Geography and Climate
Spain has an area of 504,705 square kilometers. Its territories include around five sixths of the Iberian Peninsula (Península Ibérica), the Balearic Islands (Islas Baleares) in the Mediterranean Sea (Mar Mediterráneo), the Canary Islands (Islas Canarias) in the Atlantic ocean (Océano Atlántico) and two autonomous cities (Ceuta and Melilla) on the northern coast of Africa.
The Iberian Peninsula, due to its situation between two continents and two seas, has been the crossroad for various influences, physical as well as human; for this reason it has been compared to a miniature continent. This explains the contrasts in its land (high mountain areas, an immense central plateau over 200,000 square meters), forests and steppes, abrupt coasts and gentle coasts; in its climate (humid in the North, continental in the Center, Mediterranean in the South and East) and its population (different races, cultures and languages). Since prehistoric times, the influence from Europe on the one hand and Africa on the other, together with the contacts through the sea have given Spain a “special” character.
History
Situated between two continents and with a relatively easy access from the Mediterranean, Spain has been invaded and inhabited by an assortment of peoples through its history. The Greeks and Phoenicians settled in the Eastern and Southern coasts and the Carthagians the Southeast. The Romans arrived in the 3rd century B.C. and were capable of conquering almost the whole Peninsula, also achieving a deep romanization in every sense (language, culture, architecture, and politics…). After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Germanic peoples (Suevian, Vandals and Alans) occupied the Peninsula, and the Visigoths established a reign which would last from the 5th to the 7th century. At the beginning of the 7th century the Arabs invaded the Peninsula and they stayed until 1492, when Isabel and Fernando (Catholics Kings) expelled them. Eight centuries of Arabic colonization, together with the roman colonization, left a deep and permanent mark on the Spanish population.
In the twentieth century Spain knew three political systems: a monarchy, two republics and a dictatorship. The second republic almost finished in 1936 with the outbreak of the civil war that ended in 1939 with the defeat of the constitutional republican government and the victory of the insurgent military government (led by General Franco). So, Spaniards lived a dictatorship from 1939 until 1975 (when the dictator General Franco died). The transitional period into Democracy was from 1975 to 1978. In 1978, another Constitution was written approved and sanctioned by the people in a referendum. 1978 is considered to be the beginning of our return to Democracy and the return to the Parliamentary Monarchy. The king is Rey Juan Carlos I (who received succession thanks to the agreement reached between his father Don Juan de Borbón (the entitled one to be the King in the succession line) and General Franco.
Political System
The Spanish nation (44,390,000 registered in 2006) is a sovereign independent state, constitutionally defined as a Parliamentary Monarchy, and governed according to due democratic process, following the 1978 Constitution.
The King, Juan Carlos I (Juan Carlos Primero), is the Head of State, with no legislative power. He oversees the functioning of the democratic institutions and represents the country abroad.
The Government (El Gobierno) is formed by the political party which obtains a parliamentary majority and performs the tasks of executing internal and external policies, national defense and of preparing legislation which is then submitted to Parliament (El Parlamento) for discussion.
Administratively, Spain is divided into Municipalities (municipios), Provinces (provincias) and Autonomous Communities and cities (17 comunidades autónomas and 2 ciudades autónomas).
Municipal governments and administrations are based in Town Halls (Ayuntamientos), the buildings where the Town Council and their members (Concejales) meet. The residents of the municipality elect the Town Councilors at local elections.
The Provinces (Provincias) are territorial subdivisions composed of a number of municipalities and Provincial Councils (Diputaciones), which also have a representative character, govern them. Provincial Councils are legally supposed to support municipalities whose populations are under 30,000 inhabitants.
Autonomous Communities are organised institutionally following the model of other democratic institutions of the State. There is a Legislative Assembly (Parlamento) elected by universal suffrage; a Government or regional parliament (Gobierno Autonómico) with executive functions and a President elected by the Community Assembly. The autonomous communities correspond to the major regions of Spain, some of them have just one province or several ones.
Altogether there are 19 Autonomous Communities. They are: Andalucía, Aragón, Asturias, Baleares (the Balearics), País Vasco o Euskadi (the Basque Country), Islas Canarias (the Canary Islands), Cantabria, Castilla La Mancha (Castile-La Mancha), Castilla-León, Cataluña / Catalunya (Catalonia), Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarra and Valencia. And two autonomous cities, on the North African coast: Ceuta and Melilla.
See Tour Spain and click Destinations.
Language
Spanish or Castillian is only one of the 4 official languages in Spain, it is spoken throughout the country and is the language used by the Central Administration. The are other 3 co-official languages: Catalan in Catalonia, Galician in Galicia, Euskera (basque language) in the Basque Country. The use of the Spanish or the other languages will vary from people to people.
The 1978 Constitution reflects the right of every region to speak and teach its own language. This was not so in Franco’s time, it was actually forbidden; therefore, people all over Spain are very sensitive now about their own regional language. You should keep this in mind and be respectful of it in order to not hurt anybody.
If you want to have further help with your Spanish visit the Virtual Classroom for learning Spanish at the Cervantes Institute.
Interactive Map by the Education Ministery (Centro Nacional de Información y Comunicación Educativa).
