Encyclopaedia Britannica, or, a Dictionary of arts, sciences, and miscellaneous literature : enlarged and improved. Illustrated with nearly six hundred engravings > Volume 19, Scripture-SUG

SPA [ 487 ] SPA
Spain, in the diflrift of Albuladui in Granada, and near Le-
narez in the kingdom of Jaen.
There are numerous lead mines, efpecially near Tor-
tofa in Catalonia j at Zoma, Benafques, and Plan in
Aragon ; near Logrofen and Alcofer in Eilremadura $
in the mountain Guadarrama in Old Caftile ; near I03
Alumbres and Lorca in Murcia 5 at Alcaniz and Con-
ftantina in Seville, and at the diflrift of Linarez in
Jaen.
, The mines of iron are abundant, and need not be
enumerated. Of antimony there are two mines, both
in the diftrift of La Mancha. One of thefe is at Alen-
dia, near Almodovar ; the other at the foot of the Sier¬
ra Morena. There is only one mine of cobalt, viz. in
the province of Aragon, found in the valley of Gefton.
There are two mines of cinnabar in Valencia •, one about
two leagues from Alicant in the limeftone mountains of
Alcoray 5 the other between Valencia and San Felipe j
and two others in the fame province, that produce native
mercury, but none of thefe are worked. The moft
abundant mine of mercury and cinnabar united is in the
diftrift of La Mancha, on the borders of Cordova. It
is fituated in a hill of fandftohe which refts on flate.
The whole length of the hill is traverfed by two princi¬
pal veins, both of which were wrought by the Romans.
The whole of this mine was lately wrought by the
agents of the king, and its produce was very abundant.
Plumbago is found in a thick vein intermixed with
feldfpar, about a league from the village of Real Mo-
nafterio, in the kingdom of Seville. Mines of fulphur
occur, both in Aragon and Murcia •, jet has been found
in the diftricR of Old Colmenar, in Old Caftile 5 and
there is good evidence of the prefence of coal at feveral
places in Catalonia, in the Afturias, New Caftile, and
Aragon ; but it is faid that no coal mines have as yet
been opened.
The marbles of Spain are very numerous and valuable.
A black marble, veined with white, is procured near
Barcelona ; many dendritic marbles occur nearTortofa.
Near the town of Molina, in Aragon, is found a gra¬
nular marble fpotted with red, yellow, and white. At
the village of Salinos, in the diftridt of Guipuzcoa, is a
beautiful blue pyritical marble, containing marine fhells.
From Monte Segarra, near Segorbia, in the province of
Valencia, are procured feveral fine marbles, which Avere
held in great eftimation even by the Romans. The pro¬
vince of Granada, however, contains more valuable va¬
rieties of this beautiful mineral than all the reft of Spain ;
of thefe fome of the principal are the following. A
pure white ftatuary marble, of which the whole moun¬
tain of Filabra, near Almeria, is compofed ; a flefti-co-
loured marble from a mountain near Antiquera •, an
exquifitely beautiful wax-coloured alabafter, from the
vicinity of the city of Granada j and a finely veined
f.j marble from the Sierra Nevada.
•al Of the Spaniih mineral waters the following are the
s. moft celebrated. The principal cold fprings are, a he¬
patic water in the totvn of Buron, in Valencia ; a car¬
bonated tvater at Gerona, in Catalonia ; a faline purga-
tive water at Vacia-Madrid, three leagues from the ca¬
pital, and another of a firnilar nature near Toledo.
The principal hot fprings are, the baths of Abu Zu-
lena, at Javal-Cohol, near Bteza } a hepatic fpring ufed
for bathing near Alhama de Granada ; another near
Almeria, in the province of Granada, to which are at¬
tached both bathing and vapour baths: all thefe Avere Spain,
difcovered, or at leaft brought into general ufe, by the
Moors. A very copious hot fpring near Merida, in
Eftremadura, made ule of by the Romans. The Calda
de Bonar, in the neighbourhood of Leon, a fpring of
tepid water frequented by the Romans, and ftill exhi¬
biting the ruins of baths and ancient infcriptions. A
very hot fpring near Orenfe, in Gallioia. A fpring at
Alhama, near Calatayud, in Aragon, formerly much
frequented, but now in a ftate of negledt. The Fuente
de Buzot, near Alicant, a faline fpring of the tempera¬
ture of 104° Fahrenheit. A very copious and hot
fpring at Archena, near Murcia, where ftill remain the
ruins of Roman and Mooriih baths. A hepatic fpring
near Arnedillo, in Old Caftile.
Among the natural curiofities of Spain, Ave may parti- Natural
cularize the mountain of Monlferrat in Catalonia (fee curiofities*
Montserrat) ; the infulated hill of rock fait near the
toAvn of Cardona, in Catalonia (fee Geology, N° 102) j
the fubterranean lake contained Avithin a cave, in the
neighbourhood of the Cava Perella, in the ifland of
Minorca 5 the ftaladfitic. cave called St Michael’s, on
the Avert fide of the rock of Gibraltar, and the river
Guadiana, Avhich appears and difappears feveral times
in the courfe of its progrefs to the fea. jj
The various groups of iflands that are fubjedl to Spain Spanith
have long been diftinguiftied by particular names. Thuslflands* "
Majorca, Minorca, Cabrera and Dragoneru, Avere called
by the ancients Infulcc Baleares, and are ftill named
the Balearic Ijles ; Avhile Iviqa and Feromentura form a
lefler group, denominated the Pityufe I/les. Of thefe
illands, the latter Avere taken poffeflion of by the Car¬
thaginians nearly 700 years before the Chriftian era j
and about 200 years after that enterprifing people made
themfelves mailers of the Balearic ifles. After the fall of
Carthage, all thefe iflands long maintained a ftate of pi¬
ratical independence, and only Majorca Avas ever com¬
pletely fubjedl to the Romans. In the time of Auguftus
we are told that the Balearic ifles Avere fo infefted Avith
rabbits, that the inhabitants fent deputies to Rome for
afliftance to deftroy thefe formidable invaders of their
plantations. In the year 426 of the Chriftian era, thefe
iflands came into the poffeflion of the Vandals, from
Avhom they Avere taken at the end of the 8th century
by the African Moors. At the beginning of the qth
century they Avere feized on by a fleet fent into the Me¬
diterranean by Charlemagne ; but they were foon after
reconquered by the Moors, who maintained the fove-
reignty in thefe iflands till, in 1228, they were finally
difpoffefied by Don James grandfon of Alphonfo II.
king of Aragon.
Though Spain appears to have been knoAvn to the Names of
Phoenicians nearly 1000 years before the birth of Chrift, Spain,
it feems to have been little regarded by the Greeks till
after the period when Plerodotus compofed his hiftory.
Some part of this country was probably the Tarftrdh of
Scripture, from which the Phoenicians imported gold,
filver, and other precious commodities into Judea!
When the Greeks had eftabliflied a colony at Marfeilles*
they muft have been well acquainted Avith at leaft the
northern part of this peninfula, to which they gave the
names of Iberia and Celtiberia, from two nations AA'ho
then inhabited the country, and of Hefperia, from its
extreme fituation in the Avert of the then knoAvn world,
ihe name Hifpania, from Avhich its modern appellation
is