Spain
Spain's population density, lower than that of most European
countries, is roughly equivalent to New England's. In recent years,
following a longstanding pattern in the rest of Europe, rural
populations are moving to cities. Urban areas are also experiencing
a significant increase in immigrant populations, chiefly from North
Africa, South America, and Eastern Europe.
Spain has no official religion. The constitution of 1978
disestablished the Roman Catholic Church as the official state
religion, while recognizing the role it plays in Spanish society.
More than 90% of the population is at least nominally Catholic.
Among the remaining population, there are about 1.2 million
evangelical Christians and other Protestants (2007 est.), 1 million
Muslims (2007 est.), and 48,000 Jews (2007 est.). |
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The Iberian Peninsula has been settled for millennia. In fact, some
of Europe's most impressive Paleolithic cultural sites are located
in Spain, including the famous caves at Altamira that contain
spectacular paintings dating from about 15,000 to 25,000 years ago.
The Basques, Europe's oldest surviving group, are also the first
identifiable people of the peninsula.
Beginning in the ninth century BC, Phoenicians, Greeks,
Carthaginians, and Celts entered the Iberian Peninsula. The Romans
followed in the second century BC and laid the groundwork for
Spain's present language, religion, and laws. Although the Visigoths
arrived in the fifth century AD, the last Roman strongholds along
the southern coast did not fall until the seventh century AD. In
711, North African Moors sailed across the straits, swept into
Andalusia, and within a few years, pushed the Visigoths up the
peninsula to the Cantabrian Mountains. The Reconquest--efforts to
drive out the Moors--lasted until 1492. By 1512, the unification of
present-day Spain was complete.
During the 16th century, Spain became the most powerful nation in
Europe, due to the immense wealth derived from its presence in the
Americas. But a series of long, costly wars and revolts, capped by
the English defeat of the "Invincible Armada" in 1588, began a
steady decline of Spanish power in Europe. Controversy over
succession to the throne consumed the country during the 18th
century, leading to an occupation by France during the Napoleonic
era in the early 1800s and a series of armed conflicts throughout
much of the 19th century.
The 19th century saw the revolt and independence of most of Spain's
colonies in the Western Hemisphere; three wars over the succession
issue; the brief ousting of the monarchy and establishment of the
First Republic (1873-74); and, finally, the Spanish-American War
(1898), in which Spain lost Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines
to the United States. A period of dictatorial rule (1923-31) ended
with the establishment of the Second Republic. It was dominated by
increasing political polarization, culminating in the leftist
Popular Front electoral victory in 1936. Pressures from all sides,
coupled with growing and unchecked violence, led to the outbreak of
the Spanish Civil War in July 1936.
Following the victory of his nationalist forces in 1939, General
Francisco Franco ruled a nation exhausted politically and
economically. Spain was officially neutral during World War II but
followed a pro-Axis policy. Therefore, the victorious Allies
isolated Spain at the beginning of the postwar period, and the
country did not join the United Nations until 1955. In 1959, under
an International Monetary Fund stabilization plan, the country began
liberalizing trade and capital flows, particularly foreign direct
investment.
Despite the success of economic liberalization, Spain remained for
years the most closed economy in Western Europe--judged by the small
measure of foreign trade to economic activity--and the pace of
reform slackened during the 1960s as the state remained committed to
"guiding" the economy. Nevertheless, in the 1960s and 1970s, Spain
was transformed into a modern industrial economy with a thriving
tourism sector. Its economic expansion led to improved income
distribution and helped develop a large middle class. Social changes
brought about by economic prosperity and the inflow of new ideas
helped set the stage for Spain's transition to democracy during the
latter half of the 1970s.
Upon the death of General Franco in November 1975, Franco's
personally-designated heir Prince Juan Carlos de Borbon y Borbon
assumed the titles of king and chief of state. Dissatisfied with the
slow pace of post-Franco liberalization, he replaced Franco's last
Prime Minister with Adolfo Suarez in July 1976. Suarez entered
office promising that elections would be held within one year, and
his government moved to enact a series of laws to liberalize the new
regime. Spain's first elections since 1936 to the Cortes
(Parliament) were held on June 15, 1977. Prime Minister Suarez's
Union of the Democratic Center (UCD), a moderate center-right
coalition, won 34% of the vote and the largest bloc of seats in the
Cortes.
Under Suarez, the new Cortes set about drafting a democratic
constitution that was overwhelmingly approved by voters in a
national referendum in December 1978. |
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