Spain » History

Recent History

Spain stepped into 20th century, into a serious state of political and social turmoil. This political unrest led to the Civil War from 1936-1939. The Civil War broke out when the Spanish Army revolted against General Francisco operating in Morocco. The Spanish civil war proved to be a bloody war which caused a great loss of lives. The two major groups active in this war were Loyalists (comprising of peasants, general public, Socialists, communists, government officials), and Nationalists (led by army, wealthy land owners).

Loyalists were backed by the soviet while the nationalists were aided by the fascist’s governments of Germany and Italy. This horrendous war came to end with the victory of General Franco in 1939. This was the debut of another really long era of dictatorship which Spanish public had to endure until the year 1975.

General Franco appointed Prince Juan Carlos as his successor, who took the reign of Spain after his death in 1975. Under his reign attempts were made to make Spain into Spanish Republic. One major step toward this political process was development of implementation of constitution in 1978.  With the onset of democracy and implementation of constitutions, political, efforts were made to provide financial and political autonomy to the number of Spanish states which includes; Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia and Andalusia.
 
In 1981, the military once again tried to reclaim the power, but they could not succeed in this effort. This incident was followed by the general elections of 1982, in which Felipe Gonzalez, of the major Socialist party (PSOE) achieved absolute majority. His term proved to be the golden period for Spain to head towards development. During this period Spain gained membership of the major organizations such as European Union and NATO.

The conservative party came into power in the General Elections of 1996. José María Aznar became the new President of Spain. This development paved Spain’s Path toward development; Spain emerged as a strong nation among the developed countries of the world.

In march, 2004, once again the socialist party won the largest general elections of the Spain. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero became the new Prime Minister, he is still the Prime Minister and his term will expire in the year 2012. The head of state is King Juan Carlos 1.     

Longer Historical Perspective

Spain is a country having a rich history which dates back to pre-historical times. It went through several social and political upheavals, which has lent the Spanish culture its wide range of diversity. Spanish culture is an amalgamation of Ancient Roman, Arab and European culture because of the colonization, trade relations, migration and various other factors.

Spanish history can be divided into different time period and phases. The one’s which had the most profound influence in forming Spanish history are; The pre-Romans and post-Roman Conquest period, The middle ages: The Arab conquest, Arab Conquest of Native America (1942), Period of Spanish Inquisition, Formation of Spanish Empire, Establishment of new Monarchy by Bourbons, Spanish-American War.

There are signs of Civilization in Spain in the pre-historic times which have been verified by the various archeological facts. Atapuerca in Spain is the most ancient archeological site in the Europe and it is believed that it was the place where the first generation of Human beings settled. The Basques were the Inhabitants of Hispania (today’s Spain). Their existence can be seen through the cave art in the caves of the Altamira, the world’s renowned archeological site.

During the 3rd Century BC, the Greeks started settling down along Mediterranean Coast. It was the same time period, when under the leadership of General Hamilcar Barca, the Carthaginians set their foot firmly in Spanish soil. They emerged victorious in most of the Iberian Peninsula and Carthago Nova was established as their capital. 

In the 2nd BCE, The Romans established their roots in the Iberian Peninsula. Roman Empire has the most profound influence on the history of Spain. The fall of Roman Empire was followed by the Muslim Conquest. The Arab rule remained firm on the Spanish soil till the next 10-15 centuries. Their impression on Spanish Culture had been so profound that even today glimpses of Muslim culture could be seen in the Spanish Architecture, Architectural monuments and language. 

The weakening of Muslim Rule led to the development of Kingdom in Spain. Before this time period, different states were autonomously operating but in the 1512, the most of the kingdoms were politically unified, most of them are geographically and politically, part of the present day Spain. This was the first step towards the formation of Spain, we see today. In the 16th Century, early Habsburg Spain, which was under the reign of Charles V and Philip II, rose as the most powerful State on Europe.

Spanish-American War, in the year 1898, happened to be another major breach in the history of Spain. It led Spain to make decision about leaving many major colonies. Post-Spanish-American war became cause for the political instability in the country caused by the vast diversification in the country.  This political instability and social inequality continued and was followed by a dictatorship in the year 1939.