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94-565: The village lies 7.2 kilometres (4.5 miles) west of the border with Spain and straddles the N332 road. The Rio Côa run northwards a short distance to the west of the village. The town's castle fortress was completed in 1641 and is located to the north of the village and is approached through the two tunnel gates and dry moat named the Portas de São Francisco . In and around the environment of Almeida, evidence of human occupation can be found dating back to

188-571: A constitution for universal representation under a constitutional monarchy was declared, but after the fall of the Bonapartist regime, the Spanish king dismissed the Cortes Generales, set on ruling as an absolute monarch . The French occupation of mainland Spain created an opportunity for overseas criollo elites who resented the privilege towards Peninsular elites and demanded retroversion of

282-697: A comparative philological study between several Semitic languages and hypothesize that the Phoenician name translates as "land where metals are forged", having determined that the name originated in reference to the gold mines of the Iberian Peninsula. There have been a number of accounts and hypotheses about its origin: Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the term span is the Phoenician word spy , meaning "to forge metals ". Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean "the land where metals are forged". It may be

376-592: A derivation of the Phoenician I-Shpania , meaning "island of rabbits", "land of rabbits" or "edge", a reference to Spain's location at the end of the Mediterranean; Roman coins struck in the region from the reign of Hadrian show a female figure with a rabbit at her feet, and Strabo called it the "land of the rabbits". The word in question actually means " Hyrax ", possibly due to the Phoenicians confusing

470-698: A dominant peninsular power centred on Córdoba . Several Christian kingdoms emerged in Northern Iberia, chief among them Asturias , León , Castile , Aragon , Navarre , and Portugal ; made an intermittent southward military expansion and repopulation, known as the Reconquista , repelling Islamic rule in Iberia, which culminated with the Christian seizure of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada in 1492. The dynastic union of

564-419: A land area of 888.35 km (342.99 sq mi), and the smallest parish by area is São Bartolomeu (Borba), with a land area of 0.208 km (0.080 sq mi). The most populous parish is Algueirão - Mem Martins, with a population of 68,649 people and the least populous is Mosteiro, with a population of just nineteen people. A freguesia is a subdivision of a município (municipality), which

658-457: A legend that an ornate bejeweled table captured by Tariq ibn Ziyad was the dining table of King Solomon . The village of Almeida was captured from the Moors by the second king of Portugal, Sancho I in the 12th century because of its strategic position on the new country of Portugal's border with Spain. So important to the security of the country, Sancho had the village heavily fortified. The castle

752-426: A plan to reform the administrative divisions, claiming it would create efficiencies and save money. The plan envisioned the reform of the management, territorial geography and political form of how Portugal functioned at the local level, including specifically at the freguesia and concelho levels. It was determined that these changes would then be formalized before the 2013 local government elections, as part of

846-409: A process to reduce expenditures, a condition of the $ 110 billion accord. In addition to the reduction of the number of representatives in the local boards, the plan also established criteria for the reduction, amalgamation or extinction of various civil parishes. The reform was implemented according to Law 11-A/2013 of 28 January 2013, which defined the reorganization of the civil parishes. This way,

940-598: A puppet kingdom satellite to the French Empire was installed with Joseph Bonaparte as king. The 2 May 1808 revolt was one of many uprisings across the country against the French occupation. These revolts marked the beginning of a devastating war of independence against the Napoleonic regime. Further military action by Spanish armies, guerrilla warfare and an Anglo-Portuguese allied army, combined with Napoleon's failure on

1034-528: A reaction against the gallicised elites and following defeat in the field, peace was made with France in 1795 at the Peace of Basel in which Spain lost control over two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola . In 1807, a secret treaty between Napoleon and the unpopular prime minister led to a new declaration of war against Britain and Portugal. French troops entered the country to invade Portugal but instead occupied Spain's major fortresses. The Spanish king abdicated and

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1128-747: A resolution in favour of democracy. With Franco's death in November 1975, Juan Carlos succeeded to the position of King of Spain and head of state in accordance with the Francoist law. With the approval of the new Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the restoration of democracy , the State devolved much authority to the regions and created an internal organisation based on autonomous communities . The Spanish 1977 Amnesty Law let people of Franco's regime continue inside institutions without consequences, even perpetrators of some crimes during transition to democracy like

1222-458: A separate country socially, politically, legally, and in currency and language. Habsburg Spain was one of the leading world powers throughout the 16th century and most of the 17th century, a position reinforced by trade and wealth from colonial possessions and became the world's leading maritime power . It reached its apogee during the reigns of the first two Spanish Habsburgs— Charles V/I (1516–1556) and Philip II (1556–1598). This period saw

1316-725: A series of victories against England in the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585–1604 . However, during the middle decades of the 17th century Spain's maritime power went into a long decline with mounting defeats against the Dutch Republic ( Battle of the Downs ) and then England in the Anglo-Spanish War of 1654–1660 ; by the 1660s it was struggling to defend its overseas possessions from pirates and privateers. The Protestant Reformation increased Spain's involvement in religiously charged wars, forcing ever-expanding military efforts across Europe and in

1410-424: Is a cluster of freguesias , like a US county . Most often, a parish takes the name of its seat, which is usually the most important (or the single) human agglomeration within its area, which can be a neighbourhood or city district, a group of hamlets, a village, a town or an entire city. In cases where the seat is itself divided into more than one parish, each one takes the name of a landmark within its area or of

1504-567: Is a secular parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy , with King Felipe VI as head of state . A developed country , it is a major advanced capitalist economy, with the world's fifteenth-largest by both nominal GDP and PPP . Spain is a member of the United Nations , the European Union, the eurozone , North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a permanent guest of the G20 , and

1598-727: Is part of many other international organizations such as the Council of Europe (CoE), the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), the Union for the Mediterranean , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the World Trade Organization (WTO). The name of Spain ( España ) comes from Hispania ,

1692-577: The 12 April 1931 municipal elections . These gave a resounding victory to the Republican-Socialist candidacies in large cities and provincial capitals, with a majority of monarchist councilors in rural areas. The king left the country and the proclamation of the Republic on 14 April ensued, with the formation of a provisional government. A constitution for the country was passed in October 1931 following

1786-495: The Americas . As a reflection of its large cultural wealth , Spain is the world's second-most visited country , has one of the world's largest numbers of World Heritage Sites , and it is the most popular destination for European students. Its cultural influence extends to over 600 million Hispanophones , making Spanish the world's second-most spoken native language and the world's most widely spoken Romance language . Spain

1880-583: The Basque Country and the creation of a mass tourism industry. Franco's rule was also characterised by authoritarianism , promotion of a unitary national identity , National Catholicism , and discriminatory language policies . In 1962, a group of politicians involved in the opposition to Franco's regime inside the country and in exile met in the congress of the European Movement in Munich, where they made

1974-589: The Bourbons , was installed. The Crowns of Castile and Aragon had been long united only by the Monarchy and the common institution of the Inquisition's Holy Office . A number of reform policies (the so-called Bourbon Reforms ) were pursued by the Monarchy with the overarching goal of centralized authority and administrative uniformity. They included the abolishment of many of the old regional privileges and laws, as well as

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2068-690: The Bronze Age and Iron Age . Evidence has also been found of Roman occupation followed by the Suevi and the Visigoths . The first fortifications constructed in the settlement were constructed by the Muslims who occupied the village until Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula. It was during this time that the current name was first used, in the form of the Arabic المائدة al-Ma'ida ('the table'). This name refers to

2162-643: The Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon in 1479 under the Catholic Monarchs is often considered the de facto unification of Spain as a nation-state . During the Age of Discovery , Spain pioneered the exploration of the New World , made the first circumnavigation of the globe and formed one of the largest empires in history . The Spanish Empire reached a global scale and spread across all continents, underpinning

2256-720: The Cuban War of Independence and the Philippine Revolution broke out and eventually the United States became involved. The Spanish–American War was fought in the spring of 1898 and resulted in Spain losing the last of its once vast colonial empire outside of North Africa. El Desastre (the Disaster), as the war became known in Spain, gave added impetus to the Generation of '98 . Although

2350-1026: The Italian Wars , the Schmalkaldic War , the Dutch Revolt , the War of the Portuguese Succession , clashes with the Ottomans , intervention in the French Wars of Religion and the Anglo-Spanish War . Through exploration and conquest or royal marriage alliances and inheritance, the Spanish Empire expanded across vast areas in the Americas, the Indo-Pacific, Africa as well as the European continent (including holdings in

2444-573: The June 1931 Constituent general election , and a series of cabinets presided by Manuel Azaña supported by republican parties and the PSOE followed. In the election held in 1933 the right triumphed and in 1936, the left. During the Second Republic there was a great political and social upheaval, marked by a sharp radicalization of the left and the right. Instances of political violence during this period included

2538-579: The Massacre of 3 March 1976 in Vitoria or 1977 Massacre of Atocha . Freguesia Freguesia ( Portuguese pronunciation: [fɾɛɣɨˈzi.ɐ] ), usually translated as " parish " or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal , as defined by the 1976 Constitution . It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Portuguese overseas territories of Cape Verde and Macau (until 2001). In

2632-559: The Second Punic War , roughly between 210 and 205 BCE, the expanding Roman Republic captured Carthaginian trading colonies along the Mediterranean coast. Although it took the Romans nearly two centuries to complete the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula , they retained control of it for over six centuries. Roman rule was bound together by law, language, and the Roman road . The cultures of

2726-403: The assembleia de freguesia are publicly elected every four years. The presidents of the parish boards are also members of the municipal assembly . The parish, in contrast with the municipalities, had their base in the ecclesiastical divisions that "had its origin in the fact that neighbours professed the same religion and professed their faith and divinity in the same temple". Freguesia ,

2820-513: The 11th century, the Caliphate of Córdoba collapsed, fracturing into a series of petty kingdoms ( Taifas ), often subject to the payment of a form of protection money ( Parias ) to the Northern Christian kingdoms, which otherwise undertook a southward territorial expansion. The capture of the strategic city of Toledo in 1085 marked a significant shift in the balance of power in favour of

2914-687: The 20th century with the Spanish Civil War , giving rise to the Francoist dictatorship that lasted until 1975. With the restoration of democracy and its entry into the European Union, the country experienced an economic boom that profoundly transformed it socially and politically. Since the Siglo de Oro , Spanish art , architecture , music , poetry , painting , literature , and cuisine have been influential worldwide, particularly in Western Europe and

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3008-610: The Christian kingdoms. The arrival from North Africa of the Islamic ruling sects of the Almoravids and the Almohads achieved temporary unity upon the Muslim-ruled territory, with a stricter, less tolerant application of Islam, and partially reversed some Christian territorial gains. The Kingdom of León was the strongest Christian kingdom for centuries. In 1188, the first form (restricted to

3102-701: The Iberian Peninsula , the province of Hispania was established. Following the Romanization and Christianization of Hispania, the fall of the Western Roman Empire ushered in the inward migration of tribes from Central Europe, including the Visigoths , who formed the Visigothic Kingdom centred on Toledo . In the early eighth century, most of the peninsula was conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate , and during early Islamic rule, Al-Andalus became

3196-580: The Italian Peninsula, the Low Countries and the Franche-Comté ). The so-called Age of Discovery featured explorations by sea and by land, the opening-up of new trade routes across oceans, conquests and the beginnings of European colonialism . Precious metals , spices, luxuries, and previously unknown plants brought to the metropole played a leading part in transforming the European understanding of

3290-528: The Mediterranean Sea and Gibraltar ; and to the west by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. Spain's capital and largest city is Madrid , and other major urban areas include Barcelona , Valencia , Seville , Zaragoza , Málaga , Murcia and Palma de Mallorca . In early antiquity, the Iberian Peninsula was inhabited by Celts , Iberians , and other pre-Roman peoples . With the Roman conquest of

3384-532: The Mediterranean. By the middle decades of a war- and plague -ridden 17th-century Europe, the Spanish Habsburgs had enmeshed the country in continent-wide religious-political conflicts. These conflicts drained it of resources and undermined the economy generally. Spain managed to hold on to most of the scattered Habsburg empire, and help the imperial forces of the Holy Roman Empire reverse a large part of

3478-400: The Russian front , led to the retreat of French imperial armies from the Iberian Peninsula in 1814, and the return of King Ferdinand VII . During the war, in 1810, a revolutionary body, the Cortes of Cádiz , was assembled to coordinate the effort against the Bonapartist regime and to prepare a constitution. It met as one body, and its members represented the entire Spanish empire. In 1812,

3572-438: The Second World War, although it was sympathetic to the Axis and provided the Nazi Wehrmacht with Spanish volunteers in the Eastern Front . The only legal party under Franco's dictatorship was the Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS (FET y de las JONS), formed in 1937 upon the merging of the Fascist Falange Española de las JONS and the Carlist traditionalists and to which the rest of right-wing groups supporting

3666-642: The Strait of Gibraltar. Upon the conclusion of the Granada War , the Nasrid Sultanate of Granada (the remaining Muslim-ruled polity in the Iberian Peninsula after 1246) capitulated in 1492 to the military strength of the Catholic Monarchs , and it was integrated from then on in the Crown of Castile. In 1469, the crowns of the Christian kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were united by the marriage of their monarchs, Isabella I and Ferdinand II, respectively. In 1492, Jews were forced to choose between conversion to Catholicism or expulsion; as many as 200,000 Jews were expelled from Castile and Aragon . The year 1492 also marked

3760-468: The US to establish a military presence on the Iberian Peninsula as a counter to any possible move by the Soviet Union into the Mediterranean basin. US Cold War strategic priorities included the dissemination of American educational ideas to foster modernization and expansion. In the 1960s, Spain registered an unprecedented rate of economic growth which was propelled by industrialisation , a mass internal migration from rural areas to Madrid , Barcelona and

3854-542: The advances made by Protestant forces, but it was finally forced to recognise the separation of Portugal and the United Provinces (Dutch Republic), and eventually suffered some serious military reverses to France in the latter stages of the immensely destructive, Europe-wide Thirty Years' War . In the latter half of the 17th century, Spain went into a gradual decline, during which it surrendered several small territories to France and England; however, it maintained and enlarged its vast overseas empire, which remained intact until

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3948-402: The arrival of Christopher Columbus in the New World , during a voyage funded by Isabella. Columbus's first voyage crossed the Atlantic and reached the Caribbean Islands, beginning the European exploration and conquest of the Americas. The Treaty of Granada guaranteed religious tolerance towards Muslims, for a few years before Islam was outlawed in 1502 in Castile and 1527 in Aragon, leading

4042-419: The beginning of the 19th century. The decline culminated in a controversy over succession to the throne which consumed the first years of the 18th century. The War of the Spanish Succession was a wide-ranging international conflict combined with a civil war, and was to cost the kingdom its European possessions and its position as a leading European power. During this war, a new dynasty originating in France,

4136-409: The bishops, the magnates, and 'the elected citizens of each city') of modern parliamentary session in Europe was held in León ( Cortes of León ). The Kingdom of Castile , formed from Leonese territory, was its successor as strongest kingdom. The kings and the nobility fought for power and influence in this period. The example of the Roman emperors influenced the political objective of the Crown, while

4230-473: The burning of churches, the 1932 failed coup d'état led by José Sanjurjo , the Revolution of 1934 and numerous attacks against rival political leaders. On the other hand, it is also during the Second Republic when important reforms to modernize the country were initiated: a democratic constitution, agrarian reform, restructuring of the army, political decentralization and women's right to vote . The Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936: on 17 and 18 July, part of

4324-406: The case of the former; and Ávila for the latter. Spain – in Europe  (green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (green) Spain , formally the Kingdom of Spain , is a country in Southwestern Europe with territories in North Africa . Featuring the southernmost point of continental Europe , it is the largest country in Southern Europe and

4418-466: The cities of Porto , Aveiro , Braga , Guimarães or Viana do Castelo have to make an additional transfer at Pampilhosa or Coimbra-B stations. Vilar Formoso railway station is also served by the international Sud-Express and Lusitânia Comboio Hotel services, hotel trains that connect to Paris and Madrid , stopping in Ciudad Rodrigo and Salamanca and in cities like Valladolid , Burgos , Vitoria-Gasteiz , San Sebastián and Hendaye , in

4512-428: The conflict between progressives and moderates ended in a weak early constitutional period. The 1868 Glorious Revolution was followed by the 1868–1874 progressive Sexenio Democrático (including the short-lived First Spanish Republic ), which yielded to a stable monarchic period, the Restoration (1875–1931). In the late 19th century nationalist movements arose in the Philippines and Cuba. In 1895 and 1896

4606-435: The customs barrier between the Crowns of Aragon and Castile in 1717, followed by the introduction of new property taxes in the Aragonese kingdoms. The 18th century saw a gradual recovery and an increase in prosperity through much of the empire. The predominant economic policy was an interventionist one, and the State also pursued policies aiming towards infrastructure development as well as the abolition of internal customs and

4700-436: The democratic system of the constitutional monarchy of a two-parties system. The July 1909 Tragic Week events and repression exemplified the social instability of the time. The La Canadiense strike in 1919 led to the first law limiting the working day to eight hours. After a period of Crown-supported dictatorship from 1923 to 1931, the first elections since 1923, largely understood as a plebiscite on Monarchy, took place:

4794-430: The development of railways and incipient capitalism developed in several areas of the country, particularly in Barcelona , as well as labour movement and socialist and anarchist ideas. The 1870 Barcelona Workers' Congress and the 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition are good examples of this. In 1879, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party was founded. A trade union linked to this party, Unión General de Trabajadores ,

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4888-430: The end of the last ice age . The two largest groups inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula before the Roman conquest were the Iberians and the Celts . The Iberians inhabited the Mediterranean side of the peninsula. The Celts inhabited much of the interior and Atlantic sides of the peninsula. Basques occupied the western area of the Pyrenees mountain range and adjacent areas; Phoenician-influenced Tartessians flourished in

4982-415: The fact that the administrative services inherent to a county seat, some bank agencies, law and accountancy offices as well as some traditional commerce and small hotels are located there; Vilar Formoso, due to its dynamics as the main land border, presents a significant number of bank agencies, hotels and commercial establishments. The services considered of social nature have also acquired some relevance in

5076-418: The fourth-most populous European Union member state. Spanning across the majority of the Iberian Peninsula , its territory also includes the Canary Islands , in the Atlantic Ocean, the Balearic Islands , in the Mediterranean Sea, and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla , in Africa. Peninsular Spain is bordered to the north by France , Andorra , and the Bay of Biscay ; to the east and south by

5170-431: The globe. The cultural efflorescence witnessed during this period is now referred to as the Spanish Golden Age . The expansion of the empire caused immense upheaval in the Americas as the collapse of societies and empires and new diseases from Europe devastated American indigenous populations. The rise of humanism , the Counter-Reformation and new geographical discoveries and conquests raised issues that were addressed by

5264-463: The help of France launched an attack on Portugal due to its alliance with Great Britain . As a result of the invasion Almeida was captured by Spain in 1762. The fortress around the town guards an important cross-border road from Spain , and underwent several sieges. The siege of 1810 , during the Peninsular War , ended spectacularly when a chance shell ignited the main gunpowder magazine, which exploded, killing 500 defenders and destroying most of

5358-557: The initial invasion. The Kingdom of Asturias-León consolidated upon this territory. Other Christian kingdoms, such as Navarre and Aragon in the mountainous north, eventually surged upon the consolidation of counties of the Carolingian Marca Hispanica . For several centuries, the fluctuating frontier between the Muslim and Christian-controlled areas of the peninsula was along the Ebro and Douro valleys. Conversion to Islam proceeded at an increasing pace. The muladíes (Muslims of ethnic Iberian origin) are believed to have formed

5452-428: The intellectual movement now known as the School of Salamanca , which developed the first modern theories of what are now known as international law and human rights. Spain's 16th-century maritime supremacy was demonstrated by the victory over the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 and over Portugal at the Battle of Ponta Delgada in 1582, and then after the setback of the Spanish Armada in 1588, in

5546-461: The introduction of irrigation projects, some of which remain in use. Emperors Hadrian , Trajan , Theodosius I , and the philosopher Seneca were born in Hispania. Christianity was introduced into Hispania in the 1st century CE, and it became popular in the cities in the 2nd century. Most of Spain's present languages and religions, as well as the basis of its laws, originate from this period. Starting in 170 CE, incursions of North-African Mauri in

5640-411: The lives of over 500,000 people and caused the flight of up to a half-million citizens from the country. On 1 April 1939, five months before the beginning of World War II , the rebel side led by Franco emerged victorious, imposing a dictatorship over the whole country. Thousands were imprisoned after the civil war in Francoist concentration camps . The regime remained nominally "neutral" for much of

5734-445: The majority of the population of Al-Andalus by the end of the 10th century. A series of Viking incursions raided the coasts of the Iberian Peninsula in the 9th and 10th centuries. The first recorded Viking raid on Iberia took place in 844; it ended in failure with many Vikings killed by the Galicians' ballistas ; and seventy of the Vikings' longships captured on the beach and burned by the troops of King Ramiro I of Asturias . In

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5828-490: The military carried out a coup d'état that triumphed in only part of the country. The situation led to a civil war, in which the territory was divided into two zones: one under the authority of the Republican government , that counted on outside support from the Soviet Union and Mexico (and from International Brigades ), and the other controlled by the putschists (the Nationalist or rebel faction ), most critically supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy . The Republic

5922-447: The most representative, although in general this sector is characterised by low productivity and occupies only about 5% of the working population of the municipality. The structure of the industrial sector has changed significantly, through the dynamisation of the Vilar Formoso industrial park, an infrastructure consisting of 31 lots. The tertiary sector assumes some expression in the parishes of Almeida and Vilar Formoso: Almeida, due to

6016-403: The municipalities with the same name (except for Sé, which belongs to Funchal ). Of Cape Verde 's 22 municipalities , which form the highest level of sub-national government in the small African state, some but not all are subdivided into parishes. There are 32 parishes in the country. Macau is an autonomous special administrative region in Southern China that was historically a part of

6110-421: The municipality directly. Barcelos is the municipality with the most civil parishes (61, since 2013). Portugal has no unincorporated areas ; all the national territory (apart from the above-mentioned example of Corvo) belongs to a civil parish, including uninhabited islands: Selvagens Islands to Sé , and Berlengas to Peniche , Desertas Islands to Santa Cruz , and Formigas Islets to Vila do Porto , in

6204-412: The municipality of Almeida, is connected to the rest of the road network via two interchanges: The municipality is also served by a considerable network of national roads: In summary, the distance between Almeida and nearby towns: [REDACTED] In terms of railways, the municipality of Almeida is crossed by the Beira Alta Line , being served by the Vilar Formoso station and the Aldeia stops (at

6298-490: The name used by the Romans for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces during the Roman Empire . The etymological origin of the term Hispania is uncertain, although the Phoenicians referred to the region as i-shphan-im , possibly meaning "Land of Rabbits" or "Land of Metals". Jesús Luis Cunchillos  [ es ] and José Ángel Zamora, experts in Semitic philology at the Spanish National Research Council ( Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas , CSIC), conducted

6392-459: The nobles benefited from feudalism . Muslim strongholds in the Guadalquivir Valley such as Córdoba (1236) and Seville (1248) fell to Castile in the 13th century. The County of Barcelona and the Kingdom of Aragon entered in a dynastic union and gained territory and power in the Mediterranean. In 1229, Majorca was conquered, so was Valencia in 1238. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the North-African Marinids established some enclaves around

6486-409: The north on foot about 35,000 years ago. The best-known artefacts of these prehistoric human settlements are the paintings in the Altamira cave of Cantabria in northern Iberia, which were created from 35,600 to 13,500 BCE by Cro-Magnon . Archaeological and genetic evidence suggests that the Iberian Peninsula acted as one of several major refugia from which northern Europe was repopulated following

6580-449: The number of parishes was reduced from 4,259 to 3,091. Municipalities in Portugal are usually divided into multiple freguesias , but seven municipalities are not: Alpiarça , Barrancos , Castanheira de Pera , Porto Santo , São Brás de Alportel and São João da Madeira all consist of a single civil parish, and Corvo is a special case of a municipality without civil parishes, where all usual parish duties and functions are performed by

6674-420: The only American colonies Spain held were Cuba and Puerto Rico . The Napoleonic War left Spain economically ruined, deeply divided and politically unstable. In the 1830s and 1840s, Carlism (a reactionary legitimist movement supportive of an alternative Bourbon branch), fought against the government forces supportive of Queen Isabella II 's dynastic rights in the Carlist Wars . Government forces prevailed, but

6768-410: The parish the smallest division. But, the power of the clergy built these areas, accumulating immense wealth and power. The liberal government of Mouzinho da Silveira abolished the parishes in 1832, but the government of Manuel da Silva Passos restored them in 1836. The freguesia began to refer to the civil/administrative entity, while the paróquia ( Latin : parochia ) became affiliated with

6862-453: The past, it was also an administrative division of the other Portuguese overseas territories. The parroquia in the Spanish autonomous communities of Galicia and Asturias is similar to a freguesia . The average land area of a Portuguese parish is about 29.83 km (11.52 sq mi) and an average population of about 3,386 people. The largest parish by area is Alcácer do Sal (Santa Maria do Castelo e Santiago) e Santa Susana, with

6956-591: The patron saint from the usually coterminous Catholic parish ( paróquia in Portuguese). Be it a city district or village, the civil parish is often based on an ecclesiastical parish. Since the creation of a democratic local administration, in 1976, the Portuguese parishes have been ruled by a system composed by an executive body (the junta de freguesia , "parish board/council") and a deliberative body (the assembleia de freguesia , "parish assembly"). The members of

7050-411: The period around the turn of the century was one of increasing prosperity, the 20th century brought little social peace. Spain played a minor part in the scramble for Africa . It remained neutral during World War I . The heavy losses suffered by the colonial troops in conflicts in northern Morocco against Riffians forces brought discredit to the government and undermined the monarchy. Industrialisation,

7144-515: The pre-Roman populations were gradually Romanised (Latinised) at different rates depending on what part of the peninsula they lived in, with local leaders being admitted into the Roman aristocratic class. Hispania (the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula) served as a granary for the Roman market, and its harbours exported gold, wool , olive oil , and wine. Agricultural production increased with

7238-507: The province of Baetica took place. The Germanic Suebi and Vandals , together with the Sarmatian Alans , entered the peninsula after 409, weakening the Western Roman Empire's jurisdiction over Hispania. The Suebi established a kingdom in north-western Iberia, whereas the Vandals established themselves in the south of the peninsula by 420 before crossing over to North Africa in 429. As

7332-566: The rebels also added. The name of " Movimiento Nacional ", sometimes understood as a wider structure than the FET y de las JONS proper, largely imposed over the later's name in official documents along the 1950s. After the war Spain was politically and economically isolated, and was kept out of the United Nations. This changed in 1955, during the Cold War period, when it became strategically important for

7426-455: The reduction of export tariffs. Projects of agricultural colonisation with new settlements took place in the south of mainland Spain. Enlightenment ideas began to gain ground among some of the kingdom's elite and monarchy. In 1793, Spain went to war against the revolutionary new French Republic as a member of the first Coalition . The subsequent War of the Pyrenees polarised the country in

7520-694: The religious entity. Before the 2013 local government reforms, the 308 municipalities were subdivided into 4,259 civil parishes. In 2011, after more than two weeks of bailout negotiations in light of the sovereign debt crisis with the International Monetary Fund , the European Central Bank and the European Commission , the Portuguese government was obliged to reduce the number of municipal and parish local governments after July 2012. The government of Pedro Passos Coelho introduced

7614-570: The remaining Muslim population to become nominally Christian Moriscos . About four decades after the War of the Alpujarras (1568–1571), over 300,000 moriscos were expelled , settling primarily in North Africa. The unification of the crowns of Aragon and Castile by the marriage of their sovereigns laid the basis for modern Spain and the Spanish Empire, although each kingdom of Spain remained

7708-525: The rise of a global trading system fueled primarily by precious metals . In the 18th century, the Bourbon reforms centralized mainland Spain. In the 19th century, after the Napoleonic occupation and the victorious Spanish War of independence , the following political divisions between liberals and absolutists led to the breakaway of most of the American colonies . These political divisions finally converged in

7802-519: The southwest; and Lusitanians and Vettones occupied areas in the central west. Several cities were founded along the coast by Phoenicians , and trading outposts and colonies were established by Greeks in the East. Eventually, Phoenician- Carthaginians expanded inland towards the meseta; however, due to the bellicose inland tribes, the Carthaginians settled on the coasts of the Iberian Peninsula. During

7896-628: The sovereignty to the people . Starting in 1809 the American colonies began a series of revolutions and declared independence, leading to the Spanish American wars of independence that put an end to the metropole's grip over the Spanish Main . Attempts to re-assert control proved futile with opposition not only in the colonies but also in the Iberian peninsula and army revolts followed. By the end of 1826,

7990-661: The town. See main article: Label: Lista de património edificado em Almeida See external links: Almeida, Portugal § External links The primary sector is the main source of wealth of the municipality of Almeida, similarly to the neighbouring municipalities of the interior. The agricultural and horticultural sector predominates as a complement to other family incomes, in which the smallholding stands out. Given its characteristics, combined with economic and social factors, it has low productivity levels. Livestock comprises about 30 000 cattle and 10 000 sheep and goats. The food, wood and marble and granite processing industries are

8084-504: The traditional Portuguese word for parish, had its beginning in the filius ecclesiae (child of the church) and filius gregis (child of the shepherds's flock), the collectivity of the religious faithful, with similar aspirations and interests. Between 1216 and 1223, Afonso II of Portugal began a process of legitimizing the Portuguese territory by conferring charters to nobles, clergy and municipal chambers (which would not be completed until after 1249, under Afonso III of Portugal ), making

8178-473: The two animals. There is also the claim that "Hispania" derives from the Basque word Ezpanna , meaning "edge" or "border", another reference to the fact that the Iberian Peninsula constitutes the southwest corner of the European continent. Archaeological research at Atapuerca indicates the Iberian Peninsula was populated by hominids 1.3 million years ago. Modern humans first arrived in Iberia from

8272-462: The two towns and in several villages, through the work developed by the social solidarity institutions there, in the areas of support and welcoming of the elderly and also of support to early childhood. Administratively, the municipality is divided into 16 civil parishes ( freguesias ): The town is served by the A25 Motorway , the main motorway linking Portugal and Spain which, in the territory of

8366-601: The village of São Sebastião, parish of Castelo Bom), Freineda, Castelo Mendo (located near the village of Paraisal) and Miuzela. All the mentioned ones are stops of the Regional (CP) service that links the stations of Vilar Formoso and Guarda , allowing the transfer to the Intercidades (Intercities service) between the Guarda station and Lisbon , passing through cities like Coimbra and Santarém . Those who want to go north, namely to

8460-419: The western empire disintegrated, the social and economic base became greatly simplified; the successor regimes maintained many of the institutions and laws of the late empire, including Christianity and assimilation into the evolving Roman culture. The Byzantines established an occidental province, Spania , in the south, with the intention of reviving Roman rule throughout Iberia. Eventually, however, Hispania

8554-499: Was founded in 1888. In the anarcho-syndicalist trend of the labour movement in Spain, Confederación Nacional del Trabajo was founded in 1910 and Federación Anarquista Ibérica in 1927. Catalanism and Vasquism, alongside other nationalisms and regionalisms in Spain, arose in that period: the Basque Nationalist Party formed in 1895 and Regionalist League of Catalonia in 1901. Political corruption and repression weakened

8648-604: Was not supported by the Western powers due to the British-led policy of non-intervention . General Francisco Franco was sworn in as the supreme leader of the rebels on 1 October 1936. An uneasy relationship between the Republican government and the grassroots anarchists who had initiated a partial social revolution also ensued. The civil war was viciously fought and there were many atrocities committed by all sides . The war claimed

8742-479: Was refortified on three further occasions by King Dinis , King Manuel I and by King João VI . The present 12 pointed star fortification was constructed in 1641 to a Vaubanesque plan on which the French military engineer is believed to have personally worked, during the castle's final stages of completion. During the Seven Years' War (1754 to 1763) which involved most of the great powers of Europe, Spain with

8836-651: Was reunited under Visigothic rule . From 711 to 718, as part of the expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate which had conquered North Africa from the Byzantine Empire , nearly all of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Muslims from across the Strait of Gibraltar, resulting in the collapse of the Visigothic Kingdom. Only a small area in the mountainous north of the peninsula stood out of the territory seized during

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