After 1668, Portugal, determined to differentiate itself from Spain, turned to Western Europe, particularly France and England, for new ideas and skills. Part of a gradual "de-Iberianization", as Portugal consolidated its cultural and political independence from Spain. Portuguese nationalism, which was aroused by success on the battlefield, produced hostile reactions to Spanish things and persons. By then, Portuguese society was composed of two basic elements: those who participated in the gradual Europeanization process, the "political nation", and those who remained largely unchanged, the majority of the people, who remained apolitical and passive.