SPAIN

By Colby Petelinkar, Christopher Fricker, Nick Ripans, Maddie Adams, Claudia Wyrzykowski

Government/Politics

Prince Ferdinand of Aragon, married Princess Isabella of Castile in 1469 bringing the two parts of Spain together.

In 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella told all Jews to convert or leave the country.

In 1492 the Moors surrendered to the armies of Ferdinand and Isabella.

Religion The treaty signed promised the Moors

freedom of religion. In 1502 the Catholic monarchs told the

remaining Moors to convert or leave. Ferdinand and Isabella were known as the

“Catholic Monarchs” They created a plan called the Spanish

Inquisition which tortured thousands of people charged with heresy.

To keep order in the land they set up Corregidores, or royal officials to govern towns

Economy/Trade

Most of the artisans, merchants, bankers, doctors, and educators have been either Jewish or Moors they were left with no one to do their job.

They traded with Portugal, for slaves who worked in the sugar farms

Warfare

They used cannons and Lateen (triangular sails from the Muslims)

They added Lateens it with the traditional square sails on the carvel ( a warship) to give them more mobility and stability

Current Event

Three terror suspects are in Spain causing havoc. This is called one of the biggest operations against Al Qaeda in Spanish history. They have arrested the three people who have been plotting attacks against the US and Britain. One of the men is Turkish, and the other is Chechen. Police clam they had enough explosives to blow up a bus. Two of the men are on their way to France to be detained. The other is going to the province of Cadiz.  

Sources say that they were plotting against the US naval base at Rota or British investments in Gibraltar. These three men are professional Paragliders, which lead evidence that they might attack from the air. Explosives were found in the apartment of one of the suspects in the area of San Roque. Police in San Roque are still trying to find more explosives in the neighboring towns. They believe that the three suspects stored bombs and Documents.

One of the Chechen suspects is a specialist in chemicals. No names have been given yet but their initials are A.A.A., M.A., and C.Y.

This relates to what we are studying because a lot of the big super powering countries have threats inside the country which as we have seen before leads to the downfall of the country. This relates to the Roman empire when the Barbarians rose up within the empire and defeated the Romans because of the crude control of the empire. This is also shown in this current event. The theme is peace and security within the country.

Current Event Movie

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/02/world/europe/spain-terror-arrests/index.html

Click link then click play on movie

Graphic Organizer

Government: There were several kingdoms, and the most powerful were Castile and Aragon. When Prince Ferdinand and Princess Isabella took control, they gave and changed many orders. They took control of Nobles, and they sent Corregidor’s to govern the towns. They also made many changes in religion. Daily Life: During the Spaniards daily lives, they did

many things, most focused on the government, power, and religion. All of Spain was united into many different kingdoms. They had many different groups of people governing separate towns. Many people were Catholic, because they king and queen made them convert. The king and queen believed that in order to all unite, everybody should be Catholic. They even had the Spanish Inquisition to make sure everyone was Catholic. Therefore, in order to save themselves, many people converted. Later on, Spain has become weaker than it ever has, and since then everything went downhill.

Technology: Spain’s language was Spanish. In fact, Spanish was made in Castile, one of the most powerful kingdoms. However, they didn’t call it Spanish; they called it the Castilian language. The reason why it was called Castilian was because it was made in Castile. Soon, the Castilian language became the official language, and all government papers were to be written in Castilian. After that, the language began to spread.

Graphic Organizer part 2

Religion

Background:

When King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella ruled Spain in the 1400s and 1500s, they decreed that all Spaniards must become Roman Catholics. People who practiced other religions, such as Islam or Judaism, where forced to change religions. If they did not, they were killed or exiled from Spain. Today, almost 97 percent of Spain´s population is Roman Catholic, although Muslims and Jews in the country now practice their religions freely. About 12,000 Jews also live in Spain. Jew’s first came to Spain with Romans, who invaded the country around 200 B.C. and ruled for the next 600 years. Jews follow the teachings of their holy book, the Torah, which is written in the Hebrew language.Islamic Spain was a multi-cultural mix of the people of three great monotheistic religions: Muslim, Christian and Jews. Although Christians and Jews lived under restrictions, for much of the time the three groups managed to get along together, and to some extent, to benefit from the presence of each other. It brought a degree of civilisation to Europe that matched the heights of the Roman Empire and the Italian Renaissance.

Geography Long-distance trade in the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific was pioneered by the Spanish and Portuguese. Spain occupies 85% of the Iberian Peninsula, which it shares with Portugal, in southwest Europe. Africa is less than 10 miles south at the Strait of Gibraltar. A broad central plateau slopes to the south and east, crossed by a series of mountain ranges and river valleys. Principal rivers are the Ebro in the northeast, the Tajo in the central region, and the Guadalquivir in the south. Off Spain's east coast in the Mediterranean are the Balearic Islands the largest of which is Majorca.