Spain Portugal

Iberia, which includes both Portugal and Spain, is a geographical unit. However, the cultures and languages are different. For hundreds of years, these two countries have shared a land border.

The Spanish and Portuguese empires are two distinct entities. A line was drawn 45 degrees west by the Tordesillas Treaty in 1494. To the east of this line, everything was Portuguese, while to the west, everything was Spanish. If we look at a map of Brazil, we can see that this line runs almost straight through the country.

A History of Spain and Portugal

Spain and Portugal have attracted international attention due to their respective economic recoveries in recent years following periods of severe financial distress. Both were among the EU countries most hit by the 2008 crisis, along with Greece and Italy, suffering from economic contraction, high unemployment, internal and external indebtedness, large public deficits, and, in the case of Spain, a huge real-estate bubble.

Despite the countries' efforts in resolving their economic problems, Portugal's development is regarded as miraculous, while Spain's achievements are discounted. The challenge now is to evaluate whether these arguments are well-founded and analyze the demographic and economic basis of both countries. "Facts are stubborn things," wrote John Adams in 1770, "and whatever our wishes, inclinations, or passions prescribe, they cannot alter the status of facts and evidence."

This is a brief on the history of Spain and Portugal.

Spain & Portugal: Countries of Contrast

Spain is a diverse, fascinating nation with snow-capped mountains and deserts and a melting pot of culture influenced by North Africa and Latin Europe. Spain's history has mingled Christians, Muslims, and Jews, creating a unique cultural and architectural heritage. It is now one of Europe's most dynamic countries. Visitors are increasingly drawn to the culturally rich towns of Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Bilbao, Valencia, and Granada, which have long been a destination for European package travellers drawn to the sandy beaches of the Costas.

From the Pyrenees to Galicia in the north and Andalusia in the south, the country's scenic landscapes give tranquil retreats away from the masses.

Portugal, like Spain, is a country of contrasts, from the north's traditional wine and port country to the cosmopolitan capital of Lisbon and the Algarve's beach and golf resorts. Portugal's climate is generally pleasant, with warm summers and mild winters, making it an excellent year-round resort.

Spain and Portugal Divide the New World

From this section, you’ll learn about Spain, Portugal and the creation of the global economy. Pope Alexander VI issued a papal decree known as The Inter Caetera in 1493, a year after Columbus reached the Americas. The concept was to divide new land discoveries between Spain and Portugal to convert native peoples to Catholicism.

As one might expect, granting two kingdoms shared dominion over the so-called "New World" led to disputes over whose regions each could claim. A year later, the Treaty of Tordesillas was signed, which defined an actual dividing line on a global map. The pact granted Portugal everything east of the line, including most modern-day Brazil, and Spain everything west of the line, including the majority of Central and South America. The Treaty of Zaragoza divided the rest of the world between Spain and Portugal a few decades later.

These decrees created a religious incentive for New World exploration and colonisation. Unfortunately, they also gave the Spaniards a sense of religious authority over Central and South America's long-standing indigenous cultures, an ill-advised reason for conquest.

The Main Economy of Portugal

Let us look at the creation of the global economy and Portugal's main economy.

Since joining the European Community in 1986, Portugal's economy has become more diversified and service-oriented. Over the last 10 years, successive governments have privatised several state-controlled firms and liberalised key sectors of the economy, such as finance and telecommunications.

In 1998, the country became a member of the European Monetary Union (EMU), and on January 1, 2002, it joined 11 other EU member states in circulating the euro. For much of the previous decade, economic growth was above the EU average, but it fell back in 2001-04, and it is currently one of the EU's worst-performing economies. The country's GDP per capita is two-thirds that of the EU's Big Four economies. A substandard educational system and a high level of corruption in government have been significant barriers to increased productivity and prosperity.

As a target for foreign direct investment, Portugal has been increasingly overshadowed by lower-cost producers in Central Europe and Asia. The government must make difficult decisions to increase Portugal's economic competitiveness while keeping the budget deficit under the eurozone's 3%-of-GDP ceiling. Portugal consistently missed its austerity targets after two bailouts from the IMF and ECB. Unemployment is fast rising, and the government's ability to control spending is mediocre at best, as is creating a global economy.

The PSD/CDS coalition government is nothing short of a circus, and the President, whose name has been tied to many corruption cases over the last two decades, is dangerously steering the country toward societal unrest.

Overseas Expansion of Spain and Portuguese

The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) was copied by Portugal and divided the New World between Portugal and Castile. During the 15th century, Portugal began to build bigger fleets of ships and send explorers to Africa and Asia to explore the world beyond Europe. After a few decades, Castile followed suit. Following Christopher Columbus' first voyage to the Caribbean in 1492, both states began acquiring territory in the New World.

The Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494 gave Portugal its most potentially important colony, Brazil (much of the South American continent), as well as some possessions in Africa and Asia, while Castile got the rest of South America and much of the North American continent, as well as many possessions in Africa, Oceania, and Asia, as well as the important colony of the Philippines.

This line of demarcation was roughly halfway between the Portuguese-controlled Cape Verde Islands and the islands claimed by Columbus on his first voyage. Although the Treaty of Tordesillas attempted to clarify their empires, several more treaties were required to establish the modern boundaries of Brazil, including the 1529 Treaty of Zaragoza, which defined their Asian possessions.

Did You Know?

Let us understand the employment details of Spain and Portuguese here.

Unlike the Portuguese, the Spanish economy has seen considerable structural changes in the labour market over the last decade, fueled by the 2000s immigration boom and an increasing female labour force participation rate, which in 2013 nearly reached Portuguese levels. That accounts for the large difference in the active population, which increased by 40% in Spain between 1997 and 2008, compared to only 10% in Portugal.

Conclusion

Thus, we understand that the gradual growth in the Spanish economy was because of the growth in immigration in the 2000s, and it helped the Spanish structure the economy compared to the Portuguese.