Castilians

Castilians
Regions with significant populations
	Castile–La Mancha, Community of Madrid)
Languages
	Spanish
Religion
	Predominantly Roman Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
	Other Spaniards; (Leonese, Extremadurans, Andalusians)

Castilians (Spanish: castellanos) are the inhabitants of the historical region of Castile. However, the region's exact limits are disputed.

Not all people in the regions of the medieval

La Rioja, the Community of Madrid and La Mancha are often also included in the definition, but that is controversial for historical reasons and for the strong sense of unique cultural identity of those regions. The Province of Albacete and Ciudad Real are also often included. As an ethnicity, Castilians are most commonly associated with the sparsely-populated inner plateau of the Iberian peninsula, which is split into two by the Sistema Central mountain range in northern or 'Old Castile' and southern or 'New Castile

'.

During the Reconquista and other conquests in the Middle Ages, the Kingdom of Castile (later Crown of Castile) spread over a large part of the Iberian Peninsula, especially towards the southern Spanish regions. Starting from the late 15th century, the Spanish colonization of the Americas led to the spread of Castilians over the New World, and they brought not only their language but also elements of their culture and traditions.

Language

Castilian (castellano), that is,

Arabic

that had been introduced by the Muslims. In this process Castilian absorbed many traits from these languages, some of which continue to be used today. Outside of Spain and a few Latin American countries, Castilian is now usually referred to as Spanish.

The language was brought to the

Francoist State

(1939 to 1975), there was an attempt to suppress the regional languages in favour of Castilian as the sole official language, causing a backlash against the use of Castilian in some regions after his death.

In Spanish, the word castellano (Castilian) is often used to refer to the Spanish language, alongside español (Spanish). (See

Names given to the Spanish language

.)

Demographics

Religion

Castilian identity and culture is strongly connected to

Spanish Inquisition

. The presence in the region of minority religions such as Protestantism, Orthodox Christianity, Islam or Judaism are the result of recent conversions or immigration.

References

^ "Interactivo: Creencias y prácticas religiosas en España". 2 April 2015. Archived from the original on 4 April 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2017.

[1] "Interactivo: Creencias y prácticas religiosas en España". 2 April 2015. Archived from the original on 4 April 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2017.

[1]

Language

Demographics

Religion

See also

References