the largest province of Spain, called by the Spaniards "El Reino de Galicia" (the kingdom of Galicia), and written with one l, although they write the name of the inhabitants with two (los Gallegos), forms the N.W. angle of the Peninsula, and is bounded by the Bay of Biscay, the Asturias, Leon, and Portugal. It contains the four modern provinces of Coruña, Lugo, Orense, and Pontevedra, with a total area of 16,000 square miles, and a population of 2,000,000.

The surface of Galicia consists almost entirely of hills and mountains, which here and there embosom a small plain, and are intersected by numerous valleys, narrow, rugged, and scarcely accessible. The whole province indeed forms the western extremity of the direct course of the great Cantabrian mountain range. From the boundary of Asturias and Leon, the Sierra de Peñamarela enters Galicia, and sweeps in a northerly direction round by Mondéedo, then turning southward, and passing by Lugo and Orense on the west, it terminates on the coast between Vigo and Tuy. The basin of the Miño and its tributaries is inclosed by this mountain range, under the names of the Sierra de Peñamarela, de Mondéedo, de Lobo, and other local denominations, separating it from the valleys of all the other rivers entering the Atlantic or the Bay of Biscay. During the greater part of the year, many of the summits of this series of sierras are covered with snow.

Another offshoot from the Cantabrian chain, after passing through the province of Leon, enters Galicia at the S.E. angle, when it extends from E. to W. to the coast, and forms the boundary between Portugal and Galicia. The basin of the Sil is shut in by this offshoot, and joined to that of the Miño, of which the Sil is the largest tributary, and hence the second river in Galicia.

This territory is drained and watered by innumerable mountain torrents and streams, of which no fewer than seventy are called rivers. The principal of these is the Miño (Minho), which derives its name from its ancient name Minus, and was so designated from the minium or vermilion found along its banks. It rises near Mondéedo in the Sierra de Mondéedo, and after a course of 170 miles in a S. and S.W. direction, it enters the Atlantic near the port of Guardia. In its course it receives numerous affluents, of which the principal is the Sil, and passes the towns of Lugo, Orense, Ribadavia, and Tuy. The Sil, which enters the Miño about ten miles above Orense, receives in its course the affluents Cabe, Bibey, and numerous smaller streams, all of which come from the mountains of Leon and Asturias. The river Tea rises on the W. flank of Monte Faro, and falls into the Miño above Tuy. The Tambre, the Ulla, and the Lerez flow in a S.W. direction, and fall into the sea by wide estuaries, which respectively bear the names of Ría de Muros y Noya, Ría de Arosa, and Ría de Pontevedra (ría being the Spanish of estuary).

The coast of Galicia is everywhere bold, and may be safely approached by mariners; it is much more broken, however, than the coasts of Asturias and Biscay, being more exposed to the violent action of the strong currents of the Atlantic, which run in these latitudes at the rate of half a mile an hour. Hence many secure havens have been in the course of ages scooped out by the storms and currents, and its deep inlets thus formed with its lofty promontories give this peculiar feature to this coast. Riveado, on the left bank of the Miranda, has a safe and capacious harbour, with three fathoms water at ebb-tide. Vivero Bay is one mile wide, and runs three inland, affording good anchorage throughout, with from six to eight fathoms of water. Still further westward, the Bay of Stanques la Verre, or inlet of Barquero, on the E. side of the Punta de la Estaca, is an excellent harbour, three miles wide and six long, with anchorage in six fathoms. The harbour of Ferrol is said to be the best in Europe; it is ten miles in length, and from a quarter to half a mile in breadth, with sufficient depth of water to allow the largest vessels to approach the town, which stands five miles from the entrance, and frigates may pass two miles further up. The shores on both sides of this fine harbour are lofty and well-guarded by the castles of San Felipe and Palma, while the entrance, which is formed by piers, may be closed by a boom. Here are docks, arsenals, and magazines, though now in a very neglected state, which might afford ready means of equipping the largest fleet; and until a few years since there were here also marine schools and barracks for the accommodation of 6000 artificers. Ferrol is strongly fortified on the land side by a wall, on which 200 cannon might easily be mounted; and it contains a population of about 17,000, who subsist without any trade, except that which is afforded by the presence of the fleet, as foreign goods are prohibited from entering the port. A long narrow peninsula separates the bays of Betanzos and of Ayres from the harbour of Ferrol, opposite to which stands the port of Coruña. The great bay which forms the common entrance to all these inlets is the Portus Magnus of the ancients. About one mile N. of Coruña stands the famous lighthouse called the Tower of Hercules, or the Iron Tower, which was repaired in 1788. It is 92 feet high, with walls 4½ feet thick. The construction proves clearly that it was built by the Romans, and an inscription discovered near its foundation informs us that it was built by Caius Servius Lupus, architect to the town of Aqua Flavia, and that it was dedicated to Mars. The principal port on the western coast of Galicia is the deep, capacious Bay of Vigo, in which the largest vessels may ride securely one mile above the town.

The climate of Galicia is variable—cold in the interior, as compared with the other provinces of Spain, but temperate on the coast. The skies are cloudy, and rains very frequent. Forest trees abound on the hill slopes, and also chestnut trees, which supply much of the food of the peasantry. Large herds of cattle, mules, and asses browse on the abundant rich pasture of the valleys. The soil is generally stony, but when carefully cultivated, produces flax, maize, barley, wheat, abundance of fruit, and a considerable quantity of wine. Great numbers of pigs are reared; and the hams cured in this province are in great request. The woods abound with game in great variety, while the rivers and indented shores teem with fish, especially trout, salmon, anchovies, tunny, lampreys, and the bezugos or hog-fish—a singular species, which has no bones, and resembles the lamprey in the richness of its flavour. The fisheries on the coast are a profitable branch of industry, not only supplying food for the inhabitants, but being largely exported into Leon and the Castiles. The chief manufacture is linen, which is made in large quantities, and ture of good quality for domestic use.

The Galicians (Gallegos) are a hardy, docile, and industrious people, resembling their neighbours, the Portuguese, much more in their habits than the other inhabitants of the Galicia. To most of the rest of the Spaniards, Galicians are very little known. They form their ideas of them from those who emigrate into the other parts of Spain. The district of La Coruña supplies the Castiles, as Pontevedra and Orense do Portugal. The emigrants remain absent during four or five years, after which they pay their homes a visit, and start forth again. Others only go down for the harvest time, and return like the Irish to enjoy their hardly-earned gains. Those who settle in Madrid become reposeros and managers in families. They are also well calculated, by their muscular frames, to do the porters' work of Spain and Portugal; hence the term gallego is synonymous with a boor, ganapán, or mozo de cordel. They are very numerous in Lisbon, Portugal being nearer their own homes than the Castiles. When the men migrate, the women do all the drudgery at home, in the house and field, and painful it is to see them tugging at the plough. They are never idle; and the rueda or distaff is part and parcel of a Gallega as is the fan of an Andaluzia. This hard work, with their bad fare, nips their beauty in the bud; few indeed are born good-looking, or even retain their good looks long. They are aged at thirty, and then seem models for witches, and even as if they never had been young. From the Gallegos a direct answer is scarcely ever obtained. In their wretched huts they seem not a whit improved since the time of Justin and Strabo. Still, now as then, they are proud of their pedigrees.

The language of Galicia is a harsh, uncoast dialect, quite unintelligible to Spaniards, who sneer at their use of u for o; and yet from it and the dialect of the Asturias the modern elegant and refined Castilian has sprung. These interesting keys to the origin of their language has never yet received the attention they deserve from the Spanish philologists.

Among the woody hills there are numerous wolves and wild boars that descend into the plains, and sometimes commit great depredations among the flocks and herds.

Advancing northward, primitive formations begin to appear as the outline of the hills becomes bolder; and near Coruña lofty granitic ridges stretch as far as Cape Ortegal. These granites, which seem to be a continuation of those of Cornwall, contain an abundance of the common tin ore, the working of which is laborious, and not very profitable to the Galicians, who are far behind in scientific and mechanical appliances. There is strong probability that the Phoenicians visited Galicia as well as Cornwall and the Cassiterides for this tin ore. In former times, gold and silver were also among its mineral wealth; but at present lead, tin, and copper, which are found chiefly along the northern coast and along the banks of the Miño, are the only riches of which the mines of Galicia can boast.

Galicia contains 6 cities, 70 towns, and rather more than 3000 villages. Coruña is now the capital of Galicia, and chief town of the province of Coruña. Betanzos, 11 miles W.S.W. from Coruña, is situated on a peninsula, formed by the junction of two streams, which flow unitedly into the Bay of Betanzos. It is an old town, and some of the narrow streets are still entered by ancient granite gateways. The population, about 5000, are mostly employed in the fisheries. Ferrol has already been mentioned among the harbours. Lugo stands 52 miles S.E. from Coruña, and is the capital of the modern province of Lugo. Under the name Lucus Augusti, Lugo was celebrated in Roman times for its warm sulphur baths. These thermae have disappeared, but some remains of a dike against inundations testify their former magnificence. The present incommodeous baths are on the left bank of the Miño, and they are beneficial in cutaneous and rheumatic disorders from the middle of June till the end of September. Close to these there is a mineral spring containing nitre and antimony. In September 1842 the Calle de Batiales, a Roman mosaic pavement was discovered, with designs of fish, animals, and other devices. The population of Lugo is (1855) nearly 8000. Orense (aquae) urentes, "warm sea," was anciently celebrated for its warm baths, and those called Las Burgas are still frequented from July to September. They gush forth at the W. of the town from a granite rock almost boiling, and are turned to many useful purposes besides medical ones. Orense has very narrow streets, but is a clean, neat town, and the capital of the modern province of Orense. The population is about 7000. The town is pleasantly situated, encircled with hills, and rising gently from the Miño. The bridge over the river is a striking object, being 1320 feet long and 18 wide, defended by a castle on the town side. The grand arch is 156 feet span, and 135 in elevation from the bed of the stream, which is subject to sudden inundations. It was built in the year 1230 by Bishop Lorenzo, and repaired in 1449 by one of his successors, Pedro de Silva. It was in this city that the Suevi-Goths first renounced Paganism. Pontevedra is 80 miles S.S.W. of Coruña, and situated on the S. bank of the Lerez at its entrance into the Ría de Pontevedra. The town has its name from the long bridge which here crosses the Lerez; it signifies "old bridge." The town is well built, surrounded with walls, well paved, clean, and has a commodious harbour for small craft. It contains a population of about 5000. The other principal towns—Mondoñedo, Santiago de Compostela (formerly the capital of Galicia), Tuy, and Vigo—are given in their alphabetic order.

The origin of the name of Galicia is very uncertain. Some suppose that it was given by the Galli, who, pursued by the Kymri, took refuge in Spain; while others adopt the notion that the name was given by its first inhabitants, the Callicai or Gallicai. In A.D. 408 the Suevians, Alans, and Vandals entered Spain, and became masters of several provinces, which they partitioned among them. Galicia fell to the Suevians, who chose for their chief Hermeneric (A.D. 411.). In 559 Theodoric and his son established and warmly defended Christianity in their dominions; but in 590 Luwigildus, king of the Visi-Goths, rendered himself master of Galicia, which he united to his own estates. In 713 the Moors invaded the kingdom, and were in turn driven out of it by Trolla, king of Leon and the Asturias. In 1065 Ferdinand I. erected Galicia into a separate kingdom for his second son, Don Garcia. But his tyranny and debaucheries excited the hatred of the nation so much that he was first driven from his throne in 1071, and two years afterwards deprived of all his estates by Alfonso, king of Castile. After that, the younger sons of the kings of Castile often held Galicia as an appanage, but only with the title of Count. These Counts remained independent till 1474, the date of the complete destruction of feudality by Ferdinand the Catholic. Since that time, Galicia has preserved no trace of its ancient grandeur and independence, except the name of kingdom, though only considered as a province of Spain. In 1822 the Cortés subdivided it into the present four small provinces, as already mentioned.

Galicia, Kingdom of, a province of Austria, formerly constituting a part of Poland.