Spain and Portugal

TL;DR. Spain and Portugal share the Iberian Peninsula in the southwest corner of Europe. Both were once Roman, then ruled by Germanic kings, then by Muslim states for centuries during a time of mixed cultures and learning. Christian kingdoms slowly took the land back, finishing in 1492, the same year Columbus sailed for Spain and Spain expelled its Jews. The two countries then built the first global empires, crossing the oceans to the Americas, Africa, and Asia, with great wealth, terrible violence against native peoples, and a central role in the Atlantic slave trade. Both empires faded, both passed through 20th century dictatorships, and both became democracies and members of the European Union. Today they are friendly neighbors with separate languages and strong regional identities.

Key takeaways

• Spain and Portugal are two separate countries with two separate languages, though they sit on the same peninsula and share a long history.
• For nearly 800 years much of Iberia was Muslim land called al-Andalus, where Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived side by side, often peacefully and productively, though not always equally.
• The year 1492 was a turning point: the last Muslim kingdom fell, Columbus reached the Americas under Spanish sponsorship, and Spain ordered its Jews to convert or leave.
• Spain and Portugal opened the age of European overseas empires, which brought immense riches alongside conquest, forced labor, mass death of indigenous peoples, and the trade in enslaved Africans.
• Both countries lived under long 20th century dictatorships (Franco in Spain, Salazar's Estado Novo in Portugal) and became democracies in the 1970s, then joined the European Union in 1986.

Main events at a glance

The land and the deep past

The Iberian Peninsula is a broad, mountainous block of land joined to the rest of Europe only by a narrow neck at the Pyrenees mountains in the northeast. To the south, just a short stretch of water, the Strait of Gibraltar, separates it from Africa. This in-between position, between two seas and two continents, shaped everything that happened there.

In ancient times the peninsula was home to many peoples, often grouped under the names Iberians and Celts. Traders from the eastern Mediterranean, including Phoenicians and Greeks, set up coastal towns. Then came Rome.

Starting around 200 BCE, the Romans gradually conquered the whole peninsula and called it Hispania. Roman rule lasted for centuries and left deep marks. The Latin language slowly became the spoken tongue of most people, and from that Latin the modern languages of the region later grew: Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Galician are all "Romance" languages, meaning languages descended from Roman Latin. The Romans also built roads, aqueducts, and cities, and brought Christianity, which spread widely.

Don't be confused: "Hispania" is the old Roman name, not the modern country. Hispania was the Roman word for the whole peninsula, including the lands that are now both Spain and Portugal. The modern country called Spain (in Spanish, Espana) is only part of that older region. Portugal is a separate country, not a part of Spain.

When the Roman Empire weakened in the 400s CE, Germanic peoples moved in. The most important were the Visigoths, who set up a kingdom that ruled most of Iberia for roughly 300 years. The Visigothic kings adopted Roman ways and Christianity, but their kingdom was often divided by quarrels over the throne, which left it vulnerable.

How modern Spain and Portugal formed

Al-Andalus and the Muslim centuries

In 711 CE, armies from North Africa, mostly Berbers led under Arab command and carrying the new religion of Islam, crossed the strait. Within a few years they had defeated the Visigoths and taken control of most of the peninsula. They called their land al-Andalus.

Don't be confused: al-Andalus is not the same as modern Andalusia. Al-Andalus was the name for Muslim-ruled Iberia as a whole, which at its peak covered most of the peninsula. Andalusia (in Spanish, Andalucia) is the name of one region in the south of Spain today. The modern name comes from the old one, but they do not cover the same area.

For centuries al-Andalus was one of the most advanced parts of Europe. Cities like Cordoba and Granada became famous centers of learning, with libraries, scholars, and beautiful architecture, some of which still stands, such as the great mosque of Cordoba and the Alhambra palace in Granada. Scholars there preserved and added to Greek, Persian, and Indian knowledge in mathematics, medicine, astronomy, and philosophy, and through Iberia much of this learning later passed to the rest of Europe.

This was also a time often called convivencia, a Spanish word meaning "living together." Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived in the same cities and worked together, and Jewish and Christian communities were generally allowed to keep their faiths. It is important to be honest about this: it was real, and remarkable for its age, but it was not equality as we understand it today. Non-Muslims usually paid special taxes and lived under restrictions, and there were periods of harshness and violence. The word "coexistence" fits better than "harmony."

The Reconquista and two kingdoms

From small Christian footholds in the mountainous north, Christian kingdoms slowly pushed south over many centuries. This long, on-and-off process is usually called the Reconquista, a word meaning "reconquest." It was not one steady war but a stretch of about 700 years with battles, truces, alliances that sometimes crossed religious lines, and shifting borders.

Out of this process two main groups of kingdoms grew. In the west, the County of Portugal became an independent kingdom, recognized in 1143, and pushed south to roughly its modern borders. In the center and east, several kingdoms eventually came together, above all Castile and Aragon. The marriage in 1469 of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon joined those two crowns and laid the foundation of modern Spain. They are often called the "Catholic Monarchs."

The hinge year: 1492

The year 1492 brought three events that changed world history.

First, in January, the city of Granada fell to Ferdinand and Isabella. Granada was the last Muslim-ruled state in Iberia, so its fall ended nearly eight centuries of Muslim political power on the peninsula.

Second, later that year, Isabella and Ferdinand agreed to fund a voyage by the Italian sailor Christopher Columbus, who sailed west hoping to reach Asia and instead reached islands in the Caribbean. This opened lasting contact between Europe and the Americas.

Third, in the same year, the monarchs ordered the Jews of Spain either to convert to Christianity or to leave the country. Tens of thousands left, ending one of Europe's oldest Jewish communities. Many of these Sephardic Jews (the word comes from Sefarad, the Hebrew name for Iberia) settled around the Mediterranean and kept their old Spanish language alive for generations.

The Spanish Inquisition

A few years before, in 1478, the monarchs had set up the Spanish Inquisition, a church court backed by the crown. Its main task was to investigate people who had converted to Christianity (former Jews and later former Muslims) but were suspected of secretly keeping their old faith. The Inquisition used interrogation, sometimes torture, and public trials, and it could order punishments including death by burning.

A balanced view matters here. The Inquisition was a real instrument of fear and persecution, and it caused great suffering over the centuries it operated. At the same time, popular images often exaggerate the numbers killed; modern historians, working from records, give figures far lower than the legends suggest. It was cruel and unjust, and it was also more bureaucratic and slower than the myth. Both things are true.

Big events and conflicts

The global empires

After 1492 Spain and Portugal became the first European powers to build empires that spanned the globe. To avoid fighting each other, in 1494 they signed the Treaty of Tordesillas, which drew a line on the map dividing the newly reached lands between them, with the Pope's blessing.

Spain in the Americas. Spanish soldiers and adventurers, called conquistadores, conquered two great empires: the Aztec Empire in Mexico, attacked by Hernan Cortes in the years after 1519, and the Inca Empire in the Andes, attacked by Francisco Pizarro in the 1530s. Small Spanish forces won partly through guns, horses, and steel, partly through alliances with local peoples who resented the Aztec and Inca rulers, and above all through European diseases such as smallpox, to which native peoples had no resistance. The result was catastrophic: the indigenous population of the Americas collapsed, with deaths in the many millions over the following century, from disease, war, and forced labor in mines and on farms. The silver of mines such as Potosi made Spain rich and funded its wars in Europe, but it was dug at a terrible human cost.

Portugal across the oceans. Portugal built a different kind of empire, a network of trading posts and coastal forts rather than vast inland territories. Under the encouragement of Prince Henry, often called Henry the Navigator, Portuguese sailors pushed down the coast of Africa through the 1400s. In 1498 Vasco da Gama rounded Africa and reached India by sea, opening direct European trade for spices, which were enormously valuable. Portugal claimed Brazil in 1500 and set up posts as far away as the coasts of Africa, the Persian Gulf, India, and the islands of Southeast Asia, and reached China and Japan. For a time Portugal controlled much of the long-distance spice trade.

The Atlantic slave trade. Both countries played central roles in one of history's gravest crimes, the Atlantic slave trade. Beginning in the 1400s and lasting for centuries, European traders carried millions of enslaved Africans across the ocean in brutal conditions to work in the Americas, especially on sugar plantations in Brazil and the Caribbean and in mines. Portugal and Spain were among the earliest and largest participants. This forced movement of people caused immense suffering, broke apart African societies, and shaped the populations of the Americas down to today. It should be named plainly for what it was.

Union, decline, and Napoleon

From 1580 to 1640 the two crowns were briefly joined under Spanish kings, before Portugal regained its independence. Over the 1600s and 1700s both empires slowly weakened as other powers, especially the Dutch, English, and French, grew stronger at sea and seized trade and territory.

In the early 1800s the French emperor Napoleon turned on his former allies. French armies invaded the peninsula, and in the resulting Peninsular War (1808 to 1814) Spanish and Portuguese forces, backed by Britain, fought against Napoleon's France. The fierce popular resistance gave the world the word "guerrilla," meaning "little war." During this chaos most of Spain's American colonies broke away, and by the 1820s nearly all of them were independent. Brazil separated from Portugal in 1822. The age of the great Iberian empires was effectively over.

Spain in the 20th century: the Civil War and Franco

Spain entered the 1900s poor, divided, and politically unstable. In 1931 it became a republic. Deep splits, between left and right, rich and poor, the Church and its critics, and the central government and the regions, finally broke into open war.

The Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939) was a tragedy that drew in the wider world. On one side stood the Republicans, who defended the elected republican government and included a broad mix of liberals, socialists, communists, and anarchists; they received aid from the Soviet Union and were joined by foreign volunteers in the International Brigades. On the other side stood the Nationalists, military rebels led by General Francisco Franco, who were backed by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The Nationalists won. The war killed hundreds of thousands of people and is remembered for atrocities on both sides, including the German bombing of the town of Guernica, which Pablo Picasso made famous in a painting.

Franco then ruled Spain as a dictator until his death in 1975. His long rule was authoritarian: opponents were jailed or killed, regional languages and identities were suppressed, and the press was censored. Spain stayed neutral in the Second World War. After Franco died, Spain managed a remarkably peaceful transition to democracy. The monarchy was restored under King Juan Carlos, who backed democratic reform, and a new democratic constitution was adopted in 1978.

Portugal in the 20th century: the Estado Novo and the Carnation Revolution

Portugal followed a parallel path. From 1933 the country was run as a dictatorship called the Estado Novo, meaning "New State," shaped largely by Antonio de Oliveira Salazar. It was conservative, censored, and held on stubbornly to Portugal's remaining African colonies, fighting long and draining colonial wars there in the 1960s and early 1970s.

In 1974 the dictatorship was overthrown in the Carnation Revolution, a mostly peaceful military coup that the public greeted joyfully, placing red carnations in soldiers' rifle barrels. Democracy followed, and Portugal soon granted independence to its African colonies.

Into modern Europe

Having become democracies, both countries turned toward the rest of Europe. Spain and Portugal joined the European Union (then called the European Community) together in 1986, which brought decades of investment and growth. Both are now stable parliamentary democracies; Spain is a constitutional monarchy with a king, while Portugal is a republic with a president.

Spain still faces internal tensions over regional identity. Some people in Catalonia (in the northeast, around Barcelona) and in the Basque Country (in the north) feel they are distinct nations and want greater self-rule or full independence. For decades a Basque separatist group called ETA carried out a violent campaign, including killings and bombings, before giving up its arms; that violence has ended. Catalan demands for independence remain a live political dispute, argued today through votes, courts, and protests rather than violence. These are sensitive subjects with strong feelings on all sides.

How people lived: daily life and lifestyle

For most of history, life in Iberia meant farming the land, herding sheep, fishing the long coasts, and worshipping in the local church. Most people were poor, and the Roman Catholic Church was woven into every stage of life.

Modern daily life has a famously distinctive rhythm, especially in Spain. The day runs late: lunch, the main meal, often comes around two in the afternoon, and dinner can be at nine or ten at night. The siesta, a midday rest or pause when many shops once closed in the hottest hours, is a real tradition, though in big cities long working hours have made it less common than outsiders imagine. Evenings are social, and it is normal to see families and friends, including children, out together late.

Festivals are a huge part of life. Towns hold their own saints' day celebrations, and large events draw crowds and visitors: the running of the bulls in Pamplona, the elaborate Holy Week processions across both countries, and Carnival before Lent. Strong regional identity is a defining feature, especially in Spain, where alongside Spanish (also called Castilian) people speak Catalan, Basque, and Galician, each an official language in its home region. Basque is unusual because it is not related to any other known language. In Portugal the national language is Portuguese, spoken with great pride and shared with Brazil and several African countries.

Music and the arts

Spain gave the world flamenco, a passionate art from Andalusia in the south that combines deep, wailing song, intricate guitar, and fierce, rhythmic dance, with roots in Romani, Moorish, and local traditions. The Spanish guitar itself is famous worldwide.

Spanish painting reaches some of the highest peaks in Western art. Diego Velazquez, court painter in the 1600s, is admired for the realism and quiet mystery of works like Las Meninas. Francisco Goya, around 1800, ranged from glittering royal portraits to dark, haunting images of war and madness. In the 1900s two Spaniards reshaped modern art: Pablo Picasso, a founder of Cubism and painter of Guernica, and Salvador Dali, a leading Surrealist known for dreamlike, melting landscapes. Spain also produced a strong tradition in architecture, including the wildly original buildings of Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona.

Portugal's signature music is fado, meaning "fate," a style of mournful, soulful song usually accompanied by guitar, full of longing and a feeling the Portuguese call saudade, a bittersweet yearning for something or someone absent. Much of Portugal's cultural pride centers on the Age of Discovery, the era of the great sea voyages, which is celebrated in monuments, museums, and poetry, above all the national epic The Lusiads by Luis de Camoes.

Notable people

• Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, the monarchs whose marriage united the crowns that became Spain, and who backed Columbus in 1492.
• Christopher Columbus, the Italian navigator whose 1492 voyage for Spain opened lasting European contact with the Americas.
• Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, one of the first and greatest European novels.
• Diego Velazquez, Francisco Goya, Pablo Picasso, and Salvador Dali, painters who shaped the history of Western art.
• Francisco Franco, the general who won the Civil War and ruled Spain as dictator until 1975.
• Henry the Navigator, the Portuguese prince who promoted the early voyages of exploration.
• Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese explorer who first reached India by sea in 1498.
• Luis de Camoes, Portugal's national poet, and Fernando Pessoa, a celebrated modern poet who wrote under many invented identities.

Religion, coexistence, and minorities

For most of its history since Roman times, Iberia has been overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, and the Church held great power over both states and ordinary life. The Reconquista, the events of 1492, and the Inquisition all flowed in part from a drive to make the peninsula a single Catholic land.

The price of that drive was the loss of two great communities. The Jewish community, which had lived in Iberia for over a thousand years, was expelled or forced to convert. The Muslim population was likewise pressured to convert, and the descendants of Muslim converts, called Moriscos, were finally expelled in the early 1600s. So a peninsula once known for its mix of three faiths became, by force, almost entirely Christian. Much of the architecture, food, and language of today still carries traces of that vanished Muslim and Jewish heritage.

In recent decades both countries have become much more secular, with fewer people attending church regularly, even as Catholic festivals remain culturally important. Immigration, from North Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and elsewhere, has brought new diversity, and small Jewish and Muslim communities live in Iberia again. In a gesture of repair, both Spain and Portugal in recent years offered citizenship to descendants of the Sephardic Jews who were expelled centuries ago.

Food: Iberia's own tables

Iberian food is built on olive oil, garlic, bread, seafood, pork, and sunshine vegetables, but Spain and Portugal each have their own clearly distinct cuisines, and neither is much like French cooking despite sharing a border with France.

Spain

Spanish eating is sociable. The most famous custom is tapas, small plates of food shared among friends over drinks, hopping from bar to bar. Signature dishes include paella, a saffron-yellow rice dish from the Valencia region cooked in a wide pan with seafood, chicken, or rabbit; jamon, a prized cured ham, especially jamon iberico from acorn-fed pigs; tortilla espanola, a thick potato and egg omelette; and gazpacho, a cold tomato and vegetable soup for hot southern summers. Olive oil is the backbone of the kitchen, and Spain is one of the world's largest producers.

Portugal

Portuguese cooking turns toward the Atlantic. Its national obsession is bacalhau, salted dried cod, said to have a different recipe for every day of the year, a taste born from the long fishing voyages of the past. Fresh seafood is everywhere, from grilled sardines to rich shellfish stews. The country is also famous for pasteis de nata, small custard tarts with crisp, flaky pastry and a caramelized top, originally made by monks in Lisbon. Pork, hearty stews, and good bread round out the table, and Portugal gave the world port wine, a sweet fortified wine from the Douro valley.

Everyday life: relationships, family, and home

In both Spain and Portugal, choosing a partner is an individual decision. People generally date freely, and many marry later than earlier generations did, often after finishing their studies and getting settled in work. Same-sex marriage is legal in both countries. Spain was an early adopter, making it legal in 2005, among the first nations in the world to do so; Portugal followed in 2010.

Family ties tend to be close, and the extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins often stays in regular contact. Grandparents frequently help care for grandchildren. Daily rhythm runs late, especially in Spain, where lunch is the main meal and may come around two in the afternoon, with dinner at nine or ten at night. Many towns keep the tradition of the evening paseo, a relaxed stroll to meet neighbors and friends. The siesta, a midday pause, is a real tradition but is much reduced today, mostly in big cities where modern work schedules leave little room for it.

Because social life happens late and out in public, children are usually included. It is normal to see families with young children at restaurants and plazas in the evening. Pets are common and generally well loved, with dogs a frequent sight in parks and squares.

Spain and Portugal differences

Daily rhythms in Portugal are similar but tend to be a little earlier than in Spain, and the very late Spanish dinner hour stands out as distinctive even by Iberian standards. Both countries place a high value on time spent together at the table and in public spaces.

School, work, and the economy

Schooling is free and required for children through the core years in both countries, with public and private options and a long lunch break built into the day. School and work timetables in Spain in particular can run late, partly tied to the country's overall late schedule. In recent years there has been public discussion in Spain about shifting to earlier, more standard European hours, but the traditional rhythm remains common.

Working hours, especially in Spain, can include a longer midday break and a later finish than in much of northern Europe, though many offices, particularly larger companies, now follow more continuous daytime schedules.

Spain's economy

Spain has a large, modern economy built on services, with tourism a major pillar; it is one of the most visited countries in the world. Other important sectors include agriculture (olive oil, wine, fruits, and vegetables), car manufacturing, and a fast-growing renewable energy industry, with abundant sun and wind. Spain went through a severe financial and unemployment crisis after 2008, with very high joblessness among young people, and recovered gradually over the following years.

Portugal's economy

Portugal also relies heavily on services and tourism, which has grown strongly in recent decades. Exports matter a great deal, including textiles, machinery, and farm goods, and the country is the world's leading producer of cork. Wine is a signature export, including port from the Douro valley. Portugal was hit hard by the European debt crisis after 2010 and received an international financial rescue package; it returned to growth in the years that followed.

Language, idioms, and words to know

Spain

The main and official national language is Spanish, also called Castilian (castellano). Several regions have co-official languages alongside it: Catalan in Catalonia (and related forms in Valencia and the Balearic Islands), Basque (euskara) in the Basque Country and parts of Navarre, and Galician in Galicia. Basque is notable for not being related to any other known language. These languages are sources of strong regional pride, so it is courteous to be aware of them.

A few useful Spanish phrases: hola (hello), gracias (thank you), por favor (please), buenos dias (good morning). A well-known saying is no hay mal que por bien no venga, meaning roughly "there is no bad thing from which something good does not come," close to the English idea that every cloud has a silver lining.

Spain's most famous literary figure, Miguel de Cervantes, wrote Don Quixote. A widely quoted line from it is "la libertad es uno de los mas preciosos dones," part of a passage praising liberty as one of the most precious gifts heaven gave to humankind.

Portugal

The national language is Portuguese. It is a distinct Romance language in its own right, not a dialect of Spanish, though the two are related and share many words. Portuguese is spoken not only in Portugal but by hundreds of millions of people worldwide, above all in Brazil and in several African countries.

A few useful Portuguese phrases: ola (hello), obrigado if you are male or obrigada if you are female (thank you), por favor (please), bom dia (good morning). A deeply Portuguese word is saudade, a bittersweet longing for someone or something absent, often described as hard to translate exactly.

Portugal's celebrated modern poet Fernando Pessoa is often quoted; a famous line from his work is "Tudo vale a pena se a alma nao e pequena," meaning "Everything is worth it if the soul is not small."

Famous places to know

Spain

• Barcelona, the Catalan capital on the Mediterranean, home of Antoni Gaudi's still-unfinished basilica, the Sagrada Familia.
• Madrid, the capital, with grand boulevards and the Prado, one of the world's great art museums.
• Granada, in the south, site of the Alhambra, a stunning palace and fortress from the days of al-Andalus.
• Seville, the lively capital of Andalusia, known for its cathedral, its old quarter, and flamenco.

Portugal

• Lisbon, the hilly capital by the sea, with its old neighborhoods, trams, and views over the Tagus river.
• Porto, the northern city that gave its name to port wine, set along the Douro river.
• Sintra, near Lisbon, famous for fairy-tale palaces and green hills.
• The Algarve, the southern coast known for beaches, cliffs, and warm weather.

Fitting in: visiting, impressing people, and being a good citizen

Greetings tend to be warm. Among friends and family, a kiss on each cheek is common, while a handshake suits first meetings and formal settings. Meals are social and unhurried, so plan for late dining, especially in Spain, and do not rush; lingering at the table after eating, sometimes called sobremesa in Spain, is part of the pleasure.

Regional pride runs deep, particularly in Spain. Showing awareness that Catalonia, the Basque Country, Galicia, and other regions have their own languages and identities is appreciated, and it is wise to treat questions of regional politics with care and respect. Dressing neatly is generally valued in both countries. A few words of the local language, even just a greeting and a thank-you, make a good impression.

Being a good guest mostly comes down to ordinary courtesy: be punctual for fixed appointments, be patient with the later social clock, respect places of worship and historic sites, and show interest in local food and customs. Entry and visa rules depend on your nationality and can change, so check the official sources for Spain and Portugal before traveling. This is general information, not legal advice.

Suggested reading, news, and links

Books

• Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, a foundational Spanish novel and a classic of world literature.
• The Lusiads by Luis de Camoes, Portugal's national epic poem about the age of sea voyages.
• For history, look for reputable general histories of Spain and of Portugal from established publishers and university presses; a librarian or bookseller can point you to well-regarded current titles.

News

• The BBC and major international newspapers offer English-language coverage of both countries.
• In Spain, widely read national newspapers include El Pais and El Mundo.
• In Portugal, Publico is among the well-known national newspapers.

Useful links

• The official national tourism sites for Spain and for Portugal.
• The BBC country profiles for Spain and Portugal.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica entries on Spain and Portugal for reliable overviews.

Today, and how to talk about it

Spain and Portugal today are prosperous, peaceful democracies and close partners within Europe, popular with travelers for their climate, coasts, food, and history. Their languages, especially Spanish and Portuguese, are now spoken by hundreds of millions of people across the world, above all in Latin America and parts of Africa, a lasting result of the empires.

When you talk about Iberian history, it helps to hold several truths at once. These were lands of extraordinary cultural achievement and of long coexistence among faiths, and also of expulsion and inquisition. They built the first global empires, which spread their languages and shaped the modern world, and those same empires brought conquest, the collapse of native societies, and the enslavement of millions. The honest story includes the art and the cruelty, the discovery and the destruction. Remember too that Spain and Portugal are two distinct countries, proud of their differences, and that within Spain in particular there are strong regional identities whose place in the nation is still being worked out, today through democratic argument rather than war.

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