Are Spanish and Portuguese ethnically the same? No, they are of two different ethnic groups. However, they are very closely related to one another in geography, language, and history.
Nuclear DNA analysis shows that Spanish and Portuguese populations are most closely related to other populations of western Europe. There is an axis of significant genetic differentiation along the east–west direction, in contrast to remarkable genetic similarity in the north–south direction.
The Portuguese are a Southwestern European population, with origins predominantly from Southern and Western Europe. The earliest modern humans inhabiting Portugal are believed to have been Paleolithic peoples that may have arrived in the Iberian Peninsula as early as 35,000 to 40,000 years ago.
What do you mean by look “Spanish”? Portuguese and spaniards have a considerably range in looking. But with a somewhat predominance of southern european western mediterranean looks (so called atlanto-med), but also other quite diverse types of looks and phenotypes.
Iberian siblings
The Iberian Peninsula is where Portuguese and Spanish were 'born' (if languages can be born) and it is also the main reason why Portuguese and Spanish are much closer to each other than to the other major Romance languages: it has allowed them to develop in relative isolation.
In all aspects—phonology, morphology, lexicon and syntax—Portuguese is essentially the result of an organic evolution of Vulgar Latin with some influences from other languages, namely the native Gallaecian and Lusitanian languages spoken prior to the Roman domination.
People with ancestries in Brazil, Portugal and the Philippines do not fit the federal government's official definition of “Hispanic” because the countries are not Spanish-speaking.
Portuguese people have typical Mediterranean features such as olive skin, brown eyes, and brown hair. Unfortunately, they have been struggling with obesity issues in the past decade, which their government has been trying to address.
age of European monarchy
Neighbouring Portugal acquired independence in 1668 after revolt and war protracted by the stubborn determination of Philip IV to maintain his patrimony. This small country had suffered since 1580 from its Spanish connection. Resentment at the loss of part of Brazil and most of…
Portuguese and Spanish have a lexical similarity of almost 90%. This means that both languages have words that are found in equivalent forms. The 2 languages have a high proportion of cognates, which are words that have the same roots and correspond to each other. Much of the vocabulary is shared.
94 % of the population is Portuguese. Brazilians, Black, mixed race and other Europeans each represents about 1.2 % of the total population.
Portuguese people are welcoming, easy-going and friendly
While first impressions in some cases may tell you otherwise, the majority of Portuguese people will make you feel right at home and will happily go out of their way to help, making them great hosts.
Did you know that the Northern part of Portugal, from the Rio Douro, has genetic and cultural ties with Celtic nations like Ireland, Galicia, Asturias, and even the Basque Country. So, yes, the Portuguese are Celts, in a certain sense.
Historical origins and genetics
The Spanish people's genetic pool largely derives from the pre-Roman inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula: Pre-Indo-European and Indo-European speaking pre-Celtic groups: (Iberians, Vettones, Turdetani, Aquitani).
The Lusitanians, who inhabited the interior region of Portugal since the Iron Age, are considered the forefathers of the Portuguese nation.
Portuguese people are of white European descent. Their ancestors were mostly from Portugal, but there is a significant minority with ancestry from other parts of Europe, including Germany, Italy, and Spain. There is also a small number of people with African or Brazilian ancestry.
The Spanish language, a sort of older sibling to Portuguese, developed from Latin first. Portuguese then evolved from the Galician-Portuguese dialect of Spanish in the 1100's and became a separate tongue.
By the fifteenth century a stable monarchy provided the impetus for early Portuguese expansion. In Spain, the marriage of Isabel and Fernando in 1479 marked the first steps towards forging modern Spain. From those events, the modern states of Spain and Portugal emerged. Portugal became the earliest European state.
When King Philip II of Spain (Philip I of Portugal) seized the Portuguese crown in 1580 there began a 60-year union between Spain and Portugal known to subsequent historiography as the Iberian Union.
Most Portuguese have typical Mediterranean features like brown eyes, brown hair, and a height of less than 6 feet.
Silva/da Silva
Silva is the most popular surname in Portugal, and da Silva takes the lead in Brazil.
The roots of the Portuguese language are based in Galicia, a region in the northwest of Spain. And, just like Spanish, it is the result of an organic evolution of Latin – brought by the soldiers of the Roman empire – with some influences from other languages spoken prior to the Roman domination.
According to these definitions, a person from Brazil (where Portuguese is spoken) would be considered Latino (and not Hispanic) and a person from Spain would be considered Hispanic (but not Latino).
With regard to Portuguese culture more broadly: Lusitano/a, or Luso/a for short, defines anyone of Portuguese descent or origin, while lusitano/a is the corresponding cultural adjective; these are equivalent to English Lusitanic.
Iberian, Spanish Ibero, one of a prehistoric people of southern and eastern Spain who later gave their name to the whole peninsula.