Cantabri, an ancient tribe which inhabited the north coast of Spain near Santander and Bilbao and the mountains behind—a district hence known as Cantabria. Savage and untameable mountaineers, they long defied the Roman arms and made themselves a name for wild freedom. They were first attacked by the Romans about 150 b.c.; they were not subdued till Agrippa and Augustus had carried out a series of campaigns (29-19 b.c.) which ended in their partial annihilation. Thenceforward their land was part of the province Hispania Tarraconensis with some measure of local self-government. They became slowly Romanized, but developed little town life and are rarely mentioned in history. They provided recruits for the Roman auxilia, like their neighbours the Astŭres, and their land contained lead mines, of which, however, little is known.
Cantabri
