Origihal
^Pofvca-
■' HtioN...
Progrefflhre
Geography.
Hiftorical
Epochs.
many claffical authors. From its natural fituatlon Spain hag derived a
greater mixture of inhabitants than perhaps any cither European! pouptryv
In the fifth .century it was conquered b ythe Vandals ; but, being af-: '
terwards weakened by their fettlements.. in Africa, they were fuhdued.
by the Vifigoths, who founded the modern kingdom of Spain, and
from* whom the more ancient families ftill pretend-» to derive their
origin, .The Mahometan Moors having beehexpelled, they piuft not
be cpnfidered in the; f^imate, though a few families may be of Arabian
extract : and. ihe. modern.Spaniards may be confiderecL as* defended
from the» African Iberians, , the Celtiberians, or German- .G^uls^ithe"
Romans, and the Vifigntte, y »,
Hie progreffive geography of Spain .is alfo.very variou^^-ghittle is
known till the Roman conqueft, when Spain was divided into three
provinces, Tarraconenfis, or the Ns E. half of Spain ; -I^ttçâ,.of
Bctica in the Sr ; and Lufitania op the weft,. extepding from the rjver
Duro in modern Portugal on the north, to the prefent boundary. ofijthat
kingdom on the fouth. After ,theofubje<ftiQn-by the Vifigotfis^ t^efe
divifions feem tohjive paffed into oblivion : but the conqueft'Jay», the
Moors eftabliftied a new and important diftindtion in Spaniïh Geqgrapî|y,
that of Chriftian and Mahometan "Spain j-j and/ whlph ; is, in,, feme
meafure blended with the topic-next to h© eonfidered... n
- The chief hiftorical epochs of Spain’.are : j !
1. The. original population by tfie AfricauSj abdrQsrn^an ^apls. <>7
2. The Carthaginian acquifitions in Spain.
3. The conqueft by the Romans, who maiûtaiûed podeffion ..flop,
more than five centuries.
4. The fubjedtion of Spain to the Vandals, about the year ,413;,.} - :
. 5. The conqueft of Spain by the Vifigoths under Euric,. excepting"
Galicia, held by the Suevi, who had entered with the Vandals; . The
Galicians-have to this day a diftinft character bflitiperior; indfiftryi ; ’ In
Euric, A. D. 472, commences the modern kingdom, and hiftofÿ’ of
Spain. - The Vifigoths were Arians.
6. The conqueft by the Arabs, or Moors, which began A; Th 709,
and foon extended oyer all Spaiii, except the mountains of Afturias,
where
where kiOgBelagius m a in ta jn ed Ja ^ n fin ed .domination pyer that.diftri&,
andt BifieayjE H is defdend&nts*-fixed/the .royal refidence .at .Oviedo,
buiibinl -yb t , a r i d mol- only n d e febdedrbsir (mail territory, which was
naturally fortified w ith chains^ o f mountains; b u t, foon regained Galicia,
and'pa ri? of-'Leijjj- and Caftile. I n 9 i 4 ^ % ’tlr&-territory extended
Wards 'the fduthyfEhe kings h i e vb«^!4^;Eeon,» and thetfee'derived
6hdir:titter; ^'d-Which, in the1 eMtcmth: cefilbi^y^ was added thatrbf Caftile.
But the Moteife mull be -regarded as.t-he chief pofieffotfs- eft,Spain, till the
-middle, d f th e th iite en th ^ ep tu ry .
" 7 .' T h e Modrifh d om ir ia ti|p /in Spain, 'which- w a s, cpiidudted by
, governors a p p dm tb d ^ b ^ tE e t^ a lift.llllA . Eh 75^," /when Abdoulfah-man
feized th e feeptre d f Spa in ^h n d became tbe(%noorfth king o f tDofdfova!,
and firft chali-f i'd-die weft. .jOrs-dubceflors eoAt-mlied*' to difplay great
■wealth and ' pdwei1; ’andJ under-'their fway th e
became -very ektlb-fivW'i^‘Tjhfs f d y n a f iy j e b n t^ ^ A.
w hen the Span-i-fh ^Chalifate expired, and the Moori'ih gbver-nors ‘o f
Fevefal provinces ufurped th evroyal ftyle, in Cordova, Seville, - Valeiitia,
and G ra n a d a ; whp-'neverthelefs rivalled th e Email Chriftianl:irigd6ms
fill the^ riiiddTe o f 'the thirteenth century, '^w ie ii^ ^ -ab e a d y mentioned,
• thi'dattef-became pbepdhderant, and»-Spain refumed her fituation- among
the ftates'-of Chfifte'ndbm.
H is t o r ic a l
E pochs.
8, - T h e kingdoms o f Caftile and Ebdn fdin^timesJfell' to dlfti.h& 'h'eifs;
and th e hiftorical :/cd!hfhfion, is” inqreafed* by the (mail k in g d om »of
Navarre, th e capital o f which'was Pampd,o'nm°k royalty which ’cdm-
xbehced'A. D . -857.: byfthafr df-Arra^hn, A l E h ' ' i 03 jh '/an d o th e r.
divifions’. -V
9 . T h e 'reign of-Al$hohfoi tbe-^wife,' whith^hegah -fA. D. 1-2^2 ; and
which- rivalled th o le ’o f the Spanilh Chalifaftn the pt^p'hfe^£ciofi'1 afforded’ tf-
the arts« and fciencesv';”
'1 di T h e ’ho’nqueft o f ‘the kingdom“ o f1 <KMiada;j the Iaft4f o r the
Moorifh toy<jeft^ ’ an d .«fee jp r i a ie f t'o f the importMt'c^pwns o’f-Gaftile
and Arragon, in the perfons o f Ferdinand and ■Ifabella.
1 Hift. del f t 'jjfiiq . ef; de -£t?£3^ Idas la- 'ï>omSiatfwi' des Arabes, Ijwr. M.'i Cai^donne."
Paris 1765.' 3 vols. iamo. , 1 i--;/-.t- ‘
h . The