Roman Spain: Romanization, Cities and Economy

7/ España Romana — Romanization and Management Concept of Roman Spain
We call the process of Romanization of Hispania the introduction (by peaceful means or by force) of elements of Roman social, political, and cultural life. These elements came into contact with indigenous societies while Roman artifacts and institutions were imposed. This process was most intense in the east and south and was weak in the mountainous north, especially the Basque Country and Navarre.

Vehicles of Romanization were:

• The spread of Latin.
• The military, Roman officials, and traders who arrived in Hispania.
• The foundation of many cities (we note Emerita Augusta, Hispalis, Caesaraugusta, Tarraco, or Barcino; these cities used an orthogonal plan and were surrounded by walls). They were led by two magistrates and a senate that included members of the local aristocracy. Cities that already existed in Hispania were easily integrated into the structures of the victors.

Urban organization and legal categories

The Roman legal organization classified urban centers into several categories:

• a) Colonies: population centers inhabited by Romans for military purposes or to relieve larger nuclei.
• b) Municipalities: cities granted Roman citizenship or Latin rights; their inhabitants paid taxes and performed military service.
• c) Indigenous (native) cities: federated cities (pacts with Rome); stipendiary cities (subject to the provincial governor and obliged to pay taxes); free cities (not subject to the governor but still paying taxes). These centers accounted for little more than a fifth of the peninsula's population; most remained castros (hillforts) more or less controlled by Rome.

The inhabitants were divided into:

• cives — full citizens,
• coloni — colonists with complete or special rights according to their location and origin,
• incolae — resident non-citizens,
• hospites — temporary residents,
• servi — slaves.

Economics of Roman Spain

ECONOMICS — 8/LA ROMAN SPAIN
Besides the exploitation of mineral resources, one of Rome's objectives in the conquest of Hispania was access to some of the best arable land in the romanized territories. Therefore, it was necessary to put those lands to use as soon as possible. Throughout Roman domination, the productive economy experienced a major expansion in Hispania, also favored by road infrastructure and trade routes that opened its markets to the rest of the empire.

From the abundance of coins found, especially of smaller denominations, the conclusion is drawn that money was in widespread daily use. During Rome's period of expansion in Hispania, many towns on the peninsula minted their own coins in order to facilitate payment of taxes and trade within the area under Roman rule.