The ENTIRE History of Spain in 40 Minutes

The history of Spain is a story shaped by geography. A peninsula eight miles from Africa, rich in silver, wheat and olive oil, was invaded again and again, until it turned outward and built an empire that spanned the Atlantic and the Pacific. This history documentary covers 3,000 years of Spanish history, from the Phoenician traders of Gadir and the silver kingdom of Tartessos to Hamilcar and Hannibal, the Roman conquest, the Visigoths, the Muslim conquest of 711, the caliphate of Córdoba, El Cid, Las Navas de Tolosa, Isabella and Ferdinand, the fall of Granada, Columbus, Cortés and Pizarro, the Silver Empire of Philip II, the Spanish Armada, the siege of Barcelona in 1714, Napoleon, the loss of the colonies, the Spanish Civil War, Franco, the transition to democracy, the 1981 coup attempt and the Catalan referendum of 2017. Spain was conquered by everyone, then conquered half the world. It has never fully agreed on what it is. That is the oldest problem in Spanish history, and it is still unresolved today. CHAPTERS 00:00 The Day the Police Came to Vote (Catalonia, 2017) 00:52 Why Spain? The Peninsula Everyone Wanted 02:19 Phoenicians, Gadir and the Lost Silver Kingdom of Tartessos 03:33 Hamilcar, Hannibal and the Siege of Saguntum 05:38 Rome Comes to Spain: Scipio, Viriathus and Numantia 09:01 The Fall of Rome and the Visigoths 12:29 711: The Muslim Conquest and Al-Andalus 15:18 The Reconquista Begins: Toledo, El Cid and Las Navas de Tolosa 18:47 Isabella, Ferdinand and the Fall of Granada 21:11 1492: Columbus, the Alhambra Decree and a New World 21:53 Cortés, Pizarro and the Spanish Empire 23:29 Silver, Philip II and the Spanish Armada 25:08 The Slow Collapse: Olivares, Cervantes and the Last Habsburg 26:08 September 11, 1714: The Fall of Barcelona 27:54 Napoleon, Guerrilla War and the Loss of the Americas 30:07 1898: The Disaster 31:20 The Second Republic and the Road to War 32:10 The Spanish Civil War, Guernica and Franco 35:05 The Economic Boom and ETA 36:14 The Transition: Juan Carlos and Suárez 37:17 February 23, 1981: The Coup That Failed 37:59 Modern Spain: NATO, the EU, the Crisis and Catalonia 40:20 Why Spain Still Argues About Itself Spain was shaped by every culture that crossed it, and that is both why it could reach so far and why it has never been quite one thing. Today the oldest argument in Spain is still going on. DISCLAIMER This video is made for education and storytelling. It is based on published historical research and primary sources, but historians still disagree about many dates, numbers and motives, especially for the ancient and medieval periods, and legends are marked as legends in the narration. Where figures are disputed, we say so. All visuals are illustrations and artistic interpretations, not photographs or footage. The video does not support or oppose any political party, movement or country. If you find an error, please tell us in the comments and we will review it and correct it. SOURCES (further reading used for background; check the editions you can access) Polybius, The Histories (Hannibal, the Spanish campaigns and Saguntum) Livy, Ab Urbe Condita (the Second Punic War in Spain) Appian, Iberike (the Roman wars in Spain and the siege of Numantia) Simon Barton, A History of Spain, Palgrave Macmillan Raymond Carr (ed.), Spain: A History, Oxford University Press J. H. Elliott, Imperial Spain 1469-1716 Roger Collins, Visigothic Spain 409-711, Blackwell Roger Collins, Early Medieval Spain: Unity in Diversity, 400-1000 Hugh Kennedy, Muslim Spain and Portugal: A Political History of al-Andalus Richard Fletcher, Moorish Spain Joseph O'Callaghan, A History of Medieval Spain, Cornell University Press Henry Kamen, Empire: How Spain Became a World Power, 1492-1763 Henry Kamen, The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision Henry Kamen, Spain 1469-1714: A Society of Conflict Charles Esdaile, The Peninsular War: A New History Paul Preston, The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution and Revenge Hugh Thomas, The Spanish Civil War Stanley Payne, The Franco Regime, 1936-1975 Paul Preston, The Triumph of Democracy in Spain Spanish Constitution of 1978 (official text, Boletín Oficial del Estado) Reporting by Reuters and the BBC on the 2017 Catalan referendum and its aftermath #Spain #SpanishHistory #HistoryOfSpain #WorldHistory #HistoryDocumentary #Reconquista #SpanishEmpire #Hannibal #AlAndalus #SpanishCivilWar #Franco #Catalonia #Columbus #SpanishArmada #Europe #History