Many map users have wondered why Portugal, sharing with Spain the Iberian Peninsula, ever became a separate nation. That question is answered with remarkable clarity by Dan Stanislawski. This book also presents an analysis of the factors that produce separate nations and offers a study of the evolution of national cultures generally, especially as they apply to Portugal.

• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. Landforms of Northwest and West Iberia
• 2. The Climate of Western Iberia
• 3. The Soils of Northern and Western Iberia
• 4. Vegetation Regions of Northern and Western Iberia
• 5. Prehistoric Immigrants into Iberia
• 6. Early Central European Influences in Iberia
• 7. Contacts between the Ancient Civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean and Iberia
• 8. The Period of Roman Conquest and Control
• 9. The Germanic Conquest
• 10. Moslem Domination
• 11. The Reconquest of Iberia
• 12. Final Steps toward Portuguese Independence
• 13. Completion of the Portuguese State
• 14. Development of Portuguese International Relations
• 15. The Geography of Portuguese-Spanish Boundaries
• 16. Environment and Culture
• 17. The Geographical Basis of Portuguese Political Independence: A Summation
• Bibliography
• Index