Estremadura Province (Portuguese pronunciation: ɨ)ʃtɾɨmɐˈðuɾɐ is one of the six historical

provinces of Portugal The term "provinces" ( pt, províncias) has been used throughout history to identify regions of continental Portugal. Current legal subdivisions of Portugal do not coincide with the provinces, but several provinces, in their 19th- and 20th-cen ...

. It is located along the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

coast in the center of the country and includes

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, the capital. The name of this province (and also the Spanish

Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...

) originates from the Spanish and Portuguese struggle with the Moors, and the Christian military victories over the Moors (moros) during the 12th century. These provinces were called Extrema Durii, which means "farthest from the

Douro River The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...

." During the 19th century, Estremadura was the only province in the kingdom that did not border Spain. The provinces Beira and Alentejo bordered on the north, east, and south. Its western border was with the Atlantic Ocean, and it was wide at its widest point. In 1835, Portugal divided into districts, which were subdivided into counties and parishes. Estremadura Province included Districts of

, Santarém, Leiria and part of

Setúbal Setúbal (, , ; cel-x-proto, Caetobrix) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies within the Lisbon metropolitan area. In the ti ...

with Lisboa as its capital. Maps from this time show six provinces, of which Estremadura was one, but this was not official with the government. On 22 February 1933, Portugal divided into eleven provinces. Today, continental Portugal is divided into 18 administrative districts, each with a district capital. However, the historic provinces (1933-1959) continue to be used in everyday life despite the new district system.

References

Former provinces of Portugal Regions of Portugal {{Portugal-geo-stub

See also

References