CACERES, the capital of the province of the same name in Estremadura, in Spain, 20 miles south of the Tagus, and 24 miles west of Truxillo, on a ridge of hills which stretch from east to west. It is the residence of the bishop of Corias, and contains a handsome episcopal palace, as well as a public school, a college, and several charitable institutions. The monastery and college of the Jesuits was one of the finest in the kingdom, but has been secularized and converted into a hospital. In the neighbourhood are large gardens, well-cultivated fields, and extensive pasture grounds; while in the town are oil and fulling mills, soap-works, tanneries, and lime-kilns. There is also some trade in wool. Caceres occupies the site of the ancient Castra Caecilia, and was a place of some importance both under the Romans and under the Moors. There are several fine specimens of the domestic architecture of the Middle Ages, such as the houses of the duke of Abrantes, the count de la Torre, and the count de los Carbajales. The bull-ring, a modern structure of granite, is one of the most remarkable buildings of its kind in Spain. Population, 13,466....
C ACHAO, or, as it is variously spelled, Kacho, Kecho, Hecho, or Kesho, formerly known as Donk-king and now officially as Bacthian or Bac-king, is the largest city of Anam, and the capital of the province of Tonquin. It is situated on the west side of the Tonquin River, about eighty miles from the sea, in 105° 35' E. long., 21° N. lat. It is of great extent. The principal streets are wide and airy, and for the most part are paved with bricks and small stones, but the others are narrow and ill paved. Most of the houses are constructed of mud or sun-burned bricks and timber, and thatched with leaves, straw, or reeds, and are generally one story in height. The public edifices are spacious, particularly the royal palace, which is several miles in circuit, and is surrounded by high walls. Besides this palace there are to be seen the ruins of one still more magnificent, said to have been six miles in circumference. Cachao is a place of some commercial resort; its imports are long cloths, chintz, arms, pepper, and other articles, which are exchanged for gold and manufactured goods, namely, beautiful silks and lackered ware, which last is generally reckoned superior to any in the East. The English factory, which stood on the banks of the river north of the city, and that of the Dutch, south of it, have long been withdrawn. Cachao is peculiarly liable to fires; and to prevent or extinguish these, the city is governed by a rigid police, and divided into wards. Fires for domestic use are only permitted during certain hours of the day. About the middle of the 18th century the city was nearly burnt to the ground by a conflagration, which was the work of incendiaries. In 1873 François Garnier, the famous French explorer, with an expedition of two hundred men and two ships, having come into collision with the authorities, took possession of the city after capturing the fort of Hanoi, which was constructed on European principles and defended by a large garrison. Not long after he was assassinated by the natives; but his victory led to a treaty between the French Government and the Anamese, by which the port is declared open to the flags of all nations.
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