Galicia (Spain) Galicia (Spain) Galicia (; Galician: "Galicia" , "Galiza" ; ; ) is an autonomous community of Spain and historic nationality under Spanish law. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it comprises the provinces of A Coruña, Lugo, Ourense and Pontevedra, being bordered by Portugal (Braga District, Bragança District, Viana do Castelo District and Vila Real District) to the south, the Spanish autonomous communities of Castile and León and Asturias to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Cantabrian Sea to the north. It had a population of 2,718,525 in 2016 and has a total area
John VI of Portugal too powerful for France to attack directly, France set its sights on Portugal. In 1799, John officially assumed the reins of government as prince regent in the name of his widowed mother; that same year, Napoleon Bonaparte staged his "coup d'état" of 18 Brumaire in France and coerced Spain into issuing an ultimatum to force the Portuguese to break with Great Britain and submit the country to the interests of Napoleon. With John's refusal, neutrality became unviable. Spain and France invaded in 1801, setting off the War of the Oranges; a defeated Portugal signed the Treaty of Badajoz and the