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An abbreviated history of Spain
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30,000 - 14,000 B.C.
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These drawings and other prehistoric artifacts are the oldest historical discoveries made in Spain. Among the most important archaeological artifacts from this period have been found in the caves of <B>Cova Negra</B> (Játiva), <B>Piñar</B> (Granada) and <B>Altamira</B>(Cantabria).
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? B.C.
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The original <I>Iberian</I> population is thought to have come to the peninsula from the north of Africa.
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1200 B.C.
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Celtic tribes entered the peninsula from the north, mixing with Iberians and so generating the celt-iberian race.
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1100 B.C.
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Phoenicians arrived and founded colonies on the peninsula , the most important of which was <I>Gadir</I> (today's Cadiz).
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Traders from Rhodes and the Greek cities founded colonies in southern Spain along the Mediterranean coast.
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237 - 206 B.C.
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At the time of the <I>Punic Wars</I> between Rome and Carthage, the Carthaginians invaded Spain and conquered large parts of it. They founded Barcelona, and some of their most important colonies were on the island of Ibiza and at Cartagena, "new Carthage".
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206 B.C. - 409 A.D.
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After Rome had defeated Carthage in the second Punic war, Romans then invaded their colonies in Spain, and followed up by conquering the entire peninsula. This new Roman province, called <I>Hispania</I>, became an important, and one of the most prosperous, parts of the Roman empire. Two Roman emperors, Trajan and Hadrian, were born there. Roman culture was absorbed by the Spaniards as is still evident today from their language.
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409 - 711 A.D.
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In 409 AD, as the Roman empire was starting to crumble, Teutonic tribes invaded the peninsula from the North. In an attempt to stem the havoc brought by the invasions, Rome appealed to the Visigoths, who in AD 412 brought their armies into the region and within seven years became the dominant power and established their kingdom by 419 AD.
The dominance of the Goths lasted for nearly 300 years until 711 AD, when Muslim armies crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and defeated Roderic, the last Visigoth king to rule all of Spain.
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711 - 1492 A.D.
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The Moors rapidly conquered major parts of the country until they were defeated for the first time by Visigoth don Pelayo at Covadonga in northern Spain in 722 AD. This defeat essentially stopped the northern advancement of the Moors.
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Though the small Christian kingdoms in the north remained areas of resistance to Moorish domination, the Moorish culture prospered in the rest of the country. The southern part of Spain, called <I>al-Andalus</I> by the Moors, prospered economically during the Moorish epoch, thanks to the introduction of new science and agricultural techniques.
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As time progressed, Muslim Spain became politically independent of the Syrian empire, and in 10th century AD <I>Abderraman III</I> made al-Andalus his own caliphate. During this period Cordoba was the indisputable cultural center of this area of the world, being the second most powerful and splendid city of the western world apart from Constantinople. The Spanish civilization during the Moorish supremacy was far in advance of that of the rest of the European continent.
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Decadence started in 11th century AD, when the various Arabian noble families grew over time to be more at variance among themselves, and al-Andalus broke into numerous small independent and mutually hostile caliphates, including Córdoba, Granada, Seville, Toledo, Lisbon, Saragossa, Murcia, and Valencia. These divisions weakened the Moors both economically and militarily, and set the stage for the Christian kingdoms in the north to start the reconquest of Spain during this period.
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The marriage between Isabel of Castilia and Ferdinand of Aragon in 1469, uniting the two most important kingdoms, was a major turning point of the reconquest. From this point on, the Muslims rapidly lost territory, until Granada, the last remaining caliphate, and one of the greatest and most splendid of the independent Muslim realms, was conquered in 1492.
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Isabel and Ferdinand succeeded in uniting the whole country under their crown. Their zealous effort to "re-christianize" Spain resulted in the Spanish Inquisition, during which thousands of Jews and Moors who didn't want to convert to Catholicism were either killed or expelled from the country.
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16th century A.D.
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After the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492, tons of gold and silver were brought from the new continent, contributing to Spain's becoming one of the western world's most powerful nations during this period, now referred to as the <I>Golden Age</I>.
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After Isabel died in 1504, her daughter Joan, married to the German emperor's son Philip, succeeded to the throne of Castile. After Phillip died, Ferdinand retook the throne, reuniting Castile with Aragon again.
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Charles V, son of Phillip and Joan, grandson of Ferdinand, inherited the throne when Ferdinand died. As both Austrian king and German emperor as well, one of the largest empires in history was united under his rule in 1517. After his retirement in 1556 the empire was split between the Spanish and the Austrian line of Hapsburg family, when his son Phillip II ascended the throne.
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Spain prospered economically under the Hapsburg crown thanks to the trade with its American colonies on one hand, but on the other, became involved in wars with France, the Netherlands and England, culminating in the disastrous defeat of the <I>"Invincible Armada"</I>
in 1588.
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17th century
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In 1609 Phillip III expelled 250,000 Moriscos (Muslims who had previously been forced to convert to christianity).
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Spain became involved in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), which in turn led to war with France after 1635.
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Economically, politically, and even culturally, Spain entered a long period of decline.
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early 18th century
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When the last Spanish Hapsburg king, Charles II, died without male descendants, the nephew of French King Louis XIV, Phillip of Bourbon, ascended to the throne.
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During this period, Spain allied itself with France in many of the European conflicts such as the Wars of the Polish Succession (1733-1735) and the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748).
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latter 18th century
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Its alliance with France against England in the Seven Years' War (1762-1769) was not so successful, and Spain lost Florida when England won the war.
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Under Charles III, an enlightened ruler responsible for many foreign and domestic achievements, Spain regained some of its former greatness.
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As a consequence of the French Revolution, Spain joined other European powers in declaring war on the new republic's revolutionary government, but had to admit defeat after having the northern provinces ravaged by French armies.
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early 19th century
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Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808 and placed his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne. Spaniards fought a 5-year War of Independence against the French.
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Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo in 1815. Ferdinand VII was restored to the Spanish throne and reigned with rigid absolutism. When he changed the law of succession to the throne and designated his infant daughter Isabella as queen, his brother Charles rebelled, starting the Seven Years War. Economic recession and political instability were the consequences. During this period, Spain lost its colonies with the exceptions of Puerto Rico, Cuba and Philippines.
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latter 19th century
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The revolution of 1868 forced Isabel II to renounce to the throne, and the <I>First Republic</I> was proclaimed, which lasted for about one year. After a coup d'état Isabel's son, Alphonse XII, restored the kingdom.
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The rebellion of Cuba in 1895 resulted in a war against the United States, with disastrous results for Spain. It lost its last overseas possessions, Puerto Rico, Cuba and Philippines.
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early 20th century
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The economic crisis of the early 1920s led the country to the brink of civil war, General Primo de Ribera established a military dictatorship until 1930. Elections in 1931 saw a triumph for the political left, and Alphonse XIII left the country. Increasing conflicts between the Republican government and the Nationalist opposition led to the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). The Nationalists, led by General Franco, received extensive support from Nazi-Germany and fascist Italy and succeeded against the Republican block which was officially supported only by Russia, although many intellectuals, such as Ernest Hemingway, and politically committed people from other countries fought in the <I>International Brigades</I>. The Nationalists eventually won the war.
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The savage civil war was followed by a remarkably vengeful peace; hundreds of thousands were imprisoned, and tens of thousands were executed during the first few years after the war.
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latter 20th century
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Although Franco kept Spain neutral during World War II, his military dictatorship led to political and economic isolation. During the 1950s and 60s every effort was taken to improve international relations, and the country's economy improved. In 1969 Franco proclaimed Juan Carlos de Borbon, the grandson of Alphonse XIII, his successor with the title of king.
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Franco died in 1975, and a constitutional monarchy was established.
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