List of forms of government
113-469: Republicanism in Spain is a political position and movement that believes Spain should be a republic . There has existed in Spain a persistent trend of republican thought, especially throughout the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, that has manifested itself in diverse political parties and movements over the entire course of the history of Spain . While these movements have shared the objective of establishing
226-571: 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
339-589: A dictatorship with the approval of the King Alfonso XIII . But the crisis of this dictatorship lead to the resignation of Primo de Rivera in 1930 and made the fall of the monarchy inevitable. The bulk of Republican forces convened in August 1930 and reached an agreement, the Pact of San Sebastián , delimiting a common strategy to bring the republic, also conforming a revolutionary committee. On 14 April 1931, two days after
452-549: A regency for the monarchy, naming Juan Carlos de Borbón , grandson of the ousted Alfonso XIII, as his successor and the next king in 1969. Juan Carlos ascended to the throne upon the Caudillo's death in 1975. A Spanish Republican government in exile was established in Paris in April 1939. Thousands of Republicans fled the country to France as well. Many of them were captured after France
565-460: A 2012 survey by Gallup , 54% of Spaniards were in favor of a referendum to choose the form of government (monarchy or republic), and support was always found to be even higher when surveying younger age groups (support was 73.1% amongst 18- to 24-year-olds, but only 34.5% for those above 65 years). Support for such a referendum is also higher amongst the more educated groups of the population, voters in left-wing political parties, and between members of
678-571: 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
791-608: A heap of troubles, with differences of approach becoming apparent between those followers of Pimargallian "pactist" federalism and those ready to jump into Castelar's possibilism in regard of the new conservative regime. Castelar led the Partido Demócrata —later the Partido Demócrata Posibilista (PDP) and Cristino Martos the Partido Progresista Demócrata . Nonetheless, these parties, immersed in
904-508: A large measure of regional autonomy. Unitary state A unitary state is a state or sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create or abolish administrative divisions (sub-national or sub state units). Such units exercise only the powers that the central government chooses to delegate. Although political power may be delegated through devolution to regional or local governments by statute ,
1017-424: A larger support for republicanism amongst Spanish youth, with more 18- to 29-year-olds identifying themselves as republicans than those identifying as monarchists, according to El Mundo . Despite this, some surveys show the public in favour of the monarchy, and according to an August 2008 El Mundo poll, 47.9% of Spaniards would have liked to democratically elect King Juan Carlos, and 42.3% of respondents thought that
1130-453: A majority of its own. As a result, Alcalá Zamora opted to appoint a cabinet made up of various centre-right radical and liberal parties led by Alejandro Lerroux. This cabinet too suffered from too narrow a majority, and Lerroux was eventually obliged to extend its support by including several CEDA ministers. The inclusion of the CEDA, considered to be insincere in its support for the existing regime,
1243-609: A new monarch among several European royal courts ensued and the Italian prince Amadeo I of Savoy was chosen. But Spain was in a period of profound instability: Legitimist monarchist Carlists (reactionaries and staunch defenders of the Ancien régime ) had launched another war against the country's progressive direction; there was colonial unrest in Spanish Cuba via the Ten Years' War ; and
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#17328841324421356-598: 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
1469-528: 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
1582-459: A referendum on republic, as secret surveys reportedly commissioned by the State did not deliver a favorable results for the monarchist option back at the time. Spanish newspapers also sporadically publish surveys and opinion polls with questions related to the monarchy and of the survey respondents' political affiliation as monarchist or republican, among other options: After 2005, surveys have measured
1695-544: A republic, during these three centuries there have surged distinct schools of thought on the form republicans would want to give to the Spanish State : unitary or federal . Despite the country's long-lasting schools of republican movements, the government of Spain has been organized as a republic during only two short periods in its history, which totaled 9 years and 8 months of republican government. The First Spanish Republic lasted from February 1873 to December 1874, and
1808-699: 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
1921-493: A round of municipal elections (understood as a plebiscite on monarchy) in which republicans won a landslide victory , Alfonso XIII fled the country, the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed and a provisional government presided by Niceto Alcalá Zamora was formed. The Second Republic adopted the form of a unitary republic , allowing a group of provinces to form self-governing regions, a provision availed of to form
2034-458: 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
2147-725: 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
2260-657: A system of unequal censitary suffrage between 1878 and 1890, were unable to compete with the large dynastic parties: the Liberal-Conservative Party of Cánovas del Castillo and Liberal–Fusionist Party of Sagasta . Later Pi y Margall formed the Partido Republicano Democrático Federal (PRDF), Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla and José María Esquerdo created the Partido Republicano Progresista (PRP), and Nicolás Salmerón established
2373-517: 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,
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#17328841324422486-613: Is demonstrated by the fact that in just eleven months there were four presidents of the Republic: Estanislao Figueras , Francisco Pi y Margall , Nicolás Salmerón and Emilio Castelar . On 3 January 1874, General Manuel Pavía led a coup d'état that established a unitary republican dictatorship presided by Marshal Francisco Serrano . The regime was followed by a pronunciamiento on 29 December 1874 in Sagunto , in which Brigadier General Arsenio Martínez Campos proclaimed
2599-831: 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
2712-665: 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
2825-577: 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
2938-583: 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
3051-589: 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
3164-729: 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
3277-672: 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
3390-743: 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
3503-1026: 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
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3616-573: 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
3729-613: 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
3842-504: The Napoleonic Wars , and to the world through the vast French colonial empire . Unitary states stand in contrast to federations , also known as federal states . A large majority of the UN member countries , 166 out of 193, have a unitary system of government, while significant population and land mass is under some kind of federation. A unitary system of government can be considered to be
3955-807: The Partido Republicano Centralista (PRC). These parties contributed a diverse set of independent republican deputies to the Spanish parliament. Factions of the PDP and the PRP branched off and fused to form the Partido Republicano Nacional . In 1898 the Fusión Republicana was formed, and in 1903 the creation of the Republican Union Party attempted to represent and fuse all streams of republican thought. However, two parties split from
4068-510: The Second Spanish Republic lasted from April 1931 to April 1939. Under the monarchical regime currently in force in Spain , there are movements and political parties throughout the entire political spectrum that advocate for a Third Spanish Republic. Despite enjoying a wider support within the left wing political camp , there are also liberal , right-wing , conservative and nationalist parties espousing republican stances. The roots of Spanish republicanism arose out of liberal thought in
4181-442: The Spanish Constitution establishes that the approval of a new constitution or the approval of any constitutional amendment affecting the Preliminary Title, or Section I of Chapter II of Title I (on Fundamental Rights and Public Liberties) or Title II (on the Crown ), the so-called "protected provisions", are subject to a special process that requires: Spain – in Europe (green & dark grey) – in
4294-468: The Spanish transition to democracy . In 1977, after the first democratic general elections since the 1930s, the Spanish Republican government-in-exile , maintained since their defeat in the Civil War, dissolved itself and officially recognized the post-Francoist democracy. Spain established a constitution with democratic parliamentary monarchy as the form of government. The constitution was supported by UCD , PSOE , PCE , AP , PDPC and UDC-CCC . During
4407-477: 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
4520-598: 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
4633-435: 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 ,
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4746-400: 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
4859-427: The 1850s and 1860s, had a key figure in the person of Roque Barcia Martí [ es ] . The Glorious Revolution of 1868 overthrew Isabella II, but the Cortes (Spanish parliament) elected in 1869 resulted in a majority of legislators belonging to the coalition between progressives , liberals and "cimbrian" democrats [ es ] in favour of a liberal constitutional monarchy. A search for
4972-468: The Agrarian Reform Law, and is consequently known as the Bienio Reformista ("Two Reformist Years"). 1931 also saw the introduction of truly universal suffrage , for the first time in Spanish history: previously restricted to men, the right to vote was now extended to women . The Republic soon had to confront the political polarization of the era, at the same time that totalitarian dictatorships were rising in power in Europe. The political instability of
5085-403: 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
5198-431: 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
5311-496: 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
5424-425: 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
5537-411: 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
5650-413: 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
5763-429: The Republican Union: Alejandro Lerroux 's Partido Republicano Radical and Vicente Blasco 's Partido de Unión Republicana Autonomista . In that time the Catalan Centre Nacionalista Republicà (CNR) appeared. Following the acts of " Tragic Week " in Barcelona in 1909, republican parties and the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ("PSOE" in Spanish) joined together to form the Conjunción Republicano-Socialista , at
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#17328841324425876-400: 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,
5989-438: 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
6102-468: The Spanish Popular Front . This included the socialist movement (the PSOE and UGT ), the communist PCE and POUM parties, and the left-republican parties Republican Left , the Republican Union and Catalan Republican Left , as well as several minor political parties. The Popular Front emerged victorious in the legislative elections of 1936, forming a government of republican parties and elevating Manuel Azaña as head of state. On 17 July 1936, there
6215-467: 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
6328-642: 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
6441-468: 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
6554-403: The abdication improved the image of the Crown thanks to a positive image of the new king, Felipe VI , but since then, support for the monarchy has dropped to a technical tie between its supporters and supporters of the republic, according to surveys in recent years, therefore becoming the European country with the highest percentage of detractors of the current monarchical state model. Title X of
6667-542: 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
6780-400: 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
6893-419: 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,
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#17328841324427006-409: 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
7119-473: 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
7232-483: The central government may alter the statute, to override the decisions of devolved governments or expand their powers. The modern unitary state concept originated in France ; in the aftermath of the Hundred Years' War , national feelings that emerged from the war unified France. The war accelerated the process of transforming France from a feudal monarchy to a unitary state. The French then later spread unitary states by conquests , throughout Europe during and after
7345-428: 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
7458-435: 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
7571-436: 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:
7684-430: 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 ,
7797-409: The division amongst republicans. The majority of republicans were Federalists , and they therefore supported the formation of a federal democratic republic, but there was also a unitary republican current. Moreover, within the Federalists there was an intransigent pro-confederation sector that was infuriated and later quashed by the Cantonal Revolution of 1873. The complicated political situation
7910-414: The drafting of the constitution, UCD, AP and PCE supported the monarchy as the form of government. PSOE abstained on that point and supported an amendment to establish a republic. However, in the 80s, the Communist Party (PCE) and its coalition the United Left resumed advocating for a Third Spanish Republic. There are also other regional parties advocating republicanism. In 2016 an unpublished interview with
8023-470: 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
8136-460: The former president Adolfo Suarez in 1995 came to light, where he confesses that he included the word king and monarchy in the 1977 Political Reform Law so as not to have to consult the issue of the monarchy to the citizenry, as polls told him he would lose. In 2018, the Catalan parliament passed a motion condemning king Felipe VI for his role in the Catalan crisis and demanding the abolition of
8249-552: 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
8362-722: 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
8475-636: 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
8588-512: 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
8701-462: 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
8814-547: 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
8927-678: 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
9040-650: 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
9153-579: The moderate-liberal monarchy was met with stiff opposition from all sides, by republicans to its left, and from its right by a large part of the aristocracy and the Catholic Church ; thus King Amadeo abdicated on 11 February 1873. On that same day in 1873, the Cortes proclaimed the First Spanish Republic . However, the Republic fell victim to the same instabilities provoked by the ongoing wars and
9266-445: The monarchy after April 2015, when poll respondents gave it an average rating of 4.34 out of 10. A study published on 24 June 2004 found 55% of Spaniards agreeing ( "más bien de acuerdo" ) with the statement that "the Monarchy discussion is long ago a thing of the past." In 2016, it was revealed that during a 1995 interview, Adolfo Suárez had confessed that he included the word 'King' in the 1977 Political Reform Act in order to avoid
9379-474: The monarchy. Spain's government-run Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas has not conducted any surveys in which respondents were asked their preference of the system of government, monarchy or republic. However, the CIS has published surveys on the "value" respondents place on the monarchy, and the agency has occasionally published questions regarding the current monarch, observing a progressive decline in support for
9492-407: The monarchy. Studies show that the monarchy has experienced declining public confidence more than any other government institution, especially among youths aged 18 to 24, who have expressed negative opinions about the monarchy in CIS studies since 2006. For the first time ever in 2011, a majority of the population said they did not support the current monarchy. However, the CIS ceased surveying views of
9605-467: The need to restore the monarchy. Following the acceptance of the coup by the Captain General of Madrid, Fernando Primo de Rivera , a new government led by Antonio Cánovas del Castillo was formed putting and end to the Republic, bringing the so-called Restoration and the ascension of Alfonso XII (son of Isabella II) to the throne. After being banished from the institutions, republicanism underwent
9718-585: 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
9831-567: The northern region of Asturias that united the local branches of the socialist movement to those of the Communist Party of Spain and the syndicalist National Confederation of Labour . The violent repression of the Rising, especially in Asturias, the suppression of Catalan home rule, and the arrest of numerous prominent political figures who had been uninvolved in the unrest, motived the formation of
9944-474: 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
10057-510: The opposite of federalism . In federations, the provincial/regional governments share powers with the central government as equal actors through a written constitution , to which the consent of both is required to make amendments. This means that the sub-national units have a right to existence and powers that cannot be unilaterally changed by the central government. Italics : States with limited recognition from other sovereign states or intergovernmental organizations . The United Kingdom
10170-411: 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,
10283-570: 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
10396-566: 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
10509-455: 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
10622-626: The regions of Catalonia and the Basque Country . Its first President of the Republic (head of state) was Niceto Alcalá Zamora, of the liberal-Catholic Liberal Republican Right party. After the victory of the socialist and left-republican coalition in the June 1931 elections, Manuel Azaña , of Republican Action (later the Republican Left ) was elected president of the Council of Ministers (premier). Azaña's government attempted to pass many reforms, such as
10735-570: 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
10848-522: 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
10961-904: The same time as the Catalan sectors of the Republican Union, the CNR, and the PRDF formed the Republican Nationalist Federal Union . Later Melquíades Álvarez split from the Conjunción Republicano-Socialista to form the Reformist Party . After 1917, the Restoration regime entered a state of crisis, which finally resulted in the coup d'état of Miguel Primo de Rivera , Captain-General of Catalonia. Primo de Rivera established
11074-628: 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,
11187-533: The succession of his heir Prince Felipe should be put to a plebiscite . According to the newspaper Público 's "Publicscopio" section in December 2009, 61% survey respondents were in favour of amending the Spanish Constitution to allow the Spanish people to decide between a monarchy and a republic, a number that increased by 3% compared to the data collected the year before by the same newspaper. According to
11300-399: The time can be seen by the fact that, in 1932, there had already been a failed coup led by General José Sanjurjo . The general elections of 1933 saw the emergence of José María Gil-Robles 's Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas , an umbrella organisation of various conservative and Catholic-nationalist parties. The CEDA emerged as the largest single parliamentary group, but lacked
11413-471: The upper and upper-middle classes. In 2013, as a result of the accusation of Princess Cristina in the Nóos scandal , republican support has begun to increase greater than ever before. When Juan Carlos announced his abdication on 2 June 2014, thousands of protesters took to the squares of several Spanish towns and cities demanding a referendum on whether the monarchy should continue. Subsequent surveys showed that
11526-597: The wake of the French Revolution . The first manifestations of republicanism occurred during the Peninsular War , in which Spain and nearby regions fought for independence from Napoleon , 1808–1814. During the reign of Ferdinand VII (1813–1833) there were several liberalist military pronunciamientos , but it was not until the reign of Isabella II (1833–1868) that the first clearly republican and anti-monarchist movements appeared. Federalist republicanism, emerged in
11639-449: 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
11752-419: 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
11865-461: 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 ,
11978-463: Was a military uprising that failed to seize control of government but which, by taking control of much of Spanish Morocco , provoked the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War . While the republican regime was abandoned by the other European democracies and only received military support from the Soviet Union , the nationalist rebels were supported by Nazi Germany and fascist Italy , whose support
12091-593: 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
12204-499: 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
12317-551: 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
12430-473: Was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1940; some 7,000 died in concentration camps, especially Mauthausen-Gusen , during the Holocaust . The Republican government in exile moved to Mexico City in 1940, returning to Paris in 1946. The anti-Francoist opposition failed in their attempts to bring about Francoist Spain 's downfall, and after his death they started a process of negotiation with the government that led to
12543-516: Was pivotal in the final victory of the nationalist uprising. The triumphant Nationalist faction established the Spanish State that lasted until Francisco Franco 's death and the subsequent Spanish transition to democracy . Emilio Mola , leader of the uprising against the Second Republic, attempted to establish a "republican dictatorship," but in 1947 Franco declared his authoritarian reign as
12656-651: 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
12769-413: Was the trigger for the incidents of October 1934. Various initiatives were launched, ranging from a declaration of federal autonomy by Lluís Companys , head of the government of the Catalan region , designed to limit the CEDA's ability to intervene in the region; a general strike by the socialist movement, designed to dissuade Alcala and Lerroux from including the CEDA ministers; and a worker uprising in
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