the Douro, and the river Turones, a branch of the Agueda. Pop. (1900) 2330. Almeida was long one of the principal frontier fortresses of Portugal. It was captured by the Spaniards in 1762. During the Peninsular War (q.v.), the country between the Coa and the Spanish fortress of Ciudad Rodrigo, 25 m. E.S.E., was the scene of hard fighting. Almeida was taken by the French in 1810, and its recapture, by the allied British and Portuguese forces under Lord Wellington, was only effected after a relieving force under Marshal Masséna had been defeated at Fuentes d’Onor (or Fuentes de Oñoro), 13 m. S.S.E. The battle was fought on the 5th of May 1811 and the fortress fell five days later.
ALMELO, a town in the province of Overysel, Holland, 12 m. by rail N.W. of Hengelo, at the junction of the Overysel and Almelo canals. Pop. (1900) 9957. It is a place of considerable antiquity, having been the seat of an independent lordship before the 14th century. But it first rose into importance in the second half of the 19th century owing to its share in the extraordinary industrial development of the Twente district, and now possesses numerous cotton and damask factories. Among the public buildings are a town hall, court house, corn exchange, and churches of various denominations, as well as a synagogue.
The lordship of Almelo belonged to the lords of Heeckeren, who acquired the barony of Rechteren by marriage in 1350 and the countship of Limpourg in 1711. The elder branch of the mediatized house of Rechteren-Limpourg is still established at Almelo; the younger, German branch, at Markt Einersheim in Bavaria.
ALMENDRALEJO, a town of western Spain, in the province of Badajoz; situated 27 m. E.S.E. of Badajoz, on the Merida-Seville railway. Pop. (1900) 12,587. Almendralejo is a thriving town, with broad streets and good modern houses; including the palace of the marquesses of Monsalúd, which contains a museum of Roman antiquities discovered in the neighbourhood. Local prosperity was greatly enhanced during the period 1875–1905 by the improvement of communications, which enabled the grain, fruit and wine of the Guadiana valley, on the north, and of the upland known as the Tierra de Barros, on the south, to be readily exported by the Merida-Seville railway. Brandy is produced in large quantities.
ALMERÍA, a maritime province of southern Spain, formed in 1833, and comprehending the eastern territories of the ancient kingdom of Granada. Pop. (1900) 359,013; area, 3360 sq. m. Almería is bounded on the N. by Granada and Murcia, E. and S. by Murcia and the Mediterranean Sea, and W. by Granada. It is traversed by mountain ridges, with peaks of 6000 to 8000 ft. in altitude; and it is seamed with valleys or great fertility. The chief sierras, or ranges, are those of Maria, in the north; Estancias and Oria, north of the Almanzora river; Filabres, in the middle of the province; Cabrera and Gata, along the south-east coast; Alhamilla, east of the city of Almería; Gádor in the south-west; and, in the west, some outlying ridges of the Sierra Nevada. Three small rivers, the Adra, or Río Grande de Adra, in the west, the Almería in the centre, and the Almanzora in the north and east, flow down from the mountains to the sea. On the south coast is the Gulf of Almería, 25 m. wide at its entrance, and terminating, on the east, in the Cabo de Gata, the southernmost point of eastern Spain. The climate is mild, except among the higher mountains. The valleys near the sea are well adapted for agriculture; oranges, lemons, almonds and other fruit trees thrive; silk is produced in the west; and the vine is extensively cultivated, less for the production of wine than to meet the foreign demand for white Almería grapes. Although the cost of transport is very heavy, the exportation of grapes is a flourishing industry, and more than 2,000,000 barrels are annually sent abroad. The cattle of the central districts are celebrated for size and quality. Almería is rich in minerals, especially iron and lead; silver, copper, mercury, zinc and sulphur are also obtained. At the beginning of the 20th century the mines at work numbered more than two hundred, and proved very attractive to foreign as well as native capitalists. Garnets are found in the Sierra de Gata and in the Sierra Nevada fine marble is quarried. The development of mining was facilitated by the extension of the railway system between 1895 and 1905. The main line from Madrid to Almería convoys much ore from Granada and Jaén to the sea; while the railway from Baza to Lorca skirts the Almanzora valley and transports the mineral products of eastern Almería by a branch line from Huércal-Overa to the Murcian port of Águilas. Light railways and aerial cables among the mountains supplement these lines. The chief imports comprise coal, timber, especially oak staves, and various manufactured goods. The exports are minerals, esparto, oil, grain, grapes and farm produce generally. The principal seaports are Almería, the capital, pop.(1900) 47,326, Adra (11,188), and Garrucha (4661), which, with Berja (13,224), Cuevas de Vera (20,562), Huercal-Overa (15,763) and Níjar (12,497), are described in separate articles. Other towns, important as mining or agricultural centres, are Albox (10,049), Dalías (7136), Lubrin (6593), Sorbas (7306), Tabernas (7629), Vélez Blanco (6825), Vélez Rubio (10,109) and Vera (8446). Education is backward and the standard of comfort low. A constant annual loss of 2000 or 3000 emigrants to Algeria and elsewhere prevents any rapid increase of population, despite the high birth-rate and low mortality.
ALMERÍA, the capital of the province of Almería, and one of the principal seaports on the Mediterranean coast of southern Spain; in 36° 5′ N. and 2° 32′ W., on the river Almería, at its outflow into the Gulf of Almería, and at the terminus of a railway from Madrid. Pop. (1900) 47,326. The city occupies part of a rich alluvial valley enclosed by hills. It is an episcopal see, and possesses a Gothic cathedral, dating from 1524, and constructed with massive embattled walls and belfry so as to resemble a fortress. A dismantled castle, the Castillo de San Cristobál, overlooks the city, which contains four Moorish towers rising conspicuously above its modern streets. Two long piers shelter the harbour, and vessels drawing 25 ft. can lie against the quays. About 1400 ships, of nearly 1,000,000 tons, enter the port every year, bringing fuel and timber, and taking cargoes of iron, lead, esparto and fruit. White grapes are exported in very large quantities.
Under its ancient name of Urci, Almería was one of the chief Spanish harbours after the final conquest of Spain by the Romans in 19 B.C. It reached the summit of its prosperity in the middle ages, as the foremost seaport of the Moorish kingdom of Granada. At this time its population numbered 150,000; its cruisers preyed upon the fleets of the neighbouring Christian states; and its merchant ships traded with countries as distant as Egypt and Syria. Almería was captured in 1147 by King Alphonso VII. of Castile and his Genoese troops, but speedily retaken and held by the Moors until 1489, when it was finally secured by the Spaniards.
See D. F. Margall, Almería, (Barcelona, 1886).
ALMERY, Aumery, Aumbrie, or Ambry (from the medieval form almarium, cf. Lat. armarium, a place for keeping tools; cf. O. Fr. aumoire and mod. armoire), in architecture, a recess in the wall of a church, sometimes square-headed, and sometimes arched over, and closed with a door like a cupboard—used to contain the chalices, basins, cruets, &c., for the use of the priest; many of them have stone shelves. They are sometimes near the piscina, but more often on the opposite side. The word also seems in medieval times to be used commonly for any closed cupboard and even bookcase.
ALMODÓVAR DEL CAMPO, or Almodóvar, a town of Spain, in the province of Ciudad Real, 18 m. S.S.W. of Ciudad Real, on the northern side of the Sierra de Alcúdia. Pop. (1900) 12,525. Almodóvar was a Moorish fortress in the middle ages, but contains little of antiquarian interest. It owes its modern prosperity to the nearness of the valuable Puertollano coal-field, 3 m. S. by a branch of the Madrid-Badajoz-Lisbon railway. Its manufactures are lace and linen and it has a brisk trade in live-stock, oil and wine. South of the Sierra lies the Alcúdia valley, owned by the crown, and used as pasture for immense flocks of sheep.
ALMOGÁVARES (from the Arab. Al-Mugavari, a scout), the name of a class of Spanish soldiers, well known during the
