A brief history

In the 9th century BC, the Celtics moved from Central Europe. Since the 8th century BC, the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by foreign races one after another and was ruled by the Romans, Visigoths and Moors for a long time. The Spanish fought a long struggle to oppose foreign invasion. In 1492, they won the victory of the "Restoration Movement" and established the earliest unified central royal state in Europe. In the 16th century, it was a maritime power, but later it gradually declined. In 1931, the dynasty was overthrown and a republic was established. In 1936, the coalition government led by the People's Front was established. In 1936, Franco launched a civil war, seized power in 1939, and declared a monarchy in 1947.

In October 1492, Columbus discovered the West Indies. Since then, Spain gradually became a maritime power with colonies in Europe, the United States, Africa and Asia. In 1588, the "Invincible Fleet" was defeated by Britain and began to decline. In 1873, a bourgeois revolution broke out and the First Republic was established. The dynasty was restored in December 1874. In the Spanish-American War in 1898, the last few colonies in the Americas and Asia-Pacific were lost - Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines. It remained neutral in World War I. 193

In April 1, the dynasty was overthrown and the Second Republic was established. In February 1936, a coalition government was established with the participation of the Socialist Party and the Communist Party. In July of the same year, Franco launched a rebellion. After three years of civil war, he seized power in April 1939 and implemented a dictatorial rule for 36 years. In February 1943, he formed a military alliance with Germany to participate in the war of invasion of the Soviet Union. In July 1947, Franco declared Spain the monarchy and served as his lifelong head of state. In July 1966, Juan Carlos, the grandson of the last king Alfonso XIII, was appointed as his successor.

In November 1975, Franco died of illness, Juan Carlos I ascended the throne and restored the monarchy. In July 1976, the king appointed A Suarez, the former secretary-general of the National Movement, as prime minister, and began to transition to Western parliamentary democratic politics.

Prehistoric History

The earliest human archaeological remains found in Spain date from about 30,000 to 50,000 BC. The prehistoric rock paintings of cave-dwelling humans provide us with scenes of life for prehistoric civilizations on the Iberian Peninsula. The most important remains found in Spain include the "Black Cave" and "Pine Forest" Cave, and of course the famous Altamira Cave.

Celtic Spain

The latest theoretical research believes that the Iberians came to the peninsula from North Africa. They mainly settled along the Mediterranean coast and further south, where the Iberians created many different cultures, which are of great significance to archaeology. There are records of the most important branch in the history of ancient Greece, and the Greeks called them the "Turdos". They were a tribe of the Iberians and established a splendid cultural kingdom in the Guadalquivir River Basin.

In 1200 BC, Celtics from Central and Northern Europe entered the peninsula from the north. The blonde Celtics intermarried with dark-skinned Iberians and expanded to the entire peninsula. The only area in the history of the Iberian Peninsula that was not invaded by any foreign forces was probably the northern mountainous areas where the Basques lived. Historical and sociologists have not yet figured out the origin of the Basques. She could not find a kinship with any neighboring nation, but some people found common ground between Basque and Japanese. The only thing they know now is that Basque is a very ancient nation.

Phoenician, Greek and Carthaginians

In 1100 BC, the powerful navigator Phoenicians established colonies on the peninsula, the most important of which was Gadir, which is today Cadiz. At the same time, the Greeks established their own rule in the south and along the Mediterranean coast.

During the Punic War, the Carthaginians took the opportunity to occupy most of Spain's land. The famous cities they left behind include Cartagena, which means "New Carthage".

Romans and Goths

After the Romans defeated the Carthaginians in the Punic War, they also expanded their colonies to Spain and soon occupied the entire peninsula. The famous Numancia hero story was born during the Iberians' resistance to the invasion of the Romans. From then on, the peninsula existed as the "Spanish Province" that shocked the Roman Empire. The Spanish province was very important in the empire. The two Roman emperors Tragano and Adrian, as well as Seneca, the great philosopher of the Stoicism School, were both born here. Spain completely absorbed Roman culture, including Greek Latin and Jewish Christian politics, laws, families, religions and customs, and Roman language also began to be used on the peninsula. Merida is the most complete Spanish city that preserves ancient Roman ruins today. In Segovia, you can also see the ancient Roman canals passing through the city from mid-air. The first unified civilization appeared on the peninsula.

In 409 AD, the powerful Goth barbarians invaded the declining Roman Empire and established their own kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula in 419 AD, establishing their capital to Toledo. However, the Goths did not make much contribution to the development of Spanish civilization.

Muslim Spain and the War of Resurrection

The Visigoth rule continued until 711 AD. At that time, 50,000 Muslim warriors crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and used their scimitars to defeat the Gothic warriors who had terrified the Romans and won the Battle of Guadalette. Four years later, the Arabs swept the entire peninsula and turned it into an emir country, which was also part of the huge Arab Empire, called "Andalus". In ancient my country, it was called "green clothing and food". Although the resistance movement in the northern part of the peninsula never stopped, the power of the Muslim empire was still amazingly consolidated from the 8th and 11th century AD. Spain absorbed the splendid Arab culture during this period, but gradually broke away from the central rule of Damascus.

Abdullah III eventually turned Spain into an independent caliphate. Under his rule, Spain ushered in unprecedented cultural prosperity. Urban construction and commodity economy made great progress, and even promoted the development of the entire Europe. The Arabs brought the most advanced knowledge in medicine, mathematics and astronomy, and left a deep mark in Spanish music, art, literature, architecture, etc. The Alhambra was the pinnacle of Arab art. At the same time, Arabic also left many words in Spanish. The most important cities at that time were Valencia, Zaragoza, Seville and Cordoba. With 500,000 inhabitants and a giant library, Cordoba was the largest city and cultural center in Western Europe in the 10th century.
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