Spain's national anthem's lack of lyrics is a consequence of the country's inability to agree on the meaning of its past and the divisive history of its component parts. Its unique geography of a rugged impenetrable interior has shaped its history, as has its strategic location as a crossroads between Africa and Europe, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.
Because the Iberian Peninsula remained habitable during the ice ages, it has hosted humans and hominins for a million years. The Phoenicians founded Europe's first city at Cadiz in the eleventh century BC. They were followed by Greeks, Celts, and Iberians. From 206 BC and for nine centuries, Spain was part of Rome's empire and that of its Visigoth successor. The country was Christian, with a small Jewish population, by the time the Muslims arrived. From 711-714 AD, the entire peninsula was conquered by the invaders from North Africa. The Muslims "guaranteed lives, livelihoods, personal wealth and religious freedom in return of acknowledgement of Muslim rule." By 1100, eighty percent of the population was Muslim. The caliphate's capital city, Cordoba, was the largest in Europe, with a population of 100,000. "As had happened under the Romans and Visigoths, Iberia fragmented as soon as strong central control began to fail."
The reconquest of Al-Andalus (the name of the Muslim state in Spain) took centuries and was a hotchpotch of different kingdoms at varying times inconsistently pushing back against the Moors. Al-Andalus was rich, prosperous and had an estimated population in 1000 AD of 3 million, six times larger than the Christian north. Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon's marriage transformed Spain, Europe and the world. Their central ideology was religious conformity. They decided to pursue the reconquest in 1482, and a decade later conquered Granada and defeated the Moors. The same year. Isabella authorized Columbus' trip to Asia. The arrival of the Europeans changed the Americas, and among other consequences, led to the death and decimation of most of the indigenous peoples. Thus, Spain was the first European country to authorize the importation of black Africans to replace the lost people of the Caribbean. The royal couple fell under the influence of an anti-semitic Dominican, Tomas Torquemada, who believed that many conversos were not sincere and initiated the Inquisition. Soon, in 1492,Isabella and Ferdinand banished Jews from Spain. Their grandson, Charles I of Spain and Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, inherited the Hapsburg mantle, and all of its possessions throughout Europe, along with Spain's holdings in the Americas. Charles used Spain's wealth to maintain his "impossibly stretched European Empire" which was in a constant state of battle with France. He ruled for forty years before abdicating, and splitting up the Spanish and German halves of his empire.
In the Americas, Spain held sway over lands stretching from San Francisco south through Mexico and all of the Pacific coast of South America. From this land, vast amounts of silver poured into Spain. Although Spain and England battled on the high seas, and the English harassed the silver fleets, Spain prospered in the 16th century. Soon the quality of its rulers began to contribute to a decline. In 1640, "Portugal was forever lost to Spain." "When Phillip IV died in 1665, Spain had had just five monarchs (counting Ferdinand and Isabella together) in 186 years. It had gained an empire, and the Golden Age had left a remarkable cultural legacy, but Spain was in crisis..." The death of Charles II without an heir in 1700 was the end of the Spanish Hapsburgs. The War of the Spanish Succession led to a Bourbon on the throne, and a more centralized monarchy. Revolution in France sent shockwaves into Spain. In 1808, Napoleon installed his brother on the Spanish throne and occupied the country. The people pushed back immediately, and with Wellington taking the lead for the British, the French were expelled. Ferdinand VII returned to the throne.
The king restored an absolutist monarchy, only to see his empire rebel. In a little over a decade, all of Latin America was gone. Only Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines remained. Spain was broke, ruled by reactionaries and soon engaged in civil war. Decades of conflict led to the end of the the monarchy in 1868. Democracy was followed by more turmoil and violence. Spain's problems were exacerbated by the loss of the remnants of empire at century's end. The country continued to be riven by regional rivalries of Galicia, Catalonian and Basque nationalism. A brief economic boom during WWI failed to hold, and in 1921, a general declared a dictatorship. A second republic descended into civil war in 1936 when Franco led a military coup against the government. Both Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany came to Franco's aid. The USSR backed the Republicans. Franco prevailed and dominated the country as El Caudillo until the mid-1970's. His rule was nationalistic, brutal, vengeful, and the country was despised for its affiliation with Germany and Italy. The country was an international pariah, but had begun to make economic progress by the time of his death in 1975. Spain quickly transformed into a democracy. She joined NATO and the EU in the following decade. Today, Spain is a successful member of the world economy, but one still haunted by its past. The various components that came together to create the kingdom are still tying to pull it apart. Both the Basque and Catalonian regions are seeking independence. That said, the country has lived in peaceful prosperity for half a century.
,
No comments:
Post a Comment