Cartage'na

Cartage'na, a fortified seaport of Spain, on a bay of the Mediterranean, 326 miles SE. of Madrid by rail. It is built partly on the declivity of a hill, and partly on a plain extending down to the sea, and is inclosed by hills which screen it from all winds. The harbour is one of the best in the Mediterranean, capacious enough to hold the largest fleets. The entrance is narrow, and completely commanded by a fortified island on the south. It was formerly the largest naval arsenal not only in Spain but in Europe. The city presents a Moorish aspect in its streets, its cathedral, and its ruined castle. Cartagena has manufactures of ropes, sail-cloth, and glass, besides extensive blast-furnaces and smelting-works, and exports lead, silver, iron, esparto grass, &c. Pop. of town and suburbs (1887) 84,230. Cartagena, which was a colony of the Carthaginians, was built by Hasdrubal 242 B.C., under the name of New Carthage. It formed the headquarters of the Carthaginians in Spain, and soon became a city of much wealth and influence. It was captured by P. Scipio in 210 B.C., and became of importance under the Romans, who are said to have employed 40,000 men daily in the neighbouring mines. It was sacked by the Goths, and did not again attain any note until the time of Philip II. In July 1873 Cartagena, with its arsenal and war-ships, was seized by a communal junta, but was retaken by the national forces in January 1874.