History of Spain

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The history of Spain dates back to the Middle Ages. In 1516, Habsburg Spain unified a number of
disparate predecessor kingdoms; its modern form of a constitutional monarchy was introduced in 1813,
and the current democratic constitution dates to 1978.

After the completion of the Reconquista, the Crown of Castile began to explore across the Atlantic
Ocean in 1492, expanding into the New World and marking the beginning of the Golden Age under
the Spanish Empire. The kingdoms of Spain were united under Habsburg rule in 1516, that unified the
Crown of Castile, the Crown of Aragon and smaller kingdoms under the same rule. Until the 1650s,
Habsburg Spain was among the most powerful states in the world.

During this period, Spain was involved in all major European wars, including the Italian Wars, the Eighty
Years' War, the Thirty Years' War, and the Franco-Spanish War. In the later 17th century, however,
Spanish power began to decline, and after the death of the last Habsburg ruler, the War of the Spanish
Succession ended with the relegation of Spain, now under Bourbon rule, to the status of a second-rate
power with a reduced influence in European affairs. The so-called Bourbon Reforms attempted the
renewal of state institutions, with some success, but as the century ended, instability set in with
the French Revolution and the Peninsular War, so that Spain never regained its former strength.

Spain after 1814 was destabilised as different political parties representing "liberal", "reactionary", and
"moderate" groups throughout the remainder of the century fought for and won short-lived control
without any being sufficiently strong to bring about lasting stability. The former Spanish Empire overseas
quickly disintegrated with the Latin American wars of independence. Only Cuba and the Philippines and
some small islands were left; they revolted and the United States acquired ownership (or control, in the
case of Cuba) after the Spanish–American War of 1898.

A tenuous balance between liberal and conservative forces was struck in the establishment of a
constitutional monarchy during the Restoration period but brought no lasting solution, and ultimately
the last governments of the monarchy changed into a dictatorial rule. Opposing the trend toward
authoritarianism of regime changes during the interwar period in Europe, a democratic republic was
proclaimed in Spain in 1931. However, six years later the country descended into the Spanish Civil
War between the Republican and the Nationalist factions.

The rebel victory in the conflict installed a dictatorship led by Francisco Franco, that lasted until 1975.
The first post-war decade was particularly violent, autocratic, and repressive both in a political, cultural,
social, and economical sense. The country experienced rapid economic growth in the 1960s and early
1970s.

Only with the death of Franco in 1975 did Spain return to the monarchy, this time headed by Juan Carlos
I, and to democracy. With a fresh Constitution voted in 1978, Spain entered the European Economic
Community in 1986 (transformed into the European Union with the Maastricht Treaty of 1992), and
the Eurozone in 1999. The financial crisis of 2007–08 ended a decade of economic boom and Spain
entered a recession and debt crisis and remains plagued by very high unemployment and a weak
economy.