VIGO, a seaport and naval station of north-western Spain, in the province of Pontevedra; on Vigo bay (Ria de Vigo) and on a branch of the railway from Tuy to Corunna. Pop. (1930) 65,012. Vigo was attacked by Sir Francis Drake in 1585 and 1589. In 1702 a combined British and Dutch fleet under Sir George Rooke and the duke of Ormonde destroyed a Franco Spanish fleet in the bay, and captured treasure to the value of about i1,000,000. In 1719 Vigo was captured by the British under Viscount Cobham. Vigo bay, one of the finest of the Galician fjords, extends inland for 19 m., and is sheltered by low mountains and by the islands (Islas de Cies, ancient Insulae Siccae) at its mouth. The town is built on the south-eastern
shore, and occupies a hilly site dominated by two obsolete forts. Vigo owes its importance to its deep and spacious harbour, and to its fisheries. It has developed very rapidly in the loth cen tury, and has more than doubled its population. It is a port of call for many lines trading between Western Europe and South America. The town contains flour, paper and sawmills, sugar and petroleum refineries, tanneries, distilleries and soap works.