late Conception. For a time in their early history the Knights of Alcántara acknowledged the superiority of the Knights of Calatrava, but later were independent. In 1835 the Order ceased to exist as an ecclesiastical body and became an order of the court.
ALCANTARA. A seaport town of Brazil, in the province of Maranhão, 17 miles northwest of Maranhão, near the mouth of the bay of St. Marcos (Map : Brazil, J 4). It was formerly the capital of the province, but the shallowness of the harbor has prevented its trade from increasing. There are two salt-pits not far from the town. Cotton, rice, and salt are exported. Pop., about 10,000.
ALCANTARA. A western suburb of Lisbon, where, in 1580, the invading Duke of Alva won a victory over the Portuguese. It is now a part of the city.
ALCANTARA, Doctor of. An opera by Julius Eichberg (q.v.), first presented in Boston in 1862.
ALCARAZ, äl'ka-räth'. A town of La Mancha, Spain, in the province of Albacete, 36 miles west-southwest of Albacete (Map: Spain, D 3). It stands on the slope of an isolated hill, on the left bank of the Guadarmena, a feeder of the Guadalquivir. A ruined castle crowns the summit of the hill, and there are also the remains of a fine Roman aqueduct. The town owes its importance to the well-known tin and zinc mines in the vicinity, which give employment to its inhabitants. Pop., 1900. 4503.
ALCATRAZ', or PEL'ICAN IS'LAND. An island in the bay of San Francisco, nearly 3 miles northwest of the city. It is 1650 feet in length, and it rises 130 feet above the level of the bay. The United States Government maintains upon it an important fortification, which commands the entrance to the Golden Gate. On its highest ground has been erected the highest lighthouse on the Pacific coast.
ALCAVALA, äl'kǎ-vä'lǎ, or ALCABALA (Sp. from Ar. al.., the + qabãlah, duty, tax). A duty formerly charged in Spain and her colonies on transfers of property, whether public or private. It was probably instituted in 1341 by Alfonso XI., beginning with 5 per cent., and by the seventeenth century had increased to 14 per cent. of the selling price of all commodities, raw or manufactured, charged as often as they were sold or exchanged. This impost was enforced, despite its ill effect on the commerce of the kingdom, down to the invasion of Napoleon, and indeed, in a modified form, has been continued to the present day. Catalonia and Aragon purchased from Philip V. exemption from the tax, and, though still burdened heavily, were in a flourishing state in comparison with districts covered
by the alcavala.
ALCÁZAR, àl-kä'zär; Sp. pron. àl-kä'thär (Sp. from Ar. al, the + kasr, palace, castle). The name given in Spain to the large palaces built by the Moors, especially royal palaces, or those of great emirs. They are often even more in
the nature of strongholds than the Florentine palaces, being built around one or more large colonnaded courts, with towers at the angles, heavy high walls, and a single double gateway. Several still exist in the large Spanish cities, dating from Moorish times, as at Malaga, Seville, Toledo, and Segovia. The alcazar differs from the real fortress palace or acropolis fort, called "kal'at"' (such as the Alhambra), in being within, instead of outside, the city streets. The term would apply, however, to any palace throughout Mohammedan countries. The best preserved imitation in Christian art of this type is the princely palace at Ravello, near Naples, built under the influence of Mohammedan art.
ALCÁZAR DE SAN JUAN, àl-kä'thär dấ sän hwän'. A town of Spain, in the province of Cindad Real, situated 92 miles by rail from Madrid (Map : Spain, D 3). It lies in a mountainous region in the vicinity of extensive iron mines. It has a number of soap, powder, and saltpetre factories, and carries on a large trade in wine. The environs of Alcázar are believed to have been described by Cervantes in Don Quixote. Pop., 1900, 11.292.
ALCE'DO (Lat.), ALCY'ONE (Gk. Ἀλκυόνη,
Alkyonē). The names of genera of kingfishers,
in allusion to a classic myth. See Alcyone and Kingfisher.
ALCEDO Y HERRERA, ál-thä'dố, ê âr-rā'rá, Antonio. A Peruvian soldier and historian, whose Diccionario geográfico-histórico de las Indias Occidentales, published at Madrid in four volumes (1786-89), supplies much exclusive information concerning the middle period of Spanish-American history. The original work was suppressed by the Spanish government. An English translation by G. A. Thompson (London, 1812-15) contains considerable additions. Alcedo was also the compiler of an important bibliographical work, the Biblioteca Americana, the numerous manuscript copies of which are frequently cited by writers on early American bibliography.
ALCESTE, àl'sēst'. (1) A character in Molière's play entitled Le Misanthrope (q.v.). (2) A name used as a pseudonym by a number of modern French writers, among them Amédée Achard, Alfred Assolant, Louis Belmontet, Hippolyte de Castille, and Édouard Laboulaye. (3) A tragic opera by Gluck, first performed with an Italian text, December 16, 1766, at Vienna. Ten years later it was produced in French at Paris.
ALCESTER, al'stēr, Frederick Beauchamp Paget Seymour, Baron (1821-95). An English admiral. He was born in London, educated at Eton, and entered the navy in 1834. He became a captain in 1854, a rear admiral in 1870, and an admiral in 1882. In 1880 he was in command of the allied fleet which made a demonstration off the Albanian coast in order to compel the Turks to cede Dulcigno to Montenegro. For this service he was created G.C.B. In the Egyptian war of 1882 he commanded the British fleet at the bombardment of Alexandria. He was raised
to the peerage later in the same year.
ALCES'TIS. See Admetus.
AL'CHEMIL'LA. See Lady's Mantle.
AL'CHEMIST, The. A noted comedy by Ben Jonson, acted in 1610, printed in 1612. It makes a jest of the then popular belief in the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life; its leading character, Subtle, is a quack who deludes Sir Epicure Mammon and other credulous persons till he is finally exposed.
AL'CHEMY ( Ar. al, the + kīmiyā, from late Gk. χημ[ε]ια, chēm[ε]ia; see below). Alchemy is to modern chemistry what astrology is to
