t at an early period
the advantage of some artificial protection was felt. In 1438 Don Alphonso
V. granted the magistracy a licence to build a mole; and in 1474 the Moll
de Santa Creu was officially begun. Long after this, however, travellers
speak of Barcelona as destitute of a harbour; and it is only in the 17th
century that satisfactory works were undertaken. Until modern times all the
included area was shut off from the open sea by a sand-bank, which rendered
the entrance of large vessels impossible. An extension of the former mole,
and the construction of another from the foot of Montjuich, have embraced a
portion of the sea outside of the bank, and a convenient shelter is thus
afforded for the heaviest battleships. From 1873 the work of extension and
improvement was carried on systematically, with the addition of new quays,
greater storage room, and better means for handling cargo. After thirty
years of steady development, further plans were approved in 1903. At this
time the port included an inner harbour, with a depth of 18 to 30 ft. at
low tide, and an outer harbour with a depth of 20 to 35 ft. In the
following year 8075 vessels of nearly 5,000,000 tons entered the port.
Barcelona is well supplied with inland communication by rail, and the
traffic of its streets is largely facilitated by tramway lines running from
the port as far as Gracia and the other chief suburbs.

Barcelona has long been the industrial and commercial centre of eastern
Spain--a pre-eminence which dates from the 12th and 13th centuries. It
received a temporary check from the disasters of the Spanish-American War
of 1898; but less than a year later it paid about L550,000 in industrial
and commercial taxes, or more than 11% of the whole amount thus collected
in the kingdom; and within five years it had become a port of regular call
for thirty-five important shipping companies. It also contained the head
offices of thirteen other lines, notably those of the Transatlantic Mail
Company, which possessed a fleet of twenty-five fine steamships. Trades and
industries give occupation to more than 150,000 hands of both sexes. The
spinning and weaving of wool, cotton and silk are the principal industries,
but the enterprising spirit of the Catalans has compelled them to try
almost every industry in which native capital could attempt to compete with
foreign, especially since the institution of the protectionist tariffs of
1892. The native manufacturers are