GALICIA (Gallsecia or Callxcia, KaXActxia, KaXaucia), an ancient kingdom, countship, or pro7ince in the N.W. angle of Spain, now divided into the provinces of Corufla, Lugo, Orense, and Pontevedra, lies between 41° 51' and 43' 47' N. lat., 6° 50' and 9' 16' W. long., and is bounded on the N. and W. by the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic, on the S. by the Portuguese provinces of Entre Douro e Minho and Traz os Montes, and on the E. by Leon and the Asturias. The greatest length is about 125 miles, greatest breadth 115 miles; area, 11,222 square miles ; population (1867), 1,937,792. Galicia is traversed from E. to W. by a continuation of the great Pyrenean and Cantabrian chain ; and its surface is further broken by two spurs from that system, which, running in a south-westerly direction, enclose the basin of the Miiio. The average elevation of the province is considerable, and the maximum height (6593 feet) is reached in the Pella Trevinca on the east border of Orense. The principal river is the Mifio (Portuguese, Minho; Latin ntfiixi us; so named, it is said, from the minium or vermilion found in its bed), which, rising near Mondoiiedo, within 20 miles of the northern coast, after a course of 170 miles in a south and south-west direction, enters the Atlantic near the port of La Guardia. It is navigable by small vessels on the lower part of its course.

Of the numerous affluents of the Milio, the most important are - on the left the Sil, which rises among the lofty mountains between Leon and Asturias, and on the right the Tea, which rises on the eastern flank of Monte Fano. Among other rivers having a westerly direction may be mentioned the Tambre, the Ulla, and the Lerez or Ler, which fall into the Atlantic by estuaries or rias called respectively Ria Muros y 'cop, Ria Arose, and Ria Pontevedra. The rivers of the northern versant, such as the Eume, the Juvia, and the Mero, are, like those of the Asturias, for the most part short, rapid, and subject to violent floods. The coast-line of Galicia, extending to about 240 miles, is everywhere bold and deeply indented, presenting a large number of secure harbours, in this respect forming a marked contrast to the neighbouring province. The Eo, winch bounds Galicia on the east, has a deep estuary, the Rivadeo, which offers a safe and commodious anchorage in 3 fathoms water at ebb-tide. Further to the west is Vivero Bay, 1 mile wide and 3 in length, affording good anchorage throughout, with from 6 to18 fathoms of water. The∎Ria, del \Torquero y Fares is of a similar character ; while the harbour of Ferrol (see FERnoL) ranks among the best in Europe. On the opposite side of Betanzos Bay (the iityas Atiri7/V or Portus Magnus of the ancients) is the great port of Curdle. (see COucxxx). The principal port on the western coast of Galicia is that formed by the deep and sheltered bay of Vigo, which is navigable for vessels of 500 tons to a distance of 16 miles from the ocean ; but there are also good roadsteads at Corcubion under Cape Finisterre, at Marin, and at Carril. The climate of the Galician coast is mild and equable, but the interior, owing to the great elevation (the town of Lugo is upwards of 1900 feet above the sea level), has a wide range of temperature. The rainfall is exceptionally large, and snow lies on some of the loftier elevations for a considerable portion of the year. The soil is on the whole fertile, and the produce very varied. A considerable quantity of timber is grown on the high lands, and the rich valley pastures support large herds of cattle, while the abundance of oak and chestnut favours the rearing of swine. In the lowland districts good crops of maize, wheat, barley, oats, and rye, as well as of turnips and potatoes, are obtained. The fruit also is of excellent quality and in great variety, although the culture of the vine is limited to some of the warmer valleys in the southern districts. The dehesas or moorlands abound in game, and fish are plentiful in all the streams. The mineral resources of the province, which are considerable, were known to some extent to the ancients. Strabo speaks of its gold and tin, and Pliny mentions the gemma Gallaica. Mines of lead, tin, copper, and iron pyrites continue to be wrought, though under considerable disadvantages, and chiefly by f oreign capitalists. Galicia is also remarkable for the number of its sulphur and other warm springs, the most important of which are those at Lugo and those from which Orense is said to take its name (Aquae urentes).

Ethnologically the Galicians (Gallegos) are allied to the Portuguese, whom they resemble in dialect, in appearance, and in habits more than the other inhabitants of the peninsula. The men are well known all over Spain, and also in Portugal, as hardy, honest, and industrious, but for the most part somewhat unskilled, labourers ; indeed the word Gallego has come to be almost a synonym in Madrid for a "hewer of wood and drawer of water." Agriculture engages the greater part of the resident population, both male and female; other industries are little developed, and the fisheries are not extensive. There are a few linen and cotton factories in the larger towns, The principal exports are live cattle, preserved meats, eggs, bones, mineral ore, fish oil, salt fish (especially sardines), chestnuts and other nuts, grain (especially maize), and potatoes. The first-mentioned item is the most considerable; the exports to England from Coruna alone having mounted in 1875 to 17,000 head, at an average value of £15. The chief imports are coal, iron, tobacco, and manufactured. goods. Apart from the few carreteras reales or royal roads, which arc, as elsewhere in the Peninsula, unexceptionable, the means of internal communication in Galicia arc decidedly defective. The only railways are those betwixt Lugo and Coruna (61 miles), and betwixt Santiago and Carril miles). Another line, from Vigo to Orense, has been in course of construction for some time, and it is also proposed to connect Lugo with Astorga. Galicia has 10 cities and 115 towns. The capital is Santiago, which is also an archbishopric, with a population of 29,000. Lugo, Tuy, Mondoiiedo, Orense, are also episcopal sees. The largest city is Coruna, the seat of the audiencia (population about 40,000). The others are Ferrol, Vigo, Betanzos, and Pontevedra.

Galls cia, the country of the Callaici or Gallaici, seems to have lleen very imperfectly known to the earlier geographers. According to Eratosthenes the entire population of the peninsula were at one time called Galata;. The region properly called by their name, bounded on the S. by the Douro and on the E. by the Kayla, was first entered by the Roman legions under Deans Junius Brutus in 137-6 B. o. (Livy, lv., lvi., Epit.); but the final subjugation cannot be placed earlier than the time of Augustus. Under the Antonines, possibly even under Hadrian, Gallaicia and Astoria were erected into a separate Provincia Cmsaris, having been regarded previously as merely a portion of Lusitania. On the partition of Spain, which followed the successful invasions of the Snevians, Alans, and Vandals, Galkeeia fell to the lot of the first-named (411 A. IL ). After an independent subsistence of nearly 200 years, the Snevian kingdom was annexed to the Visigothic dominions under Leovigild in 590. In 713 it was occupied by the Moors, who in turn were driven out of it about the year 734 by Alphonso I. of Asturias and his brother Frock. During the 9th and 10th centuries it was the subject of dispute between more than one count of Galicia and the suzerain, and its coasts were repeatedly ravaged by the Norsemen. When Ferdinand I. divided his kingdom among his sons in 1063, Galicia was the portion allotted to Garcia, the youngest of the three. Ten years afterwards it was forcibly reannexed by Garcia's brother Alphonso, and thenceforward it remained an integral part of the kingdom of Castile or of Leon. The honorary title of count of Galicia has frequently been borne by younger sons of the Spanish eov.'reign. In the patriotic struggles of 1808 the junta of Galicia took an important park For administrative purposes the ancient province has since 1833 been divided into four, namely, Coruila, Lugo, Orense, and Pontevedra.