Present Day Spain Research Paper

Medieval Spain started with the arrival of the Visigoths in the late 5th century to the end of the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella in the 16th century. However, its roots can be traced back to the medieval countries and kingdoms including Galicia, Leon, Castile, Aragon, Navarre, Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia, and Granada. These countries all contributed to what has been known as the Spanish language as well as the country itself.

Any student of history has come to recognize the fact that history is written by the victor and in lieu of this, research becomes essential to uncover where the truth lies. The True History of the Conquest of New Spain, so ironically named, is a personal account for historical events leading up to the conquest of New Spain, formerly known as the City of Mexico. The author, Bernal Diaz, was a soldier of the conquering army who composed the document well after the events took place sometime between 1552 and 1557. Though the document did provide insight in regards to the victor’s perspective, it also served as a tool to rewrite the account of the conquered people.

Before the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella, the Moors were in control of much of the Iberian Peninsula. They desperately wanted to unite Spain and turn it into a

Throughout history, as we study Spain we can clearly recognize high and low points in their success. In the fifteen hundreds Spain had no influence on European affairs, Spain essentially vanished out of Europe. However, within one complete century Spain had become not only a leading power but they also had a great sense of effectiveness in Europe. Spain experienced a Golden age with many social, economic, political aspects. On the other hand, within

With the defeat of the Spanish armada in 1588, Spain began a steady decline to a second rate power. Consequently shifting their original goal of exploring to maintaining or colonizing what lands they still possess.

-The long struggle (ending in 1492) during which Spanish Christians reoccurred the Iberian peninsula from Muslim occupiers.

In Imperial Spain, J.H. Elliot examines the history of early modern Spain from the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand, to the reformation of the Spanish government by the first member of the Bourbon dynasty. According to the author, at the start of the 15th century, Spain was internally weak, hopelessly divided and isolated from the continent by the Pyrenees. Yet, by 1492, Spanish society experienced a tremendous transformation which allowed Isabella and Ferdinand to unify the country, secure the largest transoceanic empire the world has ever known, and for a

He failed to gain support for his project in Portugal so he decided to move to Spain. This is where circumstances were more favorable and it worked out because the Catholic monarchs Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon approved the project.

Over the next century, the Kingdom of León prospered, but it was short-lived. In 1030, Sancho III of Navarre invaded León, leaving Vermudo III with only Galicia. This sudden and massive loss of land would only last five years until Sancho’s death, but after that a far worse fate was in store. Following the creation of the Kingdom of Castilla in 1035, the new Castillian king, Ferdinand I, invaded León, killing Vermudo III, and uniting the two kingdoms under his rule.

Throughout the Middle Ages Barcelona would go on to be conquered and ruled by many different tribes and armies including the Visigoths, Moors and the Franks. After

Instead of stopping the tide of Christian form the north, the Muslim fall into disorganized system and destructive civil war, culminated in obliterated all vestige of the supertiousity and prosperity of its civilization, so that one by one of Muslim territories were overtaken in rapid. In second quarter of thirteen century, the central Muslim government had been paralyzed only into kingdom of Granada, the place for every Muslims who preferred to live safely as the salves of Castile rather than freeman overthrown into disastrous

While the Abbasids seized power on the Arabian Peninsula, the Umayyad leader Abd al-Rahman fled to the Iberian Peninsula and built a magnificent kingdom. When he reached Spain, he made it Al-Andalus, also known as Muslim Spain. He gained power by uniting the factions that were already there and defeating the ruling factions. Al-Andalus became a glorious kingdom in the Muslim empire because they had powerful leaders, a stable government, and effective tactics for expansion. The reasons for their decline will also be mentioned in this essay.

During the late 15th and into the early 16th century, Spain was the dominating power in Europe. It was during this time that the Europeans were in conflict with one another over Protestant vs Roman Catholic rule. Meanwhile, the Turkish Ottoman Empire was strengthening their power in the Middle East and had gained control over much of Southeastern Europe. The conflict amongst the Europeans was a blessing for the Turks who intended to spread that power into the Mediterranean. This is what brought the battle that saved the Christian West from the Ottoman Turks to a head-front. A young commander by the name of Don Juan of Austria displayed superior leadership skills by building cohesion through mutual trust, creating shared

This palace was built for the last Muslim emirs in Spain and the court of the Nasrid dynasty. After the conquest of Granada by the Reyes Católicos ("Catholic Monarchs") in 1492, Christian rulers used some portions of the building. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1527 built The Palace of Charles V. After being allowed to fall into

Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed the Straight of 'Gibraltar' at first with the sole intention of avenging king Roderic for the crime he committed. However, because of the weakness of the kingdom due to civil war, Tariq opted to continue his occupation of Roderic's entire empire. Another theory for the occupation by the Arab Muslims of Spain is that because of their persecution, the Jews called upon their contacts in North Africa, who in turn encouraged the able Arabs to capture Spain. This allowed the Almoravids and the Almohads to establish themselves in Spain.Nevertheless, without a doubt, the Jews supported and welcomed Muslims in Spain because they were great beneficiaries under Muslim rule.