AU'ESTEK. 



i i 



n (0111161106 croUide the 

 -nark to th. town are-th. 



WMie of nto mill er ** Tarn : th ' coll<! <> building* ; the 

 Mbltc library whkh eorteln* 11,000 volume* ; the museum ; the 

 eahtaM of netaral hietory : h theatre ; Mid the public gardens. 



Tfc In'iMtrial pradnote of AIM are coarse woollen cloths, canvass, 

 fclhli lieaa. nMn uuuaUrpanee. ootton handkerchief*, hosiery, candle*. 

 .nujl WBTM, flour, pertik. Ac. There are also iron and copper-works 

 ad lielMliiilMlil** Oreat quantities of ania< and other seeds are 

 grow* ! th* Bvirona, There are ooal-mines and Mreral paper and 

 nlmflsi near the town. 



ALBION, the oldeet name by which the island of Great Britain 

 was known to the Cheek* and Roman*. Oreat Britain and Ireland 

 were known by the general appellation of the Britannic Inland*, 

 while Ike former wan designated by the particular name of Albion 

 or Alwion, and the Utter by that of lerne, louernia, or Erin. Canar 

 don not OH the word Albion : hi* name for England i* Britannia. 

 Pliny am (tr. 16), 'the name of the inland ir<u Albion, the whole *et 

 of island* being called Britannic.' The word Albirm in still the only 

 name by which the Gaels of Scotland designate that country ; and 

 the word signifies in the Gaelic language trkiit or fair island. The 

 word a/4 itself is not now in use in the Gaelic, but i* probably the 

 same root that we find in the Latin adjective alb-tu, and in the word 

 'Alps.' Alb. however, is found in Armstrong's 'Gaelic Dictionary.' 

 The termination i, inn, or nmu, signifies ' island.' 



The name of Albion was probably given to England by the GaeU 

 of the opposite coast, who could not fail to be struck with the chalky 

 dull that characterise the nearest part of Kent. Settlers from Gaul 

 probably came over to Britain ; and their descendants, as we presume 

 the Gael* of Scotland to be, though now confined to the northern 

 part of the island, still retain among them the name of Album, by 

 which the whole country was once designated.) 



(TTtomyMi CM llit Origin, Ac. of the Gael, by James Grant, of 

 Corrimony. Armstrong's Gaelic Dictionary.) 



ALBION, NEW. This name was given by Sir Francis Drake to 

 the entire province of California and part of. the adjoining N.\V. 

 coast of North America, which he visited in* the month of June, 

 1679. The part of this coast since known an New Albion was less 

 extensive, and was limited, by Humboldt and other geographers, to 

 that portion of the country which is situated on the mainland, 

 betOMU 48* and 48" N. lat It in now comprehended within the 

 limits of the Territory of Oregon, which is the native Indian name of 

 the river which has since been called the Columbia River ; but both 

 name* are now used. [OREGON.] 



ALBRET, a district in Lower Gascogne, in the South of France, 

 of which Nerac and Labrit were the chief towns. It gave the title 

 of viscount to the Sires of Amanjeu. The first viscount d'Albret 

 lived in the year 1050. His male descendants retained the title till 

 1550, whan Henri d'Albret, king of Navarre, was created duke of 

 Albret Jeanne d'Albret, Henri's daughter, married Antoine de 

 Bourbon, to whom she bore a Bon, afterwards Henri IV. On 

 Henri IV.'* accession to the throne, the duchy was united to the 

 crown ; but Louis XIV. afterwards gave it to the duke of Bouillon in 

 exchange for the principality of Sddan. The territory of Allin is 

 now included In the arrondiasement of Mont-de-Marsan in the 

 department of Landes. The ancient town of Albret has long dis- 

 appeared ; its site is now marked by the poor hamlet of Labrit Of 

 * the old castle there remains only a single redoubt, and gome of tho 

 ditches that surrounded it f LASDEH.] 



ALBUEHA, a village in Spain, 15 miles a&E. from Badajoz, 

 stands on the west bank of a small river, which falls into the 

 Ouadiana. The village is celebrated as the site of a battle which 

 took place May 18, 1811, between a French army, under Marshal 

 Soult, and an allied force of British, Spanish, and Portuguese troops, 

 onder Marshal Beraaford. Soult was advancing from Seville to compel 

 Bereef.Td to raise the aim of Badajoz, when Beresford took a 

 position on a ridge to the left of the village, with the Spanish troops 

 on the right Soult crossed the river with 15,000 men and 40 guns, 

 drove the Spaniards back, and occupied a hill which commanded the 

 whole at the position taken up by the allied troops. From this hill 

 the French most be driven, or defeat was inevitable. The Spaniards 

 eonld not be induced to advance under the fire of the French ; and 

 the Britiah, amounting altogether to lea* than 7000, were brought up 

 torepUe* them. After a desperate conflict, the French weredriven 

 from their position, and "then 1500 unwounded men, the remnant 

 MO, stood, says Napier, "triumphant on the fatal hill" The 

 ' tr"" 1 **** "' *"* ******** * Seville. (Napier's 



DE VALENCIA, the name of a Ingune on the 



>" 

 art royal property, and yield a larg. revenue. Napoleo? granted 



them to Suohet, and created him Duke of Albufera, as a reward for 

 ii capture of Valencia, in January, 1812 ; but the Duke of Wellington, 

 ;>y the battle of Vittoria, in 1813, compelled him to retreat from 

 Valencia, and deprived Suchet of the property of Albufera, though he 

 continued to retain the title. The Albufera was afterwards granted 

 to the Duke of Wellington, in recompense of his services in Spain. 

 AUntfera is Arabic, and signifies "The Lake.' 



ALBUQUERQUE. [ESTRBMADURA, Spanish.] 



ALBURZ. [CAUCASUS.! 



ALCALA' DE HENARES, a town of Castilla la Nueva, in Spain, 

 in the modern province of Madrid, in 40* 29' N. lat. 3* 23' W. long., 

 is situated in a fine plain, about a mile from the northern bank of the 

 river Nun--. ! Henares (Arabic, 'el Nahr,' the river), whence it 

 derives its name, 'the Castle of the River.' It is 14 miles I 

 from Madrid, and had in 1845 a population of 5153. The ancient 

 Roman town of CumphUum stood on the opposite bank of the river, 

 and was destroyed about tho year A.D. 1000. The present town was 

 n-l.iiilt. in 1083, and the Moors had possession of it till the beginning 

 of the 12th century, when it was conquered from them by the 

 Christians. The wall was erected in 1389 by Tenorio, archbishop of 

 Toledo. The town was formerly celebrated for its university, which 

 was founded in 1510 by Cardinal Ximenea de Cisneros, and was 

 richly endowed by him. It was in this university, and at the expense 

 of its founder, that the ' Complutensian Polyglot,' was edited :iiid 

 printed. This work was a magnificent Bible in six volumes foli... in 

 Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, with a Chaldee paraphrase to the Old 

 Testament The university had 17 colleges. It has been removed 

 to Madrid. The town at one time contained about 40 churches. It 

 is now greatly reduced, but still possesses some fine buildings, mostly 

 however in a state of decay. The largest of the colleges was that of 

 San Ildefonso, begun by Ximenes, and completed by Rodrigo Gil in 

 1533. The chapel of this college in a specimen of rich guthie, with 

 Moorish decorations of extreme beauty. It contui ub of 



Ximenes, who was buried here ; this tomb is of alabaster, and was 

 the work of Domenico Florentine. The cathedral U a handsome 

 gothie structure, built in imitation of the cathedral of Toledo. During 

 the French invasion the churches were robbed of their best pictures, 

 and many changes to the detriment of the town have taken place 

 since the suppression of monasteries. Alcaltf contains an archbishop's 

 palace, a theatre, and a place for bull-fights, and has two pretty 

 alamcdan, or public walks. It was the birth-place of the emperor 

 Ferdinand, brother of Charles V. ; of Cervantes ; of the poet Fig : 

 of the historian Solis; of the divine Theodore Beza, and of other 

 distinguished persons. The old Alcald (Complutum) included two 

 hills, one named the Ccrro de Vera Cruz, the other the Cerro de 

 Zulemo, on which many Roman remains have been found. There 

 are also the ruins of an old castle. 



ALCALA' DE OUADAIRA. [SKVILLA.] 



ALCALA'-LA-REAL. [JAEX.T 



A I .( 'AMO, a city of Sicily, in the province of Trapani, is built in a 

 beautiful spot under Monte Bonifacio, 23 miles E. l>y S. from Trapani, 

 about the same distance S.W. from Palermo, and 3 miles inland 

 from the Gulf of Cantcl-a-Mare : population, 15,500. It contains 

 several edifices and towers of Saracenic architecture, and was probably 

 founded by the Saracens. A little west of Alcamo are the ruins of 

 Segoste. The first Italian who attempted to write poetry in the 

 vernacular tongue was a native of Alcamo ; some fragments of his 

 poem are to be found amongst the ancient Italian authors under the 

 title of ' Ciullo d* Alcamo.' Ciullo lived and died about the end of 

 the 12th century. 



ALCANIZ. [Aiuoou.] 



ALCA'NTARA. [ESTRKMADDRA, Spanish,] 



ALCA'NTARA, is a town in Brazil, in the province of Maranhao, 

 about 10 miles N.W. from Maranhao the capital of the province, from 

 which it is separated by the Bay of Vianna, or tiie estuary of tho 

 RioMaranhio. It issituated In 2* 12' 8. lat., and 44*20' W. long. Its 

 harbour is deep enough for vessels of moderate si < . ami it has a 

 considerable commerce in cotton, which is the staple article and 

 considered the best in the province. It is built on elevated ground, 

 and contains several large houses, built of stone. Considerable 

 quantities of rice and salt are exported. The salt is collected in 

 some lagiinos, which are separated by embankments from the sea. 

 In the months of June and July, tho sea-water is made to enter, 

 which during tho following dry months evaporates, and leaves in 

 !>erthe dry bottoms covered witli incrustations of salt This 

 is then collected and exported to Maranhao and Gram Para. The 

 population of this thriving place is estimated at about 10,000. 

 I lleu.lenvm'N Iliitory of Brazil ; Spix and Martin's Reitc in Bra* 



ALCESTKIt, Wurwick.-liiri', written also Avlcaler, Alencaler, and 

 with several other variations, commonly pronounced Autitrr or 

 Atuter, and by some of the inhabitants, in CamdenV linn', "ulilcater, 

 a market town, and the seat of a Peer-Law Union ta the perish of 

 Alcoster, and Aloester division of the hundred of liurliYhway, is 

 situated in the western part of the county, at the r Hi- 



Arrow and tho Alne, from which last it takes its name, in 52 13' N. 

 lat, 1* 63' W. long. ; 16 miles W.S.W. from Warwick, and 103 miles 

 N. \V. from London : the population in 1851 was 2027. The living 

 is a rectory in the archdeaconry and diocese of Worcester. Alcester 



