802 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



Character, Manners, Customs, 

 and Habits of the Estramadurans. 

 [^From the same.'] 



The inhabitants of Estramadura 

 live in a country which seems to be 

 insulated from every other, and 

 where opportunities of communi- 

 cating with tlie different parts of 

 the Spanish monarchy are not fre- 

 quent. Hence this province ap- 

 pears to be concentrated in itself, 

 and to think only of its own exist- 

 ence. The people of it neither 

 know the comforts nor the conveni- 

 encies of life, nor the means of 

 procuring them. Littlehabituated 

 to the world, they dread mixing 

 with it, and avoid society. Hence 

 they appear taciturn, and are, per- 

 haps, the tjravest of all the Spa- 

 niards. They fear to be accosted 

 by strangers, shun their company, 

 and take a pleasure in confining 

 themselves, all their lives, to their 

 own province. A certain distaste 

 for employment, and the want of 

 knowledge, keep them from work, 

 and make them constantly idle. 



They possess, in other respects, 

 excellent qualities ; they are frank, 

 sincere, full of honour and probity, 

 slow in planning enterprises, but 

 firm in their projects, and consist- 

 ent in their notions. They have 

 always been excellent soldiers ; 

 they are strong, vigorous, and ro- 

 bust, supporting, without murmur- 

 sng.'ihe fatiguesand dangers of war; 

 ihey have always displayed an as- 

 tonishing courage ; they prefer the 

 cavalry to the infantry. 



This province has produced se- 

 veral great captains, who did ho- 

 nour to their country by brilliant 

 exploits. It gave birth to the fa- 

 mous Garcias de Peredes, and to 



several of the conquerors of Ame- 

 rica, Fernando Cortez, Francisco 

 Pizarro, the marquis del Valle de 

 Goanaca, and some other of their 

 companions in arms. 



The labourers or workmen of 

 this province are likewise accused 

 of an excessive sloth. The charge 

 appears to be true ; but they ought 

 to be treated with indulgence, 

 when it is known that they are ne- 

 cessarily led into the habits of idle- 

 ness, being, in spite of themselves, 

 without work, without resource 

 for two-thirds of the year, and 

 without any means of industry to 

 support their existence. Being 

 paid for their work a very mode- 

 rate price, living in a country 

 where commodities are very dear, 

 and out of their reach, without 

 hope of ameliorating their condi- 

 tion or their lot, they sink into 

 listlessness. If they are observed 

 when the}' are employed, they will 

 be found alert, indefatigable, work- 

 ing without relaxation at noon- 

 day, in a burningclimate, and under 

 a scorching sun. 



No kind of dissipation or plea- 

 sures are known in Estramadura; 

 there is no variety : everj- thing is 

 regular, and melancholy. Persons 

 of high birth, and those who have 

 fortune, or are at their ease, sel- 

 dom associate, and that but acci- 

 dentally. 



It is still worse with the com- 

 mon people ; they are so poor that 

 they are constantly experiencing 

 deprivations of every kind, and 

 often want the necessaries of life, 

 without looking forward to any 

 favourable change of this pitiable 

 condition. This excess of poverty, 

 which spreads from family to fa- 

 mily, oppresses the soul, and ener- 

 vates 



