History Of Spain

History of Spain

The History of Spain article spans the history of the Iberian Peninsula from pre-historic times to the formation of modern Spain and the history of Spain until the present.

Modern humans entered the Iberian Peninsula about 32,000 years ago. Different populations and cultures followed over the millennia and before Roman rule the main populations were the Iberians and Celtiberians, the Tartessians and the Basques and settlements on the Mediterraneancoast of Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthaginians.

The modern name Spain derives from the Latin Hispania, the name of the Roman territory covering the entire Iberian Peninsula. Under Roman rule, a common culture and legal system was established and Latin, the origin of the modern Romance languages of the peninsula, became the language of Hispania. In the latter stages of Roman rule Christianity became the dominant religion.

Near the beginning of the eighth century, a Muslim army, made up largely of Moors and some Arabs, invaded and conquered nearly the entire peninsula. During the next 750 years independent Muslim states were established and the entire area of Muslim control became known as Al-Andalus. Meanwhile the Christian kingdoms in the north of the peninsula began the long and slow Christian recovery, a process called theReconquista, which was concluded in 1492 with the fall of Granada.

Over time, various small and large kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula began to coalesce into larger states.[1] The Christian kingdoms came to dominate nearly all of Iberia by the 13th century, those being the Kingdom of Portugal, the Kingdom of Aragon, the Kingdom of Castile and theKingdom of Navarre. Although colloquially and literarily the expression "King of Spain" or "King of the Spains" was already widespread,[2] and although the two crowns, Aragonese and Castilian, were held by the same monarch, they retained their individual institutions and identities until the enactment of the Spanish Constitution of 1812.[3] Portugal was also ruled by the House of Habsburg with Castile and Aragon but this came to an end with a revolt after sixty years.

The year 1492 was the starting point of the modern history of Spain, with the expulsion of the Moors and the successful voyage of Christopher Columbus to the New World.[4] TheSpanish Empire was launched, as was the Spanish Inquisition; Jews and Muslims who refused to convert were expelled from the country.

From 1500 to the 1650s Spain was the most powerful state in Europe; it controlled the largest overseas empire in the world for three centuries. Spanish literature and fine arts, scholarship and philosophy flourished during the 16th and 17th centuries. Spain established a vast empire in the Americas, stretching from California to Patagonia, and colonies in the western Pacific. Financed in part by the riches pouring in from its colonies, Spain became embroiled in the religiously charged wars and intrigues of Europe, including the Dutch Revolt, the French Wars of Religion, and the Thirty Years War.

Spain's European wars led to economic damage,

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