Lusitania Lusitania Lusitania (; ; ) or Hispania Lusitana was an ancient Iberian Roman province located where modern Portugal (south of the Douro river) and part of western Spain (the present autonomous community of Extremadura and a part of the province of Salamanca) lie. It was named after the Lusitani or Lusitanian people (an Indo-European people). Its capital was "Emerita Augusta" (currently Mérida, Spain), and it was initially part of the Roman Republic province of Hispania Ulterior, before becoming a province of its own in the Roman Empire. Romans first came to the territory around the mid-2nd century BC. A war
RMS Lusitania 11 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale when the liner crossed in front of at 14:10. Due to the liner's great speed, some believe the intersection of the German U-boat and the liner to be coincidence, as "U-20" could hardly have caught the fast vessel otherwise. There are discrepancies concerning the speed of "Lusitania", as it had been reported travelling not near its full speed. Walther Schwieger, the commanding officer of the U-boat, gave the order to fire one torpedo, which struck "Lusitania" on the starboard bow, just beneath the wheelhouse. Moments later, a second explosion erupted from within