| Destination: PORTUGAL | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Things To Know The Land Portuguese Empire The People Society and Language Changing Portugal Prince Henry the Navigator |
The People Geographical isolation from most of Europe has kept Portuguese bloodlines pure, and you'll notice a definite racial type - most people are short, with dark eyes, skin and hair. They are conservative people who are generally courteous and respectful. Northerners, with a harsher climate and historically poorer living conditions, tend to be less easygoing than people in the south, and more religious. Even so, the Catholic church continues to hold great sway everywhere. Most of the population still lives in rural areas, although there was a large urban increase in the 1970s, when people came home from former African colonies following independence. In Lisbon in particular, many Afro-Portuguese have integrated into Portuguese life; there's a good level of interracial harmony. The country still has one of Europe's highest emigration rates, with around 3 million people living and working abroad. With few natural resources, many people in northern Portugal are forced to seek work overseas; you can see the results of their labors in the new houses and cars found in even the poorest villages. |
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