Plus Ultra (Latin) ("Further Beyond") | |||||
| Anthem | "La Marcha Granadera" | ||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Madrid | ||||
| Other cities | Barcelona, Sevilla, Zaragoza | ||||
| Language official |
Spanish | ||||
| others | Asturian (in Asturias), Catalan (in Aragon, Valencia and the Balearic Islands), Galician (in Galicia), Basque (in the Basque Country), Arabic (in Spanish Sahara), Pascuan (in Easter Island), Filipino (in the Philippines) | ||||
| Religion main |
Catholicism | ||||
| others | Islam (in Spanish Sahara and the Philippines) | ||||
| Demonym | Spanish | ||||
| Government | Unitary Fascist Monarchy | ||||
| King | HM Jaime III of Bourbon and Bourbon-Parma | ||||
| Established | 20 January 1479 | ||||
| Currency | Spanish Peseta | ||||
Spain (Spanish: España), officially known as the Spanish Empire (Spanish: Imperio Español), is a sovereign country which occupies most of the Iberian Peninsula: it shares land borders with France to the northeast, straddling the Pyrenees mountain range, the Mediterranean Sea to the east, the Britsh territory of Gibraltar to the south, Portugal to the west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north. Thanks to its exclaves in Africa (Ceuta and Melilla) however, it also borders the Rif. Metropolitan Spain also includes two archipelagos, the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean and the Canaries Islands in the Atlantic, while the Spanish colonial empire extends to all continents of the world.
Spain has been one of the oldest European monarchies, first appearing as a unified nation at the end of the Reconquista, during which the Islamic occupants of the region were driven out. Later, Spain spearheaded European colonialism in the Americas and elsewhere, creating one of the first global empires in the history of man, and the first empire on which the sun never set. After a long period of decadence starting in the late 18th century, Spain returned a world power following the rise of the Carlist and Falangist faction, which brought the country into the Great War and modernized its economy.
Spain, as a nation, has always been one of the most important cultural hubs of Europe, and a centre of art and literature. Its empire, while not as vast as it once was, is still among the largest of the world. The Spanish Empire is a fascist monarchy, born in its current incarnation in the third decade of the 20th century, after a long period of political turmoil and widespread conflicts known as the Spanish Civil War, which ended with the triumph of the alliance of the Falangists and the Carlists, led by general and politician Francisco Franco.
Recent History[]
Government and Politics[]
Constitution and Laws[]
Spain is a unitary fascist monarchy: the head of state is the king, HM Jaime III of Bourbon and Bourbon-Parma, but his power is only ceremonial in nature. The government, embodied by the "Caudillo" Francisco Franco and his committee, has all the executive power, while legislative power is in the hands of the Spanish Cortes (Spanish: Cortes Españolas), a monocameral parliament. The Falange is the only legal party, while only male family heads have the right to vote on referendums brought up by the Cortes to pass important laws.
Metropolitan Spain is subdivided into provinces (Spanish: provincias, singular provincia), while the Spanish overseas empire is organized into entities of different types: overseas provinces (Spanish: provincias ultramarinas, singular provincia ultramarina) are controlled directly by the motherland, while viceroyalties (Spanish: virreinatos, singular virreinato) and captaincies general (Spanish: capitanías generales, singular capitanía general) govern themselves with a much larger degree of autonomy.
Subdivisions[]
Metropolitan Spain numbers a total of 17 provinces; in addition to these, Spain's overseas empire consists of three captaincies general and four overseas provinces.
Provinces[]
- Andalusia
- Aragon
- Asturias
- Balearic Islands
- Basque Country
- Canary Islands
- Catalonia
- Ceuta
- Extremadura
- Galicia
- León
- Melilla
- Murcia
- Navarre
- New Castile
- Old Castile
- Valencia
Captaincies General[]
- Cuba
- Philippines
- Puerto Rico
