Capital.] MADRID, fituated on a branch of the river Tagus, contains 140,000 inhabitants. CADIZ, fituated on the Atlantic, a little to the northward of the Straits of Gibraltar, is the great emporium of Spain, and contains 80,000 inhabitants.

Wealth and Commerce.] The advantages of Spain as to climate, foil, natural productions, rivers, navigation, and foreign poffeffions, which are immenfely rich, ought to raise this monarchy high above all the other powers of Europe. Yet the reverfe is the cafe: Spain is but thinly peopled, has but little commerce, few manufac tures; and what little commerce it has, is almost entirely in the hands of ftrangers, notwithstanding the impediments thrown in the way by government.

Spain produces excellent oranges, lemons, almonds, figs, grapes, pomegranates, dates, pistachios, capers,. chefnuts, tobacco, foda, faffron, honey, falt, faltpetre, wines of a rich and delicious flavour, cotton, rice, corn, oil, wool, filk, hemp, flax, &c. which, with proper induftry, might be exported to an amazing amount. And yet all the exports of Spain, molt articles of which no other country can fupply, are estimated at only 3,333.3331. fterling. Spain does not produce corn enough for its own confumption, and is under the neceffity of importing large quantities.

Government.] Spain is an abfolute monarchy. The provinces of Navarre, Bifcay and Arragon have preferved fome of their ancient privileges. The king's edicts must be registered in the court of Caftile before they acquire the force of laws. The crown is heredita ry both in the male and female line. By a law made in 1715, female heirs cannot fucceed till after the whole male line is extinct.

Religion The Roman Catholic religion, to the exclufion of all others, is the religion of the Spanish monarchy; and it is in thefe countries of the most bigotted, fuperftitious and tyrannical character. All other denominations of Chriftians, as well as Jews, are expofed to all the feverities of perfecution. The power of the Court of Inquifition, efablithed in Spain in 1578,has been diminished, in fome refpects, by the inter

ference

ference of the civil power. It is fuppofed that the clergr of this kingdom amount to zco,coo, half of whom are monks and nuns, diftributed in 3,000 convents. The revenue of the archbishop of Toledo is 300,000 ducats. There are, in the kingdom of Spain, 8 archbishops, 46 bilhops; in America, 6 archbishops and 28 bifhops; in the Philippine Iles, archbishop and 3 bithops. All thefe dignities are in the gift of the king. Fifty-two inferior ecclefiaftical dignities and officers are in the gift of the pope.

Hiftory. The firft inhabitants of Spain were the Celta, a people of Gaul; after them the Phenicians poffeffed themselves of the moft fouthern parts of the country, and may well be fuppofed to have been the first civilizers of this kingdom, and the founders of the most ancient cities. After thefe, followed the Grecians & then the Carthaginians, on whofe departure, fixteen years before Chrift, it became fubject to the Romans, till the year 400, when the Goths, Vandals, Suevi, Alans, and Sillingi, on Conftantine's withdrawing his forces from that kingdom to the eaft, invaded it, and divided it amongst themselves; but the Goths in a lit. tle time were fole mafters of it, under their king Alarick I. who founded the Spanish monarchy, After a regular fucceffion of monarchs, we come to the present king Charles IV. who afcended the throne in the year 1788.

OUNDED north and eat, by

Boundaries.] B Spain: fouth and weft by the

Atlantic Ocean. Containing 19 towns, 527 villages, 3.343 parishes.

Rivers.]

Rivers] Every brook in Portugal is called a river Its rivers rife in Spain, and run welt through Portugal, Into the Atlantic. The most noted is the Tagus.

Capital.] LISBON, at the mouth of the Tagus, contains about 150,000 inhabitants. In 1755, it was laid level with the ground, by a tremendous earthquake, which was fucceeded by a general conflagration, in which catastrophe upwards of 10,000 people loft their lives.

Climate, Productions and Commerce.] Portugal, fituated in a genial climate, abounds in excellent natural productions, and is well watered. It poffeffes very rich provinces in and upon the coafts of Afia, Africa, and America. It is, however, not proportionably powerful; its inhabitants are indigent, and the balance of trade is against it. It is even obliged to import the neceffaries of life, chiefly corn from other countries.. Portugal produces wine, wool, oil, honey, annifeed, fumac, a variety of fine fruits, fome corn, flax and cork. In 1785, the goods imported from Great Britain and Ireland into Portugal, confifting of woollens, corn, fish, wood, and hard ware, amounted to upwards of 960,000!. fterling. The English took in return, of the produce of Portugal and Brazil, to the amount of 728,000l. fterling. Only 15 millions of livres are fuppofed to circulate in a country which draws annually upwards of 1,500,000'. fterling, or 36. millions of livres, from the mines of Brazil. Since the discovery of these mines, that is, within 60 years, Por tugal has brought from Brazil about 2,400 millions of livres, or 100,000,000l. fterling.

Government and Religion.] Since the council of the three eftates, viz. the clergy, the nobility, and the cities, the members of which are nominated by the king, was fubfituted in the room of the diets or meetings of the ftates, (which event took place the latter end of the 16th century) the government of the kingdom of Portugal has been abfolutely monarchical. The proceedings of the courts of juftice are flow and arbitrary, and the number of lawyers and law officers is exceedingly great.

The

The state of religion in Portugal is the fame as in Spain. The Portuguese clergy confift of one patriarch, a dignity granted to the church of Portugal in the year 1716, of 3 archbishops and 15 biheps. The whole - number of ecclefiaftics is 200 000; 30 000 rf which, and some say, 6o,oco, are monks and u s. The number of convents is 745. The number of clerical perfons to that of the laymen, is as I to 11.

Hiflory.] Portugal was anciently called Lutaria, and inhabited by tribes of wandering people, till it became fubject to, the Carthaginians and Presicians, who were difpoffelled by the Romans 250 years before Chrift. In the 5th century, it fe'l under the yoke of the Suevi and Vandals, who were driven out by the Goths of Spain, in the year 589; but when the Moors of Africa made themselves mafters of the greatest part of Spain, in the beginning of the eighth century, they penetrated into Lufitania; there they eaablithed gov. ernors, who made them felves kings. It became fub. ject to Spain in 1580; but in 1645, the people rebelled, fhook off the Spanith yoke, and elected for their King the Duke of Braganza, who took the name of John IV. in whofe family it has ever fince remained, independent of Spain. Her prefent majesty's name is Mary Francis Ifabella, who acceded to the throne in the year 1777

Miles.

Length 600?

Breadth 400

IT A L

between

Y.

38° and 47° N. lat."

fq. Miles,

7° and 19° E. lon:} 75,056

TALY is a large peninfula, fhaped like a boot and

I pur, and is bounded north, by the Alps, which

;

divide it from France and Switzerland; eat by the Gulf of Venice, or Adriatic Sea; fouth and weit, by the Mediterranean Sea.

The

Montferrat,

The whole of the Italian dominions, comprehending Corfica and Sardinia, were divided, before the revolu tion, as follows

To the king

dom of Sar

:

To their refpec

Parma,

Modena,

dinia, belong

Oneglia,

Sardinia If.

Piombino,
Monaoo.
(Lucca,
St. Marine,
Genoa.

Corfica Ifland:
Venice,

To the Repub-Iftria,

lic of Venice. Dalmatia,

Ifles of Dalma.

Iflands in the Venetian Dominious.

Air, Soil, and Productions.] Italy is the most celebrafed country in Europe, having been formerly the feat of the Roman empire, and is at prefent, of the pope. The country is fo fine and fruitful, that it is commonly called the garden of Europe. The air is temperate and wholefome, excepting the territory of the church, where it is very indifferent. The foil is fertile, and produces wheat, rice, wine, oil, oranges, and all forts of fruits, flowers, honey, filk; and in the kingdom of Naples are cotton and fugar. The forefts are full of all kinds of game. On the mountains are fine pastures, which feed great numbers of cattle.

Inhabitants.] Italy is thought to contain upwards of fourteen millions of inhabitants. The Italians excel in a complaifant, obliging behaviour to each other, and affability to foreigners. Mufic, poetry, painting, fculpture, and architecture are their favourite ftudies, and there are no people who have brought them to greater perfection. Religion.] The Italians are zealous profeffors of the doctrine of the church of Rome. The Jews are here tolerated in the public exercife of their religion. natives, either in reverence to the pope, or by being induftriously kept in ignorance of the Proteftant doctrines, entertain monftrous notions of all the diffenters from the church of Rome. The inquifition here is little

The

more