Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/817

ARAGO. ed to tlint body, where he sat until his appoint- iiiont as Ambassador to Switzerland in 1880. He retired in 1894. ARAGO, (1790-1855). A French traveler and writer, brother of the aslroniiiner. In ISl" lie aecompanicd an expedition, under Freyeinet. in a voyage round the world. Afterwards lie wrote plays, poems, and novels, and in 1835 undertook the management of the theatre at Rouen, but having become blind in 1837 he resigned. His early voyage he de- scribed in two books of travel: Promenade autour (hi monde (1822), and Yoyiuje autour du mondc (1838). In 1841), though deprived of sight, he formed a company of speculators and started for California in search of gold. But his compan- ions deserted him at Valparaiso. On his return, he pulilished his painful e.xperiences, under the title, foliage (Tun arcuf/Ie en Californie et duns ies rcgionx auri feres (1851). He died in Brazil. ARAGON, nr'a-gon. A captaincy-general of Spain and former kingdom, situated in the north- eastern part of tile country, and bounded on the north by the Pyrenees, which separate it from France, on the east by Catalonia and A'a- leneia, on the south by Valencia and New Castile, and on the west by Xew and (.)ld Castile (Map: Spain, E 2). It coin]irises the three provinces of Saragossa, Teruel, and Huesca, with a total area of 17,976 square miles. The southern and northern ))arts of the country are mostly moun- tainous, while the central portion is occupied by a plain, intersected by the Ebro and its tribu- taries. The climate is varied, owing to the difl'crence in the elevation of the surface. In the mountains it is cool, while in the lower parts it is exceedingly hot and dry.

This difference in the climate is accompanied by a corresponding variation in vegetation, and the agricultural products of the region embrace both the hardier grains, such as corn and wheat, as well as delicate fruits like the olive and vine. Agriculture is in a backward stiite owing in part to scarcity of population, but chiefly because of the burdens laid In- the Government on agrarian communities. In the Province of Teruel are found deposits of .sul])hur, co]iper, lead, and salt, which are mined to some extent. The manufacturing industries are confined to the production of linen and woolens and some leather goods. The com- merce of the region is insignificant both on ac- count of the agricultural and industrial back- wardness, as well as of the lack of transportation facilities. Population, 1887,012,187; 1897,892,- 240. Capital, and seat of the Captain-General, Saragossa.

Aragon came into the possession of Rome after tile overthrow of the Carthaginian power in Spain, and was made a part of the Province of Hispania Tarraconensis. It was conquered by the Visigoths early in the Fifth Century, and these in turn were subdued liy the Moors after 711. A remnant of the Christian inhabitants who escaped to the mountains and settled in the region between the Sierra dc la Peiia and the Pyrenees, managed to maintain their independ- ence. For a long time Aragon was ruled by counts of Gothic origin. Subsequently it was in- corporated with Navarre, but in 1035 it attained its independence under Ramiro 1., the son of Sancho the Great, and now made its appearance as a kingdom. Hemmed in by Navarre on the west and by the little State of Sobrarbe on the east, Aragon, of necessity, took a southward ex- jiansion. A long eonfiict was carried on with the Arabs, amininting. ])erliaps, to nothing more at times tliau mere guerrilla raids, but result- ing in the gradual acquisition of individual strongholds and towns. On the capture of Huesca in 1090, the caiiital of the country was removed from the mountain valleys to the piateau of northern Spain. The concpiest of .Saragossa in 1118 brought the valley of the Ebro under the rule of the kings of Aragon. In 1 137 Aragon was' united with Catalonia by the marriage of Petron- ella, the daughter of Ramiro II., with Count Raymond Berengar IV. of Barcelona. This union at once raised Aragon to a iiredominant position in the Iberian Peninsula. Through the activity of the .seafaring population of Catalonia, the kings of Aragon gained possession of the Balearic Islands, Sicily, Sardinia, and Naples in the course of the two following centuries. At the same time the consolidated strength of the king- dom was directed against the Mohammedans, and in 1238 the important city of Valencia, with the surrounding region, fell into its power. During the later Middle Ages, Aragon possessed the freest jiolitical institutions in Europe. The power of the King was greatly limited by the privileges enjoyed by the towns, which in "effect formed a republican State within the monarchy. Their affairs were administered by municipal oflicers and their representatives met in juntas, which were charged with the maintenance of public safety and the control of common affairs. At the head of the united towns stood the Justiciar of Aragon, to whom, on certain questions. een the King had to yield. The towns availed them- selves of the King's financial embarrassments to wring charters of privileges from the crown. Pedro IV., in the Fourteenth Century, first at- tem|)ted to assert the i)ower of the crown over the cities; but though he was partially success- ful, the task was not completed until after the union of Aragon with Castile. During this period Barcelona developed into one of the greatest Mediterranean ports, and entered into rivalry with the Italian cities, and especially with Genoa, against which continual wars were waged. By the marriage of Ferdinand of Ara- gon with Isabella, heiress to the crown of Cas- tile, in 1409, tile two States were united in 1479. The bond lietween the two, however, was only a personal one until 1510, when, on the accession of Charles I., they were definitely merged into a new Spain, with which the sub- sequent history of Aragon is identified. ARAGONA, a'ra-go'na. A city of Sicily, 08 miles south of Palermo, and ll' miles north of Girgenti. In this vicinity are rich sulphur mines, and the mud-volcano of Maccaluba, which is about 135 feet high and 800 feet above the sea, and which emits carbureted hydrogen gases. AR'AGONITE (named after Aragon, see below). An anhydrous calcium carbonate differing from calcite by crystallizing in the orthorhombic system, while calcite crystallizes in the hexagonal. In color it is generally white, but gray, yellow, green, and violet varieties are known. Some of the known varieties of aragonite differ considerably in their structure. Flos ferri is a coralloidal form found in beds of iron ore; Satin spar is a silky, fibrous variety; Sprudel-