section_path: Politics/Territorial disputes
section_name: Territorial disputes
paragraph_text: Territorial disputes
  
  Olivenza: Under Portuguese sovereignty since 1297, the municipality of Olivença was ceded to Spain under the Treaty of Badajoz in 1801, after the War of the Oranges. Portugal claimed it back in 1815 under the Treaty of Vienna. However, since the 19th century, it has been continuously ruled by Spain which considers the territory theirs not only de facto but also de jure.
  
  Savage Islands: A small group of mostly uninhabited islets which fall under Portuguese Madeira's regional autonomous jurisdiction. Found in 1364 by Italian mariners under the service of Prince Henry The Navigator, it was first noted by Portuguese navigator Diogo Gomes de Sintra in 1438. Historically, the islands have belonged to private Portuguese owners from the 16th century on, until 1971 when the government purchased them and established a natural reserve area covering the whole archipelago. The islands have been claimed by Spain since 1911, and the dispute has caused some periods of political tension between the two countries. The main problem for Spain's attempts to claim these small islands, has been not so much their intrinsic value, but the fact that they expand Portugal's exclusive economic zone considerably to the south, in detriment of Spain. The Selvagens Islands have been tentatively added to UNESCO's world heritage list in 2017.