The
Hispanidad is the community formed by all the people and countries that share a common Hispanic-heritage and cultural pattern.
The 21 nations that are included are all
Spanish-speaking countries. The community can be classified into three geographic areas:
Hispanic Europe (
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
),
Hispanic AmericaHispanic America or Spanish America is strictly the region comprising the American countries inhabited by Spanish–speaking populations....
(Spanish-speaking America),
Hispanic Africa (Spanish-African territories,
Equatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea is a country located in Central Africa. With an area of 28,000 km
2 it is one of the smallest countries in continental Africa. It has a population estimated at half a million...
).
Hispanidad
The flag symbolizes the encounter between the three carabelas that took Christopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was a navigator, colonizer and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere...
to AmericaThe Americas, or America, are lands in the Western hemisphere or New World, comprising the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. America may be ambiguous in English, as it is more commonly used to refer to the United States of America...
and the dazzling American Sun shining. |
| |
Countries traditionally considered as the core of the Hispanidad.
|
| Members |
21 nations that are Spanish-speaking
Europe
Americas
Africa |
The
Hispanidad is the community formed by all the people and countries that share a common Hispanic-heritage and cultural pattern.
The 21 nations that are included are all
Spanish-speaking countries. The community can be classified into three geographic areas:
Hispanic Europe (
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
),
Hispanic AmericaHispanic America or Spanish America is strictly the region comprising the American countries inhabited by Spanish–speaking populations....
(Spanish-speaking America),
Hispanic Africa (Spanish-African territories,
Equatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea is a country located in Central Africa. With an area of 28,000 km
2 it is one of the smallest countries in continental Africa. It has a population estimated at half a million...
). A few countries in the Asia-Pacific region also have a somewhat of a historical Spanish influence, although they do not have Spanish as their official language.
Various countries celebrate October 12 as the
Día de la Hispanidad ("Day of Hispanicity" or "Hispanic Day") is celebrated as a national holiday. Since 1987
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
has celebrated this holiday as its
Fiesta Nacional de España In the other nations of the community, the day is also celebrated as a commemoration of the date in 1492 when
Christopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was a navigator, colonizer and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere...
discovered
AmericaThe Americas, or America, are lands in the Western hemisphere or New World, comprising the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. America may be ambiguous in English, as it is more commonly used to refer to the United States of America...
, marking the beginning of the diffusion of Spanish language and culture as well as its lasting impact on the world.
History
Hispanidad or Spanish linguistic and cultural diffusion began on 12 October 1492 when
Christopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was a navigator, colonizer and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere...
initiated its
EuropeanThe European peoples are the various nations and ethnic groups of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
colonization of the Americas in the name of the
Catholic MonarchsThe Catholic Monarchs is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. The title of "Catholic King and Queen" was bestowed on them by the Pope Alexander VI. They married on October 19,1469, in the city of Valladolid; Isabella was eighteen...
of Spain. The
kingdom of CastileKingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...
(Castilla) built a global empire, spreading its culture and language in the Americas and biologically and culturally mixing with the Indigenous peoples and ultimately, the African slaves, altering the composition of the hemisphere. The penetration and reach of Spain at this time also extended into other European nations.
In 1713, the
Real Academia EspañolaThe Real Academia Española , the RAE, is the official royal institution responsible for regulating the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, but is affiliated with national language academies in twenty-one Spanish-speaking nations through the Association of Spanish Language Academies...
was established to regulate written and spoken Spanish language throughout the empire so that it could be understood by all Hispanics. At the beginning of the 19th century, the American colonies' dissatisfaction with the Spanish government and Napoleon's invasion of Spain created an opportunity for revolution in America. All of the Spanish colonies obtained independence at this time, except Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Asian possessions. These three countries gained independence from Spain when the United States intervened in the
Spanish-American WarThe Spanish–American War was an armed military conflict between Spain and the United States that took place between April and August 1898, over the issues of the liberation of Cuba. The war began after American demands for the resolution of the Cuban fight for independence were rejected by Spain...
.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Hispanicity was moribund. Zacarías de Vizarra,
Faustino Rodríguez-San PedroFaustino Rodríguez-San Pedro was Mayor of Madrid in 1890, and a deputy in the Spanish National Congress, and then a political minister in the governments of Francisco Silvela y Antonio Maura. He was a lawyer who joined the Conservative party at that time. He is great grandfather of current Spanish...
and
Ramiro de MaeztuRamiro de Maeztu y Whitney was a Spanish political theorist, journalist, literary critic, occasioanl diplomat and member of the Generation of '98....
revived interest in the concept in Spain and the Americas, changing its name to Dia de la Raza or "Day of the [New] Race". This was already a national celebration in many Hispanic countries, in honor of the meeting of Europeans and Amerindians, their mixing and the emergence of the
mestizoMestizo is a Spanish and Portuguese term that was used in the Spanish Empire and Portuguese Empire to refer to Latin people of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry in the Americas....
race. Shortly thereafter, the first pan-Hispanic organizations such as the Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española began. With the restoration of democracy in Spain, all the Hispanic nations began to converge with, for example, the creation of the Cumbre Iberoamericana in 1991. Since then, the number of Hispano-American, Ibero-American, Pan-Latin American organizations has increased.
Currently, Hispanicity is a cooperative venture. Spain has created a base of support for Hispanic America and is the country that invests the most in this zone. Latinos or Hispanic choose to immigrate to Spain, due to its cultural, linguistic and ancestral affinity.
Hispanics in the world
Major influence
Spanish, as a mother tongue, is spoken by more than 333 million people (second only to
ChineseChinese or the Sinitic language is a language family consisting of languages mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
). The total number of Spanish speakers is more than 395 million people.
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
contains the largest number of Spanish speakers.
Europe
In Europe, Hispanics reside primarily in
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
as it is the origin of Hispanicity, although there are small communities spread throughout Europe. The native-born population is more than 44 million, plus a large immigrant Hispanic community from Hispanic America and Equatorial Guinea.
Americas
The majority of Hispanics live in Hispanic America, coinciding with recognized international borders. The number surpasses 300 million. Countries with great majority Hispanic population include
ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
,
BoliviaBolivia, officially Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, and Chile and Peru to the west....
,
ChileChile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
,
ColombiaColombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean...
,
Costa RicaCosta Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the east and south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south and the Caribbean Sea to the east.Costa Rica, which translates literally as "Rich Coast", constitutionally...
,
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
,
Dominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are occupied by two countries...
,
EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador , literally, "Republic of the equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America that...
,
El SalvadorEl Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America. It borders the Pacific Ocean between Guatemala and Honduras. It lies on the Gulf of Fonseca, as does Nicaragua further south. It has a population of approximately 5.7 million people as of 2009 on...
,
GuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast. Its size is just under 110,000 km² with an estimated population...
,
HondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras...
,
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
,
NicaraguaNicaragua officially the Republic of Nicaragua , is a representative democratic republic. It is the largest country in Central America with an area of 130,373 km
2. The country is bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west of...
,
PanamaPanama, officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of both Central America and, in turn, North America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the...
,
ParaguayParaguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay , is one of the two landlocked countries which lie entirely within the Western Hemisphere, the other being Bolivia, both in South America....
,
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
,
Puerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands...
(U.S. territory) and
VenezuelaVenezuela , officially titled Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It is a continental mainland with numerous islands located off its coastline in the Caribbean Sea...
.
The
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
BelizeBelize , is a country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, composed of many cultures and speaking many languages. Although Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official language...
, while not officially counted as Hispanic nations, do each have a large Hispanic population. The United States has more than 40 million Hispanic residents or about 14% of its total population. 43% of Belizeans commonly speak Spanish at home.
Africa
Hispanics in the African continent are concentrated in overseas territories of Spain, which are
Canary IslandsThe Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago which, in turn, forms one of the Spanish Autonomous Communities and an Outermost Region of the European Union. The archipelago is located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the disputed border between Morocco and the...
,
CeutaCeuta is an autonomous city of Spain located on the North African side of the Strait of Gibraltar, on the Mediterranean, which separates it from the Spanish mainland. The area of Ceuta is approximately ....
,
MelillaMelilla is an autonomous Spanish city located on the Mediterranean, on the north coast of North Africa. It was regarded as a part of Málaga province prior to 14 March 1995, when the city's Statute of Autonomy was passed.Melilla was a free port before Spain joined the European Union. As of 2008 it...
and
Plazas de SoberaníaThe plazas de soberanía , formerly referred as "África Septentrional Española" or simply "África Española" are the current Spanish territories in continental North Africa, bordering Morocco.Since the Reconquista, the Spanish army conquered and maintained numerous emplacements in North Africa as a...
). Moreover,
Equatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea is a country located in Central Africa. With an area of 28,000 km
2 it is one of the smallest countries in continental Africa. It has a population estimated at half a million...
has Spanish as its official government language, although the people speak their respective native languages. In
MoroccoMorocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
and
Western SaharaWestern Sahara is a territory of North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly consisting of...
, some people maintain Hispanic characteristics, although these countries are more so influenced by Arab and/or Berber languages and cultures. Altogether in Africa, two million speak Spanish.
Asia-Pacific
The Philippines is a prime example of an Asian country with some historical Hispanic influence, due to its governance by the Spanish Crown in the late 1500's, and exerting influence from Mexico for 300 years. This is evident in some of its culture and native tongues - although Spanish was never a language spoken by a large group nor is it an official language today. One of the more obvious marks left by Spanish rule in the nation is the prevalence of Hispanic given names and surnames among many Filipinos (see Alphabetical Catalog of Surnames). An interesting aspect of this naming custom is that, unlike the peoples of the Hispanic world, among Filipinos a Spanish surname does not indicate Spanish ancestry, as the ancestors of the indigenous peoples were forced to change their surnames for taxing systems.
Spanish has made significant contributions to various Philippine languages such as
TagalogTagalog is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 22 million people.It is related to Austronesian languages such as Chamorro , Indonesian, Malay, Javanese and Paiwan , Cham , and Tetum...
, Cebuano and other indigenous dialects and tongues. One of the 170 languages in the Philippines is a Spanish-based creole called Chavacano, spoken in majority by people from the
ZamboangaZamboanga may refer to:*Zamboanga City, the largest city in Western Mindanao of the Philippines*Zamboanga Peninsula, a peninsula*Zamboanga Peninsula , mainly consisting of the geographical peninsula...
area. Though the indigenous grammatical structure of the
national languageA national language is a language which has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a people and perhaps by extension the territory they occupy. The term is used variously. A national language may for instance represent the national identity of a nation or country...
was retained, over 500 Spanish loanwords have found their way into the vocabulary of
FilipinoFilipino is the national language of the Philippines and, along with English, is an official language; designated in the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Filipino is an Austronesian language that is based on various existing native languages in the Philippines, with a significant number of Spanish...
.
Other countries, largely
Spanish coloniesThe Spanish Empire was one of the largest empires in world history, and one of the first global empires. It included territories and colonies in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania, from the 15th century through—in the case of its African holdings—the latter portion of the 20th century...
, in the Asia-Pacific region which also exhibit some
HispanicHispanic is a term that historically denoted a relationship to the ancient Hispania . During the modern era, it took on a more limited meaning, relating to the contemporary nation of Spain....
influence:
- Guam
Guam is an island in the western Pacific Ocean and is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. The island's capital is Hagåtña...
and the Northern Mariana IslandsThe Northern Mariana Islands , officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , is a commonwealth in political union with the United States, occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of fifteen islands about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the...
, where ChamorroChamorro is a Malayo-Polynesian language, spoken on the Mariana islands by about 47,000 people .-Chamorro speakers:...
, a Spanish-influenced Austronesian languageThe Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia. It is on par with Bantu, Indo-European, Afro-Asiatic and Uralic as one of the best-established ancient language families...
, is spoken.
- Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands form a large archipelago of widely scattered islands in the western Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...
, which nowadays are divided between the Federated States of MicronesiaThe Federated States of Micronesia is an island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, north of New Guinea. It is a sovereign state in free association with the United States. The Federated States of Micronesia were formerly part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, a United Nations Trust...
in the eastern part and PalauPalau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, some 500 miles east of the Philippines and 2,000 miles south of Tokyo. Having emerged from United Nations trusteeship in 1994, it is one of the world's youngest and smallest sovereign states...
, where a Spanish-based creole language-Chavacano:Chavacano is a Spanish-based Creole language and the name of the Six Dialects of Spanish evolved words turned into a Creole language spoken in the Philippines...
is spoken, and the local languages have Spanish influence.
- Easter Island
Easter Island ; is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeastern most point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile annexed in 1888, Easter Island is widely famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai , created by the early Rapanui people...
is now an overseas territory of ChileChile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. Spanish is the official language of the island.
See also