NAVARRA, a province of Spain, in the N.E., between 41. 55. 34. and 43. 18. 36. N. Lat., with the following boundaries:—N., France and the province of Guipuzcoa; E., Zaragoza; S., Zaragoza and Logroño; W., Alava. In shape it is an irregular square, 80 miles long and about 70 broad, and has an area of about 2450 square miles. Three-fourths of the surface (its northern and eastern districts) are mountainous and rugged, broken by ramifications of the Pyrenees, which present on the N.E. an almost impassable barrier, and inclose numberless secluded pastoral valleys. The northern frontier is pierced by several defiles, well-known passes,—as Roncesvalles, Bastan, and Roncal,—
thoroughfares of war and commerce between France and the Peninsula. The highest summits in Navarra are those of Altoviscar and Adi,—the former 5380, the latter 5220 feet above the sea. South of a line from Sanguesa by Tafalla to Estella, the country presents a series of descending terraces, extending towards Zaragoza, Soria, and Logroño. The principal rivers of the province are the Bidosa and the Ebro; the former in the N.W., formed by the confluence of the Baztan and the Ezcurra; the latter in the S. The rivers, which, according to the proverb, "make a man of the Ebro," are the Aragon, which enters Navarra on the E. from Aragon, and has a course in the province of about 80 miles; the Ega, which enters from Guipuzcoa, and falls into the Ebro near Uzagre, after a course of about 100 miles; and the Arga, which descends from the Pyrenees, and has a course of 120 miles before its confluence with the Aragon. The mountainous region contains numerous quarries of gypsum, limestone of various kinds, and free-stone. Granite, slate, jasper, black and other marbles, frequently occur. There are also numerous mines of iron, lead, and copper, the most important of which have been found in the argillaceous slate; as of copper in the neighbourhood of Leiza, of lead near Vera and Leiza, of iron in many places, as near Goizueta, Vera, and in the valley of Aezcoa. These mines employ a considerable population; but for want of capital and enterprise, and good communication, have never been very flourishing, and mining industry has now much decayed. There are two large mines of rock-salt at Funes and Valtierra; and salt is also obtained in various places by atmospheric and artificial evaporation. Agriculture, properly speaking, is confined to the plain, much of which is rich, well cultivated, and fertile, producing wheat, maize, hemp, flax, oil, and wine. The wines of Tudela and Peralta are celebrated. Were full advantage taken of the numerous streams for irrigation, the hilly district might be extensively cultivated; as it is, it is almost exclusively appropriated to forests and pasture. The oak, beech, and pine are grown for wood; and the chestnut affords an article of home consumption. The cultivation of the mulberry for the silk-worm is not unknown. Great quantities of horned cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and mules are reared. Game of all kinds is abundant in the mountains; and the streams abound with trout and other fish.
The manufactures of Navarra are insignificant. Linen cloth is made in Pamplona; paper in Villaba; in various places, silk, woollens, pottery, soap, chocolate, liquorice, and some other articles. Iron is exported to America by San Sebastian and Bilbao; the exports to France are wool, iron, salt, hides, and liquorice, in exchange for silks, linens, woollens, and hardware. To Aragon and Castile are exported wheat, beans, iron, articles in boxwood, brandy, fruit, and vegetables; and to the Basque provinces, wheat, oil, brandy, cattle, salt, and wine. For the internal trade, there are the fairs of Tafalla, Tudela, Sanguesa, and Pamplona, in February, March, and June, respectively. There are two institutions of secondary instruction in Pamplona and Tudela, and 508 schools of different kinds in the province, mostly elementary, and ill supported. Education is in a very backward state. The two great districts of the province, hill and plain, are inhabited by distinct races, of different language, dress, and customs; the prevailing language in the north being Basque, in the south Castilian. The population of the plain are rude, addicted to drunkenness and crime; those of the mountains are hospitable, polite, and honest. The Navarrese are noted in the Peninsula for integrity, sagacity, and enterprise. During the war of independence and the civil war, the province produced bands of formidable guerilleros; and it still produces, owing to the position and nature of the frontier, daring and formidable contrabandistas. Large numbers emigrate to other parts of the Peninsula, and recently to America. The ancient
Navarrete. kingdom of Navarra included the French or Lower Navarra, and was a separate Spanish monarchy from A.D. 1114. Jean d'Albert, to whom it came by marriage, was despoiled by Ferdinand the Catholic of the Spanish portion in 1512. Till lately that portion had a much wider boundary, and was governed by its own laws as a vice-royalty. Navarra suffered severely in the French and civil wars. The united population of the five partidos, Aviz, Estella, Pamplona, Tafalla, and Tudela, amounted in 1849 to 235,874.