1.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
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Autonomous communities of Spain
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Spain is not a federation, but a highly decentralized unitary state. Some scholars have referred to the system as a federal system in all. There are 17 autonomous communities and two cities that are collectively known as autonomies. The two autonomous cities have the right to become autonomous communities, but neither has yet used this right and this unique framework of territorial administration is known as the State of Autonomies. The autonomous communities are governed according to the constitution and their own organic laws known as Statutes of Autonomy, since devolution was intended to be asymmetrical in nature, the scope of competences vary for each community, but all have the same parliamentary structure. Spain is a country made up of different regions with varying economic and social structures, as well as different languages. While the entire Spanish territory was united under one crown by the 16th century, the constituent territories—be it crowns, kingdoms, principalities or dominions—retained much of their former institutional existence, including limited legislative, judicial or fiscal autonomy. These territories also exhibited a variety of customs, laws. From the 18th century onwards, the Bourbon kings and the government tried to establish a more centralized regime, leading figures of the Spanish Enlightenment advocated for the building of a Spanish nation beyond the internal territorial boundaries. This culminated in 1833, when Spain was divided into 49 provinces and these were the Basque Country and Catalonia. This gave rise to peripheral nationalisms along with Spanish nationalism, therefore, economic and social changes that had produced a national cultural unification in France had the opposite effect in Spain. In a response to Catalan demands, limited autonomy was granted to Catalonia in 1913 and it was granted again in 1932 during the Second Spanish Republic, when the Generalitat, Catalonias mediaeval institution of government, was restored. During General Francos dictatorial regime, centralism was most forcefully enforced as a way of preserving the unity of the Spanish nation, peripheral nationalism, along with communism and atheism were regarded by his regime as the main threats. When Franco died in 1975, Spain entered into a phase of transition towards democracy, the then Prime Minister of Spain, Adolfo Suárez, met with Josep Tarradellas, president of the Generalitat of Catalonia in exile. An agreement was made so that the Generalitat would be restored and limited competencies would be transferred while the constitution was still being written. In the end, the constitution, published and ratified in 1979, found a balance in recognizing the existence of nationalities and regions in Spain, within the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation. The starting point in the organization of Spain was the second article of the constitution. In order to exercise this right, the established a open process whereby the nationalities
3.
Vigo
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Vigo is a city and municipality in the province of Pontevedra, in Galicia, north-west Spain on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the comarca of Vigo and Vigo metropolitan area, Vigo is the most populous municipality of Galicia, and the 14th in Spain. It is also the most populous Spanish municipality that is not the capital of a province, the municipality has an area of 109,06 km² and had a population of 292,817 in 2016. The city has a population of 198,537 in 2016, the city is located in the south-west of Galicia, in the southern part of Vigo Ria, in one of Europes rainiest areas. In the north-east, it borders the municipality of Redondela, in the east Mos, in the south O Porriño and Gondomar, on the other side of the bay are the municipalities of Cangas and Moaña. They are all part of the southern Galician region called Rias Baixas, Vigo is located just north of the border with Portugal and its nearest larger city is Portugals second largest city of Porto. Vigo and its area are one of the main economic agents of the region. In the Middle Ages, the village of Vigo was part of the territory of Galician speaking neighbouring towns, particularly Tui. However, the number of inhabitants was so small that, historically, Vigo was not considered to be a village until around the 15th century. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the city was attacked several times, in 1585 and 1589, Francis Drake raided the city and temporarily occupied it, leaving many buildings burnt. Several decades later a Turkish fleet tried to attack the city, as a result, the walls of the city were built in 1656 in the reign of Philip IV of Spain. At this time, and in spite of the attacks, the city of Vigo developed its earliest commerce, in 1808, the French Army annexed Spain to the Napoleonic Empire, although Vigo remained unconquered until January,1809. Vigo was also the first city of Galicia to be freed from French rule in what is now celebrated as the Reconquista on 28 March each year, in 1833 the city of Pontevedra was designated the provincial capital. The city grew rapidly in the 19th and 20th centuries. This resulted in urban planning changes, making Vigo less structured than other Galician cities as Pontevedra or A Coruña. The urban area of Vigo is built both a hill-fort and a Roman settlement. It is generally accepted that the name Vigo is derived from the Latin word vicus spacorum, the standard pronunciation of Vigo in both Galician and Spanish is. The plant was then in the city seal and one descendant of that tree is still alive in Vigo city centre
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Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
5.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
6.
China
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China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
7.
Madrid
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Madrid is the capital city of the Kingdom of Spain and the largest municipality in both the Community of Madrid and Spain as a whole. The city has a population of almost 3.2 million with an area population of approximately 6.5 million. It is the third-largest city in the European Union after London and Berlin, the municipality itself covers an area of 604.3 km2. Madrid lies on the River Manzanares in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid, this community is bordered by the communities of Castile and León. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political, economic, the current mayor is Manuela Carmena from Ahora Madrid. Madrid is home to two football clubs, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid. Madrid is the 17th most liveable city in the according to Monocle magazine. Madrid organises fairs such as FITUR, ARCO, SIMO TCI, while Madrid possesses modern infrastructure, it has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic neighbourhoods and streets. Cibeles Palace and Fountain have become one of the monument symbols of the city, the first documented reference of the city originates in Andalusan times as the Arabic مجريط Majrīṭ, which was retained in Medieval Spanish as Magerit. A wider number of theories have been formulated on possible earlier origins, according to legend, Madrid was founded by Ocno Bianor and was named Metragirta or Mantua Carpetana. The most ancient recorded name of the city Magerit comes from the name of a built on the Manzanares River in the 9th century AD. Nevertheless, it is speculated that the origin of the current name of the city comes from the 2nd century BC. The Roman Empire established a settlement on the banks of the Manzanares river, the name of this first village was Matrice. In the 8th century, the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula saw the changed to Mayrit, from the Arabic term ميرا Mayra. The modern Madrid evolved from the Mozarabic Matrit, which is still in the Madrilenian gentilic, after the disintegration of the Caliphate of Córdoba, Madrid was integrated in the Taifa of Toledo. With the surrender of Toledo to Alfonso VI of León and Castile, the city was conquered by Christians in 1085, Christians replaced Muslims in the occupation of the centre of the city, while Muslims and Jews settled in the suburbs. The city was thriving and was given the title of Villa, since 1188, Madrid won the right to be a city with representation in the courts of Castile. In 1202, King Alfonso VIII of Castile gave Madrid its first charter to regulate the municipal council, which was expanded in 1222 by Ferdinand III of Castile
8.
Galicia (Spain)
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Galicia is an autonomous community of Spain and historic nationality under Spanish law. It had a population of 2,718,525 in 2016 and has an area of 29,574 km2. Galicia has over 1,660 km of coastline, including its islands and islets, among them Cíes Islands, Ons, Sálvora, Cortegada. Galicia was incorporated into the Roman Empire at the end of the Cantabrian Wars in 19 BC, in 410, the Germanic Suebi established a kingdom with its capital in Braga, this kingdom was incorporated into that of the Visigoths in 585. The Governor also presided the Real Audiencia do Reino de Galicia, from the 16th century, the representation and voice of the kingdom was held by an assembly of deputies and representatives of the cities of the kingdom, the Cortes or Junta of the Kingdom of Galicia. This institution was forcibly discontinued in 1833 when the kingdom was divided into four provinces with no legal mutual links. During the 19th and 20th centuries, demand grew for self-government and this resulted in the Statute of Autonomy of 1936, soon frustrated by Francos coup detat and subsequent long dictatorship. After democracy was restored the legislature passed the Statute of Autonomy of 1981, approved in referendum and currently in force, the interior of Galicia is characterized by a hilly landscape, mountain ranges rise to 2,000 m in the east and south. The coastal areas are mostly a series of rías and cliffs. The climate of Galicia is usually temperate and rainy, with drier summers. Its topographic and climatic conditions have made animal husbandry and farming the primary source of Galicias wealth for most of its history, allowing for a relative high density of population. With the exception of shipbuilding and food processing, Galicia was based on a farming and fishing economy until after the mid-20th century, in 2012, the gross domestic product at purchasing power parity was €56,000 million, with a nominal GDP per capita of €20,700. There are smaller populations around the cities of Lugo and Ourense. The political capital is Santiago de Compostela, in the province of A Coruña, Vigo, in the province of Pontevedra, is the most populous municipality, with 292,817, while A Coruña is the most populous city, with 215,227. 56% of the Galician population speak Galician as their first language and these Callaeci were the first tribe in the area to help the Lusitanians against the invading Romans. The Romans applied their name to all the tribes in the northwest who spoke the same language. In any case, Galicia, being per se a derivation of the ethnic name Kallaikói, the name evolved during the Middle Ages from Gallaecia, sometimes written Galletia, to Gallicia. This coincides with the spelling of the Castilian Spanish name, the historical denomination Galiza became popular again during the end of the 19th and the first three-quarters of the 20th century, and is still used with some frequency today
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Porto
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Porto is the second largest city in Portugal after Lisbon and one of the major urban areas of the Iberian Peninsula. The urban area of Porto, which extends beyond the limits of the city, has a population of 2.1 million in an area of 389 km2. It is recognized as a global city by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group. Located along the Douro river estuary in Northern Portugal, Porto is one of the oldest European centres, the western part of its urban area extends to the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. Its settlement dates back centuries, when it was an outpost of the Roman Empire. Its combined Celtic-Latin name, Portus Cale, has referred to as the origin of the name Portugal, based on transliteration. In Portuguese, the name of the city is spelled with a definite article, consequently, its English name evolved from a misinterpretation of the oral pronunciation and referred to as Oporto in modern literature and by many speakers. In 2014 and 2017, Porto was elected The Best European Destination by the Best European Destinations Agency, the history of Porto dates back to around 300 BC with Proto-Celtic and Celtic people being the first known inhabitants. Ruins of that period have been discovered in several areas, during the Roman occupation of the Iberian Peninsula the city developed as an important commercial port, primarily in the trade between Olissipona and Bracara Augusta. Porto fell under the control of the Moors during the invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 711. In 868, Vímara Peres, a warlord from Gallaecia, and this included the area from the Minho to the Douro River, the settlement of Portus Cale and the area that is known as Vila Nova de Gaia. Portus Cale, later referred to as Portucale, was the origin for the name of Portugal. In 868, Count Vímara Peres established the County of Portugal, or, in 1387, Porto was the site of the marriage of John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt, this symbolized a long-standing military alliance between Portugal and England. The Portuguese-English alliance, is the worlds oldest recorded military alliance, in the 14th and the 15th centuries, Portos shipyards contributed to the development of Portuguese shipbuilding. It was also from the port of Porto that, in 1415, Prince Henry the Navigator embarked on the conquest of the Moorish port of Ceuta, wine, produced in the Douro valley, was already in the 13th century transported to Porto in barcos rabelos. In 1703, the Methuen Treaty established the relations between Portugal and England. In 1717, a first English trading post was established in Porto, the production of port wine then gradually passed into the hands of a few English firms. To counter this English dominance, Prime Minister Marquis of Pombal established a Portuguese firm receiving the monopoly of the wines from the Douro valley
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Bueu
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Bueu is a municipality in Galicia, Spain, in the province of Pontevedra. Bueu belongs to the Comarca of O Morrazo together with Cangas do Morrazo, Moaña and it is located on the northern edge of the Morrazo peninsula. Isla de Ons and its archipelago, part of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park. There is evidence of archaeological finds dating back from the Paleolithic period, the forts on the island of Ons, Castrillon, Bon and A Cividade are all of the Bronze Age. Subsequently are the Roman settlements of Pescadoira and Meiro, with the altar dedicated to the Lares road. Only by the age of the temples in Bueu we can approach the time when it became a parish and it is known that Bueu had a temple before the fourteenth century. In Beluso there is data concerning a cession in 1008, the Church of Cela is from the twelfth century. The old Hermelo priory had a temple in the twelfth century, as for the etymology of Bueu there are various opinions, but believed to be the closest is marshy terrain. Bueu, official website Bueu, Rias Baixas Massó Museum Project BueuINforma
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Cambados
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Cambados is a municipality in Galicia, Spain in the province of Pontevedra. It is known for its famous white wine, Albariño, fishing is a major industry in this coastal area of Galicia. In Cambados, fish and seafood sellers sell at what is called La Plaza, La ría de Arousa, the body of water that surrounds this area, is rich in many types of seafood, as well. Large groups of them, go when the tide is low with their buckets and tools to dig up the sand, the culture in Cambados, as well as most coastal villages of Galicia, very much revolves around seafood. It is always eaten at Christmastime, on holidays, and at weddings, every Saturday and Wednesday morning there is a market along the maritime walk, selling generally cheap clothing, accessories, shoes, perfumes, and household items. It is very popular because of its prices and walking through the market the sellers yell out prices, most holidays call for fiestas, in which there are performances and rides, usually occurring during summertime. The largest and most famous of these fiestas is the Festa do Albariño, tents are set up along the Calzada selling high quality Albariño wine and seafood, and most people walk around with a wine glass hanging with a thread from their neck. Performances during the Albariño are usually special, whilst other fiesta performances consist of unknown orchestras, for example, Alejandro Sanz has performed during these fiestas. Cambados is famous for its Albariño white wine, the area is generally moist, cool and windy, contributing to the grape’s thickness and the wine’s strong aroma. It has only been within this last decade that Albariño has been known and has been grown outside of Galicia. This wine has been nicknamed “the wine of the sea”, because of its coastal vineyards, the first mayor of Cambados during the Second Republic of Spain was Juan Vidal Fraga. The republic reached Cambados without the existence of a Republican party in the area, fraga’s family had controlled the political life in Cambados during the reform. In February 1936, José Manuel Silva became the new governor, the beginning of the 20th century coincides with Spain’s restoration period, which is politically influenced by Cánovas del Castillo. This consists in the alternation of power between two parties—the Conservative and Liberal and this contributed with major political change, leaning towards a more local system rather than being associated with Spain’s higher power. The first democratic elections were in 1979 and this climate can be classified as hot and oceanic humid. Temperatures are moderate and rainfall is abundant,1,500 millimeters on average, in the winter maximum temperatures hover around 14 °C and minimum around −2 °C, but rarely drop below 0 °C. In the spring and fall the minimum is around 6 °C, storms and heavy rains are common around this time of the year. In the summer the temperatures at night drop to between 16 °C and 18 °C and in the day temperatures reach 30 °C, there are internal record temperatures of 35 °C
