Spain:

Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain, is located in the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe, where it is bordered to west and northwest by Portugal, to the north and northeast by France, Andorra. Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, and Ceuta and Melilla in North Africa.

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Brief History of Spain

Prehistorical era

Native Iberians lived fishing and hunting life 

10^th century BCE

Celts from Central Europe were in the northern Spain, and Phoenicians built their colonies along the coast of Mediterranean Sea in the southern Spain. 

7-6 BCE

Greeks came to Spain and followed by Carthaginians from North Africa.

206 BCE

Spain was conquered by Romans and divided into three provinces.   

409 CE

Germanic tribes invaded Spain, took Toledo as its capital and built Visigothic Kingdom.

711 CE

The Muslim Moors from North Africa crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, defeated the Visigothic Kingdom, and built “Umayyad Caliphate”, and established its capital in Córdoba. Some nobles from Visigothic Kingdom escaped to the north, built serveral Christian kingdoms such as León, Castila, and Aragon, and kept fighting against the Moors.

1248 CE

Moors were chased to the southern city Granada; Kingdoms in Spain became united.

1469 CE

King Ferdinand II and Isabella I of Castile married and inherited their thrown. Two Kingdoms merged in 1479. 

1492 CE

Reconquered Granada and ended the Muslim’s regime of 782 years in Spain. All the bells in Catholic churches in Europe went off to celebrate. Queen Isabella funded the Italian navigator, Christopher Columbus, who discovered America. The expedition led Spain to colonial expansion in America. By then, Spain entered the so-called “golden age”.。 

1516 CE

The Royal family didn’t have male heir, so Charles I, King Ferdinand II’s grandson from Habsburg’s family in Austria, became the king of Spain. Three years later, Charles I became the Holy Roman Emperor and he possessed Austria, Prussia, Netherlands (now Belgium and Luxembourg).

1519 CE

Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan received funding from the Spanish royal family and completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth.

1555 CE  

Philip II inherited the throne. He moved the capital from Toledo to Madrid and kept invading Italy. 

1580 CE

Spain merged Portugal and all its oversea colonies.

1588 CE

Spanish Armada (Armada Invencible) launched an expedition to England but failed, and the nation’s power declined. The“golden age”ended in 1609.

1640 CE

Portugal gained independence from Spain.

1700 CE 

The Royal family was heirless and Philippe d'Anjou(Philip V), the grandson of Louis XIV from France, succeeded the throne. The royal dynasty transited from Habsburgs to the Bourbons of France.

1808 CE

The French army invaded, and Spain was taken over by Joseph Bonaparte, eldest brother of Napoleon Bonaparte and he became the King of Spain.  

1813 CE

Spain won a great victory in the war against France. The French army was expelled. Ferdinand VII was restored as the King of Spain. 

1868 CE

In the Glorious Revolution, leaders of the revolution revolted against Isabella, and they formed an interim government. In the following year, the Cortes drew up the constitution and declared Spain to be hereditary monarchy.

1870 CE

Amadeus of Savoy, the second son of King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, was selected and crowned King of Spain.

1873 CE

Amadeus abdicated the throne. A republican government was formed and Spain declared to be republic nation. 

1876 CE

Declare the new constitution, and officially became hereditary monarchy.

1898 CE

In the Spanish–American War, Spain fared disastrously. Cuba gained its independence and Spain lost its remaining New World colony, Puerto Rico, which together with Guam and the Philippines were ceded to the United States. Many of its colonies in Latin America gained their independence.

1924 CE

Spain was defeated in the Rif War in Morocco.

1931 CE

Spain declared to be republic again. 

1936-1939 CE

The Spanish Civil War broke out and the casualty during the war reached to one million. Hemingway's《For Whom the Bell Tolls》（鐘為誰鳴） was written based on the Spanish Civil War. General Francisco Franco took down Madrid, ended the Civil War and began his dictation.

1975 CE

Franco passed away. Spain restored constitutional monarchy. Juan Carlos I, the grandson of Alfonso XIII who lived in exile since 1931, became the King of Spain, and the economy developed steadily

1992 CE

The 25^th Olympic Games was held in Barcelona, and World Expo was took place in Sevilla. These two mega events stimulated the rapid growth of the touristic industry in Spain.

1996 CE

After the congressional elections, Spain became a multi-party coalition.