a man who had no likeness to himself save in political faculty and devotion to the authority of the Crown. He died at Guadalajara on the 11th of January 1495.
The life of the cardinal, by Salazar de Mendoza, Cronica del gran cardinal Don Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza (Toledo, 1625), is discursive and garrulous but valuable. See also Prescott, History of Ferdinand and Isabella.
MENDOZA, a province of western Argentina, bounded N.
by San Juan, E. by San Luis and the territory of La Pampa,
S. by the territories of La Pampa and Neuquen, and W. by the
republic of Chile. Area, 56,502 sq. m.; pop. (1895), 116,136;
(1904, estimate), 159,780. The Andes form the western boundary,
and a considerable part of the territory is covered by
the great Cordillera, its foothills and flanking ranges. The
eastern part is an arid, sandy, level plain, with extensive saline
basins, having no vegetation other than coarse grasses and
thickets of low, spiny mimosas and “chañar” (Gourliaea
decorticans). The fertile, populated districts of the province
border on the Cordillera, particularly in the north where numerous
streams from the snow-clad summits supply water for irrigation.
The secondary ranges in this part of Mendoza are the Sierra
de los Paramillos, which encloses the Uspallata Valley, and
the Sierra del Tunuyán, which encloses a number of populous
valleys drained by the Tunuyán river and its tributaries. One
of the largest of these is the Yuco Valley. Farther south the
country becomes more arid and sparsely populated, and unsubdued
tribes of Indians for a long time prevented its exploration.
In this region the Sierra de Payén and Sierra del Nevado
(otherwise known as the Sierra Quero Matro Pellon) extend
in a north-easterly direction. With the exception of the Rio
Grande in the south-west part of the province, which forms the
principal source of the Colorado, all the rivers of the province
flow easterly and southerly into the great saline depression of
western Argentina, which includes a great part of Mendoza,
San Luis and La Pampa. The Andean streams rise in the
higher snow-clad elevations, but their waters become impregnated
with saline matter soon after reaching the plain, and are eventually
lost in the saline marshes and lagoons of southern Mendoza
and La Pampa. These Andean rivers are the Mendoza, Tunuyán,
Diamante and Atuel, with their numerous tributaries, all of
which discharge into the sluggish river which flows from the
Huanacache lagoons, on the San Juan frontier, southward to
the marshes and lagoons of La Pampa. The upper part of
this brackish, swampy stream is called the Desaguadero, and
the lower the Salado. It forms the eastern boundary line of
the province down to the 36th parallel. With the exception
of the elevated districts of the Andes, the climate of Mendoza
is hot and dry. On the plains the rainfall is insignificant,
but on the slopes of the Cordillera rains are frequent and winter
cold is severe. Agriculture is the principal occupation where
irrigation can be used, the province having a high reputation
for its raisins and wines. Alfalfa is an important product,
being grown for fattening the cattle driven through the province
to the Chilean markets. The mineral resources of the province
are said to be good, but receive little attention. Petroleum
is found in the vicinity of San Rafael, on the Diamante river,
and it is claimed that coal exists in the same region. Although
Mendoza was settled by Spanish colonists from Chile as far
back as 1559, its development has been hindered by its isolated
position. This isolation was broken in 1884 by the completion
of the Argentine Great Western railway to the provincial
capital. Since then a railway has been built northward to San
Juan, and another line was in 1908 under construction through
the Andes to connect with the Chilean railway system. In
addition to Mendoza, the capital of the province, the principal
towns (hardly more than villages) are Guaymallén, Maipú, San
Martin, Lujan and San Rafael. The provinces of Mendoza, San
Juan and San Luis, which were settled from Chile and were for a
long time governed from Santiago, were at first called the province
of Cuyo, and are still spoken of as the “Cuyo provinces.”
MENDOZA, a city of Argentina, capital of Mendoza province, 632 m. by rail W.N.W. of Buenos Aires. Pop. (1904, estimate), 32,000. It stands on a plain near the foot of a secondary Andean
range called the Sierra de los Paramillos, at an elevation of 2320 ft. The surrounding district is arid, but has been irrigated and is covered with gardens, orchards and cultivated fields.
The city is about 15 m. N. of the Mendoza, or Lujan river, whose
waters are utilized for irrigation and for the requirements of
the city by means of a channel which leaves the main river a
little above the town of Lujan and runs to the Tulumaya river
and the lagoons of Huanacache. This channel is called El
Zanjón, and is believed to have been opened by Guaymallén,
the chief of the Guarpès who inhabited this district at the time
of the Spanish conquest, but it is more probably natural. The
city is laid out in a regular manner with broad well-paved
streets and numerous public squares. The Zanjón and another
stream called the Guaymallén traverse the city, and the principal
streets have water flowing through them and are shaded by
poplars. Because of earthquake risks, the public buildings
are neither costly nor imposing. The private residences are
commonly of one storey, built with wooden frames filled in
with adobes. The climate is hot, dry and enervating, notwithstanding
the elevation and the proximity of the Andes.
The surrounding districts produce fruit, vegetables, alfalfa and
cereals. The vineyard industry is prominent, and raisins and
wine are exported. The position on the main route across
the Andes into Chile, by way of the Uspallata or Cumbre pass
(highest point 12,870 ft.), has given the city commercial importance.
It has railway connexion with the principal cities
of the republic, including the ports of Rosario, Buenos Aires
and Bahia Blanca, and also with the capital of San Juan.
Mendoza was founded by Captain Pedro del Castillo, who had been sent from Santiago across the Andes in 1559 by Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza, the governor of Chile, to conquer and annex the territory extending N.E. to Tucuman. The city was named after Mendoza. It was made the capital of the province of Cuyo, and belonged to Chile down to 1776, when the province was transferred to the newly created viceroyalty of La Plata. It was the headquarters of General San Martin while he was organizing an army for the liberation of Chile, and greatly assisted him with men and money. Under republican administration Mendoza suffered much from revolutions. Moreover, on the 20th of March 1861, the city was destroyed by an earthquake and a fire which followed. Not a building was left standing, and the loss of life was estimated at 10,000 to 12,000. The French geologist Bravard, who had predicted the catastrophe, was one of its victims. The poplars in the streets, together with some species of fruit-trees, were first planted in Mendoza by a Spaniard, Juan Cobos, in 1809, who thus became one of its greatest benefactors.
MENEDEMUS, Greek philosopher, and founder of the Eretrian school of thought, was born at Eretria about 350 and died between 278 and 275 B.C. Though of noble birth, he worked as builder and tentmaker until he was sent with a military expedition to Megara, where, according to Diogenes Laertius, he heard Plato and resolved to devote himself to philosophy. It is more likely that he heard one of Plato’s followers, inasmuch as Plato died when he was only four years old, if the above dates are correct. At Megara he formed a life-long friendship with Asclepiades, with whom he toiled in the night that he might study philosophy by day. He was subsequently a pupil first of Stilpo and then of Phaedo of Elis, whose school he transferred to Eretria, by which name it was afterwards known. In addition to his philosophical work, he took a leading part in the political affairs of his city from the time of the Diadochi until his death, and obtained a remission of the tribute to Demetrius. His friendship with Antigonus Gonatas seems to have roused suspicion as to his loyalty, and he sought safety first in the temple of Amphiaraus at Oropus, and later with Antigonus, at whose court he is said to have died of grief. Other accounts say that he starved himself to death on failing to induce Antigonus to free his native city. His philosophical views are known only in part. Athenaeus quotes Epicrates as stating that he was a Platonist, but other accounts credit
