Of C. and G. KEAR8LEY, Fleet-ftreet, may be had the 
 following Works, by the fame Author, 
 
 I. The HISTORY of ROME, from the Foundation of the City by 
 Romulus, to the Death of Marcus Antoninus, in three vo- 
 lumes, 8vo. price i8s. in boards. 
 
 fcg- For an excellent Character of this Work fee the different 
 Reviews. 
 
 II. Mr. GIBBON'S HISTORY of the DECLINE and FALL of the 
 ROMAN EMPIRE, Abridged. In two volumes, odtavo, price 
 izs. in boards. 
 
 fr This Abridgment contains the Hiftory from the Death of 
 Marcus Antoninus to the taking of Conftantinople by the 
 Turks; and, with the preceding Work, forms a complete 
 Hiftory of Rome, in five odtavo volumes. 
 
 III. The HISTORY of FRANCE, from the firft Eftablifhment of 
 that Monarchy, brought down to, and including A Complete 
 Karrative of the Late Revolution, in three volumes, oclavo, 
 price 1 8s. in boards. 
 
 # For a Character of this Work, the Reader is referred to the 
 Monthly, Analytical, Critical, Englifh, and European Reviews. 
 
 Alfo, lately publifhed, in one large Volume, Quarto, clofely 
 
 printed, 
 
 Price One Guinea in boards, 
 
 A SELECTION from the HARLEIAN MISCELLANY, of Trafb 
 which principally regard the ENGLISH HISTORY, many of 
 which are referred to by HUME, and other eminent Hiftorians. 
 
 (j^T The fcarcity and high price of the Harleian Mifcellany, has 
 induced the Editor of the above Work to offer it to the 
 Public : it iscompofed of a Selection of thofe Pieces which re- 
 gard our own Hiftory, and which have been chiefly arranged 
 in Chronological Order. The Volume contains in quantity 
 more than One-Sixth of the Mifcellany ; and the Price of it,. 
 is a Guinea, only One-Twelfth of what the original Work 
 aow fells for.
 
 THE 
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN, 
 
 FROM 
 
 THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 
 COLONY OF GADES BY THE PHCENICIANS, 
 
 TO 
 
 THE DEATH OF FERDINAND, 
 
 SURNAMED THE SAGE. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF 
 
 THE HISTORY OF FRANCE. 
 
 IN THREE VOLS. VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR C. AND G. KEARSLEY, FLEET-STREET,
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 IN 
 
 fubmitting the following work to the public, it is 
 incumbent on the author to ftate the fources of his inform- 
 ation : 
 
 In tbefrjl volume,\he hiftory of Spain by MARIANA, has 
 been his principal guide ; in the revolutions effected by the 
 arms of the Goths and the Saracens, he has preferred the 
 narrative of Mr. GIBBON; and in diftinguifhing the an- 
 cient and modern names of places, he has had recourfe to 
 Monfieur D'ANVILLE. 
 
 In the greatefl part of the fecond volume, he has adopted 
 the hiftories of CHARLES the Fifth, and of America by 
 Dodor ROBERTSON ; and the hiftory of PHILIP the 
 Second by Do&or WATSON. 
 
 In the third volume, his materials have been more various : 
 
 Dr. WATSON'S Hiftory of PHILIP the Third \ 
 
 GEDDES'S Mifcellaneous Trades ; 
 
 Anecdotes du Compte Due d'OLiVARis; 
 
 Hiftoire Generale d'Efpagne ; 
 
 Chronologique de 1'Hiftoire d'Efpagne ; 
 
 Memoires pour fervir a 1'Hiftoire d'Efpagne fous le 
 
 Regne de PHILIPPE V. ; 
 Mercure Hiftorique & Politique ; 
 Memoires du Marechal Due de BERWICK ; 
 Memoires pour fervir a 1'Hiftoire du 18 Siecle, par 
 
 M. de LAMBERTI; 
 HUME'S Hiftory of England ; 
 RUSSELL'S Hiftory of Modern Europe; 
 And VOLTAIRE'S Ages of Louis the Fourteenth and 
 
 Fifteenth. 
 
 H
 
 %i ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 . i 
 
 He muft alfo acknowledge the afliftance he has derived 
 from the Travels of Mr. SWINBURNE, and the more recent 
 Journey of Mr. TOWNSEND. 
 
 In the perufal of this work, the reader will probably 
 obferve, that feveral circumftances have been {lightly palled 
 over which may be thought worthy a more copious de 
 tail ; the author has only to reply, that he hopes none of the 
 principal events which regard Spain have been omitted ; and 
 where the tranfaclions of upwards of two thoufand years 
 are to becomprifed within three octavo volumes, to be con-. 
 cife, is not a matter of choice, but of obligation. 
 
 CONTENTS
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 OF .T H E 
 
 FIRST VO'LUME, 
 
 Chapter the Firfl. 
 
 E 
 
 XTENT and fituation of .indent Spain Firft dif- 
 covered by the Phoenicians Colony of Gades 
 Invaded by the Carthaginians Defcr.'ption of the 
 natives Succefs of the Carthaginians The Ro- 
 mans enter Spain Account of their progr'efs They 
 divide Spain into two provinces Wars with the 
 natives Character of Viriatus His victories over 
 the Romans Project of an independent fovereignty 
 in Spain He concludes a peace with Rome The 
 treaty is broken by the Romans Viriatus is aiTafli- 
 r>ated in his tent The Lufitanians are defeated un- 
 der Tantalus Theypreferve their independence in 
 their mountains Refinance of Numantia It is be- 
 fieged by Scipio, the fecond African us Defpair of 
 the inhabitants Deftrudlion of Numantia The 
 Spaniards embrace the party of Sertorius Death of 
 that chief Spain fubdued by Pompey Conduct of 
 the Spaniards in the civil wars of the Roman repub- 
 lic Account of the wealth of Spain x-\uguilus 
 plans the entire reduction of it He penetrates into 
 the mountains of Cantabria and Afturia Submif- 
 iion of the Cantabrians and Afturians--Reyolt of 
 the Cantabrians They are conquered by Agrippa 
 -^-Divifion of Spain into the provinces of Tnrraco- 
 nenfis, Lufitania, and Boetica, . i 
 
 Chapter the Second. 
 
 State of Spain until the reign of Gallienus Invafion 
 of the Franks Is ufurped by Conilanune in. the 
 reign of Honorius Is betrayed or abandoned to the 
 Suevi, the Vandals, and the Alani Their devafla- 
 tions They are attacked by Adolphus Death of 
 Adolphus Atchievements of Wallia Extirpates 
 the Alani Vanquishes the Vandals and the Suevi 
 Reltores Spain, to the Romans Exploits of the 
 Vandals They defeat the Romans They plun- 
 der Majorca and Minorca They depart for Africa-r- 
 
 Devaluations
 
 viii CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Devafiations of the Sucvi Theodoric king of the 
 Goths irarches to the relief of Spain His vic- 
 tory over ;he Suevi, who retire into Gallicia Euric 
 the fucceflrr of Thcodoric completed the reduction 
 of the greateft part of Spain lie is fucceeded by 
 A lark, who is killed in battle by Clovis Reign of 
 Amalaric Administration and reign of Theudes 
 The Vifigoths cleft Theodigele He is aflaflinated 
 Civil war in Spain Athanegilde with the aflif- 
 tance of the Romans obtains the crown -He is fuc- 
 ceeded by Liuva and Leovigild Leovigild carries 
 on a fuccefsful war with the Romans in Spain His 
 fc>ns Hermenigild and Recared are declared princes 
 of the (Goths Submiflion of the Cr.ntabrians, &c. 
 Marriage and converfion of Hermenigild He 
 rebels againft his father Is vanquilhed and im- 
 prifoned Efcapesfrom imprifonment Civil war 
 Hermenigild is again made captive He negociates 
 with the "Romans He is put to death Extinction 
 of the kingdom of the Suevi in Spain Character 
 and death of Leovigild, 45 
 
 Chapter the Third. 
 
 Reign of Recared The Catholic church is eflabliftied 
 His victory over the Franks Councils of Tole- 
 doHis death Reigns of Liuva, Witeric.and Gon- 
 demar Acceflion of Sifebut He perfecutes the 
 Jews He is fucceeded by his fon Recared the fe- 
 cond Death of Recared, and fuccefiion of his bro- 
 ther Suintilla He expels the Imperialiib He is 
 dethroned by Sifenand Election of Chintila to the 
 throne Persecution againlt the Jews renewed 
 Reigns of Tulga, Chindefuintho, and Recefuintho 
 Wambais chofen king His exploits He regu- 
 lates the national councils Triumph over the Sa- 
 racens by fea Hngular manner of his depofuion 
 Ufurpation of Erviga He refigns the fceptre to his 
 fon-in-law Egiza New code of laws promulgated 
 by the Vifigoths, . ... 84 
 
 Chapter the Fourth. 
 
 Confpiracy of the Jews with the Mahometans of Afri- 
 ca War with the Franks and Gafcom Death of 
 Egiza, and acceffion of Witiza The Pope's claim 
 of fuprcmacy is rejected in the council of Toledo- 
 Tyranny of Witiza Revolt and elevation of Rode-
 
 CONTENTS. ix 
 
 Page 
 
 fie Treachery of Count Julian Invafion of the 
 Saracens Battle of Xeres Flight and death of Ro- 
 deric Exploits of Tarik Of Mufa Of Abda- 
 laziz The greateft part of Spain conquered Re- 
 call of Mufa Government of Abdalaziz His 
 marriage with the widow of Roderic He is aflafli- 
 nated Rival factions of the Abbaflides and Om- 
 miades Abdalrahman appears on the coaft of Spain 
 
 His victory over the Abbaffides Heeftablifheshii 
 
 independent throne at Cordova The sera of Ara- 
 bian fplendour in Spain Reign of the third Ab- 
 dalrahman His wealth and magnificence Town 
 and palace of Zehra His revenue Trade and 
 natural productions of SpainCharacter of Alkalem 
 the fecond Hisjuftice He is fuccceded by his 
 infant fon Haflem Renown of Almanzor, the vizir 
 of Haflem Overthrow of the houfe of the Om- 
 miades Degeneracy and difTenfions of the Moors 
 of Spain, liS 
 
 Chapter the Fifth. 
 
 The Goths maintain their independence in the Aflu- 
 rian mountains Reign and achievements of Pela- 
 gius Death of his fon and fucceflbr Favilla .- 
 Election of Alfonfo, furnamed the Catholic- 
 Reign ofFroila He regulates the Catholic church 
 --His victories over Abdalrahman-~His feverity- 
 His aflaffination Succeflfion of Aurelio, and Silo- 
 Ufurpation of Mauregato Election of Bermudo--- 
 He refigns the crown to Alonfo, the Chafte Glo- 
 rious adminiftration of Alfonfo He is fucceeded by 
 his fon Ramiro Reign of Ordogno Of Alfonfo, 
 furnamed the Great Of Garcias -Of Ordogno the 
 fecond Of Froila the fecond Of Alfonfo the 
 fourth Of Ramiro He wrefts the city of Toledo 
 from the MoflemsAdminiitration of Abdalrah- 
 man the third -Prudence of Ramiro His viftory 
 over the Moors He is fucceeded by his fon Ordogno- 
 the third Reign of Sancho He is depofed- -Ac- 
 ceffion of Ordogno the fourth Reftoration of San- 
 cho He is poifoned Eledion of Ramiro the third 
 Of Bermudo the fecond Of Alfonfo the fifth 
 Of Bermudo the thirdHis death unites in his 
 brother-in-law Ferdinand the crowns of Leon and 
 Caftille, 164 
 
 Chapter
 
 x CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Chapter the Sixth* .*-.-. 
 
 State of Spain on the union of the crowns of Caftille 
 and Leon under Ferdinand the Firll War of that 
 monarch with his brothers, the kings of Navarre and 
 Arragon Account of, and exploits of Don Rodrigo, 
 fur-named the Cid Death of Ferdinand-.~Divifion 
 of his dominions Sancho the fecond defpoils his 
 brothers of Leon and Ga!licia---He is killed in the 
 fiege of Zamora Acceffion of Alfonfo the fixth 
 Difgrace of the Cid Eftabliflies himfelf on the 
 frontiers of Valencia. --Alfonfo reduces ToledoIs 
 defeated by the Moors His peace and marriage 
 with the daughter of the king of Seville--*! nvafion 
 of the AlmovaridesDefeat of Ucles -Death of 
 Alfonfo His daughter Urraca is acknowledged as 
 his fucceflbr Civil wars with her hufband and fon 
 ---On her death, Caftille and Leon fubmit to her 
 fon Alfonfo the feventh His glorious reign He 
 receives the title of emperor from the princes of 
 SpainDivides his dominions between his fons 
 Sancho and Ferdinand- Short but prudent reign of 
 Sancho over Caflille Turbulent minority of his fon - 
 Alonfo the eighth He affumes the adminiftration 
 Is defeated by the Moors near Alercon -He 
 marries his daughter Beregara to his nephew the 
 young king of Leon- Crufade of the Chriftiaus 
 againitthe infidels of Spain Gallantry of Alfonfo 
 in the battle of Tolofo Splendid victory of the 
 Chriftians Prudent reign and death of Alfonfo 
 He is fucceeded by his fon Henry Difputes for the 
 regency Death of Henry, and acceffion of Bere- 
 gara She refigns the crown to her fon, Ferdinand 
 the fecond, who on the death of his father unites 
 the kingdoms of Caftille and Leon, 217 
 
 Chapter the Seventh. 
 
 Final union of Caftille and Leon Rife and progrefa 
 of chivalry Orders of St. Jago, Calatrava, and 
 Alcantara Exploits of Ferdinand, furnamed the 
 Saint He fucceflively reduces the cities of Cordo- 
 va and Seville---He meditates the invafion of Africa 
 His death Four hundred years after he is cano- 
 nized at the requeft of the king and ftates of Spain, 
 Acceffion of Alfonfo, furnamed the Wife He 
 afpires to the imperial crown of Germany Dif-
 
 CONTENTS. "'':.* xi 
 
 Page 
 
 traftion of his reign Revolt of his fon Sancho 
 Death of Alfonfo He is fucceeded by Sancho the 
 Brave Vigorous meafures of that monarch He 
 vanquifhes his rebellious fubjefts Dies at Toledo 
 The queen dowager is fupplanted in the regency 
 by Don Henry, uncle of the late king Stcrmy 
 minority and reign t)f Ferdinand the fourth Pre- 
 tenfions of the houfe of de la Cerda Prudence of 
 the queen dowager Perfecution of the Knights , 
 Templars They are acquitted in Spain. ---Haliy 
 condemnation of two noblemen, by Ferdinarvd 
 Particulars of the death of that monarch He is 
 fuccecded by his fon Alfonfo the eleventh Defeat 
 of the Chriltians, and deaths of the regents Juan 
 and Pedro Allonfo affumes the reins of govern- 
 ment He als with vigour againft his rebellious 
 Jubjedts and foreign enemies -In. conjunclion with 
 the king of Portugal, he defeats the Moors at Sal- 
 fedo Takes Algezire Dies of the plague in the 
 fiege of Gibraltar Review of his character 2&Z 
 
 Chaffer the Eighth. 
 
 Acceffion of Peter, fnrnamed the Cruel His perfidy 
 and barbarity- He is dethroned by his half-brother 
 Henry, count of Tranftamare -He is reftored by 
 Edward, the Black Prince Is a fecond time de- 
 feated by Henry, and put to death Reign of Henry 
 the fecond Is fucceeded by his ion John Pre- 
 tenfions of John to the crown of Portugal His de- 
 feat at Aljubarrota Makes peace with Portugal 
 and England- Felicity of his general adminiilra- 
 tion-Account of his death---His infant fon Henry 
 the third, is acknowledged king Diffeniions of the 
 nobility Henry affumes the government at thirteen, 
 His vigorous condad Medidates the expulsion 
 of the Moors from Spain His death Integrity of 
 his brother Ferdinand John the fecond is proclaim- 
 ed Wife adminiilration of - Ferdinand He is 
 chofen king of Portugal Competition of the re- 
 gency of Caftille Long and difaftrous reign of 
 John Revolt of his fon, the prince ofAfturias 
 Execution of his favourite, Alvaro de LunaHe 
 dies, and is fucceeded by his fon Henry the fourth, 
 furuamed the Impotent His marriage with the 
 princefs of Portugal She is delivered of a daugh- 
 ter- The nobility refufe to acknowledge the child 
 
 aa
 
 xii CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 as th king's Formidable confederacy againfl Henry 
 
 He is folemnly depofed at Avila; and his brother 
 Alfonfo proclaimed ; Death of Alfonfo Treaty be- 
 tween Henry and his nobles The kingacknowledges 
 his fitter Ifabella, his fuccefibr, in prejudice to the 
 princefs Joanna Marriage of Ifabella with Ferdi- 
 nand the king of Sicily, and fon of the king of 
 Arragon Death of Henry Ferdinand and Ifabella 
 are proclaimed The king of Portugal claims the 
 crown in right of Joanna He is defeated at Toro 
 Death of the king of Arragon Ferdinand unites 
 the crowns of Caftille and Arragon, 333 
 
 Chapter the Ninth. 
 
 State of the neighbouring powers, when Ferdinand 
 united the crowns of Caftille and Arragon Of 
 Portugal, Navarre, and Granada Of France Italy 
 Germany And England Political ftate of Spain 
 Account of the Juiliza in Arragon Of the Holy 
 Brotherhood Addrefs of Ferdinand He makes 
 peace with Portugal Commences the war with 
 Granada Various fuccefs Exertions of Ferdinand 
 and Ifabella Diflenfions of the Moors Ferdinand 
 fucceffively reduces Ronda, Velez, and Malaga Do- 
 meftic hiftory of Abdallah king of Granada Gra- 
 nada is inverted by the Chriftians Conftruftion of 
 the town of Santa Fe Defpair of the Moors Ca- 
 pitulation of Granada Triumphal entry of Ferdi- 
 nand Defcription of the Alhambra Expu'fion of 
 the Jews Subfequent oppreffion of theMorefcoes 
 Progrefs of navigation Difcovery of the Fortunate 
 or Canary Iflands by the Spaniards Extenfive dif- 
 coveries of the Portuguefe Hiftory and character 
 of Chriftopher Columbus ; his idea of new coun- 
 tries in the Weft His propofals rejected by Genoa 
 and Portugal Are at length accepted by Ifabella 
 He fails from Palos in, Andalufia, 407 
 
 THE
 
 HISTORY 
 
 O F 
 
 SPAIN. 
 
 I,,, 
 
 Chapter the Firft. 
 
 Extent and filiation of ancient Spain. Firft difco-vered 
 by the Phoenicians. ^Colony of Gades. Invaded by 
 -the Carthaginians. Dffcrip/iou of the natives. 
 Succefs of the Carthaginians. The Romans enter 
 Spain. Account of their progrefs. They divide 
 Spain into tivo province*. Wars with the natives. 
 Character of Vir'uitus. His victories . over the 
 Romans. Project of an independent f over eignty in 
 Spain. He concludes a peace with Rome. The 
 treaty is broken by the Romans. Viriatus is af- 
 Jajfinated in his tent. The Lujitanians are defeated 
 under Tantalus. They preferve their independence 
 in their mountains. Rejiftance of Numantia. 
 // is bejiegcd by Scipio, the fecond Africanus. 
 Defpair of the inhabitants. Dejlruftion of Nu- 
 mantia. The Spaniards embrace the party of Ser- 
 torius. Death of that chief. Spain fubdued by 
 Pompey. Conduct of the Spaniards in the civil wars 
 of the Roman republic. Account of the wealth of ' 
 VOL. i. B Spain.
 
 a HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 Spain. Au gvjtus plans the entire reduRionofit. 
 He penetrates into the mountains of Cantabria and 
 djluria. Submijfion of the Cantabrians and Ajluri- 
 ans , Revolt of the Cantabrians. They are con- 
 quered by Agrippc. Divifion of Spain into the pro- 
 vinces of Tarraconenfis, Lufaania, and Bcetica. 
 
 V-/N the weftern point of Europe, a fertile re- 
 gion extends from the flraits of Gibraltar to the 
 Pyrenean mountains, above five hundred and 
 ninety miles in length, and, from the Mediter- 
 ranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, five hundred 
 and eighty miles in breadth. The Phoenicians, 
 who firft difcovered this wealthy peninfula, be- 
 ftowed on it the name of SPAIN ; they were at- 
 tracted to its coafts by the fame fpirit of nautical 
 adventure that afterwards impelled the Spaniards 
 to explore the fouthern continent of America; 
 and more than a thoufand years before the birth 
 of Chrifl, beneath their aufpices, the city of 
 Gades arofe on a promontory of the iiland of 
 Leon, which was feparated by a narrow channel 
 from the ancient province of Boetica, and foon 
 became the emporium of commerce. 
 A c Eight centuries appear to have 
 
 elapfed before the . eftablifhment of 
 the colony of Gades feems to have excited the 
 open jealoufy of the natives. At the expiration 
 of that term, the Phoenicians found themfelves 
 
 involved
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. $ 
 
 Involved in an unfuccefsful ftruggle with the fe- 
 rocious tribes which inhabited Boetica ; and con- 
 fcious of their declining ftrength, they called to 
 their afftftance the Carthaginians, who, themfelves 
 of Phoenician extraction, embraced with alacrity 
 the kindred caufe. The intereft of the latter 
 confpired with the refentment of their allies; and 
 a fhort time after the conclufion of the firft Punic 
 war, Amilcar, the father of Hannibal, difembarked 
 the forces of Carthage on the neareft coaft of 
 Spain. 
 
 He found a warm, but genial climate ; the air 
 pure, the foil fruitful, and refremed by frequent 
 rivers; the mountains abounded with copper, 
 and with the more precious metals. But they 
 were defended by numerous tribes of barbarians, 
 who, although they confented to acknowledge 
 the authority of different princes, were united by 
 fimilar purfuits, and fimilar tempers. Bold, iub- 
 tle, and fanguinary, they difdained the arts of 
 peace, and devoted themfelves to the toils of war. 
 Their hours were alternately occupied by the 
 care of their arms and their horfcs ; and deprived 
 of thefe, the martial Spaniards regarded life with 
 indifference. Their garments were ftained with 
 various colours, their bodies painted, and their 
 long hair decked with ornaments of filver and 
 gold. At the diftance of above twenty centuries, 
 the fame hereditary difpofuion may be traced : 
 Bz the
 
 4 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 the haughty fpirits of the men fcorned, or their 
 indolence rendered them averfe to the fervile la- 
 bours of agriculture ; and where ever cultivation 
 was neceflary, the ungrateful duty was abandoned 
 to a female hand. 
 
 The religion of the barbarians of Spain was 
 fuited to the rude and ignorant ftate in which 
 they remained at the invafion of the Cartha- 
 ginians : they acknowledged and adored one fu- 
 preme Being, to whom their vows were paid, and 
 their altars erected ; deep and venerable groves 
 were conlidered as the chofen refidence of the 
 deity, or the places more peculiarly adapted to 
 his worlhip ; and human facrifice was deemed 
 the moft facred and acceptable offering. 
 
 The jealoufy and hatred of Rome, had firft 
 prompted Amilcar to afpire to the reduction of 
 Spain. On that theatre he hoped to reftore the difci- 
 pline of the armies, to recruit the exhaufted cof- 
 fers of Carthage, and to enable her to contend with 
 fuccefs with the miftrefs of Italy. Nor was he dif- 
 appointed in the bold and laborious enterprife. 
 The riches of the country were the recompenfe 
 of many a bloody and perfevering conflict. From 
 the Ihores of the Mediterranean he flowly ad- 
 vanced towards thofe of the Atlantic. In nine- 
 years of inceflant warfare he fubdued the pro- 
 vince of Boetica, which corresponds with modern 
 Grenada and Andalufia; and penetrated into the 
 
 country
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 5 
 
 country of the Lufitanians, which is now the 
 kingdom of Portugal. The Lufitanians fupplied 
 their deficiency in arms and difcipline by their 
 native craft and courage. Though they were in- 
 capable of preferving their independence, they 
 revenged the lofs of it ; and on the banks of the 
 Tagus, Amilcar was encompaffed, opprefied, and 
 flain. 
 
 His brother Afdrubal fucceeded to the com- 
 mand of his army and the execution of his de- 
 ligns ; lefs able in war but more refined in ne- 
 gociation, he conciliated the afFedions of thofe 
 flates which Amilcar had endeavoured to fubdue. 
 Lufitania admired his addrefs and acknowledged 
 his influence. The Callaici who (till perpetuate 
 their origin in Gallicia, the tribes who occupied 
 the modern countries of Leon, the two Caftilles, 
 Murcia, and Valencia, were prevailed upon to fub- 
 mit to his authority; even the Celtiberians, the 
 moft powerful of the barbarians, who pofielTed 
 the prefent province of Arragon, and whofe name 
 defcribes their defcent from the Celtje, and their 
 fituation on the banks of the Iberus, had confent- 
 ed to receive the Carthaginian yoke, when the 
 progrefs of Afdrubal was arrefted by private re- 
 fentment, and he himfelf fell a victim to the dag- 
 ger of a fervile aflaflin, 
 
 The fetters of Spain were riveted by the hand 
 
 of Hannibal, the glory and the fliame of Car- 
 
 B 3 thage;
 
 6 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 rhage ; and who at the early age of twenty-five 
 years iurpaflcd in military fkill his father Amilcar, 
 an-! in political addrefs'his uncle Afdrubal. 
 Two years were confumed in fecuring the con- 
 quefls of his predeceflbrs, and in the beginning 
 of the third he led his forces to the fiege of Sa- 
 guntum, a city which had been founded by the 
 Greeks on the Ihores of the Mediterranean, and 
 on the borders of Valencia; the Saguntines con- 
 fided in the protection of Hercules, and the alli- 
 ance of Rome. But their hopes of divine affift- 
 ance, and their expectations of mortal fuccour, 
 were equally vain ; and it was by their native va- 
 lour, and the flrength of their walls, that they 
 were enabled to baffle during eight months the 
 efforts of the befiegers. The fall of a lofty tower 
 at length difclofed to the Carthaginians the fecret 
 avenues of the city ; but even then their avarice 
 was difappointed by the invincible refolution or 
 frantic defpair of the inhabitants; and the Sagun- 
 tines fetting fire to their houfes, involved them- 
 felves, their families, and their effects, in general 
 deftruction. 
 
 Beyond the ftream of the Iberus, and between 
 that river and the Pyrenean mountains the Vaf- 
 cones and Ilergetes pofieffed the fame diftricts as 
 compofe at prefent the kingdom of Navarre and 
 the province of Catalonia. They had heard of 
 the fate of Saguntum, and their confternation was 
 
 revealed
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 7 
 
 revealed in their feeble refiftance ; they fubmitted 
 to the victor, and Spain traniiently acknowledged 
 the dominion of Carthage. The terror of arms was 
 probably improved by negociation ; the fame 
 qualities which rendered Hannibal the idol of his 
 foldiers, enabled him to reconcile the jarring paf- 
 fions of hoftile and rival nations; when he prefu- 
 med to meafure the ftrength and fortune of the 
 African republic with thofe of Rome, twenty 
 thoufand Spaniards with alacrity marched beneath 
 his ftandard, traverfed with him the Pyrenean 
 mountains, and the Alps; and claimed their fhare 
 in the danger and glory of the bloody fields of 
 Trebia, of Thrafymene, and of Canna. 
 
 It was not folely on the affections of Spain that 
 Hannibal relied for her obedience during his at>- 
 fence. Fifteen thoufand Africans were left under 
 the command of his brother Afdrubal, to fecure 
 and protect the country from the mouth of the 
 Bcetis, to the banks of the Iberus ; and ten thou 
 fand infantry and one thoufand horfe were entruft* 
 ed to an officer of the name of Hanno who awed 
 the turbulent hordes between the Iberus and the 
 Pyrenees, 
 
 The precaution was the natural refult of the 
 fagacity of the chief who adopted it. Rome 
 fcarce was informed of the defign of Hannibal t 
 penetrate into Italy, before me prepared to de- 
 prive him of the jefources which he might draw 
 B 4 from
 
 8 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 from Spain, by tranfporting the war into that 
 country. Cneius Scipio at the head of a formida- 
 ble army encountered in the country of the Iler- 
 getes the troops of Hanno; the Carthaginians 
 were defeated; and from the Pyre.nean moun- 
 tains to the Iberus, the tribes and cities of Spain 
 fubmitted to the authority of Rome. 
 A. c. 204, The forces of Cneius Scipio were 
 * 96 ' fwelled by the junction of the troops 
 of his brother Publius, who with the title of pro- 
 conful was appointed to the conduct of the Spa- 
 nifh war. The kindred chiefs extended their enter- 
 prifes beyond the dream of the Iberus, reftored 
 the walls of Saguntum, and during feven years 
 of martial toils maintained the afcendancy of 
 Rome. The Edetani who had feized the mo- 
 ment of their abfence to revolt, were feverely 
 chaftifed, and their capital, the modern city of 
 Lerida, was abandoned to the rapacity of the 
 Roman foldiers. Within the hilly diftrict of Lu- 
 fitania, Afdrubal eluded the purfuit of his ene- 
 mies; but he was forced to relinquifh the open 
 country to their arms ; and the Scipios already 
 revolved, the total reduction of Spain, when they 
 periflied by their own temerity. Elated by a fe- 
 ries of victory, they divided their forces to im- 
 prove their advantages more rapidly. It is pro- 
 bable the natives had always regarded their pro- 
 grefs with fecret difcontent; they embraced the 
 
 moment
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 9 
 
 moment when their troops were difunited; to 
 the north of the Iberus, on the frontiers of the 
 Sueffetani, Publius was deferted by his allies, and 
 opprefled by the forces of Spain, of Carthage, and 
 of Numidia ; and as Cneius returned to avert, or 
 avenge the fate of his brother, the levity or trea- 
 chery of his barbarian followers involved him in 
 the fame deftruction. The Celtiberians retired 
 from his ftandard ; and his fcanty band of Ro- 
 mans was encountered and overwhelmed by the 
 hofts of their enemies. 
 
 The chaflifement of the Spaniards, At Cm , 95 
 and the expulfion of the Carthaginians, I92 ' 
 were committed to the kindred hand of Cor- 
 nelius, the fon of Publius Scipio. That hero, 
 who was afterwards better known by the furname 
 of Africanus, was when only twenty-four years old 
 inverted with the proconfular dignity, and ap- 
 pointed to the command which had been held by 
 his father. He found the Romans incamped be- 
 hind the ftream of the Iberus, and though under 
 the conduct of Lucius Martius they had furpri- 
 fed the Carthaginian camp, their late fuccefs had 
 not effaced the remembrance of their former dif- 
 afters. They were taught to contemn the feeble 
 protection of the river by the example of their 
 new general; from its banks to the province 
 of Boetica their adventurous valour was refpe&ed 
 
 by
 
 ,6 HISTORY OF SPAIN. . 
 
 by the barbarians, and they traverfed the extent 
 of Spain without encountering an enemy. 
 
 On a peninfula which ftretches towards the op- 
 polite continent of Africa from the ancient coun- 
 try of the Conteftani, and the modern province 
 of Murcia, New Carthage, whofe name fuffici- 
 ently reveals her founders, had under the influ- 
 ence of commerce and civil adminiftration arifen 
 to opulence and grandeur; and had been efta- 
 blifhed by the Carthaginians as the feat of their 
 government, and the repofitory of their arms and 
 treafures. While Scipio invefted the city by land, 
 the Roman fleet under Lalius blocked up the 
 mouth of the harbour ; on the fide towards the 
 fea the garrifon had trufted to ttjat element for 
 their protection, and a low and narrow wall was 
 rather defigned to repel the waves than exclude 
 the enemy. The retiring tide left the water ford' 
 able at the foot of the rampart; and Scipio was 
 no fooner apprifed of the circumftance than he 
 prepared to avail himfelf of it. Five hundred 
 chofen foldiers were animated by the example of 
 their chief; with venturous Heps they explored 
 in filence their courfe; fcaled the wall; and 
 while the attention of the garrifon was diverted 
 by a feigned attack from the land, they were 
 afloniihed by the tremendous found of the Ro- 
 man trumpets in the heart of the city. A mar- 
 tial band under the command of Mago in vain 
 
 endea-
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. n 
 
 endeavoured to maintain the citadel againft the 
 ardour of the aflailants : they were compelled af- 
 ter a fhort refiftance to furrender at difcretion, 
 and the accumulated riches of New Carthage be- 
 came the prize of the victors. 
 
 In the reduction of New Carthage the Spaniards 
 had admired the enterprifmg genius and daring 
 valour of Scipio ; in the ufe of victory they were 
 forced to applaud his generofity and moderation. 
 Among the captives a beautiful virgin who was 
 betrothed to Allucius, a prince of Celtiberia, was 
 prefented by the Roman foldiers to their general 
 as the moft acceptable reward of his martial la- 
 bours. The gallantry and chaftity of Scipio might, 
 in a rude and unpolifhed age, have inftru&ed the 
 Romans, and muft have conciliated the regard of 
 the barbarians. He turned from the alluring 
 charms of the fair, and reftored her in fafety to 
 her royal lover, whofe alliance was the immediate 
 confequence of his honourable forbearance. 
 
 The virtues of an invader are probably the moft 
 dangerous inftruments he can employ againft the 
 people whofe conqneft he meditates. The union 
 of the ftates of Spain might have prolonged at 
 Jeaft the term of their independence ; but the ge- 
 nerality of Scipio had been diffufed through the 
 various tribes of the Celtiberians ; the greateft 
 part of the country from the Ibcrus to the Sucro, 
 declared in favour of the Romans ; and the na- 
 tive
 
 12 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 tive bands of Allucius, under the condudt of their 
 prince, marched beneath the banners, and exulted 
 in the dependent title of the auxiliaries of Rome. 
 
 Not far from the Ihores of the Mediterranean 
 where a branch of the Iberus winds towards the 
 Pyrenean mountains, the Lacetani occupied part 
 of the prefent province of Catalonia. Turbulent 
 in peace, but bold and ardent in war, they were 
 diftinguifhed by the fame features as mark the 
 modern Catalans. Jealoufy of Rome, or grati- 
 tude to Carthage had fixed their prince in 
 the interefts of the African republic; and in 
 the deftruction of Publius Scipio the name of In- 
 dibilis had been tranfmitted to Italy as the moft 
 formidable of the barbarian chieftains of Spain. 
 Steady in his enmity or attachments, he flill prop- 
 ped the declining caufe of Carthage ; and Afdru- 
 bal might be urged by his refolution to await the 
 approach of the Roman army. But the conteft 
 was fatal to the hopes of the Lacetanian prince, 
 and the Carthaginian chief; the undifciplined 
 valour of the Spaniards, and the rapidity of the 
 Numidian fquadrons, were incapable of difcon- 
 certing the Heady order of the Roman legions ; 
 Indibilis and Afdrubal fled; and the recal of the 
 latter to join the forces of his brother Hannibal 
 in Italy, left Scipio to eftablifh his afcendancy^n 
 Spain. 
 
 The Spaniards in the alliance of Carthage were 
 
 afe-
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. i 3 
 
 & fecond time defeated near the Boetis ; and Au- 
 rinx, a city of lower Bcetica, was taken and plun- 
 dered by the vidtors. But the fpirits of the Spa- 
 niards were reftored by the intelligence that Sci- 
 pio had palTed over into Africa ; they had fcarce 
 time to refume their arms before they were afto- 
 nifhed by the rapid return of the Roman general. 
 The city of Illiturgis, which was (ituated near the 
 modern town of Andujar, was affaulted and 
 (lormed by Scipio; and Aftuto, which has dwin- 
 dled into the infignificant village of Cazlone, was 
 reduced by Lucius Martius. 
 
 In the country of the Edetani, and probably 
 not far from the city of Lerida, twenty thoufand 
 Spanifh infantry and two thoufand five-hundred 
 cavalry under the princes Indibilis and Mardo- 
 nius were affembled to defend their own inde- 
 pendence, or to fupport the fortunes of Carthage. 
 They were attacked, broken, and flaughtered 
 by the Romans ; the fate of Indibilis and Mar- 
 donius is buried in obfcurity, but feventeen thou- 
 fand of their followers perifhed on the difaftrous 
 field; the open country fubmitted to the con- 
 queror; and Scipio impatient to expel the Car- 
 thaginians from Spain, inftantly formed the fiege 
 of Gades, within the walls of which the remnant 
 of their armies was united. The fortifications 
 of that city yielded to the machines of the befieg- 
 crs, and the triumphant eagles of the Romans 
 
 were
 
 , 4 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 were difplayed from the Pyrenean mountains to* 
 
 the mouth of the Bcetis. 
 
 A c When the republic of Carthage funk 
 
 '9*- beneath the fuperior virtue or fortune 
 of her rival, the peninfula of Spain was yielded 
 by the vanquiihed party to the victors ; and Rome 
 impofed on that country the name and condition 
 of a dependent province. 
 
 It is the obfervation of Seneca, that where- 
 foever the Roman conquers, he inhabits ; and the 
 maxim was confirmed by the numerous colonies 
 which foon diffufed themfelves over the face of 
 Spain. The lofty fituation of the city of Tarra- 
 gona protected it from a furprife, and in an age 
 when the art of war was but little known, enabled 
 it to defy the attacks of a numerous army. Its 
 vicinity to the Mediterranean Sea was peculiarly- 
 happy for the purpofes of commerce in peace ; 
 and permitted the Romans, by a Ihort and fafe 
 navigation, to pour their forces in war into Spain, 
 without being expofed to a dangerous and te- 
 dious march through the hoftile and barbarous 
 ftates of Gaul, and acrofs the rugged and in- 
 hofpitable heights of the Pyrenees. It foon af- 
 fumed me fplendour of a capital, and became 
 the feat of government for the province of citerior 
 Spain, which occupied the northern part of the 
 peniniula from the Pyreneans to the mouth of 
 the Durius or Duero. 
 
 The
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 15 
 
 The province of ulterior Spain comprifed the 
 reft of the peninfula, which included the modern 
 countries of Portugal, Grenada, and Andalufia. 
 The firft, which had fcarcely felt the impreffion 
 of the Roman arms, was diftinguifhed, as we have 
 already obferved, by the name of Lufitania; and 
 the two latter were afterwards confounded in the 
 general appellation of Bcetica, 
 
 It is not to be fuppofed that a A c IJ5> 
 people fond of independence, and in- 43- 
 different to danger, would long endure with 
 patience the yoke of fervitude. In hither Spain 
 Sempronius, who, with the rank of praetor, com* 
 manded a Roman army, was fuddenly attacked 
 and deftroyed, with all his forces ; and in further 
 Spain the flames of revolt blazed forth with more 
 open violence. But the fame fpirit of difunion 
 continued to render abortive the ftruggles of the 
 Spaniards. Marcus Porcius, whofe furname of 
 Genfor, was the fruit of his aufterity in that office, 
 landed with two legions at Rhoda, a port of Cata- 
 lonia which ftill fubfifts under the kindred ap- 
 pellation of Rofes, and in a variety of conflicts 
 reftored the afcendancy of the Roman armies. 
 His fucceflbr, Fulvius Flaccus, reduced theVaccaei, 
 Whofe capital is flill recognized on the borders 
 of Afturia by its former name of Palantia. In a 
 bloody battle the Celtiberians paid the penalty of 
 their ralhnefs ; and their chaftifement feemed for 
 
 a mo*
 
 ,6 HISTORY OF SPAIN, 
 
 a moment to intimidate the haughty fpirits of 
 the barbarians. 
 
 An hardy band colle&ed in the mountains dill 
 preferred the freedom of thofe barren regions to 
 the fubjection of the fertile plains beneath ; the 
 oppreffion of the Romans foon fummoned them 
 from their recefles to avenge the injuries, and af- 
 fert the liberties of their country : Lucullus, who 
 in the quality of proconful governed hither Spain, 
 had been received into the town of Pauca on arti- 
 cles of capitulation ; but he bafely violated the 
 conditions he had fubfcribed ; and was no fooner: 
 admitted within the gates, than he let loofe the 
 rage and avarice of his followers ; and of twenty 
 thoufand citizens, fcarce five hundred efcaped to 
 accufe his cruel perfidy. In further Spain the 
 praetor, Galba, difgraced the Roman name by a 
 repetition of the fame fanguinary fraud : a con- 
 fiderable number of the Lufitanians had offered to 
 fubmit to the authority of Rome ; the prsetor af- 
 fected to liften with compaffion to their diftrefs, 
 and promifed them in a more fertile region thofe 
 .advantages which their own country denied them ; 
 but they were fcarcely feparated before they had 
 reafon to repent their fond confidence in the Ro- 
 man faith ; they were attacked, defencelefs, and 
 difunited ; and the few who efcaped ferved only 
 to inflame their countrymen with an implacable 
 deteftation of Rome. 
 
 The
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 17 
 
 The love of freedom, and the thirft A. C. 143, 
 of revenge, had affembled a nume- I35 ' 
 rous army of warlike Lufitanians, who re- 
 taliated on the Spanifh territories of Rome 
 the injuries that had been inflicted on their 
 countrymen ; but in their march through Tur- 
 ditania, or modern Andalufia, their impatience 
 betrayed them into the midft of a rugged and 
 mountainous country, the defiles of which had 
 been occupied by the Romans. The difficulties 
 which prefented themfelves on every fide induced 
 them to treat with Vetilius, who had fucceeded 
 Galba in command ; and the Roman leader rea- 
 dily promifed, on condition that they mould ac- 
 knowledge the fovereignty of Rome, to aflign 
 them lands that would fupply a neceffary fubfift- 
 ence to their induftry. The recent fate of their 
 countrymen could not but infpire them with 
 fome diflruft ; the moment of hefitation was im- 
 proved by the remonftrances of Viriatus, who in 
 the obfcure (lation of a private foldier, pofleffed 
 the talents of a general, and the foul of an hero. 
 " Remember," exclaimed he, " the perfidy of 
 " Lucullus, and of Galba ; refpect my counfels, 
 :e and I will engage to deliver you from the 
 " fnare in which you are entangled." The tone 
 of confidence he aflumed awaked new hope in 
 the defponding bofoms of the Lufitanians ; they 
 committed themfelves to his fuperior genius, and 
 
 VOL. i. C their
 
 18 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 their obedience was rewarded by immediate fafe- 
 ty. While with a thoufand horfe he oppofed art 
 extended line to the Roman legions, and menaced 
 in appearance a general engagement, he directed 
 the reft in fmall parties to purfue feparate and 
 unfrequented paths, which he himfelf had ex- 
 plored in fearch of game, or of fpoil ; and to 
 rendezvous under the walls of Tribola. His or- 
 ders were executed with promptitude and fuccefs ; 
 and no fooner was he affured of the retreat of 
 his infantry, than he followed with his horfe their 
 footfteps, with a fwiftnefs and dexterity that 
 eluded all purfuit. 
 
 The Roman hiftorians have lavilhed on Viria- 
 tus the opprobrious terms of rebel and robber; 
 they have reluctantly confefied his Ikill and cou- 
 rage; his temperance and chaflity in private, his 
 faith and generofity in public life. His youth 
 had been devoted to the toils of the chace ; and 
 in an age and country where the limits of juftice 
 and property were (lightly traced, he might deem 
 it no ignoble deed to defpoil by his fingle ftrength 
 the Roman of that wealth which he had extorted 
 from the opprefied natives of Spain. If thefc 
 practices in a more enlightened and civilized pe- 
 riod have reflected fome difhonour on his charac- 
 ter, they were effaced by the general integrity 
 he obferved when poirefied of power. The fpi- 
 fit of $he hardy hunter, or licentious rover, foon 
 
 emerged
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 19 
 
 emerged from obfcurity and difgrace ; by his late 
 fervices he was eftablifhed in the command of the 
 army that he had preferred ; his fuperior fame 
 attracted to his flandard a crowd of Lulitanians 
 inured to danger, and enamoured of indepen- 
 dence ; his authority was founded on the moft 
 folid bafis, the free fuffrages of his countrymen, 
 and Rome muft have acknowledged, that he rofe 
 to power by the fame qualities as Romulus at- 
 tained it ; a more daring valour, and a more fa- 
 gacious mind. 
 
 Thofe qualities were 'confecrated to vindicate 
 the independence of Spain, and to check the ra- 
 pid progrefs of Roman dominion ; his head and 
 hand equally contributed to his glory. He 
 feems to have poflefled the peculiar art of di- 
 recting fuccefsfully the impetuous valour of his 
 countrymen againft troops not lefs brave, and 
 better difciplined, than themfelves. With him 
 flight was the frequent prelude to victory ; and 
 he was never more formidable than when he ap- 
 peared to dread or to fluin his adverfary. 
 
 The firft who felt his arms, and was enfnared 
 by his arts, was Vetilius himfelf, who, impatient 
 of the triumph that had evaded his grafp in Tur- 
 ditania, preflfed forward to feize it under the 
 walls of Tribola; but as he urged his march 
 with inconfiderate ardour through a country em- 
 "barafied by woods, and broken by mountains, 
 C a he
 
 2o HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 he was fuddenly affailed by the fierce and nume- 
 rous bands of Viriatus. The legions confeffed 
 the impreffions of furprize and fear, and were 
 confounded by the rapid and defultory attacks 
 of their enemies ; they fled ; and of ten thou- 
 fand, near one half periftied in the action or pur- 
 fuit. Vetilius himfelf fell alive into the hands 
 of the victors ; but the barbarians, accuftomed 
 only to efteem their captives in proportion to 
 their vigour and activity, regarded with con- 
 tempt his age and corpulence. Some refent- 
 ment might be infpired by the remembrance of 
 the perfidy of Lucullus and Galba ; and the fword 
 of a Lufitanian deprived Viriatns of the glory 
 of detaining in chains a Roman general. 
 . Viriatus would have ill deferved the reputation 
 of fagacity, had he in the pride of victory neg- 
 lected the means of improving it. The arms of 
 the legionaries were diftributed among the com- 
 panions of his fortune. The renown of his at- 
 chievements allured frelh thoufands ro his ftand- 
 ard ; and at the head of a numerous and zealous 
 army he beheld himfelf capable of undertaking 
 more important enterprifes. 
 
 Ten thoufand foot, and thirteen hundred horfe, 
 had landed in Spain from Italy, under the con- 
 duct of the prastor Caius Plantius, to lupport the 
 authority of the republic. They were joined by 
 the troops which had furvived the defeat of Veti- 
 lius;
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 21 
 
 lius ; and by the Spaniards who ftill owned the 
 influence, or dreaded the arms of Rome. In 
 their march from Tarragona towards the banks 
 of the Tagus, they were haraffed by the attacks 
 of Viriatus ; and four thoufand who had been 
 detached from the main army were furrounded 
 and cut off by the Lufitanian chief. Encouraged 
 by this fecond proof of the valour of his follow- 
 ers, Viriatus afpired to a more honourable vic- 
 tory : he met, in an open field of battle, the le- 
 gions and allies of Rome. The ardour of the 
 latter was probably chilled by the fight of the 
 kindred enfigns of their adverfaries; and they 
 might defert without ignominy a field where vic- 
 tory would have only ferved to have riveted their 
 own lhackles. The former were broken, dif- 
 perfed, or flaughtered ; the remnant fought fliel- 
 ter within the walls of the neighbouring cities 
 that were retained in fubjection by the ftrength 
 of their garrifons ; but the open country hailed 
 Viriatus as the deliverer of Spain ; and his name 
 was the fubjed of triumph from the Iberus to the 
 Boetis. 
 
 In the hour of calamity and defeat, the forti- 
 tude and refources of Rome were moft con- 
 fpicuous : Viriatus had fcarcely eilablifhed his 
 triumph over Plantius before he was informed of 
 the approach of Claudius Unimanus ; yet the fate 
 of Unimanus was the fame as that of his pre- 
 C 3 deceffor
 
 22 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 deceflbr ; and vanquifhcd in battle, he efcaped 
 with difficulty from the purfuit of the victors. 
 
 The fortune and renown of Viriatus were re- 
 vealed in the appointment of a chief to oppofe 
 him, who was defcended and allied to an il- 
 luftrious race of heroes. Quintus Fabius JEmilia- 
 nus was the brother of the younger Scipio, and 
 was inverted with the dignity of conful when he 
 was named to the conduct of the war in Spain. 
 The virtues of Scipio Africanus were yet frefh 
 in the memories of the barbarians ; and the love 
 of freedom might at leafl be checked by efteem 
 and gratitude. Several tribes of hither Spain 
 followed willingly a leader whofe name was (till 
 the object of their veneration. Yet Viriatus was 
 neither daunted by the reputation of his adver- 
 fary, nor difmayed by the levity of his country- 
 men. He frequently defied him to battle ; and 
 the confulate of ^milianus expired without his 
 being able to obtain any decifive advantage over 
 his antagonift. In the quality of proconful his 
 military command was prolonged a fecond year ; 
 and although the Roman writers affert that he at 
 laft vanquifhed in battle the Lufitanian chief, 
 yet the ftrength of the latter appears to have been 
 unimpaired ; and he defeated, the two enfuing 
 years, Quinctius and Servilianus,* the fucceflbrs 
 of JELmilianus. 
 
 The example and negociations of Viriatus had 
 
 been
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 23 
 
 been extended into hither Spain ; and he had 
 projected an extenfive confederacy throughout 
 the tribes of the Spanifti peninfula, which proba- 
 bly might have prefcribed bounds to the am- 
 bition of the Roman republic ; but he was fenfi- 
 ble that it was alone in the hour of tranquillity 
 that he could firmly eftablifo his authority, and 
 recruit the exhaufted ftrength of his country for 
 the arduous deiigns.he meditated : he feized the 
 moment of profperity to negociate an advanta- 
 geous peace. The fears of Servilianus were im- 
 proved by the addrefs of the Lufitanian ; and 
 a treaty was figned by the former, and ratified 
 by the fenate of Rome ; by which Viriatus was 
 acknowledged as the friend and ally of the Ro- 
 man people, and the Lufitanians were confirmed 
 in the independent pofleffion of thofe regions 
 which at that time they had either actually 
 acquired or retained. 
 
 It is difficult to difcern at this diftance, what 
 were the limits of the new dominions of Viria- 
 tus ; yet we may naturally conjecture that they 
 embraced the greateft part of further Spain. 
 Arfa, which he had fixed on as the future capital 
 of his kingdom, was fituated at no great diftance 
 from the banks of the Anas, and about half way 
 between the modern cities of Cordova and Al- 
 cantara ; nor is it probable that the prudence or 
 policy of Viriatus would have fuffered him to 
 C 4 have
 
 24 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 have eftablifhed the feat of his government on, 
 the mmoft verge of his territories. 
 
 While Viriatus was intent on the arts of peace, 
 and the embellifhments of Arfa, he heard with 
 aftoniihment the hoftile found of 'the Roman 
 trumpet. The haughty fpirit of Rome had been 
 wounded by the late treaty Ibe had fubfcribed ; 
 and her reputation was mortally injured by the 
 perfidy with which fhe broke it. The govern- 
 ment of whatever remained to the republic in 
 further Spain had been allotted to Quintus Ser- 
 vilius Ccepio, who prefled the fcnate for per- 
 miflion to renew the war againft Viriatus. That 
 aflembly was lefs attentive to the honour than the 
 aggrandifement of the republic ; and without 
 nny previous intimation of hoflilities, Ccepio, at 
 the head of a numerous and well-appointed army, 
 rapidly advanced towards Arfa. ' 
 
 Surprized, and unequal to refiftance, Viriatus, 
 on his approach, abandoned with indignation his 
 capital, which he was incapable of defending, 
 and retired within the mountains of the Carpe- 
 tani, who inhabited the country which is known 
 at prcfent by the name of New Caftille. He was 
 purfued and encompafled by Ccepio ; but the 
 fame arts which had delivered him from the 
 arms of Vetilius, were again practifed with fuc- 
 eefs againfl Coepio. His followers difperfed them- 
 felves by unfrequented paths through the woods 
 
 and
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 25 
 
 and mountains ; and though the weaknefs of the 
 barbarians allowed them not to chaftife the per- 
 fidy, the fkill of their commander enabled them 
 to elude the vengeance of Rome. 
 
 The affertor of his country's freedom was not 
 indifferent to her happinefs ; and the lawlefs ro- 
 ver whofe glory had been eftabliihed in war, 
 fighed for the tranquil bleffings of peace. He ne- 
 gociated ; but he negociated in arms ; and per- 
 haps Viriatus never appeared more truly great, 
 than when \yith a {lender band haftily affembled 
 he obferved and haraffed the march of the Ro- 
 man legions, and taught Ccepio to refpect his 
 genius in the hour of adverfity. In every de- 
 fultory conflict he maintained his wonted af- 
 cendancy; and after every fuccefsful action he 
 renewed his propofals for peace. The Roman 
 conful affected to liften with pleafure to the terms 
 that were offered ; but beneath the appearance 
 of a treaty, he cherilhed a dark defign as in- 
 jurious to his own honour as to that of Rome. 
 Open and magnanimous, the mind of Viriatus 
 readily afcribed the fame virtues to others as he 
 himfelf was poffefled of. If repeated inflances 
 of Roman perfidy might warn him to guard 
 againft the artifices of that republic, the confciouf- 
 nels of his own fervices allowed him not to adopt 
 the flighted precaution againft the treachery of 
 his countrymen. But the deputies, whom he 
 
 bad
 
 26 HISTORY OF SPAIN, 
 
 had entrufted with the conduct of the negocia- 
 lion, were corrupted by the gold and fplendid 
 promifes of Coepio ; they agreed to affafjmate 
 the defender of their country; and they per- 
 formed the engagement with infamous fidelity. 
 Viriatus had deferved, and he confided in, the 
 affection and attachment of his followers ; the 
 tent of the Lufitanian chief was unprotected by 
 guards or fentinels, and open to accefs at every 
 hour to the meaneft foldier ; he was the victim 
 of his honeft boldnefs ; and, invincible in arms, 
 he perifhed by domeflic treafon. At midnight, 
 as in his armour he fnatched a fliort and neceflary 
 repofe from the toils and cares of his ftation, he 
 was affailed by the daggers of the confpirators ; 
 their weapons were plunged into his throat, the 
 only part expofed ; and he inftantly expired, 
 moft probably ignorant of the ingratitude and 
 treachery of thofe whom he had loved and 
 trufted. 
 
 In every age and country the fame abhorrence 
 of vice has prevailed, though not to the fame 
 degree : the treafon may be loved, but the traitor 
 muft be detefted ; and when the aflaffins of Viria- 
 tus prefented themfelves before Coepio, and de- 
 manded the promifed reward of their crime, 
 they were admonimed by the anfwer of the con- 
 ful how little fidelity can exift in the confederacy 
 of guilt : he told them they might retain in fafety 
 
 what
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 27 
 
 what they had already received ; but infultingly 
 added, it was only from the juftice of the Roman 
 fenate they mufl expect any further gratification. 
 The Lufitanians lamented the lofs, and ho- 
 noured the memory of their much-loved general. 
 His funeral was folemnized with barbarian mag- 
 nificence ; but their weaknefs allowed them not 
 to fulfil the duty of revenge, which, in their fa- 
 vage ftate, the tribes of Spain would have deemed 
 the moft grateful offering to the ihade of the de- 
 ceafed hero. Their unanimous fuffrages called 
 to fupply his place Tantalus, who poffibly was 
 recommended by the fame love of independence, 
 but who certainly poffefled not the fame ability 
 as his predeceffor. He funk beneath the difficul- 
 ties of his fituation. The very ground which 
 had been the theatre of glory to Viriatus, was 
 the fcene of difgrace and humiliation to his fuc- 
 ceflbr : he had ralhly undertaken, and haftily 
 abandoned the fiege of Saguntum ; in their re- 
 treat the Lufitanian army were entangled within 
 the pafles of the mountains ; and the fuperior 
 genius of their former general was acknowledged 
 and regretted in their vain efforts to extricate 
 themfelves; by a difgraceful capitulation they 
 were {tripped of their arms, and were difperfed, 
 by the policy of the victors, to different and dif- 
 tant colonies ; the cities on the banks of the 
 Boetis returned again to their obedience; the 
 
 Roman
 
 2 8 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 Roman eagles were difplayed in triumph through 
 the weftern and northern diftricts of Spain ; Ju- 
 nius Brutus pafled the Duero, and penetrated to 
 the coaft of Gallicia ; from the utmoft point of 
 Cape Finifterre the Romans caft a look of 
 aftonifhment on the vail expanfe of the Atlantic 
 Ocean ; and on their return, Rome might liften 
 with admiration to the fabulous tales of her 
 enter*prifing fons, who boldly affirmed they had 
 beheld in thofe remote regions, the fun yield to 
 the approach of night, and link into the weftern 
 main, with a mighty and tremendous noife. 
 
 The lofty fuperftrudture of dominion which 
 had been erected by the ambition or patriotifm of 
 Viriatus, fell with him who had planned it; 
 and from the death of that chief the Lufitanians 
 behelJ their fertile fields laid wafte, and their ci- 
 ties reduced to alhes. Yet every want was com- 
 pcnfated, and every calamity atoned, by the en- 
 thufiaflic ardour of freedom. In the diftant re- 
 cedes of their mountains they flill breathed the 
 pure air of independence; and to the Roman fe- 
 nate, which endeavoured to impofe on them the 
 ignominious badge of tribute, an high-fpirited 
 people more tenacious of their honour and their 
 liberty than their property, boldly replied, that 
 " their anceftors had left them fteel to defend 
 " their pofieffions, inftead of gold to redeem 
 " them." 
 
 While
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN, 29 
 
 While the Lufitanians cherifhed the ^. C. 142, 
 facred flame of freedom amidfl their " 8 * 
 barren mountains, its fire had been felt and 
 confeffed by the Celtiberians, whofe fituation 
 expofed them with more facility to the arms 
 of Rome. Near the fource of the Duero, and 
 probably on the confines of hither and further 
 Spain, arofe the city of Numantia ; and the ac- 
 curate eye of a modern geographer has fixed its 
 fituation a little above the prefent city of Soria. 
 Numantia had liftened with attention to the at- 
 chievements and remonftfances of Viriatus, and 
 while that chief vindicated the independence of 
 Lufitania, Numantia aflerted her native right to 
 the free and equal condition ihe had known be- 
 fore the intrufion of the Romans; the fame cauie 
 was embraced by the neighbouring city of Ter- 
 mes, which flill preferves her name without her 
 population. Their youth fallied from their gates, 
 repulfed in open fight the difciplined valour of 
 the Romans, and inflamed the fpirits of their 
 countrymen by the liberal diflribution of the 
 fpoil. Intimidated by the approach of Quintus 
 Pompeius at the head of thirty thoufand veterans, 
 they condefcended to treat of fubmiflion; but 
 they rejected with contempt the rigorous and ig- 
 nominious conditions which would have defpoiled 
 them of their ' fortifications and their arms. 
 " Brave men, exclaimed they, never quit their
 
 50 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 " arms but with their lives." Indignation and 
 defpair fupplied the want of numbers ; vanquilh- 
 cd in battle, the Roman general was compelled 
 to accept of a treaty by which they delivered up 
 the Roman prifoners and deferters, and engaged 
 for the payment of thirty talents at different 
 periods. 
 
 A. C. 142, But w hen Viriatus was no more, 
 ll8 - and the imprudence of Tantalus had 
 confined the hopes, or at lead the refiftance 
 of the Lufitanians within the limits of their 
 mountains, the cities of Numantia and Termes 
 were expofed to the whole weight of Roman 
 ambition and refentment. The fenate had flernly 
 refufed to ratify the treaty that had been fub- 
 fcribed by Pompey, and without reftoring the 
 hoftages, or refunding the money, inftantly dif- 
 played again the fignal of lloftility. The Nu- 
 mantians beheld from their walls the approach 
 of the Roman army under Popilius Lcenas ; 
 and difdaining the advantages of their ram- 
 parts and fituation, they rufhed forth to an open 
 encounter. Their happy temerity was rewarded 
 with fuccefs ; and the remnant of the Roman ar- 
 my that efcaped their fury, preferved during the 
 remainder of the campaign an awful diftance. 
 
 The fucceeding fpring the Roman enfigns 
 were again difplayed within fight of Numantia, 
 and the inhabitants of that city again fallied 
 
 forth
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 3 i 
 
 forth to engage their adverfaries ; twenty thou- 
 fand Romans were flaughtered by four thoufand 
 Numantians; and the conful Hoftilius Manci- 
 nus, with the wretched fugitives from the difaf- 
 trous field, were furrounded by the victors on 
 every fide. They were preferved from famine 
 or the fword by a treaty, which was ratified by 
 the mofl folemn oaths of Mancinus and his prin- 
 cipal officers. The conditions of it have been 
 buried in ftudied filence by the Roman hifto* 
 rians : and the oblivion to which they have con- 
 figned it, and the fituation of the vanquiflied 
 army, flrengthen the conjecture, that the inde- 
 pendence of Numantia was formally exprefled, 
 and was the ftipulation that ranfomed the lives of 
 Mancinus and his foldiers. 
 
 The Numantians were again defrauded of the 
 fruits of victory by the perfidy of their adverfa- 
 ries, and the treaty concluded by Mancinus was 
 violated by the Roman fenate with the fame fa- 
 cility as that which had been fubfcribed by Pom- 
 pey. Yet they affected to difguife their breach 
 of faith beneath the appearance of rigid juftice ; 
 and by the authority of that afiembly, Mancinws 
 was delivered in chains to the refentment of the 
 Numantians. Thefe, with becoming magnani- 
 mity, rejected the proffered victim. " It is not," 
 faid they, " the facrifice of a private man that 
 " can atone for a breach of the public faith." 
 
 The
 
 32 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 The avarice of Emilius Lepidus, who had been 
 appointed fuccefibr to Mancinus, had prompted 
 him to undertake the fiege of Palantia, the capi- 
 tal of the VacoEi ; and he incurred the double 
 difgrace of abandoning in hafte an enterprile 
 that had been concerted without juftice. His 
 retreat did not efcape the vigilant and active re- 
 fentment of the befieged ; he was purfued, over- 
 taken, and defeated; and fix thoufand legiona- 
 ries expiated with their lives the guilt of their 
 general. 
 
 If the Spaniards were elated by fuccefs, they 
 were foon convinced by mournful experience of 
 the viciffitudes of war. The city of Palantia was 
 befieged, and compelled to furrender by Cal- 
 phurn Pifo ; that of Termes was probably about 
 the fame time obliged to acknowledge the fove- 
 reignty of Rome ; the Lufitanians were flill con- 
 fined within the fortreffes of their mountains ; and 
 the Numantians could not hear without fome 
 emotions of fear that a ficond Scipio Africanus, 
 who rivalled the martial fame of the jirjl, was ap- 
 pointed to conduct againft them the flower of the 
 Roman legions. 
 
 It is not probable that the pride of Rome fuf- 
 fcred her to diminim the account of the number 
 of her enemies; and by the confeflion of her 
 own hiftorians, the Numantians capable of bear- 
 ing arms exceeded not ten thoufand. But they 
 
 were
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 33 
 
 were united by the fame hopes, and the fame 
 danger ; and had their adverfaries prefumed im- 
 mediately to oppofe their ardour on the field of 
 battle, the remembrance of former victories 
 might have been the prelude to new ones. But 
 Scipio, though at the head of fixty thoufand fol- 
 diers, declined the inaufpicious walls of Nu- 
 mantia ; and fuffered an year to elapfe in re- 
 boring and confirming the difcipline of his fol- 
 diers before he ventured to approach that city. 
 His march was retarded by the attacks of the 
 Numantians; but their impetuous valour was 
 compelled to yield to the fteady courage of the 
 Romans. When upbraided by their countrymen, 
 that they had fled before thofe whom they had 
 io frequently vanquished ; " The Romans," 
 replied they, " are indeed the fame Iheep, but 
 " they have got a different mepherd." With a 
 figh of defpair and indignation they beheld their 
 fields laid wafte by the invaders ; and their laft 
 retreat within the walls of Numantia, was foon fol- 
 lowed by the clofe blockade of that devoted city. 
 
 The city of Numantia arofe on a lofty hill, and 
 its walls, of three miles in circumference, were 
 manned by four thoufand brave and vigorous ci- 
 tizens, whofe minds were fortified by the love of 
 liberty, and the contempt of death. Couid any 
 honourable terms of peace have fatisficd their 
 enemies, they would have willingly fubfcribed 
 
 VOL. I. D them.
 
 34 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 them. The intolerant fpirit of Rome demanded 
 the furrender of their arms, their city, and their 
 perfons, to bedifpofed of at the diicretion of the 
 fenate ; and the Numantians preferred a glorious 
 death to a life of fcrvitude. They fallied from 
 their walls, and defied the hoft of their befiegers 
 to battle. But the prudence of Scipio reftrained 
 his foldiers within the lines, and the Numantians 
 as they returned revolved in anxious horror a 
 lingering fate by famine. One hope remained, 
 to roufe in their defence the martial tribes of 
 Spain. Five aged warriors, each attended by his 
 fon, undertook to penetrate the works of the be- 
 fiegers; they pierced the Roman lines, hewed 
 down the guard that oppofed them, and efcaped 
 before the Numidian horfe could be aflembled 
 for purfuit. But the attempt was more honour- 
 able to themfelves than ferviceable to their coun- 
 trymen ; the emotions of compaffion were over- 
 whelmed by thofe of fear ; and of the numerous 
 and powerful ftates of Spain, one city alone 
 yielded to the noble ardour, and aflumed their 
 arms for the relief of Numantia. 
 . The walls of Lutia have been levelled by time 
 or policy ; and no monuments remain to mark 
 the fpot on which they flood. Yet one generous 
 adion has immortalized her fame ;: and when fhe 
 embraced the finking fortunes of the Numantians, 
 Ihe refcued her own name for ever from oblivion. 
 
 But
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 35 
 
 But before her youth could buckle on their ar- 
 mour, they were furprifed by the appearance of 
 Scipio at their gates. The Roman general had 
 been apprifed of their defign, and with a felect 
 detachment had prefled forward to vengeance. 
 JLutia was incapable of refiftance ; and four hun- 
 dred of the nobleft youths were the miferable vic- 
 tims to the implacable feverity of Scipio. Their 
 right hands were lopped from them ; and their 
 mutilated appearance warned the neighbouring 
 nations how dangerous it was to provoke the 
 wrath of Rome. 
 
 In the grief of the Numantians for the fate 
 of their generous allies, was mingled fome con- 
 cern for their own fafety. Each hour diminiihed 
 the fcanty flock of their provifions, and aug- 
 mented the number of their enemies. Their 
 councils were influenced by famine and defpair ; 
 and the deputation which iiTued from their gates, 
 folicited Scipio to fecure their future fidelity by 
 receiving their fubmiffion on honourable terms, 
 or to allow them the means of a glorious death 
 in battle. The cold and laconic reply of the 
 proconful, that they muft furrender at difcretion, 
 determined the Numantians. Sword in hand 
 they fallied forth on their oppreflbrs, and their, 
 bloody defpair was gratified by the carnage of 
 their enemies. Their ftrength was exhaufted by 
 the unequal conflict ; but their fpirits were far 
 D 2 from
 
 3 6 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 from fubdued. They that were driven back into 
 the city, fet fire to their houfes, and with their 
 wives and families rufhed on destruction. Fifty 
 alone were with difficulty ravifhed from the 
 flames to adorn the triumph of the victor ; and 
 after defying the power of Rome for fourteen 
 years, Numantia was confounded in an heap of 
 afhes by the indignant rage of her citizens. 
 A. C.i 28, The refiftance of Numantia may 
 ' 6 - be confidered as the laft memorable 
 ftruggle of Spain for independence ; and though 
 the Cantabrians and Afturians, in the moun- 
 tains of modern Bifcay and Afturia, long che- 
 rifhed the facred flame of freedom, and, confi- 
 dent in their native faftneflfes, often invaded 
 the fertility of the plains, and braved in their 
 craggy retreat the refentment of Rome, yet their 
 enterprifes were confined to tranfient and pre- 
 datory incurfions. The greateft part of the pe- 
 ninfula acquiefced under the Roman yoke ; and 
 it was only in the civil difienfions of the republic, 
 that her name in the courfe of an hundred years 
 attracts our curiofity. 
 
 When the party of Marius was 
 
 A. C.?2, 71. . j T i L r 
 
 overwhelmed m Italy by the fupenor 
 genius or fortune of Sylla, the remnant found 
 an afylum in Spain. The name of Sertorius 
 is ranked with that of the moft celebrated 
 commanders of antiquity; and the mildnefs 
 
 of
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 37 
 
 of his civil adminiftration endeared him to 
 the Spaniards, who had long been accuftomed 
 to groan beneath the rapacity of the Roman pro- 
 confuls. Yet Sertorius was hinifelf diftinguimed 
 by a quick and lively jealoufy forth^ dignity of 
 the republic. He was the enemy of the ufurpa- 
 tion of Sylla, but not of Rome. Ke affumed 
 himfeif the enfigns of a Roman officer ; he be- 
 llowed on three hundred of his companions the 
 title of Senator ; and if he condefcended to treat 
 with the mountaineers of Lufitania and Cantabria 
 as allies, he fcorned to violate the fovereignty of 
 Rome, or to delude the Spaniards with the hopes 
 of independence. 
 
 Sertorius was the victim of domeftic treafon j 
 and the tribes of Spain who had embraced his 
 caufe were expofed to the refentment of Pom- 
 pey, who commanded the army of the republic. 
 In his return to Rome, that general, in his pre- 
 tenfions to a triumph, reckoned up eight hun- 
 dred and feventy-one towns which he had re- 
 duced ; and though many of thefe might be 
 little more than walled villages j yet fome proba- 
 bility muft be allowed to the aflertion, fince un- 
 der the reign of Vefpafian, Pliny exhibited a lift 
 of three hundred and fixty Spamih cities. 
 
 It is probable that Pompey ufed 
 his victory with moderation, fince 
 in the ftruggle for dominion between himfeif 
 D 3 and
 
 38 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 and Oefar, Spain appears to have fupported 
 with ardour the fortune of the former. The 
 banks of the Segra were the theatre of a long 
 and doubtful conteft between the lieutenants of 
 Pompey and Caefar himfelf. The commanding 
 genius of the latter eftablifhed his triumph ; and 
 5pain profefled a reluctant fubmiffion to the 
 conqueror. 
 
 When Pompey was no more, his 
 memory was revered, and his fons 
 were protected by the gratitude and affection 
 of the tribes of Spain. The ftandard of op- 
 pofition was again eredled in that province, 
 and the martial natives joined with alacrity the 
 legions which itill adhered to the Pompeian 
 party. Their growing numbers, and rapid pro- 
 grefs, demanded the prefcnce of Ca^far. He 
 landed at Saguntum ; and in the plains of Munda, 
 which, at fome diftance from Malaga, ftill pre^ 
 ferve their ancient name, encountered a refinance 
 not unworthy the conqueror of Gaul. The day 
 was, however, unfavourable to the fons of Pom- 
 pey ; the flight of the eldcft ferved only to pro- 
 trad a few weeks a miferable and inglorious 
 exiftence ; he was purfued, taken, and flain by 
 Quintus Didius, the admiral of Qe far; but the 
 younger gained the flicker of the Celtiberian 
 mountains ; and was enabled, by the fidelity of 
 
 tfec
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 39 
 
 the fearlefs inhabitants, to elude the active enmity 
 of the victor. 
 
 Spain was far from acknowledging in the difaf- 
 trous field of Munda, her own fortune. Quintus 
 Didius, who had difembarked without caution 
 on the coaft of Lufitania, was furrounded and 
 killed by the natives ; and his death might be 
 confidered as an acceptable facrifice to the lhade 
 of the elder Pompey. The city of Munda en- 
 dured a long and bloody fiege ; and was at length 
 taken by aflault; that of Cordova refufed to 
 open her gates but to Ccefar himfelf. Hifpalis, 
 which beaded its foundation from Hifpal, one of 
 the ancient princes of Spain, and {till fubfifts un- 
 der the name of Seville, confented to receive 
 a Roman garrifon; but the inhabitants, in the 
 night, admitted a party .of Lufitanians ; and the 
 Romans were attacked and ilaughtered by the 
 citizens, and their new allies. The walls of the 
 guilty city were inftantly availed by Casfar; the 
 Lufitanians were allured from the fafeguard of 
 the ramparts by a fictitious flight of the befiegers ; 
 and while they indulged their ardour in the pur- 
 fuit, they were encompafled, and broken by the 
 Roman cavalry ; the citizens, unequal alone to 
 the defence of their fortifications, threw them- 
 felves on the clemency of the conqueror. But 
 though Casfar confented to fpare the lives of a 
 proftrate people, he rigidly required and exacted 
 D4 the
 
 40 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 the riches they were poflefled of; and the attach- 
 ment of Spain to Pompey was atoned by the 
 heaviefl contributions. 
 
 From the moment that the Roman eagles had 
 been- difplayed throughout that peninfula, the 
 Spaniards might juftly complain of the infatiate 
 avarice of their new matters ; and their affiduous 
 labour in the mines could fcarcely anfwer the in- 
 ceflant demands of Rome. The firfl Africanus, 
 after the expulfion of the Carthaginians, tranf- 
 mitted to the treafury of the republic fourteen 
 thoufand three hundred and -forty pounds of fil- 
 ver; Lucius Lentulus collected forty-four thou- 
 fand pounds of iilver, and two thoufand five hun- 
 dred of gold ; Manlius twelve hundred pounds of 
 filver; Cornelius Lentulius, in two years ad- 
 miniftration of hither Spain, amafied fifteen hun- 
 dred pounds of gold, and two thoufand pounds 
 of filver ; while the diligence of his colleague 
 extorted from farther Spain, in the fame fpace of 
 time, fifty thoufand pounds of filver. Within 
 nine years, a fum equal to five hundred thoufand 
 pounds fleding flowed from Spain into the trea- 
 fury of Rome; and it is probable that the wealth 
 which was diverted from the public channel by 
 the avarice of individuals, was not much lefs. 
 Yet thefe drains were far from exhaufting the 
 country ; mention is made by Strabo of a mine 
 near Charthagena which yielded every day twenty- 
 five
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 41 
 
 five thoufand drachms of filver, or about three 
 hundred thoufand pounds a year ; and according 
 to Pliny, twenty thoufand pounds weight of gold 
 was annually received from the provinces of 
 Afturia, Gallicia, and Lufitania. 
 
 The total reduction and preferva- 
 tion of fo wealthy a country could 
 not but excite the attention of the Romans ; 
 and foon after Auguftus had extinguifhed all 
 competition by the battle of Actium, and efta- 
 blifhed himfelf the undifputed matter of the 
 Roman world, he vifited Spain in perfon, and 
 fixed his refidence in the city of Tarragona. 
 The predatory incurfions of the Cantabrians and 
 Afturians were the pretence for a war, which pro- 
 bably was firft fuggefted by avarice; and the Ro- 
 man legions were attracted into the mountainous 
 diftricts of modern Bifcay and Afturia by the re- 
 port of the precious metals with which they 
 abounded. The natives defended their treafures 
 and freedom with a valour worthy of their an- 
 cient renown. But the conteft was too unequal 
 to laft long; twenty-three thoufand of the Canta- 
 brians were furrounded by the Romans and com- 
 pelled to ifurrender. Ten thoufand of the moft 
 vigorous were incorporated arrtong the legions, 
 and condemned to employ their ftrength and cou- 
 rage in the fubjection of their countrymen; the 
 reft were fold into fervitude ; but their defpair 
 
 dif-
 
 41 HISTORY OF SPAIN 7 . 
 
 difappointed the avarice of their purchafers; and 
 the greateft part embraced with alacrity a volun- 
 tary death. The fate of the Afturians was fcarce 
 lefs terrible; two Roman armies entered from 
 oppofite fides their country, explored their retreats 
 with perfevering caution, and involved them in 
 a general conflagration. The remnant that had 
 efcaped from the fire and the fword implored the 
 clemency of the vidors. From the northern ex- 
 tremity of the Pyrenees to Cape Ortegal, the 
 fierce tribes of Cantabria and Afturia confented 
 to receive the Roman yoke; a bridge of ftone 
 was thrown over the Iberus to preferve the more 
 ready communication between the provinces; and 
 the cities of Crefar Augufla and Augufta Emerita, 
 which flill fubfift under the names of Saragofla 
 and Merida, were founded by Auguftus on the 
 northern extremity of the country of the Edetani, 
 and on the banks of the river Anas. 
 
 The fanguinary chaftifement of the Canta- 
 brians had not broken their independent fpirits ; 
 and five years had fcarce ebpfed from their late 
 defeat, before they again rofe in arms, and at- 
 tempted to throw off the Roman yoke. Their 
 defpair fummoned to the encounter Agrippa, the 
 celebrated general, and fon-in-law of Auguftus ; 
 without a hope, or even a defire of pardon, the 
 Cantabrians with tumultuous cries rumed to the 
 charge, and the Roman legions fhrunk from thcfirft 
 
 efforts
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 43 
 
 efforts of their rage. They were rallied, and con- 
 ducted to victory by the example of their chief; 
 and after a long and bloody co'nflid:, the barba- 
 rians yielded to the fuperior difcipline and arms 
 of their adverfaries. Yet Agrippa confefled of 
 the many engagements he had commanded in, 
 this had proved the moft fevere and obftinate; 
 and his victory was purchafed by the lives of 
 his braved legionaries. Though dear, however, 
 it was complete ; and the Cantabrians were never 
 again able to face their enemies in the field. 
 Their ftrong holds were difcovered and forced 
 by the indufhy of the victors ; their caftles were 
 levelled ; they were compelled to defcend from 
 their mountains, and cultivate the plain. They 
 were taught to prefer the flow but certain advan- 
 tages of agriculture to the precarious fuccefs of 
 predatory adventure ; and about two hundred 
 years from the firft invafion of Spain by the Sci- 
 pios, the arms of Agrippa extinguifhed the laft 
 fparks of independence throughout that great 
 peninfula, and reduced it to the humble condi- 
 tion of a province of Rome. 
 
 In an age that had been diftinguifhed by a ra- 
 pid fucceffion of the moft uncommon revolu- 
 tions, it is not furprifing that the prudence of 
 Auguftus fhould divide the power of his lieute- 
 nants, and endeavour to difarm the ambition of 
 an individual from afpiring to empire. It was 
 
 this
 
 44. HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 this jealouiy that probably fuggefted the new ar- 
 rangement of Spain, which was diftributed into 
 three provinces, Tarraconenfis, Lufitania, and 
 Bcetica. Tarraconeniis correfponded nearly with 
 hither Spain, and embraced the modern coun- 
 tries of Gallicia and the Afturias, Bifcay, and 
 Navarre, Leon and the two Caftillcs, Murcia, 
 Valencia, Catalonia, and Arragon ; it occupied 
 all the northern part of the peninfula from the 
 foot of the Pyrenees to the mouth of the Duero, 
 where Lufitania commenced; from the Duero the 
 confines of Lufitania were extended beyond thofe 
 of the kingdom of Portugal, to the mouth of the 
 Anas. From the Anas Boetica flretched along 
 the weftern extremity of Spain, included the city 
 of Gades and the rocky height of Calpe, whofe an- 
 cient name is loft in that of Gibraltar ; its boun- 
 daries were marked by the mountains of Orofpeda, 
 or Sierra Morena, which invelope the fource of 
 the Boetis, and by the city of Urci on the confines 
 of Tarraconenfis. Yet even broken and disjoint- 
 ed, the different provinces of Spain were {till ca- 
 pable of relieving the poverty or of fatisfying the 
 avarice of their refpective governors ; and the ad- 
 miniflration of them for near four hundred years 
 was deemed by the Romans the moft defirable re- 
 ward of their ferviccs. 
 
 Chapter
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 45 
 
 Chapter the Second. 
 
 State of Spain until the reign of Gallienus. In-vajion 
 of the Franks. Is ufurped by Conftantine in the 
 reign of Honorius. Is betrayed or abandoned to 
 the Suevi y the Vandals, and the Alanl. Their de- 
 vaftations. 'They are attacked by Adolphus. Death 
 of Adolphus. Atchievements of Wallia. Extir~ 
 pates the Alani. Vanquifoes the Vandals and the 
 Suevi. Rejlores Spain to the Romans. Exploits 
 tf the Vandals. They defeat the Romans. iT^ey 
 plunder Majorca and Minorca. They depart for 
 Africa. Deva/lations of the Suevi. Theodoric 
 king of the Goths marches to the relief of Spain. * 
 His viftory over the Suevi, who retire into Gallicia. 
 -Eyrie the fucceffor ofTheodoric completes the rt- 
 duftton of the greatejl part of Spain. He is fuc 
 ceeded by Alaric, who is killed in battle by Clovis. 
 Reign of Amalaric. Adminijlration and reign 
 of Th'eudes. The Vifigoths ekft Theodigele. He is 
 ajfajfinated. Civil war in Spain.~Athanegilde with 
 the affiftance of the Romans obtains the crown.-* 
 He is fucceeded by Liuva and Leovigild. Leovi- 
 gild carries on afuccefsful war with the Romans in, 
 Spain. Hisfons Hermenigild and Recared are de- 
 clared princt s of the Goths. Submijfion of the Can- 
 tabrians, &fc. Marriage and converfwn of Herme- 
 nigild. He rebels againjl his father. Is van- 
 quijhed and imprifoned. Efcapes from imprifon- 
 t.' Civil war. Hermenigild is again mad*
 
 46 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 captive. He negotiates with the Rowans. He is 
 put to death. Extinftion of the kingdom of the 
 Suevi in Spain. Char after and death of Leovigild* 
 
 JL ROM the divifion of Spain by Auguflus, to 
 the acceffion of Gallienus during more than two 
 hundred and feventy years, that country in the 
 humble condition of part of the Roman empire, 
 enjoyed or abufed the advantages of wealth and 
 luxury. Twenty-five colonies which had been 
 eftablifhed by the care or intereft of the parent: 
 ftate, foon diffufed throughout the moft remote 
 diftricts of the peninfula the bleffings of agricul- 
 ture, and the monuments of public fplendour. 
 The rapacity of a needy or avaricious governor 
 might traniiently interrupt the general happinefs; 
 but the wounds which his adminiftration could 
 inflidt were foon healed ; the internal refources 
 of the Spaniards reftored their wonted profperity; 
 the grape and the olive were tranfplanted into 
 Spain, and have flourimed oh the banks of the 
 Tagus and the Bcetis; and the advanced ftate of 
 Spaniih hufbandry under the reign of Tiberius has 
 been elegantly defcribed in the treatife of Colu- 
 mella, who was himfelf a Spaniard. The aque- 
 duct of Segovia, and the flupendous bridge of 
 Alcantara which was thrown over the Tagus by 
 the contribution of a few Lufitanian communities, 
 
 evince
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 47 
 
 evince the fpirit and ability of the provincials to 
 project and execute the moil ufeful and noble 
 undertakings ; and the curious eye of the traveller 
 may difcover at Tarragona, in the ruins of the 
 palace of Auguftus, of the circus, and the am- 
 phitheatre, the ancient magnificence of thofe 
 ilructures. 
 
 Yet it was not only by the works of art and la- 
 bour that Spain was diftinguilhed above the crowd 
 of Roman provinces ; in the elegance and vigour 
 of literary compofition, Ihe afpired to rival the 
 parent ftate. Her pretenfions to philofophy were 
 fubilantiated by the two Senecas, who were bora 
 at Cordova; the fame city might in the birth of 
 Lucan boaft an epic poet, deemed by the too 
 fond partiality of his admirers, not inferior to 
 Virgil; Florus was the offspring, and has been 
 'ftyled the ornament of Spain; and Bilbilis, the 
 native city of Martial, has gradually been cor- 
 rupted into the name of Banbola; but ftill ferves 
 to mark on the banks of the Xalon, the fpot where 
 that writer firft indulged the fportive Tallies of 
 his pointed wit. 
 
 To obtain the palm in fcience and literature 
 was no ignoble ambition ; yet, in every age, the 
 prejudices of mankind have preferred the tro- 
 phies of the warrior to the filent but more ufeful 
 labours of the fcholar. The toils and dangers of 
 a military life can only be compenfated or con- 
 temned
 
 48 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 temned by the hope of immortal fame. The 
 generous paflion was felt and difplayed by Spain. 
 Her fons urged in arms their pretenfions to, and 
 obtained the honours of the triumph. Their 
 names were infcribed among the mod illuftrious 
 of the confular fenators ; and Rome ratified with 
 tranfport the adoption of her emperor Nerva, 
 when he chofe from Spain a fon and fucceflbr. 
 Trajan was born at Italica, which at prefent fub- 
 fifts in the name of Old Seville ; and his country- 
 men might exult in a fovereign whofe virtues 
 have been deemed not inferior to thofc of the 
 Scipios. The native place of Hadrian was the 
 fame as that of Trajan. The younger Antonine 
 was alfo of Spanifh extraction ; and Spain might 
 juftly claim fome glory from the luftre and happi- 
 nefs which, during their various adminiitrations, 
 her fons diffufed over the wide extent of ihe 
 Roman world. 
 
 But when the gathering clouds of the 
 north burft on the Roman empire, Spain 
 was fhaken by the violence of the tempeft, and 
 involved in the general night of darknefs and 
 calamity. The union and clofe confederacy of 
 the modern kingdoms of France and Spain a few 
 years fince were confidered as dangerous to the 
 independence of Europe ; but the name of the 
 ancient Franks was firft revealed to the Spaniards 
 by their hoftile and deftruftive invafion. From 
 
 the
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 49 
 
 the banks of the Rhine they penetrated through 
 rhe rugged pafTes of the Pyrenees ; Tarragona, 
 the fiouriming capital of a peaceful province, 
 was facked, and almoft deftroyed ; during twelve 
 years they extended their devaftations over the 
 opulent and defencelefs peninfula ; nor did they 
 abandon it until it was no longer able to fupply 
 their prodigal rapacity. The veflels which com- 
 merce had collected in the ports of New Car- 
 thage and Cadiz ferved to tranfport them into 
 Mauritania. But the traces of their blind fury 
 and devouring progrefs were long after their re- 
 treat to be difcerned ; at the beginning of the 
 fifth century of the Chriftian sera, Ilerda and 
 Lerida ftill remained in ruins; a few wretch- 
 ed peafants, the fole inhabitants of thofe once 
 magnificent cities, reared their cottages amongft 
 the fragments of palaces ; and amidft the broken 
 columns of Roman fculpture, might juftly accufe 
 the wanton rage of the barbarians. 
 
 Though bent by the ftorm, yet the grandeur 
 of Spain was far from extinguished ; the cities 
 of Merida, Corduba, Seville, and Tarragona, 
 ftill maintained their ftation amongft the moft il- 
 luftrious of the Roman world; and though an 
 hundred and fifty years of peace had not totally 
 obliterated the footfteps of the Franks, yet her 
 natural productions had been improved by in- 
 genuity and induftry ; her ports were again filled 
 
 VOL. i. E by
 
 50 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 by innumerable veflels; her fertility and trade 
 attracted the admiration and envy of the moil 
 diflant nations ; that martial fpirit which had 
 enabled her fo long to refift the arms of 
 Rome, feemed tranfiently to revive ; and an 
 hardy and faithful militia guarded with native 
 valour and vigilance the important pafies of the 
 Pyrenees ; and repelled the frequent attempts of 
 the Germans. 
 
 When the feeble fvvay of Honorius 
 A. D. 409. } 
 
 encouraged the ambition of his generals 
 
 and lieutenants to ufurp the imperial purple, and 
 their rival claims confumed in civil diflenfions 
 that ftrength which might have been fuccefT- 
 fully oppofed to the fierce myriads of the north, 
 Conftantine, who had been acknowldged by the 
 armies of Gaul and Britain, atchieved alfo the 
 conqueit, or received the fubmiffion of Spain. 
 The only refinance he encountered was from the 
 private zeal of the family of Theodolius. The 
 four brothers, after an unfuccefsful effort to main- 
 tain their ground at the head of the ftationary 
 troops of Lufitania, retired to their eftates, where 
 they levied and armed, at their own expence, a 
 confiderable body of flaves and dependants, and 
 occupied the flrong pafles of thePyrenean moun- 
 tains. They were encompafTed and oppreffed 
 by the promifcuous band of Scots, of Moors, 
 and Marcomanni, who had been allured into his 
 
 fervice
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 51 
 
 fervice by the liberality of Conftantine. Yet the 
 reign of the ufurper was ftiort ; and before his 
 death he was mortified by the revolt of Spain, 
 which, at the influence of his general, Gerontins, 
 invefted Maximus with the imperial purple. The 
 fame fate involved Conftantine, Maximus, and 
 Gerontius ; and they were overwhelmed by the 
 fuperior fortune or genius of Conflantius, the 
 general, and afterwards the brother-in-law of 
 Honorius. 
 
 The mercenary troops of Conftantine 
 who had been intruded with the defence 
 of the pafles of the Pyrenees were, on the death 
 of that ufurper, induced, either by the confciouf- 
 nefs of their guilt, or by the hopes of rapine, to 
 abandon their ftation ; and about ten months be- 
 fore the fack of Rome by the Goths, the Suevi, 
 the Vandals, and the Alani poured through the 
 ftraits of the mountains. It is doubtful whether 
 they were invited by treachery, or attracted by 
 negligence ; but their irruption was followed by 
 the mod dreadful calamities : the barbarians exer- 
 cifed their indifcriminate cruelty on the fortunes 
 of the Romans and the Spaniards ; and ravaged 
 with equal fury the cities and the open country. 
 The progrefs of famine reduced the miferable 
 inhabitants to feed on the flefh of their fellow 
 creatures ; and even the wild beafts, who multi- 
 plied without controul in the defert, were exafpe- 
 E ^ rated
 
 5 HISTORY OF SPAIN". 
 
 rated by the tafte of blood, and the impatience 
 of hunger, boldly to attack and devour their hu- 
 man prey. Pcftilence foon appeared, the in- 
 feparable companion of famine ; a large pro- 
 portion of the people was fwept away ; and the 
 groans of the dying excited only the envy of 
 their furviving friends. At length the barbarians, 
 fatiated with carnage and rapine, and afflicted by 
 the contagious evils which they themfelves had 
 introduced, fixed their permanent feats in the de- 
 populated country. The ancient Gallicia, whofe 
 limits include the kingdom of Caftillc, was di- 
 vided between the Suevi and the Vandals ; the 
 Alani were fcattered over the provinces of Cartha- 
 gena and Lufitania, from the Mediterranean to 
 the Atlantic Ocean ; and the fruitful territory of 
 Boetica was allotted to the Silingi, another branch 
 of the Vandalic nation. After regulating this 
 partition, the conquerors contracted with their 
 new fubjects fame reciprocal engagements of 
 protection and obedience ; the lands were again 
 cultivated ; and the towns and villages were 
 again occupied by a captive people. The greateft 
 part of the Spaniards were even difpofed to prefer 
 their new condition of poverty and barbarifm to 
 the fevere oppreflions of the Roman government. 
 Yet there were many who ftill afferted their na- 
 tive freedom ; and who refufed, more cfpecially 
 
 in
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 53 
 
 in the mountains of Gallicia, to fubmit to the 
 barbarian yoke. 
 
 Such, according to an eloquent hiftorian of 
 that country, was the miserable ftate of Spain, 
 when the fame means were employed- to reftore 
 her to the fubje&ion of Rome, as had been ex- 
 erted to wren; her from it. Adolphus, the brother- 
 in-law of the renowned Alaric, had been unani- 
 niouily chofen to fucceed to the vacant throne of 
 the Goths. He profefled his intention to em- 
 ploy his fword not to fubvert, but to re-eftablifh 
 and maintain the profperity of the Roman em- 
 pire ; and he was confirmed in his attachment 
 to the caufe of the republic by the afcendancy 
 which a Roman princefs had acquired over his 
 heart and understanding. He admired his cap- 
 tive Placidia, the daughter of the great Theo- 
 doiius, and the fitter of the emperor Honorius. 
 Placidia yielded without reluctance to the defires 
 of a conqueror young and valiant; and her mar- 
 riage with the Gothic king was celebrated in the 
 prefence of Italy. Adolphus marched againfl 
 the tyrants beyond the Alps ; and Honorius ac- 
 cepted from his hand the grateful prefent of the 
 heads of the brothers Jovinus and Sebaftian, who 
 had aflumed in Gaul the imperial purple. 
 
 It is probable that the Roman empe- At D> 4 , 4 
 ror regarded with jealoufy the mili- 4I5 ' 
 tary fervices of his brother-in-law ; and the pru- 
 E 3 dence
 
 54 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 dencc of his counfellors was difplayed in the re- 
 moval of Ado! phus from the peaceful plenty of 
 Italy. The Gothic king was perfuaded to turn 
 his victorious arms againft the barbarians in Spain; 
 and to undertake the conqueft of that peninfula 
 as the ally of Honorius. Frorn Gaul he pafled 
 the Pyrenees ; and furprifed, in the name of the 
 emperor, the city of Barcelona. But he had 
 fcarce time to exult in his fuccefs, before he fell 
 the victim of domeftic treafon : he had im- 
 prudently received into his fervice one of the 
 followers of Sarus, a barbarian chief, who had 
 been facrificed by Adolphus to a long and here- 
 ditary enmity ; the death of Sarus was avenged 
 by that of Adolphus, who perifhed in his palace 
 of Barcelona by the hand of the daring aflaffin ; 
 and Singeric, the brother of Sarus, in the mo- 
 ment of condensation ufurped the Gothic throne, 
 put to death the children of his predeceflbr, and 
 compelled Placidia to attend on foot through 
 the flreets of Barcelona the triumph of her con- 
 fort's murderer. 
 
 A. D. 415, The cruelty of Singeric probably 
 41 8 * haftened his deftruction ; feven days af- 
 ter his ufurpation, he alfo in his turn perifhed by 
 the refentment of an individual; and the Gothic 
 fceptre was, by the choice of the nation, commit- 
 ted to Wallia. From Barcelona, the new monarch 
 marched in arms through the modern provinces of 
 
 Valencia,
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 55 
 
 Valencia, Murcia, and Grenada ; and from the 
 rock that is now covered by the fortrefs of Gib- 
 raltar, he revolved the invafion of the oppofite 
 coaft of Africa. He was diverted from the enter- 
 prife by a violent tempeft, and by the remon- 
 ftrances of the imperial court ; and in a folemn 
 treaty Wallia engaged to imitate the example of 
 Adolphus, and to draw his fword in the fervice 
 of Honorius. The barbarian princes of Spain 
 were animated by the fame paffions, 'and were 
 excited by the fame pretenfions ; the flames of 
 war blazed forth from the foot of the Pyrenees 
 to the mouth of the Bcetis. The contending 
 chiefs are faid to have addrefled their letters, 
 their ambafladors, and their hoftages, to the 
 throne of the weftern emperor, exhorting him to 
 remain a tranquil fpectator of their conteft, the 
 events of which muft be favourable to the Ro- 
 mans by the ilaughter of their common enemies. 
 The fuperior genius and fortune of Wallia efta- 
 blifhed his triumph ; yet it was not until the va- 
 lour of his Gothic followers had been approved 
 in three obftinate and bloody campaigns, that his 
 competitors acknowledged his claims to conqueft. 
 The province of Bcetica, which had been the 
 fcene of devastation to, became the grave of 
 the Silingi. Lufitania was flrewed with the 
 Haughtered Alarii, whofe king periflied on the 
 fatal field. The remnant of the Scythian wander- 
 E 4 crs
 
 5 6 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 crs who efcaped from the fword of the Goths, 
 ranged themielves under the flandard of the 
 Vandals and the Suevi ; yet neither the kindred 
 ftrength of the Vandals, nor the more ddpeiate 
 courage of the Suevi, could avail them againft 
 the martial ardour of Wallia. After a variety 
 of unfuccefsful engagements, the promifcuous 
 herd of the barbarians were driven into the 
 mountains of Gallicia. A broken and intract- 
 able country oppofed the purfuit of the vic- 
 tor ; and within a narrow compafs, it might be 
 reafonably etf peeled that the mutual jealoufy of 
 the rival warriors would precipitate their deftruc- 
 tion. The moft wealthy cities of Spain recom- 
 penfed the toils of the warlike Goths ; and it is 
 probable that Wallia indulged his followers in 
 an ample privilege of rapine, before he fulfilled 
 his engagements and reftored his Spanifh con- 
 quefts to the obedience of Rome ; even then the 
 natives regretted the fidelity with which he exe- 
 cuted conditions he had fubfcribed; and they 
 afferted that the violence of their barbarian con- 
 querors was to be preferred to the fteady and in- 
 defatigable extortion of their Roman governors. 
 A. D. *as, Honorius had in perfon triumphed 
 4291 for the advantages that had been ob- 
 tained by the conduct or courage of Wallia ; yet 
 but a fhort time elapfed between his celebration 
 of the conqueft and his final lofs of the kingdom 
 
 of
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 57 
 
 of Spain. The Vandals, 6n the retreat of the 
 Goths, had emerged from their faftneffes in th 
 mountains of Gallicia. The Suevi who had pre- 
 fumed to oppofe, were the early facrifice to their 
 valour and renown ; they quitted the ungrateful 
 country between Leon and Oviedo, to revel in 
 the plenty of the plains of Boetica ; the ap- 
 proach cf Caflinus with a numerous army of 
 Goths and Romans, excited their ardour, rather 
 than awakened their fears ; the degenerated Ro 
 mans probably fled ; and if the Goths afferted 
 their former reputation, their obftinacy only 
 ferved to fwell the flaughter. The prefump* 
 tuous Caflinus found flicker in the walls of 
 Tarragona ; and it is molt likely that he foon 
 pafled over into Italy. Seville and Carthagena 
 opened their gates to the victorious Vandals; 
 and the veffels which the northern warriors 
 found collected in the port of the latter, tempted 
 them to undertake a new, and not lefs profitable 
 enterprife. 
 
 The name of the Baleares was limited to the 
 two iflands of the Mediterranean oppofite to the 
 Ihore of Valencia, which, from their different 
 extent, obtained, and have preferved the ex- 
 preffive appellation of Majorca and Minorca. 
 They had been early occupied by the Phoe- 
 nicians ; had, from the time of Scipio Africanus, 
 been conquered and poiTefTed by the Romans ; 
 
 and
 
 5 8 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 and during the irruprfcn and bloody contefl of 
 the barbarians, had become the alyium to the 
 mod opulent Spaniards, who had retreated thi- 
 ther, from the tempeft of war, with their families 
 and moft valuable effects. The third of plunder 
 allured the Vandals to furmount their native 
 averfion, and to commit themfelves to the perils 
 of the fea. They probably availed themfelves 
 of a favourable wind ; and, with a fteady breeze, 
 they might in twelve hours accomplilh a naviga- 
 tion of fcarce fourfcore miles. The wretched 
 fugitives, who trufted to the protection of the 
 elements inftead of arms, were dripped of the 
 remnant of their former opulence ; and the Van- 
 dal fleet, laden with fpoil, fleered back its 
 fuccefsful courfe into the ports of Spain. The 
 barbarians renewed their depredations ; but their 
 active rapacity had already exhauited the coun- 
 try ; and they liflened with pleafure to the 
 invitation of the governor of Africa, whole per- 
 fonal refentment folicited them to the invafion 
 of that province. The veffels to tranfport them 
 acrofs the ftraits of Gibraltar were furnifhed by 
 the Spaniards, who anxioufly wilhed for their 
 departure, and by the African general, who im- 
 patiently awaited their arrival ; yet before he 
 quitted the coaft, Genferic, the king of the Van- 
 dals, admonifhed Spain, by one inftance of tre- 
 mendous vengeance, how dangerous it was to 
 
 provoke
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 59 
 
 provoke his refentment. Hermanric, the king of 
 the Suevi, had defcended from the mountains of 
 Gallicia, and prefumed to ravage the Spanifti 
 territories, which the Vandalic monarch was re- 
 folved to abandon. Impatient of the infult, 
 Genferic purfued the hafty retreat of the Suevi 
 as far as Merida, precipitated the king and his 
 army into the river Anas, and calmly returned to 
 the fea-fhore to embark his victorious troops. 
 
 The retreat of the Vandals was far 
 from atchieving the deliverance, or 
 eflabliming the tranquillity of Spain. The Suevi 
 deplored their monarch and the braveft of their 
 warriors overwhelmed in the waters, of the Anas ; 
 but they reviewed with pleafure the numbers 
 which flill furvived in the mountains of Gallicia. 
 They gradually iffued from their dark receffes, 
 and indulged in the plenty of the plains. About 
 thirty years from the departure of Genferic, their 
 increafing ftrength, under their king Rechiarius, 
 afflicfted the provinces of Carthagena and Tarra- 
 gona, and threatened to extinguifh the feeble re- 
 mains of the Roman dominions in Spain. The 
 emperor of the weft was moved by the cries of 
 the opprefled Spaniards ; but the effeminate Ro- 
 mans would not have prefumed to have met 
 in arms the hardy emigrants from beyond the 
 ilream of the Elbe. The chaftifement of the latter 
 was intrufted to a kindred hand. The fitter of 
 
 Theodorie
 
 60 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 Theodoiic the king of the Goths had been mar- 
 ried to the king of the Suevi ; but the Gothic 
 prince preferred the ties of public, to thofe of 
 private connexion : as the ally of Avitus he de- 
 clared, unlefs his brother-in-law immediately re- 
 tired from the imperial territories in Spain, he 
 would arm in fupport of the pretenfions of Rome* 
 His menaces were derided by the fierce Rechia- 
 rius : " Tell him," replied the haughty king of 
 the Suevi, " that I defpife his friendlhip, and his 
 " arms; and that I fhall foon try whether he will 
 " dare to expect my arrival under the walls of 
 " Thouloufe." The martial impatience of Theo- 
 doric allowed him not to wait the promiied at- 
 tack of his adverfary ; and his policy might fug- 
 gell: to him to keep Rechiarius involved in all 
 the difadvantages of a defenfive war. But though 
 he undertook the expedition, as the obedient fol- 
 dier of the emperor of the weft, he was not in- 
 different to the motives of intereft or ambition ; 
 and he privately ftipulated for himfelf and his 
 fucceflbrs the abfolute pofleffion of his Spanifli 
 conquefts. At the head of a promifcuous army 
 of Vifigorhs, Franks, and Burgundians, Theo- 
 doric paffed the Pyrenees ; and on the banks of 
 the river Urbicus, about twelve miles from Aftor- 
 ga, he was encountered by Rechiarius ; but the 
 fortune or the numbers of the Suevi were un- 
 equal to the conteft ; a people whofe dexterity 
 
 . and
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 6t 
 
 and valour had challenged the admiration of the 
 firft Csefar, and whofe arms the immortal gods 
 themfelves had been deemed incapable of refift- 
 ing, fcorned readily to yield ; and fuch were the 
 bloody confequences of their refolution, that 
 their name and kingdom appeared for a while 
 extirpated by the victory of the Goths. Braga, 
 their metropolis, was compelled to open her gate8 
 to the vidtor ; and though the live* of her citi- 
 zens, and the chaftity of her virgins were re- 
 fpe&ed, the moderation which fettered his cruel- 
 ty and luft was incapable of reftraining avarice. 
 The greateft*part of the clergy and people were 
 fold into fervitude ; and the churches and the al- 
 tars were confounded in the general pillage. 
 From the former renown, and the fubfequent 
 conduct of Rechiarius, it is not to be fuppofed 
 that he quitted inglorioufly the difaftrous field ; 
 and his flight to one of the ports of the ocean, 
 might be ftimulated by the hopes of returning 
 from the ftore-houfe of the north with new fwarms 
 of martial adventurers to avenge the fate of his 
 Haughtered fubje&s ; but the obftinacy of the 
 winds oppofed his efcape ; he was delivered to 
 his implacable rival. In the moment of iriumph 
 Theodoric either forgot, or was indifferent to the 
 domeftic peace of his fifter, in the execution of 
 Rechiarius; and the latter, without murmuring, 
 
 fub*
 
 6i HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 fubmitted to the mortal ftroke with a firmnefs 
 worthy of the nation he had ruled over. 
 
 The Suevi had been vanquished in battle, and 
 confined again in obfcurity to the mountains of 
 Gallicia, ; and the natives of Spain neither hoped, 
 nor endeavoured to flop the progrefs of the con- 
 queror. Without meeting with any refiftance, 
 he penetrated as far as Lerida, the principal town 
 of l^ufitania ; but he was diverted from the en- 
 tire conqueft of Spain, by the intelligence of a 
 new revolution in Italy ; Avitus was no longer 
 emperor ; and the intereil and honour of Theo- 
 doric were deeply wounded by the depofition of 
 his friend and ally. He pointed his march again 
 towards the Pyrenees ; and in his retreat were 
 difplayed the marks of his difappointmcnt. The 
 city of Ailorga was doomed again to feel his pre- 
 fence ; the Goths gleaned with induftry what 
 had efcaped them in their former pillage ; and 
 they reaped a new and plentiful harvefl in the 
 fpoil of the wealthy city of Palentia. 
 A. D. 462, The conqueft that had eluded the 
 
 4 * 2 - grafp of Theodoric was feized by the 
 hand of his brother Euric. He was flained with 
 fratricide ; but in an age of violence, his martial 
 fpirit atoned for his want of moral virtues. He 
 wielded the Gothic fceptre with vigour and fuc- 
 cefs; and Spain was firft doomed to feel the weight 
 9f bis arm. He paffed the Pyrenees, at the head 
 
 of
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 63 
 
 of a numerous hoft; and occupied by force or 
 fraud the powerful cities of Pampeluna and Sara- 
 goffa. But the warlike nobles of the province of 
 Tarraconenfis refufed tamely to yield to the inva- 
 der; and in a field of battle they prefumed to 
 maintain with bloody obilinacy their independ- 
 ence. They were vanquifhed, rather by the fu- 
 perior numbers, than the valour of their adverfa- 
 ries ; and Euric, animated by victory, penetrated 
 into the heart of Lufitania ; but he ftill refpected 
 in the mountains of Gallicia the hardy warriors 
 of Saxony ; Rofimund, who reigned over the 
 Suevi, had married the daughter of Theodoric ; 
 the ties of blood might prompt him to avenge 
 the murder of his father-in-law ; but the more 
 powerful dictates of policy and intereft warned 
 him to decline the conteft with the Gothic king. 
 A mutual league of amity was projected and fub- 
 fcribed; and the Suevi were fuffered to remain 
 in the pofleflion of Gallicia, whilft the reft of 
 the extenfive peninfula of Spain acknowledged 
 the independent authority of Euric. 
 
 A country which forms one of the A> D 4?2> 
 mofl confiderable flates of modern Eu- 475- 
 rope, was incapable of fatisfying the ambition of 
 Euric; he difdained to fix the feat of his fove- 
 reignty in Spain ; he repaired the Pyrenees ; and 
 the fouthern provinces of Gaul were the reward 
 of his addrefs and valour. WhenOdoacer,furnamed 
 
 the
 
 64 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 the Mercenary, ufurped the kingdom of Italy, he 
 refigned to Euric all the Roman conquefts beyond 
 the Alps as far as the Rhine and the ocean. The 
 prodigal donation was confirmed without any lofs 
 of power or revenue by the fenate ; and under 
 their new fovereign, the Gothic king might 
 afpire to the dominion of Spain and Gaul. His 
 court was eftablifhed in the modern city of Bour-. 
 deaux ; and the crowd of ambafladors and fuppli- 
 ants who waited before the gates of his palace, at- 
 tefted his influence and renown. The Heruli of 
 the diftant ocean, who painted their naked bo- 
 dies with its coerulean colour, implored his pro- 
 tection ; and the Saxons reflected the maritime 
 provinces of a prince who was deflitute of any na- 
 val force; the Burgundians fubmitted to his au- 
 thority ; and the Franks, who had provoked his 
 enmity, received from him the conditions of 
 peace ; the Vandals of Africa fought his friend- 
 ihip ; and it fupported the Oftrogoths of Pan- 
 nonia againft the oppreflion of the neighbouring 
 Huns. His nod excited or appeafed the favage 
 tribes of the north ; the great king of Perfia had 
 recourfe to the wifdom of his counfels, or the 
 weight of his mediation ; Rome, fo late the mif- 
 trefs of the world, was anxious to conciliate his 
 favour ; and the effeminate Italians who dwelt on 
 the ihores of the Tyber, were defended by the 
 
 king
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIK. 65 
 
 king of the Goths who reigned on the banks of 
 the Garonne. 
 
 In the full pofleffion of power and profperity* 
 Euric expired ; and the throne of the Vifigoths 
 was inadequately filled by the feeble youth of 
 his fon Alaric. The Franks, beneath their mo- 
 narch Clovis, from the neighbourhood of the 
 Meufe and the Scheld, the Mofelle and the 
 Rhine, had extended their conquefts to the 
 fouthern banks of the Seine. Syagrius, a noble 
 Roman, who ruled with the authority at leaft, if 
 not with the title of king, over the city and dio- 
 cefe of Soiflbns, with Rheims and Troyes, Beau- 
 vais and Amiens, had been vanquiftied by them 
 in battle, his dominions feized, and himfelf 
 compelled to feek refuge in the court of Alaric. 
 The timid counfellors of that prince yielded to 
 the menaces of Clovis, and their own fears ; and 
 Syagrius was bafely delivered up to the im- 
 placable victor. 
 
 The unworthy conceffion, inflead of conciliat- 
 ing the friendfhip, ferved only to inflame the 
 ambition of the king of the Franks. The Vifi- 
 goths had embraced the doctrines of Arius, who, 
 in the myfterious and abftrufe queftion of the 
 Trinity, reverenced the Son, but denied him to 
 be equal to the Father. The Franks had been 
 influenced by the example of their fovereign, 
 had been purified in the baptifmal font from the 
 
 VOL. i. F errors
 
 66 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 errors of paganifm, and endeavoured to atone for 
 their tardy converfion by their zeal for ortho- 
 doxy. The guilt of Arianifm in Alaric was 
 heightened by his poffcflion of the mod fertile 
 provinces of Gaul ; no ties nor treaties, however 
 facred, could bind a. prince whofe ambition was 
 fandioned by the name of religion ; and in the 
 moment of peace and alliance, Clovis rumed for- 
 wards to furprife and opprefs the king of the 
 Vifigoths. 
 
 Though Alaric was deftitute of mili- 
 tary experience, in perfonal courage he 
 was not inferior to his afpihng rival. The Vifi-. 
 goths, long difufed to war, refumed their arms, 
 and ranged themfelves round the ftan.da.rd of 
 their youthful king ; but their valour was in vain 
 oppofed to the difcipline and veteran intrepidity 
 of the Franks. The decifive battle was fought 
 on the banks of the Clain, about ten miles to the 
 fouth of Portiers ; the Goths were totally routed, 
 and purfued with cruel flaughter. Alaric, dif- 
 daining to fly, rumed againft his royal an- 
 tagonift, and obtained an honourable death from 
 the hand of Clovis. Aquitain fubmitted to the 
 victor; his winter quarters were eftablifhed at 
 Bourdeaux ; in the enfuing fpring Thouloufc 
 furrendered ; and the fiege of Aries was formed 
 and clofely prefled by the Franks. The king- 
 dom of the Vifigoths in Gaul was fhaken to its 
 
 founda-
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 67 
 
 foundations ; and its total overthrow was folely 
 averted by the policy or generous pity of Theo- 
 doric, the Oftrogoth ; who, with the concurrence 
 of the Roman emperor of the eaft, had delivered 
 Italy from the ufurpation of Odoacer the Merce- 
 nary, and erected in it the feat of his own in- 
 dependent fovereignty. The Oftrogoth s marched 
 'with alacrity to refcue from deftru&ion the kin- 
 dred warriors encompafled in Aries ; with the 
 lofs of thirty thoufand men, Clovis was com- 
 pelled to retire from the walls of that city. 
 'Theodoric declared himfelf the protestor and 
 guardian of the infant fon of Alaric ; the weighty 
 mediation was refpected by Clovis ; yet he ftill 
 retained the greateft part of his late acquifitions ; 
 and from the Garonne to the Loire, the ample 
 province of Aquitain was indiflblubly united to 
 the French monarchy. 
 
 Amidft the tempeft which had-agi- A. D. 509, 
 tated Gaul, Spain had enjoyed a tran- 5ia ' 
 fient fufpenfion from hoftility ; but her peace 
 was wounded by the unhappy fate of Alaric; 
 and after the fiege of Aries, the chiefs of the 
 Vifigoths conveyed with faithful care their infant 
 monarch Amalaric acrofs the Pyrenees, and efta- 
 blifhed his court in Spain. But the authority of 
 Amalaric was difputed by the ambition and ma- 
 ture years of his baftard brother Gefalaic. It was 
 -in Gaul that Gefalaic firft created the ftandard of 
 F z oppofition;
 
 & HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 oppofition ; defeated and expelled by the Buf* 
 gundians, with a martial band of barbarian^ 
 whom his perfonal qualities, or fplendid pro- 
 mifes, had attached to his caufe, he explored the 
 pafTes of the Pyrenees, and occupied the city of 
 Barcelona. He was driven thence by the general 
 of Theodoric, who had followed on his fteps to 
 defend the throne of Amalaric. Vanquifhed in 
 battle, he efcaped with difficulty to Carthagena; 
 and with a few adherents pafled over into Africa, 
 He was enabled, by the liberality of the Vandals, 
 again to penetrate into Spain ; and within four 
 miles of Barcelona, a battle was fought which 
 finally extinguifhed his hopes and life. His 
 death on the field, or in the purfuit, left Ama- 
 laric without a rival ; but his feeble years were 
 incapable of fuftaining the weight of govern- 
 ment ; and the virtues of Theudes, a noble 
 Oftrogoth, were confefled by the Vifigoths them- 
 felves, who committed to him the protection of 
 their youthful king, and the adminiflration of 
 Spain. 
 
 A. D. 5 i, During the time that the reins of 
 530. government were held by the hand of 
 Theudes, the profperity of Spain attefted his juf- 
 tice and ability ; but no fooner had Amalaric at- 
 tained to manhood, than Theudes retired from 
 the high ftation he had occupied, probably not 
 without a figh, but certainly without a ftruggle. 
 
 The
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 69 
 
 The marriage of Amalaric with Clotilda, the 
 daughter of Clovis, feemed to fecure the amity, 
 and foon provoked the hoflilities of the Franks 
 and Vifigoths. The orthodox Clotilda defpifed 
 her Arian confort ; and her intemperate piety 
 fummoned her brother to the invafion of her 
 hufband's dominions in Gaul. The Vifigoths 
 who had attempted to ftem the torrent of the 
 Franks, were overwhelmed by its fury ; and de-- 
 feated in battle, Amalaric himfelf efcaped with 
 difficulty to the city of Narbonne. It is doubt- 
 ful whether he perilhed by the cruelty of the 
 victors, or, on his return to Barcelona, the con- 
 tempt of his fubjects prompted his aflaffination ; 
 but his death finally clofed the line of the firft 
 and great Alaric. The throne of the Vifigoths 
 in Spain, which hitherto had been confidered as 
 hereditary, muft hereafter be regarded as elect- 
 ive ; and a people who had already experienced 
 the illuftrious qualities of Theudes, were im- 
 patient to avail themfelves again of his juftice 
 and moderation; and, by their unanimous fuf- 
 frages, proclaimed him their fovereign. 
 
 Even the wifdom and firmnefs of A. D. 530, 
 Theudes were unequal to the difficul- s48 ' 
 ties and dangers that arofe on every fide. The 
 fons of Clovis had purfued their victorious career 
 from the banks of the Garonne to the foot of the 
 Pyrenees ; thofe mountains which feparate Spain 
 F 3 from
 
 7 o HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 from Gaul, were incapable of protecting the for- 
 mer ; the paffes were either forced or betrayed ; 
 and the Franks penetrated to the walls of Sara- 
 gofia. The inhabitants of that city ranfomed 
 their lives with their wealth ; and the invaders, 
 encumbered with fpoil, ilowly pointed their 
 march back towards the Pyrenees. The pru- 
 dence of Theudes had refitted the ardour of his 
 fubjeclis ; and he had refufed to commit to the 
 chance of battle the independence of Spain ; but 
 he watched and improved the moment of retreat: 
 his fquadrons hung upon, and repeatedly aflailed 
 the rear of the Franks ; and it was only by the 
 facrifice of the greatefl part of their plunder, that 
 the fons of Clovis were permitted to repafs in 
 fafety the Pyrenean mountains. 
 
 While Theudes was occupied in repelling 
 the invafion of the Franks, a revolution, as 
 fudden as extraordinary, had overthrown the 
 kingdom of the Vandals in Africa, and re- 
 ftored that opulent province to the obedience 
 of the Roman emperor. The king of the 
 Vandals bad in vain folicited the affiftance of 
 Spain, againfl an enemy whofe pretenfions might 
 extend to all that once was comprifed under the 
 name of the Roman world ; and the refufal of 
 Theudes, which has been afcribed to fupinenefs, 
 may be accounted for by the hoftile enterprife of 
 the Franks. But no fooner was Spain delivered 
 
 from
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 71 
 
 from the -Gallic inundation, than the eyes of 
 Theudes were turned on Africa. On the -oppo- 
 fite point to Gibraltar, the fortrefs of Ceuta, ii\ 
 the kingdom of Fez, is dill maintained by mo- 
 dern Spain. In the time of Juflinianj it had ei- 
 ther been acquired by treaty or by force by the 
 Vifigoths ; but when the Roman genius pre- 
 vailed over that of the Vandals, it had been re- 
 duced by Beliforius, the renowned general of 
 Juftinian, and whofe victories have entitled him 
 to the appellation of the third Africanus. The 
 recovery of Ceuta was the object of the prepara- 
 tions of Theudes ; a narrow {trait of about 
 twelve miles, through which the Atlantic flows 
 into the Mediterranean Sea, divides alone the 
 continent of Africa from the peninfula of Spain ; 
 the expedition was condutted by the king in 
 perfon ; and Ceuta was inverted by the joint for- 
 ces of the Spaniards and Vifigoths. But though 
 an Arian, the piety of Theudes was difplayed in 
 the ftridt obfervance of the fabbath as a day of 
 reft and devotion ; the befieged, left fcrupulous, 
 availed themfelves of the holy forbearance of 
 their adverfaries ; they fallied from their walls, 
 and fpread terror and flaughter through the 
 camp, which was engaged in fervent prayer. 
 The lofs of the Goths muft have been confidera- 
 ble, fince it induced Theudes to raife the fiege 
 and return into Spain ; he did not long furvive 
 F4 his
 
 72 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 his difgrace ; he was dabbed in his own palace 
 by an afiaffin, whofe motives have eluded the 
 diligence of hiltory ; he languifhed a few days 
 after he received the wound ; and maintained in 
 his laft moments, the character of Chriftian re- 
 fignation and forgivenefs, by freely fubfcribing 
 the pardon of the guilty author of his death. 
 A. D. 548, The Vifigoths, on his deceafe, again 
 
 549 ' afferted their right of free election ; 
 and their fuffrages filled the vacant throne with 
 Theodigild, who had diftinguiftied his valour in 
 the invafion of the Franks ; but the renown of 
 the foldier was flamed by the luft of the tyrant ; 
 and the wives and daughters of hjs moft il- 
 luflrious fubjects were violated by his brutal paf- 
 fion. He fell a victim to a confpiracy of jealous 
 hulbands, after having exercifed or abufed the 
 regal authority about a year and five months. 
 A. D. 550, The confpirators, in a tumultuous 
 
 s<57 ' aflembly, raifed to the throne Agila, 
 who was probably aflbciated in their injuries and 
 refentment ; but great part of Spain refufed to 
 ratify their choice. The city of Cordova was the 
 firft to arm againft the partial election ; and her 
 inhabitants fallying from their gates, attacked 
 and defeated Agila, who, at the head of a nume- 
 rous army, had advanced to befiege them. The 
 flame of difcontent was fanned by the breath of 
 Athanagilde, a noble Goth, who improved to his 
 
 own
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 73 
 
 own advantage the rifing difaflfection. But his 
 hafte to wreft the fceptre from the hand of his ri- 
 val, betrayed him into a meafure unworthy of his 
 own fame, and injurious to the intereft of his 
 country ; he folicited the afliftance of Juftinian ; 
 and engaged, in return for his fupport, to cede 
 to him feveral cities on the fliores of the ocean 
 and the Mediterranean ; the Roman troops that 
 were difpatched to his aid, enabled him to tri- 
 umph in battle over Agila ; the latter had fought 
 refuge after his defeat, within the fortifications 
 of Merida ; but he foon experienced the fate of 
 unfortunate princes ; and the citizens of Merida 
 fecured the pardon and favour of Athanagilde, 
 by prefenting to him the head of Agila. 
 
 In the city of Toledo, Athanagilde fixed the 
 feat of the royal refidence ; and, by a juft and le- 
 nient adminiftration, reigned in the hearts of his 
 fubjects. The tranquillity of his government 
 was interrupted by the rapacity of thofe he had 
 invited to his protection. The Romans, from 
 their fortrefles, opprefled the country round; 
 and the cries of his people fummoned Athana- 
 gilde to arms. It is probable that he prepared 
 with reluctance to march againft an enemy to 
 whofe valour he was indebted for his crown ; yet 
 no fooner was the war commenced, than he acted 
 in it with vigour and ability ; he wreiled feveral 
 of their faftnefies from the Romans; but the lat- 
 ter
 
 74 
 
 HISTORY: OF SPAIN. 
 
 ter were fortified, in many of their impregnable 
 ftations, by perpetual fupplies from Africa. Op- 
 poilte to that continent they (till maintained their 
 ground, and waited an opportunity to inflame 
 the civil and religious factions of the barbarians. 
 Seventy years elapfed before this painful thorn 
 could be extirpated from the bofom of the mo- 
 narchy ; and as long as the emperors retained 
 any (hare of thefe remote pofleffions, their va- 
 nity might number Spain in the lift of their pro- 
 vinces. 
 
 Two daughters, Brunchant and Goifvintha, 
 who were married to the princes of Auftrafia and 
 SoifTons, and became famous for their vices or 
 misfortunes, were the only iffue of the nuptial 
 bed of Athanagilde ; his reign had continued 
 eighteen years, when in his palace of Toledo he 
 breathed his laft ; and the zealous wifhes of the 
 orthodox writers of that age have afferted, that 
 before his death he abjured the errors of Arian- 
 ifm, and embraced the pure doctrines of the 
 catholic church. 
 A. D. 56-, Five months of anarchy ferved to 
 
 5 * 5 ' endear to the natives of Spain the ad- 
 vantages of a temperate monarchy ; the eyes of 
 the nobility, in the choice of a fucceflor to 
 Athanagilde, were directed acrofs the Pyrenees. 
 Some remains of the Gothic kingdom in Gaul 
 had yet eluded or withstood the ambitious enter- 
 
 prifes
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 75 
 
 prifes of the Franks ; and Luiva, to whofe 
 government they were entrufted, muft, in the ar- 
 duous ftation, have difcovered no common abili- 
 ties, fince at a diftance, and without intrigue, 
 they recommended him to the throne of Spain. 
 The moderation with which he received the in- 
 telligence of his election, was the belt proof that 
 he deferved it ; he ftill remained to watch over 
 the fafety of the provinces of Gaul ; and he pro- 
 pofed, and obtained the confent of his fubjects, 
 to affociate in the royal dignity his brother 
 Leovigild. Fraternal affection might firft have 
 prompted his choice ; but Spain confefied that 
 the virtues of Leovigild deferved a crown ; and 
 after Luiva was no more, the whole dominions 
 of the Vifigoths were united under the fway of a 
 prince who in peace merited the love of his peo- 
 ple, and in war extorted the admiration of his 
 enemies. 
 
 The moment of enterprife had been feized and 
 improved by the Romans ; and during the fuf- 
 penfe and confufion of an interregnum, their 
 arms had advanced from the ihores of the fea in- 
 to the inland country. Their banners were dif- 
 played on the walls of Medina Sidonia, in the 
 province of Andalufia, and from the towers of 
 Cordova which overfliadow the ftream of the 
 Bcetis. But their pride was foon broken by the 
 vigour of Leovigild. After an obftinate refift- 
 :. ance,
 
 7 6 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 ance, he entered Medina Sidonia as a conqueror ; 
 and the Slaughter of the rebellious inhabitants 
 ftruck terror throughout the principal cities of 
 Spain. Yet Cordova, confident in the flrength 
 of her walls, and the valour of her citizens, ven- 
 tured to brave the refentment of her fovereign. 
 It was not until after a long fiege, and that the 
 dexterous introduction of gold had cooled the 
 ardour, and diflradled the inclinations of her in- 
 habitants, that the gates were opened to Leovi- 
 gild. But the furrender of Cordova determined 
 the fubmiffion of the other cities ; the imperial 
 garrifons were expelled ; and the Romans were 
 again confined to their fortrefles on the coafts of 
 the fea. 
 
 It was the natural defire of Leovigild to per- 
 petuate the crown in his own family. To fortify 
 his title, he had efpoufed Goifvintha, the widow 
 of Athanagilde ; but his hopes were repofed on 
 Hermenigild and Recared, his two fons by a 
 former marriage. He intimated the neceffity of 
 providing againft the fame anarchy as Spain had 
 experienced after the death of Athanagilde ; his 
 wifhes were underflood and gratified ; and Her- 
 menigild and Recared were called to the cer- 
 tain fucceffion by the title of princes of the 
 Goths. 
 
 In the hilly country of Bifcay, and in the 
 mountains of Orofpeda, which, with the modern 
 
 name
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 77 
 
 name of Sierra Morena, envelope the fources of 
 the Bcetis, an hardy race of freebooters, the 
 defcendants of the Cantabrians, ftill preferved 
 the manners and tone of independence. They 
 were reclaimed to civil life and obedience by the 
 perfevering courage of Leovigild ; and the Sue- 
 vi, who had prefumed to pafs their limits in 
 their fupport, were compelled to appeafe the re- 
 fentment of the victor by their immediate fub- 
 miflion. 
 
 But the fatisfaction which Leovigild derived 
 from the fuccefs of his military labours was im- 
 bittered by female paffion and religious rancour. 
 His eldefl fon, Hermenigild, who, with the 
 royal diadem, had been invefled by his father 
 with the principality of Bcetica, had contracted 
 an honourable and orthodox alliance with a 
 Merovingian princefs, the daughter of Sigebert, 
 king of Auftrafia, and of the famous Brunchaut. 
 The beauteous Ingundis, who was no more than 
 fixteen years of age, was received with refpect, 
 but was foon expofed to the perfecution of the 
 Arian court of Toledo. Her grandmother, Goif- 
 vintha, who, by her fecond marriage with Leovi- 
 gild, was doubly bound to her protection, be- 
 came her moft implacable enemy. The Gothic 
 queen is reprefented as deformed in her perfon, 
 blind of one eye, fierce, vindictive, and in- 
 exorable; and to her averfion to the religious 
 
 principles
 
 78 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 principles of Ingundis, might be added her envy 
 of a young and charming princefs, whofe features 
 and perfon were the objects of univerfal admira- 
 tion. Ingundis refufed to facrifice the faith fhe 
 had been educated in to the menaces of Goif- 
 vintha; who, incenfed by her refinance, feized 
 her by the hair, inhumanly darned her againft 
 the ground, kicked her till fhe was covered with 
 blood, and at laft gave orders that (he mould be 
 flripped and thrown into a bafon, or fifh-pond. 
 Love and honour might excite Hermenigild to 
 refent this injurious treatment of his bride ; and 
 he was gradually perfuaded that Ingundis fuf- 
 fered for the caufe of divine truth. Her tender 
 complaints, and the weighty arguments of Lean- 
 der, arch-bifhop of Seville, accomplilhed his 
 converfion ; and the heir of the Gothic monar- 
 chy was initiated in the Nicene faith by the fo- 
 lemn rites of confirmation. 
 
 The bigoted fpirit of Goifvintha allowed not 
 Hermenigild to hope that he might cultivate the 
 new doftrines he had efpoufed in humble fecuri- 
 ty ; and it is probable that the zeal of the Ca- 
 tholics of Spain urged him to violate the duties 
 of a fon and a fubjed. He drew the fword 
 againft his fovereign and his father; and his 
 rebellion was fupported by the powerful and 
 orthodox nation of the Vafcones, who inhabited 
 the modern kingdom of Navarre. Yet Her- 
 menigild
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 79 
 
 nfenigild was perfuaded foon after to fubmit, by 
 the remonftrances of his brother Recared ; he 
 was fent a prifoner to Toledo ; and Leovigild 
 entered in arms the country of the Vafcones. 
 His fuccefs is attefted by the city of Victoria, 
 which he founded ; and his feverity may be con- 
 jectured from the numbers of the inhabitants 
 who quitted their native feats; the country -was 
 indeed recovered by Leovigild ; but the people 
 ftill refufed to fubmit to his government ; they 
 paffed the Pyrenees ; poflefied themfelves of, 
 and multiplied in, part of Aquitain ; and, with, 
 fome little corruption, ftill preferve their origia 
 jn the appellation of Gafcons. 
 
 While the martial Vafcones occupied the at- 
 tention of Leovigild, his fon Hermenigild had 
 eluded the vigilance of his guards, and efcaped 
 from Toledo. He had perhaps flattered hiai- 
 felf, when he furrendered to his father, that he 
 ibould have been foon reftored to his confidence 
 and affedlion ; but he found himfelf a prifoner 
 in the midft of a city which he might regard as 
 his future capital ; and expofed to the infuks, 
 and deadly machinations of his mother-in-law, 
 Goifvintha. He had no fooner regained his free- 
 dom, than he prepared to defend it by the fword. 
 Notwithftanding the emigration of the Vafcones, 
 tke Catholics of Spain were yet numerous ; the 
 cities of Merida, Cordova, and Seville, flrenu- 
 
 oufly
 
 BO HISTORY OF SPAIK. 
 
 oufly efpoufed the party of Hermenigild ; and he 
 invited to his affiflance the orthodox barbarians, 
 the Suevi, and the Franks ; but the formidable 
 confederacy was broken by the active vigour of 
 Leovigild ; the pafies of the Pyrenees were 
 flridly guarded againft the Franks ; the march 
 of the Suevi was intercepted by the Gothic king 
 in perfon ; and they were conftrained to retire 
 within their own limits. The fieges of Merida, 
 Seville, and Cordova, were fucceflively formed, 
 and prefTed with ardour. Their obftinacy long 
 protracted the civil war; and it was not until 
 they had experienced the extreme mifery of fa- 
 mine, that they confented to open their gates. 
 The walls of Cordova had been the lail refource 
 of Hermenigild ; and when that city furrendered, 
 he became the captive of an exafperated father. 
 Leovigild was (till mindful of that facred cha- 
 racter ; the life of his fon was fpared ; and he 
 was conveyed in chains to Tarragona. From 
 the place of his imprifonment he contrived to 
 keep up a dangerous correfpondence with the 
 court of Conftantinople ; his ambafiador was the 
 arch-bifhop Leander, who had been the inflru- 
 ment of his converfion ; he folicited the Romans, 
 who poffefled Africa, and a part of the Spamfh 
 coaft, to the conqueft of his native land ; his 
 negotiation reached the ears of Leovigild ; and 
 the reftlefs prince was removed from Tarragona, 
 
 to
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 81 
 
 to a flrong tower in the city of Seville ; an Arian 
 bilhop was fent to him, to perfuade him to em- 
 brace once more his former faith ; but the con- 
 ftancy of Hermenigild was inflexible; and he 
 refufed to accept the Arian communion as the 
 price of fafety and freedom. In his declining 
 years, Leovigild might be jealous of the future 
 fpiritual welfare of his people ; his holy fears 
 might be improved by the addrefs of Goif- 
 vintha ; he commanded the 'execution of his 
 Catholic fon ; if his rigour was fatal to the life, 
 it was favourable to the fame of Hermenigild ; 
 and the ftubborn rebel, and undutiful fon, was, 
 by the admiration of the orthodox clergy of his 
 age, tranflated into a martyr and a faint. 
 
 The tardy repentance of the parent was 
 drowned by the found of the trumpet. The 
 Suevi had often provoked and appealed his re- 
 fentment ; but the hour of clemency was pafled ; 
 and the monarch who had flernly refitted the 
 emotions of nature, was not likely to yield to the 
 fuggeftions of pity. Policy and ambition forti- 
 fied Leovigild againft the fubmiflive .profeffions 
 oftheSu^vi; and the latter, diftraded by do- 
 meftic faction, were incapable of withftanding 
 the torrent of the Goths. Their hereditary 
 prince, Eboric, had been depofed by the enter- 
 prifing genius of Andaca ; and the ufurper An- 
 daca was in his turn overthrown by the ftronger 
 
 VOL. i. G arm
 
 8z HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 arm of Leovigild. His head was fhaved; and 
 that refllefs fpirit which could not be fatisfied in 
 the condition of a fubject, was for ever confined 
 within the walls of a monaftery. But the power 
 of the Suevi in Spain was finally broken and ex- 
 tinguifhed ; Braga, their capital, averted the hor- 
 rors of an affault by a timely capitulution ; and, 
 with the exception of a few fortrefles on the 
 coaft, which were held by the Romans, the 
 whole Spanifh peninfula was united under the 
 dominion of Leovigild. 
 
 The conqucft of the Suevi of Spain, was the 
 laft of the military labours of Lcovigild. But it 
 was not only in war, that his adminiftration was 
 entitled to praife ; and in the hour of peace, his- 
 fubjedb confefled and dreaded his fevere and 
 equal juftice. He revifed the laws that had been 
 neglected from the death of Alaric ; repealed 
 fuch as had become ufelefs ; and promulgated 
 jiew ones, adapted to the temper and genius of 
 his people. He introduced difcipline into his 
 armies, and regularity into his finances ; and 
 watched with jealous care over the regal dig- 
 nity. He endeavoured to fubdue the bold and 
 free imagination of his fubjeds by a fludied 
 orientation ; and Leovigild was the firft of the 
 Vifigoth kings who was diftinguifhed by the 
 fplendour and magnificence of his robes; but 
 Whatever (late he might aflame in public, in pri- 
 
 vate
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 83 
 
 vate he maintained his wonted fimplicity; and 
 his frugality and temperance were the fources of 
 his wealth, and his vigour in old age. A ftiort 
 time before his death he is reported to have re- 
 conciled himfelf to the catholic church ; and 
 Leander, arch-bifhop of Seville, who had been 
 fo inftrumental in the converfion of the fon, is 
 faid to have influenced that of the father. The 
 rumour was readily embraced by the policy of 
 Recared ; but the improbable tale has been re- 
 jefted by the moft judicious hiftorians ; the rebel 
 ambaflador to the court of Conftantinople would 
 fcarcely have been chofen by the fovereign of the 
 Goths as his fpiritual director ; nor is there fuf- 
 ficient reafon to doubt but that Leovigild, in the 
 eighteenth year of a profperous reign, expired of 
 difeafe, in his capital of Toledo, in the firm and 
 fteady perfuafion of the truth of Arianifm. 
 
 G a Chapter
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 Chapter the Third. 
 
 Reign of Rccared.'The Catholic church is 
 
 Hisviftory over the Franks, Councils of Toledo. 
 His death. Reigns of Liuva, IViteric, and Gon- 
 demar. Accejjion of Sifebut. He perfecutes the 
 Jews. He is fucceeded by his fon Recur ed the fe- 
 cond. Death of Recared, and fuccejfion of his bro- 
 ther Suintilla. He expels the Imperialifts. He. 
 is dethroned by Sifenand. Election of Chintila to 
 the throne. Perfecution again/I the Jews renewed. 
 Reigns of Ttilga, Chindefuintho, and Recefu- 
 intho. Wamba is chofen king. His exploits. 
 He regulates the national councils. Triumph over 
 the Saracens by fea. Singular manner of his depo- 
 Jition. Ufurpation of Erviga. He refigns thefcep- 
 tre to his fon-in-latv Egiza. New code of 
 promulgated by the Vifigoths* 
 
 ' TT 
 
 A. p. 515. A H E prudence of Leovigild had 
 fmoothed the afcent to greatnefs for 
 Recared ; the Gothic nation refpedted their for- 
 mer obligation, and ratified it by acknowledging 
 
 thei*
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 8$ 
 
 their new monarch ; bat the edifice of Arianifm 
 which the deceafcd king had cemented by the 
 blood of Hermenigild, was overthrown by his 
 favourite fon and fucceffor, and on its ruins the 
 Catholic church was firmly eftabliflied through- 
 out Spain. 
 
 More cautious or more fcrupulous than his bro- 
 ther, Recared had in filence concealed the ortho- 
 dox faith he had imbibed ; and inflead of revolting 
 againft his father, he patiently expected the hour 
 of his death ; inftead of condemning his memory, 
 he pioufly fuppofed that the dying monarch had 
 abjured the errors of Arianifm, and recommended 
 to his fon the converfion of the Gothic nation. 
 An invatioo of the Franks delayed the execution 
 of the defign ; but no fooner had he repelled the 
 foreign enemies of the ftate, than he turned his 
 thoughts to the care and regulation of its reli- 
 gion. To accomplilh that falutary end, Reca- 
 red convened an aflembly of the Arian clergy and 
 nobles, declared himfelf a Catholic, and exhorted 
 them to imitate the example of their prince. The 
 laborious interpretations of doubtful texts, or 
 the curious purfuit of metaphyfical arguments, 
 would have excited an endlefs controverfy ; and 
 the monarch difcreetly propofed to his illiterate 
 audience two fubftantial and vifible proofs, the 
 teftimony of earth, and of heaven. The earth 
 had fubmitted to the Nicene fynod ; the Romans, 
 G 3 the
 
 86 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 the Barbarians, and the inhabitants of Spain, una- 
 nimoufly profefled the fame orthodox creed ; and 
 the Vifigoths refilled, almoft alone, the confent 
 of the Chriftian world. A fuperftitious age was 
 prepared to reverence, as the teftimony of Hea- 
 ven, the preternatural cures, which were perform- 
 ed by the fkill or virtue of the Catholic clergy ; 
 the baptifmal fonts of Oflat, fituated on the 
 northern banks of the Boetis, oppofite to Seville, 
 which were fpontaneoufly replenifhed each year on 
 the vigil of Chrift ; and the miraculous fhrine of 
 St. Martin of Tours, which had already converted 
 the Suevic prince, -and the people of Gallacia. 
 Thefe proofs of Recared were probably fupported 
 by an obedient and Catholic army ; the Arian 
 clergy appeared convinced ; and die general efta- 
 blimment of the Catholic religion in Spain Was 
 applauded and decreed. 
 
 Yet the prejudices of mankind are not eafily 
 eradicated ; and thofe of religion have been found 
 by experience more deeply rooted than any other. 
 The Arians in fecret lamented the fall of their 
 faith ; their indignation was probably increafed 
 by the infulting triumph of the victorious Catho- 
 lics ; and an open infurre<flion, and fecret confpi- 
 racy were the immediate consequences of their 
 difcontent ; the firft was broken by the vigour of 
 Recared and his generals ; the laft was difconcert- 
 ed by the timidity or treachery of the confpira- 
 
 tors.
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 87 
 
 tors. Yet the Arians foon after refumed their 
 projects of revenge and dominion ; and they were 
 fupported by the riches, and animated by the 
 exhortations of Goifvintha, the widow of Atha- 
 nagtlde, and Leovigild. 
 
 The perfecution of Hermenigild might have 
 recoiled on the head of Goifvintha, had not 
 Recarcd been influenced more by generofity than 
 refentment ; but the Gothic king refpected the wi- 
 dow of his two immediate predeceffors; he buried 
 every hoftile or jealous emotion in the affiduous 
 duty of a fon-in-law ; and his behaviour towards 
 Goifvintha was not only the admiration of his 
 own fubjects, but was the theme of praife among 
 the neighbouring nations. Could the heart of 
 the Arian princefs have been fufceptible of gra- 
 titude, it muft have been penetrated by the kind- 
 nefs of Recared ; but fhe had been accuftomed 
 only to indulge the iterner paffions of hatred and 
 revenge ; and every gift fee'med polluted by the 
 hand of the Catholic donor. She had confented 
 to embrace in appearance the orthodox faith ; and 
 Ihe was readily perfuaded by Ubiia, an Arian bi- 
 fiiop, and the aflbciate of her treafonable defigns, 
 that her guilty compliance could only be effaced 
 by the deftruction of him who had extorted it. 
 The confederates feized the moment when the 
 irruption of the Franks into the provinces of the 
 Vifigoths on the other fide the Pyrenees, embar- 
 G 4 raffed
 
 88 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 raffed the counfels of the court of Toledo. But 
 the intention of Goifvintha and Ubila were re- 
 vealed by the remorfe or perfidy of one of her 
 aflbciates ; rage or defpair at the detection of her 
 crime, extinguifhed the feeble remains of the life 
 of the Gothic queen j yet the fubfequent con- 
 duct of Recared proves that fhe Hill might have 
 hoped for pardon. He remembered with refpect 
 the holy charafter of Ubila ; and the Arian bi- 
 ihop in the mild fentence of exile, muft have 
 lamented his own guilt, and applauded the cle- 
 mency of his fovereign. 
 
 From the detection of domeftic treafon, the 
 attention of the Gothic king was recalled to 
 check the progrefs of foreign invafion. Sixty 
 thoufand Franks deluged the dominions of the 
 Vifigoths in Gaul, and had difplayed their hoftile 
 ftandards in the neighbourhood of Carcaffone, at 
 3 fmall diftance from Narbonne. As they in- 
 dulged in fecurity and intemperance, they were 
 fuddenly attacked and routed by a martial band of 
 Vifigoths ; and fix thoufand Franks were flaugh- 
 tered by three hundred Vifigoths. Such indeed 
 aire the partial and exaggerated accounts of feve- 
 ral of the Spanilh hiflorians ; it is poffible the 
 vanguard qf the army of Recared might amount 
 to no more, and the honour of the victory might 
 be afcribed to thofe who led the attack ; but we 
 learn from the teftimony of a more accurate wri- 
 ter,
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 89 
 
 ter, that the Franks were deluded by a feigned 
 flight to purfue with inconfiderate ardour ; and 
 that in the moment of tumultuous triumph they 
 were fuddcnly affailed by the frefh troops of their 
 adverfaries, and were incapable of rallying, or 
 retrieving the effects of their imprudence. 
 
 Inftead of being elated with his victory and 
 afpiring to new conquefts in Gaul, the king of the 
 Vifigoths, in the hour of his fuccefs confented to 
 negociate an honourable and equal treaty with the 
 Franks. The internal regulation of his kingdom 
 flill claimed his unremitting attention ; and the 
 firm eflablifhment of the Catholic church was the 
 conftant object of his peaceful labou s. While 
 ithe laurels of CarcaiTone were ftill i refli in the eyes 
 of his fubjedts, he fummoned a general council at, 
 Toledo ; the five metropolitans of Toledo, Seville, 
 Merida, Braga, and Tarragona, prefided in it ac- 
 cording to their refpettive feniority. The aflem- 
 bly was compofed of their fuffragan bilhops, who 
 appeared in perfon, or by their proxies, and a place 
 was affigned to the mod holy, or moft opulent of 
 the Spanifh abbots. Thq {lability of the Catholic 
 church was fecured by new canons or decrees, 
 and the moderation and wifdom of the aflembly 
 gradually recommended it to the fupreme influence 
 in the adminiftration of Spain. From the reign 
 of Recared to the irruption of the Moors, fixteen 
 Rational councils vyere fucceflively convened; and 
 
 the
 
 9 o HISTORY OF SPAIN*. 
 
 the regular difcipline of the church introduced 
 peace and order into the government of the ftate. 
 During the three firft days of the convocation, as 
 long as they agitated the ecclefiaftical queflions 
 of doctrine and fubjedtion, the profane laity were 
 excluded from their debates, which were con- 
 ducted however with decent folemnity. But on 
 the morning of the fourth day, the doors were 
 thrown open for the entrance of the great officers 
 of the palace, the dukes and counts of the pro- 
 vinces, the judges of the cities, and the gothic 
 nobles ; and the decrees of heaven were ratified 
 by the confent of the people. The fame rules 
 were obferved in the provincial affemblies, the 
 annual fynods which were empowered to hear 
 complaints, and to redrefs grievances ; and a legal 
 government was fupported by the prevailing in- 
 fluence of the Spanilh clergy. The bifliops might 
 labour to exalt the mitre above the crown ; yet 
 the national councils of Toledo, in which the free 
 fpirit of the Barbarians was tempered and guided 
 by epifcopal policy, eftablifhed fome prudent 
 laws for the common benefit of the king and the 
 people. 
 
 The vacancy of the throne was fupplied by the 
 choice of the bifhop and the palatines ; and, after 
 the failure of the line of Alaric, the regal dignity 
 was flill limited to the pure and noble blood of 
 the Goths. The clergy, who anointed their law- 
 ful
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 91 
 
 ful prince, always recommended, and fometimes 
 practifed, the duty of allegiance; and thefpiritual 
 cenfures were denounced on the heads of the im- 
 pious fubjects who fhould prefnme to refift his 
 authority, confpire againfl his life, or violate, by 
 an indecent union, the chaftity of his widow. But 
 the monarch himfelf, when he afcended the 
 throne, was bound by a reciprocal oath to God 
 and his people, that he would faithfully execute 
 his important truft. The real or imaginary faults 
 of his adminiftration were fubject to the controul 
 of a powerful ariftocracy ; and the bilhops and 
 palatines were guarded by a fundamental privilege 
 that they fhould not be degraded, imprifoned, 
 tortured, -nor punilhed with death, exile, or con- 
 fifcation, unlefs by the free and public judgment 
 of their peers. 
 
 After the converfion of Recared had removed 
 the prejudices of the Catholics, the coafts, both 
 of the ocean and Mediterranean, were flill pofleffed 
 by the eastern emperor, who fecretly excited the 
 people to reject the yoke of the Barbarians, and 
 to aflert the name and dignity of Roman citizens. 
 Their intrigues provoked the refentment of Re- 
 cared ; and they were taught by the arm of a 
 warrior to refpecl in future the fanctity of their 
 treaties. But the moderation of the Gothic king 
 was fatisfied with protecting his dominions from 
 infult, without afpiring to extend them by con- 
 
 queft.
 
 9 * HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 quefl. He (lopped in the middle of his career of 
 victory ; he folicited Gregory the Great, who had 
 been raifed, both by his liberality, and his rude 
 but pathetic eloquence, with the holy title of 
 pope, to the independent adminiftration of the 
 defolated city of Rome, to negociate a new treaty 
 between the Greeks of Conftantinople and the 
 Goths of Spain, The fame conditions which had 
 exifted between Juftinian and Athanagilde were 
 the bafis of the alliance between Maurice and 
 Reca-red ; and if the cautious Spaniards might 
 applaud the prudence of their fovereign who deli- 
 vered his country from the calamities of war, the 
 more daring fpirit of the Vifigoths accufed the 
 patience of their prince whofe forbearance fuffered 
 them flill to be infulted by the fight of the rival 
 banners of imperial power. 
 
 Yet however Recared might be defirous of 
 peace, when it was no longer to be maintained on 
 juft and honourable terms, he invariably aflerted 
 the qualities of fortitude and vigour in war. The 
 Gafcons might remember with fecret indignation 
 the perfecution they had fuftained under the ad- 
 miniftration of Leovigild. But the acceffion of 
 a-Catholic king muft have extinguiihed their re- 
 ligious enmity ; and it was the defirc of reclaim- 
 ing their fertile fields on the fouthern banks of 
 the Ebro, which impelled them acrofs the Py- 
 renees to the invafion of Spain. They were en- 
 countered
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 93 
 
 countered and defeated by Recared ; but the 
 mercy of the vi<ftor was again difplayed ; and the 
 Gafcons who had efcaped the fword on the field 
 of battle, were permitted to repafs in fafety the 
 Pyrenean mountains. 
 
 The reign of Recared, though characterized by 
 juilice, by wifdom, and firmnefs, was gloomy and 
 tempeftuous. The Arian clergy neither defired 
 to forget nor to forgive the humiliation of their 
 fedt ; and the name of Argimond, who was cham- 
 berlain to the king, ftamps the third confpiracy 
 againft Recared. The clemency of the monarch 
 was unequal to thefe repeated inftances of revolt 
 and ingratitude; he might feel as a man, but he 
 punifhed as a fovereign ; the head of the traitor 
 Argimond was fhaved, a mark of the deepeft in- 
 famy among the Vifigoths and Barbarians ; he 
 was publicly whipped, his right hand cut off, and 
 on a mule he was expofcd to the derifion of the 
 city of Toledo ; his fufferings were terminated by 
 his execution ; and the aflbciates of his defigns 
 were condemned to expiate their guilt by death. 
 This laft act of neceffary feverity A. D. 610, 
 clofed the adminiftration and life of 6l2 * 
 Recared ; three fons by different and doubtful mo- 
 thers were the iffue of his marriage or his amours. 
 The pretenfions of primogeniture were acknow- 
 ledged by the reft in the election of Luiva ; but his 
 fubjects had fcarce time to contemplate with plea- 
 
 fure
 
 94 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 fure the opening virtues of their new monarch, be- 
 fore he was defpoiled of his crown, his liberty, and 
 his life. The particulars of the confpiracy are in- 
 volved in obfcurity ; but the author of it was Wi- 
 teric, a Gothic nobleman, whofe treafonable ambi- 
 tion had been pardoned by the father, and was now 
 fatal to the fon. The murderer ufurped the 
 throne ; but he was permitted only to enjoy a fliort 
 time the harveft of his guilt. The indignation of 
 his Catholic fubjects was inflamed by thefufpicion 
 that he had privately embraced, and intended to 
 reftore the herefy of Arianifm ; he was fuddenly 
 attacked and aflaffinated in his palace; and his 
 mangled body, after having been expofed to the 
 infults of the populace, was thrown amongft thofe 
 of the common malefactors. 
 
 Of the Gothic chiefs whom refentment for the 
 fate of Luiva, or concern for the Catholic church 
 had excited to the punifliment of Witeric, the 
 name of Gondemar was moft diftinguiflied. His 
 pious zeal was confeffed in a national aflembly 
 by the orthodox clergy ; and the crown was the 
 tribute of their gratitude. His virtues fanctioned 
 their choice. The imperialifts who had attempted 
 to avail themfelves of the late revolution, and to 
 extend their narrow territories, were broken by 
 his valour, and driven within their former boun- 
 daries ; but whilft his age and abilities promifed a 
 long and profperous reign to his people, he was 
 
 feized
 
 HISTORY OF SPAItf, $5 
 
 leized and carried of by an epidemic diilemper, 
 the fecond year after his elevation to royalty. 
 
 The fuffrages of the Goths were A.D. 612, 
 united by the merits of Sifebut, and 
 the fceptre was again placed in the hand of art 
 hero. He refumed or furpailed the defigns of 
 his predeceflbr ; and afpired to the glory of ex- 
 pelling the Greeks of Conftantinople from Spain. 
 After quelling fome domeflic commotions in 
 Afturia, he marched in perfon to the conteft ; 
 in two decifive engagements the forces of the 
 imperialifts were routed and almofl deftroyed ; 
 aui\id ft the carnage of the field the generous 
 and compaffionate mind of Sifebut lamented 
 the confequences of his own victory. The im* 
 paffioned exclamation, " Unhappy man that I ani 
 " to fee fo much blood fpilt through my means!" 
 will be the fubject of more juft admiration than. 
 his martial atchievements, however fplendid ; 
 even thefe may be confidered as reftoring the in- 
 dependence of his country. The throne of Con- 
 flantinople was Shaken by the formidable hofts of 
 the Perfians and the Avars ; and Heraclius, op- 
 prefled by the great king and the chagan, was in- 
 capable of affording any fuccour to his fubje&s 
 in Spain. He readily fubfcribed a peace that was 
 dictated by Sifebut ; the imperial forts and terri- 
 tories on the coafts of the Mediterranean were 
 re-united under the authority of the Vifigoths ; 
 
 and
 
 96 HISTORY OF SPAlM. 
 
 and on the fide of the Atlantic ocean the preteri- 
 fions of the eaftern empire were compreffed within 
 the modern province of Algarve. 
 
 The triumph of Sifebut over the enemies of 
 his country had been chaftened by pity, but his 
 heart was fortified againft the cries and lamenta- 
 tions of the Jews, by fuperftition. If we may cre- 
 dit the aflertions of that miferable people, they 
 had been firft introduced into Spain by the fleets 
 of Solomon, and the amis of Nebuchadnezzar. 
 They had been multiplied in that country by the 
 policy of Hadrian, who is reported to have tranf- 
 ported thither forty thoufand families of the tribe 
 ofjudah, arid ten thoufand of the tribe of Benja- 
 min. The wealth which they accumulated by 
 trade, and the management of the finances, invited 
 the avarice of their mailers ; and they might be 
 opprefled without danger, as they had loft the 
 ufe and even the remembrance of arms ; yet the 
 general character of Sifebut allows us to fuppofe 
 that he was rather influenced in his perfecution 
 by religious, than avaricious motives. Ninety 
 thoufand Jews to preferve their wealth or lives, 
 confented to receive the facrament of baptifm ; 
 the fortunes of the moft obdurate infidels were 
 confifcated, their bodies tortured ; and it feems 
 doubtful whether they were permitted to abandon 
 their native country. The exceflive zeal of the 
 Catholic king was moderated, even by the clergy 
 
 of
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 97 
 
 of Spain, who folemnly pronounced an incon- 
 fiftent fentence ; that the facraments ftiould not 
 be forcibly impofed ; but that the Jews who had 
 been baptized, fliould be conftrained for the ho- 
 nour of the church to perievere in the external 
 practice of a religion which they difbelieved and 
 deteited. 
 
 The perfecution of the Jews is the only error 
 which tarnimes the glory of the reign of Sifebut. 
 Though he might deteft the calamities of war, 
 the glory or interefts of his nation prompted him 
 to carry his arms beyond the natural confines of 
 his kingdom. He pafled the ftraits of Gibraltar 
 and reduced the fortrefs of Ceuta, and the city 
 of Tangier. He had fcarce returned to Spain 
 before he was feized by a mortal difeafe. And the 
 Vifigoth writers of a fuperftitious age, who have 
 pafled with indifference or dwelt with fatisfadtion 
 on the maflacre of fo many thoufand Jews, have 
 *fcribed his death to the judgment of heaven, for 
 his having prefumed to depofe the profligate but 
 orthodox bifhop of Barcelona. 
 
 The renown of Sifebut fecured the A> D> 6ait 
 tranquil fucceflion of his fon Recared 63I< 
 the Second ; but the young prince, who is fup- 
 pofed to have refembled his father, had fcarcel)" 
 received the crown before he expired, and the 
 national council was fummoned to a new eleftion. 
 Jn an affembly which confifted of Catholic clergy, 
 
 VOL. i. H the
 
 9 8 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 the memory of Recared the Firft was ftill revered j 
 and their pious gratitude was difplayed in raifmg 
 to the vacant throne Suintilla, the fecond fon of 
 that monarch. The valour of Suintilla as a fub- 
 jec"t, had been approved againft the rebellious 
 Afturians; and in the condition of a king, it was 
 not fuffered to languilh in the luxury of the pa- 
 lace. A few months had hardly been devoted to 
 the works of peace, and the revifal of the laws, 
 before the formidable irruption of the Gafcons 
 fummoned the new monarch to arms. The pro- 
 vince of Bifcay and the kingdom of Navarre were 
 blafted by their prefence ; and their hoftile pro- 
 grefs to the ftream of the Ebro was marked by 
 devaftation. On the banks of that river they 
 were aftonilhed and awed by the prefence of the 
 Gothic king, who at the head of a numerous and 
 difciplined army had prefled forwards to the re- 
 lief of his people. Difmayed by his activity and 
 vigour the Gafcons endeavoured to retreat ; in * 
 tumultuous march they reached the foot of the 
 Pyrenees ; but the pafles of thofe mountains were 
 already occupied by the forces of Spain which had 
 aflembled in their rear. Their camp was aflailed 
 by famine, and clouded by defpair ; their deputies 
 proftrated themfelves at the feet of Suintilla, con- 
 feffed their temerity, and implored his clemency. 
 The companion of the king might induce him to 
 fpare the effufion of blood ; and his prudence muft 
 
 have
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 99 
 
 Iiave fuggefled the uncertainty of battle, and 
 the viciflitudes of war. A fafe retreat was al- 
 lowed to the Gafcons; but it was purchafed 
 by the reftoration of the fpoil they had ac- 
 quired ; their march acrofs the Pyrenees was 
 gently prefled by the fquadrons of Spain ; and a 
 tfrong fortrefs was erected by the caution of Suin- 
 tilla to prevent their return. The ground OQ 
 which it arofe is varioufly fuppofed to be covered 
 by the modern town of Fontarabia, and the city 
 ..of Vnlladolid ; but the fituation of the former on 
 the coaft of the fea, and the edge of the Pyrenees, 
 marks the fpot which nature neglected, and which 
 art has conflrudted as the barrier of Spain againft 
 the ambition of France. 
 
 Within the narrow limits of the province or 
 kingdom of Algarve, the imperialifls had lamented 
 their decreafing influence and waining ftrength ; 
 yet even the fenfe of the danger which impended 
 over them could not fufpend their domeftic diflen- 
 fions. Their little territory was divided between 
 two governors,whofe jealous and rival fway diftract- 
 ed their own councils, and invited the arms of 
 their enemies. If the hoftile enfigns of Suintilla en- 
 forced their tardy union, their raihnefs precipitated 
 their deftruction. They ventured to quit their 
 fortifications, and to encounter the fuperior num- 
 bers of the Goths in an open field of battle ; a 
 bloody defeat was the confequence of their pre- 
 ' , Ha fumption ;
 
 163 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 fumption ; and Suintilla improved the advantage 
 with ardour and dexterity. Mod of the imperial 
 fortrefles were furprifed or fubmitted. A ne\v 
 governor who was difpatched by Heraclius to re- 
 trieve the errors of his predecefibrs, found fcarce 
 any thing left to defend. Yet the Grecian band 
 that he commanded might have remembered in 
 the hour of battle that they once had been diftin- 
 guifhed by the name of Romans. The effects of 
 military pride or defpair were eluded by the ad- 
 drefs of Suintilla. He proclaimed his unwilling- 
 nefs to deflroy fo many gallant men, whofe valour 
 ftill might be ufeful to their country. He offered 
 them a fafe retreat, and veflels to tranfport them 
 to Conftantinople ; in the interval of negociation 
 the ardour of the foldiers evaporated ; the love 
 of life again revived in their bofoms ; their gene- 
 ral probably participated in their emotions, or 
 yielded to their wifh.es ; he fubfcribed the treaty, 
 embarked his followers, and the peninfula of Spain 
 was united under the fole authority of Suintilla. 
 
 A grateful nation liftened with alacrity to the 
 requefl of their victorious monarch. The fon of 
 Suintilla was by the fuffrages of the Gothic nobles 
 aflbciated in the royal dignity of his father. But 
 the very meafure which promifed to eftablifli more 
 firmly the throne of Suintilla, and to tranfmit it 
 to his pofterity, was the caufe of its rapid fubver- 
 fioa. Succefs had either changed or revealed his 
 
 natural
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 101 
 
 natural difpofition ; and the counfels of his confort 
 and his brother Gailan united to inflame his pride, 
 and ftimulate his rapacity. Haughty, voluptuous, 
 and avaricious, from the protector he became the 
 fcourge of his people ; the renown of his former 
 achievements was flill remembered with terror ; 
 and he might long have trampled on the patience 
 of a proltrate nation, had not compaffion or ambi- 
 tion excited Sifenand, who was intruded with 
 the government of the Gothic territories in Gaul, 
 to erect the flandard of revolt. Thofe territories 
 could furnifh but a ilender band of warriors for 
 the relief or invafion of Spain ; and the liberal 
 promifes of Sifenand prevailed on Dagobert, the 
 king of France, to contribute his aid to the over- 
 throw of the tyrant. At the head of a promif- 
 cuous army of Goths and Franks, Sifenand crofled 
 the Pyrenees; and Suintilla with the approach of 
 danger refuming his wonted vigour, advanced to 
 engage him in the neighbourhood of Saragofla. 
 But he was deferted by his troops, his courtiers, 
 and his brother Gailan; he heard the name of 
 Sifenand proclaimed in his camp; and abandoning 
 all hopes of refiftance, by an hafty flight he endea- 
 voured to preferve his life. 
 
 With liberal gifts and a promife to A . D . 6 3I> 
 
 fulfil the conditions he had fubfcribed, 635 * 
 
 Sifenand difmifled the Franks who repafled the 
 
 Pyrenees; and flrong in the affections of his coun- 
 
 H 3 trymen,
 
 io2 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 trymen, purfued his peaceful progrefs to the royal 
 city of Toledo. He was there folemnly acknow- 
 ledged, and anointed as king ; but the life of 
 Suintilla was guarded by the memory of his former 
 fervices ; and the arm of refentment was checked 
 by gratitude. 
 
 The fuccour of Dagobert had been purchafed 
 by the promife of a fountain of maffy gold, the 
 gift of the patrician JEtius to Torrifmond the king 
 of the Vifigoths, when the valour of the latter 
 wrefted the victory from the Scythian hoft and 
 their celebrated monarch Attila, in the bloody 
 plains of Chalons. It had acquired a double 
 value with the Goths, as the facred teftimony of 
 their glory ; but Sifenand had hardly feated him- 
 felf in the throne before the golden fountain was 
 demanded by the ambafTadors of Dagobert ; the 
 menaces of the king of France prevailed over the 
 murmurs of his own fubjects, and the coftly me- 
 morial of Gothic fame was delivered to the French 
 envoys. The indignation of the Goths was not 
 confined to vain complaints ; the ambafladors 
 were way-laid, attacked in their return, and com- 
 pelled to furrender the precious object of their 
 miffion. A long negociation enfued ; and the re- 
 fentment of Dagobert was at length appeafed, and 
 the wifhes of the Goths gratified, by the payment 
 of a fum of money equal in value to the monu- 
 ment of the courage of their anceliors. 
 
 Jt
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 103 
 
 It was not until three years after Sifenand had 
 exercifed the regal authority, that in a national 
 council at Toledo, the depofition of Suintilla was 
 formally confirmed, and his pofterity with that of 
 the perfidious Gailan deemed incapable of ever 
 afcending the Gothic throne. Two years after- 
 wards thedeath of Sifenand himfelf fummoned the 
 Gothic clergy and nobles to exert their judgment 
 in the choice of a new fovereign. 
 
 The name of Chintila is firft re- A. D. 63*. 
 vealed by his promotion to' the throne ; 639 * 
 and his reign of fix years is only marked by his 
 edict for the total expulfion of the Jews from 
 Spain. It is not eafy to difcern at this diftance 
 what event provoked the fury of the king and 
 the people againft that unhappy race. But it is 
 probable that the ufurious advantage which they 
 might derive from their wealth, expofed them 
 to general hatred. The royal decree of Chintila 
 which commanded all his fubjects to profefs the 
 Chriftian faith, was the fignal of perfecution and 
 exile to the Jews. Yet the Goths were unwilling 
 to deprive themfelves of the induftrious flaves, 
 over whom they might exercife a lucrative op- 
 preflion. The Jews ftill continued in Spain under 
 the weight of the civil and ecclefiaflical laws, 
 which in the fame country have been faithfully 
 tranfcribed in the code of the Inquifition. The 
 Gothic kings and bifhops at length difcovered 
 H 4 that
 
 io 4 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 that injuries will produce hatred, and that ha- 
 tred will find the opportunity of revenge. A 
 nation the fecret or profefled enemies of Chrifti- 
 anity frill multiplied in fervitude and diftrefs ; 
 and the intrigues of the Jews promoted the rapid 
 fuccefs of the Arabian conquerors. 
 A. D. 639, Yet however one feet might com- 
 
 6?2> plain of the feverity of Chintila, we 
 may fuppofe from the vows of his fubjects for 
 his life and profperity, that the general tenor of 
 his adminiflration was mild and beneficial. Even 
 when he was dead, and flattery was no more, 
 they acknowledged his virtues in filling the va- 
 cant throne with his fon Tulga. The feeble 
 youth appears to have been incapable of fuflain- 
 ing the weight of royalty ; his character pre- 
 fents a blamelefs void, unmarked by vice or 
 virtue; the bold and refllefs Goths required the 
 i way of a more . firm and nervous arm ; by a 
 confederacy of the principal nobles, the fceptre 
 was transferred from the hand of Tulga to that 
 of Chindifuintho ; the life of the former was re- 
 fpected ; but the ceremony of fhaving his head 
 precluded him according to the cuftom of the 
 Barbarians, from re-afcending the throne ; and 
 an obfcure and tranquil exiftence was permitted 
 him within the walls of a monaftery. 
 
 Age had not chilled the ambition or vigour 
 of Chindifuintho ; and the new monarch vin- 
 dicated
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 105 
 
 dicated in arms his pretenfions to the crown. 
 The chiefs who prefcmed to oppofe his election 
 were crulhed in the field, or executed on the 
 fcaffold ; his authority was recognized in a gene- 
 ral council at Toledo ; his fon Recifuintho was 
 received as the partner of, and the fucceflbr to, 
 his power; and after a reign of eleven years, 
 diftinguiflied equally by the praife of the warlike, 
 the learned, and the pious, the death of Chin- 
 difuintho dropped the reins of government into 
 the hands of his fon. 
 
 During the life of his father the abilities of 
 Recifuintho had been difplayed in quelling a 
 domeflic infurrection, and in chaflifing the Gaf- 
 cons who had again paiTed the Pyrenees ; and on 
 his acceflion to the undivided adminiflration of 
 Spain, thofe who had been intimidated by the va- 
 lour of the prince, were conciliated by the ad- 
 drefs and clemency of the king. Twenty-four 
 years his fubjedts felt and applauded his wifdom, 
 his juftice, and his moderation ; and his deceafc 
 at the expiration of that term fummoned them 
 to the melancholy and arduous tafk of providing 
 a fucceflbr, who might not fuffer from the re- 
 membrance of Recifuintho's virtues. 
 
 The fuperior talents and qualities of A. D. 672. 
 Wamba united in his favour the fuf- 68o> 
 frsges of his Gothic peers ; but the power which 
 
 was
 
 io6 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 was theambitious hope of many was flighted by the 
 only perfon who appeared worthy of it. Wamba 
 long refufed to accede to the wiflies of the aflem- 
 bly ; and. his fubfequent conduct attefts the fm- 
 cericy of his reluctance. He yielded to the pa- 
 triotic reproach, that he preferred his own peace 
 to the intereft of his country ; but when he con- 
 fented to wear the crown, he defired the council 
 to recollect, that he complied with their, and 
 not his own, inclinations. He had fcarce received 
 it before he was fenfible of the cares to which it 
 expofcd him. The turbulent inhabitants of 
 "Navarre and Afturia refufed their contributions, 
 and armed againft the flate ; and acrofs the Py- 
 renees, Hilderic, Count of Nifmes, afiumed the 
 enfigns of royalty, and afpired with the title of 
 king, to the independent government of the Go- 
 thic provinces of Gaul. While Wamba prepared 
 to march againft the rebels of Navarre and Afturia, 
 he directed Paul, a veteran and fkilful general, to 
 pafs the Pyrenean mountains, and reduce the 
 revolted Hilderic. The abilities of Paul were 
 worthy of, but his fidelity was unequal to, the 
 important truft. In a fecret council of the 
 chiefs of Catalonia, his ambition was inflamed 
 by the aflurances of their fupport. The timid 
 Hilderic flirunk at his approach, and confented 
 to rank himfelf among his dependents ; the city 
 of Narbonne received him as her fovereign ; and 
 
 his
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN 1 . 107 
 
 his ufurpation was protected by the formidable 
 alliance and fuccours of the Franks. 
 
 It was on the frontiers of Navarre that Wamba 
 was informed of the perfidy of Paul, and the 
 revolt of Catalonia. His officers advifed htm to 
 return to Toledo, and arTemble the flrength 
 of the Gothic nation. But he rejected their di- 
 latory counfels ; and his reluctance in afcending 
 the throne was not more fignal than his refolution 
 in the pofleffion of it. Depending lefs on the 
 number of his forces than the celerity of his mo- 
 tions, he penetrated into and laid wafte the re- 
 bellious countries of Afturia and Navarre. His 
 rapid and deftructive progrefs ftruck the inhabi- 
 tants with terror; they implored his clemency; 
 and their pardon was fealed by a folemn oath to 
 arm their martial youth in his defence. Strong 
 in this reinforcement, Wamba haftily traverfed 
 Arragon, entered Catalonia, prefented himfelf be- 
 forej and was received into Barcelona, and halted 
 before the walls of Gironne. Paul might either 
 have confided in his own a&ivity, or have been 
 unwilling to expofe that city to the calamities of 
 a fiege, when he inftructed the bifhop to ac- 
 knowledge of the competitors the firft who ap- 
 peared before the gates. Three days repofe re- 
 cruited the flrength of the followers of Wamba ; 
 and in four divifions his army attempted and 
 forced the pafles of the Pyrenees, and united 
 
 under
 
 ic8 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 tinder the walls of Narbonne. The garrifon of 
 Narbonne were animated by the prefence of Wi- 
 timir, the friend and favourite general of Paul ; 
 and in the caufe of rebellion they difplayed a va- 
 lour the moft obftinate ; the gates were at length 
 burft open, and the walls thrown down by the 
 impetuous afiailants ; a church was the laft re- 
 treat of Witimir ; but he entered it as a warrior 
 and not as a fuppliant ; yet he was incapable of 
 obtaining the honourable death he fought; he 
 was ftunned by the fragment of a beam ; was 
 taken alive, and publicly fcourged through the 
 flreets ; but the ignominious punimment was the 
 immediate effects of the refentment of the lieu- 
 tenants of Wamba, who, however he might him- 
 felf fecretly approve, was far from publicly au- 
 thorizing their conduct. 
 
 Within the walls of Nifmes, Paul anticipated 
 the confequences of unfuccefsful rebellion. But 
 inftead of confuming the hours in vain lamenta- 
 tions, he employed them in preparations for a 
 vigorous defence. The fortifications were re- 
 paired, the magazines replenilhed, and the fpi- 
 rits of his followers revived by affurances that 
 a numerous hoft of Franks and Germans were 
 ready to march to their relief. But if fuch 
 were really the hopes of Paul, they were difap- 
 pointcd by the ardour of the generals of Wamba. 
 The machines which had lately overthrown the 
 
 walls
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 109 
 
 \valls of Narbonne, battered with inceffant fury 
 thofe of Nifmes ; the French mercenaries who 
 had been allured into the fervice of Paul, con- 
 fulted their fafety rather than their honour ; they 
 urged the impofiibility of further refiftance ; and 
 their impatience kindled a civil war within the 
 diftracted city. The beiiegers improved the op- 
 portunity ; fcaled the ramparts ; and difplayed 
 throughout the flreets the royal banner. The 
 ample fpace of an ancient amphitheatre received 
 the mod defperate or the moft faithful of the ad- 
 herents of Paul, and refilled for fome time the 
 tide of conqueft. The interval was improved 
 by negociation ; and Wamba to the holy media- 
 tion of Argaband arch-bilhop of Narbonne, 
 granted the lives of the namelefs crowd, and only 
 cxcepted from his promifed mercy, Paul, and the 
 moft guilty leaders of the rebellion. 
 
 The feelings of an injured monarch might have 
 juilified the inftant execution of the perfidious 
 rebel. But on every occafion the refentment of 
 Wamba was reflricted by his regard for juftice. 
 In the prefence of the army he demanded of Paul 
 whether he had experienced from him any mark, 
 of oppreffion or contempt ; the reply of the cap- 
 tive acknowledged the favour and confidence of 
 his fovereign had been ever extended to him, and 
 accufed his own ingratitude. The judges were 
 called upoa to pronounce the fentence of the law 
 
 againft
 
 no HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 againft traitors, and Paul and his aflbciates were 
 condemned to death. The decifion was foftened 
 by the clemency of Wamba ; and the rebels were 
 permitted to lament- their fortune, or implore the 
 forgivenefs of their crime in the perpetual feclu- 
 fion of a monaftery. 
 
 After vifiting and confirming the tranquillity 
 of the Gothic provinces of Gaul, Wamba re- 
 paffed the Pyrenees, and entered in triumph the 
 city of Toledo. The minds of the vulgar had 
 been dazzled by his fuccefs in war, but the 
 judgment of the more fagacious ftamped the me- 
 rit of his regulations in peace. The luxury of 
 the clergy, the frequent, perhaps the invidious, 
 complaint 6f every age and clime, excited the at- 
 tention of the Gothic king ; and in a general 
 aflembly at Toledo, new canons were promul- 
 gated to reftore the ancient fimplicity of the 
 church. It is not probable that the meetings of 
 the unpolifhed conquerors of Spain were con- 
 dueled with the greateft regard to decorum ; and 
 the firft law of the affembly of Toledo was cal- 
 culated to reprefs the tumultuous clamours, or 
 licentious harangues which too frequently dif- 
 graced it ; the words are remarkable : " Such 
 " as are members of this, or any other council, 
 " ihall behave with the utmoft modefty, and 
 :f fpeak with the greateft decency, obferving at 
 " other times a perfect filence, and, by a ftria 
 
 " atten-
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. i.it 
 
 " attention teftifying their refpect of the place 
 " they are in. Whenever they are called upon 
 '* for their opinions, they ihall deliver themfelves 
 " with much circumfpection, without any va~ 
 " nation from truth, without any-farcafms, with- 
 " out needlefs repetitions that create confufion, 
 " and without indulging an unfeafonable wit 
 " amidft ferious and important bufmefs," The 
 regulation may have originated among an unci- 
 vilized people, and in a period of barbai iim ; 
 but the polite legiflators of modern I^ance and 
 Britain, muft confefs it neither unworthy of, nor 
 unneceffary in, their own times. 
 
 The authority of Wamba had been vindicated 
 from a powerful and perfidious rebel, and the 
 glory of his country was afferted againfl a formi- 
 dable and infidel enemy. In the rapid growth 
 of lefs than a century, the faith of Mahomet from 
 the diftant region of Arabia had overihadowed 
 the provinces of the eafl ; had penetrated into 
 and fubdued the greateft part of Africa ; and from 
 the ports of that continent their piratical fquadrons 
 had menaced or ravaged the coaft of Andalufia. 
 Their progrefs had alarmed the declining age of 
 Recifuintho ; and it excited the jealoufy and war- 
 like preparations of Wamba. To protect the re- 
 pofe of Spain, and to chaftife the pride of the fero- 
 cious Saracens, a numerous fleet was diligently 
 prepared by the Gothic king ; and though the 
 
 Vifi-
 
 H2 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 Vifigoths, accuftomed only to combat at land, 
 might at firft regard the new theatre of action with 
 terror, they foon vanquilhed their fears, and from 
 a variety of defultory conflicts, returned home with 
 fpoil and victory. The bold and perfevering dif- 
 polition of the Saracens allowed them not readily 
 to renounce the hopes of plunder and conqueft; 
 their fquadrons were collected ; and when they 
 reviewed the prodigious number of their veflels, 
 they might juftly advance in the full confidence 
 of certain fuccefs. From the coaft of Andalufia 
 might be beheld the hoftile enfigns of Chrift and 
 Mahomet ; from the former renown and fubfe- 
 quent achievements of the Mahometans, we may 
 be allured that the Chriflians did not exult in a 
 bloodlefs victory ; but the proof of it was as deci- 
 five as glorious. Two hundred and feventy veflels 
 of the Saracens were towed in triumph into the 
 ports of Spain. The muffelman pride was hum- 
 bled ; their naval ftrength broken ; the conqueft 
 of Spain was for fome time abandoned ; and had 
 the fucceflbrs of Wamba imitated the vigour and 
 vigilance of that prince, their country, fecure in 
 its natural fituation, might have braved the hofl 
 of the faithful, and never have been bowed be- 
 neath the Mahometan yoke. 
 
 But the kingdom of the Vifigoths was rent by 
 the kindred paflions of jealoufy, of refentment, 
 and ambition. The reign of Wamba had been 
 
 diflin-
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 113 
 
 cHftinguifhed by a feries of great and illuftrious 
 actions ; it had been acknowledged as the sera of 
 wifdom and juftice. Yet amidft the affedion of 
 his fubjects and the admiration of his neigh- 
 bours, the king of the Vifigoths was deprived of 
 the crown his virtues had adorned. It might na- 
 turally have been expe&ed that the reign of the 
 conqueror of Paul and the Saracens could only 
 have expired with his life ; that he either periftied 
 by the dagger of an aflaffin, or was overwhelmed 
 by an hoftile confederacy of rival fovereigns. 
 Yet the fate of Wamba is not related without 
 hefitation, and the concurrence of various hifto- 
 rians ; nor can it be read without exciting a fmile. 
 A ftrong opiate was adminiftered to him by the 
 treachery of a domeftic, and as he laboured beneath 
 the effects of the ftupifying potion, the opportunity 
 was improved by Erviga, an ambitious Goth who 
 boafted his defcent from Athanegilde ; his long 
 and filver locks, the fymbol of his dignity, were 
 fevered by the daring hand of Erviga ; his head 
 was lhaved ; and Wamba, for he was a king no 
 more, awoke to the full fenfe of his injury. He 
 diflembled his furprife ; aflumed the language of 
 Voluntary retirement; and ftifled the emotions of 
 revenge to promote the tranquillity of Spain. He 
 recommended as his fucceffor the traitor who had 
 defrauded him of royalty ; and within the holy 
 walls of a monaftery heard, without exulting in, 
 VOL. i. J the
 
 n 4 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 the abdication of Erviga. In that peaceful re- 
 treat he could reflect without remoiie or regret on 
 the meafures he had purfued, and the ftation he 
 had occupied; the laft years of his life were 
 certainly the moft happy, though not the moft 
 fplendid ; and the indifference with which he bore 
 the lofs of a crown, proved how truly he was wor- 
 thy to pofiefs it. 
 
 A. D. 680 T ne teftimony of Wamba, united 
 6 93- the fuffrages of the national council 
 of Toledo, in favour of Erviga ; and a kingdom 
 that had been obtained by treachery, was governed 
 with juftice and wifdom. Some fufpicions had 
 cfcaped of his treafon towards Wamba ; but the 
 murmurs of the people were appealed by the ad- 
 drefs of their fovereign, who, to extinguiih the 
 embers of faction, neglected the pretenfions of his 
 own fons ; and with the hand of his daughter 
 Cixilona, called the nephew and heir of Wamba 
 to the certain fucceffion of the throne. In the 
 dark and confufed legends of the Spanifh hiftorians, 
 fome words are dropped of dome-flic infurrection ; 
 and a victory of Erviga is varioufly fuppofed to 
 have been over the Gafcons who invaded Spain, 
 or the Vifigoths who revolted in Gaul. But this 
 appears to have been the only inftance of foreign 
 or civil war ; and during the eight years that he 
 held the fceptre of Spain, that country was pre- 
 ferved in peace and fecurity by his vigour and 
 
 prudence.
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 115 
 
 prudence. At the expiration of that term he was 
 feized with a dangerous indifpofition ; and during 
 the fufpenfion of difeafe he fcrupuloufly obferved 
 the folemn vow that he had made, to quit the 
 robes of royalty for the habit of a penitent. He 
 declared, or prevailed on the Gothic nobles to 
 receive, Egiza as his fucceflbr ; and in return for 
 the crown he beftowed, he exacted an oath from 
 Egiza to repair any wrongs that he himfelf had in- 
 advertently occafioned. Satisfied with this ftipu- 
 lation, his head was ihaved, and he aflumed the 
 garb of a monk ; but he was not long fuffered to 
 edify his fubjects by the example of repentance ; 
 and he breathed his lafl a few days after he refign- 
 ed the fceptre. 
 
 In the pofleflion of a throne the peace of Egiza 
 was invaded by a pious fcruple. He had fworn 
 to repair the injuftice of Erviga, and he had 
 bound himfelf by a folemn oath to proted his 
 widow and children ; yet Luivagotona, the con- 
 fort of Erviga, had availed herfelf of her influence 
 over that prince to ufurp the demefnes of feveral 
 of his fubjects ; and juftice demanded the refti- 
 tution. In a council of the clergy Egiza Hated 
 the irreconcileable obligations he had accepted ; 
 his doubts were folved by the anfwer of that 
 affembly ; policy or intereft recommended them 
 to releafe Egiza from his firft oath ; and to re- 
 I a commend
 
 U6 HISTORY OK SPAIN. 
 
 commend the refumption of the demefnes that 
 Luivagotona had ufurped. 
 
 It was in one of the legislative aflemblies of 
 Toledo during the reign of Egiza, that the code 
 of laws which had been compiled by a fuccefiion 
 of Gothic kings from the fierce Euric to the fa- 
 gacious Erviga, was examined and ratified. As 
 long as the Vifigoths themfelves were fatisfied 
 with the rude cufloms of their anceftors, they 
 indulged the fubjedts of Gaul and Spain in the 
 enjoyment of the Roman law. Their gradual 
 improvement in arts, in policy, and at length in 
 religion, encouraged them to imitate, and to fu- 
 perfede thofe foreign inftitutions ; and to com- 
 pofe a code of civil and criminal jurifprudence, 
 for the ufe of a great and united people. The 
 fame obligations, and the fame privileges were 
 communicated to the nations of the Spanifn mo- 
 narchy : and the conquerors, infenfibly renounc- 
 ing the Teutonic idiom, fubmitted to the re- 
 itraints of equity, and exalted the Romans to 
 the participation of freedom. The code of the 
 Vifigoths has been treated by the prefident dc 
 Montefquieu with exceffive feverity. He has 
 laviftied on it the epithets of puerile and ridicu- 
 lous ; he has declared it to have been incapable of 
 attaining its end ; to have been frivolous in fub- 
 ftance, and turgid in ftyle. The language it is 
 
 con-
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 117 
 
 conveyed in may indeed juftly have deferred his 
 cenfure ; and the fuperftition which pervades if 
 may fubjedl it to reproach ; ye.t according to the 
 teftimony of a more modern, and much efteem- 
 ed writer's judgment, it pofiefled the merit of im- 
 partial policy, and deferved the praifc of wifdom 
 and moderation. 
 
 It foftened at leafl the condition of the fub- 
 jecled ; and while throughout the fpacjous realms 
 of Gaul and Italy the vanquifhed native funk 
 into the abject flave of the conqueror, the Spa- 
 niard was permitted to ranfom his freedom, and 
 not unfrequently to redeem his property, by the 
 payment of a fmall fine or annual rent ; the feu- 
 dal fyftem which has been fo often, and by an 
 hiftorian of our own country fo elegantly de- 
 fcribed, prevailed indeed from the ftraits of 
 Gibraltar to the mountains of the Pyrenees ; but . 
 the harftinefs of its features were meliorated by 
 prudence or humanity ; and although in war the 
 vaffal was obliged to follow the ftandard, in 
 peace he might with confidence appeal from the 
 arrogance and oppreffion, of his lord. 
 
 J 3 Chapter
 
 n8 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 Chapter the Fourth. 
 
 Confpiracy of the Jews with the Mahometans of 
 Africa. War with the Franks and Gafcons. 
 Death of Egiza, and acceffion of Witlza. The 
 Pope's claim offupremacy is rejected in the council 
 of Toledo. Tyranny of Wltiza. Revolt and ele- 
 vation of Roderic. Treachery of Count Julian.- 
 Invafion of the Saracens. Battle of Xeres. Flight 
 and death of Roderic. Exploits of Tarik. Of 
 Mufa. OfAbdalaziz. The gr eat ejl part of Spain 
 conquered. Recall of Mufa. Government of Ab- 
 dalaziz.His marriage with the widow of Roderic. 
 He is ajjaffinated. Rival faftions cf the Abbaf- 
 Jides and Ommiades.Abdalrahman appears on the 
 coajl of Spain. His victory over the AbbaJJides. 
 He ejlablijhes his independent throne at Cordova. 
 The <era of Arabian fplendour in Spain. Reign of 
 the third Abdalrahman. His wealth and magnifi- 
 cence. Town and palace ofZehra. His revenue. 
 Trade and natural productions of Spain. Charac- 
 ter of Alkalem thefecond. Hisjujlice. He is fuc- 
 ceeded by his infant fon Haftm. Renown ofAl- 
 tnanzor, the vizir of Ha/em. Over tbrozv of the 
 
 loufg
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 119 
 
 houfe of the Ommiades. Degeneracy and dijfinfions 
 of the Moors of Spain. 
 
 AN the generous policy of an equal A- D. 688, 
 and impartial code of laws, Egiza 7 9 * 
 might juftly have hoped that the reign of the 
 Gothic princes in Spain would have been pro- 
 longed through fuccefilve centuries by the union 
 of their Chriitian fubjects. Yet he was not long 
 permitted to indulge the pleafing illufion; his 
 mind was diffracted by the rapid progrefs of the 
 Saracens on the oppofite coaft of Africa ; he 
 dreaded the enthufiaftic valour and rapacious 
 myriads of the general enemies of Chriftianity ; 
 and his apprdienfions were kept awake by the 
 refentment of a feet, whom he had perfecuted 
 and defpifed. 
 
 The decree which had commanded the expul- 
 fion of the Jews from Spain had been eluded by 
 avarice ; and that wretched people by the con- 
 nivance of the governors of the provinces, and 
 of the fucceflbrs of Chintila, had been permitted 
 to purfue and improve the arts of trade and 
 commerce. But without a legal eftabliihment, 
 the fruits of their ingenuity or labour, and even 
 their lives, were expofed to the caprice or cove- 
 toufnefs of their rulers. They might fometimes 
 I 4 com-
 
 jia HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 complain of wanton cruelty ; hut they could al- 
 ways, and with juflice, accufe the infatiate de- 
 mands of the hungry Vifigoths ; they were fuffered 
 to accumulate only to fwell the coffers of their 
 matters ; the thirfl of revenge became more 
 itrong in proportion as it was neceflary to cheriih 
 it in filence ; they exulted in the victories of the 
 Mahometans ; they continued a dangerous and 
 hoftile correfpondence with their brethren, who 
 under the adminiftration of Chintila had flickered 
 themfelves from perfecution in Africa ; and on 
 their affurances of fupport, and with the fecret 
 hope of more effectual fuccour from the Sara- 
 cens, they fixed the day to ered: the flandard of 
 revolt. 
 
 Before the appointed time arrived, their pre- 
 parations had alarmed, or their intentions had 
 been betrayed to, Egiza. In a national council 
 the Gothic king unfolded the confpiracy, and 
 ratified the punifhment of the Jews. The pub- 
 lic exercife of their religion was prohibited under 
 the moft fevere penalties ; their children under fe- 
 ven years of age were directed to be taken from 
 them, and to be educated in the Chriftian faith ; 
 and thofe who prefumed to confpire againft their 
 fovereign, or who, after having been purified in the 
 baptifmal font, returned to their ancient herefy, 
 were deprived of their property and liberty. 
 
 The premature difcovery of the confpiracy of 
 
 the
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. iat 
 
 the Jews, might difconcert, but did not deter the 
 Saracens from afpiring to the conqueft of Spain. 
 Their numerous fquadrons iffued from the ports 
 of Africa, arid menaced again the coafts of An- 
 dalufia. But their pride was chaftifed by a fe- 
 cond naval defeat; and the victory which dif- 
 pelled the immediate apprehenfions of the Vifi. 
 goths, was afcribed to the valour and conduct 
 of the youthful Theodomir, the fon-in-law of 
 Egiza. 
 
 A Ihort but bloody war with the Franks of 
 Gafcons was terminated by the mutual weak- 
 nefs and lofles of both nations ; and Egiza in rhe 
 moment of tranquillity might, ineftablithing the 
 fucceflion to the crown, equally confider the hap- 
 pinefs of his people, and the aggrandifement of 
 his family. In a national aflembly at Toledo his 
 fon was affbciated with him in the regal dignity ; 
 and foon after the death of Egiza, devolved on 
 Witiza the undivided adminiftration of Spain. 
 
 Puring the firit months of his reign, Witiza 
 might be confidered as the protector and father 
 of his people; during the laft years he was the 
 fcourge and tyrant of his fubjects. The advan- 
 tages which his country derived from a fliort af- 
 fectation of virtue, were few and tranfient ; the 
 evils with which Ihe was afflicted from the indul- 
 gence of his pamons and vices were numerous 
 : and lafting. Yet one inflance of firmnefs marks 
 
 his
 
 12 2 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 his icceflion : with the title of Pope, and as the 
 fucceflbr of St. Peter, the patriarch of Rome, 
 claimed an ,ablolute dominion over the Chriftian 
 ftates of Europe; but in the eighteenth council 
 of Toledo, a fpirit of ecclefiaftical freedom was 
 kindled by the eloquence of the metropolitan 
 Gundaric. He vindicated the independence of 
 the church of Spain : his piety and blamelefs 
 manners gave weight to his arguments ; and the 
 extravagant pretenfions of the fee of Rome were 
 encountered with decent and manly oppofition. 
 
 If judice or virtue had taken root within the 
 bofom of Witiza, they were foon eradicated by 
 the flattering language of a licentious train of 
 courtiers, who fuccefsfully infinuated that youth 
 was the feafon for pleafure and enjoyment, and 
 that the fovereign was to be diftinguifhed from 
 his fubjedts by his more ample privilege of luxury 
 and prodigality. The pleating dodlrine was rea- 
 dily preferred to the diftafteful admonitions of 
 the holy Gundaric ; the court of Witiza was dif- 
 graced by fcenes of ihamelefs excefs and debau- 
 chery ; and the wives and daughters of the mod 
 illuftrious of the Gothic nobles were violated by 
 his lufts. To a vicious tyrant, virtue mud ever 
 become the object of hatred and jealoufy ; to in- 
 temperance fucceeded cruelty ; and thofe whofe 
 qualities and defcent from the mofl honoured of 
 his predeceffoes recommended them to popular 
 
 favour,
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 123 
 
 favour, were, as diftruft or caprice prevailed, fen- 
 tenced to baniftnnent or death. 
 
 Yet the deteftation of the tyrant has been in- 
 dulged by the hiftorians of his reign beyond the 
 bounds of truth or probability. We may fafely 
 rejecl: the law that he is reported to have framed, 
 and which gratified the amorous inclinations of his 
 fubjeds, by unlimited polygamy. We may diftruft 
 the regulation which enjoined the deftruction of 
 all offenfive weapons throughout Spain ; and the 
 invafion of the Moors, and the fieges they encoun- 
 tered, convince us how falfely he is accufed of 
 difmantling, with the exception of Toledo, Tuy, 
 and Aftorga, all the cities throughout his domi- 
 nions. 
 
 However exaggerated or perverted may be the 
 chronicles of thofe times, it may be pronounced 
 with certainty that the follies and vices of Witza 
 were glaring and numerous, lince they at length 
 provoked the open indignation of his fubjeds, 
 and confummated his deftruction. Among the 
 noble fufferers from his jealoufy was Theodofred, 
 who is defcribed as the brother, but who moft 
 likely was the nephew of Recifuintho; he was 
 deprived of his fight, and fent a prifoner to Cor- 
 dova ; but the hours of darknefs and captivity 
 were beguiled by the filial affecYion of the fon Ro- 
 deric ; in their free converfe their murmurs againft 
 their oppreflbr were gradually inflamed to an 
 
 hope
 
 i2 4 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 hope and a project of revenge. His father's 
 wrongs, and the memory of Recifuintho pleadecl 
 powerfully for Roderic ; he erected the ftandard 
 of revolt ; and the thoufands who in themfelves 
 or their connexions had either felt or dreaded the 
 luft or cruelty of the tyrant, joined him with ala- 
 crity ; a civil war was kindled and raged for fome 
 time with doubtful violence ; but was at length 
 terminated by the dcpofition or death of Witiza, 
 and the elevation of Roderic to the throne of the 
 Yifigoths. 
 
 By the fall of Witiza, and his own acceffion to 
 royalty, Roderic had gratified the emotions of 
 revenge and ambition ; but he was not long in pof- 
 femon of the crown of Spain before he was in- 
 flructed that his afcent to greatnefs was equally 
 dangerous to himfelf and his country. Acrofs 
 the narrow channel which divides Europe from 
 Africa, the fortrefs of Ceuta had been defended by 
 the valour and fkill of count Julian againft the 
 hoft of the Saracens ; and while Mufa, the leader 
 of the faithful, revolved his difappointment with 
 indignation, his hopes were awakened, not only to 
 the entire reduction of Africa, but to the conqueft 
 of Spain, by the proffered alliance of the chief, and 
 the furrender of the fortrefs from which he had 
 fo lately retired with difgrace. 
 
 In extenuating or accounting for the treachery 
 of Julian, the Spanifh historians repeat the popular 
 
 flory
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 125 
 
 ftory of his daughter Cava violated by the guilty 
 paffion of Roderic ; but the tale, romantic in itfelf, 
 is ill fupported by external evidence. Some doubts, 
 have occurred whether it was the wife or daughter 
 of the Gothic general whofe honour was profaned!. 
 It has even been infinuated that the injury was 
 offered by Witiza, and not by Roderic ; nor arc 
 there wanting critics who have totally rejected 
 the fufpicious narrative. A more probable rea- 
 fon for the revolt of Julian has been affigned by 
 the luminous hiftorian of the Decline and Fall 
 of the Roman Empire, who has defcribed with 
 elegance and concifenefs the invafion of Spain by 
 the Saracens, and whofe account of that memo- 
 rable revolution is preferved in the fucceeding 
 pages. The voice of the nation had indeed placed 
 the fceptre in the hand of Roderic ; but the fons of 
 Witiza, impatient of a private ftation, waited the 
 moment to afiert their hereditary pretenfions in 
 arms. Their followers were excited by the re- 
 membrance of favours and the promife of a re- 
 volution ; and their uncle Oppas. the archbiihop 
 of Seville, poflefled an equal influence in the 
 church and ftate. It is probable Julian had little 
 to hope and much to fear from the new reign ; 
 his merit and popularity rendered him an ufefut 
 or formidable fubject ; his eftates were ample, 
 his adherents numerous and bold ; and it was roo 
 fatally Ihewn that by his Andalufian and Mauri- 
 
 tanian
 
 i 2 6 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 lanian commands, he held in his hands the keys 
 of the Spaniih monarchy. Too feeble however 
 to meet his fovereign in arms, he fought the aid 
 of a foreign power ; and his rafli invitation of 
 the Moors and Arabs, produced the calamities of 
 eight hundred years. In his epiftles, or in a per- 
 fonal interview, he revealed the wealth and na- 
 kednefs of his country ; the weaknefs of a dif- 
 puted throne ; the degeneracy of an effeminate 
 people. The Goths were no longer the victo- 
 rious Barbarians who humbled the pride of 
 Rome, defpoiled the queen of nations, and pe- 
 netrated from the Danube to the Atlantic ocean. 
 Secluded from the world by the Pyrenean moun- 
 tains, the fucceflbrs of Alaric had flumbered in 
 a long peace. The walls of the cities were moul- 
 dered into duft ', the youth had abandoned the 
 exercife of arms ; and the prefumption of their 
 ancient renown would expofe them in a field of 
 battle to the firft aflault of the invaders. The 
 ambitious Saracen was fired by the eafe and im- 
 portance of the attempt ; but the execution was 
 delayed till he had confulted the commander of 
 the. faithful ; and his meflenger returned with the 
 permiffion of Walid, to annex the unknown king- 
 doms of the weft to the religion and throne of 
 the Caliphs. In his refidence of Tangier, Mufa, 
 with fecrecy and caution continued his corref- 
 pondence and haftened his preparations. But 
 
 the
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 127 
 
 the remorfe of the confpirators was foothed by 
 the fallacious aflurance that he fhould content 
 himfelf with the glory and the fpoil, without 
 afpiring to eftablifh the Modems beyond the fea 
 that feparates Africa from Europe. 
 
 In two fuccemVe attempts the naval A. D. 710, 
 force of the Saracens had been broken 755 * 
 by the Gothic fleet ; but Roderic, either diftradted 
 by civil war and intent on revenge, or confiding 
 in the vigilance and fidelity of Julian, neglected 
 the natural means of defence ; the unguarded 
 coaft invited the defcent of the Moilems. Yet 
 before Mufa would truft an army of the faithful 
 to the dangers of a foreign and Chriftian land, 
 he made a lefs dangerous trial of their ftrength 
 and veracity. In the year feven hundred and 
 ten after the birth of Chrifl, one hundred Arabs, 
 and four hundred Africans pafled over in four 
 veflels from Tangier or Ceuta ; the place of their 
 difembarkation on the oppofite fhore of the ftrait 
 is marked by the name of Tarif, their chief; 
 from their firft ftation, they marched eighteen 
 miles through an hilly country to the caftle and 
 town of Julian ; the appellation of the green 
 ifland, which from a verdant cape that advances 
 into the fea, they beftowed upon it, is flill per- 
 petuated by a corruption from the Arabic, in the 
 name of Algezira. Their hofpitable entertain- 
 ment, the Chriftian vaflals of Julian who joined 
 
 their
 
 J2 S HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 their ftandard, their inroad into a fertile and utU 
 guarded province, the richnefs of their fpoil, and 
 the fafety of their return, announced to their 
 brethren the mod favourable omens of victory* 
 In the enfuing fpring five thoufand veterans and 
 volunteers were embarked under the command 
 of Tarik, a dauntlefs and Ikilful foldier, who 
 furpafied the expectations of his chief. The 
 neceflary tranfports were provided by the in- 
 duftry of their too faithful ally. The Saracens 
 landed at the pillar or point of Europe ; the cor- 
 rupt and familiar appellation of Gibraltar (Gabal 
 at Tarik') defcribes the mountain of Tarik ; and 
 the intrenchments of his camp were the firft out- 
 lines of thofe fortifications which in the hands 
 of Great Britain have refitted the art and power 
 of the united houfe of Bourbon. 
 
 Roderic had flumbered over the preparations 
 and firft attempt of the Saracens, he was awak- 
 ened by the magnitude of their fecond invafion ; 
 yet inftead of collecting his whole force and ad- 
 vancing in perfon tr ^(h the rafh intruders, he 
 contented himfelf ifpatching his lieute- 
 
 nant Edeco, at thf ..vdd of fome felect troops, to 
 arreft their progrefs. The Vifigoths, enervated by 
 luxury, were incapable of withftanding the mar- 
 ti 1 enthufiafm of the Moflem fanatics ; and the 
 i. t of Edeco revealed to Roderic the approach 
 enemy, and his own danger. 
 
 The
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 129 
 
 The Vifigoths were flill capable of great and 
 formidable efforts ; the ftandard of their fove- 
 reign was unfurled ; and at the royal fummons, 
 the dukes and counts, the biihops and nobles of 
 the Gothic monarchy aflembled at the head of 
 their followers. The hoft that marched under 
 the conduct of Roderic confided of ninety or an. 
 hundred thoufand men, and muft have infured 
 victory, had their difcipline and fidelity been 
 adequate to their numbers. But the Vifigoths 
 long unaccuftomed to, were oppreffed by the 
 weight of armour ; and the fons of Witiza, who 
 confented to range themfelves under the royal 
 banner, remembered the condition and fate of a 
 father and a kinfman, and their own ambitious 
 hopes blafled by the promotion of Roderic. 
 
 Yet even the fanaticifm of the Moflems could 
 not be infenfible to the preparations of the Goths. 
 The promife of Pafadife was weighed againft the 
 danger of the unequal field ; and the prudence 
 of Tarik was difplayed in his timely retreat, while 
 he folicited and obtained the affiftance of his 
 African brethren. By the diligence of Mufa the 
 Saracens were augmented to twelve thoufand; 
 and to thefe were joined a promifcuous crowd of 
 Chriftian malecontents who were attracted by the 
 influence of Julian,, and of Africans greedy to 
 tafte the temporal bleffings of the Koran. About 
 two leagues from Cadiz, the town Of Xeres, has 
 VOL. i. K been
 
 I 3 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 been illuflrated by the encounter which deter- 
 mined the fate of the kingdom ; the ftream of the 
 Guadalato, which falls into the bay, divided the 
 two camps, and marked the advancing and re- 
 treating ikirmimes of three fucceffive and bloody 
 days. On the fourth day the two armies joined 
 a more ferious and decifive iflue; but in the 
 moment when they were moft neceflary, Ro- 
 deric feems to have been deprived of the quali- 
 ties which had raifed him to a throne ; Alaric 
 would have bluftied at the fight of his unworthy 
 fucceflbr, fuftaining on his head a diadem of 
 pearls, incumbered with a flowing robe of gold 
 and filken embroidery, and reclining on a litter, 
 or car of ivory, drawn by two white mules. 
 Not with ftand ing the valour of the Saracens they 
 fainted under the weight of multitudes ; and the 
 plain of Xeres was overfpread with their dead 
 bodies. " My brethren," faid Tarik, to his fur- 
 viving companions, " the enemy is before you* 
 " the fea is behind ; whither would ye fly ? fol- 
 '' low your general : I am refolved either to lofc 
 r< my life, or to trample on the proftrate king 
 " of the Vifigoths." Befides the refource of de- 
 fpair, he confided in the fecret correfpondence, 
 and no&urnal interviews of count Julian, with 
 the fons and brother of Witiza. The two princes 
 and the archbifliop of Seville occupied the moft 
 
 import-
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 131 
 
 important pod ; their well-timed defection broke 
 the ranks of the Chriftians ; each warrior was 
 prompted by fear or fufpicion to confult his per- 
 fonal fafety ; and the greateft part of the Gothic 
 army were fcattered or deftroyed in the flight and 
 purfuit of the three following days. Amidft the 
 general diforder, Roderic ftarted from his car, and 
 mounted Orelia, the fleetefl of his horfes. Some 
 credulous Spaniards believed that in an hermit's 
 cell he concealed his difgrace,and eluded the fearch 
 of his enemies ; but it is more probable that he 
 cfcaped a foldier's death to perifli ignobly in the 
 waters of the Boetis or Guadalquivir. His dia- 
 dem, his robes, and his courfer were found on 
 the bank ; but as the body of the Gothic prince 
 was buried in the waves, the pride and ignorance 
 of the Caliph muft have been gratified with fome 
 meaner head, which was expofed in triumph be- 
 fore the palace of Damafcus. " And fuch," 
 continues a valiant hiftorian of the Arabs, " is 
 
 the fate of thofe kings who withdraw them- 
 16 felves from a field of battle." 
 
 The fortifications of Eciga, a flrong town fi- 
 tuated on a branch of the Guadalquivir, and not 
 far from the theatre of their defeat, afforded a 
 temporary afylum to the fugitive Vifigoths. But 
 the walls were foon encompafled and aflaulted by 
 the victorious Saracens ; and if the befieged were 
 confirmed in their refiftance by defpair, the be- 
 K 2 fiegers
 
 13* HISTORY OF SPAIK. 
 
 fiegers were animated in their attacks by the 
 double hope of plunder and of Paradife. After 
 a fhort but bloody ftruggle, the ilandard of Ma- 
 homet was difplayed on the ramparts ; the gar- 
 rifon was overpowered ; and the defencelefs inha- 
 bitants were involved in the promifcuous flaugh- 
 ter by the inexorable viftors. 
 
 Count Julian had plunged fo deep in guilt and 
 infamy, that his only hope was in the ruin of his 
 country. After the battle of Xeres, and the 
 capture of Eciga, he recommended the moft ef- 
 fectual meafures to the Moflem invaders. " The 
 " king of the Goths is flain ; their princes arc 
 " fled before you ; the army is routed ; the na- 
 t( tion is aftoniflied. Secure with fufficient de- 
 " tachments the cities of Boetica ; but in per- 
 " fon, and without delay, march to the royal 
 " city of Toledo, and allow not the diftracted 
 " Chriftians either time or tranquillity for the 
 " election of a new monarch." Tarik liftened 
 to his advice. A Roman captive and profelyte 
 who had been enfranchifed by the Caliph him- 
 felf, aflaulted Cordova with feven hundred horfe. 
 He fwam the river, furprifed the town, and drove 
 the Chriftians into the great church, where they 
 defended themfelves above three months. An- 
 other detachment reduced the fea coaft of Boe- 
 tica, which in the laft period of the Moorifh 
 .power, has comprifed in a narrow fpace the po- 
 pulous
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 135 
 
 pulous kingdom of Grenada. The march of 
 Tarik from the Boetis to the Tagus might confift 
 of near two hundred miles, and was directed 
 through the Sierra Morena, that feparates An- 
 dalufia and Caftille, till he appeared in arms un- 
 der the walls of Toledo. The moft zealous of 
 the Catholics had efcaped with the relics of their 
 faints ; and if the gates were fhut, it was only 
 till the victor had fubfcribed a fair and reafonable 
 capitulation. The voluntary exiles were allowed 
 to depart with their effects ; feven churches were 
 appropriated to the Chriftian worfhip ; the arch- 
 bifhop and his clergy were at liberty to exercife 
 their functions, the monks to practife or neglect 
 their penance ; and the Goths and Romans were 
 left in all civil and criminal cafes to the fubordi- 
 nate jurifdiction of their own laws and ma- 
 giflrates. 
 
 But if the juftice of Tarik protected the 
 Chriftians, his gratitude and policy rewarded 
 the Jews, to whofe fecret or open aid he was 
 indebted for his moft important acquifitions. 
 Perfecuted by the kings and fynods of Spain, 
 who had often prefled the alternative of baniih- 
 ment or baptifm, that outcaft nation embraced 
 the moment of revenge. The comparifon of 
 their paft and prefent ftate was the pledge of their 
 fidelity ; and the alliance between the difciples 
 of Mofes and of Mahomet, was maintained till 
 the final sera of their common expulfion. 
 
 K 3 From
 
 134 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 From the reduction or fubmiffion of Toledo, 
 the fons and brother of Witiza found themfelve* 
 no longer neceffary to the victors ; they had con- 
 fented to be confidered as the confederates, and 
 they funk into the dependents of the enemies of 
 their country and religion. From the royal feat 
 of Toledo, the Arabian leader fpread his con- 
 quells to the north over the modern realms of 
 Caftille and Leon. The proftrate cities opened 
 their gates and furrendered their treafures on his 
 approach. The celebrated table of one fingle 
 piece of folid emerald, encircled with three rows 
 of fine pearls, fupported by three hundred and 
 fixry-five feet of gems and mafiy gold, and 
 eftimated at the price of five hundred thoufand 
 pieces of gold, acquired by the Goths among 
 the fpoils of Rome, was prefented by the Arabs 
 to the throne of Damafcus. Beyond the Aflurian 
 mountains the maritime town of Gijon bounded 
 the progrefs of the lieutenant of Mufa, who 
 had performed his victorious march of feven 
 hundred miles from the rock of Gibraltar to the 
 Bay of Bifcay. Spain, which in a more favage 
 and diforderly {late had refilled two hundred years 
 the arms of the Romans, was over-run in a few 
 months by thofe of the Saracens ; and fuch was 
 the eagernefs of fubmiffion and treaty, that the 
 Governor of Cordova is recorded as the only 
 chief who fell, without conditions, a prifoner 
 
 into
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 135 
 
 into their hands. The caufe of the Goths had 
 been irrevocably judged in the field of Xeres ; 
 and, in the national difmay, each part of the 
 monarchy declined a conteft with the antagonift 
 who had vanquilhed the united ftrength of the 
 whole. That ftrength had been wafted by two 
 fucceffive years of peftilence and famine ; and 
 the governors who were impatient to furrender, 
 might exaggerate the difficulties of collecting the 
 provifions neceflary to fuftain a fiege. To dif- 
 arm the Chriftians, fuperflitiop likewife contri- 
 buted her terrors ; the fubtle Arab encouraged 
 the report of dreams, omens, and prophecies ; 
 in the palace of Toledo, an ancient tower had 
 been regarded as the ftrudture of magic ; and the 
 tradition, that whenever it was opened the Gothic 
 monarchy ftiould be extinguiflied, had been re- 
 fpected by the fucceflbrs of Alaric. The mind of 
 Roderic was inflamed by the hope of an immenfe 
 treafure, and his avarice impelled him to tempt 
 the charm. The gates were unlocked or burft 
 open ; and a mafly cheft in an inward apartment was 
 the object of his eager curiofity. Inftead of gold 
 and filver, it was found to contain on a long roll 
 of linen the ferocious features of the Saracens, 
 with an infcription that fuch was deftined to be 
 the conquerors of Spain. The hiftorian who has 
 preferved the tale, has apologifed for his infertion 
 of it ; but if it was eagerly received by the Goths 
 K 4 and
 
 136 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 and Spaniards, the belief of it contributed to 
 produce the confequences it was fuppofed to have 
 predicted ; and an army already imprelTed with 
 the prefage of defeat, could but faintly afpire to 
 the glory of vidtory. 
 
 From Gijon, Tarik had been recalled to To- 
 ledo, to excufe his prefumption of conquering a 
 kingdom in the abfence of his general. The in- 
 telligence of his rapid fuccefs had converted the 
 applaufe of Mufa into envy ; and he began, not 
 to complain, but to fear that Tarik would leave 
 him nothing to fubdue. At the head of ten 
 thoufand Arabs and eight thoufand Africans he 
 pafi"ed over in perfon from Mauritania to Spain. 
 The firft of his companions were delcended from 
 the moft noble tribe of Arabia ; his eldeit fon was 
 left to command in Africa ; the three younger 
 brethren were of an age and fpirit to fecond the 
 boldeft enterprifes of their father. At his land- 
 ing at Algezire he was refpectfully entertained by 
 count Julian, who (lifted his inward remorfe, 
 and teftified both in words ana actions., that the 
 vidtory of the Arabs had not impaired his attach- 
 ment to the caufe. Some enemies yet remained 
 for the fvvord of Mufa. The tardy repentance of 
 the Goths had compared their own numbers and 
 thofe of the invaders ; the cities from which the 
 march of Tarik had declined, coniidered them- 
 felves as im pregnable ; and the braveft patriots 
 
 defend-
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. -137 
 
 defended the fortifications of Seville and Merida. 
 They were fucceflively befieged, and reduced by 
 the labour of Mufa, who tranfported his camp 
 from the Boetis or Guadalquivir to the Anas or 
 Guadiana. When he beheld the works of Ro- 
 man magnificence, the bridge, the aqueducts, the 
 triumphal arches, and the theatre of the ancient 
 metropolis of Lulitania, " I Ihould imagine," 
 exclaimed he, " that the human race muft have 
 " united their art and power in the foundation of 
 <c this city ; happy is the man who (hall become 
 <( its mafter." He afpired to that happinefs, but 
 the Emeritans fuftained on this occafion the ho- 
 nour of their defcent from the veteran legiona- 
 ries of Auguftus. Difdaining the confinement 
 of their walls, they gave battle to the Arabs on 
 .the plain ; but an ambufcade rifing from the 
 Ihelter of a quarry or a ruin, chaftifed tfceir in- 
 difcretion, and intercepted their return. The 
 wooden turrets of aflault were rolled forward to 
 -the foot of the ramparts ; but the defence of 
 Merida was obftinate and long ; and the caftle of 
 the martyrs was a perpetual teftimony .of the 
 loffes of the Moflems. The conftancy of the 
 befieged was at length fubdued by famine and 
 defpair ; and the prudent victor difguifed his im- 
 patience under the names of clemency and efleem. 
 The alternative of exile or tribute was allowed ; 
 the churches were divided between the two reli- 
 gions,
 
 I 3 8 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 gions, and the wealth of thofe who had fallen in 
 the fiege, or retired to Gallicia, was confifcated 
 as the reward of the faithful. 
 
 The adventurous fpirit of Tarik had firft ex- 
 plored in Spain the road to conqueft ; yet in an 
 interview between Mufa and his lieutenant, a ri- 
 gid account was demanded from the latter of the 
 fpoils of victory. His character was expofed to 
 fufpicion and obloquy; he was imprifoned, re- 
 viled, and ignominioufly fcourged by the hand, 
 or the command of Mufa. Yet fo drift was the 
 difcipline, fo pure the zeal of the primitive Mof- 
 lems, that after this public indignity, Tarik could 
 ferve and be trufted in the reduction of the 
 Tarragonefe province. The gates and treafures 
 of Saragofla were delivered up to Mufa ; and by 
 the pious liberality of his companions a mofch 
 was erected within the walls of that city ; the 
 port of Barcelona was opened to the vefiels of 
 Syria; but the flight of the Goths beyond the 
 Pyrenean mountaints was mofl probably refpect- 
 ed by the Saracen general ; and the beft hiftorians 
 poftpone the invafion of Gaul by the Moflems, 
 to above twenty years after that of Spain, 
 
 While Mufa purfued his victorious career to 
 the foot of the Pyrenean mountains, his fon Ab- 
 delaziz chaftifed the infurgents of Seville ; and 
 penetrated along the fea-coaft of the Mediterranean 
 from Malaga to Valentia. In the diftrids of Mur- 
 
 Cia
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 139 
 
 cia and Carthagena, whofe plains are fertilized by 
 the waters of the Segura, he was oppofed by an 
 adveifary worthy of the arms of the Moderns. 
 Theodomir was the fon-in-law of Egiza, and had 
 in the reign of that monarch, rendered his name 
 terrible to the Saracens, by the defeat and almoft 
 the deflruction of their fleet. Under the admi- 
 niflration of Roderic his counfels were neglected, 
 and his valour probably unemployed. But when 
 that prince was no more, he ftarted from obfcu- 
 rity ; and his former renown collected to his 
 ilandard a band of martial Chriftians ; at their 
 head he waged with fuccefs a defultory war ; and 
 even the enthufiaftic valour of the Saracens feems 
 to have funk before his genius ; Abdelaziz com- 
 municated his difficulties to, and invoked the 
 affiftance of his father ; the rapid fquadrons of 
 Arabia ruftied to his relief. Theodomir was fur- 
 rounded on every fide ; and the pious enmity of 
 the Moflems might have been gratified by the 
 ilaughter of feveral thoufand Chriftians, had not 
 the fanguinary counfels of the former been tem- 
 pered by the prudence or generofity of Abdelaziz; 
 his original treaty with Theodomir will reprefent 
 the manners and policy of the times. The condi- 
 tion ? of peace agreed and fworn between Abdelaziz the 
 fon of Mufa, the fon of NaJ/ir, and Theodomir prince 
 of the Goths. " In the name of the moft merciful 
 " God, Abdelaziz makes peace on thefe condi- 
 " dons ; that Theodomir mall not be difturbed in 
 
 " his
 
 i 4 o HISTORY OF SPAIN". 
 
 " his principality; nor any injury be offered to 
 " the life or property, the wives and children, the 
 " religion and temples of the Chriftians ; that 
 " Theodomir fhall freely deliver his feven cities 
 " Orithwell, Valentola, Alicant, Mola, Vacafora, 
 " Bigerra, now Begar, Ora or Opta, and L,orca ; 
 " that he fhall not affift or entertain the ene- 
 " mics of the Caliph, but lhall faithfully corh- 
 " municate his knowledge of their hoflile de- 
 <e figns ; that himfelf, and each of the Gothic 
 " nobles, fhall annually pay one piece of gold, 
 " four meafures of wheat, as many of barley, 
 tc with a certain proportion of honey, oil, and 
 "vinegar; and that each of their vaffals lhall 
 " be taxed at one moiety of the faid impofition. 
 " Given the fourth of Regab in the year of the 
 fe Hegira ninety- four, and fubfcribed with the 
 " names of four muflulmen witneffes." In the 
 conditions of peace Theodomir and his fubjefts 
 muft have confeffed the lenity of their conquerors ; 
 the articles were flrictly obferved ; and four hun- 
 dred years after the death of Theodomir, his ter- 
 ritories of Murcia and Carthagena, according to 
 the Nubian geographer Edrifi, preferved the re- 
 membrance of his adminiftration and his name in 
 the corrupt appellation of Tadmir. 
 
 It was not only the natives of Murcia and Car- 
 thagena who were compelled to acknowledge the 
 moderation of their Mahometan matters. Many 
 
 partial
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. w 
 
 partial calamities were doubtlefs inflided by the 
 carnal or religious paflions of the enthufiafts ; 
 fome churches were profaned by the new worlhipj 
 fome relics or images were confounded with idols > 
 the rebels were put to the fword ; and one town, 
 an obfcure place between Cordova and Seville, 
 was razed to its foundations ; yet in general the 
 footfteps of the Saracens were far from being 
 marked with blood or devaftation ; they exacted 
 the rights of conqueft, but they exacted them* 
 with temperance; and the rate of the tribute 
 which they impofed appears to have fluctuated 
 from a tenth to a fifth, according to the fub- 
 miffion or obftinacy of the Chriftians. 
 
 The pofleflion of Spain was confidered by Mufa 
 only as the firft ftep to the monarchy of Europe. 
 With a powerful armament by fea and land he was 
 preparing to transfer the war beyond the Pyrenees, 
 to extinguish in Gaul and Italy the kingdoms of 
 the Franks and Lombards, and to preach the 
 doctrines of Mahomet on the altar of the Vatican. 
 From thence fubduing the Barbarians of Ger- 
 many, he propofed to follow the courfe of the 
 Danube from its fource to the Euxine fea, to 
 overthrow the Greek or Roman empire of Con- 
 flantinople, and returning from Europe to Alia, 
 to unite his acquifitions with Antioch and the 
 provinces of Syria. But he was only permitted to 
 revolve the vaft enterprife ; and the vifionary con- 
 queror
 
 * 4 * HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 queror was foon reminded of his dependence and 
 fervitude. The friends of Tarik had effedhially 
 ftated his fervices and wrongs at the court of Da- 
 mafcus, the proceedings of Mufa were blamed, 
 his intenfions fufpecled, and his delay in comply- 
 ing with the firft invitation was chaftized by an 
 harfher and more peremptory fummons. An in- 
 trepid meflenger of the Caliph entered his camp 
 at Lugo in Gallicia, and in the prefence of the 
 Saracens and Chriftians arrefled the bridle of his 
 horfe. His own loyalty, or that of his troops, 
 inculcated the duty of obedience; and his dif- 
 grace was alleviated by the recall of his rival, and 
 the permifHon of inverting with the government 
 of Spain his fon Abdelaziz. His long triumph 
 from Ceuta to Damafcus, difplayed the fpoils of 
 Afric and the treafures of Spain. Four hundred 
 Gothic nobles, with gold coronets and girdles, 
 were diftinguiihed in his train ; and the number 
 of male and female captives, felected for their 
 birth or beauty, was computed at eighteen, or 
 even at thirty thoufand perfons. As foon as he 
 reached Tiberias in Paleftine, he was apprifed of 
 the ficknefs and danger of the Caliph, by a pri- 
 vate meflenger from Soliman his brother and pre- 
 fumptive heir, who wimed to referve for his own 
 reign the fpectacle of vidtory. Had Walid re- 
 covered, the delay of Mufa would have been cri- 
 minal ; he purfued his march, and found an 
 
 enemy
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 143 
 
 enemy on the throne. In his trial before a par- 
 tial judge, againft a popular antagonift, he was 
 convidted of vanity and falfehood ; and a fine of 
 two hundred thoufand pieces of gold, either ex- 
 haufted his poverty or proved his rapacioufnefs. 
 The unworthy treatment of Tarik was avenged 
 by a fimilar indignity; and the veteran com- 
 mander, after a public whipping, flood a whole 
 day in the fun before the palace gate, till he ob- 
 tained a decent exile under the pious name of a 
 pilgrimage to Mecca. 
 
 The punifhment of Mufa may accufe the juftice 
 of the Caliph ; yet where the perfonal refentment 
 of Soliman interfered not, he appears to have been 
 fen fible of equity and capable of humanity. Among 
 the few Vifigoths who accompanied, without 
 wearing the chains of Mufa, Theodomir was the 
 moft diftinguiihed for his merit, the fons of Wi- 
 tiza were moft confpicuous for their birth ; the 
 former was received with refpedt by the com- 
 mander of the faithful; his treaty with Abdelaziz 
 was ratified; and his return in fafety inftructed his 
 countrymen that. they might repofe with confi- 
 dence on the faith of the Moflems. The fons 
 of Witiza were reinflated in the private patri- 
 mony of their father ; but on the deceafe of 
 Eba the elder, his daughter was unjuflly defpoiled 
 of her portion by the violence of her uncle 
 Sifebut. The Gothic maid pleaded her caufe be- 
 fore the Caliph Hafliam, and obtained the refti- 
 
 tution
 
 T44 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 tution of her inheritance ; ihe was given in mar* 
 riage to a noble Arabian, and their two fons, Ifaac 
 and Ibrahim, were received in Spain with the 
 confideration that was due to their origin and 
 riches. 
 
 The guilt of Julian, if we may credit the doubt- 
 ful hiftorians of that age, was expiated by an end 
 more defervedly wretched. After betraying the 
 caufe of his country and his religion, he could 
 not expect to {hare the confidence of the infidel 
 victors. His counfels were flighted, his fervices 
 coldly acknowledged or tardily rewarded ; and 
 an hafty murmur of difcontent that efcaped him 
 was greedily received, and improved into the 
 project of a new revolution ; his vaft eflates were 
 confifcated ; he was thrown into a deep dungeon ; 
 and the contempt of his matters fuffered him to 
 languifh out the wretched remnant of his life in 
 chains and darknefs. The calamities his ambition 
 or refentment had inflicted on his country recoiled 
 on his own head ; yet it was not from the hands 
 of the Saracens that he merited his unhappy 
 defliny ; and his fate reveals the jealoufy or in- 
 gratitude of Abdelaziz. 
 
 The fon of Mufa was himfelf foon deftined to 
 experience the viciflitudes of fortune ; the admini- 
 ftration of Spain had been delegated to him by 
 his father, and in the arduous flation, above the 
 condition of a fubject, and below that of a fove- 
 reign, his active vigilance had challenged the 
 
 praife
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 14$ 
 
 praife of the vidtors and the Vanquifhed. But the 
 happy effed: of his abilities and his virtues were ef- 
 faced by one injudicious and ill-fated paffion. His 
 heart was fenfible to the charms of Egilona, the 
 widow of Roderic, and his marriage with her of- 
 fended the prejudices both of the Chriflians and 
 Moflems. His new confort might firft have in- 
 flamed him with the defire of independent fover- 
 eignty ; and the injurious treatment of his father 
 muft have fortified him in the defign of ereding 
 his throne at Cordova. But the minds of the 
 Moflems were not yet ripe for rebellion ; they ftill 
 revered in the Caliph the holy fucceffor of Ma- 
 homet ; and no fooner was a fufpicion of the in- 
 tentions of Abdelaziz diffufed, than a powerful 
 confpiracy was cemented againft him. The de- 
 {Iru&ion of the fon of Mufa could not, it was 
 juftly fuppofed, prove unacceptable to the court 
 of Damafcus. But the manner of his death was 
 a reproach to the fan&ity of the Moflems. As at 
 the hour of prayer, with the primitive fimpli- 
 city of the Arabs, he repaired alone to the mofch 
 of Cordova, he was attacked and murdered by 
 the confpirators. His death was heard with in- 
 difference by the Goths and Saracens ; his head 
 was tranfmitted to the Caliph ; and by a refine- 
 ment in cruelty was prefented to the father with 
 the infulting queftion, whether he acknowledged 
 the features of the rebel ? " I know his features," 
 VOL. i. L he
 
 U 6 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 he exclaimed with indignation. " I affert his in- 
 " nocence ; and I imprecate the fame, a jufter fate 
 " againft the authors of his death." But the age 
 and defpair of Mufa raifed him above the power 
 of kings, and he expired at Mecca of the anguifh 
 of a broken heart. 
 
 On the aflafflnation of Abdelaziz, Ayub, the 
 moft guilty or the mod zealous of the confpi- 
 rators, affumed the adminiftration of Spain ; he 
 was foon removed by the fuperior favour or merit 
 of Alahor , and the new lieutenant of the Caliph, 
 after feverely chaftifing the rapacity, prepared to 
 exercife the valour of the Moflems, by leading an 
 army of the faithful acrofs the Pyrenees. The 
 diflenfions of the Franks and the weaknefs of the 
 Vifigoths facilitated the enterprife ; the remnant 
 of the Gothic monarchy beyond thofe mountains 
 was overwhelmed by the torrent of the Saracens. 
 The ftandards of Mahomet were difplayed along the 
 gulf of Lyons beyond the ftream of the Garonne; 
 the cities of Carcaffone, Narbonne, Beziers, and 
 Nifmes, opened their gates or were carried by 
 aflault. But the invaders feem to have been im- 
 pelled by the thirft of glory and of fpoil ; and fa- 
 tiate with flaughter and plunder, they abandoned 
 their conquefts, and repaired the Pyrenees. Yet 
 the pofleffion of Spain often tempted the Saracens 
 to afpire to the total conqueft of the Weft ; their 
 defeat under the walls of Thouloufe, inflamed in- 
 
 ftead
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN* itf 
 
 fteacl of chilling their ardour ; the fouth of France 
 was blafted by their prefence; and under Ab- 
 derame, one of the fucceflbrs of Alahor, they 
 pitched their camp in the fruitful plains between 
 Poitiers and Tours. They had been fuffered to 
 -advance, they neither wifhed, nor would have 
 been permitted to retreat. The warriors of the 
 Weft were united under the command ofCharles > 
 the illegitimate fon of Pepin ; who, with the title 
 of mayor, governed France with abfolute power 
 under the fanction of the Merovingian name. 
 The banks of the Loire was the theatre of a con- 
 flict as memorable for its confequences, as for the 
 number and renown of the combatants. During 
 the fix firft days of defultory action, the horfe- 
 men and archers of the Eaft maintained their 
 Wonted fuperiority ; but on the feventh the hoft 
 of the Saracens was in a clofe engagement broken 
 by the robuft ftature and nervous courage of their 
 adverfaries. On that immortal day, the weighty 
 ftrokes of Charles firfl acquired him the furname 
 of Martel, the Hammer ; the bloody field was 
 ftrewed by Abderame himfelf, and, if we credic 
 the Monkim writers, three hundred and feventy- 
 five thoufand Mahometans. But though this 
 number is doubtlefs exaggerated, the victory was 
 complete. The chiefs of the Saracens, amidft the 
 terror of the night, provided each for his feparate 
 fafety ; a fecond irruption into Provence ferved 
 L 2 only
 
 J4 8 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 
 
 only to expofe them to a fecond defeat ; and they 
 were intruded by experience to reftrain their ar- 
 dour within the limits of the Pyrenees, and to 
 guard, inftead of paffing, the ftrong pofts of thote 
 mountains. 
 
 A province is affimilated to the victorious ftate 
 by the introduction of ftrangers, and the imita- 
 tive fpirit of the natives ; and Spain, which had 
 been fucceffively tinctured with Punic, with Ro- 
 man, and with Gothic blood, imbibed, in a few 
 generations, the name and manners of the Arabs. 
 The firft conquerors, and the twenty fucceflivc 
 lieutenants of the Caliphs, were atterrded by a nu- 
 merous train of civil and military followers, who 
 preferred a diftant fortune to a narrow home. 
 The private and public intereft was promoted by 
 the eftablifhment of faithful colonies ; and the 
 cities of Spain were proud to commemorate the 
 tribe or country of their Eaftern progenitors. The 
 victorious though motley bands of Tarik and 
 Mufa aflferted, by the name of Spaniards, their 
 original claim of conqueft ; yet they allowed 
 their brethren of Egypt to fliare their eftablifh- 
 ments of Murcia and Lifbon. The royal legion 
 of Damafcus was planted at Cordova; that of 
 Emefa at Seville ; that of Chalcis at Jaen ; that of 
 Paleftine at Algezire and Medina Sidonia. The 
 natives of Arabia Felix and Perfia were fcattered 
 round Toledo, and the inland country ; and the 
 
 fertile
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 149 
 
 fertile feats of Grenada were beftowed on "ten 
 thoufand horfemen of Syria and Irak, the children 
 of the pureft and moft noble of the Arabian 
 tribes. * 
 
 A fpirit of emulation, fometimes beneficial, 
 more frequently dangerous, was nourilhed by thefe 
 hereditary factions. The patient and fubmiffive 
 fpirit of the Moflems which has been fo well de- 
 lineated in the example of Tarik, had evaporated 
 in the gradual acquifition of wealth and influence- 
 The rival houfes of Ommijah, and of Abbas the 
 uncle of Mahomet, convulfed the Eaft by their 
 pretenfions from the Indus to the Euphrates. On 
 the banks of the Zeb the important conteft was 
 decided ; Mervan the fourteenth, and laft caliph 
 of the houfe of Ommijah, animated his army by 
 his prefence and his example ; but he was forced 
 to yield to the enthufiafm of the Abbaffides, con- 
 dueled by Abdallah, the uncle of his competitor. 
 The vanquifhed Caliph crofled the Euphrates ; 
 and, without halting in Paleftine, pitched his laft 
 camp on the banks of the Nile ; he was purfued 
 and attacked by Abdallah ; and the lance of an 
 Abbaffide terminated the reign and life of 
 Mervan. 
 
 At a diftance from the fcene of action, and 
 
 fecured by feas and mountains, the Moflems of 
 
 Spain had liftened to the revolution which had 
 
 agitated the Eaft. Their zeal foon involved them 
 
 L 3 in
 
 , 5 o HISTORY OF SPAIN, 
 
 in the confequences of it. In the prescription of 
 the Ommiades a royal youth of the name of Ab- 
 dalrahman alone eicaped from the rage of his ene- 
 mies, and gained the fhelter of the vallies of 
 mount Altas. His prefence in the neighbourhood 
 of Spain revived through that peninfula the hopes 
 of the party who had deplored the ruin of his 
 houfe. They invited and received him on the 
 coaft of Andalufia with open arms. The white 
 ftandard, the diflinclion of his faction, was 
 unfurled ; and the chiefs who reverenced the 
 memory of the immediate fucceffbrs of Mahomet, 
 drew their fabres in his fupport. The defeat of 
 the Zeb was avenged on the banks of the Gua- 
 dalquivir ; that river was fwelled with the bo- 
 dies of the flaughtered Abbaffides; and the throne 
 of the victorious Abdalrahman was eftablilhed 
 at Cordova. 
 
 A- D- 755> * l was tnen ar k ^ ie a S e f Arabian 
 9I2> gallantry and magnificence, which ex- 
 alted the Moors of Spain above their contempo- 
 raries, and rendered Cordova the feat of the rival 
 arts, and arms. Near thirty years the reign of 
 Abdalrahman was prolonged amidft the accla- 
 mations of his people ; and an hero who was in- 
 debted for the fceptre to his fword, as a fovereign 
 encouraged and extended the mild influence of 
 agriculture and commerce. He had folicited 
 again.lt the fleet and army of the caliph Almanfor, 
 
 the
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 151 
 
 the aid of the Chriftians ; and after victory, in his 
 edict of pacification, he was not forgetful of their 
 afiiftance ; the modeft impofrtion often thoufand 
 ounces of gold, ten thoufand pounds of iilver, ten 
 thoufand horfes, as many mules, one thoufand 
 cuirafles, with an equal number of helmets and 
 lances, rather aflerted his fovereignty, than mark- 
 ed the ability of his fubjects. The country, from 
 a fcene of defolation, rapidly affumed under his 
 impartial government the features' of wealth 
 and profperity. Cordova became the centre of 
 induftry, of politenefs, and of genius. The bold 
 and noble ftrove in tilts and tournaments ^ the 
 prize of addrefs and valour was difputed in the 
 capital of the Ommiades by the moft illuftrious 
 knights from every part of Europe ; and Spain 
 was the only kingdom of the Weft where 
 the influence of muiic was felt, and the fludies 
 of geometry, aftronomy, and phyfic, were pro- 
 moted and. regularly pradtifed. 
 
 Haffam the fon and fucceffor of Abdalrahman, 
 was not inferior to his father in histhirft of glory 
 and his paffion for architecture. He applied the 
 plunder of the fouthern provinces of France to 
 the holy purpofe of completing the mofch which 
 had been begun by his predeceflbr. He was not 
 only a patron of, but a proficient in the arts ; and 
 the bridge which he planned, and threw over 
 L 4 the
 
 I S 2 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 the Guadalquivir, remains a lafting monument of 
 his fkill. 
 
 Beneath the fecond Abdalrahman, new ftruo 
 tures fupplied the wants of the citizens, and 
 augmented the magnificence of Cordova ; a per- 
 petual fupply of pure water was conducted through 
 pipes and aqueducts into the heart of the city ; 
 and the erections of numerous mofchs admoniflied 
 the inhabitants where their gratitude was due for 
 the profperity they enjoyed. The protection of 
 learning and the learned illuftrates the reign of 
 Alkaham the fecond. The univerfity of Cordova 
 xvas founded and endowed by his munificence. 
 The birth-place of the Senecas and the Lucans 
 aflerted again its pretenfions to literary fame ; and 
 might boaft a library of fix hundred thoufand 
 volumes, forty-four of which were employed in 
 the mere catalogue. 
 
 A. D. 9 i. Yet thefe may be confidered as faint 
 9 6j - and imperfect Iketches of the wealth, 
 the power, and the magnificence of the caliphs 
 of Spain; and the pomp and profufion of the 
 third Abdalrahman, who reigned about a cen- 
 tury and a half after his houfe was firft eflablifhed 
 at Cordova, muft have excited the wonder and 
 envy of his contemporaries, and has almoft fur- 
 panned the belief of pofterity. His feraglio, with 
 his wives, his concubines, and black eunuchs, 
 amounted to fix thoufand three hundred perfons j 
 
 and
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 153 
 
 and he was attended to the field by a guard of 
 twelve thoufand horfe, whofe belts and fcimitars 
 were ftudded with gold. The prefents that were 
 laid at his feet by his favourite Aboumalik, when 
 preferred to the poft of grand vizir, confifted of 
 four hundred pounds of virgin gold, ingots of 
 filver to the value of four hundred and twenty 
 thoufand fequins, five hundred ounces of amber- 
 gris, three hundred ounces of camphire, thirty 
 pieces of gold tiffue, fo rich as to be worn alone 
 by a Caliph, ten fuits of khorafan fables, and one 
 hundred fuits of lefs valuable fur; forty-eight 
 .fets of gold and filk trappings for horfes, four 
 thoufands pounds of filk, fifteen courfers of the 
 pureft breed of Arabia, and caparifoned worthy 
 of the matter that was to mount them ; a pro- 
 mifcuous heap of Perfian carpets and coats of 
 mail, of aloes, of Ihields, and lances; and the 
 long and {plendid proceffion was clofed by forty 
 youths, and twenty girls of exquifite beauty, 
 whofe collars and bracelets fparkled with gems 
 of ineftimable value. Yet to Abdalrahman the 
 molt precious gift of his minifter was the poem 
 which celebrated, and perhaps juftly, his vir- 
 tues ; he liftened with attention ; claimed at leaft 
 the praife of liberality ; and rewarded the merit 
 or artful flattery of the bard with a penfion of 
 one hundred thoufand pieces of gold, or upwards 
 of forty thoufand pounds iterling. 
 
 The
 
 154 HISTORY OF SPAIN, 
 
 The monarch who could thus acknowledge the 
 influence of verfe, was not likely to be inienfible 
 to the power of beauty ; and Abdalrahman it 
 muft be confefled, loved at leaft with magnifi- 
 cence. Three miles from Cordova, the city, the 
 palace, and the gardens of Zehra, or Arizapha, 
 were conftru&ed in honour of, and defigned to 
 perpetuate the name of his favourite fultana. 
 The moft celebrated architect of Conftantinople 
 was invited to draw the plan ; the mofl fkilful 
 fculptors and artifts of the age were attracted 
 by the munificence of the Caliph to execute it. 
 The edifice was fupported by near twelve hun- 
 dred columns of Spanifh and African, of Italian 
 and Greek marble ; the latter were the pledges of 
 alliance and friendfhip from the emperor of Con- 
 #antinople. The richnefs of the hall of audi- 
 tnce exceeded the bounds of credibility. The 
 walls were incrufted with gold and pearls ; in the 
 centre was a bafon with curious and coftly figures 
 of birds and quadrupeds; above it hung a pearl 
 of ineftimable price, the tribute of the fears or 
 gratitude of the emperor Leo. Twenty-five years, 
 and above three millions fterling, were confumed 
 in conftrudting and adorning the favourite refi- 
 dence. Within, and fequeflered from view, were 
 the apartments of the envied females who fhared, 
 or were referved for the embraces of Abdalrah- 
 man. The charms of Zehra ftione above the 
 
 name-
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 155 
 
 namelefs multitude, and might defy the eye of 
 malignant criticifm ; over the principal entrance 
 to the palace, her ftatue extorted the admiration 
 of the crowd ; yet while the enraptured Modems 
 gazed with ardour on the fymmetry of her form, 
 their piety was wounded by the boldntfs of their 
 fovereign, whofe amorous paffion had prefumed 
 to violate the exprefs mandate of the prophet, 
 which provided againfl the danger of idolatry by 
 the interdiction of images. Their murmurs pro* 
 bably never reached the ears of Abdalrahman, 
 who when fatiated with the delights of love, or 
 fatigued with the toils of the chace, repofed in a 
 lofty pavilion, fituated in the midit of a garden, 
 which was adorned with a fountain replenifhed, 
 not with water, but with the pureft quickfilver. 
 In our imperfect eflimation of the lot of hu- 
 man life, there are few who would not willingly 
 accept the cares, with the comforts of royalty. 
 Yet the name of Abdalrahman may be added to 
 the lift of thofe who from the time of Solomon 
 to the prefent age, have complained that the pof- 
 feffion of a throne could never afford any laft- 
 ing fatisfaction. An authentic memorial, which 
 ought to temper the ardour of ambition, was 
 foijnd in the clofet of the Caliph after his deceafe ; 
 was tranfcribed, and carefully preferved, as an 
 inftructive leflbn to pofterity. " I have now 
 ( ' reigned above fifty years in victory or peace ; 
 
 " beloved
 
 156 HISTORY OF SPAIN, 
 
 " beloved by my fubjects, dreaded by my cne- 
 (f mies, and refpected by my allies. Riches and 
 " honours, power and pleafure, have waited on 
 " my call, nor does any earthly bleffing appear 
 " to have been wanting to my felicity ; in this 
 " fituation I have diligently numbered the days 
 " of pure and genuine happinefs which have 
 " fallen to my lot : they amount to fourteen : O 
 " man ! place not thy confidence in this prefent 
 " world.'* The admonition was probably read, 
 admired, and neglected; the fucceffors of Ma- 
 homet feem to have forgotten the fpirhual re- 
 wards that had been promifed by the prophet ; 
 they difdained the abftinence and frugality of the 
 firft Caliphs, and afpired to emulate the magnifi- 
 cence, and condefcended to indulge in the luxury 
 of the Perfian kings. 
 
 The vanity of regal fplendour may exercife 
 the fancy of the moralift, the means which fup- 
 ply it are the objects of the hiftorian's enquiry. 
 Befides the flructures of private pleafure and pub- 
 lic utility, a formidable army and regular naval 
 eftablifliment awed the enemies and fecured the 
 profperity of the faithful. The matter of the 
 richeft provinces of Spain reaped the harveft of 
 a wife and equitable adminiftration. The royal 
 city of Cordova contained fix hundred mofchs, 
 nine hundred baths, and two hundred thoufand 
 boufes; eighty large cities, and three hundred of 
 
 the
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN, 157 
 
 the fecond order confeffed the authority of the 
 Caliph ; the banks of the Bcetis, which under 
 the Moors afTumed the name of Guadalquivir, 
 were cmbellilhed by twelve thoufand villages ; 
 every hour prefented to the traveller a new ham- 
 let ; and in the courfe of a day's journey he might 
 number three or four confiderable towns ; thefe 
 were inhabited by an induflrious race occupied 
 in agriculture and manufactures. The foil which 
 was ungrateful to the plough teemed with the 
 mofl valuable minerals ; copper, quickfilver, and 
 iron, were exported from the ports of Spain to 
 Barbary, Egypt, and the Eaft. Ambergris, fulphur, 
 faffron, ginger, and myrrh, were claffed among 
 her natural productions ; the coaft of Andalufia 
 was celebrated for coral, and that of Catalonia 
 for pearls ; the rubies of Malaga and Bajar, and 
 the amethyfts of Carthagena were highh efteem- 
 cd ; the admirable temper of the Spanifh fteei 
 recommended it to a warlike age ; and the Mof- 
 lems of Africa eagerly purchafed their cuirafles, 
 their helmets, and their fcimetars from their bre- 
 thren of Spain. The filk manufactures of Gre- 
 nada, and the woollen cloths of Murcia, were 
 fought after with avidity, and were fold at an 
 immenfe profit in the ports of Alexandria and 
 Conftantinople. The policy of the Ommiades was 
 difplayed in an amicable intercourfe with the By- 
 zantine court, which they regarded as their 
 
 ftrongeft
 
 i 5 8 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 ftrongeft barrier againft the enmity of their rl* 
 vals the Abbafiides, and as the moft ready market 
 for the induftry of their fubjects. All the ha- 
 vens of the Grecian dominions were open to the 
 Spanifti traders, who imported rich cargoes of 
 merchandize adapted to the capital of opulence 
 and luxury, and in the advantageous commerce 
 attracted to Spain the treafures which had been 
 accumulated by a long feries of conqueft. But 
 it is probable that the chief fource of the wealth 
 of Abdalrahman was derived from the mines of 
 gold and filver with which the country abound- 
 ed ; the value of thefe it is impofllble to appre- 
 ciate ; but the tribute which he exacted from his 
 people has been preferved by an Arabian hifto- 
 rian, and amounted annually, exclufive of the 
 imports which were paid in kind, to twelve mil- 
 lion nine hundred and forty-five thoufand dinars, 
 or near fix millions fterling ; a fum which, in 
 the tenth century, moft probably furpafled the 
 united revenues of the Chriflian monarchs ; and 
 when the difference of the value of filver be- 
 tween that age and the prefent is computed, cer- 
 tainly exceeds in a fix-fold proportion the reve- 
 nue of modern Spain ; though the neglect of her 
 mines in Europe may have been replaced by the 
 produce of thofe of America. 
 
 In the full pofleffion of wealth and power Ab- 
 dalrahman had been difappointed of happinefs ; 
 
 but
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 159 
 
 but he might indulge a natural hope that his 
 magnificence would be perpetuated in the fplen- 
 dour of his edifices ; x and that a throne which 
 was protected by powerful armies, and opulent 
 provinces, might long be filled by his defcen- 
 dents ; yet the glories of Zehra have crumbled 
 into a duft; not a trace remains to mark the 
 fpot where flood the palace creeled with fuch a 
 wafle of treafure ; and in lefs than fifty years 
 from his deceafe, the kingdom of Cordova was 
 difiblved, and the houfe of Ommijah over- 
 whelmed. 
 
 The name of his fon and fucceflbr A D fl 
 Alkaham the fecond, is flill dear to W 6 - 
 learning ; in the luxury of building he refembled 
 and rivalled his father ; and his foundation of the 
 univerfity of Cordova, and the immenfe library 
 he collected, are honourable proofs of his tafte 
 and liberality ; but he was hot only known by 
 the works of art ; and in the exercife of virtue, 
 and the diftribution of juftice, he fought, and 
 acquired the efteem of His people. A fimple ftory 
 attefts his character open to reproof, and paints- 
 beyond laboured pages the manners of the times. 
 A poor woman at Zehra pofiefled a fmall fpot of 
 ground contiguous to the royal palace ; the Ca- 
 liph, defirous of extending his gardens, had in 
 vain tempted her to part with the land for a furn 
 f money ; a regard for the patrimony which had 
 
 been
 
 160 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 been rendered facred by the birth of her anceA 
 tors, induced her to reject every propofal ; and the 
 head gardener abufed the authority of his matter, 
 and feized by force what ihe refufed to yield for 
 gain. The woman in an agony of defpair flew 
 to Cordova to implore the protection of Ibu Be- 
 kir, the chief cadi of the city. This magiftrate 
 immediately mounted on his afs, taking with him 
 a fack of an extraordinary iize, and preiented 
 himfelf before Alkaham, who was then fitting in 
 a magnificent pavilion on the very ground in 
 queftion ; the arrival of the cadi, and the appear- 
 ance of the wallet, furprifed the prince ; Bekir 
 having proftrated himfelf, intreated Alkaham to 
 allow him to fill his fack with fome of the earth 
 they were then upon. This requeft granted, and 
 the fack filled, the cadi defired him to help him 
 to lift it upon his afs. The laft demand appeared 
 ftill more extraordinary than the preceding ; the 
 Caliph however confented ; but upon putting his 
 Jhoulder to it, could not help complaining of the 
 .exceffive weight of the load. " Sir," replied the 
 fc cadi, this fack, which you find fo heavy, con- 
 " tains but a fmall portion of the earth which, 
 " you have unjufty taken from a poor woman ; 
 " how then do you expert to be able at the day 
 " of judgment to fupport the weight of the 
 " whole field you have had fo little fcruple in 
 " ufurping." Far from being incenfed at the bold 
 
 rebuke
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 161 
 
 Tebuke, the Caliph generoufly acknowledged his 
 fault, and ordered the land to be reftored to 
 the proprietor with every thing he had caufed to 
 be erected upon it ; and the tale is an incon- 
 teftable evidence, that though the generality 
 of the conquerors of Spain had felt the influ- 
 ence of a luxurious and degenerate age, fome 
 ftill cherifhed the fimple virtues of the primitive 
 Modems. 
 
 A feeble infant of the name of A. D, 97$. 
 Haflem was the fon and fucceffor of I492 * 
 Alkaham ; but the reins of adminiftration were 
 intruded to the hand of the celebrated vizir 
 Mahomet Abenamir, who from his -valour and 
 vigilance deferved and acquired the furname of 
 Almanzor, or the Defender* He fuccefsfully ftrug- 
 gled againft the tempeft of civil and foreign 
 commotion ; and fix campaigns that he fuc- 
 ceffively took the field, he returned crowned with 
 victory and covered with glory ; the character of 
 invincible, was wrefted from him in an obftinate 
 and bloody conflict with the Chriftians ; and 
 from a doubtful or difaftrous field he retired 
 to Medina Cceli ; his haughty fpirit allowed him 
 not to brook difgrace; the deftruction of one 
 hundred thoufand of the faithful was imbittered 
 by the reflection that they fell by the fwords of the 
 enemies of their religion ; Almanzor deplored or 
 envied their fate, and afhamed to furvive, or im- 
 
 VOL. i. M patient
 
 162 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 patient to join them in paradife, he plunged a 
 dagger in his bofom. 
 
 The renown of Almanzor was refpe&ed in 
 his defcendants ; the office of vizir became here- 
 ditary in his family; and his fons ruled with 
 power as abfolute as that of the Caliphs ; but their 
 ufurpation urged the ambition of other chiefs and 
 emirs ; the exclufive pretenfions of the houfe of 
 Ommijah were no longer regarded ; and we may 
 difcern through the gloom of hiftory, that the 
 grandfon of the great Abdalrahman was plunged 
 into a dungeon by his rebellious Moflem fubjedts, 
 and was releafed and reftored to his throne by a 
 Chriftian ally; the victorious Saracens in little 
 more than two centuries run the fame career as 
 the Viiigoths they had vanquiihed ; they abufed 
 their profperity; abandoned themfelves to lux- 
 ury ; and exhaufted in domeftic diflenfions that 
 ftrength which might have enabled them to have 
 refilled or to have overwhelmed the common 
 enemy. Their ancient glory was overfhadowed 
 by a long night of darknefs; the limits of their 
 dominions gradually receded ; and were at length 
 confined within the boundaries of Grenada. On 
 that ground the Moors however ftill difplayed the 
 traces of that warlike fpirit which had Ihone con- 
 fpicuous in the field of Xeres ; and according to 
 the Spanifh hiftorians, near eight centuries of al- 
 moft uninterrupted war elapfed, and three thou- 
 
 fand
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 163 
 
 fand feven hundred battles were fought, before 
 the laft of the Moorifh kingdoms in Spain fub- 
 mitted to the Chriftian arms. 
 
 M ^ Chapter
 
 i&4 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 Chapter the Fifth. 
 
 he Goths maintain their independence in the Afturiat* 
 mountains. Reign and achievements of Pelagius. 
 Death of his fen and fuccejfbr Favilla. Election 
 of Alfonfo, furnamed the Catholic. Reign of Froila. 
 - He regulates the Catholic church. His vic- 
 tories overAbdalrahman. Hisfeverity. His ajjaf- 
 fmation. Succeffion of Aurelio, and Silo. Ufurpa- 
 tlon of Mauregato. Election of Bermuda* He 
 rejigns the crown to Alfonfo, the Cbajte. Glorious 
 adminiftration of Alfonfo. He is fucceeded by his 
 fon Ramiro. Reign ofOrdogno. Of Alfonfo, fur- 
 named the Great. Of Gar cias. OfOrdogno the. 
 fecond. Of Froila the fecond. Of Alfonfo the 
 fourth. Of Ra^iro. He wrejls the city of Toledo 
 from the Mojlems. Adminijlration of Abdalrah- 
 man the third. Prudence of Ramiro. His victory 
 over the Moors. He is facceeded by his fon Or- 
 dogno the third. Reign of Sancho. He is depofed. 
 ' Accefjion ofOrdogno the fourth. Reftoration of 
 Sancho. He is poifoned. Election of Ramiro the 
 third. Of Bermudo the fecond. Of Alfonfo the 
 ffih< Of Bermuda the third, His death unites 
 
 in
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 165 
 
 in his brother-in-law Ferdinand the noticm of 
 Leon and Caftille. 
 
 AN our admiration of the rapid victo- A. D. 718, 
 ries of the Mahometans, the fcanty 
 remnant of Chriftians who ftill rejected their yoke 
 are almoft loft to our fight ; after the difaftrous 
 field of Xeres, and the reduction of Seville and 
 Merida, an illuftrious band of fugitives cherifhed 
 the flame of liberty in the Afturian vallies. In a 
 life of poverty and freedom their former virtues 
 revived ; their nerves were braced by the keen air 
 of independence ; in many a bloody encounter 
 they aflerted againft the fanatics of Arabia their 
 defcent from the hardy warriors of the North ; 
 and in the fevere fchool of adverfity they courted 
 and deferved the return of profperity. 
 
 Amidft their tracklefs retreats the Chriflian 
 Spaniards preferved with care and affection their 
 ancient laws and cuftoms ; the noble birth, diftin- 
 guifhed courage, and acknowledged ability of 
 Pelagius recommended him a^ their leader; yet. 
 it was not until fix years after the defeat of Xeres 
 that in a national aflembly of his countrymen he 
 received the title of king ; the narrow territory 
 that he was elected to reign over was confined 
 within the diftrict of Liebana, and extended about 
 M 3 nin
 
 j66 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 nine leagues in length, and about four in breadth ; 
 but it was broken by fteep and frequent moun- 
 tains ; and was inhabited by an undaunted race, 
 who might juftly afpire to conquer, fince they 
 feared not to die. 
 
 Defcending from their craggv abodes, thefe 
 iron mountainiers prefumed again to try their 
 valour in the open country; their bold incur- 
 iions were planned with judgment and executed 
 with fuccefs; and their election of Pelagius 
 awakened the Moors from the illufion, that all 
 refiftance to their dominion in Spain was extin- 
 guished. Acrofs the Pyrenees, amidft his career 
 of victory, the exultation of Alahor was checked 
 by the intelligence of their achievements ; at his 
 command, an army of the faithful was drawn from 
 the garrifons of Seville, Toledo, and IVlerida; 
 they were joined by a felect detachment from the 
 Arabian forces in Gaul ; and under the command 
 of the valiant Alahaman, and the treacherous 
 Oppas, they directed their march to the Afturian 
 mountains to trample out the laft fpark of li- 
 berty. 
 
 At the head of his brave aflbciates, fortified 
 by the love of freedom and the contempt of death, 
 Pelagius heard without difmay the approach of 
 the numerous hoft of the invaders ; he fuffered 
 them to traverfe the rough and lofty mountains 
 of Aufeba, and to defcend into the valley beneath. 
 
 But
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 167 
 
 But with the eye of a general he marked that 
 narrow fpot for the fcene of his own glory and 
 their deftruftion. While they triufnphed in the 
 full affurance of fuccefs,they were fuddenly affailed 
 from the neighbouring heights with ftones, with 
 arrows, and with javelins. Their numbers only 
 ferved to increafe their confufion, and to fwell 
 the tide of daughter; they were incapable of 
 avoiding the -ponderous fragments of rocks which 
 were precipitated from above on their heads ; an 
 ambufcade of Chriftians flarted from the hollow 
 caverns of the mountains ; and their fwords com- 
 pleted the bloody labour which had been begun 
 by the miffile weapons of their brethren. Oppas 
 in chains was referved to meet the juft reward of 
 his perfidy ; Alahaman fought and obtained a 
 foldier's death ; the vale is faid to have been 
 heaped with the bodies of one hundred thoufand 
 Moflems ; and though we may diftruft the num- 
 ber, we may fafely aflert that where religion and 
 revenge combined to edge the fword of the 
 victors, the flaughter was urged with cruel dili- 
 gence and without mercy. The remnant that 
 efcaped from battle traverfed with fearful fteps 
 the mountain Aufeba, and on the banks of the 
 Dcva halted from the purfuit of the conquerors, 
 and hoped they had reached the term of their 
 misfortunes ; but a lefs glorious fate impended 
 over them ; as they attempted to pafs the ftream 
 M 4 of
 
 i68 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 of the Deva, a neighbouring mountain was over- 
 thrown by an earthquake ; the river was agitated 
 by the concuflion and fwelled by the mafly frag- 
 ments ; the greateft part of the fugitive Moflems 
 were overwhelmed in its waters ; the convulfion 
 of nature in a fuperflitious age was attributed to 
 the preternatural interference of providence ; and 
 the courage of the pious Chriftians was confirmed 
 by the belief that heaven warred on their fide. 
 
 One defeat had not effaced in the minds of 
 the Moflems a long feries of victory and plunder ; 
 on the intelligence of the national calamity, 
 Mumuza the Moorim governor of Gijon marched 
 forth with his garrifon to check the pride and 
 chaftife the temerity of the Chriftians. In the 
 valley of Olalles, about three leagues below the 
 modern city of Oviedo, his prefumption was re- 
 proved by the martial followers of Pelagius. Two 
 thirds of the Moors perifhed in the action or pur- 
 fuit ; the ftrong town of Gijon capitulated or was 
 reduced by force ; vanquifhed in two trials, the 
 Moors tacitly relinquilhed for fome time the un- 
 profitable conteft. More intent on fpoil than 
 on propagating the faith of their prophet, they 
 turned from a wild and barren country over- 
 ihadowed with woods and mountains, defended 
 by a fearlefs race, whofe fwords and freedom 
 were almoft their fole pofleffions, to breathe the 
 genial climate, and to revel in the plenty of the 
 
 fouthern
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 169 
 
 fouthern provinces of Gaul ; their fuccefs acrofs 
 the Pyrenees was productive of a double advan- 
 tage to the independent Spaniards ; it allowed 
 them a fliort repofe from war to eftablifh order 
 in their new government ; and in the abufe of 
 profperkyand the indulgence of luxury, it relaxed 
 the nerves and gradually foftened the ferocious 
 fpirit of their enemies. 
 
 Nineteen years Pelagius fwayed with fuccefs 
 the fceptre he had formed ; and a territority above 
 forty leagues in length acknowledged his autho- 
 rity; in that fpace he exercifed the virtues which 
 had raifed him to fovereignty ; his fubjects were 
 taught to revere his juftice, and his neighbours 
 to refpedt his valour ; his end is involved in ob- 
 fcurity ; but it is more than probable amidft a 
 turbulent and fanguinary age, a peaceful death 
 was the reward of his merits. 
 
 The gratitude of Spain, and of Chrif- A. D. 737, 
 tianity, have embalmed the memory of 739 ' 
 Pelagius, and elevated to the vacant throne his 
 fon Favilla ; two years of royalty were not fuffi- 
 cient to difplay the ambiguous character of Favilla; 
 and he is varioufly reprefented by the Spanifli 
 hiftorians as indolent and luxurious, as active and 
 enterprifing ; his fubjedls foon deplored or ex- 
 ulted in his premature fate ; and as he eagerly 
 purfued the chace in the mountains of Afturia, 
 lie was thrown to the ground, and mortally 
 
 wounded
 
 xjo HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 wounded by a bear before his attendants couli 
 imerpofe in his defence. 
 
 A D ?39) His brother-in-law Alfonfo was by 
 w 8 ' the fuffrages of a free people called to 
 the fucceflion ; the furname of the Catholic was 
 the tribute to his zeal for religion ; and the efleem 
 of his fubjects was the reward of his valour and 
 wifdom. New churches arofe on the ruins of 
 the mofchs of the infidels, and new boundaries 
 were prefcribed to the ambition or ulurpation 
 of the Saracens. The Moflems, exhaufted by 
 domeftic factions and the rival pretenfions of the 
 houfes of Ommijah and Abbas, were inattentive 
 to, or incapable of oppofing his progrefs. He 
 penetrated into Gallicia; reduced Lugo, which 
 had beheld the glory and difgrace of Mufa ; and 
 turning to the north, pitched his camp in the 
 plains of Leon and Caftille ; the gates of Aftorga, 
 Saldagna, and Victoria, were burft open by his 
 arms, or were unbarred by the fecret inclinations 
 of the inhabitants ; he prefented himfelf on the 
 borders of the modern kingdom of Portugal, and 
 he purfued his victorious march through old 
 Caftille to the range of mountains which divides 
 it from the new. Yet his enterprifes, though con- 
 ducted with vigour, were tempered with prudence; 
 at the conclufion of each campaign he retired 
 within the craggy diftrid of Afturia ; his retreat 
 was marked by devaluation ; he prudently inter- 
 
 pofed
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 171 
 
 pofed a wide and defert frontier between his 
 narrow territories and the populous dominion of 
 the Moors ; but the fame of his exploits and the 
 liberal diftribution of his fpoil, attracted from 
 every quarter of Spain a crowd of bold or hungry 
 Chriftians, who had long borne with indignation 
 the yoke of the Mahometans ; the latter were ex- 
 haufted by famine and civil commotion ,* yet it 
 was not until the evening of his reign that Alfonfo 
 ventured to quit his native faflnefles, and to re- 
 build the walls of, and to occupy the cities of 
 Leon and Aftorga. 
 
 His fon Froila fucceeded to his A. D. 758, 
 crown and his abilities in war, but he ?68 ' 
 poflefled not his generofity and magnanimity in 
 peace. His difpofition was flern and fanguinary ; 
 and he commanded the obedience > without deign- 
 ing to conciliate the affections of his fubjects, 
 His firft reform has been applauded by the writers 
 of a monkifh age ; the clergy had availed them- 
 felves of the general diftraction after the death of 
 Roderic, to gratify the impulfe of nature, and 
 feveral had contracted themfelves in marriage 
 with the objects of their honourable paffion ; but 
 the laity, who had regarded with indifference their 
 promifcuous amours, were fcandalized in their 
 violation of the canons of the church by the 
 forms of a legal union. The aufterity of the 
 Sovereign happily accorded with the wifhes of his 
 
 fubjects ;
 
 i 7 2 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 fubjects; the authority of the Catholic church 
 was vindicated by Froila ; and throughout Spain, 
 its minifters were confined to celibacy without 
 being reftored to chaftity. 
 
 The victory of Abdalrahman on the banks of 
 the Guadalquivir had eltablilhed in Spain the 
 houfe of the Ommiades ; and a prince who had 
 triumphed over the kindred valour of the Mof- 
 lems, endured not without indignation the hoftile 
 progrefs of the Chriftians ; the expectation of 
 fpoil, and the promife of paradife, aflembled be- 
 tween the Duero and Tagus a numerous hoft of 
 the Saracens ; they pafled the confines of Por- 
 tugal, and the name of Pontumo marks the fpot 
 in Gallicia where they defcried the enfigns of the 
 Chriftians. The inferiority of numbers was fup- 
 plied by the {kill and valiant example of Froila ; 
 fifty-four thoufand Moflems were extended life- 
 lefs on the field ; their general was amongft the 
 flam ; the moment of fuccefs was improved by 
 the addrefs of Froila ; and the city of Oviedo, 
 which he deftinedjfor his new capital, was, with the 
 fpoils of the vanquilhed, erected at a fmall diftance 
 from Gijon, on the banks of the Afte, which is 
 formed from the confluence of the waters of the 
 Ova and Deva. 
 
 A fecond attempt of Abdalrahman to retrieve 
 his honour, ferved only to augment his difgrace; 
 another army of the Moflems was loft in the 
 
 mountainous
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 mountainous diftrids of old Caflille; and the 
 Caliph in an honourable truce confefled his dread 
 of his Chriftian adverfary. But Froila was not 
 lefs the terror of his enemies than of his fubjedts. 
 In the laft invalion of Abdalrahman, the natives 
 of Gallicia had negledted or refufed to join the 
 flandard of their fovereign ; and no fooner had he 
 concluded peace with the Saracens, than at the 
 head of an obedient army he entered Gallicia, and 
 by the execution of the moft illuftrious or moft 
 rebellious of the inhabitants, taught them to dread 
 the refentment of an offended monarch. The 
 neighbouring provinces beheld with difmay and 
 difcontent the tremendous example ; the guile 
 and danger of difobedience were forgotten in the 
 excefs of the punilhment ; and Froila, who had 
 never poflefled the love, was now expofed to the- 
 hatred of his people; his mind was probably irri- 
 tated by the ingratitude of the multitude and 
 confcioufnefs of his fervices ; and his brother, 
 except himfelf the only legitimate fon of Al- 
 fonfo, was the vi&im of his jealoufy. Bimarano 
 inherited, or was fuppofed to inherit, the popular 
 qualities of his father ; the efteem of his coun- 
 trymen was the fignal for his death ; and in a 
 perfidious conference he was dabbed by the hand 
 of Froila. The fafety of the tyrant, for fuch is 
 the name that he hereafter deferves, was under- 
 mined by his own crime ; his nobles reprefled 
 their abhorrence of his unnatural deed ; and pa- 
 tiently
 
 i 7 4 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 tiently waited for the moment of retaliation. The 
 dagger of an afTaflin was whetted againft the life 
 of Froiia ; and he fell without being lamented by 
 the people whom he had defended. 
 A. D. 762, The feeble claims of an infant fon, 
 77 * the only fruits of the marriage of Froiia 
 with his beautiful captive Monina, were loft in 
 the deteftation of the father, or were deferred 
 from the debility of his years ; and Alfonfo, who 
 afterwards arofe the father and the glory of his 
 country, was fet afide for Aurelio, the coufm of, 
 and probably one of the confpirators againft the late 
 king ; a confederacy of the Moorilhflavesto avenge 
 their fufFerings in the blood of their Chriftian maf- 
 ters, but which was early detected and quelled, 
 marks alone the reign of Aurelio; his brother 
 Bermudo had entered into the pale of the church, 
 and feemed precluded from the cares and com- 
 forts of royalty ; and Aurelio, deftitute of offspring, 
 fought a fucceflbr amongft the moft illuftrious 
 nobles of his court. The addrefs or virtues of 
 Silo fecured him the preference ; he received the 
 hand of Adofinda, the kinfwoman of his fove- 
 reign ; was intrufted with a confiderable lhare in 
 the adminiftration ; and on the death of Aurelio, 
 was declared his fucceflbr by the fuffrages of the 
 nobility and with the approbation of the people. 
 A. D. 774, The judgment of Aurelio was ap- 
 proved in the meafures of Silo ; during 
 t a reign
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 175 
 
 a reign of nine years an obfcure rebellion in Gal- 
 licia alone interrupted the public tranquillity. 
 The new monarch promoted with ability the hap- 
 pinefs of his people, and watched with honourable 
 care over the education of the youthful Alfonfo. 
 On his death that prince was, with the confent of 
 feveral of the nobility, and under the protection 
 of the dowager queen Adofinda, declared king ; 
 but the fceptre was ravifhed from his hand by a 
 mature and unexpected competitor. 
 
 The piety of Alfonfo the Catholic, A. D. 783, 
 had not fortified him againft the frailty 788> 
 of human nature ; a MooriQi captive had ihared 
 his embraces ; and the iflue of their illicit inter- 
 courfe had obtained from the mother the name of 
 Mauregato. In the humble condition of afubjedt, " 
 he remembered the rank of his father ; and his 
 ambition fuggefted to him the means of afcending 
 to the fame flation. He was not ignorant of the 
 fecret dread left Alfonfo Ihould inherit the aufte- 
 rity of Froila ; he improved the fears of the mul- 
 titude by dark and fubtle rumours ; and at length 
 openly affumed the crown. It is probable Al- 
 fonfo in a field of battle might have fubftantiated 
 his preyious election ; but a civil war might have 
 proved fatal to the infant ftrength of the Chrif- 
 tians ; and the fon of Froila proved himfelf wor- 
 thy of a throne by refuting to hazard his country's 
 welfare in the defence of it. He retired to his pa- 
 trimonial
 
 176 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 trimonial eftate in Bifcay ; that popularity which 
 had been denied him in the palace, accompanied 
 him to his retreat; and whatever might be the 
 fecret wilhes of Mauregato, he engaged to refpect, 
 and he feared to violate the fafety of his magna- 
 nimous rival; but he difgraced by weaknefs the 
 crown he had obtained by perfidy ; to fupport 
 his title he introduced into his dominions the 
 enemies of his country and his religion ; an army 
 of Moors awed the riling difcontents of his fub- 
 jects ; but while they protected him from the in- 
 dignation of the Chriftians, they held him in de- 
 pendence on the will of the Moflems. The invi- 
 dious tale of his furnifhing to the feraglio of the 
 Caliph the annual tribute of an hundred virgins, 
 has been rejected by the moft impartial critics ; 
 yet it is certain he was expofed both to the fufpi- 
 cion and hatred of his people; and his death, after 
 an unpopular reign of fix years, was confidered as 
 a national deliverance. 
 
 A. D. 788, On his deceafe, it might naturally 
 79X< have been expected that the former 
 forbearance of Alfonfo would have united in his 
 favour the voice of the nation ; yet we read with 
 furprife, that Bermudo the brother of Aurelio was 
 drawn from the cloifter to exchange his cowl for 
 a crown. The election of Bermudo cannot be 
 fufpected of intrigue; and the goodnels of his 
 heart was evinced in the firft meafure of his reign ; 
 
 he
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 177 
 
 he fent for Alfonfo, introduced him into his 
 councils, and as foon as the public prejudice was 
 fubfided, intrufted him with the principal mili- 
 tary command. The ambition or fanaticifm of 
 the Moors had again impelled them to invade the 
 Chriflian territories ; and Bermudo, accompanied 
 by Alfonfo, marched to oppofe the infidel hod. 
 Buraba, a fmall town in the neighbourhood of 
 Burgos, was the fcene of their bloody encounter ; 
 and the ftream of the river Aranzon was purpled 
 with the blood of the combatants. The Moors 
 were broken and defeated; and amidft the tu- 
 mult of the day the valour of Alfonfo was con- 
 fpicuous above that of his countrymen. The 
 generous Bermudo feized the moment of admi- 
 ration and gratitude ; he refigned the crown ; and 
 Alfonfo the fecond, wfio from the purity of his 
 life and manners was furnamed the Chafte, was 
 elected in his place. 
 
 The grateful affedtion of Alfonfo A. D. 791. 
 fuffered not Bermudo to efcape to re- * 45 ' 
 tirement; though he had refigned the title, he 
 was ftill regarded by his fucceflbr as a king, and 
 lodged with every mark of refpect in the palace. 
 But while Alfonfo divided the honours, he fup- 
 ported alone the cares of fovereignty. Gallicia 
 was deluged by a fecond inundation of the Mof- 
 lems, and their deftru&ive progrefs claimed the 
 prefence of the new monarch. He marched at 
 
 VOL. i. N the
 
 i 7 8 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 the head of the companions of his former victory ; 
 and near Lodos attacked the infidels, who by their 
 own temerity or the treachery of their guides, 
 had been betrayed into a morafs. Sixty thoufand 
 of the Moflems were either flaughtered by the 
 Chriftians or loft in the bog. The domeftic 
 diflenfions of the Moors fufpended for a ihort 
 time their hoftile enterprifes ; and Alfonfo neg- 
 ledted not to avail himfelf of the favourable 
 opportunity ; he repaired the walls, and re-peo- 
 pled the city of Braga on the banks of the Ca- 
 vado ; he penetrated in arms through the heart of 
 Portugal to the mouth of the Tagus ; he reduced 
 the city of Lilbon, whofe ancient name of Oli- 
 fippo, was in an age of fable fuppofed to have 
 been derived from UlyiTes ; and with the fpoil he 
 enriched the new citizens of Braga. 
 
 The advantages which Alfonfo had gained in 
 arms, he endeavoured to preterve by negocia- 
 tion ; Charlemagne, the potent emperor of the 
 Weft, had during the dhTenfions of the Moors, 
 been invited into Spain by a powerful emir of the 
 name of Ibinala, and who appears to have abufed 
 the independent authority he had exercifed over 
 the city of Saragofla. Driven thence by the 
 general indignation of the inhabitants, in the 
 diet of Paderborn he implored the afilftance of 
 Charlemagne ; the influence of the exiled Ara- 
 bian was re-eftablifhed by the arms of the Chrif- 
 
 tian
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 179 
 
 dan monarch, who carried by afTault Pampeluna, 
 traverfed the Ebro, and fuccefsfully invefted the 
 city of Saragoffa. The rebellious followers of 
 Chrift and Mahomet were impartially cruQied by 
 the protector of infulted fovereignty ; but in the 
 fidelity of an ally, Charlemagne neglected not 
 his own aggrandifement ; he occupied in his own 
 name the countries he penetrated through ; and the 
 march of Spain which he inftituted, extended fro m. 
 the river Ebro beyond the Pyrenees, and includ- 
 ed the country of Rouffillon. Barcelona was the 
 refidence of a French governor, whofe jurifdic- 
 tion was confefled through the province of Cata- 
 lonia, and the kingdoms of Navarre and Arra- 
 gon. But in his retreat the rear-guard of Char- 
 lemagne was expofed to difgrace and lofs ; and 
 it is this action which has been fo much cete- 
 brated in romance for the death of the famous 
 Roland. 
 
 The fituation and religious communion of 
 Charlemagne pointed him out to Alfonfo as his 
 natural ally. In a fplendid embafly the king of 
 Oviedo fought and obtained the friendfhip of th 
 powerful emperor of the Weft; the Moors dread- 
 ed, and were cautious of provoking the refent- 
 ment of the latter ; but they ftill hoped to over- 
 whelm the former. A new hod of infidels laid 
 wafte the country round Burgos, and purfued 
 their di (orderly march through the mountainous 
 N 2 " diftrift
 
 ,&> HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 diftrict of Bifcay ; as they advanced incumbcred 
 with fpoil, and carelefs of discipline, they were 
 attacked and cut to pieces by Alfonfo. So many 
 illuftrious exploits ought to have rendered the 
 king of Oviedo the idol of his fubjects ; yet it is 
 with aftonifhment we find that in the moment of 
 victory he was feized, dethroned, afnd imprifoned, 
 by a formidable faction ; the whole tranfaction is 
 involved in obfcurity ; but if we may credit the 
 Spanifti hiilorians, the army which he led againft 
 the Moors, was compofed chiefly of malecon- 
 tents, who remembered the feverity of Froila, 
 and waited to avenge it on his fon ; they betrayed 
 the confidence that had been repofed in them; 
 fuddenly furrounded his tent, and though they 
 violated the dignity, they refpedted the life, of 
 Alfonfo ; the monaftery of Abalia became his 
 prilbn ; but his difgrace was of fhort duration ; 
 the ingratitude he had experienced was refented 
 by the majority of his people ; the name of Theu- 
 des is preferved as the illuftrious chief who firft 
 animated the multitude to arms in defence of their 
 injured fovereign ; the rebels were compelled to 
 yield to the torrent of loyalty ; and from Abalia 
 Alfonfo was conducted in triumph to Oviedo. 
 By his clemency he extinguifhed the embers of 
 fadion ; and the confpirators who were pardoned 
 by his magnanimity, ever afterwards ferved him 
 with zeal and fidelity, 
 
 In
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIH. $i 
 
 In three fucceflive actions the renown of Al- 
 fonfo was confirmed, and the fuperiovity of the 
 Chriftians eftablifhed over the infidels; but on 
 a throne the fon of Froila, was not fuffered 
 to tafte repofe ; and the perfidy of a Moorilh 
 chief whom he had protected againft Abdalrah- 
 man the fecond, and intruded with the defence 
 of the frontiers of Gallicia, fummoned him again 
 to arms ; Mahomet, for fuch was the name of 
 the traitor, to purchafe the pardon of the court 
 of Cordova, confented to betray his truft; and 
 Gallicia was fuddenly defolated by the Moflems ; 
 the aged limbs of Alfonfo were once more clothed 
 in fteel ; and at Lugo the adverfaries of his faith 
 and country were taught that years, though they 
 had impaired his ftrength, had not chilled his 
 ardour; the field was ftrewed with fifty thoufand 
 lifelefs infidels ; and the head of the perfidious 
 Mahomet was prefented to the victor. 
 
 The lad moments of the reign of Alfonfo were 
 gilded by victory ; but his infirmities warned him 
 of his approaching end ; a difpofition naturally 
 ferious might, between the cares of royalty and 
 the grave, wim to employ fome fhort interval in 
 pious meditation ; the king of Oviedo might be 
 defirous of placing his glory beyond the reach of 
 fortune, or of committing the protection of his 
 fubjects to a more vigorous arm. In the choice 
 of a fucceffor he is aflerted to have been influ- 
 N 3 enced
 
 182 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 enced by the power and fplendid reputation of 
 Charlemagne ; and it has been fuppofed that he 
 only yielded to the unwillingnefs of his fubjecls 
 to exclude from the throne the houfe of Pela- 
 gius ; the idea which has been haftily adopted 
 and adorned by the lively pen of the Abbe Ver- 
 tot, is effaced by a reference to the dates of the 
 moll accurate hiftorians ; the emperor of the Weft 
 had expired near thirty years before the king of 
 Oviedo abdicated the throne ; the ties of grati- 
 tude- and confanguinity more powerfully pleaded 
 for Ramiro the eldeil fon of Bermudo ; the young 
 prince had already fignalized his valour in the 
 victory of JLugo ; and to his hand, with the ap- 
 probation of his people, Alfonfo refigned the 
 fceptre of Oviedo. Fifty years of foreign war 
 and domeftic commotion were fuceeeded by four 
 of private tranquillity ; divefted of the authority, 
 he ftill difplayed the magnificence of a monarch ; 
 the numerous churches he creeled were the mo- 
 numents of his piety ; and in the feventy-eighth 
 year of his age, he breathed his laft amidft the 
 lamentations of his fubjects. 
 A. D. 845. His death expofed his kingdom 
 again to the florms of civil difcord ; 
 the abfence of Ramiro on the frontiers of Na- 
 varre, encouraged the prefumption of Nepotian, 
 whofe birth or fituation is marked by the title of 
 count ; at the head of a powerful army he ad- 
 vanced
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 183 
 
 vanced towards Bifcay, and compelled the new 
 monarch to vindicate his title in arms ; but be- 
 fore the encounter, the minds of the followers of 
 Nepotian were vanquifhed by fear or remorfe; 
 they delivered their leader in chains to their 
 king ; his life was fpared ; but he was deprived 
 of his eye-fight, and he was confined ever after 
 within the walls of a monaftery. 
 
 The adminiftration of Ramiro was Ihort, 
 ilormy, but glorious ; a fecond rebel, whofe rank 
 of count of the palace reveals his ingratitude, 
 fucceeded to the hopes, and lhared the fate of 
 Nepotian. A daring race of adventurers defcend- 
 ing from the fnowy mountains of Norway, ex- 
 plored every fhore that promifed fpoil or fettle- 
 nient ; their veffels were moored in the haven of 
 Corunna ; and their predatory incudions com- 
 manded the prefence of the king himfelf ; the 
 northern pirates were routed with confiderable 
 ilaughter ; part of their fleet was deftroyed ; and 
 for fome time the kindred fquadrons of Norway 
 fhunned the inaufpicious coaft. The fecond Ab- 
 dalrahman proved a more formidable adverfary ; 
 and in Afturia the number of Moflems who at 
 his command overlhadowed the land, were com- 
 pared to a cloud of locufts. Yet the long array 
 was broken by the martial Chriftians ; and the 
 valour of Ordogno the fon of Ramiro, proved 
 him worthy of the crown of Oviedo ; in a fecond 
 N 4 invafion
 
 184 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 invafion Abdalrahman might deplore the dege- 
 neracy of the Moikms, or the rifing virtue of 
 the Chriftians; and the plains of Clavigo were 
 fertilized with the blood of the infidels. It was 
 on this occafion that St. James, the patron of 
 Spain, mounted on a milk-white fteed, was fup- 
 pofed to have animated by his prefence tbe war- 
 riors of Chrift ; his affiftance was repaid by the 
 endowment of the church of Compoflella ; and 
 long after the Spaniards complained that the 
 yoke of the infidels could not have been more 
 heavy than the tribute of gratitude which had 
 been impofed in the name of the faint. 
 A. D. 851. After a turbulent reign of fix years, 
 86a ' Ramiro was difmifled to the grave ; 
 and the fceptre of Oviedo dropped into the hands 
 of his fon Ordogno, vvho from the victory over 
 the Moors, had been aflbciated with his father in 
 the toils of government. Yet the firft moments 
 of accefiion were difturbed by the revolt of the 
 natives of Bifcay ; and he had fcarce quelled by 
 his vigour the infurgents, before he was informed 
 that the forces of the Caliph had penetrated into 
 the heart of his dominions. His march was con- 
 dud: with fecrecy and celerity ; and before the 
 infidels had intelligence of his approach, they 
 were aftonifhed by his prefence in their camp ; 
 the remnant that efcaped the fword, confulted 
 their fafety in a precipitate retreat ; their intef- 
 
 tine
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 185 
 
 tine diflenfions fufpended for fome time their 
 hoftile incurfions ; and the rage of the contend- 
 ing factions was fomented by the policy of Or- 
 dogno, who beheld and rejoiced in their mutual 
 deftrudion. 
 
 The profperity of his people was the beft re- 
 ward of his addrefs ; yet Ordogno was not ex- 
 empted from the murmurs of his fubjects ; the 
 bifhop of Compoflella had been accufed of a 
 crime as degrading to nature, as offenfive to re- 
 ligion ; in the manly abhorrence of Ordogno, 
 he forgot that the accufers of the prelate were his 
 Haves, who might be influenced by private refent- 
 ment ; he commanded the bifhop inftantly to be 
 expofed in the circus to a wild bull ; but the fu- 
 rious beaft inftead of deftroying, gently approach-* 
 ed the holy culprit ; an event that might be de- 
 rived from a thoufand caufes, and which probably 
 was the effect of the natural afcendancy of man 
 over the brute creation, was in a fuperflitious age 
 improved into a miracle ; the bifhop was however 
 content to elude his danger ; and to conceal his 
 fhame, or cherifh his indignation in an her- 
 mitage ; and he was followed to his cell by 
 the acclamations of the unthinking crowd, 
 whofe reproaches accufed the juflice of their 
 fovereign. 
 
 The angry clamours of the multitude at the 
 fentence of Ordogno, may ferve to difplay the 
 Aiperftitious veneration of the age for the mini- 
 
 fters
 
 i86 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 ftcrs of the church ; but they were foon drowned 
 in the loud applaufe which was extorted by the 
 martial achievements of the king of Oviedo. 
 The Moors again invaded his dominions, and 
 their temerity was again chaftifed by the aged 
 arm of the royal warrior. Near Albaga, Muza, 
 who with the title of emir, ruled with indepen- 
 dent authority over the diftrict of Saragofla, was 
 defeated with the lofs of ten thoufand Moflems ; 
 his fon-in-law was amongfl the flain ; and Muza 
 himfelf efcaped with difficulty the chains of the 
 victors to expire of his wounds in his capital. 
 The Normans whofe incurfions had again violat- 
 ed the tranquillity of Gallicia, were repulfed, 
 and compelled to feek Ihelter in their fliips ; and 
 the infidels, after a fecond irruption into Afturia, 
 were obliged to retire with difgrace ; a formidable 
 fleet that had been affembled by the Caliph ~for 
 the conqueft of Portugal, was difperfcd by tem- 
 pefts, or deflroyed by the fquadrons of Oviedo. 
 Animated by victory, Ordogno afpired beyond 
 the glory of a defenfive war ; and he befieged and 
 wrefted from the caliph Mahomet the important 
 cities of Salamanca and Coria. The difficulty 
 of preferring any acquifitions beyond the flream 
 of the Duero, probably influenced Ordogno 
 to abandon his new conquefts ; the walls were 
 difmantled ; the Mahometan inhabitants were 
 fwept away into flavery ; and their fpoils enriched 
 the capital of Oviedo. 
 
 The
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 187 
 
 The victorious career of Ordogno was checked 
 by the increafing infirmities of age, and it was 
 the natural deiire of the father to tranfmit to his 
 fon the fceptre which he himfelf had wielded 
 with fo much vigour and fuccefs. In a national 
 council the wifhes of Ordogno were gratified ; 
 Alfonfo was aflbciated with him in the royal dig- 
 nity ; and foon after, in the full poffeffion of the 
 admiration and efteem of his fubje&s, the vete- 
 ran monarch breathed his lad. 
 
 Alfonfo the third, who from his ex- A. D. 862, 
 ploits deferved and obtained the fur- 9I * 
 name of Great, was in his eighteenth year when he 
 afcended the throne of his father; but the dawn 
 of his future glory was overcaft by the clouds of 
 domeftic commotion ; he had fcarce received in 
 his capital the oath of allegiance from his fubje&s, 
 before he was aftonilhed by the approach of a 
 formidable army, conducted by Froila, who had 
 been intrulled with the government of Gallicia ; 
 and whofe ambition afpired to the crown. Inca- 
 pable of refilling the prefumptuous rebel, Alfonfo 
 quitted Oviedo, and retired into the mountains 
 of Caftille ; he was accompanied in his retreat 
 by the mod illuftrious of the nobles, who ac- 
 knowledged in their attachment to the fon, the 
 fervices and friendfhip of the father ; the fuccefs 
 of the ufuper had been rapid, but his authority 
 was tranfient ; he was incapable of fuftaining with 
 
 mode-
 
 i38 HISTORY OF SPAIN, 
 
 v** 
 
 moderation the favour of fortune; and in the 
 abufe of his power, he quickly degenerated into a 
 tyrant. His arrogance offended thofe who had 
 contributed to his elevation; his cruel jealoufy 
 was dreaded by the party who fecretly repined at 
 his grandeur ; obnoxious to all, he was foon the 
 victim of his temerity ; a confpiracy was filently 
 formed againft him ; and he was affaffinated in 
 the palace that he had fo lately feized. 
 
 The fate of the tyrant was rapidly conveyed to 
 the mountains of Caftille ; Alfonfo quitted his re- 
 treat, and entered Oviedo amidft the acclamations 
 of his fubjedts ; even the troops which had pro- 
 moted the ufurpation of Froila, joined in the ge- 
 neral joy. A prudent amnefty quieted their fears, 
 but might encourage the prefumption of other 
 pretenders ; and the revolt of the counts of 
 Alava, claimed the prefence of the new monarch 
 in the province 'of Bifcay ; the rebels, aftonimed 
 by his celerity, deprecated his wrath by fubmiflion; 
 but no fooner had he pointed again his march tO' 
 wards Oviedo, than they derided and violated 
 their engagements, and again aflembled in arms ; 
 without hefitation Alfonfo turned his face once 
 more towards Alava ; the revolt was cruflied by 
 his vigour ; but the traitors couhj no longer hope 
 for mercy ; and the natural difpofition of Alfonfo 
 yielded to the claims of juftice and the refent- 
 ment of an injured fovereign. 
 
 Jt
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 189 
 
 It was on his own fubjects that the firft tro- 
 phies of Alfonfo were created ; but the more 
 fplendid and acceptable monuments of his fame 
 were founded on his victories over the enemies of 
 his faith and country. In the nuptial bed he had 
 fcarce tafted the charms of the fair but turbulent 
 Ximene, before he was fummoned to the field ; 
 and the furname of Great was earned in near 
 thirty laborious but profperons campaigns. Two 
 Mahometan armies which had endeavoured to 
 penetrate into his dominions by the oppofitc 
 routes of Leon and Gallicia, were fucceffively en- 
 countered and defeated ; the victor paffed in arms 
 theDuero; overthrew, and reftored the walls of 
 Coimbra; re-peopled the cities of Braga and 
 Porto ; repaired thofe of Lamego and Vifeo, and 
 occupied the diftrict of modern Portugal between 
 the Minho and the Duero. Yet in extending his 
 dominions he was expofed to fierce and frequent 
 conflicts ; and it was not until the pride of the 
 king of Cordova had been humbled by repeated 
 defeats, and his fon Almundar had been obliged 
 to retreat before a Chriftian hero, that he con- 
 fented to fubfcribe an honourable truce for fix 
 years, which confirmed to Alfonfo the diftri&s he 
 had conquered. 
 
 While Alfonfo was feared and admired abroad, 
 his throne was affailed, and his authority re- 
 fifted at home. Three fucceffive rebellions in 
 
 Gallici*
 
 X9 o HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 Gallicia are diftinguiflied by the names of their 
 leaders, Ano, Hermegild, and Witiza ; the mo- 
 tives of revolt are concealed from our view ; but 
 the punifhments of the rebels are recorded ; the 
 eftate of the firft was confifcated ; the fecond 
 atoned with his life for his treafon ; and the third 
 was condemned to perpetual imprifonment. Yet 
 clemency and feverity feemed to produce the fame 
 effects ; the reign of Alfonfo was deftined to in- 
 ceffant warfare ; and one rebellion was fcarce ex- 
 tinquimed before another broke out. 
 
 In Caftille a fecond Froila afpired to feize the 
 crown of Oviedo ; his extraction was probably 
 illuftrious ; but the fuppofition of Mariana, that 
 he was a fon of Ordogno, is deflroyed by the evi- 
 dence of a contemporary hiftorian, who aflerts 
 Alfonfo to have been the only iflue of that mo- 
 narch. His three brothers Nugnez, Odoair, and 
 Veremond, were impelled by affection or feduced 
 by ambition to lhare his hopes and danger ; but 
 their counfels were betrayed ; and before they 
 could affemble a fufficient army to maintain their 
 pretenfions in the field, they were alarmed by a 
 fummons to appear before their fovereign. Their 
 flight proclaimed their guilt; they were purfued, 
 overtaken, and brought back in chains ; and the 
 lofs of their eyes was the confequence of their 
 prefumption. 
 
 After an year of darknefs and confinement, 
 the chains of the blind Veremond were unlocked 
 
 by
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. i 9 t 
 
 by a friendly hand ; and from his dungeon of 
 Oviedo he efcaped to the ftrong city of Aftorga. 
 His flight revived the drooping fpirits of his fac- 
 tion ; and the walls of Aftorga were defended 
 againft Alfonfo by a numerous and defperatc 
 party ; the caufe of Veremond was fnpported by 
 the king of Cordova ; who ftrove to extend the 
 flames of civil commotion, and retorted on the 
 Chriftians the arts which they had pra&ifed on 
 the Moflems ; a Moorifh army marched to the 
 relief of Aftorga ; they were joined by the gar- 
 rifon ; and in the plains which are fertilized by 
 the river Ezla, the rebels with their infidel allies 
 hazarded, and were vanquimed in a decifive en- 
 gagement ; part fell by the fword ; part perifhed 
 in the waters of the Ezla ; but amidft the tumult 
 of defeat, the life and liberty of Veremond was 
 preferved by the care of his attendants; from the 
 field he was conveyed into the Moorifh domi- 
 nions ; and found an afylum in the policy or 
 generofity of the caliph Abdallah. 
 
 A new truce between the Chriftians and Mof- 
 lems was foon fucceeded by war ; and the banks 
 of the Duero, in the neighbourhood of Zamora, 
 were diftingmmed by the laft victory which Al- 
 fonfo achieved as a king. In every foreign or 
 domeftic conteft that monarch had refiftcd or 
 vanquifhed his enemies ; and during a long and 
 tempeftuous reign his labours had been cheered 
 
 by
 
 i 92 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 by the remembrance of former exploits, and the 
 hopes of future fuccefs. But his declining years 
 were expofed to a ftruggle which even conqueft 
 could not reconcile ; the magnificence of his build- 
 ings and the length of his wars had compelled him 
 to impofe new taxes on his fubjedts ; and an un- 
 grateful and inconfiderate people murmured at 
 the expences which had contributed to their 
 fplendour and fecurity. Their difcontents were 
 fecretly inflamed by Garcias, the eldefl fon of the 
 king, whofe impatient and rebellious hand grafped 
 at a fceptre, which in a fhort time muft have dc- 
 fcended to him without guilt; the confederacy 
 was fwelled by Ximene, who repined in the arms 
 of an old and infirm hufband. But the unnatural 
 delign of Garcias had not entirely eluded the ob- 
 fervation of Alfonfo ; the prince was feized and 
 flridtly confined ; and Ximene, after having in vain 
 folicited his releafe, prepared to obtain it by force. 
 She was fupported by Nugnez Fernandez, one of 
 the moft powerful nobles of Caftille; and a civil 
 war was kindled throughout the kingdom. The 
 prudence of Alfonfo taught him to prevent or 
 terminate a conteft which muft have been fatal to 
 his houfe, and deftructive to his people ; he dif- 
 dained to reign by force ; he abhorred the effulion 
 of Chriftian blood ; and in a national council at 
 Oviedo he declared his intention to refign the 
 crown to his fon ; more truly great in the moment 
 
 of
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 193 
 
 $f his abdication than in the meridian blaze of 
 profperity, he retired from the palace ; even the 
 ftubborn fpirit of Garcias was vanquiftied by his 
 generofity ; and in the poffeffion of the throne, he 
 difplayed that duty and. reverence for his father, 
 while he had defpifed or neglected in the condi- 
 tion of a fubjecl. 
 
 The Moors were foon taught that A. D. 910, 
 notwithflanding the abdication of Al- 
 fonfo, the fame counfels prevailed at Oviedo. Gar- 
 cias penetrated into the heart of Caftille, defeated 
 an army of the infidels, and made their general 
 prifoner. In a fecond incurfion the van guard was 
 led by Alfonfo himfelf ; and the Chriftians and 
 Mahometans beheld xvith mutual aftonifhment a 
 fon truft the father whom he had dethroned, and a 
 father ferve the fon by whom he had been betrayed. 
 The country beyond the Duero was fwept by their 
 united arms ; the cities of Meda, Corunna, Ofma, 
 and Coca, on the banks of that river rofe from 
 their ruins and were ftrengthened by fiew fortifi- 
 cations ; but the royal veteran was incapable of 
 fuftaining the fatigue of this laft expedition ; and 
 on his return within the walls of Zamora, death, 
 clofed the long and glorious toils of Alfonfo the 
 Great. 
 
 Bold and enterprifing in the field, Garcias was 
 the terror of his enemies ; but flern and inexo- 
 rable in the capital, he never acquired the affec- 
 
 VOL. i. O tions
 
 i 9 4 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 tions of his fubjects ; they applauded his valour^ 
 but they dreaded his feverity ; and his premature 
 death after a Ihort reign' of three years, was re- 
 ceived with indifference or exultation. 
 A. D. 913, The vacant throne was filled by 
 9Z3 ' his brother Ordogno the fecond, who 
 had adminiftered with independence the pro* 
 vince of Gallicia during the life of Garcias. He 
 inherited the active valour of his father ; and the 
 town of Talavera, and the caftle of Alhanges arc 
 diftinguifhed by two fucceffive victories over the 
 Moors; the pride of Abdalrahman the laft and 
 greateft caliph of that name, was wounded by the 
 rapid fuccefs of Ordogno ; the ardour of the Mof- 
 lems was rekindled by the hope of plunder, and 
 the promife of paradife ; fome partial fuccour was 
 .drawn from their brethren of Africa; and a 
 kindred hod of eighty thoufand Mahometans 
 devoured the fertile country along the banks of 
 the .Duero. The Chriflian banners fummoned 
 them from the indulgence of rapine, to the trial 
 of valour. After an obftinate and bloody ftrug- 
 gle their ranks were tranfpierced, and their arro- 
 gance confounded by the hardy warriors of Aftu- 
 ria; the multitude was difperfed, their leaders 
 flain ; and their rich armour, their belts enchafed 
 with gold, were the rewards of the victors. Leon 
 ivitneffed the triumph, and more than ihared the 
 protection of her fovereign ; that city was efta- 
 
 blifhed
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 195 
 
 blithed by Ordogno as his capital, and the title 
 of king of Oviedo was loft in that of Leon* 
 
 Yet profperity gilded not invariably the admi" 
 niftration of Ordogno, and he was foon after re- 
 minded of the viciffitudes of fortune ; the Spanilh 
 march which had been inftituted by Charlemagne, 
 had been diflblved in the weaknefs of his fuc- 
 ceflbrs ; and about fourfcore years after his death, 
 the governors of Charles the Simple revolted from 
 his authority, with the title of count confounded 
 that of king, and aflerted their independence over 
 their feparate diftricts. The king of Navarre op- 
 prefled by the fuperior numbers of the M&ilems 
 folicited the affiftance of his nephew Ordogno ; 
 and policy or the ties of blood induced the latter 
 to march with a powerful army to the fuccour of 
 his kinfman and ally. In the valley of Junquera 
 their combined forces attacked the infidel hoft ; 
 but the event of the day was unfavourable to the 
 Chriftians ; the confederates were defeated ; with 
 the remnant of his followersOrdogno regained with 
 difficulty his capital of Leon ; but the Moors 
 neglected to improve their advantage; and wafted 
 in a fruitlefs incurfion into Gaul the ftrengththat 
 might have reftored their afcendancy in Spain.- 
 
 Some defultory and fuccefsful enterprifes re- 
 ftored the fpirits of the Chriftians ; but the glory 
 of the reign of Ordogno was paft ; and his laft 
 days were ftained with cruelty and clouded by 
 O 2 domeftic
 
 I 9 6 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 domeftic uneafinefs. The influence and powef 
 of the counts of Caflille provoked his jealoufy ; 
 they were fummoned to appear before their fo- 
 vereign ; the royal faith was violated by their de- 
 tention ; the forms of juftice were difregarded in 
 their execution ; and the rumour of confpiracy 
 and rebellion, which was artfully propagated, 
 could not conceal the unworthy fears and bloody 
 injuftice of the king of Leon. 
 
 The widowed hand of Ordogno had been be- 
 llowed on Argonta, who was defcended from one 
 of the moft illuftrious families of Gallicia ; but 
 Argonta had fcarce excited the envy of her fair 
 companions, before fhe was entitled to their com- 
 pafiion. A malicious tale was fabricated againft 
 her virtue, was communicated to Ordogno, and rea- 
 dily believed ; fhe was repudiated with contempt 
 by a jealous hufband who lived long enough to 
 repent his credulity ; but Argonta devoted the re- 
 mainder of her days to devotion ; and Ordogno en- 
 deavoured to forget her charms in the nuptial bed 
 of Santua, the daughter of the king of Navarre. 
 He had fcarce returned with his bride to his ca- 
 pital of Leon before he was furprifed by death ; 
 the pretenfions of his fons Alfonfo and Ramiro, 
 the iflfue of his firft marriage, were fupplanted by 
 the intrigues of their uncle; and Froila the fecond, 
 in a national council, was declared king of Leon 
 and Oviedo. 
 
 The
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 197 
 
 The third fon of Alfonfo the Great A . D . 913> 
 was unworthy of the blood he fprung 924> 
 from. He received the facred truft of royalty- 
 only to abufe it ; and the firft months of his reign 
 were ftained by the murder of the nobles who had 
 oppofed his election ; but his cruelty was arrefted 
 by difeafe; a tyranny of an year was terminated 
 by a leprofy ; on his death the claims of primo- 
 geniture were refpected ; and his nephew Alfonfo 
 was declared his fuccefibr. 
 
 Alfonfo, the fourth of that name, A. D. 924, 
 had fcarce received, before he found 
 himfelf incapable of fuftaining the weight of a 
 crown. His averfion to the cares of government 
 was increafed by the death of his confort Urraca, 
 whom he appears to have tenderly loved ; and in 
 lefs than an year after his election he refigned 
 the fceptre of Leon to his brother Ramiro the 
 fecond. In a private ftation Alfonfo might have 
 enjoyed that happinefs which he had never tafted 
 on a throne. But his eafy difpofition rendered 
 him the inftrument of the ambition of others ; and 
 while Ramiro aflembled his forces at Zamora to 
 march early in the fpring againft the Moors, he 
 was aftonithed by the intelligence that Alfonfo 
 had (quitted his retreat, had re-affumed the enfigns 
 of royalty, and had occupied once more the city 
 and palace of Leon. The fiege of Leon was in- 
 (lantly formed by Ramiro, at the head of the army 
 O 3 with
 
 X 9 8 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 with which he had propofed to attack the in- 
 fidels ; the defence of Alfonfo was obftinate ; and 
 in the vain attempt to regain the crown, he dif- 
 played a vigour which would have maintained 
 him in the quiet pofleffion of it. Famine at 
 length compelled him to implore the mercy of 
 his brother ; a general pardon was granted to his 
 adherents; but his own confinement was ftrict; 
 and with his victorious troops Ramiro advanced 
 into the Afturias to reduce by arms the three fons 
 of Froila the fecond, who had alfo erected the 
 ilandard of revolt. His fuperior genius or fortune 
 again prevailed ; but this fecond rebellion feems 
 to have exafperated the fpirit of Ramiro ; his bro- 
 ther and coufins were involved in the fame fate, 
 and the lofs of their eyes was the punifhment of 
 their prefumption. Yet in a ftate of darknefs they 
 were flill treated with refpect ; the humanity of 
 the victor was exerted to alleviate the mifery 
 of kinfmen who were no longer formidable ; 
 and when Alfonfo the fourth, who from his mis- 
 fortunes and devotion was furnamed the Blind 
 and the Monk expired, his remains were honoured 
 with a royal funeral. 
 
 A. D. 929, No fooner were the flames of civil 
 
 , difcord extinguilhed, than thofe of 
 
 foreign war were kindled. The martial exploits 
 
 of Ramiro rivalled thofe of the mod iliuftrious of 
 
 his predeceffofs ; he pafled the Duero ; attacked 
 
 and
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. i^ 
 
 .and carried by aflault Madrid, the prefent capital 
 of the Spanifh monarchy, and infulted by his pre- 
 fence Toledo, the ftrongeft city of the caliphs of 
 Spain. In the plains of Ofma the Moors afpired to 
 retrieve their glory and they augmented their dif- 
 grace ; they were defeated after a bloody flruggle 
 by Ramiro ; and Ahaga the Moorifh chieftain of 
 Arragon was compelled to acknowledge himfelf 
 the vafial of the king of Leon. 
 
 Yet during the glorious career of Ramiro, the 
 fceptre of Cordova was held by no feeble hand ; 
 and the pride of the third Abdalrahman ftimulated 
 him to exertions worthy of the ancient power and 
 renown of the Mahometans. From the mouth of 
 the Guadalquivir to the fource of the Tagus, the 
 defcendantsof the tribes of Arabia obeyed the fum- 
 mons of the fucceffor of the prophet ; one hundred 
 and fifty thoufand Moflems were united by their 
 zeal for religion, or their thirft of plunder; the 
 natives of Grenada were diftinguifhed from the 
 crowd ; and in the dexterous management of 
 their courfers aflerted their origin from the horfe- 
 men of Syria and Irak ; they overturned in their 
 courle the Chriftian town of Solocuvas, trampled 
 the harveft of old Caftille, defolated the flourifti- 
 ing banks of the Duero, and pitched their camp 
 where that river is fwelled by the waters of the 
 Pniferga. It was there they awaited or were 
 checked by the appearance of the Chriftian army ; 
 '04 the
 
 2 oo HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 the plains of Simancas afforded a wide theatre to 
 the flcill and rage of the combatants ; the battle 
 was obftinately difpured through a long fummer's 
 day; and it was not until the clofe of evening that 
 victory declared for Ramiro ; the purfuit was con-r 
 tinued by the indefatigable monarch, though 
 the darknefs of the night, and eighty thouiand 
 Moflems are reported to have fallen by the fword, 
 or to have been precipitated into the waters of 
 the Duero and the Puiferga. So complete and 
 bloody an overthrow Ramiro might have expect- 
 ed would have broken for years the fpirit of the 
 Moors; yet the remnant of their forces again 
 united, and was fwelled by frefh detachments; and 
 it was not until he had gained a new victory in 
 the neighbourhood of Salamanca, that the king of 
 Leon entered his capital in triumph. 
 
 The increafe of taxes is the ungrateful, but too 
 often the indifpenfable duty of the fovereign ; nor 
 ought the fubject to complain as long as the re- 
 venue or fervice that is exacted, is flrictly applied 
 to, or exceeds not the neceffity of the flate ; the 
 conquefts of Ramiro had been extended to the 
 mountains that feparate old and new Caftille ; and 
 an heavy expence had been incurred in reftoring 
 the towns on the Duero, and erecting a flrong 
 barrier againft the Moors ; the counts of Caftille, 
 whofe influence rof'e above that of fubjects, and 
 whofe ftaticn was below that of princes, had long 
 
 fecretly
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. *o* 
 
 fecretly afpired to independence ; they murmured 
 at the command of Ramiro to repair the fortifi- 
 cations of Ofma and Clunia, which had been over- 
 thrown by the Moflems; they murmured, but 
 they obeyed ; and it was not until they were 
 fummoned to join the royal itandard againft the 
 infidels, that they prefumed openly to rejecl: the 
 authority of the king of Leon. The prompt and 
 vigorous fpirit of Ramiro was equal to every 
 event ; he abandoned the hopes of foreign con- 
 queft to cxtinguilh the flames of civil commo- 
 tion ; and with an obedient and well-difciplined 
 army he fuddenly prefented himfelf in Caftille ; 
 he diffipated the hoftile league, feized the perfons 
 of the counts Ferdinand Goncalez, and Diego 
 Nugnez, the mod formidable of the confederates, 
 and conveyed them prifoners to Leon. A lefs pru- 
 dent prince might have inftantly facrificed them 
 to his infulted authority ; but Ramiro was more 
 jealous of the happinefs of his people than. 
 of the dignity of his crown ; he condefcended 
 to remonftrate with his noble captives ; he urged 
 that it was alone by union that the Chriflians in 
 Spain could hope to avert the yoke of Mahomet, 
 or afpire to expel the infidel invaders ; Goncalez 
 and Nugnez at leaft affected to be convinced ; 
 they were reftored to freedom ; and the ties of 
 public were drawn more clofe by thofe of pri- 
 vate connexion, in the marriage of Ordogno the 
 
 fon
 
 *o2 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 fon of Ramiro, with Urraca the daughter of 
 Goncalez. 
 
 With the return of unanimity the king of Leon 
 refumed the martial preparations he had fufpend- 
 ed. At the head of a numerous army he paffed 
 the mountains of Avila, and near the walls of 
 Talavera he defcried the Moorifh banners. The 
 conflict was fierce and obflinate ; the waters of 
 the Tagus were purpled with the blood of the 
 combatants ; and it was not until Ramiro had re- 
 peatedly charged his adverfaries in perfon, that he 
 could claim the victory ; twelve thoufand of the 
 Moors were extended lifelefs on the plain ; the 
 fertile fields of new Caftille were defolated by the 
 Chriilians ; and with an immenfe booty Ramiro 
 ilowly directed his march towards Leon ; he was 
 permitted to enjoy but a Ihort time the acclama- 
 tions of his fubjects ; he was feized with a mortal 
 difeafe, and convinced that his end approached, 
 he was defirous before his death of fixing the 
 crown on the head of his fon. In a national 
 council the refignation of Ramiro was accepted, 
 and the election of Ordogno unanimoufly ap- 
 proved ; and a few days afterwards, amidft the 
 general lamentations of his people, he clofed a, 
 glorious reign of near twenty years. 
 A. D. 95a . The elevation of Ordogno the third 
 
 9-57- had been promoted by the wifhes and 
 reoown of his father ; but in the poffeffion of a 
 
 throne,
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 203 
 
 throne, his fubjects were compelled to acknow- 
 ledge he deferved it ; and though his virtues could 
 not always fecure their fidelity, they invariably 
 extorted their admiration. During a fhort but 
 active reign of five years and an half, he refifted 
 the combinations of his domeftic foes, and van- 
 qui.fhed the foreign enemies of his country. A 
 civil war was kindled immediately on his ac- 
 ceflion by the ambition of his brother Sancho, 
 whofe pretenfions were fupported by his uncle the 
 king of Navarre ; and Ordogno beheld with fur- 
 prize and indignation his own father-in-law Gon- 
 calez march among the aflbciates of his rival. 
 The confederates were difconcerted by the bold 
 attitude of Oi*logno; his dominions were pro- 
 tected by a chain of pofts occupied with judg- 
 ment and maintained with firmnefs ; his adver- 
 faries were awed by his genius, and retired ; their 
 cjifappointment was productive of mutual re- 
 proaches ; and their difcontcnts foon diflblved the 
 unnatural confederacy. 
 
 The afcendancy of Ordogno was eftablifhed by 
 his fafe and bloodlefs victory, but the mind that 
 was fuperior to danger was not infenfible to re-" 
 fentment. He divorced with contempt the 
 daughter of Goncalez, and raifed to his bed El- 
 vira, who was defcended from one of the moft 
 noble families of Gallicia. The arrogance of the 
 fcinclred of the queen provoked a new infurrec- 
 
 tion;
 
 S o4 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 tion ; and when Ordogno prepared to march 
 againft the Moors, he was mortified by the intelli- 
 gence that the inhabitants of Gallicia were in arms ; 
 with a (elect body of troops he halted on the fron- 
 tiers of that province ; and his offer of a general 
 pardon, and his promifeto redrefs their grievances, 
 reclaimed the malecontents to their allegiance ; 
 they ranged themfelves under his ftandard ; 
 ilrengthened by the junction of their forces, 
 he advanced through Portugal without encoun- 
 tering an enemy ; and Lifbon was a fecond time 
 aiTaulted and plundered by a Chriftian army ; in 
 his return he penetrated into Caftille, accepted 
 the fubmiffion of Goncalez ; and when the terri- 
 tories of that chief were invaded by the Moors, 
 their deliverance was achieved by the arm of 
 Ordogno. 
 
 A, i>- 957, ^ s career f gl r y was arrefted bf 
 9<57 * a fever, and he expired after a Ihort 
 illnefs at Zamora ; a feeble infant by his laft mar- 
 riage was incapable of {lemming the unpopula- 
 rity of his mother, and the ambition of his uncle; 
 and in a national affembly Sancho was preferred 
 to the throne of Leon. The new monarch, who 
 had attempted to wreft the fceptre from his bro- 
 ther, was incapable of retaining it when legally 
 committed to his hand. His health was opprefied 
 by a dropfy ; his authority was fhaken by the 
 intrigues of the turbulent Goncalez ; he fought a 
 
 retreat
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIR *6$ 
 
 retreat in the court of his uncle the king of Na- 
 varre ; and the crown of Leon was placed by the 
 hand of Goncalez on the head of Ordogno the 
 fourth. 
 
 The virtues of three monarchs had endeared 
 the name of Ordogno to the Chriftians, but it was 
 difgraced by an ufurper to whom was juftly ap- 
 plied the epithet of wicked. He was the nephew 
 of Ramiro the fecond, and the fon of the unfor- 
 tunate Alfonfo the Blind ; but he neither inherited 
 the genius of his uncle nor the mild virtues of his 
 father; he received the hand of the repudiated Ur- 
 raca from Goncalez, who twice beheld his daughter 
 feated on the throne of Leon, and who hoped 
 from the gratitude of his fon-in-law to erect his 
 own extenfive demefnes into an independent prin- 
 cipality ; but the project was blafted by the vices 
 and cruelty of Ordogno. The health of Sancho 
 had been reftored by tranquillity or by the ikill of 
 the Arabian phylicians, who revived in Europe 
 the fcience of medicine ; to confult them he had 
 vifited the court of Cordova ; and it was there 
 that he was informed of the tyranny of Ordogno 
 and the difaffection of his fubjects ; his caufe was 
 cfpoufed by the generoiity or policy of the ca- 
 liph Abdalrahman, and was fupported by the 
 kindred bands of the king of Navarre. The con- 
 federate armies of Moflems and Chriftians ad- 
 vanced to the frontiers of Leon ; the gates of the 
 
 cities
 
 ao6 HISTORY OF SPAltf. 
 
 cities were thrown open on their approach ; from 
 the execrations of his people Ordogno fought re- 
 fuge with the Moorifh chief of Arragon ; the 
 more intrepid fpirit of Goncalez impelled him to 
 try the chance of battle; he was vanquifhed and 
 taken prifoner in the plains of Aronia; his defeat 
 extinguished the hopes of his faction ; and Sancho 
 re-afcended the throne of Leon. 
 
 In the fchool of adverfity Sancho had learned 
 to diftruft the fmiles of fortune; and it was by 
 generofity inftead of terror that he endeavoured 
 to difarm his enemies. He prevailed on the king 
 of Navarre to releafe the count of Caftille ; and 
 from the obfcure records of the times, we may 
 conjecture that he ftrove to fecure the future 
 friendfhip of Goncalez, by renouncing all claims 
 of homage ; gratitude might reftrain him from 
 invading the dominions of Abdalrahman ; but 
 he repulfed with cruel flaughter the Normans, 
 whofe piratical defcents had afflicted the coafts of 
 Gallicia. His fatisfaction was interrupted by the 
 intelligence that an officer whom he had intruflcd 
 with an important command on the frontiers of 
 Portugal, had revolted ; he marched againft the 
 rebel, defeated, pardoned, and received him into 
 favour. But he was the victim of his own mag- 
 nanimity ; and a poifoned apple which he received, 
 from the ungrateful traitor, was attended by his 
 immediate death, 
 
 Sur-
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 207 
 
 Surrounded by active and powerful A. D. 967, 
 enemies, the Chriftians of Oviedo and 983 * 
 Leon had in the choice of a fovereign fought 
 the qualities of experience, of wifdom, or of va- 
 lour; their judgment had rarely been deceived ; 
 and during more than two centuries the fceptrc 
 of Pelagius had been intruded, xvith few excep- 
 tions, to a fucceffion of warriors and flatefmen ; in 
 the full confidence of their ilrength, or from vene- 
 ration to the memory of Sancho, they had relaxed 
 from their wonted caution ; the fon of the late 
 king, though only five years old, was placed on 
 the throne ; the reins of government were com- 
 mitted to the hands of his mother Terefa, and 
 his aunt Elvira ; a female adminiftration might 
 at firft provoke a fmile of derifion ; yet during 
 twelve years that it was continued, it was diftin- 
 guimed by prudence and vigour ; a profound 
 peace was maintained with the court of Cordova ; 
 but the rapacious adventurers of Norway, who 
 had renewed their depredations, were feverely 
 chaftifed ; their retreat was intercepted, their fleet; 
 deftroyed ; and thofe who efcaped the fword were 
 fold into fervitudc. 
 
 At the age of feventeen Ramiro the third 
 claimed the authority he was incapable of exer- 
 cifmg ; his reign was difgraced by the follies, and 
 difturbed by the paffions of youth ; in the choice 
 of a,confort he had confulted the late regents ; 
 
 but
 
 ao8 HISTORY OF SJAIN. 
 
 but whatever virtues Donna Urraca might pofiefs, 
 were more than outweighed by the infolence and 
 rapacity of her relations; a general murmur of 
 difguft was heard ; and the eyes of an indignant 
 people were turned on Bermudo, the fon of Or- 
 dogno the third; his graceful perfon and affable 
 manners united in his favour the multitude ; and 
 the renown of his father recommended him to 
 the nobility ; it was in Gallicia that he was in- 
 vefled with the enfigns of royalty ; yet Ramiro, 
 it muft be confefled, defended his crown with 
 vigour and refolution ; a bloody battle that was 
 fought with doubtful fuccefs, was only termi- 
 nated by night ; in the Slaughter of their brethren, 
 the Chriftians might deplore the guilt and mad- 
 nefs of civil war; and the numbers that were 
 fwept away in the bloody conflict of MonteroiTa, 
 exceeded thofe who had fallen in any action with 
 the Moors ; the opportune death of Ramiro as 
 he was engaged in recruiting his forces, put an 
 end to the contefi, and Bermudo the fecond, 
 without a competitor, afcended the throne of 
 Leon. 
 
 A. D. 985, The abilities of Bermudo are ac- 
 999- knowleged ; yet the difficulties of Ins- 
 inuation exceeded his abilities ; in his conteft with 
 Ramiro the ftrength of the monarchy had been 
 diflblved ; the fpirits of the Moors were revived ; 
 they were conducted to conqueft by the renown- 
 ed
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 209 
 
 ed Almanzor, who united with the talents of a 
 general, the addrefs of a ftatefman. The king 
 of Leon beheld without daring to oppofe, the 
 devaftation of the fertile country along the banks 
 of the Duero, the deftruction of the walls Simen- 
 cas, and the banners of the infidels ftreaming 
 from the towers of Zamora. He was feebly fe- 
 conded by a laity corrupted by profperity and 
 luxury ; he was embarrafled by a proud and tur- 
 bulent clergy ; yet hope never deferted him ; he 
 collected with difficulty an army fufficient to face 
 the infidels in the field ; and on the banks of the 
 river Ezla he rather confided in the juftice of his 
 caufe, than in the goodnefs or number of his 
 troops. Yet in the heat of action, the Chriflians 
 for a moment aflerted their ancient renown ; the 
 ranks of the Moflems were broken ; and the bat- 
 tle was only reftored by the defpair of Almanzor; 
 his followers were amamed to abandon a chief, 
 who declared his refolution to conquer or to perifh 
 on the fpot on which he flood ; they returned to 
 the charge, and the efforts of rage and mame 
 were fuccefsful. The Chriftians were overpower- 
 ed ; and Bermudo retreated, or probably fled to- 
 wards his capital. The fortifications of Leon 
 were incapable of refitting the ardour of a victo- 
 rious army ; the king was not ignorant of the en- 
 terprifing fpirit of Almanzor ; he ordered the in- 
 habitants to retire with their moft valuable effects ; 
 VOL. i, P he
 
 2io HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 he removed with pious care the facred remains cf 
 his predeceflbrs to Oviedo ; and after placing a 
 flrong garrifon in Leon, with the reft of his 
 forces he withdrew to the Ihelter of the Afturian 
 mountains. 
 
 The city of Leon was befieged, carried by 
 affault, and levelled to the ground by Almanzor, 
 who in three fucceffive campaigns reduced or 
 overthrew the walls of Aftorga, of Coimbra, Vi- 
 feo, and Lamago, and penetrated from the fource 
 of the Ezla to the mouth of the Duero. The 
 fortifications of Braga awhile refifted his fury ; but 
 the obftinacy of the inhabitants wasfeverely chaf- 
 tifed by the fentence of flavery, and Braga itfelf 
 was razed to its foundations. Gallicia was ravag- 
 ed, Caftille menaced ; and difeafe alone checked 
 the progrefs of the victor; he retired to return 
 more dreadful ; but his retreating fteps were 
 clofely followed by Bermudo ; his rear was fre- 
 quently attacked^ and the Chriftians feverely a- 
 venged on the ftraggling Moors the fufferings of 
 their brethren of Leon and Braga. 
 
 The threats of Almanzor had been heard 
 throughout Spain; and their common danger 
 united the Chriftians from the Atlantic Ocean to 
 the. Pyrenees, from the extreme verge of Afturia 
 to the banks of the Duero. The various but 
 kindred ftandards of the kings of Leon and Na- 
 varre, and the counts of CaftilLe, were difplayed 
 
 ia
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 211 
 
 in the fpacious plain of Ofma. They awaited, 
 but they awaited not long the approach of Al- 
 manzor. Though broken with the gout, and inca- 
 pable of mounting on horfeback, Bermudo ani- 
 mated in perfon his foldiers ; both leaders were 
 alike impatient of delay, and both armies rufhed 
 to the encounter with equal alacrity ; the flruggle 
 between the contending hofls was continued long 
 after the clofe of day ; but the return of the dawn 
 revealed to the Chriflians the extent of their vic- 
 tory; the Moorilh camp was abandoned; the 
 plain of Ofma was covered with an hundred thou- 
 fand lifelefs infidels ; the haughty fpirit of Al- 
 manzor fcorned to furvive defeat ; and the exul- 
 tation with which the Chriftians received the in- 
 telligence of his death, may be confidered as the 
 ftrongeft evidence of his abilities. 
 
 The fhattered conftitution of Ber- At D< 999t 
 mudo allowed him not to achieve the IOI4< 
 entire deliverance of his country; in about a 
 year after the victory of Ofma he expired of dif- 
 eafe ; and the fame fuffrages that raifed to the 
 throne his infant fon Alfonfo, committed the 
 protection of his dominions to his widow Elvira. 
 In the arduous ftation Elvira deferved and ac- 
 quired the general efteem ; an army of Moors who 
 had prefumed to ravage Leon, was encountered 
 and driven back with difgrace ; and the diflen- 
 fions of the infidels themfelves, prevented them 
 P 2 from
 
 2ia HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 from renewing their hoftile enterprifes ; by ne- 
 gociation the regent obtained from the counts of 
 Caftille, and reftored to the family of Cabala, the 
 diftridt of Alava, which the former had ufurped from 
 them; but the mod important care of Elvira was to 
 form the character of the young Alfonfo, on whofe 
 qualities the happinefs or mifery of his fubjects 
 was ultimately to depend; the happy genius of the 
 royal youth facilitated the labours of his pre- 
 ceptors ; and his marriage with the daughter of 
 the wife and virtuous Gonzalez his governor, 
 might be varioufly afcribed to love or gratitude. 
 A. D. 1014, The voice of a people called Alfonfo 
 1026. t fe fifth to practife on a throne the 
 leflbns that he had ftudied in the cabinet ; within 
 the tranquil walls of a monaftery, Elvira liflened 
 with pleafure to the rifing virtues and renown of 
 her fon. During twelve years that his reign and 
 life were continued, he laboured, and not un- 
 fuccefsfully, to reftore the glory and felicity of 
 his fubjects. Beneath his aufpices the walls of 
 Leon rofe in frefli ftrength, and the capital re- 
 fumed its ancient magnificence ; the new forti- 
 fications of Zamora protected the Chriflians, and 
 awed the infidels ; the Moors rent by inteftinc 
 difcord were incapable of oppofmg his progrefs; 
 with a well difciplined army he pafled the Duero, 
 and invefted the city of Vifeo ; it was defended by 
 a ftrong garrifon ; the heat of the weather tempt- 
 ed
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 213 
 
 cd Alfonfo to lay afide his cuirafs; and as he 
 rode round the walls he was mortally wounded 
 by a Moorifh arrow ; a few hours after he ex- 
 pired in his tent, and left an only and infant fon, 
 who was the heir of his crown and virtues. 
 
 Bermudo the third, was probably A. D. 1062, 
 not more than twelve years of age 
 when he was chofen to fucceed his father ; but 
 the bloody diflenfions of the Moors fuffered them 
 not to avail themfelves of the weaknefs of a mi- 
 nority ; and at the expiration of four years, when 
 Bermudo received from the hands of the queen 
 his mother the reins of government, it was the 
 formidable power of a Chriftian neighbour that 
 firft excited his jealoufy. By arms or addrefs, 
 by birth or alliance, Sancho, king of Navarre, 
 had added to his paternal dominions the king- 
 dom of Arragon, and the greateft part of the 
 province of Bifcay ; under the pretence of aveng- 
 ing the murder of Garcias, count of Caftille, 
 who had been bafely aflaffinated, he entered that 
 country with a numerous army, feized and exe- 
 cuted the afiaffins, and converted to his own ad- 
 vantage their crime, by retaining the dominions 
 of the unfortunate Garcias. From the mountains 
 of Sierra Morena to the northern extremity of 
 the Pyrenees his authority was acknowledged. 
 His ambiguous claim to the city Valencia on the 
 frontiers of Afluria was openly refented by Ber- 
 P 3 mudo;
 
 Si 4 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 mudo 5 and a war was kindled between the rival 
 monarchs ; the country between the Puiferga and 
 the Cea was over-run by the united forces of Na- 
 varre and Caftille ; and the flrong city of Aftorga 
 on the banks of the Ezla, was after a long fiege 
 compelled to furrender. To recover the country 
 that had been wrefted from him, and to retrieve 
 the honour of his arms, Bermudo collected with 
 diligence his forces, and pitched his camp in 
 light of that of Sancho. The ardour and ambition 
 of the leaders might have prompted them inftantly 
 to have decided their differences in a field of bat- 
 tle ; but their fubjects had embraced their quar- 
 rel with reluctance ; the holy mediation of the 
 bifhops of Navarre and Leon were fuccefsfully 
 employed ; and Sancho and Bermudo were per- 
 fuaded, perhaps with difficulty, to avert the effu- 
 fion of Chriftian blood, and to try the effect of a 
 negotiation ; the king of Navarre confented to 
 refign to his fecond fon Ferdinand,' his new ac- 
 quifition of Caftille ; the country between the 
 Puiferga and the Cea was ceded by Bermudo to 
 the latter as the marriage portion of his fitter ; 
 and with the hand of Sancha, the name of Fer^ 
 dinand was infcribed as the firft king of Caftille. 
 
 A reconciliation which had been extorted by 
 neceffity, was obferved no longer than intereft 
 dictated ; the death of Sancho diflblved that for- 
 midable power which had awed the king of Leon. 
 
 His
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 215 
 
 His elded fon Garcias fucceeded to the crown 
 of Navarre, with the province of Bifcay ; the do- 
 minions of Ferdinand his fecond, have been al- 
 ready defcribed ; to Gonzalez the third, were be- 
 queathed the diftricts which under the name of 
 Sobranza and Ribargona ftretch along the fron- 
 tiers of Arragon and Catalonia; and the fertile 
 and populous kingdom of Arragon was the in- 
 heritance of Ramiro the fourth. The divifion. 
 which paternal affection fuggefted, might have 
 proved fatal to all ; but it was Ferdinand who 
 iirft had reafon to dread the confequences of it. 
 With a numerous army Berrnudo befieged and 
 reduced the city of Palentia, and recovered with- 
 out a battle, and in one campaign, the country 
 between the Puiferga and the Cea. Incapable of 
 contending alone with the king of Leon, he fum- 
 moned to his affiftance his brother of Navarre. 
 Their combined forces were collected in the val- 
 ley of Samara near Fromifta, when they were in- 
 formed of the approach of Bermudo. The ob- 
 fcure fpot of Carrion has been rendered illuftri- 
 ous for the deciftve action ; and could the king 
 of Leon have reftrained his ardour, the fupe- 
 riority of his numbers would probably have fe- 
 cured to him the victory ; but impatient of re- 
 fiftance or delay, he fpurred his courfer into the 
 thickeft ranks of the enemy, and while he darted 
 his eyes around in fearch of his royal adverfaries, 
 P 4 bis
 
 2i6 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 his unguarded bofom was tranfpierced by the lance 
 of an unknown foe. He fell lifelefs from his horfe ; 
 and his aftonifhed troops, without a general, muft 
 have been expofed to certain ilaughter, had they 
 not been refcued by the prudence and policy of 
 Ferdinand. His voice reftrained the martial fury 
 of his followers ; the battle ceafed, and the crown 
 of Leon was the reward of the forbearance of the 
 victor. The male defcendants of Pelagius after 
 reigning three centuries, were extinguilhed in 
 Bermudo the third ; the natural claims of the 
 brother-in-law of that prince were debated and 
 acknowledged in a national council ; and the 
 crowns of Leon and Caftille were united on the 
 head of Ferdinand. 
 
 Chapter
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 Chapter the Sixth, 
 
 State of Spam on the union of the crowns ofCaflille and 
 Leon under Ferdinand thefrft. War of that mo- 
 narch 'With his brothers, the kings of Navarre and 
 An agon. Account of, and exploits of Don Rodrigo, 
 furnamed the Cid. Death of Ferdinand. Divifion 
 of his dominions. Sancho the fecond dcfpoils his 
 brothers of Leon and Gallicia. He is killed in the 
 Jiege ofZamora. AcceJJion of Alfonfo thejixth. 
 Difgrace of the Cid. EJlablifhes himfelf on the 
 frontiers of Valencia. Alfonfo reduces Toledo. 
 Is defeated by the Moors. His peace and mar- 
 riage with the daughter of the king of Seville. 
 Invajion of the Almovarides. Defeat ofUcles. 
 Death of Alfonfo. His daughter Urraca is ac~ 
 knowledged as hisfuccefjbr. Civil wars with her 
 hujband andfon. On her death, Caftllk and Leon 
 fubmit to her fon Alfonfo the feventh.His glorious 
 reign. He receives the title of emperor from the 
 princes of Spain. Divides his dominions between 
 his fens Sancloo and Ferdinand. Short but prudent 
 reign of Sancho over Cojlille. Turbulent minority 
 of his fon Alfonfo the eighth. He ajfitmes the ad-> 
 miniftration* Is defeated by the Moors near Altr- 
 
 con.
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 con. He marries his daughter Beregara to his 
 nephew the young king of Leon. Crufade of the 
 Chriftians againjl the. infidels of Spain. Gallantry of 
 Mfinfo in the battle of Tolofo. Splendid viftory of 
 the Chriftians. Prudent reign and death of Alfonfo. 
 He isfucteeded by his fan Henry. Difputes for 
 the regency. -Death of Henry, and accejjion of Be- 
 regara. She rejigns the crown to her fon Ferdinand 
 the fecond, who on the death of his father unites 
 the kingdoms of Cajlille and Leon. 
 
 A. D. 1037, the time that Ferdinand united 
 
 Io6? - ; with Caftille the crown of Leon, the 
 greateft and mbft fertile part of Spain acknow- 
 ledged his own authority or that of his brothers ; 
 the eldeft, Garcias, reigned over Navarre and part 
 of Bifcay ; the third, Gonzalez poflefled the dif- 
 tridts cf Sobranza and Ribargona, which pro- 
 jected into or feparated Arragon and Catalonia ; 
 Arragon was the royal inheritance of Ramiro the 
 fourth, who eftabliftied in Saragoffa the feat of 
 his government:. But confiderable diftridts were 
 ftill occupied by the Moors ; from the Pyrenees 
 their territories ft retched along the Mediterra- 
 nean fea to the rock of Gibraltar, and from the 
 point of Tarif coafted the Atlantic to the mouth 
 of the Tagus ; beyond that river to the Duero 
 
 they 

 
 HISTORY OF SPAIWi 21? 
 
 they poflefled feveral flrongand important towns; 
 and though a few Chriftian chiefs might confide 
 in the natural or artificial ftrength of their rocks 
 and caftles, they rather difturbed the tranquillity 
 than afferted the independence of Portugal ; but 
 Andalufia, Granada, and Murcia, believed in the 
 faith, or obeyed the followers of Mahomet ; To- 
 ledo, with a portion of new Caflille, and all Va- ; 
 lencia, were cultivated by the Moors ; and a Sa- 
 racen emir refided in Barcelona, and flimulated the 
 induftry of the Catalans. The magnificent cities 
 of Seville and Cordova were inhabited by Mof- 
 lems ; a long tract of fea-coaft afforded frequent 
 and fpacious harbours, and was propitious to 
 commerce ; and the grateful foil of Granada re- 
 paid feven-fold the toils of the huibandman; 
 yet thefe advantages were neglected or abufed by 
 the Moors ; the fame caufes as had nearly over- 
 whelmed the Chriftians, precipitated the down- 
 fall of the Moflems of Spain ; and while ambU 
 tion or jealoufy pointed their fwords againft 
 each other, their kindred ftrength was confumed, 
 and the boundaries of their dominions gradually 
 receded. 
 
 The defigns of conqueft which had been fuf- 
 pended by die death of Alfonfo the fifth, were 
 refumed by the martial and active fpirit of Fer-r 
 dinand. He pafied the Duero near Zamora, car- 
 ried by aflault, and put to the fword the garrifon 
 
 of
 
 *2d HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 of Zena ; and formed the liege of Vifeo ; the 
 walls of that city were levelled by his machines ; 
 and the execution of the Moor whofe fkill had 
 been fatal to Alfonfo, rather marks his veneration 
 for the memory of that monarch than his regard 
 for juftice. The fortifications of Coimbra were 
 fuperior to force; and in his fecond campaign, 
 Ferdinand patiently awaited the capitulation of the 
 garrifon from the flow but certain effects of famine. 
 A chain of pofts occupied with judgment and 
 vigilance, prevented the introduction of all fup- 
 plies ; yet for feveral months the perfeverance of 
 the Moors was difplayed, nor did they furren- 
 der until hunger had exhaufted their vigour, and 
 hope was no more, 
 
 In the reduction of Vifeo and Coimbra, his 
 fubjects might applaud with juftice, and exult 
 without remorfe in the fuccefs of Ferdinand ; but 
 the martial trophies of that prince were chiefly 
 erected over his own kinfmen ; his victory at Car- 
 rion had been ftained with the blood of a brother- 
 in-law ; he was foon involved in a conteft which 
 was only terminated by the deftruction of a bro- 
 ther ; and though his moderation has been loudly 
 praifed by the Spanifh hiflorians, yet fome fuf- 
 picions naturally reft on a prince who at leaft 
 acquired one kingdom by violating the ties of 
 domeftic alliance. He liftened with alacrity to 
 the intelligence, that in a vifit to the court of 
 
 Na-
 
 HISTORY OF SfAttf. *2i 
 
 Navarre, he had narrowly efcaped being detained 
 a captive ; and when on the indifpofition of Ferdi- 
 nand, the fraternal affection of Garcias attracted 
 him to Leon, on the recovery of his brother he 
 found himfelf with indignation arrefted and con* 
 veyed a prifoner to the fortrefs of Cea. He elud- 
 ed the vigilance of his guards, efcaped to his own 
 dominions, and returned at the head of a nume- 
 rous army impatient for revenge. It is probable 
 that Ferdinand was unwilling to depend on force, 
 for thofe advantages which he had endeavoured 
 to obtain by fraud ; but every offer of reconci- 
 liation was fternly rejected ; and nine miles from 
 Burgos, the plains of Atupuerta and Agas were 
 deluged with Chriftian and kindred blood ; while 
 the battle raged with doubtful violence, a javelin 
 from a vulgar hand pierced the bofom of Garcias 7 
 he fell into the arms of, and was conveyed from 
 the field by, his attendants ; but their zeal was 
 vain ; the wound was mortal ; and he foon after 
 expired. His troops, difmayed by his fate, re- 
 tired in confufion ; the purfuit was checked by 
 Ferdinand ; and the forbearance of the victorious 
 monarch has been afcribed to remorfe. But that 
 emotion feldom finds room in the bofoms of ambi- 
 tious princes ; and moft probably Ferdinand feared 
 lefs the reproaches of his confcience than the 
 murmurs of his fubjects ; he might dread an union 
 of the other powers of Spain to check his career 
 
 of
 
 222 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 of conqueft ; and he fuffered without a flruggls 
 the crown of Navarre to defcend, or be placed 
 on the head of the fon of Garcias. 
 
 Yet it is doubtful whether the reign of Ferdi- 
 nand is not marked by the Daughter of another 
 brother; the fate of Ramiro king of Arragon, 
 and his war with Caftille, have been regarded by 
 many critics as entirely fpurious ; by fome hifto- 
 rians thofe events have been fixed after the death 
 of Ferdinand ; a faint light however glimmers 
 through the dark and confufed records of the 
 times ; and the monument of Ramiro in the mo- 
 naftery of St. John de la Pagna, attefts that he 
 died before his brother Ferdinand ; the molt ge- 
 neral account is, that he attacked the dominions 
 of a Moorim chief, who was tributary to the king 
 of Leon and Caftille ; the latter ordered his forces 
 tinder the command of his fon Sancho, and un- 
 der the conduct of his celebrated general Ro- 
 drigo, better known from the mufe of Corneille 
 by the name of the Cid, to march to the defence 
 of his vaflal ; a battle was fought, Ramiro killed ; 
 and the vidory which was imputed to the Ikill, 
 confirmed the renown of Rodrigo. 
 
 Fifteen fummers had not yet matured the 
 ftrength of Rodrigo, when his fearlefs fpirit was 
 difplayed in vindicating the honour of an infulted 
 father. The aged Alfonfo de Vivar had in the 
 prefence of the court received a blow from the 
 
 count
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 223 
 
 count de Lozano. He could not trufl to his 
 own feeble arm for reparation ; and though he 
 had three fons who had attained to manhood, it 
 was to the youthful ardouV of the fourth that he 
 confided the indignity, and his hopes of venge- 
 ance ; his choice was juftified by the alacrity of 
 Rodrigo ; and, before the royal palace, Lozano 
 fell by the fvvord of an adverfary, whofe youth 
 and inexperience he had derided. A martial age 
 approved the deed ; and the valour which had a- 
 vengedthe injuries of a father, extended the glory 
 of a people. Rodrigo grew in fame and years ; 
 but on his return from a fuccefsful campaign 
 againft the infidels, he was accufed by the filial 
 piety of the daughter of Lozano ; fhe found the 
 culprit in full pofleffion of the royal favour and 
 the admiration of his country ; fhe was moved to 
 compaffion by his renown, Ihe was inflamed to 
 love by his majeftic perfon and graceful addrefs ; 
 fhe confented to become the confort of an hero; 
 and the death of a father was forgotten, or atoned 
 in the embraces of a vigorous hufband. 
 
 The furname of Cid, is a corruption from the 
 Arabic of El Seid, or Lord, which the refpecl: of 
 the Moors firft conferred on their conqueror, and 
 which was afterwards confirmed to him by the 
 efteem of his king. The exploits of the Cid 
 have been adorned and exaggerated by fancy, yet 
 through the cloud of fable we may difcern that 
 
 he
 
 424 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 he was an intrepid foldier and fkilful captain. 
 To his genius was afcribed the defeat of Ramiro ; 
 as the general of Sancho, the fon and fucceflbr of 
 Ferdinand in the throne of Caftille, he wrefted 
 the viftory from Alfonfo of Leon ; with his own 
 followers he recovered Valencia ; though his in- 
 tegrity expofed him to the ingratitude of a court, 
 he was conftantly followed by the efteem of his 
 countrymen ; and in the reign of Alfonfo the 
 fixth, after near fixty fuccefsful years of martial 
 toils, he encountered with the refignation of a 
 Chriftian that death which he had fo often braved 
 as a warrior. 
 
 The marriage and victory of Ferdinand had 
 firfl united the crowns of Caftille and Leon ; his 
 death feparated them ; the divifion of his domi- 
 nions which he prevailed on a national aflembly 
 to ratify, might rather become a fond parent who 
 wimed to diftribute his favours impartially among 
 his children, that a wife monarch jealous of the 
 happinefs and grandeur of his people. To his 
 eldeft fon Sancho, he affigned Caftille ; to Al- 
 fonfo, his fecond, Leon and the Afturias ; Gal- 
 licia, with the part of Portugal he had conquered 
 were ere&ed into an independent kingdom for 
 Garcias the youngeft ; and to his daughters Urraca 
 and Elvira he bequeathed the cities of Zarnora 
 and Toro, on the banks of the Duero. 
 
 His death was the fignal of almoft immediate 
 
 hofti-
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 225 
 
 iioftilities between his children ; the A. D, 1067, 
 Ambitious Sancho confidered the-rights I0?2 ' 
 of primogeniture as violated by the ungrateful 
 diftribution. He invaded Leon with a formi- 
 dable army ; and was encountered by his brother 
 Alfonfo at Valpallar, near Carrion. The action 
 was maintained throughout the whole day until 
 darknefs parted the combatants; in the lofs of 
 his braVeft foldiers, Sancho might repent his rafh 
 injuftice ; but his fpirits were revived by the coun- 
 fels of the Cid ; while the troops of Alfonfo were 
 drowned in fleep, or anticipated in revelry the 
 fruits of victory, their camp was fuddenly at- 
 tacked, and in the confufion of a night aflault, 
 they were expofed to the fwords of their more vi- 
 gilant foe; Alfonfo fled and was overtaken; he 
 was defpoiled of his dominions ; but his life was 
 fpared ; and the monaftery of Sahagon was affign- 
 ed as his prifon. The victor entered Gallicia ; 
 and Garcias, . attacked by his brother and deferted 
 by his fubjects, fought an afylum in the Maho- 
 metan court of the king of Seville. 
 
 Yet though Sancho had regained by arms what 
 he conceived himfelf unjuftly deprived of by the 
 partiality of his father, he was not permitted long 
 to enjoy the territories he had ufurped ; the flight 
 of Alfonfo from Sahagon awakened his fears ; 
 and a fufpicion that the means of efcape had been 
 furnimed by his fitters, excited his refentment ; 
 
 VOL. j. Q Toro,
 
 22 6 HISTORY OF SPAIN, 
 
 Toro, the inheritance of Elvira, was terrified into 
 fubmiffion ; but the reliftance of Zamora was ani- 
 mated by Urraca herfelf, who, above the weaknefs 
 of her fex, derided the menaces and repulfed the 
 attacks of her brother; the length of the fiege 
 exhaufted the patience or prudence of Sancho ; 
 he liftened to the infidious promifes of an officer 
 of the garrifon who propofed to betray to him 
 the gate he commanded at ; as Sancho advanced 
 without caution, an ambufcade flarted from fome 
 adjacent ruins ; he was encompafled, and flain ; 
 his guards arrived only to behold their matter 
 weltering in his blood; the fiege of Zamora was 
 inftantly raifed ; the army that had formed it dif- 
 perfed ; and the pious care of the Cid conveyed 
 and depofited the remains of the unfortunate 
 Sancho in the monaftery of Ona. 
 A. D. 107*, In Toledo, Alfonfo was informed of 
 JI 9 - the fate of his brother ; and whatever 
 hopes the difpatches of Urraca might infpire, 
 were alloyed by the furvey of his own precarious 
 fituation ; his fears were diffipated by the gene- 
 rofity of the Moorilh monarch Ali Maimon, who 
 nobly difdained to lhackle his illuftrious gueft 
 with unworthy conditions ; and with mutual vows 
 of eternal friendlhip and honourable alliance, dif- 
 miffed him to improve the return of fortune. At 
 Zamora Alfonfo the fixth received the congra- 
 tulations of the nobles of Leon and Afttiria ; but
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 227 
 
 fome delay was inter pofed by the pride of the 
 Caflilians ; and it was ftipulated, that on his arri- 
 val at Burgos he mould by oath, before he af- 
 cended the throne, clear himfelf of being privy 
 to the murder of Sancho. Yec when the moment 
 came the nobles of Caftille were awed by the pre- 
 fence of their future fovereign ; their filence was 
 reproached by the honed boldnefs of Rodrigo ; 
 he propofed the facred obligation ; it was accept- 
 ed by Alfonfo ; but the Cid was for ever eflrang- 
 ed from the counfels and favour of the new mo- 
 narch. With a train of martial adventurers he 
 quitted Caftille ; furprifed the caftle of Alcazar 
 on the frontiers of Arragon ; penetrated to the 
 borders of Valencia ; and in the pleafant diftricl: 
 of Teruel, which is fertilized by the ftreams of the 
 Guadalquivir and Alhambra, fixed his refidence 
 on a craggy height, that ftill bears the name of 
 Pena de el Cid, or the Rock of the Cid. 
 
 At the fame time that Alfonfo quitted the court 
 of Toledo, Garcias emerged from his retirement of 
 Seville ; in the hour of exile the former had pro- 
 bably deplored the unhappy lot of the latter ; 
 but feated on a throne, he indulged the ambition 
 he had fo lately been the vidim of ; Garcias had 
 fcarce refumed the government of Gallicia, be- 
 fore he was invited to a conference with Alfonfo ; 
 he accepted it, haftened to Leon, and became 
 the prifoner of his brother; and Gallicia was- 
 2 united
 
 42* HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 united under the fame authority as Caftille and 
 Leon. 
 
 The turbulence of the times was favourable 
 to the firft enterprifes of Alfonfo. He availed him- 
 felf of the revolt of the inhabitants of Navarre, 
 to feize the important province of Bifcay. Gra- 
 titude might reftrain him from difturbing the 
 tranquillity of Ali Maimon ; but that monarch 
 was no more ; and the fceptre of Toledo in lefs 
 than a year had patted from the hand of his 
 cldeft fon Hafiam, to his youngeft Hiaga. If we 
 may credit the Spanifli hiftorians, the citizens of 
 Toledo themfelves folicited Alfonfo to deliver 
 them from the bloody controul of a tyrant. Yet 
 if the character of Hiaga is flained with cruelty, 
 it appears not devoid of vigour. Though defti- 
 tute of allies, and harafled by the king of Seville, 
 whom found policy fhould have directed to have 
 defended, and not opprefled his Mahometan neigh- 
 bour, four campaigns were confumed, and many 
 engagements maintained before Alfonfo prefumed 
 to approach the walls of Toledo. In the fifth 
 year he formed the fiege of that city ; and the 
 obftinacy with which it was defended for feveral 
 months by the citizens, may juftly entitle us to 
 fufpect the impartiality of thofe writers who repre- 
 fent Hiaga as detefted by his fubjeds. But fa- 
 mine raged within ; a bold and numerous enemy 
 were indefatigable in their attacks without ; and 
 Hiaga confented to negociate when he was no 
 
 longer
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 229 
 
 longer able to refift ; he obtained permiffion, with 
 thofe who were willing to ftiare his fortunes, to 
 retire in fearch of new adventures ; a folemn 
 treaty promifed and ought to have fecured to the 
 inhabitants who remained, the free exercife of their: 
 religion and the quiet pofleffion of their pro- 
 perty ; Valencia received Hiaga and his compa- 
 nions ; and that life which had been refpected by 
 the fwords of the Chriftians, was facrifked to the 
 daggers of the Moflems. 
 
 Toledo was erected by Alfonfo ioto the capital 
 of the kingdom of Caftille ; and an acquifition 
 which had been made at the expence of fo much 
 blood and treafure, was fecured by new fortifi- 
 cations. But the fuccefs of the Chriftians had 
 aroufed the Mahometans from their fupinenefs. 
 To the powerful king of Seville, was joined the 
 Muflulman prince of Badajoz, who ruled over 
 the province of Eftremadura, and they both in- 
 voked the afliftance of their brethren from Africa. 
 Alfonfo, who was not ignorant of the object of 
 their alliance, ftill confided in his own activity 
 and the valour of his fubjects ; he penetrated into 
 Eftremadura, and extended his ravages to the 
 ftream of the Alagon. On the banks of that river 
 he attacked and reduced the town of Corea ; but 
 he had fcarce taken pofieffion of it before he was 
 informed of the approach of the kings of Seville 
 and Badajoz at the head of the tribes who inha- 
 QL3
 
 230 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 bited the country between the Guadalquivir and 
 Guadiana. He advanced to meet them ; and the 
 decifive battle was fought between Badajoz and 
 Merida ; but the event of day was unfavourable 
 to the Chriftians ; Alfonfo himfdf was wounded 
 in the leg by an arrow ; and efcaped with diffi- 
 culty from a field overfpread with twenty thou- 
 fand of his fubjesfb. Yet it is probable amidft 
 danger and difmay he was not unmindful of his 
 rank and renown ; and he would not have pre- 
 fumed at Toledo to have reproached the ignomi- 
 nious fpeed of his nobles, had he himfelf firft 
 deferted his ftation. 
 
 The honour of the field had been obtained by 
 the Moilems -, but it had been purchafed at the 
 expence of thirty thoufand of their lives ; and 
 the kings of Seville and Badajoz, far from being 
 able to acl: on the offtnfive, were fcarce capable 
 to proteft their dominions. While the fpirit of 
 Alfonfo rofefuperior to defeat, the courage of his 
 troops was revived by a fuccefsful incurfion againft 
 the Moors of Portugal ; he carried Lifbon by 
 aflault, and was admitted into Cintra by capitula- 
 tion ; but he refigned in the enfuing year his ac- 
 quifitions on the banks of the Tagus to Henry 
 of Befanqon, who had crofled the Pyrenees from 
 France to his fupport, had received in marriage 
 the hand of his natural daughter Therefa, and 
 laid the foundation of the Chriftian kingdom of 
 Portugal, 
 
 Alfonfo
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 331 
 
 - Alfonfo had been defeated ; the ftrength of the 
 infidels had been exhaufted by victory, and both 
 parties inclined to peace ; the charms of Zaida, 
 the daughter of the king of Seville, haftened the 
 negociation ; Alfonfo was impatient to receive 
 into his bed a princefs vyhofe beauty and accom- 
 plimments were the theme of general admiration ; 
 and to mare the throne of Caftille and Leon, Zaida 
 renounced the faith of her anceftors. The arti- 
 cles of future alliance between the two kings were 
 eafily adjufted ; a mutual exchange of feveral 
 places was agreed upon, and a tranlient tranquil- 
 lity was reflored to Spain. 
 
 It was while the war raged with doubtful fury 
 that Hiaga, king of Valencia, was aflaflinated in 
 his capital; at the head of his own followers, and 
 a fmall reinforcement fent him by Alfonfo, the 
 Cid, difdaining the repofe of age, marched to a- 
 venge his fate. After a long fiege Valencia fub- 
 mitted to the genius of an hero ; Rodrigo fixed 
 in it his refidence, defended it againft an hoft of 
 Moflems ; and when he expired full of years and 
 glory, his undaunted fpirit feemed to have fur- 
 vived in the bofom of his widow, who main- 
 tained Valencia againft the attacks of the infi- 
 dels, until the prudence and diftrefs of Alfonfo 
 prompted him to abandon a diftant and preca- 
 rious conqueft. 
 
 In a reign of above thirty years, Alfonfo could 
 CL4 refleft
 
 232 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 reflect but on a few months of tranquil enjoy.-: 
 ment. The ftorms of war again gathered in the 
 fouth ; the Almovarides, of Arabian extra&ion, 
 who profeffed a rigid obedience to the Koran, 
 had poflefled themfelves of the kingdoms of Fez 
 and Morocco; in their new fettlements they re- 
 tained the native ferocity of the wandering Arabs j 
 they were governed by a king or caliph of the, 
 name of Yufuf or Jofeph ; and it is doubtful 
 whether they were at firft invited as allies, or 
 landed in Spain as open enemies ; it was againft 
 the Moors their immediate attacks were directed ; 
 Seville was betrayed by treachery, or reduced by 
 force ; and a vigorous war was waged againft the 
 Moilems of Murcia; but the artifice did not de- 
 ceive the vigilance of Alfonfo ; and he doubted 
 not but the invaders afpired to the entire conqueft 
 of Spain ; a confiderable body of troops that the 
 king of Caftillc and Leon had detached to the 
 fupport of his father-in-law of Seville, compelled 
 Jofeph to throw off the mafk ; he attacked and 
 defeated the Chriftians at Quada in la Mancha, 
 a country that in the romance of Don Quixotte, 
 has been immortalized by the pen of Cervantes. 
 Yet the vidor prefumed not to await the approach 
 of Alfonfo, who on the news of the difafter had 
 advanced to retrieve the honour of his arms at the 
 head of the martial nobles of Caftille and Leon. 
 The chiefs of the Almovaridcs withdrew, to 
 
 Malaga^
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 233 
 
 Malaga, reimbarked for Africa, and inflamed their 
 brethren by a diftribution of the fpoil and a de- 
 fcription of the wealth of the country. The rapa- 
 cious myriads of Fez and Morocco readily obeyed 
 the voice of their fovereign that incited them to 
 plunder ; a confiderable fleet was collected, pro- 
 bably in the port of Velez ; a favourable wind 
 foon tranfported them to the coaft of Granada 5 
 they were joined by their countrymen who had 
 maintained pofleflion of Seville ; and the fertile 
 fields along the Tagus were blafted by their de- 
 ftrudtive prefence. 
 
 Age and infirmities fuffered not Alfonfo to 
 take the field in perfon ; he was deprived by 
 death of his fon-in-law Raymond, to whofe valour 
 and experience he might have confided the com- 
 mand of his forces ; and a feeble boy eleven 
 years old, the only fon of Alfonfo, could not 
 animate the Ohriftians by his example, but might 
 confirm their efforts by the fenfe of his danger. 
 The infant Sancho, for fuch was the title of the 
 prefumptive heir to the crown, was (hielded by 
 the arm of his governor Don Garcia de Cabra, 
 who probably alfo afted as general. At Ucles, 
 near Toledo, the Chriftians defcried the banners 
 pf Mahomet ad the myriads of Africa ; yet they 
 advanced with confidence ; and the battle was 
 long difputed with that fury which religious and 
 pational enmity naturally infpir-e. The fquadrons 
 
 of
 
 s 34 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 of the Almovarides penetrated at length or over- 
 whelmed the adverfe ranks; the horfe of Sancho 
 was killed, his governor ilain in his defence, and 
 the prince himfelf trampled to death; feven 
 counts of the moft illuftrious families of Spain 
 preferved their honour but loft their lives : and 
 of the namelefs crowd near thirty thoufand perifh- 
 ed in the action or purfuit. 
 
 To a difcerning eye, the character of Alfonfo 
 never appeared to greater advantage than amidft 
 the dorms of adverfity. On the couch of fick- 
 nefs he flill retained the fame vigour of mind as 
 had formerly diflinguifhed him in the field of 
 battle ; he had no longer a fon ; but his private 
 lofs was forgotten in the public calamity ; he 
 levied new forces ; fecured Toledo by a ftrong 
 garrifon ; and flill appeared formidable to the 
 invaders; who as they furveyed the field, mourn- 
 fully acknowledged the lofs of the victors had 
 exceeded that of the vanquilhed ; and turned afide 
 from the walls of Toledo to more eafy conquefts 
 over the infidels of Catalonia. 
 A. D. 1109, Eighteen months after the difaftrous 
 Ila6 * battle of Ucles, and in the thirty- 
 feventh year of his reign, Alfonfo breathed his 
 laft ; a fhort time before his death he had be- 
 flowed the widowed hand of his daughter Urraca, 
 on Alfonfo king of Navarre and Arragon. To 
 claim the crown of his late father-in-law, that 
 
 monarch
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 235 
 
 monarch advanced with a powerful army to the 
 frontiers of Caftille ; but he was admoniftied by 
 the nobles that his own dominions were the proper 
 ftation for his troops ; and that no force was 
 neceffary, fince the rights of Urraca were undif- 
 puted. He yielded to their remonftrances, dif- 
 miffed his followers ; and in a national affembly 
 the authority of Urraca over the kingdoms of 
 Caftille and Leon was formally recognized. 
 
 Alfonfo had flattered himfelf that he fhould 
 have reigned under the name of his confort ; but 
 he found it eafier to conciliate the affections of a 
 martial nobility, than to command the obedience 
 or to gain the acquiefcence of an imperious and 
 turbulent woman. Urraca defpifed the authority 
 or influence of her hufband ; their domeftic diffen- 
 fions ripened into a civil war ; the queen was ioi- 
 prifoned by Alfonfo, was delivered by her nobles, 
 who confidered their honour as wounded by her 
 captivity ; and in a field of battle prefumed to 
 defend her independence ; but they were van- 
 quifhed by the fuperior numbers or ikill of their 
 adverfaries ; yet whatever advantage Alfonfo had 
 acquired in the field, he foon loft in the cabinet. 
 The convenient confcience of Urraca was afflicted 
 by her marriage with her coufin ; her doubts were 
 imparted to an obfequious clergy; and in the 
 council of Palentia her union with the king of Ar- 
 ragon was formally diffolved by the omnipotent 
 fcntence of the Roman pontiff. 
 
 Yet
 
 * 3 6 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 Yet though the fubjefts of Urraca had efpoufed 
 the caufe, they were far from approving the con- 
 duct of that princefs. Their eyes were turned on 
 the infant Alfonfo, the iffue of her firft marriage 
 with Raymond count of Burgundy ; Gallicia ac- 
 knowledged him as her fovereign ; his title was 
 fanctioned by the holy influence of the archbilhop 
 of Compoftella ; and a new fcene of bloody and 
 kindred difcord was opened, Tenacious of a 
 fceptre which ilie had held againft the grafp of a 
 vigorous hufband, Urraca refufed to yield to the 
 pretenfions of a youthful fon ; ten years Caftille 
 and Leon were diftracted by the rival factions ; at 
 the end of that term Urraca expired at Saldagna 
 of indifpofition, and Alfonfo the feventh, in the 
 twentieth year of his age, was declared king of 
 Caftille and Leon, 
 A D 1 1 a6 ^e ^ n g of Arragon had not been 
 
 "57- an indolent fpectator of the late com- 
 motions; notwithftanding the fentence of the 
 Roman pontiff, the cities of Carrion, Nagara, and 
 Burgos, preferred his claims to thofe of Urraca ; 
 but on the death of the queen, they expelled his 
 garrifons and proclaimed Alfonfo the feventh. The 
 king of Arragon appeared in arms on the banks 
 of the Lima to chaftife their levity ; but near the 
 flream of that river he was oppofed by his royal 
 antagonift, who with a firm ftep led on the mar- 
 tial nobles of Caftille and Leon to battle. Amidft 
 
 the
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. '437 
 
 the fanguinary annals of ambitious monarchs, we 
 are pleafed to difcover fome traces of a feeling 
 heart; the king of Arragon confeiTed his affection 
 for a prince whom he had been accuflomed to 
 call his fon ; he confenred to evacuate the few 
 places he flill retained in Caflille, and to become 
 the ally, inftead of the enemy of her youthful 
 fovereign. 
 
 A flight revolt that was excited by the houfe of 
 Lara in Cailille, ferved only to difplay the vigour, 
 and exercife the clemency of Alfonfo ; an infur- 
 reclion in the Afturias was fcarce attended with 
 more ferious confequences ; the ardour of the new 
 monarch accorded with that of his fubjects ; to 
 efface their difgrace at Ucles, the flower of the 
 nobility repaired to the royal flandard. The army 
 in two columns forded the Guadiana; the right, 
 which paffed beneath the towers of Badajoz, was 
 intruded toRoderic de Gonzalez, who had rebelled, 
 been vanquished, and by his fubfequent fervices 
 juftified the lenity and confidence of his prince; 
 the left, which penetrated through the mountains 
 of Sierra Morena, was conducted by the king him- 
 felf ; their march was marked by devastation ; and 
 fo judicioufly was the enterprife concerted, andfo 
 happily executed, that they arrived the fame day 
 by different routes at the caftle of Gallalo. The 
 calamities which had been inflidted by the Moors 
 on Caftille, might vindicate the orders which were 
 
 iffued
 
 238 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 iffued by Alfonfo ; the vines and olives which 
 grew along the banks of the Guadalquivir were 
 rooted up ; the hopes of the hufbandman con- 
 fumed ; the mofchs levelled to the ground ; the 
 villages abandoned to the flames ; and the 
 wretched inhabitants were awakened from fecu- 
 rity to flavery. The fortificatioiis of Seville were 
 refpeded by an army unprovided with battering 
 machines ; but the fuburbs .were infulted, and 
 probably deftroyed. Beyond that city Alfonfo 
 purfued his victorious career ; furveyed at X< res 
 the fatal field which had witnefled the overthrow 
 of the Vifigoths, and the triumph of the Saracens; 
 and from his camp in the neighbourhood of 
 Gibraltar might behold the coaft of Africa and 
 the fortrefs of Ceuta. In his return at the head 
 of his cavalry he encountered and overthrew the 
 vanguard of the Moorifh army ; the main body 
 trufted to the maffy walls of Seville rather than 
 to their valour ; and without further interruption 
 the march of the victors was continued through 
 the defolated province of Eflremadura to the 
 friendly turrets of Talavera. 
 
 Yet on every fide the banners of the Chriftians 
 were not gilded with the fame fuccefs ; and as the 
 aged king of Arragon preffed the fiege of Fraga 
 on the banks of the Cinga, he loft among the 
 mountains his army and his life. His fceptre 
 was broken by his death ; the kingdoms of Ar- 
 ragon
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 239 
 
 ragon and Navarre, which had been united by his 
 arms, were again feparated ; and while the former 
 acknowledged the authority of his brother Ra- 
 miro, the latter fubmitted to the pretenfions of his 
 kinfman Garcias. 
 
 The fon of Urraca could not hear without emo- 
 tion the fate of a prince whom he had regarded 
 as a father ; and as a Chriftian king, he could not 
 be indifferent to the defeat of Fraga and the. 
 triumph of the infidels. He entered Arragon at 
 the head of a confiderable army, and the appre- 
 henfions which Ramiro might have entertained at 
 his approach, were difpelled by the aflurance that 
 he came as an ally to act againft their common 
 enemy, the Moflems. Their union probably de- 
 terred the Moors from purfuing their advantage ; 
 and Alfonfo after a friendly interview with Ramiro 
 returned to Leon. 
 
 It was in that city that the general voice and 
 gratitude of the Chriftian princes of Spain hailed 
 him with the title of Emperor ; the pride of the 
 fucceffors of Conftantine and Charlemagne might 
 reject as an aflbciate in the imperial dignity, a 
 monarch whofe influence was confined between 
 the flraits of Gibraltar and the Pyrenean moun- 
 tains ; but the pretenfions of Alfonfo were erected 
 on the moft folid foundations; and his new 
 honours were the voluntary fruits of the efteem 
 of his fubjects and the admiration of his neigh- 
 bours. 
 
 Yet
 
 2*o HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 Yet jealoufy is a paffion more congenial to the 
 bofoms of princes than gratitude ; and the kings 
 of Navarre and Portugal, who had been mod 
 zealous in conferring on Alfonfo the title of erh- 
 peror, were the firft to confederate againfl him. 
 Their league had originated in perfidy j and was 
 diflblved with difgrace ; they were fucceffively 
 compelled to fue for peace ; and the terms were 
 fuch as marked the moderation of the conqueror $ 
 defirous of preventing the efFufion of Chriftian 
 blood, and referving his ftrength entire to ad; 
 againft the Mahometans. 
 
 With a formidable army Alfonfo burft into thd 
 province of Andalufia, and extended his ravages 
 over the open country; but his exultation was 
 of fhort continuance ; a detachment of his troops 
 which had imprudently paffed the Guadalquivir id 
 fearch of plunder, was cut to pieces in his fight ; 
 after the lofs of one of his principal generals and 
 fome thoufands of his foldiers, he was compelled 
 to retire from the walls of Coria ; and though he 
 reduced the flrong fortrefs of Oraja, which had 
 been conftru&ed with the greateft fkill on the 
 frontiers of the kingdoms of Caftille and Cordova, 
 yet fix months were confumed in the tedious en- 
 terprife. The acquisition was more than balanced 
 by the lofs of Mora, which awed the country be- 
 tween the Guadiana and the Tagus, and which 
 was betrayed by the negligence or treachery of 
 
 the
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 341 
 
 the governor. But in the fucceeding campaign, 
 Alfonfo took Coria, recovered Mora ; and with 
 the afliftance of the naval fquadrons of France, 
 of Genoa, and of Pifa, inverted the town of Al- 
 meria, on the coaft of Granada. The former 
 aflailed the walls by land, the latter blocked up 
 the harbour by fea. The refinance of the gar- 
 rifon was firm but ineffectual ; Almeria fubmitted 
 to the authority of Alfonfo, and her treafure?, the 
 fruits of piratical adventure, were the reward of his 
 allies. The diffenfions of the Moors prevented 
 them from interrupting the operations of the 
 Chriftians ; a new race of fanatics had arofe amidft 
 the fands of Africa ; had precipitated themfelves 
 on Spain ; and the dynafty of the Almovarides 
 was loft in that of the Almohades. 
 
 The difcord of the Moflems ftiould have ads 
 monilhed the Chriftians of the advantages of 
 union ; yet the fondnefs of the father prevailed 
 over the policy of the monarch ; and in a national 
 afTembly the emperor recommended the divHion 
 of his dominions ; his advice was fecretly con- 
 demned, and openly approved; his elde'ft fon 
 Sancho was declared his fuccefTor in both the 
 Caftilles, and his youngeft, Ferdinand, in Leon and 
 Afturia. Their hopes had no fooner been for- 
 mally ratified by the ftates, than the emperor 
 again took the field. His forces were fwelled by 
 thofe of Navarre, animated by the example of 
 
 VOL. T. R their
 
 j4* HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 their king; and as the confederate hoft iffutd 
 from the mountains of Sierra Morena, they be- 1 
 held, and were charged by the rapid fquadrons of 
 the Moors ; the ihock was violent ; but the Chrif- 
 tians fought beneath the eyes of their refpedtive 
 monarchs ; their ranks were reftored by the {kill- 
 ofAlfonfo; and their tranfient difgrace was ef- 
 faced by a cruel flaug.hter of their enemies. Jaenr 
 was plundered, Seville infulted ; and the country 
 between the Guadalquivir and the Guadiana con- 
 verted into a defert.- But the triumphant entry 
 of Alfonfo into Leon was alloyed by the unwel- 
 come intelligence of the indifpofition of the king 
 of Navarre, who foon after his return from the 
 campaign expired at Pampeluna ; and in his death 
 the emperor deplored the double lofs of ah affec- 
 tionate fon-in-law, and an important ally. 
 
 The age of Alfonfo, which did not amount to 
 fifty years, and the experience of his paft conduct, 
 feemed to extend the profpedt of the public feli- 
 city ; a vifit from Louis the feventh of France, 
 who had married his daughter Conftantia, did not 
 divert the emperor from the toils of war. He 
 traverfed again the mountains of Sierra Morena, 
 and pitched his camp under the walls of Andujar, 
 which are warned by the G-uadalquivir. The na. 
 tural and artificial flrength of that city had refitted 
 the attacks of fuccefiive generals who had afpired 
 to the pofieffion of itj but it yielded to the 
 
 ardour
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 243 
 
 ardour or perfeverance of Alfonfo; and after a 
 fliort vifit to Toledo, the victor again took the 
 field, with the pleafing expectation of completing 
 the conqueft of Andalufia ; in a bloody encounter 
 near Jaen he defeated the united force of the in- 
 fidels ; his laft days were cheered by victory ; but 
 difeafe prevented him from improving it ; the in- 
 creafing ravages of a dyfentery announced his 
 fpeedy diflblution ; and on his return towards 
 Toledo, the emperor Alfonfo expired in the ob- 
 fcure village of Frefneda. 
 
 The infidels exulted in the death A. D. 1157* 
 of an enemy whofe fword had fo often II<s8 * 
 proved fatal to their braveft warriors ; the Chrif. 
 tians lamented the lofs of a prince whofe genius 
 had invariably conducted them to victory ; the 
 firft were encouraged, the lad terrified by the 
 profpect of a feeble and divided adminiflration. 
 Yet on their refpective thrones the virtues of 
 Sancho and Ferdinand commanded applaufe and 
 efteem; their fraternal affection was unimpaired 
 by jealoufy or ambition ; and though in the firft 
 moments of a new reign the Moors recovered 
 Andalufia, and planted again the flandard of Ma- 
 homet on the towers of Andujar ; yet no fooner 
 had the king of Caftille received the congratula- 
 tions of his nobles and Chriftian neighbours, than 
 he moved forward to conqueft ; in a long and 
 bloody action on the frontiers of Andalufia he 
 R 2 proved
 
 244 HISTORY OF SPAIN, 
 
 proved himfelf not unworthy of his illuftrlous 
 father ; the Moors fled before him ; but the news 
 of his victory was fcarcely diffufed before it was 
 followed by that of his death ; the furname of 
 the defired, is expreflive of his amiable qualities ; 
 and the fufpieion that he fell a victim to his grief 
 for the lofs of Blanch, his much -loved confort, is 
 an evidence of his feeling heart. 
 A. D. 1158. The memory of his virtues, and the 
 I2I4> abilities of his faithful minilkr Don 
 Guiterez de Caftro, promoted the election of his 
 ion Alfonfo, who when only three years old was 
 acknowledged king of Caftille. The adminiilra- 
 tion of Guiterez was ihort and ftormy ; the envy 
 of the nobles was excited by his appointment; 
 and the family of Lara, not lefs remarkable for 
 their wealth and defcent than for their daring and 
 turbulent fpirit, were his declared enemies. They 
 poflefled themfelves by fraud of the perfon of the 
 young king ; they affcrted by force their preten- 
 fions to the regency ; and a civil war would have 
 been the immediate confequence of their ambi- 
 tion, had not the opportune death of Guiterez 
 extinguifhed their rifing difcord. 
 
 On the deceafe of Guiterez, Don Manrique de 
 Lara was formally recognized as the regent of 
 Caftilk ; and fome vigour was difplayed in the 
 fuccefs with which he refvfted the rival claims of 
 the king of Leon, and the hoftile incurfions of 
 
 the
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 245 
 
 the king of Arragon. But the family of Caflro 
 were ftill the objects of his indefatigable hatred ; 
 and an attempt to deprive Ferdinand the brother 
 of Guiterez of the government of the city of To- 
 ledo, was fatal to his own life ; the angry paffions 
 of the two factions urged them to battle ; Man- 
 rique was killed, and his followers difperfed by 
 the victor ; yet Nugnez de L-ara arofe to fupply 
 with more aufpicious fortune the place of his 
 brother. A new army was levied in the name of 
 the king ; the adherents to the houfe of Caftro 
 were proclaimed rebels ; Toledo obeyed the fum- 
 mons of, and opened her gates to, her fovereign ; 
 and Ferdinand was compelled to feek an afylum 
 among the enemies of his country and religion. 
 
 Under the name of Alfonfo, Nugnez de Lara 
 governed for fome time with abfolute fway ; he 
 negociated and concluded a marriage between the 
 king and Eleanora the daughter of Henry the 
 fecond, who with England ruled over the exten- 
 five province of Normandy. Yet the houfe of 
 Caftro had rather been furprifed than vanquifhed ; 
 from Seville, Ferdinand their chief had repai'red 
 to the court of Leon, and was received with open 
 arms by a monarch who had himfelf experienced 
 the arrogance of Nugnez de Lara. The mar- 
 tial youth of Leon were permitted or encouraged 
 to march beneath the ftandard of Ferdinand ; his 
 own retainers were ftill numerous j and the exile 
 R 3 at
 
 146 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 at the head of an army entered Caftille, to folick 
 his pardon, and the punifhment of his rival. To 
 encounter his hereditary enemy, Nugnez advanced 
 with a conflderable body of forces haftily aflem- 
 bled ; and their differences were terminated in a 
 field of battle, which was adverfe to the houfe of 
 Lara ; two counts of the name were flain in the 
 conflict ; and Nugnez himfelf, a prifoner, might 
 have envied their fate ; yet he was received with 
 courtefy and difmiffed with magnanimity; and 
 Ferdinand afpired to the more noble revenge of 
 fubduing a fecond time by his generofity, the 
 enemy whom he had firft vanquilhed by his arms. 
 Without violating the dignity of his fovereign, 
 he led back his victorious followers to Leon ; and 
 in a marriage with the natural fitter of his royal 
 protector, who efteemed, and knew how to re- 
 ward his merits, he renounced for ever his native 
 country. 
 
 On the captivity of Nugnez de Lara, the reins 
 of adminiflration were aflumed by Alfonfo him- 
 felf ; but the unfteady hand with which he held 
 them, was the affliction of his fubjects and the ex- 
 ultation of his enemies ; he provoked the refent- 
 ment of his Chriftian neighbours, and engaged in 
 a feries of hoftile and unfuccefsful enterprifes 
 againft the kings of Leon, of Arragon, and of 
 Navarre. And when the formidable preparations 
 of the Moors compelled him at laft to folicit the 
 
 friendlhip
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. -247 
 
 {friendship and fuccour ofthofe monarchs, aftuated 
 foy pride and jealoufy, he rufhed to the field to 
 -anticipate the diligence of his allies, and to ered 
 alone the trophies his fond preemption had pro- 
 mifed ; near the town of Alarcon a broken mo- 
 nument dill records the defeat of the ChriiUans ; 
 the waters of the Xucar were purpled with the 
 blood of twenty thoufand Caftilians. Unwilling 
 to furvive the effe&s of his own raftinefs, the king 
 fought death amidft the thickeft fquadrons of 
 the enemy ; but his perfon was fhielded by a 
 brave and faithful nobility, who fought around 
 him, and at length conveyed :him from the fcene 
 of difmay and flaughter. In his retreat with the 
 fhattered remains of his army, he met the king of 
 Leon advancing to his fupport ; their interview 
 was cold and reproachful ; the fon of Ferdinand, 
 for Ferdinand himfelf was no more, upbraided 
 the jealous temerity of Alfonfo, and Alfonfo ac- 
 cufed with warmth the tardy prudence of his 
 confederate ; they parted with mutual difguft ; 
 and while Toledo was infuked and befieged by 
 the infidels, the king of Caltille was employed 
 in ravaging the territories of a kinfman and 
 Chriftian ally. 
 
 The magnanimity of Alfonfo, for fuch alfo was 
 
 the name of the fon and fuccefibr of Ferdinand, 
 
 was fuperior to the infult ; he facrificed his own 
 
 refentment to the general intereft of the Chriftian 
 
 R 4 powers;
 
 *4S HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 powers ; and though he advanced at the head of 
 an army, it was only to add weight to his offers 
 of reconciliation. The murmurs of the Caftilian 
 nobility compelled their fovereign to fubfcribe an 
 equal and honourable treaty ; the bonds of poli- 
 tical union were drawn more elofe by thofe of 
 domeflic alliance ; in the cathedral of Valladolid 
 the king of Leon received the hand of Beren- 
 gara, the daughter of his coufin of Cailille; 
 and though the marriage was afterwards diflblved 
 by the imperious voice of the Roman pontiff,, yet 
 the iffue of it was declared legitimate ; the title of 
 Ferdinand the eldeft, to the throne of Leon, was 
 formally recognized ; and in little more than 
 thirty years his claims indiffolubly united the do- 
 ifiinions of his father and grand-father. 
 
 Whatever might be the fecret averfion of the 
 king of Caftille to the new nuptials, he was forced 
 to conceal or fufpend his enmity ; the power of 
 the Moors had been nourifhed by the diffenfions 
 of the Chriftians, and to recover the kingdom of 
 Toledo, the Moflems of Africa had obeyed with 
 alacrity the fummons of their brethren of Spain. 
 Fourfcore thoufand cavalry were diftinguifhed by 
 the fpirit of the horfes and the dexterity of the 
 riders j and the myriads of infantry which ilowly 
 followed their motions, are defcribed as fatiguing 
 the eye of the fpedator ; the innumerable hoft 
 threatened to overwhelm all refiftance ; and their 
 
 comrnon,
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 249 
 
 common peril united the Chriftian princes from 
 the mouth of the Tagus to the foot of the Pyre- 
 nees. But their confederate forces appeared un- 
 equal to the encounter ; and the fource of their 
 danger pointed out to them the means of their 
 defence. 
 
 Towards the conclusion of the eleventh cen- 
 tury, the martial nations of Europe had been 
 awakened by Peter the Hermit, to the reco- 
 very of the holy land. The impaflioned elo- 
 quence of the fanatic had been feconded by 
 the exhortations of the Roman pontiff; and 
 in the council of Clermont, pope Urban the 
 fecond urged the warriors of the weft to march 
 to the relief of their brethren in the eaft. 
 At the voice x of their paftor, the robber, the in- 
 cendiary, the homicide, arofe by thoufands to re- 
 deem their fouls, by repeating on the infidels the 
 fame deeds which they had exercifed againft their 
 Chriftian brethren ; and to ufe the words of the 
 princefs Anne Comnena, all Europe torn up 
 from the foundation feemed ready to precipitate 
 itfelf in one united body on Afia ; four crufades 
 had confumed in lefs than an hundred and twen- 
 ty years, a million and an half of the enthufiafts 
 of Europe, without exhaufting the hopes of the 
 furvivors ; and an engine, which in unfkilful hands 
 had been frequently abufed, was fometimes em- 
 ployed to the moft falutary purpofes. Pope 
 
 Innocent
 
 2 5 o HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 -nocent the third liftened to the diftrefs of the 
 Chriftian princes of Spain ; his holy eloquence 
 -incited to arms the martial nobles of Gaul and 
 Germany ; and fixty thoufand warlike adven- 
 turers beneath their refpedlive chiefs traverfed 
 the Pyrenees in queft of fpoil and glory ; fome 
 jealoufies between the kings of Portugal and 
 Leon prevented them from joining them ; but the 
 armies of Caftille, of Arragon, and Navarre, were 
 -animated by the prefence of their monarchs ; and 
 the whole for.ce was united under the walls of 
 Toledo. Implacable againft the enemies of 
 hriftianity, and ftill more fo againft thofe who 
 were rich and impotent, the pious warriors of 
 .Gaul and Germany were with difficulty diffuaded 
 from plundering the Jews who dwelt in the fu- 
 -burbs of Toledo ; and the firft proof of their 
 .zeal had nearly been difplayed againft the fub- 
 jecls of a prince to whofe fuccour they had been 
 invited ; they quitted with reluctance the tempt- 
 ing prey,,and in their march overturned the walls 
 of Melagon ; thofe of Calatrava were defended 
 by a brave and numerous garrifon which, though 
 compelled to abandon the town, ftill difplayed the 
 ftandard of Mahomet on the citadel. The con- 
 confederate princes of Spain were unwilling to 
 confume their ftrength in a tedious fiege ; they 
 propofed terms of capitulation; and a fafe re- 
 treat with their moft valuable effects was offered
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 251 
 
 to the garrifon, and accepted. But the French 
 and Germans had been taught that it was meri- 
 torious to Ihed the blood of infidels ; they were 
 not eafily reftrained from violating the treaty ; and 
 their murmurs accufed the lenity *of their allies, 
 as a.defertion of the Chriftian caufe. The wealth 
 of Calatrava might yet have appeafed their dif- 
 content ; but the king of Caftille oppofed with 
 firmnefs their infolent clamours ; and their ardour 
 for an enterprife, which was- neither recommended 
 by blood nor fpoil, gradually fubfided. They 
 complained of the heat of the climate ; they pro- 
 claimed their intentions to return; and deaf to the 
 remonftrances and felicitations of Alfonfo, pointed 
 back their diforderly fleps towards the Pyrenees. 
 
 Arnauld, archbilhop of Narbonne, and Tih- 
 baud de Blacon, whofe zeal for religion was 
 more pure, or whofe thirfl for glory more ftrong, 
 of the chiefs of Gaul and Germany remained alone 
 beneath the banner of the crofs ; but the royal 
 leaders, though their numbers were diminifhed 
 by the defertion of their allies, flill prefied for- 
 ward to victory ; they befieged and reduced the 
 town of Alarcon ; reviewed and repofed their fol- 
 lowers at Salvatierra ; and inftead of attempting 
 to force the pafles which the Moors had occu- 
 pied, under the direction of a mepherd they ex- 
 plored a new route acrofs the mountains of Sierra 
 Morena. As they defcended into the plains be- 
 neath, 1
 
 a S 2 HISTORY OF SPAIN, 
 
 neath, they beheld the banks of the Gaudalquivir, 
 between Jaen and Baeza, whitened with the innu- 
 merable tents of the infidels. Two days were 
 allotted to recruit their ftrength which had been 
 exhaufied in the toilfome march ; on the third 
 they obeyed with alacrity the fignal for action. 
 Near Tolofo in firm order the Moors awaited their 
 charge ; the choiceft bands of Africa and Granada 
 were ilationed in the centre ; but fome diftruft of 
 their own numbers and valour muft have pre- 
 vailed; and the iron chain that was ftretched along 
 their front, revealed their fecret doubts or fears. 
 The Miramolin, or Moorifli monarch was diftin- 
 guimed from the hofl of his fubjedts by his 
 fplendid veil and majeftic mien. In his left hand 
 be held the koran, with his right he wielded a 
 fabre. The firfl reminded the Moflems of the 
 joys of paradife which had been promifed by 
 their prophet to thofe who bravely fell in battle; 
 the laft admonifhed his captains to dread lefs the 
 fwords of their enemies than the indignation of 
 their fovereign. Nor did the Chriftian leader 
 difregard the arts of fuperftition ; the firft place 
 in danger and honour was claimed by the king of 
 Caftille ; and as he fpurred his horfe to the en- 
 counter, the holy crofs was exalted before him by 
 the nervous arm of the archbifhop of Toledo. In 
 the mutual rage of the conflicting hofts, little 
 room was allowed for the genius of the generals ; 
 
 and
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 253 
 
 and each combatant depended rather on his vigour 
 and the keennefs of his own fabre, than on the 
 addrefs of his leader. Yet in a ftruggle of feveral 
 hours, though the courage of the Chriftians was 
 unbroken, their ftrength began to fail ; they were 
 incefTantly affailed by frefh fquadrons ; and they 
 panted on the verge of deflrudlion, when they were 
 arouzed by the generous defpair. of the king of 
 Caftille ; on that day Alfonfo redeemed the former 
 errors of his reign ; as he furveyed the field, he 
 exclaimed a glorious death alone remained ; and 
 was with difficulty withheld from. plunging fingly 
 amidft the Moorifh ranks ; his contempt of life 
 was rewarded with victory ; the Caflilians were 
 ftimulated to a laft effort by the example of 
 their prince; they burft the iron chain, broke 
 through the thick array of the infidels, and fcat- 
 tered in their career, difmay and death. The 
 Miramolin fled from a field which he could no 
 longer hope to reftore ; the ilaughter of two 
 hundred thoufand Moors might fatigue the arms 
 and blunt the fwords of the Chriftians ; but the 
 reader muft turn with difdain from the hiftorians 
 who affert that this advantage was purchafed 
 with the lofs of only twenty-five of the victo- 
 rious army; and who in their eager defire to 
 eftablilh the miraculous interpofition of heaven, 
 defraud of their juft glory the champions of 
 Chrift who fealed their faith with their blood. 
 
 On
 
 2$4 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 On the field of Tolofo the power of the Mira- 
 molin was for ever broken ; yet the immediate con* 
 quefls of the Chriftians were few and unimportant. 
 They ravaged or reduced the open country as far 
 * as Baeza ; but they in vain prefled the fiege of 
 Ubeda ; and after refufmg a liberal ranfom, they 
 were compelled by hunger to retire from the in- 
 aufpicious walls. They led back to Toledo an 
 army thinned by famine and difeafe ; in that city 
 they difplayed in triumph, and rewarded their 
 foreign auxiliaries with the fpoils of victory ; and 
 after fubfcribing a treaty of future defence againft 
 the infidels, the French repafled the Pyrenees, 
 and the kings of Arragon and Navarre returned 
 to their own capitals. 
 
 The remembrance of his danger, feems to have 
 awakened the dormant judgment of Alfonfo ; in- 
 flead of yielding to the impulfe of his paffions, 
 his conduct was ever afterwards regulated by juft 
 and found policy ; he cultivated the moft perfect 
 friendfhip with the king of Leon ; he mediated 
 between that monarch and the court of Portugal ; 
 and though his fatisfaction was tranfiently clouded 
 by a dearth which afflicted Caftille, while he la- 
 boured to relieve the diftrefs of his fubjects, he 
 beheld the ftrength of the Moors confumed by 
 inteftine diffenfions. The Miramolin after his 
 defeat repafled the feas to Africa ; a crowd of 
 petty chiefs difputed his fceptre, and diflevered 
 
 his
 
 HISTORY QF SPAIN. 255: 
 
 fois dominions ; and no fooner had the luxuriance 
 of the enfuing harveft reftored plenty to their peo- 
 ple, than the kings of Caftille and Leon marched 
 againft the infidels ; the firft in vain befieged 
 Baeza ; but the latter burft open the gates of Al- 
 cantara; and as he parTed over the llupendous 
 bridge which for eleven hundred years had re- 
 lifted the impreffion of time, he might juftry ad- 
 mire the eternal monument of Roman archi- 
 tecture. 
 
 The prudence and moderation of Alfonfo in 
 his latter years, had converted the contempt of his 
 fubjects into efteem ; but their vows for the con- 
 tinuance of his reign were rejected ; and he had 
 fcarce fhown himfelf worthy of the crown, before 
 he was bereaved of it by death ; he had fixed on 
 the city of Placentia for an interview with his 
 royal kinfman of Leon, to concert the operations 
 of the enfuing campaign ; but on his road he was 
 feized with a malignant fever ; his laft hours were 
 cheered by the fpiritual confolation of the arch- 
 bifliop of Toledo, who had been his companion 
 in victory, and was his comforter in death ; and 
 after naming his widow Eleanora for regent, he 
 expired in the arms of that prelate. 
 
 Henry, the fon of Alfonfo, was but A< D> 1JI4> 
 eleven years old when the ftates of Caf- I2I7< 
 tille ratified the will of their late monarch, and ac- 
 knowledged him as their fovereign. He was fooiv 
 
 deprived
 
 25 6 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 deprived of the protection of his mother, whofe 
 health had been impaired by grief, and who was 
 impatient to join her hufband in the grave. The 
 lofs might have have been fupplied by the expe- 
 rience of his lifter Berengara, who had early been 
 initiated to adverfity in the perfecution of the fee of 
 Rome, and who from her feparation from the king 
 of Leon, had deferved the love of the Caftilians, 
 by the active and affectionate performance of 
 every focial duty. Her natural pretenfions were 
 fupported by the laft teftament of Alfonfo, who 
 had named her to fucceed to the regency in cafe 
 of the death of Eleanora. But her claims were 
 oppofed by the ambition of the brothers of the 
 houfe of Lara, who, emerging from retirement, 
 afierted the hereditary turbulence of their ancef- 
 tors. In a national afTembly their intrigues pre- 
 vailed ; and the reins of adminiftration were com- 
 mitted to the hand of Don Alvaro de Lara ; he 
 might have trampled with impunity on the prof- 
 trate laity ; but he prefumed to invade the im- 
 munities of the clergy ; their refentment was im- 
 placable ; the churches refounded with the facri- 
 legious oppreflion of Alvaro ; and the difcontents 
 of the people encouraged the party of Berengara 
 "to vindicate her right. Yet amidft the florms 
 which agitated Caftille, the addrefs and boldnefs 
 of Alvaro were confpicuous. By a negociation 
 of marriage between Henry and the eldeft daugh- 
 ter
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 257 
 
 ter of the king of Leon he diverted the latter 
 from efpoufing the caufe of his former confort ; 
 in arms he menaced the chiefs who had confe- 
 derated againft his authority ; and threatened 
 with the dangers of a fiege the fifter of his fove- 
 reign, when his fchemes were broken by a me- 
 lancholy and unexpected incident ; as Henry 
 purfued his amufements, a tile, that had been 
 thrown in fport by one of his youthful compa- 
 nions, pitched upon his head, and was almoft 
 'inftantly fatal to his life, and to the ambitious 
 "hopes of Don Alvaro. 
 
 The title of his fifter Berengara was A. D. 1217, 
 immediately recognized in an afiem- " 3 ' 
 bly of the ftates ; yet the houfe of Lara did not 
 retire from power without a ftruggle; but their 
 refiftance was overwhelmed by the tide of loyalty ; 
 the cities that had been moft attached to their 
 faftion opened their gates to the queen ; too 
 proud to yield, they retired into exile ; and Be- 
 rengara after having held the fceptre of Caflille 
 for a few weeks, refigned it to Ferdinand, her fon 
 by the king of Leon, and who had juft entered 
 on his fixteenth year. 
 
 Ferdinand, who from his virtues obtained af- 
 terwards the facred furname of Saint, afcended 
 the throne amidft the acclamations of his fub- 
 jects. His tranquil acceflion feemed fecured by 
 the prudence and magnanimity of his mother, by 
 
 VOL. i. S the 

 
 5 5 3 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 the exile of the houfe of Lara, and by his na- 
 tural claims to the protection of his father and 
 neighbour the king of Leon. But the bofom that 
 is inflamed with ambition, is feldom fufceptiblc 
 of the more tender paflions ; and fuch was the 
 judgment of Alvaro de Lara when he chofe the 
 court of Leon as an afylum againil the indigna- 
 tion of his prince. While Alfonfo revolved his 
 own aggrandifement, he forgot, or wifhed to for- 
 get, that Ferdinand was his fon ; and the corona- 
 tion of the latter was interrupted by the unwel- 
 come intelligence that his unnatural father and 
 his rebellious fubjedt were advancing towards 
 Burgos at the head of a formadable army ; the 
 loyalty of the nobles of Caftille was the fecurity 
 of Ferdinand ; a numerous and gallant body of 
 cavalry was haftily aflembled; and Alfonfo en- 
 dured the mortification of abandoning with pre- 
 cipitation an enterprife which had been prompted 
 by injuflice ; he acknowledged his error, folicited 
 the friendship of his fon ; andfcarcefubfcribed, be- 
 fore he again violated the terms of reconciliation. 
 Yet his fecond attempt was equally fruitlefs with, 
 his firft ; and his penitence might not have been 
 more permanent, but for the premature death of 
 Alvaro de Lara ; in an hoftile incurfion that 
 chief had been taken prifoner by the valour, and 
 releafed by the magnanimity of his fovereign ; 
 his haughty fpirit was exafperated by difgrace, 
 
 and
 
 HISTORY OF SPAItf. 259 
 
 and incapable of being fubdued by gratitude ; in, 
 the fccond invafion of Alfonfo, at the head of a 
 martial train of his adherents, he ravaged his na- 
 tive country and defied his king and conqueror. 
 He obeyed with reluctance and indignation the fig- 
 nal of retreat ; his heart was fwelled by conflicting 
 paffions ; and rage and defpair delivered Alfonfo 
 from an injurious counfellor, and Ferdinand from 
 an implacable enemy ; yet the generofity of the 
 king of Caftille was confpicuous after death ; and 
 the funeral of Alvaro was celebrated with a mag- 
 nificence worthy of his birth, by the liberality of 
 a monarch whofe life he had repeatedly fought, 
 and whofe peace he had incefiantly invaded. 
 
 The pride of the Caftilians was gratified by the 
 marriage of their king with Beatrix, daughter to 
 Philip, who, with his hereditary dukedom of 
 Swabia, had been chofen to fill the imperial throne 
 of Germany. From the couch of amorous enjoy- 
 ment, Ferdinand was fummoned by the cares of 
 fovereignty ; and he had fcarce tafted the charms 
 of Beatrix before he prepared to march againft 
 the infidels ; his firfl campaign neither advanced 
 his renown nor extended his dominions ; an4 
 after beholding ten thoufand of his followers 
 perifh by famine beneath the walls of Requena, 
 he was compelled to raife the fiege of that place. 
 But the difgrace was foon effaced by fuccefs the 
 moft brilliant and decifive ; the Moorifli king of 
 S z Valencia,
 
 *6o HIST ORt OF SPAIN. 
 
 Valencia, and the chiefs of Baeza and part of 
 Andalufia, confented to become his vaflals ; Baeza 
 was fur-rendered into his hands ; and for ten years, 
 at the conclufion of as many campaigns, he led 
 back his followers from the invafion of Valencia, 
 of Murcia, and of Granada, laden with fpoil and 
 glory ; at the expiration of that term he inverted 
 Jaen, which during the turbulent regency of Don 
 Alvaro 'de Lara, had been recovered by the 
 Moors. The fortifications were ftrong, the gar- 
 rifon bold and numerous ; and Ferdinand yielded 
 to the remonftrances of his generals ; and aban- 
 doned, though with reluctance, the hopelefs en- 
 terprife. He had fcarce returned to Burgos be- 
 fore he received the intelligence that his father, 
 the king of Leon, after a glorious victory at 
 Merida over the infidels, had breathed his laft 
 in a pilgrimage to the fhrine of St. James, of 
 Compoftella. The will of Alfonfo difplayed in 
 the laft moments the inconftant temper of that 
 monarch, which his fubjects had deplored through- 
 out his reign ; though Ferdinaud had been re- 
 cognized his heir in an aflembly of the flates, 
 yet he bequeathed his dominions to his daughters, 
 Sancha and Dulcia, the iflue of his firft marriage ; 
 to aflert his right, Ferdinand advanced towards 
 the frontiers of Leon ; his train was fwelled into 
 an army by the Afturian and Gallician nobles who 
 reflected the fandity of their former oaths, or 
 
 preferred
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. i6i 
 
 preferred the true interefts of their country ; all 
 competition was extinguifhed by the moderation 
 of the princeffes Sancha and Dulcia; they re- 
 nounced their claims; enjoyed in a private 
 ftation, a princely income; and from the final 
 union of the kingdoms of Caftille and Leon 
 under Ferdinand, we may date the future gran- 
 deur of Spain. 
 
 ^ 3 Ckafter
 
 262 HISTORY OF SPAItf. 
 
 Chapter the Seventh. 
 
 Final union of Cajlille and Leon. Rife andprogrefs 
 of chivalry. Orders of St. Jago, Calatrava, and 
 Alcantara. Exploits of Ferdinand, furnamed the 
 Saint. He fuccejjively reduces the cities of Cordova 
 and Seville. He meditates the invajion of Africa. 
 His death. Four hundred years after he is 
 canonized at the requeft of the king andjlates of 
 Spain.'. AcceJJion of Alfonfo, furnamed the Wife. 
 He afpires to the imperial crown of Germany. 
 JDiftraSiion of his reign. Revolt of his fon Sancho. 
 'Death of Alfonfo. He isfuccededby Sancho the 
 Brave. Vigorous meafures of that monarch. He 
 vanquijhes his rebellious fubj eels. Dies at Toledo. 
 The queen dowager is fupplanted in the regency 
 iy Don Henry, uncle of the late king. Stormy 
 minority and reign of Ferdinand the fourth. Pre- 
 tenfions of the houfe of de la Cerda. Prudence of 
 the queen dowager. Perfection of the Knights 
 Templars. They are acquitted in Spain. Hajly 
 condemnation of two noblemen, by Ferdinand.* 
 Particulars of the death of that monarch. He is 
 fucceeded by his fon Alfonfo the eleventh. Defeat 
 of the Chrifians, and deaths of the regents Juan 
 
 and
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 263 
 
 and Pedro.- Alfonfo ajftimes the reins of govern- 
 ment. He afts with 'vigour againft his rebellious 
 fubjefls and foreign enemies. In conjunction with 
 the king of Portugal, he defeats the Moors at Sal- 
 fedo. Takes Algezire.Dies of the plague in the 
 fiege of Gibraltar. Review of his charafter. 
 
 IVlORE than five hundred years A. D. 
 had elapfed fince the Chriftians had " 52> 
 emerged from their craggy retreats' in Afturia, 
 and under the conduct of Pelagius ranged them- 
 felves in battle on the open plain. The fuccefs 
 of their firft enterprifes was productive of confi- 
 dence ; and their rapid progrefs was accelerated 
 by the divifions and decay of their common ene- 
 mies, who were actuated by jealoufy of each 
 other, and were enervated by luxury. The de- 
 fcendants of the Arabian warriors who marched 
 under the banners of Tarik and Mufa, had dege- 
 nerated from the fimplicity, and had declined 
 from the valour of their anceftors ; their empire, 
 which had been founded on fanaticifm, had gra- 
 dually receded in proportion as fcience and learn- 
 ing had advanced ; and when Ferdinand, the 
 third of the name who ruled over Leon, united 
 that kingdom with Caftille, the poffefiions of the 
 Moors in Spain were limited to part of Andalufia, 
 S 4 the
 
 264 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 the kingdom of Granada, and the provinces of 
 Murcia and Valentia. 
 
 Narrow as thefe territories might appear, they 
 were not fuffered to cultivate them in tranquillity ; 
 that ardour and enthufiafm which had inflamed 
 the firft Moilems, feemed to have patted from 
 their bofoms into thofe of their adverfaries; the 
 fpirit of chivalry, which has been often confidered 
 as a wild inftieution, the effect of caprice, and the 
 fource of extravagance, diligently traced, muft be 
 aicribed to the moft liberal and generous fenti- 
 ments. Perpetual war, rapine, and anarchy, were 
 congenial to the feudal (late; and the limited 
 power of the fovereign fuffered him not to pro- 
 tect from infult or injury, the weak and unarmed. 
 The valour and generofity of private perfons af- 
 forded the moft effectual defence againft violence 
 and oppreffion ; fuch qualities might naturally 
 have been expected from noble bofoms only, 
 which had long entertained the moft lofty and, 
 delicate notions of honour ; and the fons of peers 
 who could produce four quarters or lines ofan- 
 ceftry without fpot or reproach, at firft might 
 alone legally pretend to the diftinction of knight- 
 hood. But a fimple knight could impart ac- 
 cording to his judgment the character Which he 
 received ; and a warlike plebean was fometimes 
 enriched and ennobled by the fword, and became 
 the father of a new race. The ceremony was in 
 
 its
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 265 
 
 its origin limple and profance ; the candidate, 
 after fome previous trial, was invefted with the 
 fword and fpurs ; and his cheek or fhoulder were 
 touched with a flight blow, as an emblem of the 
 laft affront which it was lawful for him to endure ; 
 but fuperftition was foon blended with the rites 
 of chivalry ; the fword of the novice was blefled 
 by the minifters of religion ; his folemn recep- 
 tion was preceded by fafts and vigils ; and he was 
 created a knight in the name of God, of St. 
 George, and of St. Michael the archangel. He 
 fwore to accomplifh the duties of his profeffion, 
 to check the infolence of overgrown oppreffors, 
 to refcue the helplefs from captivity, to protect 
 t>r to avenge women, orphans, and ecclefiaftics, 
 who could not bear arms in their own defence ; 
 to redrefs wrongs, and to remove grievances, were 
 deemed acts of the higheft, prowefs and merit* 
 Valour, humanity, courtefy, juftice, and honour, 
 were the characterise qualities of chivalry. Each 
 knight was attended to the field by his faithful 
 fquire, a youth of equal birth and fimilar hopes; 
 he was followed by his archers and men at arms ; 
 and four, or five, or fix foldiers, were computed 
 on an average, as his martial train. He himfelf 
 conftantly ferved on horfeback ; his lance was his 
 proper and peculiar weapon ; and his fteed was 
 of a large and heavy breed. When his long lance 
 was fixed in the reft, he furioufly.fpurred his 
 
 charge
 
 afcb HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 charger againft the foe, and tranfpierced or over- 
 turned in his career the naked bands and light 
 fquadrons of the Arabs. Religion, the prominent 
 feature of the age, was confpicuous in the inflitu- 
 tion ; and to recover the Holy Land from the 
 dominion of the infidels, was the pious object of 
 the majority of the knights of Europe. But thofe 
 of Spain might exercife their valour within their 
 native boundaries ; and when Ferdinand afcended 
 the throne, the affbciations of feveral of them had 
 obtained th^appellation of orders, and were diftirt- 
 guilhed by the faint they had chofen as their pa- 
 tron, or the fpot they had pitched on for their 
 refidence. 
 
 The military order of St. Jago had been efta- 
 blifhed in Spain towards the clofe of the twelfth 
 century, under the aufpices of Alfonfo the ninth ; 
 it had been confirmed by the bull of pope Alex- 
 ander the third ; the object of it was to oppofe 
 the enemies of the Chriftian faith, and to reftrain 
 and punifh thofe who difturbed the public peace ; 
 fuch an inftitution, while the open country was 
 not only ravaged by the common enemy but was 
 afflicted by the depredations of private banditti, 
 could not fail of popularity and general en- 
 couragement. And in the enfuing century the 
 wealth and importance of the order became fo 
 confiderable, that according to one hiftorian, the 
 grand matter of St. Jago was the perfon in Spain 
 
 of
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 267 
 
 of greateft power and dignity next to the king. 
 To the vows of poverty, and conjugal chaftity, 
 which were pronounced by the knights, was 
 added that of implicit obedience to their grand 
 matter ; they were capable of bringing into the 
 field a thoufand men at arms ; if thefe men were 
 accompanied as was ufual in that age, they 
 muft, with their followers, have compofed a for^ 
 midable body of cavalry. Eighty commanderies, 
 two hundred priories, and a variety of other bene- 
 fices had, in little more than an hundred and fifty 
 years been accumulated by the order ; and it is not 
 furprifing that the command of fo confiderable a 
 force, the diftribution of fo ample a revenue, and 
 the difpofal of fo many offices, ftiould have ren- 
 dered the perfon who was intruded with them 
 fcarce lefs formidable to his fovereign than to the 
 enemies of his faith. The orders of Calatrava and 
 Alcantara, though neither fo honourable nor opu- 
 lent as that of St. Jago, were yet numerous and li- 
 berally endowed ; and while they adhered to the 
 purity of their firft inftitution, without becoming 
 the tools to the ambition or refentment of their 
 grand-mafters, they muft have given an energy to 
 the operations of goverment which the feeble and 
 divided Moilems were incapable of refilling. 
 
 The enterprifing genius of Ferdinand fuffered 
 not the lance of chivalry to ruft in inaction. An 
 army under the command of his brother Alfonfo 
 
 penetrated
 
 *6g HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 penetrated into the Moorifh territories, and paffed 
 the Guad iana ; they were furrounded by an hoft 
 of infidels ; and when they compared their own 
 fcanty numbers to the myriads of the enemy, 
 their whole confidence muft have been derived 
 from their valour and piety ; on thefe they relied 
 in the hour of danger ; and fuch was the unqua- 
 lified hope they infpired, that had a retreat been 
 practicable, they would have difdained the in- 
 glorious expedient. They were ranged in two 
 lines ; they advanced in clofe order to the charge ; 
 and the dexterity and courage that had been 
 practifed in tilts and tournaments, were effectually 
 exerted to affert the glory of their country, and 
 vindicate the purity of their faith. The bofom 
 of the Moorilh general was tranfpierced by the 
 lance of a beardlefs youth who had been inverted 
 with the facred honour of knighthood on the 
 morning of the action ; his followers were dif- 
 mayed by his fate; and the bloody toils of the 
 Chriflians were cheered by the firm belief that 
 they fought beneath the conduct of their pecu- 
 liar patron St. James. The viiion which enthu- 
 fiafin prefented amidft the tumult of the battle, 
 has been preferved by fuperflition ; and the 
 Spaniih hiftorians have gratefully commemo- 
 rated the afliftance they derived that day from the 
 prefence of their guardian faint. 
 
 To avail himfeif of the weaknefs of his ene- 
 mies
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 269 
 
 tnres and the ardour of his fubjedts, Ferdinand, 
 accompanied by his gallant nobles, took the field, 
 and encamped beneath the towers of Ubeda. The 
 fortifications of that city were not long capable 
 of refitting the weight of his ' machines ; and 
 with Ubeda, a confiderabie diftrict of Andalufia, 
 abounding in corn, in v/ine, and in oil, was add- 
 ed to the crown of Caftille ; yet the exultation of 
 conqueft was alloyed by domeftic affliction ; and 
 while her royal confort preffed the fiege of Ubeda, 
 Beatrix had expired at Toro. In a period when 
 the champion of God was equally that of the la- 
 dies, and when the emulation of the fons of chi- 
 valry was kindled by the approbation of chafte 
 and high-born beauty, the tears of the men 
 ftained not the honour of the warrior ; and oa 
 the lofs of Beatrix, the generous nobles of Caf- 
 tille fympathifed in the forrows of their fovereign. 
 During an entire year Ferdinand fuffered not 
 his griefs to be invaded by the found of the 
 trumpet or the voice of glory ; but at the expi- 
 ration of that term he again affurned his arms; 
 and the duties of the king prevailed over the af- 
 fliction of the hufband. The magnificence of 
 the city of Cordova has been already defcribed ; 
 and though with the wainihg flrength of the 
 Moors her meridian fplendor muft have gradu- 
 ally declined, yet ftill as the feat of Mahometan 
 government, and the repofitory of Saracen wealth, 
 
 ftp
 
 27 o HISTORY OF SPAItf. 
 
 ihe excited the envy and avarice of the Chi iftians. 
 The diicontents of fome Moorifh captives, whofe 
 fetters were rendered more heavy by the indiffer- 
 ence of their countrymen, revealed the weaknefs 
 of the garrifon ; a martial band were inflamed by 
 the luftre of the achievement and the richnefs of 
 the fpoil ; they marched under cover of a dark 
 night, fcaled the outward walls, and intrenched 
 themfelves in a quarter of the fuburbs ; the ban- 
 ner of Chrifl difplayed from the ramparts fum- 
 moned to their fupport don Alvaro de Perez, 
 who had followed on their fleps with a more con- 
 fiderable force ; yet their united itrength was in- 
 adequate to the completion of the enterprife ; the 
 interior part of the city was protected by folid 
 works; and the fvvarms of the inhabitants which 
 it contained, threatened to overwhelm the daring 
 adventurers. The fame meffenger apprifed Fer- 
 dinand of the fuccefs and the danger of his troops. 
 He rulhed to .their fuccour, and was followed 
 by the moft valiant knights and nobles of his 
 court. From the bridge of Alcala he command- 
 ed the oppofite banks of the Guadalquivir ; yet his 
 fituation was fcarce lefs dangerous than the con- 
 dition of thofe whom he had advanced to refcue ; 
 and had the Moorifli monarch Aben-Hut preffed 
 forwards at the head of the rapid and innumera- 
 ble fquadrons of Africa and Arabia, he muft have 
 crulhed his adverfary before the armies of Caflille 
 
 and
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 171 
 
 and Leon could have been aflembled in his de- 
 fence. But he was deceived and deterred by an 
 infidious and exaggerated reprefentation of the 
 numbers of the Chriftians; he was diftracled by 
 the felicitations of the Moflem prince of Valen- 
 cia, whofe capital was befieged by the king of 
 Arragon ; he marched to the protection of his 
 ally ; and on his route he fell a victim to domef- 
 tic treafon. His death extinguiflied the hopes 
 of the inhabitants of Cordova ; they beheld the 
 camp of the beliegers fwelled by conftant rein- 
 forcements, every poft flrongly occupied, and 
 every fupply diligently intercepted ; famine was 
 not lefs terrible within the walls than the fword 
 without; and they reluctantly yielded to the 
 double danger. Thofe whofe ftubborn fpirits ftill 
 refufed to bend to the Chriftian yoke, were per- 
 mitted to retire with their effects ; but the majo- 
 rity acquiefced under the dominion of their new 
 matters ; the cathedral of Cordova was in folemn 
 pomp purified from the profanation of the dif- 
 ciples of Mahomet ; and in lefs than three cen- 
 turies from the time that it had been erected, the 
 Chriftian king of Caftille and Leon repofed ia 
 the palace of Abdalrahman the Great. 
 
 The unavailing forrows of Ferdinand for Bea- 
 trix had been abated by time and reafon ; and 
 the memory of that princefs was effaced by the 
 cHarms of a new confort ; Jane, daughter of the 
 
 count
 
 272 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 count de Ponthieu, was chofen by Berengara to 
 lhare the bed and throne of her fon ; the purity 
 of her manners, and the fvveetnefs of her difpo- 
 fition, vied with her graceful fhape and the ex- 
 preffion of her features. The nuptials were ce- 
 lebrated at Bourdeaux ; and the operations of 
 war were fufpended by an year of feitivity. The 
 infolence of a factious and powerful fubjedt, fum- 
 moned Ferdinand from the arms of his bride, 
 and no fooner had that monarch vanquifhed and 
 pardoned'Don Diego de Haro, than he took the 
 field againft the infidels ; Jaen, that had fo long 
 re lifted, fubmitted to his arms after a iiege of 
 eight months, and the kings of Murcia and Gra- 
 nada confented to become his vafials and tributa- 
 ries. The wealth and importance of the rich and 
 populous city of Seville inflamed his defires ; 
 feated in the midft of a fpacious plain which is 
 fertilized by the waters of the Guadalquivir, and 
 which is diverfified by vineyards and corn fields, 
 the luxuriance of the country around, and the 
 purity of the air, had recommended it fuccef- 
 fively to the natives and conquerors of Spain. It 
 had been founded by the Phoenicians, had been 
 extended and adorned by the Romans, and had 
 been the relidence of the Gothic kings before 
 they removed their court to Toledo. After the 
 defeat of Xeres it refufed to acquiefce under the 
 yoke of the victors ; and the patience and cou- 
 rage
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 273 
 
 rage of the Moflems were tried in the fiege and 
 aflault of Seville. In the revolutions which had 
 rapidly fucceeded the extinction of the houfe of 
 Ommijah, it had become the feat of an indepen- 
 dent government, and was flill feparated from 
 the crown of Granada, when it tempted the am- 
 bition of Ferdinand. Two years were diligently 
 employed in preparations for the arduous enter- 
 prife ; and the want of a naval force, which muft 
 have rendered the defign abortive, was removed 
 by the perfevering induftry of the king of Caftille 
 and Leon. Thirteen large {hips, and feveral of 
 inferior fize, were built, manned, and equipt un- 
 der the direction of Raymond Boniface, whofe 
 fkill in maritime affairs had preferred him to the 
 confidence of his fovereign j and though the moft 
 confiderable of the veflels in the prefent age 
 xvould have been regarded with contempt, yet in 
 that period of naval ignorance, their bulk excited 
 the admiration of the Chriftians and the terror of 
 the Moflems. The holy armament was not only 
 fandtioned by the bleffings of the clergy, but had 
 been promoted by their liberality ; and one-third 
 of their tithes was readily granted to break the 
 power of the enemies of their faith. The fleet 
 caft anchor at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, 
 blocked up the fquadrons of the Moors, and in- 
 tercepted all fupplies from Africa, while the nu- 
 merous army of Ferdinand ravaged the open 
 VOL. i. T coun-
 
 274 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 country^ and erected his engines againft the tow- 
 ers of the devoted city. The king of Granada 
 condefcended to ferve as his vaffal ; and the dex- 
 terity of the horfemen of Arabia was employed at 
 the command of their fovereign to fubvert their 
 own religion. The inhabitants of Seville beheld 
 with indignation the banners of Chrift and Maho- 
 met blended in one camp, and united for their de- 
 ftrudtion. Yet though aflailed by thofe who ought 
 to have rufhed to their protection, their refiftance 
 was long and glorious. The fummer and autumn 
 were confumed in bloody but indecifive attacks ; 
 and they might reafonably have expected that the 
 inclemency of the winter would have chilled the 
 ardour and compelled the retreat of the be- 
 iiegers; but every obftacle was vanquifhed by 
 the indefatigable care of Ferdinand, and the un ; 
 wearied zeal of his fubjedts ; a perpetual fupply 
 of provifions was poured into his camp, which 
 from its regularity affumed the appearance of a 
 new and immenfe city; ftretched over the plain, 
 and covered the ruins of Italics, that has been ce- 
 lebrated for the birth of Trajan, of Hadrian, 
 and Theodofius the Great. The plenty which 
 reigned through the hoft of the befiegers, infulted 
 the diltrefs of the befieged ; yet their fpirits were 
 unbroken ; and when on the return of fpring 
 Ferdinand again aflailed their walls, he was en- 
 countered with a courage unimpaired by famine, 
 
 and
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 27$ 
 
 and unfliaken by danger. Through a fecond 
 fummer and autumn the defence of Seville was 
 protracted by the fteady refolution of her inhabi- 
 tants ; but while her own numbers daily dimU 
 nifhed, thofe of her adverfaries increafed ; her 
 magazines were c>xhau(led ; her hopes extin- 
 guifhed ; and in the month of November a capi- 
 tulation was fubfcribed, and the gates of the city 
 were delivered to Ferdinand ; yet the majority of 
 the citizens chofe to abandon their ancient habi- 
 tations rather than live under a Chriftian mafter ; 
 and if three hundred thoufand Moflems left the 
 city to carry their arms and induftry into coun- 
 tries that dill reverenced and cultivated the 
 Koran, the triumphal entry of the victor could 
 have been wirnefled only by his own forces ; .and 
 ibme painful reflections muft have arifen as he 
 paired through the deferted ftreets to view the 
 folitude his fuccefs had created. 
 
 The conflitution of Ferdinand had not been 
 proof againft a reign of inceffant care and toil ; 
 but his mind, fuperior to indifpofition, flill dif- 
 played its priftine vigour ; in his laft and mod 
 fplendid campaign he ravaged or fubdued the 
 country from the walls of Seville to the mouth 
 of the Guadalquivir ; from the coaft of Anda- 
 lufia he furveyed the oppofite Ihores of Africa ; 
 and he revolved the glorious defign of planting 
 again the banners of Chrift on the towers of Ceuta, 
 T a and
 
 276 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 and of recovering the fouthern continent from tfi? 
 arms of the infidels. He folicited Henry the 
 third of England to join in the fplendid project ; 
 and the refufal of that monarch may rather be 
 afcribed to the weaknefs of his difpofition than 
 to his policy. The-difeppoiiKment of Ferdinand 
 in the negoeiar-ion did not deter him from purfu- 
 ing the defign ; he urged the preparations with 
 his wonted induftry ; a more formidable fleet 
 than had yet iffued from the Chriftian ports of 
 Spain, was aiiembled ; and Raymond, to whofe 
 ikill and experience it was intruded, not- only in- 
 fulted the coafts of Africa, but obtained a con- 
 fiderable advantage over the Moorish fquadrons 
 \vhich had ventured to engage him ; the king re- 
 ceived the intelligence with undifguifed exult- 
 ation ; but the ftrength of his body could no 
 longer keep pace with the ardour of his mind-; 
 he laboured under the fatal weight of a dropfy ; 
 the arts of medicine had been fruitlefsly exhauft- 
 cd to procure him relief; and as a Chriftian and 
 an hero he prepared to- meet his approaching end. 
 His laft words exhorted his fon to govern with 
 equity and moderation; and he expired in the 
 fentiments of piety and rehgnation ; his memory 
 was long revered by a grateful people whole 
 happinefs he had invariably confulted. Above 
 four hundred years afterwards, Clement the tenth 
 yielded to the felicitations of the Hates and king 
 
 o
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 47? 
 
 of Spain ; the name of Ferdinand was infcribed 
 by the Roman pontiff among the long lift of 
 faints ; and the calendar, which had been fo fre- 
 quently difgraced by lazy monks and wild fana- 
 tics, received a luftre from the .addition of a 
 prince whofe virtues had promoted the profperity 
 of his fubjedts, and had extended the influence 
 of the Chriftian religion. 
 
 Yet it is probable Ferdinand expir- A. D. 1251, 
 cd not too foon for his glory, as the ia84 * 
 Jioflile coafts of Africa, on which the reputation 
 of his fuccerTors has fo often been wrecked, might 
 have proved fatal to his fame. His fceptre def- 
 cended to his fon ; and the epithet of Wife, which 
 Alfonfo the tenth had already attained, might in- 
 fplre his fubjefts with the mod pleafmg expecta- 
 tions of his reign. But his hours had been waft- 
 ed in unprofitable lucubrations ; he was verfed in 
 every fcience but that of .governing ; and the 
 royal grammarian and aftronomer, who might 
 have claimed the admiration of the academy, was 
 expofed to the contempt and ridicule of the 
 ftate. He engaged in and abandoned every en- 
 terprife with the fame inconfiderate and difgrace- 
 ful facility ; his vain pretenfions to the province 
 of Guienne, provoked an open rupture with 
 Henry the third of England; and though the 
 harmony of the courts was reftored by the medi- 
 of the Roman pontiff, and by the marriage 
 T 3 of
 
 2 7 8 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 of Eleanora, the fitter of Alfohfo, with Edward 
 the fon of Henry, yet in peace the fubjedts 
 of the former monarch groaned beneath all the 
 confequences that they would have experienced 
 from a wide and unfuccefsful war ; new taxes were 
 devifed and impdfed; the value of the coin was 
 diminished ; and every expedient was employed 
 which could fwell the royal coffers. The fer- 
 vour of religious enthufiafm might fupport his 
 people under their accumulated burdens ; and 
 they might fondly hope that the fplendid capitals 
 of Fez and Morocco, which had been erected by 
 the difciples of Mahomet amidft the wilds of 
 Africa, would be fubverted by the Chriftian fword. 
 But they heard with indignation that the African 
 expedition was renounced, and that their blood 
 was to be lavifhed in an ambitious competition 
 for the imperial dignity. Alfonfo was determined 
 to aflert the pretenfions which he derived from 
 his mother, the daughter to the duke of Swabia 
 and emperor of Germany. His money, while it 
 lafted, procured him friends and partifans ; but it 
 was foon drained by the avidity of the German 
 princes ; and after having confumed in the frantic 
 project thofe treafures which might have ex- 
 pelled the Moors from the peninfula of Spain, 
 his hopes were finally extinguifhed by the elec- 
 tion of Rodolph of Hapfburgh. 
 
 While he wafted his hours and wealth in the 
 
 vain
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 279 
 
 vain purfuit, his throne was affailed by the in- 
 trigues of open and fecret enemies ; the ftrength 
 and fpirits of the Moors had been reftored by 
 peace ; and the hopes of the factious had been 
 inflamed by the unfteady hand with which the 
 reins of government were held. Againft the former 
 Alfonlb took the field in perfon, and the fuccefs 
 which attended his arms may rather be afcribed 
 to the ftrict difcipline which had been eftablifhed 
 by his father, than to his own military talents. 
 The infidels were defeated; Xeres was furren- 
 dered; the cities of Bajar, of Sidonia, Rota, St. 
 Lucar, and Arcos, were evacuated on the ap- 
 proach of the Chriftians ; the kingdom of Murcia 
 funk into an obedient province; and new colonies 
 to fequre her fidelity were eftabliihed from Caftiile 
 and Arragon. The refources of Granada were 
 yet formidable; but her monarch dreaded to 
 provoke the conteft ; and confented to purchafe 
 a disgraceful peace by the humiliating ceremony 
 of homage. 
 
 Whatever fatisfaclion Alfonfo might derive 
 from foreign war, was clouded by domeftic com- 
 motion ; a powerful confederacy had been filently 
 cemented againft his authority; the illuftrious 
 houfes of Lara, of Haro, of Caftro, and Mendoza, 
 affembled their numerous vaflals and retainers ; 
 and their rebellion derived an increafe of dignity 
 and confequence from the acceffion of prince 
 T 4 Philip,
 
 st8o HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 Philip, the brother of the king. Yet they were 
 unwilling to fubmit their pretenfions to the arbi- 
 tration of the flares ; they were incapable of with- 
 ftanding their fovereign in his own dominions ; 
 and they withdrew with their followers into the 
 territories of the king of Granada. Near three 
 years their fecret intrigues and open incurfions 
 embarrafled the counfels and afflicted the fron- 
 tiers of Caftille; and when at length, weary of 
 exile, they confented to accept a pardon, they 
 dictated the terms of reconciliation; and the lan- 
 guage of clemency could not difguife the weak- 
 nefs of their prince. 
 
 Their unnatural counfels had urged the king 
 of Granada to re-aflert his independence ; he in- 
 voked the affiftance of the king of Morocco ; and 
 that monarch, who had not been indifferent to 
 the preparations of the Chriflians for the invafion 
 of Africa, readily liftened to his felicitations. He 
 caft anchor in the bay of Gibraltar ; was admitted 
 by his ally into the fortrefles of Tarif and Alge- 
 zire ; and at the head of feventeen thoufand of the 
 choiceft horfemen of Africa ravaged the country 
 between the Guadalquivir and the Guadalato. 
 Within the walls of Eciza, Nugnez de Lara might 
 have derided his impotent attacks ; but he was 
 defirous of effacing by fome fplendid achieve- 
 ment the remembrance of his former revolt ; and 
 he ruftied forth at the head of his martial garrifon 
 
 to
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 281 
 
 to encounter the invaders ; he was opprefled by 
 their fuperior numbers ; an honourable death was 
 all that was allowed him ; and his head was tranf- 
 mitted by the king of Morocco as the trophy of 
 his victory to his ally of Granada; with the fame 
 temerity and the fame fortune, the archbilhop of 
 Toledo, near the walls of Martos, in Andalufia, 
 had charged the forces of Granada ; his valour 
 could not atone for his imprudence; he perilhed 
 in the bloody conflict; and the appearance of Don 
 Lopez de Haro, at the head of a vigorous rein- 
 forcement, preferved alone the Chriftian army 
 from total deftruction. He recovered the crofs 
 from the hands of the infidels; but the ftrengtli 
 and fpirits of the Chriftians had been broken in 
 the beginning of the day ; and the fignal of re- 
 treat that was reluctantly given by the general, 
 was obeyed with difgraceful alacrity by the fol- 
 diers. 
 
 The intelligence of the defeat and diftrefs of 
 the Chriftian army, had quickened the fteps of 
 Ferdinand, the eldeft fon of Alfonfo; but as he 
 rufhed forward at the head of the chivalry of 
 Caftille, his courfe was arrefted by a mortal fever, 
 the effect of his inceflant toil and anxiety. His 
 death opened to his brother Sancho the career of 
 glory and ambition ; he affumed the command of 
 the united forces of the Chriftians ; affembled a 
 ftrong fleet ; alarmed the king of Morocco for 
 
 the
 
 282 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 the fafety of his own dominions ; and compelled 
 the king of Granada to retire from the walls of 
 Jaen, which he had inverted. The popular ap- 
 plaufe which accompanied his actions inflamed 
 his hopes of royalty ; and in his pretenfions to 
 the crown, he overlooked or defpifed the feeble 
 children of his deceafed brother, whole age al- 
 lowed them not to affert their claim by arms. 
 The infants de la Cerda fought with their mo- 
 ther Beatrix, an afylum in the court of Arragon ; 
 and by the voice of the dates-general, and the 
 confent of the king, Sancho was called to the 
 certain fucceflion of the crowns of Caftille and 
 Leon. 
 
 The daring fpirit of Sancho rendered him the 
 idol of the army, and his unbounded profufion 
 endeared him to the multitude. In a fecond and 
 fuccefsful war againft the Moors of Granada, he 
 eflabliflied and extended his renown ; and in his 
 impatience to afcend the throne, he hefitated not 
 to violate the double duties of afon and a fubjed:. 
 The exigencies of the ilate or the improvidence 
 of the fovereign, had reduced Alfonfo to recruit 
 his exhaufted coffers by the mod dangerous ex- 
 pedients; and the propofal of railing the denomi- 
 nation of the coin, though ratified by the flates- 
 general, was juftly conhdered by the people as a 
 meafure the moft pernicious, and as a breach of 
 ublic faith. Their indignation was favour- 
 able
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 283 
 
 able to the defigns of Sancho ; he fummoned his 
 adherents to Valladolid, painted in glowing co- 
 lours the weaknefs of Alfonfo, and the diftrefs of 
 the kingdom ; and in an aflembly which ufurped 
 the title of the flates-general, though with affected 
 diffidence he declined the name, he confented 
 to receive the authority of king, and to govern 
 under the diftinction of regent. 
 
 At Badajoz the unfortunate Alfonfo was firft 
 acquainted with the refolution of the council of 
 Valladolid, and of the almoft univerfal defection 
 of his fubjects. The moft considerable cities of 
 Caftille and Leon had already opened their gates 
 to his rebellious fon ; and the title of Sancho to 
 the regency, was formally acknowledged by the 
 kings of France, of Portugal, and of Arragon, 
 who courted his alliance. Palencia alone was 
 confirmed in her loyalty by the magnanimity of 
 Don Alvaro de Lara ; and Badajoz by her Heady 
 zeal repaid the confidence of her prince who had 
 committed his fafety to her walls. Prudence 
 might have recommended to Alfonfo to have re- 
 figned a fceptre which he could not retain with-* 
 out involving his country in the calamities of a 
 civil war ; and his retreat might have been afcribed 
 to a generous reluctance to turn his fword againft 
 his fon and his fubjects. But every prudent re- 
 flection and public confideration were overwhelmed 
 by the paffions of the man ; Alfonfo yielded to 
 
 the
 
 2*4 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 the refentment of a king and a father; his ambaf* 
 iadors -prefented themfelves in the court of Mo- 
 rocco, a-nd a Mahometan prince was prevailed 
 upon by policy and compaflion to arm in fupport 
 of a Chriftian monarch. The Miramolin crofTed 
 again the flraits ; and the town of Zara on the 
 confines of Granada was the fcene of interview 
 between the two princes ; the king of Morocco 
 yielded to his Ulu&riuus fuppiiant the place of 
 honour; and .even the Chriftians were compelled 
 to acknowledge, in the enemy of their faith, 
 the magnanimity of his fpirit. ff I treat you 
 " thus/' faid he to Alfonfo, " becaufe you are 
 ft unfortunate ; and enter into alliance with you 
 fe merely to avenge the common caufe of all 
 " kings and all fathers-" Yet a confederacy 
 founded on the purefl motives, was far from 
 being attended with the fuccefs it merited. The 
 adherents of Alfonfo with the forces of Mo- 
 rocco and Granada in vain united in the iiege 
 of Cordova; the patience of the Miramolin was 
 exhaufted in the tedious enterprife ; he reimbarked 
 for Africa ; and his alliance ferved only to render 
 Alfonfo more obnoxious in the eyes of his Chrif- 
 tian fubjeds. 
 
 But the advantages which Alfonfo had fondly 
 hoped from the arms of the Miramolin, he de- 
 rived from the pity of the Roman pontiff; the 
 Aicceffors of St, Peter, after an infenfible progrefs 
 
 during;
 
 ftlSTORY OF SPAltf. $5 
 
 during feveral ages of darknefs and ignorance, 
 had erected their had above all the princes of 
 Europe, and interpofed their decrees in the quar- 
 rels of the greateft monarchs. The tremendoui 
 fentence of an interdift, diflblved the bond of 
 domeftic and political alliance, and transformed 
 the aflaffin into the faint or martyr. The thunders 
 of the Vatican were already brandifhed againft 
 Sancho, when he refolved to avert the bolt by 
 fubmiffion. He deputed a nobleman who enjoyed 
 his confidence to negociate a reconciliation with 
 his father; in the anguifh of his heart Alfonfo 
 had renounced his rebellious fon as a ftrarrger to 
 his crown and blood; but he was not proof to the 
 language of repentance ; and the pardon of IrJs 
 ttngrateful offspring was accelerated by the intel- 
 ligence that he languifhed under a dangerous in- 
 difpofition at Salamanca; the la'ft breath of Al- 
 fonfo revoked the curfe he had denounced ; but 
 the will that he had dictated in the hour of re- 
 fentment ftill fublifted, and bequeathed to his 
 younger fon Juan, the cities of Seville and 
 Badajoz, with the diftricts under their imme- 
 diate jurifdiction. 
 
 The health of Sancho was fcarce A. D. 1284, 
 reftored when he received the news "95- 
 of his father's death ; from his former conduct, 
 we may juftly doubt how far he fincerely lamented 
 an event which eftablifhed his authority over the 
 
 realms
 
 2 86 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 realms of Caftille and Leon. In the cathedral of 
 Toledo he received the crown from the hands of 
 the archbifhop of that city ; among the crowd 
 who poured forth their congratulations on his 
 royal fortunes, the homage of his brother Don 
 Juan was probably the moft reluctant ; but the 
 fpirit of Sancho was known and dreaded ; he re- 
 garded the will of the deceafed king, which would 
 have difievered Seville and Badajoz from the 
 monarchy, as equally injurious to himfelf and the 
 ftate ; and though in his addrefs to the national 
 affembly he fpoke with veneration of the virtues 
 of his father, yet he declared his refolution to 
 preferve the kingdom entire againft every pre- 
 tender. 
 
 The furname of Brave, had been early acquired 
 by Sancho ; and he was impatient to fignalize his 
 courage againft the enemies of his country and 
 his faith. His naval fquadrons were joined by 
 thofe of Genoa; the fleet of the Moors was de- 
 feated, and the coaft of Africa infulted. The 
 Miramolin had formed and preffed the fiege of 
 Xeres ; while he daily expected the furrender of 
 that city, he was aftonifhed by the appearance of 
 an hundred fail of Chriftian veflels in the flraits 
 of Gibraltar, and by the return of his fcouts who 
 had already defcried the banners of the Chriftian 
 army ; he abandoned the fiege with precipitation ; 
 and retired within the territories of the king of 
 
 Granada ;
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 287 
 
 Granada; his retreat was concluded without 
 order, and effected with difficulty ; and Sancho 
 was defrauded of the glory he had anticipated 
 from the total deftruction of the infidel hoft, by 
 the difobcclience and intrigues of a powerful and 
 factious fubjedr., and an ambitious and envious 
 brother. 
 
 The wealth and influence of the illuftrious 
 houfe of Haro had more than once excited the 
 jenloufy, and fupported them againft the refent- 
 ment of their fovereigns; they had been frequently 
 fufpefted ; they had fometimes been trufted ; and 
 during the commencement of the reign of Sancho, 
 he had lavished, with an impolitic prodigality, 
 every office and honour on Don Lopez de Haro, 
 With the title of count, he united the important 
 trufts of high-treafurer, and prime-minifter ; the 
 troops an 1 government of the province of Anda- 
 lufia were committed to his brother Diego ; and 
 he was railed to an alliance with royalty by the 
 marriage of his daughter Maria with Don Juan, 
 the king's brother. But diftruft foon fucceeded 
 to favour ; and the arrogant difpofition and over- 
 grown power of Don Lopez infpired Sancho with 
 the moft fcrious alarms. The latter had lately- 
 recalled from exile, and admitted into his con- 
 fidence, Don Alvaro de Lara, the hereditary enemy 
 of the houfe of Haro; the pride of the minifter 
 was wounded by the promotion of the ancient 
 
 rival
 
 *88 HISTORY OF SPAIN 
 
 rival of his family ; and he might forefee in tb? 
 elevation of that noble, his own downfall. But 
 inftead of endeavouring to conciliate his prince 
 by fubmifiion, he afpired to defend his power by 
 arms j he found a ready confederate in his fon-in- 
 lavv, who ftill in feeret cherifhed the claims 
 which he derived from his father's will, and rea- 
 dily embraced the firft opportunity to aflert them 
 by force ; on the confines of Portugal, Don Juan 
 affembled his adherents ; and in Cailille the nu- 
 merous vaflals of the houfe of Haro obeyed the 
 fummons of their chief. Yet the confpirators 
 after having prefumed to draw the fword, were 
 weak enough to fheath it ; they confented to an 
 interview with the fovereign they had infulted ; 
 and in a conference at Alfaro, in return to the de- 
 mand of the king, that Lopez mould evacuate the 
 fortreffes he had feized or corrupted, that haughty 
 fubject anfwered by the expreflive menace of ap- 
 plying his hand to the hilt of his fword. His 
 iniblence was the fignal of his death ; an hundred 
 nobles jealous of the dignity of their prince 
 ftarted from the feats, and their weapons were 
 initantly plunged into the bofom of the daring 
 traitor. Don Juan was the witnefs of the fate of 
 his accomplice ; but Sancho amidft his refent- 
 ment refpe&ed the blood of his brother; he 
 yielded to the folicitations of his mother ; and the 
 ambitious prince, inftead of being raifed to a 
 throne, found hi mfe If immured in a prifon. 
 
 The
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN; 289 
 
 The fpirits of the houfe of Haro were rather 
 'exafperated than intimidated by the death of their 
 chief. The brother and fon of JLopez retired 
 within the limits of Arragon, and prevailed on 
 that monarch to efpoufe the title of the infants 
 de la Cerda, the grand-children of Alfonfo the 
 tenth, by his eldeft fon. The greateft part of the 
 province of Andalufia was influenced by Diego 
 to declare in their favour ; and the forces of Ar- 
 ragon were fwelled by their numerous partifans to 
 anhoftof an hundred thoufand men. The courage 
 of Sancho rofe with his danger ; and the inferior 
 number of his troops was more than compenfated 
 by his own vigour and activity ; he fuffered not 
 long an enemy to brave him in his dominions ; 
 and the king of Arragon trembled in the prefence 
 of an hero who had been familiar with victory; 
 His retreat was haftened by the intelligence of 
 domeftic commotion; and his fleps were clofely 
 followed by Sancho, who retorted the invafion of 
 Caftille, by ravaging Arragon to the banks of the 
 Ebro. 
 
 Badajoz had imprudently declared for the in- 
 fants de la Cerda ; and the obflinacy of her citi- 
 zens was confirmed by the dread of the inexorable 
 feverity of Sancho. But they were incapable of 
 withftanding the fury of the aflailants, who were 
 inflamed by the hope of fpoil, and animated by 
 the -prefence of their king. A capitulation was 
 
 VOL. i. ' U tardily
 
 290 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 tardily fubfcribed, and immediately violated; 
 and though the maffacre of the inhabitants of 
 Badajoz may be aicribed to the intemperate rage 
 of the foldiers, yet it reflects no fmall difhonour 
 on the memory of the prince xvho permitted it. 
 
 If Sancho was ftern and implacable in victory, 
 he was bold and diligent in war. From -chaftifing 
 his rebellious fubjects, he again turned his arms 
 againft his foreign and natural enemies. A new 
 fleet had iffued from the ports of Africa; but it 
 was encountered and defeated by the combined 
 fquadrons 'of Caflille and Genoa; and the itrong 
 fortrefs of Tarif, which on an eminence at a fmali 
 diftance from Gibraltar, awed the adjacent coun- 
 try, and invited the invafion of the hordes of 
 Africa, was, after a long fiege, wrefted from the 
 infidels by Sancho. 
 
 The advantages which his fubjects might have 
 derived from the martial virtues of the king of 
 Caftille, were diminifhed by their own turbulence 
 and levity. Four years of impriibnmerrt had nor 
 fubdued the ambitious fpirit of Don Juan ; and 
 he was lefs fenfible of his life that had been 
 fpared, than of the captivity he had endured. 
 He was fcarce reftored to freedom before he en- 
 tered into new intrigues ; and the croud of ad- 
 venturers who liftened to his folicitations, enabled 
 him foon to appear openly in arms. To chaftife 
 their temerity, Saneho rufhcd forwards at theiiead 
 
 of
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 291 
 
 &f* his faithful nobles ; his approach diflblved 
 their confederacy ; and the leaders who had been 
 Vanquished by the terror of his name, were par- 
 doned by his magnanimity. From the juftice of 
 a brother whom he had fo repeatedly offended > 
 Don Juan fought an afylum in the court of 
 Lifbon ; he was followed by the ambaffadors of 
 Sancho ; and, banifhed by the policy or averfion 
 of the king of Portugal, he croffed the feas and 
 implored the protection of the king of Morocco. 
 He was intruded with the command of a con- 
 fiderable armament ; landed his followers on the 
 coafl of Andalufia ; and in the fiege of Tarif he 
 ftimulated the ardour of the infidels by the pro 
 mifed plunder of a Chriflian fortrefs. He was 
 repulfed by the valour and vigilance of the go- 
 vernor Alonfo de Guzman, whofe fleady mind in 
 the difcharge of his duty was indifferent to every 
 other confideration. His infant fon had fallen 
 into the hands of Juan ; and was by the command 
 of that prince expofed under the walls of Tarif, 
 with the painful admonition* that. the furren- 
 der of the fort could alone ranfom the life of 
 the child. " If," replied Guzman, as he threw 
 indignantly his fword to the inhuman ruffian, 
 " if you who were born a prince, and educated 
 
 ' a Chriftian, dare commit fo foul a crime, 
 " know that I not only prefer the lofs of my 
 
 f fon to that of my honour, but dare furnilh 
 U 2 " you
 
 292 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 " you with a weapon for the murder you medi- 
 " tare.'* The Moors and Chriftians in filent 
 admiration at his heroic fpirit awaited the event. 
 But the heart of Juan was incapable of approving 
 the virtue he had never felt ; and in the prefence 
 of the father he plunged his dagger into the boforn 
 of the unfortunate victim. 
 
 Without making the fortitude of Guzman, 
 Juan beheld himfelf the object of general de- 
 teflation ; the avenger of his people's injuries 
 was at hand ; and the banners of Sancho were no 
 fooner defcried, than the precipitate retreat of the 
 inhuman aflaflin proved, that a timid and cruel 
 fpirit are in general nearly allied. After the 
 failure of an enterprife, for the fuccefs of which 
 he had confidently anfwered, he ventured not to 
 prefent himfelf to the king of Morocco ; and in 
 the court of Granada, though he eluded the ven- 
 geance of his brother, he could not efcape the 
 contempt and abhorrence of mankind. 
 
 In action, the daring valour of Sancho had been 
 often applauded ; and his conduct towards the 
 faithful and unhappy Guzman, attefted that he 
 was not infenfible to the fofter emotions of the 
 heart. In a letter that exprefled his grateful fenfe 
 of his loyalty, he conferred on him the name of 
 the Good; and he lamented, while he invited him 
 to his court, that his own health fuffered him not 
 to haften to Tarif, and to confole him in perfon. 
 
 Amidft
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 293 
 
 Amidft the bloody and difgufting annals of vio 
 lence and Slaughter which the hiftorian is com- 
 pelled to trace, he dwells with pleafure on. the 
 gentler traits which diftinguifh the character of 
 the man from that of the king ; and in the hour 
 of death, Sancho himfelf mufl have derived more 
 fatisfaftion from his generous fympathy for the 
 afflicted Guzman, than from the trophies he had 
 creeled over his rebellious fubjects and infidel 
 enemies. 
 
 That hour already rapidly approached ; dur- 
 ing eleven years that Sancho had reigned, fo- 
 reign war or domeftic commotion had fcarce ever 
 permitted him to lay afide his armour ; and his 
 conftitution funk at length under inceflant toil 
 and care. He acknowledged the fymptoms of 
 inevitable death ; and his lafl concern was to pn> 
 vide for the tranquil fucceffion of his fon Fer- 
 dinand, whofe feeble age was expofed to the fac- 
 tions which had long agitated the kingdom. In 
 the prefence of the moft illuftrious prelates and 
 nobles of Caflille, he bequeathed with the dif* 
 tinction of regent, the reins of adminiflration, 
 and the education of the royal infant, to his con- 
 fort Maria, whofe virtues well entitled her to 
 the facred truft ; and at Toledo, the air, of which 
 had been vainly prefcribed as the laft hope of re-f 
 covery, he expired in the forty-fifth year of his 
 age. 
 
 y 3 A tur-
 
 2 9 4 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 A turbulent nobility who had often 
 A. D. 1295. 
 
 13 2- revolted againit, and always reluc- 
 tantly fubmitted to, the rule of a warlike and vi- 
 gorous monarch, were not likely to acquiefce 
 under the authorit} of a child fcarce ten years 
 old, and the government of an inexperienced 
 woman. Yet in the ilation that Ihe occupied, 
 the prudence of Maria mufl have been confeffed, 
 and her magnanimity applauded. The preten- 
 iions of Don Juan were revived ; he even afpired 
 to wreft the fceptre from his nephew ; and 
 though the Moors might deteft his bafenefs, their 
 intereil prompted them to fupport his claims. The 
 reftitution of his honours and eftates, which had 
 been attainted under the laft reign, reclaimed him 
 to his allegiance ; the hoftile preparations of the 
 king of Portugal were arrefted by the ceffion of 
 fome confiderable frontier towns ; and the power- 
 ful houfes of Haro and Lara, who had fufpended 
 their hereditary enmity to unite againfl the au- 
 thority of their Sovereign, were reconciled by 
 the redrefs of thofe grievances which they had 
 alleged as the objects of their revolt. Yet if, to 
 maintain the public tranquillity, Maria facrificed 
 the dominions, and circumfcribed the privileges 
 of her Ion, Ihe was not more tenacious of her 
 own rights ; and rather than kindle a civil war, 
 Ihe refigned to a new pretender the title and 
 power of regent, which Ihe derived not only from 
 
 the
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 395 
 
 the will of her deceafed hufband, but from the 
 fuffrages of the ftates-general. 
 
 Henry was the third fon of Ferdinand, fur- 
 named the faint, by his firft queen, Beatrix. In 
 his early youth he had been addicted to, and con- 
 fided 'in, the fcience of judicial ailrology ; and 
 the allufive prediction, that Alfonfo the tenth 
 was to be dethroned by a near relation, had 
 pointed his fword againft his brother. By a hafty 
 and difgraceful flight from an adverfe field of battle, 
 he eluded the punimment of his revolt ; and the 
 afylnm which had been denied him in the court 
 of Arragon, he found in that of Tunis. In that 
 ftation he ftiil maintained a correfpbndence with 
 the malecontents of Caflille, and fomented the 
 factions which diftradted the reign of Alfonfo ; 
 weary of a life of inacYion, he embarked at Tunis 
 for the ihores of Italy, and engaged in the enter- 
 prile of his kinfman Conradin, the laft heir of 
 the imperial honfe of Swabia. That unhappy 
 youth in his endeavour to wreft Sicily from 
 Charles of Anjou, became the prifoner of the 
 ufurper ; and his execution on a public fcaffold 
 extinguiihed the pretenfions of his family. Henry, 
 in the rafh adventure, had participated in the mil- 
 fortunes of his chief; and after the death of 
 Conradin, he found himfelf plunged into a dark 
 dungeon, and involved in the excommunication 
 of the Roman pontiff, which had been pronounc- 
 U 4 rj
 
 396 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 ed againft thofe who aflailed a throne founded 
 on the decrees of the fucceflbrs of St. Peter. 
 By the mofl abject fubmiffions Henry difarmed 
 the refentment of the holy fee, and by the inter- 
 ceflion of the pope was reflored to freedom. Af- 
 ter an abfence of twenty-feven years he returned 
 to Spain, and found his nephew Sancho feated 
 on the throne of Caftille ; he was. received with 
 the generofity that was due to an unfortunate 
 kinfman, whofe former mifcondudt had been fe- 
 verely atoned by his fubfequent fufFerings, and 
 he repaid the benevolence of that monarch with 
 the blackeft ingratitude. The turbulence of the 
 times was favourable to his ambitious hopes ; his 
 guilt had been forgotten, and his vices concealed 
 in exile ; and the Caftilians remembered only that 
 he was the fon of that Ferdinand whofe virtues 
 were the object of their adoration. His claim to 
 the regency was fupported by the clamours of 
 the multitude, and the general fuffrages of the 
 nobility ; the prudence of Maria taught her to 
 avoid a competition which might have been fatal 
 to the interefts of her fon ; flie abandoned the 
 title and authority Ihe had been invefted with ; 
 and only referved to herfelf the care of the per- 
 fon and education of the infant king. 
 
 Henry found but little fatisfaction in the pof- 
 fefiion of a dignity for which he had violated the 
 moft facred obligations. The clouds of civil and 
 
 foreign
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 597 
 
 foreign commotion gathered on every fide, and 
 the throne of Ferdinand was fliaken to its very 
 foundation by the fury of the tempeft. A fecret 
 and formidable league had been conceited by the 
 kings of France, of Arragon, and of Portugal, in 
 fupport of Don Alfonfo de la Cerda, the grandfon 
 of Alfonfo the tenth, by his eldeft fon Fer- 
 dinand ; the fpecious claims of that prince were 
 efpoufed by the king of Granada who, amidft 
 the diffenfions of the Chriflians, hoped to extend 
 his own boundaries ; the refllefs fpirit of Don 
 Juan prompted him to embark in the confede- 
 racy, and the kingdom of Leon and Gallicia were 
 to be the reward of his perfidy; the houfe of 
 Lara was difgufted by the preference that had 
 been given to that of Haro ; and every hour 
 fwelled the number of the malecontents, and 
 diminiihed the ftrength of the royal party. 
 
 The defigns of the confederates were firft an- 
 nounced to the queen dowager and the regent by 
 the fuccefs of their arms ; and the court of Bur- 
 gos heard with aftonifliment the intelligence, that 
 Leon and Gallicia had acknowledged the autho- 
 rity of Don Juan, and that Alfonfo de la Cerda 
 had been proclaimed king of Caftille by the 
 armies of Portugal and Arragon. Had the latter 
 followed the impulfe of his own ardour, and at 
 the head of the allied hoft preffed forwards to the 
 capital, he might have furprifed or crulhcd the 
 
 feeble
 
 2$S HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 feeble fon of Sancho, unprepared for flight orre- 
 fiflance. But he was perfuaded on his march to 
 attempt the reduction of the town of Majorga; 
 and the ruinous ftate of the fortifications encou- 
 raged the hope that it could not long \vith- 
 ftand the attacks of the befiegers ; every defi- 
 ciency was however fupplied by the adive zeal 
 of the garrifon, faithful in the caufe of their 
 prince ; the affailants were re-peatedly repulfed ; 
 their fpirits drooped; their ranks were thinned, 
 and their vigour was exhaufted by an epidemic 
 difeafe ; the troops of Arragon were the firft to 
 abandon the tedious enterprife ; and Alfonfo him- 
 felf was the companion of their retreat; his in- 
 glorious example was reluctantly followed by the 
 other allies ; and from the tranfient poffefTion of 
 Leon and Gallicia, and from the fond vifion of 
 entering in triumph the city of Burgos, Don 
 Juan was reduced to wage a feeble and indecifive 
 war on the banks of the Duero. 
 
 On the oppofite frontiers, the fquadrons of 
 Granada had ravaged the fertile province of >.n- 
 dalufia ; and to check their progrefs, the regent 
 himfelf took the field at the head of thofe troops 
 that could be fpared from the protection of Bur- 
 gos.- But in the hour of difficulty and danger, 
 Henry was inflructed how unequal was his ge- 
 nius to the itation he had obtruded himfelf on. 
 He was defeated in battle ; and the preemption 
 
 with
 
 HISTORY. OF SPAIN. a 9> 
 
 with which he had marched to the encounter, was 
 fucceeded by the moil abjedt defpair ; by a treaty 
 of peace that he fubfcribed, he confented to de- 
 liver the ftrong fortrefs of Tarif to the Moors. 
 But the honour of the crown of Caftille, which 
 had been fullied by the weaknefs of a man, was 
 vindicated by the firmnefs of a woman. Amidft 
 the diftrefs of her country, the virtues of Maria 
 fhone forth with fuperior luftre; ihe exclaimed 
 againft the ignominious conditions which had been 
 figned by the trembling hand of Henry ; her fpi- 
 rit was applauded and feconded by the flates; 
 and in a national afiembly it was determined to 
 prefer the chance of war to an inglorious and 
 doubtful peace. 
 
 Yet had the allies on the fide of Portugal adted 
 with vigour and unanimity, even the prudence 
 and fortitude of Maria muil have been opprefled 
 in the unequal flruggle. It was propofed in the 
 camp of the confederates, inftead of wafting their 
 ftrength in the reduction of the frontier towns, 
 to penetrate into the heart of Caftille, and in- 
 vefl the king and his mother in Valladolid ; the 
 flower of the Caftilian nobility were diftant and 
 engaged in the defence of Andalufia, and the en- 
 terprife appeared not more glorious than eafy ; but 
 it was frustrated by the returning loyalty of Don 
 Juan de Lara, who declared his refolution not to 
 act immmediately againft the perfon of his king ; 
 
 his
 
 3 ce HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 his fcruples embarrafied his afibciates ; and the 
 languor with which they profecuted the war, fuf- 
 ficiently evinced that they only waited the fa- 
 vourable moment to conclude a peace. 
 
 On that event, amidft the din of arms, the 
 mind of Maria had been intent ; the character 
 of Henry flood forth in its true colours ; he was 
 haughty, fickle, and turbulent ; cruel and avari- 
 cious ; abject in advcrfity, and infolent in prof- 
 perity ; and the queen dowager rofe in propor- 
 tion as the regent funk in the opinion of the 
 public. Beneath her aufpices a negociation was 
 opened with the court of Lifbon, and a double 
 marriage was concluded between Ferdinand and 
 his fitter, and the daughter and fon of the king 
 of Portugal. The nuptials of the daughter of 
 Don Juan de Lara with the regent himfelf, re- 
 ftored that powerful family to their obedience; 
 and though the king of Granada infulted or ra- 
 vaged the open country, he was repulfed with 
 lofs from the walls of Jaen ; and was obliged to 
 retire within his own dominions without achiev- 
 ing any permanent or important conqueft. 
 
 After recruiting an army which had been bro- 
 ken with toil and difeafe, James, king of Arragon, 
 had taken the field with the faireft profpecl: of 
 fuccefs. His firft operations were equal to his 
 moft fanguine expectations. He over-ran the 
 province of Murcia; and Alicant, whofe fituation 
 
 on
 
 HIST.ORY OF SPAIN, 301 
 
 on the fhores of the Mediterranean {till attracts 
 the eye of commercial adventure, confented to 
 receive a garrifon, and to acknowledge the au- 
 thority of the king of Arragon. That monarch 
 encountered a more obflinate refiftance in the 
 fiege of Lorca; had not the counfels of the 
 queen-dowager been fecretly embarrafied by the 
 envy of the regent, he muft either have aban- 
 doned the enterprife with difgrace, or flaked 
 his fortune in a field of battle. But Henry- 
 marched with reluctance to promote the glory of 
 Maria ; his intrigues retarded the fteps of his 
 companions ; and before the banners of Caftille 
 were difplayed on the banks of the Guadalantin, 
 Lorca had furrendered. The fame which the 
 queen-dowager had been defrauded of by the 
 mean jealoufy of the regent, flie derived from her 
 own fruitful genius. She fomented in Arragon 
 the fpirit of difcontent; and the riling difaffec- 
 tion recalled James to guard his own throne ; on 
 his retreat he offered to evacuate all his conquefls 
 in Murcia, with the fingle exception of Alicant; 
 but the propofal was rejected as unworthy the 
 dignity of the crown of Caflille ; and his am- 
 bafladors might be aftonifhed at the magnanimity 
 of the queen-dowager in the reply, that his re- 
 ftoring all the places he had feized, could alone 
 prove the foundation of an honourable and per- 
 manent peace. 
 
 Had
 
 362 HISTORY OF SPAltf. 
 
 Had the counfels of Maria neither been em* 
 barrarTed by intrigue nor revolt, fhe probably 
 would foon have compelled the king of Arragon 
 to have fubfcribed the conditions Ihe had dictated. 
 She called into action the power of the nation ; 
 and the train of gallant nobility that accompa- 
 nied her to Valladolid, and in the aflembly of the 
 Hates fupported her interefts, impreffed with fear 
 the prince Don Juan, who abandoned his vain 
 hope of reigning over Leon and Galicia, and re- 
 newed his homage and oath of fidelity to his fo- 
 vereign. The timid Juan was terrified into obe- 
 dience, the venal Henry was bribed into com- 
 pliance; his death foon after delivered Maria 
 from a formidable rival and a faithlefs affociate ; 
 and the moment feemed arrived when undifturb- 
 ed by factious competition, Ihe might vindicate 
 the glory of her country, and train the inexpe- 
 rienced youth of her fon to prove the terror of 
 his enemies and the delight of his fubjects. 
 
 But the fond illuflon, if Maria indulged it, was 
 foon diffipated ; fome differences which threatened 
 the tranquillity of Caftille on the fide of Navarre, 
 had fummoned her to Victoria ; and Ihe returned 
 exulting. in the fuccefs of her negociations abroad, 
 to endure the mortification of finding her power 
 undermined at home. The ear of Ferdinand had 
 been poifoned by the artful reprefentations of the 
 prince Don Juan, and the houfe of Lara ; they 
 
 malicioufly
 
 HISTORY OF SPAItf. 303 
 
 malicioufly contrafted his own fituation with that 
 of his mother ; and he was taught to dread as an 
 enemy, the only perfon whom he could rely on as 
 a friend. He declared his refolution to afiume 
 the reins of government. In celebrating his mar- 
 riage with Conftantia, the daughter of the king 
 of Portugal, he difplayed the pomp, and afferted 
 the authority of a fovereign ; and the multitude, 
 ever prone to change, and intoxicated with the 
 defire of a new adminiftration, applauded his 
 prefumption ; the city of Valladolid alone re- 
 mained firm to the party of the queen-dowager, 
 whofe judgment they had fo long experienced ; 
 the inhabitants (hut their gates againft the troops 
 of Ferdinand ; and it was only to the remon- 
 ftrances of Maria herfelf that they yielded, and 
 confented to receive a royal garrifon ; but their 
 indignation furvived their fubmiffion ; they for- 
 bade their deputies to appear in the affembly of 
 the dates ; and refufed to lan&ion by their pre- 
 fence the meafures which they could not approve. 
 Maria would have been unworthy of the repu- 
 tation (he had acquired, had fhe attempted by 
 force to conftrain the inclinations of her fon; 
 and fhe would have been infenfible to the feel- 
 ings of a mother, had fhe remained a filent fpec- 
 tator of his imprudence ; Ihe expoftulated, but 
 fhe expoftulated in vain ; and againft her advice, 
 the king of Caftille agreed to accept the king of 
 
 Portugal
 
 304 HISTORY OF SPAIN; 
 
 Portugal as Umpire between himfelf and the king 
 of Arragori. The decifion of the royal arbitrator 
 was fuch as the queen-dowager had forefeen and 
 foretold ; the Segura, which interfedts the pro- 
 vince of Murcia, was fixed on as the boundary of 
 the dominions of Ferdinand and James ; and with 
 the important city of Alicant, the country to the 
 north of that river was difmembered from the 
 crown. 
 
 The pretenfions of the infants de la Cerda 
 might yet interrupt the repofe of Ferdinand ; and 
 to extinguim the embers of civil difcord, that 
 monarch confented to refign to the eldeft, Alfonfo, 
 the cities of Moncon and Tonnes, with feveral 
 towns, the revenues of which afforded him an 
 ample maintenance ; to the youngeft, Ferdinand^ 
 he promifed an income equal to that which had 
 been allotted for a prince of Spain ; and the bro- 
 thers, after receiving hoftages for their fecurity, 
 appeared at court, and fubmitted to the ungrate- 
 ful ceremony of homage. 
 
 It would have been extraordinary indeed had 
 not the weaknefs and conceflions of the king of 
 Caflille multiplied the number of the factious and 
 ambitious* .The hereditary enmity of the houfes 
 of Haro and Lara was again fufpended, that they 
 might brave with impunity their fovereign ; and 
 though the former was reconciled by the grant of 
 the important province of Bifcay for his life, the 
 
 latter
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 305 
 
 latter dill maintained a dangerous independence 
 in arms, and allured the prince Don Juan to his 
 party. Yet Don Juan had fcarcely betrayed the 
 canfe of his royal kinfman, before he himfelf was 
 deferted by the family of Lara, who folicited, and 
 readily obtained as the reward of their perfidy, 
 the pardon and favour of Ferdinand. 
 
 The uninterefting, annals of domeftic difcord 
 and treachery are tranfiently varied by a feeble 
 but foreign war ; through the mediation of the 
 queen mother a new reconciliation was effected 
 between Don Juan and the king ; and Ferdinand 
 embraced the moment of tranquillity to march 
 againit the natural enemies of his country and 
 religion. He furprifed the fortrefs of Gibraltar, 
 the importance of which was then but flightly 
 known ; yet he failed in his attempt on Algezire ; 
 and the ill fuccefs of that liege, and the frefh 
 intrigues of the prince Don Juan, induced him to 
 liften to the overtures of the king of Granada, 
 and in confideration of a confiderable fum of 
 money to fubfcribe a peace with the Moors. 
 
 The majefty of Ferdinand had been often in- 
 fulted by the. turbulence, and his confidence fre- 
 quently abufed by the profefTions of the prince 
 Don Juan ; yet in the revenge that he meditated, 
 he fhould not have forgotten his own character. 
 And when inftead of the fword of a fovereign he 
 condefcended to employ the dagger of an aflaflin, 
 
 VOL. i. X he
 
 3 o6 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 he revealed the weaknefs of his government, and 
 forfeited what yet remained of the efteem of his 
 fubjects. The nuptial feaft of his fifter with the 
 duke of Brittany, was to have been polluted with 
 the blood of a kinfman ; but the defign had not 
 been fo fecretly concerted as entirely to efcape 
 the fufpieion of the deftined victim ; on the firft 
 alarm Don Juan withdrew abruptly from court ; 
 proclaimed the caufe of his flight ; and derived 
 Ibme {hare of popularity from the general abhor- 
 rence of the treachery of Ferdinand. 
 
 From the moment the king had aflurned the 
 reins of adminiftration, the counfels of Maria had 
 been difregarded ; and it was not until he was 
 alarmed by the preparations of Don Juan, that he 
 condefcended again to folicit the mediation of his 
 mother ; the virtues of the queen dowager had 
 fecured the refpect of all parties ; on her affurances 
 of fafety Don Juan returned again to court, and 
 the public harmony was re-eftabliihed, 
 
 It was not only the court of Spain that was 
 difgraced by perfidy and cruelty ; the perfecu- 
 tion of the knights templars excited the attention 
 of all Europe. During the firft fervour of the 
 crufades, that order, by uniting the popular quali- 
 ties of devotion and valour, had rapidly advanced 
 in credit and authority ; their fervices in the reco- 
 very and defence of the Holy Land, had been re- 
 paid by the piety of the Chriftian inhabitants of 
 
 Europe ;
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 307 
 
 Europe ; but in France efpecially their acqui- 
 (hions had extended through every province, and 
 enabled them to fupport a royal magnificence. 
 The abufe of their riches had in time relaxed 
 thofe virtues which firft preferred them to efteeni ; 
 and inftead of braving the dangers of martial 
 pilgrimage, they chofe to enjoy their opulent 
 revenues in eafe and luxury. Of illuftrious birth, 
 and according to the cuftom of the age with- 
 out any tincture of letters, they fcorned the ig- 
 noble occupations of a monadic life, and patted 
 their time in the famionable amufements of hunt- 
 ing, gallantry, and the pleafures of the table. 
 But though this conduct had diminilhed the re- 
 fpect they had once poffeffed, yet the immediate 
 caufe of their deftruction in France proceeded 
 from the rapacious and vindictive fpirit of Philip 
 the Fair. They were accufed of every fpecies of 
 fenfual vice that degrades human nature, and 
 every aft of impiety which could prove offenfive 
 to religion. Bui their accufers were two of their 
 brethren condemned by the order to perpetual 
 imprifonment fortheir profligacy, and who ob- 
 tained their, forfeited lives from the fecrets they 
 affected to reveal. The doubtful evidence was 
 readily received by the tyrant ; and above an 
 hundred unhappy gentlemen on the rack were 
 tortured to confefs the juilice of the 'charge; 
 feveral iupported their agonies with unabated 
 X 2 conflancy ;
 
 jog.' HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 conftancy ; but the majority yielded to the ear- 
 cruciating anguifti, and figned the declaration of 
 their own criminality. Yet they were no fooner 
 releafed from the engines of torture than they re- 
 traded the confeffions which had been extorted 
 from them. But the avarice and refentment of 
 their perfecutor was deaf to every remonltrance ; 
 their eftates were confifcated ; and without the 
 form of trial fifty were condemned to, and fuf- 
 fered death with manly fortitude ; the grand- 
 mafter, with the three great officers, were in the 
 prefence of their royal oppreffor confumed by a 
 flow fire ; and afierted with their laft breath the 
 purity of their conduct. Their firmnefs com- 
 manded the belief of the people ; but the bar- 
 barous injuflice of Philip was fandtioned by the 
 fentence of his creature pope Clement the fifth, 
 who then refided in France - r and who, without 
 examining a witnefs, or making an enquiry into 
 the truth of facls, by the plenitude of his apoftolic 
 power abolifhed the whole order. 
 
 A greater degree of moderation and equity 
 prevailed through the councils of Spain ; the- 
 charges againft the order were heard ; but they 
 were heard with impartiality ; and the knighis 
 were acquitted by the unanimous voice of their 
 judges. Yet though in their decifion the latter 
 difregarded private views and public clamour, 
 they could but vindicate the reputation of the 
 
 accufed ;
 
 HISTORT OF SPAIN. 309 
 
 ^ecufed; the decree of the Roman fee was ir- 
 -refiflible ; the order was diffolved; the knights 
 were diftributed into feveral convents, and their 
 pofTeffions were by the command of- the pope 
 transferred to the order of St. John of Jerufalem, 
 whofe poverty had preferved unfullied the purity 
 of their profeffions, and who itill dlftinguimed 
 themfelves by .their martial enterprifes againft 
 the difciples of Mahomet ; -yet the ftates-gene- 
 : ral of Spain eluded in part the holy judgment ; 
 they reprefented their own fituation ; and they 
 were permitted to retain the fpoils of the tem- 
 plars to fupport themfelvves againft their infidel 
 ^neighbours. 
 
 The rejoicings which the birth f a fon and 
 heir to the crown might occafion, did not inter- 
 .rupt the preparations for renewing the war againft 
 the Moors ,; a considerable army marched under 
 the conduct of Don Pedro, the brother of the 
 king, and inverted the town of Alcandeta on 
 the frontiers of Andalufia. From the adjacent 
 fituation of Martos, Ferdinand himfelf obferved 
 the operations of the fiege ; two brothers of the 
 houfe of Carvajal had been apprehended as 
 guilty of the murder of a nobleman at Palencia ; 
 they were brought before the royal tribunal ; and 
 the indignation of the king fuifered them not to 
 vindicate their innocence ; they were commanded 
 inftantly to be hurled from a roek ; and the in- 
 X 3 temperate
 
 3 io HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 temperate fentence was executed without delay. 
 On the verge of eternity, they fummoned their 
 inexorable judge within a month to appear before 
 his God ; and the death of Ferdinand on the 
 thirtieth day. was regarded in a fuperftitious age 
 as the effect of their folemn citation. 
 
 It is the wifh of a lively French writer, that 
 the ftory was either true, or generally believed ; 
 and that the example might inflrutt all princes 
 who think they have a right to follow their own 
 imperious wills at the expence of their fellow 
 creatures, to dread the retribution of a fuperior 
 power ; but though the execution of the brothers 
 of Carvajal, and their laft words, are confirmed 
 by a variety of hiftorians, yet we may gather 
 from the candid pages of Mariana, that the 
 health of Ferdinand had long been fhaken, that 
 he was juft recovered from a fevere mdifpofi- 
 tion, and that his indulgence in the pleafures of 
 the table, well warrant the Ihort fpace that 
 was fixed by the culprits as the term of his 
 life, whofe hafty fally of refentment would have 
 been buried in oblivion, had it not been preferred 
 to notice by the event. 
 
 A. D. 1312, The civil commotions which had 
 agitated the kingdom during the mi- 
 nority and reign of Ferdinand, were revived with 
 .jncreafe of fury on his death ; the invidious office 
 was declined by the prudence of Maria, 
 
 and
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN; 311- 
 
 and the preteniions of Don Juan, and of Pedro, 
 the brother of the late monarch, were fupported 
 by their refpedlive partifans with clamour and 
 violence ; yet though the widow of Sancho refufed 
 to fuftain again the weight and odium of govern- 1 
 ment, Ihe neglected not to watch over the infancy 
 and fafety of Alfonfo the eleventh. Her voice 
 extinguifhed or fufpended the enmity of the'rival 
 factions; the authority was divided between, and 
 the title of regent was equally imparted to both 
 the princes Juan and Pedro ; but the dates-general 
 that ratified the agreement were not unmindful 
 of the future welfare of their king, and to Maria 
 v/as affigned the duty of protecting his perfort 
 and forming his mind. 
 
 The promife of fpoil had again allured the 
 Moors of Africa to pafs the ftraits of Gibraltar ; 
 nd the regents determined by the vigour of their 
 meafures to anticipate the deligns of their ene- 
 mies. In his march Don Pedro reduced the 
 ilrong fortrefs of Tifcar ; and under the walls of 
 Alcandeta he joined the forces of his aflbciate 
 Don Juan. The confederate hoft fwept the open 
 country, and pitched their tents within fight of 
 the towers of Granada ; and while the Moorifh 
 monarch aflembled the ftrength of his nation, the 
 Chriftian leaders exulted in the hopes of an eafy 
 conqueft ; but no looner were the fquadrons of 
 Granada united with thofe of Africa, than Ifmael 
 X 4 rufhed
 
 3 i2 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 rufhed to the defence of his capital. On the day 
 that was to decide the fate of Granada, though 
 her fovereign encouraged his warriors by his pre- 
 fence, yet the chief command in the hour of 
 battle was entrufted to the experience of Ofmyn. 
 The right of the Chriftians was led by Don 
 Juan ; and in the front of the left was difplayed 
 the banner of Don Pedro, Their rival exer- 
 tions long refilled the fuperior numbers of the 
 Moors ; and if we may rely on the credit of 
 Mariana, they funk at length without a wound, 
 and expired exhauiled by the ilaughter of their 
 enemies. But we may fafely venture to reject 
 the partial narrative, which might gratify the 
 vanity of the chivalry of Caflille, but cannot com- 
 mand the belief of pofterity ; and the regents were 
 undoubtedly involved in the general carnage of 
 the Chriftians. A wretched remnant efcaped un- 
 der cover of the night to relate the fate of their 
 
 . brethren. The calamities of war were retaliated 
 on the vanquifhed; from the walls of Granada the 
 Victorious torrent rolled on to thofe of Jaen ; and 
 from- the ftream of the Oro to the northern banks 
 of the Guadalquivir, the fertile fields of Anda- 
 Htfia were converted into a defert. 
 
 -niJThe progrefs of the infidels might flill have 
 been checked by the unanimity of the Chriftians ; 
 but the death of the regents opened a new fcene 
 of dilTenjioh ; , and the reigns of adminiftration 
 
 were
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 313 
 
 were difputed by four powerful competitors, Don 
 Philip, the uncle of the king; Don Juan Emanuel, 
 who had married the daughter of the king of Ar- 
 ragon, and commanded on the frontiers of Murcia; 
 Don Juan, fon to the regent of the fame name, 
 and who from the lofs of an eye in his infancy 
 was diftinguifhed by the epithet of the Deformed ; 
 and Don Alfonfo de la Cerda, who, thruft afide 
 from the throne, without the title afpired to the 
 authority of king ; each was fupported by nume- 
 rous vaflals and adherents, and each was in- 
 different to the means by which he could attain 
 the object of his ambition. In vain did Maria 
 exert her influence and addrefs to controul their 
 prefumption, or conciliate their regard ; in vain 
 did the Roman pontiff interpofe to reprefs their 
 difcord; the conftitution of the former was un- 
 equal to the ftruggle, and inceffant anxiety ex- 
 ringuifhed the expiring taper of life ; while the 
 latter was inftru&ed that the thunders of the 
 Vatican were more efficacious in kindling than 
 fuppreffing the flames of civil commotion. Re- 
 gardlefs of his cenfures, the rivals exerted every 
 engine of fraud and force ; and Alfonfo de la 
 Cerda, and Juan the Deformed, fooner than fuffer 
 the natural claims of Don Philip to prevail, aban- 
 doned their own, and declared in favour of the 
 party of Don Juan Emanuel. . 
 
 During thirteen years from the death of Fer- 
 dinand,
 
 3 i4 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 dinand, the kingdoms of Caftille and Leon had 
 experienced all the calamities which flow from 
 faction and anarchy. But in the lapfe of that 
 term the understanding of Alfonfo had rapidly 
 ad\ r anced and far furpafied his age ; in his fifr 
 teenth year he proclaimed his refolution to break 
 the ihackles he had been held in, and to claim 
 the rights of a king. The diftracted flate of the 
 nation was favourable to his intentions ; in a ge- 
 neral affembly at Valladolid his authority was re- 
 cognized ; the hopes of the competitors expired 
 er were concealed in the prefence of their lawful 
 prince; and Alfonfo the eleventh beheld a tran- 
 fient calm fucceed the tempefts which had afflict- 
 ed his minority. 
 
 Yet the profpect was foon again overcaft ; the 
 discontent of Don Juan Emanuel was no longer 
 concealed ; he withdrew from court ; to attach 
 Don Juan the Deformed effectually to his interefts, 
 he propoied to beftovv on him the hand of his 
 daughter Conftantia ; and the formidable alliance 
 jnuft have overmadowed the luftre of the crown. 
 The character of Alfonfo will not fufFer from the 
 artifice which he defcended to at. this critical mo- 
 ment ; he affected himfelf to be fenfible of the 
 charms of Conftantia, and of the merits of her 
 father ; he intimated that policy as well as incli- 
 nation prompted his union with the daughter qf 
 fo powerful a iiibjecfc; the ftratagem was Attended 
 
 with
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 315 
 
 the effect he expected ; and on the firft 
 rumour of the paffion of the king, Emanuel 
 flew to Burgos to renew his oath of fidelity and 
 allegiance. 
 
 While the nobles of Caftille preferred in arms 
 their own claims, or fupported thofe of their 
 chiefs, every fpecies of diibrder had multiplied 
 throughout the kingdom ; large bodies of banditti 
 violated the public peace, and in contempt of the 
 laws levied their contributions not only on indi- 
 viduals but towns and cities. To reftore the tone " 
 and vigour of the law was the firft object of the ' 
 royal attention ; with a fmall band of difciplined 
 troops Alfonfo flew from province to province; 
 explored their retreats in the depths of the fo- 
 refts and mountains ; and though the immediate 
 execution of the offenders has been conflrued into 
 cruelty, yet it moft be remembered, that the juf- 
 tice of a king admits not of the compaffion 
 which adorns a fubjecl: ; and that lenity to the 
 guilty, is too frequently an injury to the good. 
 
 From the feverity of their monarch, the needy 
 and defperate found a refuge with Don Juan the 
 Deformed ; and the numbers of daring adventu- 
 rers inured to blood and rapine who flocked to 
 the (landard of that prince, enabled him to brave 
 the vengeance of his king. His negociations 
 were extended to the courts of Arragon and Por- 
 tugal, and. he urged Don Alfonfo de la Cerda to 
 
 refume
 
 3 i6 HISTORY OF SPAltf. 
 
 refume his pretenfions to the crown. His in- 
 trigues eluded not the vigilence of his fovereign ; 
 and Alfonfo, after having in vain endeavoured to 
 reclaim him to his duty by the moft liberal offers, 
 determined to deliver himfelf from his factious 
 and enterpriiing fpirit by a decifive though dif- 
 honourable blow. In the execution of the deiign, 
 his addrefs rather than his integrity muft be com- 
 mended; he propofed to give him in marriage 
 his fifter Eleanora ; and the prcfumption of Don 
 Juan induced him to accept the invitation of his 
 king, and to prefent himfelf at Toro ; he came 
 attended with a train which refembled rather the 
 army of a powerful fovereign than the eftablifh- 
 tnent of a private perfon. But his confidence 
 in his ftrength was fatal to his life ; as he pafled 
 through the royal apartments, he was affailed by 
 a chofen and determined band ; two gentlemen 
 who accompanied him, and attempted to draw 
 their fwords in his defence, lhared his fate, and 
 were extended lifelefs on the ground ; the hall of 
 audience was thrown open, and Alfonlb from his 
 throne avowed the orders he had iffued ; he re^ 
 prefented Don Juan as a traitor too great for the 
 laws, and declared that his blood alone could 
 have prevented an immediate and dangerous civil 
 war. The clamours of the multitude were humed 
 by the imperious voice of their fovereign ; the 
 adherents of the unhappy vidim were happy to 
 
 conceal
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. $17 
 
 conceal their attachment in fiknce; but the 
 bonds of fociety were loofened by the fatal 
 expedient ; and when a monarch can have re- 
 courfe to the pra&ice of an aflaffin, the moft vir- 
 tuous of his fubjects have reafon to tremble 
 equally with the moft guilty. 
 
 The firft to dread his fate, and to attempt to 
 avenge it, was Don Juan Ernanuel, whofe fword 
 had been drawn fuccefsfully againft the Moors, 
 but who on the intelligence of the death of 
 Don Juan the Deformed, figned a private peace 
 with the king of Granada, and trufling to the 
 jftrength of his caftle of Chinchilla, and to the 
 number of his vaflals, erected the ftandard of re- 
 volt. His rebellion diflblved the hopes of his 
 daughter Conftantia ; and that lady, who had al- 
 ready borne the title of queen, beheld herfclf a 
 prifoner in a city which fhe had fondly regarded 
 as the capital of her future power and fplendour. 
 The haughty fpirit of Ernanuel was exafperated 
 to fury by the infult ; he obtained from his fa- 
 ther-in-law the king of Arragou, a promife of 
 fupport ; with the forces that he could haftily 
 airemblc he laid wafte the frontiers of Caftille; and 
 his refentment to the fovereign was proclaimed 
 in his barbarous warfare againft his people. 
 
 But the fpirit of Alfonfo was not to be braved 
 with impunity ; in open war or fecret confede- 
 racy his valour and vigilance extorted the admi- 
 ration
 
 3 i8 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 ration of his enemies ; by land or by fea, on horfe- 
 back or on foot, in every encounter his genius 
 and courage fhone confpicuous. The piratical 
 fquadrons of the Moors had iflued from the ports 
 of Africa, but they were attacked and defeated 
 by the fleets of Caftille ; the cities of Zamora and 
 Toro had revolted ; they xvere quickly reduced 
 and feverely punifhed ; Don Alvaro Nugnez 
 Oforio, who had enjoyed the entire confidence of 
 his matter, was the firft to defert him in his dif- 
 trefs ; the ungrateful favourite was {tabbed by 
 the command of the king in the midft of his 
 retainers. A new king of Arragon had fucceeded 
 to the father-in-law of Emanuel ; and was rea- 
 dily perfuaded.to defert the caufe of that chief; 
 a negociation was entered into with the court of 
 Lifbon, and the marriage of Alfonfo with the 
 daughter of the king of Portugal feeured to the 
 former a powerful and faithful ally. 
 
 Yet the bofom of Alfonfo was lefs fufceptible 
 of private revenge than of public glory ; he flill 
 offered to Emanuel the free pardon of his guilty 
 and the refloration of his eftates and honours ; 
 and urged him, inftead of weakening by his ob- 
 ftinacy, to flrengthen by his union the common 
 caufe, and to march in conjunction with him 
 againft the infidels. The refufal of the haughty 
 rebel could not check the ardour of Alfonfo; 
 Spain refounded with his preparations ; and the 
 
 court
 
 rilSTORY OF SPAIN. 31$ 
 
 court of Granada was aftoniihed and difmayed by 
 the rumour of the fleets and armies he had af- 
 fembled ; the prudence of Mahomet, the fuc~ 
 ceflbr of Ifmael in the throne of Granada, inftru<3> 
 ed him to prevent by fubmiffion a conteft which 
 threatened the total fubveriion of the Moorilh 
 power. His ambafladors were difpatched to Se- 
 ville ; and the humiliating conditions they fub- 
 fcribed, fufficiently reveal the terror with which 
 they were imprefled ; the king of Granada con- 
 fented to hold his fceptre as the vaflal of the 
 crown of Caftille ; and to acknowledge the fo- 
 premacy of his lord by the annual tribute of 
 twelve thoufand pieces of gold. 
 
 The terms which had been extorted by fear, 
 were violated with the return of confidence. It 
 was from Africa alone that Mahomet could hope 
 for fuccour ; he crofled the ftraits ; reprefented 
 in' the court of Morocco the increafing power of 
 Caftille, and was heard with attention ; feven 
 thoufand horfemen were granted to his imme- 
 diate diftrefs; a more considerable detachment 
 followed under the conduit of Abu Malic, the 
 fon of the king of Morocco; the tranfports 
 which conveyed them eluded the vigilance of the 
 Chriftian fleet ; the king of Granada renewed his 
 alliance with Don Emanuel ; and the fiege of 
 Gibraltar was inftantly formed by the Moflem 
 hoft. 
 
 The
 
 320 
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 The allegiance of the houfe of Lara had been 
 corrupted by the intrigues of Don Emanuel ; and 
 at the moment that Alfonfo beheld his dominions 
 expofed to foreign invafion, he found his refour- 
 ces diftradted by civil commotion. At the head 
 of the troops which yet were faithful to their fo- 
 vereign, he pointed his fteps towards Gibraltar. 
 In his march he was folicited to an interview with 
 the difaffected lords ; he accepted their invita- 
 tion ; and fuperior to fear, entered without atten- 
 dants the caftle of Becerril, which was garrifoned 
 by their followers ; they were awed by his mag- 
 nanimity ; and at the feaft that he fhared without 
 referve, they engaged on the payment of a fum 
 of money to return to their duty ; the engage* 
 ment was fulfilled on the fide of Alfonfo, but 
 bafely broken by Emanuel, who employed the 
 gold he had received in. fomenting new cabals, 
 and making -new levies againft his fovereign. 
 
 The fpeed with which Alfonfo had advanced 
 to the relief of Gibraltar, only expofed him to a 
 frefh mortification ; he was arrived within fight 
 of that fortrefs, when he was informed the go- 
 vernor had meanly betrayed his truft, and fur- 
 rendered it to the infidels. He afpired to reco- 
 ver it ; but while he yet preffed the fiege with 
 the faireft profpect of fuccefs, he was recalled to 
 the centre of his dominions by the cries ot his 
 fubje&?. The comagion of revolt had reached 
 
 the
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 321 
 
 the houfe of Haro, and Don Alonzo, the chief 
 of that family, with Don Emanuel, and Don 
 Juan de Lara, had ftarted to arms at an appointed 
 (ignal, and marked their different routes through 
 Caftille with Slaughter and devaftation. 
 
 We may eafily believe it was with reluctance 
 and indignation that an high-fpirited prince like 
 Alfonfo, figned a treaty with the Moors, which 
 left Gibraltar in their pofleffion, and releafed the 
 king of Granada from the humiliating condition 
 of tribute. But the danger was preffing ; and 
 while his kingdom was rent by inteftine difcord, 
 he could not hope to triumph over his foreign 
 enemies. He had no fooner fubfcribed the peace, 
 than he marched with diligence to the protection 
 of his capital. As he advanced, the confederates 
 retired ; but they were not able to elude the ven- 
 geance of an injured monarch. The precipitate 
 flight of Don Juan de Lara preferved indeed his 
 life ; but his eftates were laid wafte or confif- 
 cated ; and his fortreffes in the mountainous pro- 
 vince of Bifcay were attacked and reduced. 
 
 A feverer doom awaited Don Alonzo de Haro ; 
 he was furprifed in his caftle, led in chains be- 
 fore his king, and fternly reproached with his 
 guilt and ingratitude ; the refentment of his fo- 
 vereign fuffered him not long to languifh in 
 doubt, and the fecond day after he was made 
 prifoner, he was beheaded on a public fcaffold. 
 
 VOL. i, Y The
 
 322 HISTORY OF SPAIN, 
 
 The factious nobles of Caftille heard with teiv 
 ror that the chief of the powerful houfe of Hare- 
 had perifhed by the hand of the common execu- 
 tioner. Neither the moft illuftrious extraction 
 nor extenfive connexions could iecure them from/ 
 the wrath of majefty ; and in the fate of Don 
 Alonzo, Don Juan de Lara trembled for his own* 
 He difpatched a truiiy meflenger to learn if yet 
 the road to mercy was open ; but though the 
 king allured him of his peribnal fafety, he ftill 
 refufed to fee him ; he was more indulgent to- 
 Don Emanuel ; and on his- reconciliation with 
 that nobleman, he releafeci his daughter Conftan- 
 tia, and confented to, and facilitated her marriage 
 with, his brother-in-law the prince of Portugal. 
 
 After fo long a period of turbulence, Alfonfo- 
 might have hoped to have tafted fome moments 
 of repofe ; but his life was deflined to inceflant 
 toil ; and he had fcarce (heathed the fword of 
 civil war, before a new enemy arofe on the fide of 
 Navarre. The king of Caftille endeavoured to 
 prevent open hoftilities by every offer of accom- 
 modation which the dignity of his crown would 
 admit of; but when- compelled to take the field, 
 his preparations were carried on with vigour and 
 alacrity. The chivalry of Caftille, at the com- 
 mand of their fovereign, confented to march be- 
 neath the condudt of Martin Fernandez, an of- 
 ficer whofe obfcure defcent they defpifed, bur. 
 
 who ft
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 323 
 
 Vvhofe worth they revered. In a field of battle 
 the appointment of Fernandez was approved ; 
 the troops of Navarre were broken or flaughter- 
 ed ; and the peace that was re-eftablifhed between 
 the two kingdoms was dictated by Alfonfo. 
 
 The exultation of the king of Caftille at his 
 victory, was allayed by the information that the 
 intrigues of Don Juan de Lara, and Don Ema- 
 nuel, were flill continued. Exafperated by their 
 frequent perfidy, he appealed againft them to the 
 aflembly of the flates ; they were declared trai- 
 tors by the unanimous voice of the reprefenta- 
 tives of the nation, who granted at the fame time 
 a liberal fubfidy to profecute the war to their en- 
 tire diftruction* 
 
 The king of Caftille fuffered not the weapon 
 to rult which the dates-general had trufted 10 his 
 hand. With a numerous army he invefted in 
 the walls of Lerma, Don Juan de Lara. The ob- 
 ftinacy of the garrifon, and the flrength of the 
 fortifications, protracted the fiege ; and Don Ema- 
 nuel marched to the relief of his aflbciate ; the 
 king advanced to meet him at the head of a fe- 
 left detachment ; the rebels were defeated, and 
 their chief efcaped with difficulty from the pur- 
 fuit of Alfonfo ; the victorious king continued 
 the fiege of Lerma with unwearied diligence ; 
 the towers of that city were already ftiaken by his 
 engines ; and Don Juan, baffled in every attempt 
 Y 2, to
 
 324 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 to fly, anticipated the confequences of unfoo 
 cefsful rebellion. A laft, but flender hope was 
 repofed on the mercy of his fovereign ; and even 
 the ftubborn temper of Don Juan was not proof 
 againft the clemency he had fo ill deferved ; his 
 life had indeed been promifed on his fubmiflion ; 
 but he was received by Alfonfo with a generofity 
 which reflects the brighteft luftre on the charac- 
 ter of that prince ; he was reftored to his eftates 
 and honours, inverted with the high dignity of 
 ftandard bearer of Caftille, and during the re- 
 mainder of his life approved himfelf a dutiful 
 and grateful fervant. 
 
 The example of Don Juan de Lara influenced 
 the conduct of Don -Emanuel ; whofe return to- 
 his allegiance extinguiihed the war which his in- 
 trigues had kindled between Caftille and Por- 
 tugal ; a general pacification between the Chriftian 
 princes of Spain fucceeded ; and Alfonfo at length 
 found himfelf at leifure to attend to the progrefs 
 of the Moors of Africa and Granada. 
 
 At Seville the royal ftandard was difplayed ; 
 and the factions which had fo long purfued each 
 other with kindred rage, confeffed a generous 
 emulation as they marched againft the common 
 foe. They penetrated without feeing an enemy 
 to the walls of Ronda ; that fortification, erected 
 on a craggy rock, derided their menaces ; the 
 cxhaufted country no longer fupplied them the 
 
 means
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 325 
 
 means of fubfiftence; and they again pointed 
 their fleps towards the frontiers of Caftille ; but 
 the fignal of retreat was fcarcely given before a 
 cloud of dud revealed the approach of the fqua- 
 drons of Granada and Africa. The Moors were 
 animated by the prefence of Abu Malic, the fon 
 and heir to the crown of Morocco ; and Alfonfo 
 with impatience awaited in open field the charge 
 of an adverfary who had wrefled from him the 
 ftrong fortrefs of Gibraltar. In the tumult of the 
 day Alfonfo, with Don Juan de Lara, and Don 
 Emanuel, were diftinguilhed above the crowd of 
 combatants. The Moors, incapable of withftanding 
 their rival ardour, fled to an adjacent mountain ; 
 under a {hower of ftones and miffile weapons the 
 fteep afcent was climbed by the impetuous Chrif- 
 tians ; and fo defperate was the refiftance of the 
 vanquiftied, and fo inexorable the victors, that 
 not a fingle Moor efcaped the promifcuous 
 ilaughter. 
 
 Whatever tears the king of Morocco might 
 fhed over his unfortunate fon, were foon dried by 
 the hope of vengeance. His voice arouzed the 
 the tribes of Africa from their lethargy ; the pro- 
 pagation of the koran and the promife of fpoil 
 affembled the rapacious difciples of Mahomet ; 
 two hundred tranfports were convoyed by thirty 
 gallies ; a favourable wind enabled them to elude 
 the Chriftian fleet ; they were joined by the forces 
 
 y 3 of
 
 326 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 of Granada ; and the hoft which inverted Tarif 
 has been computed at two hundred thoufand men. 
 The danger of that fortrefs was quickly con- 
 veyed to Alfonfo; but the ftrength of Caftille 
 was unequal to the conteft ; and to his queen 
 was intrufted the important commiffion of 
 awakening the court of Lifbon to the common 
 defence of Chriftianity ; the king of Portugal was 
 not deaf to the felicitations of his daughter ; and 
 policy quickened his fteps at the head of his mar- 
 tial nobility ; he was received in Seville with 
 every honour by his fon-in-law; but the diftrefs 
 of Tarif allowed not the monarchs to wafte the 
 hours in feafts and tournaments ; forty thoufand 
 infantry and twenty thoufand cavalry, confident 
 in their faith and valour, marched beneath their 
 banners. A thoufand horfe and four thoufand 
 foot cut their way through the lines of the 
 befiegers, and reaffured the fainting fpirits of the 
 garrifon of Tarif ; and on the enfuing morning 
 the fignal for general action was difplayed. On 
 the plains of Salfado the king of Caftille charged 
 the fquadrons of Morocco, and the king of Por- 
 tugal advanced againft thofe of Granada ; the en- 
 counter was long and bloody ; and it was not until 
 the conflict had been maintained feveral hours 
 with various fuccefs, that victory declared for the 
 Chriftians. One hundred thoufand Moors fell in 
 the battle, or were flaughtered in the pnrfuit ;
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 3*7 
 
 ?Tie Icing of Morocco fled with precipitation to 
 Algezire, and inftantly reimbarked for Africa ; 
 while the king of Granada with the fhattered rem- 
 nant of his forces, retired within his own terri- 
 tories, and trembled for the fafety of his capital. 
 
 On the field Alfonfo offered to recompenfe the 
 zeal of his ally with the wealthy fpoil and captives 
 of their joint valour. But the generous fpirit of 
 the king of Portugal rejected the rich prize ; fome 
 arms rather curious than valuable were all he 
 could be prevailed on to accept.; and after having 
 interchanged mutual vows of amity with his fon- 
 in-law, he led back his troops into his own domi- 
 nions. His difinterefted conduct funk deep in 
 the mind of Alfonfo ; trie private life of the king 
 of Caftille had been lefs pure than his public ; 
 intereft rather than paflion had prompted his mar- 
 riage with the princefs Maria of Portugal ; but his 
 heart had been long captivated by the wit and 
 charms of Donna Leonora de Guzman, the widow 
 of Don Juan de Velafco, To her his hours were 
 facr irked, and his affections devoted ; and thofe 
 xvho were permitted to approach and gaze on her 
 beauty, forgot the guilt of his attachment in the 
 admiration of his choice. But Alfonfo could not 
 be infenfible to the ardour with which Maria had 
 ferved him in the hour of diftrefs ; he was pene- 
 trated by the generofity of her father the king of 
 Portugal ; gratitude fupplied the place of love, 
 Y 4 and
 
 328 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 and religion confirmed his refolution ever after 
 to renounce the licentious pleafures which he had 
 lhared with Leonora, and to confine himfelf to the 
 arms of the lawful partner of his throne and bed. 
 
 With his victorious army Alfonfo fwept the 
 frontiers of Granada, reduced by famine Alcala, 
 and by force Molin ; the fortifications of Alge- 
 zire demanded more weighty preparations ; the 
 fquadrons of Portugal and Arragon were readily 
 perfuaded to act in concert with that of Cailille; 
 twelve gallies were hired of the Genoele, whofe 
 naval ikill about the middle of the fourteenth 
 century was celebrated throughout Europe ; thefe 
 blocked up the harbour, and intercepted all fup- 
 plies from Africa, while Alfonfo regularly inverted 
 Algezire by land with an army which might 
 fafely defy the feeble attempts of the king of 
 Granada. The eyes of Europe were turned on 
 the enterprife ; the walls were ftrong, the garnfon 
 numerous ; and the thunder of the artillery, the 
 firft that had been ufed in Spain, was heard with 
 aftonifhment by the befiegers ; but the tremendous 
 effect which was produced by the firil difcharge, 
 was foon effaced; and the troops of Alfonfo 
 dreaded lefs the deftructive fire of the cannon, 
 than the gradual approach of famine. Six months 
 had tried the patience of the auxiliaries, and ex- 
 haufted the magazines of the afikilants ; hunger 
 already began to be felt through the camp ; and 
 
 to
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 329 
 
 to fupply'the demands of his allies, and relieve the 
 diftrefs of his own troops, the king ordered his 
 plate to be coined into current money at a higher 
 rate than the common ftandard. The difgraceful 
 and dangerous expedient was averted by the zeal 
 of the moft confiderable cities of Spain ; every 
 province freely contributed its proportion in 
 corn, in wine, or in fpecie ; fome pecuniary af- 
 fiftance was derived from the holy liberality of 
 the pope ; and the ardour of the warriors of Spain 
 was rekindled, and their emulation inflamed by 
 the martial nobles of France and England, who 
 h aliened to lhare the glory and hazard of the 
 enterprife. 
 
 Yet it was not until the fecond year, when 
 every offer for railing the fiege had been rejected, 
 and the walls of Algezire tottered beneath the in- 
 ceflant ftrokes of the engines of the befiegers, 
 that the garrifon, diminifhed by famine and the 
 fword, Submitted to propofe terms of capitulation. 
 The foldiers and citizens were permitted to retire 
 without moleftation ; the Chriftian ftandard was 
 again difplayed on the towers of Algezire ; and a. 
 truce for ten years was fubfcribed between the 
 king of Caftille, and the monarchs of Granada 
 and Morocco. 
 
 The valour and activity of Alfonfo had been 
 approved in war, and in peace his courtefy and 
 generoiity were admired. Several of the dangru 
 
 ters
 
 33 o HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 ters of the king of Morocco had, on his defeat 
 at Salfado, became the captives of the king of 
 Caflille; they had been treated by the latter 
 prince with the refpect due to their birth ; and no 
 fooner was peace reftored than they were dilmif- 
 fed with magnificent prefents to their father's 
 court ; arnidft the annals of a fanguinary age, 
 the mind i's rarely relieved from the bloody nar- 
 rative by the contemplation of the more amiable 
 qualities of humanity and politenefs ; and fome 
 praiie is due to Alfonlb, who, amidft religious and 
 political enmity, was flill careful to cherifh the 
 generous fentiments of chivalry. 
 
 Yet one paflion ever rages in thebofoms of kings; 
 and if the courtefy of Alfonfo commands our ap- 
 plaufe, his ambition cannot be defended from 
 our reproach ; four years of peace had fcarcely 
 fkinned over the wounds of war, and the inha- 
 bitants of Caftille ftill groaned beneath the double 
 fcourge of peftilence and famine, when the royal 
 flandard was difplayed; and their monarch fum* 
 moned his martial nobles again to the field. The 
 Moorifh banners that flreamed from the towers 
 of Gibraltar infulted his pride ; and he recollect- 
 ed with indignation that during his reign that im- 
 portant fortrefs had pafled from the hands of the 
 Chriftians to thofe of the infidels ; without a pre- 
 vious declaration of war he fuddenly fummoned 
 the garrifon to furrender ; and urged in perfon the 
 
 fiegc
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 331 
 
 fiege with his ufual ardour. But the feeds of difeafe 
 lurked in the veins of his foldiers, and the plague 
 foon broke out in his camp; the remonftrances 
 of his officers could not prevail on him to aban- 
 don the enterprife, or withdraw from the fcene 
 of infection ; he was the victim of his perfeve- 
 ran-ce ; his blood was tainted ; and he expired in 
 the moment that the diftrefs of the befieged af- 
 forded him the ftrongeft aflurances of fuccefs. 
 
 Such was the fate of Alfonfo the eleventh, 
 who of the princes that fucceeded Ferdinand the 
 Saint, is mod entitled to our admiration ; the 
 turbulence of the times he reigned in was his 
 glory ; the factions which had overlhadowed 
 the power of the throne were broken by his vi- 
 gour ; and the foreign enemies of the ftate who 
 had availed themfelves of the hour of civil dif- 
 fenfion, were chaftifed by his valour ; the execu- 
 tion of the chief of the houfe of Haro awed the 
 haughty fpirits of his nobles ; and though the 
 means by which he delivered hirnfelf from the 
 inceflant enmity of Don Juan the Deformed can- 
 not be juftified, yet the confidence that he re- 
 pofed in Don Emanuel, and the clemency that 
 he extended to Don Juan de Lara, cannot be too 
 warmly applauded. The love of martial fame, 
 was his predominant paffion as a king ; and to 
 that his life was at length facrificed, when it would 
 have been moft ferviceable to his fubjects. As a' 
 
 man,
 
 33 2 HISTORY OF SPAIN 
 
 man, his attachment to the fair feems to have 
 been his fole failing; one fon, of the name of 
 Peter, and who had attained his fixteenth year, 
 was his only iffue by his confort Maria; but 
 Donna Leonora had proved more fruitful in his 
 embraces ; and her fecond fon, Henry of Tranfla- 
 mare, was deftined to avenge the fate of his 
 mother, and after a long and bloody conteft, 
 to afcend, by the deftruftion of his brother, the 
 throne of Caftille. 
 
 Chapter
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 333 
 
 Chapter tbe Eighth. 
 
 Acceffwn of Peter, furnamed the Cruel. His perfidy 
 and barbarity. He is dethroned by bis half-brother 
 Henry, count of Tranftamare. He is rejiored by 
 Edward, the Black Prince. Is a fecond lime de- 
 feated by Henry, and put to death. Reign of 
 Henry the fecond.- Is fucceeded by his fon John* 
 Pretenfans of John to the crown, of Portugal.' 
 His defeat at Aljubarrota. Makes peace with Por- 
 tugal and England. Felicity of his general admi- 
 nijlration. Account of his death. His infant fon 
 Henry the third is acknowledged king. DiJJenJions 
 of the nobility. Henry affumes the government at 
 thirteen. His vigorous conduft. Meditates tbe 
 expuljion of the Moors from Spain. His death. 
 Integrity of his brother Ferdinand. John the fe- 
 cond is proclaimed. Wife adminiftration of Ferdi- 
 nand. He is chofen king of Portugal. Competi- 
 tion for the regency of Cajlilk. Long and difaf- 
 trous reign of John. Revolt of his fon, the princt 
 of AJlurias. Execution of his favourite, Aharo df 
 Luna. He dies, and is fucceeded by his fon Henry 
 the fourth, furnamed the Impotent. His mar- 
 riage with the princefs of Portugal. She is deli- 
 vered
 
 334 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 v ered of a daughter. The nobility refufe to ac- 
 knowledge the child as the king's. Formidable con- 
 federacy againjl Henry. He is folemnly depofed at 
 Avila; and his brother Alfonfo proclaimed. 
 Death of Alfonfo. Treaty between Henry and his 
 nobles. The king acknowledges hisjijler Ifabella, 
 his fuccejfor, in prejudice to the prince fs Joanna.-** 
 Marriage of Ifabella with Ferdinand the king of 
 Sicily, and fon of the king of Arragon. Death of 
 Henry. Ferdinand and Ifabella are proclaimed. 
 The king of Portugal claims the crown in right of 
 Joanna. He is defeated at Toro. Death of the 
 king of Arragon. Ferdinand unites the crowns of 
 Caftille and Arragon. 
 
 A. D. 1350. WHEN Peter, whofe fanguinary 
 manners affixed to him the furname 
 of Cruel, was acknowledged king of Caftille, the 
 memory of his father had prejudiced in his fa- 
 vour the minds of his fubjefts. The haughty 
 fpirits of the nobility had been awed, the power 
 of the Moors had been broken ; though the fkge 
 of Gibraltar was abandoned, the national honour 
 "was preferved ; it was to difeafe that the aflail- 
 ants yielded ; they retired flowly and in order ; 
 and their enemies were content to obferve,wkhout 
 attemping to moleft their retreat. 
 
 But
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 335 
 
 . But the fair profpecls of tranquillity and prof- 
 perity were foon clouded by the paffions of Peter 
 himfelf, and thofe of his mother; as the confort 
 of Alfonfo, the patience and moderation of Maria 
 had been the theme of general praife ; as his wi- 
 dow, her vindictive fpirit was the fource of de- 
 ftruclion to her fon ; me gave a loofe to female 
 rcfentrnent ; and her rival Donna Leonora ds 
 Guzman was the unfortunate victim that (he 
 claimed. 
 
 Though from the battle of Salfado,. Alfonfo 
 had renounced all amorous commerce with the 
 beautiful Leonora, yet he had not been inatten- 
 tive to her. future fafety or intereft. He had 
 afTigned the town of Medina Sidonia for her re- 
 treat ; had ftrengthened it with new fortifica* 
 tions ; and had provided it with a numerous and 
 faithful garrifon, commanded by the gallant 
 Alonzo Cardonel. Four fons, the fruits of her 
 illicit interviews with the king, had attained to 
 manhood ; and if the imbecility of Sancho al- 
 lowed her not to repofe her confidence on the 
 elded, Ihe muft have obferved with pleafure that 
 the enterprifing temper of the fecond, Henry, 
 count of Tranftamare, was fupported by the frar 
 ternal affection of his brothers Ferdinand and 
 Tello. 
 
 By her own feelings it is probable that Donna 
 Leonora judged of the intentions of the queen 
 
 dowager i
 
 33 6 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 dowager ; and on the fir ft intelligence of the 
 death of Alfonfo, Ihe fought refuge within the 
 walls of Medina Sidonia ; to that city gratitude 
 or ambition induced feveral of the moft illuftri- 
 ous Caftilians to repair ; and though in the con- 
 reft with the power of the crown, Leonora and 
 her adherents would probably have been over- 
 whelmed, yet their refiftance would not have 
 been inglorious, and in their deaths they might 
 at lead have enjoyed the fatisfaction of revenge. 
 
 While Peter contemplated with contempt the 
 virtues of his father, he was impatient to emulate 
 his crimes. The fame arts which had been ex- 
 erted to achieve the deftruction of Don Juan the 
 Deformed, were practifed to accomplim the ruin 
 of Leonora. By the moft folemn profeflions of 
 fafety and regard, me was prevailed upon to quit 
 the fortifications of Medina Sidonia ; but Ihe had 
 fcarce entered Seville before Ihe found herfelf a 
 prifoner. Her fon, the count of Tranftamare, 
 who by his marriage with the daughter of Don 
 Emanuel had excited the jealoufy of the king, 
 by a timely flight to Portugal efcaped the or- 
 ders that had been iffued to arreft him ; but 
 his brothers, Ferdinand and Tello, were ftill re- 
 ceived with marks of efteem ; and while Peter 
 declared himfelf incapable of protecting Leonora 
 from the juft vengeance of his mother, he was 
 liberal in his proteflations of future regard and 
 kindnefs to her children. 
 
 At
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. . 337 
 
 At Talavera, the palace of the queen dowager 
 Was polluted with the execution of her unhappy 
 Hval. But the refentment of Maria was not per- 
 petuated to the offspring of the hated Leonora ; 
 and her counfels joined with thofe of the king of 
 Portugal in urging a reconciliation with the count 
 of Tranftamare ; Peter eonfented wiih reluctance, 
 and probably with little iincerity ; and Henry 
 could but ill confide in the profeffions of a court 
 that was flamed with the blood of his mother. 
 
 The firft fanguinary exertion of the royal 
 power might be afcribed to the influence of the 
 queen mother ; but it was not long before Peter 
 afierted the independent prerogative of guilt. 
 Rapacious and bloody, he confidered the trea- 
 fures and lives of his fubjeds as intended for his 
 fole ufe ; and the pertinacity with which they de- 
 fended the former, was often punifhed by the pro- 
 fcription of the latter. Yet while the great were 
 fatisfied, the clamours of the multitude were dif- 
 regarded ; and it was not until a fatal paffion 
 armed the tyrant againft his own family, that the 
 public indignation was fupported and guided by 
 the moft illuftrious nobles of Caftille. 
 
 The birth of Donna Maria Padilla was rather 
 decent than fplendid ; and her anceftors, in a life 
 of obfcure virtue, had either declined, or been 
 excluded from the honours of the (late. But na- 
 ture had imparted every qualification to atone for 
 
 VOL. i. Z the
 
 338 HISTORY OF SPAIN 
 
 the deficiency of rank and fortune ; her form was 
 fmall but elegant ; her features delicate and expref- 
 five ; and her countenance was animated by a mind 
 and fpirit formed to excite admiration and com- 
 mand refpect. Her fituation of companion to the 
 wife of Don Juan de Albuquerque, the king's fa- 
 vourite, had expofed her to the fight of Peter ; and 
 the eyes of that monarch fufficiendy revealed the 
 emotions that her charms had occafioned. It is 
 feldom that a favourite is flow in difcerning the 
 inclinations of his matter; and Don Juan de Al- 
 buquerque exulted in a connexion which he 
 flattered himfelf would fecure his own authority 
 over his fovereign. An interview was contrived 
 at Sahagan ; and that paffion which the beauty of 
 jDonna Padillahad infpired, was confirmed by her 
 wit ; yet ihe refufed eafily to yield to the ardour 
 of her royal lover ; a private marriage reconciled 
 the fcruples of the lady ; and it was as her huf- 
 band that Peter afcended her bed. 
 
 At the moment that the king was rioting in 
 the embraces of Donna Padilla, his mother had 
 been engaged in negociating an alliance for him 
 with Blanch, the fitter of the queen of France. 
 The propofal had been accepted by the court of 
 Paris; it was ratified by Peter; his authority 
 impofed filence on Donna Padilla ; and he had 
 fcarce beftowed his hand on the latter, before he 
 publicly celebrated with royal magnificence his 
 nuptials with Blanch. 
 
 If
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 339 
 
 If Peter condefcended to facrifice for a moment 
 to policy, he foon returned to pour out his vows 
 on the altar of love. The influence which Donna 
 Padilla had acquired over him, in a fuperftitious 
 age was confidered as the effect of magic ; but 
 we need not have recourfe to fupernatural caufes 
 to account for the dominion of wit and beauty 
 over a youthful and ardent mind. And it is pro- 
 bable that the afcendancy of the fair was efla- 
 blilhed by a prudent filence at the tranlient infi- 
 delities of her royal admirer. Her relations were 
 advanced to the higheft pofts of honour and 
 truft ; the grand- mafterfhips of St. James and 
 Calatrava were transferred by violence to her 
 brothers ; and Don Juan de Albuquerque found 
 their rifing power overlhadow his own. He con- 
 cealed not entirely his difcontent; his murmurs 
 had reached the ear of his king ; the dark and 
 daring fpirit of Peter was unreftrained by the 
 remembrance of former regard, or the dread of 
 immediate infamy. At an interview which he 
 propofed for their reconciliation, he planned the 
 murder of Don Juan and his principal adherents ; 
 but his intentions were fufpe&ed or his dcfigri 
 betrayed, and Don Juan fought & refuge frorri 
 his cruelty in the court of Lifbon. 
 
 Above fear or fhame, from the moment that the 
 
 king of Caflille was abandoned by his former 
 
 favourite, his reign prefents an headlong career 
 
 Z 2 of
 
 34> HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 of o; p-cflion, rapacity > and fanguinary caprice. 
 The unfortunate Blanch was by his orders im- 
 mured in a prifon ; an obiecuious council of bi- 
 fhops pronounced a venal fentence of divorce ; 
 and Peter, at the foot of the altar, received in fo- 
 lemn pomp the hand of Donna Joanna, the wi- 
 dow of Don Diego de Haro, and the fifter of Don 
 Ferdinand de Caftro, The reign of Joanna was 
 not longer than that of Blanch; in a few months 
 flie was repudiated with contempt; and was 
 doomed to deplore in folitude the unhappy effect 
 of her charms, which had expofed her to the de- 
 fires of the licentious tyrant. 
 
 The pride of the houfe of Caftro was wounded 
 by the ignominious treatment of Donna Joanna ; 
 Henry, count of Tranftamare, with his brothers 
 Frederic and Tello, could not truft to the pro- 
 feflions of a prince whofe hands were flamed with 
 the blood of their mother; Don Juan de Albu- 
 querque panted to revenge himfelf on the family 
 of Padilla ; and the queen mother deplored the 
 injuries of Blanch, who had entered Spain under 
 her aufpices. A fecret confederacy was formed ; 
 all former enmities were buried in oblivion ; and 
 the fons of Leonora, and her perfecutrefs Maria> 
 were embarked in the fame enter prife. 
 
 From Burgos, Blanch had been removed a pri- 
 foner to Toledo ; even the tyrant could not re- 
 fu-fe, or did not diftruft her requeft to offer up 
 
 her
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 341 
 
 her devotions in the cathedral of that city ; (he 
 entered the holy walls, availed herfelf of their 
 privileged fanctity, and declared her refolution 
 never to quit them. The inhabitants of Toledo 
 were inflamed by her misfortunes, and their own 
 piety ; they arofe by thoufands, and expelled the 
 royal guards j the news of their revolt was 
 quickly conveyed to the count of Tranftamare; 
 he prefented himfelf with his affbciates at the 
 gates, and was received amidft the acclamations 
 of the multitude. 
 
 Toro, on the banks of the Duero, followed 
 the example of Toledo ; and the po ver of the 
 party became fo formidable, as compelled Peter 
 to defcend to the language of negociation ; an. 
 interview was appointed at Toro ; and while the 
 public hours of the king were apparently occu- 
 pied in liftening to the grievances of the confe- 
 derates, his private moments were employed in 
 diffolving the league by an artful application to 
 the paflions or interefts of each individual. Se- 
 veral of the moft confiderable lords profefTed 
 their inclinations to return to their duty ; with 
 greater conftancy Don Juan de Albuquerque ad- 
 hered to the caufe he had efpoufed ; his fudderi 
 death was attributed to poifon ; and in the mo- 
 ment of difmay the king efcaped from Toro to 
 the walls of Segovia. 
 
 In that city the royal flandard was ereded, 
 Z 3 and
 
 3 42 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 and a numerous army was aflembled ; and though 
 Peter was repulfed by the prudence and valour 
 of the count of Tranftamare in an attempt on 
 Toro, he moved with a fairer profpect of fuc- 
 cefs towards Toledo. In his march he proclaim- 
 ed his intention of recalling Blanch to his bed 
 and throne ; he was outftripped by the zeal and 
 alacrity of Henry, who had already entered To- 
 ledo, and exhorted the citizens to a vigorous re- 
 fiftance ; but companion to Blanch had mil excited 
 them to arms ; they either feared the refentment 
 or believed the profeffions of the king, and de- 
 termined to open their gates ; yet before their 
 furrender, Henry had the addrefs to effecT: his ef- 
 cape, and with the royal treafure gained the 
 friendly walls of Talavera, which were devoted 
 to the will of the queen mother, 
 
 The inhabitants of Toledo had foon reafon to 
 repent of their credulity ; every condition was 
 violated by the tyrant ; twenty-two of the prin- 
 cipal citizens were executed in his prefence; and 
 the unhappy Blanch was committed a clofe pri- 
 foner to the tower of Siguenca. 
 
 The fiege of Toro was again formed ; the walls 
 were fhaken; and the illuftrious chiefs of the 
 confederacy efcaped from its tottering towers 
 to behold themfelves invefled in the fortrefs of 
 the Alcazal. Maria became an humble but fruit- 
 lefs fuppliant to her inexorable fon for the pro- 
 
 mife
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 343 
 
 mife of life to herfelf and her adherents. She 
 was compelled to truft to his mercy j and though 
 he refrained from parricide, the agony of death 
 niuft have been flight in companion to her emo- 
 tions on witneffing the execution of her moft 
 faithful friends. The confort of Henry was a^ 
 mong his captives; but the fears or policy of 
 Peter prevailed above his thirft of blood and re- 
 venge ; and the freedom of her hufband was the 
 fafety of Joanna. 
 
 On the furrender of Toro, the count of Tranf- 
 tamare had quitted Caflille, crofled the Pyrenees, 
 and iheltered himfelf in the court of France ; 
 from this retreat he was fummoned by the intel- 
 ligence of a rupture between the crowns of Caf- 
 tille and Arragon ; he offered his wrongs and 
 his fword to the king of Arragon ; waged a fuc- 
 cefsful war on the frontiers again ft the tyrant; 
 recovered by the pious fraud of a domeftic his 
 confort Joanna; and when peace was re eftablifh- 
 ed between the rival kingdoms, regained his for- 
 mer afylum at Paris. 
 
 Could Peter have moderated his own paffions, 
 he might have difregarded the enterprifes of his 
 fugitive brother ; but no virtue appears to have 
 found place within his bofom, and his reign was 
 one continued feries of cruelty, of perfidy, and 
 oppreffion. After the reduction of Toro, his 
 brothers, Frederick and Tello, had confented to 
 Z 4 live
 
 344 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 live in peace under his authority ; the former 
 was aflaffinated m the hall of audience in Seville, 
 the latter on board a fmall bark was laved by a 
 iftorm from the purfuit of the fanguinary tyrant. 
 Don Juan of Arragon was the kinfman, and 
 had aded as the minifter o( Peter ; he prefumed 
 to claim the reward of his fervices ; and he was 
 ftabbed as he preferred his requeft. The guilt 
 of his aunt Leonora was her pity for Blanch, and 
 the cup of poifon which me fwallowed was pre? 
 pared by the command of Peter. Wealth, vir- 
 tue, or noble birth were equally fatal to their 
 pofTeflbrs ; the finances of Caftille had been in- 
 truded to a Jew of the name of Levi ; the herefy 
 of the royal treafurer might have been over- 
 looked, but his riches could not be pardoned ; 
 the warrant for his death was figned ; he expired 
 on the rack ; the tyrant boafted of the wealth he 
 extorted by his murder ; and only lamented that 
 his torments had fhortened his life before he had 
 time to reveal the whole of his treafure. 
 
 The unfortunate Blanch herfelf, without friends 
 or refources, might have hoped in prifon to have 
 been confidered no longer as an object of jea- 
 lonfy. Bpt the injuftice of the tyrant was re- 
 proached by the exiftence of the confort he 
 had injured ; flie was removed to the fortrefs of 
 Xeres ; and the governor was informed that her 
 death was the molt acceptable fervice he could 
 
 ren-
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 345 
 
 render to his fovereign. He turned with dtfdain 
 from the propofal ; but every defcription of ruf- 
 fians had been cherilhed and multiplied under 
 the reign of Peter; a ready minifter of his 
 barbarous will was foon found ^ and the potion 
 that was adminiftered to Blanch for the reftora' 
 tion of her health, was too fatal in its effects to 
 leave a doubt of the hand that prefcribed it. 
 
 Yet indifferent as Peter appeared to the fuffer* 
 ings of his family and his fubjects, he was not 
 totally divefted of the feelings of a man ; he 
 could inflict death, but he could not protract life; 
 and the premature lofs of Donna Padilla tran. 
 fiently avenged the miferies of his peopk; Caf- 
 tille was far from participating in the forrows of 
 her fovereign ; and fear alone reftrained in public 
 'that exultation which was inwardly indulged on 
 the fate of the miftrefs. Yet the grief of the 
 tyrant was tranfient ; affliction had not foftened 
 his heart, and every moment prefented fome ne\v 
 inftance of perfidy and cruelty. 
 
 Mohammed Barbarofla had ufurped the crown 
 of Granada ; while the prince whom he had dri- 
 ven from the throne trembled within the fortifi- 
 cations of Ronda for his fafety. The domeftic 
 enemies of Peter were crufhed, and he was im- 
 patient to avail himfelf of the diffenfions of the 
 Moors. The luft of fpoil fupplied the thirft of 
 fnilitary fame; and he lifteaed to the infidious 
 
 Intel-
 
 346 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 intelligence that the wealthy and important city 
 of Cadiz was defended by a feeble and negligent 
 garrifon. To furprife, it he detached the grand- 
 matter of Calatrava, and Don Henriquez, with one 
 thoufand horfe and two thoufand foot. They ar- 
 rived within light of Cadiz without perceiving an 
 enemy ; from that city a fmall body of cavalry if- 
 fued as if to reconnoitre their march ; it was 
 rapidly followed by more numerous detach- 
 ments ; and before the Chriftians could difcerrj 
 their danger, they were furrounded and over- 
 whelmed ; the majority of the foldiers perifhed 
 by the fword ; and the grand-mafter of Calatrava, 
 Don Henriquez, and the principal officers, were 
 Jed captives to Granada. 
 
 Mohammed Barbarofla felt the fears of an 
 ufurper ; he knew the king of Caftille was impe- 
 tuous and refentful ; and that his own fubjefts 
 were fickle or difafiedted. He was unwilling to 
 commit to the chance of war the throne he had 
 obtained by fraud j and to propitiate Peter, he 
 difmifled his captives with magnificent prefents, 
 and cxprefTions of friendlhip and refpedt. When 
 he found this adl of generality had not difarmed 
 the wrath of his haughty adverfary, he even de- 
 termined to acknowledge himielf the vaflal of 
 the crown of Caftille ; and he was invited to 
 Seville to ratify the conditions of peace by the 
 ceremony of homage. It is uncertain whether 
 
 Peter,
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 347 
 
 Peter, in the commencement of the negotiation, 
 meditated the dark crime he perpetrated, or whe- 
 ther he was ftimulated by the gold and jewels 
 that his royal gueft and his train imprudently 
 difplayed ; but while Barbarofla lhared with 
 confidence the banquet, he was feized, with the 
 Moorifti nobles who had accompanied him, was 
 mounted on an afs, expofed to the derifion of the 
 populace of Seville, and received his mortal 
 wound from the hand of Peter himfelf; his head 
 was tranfmitted to Ronda; and allured the prince 
 whom he had dethroned, that he might re-enter 
 in fecurity the capital from which he had been 
 fo lately expelled. 
 
 Whenever revenge and avarice flumbered, the 
 memory of Donna Padilla obtruded itfelf on the 
 mind of Peter ; the beauty he had fo paflion- 
 ately adored, was no more; but their mutual 
 children were ftill the object of his care. One 
 fon and three daughters had been the fruits of 
 their embraces ; and it was the earneft wifh of 
 Peter that the fceptre of Caftille might, after his 
 death, defcend to the infant Alfonfo. In an af- 
 fembly of the ftates which was held at Seville, 
 he declared his previous marriage with Donna 
 Padilla ; three witnefles Were produced who fwore 
 they were prefent at the ceremony ; whatever 
 might be the doubts of the aflembly, they were 
 cautious to fupprefs them ; the legal pretenfions 
 
 of
 
 34S HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 of Alfonfo were recognized ; and in cafe of his 
 death, his three filters, according to the rights of 
 primogeniture, were called to the fucceffion of 
 the crown. 
 
 It was immediately after this council that Peter 
 haftened to Soria to confer with an ally worthy of 
 his confidence. The furname of Bad or Hacked, 
 had been bellowed on Charles king of Navarre, 
 and his character and conduct juftified the ap- 
 pellation. He was defcended from the males of 
 the blood royal of France ; his mother was 
 daughter of Lewis Hutin ; and he had himfelf 
 cfpoufed a daughter of king John, who was taken 
 prifoner by the Englifh on the difaftrous field of 
 Poictiers. With regard to his perfonal qualities, 
 he was courteous, affable, engaging, eloquent; full 
 of insinuation and addrefs; inexhauftible in his re- 
 fources, andenterprifing in action. Butthefe fplen- 
 did accomplifhments were attended with fuch de- 
 fects as rendered them pernicious to his country, 
 and even fatal to himfelf. He was volatile, fcflth- 
 lefs, revengeful, and malicious ; retrained by no 
 principle or duty ; infatiable in his pFetenfions ; 
 and whether fuccefsful or unfortunate in one en- 
 terprife, he immediately undertook another, in 
 which he was never deterred from employing the 
 jnoft criminal and difhonourable expedients. 
 
 Yet practifed in and enamoured as Charles was 
 of guilt, he canfefled a mafter in the prefence of 
 
 Peter $
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 349 
 
 Peter ; the difcourfe of the latter was abrupt and 
 paffionate ; and his expreflions feemed only half 
 to reveal what his thoughts revolved. He dwelt 
 with pleafure on the perfidious and inhuman 
 murder of the king of Granada; he expatiated 
 with violence on his hatred to the king of Arra- 
 gon ; and he demanded of Charles to enter into 
 an offenfive league againft that monarch; the 
 fate of Barbarofla was before the eyes of the 
 king of Navarre ; he conferred with alacrity to 
 whatever was propofed ; and with the fame faci- 
 lity violated every condition the moment that he 
 had gained the iheker of his own dominions; 
 
 Though Peter foon perceived that he had been 
 deceived by the king of Navarre, yet he com- 
 menced and carried on the war againft Arragon 
 with vigour. The death of the infant Alfonfo, 
 though it clouded his views, did not fufpend the 
 ardour of his preparations. The domeftic lofs 
 he had fuftained was fupplied by the birth of a 
 fon by another miftrefs ; and his negotiations 
 were extended to the courts of Granada and Por- 
 tugal ; but the meafure of his crimes was almoft 
 full ; a general abhorrence of him had prevailed ; 
 the fovereigns of Arragon and Navarre were 
 combined againft him ; the count of Tranftamare 
 openly afpired to the throne; and the policy and 
 refentment of the court of France combined in 
 fupporting his pretenfions. 
 
 The
 
 350 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 The mofl fertile provinces of France had been 
 defolated by the arms of the Englifh ; and after 
 a long war, Charles the fifth had been reduced to 
 fubfcribe a peace which ceded to the king of 
 England the extenfive countries of Guienne, Poic- 
 toti, Saintonge, Perigort, the Limoufin, 8cc. But 
 his treaty with Edward did not immediately re- 
 ftore the tranquillity of his kingdom ; large bands 
 of martial adventurers who had followed the En- 
 glifh ftandard refufed to lay down their arms, 
 and perfevered in a life of military rapine. They 
 regarded with contempt the cenfures of the 
 church ; and they even rejected the authority of 
 the king of England, who, enraged at their info- 
 lence, offered to crofs the feas to chaftife them. 
 But Charles was not defirous of the prefence of 
 fo formidable an ally ; he was content with cooly 
 declining the propofal ; and adding, that he 
 himfelf had conceived a projed which would de- 
 liver him from thofe dangerous inmates. 
 
 It was at this critical moment that Henry, 
 count of Tranftamare, renewed his folicitations to 
 the court of France, already inflamed againft 
 Peter on account of the murder of Blanch de 
 Bourbon ; and Charles determined to employ the 
 daring bands of the companions to the deflruc- 
 tion of the tyrant. He imparted the defign to 
 Bertrand du Guefclin, a gentleman of Brittany, 
 and one of the mofl accomplifhed characters of 
 
 the
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 551 
 
 the age. The abilities of du Guefclin were the 
 means of fecuring thefe adventurers. He re- 
 monftrated to the leaders, by many of whom he 
 was already beloved as the former afibciate of 
 their toils and dangers, on the ignominy of their 
 lives, and the difhonourable fubliftence which 
 they drew from plunder and rapine. To the plea 
 of neceffity, he oppofed an honourable expedition 
 which promifed equal advantages with their pre- 
 fent licentious incurfions ; the chiefs of the com- 
 panions, fo high was their confidence in his ho- 
 nour, confented to follow his ftandard, though 
 ignorant of the enterprife he meditated ; and the 
 fmgle ftipulation they required was, that they 
 Ihould not be led again ft the prince of Wales, 
 who in the name of his father governed the pro- 
 vinces of France which had been ceded by the 
 late treaty. The filent acquiefcence, if not the 
 open concurrence of Edward was obtained ; and 
 Charles contributed what little he could fpare 
 from his flender revenues, to haften and complete 
 the preparations. 
 
 Du Guefclin joined the martial band at Chalons 
 on the Soane ; and probably defcended that river 
 and the Rhone to Avignon, the refidence of a Ro* 
 man pontiff. From Innocent the fixth he demand- 
 ed, fword in hand, an abfolution for his foldiers, 
 and the fum of two hundred thoufand livres. The 
 fiiit coft nothing, and was inftantly granted ; but 
 
 the
 
 352 HISTORY OF 
 
 the fecond requeft was received with heiltatiori; 
 When complied with, the pious fucceilbr of Sti 
 Peter extorted the money from the inhabitants of 
 Avignon ; but the generous du Guefclin refufed 
 to trample on the oppreffed ; " It is not my pur- 
 11 pole," cried the humane warrior, " to injure 
 " thofe innocent people ; the pope and his car- 
 * ( dinals themfelves can well fpare me the fum 
 " I require, from their own hands. This money 
 " I infift muft be reftored to the owners ; and 
 " Ihould they be defrauded of it, I lhall myfelf 
 " return from the other fide the Pyrenees, and 
 " oblige you to make them reftitution." The 
 pope fubmitted to the peremptory language of du 
 Guefclin j and the fuccefs of his firfl negoeiation 
 was rivalled by that of his arms* 
 - It was with terror that Peter received the intel- 
 ligence of the rapid approach of Henry at the head 
 of troops long celebrated for their valour, and ac- 
 companied by a general whofe military fkill was 
 deemed fecond to none. Yet his throne was ap- 
 parently defended by a gallant nobility and a nu- 
 tnerous army ; but he juftly diftrufted the loyalty 
 of both ; aftd though he was ftrongly folicited 
 to remain at Burgos, and rely on their fidelity for 
 the defence of his capital, he embraced the lefs 
 glorious, but more fecure expedient of a preci- 
 pitate retreat to Seville ; and thence, after pof- 
 feffing himfelf of the treafures he had amafled 
 
 in
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 353 
 
 in that city he continued his flight to the fron- 
 tiers of Portugal. 
 
 The count of Tranftamafe was received iri 
 Caftille with the tranfport which might natu- 
 rally be expected from a people who had long 
 groaned under the yoke of a relentlefs tyrant, 
 and were eager to teflify their gratitude to their 
 deliverer. Burgos open her gates ; and the no- 
 bles who had fo lately been lavifh in their pro- 
 teftations to Peter, hailened to acknowledge the 
 authority of his victorious brother ; the crown 
 was placed on his head with holy pomp by the 
 archbilhop of Toledo ; the example of the capi- 
 tal determined the provinces; the adherents of 
 the tyrant were only anxious for their perfonal 
 fafety ; and the martial followers of Henry might 
 complain that no opportunity was allowed them 
 to difplay their valour. 
 
 Yet if they were defrauded of the glory they 
 had anticipated by the flight of Peter, they were 
 amply recompenfed for the march they had un- 
 dertaken by the generofity of Henry. The royal 
 treafures which that prince found in Burgos he 
 immediately divided among the companions ; rtor 
 were the fuperior merits of du Guefclin neglected ; 
 and the rich lordfhip of Molina, befides a con* 
 fiderable fum of money, was allotted as the re* 
 ward of his fervices. 
 
 While the victors divided the riches he had 
 
 VOL. i. A a extorted
 
 354 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 extorted from his opprefled fubjects, the fugitive 
 Peter revolved the means by which he could 
 hope to regain his throne ; from Portugal he had 
 ventured to prefent himfelf in Gallicia ; but the 
 approach of Henry, and the unfavourable difpo- 
 lition of the inhabitants, induced him to retire ; 
 with what he had preferved of his wealth he em- 
 barked at Corunna ; though clofely purfued he 
 gained Bayonne ; and entered a fuppliant the 
 court of the prince of Wales. 
 
 Edward, who from the colour of his armour 
 was furnamed the Black Prince, and who ruled 
 over Aquitaine with the power and pomp of a 
 fovereign, was not more diftinguiflied for his high 
 courage and military talents, than for his gene- 
 rofity, humanity, and affability; he had early 
 encouraged the enterprife againft Peter ; but 
 the appearance of that monarch feems to have 
 changed his fentiments. Whether he was moved 
 by the generofity of fupporting a diftrefled prince, 
 and thought, as is but too ufual among fove- 
 reigns, that the rights of the people were a mat- 
 ter of much lefs confideration ; or dreaded the 
 acquifition of fo powerful a confederate to France 
 as the new king of Caftille ; or what is moft pro- 
 bable, inflamed by the thirft of fame, and im- 
 patient of reft and eafe, was defirous of an op- 
 portunity for exerting thofe abilities in war by 
 which he had already acquired fo much renown, 
 
 he
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 355 
 
 he promifed his afiiftance to the royal fuppliant ; 
 and having obtained the confent of his father, he 
 levied a great army, and fet out on the enter- 
 prife ; he was accompanied by his younger bro- 
 ther John of Gaunt, lately created duke of Lan- 
 cafler ; and Chandos, who bore among the Engiilh 
 the fame character as du Guefclin among the 
 French, commanded under him. 
 
 Each of the rivals was defirous of engaging in 
 his intereft the king of Navarre; and Charles, 
 with his ufual perfidy, negociated with and de- 
 ceived both. He figned a treaty with Henry, by 
 which in return for Logrono, and fixty thoufand 
 piftoles, he engaged to oppofe the march of the 
 confederates ; and in a few days after on the pro- 
 mife of the ftrong and important town of Victo- 
 ria on the frontiers of Navarre, he entered intd 
 an alliance with Peter, and allured him of a free 
 paflage through his dominions for himfelf and 
 his auxiliaries. To preferve appearances with 
 Henry, he fuffered himfelf to be furprifed by a 
 knight of the name of Mauny, and conveyed a 
 prifoner to the caftle of Cherburgh in Normandy, 
 while Peter and the prince of Wales purfued their 
 courfe through Navarre without moleftation. 
 
 The firft blow which Edward gave to Henry, 
 
 was the recalling of the companions from his fer- 
 
 vice ; and fuch was their reverence for the prince 
 
 of Wales, that the majority immediately inlifted 
 
 A a z under
 
 356 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 under his banners^ Henry however, beloved by 
 his new fubjedls, and fupported by the king of 
 Arragoh and others of his neighbours, was able 
 to meet the enemy with an army of one hundred 
 thdufarid men ; forces three times more numerous 
 than thofe which were commanded by Edward. 
 Du Guefclin advifed him to delay any decifive ac- 
 tion, and his connfel was fupported by the moft 
 experienced officers ; and to content himfelf with 
 haraffing arid cutting off the provifions of his 
 antagonift, who in the open field had hitherto 
 always proved victorious; but Henry confided 
 too much in his fuperior numbers ; he was fenfi- 
 ble that his reputation muft fuffer in a defenfive 
 war; and he probably dreaded left the intrigues 
 of his brother might be extended to his camp* 
 The plain which furrounds Najara afforded an 
 ample theatre to the rival armies ; the forces of 
 Henry were permitted to pafs a river in their 
 front ; but they were fcarce formed on the op- 
 pofite bank when they were charged by their ene- 
 mies ; their refinance was far from obftinate ; 
 and in lefs than an "hour the immenfe hoft was 
 totally difperfed. On the fide of the Englifli, 
 only four knights and forty private men pe- 
 rifhed ; but of the Caftilians thoufands fell by 
 the fword, or were overwhelmed in the river ; 
 du Guefclin was taken prifoner ; and Henry him- 
 felf, with a few of his officers of rank efcaped 
 with difficulty the purfuit of the victors. 
 
 The
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 357 
 
 The vanquifhed prince repofed a few days in 
 the territories of Arragon, but he diftrufted the 
 faith of that monarch, and fought a more fecure 
 afylum within the limits of France, while his 
 victorious competitor was^ received into Burgos, 
 and once more beheld Caftille fubjedl: to his fury. 
 Even on the field of battle he was with difficulty 
 reftrained by the generous Edward from fatiating 
 his revenge by the maflacre of his captives ; and 
 his entrance into his capital would have been 
 ftained with the blood of his principal nobility, 
 had they not been faved from his malignant rage 
 by the fame powerful mediation ; yet the fatis- 
 fadtion which the prince of Wales experienced 
 from the fuccefs of this perilous enterprife, was 
 foon alloyed by the ingratitude and treachery of 
 the tyrant he had reftored ; Peter refufed the re- 
 compenfe he had promifed to the Engliib forces; 
 and Edward, after a fruitlefs expoftulation, return- 
 ed to Guienne with his army diminifhed, and his 
 own conftitution fatally impaired by the heat of 
 the climate. 
 
 His retreat releafed Peter from the awe which 
 his prefence had impofed. A fevere inquiiition was 
 made into the guilt of his fubjedts ; and the rnoft 
 diftant connection with the party of Henry was 
 attended by confifcation or death. His ferocious 
 temper had been heightened by his former exile, 
 $nd his prefent profperity ; and he coniklered and 
 A a 3 treated
 
 35 8 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 treated his people as vanquiflied rebels. Even 
 the more helplefs fex was included in his thirft of 
 blood ; and ieveral of the moft illuftrious ladies 
 of Caftille were the vi&ims to his cruelty. 
 
 While Peter abufed his profperity, the fugi- 
 tive Henry endeavoured to awaken the com- 
 paffion of the princes of Europe in his caufe. 
 He was received at Avignon with refpect by the 
 Roman pontiff, Urban the fifth, who affe&ed to 
 believe the marriage of his mother Leonora de 
 Guzman with Alfonfo the eleventh, pronounced 
 him free from the ftain of illegitimacy, and dif- 
 mifled him with his benediction, and the more 
 acceptable preient of a conliderable fum of mo- 
 ney ; the count of Foix fuffered him to levy 
 forces \vithin his territories ; but his chief reli- 
 ance was on the king of France. Charles was 
 not deterred by the late reverfe of fortune which 
 his ally had experienced, from hoping a more 
 aufpicious event. The barbarities of Peter had 
 increafed his confidence in the caufe of Henry ; 
 he furnifhed the latter with whatever pecuniary 
 aid he could fpare ; he paid the ranfom of du 
 Guefclin ; and the name of that chief was itfelf 
 an hoft. Henry again paffed the Pyrenees, and 
 he had fcarce unfurled his ftandard within the li- 
 mits of Caftille, before the deteftation of Peter 
 fwelled his martial train to a numerous army ; he 
 formed the fiege of Toledo ; and only abandoned 
 
 the
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 359 
 
 the enterprife to meet his brother in the plains 
 of Montial. 
 
 The city of Cordova had been driven by the 
 rapacity and cruelty of the tyrant into revolt ; in 
 conjunction with his ally the king of Granada, 
 Peter invefted the walls, and urged his attacks 
 with vigour ; but the fainting fpirits of the citi- 
 zens were rekindled by the reproaches of their 
 wives, who avowed their refolution to perifli in 
 the flames, fooner than fubmit to the royal fa- 
 vage ; their defpair prevailed ; and the aflailants 
 were compelled to retire from a city they had al- 
 ready entered ,- the retreat of Peter was quickened 
 by the intelligence that Henry had parTed the 
 Pyrenees and menaced Toledo. His confidence 
 was infpired by a review of the forces of Caftille 
 and Granada, which ftill profeffed their loyalty or 
 fidelity ; his impetuous mind ill-brooked delay ; 
 he rufhed forwards to chaftife the rafh intruder ; 
 at a fmall diftance from Toledo he defcried the 
 enfigns of his rival, and in the plains of Montial 
 he pitched his laft camp. 
 
 The pretenfions of the competitors admitted 
 not of compromife, and their claims were refer- 
 red to the decifion of the fword ; in the tumult 
 of battle Peter difplayed a courage not unworthy 
 of his anceftors ; but his foldiers fought coldly 
 in his caufe ; and the troops of Granada felt 
 themfelves but little interefled in the quarrel; 
 A a 4 they
 
 3 6o HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 they fled ; and their example was fpon followed 
 by the Caflilians ; the horfe of Peter bore him 
 from the carnage ; and the fortifications of Mon- 
 tial checked the immediate purfuit of the victors. 
 Impatient to eftablifh his throne by the death 
 of his brother, Henry from the field of battle 
 advanced to, and inverted the caftle of Montial ; 
 ilrong lines lines of circumyallation were drawn 
 around it; and every hour increafed the difficulty 
 of efcape, and diminilhed the means of refjfl- 
 ance. Peter beheld with terror the approach of 
 that death which he had fo often wantonly in- 
 flicted ; he endeavoured to corrupt the fidelity of 
 Bertrand du Guefclin; and he offered an im- 
 menfe fum to pafs in the night through the 
 quarter where the latter commanded. He was 
 allured to an interview ; but in the tent of du 
 Guefclin inftead of a confederate he found a ri- 
 val ; the negociation had been communicated to 
 Henry, 'who flood ready to receive his deftined 
 victim ; fome moments of ungrateful refpite were 
 allowed to reproach; but the remembrance of 
 Leonora Ihortened the fufpenfe of Peter ; and the 
 dagger of Henry was buried in his bofom. 
 A. D. 1369, The reign and fall of a tyrant has 
 I379 ' too long occupied our attention; the 
 claims of his pofterity were feebly fupported by 
 the duke of Lancafler, the fon of Edward of 
 England, who had married the eldeft daughter of 
 
 Peter j
 
 HISTORY 
 
 Peter; Toledo opened her gates to Henry ; and 
 his authority was fan&ioued by the unanimous 
 fuffrages of the dates- general. But the turbulence 
 of the times fuffered him not to enjoy his crown 
 in peace ; and during the ten years that he reign- 
 ed, he was fucceffively attacked by the forces of 
 England and Granada, of Portugal, Arragon, and 
 Navarre; in defending his dominions he dif- 
 played the fame addrefs and' valour as he had 
 ihewn in acquiring them ; by negociation or 
 force he evaded or repelled the attempts of his 
 enemies ; and Caflille looked forwards to the mo- 
 ment of general tranquillity, when the profpedfc 
 was clouded by the premature fate of Henry; his 
 death in the forty-fixth year of his age was af- 
 cribed to poifon ; the public fufpicion fell on the 
 king of Granada, who in the formidable prepa- 
 rations of Henry, was fuppofed to dread the total 
 fubverfion of the Moorim power in Spain ; and 
 the venom was reported to have been conveyed 
 in a pair of bufkins which had been fent by that 
 monarch as a prefent to the king of Caftille ; the 
 account ferves only to expofe the ignorance of 
 the age; and the indifpofition which brought 
 Henry to the grave, may more probably be attri- 
 buted to incefTant toil and anxiety. 
 
 His throne was immediately filled A> D 
 by his fon John, a prince not unwor- I 39- 
 thy of his illuftrious father. In a war which he 
 
 main-
 
 3 62 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 maintained in defence of his dignity with Eng- 
 land and Portugal, he difplayed the fame pru- 
 dence and fpirit. The death of his confort Leo- 
 nora had left him a widower in the flower of his 
 age ; and as the firft condition of peace he rea- 
 dily confented to receive the hand of Beatrix, the 
 daughter of Ferdinand of Portugal. The treaty 
 was favourable to John ; and it was ftipulated that 
 his children by Beatrix fhould fucceed to the 
 throne of Portugal on the death of Ferdinand. 
 That event was not far diftant ; and two years af- 
 ter John had celebrated his fecond nuptials, he 
 was informed that his father-in law was no more, 
 He afferted the claim of his infant fon Henry ; 
 but thePortuguefe dreaded his afcendancy ; their 
 pride was wounded by the fear that their country 
 might link into a province of Caftille ; and to the 
 pretenfions of that prince, they oppofed thofe of 
 a namefake and kinfman. John, to diftinguilh 
 whom from his coufm we fhall annex the title, of 
 Portugal, was the half brother of the late king, 
 and fon of Peter, by his celebrated miftrefs Agnes 
 de Caftro, The {tain of his birth was effaced by 
 his fplendid qualities ; and the affections of the 
 Portuguefe accompanied him to the field. Yet 
 the commencement of his reign was overcaft with 
 clouds ; the forces of Caftille penetrated to the 
 mouth of the Tagus, and inverted the ancient city 
 of Lifbon, which boafts its fabulous foundation 
 
 from
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 363 
 
 from Ulyffes ; a peftilential diftemper which broke 
 out in the camp of the befiegers, compelled them 
 to retire; but with the return of fpring they were 
 in arms again ; and the banners of Caftille were 
 once more diiplayed on the banks of the Tagus, 
 The Portuguefe army confided not of above 
 twelve thoufand men ; but its portion at Aljuba* 
 rotta was naturally advantageous, and ftrongly 
 fortified .* the troops which marched under the 
 king of Caftille were computed at thirty thoufand ; 
 an-" their numbers infpired their royal leader with 
 fatal confidence. His ardour rejected the falutary 
 conn Tels of the French ambaflador, whofe expe-^ 
 rience was the refuit of forty years fpent in war ; 
 and without waiting to refrem his followers, he 
 fpurred his horfe to the charge. His imprudence 
 was feverely punilhed ; the Caftilians were entan- 
 gled in a morafs which protected the front of the 
 Portuguefe ; feveral thoufands, with many of 
 their principal officers, perifhed ; and the king 
 could not reproach the precipitate flight of the 
 furvivors, fmce he hirnfelf never ventured to flop 
 until he repofed within the fortifications of San- 
 taren, at the diftance of thirty miles from the field 
 of battle. 
 
 The defeat of Aljubarotta extinguilhed the 
 hopes of the king of Caftille, and revived the fpi- 
 rits of his enemies ; an hoftile league was negoci- 
 ated and concluded between Portugal and Eng^ 
 
 land;
 
 $54 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 land ; and the Duke of Lancafter was eafily per- 
 fuaded to arm in fupport of the claim which he 
 derived from his marriage with the eldeft daugh- 
 ter of Peter the Cruel. He landed at Padron in 
 Gallicia, with an army lefs remarkable for its 
 numbers than its valour and difcipline ; was re- 
 ceived into Compoftella ; and folemnly proclaim- 
 ed king of Caftille. His rival dreaded to encoun- 
 ter that impetuous courage which had fo lately 
 proved fatal to France ; his mind was Hill im- 
 prefied with the defeat of Aljubarotta; and he 
 contented himfelf with adopting a lefs glorious, 
 though more certain plan of defence; he laid 
 wafte the greateft part of Gallicia ; and as the 
 Englifh advanced, they beheld on every fide a 
 dreary and defolate country ; their ftrength was 
 impaired by famine ; and tranfported from the 
 temperate ifland of Britain, they languifhed in the 
 fultry climate of Spain. Yet John was far from 
 relying on the diftrefs of his adverfary; he was 
 impatient to fecure his own, and his fubjects' 
 tranquillity ; and while the duke of Lancafter 
 revolved the difficulties that furrounded him, he 
 was furprifed by the appearance of commiflioners 
 from the king of Caftille; his ardent wilh had 
 been to raife his daughter to that throne ; and he 
 liftened with pleafure to the offer of fix hundred 
 thoufand pieces of gold to reimburfe the expences 
 he had incurred, and the propofal of a marriage 
 
 between.
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 365 
 
 between his daughter Catalina, and Henry the eld- 
 eft Ton of John. The treaty with Portugal was an 
 immediate obftacle ; the war and negotiation was 
 continued through a fecond year; but on the ex- 
 piration of that term a peace was formally fub- 
 fcribed ; the infant Henry, though only in his 
 tenth year, was contracted to the princefs Cata- 
 lina, who had entered her fourteenth ; and the 
 title of Prince of Aufturias, which on this occa- 
 fion was imparted to Henry, has ever fince be- 
 come the diftinction of the eldeft fonof Spain. 
 
 The fubjects of the king of Portugal had dart- 
 ed to arms to maintain their independence ; but 
 it was with reluctance they followed the ftandard 
 of their monarch in the invafion of Caftille ; after 
 the treaty between the duke of Lancafter and 
 John, their averfion to the continuance of hofti- 
 lities increafed ; the war was confined to a few de- 
 fultory enterprifes ; and the mutual weaknefs of 
 the rival nations recommended the doubtful ex- 
 pedient of a truce. The interval of public re- 
 pofe was improved by John ; and however his 
 people might have doubted his talents in war, 
 they were loud in their applaufe of his virtues lit 
 peace ; their happinefs feemed the only object of 
 his attention; and the fevere frugality who he 
 practiied himfelf, was the fource of his liberality 
 to his fubjects ; the taxes were diminilhed ; com- 
 merce revived and agriculture . flourilhed ; but 
 
 their
 
 366 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 their exultation was tranfient ; and in the vigour 
 of his age the Caftilians were condemned to de- 
 plore the lofs of their father and their king. The 
 viciffitudes of public or private life had induced 
 feveral of the Chriftians of Spain to feek a retreat 
 or fubiiftence in Africa ; in exile they dill main- 
 tained the purity of their religion, and panted af- 
 ter their native foil. The king of Caftille was not 
 infenfible to their folicitations ; his weighty me- 
 diation was ufed with the emperor of Morocco, 
 and they were permitted to return ; John advan- 
 ced to meet them at Alcala on the road to Anda- 
 lufia ; trained in all the evolutions of the manage 
 amongft a nation of horfemen, he admired the 
 dexterity with which they guided their courfers. 
 As he fpurred his own in imitation, the feet of 
 the horfe plunged into an hole ; he fell upon his 
 mafier, and crufhed him to death. 
 A. D. 1390, Thus died in the thirty-third year of 
 1404. k' ls a g e ^ gn( j at j-^g critical juncture 
 
 when his prudence and experience were mod ne- 
 ceffary, John king of Caftille ; his fon Henry the 
 third, on whom the crown devolved, was but 
 eleven years old, and the furname of Sickly, was 
 expreffive of his delicate conflitution. A coun- 
 cil of regency was formed to adminifter the king- 
 dom ; and the members of it were Frederic duke 
 of Beneventa, the natural fon of Henry the fe- 
 cond, and the uncle of the late king ; Peter, 
 
 count
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 3 6 ? 
 
 count of Tranftamare ; Alonzo of Arragon, mar- 
 quis of Villera; the archbifhops of Toledo and 
 Compoftella ; the grand mafters of St. James and 
 Calatrava ; and fixteen deputies from the princi- 
 pal cities of Caftille. In the firfl moments they 
 feemed willing to facrifice their private views to 
 the public good ; but the fpirit of patriotifm was 
 not proof againft the fuggeftions of intereft ; and 
 it was not long before their jarring preteniions 
 threatened the mod fatal confequences. 
 
 The duke of Beneventa was haughty, artful, 
 and ambitious; the archbifliop of Toledo was 
 lincere, credulous, and bigotted ; the judgment 
 of the latter was feduced by the addrefs of the 
 former; and his approbation ferved to fanction 
 the defigns of his intriguing affociate. The duke 
 of Beneventa had pretended to the hand of Leo- 
 nora, a princefs of the blood royal, and the rich- 
 eft heirefs of Spain ; fuch a match would have- 
 exalted him in power and influence too near the 
 crown ; and to difappoint his views, Leonora was 
 betrothed to Ferdinand, the king's brother. The 
 baffled lover immediately conceived a new pro- 
 ject ; he demanded in marriage the natural daugh- 
 ter of the king of Portugal ; and to difluade him 
 from the alliance, the regency were obliged to 
 make him a prefent of the fame fum as he was 
 to have received in dowry with that princefs. 
 
 TUe domcftic difienfions of the nobles of Caf- 
 tille
 
 3 r? HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 tille encouraged the infolence of her neighbours ; 
 the language of the king of Portugal was arro- 
 gant and hoftile ; and an irruption of the Moors 
 of Granada revealed their confidence in the intef- 
 tine difcord of the Chriftians ; yet Henry had not 
 been an inattentive fpe&ator of the intrigues 
 which convulfed his kingdom ; a vigorous mind 
 animated a feeble frame ; and though he had not 
 yet completed his thirteenth year, he determined 
 to aS'ume the reins of government ; he was en- 
 couraged in this refolution by an embaffy from 
 Charles the fixth, king of France, who aflured 
 him of his fupport fhould his nobility prefume to 
 oppofe his authority. At Madrid the ftates-ge- 
 neral were convened; and the firm tone of an 
 inexperienced youth commanded their acquief- 
 cence ; the council of regency was diflblved ; and 
 the entire privilege of king was refigned into the 
 hands of Henry. 
 
 The firft meafure of the youthful monarch was 
 more grateful to the nation at large, than to his 
 own family. The prudent conduct of his father 
 was his example in the appropriation of the pub- 
 lic wealth ; but the period of his minority had 
 been abufed ; and an interefled regency had al- 
 lotted large penfions to every perfon who was al- 
 lied to the throne. Theie lavifh grants Henry 
 inftantly reclaimed; but he foftened the rigour 
 of the flep, by the promife that when the affairs 
 
 of
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 369 
 
 of Caftille would admit the expedient, he mould 
 be ready to afford any fupport to the dignity of 
 the royal family. It is feldom that individuals 
 can be prevailed upon to relinquifh their own for 
 the public advantage; and the relations of the 
 king were the firft to oppofe his adminiftration ; 
 the difaffection even gained the females of his 
 blood ; and his court was deferted by the princes 
 and princeffes of the blood ; at the fame time the 
 duke of Benevente, the marquis of Villena, and 
 the count of Tranftamare aflembled their parti- 
 zans, and retired to their caflles. 
 
 Before their defigns could be matured, or they 
 could confederate in their rebellion, Henry, con-* 
 tiding in the integrity of his own intentions, and 
 the fidelity of his people in general, was in arms. 
 Jealous of his reputation, he fuffered not the 
 archbifhop of Toledo to accompany him, left his 
 condudt might be afcribed to the counfels of that 
 prelate. His vigour recalled the rebels to a fenfe 
 of their danger ; and the marquis of Villena was 
 the firft to implore and experience his clemency ; 
 the haughty genuis of the duke of Benevente was 
 awed by his refolution ; he folicited peace, and 
 obtained it ; but the tranfadtion proclaimed the 
 magnanimous fpirit of the king ; and he difmif- 
 fcd the duke of Benevente to a fortrefs of his 
 own, that he might there revolve the treaty he 
 propofed to fign, and be excluded from any pre- 
 
 VOL. i. B b tence
 
 27Q HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 tence afterwards, that his confent had been ex- 
 torted. The interval of fufpenfe was dangerous 
 to a mind that fluctuated between hope and fear; 
 the duke hoped ftill to deceive his fovereign ; and 
 though he renewed his intrigues with the count 
 of Tranftamare, he hefkated not to prefent him- 
 felf before the king at Burgos ; but his fteps had 
 been clofely watched ; his correfpondence detect- 
 ed ; and as he entered the court he was arrefted > 
 and fent prifoner to the caflle of Almadovar. 
 
 The count of Tranftamare was the laft of the 
 confederates to return to his allegiance ; deferted 
 by his affociates, he flood expofed to the wrath 
 of his fovereign ; but vengeance was too bafe a 
 paffion to find admiffion within the boforn of 
 Henry ; and no fooner did the count of Tranfta- 
 mare pr citrate hfmfelf at the feet of his king, than 
 his pardon was feakd ; yet when the honour of 
 Caftille required her monarch to arm, the vigour 
 of his preparations anticipated the deiigns of his 
 enemies. In the hour of peace and confidence, 
 the Portuguefe had furprifed the ftrong town of 
 Badajoz, which commands the banks of the Gua- 
 diana. But they were not fuffered long to exult 
 in their perfidy ; a formidable army was rapidly 
 collected and moved beneath the conduct of 
 Henry himfelf; the fertile fields along the banks 
 of the Tagus were laid vvafte ; the naval fquadrons 
 which had ifiued from the port of Lifbon were 
 
 defeated,
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 371 
 
 defeated, and in part deftroyed ; the pride of the 
 king of Portugal was humbled ; he fued for 
 peace; and the reftitution of Badajoz was the 
 preliminary of a truce for ten years. 
 
 The fleet that had been fuccefsfully employed 
 againft Portugal, on the fufpenfion of hoftilities 
 with that country was deftined by Henry to act 
 againft the rovers of Barbary. Thefe had over- 
 fpread the narrow feas between the coafts of Spain 
 and Africa; no laws nor treaties could reftrain 
 their third of fpoil ; their cruelty equalled their 
 rapacity ; and not only the wealth of the mer- 
 chant became their prey, but the wretched crew 
 who fell into their hands were often maffacred 
 with circunxftances of wanton barbarity. Their 
 haunts were explored by the fquadrons of Caf- 
 tille ; their veffels burnt ; and the town- of Te- 
 tuan, the repofitory of their plunder, befieged ; 
 its walls were not long capable of refifting the 
 ardour of the affailants ; the lives of its inhabi- 
 tants atoned for the injuries of the Caftilians ; and 
 the victors were glutted with the treafures that 
 had been accumulated during years of piratical 
 adventure. 
 
 Burfting from the narrow limits of Zagatai, the 
 renown of Timonr had extended from the eaft to 
 the weft. He had fubdued or over-run Perfia, 
 Tartary, and India ; in the plains of Anjora he 
 had trampled under foot the ftrength of the Ot- 
 Bb 2 tomans,
 
 372 HISTORY OF SPAtN. 
 
 tomans,- and caft.into chains the haughty fulta:* 
 Bajazet ; it was while his mind was elated witb 
 his recent victory, that he was faluted by the am- 
 bafladors of Henry ; the Mogul emperor was not 
 infenfible to courtefy; a Tartarian envoy prefent- 
 ed himfelf at Burgos; two Hungarian ladies 
 who had been fou-nd among the captives of the 
 vanquifhed fultan, were deemed by Tamerlane 
 the moft acceptable prefent that he could offer to 
 the king of Caftille; and to exprefs the fatisfac- 
 tion of Henry, a fecond embafTy undertook the 
 laborious pilgrimage to the camp of Tamer-jane. 
 
 The correlpondence between Henry and Ta- 
 merlane, whofe dominions lay io diftant, and 
 whofe faiths were fo difcordant^ mud have been 
 rather prompted by vanity than policy ; and at 
 the time that the king of Caftille vied in a&s ot" 
 courtefy with the moft zealous of the Believers, 
 be meditated the expulfion of the difciples of 
 Mahomet from Spain. He beheld with indigna- 
 tion the fertile fields which were watered by the 
 Guadalquivir in the hands of the Moors ; he em- 
 braced the opportunity which the predatory in- 
 curfions of the king of Granada offered; and the 
 vigour with which his preparations were carried 
 on, inflamed the hopes of his iubje&s and ftruck 
 terror into his enemies. 
 
 But the profpects of victory which the Caftili- 
 ans had fondly indulged, were foon darkened. 
 
 An
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 373 
 
 An afTembly of the ftates had been fummoned to 
 Toledo ; but the indifpofition of Henry fuffered 
 him not to be prefent; and to his brother Ferdi- 
 nand was affigned the care of opening to the de- 
 puties the glorious profpedts which their fove- 
 reign revolved. A ftrift and honourable economy 
 had replenilhed the public coffers ; a martial no- 
 bility retrained from domeftic feuds languished 
 to exercife their valour againft the common ene- 
 my; the propofal for war was received with 
 loud applaufe ; the expedition was fan&ioned by 
 the holy approbation of the clergy; the whole 
 force of Caftille would have been poured upon 
 the aftonifhed infidels ; nor is it probable that the 
 Moors of Granada, unfupported by the powers of 
 Africa, could have withftood the fury of the tor- 
 rent ; but while the flates deliberated on the moft 
 efficacious means of fupply, the plan was entirely 
 diflblved; and Henry, whofe wifdom had con- 
 certed it, and whofe experience alone could have 
 executed it, had breathed his laft at Toro. His 
 only fon was a feeble infant of fourteen months 
 old ; and the Caililians already anticipated the" 
 evils with which the kingdom during a minority 
 had been fo frequently afflicted. 
 
 It was the obfervation of Henry, and it ought 
 
 to be treafured in the mind of j every prince, " that 
 
 " he feared the curfes of his people more than 
 
 *' the weapons of his enemies." Yet however 
 
 Bb 3 careful
 
 374 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 careful he was to guard againfl the former by a 
 reign of moderation, when the dignity of the 
 crown demanded, he knew how to punifh as well 
 as to reward ; he ftudioufly reprefled the pride of 
 the nobility, whofe influence when he afcended 
 the throne overlhadovved the power of the fove- 
 reign ; and in a fedition of the city of Seville, he 
 admonilhed the multitude to dread the anger 
 of their monarch ; one thoufand of the citizens 
 atoned for their guilt with their lives ; yet the 
 inftances of feverity which he adopted were rare; 
 more ready to pardon than to chaftife, he was re- 
 garded rather as the father than the king ; and his 
 memory was embalmed by the tears of his people; 
 his virtues were fuppofed to have haftened his 
 fate; and the confefiions of fome Jews were eager- 
 ly received, who accufed the king of Granada of 
 having undermined by poifon the life of a prince 
 whom he dreaded to encounter in the field. Yet 
 Henry's constitution had been always delicate; 
 his diforder was tedious ; and the effect of flow 
 poifon has been doubted if not refuted by a more 
 enlightened age. 
 
 A. D. 1404, When the death of Henry was an- 
 I45 ' nounced, a filent aftonilhment prevail- 
 ed through the alterably of the ftates; it was 
 broken by a voice tfyat propofed, in (lead of ad- 
 mitting the fucceffion of 3 feeble infant, that a 
 prince of mature wifdom Ihould be chofen to fill 
 
 the
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 27$ 
 
 the throne of Caftille ; the name of Ferdinand the 
 brother of the late king was pronounced ; but 
 that prince confidered himfelf as the natural guar- 
 dian of the rights of his nephew ; at the pro- 
 pofal he ftarted with horror and indignation from 
 his feat ; he commanded the flandard of Caftille 
 to be unfurled, and John the fecond to be pro- 
 claimed. His refolution fixed the wavering minds 
 of the affembly ; every murmur was fupprefled ; 
 and the oath of allegiance was unanimotiily taken 
 to the fon of Henry. 
 
 The integrity of Ferdinand did not leave the 
 ilates long in doubt on whom to repofe the trail 
 of the regency. With that prince was joined the 
 name of the queen mother; but while the latter 
 watched over the health and education of her 
 fon, the cares of government were confided to 
 the former. The fleets and armies which had 
 been affembled by Henry only waited the fignal 
 for action ; and though the death of that mo- 
 narch had diffolved the fplendid project of con- 
 queft, yet the defence of Caftille demanded the 
 moft vigorous meafures. The king of Granada, 
 to anticipate the defigns of his adverfaries, had 
 pafled the frontiers of his dominions and invefted 
 Alcandata in the mountains of Sierra Morena, 
 with an hoft of eighty thoufand men ; but a ve- 
 teran garrifon derided the unfkilful attacks of the 
 befiegers ; the exhaufted country no longer af- 
 B b 4 forded
 
 376 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 forded them fubfiftence ; the difgraceful expedi- 
 ent of a retreat was adopted ; and the rear of the 
 infidels was clofely prefled, and repeatedly bro- 
 ken by the charge of the Chriftian cavalry. 
 
 The piratical fquadrons of Tunis and Tremecen 
 had fallied from their ports; they were encoun- 
 tered and defeated by the fleet of Caftille ; but 
 the meafures of Ferdinand were rather calculated 
 to protect than extend the dominions of his ne- 
 phew; the diiorders to which a minority is ex- 
 pofed continually recurred to his mind ; and he 
 was willing to provide againft domeflic diflen- 
 fion by extinguilhing the flames of foreign war. 
 It might have been difficult to have adjufted the 
 difcordant claims of Caftille and Granada in a per- 
 manent peace ; but the Moors were difgufted with 
 the rival pretenfions of two brothers, and the ill fuc- 
 cefs of their enterprifes; two powerful factions dif- 
 tradted their own government ; and a truce al- 
 lowed each party to refume his claims at a pro- 
 per opportunity ; the expedient was approved by 
 the court of Caftille ; it was firft ligned for eight 
 months ; and though tranfiently interupted by 
 the reduction of Antequera, a flrong town about 
 twelve leagues from Granada, which furrendered 
 to Don Ferdinand, was frequently afterwards 
 prolonged. 
 
 To his integrity Ferdinand had facrificed one 
 crown, and his moderation was foon rewarded, 
 
 with
 
 HI STORY OF SPAIN. 377 
 
 with another; Martin, king of Arragon, had ex- 
 pired without children ; and a variety of preten- 
 ders afpired to afcend the vacant throne. The 
 pretenfions of Ferdinand were drawn from his 
 defcent from the great aunt of the late monarch ; 
 they were flrengthened by his own reputation, 
 by the influence of the Roman pontiff Benedict 
 the thirteenth, and by the treafures and forces of 
 Caftille ; yet his competitors yielded not without- 
 a ftruggle; and it was not until he had reduced 
 the ftrong fortrefs of Balaguer on the northenv 
 banks of the Segro, and which was defended by 
 his rival count Urgal, that Ferdinand entered in 
 triumph and celebrated his coronation within his 
 capital of Saragofla. 
 
 His reign was fhort ; and even the little time 
 that was allowed him to tafte of royalty was alloyed 
 by domeflic confpiracy and difcontent; the count 
 of Urgal, who had been pardoned by his magnani- 
 mity,renewed his intrigues,and even attempted his 
 life by poifon ; and the ftates of Catalonia, jealous 
 of their privileges, refufed to contribute to fup- 
 port the claim of his younger fon to Sicily. His' 
 thoughts were ftill turned to Caftille and the pro- 
 fperity of his nephew ; he concluded a marriage 
 between his eldeft fon Alfonfo, and Maria the 
 fifter of the king of Caftille ; but as he advanced 
 to Burgos to confer with^ the queen dowager, he 
 was attacked on the road with a mortal diftem- 
 
 t per,
 
 278 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 per, and was fucceeded by Alfonfo, who *ven 
 furpafled in renown his father, and wrefted from 
 the houfe of Anjou the kingdom of Naples. 
 
 The death of Ferdinand was followed loon by 
 that of the queen dowager; and though John had 
 only entered his thirteenth year, it was deemed 
 expedient by the moft powerful of the Caftilian 
 nobility, to extinguifh a dangerous competition 
 for the regency, by reiigning into his hands the 
 reins of government. But his weaknefs and in- 
 experience tempted the ambition of the kindred 
 princes of Arragon ; and John and Henry, the 
 brothers of Alfonfo, contended for dominion over 
 their royal coufin. In the career for power the 
 daring fpirit of the latter outftripped the former ; 
 and Henry, feconded by the conftable of Caf- 
 tille, and the biihop of Segovia, poffeffed him- 
 fclf of the perfon of the king at Tordefillas. 
 Whatever indignation that monarch might feel 
 on beholding himfelf the captive of his faithlefs 
 kinfman, he was careful to fupprefs every erao- 
 tion of refentment. He confented to a double 
 marriage ; he received as the partner of his bed 
 and throne Maria, the fitter of Henry ; and be- 
 llowed the hand of his own fifler Catherine, on 
 his treacherous relation ; but while Henry ex- 
 ulted in his new alliances, and in the hour of 
 confidence relaxed from his ufual vigilance, his 
 <iream of grandeur was interrupted by the flight 
 of the king. 
 
 During
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN; 2 ?g 
 
 During more than thirty years that elapfed 
 from the efcape of John to his death, his fub- 
 jects were affiifted with every calamity which can 
 arife form civil war; yet amidft the tempeft 
 which inceffantly fhook his throne, he difplayed 
 no inconfiderable lhare of firmnefs ; he arrefted 
 his brother-in-law Henry, who had prefumed to 
 prefent himfelf at court at the moment that he 
 was labouring to excite new commotions; and 
 though he releafed him in compliance with the 
 mediation of his brother the king of Arragon, 
 and of his fecond brother John, who in right of 
 his wife has afcended the throne of Navarre, yet 
 neither fear nor gratitude were fufficient to redrain 
 the turbulent Henry. A new war foon broke 
 out, in which the forces of Caftille and Arragon 
 engaged with various fuccefs ; during a fhorC 
 fufpenfion of hoftilities, the gloom which in- 
 volves the reign of John was traniiently gilded 
 by a decifive vidory over the Moors of Granada ; 
 but it was not until the affairs of Italy occupied 
 the attention of the kings of Arragon and Na- 
 varre, that Caftille was fuffered to repofc for 
 fome time from their hoftile enterprifes. 
 
 Even that period was far from tranquil ; Don 
 Alvaro de Luna, with the office of high confta- 
 ble, poffefled and perhaps abufed the favour and 
 confidence of his fovereign ; his infolence or 
 their envy ftimulated the nobles of Caftille to 
 
 arms;
 
 3 fco HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 arms ; they were the victims of their own teme- 
 rity ; and their defeat promifed to eftabliih the 
 power of John when it was fuddenly fhaken by 
 thofe who appeared moft interefled to maintain it. 
 
 Though the fpirits of the malecontents were 
 broken, their numbers were flill far from defpi- 
 cable ; and Henry of Arragon had even in their 
 name furprifed the city of Toledo, when that 
 event was obfcured by a new incident ftill more 
 aflonifhing ; the queen and the prince of Aflu- 
 rias openly declared on the fide of the rebels; 
 the former was influenced by her hatred of Don 
 Alvaro de Luna ; the latter by his impatience to 
 feize a fceptre which, when it devolved on him, 
 he was incapable of retaining. John was unable 
 to refill the torrent of difaffection ; he fubfcribed 
 the difmhTal of his favourite ; confented to change 
 his minifters ; and while his rebellious nobles 
 obtruded themfelves into every office of truft or 
 emolument, was fuffered to retain the name and 
 {late without the authority of a king. 
 
 From this dependent fituation he was refcued 
 by a fecond revolution not lefs rapid nor unex- 
 pected than the former. The baniihment of Don 
 Alvaro de Luna had reconciled Maria to her con- 
 fort ; and the prince of Aflurias, while he ex- 
 claimed againft his father's abandoning himfelf to 
 die counfels of the conflable, was himfelf a Have 
 to the addrefs of Don^uan Pacheco. The latter 
 
 was
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 381 
 
 was perfuaded by the bimop of Avila to exert his 
 influence to reftore the royal authority ; his re- 
 monftrances tranfiently awakened the prince to a 
 fenfe of the infamy which attended hi* confede- 
 racy againft his father ; a new league was filently 
 formed ; the royal ftandard was difplayed ; and 
 the king, eluding the vigilance of his guards, ef- 
 caped from the caftle of Portillo, and placed 
 himfelf at the head of the forces which had been 
 afiembled by his fon. 
 
 The rebels had advanced too far to recede ; 
 the king of Navarre, whom neither the difafters 
 of his Italian expedition could intimidate, nor the 
 general caufe of kings could influence, appeared 
 in arms on the fide of the confpirators ; their 
 camp was pitched on the banks of the Adaja, in 
 the neighbourhood of Olmedo ; and it was there 
 they awaited the charge of the royal army. 1 he 
 indignation of John impelled him to inflant ac- 
 tion ; and the impetuous courage of the prince 
 of Aflurias ill brooked delay. Yet the refiflance 
 of the confederates was long and bloody ; and 
 though compelled to abandon the field, the king 
 of Navarre, and his brother Henry, merited the 
 praife of fkill and valour ; a wound in the hand 
 was attended by a mortification and proved fatal 
 to the latter ; but the former, under cover of the 
 darkncfs eluded the purfuit of the vidlors. and 
 
 j , r r A 
 
 gained the frontiers of Arragon. 
 
 In
 
 3 2 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 In the moment of diftrefs John had confentec? 
 to banifh from his councils the conftable Don Al- 
 varo de Luna ; but with the return of profperity 
 his attachment to that nobleman revived ; and he 
 was not only recalled to court but inverted with 
 the dignity of grand-mafter of the order of St. 
 James ; at the fame time the death of Maria left 
 the king of Caftille a widower, and he was pre- 
 vailed upon by his favourite to beftow his hand 
 on the princefs Ifabella of Portugal. The return 
 of Don Alvaro, and the fecond marriage of his 
 father, were equally difagreeable to the prince of 
 Afturias ; his actions were rather the effects of 
 caprice than principle ; and the tranfient remorfe 
 he had lately felt on having violated his duty as a 
 fon and a fubject, was overwhelmed by the luft of 
 empire. He abruptly retired from court, and 
 flew to arms ; but the forces he had collected 
 were far from numerous before he was furprifed 
 in the plains between Aravalo and Madrigal, by 
 the appearance of John, who with a felect de- 
 tachment had haftened to chaftife his dilbbedi- 
 ance. The troops on each fide were nearly equal ; 
 and if the king could not wifh to furvive the lofs 
 of his dignity, the prince could not hope to ef- 
 cape the puniihment of his double guilt; yet 
 both were alike impatient for the encounter ; 
 with different emotions their followers awaited 
 the fignal to charge; on which ever fide they 
 
 turned
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 383 
 
 turned their eyes, they beheld near relations or 
 bofom friends ; and the exultation of victory muft 
 have been alloyed by the deftruction of thofe who 
 were moft dear to them ; while they gazed with 
 horror on the adverfe ranks, the interval of fuf- 
 penfe was dexteroufly feized and improved by 
 the prelates and clergy who had accompanied the 
 king and the prince ; their holy mediation prov- 
 ed fuccefsful ;. the fword for a moment was 
 iheathed ; but the oath of filial affection and fu- 
 ture obedience which paffed the lips of the prince 
 of Afturias, never found admiffion to his heart. 
 
 The king of Navarre ftill continued his hofti- 
 lities ; a rapacious hoft of Galcons was allured by 
 his promifes to traverfe the Pyrenees, and to con- 
 fume the plenty of Caftille; the Moors of Gra- 
 nada infulted and ravaged the frontiers of Anda 
 lufia, while the prince of Aufturias was an indo- 
 lent fpectator of their deflructive progrefs ; and 
 in the fond hope that the public diflrefs might 
 induce John to abdicate the royal dignity, exult- 
 ed in every event that contributed to diminifh 
 the reputation of his father. 
 
 Yet there were moments when intereft or ca- 
 price induced Henry to aflame, the appearance of 
 filial duty, and to aft in conjunction with his 
 royal parent ; and it was one of thefe that proved 
 at length fatal to Don Alvaro de Luna. In the 
 pofleflion of the important braces of high confta- 
 
 ble
 
 34 HISTORY OF SPAIK. 
 
 ble of Caftille and grand mafter of St. James, the 
 power of the favourite feenied fecure even againft 
 ;he frown of his mailer ; a faithful company of 
 guards was railed in his name, and commanded 
 by his natural fon Don Pedro ; and while thefe 
 protected his perfon from immediate danger, his 
 liberality feemed daily to fwell the number of his 
 adherents ; yet in his afcent to greatnefs, every 
 ftep had only ferved to render his fituation more 
 perilous ; envy had been the conftant companion 
 of his fortune; thofe he had promoted confidered 
 him as the obftacle to their future aggrandife- 
 ment ; and. thole he had negledted, if they con- 
 cealed their murmurs, only concealed them to 
 accompliih with greater eafe his ruin. In the 
 field he had braved the heir of the crown, and in 
 the court his magnificence had obfcu.red the pof- 
 feflbr of it ; and Henry was neither deilitute of 
 refentment, nor John totally devoid of obferva- 
 tion ; from the moment that jealoufy entered the 
 bofoni of the latter, the deftrudtion of Alvaro was 
 determined; and it was- only the means of achiev- 
 ing it with leaft danger, that occupied the 
 thoughts of the king of Caftille. 
 
 In the profecution of the defign fome degree 
 of artifice was requiiite ; and new marks of con- 
 fidence were heaped. by John on the devoted vic- 
 tim ; UQ accepted of Alvaro's invitation to Tor- 
 dellas ; and the furnptuous manner in which he 
 
 was
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 38$ 
 
 was entertained, ferved to confirm his refolution. 
 His counfels however had not been taken fo fe- 
 cretly but fome rumours of them had tranfpired ; 
 and when the court propofed to return to Burgos, 
 the fufpicions of Alvaro were revealed by de- 
 manding of the king a folemn affurance for his* 
 fafety; the alacrity with which it was granted, 
 ought to have increafed the fears of the minifter; 
 and long practifed in reading the human heart, 
 he Ihould have known, that to doubt the faith of 
 his fovereign, was to convert him into an impla- 
 cable enemy. 
 
 He had fcarcely entered the capital before he 
 found the report of his difgrace became more ge- 
 neral : the queen herfelf, who owed her marriage 
 to his intrigues, had been difguited by his arro- 
 gance ; and Don Alfonfo de Vivaro, who already 
 poflefled the place of high treafurer, and afpired 
 to that of minifter, under the mafk of friendship 
 was indefatigable in his efforts to undermine him; 
 his artifices were penetrated by the eye of Alvaro, 
 and the defire of vengeance furpafled that of fafe- 
 ty; he fummoned to his palace his adherents, and 
 Vivaro prefented himfelf amongft the number; 
 the feat of council was a lofty tower which over- 
 looked the city ; and no fooner had Vivaro af- 
 cended than he was thrown headlong from the 
 fummit, and darned to pieces on the ftones be- 
 neath. 
 
 VOL. I. C C It
 
 385 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 It is probable that Alvaro nourished a fecrefi 
 hope that the fate of his rival might be imputed 
 by his fovereign to accident ; but he Ihould have 
 recollected, that it is not eafy to lull the jealoufy 
 of a monarch when once it is awakened ; the king 
 was impatient to chaftife his prefumption ; the 
 queen was zealous to avenge the death of her fa- 
 vourite ; and a crowd of hollow courtiers were 
 loud in their indignation againft a minifter for 
 vvhofe fmiles they had fo lately contended. To 
 the multitude, the minion of the prince is ever 
 Odious ; and Alvaro had too frequently heard the 
 execrations of the populace, to rely on their affift- 
 ance. His palace was furrounded by the royal 
 guards; and though his own fpirit might have 
 preferred immediate deftruction to fubmiffion, he 
 declined by a fruitlefs defence to involve his 
 friends in his ruin. He obtained a promife from 
 the king, that nothing Ihould be attempted a- 
 gainft his life and honour; but the word unjujtly, 
 was infidiouily inferted ; the engagement was 
 evaded ; and Alvaro was conducted a prifoner to 
 his own caftle of Portillo. 
 
 A commiilion was immediately granted to pro- 
 ceed againft him ; and had he been innocent, he 
 could have expected but little juftice from judges 
 who had been chofen by his profecutors. Yet 
 though he was free from the ftain of treafon,he could 
 not vindicate himfelf from the murder of Vivaro. 
 
 He
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 387 
 
 He was declared guilty,andfentenced tofuffer death 
 by the hands of the common executioner. He heard 
 the decree without changing colour; and in the 
 laft and moft trying moment of his life he afferted 
 the courage of a Caftilian noble, and difappoint- 
 ed by his fearlefs behaviour the malice of his ene- 
 mies. No entreaties for mercy, no expreffions 
 unworthy of the rank he had filled, efcaped him ; 
 in the market-place of Valladolid he afcended 
 with a firm ftep the fcaffold ; and confefTed in his 
 approaching fate the juft punifhment of his fins; 
 he obferved near him the mafler of the horfe to 
 the prince of Aflurias. " Bereza," faid he, " tell 
 " your mafler from me, that he will do well not 
 (e to follow his father's example in thus reward- 
 " ing his old and faithful fervants." As he fur- 
 veyed the pole on which his head was to be fixed ; 
 " no death, added he, can be fhameful, which is 
 " fupported with courage and intrepidity ; nor 
 " ought to be confidcred as untimely, when a 
 " man has been for many years at the head of 
 " affairs, and conducted all things with dignity 
 " and reputation." With decent compofure he 
 prefented his throat to the executioner, and re- 
 ceived with intrepidity the fatal flroke ; for feve- 
 ral days his headlefs body was expofed to the 
 public view ; his treafures had been confifcated 
 by his rapacious fovereign ; and it was to com- 
 mon charity that his remains were indebted for a 
 C c 2 burial.
 
 3 88 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 burial. Yet the hatred or companion of the po- 
 pulace are ever in extremes ; the faults of Alvaro 
 were forgotten in the magnanimity with which he 
 fuffered ; and an awful admonition was imprefled 
 on the furrounding crowd, while they revolved 
 the bloody relics of a man who had equalled the 
 greateft princes in wealth and power, left to de- 
 pend for their funeral rites on the alms of thofe 
 who had fo lately trembled at his name. 
 
 John lived not long enough to repent his in- 
 gratitude to a minifter who, however he had op- 
 prefled the people, had defended amidft the 
 florins of civil diffenfion the authority of the 
 crown. As the king of Caftille rapidly prefled 
 his journey towards Medina del Campo, to confer 
 with his fitter the queen of Arragon, he was at- 
 tacked by a burning fever; his conflitution re- 
 fifted the immediate fury of the difeafe; but he 
 reached Valladolid in a ftate of weaknefs; his 
 diforder returned ; and after a long and turbulent 
 reign, he expired in the fentiments of piety and 
 refignation in the forty-feventh year of his age. 
 
 The vacant throne was immediately 
 A. D. 145, J 
 
 U74- filled by his fon Henry, who without 
 the virtues poflefled the failings of his father. 
 He was equally deftitute of the talents of a king, 
 and the vigour of a man; and the caufe of his di- 
 vorce from his confort Blanch, the daughter of 
 the king of Navarre, was perpetuated in his fur- 
 name
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 389 
 
 name of Impotent. His underftanding was frigid 
 as his body i Don Juan de Pacheco ruled with 
 the fame abfolute dominion over the prefent mo- 
 narch as Don Alvaro de Luna had exercifed over 
 the late ; and fcarce had Henry received the ho- 
 mage of his nobility, before he difgufted them by 
 conferring on his favourite the title of marquis of 
 Villena, and encouraging him to hope for the office 
 of grand-matter of St. James. The commons 
 were exafperated by the extravagance, the nobles 
 by the infolence of this new minion of fortune ; 
 and the minifter was not more odious than the 
 king was contemptible ; the jealoufy of the latter 
 was extended even to the feeble years of Alfonfo 
 and Il'abella, the children of Henry by his fecond 
 marriage; and infenfible to the difgrace which 
 had accompanied his feparation from Blanch, he 
 folicited the hand of Joanna of Portugal. The 
 ambition of that princefs prompted her to be- 
 come the partner of his throne; yet Joanna in 
 the marriage bed refigned not the claims of na- 
 ture ; and five years after her nuptials were cele- 
 brated, her pregnancy was announced ; a daugh- 
 ter was born, who was baptifed after her mother ; 
 was acknowledged heirefs to the crown of Caftille ; 
 and the validity of whofe title was recognized by 
 Alfonfo and Ifabella. Yet every precaution ferved 
 only to increafe the public fufpicion ; the impo- 
 tency of Henry was ftill the favourite theme ; nor 
 Cc 3 in
 
 390 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 in the fifteenth century, fuch had been the pro- 
 grefs of depravity, was Spain deficient in exam- 
 ples where the chaftity of the wife had been fa- 
 crificed by the hufband from motives of revenge 
 or policy. 
 
 Amidft the general difcontent one event darted 
 a ray of luflre through the gloom of admini- 
 ftration ; and Gibraltar, which had been wreft- 
 ed from the Chriftians under the reign of Al- 
 fonfo the eleventh, was recovered from the in- 
 fidels in that of Henry. The latter had with his 
 ufual precipitation engaged* in a war with the 
 court of Granada ; and the inability with which 
 he conducted it muft have expofed him to con- 
 fiderable lofs, had not the kingdom of Granada 
 been diflracted at that inflant with civil commo- 
 tion ; the throne was difputed by two rival prin- 
 ces ; and the garrifon of Gibraltar had rufhed to 
 the field to partake the conflict. It was at this 
 critical moment that a Moor of the name of 
 Zurro was defirous of renouncing the viiions of 
 Mahomet for the pure doctrines of Chrift ; he felt 
 the zeal of a new proftlyte ; and was ardent to 
 fignalize his converfion by fome act of fervice to 
 thofe whofe tenets he had determined to efpoufe ; 
 in an age when the lines of civil duty were ob- 
 fcured by fuperftitipn, it was not difficult to per- 
 fuade him that perfidy to thofe whofe faith he 
 had abjured was meritorious. He betrayed the 
 
 weak-
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN, 39 t 
 
 weaknefs of Gibraltar. A confiderable force 
 marched filently from the neighbouring fortrefs 
 ofTarif; and before the inhabitants could (hut 
 the gates part of the affailants had already en- 
 tered the town, and difplayed the Chriftian ftand- 
 ard from the ramparts ; the count of Arcos was 
 among the foremoft of the daring adventurers ; 
 but it was to the duke of Medina Sidonia that 
 the citizens of Gibraltar furrendered ; and fo elat- 
 ed was Henry with the important acquifition, 
 that in addition to his former titles he afiiimec} 
 that of king of Gibraltar. 
 
 It was not alone in Granada that the genius of 
 difcord feemed to have eftablifhed her fway ; and 
 the tempeft of civil war agitated alfo the king- 
 dom of Arragon. Hardy, daring, and indepen- 
 dent, the character of the Catalans has been al- 
 ways the fame ; and when the fceptre of Arra- 
 gon was held by John the fecond, the inhabi- 
 tants of Catalonia were impelled by hatred tq 
 the confort of their fovereign to erecl: the fland- 
 ard of revolt. Henry was rather willing than, 
 able to avail himfelf of their rebellion ; and he 
 fuffered himfelf to be proclaimed at Barcelona 
 their king. But the affiftance he afforded was. 
 tardy and inadequate ; his favourite the mar- 
 quis of Villena was averfe to the war ; and in the 
 profecution of it, it was deemed prudent to con- 
 fult Lewis the eleventh, who, as king of France 
 C c 4 was
 
 39 2 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 was to be feared as an enemy or courted as an 
 ally. 
 
 An interview was appointed between the two 
 kings at Mauleon on the confines of the king- 
 dom of N-varre; and on their meeting their 
 different difpofitions were evinced by their con- 
 trafted appearance. Henry, vain, magnificent, 
 and haughty, was attended by a fplendid train ; 
 Lewis, mean in his perfon, clad in coarfe cloth, 
 fliort and unbecoming, was flenderly accompa- 
 nied ; but the wealth the former had expended in 
 his fumptuous preparations, the latter employed 
 to bribe the minifters of Caftille ; the marquis of 
 Villena promifed to fecond the views of the king 
 of France ; and with mutual proteftations of 
 friendmip, Henry and Lewis parted ; the former 
 difgufted with the fordidnefs of the latter ; the 
 latter full of contempt for the underltanding of 
 the former. 
 
 The marquis of Villena hefitated not at the ex- 
 pence of his fidelity to his fovereign, to fulfil the 
 conditions he had entered into with Lewis ; and 
 in compliance with the inclinations of that mo- 
 narch, he foon perfuaded Henry to abandon the 
 Catalans to the refentment of their prince; yet 
 the king of Caftille had fcarce figned the treaty 
 before he was awakened to a fenfe of his igno- 
 miny ; and the exile of the marquis from court 
 was the immediate confequence of his difgraceful 
 counfels, 
 
 Accuf^
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 393 
 
 Accuftomed to bafk in the fmiles, the marquis 
 of Villena ill-brooked the frowns of his fove- 
 reign. One moment effaced from his memory 
 the favours that had been heaped upon him in the 
 patronage of twenty years ; and he was fcarce ba- 
 nifhed from court before he became the favourite 
 of the nobility, who before had confidered him 
 as the objecl: of their envy. A powerful confe- 
 deracy was formed between the high admiral of 
 Caftille ; the counts of Placentia, Benevente, and 
 Offuna ; the archbifhops of Toledo and Com- 
 poftella ; and the grand-mafters of Calatrava and 
 Alcantara ; to thefe the marquis of Villena joined 
 himfelf ; and hoped by his fword not only to re- 
 gain his wanted afcendancy over the counfels of 
 his fovereign, but to extort from him the high 
 office of grand-mafter of St. James, the peculiar 
 object of his ambition, and which the prudence 
 of the king had hitherto withheld. In cafe Henry 
 refufed to gratify the wifhes of the confpirators, 
 it was determined to declare him unworthy of the 
 crown, and to place it on the head of his brother 
 Alfonfo, from whofe youth they might expedt a 
 more ready compliance. 
 
 It was while the king of Caftille was engaged 
 in vifuing Gibraltar that he was firfl informed of 
 the dangerous combination that had been ce- 
 mented againft him ; he returned immediately 
 to Madrid ; and in the tranfport of his indigna- 
 tion
 
 594 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 tion at the ingratitude of the marquis of Villena, 
 he invefted his rival the count of Ladefma with the 
 office of grand-matter of St. James ; but the in- 
 telligence that the king of Arragon had acceded 
 to the league, inclined him to more moderate 
 meafures ; he confented to an interview with the 
 principal confpirators ; promifed to redrefs their 
 grievances ; and as a pledge of reconciliation, 
 declared his willingnefs to beftow the grand-maf- 
 terlhip of St. James on the marquis of Villena. 
 In the execution of the treaty the confent of the 
 count of; Ladefma was neceflary; and the pofief- 
 iion of the office could not reflect fo much luflre 
 on the character of that nobleman, as did the ala- 
 crity with which he refigned it. " I am happy," 
 laid he, " as he furrendered the enfigns of the 
 " appointment, in rendering fervice to him to 
 " whom I owe all I poflefs ; and of proving to 
 " his fubjects that he has at leafl raifed one man 
 tc of merit and fidelity;" the reproof was heard 
 and felt by all ; a faint blufh overfpread the 
 countenance of the marquis of Villena ; and 
 though hardened in the commerce of courts, and 
 elated by his triumph over his fovereign, he 
 mud for a moment have envied the feelings of 
 his rival. 
 
 It is feldom thofe conceffions which are extort* 
 cd from the crown, are faithfully executed ; the 
 nobles of Caflille who yet retained their allegi- 
 ance.
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 395 
 
 &nce, reproached the weaknefs of Henry; and 
 that prince, ever influenced by the laft counfel, 
 determined to afTert his dignity in arms. He 
 collected a numerous body of forces ; and the 
 confederates heard of his preparations without 
 being difmayed ; they publifhed a manifefto in 
 which they upbraided him with having endea- 
 voured to defraud his brother Alfonfo of the fuc- 
 ceffion,;and to impofe in Joanna a fuppofititious 
 child on the nation. They claimed as one of the 
 privileges of their order the right of trying and 
 paffing fentence on their fovereign. That the ex- 
 crcife of this power might be as public and fo- 
 lemn as the pretenfion to it was bold, they fum- 
 moned all their party to meet at Avila. A fpa* 
 cious theatre was creeled in a plain, without the 
 walls of the town ; an image reprefenting the 
 king was feated on a throne, clad in royal robes, 
 with a crown on its head, a fceptre in its hand, 
 and the fword of juftice by its fide. The accu- 
 fation againft the king was read, and the fentence 
 of depoiition was pronounced in prefence of a 
 numerous aflembly. At the clofev&f the firft ar- 
 ticle of the charge, the archbimop of Toledo 
 advanced, and tore the crown from the head of 
 the image ; at the clofe of the fecond, the count 
 of Placentia fnatched the fword of juftice from 
 its fide ; at the clofe of the third, the count of Be- 
 pavente wrefted the fceptre from its hand ; and at 
 
 the
 
 396 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 the clofe of the laft, Don Diego Lopez de Stuniga 
 tumbled it headlong from .the throne ; and at the 
 fame inftant Don Alfonfo, Henry's brother, was 
 proclaimed king of Caftille and Leon in his place. 
 At the head of a numerous and loyal army 
 Henry might have defpifed the farce which had 
 been acted at Avila ; but he was again vanquiih- 
 ed by the arts of the marquis of Villena. By 
 the profeflions of that nobleman he was prevailed 
 upon to difmifs his forces, and to expect the vo- 
 luntary fubmiflion of the confederates ; but he 
 was foon awakened from the delufion ; Simancas 
 was reduced ; Toledo declared for Alfonfo ; and 
 Henry beheld the fpirit of revolt rapidly extend- 
 ing through his dominions. He haftily afTem- 
 bled what troops were ftill faithful to their oath 
 of allegiance, and advanced to the relief of 
 Medina del Campo, which was befieged by Al- 
 fonfo. In the plains which ftretch around that 
 city he beheld the army of the confederates ; and 
 both parties prepared with alacrity for action. 
 The forces of Henry confided of eight hundred 
 lances, feven hundred light horfe, and two thou- 
 fand infantry ; thofe of Alfonfo were nearly e- 
 qual. Though the understanding of Henry was 
 defpifed, yet his perfonal courage had never been 
 doubted ; but on this occafion he difplayed not 
 the fame ardour as had characterized him when 
 prince of Afturias j and the inglorious counfels 
 
 of
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 397 
 
 of his courtiers perfuaded him to retire from the 
 x conflict. His youthful competitor fuftained a 
 nobler part ; his banner was unfurled in the front 
 of the line ; and the archbiihop of Toledo, whofe 
 facred habit was laid afide for a crimfon fcarf 
 embroidered with white crofles, charged with 
 Alfonfo. The fhock was violent ; and the en- 
 gagement which was began about noon continued 
 till fatigue and darknefs parted the combatants. 
 Fve hundred Caftilians were extended lifelefs on 
 the field ; but the lofs was mutual ; the victory 
 undecided ; and both armies dreaded to renew 
 the engagement ; and withdrew to their refpec- 
 tive camps. 
 
 The town of Segovia on the banks of the Ara- 
 yada was foon after furprifed by the confede- 
 rates ; but the caflle in which were depofited the 
 royal treafures ftill held out for the king; and 
 Henry received an ample compenfation for the 
 lofs of that town in the acquilition of the impor- 
 tant city of Toledo. The inhabitants of Toledo 
 had been among the firft to declare for Alfonfo ; 
 and they had lately repulfed the king from their 
 walls ; but by one of thofe fudden tranfitions 
 which fo frequently occur in civil diffenfions, 
 they determined to return to their allegiance; 
 they expelled the garrifon of the confederates ; 
 and proclaimed their joy on the entrance of Henry 
 in tumultuous acclamations. 
 
 The
 
 398 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 The rebels, who already laboured under no in- 
 confiderable diflrefs from the cenfures of the fee 
 of Rome, could not but be highly mortified at 
 this inftance of defertion ; fome vigorous effort 
 was neceffary to reftore the credit of their arms ; 
 but before they riiked their hopes in a battle, 
 they apparently determined to provide for the 
 fafety of their youthful leader. With a flrong 
 efcort Alfonfo prepared to retire to Avila ; but 
 he was not allowed to reach that place ; the fe- 
 cond night of his journey he retired to reft in 
 perfect health, and was found dead, without any 
 marks of violence, in a few hours after. 
 
 The fudden and myfterious fate of a young 
 prince whofe fpirit and abilities were not unequal 
 to the flation he afpired to, could not fail to ex- 
 cite fufpicion. Yet the reputation of Henry has 
 efcaped free from flam ; nor has he ever been 
 charged with promoting a death which promifed 
 him the greatefl advantages. The confederates 
 were not confidered as equally guiltlefs ; they 
 were fuppofed to have dreaded the rifing genuis 
 of Alfonfo ; and by poifoa to have blafted the 
 profpedt of a reign which would have controulcd 
 their factious turbulence. In the natural weak- 
 nefs of her fex, Ifabella offered a fairer inftrument 
 to their ambition ; yet the prudence of that prin- 
 cefs difappointed their views ; and to their proffer 
 of the crown, they heard with aftonilhment her 
 
 anfwer ;
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 399 
 
 anfwer ; " that it was not theirs to beftow ; but 
 " was held by Henry according to the laws of 
 " God and man." Yet fhe concealed not her 
 pretenfions to the fucceffion ; and the revolted 
 lords deprived of a chief, were happy to embrace 
 any opening for negotiation ; the king confented, 
 to a conference ; waved the claims of Joanna ; 
 acknowledged Ifabella as the heirefs to his domi- 
 nions ; and in the immediate, enjoyed the pleaf- 
 ing hope of future tranquillity. 
 
 The peace that was eilablifhed between the 
 king and his nobles, confirmed the marquis of 
 Villena in the poft of grand-mafter of St. James ; 
 yet after the black ingratitude he had been guilty 
 of he could fcarcely hope to regain his afcen- 
 dancy over the mind of his mafter. But the feeble 
 vmderftanding of Henry required a favourite or* 
 whom he could repofe the cares of government, 
 and he returned to his former confidence. The 
 marriage of Ifabella was the firft object of the 
 new counfels ; and among a variety of preten- 
 ders, Ferdinand, who with the title of king of 
 Sicily joined as the fon of the king of Arragon and 
 Navarre the fucceffion of thofe thrones, was con- 
 fidered as the moft eligible ; yet he was fcarcely 
 preferred, before the marquis of Villena plunged 
 into new intrigues to evade the marriage ; his 
 fchemes were traverfed by the archbilhop of To- 
 ledo, who on this occafion feemed actuated by a 
 
 juft
 
 4 o6 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 juft fenfe of his country's intereft. He carried the 
 princefs privately to Valladolid, invited the king 
 of Sicily, and pronounced himfelf the nuptial 
 benediction ; yet in his zeal he neglected not to 
 provide for the fupremacy of the Catholic church, 
 the prefent quiet of Henry, and the future inde- 
 pendence of Caftille. 
 
 Ten articles were prefented by the archbiftiop, 
 and fubfcribed by the king of Sicily before he 
 received the hand of Ifabella. By the firft, Fer- 
 dinand engaged to acknowledge the pope as head 
 of the church, and to maintain all ecclefiaftical 
 immunities ; by the fecond, to behave with re- 
 fpecl: to his brother-in-law Henry, and to con. 
 form himfelf in all things to the accommodation 
 that was made when he acknowledged the prin- 
 cefs for his fuccefibr. In the third, he ftipulated 
 to adminifter juftice impartially, and not to in- 
 fringe in any refpedl the laws, ufages, preroga- 
 tives, or privileges of any of the cities, towns, 
 places, or perfons in his dominions, agreeable 
 to the oath taken by the kings of Caftille, at their 
 acceffion. By the fourth, he was not to alienate any 
 town or fortrefs without the confent of the princefs. 
 By the fifth, all orders were to be Cgned jointly 
 by Ferdinand and Ifabella ; and no perfon to be 
 admitted into the council, government, or offices 
 of ftate, that was not a native of Caftille. By the 
 Sixth, all dignities ecclefiaftical and civil were to 
 
 be
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 401 
 
 be difpofed of by the princefs. By the feventh, Fer- 
 dinand was to grant a general amnefty with refped: 
 to all things which had happened in former civil 
 wars ; and was never to fet up any claim or preten- 
 iions to thofe lands and eftates which his father had 
 poflefied in Caftille, and which had been given 
 away by the crown, and were in the hands of feve* 
 ral of the nobility. By the eighth, that the archbi- 
 fhops of Toledo and Seville, and the grand-matter 
 of St. James (hould ever enjoy their refpedtive ranks 
 in the monarchy, as alfo all other lords and knights 
 who have fteadily adhered to the princefs's party, 
 and have contributed to fecure to her the fuccef* 
 fion of the crown. By the ninth, That Ferdinand 
 Ihould refide in the dominions of Caftille, and 
 (hould make war againft the Moors as foon as it 
 was in his power ; but otherwife fhould not take, 
 up arms without the confent of his confort ; in 
 cafe however that any civil war Ihould break out 
 in Caftille, he engaged to furnifti as long as it laft- 
 ed a thoufand lances from Arragon to remain dur- 
 ing that fpace in the pay of the crown. And by the 
 tenth, that over and above the fum of one thoufand 
 florins of gold, the princefs lhall have and enjoy 
 the towns of Borga, Magalon, Elcha, and Car- 
 vallen in the kingdoms of Arragon and Valencia, 
 and Syracufe and Catanea in the kingdom of 
 Sicily. 
 
 Such were the conditions didated by the arch- 
 VOL. i. D d biftiop
 
 402 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 bifhop of Toledo, and accepted by Ferdinand ; 
 yet though ultimately beneficial, they procured 
 not immediate peace to Caftille ; if Henry con- 
 fidered Joanna as his daughter, his feelings muft 
 have been wounded by the preference which he 
 had been obliged to give to his fitter ; and if con- 
 fcious of his own impotency, his pride mud have 
 been violated by a compromife that implied a 
 tacit confeffion of the impofture; the marquis of 
 Villena, ever reftlefs and intriguing, ftimulated 
 him to break the treaty which he himfelf had 
 impofed ; the queen, bold and vindictive, urged 
 him to aflert the right of a child who at leaft 
 called him father; Henry was not capable of 
 long refilling their counfels and importunities ; 
 he publifhed a manifefto in which he recalled his 
 former conceflions, vindicated and confirmed by 
 oath his belief that Joanna was his daughter, 
 and declared her the heirefs to his crown ; it was 
 oppofed by a proclamation from Ferdinand and 
 Ifabella, which warned the people of Caftille not 
 to be deluded by the reprefentations of Henry, or 
 the artifices of his favourites ; each party afpired 
 to maintain their claim by argument, but it was by 
 the fword alone that it could be finally decided. 
 
 Two negociations of marriage for Joanna had 
 been entered into by the marquis of Villena, and 
 both had proved abortive ; the firft was with the 
 duke of Berri of the blood royal of France ; but 
 
 Lewis
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 403 
 
 t Lewis the eleventh, intent on his own aggrandife- 
 men.t, and unwilling to increafe the power of his 
 brother, liftened with coldnefs" to the propofal ; 
 the fecond was with Henry of Arragon, the fon of 
 that Henry who had feized the perfon of John 
 the fecond, and for ten years embarrafTed Caftille 
 by his preteniions to the adminiflration ; the fon 
 was not more fuccefsful than the father ; his 
 haughty manners offended the Caftilian nobility; 
 and his thirft for power excited the jealoufy of 
 the marquis of Villena ; the latter abandoned his 
 interefts ; and refted his laft hopes of a powerful 
 alliance for Joanna on the king of Portugal ; that 
 monarch liftened with pleafure to the propofal, 
 and received the favourite with every mark of 
 refpect at Lifbon ; but on his return, while the 
 marquis of Villena exulted in the fuccefs of his 
 negociations, he was attacked by a mortal difeafe, 
 and expired lefs lamented by the people whom he 
 had opprefled, than by the fovereign whofe con- 
 fidence he had abufed. 
 
 Henry himfelf furvived his favourite only to 
 impart to his fon the fame proofs of regard as he 
 had lavilhly beftowed on the father ; a flow fever 
 had for fome time preyed upon his fpirits ; and 
 the approach of 'death was acknowledged by his 
 phyficians ; he heard the fentencc with greater 
 fortitude than might have been expected from a 
 review of his life ; and his laft breath declared 
 D d z the
 
 4C4 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 the princefs Joanna his daughter and fucceffbr ; 
 but he could not hope that his will which had 
 been continually oppofed when he was alive, 
 fliould be reflected when he was dead ; the ma- 
 jority of his fubjects declared in favour of Fer- 
 dinand and Ifabella ; they were admitted into 
 Segovia; were put into porTeffion of the royal 
 treafures ; and were jointly proclaimed the fove- 
 reigns of Caftille and Leon. 
 A. D. 1474, The deceafe of Henry did not ex- 
 I * 78 ' tinguifh the ambitious hopes of Al- 
 fonfo king of Portugal ; at the head of a formi- 
 dable army he entered Caftille, efpoufed the prin- 
 cefs Joanna, and was fupported in his claim to 
 the throne by the young marquis- of Villena. But 
 at a fmall diftance from Toro his pretenfions were 
 decided on a field of battle ; after a long ftruggle 
 the Portuguefe were compelled to yield to the 
 fuperior valour of the Caftilians, or the fkill 
 of Ferdinand ; yet their retreat was conduct- 
 ed with order; and they gained their own fron- 
 tiers without being purfued by the victors. But 
 in the event of the day they confefled their ad- 
 verfe fortune ; the marquis of Villena fubmitted, 
 and reconciled himfelf to Ferdinand ; the lefs 
 powerful malecontents followed his example ; 
 and Caftille breathed at length from the calami- 
 ties of civil war. 
 
 Ferdiand, had fcarce eftablifhed his authority 
 
 over
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 405 
 
 over Caftille, before his attention was recalled to 
 Arragon; his aged father John dill held the fcep- 
 tre, but he held it with a feeble hand j famine 
 and peftilence combined with war to depopulate 
 his dominions ; in the early part of his reign 
 Lewis the eleventh had lent to him the fum of 
 three hundred thoufand crowns ; and the im- 
 portant counties of Rouflillon and Cerdagne 
 were transferred as the fecurity for the money 
 advanced ; the value of a country from which 
 France derives a revenue exceeding an hundred 
 thoufand pounds flerling, and which contains 
 above one hundred and eighty-eight thoufand in- 
 habitants was early difcerned by Lewis ; he re- 
 fufed to reftore the pledge he had been trufted 
 with, and maintained the pofleffion of it by force ; 
 the fuccours that Ferdinand could afford his fa- 
 ther were few and precarious; the armies of 
 Lewis were numerous and well difciplined ; the 
 war was not marked with any interefting occur- 
 rence ; but the event of it was decifive ; and 
 Roufiillon and Cerdagne were annexed to the 
 kingdom of France. 
 
 The diftrefs of his fubjects and the ill fuccefs 
 of his arms might have occalioned fome mortifi- 
 cation to John ; he had already largely, exceeded 
 the common term of humanity ; and at the ad- 
 vanced age of eighty-two his death might be 
 hourly expected ; he expired at Barcelona ; the 
 D d 3 crown
 
 406 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 crown of Navarre, which he had obtained by his 
 marriage with Blanch, paffed to the counteis of 
 Foix, his daughter by that princefs ; but Arra- 
 gon acknowledged and fubmitted to the preten-* 
 fions of Ferdinand ; and the union of that king- 
 dom under the fame monarch as Caftille, revived 
 the name, and eflablifhed the power of modern 
 SPAIN. 
 
 / 
 
 Chapter
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 407 
 
 Chapter the Ninth. 
 
 State of the neighbouring powers, when Ferdinand 
 united, the crowns of Cajtille and Arragon. Of 
 Portugal, Navarre, and Granada. Of France. 
 Italy. Germany. And England* Political Jlate 
 cf Spain. Account of the Jufliza in Arragon. Of 
 the Holy Brotherhood. Addrefs of Ferdinand. 
 He makes peace with Portugal. Commences the 
 war with Granada. Various fuccefs. Exertions 
 of Ferdinand and Ifabella. Dijfenfions of the 
 Moors. Ferdinand fuciejflvely reduces Ro*da t Ve- 
 lez t . and Malaga. Domejlic hiftory of Abdallah 
 king of Granada. Granada is invejled by the 
 Chrijlians.-~Conftruftion of the town of Santa Fe. 
 Defpair of the Moors. Capitulation of Granada. - 
 Triumphal entry of Ferdinand. Defer iption of the 
 Alhambra. Expulfion oftbejews. Subfequent oj- 
 prejjlon of the Morefcoes.- Progrefs of navigation. 
 Difcovery of the Fort un.it e or Canary I/lands by 
 the Spaniards. Extenjive difcoveries of the Por- 
 tuguefe. Hijlory and clearatter of Cbrijlopher Co- 
 lumbus ; his idea of new countries in the Weft. 
 His propofals rejected by Genoa and Portugal. 
 D d 4 Are
 
 4 o8 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 Are at length accepted by Ifabella. He falls front 
 Palos in Andalujia. 
 
 A. D. i479> \\T 
 
 1492. VV HEN Ferdinand by marriage 
 and fucceffion united the kingdoms of Caftille 
 and Arragon under the name of Spain, that pe- 
 ninfula ftill contained the independent powers of 
 Portugal, Navarre, and Granada. The former 
 from Cape Vincent ft retched along the lea coaft 
 to the mouth of the Mmho ; it nearly occupied 
 the country of the warlike Lufitanians ; and the 
 lofs it had fuftained on the tide of the eaft, was 
 compenfated by an acceffion of territory towards 
 the north. From the Pyrenean mountains Na- 
 varre advanced about fixty miles in breadth to 
 the frontiers of Caftille, and extended about fe- 
 venty-five in length, until bounded on the eafl by 
 the province of Bifcay, and on the weft by the 
 kingdom of Arragon. The kingdom of Granada 
 for one hundred and feventy miles ranged along 
 the fhores of the Mediterranean ; but it had gra- 
 dually receded before the encroaching fpirit of 
 Caftille; and its breadth might be eftimated at 
 about feventy miles ; yet narrow as were its li- 
 mits, and mountainous its appearance, every defi- 
 ciency was fupplied, and every obftacle overcome 
 by induftry ; the Moors difdained not the toils of 
 
 huf-
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 409 
 
 hufbandry ; beneath their labours the country af- 
 fumed the face of a garden ; and Ferdinand con- 
 fefled with a figh of envy and ambition, that the 
 faireft diftrict of Spain was poflefTed by the natu- 
 ral enemies of his faith and crown. 
 
 It was not within the peninfula of Spain that 
 the views of Ferdinand were confined ; the neigh- 
 bouring ftates of Europe claimed, and partook 
 of his attention. Recovered from the wounds 
 which ihe had received in her long and repeated 
 conflicts with England, France difplayed the fea- 
 tures of a mighty and vigorous monarchy. The 
 bloody policy of Lewis the eleventh, though im- 
 mediately oppreffive, had laid the foundation 
 of the grandeur of his fucceffors. He had bro- 
 ken the ftrength of the nobility, and eftablifh- 
 ed the power of the crown. Nine thoufand ca- 
 valry, and (ixteen thoufand infantry in regular 
 pay, reftrained within the bounds of obedience 
 the national levity; his addrefs had allured, or 
 his menaces had intimidated the ftates to render 
 feveral taxes perpetual which had been formerly 
 impofed only for a Ihort time; and he had deli- 
 vered the king from a precarious dependence on 
 the will of his people. By fraud or force he had 
 poflefled himfelf of Burgundy, Artois, and Pro- 
 vence ; and his recent acquifition of Rouffillon 
 and Cerdagne, pointed him out as the more pecu- 
 liar object of jealoufy and fufpicion to Spain. 
 
 From
 
 4,10 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 From the weflern coaft of Spain, the oppofite 
 Ihores of Italy could not but attract the notice 
 of Ferdinand. The fertile kingdom of Naples 
 obeyed a bailard fon of the houfe of Arragon, 
 \vho had wrefted it from that of Anjou ; yet the 
 race of the latter was not extinct, nor had they 
 relinquifhed their title to the Neapolitan crown. 
 The count of Maine and Provence, the heir of 
 this family, conveyed all his rights and preten- 
 fions to Lewis the eleventh and his fucceffors ; 
 the king of Naples could not revolve without 
 anxiety their formidable claims, nor had he lefs to 
 dread from the turbulence of his own nobility, 
 ever prompt in arms to aflert their enormous pri- 
 vileges, and confederate againft their fove reign. 
 
 In Venice the form of government xvas repub- 
 lican ; a people who for fafety had fled from the 
 fword of the ferocious Attila to the fequeftered 
 ifles of the Hadriatic, and whofe habitations 
 might be doubtfully affigned to the earth or wa- 
 ter, foon became alike familiar with both. Ne- 
 ceffity had early compelled them to penetrate into 
 the heart of Italy by the fecure though laborious 
 navigation of the rivers and inland canals ; they 
 were impelled by avarice when they were no lon- 
 ger urged by want ; their veffels were continu- 
 ally increasing in fize and number ; and they 
 amduoufly vifited all the harbours of the gulf 
 But the Venetian government, which had origi- 
 nated
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 411 
 
 nated in a number of families, reduced by mis- 
 fortune to the fame level of humble poverty, had 
 in the acquifition of wealth declined from its an- 
 cient fimplicity ; and though its deliberative, le- 
 giflative, and executive power, as calculated for 
 the order of nobles alone might be regarded as 
 excellent, yet if confidered as formed for a nu- 
 merous body of people, it muft have appeared 
 a rigid and partial ariftocracy. The republic 
 however rapidly advanced in rank and affluence ; 
 the arts of induftry and commerce were encou- 
 raged ; all the nations of Europe depended on it 
 not only for the commodities of the eaft, which 
 were imported in Venetian bottoms, but for va- 
 rious manufactures fabricated or finifhed with 
 fuperior dexterity or elegance ; and though the 
 military genius of the citizens of Venice was na- 
 turally frigid, or was repreffed by the jealoufy 
 of her nobles, yet on the fea, her peculiar ele- 
 ment, her armaments were conducted with va- 
 lour and wifdom, and augmented her glory and 
 extended her dominion. 
 
 The advantage of trade in fixteen fucceffive 
 centuries had gradually extended Florence from 
 the rock of Fsefulas to the banks of the Arno. 
 But though the fource of her profperity was nearly 
 the fame, her conftitution widely differed from 
 that of Venice ; it partook as much of democra- 
 tical turbulence and licencioufnefs, as the other 
 
 ef
 
 412 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 of ariflocratical rigour ; but about the middle of 
 the fifteenth century Cofmo of Medicis arofe ; 
 and Florence beheld herfelf governed by one of 
 her merchants, without arms and without a title. 
 His wealth, his liberality, and his zeal for learn- 
 ing, eftablifhed his pre-eminence among his fel- 
 low citizens. His riches were dedicated to the 
 fervice of mankind; he correfponded at once 
 with Cairo and London; and a cargo of Indian 
 fpices and Greek books was often imported in 
 the fame veiTel. He gained fuch an afcendant 
 over the affections as well as the councils of his 
 countrymen, that though the forms of popular 
 government were preferved, and though the vari- 
 ous departments of adminiftration were filled by 
 magiftrates diftinguiftied by ancient names, and 
 elected in the ufual manner, he was in reality the 
 head of the commonwealth ; his grandfon Lo- 
 renzo imitated and furpaffed him in generofity 
 and literature, and at leaft equalled him in au- 
 thority ; and tranfmitted a confiderable degree of 
 his power to his defcendants, who ruled in Flo- 
 rence with almoft abfolute fway. 
 
 Genoa had once been the rival of Venice^and dif- 
 putedwith her the fovereignty of thefea.The names 
 and families of her naval commanders, Pifani and 
 Doria, were familiar and illuftrious throughout Eu- 
 rope; and their abilities fupportcd her through a 
 conteft of one hundred and thirty years ; butfhe was 
 
 at
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 413 
 
 at length compelled to yield to the fuperior fortune 
 or refources of her implacable enemy ; her fac- 
 tions had increafed as her ftrength diminifhed ; 
 and obliged her to feek for domeftic peace under 
 the protection of a foreign lord ; and alternately 
 to court the controul of the duke of Milan or 
 the French king. 
 
 Milan had in the beginning of the fourth cen- 
 tury of the Chriftian asra, been exalted by the 
 emperor of the weft into the feat of government; 
 about the middle of the fixth century it had been 
 deftroyed by the Burgundians; and three hun- 
 dred thoufand male inhabitants are reported to 
 have perilhed by the fwords of the barbarians ; it 
 had rifen from its ames, had refilled the autho- 
 rity, and been overthrown by the arms of the em- 
 peror Frederick the firft. Yet its depreffure was 
 but tranfient ; and it foon again reared its head, 
 though with diminifhed fplendour ; it had fcarce 
 fuffered more from the rage of foreign enemies 
 than from domeftic faction; the chief power 
 amidft fucceffive contefts had imperceptibly been 
 attained by the Vifconti family, who in recom- 
 penfe for their attachment to the imperial intereft, 
 had been created dukes of Milan ; Valentina, a 
 daughter of that houfe, had married Lewis duke 
 of Orleans, brother of Charles the fixth ; in their 
 marriage contract, which the pope confirmed, it 
 had been ftipulated, that upon failure of heirs 
 
 male
 
 414 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 male in the family of Vifconti, the duchy of Mi- 
 lan fliould defcend to the pofterity of Valentina 
 and the duke of Orleans. That event took place; 
 and Charles duke of Orleans urged his right to 
 the crown, founded on the contract of his mo- 
 ther Valentina. It was difputed by Alfonfo king 
 of Naples, who claimed under the will of the late 
 duke ; and by the emperor, who contended that 
 upon the extinction of male iffue in the family of 
 Vifconti, the fief returned to the fuperior lord, 
 and was re-annexed to the empire. Both preten- 
 fions were rejected by the citizens of Milan them- 
 felves, who, enamoured of freedom, aipjred to ef- 
 tablifh a republic ; but the jarring interefts of 
 each party were favourable to the ambition of 
 Francis Sforza, the natural fon of Jacomuzzo 
 Sforza, whofe courage and abilities had raifed 
 him to be a diftinguilhed leader of thofe bands 
 which made war a trade, and hired themfelves out 
 to different ftates. Francis fucceeded his father 
 in the command of the martial adventurers who 
 had followed his ftandard ; he had married a n.i- 
 tural daughter of the late duke of Milan ; and 
 this claim, flight in ittelf, became formidable 
 from his addrefs and valour. After a loag ftrug- 
 gle he afcended the ducal throne; the defects of 
 his title were forgotten in the admiration of his 
 abilities and virtues, and he was \ crmitted to be- 
 queath in peace his fceptre 10 his fon. 
 
 Rome,
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 415 
 
 Rome, after having fucceflively fubmitted to 
 the rapacity of the Goths, the Huns, and the 
 Vandals, trembled at the hoftile approach of the 
 Lombards. Famine and peflilence confpired 
 with the rage of the Barbarians againft the an- 
 cient miftrefs of the world ; her ftreets were de- 
 ferted ; her edifices expofed to ruin and decay ; 
 and the mouldering fabrics were eafily overthrown 
 by inundations, tempefls, and earthquakes ; the 
 imperial magiftrates had abandoned the fcene of 
 defolation ; and towards the clofe of the fixth 
 century, the reins of government dropped into 
 the hands of her bifhop. The name of Gregory 
 muft ever be dear to the Vatican ; during more 
 than thirteen years that his pontificate lafted, the 
 mifery of his flock was alleviated by his inceflant 
 care ; he introduced order and plenty again into 
 the capital ; he deferved and obtained the name 
 of The Father of his Country ; he directed the 
 operations of the provincial troops ; and repelled 
 by his arms, or diverted by his addrefs, the favage 
 Lombards. The bifhops of Italy and the adjacent 
 iflands acknowledged the Roman pontiff as their 
 fpecial metropolitan ; and during feveral -ages 
 the fee of Rome received and claimed no other 
 mark of refped:; but towards the beginning of the 
 ninth century, their pretenlions to infallibility, as 
 the fucceflbrs to St. Peter, were revealed ; and 
 they aflerted their power as heads of the church 
 
 to
 
 4 i6 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 to univerfal jurifdiction." Their authority was 
 fupported by the fuperftition and credulity of 
 mankind ; in all ecclefiaftical controverfies their 
 decifions were received as oracles of truth ; nof 
 was the plenitude of their power confined folely 
 to what was fpiritual. They dethroned monarchs ; 
 difpofed of crowns ; abfolved fubjects from the 
 obedience due to their fovereigns ; and laid king- 
 doms under interdicts. Their fuccefs infpired 
 them with infolence ; they forgot the fanctity of 
 their fituation ; and engaged as principals or aux- 
 iliaries in everj war that was kindled in Europe ; 
 the furrounding nations could not remain blind to 
 their inordinate ambition ; the veneration for their 
 facred character began to abate ; and towards the 
 clofe of the fourteenth century was nearly extin- 
 guiihed. 
 
 But while their fpiritual authority declined, 
 their temporal dominion advanced ; and the fame 
 turbulent fpirit of intrigue that proved fatal to 
 the firft was propitious to the laft. From the do- 
 nation of Conftantine they pleaded their claim to 
 the greateft part of Italy ; but the fictitious deed 
 has been expofed by the pen of Laurentius 
 Valla ; and it was from the hafty liberality of 
 Pepin and Charlemagne that we may date their 
 prctenfions to a territory beyond the walls of 
 their city ; they derived more confiderable ad- 
 vantages from the credulity of the Norman ad- 
 venturers
 
 HISTORY OF SPAitf. 417 
 
 venturers who conquered Naples, and from the 
 fuperftition of the countefs Matilda ; and the ec- 
 clefiaftical flate was gradually extended over the 
 Campagna, and embraced feveral of the adjacent 
 cities. 
 
 One general fyftem prevailed through the Ita- 
 lian powers ; and while they engaged in perpe- 
 tual and endlefs negociation to adjuft the interefts 
 of the different ftates, their contefts in the field, 
 when they had recourfe to arms, were decided in 
 mock battles, by innocent and bloodlefs victories. 
 When the danger became more imminent, inftead 
 of their own fubjedts, they had recourfe to the 
 Condottieri, or leaders of bands, who readily em- 
 braced and fought for the party, which allured 
 them by the mofl ample proffer of pay or 
 plunder. 
 
 Of hardier mould, the Germans dill retained 
 the traces of their ancient ferocity and martial 
 fpirit ; when the fucceflbrs of Charlemagne re- 
 laxed from the vigour of his adminiftration, every 
 baron exercifed a fovereign jurifdiction within his 
 own domains ; every duke and count afpired to 
 independence ; and towards the middle of the 
 thirteenth century, the imperial authority had 
 dwindled into an empty title. Rodolph of Hapf- 
 burg, the founder of the houfe of Auftria, had 
 been elected emperor ; not that he might re-efta- 
 blifh order, but becaufe his territories were too 
 
 VOL. i. E e incoti.
 
 4 i8 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 inconfiderable to excite the jealoufy of the Ger- 
 man princes : feveral of his fucceflbrs were raifed 
 to the throne from the fame motive ; and almoft 
 every prerogative was wrefted from their feeble 
 hands. The capacity of Frederic of Auftria, 
 the third emperor of that name, was far from vi- 
 gorous ; he liftened with terror to the progrefs of 
 the Turks, who had planted the flandard of Ma- 
 homet on the walls of Conftantinople ; he trem- 
 bled for the fafety of his capital ; and his em- 
 barralfments were increafed by an unfuccefsful 
 war which he had waged in hopes of the crowns 
 of Hungary and Bohemia. Unfortunate abroad, 
 he was defpifed at home ; and, during his reign, 
 the calamities of the German empire rapidly mul- 
 tiplied ; the caufes of duTenfion among its nume- 
 rous members were infinite ; and thefe gave rife 
 to perpetual private wars, which were carried on 
 with all the violence that ufually accompanies re- 
 fentment, when unreftrained by fnperior autho- 
 rity. Rapine, outrage, and exaction, became 
 univerfal ; the cities united in a league to check 
 the pride and oppreffion of the nobility ; the no- 
 bility formed confederacies to maintain tranquil- 
 lity among their own order; Germany was di- 
 vided into feveral circles, in each of which a pro- 
 vincial and partial jnrifdiction was eftablimed to 
 fupply the place of a public tribunal ; but the 
 jcmedy was ineffectual ; and the empire was ftill 
 
 involved
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN, 419 
 
 involved in darknefs and anarchy, when on the 
 death of Frederic, his fon Maximilian fucceeded 
 to the imperial crown, who had been previoufly 
 elected king of the Romans, and who by his 
 marriage with the daughter of Charles of Bur- 
 gundy had acquired Flanders, Ffanche-Comte', 
 and the Low Countries* 
 
 The arms and victories of Henry and Edward 
 in France had diffufed throughout Europe the 
 name and renown of the Englifh; their valour 
 had been immediately felt in Spain in the revo- 
 lution which reftored Peter the Cruel ; but the 
 minority of Henry the Sixth had been fatal to 
 thofe conquefls which had been obtained by the 
 mature policy and courage of his father ; and in 
 France, Calais alone had ftemmed the returning 
 torrent which had overwhelmed the fortunes of 
 the Englifh; during more than twenty years 
 England herfelf had been diftracted by the rival 
 pretenlions of the houfes of York and Lancafter ; 
 and- though the afcendancy of the former feemed 
 cftabliihed in the reign of Edward the fourth, 
 the embers of civil war were rather concealed 
 than extinguifhed. 
 
 Such was the fituation of the principal powers 
 of Europe, when Ferdinand united the crowns of 
 Caftille and Arragon; and though his territories 
 were considerable, and the general difpoiition of 
 his neighbours pacific, yet his ambitious views 
 E e 2 were
 
 4 20 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 were contracted by the limits which were placet! 
 to his authority ; the privileges of the nobility 
 in Caftille ; the immunities of feveral of the ci- 
 ties ; and the influence they pofTeffed in the Cortes, 
 or Afiembly of the States, reftrained the will of 
 the fovereign ; the military orders of St. James, 
 Calatrava, and Alcantara, rivalled him in power; 
 and although in Arragon the form of government 
 was monarchical, the genius of it was purely re- 
 publican. The real authority was vefted in the 
 parliament, which confided of four different de- 
 fcriptions. The nobility of the firfl rank; the 
 equeflrian order, or nobility of the fecond elafs ; 
 the reprefentatives of the cities and towns ; and 
 the dignitaries of the church, with the deputies 
 of the inferior clergy. No law could pafs in this 
 afiembly without the aflent of every fingle mem- 
 ber ; peace, war, and revenue, depended on their 
 refolutions; and they claimed the privilege of 
 infpecting every department of juftice and admi- 
 niflration, and of redrefiing all grievances. Ac- 
 cording to a regulation introduced at the com- 
 mencement of the fourteenth century, the Cortes 
 was convoked once in two years ; after it was af- 
 fembled, the king had no right to prorogue or 
 diffolve it without its own confent ; and the fef- 
 fion continued forty days. 
 
 Befides her parliament, Arragon poflefled ano- 
 ther inftitution peculiar to herfelf in her juftiza, 
 
 or
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 42* 
 
 Or fupreme judge; this officer was chofen by the 
 king from the fecond clafs of nobility ; but he 
 could be removed only by the voice of the Cortes. 
 He afted as the protector of the people, and the 
 comptroller of the prince ; his perfon was facred ; 
 his power and jurifdiction were almoft unlimited ; 
 he was the fupreme interpreter of the laws ; had a 
 title to review all the royal proclamations and pa- 
 tents ; by his fole authority could exclude any 
 of the king's minifters from the conduct of af- 
 fairs ; could call them to anfwer for their mal- 
 adminiftration ; and he was himfelf folely account- 
 able to theCortes for the manner in which he 
 executed his high office. It was through him 
 the Arragonefe pronounced their oath of allegi- 
 ance ; and the words of it fufficiently proclaim 
 their jealoufy of the throne, and their love of in- 
 dependence : " We/ faid the juftiza to the king, 
 in the name of his high-fpirited barons, " who are 
 * e each of us as good as you, and who are altoge- 
 " ther more powerful than you, promife obedi- 
 " ence to your government if you maintain our 
 " rights and liberties ; but not otherwife." Nor 
 were thefe lofty expreffions a vain form ; but ac- 
 cording to their oath, they eftabliihed it as a~ 
 fundamental article in their conftitution, that if 
 the king fhould violate their privileges, it was 
 lawful for the people to difclaim him as their 
 E e 3 fovereign,
 
 422 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 fovereign, and to elect another (even a heathen) 
 in his place. 
 
 Had Ferdinand prefumed publicly to have ex- 
 alted the power of the crown at the expence of 
 the people, he moft likely muft have fallen in 
 the unequal conteft ; but he proceeded filently to 
 undermine that flrength which he dared not 
 openly attack ; his profound fagacity in concert- 
 ing his meafures, his perfevering induftry in con- 
 ducting them, and his uncommon addrefs in car- 
 rying them into execution, fitted him admirably 
 for an undertaking which required all thefe ta- 
 lents. He prevailed on the knights of St. James 
 to place him at the head of that order ; and when 
 his reputation was eftabliihed by the fuccefs of 
 the Moorifli war, he influenced by threats or pro- 
 rm'fes the fraternities of Calatrava and Alcantara 
 to follow the example of that of St. James ; and to 
 elect as their chiefs Ifabella and himfelf. Inno^ 
 cent the eighth, and Alexander the fixth con- 
 firmed the choice by the fanction of the papal au- 
 thority ; fubiequent pontiffs rendered the mafter- 
 fhips perpetual in the crown ; and a new acceffion 
 of power, and revenue was imparted to the kings 
 of Spain. 
 
 Another engine in the hands of Ferdinand was 
 the Holy Brotherhood; that name had been ap- 
 propriated to an affociation, which about the 
 middle of the thirteenth century had been formed 
 
 by
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 4.43 
 
 by the cities of Arragon, and in which they were 
 foon after imitated by thofeof Caftille. The Holy 
 Brotherhood exacted a certain contribution from 
 each of the aflbciated towns ; they levied a con- 
 fiderable body of forces in order to protect tra- 
 vellers, and to purfue criminals ; they appointed 
 judges who opened their courts in various parts 
 of the kingdom ; whoever was guilty of mur- 
 der, robbery, or of any act that violated the 
 public peace, was feized by their troops, was 
 carried before judges of their nomination who, 
 without paying any regard to the exclufive and 
 fovereign jurifdiction which the lord of the place 
 might claim, tried and condemned the crimi- 
 nal. But this falutary inftitution which reftored, 
 with the prompt and impartial adminiftration of 
 juftice, internal order and tranquillity, was regard- 
 ed with peculiar jealoufy by the nobles, whofe 
 caftles were too often the feats of oppreffion, and 
 who complained of this new fraternity as an en- 
 croachment on one of their moft valuable privi- 
 leges; they remonftrated againft it in an high 
 tone ; and on fome occafions refufed to grant any 
 aid to the crown unlefs it were aboliflied ; Ferdi- 
 nand was fenfible however not only of the good 
 effects of the Holy Brotherhood with refpect to 
 the police of his kingdoms, but perceived its ten- 
 dency to abridge, and at length to annihilate, 
 the territorial jurifdiction of the nobility ; when- 
 E e 4 ever
 
 424 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 ever attacked, he invariably protected it; and 
 when fupported by the whole force of royal au- 
 thority, the nobles of Spain found themfelves in- 
 capable of refilling its weight. 
 
 Yet whatever advantages Ferdinand might de- 
 rive from thefemeafures,he could never hope with- 
 out a numerous and obedient army to eftablifli the 
 dignity of the crown on a broad and folid bafis ; 
 and he was confcious it was only in a long and 
 fuccefsful war that the troops of Spain could be 
 trained to difcipline, and accuftomed to refped; 
 the voice of their fovereign. On his acceffion 
 to the throne of Arragon he had been defirous of 
 terminating his differences with Portugal by an 
 equal and honourable treaty ; that court confent- 
 ed to refign all pretenfions on Caftille, and to re- 
 linquifh the hand of the princefs Joanna ; the 
 articles were finally figned at Alcacovas ; and 
 Ferdinand at peace with his Chriftian neigh- 
 bours, revolved in the Moorifh kingdom of Gra- 
 nada a more popular object of hoftilities. 
 
 The fceptre of Granada was at that critical 
 moment held by Abul Hoflein, who in his youth 
 had been diftinguiflied by his valour, and in his 
 age was not found deficient in fpirit. Though 
 embarrafled by the prctenfions of his fon Abdalla, 
 who was impatient of fovereignty, he declined 
 not the impending conteft ; and to the demand 
 of tribute that was urged by Ferdinand, boldly 
 
 replied.
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 425 
 
 replied, " That in the fame place where they 
 (e coined money at Granada, they forged arms 
 C alfo to defend it." The anfwer funk deep in the 
 mind of Ferdinand ; and no fooner was he deli< 
 vered by hjs, treaty with Portugal from all appre- 
 henfions on that fide of his dominions, than ha 
 encouraged the marquis of Cadiz to invade the 
 Moorifh territories ; the inroad of that Caflilian 
 nobleman was regarded by the Moors as the a<3: 
 of his fovereign ; they flew to arms to avenge it ; 
 they furprifed the town of Zahara on the confines- 
 of Andalufia; placed a ftrong garrifon in the ci-. 
 tadel which arofe on. a craggy, rock, and was. 
 deemed impregnable ; and fwept away the inha- 
 bitants into captivity. The capture of Zahara, 
 was retaliated by that of Alhama, which is fitua-, 
 ted about twenty-five miles from Granada, and; 
 is flill celebrated for the falubrity of its baths. A; 
 Spanifh officer had remarked the weaknefs and 
 negligence of the garrifon ; he imparted his ob- 
 fervations to the marquis of Cadiz ; and a feledt 
 detachment marched under his conduct, fcaled. 
 the walls of the caftle, and maiTacred the {lender 
 band that had been left to guard it ; the cjtizens> 
 in the town below dill continued to defend them- 
 felves; but their tumultuous valour was ineffec- 
 tual againft the ardour and rapacity of the aflail- 
 ants ; three thoufand who efcaped the fword be* 
 came the ilaves of the Chriftian vidors, and ex- 
 piated
 
 4i6 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 piated by their fufferings the fate of the inhabi- 
 tants of Zahara. 
 
 Thefe defultory enterprifes were only the pre- 
 lude to a more ferious conflict for which the 
 Moors and Chriftians anxioufly prepared them- 
 felves ; the forces of Granada were firft in mo- 
 tion ; the royal flandard was unfurled ; and Abul 
 Hoffein ruflied forwards at the head of three 
 thoufand cavalry and forty thoufand infantry to 
 recover Alhama. The reputation of Ferdinand 
 was equally concerned to protect it ; the zeal of 
 his nobility enabled him to affemble a numerous 
 army ; and the garrifon of Alhama had fcarce 
 felt the calamities of a fiege, before they beheld 
 the banners of their fovereign advancing to their 
 relief; Abul Hoffein dreaded to encounter his 
 adverfary in the open field ; yet twice he refumed 
 the enterprife, and as often abandoned it on the 
 approach of Ferdinand ; nor were the Chriftians 
 exempt in their turn from lamenting the viciffi- 
 tudes of war ; and the king of Spain after be- 
 holding the braveft of his followers perifh in the 
 fruitlefs attempt, was compelled to retire with 
 difgrace from the walls of Loxa. 
 - The repulfe only ferved to ftimulate Ferdinand 
 to more vigorous efforts ; his ardour was partici- 
 pated or furpaffed by Ifabella ; the influence of 
 fuperflition was called to their affiftance ; and the 
 people readily believed the moment was arrived 
 
 which
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 427 
 
 which had been fo long predicted, when the dif- 
 ciples of Mahomet were to be expelled from 
 Spain; every province difplayed the bufy face of 
 war ; every port refounded with naval arma- 
 ments ; formidable armies were levied, and nu- 
 merous fquadrons equipped ; and the fupplies 
 vyhich were granted with liberality by the llates, 
 were managed with economy by Ifabella. Yet 
 though their refources were far inferior, and di- 
 vided by domeftic contention, the refinance of the 
 Moors was by no means inglorious. Abdalla 
 the fon of Hotfein had feized the capital of 
 Granada, and rejected the authority of his father. 
 He was impatient to fanftion his unnatural revolt 
 by fome fignal and fplendid achievements. As 
 a ftrong detachment of the Chriftians under the 
 marquis of Cadiz climbed the fteep mountains 
 of Axarguira, in the neighbourhood of Malaga, 
 they were fuddenly aflailed by an ambufcade of 
 the Moors, who arofe from their craggy lurking- 
 places, and ruftied to the attack with dhTonant 
 fliouts. The ranks of the Spaniards were already 
 difordered by their march over broken ground ; 
 the foldiers were confounded by the unexpected 
 charge ; an inflantaneous panic was communicated 
 to every bofom ; and,though the marquis of Cadiz 
 by the fwiftnefs of his horfe efcaped through fe- 
 cret paths, the greater part of his followers pe- 
 jiflied by the fword of the infidels. The fuccefs 
 
 of
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 of his countrymen elated Abdalla ; he marched 
 from Granada, and advanced without beholding 
 an enemy to the frontiers of Andaluiia. But he was 
 not fuffered to retreat with the fame impunity ; 
 the count of Cabra, with a feled: band of cavalry, 
 flew to chaftife his temerity ; a thick mift conceal- 
 ed their approach, which was difpelled by the fun, 
 when the infidels beheld with terror the Chriflian 
 fquadron ready to charge their rear. They were 
 themfelves incumbered with fpoil ; they were ig- 
 norant of the number of their adverfaries ; and the 
 error into which they were betrayed extinguiflied 
 all confidence in their leader; each man was only 
 felicitous for his perfonal fafety ; and, the moment 
 that the trumpets of the enemy founded, the rout 
 began. Amidft diiinay and Slaughter Abdalla 
 was- not more confpicuous for the fplendour of 
 bis-.arms- than for his daring valour ; two horfes 
 wcre-flain under him in fruitlefs efforts to animate 
 and rally his trembling and broken troops; but 
 thejday.was irrecoverably loft ; the prince himfelf 
 Was.gradually furrounded and oppreffed ; his gol- 
 den, armour, adorned with jewels was the prize 
 for which the crowd contended; and Abdalla 
 would probably have fallen a victim to the ava- 
 rice of the foldiers, had henot been refcued from 
 their handtf by the count de Cabra, anxious to 
 preftrve the moit glorious mark of his victory. 
 In- Cordova, Ferdinand and Ifabella received I 
 
 their
 
 HISTORY OF SPAItt. 429 
 
 their royal captive ; and Abdalla entered in chains 
 that city which had been the feat of his anceitors* 
 power and magnificence. Yet he was not fuffcred 
 to regret long the lofs of freedom ; Abul Hof- 
 fein exulted in the difgrace of his rebellious fon, 
 and delivered from the immediate dread of a foi> 
 midable competitor, prepared to continue the wat 
 with increafe of vigour. To diftradt the meafurei 
 of the Moors it was refolved to releafe Abdalla; 
 and that prince fubfcribed to whatever terms were 
 propofed as the price of liberty. He confented 
 to become the vaflal of Spain, and to pay an an- 
 nual tribute of twelve thoufand crowns ; but the 
 conditions which had been impofed in the hour 
 of fubjeclion were broken on the return of free- 
 dom ; nor did Abdalla blum at a violation which 
 was fan&ioned by the precepts of Mahomet. 
 
 Yet the advantages of reftoring the Moorifh 
 prince to his countrymen were fuch as Ferdinand 
 and his council had forefeen ; while the Chriftian 
 arms in four campaigns fucceffively recovered 
 Zahara, reduced Ronda, Velez, and Malaga ; 
 and difplayed their victorious banners on the 
 banks of the Rio Verde, and the mores of the 
 Mediterranean, the ftrength of the Moors was 
 confumed in a wide and bloody civil war. Abul 
 Hofiein refilled the pretenfions of hii fon Ab- 
 dalla, but he was forced to yield to the fuperior 
 fortune or addrefs of his brother Mohammed el 
 
 Zagal,
 
 43* HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 Zagal, whofe ambition was not reftrained by til* 
 guilt of fratricide. Yet on the throne Mohammed 
 was inftru<fted how ill he could depend on the 
 fidelity of his fubjeds; the ties of fociety were 
 diffolved ; the regal title had loft its weight ; and 
 the Moors were eager for new revolutions. Ab- 
 dalla with a chofen band furprifed or was admit* 
 ted into Granada $ and the reign of Mohammed 
 was confined to the fouthern corner of Anda- 
 lulia, which is watered by the Rio Verde. The 
 ftrong fortrefs of Baza was befieged by the forces 
 of Spain; in a defperate fally the garrifon in- 
 dulged themfelves in an ufelefs carnage of their 
 enemies ; but it was the ftruggle of expiring in- 
 dependence; Mohammed himfelf was detefted 
 among the Moors as a cruel ufurper, and dreaded 
 by the Spaniards as an active and enterprifmg foe; 
 the few partners of his hopes or aflbciates of his 
 crimes were induftrious to fecure themfelves by 
 a timely fubmiffion ; Guadix and Almeria opened 
 their gates to Ferdinand ; after a gallant defence 
 of eight months Baza was obliged to capitulate; 
 and Mohammed ftript of his dominions, from 
 the juft revenge of his nephew appealed to the 
 generofity of the Chriflians ; an ample eftate was 
 granted to him by Ferdinand for the fupport of 
 his dignity; he was prevailed upon to employ 
 his valour in the field againft his countrymen ; 
 and the plains of Granada were ravaged by his 
 
 - foV-
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN, 4^1 
 
 followers ; yet the applaufes of his new allies, 
 could not drown the reproaches of his mind ; he 
 awakened to the infamy of waging war againft 
 his Moflem brethren ; and he folicked and ob- 
 tained permiffion to feek a retreat in Africa wit!* 
 the Moors who preferred their ancient faith to 
 their native habitations. 
 
 Whatever might be the exultation of Ab- 
 dalla at the abdication and retreat of Moham- 
 med, it was alloyed by a review of his own dif- 
 trefs and danger. He had been befieged by the 
 Chriftians within the walls of Loxa; and though 
 in repeated failles his valour had been difplayed, 
 his fortune had not been changed ; covered with 
 wounds, the honourable teftimonies of his intre- 
 pidity, he had been compelled to lign a capitu- 
 lation which delivered Loxa to the enemies of 
 his faith, and confefled himfelf once more their 
 vaflal ; he was permitted to retire to Granada ; 
 and it was not long before that laft retreat was af- 
 failed by his enemies. 
 
 The conqueft of Granada has been adorned by 
 ,jhe romantic fancy of Dryden ; the circumftances 
 on which he founded his play have been collected 
 by an ingenious modern traveller ; and though per- 
 haps they command not our belief, they admirably 
 illuftrate the fpirit and manners of the age. The 
 moft powerful families in the reign of Abdalla 
 were the Abencerrages and .Alabeces, the Zegris 
 
 and
 
 431 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 and Gomeles. High above the reft towered the 
 Abencerrages, unequalled in gallantry, magnifi- 
 cence, and chivalry ; of thefe Albin Hamet flood 
 defervedly the foremoft in the favour of his fo- 
 vereign. His influence excited the envy of the 
 Zegris and Gomeles, and to accomplifh his ruin, 
 they defcended to the blacked artifice. An infi- 
 dious villain of the race of Zegri availed himfelf 
 of his intimacy with the king to infmuate a dark 
 tale of treafon and adultery ; he affirmed the 
 Abencerrages to be ready to rife in arms ; and af- 
 fured the monarch, that in the gardens of the pa- 
 lace of Alhambra, he had furprized Hamet in 
 wanton dalliance with the queen. The ftory 
 found ready admiffion into a jealous bofom ; and 
 the houfe of Abenceirage was doomed to deft ruc- 
 tion. They were fummoned fucceffively to at- 
 tend the king in the court of Lions ; and no 
 fooner was each unhappy victim admitted within 
 the walls, than he was feized by the Zegris and 
 beheaded. Thirty-fix of the nobleft had already 
 perifhed, when the bloody perfidy was revealed 
 by a page who had efcaped after witnefllng his 
 mafter's execution. The news was rapidly cir- 
 culated ; all Granada flew to arms ; and the 
 ftreets were deluged with the blood of the con- 
 tending factions. The authority or addrefs of 
 Mufa, a baftard brother of the king, prevailed 
 on them to fufpend their rage ; and to the chiefs 
 
 of
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 433 
 
 of his nation Abdalla explained the fource of his 
 conduct ; the confpiracy of the Abencerrages, 
 and the adultery of the queen. At the fame 
 time he folemnly pronounced the fentence of the 
 latter; and fhe was to be delivered alive to the 
 flames in thirty days, if (he did not produce four 
 knights to vindicate in arms her innocence againft 
 fo.ur of her accufers. The braveft warriors of 
 Granada were emulous to enter the lifts in her 
 defence ; but it was to a Chriftian fword the royal 
 criminal entrufted her caufe. She conveyed a 
 letter to Don Juan de Chacon, lord of Cartha- 
 gena, and invoked him by the generous duties of 
 knighthood to become her champion, and to bring 
 with him three valiant friends. The anfwer of 
 Chacon afTuaged her fears, and allured her that he 
 too highly valued the honour fhe had conferred on 
 him to be abtent at the hour of trial. On the fatal 
 day the populace accufed the negligence of their 
 queen, who had not named her defenders ; Mufa, 
 Azarque, and Almoradi, the judges of the com- 
 bat, intreated her in vain to accept their fer- 
 vices ; fhe repofed with fecurity on the Caflilian 
 faith, and defcended with a firm ftep from the 
 Alhambra to the fcene of encounter; the lifts 
 were prepared ; the trumpets of the Zegri found- 
 ed ; and from eight in the morning till two at 
 noon their defiance Was unanfwered ; but when 
 the anxiety of the multitude was increafed to the 
 VOL. i. F f higheft
 
 434 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 highefl pitch, and even the confidence of the- 
 queen was fhaken, a fhout of tranfport burft 
 from the crowd ; four horfemen, armed after the 
 manner of the Turks, entered the fquare; one 
 of them requefted permiffion to addrefs the queen; 
 and as he knelt before her, he let drop the letter 
 ihe had written to Don Juan ; ihe inftantly ac- 
 knowledged her Chriflian champions, and de- 
 clared her willingnefs to reft her innocence on 
 their valour and fuccefs. With Don Juan, the 
 duke of Arcos, Don Alonzo de Aguillar, and 
 Don Ferdinand de Cordova ftiared the glory and 
 danger of the romantic and perilous adventure. 
 On the fignal, they furioufly fpurred their courfers 
 againft their adverfaries, and three of the Zegri 
 were inftantly overthrown and extended lifelefs 
 on the plain ; the fourth, the traitor himfelf who 
 had forged the falfehood, maintained a more ob- 
 ilinate ftruggle; but he funk at length covered 
 with wounds at the foot of Don Ferdinand ; and 
 his laft breath confefled his treafcn, and the in- 
 nocence of the queen. Amidft the acclamation 
 of the multitude, and the congratulations of the 
 Moorifh chiefs, the victorious knights retired 
 without difclofing their nation or quality ; but 
 though Abdalla in tears repented his credulity, 
 he could not efface the refentment, or change the 
 fettled purpofe of the queen ; (he renounced for 
 ever his fociety, and fought a retreat in the king- 
 doms
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN, 435 
 
 doms of Fez of Morocco ; a fimilar indignation 
 tion was felt by the Abencerrages ; they quitted 
 Spain ; and Granada was deprived of her ableft 
 champions at the moment that they were moft 
 neceflary to her defence. 
 
 Whatever might be the domeftic griefs of Ab- 
 dalla, he was allowed but a fhort time to indulge" 
 them : he had fcarce received the intelligence of 
 the reduction of Baza, and the fubmiflion of Mo- 
 hammed, before he was embarrafled by the pre- 
 fence of the ambafladors of Ferdinand, who de- 
 manded in the name of their matter the furrender 
 of Granada. In many a bloody encounter Ab- 
 dalla had experienced his own inferiority ; in 
 prolonging the conteft he was probably deftitute 
 of hope ; and however rigorous, he would have 
 gladly fubfcribed any conditions which would 
 have preferved the Moors of Granada as a people* 
 But the decent pride of a prince was flill che- 
 rifhed in adverfity ; nor could he fign without a 
 ftruggle the final extinction of a kingdom which 
 had flourifhed beneath the government of the 
 Modems for above feven hundred years. His 
 anfwer revealed his fallen flate ; he acknowledged 
 his obligations and engagements to Ferdinand; 
 but he prudently eluded them under the pre- 
 tence that he was no longer matter of his own 
 capital, and that on the firft intimation of the 
 F f 2 treaty,
 
 436 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 treaty, the indignation of the Moors would be 
 fatal to his life. 
 
 Abdalla flattered not himfelf that any reply 
 could divert the purpofe of Ferdinand ; he pre- 
 pared for war ; and in her profperity, the king- 
 dom of Granada would not have been unequal to 
 the conteft. Thirty cities, and ninety-feven for- 
 tified towns were once included within the limits 
 of her jurifdiftion ; and a tribute of feven hun- 
 dred thoufand crowns in gold was not only fuffi- 
 cient for the fupport of a large Handing army, 
 but might have allured the rapacious tribes of 
 Africa to have crofled the fea in her defence. 
 But when Abdalla difmiflcd the ambafladors of 
 Ferdinand, the kingdom of Granada was con- 
 fined to her walls or to the adjacent plain ; and 
 of four hundred thoufand inhabitants which in 
 her mofl flourilhing ftate thofe walls contained, 
 fcarce one hundred thoufand remained to (hare the 
 danger or increafe the calamities of a fiege. Yet 
 thefe were inflamed by fuilen defpair and reli- 
 gious fanaticifm ; the firft taught them to die; 
 the laft promifed after death, paradife, the facred 
 reward of the faithful. 
 
 For that reward they were not permitted long 
 to figh in vain ; and the ardour of Ferdinand and 
 Ifabella to plant the ftandard of Chrift on the laft 
 retreat of the Mahometans of Spain, was com 
 municated to their fubjects. The Cortes and 
 
 prin-
 
 HISTORt OF SPAIN. 437 
 
 principal cities of Caftille and Arragon contri- 
 buted with alacrity to the glorious enterprife ; 
 their liberality was emulated by the clergy, de- 
 firous of fignalizing their zeal in a caufe confe- 
 crated by religion ; an army of feventy thoufand 
 fbldiers whofe valour had been already approved, 
 and difcipline confirmed in repeated conflicts with 
 the infidels, marched beneath the conduct of Fer- 
 dinand himfelf. They were animated by the 
 prefence of Ifabella ; and the chivalry of Spain, 
 who admired her manly fpirit, were' impatient to 
 merit her approbation ; as they moved along they 
 laid wafte the fertile plains of Granada ; and in 
 the ninth year from the commencement of the 
 Mooriih war, they incamped beneath the walls 
 of the devoted city. 
 
 On the banks of the Xenil and the Dauro, and 
 at, the extremity of a pleafant and fertile vale, 
 the city of Granada occupies a ftrong and com- 
 modious ftation ; but in a conteft where the 
 forces were fo unequal, neither her natural po- 
 fi ion, nor the enthufiafm of her citizens, could 
 preferve her independence ; the defpair of the 
 Moors repeatedly precipitated them againfl 
 the lines of the befiegers ; but their fallies, 
 the effufions of rage and fanaticifm, were more 
 frequently fatal to themfelves than their adverfa- 
 ries ; the Spaniards carried on their approaches 
 with caution and regularity ; and one incident 
 alone ferved tranliently to revive, and finally to 
 F f 3 con-
 
 4 3 8 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 found the hopes of the infidels ; as Ifabella be- 
 gulled the hours of the night in reading, her 
 taper, negligently placed, involved in an inftant 
 her apartment in flames ; fhe efcaped from the 
 fire ; but it was rapidly communicated to the 
 camp,\vhich was conftructed of huts thatched with 
 reeds or ftraw. On the firft alarm Ferdinand half 
 drefied mounted on horfeback, and flew with the 
 cavalry he could haftiiy aflemble to repulfe the 
 attempts of the befieged ; his firm pofture awed 
 the Moors ; and they were content with obferv- 
 ing the conflagration. But the misfortune ferved 
 only to ftimulate Ifabella to a new undertaking ; 
 and flie determined to provide againft a fimilar 
 accident in future. Two long and broad ftreets 
 were traced in the form of a crofs ; the neigh- 
 bouring quarries fupplied plenty of flone, and 
 the work was facilitated by the ikill and labour 
 of the pioneers ; inftead of a camp a city arofe ; 
 from the piety of its royal foundrefs it obtained 
 the name of Santa Fe, or Holy Faith ; and its 
 conftrudtion fufficiently revealed the perfeverance 
 and refolution of the befiegers. 
 
 Many an anxious look was caft by the unhappy 
 citizens of Granada towards the coaft of Africa ; 
 but the Mahometan kings of Fez and Morocco 
 xvere too intent on each others deftruction to prop 
 the finking fortunes of their brethren in Spain ; 
 and the famine which raged through the city was 
 aggravated by the plenty which flowed into the 
 
 camp.
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 439 
 
 camp. AfTailed by thefvvord, and exafperated by 
 hunger, the Moors abandoned themfelves to all 
 the horrors of defpair ; they crowded round the 
 tombs of their anceftors, and invoked their affift- 
 ance ; they filled the mofchs with their cries, and 
 alternately deprecated the wrath, or blafphemed 
 the name of their 'prophet ; thence flatting to 
 arms they iffued tumultuoufly from the gates, 
 and rufhed againft the works of the befiegers; 
 but Ferdinand could rely on the ftrength of his 
 fortifications; he patiently awaited the effects of 
 famine ; nor expofed his foldiers to the headftrong 
 fury of the infidels. Difappointed of a glorious, 
 they returned to the terrors of a lingering death ; 
 they furrounded the Alhambra, menaced the life 
 of their fovereign, and purfued him with exe- 
 crations as the author of their miferies. 
 
 At length the temped feemed to have exhauft- 
 cd its force ; the multitude opprefled by fatigue 
 funk into a momentary filence ; and the tranfient 
 calm was improved by Abdalla to obtain all that 
 he could now hope for, an honourable capitula- 
 tion. Ferdinand was too defirous to fecure his 
 triumph to hefitate on the terms; the articles 
 were formally ratified by an oath ; the Moorifh 
 king confcnted to furrender his palaces and capi- 
 tal ; to do homage, and fwear allegiance to the 
 victor ; to fet at liberty all Chriftian flaves with- 
 out ranfom ; and to deliver five hundred of the 
 F f 4 prin-
 
 440 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 principal inhabitants as fecurities for the punctual 
 execution of the treaty. In return, Ferdinand 
 engaged to protect the vanquifhed in the poflef- 
 fion of their arms, their horfes, and their eftates ; 
 to preferve their mofchs inviolate, and allow them 
 the free exercife of their religion ; to govern 
 them- according to their own laws, and to choofe 
 from among themfelves their magilliates ; to a- 
 bate during the term of three years their taxes, 
 and never to impofe heavier than thofe which 
 they had been fubjedt to under their former 
 kings ; and to provide {hipping for all who fhould 
 wifh to difpofe of their lands, and to retire with 
 their effects to Africa. 
 
 If humanity could not influence Ferdinand, po- 
 licy at leafl prompted to him alleviate the diftrefs 
 of a people who were fo fpeedily to become his 
 fubjects ; and no fooner were the hoftages deli- 
 vered than plenty was poured into the famifhed 
 city; relieved from the immediate terror of a 
 flow and painful death, the concern of the Moors 
 revived for the honour of their nation and the 
 iandtity of their faith. A wild enthufiaft rekind- 
 led the rage of the multitude; his voice was 
 heard through the fcreets denouncing the indigna- 
 tion of Mahomet, and menacing with the flames 
 of hell thofe who impioufly treated with the fol- 
 lowers of Chrift ; a motley group of twenty thou- 
 fand fanatics obeyed his fummons, and befieged 
 
 the
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 441 
 
 the gates of the Alhambra ; Abdalla could no 
 longer command, and the frantic infurgents de- 
 rided his intreaties ; but they trembled at the 
 menace of Ferdinand ; the king of Spain threat- 
 ened to intercept all further fupplies, and to 
 avenge on the hoftages their guilt. They were 
 awakened by the flern admonition to a fenfe of 
 their forlorn condition ; the lad murmur of refift- 
 ance expired, and they fubmitted to the will of 
 their conqueror. 
 
 It was on the fecond day of January, in the 
 year fourteen hundred and ninety-two, that Fer- 
 dinand and Ifabella entered in triumph the pro- 
 ftrate city of Granada ; as they advanced towards 
 the Alhambra they were met by Abdalla, accom- 
 panied by fifty horfe ; the Mooriih prince alight- 
 ed from his courfer, pronounced with a dejected 
 countenance and tremulous voice the degrading 
 words, " We are your ilaves, invincible mo- 
 ' ' narch ; we deliver up this city and kingdom to 
 " your clemency and moderation ;" he would 
 have fallen at the feet of his lord and mafter, but 
 he was prevented by Ferdinand, whofe fpirit was 
 neither moved by adulation, nor capable of ge- 
 nerofity ; he promifed the royal fuppliant a fafe 
 retreat, and an income adequate to his dignity ; 
 but Abdalla could not forget he had once been a 
 king ; the prefence of the victor muft have been 
 jrkfome to him ; he folicited and obtained leave 
 
 to
 
 44* HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 to retire to Africa. As from a neighbouring hill he 
 caft a la.fi. look on his palace and capital, a torrent 
 of tears proclaimed the anguifh of his foul ; his 
 grief was reproved by the indignant reply of his 
 mother the fultanefs Ayxa, " Thou doft well to 
 " weep like a woman for that kingdom which 
 " thou knewefl not how to die for like a man." 
 
 The inmoft recefles and glories of the Alham- 
 bra were thrown open to the eyes of Ferdinand ; 
 as in the pride of viftory he paiTed through the 
 gates of judgment, the Chriflian chief might have 
 been inftructed by the humble piety of the Muf- 
 fulman ; and the frequent infcription on the walls, 
 there is no conqueror but God, might have checked 
 the infolence of profperity ; but the moment of 
 fuccefs is feldom propitious to admonition ; and it 
 is not probable that the inftability of his own for- 
 tune, and the fallen {late of Abdalla recurred to the 
 mind of the vi&or, while he gazed on thofe won- 
 ders which have refilled the rage of time, and 
 Hill command the admiration of the traveller. 
 
 The exterior of the Alhambra prefents a rough 
 and irregular pile of buildings which forms a 
 ftriking contraft to the order and elegance within. 
 Through a fimple and narrow gate, the fpedtator 
 is conducted to a feries of beauties which almoft 
 realize the fabulous Tales of the Genii. The 
 bath, the firft objedt which ftrikes his fight, con- 
 fills of an oblong fquare with a deep bafon of 
 
 clear
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 443 
 
 clear water in the middle ; two flights of marble 
 (leps leading down to the bottom ; on each fide 
 a parterre of flowers, and a row of orange trees. 
 The court is incircled with a periftile paved with 
 marble ; the arches bear upon very flight pillar:, 
 in proportions and ftyle different from all the re- 
 gular orders of architecture. The ceilings and 
 walls are incruftated with fret work in flucco, 
 fo minute and intricate, that the mod patient 
 draughtfman would find it difficult to follow it 
 unlefs he made himfelf matter of the general plan. 
 The former are gilt or painted j and time has not 
 faded the colours, though they are conftantly ex- 
 pofed to the air ; the lower part of the latter is 
 Mofaic, difpofed in fantaftic knots and feitoons ; 
 a work new, exquifitely finiflied, and exciting 
 the molt agreeable fenfations. 
 
 From the bath a fecond door opens into the 
 court of the lions, an hundred feet in length, and 
 fifty in breadth, environed with a colonade feven 
 feet broad on the fides, and ten at the end ; the 
 roof and gallery are fupported by flender columns 
 of virgin marble, fantaftically adorned; and in 
 the centre of the court are the ftatues of twelve 
 lions, which bear upon their backs a large bafon, 
 out of which rifes a lefler. A volume of water 
 thrown up, falls again into the bafon, pafles 
 through the beafts, and iffues out of their mouths 
 into a large refervoir, whence it is communicated 
 
 to the other apartments. 
 
 Thefe
 
 444 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 Thefe apartments are decorated with whatever 
 the art of the age could invent or commerce 
 could fupply. The floors glitter with marble ; 
 the walls and the windows are enriched with mo- 
 faic ; and through the latter the rays of the fun 
 gleam with a variety of light and tints on the 
 former ; the air is perpetually refrefhed by foun- 
 tains ; and the double roof equally excludes the 
 extremes of heat and cold ; from every opening 
 fhady gardens of aromatic trees, beautiful hills, 
 and fertile plains meet the eye ; nor is it to be 
 wondered that the Moors ftill regret the delights 
 of Granada, and flill offer up their prayers for the 
 recovery of that city, which they deem a terref- 
 trial paradife. 
 
 While Ferdinand gazed with admiration on 
 his new conquefts, his bigoted mind revolved a 
 fcheme equally injurious to their iriterefts and his 
 own. In almoft every age and country the Jews 
 have been the objects of contempt and perfecu- 
 tion ; yet in oppreffion that unhappy race have 
 continually multiplied ; and their addrefs in pe- 
 cuniary negociations has not been more advanta- 
 geous to themfelves, than to the government in 
 which they have been tolerated. But the under- 
 ftanding had not yet burft from the fhackles of 
 bigotry ; and the fifteenth century was flill dark- 
 ened by religious prejudice ; no fooner had Fer- 
 dinand celebrated his triumph than he command- 
 ed
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 445 
 
 cd all the Jews who would not embrace the 
 Chriftian faith, to quit his dominions within fix 
 months. Their attachment to the law of Mofes 
 was fuperior to every other confideration, and 
 the effects they could conceal from the vigilant 
 rapacity of the conqueror, they tranfported with 
 them into Africa; in Tunis and Algiers they 
 preferved their peculiar rites and unfocial man- 
 ners ; and have gradually increafed in number 
 and riches under the moft arbitrary and fangui- 
 nary government. 
 
 If the Jews accufed the humanity, the Moon 
 might impeach the faith of Ferdinand and his 
 fucceflbrs. Every article of the capitulation 
 was in its turn eluded or openly violated ; and 
 they were reduced to the alternative of renounc- 
 ing the koran, or abandoning their native coun- 
 try. About feventy years after the taking of 
 Granada they were driven into revolt by the ri- 
 gour of adminiftration ; as they acted without al- 
 lies and almoft without concert, they were after 
 a bloody ftruggle of above two years fubdued. 
 And at the commencement of the feventeenth 
 century, their doom was finally figned by Philip 
 the third. Every perfon of Moorifh extraction 
 without exception was commanded under the fe- 
 vereft penalties to retire out of Spain ; the order 
 in appearance was punctually obeyed ; yet an 
 edict in the beginning of the eighteenth century 
 
 allures
 
 446 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 affures us that feveral preferred their native foil, 
 though with the fword fufpended over their heads ; 
 about that period a frefh perfecution was kindled 
 by the breath of the inquifition ; the wretched 
 remnant of the Moorifh race was driven into exile, 
 and their effects, which were eftimated at twelve 
 millions of crowns, were confifcated. 
 
 From the conqueft of Granada by Ferdinand 
 and Ifabella to the prefent time, the joint num- 
 bers of the Jews and Moors, who have been ba- 
 nifhed or facrificed to the bigotry and rigour of 
 the Spanifh government, are fuppofed to have 
 amounted to two millions of perfons ; the lofs of 
 fo many induftrious hands has been feverely felt ; 
 and the traveller who beholds the prefent ftate of 
 Granada, can fcarcely credit her ancient profpe- 
 rity. Inftead of luxuriant plantations and vene- 
 rable foreils, the eye is affailed by black and bar- 
 ren waftes; and it is only in the marly ruins 
 which are fcattered over the hills, that her former 
 magnificence can be traced. 
 
 But to an inaccurate obferver, the detriment 
 which Spain fuftained by the expulfion of the 
 Moors, was compenfated by an event extraordi- 
 nary as it was important to Europe. The difco- 
 very of the mariner's compafs in the dawn of the 
 fourteenth century had encouraged the navigators 
 to abandon their ancient timid and lingering courfe 
 along the fhore, and to launch boldly into the 
 
 ocean ;
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 44? 
 
 ocean ; about the middle of that century a more 
 enterprifing fpirit guided the Spaniards to the 
 Canary or Fortunate Iflands, near five hundred 
 miles from their own coaft ; and above an hun- 
 dred and fifty from that of Africa. Yet the chief 
 glory of penetrating beyond thofe limits which 
 nature feemed to have impofed, and of opening 
 a new field to the daring genius of men, muft be 
 afcribcd to the Portuguefe. The fituatiori of their 
 kingdom, bounded on every fide by the domi- 
 nions of a more powerful neighbour, did not afford 
 free fcope to their activity by land, and the fea 
 remained the only theatre on which they could 
 diftinguifti themlelves. About the beginning of 
 the fifteenth century their veffels explored the 
 coaft of Africa, doubled Cape Horn, which had 
 bounded the progress of former navigators, and 
 reached Cape Bojador. Beneath the aufpices of 
 prince Henry, who to the martial fpirit of the 
 times added all the accomplilhments of a more 
 enlightened and polilhed age, the Portuguefe ra- 
 pidly advanced in the ftudy of geography and 
 the fcience of navigation ; they difcovered and 
 planted the iflands of Porto Santo, and Madeira ; 
 the wines and fugars which were imported from 
 the latter, encouraged them to proceed ; they 
 doubled Cape Bojador, advanced within the 
 tropics, and in the fpace of a few years reached 
 the river Senegal, and became familiar with the 
 
 coaft
 
 448 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 coaft from Cape Blanco to Cape de Verd ; the 
 countries which they had difcovered were con- 
 firmed to them by the papal authority ; and they 
 were exhorted to proceed in their laudable career 
 by the bull which granted to them an exclufive 
 right over all the regions which they ihould de- 
 fcry from Cape Horn to the continent of India. 
 
 To gain that continent by a fiiorter route than 
 hitherto had been known, was the darling ob- 
 ject of the Portuguefe councils ; the fpirit of nau- 
 tical adventure received fome check from the 
 death of prince Henry, and flumbered during 
 the warlike reign of Alfonfo ; but it revived un- 
 der John the fecond ; Bartholemew Diaz, an of- 
 ficer whofe fagacity, experience, and fortitude, 
 admirably qualified him for the undertaking, 
 ftretched boldly to the fouth, and after encoun- 
 tering a fucceffion of tempefts in unknown feas, 
 beheld his labours and perfeverance crowned by 
 the lofty promontory which bounds Africa on that 
 fide; to behold it was all that the violence of the 
 winds, the {nattered condition of his ftiips, and 
 the turbulent fpirit of his crew allowed him : the 
 appellation of Cabo Tormentofo, or the Stormy 
 Caf-e, was expreflive of the boifterous elements 
 which forbade his nearer approach; but on his 
 return the name was changed by the difcernment 
 of his fovereign ; and it received and retained 
 that of the Cape of Good Hope y the aufpicious 
 omen of future fuccefs. 
 
 But
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 449 
 
 But while John revolved the means of improv- 
 ing the difcovery of Bartholomew Diaz, a new 
 and more diftinguiflied character arofe, whofe 
 genius, vaft and fertile as the countries he ex- 
 plored, with them, muft command the admira- 
 tion of pofterity. Chriftopher Columbus was a 
 fubject of the republic of Genoa ; and though 
 neither the time nor place of his birth can be ac- 
 curately afcertained, was defcended of an honour- 
 able though impoveriihed family. The indi- 
 gence of his anceflors had compelled them to a 
 fea-faring life ; and the difpofition of Columbus 
 was happily adapted to the profeffion which ne- 
 ceflity had impofed on him. He had acquired 
 fome knowledge of the Latin tongue ; and had 
 been inftrudted, and had rapidly perfected himfelf, 
 an geometry, cofmography, aftronomy, and the 
 art of drawing ; thus peculiarly qualified he be- 
 gan his career on that element which conducted 
 him to fo much glory. For five years his adven- 
 turous fpirit was confined within the limits of the 
 Mediterranean, or exercifed in voyages .to the 
 northern feas or coafts of Iceland ; he afterwards 
 entered into the fervice of a famous fea captain 
 of his own name and family ; and difplayed his 
 courage in frequent cruifes againft the Mahome- 
 tans and Venetians ; in an obftinate engagement 
 with the latter, off the coaft of Portugal, the vef- 
 fel on board which he ferved took fire, together 
 
 VOL. I. G g with
 
 450 HISTORY OF SPAfN. 
 
 with one of the enemies fhips ; amidft the gene- 
 ral horror, his prefence of mind did not forfake 
 him ; he threw himfelf into the fea, and with 
 the affiftance of an oar reached the land though 
 at the diftance of two leagues. 
 
 The ardent fpirit of Columbus could not be 
 appalled by clanger ; and no fooner had he reco-' 
 vered his ftrength than he repaired to Lifbon, 
 and entered into thePortuguefe fervice, the fchool 
 for nautical adventure. He was foon efteemed 
 for his^dll and experience; and his marriage 
 with a Portuguefe lady, the daughter of Bartho- 
 lomew Parefballo, one of the captains who had 
 difcovered and planted the iflands of Porto Santo 
 and Madeira, confirmed him in his darling pur- 
 fuit ; he got pofTeffion of the journals and charts 
 of that celebrated navigator; and indulged his 
 impatience to vifit the countries Pareflrallo had 
 defcribecl, in frequent voyages to Madeira, the 
 Canaries, and the Portuguefe fettlements on the 
 coaft of Africa. 
 
 The reputation of a fkilful navigator fatisfied 
 not the ambition of Columbus ; his mind, natu- 
 rally vigorous and inquifitive, revolved new 
 fchemes of difcovery ; he reviewed every circum- 
 itance fuggefted by his fuperior knowledge in 
 the theory and practice of navigation.; and after 
 comparing attentively the obfervations of modern- 
 pilots, with the hints and conjectures of ancient 
 
 authors,
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 451 
 
 authors, he at laft concluded, that by failing 
 directly towards the weft, acrofs the Atlantic 
 Ocean, new countries, which probably formed a 
 part of the vaft continent of India, muft infallibly 
 be difcovered. 
 
 The fpherical figure of the earth was already 
 known, and its magnitude afcertained with fome 
 degree of accuracy. From this it was evident that 
 the continents of Europe, Alia, and Africa, formed 
 but a fmall part of the terraqueous globe. It was 
 fuitable to the ideas entertained of the wifdorn 
 and benevolence of the Author of Nature, to be- 
 lieve that the vaft fpace, ftill unexplored, was not 
 covered with an unprofitable ocdan ; and it ap- 
 peared probable that the continent on this fide the 
 globe was balanced by a proportional quantity of 
 land in the other hemifphere. Canes, and tim- 
 ber, and trees, had been driven by wefterly winds 
 on the coafts of the Azores; and the dead bodies 
 of two men, whofe fmgular features refembled 
 neither the inhabitants of Europe, nor of Africa, 
 were caft on fhore there. 
 
 Thefe obfervations were combined by Colum- 
 bus, and convinced him that other countries ex- 
 ifted in the weftern ocean, which were probably 
 connected with the continent of India. With 
 his fanguine and enterprifing temper, fpeculation 
 led directly to action ; and he was impatient to 
 bring the truth of his fyftem to the ted of expe- 
 G g 2 rimenf.
 
 45* HISTORY OF SPAIN. 
 
 rimcnt. Long abfence had not extinguifhed the 
 affection which he had imbibed to his native 
 country, and he wiihed that it fhould reap the 
 fruits of his labour and invention ; but from his 
 refidence in foreign parts the Genoefe were un- 
 acquainted with his abilities and character; they 
 rejected his propofal as the dream of a chime- 
 rical projector; and loft for ever the opportu- 
 nity of reftoring their commonwealth to its an- 
 cient fplendour. 
 
 The king of Portugal, in whofe dominions he 
 bad long been eftablilhed, had the next claim to 
 his fervices. Here his talents were known and 
 ffteemed, and the genius of the people accorded 
 with his own. But John unfortunately referred 
 him to a council who had advifed the difcovery 
 of a paflage to India by a different route from 
 that which Columbus recommended. They could 
 not fubmit to condemn their own theory, and 
 acknowledge his fuperior fagacity ; while they 
 deferred pafiing judgment, they advifed John to 
 difpatch fecretly a veffcl to purfue the courfc 
 Columbus had pointed out ; but the ungene- 
 rous attempt was attended by the difappoint- 
 ment it deferved; contrary winds arofe; no 
 fymptom of approaching land appeared ; the 
 courage of the pilot failed ; and he returned to 
 Lifbon, execrating the project as equally extra- 
 vagant and dangerous. 
 
 Colum-
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 453 
 
 Columbus quitted with indignation a court ca- 
 pable of fuch mean treachery ; and while he cotn- 
 miffioned his brother Bartholomew to found the 
 inclinations of the king of England, he himfelf 
 repaired to Spain. He found Ferdinand and Ifa- 
 bella engaged in the war with Granada ; the for- 
 mer, wary and fufpicious, was not difpoled to bold 
 or uncommon defigns ; the latter, though fanguine 
 and enterprifing, was chiefly influenced by her 
 hufband ; and though the character of Columbus 
 fecured him refpect, though his grave and cour- 
 teous deportment, his exemplary attention to all 
 the duties and functions of religion, conciliated, 
 the regard of the Spaniards, his propofals were 
 received with coldnefs ; his project was treated 
 as chimerical, and the advantages which he re- 
 ferved for himfelf were confidered as exorbitant. 
 
 Fatigued by inceflant objections, Columbus 
 had already quitted Santa Fe to join his brother 
 in England, when his journey was arrefted by a 
 meflenger from Ifabella. Granada had furren- 
 dered ; the moment of triumph is ever propitious 
 to new enterprifes ; and while the mihd of the 
 queen was elated by profperity, it was recalled to 
 the plan of Columbus, by Alonfo de Quintanilla, 
 comptroller of the finances in Caftille, and Lewis 
 de Santangal receiver of the ecclefiaftical reve- 
 nues of Arragon ; thefe minifters had early de- 
 clared themfelves the patrons of Columbus ; they 
 
 painted
 
 454 HISTORY OP SPAIN. 
 
 painted in glowing colours the honour that would 
 accrue, after re-eftablifhing the Chriftian faith in 
 thofe provinces of Spain from which it had long 
 been baniihed, from difcovering and communi- 
 cating it to a new world ; they reprefen ted that 
 if ihe did not decide inftantly, the opportunity 
 would be irretrievably loft ; that Columbus was 
 on his way to foreign countries, where feme prince 
 more fortunate or adventurous would clofe with 
 his propofals, and Spain would for ever bewail 
 the fatal timidity which had excluded her from 
 the glory and advantages that fhe had once in her 
 power to have enjoyed. 
 
 The doubts and fears of Ifabella were van- 
 quifhed by the % arguments of Quintanilla and 
 Santangal ; an invitation was difpatched to Co- 
 lumbus to return, and was received with that ex- 
 ultation which an ardent mind muft feel on be- 
 ing permitted to attempt a favourite enterprife. 
 Yet Ferdinand (till remained unmoved ; as king 
 of Arragon he refufed to take any part in the ex- 
 pedition ; one eighth part was defrayed by Co- 
 lumbus himfelf ; the reft was fupplied by Ifabella 
 as queen of Caftille, who referved for her fub- 
 jefts an exclufive right to all the benefits which 
 might arife ; yet the whole of the expence ex- 
 ceeded not four thoufand pounds; and about 
 eight months after Granada was recovered by the 
 Chriftians, Columbus with three fmall veffels-, 
 
 and,
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN. 45$ 
 
 and lefs than an hundred mariners, failed from the 
 port of Palos in Andalufia, to traverfe the At- 
 lantic Ocean, and explore a new world in the 
 weftern hemifphere. 
 
 EKD OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
 

 
 University of California 
 
 SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 
 
 Return this material to the library 
 
 from which it was borrowed. 
 

 
 A 000019895 2