Ancient Spain
900 BC The Phoenicians trade with Spain
227 BC The Carthaginians from North Africa found Cartagena
218 BC The Romans send an army to Spain and they gradually drive out the Carthaginians
197 BC The Romans divide the Iberian Peninsula into 2 areas, Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior
171-73 AD People from North Africa raid Spain
409 AD Alans, Sueves, and Vandals invade Spain
456 The Visigoths conquer Spain
Medieval Spain
587 King Reccared becomes a Catholic
560-636 The great scholar Isidore of Seville lives
654 King Recceswinth makes a code of laws
711 The Moors invade Spain
10th-11th centuries The kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, and Navarre emerge
1085 The Castilians capture Toledo
1212The combined armies of Aragon, Castile and Navarre win a victory at Las Navas de Tolosa
1250 Only Granada is still in Muslim hands
1340 The Christians win the Battle of Salado
1343 The Aragonese capture the Balearic Islands
1348 The Black Death reaches Spain
1469 Ferdinand heir of Aragon marries Isabel heir of Castile
1492 Ferdinand and Isabel capture Granada. All Jews are ordered to convert to Christianity or leave.
Renaissance Spain
1516 Charles V becomes king of Spain
1580 Spain annexes Portugal
1587-1604 England fights Spain
1609 Moriscos (Muslims who had converted to Christianity) are expelled from Spain
1640 The Portuguese rebel against Spanish rule
1659 Spain is forced to cede territory to France
1704 The British capture Gibraltar
1708-11 Spain suffers poor harvests
1763-66 Spain has poor harvests again. Nevertheless, agriculture is expanding so is the population and trade, and commerce.
1767 The Jesuits are expelled from Spain
19th Century Spain
1808 Napoleon forces the Spanish king to abdicate and he makes his own brother king of Spain. The Spaniards refuse to accept him so the French send an army. The Spanish begin a guerrilla war.
1813 The French are driven out of Spain
1820 The Spanish rebel
1823 The French army restores Ferdinand to absolute power
1833-39 Civil War in Spain
1834 The Spanish Inquisition is finally abolished
1848 The first railway is built in Spain
1868 A rebellion takes place against Queen Isabella
1876 Spain gets a new constitution
1880-82 Famine in southern Spain
1892 All men are given the vote
1898 Spain loses a war with the USA
20th Century Spain
1909 Riots take place in Catalonia
1917 A General Strike is held in Spain
1923 General Primo de Rivera stages a coup
1930 de Riviera resigns
1931 Spain gains a new constitution
1933 An uprising takes place in Asturias
1936 In February the left wing wins an election
1936 In July the Spanish Civil War begins. On 1 October General Franco becomes the leader of the Nationalist army.
1937 The Nationalists capture Bilbao
1939 The Nationalists capture Barcelona and Madrid.
1953 Franco signs a treaty with the USA
1955 Spain joins the UN
1975 Franco dies
1977 Elections are held
1981 Army officers attempt a coup in Spain
1999 Spain joins the Euro
