CASTILE. 



600 



iti sovereigns, and was animated by their presence, 

 it held the tirnt r.mk among the provinces of Spain 

 lor opulence, as well as for the excellence and variety 

 of its manufactures. But since the removal of the 

 court to Madrid, its prosperity has most rapidly declin- 

 ed. The manufactures of woollen and linen cloths, for 

 which it was formerly so distinguished, are now almost 

 annihilated. The greatest part of its wool is carried 

 to France, where it is fabricated into cloths and caps, 

 many of which return to Spain for sale ; and the half 

 of what is manufactured at Segovia is sent to Madrid 

 and some other places in New Castile. Paper, hides, 

 and leather, are also exported to the same province ; 

 white glass to Arragon ; and a little wine to Biscay. 

 Its imports, however, are more considerable, and 

 consist annually of about 400 quintals of almonds, and 

 15 quintals of dried figs; 12,000 loads of rice, pa- 

 per, needles, brass-nails, silks, and oil ; 700 quintals 

 of flax, and 12,000 of hemp; 800 pieces of stuff; 

 720 dozen pairs of worsted stockings ; besides saf- 

 fron, cutlery, salted pilchards, linens, wire, nets, 

 printed calicoes, shoes, and iron utensils. 



The character of the inhabitants corresponds with 

 the depressed state of their province ; and, accord- 

 ing to a late writer, they bear in their swarthy com- 

 plexion the expression of poverty and dejection. 

 They appear to have little relish for the pleasures of 

 society, and are more remarkable than any of their 

 countrymen for that gravity and hauteur of manner, 

 which is the general characteristic of their nation. 

 They have scarcely any intercourse with each other, 

 and the few amusements in which they engage are al- 

 ways of a solemn and sombre cast. In their con- 

 duct, however, they are honest, temperate, and sin- 

 cere ; " their morals," says M. De Laborde, " are 

 incorrupt and ingenuous ; they are upright in con- 

 duct, strangers to artifice, and unpractised in cun- 

 ning or duplicity ; they are naturally obliging ; pro- 

 bity is their birth-right ; and they are so disinterest- 

 ed, and so perfectly free from all affectation, that 

 they may be justly stiled, the honest people of 

 Spain." From this general character there are some 

 exceptions in particular districts. The inhabitants 

 of the valley of Mena, who boast of being descend- 

 ed from the ancient Cantabri, still retain a consider- 

 able share of their ancient courage and vivacity ; and 

 the mountaineers of Burgos have a great resemblance 

 to those of Biscay, both in habits and manners. The 

 dress of this description of inhabitants is indeed quite 

 peculiar ; and that of the women in the villages bor- 

 dering on the province of Biscay, still exhibits the 

 fashion of the 16th century. It consists commonly 

 of a brown gown, with slashed sleeves, close at the 

 collar and wrist, and bound round the waist with a 

 large girdle and buckle ; the hair is braided in tres- 

 ses, and hangs down behind ; and the head is cover- 

 ed with a black silk hat, called a montera. 



The population of Old Castile scarcely amounts 

 to one half of its former number. It is estimated 

 at present at 1,190,108 persons, among whom are 

 14-6,036 nobles, 9013 vicars and secular priests, 

 8774- monks and nuns, 1865 advocates and writers, 

 5760 students, and 37,183 domestics. 



The principal places in this province are Burgos, 

 the capital and an archbishop's see ; the episcopal 

 cities of Osma, Siguenza, Avila, Valladolid, Sego- 

 via, Calahorra, and Soria ; and the towns of Lo. 



VOL, V. PART II. 



grono, Santo Domingo, de la Calzada, Granou, and 

 Acofra. It has three cathedral chapters, twenty- 

 five collegiate chapters, three establishments of the 

 military order, 4555 parishes, 390 religious houses, 

 a superior military government, a captain general, 

 six subordinate military governments, six provincial 

 intendants or comptrollers, a royal chancery, and 

 three universities. 



In Old Castile was laid the foundation of the Spa- 

 nish monarchy. This province was first wrested from 

 the Saracens by the kings of Leon, who annexed it 

 to their dominions, and entrusted its government to 

 a certain number of nobles, who held the rank of 

 counts. Its subjection to Leon, however, was but 

 of short duration ; for, in the beginning of the 10th 

 century, the high-spirited CastiTians, provoked by 

 the cruelties and oppressions of King Orduno, who 

 had seized and murdered all their governors, renoun- 

 ced their allegiance, and declared themselves inde- 

 pendent. Having established a popular form of go- 

 vernment, the legislative and executive powers were 

 vested in two judges chosen by the people, until 923, 

 when Fernando Gonzales, one of the judges, was 

 proclaimed sole count of Castile. The succession 

 continued in his family for three generations, when 

 the male line becoming extinct, Nuna Mayor, the 

 great-grand-daughter of Gonzalez, resigned her he- 

 reditary right in favour of her husband Sancho, king 

 of Navarre, who, in 1028, assumed the title of king 

 of Castile. The greatest part of New Castile was 

 still occupied by the Moors ; and it was not until 

 1085, that that province was reunited to Old Castile. 

 The descendants of Sancho succeeded to the king- 

 doms of Leon, Arragon, and Valencia, and the prin- 

 cipality of Catalonia ; the province of Biscay and a 

 part of Navarre were afterwards annexed to their 

 crown ; and they obtained by conquest the Moorish 

 kingdoms of Murcia, Seville, Cordova, and Grana- 

 da, thus uniting under one dominion the isolated states 

 of the Spanish peninsula. The capital of Old Cas- 

 tile was the seat of the government ; and notwith- 

 standing the extension of the empire, it continued to 

 be the royal residence till the 13th century, after 

 which it shared that honour with Toledo, until the 

 beginning of the 16th century, when Charles V. 

 transferred his court to Madrid. See Laborde's 

 View of Spain, vol. iii. p. 1 55 ; and Swinburne's 

 Travels through Spain, vol. ii. p. 244 271. (/>) 



CASTILE (NEW), the largest province of Spain, 

 extending (independent of La Mancha) 56 leagues 

 from north to south, and 49 from east to west. It 

 comprehends the Celtiberia, the land of the Oretani, 

 and the Carpelania, &c. of the Romans ; and has 

 Old Castile on the north and north west ; Arragon, 

 Valencia, and Murcia, on the east and south-east ; the 

 Sierra Morena on the south, which separates it from 

 Andalusia ; and Estremadura and Leon on the west, 

 from which it is divided by a ridge of hills, called 

 Gaudaloupe, and La Sarena. This province con- 

 tains about 22,000 square miles, and presents a di- 

 versified aspect, consisting of immense plains, inter- 

 sected by numerous rivers, and divided and surround- 

 ed by lofty mountains. The principal range is, that 

 which was called by the Romans Monies Orospeda- 

 ni, and which originates in the Sierra D'Occa. 

 From it the other mountains are mere ly ramifications, 

 of which the Sierra de Cuenca is the chief, and i 



