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TTC Video – The History of Spain Land on a Crossroad

TTC Video – The History of Spain: Land on a Crossroad
Course No. 8286 | .M4V, AVC, 784 kbps, 1280×720 | English, AAC, 160 kbps, 2 Ch | 24×30 mins | + PDF Guidebook | 4.98 GB Lecturer: Joyce E. Salisbury, Ph.D.
Spain has played a unique and pivotal role in Western civilization. It has historically stood at a critical crossroad-a crossroad of geography, of cultures, of religions, of ideas, of trade, and more. Spain’s strategic location, through the centuries, has made it a magnet for multiple different peoples, and it has participated in and witnessed numerous major shifts, trends, and historical moments.

Across 5000 years, from its prehistory and ancient Roman rule to the glory of Moorish al-Andalus, and from its empire building to its religious passions and kingly dynasties,

Spain’s history has been extraordinarily dramatic, colorful, poignant, inspiring, and heartrending.

And yet, Spain’s remarkable role has not always been detailed in standard history curricula, at times overshadowed by the high profile of other

European powers. But to understand the unfolding of Spain’s epic history is to come to terms with one of the

West’s great civilizations, and to grasp its enduring presence and influence on the world stage.

Consider these singular features of Spanish history:
The Renaissance began in Spain 15 years before the rest of Europe;

Spain was both the instigator and the catalyst for the opening of the New World,

spanning North, Central, and South America-leaving Spanish as the world’s second most widely spoken language, following only Chinese;

Spain was a primary player in the vast commercial revolution that changed the world in the 17th century;
The collapse of Spain’s great empire both prefigured and sheds

light upon the later disintegration of other European empires;
Spain’s 20th century history reveals much about the rise and fall of fascism in Europe.

In The History of Spain: Land on a Crossroad, Professor Emerita Joyce E. Salisbury of the University of Wisconsin unfurls a broad and fascinating panorama of Spanish history, spanning the centuries from the first Neolithic settlement of the peninsula to Spain’s 20th century Civil War.