BILBA'O, a seaport t. of Spain. capital of the province of Vizcaya (Biscay), is situ ated in a mountain gorge on the Nervion, about 6 in. from its month at Portugalete, in lat. 43' 14' n., long. 2' 56' west. B. is well built; the principal streets are straight. atid the houses substantial. Four bridges, one of iron, opened in 1868, and a stone bridge of the 14th c , cross the river, which divides the old town from the mew. There are several fine public walks, numerous fountains, but no public buildings of any note. The city is purely commercial. It has many extensive tope-walks and manufactures of hardware, leather, hats, tobacco, and earthenware. There are also docks for building merchant-vessels, and in the vicinity are iron and copper mines. Pop. 19,000. In 1804, a railway was opened to Tudela. Small vessels can navigate the river quite up to the town, but large:vessels have to anchor at Portugalete. The total tonnage of the ships that entered B. in 1870 was 160,932. The imports consist chiefly of cotton and woolen
manufactures, colonial produce, fish, jute, spirits, hardwares, machinery, railway mate rials, etc.; and the exports consist of wool, iron, fruits, oil, flour and grains, wines, mad der, minerals, liquorice. etc. There are more than 200 commercial houses in Bilbao. The women here do ahnost all of the heavy porterage. B. was founded in the year 1300 by Diego Lopez de Barg, under the multi of 13elvao, i.e., " the flue fort," and being well situated, and little disturbed by the civil wars of Spain, it soon attained great pros perity. In the 15th e., it was the seat of the most authoritative commercial tribunal in Spain. It suffered severely in the wars with France, first in 1795, and again in 1808, when 1200 of its inhabitants were slaughtered in cold blood. During the Carlist strug gles, B. was often besieged, last in 1874.