The Roman province of Lusitania was located in the west Iberian Peninsula, what is now Portugal. Before the Roman conquest, tribal people, mostly of Celtic origin, settled in Spain. They are classified into three major groups: Lusitani (or Lusitanian), Celtiberians, and Iberians. The Lusitani lived on the western coasts and were a group of warlike tribes. They resisted Roman domination until their leader was killed in 139 B.C. The Lusitani revolted again in 61 BC. However, the revolt was put down by Julius Caesar. The final conquest of Spain took place between 39 B.C. and 19 B.C. The province of Lusitania was established in 27 BC by Octavian Augusts. The province of Lusitania took its name from the Lusitani tribe.
There were two major religions in Lusitania. One was Roman and another was the ancient pre-roman religion. Roman religion was adopted by the romanized natives. In general, the Romans were tolerant of religion, receiving Greek, Egyptian, and Germanic gods. So everyone was free worship the gods of their choice. That was the main reason for the persistence of pre-roman cults like the Endovelicus or the Trebaruna which were very diffused in Lusitania.
Lusitania had resources that were very important to the economy of the Roman Empire. One of them was fish. Lusitania developed a large industry of tinned fish food and sauces called garum and they were widely exported. Another industry was copper mining giving them access to the natural resources to fashion weapons. The people of Lusitania were agriculturalists, growing olives for oil and wine.
Resources:
Lusitania. http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0830652.html
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9049416
http://www.usd.edu/~clehmann/pir/tarracon.htm ‘The Conquest of Hispania and the Province of Tarraconesis’
Written by Eriko Iizuka