been a very fiercely proud and independent bunch and the history of resistance down through the years and against most invading parties is long and varied.
Initially the Galicians and Basques who were very resistant to most forms of invasion had very good links with the more peaceful and trading seafarers, the Phoenicians however it was their descendents, the Carthaginians who first started to cause problems.
The Carthaginians who had invaded Spain in the third century B.C. had settled widely in southern and central Spain. While there was contact with those in the north the biggest effect upon this was when Hannibal the most famous of Carthaginian leaders decided to take on Rome.
The conflict between the Carthaginians and the Romans had long been in the offing and if the truth be known could best be described as an accident waiting to happen.
The end result of this conflict was that the Romans started to take a more serious interest in Spain viewing it potentially as the next Carthage. In an attempt (as successful as it turned out) to prevent another regional superpower, the Romans invaded Spain and under the leadership of a Augustus and Agrippa finally succeeded in establishing a secure base in Spain in the first century B.C.
While the Romans managed to establish secure fortresses in settlements throughout the rest of Spain it goes without saying that the more feisty northern Spaniards made life slightly hotter and more difficult for the Romans.
The Basques and Galicians especially were very resistant to Roman interference and after a series of “bloody noses”, the Romans decided to adopt a live and let live stance towards those in