The Story of Spain: The Dramatic History of Europe's Most Fascinating Country (review)

Mark R. Williams examines the development and formation of Spain throughout its history from its origins to present day. Additionally, the author introduces this country's cultural background along with writers, painters, and musicians who have shaped it. The text contains the following: a preface, an introduction, twelve chapters, followed by a list of rulers, a suggested reading section, and an index. It also includes several maps, drawings, and photographs. Each chapter ends with a list and descriptions of sights and sites related to the topics covered.

After setting the Spanish stage in a preamble and a brief introduction, "In the Beginning Was Iberia" takes the reader into a journey of discovery of the peninsula. The Celts and the Iberians mark the starting point of this voyage, which continues with such ancient colonizers as the Phoenicians, the Greeks, and the Carthaginians.

Chapter 2, "The Romans Were Here," explains the crucial role that Romans played in shaping Spain and its people from the initial conquest until Hispania became a full member of the Roman empire: "Hispania was the pride of the empire, the most Roman of all its provinces" (33). The Romanization of the peninsula is described in great detail with references to such Roman legacies as language, laws, architectural and engineering structures, urban life, religion, and structure of society.

The next two chapters, entitled "Medieval Spain" and "Moros y Cristianos," explore the influences of the Goths who replaced the Romans in the control of the peninsula and moved their capital to the city of Toledo. This section also describes the arrival of the Moors to the peninsula in the year 711, which marked the beginning of a new era that changed the country forever: "Thus commenced the Moorish chapter of Spanish history, several centuries during which most of the peninsula developed quite differently from the rest of Europe" (58). This part explores the reconquest initiated in Covadonga with Don Pelayo, the formation of Christian kingdoms, and concludes with the marriage of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragón.

The author analyzes the role of the Inquisition, the final campaign of the Reconquest in Granada in 1492, the expulsion of the Jews, and the voyages of Columbus to the New World in "Birth of the Spanish World" and "Ecstasy and Agony." Furthermore, Williams explores the reigns of Isabella and Ferdinand, Charles I, and Philip II, with their accomplishments and failures. This era is considered the peak of the Spanish empire in contrast with the political decline of the seventeenth century: "The coming century would be one of political and economic disasters, overseen by a parade of feeble and debauched kings" (147).

In chapters 7 and 8, "The French Century" and "Liberal Spain," Williams discusses the Bourbon dynasty, the independence war against Napoleon and the depiction of such conflict by Francisco de Goya. In addition, the author describes the independence of the Spanish colonies in Latin American in the nineteenth century.

In "The Best of Times, Worst of Times" and "The Spanish War," the author underscores the artistic and cultural richness of Spain in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He also describes the historic events of the loss of the last colonies in 1898 and the Spanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939. The reader is exposed to this era through a variety of perspectives. As a result, one enjoys a very comprehensive and lively portrait of Spain. Artistic and historical figures such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Manuel de Falla, and Francisco Franco come alive, providing a better understanding of the events and people who shaped this nation.

The concluding chapters, "The Age of Franco" and "Contemporary Spain," examine Franco's regime until his death in 1975 and the transition from his dictatorship to the democratic system that Spain enjoys today.

The Story of Spain: The Dramatic History of Europe's Most Fascinating Country is a well-written text...