ESPAÑA: A BRIEF HISTORY CULTURES CLASS

REMEMBER THE GEOGRAPHY? Note the geographic boundaries: East-- Mediterranean Sea West--Portugal South--Africa (Strait of Gibraltar) Northeast-- France

Spain is made up of 17 autonomous communities Three of them have their own languages: The Basque Country: Basque Galicia: Galician Catalonia: Catalan

IMPORTANT DATES IN SPANISH HISTORY 206 B.C. – The Romans invade Spain; their language, Latin, became the dominant language. The Spanish language developed from Latin. 711 A.D. – The Moors (peoples of North Africa) invade Spain. Catholic Spain fights back against the Islamic Moors, who speak Arabic, but the Moors won and all religions coexisted peacefully for over 700 years. Spanish words that begin with “al”—like “álgebra”—come from the Arabic language.

IMPORTANT DATES IN SPANISH HISTORY 1492 – Not only did Isabel and Fernando sponsor Columbus but also succeeded in expelling the last of the Moors from Spain. The Alhambra, a Moorish palace in a city called Granada, was the last stronghold. You’ll notice that Granada (which means “pomegranate”) is in the south, close to Africa, so it makes sense that the Moors could hold onto it longer than other cities.

Pictures of the Moorish palace: La Alhambra

IMPORTANT DATES IN SPANISH HISTORY 1492 – We’re still not done with that date. Isabel and Fernando succeeded in expelling not only the Moors that year but also the Jews. The Moors and the Jews made up most of the middle class, so what the king and queen actually did was throw out all their workers thereby ruining the country’s economy.

IMPORTANT DATES IN SPANISH HISTORY In 1931, the popular vote made it obvious that people wanted a republic, not a monarchy, and King Alfonso XIII abdicated the throne. There were so many political factions violently opposed to each other that civil war seemed inevitable. 1936-1939 – These are the dates of the (most recent) Spanish civil war. War broke out in 1936, and Francisco Franco gained control of the government and became dictator.

IMPORTANT DATES IN SPANISH HISTORY Franco ruled Spain with an iron fist. Catholicism was the state religion. The Catalan and Basque languages were suppressed. Franco was totally opposed to a republican form of government. However, he wasn’t opposed to a monarchy, so he had Juan Carlos, grandson of Alfonso XIII, ready to take over ruling Spain if he died.

IMPORTANT DATES IN SPANISH HISTORY 1975 -- Franco died. Juan Carlos became king and immediately established a republic. A president was elected, and the real power resides with that office.

1975 - TODAY After Franco’s death, Spain became a Constitutional Monarch with a Social- Democratic and Federalist political party. citizens vote for Prime Ministers (“presidents”) Free health care Free schooling (including college) Life for Spaniards normalized after the dictatorship Problems exist, but overall Spaniards are very happy