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Spain, officially known as the Kingdom of Spain, is a distinguished and sprawling country located in south-western Europe. Spain is the sixth most populated country throughout Europe, with roughly 46,000,000 people. This country boasts ample amounts of cultural diversity and historical attributes spanning over nearly 85 percent of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, 2016). Spain has a strong infrastructure, which contributes to its industrial exportation revenue. This country has the second largest tourism industry in the world, accounting for five percent of its GDP in 2006 (EW World Economy Team, 2010). A significant aspect of the military reorganization was the emphasis on the armed forces’ role in defending the state from external threats …show more content…
Bringing their own, now defined and cemented cultural lifestyles to light in the way of cuisine, language and architecture. Spain is known for their colorful and showcasing way of buildings and homes, even so to the point that now even the wealthy embody these ideals into their own homes, often known as “Spanish Colonial”. These sophisticated cities, towering stone castles and boundless, colorful monuments make Spain one of the top pick traveling destinations to this day. Bringing in people from all walks of life to experience their culture first hand. With an insurmountable growth and so many different roots and key factors that give them such a distinguished way of life, it becomes clear that this is a desirable tourist attraction. The many and various cultures that have played a significant role in molding Spain into what it is today include Castilians, Catalonians, Lusitanians, Galiians, Basques, Romans, Arabs, Jews, and Roma (Gypsies), among many other peoples (Carr, R., Catherine, D. S., O’Callaghan, J. F., Koenigsberger, H. G., Viguera, M. J., Harrison, R. J., … & Ginés, J. V., 2017). All of this diversity is the reason why Spain is known for their various cuisines and customs. The official language of this diversified country is Castilian, and it is …show more content…
The area of present-day Spain and the Iberian Peninsula has been inhabited for thousands of years. In the 9th century B.C.E. the Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, and Celts all entered the region but by the 2nd century B.C.E., the Romans had settled there. (Briney, 2017) The Roman settlement in Spain lasted until the 7th century but many of their settlements were taken over by the Visigoths who arrived in the 5th century. In 711 the North African Moors enter Spain and pushed the Visigoths to the north. The Moors remained in the area until 1492, despite several attempts to push them out. Present-day Spain was then unified by 1512 according to the U.S. Department of State. By the 16th century, Spain had become the most powerful country in all of Europe because of the wealth obtained during their exploration of North and South America. In the early 1800s, it was occupied by France and it was involved in multiple wars, including the Spanish-American War in the year 1898. In addition to these wars, many of Spain’s overseas colonies had taken up arms and gained their independence during this time. All of these problems led to a period of dictatorial rule in the country in 1923 and ended in 1931 with the establishment of the Second Republic. With all the growing tensions and volatility developing in Spain, the Spanish Civil War had erupted in July
The Americans now had control over half the territory they wanted, but this did not satisfy them, this only made them more eager to gain control of East Florida. Almost two years after this event peace concluded, Spain still had possession of East Florida. This time, Spain only had two solutions to avoid a shameful political breakdown in this region. One was to gain support of a European ally, and the second was to get some form of honor in this event by winning some of the best land in North America. The first plan fell through, with Britain and other European nations refusing to help Spain.
The Spanish American war had a complex beginning. By the 1890’s, Cuba had unsuccessfully battled Spain for its independence for many years. Due to the US’s economic interests in Cuba, the US government sought to stabilize the situation. The United States and Cuba negotiated an agreement that Cuba would become self-governing on January 1, 1898. But
For four hundred years Spain ruled over an immense and profitable global empire that included islands in the Caribbean, Americas, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. After the Napoleonic Wars (1808-1815) many of Spain’s colonies followed the US’s lead, fighting and winning their independence. These revolts, coupled with other nations chipping away at Spain’s interests, dwindled Spain’s former Empire. By 1860, only Cuba and Puerto Rico were what remained of Spain’s former Empire. Following the lead of other former Spanish colonies, Cuban fighters started their campaign for independence, known as the Ten year war (1868-1878). This war developed into a Cuban insurgency which fought a guerilla war against the Spanish occupation.2
There are a lot of similarities and differences in holidays of Spanish-speaking countries and the United States (US) including the types of holidays, dates they are celebrated, and traditions. donQuijote said, “In Spain there are many regional and national holidays which means that there is a Spanish festival or Spanish fiesta being celebrated somewhere in Spain every month of every year. Every town, city and region has its own traditional holidays or Spanish fiestas in honor of a patron saint, founder or important historical event.” (“Spanish Fiestas”.)
Christmas is a holiday filled with tradition, family, and happiness, but what most people don’t know is that Christmas is celebrated all over the world, not just the United States. Latin American countries are especially passionate about Christmas. The way Hispanic people celebrate changes throughout each country. Each one has its own unique Christmas culture. In this essay I am going to write about some of these different countries, and tell how each one is similar and different in showing their Christmas spirit.
For 113 days during the summer of 1898, the United States was at war with Spain. Neither the president of the United States, nor his cabinet, nor the the queen of Spain, nor her ministers wanted the war wanted the war. It happened eventhough they made their best efforts to prevent it. It happened because of ambition, miscalculation, and stupidity; and it happened because of kindness, wit, and resourcefulness. It also happened because some were indifferent to the suffering of the world’s wretched and others were not (O’Toole 17). By winning the war the United States proved the the rest of the world and to itself that it could and would fight against foreign nations. For many years, world power had been concentrated in the countries in Europe. Nations such as Great Britain, France, Germany, and Spain had the most influence in global affairs. But a shift in power was gradually taking place as the United States matured. The young nation gained wealth and strength. Its population grew immensely, and many people believed it would become a major world power (Bachrach, 11) Spain was one of the many European countries that had territory in the United States. Spain controlled mostly some islands off the coast of Central America. The most important of these were Cuba and Puerto Rico. The United States was led to believe that the Spanish mosgoverned and abused the people of these islands. In fact, Spain did overtax and mistreat the Cubans, who rebelled in 1868 and again in 1895. Thus, the American people felt sympathetic toward the Cuban independence movement. In addition, Spain had frequently interfered with trade between its colonies and the United States. Even though the United States had been a trading partner with Cuba since the seventeenth century, Spain sometimes tried to completely stop their trade with Cuba. In Spain doing so, this sometimes caused damage to U.S. commercial interests. The United States highly disagreed with Spain’s right to interfere with this trade relationship. (Bachrach, 12) The United States was also concerned that other trading and commercial interests were threatened by the number of ships and soldiers Spain kept in the area. If the United States had to fight a war with Canada or Mexico, these Spanish forces could quickly mobilize against the United States.
Language is an important value for the nationalistic identity of a nation. Hispanic culture is the way of life of people from Latin America and Spain, and their main identifying factor is the fact that they speak Spanish as their main language. Therefore, Hispanics are not necessarily Spaniards but other groups like Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans who speak Spanish are also part of this group (Shaw and Dennison 207). American culture on the other hand is mainly comprised of the people who speak English as their main dialect. Therefore, the Spaniards have Spanish as their native language while the Americans use Englis...
The Spanish Inquisition was used for both political and religious reasons and founded by the Catholic Kings in 1478 . Spain at the time was a nation-state that was born out of religious struggle between numerous different belief systems including Catholicism, Islam, Protestant and Judaism. Following the Crusades and the Reconquest of Spain by the Christian Spaniards the leaders of Spain needed a way to unify the country into a strong nation.
The Spaniard civilization can date all the way back to the Stone Age. Because of its agricultural wealth, Spain was acknowledged to have people occupy its land approximately 32,000 years ago. In A.D. 409, Spain was overrun by German invaders, but they were later forced out of the country and into Africa by a group called the Visigoths. The Visigoths, however, would soon lose control over Spain from a battle lost by the Byzantine Empire in 507. By 585, they would regain control over Spain and lived side by side under two separate laws between themselves and the Spaniards. In 711, North African Moors sailed across the straits, swept into Andalusia, and within a few years, pushed the Visigoths up the peninsula to the Cantabrian Mountains.
History is not a collection of unrelated events, but it is instead an account of various causes and their effects. World War II was not an isolated event. It was a product of numerous events in Europe which included the Spanish Civil War. Spain prior to World War II was an area of crucial political and strategic importance. By analyzing the events of the Spanish Civil War, the events of World War II can be understood in greater detail. Hitler’s confident foreign policy, the quick surrender of France, the forging of unlikely alliances, and the diverse ideological state present in Europe can be understood more comprehensively by looking at the Spanish Civil War. The events of the Spanish Civil War changed the political atmosphere of Europe; these events influenced the beginning of World War II.
War would break out after the sinking of the Battleship Maine. This took place in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898. Before all of this, Spain would become the first European country to claim land, sailing westward crossing the Atlantic, exploring, and colonizing the lands and its inhabitants in the western hemisphere. At the peak of its time, the empire that resulted from Spain’s exploration extended from Virginia all the way to Tierra del Fuego in South America. The empire then continued to expand t...
The Hispanic community represents many nationalities and ethnicities, including Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, 15 Central and South American countries, Spain, and the Dominican Republic (Cattan, 1993). Hispanic group are well known in the workforce, politics, education, social economic and religion. The Spanish culture influences a variety of areas such as music, food, language. Most languages are rooted in Latin. It is always good to learn about other cultures if we expect the same consideration when we visit other countries. Differences are what make life interesting. Majority of the United States is built on immigration, which has made this country the most diverse. And the Hispanic group contributes to that diversity.
In 1923, King Alfonso XIII was in full support of how General Primo de Rivera wanted to control the country, so the General became a dictator until 1930. Although he was a dictator, he wasn’t as harsh as dictators that came after him. He was actually interested in public work and industrial production, and he assisted with the end of the Moroccan Rebellion in 1925. However, Spain was a disaster financially, and Rivera could not fix the problem. In April of 1931, Spain held an election, and those elected declared Spain a republic instead of a monarchy. Because of this declaration, many problems arose. Catalonia and the Basque region requested independence, which could have caused Spain to break up. The Catholic Church and the republic also did not get along very well. Spain was primarily an agricultural country around this era, so when the country was in a depression in the 1930s, their prime exports dropped in value. T...
Spain was once of the powerful nations in Europe. However, by the 20th century it was poor and backwards country where corruption was experienced on a commonly basis. After losing its overseas possessions Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico and Philippines during the Spanish-American War Spain was in a state of political tension due extreme measures of wealth, poverty and clearly social tensions. Essentially Spain was a deeply divided country during this time although it was a constitutional monarchy during 1920. During this year King Alfonso XIII remained as the royal figurehead however, Miguel Primo de Rivera was the dictator. The tension was between the right-wing Nationalists and left-wing Republican parties. The nationalist’s party was made up of monarchists, landowners, employers, the Roman Catholic Church and the army. The Republicans consisted of the workers, trade unions, socialists, and peasants. The nationalists were described as traditionalists and fascists, while the republicans were socialists and communists. The real political tension started occurring post 1930 when growing opposition to Miguel Primo de Rivera right-wing government started growing rapidly and leading to his resignation. Miguel Primo de Rivera was not able to solve Spain’s financial disaster from the result of the Great Depression, where unemployment rates increased drastically and Rivera never provided any solutions. Miguel was so unsuccessful throughout his dictatorship even the army refused to support his dictatorship. This then concluded in republican receiving the majority of the election votes, throwing out King Alfonso XIII the following year. The abdication of the King was the turning point; where Spain was now considered the Republic of Spa...
Spain, the third largest country in Europe, has a strong history and diverse culture dating back to when the Iberians first inhabited the land. The country lies between the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean and the land ranges from mountains to meadows. Over hundreds of centuries, many different civilizations have inhabited the land influencing the people there today. From the Visigoths and Celts to the Romans of the Middle Ages, Spain has received a rich history and background. One of the strongest of its cultures is the food. All of these cultures brought a particular type of food and combined and blended with the food that exists there today. Spain is very popular for olives, vineyards, and citrus fruit. Another well-liked food is garlic, including varieties of peppers and spices. Once spice specifically—golden saffron—is essential in many recipes, including the Spanish Paella. There are many distinguished Spanish foods that encompass the daily life and culture of the country.