- This article is about the Spanish as an ethnic group. For information on residents or nationals of Spain, see demographics of Spain.
The Spanish people or Spaniards are the ethnic group or nation native to Spain, in the Iberian peninsula of southwestern Europe.
Background
Spaniards are a Southern European Mediterranean population. The earliest inhabitants of Spain are believed to have been the Iberians who arrived in the region between the 4th millennium BC and the 3rd millennium BC. These early Iberians may have had some relationship with the Basques who are largely believed to have been an aboriginal population that may have existed throughout Europe before the coming of Indo-European-speaking peoples in the 1st millennium BCE. Another theory links them to the North African peoples from which the Canarian Guanches and modern-day Berbers descend from.
The Celtic tribes arrived in northern Spain between the 9th century BC and the 6th century BCE. These tribes merged with the Iberians in central Spain, creating a local culture known as Celtiberian. Unrelated to either the Celts or the Iberians was a people in southwestern Spain, known as the Tartessians and later Turdetanians, who developed a separate civilization of Egyptian and Phoenician influence. The seafaring Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthaginians successively settled along the Mediterranean coast and founded trading colonies there over a period of several centuries. The Punic wars between the Carthaginians and Romans were fought mainly in what is now Spain. Map of pre-Roman peoples of Iberia
The Roman Republic annexed Spain during the 2nd century BCE and transformed most of the region into a series of Latin-speaking provinces. As a result of Roman colonization, the majority of local languages, with the exception of Basque, stem from a type of vulgarized version of Latin that was spoken in Roman Spain, which evolved into the modern languages of the Iberian peninsula, including Spanish. Spain emerged as an important part of the Roman Empire and produced notable historical figures such as Trajan, Hadrian and Seneca.
The Germanic Vandals and their subordinates the Iranic Alans arrived around 409 CE, but were displaced to North Africa by another Germanic tribe, the Visigoths who conquered the region around 415 CE and became the dominant power in Iberia for a time. Iberian-Roman culture eventually romanized the Visigoths and other tribes. Another Germanic tribe, the Suebi, who arrived at roughly the same time as the Vandals, became established in the old North western Roman province of Gallaecia a kingdom which survived until late 6th century when it too was destroyed by the Visigoths.
By 711, the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by Muslim Arab-Berbers, popularly known as the Moors, who conquered and ruled the region for nearly eight centuries until 1492. These Muslim invaders were mainly of Berber origin with prominent Arab tribal leaders mixed in and they converted many locals to Islam to the point that local Iberian Muslims most likely outnumbered those of Middle Eastern and North African origin. Other local Muslims included the so-called Muladis or Muwalladin, in Arabic, or those born of foreign parentage. Muslim Iberia was known as Al-Andalus. Ultimately, the vast majority of Muslims as well as local Sephardic Jews were either expelled after the Christian reconquest (Reconquista) or forced to convert to Catholicism (see conversos).
Modern Spaniards are linguistically Latin, while their ancestors are derived primarily from native Iberians as well as various Basque, Phoenician, Greek, Celtic, Roman, Germanic, and North African Berber elements.
There are no official statistics on the Roma (Gypsy) population in Spain. Estimates range from 500 000 to 800 000 [4], making Spain, together with Romania and Bulgaria, home to one of the largest Roma communities in Europe. Over 40% of Spanish Roma live in the region of Andalusia, where they have traditionally enjoyed a higher degree of integration than in the rest of the country. Roma play a central role in Spanish folklore, music and culture. On the other hand, they also suffer the mistrust and rejection of a large part of the wider Spanish population.
There are now around 4 million foreign immigrants in Spain accounting for 9% of the Spanish population. Spain currently has one of the highest immigration rates in Europe.
Ancestry
The people of Spain are a Caucasoid Southern European people. One can infer from Spanish history that Spaniards are largely an Iberian Western-Mediterranean people who have seen some admixture from various invaders including Greeks, Phoenicians, Celts, Romans, Germanic tribes and North African Berbers. This is supported by the latest genetic research. It deserves mention that population genetics is a science quite early in development with conflicting studies and limited testing on only a few sections of human DNA that can not be considered fully conclusive in any shape or form.
Overall, it can be said that the Spanish are genetically and phenotypically similar to Portuguese, Italians, and other Mediterranean peoples:
When focusing in SW Europe, very small differences were found between Iberians and Italians, in agreement with the large mtDNA homogeneity described in Europe (Simoni et al. 2000a, 2000b; Helgason et al. 2000; see also Richards et al. 2002).
According to a study published by the University of Oxford, lineage diversity comparisons of Iberian populations with European (Tuscan) and North African (Algerian) populations shows the Iberian Peninsula to be more similar to other European populations, although some Iberian lineages can be traced to North Africa. The Basque population is significantly different from neighbouring populations in terms of overall levels of diversity. This is because the majority of sequences in the Basques are restricted to the lineage group defined by the CRS (Cambridge Reference Sequence) and its derivatives although, like other Iberian populations, they showed a unimodal distribution of pairwise sequence differences. Further genetic subdivision is apparent in Catalonia and Andalusia, with increased genetic diversity in the latter. Department of Cellular Science, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, UK.
In addition, Cavalli-Sforza, one of the most important geneticists of the 20th century, includes the Spanish people completely within the European genetic cluster, in his map of human genetic diversity.
Affinities with North African Populations
North African and Middle Eastern admixture in Spaniards is a controversial and sensitive issue, the thorough islamization of Spain over eight centuries having been, in the past, problematic for Spanish identity. Post-Islamic Spain was also the first modern state to pass race-based laws, discriminating Spaniards on the basis of their ethnic origin and "cleanliness of blood", meaning absence of moorish or jewish blood. Many of these laws remained in place until well into the eighteenth century.
Genetic studies have been carried out by a number of Universities attempting to determine the level of genetic impact of the five to eight centuries of Islamic rule in southern Spain. Many of these studies come to conflictive conclusions and none are to be considered conclusive.
Affinities with other Mediterranean populations seems probable as stated by a study (published 1999) funded by the Spanish government, according to which:
- The genetic polymorphism of four blood group systems (ABO, RH, MNSs, and DUFFY) was analyzed in two well-defined population samples coming from south-central Morocco and southeastern Spain. Both a controversial ancient common substrate and the long period of coexistence between North Africa and southern Spain during the eight centuries of the Islamic invasion of the Iberian Peninsula suggest a particular genetic relationship between northwestern Africa and southern Spain. Universidad Complutense de Madrid
These results showed gene flow largely stemming from the Berbers of North Africa. According to a study (published 2001) made by the International Institute of Anthropology in Paris, there is a clear gradient of increasing intensity of this gene flow from north to south Spain:
- The frequency of haplotype 5 at the Y-chromosome-specific DNA polymorphism (p49/TaqI) was reported in a study of 487 males originating from five different geographic locations in Iberia and North Africa. The highest frequency of haplotype 5 (68.9%) was previously observed in Berbers from Morocco, and it has been established that this haplotype is a characteristic Berber haplotype in North Africa. The relative frequencies of haplotype 5 distribution show a geographical gradient of decreasing frequency according to latitude in Iberia: 40.8% in Andalusia, 36.2% in Portugal, 12.1% in Catalonia, and 11.3% in the Basque Country; such a cline of decreasing frequency of haplotype 5 from the south to the north in Iberia clearly establishes a gene flow from North Africa towards Iberia.[5]
Equally, a study (published 2003) by the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain on Alu insersions in North West Africa and the Iberian Peninsula concludes that
- a closer genetic distance between South Spain and Moroccan Berbers as compared with other Spanish samples supports a major genetic influx consistent with some (but not all) previous genetic studies on populations from the two shores of the Gibraltar Straits. [6]
An earlier study by Bosch and Am J Hum Genet had established the North West African orgin of the Iberian Y-Chromosome pool to have been as low as 7%. Universitat Pompeu Fabra Another more recent study (published 2004) by the University of Barcelona confirms this view finding no affinities between Spaniards and Atlas Berbers with regards to CD4 STR/Alu haplotype distribution.:
- The CD4 STR/Alu haplotype distribution in South Spaniards is similar to that of other Europeans, the only special feature is the slight presence of the 90(+) and 130(+) typical Sub-Saharan haplotypes.
- The analysis of the CD4 STR/Alu haplotype variation failed to indicate any particular relationship between South Spaniards and North Africans. [7]
Many of these studies come to different conclusions on the genetic impact of Spain and Portugal's Islamic past and it is difficult to distinguish, by means of genetic markers, those affinities of recent origin (711-1492AD) and those which are the product of an ancient common substratum between Iberians and Berbers which may have been of greater importance. This was the case in the conclusions of a 1999 study made by El Jadida university. The study used eight erythrocyte genetic markers (ACP1, ESD, PGD, AK1, GLO1, PGM1, SODA, and DIA) of Morrocan and South-Eastern Spanish populations. It concluded that, with regard to other Europeans, the Spanish sample showed a particular affinity with North Africans that may be compatible with both an ancient common substratum and/or a special historical influence during the Muslim domination of the Iberian Peninsula.Departement de Biologie, Faculte des Sciences, Universite Chouaib Doukkali, El Jadida, Morocco.
A majority of gentic population studies (but not all) agree that the genetic impact on Spaniards of the Al Andalus period is more pronounced in some regions.
As for the nearly 2 million Canarian Spaniards, their gene pool can be distinguished as being halfway between those of its putative parents, although with a major Iberian contribution (62-78%). Both the substantial Northwest African contribution (23-38%), and the minor sub-Saharan African input (3%), suggest that the genetic legacy from the aborigines (Guanches) and slaves still persists in the Canary Islanders.[8]
Affinities with Northern European and Celtic Populations
Another study from the University of Chicago elaborates as to the north-south divide as northern Spaniards also show a degree of similarity with their northern neighbors in France and reveals the extent of "Celtic" contributions to the Spanish population. The study's conclusions are ambiguous as the results show and mtDNA is not the only factor in determining maternal lineage (see X chromosome).
- The recolonization of western Europe from an Iberian refugium after the retreat of the ice sheets 15,000 years ago could explain the common genetic legacy in the area.[9]
The links that Spain has with northern Europe may actually pre-date the Celts and Germanic invasions or reveal a high degree of similarity as parts of Celtic tribes from northern Spain left and colonized ancient Ireland:
- The affinities of the areas where Celtic languages are spoken, or were formerly spoken, are generally with other regions in the Atlantic zone, from northern Spain to northern Britain. Although some level of Iron Age immigration into Britain and Ireland could probably never be ruled out by the use of modern genetic data, these results point toward a distinctive Atlantic genetic heritage with roots in the processes at the end of the last Ice Age.[10]
Physical Appearance
Spaniards have thus the diverse origins (apart from the original Iberian peoples) which would be expected considering Spain's history and geographical location. This is reflected to a degree in Spaniards' physical appearance, which ranges from Southern Mediterranean to Nordic types, although an Iberian Mediterranean type is largely dominant.
Examples of Spaniards can be found on the Spanish National Football team:
More examples of Spaniards can be found watching Spanish TV on-line, in the following link. http://www.rtve.es/tve/directo/index.html
Language
- Main article: Spanish language
Languages spoken in Spain include Castilian Spanish, Catalan (and Valencian), Basque and Galician. Castilian Spanish is the language of the state although minority languages are co-official in a number of autonomous communities. There are a number of dialects of Castilian Spanish of which perhaps the most distinct are the Andalusian and Canarian dialects. Linguistically, the Spanish language is a Romance language and as such Spaniards are considered a Latin people. The strong Arabic influence on the language (nearly 5000 words are of Arabic origin) and the independent evolution of the language itself through history partially explain its difference from other Romance languages. The Basque language has also left a strong imprint on the language both linguistically and phonetically. Other changes in Spanish have come from borrowings from English and French, although English influence is stronger in Latin America than in Spain.
The number of speakers of Castilian Spanish, as a mother tongue, is roughly 35.6 million, while the vast majority of other groups in Spain such as the Catalans and Basques also speak Spanish as a second language, which boosts the number of Spanish speakers to the overwhelming majority of Spain's population of 45.9 million.
Spanish was also exported to the Americas and is spoken by millions from the U.S. to Argentina. A related language called Ladino is still spoken by descendants of Sephardic Jews who fled Spain following the Inquisition of 1492.
Religion
The majority of Spaniards are at least nominally Catholics (not all are practicing however), while Protestants, Muslims, Jews and other religious groups are also found in Spain. An increasing number of Spaniards also profess no religious preferences or are atheists and/or agnostics.
Other related peoples
The descendants of Spaniards can be found throughout the Hispanic nations of Latin America in the form of criollos, mestizos and mulattos. A small but important Spanish-mestiso minority (approx. 1%) is also to be found in the Philippines.
Spain itself consists of various regional sub-nationalities including the Castilians (a culturally-dominant minority [12] who most strongly identify with a Spanish identity), the Catalans, Valencians and Balearics (speakers of a distinct yet related Romance language in eastern Spain), the Basques, and the Galicians, who speak a language which is very close to Portuguese. Regional diversity is important to many Spaniards and some regions (other than the ones associated with the different nationalities) have strong local identities and dialects, such as Asturias, Aragon, the Canary Islands, and Andalusia.
Footnotes
- Including those of mixed Spanish and other European ancestry, mestizos and/or mulattos.
- Including mestizos and/or mulattos.
- Including other Hispanics of direct Spanish descent, and Spanish-descended mestizos and mulattos.
- Including Brazilians of mixed Spanish and other European ancestry, and Spanish-descended mestizos and/or mulattos.
- Including mistisong espanyol.
References
Offline references
- Castro, Americo. The Spaniards: An Introduction to Their History (Univ. of Calif. Press 1980).
- Chapman, Robert. Emerging Complexity: The Later Pre-History of South-East Spain, Iberia, and the West Mediterranean (Cambridge 1990).
- Goodwin, Godfrey. Islamic Spain (Chronicle Books 1990).
- Harrison, Richard. Spain at the Dawn of History (Thames & Hudson 1988).
- James, Edward. Visigothic Spain (Oxford 1980).
Online references
See also
