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The Kingdom of Galicia (Galician: Reino de Galicia, or Galiza; Spanish: Reino de Galicia; Portuguese: Reino da Galiza; Latin: Galliciense Regnum) was a political entity located in southwestern Europe, which at its territorial zenith occupied the entire northwest of the Iberian Peninsula.
Cliffs of Vixía Herbeira near Cape Ortegal, the highest (613 m) in continental Europe. The interior of Galicia is a hilly landscape, composed of relatively low mountain ranges, usually below 1,000 m (3,300 ft) high, without sharp peaks, rising to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in the eastern mountains.
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Galicia, comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) and historic region of Spain, encompassing the northwestern provincias (provinces) of Lugo, A Coruña, Pontevedra, and Ourense. It is roughly coextensive with the former kingdom of Galicia. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, by the autonomous communities of Asturias and Cast...
The terrain of Galicia is hilly and relatively uniform in elevation, with more than half its area lying between elevations of 1,300 and 2,000 feet (400 and 600 metres) and less than one-fifth at elevations lower than 650 feet (200 metres). Mountains ring the interior, isolating the region from the Spanish provinces of Asturias, León, and Zamora to the east and from Portugal to the south. The interior is dominated by strongly dissected mountains, which gradually give way to the coastal plains of the Atlantic and Bay of Biscay littorals. Numerous rivers and their tributaries drain seaward through Galicia, permitting the region to export hydroelectric power to the rest of Spain. Annual precipitation is moderately high, exceeding 40 inches (1,000 mm) in most places, but it is of only limited benefit, because the badly eroded soil retains little moisture.
Villages are ordinarily small and isolated, the parish being the common denominator among the widely dispersed villages of a locality. The terrain favours animal husbandry over cultivation, and the former is the premier agricultural activity; nonetheless, the farm population is large and fairly evenly dispersed, resulting in the subdivision of the countryside into small landholdings, or minifundios. Families generally own and cultivate the minifundios, and the inability of those farms to support a growing population has resulted in a higher-than-average emigration from Galicia since the 18th century. Overseas emigration was particularly high between 1920 and 1935. Emigration since World War II has been not only to the industrialized countries of Europe but also to the Spanish provinces of Madrid, Vizcaya, and Barcelona. Emigration has been especially high among men, resulting in serious demographic and economic imbalances, among them an aging population and declining economic productivity.
Subsistence farming prevails among the minifundios, with potatoes and corn (maize) among the leading crops and cattle among the leading livestock. Underemployment plagues the agricultural sector, and large numbers of migrant labourers periodically leave Galicia in search of seasonal work elsewhere in Spain. On the mountains, considerable quantities of timber (pine) are produced, and sawmills are widespread. The port of Vigo is one of Spain’s leading fishing ports.
Galicia’s manufacturing sector is well developed. Fish processing and ship building are of particular importance; Ferrol and Vigo have major shipbuilding works. The textile, automotive, and foodstuffs industries are economically significant as well. The manufacture of turbine components is important to the construction of wind turbines; Galicia has dozens of wind farms throughout its provinces that generate about one-third of Spain’s total energy output. Lignite deposits are used to produce thermoelectric power. The installation of a petroleum refinery in A Coruña has stimulated industrial development in that province. Services make up slightly less than one-tenth of the economy; tourism increased in the early 21st century.
Galicia’s culture and language developed in relative isolation, showing greater affinity for the Portuguese culture and language than for the culture and language of Spain until the final separation of the two countries in 1668. The literary use of Galician reached a high point in the 13th and 14th centuries, when its metre, drawing on that of Provençal, showed greater refinement and versatility than the then relatively underdeveloped Castilian metre. Other noteworthy literary periods include the Rexurdimento (“Resurgence” or “Revival”) of the late 19th century, as well as the 1920s and ’30s. Rosalía de Castro (1837–85) was a leading figure of the Resurgence. Her Cantares gallegos (1863; “Galician Songs”) was the first major work to be written in the Galician language in centuries. It represented the revival of Galician as a literary language and inspired a growing regional consciousness. In the years just before Franco came to power, a group of Galician writers born in the 1880s formed the core of the Galician cultural movement. Known as the Xeración Nós (“The We Generation”), these writers promoted their objectives in the literary and artistic journal Nós (1920; “We”), dedicated to consolidating Galician culture.
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Galicia’s name is derived from the Celtic Gallaeci, who lived there when the region was conquered by the Roman legions about 137 bce. In Roman and Visigothic times Galicia stretched south to the Duero River and eastward to beyond the city of León and formed part of the archdiocese of Bracara Augusta (Braga). From about 410 ce it was an independent ...
Galicia has about 2,795,422 inhabitants which mainly combines the coastal strip between Ferrol and A Coruña in the northwest and between Vilagarcía de Arousa and Vigo in the southwest. The medieval and modern Kingdom of Galicia derived of the kingdom of the Suebi , founded by king Hermeric in 409.
The kingdom of Spain was formed at the end of the 15th century by the union of Castile (of which Galicia was then a part) and Aragon. Political and cultural sentiments during the 19th century increased support for the idea of Galicia having a separate identity from the rest of Spain.
Jan 22, 2014 · Where is the seventh Celtic nation? 22 January 2014. By Kiran Herbert,Features correspondent. family of menhirs, a coruna, spain, manolo paz, arist dolmen, galicia. Galicia, an autonomous...
Galicia , ancient Gallaecia, Autonomous community (pop., 2001: 2,695,880) and ancient kingdom, northwestern Spain. Covering 11,419 sq mi (29,575 sq km), Galicia is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal, and its capital is Santiago de Compostela.
