History History

In many Spanish provinces, the history of human presence begins in the Paleolithic. And Spain is also home to two of the most significant places in European prehistory, both of which are classified as Unesco World Heritage Sites: the site of Atapuerca, in what is now the province of Castilla y León, where fossils more than a million years old have been discovered, and the Altamira cave, Cantabria, which contains the first evidence of Paleolithic rock art.

It is estimated that the arrival of the Iberians, who gave their name to the peninsula, dates from this period and whose origin is the subject of many hypotheses. Today, the National Archaeological Museum of Madrid houses the "Lady of Elche", the most important and best known remains of Iberian culture, discovered near the town of Elche (Valencian Community). Arriving from the north in the second millennium, the Celts mixed with the Iberian peoples and were called "Celtiberians"

Many Mediterranean, Phoenician and especially Greek sailors founded colonies on the coasts of Iberia, whose interior was already occupied by the Iberians.

Scipio the African, a Roman general, began the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula to cut off the supplies of the Carthaginians who had been installed in the Iberian Peninsula since the^fifth century B.C. This reconquest was not completed until almost 200 years later, with the submission of the last provinces, Cantabria and Asturias, in the year 19 B.C.

From this date, when the Romans landed in Ampurias (now Catalonia), until the beginning of the^fifth century AD, marked by the arrival of the Visigoths, the period known as Hispania romana took place. Hispania became an essential part of the Roman Empire, providing it with many resources in terms of men and materials. When Rome imported its legislation, its infrastructure and also its language, descended from Latin. To visualize its architectural legacy, we can go to Merida (Extremadura), to the Unesco heritage sites or to Itálica, a few kilometers from Seville (Andalusia), among others

It was the Visigoths who dominated the entire peninsula, after the decline of Roman domination and the installation of the Vandals in Andalusia. Under the impetus of the Visigoth king Reccared^I, Spain was unified, with Toledo as its capital, and Catholicism became the state religion after the king's conversion. The Visigothic monarchy lasted until the beginning of the 8th century.

After crossing the Straits of Gibraltar, the Moorish troops won the battle of Guadalete, in the south of the peninsula, thus giving victory to the Umayyads and precipitating the fall of the Visigothic kingdom. In two years, they conquered almost all of Spain, except for the mountainous valleys in the north of the peninsula, which served as a refuge for the Christians and as a base for the reconquest.

The battle of Covadonga, in Asturias, gave the Christians their first victory against the Moors and marked the beginning of the reconquest.

It is the maximum flowering of the civilization and the Hispano-Muslim culture of Al-Andalus which culminates with the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba, founded in 929 under the reign of Abd al Rahmann III. Self-proclaimed Caliph of Islam, he undertook major projects, such as the expansion of the Great Mosque of Cordoba whose construction had begun in 786. Cordoba was then the capital, the most populated city and one of the main cultural and economic centers of the time. It was also during this period that the construction of Medina Azahara, the "shining city", began, built 8 km from the capital. The Arab contribution was also crucial in the fields of philosophy, science and irrigation techniques

At the death of the Caliph Al-Mansur, the problems of succession lead to the fall of the Caliphate of Cordoba and the splitting of Al-Andalus which will be gradually divided into several small kingdoms, the Taifas. This division will facilitate the resumption of the territory by the Christian troops of the north.

After the capture of Saragossa, the Christian troops' offensive marked a decisive step in the reconquest of al Andalus in the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, in the north of present-day Andalusia, whose victory gave the Christians access to the southern lands

The marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, known as the Catholic Kings, united the two most powerful kingdoms of Spain

It is a key date for Spain since it marks the end of the reconquest, after the capture of the last bastion of Al-Andalus, Granada, on January 2, and the discovery of America, during the first voyage of Christopher Columbus on October 12. With the establishment of trade to the New World, Spain became one of the main European powers. And enters its Golden Age

After having been king of Spain, Sicily and Naples, Charles I, descendant of the Catholic Monarchs and Emperor Maximilian of Austria, became emperor of the Holy Germanic Empire (Germany and part of Austria) in 1519, under the name of Charles V. He was then the most important sovereign in Europe, and also possessed the colonial empire of South America, after the conquest of the Aztec Empire by Hernán Cortés and the Inca Empire by Francisco Pizarro, as well as the immense wealth that came from it. In 1556, he abdicated in favor of his son, Philip II, and retired to the monastery of Yuste, in Extremadura

The Spanish Golden Age will also be the one of the blooming of the arts. With the appearance of great masters of painting like Diego Velásquez, El Greco, Francisco de Zurbarán and Murillo. In literature, it was marked by the publication of Cervantes' Don Quixote, between 1605 and 1615. Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina and Calderón de la Barca were also among the greatest authors of the Golden Age.

The death of Charles II, a Habsburg without descendants, opened the War of Succession which pitted Bourbons and Habsburgs against each other, each wishing to bring one of their own to the Spanish throne. In 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht between the European powers involved in this conflict confirmed the access to the throne of Philip V, a Bourbon, a lineage still in place today. But on this occasion, Spain lost all its European possessions and another counterpart of this concession given to the Bourbons, this same treaty provides for the maintenance of Gibraltar under British authority after its capture in 1704

The appointment of Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother, as King of Spain marked the beginning of the War of Independence. On the night of May 2 to 3, the people of Madrid rose up against Napoleonic troops. This uprising was immortalized in Goya's painting Tres de Mayo, which can be seen in the Prado Museum in Madrid. The insurrection won the country and this war of independence, which lasted until 1814, brought Ferdinand VII, a Bourbon, to power

The death of Ferdinand VII posed new problems of succession to the Spanish throne and marked the beginning of a civil war, punctuated by three Carlist wars which ended in 1840. Opposing supporters of Don Carlos, Ferdinand's brother, and supporters of Isabella II, Ferdinand's daughter. Despite military victories, the Carlists, a conservative and anti-liberal current, did not come to power

The First Republic was proclaimed, but in the absence of a stable government, a pronunciamiento restored the family of Queen Isabella. This ephemeral republic lasted only one year

At war with the United States, Spain lost its last colonies in America, Puerto Rico and Cuba. In 1899, it sold its last possessions in the Pacific to Germany. Anarchist and nationalist movements, especially Basque, developed at the same time.

To fight against a political situation considered catastrophic, General Primo de Rivera launched a coup d'état, supported by King Alfonso XIII and established a dictatorship. For lack of political results, he was replaced by General Berenger in 1930. Like him, he paved the way for the Second Republic

The Republicans won the municipal elections and proclaimed the Second Republic, which led to the exile without abdication of King Alfonso XIII. It would focus on social reforms and would also grant women the right to vote. It lasted until the military coup led by General Franco in 1936.

After the short-lived victory of the Popular Front in the general elections of 1936, multiple conspiracies were launched, involving in particular Generals Mola and Franco. And it was on July 17, 1936, in Melilla (Morocco) that the first military garrison rose up and prepared the offensive of the national movement. This marked the beginning of the civil war that would oppose nationalists and republicans until 1939. Apart from the material destruction, this war caused the death of approximately 1,200,000 Spaniards, 750,000 of whom were civilians. One of the most tragic episodes of this war was the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica in 1937, immortalized in Picasso's painting of the same name, now on display at the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid

From the beginning of 1939 to November 1975, the dictatorship put in place by General Franco after the victory of the nationalists lasted 36 years. It led to the exile of one and a half million Spaniards. Impoverished by a very autarkic model, Spain then took advantage of the Cold War to break its isolation by joining the UN (1955). In the 1960s, the regime moved away from the phalanx and opened the country to tourism and industrial development, but at the same time remained out of step with the social and cultural changes of that decade. This period was also marked by the resurgence of independence movements in the Basque Country and Catalonia, and by the creation of the armed organization ETA in 1959.

When General Franco died on November 20, 1975, King Juan Carlos of Bourbon, grandson of Alfonso XIII, was crowned King of Spain. The death of General Franco marked the beginning of the country's democratic transition, a process that ran, for the most part, from the government of Adolfo Suárez until the Socialists came to power in 1982. Key dates include the legalization of the Communist Party in 1977, the adoption of the constitution in 1978 (still in force) and the failure of the attempted coup d'état on February 23, 1981.

A key figure in the so-called "transition" period, he is considered the father of Spanish democracy. Appointed in 1976 by Juan Carlos, his mission was to dismantle Franco's structures and lead Spain towards democracy. As head of the UCD (Union of the Democratic Center), he was elected president of the government in 1977. A year later, he succeeded in getting all parties to sign the Moncloa Pact, a preamble to democracy. Although he set in motion many reforms, he was still criticized and the country was hit by several terrorist attacks. Under pressure, he resigned in 1981. Later, the king named him "Great of Spain" and conferred on him the title of duke, as a tribute to his role during the transition

Led by Felipe González, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) won the early legislative elections of 1982, to the detriment of the Spanish Communist Party and the UDC of Adolfo Suarez. With an absolute majority and then without, it remained in power until 1996.

Spain joined the European Economic Community (EEC).

The revelations of secret financing by the PSOE and, above all, the suspicions of financing the actions of the GAL (Anti-terrorist Liberation Groups) in their fight against ETA, led to numerous resignations within the González government and to the calling of early elections. These elections allowed the return to power of the Spanish right-wing PP, led by José María Aznar, who, in view of his small majority, had to deal with the nationalist parties, particularly the Catalan ones. In 2000, he won the national elections for the second time, but with an absolute majority. In just a few years, he turned the country's economy around with a growth rate of 4% and unemployment of 15%, compared with 24% in 1994, the best result since 1979

Perpetrated by al-Qaeda, the attack on the Atocha train station in Madrid left 193 dead and nearly 2,000 injured. And its catastrophic management in the media as well as politically provoked the fall of the Aznar government, which had been winning just a few days before, given its good economic results. After two terms on the right, the left came back to power. Elected on March 14, José Luis Zapatero implemented one of his campaign commitments, the withdrawal of Spanish troops engaged in the Iraq war. He was re-elected in 2008 and remained in power until 2011, legalizing same-sex marriage in 2005.

The global economic crisis is hitting Spain hard and is leading to the implosion of its real estate bubble, with a drop of more than 25% in construction in one year. The country officially entered a recession. With the collapse of the stock market, the unemployment rate exceeded 21% in June 2011 (less than 8% in 2007). Despite Zapatero's new austerity policy, the PSOE was severely defeated in the 2011 early general election.

It is on the Puerta del Sol in Madrid that the movement of the indignant, indignados, begins, which gathers thousands of people and will spread throughout Spain. It will contribute to the creation of Podemos which will obtain 5 seats in the European elections of 2014. A year later, it will conquer cities like Madrid, Barcelona or Cadiz.

After eight years of socialist government, the right wing (PP) won an absolute majority in the legislative elections. Mariano Rajoy became head of government in a climate of crisis marked by an unemployment rate approaching 23%. In 2012, he implemented a severe austerity policy, but the country sank into recession, with unemployment rising to over 26 per cent by the end of the year. That same year, pressure from the markets led the government to seek a bailout for the banks

Felipe VI was proclaimed King of Spain by the Cortes Generales (Parliament), after the abdication of Juan Carlos I.

The PP won the elections again, but without an absolute majority, and the emergence of two new parties, Podemos (far left) and Ciudadanos(center right), prevented the formation of a stable government. After a new general election in June 2016, in which the PP gained ground, Mariano Rajoy was sworn in as head of government in his second attempt in October 2016. And this was thanks to the abstention of the PSOE in a vote that then required only a relative majority

The referendum on self-determination of Catalonia, declared unconstitutional by the constitutional court, was held. It will be followed by the vote on the unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) by the Catalan Parliament on October 27. This will lead to a vote by the Senate to implement Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution: the dismissal of the Parliament of Catalonia, with the region being administered at the national level

This date marks the final dissolution of ETA after it made a partial apology to the victims of the attacks

It was a question of corruption via the conviction of the PP in the Gürtel affair that precipitated the end of the Rajoy government. After the success of the motion of no confidence presented by the PSOE and supported by Podemos and various regionalist parties, Pedro Sánchez became the seventh president of the Spanish government. But with no government majority, he must govern by decree until early parliamentary elections are called

The Andalusian regional elections will see the failure of the PSOE, which had ruled this region for 37 years, and also marks the emergence of a new party, Vox (Extreme Right), a first in Spain.

The PSOE won the legislative elections as the leading party in terms of percentage of votes, but the fragmentation of the political spectrum caused it to fail in its attempt to win the nomination on July 25

After new elections won by a relative majority and 8 months of political paralysis, Pedro Sánchez will be sworn in by a relative majority on January 7, 2020, thanks in particular to the abstention of the ERC (Catalonia's republican and pro-independence left). He will form a coalition government between the PSOE and Podemos