Andalusia

Andalusia, an ancient division of Spain comprising parts of the classical Lusitania and Baetica, being bounded on the W. by Portugal and Estremadura, on the N. by New Castile, and on the E. by Murcia and La Mancha, on the S. by the Mediterranean. Seville is the capital. The Carthaginians settled here in the 4th century B.C., and were driven out in 205 B.C., by the Romans, who in turn gave way to the Vandals. The name is supposed to be a corruption of Vandalitia. The Visigoths, in 429 A.D., succeeded the Vandals; and the Arabs, in 711, made this district their headquarters in Spain, establishing the Caliphate of Cordova. In 1236 Ferdinand III. recovered Seville, but for two centuries later the Mohammedan invaders held their ground, and the population still contains a large infusion of Moorish blood. The country is very diversified. To the N. the range of the Sierra Morena cuts it off from New Castile; and the Sierra Nevada, reaching an elevation of nearly 12,000 feet, traverses the southern portion. The lowlands of the coast are warm and richly productive. Andalusia is now divided into the provinces of Cadiz, Seville, Jaen, Grenada, Huelva, Cordova, Almeria, and Malaga. The chief towns bear the same names. The vegetable products are grain, olives, oranges, figs, cotton, and sugar. The mountains yield all varieties of metallic ore. The horses are famous throughout Spain, as are also the bulls bred for the national sport. It has an area of 33,340 square miles.