GALICIA, Span. pron. ga-Wthe-ft. A politi cal division of Spain, bounded on the north by the Atlantic, on the east by the provinces of As turias and Ledn, on the south by Portugal, and on the west by the Atlantic (Map: Spain, A 1). Area, 11,344 square miles. The surface is gen erally composed of numerous isolated mountains and hills intermingled with valleys and elevat ed plains, but there are few connected moun tain chains. The chief river is the Minho. The climate is moist but not unhealthful. In some districts the soil is fertile and well cultivated. Agriculture and stock-raising are the leading in dustries. Minerals are found in the mountains, and the waters along the coasts abound in fish. The unequal distribution of land and the backwardness of the manufacturing industries are responsible for the impoverished state of the masses, and the constant stream of emigra tion to Portugal and the more progressive parts of Spain, as well as to North and South America. Population, in 1887, 1,894,558; in 1900, 2,073, 618. The inhabitants are called Gallegos, and re semble the Portuguese rather than the Spaniards, speaking a distinct dialect. Administratively,
Galicia is divided into the four provinces of Corunna, Lugo, Orense, and Pontevedra. The scat of the Captain-General is Corunna.
Galicia was originally occupied by a tribe known as the Callaici or dallaici, whence the name of the region. It was first subjugated by the Romans in the time of Augustus. Early in the fifth century. when the torrent of Suevi and Vandals swept across the Pyrenees, Galicia, which then included old Castile, was occupied by the former. After remaining independent for almost two centuries, it became part of the Visigothic kingdom under Leogovild in the latter part of the sixth century. At the time of the Saracen in vasion. great numbers of the Visigoths fled thith er. The Saracens were driven out in 734 by Al fonso the Catholic of Asturias. Galicia shared the fortunes of Asturias and of Leon, and fin:1113, became part of the Kingdom of Castile. On the death of Ferdinand the Great of Castile and Lebn, in 1065, it formed for a few years an inde pendent kingdom under his son Garcia.