•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.

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.

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.

After Franco’s death in 1975 Spain became a parliamentary monarchy as King Juan Carlos has ruled with elected officials since that year.

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.

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.

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. )

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.

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.

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.