CANTABRI  , an

ancient tribe which inhabited the north coast of Spain near Santander and Bilbao and the mountains behind—a district hence known as Cantabria . Savage and untameable mountaineers, they long defied the Roman arms and made them-selves a name for wild freedom . They were first attacked by the Romans about 150 B.c.; they were not subdued till Agrippa and Augustus had carried out a series of campaigns (29–19 B.C.) which ended in their partial annihilation . Thenceforward their land was part of the province Hispania Tarraconensis with some measure of local self-government . They became slowly Romanized, but developed little town life and are rarely mentioned in history . They provided recruits for the Roman auxilia, like their neighbours the Astilres, and their land contained lead mines, of which, however, little is known .