Spain XV century. Report: Medieval Spain. Under Roman rule

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2. Arab rule

5. Impact on culture

Conclusion

Bibliography

reconquista war spanish arabic

Introduction

In the VIII century, the territory of modern Spain was captured by the Arabs, who occupied the entire Iberian Peninsula almost unhindered, except for the implacable Asturias. From the moment King Rodrigo fell under the Damascus blade, and before the Catholic sovereigns Ferdinand and Isabella hoisted the cross over Granada, eight centuries passed. This eight-hundred-year-old expulsion of the Arabs from the Iberian Peninsula is called in history the Reconquista - the Reconquest.

1. The conquest of the Spanish lands

The time of the Spanish Middle Ages was a cruel era of almost continuous reconquista wars, bloody civil strife, and peasant uprisings. The reverse reconquest of the lands occupied by Muslims, begun in the 8th century by the Visigothic-Roman population of Spain, was called the “reconquista”. Almost eight hundred years of struggle with the Moors was not only a chain of military campaigns, but also a broad colonization movement associated with the consolidation and economic development of the conquered territories. This complex, contradictory, not yet fully studied process determined the features of the development of feudalism in the Iberian Peninsula, influenced the way of life of the people, and contributed to the growth of national self-consciousness. Fierce battles, the atmosphere of military tension in which Spanish society developed, did not prevent intensive communication with the conquerors in the field of economy and culture.

Special population groups arose: Mozarabs (Arabized Spaniards), that is, Christians who lived in the territory occupied by the Moors and retained their religion, laws and customs; on the other hand, Mudejars (those who received permission to stay), that is, Muslims who submitted to Christians, but also followed their religion and customs. A significant group of the population in Christian and Muslim cities were Jews. The peoples of the Iberian Peninsula were involved in the orbit of high Arab culture, many of whose features were then perceived by the Spanish society. This impact was more direct in areas not openly associated with religious beliefs: in architecture, music, dance, ornamentation, costumes, some household skills, technology, medicine, astronomy.

Back in the 10th century, Arab Spain became the cultural center not only of the Muslim world, but also of Europe. Huge successes were achieved in the field of philosophy, medicine, poetry, music, architecture, and applied arts. And in subsequent centuries, Mauritanian Spain remained the main center for the dissemination in Europe of the great works of ancient and Arabic philosophical thought, one of those bridges that connected the spiritual life of East and West.

The centuries-old reconquest consolidated the fragmentation of the country with a clear localization of historical regions. In the XIII century, called by Spanish historiography the era of great conquests, the decisive role belonged to Castile, occupying the desert plateau of Central Meseta; The Kingdom of Aragon included Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands from the 12th century. Even within this association, all parts were different: the harsh mountainous Aragon, with its persistent feudal institutions and archaic traditions, and the prosperous coastal regions of Catalonia and Valencia, the advanced Mediterranean trading centers facing the Languedoc and Italy. In the southern part of the peninsula, in Andalusia, open, as it were, with its facade to Africa, the Moorish artistic civilization dominated. Its last stronghold was the Emirate of Granada.

By the time the Arabs invaded the peninsula, no concept of "Spain" existed. Here at that time the kingdom of the Visigoths was located. Back in the 4th century, the Visigoths adopted Christianity, though not canonical, but of the Arian persuasion, where the human nature of Christ came to the fore. The last ruler of this mysterious people was the ill-fated King Rodrigo.

Old Spanish romances brought to us a dramatic story of love and betrayal, as a result of which the Visigothic kingdom fell and Spain was dominated by the Arabs for eight centuries. This happened, of course, because of a woman who, as sung in folk Spanish romances, was called La Cava. She was the daughter of the ruler of Ceuta, the powerful Count Julian. The Visigoth king Rodrigo fell in love with her.

Burning with passion, Rodrigo lost his head so much that he committed a very unroyal act: having lured the beauty into a trap, he took her by force. Sobbing bitterly, La Cava told her father about everything, and he swore revenge on Rodrigo. At night, he secretly opened the gates of the guard fortress on Gibraltar to the Arabs, and their army poured into Spain. Rodrigo fell in the first battle. Chronicles tell about what happened in a slightly different way. It is known that the unlucky King Rodrigo ruled for only a year: from 710 to 711. Before him, the king of the Visigoths was a certain Vitsa, who before his death bequeathed the kingdom to his son Agila, unloved by the Visigothic nobility. Dissatisfied feudal lords rebelled and proclaimed Rodrigo king. The country actually started a civil war. This is where the Arabs come on stage, who have long encroached on the fertile lands of Andalusia. The Arab caliphate centered in Damascus was powerful. They were ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, which increasingly expanded its possessions. By the beginning of the 8th century, the Arabs had conquered all of northwestern Africa, the indigenous population of which was made up of the warlike tribes of the Berbers. It was with the Arab and Berber commanders that the supporter of the Crown Prince of Agila, Don Julian, commandant of the fortress of Ceuta, which actually controlled the strait, which is now called Gibraltar, entered into an agreement. Then no one imagined that the consequences of a simple military agreement would be so catastrophic. The allies were asked to defeat the army of Rodrigo, and as a reward to receive the treasury of the city of Toledo.

In the spring of 711, a seven thousandth Arab army under the command of Tariq entered the European continent. It crossed on ships provided by Julian, since the Arabs did not have their own fleet at that time. The rock on which Tarik landed was given his name: Gibraltar means "mountain of Tarik"... But then something incomprehensible happened: Agila suddenly offered Rodrigo to join forces in the fight against a common enemy. Having moved the army to the south to help the royal army, Aguila himself evaded command and for some reason preferred to stay in the north.

Between July 19 and 26, 711, a battle took place, the battle of Guadaleta. Rodrigo was completely defeated. The flanks of his troops were led by the brothers of the late King Vitica - Agila's uncles. Onito did not survive the blow. Rodrigo was killed, according to some sources, in this battle, according to others - in the next.

Meanwhile, the Arabs on light horses, and mostly on mules, fulfilling the terms of the allied treaty, moved by a direct road to Toledo. From 711 to 718 they occupied almost all of Spain. Sometimes Christian uprisings broke out. Refugees brought sad news to the Pope: Christianity in the Iberian Peninsula has come to an end.

How did a Christian state in a few years almost completely come under the rule of Muslims, and how many of its inhabitants changed their religion without much hesitation.

The caliphs of the Umayyad dynasty were far from Islamic fanaticism. By the time of the capture of Spain, Islam was a very young religion - not even a century had passed since the death of the prophet Mohammed. Lovers of the joys of life, patrons of free secular poetry and various sciences, the Umayyads were not aggressive towards the peoples of the occupied territories. They did not seek to forcefully convert the inhabitants of the conquered lands into Muslims.

A few decades after the conquest of Spain, the Umayyad dynasty fell. It was replaced by the Abbasid dynasty. The capital of the Caliphate was moved from Damascus to Baghdad. The surviving Umayyad Abdarrahman I took possession of Cordoba and in 756 proclaimed himself the ruler of an independent Cordoba emirate.

In foreign policy, the Arabs of that era were not inclined to bloodshed in the occupied lands: it all came down to more or less regular fleecing. The inhabitants were taxed, which, in essence, was the main economic goal of the Arab military campaigns. The Islamic poll tax turned out to be much easier than the Visigoth nobility charged from the local population. Women, children and other socially unprotected elements were automatically exempted from the tax. And most importantly, all those who converted to Islam were equal in rights with the winners and did not pay any tribute. In addition, the commandments of Mohammed, in the opinion of the Romanesque and Visigothic natives, differed little from the commandments of Christ.

However, one small area in the north remained unconquered - it was Asturias.

Vascons are another people in the territory of modern Spain, which did not succumb to the victorious Muslim conquest. The Vascons were the ancestors of the Basques, semi-wild inhabitants of the Pyrenees.

2. Arab rule

At that time, Spain, conquered by the Arabs, was called Al-Andalus or Andalusia. The capital of Andalusia was Cordoba. It was ruled by an emir, subordinate to the caliph in Damascus.

The local chiefs wanted to secede from Córdoba and become independent emirs in Toledo or Zaragoza. Christian uprisings, and then there is the difficult international situation: either the Vikings attack Seville from the sea, or the Franks attack the Pyrenees.

After the terrible devastation of Seville by the Vikings in 845, the Emir of Cordoba Abdarrahman II decided: to build a fleet capable of protecting Andalusia from attacks from the sea. Soon the Arab fleet of Spain became one of the strongest in Europe. Alas, for many centuries it gave rise to a new scourge of the Christian world - Saracen piracy. Arabs everywhere made Christian captives into galley slaves for life. Later, during the Reconquista, the wealthy Christian monasteries took upon themselves the task of ransoming the unfortunate. Until now, passing by the Toledo Cathedral of San Juan de los Reyes, one can see garlands of rusty shackles on its walls. Each such chain testifies to the rescued prisoner.

Another threat to the Arabs was the heterogeneity of the Arabs themselves, the secret and overt confrontation between the Syrians, Yemenis, and Berbers. The emir of Cordoba managed to sit in his place for a short time. All that was heard was: the emir was recalled, removed, executed, expelled, killed right in the mosque ... Naturally, the emir's special anger was caused by the association of his own, Muslim, conspirators with Christians. Here everyone was punished indiscriminately.

One of these punitive expeditions was the campaign of Arab troops on the territory of modern France. The operation, initially directed against the Duke of Aquitaine, who had guilty before the emir, was distinguished by hitherto unprecedented cruelty. The Arab army advanced along the route of Zaragoza - Pamplona - Ronceval - Bordeaux - Poitiers - Tours.

Villages and cities were on fire. Murder, looting and all sorts of outrages have become commonplace. The emir's army was almost near Paris. The next acquisition of the caliph in Damascus could be France.

And then the Frankish commander Karl Martel appears. In 732, a grandiose battle took place near Poitiers, a real battle of peoples, where the emir's troops were defeated and driven back by the Franks, and the emir himself was killed. And although the Arabs more than once made campaigns against the Christians, they never managed to advance so far into Europe, and even more so to gain a foothold there for a long time.

In 736, the rebellious Basques expelled the Arabs from Pamplona for a while. In 750, the Christian king Alfonso I, as a result of a series of victories, recaptures all of Galicia. Sixteen years later, the Christians successfully repulse the raid of the Muslim cavalry near Alava.

But the year 778 unexpectedly showed how difficult the situation in the Pyrenees was and how legendary the battle of Ronceval was. The French epic, created in the 11th-12th centuries, tells about the campaign of the Frankish emperor Charlemagne against the Spanish Moors, about the heroic death of Charles's nephew, the noble Count Roland, in the Ronceval Gorge of the Pyrenees, and about the terrible revenge of Charles on the insidious Saracens for his death. The events described are most directly related to the Reconquista: Christians are trying to oust Muslims from European territory. The heroic epic presents us with a bloody conflict of two religions, two worldviews and, ultimately, the same clash of East and West.

The governor of Zaragoza, the Arab Suleiman ibn Arabi, appeared in 777 with an embassy to the king of the Franks Charles. Suleiman asked Charles for help in the fight against the Cordoba emir Abdarrahman I. The Zaragoza governor swore by Allah that, as a reward for support, the gates of Zaragoza would be opened without a fight - you just need to immediately set out on a campaign. Karl moved south.

Overgrown with dense forest, the pass in the Pyrenees and the Ronceval Gorge paladins of the king passed safely - the mountain spurs were deserted. Only in Pamplona did Charles' soldiers meet people. They were half-wild Basques, silently watching the foreign army. The gates of Zaragoza were closed. The embarrassed Suleiman continued to swear that they would certainly be opened, it was only necessary to besiege the city and wait until it ran out of food and water. Days passed after days, but Zaragoza did not give up. Finally, intelligence reported to Charles that the Emir of Cordoba had sent a large army to Zaragoza.

Karl ordered Suleiman to be seized and put in chains, and his sons to be sent as hostages with a convoy to France. After which he turned his army around and rushed back to the Pyrenees. The French warriors had already set foot on the green hills of Gascony, but the lagging convoy, commanded by the king's beloved nephew, Roland, was still missing. A day later, worried Karl ordered to turn the horses. In the Ronceval Gorge, called the “valley of death” by the chroniclers, a terrible sight opened up to the French. Empty overturned wagons, horses dying under the rubble of rocks and piles of dead bodies, mutilated and naked. Among them was found the body of Count Roland. It was evident that he and his companions repulsed the attack to the last, back to back. Nearby lay Roland's richly ornamented horn, covered in blood, which he was supposed to blow in case of danger. The robbers, who took away everything, for some unknown reason, did not touch him. And the sons of Suleiman were not found among the dead.

3. The height and end of the reconquista

XIII and XIV centuries - the height of the Reconquista. The Christian population of the Iberian Peninsula is increasingly aware of themselves as Spaniards, Catholics and loyal subjects of kings. It can be said that during this period the conquest becomes a conscious, purposeful movement, the task of which is the final expulsion of Muslims from Europe. Orders of chivalry begin to play a significant role in the defense of the recently conquered areas.

The events of that era include many feats, betrayals, betrayals, manifestations of extreme cruelty and fanaticism, all of which left their bloody mark on the history of the Reconquista.

In 1292, for six months, the Spaniards besieged the fortress of Tarifa on the Mediterranean Sea. In the end, the starving Arabs were forced to surrender. The knight Alonso Perez Guzman, nicknamed the Good - El Bueno, volunteered to defend the fortress in the event of new attacks. His name thundered throughout Spain, but for this he paid a truly exorbitant price.

In 1340, the Tarifa fortress was again besieged. This time from the side of the Moroccans. On October 30, Christian troops met with the enemy on the Rio Salado (Salt River). Here one of the largest battles of the Reconquista took place, in which the Moors were completely defeated.

On August 21, 1415, the Portuguese troops took Ceuta almost without a fight - the very fortress from which the capture of the Iberian Peninsula began seven hundred years ago. And in 1487 it was the turn of Malaga.

Rome, meanwhile, requires the Christian rulers of Spain to take tougher measures against the infidels in the newly conquered territories. But the Spanish sovereigns hesitate - it simply seems unnatural to them to oppress a good half of their subjects. But everything changes with the accession of Fernando of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, who went down in history under the name of the Catholic kings. Their marriage in 1469 united the two largest kingdoms of Christian Spain. Since that time, the Spanish kings have finally ceased to be "kings of the three religions." From now on, they represent only one faith and are completely subject to Rome.

In 1487 King Fernando besieges Malaga. The siege and capture of this great port is an endless series of daring sorties, heroic attacks and equally daring resistance.

Unexpected military and economic assistance to the Christians was provided by the Emir of Granada, Boabdil, who hoped in this way to secure himself in the future. But -- he didn't know the Catholic kings well.

Four years after the fall of Malaga, this couple, in which the leading role belonged to Isabella, began to prepare for a campaign against the last stronghold of Islam - Granada. The preparation took the whole of 1491. The Emirate of Granada, which found itself in a hostile ring of Christians, was doomed. Christian rulers borrowed money for the military campaign from terrified Jews, taxing the synagogues with excessive taxes, or even simply robbing them to the skin. In 1491, a protracted siege began, during which Queen Isabella shared with the soldiers all the hardships of camp life. Her appearance on horseback under the walls of the besieged city caused screams of delight. The queen vowed not to change her shirt until the Castilian flag was raised over Granada. Days passed, and the snow-white royal shirt gradually acquiring a grayish-yellow color. In January 1492, Boabdil, the last emir of Granada, left the Alhambra weeping. He left through an inconspicuous door in the back wall of the fortress. This door can still be seen today. It has been locked since the moment the inconsolable emir stepped over its threshold.

From the heroic Mount Tariq on Gibraltar to the mournful Sigh of the Moor near Granada, the circle is complete. An era has ended.

To the stampede of the Moors and Jews, to whom the Catholic kings set a strict condition: to leave the country within three months. The Jews, by the way, were expelled somehow at the same time, having fallen under a hot hand. The first wave of exiles was followed by a second, a third: Moriscos, Mudejars, crosses - all those without whom Andalusia was orphaned. At the same time, “brilliant poetry, astronomy, architecture, which had no equal in Europe, were doomed to death,” Federico Garcia Lorca would say several centuries later. Ahead of the country were the Inquisition and an unprecedented scale of mass repressions. In the significant year of the capture of Granada, along with the end of the Reconquista, the formation of the Spanish people and the Castilian language was completed: 1492 was also the year the first Spanish grammar was published. The country is finally united. America was discovered, since Columbus nevertheless set off on his great voyage from the provincial port of Palos, recruiting a team of prisons. Ahead were colonial gold and the Spanish Golden Age...

4. Influence of the Reconquista on the Unification of the People

In the first centuries of the Reconquista, the Spanish people as such did not yet exist. It was an Ibero-Romano-Gothic population. As a people endowed with unique national characteristics, the Spaniards were formed precisely in the process of the Reconquista. The fight against a common enemy tempered and rallied them, left its mark on the type of character. Almost all travelers in Spain noted the freedom of the Spaniards from class prejudices. In general, the distinction between peasants, artisans and knights was not as obvious in Spain as in other countries of medieval Europe. The reasons should be sought precisely in the times of the Reconquista, when all sectors of society fought with the Muslims on an equal footing, and the cities and peasant communities that found themselves on the border and were forced to protect this border received special rights and freedoms enshrined in the codes of laws - fueros. Freed from feudal dependence, the peasants formed independent unions - begetries. The free and rebellious spirit of Begetria laid the foundations of an independent folk character.

For unification, a certain common banner, a single shrine, was needed. That is why it is so important in the history of the Reconquista that the discovery in the 9th century of the relics of St. James - Santiago, in Galicia, in the town of Compostela. Saint James becomes the banner of the Reconquista. The peaceful apostle receives the nickname "Santiago Matamoros", that is, "Santiago the Slayer of the Moors." He is still considered the heavenly patron of Spain.

Santiago de Compostela was raided. The Arabs destroyed the church dedicated to Santiago, but they did not desecrate the tomb itself, they did not even touch the monk who guarded it. The attackers treated the Christian shrine with respect. True, the bells were removed from the bell tower and taken on the shoulders of Christian slaves to Cordoba to be melted down into the lamps of the famous mosque. When, on June 29, 1236, King Fernando III of Castile finally took Cordoba, the lamps cast from the bells were sent back to Santiago - already on the shoulders of Muslim slaves.

To this day, the pilgrimage route from France runs to Santiago de Compostela. The first pilgrims walked along it, leaning on a staff and singing songs about the death of the brave Count Roland.

Another banner of the Reconquista was Sid the Warrior, who led the fight against the Moors in the 11th century. Ruy Dias de Bivar, or Cid Campeador, the hero of the Spanish epic Song of Cid, is a real person. With his exploits in the war against the Muslims, he glorified the Spanish weapons. Both epic and folk romances pay tribute to him, describing him as a man of honor, a fighter for justice, an invincible warrior-hero. The real Sid was not such a model of virtue as the storytellers imagine him to be. Defending Christianity, he nevertheless willingly served both the Spanish kings and the Muslim emirs. However, the growing self-consciousness of the people, increasingly feeling like a single nation, simply needed a hero-symbol, a vivid example to follow.

5. Impact on culture

It would be a profound mistake to believe that war and enmity are the only condition for the coexistence of peoples on the Iberian Peninsula in the Middle Ages. Here, in spite of everything, during the stay of the Arabs, an extremely harmonious way of life developed, the richest Andalusian culture was born.

Almost the entire population was bilingual: they spoke the language of El Romanse and colloquial Arabic. Many knew classical Arabic, Latin, Hebrew. Arabs, Jews, Spaniards freely communicated, traded, entered into marriage alliances. This went on for centuries, almost until the very end of the Reconquista. In this Spain, it would be absurd to talk about purity of blood and show religious intolerance.

In addition to Christians, Muslims and Jews, the Muwallads lived here - Christian Spaniards who converted to Islam. Mozarabs are Christian Spaniards living in the Arab Emirates and the Caliphate, but retaining their religion, while assimilating the Arab culture and language. Mudejars are Arabs who remained in the Spanish territories after the conquest, retained their faith, but became carriers not so much of a purely Arab, as of an Arab-Spanish, Andalusian culture. Finally, the Moriscos are Arabs or Muwallades who, after the final expulsion of the Arabs from Spain, adopted Christianity. Cultures mixed, peoples mixed.

For an example, let's go back a little, to the beginning of the 10th century, to Cordoba, where Emir Abdarrahman III came to power with blue eyes and blond hair. He broke the formal dependence on Baghdad, announcing in 929 the creation of an independent Caliphate of Cordoba. It will be a great kingdom. What is one Cordoba mosque worth. The University of Cordoba also enjoyed great respect. People came here to study from France, England, Germany. Cordova was famous all over the world for its libraries. The library of Caliph al-Hakam II consisted of at least four hundred thousand volumes. Here, in Cordoba, was born the poet Ibn Hazm, author of The Dove's Necklace, one of the best books about love. Here lived the famous philosopher Averroes, the translator of Aristotle into Arabic, who also left works on physics, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, religion and law. The cities of Seville and Granada with the magnificent Moorish palace of the Alhambra were beautiful and rich.

Different groups of the population as a whole existed in harmonious balance. Cathedral, mosque, synagogue - this is the normal urban landscape of Granada or Toledo. During the reconquest, the Catholics, however, were inclined to open their cathedrals in mosques and synagogues. And yet, the Castilian kings, starting with the enlightened sovereign Alfonso the Wise, for a long time called themselves "kings of the three religions." The monarch, returning from a campaign, was greeted by the people who came out to meet them in three languages: Arabic, Spanish, Jewish.

In Toledo, the famous school of translators was created, which enriched Europe with the works of Averroes and Avicenna.

Conclusion

The reconquest led to profound changes in the socio-economic, political and spiritual life of the peoples of the Iberian Peninsula. The capture by the militant nobility and the Catholic Church of most of the conquered land sharply increased the power of spiritual and secular feudal lords. The influence of the church has increased tremendously.

But, despite the huge role that the church played in the process of reconquista, the ideological influence of Catholicism on the life of Spanish society was not very strong. One of the reasons for this was the long contact with the secular Arab culture. At the same time, it was the centuries-old struggle with the Moors that largely determined the fact that in Spain Catholicism in the Middle Ages was perceived primarily as a national and political force. Fighting for the "holy faith", the Spaniards saw in this the national task of liberating their native country from the yoke of foreigners, and not the realization of lofty mystical ideals.

Bibliography

1. Altamira i Crevea R. History of Spain. M., 1951. T.1.

2. Varyash O.I. Two essays on the Pyrenean Reconquista 2 Middle Ages. M., 1996. Issue. 59.

3. Korsunsky A.R. History of Spain 9-13 centuries. M., 1976.

4. Kudryavtsev A.E. Spain in the Middle Ages. L., 1937.

5. Socio-political development of the Iberian Peninsula under feudalism. M., 1985.

6. Watt U.M., Kakia P. Muslim Spain. M., 1976.

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Spain in the primitive period

Archaeologists find finds on the territory of the Iberian Peninsula that belong to the Paleolithic period. This means that the Neanderthals reached Gibraltar in the Paleolithic and began to explore the shores of the mainland. Settlements of primitive people are found not only in Gibraltar, but also in the province of Soria, on the Manzanares River, near Madrid.

14-12 thousand years ago in the north of Spain there was a developed Madeleine culture, the carriers of which drew animals on the walls of caves, painted them with different colors. There are traces of other cultures in Spain:

Azilskaya.
Asturian.
Neolithic El Argar.
Bronze El Garcel and Los Millares.

In 3000 BC, people were already building fortified settlements that protected the fields and crops on them. There are tombs in Spain - large stone structures in the form of trapeziums, rectangles, in which the nobility were buried. At the end of the Bronze Age, the Tartessian culture appeared in Spain, whose carriers used the letter, the alphabet, built ships, were engaged in navigation and trade. This culture contributed to the formation of the Greco-Iberian civilization.

antique period

1 thousand BC - Indo-European peoples came: the Proto-Celts, who settled in the north and center; Iberians who lived in the center of the peninsula. The Iberians were Hamitic tribes who sailed to Spain from North Africa and took over the southern and eastern regions of Spain.
The Phoenicians simultaneously with the Proto-Celts penetrated the Pyrenees, founding here in the 11th century. BC the city of Cadiz.
In the east from the 7th c. BC. the Greeks settled, creating their colonies on the sea coast.

In the 3rd century BC, the inhabitants of Carthage separated from Phenicia, and actively began to develop the south and southeast of Spain. The Romans drove the Carthaginians out of their colonies, marking the beginning of the Romanization of the Iberian Peninsula. East coast The Romans completely controlled the east coast, establishing many settlements here. This province was called Near Spain. The Greeks owned Anladusia and the interior of the peninsula, traded with the Romans and the Carthaginians. The Romans called this province Farther Spain.

The Celtiberian tribes were conquered by Rome in 182 BC. Next came the turn of the Lusitanians and the Celts, the tribes that lived in modern Portugal.

The Romans evicted the local population to the most remote regions, as the inhabitants resisted the colonialists. The southern provinces experienced the strongest influence. Roman emperors lived in Spain, theaters, arenas, hippodromes, bridges, aqueducts were built in cities, new ports were opened on the coast. In 74, the Spaniards received full citizenship in Rome. In 1-2 centuries. AD, Christianity began to penetrate into Spain, and after a hundred years there were many Christian communities here, with which the Romans actively fought. But this did not stop Christianity. At the beginning of the 4th c. AD in Iliberis, near Granada, the first cathedral appeared.

medieval period

One of the longest stages in the development of Spain, which is associated with the conquest by the barbarians, the foundation of their first kingdoms, the Arab conquest, the Reconquista. In the 5th c. Spain was conquered by the Germanic tribes, who formed the Visigothic kingdom with its capital in Toledo. The power of the Visigoths was recognized by Rome at the end of the 5th century. AD In the following centuries, the struggle for the right to own the Iberian Peninsula proceeded between the Romans, the Byzantines and the Visigoths. Spain was divided into several parts. Political fragmentation was intensified by the religious split. The Visigoths professed Arianism, which was banned by the Council of Nicaea as heresy. The Byzantines brought Orthodoxy with them, which the supporters of the Catholic faith tried to oust. Catholicism, as the state religion, was adopted in Spain at the end of the 6th century, which made it possible to erase the boundaries in the development of the Goths and the Romano-Spaniards. In the 8th c. between the Visigoths, an internecine struggle began, which weakened the kingdom, and allowed the Arabs to capture the Pyrenees. They brought with them not only a new government, but also Islam. The Arabs called the new lands Al-Andalus, and ruled them with the help of a governor. He obeyed the caliph, who was sitting in Damascus. In the middle of the 8th c. The Emirate of Cordoba was founded, and its ruler Abdarrahman the Third in the 10th century. assumed the title of Caliph. The caliphate existed until the 11th century, and then broke up into small emirates.

In the 11th century inside the Caliphate, a movement against the Muslim Arabs intensified. On the one hand, the Arabs fought, and on the other, the local population, which sought to overthrow the rule of the Caliphate. This movement was called the Reconquista, which caused the collapse of the Caliphate of Cordoba. In the 11th-12th centuries. on the territory of Spain there were several large state entities - the kingdom of Asturias or Leon, the county of Castile, which united with Leon, the kingdom of Navarre, the county of Aragon, several small counties belonging to the Franks.

Catalonia in the 12th century became part of Aragon, which expanded its territories to the south, capturing the Balearic Islands.

The reconquista ended with the victory of the crusaders and the undermining of the influence of the emirs in the Pyrenees. In the 13th century King Ferdinand the Third was able to unite Leon, Castile, captured Cordoba, Murcia, Seville. Only Granada remained independent in the new kingdom, which remained free until 1492.

The reasons for the success of the Reconquista were:

The military actions of the Christians of Europe, who united to fight the Arab threat.
The desire and willingness of Christians to negotiate with Muslims.
Giving Muslims the right to live in Christian cities. At the same time, the faith, traditions and language of the Arabs were preserved.

State unification

The reconquest and the suppression of the emirs contributed to the fact that the Spanish kingdoms, duchies, counties embarked on the path of independent development. Stronger state associations, for example, Castile and Aragon, tried to capture the weaker counties, within which there were constant clashes and civil wars. The weakness of the Spanish state formations was used by neighboring countries - France and England. The prerequisites for the future unification of Spain into a single state began to take shape in the 15th century, Castile was headed by Juan II, the son of the deceased King Enrique III. But instead of Juan, the kingdom was ruled by his brother Ferdinand, who became his brother's co-regent. Ferdinand managed to defend power in Aragon, interfering in the affairs of Castile. In this kingdom, a political alliance was formed against the Aragonese, whose members did not want to strengthen power in Castile.

Between Aragon and Castile during the 15th century. there was a confrontation, internecine wars that provoked a civil slaughter. Only the appointment of Isabella of Castile as heir to the throne could stop the confrontation. She married Ferdinand of Aragon, who was the Infante of Aragon. In 1474, Isabella became Queen of Castile, and five years later her husband took the royal throne of Aragon. This marked the beginning of the unification of the Spanish state. It gradually included the following territories:

Navarre.
Balearic.
Corsica.
Sicily.
Sardinia.
Southern Italy.
Valencia.

In the occupied lands, the positions of governors or viceroys were introduced, who ruled the provinces. The power of the kings was limited by the Cortes, i.e. parliaments. They were representative governments. The Cortes in Castile were weak, and did not have much influence on the policy of the kings, but in Aragon it was the other way around. For the internal life of Spain in the 15th century. the following is typical:

The uprising of serfs or Remens, who demanded the abolition of feudal duties.
Civil War 1462-1472
The abolition of serfdom and heavy feudal duties.
Actions against the Jews who lived apart in Spain.
The Spanish Inquisition is established.

Spain in the 16th-19th centuries

In the 16th century Spain became part of the Holy Roman Empire, where it served the interests of the Habsburgs, who used it against the Lutherans, Turks, and French. Madrid became the capital of the Kingdom of Spain, which happened in the second half of the 16th century. The participation of Spain in many European conflicts, one of which in 1588 destroyed the "Invincible Armada". As a result, Spain lost its dominance at sea. Spanish kings in the 16th century. succeeded in strengthening centralized power, limiting the power of the Cortes, which were convened less and less. At the same time, the Spanish Inquisition intensified, controlling all spheres of social and spiritual life of Spanish society.
Late 16th century – 17th century were difficult for a state that had lost its status as a world power. The revenues of the kingdoms and the receipts to the treasury constantly increased, but only at the expense of receipts from the colonies. In general, Philip II had to declare the country bankrupt twice. The reign of his heirs - Philip the Third and Philip the Fourth - did not change the situation, although they managed to sign a truce with Holland, France, England, and expel the Moriscos. Spain was also drawn into the Thirty Years' War, which depleted the kingdom's resources. After the defeat in the conflict, the colonies began to rebel in turn, as well as Catalonia and Portugal.
The last ruler of the Habsburg dynasty, who was on the Spanish throne, was Charles II. His reign lasted until 1700, then the Bourbon dynasty established itself on the throne. Philip the Fifth during 1700-1746 kept Spain from civil war, but lost many territories, including Sicily, Naples, Sardinia and other Italian provinces, the Netherlands and Gibraltar. Ferdinand the Sixth and Charles the Third, who carried out successful political and economic reforms, tried to stop the collapse of the Spanish empire and fought on the side of France against Britain. Since 1793, Spain fell into the sphere of influence of France.
19th century was associated with constant political changes in the history of Spain. The deposition of Napoleon the First Bonaparte, attempts to restore the monarchy through the heirs of the Bourbon dynasty, the adoption of a constitution, the implementation of liberal reforms, the restoration of absolute monarchy - these are the main features of the political and social development of Spain in the 19th century. The instability ended in 1868 when Spain became a hereditary monarchy. The restoration of representatives of the ruling dynasty took place several times, and ended with the fact that in 1874 the minor Alphonse the Twelfth ascended the throne. He was succeeded by Alphonse the Thirteenth, who ruled the country until 1931.

Features of development in the 20-21 centuries.

Spain in the 20th century "thrown" from side to side - from democracy to dictatorship and totalitarianism, then there was a return to democratic values, political and economic instability, social crisis. In 1933, a coup d'etat took place, as a result of which the fascist party of F. Franco came to power. He and his associates used terrorist measures to quell Spanish discontent and dissent. Franco struggled for power in Spain with the Republicans for several years, which provoked the outbreak of the Civil War (1936-1939). The final victory was achieved by Franco, who established a dictatorship. More than one million people fell victim to his rule in the early years and were sent to prisons and labor camps. 400 thousand people died during the three years of the Civil War, another 200 thousand were executed from 1939 to 1943.

Spain could not take the side of Italy and Germany in World War II, as it was exhausted by internal confrontations. Franco provided assistance to his allies by sending a division to the Eastern Front. The cooling of relations between Franco and Hitler began in 1943, when it became clear that the Third Reich was losing the war. Spain after the Second World War fell into international isolation, was not part of either the UN or NATO. Diplomatic ties with Western countries began to be gradually restored only in 1953:

The country was admitted to the UN.
Agreements were signed with the United States, one of which was that American bases would be located in Spain.
Adoption of a new constitution, the Organic Law.

At the same time, most Spaniards did not take part in the political and public life of the country. And the government did not seek to rectify the situation, as a result of which illegal trade unions began to arise, strikes began, separatist movements in Catalonia and the Basque Country became more active, and the nationalist organization ETA arose.

The Franco regime was supported by the Catholic Church, with which the dictator entered into a concordat. The document was signed between Spain and the Vatican, and allowed the secular authorities to choose the highest hierarchy of the Catholic Church in Spain. This situation continued until 1960, when the church gradually began to separate from Franco's political regime.

In the 1960s Spain established ties with Western Europe, which increased the flow of tourists to this country. At the same time, the migration of Spaniards to other European countries increased. The country's participation in military and economic organizations was blocked, so Spain did not immediately join the European Economic Community.

In 1975, Franco died, having declared Prince Juan Carlos Bourbon, who was the grandson of Alfonso XIII, a few years earlier, as his heir. Under him, reforms began to be carried out, the liberalization of the country's socio-political life began, and a new democratic constitution was adopted. In the early 1980s Spain joined NATO and the EU.

The reforms made it possible to relieve tension in society and stabilize the economic situation. The number of tourists who since the late 1980s. visited Madrid, Barcelona, Catalonia, Valencia, Aragon and other provinces of the country, increases annually. At the same time, the government is constantly fighting the separatists - the Basque Country and Catalonia.

Catalan problem

There are many contradictory phenomena and problems in the history of Spain, and one of them - Catalan - has a long history of confrontation for its independence. The Catalans have believed for centuries that they are a separate nation with their own culture, language, traditions and mentality.

The region that is now known as Catalonia began to be settled by Greeks in 575 BC during the colonization of the sea coast. Here they founded a colony, calling it Empyrion, the ports of Cartagena and Alicante appeared nearby, which are now the largest "sea" gates of Spain.

The capital of Catalonia, the city of Barcelona, was founded by a resident of Carthage, the commander Hamilcar, who arrived here in 237 BC. Most likely, Hamilcar was nicknamed Barca, which means Lightning. The soldiers allegedly named a new settlement in his honor - Barsina. Barcelona, like Tarragona, became major cities of the Roman Empire, which captured the Pyrenees in 218-201. BC.

During the Great Migration of Nations in the 5th c. already AD, the Romans were expelled from the peninsula by the Visigoths, who founded their kingdom of Gotalania here. Gradually the name was transformed into Catalonia. Ancient Roman and Greek historians wrote that they tried to call the Pyrenees Catalonia, but the Carthaginian word "i-spanim" was more sonorous. This is how the name Spain appeared, and only a separate region was called Catalonia.

The secession of Catalonia began at the end of the 8th century, when Emperor Charlemagne made his loyal subject Sunifred count of Barcelona. His possessions included the following lands:

Beziers.
Carcassonne.
Catalonia.

Under Sunifred and his descendants, their own language began to form in Catalonia, which is actually a mixture of French and Spanish. In the 10th century Count Borrell II declared Catalonia independent. Supporters of Catalan nationalism and the developers of the concept of secession from Spain call the reign of Borrell II the turning point in the struggle for independence. In the second half of the 12th c. The County of Barcelona became part of the Kingdom of Aragon, which was the result of a dynastic marriage between the rulers of the two regions of Spain.

When Aragon united with Castile, the Catalans reacted ambiguously to this event. Some of them supported the representatives of the Austrian dynasty for centuries, and some - the heirs of the Bourbons. Catalans were considered second class people in Spain. The population of the region claimed the right to secession in the second half of the 19th century, when a new constitution was adopted in Spain. The idea of the independence of Catalonia was either revived or lost against the background of other events, but continued to live on. In the 1930s General F. Franco came to power, under whom the idea of Catalan separatism began to flourish.

In October 1934, the Catalan Parliament voted for independence and secession, but this did not happen. The Spanish government began to carry out mass arrests of activists, political leaders, and intellectuals. The actions of the Catalan Parliament were declared treason. During the civil war, Catalan autonomy was abolished and the language was banned.

Autonomy was restored in 1979, when Spain again embarked on the path of democratic development. The Catalan language in the province received official status. Local parties and activists have repeatedly sought the expansion of rights and freedoms. The government only by 2006 partially satisfied their requirements:

The rights of local governments were expanded.
Catalonia independently began to manage its taxes and half of the taxes that went to the central government.

All this only catalysed the desire of the population of Catalonia to secede from Spain. In this regard, an independence referendum was held in October 2017, in which more than 90% of those who voted said "yes" to secession. Now the issue of the independence of the province is one of the most urgent in the internal political life of the country. The authorities - the government and the monarch - are considering what to do next, while the Catalans demand to immediately recognize the results of the referendum and begin the process of secession from Spain.

On the territory of modern Israel. They founded the city of Cadiz, which was then called Gadir or Gader. This city became the center of the Phoenician colonies.

Subsequently, the Phoenicians, being skilled navigators, reached Africa and founded the state of Carthage there with the capital of the same name (the territory of modern Tunisia). The inhabitants of Carthage continued to develop new lands, including on the Iberian Peninsula. After 680 BC Carthage became the main center of Phoenician civilization, and the Carthaginians established a trading monopoly in the Strait of Gibraltar.

The Greeks settled on the east coast, their city-states were located on the territory of modern Costa Brava.

At the end of the First Punic War, Hamilcar and Hannibal subjugated the south and east of the peninsula to the Carthaginians (237-219 BC). Then the Carthaginian commander Hamilcar created the Punic Empire and moved the capital to New Carthage (Cartagena). New Carthage becomes the center of development of the Iberian Peninsula.

After the defeat of the Carthaginians, whose troops were led by Hannibal, in the Second Punic War in 210 BC. e., the Romans came to the Iberian Peninsula. The Carthaginians finally lost their possessions after the victories of Scipio the Elder (206 BC).

But for almost two centuries, the Celtiberians resisted the Roman Army in the central and northern parts of the peninsula. The Basque tribes that inhabited the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula were never conquered, which explains their modern special language dialect, which has nothing to do with the Latin group of languages.

Roman period in Spanish history

Gradually, the Romans conquered the entire Iberian Peninsula, but they succeeded only after 200 years of bloody wars. Spain became the second most important center of the Roman Empire after Italy itself. She gave the first provincial consul, the emperors Trajan, Adrian and Theodosius the Great, the writers Martial, Quintilian, Seneca and the poet Lucan.

Spain completely fell under the influence of the Romans. Local languages were forgotten. The Romans laid a network of roads in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula. In the major centers of Roman Spain, like Tarracon (Tarragona), Italica (near Seville) and Emerita (Merida), theaters, arenas and hippodromes were built, bridges and aqueducts were erected. Through seaports there was an active trade in metals, olive oil, wines, wheat and other goods. Not only trade flourished, but industry and agriculture were at a high level of development. The population was very numerous (according to Pliny the Elder, under Vespasian there were 360 cities).

Very early in Spain, Christianity penetrated and began to spread, despite the bloody persecution. The Christian church had a good organizational structure even before the baptism of the Roman Emperor Constantine in 312.

From the second half of the 5th c. n. e. until 711-718

On the territory of Spain - the feudal state of the Visigoths. They defeated Rome in 410, in the 5th century. captured most of the Iberian Peninsula. At the beginning of the 8th century the state of the Visigoths was conquered by the Arabs, who created a number of feudal states on its territory

Arab domination

But after all, Spain was also under the yoke, only the Arab one, which, starting from the VIII century, lasted more than 700 (!) Years, from 718 year on 1492 the year when the last stronghold of the Arabs, the Emirate of Granada, fell in Spain. And apparently, the Arab yoke for the peoples of Spain (being, of course, also a national tragedy, only lasting not 230, but 700 years) at the same time served as a powerful stimulus for the struggle for national revival and the creation of a strong unified Spanish state.

Reconquista

The Spaniards fought the Arab conquerors continuously, starting in 718. Their "Battle of Kulikovo" is a battle in the valley of the Covadonga River in Asturias back in 718, when a local militia led by Pelayo defeated a detachment of Arabs.

Since that time, the so-called Reconquista"- that is, the war for the conquest of the Spanish lands from the Arabs. It was during the Reconquista, which lasted 700 (!) years, the Spanish kingdoms of Aragon, Castile and others arose, which later, in their common interests of joint struggle against the Arabs, voluntarily united as a result of the dynastic union of Castile and Aragon 1479 year into a single Spanish state. And 13 years later, in 1492 year, with the Arab yoke in Spain was over.

16th century

The Spaniards, united in the struggle against a common enemy into a single state, at the same time carried out colonial conquests in America and created a vast and prosperous Spanish empire by the middle of the 16th century. The heyday of the Spanish Empire under Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand V. However, the influx of gold from across the ocean did not contribute to the development of the country's economy, numerous Spanish cities remained predominantly political, but not trade and craft centers. The policy of the ruling circles more and more suppressed the development of trade and crafts, exacerbating the economic and then political lagging behind Spain from the countries of Western Europe. From the middle of the XVI century. under King Philip II - economic decline, wars with England, loss of maritime dominance. Beginning of the "House of the Austrian Kings" period (1516).

17th century

By the end of the 17th century, the country's economy and the state apparatus fell into a state of complete decline, the cities and territories were depopulated. Due to the lack of money in many provinces returned to barter. Despite exceptionally high taxes, the once luxurious court of Madrid was unable to pay for its own maintenance, often even a royal meal.

18th century

1701-1714

The struggle of European dynasties for the Spanish throne. War of the Spanish Succession. It began after the death in 1700 of the last Spanish Habsburg. In 1701, France installed Louis XIV's grandson Philip V of Bourbon on the throne of Spain; Austria, Great Britain, Holland, Prussia and others (the "Coalition") opposed.

Major battles:

1704 - under Hochstedt

1709 p under Madplak

1712 - under Denen

1713-1714

End of the War of the Spanish Succession. Utrecht and Rastatt (1714) worlds. The main result of the war was the strengthening of the naval and colonial power of England. End of the "House of the Austrian Kings" period. Philippe of Bourbon was left Spain with colonies in exchange for the renunciation of his and his heirs from the rights to the French throne. The Habsburgs (Austria) received Spanish possessions in the Netherlands and in Italy. Great Britain received Gibraltar and the city of Mayon on the island of Menorca, as well as the right to import Negro slaves into the American possessions of Spain (“the right of asiento”) and a number of possessions in North America from France. In the XVIII century. The monetary unit of Spain was put into circulation - 1 peseta, equal to 100 centimes.

In the middle of the XVIII century A number of important reforms were carried out in the country. Taxes were lowered, the state apparatus was updated, the rights of the Catholic clergy were significantly limited.

Further changes led to positive results. In Catalonia and some port cities, the development of manufactory production began, trade with the colonies flourished. But due to the complete economic decline of the previous time, the development of industry and transport in the country was possible only by the state and required large loans.

19th century

During the 19th century, from 1808 year, Spain experienced five (!) revolutions that followed almost with the frequency of a courier train: after 6,11,11 and 12 years one after another, until the revolution 1868-1874 years. During this period, the Spaniards developed five drafts of the Constitution, of which four were adopted and worked. The first, so-called Cadiz constitution was adopted in 1812.

Five unfinished revolutions:

1. Revolution of 1808-1814

Merged with the struggle against the French occupiers.

The most important events: - a popular uprising in March 1808 in the city of Aranjuez, where the imperial court was located, spread to Madrid. Result: the resignation of Prime Minister M. Godoy and the abdication of Charles IV (King Carlos the Elder of Spain) in favor of his son Ferdinand (King Ferdinand VII); - entry on March 20, 1808 of French troops in Madrid, the capture by the French of King Ferdinand VII of Spain;

The meeting in Bayonne in June-July 1808 of representatives of the nobility and the highest administration (“Bayonne Cortes”), which recognized Joseph Bonaparte as king of Spain and adopted the Bayonne constitution. The constitution was proposed by Napoleon I and defined Spain as a constitutional monarchy with disenfranchised Cortes;

The armed struggle of the people and the remnants of the regular army against foreign invaders;

Creation in the liberated territories of authorities (junta) and in September 1810 - the Central Junta;

Convocation on September 24, 1810 on about. Leon of the Constituent Assembly of Spain, which moved on February 20, 1811 to the city of Cadiz ("Cortes of Cadiz"). The Cadiz Cortes acted until September 20, 1812. They adopted the Cadiz Constitution of 1812 and a number of democratic anti-feudal laws (freedom of speech and press, the destruction of the rights and privileges of seniors, etc.). The constitution was in force in 1812-4814. in unoccupied French territory. Proclaimed Spain a constitutional monarchy;

The victory of the counter-revolution after the defeat of the armies of Napoleon I by the allied forces, the return of King Ferdinand VII from French captivity in 1814 and the restoration of absolute monarchy.

2. Revolution of 1820-1823

It happened 6 years after the first revolution. Major events:

The speech of the people under the leadership of the leader of the party of the left liberals ("exaltados") Riero y Nunez in January 1820 in Cadiz;

In March 1830, the restoration of the Cadiz Constitution of 1812;

In March - April 1820, the formation of the constitutional Government of the party of right-wing liberals ("moderados"), which carried out a number of reforms;

In August 1822, the transfer of power to the government of "exaltados", a law on agrarian reform was adopted, which was not implemented;

September 30, 1823 - capitulation of the constitutional Government; - October 1, 1823 King Ferdinand VII restored the absolute monarchy.

3. Revolution of 1834-1843

It happened 11 years after the second revolution under the 4-year-old daughter of Ferdinand VII, Queen Isabella, and regent Maria Christina. King Ferdinand VII died in 1833.

Major events:

In October 1833, the manifesto of the regent Maria Christina on the preservation of the absolutist order after the death of the king;

In January 1834, the Moderados government was formed;

Popular uprisings under the slogan of restoring the Cadiz Constitution of 1812;

In September 1835, the formation of the government of the bourgeois-liberal Progressive Party, which began the sale of church lands;

In June 1837, the convocation of the Constituent Cortes and the adoption by them of a new Constitution, which retained the right of "veto" for the king;

At the end of 1837 the Progressives were removed from power;

In October 1840, the Progressives came to power again (the government of General B. Espartero);

In July 1843, a counter-revolutionary coup led by General Narváez (Duke de Valencia, head of the Moderados party, head of several governments in the following years until 1868) Restoration to the throne of Queen Isabella II, who was 13 years old. In fact, until 1851

military dictatorship. Narvaez.

4. Revolution 1854-1856

It happened again under Queen Isabella II 11 years after the third revolution.

Major events:

June 28, 1854 military uprising and forced appointment by Queen Isabella II of the Progressive General B. Espartero as prime minister;

In November 1854, the convocation of the Constituent Cortes. Adoption of laws on "deamortization" (sale of land of the church, monasteries, state, peasant communities);

13 Tolya 1856 dismissal of Prime Minister B. Espartero by Queen Isabella II. In response, uprisings began, which were suppressed;

The formation of the new government of O "Donnell (Count of Lusensky, Duke of Tetouan, head of the Liberal Union"

Party of right-wing liberals, founded in 1854 Opponent of the deep revolution, prepared a counter-revolutionary coup (1856). Dissolution of the Constituent Cortes, restoration of the constitution of 1845 and other pre-revolutionary laws;

Restoration of absolute monarchy by Queen Isabella II,

5. Revolution 1868-1874

Happened again under Queen Isabella II 12 years after the fourth revolution.

Major events:

Emigration of Queen Isabella II;

February 11, 1869, convocation of the Constituent Cortes, which adopted a constitution introducing democratic freedoms;

On November 16, 1870, Amadeus of Savoy was elected to the throne - a representative of the dynasty of the rulers of Savoy, the kings of the Sardinian kingdom, the kings of the united kingdom of Italy. Republican uprisings, the emergence of Spanish groups of the First International;

June 1873 - meeting of the new Constituent Cortes, who developed a draft of a new Republican constitution. Left Republican F. Pi-i-Margal (1824-1901) was elected Prime Minister

Revolutionary democrat, utopian socialist;

July 1873 - anti-government uprisings with the active participation of anarchists-Bakuninists under the slogan of fragmenting the country into small cantons. Fall of the government of Pi-i-Margal;

December 29, 1874 - a new coup, the monarchy was restored, Alfonso XII (son of Queen Isabella II) was proclaimed king of Spain.

Despite the fact that each of these revolutions eventually ended in the defeat and restoration of the absolute monarchy, the sacrifices and hardships endured by the people could not be in vain: civil legal awareness, of course, grew in society, and the vector of its democratic development appeared and grew.

The defeat in the war with the United States and the loss of almost all Spanish colonies was perceived in Spain as a national catastrophe. 1898 the year brought to the Spaniards a keen sense of national humiliation. The reasons for the military defeat were immediately connected with the economic, social and political problems of the country's development. At the end of XIX - beginning of XX centuries. a number of labor laws were adopted, which introduced in Spain the most elementary norms of the labor legislation of European countries.

20th century

During the First World War, Spain was neutral, but its economy was seriously affected.

After the overthrow of King Alfonso XIII of Spain in the last revolution in 1931, the royal family emigrated to Italy. In Spain, the Republic was proclaimed, then a civil war began, which ended in 1939 with the capture of Madrid by the rebels and the establishment of a lifelong dictatorship Francisco Franco.

Franco became, for various reasons, a sovereign dictator with unlimited powers. As far as is known, at that time he did not show benevolent feelings towards the monarchy in general and towards the royal family in particular. Rather, vice versa. Franco ruled rigidly, single-handedly, and competitors, even defeated ones, were, to put it mildly, undesirable for him. He did not even need partners (especially from monarchical circles) to govern the country. However, later, just 8 years later, in 1947, Franco takes an unexpected and non-standard step. He announces a new, non-gradional form of government of the country, officially defining Spain as " Kingdom under an unoccupied throne»

At the same time, Franco himself was then only 58 years old, he was the recognized leader of the nation (“Caudillo”), his power was stable, and he was not at all going to cede it to anyone,

Franco approaches the grandson of the deposed King Alfonso XIII, Prince Juan Carlos (born in 1938, the parents are the son of King Alfonso XIII Juan de Bourbon and the granddaughter of the English Queen Victoria Maria de Bourbon y Orleans). In 1948, the prince moved permanently to Spain, later studying at the Academy of the Army, Air Force and Navy, as well as at the University of Madrid. In 1962, Juan Carlos marries Princess Sofia, the daughter of King Paul I of Greece and Queen Federica.

Finally, in July 1969, Franco solemnly proclaims Juan Carlos the Prince of Spain (without renouncing, of course, his powers as a dictator).

Thus, Franco not only strengthened his personal power after the end of the Second World War and the collapse of the ideas of fascism (when anti-fascist sentiments sharply intensified in society), but also, which is much more important! - consistently and ahead of time prepared for himself such a successor, who (given the mentality of the Spanish people) immediately became inaccessible to any possible contenders for power both during this period and after the death of Franco.

It is well known from the history of many countries that after a strong ruler, and even more so an illegitimate dictator, there comes, as a rule, a very troubled time of struggle for power, bringing great misfortune to the country and people. Franco did not act like many dictators like him, who acted according to the principle: “After me, at least sweat!” and did not allow any candidates for successors next to him, but showed great statesmanship, true concern for his people and the future of the country.

Apparently, therefore, despite all the cruelties and injustices of his regime, the Spaniards in our time rarely speak ill of him. They do not discuss this period and prefer not to talk about it. However, the monument to Franco, erected back then on the former Generalissimo Avenue, and now Castellana Avenue in Madrid, still stands.

In Spain, until very recently, coins of those years with the profile of Franco were in use. Moreover, about 50 km from Madrid there is a place called "EL ESCORIAL". There is a super-giant pantheon complex with the grave of Franco and the graves of both his fascist supporters and his Republican opponents. Both those and others. Now it is a place of pilgrimage for tourists.

Thanks to Franco, Spain, being a country with a totalitarian fascist regime, not only developed relatively well economically in the difficult pre-war period, not only relatively bloodlessly followed its historical path as an ally of German fascism between the Scylla of Germany and the Charybdis of the USSR with its Western allies during World War II, but even after the death of the dictator, it managed to smoothly move onto the democratic path of its development, although in form a monarchy was again established in the country, though not absolute, but constitutional.

Yes, and the monarchs are no longer the same as before. Juan Carlos, who replaced Franco, is a comprehensively educated person with democratic convictions and a modern mind. This, so to speak, is an “enlightened monarch”.

And Franco, having been in power continuously for 36 years as "Caudillo", that is, the sole leader and leader of the nation, quietly died in his bed in 1975 at the age of eighty-three years.

In November of the same 1975, according to Franco's will, Prince Juan Carlos was proclaimed king of Spain. This happened 44 years after the overthrow of his grandfather, King Alfonso XIII, from the throne.

Already in April 1977, trade unions and left-wing political (including communist) parties were legalized in Spain, diplomatic relations with Russia (USSR) were restored, and a cooperation agreement was concluded between the United States and Spain. In December 1978 a new constitution came into force 1982 Spain was admitted to NATO, and in 1985 became a member of the European Community

Thus, just 10 years after the end of the cruelest and longest military-fascist dictatorship, Spain carried out its “perestroika” without any special storms and upheavals and turned into a prosperous democratic state in Europe.

The most important events of the XX century

1931-1939

Democratic revolution of the socialist type.

Major events:

December 9, 1931 - adoption of the Constitution of the Republic; - 1933 - the creation of the fascist party "Spanish Falange" (from the second half of the 50s called the "National Movement");

January 1936 - creation of the Popular Front;

February 16, 1936 - victory of the Popular Front in the elections, agrarian reform, large banks and enterprises placed under state control; - July 17-18, 1936 - Franco's military-fascist rebellion;

March 1939 - the fall of the Republic, the establishment of the dictatorship of Franco.

1947

Spain is declared a "Kingdom under an unoccupied throne".

1953

Spanish-American agreements on US military bases in Spain July 1969 Franco proclaimed King Alfonso XIII's grandson Juan Carlos Prince of Spain. Juan Carlos studied in Portugal in 1946, and since 1948 in Spain. From 1955 to 1960 he was a student at the Academy of the Ground Forces, Naval and Air Forces, in 1960-1962. studied at the University of Madrid. Since 1962 he has been married to Princess Sofia, daughter of King Paul I of Greece and Queen Federica. The wedding ceremony in Athens was attended by 137 kings, queens, princes and princesses from around the world.

1975

Death of Franco. After the death of Franco, Prince Juan Carlos was proclaimed King Juan Carlos 1 of Spain in November 1975. The scope of the anti-fascist movement. Democratization of the political life of the country.

April 1977 Legalization of trade unions and left-wing political parties (including the communist one), dissolution of the National Movement party (“Spanish Falange”). Replacement of the Spanish-American treaty of 1953 on military bases with an agreement on cooperation between Spain and the United States, restoration of diplomatic relations with the USSR.

December 1978

Entry into force of the new Constitution.

March 1979

Parliamentary elections, the victory of the Union of Democratic Center party.

1982

The admission of Spain to NATO: In October 1982, the victory in the parliamentary elections of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party.

1985

The admission of Spain to the EEC.

XXI Century

Well, what is Spain today? It is a country with a state structure in the form of a constitutional monarchy. The head of state is the king. The legislature is a bicameral parliament (Cortes). The population is about 40 million people, 68% live in cities. Nationalities: Spaniards (about 75%), Catalans, Basques, Galicians. The country has 50 main administrative units - provinces, which are included in 17 autonomous historical regions, the so-called "autonomies". These include: Asturias, Cantabria, Basque Country, Navarre, Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia, Andalusia, Extremadura, Leon, Galicia, Castile and some others.

Detailed history of Spain

History of ancient Spain

The first historical information about Spain

The first historical information about Spain is provided by foreigners, since the original population of the peninsula, which we know about from the remains of material culture that have come down to us, did not leave any written evidence that would allow us to more fully interpret the material finds.

The lack of accurate information about the most ancient history of Spain does not allow us to restore the course of events of that distant era.

It is believed that already in the XVIII century. BC. Spain was at war with. However, until the twelfth century BC, when, according to very plausible data, Cadiz was founded by the Phoenicians, it is impossible to outline at least some plausible chronological outline.

More or less accurate dating of events related to the history of Spain becomes possible only from the 11th century. BC. However, the first written evidence, which refers to Spain, refers only to the VI century. BC. These are few and meager texts by Carthaginian and Greek authors, which barely shed light on the events of the early history of the Iberian Peninsula. By the 5th and 4th centuries. BC. include the testimonies of Greek historians and travelers, fragmentary and inexplicable. Much more complete are later sources relating to the last two centuries BC. and the first centuries of our era, based on older writings that have not come down to us.

In the same way, in the Bible, in various books of the Old Testament, an area called Tarshish or Tarsis is mentioned, which many researchers consider one of the regions of Spain (the southern part of Andalusia - the Guadalquivir valley or the region of Murcia).

Iberians

The territory of Spain has been inhabited since ancient times.

Already in the III millennium BC. e. Iberian tribes appeared in the south and east of Spain. It is not known exactly where they came from, some hypotheses link their ancestral home to North Africa. These tribes gave the peninsula its ancient name - Iberian.

The Iberians lived in fortified villages, were engaged in agriculture, cattle breeding and hunting. They had metal tools made of copper and bronze. In those ancient times, the Iberians already had their own script.

The ancient people who created the history of another country well known to us - Georgia, also bore the name of the Iberians. There is still debate about whether there is a connection between the Spanish and Georgian Iberians.

An amazing similarity can be observed in the historical destinies of different countries! The Iberians created the ancient history of another country well known to us - Georgia. It turns out that the East Georgian Iberian tribes lived on the territory of present-day Spain, which were the basis for the formation of the Georgian people. And the ancient name of Spain "Iberia" (as, by the way, the modern name of the leading Spanish airline) is an ancient and Byzantine name. Eastern Georgia ("Kartli").

Kartli, in turn, was a historical region in Eastern Georgia in the valley of the Kura River and from the 4th century BC was called the “Kartli Kingdom of Iberia”. Here is more information about the two Iberias.

From the end of the 10th century AD, Iberia-Kartli, with its capital in Tbilisi, formed the core of a single Georgian state, which since 1801 joined Russia. Here is such a connection between times and peoples.

Celtiberians

Later, the Celts came to Iberia. The Celts preferred to wage wars and graze cattle, rather than engage in agriculture.

Celts and Iberians lived side by side, sometimes uniting, but more often fighting with each other. Gradually, the peoples merged and created the Celtiberian culture, famous for its militancy. It was the Celtiberians who invented the double-edged sword, which was subsequently adopted by the Roman army and often used against their own inventors.

The union of the Celtiberian tribes had its capital - Numantia.

Turdetans

And in Andalusia at the same time there was a state of Tartessos. Until now, it is not known exactly where the inhabitants of Tartessus, the Turdetans, came from to Spain. They were at a higher stage of development than the Iberians, although they were close to them.

Phoenicians

Around 1100 B.C. e. the Phoenicians came here. They scurried around the colonies of Malaca, Gadir (Cadiz), Cordoba and many others. The country where the Turdetans lived, they called Tarshish. Perhaps it is this rich region of "Tarshish" that is mentioned in the Bible.

Carthaginian colonization

Not only Iberians and Celts lived on the Iberian Peninsula in the 1st millennium BC. The fertile lands of Spain also attracted other peoples. The Phoenicians were the first people whose activities in Spain are recorded in writing. The date of their first appearance in Spain is not exactly known. There is an assumption according to which the Phoenicians around 1100 BC. e. founded Cadiz, at that time called Agadir or Gadir.

There is no doubt that the Phoenicians in the VIII and VII centuries. BC e. traveled along the coast of Spain, exploring the lands of the peninsula; descriptions-routes of these raids are called peripluses.

There are statements of ancient scientists who lived in the 1st century. BC e., that Greek historians owe the first reports about Spain to the Phoenicians.

In Spain, the Phoenicians were chiefly interested in trade and the exploitation of mines. They established themselves in certain areas, founded cities, trading posts and warehouses there. Sometimes their strongholds were located near native settlements, sometimes in areas not yet inhabited. For this purpose, they chose mainly islands or capes close to the coast, where there were convenient natural harbors. Located in such places, the settlements were easy to defend. The Phoenicians erected their fortresses there, arranged warehouses and sanctuaries.

The most important Phoenician colonies were Melkartea (Algeciras), Malaca (Malaga), Eritia (Sancti Petri), Sexi (Hate), Abdera (Adra), Hispalis (Seville), Agadir, or Hades (Cadiz), Ebusa (Ibis) and others. The Phoenicians called the entire Iberian Peninsula Span, or Spania (“unknown”, remote, country).

The Phoenician colonies in Spain, in the process of rapid development, achieved a certain political and administrative independence from the mother country. The center of these colonies was Cadiz. The Phoenicians limited themselves at first only to barter; then they introduced money into Spain, minted in many of the Phoenician colonies.

After the decline of the Phoenician metropolis, its power was inherited by the Phoenician colony on the northern coast of Africa - Carthage. Already in the 7th century. BC e. Carthage became a major trading center and achieved dominance over other fraternal colonies of the Phoenicians in the West. The Carthaginians established a trading monopoly in the Straits of Gibraltar.

The Phoenicians in the Iberian Peninsula had to deal with the Greeks. The main settlement of the Greeks was Emporion, or Emporia ("market"), located in the place where Castellón de Empurias (province of Girona) is now located. The Spanish territory over which they dominated was called by the Greeks Hesperia, or Iberia.

In the VI century. BC e. the influence of Carthage increased significantly. The ancient Phoenician colonies of Spain were absorbed and made directly dependent on Carthage. The Carthaginians traded with the Tartessian federation in the Guadalquivir valley, but made no attempt to conquer it.

For a long time, Carthage maintained peaceful relations with rising Rome; both sides entered into trade treaties and, to a certain extent, shared dominance over the Mediterranean Sea.

However, in the end, a war broke out between them in Sicily, in which the Romans won, ousting the Carthaginians from there. This was the First Punic War (264–241 BC).

After that, a new stage of the Carthaginian colonization of the Iberian Peninsula began. It can be seen as a systematic subordination of the country. The Carthaginians sought to turn the peninsula into a springboard for subsequent wars with Rome. Thus, the Romans provoked the Carthaginian colonization.

The Senate of Carthage in 237 BC instructed to capture Spain to the talented commander and politician Hamilcar from the aristocratic family of Barkidiv, who was at the head of the military party.

In an extremely short time, Hamilcar captured the southern part of the peninsula, between the Guadalquivir and Guadiana rivers.

This was the beginning of the Carthaginian state in Spain.

The best lands of Spain - its southern and eastern shores - became Phoenician possessions; new cities were founded there. In 227 B.C. e. General Hasdrubal founded the city of Cartagena on the coast of the Iberian Peninsula near the only good harbor on the south coast, thus securing control over the rich mineral deposits of the Southeast.

Cartagena became the capital of the new state and the largest colony of the Carthaginians on the territory of modern Spain.

This city, standing on the shores of a convenient bay and surrounded by impregnable hills, immediately turned into one of the most important trading centers of the entire western coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

Not far from the city, they began mining from silver mines, which brought huge incomes. Some of them were sent by Hasdrubal to Carthage, the other part went to the creation and fortifications of a mercenary army.

From the Iberian Peninsula, Carthage received more and more income every year.

The rule of the Carthaginians in Spain was firmly established, and the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula seemed to be a strong springboard for an attack on Rome.

Rome took action. The small Iberian city of Saguntum decided to fall under Roman rule in the face of the threat of an attack by the Carthaginians.

The Roman Senate hesitated at first, but later, in 220, decided to accept Saguntum as a protectorate of Rome in order to be able to control Spain.

Hamilcar's son Hannibal in 220 BC attacked Saguntum, a city under the protection of Rome. In the ensuing Second Punic War, the troops of the Carthaginians, led by Hannibal, in 210 BC. e were defeated. This paved the way for the establishment of Roman dominance in the peninsula. In 209, the Romans captured Cartagena, passed through the territory of the whole of Andalusia, and in 206 forced Gadir to surrender.

Thus, after a series of defeats, dominance in the Iberian Peninsula gradually began to pass to Rome.

Roman domination

Visigothic period in the history of Spain

Arab domination

Reconquista

During the entire period of domination of Muslims in Spain, Christians waged a continuous centuries-old war against them, which was called the Christian Reconquista (in translation - “conquest”). The reconquista was started by a part of the Visigothic nobility led by Pelayo. In 718, the advance of the Muslims at Covadonga was stopped.

In the middle of the 8th century, the Asturian Christians, under the leadership of Pelayo's grandson, King Alfonso I, took advantage of the Berber uprising and occupied neighboring Galicia. The conquests continued under Alphonse II (791-842).

The advance of the Arabs into Europe was stopped by the Franks in northwestern Spain, the Franks, whose king was then Charlemagne. The Franks created the Spanish March in the northeast of the peninsula (the border area between the possessions of the Franks and the Arabs), which broke up in the 9th-11th centuries into the counties of Navarre, Aragon and Barcelona (in 1137 Aragon and Barcelona united to form the Kingdom of Aragon).

To the north of the Duero and the Ebro, four groups of Christian states gradually formed:

in the northwest Asturias, León and Galicia, which were subsequently united to form the kingdom of Castile;

the Basque country, together with the neighboring region, Garcia, was proclaimed the kingdom of Navarre,

a country on the left bank of the Ebro, Aragon, since 1035 an independent kingdom;

Margraviate of Barcelona, or Catalonia, which arose from the Spanish March.

In 1085, the Christians captured Toledo, and then Talavera, Madrid and other cities fell under the power of the Christians.

The Battle of Mérida (1230) took Extremadura from the Arabs; after the battle of Jerez de Guadiana (1233), Cordoba was recaptured, and twelve years later - to Seville.

The Portuguese kingdom expanded almost to its present size, and the king of Aragon conquered Valencia, Alicante, and the Balearic Islands.

The reconquista led to the fact that the Spanish peasants and residents of the cities who fought along with the knights received significant benefits. Most of the peasants did not experience serfdom, free peasant communities arose on the liberated lands of Castile, and cities (especially in the XII-XIII centuries) received greater rights.

Muslims moved in thousands to Africa and to Grenada or Murcia, but these states also had to recognize the supremacy of Castile. The Muslims who remained under Castilian rule gradually adopted the religion and customs of the conquerors; many rich and noble Arabs, having been baptized, passed into the ranks of the Spanish aristocracy. By the end of the 13th century, only the Emirate of Grenada remained on the peninsula, forced to pay tribute.

In 1340, Alphonse XI won a brilliant victory at Salado, and four years later, by the conquest of Algeziras, Grenada was cut off from Africa.

In 1469, the marriage between Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile took place, the union of the Castilian and Aragonese crowns laid the foundation for the kingdom of Spain. Nevertheless, the political unification of Spain was completed only by the end of the 15th century; Navarre was annexed in 1512.

In 1478, Ferdinand and Isabella approved an ecclesiastical court - the Inquisition, designed to protect the purity of the Catholic faith.

In 1492, with the support of Isabella, Columbus makes his first expedition to the New World and establishes Spanish colonies there. Ferdinand and Isabella move their residence to Barcelona.

In the same year, 1492, Granada was liberated. As a result of more than 10 years of struggle by the Spaniards, the Emirate of Granada, the last stronghold of the Moors on the Iberian Peninsula, fell. The Reconquista ends with the conquest of Granada (January 2, 1492).

History of Spain in the 16th - first half of the 17th century.

After the end of the Reconquista in 1492, the entire Iberian Peninsula, with the exception of Portugal, was united under the rule of the Spanish kings. Spain also owned Sardinia, Sicily, the Balearic Islands, the Kingdom of Naples and Navarre.

In 1516, Charles I came to the throne. By his mother he was the grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella, and by his father he was the grandson of Emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg. From his father and grandfather, Charles I inherited the Habsburg possessions in Germany, the Netherlands and lands in South America. In 1519, he achieved his election to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and became Emperor Charles V. Contemporaries, not without reason, said that in his domain "the sun never sets." At the same time, the Aragonese and Castilian kingdoms, bound only by a dynastic union, remained politically disunited throughout the entire 16th century: they retained their class-representative institutions - the Cortes, their own legislation and judicial system. Castilian troops could not enter the lands of Aragon, and the latter was not obliged to defend the lands of Castile in case of war. In the Kingdom of Aragon itself, its main parts (especially Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia and Navarre) also retained significant political independence.

The fragmentation of the Spanish state was also manifested in the fact that until 1564 there was no single political center, the royal court moved around the country, most often stopping in Valladolid. Only in 1605 did Madrid become the official capital of Spain.

In economic terms, the individual regions were little interconnected. This was largely facilitated by geographical conditions: a mountainous landscape, the absence of navigable rivers along which communication between the north and south of the country would be possible. The northern regions - Galicia, Asturias, the Basque Country had almost no connection with the center of the peninsula. They carried on a brisk trade with England, France and the Netherlands through the port cities of Bilbao, La Coruña, San Sebastian and Bayonne. Some areas of Old Castile and Leon gravitated towards this area, the most important economic center of which was the city of Burgos. The southeast of the country, especially Catalonia and Valencia, were closely connected with the Mediterranean trade - there was a noticeable concentration of merchant capital. The interior provinces of the Kingdom of Castile gravitated toward Toledo, which has long been a major center of crafts and trade.

The young king Charles I (V) (1516-1555) was brought up in the Netherlands before accession to the throne. He spoke little Spanish, his retinue and entourage consisted mainly of Flemings. In the early years, Charles ruled Spain from the Netherlands. The election to the imperial throne of the Holy Roman Empire, the journey to Germany and the cost of the coronation required huge funds, which placed a heavy burden on the Castilian treasury.

In an effort to create a "world empire", Charles V from the first years of his reign considered Spain primarily as a source of financial and human resources for the implementation of imperial policy in Europe. The king's widespread involvement of Flemish entourage in the state apparatus, absolutist claims were accompanied by a systematic violation of the customs and liberties of the Spanish cities and the rights of the Cortes, which caused discontent among wide sections of the burghers and artisans. The policy of Charles V, directed against the highest nobility, gave rise to a dull protest, which at times grew into open discontent. In the first quarter of the XVI century. the activities of the opposition forces concentrated around the issue of forced loans, which the king often resorted to from the first years of his reign.

In 1518, in order to pay off his creditors, the German bankers Fuggers, Charles V managed with great difficulty to obtain a huge subsidy from the Castilian Cortes, but this money was quickly spent. In 1519, in order to obtain a new loan, the king was forced to accept the conditions put forward by the Cortes, among which were the requirements:

so that the king does not leave Spain,

did not appoint foreigners to public office,

did not give them at the mercy of tax collection.

However, immediately after receiving the money, the king left Spain, appointing the Flemish governor, Cardinal Adrian of Utrecht.

Revolt of the urban communes of Castile (comuneros)

The violation of the signed agreement by the king was the signal for the uprising of the urban communes against the royal power, which was called the uprising of the comuneros (1520-1522). After the departure of the king, when the deputies of the Cortes, who had shown excessive compliance, returned to their cities, they were met with general indignation. In Segovia, artisans, cloth makers, day laborers, washers, and wool combers revolted. One of the main demands of the rebellious cities was a ban on the import of woolen fabrics from the Netherlands into the country.

In the summer of 1520, within the framework of the Holy Junta, the armed forces of the rebels, led by the nobleman Juan de Padilla, united. The cities refused to obey the governor and forbade his armed forces to enter their territory.

In the spring and summer of 1520, almost the entire country was under the control of the Junta. The cardinal-vicero, being in constant fear, wrote to Charles V that "there is not a single village in Castile that would not join the rebels." Charles V ordered that the demands of some cities be met in order to split the movement.

In the autumn of 1520, 15 cities withdrew from the uprising, their representatives, having gathered in Seville, adopted a document on the withdrawal from the struggle, in which the patriciate's fear of the movement of the urban lower classes was clearly manifested. In the autumn of the same year, the Cardinal Viceroy began open hostilities against the rebels.

Using the enmity of the nobility and cities, the troops of the cardinal-vicero went on the offensive and defeated the troops of Juan de Padilla at the Battle of Villalar (1522). The leaders of the movement were captured and beheaded. For some time, Toledo held on, where the wife of Juan de Padilla, Maria Pacheco, operated. Despite the famine and the epidemic, the rebels held firm. Maria Pacheco hoped for the help of the French king Francis I, but in the end she was forced to seek salvation in flight.

In October 1522, Charles V returned to the country at the head of a detachment of mercenaries, but by this time the movement had already been suppressed.

Simultaneously with the uprising of the Castilian communeros, a struggle broke out in Valencia and on the island of Mallorca. The reasons for the uprising were basically the same as in Castile, but the situation here was aggravated by the fact that the city magistrates in many cities were even more dependent on the grandees, who turned them into an instrument of their politics.

The economic development of Spain in the 16th century

The most densely populated part of Spain was Castile, where 3/4 of the population of the Iberian Peninsula lived. As in the rest of the country, the land in Castile was in the hands of the crown, the nobility, the Catholic Church and the spiritual and chivalric orders. The bulk of the Castilian peasants were personally free. They kept the lands of spiritual and secular feudal lords in hereditary use, paying a monetary qualification for them. In the most favorable conditions were the peasant colonists of New Castile and Granada, who settled on the lands conquered from the Moors. Not only did they have personal freedom, but their communities enjoyed privileges and liberties similar to those enjoyed by the Castilian cities. This situation changed after the defeat of the Comuneros rebellion.

The socio-economic system of Aragon, Catalonia and Valencia differed sharply from that of Castile. Here in the XVI century. the most cruel forms of feudal dependence were preserved. The feudal lords inherited the property of the peasants, interfered in their personal lives, could subject them to corporal punishment and even put them to death.

The most oppressed and disenfranchised part of the peasants and the urban population of Spain were the Moriscos - the descendants of the Moors who were forcibly converted to Christianity. They lived mainly in Granada, Andalusia and Valencia, as well as in the rural areas of Aragon and Castile, were heavily taxed in favor of the church and state, were constantly under the supervision of the Inquisition. Despite persecution, the industrious Moriscos have long cultivated such valuable crops as olives, rice, grapes, sugarcane, and mulberry trees. In the south, they created a perfect irrigation system, thanks to which they received a high yield of grain, vegetables and fruits.

For many centuries, sheep breeding has been an important branch of agriculture in Castile. The bulk of the sheep flocks belonged to a privileged noble corporation - Mesta, which enjoyed special patronage of the royal power.

Twice a year, in spring and autumn, thousands of sheep were driven from north to south of the peninsula along wide roads (kanyads) laid through cultivated fields, vineyards, olive groves. Tens of thousands of sheep, moving across the country, caused enormous damage to agriculture. Under pain of severe punishment, the rural population was forbidden to fence their fields from passing herds.

The place enjoyed great influence in the country, since the largest herds belonged to the representatives of the highest Castilian nobility united in it. At the beginning of the 16th century, they achieved confirmation of all the previous privileges of this corporation, which caused significant damage to agriculture.

The tax system in Spain also hampered the development of capitalist elements in the country's economy. The most hated tax was the alcabala, a 10% tax on every trade; in addition, there was still a huge number of permanent and extraordinary taxes, the size of which during the 16th century increased all the time, absorbing up to 50% of the income of the peasant and artisan.

Spain was the first country to experience the impact of the price revolution. During the 16th century, prices increased 3.5-4 times. Already in the first quarter of the XVI century. there was an increase in prices for basic necessities, and especially for bread. It would seem that this circumstance should have contributed to the growth of the marketability of agriculture. However, the system of taxes (maximum prices for grain) established in 1503 artificially kept the prices of bread low, while other products quickly rose in price. This led to a reduction in grain crops and a sharp drop in grain production in the middle of the 16th century. Beginning in the 1930s, most regions of the country imported grain from abroad, from France and Sicily. Imported bread was not subject to the tax law and was sold 2-2.5 times more expensive than grain produced by Spanish peasants.

The conquest of the colonies and the unprecedented expansion of colonial trade contributed to the rise of handicraft production in the cities of Spain and the emergence of individual elements of manufactory production, especially in cloth making. Manufactories arose in its main centers - Segovia, Toledo, Seville, Cuenca. A large number of spinners and weavers in the cities and in the region worked for the buyers. At the beginning of the 17th century, the large workshops of Segovia numbered several hundred hired workers.

Since Arab times, Spanish silk fabrics have been very famous in Europe, famous for their high quality, brightness and fastness of colors. The main centers of silk production were Seville, Toledo, Cordoba, Granada and Valencia. Expensive silk fabrics were little consumed in the domestic market and were mainly exported, as well as brocade, velvet, gloves, hats made in the southern cities: At the same time, coarse cheap woolen and linen fabrics were imported into Spain from the Netherlands and England .

In 1503, the monopoly of Seville on trade with the colonies was established and the “Seville Chamber of Commerce” was created, which controlled the export of goods from Spain to the colonies and the import of goods from the New World, mainly consisting of gold and silver bars. All goods intended for export and import were carefully registered by officials and subject to duties in favor of the treasury.

Wine and olive oil became the main Spanish exports to the Americas. Investing money in the colonial trade gave very large benefits (profits were much higher here than in other industries). In addition to the Seville merchants, merchants from Burgos, Segovia, and Toledo took part in the colonial trade. A significant part of the merchants and artisans moved to Seville from other regions of Spain, primarily from the north. The population of Seville grew rapidly: from 1530 to 1594 it doubled. The number of banks and merchant companies increased. At the same time, this meant the actual deprivation of other regions of the opportunity to trade with the colonies, since, due to the lack of water and convenient land routes, transporting goods to Seville from the north was very expensive. The monopoly of Seville provided the treasury with huge incomes, but it had a detrimental effect on the economic situation of other regions of the country. The role of the northern regions, which had convenient outlets to the Atlantic Ocean, was limited only to the protection of fleets heading to the colonies, which led their economy to decline at the end of the 16th century.

The development of the main branch of Spanish industry - the production of woolen fabrics - was held back by the export of a significant part of the wool to the Netherlands. In vain, the Spanish cities demanded to limit the export of raw materials in order to lower their price in the domestic market. The production of wool was in the hands of the Spanish nobility, who did not want to lose their income and, instead of reducing the export of wool, sought the issuance of laws that allowed the import of foreign cloths. one

Despite the economic upsurge of the first half of the 16th century, Spain remained generally an agrarian country with an underdeveloped domestic market, some areas were locally closed in economic terms.

Political system

During the reign of Charles V (1516-1555) and Philip II (1555-1598) there was an increase in central power, but the Spanish state was politically a motley conglomerate of disunited territories. The management of individual parts of this huge state reproduced the order that had developed in the Aragon-Castile kingdom itself, which constituted the political core of the Spanish monarchy. At the head of the state was the king, who headed the Council of Castile; there was also the Council of Aragon, which ruled Aragon, Catalonia and Valencia. Other Councils were in charge of territories outside the peninsula: the Council of Flanders, the Italian Council, the Council of the Indies; these areas were managed by viceroys, who were appointed, as a rule, from representatives of the highest Castilian nobility.

The strengthening of absolutist tendencies in the 16th and first half of the 17th centuries led to the decline of the Cortes. Already in the first quarter of the 16th century, their role was reduced exclusively to voting new taxes and loans to the king. More and more often, only representatives of cities began to be invited to their meetings. From 1538 the nobility and clergy were not officially represented in the Cortes. At the same time, in connection with the mass migration of nobles to the cities, a fierce struggle broke out between the burghers and the nobility for participation in city self-government. As a result, the nobles secured the right to occupy half of all positions in municipal bodies. In some cities, for example, in Madrid, Salamanca, Zamora, Seville, a nobleman had to be at the head of the city council; the city mounted police were also formed from the nobles. Increasingly, nobles acted as representatives of the cities in the Cortes. This testified to the strengthening of the political influence of the nobility. True, the nobles often sold their municipal positions to wealthy citizens, many of whom were not even residents of these places, or rented them out.

The further decline of the Cortes was accompanied in the middle of the 17th century. deprivation of their right to vote taxes, which was transferred to the city councils, after which the Cortes ceased to convene.

In the XVI - early XVII century. large cities, despite significant progress in the development of industry, largely retained their medieval appearance. These were urban communes, where the urban patriciate and nobles were in power. Many urban dwellers who had fairly high incomes acquired “hidalgia” for money, which exempted them from paying taxes, which, with all their weight, fell on the middle and lower strata of the urban population.

Beginning of the decline of Spain

Charles V spent his life on campaigns and almost never visited Spain. Wars with the Turks, who attacked the Spanish state from the south and the possessions of the Austrian Habsburgs from the southeast, wars with France over dominance in Europe and especially in Italy, wars with their own subjects - Protestant princes in Germany - occupied his entire reign. The grandiose plan to create a world Catholic empire collapsed, despite the numerous military and foreign policy successes of Charles. In 1555, Charles V abdicated and handed over Spain, along with the Netherlands, colonies and Italian possessions, to his son Philip II (1555-1598).

Philip was not a significant person. Poorly educated, limited, petty and greedy, extremely stubborn in pursuing his goals, the new king was deeply convinced of the steadfastness of his power and the principles on which this power rested - Catholicism and absolutism. Gloomy and silent, this clerk on the throne spent his whole life locked up in his chambers. It seemed to him that papers and prescriptions were enough to know everything and dispose of everything. Like a spider in a dark corner, he weaved the invisible threads of his politics. But these threads were torn by the touch of the fresh wind of a stormy and restless time: his armies were often beaten, his fleets went to the bottom, and he sadly admitted that "the heretical spirit promotes trade and prosperity." This did not prevent him from declaring: "I prefer not to have subjects at all, than to have heretics as such."

Feudal-Catholic reaction was rampant in the country, the highest judicial power in religious matters was concentrated in the hands of the Inquisition.

Leaving the old residences of the Spanish kings of Toledo and Valladolid, Philip II set up his capital in the small town of Madrid, on the desolate and barren Castilian plateau. Not far from Madrid, a grandiose monastery arose, which was also a palace-tomb - Escorial. Severe measures were taken against the Moriscos, many of whom continued to secretly practice the faith of their fathers. The Inquisition fell upon them especially fiercely, forcing them to abandon their former customs and language. At the beginning of his reign, Philip II issued a series of laws that increased persecution. Driven to despair, the Moriscos rebelled in 1568 under the slogan of preserving the Caliphate. Only with great difficulty did the government succeed in suppressing the uprising in 1571. In the cities and villages of the Moriscos, the entire male population was completely exterminated, women and children were sold into slavery. The surviving Moriscos were expelled to the barren regions of Castile, dooming them to starvation and vagrancy. The Castilian authorities mercilessly persecuted the Moriscos, the Inquisition burned "apostates from the true faith" in masses.

The economic decline of Spain in the second half of the XVI-XVII centuries.

In the middle of the XVI - XVII centuries. Spain entered a period of prolonged economic decline, which first affected agriculture, then industry and trade. Speaking about the reasons for the decline of agriculture and the ruin of the peasants, the sources invariably emphasize three of them: the severity of taxes, the existence of maximum prices for bread, and the abuse of the Mesta. Peasants were driven from their lands, communities were deprived of their pastures and meadows, this led to the decline of animal husbandry and the reduction of crops. The country experienced an acute shortage of food, which pushed up prices even more.

In the second half of the XVI century. in Spain, the concentration of landed property in the hands of the largest feudal lords continued to increase.

A significant part of the noble estates enjoyed the right of majorate, they were inherited only by the eldest son and were inalienable, that is, they could not be mortgaged and sold for debts. Church lands and possessions of spiritual and knightly orders were also inalienable. Despite the significant debt of the highest aristocracy in the 16th-17th centuries, unlike England and France, the nobility retained their land holdings and even increased them by purchasing domain lands sold off by the crown. The new owners liquidated the rights of communities and cities to pastures, seized communal lands and allotments of those peasants whose rights were not properly formalized. In the XVI century. the right of primacy extended to the possessions of the burghers. The existence of majorates removed a significant part of the land from circulation, which made it difficult for the development of capitalist tendencies in agriculture.

While the decline of agriculture and the reduction of grain crops became noticeable throughout the country, industries associated with the colonial trade flourished. The country imported a significant part of the consumed grain from abroad. At the height of the Dutch Revolution and the religious wars in France, due to the cessation of the import of bread, a real famine began in many areas of Spain. Philip II was forced to allow even Dutch merchants who brought bread from the Baltic ports into the country.

At the end of the XVI - beginning of the XVII century. The economic decline affected all sectors of the country's economy. Precious metals brought from the New World to a large extent fell into the hands of the nobles, in connection with which the latter lost interest in the economic development of their country. This determined the decline not only of agriculture, but also of industry, and primarily the production of fabrics. Already at the beginning of the XVI century. in Spain, complaints were heard about the destruction of crafts, about the massive ruin of artisans.

It would be possible to reduce the cost of production by introducing protectionist duties, lowering prices for agricultural products and raw materials within the country, and prohibiting their export. Despite repeated requests from the cities to reduce the export of wool, it constantly increased and increased from 1512 to 1610 by almost 4 times. Under these conditions, expensive Spanish fabrics could not compete with cheaper foreign ones, and Spanish industry was losing markets in Europe, in the colonies, and even in its own country. The trading companies of Seville, starting from the middle of the 16th century, began to increasingly resort to replacing expensive Spanish products with cheaper goods exported from the Netherlands, France, and England. The fact that until the end of the 60s, i.e., during its formation, when it especially needed protection from foreign competition, had a negative effect on Spanish manufactory, the commercial and industrial Netherlands were under the rule of Spain. These areas were considered by the Spanish monarchy as part of the Spanish state. Duties on wool imported there, although they increased in 1558, were two times lower than usual, and the import of finished Flemish cloth was carried out on more favorable terms than from other countries. All this had the most pernicious consequences for the Spanish manufacture; Spanish merchants withdrew their capital from manufactories, since participation in the colonial trade in foreign goods promised them big profits.

By the end of the century, against the background of the progressive decline of agriculture and industry, only colonial trade continued to flourish, the monopoly of which still belonged to Seville. Its highest rise belongs to the last decade of the 16th century. and the first decade of the 17th century. However, since the Spanish merchants traded mainly in foreign-made goods, the gold and silver coming from America hardly stayed in Spain. Everything went to other countries in payment for goods that supplied Spain itself and its colonies, and were also spent on the maintenance of troops. Spanish iron, smelted on charcoal, was replaced on the European market by cheaper Swedish, English and Lorraine iron, which began to be made using coal. Spain now began to import metal products and weapons from Italy and German cities.

The northern cities were deprived of the right to trade with the colonies; their ships were entrusted only with the protection of caravans heading to the colonies and back, which led to the decline of shipbuilding, especially after the Netherlands rebelled and trade across the Baltic Sea was sharply reduced. A heavy blow was dealt by the death of the Invincible Armada (1588), which included many ships from the northern regions. The population of Spain increasingly rushed to the south of the country and emigrated to the colonies.

The state of the Spanish nobility seemed to do everything in order to upset the trade and industry of their country. Enormous sums were spent on military enterprises and the army, taxes were increased, and the public debt grew uncontrollably.

Even under Charles V, the Spanish monarchy made large loans from the foreign bankers Fuggers, to whom income from the lands of the spiritual and chivalric orders of Sant Iago, Calatrava and Alcantara, whose master was the king of Spain, was transferred to repay the debt. Then the Fuggers got the richest mercury-zinc mines of Almadena. At the end of the 16th century, more than half of the treasury's expenditure was the payment of interest on the public debt. Philip II declared state bankruptcy several times, ruining his creditors, the government was losing credit and, in order to borrow new amounts, it had to give Genoese, German and other bankers the right to collect taxes from certain regions and other sources of income, which further increased the leakage of precious metals from Spain .

An outstanding Spanish economist of the second half of the 16th century, Thomas Mercado, wrote about the dominance of foreigners in the country's economy: “No, they could not, the Spaniards could not calmly look at foreigners prospering on their land; the best possessions, the richest estates, all the income of the king and nobles are in their hands. Spain was one of the first countries to embark on the path of primitive accumulation, but the specific conditions of socio-economic development prevented it from taking the path of capitalist development. The huge funds obtained from the robbery of the colonies were not used to create capitalist forms of economy, but went to the unproductive consumption of the feudal class. In the middle of the century, 70% of all post-treasury revenues fell from the metropolis and 30% were given by the colonies. By 1584, the ratio had changed: income from the metropolis amounted to 30%, and from the colonies - 70%. The gold of America, flowing through Spain, became the most important lever of primitive accumulation in other countries (primarily in the Netherlands) and significantly accelerated the development of the capitalist system in the bowels of feudal society there. In Spain itself, which began in the 16th century. the process of capitalist development was suspended. The disintegration of feudal forms in industry and agriculture was not accompanied by the emergence of the capitalist mode of production. This was the main reason for the economic decline of the country.

If the bourgeoisie not only did not grow stronger, but was completely ruined by the middle of the 17th century, then the Spanish nobility, having received new sources of income, strengthened economically and politically. It lived exclusively by plundering the people of its own country and the peoples of the provinces and colonies dependent on Spain. No such group as the English "new nobility" or the French "nobility of the mantle" developed within it.

Spanish absolutism

As the commercial and industrial activity of the cities declined, internal exchange decreased, communication between the inhabitants of different provinces weakened, and trade routes became empty. The weakening of economic ties laid bare the old feudal features of each region, and the medieval separatism of the cities and provinces of the country was resurrected.

Under the current conditions, a single national language was not developed in Spain, separate ethnic groups still remained: the Catalans, Galicians and Basques spoke their own languages, different from the Castilian dialect, which formed the basis of the literary Spanish language. Unlike other European states, the absolute monarchy in Spain did not play a progressive role and could not provide true centralization.

Foreign policy of Philip II

The decline was soon revealed in the foreign policy of Spain. Even before accession to the Spanish throne, Philip II was married to the English Queen Mary Tudor. Charles V, who arranged this marriage, dreamed not only of restoring Catholicism in England, but also, by joining the forces of Spain and England, to continue the policy of creating a worldwide Catholic monarchy. In 1558, Mary died, and the marriage proposal made by Philip to the new Queen Elizabeth was rejected, which was dictated by political considerations. England, not without reason, saw Spain as her most dangerous rival at sea. Taking advantage of the revolution and the war of independence in the Netherlands, England tried in every possible way to ensure its interests here to the detriment of the Spanish, not stopping at open armed intervention. English corsairs and admirals robbed Spanish ships returning from America with a cargo of precious metals, blocked the trade of the northern cities of Spain.

Spanish absolutism set itself the task of crushing this "heretical and robber nest", and, if successful, taking possession of England. The task began to seem quite feasible after Portugal was annexed to Spain. After the death of the last representative of the reigning dynasty in 1581, the Portuguese Cortes proclaimed Philip II their king. Together with Portugal, the Portuguese colonies in the East and West Indies also came under Spanish rule. Reinforced with new resources, Philip II began to support Catholic circles in England, intriguing against Queen Elizabeth and putting forward a Catholic, Queen Mary of Scots, to the throne instead of her. But in 1587 the conspiracy against Elizabeth was uncovered, and Mary was beheaded. England sent a squadron under the command of Admiral Drake to Cadiz, who, breaking into the port, destroyed the Spanish ships (1587). This event was the beginning of an open struggle between Spain and England. Spain began to equip a huge squadron to fight England. The "invincible armada" - the so-called Spanish squadron - sailed from A Coruña to the shores of England at the end of June 1588. This enterprise ended in disaster. The death of the "Invincible Armada" was a terrible blow to the prestige of Spain and undermined its naval power.

The failure did not prevent Spain from making another political mistake - to intervene in the civil war that was raging in France. This intervention did not lead to an increase in Spanish influence in France, nor to any other positive results for Spain. With the victory of Henry IV of Bourbon in the war, the cause of Spain was finally lost.

More victorious laurels were brought to Spain by her struggle with the Turks. The Turkish danger looming over Europe became especially tangible when the Turks captured most of Hungary and the Turkish fleet began to threaten Italy. In 1564 the Turks blockaded Malta. Only with great difficulty managed to save the island. In 1571, a combined Spanish-Venetian fleet under the command of the natural son of Charles V, Juan of Austria, inflicted a decisive defeat on the Turkish fleet in the Gulf of Lepanto, which stopped the further naval expansion of the Ottoman Empire. However, the victors failed to enjoy the fruits of their victory; even Tunisia, captured by don Juan, again passed to the Turks.

By the end of his reign, Philip II had to admit that almost all of his vast plans had failed, and the maritime power of Spain had been broken. The northern provinces of the Netherlands seceded from Spain. The state treasury was empty. The country experienced a severe economic decline.

Spain at the beginning of the 17th century

With the accession to the throne of Philip III (1598-1621), the long agony of the once powerful Spanish state begins. The impoverished and destitute country was ruled by the favorite of the king, the Duke of Lerma. The court of Madrid amazed contemporaries with splendor and extravagance, while the masses were exhausted under the unbearable burden of taxes and endless requisitions. Even the Cortes, obedient in everything, to whom the king turned for new subsidies, were forced to declare that there was nothing to pay, since the country was completely ruined, trade was killed by the alcabala, industry was in decline, and the cities were empty. The revenues of the treasury were reduced, fewer and fewer galleons loaded with precious metals came from the American colonies, but this cargo often became the prey of English and Dutch pirates or fell into the hands of bankers and usurers who lent money to the Spanish treasury at huge interest.

Expulsion of the Moriscos

The reactionary character of Spanish absolutism was expressed in many of its actions. One notable example of this is the expulsion of the Moriscos from Spain. In 1609, an edict was issued according to which the Moriscos were to be expelled from the country. Within a few days, under pain of death, they had to board ships and go to Barbary (North Africa), having with them only what they could carry on their hands. On the way to the ports, many refugees were robbed and killed. In the mountainous regions, the Moriscos resisted, which hastened the tragic denouement. By 1610, over 100 thousand people had been evicted from Valencia. The Moriscos of Aragon, Murcia, Andalusia and other provinces suffered the same fate. In total, about 300 thousand people were expelled. Many became victims of the Inquisition and died at the time of exile.

Spain and its productive forces were dealt another blow that hastened its further economic decline.

Foreign policy of Spain in the first half of the 17th century

Despite the poverty and desolation of the country, the Spanish monarchy retained inherited from the past claims to play a leading role in European affairs. The collapse of all the conquest plans of Philip II did not sober his successor. When Philip III came to the throne, the war in Europe was still going on. England acted in alliance with Holland against the Habsburgs. Holland defended with arms its independence from the Spanish monarchy.

The Spanish governors in the Southern Netherlands did not have sufficient military forces and tried to make peace with England and Holland, but this attempt was thwarted due to the excessive claims of the Spanish side.

In 1603, Queen Elizabeth I of England died. Her successor, James I Stuart, dramatically changed the foreign policy of England. Spanish diplomacy succeeded in drawing the English king into the orbit of Spanish foreign policy. But that didn't help either. In the war with Holland, Spain could not achieve decisive success. The commander-in-chief of the Spanish army, the energetic and talented commander Spinola, could not achieve anything in the conditions of the complete depletion of the treasury. The most tragic thing for the Spanish government was that the Dutch intercepted Spanish ships off the Azores and waged war on Spanish funds. Spain was forced to conclude a truce with Holland for a period of 12 years.

After the accession of Philip IV (1621-1665), Spain continued to be ruled by favorites; the only new thing was that Lerma had been replaced by the energetic Count Olivares. However, he could not change anything - the forces of Spain were already exhausted. The reign of Philip IV was the period of the final decline in the international prestige of Spain. In 1635, when France intervened directly in the course of the Thirty Years, the Spanish troops suffered frequent defeats. In 1638, Richelieu decided to attack Spain on its own territory: French troops captured Roussillon and then invaded the northern provinces of Spain.

But there they ran into the resistance of the people. By the 40s of the XVII century. Spain was completely exhausted. The constant tension of finances, the extortion of taxes and duties, the bossing of an arrogant, idle nobility and fanatical clergy, the decline of agriculture, industry and trade - all this gave rise to widespread discontent among the masses. Soon this discontent broke out.

Deposition of Portugal

After the entry of Portugal into the Spanish monarchy, its ancient liberties were left intact: Philip II sought not to irritate his new subjects. The situation changed for the worse under his successors, when Portugal became the object of the same ruthless exploitation as other possessions of the Spanish monarchy. Spain was unable to keep the Portuguese colonies, which passed into the hands of the Netherlands. Cadiz took over the trade of Lisbon, and the Castilian tax system was introduced in Portugal. The dull discontent that was growing in wide circles of Portuguese society became apparent in 1637; this first uprising was quickly crushed. However, the idea of laying aside Portugal and declaring its independence did not disappear. One of the descendants of the former dynasty was nominated as a candidate for the throne. The conspirators included the Archbishop of Lisbon, representatives of the Portuguese nobility, wealthy citizens. On December 1, 1640, having taken possession of the palace in Lisbon, the conspirators arrested the Spanish viceroy and proclaimed Joan IV of Braganza king.

History of Spain in the second half of the 17th - early 18th centuries.

Deep economic decline in the history of Spain at the end of the XVI-XVII centuries. led to the collapse of its political hegemony in Europe. Defeated on land and at sea, almost completely deprived of its army and navy, Spain was expelled from the ranks of the great European powers.

However, by the beginning of the new time, Spain still retained vast territorial possessions in Europe and huge colonies. She held the Duchy of Milan, Naples, Sardinia, Sicily, the Southern Netherlands. She also owned the Canary, Philippine and Caroline Islands and significant territories in South America.

In the middle of the XVII century. The Spanish throne remained in the hands of the Habsburgs. If at the beginning of the XVII century. the outer shell of the former powerful state was still preserved, then in the reign of Charles II (1665-1700), decay and decline engulfed all spheres of the Spanish state. The degradation of the Spanish monarchy was reflected in the personality of Charles II himself. He was physically and mentally underdeveloped, and never learned to write correctly. Unable to independently rule the state, he was a toy in the hands of his favorites - the Spanish grandees and foreign adventurers.

In the second half of the XVII century. Spain also lost its independence in international politics, becoming dependent on France and Austria. This was due to the dynastic connections of the Spanish court. One of the sisters of Charles II was married to Louis XIV, the second to the heir to the Austrian throne, Leopold I. This resulted in a fierce struggle between the Austrian and French groups at the Spanish court, especially since, due to the childlessness of Charles II, the question of the future heir to the throne was acute. In the end, the French party won, and Charles II bequeathed the throne to his French nephew, who in 1700 was crowned as Philip V (1700-1746). The transition of the Spanish throne to the Bourbons caused a sharp aggravation of the contradictions between the Austrian Empire and France, which escalated into a pan-European war "for the Spanish inheritance" (1701-1714).

The territory of Spain became the scene of hostilities of rival powers. The war further aggravated the internal crisis of the Spanish state. Catalonia, Aragon and Valencia took the side of the Austrian Archduke, hoping with his help to maintain their ancient privileges. According to the Peace of Utrecht (1713), Philip V was recognized as king of Spain on the condition of renunciation of the rights to the French throne. Spain lost a significant part of its possessions in Europe: Northern Italy went to Austria, Menorca and Gibraltar - to England, Sicily - to Savoy.

History of Spain XVIII century

History of Spain late 18th - early 19th century

First bourgeois revolution in Spain (1808-1814)

Beginning of the first bourgeois revolution in Spain

On March 17, 1808, crowds of people attacked Godoy's palace in the countryside royal residence of Aranjuez. The favorite fled, but Charles IV had to abdicate in favor of his son Ferdinand VII. Napolnon, having fraudulently lured first Ferdinand VII and then Charles IV to the French border city of Bayonne, forced them to abdicate in favor of his brother Joseph Bonaparte.

By order of Napoleon, a deputation of representatives of the Spanish nobility, clergy, officials and merchants was sent to Bayonne. They made up the so-called Bayonne Cortes, which drafted the Spanish constitution. Power passed to Joseph Bonaparte, some reforms were proclaimed.

The Spanish did not accept the constitution imposed by the French. They responded to the French intervention with a general guerrilla war. “...Napoleon, who - like all people of his time - considered Spain a lifeless corpse, was very unpleasantly surprised, convinced that if the Spanish state is dead, then Spanish society is full of life, and in every part of it the resistance forces are overwhelmed"

Immediately after the entry of the French into Madrid, an uprising broke out: on May 2, 1808, the inhabitants of the city entered into an unequal battle with an army of 25,000 under the command of Marshal Murat. For more than a day there were battles on the streets of the city, the uprising was drowned in blood.

In July 1808, the French army was surrounded by Spanish partisans and capitulated near the city of Bailen. Joseph Bonaparte and his government hastily evacuated from Madrid to Catalonia.

In November 1808, Napoleon led an invasion of the country by a 200,000-strong French army. But the partisan movement at that time swept the whole country. The people's war - the guerrilla - was massive.

In the course of the unfolding war against the invaders, local authorities were created - provincial juntas. They put into practice some revolutionary measures: taxes on large property, contributions from monasteries and clergy, restriction of feudal rights of lords, etc.

In September 1808, during the revolution, a new government of the country was created - the Central Junta, which consisted of 35 people.

Napoleon's army continued to advance. She captured most of Spain, including Seville, where the Central Junta met, which was forced to move to Cadiz, the last city not occupied by the French. However, the invaders failed to extinguish the flames of the guerrilla war.

Constitution of 1812

In September 1810, new unicameral cortes were convened in the city of Cadiz. They included many progressive figures who contributed to the drafting of the constitution adopted in 1812.

The new constitution was based on the principles of popular sovereignty and separation of powers. The power of the monarch was limited by unicameral cortes, which were convened on the basis of a fairly wide suffrage. Men from the age of 25 took part in the voting, with the exception of domestic servants and persons deprived of their rights by court.

The Cortes held the highest legislative power in the country. The king retained only the right of a suspensive veto: if the bill was rejected by the monarch, then it was returned to the Cortes for discussion and, if confirmed at the next two sessions, finally entered into force. The king nevertheless retained considerable power: he appointed senior government officials and senior officers, declared war with the sanction of the Cortes, and made peace.

Reforms of the first bourgeois revolution

The Cortes also adopted a number of decrees:

feudal obligations were abolished

church tithe and other payments in favor of the church were eliminated,

the sale of part of the church, monastic and royal possessions was announced.

At the same time, communal property was liquidated and the sale of communal lands began.

Restoration of absolutism

In connection with the beginning of Napoleon's aggressive campaign in Russia in 1812, a significant part of the army stationed in Spain was sent there. Taking advantage of this, the Spanish troops inflicted a series of crushing defeats on the French in 1812, and in November 1813 they were forced to completely leave the territory of Spain.

Napoleon made an attempt to maintain his influence in Spain through Ferdinand VII, who was a prisoner in France. Napoleon invited him to return to Spain and regain his rights to the throne in exchange for a promise to maintain friendly relations with France. However, the Cortes refused to recognize Ferdinand as king until he swore allegiance to the constitution of 1812.

Ferdinand, returning to Spain, gathered around him supporters of the restoration of absolutism. Assuming the role of head of state, he issued a manifesto declaring the constitution of 1812 invalid, and all the decrees of the Cortes annulled. The Cortes were dissolved, and the liberal ministers who were part of the government they had created were arrested. In May 1814, Ferdinand VII arrived in Madrid and announced the final restoration of the absolute monarchy.

The Inquisition was again completely restored, monastic, church and large secular land property was returned to the former owners.

Bourgeois revolution in Spain 1820-1823.

Background of the revolution

The feudal-absolutist order, restored in 1814, hampered the development of capitalist relations in industry and agriculture. In Spain, the alcabala (a medieval tax on trade transactions), internal customs duties, and state monopolies remained; Numerous workshops continued to exist in the cities.

In the village, more than 2/3 of the cultivated land was in the hands of the nobility and the church. The system of majorates guaranteed the preservation of the monopoly of the feudal lords on land.

The lack of progress in the economy caused sharp discontent among wide circles of the bourgeoisie, the liberal nobility, the military, and the intelligentsia. The economic weakness of the Spanish bourgeoisie and its lack of experience in political struggle led to the fact that the army began to play a special role in the revolutionary movement in the first decades of the 19th century. Patriotically minded officers began to realize the need for profound changes in the life of the country.

In 1814-1819. in the military environment and in many large cities, secret societies of the Masonic type arose. The participants in the conspiracies, among whom were officers, lawyers, merchants, entrepreneurs, set themselves the goal of preparing a pronunciamiento (a coup d'etat carried out by the army) and establishing a constitutional monarchy.

The beginning of the revolution

The impetus for the beginning of the revolution in Spain was the difficult and unsuccessful war for the independence of the Spanish colonies in Latin America. Cadiz became the center of preparation for the pronunciamiento, in the vicinity of which troops were stationed, intended to be sent to Latin America.

On January 1, 1820, an uprising in the army began near Cadiz, led by Lieutenant Colonel Rafael Riego. Soon, troops under the command of A. Quiroga joined the Riego detachment. The goal of the rebels was to restore the constitution of 1812.

The news of the uprising and campaign of Riego in Andalusia, in which most of his troops died, stirred up the whole country.

In late February - early March 1820, unrest began in the largest cities of Spain.

On March 6-7, people took to the streets of Madrid. Under these conditions, Ferdinand VII was forced to announce the restoration of the constitution of 1812, the convening of the Cortes, and the abolition of the Inquisition. The king appointed a new government, consisting of moderate liberals - "moderados".

The so-called observation army was created, which included the troops that raised the uprising in the south of the country in January 1820. It was headed by Rafael Riego.

The predominant influence in the "surveillance army" was enjoyed by the left wing of the liberals - "enthusiastic" ("exaltados"). The Exaltados demanded a decisive struggle against the supporters of absolutism and the consistent implementation of the principles of the constitution of 1812. They enjoyed the support of wide circles of the urban population.

The revolution also found a response in the countryside, where the outbreak of unrest brought the agrarian question to the forefront of the political struggle.

The Moderados won the elections for the Cortes, which opened in Madrid in June 1820.

The moderados policy favored the development of industry and trade: the guild system was abolished, internal customs duties, monopolies on salt and tobacco were abolished, and freedom of trade was proclaimed. The Cortes decided to liquidate religious orders and close some of the monasteries. Their property became the property of the state and was subject to sale. Majorates were abolished - henceforth the nobles could freely dispose of their land. Many impoverished hidalgos began to sell them.

In June 1821, the Cortes passed a law abolishing seigneurial rights. The law abolished the legal and administrative power of the lords. However, Ferdinand VII refused to approve the law on the abolition of seigneurial rights, using the right of suspensive veto granted to the king by the constitution of 1812.

"Moderados" did not dare to violate the royal veto. The law on the abolition of seigneurial rights remained on paper.

"Moderados" opposed the intervention of the masses in the political struggle. As early as August 1820, the government disbanded the "surveillance army" and in October restricted freedom of speech, the press, and assembly.

The dissatisfaction of many Spaniards with the indecision of the government in its fight against counter-revolution led to the discrediting of the "moderados". At the same time, the influence of the "exaltados" increased, with which they pinned hopes for the continuation of revolutionary transformations.

At the beginning of 1822, the exaltados won the elections to the Cortes. Rafael Riego was elected President of the Cortes.

In June 1822, the Cortes passed a law on the wastelands and royal lands: half of this land was supposed to be sold, and the rest to be distributed among veterans of the anti-Napoleonic war and landless peasants. In this way, the "exaltados" tried to alleviate the situation of the most disadvantaged part of the peasants, without violating the fundamental interests of the nobility.

In August 1822, the government of "exaltados" headed by E. San Miguel came to power. The new government led the fight against counter-revolution more actively. While suppressing counter-revolutionary actions, the "exaltados" at the same time did nothing to deepen the revolution. The government of E. San Miguel actually continued the agrarian policy of the moderate liberals.

Counter-revolutionary intervention and the restoration of absolutism

In 1822 it was already clear that the Spanish reaction could not suppress the revolutionary movement on its own. Therefore, the Verona Congress of the Holy Alliance, which met in October 1822, decided to organize intervention. In April 1823, French troops crossed the Spanish border. The government and the Cortes were forced to leave Madrid and move to Seville and then to Cadiz. Despite the heroic resistance of the army of General Mina in Catalonia and the detachments of Riego in Andalusia, in September 1823 almost all of Spain was at the mercy of counter-revolutionary forces.

On October 1, 1823, the decree of Ferdinand VII repealed all the laws adopted by the Cortes in 1820-1823. Absolutism reasserted itself in Spain, and the lands taken from it were returned to the church. In November 1823, Rafael Riego was executed.

Spain's attempts to restore its power in Latin America proved futile. By early 1826, Spain had lost all of its colonies in Latin America, with the exception of Cuba and Puerto Rico.

Bourgeois revolution 1820-1823 defeated, but it shook the foundations of the old order, paving the way for the further development of the revolutionary movement.

Bourgeois revolution in Spain 1834 - 1843.

The reactionary regime of Ferdinand VII, who won in 1823, could not stop the progressive development of capitalism. In the 1930s and 1940s, the industrial revolution began, which aggravated the contradictions between the needs for the development of capitalist relations and the preservation of the "old order". The Spanish bourgeoisie, having lost colonial markets, began to fight more actively against feudal remnants that hindered the development of entrepreneurship and trade in Spain itself.

Bourgeois revolution in Spain 1854 - 1856.

In June 1854, a group of opposition generals led by O'Donnell called for the overthrow of the government. The uprising in the army gave impetus to the revolutionary movement in the cities. At the end of July, a government was formed headed by the leader of the Progressives, Espartero; "Donnel representing the Moderados.

The government decided to confiscate and sell church lands. Lands that were in the hands of peasant communities were also confiscated and put on sale.

The Espartero-O'Donnel government restored the national militia and convened the Cortes. In 1855-1856, laws were passed that promoted the growth of entrepreneurial initiative and the attraction of foreign capital.

As the revolutionary movement developed, the big bourgeoisie and the liberal nobility passed into the counter-revolutionary camp. On July 14, 1856, Minister of War O'Donnell provoked the resignation of Espartero and dissolved the Cortes. This step led to an uprising in Madrid. On July 16, the uprising was crushed. The O'Donnell government suspended the sale of church lands and dissolved the national militia. This was the end of the fourth bourgeois revolution.

After the revolution of 1854-1856. Two blocs emerged: the Liberal Union and the Conservatives. The liberal union, led by General O "Donnel, expressed the interests of the bourgeois nobility and the top of the bourgeoisie. The conservatives, led by General Narvaez, represented the interests of large landowners-nobles. In 1856-1868, the government of Narvaez came to power three times and was replaced by the government of O "Donnel.

Bourgeois revolution in Spain 1868 - 1874

The beginning of the fifth bourgeois revolution (1868-1874)

With the development of capitalism, the bourgeoisie in Spain, having strengthened economically, more and more decisively laid claim to political power. By the end of 1867 - the beginning of 1868, a bloc of bourgeois parties had formed, which included the "progressives", the Liberal Union, and republican groups. The leaders of the bloc came to the conclusion that a new military coup was necessary.

In September 1868, an uprising began in Cadiz, which caused a wide response: in Madrid and Barcelona, the rebels seized the arsenals; everywhere began the creation of detachments of "volunteers of freedom." Queen Isabella fled Spain.

By June 1869 a new constitution had been drafted. Spain was proclaimed a constitutional monarchy, a bicameral parliament was formed on the basis of universal suffrage for men. The monarchy is proclaimed, but there is no king. In Spain, there was a fairly long period of struggle between various political forces, which included the governments of a number of European countries. At the end of 1870, the son of the Italian king, Amadeo of Savoy, was proclaimed king of Spain. The Carlist pretender also aspired to become a monarch.

The Basque Country and Navarre became the backbone of Carlism, whose population associated with Carlism hopes for the restoration of ancient local liberties - "fueros". In 1872, the Carlists unleashed a civil war in northern Spain.

First Republic in Spain

The republican movement was expanding in the country, and the influence of sections of the First International was growing. The north of Spain was engulfed in the Carlist war. The deepening political crisis forced King Amadeo to abdicate. On February 11, 1873, Spain was proclaimed a republic.

Now the struggle within the republican camp has already begun. Revolts broke out in southern Spain. The Carlist war continued in the north.

The Spanish bourgeoisie, frightened by the sweep of the revolutionary movement, sought to restore the monarchy. The striking force of all the changes in Spain continued to be the army. On January 3, 1874, the military, dispersing the Cortes, carried out a coup d'état. The new government began preparations for the restoration of the monarchy. In December 1874, Isabella's son, Alphonse XII, was proclaimed king. Thus ended the fifth bourgeois revolution. In 1876 the Carlist War ended with the defeat of the Carlists.

The results of the bourgeois revolutions of 1808-1874.

The cycle of bourgeois revolutions that shook Spain in 1808-1874 destroyed many of the feudal vestiges that stood in the way of the development of capitalism.

History of Spain 19th century

Restoration mode

Cycle of revolutions 1808-1874 ended with the restoration in December 1874 of the Bourbon monarchy. During the reign of King Alfonso XII (1874-1885) and then during the regency of his widow Maria Christina (1885-1902), the monarchical regime acquired relative stability.

In 1875, two political parties took shape in the ruling circles of Spain: the liberal and the conservative.

The Liberal Party, led by Mateo Sagasta, enjoyed the support of the financial and commercial bourgeoisie. The liberals advocated a gradual "liberalization" of the restoration regime by pursuing an anti-clerical policy (limiting the number of religious congregations, developing secular education) and political reforms (introducing universal suffrage, etc.).

The Conservative Party was led by the head of the first restoration government, A. Canovas del Castillo. The party found support among a significant part of the landed aristocracy and the church. The conservatives advocated a moderate constitutional monarchy that limited both absolute power and democratic freedoms. In the customs area, the conservatives showed themselves as supporters of agrarian protectionism, while the liberals demanded a policy of free trade.

In 1876, the Cortes accepted and the king sanctioned a monarchical constitution, which then existed until 1931. It proclaimed freedom of the press, assembly and association. The bicameral Cortes shared legislative power with the king. The king had supreme command of the army and navy. He appointed ministers and was the head of the executive branch. The Catholic religion was declared the state religion.

Pact El Pardo

In November 1885, when information was received from the royal palace of El Pardo about the hopeless condition of the king who was ill with tuberculosis, the conservative and liberal parties concluded an unspoken agreement between themselves on alternately coming to power and on jointly protecting the dynasty in the event of new performances by Carlists or Republicans. The treaty became known as the El Pardo Pact. The birth of an heir was expected only a few months later. Saving the dynasty, the ruling circles gave defiant support to the regency of Maria Christina, established after the death of Alfonso XII on November 25.

In the 1990s, the ruling parties were replaced in power every two or three years, invariably securing their respective position in the Cortes. In the agrarian regions of Spain during this period, the cacique system was widespread, which contemporaries called the "new feudalism" or "the true constitution of Spain." Caciques were people who had the maximum economic influence in the area. As a rule, this was a large landowner or, in the event that the latifundist himself permanently lived in Madrid, his representative. The caciques assumed the duties of a political leader, organized elections to the Cortes and, in fact, determined the composition of local governments.

The liberals carried out at the end of the 19th century some part of their political program of transformation. Gradually, Spain acquired the form of a legal state of the European model. In 1881, the Sagasta government allowed the formation of associations, including political parties. Sagasta's second government passed a law in 1890 to introduce universal male suffrage, abolishing the property qualification required by the 1878 law.

Military defeat in 1898 and the problem of Spain

Before the start of the war with the United States, Spain held Cuba and Puerto Rico in the West Indies, the Caroline and Mariana Islands, the Philippines, the Palau Islands in the Pacific Ocean and a number of small possessions on the African continent under its rule. Claims for the division and seizure of the Spanish colonial possessions were made by the imperialist powers - the USA and Germany.

In April 1898, a war began between Spain and the United States, which actually sought the transfer of Spanish possessions under their sovereignty. The war lasted only four months and ended in the defeat of Spain. Spain had lost her navy in two battles and could no longer defend her colonies. Under the Paris Peace Treaty of December 10, 1898, Spain lost Cuba, ceded to the United States Puerto Rico and other islands in the West Indies, the island of Guam and the Philippines (for 20 million dollars). Germany in February 1899 forced Spain to sell her the Caroline and Mariana Islands. From the old Spanish colonial empire, only possessions in Africa remained: Spanish Guinea, Western Sahara, Ifni and a few strongholds in Morocco.

The defeat in the war with the United States, the loss of the colonies were perceived in Spain as a national catastrophe. The Spaniards then experienced a keen sense of national humiliation.

It was clear that the root cause of the military defeat of 1898 was the relatively weak development of the Spanish economy.

The Moors come to the Iberian Peninsula in 711 to help the Visigothic groups. This was the beginning of the end of the Visigothic empire. In a short time, Spain becomes part of the Umayyad Caliphate (Arab Caliphate). Islam spread with incredible speed. The mosques built in those days have become real masterpieces of Muslim architecture. For example, the mosque in Cordoba has become the most outstanding monument of the Umayyad family. The Arabs were tolerant towards Jews and Christians, but the tax had to be paid by everyone who did not change their faith.

The noble Umayyad dynasty is replaced by the Abbasids, representatives of another family. Armed confrontations in Arab possessions lead to the coming to power of Abd ar-Rahman (his statue in the photo on the right), who makes Cordoba (756) the capital of his emirate, like many Muslim cities, decorated with the Alcazar Palace. Muslims rebuild a Roman palace into a defensive bastion.

Later, Ferdinand III turns the building into the residence of the kings. For about 32 years, attempts were made to overthrow the ruler from the throne. Charlemagne, the Frankish king, also made an attempt. But his troops were defeated, in the decisive battle in the Ronceval Gorge, the famous Breton Count Roland, who later became the hero of the epic poem "The Song of Roland", dies.

For several centuries, power was replaced by various representatives of the genus Abd ar-Rahman I. The Caliphate lasted until the 11th century. In 1031, Hisham III loses his reign. In the collapsed Cordoba caliphate, representatives of the beau monde of Arabs and Berbers are trying to create new stable states, but to no avail.

Reconquista

Reconquista means "reconquest" in Spanish. With this name, the war against the Moors entered the history of the country, which was waged by the Spaniards together with other European nations.

Its beginning was laid by Pelayo (Pelagia) in 718, when under his leadership in the battle of Covadonga the movement of the Arabs in the mountains of Asturias was stopped. Alphonse I, grandson of Pelayo, connected Cantabria with Asturias. His victories include the conquest of Galicia. It was here that the tomb of St. James was found. This event made it a center of pilgrimage.

The merits of Charlemagne (in the picture on the left) include the creation of the Spanish brand in the northeast (the border between the lands of the Franks and the Arabs). She stopped the advance of Muslims into Europe. The border lasted until 1137, until the merger of Barcelona and Aragon into one kingdom of Aragon. By the way, the Aragonese Pyrenees are famous all over the world for their beauty and pink rocks near the town of Aguero.

Ferdinand I assigns the status of a kingdom to Leon-Asturias, it becomes a stronghold of the Reconquista. In 1085 Toledo is conquered by Christians. Aragon unites with Catalonia, the Basques found Navarre. During the reign of the Almoravids (1090-1145), the valiant knight Sid performs his exploits. The national hero of Spain conquers Valencia in 1095. Cid's sword is now kept in the Spanish room of the Military Museum in Madrid.

After several impressive victories, by the end of the 13th century, the Christians are pushing out the Moors, only the Caliphate of Cordoba still holds its position on the peninsula, paying tribute. The Torre de la Calahorra tower is a powerful defensive fortress of Cordoba, withstood more than one battle, proving its strength.