Andorra
2 of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Andorra. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a valley in the eastern Pyrenees, between the French department of Ariége and the Spanish province of Lerida, part of Catalonia. It is inclosed by mountains, through which its river, the Balira, breaks to join the Segre at Urgel; and its inaccessibility naturally fits it for being the seat of the interesting little republic which here holds a kind of semi-independent position between France and Spain. Area (divided into six communes), 175 square miles. Population, 6,800. The former abundant forests have been much thinned for fuel; there is much excellent pasture; vines and fruit trees flourish on the lower grounds; and the mountains contain rich iron mines, unwrought lead supplies and mineral springs. springs. The chief occupations are agriculture, cattle breeding, trade in wood, charcoal and wool, and especially smuggling. Andorra is said to have been declared a Free State by Charlemagne. Now the state stands under the common protectorate of France and of the Bishop of Urgel. The Republic is governed by a sovereign council of 24 members, chosen by certain heads of houses, and the council elects a President for four years, a syndic, under whom is a second syndic. Since 1882, the interests of France in the state are représented by a permanent delegate. The Andorrans are good-natured, hard-working mountaineers, hospitable, moral and devoted to liberty. They are of the Catalonian stock, and speak a dialect of Catalonian. The capital is Andorra la Vieja (pop. 600).
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
an-dor'ra, a mountain republic on the border line between France and Spain. It may be reached from France by a small river; from Spain by a dangerous mule path. It has an area of 175 square miles, and a population (1909) of 5,231. It is governed by a council of twenty-four members elected for four years by the heads of families in each parish. It is surrounded by high mountains, and has rich mines of lead and iron. The inhabitants are hospitable and industrious, and are engaged largely in farming and cattle raising. Andorra has been independent since the time of Charlemagne, although France and a Spanish bishop exercise a sort of joint protectorship. The customs and institutions have in many respects remained unchanged for centuries. They have been made the subject of study by a number of scholars and historians. The country has no written laws. The people are Catholics and speak the French language. There were originally a great number of these small states in medieval Europe. Andorra and one or two others are all that survive. The rest were absorbed by the larger states. It is claimed that descendants of petty German princes may be found driving street cars in Berlin.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's wrote in 1921 that Andorra had no railway-worthy access, that its people lived by "agriculture, cattle breeding, trade in wood, charcoal and wool, and especially smuggling," and that a sovereign council of 24 governed under the joint protection of France and the Bishop of Urgell. The co-principality survives, and the French head of state and the Spanish bishop are still the two co-princes, but in 1993 Andorra adopted its first written constitution, turning the old feudal arrangement into a parliamentary democracy and joining the United Nations the same year. Aiton's 1910 note that "the country has no written laws" is therefore now obsolete, as is its claim that the people speak French: Catalan is the sole official language. The 5,231 inhabitants of 1909 have become roughly 80,000, and smuggling has given way to ski resorts and duty-free shops drawing millions of visitors a year, with the euro in use though Andorra is not an EU member.
Written for this edition, 2026.