|RNature and climate:|N The greater part of Spain is a billowing highland plateau with an average elevation of 700 m.a.s.l.
Spain have natural borders i all directions. Inaccessible mountain-chains and rivers against Portugal in the west, the mountain-chain the Pyrénées against france in the north and coasts by the Atlantic Ocean in the north and the south and by the Mediterranean Sea in the east and south. Along most of these coasts run high mountain-chains, with the nations highest point, Mulhacén, in Sierra Nevada, reaching 3478 m.a.s.l. at the south coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
The natural vegetation is mainly bush- and grass-steppe.
The climate varies greatly between the different parts of the country. It is warmtempered in the north, continental in the interior and subtropical in the south.
Average temperature in January varies between 0 and +5°C in the interior and the northern parts and between 10 and +13°C by the Mediterranean coast. In July the average temperature varies between 18 and 20°C in the north and the interior and between 25 and 28°C in the southern parts.
Percipitation between 1000 and 1500 mm by the Atlantic coast and the Pyrénées mountains and between 300 and 600 mm in the rest of the country.
The Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean Sea and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean are Spanish provinces. Spain also have two small enclaves at the Mediterranean coast of Morocco: the towns of Ceuta and Melilla.
|RPeople:|N Originally inhabited by Iberians, Basques and Celts.
Phoenicians and Greeks founded tradingports at the Mediterranean coast about 1100 BC. Later people from Carthage colonized the south part of Spain. The Iberians were the dominating people in the southern parts in the last centuries BC, they were probably related to the Berbs in northern Africa.
At this time Celts invaded from the north and settled at the western part of the peninsula. With the Roman conquest followed a lot of colonizers and a thorough Romanization of the whole society. The same thing followed with the Visigots that conquered Spain from the Romans. The Visigots in turn were superseded by the Moors.
All these masterraces left their permanent mark on the population and the culture.
In the north, mainly by the Atlantic coast, lives the big Basques minority. The origin of this people is not known.
|REconomy:|N By the end of World War II Spanish economy was undeveloped and out of date. Due to the Franco-regime and its behavior during the war Spain was kept aside in international economics. But the cold war and the establishment of US military bases in Spain in 1953 opened up the western markets for Spanish industry.
In 1958 Franco changed economic policy and since then economy has boosted. All sectors have been rejuvenated.
45% of the labour force is occupied in different services, 31% in industry, 16% in agriculture and 9% in construction.
One of the first industries to boom was tourism. Spain was made the holiday paradise in Europe, attracting about 40 million tourists from all over Europe every year.
Agriculture was rapidly mechanized. Much of the cultivated area is irrigated. Most important crops are corn, citrusfruits, vegetables, wine grapes and olives.
Ambitious plans for afforestation are started and some vast half-deserts has been won back.
Spain has many minerals such as coal, zinc, manganese, lignite, iron ore, tungsten, uranium and mercury. Almadén has the worlds largest mercury-mine.
These minerals form the base for an old and nowadays rejuvenated manufacturing in many different fields.
Spain has both heavy mechanical manufacturing such as steelworks, shipyards, car assembling plants, machinetool factories, chemical and electrical plants as well as lighter industries for textiles.
|RHistory:|N The Iberian peninsula has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Rich findings from several prehistoric cultures, most known are the paintings in the Altamira-cave from paleolitic time.
About 1100 BC Phoenicians founded trade-colonies at the Spanish Mediterranean coast. These colonies were taken over by Carthege who colonized the whole southern part of the peninsula.
Just before 200 BC the Romans started to conquer the peninsula. This was completed under Augustus. During this time Spain was thoroughly latinized, except the Basquian area in the northwest.
The Romans were succeeded by the Svebes, a Gothic tribe, that in the 5th century AD, founded a nation in Galicia. The Svebes were in turn succeeded by the Visigoths that conquered and Christened the whole Iberian Peninsula in the 6th century.
In about 700 AD the Arabic expansion had reached the southern parts of Spain. By 711 the whole nation was conquered by the Moors that brought Islam, a very rich culture and made Spain an important gateway for the Greek cultural renaissance in Europe later.
The Christian reconquest started almost immediately, about 750 the first small kingdoms succeeded to gain independence from the Moors and for 750 years there was a continuous fight between the Moors and the Christians.
When Fredrik of Aragonia and Isabella of Kastilia were married and their two countries united all the other small countries of the Iberian Peninsula were united in 1469. Together they started the Inquisition, e religious pursuit of all dissidents. All Jews were expelled by 1492 and all Moors by 1502.
By this time Fredrik and Isabella had sent Christopher Columbus to find the western way to China. Instead he found America.
Fredrik and Isabella were succeeded by their grandson, Charles of Habsburg, Charles I or Carlos I, as king of Spain in 1516.
He was an absolute ruler and the Spanish Empire was expanded with colonies comprising the whole South America, except Brazil, Central America, the whole Western North America, several colonies along the African coast and many trading-centres in the Far East.
Carlos I was not only king of Spain, but also emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, as Charles V, and ruled Spain, Sicily, Sardinia, Naples, Milan, Austria with Bohemia and Hungury, as well as The Netherlands, Belgium and Franche-Comté.
Carlos I resigned 1556 and the empire was divided in a Spanish and a Austrian part. As king of Spain he was succeeded by his son Filip II. He ruled Spain with all the colonies, the Italian towns, Franche-Comté, Belgium and The Netherlands.
Filip strengthened his position around the Mediterranean Sea by beating the Turks at the battle of Lepanto in 1571, but in 1579 The Netherlands proclaimed independence and in 1588 the Spanish armada was humiliatingly defeated in an attempt to conquer Great Britain. By the middle of the 17th century Spain was weakened, due to territorial losses to France in several wars, and due to decreasing incomes from the colonies.
1700 king Carlos II died without issue. From 1701 to 1714 several wars were fought to settle the succession to the throne and this weakened the nation even more. At last Filip V of Bourbon was recognized as king, but Charles of Austria received Belgium and all the Italian parts, Savojen received Sicily and Great britain Gibraltar.
During the second half of the 18th century the kings Carlos III and Carlos IV introduced a reform-policy, the Inquisition was abolished, the Society of Jesus was prohibited and agriculture, trade and manufacturing was encouraged.
Spain became involved in the wars following the French revolution 1793. In 1795there was a peace-treaty between Spain and France and in 1796 the two nations attacked Great Britain. This led to the severe Spanish loss of the battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and finally Spain was de facto occupied by France and Carlos IV was forced to resign in 1808 and was succeeded by Napoleons brother, Josef Bonaparte.
The resistance against France and Bonaparte was strong and led by different guerilla-groups with British support and 1813 the French were thrown out of Spain. Ferdinand VII became king.
During the Napoleon wars all the South American colonies rose revolts and proclaimed independence. In 1819 Florida was sold to the USA and in 1823 Mexico with California became an independent nation.
After that only Cuba, Porto Rico, the Philippines and some minor islands remained of the colonies.
When Ferdinand died in 1833 there was a civil war to settle the succession to the throne. ISabella II won, but was forced to leave the country in 1868 after a coupe d'etat. The Italian prince Amadeo of Savojen was elected king in 1870, but he left when his attempts to introduce parliamentarism failed. In 1873 republic was proclaimed, but the attempts to introduce a republic constitution started a new civil war. The son of Isabella, Alfonso XII, was crowned king 1874. He died 1885 and was succeeded by his posthumously born son Alfonso XIII, who reigned 1886 to 1931.
In 1876 parliamentarism was introduced and in 1890 universal suffrage.
In 1896 Cuba rose revolt which led to the Spanish-American war 1898. In this war Spain lost Cuba and the Philippines.
During World War I Spain was neutral, but this led to domestic political unrest and in 1923 a dictatorship was installed. When the dictatorship fell in 1931 Alfonso was forced to resign and republic was proclaimed.
The general election in 1936 was won by the leftist parties that installed a government, but the army started a revolt under general Franco. In this bloody Spanish civil war thousands of volunteers from all europe participated on the government side together with troops from Russia. On Franco's side Germany and Italy participated. In 1939 the army had won the war and a fascist dictatorship was installed.
In spite of all the help Franco got in the civil war he choosed to be neutral in World War II. But he did send some troops to help Hitler at the Russian front, which led to international isolation after the war.
Ever since World War II different movements have fought for independence in Basqia and Catalonia. Especially in Basqia many terrorists have participated in the struggle.
In 1947 Spain was proclaimed monarchy but without a king.
The king was to be installed at the death of Franco and in 1969 prince Juan Carlos was pronounced heir of the throne.
When Franco died in 1975 Juan Carlos was crowned king. He appointed Adolfo Suarez prime minister and together they effected a number of democratic reforms making Spain a parliamentary monarchy. The first free and general elections since 1931 were held in 1978.
In 1980 Basqia and Catalonia gained internal self-rule.
In 1981 some right-wing extremists attempted a coup that collapsed within a day the army declared itself loyal to the king and the government.
After World War II the strategic importance of British crown colony Gibraltar, formerly a part of Spain, have decreased and Spain have made attempts to recapture the peninsula in peaceful ways.
In 1967 a referendum was conducted among the population of Gibraltar on demand of the UN. 44% of the population voted for a reunion with Spain and 51% against. Instead Gibraltar received internal self-rule in 1969, and as a protest against that Spain closed the border. The border was not opened until 1985.
