Spain

Lore & Background

In early antiquity, the Iberian Peninsula was inhabited by Iberians, Celts, and other pre-Roman peoples. The Roman conquest created the province of Hispania, which became Romanised and Christianised. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Visigoths established a kingdom. In the early 8th century, most of the peninsula was conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate.

The northern Christian kingdoms launched the Reconquista, culminating with the fall of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada. The dynastic union of the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon in 1479 is often seen as the de facto unification of Spain. During the Age of Discovery, Spain led exploration and conquest of the New World and established one of the largest empires in history. The 19th century witnessed the Peninsular War and loss of most American colonies.

These struggles culminated in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) and the Francoist dictatorship (1939–1975). With the restoration of democracy and entry into the EU, Spain experienced a major economic boom and social transformation.

Reader's Guide

Spain is a secular parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with King Felipe VI as head of state. The official language at the national level is Spanish, the world's second-most spoken native language, although other regional languages have co-official status in their respective autonomous communities.

Did You Know?

• The Phoenicians possibly referred to the region as meaning 'land of rabbits or hyraxes', 'land of metals', or 'northern island'.
• Roman coins from the reign of Hadrian show a female figure with a rabbit at her feet.
• The Iberian Peninsula was populated by hominids 1.3 million years ago, according to research at Atapuerca.
• Modern humans first arrived in Iberia about 35,000 years ago.