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Towering over 2,400 m, the Calvitero is considered to be Extremadura's highest point.The Garganta de Cuartos in northeastern Extremadura
Extremadura is contained between37° 57′ and40° 29′ N latitude, and4° 39′ and7° 33′ W longitude.
Thearea of Extremadura is 41,633 km2 (16,075 sq mi), making it the fifth largest of the Spanish autonomous communities. It is located in the Southern Plateau (a subdivision of the SpanishCentral Plateau).
The region is crossed from West to East by two large rivers, theTagus and theGuadiana, lining up three basic areas from North to South by combining mountain ranges and rivers: the territory spanning from theSistema Central to the Tagus, the so-calledMesopotamia extremeña in between the Tagus and the Guadiana and the territory from the Guadiana toSierra Morena.[5] Besides the catchment basins of the Tagus and the Guadiana covering most of the territory by far, fringe areas of the region are drained by theDouro (north) and theGuadalquivir (south). Notable Tagus tributaries include theTiétar and theAlagón (rightbank) and theAlmonte,Ibor,Salor and the Sever (leftbank). Regarding the Guadiana, important leftbank tributaries includeGuadarranque andRuecas and rightbank tributaries include theZújar River and theMatachel.
The highest point in Extremadura, the 2,401 m (7,877 ft) highCalvitero (or El Torreón),[6] is located in the Sistema Central, in the northeastern end of the region, bordering with Castile and León. The main subranges of the Sistema Central in Extremadura are theSierra de Gata andSierra de Béjar.
Thebasin of theTagus (Spanish:Tajo), with two principal tributaries: on the right, theTiétar and theAlagón; and on the left, theAlmonte,Ibor,Salor and theSever. The tributaries on the right edge carry a large quantity of water, which feed the gorges of theSistema Central where the rainfall is abundant and the winter brings a great quantity of snow.
The basin of theGuadiana, which has principal tributaries:
The basin of theGuadalquivir with only 1,411 km2 (545 sq mi) in Extremadura (2.45% of total).
The basin of theDouro (Spanish:Duero) with only 35 km2 (14 sq mi) in Extremadura (0.04% of its basin).
The climate of Extremadura is predominantlyhot-summer Mediterranean (Csa in theKöppen climate classification), with some regions beingcold semi-arid (BSk in theKöppen climate classification).[8] Extremadura generally presents average annual temperatures somewhat warmer than most of the hinterland of the Iberian Peninsula, featuring nonetheless a north–south gradient.[9] Annual thermal amplitude generally ranges from 16 to 19 °C.[9] Average annual precipitation stands at around 600 mm.[10] Parts of the Sistema Central presents more than 1,500 mm while it barely rains 400 mm in parts of the province of Badajoz.[10] Summers are very hot and dry, with the rain concentrated in the cold months instead, leading to a high degree ofwater stress during the summer months.[11]
During the time of theRoman Empire, the area that is known today as Autonomous Community of Extremadura was part ofLusitania, a Roman province that included most of current day Portugal (except for the northern area today known asNorte Region) and the central western portion of the current day Spain.Mérida (now capital of Extremadura) became the capital of the Roman province of Lusitania, and one of the most important cities in theRoman Empire.
Like the bulk of the Iberian Peninsula, the territorywas conquered by the Umayyads in the early 8th century. As part of theEmirate and laterCaliphate of Córdoba, it largely constituted a territorial subdivision (kūra) of the former polities centered on Mérida. Following the collapse of the Caliphate in the early 11th century during the so-calledFitna of al-Andalus and its ensuing fragmentation into ephemeral statelets (taifas), the bulk of the territory of current day Extremadura became part of the (First)Taifa of Badajoz (Baṭalyaws), centered around the namesake city and founded bySapur, asaqaliba previouslyfreed byAl-Hakam II.[12]
Conversely, the kingdoms ofLeón,Castile andPortugal (most notably the first one) made advances in the 11th and 12th centuries across the territory (with for example the successive Leonese conquests ofCoria in 1079[13] and 1142,[14] the Portuguese attempts at expanding across theGuadiana basin in the second half of the 12th century,[15] or the Castilian founding ofPlasencia in 1186)[16] not free from setbacks either caused by theAlmoravid andAlmohad impetus, which also entailed the demise of the first and second taifa of Badajoz in 1094 and 1150,[17] respectively. In the Almohad case, their 1174 offensive removed Leonese control from every fortress south of theTagus (includingCáceres).[18] After the Almohad disaster at the 1212Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, the remaining part of current-day Extremadura under Muslim control fell to the troops led byAlfonso IX of León—Alcántara (1214),[19] Cáceres (1227–1229),[20] Mérida (1230),[21]Badajoz (1230)[22]—and later to the military orders ofSantiago andAlcántara—Trujillo (1232),[23]Medellín (1234)[24]—on behalf ofFerdinand III of Castile. The last fortresses in the Lower Extremadura were conquered by Christians by 1248.[25]
By the late Middle Ages, the territory of the current-day region consisted of mayorazgos of the military orders ofSantiago andAlcántara (about half the territory), nobiliary lordships (about a quarter of the territory) and royal demesne towns (the other quarter of the territory).[26]
In between the 15th and 16th centuries, the concept of the Leonese and Castilianextremaduras diluted and the name eventually came to refer to the territory of the current-day region.[27] The territory lacked nonetheless shared government and administration institutions.[28]
In between 1570 and 1572, the Crown forcibly relocated about 11,000moriscos into the territory as part of the deportation of Granadans that followed the defeat of theAlpujarras revolt.[29] The distribution was somewhat chaotic although some places with an already "threatening" population of old moriscos (such asHornachos,Magacela andBenquerencia) were avoided as resettlement locations for the Granadan moriscos.[30]
Twogenerations later, theexpulsion of the moriscos from the region began in 1609, starting with the moriscos of Hornachos, the first expulsion in the Crown of Castile.[31] By September 1610 about two thirds of the moriscos of Extremadura had been already expelled and by 1611 the number amounted to 12,776.[32] Those who avoided the early orders of expulsion abided to reports of being 'good Christians' or claimed a status as 'old moriscos'.[33] At the height of 1612, there were reports of remaining moriscos in Trujillo, Mérida and Plasencia.[34]
Located in the most able path from theMeseta Central to Portugal, the territory suffered greatly due to warfare from the 1640–1668Portuguese Restoration War,[35] characterised not by the movement of large armies but for pillage, skirmishes, raids, and destruction of economic resources and settlements across both sides of theRaya.[36] The growing role of the fortified place of Badajoz (halfway between Lisbon and Madrid), in the wake of the installment of the Captaincy General of Extremadura consolidated the clout of the military in the region.[37]
By the late 18th century, the Extremaduran countryside languished, experiencing a deep crisis.[38] There was a diminishing share of land dedicated to crops.[39] The growing cattle sector induced the creation of yet more pastures,[39] adding up to the structural problem stemmed from the extraordinary degree ofconcentration of land ownership.[38] By the end of the Ancien Régime, the clergy, municipal councils and the royal army mattered more than the lesser role of the entitled nobility.[37]
Railways were developed in the second half of the 19th century. In September 1863, a passenger train arrived to Badajoz fromElvas, Portugal. It was the first train in the region and the first international service in the Iberian Peninsula.[40][41] In 1866, theBadajoz–Ciudad Real line [es] was completed, enabling the link with Madrid.[42] TheMadrid–Valencia de Alcántara line, a new connection passing through the province of Cáceres, was fully completed in 1881.[43]
During the 1936–1939Spanish Civil War, theNationalist faction Columna Madrid advanced quickly across the province of Badajoz in August 1936 and left merciless repression and mass casualties behind.[44] Badajoz was the Spanish province where theFrancoist repression comparatively took the highest relative toll of victims during the war and the immediate Post-War period; there were around 12,000 executions in the province (out of the 14,000 in the whole region), compared to around 1,600 victims of the Republican repression.[45]
In the mid 20th century, theFrancoist dictatorship pursued a policy of colonization and agrarian reform in the region to foster the economy, transforming thousands of hectares of dryland crops into irrigated lands, also favouring the erection of 63 new settlements by theInstituto Nacional de Colonización (INC).[46] The second half of the 20th century saw a massiverural flight out of the region, both to the industrialised areas of Spain (already started in 1955) as well as to richer European countries (such as Germany, France and Switzerland), both of which notably intensified after 1961, in the wake of the1959 Stabilization Plan (and in the second case also after bilateral agreements reached with destination countries).[47] The region henceforth was handed a demographic blow in the ensuing years, with the effective expulsion of nearly a 40% of the population, particularly young people.[48]
A pre-autonomous government entity in Extremadura (the "Junta Regional de Extremadura") with jurisdiction over the provinces of Badajoz and Cáceres was created by means of a 1978 law.[49] The draft of the regionalStatute of Autonomy began in 1980, the first step toward Extremadura becoming one of the Spanishautonomous communities.[50] The text passed its final hurdle as it was enshrined asOrganic Law in 1982.[49] Thefirst election to the Assembly of Extremadura took place in May 1983.
TheStatute of Autonomy of Extremadura (enacted in 1983) is the fundamental organic law regulating the autonomous government, and it establishes the institutions through which the autonomous community exerts its powers:[51]
The hemicycle of the Assembly of Extremadura
Assembly of Extremadura. The following are some of the functions conferred to the legislature: exerting legislative power in the autonomous community, the promotion and control of the Junta of Extremadura, the passing of the regional budget, the designation of senators correspondent to the autonomous community or the control of the media dependent on the regional government.[51] Its members (currently 65) are directly elected through the means of proportional representation and close party lists with anelectoral threshold of 5% (the most benign between the total voting percentage and the voting percentage in a particular electoral district) in two electoral districts:Badajoz andCáceres, corresponding to the two provinces of the region.
Junta of Extremadura. It is the collegiate body comprised by the regional president, the vice-president and the ministers (consejeros) exerting the executive and administrative functions of the regional government.[51]
President of the Junta of Extremadura. The officeholder is charged with directing and coordinating the action of the Junta of Extremadura, being the highest representative of Extremadura while also holding the ordinary representation of the State in the region. The regional president is elected by the legislature from among its members, needing to command an absolute majority of votes in the first round of investiture or a simple majority of positive votes in successive rounds. The president personally selects the ministers of the Junta.[51]
The government body for each of the provinces is thedeputation (diputación): theProvincial Deputation of Badajoz and theProvincial Deputation of Cáceres. The members of the plenary of the deputation are indirectly elected from among the municipal councillors based on the results of the municipal elections. In turn, the plenary elects the president of the deputation from among its members.
Thegross domestic product (GDP) of Extremadura was 20 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 1.7% of Spanish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 20,100 euros or 67% of the EU27 average in the same year. Extremadura was the community with the second lowest GDP per capita in Spain beforeMelilla.[52]
Export goods (mostly consisting of food and semimanufactures) are primarily sent to theEuropean market, but there has been a growing share of non-EU export destinations throughout the 2010s.[53]Balance of trade is generally positive.[53]
The unemployment rate stood at 17.3% in 2022, significantly lower than in the previous decade.[54]
Iberian pigs in ExtremaduraTobacco field in La Vera
WildBlack Iberian pigs roam in the area and consumeacorns fromoak groves. These pigs are caught and used for the cured ham dishjamón ibérico. The higher the percentage of acorns eaten by the pigs, the more valuable the ham. For example,jamón ibérico from pigs whose diet consists of 90% acorns or more can be sold for more than twice as much as ham whose pigs ate on average less than 70% acorns.[citation needed] In the US,jamón ibérico directly from Extremadura, with bone, was illegal until around 2005. At that time, enough US restaurants were in demand for the delicacy that Spain decided to export it as boneless, which theUS Department of Agriculture's health codes would approve (and continue to do).[citation needed]
85 Extremaduran municipalities constitute the jurisdiction of the "Dehesa de Extremadura"Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), which protectsjamones andpaletas (hind and front pig legs) originated fromIberian pigs and mixed Iberian/Duroc-Jersey pigs.[55]
As of 2021, Extremadura produces about 98% of thetobacco produced in Spain, also being the leading European producing region.[56] Tobacco production concentrates inLa Vera andCampo Arañuelo.[56]
Tomato production (2,122,000 tonnes in 2017) primarily concentrates in the riverbanks of the Guadiana and the Alagón-Árrago.[57]
A large part of the region falls within the scope of theRibera del Guadiana PDO, which is further divided in the Ribera Alta,Tierra de Barros, Matanegra, Ribera Baja, Montánchez, and Cañamero wine subregions.[58] The PDO protects thewines made of several varieties of black and white grapes.[59]
As of 2021, Extremadura is the second largestrice producing region in Spain, after Andalusia.[60] Due to drought and high water demands from rice fields, non-irrigated rice fields have been favoured since the late 2010s.[61][60] Together with Murcia, Extremadura is a major producer ofpaprika, primarily destined to the Spanish market.[62] Peppers are grown in the"Pimentón de la Vera" PDO [es], consisting of thecomarcas of La Vera, Campo Arañuelo,Valle del Ambroz andValle del Alagón.[62] The PDO produced 3,860 tonnes in 2020.[62]
About half the value of the regional industrial production belongs to theenergy sector.[63] Extremadura presents a huge energy surplus, producing about four times the energy it consumes.[63] This situation has led to the characterization of Extremadura as a potential "colony" of the private electricity companies, which are not taxed in the region and employ a relatively low share of the industrial workforce.[63] The Tagus is dammed in the reservoirs ofAlcántara, Torrejón andValdecañas whereas the Guadiana is dammed in the reservoirs ofCíjara,Puerto Peña, Orellana and Zújar.[64] Due to the orographic conditions, the Tagus is better suited forhydroelectric use than the Guadiana.[64] As of 2021, the region has around 2,193.84 MW of installed hydroelectric power, primarily controlled byEndesa andIberdrola, with a lesser role of Grupo Pitarch.[63]
The two reactors of theAlmaraz Nuclear Power Plant (which were put in operation in 1981 and 1983, respectively) are jointly operated by Endesa, Iberdrola andNaturgy.[63] They generate a power of 1,048.43 MW and 1,044.45 MW.[65]
The region is at the forefront of Spain's plans forenergy transition and adecarbonisation, thanks to the installation of large solar power plants and the granting oflithium mining licenses.[66] Such prospects sparked criticism and concern regarding how to avoid a "third energy colonisation" after those of the construction of reservoirs forhydroelectric use and the building ofnuclear power plants.[66] Two of the largestphotovoltaic power plants in Europe are located in the region: Francisco Pizarro (590 MW) inTorrecillas de la Tiesa and Núñez de Balboa (500 MW) inUsagre; both are operated by Iberdrola, which is developing another 6 photovoltaic plants collectively amounting to 1,300 MW.[65] The firstsolar thermal power plant in the region,Alvarado I, (50 MW) opened in 2009.[67]
The most populous province is that ofBadajoz, with a population of 691,715 and a population density of 31.78/km2 (82.3/sq mi). With an area of 21,766 km2 (8,404 sq mi), it is the largest province in Spain. 413,766 people live in theprovince of Cáceres at a density of 20.83/km2 (53.9/sq mi), having an area of 19,868 km2 (7,671 sq mi), making it the largest province in Spain after Badajoz.
As of 2022, the largest foreign community is that of Romanian nationals with 7,690 people, followed by Moroccans with 7,336. Portuguese account for 2,996, Colombians for 1,774 and Chinese make up 1,648. The region had a foreign population of 35,138.[70]
The Extremaduran population, according to the 1591 census of the provinces of theKingdom of Castile, was around 540,000 people, making up 8% of the total population of Spain. No other census was performed until 1717, when 326,358 people were counted as living in Extremadura.
From this period, the population grew steadily until the 1960s (1,379,072 people in 1960).[71] After 1960, emigration to more prosperous regions of Spain and Europe drained the population.
The only official language is Spanish (whose local dialects are collectively calledCastúo), but other languages and dialects are also spoken. TheFala, aGalician-Portuguese language, is a specially protected language and is spoken in the valley ofJálama. TheExtremaduran language, the collective name for a group of vernacular dialects related toLeonese[72] is endangered. Local variants ofPortuguese are native toCedillo andHerrera de Alcántara.[73] Portuguese has also been accounted to be spoken as well by some people (mainly those born before the 1940s[74]) inOlivenza.
Reported phonological distinctive features of the Spanish dialectal variants spoken in the region include instances ofseseo (in some areas of the province of Badajoz), loss ofintervocalic /d/, j and word-initial haspiration, r → l substitution, andyeísmo.[75]
Mateos Dávila, Juan Luis; Hernández González, Juan Manuel (1983). "La energía en Extremadura".Revista de Estudios Económicos y Empresariales.3:65–96.ISSN0212-7237.
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