spanish

12 February, 2023 - 13:53 Sahir

Stunning Discovery of a Rare Medieval Spanish Synagogue Under Disco Pub

Over the centuries, this versatile building has been transformed from a holy temple to a hospital, home for abandoned children, a bustling restaurant, and even a lively disco-pub. But that's not all...

Auto de Fe in the Plaza Mayor, an oil painting from 1683 by Francisco Rizi. The painting depicts the ritual public penance carried out by heretics and apostates during the Spanish Inquisition. Source: Public domain

9 February, 2023 - 01:07 Marilo

The Spanish Inquisition: The Truth behind the Dark Legend (Part I)

One of the most controversial organizations in history, the Spanish Inquisition has been poorly understood by the general public. This period of religious persecution, which took place between 1478...

The rare and exceptionally preserved Dutch wooden ship figurehead found off the island of Texel in the Wadden Islands in early August 2022. Source: Victor Ayal

18 August, 2022 - 18:56 Sahir

400-year-old Ship Figurehead from 80 Years War Caught By Dutch Shrimpers!

An exceptionally well-preserved ship figurehead, in the form of a wooden statue, was “caught” by a shrimp boat crew off the coast of Texel Island in the Dutch Wadden Islands. This super-rare ship...

An amateur has found a new piece of timber from the Spanish galleon known as the Beeswax wreck. To date, many artifact fragments have been found on this rough coastline area, including pieces of Chinese porcelain. This image shows an unnamed wooden shipwreck have buried in a sand beach. Source: Scott Williams / Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

23 June, 2022 - 23:00 Nathan Falde

Wreckage from 17th Century Spanish Galleon Found Along Oregon Coast

A beachcomber exploring sea caves along the north coast of western Oregon, USA discovered timbers from the hull of the Beeswax wreck Spanish galleon that sunk in the Pacific Ocean more than 300 years...

In the famous Eighty Years' War or Dutch War of Independence, ice skates played a crucial role in the final outcome between Spain and the Netherlands that also led to the end of the notorious Spanish Inquisition. Blades of ice skates, made by the German company "Kondor," from about 1890. Source: Christos Vittoratos / CC BY-SA 4.0

11 June, 2022 - 14:46 Lex Leigh

Battles on Ice Skates in the 1500s: The Dutch Against The Spanish!

When you think of Spain, you don’t normally think of ice skates. Yet, that’s exactly what the King of Spain wanted back in 1572. And it wasn’t just a single pair; the king specifically requested 7,...

A skull of one of the Spanish syphilis patients who died in Lima’s fist hospital that was built just 20 years after Pizarro took over the Inca Empire. Source: Municipalidad de Lima

31 May, 2022 - 14:59 ashley cowie

Syphilis-ridden Spanish Skeletons Found at Lima’s First Hospital

The remains of 42 syphilis-ridden, colonial Spaniards have been unearthed at a 500-year-old hospital in Lima. But it’s suspected that beneath these poor afflicted souls, might lie the lost mummified...

The 1540–1542 Coronado Expedition, in a circa 1900 painting by Frederic Remington, heads north after travelling inland from the Gulf of Mexico. Source: Frederic Remington / Public domain

15 February, 2022 - 17:59 Sahir

16th Century Spanish Coronado Expedition Site Found in Arizona

An Arizona-based archaeologist claims to have found artifacts linked to the famous 16th-century Spanish Coronado Expedition led by Spanish conquistador Francisco Vázquez de Coronado. The Coronado...

Florida Museum archaeologist Charles Cobb holds an axe head known as a celt. To create this distinct shape, a Chickasaw craftsperson reworked a Spanish iron object to mimic traditional stone versions. Credit: Florida Museum, Photo by Jeff Gage

5 July, 2021 - 14:59 Nathan Falde

Artifacts Seized from Conquistadors by Chickasaw People in 16th Century Uncovered

A team of archaeologists digging at the Stark Farms Native American site in east central Mississippi have found more than 80 metal artifacts that were not manufactured by the Chickasaw people who...

15 May, 2021 - 15:01 dhwty

Hernan Cortes: The Conquistador Who Beat the Aztecs

Hernan Cortes was a Spanish conquistador who lived between the 15th and 16th centuries AD. He is best remembered for his expedition against the Aztec Empire centered in Mexico. This was part of the...

11 April, 2021 - 14:43 Sarah Piraino

Catherine of Aragon: The Spanish Queen of England

Catherine of Aragon was the first wife of the infamous King Henry VIII. Known for her failure to produce a male heir, she was the mother of Mary, later Queen Mary I of England. Catherine would spend...

30 December, 2020 - 22:03 Alicia McDermott

Archaeologists Astounded by Iberian and Roman Armor and Weapon Find

Spanish archaeologists have unearthed an exceptional collection of Iberian and Roman armor and weapons in an ancient, conflict-ridden city. Valuable helmets, swords, daggers, and shields have all...

19 December, 2020 - 00:26 ancient-origins

A Sacred Light in the Darkness: Surprising Winter Solstice Illuminations at Spanish Missions

On Monday, Dec. 21, nations in the Northern Hemisphere mark the winter solstice – the shortest day and longest night of the year. For thousands of years people have marked this event with rituals and...

12 October, 2020 - 05:52 Ed Whelan

Will Pope Apologize to Mexico for Church Complicity during Spanish Conquest?

The President of Mexico has written a letter to Pope Francis asking for an apology over the Catholic Church’s role in the brutal repression of indigenous people during the Spanish conquest of the...

The Column of Death at Mitla has been closed off from hugging by the public for a long time, as repeated hugging causes damage. But the column in the top photo is exactly identical, in every way, to the true Column of Death hugged by Mesoamericans for centuries.

28 August, 2020 - 22:57 dhwty

The Column of Death at Mitla, Hugged by Mesoamericans For Millennia

The Column of Death is the name given to a pillar at the archaeological site of Mitla , in the southwestern Mexican state of Oaxaca . The column was named for a legendary ritual in which it appeared...

The Battle of Trafalgar, oil on canvas by John Christian Schetky, c. 1841. Source: Yale Center for British Art / Public Domain

12 July, 2020 - 23:03 Aleksa Vučković

The Battle of Trafalgar and the Deafening Thunder of English Cannons

There have been crucial periods in the modern history of Europe that shaped its future and dictated the destinies of many nations. Sadly, these periods were often marked by wars and conflicts in...

Representational image of Moors in Spain. Source: Théodore Chassériau / Public domain

2 June, 2020 - 18:53 dhwty

Deciphering the Truth Behind the Moors in Spain

Al-Andalus is the name given to the Iberian Peninsula when it was under Muslim rule. Islam arrived in that region with the arrival of the Moors during the 8 th century AD, and succeeded in conquering...