Spainball

"¿Por qué no te callas?"

- King Juan Carlos I to Hugo Chávez at the 2007 Ibero American Summit

, officially the Kingdom of Spainball is a countryball located in extreme southwestern Europe. Spainball occupies about 85 percent of the Iberian Peninsula, which it shares with their smaller neighbours  Portugalball and  Andorraball. Their clay is divided into 50 provinces, including the capital Madridball (city), giving Spainball a total of 195,360 square miles, making them the largest country in southern Europe. As of 2016, Spainball maintains a population of 46.56 million inhabitants.

Spainball maintains membership in  EUball and NATOball due to being geographically in Europe, as well as the  UNball like almost every other country.

Spainball is a history full of conquerors, inquisitions, conspirations and extreme good luck for maybe one of the most developed countries in Europe, because of those factors mentioned previously Spainball used to have one of the biggest empires in history, but lost most because they were too far. At least is still stronk in Europe. even stronker now as their all time rival UKball is gone from there.

Spainball's national day is in 12th of October.

History
Archaeological research at Atapuerca indicates the Iberian Peninsula was populated by hominids 1.2 million years ago. In Atapuerca fossils have been found of the earliest known hominins in Europe, the Homo antecessor. Modern humans first arrived in Iberia, from the north on foot, about 35,000 years ago. The best known artefacts of these prehistoric human settlements are the famous paintings in the Altamira cave of Cantabria in northern Iberia, which were created from 35,600 to 13,500 BCE by Cro-Magnon. Archaeological and genetic evidence suggests that the Iberian Peninsula acted as one of several major refugia from which northern Europe was repopulated following the end of the last ice age.

The largest groups inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula before the Roman conquest were the Iberians and the Celtballs. The Iberians inhabited the Mediterranean side of the peninsula, from the northeast to the southeast. The Celts inhabited much of the inner and Atlantic sides of the peninsula, from the northwest to the southwest. Basques occupied the western area of the Pyrenees mountain range and adjacent areas, the Phoenician-influenced Tartessians culture flourished in the southwest and the Lusitanians and Vettones occupied areas in the central west. A number of cities were founded along the coast by Phoenicians, and trading outposts and colonies were established by Greeks in the East. Eventually, Phoenician-Carthaginians expanded inland towards the meseta, however due to the bellicose inland tribes the Carthaginians got settled in the coasts of the Iberian Peninsula.

During the Second Punic War, roughly between 210 and 205 BC the expanding SPQRball captured Carthaginian trading colonies along the Mediterranean coast. Although it took the Romans nearly two centuries to complete the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, they retained control of it for over six centuries. Roman rule was bound together by law, language, and the Roman road.

The cultures of the Gaulball and Iberian populations were gradually Romanised (Latinised) at different rates depending on what part of Hispania they lived in, with local leaders being admitted into the Roman aristocratic class. Hispania served as a granary for the Roman market, and its harbors exported gold, wool, olive oil, and wine. Agricultural production increased with the introduction of irrigation projects, some of which remain in use. Emperors Hadrian, Trajan, Theodosius I, and the philosopher Seneca were born in Hispania. Christianity was introduced into Hispania in the 1st century AD and it became popular in the cities in the 2nd century AD. Most of Spain's present languages and religion, and the basis of its laws, originate from this period..

The weakening of the Western Roman Empire's jurisdiction in Hispania began in 409, when the Germanic Suebi and Vandals, together with the Sarmatian Alans entered the peninsula at the invitation of a Roman usurper. These tribes had crossed the Rhine in early 407 and ravaged Gaul. The Suebi established a kingdom in what is today modern Galicia and northern Portugal whereas the Vandals established themselves in southern Spain by 420 before crossing over to North Africa in 429 and taking Carthage in 439. As the western empire disintegrated, the social and economic base became greatly simplified: but even in modified form, the successor regimes maintained many of the institutions and laws of the late empire, including Christianity and assimilation to the evolving Roman culture.

The Byzantine Empireball established an occidental province, Spania, in the south, with the intention of reviving Roman rule throughout Iberia. Eventually, however, Hispania was reunited under Visigothic rule.

The Spanish-Gothic scholars such as Braulio of Zaragoza and Isidore of Seville played an important role in keeping the classical Greek and Roman culture. Isidore was one of the most influential clerics and philosophers in the Middle Ages in Europe, and his theories were also vital to the conversion of the Visigothic Kingdom from an Arian domain to a Catholic one in the Councils of Toledo. This Gothic kingdom was the first independent Christian kingdom ruling in the Iberian Peninsula, and in the Reconquista it was the referent for the different kingdoms fighting against the Muslim rule. Isidore created the first western encyclopaedia which had a huge impact during the Middle Ages. In the 8th century, nearly all of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered (711–718) by largely Moorish Muslim armies from North Africa. These conquests were part of the expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate. Only a small area in the mountainous north-west of the peninsula managed to resist the initial invasion.

Under Islamic law, Christians and Jews were given the subordinate status of dhimmi. This status permitted Christians and Jews to practice their religions as People of the Book but they were required to pay a special tax and had legal and social rights inferior to those of Muslims.

Conversion to Islam proceeded at an increasing pace. The muladíes (Muslims of ethnic Iberian origin) are believed to have comprised the majority of the population of Al-Andalus by the end of the 10th century.

The Muslim community in the Iberian Peninsula was itself diverse and beset by social tensions. The Berber people of North Africa, who had provided the bulk of the invading armies, clashed with the Arab leadership from the Middle East. Over time, large Moorish populations became established, especially in the Guadalquivir River valley, the coastal plain of Valencia, the Ebro River valley and (towards the end of this period) in the mountainous region of Granada.

Córdoba, the capital of the caliphate since Abd-ar-Rahman III, was the largest, richest and most sophisticated city in western Europe. Mediterranean trade and cultural exchange flourished. Muslims imported a rich intellectual tradition from the Middle East and North Africa. Some important philosophers at the time were Averroes, Ibn Arabi and Maimonides. The Romanised cultures of the Iberian Peninsula interacted with Muslim and Jewish cultures in complex ways, giving the region a distinctive culture. Outside the cities, where the vast majority lived, the land ownership system from Roman times remained largely intact as Muslim leaders rarely dispossessed landowners and the introduction of new crops and techniques led to an expansion of agriculture introducing new produces which originally came from Asia or the former territories of the SPQRball.

In the 11th century, the Muslim holdings fractured into rival Taifa kingdoms, allowing the small Christian states the opportunity to greatly enlarge their territories. The arrival from North Africa of the Islamic ruling sects of the Almoravids and the Almohads restored unity upon the Muslim holdings, with a stricter, less tolerant application of Islam, and saw a revival in Muslim fortunes. This re-united Islamic state experienced more than a century of successes that partially reversed Christian gains.

The Reconquista (Reconquest) was the centuries-long period in which Christian rule was re-established over the Iberian Peninsula. The Reconquista is viewed as beginning with the Battle of Covadonga won by Don Pelayo in 722 and was concurrent with the period of Muslim rule on the Iberian Peninsula. The Christian army's victory over Muslim forces led to the creation of the Christian Kingdom of Asturias along the northwestern coastal mountains. Shortly after, in 739, Muslim forces were driven from Galiciaball (Spain), which was to eventually host one of medieval Europe's holiest sites, Santiago de Compostela and was incorporated into the new Christian kingdom. The Kingdom of León was the strongest Christian kingdom for centuries. In 1188 the first modern parliamentary session in Europe was held in León (Cortes of León). The Kingdom of Castile, formed from Leonese territory, was its successor as strongest kingdom. The kings and the nobility fought for power and influence in this period. The example of the Roman emperors influenced the political objective of the Crown, while the nobles benefited from feudalism. Muslim armies had also moved north of the Pyrenees but they were defeated by Frankish forces at the Battle of Poitiers, Frankia and pushed out of the very southernmost region of France along the seacoast by the 760s. Later, Frankish forces established Christian counties on the southern side of the Pyrenees. These areas were to grow into the kingdoms of Navarre and Aragon. For several centuries, the fluctuating frontier between the Muslim and Christian controlled areas of Iberia was along the Ebro and Douro valleys.

The County of Barcelonaball and the Kingdom of Aragon entered in a dynastic union and gained territory and power in the Mediterranean. In 1229 Majorca was conquered, so was Valencia in 1238.

The break-up of Al-Andalus into the competing taifa kingdoms helped the long embattled Iberian Christian kingdoms gain the initiative. The capture of the strategically central city of Toledo in 1085 marked a significant shift in the balance of power in favour of the Christian kingdoms. Following a great Muslim resurgence in the 12th century, the great Moorish strongholds in the south fell to Christian Spain in the 13th century—Córdoba in 1236 and Seville in 1248. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the Marinid dynasty of Moroccoball invaded and established some enclaves on the southern coast but failed in their attempt to re-establish North African rule in Iberia and were soon driven out. After 800 years of Muslim presence in Spain, the last Nasrid sultanate of Granada, a tributary state would finally surrender in 1492 to the Catholic monarchs Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon.

From the mid 13th century, literature and philosophy started to flourish again in the Christian peninsular kingdoms, based on Roman and Gothic traditions. An important philosopher from this time is Ramon Llull. Abraham Cresques was a prominent Jewish cartographer. Roman law and its institutions were the model for the legislators. The king Alfonso X of Castile focused on strengthening this Roman and Gothic past, and also on linking the Iberian Christian kingdoms with the rest of medieval European Christendom. Alfonso worked for being elected emperor of SPQRball and published the Siete Partidas code. The Toledo School of Translators is the name that commonly describes the group of scholars who worked together in the city of Toledo during the 12th and 13th centuries, to translate many of the philosophical and scientific works from Classical Arabic, Ancient Greek, and Ancient Hebrew.

The Islamic transmission of the classics is the main Islamic contributions to Medieval Europe. The Castilian language—more commonly known (especially later in history and at present) as "Spanish" after becoming the national language and lingua franca of Spain evolved from Vulgar Latin, as did other Romance languages of Spain like the Catalan, Asturian and Galician languages, as well as other Romance languages in Latin Europe. Basque, the only non-Romance language in Spain, continued evolving from Early Basque to Medieval. The Glosas Emilianenses founded in the monasteries of San Millán de la Cogolla contain the first written words in both Basque and Spanish, having the first become an influence in the formation of the second as an evolution of Latin.

The 13th century also witnessed the Crown of Aragon, centred in Spain's north east, expand its reach across islands in the Mediterranean, to Sicily and even Athens. Around this time the universities of Palencia (1212/1263) and Salamanca (1218/1254) were established. The Black Death of 1348 and 1349 devastated Spain.

The Spanish Empire
In 1469, the crowns of the Christian kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were united by the marriage of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. 1478 commenced the completion of the conquest of the Canary Islands and in 1492, the combined forces of Castile and Aragon captured the Emirate of Granada from its last ruler Muhammad XII, ending the last remnant of a 781-year presence of Islamic rule in Iberia. That same year, Spain's Jews were ordered to convert to Catholicism or face expulsion from Spanish territories during the Spanish Inquisition. The Treaty of Granada guaranteed religious tolerance towards Muslims, for a few years before Islam was outlawed in 1502 in the Kingdom of Castile and 1527 in the Kingdom of Aragon, leading to Spain's Muslim population becoming nominally Christian Moriscos. A few decades after the Morisco rebellion of Granada known as the War of the Alpujarras, a significant proportion of Spain's formerly-Muslim population was expelled, settling primarily in North Africa.

The year 1492 also marked the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the New World, during a voyage funded by Isabella, Creating his sons Cubaball,  USAball, and  Mexicoball among others. Columbus's first voyage crossed the Atlantic and reached the Caribbean Islands, beginning the European exploration and conquest of the Americas, although Columbus remained convinced that he had reached the Orient. The colonisation of the Americas started, with conquistadores like Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro. Miscegenation was the rule between the native and the Spanish cultures and people.

As Renaissance New Monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand centralised royal power at the expense of local nobility, and the word España, whose root is the ancient name Hispania, began to be commonly used to designate the whole of the two kingdoms. With their wide-ranging political, legal, religious and military reforms, Spain emerged as the first world power.

The unification of the crowns of Aragon and Castile by the marriage of their sovereigns laid the basis for modern Spain and the Spanish Empire, although each kingdom of Spain remained a separate country socially, politically, legally, and in currency and language. Spain was Europe's leading power throughout the 16th century and most of the 17th century, a position reinforced by trade and wealth from colonial possessions and became the world's leading maritime power. It reached its apogee during the reigns of the first two Spanish Habsburgs—Charles I (1516–1556) and Philip II (1556–1598). This period saw the Italian Wars, the Revolt of the Comuneros, the Dutch Revolt, the Morisco Revolt, clashes with Ottoman Empireball, the Anglo-Spanish War and wars with  Franceball.

Through exploration and conquest or royal marriage alliances and inheritance, the Spanish Empire expanded to include vast areas in the Americas, islands in the Asia-Pacific area, areas of SPQRball, cities in Northern Africa, as well as parts of what are now  Franceball,  Germanyball,  Belgiumball,  Luxembourgball, and  Netherlandsball. The first circumnavigation of the world was carried out in 1519–1521. It was the first empire on which it was said that the sun never set. This was an Age of Discovery, with daring explorations by sea and by land, the opening-up of new trade routes across oceans, conquests and the beginnings of European colonialism. Spanish explorers brought back precious metals, spices, luxuries, and previously unknown plants, and played a leading part in transforming the European understanding of the globe. The cultural efflorescence witnessed during this period is now referred to as the Spanish Golden Age. The expansion of the empire caused immense upheaval in the Americas as the collapse of societies and empires and new diseases from Europe devastated American indigenous populations. The rise of humanism, the Counter-Reformation and new geographical discoveries and conquests raised issues that were addressed by the intellectual movement now known as the School of Salamanca, which developed the first modern theories of what are now known as international law and human rights. Juan Luis Vives was another prominent humanist during this period.

In the late 16th century and first half of the 17th century, Spain was confronted by unrelenting challenges from all sides. Barbary pirates, under the aegis of the rapidly growing Ottoman Empireball, disrupted life in many coastal areas through their slave raids and the renewed threat of an Islamic invasion. This was at a time when Spain was often at war with Franceball.

The Protestant Reformation dragged the kingdom ever more deeply into the mire of religiously charged wars. The result was a country forced into ever expanding military efforts across Europe and in the Mediterranean.

By the middle decades of a war- and plague-ridden 17th-century Europe, the Spanish Habsburgs had enmeshed the country in continent-wide religious-political conflicts. These conflicts drained it of resources and undermined the economy generally. Spain managed to hold on to most of the scattered Habsburg empire, and help the imperial forces of the Holy Roman Empire reverse a large part of the advances made by Protestant forces, but it was finally forced to recognise the separation of Portugal (with whom it had been united in a personal union of the crowns from 1580 to 1640) and the Netherlands, and eventually suffered some serious military reverses to France in the latter stages of the immensely destructive, Europe-wide Thirty Years' War.

In the latter half of the 17th century, Spain went into a gradual decline, during which it surrendered several small territories to Franceball and the  Netherlandsball; however, it maintained and enlarged its vast overseas empire, which remained intact until the beginning of the 19th century.

The decline culminated in a controversy over succession to the throne which consumed the first years of the 18th century. The War of the Spanish Succession was a wide-ranging international conflict combined with a civil war, and was to cost the kingdom its European possessions and its position as one of the leading powers on the Continent. During this war, a new dynasty originating in Franceball, the Bourbons, was installed. Long united only by the Crown, a true Spanish state was established when the first Bourbon king, Philip V, united the crowns of Castile and Aragon into a single state, abolishing many of the old regional privileges and laws.

The 18th century saw a gradual recovery and an increase in prosperity through much of the empire. The new Bourbon monarchy drew on the Franceball system of modernising the administration and the economy. Enlightenment ideas began to gain ground among some of the kingdom's elite and monarchy, and military assistance for the rebellious British colonies in USAball's War of Independence improved the kingdom's international standing.

In 1793, Spain went to war against the revolutionary new Franceball as a member of the first Coalition. The subsequent War of the Pyrenees polarised the country in a reaction against the gallicised elites and following defeat in the field, peace was made with Franceball in 1795 at the Peace of Basel in which Spain lost control over two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola. The Prime Minister, Manuel Godoy, then ensured that Spain allied himself with France in the brief War of the Third Coalition which ended with the British victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. In 1807, a secret treaty between Napoleon and the unpopular prime minister led to a new declaration of war against Britain and Portugal. Napoleon's troops entered the country to invade Portugal but instead occupied Spain's major fortresses. The ridiculed Spanish king abdicated in favour of Napoleon's brother, Joseph Bonaparte.

Joseph Bonaparte was seen as a puppet monarch and was regarded with scorn by the Spanish. The 2 May 1808 revolt was one of many nationalist uprisings across the country against the Bonapartist regime. These revolts marked the beginning of a devastating war of independence against the Napoleonic regime. Napoleon was forced to intervene personally, defeating several Spanish armies and forcing a UKball retreat. However, further military action by Spanish armies, guerrillas and Wellington's British-Portuguese forces, combined with Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia, led to the ousting of the French imperial armies from Spain in 1814, and the return of King Ferdinand VII.

During the war, in 1810, a revolutionary body, the Cortes of Cádiz, was assembled to co-ordinate the effort against the Bonapartist regime and to prepare a constitution. It met as one body, and its members represented the entire Spanish empire. In 1812, a constitution for universal representation under a constitutional monarchy was declared, but after the fall of the Bonapartist regime, Ferdinand VII dismissed the Cortes Generales and was determined to rule as an absolute monarch. These events foreshadowed the conflict between conservatives and liberals in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Spain's conquest by Franceball benefited Latin American anti-colonialists who resented the Imperial Spanish government's policies that favoured Spanish-born citizens (Peninsulars) over those born overseas (Criollos) and demanded retroversion of the sovereignty to the people. Starting in 1809 Spain's American colonies began a series of revolutions and declared independence, leading to the Spanish American wars of independence that ended Spanish control over its mainland colonies in the Americas. King Ferdinand VII's attempt to re-assert control proved futile as he faced opposition not only in the colonies but also in Spain and army revolts followed, led by liberal officers. By the end of 1826, the only American colonies Spainball held were Cubaball and  Puerto Ricoball.

The Napoleonic War left Spainball economically ruined, deeply divided and politically unstable. In the 1830s and 1840s Anti-liberal forces known as Carlists fought against liberals in the Carlist Wars. Liberal forces won, but the conflict between progressive and conservative liberals ended in a weak early constitutional period. After the Glorious Revolution of 1868 and the short-lived First Spanish Republic, a more stable monarchic period began characterised by the practice of turnismo (the rotation of government control between progressive and conservative liberals within the Spanish government). In the late 19th century nationalist movements arose in the Philippines and Cuba. In 1895 and 1896 the Cubaball War of Independence and the  Philippinesball Revolution broke out and eventually his son  USAball became involved. The Spanish–American War was fought in the spring of 1898 and resulted in Spain losing the last of its once vast colonial empire outside of North Africa. El Desastre (the Disaster), as the war became known in Spain, gave added impetus to the Generation of '98 who were conducting an analysis of the country.

Although the period around the turn of the century was one of increasing prosperity, the 20th century brought little peace; Spain played a minor part in the scramble for Africa, with the colonisation of Western Sahara, Spanish Morocco and Equatorial Guinea. He remained neutral during World War I (see Spain in World War I). The heavy losses suffered during the Rif War in Moroccoball brought discredit to the government and undermined the monarchy.

Second Spanish Republic
After a period of authoritarian rule under General Miguel Primo de Rivera (1923–1931), the king determined to seek a solution to the political situation and establish the Constitution, the king led the municipal elections on April 12, 1931. These gave a resounding victory to the Republican-Socialist candidacies in large cities and provincial capitals, well the total number of councilors was mostly monarchical. The organized demonstrations demanding the establishment of a democratic republic led the king to leave the country and the proclamation of the same on April 14 of that same year. During the Second Republic there was a great political and social upheaval, marked by a sharp radicalization of the left and the right. The moderate leaders were boycotted and each party intended to create a Spain to suit them. During the first two years, governed a coalition of republican and socialist parties. In the elections held in 1933 the right triumphed and in 1936, the left. The violent acts during this period included the burning of churches, the monarchical uprising of the militar José Sanjurjo, the Revolution of 1934 and numerous attacks against rival political leaders. On the other hand, it is also during the Second Republic when important reforms are initiated to modernize the country -democratic constitution, agrarian reform, restructuring of the army, first Statutes of Autonomy ...- and the rights of citizens as the recognition of women's right to vote, establishing universal suffrage.

On July 17 and 18, 1936, revolted against the government of the Republic, the military garrisons of the Spanish North Africa, coup d'état that triumphs only in part country. Spain was divided into two zones: one under the authority of the Republican government -in which the social revolution of 1936- and other controlled by the insurgents took place. The situation led to a Civil War, in which the general Francisco Franco was sworn in as the supreme leader of the insurgents.

Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936. For three years the Nationalist forces led by General Francisco Franco and supported by Nazi Germanyball and  Italyball fought the Republican side, which was supported by the Soviet Union, Mexico and International Brigades but it was not supported by the Western powers due to the British-led policy of Non-Intervention. The civil war was viciously fought and there were many atrocities committed by all sides. The war claimed the lives of over 500,000 people and caused the flight of up to a half-million citizens from the country. In 1939, General Franco emerged victorious and became a dictator.

The state as established under Franco was nominally neutral in the Second World War, although sympathetic to the Axis. The only legal party under Franco's post civil war regime was the Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS, formed in 1937; the party emphasised falangism, a form of fascism that emphasised anti-communism, nationalism and Roman Catholicism. Given Franco's opposition to competing political parties, the party was renamed the National Movement (Movimiento Nacional) in 1949.

After World War II Spain was politically and economically isolated, and was kept out of the UNball. This changed in 1955, during the Cold War period, when it became strategically important for USAball to establish a military presence on the Iberian Peninsula as a counter to any possible move by  Soviet Unionball into the Mediterranean basin. In the 1960s, Spain registered an unprecedented rate of economic growth which was propelled by industrialisation, a mass internal migration from rural areas to Madridball (city),  Barcelonaball and  Basqueball and the creation of a mass tourism industry. Franco's rule was also characterised by authoritarianism, promotion of a unitary national identity, the favouring of a very conservative form of Roman Catholicism known as National Catholicism, and discriminatory language policies.

Return to Democracy
In 1962, a group of politicians involved in the opposition to Franco's regime inside the country and in the exile met in the congress of the European Movement in Munich, where they made a resolution in favour of democracy.

With Franco's death in November 1975, Juan Carlos succeeded to the position of King of Spain and head of state in accordance with the franquist law. With the approval of the new Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the restoration of democracy, the State devolved much authority to the regions and created an internal organisation based on autonomous communities. The Spanish 1977 Amnesty Law let people of Franco's regime continue inside institutions without consequences, even perpetrators of some crimes during transition to democracy like the Massacre of 3 March 1976 in Vitoria or 1977 Massacre of Atocha. The 'founding chairman' of the current leading political party in Spain, the People's Party, was Manuel Fraga who had been a minister in Franco's government and yet continued with his political career until shortly before his death in 2012.

Madrid Conference of 1991 about Israeli–Palestinian peace process with presidents George H. W. Bush and Felipe González, among others. In the Basque Country, moderate Basque nationalism has coexisted with a radical nationalist movement led by the armed terrorist organisation ETA. The group was formed in 1959 during Franco's rule but has continued to wage its violent campaign even after the restoration of democracy and the return of a large measure of regional autonomy.

On 23 February 1981, rebel elements among the security forces seized the Cortes in an attempt to impose a military-backed government. King Juan Carlos took personal command of the military and successfully ordered the coup plotters, via national television, to surrender.

José María Aznar, Jordi Pujol, Felipe VI and Adolfo Suárez in the 1990s During the 1980s the democratic restoration made possible a growing open society. New cultural movements based on freedom appeared, like La Movida Madrileña and a culture of human rights arose with Gregorio Peces-Barba. On 30 May 1982 Spain joined NATO, followed by a referendum after a strong social opposition. That year the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) came to power, the first left-wing government in 43 years. In 1986 Spain joined the European Economic Community, which later became EUball The PSOE was replaced in government by the Partido Popular (PP) in 1996 after scandals around participation of the government of Felipe González in the Dirty war against ETA; at that point the PSOE had served almost 14 consecutive years in office. On 1 January 2002, Spain fully adopted the euro, and Spain experienced strong economic growth, well above the EU average during the early 2000s. However, well-publicised concerns issued by many economic commentators at the height of the boom warned that extraordinary property prices and a high foreign trade deficit were likely to lead to a painful economic collapse.

In 2002 the Prestige oil spill occurred with big ecological consequences along Spain's Atlantic coastline. In 2003 José María Aznar supported US president George W. Bush in the Iraq War, and a strong movement against war rose in Spanish society. On 11 March 2004 a local Islamist terrorist group inspired by Al-Qaedaball carried out the largest terrorist attack in Spanish history when they killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,800 others by bombing commuter trains in Madrid. Though initial suspicions focused on the Basque terrorist group ETA, evidence soon emerged indicating Islamist involvement. Because of the proximity of the 2004 election, the issue of responsibility quickly became a political controversy, with the main competing parties PP and PSOE exchanging accusations over the handling of the incident. The elections on 14 March were won by the PSOE, led by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.

The proportion of Spain's foreign born population increased rapidly during its economic boom in the early 2000s, but then declined due USAball's financial crisis. In 2005 the Spanish government legalised same sex marriage. Decentralisation was supported with much resistance of Constitutional Court and conservative opposition, so did gender politics like quotas or the law against gender violence. Government talks with ETA happened, and the group announced its permanent cease of violence in 2010.

The bursting of the Spanish property bubble in 2008 led to the 2008–16 Spanish financial crisis and high levels of unemployment, cuts in government spending and corruption in Royal family and People's Party served as a backdrop to the 2011–12 Spanish protests. Catalan independentism was also on rise. In 2011, Mariano Rajoy's conservative People's Party won the election with 44.6% of votes, and Rajoy became the Spanish Prime Minister, after having been the leader of the opposition from 2004 to 2011, and continued to implement austerity measures required by the EU Stability and Growth Pact. On 19 June 2014, the monarch, Juan Carlos, abdicated in favour of his son, who became Felipe VI.

A Catalan independence referendum was held on 1 October 2017 and then, on 27 October, the Catalan parliament voted to unilaterally declare independence from Spain to form a Catalan Republic on the day the Spanish Senate was discussing approving direct rule over Catalonia as called for by the Spanish Prime Minister. Later that day the Senate granted the power to impose direct rule and Mr Rajoy dissolved the Catalan parliament and called a new election. No country recognised Catalan Republicball (2017) as a separate state. In the last decade his unemployment increased slightly and due to the "economic instability," many of his communities want their own independence and autonomy (such as Basqueball and  Cataloniaball).

He didn't participate in any of the World Wars (however, in the middle of World War II, he helped Naziball by sending troops to deal with  USSRball and in World War I he supported  Reichtangle and  Austria-Hungaryball because they were good friends.)

From about late August to mid-September every year, he hosts the Vuelta a España cycling race, one of the three Grand Tours (his sister Franceball and his brother Italyball host the other two - the Tour and the Giro).

In comics, Spainball usually appears in large groupings with Spanish-speaking countries, interacting with them natural and economic goods; in the comics in which Spainball appears alone, often criticized their internal problems of the country. Another frequent theme in Spainball comics is their history.

Friends

 * [[File:Canada-icon.png]] Canadaball - I know EXACTLY how you feel about [[File:Quebec-icon.png]] Quebecball.
 * [[File:Chile-icon.png]] Chileball - El orgullo de la familia. I'm proud of him. He is the most intelligent of my children. But I do not understand anything of what he speaks. Not everything is perfect.
 * [[File:Colombia-icon.png]] Colombiaball - Mi another hijo. He is now trying to stay out of trouble (I hope). I'm happy because he told me that finally ended the civil conflict of his clay, bravo!
 * [[File:Costa Rica-icon.png]] Costa Ricaball and [[File:Panama-icon.png]] Panamaball - Irrelevant small hijos who can into HDI and are not backwards and violent like las otras Central American countryballs. We never see each other nowadays.
 * [[File:Dominican-icon.png]] Dominican Republicball - Another hijo of mine y one of los oldest. He also tenía gold, one time I gave him to Franceball but them I got him back. We've remained en contacto since.
 * [[File:France-icon.png]] Franceball - Mí hermana mayor. We have fought several times in the past, but now we get along very well.
 * [[File:Serbia-icon.png]] Serbiaball - Good friends. We are both kebab removers and we both have separatists, also I don't recognise Kosovo. Sorry for bombing you in 1999.
 * NATOball - España can into Western revelance.
 * [[File:Cyprus-icon.png]] Cyprusball - Also claims clay controlled by UKball.
 * [[File:Ecuador-icon.png]] Ecuadorball - Like Peruball, he spends asking for jobs in my clay.
 * [[File:Equatorial Guinea-icon.png]] Equatorial Guineaball - Sí, sí... ¡I also had a colonia in Africa! But he is a forgotable hijo.
 * [[File:Italy-icon.png]] Italyball - Mí hermano menor. I and France were always bullying him when he was younger. . But now we start to value our family, I have to recognize that he is my closest brother in everything, our language is so similar, he is probably the only that cheers me up this times... I, he and Portugalball have the same problems but we will overcome them together as hermanos. After all we are family but I am needing some moneys, so gib when economy back to be good.
 * [[File:Iraq-icon.png]] Iraqball - I know EXACTLY how you feel about [[File:Kurdistan-icon.png]] Kurdistanball.
 * [[File:Indonesia-icon.png]] Indonesiaball - Amigo from Southeast Asia, él of likes mi football clubs and watching their matches very much. Also, yo know EXACTLY how yuo about [[File:Netherlands New Guinea-icon.png]] West Papuaball.
 * Israelcube - Another kebab removing friend. we also have separatists. Though would it kill you to be nicer to the Palestinian Christians (especially the Catholic ones)? Also I'm sorry for expelling your people in the Spanish Inquisition.
 * [[File:Moldova-icon.png]] Moldovaball - Same as [[File:Romania-icon.png]] Romaniaball but cute Sister with Slavic Latin influence
 * Palauball- Cute son, but he doesn't remember I am his parent D: I hope my other son makes him remember.
 * [[File:Peru-icon.png]] Peruball - Antes a major American colonial center, now a nobody without relevance.
 * [[File:Portugal-icon.png]] Portugalball - Twin brother and mejor amigo. PERO NO SIEMPRE FUE MEJOR AMIGO He is always calm and relaxed, this must have some connection to the ocean (because he always navigates from time to time). Why are you best friends with UKball?
 * [[File:PuertoRico-icon.png]] Puerto Ricoball - Who was of ese again? Oh, is the hija with gold. I gavings him algo de autonomía, but later gave him to yankees because already was of attackings him.
 * [[File:Romania-icon.png]] Romaniaball - My poor Eastern European brother. He could have become a great empire like me if he wasn't located right between empires. The best prostitutes in [[File:Madrid-icon (city).png]] Madridball are Romanians.
 * [[File:Uruguay-icon.png]] Uruguayball - My other son futbolero. Outside of that isn't outstanding in another thing. Unfortunately he became a pothead.
 * [[File:Argentina-icon.png]] Argentinaball - He is my eldest son and he is muy bueno at fútbol. We both claim clay that are controlled by UKball. He claims Malvinas and I claim Gibraltar. He has only one defect: he is quite arrogant and egocentric and wants to be very hard European. Might also be hiding Naziball.

Neutral

 * [[File:Germany-icon.png]] Germanyball - I don't need your monies because I'm finally still a powerfull countryball like in the old times and... Now my economy is rising faster than yours (3.2% each year). One day I will surpass you and then you will be in debt to me! Muahahaha. We still friends though.
 * [[File:Mexico-icon.png]] Mexicoball - My criminal son. Plox get rid of your drug cartels and gangs. But he still makings me proud to be his mami with his production.
 * [[File:Netherlands-icon.png]] Netherlandsball - I occupied his clay for some time. He was also my rival in FIFA World Cup 2010 and 2014.
 * [[File:Ireland-icon.png]] Irelandball - PIIGS member who is a party animal como yo.
 * [[File:Philippines-icon.png]] Philippinesball - It took  two people for this boy to be created. Kebab malay Ethically Negrito Son I had to sell to USAball. Sorry por that, my hijo. Am still love yuo. Am is proud of [[File:Duterte-icon.png]] yuor president right nao por removing drugs unlike my drug addict hijo, Hijo, you have grown strong, smart, and a loving ball. Tú proven tú mismo into removings ISIS. Keep doing that, my little hijo. (Also yuo know what forget the fight with Magellan that fight has a similar situation with me, taxes...) And thank you for not recognizing Catalonia.
 * Algeriaball - Tú es una bueno friend who sell me gas. IDIOTA, PALMA NOT FOR DIRTY KEBAB. REMOVE LIKE 1492.
 * [[File:USA-icon.png]] USAball - Took land from me. He is the son of UKball and me. Some of his states are mis nietos. Other than that we got along with each other after the Spanish-American war. But stop calling me Mexico! Also my son.
 * [[File:UK-icon.png]] UKball - BE GIBBINGS OF GIBRALTUR! ¡MIENTES, GILIPOLLAS, NADA DE INGLESES POR AQUÍ! But gib tourism too, plox. I won't rape any monas there! Lo prometo. Well now tension is dying down and I'm starting to be ok with him keeping Gibraltar. We have been spending a lot of time together as (more than?) amigos recently. Las Malvinas son Argentinas!
 * [[File:Belgium-icon.png]] Belgiumball- Stop defendings the action of that [[File:Catalonia-icon.png]] annoying hijo! Hand mi over his president and separatists right now! Otherwise eres OK though.
 * Palestineball - Yuo are part of Israel!!! Darn another separatist that claims to be independent... Though you have some Christians in your clay, who I don't mind as much.
 * Boliviaball - Another hijo, he have problems with most of his neighbours and wants to create an Empire. He hates his older brother.
 * Central Americaballs - Mi dios! Que all of yuo of criminales?? I thought I taught you chicos better! Ay yi yi!

Enemies

 * [[File:Catalonia-icon.png]] Cataloniaball and [[File:Basque-icon.png]] Basqueball - ¡¡¡NADA DE INDEPENDENCIA!!!
 * [[File:Morocco-icon.png]] Moroccoball - ¡This cobarde es un son of su puta madre! ¡Aléjate de mis hijos!
 * Al-Qaedaball - I HATE YU DESDE 11-M, I NO LIKE CERCANÍAS TRAINS EXPLODING, QUE TE JODAN. Even if Aznar was the culpable, remember, MADRID REMEMBERS.
 * [[File:ISIS-icon.png]] ISISball : Mira, gilipollas, yuo are a terrible kebab and yuo murderd Paris and if you tried to remake el puñetero musulmán (AL-ANDALUS)... ¡¡¡LE VOY A METER UNMISIL A TU YIHADISTA MADRE, VIVA LA RECONQUISTA!!!  ¡¿BARCELONA, ESTÁS BIEN?! ¡DAMN YOU, ISIS! ¡¡¡I WILL LOOK FORWARDS TO ANOTHER RECONQUISTA!!!


 * [[File:Kosovo-icon.png]] Kosovoball- Yuo are a part of Serbia! Stop claiming yuo are independent, yuo are not even a real country, mierda!
 * Cubaball - Mi Hijo, why did you betray me like that? you decided to become a commie to ally with commies. why you got to do this and now you hate and call me a imperialist.
 * Venezuelaball - Other traitor. Stop supporting stupid hijo.
 * USSRball - yuo are la reason Mi Hijo is now a comunista, you brainwashed him to become a stupid communista yuo communist puta!!!! I hate you for this and you will never spread your stupid ideology here. oh wait you're dead... Great!!!! I will never forgive you for this
 * [[File:Russia-icon.png]] Russiaball -  YOU ELIMINATED ME IN COPA DEL MUNDO, TU HIJO DE PUTA!!!! REMOVE VODKA!!!! But he loves my My son.

¡Mis niños! (Former Spanish Colonies and other hijos)

 * USAball - UKball y mi hijo.
 * Texasball
 * Floridaball
 * New Mexicoball
 * Coloradoball
 * Nevadaball
 * Utahball
 * Wyomingball
 * Mexicoball
 * Argentinaball
 * Chileball
 * Peruball
 * Colombiaball
 * Ecuadorball
 * Venezuelaball
 * Uruguayball
 * Boliviaball
 * Paraguayball
 * Cubaball
 * [[File:Dominican-icon.png]] Dominican Republicball
 * [[File:PuertoRico-icon.png]] Puerto Ricoball
 * Guatemalaball
 * Hondurasball
 * El Salvadorball
 * Nicaraguaball
 * Costa Ricaball
 * Panamaball
 * Philippinesball
 * Palauball
 * Guamball
 * Equatorial Guineaball
 * Moroccoball ( Western Saharaball)
 * Northern Mariana Islandsball
 * Micronesiaball

Family

 * [[File:SPQR-icon.png]] SPQRball - Grand Father
 * Umayyadball - Kebab Grandfather
 * Western Roman Empireball - Father
 * [[File:UK-icon.png]] UKball - ex-husband
 * [[File:France-icon.png]] Franceball - Sibling
 * Germanyball - Brother-in-law
 * Belgiumball - Nephew
 * Canadaball - Nephew/stepson
 * EUball - Nephew
 * Monacoball - Nephew
 * [[File:Italy-icon.png]] Italyball - Brother
 * [[File:Moldova-icon.png]] Moldovaball - Sibling
 * [[File:Portugal-icon.png]] Portugalball - Twin Brother
 * Brazilball - Nephew
 * [[File:Romania-icon.png]] Romaniaball - Brother
 * Andorraball - Brother
 * USAball - Son
 * Sloveniaball - Daughter-in-law
 * Californiaball - Grandson
 * Texasball - Grandson
 * Floridaball - Grandson
 * Arizonaball - Grandson
 * New Mexicoball - Grandson
 * Coloradoball - Grandson
 * Nevadaball - Grandson
 * Utahball - Grandson
 * Mexicoball - Son
 * Argentinaball - Son
 * Catalan Republicball (2017) - Son Abortion
 * Chileball - Son
 * Peruball - Son
 * Colombiaball - Son
 * Ecuadorball - Son
 * Venezuelaball - Son
 * Uruguayball - Son
 * Boliviaball - Son
 * Paraguayball-Son
 * Cubaball - Son
 * [[File:Dominican-icon.png]] Dominican Republicball - Son
 * [[File:PuertoRico-icon.png]] Puerto Ricoball - Son
 * Guatemalaball - Son
 * Hondurasball - Son
 * El Salvadorball - Son
 * Nicaraguaball - Son
 * Costa Ricaball - Son
 * Panamaball - Son
 * Philippinesball - Son
 * Palauball - Son
 * Guamball - Son
 * Equatorial Guineaball - Son
 * Northern Mariana Islandsball
 * Micronesiaball - Son
 * Basqueball - Adoptive Son

Regionballs

 * Andalusiaball : My most famous and proud hijo, who loves all the Spanish clichés like flamenco, corrida and siesta. Mucha ethnic diversity and hot climate here.
 * Aragonball : Padre. Has mostly desert clay.
 * Asturiasball : Former kebab remover hijo with bad climate and proud culture. Quite irrelevante though.
 * Balearic Islandsball : It's all hippies, Germans and DJ's here.
 * Basqueball : Very, very racist proud and angry hijo who wants his own country because of his weird language and high HDI.
 * Canary Islandsball : A enclave of Cuba y Venezuela en Africa. He is my coolest hijo.
 * Cantabriaball : Irrelevant regionball in the north, has also bad weather like his neighbours.
 * Castile and Leónball : He is of religious and quite nostalgic, many historical lugares there.
 * Castilla-La Manchaball : South francoland Mostly desert clay and low population, nothing special except wine.
 * Cataloniaball (Spain) : HIJO DE P**A !!!!! REMOVE CATALONIA, YUO WILL NEVER BE A REAL COUNTRY!!! I HATE YOUR STUPID PRESIDENT, I WILL PUT HIM EN LA PUTA CÁRCEL!!!
 * Extremaduraball : My poorest son. Many conquistadores were from this region.
 * Galiciaball (Spain) : Celto Hue son. I not of knowings if he is a separatist or no.
 * La Riojaball (Spain) : Good wine here!
 * Madridball : Mi capital y centro económico.
 * Murciaball : Was of kebab in the past, now a irrelevant region in the south.
 * Navarreball : Basque son who lives near Franceball's border, he has strange traditions like bullfighting in the streets.
 * Valenciaball : Son who likes partying, drugs and summer, he can into many touristmonies. Don't be friend with that annoying neighbour !
 * Melillaball : Moroccoball wants él, but he is mi son and I will protect them.
 * Ceutaball: The same of Melillaball, but he está más cerca.

Links

 * Facebook page
 * Polandball in Spanish (some info will be)

Españaball Espagneballe Caxtillantapayoli Spanjebal Spainball Испания 西班牙球