"España" redirects here. For other uses, see Spain (disambiguation) and España (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 40°N 4°W

Kingdom of Spain

Reino de España (Spanish)

4 other names[a][b]

Flag of Spain

Flag

Coat of arms of Spain

Coat of arms

Motto: Plus ultra (Latin)

(English: "Further Beyond")

Anthem: Marcha Real (Spanish)[2]

(English: "Royal March")

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Location of Spain (dark green)

– in Europe (green & dark grey)

– in the European Union (green)

Capital

and largest city

40°26′N 3°42′W

Official language Spanish[c]

Nationality (2020)

84.8% Spaniards

15.2% Others[4]

Religion (2021)[5]

57.4% Christianity

38.9% No religion

2.5% Others

1.3% Unanswered

Demonym(s)

SpanishSpaniard

Government Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy

• Monarch

Felipe VI

• Prime Minister

Pedro Sánchez

Legislature Cortes Generales

• Upper house

Senate

• Lower house

Congress of Deputies

Formation

• De facto
20 January 1479

• De jure

9 June 1715

• First constitution

19 March 1812

• Francoist Spain

1 April 1939–1978

• Current democracy

29 December 1978

• EEC accession[d]

1 January 1986

Area

• Total

505,990[6] km2 (195,360 sq mi) (51st)

• Water (%)

0.89 (as of 2015)[7]

Population

• 2020 census

Neutral increase 47,450,795[8][9][e] (30th)

• Density

94/km2 (243.5/sq mi) (120th)

GDP (PPP) 2021 estimate

• Total

Increase $1.942 trillion[10] (15th)

• Per capita
$41,736[10] (32nd)

GDP (nominal) 2021 estimate

• Total

Increase $1.450 trillion[10] (13th)

• Per capita

$31,178[10] (26th)

Gini (2019) Positive decrease 33.0[11]

medium · 103rd

HDI (2019) Increase 0.904[12]

very high · 25th

Currency Euro[f] (€) (EUR)

Time zone UTC±0 to +1 (WET and CET)

• Summer (DST)

UTC+1 to +2 (WEST and CEST)

Note: most of Spain observes CET/CEST, except the Canary Islands which observe WET/WEST.

Date format dd/mm/yyyy (CE)

Driving side right

Calling code +34

ISO 3166 code ES

Internet TLD .es[g]

Spain (Spanish: España, [esˈpaɲa] (About this soundlisten)), officially the Kingdom of Spain[13] (Spanish:
Reino de España),[a][b] is a country in Southwestern Europe with some pockets of territory in the
Mediterranean Sea, offshore in the Atlantic Ocean and across the Strait of Gibraltar.[13] Its continental
European territory is situated on the Iberian Peninsula, and its insular territory includes the Balearic
Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, several small islands in the Alboran Sea and the Canary Islands in the
Atlantic Ocean. The Spanish territory also includes the African semi-exclaves of Ceuta, Melilla and Peñon
de Vélez across the Strait of Gibraltar.[14][h] The country's mainland is bordered to the south by the
British overseas territory of Gibraltar, to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea; to the north by
France, Andorra and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean.
With an area of 505,990 km2 (195,360 sq mi), Spain is the largest country in Southern Europe, the
second-largest country in Western Europe and the European Union, and the fourth-largest country by
area on the European continent. With a population exceeding 47.4 million, Spain is the sixth-most
populous country in Europe, and the fourth-most populous country in the European Union. Spain's
capital and largest city is Madrid; other major urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza,
Málaga, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Bilbao.

Anatomically modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 42,000 years ago.[15] The first
cultures and peoples that developed in current Spanish territory were Pre-Roman peoples such as the
ancient Iberians, Celts, Celtiberians, Vascones, and Turdetani. Later, foreign Mediterranean peoples such
as the Phoenicians and ancient Greeks developed coastal trading colonies, and the Carthaginians briefly
controlled part of the Spanish Mediterranean coastline. From the year 218 BCE, with the taking of the
city of Ampurias, the Roman colonization of Hispania began and, with the exception of the Atlantic
cornice, they quickly controlled the territory of present-day Spain. The Romans had driven the
Carthaginians out of the Iberian peninsula by 206 BCE, and divided it into two administrative provinces,
Hispania Ulterior and Hispania Citerior.[16][17] The Romans laid the foundations for modern Spanish
culture and identity, and was the birthplace of important Roman emperors such as Trajan, Hadrian or
Theodosius I.

Spain remained under Roman rule until the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the fourth century,
which ushered in Germanic tribal confederations from Central and Northern Europe. During this period,
present-day Spain was divided between different Germanic powers, including the Suevi, Alans, Vandals
and Visigoths, the latter maintaining an alliance with Rome via foedus, while part of Southern Spain
belonged to the Byzantine Empire. Eventually, the Visigoths emerged as the dominant faction by the fifth
century, with the Visigothic Kingdom spanning the vast majority of the Iberian Peninsula, and established
its capital in what is now the city of Toledo. The creation of the code of laws Liber Iudiciorum by the King
Recceswinth during the Visigothic period deeply influenced the structural and legal bases of Spain and
the survival of Roman Law after the fall of the Roman Empire.

In the early eighth century, the Visigothic Kingdom was invaded by the Umayyad Caliphate, ushering in
over 700 years of Muslim rule in Southern Iberia. During this period, Al-Andalus became a major
economic and intellectual centre, with the city of Córdoba being among the largest and richest in
Europe. Several Christian kingdoms emerged in the northern periphery of Iberia, chief among them
León, Castile, Aragón, Portugal, and Navarre. Over the next seven centuries, an intermittent southward
expansion of these kingdoms—metahistorically framed as a reconquest, or Reconquista—culminated
with the Christian seizure of the last Muslim polity, the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, and the control of all
Iberia by the Christian kingdoms in 1492. That same year, Christopher Columbus arrived in the New
World on behalf of the Catholic Monarchs, whose dynastic union of the Crown of Castile and the Crown
of Aragon is usually considered the emergent Spain as a unified country. During the centuries after the
Reconquista, the Christian kings of Spain persecuted and expelled ethnic and religious minorities such as
Jews and Muslims through the Spanish Inquisition.

From the 16th until the early 19th century, Spain ruled one of the largest empires in history. It was
among the first global empires, and its immense cultural and linguistic legacy includes over 570 million
Hispanophones, making Spanish the world's second-most spoken native language.[18] Spanish art,
music, literature and cuisine have been influential worldwide, particularly in the Americas. As a
reflection of its large cultural wealth, Spain has the world's fourth-largest number of World Heritage Sites
(49) and is the world's second-most visited country.

Today, Spain is a secular parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy,[19] with King Felipe VI
as head of state. It is a highly developed country[20] and a high income country, with the world's
fourteenth-largest economy by nominal GDP and the sixteenth-largest by PPP. Spain has one of the
longest life expectancies in the world at 83.5 years in 2019.[21] It ranks particularly high in healthcare
quality,[22] with its healthcare system considered to be one of the most efficient worldwide.[23] It is a
world leader in organ transplants and organ donation.[24][25] Spain is a member of the United Nations
(UN), the European Union (EU), the Eurozone, the Council of Europe (CoE), the Organization of Ibero-
American States (OEI), the Union for the Mediterranean, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Organization for Security and Co-
operation in Europe (OSCE), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and many other international
organisations.

Contents

1 Etymology

2 History

2.1 Prehistory and pre-Roman peoples

2.2 Roman Hispania and the Visigothic Kingdom

2.3 Muslim era and Reconquista

2.4 Spanish Empire

2.6 Civil War and Francoist dictatorship

2.7 Restoration of democracy

3 Geography

3.1 Islands

3.2 Mountains and rivers

3.3 Climate

3.4 Fauna and flora

4 Politics

4.1 Government

4.2 Foreign relations

4.3 Military

4.4 Human rights

4.5 Administrative divisions

4.5.1 Autonomous communities

4.5.2 Provinces and municipalities

5 Economy

5.1 Automotive industry

5.2 Agriculture

5.3 Tourism

5.4 Energy

5.5 Transport

5.6 Science and technology

6 Demographics

6.1 Urbanisation
6.2 Peoples

6.3 Minority groups

6.4 Immigration

6.5 Languages

6.6 Education

6.7 Health

6.8 Religion

7 Culture

7.1 World Heritage Sites

7.2 Literature

7.3 Philosophy

7.4 Art

7.5 Sculpture

7.6 Cinema

7.7 Architecture

7.8 Music and dance

7.9 Cuisine

7.10 Sport

7.11 Public holidays and festivals

8 See also

9 Notes

10 References

10.1 Works cited

11 Further reading

12 External links
Etymology

The origins of the Roman name Hispania, and the modern España, are uncertain, although the
Phoenicians and Carthaginians referred to the region as Spania, therefore the most widely accepted
etymology is a Levant-Phoenician one.[26] There have been a number of accounts and hypotheses of its
origin:

The Lady of Elche, possibly depicting Tanit, from Carthaginian Iberia, 4th century BCE

The Renaissance scholar Antonio de Nebrija proposed that the word Hispania evolved from the Iberian
word Hispalis, meaning "city of the western world".

Jesús Luis Cunchillos [es] argued that the root of the term span is the Phoenician word spy, meaning "to
forge metals". Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean "the land where metals are forged".[27] It may be a
derivation of the Phoenician I-Shpania, meaning "island of rabbits", "land of rabbits" or "edge", a
reference to Spain's location at the end of the Mediterranean; Roman coins struck in the region from the
reign of Hadrian show a female figure with a rabbit at her feet,[28] and Strabo called it the "land of the
rabbits".[29] The word in question (compare modern Hebrew Shafan) actually means "Hyrax", possibly
due to Phoenicians confusing the two animals.[30]

Hispania may derive from the poetic use of the term Hesperia, reflecting the Greek perception of Italy as
a "western land" or "land of the setting sun" (Hesperia, Ἑσπερία in Greek) and Spain, being still further
west, as Hesperia ultima.[31]

There is the claim that "Hispania" derives from the Basque word Ezpanna meaning "edge" or "border",
another reference to the fact that the Iberian Peninsula constitutes the southwest corner of the
European continent.[31]

Two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an
explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first
Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when
he laid siege to Jerusalem. Phiros was a Grecian by birth, but who had been given a kingdom in Spain.
Phiros became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, who also ruled over a
kingdom in Spain. Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his
kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España (Spain) took its name. Based upon
their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c. 350 BC.[32]

History

Main article: History of Spain

Reproduction of the Altamira Cave paintings,[33] in Cantabria

Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its
coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe's most ancient cities Cádiz and
Málaga. Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the
Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theatre of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire.
After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman rule. During the early Middle Ages it
came under Visigothic rule, and then much of it was conquered by Muslim invaders from North Africa. In
a process that took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the
peninsula. The last Muslim state fell in 1492, the same year Columbus reached the Americas. A global
empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for
one and a half centuries, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries.

Continued wars and other problems eventually led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic conflict in
Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire and left the
country politically unstable. Spain suffered a devastating civil war in the 1930s and then came under the
rule of an authoritarian government, which oversaw a period of stagnation that was followed by a surge
in the growth of the economy. Eventually, democracy was restored in the form of a parliamentary
constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a cultural renaissance and
steady economic growth until the beginning of the 21st century, that started a new globalised world with
economic and ecological challenges.

Prehistory and pre-Roman peoples

Main article: Prehistoric Iberia

Celtic castro in Galicia

Archaeological research at Atapuerca indicates the Iberian Peninsula was populated by hominids 1.2
million years ago.[34] In Atapuerca fossils have been found of the earliest known hominins in Europe, the
Homo antecessor. Modern humans first arrived in Iberia, from the north on foot, about 35,000 years ago.
[35][failed verification] The best known artefacts of these prehistoric human settlements are the famous
paintings in the Altamira cave of Cantabria in northern Iberia, which were created from 35,600 to 13,500
BCE by Cro-Magnon.[33][36] Archaeological and genetic evidence suggests that the Iberian Peninsula
acted as one of several major refugia from which northern Europe was repopulated following the end of
the last ice age.

The largest groups inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula before the Roman conquest were the Iberians and
the Celts. The Iberians inhabited the Mediterranean side of the peninsula, from the northeast to the
southeast. The Celts inhabited much of the inner and Atlantic sides of the peninsula, from the northwest
to the southwest. Basques occupied the western area of the Pyrenees mountain range and adjacent
areas, the Phoenician-influenced Tartessians culture flourished in the southwest and the Lusitanians and
Vettones occupied areas in the central west. Several cities were founded along the coast by Phoenicians,
and trading outposts and colonies were established by Greeks in the East. Eventually, Phoenician-
Carthaginians expanded inland towards the meseta; however, due to the bellicose inland tribes, the
Carthaginians got settled in the coasts of the Iberian Peninsula.

Roman Hispania and the Visigothic Kingdom

Main articles: Hispania and Visigothic Kingdom

The Roman Theatre in Mérida

During the Second Punic War, roughly between 210 and 205 BCE the expanding Roman Republic
captured Carthaginian trading colonies along the Mediterranean coast. Although it took the Romans
nearly two centuries to complete the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, they retained control of it for
over six centuries. Roman rule was bound together by law, language, and the Roman road.[37]

The cultures of the Celtic and Iberian populations were gradually Romanised (Latinised) at different rates
depending on what part of Hispania they lived in, with local leaders being admitted into the Roman
aristocratic class.[i][38] Hispania served as a granary for the Roman market, and its harbours exported
gold, wool, olive oil, and wine. Agricultural production increased with the introduction of irrigation
projects, some of which remain in use. Emperors Hadrian, Trajan, Theodosius I, and the philosopher
Seneca were born in Hispania.[j] Christianity was introduced into Hispania in the 1st century CE and it
became popular in the cities in the 2nd century CE.[38] Most of Spain's present languages and religion,
and the basis of its laws, originate from this period.[37]
Reccared I and bishops during Council III of Toledo, 589. Codex Vigilanus, fol. 145, Biblioteca del Escorial

The weakening of the Western Roman Empire's jurisdiction in Hispania began in 409, when the Germanic
Suebi and Vandals, together with the Sarmatian Alans entered the peninsula at the invitation of a Roman
usurper. These tribes had crossed the Rhine in early 407 and ravaged Gaul. The Suebi established a
kingdom in what is today modern Galicia and northern Portugal whereas the Vandals established
themselves in southern Spain by 420 before crossing over to North Africa in 429 and taking Carthage in
439. As the western empire disintegrated, the social and economic base became greatly simplified: but
even in modified form, the successor regimes maintained many of the institutions and laws of the late
empire, including Christianity and assimilation to the evolving Roman culture.

Votive crown of Reccesuinth from the Treasure of Guarrazar

The Byzantines established an occidental province, Spania, in the south, with the intention of reviving
Roman rule throughout Iberia. Eventually, however, Hispania was reunited under Visigothic rule. These
Visigoths, or Western Goths, after sacking Rome under the leadership of Alaric (410), turned towards the
Iberian Peninsula, with Athaulf for their leader, and occupied the northeastern portion. Wallia extended
his rule over most of the peninsula, keeping the Suebians shut up in Galicia. Theodoric I took part, with
the Romans and Franks, in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, where Attila was routed. Euric (466), who
put an end to the last remnants of Roman power in the peninsula, may be considered the first monarch
of Spain, though the Suebians still maintained their independence in Galicia. Euric was also the first king
to give written laws to the Visigoths. In the following reigns the Catholic kings of France assumed the role
of protectors of the Hispano-Roman Catholics against the Arianism of the Visigoths, and in the wars
which ensued Alaric II and Amalaric lost their lives.

Athanagild, having risen against King Agila, called in the Byzantines and, in payment for the succour they
gave him, ceded to them the maritime places of the southeast (554). Liuvigild restored the political unity
of the peninsula, subduing the Suebians, but the religious divisions of the country, reaching even the
royal family, brought on a civil war. St. Hermengild, the king's son, putting himself at the head of the
Catholics, was defeated and taken prisoner, and suffered martyrdom for rejecting communion with the
Arians. Recared, son of Liuvigild and brother of St. Hermengild, added religious unity to the political
unity achieved by his father, accepting the Catholic faith in the Third Council of Toledo (589). The
religious unity established by this council was the basis of that fusion of Goths with Hispano-Romans
which produced the Spanish nation. Sisebut and Suintila completed the expulsion of the Byzantines from
Spain.[29]
Intermarriage between Visigoths and Hispano-Romans was prohibited, though in practice it could not be
entirely prevented and was eventually legalised by Liuvigild.[39] The Spanish-Gothic scholars such as
Braulio of Zaragoza and Isidore of Seville played an important role in keeping the classical Greek and
Roman culture. Isidore was one of the most influential clerics and philosophers in the Middle Ages in
Europe, and his theories were also vital to the conversion of the Visigothic Kingdom from an Arian
domain to a Catholic one in the Councils of Toledo. Isidore created the first western encyclopedia which
had a huge impact during the Middle Ages.[40]

Muslim era and Reconquista

Main articles: Al-Andalus and Reconquista

The death of the Frankish leader Roland defeated by a Basque and Muslim-Mulwallad (Banu Qasi)
alliance at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass (778) originated the Kingdom of Navarre led by Íñigo Arista.

In the 8th century, nearly all of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered (711–718) by largely Moorish
Muslim armies from North Africa. These conquests were part of the expansion of the Umayyad
Caliphate. Only a small area in the mountainous north-west of the peninsula managed to resist the initial
invasion. Legend has it that Count Julian, the governor of Ceuta, invited the Muslims and opened to
them the gates of the peninsula as revenge for the violation of his daughter, Florinda, by King Roderic.

Under Islamic law, Christians and Jews were given the subordinate status of dhimmi. This status
permitted Christians and Jews to practice their religions as People of the Book but they were required to
pay a special tax and had legal and social rights inferior to those of Muslims.[41][42]

Conversion to Islam proceeded at an increasing pace. The muladíes (Muslims of ethnic Iberian origin) are
believed to have formed the majority of the population of Al-Andalus by the end of the 10th century.[43]
[44]

The Muslim community in the Iberian Peninsula was itself diverse and beset by social tensions. The
Berber people of North Africa, who had provided the bulk of the invading armies, clashed with the Arab
leadership from the Middle East.[k] Over time, large Moorish populations became established, especially
in the Guadalquivir River valley, the coastal plain of Valencia, the Ebro River valley and (towards the end
of this period) in the mountainous region of Granada.[44]
The Great Mosque of Córdoba is among the oldest mosque buildings in the world

Córdoba, the capital of the caliphate since Abd-ar-Rahman III, was the largest, richest and most
sophisticated city in western Europe. Mediterranean trade and cultural exchange flourished. Muslims
imported a rich intellectual tradition from the Middle East and North Africa. Some important
philosophers at the time were Averroes, Ibn Arabi and Maimonides. The Romanised cultures of the
Iberian Peninsula interacted with Muslim and Jewish cultures in complex ways, giving the region a
distinctive culture.[44] Outside the cities, where the vast majority lived, the land ownership system from
Roman times remained largely intact as Muslim leaders rarely dispossessed landowners and the
introduction of new crops and techniques led to an expansion of agriculture introducing new produces
which originally came from Asia or the former territories of the Roman Empire.[45]

In the 11th century, the Muslim holdings fractured into rival Taifa states (Arab, Berber, and Slav),[46]
allowing the small Christian states the opportunity to greatly enlarge their territories.[44] The arrival
from North Africa of the Islamic ruling sects of the Almoravids and the Almohads restored unity upon the
Muslim holdings, with a stricter, less tolerant application of Islam, and saw a revival in Muslim fortunes.
This re-united Islamic state experienced more than a century of successes that partially reversed
Christian gains.

Monasteries of San Millán de la Cogolla

The Reconquista (Reconquest) was the centuries-long period in which Christian rule was re-established
over the Iberian Peninsula. The Reconquista is viewed as beginning with the Battle of Covadonga won by
Don Pelayo in 722 and was concurrent with the period of Muslim rule on the Iberian Peninsula. The
Christian army's victory over Muslim forces led to the creation of the Christian Kingdom of Asturias along
the northwestern coastal mountains. Shortly after, in 739, Muslim forces were driven from Galicia, which
was to eventually host one of medieval Europe's holiest sites, Santiago de Compostela and was
incorporated into the new Christian kingdom.

In 1030, the Kingdom of Navarre controlled the Count of Aragon and the Count of Castile, who later
became major kingdoms of its time.
The Vikings invaded Galicia in 844, but were heavily defeated by Ramiro I of Asturias at A Coruña.[47]
Many of the Vikings' casualties were caused by the Galicians' ballistas – powerful torsion-powered
projectile weapons that looked rather like giant crossbows.[47] 70 Viking ships were captured and
burned.[47][48] Vikings raided Galicia in 859, during the reign of Ordoño I of Asturias. Ordoño was at the
moment engaged against his constant enemies the Moors; but a count of the province, Don Pedro,
attacked the Vikings and defeated them.[49]

The Kingdom of León was the strongest Christian kingdom for centuries. In 1188 the first modern
parliamentary session in Europe was held in León (Cortes of León). The Kingdom of Castile, formed from
Leonese territory, was its successor as strongest kingdom. The kings and the nobility fought for power
and influence in this period. The example of the Roman emperors influenced the political objective of
the Crown, while the nobles benefited from feudalism.

Petronilla of Aragon and Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona.

Muslim armies had also moved north of the Pyrenees but they were defeated by Frankish forces at the
Battle of Poitiers, Frankia and pushed out of the very southernmost region of France along the seacoast
by the 760s. Later, Frankish forces established Christian counties on the southern side of the Pyrenees.
These areas were to grow into the kingdoms of Navarre and Aragon.[50] For several centuries, the
fluctuating frontier between the Muslim and Christian controlled areas of Iberia was along the Ebro and
Douro valleys.

The Islamic transmission of the classics is among the main Islamic contributions to Medieval Europe. The
Castilian language—more commonly known (especially later in history and at present) as "Spanish" after
becoming the national language and lingua franca of Spain—evolved from Vulgar Latin, as did other
Romance languages of Spain like the Catalan, Asturian and Galician languages, as well as other Romance
languages in Latin Europe. Basque, the only non-Romance language in Spain, continued evolving from
Early Basque to Medieval. The Glosas Emilianenses (found at the Monasteries of San Millán de la Cogolla
and written in Latin, Basque and Romance) hold a great value as one of the first written examples of
Iberian Romance.[51]

The break-up of Al-Andalus into the competing taifa kingdoms helped the long embattled Iberian
Christian kingdoms gain the initiative. The capture of the strategically central city of Toledo in 1085
marked a significant shift in the balance of power in favour of the Christian kingdoms. Following a great
Muslim resurgence in the 12th century, the great Moorish strongholds in the south fell to Castile in the
13th century—Córdoba in 1236 and Seville in 1248. The County of Barcelona and the Kingdom of Aragon
entered in a dynastic union and gained territory and power in the Mediterranean. In 1229 Majorca was
conquered, so was Valencia in 1238. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the Marinid dynasty of Morocco
invaded and established some enclaves on the southern coast but failed in their attempt to re-establish
North African rule in Iberia and were soon driven out.

Portrait of Alfonso X of Castile and Leon from the codex Tumbo 'A' de Santiago (Dated between 1229 and
1255)

From the mid 13th century, literature and philosophy started to flourish again in the Christian peninsular
kingdoms, based on Roman and Gothic traditions. An important philosopher from this time is Ramon
Llull. Abraham Cresques was a prominent Jewish cartographer. Roman law and its institutions were the
model for the legislators. The king Alfonso X of Castile focused on strengthening this Roman and Gothic
past, and also on linking the Iberian Christian kingdoms with the rest of medieval European Christendom.
Alfonso worked for being elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and published the Siete Partidas
code. The Toledo School of Translators is the name that commonly describes the group of scholars who
worked together in the city of Toledo during the 12th and 13th centuries, to translate many of the
philosophical and scientific works from Classical Arabic, Ancient Greek, and Ancient Hebrew.

The 13th century also witnessed the Crown of Aragon, centred in Spain's north east, expand its reach
across islands in the Mediterranean, to Sicily and Naples.[52] Around this time the universities of
Palencia (1212/1263) and Salamanca (1218/1254) were established. The Black Death of 1348 and 1349
devastated Spain.[53]

The Catalans and Aragonese offered themselves to the Byzantine Emperor Andronicus II Palaeologus to
fight the Turks. Having conquered these, they turned their arms against the Byzantines, who
treacherously slew their leaders; but for this treachery, the Spaniards, under Bernard of Rocafort and
Berenguer of Entenca, exacted the terrible penalty celebrated in history as "The Catalan Vengeance" and
seized the Frankish Duchy of Athens (1311).[29] The royal line of Aragon became extinct with Martin the
Humane, and the Compromise of Caspe gave the Crown to the House of Trastámara, already reigning in
Castile.

As in the rest of Europe during the Late Middle Ages, antisemitism greatly increased during the 14th
century in the Christian kingdoms. (A key event in that regard was the Black Death, as Jews were accused
of poisoning the waters.)[54] There were mass killings in Aragon in the mid-14th century, and 12,000
Jews were killed in Toledo. In 1391, Christian mobs went from town to town throughout Castile and
Aragon, killing an estimated 50,000 Jews.[55][56][57][58][59][60] Women and children were sold as
slaves to Muslims, and many synagogues were converted into churches. According to Hasdai Crescas,
about 70 Jewish communities were destroyed.[61] St. Vincent Ferrer converted innumerable Jews,
among them the Yehosúa ben Yosef, who took the name of Jerónimo de Santa Fe and in his town
converted many of his former coreligionists in the famous Disputation of Tortosa (1413–14).

This period saw a contrast in landowning characteristics between the western and north-western
territories in Andalusia, where the nobility and the religious orders succeeded into the creation of large
latifundia entitled to them, whereas in the Kingdom of Granada (eastern Andalusia), a Crown-auspiciated
distribution of the land to medium and small farmers took place.[62]

After 781 years of Muslim presence in Spain, the last Nasrid sultanate of Granada, a tributary state
would finally surrender in 1492 to joint rulers Queen Isabella I of Castile[63] and King Ferdinand II of
Aragon, who would become known as the Catholic Monarchs.[64][65][66]

The Battle of La Rochelle, 1372

Spanish Empire

Main article: Spanish Empire

Christopher Columbus meets Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon in the Alcázar of Córdoba

In 1469, the crowns of the Christian kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were united by the marriage of their
monarchs, Isabella I and Ferdinand II, respectively. 1478 commenced the completion of the conquest of
the Canary Islands and in 1492, the combined forces of Castile and Aragon captured the Emirate of
Granada from its last ruler Muhammad XII, ending the last remnant of a 781-year presence of Islamic
rule in Iberia. That same year, Spain's Jews were ordered to convert to Catholicism or face expulsion
from Spanish territories during the Spanish Inquisition.[67] As many as 200,000 Jews were expelled from
Spain.[68][69][70] This was followed by expulsions in 1493 in Aragonese Sicily and Portugal in 1497. The
Treaty of Granada guaranteed religious tolerance towards Muslims,[71] for a few years before Islam was
outlawed in 1502 in the Kingdom of Castile and 1527 in the Kingdom of Aragon, leading to Spain's
Muslim population becoming nominally Christian Moriscos. A few decades after the Morisco rebellion of
Granada known as the War of the Alpujarras, a significant proportion of Spain's formerly-Muslim
population was expelled, settling primarily in North Africa.[l][72] From 1609 to 1614, over 300,000
Moriscos were sent on ships to North Africa and other locations, and, of this figure, around 50,000 died
resisting the expulsion, and 60,000 died on the journey.[73][74][75]

The year 1492 also marked the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the New World, during a voyage
funded by Isabella. Columbus's first voyage crossed the Atlantic and reached the Caribbean Islands,
beginning the European exploration and conquest of the Americas, although Columbus remained
convinced that he had reached the Orient. Large numbers of indigenous Americans died in battle against
the Spaniards during the conquest,[76] while others died from various other causes. Some scholars
consider the initial period of the Spanish conquest— from Columbus's first landing in the Bahamas until
the middle of the sixteenth century—as marking the most egregious case of genocide in the history of
mankind.[77] The death toll may have reached some 70 million indigenous people (out of 80 million) in
this period, as diseases such as smallpox, measles, influenza, and typhus, brought to the Americas by the
conquest, decimated the pre-Columbian population.[78]

Lienzo de Tlaxcala codex showing the 1519 meeting of conquistador Hernán Cortés and his counsellor La
Malinche with Aztec emperor Moctezuma II in Tenochtitlan. Malinche has a key role in easy Conquest of
Mexico

The Spanish colonisation of the Americas started with the colonisation of the Caribbean. It was followed
by the conquest of powerful pre-Columbian polities in Central Mexico and the Pacific Coast of South
America. Miscegenation was the rule between the native and the Spanish cultures and people. An
expedition sponsored by the Spanish crown completed the first voyage around the world in human
history, the Magellan-Elcano circumnavigation. The tornaviaje or return route from the Philippines to
Mexico made possible the Manila galleon trading route. The Spanish encountered Islam in Southeast
Asia and in order to incorporate the Philippines, Spanish expeditions organised from newly Christianised
Mexico had invaded the Philippine territories of the Sultanate of Brunei. The Spanish used the conflict
between Pagan and Muslim Philippine kingdoms to pit them against each other thus using the "Divide
and Conquer Principle".[79] The Spanish considered the war with the Muslims of Brunei and the
Philippines, a repeat of the Reconquista.[80]

A centralisation of royal power ensued in the Early Modern Period at the expense of local nobility, and
the word España, whose root is the ancient name Hispania, began to be commonly used to designate the
whole of the two kingdoms.[72] With their wide-ranging political, legal, religious and military reforms,
the Hispanic Monarchy emerged as a world power.

The unification of the crowns of Aragon and Castile by the marriage of their sovereigns laid the basis for
modern Spain and the Spanish Empire, although each kingdom of Spain remained a separate country
socially, politically, legally, and in currency and language.[81][82]

Two big revolts broke out during the early reign of the Habsburg emperor, Charles V: the Revolt of the
Comuneros in the Crown of Castile and Revolt of the Brotherhoods in the Crown of Aragon.

Habsburg Spain was one of the leading world powers throughout the 16th century and most of the 17th
century, a position reinforced by trade and wealth from colonial possessions and became the world's
leading maritime power. It reached its apogee during the reigns of the first two Spanish Habsburgs—
Charles V/I (1516–1556) and Philip II (1556–1598). This period saw the Italian Wars, the Schmalkaldic
War, the Dutch Revolt, the War of the Portuguese Succession, clashes with the Ottomans, intervention in
the French Wars of Religion and the Anglo-Spanish War.[83]

Anachronous map of the Spanish Empire

Main Trade Routes of the Spanish Empire

Through exploration and conquest or royal marriage alliances and inheritance, the Spanish Empire
expanded to include vast areas in the Americas, islands in the Asia-Pacific area, areas of Italy, cities in
Northern Africa, as well as parts of what are now France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the
Netherlands. The first circumnavigation of the world was carried out in 1519–1521. It was the first
empire on which it was said that the sun never set. This was an Age of Discovery, with daring
explorations by sea and by land, the opening-up of new trade routes across oceans, conquests and the
beginnings of European colonialism. Spanish explorers brought back precious metals, spices, luxuries,
and previously unknown plants, and played a leading part in transforming the European understanding
of the globe.[84] The cultural efflorescence witnessed during this period is now referred to as the
Spanish Golden Age. The expansion of the empire caused immense upheaval in the Americas as the
collapse of societies and empires and new diseases from Europe devastated American indigenous
populations. The rise of humanism, the Counter-Reformation and new geographical discoveries and
conquests raised issues that were addressed by the intellectual movement now known as the School of
Salamanca, which developed the first modern theories of what are now known as international law and
human rights. Juan Luis Vives was another prominent humanist during this period.

Spain's 16th-century maritime supremacy was demonstrated by the victory over the Ottomans at
Lepanto in 1571, and then after the setback of the Spanish Armada in 1588, in a series of victories
against England in the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585–1604. However, during the middle decades of the
17th century Spain's maritime power went into a long decline with mounting defeats against the United
Provinces and then England; that by the 1660s it was struggling grimly to defend its overseas possessions
from pirates and privateers.

The Protestant Reformation dragged the kingdom ever more deeply into the mire of religiously charged
wars. The result was a country forced into ever-expanding military efforts across Europe and in the
Mediterranean.[85] By the middle decades of a war- and plague-ridden 17th-century Europe, the
Spanish Habsburgs had enmeshed the country in continent-wide religious-political conflicts. These
conflicts drained it of resources and undermined the economy generally. Spain managed to hold on to
most of the scattered Habsburg empire, and help the imperial forces of the Holy Roman Empire reverse a
large part of the advances made by Protestant forces, but it was finally forced to recognise the
separation of Portugal and the United Provinces, and eventually suffered some serious military reverses
to France in the latter stages of the immensely destructive, Europe-wide Thirty Years' War.[86] In the
latter half of the 17th century, Spain went into a gradual decline, during which it surrendered several
small territories to France and England; however, it maintained and enlarged its vast overseas empire,
which remained intact until the beginning of the 19th century.

The family of Philip V. During the Enlightenment in Spain a new royal family reigned, the House of
Bourbon.

The decline culminated in a controversy over succession to the throne which consumed the first years of
the 18th century. The War of the Spanish Succession was a wide-ranging international conflict combined
with a civil war, and was to cost the kingdom its European possessions and its position as one of the
leading powers on the Continent.[87] During this war, a new dynasty originating in France, the Bourbons,
was installed. Long united only by the Crown, a true Spanish state was established when the first
Bourbon king, Philip V, united the crowns of Castile and Aragon into a single state, abolishing many of
the old regional privileges and laws.[88]

The 18th century saw a gradual recovery and an increase in prosperity through much of the empire. The
new Bourbon monarchy drew on the French system of modernising the administration and the economy.
Enlightenment ideas began to gain ground among some of the kingdom's elite and monarchy. Bourbon
reformers created formal disciplined militias across the Atlantic. Spain needed every hand it could take
during the seemingly endless wars of the eighteenth century—the Spanish War of Succession or Queen
Anne's War (1702–13), the War of Jenkins' Ear (1739–42) which became the War of the Austrian
Succession (1740–48), the Seven Years' War (1756–63) and the Anglo-Spanish War (1779–83)—and its
new disciplined militias served around the Atlantic as needed.

Liberalism and nation state

Main articles: Mid-19th-century Spain, Spanish American wars of independence, Spanish–American War,
Anarchism in Spain, and Spanish Second Republic

Rafael del Riego led the anti-absolutist uprising that started the Trienio Liberal, part of the Revolutions of
1820 in Europe. When absolutists took power again, he was executed.

In 1793, Spain went to war against the revolutionary new French Republic as a member of the first
Coalition. The subsequent War of the Pyrenees polarised the country in a reaction against the gallicised
elites and following defeat in the field, peace was made with France in 1795 at the Peace of Basel in
which Spain lost control over two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola. The Prime Minister, Manuel Godoy,
then ensured that Spain allied herself with France in the brief War of the Third Coalition which ended
with the British naval victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. In 1807, a secret treaty between
Napoleon and the unpopular prime minister led to a new declaration of war against Britain and Portugal.
Napoleon's troops entered the country to invade Portugal but instead occupied Spain's major fortresses.
The Spanish king abdicated in favour of Napoleon's brother, Joseph Bonaparte.

Joseph Bonaparte was seen as a puppet monarch and was regarded with scorn by the Spanish. The 2
May 1808 revolt was one of many nationalist uprisings across the country against the Bonapartist
regime.[89] These revolts marked the beginning of a devastating war of independence against the
Napoleonic regime.[90] The most celebrated battles of this war were those of Bruch, in the highlands of
Montserrat, in which the Catalan peasantry routed a French army; Bailén, where Castaños, at the head
of the army of Andalusia, defeated Dupont; and the sieges of Zaragoza and Girona, which were worthy of
the ancient Spaniards of Saguntum and Numantia.[29]

Napoleon was forced to intervene personally, defeating several Spanish armies and forcing a British army
to retreat. However, further military action by Spanish armies, guerrillas and Wellington's British-
Portuguese forces, combined with Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia, led to the ousting of the
French imperial armies from Spain in 1814, and the return of King Ferdinand VII.[91]

During the war, in 1810, a revolutionary body, the Cortes of Cádiz, was assembled to co-ordinate the
effort against the Bonapartist regime and to prepare a constitution.[92] It met as one body, and its
members represented the entire Spanish empire.[93] In 1812, a constitution for universal representation
under a constitutional monarchy was declared, but after the fall of the Bonapartist regime, Ferdinand VII
dismissed the Cortes Generales and was determined to rule as an absolute monarch. These events
foreshadowed the conflict between conservatives and liberals in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Spain's conquest by France benefited Latin American anti-colonialists who resented the Imperial Spanish
government's policies that favoured Spanish-born citizens (Peninsulars) over those born overseas
(Criollos) and demanded retroversion of the sovereignty to the people. Starting in 1809 Spain's American
colonies began a series of revolutions and declared independence, leading to the Spanish American wars
of independence that ended Spanish control over its mainland colonies in the Americas. King Ferdinand
VII's attempt to re-assert control proved futile as he faced opposition not only in the colonies but also in
Spain and army revolts followed, led by liberal officers. By the end of 1826, the only American colonies
Spain held were Cuba and Puerto Rico.

The Napoleonic War left Spain economically ruined, deeply divided and politically unstable. In the 1830s
and 1840s, Carlism (a reactionary legitimist movement supportive of the branch issued from Carlos
María Isidro of Bourbon, younger brother of Ferdinand VII), fought against the cristinos or isabelinos
(supportive of Queen Isabella II, daughter of Ferdinand VII) in the Carlist Wars. Isabelline forces
prevailed, but the conflict between progressives and moderates ended in a weak early constitutional
period. After the Glorious Revolution of 1868 and the short-lived First Spanish Republic, the latter
yielded to a stable monarchic period, the Restoration, a rigid bipartisan regime fuelled up by the
turnismo (the prearranged rotation of government control between liberals and conservatives) and the
form of political representation at the countryside (based on clientelism) known as caciquismo [es].[94]

Puerta del Sol, Madrid, after the Spanish Revolution of 1868

In the late 19th century nationalist movements arose in the Philippines and Cuba. In 1895 and 1896 the
Cuban War of Independence and the Philippine Revolution broke out and eventually the United States
became involved. The Spanish–American War was fought in the spring of 1898 and resulted in Spain
losing the last of its once vast colonial empire outside of North Africa. El Desastre (the Disaster), as the
war became known in Spain, gave added impetus to the Generation of '98 who were analyzing the
country.

Although the period around the turn of the century was one of increasing prosperity, the 20th century
brought little social peace; Spain played a minor part in the scramble for Africa, with the colonisation of
Western Sahara, Spanish Morocco and Equatorial Guinea. It remained neutral during World War I. The
heavy losses suffered during the Rif War in Morocco brought discredit to the government and
undermined the monarchy.

Industrialisation, the development of railways and incipient capitalism developed in several areas of the
country, particularly in Barcelona, as well as Labour movement and socialist and anarchist ideas. The
1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition and the 1870 Barcelona Labour Congress are good examples of this.
In 1879, Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is founded. Linked trade union to this party, Unión General de
Trabajadores, was founded in 1888. In the anarcho-sindicalist trend of the labour movement in Spain,
Confederación Nacional del Trabajo was founded in 1910 and Federación Anarquista Ibérica in 1927.

Catalanism and Vasquism, alongside other nationalisms and regionalisms in Spain, arose in that period,
being the Basque Nationalist Party formed in 1895 and Regionalist League of Catalonia in 1901.

Political corruption and repression weakened the democratic system of the constitutional monarchy of a
two-parties system.[95] The Tragic Week events and repression examples the social instability of the
time.

Demonstration in Barcelona during the Tragic Week events

The La Canadiense strike in 1919 led to the first law limiting the working day to eight hours.[96]

After a period of dictatorship during the governments of Generals Miguel Primo de Rivera and Dámaso
Berenguer and Admiral Aznar-Cabañas (1923–1931), the first elections since 1923, largely understood as
a plebiscite on Monarchy, took place: the 12 April 1931 municipal elections. These gave a resounding
victory to the Republican-Socialist candidacies in large cities and provincial capitals, with a majority of
monarchist councilors in rural areas. The king left the country and the proclamation of the Republic on
14 April ensued, with the formation of a provisional government.
A constitution for the country was passed in October 1931 following the June 1931 Constituent general
election, and a series of cabinets presided by Manuel Azaña supported by republican parties and the
PSOE followed. In the election held in 1933 the right triumphed and in 1936, the left. During the Second
Republic there was a great political and social upheaval, marked by a sharp radicalization of the left and
the right. The violent acts during this period included the burning of churches, the 1932 failed coup
d'état led by José Sanjurjo, the Revolution of 1934 and numerous attacks against rival political leaders.
On the other hand, it is also during the Second Republic when important reforms to modernize the
country were initiated: a democratic constitution, agrarian reform, restructuring of the army, political
decentralization and women's right to vote.

Civil War and Francoist dictatorship

Main articles: Spanish Civil War, Spanish Revolution of 1936, and Francoist Spain

The Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936: on 17 and 18 July, part of the military carried out a coup d'état
that triumphed in only part of the country. The situation led to a civil war, in which the territory was
divided into two zones: one under the authority of the Republican government, that counted on outside
support from the Soviet Union and Mexico (and from International Brigades), and the other controlled
by the putschists (the Nationalist or rebel faction), most critically supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist
Italy. The Republic was not supported by the Western powers due to the British-led policy of non-
intervention. General Francisco Franco was sworn in as the supreme leader of the rebels on 1 October
1936. An uneasy relationship between the Republican government and the grassroots anarchists who
had initiated a partial Social revolution also ensued.

The civil war was viciously fought and there were many atrocities committed by all sides. The war
claimed the lives of over 500,000 people and caused the flight of up to a half-million citizens from the
country.[97][98] On 1 April 1939, five months before the beginning of World War II, the rebel side led by
Franco emerged victorious, imposing a dictatorship over the whole country.

Republican volunteers at Teruel, 1936

The regime remained chiefly "neutral" from a nominal standpoint in the Second World War (it briefly
switched its position to "non-belligerent"), although it was sympathetic to the Axis and provided the Nazi
Wehrmacht with Spanish volunteers in the Eastern Front. The only legal party under Franco's
dictatorship was the Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS (FET y de las JONS), formed in 1937
upon the merging of the Fascist Falange Española de las JONS and the Carlist traditionalists and to which
the rest of right-wing groups supporting the rebels also added. The name of "Movimiento Nacional",
sometimes understood as a wider structure than the FET y de las JONS proper, largely imposed over the
later's name in official documents along the 1950s.

After World War II Spain was politically and economically isolated, and was kept out of the United
Nations. This changed in 1955, during the Cold War period, when it became strategically important for
the US to establish a military presence on the Iberian Peninsula as a counter to any possible move by the
Soviet Union into the Mediterranean basin. In the 1960s, Spain registered an unprecedented rate of
economic growth which was propelled by industrialisation, a mass internal migration from rural areas to
Madrid, Barcelona and the Basque Country and the creation of a mass tourism industry. Franco's rule
was also characterised by authoritarianism, promotion of a unitary national identity, National
Catholicism, and discriminatory language policies.

On 17 January 1966, a fatal collision occurred between a B-52G and a KC-135 Stratotanker over
Palomares. The conventional explosives in two of the Mk28-type hydrogen bombs detonated upon
impact with the ground, dispersing plutonium over nearby farms.[99]

Restoration of democracy

Main articles: Spanish transition to democracy and Spanish society after the democratic transition

In 1962, a group of politicians involved in the opposition to Franco's regime inside the country and in
exile met in the congress of the European Movement in Munich, where they made a resolution in favour
of democracy.[100][101][102]

With Franco's death in November 1975, Juan Carlos succeeded to the position of King of Spain and head
of state in accordance with the franquist law. With the approval of the new Spanish Constitution of 1978
and the restoration of democracy, the State devolved much authority to the regions and created an
internal organisation based on autonomous communities. The Spanish 1977 Amnesty Law let people of
Franco's regime continue inside institutions without consequences, even perpetrators of some crimes
during transition to democracy like the Massacre of 3 March 1976 in Vitoria or 1977 Massacre of Atocha.

Felipe González signing the treaty of accession to the European Economic Community on 12 June 1985
In the Basque Country, moderate Basque nationalism coexisted with a radical nationalist movement led
by the armed organisation ETA until the latter's dissolution in May 2018.[103] The group was formed in
1959 during Franco's rule but had continued to wage its violent campaign even after the restoration of
democracy and the return of a large measure of regional autonomy.

On 23 February 1981, rebel elements among the security forces seized the Cortes in an attempt to
impose a military-backed government. King Juan Carlos took personal command of the military and
successfully ordered the coup plotters, via national television, to surrender.[104]

During the 1980s the democratic restoration made possible a growing open society. New cultural
movements based on freedom appeared, like La Movida Madrileña and a culture of human rights arose
with Gregorio Peces-Barba. On 30 May 1982 Spain joined NATO, followed by a referendum after a strong
social opposition. That year the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) came to power, the first left-wing
government in 43 years. In 1986 Spain joined the European Economic Community, which later became
the European Union. The PSOE was replaced in government by the Partido Popular (PP) in 1996 after
scandals around participation of the government of Felipe González in the Dirty war against ETA; at that
point the PSOE had served almost 14 consecutive years in office.

The 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona

On 1 January 2002, Spain fully adopted the euro, and Spain experienced strong economic growth, well
above the EU average during the early 2000s. However, well-publicised concerns issued by many
economic commentators at the height of the boom warned that extraordinary property prices and a high
foreign trade de