In 1581, Philip became Philip I of Portugal, joining both crowns into the most extended empire in history up to that time. The Spanish Habsburgs (Philip III of Spain and II of Portugal, Philip IV of Spain and III of Portugal) ruled what has later been called the Iberian Union, a personal union of different kingdoms, including Portugal (with its colonies), Castile (with its colonies), and Aragon. In 1640, the duke of Bragança gathered those restless in Portugal with the support of Cardinal Richelieu of France. His rebellion succeeded and he became the John IV of Portugal. The North African city of Ceuta decided to leave the crown of Portugal and remain under the Spanish king.[citation needed]
In 1801, the Portuguese city of Olivença was occupied by Spain and passed to Spanish sovereignty as Olivenza. Portugal has never made a formal claim to the territory after the Treaty of Vienna decided that Spain should terminate its occupation of the city, which Spain ignored nor has it acknowledged the Spanish sovereignty over Olivenza. There is no common definition of the border in the area.
It was José Marchena who, in the 18th century, gave this doctrine a progressive, federal and republican tone in l'Avis aux espagnols.[citation needed] In the Liberal Triennium (1820–1823), the secret liberal organizations tried to spread Iberism in Portugal, to create seven confederated republics, five in Spain and Lusitania Ulterior and Lusitania Citerior in Portugal.
In the point of view of the 19th century conservative restorations in Spain and Portugal, the "iberisms" played the role of agents of social change with republican and revolutionary stances, thus threatening the stability of the peninsular nations.[1]
The nationalistic dictatorships of Portugal and Francoist Spain shared many political similarities and some degree of mutual support but both countries were said to live "back to back".[citation needed]
Currently no party represented in either country's parliament has the goal of Iberism but both countries joined the European Economic Community in 1986 and their borders and those of all other countries signing the Schengen accord have been opened since then. The Spanish party Izquierda Republicana has defended 'Iberian Federalism' as political structure for the state.[2]
Large companies have opened shop in the neighbouring country,[citation needed] and the Portuguese state closed the birth center of the border municipality of Elvas, sending patients to the Extremadura health system.[3][4] Some groups defend Iberism,[citation needed] including some Spanish and Portuguese officers.[5] One 2006 survey by an Angolan weekly newspaper Sol[6] showed only 28% of the Portuguese think that Portugal and Spain should be one country.
42% of these would put the capital in Madrid and about the same, 41%, in Lisbon.
Support
A 2009 poll found 30.3% of Spanish respondents would support a federation and 39.9% of Portuguese respondents would support one.[7] The figures rose to 31 and 45 percent, respectively, in 2010.[7]
A poll conducted by the Spanish University of Salamanca in 2011 found that 39.8% of Spanish respondents and 46.1% of Portuguese respondents supported the creation of the federation between the two countries. 1741 people took part in the poll.[7]
Mas i Sans proposed that the federal or confederate capital city of Iberia be established at Santarém, Ribatejo, Portugal, but the capital city of the Diocesis Hispaniarum, created by the Roman Emperor Diocletianus in 287 was Emerita Augusta (modern Mérida), in Spanish Extremadura.
Federación Anarquista Ibérica – federation with the purpose of unifying Spanish and Portuguese anarchists in a pan-Iberian organization
Reintegrationism – the unification or approximation of Portuguese and Galician which would separate from Castilian influence
The Stone Raft – a book by Portuguese author José Saramago in which the Iberian Peninsula splits off the European continent and floats in the Atlantic Ocean
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