Spanish Cultural Overview

Spaniards are the people of Spain, a nation of the Iberian Peninsula and southwestern Europe.

Geography

Spain shares the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal, dividing the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Its northern border with France is marked by the Pyrenees Mountains, while other ranges surround its large central plateau, the Meseta. This central region comprises the agrarian heart of the nation. It tends to see hotter summers and colder winters than coastal areas. In addition to its mainland, Spain also possesses island territories in Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and the Canary Islands.

• Climate: Mediterranean along the southern coast, cooler and wetter to the north, dry continental interior

• Capital: Madrid

• Total Population: 49,331,076 (2018 est.)

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History

The history of Spain is one of grand empires and their inevitable fall. The peninsula was originally inhabited by a mixture of Celtic, Phoenician, Greek, and indigenous Iberian cultures. The Phoenicians established trading colonies along its coast, encouraging Iberia to side with Carthage against Rome in the Punic Wars. After Carthage’s defeat in 201 BCE, however, the peninsula fell into Roman hands and received the name Hispania. When Rome’s power receded, a Germanic group known as the Visigoths stepped in. They controlled Spain for about 300 years before being swept away by the expanding forces of Islam. In 711, combined armies of Berbers and Arabs crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and conquered the southern and central Iberian Peninsula. Much of what is now Spain would remain Islamic for hundreds of years, a state known as Al-Andalus.

During this time, Al-Andalus for the most part flourished as a multicultural society, a European branch of the larger Islamic trade network. Christian kingdoms to the north, however, saw its Muslim rulers as an existential threat. The Reconquista, spearheaded by the Kingdom of Castile, saw Christian forces slowly reclaim the peninsula. It ended in 1492, when King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I defeated the last Muslim ruler of Granada. That same year, the pair financed an expedition led by Christopher Columbus, who believed he could find a shorter route to the ports of the East by sailing west. Instead, he found the continents of North and South America, bringing them to broad European attention for the first time.

Spanish explorers began making inroads in Central and South America. They found diverse cultures and societies, ranging from individual tribes to advanced kingdoms and empires. The conquistadors were typically outnumbered, but they carried key advantages in horses, firearms, and immunity to several infectious diseases. In many cases, illnesses like smallpox traveled far ahead of them, devastating whole communities as they went. The end result was a colonial Spanish Empire, made immensely wealthy through the exploitation of the people and natural resources of the Americas.

By the 17th century, however, Spain had already begun to decline. It lost most of its colonial holdings through the 19th century and faced economic stagnation in a modernizing world. The monarchy was abolished in 1931 in favor of a short-lived republic. Disagreements on how to move forward soon led to the Spanish Civil War, which ended with General Francisco Franco in power from 1939 to 1975. He restored the Spanish monarchy upon his death, which has ruled to the present day as part of a parliamentary monarchy.

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Daily Life

Like most other European monarchies, historic Spain relied on a large base of peasant farmers to support its military, clergy, tradesmen, and nobles. Its cuisine is highly regional, evolving based on the lifestyles each area supported. The interior, for example, is famous for its prized hams, while the southern coast enjoys a more Mediterranean diet rich in citrus, seafoods, olives, and sweets. Spain’s New World colonies introduced new staples like tomatoes, potatoes, corn, chocolate, squash, avocado, and chili peppers. Today, some of the most popular Spanish dishes include gazpacho, a cold vegetable soup, and paella, a Valencian rice dish of mixed meat and vegetables.

Like its cuisine, the clothing and housing of Spain is also dependent on region. The familiar flamenco costume is a product of Andalusia, influenced by Arab and Berber fashions. In the 18th and 19th century, fashionable young people called manolos or majos established a wider sense of Spanish apparel, characterized by elaborate, ruffled dresses, mantles, short jackets, white long-sleeved shirts, and the colors red and black. Modern Spanish people lead lives similar to their counterparts across Europe, with regional differences still apparent, especially in cuisine.

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Society

Since the Reconquista, Spain has operated as a monarchy with a few brief interruptions. Historically, it possessed a somewhat larger noble class than other European kingdoms, most of whom traced their ancestry back to warriors of the Reconquista. These petty nobles were known as hidalgos; they may or may not have owned land but were exempt from taxation. Spanish culture spread far and wide through colonialism, creating new societies based on both Spanish and indigenous customs.

By the 19th century, however, the ailing monarchy of Spain found itself in trouble at home. After the turbulent disruption of Napoleon Bonaparte, the Bourbon dynasty was uprooted again in 1868 through a popular uprising. This led to a period of republicanism, but liberal reforms met stiff resistance from conservative factions in the military and clergy. This led to a period of violence from both sides, culminating with the Spanish Civil War. The leader of the conservative faction, General Francisco Franco, emerged victorious and ruled as a dictator until his death in 1975. At this point, King Juan Carlos I assumed the throne. Spain’s current monarch is King Felipe VI.

Today, the country is increasingly unified under a shared national culture, but the various regions of Spain all still possess their own identities. Additionally, Spain is home to a number of separate cultures, such as the Basques and Roma, who are members of Spanish society but also maintain their own languages and customs.

• Major Languages: Castilian Spanish, Catalan, Galician, Basque, Aranese

• Urban Population: 80.3%

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Economy

Since antiquity, the Iberian Peninsula has played an important economic role in the Mediterranean world. Its strategic position at the mouth of the Mediterranean made it a key point of access for seafaring traders of the Phoenicians, Carthage, and Rome. Later, it served as a vital link between the markets of the Islamic Caliphates and Europe. As a colonial empire, Spain saw a massive influx of wealth from the New World and other territories. Besides its fabled galleons laden with gold and silver, the Spanish Empire drew wealth from plantations producing luxury items like indigo, cocoa, sugar, and tobacco.

The mercantile era that developed out of colonialism gradually eroded Spain’s economic clout. While naval powers like the English and the Dutch funded expeditions to new lands, the Spanish economy remained mostly stagnant. This trend continued into the modern era, pushing its citizens to debate a variety of economic models. The Spanish Civil War was in part a conflict between a coalition of anarchists, socialists, and moderate liberal reformers against more conservative factions.

Franco inherited an economy blasted apart by war and alienated from the rest of Europe. As a result, progress came slowly at best. Following his death, Spain began to reintegrate with the economic networks of Europe, but the 2008 financial crisis hit it especially hard. In recent years, however, the nation has swung again toward recovery and stability.

• Major Industries: Textiles and apparel, food and beverages, metals and metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools, tourism

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Beliefs

Following the expulsion of most Muslims from Spain in the 15th century, the kingdom has remained staunchly Catholic. Around the same time, the monarchy launched the infamous Spanish Inquisition, which sought to root out heresy wherever it saw it. Affected groups included not only Spain’s large Jewish population, but also everyday Christians caught in a web of informants, torture, and fear. The zealous Isabella and Ferdinand also sponsored Catholic missions in the New World, leading to widespread conversions in Central and South America.

The role of the Catholic Church in Spain only came into serious question during the republican era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Prior to the Spanish Civil War, members of the faith contributed to political divisions within the country and in turn faced widespread arson and killings. Francisco Franco chose to embrace Catholicism, renewing its strong hold on the Spanish public. In recent decades, the majority of Spanish people still practice Roman Catholicism, though the nation has seen a growing number professing no faith.

Religious Demographics:

• Roman Catholic: 70.2%

• Non-believer: 15.1%

• Atheist: 9.9%

• Other: 2.6%

• Unspecified: 2.1% (2016 est.)

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Arts & Music

Spain’s art history is one of regional tastes, imperial wealth, and religious veneration. The nation is home to a unique blend of artistic heritages, building an aesthetic based on Roman and Islamic architecture as well as the later trends of Europe. It is famous for its folk music, ranging from the guitars and castanets of southern flamenco to the Celtic-influenced bagpipes seen in northern provinces. Religious art in both painting and architecture has seen the works of inspired minds like El Greco, Titians, Francisco Goya, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Antoni Gaudí. The country is also home to what is often called the first modern Western novel: Don Quixote de la Mancha.

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Cultural Overview | Geography | History | Daily Life | Society | Economy | Beliefs | Arts & Music

References

Gies, David T. The Cambridge Companion to Modern Spanish Culture. Cambridge University Press. 1999.

Payne, Stanley G. Spanish Catholicism: An Historical Overview. University of Wisconsin Press. 1984.

Phillips, William and Carla Rahn Phillips. A Concise History of Spain. Cambridge University Press. 2016.

“The World Factbook: Spain.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 12 July 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sp.html.

Kelly, Francis Michael and Randolph Schwabe. European Costume and Fashion, 1490-1790. Courier Corporation. 2003.

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