Spanish Economies
A short economic history of Spain.
Beyond local trade, the economic history of Spain begins with its important role in the Phoenician sea routes. As the connecting point between the Mediterranean and Atlantic, the Iberian Peninsula offered a foothold for traders as they journeyed along the coasts of Europe and Africa. Over time, Iberia fell under the influence of Carthage, the Phoenician rival of Rome. Many battles of the Punic Wars took place on the peninsula. Carthage officially ceded Iberia to Rome in 201 BCE, but it would take several more centuries of conquest to fully subjugate its people. The Romans brought roads, aqueducts, central authority, and access to wider trade to Hispania. Their influence set the stage for the Middle Ages, a time of great prosperity and strife in the region.
After a brief period of Visigothic rule, much of Hispania was conquered by Islamic Berber and Arab dynasties. This proved beneficial to its economy. While the rest of Europe struggled to fill the power vacuum of Rome, the caliphates of Al-Andalus enjoyed access to the flourishing Islamic world. Muslim rulers built on the legacy of Rome, including maintaining the infrastructure left behind. Al-Andalus became a major exporter of silks, dyes, timber, and spices. When the Catholic kingdoms began retaking the peninsula, they inherited many of these industries. They also fostered trade in merino wool and wine. The common people of the era worked to produce bulk agricultural goods for export to Renaissance Europe.
The Reconquista ended in 1492 with the fall of Granada, the last Muslim stronghold of Spain. It marked two major turning points in Spanish history. The kingdom unified under Habsburg rule in 1516. Meanwhile, the financing of Columbus’ expedition to the Americas opened up staggering economic opportunities. The Spanish monarchy, the dominant naval power of its time, sent fleets of conquistadors and later colonists to claim lands depopulated by disease. They went first in search of gold and silver but soon expanded into other industries. Their colonies grew through abundant slave labor drawn from indigenous and African populations. The encomienda system saw thousands of people pushed to work in mines or on plantations growing sugar, cocoa, indigo, and tobacco.
Colonialism generated immense wealth for the Spanish Habsburgs and nobility. Spanish galleons laden with gold and other valuable goods became a popular target for piracy. For about a century, Spain’s colonial holdings made it the most powerful nation on Earth. But a series of costly wars, the Protestant Reformation, and a loosening grip on the New World all weakened its position over time. King Philip II lost control of the Dutch Low Countries, formerly under Spanish control, at the start of the mercantile era. This left Spain unable or unwilling to compete in a new era of commercial trade operations. In 1807, Napoleon Bonaparte deposed King Charles IV, prompting many of the American colonies to declare their independence from Spain.
Modern Spanish Economics
By the early 20th century, Spain had experimented with both republicanism and a restored monarchy. The nation transitioned to a second republic in 1931, driven by liberal policies and economic reforms. The republic’s backers included an uneasy alliance of anarchists, socialists, communists, and average workers. It was opposed by conservative elements like the military, the clergy, and other right-wing rulers in Europe. The Spanish Civil War set back Spain’s economy significantly and saw dictator Francisco Franco rise to power in 1939. He inherited an economy blasted apart by war and, because of his Axis sympathies, alienated from the markets of Europe. The nation swung between economic stagnation, depression, and incremental progress through most of the 20th century.
Following his death, Spain’s increasing integration with the European Union was interrupted by the economic crisis of 2008. Unemployment spiked as high as 25 percent by 2012; youth unemployment reached 45 percent in 2016. More recently, however, Spain’s economy has shown signs of renewed growth.
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References
Constable, Olivia Remie. Trade and Traders in Muslim Spain: The Commercial Realignment of the Iberian Peninsula, 900-1500. Cambridge University Press. 1996.
Eavis, Peter. “The Mystery of Spain's Perpetual Jobs Problem.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 2 May 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/05/03/upshot/spains-jobless-numbers-almost-look-like-misprints.html.
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.
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