Editing Spain (section)

== History ==
The Iberian Peninsula was inhabited in antiquity by Iberian and Celtic peoples. Phoenician settlements developed along the southern coast, while Greek settlements appeared farther east. Carthage later controlled territory in southern and eastern Iberia. Roman forces entered the peninsula during the Second Punic War and gradually incorporated it into [[Roman Hispania]]. Roman government introduced an extensive road network and urban administration. Latin became the basis of the later Spanish language.<ref name="iberian-history"/>

After the decline of Roman authority, the Suebi established a kingdom in the northwest. The [[Visigothic Kingdom]] later controlled most of the peninsula from Toledo. Muslim forces entered Iberia in 711 and defeated the Visigothic monarchy. Much of the peninsula became part of [[Al-Andalus]], which was governed first as a province and later through independent Muslim states. Christian kingdoms remained in the north and expanded southward over the following centuries.

The [[Crown of Castile]] became the largest Christian state on the peninsula. The [[Crown of Aragon]] controlled eastern Iberia and territories across the western Mediterranean. The marriage of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon created a dynastic union between the two crowns, although their institutions initially remained separate. The conquest of [[Granada]] in 1492 ended the last Muslim-ruled kingdom in Iberia.

Spanish expeditions across the Atlantic began an overseas expansion that created the [[Spanish Empire]]. The monarchy gained territory in the Americas and established possessions in Europe and the Pacific. Silver from the Americas supported royal finances and international trade, although repeated wars placed heavy demands on the state. Bourbon rule began after the War of the Spanish Succession and brought greater administrative centralisation during the eighteenth century.

The French invasion of 1808 caused a war against Napoleonic occupation and weakened royal government. Most Spanish territories in the Americas gained independence during the early nineteenth century. Political conflict continued between supporters of monarchy, constitutional government and republican rule. Spain lost Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines after the Spanish–American War of 1898.

The Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed in 1931. Conflict between republican and nationalist forces developed into the [[Spanish Civil War]] in 1936. Nationalist forces led by [[Francisco Franco]] won the war in 1939. Franco governed Spain as a dictatorship until his death in 1975.

King Juan Carlos I became head of state after Franco's death and supported the transition to parliamentary government. The constitution approved in 1978 established the present constitutional monarchy and created the system of autonomous communities. Spain joined the European Communities in 1986 and later adopted the euro.