Southern Europe · ESP

Spain

The story · 11 chapters

How it was drawn

Iberians, Celts, Carthage and Rome came first, then the Visigoths and al-Andalus, until Christian kingdoms advanced south for eight centuries and the crowns of Castile and Aragon made one Spain.

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Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Spain fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Carthage237 BC to 206 BC
Hamilcar Barca landed at Gadir in 237 BC and built a Carthaginian dominion in the south and east, with New Carthage, today's Cartagena, as its capital. Hannibal's siege of Saguntum in 219 BC started the Second Punic War, and Rome drove Carthage out by 206 BC.
Roman Republic218 BC to 19 BC
Rome's conquest took two centuries. The Lusitanian leader Viriathus resisted until his murder in 139 BC, and the Celtiberian town of Numantia held out until 133 BC, when many of its people chose death over surrender. Augustus finished the conquest in the Cantabrian Wars, ending in 19 BC.
Umayyad Caliphate711 to 756
Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed from Africa in 711 and defeated King Roderic, probably near the Guadalete river. Within a few years most of Iberia was under Umayyad rule, but a Christian revolt in the Asturian mountains, remembered through the Battle of Covadonga around 722, survived.
Almoravids1086 to 1147
After Castile took Toledo in 1085, the taifa kings called in the Almoravids, Berber rulers of Morocco. They crushed Alfonso VI at Sagrajas in 1086 and then annexed the taifas themselves, ruling al-Andalus until the 1140s.
Almohad Caliphate1147 to 1212
The Almohads, another Berber movement from Morocco, replaced the Almoravids and beat Castile at Alarcos in 1195. The armies of Castile, Aragon and Navarre broke their power at Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212.
Emirate of Granada1238 to 1492
The Nasrid emirate of Granada survived for two and a half centuries, often paying tribute to Castile. The Catholic Monarchs conquered it in a ten-year war from 1482, and Muhammad XII surrendered the city on 2 January 1492.
Kingdom of France1494 to 1659
Spain and France fought over Italy from 1494, and at Pavia in 1525 Spanish troops captured King Francis I. The rivalry returned in the Thirty Years' War, when France beat the Spanish army at Rocroi in 1643. The Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 ended it.
Ottoman Empire1535 to 1580
Spain and the Ottomans fought for the Mediterranean. Charles V took Tunis in 1535, Malta resisted an Ottoman siege in 1565, and a Holy League fleet led by Don John of Austria won at Lepanto in 1571. A truce around 1580 split the sea between them.
Dutch Republic1568 to 1648
The northern Netherlands revolted against Philip II in 1568. After eighty years of war, broken by a truce from 1609 to 1621, Spain recognised the independent Dutch Republic in the Peace of Munster in 1648.
Kingdom of England1585 to 1604
Philip II sent the Armada against Elizabeth I's England in 1588, but English ships and storms wrecked it. The war dragged on until the Treaty of London in 1604, with neither side winning.
Kingdom of Great BritainSince 1704Still open
An Anglo-Dutch fleet took Gibraltar in 1704, and Spain ceded it to Britain at Utrecht in 1713. Spain tried to win it back in the Great Siege of 1779 to 1783. It still claims the Rock, a British overseas territory.
First French Empire1808 to 1814
Napoleon put his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne in 1808. Madrid rose on 2 May, and Spanish troops beat a French army at Bailen that July. Guerrillas, with British and Portuguese armies under Wellington, drove the French out by 1814.
MoroccoSince 1859Still open
Spain fought Morocco in 1859 and 1860, and in 1921 Rif fighters under Abd el-Krim routed a Spanish army at Annual. Morocco claims Ceuta and Melilla, and in 2002 the two countries clashed over the tiny islet of Perejil.
United States of America1898
After the USS Maine exploded in Havana harbour, the United States went to war with Spain in 1898. American fleets destroyed Spanish squadrons at Manila Bay and Santiago de Cuba, and Spain lost Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines.

Today

Spain now

Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Spain remained neutral during both World Wars but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39) resulting in a dictatorship. A peaceful transition to democracy after the death of dictator Francisco FRANCO in 1975 and rapid economic modernization after Spain joined the EU in 1986 gave Spain a dynamic and rapidly growing economy.

Capital: Madrid
Government: parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Head of government: Pedro Sánchez
Head of state: Felipe VI of Spain
Languages: Spanish

Through time

Then and now

Population47.9 million2023 · 28.1 million in 1950
Life expectancy83.7 years2023 · 61.8 years in 1950
GDP per person$34,1232022 · $3,459 in 1950
Living in cities81%2025 · 52% in 1950
Literacy100%2021 · 83% in 1950
Political regimeLiberal democracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
Military alliancesNATO2024 · None of these in 1950
Military spending2.1% of GDP2025
War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

United States
France
Germany
Ukraine
Portugal

Tensions

Russian Federation

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Spain fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Carthage237 BC to 206 BC

Hamilcar Barca landed at Gadir in 237 BC and built a Carthaginian dominion in the south and east, with New Carthage, today's Cartagena, as its capital. Hannibal's siege of Saguntum in 219 BC started the Second Punic War, and Rome drove Carthage out by 206 BC.

Roman Republic218 BC to 19 BC

Rome's conquest took two centuries. The Lusitanian leader Viriathus resisted until his murder in 139 BC, and the Celtiberian town of Numantia held out until 133 BC, when many of its people chose death over surrender. Augustus finished the conquest in the Cantabrian Wars, ending in 19 BC.

Umayyad Caliphate711 to 756

Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed from Africa in 711 and defeated King Roderic, probably near the Guadalete river. Within a few years most of Iberia was under Umayyad rule, but a Christian revolt in the Asturian mountains, remembered through the Battle of Covadonga around 722, survived.

Almoravids1086 to 1147

After Castile took Toledo in 1085, the taifa kings called in the Almoravids, Berber rulers of Morocco. They crushed Alfonso VI at Sagrajas in 1086 and then annexed the taifas themselves, ruling al-Andalus until the 1140s.

Almohad Caliphate1147 to 1212

The Almohads, another Berber movement from Morocco, replaced the Almoravids and beat Castile at Alarcos in 1195. The armies of Castile, Aragon and Navarre broke their power at Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212.

Emirate of Granada1238 to 1492

The Nasrid emirate of Granada survived for two and a half centuries, often paying tribute to Castile. The Catholic Monarchs conquered it in a ten-year war from 1482, and Muhammad XII surrendered the city on 2 January 1492.

Kingdom of France1494 to 1659

Spain and France fought over Italy from 1494, and at Pavia in 1525 Spanish troops captured King Francis I. The rivalry returned in the Thirty Years' War, when France beat the Spanish army at Rocroi in 1643. The Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 ended it.

Ottoman Empire1535 to 1580

Spain and the Ottomans fought for the Mediterranean. Charles V took Tunis in 1535, Malta resisted an Ottoman siege in 1565, and a Holy League fleet led by Don John of Austria won at Lepanto in 1571. A truce around 1580 split the sea between them.

Dutch Republic1568 to 1648

The northern Netherlands revolted against Philip II in 1568. After eighty years of war, broken by a truce from 1609 to 1621, Spain recognised the independent Dutch Republic in the Peace of Munster in 1648.

Kingdom of England1585 to 1604

Philip II sent the Armada against Elizabeth I's England in 1588, but English ships and storms wrecked it. The war dragged on until the Treaty of London in 1604, with neither side winning.

Kingdom of Great BritainSince 1704Still open

An Anglo-Dutch fleet took Gibraltar in 1704, and Spain ceded it to Britain at Utrecht in 1713. Spain tried to win it back in the Great Siege of 1779 to 1783. It still claims the Rock, a British overseas territory.

First French Empire1808 to 1814

Napoleon put his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne in 1808. Madrid rose on 2 May, and Spanish troops beat a French army at Bailen that July. Guerrillas, with British and Portuguese armies under Wellington, drove the French out by 1814.

MoroccoSince 1859Still open

Spain fought Morocco in 1859 and 1860, and in 1921 Rif fighters under Abd el-Krim routed a Spanish army at Annual. Morocco claims Ceuta and Melilla, and in 2002 the two countries clashed over the tiny islet of Perejil.

United States of America1898

After the USS Maine exploded in Havana harbour, the United States went to war with Spain in 1898. American fleets destroyed Spanish squadrons at Manila Bay and Santiago de Cuba, and Spain lost Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines.

Spain now

Capital

Madrid

Government

parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Head of government

Pedro Sánchez

Head of state

Felipe VI of Spain

Languages

Spanish

Then and now

Population47.9 million2023 · 28.1 million in 1950

Life expectancy83.7 years2023 · 61.8 years in 1950

GDP per person$34,1232022 · $3,459 in 1950

Living in cities81%2025 · 52% in 1950

Literacy100%2021 · 83% in 1950

Political regimeLiberal democracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950

Military alliancesNATO2024 · None of these in 1950

Military spending2.1% of GDP2025

War deathsNone2025