, and in the south so early as June. The corn is dried for several weeks in the fields, and then either thrashed by men, or trampled out by mules and asses on the spot. There are but few watermills; windmills are more numerous, but in many places handmills are still in use. The rearing of cattle is very much neglected, if we except that of sheep. Even the beautiful breed of horses is not attended to, and the Spaniards prefer mules, which are less expensive and more vigorous. There are only a few provinces in which cow-milk is used: the milk of the goat is generally substituted, and oil is used instead of butter. Sheep are kept in great numbers. The whole stock of sheep in the kingdom is said to amount to 13,000,000; among which are more than 5,000,000 of merinos. The exportation of wines is very considerable; about 140,000 cwt. of dry raisins are annually exported, besides great quantities of oranges, lemons, and figs, from Malaga, Cadiz, Alicante, and Palma. Excellent flax and hemp are grown, but not to a sufficient extent for home-consumption; the cotton-plant prospers particularly well in some of the dry districts. Saffron is used in many of the national dishes, and prospers extremely well on the Spanish soil; it might be exported in considerable quantity if the preparation was better understood. Soda is produced in great quantity, and is an article of considerable exportation; madder is also cultivated with great success, as well as different kinds of spices. The sugar-cane of Spain is as good as that of the West Indies, but it is cultivated at a much greater expense, and very little sugar is made of it for this reason. A considerable article of home-consumption as well as of exportation is oil, which is not so good, however, as the French and Italian. The climate is so favourable to the production of silk, that Spain might soon outstrip any country in Europe in this branch of industry, if it were carried on with more activity, and if the bad system of the government did not fetter the spirit of industry. The numerous aromatic plants, with which the table-land particularly of Spain is covered, offer every facility for the growing of the finest honey; but it is in the provinces on the coasts of the Mediterranean, that the greatest quantity is raised. The best honey is produced in Valencia; that of Biar was famous in the time of the Romans. The wax produced in the country is not nearly sufficient for the enormous consumption in the churches, and Spain is obliged to import several thousand cwts. every year. Fishing is prosecuted on the coasts of both seas, but the numerous fast-days observed in Spain create a greater demand for fish than the country itself can supply. The principal fishes caught are sardines, anchovies, and thun-fish. There are about 1,000 salt-springs in Spain. The most valuable are those where the salt is crystallized by the heat of the sun, as is the case in the Lagunes of Mala, Torrevieja, and Manuel in Valencia, which produce about 300,000 cwt. per annum; and the bays in Seville and Iviza where about 4,650,000 cwt. of sea-salt are annually made. Of mineral-salt there is a whole mountain at Cardona in Catalonia, and inexhaustible mines in Cuenca, Valencia, and Navarre, of which, however, only a few are worked. Spain may be said to produce about 5 million cwt. of salt per annum. Manufactures.] The Spaniards are not wanting in skill for the useful arts: but they dislike to devote themselves to any kind of trade, which they think beneath their dignity, and a Spanish hidalgo would much rather beg his bread than procure it by devoting himself to any useful labour. The inhabitants of Catalonia, Valencia, and Galicia, alone are distinguished from the rest of their countrymen by activity and industry. Still there might be enough of tradesmen to supply the home-consumption, but their work is so ill-done and dear, that all finer articles are imported from Great Britain and France. The manufactures of Spain have been ruined by war; many have been entirely annihilated, and others are in a very languid state, as their produce was especially calculated for the colonies, of which the market is now closed to Spain. Most of the manufactures in Spain have been established by joint-stock companies, which shows how poor individuals are in a kingdom which so long enjoyed the exclusive possession of the New world. The principal manufactories of silk-which only employ 18,000 looms-are at Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, and Madrid. Spain is in possession of the finest wool in Europe, and its woollen manufactures ought to be the finest in the world; but this is so little the case that they are in the deepest decay, and their productions too dear to bear competition with foreign articles. In linen Spain does not supply one-sixth of its own consumption; and the cotton-manufactures—which are of quite recent date, and never furnished above one-sixteenth of the home-consumption-have been almost entirely ruined during the last war. Spain was once famous for its tanneries; and Cordova has given its name to a particular kind of leather called corduan, or cordovan, which was invented by the Moors. There are still leather-manufactories in almost all the provinces of Spain, but the articles made in them are very indifferent. The Spanish paper is good. Hats are made in Badajoz, but a great many are imported from England, France, and Germany. The excellent Spanish iron loses its value in the Spanish manufactures, and is consequently for the most part imported raw. Of tobacco, in the whole of Spain there is only one manufacture, which is at Seville, and the property of the crown. It is of great extent, and, besides an enormous quantity of cigars, it furnishes 15,000 cwt. of Brazilian snuff, and 16,000 of Spanish per annum. Spanish soap is excellent, and is partly exported. Several extensive manufactories of chocolate exist, which is also extensively fabricated by itinerant merchants. Cyder is prepared in the Baskish provinces, and vinegar in Catalonia, Arragon, and Navarre. Few countries in Europe are so rich in saltpetre as Spain, where the soil of whole districts is impregnated with this mineral, which is exported in great quantities. The Spanish gunpowder is excellent, and mostly fabricated in Valencia, Granada, Mancha, and Navarre. The royal manufacture of mirrors at San Ildefonso furnishes excellent articles, but it is the only one in the kingdom, and its articles are too dear. Earthen-ware is made in considerable quantity. Commerce.] No country in Europe equals Spain in natural commercial advantages, whether we consider its situation or facilities of produce. Its situation renders an intercourse with all parts of Europe extremely easy, and its intercourse with America and Africa is carried on by a shorter and more direct course than that of any other nation. Its ports are numerous and commodious; and its inhabitants, accustomed to a warm climate, visit the tropical regions with more safety than the inhabitants of colder climates. The produce of Spain consists of all the necessaries, and many of the conveniences of life,-articles which always command a ready market, and are a never-failing source of wealth to the nation which furnishes them in any quantity. A country possessing so many natural advantages might be expected to be at present, what it once was, the most wealthy and powerful of European countries; but the discovery of America ultimately proved the ruin of Spain. Immense quantities of the precious metals were brought from the New World; and it was foolishly imagined, that if, by any means, a great proportion of these could be kept within the kingdom, Spain would become the most wealthy of all nations.5 Heavy duties were accordingly laid upon the exportation of the precious metals, which were thus necessarily for a time rendered more plentiful in Spain than in other countries; but this no less necessarily operated as a kind of bounty to the manufactures and industry of rival nations, and the manufactures of Spain began immediately to decline, and have never yet evinced any tendency to a revival. The abundance of the precious metals, though perhaps the chief, was not the only cause of the decline of Spanish manufactures: the royal monopolies likewise operated as an effectual check to all industry. Of these monopolies Townshend gives the following list: Broad cloth, at Guadalajara and Brihuega; china, at the palace of the Buen Retiro; cards, at Madrid and Malaga; glass, at St Ildefonso; paper, at Segovia ; pottery, at Talavera; saltpetre, at Madrid and various other places; stockings, at Valdemoro; swords, at Toledo; tapestry, at Madrid; and tissues, at Talavera. Besides these articles, the king has a monopoly of brandy, gun-powder, lead, quicksilver, sealing-wax, salt, sulphur, and tobacco. The effects of monopolies are too well-known to require any explanation. But, as if it were the wish of the Spanish government to extinguish every thing that resembled industry and commerce, a tax has long existed, which is denominated the alcavala, and is a duty of so much per cent. on the sale of every article. This has been founded on the supposition, that not only the first seller, but every subsequent seller must have his profit, and that a part of every man's profit ought reasonably to be dedicated to the use of government. This tax is liable to many inconveniences, and prevents the free circulation of goods, as no man will sell, but at such a profit as may pay the duty and leave something to himself. The greatest part of the commerce of Spain was carried on with her American colonies previous to their revolt, and might have been a source of much wealth, had not government, claiming the full possession of all the colonies, restricted the commerce in such a way as was judged most likely to fill the royal coffers. 5 5 The following account of the exports to America, and the imports from that country, in 1784, is afforded by Townshend :— The duty upon these exports is computed to have amounted to £170,800. The present commerce by land, in the interior of the country, is very insignificant, and only carried on with some animation between Madrid, Bilboa, Barcelona, and Cadiz. The kingdom has few natural or artificial water-communications, and the roads are so bad that carts and mules can scarcely travel on them. The post is also very ill-organized; and the whole system of taxation and customs is regulated in a manner which of itself would be sufficient to check all commercial intercourse whatever. In this state of things, even the exchange of productions between one province and the other is rendered so difficult, that the greatest scarcity may exist in one whilst the other is overflowing with abundance. The exterior commerce by land with France is much impeded by the intervention of the Pyrenees. The foreign commerce is not carried on by the Spanish themselves; British, French, Dutch, and German vessels import the merchandise of foreign countries, and take back the exports of Spain, and in almost all commercial towns foreign merchants are established who carry on the trade of the kingdom.6 Accounts are kept at Madrid in Monies, Weights, and Measures.] reales de vellon, and reales de plata. A maravedie de plata is equal in value to of a penny British currency; a maravedie de vellon is of only half that value. A real de plata is equal to about 51⁄2d, and a pistole to 16s. 9d. British currency. There are 8 different valuations of money in Spain. Oil is sold by the arroba mina, weighing 25lbs. of Castile; 100 of these arrobas are equal to 335 English wine-gallons. Four arrobas of Madrid are equal to one quintal, or 102 English pounds. One hundred Spanish varas or yards are equal to 92.5 English yards; and a Spanish legua contains 5,000 varas, or the 26.60th part of a degree of the equator. CHAP. IV.-POPULATION-MANNERS AND CUSTOMS-RELIGION -LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. Population.] The population of Spain, according to the census of 1788, amounted only to 10,500,000 persons; which, on a surface of The imports from America to Spain, during the same year, were as follows: Total of imports, The duties upon these imports were upwards of £500,000. £12,635,173 6 Humboldt calculates the total amount of money which has flowed into Europe from Spanish and Portuguese America, since the discovery of that country till the year 1803, at the enormous sum of 5,420 millions of piastres, or £1,138,200,000. Nevertheless the stock of money in Spain in 1782, according to M. Mosquiz, the minister of finance, cited in the work of M. Bourgoigne, amounted only to 80 millions of piastres, or £14,333,333, and many circumstances conspire to convince us that it has very considerably decreased since. The numbers of the different ranks were stated by Townshend in 1787 to be as follows: Clergy of all kinds, including 61,617 monks, and 32,500 nuns, 188,625 Day-labourers-Jomaleros, 280,092 964,571 |