Spain

The Visigoths article is excellent, but it does not discuss Visigothic Spain in nearly as much detail as it was traditional in Spanish schools a few decades ago.

The rulers of Al-Andalus were granted the rank of Emir by the Umayyad Caliph in Damascus. After the Umayyad were overthrown by the Abbasids, Abd-ar-rahman I declared Cordoba an independent emirate. Al-Andalus was rife with internal conflict between the Arab Umayyad rulers, the Berber (North African) commoners and the Visigoth-Roman Christian population.

In the 10th century Abd-ar-rahman III declared the Caliphate of Cordoba, effectively breaking all ties with the Egyptian and Syrian Caliphs. The Caliphate reached its peak around the year 1000, under Al-Mansur (a.k.a. Almanzor), who sacked Barcelona (985) and other Christian cities. After Almanzor's death the Caliphate plunged into a civil war and collapsed into the so-called "Taifa Kingdoms". Taifa kings competed against each other not only in war, but also in the protection of the arts. The Taifa kingdoms lost ground to the Christian realms in the north and, after the loss of Toledo in 1085, the Almoravides invaded Al-Andalus from North Africa and established an empire. In the 12th century the Almoravide empire broke up again, only to be taken over by the Almohade invasion. After the decisive battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, only the kingdom of Granada remained, until 1492.

Córdoba became one of the most beautiful and advanced cities of Europe, and an important scholarly center. (See also Abbadides, Almohades).

While in the east of the peninsula, the Frankish emperors established the Marca Hispanica across the Pyrenees in part of what today is Catalonia, reconquering Girona in 785, Barcelona in 801.

The idea of the Reconquista as a single process spanning 8 centuries is historically inaccurate. The Christian realms in northern Spain warred against each other as much as against the Muslims. El Cid, the 11th-century hero of Spain's epic poem was banished by king Alfonso VI and found refuge with the Muslim king of Zaragoza. With the collapse of the Caliphate of Córdoba Al-Andalus broke apart into a number of small, warring domains, which contributed to the success of the southward expansionist drive of the Christian kingdoms. In the 11th century the Muslim realms asked for help from the North African Almoravides, who then took control of all of Al-Andalus and some Christian land. The Almohades were defeated in the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212. By the mid-13th century Granada was the only independent Muslim realm in Spain, and the 13th and the 15th centuries were spent in internal strife among the Christian kingdoms. The reconquest of Spain was declared a crusade at the turn of the 13th century.

With this declaration came the urge for religious purity in Spain, which was capitalized on by the "Catholic monarchs" (Reyes Católicos in Spanish) Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon in order to justify their invasion of Granada, the expulsion of the Jews and the forceful conversion of the Moors. In the 15th century, the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were united under Isabella and Ferdinand. These two able rulers ruled jointly and worked to consolidate the power of the monarchy at the expense of the nobility. During their reign, the castles of many nobles (symbols of aristocratic independence from the monarchy) were demolished, and a system of regular taxation was established. Ferdinand and Isabella established the basis for the unification of Spain religiously as well as politically and economically. Under their rule the Muslims were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula. Aragon was at that time already an important maritime power in the Mediterranean, and Castile was in competition with Portugal for domination of the Atlantic Ocean. After the final conquest of the last Moorish stronghold at Granada in 1492, Spain started financing voyages of exploration. Those of Christopher Columbus brought a New World to Europe's attention, and were followed by the Conquistadores who brought the native empires of Mesoamerica and the Inca under Spanish Control. At the same time, the Jews of Spain were ordered on March 30, 1492 to convert to Christianity or be exiled from the country.

Through a policy of alliances with other European nobility and the conquest of most of South America and the West Indies, Spain began to establish itself as an empire. The Treaty of Tordesillas, negotiated by Pope Alexander VI between Portugal and Spain, effectively divided up the non-European world between these two budding empires. Massive amounts of gold and silver were imported from the New World into Spain's coffers. However, in the long run this hurt the Spanish economy much more than it helped it. The bullion caused high inflation rates, which undermined the value of Spain's currency. Additionally, Spain became dependent on her colonies for income, and when Queen Elizabeth I of England began to capture Spanish vessels on the way to and from the New World, Spain suffered massive economic losses. These effects, combined with the expulsion of Spain's most economically vital classes in the late 15th century (the Jews and the Moors), caused Spain's econmoy to collapse several times in the 16th century, brining the Golden Age of Spain to a close.

The Habsburg dynasty became extinct in Spain and the War of Spanish Succession ensued in which the other European powers tried to assume control of the Spanish monarchy. King Louis XIV of France eventually "won" the War of Spanish Succession, and control of Spain passed to the Bourbon dynasty.

Under the Bonapartes, Spain failed to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions of the 18th century, and also failed to absorb the ideals that of the Enlightenment that were revolutionizing European thought. These missed opportunities, combined with the economic failures of the 17th century, caused the country to fall desperately behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power.

Under Franco, Spain actively sought the return of Gibraltar by the UK, and gained some support for its cause at the United Nations. During the 1960s, Spain began imposing restrictions on Gibraltar, culminating in the closure of the border in 1969. It was not fully reopened until 1985.

Spain also relinquished its colonies in Africa, with Spanish rule in Morocco ending in 1956. Spanish Guinea was granted independence as Equatorial Guinea in 1968, while the Moroccan enclave of Ifni had been ceded to Morocco in 1969.

The latter years of Franco's rule saw some economic and political liberalisation, the so called Spanish Miracle, including the birth of a tourism industry. Francisco Franco ruled until his death on November 20th 1975 when control was given to King Juan Carlos.

In the last few months before Franco's death, the Spanish state went into a paralysis. This was capitalized upon by King Hassan of Morocco, who ordered the 'Green March' into Western Sahara, Spain's last colonial possession.

Algeria: In section 152, we learn Francisco d'Anconia threw a party at an Algerian desert resort where he gave away an ermine coat to any woman who undressed in step with the melting of ice sculptures.

Andes: Francisco d'Anconia has a villa in the Andes. This is mentioned in section 141. Sebastian d'Anconia's first estate in the New World was a shack in the foothills of the Andes (section 152).

Argentina: Argentina is the home of Francisco d'Anconia and the ancestral home of his family. Sebastian d'Anconia fled to Argentina to escape the Inquisition.

• Argentina is mentioned in sections 132 and 152.

Arizona is mentioned in sections 111, 146 and 171.

Atlantic Ocean: The Atlantic Ocean is mentioned in section 161. It is where Ragnar Danneskjold is active as a pirate.

Bar Harbor: Bar Harbor is a city in Maine that is mentioned in section 161 as a place where Ragnar Danneskjold has been spotted.

Buenos Aries: The home of the d'Anconia estate and the residence of Francisco's Father.

California: Hank Rearden has business concerns on California. In section 121 Lillian Rearden asks Rearden to promise he won't be in California on the night of December 10.

Cheyenne Wyoming: Cheyenne, Wyoming is the northern terminus of the Rio Norte Line.

It is mentioned in sections 111 and 171.

Chicago: Dagny Taggart passes through Chicago while returning from an inspection of the Rio Norte Line in section 112. In section 171 we learn Dagny flew to Chicago to take over Summit Casting which had gone bankrupt before delivering parts needed for the Rio Norte Line.

Chile: Francisco d'Anconia owns extensive mining properties in Chile. Chile is mentioned in section 132.

Cleveland:

• Cleveland is the home of Patrick Henry University.
• Dagny Taggart got off her train at Cleveland while returning from an inspection of the Rio Norte Line in section 112. She phoned Hank Rearden and placed the first order of Rearden Metal.
• McNamara's offices are located in Cleveland.

Colorado: Colorado is the home of Wyatt Oil and the state with the most vigorous economy in the beginning of Atlas Shrugged. It is served by Taggart Transcontinental's collapsing Rio Norte Line. It is also the location of Galt's Gulch.

Colorado is mentioned in sections 111, 114, 145, 146, 147, 148, 161 and 171.

Connecticut: The home of Amalgamated Switch and Signal.

Connecticut is mentioned in section 171.

Delaware Bay: An inlet of the Atlantic Ocean off New Jersey and Delaware - in section 161 it is mentioned as a place where Ragnar Danneskjold has been spotted.

Denver: The home of Barton and Jones.

Mentioned in section 171.

Detroit: Hank Rearden knows a contractor in Detroit who is interested in buying Rearden Metal.

Detroit is mentioned in section 161.

El Paso, Texas: El Paso, Texas is the southern terminus of the Rio Norte Line. Francisco d'Anconia was in El Paso at the time Mrs. Gilbert Vail claimed he was with her in the Andes.

El Paso is mentioned in sections 111 and 152.

England: The People's State of England is mentioned in section 161. Ragnar Danneskjold's ship is said to be better than any in the English navy.

Europe: In Atlas Shrugged, Europe has declined faster than the United States and has become an economic wasteland. For the most part, countries in Europe are mentioned only in the context of a relief ship being sent there, usually one that has been seized by Ragnar Danneskjold.

Europe is mentioned in section 161.

Fifth Avenue: A street in downtown New York. In section 111, Eddie Willers walks down Fifth Avenue on his way to the Taggart Transcontinental building.

France: The People's State of France was to receive a large ship of relief supplies from the United States, but this ship was seized by Ragnar Danneskjold. This is mentioned in section 161.

Hudson River: Dagny Taggart's childhood home was located in the hills overlooking The Hudson River. The home is also said to be five miles from Rockdale, though the actual Rockdale, NY is more like one hundred miles from the Hudson River.

It is mentioned in sections 111, 152 and 175.

Illinois: The home of Summit Casting.

Illinois is mentioned in section 171.

Lake Michigan: Ore is shipped across Lake Michigan. However the ships used to transport it are growing so old that the shipping lanes are dying. Paul Larkin cuts a deal with James Taggart to ship his ore by rail, which drives the Lake Michigan shippers out of existence, and makes Larkin dependent on Taggart.

Louisiana: Eddie Willers finds a wood-burning locomotive in Louisiana which is used to run trains on the San Sebastian Line. This is mentioned in section 132.

Madrid: In section 152 a young Francisco d'Anconia mentions he spent a winter in Madrid with the Duke of Alba.

Maine: Maine is mentioned in passing in section 161. Someone is complaining about the sense of forebodding she has whenever it is dark, as if the daylight will never return. Another woman says her cousin in Maine feels the same way. The conversation then turns to Ragnar Danneskjold, who has been seen off the coast of Maine.

Mexico: Mexico, formally the People\'s State of Mexico, is a poor, corrupt third-world nation. It is the home of the San Sebastian Mines and of Taggart Transcontinental's San Sebastian Line. After millions of investment dollars are poured into these projects, they are nationalized by the Mexican government.

Mexico is mentioned in sections 111, 131, 132, 142, 143, 151 and 152.

Mexico City: Jules Mott is Taggart Transcontinental's representative in Mexico City.

Mexico City is mentioned in sections 142 and 143.

Middle West: Nathaniel Taggart is rumoured to have killed a state legislator from the Middle West. Supposedly the legislator had sold short shares of Taggart's railroad, and was using his power in the state government to drive the railroad into bankruptcy. This is mentioned in section 132.

Minnesota: Minnesota was the location of Hank Rearden's first job, working in the iron mines at age 14. He continues to hold business concerns there. In section 171 Rearden lies to Dagny Taggart about going to Minnesota so he doesn't have to fly with her to New York.

Minnesota is mentioned in sections 121 and 171.

Montana: The location of Francisco d'Anconia's first job with d'Anconia Copper.

It is mentioned in section 152.

Nantucket: Nantucket is an island off the southern coast of Massachusetts, Ragnar Danneskjold has been spotted there.

Nantucket is mentioned in section 161. New Hampshire: New Hampshire is the home of The State Science Institute, a government research institution and the only research facility left in the country.

New Hampshire is mentioned in section 174.

New Jersey: New Jersey is the home of United Locomotive Works.

New Jersey is mentioned in section 141.

New Mexico: New Mexico is a state where the Phoenix-Durango has successfully obtained the freight business that formerly went to the Rio Norte Line. After the passage of the Anti-dog-eat-dog Rule the Phoenix-Durango is forced to abandon operations in New Mexico, as well as in Colorado.

New Mexico is mentioned in sections 111 and 146.

New York: New York is the home of Taggart Transcontinental and the scene of much of the action in Atlas Shrugged. New York is treated as the cultural and intellectual center of the United States.

It appears in sections 111, 113, 114, 141, 152, 161, 162 and 171.

Norway: The People's State of Norway was the home of Ragnar Danneskjold, who can no longer return there because they have put a million-dollar price on his head.

It is mentioned in section 161.

Ohio: In section 112, Dagny Taggart decides to appoint Owen Kellogg as the new head of Taggart Transcontinental's Ohio Division.

Ohio is mentioned in sections 112 and 114.

Pennsylvania: Home of Rearden Steel. A newspaper ridiculed Rearden for starting a steel company, claiming "The historical cycle of steelmaking in Pennsylvania is running down."

Philadelphia: Philadelphia is the home of Hank Rearden and Rearden Steel.

Philadelphia is mentioned in sections 114 and 121.

Portugal: The People's State of Portugal is another country that is offering a reward for the capture of Ragnar Danneskjold.

It is mentioned in section 161.

Redding: In section 121 Philip Rearden mentions visiting Redding. It is not clear which Redding this is, possible Redding, Connecticut.

Rockdale: A town near the Taggart estate in upstate New York. Dagny Taggart had her first position working for Taggart Transcontinental at the Rockdale Station, when she was 16. The Taggart estate overlooks the Hudson River. Rockport, we are told, is five miles from the estate. The actual town of Rockport, New York is more like 100 miles from the Hudson River.

San Francisco: San Francisco is the western terminus of Taggart Transcontinental. It is mentioned in section 111.

Scotland: Scotland is mentioned in section 161. Someone reports that Ragnar Danneskjold's ship had been spotted there.

Spain: Spain is the ancestral home of the d'Anconias. Sebastian d'Anconia fled Spain to escape the Inquisition.

This is mentioned in section 152.

Turkey: The People's State of Turkey is another country that is offering a reward for the capture of Ragnar Danneskjold.

It is mentioned in section 161.

United States: The United States is the setting of Atlas Shrugged. While almost every other nation has become a socialist "People's State", the United States remains the last country with some semblance of a free economy. This is rapidly changing, and the book follows the United States as it gradually beomes a "People's State" itself.

(This point is unconfirmed): In the novel, the United States is not referred to as America.

The United States is mentioned in section 132.

Valparaiso: In section 152 the harbor of Valparaiso is mentioned as a location for one of Francisco d'Anconia's parties. At this party, the guests wore bathing suits, and were showered with champagne throughout the night.

Washington: Washington is the seat of the government of the United States. Throughout Atlas Shrugged it is portrayed as a corrupt center of bureaucratic looters. Many directives that affect the plot are issued from Washington, but little to none of the book's action occurs there.

Washington is mentioned in sections 121, 131, 132, 143 and 161.

Wilmington: In section 121 Philip Rearden mentions visiting Wilmington. Presumably this is Wilmington, Delaware.

Beginning in the 9th century BC, Celts, Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians entered the Iberian Peninsula, followed by the Roman Republic, who arrived in the 2nd century BC. Spain's present language, religion, and laws stem from the Roman period. Conquered by the Visigoths in the 5th century AD and subsequently in 711 by Islamic North African Moors, modern Spain began to take form in the Reconquista, the efforts to drive out the Moors, which lasted until 1492. In 1492 Queen Isabella I of Castile began the Spanish Inquisition, which lasted for more than 300 years. This was also the year in which she gave Christopher Columbus the money for his first trip across the Atlantic to the "New World". By 1512, the unification of present-day Spain was complete. Nevertheless, the project of Castilian monarchs was to unify all Iberia and this aim seemed almost accomplished when Philip II became King of Portugal in 1580, as well as of the other many Iberian Kingdoms (collectively know as "Spain" which was not a unified State then). In 1640, the centralist policy of the Count-Duke of Olivares provoked wars in Portugal and Catalonia: Portugal became an independent kingdom again and Catalonia enjoyed some years of French-supported independence, but was quickly returned to the Spanish Crown.

During the 16th century, Spain became the most powerful nation in Europe, due to the immense wealth derived from the Spanish colonisation of the Americas. But a series of long, costly wars and revolts began a steady decline of Spanish power in Europe. Controversy over succession to the throne consumed the country during the 18th century (see War of Spanish Succession - importantly, it was only after this war that a centralized Spanish state was established), with an occupation by France during the Napoleonic era in the early 1800s, and led to a series of armed conflicts and revolts between Liberals and supporters of the Ancient Regime throughout much of the 19th century; a century that also saw the loss of most of Spain's colonies in the Americas, culminating in the Spanish-American War of 1898.

The 20th century initially brought little peace; colonisation of Western Sahara, Spanish Morocco and Equatorial Guinea was tried as a substitute for the loss of the Americas. A period of dictatorial rule (1923-1931) ended with the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic. Dominated by increasing political polarisation, combined with pressures from all sides, coupled with growing and unchecked violence, led to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in July 1936. Following the victory of his nationalist forces in 1939, General Francisco Franco ruled a nation exhausted politically and economically.

Nevertheless, in the 1960s and 1970s, Spain was gradually transformed into a modern industrial economy with a thriving tourism sector. Upon the death of the dictator General Franco in November 1975, his personally designated heir Prince Juan Carlos assumed the titles of king and head of state. He played a key role in guiding Spain further to a modern democratic state, notably in opposing an attempted coup d'etat in 1981. Spain joined NATO in 1982 and became a member of the European Union in 1986. After the death of Franco, the old historic nationalities - Basque Country, Catalonia and Galicia - were given far-reaching autonomy, which, in due course, was extended to all Spanish regions.

See also: List of Spanish monarchs - Kings of Spain family tree

Spain is a constitutional monarchy, with a hereditary monarch and a bicameral parliament, the Cortes or National Assembly. The executive branch consists of a Council of Minister presided over by the President of Government (comparable to a prime minister), proposed by the monarch and elected by the National Assembly following legislative elections.

The legislative branch is made up of the Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados) with 350 members, elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation to serve four-year terms, and a Senate or Senado with 259 seats of which 208 are directly elected by popular vote and the other 51 appointed by the regional legislatures to also serve four-year terms.

As of 2003, Spain is currently holding talks with the United Kingdom about Gibraltar, a tiny peninsula that changed hands during the War of Spanish Succession in 1713. The discussion has been about "total shared sovereignty" over Gibraltar, subject to a constitutional referendum by Gibraltarians, who have largely expressed opposition to any form of cession to Spain.

Spain is, at present, what is called a State of Autonomies, formally unitary but, in fact, functioning as a Federation of Autonomous Communities, each one with different powers (for instances, some have their own educational and health systems, others do not) and laws. There are some problems with this system, since some autonomous governments (especially those dominated by nationalist parties) are seeking a more federalist kind of relationship with Spain, while the Central Government is trying to restrict what some see as excessive autonomy of some autonomous comunities (ex. Basque Country and Catalonia).

Terrorism is a problem of present-day Spain, since ETA (Basque Homeland and Freedom) is trying to achieve Basque independence through violent means, including bombings and murders. Although Basque Autonomous government does not condone any kind of violence, the different approaches to the problem are a source of tension between Central and Basque governments.

Map of Spain


Spain's autonomous communities

Autonomous communities

• Andalusia (Andalucía)
• Aragon (Aragón)
• Asturias
• Balearic Islands (Islas Baleares / Illes Balears)
• Basque Country (País Vasco / Euskadi)
• Canary Islands (Islas Canarias)
• Cantabria
• Castile-La Mancha (Castilla-La Mancha)
• Castile-Leon (Castilla y León)
• Catalonia (Cataluña / Catalunya)
• Extremadura
• Galicia
• La Rioja
• Madrid
• Murcia
• Navarre (Navarra)
• Valencia (Comunidad Valenciana / Comunitat Valenciana)

There are also five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberanía) on and off the African coast: the cities of Ceuta and Melilla are administered as autonomous cities, an intermediate status between cities and communities; the islands of the Islas Chafarinas, Peñón de Alhucemas, and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera are under direct Spanish administration.

Mainland Spain is dominated by high plateaus and mountain ranges such as the Pyrenees or the Sierra Nevada. Running from these heights are several major rivers such as the Tagus, the Ebro, the Duero, the Guadiana and the Guadalquivir. Alluvial plains are found along the coast, the largest of which is that of the Guadalquivir in Andalusia. Spain is bound to the east by Mediterranean Sea (containing the Balearic Islands), to the north by the Bay of Biscay and to its west by the Atlantic Ocean, where the Canary Islands off the African coast are found.

Spain's climate is mostly temperate and mediterranean; there are clear hot summers in the interior, with more moderate and cloudy conditions along the coast. Winters are cloudy and cold in the interior, with the coastal regions being relatively temperate.

• List of Spanish national parks

Economy

Spain's mixed capitalist economy supports a GDP that on a per capita basis is 80% that of the four leading West European economies. Its center-right government successfully worked to gain admission to the first group of countries launching the European single currency on January 1, 1999. The administration of Jose Maria Aznar has continued to advocate liberalisation, privatisation, and deregulation of the economy and has introduced some tax reforms to that end. Unemployment has been steadily falling under the Aznar administration but remains the highest in the EU at 13%. The government intends to make further progress in changing labour laws and reforming pension schemes, which are key to the sustainability of both Spain's internal economic advances and its competitiveness in a single currency area.

See also: List of Spanish companies

Spain can be said to be composed of many nations but has adopted Castilian culture as the Spanish one, although increasingly recognising other nationalities inside its borders, such as the much older Basque.

Four major languages are spoken in Spain, which are official languages in certain regions:

• Spanish (castellano or español), official language throughout Spain.
• Catalan (català or valencià) in Catalonia (Catalunya), the Balearic Islands (Illes Balears), and parts of Valencian autonomous community (València, where the language is officially called Valencian).
• Basque (euskara) in Basque Country (Euskadi), and parts of Navarre.
• Galician (galego) in Galicia (Galiza).

Spain is a predominantly (94%) Roman Catholic country. The most important minority group in the country are the gipsies.

• Famous Spanish people
• Spanish cuisine
• Spanish football
• Bullfighting
• Music of Spain

International rankings

Miscellaneous topics

• Communications in Spain
• Transportation in Spain
• Military of Spain
• Foreign relations of Spain
• Tourism in Spain
• List of cities in Spain

External links

The leaders of the rebellion were the generals Francisco Franco, Emilio Mola and José Sanjurjo. Sanjurjo was the unquestioned leader of the uprising, but he was killed in a plane crash on July 20 as he was going to Spain to take control of the rebel side. Franco, the overall commander of the Spanish army since 1933 and already a noted pro-Fascist, flew from the Canary Islands to the Spanish colonies in Morocco and took command there. For the remaining three years of the war, Franco was effective commander of all the Nationalists, and he unassumingly arranged events (including assigning missions to political rivals that would likely get them killed) so that at the end of the war there would be no opposition to his rule.

The rebellion was opposed by the government (with the troops that remained loyal), as well as by Socialist, Communist and anarchist groups. The European powers such as Britain and France were officially neutral but still imposed an arms embargo on Spain, and actively discouraged the anti-fascist participation of their citizens. Both fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini and Nazi Germany violated the embargo and sent troops and weapons to support Franco. In addition, there were a few volunteer troops from other nations who fought with the Nationalists, such as Francis O'Duffy of Ireland.

The Republicans received limited support from the Soviet Union as well as from individual idealistic volunteers from many countries, collectively known as the International Brigade. American volunteers formed the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and Canadians formed the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion (the "Mac-Paps"). Among the more famous foreigners participating in the efforts against the fascists were Ernest Hemingway and George Orwell, who went on to write about his experiences in Homage to Catalonia. Hemingway's novel For Whom the Bell Tolls was inspired by his experiences in Spain. Norman Bethune used the opportunity to develop the special skills of battlefield medicine. As a casual visitor Errol Flynn used a fake report of his death at the battlefront to promote his movies.

However, though the Nationalists were receiving overt aid in the form of arms and troops from Germany and Italy, the Republicans received no aid from any major world powers (e.g. Britain or France or the United States). Many of these powers were still practising a policy of appeasement towards Fascist regimes, or they viewed social revolutionary elements within the anti-fascist forces with distaste, or they believed that the Republicans were Communists.

Germany used the war as a testing ground for faster tanks and aircraft that were just becoming available at the time. The Messerschmidt Me-109 fighter and Junkers Ju 52 transport/bomber were both used in the Spanish Civil War. In addition, the Soviet I-15 fighter and I-16 fighters were used. The Spanish Civil War was also an example of total war, where the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica by the Luftwaffe foreshadowed episodes of World War II such as the bombing campaign on Britain by the Nazis and the bombing of Dresden by the Allies.

Axis help paid off for Franco from the very beginning. His Nationalist forces won another great victory on September 27, when the city of Toledo was captured. (A Nationalist garrison under Colonel Moscardo had held the Alcazar in the center of the city since the beginning of the rebellion). Two days later, Franco proclaimed himself Generalísimo and Caudillo (head of state) while unifying the various Falangist and Royalist elements of the Nationalist cause in one movement. In October, the Nationalists launched a major offensive toward Madrid, but increasing resistance by the government and the arrival of "volunteers" from the Soviet Union halted the advance by November 8. In the meantime, the government shifted from Madrid to Valencia, out of the combat zone, on November 6.

On November 18, Germany and Italy officially recognized the Franco regime, and on December 23, Italy sent "volunteers" of its own to fight for the Nationalists.

In May, the government made a move to recapture Segovia, forcing Franco to pull troops away from the Madrid front to halt their advance. Mola, Franco's second-in-command, was killed on June 3, and in early July, the government actually launched a strong counter-offensive in the Madrid area, which the Nationalists repulsed with some difficulty.

After that, Franco regained the initiative, invading Aragon in August and taking the cities of Santander and Gijón. On August 28, the Vatican recognized Franco under pressure from Mussolini, and at the end of November, with the Nationalists closing in on Valencia, the government moved again, to Barcelona.

The government now launched an all-out campaing to reconnect their territory in the Battle of the Ebro, beginning on July 24 and lasting until November 26. Their failure all but determined the final outcome of the war. Eight days before the new year, Franco struck back by throwing massive forces into an invasion of Catalonia.

On February 27, the governments of Great Britain and France reluctantly recognized the Franco regime.

Only Madrid and a few other strongholds remained for the government forces. On March 28, with the help of pro-Franco forces inside the city (the infamous "fifth column" General Mola had mentioned in propaganda broadcasts in 1936), Madrid fell to the Nationalists. The next day, Valencia, which had held out under the guns of the Nationalists for close to two years, also surrendered. Victory was proclaimed on April 1, when the last of the Republican forces surrendered.

See also: Guernica, History of Spain, History, Military history, War

The Treaty of Tordesillas was an attempt to solve the disputes with the Portuguese colonizers. It split the mostly unknown New World into two spheres of influence; however, when it was fully charted almost all the land fell in the Spanish sphere.

It was 1517 before another expedition from Cuba visited Central America landing on the coast of the Yucatán in search of slaves. This was followed by a phase of conquest: The Spaniards (just having finished a war against the Muslims in the Iberian peninsula) replaced the Amerindian local oligarchies and imposed a new religion: Christianity. (See also: Conquistador, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, Hernán Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, Bartolomé de las Casas, Spanish Conquest of Yucatan)

The initial years saw a struggle between the Conquistadores and the royal authority. The Conquistadores were often poor nobles that wanted to acquire the land and labourers (Encomienda) that they couldn't achieve in Europe. Rebellions were frequent (See Lope de Aguirre).

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Cuba
• Hispaniola, the modern Dominican Republic and Haiti
• Jamaica
• Puerto Rico

South America

• Argentina - Buenos Aires was settled in 1580; independence was formally declared in 1816.
• Bolivia - La Paz founded in 1548. Independent in 1825.
• Chile - In 1541, the Spanish conquered the Incas. Chile won its independence from Spain in 1818
• Colombia - In 1510 Spaniards founded Darien, the first permanent European settlement on the mainland of the Americas. In 1538 they established the colony of New Granada. Independence in 1824.
• Ecuador - Conquistador Francisco Pizarro conquered the land in 1532; left Spain in 1809 to form Greater Columbia.
• Paraguay - Asuncion, Paraguay was founded in 1537. Independent from 1811.
• Peru - Conquered from the Incas in 1531. Independent in 1821.
• Uruguay - Taken by Spain from Portugal in 1778. Part of Brazil from 1821-1828. Independence in 1828.
• Venezuela - Caracas was founded in 1567. Independent in 1821.

Central America

• Costa Rica
• El Salvador
• Guatemala - Settled by Spanish in 1523,
• Honduras
• Nicaragua - Founded in 1524 by Hernandez de Cordoba

• Panama - As part of Columbia, independent in 1819.

North America

• Mexico
• Florida including parts of modern Alabama and Mississippi
• California and New Mexico - In the west the extent of Spanish colonies was formally set in 1819 by the Adam-Onis Treaty to replace nebulous boundaries. Most of the interior was not permanently inhabited by Spain. This included all or some part of the modern U.S. states of: California, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Oklahoma, Kansas, Wyoming.
• Louisiana territory - Spain controlled this territory from 1762-1803. Most of the north and interior was not inhabited by Spain. French settlers made up most of the inhabitants and new immigrants. This included land in the present U.S. states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Idaho, and Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

New World Trade

Soon the exclusive of commerce between Europe and America was conceded to Seville (later to Cádiz).

Mexico served as a base for the later colonization of the Philippines (see Galeón de Manila)

In 1781, a Spanish expedition during the American Revolutionary War left St. Louis, Missouri, then under Spanish control and reached as far as Fort St. Joseph at Niles, Michigan where the captured the fort while the British were away. Spanish territorial claims based on this furthest north penetration of Spain in North America were not supported at the treaty negotiations.

In 1898, the United States won the Spanish-American War and occupied Cuba and Puerto Rico, ending Spanish occupation in the Americas.

Still, the early 20th century saw a stream of immigration of poor people and political exiles from Spain to the former colonies, especially Cuba, Mexico and Argentina. After the 1970s, the flow was inverted.

In the 1990s, Spanish companies like Repsol and Telefonica invested in South America, often buying privatized companies.

Currently, the Iberoamerican countries and Spain and Portugal have organized themselves as the Comunidad Iberoamericana de Naciones.

By the 16th century the consonantal system of Castilian Spanish underwent the following important changes that differentiated it from some neighbouring Romance languages, such as Portuguese and Catalan):

• The initial /f/, that had evolved into a vacillating /h/, was lost in most words (although this etymological h- has been preserved in spelling)
• The voiced labiodental fricative /v/ (that was written 'u' or 'v') merged with the bilabial oclusive /b/ (written 'b'). Contemporary Spanish written 'b,v' do not correspond to different phonemes.
• The voiced alveolar fricative /z/ (that was written 's' between vowels) merged with the voiceless /s/ (that was written 's', or 'ss' between vowels), now written 's' everywhere.
• Voiced alveolar affricate /dz/ (that was written 'z') merged with the voiceless /ts/ (that was written 'ç,ce,ci'), and then /ts/ evolved into the interdental /T/, now written 'z,ce,ci'. But in Andalucia, the Canary Islands and the Americas these sounds merged with /s/ as well. Notice that the 'ç' or 'cedilla' was in its origin a Spanish letter.
• The voiced postalveolar fricative /Z/ (that was written 'j,ge,gi') merged with the voiceless /S/ (that was written 'x', as in 'Quixote'), and then /S/ evolved by the 17th century into the modern velar sound /x/, now written 'j,ge,gi'.

The language was brought to the Americas and Philippines, by the Spanish colonization since 16th century. It was used there by the Creole and Mestizo descendants of the Spaniards. The Catholic church preached the Amerindians in local languages like Quechua, Nahuatl or Guarani rather than Spanish, to protect them from the "sinful" influence of the colonizers. After the independence processes, the new ruling elites extended Spanish to the whole population to strengthen the national unity.

In the 20th century, English was declared the official language in Philippines after the Philippine-American War, but Spanish was introduced in Equatorial Guinea and Western Sahara.

Spanish is also spoken in Andorra, Belize, Canada, Gibraltar, Israel, Morocco, Netherlands Antilles, Philippines, United States of America, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey and Western Sahara.

There are important variations in dialect among the various regions of Spain and Spanish America. In Spain the North Castilian dialect pronunciation is commonly taken as the national standard (although the characteristic weak pronouns usage or laismo of this dialect is deprecated).

In the Americas, the first Spaniards to settle brought some of their regionalisms with them. Today you can find distinct accents in different nations of Spanish speaking America. Typical of Latin America is seseo. The European Castilian phoneme /T/ (interdental voiceless fricative, SAMPA phonetic scheme used) (as in ciento, caza) does not exist in American Castilian, it fell together with /s/ (as in siento, casa).

Traditionally Spanish had a phoneme /L/, a palatal lateral, written ll. It was lost in most of the Americas (with the exception of bilingual areas of Quechua and other indigenous languages that have this sound in their inventories), but now it is also being lost in Spain (also with the exception of bilingual areas of Catalan and other languages that have preserved this sound in their inventories). Now this phoneme is merged with /j\\/ in most of the Spanish speaking areas. This phenomenon is called yeismo. In Argentina, /j\\/ and /L/ are generally pronounced as /Z/ (palatal voiced fricative) as in French 'jour'. This phenomenon is called žeismo.

The different dialects and accents do not severly block cross-understanding among the educated. The basilects have diverged more. As an example, early sound films, were dubbed for one version for the whole Spanish market. (Disney Pictures used educated Puerto-Rican speakers). Currently, non-Spanish (usually Hollywood) productions are dubbed separately into each of the major accents, but productions from another Spanish-language country are never dubbed. The popularity of telenovelas and Latin American music familiarize the speakers with other varieties of Spanish.

Many people think that Spanish is regulated by the RAE (Real Academia Española). Actually, languages cannot be regulated, but RAE, in association with twenty-one other national language academies, exercises a conservative influence through its publication of dictionaries and widely respected grammar guides and style guides.

1. yo estaba hablando (present participle)
2. yo he hablado (past participle)

The subjunctive mood is more widely and intentionally used in Spanish compared to other languages like English. Its three tenses are:

• presente de subjuntivo (present)
• subjuntivo pasado/imperfecto (imperfect), and the largely unused
• futuro (future).

Gender

Nouns can be grouped in the following categories:

1. Applied to persons and animals whose sex is known
   1. Declinable nouns: add "a" or replace final vowel by "a" to the masculine (or inclusive) to form the feminine (or exclusive). Examples: el profesor/la profesora, el niño/la niña, el perro/la perra.
   2. Invariant nouns (in Spanish "sustantivos de género común"): el artista/la artista, el testigo/la testigo.
   3. Nouns with gramatical gender, but that apply to both sexes: el personaje, la visita.
2. Applied to animals. In addition to declinable nouns we have epicene nouns: gender is fixed and sex is indicated by "macho" (male) or "hembra" (female). Examples: la jirafa macho, la jirafa hembra, el rinoceronte macho, el rinoceronte hembra.
3. Applied to things
   1. Masculine or inclusive: el pan.
   2. Feminine or exclusive: la leche.
   3. Vacillant (called "sustantivos ambiguos" in Spanish). El azúcar/la azúcar, el esperma/la esperma.
   4. In some cases the same word can take two genders. In that case it is better to say that we have two words. El capital = funds, la capital = important city.

Number

• The inclusive (or masculine) gender includes both sexes: los niños = the children
• The feminine gender is exclusive: las niñas = the girls

Written Spanish precedes exclamatory and interrogative clauses with inverted question and exclamation marks, examples: ¿Qué dices? (What do you mean?) ¡No es verdad! (That's not true!). It is one of the few languages whose written form does so.

Written Spanish also marks unequivocally stress though a series of othographic rules.

Spanish is nicknamed la lengua de Cervantes (the language of Cervantes, the author of the Quixote).

• Spanish: castellano /kaste'Lano/ (kass-ta-LYA-naw); español /espa'Jol/ (ess-pahn-YOHL)
• hello: hola /'ola/ (OH-la)
• good-bye: adiós [a'Djos] (ah-THYOHS)
• please: por favor [por fa'Bor] (pour fah-VOAR)
• thank you: gracias /'graTjas/ (GRAHSS-yahss)
• sorry: perdon [per'Don]
• that one: ése /'ese/ (EH-seh) (masculine); ésa /'esa/ (EH-sah) (feminine)
• how much?: cuánto /'kwanto/ (KWAHN-taw)
• English: inglés [iN'gles] (ing-GLESS)
• yes: sí /'si/ (see)
• no: no /'no/ (no)
• I don't understand: No comprendo [nokom'prendo]
• where's the bathroom?: ¿Donde está el baño? ['dondes'tael'BaJo] (DON day esTAH el BA-nyaw)
• generic toast: salud [sa'luD] (sah-LOOTHE)
• Do you speak English?: ¿Habla usted inglés? ['aBlaws'teDiN'gles] (AH blah OOS ted ing-GLESS)

See also:

• Spanish in the United States
• Spanish proverbs
• Spanish language poets
• Common phrases in different languages
• Papiamento, Chabacano, Spanglish
• Rock en español

External links