constructed, and a gradually increasing population settled around its walls. In 1653 Madras, which had previously been subordinate to the settlement of Bantam in Java, was raised to the rank of an independent presidency. In 1702 Daud Khan, Aurangzeb’s general, blockaded the town for a few weeks, and in 1741 the Mahrattas unsuccessfully attacked the place. In 1746 La Bourdonnais bombarded and captured Madras. The settlement was restored to the English two years later by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, but the government of the presidency did not return to Madras till 1762. In 1758 the French under Lally occupied the Black Town and invested the fort. The siege was conducted on both sides with great skill and vigour. After two months the arrival of an English fleet relieved the garrison, and the besiegers retired with some precipitancy. With the exception of the threatening approach of Hyder Ali’s horsemen in 1769, and again in 1780, Madras has since the French siege been free from external attack. The town of Saint Thomé, now part of Madras city, was founded and fortified by the Portuguese in 1504, and was held by the French from 1672 to 1674.
See Mrs F. Penny, Fort St George (1900); W. Foster, Founding of Fort St George (1902).
MADRAZO Y KUNT, DON FEDERICO DE (1815–1894), Spanish painter, was born in Rome on the 12th of February 1815. He was the son of the painter Madrazo y Agudo (1781–1859), and received his first instruction from his father. While still attending the classes at the Academy of San Fernando he painted his first picture, “The Resurrection of Christ” (1829), which was purchased by Queen Christina. Not long afterwards he painted “Achilles in his Tent,” and subsequently presented to the Academy “The Continence of Scipio,” which secured him admission as a member “for merit.” While decorating the palace of Vista Alegre he took up portraiture. In 1852 he went to Paris, where he studied under Winterhalter, and painted portraits of Baron Taylor and of Ingres. In 1837 he was commissioned to produce a picture for the gallery at Versailles, and painted “Godfrey de Bouillon proclaimed King of Jerusalem.” The artist then went to Rome, where he worked at various subjects, sacred and profane. Then he painted “Maria Christina in the Dress of a Nun by the bedside of Ferdinand III.” (1843), “Queen Isabella,” “The Duchess of Medina-Coeli,” and “The Countess de Vilchès” (1845–1847), besides a number of portraits of the Spanish aristocracy, some of which were sent to the exhibition of 1855. He received the Legion of Honour in 1846. He was made a corresponding member of the Paris Academy of Fine Arts on the 10th of December 1853, and in 1873, on the death of Schnorr, the painter, he was chosen foreign member. After his father’s death he succeeded him as director of the Prado Gallery and president of the Academy of San Fernando. He originated in Spain the production of art reviews and journals, such as El Artista, El Renacimiento and El Semanario pintoresco. He died at Madrid on the 11th of June 1894. His brother, Don Louis De Madrazo, was also known as a painter, chiefly by his “Burial of Saint Cecilia” (1855). Don Federico’s best-known pupil was his son, Don Raimundo De Madrazo (b. 1841).
MADRID, a province of central Spain, formed in 1833 of
districts previously included in New Castile, and bounded
on the W. and N. by Ávila and Segovia, E. by Guadalajara,
S.E. by Cuenca and S. by Toledo. Pop. (1900), 775,034,
of whom 539,835 inhabit the city of Madrid; area, 3084 sq. m.
Madrid belongs to the basin of the Tagus, being separated
from that of the Douro by the Sierra de Guadarrama on the
N.W. and N., and by the Sierra de Gredos on the S.W. The
Tagus is the southern boundary for some distance, its chief
tributary being the Jarama, which rises in the Somosierra
in the north and terminates at Aranjuez. The Jarama, in
turn, is joined by the Henares and Tajuña on the left, and by
the Lozoya and Manzanares on the right. The Guadarrama,
another tributary of the Tagus, has its upper course within
the province. Like the rest of Castile, Madrid is chiefly of
Tertiary formation; the soil is mostly clayey, but there are
tracts of sandy soil. Agriculture is somewhat backward;
the rainfall is deficient, and the rivers are not utilized as they
might be for irrigation. The south-eastern districts are the
best watered, and produce in abundance fruit, vegetables,
wheat, olives, esparto grass and excellent wine. Gardening
and viticulture are carried on to some extent near the capital,
though the markets of Madrid receive their most liberal supply
of fruits and vegetables from Valencia. Sheep, goats and
horned cattle are reared, and fish are found in the Jarama
and other rivers. Much timber is extracted from the forests
of the northern and north-eastern parts of the province for
building purposes and for firewood and charcoal. The royal
domains of the Escorial, Aranjuez and El Pardo, and the preserves
of the nobility, are all well wooded and contain much
game. Efforts have also been made by the local authorities
to cover the large stretches of waste ground and commons
with pines and other trees.
The Sierra de Guadarrama has quarries of granite, lime and gypsum, and is known to contain iron, copper and argentiferous lead; but these resources are undeveloped. Other industries are chiefly confined to the capital; but cloth, leather, paper, earthenware, porcelain, glass, bricks and tiles, ironware, soap, candles, chocolate and lace are also manufactured on a small scale beyond its boundaries. There is very little commerce except for the supply of the capital with necessaries.
Besides the local lines, all the great railways in the kingdom converge in this province, and it contains in all 221 m. of line. Besides Madrid, the towns of Aranjuez (12,670) and Alcalá de Henares (11,206) and the Escorial are described in separate articles. The other towns with more than 5000 inhabitants are Vallecas (10,128), Colmenar de Oreja (6182), Colmenar Viejo (5255) and Carabanchel Bajo (5862).
MADRID, the capital of Spain and of the province of Madrid, on the left bank of the river Manzanares, a right-hand tributary of the Jarama, which flows south into the Tagus. Pop. (1877), 397,816; (1887), 472,228; (1897), 512,150; (1900), 539,835. Madrid was the largest city in Spain in 1900; it is the see of an archbishop, the focus of the principal Spanish railways, the headquarters of an army corps, the seat of a university, the meeting-place of parliament, and the chief residence of the king, the court, and the captain-general of New Castile. It is, however, surpassed in ecclesiastical importance by Toledo and in commerce by Barcelona.
Situation and Climate.—Madrid is built on an elevated and undulating plateau of sand and clay, which is bounded on the north by the Sierra Guadarrama and merges on all other sides into the barren and treeless table-land of New Castile. Numerous water-courses (arroyos), dry except at rare intervals, furrow the surface of the plateau; these as they pass through the city have in certain cases been converted into roads—e.g. the Paseo de Recoletos and Prado, which are still so liable to be flooded after prolonged rain that special channels have been constructed to carry away the water. The highest point in Madrid is 2372 ft. above sea-level. The city is close to the geographical centre of the peninsula, nearly equidistant from the Bay of Biscay, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Owing to its high altitude and open situation it is liable to sudden and frequent variations of climate, and the daily range of temperature sometimes exceeds 50° F. In summer the heat is rendered doubly oppressive by the fiery, dust-laden winds which sweep across the Castilian table-land; at this season a temperature of 109° has been registered in the shade. In winter the northerly gales from the Sierra Guadarrama bring intense cold; snow falls frequently, and skating is carried on in the Buen Retiro park. A Spanish proverb describes the wind of Madrid as so deadly and subtle that “it will kill a man when it will not blow out a candle”; but, though pulmonary diseases are not uncommon, the climate appears to be exceptionally healthy. In 1901 the death-rate was 22.07 per 1000, or lower than that of any other town on the Spanish mainland. The Sierra Guadarrama renders the atmosphere unusually dry and clear by intercepting the moisture of the north-western winds which prevail in summer; hence the average daily number of deaths decreases from 80 in winter to about 25 in summer. The sanitation of the older quarters is defective, and overcrowding is common, partly owing to the royal decrees which formerly prohibited the extension of the city; but much has been done in modern times to remove or mitigate these evils.
The Inner City.—The form of Madrid proper (exclusive of the modern suburbs) is almost that of a square with the corners
