| 800,000BC |
First indications of human habitation on the Iberian peninsula date from this time |
| 30,000BC |
Last of the Neanderthals live in Gibraltar |
| 2500-2000BC |
Megalithic civilisation flourishes in southern Iberia |
| 1100BC |
Phoenician traders settle in Cadiz |
| 230BC |
Carthaginians founded Barcio (Barcelona) |
| 218-200BC |
Romans occupy Iberia |
| 61-200BC |
Julius Caesar is governor of Andalucia |
| 99AD |
Italica born Trajan becomes Emperor of Rome |
| 409-415 |
Germanic tribes including the Vandals occupy Spain |
| 711 |
Tariq ibn Ziyad lands at Gibraltar. Moorish conquest of Spain begins |
| 720 |
Christians defeat Muslims in northern Spain, initiating the Reconquest of Iberia which takes 772 years |
| 785 |
Construction begins on Cordoba Mosque |
| 1137 |
Ramon Berenguer IV marrries Petronella, 2 year old daughter of King Ramiro II of Aragon thus ensuring the union of Catalunya and Aragon. |
| 1147 |
Almohads invade Spain from northern Africa |
| 1162 |
Alfonso I (son of Ramon Berenguer) proclaimed himself the first king of Catalunya-Aragon |
| 1212 |
Christian armies defeat Moors at Navas de Tolosa marking the beginning of the end of Moorish reign |
| 1229 |
Jaume I (most celebrated of Catalan Kings) drives Moors from Mallorca. Menorca follows in 1231 and Ibiza in 1235 |
| 1236 |
Cordoba conquered by King Ferdinand III |
| 1238 |
Construction of the Alhambra in Granada begins |
| 1248 |
Ferdinand conquers Seville |
| 1348 |
Black death sweeps through Spain |
| 1401 |
Construction begins on Seville's cathedral |
| 1474 |
Isabella becomes Queen of Castile |
| 1481 |
Inquisition instituted in Spain |
| 1485 |
Columbus arrives in Spain |
| 1492 |
Isabella and Ferdinand conquer Granada, last Moorish kingdom in Spain |
| 1492 |
Columbus sails in search of the Indies |
| 1559 |
First cultivation of tobacco starts in Spain |
| 1587 |
Sir Francis Drake attacks Cadiz and sets fire to the Spanish fleet |
| 1700-14 |
King Carlos II dies childless sparking war of succession |
| 1713 |
Treaty of Utrecht gives the throne to the Bourbon Philippe, now Philippe IV King of Spain |
| 1768 |
First census in Spain shows 10.2 million inhabitants |
| 1779-83 |
Great siege of Gibraltar by the Spanish and French |
| 1780 |
Last victim of the inquisition is burned at the stake in Seville |
| 1785 |
Inauguration of the bullring in Ronda, one of the oldest in Spain |
| 1805 |
Admiral Nelson defeats the French/Spanish fleet in Cadiz |
| 1808 |
Napoleon replaces Spanish King with his brother Bonaparte, Spaniards revolt against French occupiers |
| 1811 |
The battle of Tarifa |
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| 1835 |
Church property in Spain is seized and sold by auction |
| 1881 |
Pablo Picasso born in Malaga |
| 1885 |
Massive earthquake kills hundreds in Granada and Malaga |
| 1923 |
Primo de Rivera seizes control as dictator with Alfonso XIII remaining as King |
| 1931 |
Spain becomes a republic - the end of the monarchy |
| 1933 |
Elections won by Conservatives |
| 1934 |
General strike led by Socialist Trade Union (UGT). |
| 1936 |
The Siege of the Alcazar, Toledo |
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| 1936 |
Spain's army revolts led by General Franco and 3 year Spanish civil war begins |
| 1937 |
May 31st, German warships kill 19 in bombardment of Almeria |
| 1939 |
Civil war ends with Franco's victory - his dictatorship will last 36 years |
| 1947 |
The bullfighter Manolete is gored to death in Jaen |
| 1955 |
Spain joins the United Nations |
| 1969 |
Spain closes its border with Gibraltar |
| 1975 |
Franco dies. King Juan Carlos I takes throne |
| 1977 |
First free elections in Spain following restoration of Monarchy |
| 1981 |
Picasso's work 'Guernica' is returned to the Prado in Madrid after 42 years in New York museum |
| 1982 |
Andalucia becomes autonomous region |
| 1985 |
Gibraltar border re-opens |
| 1986 |
Spain joins European Community |
| 1992 |
Seville hosts Expo '92 |
| 1992 |
Barcelona hosts the summer Olympics |
| 1996 |
Conservative party defeats Socialist party ending a 13 year rule |
| 1998 |
Inauguration of the controversial Guggenheim Mueum in Bilbao |
| 1999 |
Spain becomes part of the Euro system |
