CIUDAD REAL  , the capital formerly of La Mancha, and since 1833 of the province described above; 107 M . S. of Madrid, on the Madrid-Badajoz-Lisbon and Ciudad Real-Manzanares railways . Pop . (1900) 15,255 . Ciudad Real lies in the midst of a wide plain, watered on the north by the river Guadiana, and on the south by its tributary the Jabalon . Apart from the remnants of its 13th-century fortifications, and one Gothic church of immense size, built without aisles, the town contains little of interest; its public buildings—town-hall, barracks, churches, hospital and schools—being in no way distinguished above those of other provincial capitals . There are no important local manufactures, and the trade of the town consists chiefly in the weekly sales of agricultrual produce and live-stock . Ciudad Real was founded by Alphonso X. of Castile (1252-1284), and fortified by him as a check upon the Moorish power . Its original name of Villarreal was changed to Ciudad Real by John VI. in 1420 . During the Peninsular War a Spanish force was defeated here by the French, on the 27th of March 1809 .