Home › Countries of the World › Kings of Spain

Kings of Spain

1512 Charles IV. 1506 Ferdinand VII 1808 1556 Joseph Bonaparte 1808 1598 Ferdinand VII, (Restored) 1813 1621 Isabella II 1833 1665 Amedeo I. 1870 1700 The Republic. 1873 1745 Alfonso XII 1874 1886 Charles III 1759 Alfonso XIII.

The kingdom of Spain forms much the larger part of the Iberian peninsula, and lies between lat. 36° and 43° 48' N. and long. 3° 20' E. and 9° 2I' W. It extends from N. to S. about 540 m., and E. and W. from Cape Creux to Cape Finisterre, about 630 m. It is bounded on the N. and N.-E. by the Bay of Biscay and France; E., S.-E., and S. by the Mediterranean Sea; and on the W. by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. The total area is about 196,000 sq. m., exclusive of the islands, the country ranking fifth among the European States in territorial extent. The coast line is about 600 m. in length on the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic, and about 770 m. on the Mediterranean. On the N. the coast is rocky; on the S.-W. low, sandy, and swampy; on the S.-E. low and rocky; while on the E., from Cape Palos to the French frontier, it is alternately high and low, a portion of it lined with lagoons, along which numerous salt works are established. The principal capes which mark the coast are those of Creux, St Sebastian, St Martin, and Palos on the E., Gata and Trafalgar on the S., Finisterre on the W., and Ortegal, Penas, and Machichaco on the N. The coast is wonderfully free from island formations, the most important being the Balearic, and a number of smaller ones, and Iviza and Formentera, the Pityusæ of the ancients. Other small islands are the Isla de Leon, on which Cadiz stands, and the Columbretes off the coast of Valencia. The harbors of the W. and N.-W. are excellent havens for shipping, while on the S.-W. that of Cadiz is almost unassailable, and on the N.-E. the harbors of Barcelona and Rosas are particularly noteworthy.

MOUNTAINS.-Beyond all question the surface of Spain is more generally diversified than that of any other country in Europe, of equal extent. In the centre of the peninsula is a vast elevated table-land, which in the province of Castile has a mean height of over 2300 ft., and this in turn is surrounded by high mountains This is a characteristic of the entire area of the country. Successive mountain belts traverse the peninsula from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, the most prominent of which are along the north border, and which are known as the Cantabrian mountains and the Pyrenees. In the Castilian tongue the mountain system is characterized under the general term of the Sierras. The Pyrenees are the natural boundary between Spain and France, from Cape Creux on the E. to the Bay of Biscay on the W., the culminating point being Mount Malad- . etta, or Pic Nethou, 11,168 ft. in height. West of the Pyrenees, and a continuation of the same, are the Asturian or Cantabrian mountains, many points in which reach an elevation of over 10,000 ft. Another belt, the Sierra de Guadarrama, with two spurs, the Sierras de Gredos and de Gata, in the central part of the peninsula, divide Leon and Old Castile from Estremadura and New Castile, and the waters of the river Douro from those of the Tagus. Some of the peaks in this range are over 8000 ft. high, while in the Sierra de Gredos there is an elevation of 10,500 ft. The next range S. are the mountains of Toledo, which divide the waters of the Tagus from those of the Guadiana, and extend through the middle of Estremadura and New Castile. Continuations of this system are the Sierra de Guadaloupe and Mames. The fourth mountain range is the Sierra Morena, serving as a partial boundary between Estremadura and New Castile and Andalusia and Murcia, and also separating the basins of the Guadiana and Guadalquivir. The S. coast range is known collectively as the Sierra Nevada , hugs the Mediterranean shore, and extends through Murcia and Andalusia from Cape Palos to Cadiz by one branch, and to the rock of Gibraltar by another. Here we find the highest points on the peninsula and of Europe, except in the Alps and the Caucasus, the Cerro de Mulhacen, 11,654 ft. high, and the peak of Veleta, 11,375 ft.

RIVERS AND LAKES, ETC. -Spain is most bountifully supplied with rivers, there being more than 230 distinct streams, but only a few of these are navigable. Owing to the mountain systems, the streams generally flow E. or W. There are four principal rivers watering the basin inclining toward the Mediterranean, and five flowing into the Atlantic . The former are the Ebro, Guadalquivir, Jucar, and Segura; the latter the Minho, Douro, Tagus, Guadiana, and Guadalquivir. The Douro and the Tagus have their mouths in Portugal, and the Minho and the Guadiana on the N. and S. confines of the two countries. With the exception of the Guadalquivir the streams are full of rocks, shallows and falls, and are therefore of little use for navigation. So far as lakes are concerned, Spain has little to boast: they are few and small. The most important are Al Bufera, in Valencia, a province bordering the Mediterranean, and Mar Menor, in Murcia, N.-E. of Andalusia. This lake is but a few miles from Cape Palos.

Spain is plentifully supplied with forests in some sections including the evergreen, oak, and cork trees, but as a whole the country has less timber than any other of the large countries of Europe, owing to the want of cultivation. The horses are of excellent quality, and highly valued. Asses and mules are superior. Sheep are ex tensively raised, the larger proportion belonging to the merino breed. Hogs are bred in large numbers . The fisheries along the coast are quite important. The exporta tion of sheep has always been prohibited, and their pasturage is regulated by ancien law.