Online Encyclopedia

FERROL [El Ferrol]

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V10, Page 289 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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FERROL [El Ferrol]  , a seaport of north-western Spain, in the province of Corunna; situated 12 M . N.E. of the city of Corunna, and on the
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Bay of Ferrol, an inlet of the
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Atlantic Ocean . Pop . (1900) 25,281 . Together with
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San Fernando, near Cadiz, and Cartagena, Ferrol is governed by an
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admiral, with the
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special title of captain-general; and it ranks beside these two ports as one of the
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principal
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naval stations of Spain . The
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town is beautifully situated on a headland overlooking the bay, and is surrounded by rocky hills which render it invisible from the sea . Its harbour, naturally one of the best in
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Europe, and the largest in Spain except those of
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Vigo and Corunna, is deep, capacious and secure; but the entrance is a narrow strait about 2 M. long, which admits only one vessel at a time, and is commanded by
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modern and powerfully armed forts, while the neighbouring heights are also crowned by defensive
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works . Ferrol is provided with extensive
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dockyards, quays, warehouses and an
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arsenal; most of these, with the palace of the captain-general, the bull-ring, theatres, and other principal buildings, were built or modernized between 1875 and 1905 . The
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local
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industries are mainly connected with the
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shipping trade, or the refitting of warships . Owing to the lack of railway communication, and the competition of Corunna at so short a distance, Ferrol is not a first-class commercial
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port; and in the early years of the 20th century its trade, already injured by the loss to Spain of Cuba X . IO289 and
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Porto Rico in 1898, showed little prospect of improvement . The exports are insignificant, and consist chiefly of wooden staves and beams for use as pit-props; the chief imports are
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coal, cement,
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timber, iron and machinery .

In 1904, 282 vessels of 155,881 tons entered the harbour . In the same

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year the construction of a railway to the neighbouring town of Betanzos was undertaken, and in 1909 important
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shipbuilding operations were begun . Ferrol was a mere fishing
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village until 1752, when Ferdinand VI. began to
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fit it for becoming an arsenal . In 1799 the
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British made a fruitless attempt to capture it, but on the 4th of November 18o5 they defeated the French
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fleet in front of the town, which they compelled to surrender . On the 27th of
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January 1809 it was through treachery delivered over to the French, but it was vacated by them on the 22nd of
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July . On the 15th of July 1823 another blockade was begun by the French, and Ferrol surrendered to them on the 27th of August .

End of Article: FERROL [El Ferrol]
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