Download Spain and Portugal

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
•Spain
was part of the Roman
Empire until it fell, after that the
Moors (Muslim) controlled Spain
until King Ferdinand and Queen
Isabella conquered the last
Muslim kingdom.
•With the age of exploration Spain
became rich and was the world’s
greatest power.
•In the 1930’s Spain had a civil
war and Francisco Franco (fascist)
controlled the government for 40
years.
SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
Spanish is the official
language of Spain,
but people also speak
regional languages
such as Catalan and
Valencian.
 The Roman Catholic
Church is part of the
culture of Spain, as
almost all Spaniards
are Catholic.

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
Part of Spanish culture
is food such as Paella. A
dish made with meat,
seafood, and vegetables
in yellow rice.
 Sports like soccer are
very popular, but
bullfighting remains
their most famous
traditional sport.

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL

After Franco’s death in
1975 Spain became a
parliamentary monarchy
as King Juan Carlos has
ruled with elected
officials since that year.
SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
For centuries Spain’s
economy depended on
fishing and farming, but
after World war II Spain’s
economy grew as factories
(Industrialization) and
tourism increased.
 Spain also joined the
European Union in the
1980’s which
strengthened their
economy.

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
Portugal also prospered
because of the age of
exploration with men such
as Prince Henry sponsoring
expeditions.
 In 1976 in a peaceful
revolution Portugal
established a parliamentary
democracy and pushed out
dictators from the
government.

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
The official language of
Portugal is Portuguese.
 Most Portuguese are
Roman Catholic and
religion plays an important
role in political and social
life with many religious
celebrations. (Carnival is a
roman catholic festival to
celebrate the time before
lent. )

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL

Unlike the rest of Europe a large percentage
(just under half) of Portuguese people still
live in rural areas with many small farms and
fishing villages.
SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
Since 1976 Portugal has
been a parliamentary
democracy and citizens
elect members of
parliament and the
president.
 Today Portugal is one of
the poorest nations in
Europe, with the lowest
GDP in Europe.

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
Why are they a poor
nation?
 One reason for low
GDP is because they
still have not fully
industrialized with a
large percentage of
their economy
depending on farming
and fishing.
