6/6/07 San Antonio-The Story of Spain

4 Days to go!!!

We were assigned to read a book by Mark Williams called "The Story of Spain." This book tells the history of Spain. Spain is called the Iberian Peninsula because of the first settlers that were the Iberians. The Iberians were a major part of Spain. They brought with them agriculture, using metal to make weapons, shields, and jewelry. They were based at the coasts in occupations as fishermen, farmers, and merchants.
Some of the other settlers who had an influence on Spain after the Iberians were the Greeks, Phoenicians, and the Romans. These groups all contributed in their own way to make Spain what it is today. The Greeks were recognized for forging the first coins developing the olive and wine culture.

The Greeks also influenced the art culture and started a commercial expansion that did not last long. Although the Greeks were not in control for long, these attributes are still in existent in Spain.

The Phoenicians were the next to arrive after the Greeks. With their arrival, the Iberians were introduced to the Mediterranean culture. They came with hopes to trade their manufactured goods for copper and silver. They eventually took over the Atlantic trading roots. The Phoenicians also shared their alphabet with the Iberians so that the language they spoke could have a written form.

The last group to arrive was the most important I think. They are the Romans. They brought law and order into the Iberian Peninsula, Latin language, Christianity and architecture. The Romans had wonderful structures built in Spain they introduced the arch. The arch was a very solid and beautiful structure that only the Romans could have brought.

According to the book, the history of Spain began with the Romans. Did they have an easy time taking conquest of the Iberian Peninsula?
In my opinion, I think that the Romans had neither a hard time nor an easy time taking Spain. The Celtics and the Iberians were intimidated by the accomplishments of the Romans civilization. They found Spain to be a place of power and wealth was easy to get. They did have to put up fight to gain victory. In the end the conquest lasted about two centuries.

I learned so much just by reading one paragraph. I did not know any of the information about the settlers and what influence they each had on Spain. It is interesting to see how it was back then and how it influences us today. All the information I have provided was completely new to me so I definitely learned a lot.