SPAIN. 



641 



length IS 568 feet, and its breadth, 27 feet 6 inches. Of the 6 arches, the 2 central ones are 94 

 feet wide. There is an inscription in honor of the Emperor, and a mausoleum for the archi- 

 tect, at the end of the bridge. It is buik of stones enormously large, and is at present conse- 

 crated as a chapel to St. Julian. In Merida, the Roman remains are little inferior in number 

 or interest to those of the towns in Italy. There are 2 ancient bridges of great solidity, 

 and in good preservation ; one has 60 arches, and extends 2,800 feet. Among the antiquities 

 within the walls, are a fine triumphal arch, the ruins of temples, columns, inscriptions, &c. 

 Without tlie walls, are a theatre, a naumachia, a circus, the remains of three aqueducts, and 

 of four Roman ways. There are many other antiquities, of inferior magnitude and interest, in 

 various parts of Spain. 



22. Revenue^ Debt, Jlrmy, &c. The revenue of Spain was once the largest in Europe, but 

 is now greatly reduced, not exceeding 30,000,000 dollars. The debt is 350,000,000, and is 

 rapidly accumulating. The system of taxation is very defective, and varies according to the 

 exigencies of the government.* The long civil wars, that have distracted this unhappy country, 

 make it impossible to assert anything with certainty on these heads, or in respect to the mili- 

 tary forces. 



23. Colonies. The vast territories which formerly belonged to the Spanish crown, in dif- 

 ferent parts of the world, were officially styled the Indies, and it was said, without exaggera- 

 tion, that upon its dominions the sun never set. But the only remains of this colossal power, 

 at the present time, are the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico, in America ; the Canaries, and 

 the presidios or fortresses on the northern coast of Africa, of which Ceula is the principal ; 

 and the Philippine and Marianne or Ladrone islands, in Oceania. The entire population of 

 these colonies is about 4,000,000. 



24. Population. The number of inhabitants in Spain was estimated, in 1826, at 13,732,172. 

 Of these, 127,345 belonged to the clergy ; 100,732 were soldiers, and 14,064 sailors. The 

 population has probably decreased since that time. 



25. History. The early inhabitants of Spain were various Celtic tribes. The attempts of 

 the Carthaginians to establish colonies in the country gave rise to the second Punic war with 

 the Romans, which resulted in the acquisition of the whole peninsula by the Romans. It con- 

 tinued a Roman province for 500 years. At the fall of the Roman empire, the Vandals, 

 Alani, and Suevi invaded Spain ; and, in 419, the empire of the Visigoths was founded. In 

 the ear\y part of the 8th century, the Saracens invaded the country from Africa. Roderic, 

 the last Gothic king, was defeated by them, at the battle of Xeres, and the Gothic inhabitants 

 were driven into the mountains of Asturias and Biscay. The Moors established themselves 

 in the southern part of the country, and their sovereigns reigned in great splendor at Granada. 

 The Spaniards were roused to resistance by Don Pelayo, and maintained a struggle against 

 the Moors, which the Spanish historians dignify with the name of a continual war of 700 

 years. The territories gained from the enemy, were formed into several distinct kingdoms. 

 These were gradually amalgamated ; and, in 1469, the marriage of Ferdinand, king of Arra- 

 gon, with Isabella, queen of Castile, united the whole of Christian Spain into one kingdom. 

 These sovereigns conquered Granada, and completed the total subjugation of the Moorish 

 power in the peninsula, at the same time that Columbus, under their auspices, discovered 

 America, and gave them a new world in the west. 



In the 16lh century, under Charles the Fifth, who was King of this country and Emperor 

 of Germany, Spain was the most powerful monarchy in Europe. Philip the Second, the 

 successor of this monarch, expelled all the JVJoriscoes, or descendants of the Moors, who re- 

 mained in the country, which caused an immense loss to the kingdom, in wealth and popula- 

 tion. The war of the Succession, in the early part of the 18th century, completed the im- 

 poverishment of the country, and Spain has been only a second-rate power since that time. 



[n 1808, Napoleon seized the kingdom, and placed his brother Joseph upon the throne ; 

 but the resistance of the people, who were assisted by the armies of Britain, and his reverses 

 in Russia, frustrated his plans. This event caused the revolt of nearly all Spanish America 



* Thfi revenue is ordinarily derived from the following 

 sources customs ; duties on tobacco and salt ; stamps ; lot- 

 teries ; lanzas, or contributions, exacted from the grandees, 

 as an equivalertt for the lances, or horsemen, which they 

 formerly furnished to the crown ; the crusada, an ancient 

 lax, levied for the crusades; the cxatsatio, a subBidy, 



81 



granted by the pope, for the revenue of the clergy ; the 

 noveno. a ninth part of the tithes ; the tercias, two ninths 

 of the tithes ; (he diezmo, a tax on the river-fishings at 

 Seville ; half the annats of the secular clergy ; finss, posts, 

 capitation tax, and duties on gunpowder, saltpetre, and 

 other products. 



