Spanish world: Hispanic countries on the world map

Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages on the planet and is represented practically on all continents, it is connected both with the colonial past of Spain and with the active resettlement of Spaniards around the world in the 20th century. The civil war, which shook the country in the twentieth century, became a catalyst for the active movement of Spaniards around the world, and many supporters of communism, escaping from fascist persecutors, even found themselves in the Soviet Union.

Hispanic Countries

Assuming that the Spanish-speaking country is considered to be a relatively large number of people for whom Spanish is native, more than forty countries can be counted in the world according to this criterion.

First and foremost, of course, Spanish is the state language of the Kingdom of Spain. But there are twenty-two other countries in which Spanish is officially recognized. The community of Hispanic countries traditionally includes states where the language has official status.

The list of Hispanic countries is as follows:

• Argentina;
• Chile;
• Colombia;
• Bolivia;
• Costa Rica;
• Cuba;
• Dominican Republic;
• Ecuador;
• Guatemala;
• Honduras;
• Mexico;
• Nicaragua;
• Panama;
• Paraguay;
• Peru;
• Puerto Rico;
• Salvador;
• Uruguay;
• Venezuela;
• Spain;
• Philippines.

Hispanic African countries include Equatorial Guinea and the unrecognized state of the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic. The dominant position of Spanish language in these countries was due to Spain's aggressive colonial policy, which lasted for four centuries. During this time, Spanish-speaking countries appeared in all parts of the world, and the language spread from the island of Easter, which is now administered by the Chilean Republic, to the countries of Central Africa.

Jewish influence

However, not only colonialism contributed to the spread of language around the world. There were other events, no less tragic, that affected this process.

In 1492, the Spanish Queen Isabella shook the large Jewish community of her country by a decree of incredible cruelty: all Jews had to leave the country or take holy baptism, which, of course, was unacceptable for the faithful Jews. The death was waiting for those who did not submit.

Within three months, many Jewish families left the kingdom, carrying with them, in addition to personal belongings, the language and culture of the Spanish kingdom. So the Spanish language was brought to the territory of the Ottoman Empire, and then to the State of Israel.

In addition, numerous Spanish and Jewish settlers brought the language to Morocco, where for a long time it was safe due to the traditional religious tolerance of Islamic rulers.

Spanish in the USA

The Constitution of the United States does not say a word about the state language, and most states do not have special laws governing this issue. However, along with English, Spanish is actively used in the country, therefore, although the US is not considered to be a Spanish-speaking country, in some states the Spanish language is used in state institutions.

A large number of Hispanic Americans are associated not only with migration, as it may seem, but also with the historical events of the nineteenth century, when Mexico and the United States were actively fighting for influence in North America.

The result of this confrontation was a devastating war, lasting two years from 1846 to 1848. As a result of the war, more than a million square kilometers of land were alienated from Mexico, which accounted for almost half of the territory of the losing country. Together with these lands, the United States also got citizens speaking Spanish. Since then, in many southern states, Spanish is the second most widely spoken language, and in some states Spanish speaks the majority of the population.