Abstract
A bridge between Europe and Africa, the Iberian peninsula has absorbed influences from both regions. The original inhabitants were Iberians, who spoke a non Indo-European language, and Celtic peoples, who were mainly to the north and west of the peninsula. From the 8th century BC the Phoenicians established trading colonies such as Gades (Cádiz), importing metalworking skills, music and literacy in the form of a semi-syllabic script. The Greeks established a trading settlement in Catalonia named Empirion (now Ampurias) around 575 BC, and there is evidence of other Greek and Phoenician settlements along the Mediterranean coast.
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Further Reading
Balfour, Sebastian, The Politics of Contemporary Spain. 2004
Barton, Simon, A History of Spain. 2nd ed. 2009
Carr, Raymond, (ed.) Spain: A History. 2000
Closa, Carlos and Heywood, Paul, Spain and the European Union. 2004
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Hooper, John, The New Spaniards. 2nd ed. revised. 2006
Payne, Stanley G., Spain: A Unique History. 2011
Perez-Diaz, V. M., The Return of Civil Society: the Emergence of Democratic Spain. 1993
Phillips, William D., Jr and Phillips, Carla Rahn, A Concise History of Spain. 2010
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National library: Biblioteca Nacional, Paseo de Recoletos, 20–22, 28071 Madrid.
National Statistical Office: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), Paseo de la Castellana, 183, Madrid.
Website: http://www.ine.es
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Turner, B. (2012). Spain. In: Turner, B. (eds) The Statesman’s Yearbook. The Statesman’s Yearbook. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-59541-9_321
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-59541-9_321
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