Brief history of Spain

Introduction

This is a very simplified summary of the history of Spain. The chronology helps to find the different sections of the history.

Prehistory and Ancient history

2000 bc: Neolithic - Megalithic culture in Los Millares (Almería) and Minorca.
2000 bc: First Iberian settlements in the South of the Iberian peninsula.
1100 bc: The Tartessian were the most developed culture at that time.
1100 bc: Phoenicia founded Gadir
900 bc: Indoeuropean Celts start the incursion in the north of the Iberian peninsula.

Classical Antiquity

700 bc: Greek colonization. First settlements in the catalan coast (Empuries, Roses,...)
500 bc: The Carthaginians conquered the Mediterranean coast (Cartagena, Alicante,...)
197 bc: Roman conquest of Hispania by Publius Cornelius Scipio
98 ac: Trajan, first Roman emperor from Hispania
380 bc: Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire
410: The entry of the Visigoths as allies of Rome against the Swabians is in fact, a conquest.

Middle Ages

572: Fights among barbarians: Swabians, Alans and Vandals
572: Liuvigild, king of Visigothic Spain.
589: Reccared I, converted to Christianity, imposed this religion as state religion on the Third Council of Toledo.
711: Roderic, the last Gothic king, was defeated by Tariq at the Battle of Guadalete. End of the Visigoth kingdom. Arab invasion.
711: Formation of Al-Andalus
718: The Christian Reconquest begins in Asturias (Covadonga) with King Pelagius against the Muslims
758-787: Umayyad Emirate. Abd ar-Rahman I (763-787) built the Mosque of Cordoba
778: Battle of Roncesvalles
850: Castile County foundation
946: Fernan Gonzalez was the first independent count of Castile
912-1031: Caliphate of Cordoba. Splendor of the caliphate under Abd ar-Rahman III.
978-1021: Al-Mansur victories.
1031-1090: Taifa Kingdoms
1040-1099: Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, El Cid Campeador
1090-1172: The Almoravids
1172-1224: The Almohad
1212: Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. Alfonso VIII victory against the Almoravids made possible the beginning of the end for the Muslim power. The balance was broken in favor of Christians. 1238-1492: Kingdom of Granada
1252-1284: Alfonso X established his capital city in Toledo and also a brilliant cultural center. Contribution from the three ethnic groups that formed the kingdom (Arab, Jewish and Christian) was very important. He was responsible for setting the Castilian and its literary value.
1474-1517: Catholic Monarchs: Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon.
1478: The Catholic Monarchs created the Spanish Inquisition
1492: Capitulation of Granada. End of the Reconquest.
1492: Discovery of America

Early Modern history

1517-1556: Emperor Charles I of Spain and V of Germany
1521: Conquest of Mexico
1527: Conquest of La Plata
1533: Conquest of Peru
1556: Philip II. During his reign, Spain was the foremost Western European power: "The sun never sets on my empire".
1569: Conquest of the Philippines
1571: Battle of Lepanto. Victory against the Ottoman Empire
1588: The Spanish Armada
1598-1621: Philip III
1609: Final expulsion of the Moors
1621-1665: Philip IV
1626: The capture of Breda, the Netherlands
1640: Portugal and Catalonia became independent of Spain (Catalonia integrate again in 1652)
1665: Charles II. The last Habsburg King of Spain
1700-1746: Philip V
1704: England captures Gibraltar
1713: Treaty of Utrecht end of the War of the Spanish Succession, Philip V was recognized as king of Spain, but lost the European territories: "In Flanders, the sun has set."
1713: Creation of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE)
1724: Louis I (jan-aug)
1746-1759: Ferdinand VI
1759-1788: Charles III
1766: Esquilache Riots
1767: Expulsion of the Jesuits
1788-1808: Carlos IV

Modern history

1808-1813: Joseph I Bonaparte
1808-1814: Peninsular War
1810-1824: Loss of the American colonies
1812: The first liberal constitution - Cadiz
1814-1833: Ferdinand VII
1820: Riego's uprising
1823-1833: Ominous Decade
1833-1840: Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies's regency
1835-1837: Ecclesiastical Confiscations promulgated by the prime minister Juan Alvarez Mendizabal: the properties of the convents were declared national property and were offered for public sale. This measure tried to reduce the large landed estates but wealthy noble and other families took advantage of the legislation to increase their holdings.
1833-1840: I Carlist War
1840: General Espartero's rebellion
1842: General Narvaez's rebellion
1843 and 1866: General Prim's rebellion
1843-1868: Isabella II
1844: The Duke of Ahumada founded the Civil Guard
1845-1849: II Carlist War
1854: General O'Donnell's rebellion
1868: Revolution of 1868. Expulsion of Isabella II
1868-1876: III Carlist War
1871-1873: Amadeo I of Savoy
1873-1874: I Spanish Republic
1875-1885: Alfonso XII of Bourbon is the new king. Spain is a monarchy again.
1885-1902: Maria Christina of Austria's regency
1898: Spain lost the last of its overseas colonies: Cuba, Puerto Rico and Philippines
1902-1931: Alfonso XIII
1923-1930: Primo de Rivera's dictatorship
1931-1936: II Spanish Republic
1931-1933: Reforms Biennium: Constitution of 1931, secular state, the Statute of Autonomy for Catalonia, land reform
1933-1936: Black Biennium: dominated by the CEDA (Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right)
1936-1939: Civil War
1939-1975: General Franco, head of State.
1946-1951: Spain's international isolation
1953: Concordat with the Vatican
1953: Signing of contract on U.S. military bases
1955: Spain joined the UN
1969: Prince Juan Carlos was named successor as Head of State
1970: Burgos Prosecute and the basque problem
1973: ETA killed the Prime Minister Carrero Blanco
1975: Franco's death
1975- : Juan Carlos I, king of Spain.
1975-1978: Spanish transition to democracy
1977: First free elections since 1936
1977-1981: Adolfo Suarez government (UCD)
1978: Democratic Constitution
1981-1982: Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo government (UCD)
1981: Lieutenant-Colonel Antonio Tejero attempted a coup d'état
1982-1996: Felipe Gonzalez Socialist government (PSOE)
1986: Spain joins the NATO and the European Union

Contemporary history

1996-2004: Jose Maria Aznar government (PP)
2002: Euro is the new european currency
2004: Terrorist attack in Madrid by Al-Qaeda, killed 200 and wounding up to 1800 people.
2004- : Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero government (PSOE)