PORTUGAL 



337 



Ocean. Details of provincial areas and populations 

 are given in the subjoined table. 



Province. An* in aq. m, 



Minho 2807 



Traz os Montes 4291 



Beira 9049 



Estremadura 8870 



Alemtejo 9415 



Algarve 1872 



Azores 922 



Madeira 315 



Total 35,541 



Pop. (1890). 



1,091,936 



416,980 



1,450,441 



1,083,290 



388,813 



228,635 



255,594 



134,040 



5,049,729 



The population increases steadily but slowly : in 

 1851 it numbered 3,487,000; in 1874, 4,160,315; 

 and in 1881, 4,708,178. But fully 16,500 persons 

 emigrate every year, the majority going to America, 

 chiefly to Brazil. 



Physical Aspects. In respect of its physical 

 structure and conformation, Portugal forms an 

 integral part of the Iberian Peninsula (see SPAIN). 

 The coast is low and flat, and sandy, except for one 

 or two short distances, as immediately north and 

 south of the mouth of the Tagus, and at Cape St 

 Vincent in the extreme south-west. The two 

 northern provinces are diversified by spurs (5000 

 feet) of the mountains of Spanish Galicia. The 

 most important mountain-range of Portugal is the 

 Sierra da Estrella (6540 feet), a westward continua- 

 tion of the Spanish Sierra Uuadarrama system. 

 The Sierra Morena is continued westwards in 

 southern Portugal. In like manner, the principal 

 rivers of the country the Guadiana in the south, 

 the Tagus in the centre, and the Donro and Minho 

 in the north are simply the lower courses of what 

 are geographically Spanish rivers. The Mondego, 

 which reaches the sea about half-way between the 

 Tagus mouth and that of the Douro, is the longest 

 river that has its sources in the country. Portugal 

 has numerous mineral springs, a large proportion 

 being impregnated with sulphur. Minerals exist 

 in fairly rich abundance, but are not worked to 

 the extent they could be, chiefly from want of 

 fuel and cheap means of transit. Salt is prepared 

 in large quantities in the salt marshes ; copper, 

 iron, lead, manganese, antimony, gypsum, lime, 

 and marble are extracted and in part exported. 

 About 5500 persons in all are engaged in mining, 

 the yield of which reaches the total value of 

 224,000 per annum. 



Climate. The vicinity to the ocean tempers the 

 climate of Portugal, and exempts it from the dry 

 heat by which Spain is visited. The inequalities 

 of the surface produce, however, diversities of 

 climate ; for, while snow falls abundantly on the 

 mountains in the northern provinces, it is never 

 seen in the lowlands of the southern districts, 

 where spring begins with the new year and harvest 

 is over by midsummer. Rain falls abundantly all 

 the year round, especially on the coast, and from 

 October to March. As a general rule, the climate 

 is healthy in the elevated districts, even of the 

 southern provinces ; but malaria and fever prevail 

 in the low flat lands and near the salt marshes. 

 The mean annual temperature ranges from 60 F. 

 at Oporto to 63 - 5 at Lagos on the south coast. 



The animal life and plant life do not differ from 

 those of Spain (<!*') 



Occupations. The soil is generally rich, except 

 in the mountainous parts ; but agriculture is every- 

 where in a backward state, little more than half 

 the area of the country being put to profitable use. 

 Arable land occupies only 15J percent. ; grass-land, 

 24 per cent. ; orchards, 7 per cent. ; forest, 3 per 

 cent. ; vineyards, 2| ; and olive-groves, about the 

 same extent. The cereals chiefly grown are 

 maize, wheat, rye, barley, and rice, but not in 

 sufficient quantity for the wants of the people. 

 Potatoes, vegetables (especially onions), flax, 

 386 



fruits (oranges, lemons, chestnuts, almonds, &c. ) 

 are grown in large quantities. But the cultiva- 

 tion of the vine and of the olive are the most 

 prosperous branches of industry ; from the former 

 is derived the rich red wine familiarly known as 

 Port, from its being shipped at Porto, 'the 

 port.' The total quantity of wine annually pro- 

 duced in Portugal amounts to 88,000,000 gallons. 

 Cattle are reared in the north, sheep and goats in 

 the centre, and swine in the oak forests of the 

 south. In the vine districts of the north and 

 centre the soil is mostly owned by peasant pro- 

 prietors ; in other parts of the country great estates 

 are owned by the nobles and let to tenants to culti- 

 vate. The rearing of silkworms and the keeping 

 of bees are pursued with some energy. Fisli is 

 abundant in all the rivers and off the coasts. 

 Tunny and sardines are exported ; and of late 

 attention has been given to the rearing of oysters. 



Commerce, <tc. Portugal is not a manufacturing 

 country ; what industry there is is principally con- 

 centrated in the two chief towns, Lisbon and 

 Oporto. In all, some 91,000 persons are engaged in 

 industrial pursuits, and of these nearly 40,000 are 

 employed in weaving wool. The rest cut cork, 

 manufacture cotton, linen, silk, leather, glass and 

 porcelain, paper, and gold and silver filigree, 

 and carry on various other industries. In 1889 

 the mercantile marine of Portugal comprised 443 

 vessels (43 steam), measuring in all 77,906 tons. 

 During the four years ending 1887 the Portuguese 

 ports were entered by an average of 5565 ocean- 

 going vessels of 3,404,500 tons, but in 1893 by 5873 

 of 5,793,000 tons ; of these totals, nearly half in 

 number and more than half in tonnage were British. 

 In 1893, 1450 miles of railway were open, and 300 

 more in course of construction. The exports, con- 

 sisting principally of wine, copper, salt, cork, fish, 

 oxen, fruits, vegetables, ana wool, average 5J 

 millions sterling in value annually. More than 

 one-half of this total is for wine, the actual value 

 ranging between 1,580,200 (in 1879) and 3,751,770 

 (in 1886). Of this again the greater part is for port 

 wine, exported to Britain, 3 to 4 million gallons 

 annually, valued at 1 to 1J million sterling ; and 

 to Brazil, to an annual average of 608,000. France 

 takes every year about 868,000 worth of the 

 common wine of the country. The value of all 

 the exports sent to Great Britain every year 

 ranges from 2J to nearly 4 millions sterling. Apart 

 from wine, the principal items are cork, copper, 

 live oxen, and wool. From Great Britain Portugal 

 imports chiefly cottons ($ to f million sterling), 

 woollens, coal, metals, machinery, and butter, to 

 the annual value of If to 2^ millions sterling. Her 

 total imports, which, in addition to the articles 

 mentioned, embrace bullion, flour and wheat (more 

 than 1,000,000 annually), glass, live-stock, silk, 

 timber, linen, &c., reached the value of 11J millions 

 in 1889, a steady increase from 7J millions in 1885. 

 Germany, France, and the United States rank 

 next after Great Britain as sources whence Portugal 

 draws her imports. 



Finance. In spite of her commercial prosperity, 

 Portugal cuts a bad figure in her financial arrange- 

 ments. For years there has been an annual deficit, 

 which is mostly met by loans, so that the national 

 debt is rapidly increasing. Whereas in 1878 the 

 national income was 5,673,000, the expenditure 

 was 7,629,500 ; ten years later the income had 

 increased to 8,468,000, but the expenditure was 

 10,000,000. The national debt has increased from 

 20,974,000 in 1856 to 64,333,000 in 1871, and 

 148,490,103 in 1893, besides 4,784,777 of floating 

 debt. The interest for the country's loans is 

 accordingly some 5,000,000, by a long way the 

 heaviest item in the national expenditure. 



Defence. Every Portuguese above twenty-one 



