Coruña

Coruña, LA (ordinarily in English, Corunna; among seamen, Groyne), a fortified seaport of Spain, and capital of a province of the same name, situated about midway between capes Ortegal and Finisterre, on a peninsula in the Bay (ría) of Coruña, 263 miles NW. of Leon by rail. The town divides itself naturally into the upper portion and the lower, called Pescadería, which, formerly a haunt of fishermen, is now the centre of wealth and trade. The harbour is commodious and protected by forts; and in 1888 a long-desired quarantine harbour was completed. There are large cavalry and infantry barracks, and a handsome new college, preparatory for the university of Santiago; but few of the other buildings are striking. To Englishmen the most interesting object is the tomb of Sir John Moore, in the centre of the gardens of San Carlos. One mile north-west of the town stands the famous Torre de Hercules, restored by Trajan, which serves as a lighthouse, and is nearly 100 feet high. Coruña has still a considerable commerce, but its cattle trade, which once employed a small fleet to carry oxen to Portsmouth and Plymouth for the British army and navy contracts, has fallen off. The chief imports are sugar from the colonies, and American raw petroleum, dried cod, hides from Argentina, cheap German spirits, and English coal. The industries of the town include the manufacture of cigars, glass-ware, and canned meats and fish, as well as cotton-spinning. Pop. (1885) 34,202. Coruña dates its origin from the Phœnicians, from whom it was taken by the Romans in the 1st century B.C. To Englishmen Coruña has rare historic interest. Here in 1386 John of Gaunt landed to claim the crown of Castile in right of his wife, daughter of Pedro the Cruel; in 1554 Philip II. embarked here for England to marry Queen Mary; and in 1588 the great Spanish Armada, which had been refitted at this port, set sail for the conquest of England. Here also fell gloriously Sir John Moore (January 16, 1809), after having with but 14,000 travel-worn men defeated no less redoubtable an antagonist than Soult at the head of 20,000 Frenchmen, fresh and flushed with the expectation of victory. Few exploits in English history are prouder than his memorable retreat, closed by the brilliant victory that covered the embarkation of the British troops.