Bilbao
a town of northern Spain, the capital of the Basque province of Vizcaya, is situated in a mountain gorge on the Nervion, 8 miles S. E. of its mouth at Portugalete, and 63 miles N. by E. of Miranda by rail. Bilbao is well built. Pop. about 100,000. Bilbao was founded in 1300 by Diego Lopez de Haro under the name of Belvaoi. e., the fine fort-and soon attained great prosperity. In the 15th century it was the seat of the most authoritative commercial tribunal in Spain. It suffered severely in the wars with France, first in 1795, and again in 1808, when 1,200 of its inhabitants were slaughtered in cold blood. During the Carlist struggles Bilbao stood two great sieges, Zumalacarreguy here receiving his death wound in 1835, while in 1874 the place was vainly besieged and heavily bombarded by the forces of Don Carlos for four months.