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The islands of the Azores and Madeira are volcanic in origin, and in the Azores, one to nine volcanoes are possibly active.

The great majority of the Portuguese population belongs to the Roman Catholic Church. Religious observance remains very strong in northern areas, with the population of Lisbon and southern areas generally less devout.

From the 16th century, Portugal gradually saw its wealth decreasing. Even if Portugal was officially an autonomous state, the country was a Spanish puppet and Portuguese colonies were attacked by Spain's opponents, especially the Dutch and English.

Since the 2nd millenium BC, there was important construction in the area that would be Portugal. Before the arrival of the Romans, Citânia de Briteiros in Guimarães is a good example of native architecture, influenced by the Celts. The houses were round, built with granite without bonds. They were built in settlements (castros) in the mountains, and were surrounded by protecting walls.

Prime Minister José Sócrates was sworn in by President Jorge Sampaio on March 12. To many's suprise, Sócrates formed a cabinet made up of roughly half senior members of the Socialist Party and half independents, among whom are Diogo Freitas do Amaral, founder of the rightist Partido Popular and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Portugal is characterized by city, town or village cultural differentiation and there is virtually no regional affiliation, unlike other European countries. Portuguese is spoken throughout the country, with only the villages of Miranda de Douro's Leonese dialect recognised as a locally co-official language. It is known as Mirandese. The closely related Asturian dialect in Spain is another Leonese dialect but not officially recognized by Spain.

The President of the Republic, elected to a 5-year term by universal suffrage is also commander in chief of the armed forces.

Portugal is a small coastal nation in southwestern Europe. Its mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula, located 38°41° north of the equator and 8°5° west of the Prime Meridian.