Aragon, formerly a kingdom, now a royal captaincy general in the northeast of Spain, bounded N. by the Pyrenees, separating it from France, E. by Catalonia, S. E. by Valencia, S. W. by New Castile, and W. by Old Castile and Navarre; area, 17,984 sq. m. , pop. in 18(57 (estimated), 925,773. The surface is irregular from the numerous spurs of the Pyrenees that cross it, besides which it is separated from the neighboring provinces by ranges of lofty hills, that convert it almost into a basin. The Pyre-nean chain in Aragon reaches a great altitude, some peaks exceeding 11,000 feet. The province is watered by the Ebro and its tributaries, the Huecha, Jalon, Jiloca, Huerva, Aguas, Martin, Guadalupe, and Nonaspe, on the right, the Gallego, Isuela, and Cinca on the left. A canal commenced in 1528 by Charles V. stopped short of its object, which was to reach the sea at Tortosa, and furnish a maritime outlet for the province. It extends from Tudela, in Navarre, to Sastago. Its average width is 69 feet, its depth 9 feet. It is mostly lined by high, thick walls, and crosses the Jalon river by an aqueduct 4,800 feet in length. The chief productions of Aragon are grain, flax, and hemp of good quality, fruits of various kind, maize, wine, and various dyestuffs.

The mineral productions are iron, quicksilver, lead, copper, cobalt, marble, and coal. The mines and quarries are indifferently worked, the chief being one of rock salt near Remolinos. Cattle are not very plentiful, but sheep and swine are bred in considerable numbers. The mountains and forests abound in game. Aragon is divided into three provinces, Huesca, Saragossa, and Teruel. The principal city is Saragossa. - After the fall of the Roman empire Aragon passed into the hands of the Visigoths. Early in the 8th century it was conquered by the Moors, from whom it was eventually taken by the rulers of Navarre. In 1035 Ramiro I., son of Sancho III. of Navarre, received it in partition and raised it from a county to a kingdom. The four succeeding kings of the same house enlarged the kingdom, which, after the acquisition of the county of Barcelona, passed from the Navarre to the Barcelona dynasty about the middle of the 12th century. The hitter gave 11 kings to Aragon, ending with Martin in 1410, and won and kept the Balearic islands, Sicily, and Sardinia. The Barcelona dynasty was succeeded in 1412 by Ferdinand I. as the first king of the house of Castile. In consequence of the marriage of Ferdinand IT. with Isabella, heiress of Castile, in 1469, Aragon and Castile were united, and the consolidation of the Spanish monarchy dates from the accession of their grandson Charles V. (1510). - The Aragonese had probably the earliest representative system of Europe. Their fueros (constitutional charter) compelled the king to take an oath to support them, to give to his subjects half the territory he should take from the enemy, not to enact laws without their consent, nor to declare war or to make peace without the consent of his counsellors.

The fueros provided a cortes, in which all classes of the state were represented, and also enunciated principles of self-government and popular rights not exceeded by the liberalism of the present day. To insure the sovereign's adherence to this compact, a justicia was provided for as guardian of the laws. He was to be appointed by king and cortes together; his decisions were without appeal, and he was only answerable to the nation at large. The cortes were composed of the nobility, the caballeros, and the commons, to whom in 1301 the ecclesiastics were added. Unanimous consent of the king and the four orders was requisite to a law. The cortes were summoned and dismissed by the king, who presided at their deliberations in person, unless unable to do so, in which case the crown prince or his lieutenant was present. He could not remain in the cortes at the taking of the votes on a measure. Every Aragonese had the right to lay before the cortes any greuges (grudges or grievances) in relation to a breach of the fueros of the kingdom, and the cortes appointed a committee to report on the grievance. After all petitions and grievances had been disposed of, but not before, the cortes voted the supplies for the services of the state. These supplies were of a limited character.

In 1376 the first money grant was asked by Pedro IV. to levy a body of men-at-arms. The Aragonese cortes refused, being "accustomed," as they said, "to serve the king with their persons, not their purses." Subsequently, the same king, however, coaxed his subjects into a loan. In 1412 Ferdinand I. obtained another loan, which loans paved the way to royal aids, benevolences, and other exactions. On the dissolution of the cortes, officers called a disputacion, and associated with the justicia, were appointed by the cortes to watch over the public interests until they met again. The Aragonese had an ancient constitutional right of taking up arms as a defence against the refusal of their king to observe and protect their fueros. The king at his coronation having taken the oath to uphold the constitution, protect the fueros, and do justice, the justicia who administered it replied in the name of the people, " We, who are worth as much as you, take you for our king and lord, provided you keep our laws and liberties; otherwise not." The decline of Aragonese liberty began with the union of the crowns of Aragon and Castile, which increased the power of the monarchy; and the accession of Charles V. was the death blow to the liberty and privileges of the Spanish cities and provinces.

In the reign of Philip II. the justicia, Juan de Samoza, having summoned the people to arms to protect their fueros, the king sent a force against him, and wrote an autograph letter to his general, directing him to take and punish the justicia without delay; an order which was strictly obeyed, the judge being beheaded without form of trial.