Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for Geography for Baccalaureate

Atlantic Agricultural Landscape

The climate is rainy oceanic with mild temperatures, which favors the presence of grasslands and deciduous forests.

Agriculture occupies a small area, now largely shifted from polyculture oriented towards consumption, although this traditional system remains in some interior areas of Galicia. Monoculture occupies more surface area, primarily with corn for fodder.

In Cantabria and Asturias, the focus is on livestock rearing, particularly dairy cattle. In Galicia, production is primarily intended for beef cattle.

The structure is smallholder farming, especially in Galicia, where farmers have small, scattered plots. For this reason, plot concentration is common. Farms are small in both area and number of cattle heads....

Agricultural Activities in Spain Today

Current Importance of Agriculture

The rural world is increasingly diverse and complex. Tradition and modernity coexist and rural areas have been modernized, with differences according to each area's adaptability to change over the last half century.

New Uses of Rural Space

Causes:

• New positive perception of the rural due to the growth of "urban malaise," which reassesses the countryside as a synonym for high quality and tranquillity, and a trend to decentralize residence.

Consequences:

• Positive: More balanced distribution of population and economic activity, breaking the traditional contrast between rural and urban, and recovery of rural economies.
• Negative: Loss of identity in agricultural areas, environmental

Regional Agrarian Systems of the Iberian Peninsula

Northern Iberian Peninsula Agrarian Systems

Location: Northern and Northwestern Iberian Peninsula.

Physical Environment

• Rugged terrain and walking surfaces.
• Oceanic climate with high and regular rainfall.

Agrarian Structure

Population

• Aged and numerous population.
• Settlement is scattered, consisting of villages and towns.

Farms

• Dominated by smallholders (campesinos).
• Farms consist of small, scattered parcels, often enclosed.

Land Use and Agriculture

Agriculture occupies the available land, especially along the coast and in valleys.

Historical Practices

• In the past, polyculture was practiced, driven by the need for self-sufficiency.

Current Trends

• Tendency towards specialized agriculture, particularly in horticulture

Roman Architecture

The city was a key element of Roman civilization; the process of Romanization was essentially a process of urbanization. Roman towns exhibited a clear, uniform layout, mirroring the organization of military camps. They were laid out in a grid pattern within a defensive perimeter.

Urban Planning and City Layout

• Two main streets, the cardo (north-south) and the decumanus (east-west), formed the primary axes.
• At the ends of these streets were the city gates.
• At their confluence lay the forum, the central hub for political, economic, and religious life.
• Temples, public buildings, and memorials were erected at or around the forum.

The city of Rome itself presented a much more complex layout due to its organic growth, rather than pre-...

Factory (Fabrica)

Fabrica refers to unit production methods typical of the Industrial Revolution as opposed to the workshop and the manufacture. It is characterized by concentration and mechanization to produce goods.

Openfield

Openfield literally refers to open-field plots from different farms that are not separated by hedges.

Commonfield

Commonfield is the name given in England to communal land.

Fallow

Fallow is a culture method based on the rest of the soil during one or more years to recover the substances consumed by the previous crop and increase its fertility.

Great Britain

Great Britain is the kingdom founded by the union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland. After Irish independence in 1922, the official name is the "United Kingdom of Great...

The European Union: Goals and Achievements

The primary objectives of the European Union (EU) are to ensure peace, prosperity, and freedom for its 498 million citizens in a fairer and more secure Union. Key achievements and results include:

• The ability to travel and trade without the hindrance of borders (the Single Market).
• A single European currency, the Euro.
• Increased food security and a cleaner environment.
• Better living conditions in the poorest regions.
• The Union combating crime and terrorism.
• Cheaper phone calls (roaming regulations).
• Millions of opportunities to study abroad.

Key Institutions of the European Union

To make these objectives possible, EU countries have established institutions that lead and adopt legislation. The principal institutions...

The French Revolution

Causes of the Revolution

In 18th-century France, significant social sectors desired change. The bourgeoisie, though economically prosperous, faced obstacles to progress due to regulations on free trade and production. Inspired by Enlightenment ideas, they sought political reform, advocating for an end to state intervention, aristocratic privilege, and absolute monarchy. A powerful aristocracy clung to old feudal models, concerned with privileges that harmed those with fixed incomes. A severe economic crisis further complicated the situation. The living conditions of peasants worsened due to increased feudal burdens. Simultaneously, an industrial crisis in 1786, partly caused by the French market opening to English competition,...

The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution began in England around the 1780s and subsequently spread to Europe and the USA. It consisted of substituting the workforce of people and animals for machines, and replacing craft workshops with factories.

Economic Impact

The primary sector saw a rise in yields and productivity. For example, in 1650, one farm worker fed 1.5 persons, but by 1880, one worker could feed 2.5 persons.

Causes of the Revolution

• Introduction of new machines
• Improved tillage
• Quadrennial crop rotation
• Use of fertilizer to increase production, leading to more animals and more fertilizer (manure), thus improving production
• A new ownership structure of the land: the desire to privatize communal lands brought benefits by allowing

The 19th Century: Liberalism and the Old Regime

The period from 1833 to 1875 marks the introduction of liberalism (often termed the Bourgeois Revolution) and the liquidation of the Ancien Régime (Old Regime) in Spain.

Economic Development and Agriculture

The evolution of economic sectors during the 19th century highlights the dominance of agriculture:

• 1797: Primary Sector (Agriculture) - 65% / Secondary Sector (Industry) - 13% / Tertiary Sector (Services) - 22%
• 1860: Primary Sector - 63% / Secondary Sector - 17% / Tertiary Sector - 19%
• 1900: Primary Sector - 65% / Secondary Sector - 17% / Tertiary Sector - 18%

Agriculture remained the predominant sector, employing the largest number of people. Growth in the industrial sector was limited. During the...

The Urban Ensanche: Expansion and Development

Between the mid-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, industry attracted the rural population to industrial cities, causing their expansion beyond the city walls. Intermediate and small towns grew less and generally remained within their original boundaries. The areas that expanded created distinct zones:

• Widenings (Ensanches) for the bourgeois and industrial areas.
• Working-class neighborhoods and suburbs.

The Bourgeois Widening (Ensanche)

To create these areas, city walls were demolished, and the sites were used to build walks or boulevards to differentiate these new areas (often called the "new town") from the old city center (the helmet). This widening reflected bourgeois ideals: order, hygiene,