The changes that took place throughout the XIX century led it to be the age in which various constitutions took place in Spain. Some only applied during war time, others were completely disregarded by either the political parties or the people, and a few only lasted as long as the man who promoted them was the government's leader. What is true is that all of them were short-lived, and none of them carried the voice of the people, which is considered a fundamental key element of any government.

In 1808 there was the Bayonne constitution, which was never enacted. In 1812 the Cádiz constitution came at a time when people thought that things were going to change after the Napoleonic wars, but no change came. There was a constitution written in 1837, one in 1845, in 1856, in 1869, and in 1873, each one suppressed by changes in the ruling body of the Spanish government. With the second Republic came the 1931 constitution which approved the first Catalan Statute. Then the Civil War arrived and was followed by the long dark years of Franco dictatorship, during which neither constitutions nor statutes were considered to be safe. An official referendum in 1947 made the Spanish state a monarchy, but dictator Francisco Franco reserved his powers as regent and the right to personally designate a successor. He avoided naming one right away to avoid political conflict, although later, in 1969, he finally designated Bourbon Prince Juan Carlos as his successor.

The Spanish Constitution of 1978

After the death of the Franco, representatives of all the Spanish political groups got together in 1978 to write Spain's present-day constitution. It was put to a referendum on 6th December of the same year with 87% of the votes in favor of its approval. It was sanctioned by King Juan Carlos on 12th December and published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (Official State Bulletin) on 29th December 1978. The 1978 Constitution proclaims that Spain is a social and democratic state governed by law and declares liberty, justice, equality, and political pluralism to be the country's foremost values. This new constitution came into effect on 1st January 1979 and defined Spain as a parliamentary monarchy with no official religion, where the head of state reigns but does not rule. It also prescribed a limited role for the armed forces and the church, the abolition of the death penalty, and an extension of suffrage.

This new constitution also granted the right for historical communities to form autonomous regions in Spain. It acknowledges the existence of more nationalities within a united and indivisible Spanish nation. The first regions to be recognized as “historical nationalities” were the Euskadi (Basque Country), Catalonia and Galicia. The nation is openly multilingual and the defense of regional tongues is explicitly cited in the pivotal Article 3:

1. Castilian (Spanish) is the official language of the State. All Spaniards have the duty to know it and the right to use it.
2. Other (Iberian) languages are official in their respective autonomous communities according to the Statutes.
3. The wealth of the different language variations in Spain is a cultural heritage that shall be the object of special respect and protection.

This was widely criticized by right-wing groups which thought the unity of Spain was compromised, and it is still a source of argument today.

The approval of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 signifies for Spain and the Spaniards years of joy and progress after two difficult centuries (19th and 20th). In Spain, 6th December is a national holiday in which the Spanish nation celebrates “Dia de la Constitución” (Constitution Day).

• Read more about enforex_pages_landing_block_ccf48905-6056-4396-a115-90b1a73ea0b6

Columbus set forth commanding three small ships, and after a long drawn-out journey landed on the coast of a Caribbean island. Thus commenced the Spanish conquest of America.

The widely published report of the 1492 voyage granted Christopher Columbus widespread European recognition, and secured him the title of Admiral of the Ocean Sea. More importantly, it enabled him to obtain further royal patronage and thus lead three more expeditions to the Caribbean (although Columbus continued to believe that he had reached Asia).

The Azteca and the Inca empires in Mexico were conquered by Spain in the 16th century, while the terrotory that would eventually became the US was explored by Hernando de Soto and Cabeza de Vaca.

The later travelled extensively through eastern and central United States, arriving at modern day Chicago, and during three years hoped to cross the sea to China, considered to be the finest market in the world.

His journey from Florida to the Mexican Gulf is described in the logbook Naufragios, which also recounts his experience of shipwreck. He and other five men had been living as natives in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Early in 1536 they came across Spanish soldiers on a slave expedition in Northern Mexico, and by July they had arrived in Mexico City.

Mexican territory was conquered by Hernán Cortés. The Aztec people believed Cortés to be their white-skinned god Quetzalcoatlin, a belief which facilitated the Spanish conquest. The Spanish fleet had landed in Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz in February 1519, and by the month of November, commanded by Cortés, they entered Tenochtitlán and arrested the Aztec Emperor, Moctezuma. Within two years Cortés had completely overthrown the Aztec Empire, securing control of Tenochtitlán and its surrounding territories, upon the ruins of which he would build Mexico City.

In 1532 the Inca Empire was conquered by Francisco Pizarro, whose men kidnapped Emperor Atahualpa in exchange for a ransom of gold and silver; once the ransom was paid, however, Atahualpa was murdered.

• Read more about enforex_pages_landing_block_603f0871-b918-4368-b0eb-eb8b7f6d64ce

During Columbus´s first voyage on the Atlantic, 1476, the commercial fleet he was with was attacked by French sailors off of the coast of Portugal. His ship was burned and Columbus was forced to swim ashore. The sailor settled in Lisbon and married Felipa Perestrello, the two had one son, Diego, in 1480.

Columbus would eventually move to Spain after the death of his first wife. With Beatriz Enriquez de Arana in 1488 Columbus had his second son, Fernando, out of wedlock.

By the late 1400s Columbus began lobbying for finance to take men and ships to discover a route to India and Asia via an un-interrupted eastward passage. Columbus argued the circumference of the Earth to be effectively shorter, 63% the actual size. Contemporaries of Columbus however argued the circumference to be 25,000mi, while the actual circumference is 24, 901.55mi and a bit shorter at the poles, 24,859.82mi.

Columbus was first rejected for funding for a 3-ship fleet by Portugal, then again by Genoa and Venice. Finally, the explorer arrived on the doorstep of the Spanish monarchy of Isabella of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon in 1486. However during this period of Spain´s history (711-1492) the Muslims dominated the attention and finances of Spain´s government for the re-conquest. Columbus would have to wait until monies were freed up or the war came to an end.

A solution came to Columbus in January 1492 when the last Muslim stronghold in Granada was captured. With the momentum of victory, the royal court decided to finance Columbus. He was outfitted with the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Niña. In August of 1492 Columbus set sail from Spain´s coast and was at sea for 36 days until landing on a Bahamian island in the Caribbean Ocean, claiming it for Spain.

Columbus would travel between Spain and the Americas several more times to try and fulfill King Ferdinand with the gold and riches he promised. Columbus did bring back potatoes, tomatoes, and corn to Europe which became staples and helped increase European populations. Likewise, coffee from Africa and sugar cane from Asia became booming cash crops in Latin America.

Columbus's legacy is a mixed one due to the illness and disease that spread to the New World via ship rats, i.e., small pox. However, as a result of the Spanish influence in Central and Latin America, Spanish evolved to become the dominant language of the hemisphere. Spain´s Modern Age and subsequent Golden Age are also considered to have begun from the momentum of exploration of Spain that started with Columbus.

• Read more about enforex_pages_landing_block_35251673-7887-403b-a364-31d61e5a47ca

Allegiances were not always clear-cut during this conflict. Essentially, the ranks of the Left (also known as Loyalist and Republican) comprised workers, peasants and trade unions, but also the Spanish government, Socialists, Communists and Anarchists. The Right (also known as Nationalist), was supported by rebellious factions of the army, industry, landowners, the middle classes and the Catholic Church. For various and somewhat contradictory reasons, the Loyalists received the support of the Soviet Union and European democracies, while the Nationalists were armed and equipped by the Fascist governments of Germany and Italy.

The Spanish Civil War would prove to be both fierce and bloody. Although the resources of the two sides were not that unequal, the Nationalists were better organized and received extensive material aid from Germany. The Loyalists received very little assistance from the Soviet Union and, moreover, were divided by internal conflicts between Communist, Socialist and Anarchist factions.

While European and North American volunteers fought for the Republic in the framework of the International Brigades, and a number of foreign artists and intellectuals supported the Loyalist cause, including Ernest Hemingway (who was working as a reporter and photographer) and George Orwell (who fought on the Republican side only to be prosecuted later on and thus becoming profoundly disillusioned by the rivalry in the ranks of the Left), the Nationalists were finally triumphant.

General Franco's victory marked the beginning of a forty-year dictatorship in Spain (1939-1975). In the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, Hitler sought Franco's support for his own military campaign, but Spain was in no position to provide either financial or human aid. Although the Spanish Civil War had been a training field for the battles to be waged in the Second World War, Spain would play no part in the latter but agred to sponsor a small army of volunteers known as La División Azul.

Under the Franco regime Spain suffered international isolation, although in varying degrees. In 1955 the country was accepted as a member of the United Nations, and in 1970 General Franco named prince Juan Carlos his successor as the future king of Spain, thereby re-establishing the monarchy. Upon the dictator's death in 1975 King Juan Carlos I was crowned and the country set out on the long journey back to full democracy in Spain.

• Read more about enforex_pages_landing_block_00e4d459-ee96-49ff-adf8-a5bacc8bb2e1

• Read more about enforex_pages_icon_block_162e00ff-523e-4c03-9dfb-1c5fab9b617d