Spain - national flag
The flag was officially introduced in 1936, but the current design dates from
1927. The colors red and yellow are heraldic. They were recognized as the
Spanish colors in 1785, but date back to the 1200's. in the arms
of Castile, León, Aragon and Navarre.
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Spain - prehistory
In Gran Dolina in the Sierra de Atapuerca massif near Burgos, some of the
oldest human fossils in Europe, Homo antecessor, were found
in 1994, more than 780,000 years old. With the Late Paleolithic, 35,000-8500
BC, modern man emerged with new cultures such as the aurignacia, gravetti,
solutréen and magdalénia, where bone and roof tools underwent significant
development; among the cultures' most important contributions, the cave
paintings must be highlighted, from the caves Tito Bustillo, Altamira and
El Castillo.
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Throughout Spanish prehistory, there were major regional differences. During
the Mesolithic period, 9300-5500 BC, the cultures dominated Asia and Asturias in
northern Spain, while local cultures developed in eastern Spain. The so-called
Levant art was developed, which mostly consists of single-colored paintings,
placed especially under cliffs or on free rock walls, in the Cueva de los
Cabellos, the Cueva Remigia and the Gasulla gorge.
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In the Neolithic, 5500-3150 BC, cattle breeding was first introduced, while
agriculture was introduced a little later. The first pottery was of good quality
with a tendency to closed forms and often decorated with Cardium -muslinger. Later
in the period, polished ceramics with more open shapes were produced. At the end
of the period, the first megalithic tombs were built. During the Chalcolithic
period, 3150-1800 BC, a number of fortified villages arose, such as Almizaraque
and Los Millares, where gold and copper were produced. The megalithic tombs
developed in various forms; the most spectacular group is found in Antequera
with the hill Cueva de Menga with a diameter of 50 m, which houses Europe's
largest known megalithic chamber. At the end of the period, the bell cup culture
emerged with Carmona as one of the largest centers.
The Bronze Age, 1800-650 BC, began in southern Spain with the El Argar
culture, from which fortified villages and pithos tombs are known, while the
so-called Atlantic bronze industry dominated in northwestern Spain. The iron was
introduced approximately 650 BC by two roads, partly through the Pyrenees under the
influence of the Hallstatt culture, partly by contacts with other peoples around
the Mediterranean, especially the Phoenicians and Greeks. Around 550 BC. Iberian
culture developed in eastern and southern Spain, while on the plateau, possibly
under the influence of immigrant Celts, Celtiberian culture emerged; NW Spain
was dominated by the so-called Castro culture with fortified villages whose
houses were round with conical roofs.

Spain - history
From 700-BC. the Phoenicians established colonies in southern Spain,
Gadir (now Cádiz), and soon after a few Greek colonies such as Emporion
were founded.
Antiquity and the Visigoth Kingdom
I 500-tfKr. the Carthaginians established trading posts in Spain and
eventually outcompeted the Greeks. Power struggles between Rome and Carthage led
to Carthage losing its territories in Spain after the Second Punic War (218-201
BC) and the subsequent establishment of a number of Roman colonies. In 133
BC. with the Battle of Numantia, the Romans had conquered all of Spain, and the
area could be included as a province, see Hispania. From the beginning of
400-teKr. several Germanic tribes, Alans, Sweepers and Vandals, invaded
Spain. In the late 400-t. the Goths succeeded in conquering all of Spain, and
the Visigothic Empireformed with center in Toledo. During Justinian I's attempts
to recreate the Roman Empire, parts of Spain were annexed; however, these were
recaptured by the Visigoths for approximately 625.
Al-Andalus, Arab Spain
From North Africa, in just five years, the Arab caliphate conquered almost
all of Visigothic Spain and established a culture strongly influenced by the
Arabic language and Islam and despite territorial decline, especially from the
1000's. came to exist until 1492. The Muslims and especially the North African
conquerors of Spain and their descendants are often called Moors.
A targeted and well-organized attack was launched in the summer of 711 by the
Berber general Tariq, who with a small force crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and
in July defeated the Visigothic army. Over the following months, the caliphate
secured control of a number of cities in the southern part of the Iberian
Peninsula. A new Arab army arrived the following year, and by 716 most of the
peninsula was under the control of the caliph. In the following years, a series
of attacks were carried out into southern France, but ceased after a defeat of
Charles Martel at Poitiers in 732. On the northernmost part of the peninsula,
the Arab armies were halted by the defeat at the Battle of Covadonga in 722, and
from here later emerged the Christian reconquest of Spain.
Al-Andalus, the Arabic name for the area, was initially administered as a
province of the caliphate and was administratively subordinate to the governor
of Qayrawan (now Kairouan in Tunisia), who was appointed by the caliph of
Damascus. After the Abbasid revolution in 749-50, however, a relative of the
Umayyads, Abd al-Rahman I, succeeded in securing political control of al-Andalus
in 756 and founding an Umayyad emirate with a political and economic center in
Córdoba. In the following centuries, an Islamic high culture developed in
al-Andalus, economically based on an enterprising agriculture with
introduction of irrigation and new crops, a varied artisanal production as
well as extensive trade with both the rest of the Islamic world and Europe.
In 929, Abd al-Rahman III allowed himself to be hailed as a caliph (see the
Spanish caliphate), but the political change from emirate to caliphate could
not hold the kingdom together in the long run. The Umayyad caliphate finally
disintegrated in 1031, and several smaller empires were established, taifa kingdoms
'small kingdoms', each with their own political and economic center.
The many Muslim small kingdoms were already from 1000-t. pushed partly by
expanding Christian rulers from the north, partly by the Muslim dynasties based
in North Africa, the Almoravids and the Almohads. The conquest war of the
Almoravids was fierce and strongly religious, a jihad. They began by defeating
Alfonso VI of León and Castile in 1086, but then turned to the Taifa kingdoms,
the last of which was subdued in 1110; in 1147, however, the Almoravids
themselves lost a decisive battle to the Almohads. Between 1212, when the
almohads were defeated by Christian forces at the Battle of Navas de Tolosa, and
1300, Muslim Spain was greatly reduced as a result of the Christian reconquest,
the Reconquista, which was increasingly understood as a crusade. Granada, where
the Nazrid dynasty ruled from the 1200's, fell in 1492 as the last independent
Muslim empire in Spain.
Spain - History (Reconquista)
Small Christian areas in northern Spain remained independent kingdoms,
fighting against the Muslims with varying strength. In later history writing,
these battles have been portrayed as a unified Reconquista already from the
Battle of Covadonga in 722, but they were marked by internal strife and lack of
unity. Only when Ferdinand and Isabella conquered Granada in 1492 was the
Reconquista completed.
In the Middle Ages, Christian kingdoms arose; Asturias-León, Castile, Navarre
and Aragon.
Asturias-León. The people of the Cantabrian Mountains retained their
independence under the Visigoths. The Arabs were defeated at Covadonga and
Pelayo (d. C. 737) founded the Asturian kingdom. In 909, the capital was moved
to León by Alfonso 3. (838-910). Under him, the Asturian kingdom included
Portugal, León and Castile. The territories were divided between the sons of
Alfonso VII at his death in 1157.
Castileemerged as a fortified border area in Asturias-León. Fernán
González (d. 970) founded the county of Castile, the largest in Spain and
independent of the kings of León. In 1032, the king of Navarre, who had gained
sovereignty over the county, gave it to his son Ferdinand (1st), who transformed
it into a kingdom in 1035. Castile began an expansion, which continued until
Alfonso VI, who conquered Toledo in 1085, and Alfonso 7., joint regent of
Castile and León. Under Alfonso VIII, the decisive battle against the attacking
almohads took place at Navas de Tolosa (1212), an expedition which assumed the
character of a crusade with the participation of Christian warriors from
France. With Ferdinand III, León and Castile were finally united, and Córdoba
and Seville were conquered. Alfonso 10. the Wise conquered Murcia. With Henry 2.
(d. 1379) the house of Trastámara came under the throne of Castile. At the
marriage between Isabella I and Ferdinand II (1469), Castile and Aragon were
united in 1479.
Kings |
Kingdom of Asturias Sort |
approx. 718-approx. 737 |
Pelayo |
approx. 737-739 |
Favila |
739-757 |
Alfonso 1. |
757-768 |
Fruela 1. |
768-774 |
Aurelio |
774-783 |
Silo |
783-788 |
Mauregato |
788-791 |
Bermudo 1. |
791-842 |
Alfonso 2. den Kyske |
842-850 |
Ramiro 1. |
850-866 |
Ordoño 1. |
866-910 |
Alfonso 3. the Great |
910-925 |
Fruela 2. |
Kingdom of Leon |
910-914 |
Garcia |
914-924 |
Ordoño 2. |
924-925 |
Fruela 2. |
926-932 |
Alfonso 4. |
932-950 |
Ramiro 2. |
950-956 |
Ordoño 3. |
956-966 |
Sancho 1. |
958-960 |
Ordoño 4. |
960-966 |
Sancho 1. |
966-985 |
Ramiro 3. |
985-999 |
Bermudo 2. |
999-1028 |
Alfonso 5. |
1028-37 |
Bermudo 3. |
1037-65 |
Ferdinand 1. the Great |
1065-1109 |
Alfonso 6. the Brave |
1109-26 |
Urraca |
1126-57 |
Alfonso 7. The Emperor |
1157-88 |
Ferdinand 2. |
1188-1230 |
Alfonso 9. |
united with Castile 1230 |
Kingdom of Castile |
1035-65 |
Ferdinand 1. the Great |
1065-72 |
Sancho 2. the Strong |
1072-1109 |
Alfonso 6. the Brave |
1109-26 |
Urraca |
1126-57 |
Alfonso 7. The Emperor |
1157-58 |
Sancho 3. |
1158-1214 |
Alfonso 8. |
1214-17 |
Henry 1 |
1217 |
Berenguela |
1217-52 |
Ferdinand 3. the Holy |
1252-84 |
Alfonso 10. the Wise |
1284-95 |
Sancho 4. |
1295-1312 |
Ferdinand 4. |
1312-50 |
Alfonso 11. the Righteous |
1350-69 |
Peter 1. the Cruel |
1369-79 |
Henry II the Magnificent |
1379-90 |
Juan 1. |
1390-1406 |
Henry 3. |
1406-54 |
Juan 2. |
1454-74 |
Henry IV the Powerless |
1474-1504 |
Isabella 1. the Catholic |
1504-06 |
John I the Mad ruled with her husband, Philip I the
Beautiful. Johanne was formally Queen of Spain until her death in 1555 |
1506-16 |
Ferdinand 2. the Catholic |
united with Aragon 1479 |
Kingdom of Navarre |
905-925 |
Sancho 1. Garcés |
925-970 |
García 1. Sánchez |
970-994 |
Sancho 2. Garcés |
994-1000 |
García 2. Sánchez |
approx. 1000-35 |
Sancho 3. the Store |
1035-54 |
Garcia 3. |
1054-76 |
Sancho 4. |
1076-94 |
Sancho 5. Ramírez |
1094-1104 |
Peter 1. |
1104-34 |
Alfonso 1. The Warrior |
1134-50 |
Garcia 4. Ramirez |
1150-94 |
Sancho 6. |
1194-1234 |
Sancho 7. |
1234-53 |
Teobaldo 1. |
1253-70 |
Teobaldo 2. |
1270-74 |
Henry 1 |
1274-1305 |
John 1. |
1305-16 |
Louis 1. |
1316 |
Johan 1. |
1316-22 |
Philip 2. |
1322-28 |
Karl 1. |
1328-49 |
John 2. |
1349-87 |
Charles II the Evil One |
1387-1425 |
Karl 3. |
1425-41 |
Blanche |
1425-79 |
Juan 2. |
1479 |
Leonora |
1479-83 |
Francisco Febo |
1483-1512 |
Catherine de Foix and (from 1484) Jean d'Albret |
united with Castile 1512 |
Kingdom of Aragon |
1035-63 |
Ramiro 1. |
1063-94 |
Sancho 1. Ramírez |
1094-1104 |
Peter 1. |
1104-34 |
Alfonso 1. The Warrior |
1134-37 |
Ramiro 2. Munken |
1137-62 |
Petronilla and Ramón Berenguer 4. |
1162-96 |
Alfonso 2. den Kyske |
1196-1213 |
Peter 2. |
1213-76 |
Jacob 1. Conquer |
1276-85 |
Peter the Great |
1285-91 |
Alfonso 3. the Liberal |
1291-1327 |
James II the Righteous |
1327-36 |
Alfonso 4. |
1336-87 |
Peter 4. |
1387-95 |
Juan 1. |
1395-1410 |
Martin |
1410-12 |
interregnum |
1412-16 |
Ferdinand 1. |
1416-58 |
Alfonso 5. the Magnificent |
1458-79 |
Juan 2. |
1479-1516 |
Ferdinand 2. the Catholic |
united with Castile 1479 |
Navarre emerged as a kingdom in the 800's. from an independent core
area, Pamplona. With Sancho III the Great (d. 1035), Navarre became the
political center of all of Spain, and Sancho took the title "King of the Spanish
Lands". He gained power over Álava, the Basque Country and Castile, and when he
gained León, he took the title of emperor. At Sancho's death the kingdom was
divided between his sons; Navarre belonged to Garcia 3 (d. 1054). When John I
married Philip IV of France in 1284, Navarre was annexed to France. Under
Ferdinand II, the Duke of Alba took power in Navarre in 1512 and annexed it to
Castile.
Aragon originated in the Pyrenees mountain passes, which were
subject to the county of Toulouse in France. With the division of Navarre after
the death of Sancho III in 1035, Aragon became an independent kingdom. The first
king was Ramiro I (d. 1063), who expanded the area considerably, and in 1118
Alfonso I conquered Zaragoza.
Catalonia had under Charlemagne in the 800-t. been a frontier area, "The
Spanish Mark", which became independent under Count Ramón Berenguer I of
Barcelona (d. 1076) and his successors. The marriage between Ramón Berenguer IV
(d. 1162) and the Aragonese heir to the throne, doña Petronilla, led to an
Aragonese-Catalan union.
James 1. The Conqueror contributed significantly to the Reconquista with the
conquest of the Balearic Islands (1229) and Valencia (1233-38). Peter III
conquered Sicily after the bloody revolt against the French (see The Sicilian
Vespers) in 1282; and Sardinia was conquered under James II and Alfonso IV (d.
1336). The expansion culminated in the revolt of Aragonese and Catalan
mercenaries against the Byzantine emperor, which led to the creation of the
Duchy of Athens in union with Aragon. Alfonso 5. (d. 1458) conquered Naples. In
1469, Ferdinand II of Aragon married Isabella I of Castile.
Community life. In the 1200's and 1300's. Spain was culturally favored
by Alfonso the Wise, who set up a learning center in Toledo and issued the law
complex Las siete partidas.Social structures were less fixed than in
the rest of Europe. Feudal traits, however, gradually spread to Castile, but
much more to León and especially Navarre due to the close connections to
France. The dependent classes had harsh conditions in Aragon, where the lords,
according to the laws, could "trade good or evil with their vassals according to
their will." Even worse was the situation for the peasants of Catalonia, who
were serfs. Conversely, the rural population of Castile, who cultivated the
lands of the lords, had the freedom to relocate. Here there was also a numerous
middle class between the privileged lords and the peasants, namely hidalgos, who
had received royal nobility. Some city laws gave small landowners hidalgostatus,
which gradually became common in the interior areas.
The courts, cortes, were established in Castile and León from the
mid-1000's. In the beginning, they were only advisory and with simple rules of
procedure, but they soon developed into legislators. Furthermore, as general
laws and ordinances had to be approved by the courts, royal decrees contrary to
law and custom could in principle be declared invalid. The kings did not
normally have the power to amend the ordinances approved by the courts. With few
variants, the Cortes institution functioned in the same way in Aragon, Catalonia
and Navarre.
City privileges provided taxes and services to the king, and moreover the
towns had extensive autonomy with their own administration. The cities' low with
masters, journeymen and apprentices regulated prices and quality. The language
of romance, the forerunner of Castilian, began as a vernacular but was soon used
in literature as in the Crónica del Cid (el Cid).
Spain - history (Spain as a great power)
Already years before Pope Alexander VI in 1496, Ferdinand II and Isabella I
granted the title of Catholic monarchs. through the military
organization Santa Hermandad.
The war against the Muslims was also resumed, and after almost ten years,
Granada was conquered. The same year, ie. in 1492, Christopher Columbus was
expelled from Castile and discovered America. In the years that followed, he and
others made a number of discoveries, and with the Treaty of Tordesilla of 1494,
the newly discovered lands were divided between Spain and Portugal.
The Consejo de Indias was set up to handle the administration of the areas,
just as the Casa de contratación was to handle the trade. The Canary Islands
were finally annexed to Spain just like Navarre. In 1497 conquests began in
North Africa, and in Italy Naples was conquered under the army commander Gonzalo
Fernández de Córdoba, "El Gran Capitán".
Charles I was heir to several huge territories: Austria and the German-Roman
imperial throne, Milan, the Dutch Provinces and Flanders and Burgundy, Aragon,
Catalonia, Valencia, Mallorca, Sardinia, Sicily and Naples, Castile, Leon,
Navarre, Granada and territories in North Africa, the Canary Islands and the new
countries of America. When in 1519 he was crowned German-Roman emperor
as Charles V, this fabulous legacy took on a new political significance: Western
Europe was united under Charles' imperial egid, ie. protection, and only France
and the German Protestants opposed him.
Heads of State of the United Spain |
The House of Habsburg Sort |
1516-56 |
Charles I, German-Roman emperor as Charles I. |
1556-98 |
Philip 2. |
1598-1621 |
Philip 3. |
1621-65 |
Philip 4. |
1665-1700 |
Charles 2. |
The house Bourbon |
1700-24 |
Philip 5. |
1724 |
Louis 1. |
1724-46 |
Philip 5. |
1746-59 |
Ferdinand 6. |
1759-88 |
Karl 3. |
1788-1808 |
Karl 4. |
1808 |
Ferdinand 7. |
The house Bonaparte |
1808-13 |
Joseph Bonaparte (José 1.) |
The house Bourbon |
1814-33 |
Ferdinand 7. |
1833-68 |
Isabella 2. |
1868-70 |
interregnum |
The Savoy House |
1870-73 |
Amadeo 1. |
1st republic |
1873 |
Estanislao Figueras y Moragas |
1873 |
Francisco Pi and Margall |
1873 |
Nicolás Salmerón y Alonso |
1873-74 |
Emilio Castelar and Ripoll |
1874 |
Francisco Serrano y Domínguez |
The house Bourbon |
1875-85 |
Alfonso 12. |
1885-1902 |
María Christina (regent) |
1902-19 |
Alfonso 13. |
2nd republic |
1931-36 |
Niceto Alcalá Zamora |
1936-39 |
Manuel Azaña y Díaz |
Francoregimet |
1939-75 |
Francisco Franco Bahamonde |
The house Bourbon |
1975-2014 |
Juan Carlos 1. |
2014- |
Felipe 6. |
At Charles' abdication in 1556, the kingdom was divided into a German part
and a Spanish part, which went to his son Philip II, a serious and hard-working
monarch, under whom Spain experienced its greatest expansion. There were defeats
like the loss of the Invincible Armada and adversity in the Netherlands, but in
general Philip's time was marked by expansion and discoveries. Areas were
colonized in America and in Asia (Philippines). Portugal was incorporated in
1580 and thus large areas in Africa and Asia. Philip wholeheartedly supported
the Counter-Reformation, including the French massacre of the Huguenots.
From the American colonies large quantities of gold were imported into Spain,
and from the first half of the 1500's. even greater amounts of silver as the
Spaniards with new technology opened new mines in South America. Precious metal
imports were monopolized and passed almost exclusively through Seville, which
became one of Europe's first economic centers. The immense wealth was the
prerequisite for Charles V's and Philip II's political power position in Europe,
but in the long run led to a weakening of Spain. The precious metals were not
invested in improving production, but were mainly used to pay for increased
imports of consumer goods from both Northern Europe and the Ottoman Empire,
mediated via resp. The Netherlands and the northern Italian city-states, as well
as for military expenditure.
Since the beginning of the 1500-t. the Ottomans had gained supremacy in the
Mediterranean, but from Sicily and Tunisia the Spanish navy began to offer them
resistance. They ended up defeating the Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Lepanto
in 1571 under the command of Juan d'Austria. Victory was considered crucial
throughout Europe, but only led to a temporary weakening of the Ottoman Empire.
The church had two prominent representatives in the cardinals Pedro González
de Mendoza (d. 1495), who promoted culture, and Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros,
who with great energy and political influence ruled most of Charles V's time. In
Zaragoza and Valencia the first printing presses arose, and more soon followed.
Spain - History (1600's and 1700's)
1600's and 1700's. meant the end of Spanish domination in Europe. Under Philip
III (reg. 1598-1621), royal power was weakened through the government of random
protégés. Under Philip IV, external conflicts escalated, and internally the
protracted and bloody Catalan uprising took place (1640), followed by the
Portuguese (1641-65), which led to the secession of Portugal. Spain lost the
supremacy that Charles V and Philip II had in Western Europe. The Spanish army
did well in the early 1600's, but suffered a series of defeats in the Thirty
Years' War.. France gained ground in southern Europe and gained a number of
lands from Spain by peace treaties in 1659, 1668 and 1678, and separatist
movements in Catalonia, Naples and Sicily further weakened Spain's power.
In 1665, the four-year-old and mentally retarded Charles II came to the
throne. The country was then ruined, and the troops in disarray; accidents that
his 35-year-old government did not rectify.
Spain - History (1700-1808)
When Charles II died in 1700, he had bequeathed the throne to Louis XIV's
grandson, Philip of Anjou, who as the first bourbon became Spanish king under
the name of Philip 5. Then also Archduke Charles of Austria claimed the throne,
triggering the War of the Spanish Succession. At the peace treaties, Spain lost
its last European possessions as well as Gibraltar and Menorca. Philip wanted to
strengthen the central power and in 1707-16 abolished the special privileges of
Catalonia, Aragon and Valencia. Under Ferdinand 6. (d. 1759) and Karl 3.the
enlightened dictatorship prevailed, and many reforms were carried out,
especially thanks to a number of far-sighted ministers. Central government was
further strengthened, the tax system streamlined, and trade, industry and
agriculture were supported. The church's dominant influence on higher education
in particular was severely limited, and in 1767 the Jesuits were expelled, not
only from Spain but also from American possessions. In 1761, the Bourbon family
pact was concluded, obliging Spain to support France, which became relevant in
the wars of 1761-63 and 1779-83. Karl 4.(king until 1808) was completely
dependent on the queen, María Luisa of Parma (1751-1819), and her lover, Manuel
Godoy, who actually ruled the country. Spain continued to lose its wars both
against France in 1793 and later against Great Britain, where the Spanish fleet
was destroyed at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. After an uprising, Charles had
to abdicate in 1808 in favor of his son, Ferdinand 7.
Spain - History (1808-1974)
In the spring of 1808 Napoleon 1 forced.Ferdinand from the throne, occupied
most of the country and installed his brother Joseph as Spanish king under the
name José 1. This gave rise to powerful uprisings and divided the country into
opponents and supporters of Napoleon. Thus began the War of Independence, which
did not end until 1814, when Spanish guerrillas and a Spanish-English army under
Wellington had driven out the French. In 1810, the exiled Cortes met in Cádiz
and adopted a liberal constitution (1812), which gained only symbolic
significance when Ferdinand VII (1814-33), after his return to Spain,
immediately introduced a conservative, absolutist regime. A liberal rebellion
attempt in 1820 failed when the Holy Alliance intervened militarily, and in 1823
Ferdinand's despotic regime was restored. The period 1823-33 is rightly called
"the terrible decade", since any kind of liberal initiative was brutally
suppressed. In 1830, Ferdinand issued a so-called pragmatic sanction repealing
the age-old Salic Law, which prevented female succession. This excluded the
king's younger brother, Carlos, from inheriting the throne. Ferdinand's
daughter, Isabella II, became a minor queen in 1833 during the reign of her
mother, María Christina. This upset the supporters of Carlos and gave rise to
the three very bloody civil wars, the Carlist Wars, which ravaged Spain between
1833 and 1876. María Christinas, regency. This upset the supporters of Carlos
and gave rise to the three very bloody civil wars, the Carlist Wars, which
ravaged Spain between 1833 and 1876. María Christinas, regency. This upset the
supporters of Carlos and gave rise to the three very bloody civil wars, the
Carlist Wars, which ravaged Spain between 1833 and 1876.
The period was generally extremely unstable, marked by a myriad of military
uprisings, pronunciamientos, and rapidly changing governments and
constitutions. Between 1816 and 1825, the overseas possessions became
independent with the exception of Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines.
Basically, the conflict was between conservatives and liberals, and both
sides regularly resorted to violence, while the army soon supported one, soon
the other. In 1868, the September Revolution broke out in Cádiz, and Queen
Isabella was forced into exile. A provisional government in 1870 brought Amado
of Savoy (Amadeo I) to the throne; he reigned until 1873, when he resigned and
abdicated, after which the 1st Republic was proclaimed. It lasted for almost two
years, with five different presidents and the country threatened by chaos, both
politically and socially and economically.
Spain - History (1875-1931)
In the years 1874-75, a provisional government succeeded in bringing some
order to society. A relatively quiet period began when Isabella II's son was
proclaimed king as Alfonso XII in 1875. On the basis of the Constitution of
1876, a seemingly democratic, parliamentary system was created, which led to the
improvement of the social economy, albeit the fundamentally skewed social
conditions. remained unchanged. The Conservative party leader, Cánovas del
Castillo, wanted a two-party system similar to the English, and for many years
he and the Liberal leader, Sagasta, alternated., to have the power. This system
was based on a mutual agreement and was carried out by an extensive electoral
fraud with bribery and economic coercion, exercised especially by the agrarian
big business oligarchy. At the same time as Catalonia in particular was
undergoing strong economic development, regional nationalism was strengthened
culturally and politically with demands for special status. An uprising in Cuba
in 1895 did not subside and in 1898 led to the Spanish-American War. At the
peace of Paris in 1898, Spain had to cede Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines
to the United States, and of the original empire, only a few possessions in
Africa were now left.
Alfonso XII died as early as 1885 and was succeeded by Alfonso XII under the
widow Queen María Christinasguardianship until 1902. The drafting of soldiers
for the war in Morocco in 1909 led to an anarchist uprising in Barcelona, "the
tragic week", which was brutally defeated. During World War I, Spain remained
neutral. From 1917, the political situation deteriorated sharply with changing
governments and increasing social unrest with numerous strikes and
assassinations. In 1921, the head of government, Eduardo Dato, was assassinated,
and Spanish defeats in Morocco helped intensify the unrest. To restore order,
General Primo de Rivera, in agreement with the king, staged a coup in 1923. He
established a military dictatorship, put parliament out of action, and defeated
the anarchists, as well as curbing regional demands for self-determination in
Catalonia and the Basque Country. In addition, he launched a very ambitious
program of public investment in infrastructure development. Although he
succeeded in ending the war in Morocco, he lost the support of the army, and in
1930 the king dismissed him in the hope of saving the monarchy. However, the
king's popularity was also at rock bottom. In a local election in the major
cities in 1931, an alliance of liberal monarchists, republicans, socialists and
Catalan left-wing nationalists won an overwhelming victory. Against this
background, Alfonso the 13th went into exile and a republic could be
proclaimed. In a local election in the major cities in 1931, an alliance of
liberal monarchists, republicans, socialists and Catalan left-wing nationalists
won an overwhelming victory. Against this background, Alfonso the 13th went into
exile and a republic could be proclaimed. In a local election in the major
cities in 1931, an alliance of liberal monarchists, republicans, socialists and
Catalan left-wing nationalists won an overwhelming victory. Against this
background, Alfonso the 13th went into exile and a republic could be proclaimed.
Spain - History (1931-1939)
The 2nd Republic was proclaimed on April 14, 1931, and the same year a new
constitution was adopted. The president was N. Alcalá Zamoraand Prime Minister
Manuel Azaña. The situation was marked by economic stagnation and massive
unemployment. It was difficult to implement the desired reforms within the
education system, to limit the power of the church and to reduce the number of
officers in the army. Moreover, it was not possible to meet regional autonomy
requirements without dissolving the country, nor to implement agricultural
reforms or even out the enormous social disparities. Most reforms could not be
realized due to the opposition. The result was soon an extreme polarization in
society with consequent acts of violence from both the left and the
right. Anarchist peasant uprisings in Andalusia and among the miners in Asturias
in 1934 were brutally crushed. In 1936, the monarchical leader, Calvo Sotelo,
murdered, and this became the direct cause of the Spanish Civil War, which came
to last for 33 months. The war can be seen as a showdown between, on the one
hand, the nationalists, the traditional, bourgeois Spain and the military, who
wanted a strong, authoritarian central power closely linked to the Catholic
Church, on the other hand the Republicans consisting of a collection of
socialists, communists, anarchists, anarcho-syndicalists and progressive,
liberal anti-clerical and anti-military.
Spain - History (1939-1975)
Since 1936 General Franco had been military commander and head of state and
government. After winning the Civil War in 1939, he established an authoritarian
regime in the impoverished country, where the situation was exacerbated by an
international isolation that was only broken during the Cold War, when Spain,
due to its strategic location, received significant military and economic
assistance from the United States..
Formally, Spain was neutral during World War II, but had close ties to the
Axis powers, which contributed to the country's isolation after the war. Spain
supplied war-important raw materials to Germany and in 1941 sent the Blue
Division to the Eastern Front. 4,000 Spanish soldiers perished until the
force in 1944 was recalled. At the same time, Franco approached the Allies,
especially to obtain oil supplies, on which Spain was heavily dependent.
In 1955, Spain became a member of the United Nations. From 1957, the purely
autarchic government was replaced by a more open economic policy, led by a
number of "technocrats" with close ties to the influential Catholic lay
organization Opus Dei. In the 1960's, Spain experienced an economic recovery,
especially due to the booming tourism, without changing the nature of the
regime; opponents of the regime were still strongly oppressed. In 1969, Franco
appointed Prince Juan Carlos of Bourbon (grandson of Alfonso 13) as his
successor. Admiral Carrero Blanco was appointed future head of government, but
was assassinated in 1973 by the Basque separatist organization, ETA.
Spain - History (1975-1982)
In November 1975 Franco died and Juan Carlos I became king. The Francotro
prime minister, Arias Navarro, was forced in 1976 to step down in favor of the
moderate Adolfo Suárez, who immediately took steps to re-establish and secure
democracy. In the same year, the most important political institutions of the
Franco era were abolished, and a referendum passed a series of reform laws.
The first democratic parliamentary elections, in June 1977, were won by
Suárez's Democratic Center Union (UCD). The government immediately initiated the
drafting of a new constitution, which was adopted by a large majority in 1978.
This was not only democratic but highly decentralized and defined Spain as a
"state of autonomies".
In the following years (1979-83), 17 autonomous regions were created, each
with its own president, government and parliament, and with far-reaching
competencies. At the same time, Catalan, Galician and Basque were recognized as
official languages. A constitutional court was set up to decide questions of
interpretation.
In the 1979 election, Suárez's party, the UCD, became the largest, followed
by the Socialist Party, the PSOE. In the same year, a radical tax reform and
other measures were implemented to consolidate the new democracy. In 1981,
conservative officer circles attempted a coup, but in vain.
Spain - History (Historical overview)
Historical overview |
ca. 35,000-8500 BC |
Late Paleolithic. Cave paintings |
5500-3150 BC |
Neolithic. Agriculture is introduced. The first Megalithic tombs |
3150-1800 BC |
Calculus period. Fortified villages made of gold and copper |
1800-650 BC |
Bronze Age |
700-tfKr. |
The Phoenicians establish colonies in southern Spain |
133 BC |
The Romans ruled all of Spain |
400-teKr. |
Alans, suebi and vandals immigrant in Spain, but is displaced by
the Visigoths |
711 |
The Arab caliphate conquers most of Spain in a few years |
910 |
The Kingdom of León is founded |
929 |
Abd al-Rahman 3. allows himself to be hailed as caliph |
1031 |
The Spanish caliphate split into several smaller kingdoms |
1035 |
The kingdoms of Castile and Aragon are founded |
1139 |
Portugal becomes an independent kingdom |
1230 |
The kingdoms of Asturias-León and Castile are united |
1479 |
The kingdoms of Castile and Aragon are united |
1492 |
The Reconquista ends with the conquest of
Granada. Columbus discovers America |
1494 |
Tordesilla Treaty; Spain and Portugal share the newly discovered
countries |
1500-t. |
Under Charles V and Philip II, Spain is Europe's most powerful
state. South and Central America as well as the Philippines are
colonized |
1580-1640 |
Portugal is subject to Spain |
1588 |
The conquest of England fails; Spain loses the Invincible Armada |
1701-14 |
The Spanish Succession War |
1808-14 |
The War of Independence against France |
1812 |
Liberal constitution is introduced but ignored by Ferdinand 7. |
1816-25 |
Most Spanish colonies in America liberate themselves |
1833-76 |
Recurring Civil Wars; The Carlist Wars 1833-39, 1860 and 1872-76 |
1868 |
September Revolutions; Isabella 2. goes into exile |
1873-74 |
1st republic |
1898 |
The Spanish-American War; Spain must cede Cuba, Puerto Rico, the
Philippines and Guam to the United States |
1914-18 |
Spain is neutral during World War I. |
1923-30 |
Dictatorship under Primo de Rivera |
1931 |
Socialists and left-wing Republicans win the election. The 2nd
Republic is proclaimed |
1936 |
The Popular Front wins the election. A military uprising leads
to the Spanish Civil War |
1939 |
The nationalists win the civil war. Franco's dictatorship begins |
1939-45 |
Spain is neutral during World War II, but has close ties to
the Axis Powers |
1953 |
During the Cold War, Spain entered into military and economic
cooperation with the United States |
1955 |
Spain becomes a member of the UN |
1960's |
Tourism contributes to Spain's economic prosperity |
1975 |
Franco dies. Juan Carlos I of Bourbon becomes king |
1978 |
Spain gets a democratic constitution |
1982 |
Spain joins NATO. The Socialist Party (PSOE), led by Felipe
González, comes to power |
1986 |
Spain becomes a member of the Community |
1992 |
The World's Fair in Seville and the Olympics in Barcelona |
1996 |
The Conservative Party Partido Popular (PP) led by JM Aznar comes to
power |
1999 |
Spain is becoming fully integrated into NATO |
2002 |
PP gets an absolute majority in elections |
2004 |
Terrorist attacks in Madrid; 201 dies |
2004 |
The Socialist Party (PSOE) led by José Luis Rodríquez
Zapatero comes to power |
2004 |
Spain withdraws its troops from the war in Iraq |
2006 |
ETA permanently proclaims ceasefire while the government prepares
negotiations, but the ceasefire is broken approximately 9 months after |
2008 |
The PSOE wins parliamentary elections and Zapatero continues as head
of government |
2011 |
PP wins the election with Mariano Rajoy in the lead |
2014 |
King Juan Carlos I abdicates; his son is crowned as Felipe 6. |
Spain - History (NATO and EU)
In the 1982 election, the Socialist Party won the PSOE. The largest
opposition party became the conservative Alianza Popular (later Partido
Popular). Felipe González became head of government, and his party remained in
power until it was defeated by the Partido Popular (PP) in the 1996 election,
which had José María Aznar (b. 1953) as the new head of government.
With an absolute majority in 2000, Aznar was able to form a purely bourgeois
government that pursued a liberal, center-right policy. The government tried -
albeit with limited effect - to reduce the large bureaucracy in the public
sector through privatizations and the abolition of state aid schemes.
Aznar remained in office until the 2004 election, when government power again
went to the PSOE, this time under the leadership of José Luis Rodríguez
Zapatero and with the promise of withdrawing Spanish troops from the Iraq
war. This happened immediately after the takeover, and diplomatic relations
with the United States were cool for a while.
In 1982, Spain joined NATO, and in 1999 the country became fully integrated
into NATO. After many years of efforts, Spain succeeded in joining the EU in
1986, by which the "Europeanisation" of Spain that many wanted had taken a major
step forward. The euro became Spain's official currency on 1 January 2002.
Unemployment has been the most burdensome problem for Spain; it is one of the
highest in the EU. The system of autonomy, which is expensive and complicated,
also gives rise to difficulties, especially due to the large economic
disparities between the rich regions of the north, Catalonia and the Basque
Country, and the poor regions of the
south, Andalusia and Extremadura. However, in 2004, Spain managed to position
itself in the world as a country with a healthy economy, on a par with France,
England, the United States and Canada.
Spain has made massive investments in Latin America and is seeking in the EU
to promote cooperation with Spanish-speaking America. The traditionally close
relationship with Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia entails close economic,
political and cultural cooperation with them.
The Gibraltar problem remains unresolved, and a growing problem is the
large-scale illegal immigration from Africa and Latin America. Also unresolved
is the relationship with ETA, which after a self-proclaimed ceasefire 1998-2000
resumed its terrorist activities. In March 2006, the ceasefire was permanently
reintroduced while Zapatero prepares for negotiations with ETA. Since 1968, 817
people have been killed during ETA's terrorist attacks.
Three days before the change of government in 2004, Spain was subjected to a
terrorist attack in the Madrid metro, in which 201 people lost their lives. It
is still unclear who was behind the attack.
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