Spain is a country that has a rich history. Romans, Visigoths, Franks, Moors and Jews have all left their mark on the country´s culture. The Catholic Church managed to gain control of the country when the peninsula was freed from Muslim rule in 1492. The powerful Spanish Empire that emerged at that point in time marked the beginning of Spain´s Golden Age.

Spanish chess set
The Chessmen Museum is home to an extraordinary chess set from Spain. The set is part of the G.M. Glotzbach Collection. The game board is used as a stand when placed on its side and serves as a display for its chess pieces. The big, wooden pieces are brightly coloured, with the red players opposite the blue ones. They could easily represent the medieval Spanish kingdoms of Castile and Aragon.

Tiny Spanish kingdoms
Until the end of the 15th century the Iberian peninsula was divided into four territories: the Islamic Granada in the south of Spain, the kingdom of Portugal in the west, the kingdom of Aragon in the east and the vast kingdom of Castile situated in the centre.

In the early Middle Ages, the heathen Visigoths defeated the Romans on the peninsula, following the huge decline of the Roman Empire. The Visigoths started to fight each other for the rule over the land though, and eventually called in the help of the Moors, an Islamic people from the north of Africa. This wasn´t a smart move though: the Moors ended up conquering the Spanish territory in the 8th century. A big area of the Iberian peninsula turned into an Islamic caliphate. The centuries of Moorish sovereignty saw culture; science and agriculture prosper in Spain.

The small Christian Spanish kingdoms in the north, but also neighbouring countries and the pope were not happy about the conquests of the Moors. From the start of the 8th century until 1492 they all fought to ban the Islamic people from Spain. At the time of the crusades for example, the Christian knights not only went to Jerusalem to fight Islam, they also travelled to Spain. Because of wars amongst the allies and the stronger Moorish military forces, the reconquest of the peninsula was a process of nearly 800 years. In the 13th century the Spanish were able to expel the Moors to the south and only the kingdom of Granada was left under Moorish rule.

A great number of castles were built in the border area of Castile to defend the Northern territories. Here lies the origin of Castile´s name; it is a referral to the Spanish word for castle: castillo. The other important Christian kingdom on the Iberian peninsula was Aragon, situated in the east of present-day Spain.

Ominous times
In the Middle Ages, plague epidemics, wars and famine alternated at a rapid pace. This was also the case for the Iberian Peninsula. After the Moors had been banished to the south, the mutual wars hadn´t ended yet. The kingdoms of Aragon and Castile were in conflict with each other on a regular basis. Castile may have owned a larger area on the peninsula, Aragon was the one conquering many territories outside of the isthmus, such as large parts of Italy, Sicily and parts of Greece. The plague epidemics caused great social commotion. The Jews, who had been able to live and work peacefully, especially under Moorish government, were now the designated scapegoats. Especially in the 14th century, persecutions took place on a large scale. This would finally lead to the expulsion of the Jews, or their conversion to Christianity, in the year 1492.

New riches, golden ages
1492 was also the year that Columbus discovered America. With this discovery, and the consequent colonisation of new areas, enormous amounts of gold and other resources reached the peninsula. These riches no longer had to be wasted on mutual wars. After centuries of conflict, Aragon and Castile had been united by the marriage of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, in 1469. The two kingdoms, together with the regained former caliphate of Granada and the territories in South America, formed the Spanish Empire from the end of the 15th century.

With peace re-established on the peninsula and the wealth of the colonies, Spain´s Golden Age began. The economy, science and arts thrived and Spain was a leading country in Europe. Charles V, the grandson of Isabella and Ferdinand, would expand the total surface of the kingdom even more, particularly through inheritance. In the 16th century, the Netherlands also became part of the Spanish Empire.

The Spanish Golden Age didn´t last forever: it would come to an end in the 17th century. The many wars within Spain´s vast realm, such as the Revolt of the Netherlands, left the empire with enormous debts. Other countries, like the economically booming Republic of the United Netherlands, took over control.

By Marjolein Overmeer