othland to the Visigoths, and Al-Andalus to Muslim occupiers which heavily influenced the development of the Andalusian civilization.
- Hispanic is used to refer to modern Spain, to the Spanish language, and to the Spanish-speaking nations of the Americas.
- Spanish is used to refer to both to the Spanish language itself and to the culture and the people of Spain
- Spaniard is used to refer to the people of Spain
Prior to the marriage of Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon in 1469, the four Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula, namely the Kingdom of Portugal, the Crown of Aragon, the Crown of Castile, and the Kingdom of Navarre, were collectively referred to as Hispania, the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. This usage in medieval times appears to have originated in Provençal and appears to be first documented at the end of the 11th century. In the Council of Constance, the four kingdoms shared one vote.
Portugal adopted the word "Lusitanic", or "Lusitanian" to refer to its culture and people, in reference to the Lusitanians, one of the first Indo-European tribes to settle in Europe. From this tribe's name had derived the name of the Roman province of Lusitania, which was a part of Roman province of Hispania, and Lusitania remains Portugal's name in Latin.
The expansion of the Spanish Empire between 1492 and 1898 brought thousands of Spanish migrants to the conquered lands, creating a large settlement that stretches all over the world and producing several multiracial populations. The term Hispanic is sometimes applied to the populations of these places. This is not necessarily so for people of Portuguese ancestry. For instance, Portuguese Americans are not considered "Hispanic" by the United States Census Bureau.
Definitions in the United States
The terms Hispanic and Latino tend to be used interchangeably in the United States for people with origins in Spanish–speaking countries. Latino, from American Spanish, is used in some cases as an abbreviation for latinoamericano, "Latin American". In some Hispanophone countries, Hispanic and Latino are not commonly used.
The 1970 Census was the first time that a "Hispanic" identifier was used and data collected with the question. The definition of "Hispanic" has been modified in each successive census. The 2000 Census asked if the person was "Spanish/Hispanic/Latino".
The U.S. Office of Management and Budget currently defines "Hispanic or Latino" as "a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race". This definition excludes people of Portuguese origins, such as Portuguese Americans and Brazilian Americans. However, they are included in some government agencies' definitions. For example, the U.S. Department of Transportation defines Hispanic to include, "persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Central or South American, or others Spanish or Portuguese culture or origin, regardless of race." This definition has been adopted by the Small Business Administration as well as many federal, state, and municipal agencies for the purposes of awarding government contracts to minority owned businesses. Still other government agencies adopt definitions that exclude people from Spain. Some others include people from Brazil, but not Spain or Portugal.
- Further information: Racial demographics of the United States and Race and ethnicity in the United States Census and History of Latinos and Hispanics in the United States
Hispanization is the process by which a place or a person absorbs characteristics of Hispanic society and culture. Modern hispanization of a place, namely in the United States, is illustrated by, but not limited to, Spanish language newspapers, radio stations, churches, as well as Latin restaurants, tortilla factories, panaderias (bakeries), taquerias (taco restaurants) and specialty music stores, clothing stores, and nightclubs. Hispanization of a person is illustrated by, but not limited to, speaking Spanish, making and eating Latin food, listening to S