The most valuable natural resource of Spain is the soil, with nearly one-third of the land suitable for cultivation. The country also has many mineral resources, including hard and brown coal, small petroleum and natural gas deposits, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, and potash.

Only a small part of Spain is forested, and forests are located mainly on mountain slopes, particularly in the northwest. A common Spanish tree is the evergreen oak. Cork oak, from which the bark may be stripped every ten years, is abundant, growing chiefly as second growth on timbered land. Poplar trees are grown throughout the country and the cultivation of olive trees is a major agricultural activity. Other Spanish trees include the elm, beech, and chestnut. Shrubs and herbs are the common natural vegetation on the central plateau. Grapevines flourish in the arid soil. Esparto grass, used for making paper and various fiber products, grows abundantly in both the wild and cultivated state. On the Mediterranean coast sugarcane, oranges, lemons, figs, almonds, and chestnuts are grown. The Spanish fauna includes the wolf, lynx, wildcat, fox, wild boar, wild goat, deer, and hare. Among the more famous domesticated animals are the bulls bred near Seville and Salamanca for bullfighting, the Spanish national sport. Birdlife is abundant, with varieties of birds of prey. Insect life abounds. Mountain streams and lakes teem with such fish as barbel, tench, and trout.

Although Spanish soils need careful irrigation and cultivation, they are a rich and valuable resource. Semiarid chestnut-brown soils cover the central plateau, and red Mediterranean soils cover the southern area and the northeastern coastal region. A gray desert soil, often saline, is found in the southeast. The forest of northern Spain has gray-brown forest soils, and the forest in the Cantabrian Mountains has leached podzolic soils.

The population of Spain at the 1991 census was 38,872,268. The estimate for 1995 is 39,276,000, giving the country an overall density of about 78 persons per sq km (about 202 per sq mi). Spain is increasingly urban, with more than 80 percent of the population in towns and cities.

Education in Spain is free and compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 16. The school system consists of preprimary schools (for children 3 to 5 years old), primary (6 to 11), and secondary (ages 12 to 16, in 2 two-year cycles). Students may then take either a vocational training course for one or two years, or the two-year Bachillerato course in preparation for university entrance. The university system has three cycles. The first, leading to the degree of Diplomatura, lasts for three years. The second cycle lasts for two or three years and leads to the degree of Licenciatura. Students earning the degree of Doctor must complete the two-year third cycle and write a thesis. In the early 1990s Spain's preprimary schools were attended by approximately 1 million pupils, primary schools by about 4.5 million, and secondary schools (including high schools and technical schools) by approximately 1.8 million. About 30 percent of all children receive their education in the Roman Catholic school system.

Spanish institutions of higher education enrolled nearly 1.3 million students in the early 1990s. The major universities of Spain include the University of Madrid, the Polytechnical University of Madrid (1971), the University of Barcelona (1450), the University of Granada (1526), the University of Salamanca, the University of Seville (1502), and the University of Valencia (1510).

Any consideration of Spanish culture must stress the tremendous importance of religion in the history of the country and in the life of the individual. An index of the influence of Roman Catholicism is provided by the fervent mystical element in the art and literature of Spain, the impressive list of its saints, and the large number of religious congregations and orders. The Catholic marriage is the basis of the family, which in turn is the foundation of Spanish society. Fiestas (festivals) are an outstanding feature of Spanish life. They usually begin with a high mass followed by a solemn procession in which venerated images are carried on the shoulders of the participants. Music, dancing, poetry, and singing often enliven these colorful occasions. The fiesta at Valencia, the April fair in Seville, and the San Fermín fiesta at Pamplona are several of the more important ones. In contrast, the feast of Corpus Christi in Toledo and Granada and the Holy Week observances in Valladolid, Zamora, and Cuenca are solemn affairs. The bullfight, so important a part of Spanish tradition, has been called a fiesta brava. It is far more than a mere spectator sport; fans applaud not only the bravery of the toreros but their dexterity and artistry as well.

Agriculture is a mainstay of the Spanish economy, employing, with forestry and fishing, about 10 percent of the labor force. The leading agricultural products, in order of value, are grapes and olives, used to make olive oil. In the early 1990s annual production of grapes was 5.7 million metric tons and of olive oil was 597,000 metric tons. Other important commodities included potatoes (5.3 million tons), barley (6 million), wheat (4.5 million), almonds (425,000), tomatoes (2.6 million), oranges and mandarins (4.2 million), sugar beets (7.5 million), and onions (995,000). Climatic and topographical conditions make dry farming obligatory for a large part of Spanish agriculture. The Mediterranean provinces, particularly Valencia, have irrigation systems that represent the work of many generations, and the formerly arid coastal belt has become one of the most productive areas of Spain. Combined irrigation and hydroelectric projects are found particularly in the valley of the Ebro River. Large sections of Extremadura are irrigated by means of government projects on the Guadiana River. Small-farm irrigation from wells is common. The raising of livestock, especially sheep and goats, is an important industry. In the early 1990s livestock on farms included about 24.6 million sheep, 17.2 million pigs, 4.9 million cattle, and 240,000 horses.

The cork-oak tree is the principal forest resource of Spain, and the annual production of cork, more than 52,000 metric tons in the late 1980s, placed Spain among the world leaders. The yield of Spain's forests is insufficient for the country's wood-pulp and timber needs. The fishing industry is important to the Spanish economy. The annual catch was about 1.4 million metric tons in the early 1990s and consisted primarily of sardines, mussels, tuna, hake, and squid.

Among the leading goods manufactured in Spain are textiles, iron and steel, motor vehicles, chemicals, clothing, footwear, ships and boats, refined petroleum, and cement. Spain is one of the world's leading wine producers, and the annual output in the early 1990s was about 3.7 million cu m (983 million gallons). The iron and steel industry, centered in Bilbao, Santander, Oviedo, and Avilés, produced about 12.7 million metric tons of crude steel and 5.7 million tons of pig iron annually in the early 1990s.

About 52 percent of Spain's electricity is generated in conventional thermal plants primarily using coal or refined petroleum. Hydroelectric facilities produce 13 percent, and nuclear installations, 35 percent. In the early 1990s Spain had an installed electricity-generating capacity of some 46.6 million kilowatts, and annual output was about 157 billion kilowatt-hours.

The unit of currency is the peseta (127.2 pesetas equal U.S.$1; 1996), issued by the Bank of Spain (1829). The country is served by a large number of commercial banks. The principal stock exchanges are in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, and Valencia. In early 1995 Spain's currency was devalued 7 percent against eight other European currencies, in part to slow selling by currency traders concerned about the country's internal politics and continued high budget deficit. The devaluation was the fourth in less than four years and raised doubts about achieving the goal of producing a unified European currency by 1997, as called for by the Treaty on European Union.

In the early 1990s, Spain annually imported goods valued at about $92.5 billion and exported goods valued at about $72.8 billion. Principal imports include machinery, mineral fuels, transportation equipment, food products, metals and metal products, and textiles. Exports include motor vehicles, machinery, basic metals, vegetable products, chemicals, mineral products, and textiles. Spain's chief trading partners are France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Portugal, the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, and Belgium and Luxembourg.

The climate, beaches, and historic cities of Spain are an attraction for tourists, which make a significant contribution to the country's economy. More than 57 million people visit Spain each year, making it one of the world's top tourist destinations. The $20 billion tourists spend each year helps make up for Spain's considerable trade deficit.

Spain had about 332,000 km (about 206,300 mi) of roads and about 13.1 million passenger cars in the early 1990s. Rail service over about 15,430 km (about 9590 mi) of track is provided by both government-owned and private companies. In 1992, a high-speed railway line from Madrid to Seville began operating; an extension of the line to Barcelona is scheduled to open by 1997. The government-controlled Iberia Airline operates domestic and international services. The airline, which needed financial rescue by the government in the mid-1990s, also serves Spain through a number of subsidiaries. In the early 1990s the merchant marine consisted of some 2190 vessels; the total capacity of the fleet was about 3.2 million gross tons.

Radios in use in Spain in the early 1990s totaled about 12.1 million along with 15.2 million television sets. The country also had about 90 daily newspapers, with a combined daily circulation of about 5 million. Influential dailies include El País and A.B.C., both published in Madrid, and La Vanguardia and El Periódico, issued in Barcelona.

In the early 1990s the Spanish labor force included about 15.2 million people. About 2.8 million were employed in manufacturing; 1.3 million in agriculture, forestry, and fishing; 7.1 million in service industries; and 1.2 million in construction. Unemployment soared as high as 22 percent during this period. In the early 1990s, about 10 percent of Spain's workforce was unionized.

The head of state of Spain is a hereditary monarch, who also is the commander in chief of the armed forces. Executive power is vested in the prime minister, who is proposed by the monarch on the parliament's approval and is voted into office by the Congress of Deputies. Power is also vested in a cabinet, or council of ministers. There is also the Council of States, a consultative body.

In 1977 Spain's unicameral Cortes was replaced by a bicameral parliament made up of a 350-member Congress of Deputies and a Senate of 208 directly elected members and 47 special regional representatives. Deputies are popularly elected to four-year terms by universal suffrage of people 18 years of age and older, under a system of proportional representation. The directly elected senators are voted to four-year terms on a regional basis. Each mainland province elects 4 senators; another 20 senators come from the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla.

Spain has many political parties. The two major groups in the 1993 general election were the Spanish Socialist Workers Party and the Popular Party (a conservative party that had absorbed the Christian Democrats and the Liberal Party). Other significant parties in the legislature include the United Left (a coalition of left-wing parties) and the Catalan and Basque nationalist parties.

The 1978 constitution allowed for two types of autonomous regions, each with different powers. Catalonia, the Basque provinces, and Galicia were defined as "historic nationalities" and used a simpler process to achieve autonomy. The process for other regions was slower and more complicated. While the autonomous regions have assumed substantial powers of self-government, the issue of regional versus central governmental power is still under negotiation. Each of Spain's 17 autonomous regions elects a unicameral legislative assembly, which selects a president from among its own members. Seven autonomous regions are composed of only one province, the other ten are formed of two or more provinces. Each of the provinces, 50 in all, has an appointed governor and an elected council. Each of the more than 8000 municipalities is governed by a directly elected council, which elects one of its members as mayor.

The judicial system in Spain is governed by the General Council of Judicial Power, presided over by the president of the Supreme Court. The country's highest tribunal is the Supreme Court of Justice, divided into 7 sections; it sits in Madrid. There are 17 territorial high courts, one in each autonomous region, 52 provincial high courts, and several lower courts handling penal, labor, and juvenile matters. The country's other important court is the Constitutional Court, which monitors observance of the constitution.

The Law of Family Subsidy, enacted in 1939, provides Spain's workers with monthly allowances proportionate to the number of children in the family; the necessary funding is collected from employers and employees. A program of old-age pensions and health and maternity benefits has been in effect since 1949. A fund derived from public collections provides for the support of the poor, nursery schools, and health clinics. In the early 1990s Spain had about 153,300 physicians and 175,400 hospital beds.

The earliest records of an aboriginal past in the Iberian Peninsula are Paleolithic cave paintings, found in the region of the Bay of Biscay and the western Pyrenees, which exhibit a remarkable degree of animation and skill. Distinctly different from this development in the north was the later Neolithic Almerian culture (3000? BC) of southeastern Spain, which was akin to that of prehistoric Africa. The southern region became the first invasion point for the Iberians, originally a North African people, who, about 1000 BC, became the most prominent ethnologic element in the peninsula and gave it its name. The second most important people in the peninsula were the Celts, who entered it in a mass migration from France. The Celts almost completely absorbed the indigenous inhabitants of the central region and, to a lesser extent, those of the northern mountains. A subsequent intermingling of Celts and Iberians formed the so-called Celtiberians, living chiefly in the central region, the west, and along the northern coast.

The first of the eastern Mediterranean peoples known to have voyaged to the peninsula were the seafaring Phoenicians, probably in the 11th century BC. The Phoenicians established a colony on the site of present-day Cádiz. Traders from Rhodes and the Greek cities followed, establishing colonies on the Mediterranean coast and occasionally venturing into the Atlantic through the Strait of Gibraltar, then known as the Pillars of Hercules. In the second half of the 3rd century BC the African state of Carthage began to exploit the peninsula. Under the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca, a large part of the peninsula was conquered in a campaign from 237 to 228 BC, and in the latter year Carthage founded the city of Barcelona. Other colonies were established, notably Carthago Nova (now Cartagena). The expansion of Carthage in the peninsula was viewed unfavorably by Rome. In 219 BC, violating a previous Carthage-Rome agreement delimiting Carthaginian territory, the Carthaginian general Hannibal destroyed the Greek colony of Saguntum (now Sagunto) and precipitated the second of the Punic Wars. Carthage was forced to evacuate the peninsula in 206 BC. Nine years later Rome divided the peninsula into two provinces, Hispania Citerior, in the valley of the Ebro River (northeast), and Hispania Ulterior, in the plain penetrated by the Guadalquivir River (south). The tribes of the extreme north did not surrender their independence to Rome until 19 BC. Under the Romans, Hispania took its final form as three provinces: Lusitania, approximating modern Portugal; Baetica, in the south, approximating western Andalusia; and Hispania Tarraconensis, the central plateau and the north, northwest, and the eastern coast above Cartagena. From the final submission of the Iberian tribes until the dissolution of the Western Roman Empire in the late 5th century AD, Hispania was one of the most prosperous areas of Roman power. Its farms were a major source of Roman grain, and from its mines came iron, copper, lead, gold, and silver.

In AD 409 Teutonic invaders crossed the Pyrenees. Alans, Vandals, and Suevi swept over the peninsula. The unity of Hispania under Rome was destroyed, not to be entirely recreated for more than a thousand years. In an attempt to stem the havoc brought by the invasions, Rome appealed to the Visigoths, who in AD 412 brought their armies into the region and within seven years became the dominant power. The Visigothic kingdom of Toulouse, a nominal vassal of Rome, was established in 419, and at its fullest extent included the territory from the Strait of Gibraltar north to the Loire River in present-day France. For three centuries (419-711) the king of Toulouse implanted Roman culture and Christianity in the peninsula. Euric ruled at the height of Visigothic power in the 5th century and codified the Roman and Gothic law. Leovigild, who reigned from 569 to 586, effected the final subjugation of the Suevi tribes and united the Roman and Visigothic elements of the peninsula into a single people. Between 586 and 601, Leovigild's son Recared established Roman Catholicism as the official state religion.

In 1469 the marriage of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand V of Aragón initiated the developments that made Spain a great power. They became joint rulers of Castile in 1474 and of Aragón in 1479, although no actual union of the two kingdoms occurred and each monarch exercised sovereign power only in his or her own realm. Aragón, the smaller and poorer kingdom, tended to be neglected. Attention was focused instead on strengthening royal authority in richer and more populous Castile. Also important for the pious monarchs (who took the title "Catholic Kings") was the establishment in 1478 of the Inquisition to enforce purity of the faith. The Inquisition was also a powerful tool for increasing and consolidating royal power. Inquisitors were royally appointed, invested with both civil and church power, exempt from normal jurisdiction, and served by a multitude of informants and bodyguards. Proceedings were secret and the property of the condemned was consfiscated and distributed among the crown, the Inquisition, and the accusers. In 1480 Isabella convoked a great Cortes (parliament) at Toledo, which laid the legislative basis for royal absolutism in Castile. Laws were recodified, the judicial system was reformed, and the power of the nobility was weakened. Moreover, administrative structures and methods of recruiting state officials were professionalized, making Castile perhaps the most modern large state of its time. Royal power was consolidated further during a ten-year war against Granada, the last Moorish stronghold, on the Iberian Peninsula. These efforts culminated in 1492, when first Granada fell, politically unifying all of Spain, and then religious uniformity was imposed through the forcible conversion or expulsion of Jews, some 150,000 of whom chose to leave, and the remaining Moors. Still, a seemingly minor act, the sponsoring of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus to find a westward route to the Indies, had the greatest historical consequences.

The accession of Charles brought the Habsburg dynasty to the Spanish throne. Charles was the most powerful Christian monarch of his time. In addition to Spain and its possessions in Italy and the Americas, he inherited the Netherlands and Burgundy through his father. He also had strong ties to the Austrian branch of the Habsburg family and in 1519 was elected, as Charles V, Holy Roman emperor. Charles had been reared in Flanders, could not speak Spanish, and tried to rule Spain through foreign advisers. In 1520 and 1521, Spanish resentment against this precipitated a revolt in Toledo, Segovia, and other Castilian cities demanding greater municipal liberties. The revolt was defeated with help from the nobility; three centuries would pass before royal absolutism was again challenged in Spain. Even though Charles continued to spend much time outside Spain, he became increasingly popular with his Spanish subjects. This apparent paradox can be explained by Castile's great prosperity during his reign, sparked partly be American treasure but also reflecting growth in manufacturing and in population, and by pride in Spain's great imperial accomplishments. During Charles's reign Cortés, Pizarro, and others explored and conquered the Americas. Ferdinand's anti-French strategy was continued in a series of wars (1521-1529, 1535-1538, 1542-1544, 1551-1559) that made Spain a dominant power in northern as well as southern Italy. Charles led the Catholic attempts first to conciliate, then to suppress the Protestant Reformation sweeping northern Europe. In the south, he mounted expeditions against Tunis (1535) and Algiers (1541), defending the western Mediterranean against Turkish efforts to expand.

Bourbon rule was notable for domestic changes and internal development. Schooled in the absolutism of Louis XIV, Philip brought Catalonia and Aragón, which still preserved traces of their medieval status as independent states, under central bureaucratic control. Administrative and fiscal reforms of the Bourbon kings made government more effective and reduced the privileges of the church and the nobility. Large programs of public works were begun, and commerce, industry, and agriculture received royal encouragement. Intellectual life gradually revived, as did economic and population growth. The American colonies were also reorganized, and Spain's commercial ties with them were improved. In foreign affairs, the early Bourbons usually were allied with France and hostile to Great Britain, Spain's chief naval and colonial rival. Spain joined France against Austria in the wars of the Polish Succession (1733-1735) and the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748). As a result, Spain regained some of the Italian influence it had lost in 1713. In 1762 Spain entered the Seven Years' War as an ally of the French against Britain; it lost Florida when the British won, but received Louisiana from France as compensation. The two nations allied again in 1779 to support the American Revolution against Britain, and by the Treaty of Versailles in 1783 Spain recovered Florida. The Spanish presence now extended over much of the North American continent. Under Charles III, an enlightened ruler responsible for many foreign and domestic achievements, Spain regained some of its former greatness.

The Spanish people refused to recognize Joseph as king and organized resistance against French occupation. A British force came to their aid; in Britain the conflict was known as the Peninsular War because it also involved Portugal. By January 1810 the French had defeated the major Spanish armies and occupied most of the country, but Spanish guerrilla bands effectively harassed the French forces and kept them from either smashing the British army in Portugal or completely taking over Spain. Thus, a national assembly (1810-1813) could meet in Cádiz and proclaim a constitution that ended absolutist rule, established parliamentary government, suppressed the Inquisition, limited the power of the nobles and clergy, and instituted other reforms. Very advanced for its time, the constitution became a paramount issue in subsequent Spanish politics. The war against Napoleon was a heroic period for Spain and contributed to his eventual downfall in Europe. Six years of warfare, however, greatly harmed the economy of Spain, and its American colonies began to win their independence. By 1826 only Cuba and Puerto Rico remained under Spanish rule; the mainland colonies had all gained their freedom, and their resources were lost to Spain.

The reign of Isabella was marked by the continued struggle between progressive and conservative liberals. Favored by the court, the conservative side governed for most of the period from 1843 to 1866. Isabella's absolutist tendencies and incompetence eventually alienated all major factions; they united to depose her in the "Glorious Revolution" of September 1868. The revolution, which culminated in the democratic constitution of 1869, was soon overtaken by troubles. Cuba revolted against Spanish rule (see Ten Years' War). Several foreign princes rejected the invitation to assume the Spanish crown before Amadeus, son of King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, accepted it in December 1870. The Carlist movement reemerged, and a radical Federal Republican movement gained ground. Beset by army and political intrigues, social conflict, popular hostility against him, and the strain of the Cuban and Carlist insurrections, Amadeus abdicated in February 1873. Lacking viable alternatives, the parliament proclaimed the first Spanish republic. Political anarchy ensued. The republicans, a minority group, were deeply divided among themselves, with the radicals trying to impose by force their program of extreme decentralization. Army intervention maintained a precarious balance until December 1874, when a group of generals turned against the republic and restored the Bourbon monarchy with Isabella's son, Alfonso XII, as king.

In September 1923 General Miguel Primo de Rivera led a military coup that gave vent to the widespread disillusionment with the parliamentary regime. Rather than resisting, King Alfonso XIII accepted the coup and made Primo de Rivera head of the government. The Cortes was dissolved, and a military directorate took charge. Although there were few arrests and little police or army brutality, political parties were banned and Catalonia lost the few home-rule privileges it had acquired. Socialist trade unions continued to operate, however, and Primo de Rivera insisted that his dictatorship was only a temporary measure. One of his main achievements was the conclusion, with French help, of the costly Moroccan war in 1926. Economic development became the chief concern of the new civilian government he had appointed. An extensive road network was built, and major irrigation works were undertaken. Opposition to his administration increased in 1928 and 1929, in part because of his extravagant fiscal policies. Alfonso accepted Primo de Rivera's resignation in January 1930, but the onus attached to the dictatorship had weakened the crown. Even Conservative politicians no longer enthusiastically supported the monarchy; Alfonso had betrayed them by accepting dictatorial rule. The socialist, anarcho-syndicalist, and Catalan regionalist movements began to cooperate with the Republicans, as did numerous former monarchists and army officers. Efforts to overthrow the monarchy by force in December 1930 failed, but municipal elections in April 1931 gave such overwhelming majorities to Republican candidates in urban areas that Alfonso left Spain. The second Spanish republic was proclaimed at once, with Niceto Alcalá Zamora y Torres as president.

The new republic had far wider support than its predecessor of 1873 and 1874, but some of its early adherents expected it to be conservative, while others wanted revolutionary change. Unfortunately, the republic came into being at a time not only of deepening worldwide economic depression, but also of intense ideological conflict throughout Europe. At first, a coalition of left-wing Republican parties and the Socialists, headed by Manuel Azaña, gave the republic a progressive tone. Falsified elections and other corrupt practices of the monarchy were ended, women gained the right to vote, Catalonia was granted autonomy, and the principle of home rule was extended to the Basque provinces. Major social reforms were instituted, taxation became more equitable, and in 1932 a land-reform effort began to redistribute the large estates in southern Spain to the peasantry. A large-scale program of irrigation and other public works was undertaken. Education was secularized, the Jesuit order was dissolved, and all church-state ties were ended. So ambitious a program was difficult to carry out, and the process alienated many groups that had at first accepted the republic. Azaña's coalition began to crumble in 1933. Moderates saw the pace of social reform as too rapid; Socialists considered it indecisive. Opposition also increased among Roman Catholics, who resented Republican anticlericism, and radicals, who wanted immediate social revolution. In the elections of November 1933 rightist and center-right parties won a majority. The result was a partial revival of rightist power, modification of the anticlerical measures, and a weakening of land reform and other social legislation. Leftist forces reacted strongly against these changes. The tension exploded in October 1934, when a Socialist-led workers' insurrection swept Asturias, and Catalonia proclaimed its independence from Madrid. After two weeks of savage fighting, the Asturian revolt was crushed. A further shift to the right then occurred, but only negative policies were pursued; the governing coalition fell apart in late 1935. A new leftist coalition, the Popular Front, scored a narrow victory in the elections of February 1936. This coalition, also headed by Azaña, was less moderate than the previous one because the Socialists had become more radical and it now included the Communists. The leftist reform legislation was restored, and Azaña applied it with great vigor. Tension mounted as street battles between rival groups spread, peasants seized land, and strikes swept Spain. A conspiracy to overthrow the government took shape under General Emilio Mola, and by early July it had gained the support of thousands of military officers.

On July 18, 1936, a military revolt against the government began, but it was soon defeated in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, and several other eastern and northern cities. Thus, the country was divided between a rebel-held or Nationalist zone, generally in the agricultural areas, and a Republican or Loyalist zone, encompassing most industrial and other urban areas. A long civil war ensued. At first the rebel forces made great advances, reaching the outskirts of Madrid in November. The government, expecting the capital to fall, fled to Valencia. In a series of epic battles Madrid held firm, enabling the Loyalists to go on fighting. Both sides soon received help from abroad. Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany sent troops, arms and airplanes to aid the Nationalists. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) furnished military equipment and advisers to the Loyalists, who were also aided by the International Brigades, made up of idealistic volunteers from Europe and the Americas. Britain and France remained neutral. The Nationalists displayed great unity and soon found a strong leader in General Francisco Franco. The Loyalists were more divided. Their forces included moderate and extreme Socialists, Catalan and Basque regionalists, and Communists, whose power rapidly expanded because of their organizational skills and Soviet aid. The Republican leader for most of the war was Juan Negrin, a moderate Socialist. Following their failure at Madrid, Nationalist forces launched a difficult campaign (April-October 1937) to conquer the Basque Country, Asturias, and other industrial regions of northern Spain. The infamous German bombing of Guernica occurred during this campaign. The Loyalists began a counteroffensive in December at Teruel. Initially successful, it was beaten back by February 1938. The Nationalists then began an advance that reached the Mediterranean by mid-April, splitting the Republican zone in two. The Loyalists attacked Franco's armies from the rear at the Ebro River, stopping the insurgent drive toward Valencia for several months; weakened by battle, however, they were unable to capitalize on their success. After the Munich Pact they could no longer realistically hope for British or French intervention on their behalf. When the insurgents resumed their offensive in December, the Loyalists retreated toward Barcelona, which fell on January 26, 1939. Deeply divided and utterly exhausted, they were incapable of further resistance. Madrid fell on March 28, and the civil war ended on April 1.

From 1961 on, unprecedented socioeconomic change occurred. The economy boomed because of rapid industrial growth and an extraordinary rise in tourism, as well as foreign investment in Spain and money sent home by Spanish workers abroad. Owing to a growing labor shortage, wages increased, unofficial trade unions were organized, and agriculture was mechanized rapidly to avoid high labor costs. Greater worker prosperity brought rapid social change: there was massive migration from rural to urban areas; secondary and university education expanded enormously; and the people became more secularized and sophisticated as their exposure to contemporary ways of life increased. The Franco regime, fundamentally pragmatic and technologically oriented after 1957, provided the framework within which growth could occur. The massive housing program the government sponsored greatly eased the social costs of Spain's transition from a rural to an urban society. Although these socioeconomic changes were accompanied by some political liberalization, the dictatorship continued to be oppressive. In 1962, reacting to strikes in Asturias and a meeting of opposition forces in Munich, Franco instituted martial law. In 1970 serious repression again threatened when several members of a new Basque separatist organization, Euskadi ta Askatasuna ("Basque Homeland and Freedom"; ETA), were sentenced to death in trials held in Burgos. In part because of international pressure, the government backed down in these crises. Martial law soon was lifted, and the ETA death sentences were commuted. Liberalization was also expressed in a series of fundamental laws enacted from 1966 to 1969. One law increased freedom of the press; another made the Cortes somewhat more representative and augmented its powers; a third recognized Spain's official status as a monarchy by naming Juan Carlos, grandson of Alfonso XIII, as successor to the throne after Franco's death. The gradual liberalization was also evident abroad: the West African colony of Spanish Guinea was granted independence as Equatorial Guinea in 1968; seven years later the government agreed to cede Spanish Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania.

Liberalization and prosperity did not end social and political unrest. Although walkouts remained illegal, many strikes occurred in Spain during the late 1960s and the early 1970s. Students protested against overcrowded facilities and government control. Catalan regionalists again became politically active. By far the most important conflict arose in the Basque Country, where the ETA launched terrorist attacks against the police and army. The government responded with indiscriminate repression, and a vicious cycle of violence and counterviolence gripped the Basque provinces from 1969 to 1975. This contrasted sharply with the relatively infrequent violence, by either the government or its opponents, elsewhere in Spain. The regime was severely shaken in 1973 when Premier Luis Carrero Blanco was assassinated by the ETA. Instead of reverting to massive repression, however, the new premier, Carlos Arias Navarro, announced further liberalization measures, including plans for the formation of political associations, which had been forbidden since 1939. These moves sparked a revolt by hard-core Falangists, who sought a return to a strong dictatorship. For a brief period it seemed that they might succeed. Arias's attempted reforms were sabotaged. A law was passed requiring the death penalty for terrorists who killed police, and five were executed in September 1975. The possibility of further moves to the right ended when Franco died on November 20, 1975.

Franco's death and the succession of King Juan Carlos I were followed by several months of political ambiguity. The new king favored full democratization, but many powerful interests were against change. On the other hand, reform measures that had been daring under the dictatorship now seemed insufficient to most people. The deadlock was broken in July 1976 when Arias resigned at the request of Juan Carlos, who appointed Adolfo Suárez González as the new premier. A moderate Falangist, Suárez became chief architect of Spain's successful transition to democracy. Suárez convinced the Cortes to annul the restrictive legislation Franco had left behind and to accept the Political Reform Law, which was approved by referendum in December 1976. Despite strong army objections, in April 1977 he legalized the Communist Party. In June the first democratic elections in four decades reaffirmed his centrist policies. His newly formed party, the Union of the Democratic Center (UDC), won 34 percent of the vote, with the Socialists a close second. Hardly any votes went to extremists, either of the left or right. In 1978 the Cortes passed a new democratic constitution, providing for a constitutional monarchy, freedom for political parties, and autonomy for Spain's "nationalities and regions." The constitution was enthusiastically accepted by most sectors of society, but the Basque provinces still resented being tied to Spain and supported the ETA, which stepped up its terrorist activities. Meanwhile, Catalans pushed for greater control over local affairs, and demanded greater language rights. The use of Catalan and nationalist sentiments increased in and around Barcelona. The Galicians consistently distanced themselves from Madrid, though the desire for regional ethnic autonomy remained weaker in Galicia than in either Catalonia or Basque Country. Suárez governed through consensus, consulting all nonextremist parties when formulating basic policy. Catalonia and the Basque Country were granted home rule, and their languages were officially recognized. The constitution extended similar privileges to 15 other regions. Thus, the movement toward political centralization begun by Ferdinand and Isabella some 500 years earlier was reversed, and a "Spain of autonomous communities" was created. Suárez, brilliantly successful under crisis conditions, proved less effective as a day-to-day administrator, and troubles appeared after the 1979 elections. The rightist segments of the UDC, hitherto subdued, reasserted themselves. His policy of consensus with other parties broke down. The economy was deteriorating badly. In January 1981, Suárez resigned, and was succeeded by Deputy Prime Minister Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo. The long-simmering resentment in military circles against rapid change produced dangerous conspiracies, and on February 23, 1981, armed civil guards invaded the Cortes in an attempt to seize power. King Juan Carlos narrowly foiled the coup by convincing most of the military units to remain loyal to the government. Calvo Sotelo formed a new Council of Ministers, and during his term dealt with numerous difficult issues, including his decision to have Spain join NATO in 1982. Continued grumbling within the armed forces, political disputes, and a precarious economy left Spain less than stable for many months.

In recent years, concerns over Spain's environmental problems have grown. The country has experienced increased air-pollution problems in Madrid and along the northeastern coast, water pollution in agricultural and coastal areas, and soil erosion. Controversies arose over rapid development along the Mediterranean coast and threats to scenic attractions.

Although the Spanish Socialist Workers Party and González were reaffirmed in office in the elections of 1986 and 1989, industrial workers became the most dissatisfied sector of society because of high inflation and unemployment. In the early 1990s there were several corruption scandals involving government officials. Even so, the mood of the Spanish people improved in 1992 as the Summer Olympic Games were held in Barcelona and a world's fair was held in Seville to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus's first voyage to America. In the 1993 elections, González remained prime minister as head of a coalition government. The Socialists, however, failed to get a majority, forcing González into a more vulnerable political position.

The issue of regional ethnic autonomy continued to be an important concern. More than 800 people died as a result of ETA violence between 1968 and 1993. By January 1994, a growing peace movement helped to sway public opinion against ETA's violent tactics, and prospects for productive negotiations with the central government seemed promising. But continued terrorist attacks prevented any talks from taking place, and by May the government was refusing to consider negotiations with the Basque extremist group. However, damaging scandals within the González government throughout 1994 and into 1995 forced the prime minister to seek support from the Catalan and Basque nationalist parties in exchange for greater regional autonomy and benefits. Jordi Pujol, leader of the Catalonian nationalists, sought more financing and control of Catalan health care and police, as well as tax subsidies for regional industry. Overall, popular sentiment in the Catalan and Basque regions supported more autonomy but not complete independence from Spain.

In December 1995 González announced that he would run for reelection when his term expired, despite decreasing popularity and the numerous scandals that had plagued his most recent term of office, including accusations that his government had funded the killings of Basque guerrillas in the late 1980s. He then surprised many by setting elections for March 1996, over a year early.

In the March elections, the Socialists lost their majority to the conservative People's Party, led by José María Aznar. The People's Party failed to gain an outright majority, however, and were forced to form a coalition with Jordi Pujol's Catalan nationalists in order to govern. Aznar was officially sworn in as prime minister in May 1996.