SPANISH TIMLINE Essay, Research Paper

IMPORTANT DATES

about 1100-1000 BC

Phoenicians began colonizing Spain. Modern cities such as C?diz and M?laga were founded by the Phoenicians around this time.

400s BC

The Carthaginians conquered much of Spain.

200s BC

Spain became an important part of the Roman Empire following the Punic Wars.

AD 573

The Visigoths completed their conquest of the Iberian Peninsula.

711-718

The Moors conquered most of Spain. Many Spaniards converted to Islam, and Moorish culture began to flourish.

1000s

The Christian reconquest of Spain began.

1479

Arag?n and Castile were united under Ferdinand V and Isabella I. The following year the Spanish Inquisition was established.

1492

The Kingdom of Granada was conquered, ending Moorish rule in Spain. Christopher Columbus initiated Spanish claims in the Americas, where Spain quickly established a huge colonial empire.

1512

The Kingdom of Navarre was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of Spain. Spanish culture flourished and Spain became a world power.

1588

The English navy defeated the Spanish Armada, beginning a period of slow decline for Spain.

1714

Great Britain gained Gibraltar from Spain.

1808

Napoleon I of France invaded Spain and captured Madrid. Spanish, English, and Portuguese forces did not drive the French from Spain until 1814.

1810-1825

Most of Spain?s American colonies won their independence.

1898

Spain lost the rest of its important overseas possessions following the Spanish-American War.

1931

King Alfonso XIII fled from Spain, and the country became a republic.

1936-1939

Spanish Nationalist forces led by General Francisco Franco defeated Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War.

1968

Buoyed by strong economic growth, the government eased censorship restrictions. Protests erupted in Barcelona and Madrid, and regional separatist groups gained strength.

1975

Franco died and was succeeded by King Juan Carlos. Spain became a constitutional monarchy.

1980s

Spain joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Community (now the European Union), increasing its ties with the rest of Europe.

1992

The Summer Olympic Games were held in Barcelona.

1994

Spain threatened to block expansion of the European Union until a compromise guaranteed protection of Spanish fishing rights.