Gold and silver began to connect European nations through trade, and the Spanish money supply ballooned, which signified the beginning of the economic system known as capitalism. The new riches ultimately created mass inflation and economic distress. However, Spain gained creative capital from their new global reach.

Ponce de Leon claimed Florida for Spain in 1513, and Hernando de Soto led a Spanish exploration of the southeastern United States in 1539, discovering the Mississippi River. In 1565, Spain established the first successful European settlement in North America—a fortress in St. Augustine, Florida.

After Columbus opened the way into the New World, the Spanish moved into Peru and Mexico, where they conquered wealthy native civilizations. Then in the 1530s they began exploring the southeastern and southwestern regions of North America in hopes of finding more treasure.

Many different factors, including the decentralized political nature of Spain, inefficient taxation, a succession of weak kings, power struggles in the Spanish court and a tendency to focus on the American colonies instead of Spain’s domestic economy, all contributed to the decline of the Habsburg rule of Spain.

Bull

However, the national animal of Spain is not a bird, but the bull (bos taurus).

The national animal of Spain is the bull. The bull is also an important component of Spanish culture in general. For instance, Spain participates in bullfighting and the traditional Running of the Bulls.

Plus ultra

“Sometimes the bull is seen as a symbol of Spain, as a symbol of the virtues and the values of Spain and Spanish culture,” says Failing. “Sometimes the relationship is one of gender and a sort of masculine force and feminine force. Sometimes it’s a relationship of aggressor to something more passive.

Paella

There are of course the famous Spanish drinks we all know — sangria, wine and beer — but there are many more that most tourists are not familiar with — sweet creamy horchata, icy fruity granizados, and sherry-based rebujito cocktails, that are just as popular among the locals.

Arroz con Leche

Dinner might include fresh fish or seafood or a portion of roast chicken or lamb with fried potatoes or rice. An omelet and fish with a green salad on the side are also quite common. A simple and quick dish, commonly eaten at dinner is arroz cubano, a mound of white rice, topped with tomato sauce and a fried egg.

These 14 dishes — from seafood and meat to rice and pastries — are essential meals when you travel to Spain.

1. Paella Valenciana. Paella is perhaps the most famous Spanish dish of all, and certainly one of the most abused.
2. Patatas bravas.
3. Gazpacho.
4. Pimientos de Padron.
5. Fideuà
6. Jamón.
7. Tortilla.
8. Churros.

Lunch

The later working hours force Spaniards to save their social lives for the late hours. Prime-time television doesn’t start until 10:30pm. “If we changed time zones, the sun would rise one hour earlier and we’d wake up more naturally, meal times would be one hour earlier and we’d get an extra hour’s sleep.”

As a result, Spaniards who would eat at 1pm or 1.30pm continued to eat at their usual time (now 2pm or 2.30pm), continued to have dinner at 8pm (now 9pm) and continued to go to bed at 11pm (now midnight).

Spain isn’t as mellow about meal times as you might think. For years, the European country has been notorious for it’s super-late dinner time, usually around 10 p.m., coupled with its nationwide policy for taking a siesta in the mid-afternoon.

Spain. In modern Spain, the midday nap during the working week has largely been abandoned among the adult working population.

around 20 to 30 minutes

Stress relief – Taking a brief nap every day helps lower tension throughout the body and stress, which in turn may support a healthy heart. Feeling better – Naps can be great for maintaining a healthy mood, especially if you slept poorly the night before.

Spain

In 2016 the Spanish government even tried to take steps to shorten the working day by up to two hours by putting an end to long lunch breaks. Some experts believe the traditional siesta may still have a place in the modern working world, especially when so many of us are apparently already sleep-deprived.

According to Traditional Chinese Medication, to keep the harmony within your body, it is thus advisable to take a nap. For employers, they believe that when their employees do take the time to rest during the day, it is especially good for productivity, plus well-rested workers are happy workers.

The nap can last for two or three hours, and it’s common for people to completely undress just as they would for nighttime sleeping. Many French businesses close down for two to four hours every afternoon, giving workers the chance to eat lunch and spend time with friends and family.

The average French person sleeps almost nine hours every night, more than an hour longer than the average Japanese and Korean, who sleep the least in a survey of 18 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Sleeping on the job: the cultures of sleep and napping from around the world

• China – Bring your bedroom to work.
• Japan – Inemuri.
• Spain – Siesta.
• Italy – Riposo.
• Norway – Napping outside.
• Indonesia – Fear sleep.
• Botswana – Sleeping on your own schedule.
• USA -Silicon Valley sleepers.

When it comes to napping cultures around the world, Spain stands out for its love of midday dozing. Napping holds such a special place in Spanish culture that they have a word dedicated to the practice: “siesta.”