CARTAGE'NA, a fortified seaport of Spain, on a bay of the Mediterranean, in lat 37° 36 n., long. 0' 57' w. It is built partly on the declivity of a hill, and partly on a plain extending down to the sea, and is inclosed by hills which screen it from all winds. The harbor is one of the best in the Mediterranean, capacious enough to hold the largest Nets. The entrance is narrow, and completely commanded by the fortifications on an island called La Isoletta, on the south. It was formally the largest naval arsenal not only in Spain but in Europe. The city, which is surrounded by walls, has a Moorish aspect; its streets, cathedral, and the ruins of an old castle being of that architecture. C. has manufactures of sail-cloth and glass, besides extensive blast-furnaces and smelt ing-works, and a trade in barilla. agricultural produce, and esparto grass. The tunny fishery is important, and its ancient silver and lead mines, recently re-opened, are again productive—the export of lead to Great Britain and France in 1873 being 32,000 tons.
The zinc and iron ores amounted to 490,000 tons. Iu 1873, C. was seized by a commu nal junta, but was retaken by the national forces in 1874. Pop. of town and suburbs about 54,000. C., which was a colony of the Carthaginians, was built by Hasdrubal 242 B.C., under the name of New Cartage. It formed the head-quarters of the Carthagin ians in Spain, and soon became a city of much wealth and influence. It was captured by P. Scipio in 210 u.c., and became of importance under the Romans, who are said to have employed 40,000 men daily in the mines in the neighborhood. It was sacked by the Goths, and did not again attain any note until the time of Philip II.