

C A II T II A O E N A. 





Cartha- 



111 



''!'"" 



which are more numerous than is generally imagined. 



Thov n s'.-mble those of Sparta, having nothing left 



ii, tolerable preservation, but covering an extensive 



1 saw tln-m in the rnontli of February ; the 



.UK! olive trees already were clothed with their 



. large angelicas and acanthuses formed 



thickets among marble fragments of every 



colour." See Chateaubriand's Trim-Is, vol. ii. p. 



>, &i. (J M. T.) 



C AKTHAGENA, a sea-port town of Spain, 

 situated in the province of Mntcia. It was founded 

 by Asdmbal in the year of Rome 524-. It was first 

 called AVw Carthage, being intended by the Cartha- 

 ginian colonists to rival their African capital : and after- 

 wards it received from the Romans the name ot Car- 

 thago Spartana, on account of the great quantity of 

 spurt or broom which grows in its vicinity. Ancient- 

 ly it was the principal place of a Roman province, 

 hence called Provincia Carthaginiensis ; and the scene 

 of great contention, first between the Romans and 

 Carthaginians, and then between the Romans and 

 Barbarians. In the year 421, it was taken and utterly 

 destroyed by the Vandals; but was entirely rebuilt 

 b\ Philip II. for the sake of its excellent harbour. 

 The town stands on the declivity of a hill, and is se- 

 parated from the harbour by a small plain. On the 

 south and the west are high mountains and barren 

 rocks. Towards the north and east it is open, and 

 communicates with an extensive valley, which is of 

 a finely varied surface, has a fertile soil consisting of 

 a sort of red earth and frequently returning sixty 

 fold, produces different kinds of grain, and abounds 

 in elms, poplars, olives, figs, pomegranates, &c. 

 The streets are spacious, but very few of them are 

 good. The houses are in general flat roofed, and 

 sufficiently commodious. On the top of the hill 

 commanding the city, there is a castle, which is ra- 

 ther in a state of decay; and on the adjoining heights 

 there are walls ot considerable strength erected for 

 the defence of the harbour, arsenal, and dock-yard. 

 The public buildings are not remarkable. They are 

 chiefly the new parade, which is raised on a regular 

 plan the royal hospital, which is a large establish- 

 ment, intended for the reception of the sick, both in 

 the navy and army the cathedral, which is a miser- 

 able pile, and, since the bishop's see was removed to 

 Murcia, has been degraded to the rank of a parish 

 church the convents, none of which deserve parti- 

 cular notice the arsenal, which is a spacious square 

 situated to the south-west of the town, under the 

 mountains, defenceless on the land side, but protect- 

 ed by cannon in its approach from the sea and the 

 iloc/c yards, consisting of wet docks, where the men 

 of war are moored each of them opposite to the door 

 of its own magazine of stores, and of dry-ducks, so 

 much infested with water oozing from the marshy 

 soil, that they would never be clear of it, were it not 

 for several fire engines, which are continually going, 

 and a great pump, which is wrought without inter- 

 mission by multitudes of Spanish criminals and Bar- 

 bary slaves. The harbour is the best in Spain, so 

 good, that Andrew Dona, the famous Genoese ad- 

 miral, was wont to say, he knew but three good ports, 

 and these were June, July, and Cai tbagena. There 

 is none, indeed, which surpasses it in regularity and 



afety. It is very spacious, and so deep, that vetteli 

 may be moored close to the laud ; and in one posi- 

 tion in it, a large fleet may lie in the utmost security, 

 completely out of the view of all ships that may be 

 at sea, or even in the narrow part of the entrance to 

 the harbour. Its great outline, which is in the figure 

 ot a heart, is entirely formed by the hand of nature. 

 On the east and west, high naked mountains rite 

 very steep from the water's edge; and on the north, 

 a low and narrow ridge of hills, on which the city 

 stands, shuts out the view of the inland country 

 Tli" entrance, which is defended by two redoubts, 

 lias the island Escombreni, lying off it in such a way 

 as to shelter it from the violence of the winds and 

 waves. And, indeed, so perfectly is it protected by 

 the high hills which surround it, that from the mole 

 which is nothing more than a pitiful platform, 

 thougli protected by twelve pieces of cannon the 

 entrance of the harbour and basin alone arc visible, and 

 even in the time of a storm the water remains calm 

 and unruffled. In the centre of the haven, however, 

 in a line between the mouth and the mole-gate, there 

 is a ledge of rocks, which being only five feet under 

 water, and not indicated by any breakers, is attended 

 with danger to strange ships and careless pilots. 



In the immediate vicinity of Carthagena, diamonds, 

 rubies, amethysts, and other precious stones are said to 

 have been found. It was a long time, indeed, the Indies 

 of the Romans, and there are still silver mines, though 

 it is believed they are nearly exhausted. Rock-crystal 

 also is to be met with both on the east and west sides or 

 the town : and not far off, there are four hot springs, 

 and some traces of an alum mine. At no great dis- 

 tance from the city is a mountain, which furnishes 

 the gypsum used for plaster. Saltpetre abounds 

 throughout the whole country. Carthagena has some 

 extensive vineyards, from which are produced a lus- 

 cious and thick wine, the best of the kind in that 

 province, and also a sweet wine, which is delicate and 

 agreeable. Only a small quantity of the latter goes 

 into foreign countries, as it is not sufficiently known, 

 though said to be not inferior to the wine of Alicant. 

 It is chiefly in the neighbourhood of Carthagena 

 that spart or broom is cultivated. Anciently, as 

 Pliny tells us, it furnished the common people with 

 materials for bedding, clothes, shoes, and fire. It is 

 still used for making shoes, ships' cables, and mats for 

 houses, and even a fine thread has been spun from it 

 for the purpose of being weaved into cloth. Although 

 not so much attended to as formerly, it is yet consi- 

 dered of sufficient importance to be an article of ex- 

 portation, and to be subjected to the operation of duties 

 and monopolies. The fishery here is considerable, 

 and is carried on both within the port and in the open 

 sea. The fishing within the port belongs to a com- 

 pany established by royal charter, while in the open 

 seas all mariners who are enrolled, have a right to 

 pursue that occupation. The fish are of various 

 kinds, the tunny, melvas, &c. A good deal is con- 

 sumed at home; but the greatest proportion is salted 

 and sent to the foreign market. This branch of in- 

 dustry, as usual, is much discouraged by various 

 injudicious regulations and unfair exactions on the 

 part of government and its inferior officers. The 

 most important and valuable article of commerce at 



