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CHIEF TOWNS.-BRUSSELS (394,000), the capital, is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. It is famous for its manufactures, particularly of lace and carpets. Antwerp (169,000), on the Scheldt, is the most commercial place in Belgium, and was formerly the first city in Europe for commerce. Mechlin (or Malines) is one of the chief seats of Belgian manufactures. Population, 42,000. Ghent (131,000) ranks next to Antwerp in commerce and importance. Liege (123,000) is noted for its university, and extensive manufactures. Bruges (44,000) is an important commercial city. Ostend (19,000) is the principal, and the only maritime town of consequence in Belgium. Mons (24,000) and Namur (25,000) are important and strongly fortified towns. Tournay (32,000) is also a strongly fortified town on the Scheldt, and noted for the manufacture of Brussels carpets. Near it is the battle-field of Fontenoy. Louvain is the principal university in Belgium. About ten miles to the south of Brussels, on the edge of the Forest of Soigné, is the village of WATERLOO.

RIVERS. The Scheldt or Escaut, with its affluents, the Senne, Dyle, Lys, &c.; the Maese or Meuse, with its tributaries, the Sambre, Ourthe, and Semoy.

In Belgium the face of the country is generally level, but it occasionally presents a pleasing variety of gentle eminences. It is traversed by canals, but they are less numerous than in Holland. The CLIMATE is mild, but inclined to moisture. The SOIL is in general fertile, and so highly cultivated, that Belgium has been called the Garden of Europe.

The MANUFACTURES of Belgium are numerous and important. Those of lace, cambric, and woollen are celebrated. Its COMMERCE Was formerly important, but it has greatly diminished.

HISTORICAL SKETCH.

The original inhabitants were Celts; but in the time of the Romans the country was occupied by the Belgæ, a German tribe. After the time of Charlemagne, Belgium, or Flanders, as it was then called, became subject to the counts of Flanders; next to the dukes of Burgundy; and subsequently to the house of Austria. Up to the revolt of the Seven Provinces, its history is much the same as that of Holland. Napoleon annexed it to France in 1795, but it was in 1814 taken from France, and joined with Holland, to form the kingdom of the Netherlands. This kingdom was broken up by the Revolution in 1830 into the present kingdoms of Belgium and Holland; and Leopold, Prince of Saxe-Coburg, was elected King of the Belgians.

SPAIN.

SPAIN is bounded on the north by the Pyrenees and the Bay of Biscay; on the west by Portugal and the Atlantic; on the south by the Atlantic, the Strait of Gibraltar, and the Mediterranean; and on the east by the Mediterranean.

Its length, east and west, from Cape Creux to Cape Finisterre in the most western point of Galicia is 660 miles; and its breadth from the Bay of Biscay to the Strait of Gibraltar, 530 miles. Its AREA

is estimated at 191,100 square miles, and its POPULATION in 1878 was 16,623,000.

DIVISIONS.-Spain was formerly divided into 14 great divisions, but since 1833 it has been subdivided into 49 smaller provinces, each of which, except four (Navarre, Biscay, Alava, and Guipuzcoa), takes its name from the chief town within its boundary. Two of the modern provinces consist of the Balearic and Canary Islands. The old divisions with their ancient capitals, and the corresponding modern provinces with their principal towns are as follow:

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The Balearic Islands, forming one of the modern provinces of Spain, lie off the east coast. They consist of Majorca, Minorca, Iviça, Formentera, and some adjacent islets. The AREA of all is about 1,850 square miles, and the POPULATION, 289,000. Palma, in Majorca, is the chief town. Population, 58,000. Port Mahon (13,000), on the east side of Minorca, is the residence of the governor. It is strongly fortified.

Another of the insular provinces comprises the Canary Islands, which lie off the west coast of Africa (the nearest is about 60 miles from the mainland). Teneriffe, Grand Canary, and Palma are the principal. Total AREA of the group, 3,220 square miles; POPULATION, 280,000. Santa Cruz (11,000), in Teneriffe, is the capital, and the next town in importance is Las Palmas (13,000), in Grand Canary.

CHIEF TOWNS.-Madrid (397,000) is important only as the capital of the country. It is situated on a plateau about 2,000 feet above the level of the sea. Barcelona (249,000) is the second city in Spain for population and the first in commerce, manufactures, and wealth. Seville (134,000) was formerly the capital of Spain, and is still a large and handsome city. Cadiz (the ancient Gades), a naval and commercial port on the island of Leon. Its harbour is strongly fortified. It has declined greatly since the defection of the Spanish American colonies. Its present population is 65,000. Xeres (64,000), thirty miles inland from Cadiz, is the principal depôt for the wines

called sherries, from the name of the town, which is pronounced Shares. Valencia (143,000) is celebrated for its manufactures, and has a considerable trade, though it can scarcely be said to have a harbour. Granada (76,000) was the capital of the Moorish kings, and contains the celebrated Alhambra. Cartagena (76,000) is said to have been built by Asdrubal, the Carthaginian general. It has a fine harbour, and is one of the three naval stations of Spain. Saragossa (84,000), the ancient Cæsarea Augusta, is famous for its resistance to the French in 1808-9. Malaga (116,000) is a large and important commercial town, with a capacious harbour. Ferrol is an important naval station. Its harbour is unrivalled in Europe for extent, depth, and safety. Corunna (33,000) is noted for its safe and spacious harbour. Vigo (8,000), on a fine bay further to the south, is now preferred to Corunna as a packet station for England, &c. Murcia (92,000), Cordova (50,000), Badajoz (23,000), and Toledo (21,000), are among the most distinguished ancient cities. Salamanca (14,000) has long been celebrated for its university. Gibraltar, one of the strongest fortresses in the world, has belonged to Britain since 1704.

CAPES.-Ortegal, Finisterre, Trafalgar, Tarifa Point, Gata, Palos St. Martin, and Creux.

MOUNTAINS.-The Pyrenees, the Sierra Nevada,&c. See page 132, RIVERS.-The Minho, Douro, Tagus, Guadiana, Guadalquiver, flowing into the Atlantic; the Ebro, Xucar, and Segura, into the Mediterranean; and the Bidassoa into the Bay of Biscay. It forms part of the boundary between France and Spain.

COLONIES.-The only remains of the vast foreign possessions of Spain are the Islands of Cuba and Porto Rico, in the West Indies; the majority of the Philippine Isles, Caroline Islands, Palaos, and the Ladrone or Mariana Islands in Oceania; a small strip of territory-Ceuta and its dependencies-in North Africa; and the islands of Fernando Po and Annobon in the Gulf of Guinea.

Next to Switzerland, Spain is the most mountainous country in Europe. It is traversed from east to west by several rugged chains, and its centre, comprising a large portion of the two Castiles, consists of an extensive plateau or table-land, nearly 2,000 feet above the level of the sea. It abounds in fertile and beautiful valleys, and in grand and picturesque scenery. Its CLIMATE is, generally speaking, very hot, but dry and healthy. In the elevated regions it is cool and pleasant in summer, but very cold in winter. In the north, and about the sea-coast, it is mild and agreeable. The soIL is in general very fertile, but badly cultivated. See page 132.

HISTORICAL SKETCH.

Spain was known to the ancients by the name of Hispania and Iberia. It was also, from its western situation, called Hesperia.

Spain, it is supposed, was originally peopled by the Iberians and other Asiatic tribes, traces of whose race and language exist to this day in the Basque Provinces. The Phoenicians at a very early period established colonies in it, as Gades (Cadiz); and the Carthaginians subsequently took possession of a great part of it. The Romans drove the Carthaginians from it, and ultimately converted it into a province of their empire.

Upon the breaking up of the Roman Empire it was taken possession of by the Vandals, Suevi, and Alans; and subsequently, by the Visigoths or Western Goths (in 477), who erected it into a very powerful kingdom, which existed till the invasion and conquest of the country by the Saracens or Moors in 713. The Moors overran all Spain, except the northern provinces and mountainous districts, and their descendants kept possession of the best part of the country for nearly 800 years. They were finally conquered and driven from Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella (in 1492). Under Charles V. Spain took a leading part in the direction of the politics of Europe. This monarch reigned forty years, and in 1556 abdicated in favour of his son, Philip the Second, who died in 1598, and bequeathed to his successor, Philip III., Belgium, Naples, Sicily, and Portugal. Charles II., the last prince of the Austrian branch, reigned from 1665 to 1700; after which began the well-known war for the succession to the Spanish dominions, in which the claim of Austria was supported by the Grand Alliance against Louis XIV. Notwithstanding the opposition of the allies, the grandson of Louis reigned in Spain, but relinquished the Belgic provinces to the House of Austria. An abdication of the Spanish Bourbons took place in 1808, when Napoleon placed his brother Joseph on the throne. But Wellington drove the French from the Peninsula; and the Bourbons were restored. In 1833, on the death of Ferdinand VII., the queen-mother, Christina, was made regent during the minority of her daughter, Isabella. On this, Don Carlos, the late king's brother, laid claim to the throne, and a civil war ensued which lasted until 1840, when the partisans of Don Carlos were finally defeated. The spirit which has been growing in Spain during the present century broke out into a revolution in 1868, which deprived Queen Isabella of her crown. An interregnum ensued, the chief power being in the hands of General Prim, until 1870, when the Cortes bestowed the crown on Amadeo, the second son of Victor Enmanuel, King of Italy. In 1872 King Amadeo resigned the crown of Spain, and a republican form of government was adopted by the Cortes. This has lately been succeeded by a Constitutional Monarchy.

PORTUGAL.

PORTUGAL is bounded on the north and east by Spain, and on the west and south by the Atlantic.

Length from north to south, 368 miles; breadth, from the Rock of Lisbon to the borders of Spain, 140 miles. Its AREA is 36,500 square miles, and its POPULATION amounts to 4,160,000.

Portugal is divided into six provinces, which, with their principal towns, are as follow:

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