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Spanish Constitution Of 1812

Spanish Constitution of 1812

The Spanish Constitution of 1812 was promulgated by the Cortes Generales ("General Courts"), the national legislative assembly of Spain. The Spaniards baptised the constitution "La Pepa". At the time the Cortes adopted the Constitution, they were taking refuge at Cádiz from the Peninsular War, which the Spanish call the Guerra de la Independencia, a war against the French Empire and the installed king Joseph. That war began on the night of May 2, 1808 immortalized by Francisco Goya's painting The Second of May. The war was underway on Spanish territory, with Napoleon's forces facing Spanish partisans and the Allies under the Duke of Wellington. The opening session of the new Cortes was held on September 24, 1810. Several basic principles were soon ratified: that sovereignty resides in the nation (see popular sovereignty), the legitimacy of Ferdinand VII as King of Spain, and the inviolability of the deputies. The Cortes of Cádiz worked feverishly, and the first written Spanish constitution was promulgated in the city of Cádiz on March 12, 1812. Prior to the Napoleonic intervention, Spain had been ruled as an absolute monarchy by the Bourbon and their Habsburg predecessors. When Ferdinand VII was restored in March 1814 by the Allied Powers, he promised to uphold the new charter of Spanish government, but within a matter of weeks, encouraged by conservatives backed by the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, he repudiated the constitution (May 4) and arrested the liberal leaders (May 10), justifying his actions as repudiating a constitution made by the cortes in his absence and without his consent. Thus he had come back to assert the Bourbon doctrine that the sovereign authority resided in his person only. When Ferdinand's ferocious misrule resulted in a mutiny of army officers in 1820, the Constitution of 1812 was the unifying document of the liberals, who wished to see a constitutional monarchy in Spain. After the Battle of Trocadero liberated Ferdinand in 1823, he turned on the liberals and constitutionalists with fury. Since 1812, Spain has had a total of seven constitutions, including the one of 1978, currently in force as of 2005. Spain 1812 Category:1812 in law Category:History of Spain

Cortes Generales

The Cortes Generales (English: "General Courts") is the 350-seat legislature of Spain. It is a bicameral parliament, composed of the Congress of Deputies, the lower house, and the Senate, the upper house. The Cortes has power to enact any law and to amend the constitution. Moreover, the lower house has the power to appoint and dismiss the Prime Minister. However, because Spain is a European Union (EU) member-state, it shares its legislative authority with the council and parliament of the EU.

History of the Cortes

Origins: the Feudal Age (8th-12th centuries)

The system of Cortes started in the Middle Age with the appearance of the feudalism. A Corte was an advisory council made up by the feudal lords. The King had the ability to call and dismiss them, but, as the lords of the Corte had the army and the money, the King usually signed treaties with them to pass bills for war at the cost of concessions to the lords and the Cortes.

The rise of the bourgeoisie (12th-15th centuries)

With the reappearance of the cities near the 12th century, a new social class started to grow: people living in the cities were neither vassals (servants of feudal lords) nor nobles themselves. Furthermore, the nobles were experiencing very hard economic times due to the Reconquista; so now the bourgeoisie (Spanish burguesía, from burgo, city) had the money and thus the power. So the King started admitting representatives from the cities to the Cortes in order to get more money for the Reconquista. The frequent payoffs were the Fueros, grants of autonomy to the cities and their inhabitants. At this time the Cortes already had the power to oppose the King's decisions, thus effectively vetoing them. In addition, some representatives (elected from the Corte members by itself) were permanent advisors to the King, even when the Corte was not in session.

The Catholic Monarchs (15th century)

Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, the Catholic Monarchs, started a specific policy to diminish the power of the bourgeoisie and nobility. They greatly reduced the powers of the Cortes to the point they simply rubberstamped monarch's acts, and brought the nobility to their side. One of the major points of friction between the Cortes and the monarchs was the power of rising and lowering taxes. It was the only matter that the Cortes had under some direct control; when Queen Isabella wanted to fund Christopher Columbus's trip, she had a hard time battling with the bourgeoisie to get the Cortes' approval.

The Imperial Cortes (16th-17th centuries)

The role of the Cortes during the Spanish Empire was mainly to rubberstamp the decisions of the ruling monarch. However, they had some power over economic and American affairs, especially taxes. The Senate appeared here, as a king-appointed legislature, in contrast to the bourgueois lower house. The Siglo de oro, Spanish Golden Age of literacy, was a Dark Age in Spanish politics: Netherlands declared itself independent and started a war. Some of the last Habsburg monarchs did not rule the country, but left this task in the hands of viceroys governing in their name, the most famous being the Count-Duke of Olivares, Philip IV's viceroy. This allowed the Cortes to become more influential, even when they did not oppose to King's decisions (or viceroys' decisions in the name of the King).

The First Republic Parliament (1873-1874)

When the monarchy was overthrown, the King of Spain was forced into exile. The Senate was abolished because it had been appointed by the King. A republic was proclaimed and the Congress of Deputies members started writing a Constitution. The new regime was supposed to become a federal republic, with the power of Parliament being nearly supreme (see parliamentary supremacy, although Spain did not use the Westminster system). However, due to many problems (mainly illiteracy of the people) Spain was not ready to become a republic; after several crises the republic collapsed, and the monarchy was restored.

The Restoration Cortes (1874-1930)

The regime just after the First Republic is called the Restoration. It was a constitutional monarchy, with the King as a rubberstamp to the Cortes' acts. The Senate was restored as an elected House the King could appoint senators for. Little after the Soviet revolution, the Spanish politic parties started polarizing, and the left-winged PCE and PSOE blamed the Government for supposed election cheating in small towns (caciquismo), which was incorrectly supposed to have been wiped out in the 1900s. In the meantime, a violence spire started with the murders of many leaders of both sides. Deprived of that leaders, the regime entered a general crisis, with extreme police use which led to a dictatorship (1921-1930) during which the Senate was abolished.

The Second Republic Parliament (1930-1939)

In the first elections after the dictatorship, the republican parties lost by almost two thirds, but won in all province capitals and big cities (where caciquismo was not present). The King left Spain, and a Republic was declared. The Second Spanish Republic was established as a presidential republic, with the President of Republic being the Head of State. He had the power to appoint and dismiss the Prime Minister (although he had to "listen to the Parliament" (which was unicameral) before an appointment) and to dissolve the Parliament, thus calling for new elections. The first term was the constituent term, with the ex-monarchist leader Niceto Alcalá Zamora as President of the Republic and the Jacobin leader Manuel Azaña as Prime Minister. The majority in the Cortes (and thus, the Government) was held by a coalition between Azaña's party and the PSOE. A remarkable deed is universal suffrage, allowing women to vote. Also, for the second time in Spanish history, some regions were granted autonomous goverments within the unitary state. Many extreme-right supporters rose in Sanjurjo against the Govern social policies, but the revolution was quickly wiped out. The elections for the second term were won by the coalition between the Radical Party (center) and the CEDA (right). Initially, only the Radical Party entered the Government, with the parliamentary support of the CEDA because of the rebellion threat if it did. But, at the middle of the term, some corruption scandals sunk the Radical Party and the CEDA entered the Government. This led to rebellions by leftist parties that were quickly suffocated. In one of them, the left winged government of Catalonia (which had been granted home rule) rose against the central government (right winged). This led to the disollution of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the imprisonment of their leaders. Then, the leftist minority in the Cortes told Alcalá Zamora "rebellions were consequence of social refusement to right-winged government" and advised him to call for new elections, what he did. The third elections were won by a small margin by the leftist parties, but the difference in seats was big due to the new system established by the right-winged government hoping to get a majority. The left coalition used a legal twist to dismiss Alcalá Zamora and put Azaña in his office: the Constitution said that, if the President of the Republic dismisses the Parliament twice, and the newly elected Parliament thinks the last was unjustified, it can appoint a new President. In fact, Alcalá Zamora dismissed the Parliament twice, but the first should not be counted because it was the Constituent Parliament, whose works (and power) should end the moment the Constitution it was assembled to make is finished. During the third term, the leftist coalition (called the Frente Popular) tried to wipe out right-winged opposition (including death menaces in the Parliament, readable today in the parliamentary Session Log). The already bad politic and social climate created by the long term left-right confrontation worsened, and many right-winged rebellions started. Then, in 1936, the Army's failed coup degenerated into the Spanish Civil War, putting the end to the Second Republic.

The Cortes Generales under the Franco's regime (1939-1978)

Attending to his words, Franco's intention was to replace the always-crashing party system with an "organic democracy", where the people could participate directly in the nation's politics without any parties. However, such "good" intentions were never materialized. Franco assumed the office of Head of State for life, and established an unicameral legislature (the Congress of Deputies, or Legislative Assembly), made up by more than 400 "representants" (Spanish procuradores, singular procurador) appointed by himself. There was little democracy during this period, but there was the possibility of referenda, where only the family heads could vote. The regime started a "shy" opening process by the 1960s, with the boom in tourism. Spain Category:Government of Spain Category:Politics of Spain

Legislature

A legislature is a governmental deliberative assembly with the power to adopt laws. Legislatures are known by many names, including: parliament, congress, diet and national assembly. Important part of the US In parliamentary systems of government, the legislature is formally supreme and appoints the executive. In presidential systems of government, the legislature is considered a power branch which is equal to, and independent of, the executive. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise taxes and adopt the budget and other money bills. The consent of the legislature is also often required to ratify treaties and declare war.

Chambers

The primary component of a legislature is one or more chambers or houses: assemblies that debate and vote upon bills. Most legislatures are either bicameral or unicameral:
- A unicameral legislature is the simplest kind of law-making body and has only one house.
- A bicameral legislature possesses two separate chambers, usually described as an upper house and a lower house, which may differ in duties, powers, and methods for the selection of members. In most parliamentary systems, the lower house is the most powerful house while the upper house is merely a chamber of advice or review!!!! However in presidential systems the powers of the two houses are often similar or equal. In federations it is typical for the upper house to represent the component states. For this purpose the upper house may either contain the delegates of state governments, as is the case of Germany and was the case in the pre-19 century United States, or to be elected according to a formula that grants disproportionate representation to smaller states, as is the case today in Australia and the United States. Historically, as well as bicameral and unicameral bodies, there have also been rare instances of tricameral legislatures. Many legislatures are said to include not just one or more houses but also the head of state. This is because in most systems it is necessary that, after being approved by the house or houses of the legislature, a bill receive the assent of the head of state before it can become law. This may be the case even if, as is the case in many parliamentary systems, the assent of the head of state is merely a formality and will not be withheld. It is also common, however, for the head of state not to be considered a formal part of the legislature, even if they have the power to veto laws. The British Parliament formally consists of the Crown, and two houses; similarly, the Irish Oireachtas consists officially of the President and two houses. In contrast, the United States Congress consists only of its two houses and does not officially include the US president, despite the fact that he wields a veto.

Competences

The power of legislatures varies widely from country to country. Rubber stamp legislature is a derogatory name for a legislature that has no real power but simply approves, by unanimous or near unanimous votes, bills put before it by other institutions. For example, the legislatures of many Communist states were often derided as mere 'rubber stamps' for decisions of the ruling party. The term is not usually used to describe legislatures of parliamentary systems. Although the final draft of legislation introduced by the government almost always passes, these legislatures are generally not labelled "rubber stamps" because legislators are involved in the drafting and amendment of bills.

List of titles of legislatures

National
- Parliament
- Congress
- Diet
- National Assembly

- Althing — Iceland
- Assembleia da República — Portugal
- Bundestag — Germany
- Cortes Generales — Spain
- Eduskunta or Riksdag — Finland
- Federal Assembly — Russia, Switzerland
- Folketing — Denmark
- Knesset — Israel
- Legislative Yuan — Republic of China/Taiwan
- Majles Al-Ummah — Kuwait
- Oireachtas — Republic of Ireland
- Riigikogu — Estonia
- Riksdag — Sweden
- Rajya Sabha/Lok Sabha — India
- Sabor — Croatia
- Saeima — Latvia
- Seimas — Lithuania
- Sejm — Poland
- Skupština — Serbia and Montenegro
- Estates-General or Staten Generaal — Netherlands
- Storting — Norway
- Tynwald — Isle of Man
- Verkhovna Rada — Ukraine Historical
- States-General
- Dáil — Irish Republic (1919-1922)
- Volkskammer — East Germany (1949-1990) State
- List of state legislatures of the United States — United States
- Landtag — Germany, Austria

See also


- List of democracy and elections-related topics
- List of national legislatures
- Legislative Assemblies of Canada's provinces and territories
- List of state legislatures of the United States Category:Legislatures ja:立法府 simple:Legislature

Spain

The Kingdom of Spain (Spanish and Galician: Reino de España or España; Catalan: Regne d'Espanya; Basque: Espainiako Erresuma). To west (and, in Galicia, south), it borders Portugal. To south, it borders Gibraltar and Morocco. To the northeast, along the Pyrenees mountain range, it borders France and the tiny principality of Andorra. It includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the cities of Ceuta and Melilla in north Africa, and a number of uninhabited islands on the Mediterranean side of the strait of Gibraltar, known as Plazas de soberanía, such as the Chafarine islands, the "rocks" (peñones) of Vélez and Alhucemas, and the tiny Isla Perejil (disputed). In the Northeast along the Pyrenees, a small exclave town called Llívia in Catalonia is surrounded by French territory.

History

Main article: History of Spain

Prehistory

The aboriginal peoples of the Iberian peninsula, consisting of a number of separate tribes, are given the generic name of Iberians. This may have included the Basques, the only pre-Celtic people in Iberia surviving to the present day as a separate ethnic group. The most important culture of this period is that of the city of Tartessos. Beginning in the 9th century BC, Celtic tribes entered the Iberian peninsula through the Pyrenees and settled throughout the peninsula, becoming the Celtiberians. The seafaring Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthaginians successively settled along the Mediterranean coast and founded trading colonies there over a period of several centuries. Around 1,100 BC Phoenician merchants founded the trading colony of Gadir or Gades (modern day Cádiz) near Tartessos. In the 8th century BC the first Greek colonies, such as Emporion (modern Empúries), were founded along the Mediterranean coast on the East, leaving the south coast to the Phoenicians. The Greeks are responsible for the name Iberia, after the river Iber (Ebro in Spanish). In the 6th century BC the Carthaginians arrived in Iberia while struggling with the Greeks for control of the Western Mediterranean. Their most important colony was Carthago Nova (Latin name of modern day Cartagena).

Roman Empire

The Romans arrived in the Iberian peninsula during the Second Punic war in the 2nd century BC, and annexed it under Augustus after two centuries of war with the Celtic and Iberian tribes and the Phoenician, Greek and Carthaginian colonies becoming the province of Hispania. It was divided in Hispania Ulterior and Hispania Citerior during the late Roman Republic; and, during the Roman Empire, Hispania Taraconensis in the northeast, Hispania Baetica in the south and Lusitania in the southwest. Hispania supplied the Roman Empire with food, olive oil, wine and metal. The emperors Trajan, Hadrian and Theodosius I, the philosopher Seneca and the poets Martial and Lucan were born in Spain. The Spanish Bishops held the Council at Elvira in 306. Many of Spain's present languages, religion, and laws originate from this period.

Muslim Spain

Main articles: Al-Andalus and Reconquista In the 8th century, nearly all the Iberian peninsula, which had been under Visigothic rule, was quickly conquered (from 711), by Muslims (the Moors), who had crossed over from North Africa, as part of the conquests of the Christian kingdoms there by the religiously inspired Umayyad empire. Only three small counties in the north of Spain kept their independence: Asturias, Navarra and Aragon, which eventually became kingdoms. Very soon the Muslim emirate split into small kingdoms. Christian and Muslim kingdoms fought and allied among themselves, with the Christians driving the Moorish forces out of the northern most parts of the peninsula within a few decades. The Muslim taifa kings competed in patronage of the arts, and the Jewish population of Iberia set the basis of Sephardic culture. Much of Spain's distinctive art originates from this seven-hundred-year period, and many Arabic words made their way into Castilian (Spanish) and Catalan, and from them to other European languages. The Moorish capital was Córdoba, in the southern portion of Spain known as Andalucía. During the time of Arab occupation, large populations of Jews, Christians and Muslims living in close quarters, and at its peak some non-Muslims were appointed to high offices. Though its tolerance has been exaggerated and romanticised by 19th century scholars it did produce some real achievements. At its best it produced great architecture, art, and Muslim and Jewish scholars played a great part in reviving the study of ancient western culture and philosophy, making their own important contributions to it, and becoming one of the most important ways by which these studies were revived in Europe. However there were also restrictions and imposts on non-Muslims, which tended to grow after the death of Al-Hakam II in 976, and worsened after the fall of Al-Andalus in 1031. Later invasions of stricter Muslim groups from north Africa even led to persecutions of non-Muslims, forcing some (including some Muslim scholars) to seek safety in the then still relatively tolerant city of Toledo after its Christian reconquest in 1085. 1085] The long, convoluted period of expansion of the Christian kingdoms, beginning in 722, only eleven years after the Moorish invasion, is called the Reconquista. As early as 739, the northwestern region of Galicia, which became one of the most important centres of western medieval Christian pilgrimage, Santiago de Compostela, had been liberated from Moorish occupation by forces from neighbouring Asturias. The 1085 conquest of the central city of Toledo had largely brought to an end the reconquest of the northern half of Iberia. The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 heralded the collapse, within a few decades, of the great Moorish strongholds, such as Seville and Córdoba, in the south-west. By the middle of the thirteenth century most of the Iberian peninsula had been reconquered, leaving only Granada as a small tributary state in the south. It ended in 1492, when Isabella and Ferdinand captured the southern city of Granada, the last Moorish city in Spain. The Treaty of Granada [http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/treaty1492.html] guaranteed religious toleration toward Muslims while Jews were expelled that year. At Ferdinand's insistance the Spanish Inquisition had been established and Tomás de Torquemada was appointed as its first Inquisitor General in 1482. Behind much of the real religious intolerance was always the ever present fear that the Muslims might assist another Muslim invasion. Furthermore Aragonese labourers were angered by the use of Moorish workers by landlords to undercut them. A 1499 Muslim uprising was crushed and was followed by the first of the expulsions of Muslims, in 1502. The year 1492 was also marked by the discovery of the New World. Isabel I funded the voyages of Columbus. In their contests with the French army, Spanish forces relied more on well trained, highly mobile, regular soldiers and eventually achieved success with the organised tactical use of hand guns against armoured French knights, in the Italian Wars from 1494. Already considerable powers, these wars saw the emergence of the new combined Spanish kingdoms of Castile and Aragon as a European great power.

From the Renaissance to the 19th Century

Until the late of the 15th century, Castile and Léon, Aragon and Navarre were independent states, with independent languages, monarchs, armies and, in the case of Aragon and Castile, two empires: the former with one in the Mediterranean and the latter with a new, rapidly growing, one in the Americas. The process of political unification continued into the early sixteenth century. It was the unification of these separate Iberian empires that became the base of what is in now referred to as the Spanish Empire. By 1512, most of the kingdoms of present-day Spain were politically unified, although not as a modern, centralized state (in contemporary minds, "Spain" was a geographic term meaning Iberian Peninsula, which includes Portugal, not the present-day state called Spain). The grandson of Isabella and Ferdinand, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor but called in Spain Carlos I, extended his crown to other places in Europe and the rest of the world. The unification of Iberia was complete when Charles V's son, Philip II, became King of Portugal in 1580, as well as of the other Iberian Kingdoms (collectively known as "Spain" at that time). During the 16th century, under the reigns of Charles V and Philip II, Spain became the most powerful nation in Europe. The Spanish Empire covered most territories of South and Central America, Mexico, some of Eastern Asia (including The Philippines), the Iberian peninsula (including the Portuguese empire from 1580), southern Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. It was the first empire about which it was said that the sun did not set. It was a time of daring explorations by sea and by land, the opening up of new trade routes across oceans, conquests and the beginning of European colonization. Not only did this lead to the arrival of ever increasing quantities of precious metals, spices and luxuries, and new agricultural plants, that had a great influence on the development of Europe, but the explorers, soldiers, traders and missionaries also brought back with them a flood of knowledge that radically transformed the European understanding of the world, ending conceptions inherited from medieval times. The treasure fleet across the Atlantic and the Manila galleons across the Pacific made it the wealthiest and most powerful nation in Europe, but the rapidly rising influx of silver and gold from the colonies in the Americas throughout the 16th century ultimately resulted in economically damaging rampant inflation and led to economic depression by the 17th century. Religious and dynastic wars supported by the Spanish crown, especially in the Netherlands, also greatly burdened the empire's economy. 17th century] In 1640, under Philip IV, the centralist policy of the Count-Duke of Olivares provoked wars in Portugal and Catalonia. Portugal became an independent kingdom again, taking with it its empire, and Catalonia enjoyed some years of French-supported independence but was quickly returned to the Spanish Crown, except Roussillon. A series of long and costly wars and revolts followed in the early 17th century, and began a steady decline of Spanish power in Europe from the 1640s. Controversy over succession to the throne consumed the country and much of Europe during the first years of the 18th century (see War of the Spanish Succession). It was only after this war ended and a new dynasty—the French Bourbons—was installed that a true Spanish state was established when the absolutist first Bourbon king Philip V of Spain in 1707 dissolved the parliamentarist Aragon court and unified the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon into a single, unified Kingdom of Spain, abolishing many of the regional privileges and autonomies (fueros) that had hampered Habsburg rule. The British abandoned the conflict after Utrecht (1713), which led to Barcelona's easy defeat by the absolutists in 1714. The National Day of Catalonia still commemorates this defeat. Of note during the 17th century was the cultural efflorescence now known as the Spanish Golden Age. Historically, the period of the mid 17th century to the mid 20th century was a failure for Spain compared to north western Europe. The extended, lingering decline of the Spanish empire was due in large part, ironically, to its spectacular successes in the 15th and 16th centuries that led to the centuries of the treasure fleets bringing back silver and gold into the country from the American mines. These shipments engendered inflation (a fact noticed by the School of Salamanca) that ate away at Spanish trades and commerce by causing local goods to be uncompetitive, and eventually making the country almost totally dependant upon imports by the mid seventeenth century, which proved disasterous as the silver mines became exhausted. Greatly worsening matters were the constant wars defending the world empire against envious European rivals, internal successions and the European wars (Eighty Years War and Thirty Years War), where Spain's resources were constantly drained defending the Habsburg's dynastic and religious interests, including the Counter Reformation. From the early 17th century the government sought to meet its needs by tampering with the silver content of the currency, leading to severe bouts of inflation and deflation. The terrible burden of taxes on the productive classes of the country, and the financial instability led to the collapse of the Castilian economy to the point where people reverted to bartering in the 1620s. A severe decline in food production ensued. The result was a steep real economic and demographic decline during the 17th century, especially in empire's overburdened lynchpin, Castile, aggravated by failed harvests and plagues. Habsburg policies that entrenched the privileges and exemptions of the nobility (with its roots back in the Castilian War of the Communities) and the Church (as part of support of the Counter Reformation), with a great extension of Church lands, also played a decisive part in the undermining the Spanish economy and in curtailing the spread of modern thought. This was in stark contrast to the diminishing status of both institutions in rivals France, England and the Netherlands. The resentment of ordinary peasants and labourers would find expression in implicating the nobility of Moorish ancestory and the churchmen of hypocrisy. These accusations found their way into the theatre and literature of the time. The beggary that grew rapidly from the late 16th century forced many to live by their wits and inspired the popular picaresque genre of literature. Following the wars of Spanish succession at its commencment, the 18th century saw a long, slow recovery, with an expansion of the iron and steel industries in the Basque country, some increase in trade and a recovery in food production and population. The Bourbons drew on the French system in trying to modernise the administration and economy, in which it was more successful in the former than the latter. However in the last two decades of the century there was a rapid growth (from a relatively low base) in general trade after the opening up of free trade within the empire (ending the south's monopoly), and even the beginnings of an industrialisation of the textile industry in Catalonia. But this promising late eighteenth century surge was shortlived, being totally disrupted by the turmoil of the Napoleonic Wars at the beginning of the 19th century, that preceeded the loss of the vast mainland American territories and plunged the country into endemic political instability, which lasted until 1939. The Napoleonic incursion led to a fierce guerilla war (Peninsular War) and saw the first wide spread appearance of Spanish nationalism. In the latter half of the 19th century, Spanish Catalonia became a center of Spain's industrialization. Pockets of relative modernity in Catalonia and the north would appear, but Spain's relative economic and political decline overall mirrored in general the fate of other regions of southern Europe such as Portugal, the Italian states, the Balkans, and much of central and eastern Europe, as much of the rapidly growing global oceanic trade, pioneered by the Iberian countries, was diverted to northwestern Europe. Spain lost all of its remaining old colonies in the Caribbean region and Asia-Pacific region at the end of the 19th century, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines, and a large number of Pacific islands to the United States after the Spanish-American War of 1898. However "the Disaster" of 1898, as Spanish-American War was called, led to Spain's cultural revival (Generation of '98) in which there was much critical self examination, and relieved it from the burden of its last major colonies. However political stability in such a dispersed and variegated land, caught between pockets of modernity and large areas of extreme rural backwardness and strongly differentiated regional identities would elude the country for some decades yet, and was ultimately imposed only by a brutal dictatorship in 1939.

20th century

The 20th century initially brought little peace; colonization of Western Sahara, Spanish Morocco and Equatorial Guinea was attempted. A period of dictatorial rule (1923 - 1931) ended with the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic. The Republic offered political autonomy to the Basque Country and Catalonia and gave voting rights to women. However, in July 1936, against a backdrop of increasing political polarization, anti-clericalism and pressure from all sides, coupled with growing and unchecked political violence, the Republic was faced with an attempted military coup d'etat led by right-wing army generals. Although the coup initially failed, the ensuing Spanish Civil War ended in 1939 with the victory of the nationalist forces led by General Francisco Franco and supported by Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and the United States of America, increasingly concerned about communism. The Republican side received tepid support from European democracies, which left the Soviet Union and idealist voluntary International Brigades as the only supporters of the legitimate democratic Republican rule. The Spanish Civil War has been called the first battle of the Second World War. After the civil war, General Francisco Franco ruled a nation exhausted politically and economically. During the Second World War Franco, under extreme pressure (Hitler had brought his army to the border of Spain after invading France), opted to remain neutral arguing that Spain could not afford a new war, but, as a concession to his civil war backer, authorised volunteers to go to the Russian front to fight the Soviet Union in an anti-Communist crusade in what came to be known as the Blue Division. The resentment of Franco's brutality towards the more modern pro-Republican regions of Catalonia and the Basque country, whose distinctive languages and identity he suppressed during his long reign, continues to fuel strong separatist movements to this day. The only official party in Spain at the time of Franco´s regime was the Falange party founded by Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera. Primo de Rivera denied his party was fascist, calling fascism fundamentaly false. His political philosophy was based on Catholicism, saying that man "carries eternal values" and carries "a soul that is capable of damning or saving itself". He called for "the greatest respect for...human dignity, for the integrity of man and for his liberty." Primo de Rivera called for what he called "organic democracy". Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera was executed in Alicante in 1936. After World War II, being one of few surviving fascist regimes in Europe, Spain was politically and economically isolated and was kept out of the United Nations until 1955, when it became strategically important for U.S. president Eisenhower to establish a military presence in the Iberian peninsula. This opening to Spain was aided by Franco's opposition to communism. In the 1960s, more than a decade later than other western European countries, Spain began to enjoy economic growth and gradually transformed into a modern industrial economy with a thriving tourism sector. Growth continued well into the 1970s, with Franco's government going to great lengths to shield the Spanish people from the effects of the oil crisis. Upon the death of the dictator General Franco in November 1975, his personally-designated heir Prince Juan Carlos assumed the position of king and head of state. With the approval of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the arrival of democracy, some regions — Basque Country, Navarra— were given complete financial autonomy, and many — Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia and Andalusia— were given some political autonomy, which was then soon extended to all Spanish regions, resulting in a quite decentralized territorial organization in Western Europe. Remaining dysfunctionalities, such as unlimited financial strain on contributor regions such as Catalonia make their people aim for a more equilibrated system, such as those enjoyed in Germany, where finantial contribution to the whole can never exceed 4% of a Land's GDP. In the Basque Country pro-peace Basque and Spanish nationalisms coexist with radical nationalism supportive of the terrorist group ETA, which remains one of the biggest problems faced by Spanish citizens. Adolfo Suárez González, Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo Bustelo, after an attempted coup d'état in 1981, Felipe González Márquez (when Spain joined NATO and European Union), José María Aznar López and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero have been prime ministers of Spain.

21st century

On March 11, 2004, a series of bombs exploded in commuter trains in Madrid, Spain. These resulted in 191 people dead and 1,460 wounded. It also had a significant effect on the upcoming elections in Spain, due in part to the ruling government's insistence that the ETA was the prime suspect in the bombings, even as the evidence of Muslim extremist terrorism rapidly emerged from the police investigation and the international press. see the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings article for more information :See also: List of Spanish monarchs, Kings of Spain family tree

Politics

Main article: Politics of Spain Politics of Spain.]] Spain is a constitutional monarchy, with a hereditary monarch and a bicameral parliament, the Cortes Generales or National Assembly. The executive branch consists of a Council of Ministers presided over by the President of Government (comparable to a prime minister), proposed by the monarch and elected by the National Assembly following legislative elections. The legislative branch is made up of the Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados) with 350 members, elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation to serve four-year terms, and a Senate or Senado with 259 seats of which 208 are directly elected by popular vote and the other 51 appointed by the regional legislatures to also serve four-year terms. Spain is, at present, what is called a State of Autonomies, formally unitary but, in fact, functioning as a Federation of Autonomous Communities, each one with different powers (for instance, some have their own educational and health systems, others do not) and laws. There are some differences within this system, since power has been devolved from the centre to the periphery asymmetrically, with some autonomous governments (especially those dominated by nationalist parties) seeking a more federalist—or even confederate—kind of relationship with Spain, now the Central Government is dealing with autonomous governments for the transfer of more autonomy. This novel system of asymmetrical devolution has been described as a coconstitutionalism and has similarities to the devolution process adopted by the United Kingdom since 1997. The terrorist group, ETA (Basque Homeland and Freedom), is attempting to achieve Basque independence through violent means, including bombings and killings of politicians and police. Although the Basque Autonomous government does not condone any kind of violence, their different approaches to the separatist movement are a source of tension between the federal and Basque governments. On 17 May 2005, all the parties in the Congress of Deputies, except the PP, passed the Central Government's motion of beginning peace talks with the ETA with no political concessions and only if it gives up all its weapons. PSOE, CiU, ERC, PNV, IU-ICV, CC and the mixed group -BNG, CHA, EA y NB- supported it with a total of 192 votes, while the 147 PP parliamentaris objected. On February 20th 2005, Spain became the first country to allow its people to vote on the European Union constitution that was signed in October 2004. The rules states that if any country rejects the constitution then the constitution will be declared void. The final result was very strongly in affirmation of the constitution, making Spain the first country to approve the constitution via referendum (Hungary, Lithuania and Slovenia approved it before Spain, but they did not hold referenda).

Administrative divisions

Administratively, Spain is divided into 50 provinces, grouped into 17 autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities with high degree of autonomy.

Autonomous communities

autonomous communities Main article: Autonomous communities of Spain Spain consists of 17 autonomous communities (comunidades autónomas) and 2 autonomous cities (ciudades autónomas; Ceuta and Melilla).
- Andalusia (Andalucía)
- Aragon (Aragón)
- Principality of Asturias (Principáu d'Asturies in Asturian/Principado de Asturias in Spanish)
- Balearic Islands (Illes Balears in Catalan / Islas Baleares in Spanish)
- Basque Country (Euskadi in Basque/País Vasco in Spanish)
- Canary Islands (Islas Canarias)
- Cantabria
- Castile-La Mancha (Castilla-La Mancha)
- Castile and Leon (Castilla y León in Spanish)
- Catalonia (Catalunya in Catalan/Cataluña in Spanish/ Catalunha in Aranese)
- Extremadura
- Galicia (Galicia or Galiza in Galician)
- La Rioja
- Madrid
- Murcia
- Navarre (Nafarroa in Basque/Navarra in Spanish)
- Land of Valencia (Comunitat Valenciana in Valencian /Comunidad Valenciana in Spanish, as official denominations).

Provinces

Main article: Provinces of Spain The Spanish kingdom is also divided into 50 provinces (provincias). Autonomous communities group provinces (for instance, Extremadura is made of two provinces: Cáceres and Badajoz). The autonomous communities of Asturias, the Balearic Islands, Cantabria, La Rioja, Navarre, Murcia, and Madrid (the nation's capital) are each composed of a single province. Traditionally, provinces are usually subdivided into historic regions or comarcas (main article: Comarcas of Spain).

Places of sovereignty

There are also five enclaves (plazas de soberanía) on and off the African coast: the cities of Ceuta and Melilla are administered as autonomous cities, an intermediate status between cities and communities; the islands of the Islas Chafarinas, Peñón de Alhucemas, and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera are under direct Spanish administration. The Canary islands, Ceuta and Melilla, although not officially historic communities, enjoy a special status.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Spain Geography of Spain Mainland Spain is dominated by high plateaus and mountain ranges such as the Pyrenees or the Sierra Nevada. Running from these heights are several major rivers such as the Tajo, the Ebro, the Duero, the Guadiana and the Guadalquivir. Alluvial plains are found along the coast, the largest of which is that of the Guadalquivir in Andalusia, in the east there are alluvial plains with medium rivers like Segura, Júcar and Turia. Spain is bound to the east by Mediterranean Sea (containing the Balearic Islands), to the north by the Bay of Biscay and to its west by the Atlantic Ocean, where the Canary Islands off the African coast are found. Spain's climate can be divided in four areas:
- The Mediterranean: mostly temperate in the eastern and southern part of the country; rainy seasons are spring and autumn. Mild summers with pleasant temperatures. Hot records: Murcia 47.2 °C, Malaga 44.2 °C, Valencia 42.5 °C, Alicante 41.4 °C, Palma of Mallorca 40.6 °C, Barcelona 39.8 °C. Low records: Gerona -13.0 °C, Barcelona -10.0 °C, Valencia -7.2 °C, Murcia -6.0 °C, Alicante -4.6 °C, Malaga -3.8 °C.
- The interior: Very cold winters (frequent snow in the north) and hot summers. Hot records: Sevilla 47.0 °C, Cordoba 46.6 °C, Badajoz 45.0 °C, Albacete and Zaragoza 42.6 °C, Madrid 42.2 °C, Burgos 41.8 °C, Valladolid 40.2 °C. Low records: Albacete -24.0  °C, Burgos -22.0 °C, Salamanca -20.0 °C, Teruel -19.0 °C, Madrid -14.8 °C, Sevilla -5.5 °C.
- Northern Atlantic coast: precipitations mostly in winter, with mild summers (slightly cold). Hot records: Bilbao 42.0 °C, La Coruña 37.6 °C, Gijón 36.4 °C. Low records: Bilbao -8.6 °C, Oviedo -6.0 °C, Gijon and La Coruña -4.8 °C.
- The Canary Islands: subtropical weather, with mild temperatures (18 °C to 24 °C Celsius) throughout the year. Hot records: Santa Cruz de Tenerife 42.6 °C. Low records: Santa Cruz de Tenerife 8.1 °C.

Most populous metropolitan areas

Celsius Celsius # Madrid 5 603 285 # Barcelona 5 328 395 # Valencia 1 465 423 # Sevilla 1 294 081 # Málaga 1 019 292 For a more complete list, see List of cities in Spain List of cities in Spain

Territorial disputes

Territories claimed by Spain

Spain has called for the return of Gibraltar, a tiny British possession on its southern coast. It changed hands during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1704 and was ceded to Britain in perpetuity in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.

Spanish territories claimed by other countries

Morocco claims the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the uninhabited Vélez, Alhucemas, Chafarinas, and Perejil islands, all on the Northern coast of Africa. Morocco points out that those territories were obtained when Morocco could not do anything to prevent it and has never signed treaties ceding them. Portugal does not recognize Spain's sovereignty over the territory of Olivenza. Spain and Portugal disagree on the interpretation of the outputs of the Congress of Vienna (1815), which according to Portugal stated the return of the territory to Portugal. Spain claims it is a de jure sovereignty according to International law.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Spain Economy of Spain Spain's mixed capitalist economy supports a GDP that on a per capita basis is 87% that of the four leading West European economies. The centre-right government of former Prime Minister Aznar successfully worked to gain admission to the first group of countries launching the European single currency, the euro, on 1 January 1999. The Aznar administration continued to advocate liberalization, privatization, and deregulation of the economy and introduced some tax reforms to that end. Unemployment fell steadily under the Aznar administration but remains high at 9.8% as of August 2005 - but this (still unacceptable) level must be seen in the light of levels of over 20% at the start of the 1990s. Growth of 2.4% in 2003 was satisfactory given the background of a faltering European economy, and has steadied since at an annualised rate of about 3.3% in mid 2005. The Prime Minister Rodríguez Zapatero, whose party won the election three days after the Madrid train bombings in March 2004, plans to reduce government intervention in business, combat tax fraud, and support innovation, research and development, but also intends to reintroduce labour market regulations that had been scrapped by the Aznar government. Adjusting to the monetary and other economic policies of an integrated Europe - and reducing unemployment - will pose challenges to Spain over the next few years. According to [http://www.worldbank.org/data/databytopic/GDP.pdf World Bank GDP figures]from 2004, Spain has the 8th largest economy in the world. There is general concern that Spain's model of economic growth (based largely on mass tourism, the construction industry, and manufacturing sectors) is faltering and may prove unsustainable over the long term. The first report of the Observatory on Sustainability (Observatorio de Sostenibilidad) - published in 2005 and funded by Spain's Ministry of the Environment and Alcalá University - reveals that the country's per capita GDP grew by 25% over the last ten years, while greenhouse gas emissions have risen by 45% since 1990. Although Spain's population grew by less than 5% between 1990 and 2000, urban areas expanded by no less than 25% over the same period. Meanwhile, Spain's energy consumption has doubled over the last 20 years and is currently rising by 6% per annum. This is particularly worrying for a country whose dependence on imported oil (meeting roughly 80% of Spain's energy needs) is one of the greatest in the EU. Large-scale unsustainable development is clearly visible along Spain's Mediterranean coast in the form of housing and tourist complexes, which are placing severe strain on local land and water resources.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Spain Demographics of Spain Demographics of Spain Demographics of Spain Demographics of Spain The Spanish Constitution, although affirming the sovereignty of the Spanish Nation, recognizes historical nationalities. The Castilian-derived Spanish (called both español and castellano in the language itself) is the official language throughout Spain, but other regional languages are also spoken. Without mentioning them by name, the Spanish Constitution recognizes the possibility of regional languages being co-official in their respective autonomous communities. The following languages are co-official with Spanish according to the appropriate Autonomy Statutes.
- Catalan (català) in Catalonia (Catalunya), the Balearic Islands (Illes Balears), Valencia (València) and Aragon's eastern strip (Aragó).
- Basque (euskara) in Basque Country (Euskadi), and parts of Navarre (Nafarroa). Basque is not known to be related to any other language.
- Galician (galego) in Galicia (Galicia or Galiza).
- Occitan (the Aranese dialect). Spoken in the Vall d'Aran in Catalonia. Catalan, Galician, Aranese (Occitan) and Spanish (Castilian) are all descended from Latin and have their own dialects, some championed as separate languages by their speakers (the Valencià of València, a dialect of Catalan, is one example). There are also some other surviving Romance minority languages: Asturian / Leonese, in Asturias and parts of Leon, Zamora and Salamanca, and the Extremaduran in Caceres and Salamanca, both descendants of the historical Astur-Leonese dialect; the Aragonese or fabla in part of Aragon; the fala, spoken in three villages of Extremadura; and some Portuguese dialectal towns in Extremadura and Castile-Leon. However, unlike Catalan, Galician, and Basque, these do not have any official status. In the touristic areas of the Mediterranean costas and the islands, German and English are spoken by tourists, foreign residents and tourism workers. Many linguists claim that most of the Spanish language variants spoken in Latin America (Mexican, Argentinian, Colombian, Peruvian, etc. variants) descended from the Spanish spoken in southwestern Spain (Andalusia, Extremadura and Canary Islands).

Identities

The Spanish Constitution of 1978, in its second article, recognizes historic entities ("nationalities," a carefully chosen word in order to avoid "nations") and regions, inside the unity of the Spanish nation. But Spain's identity is sometimes, in fact, an overlap of different regional identities, some of them even conflicting. Castile is considered by many to be the "core" of Spain. However, this may just be a reflection of the fact that the Castilian national identity was the first one to be quashed by the Spanish Empire in the revolt of the Communards (comuneros). The opposite is the case of a large part of Catalans, Basques and, in some measure, Galicians, who quite frequently identify primarily with Galicia, Catalonia and the Basque Country first, with Spain only second, or even third, after Europe. For example, according to the last CIS survey, 44% of Basques identify themselves first as Basques (only 8% first as Spaniards); 40% of Catalans do so with their autonomous community (20% identify firstly with Spain), and 32% Galicians with Galicia (9% with Spain). Even more remarkable, almost all comunities have a majority of people identifying as much with Spain as with the Autonomous Community (except Madrid, where Spain is the primary identity, and Catalonia, Basque Country and Balearics, where people tend to identity more with their Autonomous Community). Even Castille-Leon has 57% of people regarding themselves as much Spaniards as they are Castillians. The situation is even more confusing, since there are regions with ambiguous identities, like Navarre, Valencia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, etc. There has been a lot of internal migration (rural exodus) from regions like Galicia, Andalusia and Extremadura to Madrid, Catalonia, Basque Country and the islands. Spain became a unified crown with the union of Castile and Aragon in 1492 and the annexation of Navarre in 1515. Until 1714, Spain was a loose confederation of kingdoms and statelets under one king, until King Philip V (Felipe V) removed the autonomous status of the Aragonese crown. Navarre and the Basque Provinces, however, kept a high degree of autonomy within their legal and financial system (Fueros). Moreover, the creation of a unified state in the 19th and 20th centuries has led to the present situation, which is apparently simple, but sometimes extremely confusing. During the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1936), Catalonia and the Basque country were given limited self-government, which was lost after the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) and restored in 1978 during the transition to democracy. [http://www.cis.es/File/ViewFile.aspx?FileId=1712 Survey of the latest CIS (Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas) survey from which concrete data of this article have been extracted]

Minority groups

Since the 16th century, the most important minority group in the country have been the Gitanos. Other historical minorities are Mercheros (or Quinquis) and Vaqueiros de alzada. The latter, meaning "Mountain cow-breeders" dwell in mountain ranges in the Principality of Asturias and have kept historically apart from the valley dwellers. The number of immigrants or foreign residents has tripled to 3.69 million in less than five years, according the latest figures (2005) of National Statics Institute. They currently make up around 8.5 per cent of the official total population. The rise of population in Spain in recent years was largely due to them. Nearly half of all immigrants have neither residence nor work permits. According to [http://www.imdiversity.com/villages/hispanic/world_international/pns_immigration_shift_1204.asp Imdiversity.com (2003 statistics)], the largest foreign minorities are Romanian(500,000 - 1,000,000 unnoficially) Ecuadorians (375 000), Moroccans (365 846), Argentines (300,000) Colombia



Cádiz

:This article deals with the Spanish city. For other uses, see Cadiz (disambiguation). Cádiz is a coastal city in southwestern Spain and part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Cádiz. According to the 2004 census, the population of Cádiz proper is 133,242, while the population of the entire urban area is estimated to be 629,054. The city is located on a peninsula protruding into the Bay of Cádiz, part of much larger Gulf of Cádiz. Cádiz is of typical Andalusian character. The old part of Cádiz, commonly referred to as the Old City (Spanish Casco Antiguo), is shaped by the individuality of the various quarters (Spanish barrios), "El Populo," "La Viña," or "Santa Maria." These areas offer a marked contrast to the newer areas of town. While the townscape of the Old City is largely formed by narrow alleys leading into a number of plazas, newer areas consist of wide avenues and more modern buildings. In addition, the city is dotted by numerous park plants, including old giant trees supposedly brought here by Columbus.

History

ColumbusThe city was originally founded as Gadir (Phoenician גדר "walled city") by the Phoenicians, who used it in their trade with Tartessos. It is regarded to be the most ancient city still standing in western Europe. Traditionally, its establishment has been dated to about 1100 BCE, although, as of 2004, no archaeological finds have been found that date back further than the 9th century BCE. One resolution to this discrepancy has been to assume that it was, in the initial phase, merely a small trading post. Later, the Greeks would know the city as Gadira or Gadeira. According to Greek legend, Gadir was founded by Heracles after killing Geryon. Indeed, one of the city's notable features during this era was the temple dedicated to the Phoenician god Melqart. Some historians think that the columns of this temple gave origin to the myth of the Columns of Hercules (Melqart was associated by the Greeks with Heracles, or Hercules). In about 500 BCE, the city fell under the sway of Carthage. Cádiz became a base of operations for Hannibal's conquest of southern Iberia. However, in 206, the city fell to Roman forces under Scipio Africanus. The people of Cádiz welcomed the victors. Under the Romans, it was renamed Gades. The city flourished under Roman rule as a naval base. By the time of Augustus, Cádiz was home to more than 500 equites, rivaled only by Rome and Padua, and its citizens ranked next to those of Rome itself. However, with the decline of the Roman Empire, Gades's commercial importance began to fade. The 5th century overthrow of Roman power in Spain by the Visigoths saw the destruction of the original city, of which there remain few remnants today. Under Moorish rule between 711 and 1262, the city was called Qādis (Arabic قادس), from where the modern Spanish name Cádiz was derived. The Moors were finally ousted by Alphonso X of Castile. During the Age of Exploration, the city experienced another renaissance. Columbus sailed from Cádiz on his second and fourth voyages, and the city later became the home port of the Spanish treasure fleet. Consequently, the city became a major target of the enemies of Spain. The 16th century saw a series of failed raids by Barbary corsairs. Sir Francis Drake destroyed a Spanish fleet in the harbor of Cádiz in April 1587, followed by the sacking of Cádiz in 1596 by the earl of Essex and Lord Charles Howard. In the Anglo-Spanish War Admiral Robert Blake blockaded Cádiz from 1655 and 1657, during which one of his captains, Richard Stayner, destroyed most of the Spanish treasure fleet. A galleon of treasure was captured, and the overall loss to Spain was estimated at £2,000,000. In 1702, the British attacked again under Sir George Rooke and the duke of Ormonde. In the 18th century, the sand bars of the river Guadalquivir forced the Spanish government to transfer the port monopolizing trade with Spanish America from Seville to Cádiz. During this time, the city experienced a golden age in which experienced 75% of Spanish trade with the Americas. It became one of Spain's greatest and most cosmopolitan cities; many of today's historic buildings in the Old City date from this time. By the end of the century, however, the city suffered another series of attacks. The British fleet blockaded Cádiz between February 1797 to April 1798, and the city was bombarded by Nelson in 1800. During Napoleon's conquest of Europe, Cádiz served as one of the few locations that could resist the French invasion. Cádiz was the seat of the liberal Cortes fighting Joseph I of Spain in the Peninsula war, and where the Spanish Constitution of 1812 was proclaimed. The citizens against revolted in 1820 to secure a renewal of this consititution; the revolution spread across Spain, leading to the imprisonment of King Ferdinand VII of Spain in the city. French forces secured the relase of Ferdinand in 1823, and suppressed liberalism. In 1868, Cádiz was once again the seat of a revolution, affecting the eventual dethronment of Queen Isabella. In recent years, the city has undergone much reconstruction. Many monuments, cathedrals, and landmarks have been cleaned and restored to add to the charm of this old city.

Major Landmarks

Queen Isabella Queen Isabella Cádiz, the oldest existing city in western Europe (and likely the western world), is home to many beautiful and historic monuments and attractions. Its peculiar location at the end of a narrow peninsula (see [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=36.512718,-6.276455&spn=0.077299,0.105186&t=k&hl=en Google Maps satellite view]) brings an added uniqueness to this city.

Cathedral

One of Cádiz's most famous landmarks is its cathedral. It sits on the site of an older cathedral, completed in 1260, which burned down in 1596. The reconstruction, which was not started until 1776, was supervised by the architect Vicente Arcero, who had also built the Granada Cathedral. Arcero left the project and was succeeded by several other architects. As a result, this largely baroque style cathedral was built over a period of 116 years. Due to this drawn-out construction, the cathedral experienced several major changes to its intended design. Though the cathedral began in baroque style, it contains rococo elements, and was finally completed in the neoclassical style. Its chapels have many paintings and relics from the Old Cathedral and other monasteries.

Gran Teatro Falla

The original Gran Teatro was constructed in 1871 by the architect García del Alamo, and was destroyed in an August 1881 fire. The current theatre was built between 1884 and 1905 over the remains of the previous Gran Teatro. The architect was Adolfo Morales de los Rios, and the direction was carried out by Juan Cabrera de la Torre. The outside was covered in red bricks and is of mudejar style. Following renovations in the 1920s, the theatre was renamed the Gran Teatro Falla, in honor of composer Manuel de Falla, who is buried in the crypt of the cathedral. After a period of disrepair in the 1980s, the theatre has since undergone further renovation.

Ayuntamiento

Overlooking La Plaza de San Juan Dios, the Ayuntamiento is the town hall of Cádiz's Old City. The structure was built in two stages. The first stage began in 1799 under the direction of architect Torcuato Benjumeda in the neoclassical style. The second stage occurred in 1861 under the direction of García del Alamo.

Torre Tavira

In the 18th century, Cádiz had more than 160 towers to watch over its waters; they were used by the many local merchants (and often formed part of their houses), who could then be informed of the ships that arrived and left. Today, Torre Tavira stands as the tallest remaining watchtower. With its "Cámara Oscura," visitors are led into a dark room that offers reflected panoramic views of the Old City.

Las Puertas de Tierra

Las Puertas de Tierra originated from the 16th century, although much of the original work has disappeared. Once consisting of several layers of walls, only one of these remain today. The 20th century saw the need to remodel the entrance into the Old City to accommodate modern traffic. Today, the two arcs cut into the wall serve as one of the primary entrances into the city.

Pylons of Cádiz

The pylons of Cádiz are electricity pylons of unusual design crossing the Bay of Cádiz. The pylons are 158 meters high and designed for two circuits. The pylons were designed by A.M. Toscano. The very unconventional construction consists of a frustum steel framework construction with a narrow grid width and one crossbar on the top for the conductors.

Beaches

steel Cádiz, situated on a peninsula, is home to some of Spain's most beautiful beaches.

La Playa de la Caleta

La Playa de la Caleta is the best-loved beach of Cádiz. It has always been in Carnival songs, due to its unequalled beauty and its proximity to the Barrio de la Viña. It is the beach of the Old City, situated between two castles, San Sebastian and Santa Catalina. It is around four hundred meters long and thirty meters wide at low tide.

La Playa de la Victoria

La Playa de la Victoria is the most visited beach by tourists and the native people of Cádiz. It is about three kilometers long, and it has an average width of fifty meters of sand. The moderate swell and the absence of rocks allow the entire family to enjoy bathing at this beach. It is separated from the city by an avenue; on the other side of the avenue are many shops and resturants that form the newer part of Cádiz. The beach provides many activities, including sport areas, as well as places where you can rent beach umbrellas, sun loungers, and jetskis.

La Playa de Santa María del Mar

La Playa de Santa María del Mar is a small beach in Cádiz. Situated between La Playa de Victoria and La Playa de la Caleta, it features excellent views of the old district of Cádiz.

Others

Other beaches include La Playa Cortadura and La Playa del Chato.

See Also


- Cádiz Club de Futbol

External links


- [http://www.cadizayto.es/ Official City of Cádiz Homepage]
- [http://www.cadizturismo.com/ Cádiz Tourism Site]
- [http://www.infocadiz.com/Welcome.htm/ InfoCádiz] Category:Coastal cities Category:Cádiz province Category:Municipalities in Spain Category:Ports and harbours of Spain Cadiz

First French Empire

The First French Empire, commonly known as the French Empire or the Napoleonic Empire, covers the period of the domination of France and much of continental Europe by Napoleon I of France. Constitutionally, it refers to the period of 1804 to 1814, from the Consulate to the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in the history of the French state. Also included are the Hundred Days of 1815, the last gasp of Napoleon's imperial dream. The First French Empire stands distinct from its imitator and would-be successor, the Second French Empire of Napoleon III (1852-1870).

Origins

Bonaparte's march to empire began with the Constitution of the Year VIII (1799), which made Bonaparte First Consul, and its August 1802 amendment making him First Consul for life. Bonaparte attracted more power and gravitated towards imperial status, gathering support on the way for his internal rebuilding of France and its institutions. He gradually dampened opposition and Republican enthusiasm, using exile, systematic bureaucratic oppression, and constitutional means. The decision of the Senate on May 18, 1804, giving him the title of emperor, was the counterblast to the dread he had excited. Never did a harder master ordain more imperiously, nor understand better how to command obedience. "This was because," as Goethe said, "under his orders men were sure of accomplishing their ends. That is why they rallied round him, as one to inspire them with that kind of certainty." Goethe itself is shaded dark blue, with satellite states shaded paler.]] Indeed no man previously ever concentrated authority to such a point, nor showed mental abilities at all comparable to his: an extraordinary power of work, prodigious memory for details and fine judgment in selection; together with a luminous decision and a simple and rapid conception, all placed at the disposal of a sovereign will. No head of the state gave expression more imperiously to the popular passions of the French of that day: abhorrence for the emigrant nobility, fear of the ancien régime, dislike of foreigners, hatred of Great Britain, an appetite for conquest evoked by revolutionary propaganda, and the love of glory. In this Napoleon was a soldier of the people: because of this he judged and ruled his contemporaries. Having seen their actions in the stormy hours of the French Revolution, he despised them and looked upon them as incapable of disinterested conduct, conceited, and obsessed by the notion of equality. His genius, assisted by the impoverishment of two generations, was like the oak which admits beneath its shade none but the smallest of saplings. With the exception of Talleyrand, after 1808 he would have about him only mediocre people, without initiative, prostrate at his feet: a group of paltry, rapacious and embarrassing Corsicans; his admirably subservient generals; his selfish ministers, docile agents, apprehensive of the future, who for fourteen long years felt a prognostication of defeat and discounted the inevitable catastrophe.

From Consulate to empire

So First Empire France had no internal history outside the plans and transformations to which Napoleon subjected the institutions of the Consulate, and outside the after-effects of the Napoleonic Wars. Well knowing that his fortunes rested on the delighted acquiescence of France, Napoleon expected to continue indefinitely fashioning public opinion according to his desire. Being essentially a man of order, he loathed, as he said, all demagogic action, Jacobinism and visions of liberty. Nourished like Frederick II and Catherine the Great in 18th century maxims, he would not allow any liberal ideology to filter through into his rough but regular ordering of mankind. Thus the whole political system, being summed up in the Emperor, was bound to share his fall. ideology] Although an enemy of ideologues, Napoleon followed grandiose visions in his foreign policy. A condottiere of the Renaissance living in the 19th century, he used France, and all those nations annexed or attracted by the Revolution, to resuscitate the Roman conception of the idea of Empire for personal benefit. On the other hand, he was enslaved by the history and aggressive idealism of the National Convention, and of the republican propaganda under the Directory; they guided him quite as much as he guided them. Hence the immoderate extension given to French activity by his classical Latin spirit; hence also his conquests, leading on from one to another, and instead of being mutually helpful interfering with each other; hence, finally, his not entirely coherent policy, interrupted by hesitation and counter-attractions. This explains the retention of Italy, imposed on the Directory from 1796 onward, followed by his treatment of Venice, the foundation of the Cisalpine Republic - a foretaste of future annexations - the restoration of that republic after his return from Egypt, and in view of his as yet inchoate designs, the postponed solution of the Italian problem which the treaty of Lunéville had raised. The Battle of Marengo (June 14, 1800) inaugurated the political idea which was to continue its development until Napoleon's Moscow campaign. Napoleon dreamed as yet only of keeping the Duchy of Milan, setting aside Austria, and preparing some new enterprise in the East or in Egypt. The peace of Amiens, which cost him Egypt, could only seem to him a temporary truce; while he was gradually extending his authority in Italy by the union of Piedmont and by his tentative plans regarding Genoa, Parma, Tuscany and Naples. He wanted to make this his Cisalpine Gaul, laying siege to the Roman state on every hand, and preparing in the Concordat for the moral and material servitude of the pope. When he recognised his error in having raised the papacy from decadence by restoring its power over the churches, he tried in vain to correct it by the Articles Organiques (1802) wanting, like Charlemagne, to be the legal protector of the pope, and eventually master of the Roman Church. To conceal his plan he aroused French colonial aspirations against Britain, and also the memory of the spoliations of 1763 (Treaty of Paris), exasperating British jealousy of France, whose borders now extended to the Rhine, and laying hands on Hanover, Hamburg and Cuxhaven. By the "Recess" of 1803, which brought to his side Bavaria, Württemberg and Baden, he followed up the overwhelming tide of revolutionary ideas in Germany, to stem which Pitt, back in power, appealed once more to an Anglo-Austro-Russian coalition against Napoleon, who by mastering France, Italy and Germany, hoped to revive the empire of Charlemagne; who finally on December 2, 1804 placed the imperial crown upon his head, after receiving the iron crown of the Lombard kings, and made Pope Pius VII consecrate him in Notre-Dame de Paris. After this, in four campaigns, the Emperor transformed his Carolingian feudal and federal empire into one modelled on the Roman empire. The memories of imperial Rome were for a third time, after Julius Caesar, Trajan and Charlemagne, to modify the historical evolution of France. Though the vague plan for an invasion of England fell to the ground, the Battle of Ulm and the Battle of Austerlitz obliterated Trafalgar, and the camp at Boulogne put the best military resources he had ever commanded at Napoleon's disposal in the form of La Grande Armée.

Early victories

La Grande Armée In the first of these campaigns Bonaparte swept away the remnants of the old Holy Roman Empire, and out of its shattered fragments created in southern Germany the vassal states of Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Hesse-Darmstadt and Saxony, which he attached to France under the name of the Confederation of the Rhine; but the treaty of Pressburg (26 December 1805) gave France nothing but the danger of a more centralised and less docile Germany. On the other hand, Napoleon's creation of the Kingdom of Italy, his annexation of Venetia and her ancient Adriatic Empire - wiping out the humiliation of 1797 - and the occupation of Ancona, marked a new stage in his progress towards his Roman Empire. His good fortune soon led him from conquest to spoliation, and he complicated his master-idea of the grand empire by his Family Compact; the clan of the Bonapartes invaded European monarchies, wedding with princesses of blood-royal, and adding kingdom to kingdom. Joseph Bonaparte replaced the dispossessed Bourbons at Naples; Louis Bonaparte was installed on the throne of the newly formed kingdom of Holland carved out of the Dutch Batavian Republic;