Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Tarragona (1.)
TARRAGONA, a maritime province in the north-east of Spain, with an area of 2451 square miles and a population in 1877 of 330,105, was formerly part of the province of Catalonia. It is bounded on the S.E. by the Mediterranean, on the N.E. by Barcelona, on the N. by Lerida (the Sierra de Almenar), on the W. by Saragossa and Teruel, and on the S.W. by Castellon-de-la-Plana. The Ebro flows through the southern portion of the province, and the other chief streams are the Gaya and the Francoli. The district, although mountainous, is the richest in Catalonia. The hills are clothed with vineyards, which produce excellent wines, and in the valleys are cultivated all kinds of grain, vegetables, rice, hemp, flax, and silk. Olive, orange, filbert, and almond trees reach great perfection, and the mountains yield rich pastures and timber trees of various kinds. Manufactures are well advanced, and comprise all textile fabrics, soap, leather, and spirits. There are also several potteries and cooperages, and flour, paper, and oil mills. Silver, copper, lead, and barytes are plentiful, and quarries of marble and jasper are worked in the hills. The military government of the province is dependent on the captaincy-general of Catalonia. For administrative purposes the district is divided into eight partidos judiciales, containing 186 ayuntamientos, and returns three senators and eight deputies to the cortes. Besides the capital, the towns in the province with more than 10,000 inhabitants are Reus (27,691), Tortosa (23,808), and Valls (13,256).