Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Toledo (1.)

TOLEDO, a province of Spain, in New Castile, is bounded on the N. by Avila and Madrid, on the E. by Cuenca, on the S. by Ciudad Real, and on the W. by Caceres, and has an area of 5620 square miles. The surface is throughout lofty, and in a great part of its extent mountainous. Towards the centre, indeed, there are extensive plains or tablelands, but the whole of the south and east is occupied by the Montes de Toledo, which separate the waters of the Tagus on the north from those of the Guadiana on the south. These mountains are of no great height; and they -were once densely covered with forests, which have now been almost entirely cut down, although there are still woods and groves of considerable extent on their lower slopes. Branches of this chain enclose the province on the east and west, and part of the range that stretches north of the Tagus approaches its north-western frontier. Toledo is well watered by the Tagus and its affluents, the Tajuna, Jarama, Guadarrama, Alberche, and Tietar on the north, and the Algodor, Torcon, Pusa, Sangrera, and Cedron on the south. The Guadiana forms for a short distance the south-western frontier, and its tributary the Giguela waters the eastern part of the province. The country is rich in minerals, as yet almost entirely unworked, containing veins of gold, silver, lead, iron, quicksilver, copper, and tin. Coal, alum, cinnabar, <tc., are also found. The soil produces corn, pulse, potatoes, oil, wine, flax, oranges, lemons, chestnuts, and melons in fair abundance, but the trade in agricultural products is almost confined to the province itself. The number of sheep and goats is few, of horses and mules still less; while the only oxen are those used in agriculture. Bees and silkworms are kept in considerable number. Manufactures once flourished, but are now in a very low state, silk and woollen cloth, earthenware, soap, oil, chocolates, wine, rough spirit (aguardiente), guitar strings, and arms being almost the only - articles made. The province is traversed by three lines of railway,—that of Madrid Seville-Cadiz in the east, Madrid-ToledoCiudad Real through the centre, and Madrid-Caceres-Lisbon in the north. There are 12 partidos judicial es and 206 ayuntamientos; and three senators with eight deputies are returned to the cortes. The total population in 1885 was 332,000; the only towns with a population exceeding 10,000 are Toledo (20,251) and Talavera de la Reina (11,986). Some of the most brilliant fighting of the Peninsular War took place in Toledo and the neigh bouring province of Caceres, the battle of Talavera de la Reina being fought on the 27th and 28th of July 1809.