Contemporary Human Geography 5e

5th Edition James M. Rubenstein

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 Contemporary
Human Geography
FIFTH EDITION | RUBENSTEIN
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Contemporary
Human Geography
Fifth Edition

James M. Rubenstein
MIAMI UNIVERSITY, OXFORD, OHIO
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Front Cover: A grandmother and grandson share a digital tablet. They live in one of the most remote places on Earth, the
Spiti Mountains of northern India. The isolated location has helped them to preserve a unique identity, including a distinctive
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 Brief Contents

1 THIS IS GEOGRAPHY 2 8 POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY 190

2 POPULATION & HEALTH 34 9 FOOD & AGRICULTURE 216

3 MIGRATION 62 10 DEVELOPMENT 242

4 CULTURE & SOCIAL MEDIA 86 11 INDUSTRY 268

5 LANGUAGES 112 12 SERVICES & SETTLEMENTS 290

6 RELIGIONS 136 13 URBAN PATTERNS 316

7 ETHNICITY & RACE 166 14 RESOURCE ISSUES 340

iv
Contents

1 This is Geography 2 Population & Health

Why is geography a science? Where are people distributed?
1.1 Welcome to Geography 4 2.1 Population Density 36
1.2 Contemporary Geographic Tools 6 2.2 Population Concentrations 38
1.3 Making Maps 8 Why is population increasing?
1.4 The Geographic Grid 10
2.3 Population Change 40
Why is every place unique? 2.4 The Demographic Transition 42
1.5 Place: A Unique Location 12 How does health vary by region?
1.6 Region: A Unique Area 14
2.5 Aging & Health 44
Why are different places similar? 2.6 Gender & Health 46
1.7 Scale: From Global to Local 16 2.7 Medical Services 48
1.8 Space: Distribution of Features 18 2.8 Epidemiologic Transition 50
1.9 Space: Identity 20 Why might population change in the future?
1.10 Space: Inequality 22
2.9 Population Futures 52
Why are places connected? 2.10 Family Futures 54
1.11 Connection: Diffusion & Interaction 24 2.11 Epidemiologic Futures 56
1.12 Connection: Sustainability 26 2.12 Population & Resources 58
1.13 Humans & Their Environment 28 Review, Analyze, & Apply 60
Review, Analyze, & Apply 30 Thinking Geographically • Explore • Key Terms •
Thinking Geographically • Key Terms • Geospatial Geospatial Analysis
Analysis • Explore

v
3 Migration
Where are migrants distributed?
3.1 Migration Principles 64
3.2 Global Migration Distribution 66
Where do people migrate within countries?
3.3 Interregional Migration 68
3.4 Intraregional Migration 70
Why do people migrate?
3.5 Reasons for Migrating 72
3.6 Economic Reasons for Migrating 74
3.7 Political Reasons for Migrating 76
What challenges do migrants face?
3.8 Government Migration Policies 78
3.9 U.S. Immigration Policies 80
3.10 U.S.–Mexico Border 82
Review, Analyze, & Apply 84
Thinking Geographically • Explore • Key Terms •
Geospatial Analysis
vi Contents
4 Culture & Social Media
How are leisure activities distributed?
4.1 Material Culture & Geography 88
4.2 Popular & Folk Food Customs 90
4.3 Distribution of Electronic Communications 92
How does culture diffuse?
4.4 Diffusion of Clothing 94
4.5 Diffusion of Music 96
4.6 Diffusion of Sports 98
Why is access to culture unequal?
4.7 Electronic Diffusion of Culture 100
4.8 Challenges in Accessing Electronic
Media 102
4.9 Spatial Dimensions to Cyberattacks 104
Why do cultures face sustainability
challenges?
4.10 Maintaining Unique Folk Culture
Landscapes 106
4.11 Uniform Landscapes of Popular Culture 108
Review, Analyze, & Apply 110
Thinking Geographically • Key Terms • Geospatial
Analysis • Explore
5 Languages
How are languages distributed?
5.1 Classifying Languages 114
5.2 Distribution of Languages 116
5.3 Distribution of Indo-European Languages 118
How do languages diffuse?
5.4 Into & Out of Africa 120
5.5 Origin & Diffusion of English 122
How do languages vary among places?
5.6 Dialects 124
5.7 Dialect or Language? 126
5.8 Multilingual Countries 128
Why do languages survive or perish?
5.9 Endangered & Extinct Languages 130
5.10 Preserving & Reviving Languages 132
Review, Analyze, & Apply 134
Thinking Geographically • Key Terms • Geospatial
Analysis • Explore
6 Religions
Where are religions distributed?
6.1 Distribution of Religions 138
6.2 Distribution of Christians 140
6.3 Distribution of Buddhists & Muslims 142
6.4 Distribution of Ethnic Religions 144
6.5 Distribution of Other Religions 146
Why do religions have distinctive distributions?
6.6 Geographic Origin of Religions 148
6.7 Historical Diffusion of Religions 150
6.8 Recent Diffusion of Religions 152
How do religions organize space?
6.9 Sacred Spaces 154
6.10 Religious Settlements & Administration 156
6.11 Religions & the Physical Environment 158
Why do territorial conlicts arise among
religions?
6.12 Religions & Social Change 160
6.13 Geographic Perspectives in Israel 162
Review, Analyze, & Apply 164
Thinking Geographically • Key Terms • Geospatial
Analysis • Explore
Contents vii
7 Ethnicity & Race
Where are ethnicities & races distributed?
7.1 Ethnicity, Race, & Nationality 168
7.2 Distribution of U.S. Ethnicities 170
Why do ethnicities have distinctive
distributions?
7.3 Migration Patterns of U.S. Blacks 172
7.4 Ethnic & Racial Segregation 174
7.5 Black Lives Matter 176
How do ethnicities & nationalities differ?
7.6 Ethnicities & Nationalities 178
7.7 Ethnic Diversity in Asia 180
Why do ethnic cleansing & genocide occur?
7.8 Ethnic Cleansing in Asia 182
7.9 Ethnic Cleansing in Africa 184
7.10 Ethnic Cleansing in Europe 186
Review, Analyze, & Apply 188
Thinking Geographically • Key Terms • Geospatial
Analysis • Explore
viii Contents
8 Political Geography
Where are states distributed?
8.1 A World of States 192
8.2 Sovereignty of States 194
How are states created?
8.3 Evolution of States 196
8.4 New Nation-States 198
8.5 Colonies 200
Why do states have distinctive boundaries?
8.6 Boundaries Between States 202
8.7 Boundary Disputes 204
8.8 Shapes of States 206
8.9 Gerrymandering Boundaries 208
What threats do states face?
8.10 Terrorism 210
8.11 States in War & Peace 212
Review, Analyze, & Apply 214
Thinking Geographically • Explore • Key Terms •
Geospatial Analysis
9 Food & Agriculture
What do people eat?
9.1 How Much We Eat 218
9.2 Diet 220
Where does food come from?
9.3 The First Agriculture Revolution 222
9.4 The Second Agricultural Revolution 224
9.5 Comparing Subsistence & Commercial
Agriculture 226
9.6 The Third Agricultural Revolution 228
How has agriculture become more global?
9.7 International Trade: Meat 230
9.8 Trade in Commercial Crops 232
9.9 Threatened Subsistence Agriculture
Practices 234
How can agriculture be more Earth-friendly?
9.10 Agriculture & Resource Depletion 236
9.11 Biotechnology & Sustainability 238
Review, Analyze, & Apply 240
Thinking Geographically • Explore • Key Terms •
Geospatial Analysis
10 Development
How does development vary among
countries?
10.1 Human Development 244
10.2 A Decent Standard of Living 246
10.3 Access to Health & Knowledge 248
What inequalities are found in development?
10.4 Inequality-Adjusted HDI 250
10.5 Gender Inequality 252
10.6 Gender Development 254
How do countries become more developed?
10.7 Two Paths to Development 256
10.8 World Trade 258
10.9 Financing Development 260
How can development be more sustainable?
10.10 Sustainable Development 262
10.11 Fair Trade 264
Review, Analyze, & Apply 266
Thinking Geographically • Explore • Key Terms •
Geospatial Analysis
Contents ix
11 Industry
Where is industry distributed?
11.1 Industrial Regions 270
11.2 Shipping Raw Materials & Products 272
Why are site factors important for industry?
11.3 Site Factors in Industry 274
11.4 Changing Site Factors: Clothing 276
Why are situation factors important for
industry?
11.5 Situation Factors: Locating Near Inputs 278
11.6 Situation Factors: Locating Near
Customers 280
11.7 Changing Situation Factors: Steel 282
How has the distribution of industry
changed?
11.8 Industrial Change in Developed Regions 284
11.9 Emerging Industrial Regions 286
Review, Analyze, & Apply 288
Thinking Geographically • Key Terms • Geospatial
Analysis • Explore
x Contents
12 Services & Settlements
Where are settlements & services
distributed?
12.1 Urban Settlements 292
12.2 Types of Services 294
Where are consumer services distributed?
12.3 Central Place Theory 296
12.4 Hierarchy of Consumer Services 298
12.5 Market Area Analysis 300
12.6 Periodic & Sharing Services 302
Where are business services distributed?
12.7 Hierarchy of Business Services 304
12.8 Business Services in Developing
Countries 306
12.9 Economic Specialization of Settlements 308
Why do services cluster in settlements?
12.10 Services in Rural Settlements 310
12.11 Services in Early Urban Settlements 312
Review, Analyze, & Apply 314
Thinking Geographically • Explore • Key Terms •
Geospatial Analysis
13 Urban Patterns
Why are cities challenging to deine?
13.1 Defining Urban Settlements 318
13.2 The Central Business District 320
Where are people distributed within a city?
13.3 Models of Urban Structure 322
13.4 Applying the Models in North America 324
How are cities outside North America
structured?
13.5 Structure of European Cities 326
13.6 Urban Structure Models in Developing
Countries 328
13.7 Changing Structure of Mexico City 330
How might cities become more sustainable?
13.8 Sprawl 332
13.9 Urban Transportation 334
13.10 Challenges & Hopes for Cities 336
Review, Analyze, & Apply 338
Thinking Geographically • Explore • Key Terms •
Geospatial Analysis
14 Resource Issues
Where are energy resources distributed?
14.1 Energy Supply & Demand 342
14.2 Energy Production 344
What is the future for energy resources?
14.3 Fossil Fuel Futures 346
14.4 Energy Alternatives 348
How are resources polluted?
14.5 Air Pollution 350
14.6 Water Pollution 352
14.7 Solid Waste Pollution 354
How are resources protected?
14.8 Recycling & Remanufacturing 356
14.9 The Car of the Future 358
14.10 Revisiting Geography’s Key Concepts 360
Review, Analyze, & Apply 362
Thinking Geographically • Explore • Key Terms •
Geospatial Analysis
Contents xi
 Preface
Welcome to a new kind of geography textbook! We
live in a visual age, and geography is a highly visual
discipline, so Pearson—the world’s leading publisher
of geography textbooks—invites you to study human
geography as a visual subject. This book has been
designed from the beginning to be equally readable in
both print and digital formats.
The ifth edition of Contemporary Human Geography
builds on the strengths of the irst four editions while
responding to user feedback to make important changes
and improvements and incorporating innovative
features, current data, and new information.
The main purpose of this book is to introduce
you to the study of geography as a social science by
emphasizing the relevance of geographic concepts to
human problems. It is intended for use in college-level
introductory human or cultural geography courses. The
book is written for students who have not previously
taken a college-level geography course.
What Makes This Book
Contemporary?
Titling this book “contemporary” is a bold claim.
All credible geography books—including this one—
include up-to-date statistics, recent world events, and
current geographic concepts. This book claims to be
more contemporary—not merely up-to-date—for three
reasons.
We live in a visual age. This book was written
in the reverse order of traditional textbooks. For most
books, the text is written irst and the graphic material
is added later. Instead of beginning with an author’s
complete manuscript, this book starts with a sketch of
a visual concept for each one-page spread and two-page
module. What would be the most important geographic
idea presented on each spread, and what would be
the most efective visual way to portray that idea? The
maps, graphs, and photos are placed on the page irst,
and then the text is written around the graphics. The
production of this book does not have a traditional
manuscript; from the outset, the text is written to
complement the graphics.
We live in a sound bite age. This book replaces
the narrative style of traditional books. Each one-page
spread and each two-page module of this book are self-
contained. Material on a main concept is contained
within a page. This places more of a premium on clear
concise outlining as an important pedagogical feature.
xii
The captions under maps, graphs, and photos typically
repeat material already presented in the text. Not so
with this book—the graphic material stands on its own.
We live in an electronic age. This book has been
designed to be equally usable—and attractive—in both
print and digital formats. Most books are still composed
in pages designed for print—as in the past—and
converted to digital format after publishing of the print
version. As a result, the conversion to digital format is
frequently awkward. For example, maps and photos are
often placed in the print version in positions that don’t
work well in digital format.
Contemporary Chapter Organization
This book has a clear, easy-to use organization and
outline. Each chapter is organized into between 9 and
13 modules composed of two one-page sections that
follow a consistent pattern:
Opening section. Each chapter opens with an
outline of the four Key Issues that will be addressed in
the chapter as well as a brief description of the material
contained in each Key Issue. A Word Cloud introduces
key words and phrases that appear in the chapter. A
Locations map highlights some of the places that are
illustrated in the chapter.
Key Issues. Each chapter is organized around four
Key Issues that outline the main topics to be addressed.
The four Key Issues are presented as questions to be
addressed in that section of the chapter.
Self-contained modules. Each two-page module
is titled and numbered to enhance the clarity of the
outline. Each individual section is also titled and
numbered.
Learning Objectives. Each two-page module
begins with a Learning Objective that frames the main
concept of that module.
Self-contained sections. Each page or section
within the two-page module is also self-contained, with
its own title and number. As a result, maps and photos
appear next to where they are discussed in the text. No
more going through a chapter to ind a igure that is
referenced on one page but actually appears on another
page. This approach is especially critical for reading the
eText on a tablet, computer, or smart phone.
Review, Analyze, & Apply. The inal two-page
module of each chapter (four pages for Chapter 1)
reviews the main points of the chapter, organized
around the four Key Issues. The end-of-chapter material

also includes Key Terms as well as other features,
including Thinking Geographically, Geospatial
Analysis, and Explore activities.
Contemporary Content
This book discusses the following main topics:
What basic concepts do geographers use?
Geographers employ several concepts to describe the
distribution of people and activities across Earth, to
explain reasons underlying the observed distribution,
and to understand the signiicance of the arrangements.
Chapter 1—This Is Geography—provides an introduction
to ways that geographers think about the world.
Geographers have insights into the major issues of
our time. COVID-19 is used to illustrate geography’s ive
most basic concepts, ive diferent ways to make maps,
and features of distribution. Issues of cultural diversity
and inequality include an introduction to Black Lives
Matter (discussed in more detail in Chapter 7) as
well as gender and LGBTQ distribution. Geographic
perspectives on climate change are also introduced.
Where are people located in the world?
Why do some places on Earth contain large numbers
of people or attract newcomers whereas other places
are sparsely inhabited? Chapters 2 and 3 examine the
distribution and growth of the world’s population
as well as the movement of people from one place to
another.
Since the last edition of the book, natural increase
rates and birth rates have declined and death rates have
increased, partly in response to COVID-19. Meanwhile,
China has abandoned its long-standing one-child
policy.
Migration has been an important issue for
Americans. This edition expands its discussion of
unauthorized immigrants and the spatial variations
along the U.S. Mexico border. Coverage has been
doubled from the previous edition concerning the
main reasons that people migrate—environmental,
economic, and political.
How are diferent cultural groups
distributed? Geographers look for similarities and
diferences in the cultural features at diferent places,
the reasons for their distribution, and the importance
of these diferences for world peace. Chapters 4 through
8 analyze the distribution of diferent cultural traits
and beliefs and the political challenges that result
from those spatial patterns. Important cultural traits
discussed in Chapter 4 include food, clothing, shelter,
and leisure activities. Chapters 5 through 7 examine
three main elements of cultural identity: language,
religion, and ethnicity. Chapter 8 looks at political
problems that arise from cultural diversity.
PREFACE
The title of Chapter 4 has changed from Folk
& Popular Culture to Culture & Social Media, a
relection of the growing importance of social media in
understanding the geography of cultural patterns and
preferences. A larger share of the chapter is devoted to
distinctive spatial patterns of social media, including
social media platforms, Internet freedom, cyberattacks,
cyber espionage, and fake news. A spread has been
added concerning the geography of travel.
Classiication of the world’s principal religions
has been reorganized in accordance with recognized
authorities on the geography of religions. The three
universalizing religions with the largest number of
adherents continue to be Christianity, Islam, and
Buddhism. However, the ethnic religions with the
largest number of adherents in addition to Hinduism
are now considered by authorities to be Chinese Folk
and Ethno-religions. Other religions are classiied by
number of adherents, with the most numerous in
addition to Sikhism and Judaism now considered to be
New Religions and Spiritism.
The title of Chapter 7 has been changed from
Ethnicities to Ethnicity & Race to relect the increasing
importance of the term “race” in cultural geography.
A key example of the increasing importance of race is
the use of the term “Black” in most places instead of
“African American.” A new spread on Black Lives Matter
examines the difusion and patterns of racism on the
landscape.
The content of Chapter 8 has been moved among
the four key issues. The irst key issue now includes
internal structure of states (unitary and federal) and
international cooperation such as the EU. The second
key issue now explains the evolution of states from
ancient times, through the development of nation-
states, to recent creation of states especially in Eastern
Europe. The third key issue focuses on the morphology
of states, including boundaries and shapes. Coverage
is expanded of gerrymandering of U.S. political
boundaries, with speciic examples of the two types of
gerrymandering. The fourth key issue focuses on threats
to states, including a new discussion of states with
nuclear weapons.
How do people earn a living in diferent parts
of the world? Human survival depends on acquiring
an adequate food supply. One of the most signiicant
distinctions among people globally is whether they
produce their food directly from the land or buy it
with money earned by performing other types of work.
Chapters 9 through 12 look at the three main ways
of earning a living: agriculture, manufacturing, and
services. Chapter 13 discusses cities, where the world’s
economic and cultural activities are increasingly
centered.
xiii
 Chapter 9 (Food & Agriculture) has been reorganized
to provide an increased emphasis on food. The chapter
begins with the geography of food, including spatial
patterns of what people eat and how much they eat.
The remainder of the chapter is organized around the
spatial patterns of where food comes from, especially as
it relates to diferences in climate.
The United Nations has created two new indexes
of development that are now included in Chapter 10
(Development). They are Multidimensional Poverty
Index (MPI) and Gender Social Norms Index (GSNI).
The various indexes of development are presented to
emphasize spatial diferences in gender and economic
inequalities. Immanuel Wallerstein’s world-systems
theory of core and periphery is now included as its own
spread.
Material in Chapter 11 (Industry) is reorganized to
place changes in site and situation factors alongside the
rest of those subjects’ material. The chapter concludes
with a spread on changes in China’s situation and site
factors.
The title of Chapter 12 has been changed from
Services to Services & Settlements. A discussion of
current geographic patterns of settlements is now placed
at the beginning of the chapter. The chapter contains
a new spread on e-commerce, like Amazon, and a new
spread on sharing services, like Airbnb and Uber.
Chapter 13 (Urban Patterns) includes a new case
study of the geographic patterns within London.
What issues result from using Earth’s
resources? Geographers recognize that cultural
problems result from the depletion, destruction,
and ineicient use of the world’s natural resources.
Chapter 14 (Resource Issues) is devoted to a study of
issues related to the use of Earth’s natural resources.
The chapter includes expanded coverage of solar
power and of the challenge of disposing of plastic
waste. The chapter and the book conclude with a new
spread that reviews geography’s ive key concepts by
comparing Luxembourg and Timor-Leste—two small
and little-known but very diferent countries.
Contemporary Relevance
Many speculated that geography would be irrelevant
in the twenty-irst century. Geography’s future was
thought to be grim because the difusion of electronic
communications and social media would make it
easier for human activities to be conducted remotely.
If any piece of information could be accessed from any
place in the world (at least where electronic devices
work), why live, shop, work, or establish a business in a
crowded city or a harsh climate?
In reality, geography has become more, not less,
important in people’s lives and the conduct of business.
xiv
Here are several ways that location matters more now
than in the past, because of—not despite—the difusion
of electronic devices:
Geographical smart phone apps. Smart phones
and other electronic devices match speciic demand to
supply in a particular locality. For example: Restaurant
apps match hungry people to empty seats in a locality’s
restaurants. Real estate apps help people ind housing
for sale or for rent in a locality. Social apps let people
know where their friends in a particular locality are
hanging out that night. Transportation apps match
vehicles with available seats to people trying to get to
speciic locations. These sorts of apps generate data on
people’s preferences in space, which in turn help even
more location-based businesses get started and grow.
Through an app, we can ind a restaurant, get detailed
directions to it via voice navigation, or order online for
takeout delivery to our doorstep. Geographic apps, such
as maps, navigation aids, travel, and transportation, rank
among the most frequently used services on smart phones.
Navigation. Electronic devices are essential to the
smooth movement of people and goods. For example:
Turn-by-turn information can prevent you from getting
lost or steer you back if you do get lost. Traic jams
on overcrowded roads can be avoided or minimized.
Delivery services can ind where to deliver packages.
Drivers of car-sharing services can igure out how to get
you to your destination. Instead of turning on a radio
to hear traic information, we look at the red and green
traic low patterns on an electronic map. Vehicles in
the future will be driverless, so you can spend driving
time working, learning, or social networking.
Ideas. The people who make all of these new
location-based apps are themselves highly clustered in a
handful of places in the world, such as the San Francisco
Bay area. Ideas—both brilliant and farfetched—are still
easier to communicate face-to-face than across long
distances. Living and working in places like Silicon
Valley, despite high expenses and choking traic jams,
put people next to other like-minded innovators in the
electronic-based geography of the twenty-irst century.
Cultural diversity. Electronic devices also impact
the changing geography of cultural diversity. What
if you searched for an available restaurant table in a
foreign language? Would you ind the same places that
you would if you searched in your native language?
What if you conducted an internet search in a foreign
country? Would you ind the same information as in an
internet search done at home?
Contemporary Tensions Between
Globalization and Local Diversity
A central theme in this book is a tension between two
important realities of the twenty-irst-century world—

globalization and cultural diversity. In many respects
we are living in a more uniied world economically,
culturally, and environmentally. The actions of a
particular corporation or country afect people around
the world. In the third decade of the twenty-irst
century, we continue to face wars in unfamiliar places
and experience economic struggles unprecedented
in the lifetimes of students or teachers. Geography’s
spatial perspectives help to relate economic change to
the distributions of cultural features such as languages
and religions, demographic patterns such as population
growth and migration, and natural resources such as
energy, water quality, and food supply.
This book argues that, after a period when
globalization of the economy and culture has been
a paramount concern in geographic analysis, local
diversity now demands equal time. People are taking
deliberate steps to retain distinctive cultural identities.
They are preserving little-used languages, ighting
iercely to protect their religions, and questioning
free trade agreements. Local diversity even extends
to addressing issues, such as climate change, that at
irst glance are considered global. For example, the
“greenest” cars for motorists to drive in Ohio are
diferent than the “greenest” cars for Indiana.
Since 2013, I have written a weekly column for my
local newspaper on behalf of my local cooperatively
owned grocery store. The column has come to extol the
virtues of local here in Midwestern USA: the local food,
the local farmers, the local seasons, and the locally
owned co-op grocery. I admire the farmers and the
agriculture from far away, but our local food is more
nutritious, consumes less energy, and tastes better. In a
world where we feel anger and helplessness at the plight
of people in other places, it is at the local scale that we
all can make a diference.
A Contemporary Publishing Team
The steps involved in creating most traditional
textbooks haven’t changed much. The book passes from
one to another like a baton in a relay race. The author
writes a manuscript, which then passes in turn through
development, editing, and production specialists on the
way to the printing press. The preface typically includes
a perfunctory litany of acknowledgments for the many
ine people who contribute to the development, editing,
and production of the book.
In contrast, this book starts as a genuine partnership
among several development, editorial, and production
specialists. The traditional separation of development,
editorial, and production has been deliberately blurred.
Preparing this book demanded a contemporary
approach to collaboration because it was created during
the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United
PREFACE
States. The team, which is scattered around the country
from New Hampshire to Oregon, met biweekly through
Zoom. Key contributors include folks employed by
Pearson and folks from elsewhere. The most important
contributors from outside Pearson include the
following:
Susan Teahan, Development Editor. A typical
development editor provides useful information to
the author early in the writing process and then fades
from the scene. Not so with Susan. Susan’s role actually
expanded during the process of creating this book. We
collaborated closely on tailoring the content to it each
and every page of the book. Increase or decrease the
size of the artwork? Add or delete text? We were there
together.
Erika Nelson,
Research Assistant,
has an MA in
Geography
from Miami
University and
currently teaches
anthropology and
geography courses
at Miami. I have
known Erika for
many years as a
student and friend
and as a colleague
on two books.
Erika brings fresh perspectives to the book, such as her
background living in Africa and her teaching online.
Kevin Lear, Senior Project Manager at International
Mapping, and his team produced the outstanding maps
for this book. Back in the 1980s, Kevin was the irst
cartographer to igure out how to produce computer-
generated full-color maps that are more accurate
and more attractive than hand-drawn ones. He has
continued to stay well ahead of the pack in the quality
of the maps. And Kevin has taken on additional tasks
of creating all of the artwork in the book, not only the
maps.
Katie Ostler and Sharon Cahill, Straive Project
Managers. In a global economy, essential tasks in
publishing a book are inevitably outsourced to
specialists. In this case, the task of publishing the text
and artwork into printed and digitized pages was in
the hands of Straive, which is known as a leader in
e-learning. When outsourcing, it is essential to be able
to communicate with a single responsible leader. In this
case, that person was irst Katie and then Sharon.
Key contributors within Pearson include the
following:
Heidi Allgair, Pearson Content Producer for Science.
The smooth low of pages, maps, photos, and so
xv
on requires someone who is able to stay on top of a
complex project. Heidi perfectly performed this critical
role of managing what each team member was doing at
any given time.
Kassi Foley, Pearson Senior Learning Tools Strategist.
Previous editions of the book have included several
interactive features. We have shifted our priority to
creating a handful of Geographic Interactive projects to
help students understand some of the most challenging
topics in the course, such as world agricultural regions
and the diversity of languages. Kassi has played the key
role at Pearson in creating the Geographic Interactive
projects, in association with Social Explorer.
Ziki Dekel, Media Producer. In view of the fact that
most students now read the book on an electronic
device, the role of media producer has become more
important. Most books are created in print version
with little regard for their conversion to digital format.
Thanks to folks at Pearson like Ziki, this book is
hopefully more legible in digital version than most
other textbooks.
xvi
Aileen Pogran, Pearson Product Manager Life
Sciences, and Terry Haugen, Pearson Content Strategy
Manager for Geosciences, Environmental Sciences, &
Non-majors Biology. I’ve saved the most important
team members for last. Aileen and Terry are the two
editors for this project. When Pearson undertook a
major reorganization of responsibilities a few years ago,
Aileen and Terry both became my editors. In principle,
Aileen has been responsible for ensuring that this book
has had the support of Pearson’s top management, and
Terry has been responsible for ensuring that the content
of this book meets Pearson’s highest standards. A close
relationship between author and editor in this case,
editors is the heart of a successful book. I’ve been very
fortunate that in my three decades of association with
Pearson, I’ve had three outstanding editors: Paul Corey,
Dan Kaveney, and Christian Botting. This irst project
with Aileen and Terry has continued my good fortune
of outstanding editors. What a delight to work with
them for the irst time. I think this is the beginning of
a beautiful friendship.
 Digital & Print
Resources
FOR TEACHERS:
This edition provides a complete human geography program for teachers.
Mastering Geography with Pearson eText
for Contemporary Human Geography
The Mastering platform is the most widely used and
efective online homework, tutorial, and assessment
system for the sciences. It delivers self-paced coaching
activities that provide individualized coaching, focus
on course objectives, and are responsive to each
student’s progress. The Mastering system helps teachers
maximize class time with customizable, easy-to-assign,
and automatically graded assessments that motivate
students to learn outside of class and arrive prepared for
lecture. Mastering Geography ofers:
• Assignable activities that include GIS-inspired
MapMaster 2.0TM interactive maps, Encounter Human
Geography Google EarthTM Explorations, GeoVideos,
GeoTutors, Thinking Spatially & Data Analysis
activities, end-of-chapter questions, reading quizzes,
Test Bank questions, map labeling activities, and more.
• Student study area with GIS-inspired MapMaster 2.0
interactive maps, Geoscience Animations, web links,
geography videos, glossary lash cards, “In the News”
current articles, reference maps, an optional Pearson
eText and more.
www.pearson.com/mastering/geography
FOR TEACHERS
Instructor Resource Manual
(Download Only) (0134791835)
Updated for the fourth edition, the Instructor Resource
Manual is intended as a resource for both new and
experienced instructors. It includes lecture outlines,
additional source materials, teaching tips, advice about
how to integrate online media, and various other ideas
for the classroom.
www.pearson.com/mastering/geography
TestGen® Computerized Test Bank
(Download Only) (0134767780)
TestGen is a computerized test generator that lets
instructors view and edit Test Bank questions, transfer
questions to tests, and print the test in a variety of
customized formats. This Test Bank includes over 1,000
multiple choice and short answer/essay questions.
Questions are correlated to the revised U.S. National
Geography Standards and Bloom’s Taxonomy to help
instructors better map the assessments against both
broad and speciic teaching and learning objectives. The
questions are also tagged to chapter speciic learning
outcomes. The Test Bank is available in Microsoft Word,
and is importable into Blackboard.
www.pearson.com/mastering/geography
Instructor Resource Materials
(Download Only) (0134791843)
The Instructor Resource Materials provides high-quality
electronic versions of photos and illustrations from
the book in JPEG, pdf, and PowerPoint formats, as well
as customizable PowerPoint lecture presentations,
Classroom Response System questions in PowerPoint,
and the Instructor Resource Manual and Test Bank in
MS. Word and TestGen formats. For easy reference and
identiication, all resources are organized by chapter.
xvii
 About the Author
Dr. James M. Rubenstein received his
B.A. from the University of Chicago in 1970,
M.Sc. from the London School of Economics
and Political Science in 1971, and Ph.D. from
Johns Hopkins University in 1975. He was a
Professor of Geography at Miami University
for thirty-seven years, where he taught urban
and human geography. Dr. Rubenstein is now
a full-time writer. In addition to this book,
Dr. Rubenstein is the author of The Cultural
Landscape (13th edition) as well as co-author
of Introduction to Contemporary Geography,
both published by Pearson Education.
Dr. Rubenstein also conducts research
in the automotive industry and has
published four books on the subject The
Changing U.S. Auto Industry: A Geographical Analysis (Routledge);
Making and Selling Cars: Innovation and Change in the U.S. Auto
Industry (The Johns Hopkins University Press); A Profile of the
Automobile and Motor Vehicle Industry: Innovation, Transformation,
Globalization (Business Expert Press); and Who Really Made Your
Car? Restructuring and Geographic Change in the Auto Industry
(W.E. Upjohn Institute, with Thomas Klier). He also writes a
weekly column about local food for The Oxford Press. Winston,
a lab-husky mix with one brown eye and one blue eye, takes
Dr. Rubenstein for long walks in the woods most days, when
he is up to it.

This book is dedicated to my wife

Bernadette Unger, the love of my life,
and my companion through life.

xviii
 About our Sustainability
Initiatives
Pearson recognizes the environmental challenges facing
this planet, as well as acknowledges our responsibility in
making a diference. This book is carefully crafted to minimize
environmental impact. The binding, cover, and paper come from
facilities that minimize waste, energy consumption, and the use
of harmful chemicals. Pearson closes the loop by recycling every
out-of-date text returned to our warehouse.
Along with developing and exploring digital solutions to our
market’s needs, Pearson has a strong commitment to achieving
carbon-neutrality. As of 2009, Pearson became the irst carbon-
and climate-neutral publishing company, having reduced
our absolute carbon footprint by 22% since then. Pearson has
protected over 1,000 hectares of land in Columbia, Costa Rica,
the United States, the UK and Canada.
In 2015, Pearson formally adopted The Global Goals for
Sustainable Development, sponsoring an event at the United
Nations General Assembly and other ongoing initiatives. Pearson
sources 100% of the electricity we use from green power and
invests in renewable energy resources in multiple cities where
we have operations, helping make them more sustainable and
limiting our environmental impact for local communities.
The future holds great promise for reducing our impact on
Earth’s environment, and Pearson is proud to be leading the way.
We strive to publish the best books with the most up-to-date
and accurate content, and to do so in ways that minimize our
impact on Earth. To learn more about our initiatives, please visit
https://www.pearson.com/corporate/sustainability.html

xix
 C H A P T E R

1 This is Geography

▲ Floor Map, Google Ofice, Washington D.C.

2
 KEY ISSUES
C ontemporary geography is the 1 Why Is Geography a
Science?
scientiic study of where people
Geography’s most distinctive tool
and activities are found across is the map. Prehistoric humans
were the first people to make
Earth’s surface and the reasons maps. Contemporary tools enable
cartographers—and anyone else
why they are found there. who has access to electronic
devices—to make precise maps
Geography is distinctive because and to interpret their meaning.
it encompasses both social
science and natural science. This
2 Why Is Every Place Mediterranean Sea
book focuses on geography as a Unique? Suez Canal
ASIA
social science (human geography). Geographers understand that each
location on Earth is in some ways Cairo
unique. Each specific place or
larger region on Earth possesses a AFRICA
E G Y P T
unique combination of features.

Ni
le

Red
Riv
er

Sea
3 Why Are Different
Places Similar?
Many geographical features are
organized in a regular manner
across space. Some regularities
are global in scale, whereas others
have distinctive local character.

4 Why Are Places

Connected?
Distinctive to geography is the
importance given to connections
between human activities and
LOCATIONS the physical environment. Some
IN THIS human activities are sustainable,
CHAPTER but others are not.

Twin Cities, sec. 1.9.1 France, sec. 1.11.1 London, sec. 1.9.1 Dover, sec. 1.12.2
The Netherlands, sec. 1.13.1, 1.13.2

Chicago, sec.1.6.2 Ulan Bator, sec. 1.2.2

San Francisco, sec. 1.9.2 Çatalhöyük, sec. 1.2.1
Zearing, sec. 1.6.1 Boston, sec. 1.5.2 Shanghai, sec. 1.7.1
Preble County, sec. 1.6.1
Wuhan, sec. 1.1.1, 1.1.2
Sun City, sec.1.4.2
Jinjiang, sec. 1.1.1
Florida, sec. 1.6.2
Cairo, sec. 1.5.2
Sierra Leone, sec. 1.2.2
Everglades, sec. 1.12.1

Miami, sec. 1.13.2

World’s longest name, sec. 1.5.1

3
 1.1 KEY ISSUE 1 Why is geography a science?

Welcome to Geography
• Summarize geography’s ive most basic concepts.

T
he word geography, invented by the ancient Greek scholar Eratosthenes (ca. 276–ca.
194 B.C.E.), is based on two Greek words: geo means “Earth,” and graphy means
“to write.” Geography is the study of where things are found on Earth's surface
and the reasons for their locations. Human geographers ask two questions: Where are
people and activities found on Earth? Why are they there?

1.1.1 Comparing Geography & History

▲ 1.1.1 AN Human geography and history both rely on the collection of evidence about human activity.
IMPORTANT PLACE: In his framework of all scientiic knowledge, the German philosopher Immanuel Kant
CHINA, FEBRUARY
2020
(1724–1804) compared geography and history:
During the
lockdown to control Geographers . . . Historians . . .
the diffusion of
COVID-19, people identify the location of important places (Figure 1.1.1). identify the dates of important events.
from Wuhan were
not permitted to explain why one human activity is found near another. explain why one human activity follows another
cross the Jiujiang chronologically.
Yangtze River Bridge,
ask where and why. ask when and why.
which is located 226
kilometers (140 miles) organize material spatially. organize material chronologically.
from Wuhan.
recognize that an action at one location on Earth can recognize that an action at one point in time can
be a reaction to actions taken at another point on be in reaction to actions taken in the past and
Earth, which can, in turn, affect conditions elsewhere. can, in turn, affect future actions.

Contrasting Geography & History

The capabilities of historians and geographers difer in one especially important aspect: A
geographer can take a plane or car to another place on Earth (Figure 1.1.2), but a historian
cannot travel back to another time in the past. The ability to reach other places lends
excitement to the discipline of geography.
To introduce human geography, we concentrate on two main features of society: culture
and economy. The irst half of the book explains why the most important cultural features,
such as languages, religions, and ethnicities, are arranged as they are across Earth. The
▼ 1.1.2 WUHAN,
2018 second half of the book looks at the distribution of the most important economic activities,
Before the start of the including agriculture, manufacturing, and services.
COVID-19 pandemic.

4

1.1.2 Geographers Explain Where & Why
This chapter introduces basic concepts in geography
and explains how geographers use a question
approach—“where” and “why”—in their study. To
explain where things are, one of geography’s most
important tools is a map. Geographers employ several
basic concepts to explain why every place on Earth
is in some ways unique and in some ways related to
other locations. Two basic concepts relate to unique
location:
• A place is a speciic point on Earth distinguished
by a particular characteristic. Every place
occupies a unique location, or position, on
Earth’s surface.
• A region is an area of Earth deined by one or more
distinctive characteristics.
CHAPTER 1 THIS IS GEOGRAPHY
Three basic concepts help to explain the
interrelatedness of locations:
• Scale is the relationship between the portion of Earth
being studied and Earth as a whole. Geographers are
increasingly concerned with the global scale.
• Space refers to the physical gap, or interval,
between two objects. Geographers observe that
many objects are distributed across space in a
regular manner and for discernible reasons.
• Connection refers to relationships among people
and objects across the barrier of space. Geographers
are concerned with the various means by which
connections occur and are especially interested
in connections between human activities and the
physical environment.

Geography’s Basic Concepts & COVID-19 ▼ 1.1.4 REGION

The Harbei region, which
Geography’s basic concepts can help with our understanding of where and why the includes Wuhan, had more
COVID-19 disease spread or was contained: place (Figure 1.1.3), region (Figure 1.1.4), cases of COVID-19 per
population than China’s
scale (Figure 1.1.5), space (Figure 1.1.6), and connection (Figure 1.1.7). other regions during 2020.

◀ 1.1.3 PLACE
Wuhan, China, was the
place where COVID-19 was
irst identiied, in December
2019, according to the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control Beijing
and Prevention. During
2020, customers shopped CHINA
in Wuhan’s street market
Wuhan East
while wearing masks. Covid-19 cases China
per 100,000 Sea
above 115
4–8
◀ 1.1.5 SCALE 1–3
South
These health-care workers in Wuhan below 1 China Sea
were among the irst in the world to
receive COVID-19 vaccinations. China’s
vaccination cards look different than those
issued in the United States by the Centers ▼ 1.1.7 CONNECTION
for Disease Control and Prevention. (a) Australia quarantined people traveling to the
country from Wuhan for 2 weeks in Christmas Island.
(b) These Australian citizens returning from Wuhan
arrive at Canberra Airport in Australia after their
release from quarantine.

CHINA
Wuhan
◀ 1.1.6 SPACE
During COVID-19,
a distance of 2 PACIFIC
OCEAN
meters (6 feet)
became the norm
for safe social
distance, as these
workers eating Christmas Island
Quarantine zone
lunch at a Honda
factory in Wuhan INDIAN OCEAN
demonstrate. AUSTRALIA
0 1000 2000 Miles
0 1000 2000 Kilometers Canberra

(a) (b)
5
 1.2 KEY ISSUE 1 Why is geography a science?

Contemporary Geographic Tools

• Explain geography’s contemporary analytic mapping tools.

M
aps are not just paper references anymore. They have become an essential
tool for online location-finding applications through smart phones, tablets, and
computers.

1.2.1 What Is a Map?

Geography’s most important tool for thinking spatially about
the distribution of features across Earth is a map. A map is
a two-dimensional or lat-scale model of Earth’s surface or a
portion of it. Geography is immediately distinguished from
other disciplines by its reliance on maps to display and analyze
information.
A map can serve as a reference tool, helping us ind the
shortest route between two places and avoid getting lost along (a)
the way. We consult maps to learn where in the world something
is found, especially in relationship to a place we know, such as a
town, body of water, or highway. The maps in an atlas or a road
map are especially useful for this purpose.
A map can also be a communications tool. It is often the
(b)
best means for depicting the distribution of human activities
or physical features as well as for thinking about reasons
underlying such distribution.
A map is a scale model of the real world, made small enough ▲ 1.2.1 AN EARLY MAP
(a) This map, dating from 6200 B.C.E., depicts the town of
to work with on a desk or computer. It can be an elaborate work Çatalhöyük, in present-day Turkey, and the eruption of the
of art, a precise computer-generated product, or a hasty sketch Hasan Dağı (Mount Hasan) twin-peaks volcano, which is
(Figure 1.2.1). For centuries, geographers have worked to perfect actually located around 140 kilometers (87 miles) northeast of
the town. Archaeological evidence indicates that the volcano
the science of mapmaking, called cartography. Contemporary did erupt around the time that the map was made. The
cartographers are assisted by computers and satellite imagery. map is now in the Konya Archaeology Museum. (b) Artist’s
impression of Çatalhöyük,created from details on the map.
GIScience: Analyzing Data
Geographic information science (GIScience) is analysis of data about Earth acquired through satellite and
other electronic information technologies. A geographic information system (GIS) captures, stores, queries,
and displays the geographic data. GIS produces maps (including those in this book) that are more accurate and
attractive than those drawn by hand. Each type of information is stored in a layer. For example, separate layers could
▼ 1.2.2 PHOTOGRAMMETRY be created for boundaries of countries, bodies of water, roads, and names of places.
A drone lies a test course in Nevada The science of taking measurements of Earth’s surface from photographs is
to determine the precision of its
called photogrammetry. The acquisition of data about Earth’s surface from a
mapping capabilities.
satellite orbiting Earth or from other long-distance methods is remote sensing.
At any moment, an aerial sensor attached to a satellite, airplane, or drone may be
recording the image of a tiny area on Earth’s surface (Figure 1.2.2).
Corporations and government agencies use photogrammetry and remote
sensing to create high-quality 3D virtual representations of portions of Earth. These
maps can depict the distribution of a wide variety of urban and rural features.
GIScience helps geographers create more accurate and complex maps
and measure changes over time in the characteristics of places. Layers of
information acquired through remote sensing and produced through GIS can
be described and analyzed. GIScience enables geographers to calculate whether
relationships between objects on a map are signiicant or merely coincidental.
6
1.2.2 GPS: Pinpointing Locations

CHAPTER 1 THIS IS GEOGRAPHY

Our smart phones, tablets, and computers are equipped with Global
Positioning System (GPS), which is a system that determines the precise
position of something on Earth. The GPS in use in the United States includes
two dozen satellites placed in predetermined orbits; a series of tracking
stations to monitor and control the satellites; and receivers that compute
position, velocity, and time from the satellite signals.
GPS is most commonly used for navigation. Pilots of aircraft and ships
stay on course with GPS. On land, GPS detects a vehicle’s current position,
the motorist programs the desired destination into a GPS device, and the
device provides instructions on how to reach the destination.
Thanks to GPS, our electronic devices provide us with a wealth of
information about the speciic place on Earth we currently occupy. The
locations to which we venture using mapping applications, as well as ▲ 1.2.3 GEOTAGGING: GOOGLE
STREET MAPPING
the photos we take with our electronic devices, are recorded through Ulan Bator, Mongolia.
geotagging, which is identiication and storage of a piece of information by
its precise latitude and longitude coordinates (Figure 1.2.3).

VGI: Collecting & Sharing Data

Smart phones, tablets, and computers enable individuals to make maps and share them with others. Volunteered
geographic information (VGI) is the creation and dissemination of geographic data contributed voluntarily
and for free by individuals. VGI is part of the broader trend of citizen science, which is scientiic research by
amateur scientists, and participatory GIS (PGIS), which is community-based mapping. Citizen science and
PGIS collect and disseminate local knowledge and information through electronic devices.
OpenStreetMap is a collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world. The geodata underlying
the map is considered the primary output of the project. Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) is a global
community of volunteers, community leaders, and
professionals who work together to create open map
data to support sustainable development, such as
where to build new housing for the least impact on the
environment, and disaster response, such as where to
send emergency medical teams during a disease outbreak
(Figure 1.2.4).
A mashup is a map that overlays data from one
source on top of a map provided by a mapping service,
such as Google Maps or Google Earth. The term mashup
comes from the musical practice of mixing two or more
songs.
Individuals can create mashups on their personal
devices because mapping services provide access to
the application programming interface (API), which is
the computerized language that links a database such
▲ 1.2.4 HUMANITARIAN OPENSTREET MAPPING
Assisting responders helping to reach Ebola victims in a rural area
as an address list on your phone with software such as
of Sierra Leone. Google Maps.

Geocode System: What3words

What3words is a geocode system that has divided the entire world into
57 trillion squares of 3 meters (10 feet) per side. Each 9 square meter
(100 square foot) square is identiied by three English words. For example,
the front door of the White House is identiied by ///curve.empty.buzz.
This app allows for inding the precise location of many places in the
world that do not have traditional street addresses (Figure 1.2.5).

▶ 1.2.5 WHAT3WORDS
Location of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy.
7
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Los apostólicos
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at
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have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
using this eBook.

Title: Los apostólicos

Author: Benito Pérez Galdós

Release date: December 11, 2023 [eBook #72373]

Language: Spanish

Original publication: Madrid: Perlado, Páez y Compañía, 1906

Credits: Ramón Pajares Box. (This file was produced from images
generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian
Libraries.)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LOS

APOSTÓLICOS ***
Índice: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII,
XIX, XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII, XXIV, XXV, XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII, XXIX, XXX, XXXI, XXXII,
XXXIII, XXXIV, XXXV.

Nota de transcripción

Los errores de imprenta han sido corregidos.

La ortografía del texto original ha sido modernizada de acuerdo con las normas
publicadas en 2010 por la Real Academia Española.
Las rayas intrapárrafos han sido espaciadas según los modernos usos
ortotipográficos.
Las notas a pie de página han sido renumeradas y colocadas al final del párrafo en
que se las llama.
 EPISODIOS NACIONALES

LOS APOSTÓLICOS
 Es propiedad. Queda hecho el depósito
que marca la ley. Serán furtivos los
ejemplares que no lleven el sello del autor
 B. PÉREZ GALDÓS
EPISODIOS NACIONALES
SEGUNDA SERIE

LOS
A P OS T ÓL I C OS

34.000

MADRID
PERL ADO , PÁEZ Y CO M PAÑÍ A
( Su ce s o r e s d e He r n a n d o )
A R E N A L , 11
1906
Madrid. — Imp. de los Sucesores de Hernando, Quintana, 33.
 LOS APOSTÓLICOS

Tradiciones fielmente conservadas, y ciertos documentos

comerciales que podrían llamarse el Archivo Histórico de la familia de
Cordero, convienen en que doña Robustiana de los Toros de
Guisando, esposa del héroe de Boteros, falleció el 11 de diciembre de
1826. ¿Fue peritonitis, pulmonía matritense o tabardillo pintado lo que
arrancó del seno de su amante familia y de las delicias de este valle de
lágrimas a tan digna y ejemplar señora? Este es un terreno oscuro, en
el cual no ha podido penetrar nuestra investigación ni aun
acompañada de todas las luces de la crítica.
Esa pícara Historia, que en tratándose de reyes y príncipes, no hay
cosa trivial ni hecho insignificante que no saque a relucir, no ha tenido
una palabra sola para la estupenda hazaña de Boteros, ni tampoco
para la ocasión lastimosa en que el héroe se quedó viudo con cinco
hijos, de los cuales los dos últimos vinieron al mundo después que e
giro de los acontecimientos nos obligó a perder de vista a la familia
Cordero.
Cuando murió la señora, Juanito Jacobo (a quien se dio este
nombre en memoria de cierto filósofo que no es necesario nombrar
tenía dos meses no cumplidos, y por su insaciable apetito, así como su
berrear constante, declaraba la raza y poderoso abolengo de Toros de
Guisando. Sus bruscas manotadas y la fiereza con que se llevaba los
puños a la boca, ávido de mamarse a sí mismo por no poder secar un
par de amas cada mes, señales eran de vigor e independencia, por lo
que don Benigno, sin dejar de agradecer a Dios las buenas dotes
vitales que había dado a su criatura, pasaba la pena negra en su triste
papel de viudo; y ora valiéndose de cabras y biberones, cuando
faltaban las nodrizas, ora buscando por Puerta Cerrada y ambas
Cavas lo mejor que viniera de Asturias y la Alcarria en el maleado
género de amas para casa de los padres; ya desechando a esta po
enferma y a aquella por desabrida, taimada y ladrona; ya suplicando a
tal cual señora de su conocimiento que diera una mamada a
muchacho cuando le faltaba el pecho mercenario, era un infeliz
esclavo de los deberes paternales, y perdía el seso, el humor, la salud
el sueño, si bien jamás perdía la paciencia.
En las frías y largas noches ¿quién sino él habría podido echarse
en brazos la infantil carga y acallar los berridos con paseos, arrullos, y
cantorrios? ¿Quién sino él habría soportado las largas vigilias y e
cuneo incesante y otros muchos menesteres que no son para
contados? Pero don Benigno tenía un axioma que en todas estas
ocasiones penosas le servía de grandísimo consuelo, y recordándolo
en los momentos de mayor sofoco, decía:
—El cumplimiento estricto del deber en las diferentes circunstancias
de la existencia, es lo que hace al hombre buen cristiano, buen
ciudadano, buen padre de familia. El rodar de la vida nos pone en
situaciones muy diversas, exigiéndonos ahora esa virtud, más tarde
aquella. Es preciso que nos adaptemos, hasta donde sea posible, a
esas situaciones y casos distintos, respondiendo según podamos a lo
que la sociedad y el autor de todas las cosas exigen de nosotros. A
veces nos piden heroísmo, que es la virtud reconcentrada en un punto
y momento; a veces paciencia, que es el heroísmo diluido en larga
serie de instantes.
Después solía recordar que Catón el Censor abandonaba los
negocios más arduos del gobierno de Roma para presenciar y dirigir la
lactancia, el lavatorio y los cambios de vestido de su hijo, y que e
mismo Augusto, señor y amo del mundo, hacía otro tanto con sus
nietecillos. Con esto recibía don Benigno gran consuelo, y después de
leer de cabo a rabo el libro del Emilio que trata de las nodrizas, de la
buena leche, de los gorritos y de todo lo concerniente a la primera
crianza, contemplaba lleno de orgullo a su querido retoño, repitiendo
las palabras del gran ginebrino: «así como hay hombres que no salen
jamás de la infancia, hay otros de quienes se puede decir que nunca
han entrado en ella, y son hombres desde que nacen».
Con estos trabajos, que hacía más llevaderos la satisfacción de un
noble deber cumplido, iba pasando el tiempo. El primer aniversario de
fallecimiento de su mujer renovó en Cordero las hondas tristezas de
aquel luctuoso día, y negándose al trivial recreo de la tertulia de
amigos y parroquianos, cerró la tienda y se retiró a su alcoba, donde
las memorias de la difunta parecían tomar realidad y figura sensible
para acompañarle. El segundo aniversario halló bastante cambiadas
personas y cosas: la tienda había crecido, los niños también. Juanito
Jacobo, ni un ápice mermado en su constitución becerril, atronaba la
casa con sus gritos y daba buena cuenta de todo objeto frágil que en
su mano caía. En el alma de don Benigno iba declinando mansamente
el dolor cual noche que se recoge expulsada poco a poco por la
claridad del nuevo día.
En el tercer aniversario (11 de diciembre de 1829) el cambio era
mucho mayor, y don Benigno, restablecido en la majestad de su
carácter sencillo, bondadoso y lleno de discreción y prudencia, parecía
un soberano que torna al solio heredado después de lastimosos
destierros y trapisondas. No dejaron, sin embargo, de asaltarle en la
mañanita de aquel día pensamientos tristes; pero al volver de la misa
conmemorativa que había encargado, según costumbre de todo
aniversario, y oído devotamente en Santa Cruz, viósele en su natura
humor cotidiano, llenando la tienda con su activa mirada y su atención
diligente. Después de cerrar la vidriera para que no se enfriara el local
palpó con suavidad cariñosa las cajas que contenían el género; hojeó
el libro de cuentas; pasó la vista por el Diario que acababan de traer
dio órdenes al mancebo para llevar a dos o tres casas algunas
compras hechas la noche anterior; cortó un par de plumas con e
minucioso esmero que la gente de los buenos tiempos ponía en
operación tan delicada, y habría puesto sobre el papel algunos
renglones de aquella hermosa letra redonda que ya solo se ve en los
archivos, si no le sorprendieran de súbito sus niños, que salieron de la
trastienda cartera en cinto, los libros en correa, la pizarra a la espalda
y el gorrete en la mano para pedir a padre la bendición.
—¡Cómo! —exclamó don Benigno, entregando su mano a los labios
y a los húmedos hociquillos de los Corderos—. ¿No os he dicho que
hoy no hay escuela?... Ahora caigo en que no me había acordado de
decíroslo; pues ya había pensado que en este día, que para nosotros
no es alegre y para toda España será, según dicen, un día felicísimo
todos los buenos madrileños deben ir o batir palmas delante de ese
astro que nos traen de Nápoles, de esa reina tan ponderada, tan
trompeteada y puesta en los mismos cuernos de la luna, como si con
ella nos vinieran acá mil dichas y tesoros... Hablo también con usted
apreciable Hormiga: pase usted... no me molesta ahora ni en ningún
momento.
Dirigíase don Benigno o una mujer que se había presentado en la
puerta de la trastienda, deteniéndose en ella con timidez. Los chicos
luego que oyeron el anuncio feliz de que no había escuela, no
quisieron esperar a conocer las razones de aquel sapientísimo
acuerdo, y despojándose velozmente de los arreos estudiantiles, se
lanzaron a la calle en busca de otros caballeritos de la vecindad.
—Tome usted asiento —añadió Cordero, dejando su silla, que era la
más cómoda de la tienda, para ofrecérsela a la joven—. Ayude usted
mi flaca memoria. ¿Qué nombre tiene nuestra nueva reina?
—María Cristina.
—Eso es... María Cristina... ¡Cómo se me olvidan los nombres!..
Dícese que este casamiento nos va a traer grandes felicidades, porque
la napolitana... pásmese usted...
El héroe, después de mirar a la puerta para estar seguro de que
nadie le oía, añadió en voz baja:
—Pásmese usted... es una francmasona, una insurgente, mejo
dicho, una real dama en quien los principios liberales y filosóficos se
unen a los sentimientos más humanitarios. Es decir, que tendremos
una reina domesticadora de las fierezas que se usan por acá.
—A mí me han dicho que ha puesto por condición para casarse que
el rey levante el destierro a todos los emigrados.
—A mí me han dicho algo más —añadió Cordero, dando una
importancia extraordinaria a su revelación—: a mí me han dicho que
en Nápoles bordó secretamente una bandera para los insurrectos de..
de no sé qué insurrección. ¿Qué cree usted? La mandan aquí, porque
si se queda en Italia da la niña al traste con todas las tiranías... Que
ella es de lo fino en materia de liberalismo ilustrado y filosófico me lo
prueba, más que el bordar pendones, el odio que le tiene toda la
turbamulta inquisidora y apostólica de España y Europa y de las cinco
partes del globo terráqueo. ¿Estaba usted anoche aquí cuando e
señor de Pipaón leyó un papel francés que llaman la Quotidienne?
¡Barástolis! ¡Y qué herejías le dicen! Ya se sabe que esa gente
cuando no puede atacar nuestro sistema gloriosísimo a tiros y
puñaladas, lo atacan con embustes y calumnias. Bendita sea la
princesa ilustre que ya trae el diploma de su liberalismo en las injurias
de los realistas. Nada le falta, ni aun la hermosura; y para juzgar si es
tan acabada como dicen los papeles extranjeros, vamos usted y yo a
darnos el gustazo de verla entrar.
La persona a quien de este modo hablaba el tendero de encajes, no
tenía un interés muy vivo en aquellas graves cosas de que pendía
quizás el porvenir de la patria; pero llevada de su respeto a don
Benigno, le miraba atenta y pronunciaba un sí al fin de cada parrafillo
Conocida de nuestros lectores desde 1821,[1] esta discreta joven había
pasado por no pocas vicisitudes y conflictos durante los ocho años
transcurridos desde aquella fecha liberalesca hasta el año quinto de
Calomarde en que la volvemos a encontrar. Su carácter, altamente
dotado de cualidades de resistencia y energía, que son como e
antemural que defiende al alma de los embates de la desesperación
era la causa principal de que las desgracias frecuentes no
desmejorasen su persona. Por el contrario, la vida activa del corazón
determinando actividades no menos grandes en el orden físico, le
había traído un desarrollo felicísimo, no solo por lo que con él ganaba
su salud, sino por el provecho que de él sacaba su belleza. Esta no
era brillante ni mucho menos, como ya se sabe, y más que belleza en
el concepto plástico era un conjunto de gracias accesorias, realzando
y como adornando el principal encanto de su fisonomía, la expresión
de una bondad superior.
[1] Véase El Grande Oriente.

La madurez de juicio y la rectitud en el pensar, el don singularísimo

de convertir en fáciles los quehaceres más enojosos, la disposición
para el gobierno doméstico, la fuerza moral que tenía de sobra para
poder darla a los demás en días de infortunio, la perfecta igualdad de
ánimo en todas las ocasiones, y, finalmente, aquella manera de hace
frente a todas las cosas de la vida con serenidad digna, cristiana y sin
afán, como quien la mira más bien por el lado de los deberes que po
el de los derechos, hacían da ella la más hermosa figura de un tipo
social que no escasea ciertamente en España, para gloria de nuestra
cultura.
—Los que no la ven a usted desde el año 24 —le dijo aquel mismo
día don Benigno, observándola con tanta atención como complacencia
—, no la conocerán ahora. Me tengo por muy feliz al considerar que en
mi casa ha sido donde ha ganado usted esos frescos colores de su
cara, y que bajo este techo humilde ha engrosado usted
considerablemente... digo mal, porque no está usted como mi pobre
Robustiana ni mucho menos..., quiero decir, proporcionadamente, de
un modo adecuado a su estatura mediana, a su talle gracioso, a su
cuerpo esbelto. Beneficios de la vida tranquila, de la virtud, del trabajo
¿no es verdad?... Todos los que la vieron a usted en aquellos tristes
días, cuando a entrambos nos pusieron a la sombra y colgaron a
pobre Sarmiento...
Este recuerdo entristeció mucho a la joven, impidiendo que su amo
propio se vanagloriase con los elogios galantes que acaba de oír. Eran
ya las once de la mañana, y vestida como en día de fiesta para
acompañar a don Benigno, esperaba en la tienda la señal de partida.
—Aguarde usted: voy a hacer un par de asientos en el libro —dijo
este sentándose en su escritorio—. Todavía tenemos tiempo de sobra
Iremos a la casa de don Francisco Bringas, de cuyos balcones se ha
de ver muy requetebién toda la comitiva. Los pequeños se quedarán
con mi hermana, y llevaremos a Primitivo y a Segundo. ¿Están
vestidos?
Los dos muchachos, de doce y diez años respectivamente, no
tenían la soltura que a tal edad es común en los polluelos de nuestros
días: antes bien, encogidos y temerosos, vestidos poco menos que a
mujeriegas, representaban aquella deliciosa perpetuidad de la niñez
que era el encanto de la generación pasada. Despabilados y libertinos
en las travesuras de la calle, eran dentro de casa humildes, taciturnos
y frecuentemente hipócritas.
Gozosos de salir con su padre a ver la entrada de la cuarta reina
esperaban impacientes la hora; y formando alrededor de la joven
grupo semejante al que emplean los artistas para representar a la
Caridad, la manoseaban so pretexto de acariciarla, le estrujaban la
mantilla, arrugándole las mangas y curioseando dentro del ridículo. A
cada instante acudía la joven a remediar los desperfectos que los dos
inquietos y pegajosos muchachos se hacían en su propio vestido, y ya
atando el uno la cinta de la gorra o cachucha, o abotonándole e
casaquín, ya asegurando al otro con alfileres la corbata, no daba
reposo a sus manos ni podía quitárseles de encima.
—No seáis pesados —les dijo con enfado su padre— y no sobéis
tanto a nuestra querida Hormiguita. Para verla, para darle a entende
que la queréis mucho, no es preciso que le pongáis encima esas
manazas... que sabe Dios cómo estarán de limpias, ni hace falta que
la llenéis de saliva besuqueándola...
Esta reprimenda les alejó un poco del objeto de su adoración; pero
siguieron contemplándola como bobos, cortados y ruborosos, mientras
ella, la sonrisa en los labios, reparaba tranquilamente las chafaduras
de su vestido y las arrugas del encaje, para abrir luego su abanico y
darse aire con aquel ademán ceremonioso y acompasado, propio de la
mujer española.
Entre tanto, allá arriba, en la vivienda de la familia, oíase batahola y
patadillas con llanto y becerreo, señal del pronunciamiento de los dos
Corderos menores, Rafaelito y Juan Jacobo, rebelándose contra la
orden que les dejaba encerrados en casa, en la fastidiosa compañía
de la tía Crucita.
—Ya escampa —dijo Cordero señalando al techo con el rabo de la
pluma—: oiga usted al pueblo soberano que aborrece las cadenas..
Verdad que mi hermana no es de aquellas personas organizadas po
la naturaleza para hacer llevadero y hasta simpático el despotismo.
Y dejando por un momento la escritura, entró en la trastienda
dirigiendo hacia arriba, por el hueco de la tortuosa escalerilla, estas
palabras:
—Cruz y Calvario, no les pegues, que harta desazón tienen con
quedarse en casa en día de tanto festejo.
—Idos de una vez a la calle y dejadme en paz —contestó de arriba
una voz nada armoniosa ni afable—, que yo me entenderé con los
enemigos. Ya sé cómo he de tratarles... Eso es, marchaos vosotros
marchaos al paseíto tú y la linda Marizápalos, que aquí se queda esta
pobre mártir para cuidar serpentones y aguantar porrazos, siempre
sacrificada entre estos dos cachidiablos... Idos enhorabuena..., a bien
que en la otra vida le darán a cada cual su merecido.
Violento golpe de una puerta fue punto final de este agrio discurso
y en seguida se oyeron más fuertes las patadillas infantiles de los
Corderos y el sermoneo de la pastora.
—Siempre regañando —dijo don Benigno con jovialidad— y
arrojando venablos por esa bendita boca, que, con ser casi tan
atronadora como la de un cañón de a ocho, no trae su charla insufrible
de malas entrañas ni de un corazón perverso. Mil veces lo he dicho de
mi inaguantable hermana, y ahora lo repito: «es la paloma que ladra».
 Esto lo dijo Cordero guardando en su lugar las plumas con el libro
de cuentas y todos los trebejos de escribir, y tomó después con una
mano el sombrero para llevarlo a la cabeza, mientras la otra mano
transportaba el gorro carmesí de la cabeza a la espetera en que e
sombrero estuvo.
—Vámonos ya, que si no llegamos pronto, encontraremos
ocupados los balcones de Bringas.
La joven alzaba la tabla del mostrador para salir con los chicos
cuando la tienda se oscureció por la aparición de un rechondo pedazo
de humanidad que casi llenaba el marco de la puerta con su bordada
casaca, sus tiesos encajes, su espadín, su sombrero, sus brazos, que
no sabían cómo ponerse para dar a la persona un aspecto pomposo
en que la rotundidad se uniera con la soltura.
—Felices, señor don Juan de Pipaón —dijo don Benigno
observando de pies a cabeza al personaje—. Pues no viene usted
poco majo... Así me gusta a mí la gente de corte... Eso es vestirse con
gana y paramentarse de veras. A ver, vuélvase usted de espaldas..
¡Magnífico! ¡Qué faldones!... A ver de frente... ¡Qué pechera! Alce
usted el brazo: muy bien. ¡Cómo se conoce la tijera de Rouget! De mis
encajes nada tengo que decir..., ¡qué saldrá de esta casa que no sea
la bondad misma! Póngase usted el sombrero a ver qué tal cae..
Superlative... ¡Con qué gracia está puesta la llave dorada sobre la
cadera!... Esas medias serán de casa de Bárcenas... ¡Qué bien hacen
las cruces sobre el paño oscuro...! Una, dos, tres, cuatro veneras..
Bien ganaditas todas, ¿no es verdad, ilustrísimo señor don Juan?..
¡Barástolis! Parece usted un patriarca griego, un sultán, un califa, e
rey que rabió, o el mismísimo mágico de Astracán.
Conforme lo decía iba examinando pieza por pieza, haciendo da
vueltas al personaje como si este fuera un maniquí giratorio. Don
Benigno y la joven, no menos admirada que él, ponderaban con
grandes exclamaciones la belleza y lujo de todas las partes de
vestido, mientras el cortesano se dejaba mirar y en silencio asentía
con un palmo de boca abierta, todo satisfecho y embobado de gozo, a
los encarecimientos de su persona.
—Todo es nuevo —observó la damita.
—Todo —repitió Pipaón mirándose a sí mismo en redondo como un
pavo real—. Mi destino de la Secretaría de Su Majestad ha exigido
estos dispendios.
 En seguida fue enumerando lo que le había costado cada pieza de
aquel torreón de seda, galones, plumas, plata, encajes, piedras y
ballenas, rematado en su cúspide por la carátula más redonda, más
alborozada, más contenta de sí misma que se ha visto jamás sobre un
montón de carne humana.
—Pero no nos detengamos —dijo al fin—, ustedes salían...
—Vamos a casa de Bringas. ¿Va usted también allá?
—¿Yo? No, hombre de Dios. Mi cargo me obliga a estar en Palacio
con los señores ministros y los señores del Consejo para escribir all
a...
Acercó su boca al oído de don Benigno, y protegiéndola con la
palma de la mano, dijo en voz baja:
—A la francmasona...
Ambos se echaron a reír, y don Benigno se envolvió en su capa
diciendo:
—¡Pues viva la reina francmasona! El desfrancmasonizador que la
desfrancmasonice buen desfrancmasonizador será.
—Eso no lo dice Rousseau.
—Pero lo digo yo... Y andando, que es tarde.
—Andandito... —murmuró Pipaón, incrustando su persona toda en
el hueco de la puerta para ofrecerla a la admiración de los transeúntes
—. Pero se me olvidaba el objeto de mi visita.
—¿Pues no ha venido usted a que le viéramos?
—Sí, y también a otra cosa. Tengo que dar una noticia a la señora
doña Sola.
La joven se puso pálida primero, después como la grana, siguiendo
con los ojos el movimiento de la mano de Pipaón, que sacaba unos
papeles del bolsillo del pecho.
—¿Noticias? Siempre que sean buenas... —dijo Cordero cerrando y
asegurando una de las hojas de la puerta.
—Buenas son... Al fin nuestro hombre da señales de vida. Me ha
escrito, y en la mía incluye esta carta para usted.
Soledad tomó la carta, y en su turbación la dejó caer; la recogió y
quiso leerla, y tras un rato de vacilación y aturdimiento, guardola para
leerla después.
—Y no me detengo más —dijo Pipaón—, que voy a llegar tarde a
Palacio—. Hablaremos esta noche, señor don Benigno, señora doña
Hormiga. Abur.
 Se eclipsó aquel astro. Por la calle abajo iba como si rodara
semejante a un globo de luz, deslumbrando los ojos de los transeúntes
con los mil reflejos de sus entorchados y cruces, y siendo pasmo de
los chicos, admiración de las mujeres, envidia de los ambiciosos, y
orgullo de sí mismo.
Cuando el héroe de Boteros, dada la última vuelta a la llave de la
puerta y embozado en su pañosa, se puso en marcha, habló de este
modo a su compañera:
—¿Noticias de aquel hombre?... Bien. ¿Cartas venidas po
conducto de Pipaón?..., malum signum. No tenemos propiamente
correo... Querida Hormiga, es preciso desconfiar en todo de este
tunante de Bragas y de sus melosas afabilidades y cortesanías. Mi
veces le he definido, y ahora le vuelvo a definir: «es el cocodrilo que
besa».
 II

¿Por qué vivía en casa de Cordero la hija de Gil de la Cuadra?

¿Desde cuándo estaba allí? Es urgente aclarar esto.
Cuando pasó a mejor vida, del modo lamentable e inicuo que todos
sabemos, don Patricio Sarmiento, Soledad siguió viviendo sola en la
casa de la calle de Coloreros. Don Benigno y su familia continuaron
también en el piso principal de la misma casa. La continuada vecindad
y más aún la comunidad de desgracias y de peligros en que se habían
visto, aumentaron a afición de Sola a los Corderos y el cariño de los
Corderos a Sola, hasta el punto de que todos se consideraban como
de una misma familia, y llegó el caso de que en la vecindad llamaran a
la huérfana doña Sola Cordero.
A poco de nacer Rafaelito, trasladose don Benigno a la subida de
Santa Cruz, y al principal de la casa donde estaba su tienda; y como
allí el local era espacioso, instaron a su amiga para que viviera con
ellos. Después de muchos ruegos y excusas quedó concertado el plan
de residencia. En aquellos días se casó Elena con el jovenzuelo
Angelito Seudoquis, el cual, destinado a Filipinas cuatro meses
después de la boda, emprendió con su muñeca el viaje por el Cabo, y
a los catorce meses los señores de Cordero recibieron en una misma
carta dos noticias interesantes: que sus hijos habían llegado a Manila
y que antes de llegar les habían dado un nietecillo.
Lo mismo don Benigno que su esposa veían que la huérfana iba
llenando poco a poco el hueco que en la familia y en la casa había
dejado la hija ausente. Pruebas dio aquella bien pronto de se
merecedora del afecto paternal que marido y mujer le mostraban
Asistió a doña Robustiana en su larga y penosa enfermedad con tanta
solicitud y abnegación tan grande, que no lo haría mejor una santa
Nadie, ni aun ella misma, hizo la observación de que había pasado su