Galicians

Gallegos, a people making up most of the population of Galicia. There are approximately 2.6 million Galicians in Spain (1970, estimate). They speak Galician, or Gallego, a language related to Portuguese. Their religion is Roman Catholicism. The ancestors of the Galicians—celticized Gallaici tribes—were strongly influenced by the Romans (first century A.D.) and the Suevi (fifth and sixth centuries). The chief occupations of the Galicians are farming, cattle raising, and on the Atlantic coast, fishing. A shortage of land and national oppression have resulted in systematic emigration since the 18th century (more than half a million Galicians now reside in the countries of the Americas).