The History of Spain PDF

The History of Spain The Primitive Era ❖​ Spain today is a result of the diverse groups that invaded and brought their own languages, customs, and characteristics. ❖​ Iberians were the first group there was information about, though little is known about their history....

The History of Spain The Primitive Era ❖​ Spain today is a result of the diverse groups that invaded and brought their own languages, customs, and characteristics. ❖​ Iberians were the first group there was information about, though little is known about their history. ​ They are of Mediterranean origin and they extended throughout the entire southeast region of Spain. ❖​ The Celts, of central European origin, entered the peninsula through the north around the year 1000 BC. The Iberians were short and dark-skinned men. The Celts were blonde and tall. They formed the Celt-Iberian race. ❖​ Meanwhile the Phoenicians, great navigators and merchants from the north of Africa, established colonies in the south of the peninsula. ​ They were a population with an advanced culture. ​ They introduced Spain to writing, the use of currency, and the art of working with metal. ​ Founded many commercial centers, like Cádiz y Málaga ❖​ In the 7th century BC, the Greeks, another population of merchants, established colonies on the east coast and introduced the cultivation of grapes and olives. ❖​ Carthaginians entered the peninsula in the 6th century BC in order to help the Phoenicians in their wars against the Celtiberians. Soon, however, the Carthaginians employed their armies against the Phoenicians, conquered them, and took control of a great part of the Peninsula. Later, they met their match with the Mediterranean Romans. ❖​ The Celt-Iberians fought against the Carthaginians like they fought the Romans. Jealous of their independence, they preferred to die before surrendering. ​ An example of this heroism occurred in Sagunto (219 BC) which lasted nine months. ​ When the Carthaginians, under the leadership of Hannibal, their famous general, finally entered the city, he found nothing but death and ruins ❖​ The Roman legions finally defeated the Carthaginians in the year 202 BC in what is called the Guerras Púnicas. Then Rome dedicated itself to the conquering of the peninsula and its inhabitants. However, they offered resistance. ​ The site of Numancia (133 BC) which lasted more than 15 months, was another example of Spanish heroism ❖​ The Romans remained in Spain for 6 centuries, and this era was one of the most significant in forming Spanish culture. ​ The Romans gave the base of the actual language, the system of laws, the social and economic structure, public works of art, grand carts, bridges, and aqueducts.  ​ They founded cities, built schools, and built theaters and amphitheaters. Christianity, built within the confines of the Roman Empire, took over Spanish society. ❖​ Toward the fifth century CE, the Roman empire was already in decline. The Visigoths, one of the Germanic tribes of the North, invaded Spain, defeated the Roman Empire, and established their government in Toledo. ❖​ However, throughout the Visigoth domination, which lasted four centuries, Roman influence continued on the Peninsula ❖​ The Visigoths adopted the Hispanic-roman language, their laws, and their customs. Catholicism triumphed in Spain, and the church became an enormous power alongside federal laws. LOS MOROS Y LA RECONQUISTA ❖​ The Muslims (the Moores, Arabic, (Berbers) and beréberes) began to enter through the South in the year 711. ​ In the battle of Guadalete they conquered the soldiers of the king Rodrigo, the last Visigoth king. ​ The Moores were able to dominate all of the peninsula, with the exception of some regions in the north. ❖​ In the year 780, Pelayo, with a small Visigoth army, conquered the Moores in Covadonga (Asturias). So began what was called the Reconquista, a constant fight between Moores and Christians that lasted almost eight centuries in 1492. ❖​ Thanks in part to Arabic influence, Spain became the most advanced and most cultured country in all of Europe. ​ The Moores brought their architecture, art, and irrigation, which are still used today. From everywhere, students arrived in Cordoba, (the capital of the Moores), to study math, science, and medicine. ​ The Christian king Leon, Alfonso X, named el Sabio, reunited in his court of wise men (sabios), among which there were Arabs, Christians, and Jews. There they studied and taught, and we owe them much of what we know today about medieval Spain ❖​ During the three first centuries under Moore's dominance, they lived mostly in peace. But later on, other invaders arrived from the north of Africa, and the Christian kings began to unite in order to reclaim their land. ​ El Cid Campeador, Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, lived in the 11th century and was distinguished in the places among Moores and Christians. He was feared by the Moores, who gave him the title El Cid, which meant “señor” in Arabic. ​ In 1094, he conquered the Moores in the city of Valencia and governed it until his death in 1099. An epic poem about his feats, El Poema del Cid, is one of the masterpieces of Spanish literature.  ❖​ La Reconquista was not quick because the inhabitants of the peninsula were not united and they thought in regional terms, not as a nation. ​ In 1469, Isabel, princess of Castilla, married Fernando, prince of Aragón. Later, when she became queen of Castilla and he the king of Aragon, two of the most powerful rulers, Christian Spain became united for the first time. The grand Arabic empire only remained in Granada, governed by Boabdil., the last Moore king. Fernando and Isabel, named Los Reyes Católicos, conquered Granada in 1492, ending La Reconquista. ❖​ Los Reyes Católicos then tried to reunite the other independent regions under the crown. ​ They created la Santa Hermandad, an institution tasked to protect the rural population, reorganize la Inquisiciøn, and have missions to maintain a united religion. In 1492 they expelled all of the Jews from Spain ****************************************************************************** The History of Spain ❖​ Because of Its location, Spain is a product of the cultures of two cultures from Central Europe and North Africa ❖​ In prehistoric Spain, the lives of prehistoric men are depicted in the caves of Altamira located in Santander. ❖​ In the Iron Age, when the Iberians appeared in Spain, they were joined by the Tartessians (of Mediterranean descent), whose influence was felt along the southern coast of the country while the Iberains extended themselves along the eastern coast of Spain, from Levante to Mediodía, and eventually captured part of Southern France ❖​ It is unknown exactly when the Basques came to the Iberian peninsula, and so is their origin. However, they may have arrived at the same time as the Iberians, and it is believed that the Basque language is an overgrowth of the Iberian. ​ Many scholars believe the Basques are descendants of Pyrenean shepherds. Finding similarities between their language and that of the Iberainas as a result of their contact with each other. ❖​ The Tartessions occupied a large portion of Southern Spain. They appeared in regions also known to the Phoenicians, their civilization extending over two centuries: 750-500 BC. ❖​ Another group of inhabitants in the Iberian Peninsula was the Celts (Central European origin). They invaded Spain in the 8th century BC through the Pyrenees mountains. The Celts established themselves in the Castillian Meseta where they and the Iberians formed the Celt-Iberian race. ❖​ The Phoenicians came to Spain for commercial reasons. They founded the city Gadir (Cádiz) which became the focus of their Mediterranean empire.  ❖​ The Greeks were attracted to Spain because of the country’s vast metal deposits. They were considered fabulous in the 7th century BC. In about 600 BC, they founded the colony of Massalia (Marseilles) in the south of France which because of its excellent geographic position, became the focal point fo Greek commerce in the Mediterranean. ​ Greek colonization intensified and after the battle of Alalia (535 BC), they cut off the routes of the Tartessians and founded the colonies of Emporion (Ampurias), Akra, Lueke, (Alicante), and Alonis (Benidorm). ❖​ Carthage was one of the colonies established by the Phoenicians in northern Africa (814 BC). ​ The Carthaginians installed themselves in the southern and southeast regions of Spain, restricting the Greeks to the coastal areas north of Alicants. ​ When Rome later gained control of Italy and tried to dominate the Mediterranean, the Carthaginians reacted in all-out war (Punic or Carthaginian War 264-241 BC). ❖​ The Carthaginian general, Hannibal, attacked Sagunto (East coast) killing all its inhabitants. From Sagunto, he organized an army composed mostly of Iberians and continued on their route across the Alps, defeating the Romans on the banks of Trebia (213 BC) and at Cannae (216 BC). But with their devastating defeat at Zama, Carthaginian domination of the Mediterranean ended. ❖​ While Hannibal entered Italy, Roman armies began penetrating Spain. Because of atrocities committed in that city by a Carthaginian general, the city of Gadir (Cádiz) supported their invasion. ❖​ At first, Rome was only interested in gaining the natural resources in Spain by enslaving its inhabitants. This caused the Lusitanians (Portuguese and Spanish Celt-Iberians) to revolt. ❖​ Viriato, an old shepherd, led the Lusitanians and directed their attacks against the Romans for eight years (147-139 BC), defeating several Roman generals. ❖​ Vertelio’s defeat at Tribola (Sierra de Ronda) caused Serviliano, the Roman consul, to sign a treaty with Viriato, but peace ended when the consul, Quinto Servilio Cepión, bribed a group of Lusitanians to kill Viriato in his sleep. ❖​ Tautalos, Viriato’s successor, was then forced to give in to the Roman’s demands. ❖​ During the same period, the Romans defeated the Celt-Iberian city of Numancia, whose citizens withstood Roman assault for several years before it capitulated in 122 BC. Romanization: ❖​ Roman domination was almost complete by then, with only the north free from its control, so emperor Augustus (26 BC) attacked on three fronts: Asturias (northern Spain), Galicia (northwestern Spain), and Cantabria (extreme northern Spain near the border with France). All of Spain was pacified under the Romans, who were successful in their campaigns.  ❖​ Romanized, Spain contributed greatly to the empire. Spanish emperors of the Roman Empire included Adranio, Trajano, and Teodosio. Spain also contributed great philosophers like Seneca and Lucio Junio Moderato and the poet Marco Valiero Murcial. The Roman presence is still seen in Spain today in constructions like the Aqueduet in Segovia, the Amphitheater of Mérida, and the many bridges throughout the country. Christianity Reaches Spain ❖​ Christianity’s arrival in Spain during the first century AD is generally identified with Saint James, the missionary. Christianity was received throughout Spain and gained momentum until in 313 AD, Constantine’s Edict of Milan banned all forms of persecution against Christians, and the religion became secure in Spain. ❖​ Driven from Italy in the Great Invasion of 406, the Barbarian tribes from the north, Suevos, Vandalos, and Alanos moved against Galicia in the year 409 ❖​ Unlike those tribes, the Visigoths entered Spain under political direction (Ataulfo, 410-415). They occupied French Catalonia, then conquered the Vandalos, taking over Spanish Catalonia with Barcelona and all the Tarraconense Provinicia, and finally conquered all of northern Spain. ❖​ Eventually, the entire peninsula was under the Roman Empire (584-585) under the rule of King Leovigildo. Spain's unification was not achieved again until the reign of the Catholic kings, Fernando and Isabel, at the end of the 15th century. Arab Domination: ❖​ The continual rivalry and tribal conflicts that characterized Visigoth domination allowed for the better-organized Arab armies to overtake the Peninsula. Their rapid conquest of Spanish territory (a few months in 711) is evidence of the disorder that plagued visigoth Spain. ❖​ The Arabs dominated most of the peninsula at the end of that year, and Spain became under the rule of the Caliphs of Damascus. In 716, Al-Hurr led his Arab forces into France in an attempt to conquer more territory, but resistance made this impossible. ❖​ In 929, the Muslim Abderrahman III separated Spain from the domination of Damascus. He then declared it the Caliphate of Cordova. By this time, Christians had been granted freedom to worship according to their own doctrine, as had the Jews who worked together with the Arabs to make advances in medicine and botany. It was then that ancient Greek philosophy and culture were introduced to Western Europe, and Cordova became the most enlightened city in that part of the world. ❖​ In spite of the wealth of culture that radiated from Cordova, dissent in the north of Spain grew. A group of Christians united to bring the reconquest or Reconquista, as it is called, of the Peninsula. In addition to containing the Christians, the Caliph of Cordova was kept busy withstanding continual attacks from Damascus, which was anxious to regain control of the Spanish territory. Reconquista  ❖​ The Reconquista began in Asturias in Northern Spain. When the Arabs were defeated by the Christians in the Battle of Covadonga in 718, Don Pelayo, who was responsible for the victory, was named King of Asturias. The Reconquista was to last for eight long centuries. ❖​ During this time, Muslim Spain was going through a period of internal disputes which resulted in the formation of separate kingdoms, taifas, the most important of which were in Sevilla, Granada, Málaga, Badajoz, and Almería. The lack of unity stimulated invasions from the Muslim Almohades of Northern Africa. They were finally checked by King Alfonso VIII and other Christian Kings of Spain in the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212. ❖​ Two hundred years after the Battle of Cavadonga, the Asturian monarchy felt strong and secure enough to move the court to León under the reign of Don Garcia (910-914). This move signified the southward expansion of Christianity in Spain, with León the undisputed capital of the monarchy. ❖​ The condados (countries) of Castilla had never been on good terms with León. They united against the monarchy in Leøn and declared Castilla independent in 951. Since Castilla was far from being strong, it was decided that Castilian nobles would marry nobles from Navarra to strengthen their claim to independence. Union of Castilla and León ❖​ During Fernando I's reign (1035), disputes with León resulted in a war between Fernando and Bermudo III of León. When Bermudo died in the battle of Támara (Province of Palencia), his kingdom passed to Fernando, thus uniting Castilla and León. Fernando III (1217-1253), ruler of the new Castilla and León, led his troops to victory in important battles against the Arabs. During his brilliant reign, Córdoba was captured (1236): and Fernando, in his desire to preserve the culture that had developed in that city, had many of the recovered documents sent to the University of Salamanca, which was founded by his father. ❖​ Although León, Castilla, and Navarra had united, smaller kingdoms like Aragón and Cataluña still remained in Spain. These kingdoms were united by royal marriages, and this unification opened Cataluña markets and also gave the Christians a stronger foothold against Islam. ❖​ After Jaime I, the Conquerer (1216-1276), conquered the Balearic Islands (1235), he sought the conquest of Valencia, the chief stronghold of the Arabs. The siege of Valencia lasted six years and was finally won when a squadron of Turkish ships sent to defend the city was destroyed byAragonese vessels in 1238. ******************************************************************************