BISCAY, a maritime province, and former seigneurie, of northern Spain. Pop. (1930), 485,205. The seigneurie was vested in the Crown of Castile and Leon in 1379, but the province, like Alava and Guipuzcoa, still enjoys a certain measure of autonomy. In particular the relations of these Basque provinces (Vascon gadas) with the National Exchequer are governed by special agreements made from time to time. The agreement (Concierto Econdmico) which is in force at present will remain operative for a period of 25 years from Jan. 1927. Of the three Basque prov inces, Biscay and Guipuzcoa lie in a zone of hills and low moun tains of confused alineation between the Pyrenees and the Canta brian mountains, and wholly on the northern side of the main crestline connecting these systems, marked by the Sierra de Aralar, Sierra de San Adrian and Pena de Gorbea (1,538 metres). The third province, Alava, lies to the south of this line, on the plat forms, separated by ranges of hills, which descend step-like to the structural basin of the middle Ebro (see ALAVA). The confused network of hills in the north and east of the area has undoubtedly contributed to the isolation of the Basque people and to the pres ervation of their language, which has disappeared from the Alavese platforms and from the western Biscayan district of Las Encar taciones, bounded on the south by the distinctly lower Montes de Ordiente (800–i,000 metres). Biscay may be defined roughly as the area of main east-and-west drainage by the rivers Cadagua and Ibaizabal, which unite with the Nervion, descending from the Enclave of Orduna in the province of Burgos, to form the estuary on which stands Bilbao. Guipuzcoa is the area of main northward drainage by the rivers from the Deva eastwards to the frontier with France, but the province narrows out in the east to a coastal strip on the lower courses of the Urumes and Bidassoa. The pov erty of the soils, derived mainly from sandstones and compact limestones, and the humidity of the climate determine the pastoral character of these two northern provinces. The coast is dangerous to approach, and the rigs which indent it are blocked by the alluvium brought down by the rivers; thus harbours are difficult to maintain. The town of San Sebastian is largely built on the alluvium joining broken sections of the Cantabrian coastal plat form which is here without human significance.
Biscay is the most important iron-producing province of Spain, the most important lode being that of Matamoros (Somorrostro) ; 150 million tons of ore have been extracted since the close of the Carlist Wars, and the reserves are now estimated at 6o million tons. Guipuzcoa has several small lodes ; at Arditurri four million tons of iron ore have been proved by borings.
Less than io% of the province is under cultivation, and 8o% forest and rough pasture. The farms are small, and the isolated caserios or farmhouses are scattered over the hillsides. The main cereal crop is maize (1924, one-third of the cultivated area) ; apples are the chief fruit crop. But the agricultural production of the province is entirely secondary to its mineral and industrial wealth, and food-stuffs are imported. The humid climate favours the growth of forage plants, and, as in the other Basque provinces, practically all the farmers are also stock-raisers. Livestock in 1924 numbered 218,525 of which 82,287 were horned cattle, bred for milk and meat as well as for labour; the numbers, reduced by exportation during the World War, have been restored by the ex ertions of the Provincial Authority (Diputacion), which has fine model stock farms. The forests are managed by the same authority. Fisheries, principally of cod, bream and anchovy, are active along the coast. In mineral production Biscay is second only to Oviedo; iron of fine quality is found in almost every part, and forms a main article of export (1924, 1,991,546 metric tons from the port of Bilbao, 494,202 metric tons from Castro). In 1923 mining em ployed 8,000 men, and smelting 18,000 men in 21 large foundries, producing iron ore valued at 2 2,17 2,976 pesetas, zinc ore 6,27o pesetas, steel 137,155,7oo pesetas, pig iron 47,559,54o pesetas, puddled iron 404,80o pesetas, coke 17,819,20o pesetas; the corn bined values for iron ore, steel and pig-iron being the highest for any province and representing 61.8% of the value produced in those commodities for all Spain. Tinplate, railway rolling stock, chemical manures, soaps and vegetable oils, cement, bricks and tiles, glass, jute and other textiles, preserved foods, dynamite and other explosives, and paper are important products. Mineral spas and springs attract visitors from all parts of Spain. The mining and industrial interests of Biscay have been assisted by the rapid development, since 187o, of railways, and the excellence of the roads, kept up by the Provincial Authority. The inhabitants are enterprising and well-educated; the percentage of illiteracy in 1920 was 22•21, and has since declined. The density of popu lation (580.3 persons per square mile) is the highest in Spain.
Bilbao (pop. 161,987), the capital and principal port, and Baracaldo (34,209), an important industrial district, are described in separate articles. Other large towns are Sestao Basauri (9,444), Elorrio (3,004) and Guecho (16,859). The port of Bermeo (io,921) is the chief fishing station; Durango (8,572), on the Ibaizabal, was founded by the early kings of Navarre in the loth century, obtained the rank of a countship in 1153, and contains one of the oldest churches in the Basque prov inces, San Pedro de Tavira; Guernica (5,229), on the river Mun daca, is celebrated for its oak-tree, still the meeting-place of the representatives of the valleys, although the main business of the meetings has long been transacted in a neighbouring ermita. The Arbol de Guernica was celebrated by the Basque poet, Jose Maria Iparraguirro, in a song which is regarded by the Spanish Basques almost as a national anthem. For the history of the Basques, see