ALAVA

This article appears in Volume V01, Page 479 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: AJA-ALL

ALAVA , one of the Basque Provinces of northern Spain; bounded on the N. by Biscay and Guipflzcoa, E. by Navarre, S. by Logrono, and W. by Burgos. Pop. (1900) 96,385; area 1175 sq. m. The countship of Trevino (Igo sq. m.) in the centre of Alava belongs to the province of Burgos. The surface of Alava is very mountainous, especially on the north, where a part of the Pyrenees forms its natural boundary. It is separated from Logrofio by the river Ebro, and its other rivers are the Zadorra and the Ayuda. The climate is mild in summer, fitful in autumn and

spring

SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

, and very cold in winter, as even the plains are high and shut in on three sides by mountains snow-clad during several months. The soil in the valleys is fertile, yielding wheat, barley, maize, flax, hemp and fruits. Oil and a poor kind of wine called chacoli are also produced. Many of the mountains are clothed with forests of oak, chestnuts, beeches and other trees, and contain iron, copper, lead and marble. Salt is also found in large quantities; but mining and quarrying are not practised on a large scale; only lead, lignite and asphalt being worked. There are

mineral

MINERAL

waters in many places. Other local

industries

INDUSTRIES

of some importance include smelting, and manufactures of beds, furniture, railway carriages, matches,

paper

PAPER
PAPER (Fr. papier, from Lat. papyrus)

, sweets and woollen and

cotton

goods. Bread-stuffs, colonial products and machinery are largely imported. Few provinces in Spain are inhabited by so laborious, active and well-to-do a population. The primary schools are numerously attended, and there are very good normal schools for teachers of both sexes, and a model agricultural farm. The public roads and other works of the province are excellent, and, like those of the rest of the Basque provinces, entirely kept up by local initiative and taxes. Railways from Madrid to the French frontier, and from

Saragossa

to Bilbao, cross the province. The

capital

CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

Vitoria

VITORIA

(pop. 1900, 30,701), which is the only town with more than 3500 inhabitants.
For a fuller account of the history, people and customs of Alava, see BASQUES and BASQUE PROVINCES, with the works there cited. A very elaborate bibliography is given in the Cdtalogo de las obras referentes d las provincias de Alava y Navarra, by A. A. Salazar (Madrid, 1887.) The following books by J.1. Landazuri y Romarate contain much material for a provincial history:Historia ecclesiastica, &c. (Pamplona, 1797); Historia civil, &c. (

Vitoria

VITORIA

, 1798); Compendios historicos de ?a Ciudad y villas de Alava, &c. (Pamplona, 1798) ; Suplemento d los cuatro libros de la historia de
Alava (Vitoria, 1799); and Los varones illustres Alavenses (Vitoria, 1798). See also M. Risco in vol. 33 of Hispania Sagrada, by H.

Florez

FLOREZ, ENRIQUE (1701-1773)

, &c. (Madrid, 1754-1879).

End of Article: ALAVA

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/AJA_ALL/ALAVA.html">
ALAVA
</a>

(Previous)
ALAUNA, ALAUNUS

(Next)
ALAVA, DON MIGUEL RICARDO DE (1770-1843)

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email