History of Spain | How Old is Spain?

How Long Have People Lived in Spain?

People have lived in Spain since the dawn of human history, it is widely accepted that people have lived in Spain for thousands of years. While written history does not necessarily go back that far in Spain, archaeological digs have shown that there are numerous tools that have been unearthed that have dates back that far. This means that people have lived in Spain for thousands of years, even if they did not necessarily live in an organized society or city. Written history in Spain does not show up until around the time of the Roman Empire.

Was Spain Ruled by the Romans?

Yes. At one time, Spain was owned by the Roman Empire. Around the time for the turn of the calendar from BC to AD, the Roman Empire began to expand into the Iberian peninsula. At that time, the Roman Empire was the most powerful one in the world. The empire expanded as far north as what is Great Britain today, but Spain was then invaded by the Germans tribes from Central Europe. This represented the fall of Spain, as the Roman's ceded it to the barbarians from the north. This took place around the 4th and 5th centuries AD, and it resulted in the eventual collapse of the Roman Empire in its entirety, leading to the Middle Ages.

When Did Spain Become a Great Power?

After the defeat of the Roman Empire, there were a lot of shifts in the balance of power across the continent, and Spain played a role in it. Spain would not become a unified great power in Europe for close to 1,000 years. In the middle of the 1400s, the houses of Castile and Aragon would unify, marking the north of a unified Spain. Then, shorty after that time, Spain would become a great power, as Christopher Columbus would sail to the New World under the flag of Spain. This led to the start of the Age of Colonialism, and Spain would play a major part in this expansion as well. For hundreds of years, Spain would be one of the biggest powers in Europe.

Is Modern Spain a Good Place To Live?

Eventually, it became apparent that Spain would not have the money to keep up with other countries in Europe, markedly behind the powers of Britain and France. Spain also had an unstable government for a long time, and the country had a Civil War between the nationalists and the communists. This was a destabilizing force in the country, and it eventually led to the growth of a modern Spain. While the country was technically neutral during World War II, it was still a major battlefield. When Spain was not officially on the side of the Allies at the end of the war, it again was left out of the economic boom that followed. Today, Spain is a beautiful country with a lot of history, but it lacks the economic power of the other major countries in Europe.