Galicia or
Galiza is a historical autonomous community in
northwest Spain
, with the
status of a historical nationality, and was one of the first
kingdoms of Europe (Kingdom of
Galicia). Its component provinces are A Coruña, Lugo
, Ourense
and Pontevedra
. It borders Portugal
to the
south, the Spanish regions of Castile and León
and Asturias
to the east,
the Atlantic
Ocean
to the west, and the Bay of Biscay
to the north.
Geography
Geographically, a remarkable feature of Galicia is the presence of
many fjord-like inlets along the coast,
estuaries that were drowned with rising sea levels
after the
ice age. These are called
rías and are divided into the
Rías Altas, and the
Rías Baixas. The
rias are
important for fishing, and make the coast an important fishing
area. The spectacular landscapes and wildness of the coast attract
great numbers of tourists.
Finisterre on the Atlantic coast of
Galicia
The coast
of this green corner of the Iberian Peninsula
is also known as the "A Costa do Marisco"
(i.e., "The Seafood Coast" in Galician).
Galicia has preserved few of its dense Atlantic forests where
wildlife is commonly found. It is relatively unpolluted, and its
landscape composed of green hills, cliffs and
rias is very
different from what is commonly understood as Spanish
landscape.
Inland, the region is less-populated and suffers from migration to
the coast and the major cities of Spain. The terrain is made up of
several low mountain ranges crossed by many small rivers that are
not navigable but have provided hydroelectric power from the many
dams. Galicia has so many small rivers that it has been called the
"land of the thousand rivers". The most important of the rivers are
the
Miño and the
Sil, which has a spectacular canyon.
The mountains in Galicia are not high but have served to isolate
the rural population and discourage development of the interior.
There is a
ski resort in Cabeza de Manzaneda (1778 m) in Ourense
Province. The highest mountain is Trevinca
(2127 m) on the Ourense eastern border with
León
and Zamora
provinces (Castilla y León
).
Galicia has no extensive natural areas and has had several
environmental problems in the modern age. Deforestation is a
problem in many areas, as is the continual spread of the
eucalyptus tree, imported for the paper industry.
Fauna, most notably the
European Wolf,
have suffered because of the actions of livestock owners and
farmers. The native deer species have declined because of hunting
and development.
Recently, oil spills have become a major
issue, especially with the Mar Egeo disaster in A Coruña
and the infamous Prestige oil spill in 2002, a crude oil
spill larger than the Exxon Valdez
disaster in Alaska
.
Other environmental issues include gas flushing by maritime
traffic, pollution from fish hatcheries on the coast, overfishing,
and the highest incidence of
forest
fires in Spain, in spite of the wetter Galician climate.
Administrative divisions
Image:Situacion Provincia da Coruña.PNG|Province of A
CoruñaImage:Situacion Provincia de Lugo.PNG|Province of
LugoImage:Situacion Provincia de Ourense.PNG|Province of
OurenseImage:Situacion Provincia de Pontevedra.PNG|Province of
Pontevedra
Galicia was divided into seven administrative
provinces until 1833:
From 1833, the seven original provinces of the 15th century were
consolidated into four:
The main
cities are Vigo
, A Coruña, Ourense
, Lugo
, Pontevedra
, Ferrol
and Santiago de
Compostela
, the capital and archiepiscopal seat, and home of
the shrine which gave rise to medieval Europe's most famous
pilgrimage route, The Way of St
James
.
Climate
The weather is dominated by the proximity of Galicia to the
Atlantic, with mild temperatures throughout the year. Santiago de
Compostela has an average of 100 days of rain a year. The interior,
specifically the more mountainous parts of Ourense and Lugo,
receive significant freezes and snowfall during the winter
months.
In the summer the hot temperatures and dense forests lead to forest
fires. The forest fires of summer 2006 were particularly bad,
burning tens of thousands of hectares, blackening the skies with
thick smoke that resulted in plumes extending for hundreds of
kilometres over the Atlantic. Many believe that those responsible
tend to be livestock farmers who want to clear the land for
livestock grazing or others who wish to build on rural land. Some
also suspect that some firefighters themselves, seeking to earn
extra money, also play a significant part as arsonists.
History
The Cathedral of Santiago de
Compostela
The name
Galicia comes from the Latin name Gallaecia, associated with the name of the ancient
Celtic tribe that resided above the Douro
river, the
Gallaeci or Callaeci in Latin, and
Kallaikoi in Greek (these tribes were mentioned by Herodotus).
Before the
Roman invasion, a series of
tribes lived in the region, and according to
Strabo,
Pliny,
Herodotus and others, they shared similar
Celtic customs.
This area was first entered by the Roman legions under
Decimus Junius Brutus in
137–136 BC. (Livy lv., lvi.,
Epitome); but the province
was only superficially Romanized by the time of
Augustus.
In the 5th century AD invasions, Galicia fell to the
Suevi in 411, who formed the first medieval kingdom to
be created in Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. In 584,
the
Visigothic King Leovigild invaded the Suebic kingdom of
Galicia and defeated it, bringing it under Visigoth control. During
this period a British colony-bishopric was established in Northern
Galicia (
Britonia) populated by
Briton immigrants escaping the
Anglo-Saxon invasion (see
Mailoc). During the
Moorish
invasion of Spain (711-718), the Moors never managed to have any
real control over Galicia, and this situation remained unchanged up
until 739 when
Alfonso I of
Asturias successfully drove them out and Galicia was finally
assimilated for good to the
Kingdom
of Asturias.
During the 9th and 10th centuries, the counts of Galicia gave
fluctuating obedience to their nominal sovereign, and
Normans/
Vikings occasionally
raided the coasts.
The Towers of Catoira
(Pontevedra) were built as a system of
fortifications to stop the Viking raids on Santiago de
Compostela.
In 1063,
Ferdinand I of
Castile divided his kingdom among his sons. Galicia was
allotted to
Garcia II of
Galicia. In 1072, it was forcibly reannexed by Garcia's brother
Alfonso VI of Castile, and
from that time Galicia remained part of the
Kingdom of Castile and Leon,
although under varying degrees of self-government.
The final episode of Galician independence was the dynastic
conflict between
Isabella I of
Castile and
Joanna La
Beltraneja ("Daughter of Beltrán", and not to be confused with
Joanna the Mad). It was believed
that Joanna was the bastard daughter of Beltrán and the former
queen (hence the name Beltraneja). A political struggle ensued, and
the Joanna-supporting nobles (most of the Galician aristocracy)
lost. This gave Isabella free rein to initiate the process she
called "Doma y Castración del Reino de Galicia", that is, the
"Taming and Castration of the Kingdom of Galicia" (sic)(Court
Historian,
Zurita).
Galician
regionalist and
federalist movements
arose in the nineteenth century. From 1916 through the 1920s these
developed into a full nationalist movement. After the
second Spanish Republic was declared
in 1931, Galicia became an autonomous region following a
referendum.
During the 1936–75 dictatorship of General
Francisco Franco — himself a
Galician from Ferrol — Galicia's
statute of autonomy was annulled (as were those of Catalonia
and the Basque
provinces). Franco's regime also suppressed
any official promotion of the Galician language, although its
everyday use was never proscribed. During the last decade of
Franco's rule, there was a renewal of nationalist feeling in
Galicia.
Following the transition to
democracy upon
the death of Gen. Franco in 1975, Galicia regained its status as an
autonomous region within Spain with the Statute of Autonomy of
1981, which starts: "Galicia, historical nationality, is
constituted as an Autonomous Community to access to its
self-government, in agreement with the
Spanish Constitution and with the
present Statute (...)". Varying degrees of
nationalist or
separatist sentiment are evident at the political
level. The only nationalist party of any electoral significance,
the
Bloque Nacionalista
Galego or BNG, is a conglomerate of
left-wing parties and individuals that claims the
Galician political status as a nation.
From 1990 to 2005, the region's government and parliament, the
Xunta de Galicia, was presided over
by the
Partido
Popular ('People's Party', Spain's main national
conservative party) under
Manuel Fraga, a former minister and ambassador
in the Franco regime. In 2002, when the
oil
tanker Prestige sank and covered the Galician coast in
oil, Fraga was accused by the socialist-nationalist movement 'Nunca
Mais' to have been unwilling to react. In the 2005 Galician
elections, the 'People's Party' lost its
absolute
majority, while just remaining the
largest party in the parliament with 43% of the total votes. As a
result, power passed to a
coalition of the
Partido dos
Socialistas de Galicia (
PSdeG) ('Galician
Socialists' Party'), a regional
sister-party of Spain's main social-democratic party, the
Partido
Socialista Obrero Español ('Spanish Socialist Workers
Party') and the nationalist
Bloque Nacionalista Galego
(
BNG). As the senior partner in the new coalition,
the PSdeG nominated its leader,
Emilio Perez Touriño, to serve as
Galicia's new president, with
Anxo
Quintana, the leader of BNG, as its vice-president.
In 2009 the PSdG-BNG coalition lost the elections and the
government went back to the People's Party which will enjoy a
comfortable majority until 2013.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo
(PP) is now Galicia's president.
Economy
Galicia is a land of economic contrast.
While the western
coast, with its major population centers and its fishing and
manufacturing industries, is prosperous and increasing in
population, the rural hinterland—the provinces of Ourense and Lugo—are
economically dependent on traditional agriculture, based on small
landholdings called minifundios. However, the rise
of tourism, sustainable forestry and organic and traditional
agriculture are bringing other possibilities to the Galician
economy without compromising the preservation of the natural
resources and the local culture.
Language
The spoken languages are
Galician
(Galician:
Galego), the local language derived from
Latin, closely related to
Portuguese, both being
Galician-Portuguese languages, and
Spanish, the only official language
for more than four centuries (XVI - XIX). Since the end of the 20th
century, the Galician language also has an official status, and
both languages are taught in Galician schools. There is a broad
consensus of support within the region for efforts to preserve the
Galician language .
The
Galician and
Portuguese languages are derived from
the early
Galician-Portuguese
(
Galego-Português or
Middle Ages Portuguese)
language spoken in Galicia and north-of-Douro regions in Portugal,
and are considered by some philologist to be two dialects of the
same language (
Galician-Portuguese). The
Galician and
Portuguese languages began to diverge in
the
Middle Ages, a development hastened
by political separation. Furthermore, there remain many
similarities between Portuguese and Galician. Mutual
intelligibility is very good between Galicians and Portuguese
speakers. In fact there is a public debate in Galicia about their
own language and its relationship to the
Portuguese language. Nowadays, some
people hold that the Galician language is an autonomous and
separate language, while others maintain that
Galician is a variant of the
Portuguese language, such as
Brazilian Portuguese.
A distinct
Galician Literature
emerged after the Middle Ages. In the 13th century, important
contributions were made to the romance canon in
Galician-Portuguese. The most notable was by the
troubadour Martín
Codax, by
King Denis of
Portugal and by
King Alfonso X
of Castile, called
O Sábio (The Wise One). During this
period, Galician-Portuguese was considered the language of love
poetry in the Iberian
Romance
linguistic culture. The names and memories of Codax and other
popular cultural figures are well preserved in modern Galicia and
are often encountered in daily circulation of information.
Demographics
| POPULATION OF GALICIA
c.1900 |
| A Coruña Province |
| District |
population |
City of Corunna |
43,971 |
City of
Ferrol (Civilian Population Only) |
25,281 |
| Santiago de Compostela |
24,120 |
| Towns, Villages and Hamlets |
560,184 |
| All the Province (Total): |
653,556 |
| Lugo Province |
| District |
population |
| City of
Lugo |
26,959 |
Chantada |
15,003 |
Fonsagrada |
17,302 |
| City of Mondoñedo |
10,590 |
Monforte |
12,912 |
Pantón |
12,988 |
Vilalba |
13,572 |
| Viveiro |
12,843 |
| Towns, Villages and Hamlets |
343,217 |
| All the Province (Total): |
465,386 |
| Orense Province |
| District |
population |
| City of
Ourense |
15,194 |
| Towns, Villages and Hamlets |
389,117 |
| All the Province (Total): |
404,311 |
| Pontevedra Province |
| District |
population |
| City of
Vigo |
23,259 |
| City of
Pontevedra |
22,330 |
| Towns, Villages and Hamlets |
411,673 |
| All the Province (Total): |
457,262 |
| THE FOUR PROVINCES TOGETHER (Total): |
1,980,515 |
| (Encyclopædia Britannica, 1911)
[1565] |
Galicia's inhabitants are called "
Galicians" (in Portuguese & Galician
galegos; in Spanish
gallegos).
Note: The population of the
City of A
Coruña in 1900 was 43,971. The population of the
rest of the province including the City and Naval Station of nearby
Ferrol
and Santiago de Compostela was 653,556. A Coruña's growth occurred
after the
Spanish Civil War at the
same speed as other major Galician cities, but it was the arrival
of democracy in Spain after the death of
Francisco Franco when A Coruña left all the
other Galician cities behind.
The rapid
increase of population of Vigo, A Coruña, and to a lesser degree Santiago de
Compostela and other major Galician cities, during the years
that followed the Spanish Civil
War during the mid 20th century occurred as the rural
population declined -- many villages and hamlets of the four
provinces of Galicia disappeared or nearly disappeared during the
same period. Economic
development and mechanization of agriculture resulted in the
fields being abandoned, and most of the population has moving to
find jobs in the main cities. The number of people working in the
Tertiary and
Quaternary sectors of the
economy has increased significantly.(
Encyclopædia Britannica,
1911).
Migration
Like most of Western Europe, Galicia's history has been defined by
mass emigration.
There was significant Galician emigration in
the 19th and early 20th centuries to industrialized parts of Spain
and to Latin America - mostly to
Brazil
(where the
language was similar) but also Argentina
, Uruguay
, Venezuela
, and Cuba
. One
example is
Fidel Castro, whose father
was Galician, and mother was of Galician descent.
The two cities with
the greatest number of people of Galician descent outside of
Galicia itself are Buenos
Aires
, Argentina, and nearby Montevideo
, Uruguay where immigration from Galicia was so significant
that Argentines and Uruguayans now commonly refer to all Spaniards
as gallegos (Galicians).
During
the Franco years there was a new wave of emigration out of Galicia
to other European countries, most notably to France
, Switzerland
, and the United Kingdom
. There are many expatriate communities
throughout the world, and many have their own groups or clubs.
Galician immigration is so widespread that websites such as
Fillos de Galicia were created in
order to organize and inform Galicians throughout the world.
Culture
Cuisine
Galician cuisine often uses fish and shellfish. The
Empanada is a meat or fish pie, with a bread-like
base, top and crust with the meat or fish filling usually being in
a tomato sauce including onions and garlic. It has Celtic
influence.
Caldo Galego is a hearty soup whose main
ingredients are potatoes and a local vegetable named
grelo . The latter is also employed in
Lacón con
grelos, a typical Carnival dish, consisting of pork shoulder
boiled with grelos, potatoes and
Chorizo
(paprika sausage).
Centolla is the
equivalent of King
Crab. It is prepared by
being boiled alive, having its main body opened like a shell, and
then having its innards mixed vigorously. Another popular dish is
Octopus, boiled (traditionally in a copper
pot) and served in a wooden plate, cut into small pieces and laced
with olive oil, sea salt and
Pimentón
(Spanish paprika). This dish is called
Pulpo à galega, which roughly translates as
Octopus the Galician way. There are several regional
varieties of cheese. The best known one is the so-called
Tetilla cheese, named after its shape, which
is similar to a woman's breast.
Other highly regarded varieties include the
San Simón cheese from Vilalba and the creamy cheese produced in the Arzúa
-Curtis area. The
latter area produces also high-quality beef. A classical dessert is
filloas, crêpe-like pancakes made with flour, broth and
eggs. When cooked at a pig slaughter festival, they may also
contain the animal's blood. A famous almond cake called
Tarta de Santiago (cake
of St. James) is a Galician sweet speciality and is mainly produced
in Santiago de Compostela.
Galicia produces a number of high-quality
wines, including
Albariño,
Ribeiro,
Ribeira Sacra and
Valdeorras. The grape
varieties used are local and rarely found outside Galicia and
Northern Portugal. Just as notably from Galicia comes the spirit
Augardente, which means burning water,
often referred to as
Orujo in Spain and
internationally or
caña in Galicia. This
spirit is made from the distillation of the
pomace of grapes.
The most important day for the Galician culture was November 17,
2009.
Sport
As in the rest of Spain,
football is the most popular sport in
Galicia.
Deportivo de La Coruña, from the
city of A
Coruña, is the region's most successful club and is
currently (2009–10 season) Galicia's only representative in the top
flight of the national championship, La
Liga. Celta de Vigo
from Vigo are also a
major club and are Deportivo's principal regional rivals.
When the two sides play, it is normally dubbed
the Galician
derby.
SD Compostela from
Santiago de Compostela and
Racing de
Ferrol from Ferrol are two other notable club sides.
Similarly
to Catalonia and the Basque
Country, Galicia also periodically fields a regional team
against international opposition (see Galicia autonomous football
team).
Other popular sports in Galicia include
futsal, a variety of indoor football), and
basketball. Because the Atlantic Ocean is to
Galicia's north and west, naval sports such as
rowing and
yachting
are common.
Public Holidays
- Día de San Xosé (St. Joseph's Day) on 19 March (strictly
religious)
- Día do Traballo (May Day) on 1 May
- Día das Letras
Galegas (Galician Literature Day) on 17 May
- Día da Patria Galega
(Galicia's National Day) also known as St. James the Apostle Day on 25
July
- Día da Nosa Señora (Day of Our Lady) on 15 August (strictly
religious)
- Día de Jorge Cubela (Day of Xurxo Cubillas) 6 November
(strictly Cotobade's party)
Education
There are three universities in Galicia:
Politics
The current government of Galicia was established on 16 March 1978,
and is reinforced by the
Galician Statute of Autonomy,
ratified on 28 April 1981. It is run by the
Xunta de Galicia, headed by a
president and run by a
parliament.
Presidents of Galicia
Parliament of Galicia
The Parliament it is composed of 75
deputies or Members of Parliament. The election of
2 May 2009 resulted in the following distribution:
- Partido Popular de Galicia (PPdeG): 38
deputies (47,11%)
- Partido Socialista de Galicia (PSdeG-PSOE): 25 deputies (29,92%)
- Bloque Nacionalista Galego (BNG): 12
deputies (16,58%)
- Total: 75 deputies (100%)
Image gallery
Image:Santiago GDFL catedral 30.JPG|
Pórtico da Gloria,
Cathedral of Santiago de CompostelaImage:Lugo 060420.jpg|Roman wall
of LugoImage:Ribeira Sacra. Río Sil. Lugo. Galiza.jpg|River
SilImage:Spain LaCoruna tower.jpg|
Torre de Hércules, A Coruña
Famous Galicians
Contemporary music
Pop/rock
Political parties
See also
References
- Historia Francorum, Gregorio de Tours
- A guide to the climate, geography, nature and
wildlife of Galicia
- Viking
Festival webpage
-
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/scans/EB1911_png/VOL24%20SAINTE-CLAIRE%20DEVILLE-SHUTTLE/ED4A203.png
-
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/scans/EB1911_png/VOL24%20SAINTE-CLAIRE%20DEVILLE-SHUTTLE/ED4A204.png
- Los Limones del Caribe
External links
led by Ferrol
(Camiño de Santiago)
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