Spain And Portugal - Lands And People

these are the Pyrenees one of the many rugged chains of mountains in Europe from France Travelers must cross the Pyrenees to enter Spain the country which occupies four fifths of the Iberian Peninsula Northern Spain is mountainous as are many other parts of the country Central Spain occupies a massive Plateau or table land called in Spanish the Masa here Winters are cold and summers are hot with little rain in southern Spain which has a Mediterranean climate Olive Groves extend over much of the landscape a majority of the Spanish people earn their living from the land agriculture is the leading industry in Spain as it is in Portugal the small country occupying the western edge of the Iberian Peninsula we see the Atlantic Ocean Beyond this Coastal Farm Portuguese Farmers like their Spanish neighbors work hard to make a living from their farms for the majority of these people incomes are low as they are in Spain both the Spanish and Portuguese are a proud and sturdy people who for centuries shared a common history among the earliest Settlers of the peninsula were an ancient people called The iberians Who were thought to have come from North Africa to the peninsula named for the iberians also came the carthaginians from North Africa about 500 BC they were driven out by the Romans who came three centuries later from across the Mediterranean during several centuries of Roman rule Spain and Portugal adopted a Roman way of life this Roman aqueduct in sagain is still in use after 1900 years the Romans also brought their Latin language the Spanish and Portuguese languages of today are based upon the Latin introduced by the Romans Christianity introduced into the Iberian Peninsula in the 2 and 3rd centuries ad spread rapidly but the Christian way of life on the peninsula was strongly opposed by a totally different way of life when the Moors from Africa conquered most of the peninsula in the 8th Century ad the Moors brought their architecture and their religion Islam this mosque a splendid example of morish Architecture is in Cordoba once a leading Center of moish life in Spain moish rule ended in 1492 with the Triumph of Christian forces under the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella this Castle seen of the coronation of Queen Isabella is one of many landmarks of Spain's long history Portugal too has many landmarks of its proud history the Tower of balen near the city of Lisbon was an important navigational Landmark to Portuguese seamen in the 16th century the sea has influenced both the history and geography of the Iberian Peninsula except for the Pyrenees the peninsula is bordered by water on these three sides the peninsula faces the Atlantic Ocean on these two sides the peninsula faces the Mediterranean Sea Portugal's Highlands and plains slope toward the Atlantic Ocean today many Portuguese still look to the Sea for their livelihood these rugged Portuguese seamen are fishing off the Atlantic coast they are catching fish called hate which are similar to codfish these fish as well as sardines and tuna are an important part of the Portuguese food [Music] supply the Portuguese fish not only in the waters off Portugal but they go as far as the grand Bank Tanks off newfinland across the Atlantic the Atlantic affects Portugal's climate winds from the sea helped to produce a climate which is suitable for many kinds of crops Vineyards stretch for miles in Northern Portugal in the daro Valley here on Terraces are grown some of Portugal's finest grapes harvesting the fruit has not changed much through the centuries it is still done patiently and care carefully by hand Grapes of the daro Valley are made into port wine one of the exports of Portugal in the Mediterranean climate of Southern Portugal oranges and other citrus fruits grow well if the land is irrigated both Portugal and Spain are building irrigation projects in the dry regions of the peninsula to increase the acreage of land for growing a variety of [Music] crops one very old crop of Portugal comes from these trees they are cork oak trees the men are stripping off the bark which is cork a tree is stripped of its bark about every 9 years about half of the world's supply of cork comes from Portugal the cork being loaded here will eventually be transported to the port of Lisbon the principal Harbor of Portugal from Lisbon cork is shipped abroad an important export of [Music] Portugal canned sardines tuna and other fish are also exported from [Music] Lisbon on the docks of aorto in Northern Portugal are casks of port wine from the daro Valley aorto near the mouth of the daro river is Northern Portugal's Chief City it is a manufacturing center in which a large labor force of men and women work in Industries such as TCH stes cotton Fabrics are exported and are a leading item in Portugal's [Music] economy Portugal's largest city Lisbon is built around one of the finest Harbors in Europe the capital of Portugal Lisbon is a picturesque City whose charm attracts many tourists because of its location Lisbon is a port of entry for many Travelers at portella airport people can board jets for other cities of Europe from Lisbon it is only a little over 300 M by air to Madrid the capital of Spain Madrid became the capital of Spain when Philip II moved his court there in the 16th century Madrid is located in the middle of the mea the central Plateau that is part of mountain of Spain [Music] the Avenue Jose Antonio is one of the older parts of Madrid the governmental and Cultural Center of Spain a statue of Don kote stands near a new office building part of Madrid's Business Center on the outskirts of the city many people work in light Industries including textiles glassware and Furniture others work in the governmental buildings of Madrid Museum containing Priceless works of Spanish art attracts many students and visitors this is one of many churches in Madrid reminders of the Spanish people's Devotion to the Roman Catholic faith the former Royal Palace was the seat of government when Spain's monarchs ruled a vast Spanish Empire one of those monarchs Philip II in 1584 completed the vast palace called the escorial out side of Madrid the escorial is a monument to Spain's Kings who ruled until 1931 when a republic was established the Republic attempted to break up the Greater States and distribute land to more people this was one of the causes of the Spanish Civil War generalisimo Francisco Franco led the forces which overthrew the Republic in 1939 Franco then assumed control of the Spanish [Music] government to commemorate the Civil War in Spain this tremendous Monument about 30 mi from Madrid was planned by Franco it is called the Valley of the Fallen here are buried many of the soldiers who were among the million persons killed in the Spanish War to this National Shrine come people from many regions of the country a family from Catalonia a businessman from a basque province in the north and a farmer from casle on most of his land he grows wheat the leading cereal crop of Spain wheat is grown mostly on the semiarid central Plateau the plateau the Spanish mea is an important grazing region it is too arid for many crops but is fine for raising sheep [Music] in southern Spain on irrigated land cotton is grown Spain is rich in Mineral Resources such as Iron Coal copper zinc lead and Mercury this mine produces lead and zinc metal ores are important exports they are also used in growing Spanish Industries Spain's largest industrial city is Barcelona much of it is modern for it was largely rebuilt after the Spanish Civil War in this Barcelona plant heavy steel Machinery is being [Music] made in this Factory wool from the mea is used in making Texs Barcelona located on the Mediterranean is Spain's largest sea port on the Atlantic side of the peninsula near the southern coast is sevil the largest Inland port located on the guad River on seville's docks are casks of green olives they come from Olive Groves in the region around Seville a region of dry mild Mediterranean climate this Olive Grove is part of the estate of a large Olive company neat houses built by the company are the homes of the olive workers and their families this is the home of Jose Valdez and his family Senor Valdez walks to his work in the olive Groves like most Housewives Senora Valdez spends a great deal of her time cooking she is preparing a favorite rice dish called in Spanish paa for the noon meal Pedro the youngest is just finishing his milk he's not quite old enough to go go to school but Rosa is getting ready to leave Rosa walks to school with some of her [Music] friends and here's the schoolhouse both boys and girls wear school [Music] uniforms the teacher greets the children with buenos dias good morning the Blackboard and desks are familiar things in any classroom while Rose is in school her father is working in the Olive Grove the olives are carefully picked by hand Harvest Time begins in September or October and continues for several months after picking the olives are taken to the company's processing [Music] plant the first step in preparing the olives for Market is washing them in large Vats this man the olive master supervises all the steps in the process after washing the olives are poured into large casks of saltwater for curing which take several months the cured olives are then sorted and graded for shipment abroad these women have an unusual occupation pitting the olives this removes the seed or pit so that the olives can be stuffed with pentos these will also be placed in casks for shipment these casks are going to Chicago these are being shipped from the docks of Seville to Boston olives are one of Spain leading overseas exports the Spanish Olive industry employs thousands of workers from the men engaged in shipping to the women in the processing plants to those who grow and harvest olives in the Groves other Spaniards are Factory workers in industrial cities such as Barcelona others work for the government in Madrid the capital of Spain in isban capital of Portugal and one of the world's great shipping and transportation centers many Portuguese are Dock Workers other Portuguese earn their livelihood as fishermen others are employed in forestry stripping the valuable bark of the cork oak trees and a great number of Portuguese are farmers most of the people still make their living from the land both in Portugal and in Spain the two nations of Western Europe that occupy the Iberian [Music] Peninsula