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ANDALUSIA, or ANDALUCIA
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See also:ANDALUSIA, or ANDALUCIA , a captaincy-See also:general, and formerly a See also:province, of See also:southern See also:Spain; bounded on the N. by See also:Estremadura and New See also:Castile, E. by See also:Murcia and the Mediterranean See also:Sea, S. by the Mediterranean and See also:Atlantic, and W. by See also:Portugal. Pop. (1900) 3,563,606; See also:area, 33,777 sq. m. Andalusia was divided in 1833 into the eight provinces of See also:Almeria, See also:Cadiz, See also:Cordova, See also:Granada, See also:Jaen, See also:Huelva, See also:Malaga and See also:Seville, which are described in See also:separate articles. Its See also:ancient name, though no longer used officially, except to designate a military See also:district, has not been superseded in popular speech by the names of the eight See also:modern divisions. Andalusia consists of a See also:great See also:plain, the valley of the See also:Guadalquivir, shut in by See also:mountain ranges on every See also:side except the S.W., where it descends to the Atlantic. This See also:lowland, which is known as Andalucia Baja, or See also:Lower Andalusia, resembles the valley of the See also:Ebro in its slight See also:elevation above sea-level (300-400 ft.), and in the number of brackish lakes or See also:fens, and See also:waste lands (despoblados) impregnated with See also:salt, which seem to indicate that the whole See also:surface was covered by the sea at no distant See also:geological date. The barren tracts are, however, exceptional and a far larger area is richly fertile. Some districts, indeed, such as the See also:Vega of Granada, are famous for the luxuriance of their vegetation. The Guadalquivir (q.v.) rises among the mountains of Jaen and flows in a See also:south-See also:westerly direction to the Gulf of Cadiz, receiving many considerable tributaries on its way. On the See also:north, its valley is bounded by the See also:wild Sierra Morena; on the south, by the mountains of the Mediterranean littoral, among which the Sierra See also:Nevada (q.v.), with its peaks of Mulhacen (11,421 ft.)and Veleta(11,148 ft.), is the most conspicuous. These See also:highlands, with the mountains of Jaen and Almeria on the See also:east, constitute Andalucia Alta or Upper Andalusia. No See also:part of Spain has greater natural riches. The See also:sherry produced near Jerez de la Frontera, the See also:copper of the Rio Tinto mines and the See also:lead of Almeria are famous. But the most See also:note-worthy characteristics of the province are, perhaps, the brilliancy of its See also:climate, the beauty of its scenery (which ranges in See also:character from the alpine to the tropical), and the See also:interest of its See also:art and antiquities. The climate necessarily varies widely with the See also:altitude. Some of the higher mountains are covered with perpetual See also:snow, a luxury which is highly prized by the inhabit-ants of the valleys, where the summer is usually extremely hot, and in See also:winter the snow falls only to melt when it reaches the ground. Here the more See also:common See also:European See also:plants and trees give See also:place to the wild See also:olive, the See also:caper See also:bush, the See also:aloe, the See also:cactus, the See also:evergreen See also:oak, the See also:orange, the See also:lemon, the See also:palm and other productions of a tropical climate. On the coasts of the Mediterranean about Marbella and Malaga, the See also:sugar-See also:cane is successfully cultivated. See also:Silk is produced in the same region. See also:Agriculture is in a very backward See also:state and the implements used are most See also:primitive. The See also:chief towns are Seville (pop. 1900, 148,315), which may be regarded as the See also:capital, Malaga (130,109), Granada (75,900), Cadiz (69,382), Jerez de la Frontera (63,473), Cordova (58,275) and Almeria (47,326). Andalusia has never been, like Castile or See also:Aragon, a separate See also:kingdom. Its See also:history is largely a See also:record of commercial and See also:artistic development. The Guadalquivir valley is often, in part at least, identified with the biblical Tarshish and the classical Tartessus, a famous Phoenician mart. The See also:port of Agadir or Gaddir, now Cadiz, was founded as See also:early as 'too B.C. Later Carthaginian invaders came from their advanced settlements in the Balearic Islands, about 516 B.C. See also:Greek merchants also visited the coasts. The products of the interior were conveyed by the native See also:Iberians to the maritime colonies, such as See also:Abdera (See also:Adra), Calpe (See also:Gibraltar) or Malaca (Malaga), founded by the See also:foreign merchants. The Punic See also:wars transferred the supreme See also:power from See also:Carthage to See also:Rome, and Latin See also:civilization was established firmly when, in 27 B.C., Andalusia became the See also:Roman province of Baetica—so called after its great waterway, the Baetis (Guadalquivir). In the 5th See also:century the province was overrun by successive invaders—Vandals, Suevi and Visigoths—from the first of whom it may possibly derive its name. The forms Vandalusia and Vandaltia are undoubtedly ancient; See also:ANDALUSITE many authorities, however, maintain that the name is derived from the Moorish Andalus or Andalosh, " See also:Land of the See also:West." The See also:Moors first entered the province in 711, and only in 1492 was their power finally broken by the See also:capture of Granada. Their .four Andalusian kingdoms, Seville, Jaen, Cordova and Granada. See also:developed a civilization unsurpassed at the See also:time in See also:Europe. An extensive literature, scientific, philosophical and See also:historical, with four See also:world-famous buildings—the Giralda and Alcazar of Seville. the Mezquita or See also:cathedral of Cordova and the See also:Alhambra at Granada—are its chief monuments. In the 16th and 17th centuries, See also:painting replaced See also:architecture as the distinctive art of Andalusia; and many of the foremost See also:Spanish painters, including See also:Velazquez and See also:Murillo, were natives of this province. Centuries of See also:alien domination have See also:left their See also:mark upon the character and See also:appearance of the Andalusians, a mixed See also:race, who contrast strongly with the true Spaniards and possess many See also:oriental traits. It is impossible to estimate the See also:influence of the See also:elder conquerors, Greek, Carthaginian and Roman; but there are clear traces of Moorish See also:blood, with a less well-defined Jewish and gipsy See also:strain. The men are tall, handsome and well-made, and the See also:women are among the most beautiful in Spain; while the dark complexion and See also:hair of both sexes, and their See also:peculiar See also:dialect of Spanish, so distasteful to pure Castilians, are indisputable See also:evidence of Moorish descent. Their See also:music, dances and many customs, come from the East. In general, the See also:people are lively, See also:good-humoured and ready-witted, fond of See also:pleasure, lazy and extremely superstitious. In the literature and See also:drama of his See also:country, the Andalusian is traditionally represented as the Gascon of Spain, ever boastful and See also:mercurial; or else as a See also:picaresque See also:hero, See also:bull-fighter, brigand or smuggler. Andalusia is still famous for its bull-fighters; and every outlying See also:hamlet has its legends of highwaymen and See also:contraband. In addition to the numerous See also:works cited under the heading SPAIN, see Curiosidades historicas de Andalucia, by N. See also:Diaz de Escovar (Malaga, 'goo); Histoire de la conquete de l'Andalousie, by O. Houdas (See also:Paris, '889); Andalousie et .Portugal (Paris, 1886) ; El. Folk-See also:Lore Andaluz (Seville, 1883) ; and Nobleza de Andalucia, by G. Argote de See also:Molina (Seville, 1588). Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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