how does geography affected the history and culture of spain and portugal???

Answer 1

This question has long been debated in discussing history. Generally when considering things like the geography of a country one includes the climate and topography as well.
Portugal is a small country with not much in the way of natural resources (no vast forests, little in the way of navigable rivers, a dry climate, not much in the way of mineral deposits, etc.) Therefore Portugal was forced to seek allies in order to maintain its independence. It developed one product in particular that was in high demand in England, namely port wine. This stimulated ship building and maritime culture, which was deliberately fostered in a big way by Prince Henry the Navigator. Mediterreanean trade was pretty much sown up by the Italians and Turks, so the Portuguese turned to the Atlantic, with fantastic luck (finding a sea route around Africa all the way to India and finding Brazil).
Spain has several mountain ranges. One range at least had a lot of silver, which was exploited in Roman times. Overall, Spain is dry, and only has a few major rivers that are navigable for any great distance. This fostered the development of isolated kingdoms (Asturia, Navarre, Aragon, Catalonia, etc.) with their own Cortes (governing and advising bodies to the local king). Spain elected to invest heavily in wool as a raw product, which retarded the development of advances in agriculture and industrial techniques. But Spain too found maritime trade to be very lucrative, and made a lot of money from conquering Sicily and raiding Islamic ports in North Africa. In close competition with Portuagal, Spain also plunged into the Atlantic to find new lands.

Answer 2

Spains Geography

Answer 3

Ah, think of it - picture that huge Iberian peninsula, hanging off the southwestern tip of Europe, much like a juicy apple on the lowest bough of the tree.

To the south and east of the peninsula - the great "inner sea," the Mediterranean, where seafaring was born. To the west, the immense, cold, stormy Atlantic Ocean. To the north, the Bay of Biscay, and a narrow neck of land almost completely marked by the rugged Pyrenees - except for one lovely, low-lying coastal strip adjoining what is today called the French Riviera. And to the absolute, utter, south, the mouth of the oceans, the Strait of Gibraltar - the busiest seaway in the world.

The peninsula is a place of much-varied internal geography - high plains, greatdusty desert-like regions, marshlands, desolate rocky hillocks and mountains, and most fortunately, great rivers. And perhaps most significant of all - an immense volcanic caldera, creating the fantastic harbor of Cartagena - and for millenia, a source of mineral riches that attracted the hungry hands of men.

Europe's oldest continuously-inhabited city was founded by seafaring explorers seeking the wealth of mines, of fisheries, of forests. "Gades," the Phoenecians named their colonial outpost at the point where Strait, Inland Sea, and Atlantic all mate - today, it's called "Cadiz."

Wealth there was in that land. So much wealth that soon the Greeks fought the Phoenecians for it - and then the Romans fought the Phoenicians, too. When their tribal cousins brought down the Roman empire, the Visigoths took over Spain. Not long after, the "Moors" crossed the Straits and began nearly 800 years of life in most of the peninsula. And it was geography that brought them, and geography that destroyed them.

There isn't room nor time enough here to tell the tale completely. Today's Spain and Portugal are as much a product of geography as were the ancient, classical, Medieval and Renaissance versions. For example, Portugal today endures partly because her security was defended by Britain - which wanted a friendly port for her navy. In that case it was geo-political influence.

Very briefly, regionalism created Protugal and has shaped Spanish history and culture. It is probably the most important single dynamic element today of Spanish government.

There are some outstanding histories of Spain and Portugal - far too many to cite here. You can also capture a sense of this by reading James Michener's wonderful book about Spain, "Iberia."

Answer 4

I don't know about European history, but the fact that Spain and Portugal were sea-faring nations, led them to develop vast colonies in different continents. This led to the growth of imperialism and colonisation.

Perhaps even more then Britain, Spain and Portugal have changed the course of the New World ans other places like Asia and Africa.

Answer 5

just as the large mountains of Greece caused city states... because they were seperated by geography

Answer 6

Yeah I agree with what's been said so far