CORUA, LA

also called Corunna, French La Corogne, formerly The Groyne city, capital of La Corua province, in the autonomous community (region) of Galicia. It lies in extreme northwestern Spain, on Ra de la Corua, an inlet of the Atlantic. Under the Romans, La Corua was the port of Brigantium, but its present name is probably derived from Coronium, by which it was known in the Middle Ages. It was held by the Moors during the 8th, 9th, and 10th centuries, by the Portuguese during the 14th century, and was reconquered definitively by the Spanish in the 15th century. In 1386 John of Gaunt, the English duke of Lancaster, landed there in pursuit of his claim to the throne of Castile. On July 26, 1588, the Spanish Armada sailed from La Corua against England after taking refuge in the port from squalls. The next year a British fleet under Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Norris burned the shipping at La Corua and sacked the lower part of the port. The city suffered heavily when Spain lost Cuba and Puerto Rico in the SpanishAmerican War (1898), for it had enjoyed a thriving trade with those colonies. Because of its position near a great sea route between northwest Europe and Latin America, La Corua is one of the chief ports of northern Spain, exporting farm produce (especially onions and potatoes) and importing coal, salt, and manufactured goods. It is also the nation's second largest fishing centre and has salting and canning industries. Petroleum refining is another major industry. There is a tobacco factory in the southern suburb of Santa Luca and shipyards for building fishing vessels. La Corua also has beach resort facilities. The city comprises an old section (Ciudad Vieja), on a peninsula between Orzn and La Corua bays; a new section (Ciudad Nueva or La Pescadera) on the mainland and a narrow isthmus; and expanding residential suburbs. A characteristic feature of the houses is their miradores, or window balconies, glazed for protection against the wind. Isla de San Antn (east) formerly contained a fort and military prison but is now the site of the city's archaeological museum. Notable landmarks include the Roman Tower of Hercules, a lighthouse dating from the reign of the emperor Trajan (AD 98117) but regarded in popular legend as having been built by the Phoenicians, and the churches of Santiago (12th century), Santa Mara del Campo (13th century), and Santo Domingo (in 18th-century Galician baroque). South of the latter in the Jardn de San Carlos overlooking the harbour is the granite tomb of Sir John Moore (about whose death in 1809, in the Peninsular War, the Irish poet Charles Wolfe wrote The Burial of Sir John Moore). The city has schools of navigation and agriculture and is the site of an arsenal and army garrison. It was the birthplace of the Spanish novelist Emilia Pardo Bazn. Pop. (1991) 234,491; (1994 est.) 255,087. province, in the autonomous community (region) of Galicia, northwestern Spain. It was formed in 1833 from part of the captaincy general and former kingdom of Galicia. Bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (west) and the Cantabrian Sea (north), it has the highest rainfall of any Spanish province. Its interior is crossed by the Galician mountains; the coastline, rocky and with deep indentations, is formed by drowned valleys or inlets known as ras, such as Santa Mara, El Ferrol del Caudillo, La Corua, Corcubin, and Arosa, all of which afford sites for sheltered ports. Cape Finisterre (known to the Romans as Promunturium Nerium) is a huge granitic mass on the Atlantic coast and is one of Europe's chief headlands. La Corua's main economic activity is fishing and fish processing, much of which, along with other light industry, is concentrated around the provincial capital of La Corua (q.v.). Petroleum refining also is important. Grain, fruit, potatoes, and vegetables are cultivated, and livestock raising, lumbering, and limited mining (tin, copper, lignite) are carried on. The principal ports are La Corua and El Ferrol del Caudillo, and the chief inland town is Santiago de Compostela, a prominent cathedral town from the Middle Ages. Area 3,070 square miles (7,951 square km). Pop. (1991) 1,097,511; (1994 est.) 1,097,154.