Geography of Portugal Geography of Portugal Portugal is a coastal nation in southwestern Europe, located at the western end of the Iberian Peninsula, bordering Spain (on its northern and eastern frontiers: a total of ). The Portuguese territory also includes a series of archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean (the Açores and Madeira), which are strategic islands along the North Atlantic. The extreme south is not too far from the Strait of Gibraltar, leading to the Mediterranean Sea. In total, the country occupies an area of of which is land and water. Despite these definitions, the Portugal-Spain border remains an unresolved territorial dispute between
Border Reivers were other factors which promoted a predatory mode of living in the Borders. A system of inheritance called gavelkind meant that estates, and particularly land, were divided equally between all sons on a man's death; although this was considered more fair than primogeniture, it also meant that many people owned insufficient land to survive. Also, much of the border region is mountainous or open moorland, unsuitable for arable farming but good for grazing. Livestock was easily rustled and driven back to raiders' territory by mounted reivers who knew the country well. The raiders also often removed easily portable household goods