Cadiz

CADIZ, capital and principal seaport of the Spanish province described above ; on Cadiz bay, an inlet of the Atlantic ocean; 94m. by rail south of Seville. Pop. (1930) 75,769. Cadiz is built on the low, rocky extremity of a narrow, sandy spit projecting about 5m. into the sea, in a north to west direction from the Isla de Leon, which is separated from the mainland by a broad chan nel known as the Rio Santi Petri. The isthmus and headlands on the mainland to the north nearly enclose the splendid bay, over 3om. in circuit, to which Cadiz owes its commercial importance. The outer bay, affording extensive anchorage in from 6 to i o fathoms of water, stretches from the promontory of Rota to the mouth of the Rio de San Pedro, a distributary of the Guadalete which enters the bay opposite Cadiz. The inner bay, guarded at its narrow entrance by the forts of Puntales and Cortadura on the isthmus, also provides good anchorage, though in rather shallower water. On its south shore is the important naval arsenal of San Fernando. The entrance to the bays is somewhat obstructed by low shelving rocks (Los Cochinos and Las Puercas) and by shift ing mud banks deposited by the rivers, but the channel is well marked by illuminated buoys.

Owing to its almost insular position Cadiz enjoys a mild climate, with temperatures seldom falling below 53° F. in winter or rising above 76° F. in summer. Winter is, however, the pleasanter sea son, as in summer the heat is either glaring, if land winds prevail, or very oppressive when the moisture-laden W. Viraz6n sets in.

The city, only 6 to 7m. in circumference, is peculiarly restricted by its position, being practically hemmed in by the sea and sur rounded by a wall, now largely demolished, round the harbour on the east, but with only one land exit, a gate communicating with the isthmus. In view of the uniformity and elegance of its build ings, Cadiz must certainly be ranked as one of the finest cities of Spain. The houses, three-storied or more high, have flat roofs and watch towers in the Moorish style. The marine promenades which fringe the city between the ramparts and the sea are very fine, especially that called the Alameda, on the eastern side over looking the bay. The general air of cleanliness, due partly to the fact that the houses are whitewashed every year, is, however, deceptive, as the drainage of the low-lying city is quite inadequate and refuse, thrown over the sea-walls, collects in heaps along the shore. The water-supply is also bad. The water, apart from that collected in cisterns from the roofs, is brought at great expense from Santa Maria on the opposite coast by an aqueduct nearly 3om. long. The city possesses only one fresh water spring, which rises under the high altar of the old cathedral. Several times in its history its population has been decimated by disease, but the death-rate has gradually decreased since the beginning of the loth century.

Cadiz is the see of a bishop, who is suffragan to the archbishop of Seville. The old cathedral, originally erected by Alphonso X. of Castile (1252-84) and rebuilt after 1596, is now only a church. The new cathedral, begun in 1722 and completed between 1832 and 1838, is chiefly remarkable for its yellow dome and vast crypt. The church of Santa Catalina, formerly attached to a Capuchin convent which is now secularized and used as a lunatic asylum, contains an unfinished picture of the marriage of St. Catherine, by Murillo, who met his death by falling from the scaffold on which he was painting it (April 3, 1682) . In the centre of the town there is a watch-tower, the Torre Vigia, from which the ar rival and departure of vessels are signalled. Cadiz possesses three theatres and a bull-ring, accommodating 11,5oo spectators, and many charitable institutions, such as the large Hospico de Miseri cordia, the Hospico for men, the women's hospital and the found- ling institution. There are many free schools and several mathe matical and commercial academies, a nautical school, a school of design, a theological seminary and a flourishing medical school at tached to the University of Seville. The archaeological museum contains numerous Roman and Carthaginian relics and the acad emy possesses a valuable collection of pictures. Most of the old fortifications have been demolished but there is a fort as well as a lighthouse on the rock of San Sebastian to the west of the city. Modern villas and bathing establishments are growing up along the isthmus.

Cadiz, in spite of its fine natural harbour and splendid geograph ical position, no longer ranks among the first marine cities of the world. The loss of the Spanish colonies in America, early in the 19th century following the Napoleonic wars, dealt a blow to its trade from which it has never recovered. Its decline was later accelerated by the disasters of the Spanish-American war of 1898, which almost ruined local commerce with Cuba and Porto Rico and by the decreasing demand for sherry, but above all by the lack of enterprise among its citizens, who allowed its harbour works to become out of date. Since the beginning of the loth century, how ever, considerable improvements have been made. Moles, wharves and warehouses have been constructed and the present harbour has over 2m. of quayage. A free depot established in 1823, but lapsing since 1832, has been successfully revived on modern lines. Industrial development is small but important naval and mercan tile shipbuilding yards and various factories exist on the mainland and there are tunny fisheries off the coast. The city is above all a commercial port, exporting much wine, principally sherry from Jerez, salt, olives, figs, corks and salted fish, and importing coal, iron and machinery, timber, cereals, coffee and other foodstuffs. Several great shipping lines call at Cadiz and passenger traffic is important. In 1926, 2,054 ships of all kinds, with a total tonnage of 2,152,349, entered the port. In spite of modern improvements, however, the development of Cadiz must always be checked by the restrictions of its site and by its limited access to and from the mainland along the narrow isthmus. This accommodates only one road, a railway and an electric tram-line, connecting Cadiz with San Fernando. Modern rivalry with Seville has also caused a loss of local trade.

History.

Cadiz, founded, according to tradition, by Phoeni cian merchants from Tyre as early as Imo B.C., had become by the 7th century the great western market for the amber and tin from the Cassiterides (q.v.). About or B.C. it was occupied by the Car thaginians, who in the 3rd century made it their base for the equip ment of the armaments with which Hannibal undertook to destroy the power of Rome. At the close of the Second Punic War the city willingly surrendered to Rome and from this time its prosperity steadily increased. Its growing trade in dried fish and meat, and in all the produce of the fertile Baetis (Guadalquivir) valley, attract ed many Greek settlers; while men of learning, such as Pytheas in the 4th century B.C., Polybius and Artemidorus of Ephesus in the 2nd, and Posidonius in the 1st, came to study its tides, unparal leled in the Mediterranean. C. Julius Caesar conferred the civitas of Rome on all its citizens in 49 B.C.; and L. Cornelius Balbus Minor built what was called the "New City," the harbour now known as Puerto Real, and the bridge still existing across the Rio Santi Petri. The wealth and importance of Gades was so great at this period that under Augustus it was the residence of no fewer than Soo equites, and was made a inunicipium with the name of Augusta Urbs Gaditana, with citizenship ranking next to that of Rome. Juvenal and Martial write of Jocosae Gades, "Cadiz the Joyous"; and throughout the Roman world its cookery and its dancing-girls were famous. In the 5th century, however, the over throw of Roman dominion in Spain by the Visigoths involved Cadiz in destruction. A few fragments of masonry, submerged under the sea, are almost all that remains of the original city. Moorish rule over the port, which was renamed Jezirat-Kadis, lasted from 711 until 1262, when Cadiz was captured, rebuilt and repeopled by Alphonso X. of Castile. Its renewed prosperity dates from the discovery of America in 1492. As the headquarters of the Spanish treasure fleets, it soon recovered its position as the wealthiest port of western Europe, and consequently it was a favourite point of attack for the enemies of Spain. During the 16th century it repelled a series of raids by the Barbary corsairs; in 1587 all the shipping in its harbour was burned by the English squadron under Sir Francis Drake; in 1596 the fleet of the earl of Essex and Lord Charles Howard sacked the city, and destroyed 4o merchant vessels and 13 warships. This disaster necessitated the rebuilding of Cadiz on a new plan, but it quickly recovered, and its new fortifications enabled it to repel successfully attacks by Brit ish fleets under the duke of Buckingham in 1626, Admiral Blake in 1656 and Sir George Rooke and the duke of Ormonde in 1702. During the 18th century the wealth of Cadiz became greater than ever ; from 172o to 1765, when it enjoyed a monopoly of the trade with Spanish America, the city annually imported gold and silver to the value of about £5,000,000. Its wealth at this time is said to have been greater than that of London. With the closing years of the century, however, it entered upon a period of misfortune. From February 1797 to April 1798 it was blockaded by the British fleet, and in 1800 it was bombarded by Nelson. In 18o8 the citi zens captured a French squadron which was imprisoned by the British fleet in the inner bay. From February 1810 until relieved by the duke of Wellington in Aug. 1812, Cadiz was besieged by French forces, during which time it served as the capital of all Spain which could escape annexation by Napoleon. Here, too, the Cortes met and promulgated the famous Liberal constitution of March 1812. To secure a renewal of this constitution the citizens revolted in 182o. The revolution spread throughout Spain. The king, Ferdinand VII., was imprisoned at Cadiz but was released by a French army which seized Cadiz in 1823 and suppressed Liber alism throughout the country.

See Sevilla y Cadiz, sus monumentos y artes, su naturaleza a historia, an illustrated volume in the series "Espana," by P. de Madrazo (Barcelona, 5884) ; Recuerdos Gaditanos, a very full history of local affairs, by J. M. Leon y Dominguez (Cadiz, 1897) ; Historia de Cadiz y de su provincia desde los remotos tiempos pasta 1824, by A. de Castro (Cadiz, 1858) ; and Description historico-artistica de la catedral de Cadiz, by J. de Urrutia (Cadiz, 1843).