Spain is a nation with an eventful past. Its story is one of cross-cultural encounter, adaptation, and integration.
Spain takes its name from a Phoenician term meaning the land of the hyrax (i-shep-an-he). After being colonized by Greeks, Carthaginians, and Romans respectively, different groups intermixed culturally creating its distinct identity.
History
Spain has a rich and long-running history spanning 1.2 million years, from when its first inhabitants settled the peninsula to its dismantlement in the nineteenth century. This course explores this rich tapestry through times when Spain reigned supreme as an empire and transformed Europe, Africa, and America, to political unrest when reform movements threatened status quo rule.
In the 18th century, Spain lost most of its European holdings due to the War of Spanish Succession. Following that war, however, its European holdings were gradually restored under Bourbon rule; government and military were modernised while political divisions persisted due to an insurgency by Carlist supporters from a rival branch of royal family (the Carlist insurgency was suppressed); then came political upheavals and failed liberal conspiracies during the 19th century before emerging as one of the world’s powerful economies during World War II; although its government isolated itself from much of Western influence thanks to General Franco’s dictatorship (although most Westerners welcomed him).
Culture
The Iberian Peninsula has long been an intersection of cultures, with Greek and Phoenician colonization coexisting alongside Roman rule, leaving their mark on both its language and culture; together these cultures comprised what would come to be known as Hispania.
In the 19th century, new cultural institutions modeled after classical Athens and emphasizing humanist values and freethinking flourished. Women’s salons became more common, leading to the emergence of important female writers such as Maria de Zayas y Sotomayor and Beatriz Cienfuegos.
Azorin’s generational label may have been controversial, yet it proved useful as an accurate way of characterizing an emerging group of authors who moved away from exploring universal middle class values characteristic of Nineteenth Century Realism to instead address national concerns – many reflecting deep displeasure with Spanish social injustice and political mismanagement.
Language
Modern Spanish is characterized by extensive borrowings. Gone is Latin’s case system; nouns are marked for masculine or feminine use; there are perfect and progressive tenses as well as conditional, indicative, subjunctive and imperative moods; plus there’s verb system features present, preterite past future imperfect tense forms for each verb system.
Spanish’ history is intimately tied to its interactions with other cultures, particularly its colonization of Americas. Spanish has adopted words from indigenous languages like Nahuatl and Quechua as it gained influence.
Antonio Nebrija’s “Gramatica de la Lengua Castellana,” was published by Ferdinand and Isabel as their official language, marking a key date in Spanish’s long journey toward becoming one of the world’s most widely spoken.
Religion
Muslims ruled Spain for eight centuries, leaving an indelible mark on culture and society. Unfortunately, not all Muslim rulers were accommodating – some looted churches while imposing strict restrictions on non-Muslims; conversos and marranos (converted Jews who maintained their Jewish religion while remaining Muslim) found themselves disliked by aristocratic classes descended from them.
However, Spain during Muslim rule was an age of great learning with libraries and colleges thriving, poetry blooming, architecture taking form in new ways, poetry emerging as art forms – it was an age that has long been romanticized due to conquest, conversion, cultural exchange and transformation – but we should question whether romanticizing this era makes more sense than keeping its historical truth in mind. This episode explores this intricate web of cultural change via conquest, conversion and cultural change while questioning whether its romanticization leads us down a romantic path of tolerance today.
Economy
Spain was known to enjoy high living standards and relatively low unemployment prior to 2008’s financial turmoil; however, during that year its bubble burst due to government debt being suddenly raised sharply.
Spain’s economic situation has since worsened significantly, falling below that of France, Germany and Italy in terms of per capita income. Although consumer confidence and private consumption are increasing slowly but steadily; Spain was steadily making progress up until 2007 when the Great Recession hit and its influence began being felt politically; now more than ever its economy is an integral component of its political landscape – this book chronicles all major events and trends which have had an effect over time on this nation.