Extremadura
[key], autonomous community, 16,075 sq mi (41,634 sq km), W central Spain,
on the border with Portugal. It was established as an autonomous community
in 1983 by the statute of autonomy. A tableland crossed by mountains and by
the Tagus (Tajo) and Guadiana rivers, it comprises the provinces of Badajoz
and Cáceres. Much of it is poverty-ridden, with poor communications,
absentee landlordism, and steady emigration. Wine, olive oil, and cereals
are produced through dry farming. Elsewhere, the more rugged terrain serves
as winter grazing land for sheep from Castile and León; hogs are also
raised in large numbers. Reconquered from the Moors in the 12th and 13th
cent., the region was frequently a battlefield in the Spanish wars with
Portugal and again in the Peninsular War. Most of Extremadura fell to the
Nationalists early in the Spanish civil war. The conquistadors Pizarro and
Cortés were born there.
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