Spain is the second largest country in Western Europe after France in terms of land size, though is one of the least densely populated countries in Western Europe. Spain encompasses most of the Iberian Peninsula — a block of land on the west side of the Mediterranean Sea that is connected on the north to mainland France. The southernmost part of mainland Spain is literally only a few miles from Morocco, and the two countries are separated by the narrow Strait of Gibraltar. Until the Suez Canal was built, the Strait of Gibraltar was the only way in and out of the Mediterranean Sea. Most countries have had a rich history, but Spain’s is especially dramatic since it has always been a cross road between Europe and Africa. In order to keep this post a reasonable length, we are going to focus on the Balearics, an island group in the Mediterranean off the east coast of Spain, and on Southern Spain, near Africa.

Human bone fragments dating back 780,000 years ago have been found in Spain, the oldest fragments found in Europe. It is believed that Neanderthals moved from Africa to Europe via Iberia (Spain and Portugal) 1.2 million years ago and that Cro-Magnons first arrived 35,000 years ago. After the last ice age in 8,000 BC, a new wave of people moved into Iberia from North Africa, bringing with them innovations from Mesopotamia and Egypt, such as the plough, crops, livestock, pottery and textiles. Between 3,000 and 2,000 BC, the first metalworking culture began in southern Iberia. Likewise, the Bronze Age also began in the same region of Iberia around 1900 BC when the Iberians learned how to alloy copper with tin. AS an FYI, it is believed that the first inhabitants of Sicily first migrated from here.

By about 1,000 BC, a flourishing culture had developed in Southern Iberia. Their culture was influenced by the Phoenician and Greek traders. Both the Phoenicians and Greeks eventually set up several settlements of their own along the Mediterranean coast of Iberia. The incomers brought the potter’s wheel, writing, coins, olives, grapes, donkeys and hens, and iron. Between 1,000 BC and 500 BC, Celtic people from the north moved into what is now Northwest Spain, and a people group called the Basques settled in the Pyrenees mountains where the French/Spanish border is today.

In 654 BC, the Carthaginians (new name for Phoenicians, see history of Tunisia) set up a flourishing trading colony in the Balearic Islands. Around 500 BC, the Carthaginians began aggressively trying to take control of the western Mediterranean. They spread their rule to most of Southern Iberia. The Carthaginians also went to war with Greece, then Rome (see history of Sicily for more information) over control of strategic locations in the Med. During the first Punic war against Rome, the Carthaginians continued to take more and more territory in Iberia, drawing on the Iberians for man power and resources for the war against Rome. During the second Punic War, the Carthaginians invaded mainland Italy. The Romans responded by sending an army to conquer Iberia, knowing that without the resources from Iberia, the Carthaginians would be crippled. By 206, all of the Iberian Peninsula had been conquered by the Romans, who then moved across the Strait and conquered Carthage itself, thereby winning all of Carthage’s considerable amount of territory. This was the defining moment when the Romans became a mighty empire.

The Romans renamed Iberia to Hispania and controlled it for 600 years, though for the first 200 years the locals fought the Roman control. Julius Caesar made a name for himself in Rome for his success in squelching the Hispanic rebellions through as much use of diplomacy as warfare. By 50 AD, most people in the south had adopted the Roman way of life and for most of Roman rule, there was stability and prosperity for the Hispanics. The Romans brought good infrastructure a legal system, roads, aqueducts, bath houses, and many great buildings. Hispania was an integral part of the empire, producing quite a bit of food for the empire, and was also an important source of gold and silver. Many Hispanics entered the ruling class, with three becoming emperors. During this era, many Jews moved to Spain and many converted to Christianity.

At the end of the third century, Germanic tribes began invading the region, bringing devastation to those in their wake. A century later, the Huns from Asia invaded Eastern Europe, sending another wave of Germanic people west, many of whom made it as far as Hispania. By 409 AD, many of these groups conquered lands within Hispania and set up new feudal states. By 466, shortly before the complete disintegration of the Roman Empire, one Germanic group in particular, the Visigoths, took control of the peninsula. Just as the less cultured Romans had absorbed the cultures of the more advanced people they conquered, the Visigoths absorbed the Hispanic-Roman culture, including converting to Roman Christianity.

By 700 AD, the Visigoth Kingdom was falling apart due to chaos caused by wide spread famine and disease. The Arabs had recently conquered the whole of North Africa in their efforts to spread their new religion of Islam. In 711, the Muslims (AKA Moors) invaded Southern Spain and decimated the Visigoth army. The Visigoths fled north, and the Muslims began conquering the Iberian Peninsula. By 718, all but the northernmost part of the peninsula was claimed by the Muslims. Around 730, the Muslims tried to push north into France, but were beaten back by the Franks (see History of France and History of Italy to understand the long term effect this victory had on the intertwining of France and the Vatican during Medieval times).

Hispania was renamed Al-Andalus. While the rest of Europe devolved into the Dark Ages, the Muslims in Al-Andalus enjoyed the most sophisticated culture in Europe. The Muslims added more education, infrastructure, improved on irrigation techniques, and introduced many new crops, such as citrus, peaches, sugar cane and rice. As we mentioned in the History of Sicily post, the Christians were for the most part allowed freedom of worship, but were heavily taxed for being Christians. Most converted, some fled north, and some just lived with the tax. Jews were, for the most part, left alone and the Jews flourished in Al-Andalus (as a FYI, our understanding is that the racial tensions between Jews and Muslims is a direct result of the Israel/Palestine conflicts, and prior to the recreation of Israel, the two groups co-existed peacefully). The Muslim royalty allowed people of all religions to serve in the royal court in high positions.

The Muslim reign had its fair share of warfare. There were internal skirmishes amongst the various Muslim peoples. We mentioned briefly in the History of Egypt and much more extensively in the History of Tunisia that there were several different sects of Islam, as well as several different people groups practicing Islam, and that over the years there was much internal conflict amongst Islamic areas as various sects/people groups vied for power and control of the Islamic empire. Spain was included in the power struggle. From 711 1492 seven different empires ruled. Meanwhile, the entire time the Muslims were in power there were frequent battles with Christians from the north trying to reclaim Hispania for Christianity. The Christians ever so slowly gained ground, moving their way south, and finally reclaimed the southernmost area, and thus the whole of the Iberian Peninsula, in 1492.
As land was picked up by the Christians it was divided up into feudal states. One of these states was Portugal, which was established in the 1100’s. Another state was named Aragon. You may recall that in 1282, the people in the Kingdom of Sicily revolted against French control and willingly subjected themselves to the king of Aragon. Aragon grew its empire by conquering more land — including captured the Balearic Islands from the Muslims in the 1200’s. Aragon also grew in power and territory through royal marriages that aligned them with other feudal states. Castilla was another state that also grew powerful through war and marriage.

In 1469 Isabel of Castilla married Fernando of Aragon, uniting most of Hispania in what was now called Spain. The monarchs proved to be an incredibly powerful and influential duo that created the first truly world wide power, and thus shaped history for much of the world. The duo started the Spanish Inquisitions in 1478, which was initially focused on killing Christians who didn’t practice their religion in the way the Catholic Church saw fit. The duo also conquered the last bits of the Iberian Peninsula still under Muslim control. They funded their army in part with loans from the Jewish community. In 1492, the duo funded Christopher Columbus’ voyage across the Atlantic in search of new trade routes. Eight months after leaving, Columbus returned a hero after discovering 3 islands in the Caribbean. Columbus made three more journeys across the Atlantic and each time found new territory. The Spanish set up new colonies everywhere they found land. Also in 1492, the Inquisition turned their attention to the Jews, who were ordered to convert or leave Spain. 200,000 Jews left and 100,000 stayed and converted. The bankrupt monarchy seized all the Jewish property. The Inquisitors also started harassing Muslims, and in 1500, the monarchy gave the Muslims the same ultimatum they had given the Jews. Most Muslims (about 300,000) converted and stayed, but in 1609 they were all expelled anyway.

Fernando and Isabel’s four children were married off to European royalty. The grandchild, Carlos (AKA Charles), who inherited the Spanish throne in 1516 had also inherited the substantial Austrian throne, which included the Low Countries, and parts of what are today Italy, France, and Germany. This was the biggest consolidation of European land under one throne since the 9th century. Carlos was also elected Holy Roman Emperor. Carlos continued to expand his empire, acquiring more territory in Europe and in the Americas, as well as claiming territory in North Africa and East Asia. Wealth was flowing in from all the territories, making the upper classes very rich.

Things slowly started to deteriorate in the 1600’s. The wealth wasn’t trickling down to the people, and several territories started to rebel. With the new wealth, not as much food was being produced, and in some places, like the Balearics, people were starving. Other territories were lost to competing countries, such as France taking what is now southeast France and Monaco. The Protestant Reformation took place, and being as Spain was so enmeshed with the Catholic Church, Spain was involved in religious wars all over Europe. The Ottoman Empire picked a few fights with Spain, doing heavy damage to the Balearic Islands. Pirate attacks also became a problem, especially in the Balearics. The plague hit, claiming a staggering number of lives. Shipments of booty from the new world started to seriously decline.

Then, in 1700, the king died. He had no children, so there was no clear heir to the throne. Two of his relatives went to war over the throne, called the War of Spanish succession, and it wound up involving most of Europe. The war ended in 1713. In the end, the gigantic kingdom was divided up. Felipe V got the Iberian Peninsula and most of the overseas territory, but lost most of its European holdings beyond Spain proper. The Enlightenment was sweeping all of Europe around this time, but due to the Catholic Church’s stranglehold on Spain, the movement was delayed in Spain.

The mid to late 1700’s saw the north of Spain become more industrialized, but the south remained agricultural. The food shortage continued, which caused unrest amongst the people. Then came the French Revolution. As soon as Louis XVI was guillotined, Spain declared war on France. Two years later, Spain suddenly switched sides and allied with France against England and Portugal. During this conflict, it became clear that England was a stronger naval power than Spain.

The early 1800’s were a disastrous time for Spain. In 1807, The Spanish king conspired with Napoleon to seize Portugal in a land battle and divide it up. French officers flooded into Spain, supposedly en route to Portugal, and took Spain instead. Napoleon established a puppet government. The Spanish people rebelled using guerilla style warfare, but Napoleon fell shortly thereafter in 1813, and the King was returned to the throne. During the chaos of the French control, almost all the foreign colonies rebelled and became independent, and by 1824, all they had left overseas was Cuba, Guam, the Phillipines and Puerto Rico. Also, after the French were expelled, a liberal movement formed that pushed for vaguely democratic reforms, such as a constitutional monarchy. They were viciously fought by the church and monarchy. From 1833 – 1839, civil war broke out over who should be heir to the throne, Isabel II or Don Carlos, the liberals supporting Isabel II and the conservatives supporting Don Carlos. Brutal anti-church sentiment was shown by the liberals. Isabel II won and things settled down for a while, but the people were still unhappy with the monarchy, and in 1868, the liberals overthrew the queen and brought in an Italian Prince (from the house of Savoy) to take over the kingdom. This caused a three way war between Isabel II’s child, Don Carlo’s grandchild, and the new Italian guy. The Italian guy decided to get out of the way and eventually Isabel II’s camp won again in 1876, but this time agreed to a constitutional monarchy. From the get go, the parliament elections were rigged, so there were few changes that positively impacted the people. In the late 1800’s, the Anarchist movement gained great popularity among peasants in the north, socialism in the middle. Some states also started separatist movements.

In the late 1800’s, Cuba was pushing for independence. The USA decided to come to their aid. In 1898, the US sent a battleship to Cuba that mysteriously exploded. The Spaniards swore they didn’t blow it up. The US President gives Spain some ultimatums to avert war, and the Spanish agreed to them all. The US declared war anyway. The US claimed to be uninterested in acquiring Cuba and that the war is simply good heartedness to help the poor Cubans out. The US launches a surprise attack on the Philippine Islands, sinking all the Spanish ships in Manila and taking the islands for the US. They also attacked and took Puerto Rico. Three months after the war began, it was over. The Spanish willingly handed over Guam as part of the peace terms.

The early 20th century was a time of constant civil unrest and bouts of violence as the various factions within the country fought one another. The king was ousted in 1923 and three different governments tried to being stability, but violence continued to escalate until 1936, when an all out civil war broke out. The war lasted three years and the winner was Francisco Franco and the Nationalist party, thanks to help from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (this was before WWII started). As a side note, with so much civil unrest and war at home, the Spanish never took part in either World War. After WWII started, Franco promised to return the favor and aid the Axis when things settled down in Spain, but it never did settle down. 350,000 people had died in the war, and after the war ended, Franco imprisoned hundreds of thousands of the opposing party. Franco killed 100,000 of the prisoners. Many more people fled the country. Skirmishes from Spanish refugees along the north and south borders would break out from time to time until well into the 1950’s. Sadly, it seemed the most intellectual were the ones jailed or fleeing, and Spain was deprived of a generation of scientists, teachers, etc.

Franco was an absolute dictator and the rest of parliament were simply puppets. At first the UN boycotted Spain, causing the 1940’s to be called “the years of hunger” by the Spanish. But after the cold war began, the USAwanted to establish military bases in Spain, and Franco agreed to it as long as the US also provided financial aid. In 1955 Spain was admitted to the UN. The US aid, along with a solid plan of how to best utilize the money, led to an economic boom. Many industries took off, but the most notable was tourism, especially along the southern coast and in the Balearics. Franco ruled until he died in 1975. During the last 11 years of his reign, the people were becoming more discontent and violence from rebel groups was on the rise. The country was rapidly sinking into chaos.

Franco chose Isabel II’s great grandson, Prince Juan Carlos I, as his successor. Juan Carlos swore loyalty to Franco and his doctrines while Franco was alive, but as soon as Franco died, Juan Carlos set out to transform Spain into a true democracy. A two chamber parliament system was implemented and a new constitution was passed. Political parties, trade unions and strikes were all legalized. Political prisoners still in jail from the civil war that ended in 1939 were freed. Autonomous regional governments were formed in all of Spain’s provinces. Personal freedoms, such as divorce and homosexuality were legalized. When Franco died, 40% of Spanish homes didn’t have a bath or shower and 25% of people over 16 were illiterate. Today Spain enjoys the same quality of education, health care, housing and other living standards as the rest of the EU. Spain still has problems with high unemployment and separatist movements from a couple regions.