Unfortunately the presentation for November's meeting had to be changed at the last minute. Attendees were given the opportunity to select one of two Spanish themed documentaries. The Spanish Empire - The First Global Superpower, an FD Ancient History production, was selected. The documentary delivered a breakneck overview of Spanish History from the fall of the Roman Empire, through Moorish occupation, the Inquisition, colonisation of The New World, before finishing with an examination of the empire's decline.

The documentary can be viewed on YouTube by clicking here.

October's meeting was enraptured with Gloria Camino's talk about Machu Picchu. The lecture gave us an insight into the geographical and historical context in which the Incas developed, how and why they built Machu Picchu in such a spectacular location.

Society members can watch a recording of Gloria's presentation by logging into the Member's Only page and selecting the video. To access the Member's Area click here.

September's talk was given by Antonio Dueñas Pérez who was born and raised in Mexico City, has recently completed a degree in Ancient Mexican Civilisations and is an official Teotihuacan History Guide.

Society members can watch a recording of Antonio's presentation by logging into the Member's Only page and selecting the video. To access the Member's Area click here.

The 2024/5 season starts this week with the first meeting at the Fratton Community Centre and commencement of the society's Spanish language tuition schedule.

The society's language classes are led by a Spanish national with teaching qualifications and, compared to many other language tuition sources, are extremely good value.

An outline tuition timetable is displayed here. Click here to contact the society's Language Coordinator for more information.

Society Member Recommendation

I have just finished reading The Penguin History of Modern Spain by Nigel Townson. It is excellent. Anyone really interested in the period from 1898 to the early 2020s, and likes political history, should get a copy. The writer is a much published academic dealing with modern Spanish matters.. He is acid in his criticism of writers whose personal, political commitments invade their objectivity. So there is bracing discussion of the Second Republic, the Civil War, the Franco regime, and modern prime ministers. Significant reassessment of things we thought we knew. The text runs to 462 pages plus notes and indexes. It really is worth the £14.99 price

Below is an extract of the book's summary from the Penguin website:
Drawing on over forty years of post-Franco scholarship, The Penguin History of Modern Spain transforms our knowledge of Spain and its politics, society, economics and culture. It interweaves cutting-edge Spanish-led research - never before published in English - and testimonies of peasants, housewives, soldiers, workers, entrepreneurs, feminists and worker-priests, for an original and surprising portrait, which allows us, at last, to discern the country behind the veil of propaganda and romantic myths which still endure today. Click here to visit the Penguin website for more information.