Most of the Iberian Peninsula has been populated since prehistoric times. Early evidence of human habitation unearthed at the Atapuerca site in northern Spain are some 800,000 years old. Modern man made his appearance around 35,000 BC. Sometime around 4000 BC, much of Spain was settled by the Iberians, arriving from the east. The Celts arrived later, settling in the northern third of the peninsula. Bronze age civilization flourished in the south, culminating with the Tartessian civilization around Seville (1000-500 BC).

Around 1100 BC, Phoenician seafarers from present-day Lebanon set up trading colonies in Cadiz and elsewhere along the Spanish coast. Greeks also traded along the north-eastern coast. With the fall of Phoenicia, the Iberian Peninsula came under the rule of Carthage (present day Tunisia), but was occupied by Rome following the Punic Wars. The Romans held sway in Iberia for six centuries, laying the foundations for Spanish language and culture.

Following the fall of the western Roman empire in the fifth century AD, Spain was ruled by the Visigoths, a Germanic people who had migrated from central Europe. In 711, the Muslims of northern Africa launched an invasion across the Strait of Gibraltar, occupying most of the peninsula within a few years. Their presence lasted more than seven centuries.

The Christian kingdoms to the north increased in power over the generations. Spain was ultimately unified through the marriage of Isabel I of Castile and Fernando II of Aragon, and Granada, the last Moorish stronghold, was reclaimed by the “Catholic Monarchs”. The holy war continued by way of the Spanish Inquisition wherein large numbers of non-Christians were persecuted and often sentenced to death. Despite this turmoil, Spain flourished in art and architecture during this period. Further, Spain embarked on an age of discovery as the voyages of Columbus and the conquistadors opened new vistas in the New World. This Golden Age, which lasted through the 16th century, was also one of the great artistic and literary periods, producing the lasting achievements of such notable painters as El Greco and Valzquez; such writers as Cervantes; and such dramatists as Lope de Vega and Calderon de la Barca.

The discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus was to mark Spanish history forever. Treasure from Spain’s vast overseas empire pushed Spain into the forefront of European countries, but constant warfare drained resources. During the 16th century, the Spaniards fought the Turks and the French. From 1568 The Netherlands, which was ruled by Spain, rebelled, and began a long war of independence. Furthermore from 1587 to 1604, Spain fought a war with the English.

In 1700 King Carlos II died and in his will, he left the kingdom of Spain to a Frenchman named Philip of Anjou. However other European powers would not accept this as it would mean a powerful alliance between France and Spain.

In 1701 the War of the Spanish Succession began between Austria and France. Britain and the Netherlands joined Austria against France in 1702. The British captured Gibraltar in 1704 and Minorca in 1709. The Treaty of Utrecht, 1713, ceded both by Spain to Britain. By the Treaty of Rastatt and Baden in 1714, Austria took Belgium from Spain.

Despite the war, King Philip of Felipe strengthened the Spanish monarchy. The various regions of Spain were integrated into a single state. During the 18th-century Spanish agriculture expanded and became more productive. The population of Spain increased during the century. So did trade and commerce.

In 1808 Napoleon forced the Spanish king to abdicate and he made his brother Joseph king of Spain. However, the Spanish people refused to accept him. As a result, Napoleon led an army into Spain and captured Madrid. The Spaniards fought a guerrilla war against the French. This time the British were their allies. The French were driven out of Spain in 1813.

Ferdinand became king in December 1813, but in 1814 he declared he intended to rule as an absolute monarch. This was contradicted the 1812 constitution making Spain a constitutional Monarchy. In 1820 General Rafael de Riego forced Ferdinand to accept the constitution. Yet in 1823 the French king sent an army to restore Ferdinand to absolute power.

Meanwhile, Spain’s colonies in Central and South America rebelled, and between 1818 and 1824 they gained their independence. In 1819 Spain was forced to cede Florida to the United States.

Ferdinand died in 1833 and Spain was plunged into a civil war between During the 19th century, Spain was sharply divided between conservatives and liberals, and rural and urban society. Coups d’etat and changes of government were frequent. With the increasing power of the working class, in 1931 king Alfonso XIII was forced to abdicate, and Spain was declared a republic.

In 1936, the Spanish Civil War erupted, with Nationalists under General Franco fighting the seated Republicans. With the help of Hitler and Moussolini, the Nationalists eventually claimed victory and executed thousands of Republicans. After Franco’s death in 1975, the country shifted from a dictatorship to a democracy. The current king, Juan Carlos I, is a constitutional monarch and is lauded for his support of democracy. As a fruit of its new freedoms, the country celebrated a cultural renaissance in the 1980s and 1990s, and in 1992 hosted both the Summer Olympics in Barcelona and the Expo ’92 in Sevilla.

The Spanish economy continued to grow strongly during the late 20th century, although unemployment was high. In 1986 Spain joined the European Union, and in 1999 Spain adopted the Euro as its currency. Spain suffered badly in the recession from 2008 and unemployment rose to a very high level. Unemployment in Spain reached a peak in 2013. However, it then fell. From 2014 onward Spain recovered from the crisis. Today the economy of Spain is growing steadily. In 2020 the population of Spain was 47 million.