the plains are filled with holm trees, privet, rofemary,
fouthern wood, and furze with white flowers, as far as
Zarzuela, and from thence to Almadén, forty-one leagues-
to the weftward of Madrid. Here the face of the country
is totally altered, and now becomes mountainous.
The quickfilver mine o f Almadén is the moft curious
and inftru&ive, with refped to natural hiftory, as well
as the moft antient we know of in the world- Theo-
phraftus, who lived 300 years before Chrift, fpeaks of
the cinnabar o f Spain*; and Vitruvius, who lived under
Auguftus, mentions it likewife.
Pliny fays, this mine was in the province o f Baetica,.
as it really is, Almadén being the laft village o f La Mancha,
and only divided by a brook, from the kingdom, o f
Cordova. He further tells us, it was always locked up,,
by the governor of the province, and never opened,,
but by exprefs command of the Emperor; and when the
quantity wanted for Rome was taken out, was inflantly'
ihut again ; but fince their dominion, every thing has
been fo altered, and overturned, that no traces are
left o f their labours.
The two brothers, Mark and Chriftopher Fugger, of
Augiburg, had a grant o f this mine, and were to fur-
nifh the king, yearly, with four thoufand five hundred
quintals
quintals of mercury, but not being able to make good
their engagements, or for fome other reafons, belt known
to themfelves, they gave it up in 1635, as well as the Elver
mine o f Guadalcanal, which was likewife in their
hands, yet thefe Germans made fuch a fortune in Spain,
as to leave great riches to their heirs, who now flourifh
in Germany, raifed to the higheft dignities, being counts
o f the facred Roman Empire, and poifelfed o f confider-
able eftates in the circle of Suabia (a); their opulence
was fo confpicuous as to become a proverbial expreffion
in Spain, Ser rico comoun Fucar, “ To be as rich as a Fugger,”
a finale we find in Don Quixote. There is a ftreet
o f their name in Madrid.
The church, with great part of the village of Almaden,
confiftingof above three hundred houfes, Hands upon cinnabar,
and the inhabitants are chiefly fupported by the
profits of the mine, which lies in a hill o f fandy rock,
forming two inclined planes, with a craggy rock on the
fummit, ftudded with fpecks of cinnabar, which, no
doubt were the firft tokens that led to the difcovery o f
the mine. In other parts of the hill, fmall beds of date
appear, with veins of iron which on the furface follow
(fl) The family of Fugger is defcended from John Fugger, a citizen o f Augiburg, in 13 7Pt
father of Jacob, who., from a merchant, rofe to be a connccllor to the Emperor. His ions,.
Ulric and George, were made Barons o f the facred Roman Empire, bv the Emperor Maximilian,
in 1504, ..and rheir dg&epdan.ts ..were afterwards raifed ,to -the exalted "dignity of
Counts of the Empire. They have immenfe property in the circle of Sp,ajaia,. are diyidedi
into feveral branches^, and allied to the greateil houfes in Germany.
G g the