Understanding Spain's Culture And History

A surefire way to make a visit to a foreign country more enjoyable is to understand a bit about the country's history, heritage, culture and politics.

The history of Spain has been molded by many influences. The Iberian Peninsula, which encompasses Spain and Portugal has been occupied through the ages by the Romans, the Moors and others. If you have no knowledge of the influence of these ancient cultures, you will not appreciate and understand the castles, churches, fortresses and other buildings throughout the country. There are even edifices that show the influence of many of these cultures in Thai same building.

Spain was once one of the most powerful nations on earth. Wars and political upheavals placed a drain on the economy and this country experienced a period of sad decline and a long dictatorship that stifled growth. Recent changes in political power and structures have forged a turnaround, and this combined with a strong surge in tourism has reestablished Spain as a political and economic success.

The Roman Empire ruled almost all of Europe at one point, including Spain. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Moorish invaders were able to take control of the country. To this day, you see their architectural influence in many of the castles and ancient fortresses throughout the country. This Muslim influence persisted until about the year 1000, when Christians tried to purge the country of Islam. Revolts and wars between these two powerful forces persisted through the centuries until about the end of the fourteenth century.

In the fifteenth century, the two powerful Christian kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were united through the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella. This was a turning point in the direction of the country, since political, economic and religious power was now in the hands of one ruling family. Catholicism was made the official religion, and any Muslims who did not convert were expelled or worse.

Ferdinand and Isabella were instrumental in discovering the New World, by commissioning Christopher Columbus to find a route to the east. They were seeking the spices of the east but instead found the gold and silver of the Americas, wealth that made this kingdom even stronger.

Through war and royal marriages, the Habsburgs ruled Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the Bourbons in the eighteenth century. Monarchic rule was not broken until the twentieth century.

In the 1930's a brutal Civil War broke out in the country, with left and right wing factions vying for power. The Nationalists won, and installed Francisco Franco as the ruling dictator. The economic drain of the civil war and the fascism of the Franco government caused a great decline and it was not until the death of Franco in 1975 that economic strength and vitality returned to Spain. Spanish culture was greatly suppressed and influenced by the Franco years.

Prince Juan Carlos became king after the death of Franco. Juan Carlos guided the country from dictatorship to democracy and is universally acclaimed for having brought his country out of decline and made it into the economic and political strength it is today.

Today, a stable, prosperous Spain is a pleasure to visit. The country is composed of seventeen distinct regions, each with its own culture, geography, lifestyle and sometimes even language. Traveling through each of these regions will expose you to a unique aspect of the country in each one.