Contemporary geography activity in Spain can be dated from the foundation of the Madrid Geographical Society in 1876. At the start of the 1960s Spanish geography was still clearly dominated by French influence, transmitted by those trained immediately after the Second World War. In particular, the Anglo-Saxon countries replaced France as the major source of new ideas. To some extent, contemporary developments in Portuguese geography are, not surprisingly, somewhat similar to those in neighbouring Spain. Developments in Portuguese geography at Lisbon and at Coimbra are illustrated by the 16th International Geographical Congress held at Lisbon in 1949. Orlando Ribeiro was the general secretary to the Congress, and A. Fernandes Martins and Mariano Feio played major roles in the activities and publications. A fairly large group of Brazilian geographers was established in the 1950s, under the influence of French teachers plus the German Leo Waibel.