a province in the S.E. of Spain, between 37° 19' and 38° 39' N. Lat., and 0° 50' and 3° 5' W. Long.; and constituting the greater part of the ancient kingdom of Murcia, broken up in 1833. The kingdom of Murcia had a superficial extent of about 3000 square miles, and had the following boundaries:—N., La Mancha; E., Valencia; S., the Mediterranean; and W., Granada. The province has about 1200 square miles of surface, and is bounded N. by the province of Albacete, W. by that of Almeria, S. and E. by the Mediterranean; having a coast-line of between 70 and 80 miles. East of Cartagena the coast is low and sandy; W. of that port it consists, as far as Granada, of a line of precipitous cliffs, having only two other smaller ports, Aguilas and Almazarron. Of this coast the most remarkable feature is the Mar Menor, a kind of lagoon at the eastern extremity, 10 miles long and 3 broad, separated (except a small opening) from the sea by a narrow sandbank. The surface of the province is nearly equally divided between hill and plain. The most considerable mountains are those of the Espuña and those of the Carrascoy series,—the former bounding the province to the W., and having sometimes an altitude of 3000 feet; the latter, rising in the midst of the vast plain (El Campo) S.W. of the capital, extending eastwards and ending in Cape Roche. The Almazarron chain enters the province on the S. and W., and ends in Cape Palos. These mountains are of igneous formation, abound in copper, lead, and silver, and contain some singular caves, of which that of Barquillo and that of Don Juan near Cartagena are remarkable for their extent and the beauty and magnitude of their coloured crystals. The province is chiefly watered by the River Segura, and its affluents the Mundo, Mula, &c. The Segura has a tortuous course, W. to E., of about 170 miles, of which 92 are included in Murcia; and its waters are made available for irrigation by means of reservoirs, tanks, and canals,—Moorish devices, without which the whole province would be as sterile as an African desert. The huertas, or tracts watered in this way, are of great fertility, producing abundance of cereals, the palm, the orange, carob tree (St John's bread), silk, wine, &c. The principal roads of the province—those from Albacete to Cartagena, from Lorca to Andalucia, and from Murcia to Alicante—are bad, the last-mentioned often impassible during winter. Those in the N. are much worse, from the greater difficulty of the ground.

Wheat, barley, oats, hemp, and legumes are grown in the plains; also in the secanos, the barilla or soda plant, an exhausting crop. In the huertas of Calasparra, in the N., rice is cultivated for domestic consumption. In the huerta of Murcia, a fertile valley inclosed by hills and watered by the Segura, extending about 17 miles in length, by about 5 in breadth, are extensive plantations of mulberry for the silk-worm. Citrons, lemons, oranges, &c., are especially abundant in the valley of Ricote. Wine is grown to some extent, but under the discouragement of heavy duties. In the uncultivated hilly country the esparto, a rush used for mats and sandals, grows, especially in the plains of Mula, Alhudate, Ricote, and Lorca, and in the marshes of Jaravia and Cope. Oil is grown, and is an increasing product, in the partidos of Murcia, Mula, Lorca, and Cartagena.

The chief mineral products are sulphur, alum, copper, lead, and silver. The mining industry of the province has recently received an impulse, many of the ancient mines having been re-opened, and new ones discovered. Lead and silver are found in the mountains on the coast, between the Bay of Porman and that of Villaricos. In the partido of Cartagena, the escoriales (slags) of the ancient mines have been worked with success. Sulphur is found in conjunction with other minerals; also pure in great quantities at the conflux of the Mundo with the Segura. At Calasparra and Maratalla are establishments for extracting it. White marbles and other ornamental stones are found; and there are considerable mines of alum and red clay at Mazarron.

The population is chiefly agricultural, and the products of the soil are manufactured elsewhere; even the silk grown in the huerta being mostly exported in a raw state. Besides that of silk, and silk fabrics to some extent, there are manufactures of salt, from salt springs and the salt marshes on the coast; of numerous articles, especially cables from the esparto, of white paper in Caravaca, of brandy in Pliego and Calaspana. (See Cartagena, and Lorca.)

From the three ports of Cartagena, Aguilas, and Mazarron, are exported cereals, barilla, esparto (raw and manufactured), silk, fruits, and minerals. Grain and other articles are exported to Algiers. The silk of the province finds a market in South America, by way of Cadiz. By Cartagena are imported colonial products, sugar, cacao, &c. The imports of Aguilas and Mazarron are chiefly cereals from Andalucia. From La Mancha are imported wheat and saffron, and cattle from La Jaen. Owing to the proximity of Oran and Gibraltar, a good deal of smuggling is carried on. For the internal trade there is the annual fair of Murcia, the capital, 24th August to 8th September; of Lorca, 8th September; also of Caravaca, Cieza, &c.

Primary instruction is extremely scanty and deficient, and the crime and ignorance of the Murcians are proverbial in Spain. In 1844 a normal seminary was established, and an improvement is said to have already taken place. The seminary of San Fulgencio being in decay, there is a total want of the higher instruction.

The agricultural Murcians of the north differ considerably from the commercial people of the south; the former are grave, dull, apathetic, laborious, and tenacious of ancient manners. The huertanos of Murcia preserve much of the Moorish in manners and physiognomy, and a good deal of emigration to Algiers has taken place since the French occupation of that country. Pop. about 400,000.

a city of Spain, capital of the province of that name, is situated on the River Segura, in 38° N. Lat., and 1° 11' W. Long., nearly in the centre of the valley called the Huerta de Murcia. The Segura divides the city into unequal parts. The suburb of San Benito, on the right bank, is connected with the principal division of the city by a very fine stone bridge of two arches. It enjoys a delicious climate,—a kind of perpetual spring; an advantage which it owes mainly to its sheltered position. It is surrounded by a brick wall, erected during the civil war, and has three principal gates on the N., S., and E., besides various smaller entrances. The streets are mostly broad, straight, and well flagged; that of La Plateria is the principal street in the city, and a great resort of loungers, being covered with awnings of canvas in hot weather. The principal plaza is that of San Domingo, in which is a promenade planted with orange and other trees, and much frequented. The houses are mostly of two storeys, the lower being inhabited in summer. The finest building in the city is the cathedral (1388-1467): the fine Corinthian columns of its façade are the work of D. Jaime Brot, in 1737. The interior is of semi-Gothic architecture, but is not equal to the exterior. The bell-tower, begun 1521, and finished 1766, is of three stages, unequal in point of merit, and contains a peal of twenty bells. The episcopal palace of the see of Cartagena, erected 1748-52, is one of the finest edifices of its kind in Spain, and has a commanding situation. Near the palace are the colleges of San Fulgencio and San Isidoro, which have the appearance of a single edifice. The other remarkable buildings are—the hospital of San Juan de Dios; the silk and saltpetre manufactories, on the N.; and the Alhoriga, a building for the deposit of grain. There are eleven parish churches, two hospitals, with a foundling hospital and a house of refuge. The seminary of San Fulgencio, founded in 1592, has since 1823 been in a state of decay. The institute of secondary instruction was founded first in 1837, the rents of various suppressed religious houses being appropriated; it has at present two professorships of Latin, two of mathematics, and chairs of philosophy, natural history, chemistry, and general literature. A normal school was founded in 1844 for the improvement of the education of the province, and there are numerous private schools in the city. In the suburb of San Benito, on the right bank of the Segura, is a Plaza de Toros rarely used.

The surrounding country, as far as the huerta extends, is very beautiful, and richly covered with the olive and mulberry. The olive and the vine are cultivated on the slopes of the surrounding sierras, but without much success. Silk is the most important product, amounting on an average to L150,000 yearly; wheat, barley, &c., are largely grown, and all kinds of fruit. But few cattle are reared. There are manufactures of silk and silk cloth in the town; also of woollen cloths, of soap, earthenware, and some other articles, but to no great extent.

The province of Murcia was the first possession of the Carthaginians in Spain, and the city was, during the Moorish occupation, one of the seven capital cities of the seven military divisions of Spain, A.D. 787. It was taken by D. Alfonso, son of St Ferdinand, in 1240. Murcia was plundered by General Sebastiani in 1810, and in 1812 suffered from the attack of a detachment of Soult's army. On the 21st of March 1829 an earthquake caused a good deal of damage in the city, the cathedral being much injured. Pop. (1844) 55,053.