Roman Influence On Spain

Although remains lead scientists to believe that Spain has been inhabited for around 500,000 years (Kohen), the first people group known for sure to rule over the land of present day Spain was the Carthaginians (Casitor). The Romans first came to Spain during a war against Carthage, and the Romans at the time called Spain “Hispania”. As Rome conquered more land over the next couple of hundred years, the Romans gave the peninsula one government, one language, Latin, and one religion, which was Christianity. The main cities were along the east coast, and the capitol was a city called Tarraco, which is present day Tarragona (Casitor). Rome began losing its control by 500 A.D.; in A.D. 414 a tribe from northern Europe, the Visigoths, conquered …show more content…
When Ferdinand VII passed away, he did not have a son who would take the throne. His brother Don Carlos took the throne because Ferdinand’s daughter was not of age yet. However, this did not settle well, and a war, known as the Carlist War, broke out in 1833. The fighting continued until 1869 when Queen Isabelle was forced to hand her power over and Spain’s first parliament constitution was written. It only lasted a year, however. Later on, King Alfonso XIII took the crown in 1902. During World War I, a neutral Spain continued having internal troubles, and General Primo de Rivera forced Alfonso to step in 1923. Rivera was a dictator for six years, and then Alfonso returned as king in 1929. In 1931, Republicans and Socialists obtained authority in parliamentary elections and forced Alfonso to step down once again. Spain’s second republic was then formed. In the 1930’s, political parties began to become extreme. In the 1936 election, Spain’s government is a parliamentary monarchy, which means the king or queen acts as the head of state. Spain’s constitution was adopted in 1978 and it focuses on basic rights & public liberties, duties of the citizens, principles of social & economic policy, and the structure of the partial monarchy & parliament. Its purpose was to begin the Spanish transition to a democracy. The government has an executive, legislative, and judicial branch. The head of government in Spain is currently …show more content…
Its area covers about 195,988 square miles and covers most of the Iberian Peninsula (Kohen). Spain’s highest mountain peak is Mount Teide at 8,794 feet (Kohen). It is also the third largest volcano in the world from its base (Caistor). The Tagus River is the longest river in Spain, which flows 620 miles from Portugal to the ocean at Lisbon. The second longest river is the Ebro River which runs 565 miles to the Mediterranean Sea from the Cantabrian Mountians (Caistor). Spain’s major climates are humid, dry, and moderate climate (Casitor). The Mediterranean climate, characterised by warm and dry summers. It is dominant in the peninsula, with two varieties. One has extreme climate, which is hotter in the summer and colder in the winter and extends to additional areas not typically associated with a Mediterranean climate, such as much of central and northern-central of Spain. Another kind of climate, the semi-arid climate, is located in the southeastern quarter of the country, especially in the region of Murcia and in the Ebro valley. Unlike the Mediterranean climate, the dry season extends beyond the summer. The last major cliate, the oceanic climate, is located in the northern quarter of the country, especially in the region of Basque Country, Cantabria, Asturias and partly Galicia. In