identification Card
Surface Area: 313,807 square miles
17 independent communities
52 provinces and 2 cities in Africa.
Capitol: Madrid
>Population: 42 million inhabitants, 133 inhab/ square mile
Currency: the Peseta (100 pesetas are worth about £ 40p.
or $ .56)
Religion : Catholicism
Regime: Constitutional Monarchy
Head of State: King Juan Carlos
Prime Minister: José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
Socialist Party
Languages: Castillian (national language)
Basque, Catalan, Galician, Valencian (regional languages) |
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| Traveling to Spain means discovering a beautifully sunny region of
Europe, delighting in a cuisine that is rich in aromas and flavors, and
taking part in the amicable "fiesta", which only the Spaniards
know how to do so well. The Iberian peninsula is a land with a formidable
history and an exceptional architectural heritage boasting countless important
monuments. So it is only natural that more than 40 million tourists visit
Spain each year.
GEOGRAPHICAL SITUATION
With a surface area of 313,807 square miles, Spain is the third largest
country in Europe in size. Because it is situated between the continents
of Europe and Africa, Spain enjoys a strategic advantage as a passageway
between the two continents, which facilitates international exchanges
and relations.
REGIONS
The regions of Spain are quite diversified in terms of climate, geography
and geology, which only strengthens its individuality as a country.
POLITICAL SYSTEM
Spain is a social and democratic country under law which relies on a
political system of constitutional and parliamentary monarchy. The capitol
of Spain, Madrid, is home for the Spanish Senate and Parliament. The Spanish
government is composed of seventeen Independent Communities and two African
cities, Ceuta and Melilla. The Spanish constitution accords each autonomous
community the ability to govern over its own territory.
BUSINESS HOURS
Shops are open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 AM to 2 PM and from
5 PM to 8 PM. Larger shopping centers are usually open all day from 10
AM to 9 PM (sometimes as late as 10 PM).
A LITTLE HISTORY
Populated by the Iberian people as early as 2000 BC, the Phoenician,
Punic and Greek people began to set up colonies on its coast 1000 years
before Jesus Christ, while the Celts were moving into the area of Castille.
The second Punic war became the occasion for Rome to conquer Spain, but
it would take two centuries for Rome to dominate the country completely
(218-219 BC). Severely weakened by Germanic invasions in the 5th century,
Spain was reunified under the Visigoths who placed its capitol in Toldede
in 554. Conquered by the Arabs in 714 (with the exception of the northwest
region of the country) an Arab state was created around Califat and Cordoba.
The Christian kingdoms and princes of the time consecrated the Reconquista
with their victory at Las Navas in 1212. Christian Spain was now reunified
with the marriage of Isabella of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon. Spain
took over Grenada, the last Muslim territory and in 1492 chased the Moors
from the Peninsula.
Christopher Columbus paved the way for the conquistadors who delivered
South America (except for Brazil) to Spain. Wielding incredible royal
power, Spain reached the peak of its power under Charles V, who united
the kingdom and became the Germanic Emperor in 1519 (1516-1556) as did
Philippe II after him (1556-1598). In the 18th century, Spain lost its
dominant role in Europe when the country was conquered by Louis XIII and
Louis XIV. At the end of Hapsburg rule in 1700, the Bourbons acceded to
the throne of Spain and Philippe, Louis XIV's grandson, became king.
When General Franco died in 1975, Juan Carlos I , the king of Spain, grandson
of Alphonse XII,I and his son Juan, the Count of Bourbon, began the process
of the democratization of Spain which culminated in 1978 with the adoption
of the new constitution. The 1996 legislative elections saw the victory
of José Maria Aznar and his Popular Party. |
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