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1100 BCE
Pre-Roman Period
Modern humans first came to the peninsula about 35,000 years ago.The best evidence of the presence of the Cro-Magnon man are the famous paintings of the Cave of Altamira in northern Spain.
The two main historical towns of the Iberian Peninsula were the Iberians and the Celts.
The "semi-mythical city" of Tarteso appeared in the south of the Iberian Peninsula in 1100 BC, a city where the gold and silver trade with the Phoenicians and the Greeks flourished. -
409
the Roman Empire and the Gothic Kingdom
It took the Roman empire two centuries to conquer the Iberian Peninsula, although later it kept control over the region for six centuries. Hispania became an important deposit of the Roman market and one of the most important regions of the Empire. Christianity was introduced in the first century BC. The sovereignty of the Roman Empire over Hispania began to weak in 409. Under Visigothic rule, the society and the economy of the region were greatly simplified. -
711
The Muslim Iberia
Between 711 and 718, the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Arab Muslim armies.
As a result of the conquest, the Christians and Jews of the region were assigned the unfortunate social class of dhimmi.
During the period of Muslim rule, the city of Cordoba, was the largest, most prosperous and sophisticated city in Western Europe.
The eleventh century saw the fracture of Al-Andalus in the small rival kingdoms of taifas. -
1492
the reconquest
The Reconquista is known as the period of Spanish history during which the Christians of the Iberian Peninsula fought against the Muslim power to recover and expand their respective kingdoms. The end of Muslim rule in Spain began with the union in marriage of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon that happened in 1469 by uniting their two kingdoms.
1492 was also the year in which Christopher Columbus discovered America.Spain became the first world power. -
1500
Golden Century
The union of the Catholic Kings, laid the foundations for modern Spain and the Spanish Empire, although in terms of society, politics, law and language, each kingdom of Spain maintained its independence. Spain became the main power of Europe during the sixteenth century .The empire reached its peak during the reigns of the first two Spanish kings, Charles I and Philip II. During this period, there were great reckless journeys, the emergence of humanism and the Protestant Reformation. -
War of succession
As a Catholic country, Spain was deeply involved in wars motivated by religious issues during the Protestant Reformation, and in military conflicts in Europe and the Mediterranean.
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, a controversy over the succession to the throne led to the War of Spanish Succession. During the War of Spanish Succession, the French Bourbon dynasty came to power and the first Bourbon king, Philip V, consolidated the crowns of Castile and Aragon. -
Civil War
At the beginning of the 20th century, heavy losses began to undermine the country's authority. From 1923, the country was under the authoritarian rule of General Miguel Primo de Rivera, a period that ended with the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic.
The nationalist forces backed by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy were finally victorious and General Francisco Franco was installed as the new ruler of Spain. -
New democracy
Juan Carlos I succeeded Franco as King of Spain. Three years later, the country approved a new Spanish Constitution, which restored democracy. The country began to delegate the national authority to the regions and divided the national territory into autonomous communities.
In 2002, Spain changed the peseta for the euro.
As in many countries around the world, Spain is currently in the middle of a major recession / economic crisis, caused largely by the massive fall in the housing market.
