Chronography of Spain, Andorra, Gibraltar
Page last
modified 2/4/2022
See also South-Central America for Spanish
colonial history in South America
Andorra � see Appendix 1
Gibraltar � see Appendix 2
Box index:-
6.0,
Catalonia Independence Campaign, 2010-17
5.0,
End of ETA bombing campaign, 1980-2011
4.0,
Spain liberalises post-Franco, 1975-80
3.0,
Death of General Franco, 1975
2.0,
Development of the Spanish
economy 1957-73
1.0,
ETA activity 1959-75
0.0,
Spain in World War Two, 1939-45
-1.0,
Spanish Civil War 1936-39
-2.0,
Civil conflict in Spain 1930-34
-3.0,
Civil conflict in Spain 1917-23
-4.0,
Civil conflict in Spain 1909-13
-5.0,
Civil conflict in Spain 1900-03
-6.0,
Second Carlist War 1873-76
-7.0,
First Carlist War 1833-1839
-8.0,
King Ferdinand VII 1814-33
-9.0,
French occupation of Spain � evicted by
Wellington, Peninsular War, 1808-13
-10.0,
King Charles� IV
� deposed by the French 1808; 1796-1806
-11.0,
King Charles III, 1759-1788
-12.0,
King Ferdinand IV, 1746-59
-13.0,
War of the Spanish Succession,
1703-15
-14.0,
King Philip III, 1598-1621
24/10/2019, Settling a long-standing controversy, the remains
of General
Franco were exhumed from the mausoleum of the Valley of the Fallen
and reinterred in the family crypt at the Mingorrubio-El Pardo cemetery near
Madrid.
6.0, Catalonia Independence Campaign, 2010-17
21/12/2017, In a referendum sanctioned by Madrid, the two
pro-independence parties of Catalonia won a small total majority in the
135-seat Catalan Parliament; however the biggest single party was for union
with Spain.
27/10/2017, Catalonia
formally declared independence from Spain, just as Spain invoked Article 155 of its Constitution, never before
used, to enable it to take direct control of Catalonia and suspend its regional
government.
1/10/2017, Catalonia
held a referendum, which was strongly opposed by the Spanish Government, on
independence. Madrid took down
web-based polling sites, and 4,000 police occupied and closed down over half
the polling stations. Pro-independence Catalans occupied, from Friday night,
the schools which were to be used as polling stations. There were riots in
Barcelona, with over 800 injured as police fired rubber bullets, which are
illegal in Catalonia but not in the rest of Spain. In the event 2.26 million
managed to vote, out of an electorate of just over 5 million. Of this turnout
of 43.6%, 92% voted
Yes to independence. Catalonia reasserted on 2/10/2017 that it would declare
independence: Spain said it would invoke Article 155 of its Constitution to
suspend and take over the regional government of Catalonia.
20/9/2017, Police in Catalonia arrested 14 Catalan government
officials suspected of organising the referendum, and seized 10 million ballot
papers. 40,000 people protested in Barcelona against the police actions.
6/9/2017, The Catalan Parliament approved the independence
referendum legislation after a heated 11-hour session in which 52 opposition
MPs walked out. The legislation was declared illegal by Madrid the following
day, but Catalonia vowed to go ahead with the poll.
9/6/2017, Carles
Puigdemont, recent successor to Mas
as regional President of Catalonia, announced he would hold an independence
referendum on 1/10/2017. Madrid denounced the referendum as illegal and said it
would block the poll by any means it could, legal and political.
9/11/2014, In Catalonia a poll was held by the regional
government on independence from Spain. The national government had already
declared it would not consider the poll result binding, and anti-separatists
boycotted the poll. 2.3 million voted out of an electorate of 5.4 million. Of
these, 1.6 million answered �yes� to both questions, �Do you think Catalonia
should be a State�, and �If so, should it be independent from Spain�. Artur Mas,
leader of the independence campaign, claimed a success. Catalonia complained
that as Spain�s wealthiest region, it contributed more to the State than it
received in return. The Spanish Prime Minister, Mr Mariano Rajoy of the Popular
Party, replied that money was short and Catalonia must wait until the general
economy improved.
11/9/2012, Over a million people peacefully protested on the
streets of Barcelona on Catalonia�s National Day, demanding independence from
Spain. This demonstration was to become an annual event.
28/10/2010, The Spanish Constitutional Court struck out parts of
a 2006 Charter on Catalan autonomy which increased the territory�s fiscal and
judicial powers, and described it as a �nation�. The Court ruled that the word
�nation� had no meaning and rejected the preferential use of Catalan over
Spanish in municipal services. Two weeks later hundreds of thousands protested
on the streets of Barcelona, chanting �We are a nation; we decide�.
17/8/2017, An Islamist terror attack killed 13 and injured over
100 in Barcelona. A vehicle was driven into pedestrians in Las Ramblas. In a
related incident, a car was intercepted by police in the resort of Cambrils;
several injuries occurred and the car occupants were killed.
27/10/2012, Large protests in Madrid against austerity cuts.
18/9/2012, Santiago Jos� Carrillo Solares,
Spanish Communist Party politician, died.
2007, Spain received
over 22,000 migrants from north Africa, and sought international aid to cope
with them.
11/3/2004 Terrorist bombs
killed 191 and injured 1200 more at Madrid�s main Atocha railway station and on trains outside the station
in the morning rush hour. Ten bombs in all exploded on four separate trains.
ETA, the Basque independence group, was blamed at
first but later blame shifted to a Moroccan group with links to Al Quaeda.
2002, Spain adopted
the Euro.
2001, Spain
abolished conscription into the army.
5.0, End of ETA bombing campaign, 1980-2011
20/10/2011, Basque separatist militant organisation ETA declared an
end to its 43-year campaign of political violence, which had killed
over 800 people since 1968.
30/12/2006, The Basque
Nationalist group ETA detonated a bomb at Madrid-Barajas Airport, ending a 9-month ceasefire.
22/3/2006, The Basque terrorist group ETA announced a
permanent ceasefire in Spain.
16/9/1998, The Basque guerrilla
group ETA announced a �total and indefinite ceasefire� to take effect from
18/9/1998.
19/2/1996, In Madrid, Spain, one million people demonstrated
against violence by the Basque separatist group ETA.
21/6/1993. Basque separatists
set off a car bomb in Madrid, killing 5 senior military officers in a minibus.
Two others were also killed, and 24 injured.
6/2/1992. The Basque separatist group ETA set off a
bomb in the centre of Madrid.
19/6/1987.
21 died and 45 were injured in a
Basque separatist car bomb in an underground car park in Barcelona. Amongst the
dead were several young children. The atrocity alienated all but the most
militant ETA supporters; with Franco gone, the organisation now lacked any real purpose.
25/6/1980, Basque terrorists exploded bombs on the Costa
Blanca, to disrupt the tourist trade.
3/1996, In Spanish general
elections, the ruling Socialist Party lost its overall majority, ending 13 years
of power. The conservative Popular Party (PP) won, led by Jose Maria Aznar, who formed a
minority Government.
14/1/1990, 43 died in a fire in a disco in Saragosa, Spain.
14/12/1988, In Spain, 8 million workers went on strike against
government economic policies.
1986, Spain joined the EU.
28/10/1982, The Socialist Party won Spanish elections, and Felipe Gonzalez
was elected Prime Minister.
30/5/1982. Spain joined NATO.�
She became the 16th member and the first to join NATO since West Germany
was admitted in 1955.
23/2/1981, In Spain,
Fascist army officers loyal to the memory of dictator Francisco Franco stormed the
Cortes (Parliament) ands held hundreds hostage. The rebel leader, Colonel Tejero
de Molina, took the podium, gun in hand, to announce a coup.
Meanwhile the Francoist
General Jaime del Bosch, the man behind the coup, declared a state
of emergency in eastern Spain and mobilised his troops. King Juan Carlos, that evening, made
a TV broadcast saying he had ordered the army to suppress the revolt. King Carlos
was counting on the support of the people and most of the army. The return of
the Spanish monarchy after Franco�s
death in 1975 had brought the first free elections in Spain for 40 years. The Fascist rebels hesitated, and Spanish
democracy was saved.
29/1/1981, Adolfo Suarez resigned as Spanish Prime
Minister; succeeded 10/2/1980 by Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo.
4.0, Spain liberalises post-Franco, 1975-80
31/3/1980, In
Spain a devolved Basque Parliament opened at Guernica.
25/10/1979, Referendums in
Spain approved devolution of power to Catalonia and Euzkadi (Basque region).
27/12/1978. Spain
became a democracy as a new Constitution was approved, after 40 years of
dictatorship. See 8/1/1982.
20/11/1978. An attempted military coup in Spain failed.
28/7/1977, Spain formally applied to join the EC.
15/6/1977, Spain
held its first democratic elections, after 41 years of dictatorship under Franco.
29/4/1977, Trades
Unions were legalised in Spain for the first time since 1936.
9/4/1977. Spain
legalised the Communist Party after a 38-year
ban.
22/11/1975. The Spanish monarchy was
restored following the death of General Franco. King Juan Carlos II became King of
Spain on 27/11/1975. See 30/10/1975.
3.0, Death of General Franco, 1975
20/11/1975. General Franco,
Spanish Head of State from 1936, died aged 82. He became leader of Spain
following the Spanish Civil War (1935-39), due to lack of intervention by other
European countries and the backing of Fascist Italy and Germany. Franco stayed
out of World
War Two because Adolf Hitler would not agree to cede France�s
North African territories to Spain. In 1949 Franco
declared Spain to be a monarchy, although there was no monarch until, in 1954, he
declared that his heir would be Juan Carlos, grandson of the last Spanish
King. Carlos
took Spain in a different political direction from Franco, adopting a democratic constitution
in 1978 after� referendum showed 90% of
Spaniards in favour of this.
30/10/1975. Prince Juan Carlos became acting Head of State
in Spain after dictator Franco
became ill. See 20/11/1975.
21/10/1975. Spain�s
82 year old General
Franco suffered his third heart attack in five days. He died on
20/11/1975. See 22/11/1975.
2.0, Development of the Spanish economy
1957-73
1973, Tourist
arrivals in Spain numbered nearly 35 million, against just over 4 million
in 1959. Tourist income in 1973 wsas US$ 3,1 billion, against US$ 125 million
in 1959. The 1959 toursists came to see Spain�s culture and history, the Prado
and Alhambra. The 1973 tourists came for the sun, sand and sea.
1970, 90% of Spanish homes had a TV set, up from just 1%
in 1960.
7/6/1957. A travel report published in
London said a small fishing village called Benidorm was the place for summer holidays, with
guaranteed sun and low prices. Tourist development in Benidorm had just begun,
with a German company building bed and breakfast accommodation there. There
were warnings that the bathrooms may be spartan, with some taps only giving
salt water.
1957, After two decades of
failed autarky, Franco brought in
technocrats who reformed the Spanish economy, creating a new middle class.
1.0, ETA activity 1959-75
28/9/1975, Spanish
dictator General Franco executed five
Basque terrorists.
20/12/1973, The Spanish Prime Minister, Luis Carrero Blanca,
was killed in Madrid by a Basque ETA bomb which blew his car up. Every day Blanca attended Mass at the same
church at the same time then took the same route beck to his office. This
predictability enabled a group of five young ETA men, pretending to be arts
students, to rent a ground floor flat on his route then dig a tunnel out under
the road and detonate 80 kg of explosives as his car passed overhead. The car
seemed to have completely disappeared; it had in fact been blasted over a
four-storey building to land in the internal courtyard. Luis Blanca had been chosen by General Franco as his successor, and had
promised to continue Franco�s
policies. Many Spaniards disliked this, not just the Basques, and after the
event jokes circulated about �Spain�s first astronaut� and a folk song went
�Whoops, there he goes�.
1959, ETA
was set up to secure the independence of the Basque Country, by violence if
necessary.
7/12/1971, Fernando
Quiroga y Palacios, Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, died aged
71.
22/7/1969, Spanish dictator General
Franco named Juan Carlos, grandson of King Alfonso XIII, as his heir
apparent.
24/1/1969, General Franco
imposed martial law in Spain.
20/12/1968. Franco
banished Prince
Carlos from Spain.
24/7/1968, A conference of Spanish bishops asserted the right
of Spanish workers right to strike and form independent trades unions.
17/1/1966, A US bomber aircraft on exercises was attempting
to refuel mid-air over Spain when an error resulted in the fuel boom from the
other aircraft clipping the bomber�s wing. The bomber crashed in flames; its
crew parachuted to safety. However the bomber was carrying four Hydrogen Bombs.
The Bombs were not armed so the electrical sequence necessary to detonate the
fission bomb that would have set off the Hydrogen bomb never initiated. In
other fortunate events, the parachutes on the bombs failed so they buried
themselves deep in the soil, limiting radiation dispersal, and a breeze carried
much of the radiation out to see as flaming bits of aircraft rained down in the
area.
15/7/1957, General Franco
announced that the Spanish monarchy would be restored on his death or
retirement.
1955, Spain joined the United
Nations.
27/12/1950. US and Spain resumed diplomatic relations.
1949, Alejandro Lerroux, Populist
leader of Barcelona,
died (born 1864). He founded the Radical Republican Party in 1908.
6/7/1947. Spain voted to have a King when Franco
died.
29/5/1946, Fernando Buesa, Spanish
politician, was born.
4/3/1946, The USA, Britain and France appealed to the
Spanish to depose General Franco.
0.0, Spain in World War Two, 1939-45
8/12/1945,
At the Nuremberg Trials it emerged that Hitler had expected the Spanish General Franco to seize Gibraltar from
Britain.
28/2/1941,
Alfonso I, former King of Spain,
who had been forced into exile when Spain became a Republic in 1931, died in Rome.
12/2/1941,
General Franco travelled
to Bordighera, Italy, to meet Mussolini.� Again Franco avoided any significant commitment to the Axis cause.
For main events of World War Two in
Europe see France-Germany
23/10/1940, General Franco travelled to Hendaye, France, to meet with
Hitler.�
Franco avoided making a serious
commitment to the Axis cause.
19/5/1940, Diego Mazquiaran, 45, Spanish matador, died.
8/5/1939. Spain left the League of
Nations.
-1.0, Spanish Civil War 1936-39
1/4/1939. The US recognised Franco�s
government in Spain.
29/3/1939, Franco was
named �Caudillo�, or �Leader of the Nation�.
28/3/1939. Spanish Civil War ended. Franco
entered Madrid, after a siege of almost three years.
26/3/1939, The Nationalists launched the Final offensive of the
Spanish Civil War.
4/3/1939, The Cartagena Uprising (Spanish Civil War) began.
28/2/1939. Britain and France recognised Franco�s regime in Spain.
26/2/1939, 1,000 demonstrators marched from Trafalgar Square to
Downing Street to protest at the British government's imminent recognition of Franco�s regime in Spain.
13/2/1939, France closed its border with Spain.
9/2/1939, In Spain, Franco�s army, pursuing the fleeing Republicans north from
Barcelona, reached the French border. France had given refuge to the Republican
forces, having confiscated their vehicles and weapons.
30/1/1939, France opened refugee
camps for Republican women and children fleeing Barcelona after the defeat of
the Republicans there on 26/1/1939. By March 1939, these camps at Argeles and
other locations in SE France housed 250,000 refugees. This population movement
was known as the Retirada (withdrawal).
26/1/1939. Barcelona fell without resistance to the Nationalists
under Franco, with help from Italy. This doomed the Republican cause,
which finally surrendered on 28/3/1939. Barcelona had been the seat of
an autonomous Catalan government, established on 2/8/1936.
25/1/1939, The Juan
Negr�n government fled Barcelona. Another capital was set up in Figueres
the following day.
3/1/1939, The Battle of the Segre ended in Nationalist victory in
the Spanish Civil War.
23/12/1938, Spanish Nationalist forces launched the
Catalonia Offensive.
25/5/1938, Alicante was bombed by General Franco�s aircraft in the Spanish Civil War.
15/4/1938, In Spain, Nationalist forces took the Mediterranean
coastal town of Vinaroz, splitting the Republican forces in Catalonia from
those in south east Spain. See 22/2/1938.
3/4/1938. Franco took Lerida, a
key town in Catalonia.
16/3/1938, The Aviazione Legionaria began bombing Barcelona.
Click here for Spanish Civil War map, war situation 1938, just
before capture of Vinaroz.
22/2/1938, In Spain, Nationalist forces recaptured Teruel.
From here they drove to the sea, cutting Republican territory
in half, see 15/4/1938.
5/1/1938. King Juan Carlos I of Spain, who succeeded General Franco as Head of State, born.
21/12/1937. Republicans captured Franco�s stronghold of
Teruel.
5/12/1937, Spanish Republican forces launched a major
attack on Aragon.
28/11/1937. Franco ordered the Spanish Republican
government forces to surrender by 12/12/1937 or face a massive offensive.
28/10/1937. The Spanish Government
moved from Valencia to Barcelona.
21/10/1937. Gijon, the
last Republican stronghold in northern
Spain, fell to Franco�s forces.
25/8/1937, Franco�s forces captured Santander.
10/8/1937, In the Spanish Civil War, the Regional Defence Council of
Aragon was dissolved.
5/7/1937, Spanish Civil War, the Battle of Albarrac�n began.
29/6/1937, Italy and Germany opposed Anglo-French patrols
around the coast of Spain.
19/6/1937. Franco�s forces captured Bilbao.
13/6/1937, The Nationalists came within two miles of Bilbao,
capturing a range of hills east of the city.
31/5/1937. The German
fleet bombarded the Spanish port of Almeria.
26/4/1937. The German air force destroyed the Basque city and
cultural centre of Guernica, Spain. Thousands of civilians died.
It was market day in Guernica when the Germans raided, in support
of Franco�s Nationalists. The town was a
communications centre with a munitions factory, but the bombing with
incendiaries was random; aircraft also raked the town with machine gun fire.
1,000, mainly civilians, died.� 43
aircraft from the German Condor Legion, under Colonel Wolfgang von Richtofen,
carried out the raid.� This became the
scene of one of Picasso�s most famous
paintings.
18/3/1937,
Spanish Republican forces defeated the Italians at Brihuega.
8/2/1937. Malaga fell to Franco�s forces, helped by 15,000 Italians.
17/1/1937. The USSR refused to stop helping the Republican forces in Spain.
1/12/1936. German forces landed at
Cadiz to help Franco�s nationalist rebels.
18/11/1936, Hitler and Mussolini recognised Franco�s provisional government in Burgos.
7/11/1936. The Spanish Government
fled to Valencia.
6/11/1936, Franco�s forces were besieging Madrid.
4/11/1936, In the
Spanish Civil War, the Nationalists captured Getafe, near Madrid.
29/10/1936. Republican troops south of Madrid were holding back Franco�s Nationalist forces.
28/10/1936, In the Republican-controlled
areas of Spain, agriculture was nationalised and Christian worship banned.
23/10/1936, Germany sent
the �Condor� legion to Spain to assist Franco�s
forces.
7/10/1936, Aguirre was elected President of the Basque Republic (Euskadi), honouring a promise for autonomy within Spain.
28/9/1936.
General Franco, 44, was made head of the rebel Nationalist forces in Spain.
17/9/1936.
Franco�s troops took Maqueda, between Madrid
and Toledo.
4/8/1936. Badajoz was captured
by the Spanish Nationalists under Franco as they fought northwards. This cut off
the Republicans from the route to Portugal, and prepared the way for
a nationalist
advance on Madrid from the north and west.
2/8/1936. An autonomous Catalan government was established in Barcelona.
See 26/1/1939.
30/7/1936, In Spain, General Franco and General Emilio
Mola formed a Junta of National Defence, in effect a provisional
Government.
24/7/1936. The Spanish government
appealed for foreign help in the Civil War.
18/7/1936. The Spanish Civil War began when the army, under Generals Francisco
Franco and Emilio
Mola, revolted against the Republican Government. The army wanted to
preserve traditional values and religion. Other mutinies began across Spain.
The conflict lasted three years.
Start of
Spanish Civil War 1936
10/5/1936, Manuel Azana was elected President of Spain.
10/4/1936, The Spanish Parliament dismissed President
Zamora.
19/2/1936, The Spanish
Republic announced an amnesty for the rebels in the 1934 Asturian revolt.
16/2/1936. Victory for
the Left in Spanish elections. The Left won 256 seats against 165
for the Right and 52 for the Centre Parties. Manuel Azana became Prime
Minister; he restored the 1931 Spanish Constitution. Churches in Spain were
attacked and their land seized.
-2.0, Civil conflict in Spain 1930-34
8/10/1934. Despite
martial law, there was fierce fighting in Spain and Catalonia was trying to set up its own
government, with Barcelona as the capital.
5/10/1934,
Catalonia attempted to declare independence from Spain.
25/4/1934. Martial law was declared in Spain as
the government resigned.
14/1/1934, In Spain, the Left won in the Barcelona
area but the Right won in all other regions of Spain.
10/1/1933. Civil
disorder broke out in Spain and the army declared martial law.
2/1/1933, Anarchist
uprising in Barcelona.
10/8/1932, In Spain,
a revolt by General
Jose Sanjurjo in Seville was suppressed.
22/1/1932.
A Communist uprising in northern Spain was
crushed.
11/6/1931. Martial law was imposed on 7 Spanish cities.
16/12/1930, A General
Strike began in Spain..
12/12/1930. The Spanish revolution began.
19/11/1933, In Spain, the CEDA (Spanish Confederation of
Right-Wing Groups) won the largest number of seats, 115, in the general
election. The Radicals won 102, Centre parties won 167, and the Left won 99.
CEDA and the Radicals formed a Government, led by Alejandro Lerroux.
29/10/1933, The Falange
Party, a Spanish version of fascism, advocating violence to gain its ends,
was launched by Jose
Antonio Primo de Rivera. The Party won just 0.7% of the vote in the
general elections of 16/2/1936; however the Falange then grew rapidly as Spanish middle-class youth,
disillusioned with the mainstream parties, joined it en masse. Falange activists
played a key role in organising the street fighting that was a prelude to the
Civil war that broke out in July 1936; during the early stages of the Civil war
itself, the Falange controlled the
press and propaganda in the Natioinalist-controlled areas. However its leader, Jose Antonio,
was executed in Alicante jail in November 1936. In April 1937 General Franco
forcibly united the Falange with his
own Carlist Nationalist organisation.
17/5/1933, In Spain the Association
Law nationalised Church property, and closed Church schools.
25.9/1932, Catalonia in Spain became autonomous, with its own
Parliament, language and flag.
15/9/1932, In Spain, the Agrarian
Law was passed, allowing for expropriation of private estates, to be
administered by a Bureau of Agrarian
Reform.
28/6/1931. Socialists won the Spanish general elections.
14/4/1931 King Alfonso XIII of Spain abdicated and left
Spain to settle in Rome, when the Republicans gained overwhelming success in
Spain�s municipal elections. He never formally abdicated the throne. Alfonso
(1886 �1941) had ruled Spain since 1902. Alfonso had supported the dictator Primo de Rivera,
who overthrew the Spanish Parliament in 1923; Rivera was ousted in 1930 and
the army also opposed Alfonso.
12/4/1931. In
Spain, elections showed a big majority for the Republicans.
King Alfonso
XIII abdicated on
14/4/1931, and left for exile in Rome.
15/9/1930. The removal of press censorship in Spain brought
out demands for a Republic.
17/8/1930, In Spain, the Pact of San Sebastian was made
between Republicans
and Catalans. Catalonia was to have autonomy
if the Republicans
gained power.
16/3/1930, The
Spanish dictator Primo de Rivera died, aged 59, having fallen ill on
28/1/1930.
28/1/1930, In Spain
the dictator Primo
de Rivera resigned, after the Army withdrew support for him. General Damaso
Berenguer formed a Government.
17/3/1929, The Spanish
Government closed Madrid University because of student political agitation.
7/9/1926. Spain left
the League of Nations after being denied a permanent seat on the council.
16/10/1923, General Francisco Franco of Spain, aged 30,
married Maria
del Carmen Polo y Martinez Valdez, aged 23, in Oviedo.
-3.0, Civil conflict in Spain 1917-23
14/9/1923, In Spain, Miguel Primo de
Rivera became dictator, ruling under King Alfonso XIII.
12/9/1923, The garrison
at Barcelona
mutinied. In response, General Primo, with the approval of King Alfonso
XIII, suspended the constitution and instituted a military
government.
13/4/1921, The
Spanish Worker�s Communist Party was formed.
8/3/1921. Spanish
Prime Minister Eduardo
Iradier was assassinated by an anarchist.
1917, In Spain, the
Conferedacion Nacional Catolica-Agrario (CNCA) was set up by large landowners,
to combat the rising power of the rural and urban working classes. The
middle-c;lass, Conservative, religious, CNCA attracted the support of smaller
landowners particularly in northern and central Spain and by 1919 boasted
500,000 members. It supported the Right wing during the Spanish Civil War. In
1942 it became the National Union of Rural Co-operatives (UNCC).
13/8/1917, In Spain,
Catalonia
revolted over demands for home rule.
1915, Franco, born 1892, became the
youngest Captain in the Spanish Army.
1914-1918, Spain remained neutral
during World
War One.
27/11/1912. France and Spain agreed on their respective spheres
of influence in Morocco.
-4.0, Civil conflict in Spain 1909-13
1911, In Spain the Comferedacion
Nacional de Trabajo (CNT), a leftist-anarchist movement, was founded. It
became the largest trade union in Spain, drawing support from the Barcelona,
Madrid and Saragossa regions. However the CNT�s�
anarchist tendencies caused differences with the Republicans, and these
splits undermined the Leftist war effort against the Nationalists in the Civil
War.
18/9/1911, A General Strike began in Valencia, Spain.
13/10/1909, Yerren, leader of the anti-clerical party in
Spain, was executed.
1/8/1909, End of the �Tragic Week� in Barcelona; from 26/7/1909 over 100 civilians had been killed
and many buildings destroyed in rioting in Barcelona.
26/7/1909, A general strike began in Barcelona, lasting until
26/9/1909. There was rioting across Catalonia.
18/7/1909, Don Carlos,
claimant to the Spanish throne, died (born 30/3/1848).
3/4/1909, Pascual Cervera,
Spanish Admiral, died (born 18/2/1839).
16/5/1907. Spain
signed the Cartagena Pact with Britain
and France,
to counter a perceived German threat to
annex the Balearic and Canary Islands.
19/5/1906, Joao Franco
became Prime Minister of Spain, with dictatorial powers.
10/4/1904, Isabella II,
Queen of Spain, died (born 10/10/1830).
-5.0, Civil conflict in Spain 1900-03
2/4/1903, Violent
clashes between students and police in Spain.
17/5/1902, Coronation of King Alfonso XIII of Spain in
Madrid as the young monarch came of age at 16.
20/2/1902, Strikes in Barcelona,
Spain; fighting left 500 dead.
17/2/1902, A general
strike in Barcelona
and nearby towns led to military reprisals that left 40 dead.
14/5/1901, End of a
General Strike in Barcelona, Spain, that had begun on 7/5/1901.
11/5/1900, Civil disorder in many Spanish cities, in
protest at new taxes.
25/5/1899, Emilio Castelar, Spanish politician, died
(born 8/9/1832).
24/6/1898, Jose de Elduayen, Spanish politician, died
(born 22/6/1823).
23/1/1896, Juan Camacho, Spanish statesman, died (born
1824).
31/7/1895, The Basque
Nationalist Party was founded by Sabino de Arana Goiri (1865-1903). He did much
to revive the Basque language, publishing newspapers, magazines, and books on
subjects ranging from grammar to history in this language. He also coined the
word Euzkadi for the Basque national
people, and designed the first Basque
national flag, the Ikurrrina.
4/12/1892, General Franco,
Spanish dictator, was born in El Ferrol.
17/4/1892, Easter Sunday; Joaquin Jovellar y Soler,
Captain-General of Spain, died (born 28/12/1819).
27/3/1890, Spain
adopted universal (male) suffrage.
18/1/1890, Death of King Amadeus I of Spain (born 1845).
24/11/1885, Alphonso XII
of Spain died of tuberculosis, aged 27. He was later succeeded by his
posthumous son, Alphonso
XIII. Born in 1857, son of the exiled Queen Isabella, he was chosen as
monarch to succeed Amadeus of Aosta in 1874. He successfully
suppressed the Carlist Rebellion of 1876.
1881, Trades Unions were legalised.
8/1/1879, Baldomero
Espartero, Spanish soldier, died (born 27/2/1792).
24/5/1877, Ramon Cabrera,
Spanish General, died (born 27/12/1806).
-6.0, Second Carlist War 1873-76
2/1876, After a long siege of the Carlist-held Basque city
of Pamplona, it surrendered. Don Carlos III now fled to France. The Basque
region lost autonomy in taxation and military systems.
1875, The Carlists in Catalonia and aragon were subdued.
1/12/1874, The
17-year-old Alphonso
XII of Spain issued a proclamation from Sandhurst announcing himself
as sole heir to the Spanish throne, and formally beginning his reign.
1/1874, The Spanish Republic (see 1873) collapsed and a
military dictatorship under General Francisco Serrano y Dominguez (1805-1885)
took power. The military now lifted the Carlist siege of Bilbao, and installed Isabella�s
on, Alfonso
XII (1857-85) as constitutiomnal King.
1873, As Spain proclaimed itself a Republic, Don Carlos III
(1848-1909), grandson of Don Carlos I and the 3rd Carlist Pretender
to the Spanish throne, revived the Carlist claims on the monarchy. The Basques
backed Don Carlos III in the north of Spain, whilst in the south the army was split,
with the Carlists captturing Alcoy, Seville, Cadiz and Valencia. They also took
Cartagena after a 4-month siege. See 1/1874.
12/2/1873, Amadeus I
of Spain abdicated and a Republic was
proclaimed. Foreign Minister Emilio Cistelar y Ripoli became Prime
Minister.
5/1872, The Pretender to the Spanish throne, Don Carlos, entered Navarre.
However his forces were routed and he was forced to retreat back into the
Pyrenees.
1870, Amadeus I (1845-90) became king of Spain. He attempted to goverm constitutionally but
was thwarted by the existing undemocratic instituions of the country. He
abdicated in 1873 and retired to Italy as Duke of Aosta.
25/6/1870, Queen Isabella
of Spain abdicated. This precipitated the Franco-Prussian War. One possible candidate
for the vacant Spanish throne was the German Prince Leopold of
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. He was a Catholic, but France was alarmed at the thought
of a German monarch to its south as well as to the north. Her abdication also precipitated te Second Carlist War in 1873.
11/11/1861, Pedro V of Portugal died of
cholera aged 24. He was succeeded by his 23-year-old brother, Luiz I.
21/7/1858, Maria Christina, Queen-Regent
of Spain, widow of Alphonso XII and mother of Alphonso XIII, was born.
10/3/1855, Don Carlos, claimant to the
Spanish throne, died (born 29/3/1788).
4/10/1851, Alvarez Godoy, Spanish
statesman, died (born 12/5/1767).
18/5/1845, Don
Carlos relinquished his right to the Spanish Crown in favour
of his son.
13/5/1844, Spain set up a military peacekeeping force, the Guardia Civil.
25/10/1839. Spain passed a law removing all independence
from the Basque provinces. This law was applied to Navarre in 1841, and to
Alava, Guipuzcoa, and Vizcaya in 1876, and converted these into provinces of
Spain.
-7.0, First Carlist War 1833-1839
31/8/1839, The Carlist commander, Maroto (1785-1847), withoiut
authority from Don
Carlos, signed the Convention of Vergara, effectively surrendering
to the Cristinists in return for an
amnesty and autonomy for the Basque and Navarre provinces. Don Carlos and some Carlists
then fled to Bourges, France. Some carlist fighters remained in Catalonia,
under Father
Ramon Cabrera (1806-77), until finally routed by Espartero
in July 1840.
18/2/1839, Pascual Cervera, Spanish Admiral, was born
(died 3/4/1909).
24/12/1836, Francisco Mina, Spanish soldier who resisted
the French invasion in 1808, died (born 17/6/1781).
1835, The Carlist leader, General Tomas
Zumalacarregui (1788-1835), gained several victories until he was
wounded in the leg at an unsccesful siege of Bilbao and died of incompetent
medical treatment. The Cristinists now gained victory mnder General Baldomero Espartero
(1792-1879), assisted by Britain�s �Spanish legion� and the French Foreign
Legion. Don
Carlos was forced to withdraw from Madrid in 1837. See 31/8/1839.
1835, Anti-clerical riots in Barcelona.
Doiscontent at the result of a bullfight sparked disturbances in which 7,000
male clergy (but only a small number of nuns) were massacred and many churches
were destroued, and in others, images were broken.
15/7/1834, The Spanish Inquisition, founded
in 1478, was disbanded.
1833, The First
Carlist War began. On the death of King Ferdinand VII (1784-1833), the Spanish
throne has passed to his daiughter, Queen Isabella II (1830-1904). However
Ferdinand;s brother., Don Carlos (1788-1855) opposed this succession
on the grounds of the Salic Law proscriboing female succession, The
conservative clergy supported the Carlists against Isabella, as did much of
northern Spain, including the Basques, Catalonia Aragoin and Navarre. The
Spanish Govermnment, now ruled by Isabella�s mother Maria Cristina (1806-78)� as regemnt, the liberal Cristinists, gained
the support of Portugal, France and Britain in a Quadruple alliance against the
Carlists. See 1835.
-8.0, King Ferdinand VII 1814-33
29/9/1833, Ferdinand VII,
King of Spain, died, aged 48. He was succeeded by his 2-year old daughter, Isabella II.
Ferdinand�s brother, Don Carlos,
claimed the throne, threatening civil war.
8/9/1832, Emilio Castelar,
Spanish politician, was born (died 25/5/1899).
14/12/1831, Arsenio Campos,
Spanish statesman (died 1900) was born.
10/10/1830,
Isabella II,
Queen of Spain, was born.
24/2/1829, Cadiz was
made a free port.
Deposition of Ferdinand VII, 1822-23. French military action
to restore him.
23/9/1823, French troops,
suppressing a rebellion in Spain, took Cadiz. The rebels surrendered Ferdinand VII, who was
restored to the Spanish throne.
31/8/1823, At the Battle
of the Trocadero, French troops defeated Spanish rebels under Colonel Rafael
del Riego y Nunez (1785-1823).
22/6/1823, Jose de
Elduayen, Spanish politician, was born (died
24/6/1898).
17/4/1823, The rest of Europe was alarmed
at the rise of counter-monarchist forces in Spain, and authorised France to
invade to restore King Ferdinand VII. This day French forces under Louis Antpoine de Bourbon, Duke of Angoulmeme (1775-1844) crossed
the Pyrenees into Spain, welcomed by the Basques and Catalans. He then sent
some forces to besiege San Sebastian whilst directing his main attack on
Madrid.
30/6/1822, In Spain,
rebels took King Ferdinand VII prisoner.
28/12/1819, Joaquin
Jovellar y Soler, Captain-General of Spain, was born (died
17/4/1892).
20/1/1819, Charles IV
of Spain died (born 11/11/1748).
1814, By decree, Spain exiled the �Afrencesados�, some
10,000 in number, the Spanish politicians and intellectuals who had supported Napoleon
and the reforms he introduced to Spain during his occupation of the country. King Ferdinand
VII was restored to the throne, which he held until 1833.
-9.0, French
occupation of Spain � evicted by Wellington, Peninsular War, 1808-13
21/6/1813. The victory of Wellington at Vitoria in the Peninsular War. Spain
was lost by the French. Napoleon had deposed the Spanish monarch and replaced him with
his own brother, Joseph. However this act provoked major Spanish popular
resistance against France and led to Napoleon�s defeat there.
16/5/1811, The Battle
of Albuera in Spain, at which a combined English (under Sir Arthur Wellesley), Portuguese, and Spanish force
defeated the French under Marshal Soult. This was part of the Peninsular War.
10/3/1811. During the Peninsular War, Badajoz was surrendered to
the French after its Spanish Commander had been bribed into the
capitulation. The French had unsuccessfully attacked Badajoz in 1808 and 1809.
16/1/1809,
The British won a rearguard action against the French, under Nicolas Soult, at Corunna in the Peninsular War. Britain had invaded
Spain in the hope of raising anti-Napoleonic support but found this lacking.
Corunna enabled the British forces to be successfully evacuated. However the
British commander, Sir John Moore, was killed in this battle.
For more events of Peninsular
War, see France-Germany
4/12/1808. Napoleon abolished the Spanish Inquision.
20/11/1808, Don Jose Floridablanca, Spanish statesman,
died (born 1728).
21/8/1808, British troops under Wellington
defeated the French under General Junot.� This was at the Battle of Vimiero, during the Peninsular War.� The Peninsular War absorbed some 300,000 of Napoleon�s
best troops, and� was ended when Napoleon
heard reports that Austria, backed by Britain, was arming against him.
2/5/1808. The people of Madrid
rebelled against Napoleon�s rule. The French had replaced the Spanish monarch, �with Napoleon�s
elder brother, Joseph. Moreover, Marshal Joachim
Murat proposed removing the children of the Royal Family to France.
This precipitated a riot with a crowd assembled at the Royal Palace to prevent
this removal. The French dealty with the protest harshly, killing many, which
merely inflamed matters further.
23/3/1808, French forces
occupied Madrid.
-10.0, King Charles� IV � deposed by the French 1808;
1796-1806
27/12/1806, Ramon Cabrera,
Spanish General, was born (died 24/5/1877).
21/10/1805. Battle of Trafalgar. Death of Nelson. Nelson blockaded the combined fleets of France
and Spain in Cadiz. The French Admiral, Villeneuve, attempted to break out, but
British ships sank or captured most of the French and Spanish ships. The
French had planned to link up with the Spanish fleet in the West Indies and so
lure the British into giving chase across the Atlantic. However Nelson
guessed at the French tactics and the Admiralty was warned. A British fleet
under Calder
found the French fleet off Cape Finistere and they put into Spanish harbours.
The French fleet later emerged to sail, not for Britain, but to return to the
Mediterranean. The French were intercepted off Cape Trafalgar, and destroyed in
the Battle of Trafalgar.
3/2/1802, Arsenio Campos, Spanish statesman (born
1/7/1723) died.
6/7/1801, The English
and Spanish fleets were defeated off Algeceiras.
4/8/1800, Ramon Narvaez,
Spanish statesman, was born (died 23/4/1868).
1798, The British again seized Majorca, holding it until
1803 when it
was ceded to Spain by the Peace of
Amiens.
9/1/1798, Pedro Aranda,
Spanish politician, died in Epila (born 1/8/1719 in Sietamo).
14/2/1797. Horatio
Nelson and Admiral Jervis defeated
the Spanish fleet off Cape St Vincent, south west Portugal.
5/10/1796. Spain declared war on Britain by
signing the Treaty of San Il Defonso, allying it with Revolutionary France.
The Treaty was engineered by Spanish Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy, lover of King Charles IV�s wife Maria Luisa.
De Godoy
was opposed to monarchist Britain.
Many ordinary Spanish opposed the Treaty, which diminished Spain as an imperial
power and weakened her influence in The Americas.
-11.0, King Charles
III, 1759-1788
14/12/1788, King Charles III of Spain died aged 72 after
an enlightened reign of 29 years during which he had encouraged industrial
growth, constructed new roads and canals, improved sanitation and suppressed
lawlessaness. His firstborn son was epileptic and therefore was passed over for
the succession in favour of his lazy 40-year-old second son, who ruled until
1808 as King
Charles IV.
14/10/1784, Ferdinand VII, King of Spain, was born.
29/6/1784, Alexandre Aguado, Spanish soldier and
politician, was born in Seville (died 14/4/1842 in Gijon).
5/2/1782, Spain captured Minorca from Britain.
17/6/1781, Francisco Mina, Spanish soldier who resisted
the French invasion in 1808, was born (died 24/12/1836).
2/12/1781, Cenon Ensenada, Spanish statesman, died (born
2/6/1702).
12/5/1767, Alvarez Godoy, Spanish statesman, was born (died
4/10/1851).
1763, Britain recovered Majorca from the French, holding it until
1782, when
the Spanish took control.
2/1/1762, Britain
declared war on Spain, three months after William Pitt resigned
10/8/1759, Ferdinand VI, King of Spain, died aged 45 after
a 13-year reign. He was succeeded by his half-brother aged 43, who ruled until
1788 as Charles
III.
-12.0, King
Ferdinand IV, 1746-59
10/8/1759, Ferdinand VI, King of Spain, died aged 45
after a 13-year reign. He was succeeded by his half-brother aged 43, who ruled
until 1788 as Charles
III.
14/3/1757, Admiral John Byng was executed by firing squad
on the Monarque at Portsmouth, for his failure to relieve the island of Minorca, under attack by the French, at the start of the Seven Years War. In fact his fleet
was probably inadequate for the task; having failed to prevent a French landing
on Minorca, he took advice to leave the British garrison to its fate.
1756, A force of 12,000 French invaded Majorca, ousting
the British.
11/11/1748, Charles IV
of Spain was born (died 20/1/1819).
9/7/1746, Philip V, King of Spain, died, insane, aged 62. He reigned for 46 years. He was
succeeded by his son, Ferdinand VI, who reigned until 1759.
11/4/1743, Jose del
Campillo, Spanish statesman, died (born 1695).
12/6/1727, Spain lifted the siege of Gibraltar (imposed
11/2/1727).
17/1/1724, King Philip V of Spain abdicated.
17/2/1720, By the
Treaty of the Hague, the Allies forced King Philip V of Spain to renounce his claim
on Sicily; also Victor
Amadeus II of Savoy gave up Sicily to Austria in exchange for
Sardinia (see 2/8/1718).
1/8/1719,� Pedro Aranda, Spanish politician, was born in
Sietamo (died 9/1/1798 in Epila).
11/8/1718, Admiral Byng
destroyed the Spanish fleet off Cape Passaro.
2/8/1718, A Quadruple Alliance was formed between Britain,
France,
Holland,
and Austria,
against Spain, after Spain seized
Sardinia and Sicily, threatening another European war. Under the Treaty of
Utrecht (11/4/1713) Sardinia had been assigned to Austria and Sicily to Savoy
(see also 17/2/1720). �However King Philip V
of Spain, influenced by his wife Elizabeth Farnese of Parma and
her advisor Giulio
Alberoni, seized these islands. Admiral Byng was sent to defend Sicily, with
Austrian troops. In a sea battle off Cape Passaro, he totally destroyed the
Spanish fleet. Meanwhile French troops occupied northern Spain. The purpose of the Quadruple Alliance were, to maintain
the terms of the Peace of Utrecht, for Spain to renounce any claim to the
French throne, and to guarantee the Protestant succession in Britain. The four
powers would also assist each other if any were attacked. Spain initially
backed a Jacobite invasion of Britain, but after the dismissal of Cardinal
Alberoni in December 1719 Spain changed policy and joined the
Alliance, which provided a forum to discuss territorial disputes in Europe.
-13.0, War of the Spanish Succession, 1703-15
1715, Catalonia lost its independence to Spain,
Madrid declared the Catalan language illegal.
11/9/1714, Spanish troops under King Felipe V captured Barcelona.
The Catalans had been abandoned by their allies, the Germans and English,
during the War
of the Spanish Succession and were forced to defend themselves or
surrender. Tye 11th
September is now the National Day of Catalonia.
1713, Majorca came under British
rule by the Peace of Utrecht.
23/9/1713, Ferdinand VI, King of Spain, was born.
10/12/1710, The Battle of Villaviciosa.
11/9/1709, At the Battle of Malplaquet in northern France, near Mons, The Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene
won a costly victory over the French in the War of the Spanish Succession.
31/8/1709, Battle of Malplaquet began.
12/7/1708. The French were defeated at Oudenarde in
western Belgium, by Marlborough and Eugene of Savoy. Marlborough
also captured Lille after a four-month siege.�
This was during the War of the Spanish Succession.
30/6/1708, Battle of Oudenarde began.
25/4/1707, The Battle of Alamanza, fought during the War of the Spanish Succession. The British and
the Dutch together defeated the French.
For more
events of the War of Spanish Succession,
see France-Germany
23/5/1706, The Battle
of Ramillies, between Louvain and Namur in Belgium.� Allied British and Dutch armies under Marlborough
intercepted a French offensive. 15,000 French and 5,000 Allied soldiers died.
The result of Ramillies was that
Brussels, Antwerp and most of the Spanish Netherlands surrendered. By the end
of 1706 the French held only Namur and Mons in The Netherlands.
4/10/1705, Lord Peterborough captured Barcelona.
12//9/1703, The Hapsburg
Archduke
Ferdinand was proclaimed King of Spain, War of the
Spanish Succession began. France had already, in 1701, begun to
occupy key fortresses in the Spanish Netherlands, following the death of the
Spanish monarch Charles
II on 2/10./1700, with no heir.
12//9/1703, The Hapsburg Archduke Ferdinand was proclaimed
King of Spain, War of the Spanish Succession began
2/6/1702, Cenon Ensenada, Spanish statesman, was born
(died 2/12/1781).
End of the Spanish Hapsburg line: War
of the Spanish Succession
2/10/1700, The Spanish monarch, Charles II, died, aged 39, with
no heir. England, Austria and Holland
were alarmed that Charles had named Philip, Duke of Anjou, as his successor;
these nations had agreed that Joseph Ferdinand,
Prince of Bavaria, should get the Spanish Crown. Spanish territory would be
ceded to buy off the rival French� and
Austrian claimants to the throne, Philip the second grandson of King Louis XIV
and Archduke
Charles, second son of the Hapsburg Emperor Leopold I. However Ferdinand
predeceased the Spanish King, leaving Charles, who was physically and mentally
handicapped, susceptible to the
influences of the French Court. War seemed inevitable,
see 12/9/1703, 17/9/1665.
25/10/1692, Elizabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain, was born
(died 1766).
19/12/1683, Philip V, King of Spain, was born.
13/2/1668, Spain recognised Portugal as an independent
nation.
17/9/1665, Philip IV, King of Spain, died, aged 60. He was succeeded by his 4-year-old son,
Charles II.
Charles II,
Don Carlos,
was crippled by rickets; he ruled for 35 years, the last of the Spanish Hapsburgs.
6/11/1661, King Charles II
of Spain was born.
7/11/1659. The war between France and Spain ended. France gained northern Catalonia, under the
Treaty of the Pyrenees. Spain�s treasury was empty and England had joined
on the side of the French.
4/6/1658, The Battle of the Dunes was fought near Dunkirk. Marshal Turenne
commanded the French and English armies, against the Spanish under Don Juan of
Austria and the Prince of Conde. The Spanish were attempting
to relieve Dunkirk, which Turenne was besieging. The Spanish were defeated, and
Dunkirk surrendered to the French.
14/1/1659, The
Battle of Elvas practically ensured Portuguese independence from Spain.
30/1/1648. To free
his forces for the war against France, Philip IV of Spain made peace in the United
Provinces at Munster. Spain therefore made major concessions. The United
Provinces (Netherlands) were recognised as independent by Spain, all Dutch
conquests were recognised, and freedom of trade in the East and West Indies was
conceded.
18/1/1641, Pau Claris proclaimed the Catalan Republic.
1640, Catalonia
began a 19-year revolt against Spain, in orotest at high taxes and suppression
of Catalan
rights.
21/10/1639, Battle of
the Downs. A Dutch fleet under Maarten Tromp defeated the Spanish in The
Channel, effectively ending Spain�s role as a major naval power.� Spain was weakened by the breakaway of
Portugal, and the rise of France.�
Spain�s colonial quarrels with the Dutch, in Brazil and the Portuguese
spice islands, were now superseded by these areas now being under Portuguese
rule.
15/8/1636, The Spanish besieged Corbie, France.
19/5/1635, France declared war on Spain.� Spain initially had success, capturing
Corbie, near Amiens.� However the
Spaniards did not follow up their successes and faced with revolts in Portugal
and Catalonia, lost Artois and Roussillion.
7/1624, The Count-Duke of Olivares
proposed that a Spanish force of 140,000 men be raised from each State of
Spain, in proportion to its wealth. The plan was intended to ease the burden on
Castile, which until then had born most of the burden of defence. There was trong
reistance from Aragon, especially Catalonia, this leading to the Revolt of
Catalonia in 1640.
21/10/1621, Rodrigo Calderon, Spanish adventurer, died.
-14.0, King Philip III, 1598-1621
31/3/1621, Philip III, King of Spain, died aged 42 after a 23-year reign. He was succeeded
by his 15-year old son, who ruled as Philip IV until 1665.
9/10/1617, The Treaty of Pavia was signed, between
Spain and Savoy.� Savoy returned
Monferrato to Mantua.
27/3/1615, Marguerite de Valois, Queen of Navarre, died.
8/4/1605, Philip IV, King of Spain, born.
18/8/1604, The Treaty of London was signed ending the Anglo-Spanish
War.
13/9/1598, King Philip II of Spain died after a reign of
over 40 years, aged 71. Spain had
acquired great wealth from its conquest of South America, but had squandered it in a series of wars, and had
suffered the defeat of the Great Armada. He was succeeded by his fourth
wife�s fourth son, Philip III.
2/5/1598, The Treaty of Vervins ended the Franco-Spanish
War. Spanish
troops withdrew from Picardy.
29/11/1596, Spain admitted that the Royal Treasury was
bankrupt, drained
by a series of wars and especially the attempt to invade England. Revolts against Spanish rule in the
Americas were also costly.
10/8/1585, Elizabeth
I of England signed the Treaty of Nonsuch, promising 64,000 foot
soldiers, 1,000 cavalry, and 600,000 florins a year to support Protestant
rebels in The Netherlands against Spain. Although Elizabeth disliked involvement
in foreign European wars, the Spanish presence in The Netherlands was too close
to England to ignore. King Philip II of Spain, who had laid siege to Antwerp
in 1584, saw this Treaty as a declaration of war.
See Great Britain
for events of 1588 Spanish Armada
1584, The Escorial Palace was completed (construction began 1559), near
Madrid, by King
Philip II.
14/4/1578, Philip III, King of Spain, was born.
31/3/1578, Juan de Escovedo, Spanish politician, was
killed.
17/9/1574, Pedro Aviles, Spanish naval adventurer, died
(born 15/2/1519 in Aviles, Asturia).
15/6/1572, Jeanne
III, Queen of Navarre, died.
25/12/1568, Revolt by the
Moriscos in Andalusia, Spain. The Moriscos were Muslims who had been forced
to convert to Christianity; however they continued to speak, write, and dress
as Muslims, and therefore came under heavy persecution., King Philip II of Spain
(1527-98) forbade their language amnd traditions in 1566. The Moriscxos
inflicted heavy damage at Granada; in retaliation Spanish troops slaughtered
many of them at the Alfajarali Pass in 1569. By 1`571 the Morisco rebellion was
totally suppressed. However the Moriscos, scattered across Spain, continued
their Muslim culture until 1609, when they were expelled to North Africa.
24/7/1568, Don
Carlos, Prince of Asturias, died (born 8/7/1545).
23/4/1563, King
Philip II of Spain began construction of El Escorial.
1561, Madrid was established as the
Spanish capital.
2/4/1559, The Peace of Cateau-Cambresis, ending the wars of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
in Europe. Italy was recognised as a Spanish sphere of influence, and Franche
Comte was to be part of the Spanish monarchy. French possession of Metz, Toul
and Verdun was confirmed. A strategic marriage was arranged between King Philip II
of Spain and Elizabeth Valois, daughter of King Henry II
of France.
10/8/1557, The Battle of St Quentin. Spanish forces under the Duke of Savoy
defeated the French under the Constable of Montmorency. The French were
driven out of Italy.
25/10/1556, Charles V, King of Spain and Holy Roman
Emperor, retired to a Spanish monastery, dividing his possessions between his
son and his brother.
25/5/1555, King Henry II of Navarre died (born 1503).
11/4/1555, Joanna, Queen of Castille, died (born
6/11/1479).
14/5/1553, Marguerite de Valois, Queen of Navarre, was
born.
10/9/1550, Medina Sidonia, commander of the
Spanish Armada, was born (died 1615).
21/9/1549, Marguerite d�Angoulmeme, Queen of Navarre,
died.
8/7/1545, Don Carlos, Prince of Asturias, was born (died
24/7/1568).
12/1/1539, The Treaty of Toledo was signed by Charles V
(Holy Roman Emperor, and King of Spain), and Francis I (King of France).� Each agreed to make no further alliances with
England.� The origin of this Treaty was
the dispute between King Henry VIII of England and Pope Paul III.
23/2/1530, Carlos
I of Spain was crowned Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire and King of Italy
by Pope
Clement V.
22/4/1529, The Treaty
of Saragossa divided the eastern hemisphere between Spain and Portugal, along a north-south line 17 degrees
9297.5 leagues) east of the Moluccas.
14/4/1527, King Philip of Spain was born; in 1588 he sent
an Armada against England but was
defeated.
18/10/1526, Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon, Spanish adventurer,
died.
24/2/1525. The Battle of Pavia.
Pavia, held by the French, had been under siege by Spanish forces
since October 1524. Italy itself was a territory being fought over by the rival
powers of France, Germany, Turkey and Spain. The French under King Charles
VIII defended Pavia with cavalry and cannon, but the Spanish had
adopted the arquebus or hackenbushe, an early version of the handgun; this
weapon replaced the Spanish crossbow. The
arquebus meant an unskilled infantryman could kill a skilled knight and Pavia
was the start of the dominance of the handgun as a military weapon.
1521, Peasant rebellion in Majorca.
23/4/1521, Comuneros uprising in Spain, against the autocratic rule of King
Charles I (1500-58). On this day the Comuneros were defeated at Villalar; the
movement�s leaders were subsequently captured and arrested. Charles�s
autocratic powers were increased.
15/2/1519, Pedro
Aviles, Spanish naval adventurer, was born in Aviles, Asturia (died
17/9/1574).
1517, Aragon became part of a united Spain.
23/1/1516, Ferdinand V, King of Castile and Leon, also Ferdinand II of Aragon,
died aged 63. He was succeeded by his 16-year old grandson, Carlos I, then a
student in Flanders.
2/12/1515, Gonzalo Cordoba., Spanish military commander,
died (born 16/3/1453).
4/8/1511, The Portuguese explorer, Alfonso de Aberquerque, captured
Malacca, now in Malaysia.
This gave Portugal control over the strategic Strait of Malacca, through which
all trade between China and India passed.
12/3/1507, Cesare Borgia died at the siege of Viana in
Navarre.
25/9/1506, Philip the Handsome, King of Spain, died suddenly aged 28, at Burgos. His
wife went mad after his death. Her father Ferdinand II of Aragon ruled as Regent of Castile, as Ferdinand V.
20/5/1506. Christopher
Columbus, Italian navigator who discovered the New World in 1492, died
aged 55 in Valladolid, Spain. See 3/8/1492. He was virtually penniless. However
his discovery of favourable winds in both directions across the Atlantic opened
up the way for European exploration of the New World.
24/11/1504, Isabella, Queen of Castille and Leon, died
aged 53. She was succeeded by her daughter Juana and Juana�s husband, Philip. However they remained in
Flanders, and Ferdinand
ruled instead.
21/4/1503, The Battle
of Cerignola, Italy.� The Spanish
under Gonzalo Fernandez de
Cordoba defeated the French under the Duc de Nemoura, who was killed.� This was the first battle considered to have
been won by gunpowder and small arms.
23/2/1503, At the
Battle of Ruvo, the Spanish defeated the French.
20/1/1503, Seville,
in Castille, was awarded exclusive rights to trade with the New World.
11/5/1502. Christopher
Columbus left on his fourth voyage of exploration, returning
on 7/11/1504.
12/2/1502. Spain
expelled all Moors (Muslims) who had not been baptised as Christians.� See 30/3/1492
7/6/1498. Christopher Columbus
left on his third journey of exploration.
25/12/1495, At the Second Battle of Acentejo, Spanish forces
crushed the natives of the island of Tenerife, destroying the last bastion of
resistance on the Canary Islands.
6/7/1495, At the Battle of Fornovo, near Parma, the French Army secured its
retreat from Italy by defeating a combined Milanese-Venetian force under Giobvanni
Francesco Gonzaga, Marquis of
Mantua. France had contested with Spain over who would control Italy. Charles VIII
of France expected support from his one-time allies, the Milanese, but when he
arrived in Italy he found they had joined with Venice, the Papacy and the Holy
Roman Empire to oppose his plans for Italy.
11/1/1495, Pedro
Mendoza, Spanish statesman, died (born 3/5/1428).
7/6/1494, The Treaty of Tordesillas was signed. In
1493, Pope
Alexander VI had set a line at 100 leagues west of the Cape Verde
islands from north to south Pole; Spain had the rights to colonise west of this
line, Portugal to the east. The 1494
Treaty moved this line a further 270 leagues to the west. This resulted in Portugal
having possession of both Brazil and Africa; in turn this greatly facilitated
the expansion of the slave trade, providing cheap labour for the sugar
plantations.
25/9/1493. Christopher Columbus
left Spain on a second voyage of exploration with a fleet of 20 ships.
4/3/1493. Christopher Columbus
arrived back in Lisbon,
then travelled to Spain.
See America,
Christopher Columbus
19/1/1493, King Charles VIII of France returned Cardagne and
Roussillon in the eastern Pyrenees to Spain under the Treaty of Barcelona.
3/8/1492. Christopher Columbus
left Palos de la Frontera, Andalusia, south-west Spain, on his first voyage to
search for a passage to the Far East via the Atlantic. He actually found the
Americas.� He sailed in the Santa
Maria, accompanied by the Nina and the Pinta. Columbus had delayed his sailing until after 2/8/1492
as that was the deadline for Jews to leave Spain; therefore Columbus was now
departing from a �cleansed� Spain.
11/4/1492, Marguerite d�Angoulmeme, Queen of Navarre, was
born.
Expulsion
of the Moors from Spain 1467-1492
2/1/1492. The Spanish Army under Queen
Isabella recaptured Granada from the Moors.� This had been the last remaining Moslem
territory in Spain.�
25/11/1491, The siege
of Granada, last stronghold of the
Moors in Spain, began.
4/12/1489. The fall of
Baza, in southern Spain. The Catholic Spanish army had besieged this town,
held by the Muslims;
both siege and defence were financed by the sale of the jewels of the ladies on
both sides. Baza had been a bishopric since at least before 302, when
its bishop was recorded as attending the Council of Elvira.
29/4/1483, Gran
Canaria, the main of the Canary Islands was conquered by the Kingdom of
Castile, an important step in the
expansion of Spain.
1/7/1482, Ferdinand V was defeated at the Battle of Loja
(see 14/5/1482). However the Spanish fleet continued to block Moorish supplies
from North Africa, ultimately leading to the fall of Granada and the complete
expulsion of the Moors from Spain (1492).
14/5/1482, In retaliation for the attack of
26/12/1481, the Marquis
of Cadiz seized the Moorish town of Alhama, near Granada. Abdul Hassan
then laid siege to Alhama, but raised the siege when Christian forces under King Ferdinand
V of Castile and Aragon (1452-1516) approached. Ferdinand entered Alhama this
day, and Queen
Isabella I of Castile and Aragon helped Ferdinand prepare to lay siege
to Moorish-held Loja, assembling a fleet to block Moorish reinforcements by
sea.
26/12/1481, In southern Spain, a period of peace
between Christians and Muslims suddenly ended when Muslim ruler King Muley
Abdul Hassan attacked and captured the Zahara fortress, near Ronda,
enslaving the Chrstians there.
20/1/1479, Ferdinand II took the throne of Aragon and
ruled together with his wife Isabella, Queen of Castile, over most of the
Iberian Peninsula.� In 1492 they conquered Granada, ending 700 years of Moorish rule.
19/10/1469, The Crowns of Castile and Aragon were joined
with the marriage of Prince Ferdinand of Aragon and the Infanta
Isabella of Castile. This
nominally united almost all of what is now Spain, except for the Kingdom of
Navarre in the north and Granada in the south (although the two
kingdoms remained politically separate entities). Spain was now the most powerful State in Europe.
1467, The sheep population of Castile was
2.7 million, up from 1.5 million in 1300. The recovery of the southern Spajish
winter pastures for sheep was a powerful economic incentive for La Reconquista, the conquest of Spain
from the Moors.
1/5/1486. The navigator Christopher Columbus persuaded Queen Isabella of Spain to grant him funds to find
a western sea passage to the Indies.
6/3/1480, The Treaty
of Toledo: Ferdinand
and Isabella of Spain recognised the African conquests of Alphonso of
Portugal, and he ceded the Canary Islands to Spain.
6/11/1479, Joanna, Queen of Castille, was born (died
11/4/1555).
4/9/1479, The Treaty of
Alcovas between Portugal and Spain confirmed Castile�s claim on
the Canary Islands, and Portugal�s claim on the Azores and Madeira, also Portuguese
rights in west Africa.
22/7/1478, Philip II, King of Spain, was born. Son of Emperor
Maximilian I and Mary of Burgundy, he married Joanna the Mad; she inherited the throne of
Castile in 1504 but due to her insanity Philip assumed full control in 1506.
13/11/1460, Prince Henry the Navigator died, aged 66.
1458, King Alfonso V
of Aragon
(also Alfonso I of Sicily and Sardinia), born 1385, died. He succeeded his
father Ferdinand
the Just in 1416,
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Castile
for territories of Castile and Leon, and Aragon and
Navarre, within Spain.
21/7/1454, Juan
II of Castile died and was succeeded by his son, Enrique.
2/6/1453, Alvaro
de Luna, Constable of Castile, was executed after a show trial. The Spanish
King, Juan
II�s, second wife was distiurbed at Alvaro�s influence over him.
16/3/1453, Gonzalo
Cordoba, Spanish statesman, was born (died 2/12/1515).
19/4/1452, Ferdinand
II, King of Aragon, was born.
16/3/1452, Ferdinand
V, King of Castile and Leon, was born (died 23/1/1516).
22/4/1451, Isabella, Queen of Castile
and Leon was born.
3/5/1428, Pedro Mendoza, Spanish statesman, was born
(died 11/1/1495).
2/4/1416, Ferdinand I, King of Aragon, died.
King Henry
III of Castile
25/12/1406, King Henry III of Castile died aged 27 after
a despotic reign of 16 years (born 1390).
6/3/1405, Juan II, King of Castile, was born (died 21/7/1454).
29/6/1397, John II, King of Aragon, was born (died
20/1/1479).
9/10/1390, Juan I of Castile died aged 32 after an
11-year reign; his claims on the Portuguese throne had been thwarted. He was
succeeded by his 11 year old son, of frail health, who ruled until 1406 as Henry III.
1379, Henry II Trastamara of Castile
and Leon died aged 46. He was succeeded by his 12-year-old son who
ruled until 1390 as Juan I.
Pedro the
Cruel of Castile
23/3/1369, Pedro the Cruel, King of Castile and Leon, was
murdered at age 34 by his brother, Henry. He then ruled for ten years as Henry II
Trastamara.
3/4/1367, In the Hundred Year�s War, the English under the Black Prince defeated a Spanish and French
army at the Battle of Navarrete. The
Spanish Kingdom of Castile was in civil war, between rival claimants for the
throne, Pedro
and his brother Enrique.
The French under Bertrand du Guesclin and the English under Edward the
Black Prince intervened, backing Enrique and Pedro respectively. The French
and English met at Najera (Navarrete), where English longbowmen massacred the
French cavalry. Pedro
gained the throne but never repaid the English for the expense of their army.
The heavy French footsoldier casualties brought some relief to the
countryside,� with fewer unemployed
soldiers roaming and plundering it.
1350, Alfonso IV of Castile
and Leon died aged 38 of The Plague during the siege of Gibraltar.
He was succeeded by his 16-year-old son whose excesses during his 19-year reign
caused him to be known as Pedro the Cruel.
30/8/1334,
Pedro the Cruel, King of Castile and Leon, was born.
21/7/1348, Battle of
Epila. Loyalists to King Pedro IV of Aragon, defending his
intention to have one of his daughters as heir to the kingdom, whereas the
nobles wanted a male heir of their choice, defeated these nobles. Pedro IV
then woithdrew the Charter that had been granted by earlier monarchs Pedro III
and his son Alfonso
III, by whoch the nobles had tried to nominate theor own candidate
as heir.
13/10/1340. In alliance with
Portugal, Alfonso
XI of Castile conquered the Moors at the River Salado. This
was the last attempt by the Moors to reverse the Reconquista.
1336, Alfonso IV of Aragon
died aged 37 after a 9-year reign. He was succeeded by his 17-year-old son who
ruled as Pedro
IV until 1387.
7/9/1312, Ferdinand IV, King of Castile and Leon, died.
15/6/1300, The city of Bilbao
received its royal foundation charter.
King Sancho
IV of Leon and Casttile
1295, King Sancho IV (el Bravo) of Leon and
Castile died, aged 37 after a reign of 11 years. He was succeeded by
his 9-year-old son, whose period of minority was a time of anarchy. However he
ruled until 1312 as Ferdinand IV.
1292, The town of Tarifa was captured by Sancho IV of Castile from the Muslims (see 710 AD). The Muslims
attempted to retake the town in 1294, besieging it, but were repulsed.
17/1/1287, King Alfonso III of Aragon
conquered the island of Minorca from
the Moors.
8/11/1286, Pedro the Great, King of Aragon, died aged 50.
He was succeeded by his weak son, who ruled until 1291 as Alfonso III. He
allowed the nobility to rebel, and anarchy became permanent in Aragon.
1286, Pedro the Great, King of Aragon,
repelled a French invasion.
2/11/1285, Peter III, King of Aragon, died.
24/4/1284, King Alfonso X of Leon and Castile died in
Seville. Born 1226, he succeeded his father Ferdinand III as king in 1252.
He was deposed by his second son, Sancho, as king in 1282.
5/5/1282, Don Manuel Juan, Infante of Castile, was born.
1262, Cadiz was taken from the
Moors.
Reign of
Ferdinand III of Castile
1252, Ferdinand III of Castille died
aged 53 after a 35-year reign. His death aborted plans to invade north Africa.
He was succeeded by the learned Alfonso X who reigned until 1284.
1248, Seville was taken from the
Moors.
1/12/1247, A
rebellion arose among the Muslim subjects of the Crown of Aragon in the region of Valencia. As a punishment, the
king issued an order of expulsion of the Muslims from his realm leading
numerous people into exile in Andalusia and North Africa in the subsequent year.
22/5/1244, James I of Aragon took the Muslim-held
city of Janita after several months of siege This success was followed by the
capture of Biar later that year
28/9/1238, James I of Aragon
captured the city of Valencia from the Muslims, who retreated to Granada
29/6/1236. Ferdinand III of Leon and Castile (see
24/9/1230) took Cordoba, with little resistance, from the Moors who had held it
since the 8th century.
1232, The Moors were expelled
from Majorca.
1232, The Moorish Nasrides Dynasty, which ruled Granada until 1492, began
with Mohammed
I, 29, who ruled Granada until 1273. He stiffened resistance to the
Christian Reconquista.
24/9/1230. On the death of Alfonso IX
of Leon, Ferdinand III of Castile was
accepted as King of Leon, unifying
the two kingdoms.
See 29/6/1236.
1229, Aragon conquered the Balearic Islands.
1224, The town of San Felipe Jativa was taken from the Arabs by King James I.
23/11/1221, Alfonso X (The Wise) was born in Castile (died
1284), son of King
Ferdinand III and Beatrice of Swabia. He became King of Castile
and Leon in 1252.
31/8/1217, Ferdinand III of Castile was declared of age
at 18 and ruled for 35 years during which he ended the dynastic wars that had
impoverished the country. As the wars ended, and the Moors were pushed back,
Spanish agriculture revived.
16/7/1212. . Battle of
Navas de Tolosa, near Toledo
�Following the Almohad victory at Alarcos (1195), it seemed possible that
the Reconquista could be reversed and Toledo fall to the Muslims. However the
Almohad leader, Al-Mansur,
was old and in il-health, and wished to retire to North Africa.. In 1211 Al-Mansur�s
successor, Muhammad
al Nasir, brought an Islamic army to Iberia to recapture
Toledo.� Pope Innocent III called for a
Crusade against the Moors, leading to a loose alliance of the rival and
disunited Kingdoms of Castile, Navarre, Aragon and Portugal, with French
knights also joining an army led by Alfonso VIII of Castile. Despite internal
divisions, the Christian army approached Al-Nasir�s camp, which was on a high plateau,
and were shown a local shepherd�s path which enabled them to approach it in
secret and mount a surprise attack. The Christians decisively defeated the Almohads. This victory however left the
Kingdom of Castile in a
difficult financial position as the numerous soldiers had to be paid by the
treasury.
1203, The Almoravid were evicted from
their last Spanish stronghold, the Balearic Islands.
18/7/1195, The Almohads won a� major victory
over Christian forces at Alarcos.
However they had to deal with internal dissentions and were unable to follow up
this victory.
29/12/1177, The Order of Alcantara (founded 1156 as the Order
of Saint Julian) received Papal approval. It was a military order of crusading
knights, and played a part in the Reconquista of Spain from the Muslims.
1170, The Almohad ruler, Yaqub Yusuf,
moved the capital of Morrocco-Spain from Marrakesh to Seville.
1160, The Almohad Muslim dynasty, which had
succeeded the Almoravid dynasty in North Africa ca. 1100, now gained
control of the Arab lands in Spain.
1158, Alfonso VII of Castile died, aged 32, in the
Sierra Moreno, whilst returning form a campaign against the Almohads. Leon
seceded as Alfonso�s
infant became king to rule for 56 years as Alfonso VIII.
1158, The Order of
Caltrava was established, when Spanish monks and knights fought the Almohads for possession of the fortress
town of Caltrava. The order was given official recognition by Pope
Alexander III, who attached it to the Cistercian Order. As the Reconquista
proceeded, the Order became more involved in the politics of Castile and was
attached to the Crown by Ferdcinand and Isabella.
7/10/1147, Almeria, one of
the most important maritime and commercial centres of al-Andalus, fell into
Christian hands after two months of siege
25/7/1139, King Alfonso
Henriques I (1110-85) of Portugal defeated the Muslims at Ourique.
1134, King Alfonso I
of Aragon
and Navarre (acceeded 1105) died. He
took Saragossa and Tarragona from the Muslims, heavily defeating them
near Valencia in 1126.
11/12/1118. The Christians captured
Saragossa, Spain, from the Muslims.
1109, Death of King Alfonso I
of Castile
and Leon. Born 1030, he acceded in 1065.
7/1099, El Cid died aged 59, after being defeated by
the Almoravid
at Cuenca. His widow held Valencia against the Moors until 1102.
17/6/1094. Valencia,
Spain, was captured by the Christians under El Cid
from the Arabs; the city
surrendered due to starvation after a 20 month siege. His kingdom now extended
over nearly all of Valencia and Murcia.
1091, The Almoravid Muslim
dynasty gained control of Arab Spain, They were noted for their severe
religious principles.
23/10/1086, The Almoravids from North Africa invaded Spain, defeating Alfonso�s army at Zallaqah this
day.
25/5/1085. The Christian, Alfonso VI
of Leon, captured Toledo (the old Visigothic capital) from the Arabs. This
had been an Arab centre of science and learning.
28/10/1069, Death of Abbad-al-Motadid, Arab ruler in Spain.
24/6/1065, Ferdinand I, King of Castile and Leon, died.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Castile
for territories of Castile and Leon, and Aragon and
Navarre, within Spain.
1035, The House of Aragon was founded
by Ramiro I,
illegitimate son of Sancho the Great of Navarre. In 1131 it was
united by marriage with the rulers of Barcelona.
1009, The Balearic Islands
became a separate Moorish Kingdom. This kingdom became notorious for piracy,
and was the target of a Crusade by Pope Paschal II, with Catalan forces
playing the main part.
939, The Arabs
lost Madrid to the Kingdom of Leon.
910, Death of Alfonso the Great,
king of Leon, Galicia and Asturias.
866, Alfonso III, the Great (848-910)
succeeded his father, Ordono I, as king of Leon, Galicia and
Asturias. He repulsed Muslim attacks and extended his rule over parts of Portugal.
857, Founding of the Kingdom of
Navarre.
Moorish
invasion of Spain, and southern France
798, The Moors
took the Balearic Islands.
25/10/732.
The Frankish General, Charles Martel,
won a major victory over the Arabs at Poitiers. In 718
an Arab siege of Constantinople had been defeated. The Arabs had crossed
the Pyrenees, sacked Bordeaux and Poitiers, and were advancing on the wealthy
monastery of St Martin at Tours. Eudo,
Duke of Aquitaine, appealed to Charles who brought
the Frankish army south to help. The Arabs, their leader killed, retreated
south, probably to put down a Berber uprising in north Africa. More early history
of France here.
720, The Arabs
invading Spain crossed the Pyrenees into France, and took Narbonne.
718, At the Battle of Covadonga, the Kingdom of Asturias,
north-western Spain, defeated the Arabs and escaped occupation by them.
However Islamic expansion continued in other regions and by the 720s they
controlled an area from Provence to the borders of China.
713, Barcelona conquered by the Arabs.
712, Seville conquered by the Arabs.
Visigoths
rule Spain
19/7/711,
Battle of Guadalete: Umayyad Moors' victory over the Visigothic army. Visigothic king Roderic (Rodrigo in Spanish and
Portuguese) died in the battle.
710, The Spanish town of Tarifa, in the far south, was
conquered by the Moors � the first part
of Spain to be occupied by them. It was retaken by the Spanish in 1292
after a long siege by Sancho IV of Castile.
705, The
Visigothic Kingdom of Spain was split by civil war,leaving it open to an Arab
invasion.
586, Death of Leovigild.
585, Leovigild conquered
the whole of Spain.
567, The
Visigoths under King
Leovigild drove the Byzantines from western Spain.
534, Toledo became capital of the Visigoth Kingdom of Spain.
28/12/484,
Alaric II, eighth king of
the Visigoths in Spain, succeeded his father Euric or Evaric. His dominions included all of
Spain, except for the north-west, and also Aquitaine and much of Provence.
4/10/456,
The Visigoths under King Theodoric II, acting on orders of Avitus, invaded Spain with an army of Burgundians,� Franks and Goths, They
defeated the Suebi; this shattered
the power of the Suebi. During the battle Rechiar was captured and later executed.
423, The
Balearic Islands were seized by the Vandals.
416, The
Vandal Kingdom in Spain was invaded by the Visigoths.
257,
The Franks invaded Spain.
See also Roman Empire
Appendix
1 � Andorra
2002,
Andorra adopted the Euro.
1278,
Andorra became an independent Republic. It had been claimed by the French
Counts of Foix.
218 BCE,
The Andosini, a tribe subdued by Hannibal, were the firsr recorded inhabitants
of the area.
Appendix
2 � Gibraltar
18/3/2002, 24,000 out of 27,000
Gibraltar residents protested at Britain;s plans to share sovereignty with
Spain.
5/2/1985, The Gibraltar � Spain
border fully reopened.
15/12/1982, The border between
Spain and Gibraltar opened for the first time in 13 years, to pedestrians only.
8/1/1982. Spain
ended its 12-year siege of Gibraltar and reopened the frontier. In return Britain
ended its opposition to Spain joining the EEC and NATO. See 27/12/1978.
10/4/1980, Spain and the UK agreed to reopen the border
with Gibraltar, closed since 1969.
4/7/1969. Franco offered Gibraltarians Spanish
citizenship.
6/5/1968, Spain
closed its border with Gibraltar to all but Spaniards.
10/9/1967. Gibraltar voted overwhelmingly to stay British. 12,318
voted for Britain, and 44 for Spanish rule. In 2002 the British government was
considering sharing sovereignty with Spain but the Gibraltarian governor was to
hold an unauthorised referendum, which he believed would show the majority
wished to stay British.
5/10/1966, Spain
closed the frontier with Gibraltar to all but pedestrian traffic.
3/2/1965, Spain began a blockade of Gibraltar.
10/9/1963. The people of Gibraltar
voted overwhelmingly to remain under British rule.
6/2/1783, The siege
of Gibraltar ended.
16/1/1780. British
troops under Admiral
Rodney defeated the Spanish, destroying all but four ships of their fleet, at Cape St
Vincent. This temporarily lifted the siege of Gibraltar.
16/6/1779, The siege
of Gibraltar began.
9/11/1729. Spain
signed the Treaty of Seville,
renouncing its right to Gibraltar in favour of the British.
24/7/1707, Britain captured Gibraltar from Spain.
24/7/1704, Admiral Sir
George Rooke and Sir Cloudesley Shovel captured Gibraltar
from the Spanish, during the War of the Spanish
Succession.� Gibraltar was formally
ceded to the UK by the Treaty of Utrecht, 1713.
1462, After a series of failed
attacks and sieges, the Spanish under Alonzo de Arcos again recovered Gibraltar
1333, Vasco Perez de Maya, having
failed to maintain the defences of Gibraltar, was obliged to cedc it to Mahomet IV
after a 5-month siege.
1315, Ismail ben Ferez mounted a
failed attack on Gibraltar.
1309, Alonzo Perez de Guzman
recaptured Gibraltar for King Ferdinand IV.
929, A second great famine struck Spain; an
earlier one had occurred in 919.
742,
Gibraltar, known as Mons Calpe to the
Romans,
and Alybe to the Greeks, was
fortified by Tariq,
who had invaded Andalusia in 711. The name �Gibraltar� derives from Jebel Tariq
(Mount Tariq).
See Roman Empire for conquest of Spain by
Carthaginians.