The Spain Portal (Bienvenido al portal español)

The coat of arms of Spain

Spain, formally the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southwestern Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the southernmost point of continental Europe, It is the largest country in Southern Europe and the fourth-most populous European Union member state. Spanning across the majority of the Iberian Peninsula, its territory also includes the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, the Balearic Islands, in the Mediterranean Sea, and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, in Africa. Peninsular Spain is bordered to the north by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; to the east and south by the Mediterranean Sea and Gibraltar; and to the west by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. Spain's capital and largest city is Madrid, and other major urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza, Málaga, Murcia and Palma de Mallorca.

In early antiquity, the Iberian Peninsula was inhabited by Celts, Iberians, and other pre-Roman peoples. With the Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, the province of Hispania was established. Following the Romanization and Christianization of Hispania, the fall of the Western Roman Empire ushered in the inward migration of tribes from Central Europe, including the Visigoths, who formed the Visigothic Kingdom centred on Toledo. In the early eighth century, most of the peninsula was conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate, and during early Islamic rule, Al-Andalus became a dominant peninsular power centred on Córdoba. Several Christian kingdoms emerged in Northern Iberia, chief among them Asturias, León, Castile, Aragon, Navarre, and Portugal; made an intermittent southward military expansion and repopulation, known as the Reconquista, repelling Islamic rule in Iberia, which culminated with the Christian seizure of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada in 1492. The dynastic union of the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon in 1479 under the Catholic Monarchs is often considered the de facto unification of Spain as a nation-state. (Full article...)

This is a Featured article, which represents some of the best content on English Wikipedia..

Selected biography

A painting of José María Morelos
A painting of José María Morelos

José María Teclo Morelos y Pavón (September 30, 1765, Valladolid, now Morelia, Michoacán – December 22, 1815, in San Cristóbal Ecatepec, State of México) was a Mexican priest and revolutionary rebel leader who led the Mexican War of Independence movement, assuming its leadership after the execution of Miguel Hidalgo in 1811. He was later captured by the Spanish colonial authorities and executed for treason in 1815.

Morelos was born into a poor family in the city of Valladolid, since renamed "Morelia" in his honor, in a house that is today a museum dedicated to his memory. He was a zambo of Amerindian, African from African American Registry and Spanish ancestry. His father was Manuel Morelos, a carpenter originally from Zindurio, a predominantly indigenous village a few kilometers west of Valladolid. His mother was Juana María Guadalupe Pérez Pavón, originally from San Juan Bautista de Apaseo, also near Valladolid. Valladolid was the seat of a bishop and of the government of the colonial Intendency of Michoacán. It was known as the "Garden of New Spain" because of its prosperity.

Selected picture

Did you know...

Good article – show another

This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

General images

The following are images from various Spain-related articles on Wikipedia.

In the news

20 November 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
The U.S., Italian, Greek, and Spanish governments temporarily close their embassies in Kyiv, Ukraine, following threats of a "significant air attack" from Russia. (The Washington Times)
15 November 2024 –
At least ten people are killed in a fire at a retirement residence in Villafranca de Ebro, Zaragoza, Spain. (The Washington Post)
13 November 2024 – 2024 Spanish floods
Thousands of Spaniards living near river banks are evacuated following the issuing of AEMET's maximum weather alert in the Province of Málaga, Costa del Sol, and the Valencian Community caused by a new cold drop system. (The Independent)
12 November 2024 –
Spanish writer Álvaro Pombo wins the Miguel de Cervantes Prize. (El País)

No recent news

Spain topics

Categories

Category puzzle
Category puzzle
Select [►] to view subcategories

WikiProjects

Things you can do

Things you can do
Things you can do

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Discover Wikipedia using portals