Early Spain:
* Evidence suggests that Spain has been inhabited for half a million
years.
* They built villages like Cartagena (now Tarragona ).
* Phoenicians lived on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea.
* They established colonies on the east and south coast in 1,000 B.C.
* Phoenicians built Cadiz and Malaga.
* Celtic people came from north in 900 B.C. and 600 B.C.
* In 400 B.C. the African city, Carthage, conquered most of Spain.
* In 200 B.C. Carthaginian's general, Hannibal, attacked Roman Italy.
Roman Conquest:
* It began during Second Punic War.
* It took Romans 200 years to conquer every region of Spain.
* Rome's Emperors, Hadrian & Trojan, were born in Spain.
* Spain became province of Roman Empire. Romans went there to live.
* Romans built cities in Spain and constructed roads to all regions.
Muslim Spain:
* Spanish people became Muslims because of the Moorish rule.
* Moors conquered most of the Visigoth kingdom.
* Visigoths ruled Spain until the early 1700s.
* Spain split into many small Moorish states & independent cities.
* Mountainous regions remained free from Moorish rule.
Ferdinand & Isabella:
* Isabella of Castile & Ferdinand of Aragon in 1469.
* They became rulers of Castile in 1474.
* Aragon tended to be neglected.
* In 1492 efforts culminated when Granada fell.
Spanish Empire:
* Vasco Nunez de Balbo crossed Central America in 1513.
* In 1492, Ferdinand & Isabella sent Christopher Colombus on a voyage
to America.
* Hernando Cortes conquered Aztec's nation of Mexico in 1521.
* Spaniards explored South America & southern North America.
Bourbon:
* Spain & France's rulers were Bourbons.
* Bourbon rulers built roads.
* Bourbon rulers of Spain lowered taxes and collected taxes more fairly.
* In the 1700's, the Bourbon rulers of Spain carried out many government
reforms.
Decline of Empire:
* France took several of Spain's north Provinces.
* Philip V of Spain is King Louis XIV.
* Spain lost to England in a ware.
* Portugal declared Independence in mid 1600's.
Britain:
* In the 1700's, Spain & Great Britain had a conflict,
* Spain & Great Britain challenged each other for colonial power
in America.
* Treaty of Paris ended the Revolutionary War in 1783.
* The warfare against Britain weakened Spain.
French Revolution / Napoleon:
* In 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte seized France.
* In 1808, French forces invaded Spain.
* Joseph Bonaparte became Spain's king when Napoleon forced Ferdinand
VII to give up the throne.
* The French were driven from Spain in 1814.
Some of the Rulers in Between:
* Charles the V in 1516-1556.
* Philip the III in 1598-1621.
* Ferdinand the VI in 1746-1759.
* Isabella the II in 1833-1868.
* Alfonso XIII 1886-1931.
Civil War:
* The Civil War brought the increased political participation in Spain,
in doing so it created a conflict.
* Then Spain was divided into two opposing factions.
World War II:
* 1939-1945, World War II occurred.
* W.W.II started 5 months after the Spanish Civil War ended.
* Spain was neutral in the war.
* In 1940 - Franco turned closer to Germany after the fall of France.
* 1942-When the war began to turn against Germany, Franco became friendlier
to the Allies.
After W.W.II / Franco's Rule:
* 1945 - Soviet Union launched a campaign calling for international
opposition to Franco.
* Western nations supported the campaign because Franco had supported
Germany and Italy in W.W.II.
* 1947 - Franco announced a king would succeed him when he retired or
died.
* In 1953, Spain and the United States signed the ten year military
and economic agreement.
* During the 1950's and 1960's, Spain achieved the highest rates of
the economic growth in the world.
1975 - Present:
* Franco died in November 1975.
* In 1975 Franco's government executed 5 terrorists.
* Spain's economy continued to expand in the 1970's.
* The extreme inflation and lack of technical development slowed rates
down.
* Spain then entered a period of major political change.
Government:
* The type of government is a Constitutional and Parliamentary monarchy.
* The Head of the state is King Juan Carlos de Bourbon.
* Prime Minister: Jose Maria Aznar.
* Suffrage: 18 years of age, universal.
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