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123-641: The area was known by this name long before the discovery of the archaeological site. Spanish Conquistadors called it infiernito , or "little hell," because they thought it was diabolical and labeled it as a site of Pagan worship. The first description of the site was made in 1847 by the Colombian army geographer Joaquin Acosta , who reported 25 stone columns , half-buried in the Monquirá Valley. The findings were studied by Alexander von Humboldt who believed that

246-571: A constitution for universal representation under a constitutional monarchy was declared, but after the fall of the Bonapartist regime, the Spanish king dismissed the Cortes Generales, set on ruling as an absolute monarch . The French occupation of mainland Spain created an opportunity for overseas criollo elites who resented the privilege towards Peninsular elites and demanded retroversion of

369-571: A female figure with a rabbit at her feet, and Strabo called it the "land of the rabbits". The word in question actually means " Hyrax ", possibly due to the Phoenicians confusing the two animals. There is also the claim that "Hispania" derives from the Basque word Ezpanna , meaning "edge" or "border", another reference to the fact that the Iberian Peninsula constitutes the southwest corner of

492-509: A large measure of regional autonomy. Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea , near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula . The archipelago forms a province and autonomous community of Spain, with Palma de Mallorca being its capital and largest city. Formerly part of the Kingdom of Mallorca , the islands were made

615-705: A more detailed study by archaeoastronomer Juan Morales who has found that the main columns are aligned at an azimuth of 91° to the top of Morro Negro hill pointing to the rise of the sun in the equinox. The summer solstice sun will be seen from the columns rising above the sacred Lake Iguaque , birthplace of the Muisca. Other lithic monuments of the Muisca culture exist in Sutamarchán , Tunja , Ramiriquí , Tibaná and Paz de Río among other locations. Spain – in Europe  (green & dark grey) – in

738-461: A post with the sling. The Phoenicians took possession of the islands in very early times; a remarkable trace of their colonisation is preserved in the town of Mago ( Maó in Menorca ). After the fall of Carthage in 146 BC, the islands seem to have been virtually independent. Notwithstanding their celebrity in war, the people were generally very quiet and inoffensive. The Romans, however, easily found

861-509: A pretext for charging them with complicity with the Mediterranean pirates, and they were conquered by Q. Caecilius Metellus , thence surnamed Balearicus, in 123 BC. Metellus settled 3,000 Roman and Spanish colonists on the larger island, and founded the cities of Palma and Pollentia . The islands belonged, under the Roman Empire , to the conventus of Carthago Nova (modern Cartagena), in

984-639: A province in the 19th century provincial division, which in 1983 received a Statute of Autonomy . In its later reform of 2007, the Statute designates the Balearic Islands as one of the nationalities of Spain . The official languages of the Balearic Islands are Catalan and Spanish . The archipelago islands are further grouped in western Pytiuses (the largest being Ibiza and Formentera ), and eastern Gymnesians (the largest being Mallorca and Menorca ). Many of its minor islands and islets are close to

1107-598: A puppet kingdom satellite to the French Empire was installed with Joseph Bonaparte as king. The 2 May 1808 revolt was one of many uprisings across the country against the French occupation. These revolts marked the beginning of a devastating war of independence against the Napoleonic regime. Further military action by Spanish armies, guerrilla warfare and an Anglo-Portuguese allied army, combined with Napoleon's failure on

1230-528: A reaction against the gallicised elites and following defeat in the field, peace was made with France in 1795 at the Peace of Basel in which Spain lost control over two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola . In 1807, a secret treaty between Napoleon and the unpopular prime minister led to a new declaration of war against Britain and Portugal. French troops entered the country to invade Portugal but instead occupied Spain's major fortresses. The Spanish king abdicated and

1353-747: A resolution in favour of democracy. With Franco's death in November 1975, Juan Carlos succeeded to the position of King of Spain and head of state in accordance with the Francoist law. With the approval of the new Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the restoration of democracy , the State devolved much authority to the regions and created an internal organisation based on autonomous communities . The Spanish 1977 Amnesty Law let people of Franco's regime continue inside institutions without consequences, even perpetrators of some crimes during transition to democracy like

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1476-458: A separate country socially, politically, legally, and in currency and language. Habsburg Spain was one of the leading world powers throughout the 16th century and most of the 17th century, a position reinforced by trade and wealth from colonial possessions and became the world's leading maritime power . It reached its apogee during the reigns of the first two Spanish Habsburgs— Charles V/I (1516–1556) and Philip II (1556–1598). This period saw

1599-725: A series of victories against England in the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585–1604 . However, during the middle decades of the 17th century Spain's maritime power went into a long decline with mounting defeats against the Dutch Republic ( Battle of the Downs ) and then England in the Anglo-Spanish War of 1654–1660 ; by the 1660s it was struggling to defend its overseas possessions from pirates and privateers. The Protestant Reformation increased Spain's involvement in religiously charged wars, forcing ever-expanding military efforts across Europe and in

1722-465: A single insular council, covering the whole of the Pitiusic Islands. The insular council of Mallorca is further subdivided into six comarques; three other comarques cover the same territory as the three remaining insular councils. These nine comarques are then subdivided into municipalities ( municipis ), with the exception of Formentera, which is at the same time an insular council, a comarca, and

1845-517: Is Madrid , and other major urban areas include Barcelona , Valencia , Seville , Zaragoza , Málaga , Murcia and Palma de Mallorca . In early antiquity, the Iberian Peninsula was inhabited by Celts , Iberians , and other pre-Roman peoples . With the Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula , the province of Hispania was established. Following the Romanization and Christianization of Hispania,

1968-491: Is a local pork sausage. Lobster stew (so-called caldereta ) from Menorca , is one of their most sought after dishes. Mayonnaise is said to originate from the Menorcan city of Maó (Mahón) which also produces its own cheese . Local pastries include Ensaïmada , Flaó and Coca . Both Catalan and Spanish are official languages in the islands. Virtually all residents of the Balearic Islands speak Spanish fluently. Most of

2091-459: Is rich in animal remains, vegetal ashes , red ochre , incienso and resins . The second one shows mainly remains of maize oblations . In the third stratum, several pieces of burned carved rocks and lithic flakes , in the remains of a large bonfire , are gathered around a large monolith in the south sacred field. The first formal archaeological excavations at the site were led by anthropologist Eliecer Silva Celis in 1981; these resulted in

2214-507: Is today Tunisia, eastern Algeria, and western Libya) but ended in defeat. Fearing reprisals, the inhabitants of the Balearics rebelled against the Almoravids and accepted Almohad suzerainty in 1187. On the last day of 1229, King James I of Aragon captured Palma after a three-month siege. The rest of Mallorca quickly followed. Menorca fell in 1232 and Ibiza in 1235. In 1236, James traded most of

2337-636: The Baleares . The term Balearic may derive from Greek ( Γυμνησίαι / Gymnesiae and Βαλλιαρεῖς / Balliareis ). In Latin , it was Baleares . Of the various theories on the origins of the two ancient Greek and Latin names for the islands— Gymnasiae and Baleares —classical sources provide two. According to Lycophron's Alexandra verses, the islands were called Γυμνησίαι / Gymnesiae ( γυμνός / gymnos , meaning 'naked' in Greek) because its inhabitants were often nude, probably because of

2460-831: The Reconquista , repelling Islamic rule in Iberia, which culminated with the Christian seizure of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada in 1492. The dynastic union of the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon in 1479 under the Catholic Monarchs is often considered the de facto unification of Spain as a nation-state . During the Age of Discovery , Spain pioneered the exploration of the New World , made

2583-665: The Siglo de Oro , Spanish art , architecture , music , poetry , painting , literature , and cuisine have been influential worldwide, particularly in Western Europe and the Americas . As a reflection of its large cultural wealth , Spain is the world's second-most visited country , has one of the world's largest numbers of World Heritage Sites , and it is the most popular destination for European students. Its cultural influence extends to over 600 million Hispanophones , making Spanish

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2706-577: The 12 April 1931 municipal elections . These gave a resounding victory to the Republican-Socialist candidacies in large cities and provincial capitals, with a majority of monarchist councilors in rural areas. The king left the country and the proclamation of the Republic on 14 April ensued, with the formation of a provisional government. A constitution for the country was passed in October 1931 following

2829-781: The Balearic Promontory , and were formed by uplift . They are cut by a network of northwest to southeast faults . The main islands of the autonomous community are Majorca ( Mallorca ), Menorca/Minorca ( Menorca ), Ibiza ( Eivissa/Ibiza ), and Formentera, all popular tourist destinations. Amongst the minor islands is Cabrera, the location of the Cabrera Archipelago Maritime-Terrestrial National Park . Neighbours: Algeria (south), Spain 's Catalonia and Valencian Community (west), France's South (north), and France 's Corsica as well as Italy 's Sardinia (east). The Balearic Islands province has

2952-583: The Basque Country and the creation of a mass tourism industry. Franco's rule was also characterised by authoritarianism , promotion of a unitary national identity , National Catholicism , and discriminatory language policies . In 1962, a group of politicians involved in the opposition to Franco's regime inside the country and in exile met in the congress of the European Movement in Munich, where they made

3075-589: The Bourbons , was installed. The Crowns of Castile and Aragon had been long united only by the Monarchy and the common institution of the Inquisition's Holy Office . A number of reform policies (the so-called Bourbon Reforms ) were pursued by the Monarchy with the overarching goal of centralized authority and administrative uniformity. They included the abolishment of many of the old regional privileges and laws, as well as

3198-729: The Canary Islands , in the Atlantic Ocean, the Balearic Islands , in the Mediterranean Sea, and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla , in Africa. Peninsular Spain is bordered to the north by France , Andorra , and the Bay of Biscay ; to the east and south by the Mediterranean Sea and Gibraltar ; and to the west by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. Spain's capital and largest city

3321-720: The Cuban War of Independence and the Philippine Revolution broke out and eventually the United States became involved. The Spanish–American War was fought in the spring of 1898 and resulted in Spain losing the last of its once vast colonial empire outside of North Africa. El Desastre (the Disaster), as the war became known in Spain, gave added impetus to the Generation of '98 . Although

3444-635: The European Union  (green) Spain , formally the Kingdom of Spain , is a country in Southwestern Europe with territories in North Africa . Featuring the southernmost point of continental Europe , it is the largest country in Southern Europe and the fourth-most populous European Union member state. Spanning across the majority of the Iberian Peninsula , its territory also includes

3567-1026: The Italian Wars , the Schmalkaldic War , the Dutch Revolt , the War of the Portuguese Succession , clashes with the Ottomans , intervention in the French Wars of Religion and the Anglo-Spanish War . Through exploration and conquest or royal marriage alliances and inheritance, the Spanish Empire expanded across vast areas in the Americas, the Indo-Pacific, Africa as well as the European continent (including holdings in

3690-573: The June 1931 Constituent general election , and a series of cabinets presided by Manuel Azaña supported by republican parties and the PSOE followed. In the election held in 1933 the right triumphed and in 1936, the left. During the Second Republic there was a great political and social upheaval, marked by a sharp radicalization of the left and the right. Instances of political violence during this period included

3813-635: The Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Portugal as well as the Kingdom of Spain , to end the conflict caused by the War of the Spanish Succession —gave Gibraltar and Menorca to the Kingdom of Great Britain, Sardinia to Austria (both territories had been part of the Crown of Aragon for more than four centuries), and Sicily to the House of Savoy . In addition, Flanders and other European territories of

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3936-613: The Massacre of 3 March 1976 in Vitoria or 1977 Massacre of Atocha . In the Basque Country, moderate Basque nationalism coexisted with a radical nationalist movement led by the armed organisation ETA until the latter's dissolution in May 2018. The group was formed in 1959 during Franco's rule but had continued to wage its violent campaign even after the restoration of democracy and the return of

4059-542: The Muisca calendar , dividing the area in two main parts: the north sacred field (Infiernito N° 1) and the south sacred field (Infiernito N° 2). Archaeological excavations have collected a large number of samples of wood charcoal which have been useful for radiocarbon dating . Three distinct stratigraphic levels can be observed, showing an early inhabitation of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense : The first stratum

4182-954: The Republic of Pisa , the expedition included 420 ships, a large army and a personal envoy from Pope Paschal II . In addition to the Pisans (who had been promised suzerainty over the islands by the Pope), the expedition included forces from the Italian cities of Florence , Lucca , Pistoia , Rome , Siena , and Volterra , from Sardinia and Corsica . Catalan forces under Ramon Berenguer , Hug II of Empúries , and Ramon Folc II of Cardona came from Spain and Occitan forces under William V of Montpellier , Aimery II of Narbonne , and Raymond I of Baux came from France. The expedition also received strong support from Constantine I of Logudoro and his base of Porto Torres . The crusade sacked Palma in 1115 and generally reduced

4305-432: The Treaty of Paris in 1783. However, during the French Revolutionary Wars , when Spain became an ally of France, it came under French rule. Menorca was finally returned to Spain by the Treaty of Amiens during the French Revolutionary Wars, following the last British occupation , which lasted from 1798 to 1802. The continued presence of British naval forces, however, meant that the Balearic Islands were never occupied by

4428-477: The World Trade Organization (WTO). The name of Spain ( España ) comes from Hispania , the name used by the Romans for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces during the Roman Empire . The etymological origin of the term Hispania is uncertain, although the Phoenicians referred to the region as i-shphan-im , possibly meaning "Land of Rabbits" or "Land of Metals". Jesús Luis Cunchillos  [ es ] and José Ángel Zamora, experts in Semitic philology at

4551-475: The Xueta people, who are supposedly descendants of persecuted Jews who were converts to Christianity . Each one of the four islands are administered, along with its surrounding minor islands and islets, by an insular council ( consell insular in Catalan) of the same name. These four insular councils are the first level of subdivision in the autonomous community (and province) of Illes Balears. Before administrative reform in 1977, Ibiza and Formentera formed

4674-421: The de facto independent islands occupied a strategic and profitable grey area between the competing religions and kingdoms of the western Mediterranean. The prosperous islands were thoroughly sacked by the Swedish Viking King Björn Ironside and his brother Hastein during their Mediterranean raid of 859–862. In 902, the heavy use of the islands as a pirate base provoked the Emirate of Córdoba , nominally

4797-598: The fall of the Western Roman Empire ushered in the inward migration of tribes from Central Europe, including the Visigoths , who formed the Visigothic Kingdom centred on Toledo . In the early eighth century, most of the peninsula was conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate , and during early Islamic rule, Al-Andalus became a dominant peninsular power centred on Córdoba . Several Christian kingdoms emerged in Northern Iberia, chief among them Asturias , León , Castile , Aragon , Navarre , and Portugal ; made an intermittent southward military expansion and repopulation, known as

4920-435: The first circumnavigation of the globe and formed one of the largest empires in history . The Spanish Empire reached a global scale and spread across all continents, underpinning the rise of a global trading system fueled primarily by precious metals . In the 18th century, the Bourbon reforms centralized mainland Spain. In the 19th century, after the Napoleonic occupation and the victorious Spanish War of independence ,

5043-404: The province of Hispania Tarraconensis , of which province they formed the fourth district, under the government of a praefectus pro legato. An inscription of the time of Nero mentions the PRAEF. PRAE LEGATO INSULAR. BALIARUM. (Orelli, No. 732, who, with Muratori, reads pro for prae .) They were afterwards made a separate province, called Hispania Balearica , probably in the division of

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5166-439: The sling . As slingers , they served as mercenaries, first under the Carthaginians , and afterwards under the Romans . They went into battle ungirt, with only a small buckler , and a javelin burnt at the end , and in some cases tipped with a small iron point; but their effective weapons were their slings, of which each man carried three, wound round his head (Strabo p. 168; Eustath.), or, as seen in other sources, one round

5289-400: The 11th century, the Caliphate of Córdoba collapsed, fracturing into a series of petty kingdoms ( Taifas ), often subject to the payment of a form of protection money ( Parias ) to the Northern Christian kingdoms, which otherwise undertook a southward territorial expansion. The capture of the strategic city of Toledo in 1085 marked a significant shift in the balance of power in favour of

5412-532: The 1295 Treaty of Anagni . The tension between the kingdoms continued through the generations until James' grandson James III was killed by the invading army of Peter's grandson Peter IV at the 1349 Battle of Llucmajor . The Balearic Islands were then incorporated directly into the Crown of Aragon. In 1469, Ferdinand II of Aragon ( king of Aragon ) and Isabella I of Castile (queen of Castile ) were married. After their deaths, their respective territories (until then governed separately) were governed jointly, in

5535-399: The Balearic Islands in Catalan is Illes Balears , while in Spanish, they are known as the Islas Baleares . The ancient Greeks usually adopted local names into their own language, but they called the islands Γυμνησίαι / Gymnesiai , unlike either the native inhabitants of the islands, the Carthaginians, or the Romans, who called them Βαλεαρεῖς , with the Romans also calling them

5658-403: The Balearic Islands is dated to the 3rd millennium BC , around 2500-2300 BC from the Iberian Peninsula or southern France, by people associated with the Bell Beaker culture . Little is recorded about the inhabitants of the islands during classical antiquity, though many legends exist. The story, preserved by Lycophron , that certain shipwrecked Greek Boeotians were cast nude on the islands,

5781-403: The Christian kingdoms. The arrival from North Africa of the Islamic ruling sects of the Almoravids and the Almohads achieved temporary unity upon the Muslim-ruled territory, with a stricter, less tolerant application of Islam, and partially reversed some Christian territorial gains. The Kingdom of León was the strongest Christian kingdom for centuries. In 1188, the first form (restricted to

5904-431: The European Union, the eurozone , North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a permanent guest of the G20 , and is part of many other international organizations such as the Council of Europe (CoE), the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), the Union for the Mediterranean , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and

6027-496: The European continent. Archaeological research at Atapuerca indicates the Iberian Peninsula was populated by hominids 1.3 million years ago. Modern humans first arrived in Iberia from the north on foot about 35,000 years ago. The best-known artefacts of these prehistoric human settlements are the paintings in the Altamira cave of Cantabria in northern Iberia, which were created from 35,600 to 13,500 BCE by Cro-Magnon . Archaeological and genetic evidence suggests that

6150-459: The French during the Napoleonic Wars . The islands saw limited fighting in the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War , with Menorca and Formentera staying loyal to the Republican Spanish Government , while the rest of the Balearic Islands supported the Spanish Nationalists . The Republican forces recaptured Ibiza early in the conflict, but were unable to take control of Majorca in the Battle of Majorca in August 1936, an amphibious landing aimed at driving

6273-425: The French; the Colombians; and the Ecuadoreans, numbering at 5,437. At the Census of 1 January 2021, the population had increased to 1,183,415 inhabitants. Roman Catholicism is, by far, the largest religion in Balearic Islands. In 2012, the proportion of Balearicians that identify themselves as Roman Catholic was 68.7%. Xueta Christianity is a syncretic religion on the island of Majorca , Spain followed by

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6396-425: The Iberian Peninsula acted as one of several major refugia from which northern Europe was repopulated following the end of the last ice age . The two largest groups inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula before the Roman conquest were the Iberians and the Celts . The Iberians inhabited the Mediterranean side of the peninsula. The Celts inhabited much of the interior and Atlantic sides of the peninsula. Basques occupied

6519-448: The Iberian Peninsula by the rival Almohad Dynasty of Marrakech in 1147. Muhammad ibn Ganiya, the Almoravid claimant, fled to Palma and established his capital there. His dynasty, the Banu Ghaniya , sought allies in their effort to recover their kingdom from the Almohads, leading them to grant Genoa and Pisa their first commercial concessions on the islands. In 1184, an expedition was sent to recapture Ifriqiya (the coastal areas of what

6642-405: The Islands' residents knew how to speak Catalan (either Balearic or mainland) and 93.1% could understand it. The 2011 census, using slightly different phrasing, reported that 63.4% could fluently speak and 88.5% could understand Catalan. Other languages, such as English , French , German and Italian , are often spoken by locals, especially those who work in the tourism industry. Circa 2016

6765-411: The Italian Peninsula, the Low Countries and the Franche-Comté ). The so-called Age of Discovery featured explorations by sea and by land, the opening-up of new trade routes across oceans, conquests and the beginnings of European colonialism . Precious metals , spices, luxuries, and previously unknown plants brought to the metropole played a leading part in transforming the European understanding of

6888-413: The Mediterranean. By the middle decades of a war- and plague -ridden 17th-century Europe, the Spanish Habsburgs had enmeshed the country in continent-wide religious-political conflicts. These conflicts drained it of resources and undermined the economy generally. Spain managed to hold on to most of the scattered Habsburg empire, and help the imperial forces of the Holy Roman Empire reverse a large part of

7011-412: The Nationalists from the island and reclaiming it for the Republic. After the battle, Nationalist forces re-took Ibiza in September 1936. Menorca would be occupied by the Nationalists in February 1939 after the Battle of Menorca . The cuisine of the islands can be grouped as part of wider Catalan , Spanish or Mediterranean cuisines. It features much pastry, cheese, wine, pork and seafood. Sobrassada

7134-400: The Russian front , led to the retreat of French imperial armies from the Iberian Peninsula in 1814, and the return of King Ferdinand VII . During the war, in 1810, a revolutionary body, the Cortes of Cádiz , was assembled to coordinate the effort against the Bonapartist regime and to prepare a constitution. It met as one body, and its members represented the entire Spanish empire. In 1812,

7257-438: The Second World War, although it was sympathetic to the Axis and provided the Nazi Wehrmacht with Spanish volunteers in the Eastern Front . The only legal party under Franco's dictatorship was the Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS (FET y de las JONS), formed in 1937 upon the merging of the Fascist Falange Española de las JONS and the Carlist traditionalists and to which the rest of right-wing groups supporting

7380-429: The Spanish Crown were given to Austria. The island fell to French forces, under Armand de Vignerot du Plessis in June 1756 and was occupied by them for the duration of the Seven Years' War . The British re-occupied the island after the war but, with their military forces diverted away by the American War of Independence , it fell to a Franco-Spanish force after a seven-month siege (1781–82) . Spain retained it under

7503-467: The Spanish National Research Council ( Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas , CSIC), conducted a comparative philological study between several Semitic languages and hypothesize that the Phoenician name translates as "land where metals are forged", having determined that the name originated in reference to the gold mines of the Iberian Peninsula. There have been a number of accounts and hypotheses about its origin: Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that

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7626-642: The Strait of Gibraltar. Upon the conclusion of the Granada War , the Nasrid Sultanate of Granada (the remaining Muslim-ruled polity in the Iberian Peninsula after 1246) capitulated in 1492 to the military strength of the Catholic Monarchs , and it was integrated from then on in the Crown of Castile. In 1469, the crowns of the Christian kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were united by the marriage of their monarchs, Isabella I and Ferdinand II, respectively. In 1492, Jews were forced to choose between conversion to Catholicism or expulsion; as many as 200,000 Jews were expelled from Castile and Aragon . The year 1492 also marked

7749-468: The US to establish a military presence on the Iberian Peninsula as a counter to any possible move by the Soviet Union into the Mediterranean basin. US Cold War strategic priorities included the dissemination of American educational ideas to foster modernization and expansion. In the 1960s, Spain registered an unprecedented rate of economic growth which was propelled by industrialisation , a mass internal migration from rural areas to Madrid , Barcelona and

7872-542: The advances made by Protestant forces, but it was finally forced to recognise the separation of Portugal and the United Provinces (Dutch Republic), and eventually suffered some serious military reverses to France in the latter stages of the immensely destructive, Europe-wide Thirty Years' War . In the latter half of the 17th century, Spain went into a gradual decline, during which it surrendered several small territories to France and England; however, it maintained and enlarged its vast overseas empire, which remained intact until

7995-400: The arrival of Christopher Columbus in the New World , during a voyage funded by Isabella. Columbus's first voyage crossed the Atlantic and reached the Caribbean Islands, beginning the European exploration and conquest of the Americas. The Treaty of Granada guaranteed religious tolerance towards Muslims, for a few years before Islam was outlawed in 1502 in Castile and 1527 in Aragon, leading

8118-419: The beginning of the 19th century. The decline culminated in a controversy over succession to the throne which consumed the first years of the 18th century. The War of the Spanish Succession was a wide-ranging international conflict combined with a civil war, and was to cost the kingdom its European possessions and its position as a leading European power. During this war, a new dynasty originating in France,

8241-411: The biggest islands, such as Es Conills, Es Vedrà, Sa Conillera, Dragonera, S'Espalmador, S'Espardell, Ses Bledes, Santa Eulària, Plana, Foradada, Tagomago, Na Redona, Colom, L'Aire, etc. The Balearic Front is a sea density regime north of the Balearic Islands on the shelf slope of the Balearic Islands, which is responsible for some of the surface-flow characteristics of the Balearic Sea . Located in

8364-409: The bishops, the magnates, and 'the elected citizens of each city') of modern parliamentary session in Europe was held in León ( Cortes of León ). The Kingdom of Castile , formed from Leonese territory, was its successor as strongest kingdom. The kings and the nobility fought for power and influence in this period. The example of the Roman emperors influenced the political objective of the Crown, while

8487-473: The burning of churches, the 1932 failed coup d'état led by José Sanjurjo , the Revolution of 1934 and numerous attacks against rival political leaders. On the other hand, it is also during the Second Republic when important reforms to modernize the country were initiated: a democratic constitution, agrarian reform, restructuring of the army, political decentralization and women's right to vote . The Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936: on 17 and 18 July, part of

8610-437: The coasts of the Balearic Islands and the Spanish mainland were raided by Turkish privateers under the command of the Ottoman admiral, Hayreddin Barbarossa . The Balearic Islands were ravaged in 1558 by Ottoman corsair Turgut Reis , and 4,000 people were taken into slavery . The island of Menorca was a British dependency for most of the 18th century as a result of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht . This treaty—signed by

8733-428: The conflict between progressives and moderates ended in a weak early constitutional period. The 1868 Glorious Revolution was followed by the 1868–1874 progressive Sexenio Democrático (including the short-lived First Spanish Republic ), which yielded to a stable monarchic period, the Restoration (1875–1931). In the late 19th century nationalist movements arose in the Philippines and Cuba. In 1895 and 1896

8856-536: The customs barrier between the Crowns of Aragon and Castile in 1717, followed by the introduction of new property taxes in the Aragonese kingdoms. The 18th century saw a gradual recovery and an increase in prosperity through much of the empire. The predominant economic policy was an interventionist one, and the State also pursued policies aiming towards infrastructure development as well as the abolition of internal customs and

8979-405: The declaration of the site as an archaeological park. The burial mounds were found to have been heavily affected by grave robbery , and the human remains dispersed. The central column (about 5 meters high) described by Joaquin Acosta in 1850, which apparently allowed the measuring of the sun's astronomical alignment during the equinoxes, was missing. The column alignments have been the subject of

9102-436: The democratic system of the constitutional monarchy of a two-parties system. The July 1909 Tragic Week events and repression exemplified the social instability of the time. The La Canadiense strike in 1919 led to the first law limiting the working day to eight hours. After a period of Crown-supported dictatorship from 1923 to 1931, the first elections since 1923, largely understood as a plebiscite on Monarchy, took place:

9225-548: The development of railways and incipient capitalism developed in several areas of the country, particularly in Barcelona , as well as labour movement and socialist and anarchist ideas. The 1870 Barcelona Workers' Congress and the 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition are good examples of this. In 1879, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party was founded. A trade union linked to this party, Unión General de Trabajadores ,

9348-409: The empire under Constantine . The two largest islands (the Balearic Islands, in their historical sense) had numerous excellent harbours, though rocky at their mouth, and requiring care in entering them (Strabo, Eustath.; Port Mahon is one of the finest harbours in the world). Both were extremely fertile in all produce, except wine and olive oil. They were celebrated for their cattle, especially for

9471-687: The following political divisions between liberals and absolutists led to the breakaway of most of the American colonies . These political divisions finally converged in the 20th century with the Spanish Civil War , giving rise to the Francoist dictatorship that lasted until 1975. With the restoration of democracy and its entry into the European Union, the country experienced an economic boom that profoundly transformed it socially and politically. Since

9594-552: The globe. The cultural efflorescence witnessed during this period is now referred to as the Spanish Golden Age . The expansion of the empire caused immense upheaval in the Americas as the collapse of societies and empires and new diseases from Europe devastated American indigenous populations. The rise of humanism , the Counter-Reformation and new geographical discoveries and conquests raised issues that were addressed by

9717-455: The head, one round the body, and one in the hand. (Diodorus) The three slings were of different lengths, for stones of different sizes; the largest they hurled with as much force as if it were flung from a catapult; and they seldom missed their mark. To this exercise, they were trained from infancy, in order to earn their livelihood as mercenary soldiers. It is said that the mothers allowed their children to eat bread only when they had struck it off

9840-496: The importation of the precious metals—so that those of them who served as mercenaries took their pay in wine and women instead of money. The Roman Diodorus Siculus described their marriage and funeral customs (v. 18 book 6 chapter 5), noting that Roman observers found those customs peculiar. In ancient times, the islanders of the Gymnesian Islands ( Illes Gimnèsies ) constructed talayots , and were famous for their skill with

9963-722: The initial invasion. The Kingdom of Asturias-León consolidated upon this territory. Other Christian kingdoms, such as Navarre and Aragon in the mountainous north, eventually surged upon the consolidation of counties of the Carolingian Marca Hispanica . For several centuries, the fluctuating frontier between the Muslim and Christian-controlled areas of the peninsula was along the Ebro and Douro valleys. Conversion to Islam proceeded at an increasing pace. The muladíes (Muslims of ethnic Iberian origin) are believed to have formed

10086-636: The intellectual movement now known as the School of Salamanca , which developed the first modern theories of what are now known as international law and human rights. Spain's 16th-century maritime supremacy was demonstrated by the victory over the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 and over Portugal at the Battle of Ponta Delgada in 1582, and then after the setback of the Spanish Armada in 1588, in

10209-512: The introduction of irrigation projects, some of which remain in use. Emperors Hadrian , Trajan , Theodosius I , and the philosopher Seneca were born in Hispania. Christianity was introduced into Hispania in the 1st century CE, and it became popular in the cities in the 2nd century. Most of Spain's present languages and religions, as well as the basis of its laws, originate from this period. Starting in 170 CE, incursions of North-African Mauri in

10332-593: The island's governor Abd Allah ibn Aglab rebelled and established the independent Taifa of Mallorca . For centuries, the Balearic sailors and pirates had been masters of the western Mediterranean. But the expanding influence of the Italian maritime republics and the shift of power on the Iberian peninsula from the Muslim states to the Christian states left the islands vulnerable. A crusade was launched in 1113. Led by Ugo da Parlascio Ebriaco and Archbishop Pietro Moriconi of

10455-522: The island's overlords, to invade and incorporate the islands into their state. However, the Cordoban emirate disintegrated in civil war and partition in the early eleventh century, breaking into smaller states called taifa . Mujahid al-Siqlabi , the ruler of the Taifa of Dénia , sent a fleet and seized control of the islands in 1015, using it as the base for subsequent expeditions to Sardinia and Pisa . In 1050,

10578-564: The islands for the Romans. Imperial power receded precipitately in the western Mediterranean after the fall of Carthage and the Exarchate of Africa to the Umayyad Caliphate in 698, and in 707 the islands submitted to the terms of an Umayyad fleet, which allowed the residents to maintain their traditions and religion as well as a high degree of autonomy. Now nominally both Byzantine and Umayyad,

10701-460: The islands had 1,107,220 total residents; the figures of Germans and British respectively were 20,451 and 16,134. Between 2016 and 2017 people from other parts of Spain moved to the Balearics, while the foreign population declined by 2,000. In 2007 there were 29,189 Germans, 19,803 British, 17,935 Moroccans, 13,100 Ecuadoreans, 11,933 Italians, and 11,129 Argentines. The numbers of Germans, British, and South Americans declined between 2007 and 2017 while

10824-452: The islands to Peter I, Count of Urgell for Urgell, which he incorporated into his kingdom. Peter ruled from Palma, but after his death without issue in 1258, the islands reverted by the terms of the deal to the Crown of Aragon . James died in 1276, having partitioned his domains between his sons in his will. The will created a new Kingdom of Mallorca from the Balearic islands and the mainland counties of Roussillon or Montpellier , which

10947-514: The islands, ending their period as a great sea power, but then withdrew. Within a year, the now shattered islands were conquered by the Berber Almoravid dynasty , whose aggressive, militant approach to religion mirrored that of the crusaders and departed from the island's history as a tolerant haven under Cordoba and the taifa . The Almoravids were conquered and deposed in North Africa and on

11070-480: The islands’ name), some say they went naked only in the summer, some that they wore only sheepskins—until the Phoenicians arrived and provided them with broad-bordered tunics. Other stories have it that the inhabitants lived in hollow rocks and artificial caves, that their men were remarkable for their love of women and would trade three or four men to ransom one woman, that they had no gold or silver coin, and forbade

11193-465: The larger islands, including Cabrera , Dragonera , and S'Espalmador . The islands have a Mediterranean climate , and the four major islands are all popular tourist destinations. Ibiza, in particular, is known as an international party destination, attracting many of the world's most popular DJs to its nightclubs . The islands' culture and cuisine are similar to those of the rest of Spain but have their own distinctive features. The official name of

11316-642: The largest-increasing populations were the Moroccans, Italians, and Romanians. Circa 2017 there were 1,115,999 residents of the Balearics; 16.7% of the islands' population were foreign (non-Spanish). At that time the islands had 23,919 Moroccans, 19,209 Germans, 16,877 Italians, and 14,981 British registered in town halls. The next-largest foreign groups were the Romanians; the Bulgarians; the Argentines, numbering at 6,584;

11439-411: The lives of over 500,000 people and caused the flight of up to a half-million citizens from the country. On 1 April 1939, five months before the beginning of World War II , the rebel side led by Franco emerged victorious, imposing a dictatorship over the whole country. Thousands were imprisoned after the civil war in Francoist concentration camps . The regime remained nominally "neutral" for much of

11562-704: The longest coastline of any provinces in Spain, with a length of coastline 1,428 kilometres. The islands can be further grouped, with Majorca, Menorca, and Cabrera as the Gymnesian Islands ( Illes Gimnèsies ), and Ibiza and Formentera as the Pityusic Islands ( Illes Pitiüses officially in Catalan), also referred to as the Pityuses (or sometimes informally in English as the Pine Islands). Many minor islands or islets are close to

11685-547: The majority of the population of Al-Andalus by the end of the 10th century. A series of Viking incursions raided the coasts of the Iberian Peninsula in the 9th and 10th centuries. The first recorded Viking raid on Iberia took place in 844; it ended in failure with many Vikings killed by the Galicians' ballistas ; and seventy of the Vikings' longships captured on the beach and burned by the troops of King Ramiro I of Asturias . In

11808-573: The meseta; however, due to the bellicose inland tribes, the Carthaginians settled on the coasts of the Iberian Peninsula. During the Second Punic War , roughly between 210 and 205 BCE, the expanding Roman Republic captured Carthaginian trading colonies along the Mediterranean coast. Although it took the Romans nearly two centuries to complete the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula , they retained control of it for over six centuries. Roman rule

11931-650: The military carried out a coup d'état that triumphed in only part of the country. The situation led to a civil war, in which the territory was divided into two zones: one under the authority of the Republican government , that counted on outside support from the Soviet Union and Mexico (and from International Brigades ), and the other controlled by the putschists (the Nationalist or rebel faction ), most critically supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy . The Republic

12054-417: The mostly balmy year-round climate. However, Strabo thought that Gymnesiai probably referred to the light equipment used by the Balearic troops γυμνῆται / gymnetae . Most of the ancient Greek and Roman writers thought that the name of the people, ( βαλεαρεῖς / baleareis , from βάλλω / ballo : ancient Greek meaning 'to launch') was based on their skill as slingers . However, Strabo thought

12177-483: The mules of the lesser island; they had an immense number of rabbits, and were free from all venomous reptiles. Amongst the snails valued by the Romans as a diet was a species from the Balearic Isles called cavaticae because they were bred in caves. Their chief mineral product was the red earth, called sinope , which was used by painters. Their resin and pitch are mentioned by Dioscorides . The population of

12300-505: The name was of Phoenician origin. He observed that it was the Phoenician word for lightly armoured soldiers, which the ancient Greeks called γυμνῆτας / gymnetas . The root bal arguably suggests a Phoenician origin; Strabo, in Volume III, Book XIV of his Geography suggests that the name comes from the Phoenician balearides . The Balearic Islands are on a raised platform called

12423-437: The native speakers of Spanish in the islands have family roots elsewhere in Spain. Catalan is designated as a llengua pròpia , literally own language in its statute of autonomy. The Balearic dialect features several differences from standard Catalan. Typically, speakers of Balearic Catalan call their own language with a name specific to each island: Mallorquí , Menorquí , Eivissenc , Formenterenc . In 2003 74.6% of

12546-585: The nobles benefited from feudalism . Muslim strongholds in the Guadalquivir Valley such as Córdoba (1236) and Seville (1248) fell to Castile in the 13th century. The County of Barcelona and the Kingdom of Aragon entered in a dynastic union and gained territory and power in the Mediterranean. In 1229, Majorca was conquered, so was Valencia in 1238. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the North-African Marinids established some enclaves around

12669-474: The only American colonies Spain held were Cuba and Puerto Rico . The Napoleonic War left Spain economically ruined, deeply divided and politically unstable. In the 1830s and 1840s, Carlism (a reactionary legitimist movement supportive of an alternative Bourbon branch), fought against the government forces supportive of Queen Isabella II 's dynastic rights in the Carlist Wars . Government forces prevailed, but

12792-411: The period around the turn of the century was one of increasing prosperity, the 20th century brought little social peace. Spain played a minor part in the scramble for Africa . It remained neutral during World War I . The heavy losses suffered by the colonial troops in conflicts in northern Morocco against Riffians forces brought discredit to the government and undermined the monarchy. Industrialisation,

12915-519: The person of their grandson, the Emperor Charles V . This can be considered the foundation of the modern Spanish state, albeit a decentralized one wherein the various component territories within the united crowns retained their particular historic laws and privileges. The Balearic Islands were frequently attacked by Ottomans and Barbary pirates from North Africa; Formentera was even temporarily abandoned by its population. In 1514, 1515 and 1521,

13038-570: The province of Baetica took place. The Germanic Suebi and Vandals , together with the Sarmatian Alans , entered the peninsula after 409, weakening the Western Roman Empire's jurisdiction over Hispania. The Suebi established a kingdom in north-western Iberia, whereas the Vandals established themselves in the south of the peninsula by 420 before crossing over to North Africa in 429. As

13161-566: The rebels also added. The name of " Movimiento Nacional ", sometimes understood as a wider structure than the FET y de las JONS proper, largely imposed over the later's name in official documents along the 1950s. After the war Spain was politically and economically isolated, and was kept out of the United Nations. This changed in 1955, during the Cold War period, when it became strategically important for

13284-455: The reduction of export tariffs. Projects of agricultural colonisation with new settlements took place in the south of mainland Spain. Enlightenment ideas began to gain ground among some of the kingdom's elite and monarchy. In 1793, Spain went to war against the revolutionary new French Republic as a member of the first Coalition . The subsequent War of the Pyrenees polarised the country in

13407-515: The remaining Muslim population to become nominally Christian Moriscos . About four decades after the War of the Alpujarras (1568–1571), over 300,000 moriscos were expelled , settling primarily in North Africa. The unification of the crowns of Aragon and Castile by the marriage of their sovereigns laid the basis for modern Spain and the Spanish Empire, although each kingdom of Spain remained

13530-522: The root of the term span is the Phoenician word spy , meaning "to forge metals ". Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean "the land where metals are forged". It may be a derivation of the Phoenician I-Shpania , meaning "island of rabbits", "land of rabbits" or "edge", a reference to Spain's location at the end of the Mediterranean; Roman coins struck in the region from the reign of Hadrian show

13653-435: The site could be used to anticipate astronomical phenomena such as solstices and equinoxes , as indicated by the alignment of the stones with the sun and moon. The lithic pieces are carved in pink sandstone , many of them in columnar shapes with an incised ring. A total of 109 monoliths have been excavated to date: 54 in the north stone row and 55 in the south, aligned in an east–west orientation, apparently representing

13776-578: The sovereignty to the people . Starting in 1809 the American colonies began a series of revolutions and declared independence, leading to the Spanish American wars of independence that put an end to the metropole's grip over the Spanish Main . Attempts to re-assert control proved futile with opposition not only in the colonies but also in the Iberian peninsula and army revolts followed. By the end of 1826,

13899-539: The two islands is stated by Diodorus at 30,000. The part of the Mediterranean east of Spain, around the Balearic Isles, was called Mare Balearicum , or Sinus Balearicus . The Vandals under Genseric conquered the Islands sometime between 461 and 468 during their war on the Roman Empire . However, in late 533 or early 534, following the Battle of Ad Decimum , the troops of Belisarius reestablished control of

14022-530: The west of the Mediterranean Sea , the Balearic Islands have mostly typical hot-summer Mediterranean climates ( Köppen : Csa) with some high altitude areas having a Warm-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen : Csb) in the island of Majorca. The semi-arid climate ( Köppen : BSh and BSk) is also found in the Balearic Islands, mostly on the islands of Ibiza and Formentera but also in the southern part of Majorca. The earliest known evidence of inhabitation of

14145-449: The western area of the Pyrenees mountain range and adjacent areas; Phoenician-influenced Tartessians flourished in the southwest; and Lusitanians and Vettones occupied areas in the central west. Several cities were founded along the coast by Phoenicians , and trading outposts and colonies were established by Greeks in the East. Eventually, Phoenician- Carthaginians expanded inland towards

14268-419: The western empire disintegrated, the social and economic base became greatly simplified; the successor regimes maintained many of the institutions and laws of the late empire, including Christianity and assimilation into the evolving Roman culture. The Byzantines established an occidental province, Spania , in the south, with the intention of reviving Roman rule throughout Iberia. Eventually, however, Hispania

14391-461: The world's second-most spoken native language and the world's most widely spoken Romance language . Spain is a secular parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy , with King Felipe VI as head of state . A developed country , it is a major advanced capitalist economy, with the world's fifteenth-largest by both nominal GDP and PPP . Spain is a member of the United Nations ,

14514-593: Was bound together by law, language, and the Roman road . The cultures of the pre-Roman populations were gradually Romanised (Latinised) at different rates depending on what part of the peninsula they lived in, with local leaders being admitted into the Roman aristocratic class. Hispania (the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula) served as a granary for the Roman market, and its harbours exported gold, wool , olive oil , and wine. Agricultural production increased with

14637-622: Was evidently invented to account for the name Gymnesiae ( Ancient Greek : Γυμνήσιαι ). In addition, Diodorus Siculus writes that the Greeks called the islands Gymnesiae because the inhabitants were naked (γυμνοί) during the summer time. Also, a tradition holds that the islands were colonized by Rhodes after the Trojan War . The islands had a very mixed population. Several stories describing them as having unusual habits. Some have it that they went naked year-round (a folk etymology claims this inspired

14760-499: Was founded in 1888. In the anarcho-syndicalist trend of the labour movement in Spain, Confederación Nacional del Trabajo was founded in 1910 and Federación Anarquista Ibérica in 1927. Catalanism and Vasquism, alongside other nationalisms and regionalisms in Spain, arose in that period: the Basque Nationalist Party formed in 1895 and Regionalist League of Catalonia in 1901. Political corruption and repression weakened

14883-526: Was left to his son James II . However, the terms of the will specified that the new kingdom be a vassal state to the Crown of Aragon , which was left to his older brother Peter . Chafing under the vassalage, James joined forces with the Pope Martin IV and Philip III of France against his brother in the Aragonese Crusade , leading to a 10-year Aragonese occupation before the islands were restored in

15006-551: Was not supported by the Western powers due to the British-led policy of non-intervention . General Francisco Franco was sworn in as the supreme leader of the rebels on 1 October 1936. An uneasy relationship between the Republican government and the grassroots anarchists who had initiated a partial social revolution also ensued. The civil war was viciously fought and there were many atrocities committed by all sides . The war claimed

15129-592: Was reunited under Visigothic rule . From 711 to 718, as part of the expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate which had conquered North Africa from the Byzantine Empire , nearly all of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Muslims from across the Strait of Gibraltar, resulting in the collapse of the Visigothic Kingdom. Only a small area in the mountainous north of the peninsula stood out of the territory seized during

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