Alcala la Real

Alcala' la Re'al ('the royal castle'), a city of Andalusia, Spain, in the province of Jaen, 26 miles NW. of Granada. Its strong fortress was taken in 1340 from the Moors by Alfonso XI. in person, whence the name Real. Pop. 15,977.

Alcamo

Al'camo, a quaint old town of Sicily, 52 miles SW. of Palermo by rail. Originally founded by the Saracens on Monte Bonifato (2713 feet), it long retained a Moslem population, who were driven out by the Emperor Frederick II. in 1233, when the new town was built at the foot of the hill. Pop. 51,697.

Alcaniz

Alcaniz', a town of Aragon, Spain, in the province of Teruel, 63 miles SE. of Saragossa, on the Guadalope, with a magnificent collegiate church; pop. 7673.

Alcantara

Alcan'tara (Arabic, ' the bridge'), an old Spanish town in Estremadura, on a rocky height above the Tagus, near the Portuguese frontier. The six-arched bridge, 670 feet long and 210 high, from which it takes its name, was built under Trajan, 105 a.d. It has twice been partially blown up, but the larger part is still intact. Pop. 3414.

Alcantara

Alcan'tara, a seaport of Brazil,in the province of Maranhao, on the Bay of St Marcos; pop. 10,000.

Alcaraz

Alcaraz, a town of La Mancha, Spain, 36 miles WSW. of Albacete; pop. 4672.

Alcaudete

Alcaude'te, a town of Spain, 22 miles SW. of Jaen. Pop. 9191.

Alcazar al-kebir

Alcazar al-kebir, a city of Morocco, 80 miles NW. of Fez. Here, in 1578, Sebastian, king of Portugal, was defeated and slain by the Moors. Pop. 9000.

Alcazar de San Juan

Alcazar de San Juan, a town of Spain, in the province of Ciudad Beal, 92 miles SSE. of Madrid by rail. Pop. 9512.

Alcester

Alcester, a Warwickshire market-town, at the confluence of the Alne and Arrow, 15 miles WSW. of Warwick. Pop. 2406.

Alcira

Alci'ra, a town of Spain, 22 miles SSW. of Valencia by rail, on an island in the river Xucar; pop. 18,469.

Alcoy

Alcoy, a town of Spain, on the river Alcoy, 15 miles N. of Alicante, manufacturing paper, especially cigarette-paper, sugar-plums, and coarse woollen cloths; pop. 32,520.

Aldborough

Aldborough, a decayed town, now a mere village, of the West Riding of Yorkshire, on the river Ure and on Watling Street, 7 1/2 miles SE. of Ripon. Till 1832 it sent two members to parliament. Extensive remains of the Roman town of Isurium have been found here. Pop. of township, 507.

Aldeburgh

Aldeburgh, a small seaport and watering-place of Suffolk, 29 miles NE. of Ipswich by rail. It was disfranchised in 1832; but in 1885 it received a new municipal charter. It has a quaint, half-timbered Moot Hall; and in the church is a bust of the poet Crabbe, who was a native. Pop. 2159.

Aldershot Camp

Aldershot Camp, a permanent camp of exercise on the confines of Hampshire, Surrey, and Berkshire, 35 miles SW. of London, and 18 1/2 S. of Windsor. It was established in 1854-55 during the Crimean war, to provide for practical instruction in tactics, outpost duties, and other exercises requiring a wide tract of country and large bodies of troops, etc. From its situation on the Bagshot Sands it is extremely healthy; the old wooden huts have been superseded by brick huts and barracks. The Basingstoke Canal, running directly across the Heath, has occasioned a division into North Camp and South Camp. There are usually from 10,000 to 15,000 troops of all arms at the camp; and a considerable town has sprung up near it, with a population of over 31,000, as against 875 in Aldershot parish in 1851.