Spain and Portugal for Visitors

Posted by : John Ross on Aug 15, 2008 - 07:54 AM history

I have been plagiarized yet again, and as often, one of my articles which has been filched is Castles in Spain. It's one of the first that I (re)wrote when I set this site up separately from the About.com network (whence it came) and has always seemed to be well-liked, so I suppose it isn't surprising. There doesn't seem to be much to be done about the plagiarism, but as it is such a popular theme, I've cobbled together a Google map of nearly 90 of the most interesting castles in the country, together with an article about Spain's mediaeval history. You can see it here, or read on for a bit more about why Spain is so rich in castles, Spain's mediaeval Christian-Muslim divide and the reconquista.

"Moor" is a generic word meaning someone from Mauritania, i.e., North-West Africa. So it has no racial meaning - the Moors were both Arab and Berber, the Berbers being the native inhabitants and the former having exploded out of their home in the Eastern Mediterranean in the 7th century and establishing a Muslim empire in the entire southern and eastern Mediterranean. In 711, they crossed the Straits of Gibraltar and conquered the Iberian Peninsula in an amazingly brief period of time you can (read about it here, if you are interested). They were not expelled until 1492.

But for most of that time, there was a balance, Muslim Spain and Portugal being the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula, while the new Christian kingdoms - León, Galicia, Castile, Portugal, Navarre and Aragón - occupied the northern half. The balance was not upset until the 11th century, when the Christians, particularly the Kingdom of Castile, were well-established and powerful enough for the reconquista to really get going.

That doesn't mean that there was peace between Christians and Muslims until then - on the contrary. It was a time of conflict, tributes and vassalage. The stronger side would demand money from the weaker if the latter was not to be attacked, a kind of large-scale, mediaeval protection racket. And this period of time coincides with the great Age of Castles (my capital letters). Hence their proliferation in Spain.

It's more complicated than that, of course, and I go into into a wee bit more depth in this article. You don't have to know the history to enjoy your castles, though, and you may just want to see whether there are any to be spied wherever you are going to be in Spain - the answer is almost certainly "yes." So here you are, the Spain and Portugal for Visitors Map of Castles in Spain. All my own work, as usual - I hope you enjoy it.