Spaniards
Spaniards are an ethnic group indigenous to Spain with a global legacy.
Spaniards are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to Spain, belonging genetically and ethnolinguistically to the broader Southern and Western European populations. They exhibit a high degree of continuity with other Indo-European-derived ethnic groups in the region. Spain is home to a diverse array of national and regional identities, shaped by its complex history, including various languages and dialects, many of which are direct descendants of Latin. Castilian is the most widely spoken and the only official language across the entire country, while other commonly spoken regional languages include Basque, Catalan, and Galician.
- born
- Earliest modern humans in Iberia believed to have arrived 35,000–40,000 years ago
- field
- Ethnic group and nation
- nationality
- Spanish
- known_for
- One of the first global empires; Spanish is the world's second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese; cultural legacy including Don Quixote and painters such as Diego Velázquez
Lore & Background
The earliest modern humans in the region of Spain are believed to have been Paleolithic peoples, arriving as early as 35,000–40,000 years ago. The Iberians emerged as a culture between the 4th and 3rd millennium BC, settling along the Mediterranean coast. Celts settled during the Iron Age, and some tribes in north-central Spain, with cultural contact with Iberians, are called Celtiberians. The seafaring Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians successively settled trading colonies along the Mediterranean coast over several centuries. The Roman Republic conquered Iberia during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, establishing Latin-speaking provinces. As a result, most local languages, except Basque, stem from Vulgar Latin. Hispania produced notable figures such as Trajan, Hadrian, Seneca, Martial, Theodosius, and Quintilian.
Reader's Guide
Spaniards are significant for their role in shaping one of the first global empires, which left a large cultural and linguistic legacy that includes over 570 million Hispanophones, making Spanish the world's second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese. During the Golden Age, advancements in the arts occurred, with renowned painters such as Diego Velázquez and the publication of the most famous Spanish literary work, Don Quixote. The population of Spain has become more diverse due to immigration in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, with among the highest per capita immigration rates in the world from 2000 to 2010. The diverse regional and cultural populations include Castilians, Aragonese, Catalans, Andalusians, Valencians, Balearics, Canarians, Basques, and Galicians.
Did You Know?
- The sole surviving indigenous language of Iberia is Basque.
- The Visigoths forcibly integrated all remaining independent territories in the peninsula into the Visigothic Kingdom.
- The Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula, termed al-Andalus, soon became autonomous from Baghdad.
- The Christian kings of Spain persecuted and expelled ethnic and religious minorities such as Jews and Muslims through the Spanish Inquisition.
More in Ethnic Groups 1-22
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