Download or read book Footprints in Spain (Classic Reprint) written by H. A. Newell and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2017-11-22 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Footprints in Spain Curious though it may seem the average stranger, in Spain, finds the country of such absorbing interest, that he has little attention to spare for the inhabitants. It is not modern Spain that appeals to him, but that mighty Empire of the past, which strews the entire Peninsula with monuments. Every historical building is a milestone on Time's highway. Each mighty Cathedral is an epic in granite and marble. The more he advances the further back he goes descending, step by step, the long stairway of the centuries until, at Cadiz, he comes face to face with the old gods, and knows that he has reached that far-off golden age beyond which mere man may not penetrate. To the primitive Spain of those days came the Phoenicians in their long many oared galleys. They were traders, not conquerors, or missionaries and established their emporiums on the seashore. In dealing with the native Iberian and Celtic tribes they trusted to their wits and avoided appealing to arms, and religious propaganda. Gradually, however, as their business expanded, they found themselves compelled to exercise a certain amount of political domination. This led to war, hence the legends of the battle of the Titans, in which Hercules, afterwards defied by the Greeks, emerged Victorious and. Founded Cadiz. The Phoenicians were followed by the Greeks, then came the Romans and the complete absorption of the Iberian Peninsula in the Latin empire for a period of six centuries. During it Spain rose to a high degree of civilisation, luxury and splendour, as is testified by widely scattered remains of fortifications, palaces, temples, theatres and viaducts. With the decline of Roman power the country was subjected to repeated barbarian raids from the north until the Visigoths established their supremacy. At first the new capital was at Toulouse but was subsequently moved south to Toledo. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.