The Spanish

The fundamental question addressed in this volume on Spanish self-ascription is as follows: What drove Spain's characteristic patterns of periods of glory and periods of decline, as well as the vacillations in the Spanish mindset between a spirit of openness and rigid orthodoxy of thought? The Iberian Peninsula served as a springboard for Muslim expansion into Christian Europe, and, within Christendom, the reaction was aggressive religious fanaticism. There was also a contrasting spirit (a trend toward tolerance in the Spanish experience), with the "Golden Age" of Muslim rule in Spain, which was able to develop due to the country's distance from centers of Islam. This book surveys the evolution of the Spanish Empire in the aftermath of the Reconquista and portrays the dire economic consequences it wrought when extremism and aggressive religious fanaticism that eschewed enlightenment became a dominant force in Spain. The Spanish Civil War was the factor that eventually gave rise to Spanish unity and the emergence of a Spanish national identity, previously unattainable. This change of attitudes and values benefited the economy, as well as society. Religious tolerance, only reintroduced after Franco's rule, has had a similar beneficial effect. The Spanish experience - in successfully integrating Spain's disparate parts in the wake of its civil war - can serve as a model for an overarching European identity. This book is part of the series Heritage, Society and National Identity in the European Union, which sets out the historical national and religious characteristics of the Germans, French, Italians, Spanish, Dutch, and British, as they impact the integration of the respective groups within the European Union. (Series: Heritage, Society and National Identity in the European Union)