Spain(Amber_Williams)

toc =History= Spain was colonizes as early as 8th century B.C. by Celtic and Phoenician settlers. The name //Spain// comes from the name the Phoenicians gave to the Iberian Peninsula, //Span// which meant hidden or remote land. Throughout the next seven centuries, the Greek and Carthaginians settlers moved into the land. The Romans spent two hundred years conqurering all of Spain, which was completed in the 1st century B.C. The Romans brought Christianity and the Latin language to the Spainards. In 5th century A.D. Germanin tribes traveled either through or to the country. One tribe, the Visigoths, settled in Spain to build a kingdom. The nobles of this tribes weakened the monarchy by constant confict, so in 711, Spain was invaded by Muslims from Africa. Under these rulers, trading and commerce thrived and mathematics, medicine, and philosophy flourished. Muslim power declined after 1000 as Christian kingdoms in the North, helped by migrants from Eurpoe, move southward to take control of the peninsula. The last Muslim kingdom in Spain was conqured in 1492. Several important Christian kingdoms were Castile, Aragon, and Portugal. Castile was the strongest and was central to the construction of the Catholic, Castilian-speaking society of medieval Spain.



The migragtions to Spain were over by 1500, but Spain was still important for seaborne tade between the Mediterranean and Northern Europe because of its location. In the latter part of the century, navigators were sent in the service of Spain to explore the Americas where they found silver in great quanities. This was important in keeping Spain a major player in Europe's expanding world trading. Spain also gained control of a huge European empire through diplomacy and marriages. Spain's empires lasted in various forms until the early 19th century, disapearing after the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars.



Throughout the 19th century, the people of Spain argued about their government and the amount of participation in politics by the masses. Spain also entered the Industrial revolution and the economy created new political forces. No single faction succeeded in commanding a political majority. Many Spaniards wanted the army to bring the county out of the chaos and it became another powerful faction. By the end of the century, Spain's government seemed democratic, but was actually controlled by anoligarchy that refused to share power. Political groups increasingly resorted to violence and in 1923 General Miguel Primo de Rivera became dictator. This was followed by experiments of democracy in the 1930's that was suppressed by the Spanish Civil War. The result of this war were 500,000 lives and resulted in the dictatorship of Fancisco Franco. After his death in 1975, Spain rapidly transitioned from a dictatorship to the modern democratic European nation it is today.

=Geography= Spain (officially called Kingdom of Spain) is located on the Iberian Peninsula. It's capital and largest city, with a population of 3.3 million people is Madrid. It's other major cities include Barcelona (with a population of 1.6 million people), Valencia (a poplulation of 809,267), Seville (population of 704,198), Malaga (568,507), Zaragoza (675,121), and Bilbao (353,187). Spain is about the size of Arizona and Utah combined and includes the Balearic and Canary Islands.The terrain includes high plateaus, lowland areas such as narrow coastal plains, and mountainous regions. Summers in spain are usually hot in the center of the country and are more moderate and cloudy along the coast. Winters are cold in the middle of the country, but are warmer and more cloudy the closer you are to the coast.

=Government= Spain is ruled under a Constitutional monarchy, with Mariano Rajoy as Prime Minister and King Juan Carlos I a figurehead. He has been the King since 1975. The constitution was put into effect in 1978. There are three branches to the Spanish government: The Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. The president of Spain (and head of the Executive branch), is nominated by the monarch, and is approved by democratically elected Congress of Deputies.



=Culture= There are 47,190,493 people currently living in Spain. Their official language is Spanish, but only 74% of the country speaks it. The other major languages are Catalan, Galician, and Basque. Roman Catholics make up about 75% of the population, but Protestant and Islamic faiths also have a significant presence. The currency of Spain is the Euro. Major Imports include machinery, equipment, fuels, chemicals, semi-finished goods, consumer goods, and medical instruments. Major Exports include motor vehicles, machinery, basic metals, vegetable products, chemicals, mineral products, and textiles.









=Current Events=

EU member states have agreed to stop importing Iranian crude oil, but Iran still denies that they have stopped exporting it.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has said it made no purchases of eurozone government bonds last week. The central bank has been buying the bonds of cash-strapped countries like Italy and Spain in a bid to keep their cost of borrowing down. These emergency loans are to try and bring down the cost of borrowing to sustainable levels.