Historic Spain fue best referred to as an ancient pit stop. It was a great place to fuel, to trade, to parar, and to reparar damage to ships. As people traveled through it they realized how good of land it was. For roughly 700 years Spain was a volatile place, an area of unrest, but only until groups realized that it could be conquistada.

The Iberos were the next group. They invadieron the eastern part of Spain. This group had an "AHA" moment. They thought and dijieron, "Why don't we just take the benefits and live together?"

The Romanos estan coming! The Romans are coming! Rome is a powerful country that is constantly expanding. Their plan was to obtener to Spain, take over, and matar everybody they see.

The Moors invaded the peninsula in 711 A.D. They dejaron Africa to come to Spain. They usaron Spain as an escape from religious persecucion. They easily defeat the Visigoth Kingdoms conquering nearly all of the peninsula.

La Reconquista was a continual fight between Christian kingdoms in the North of the peninsula and the Muslims who controlaban the South. La Reconquista was a war of words.

Santiago "Matamoros" was the patron saint of Spain. He queria to kill the Muslims which was okay.

The Spanish Inquisition paso over a period of years. In 1492 the last Moorish was derrotado and all Muslims remaining in Spain were forced to leave or convert to Christianity. In 1502 there was success against against Muslims, and it is decided that all Jews need to leave Spain or convert to Christianity.

Juana, the daughter of Fernando and Isabel was a buscador de oro. A gold digger was somebody who just had power and used it to get what they wanted. She wanted to marry not only for money but also for power.

La Leyenda Negra is that Spain is the alcantarilla of the world. It was said that the kings and queens comió the children. Translated to the Black Legend, La Leyenda Negra was propaganda to not viajar to Spain.

There fueron generations of Habsburg Kings. King Felipe II was succeeded by his son Felipe III. King Felipe III does and his son Felipe IV takes the trono and reina from 1621 to 1665. Felipe reigns over one of the richest cultural periods in Spanish history, the Siglo de Oro. El Siglo de Oro was a period of drama, literatura, and art.

The end of the Habsburg reign came when Felipe IV's son, Carlos, known as "El Hechizado" died in 1700 and left no heredero to ascender to the throne of Spain. The war of Spanish Succession pitted royal families and their nations against each other to see who would rule Spain. The war termino in 1713 with Spain perdiendo Gibraltar to the English. Felipe V, the Bourbon grandson of Louis XIV, becomes King of Spain. The Bourbon family remains the royal family of Spain today. The Bourbons were competente rulers, but were more concerned with life at court. They had efforts to convert Spain into a modern state.

Charles IV se hico king. He was the nieto of Felipe V. As time passed, more guerra followed. The rebellion of May 2, 1808, in Madrid began the War of Spanish Independence. The Constitution of 1812 established a parliamentary monarquía. The son of Charles IV returned from exilio in France to rule after defeat of Napoleon's troops. During the totalitarian rule people were constantly at odds with liberals who wanted to expand on the Constitution of 1812. Totalitario rule is when one person has all the power. If you do not agree with this rule you either go to prison or you are killed. Fernando VII died in 1833, leaving only his hija, Isabel.

Later on, the Bourbons return to the throne with the reign of Alfonso XII from 1875 to 1885. He was followed by his son, Alfonso XIII, from 1902 to 1931. Alfonso XIII was unable to put a stop to the political tension and low morale of the country. He allowed a military general to a establish a dictatorship from 1923 to 1931. The dictatorship is unable to solve the problems of the country. In 1931, elections are held to determine of Spain should continue a monarchy or give democracy another try.

The Second Republic of Spain is established in 1931, ushering in an era of hope and optimism. They set up a new, progressive constitution, which gives women the right to vote, allows divorce, separates the Church from the State, and creates public schools. The new government created an even deeper political and social divide. The military, the Church, and the upper classes think that there are too many changes going on. Socialists and communists factions think there are not enough changes and want a faster change.

As people were trying to work towards peace, General Francisco stages a military revolt in 1936, beginning the Civil War. They didn't like the way the government was happening. The Republican forces get very little help. The war ends with Franco's Nationalist forces winning.

Francisco Franco was a fascist dictator of Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975. The idealized "glory years" of Spain under Carlos V and Felipe II. Basque terrorists group ETA assassinated Franco's chosen successor. Franco chooses his grandson Alfonso XIII to take over. Upon Franco's death in 1975, Juan Carlos I de Borbon becomes King of Spain.

Instead of continuing Franco's policies or establishing an absolute monarchy, Juan Carlos declares democracy in Spain. He names Adolfo Suarez the first Prime Minister. Suarez begins the period known as the Transition. In 1978, Suarez is elected in the first elections held in Spain since 1936. In the 80's Felipe Gonzalez leads Spain out of isolation, joining NATO and the EU. Jose Maria Aznar aumenta Spain's influence on the world, with a growing economy and a strong alliance with the USA.

2 days after the attack, elections proclaim Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the new Prime Minister of Spain. His first action, as promised, was to withdraw Spanish troops from the US war with Iraq. Under his government, Spain joined several other European nations in legalizing same-sex marriage. He won the re-election in 2008.