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Template:Spanish ethnicity The Spanish people or more properly Spaniards are a nation native to Spain, in the Iberian Peninsula of southwestern Europe. The Spanish people have varied origins, due to Spaniards long history of invasions and migrations. Substantial populations descended from Spanish colonists and immigrants also exist in other parts of the world, most notably in Latin America. A more orthodox analysis would be used to class these groups as Spanish, based on common language, culture and a sense of shared ancestry.

Historical background

The earliest modern humans inhabiting Spain are believed to have been Paleolithic peoples that may have arrived in the Iberian Peninsula as early as 35,000-40,000 years ago. In more recent times the Iberians are believed to have arrived or developed in the region between the 4th millennium BC and the 3rd millennium BC, initially settling along the Mediterranean coast.

Celtic tribes arrived in Iberia between the 9th century BC and the 6th century BC. The Celts merged with the Iberians in central Spain, creating a local hybrid culture known as Celtiberian. In addition, a group known as the Tartessians and later Turdetanians inhabited southwestern Spain and who are believed to have developed a separate civilization of 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 Second Punic War between the Carthaginians and Romans was fought mainly in what is now Spain and Portugal.^[1]

The Roman Republic annexed Iberia during the 2nd century BC 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 Latin that was spoken in Hispania (Roman Iberia), which evolved into the modern languages of the Iberian peninsula, including Castilian, which became the unifying language of Spain, and now known in many countries as Spanish. Hispania (including Spain, but also Portugal) 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 AD, but were displaced to North Africa by another Germanic tribe, the Visigoths who conquered the region around 415 AD 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 (including the Buri), 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 integrated by the Visigoths.

In 711, the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by Muslim Arab-Berbers, popularly known as the Moors, who conquered nearly all the peninsula except the Kingdom of Asturias in the very northern part and subsequently ruled part of the region as Al-Andalus, but were driven south during their reign, ruling areas from between three to nearly eight centuries, ending with their defeat in 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 at certain points in time Muslims outnumbered Christians. Muslims of Hispanic origin were generally known as Muladis (or Muwalladin in Arabic), "those born of foreign parentage" (though the idea "foreign" in this case meant "foreign" to the Arab and Berbers). Muslim Iberia was known as Al-Andalus. Ultimately, most Muslims and Sephardi Jews were either forcibly converted to Christianism or expelled after the Christian reconquest (Reconquista).

The union of the Kingdoms of Castille and Aragon and the conquest of Granada led to the formation of the Spanish state as we know it today and thus to the development of Spanish identity in the form of one people.

Ethnicities and regions

Spain's nationalities

Spain itself consists of various regional nationalities including the Castilians^[2] (who most strongly identify with the Spanish identity), the Catalans, Valencians and Balearics (speakers of a distinct Romance language in eastern Spain), the Basques (a distinct people inhabiting the Basque country), 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) also have strong local identities and dialects, such as Asturias, Aragon, the Canary Islands, and Andalusia.

The Roma

Spain is home to around 700,000 Spanish-Roma (Gitanos). Roma are a formerly-nomadic group, originating in Northern India, which spread across Western Asia, North Africa and Europe, reaching Spain in the 15th century. Gitanos, for a number of historical and cultural reasons are not considered a separate or "foreign" population in Spain, but a distinct ethnicity which overlaps with the wider Spanish ethnicity. Indeed, Gitanos play an important role in particularly Andalusian folklore, music and culture. There are no official statistics on the Gitano population in Spain. Estimates range from 600 000 to 700 000, making Spain, together with Romania and Bulgaria, home to one of the largest Roma communities in Europe. Over 40% of Gitanos live in the region of Andalusia, where they have traditionally enjoyed a higher degree of integration than in the rest of the country. A number of Spanish "gitanos" also live in Southern France, especially in the region of Perpignan.

Ancestry

Template:TotallyDisputed-section The ancestry of the Iberian peoples is largely consistent with the geographic position of the Iberian peninsula, located on the extreme southwest of Europe. There are clear connections with the Mediterranean peoples as well as with those of Atlantic and Western Europe.

The Paleolithic and Neolithic basis of Modern Iberian Ancestry

Recent development of methodologies for defining population structure using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism markers has led a 2006 study to conclude that there is clear and consistent division between “northern” and “southern” European population groups. This study, involving 74 Spanish American participants strongly suggested a close genetic relationship between Greeks, Italians, Portuguese and Spaniards, whereas all European populations north of the Alps and the Pyrenees (except for Ashkenazi Jews) fell squarely into a separate "Northern" population group.[^[3] A similar 2007 European-wide study including 20 Valencian Spaniards, found Iberian populations to cluster the furthest from other continental groups, implying that Iberia holds the most ancient European ancestry. In this study, the most prominent genetic stratification in Europe was found to run from the north to the south-east, while another important axis of differentiation runs east-west across the continent. It also found, despite the differences, that all Europeans are closely related.^[4]

Previous Y-chromosome and mtDNA analysis already pointed to Paleolithic ancestry among Iberian populations. Although this methodology does not provide strong inferences on genetic population structure, it is useful in tracing parts of the routes of migration in the populating of Europe. Both Y-chromosome haplogroups R1b and Mtdna haplogroup H, reach frequencies above 60% in most of Iberia, R1b peaking at 90% in the Basque region. [3] This shows an ancestral bond between Iberia and the rest of western Europe, and in particular with Atlantic Europe, which share high frequencies of these haplogroups. Y-chromosome and mtDNA analysis seems to support the theory according to which founder populations in northern Iberia colonized the rest of western Europe at the end of the last glaciation. ^[5] Y-chromosome and Mtdna analysis also points to pre-historic population movements into Iberia from North Africa, probably during the Capsian diffusion.

Autosomal studies using a small number of classical genetic markers, supported by more recent analysis of Microsatellite data, have not only lent support for a large Neolithic element in the European genome, but have also been the basis for the demic diffusion model from the near east. Broad gradients across Europe, largely on a South East/North West cline using a small number of classical genetic markers would thus link the populations of Western Europe (including Iberia) by a common "paleolithic" ancestry and those of eastern (and particularly south eastern) Europe by a common "neolithic" ancestry ^[6] Nevertheless the demic diffusion model remains controversial, to the degree that studies of ancient Mtdna point to the total absence of Neolithic contribution to modern European populations.

The Legacy of Muslim Rule

There exists a number of studies which focus on the genetic impact of the eight centuries of Muslim rule in the Iberian peninsula (al-Andalus) on the genetic make up of the Iberian population. Recent studies agree that there is a genetic relationship between (particularly southern) Iberia and North Africa as a result of this period of history. Iberia is the only region in Europe with a significant presence of the typically North West African Y-chromosome haplotypes E-M81^[7],^[8] and Haplotype Va^[9]. A thorough Y-chromosome analysis of the Iberian peninsula reveal that haplotype E-M81 surpasses frequencies of 10% in Southern Iberia.^[10]

As for Mtdna analysis, Iberia has much higher frequencies of typically North African Haplogroup U6 than those generally observed in Europe.^[11][12][13]. North African ancestry in Iberia (Algarve and Alentejo, Portugal) is largely on the maternal side where the mtDNA contribution of NW Africa to Iberia (given that the average frequency of U6 is 10% in NW Africa compared with 1.8% in Iberia) can be estimated at 8% ^[14][15].

This region also has the highest frequency of haplogroup L of Sub-Saharan origin (especially in southern Portugal and to a lesser extent Andalusia) mostly as a result of Berber colonisation and, to a lesser extent African slavery, both during and after Muslim rule^[16],^[17]

Nevertheless, the North African element in modern day Iberians' ancestry is evidently small compared to their pre-Islamic ancestral basis.^[18][19]

Finally, bidirectional gene flow across the Strait of Gibraltar has been detected: the genetic contribution of European Y chromosomes to the NW African gene pool is estimated at 4% and NW African populations may have contributed 7% of Iberian Y chromosomes. The Islamic rule of Spain, which began in A.D. 711 and lasted almost 8 centuries, left only a minor contribution to the current Iberian Y-chromosome pool. The high resolution analysis of the Y chromosome allows us to separate successive migratory components and precisely quantify each historical layer [4] However North African ancestry in Iberia is largely on the maternal side where the mtDNA contribution of NW Africa to Iberia (given that the average frequency of U6 is 10% in NW Africa compared with 1.8% in Iberia) can be estimated at 18%^[20][21].

The Canary Islands

The inhabitants of the Canary Islands, hold a gene pool that is halfway between the Iberians and the ancient native population, the Guanches (a proto-berber population), although with a major Iberian contribution. Guanche genetic markers have also been found, at low frequencies, in peninsular Spain, probably as a result of slavery and/or later immigration from the Canary Islands.^[22]

Other historical influences

The ancestry of modern Spaniards has been influenced by the many peoples which have passed on its territory throughout history. These peoples include the Iberians, Celts (Celtiberians), Phoenicians (Punics), Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Suebi, Visigoths, Saqaliba (Slavs), Alans Byzantines, Berbers and Arabs (Moors), Jews (Sephardim) or Marranos, and particularly in Andalusia, the Roma people (Gitanos).

Modern Immigration

The Spanish population is becoming increasingly diverse due to recent immigration. Spain now has among the highest per capita immigration rates in the world and immigrants now make up about 10% of the population. Since 2000, Spain has absorbed more than 3 million immigrants, with hundreds of thousands more arriving each year.^[23] Immigrant population now tops over 4.5 million.^[24] They come mainly from Europe, Latin America and North Africa. ^[25](see Immigration to Spain).

Language

Languages spoken in Spain include Spanish (Castellano o Español), Catalan (Català), Galician (Galego), Basque (Euskara). Other languages are Asturian (Asturianu), Aranese Gascon (Aranés) and Aragonese (Aragonés), each with their own various dialects. Although Spanish is but one of the many languages of Spain, it is this language which is commonly known as being the "Spanish language" since it is the official state language, although minority languages are co-official in a number of autonomous communities.

Peninsular Spanish is largely considered to be divided into two main dialects: Castilian Spanish (spoken in the northern half of the country) and Andalusian Spanish (spoken mainly in Andalusia). However, a large part of Spain, including Madrid, Extremadura, Murcia and Castilla-la Mancha speak local dialects known as "transitional dialects" between Andalusian and Castilian Spanish.^[26] The Canary Islands also have a distinct dialect of Castilian Spanish which is very close to Dominican and Venezuelan Spanish. Linguistically, the Spanish language is a Romance language and is one of the aspects (including laws and general "ways of life") that makes Spaniards to be labelled a Latin people. The strong Arabic influence on the language (nearly 4000 words are of Arabic origin)^[27] and the independent evolution of the language itself through history, most notably the Basque influence at the formative stage of Castilian Romance, partially explain its difference from other Romance languages. The Basque language 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 Spanish, as a mother tongue, is roughly 35.6 million, while the vast majority of other groups in Spain such as the Galicians, Catalans and Basques also speak Spanish as a first or second language, which boosts the number of Spanish speakers to the overwhelming majority of Spain's population of 45.9 million.

Spanish was exported to the Americas over three centuries of Spanish colonial rule in that continent, starting with the arrival of Christopher Columbus to Santo Domingo in 1492. Spanish is spoken natively by over 400 million people, and spans across most countries of the Americas; from the Southwestern United States in North America down to Tierra del Fuego, the most southernly region of South America in Chile and Argentina. Mexico has the largest Spanish-speaking population in the World, with approximately 100 million speakers.^[28] A variety of the language, known as Judæo-Spanish or Ladino (or Haketia in Morocco), is still spoken by descendants of Sephardim (Spanish and Portuguese Jews) who fled Spain following a decree of expulsion of Moors and Jews in 1492. Also, in Asia, a Spanish creole language known as Chabacano is spoken by nearly 1 million people in the Philippines, and developed from the mix of Spanish with native Tagalog and Cebuano languages during Spain's rule of the country through Mexico from 1565 to 1898. In Russia, the Spaniards who moved there during World War II, speak in a mix of Russian and Castillian Spanish. Some speak Catalan.

Religion

According to several sources (Spanish official polls and others, www.ine.es), about 76% self-identify as Christian Catholics, about 2% with another religious faith, and about 19% identify as non-believers or atheists.

Other related peoples

Tens of millions of Spanish descendants can be found throughout the Hispanic countries of Latin America in the form of criollos (predominantly Spaniards born in the Americas), mestizos (mixed Spanish/Amerindian), mulatos (mixed Spanish/African) or triracial (Spanish/African/Amerindian). In the United States, the number of Mexican-Americans represent a significant portion of the Spanish descended population, as the majority -over 70% of the population of Mexico- have Spanish ancestry, though most also have Amerindian ancestry. See Demographics of Mexico.

On a smaller scale, in addition to approximately 17,000 Spanish citizens in the Philippines, there is also a small but important minority of Filipinos of Spanish descents (mixed Spanish / Austronesian ancestry).

Spanish heritage in the Americas

Near half of the total ascendance of people living in Latin America has predominantly Spanish ancestry. The major cases occur in Mexico (30%, about 25 million people), Colombia (50%, about 20 million people), Argentina (50%, about 15 million people),Paraguay (60% about 5 million people) Brazil 10%, about 18 million people),^[29] and Chile (60%, about 10 million people).

Spanish make-up in Latin America may be mixed with different ethnies from different places around the world: For example, in Mexico it is mainly mixed with Aztec and other Native Americans blood, in Colombia it is mixed with Native American and African ancestry, in Puerto Rico it is mixed primarily with Taino and to a much smaller extent African, in Argentina it is mixed with other European groups, such as the Italian, the Germanic, and the British, and in Chile it is mixed mainly with both Native Americans and other European groups.

Spanish culture had even greater impact than the mere arrival of Spaniards in the Americas. This can be seen in the fact that Spanish is spoken as official language in almost all, if not in all, countries conquered by the Spanish Reign, and the Roman Catholic religion is the main religion in the region. There are other matters, such as architecture and politics, that show the major influence that Spain has had in Latin America. In the United States, more than 15% of the population is of Hispanic origins, with more than 40 million people who are partly or fully of Spanish ancestry.

See also

• Genetic history of Europe

Spanish Identities

Within the broader Spanish identity are long standing subidentities:

• Andalusian people
• Aragonese people
• Asturian people
• Basque people
• Cantabrian people
• Catalan people
• Castilian people
• Galician people

Spanish nationality and regional movements

Languages of Spain

Official languages

• Spanish (see also dialects and varieties)
• Catalan/Balearic/Valencian
• Basque
• Galician
• Aranese

Unofficial languages

• Aragonese
• Astur-Leonese
• Tarifit (Riffian)

Ancient Spanish peoples

• Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula
• Iberians
• Basques
• Celts
• Punics
• Greeks
• Romans
• Visigoths
• Jews
• Moors

People with Spanish ancestry

• Spanish Americans
• Spanish Argentines
• Spanish Brazilians
• Spanish Britons
• Spanish Filipinos
• Spanish Mexicans
• Ethnic groups in Central America
• White Latin Americans

Footnotes

References

• Castro, Americo. Willard F. King and Selma Margaretten, trans. The Spaniards: An Introduction to Their History. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1980. ISBN 0520041771.
• Chapman, Robert. Emerging Complexity: The Later Pre-History of South-East Spain, Iberia, and the West Mediterranean. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. ISBN 0521232074.
• Goodwin, Godfrey. Islamic Spain. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1990. ISBN 0877016925.
• Harrison, Richard. Spain at the Dawn of History: Iberians, Phoenicians, and Greeks. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1988. ISBN 0500021112.
• James, Edward (ed.). Visigothic Spain: New Approaches. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980. ISBN 0198225431.
• Thomas, Hugh. The Slave Trade: The History of the Atlantic Slave Trade 1440 – 1870. London: Picador, 1997. ISBN 033035437X.