España: A Brief History of Spain

A wide-ranging exploration of the history of what we deem Spain today.

The author does well at highlighting the fragmentation and federalization of what we call Spain. "Spain" as a coherent entity does not really exist; what we deem "Spain" is really Castile, Catalán, the Basque country, and similar such federal regions.

The author generally focuses on Spain after Ferdinand and Isabella; there is a discussion of prehistoric Spain, the Carthaginian, Roman, and Visigothic periods, the Muslim invasion and the Reconquista, but these periods are discussed quickly and without the depth the rest of the work provides. The author seems more at home with Spain in the days of the Renaissance, early modern, and modern periods: the Habsburg dynasty, show more the development and exploitation of the empire, and the ruinous wars and unequal distribution of the wealth gained from empire. He then describes the days of the Bourbons, the Napoleonic interruption, and the tension between various Carlist and republican factions throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. Much is made of the period before Franco, the Spanish Civil War, and the period of Franco. The author also goes into detail regarding Spain's return to Europe and its values in the days since Franco, and of the current challenges facing the country.

Since most European history works speak of Spain quickly in the 16th and 17th centuries and then perhaps a little about the 1930s, and that's about it, this is a helpful work to come to a better understanding of why Spain is what it is and how and to what end it leveraged its influence in Central and South America, Asia, and many other parts of the world. A useful resource, even if it could have provided a bit more thorough explanation of the days before 1492.

**--galley received as part of early review program show less

Excerpt from longer article:
Timely Take-aways for Life-Long Learning: History of Place
Whether exploring the history of remote mountain regions or telling the story of a city through its people, these new works of nonfiction explore how five places around the world evolved over time.
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España : A Brief History of Spain
Giles Tremlett, Sept 2022, Bloomsbury Publishing, an imprint of Macmillan
Themes: History, Europe, Western
From prehistoric times to today, readers explore the geographic, cultural, and political history of Spain along with its relationship with people and lands nearby. Stunning photographs and illustrations bring the place and international history to life.
Take-aways: Educators will find the book’s approach useful as show more they think about interesting ways to present international history. show less

Giles Tremlett (historian) traverses the varied history of Spain from prehistoric times to today 2022, in a very brief an accesible way. Spain´s cahotic history.