Spain - History (Grades 6-8)

Spain - History (Grades 6-8)

Spain - History (Grades 6-8)
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 6 to 8
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	7.74

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		dictatorship, non-Catholics, non-Christians, ruling, conquest, execution, prosperity, conquistador, expansion, unrest, riches, brutal, eternal, overseas, fully, invaders
	content words:		Roman Hispania, Some Visigoths, Catholic Monarchs, Spanish Inquisition, Christopher Columbus, New World, South America, North America, Juan Ponce, In St

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Spain - History
By Ekaterina Zhdanova-Redman

¹     For most of its history, Spain has been at the center of exploration and conquest. From the earliest years, Spanish territory was the source of all kinds of wars between Romans, Greeks, Goths, and Arabs. In its later years, Spain was a driving force in Europe's expansion into the "New World."

²     Cave paintings in Spain suggest human history there as far back as 25,000 BC. Phoenicians and Greeks occupied Spanish lands until the 3rd century BC, when the Romans arrived on the Spanish peninsula. Taking over Spain wasn't an easy fight for the Romans. In fact, it took them about 200 years to fully take over the country. Only after these two centuries of struggles, were Roman laws and customs adopted by the Spanish natives.

³     Roman rule didn't last too long--within just a few hundred years, invaders from the west poured into Spain. In 409 AD, Visigoths from Germany invaded Roman Hispania (Spain's name under Roman rule.) In ten short years, the Visigoths took Spain from the Romans. The Visigoths ruled for just fewer than 300 years.

⁴     The Visigoths lost Spain to the Muslims--called Moors--who entered Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar from Africa. The Moors arrived in Spain in 711 AD and took most of the country over in three years. All but the very northern parts of Spain fell to the Muslims.

⁵     The years that followed the Moor conquest of Spain were some of the most productive years in Spain's history. Schools, mosques, and public baths were built and arts and sciences grew tremendously during Moor rule. Also, new ways of farming were developed.

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